Story: Snapshots of Chunin Exams (A Shikadai x Yurui One-Shot)

Author: Amvbrace

Fandom: Naruto

Chapters: One

Disclaimer: I'm an unemployed college graduate. I don't get paid for writing this and I don't own Naruto (and honestly, I don't want to). Anything you may recognize belongs to its respective owners.

Status: Completed For Now

Sequel(s): N/A for the time being

Date Completed/Updated: June 8, 2016

Note(s): This was a request that I did on Tumblr awhile back. I don't know Naruto well, so I'm positive this is going to be way out of character (than it already is). This features a female Shikadai. If you don't like this, please feel free to click the back button. Hope you guys like this anyway. Any grammar/spelling errors you may find belong to me. Don't forget to review if you liked it or if you don't; tell me why.

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. That was the mantra that ran through her head; as she closed her eyes; concentrating on her breathing technique. Her uncles had always told her that to keep a level head; the first thing you must do is take a deep breath and clear your mind. She followed with one last deep breath through her nose; then exhaled through her mouth slowly. Calmly; as if something would go wrong; if all the air would tumble out; breaking the silence that was surrounding them. This was the moment that Shikadai had been waiting for all evening. This was her one shot to take down the last opponent; thus claiming her as the winner of the match. The one thing that nobody could ruin by cheating. With that thought, Shikadai opened her eyes; feeling more confident than she had a moment earlier.

Teal eyes searched the area; making sure that the lone soldier; with his back turned to her was indeed the last. It would do her no good if she was caught by surprised, and defeated by another member that she and her teammates had missed. He and another member certainly didn't waste time catching up with her; taking out all of her teammates just when they thought they had this battle beat. It was a good thing that Shikadai was fast. It meant she could get away. Bringing herself back to the current situation; Shikadai smiled satisfactorily. They were truly alone. And now it was time to go in for the kill. Pushing herself up from the crouching position she had been in, Shikadai gripped her Katana tightly in her right hand. There was no way she was going to miss her target. She may be lazy with everyday life, but when it came to fighting; Shikadai was a pro. Slowly; so as to not alert the enemy that she was near; Shikadai walked closer to him; raising her Katana as she did so.

A high pitched music flowed from somewhere within Shikadai's ears, and she jumped in fright; dropping the Katana as she did so. Having heard the noise, the man before her whipped around; his eyes furrowed in confusion at seeing her so close to him. They stared at each other for a moment; both having been caught by surprise. After awhile, the man smirked at her; his weapon still raised threateningly.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Shikadai kept her mouth shut her eyes narrowed at the weapon pointed at her. Her eyes quickly darted up to the man before glancing back at the weapon.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Really, it's no surprise. I mean, I had heard from my men that a girl was picking them off one by one; but yet; here I am; clearly standing with you at my mercy. My my how the tables have turned." she hated that smirk on his face. It was so irritating; she had to fight the urge to wipe it off his face.

"You know what? I don't have to answer to y - "

"Look, darling! As much fun as it is standing here chatting it up with you; I have places to be. People to meet. I'm sure you understand."

If Shikadai hadn't been so stunned by this man; she would have asked him for his name. Or, perhaps she would have used her Katana and plunged it deep into his stomach; but no. The man had grabbed his weapon and plunged it into her chest, and the last thing she saw was his satisfying smirk before the words 'Game Over' flashed repeatedly on the screen. Shikadai let out a stream of curses as she threw the controller irritably to the ground.

Her cell rang once more as she ran a hand through her hair. Giving it an angry look, she chose to ignore it. It was no doubt Inojin; the bastard; calling to once again see if she found out any information about the Chūnin exams. Shikadai allowed herself to fall flat on her back as she rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. Now that Inojin had brought it up; Shikadai couldn't get the Chūnin Exams out of her head. While Shikadai was confident that she could get through them; she had no idea what to expect, and Shikadai hated not knowing things. She may have been lazy, but no one could deny that Shikadai was smart and resourceful. She knew how to get the information she needed. So, when she learned about the Chūnin exams, she had expected one or both of her uncles to tell her about it. They had kept their silence, saying that not knowing was part of it.

Then there was the issue of the other participants of the exams. She knew for sure that she, Inojin and Boroto was involved; and that gave her both some comfort and worry. While they were best friends; they were not part of the same group. She knew she could take them on if she had too, but she didn't like facing them that way. Sure, Inojin got on her nerves a lot, but she didn't want to be the reason that he couldn't continue participating in the exams. Besides, they knew her just as well as she knew them; so they would definitely be a challenge. She didn't know who else besides her group and their group were going to be involved; so she couldn't do much research outside of that.

Thinking about the exams gave her a headache and was somewhat relieved to hear a knock and she turned her head to see that her uncle Gaara standing in the doorway. She turned her head back to where the 'Game Over' logo was still flashing and sighed.

"Hey," she said simply.

Gaara took that as a sign that he could come in and sat down on the bed next to her; resting one of his hands on her head.

"Hey," he said; his voice even. They sat there in uncomfortable silence; waiting for the other to speak. Gaara decided to break the silence first.

"You worried?"

"Shikadai glanced at him; not really seeing him. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Not really" he gave her a look that clearly told her that he thought she was lying. "I mean, I'm worried about the not knowing part, you know?"

"I do know."

Shikadai she sat up so suddenly that Gaara's hand fell from its place atop her head.

"Do you think I could make it through the exams?" she asked her voice held a bit of uncertainty to them.

Gaara couldn't help but chuckle which seemed to only put Shikadai in an even worse mood.

"What?! Why are you laughing at me?!" she demanded.

Gaara put up his hands to appease her and sighed.

"You dear, are a force to be reckoned with. There's no doubt in my mind that you can't do this."

Shikadai said nothing; and placed her hands in her lap.

"I may not be able to tell you anything, but you won't be alone in this. Your uncle Kankurō and I will both be there; supporting you through it all."

Shikadai looked up at her uncle hopeful.

"You will?"

"Of course. We may not be able to watch in the beginning, but assuming you pass the first part, your mother, uncle and I will be with you the whole time. Even when we can't be, we'll be close by"

Shikadai blinked and the widest smile formed on her face; before she tackled her uncle into a bear hug causing the man to chuckle once more.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you" Shikadai repeated over and over. Her uncle patted her head and got up, bringing the girl with him.

"You're welcome. Now, come on. Your mother has supper ready." He led her to the kitchen; as she rambled on about what types of questions the Chūnin Exams would have.

A week later, Shikadai stood outside the door waiting for the other students who were about to take the first part of the Chūnin Exams. She glanced nervously at Boroto and Inojin to see if they were as nervous as she was. Unlike most tests, Shikadai couldn't prepare for this one, because it relied on skills. Skills to determine whether or not you were prepared to become a Shinobi. Shikadai wanted to believe that she could become one; but ever since the talk with her uncle, she had been trying to research on anything she could find. A paper trail her uncle could've left behind. Nothing had come up and Shikadai had stressed herself to the point where she became jumpy if someone so much as touched her.

Inojin seems to sense her nervousness, and wrapped a protective arm around her; pulling her close to him.

"Don't worry Shikadai. If anyone can do this, it's you."

Shikadai could only nod before the door to the examination room opened. It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, Shikadai stepped into the room; preparing for what she hoped was the best adventure of her life.

"Move out of my way, " a familiar voice said before she was roughly shoved to the side as a man about a foot or so taller than her, made his way to the front.

"You!" she exclaimed as the man from the video game from a little over a week ago popped into her head. While she hadn't recognized him from his looks; his voice held that same smugness that the man in the video game had. He looked her up and down before turning his nose down to her.

|"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Who are you?!" she shot back at him.

"I asked you first!"

"Nara! Kumogakure! Pay attention before I disqualify you from the rest of the exams." instructor Mitarashi barked, causing Shikadai to jump before looking to the front. The man beside her did the same; and the rest of the students who had been watching turned back towards the front. "Now, that's better. As I was saying. As you all know from the first stage of the examination, I am Anko Mitarashi and I will be your instructor for this stage of the exams." Shikadai kept one ear open as the instructor explained the rules; while her eyes roamed towards the man; who was smirking even though he was facing the instructor. She knew he was trying to get to her, and she wasn't going to allow him to do such a thing.

"I'm surprised a girl like yourself made it this far. How'd you do it?" the voice was so quiet, and if Shikadai hadn't seen his mouth move, she wouldn't have noticed it. She chose to ignore him and looked back toward the instructor who was still explaining the rules.

"What's the matter, darling? Cat got your tongue? Really, it's a surprise you've gotten this far. I mean, if you can't have a conversation with someone at my level - "

"You know what?" she whispered harshly facing him just enough so the instructor wouldn't get suspicious. "I don't have to take your crap. You might have caught me by surprise in the game, but you will not do it again. This is my turf." With that, she turned back to the front fuming. The man just continued to smirk as they were told to begin. The man cut her off, giving her another once over.

"I hope for your sake, you're correct. I'd hate to see what happens to you, darling" and with that, he walked off. Shikadai had to fight the urge to attack from behind, but it was a close call. She followed her group into the forest; muttering darkly under her breath.

The day finally came where the exams ended. Shikadai along with a few of her friends had made it toe the very end; even if they were injured getting there. Shikadai was currently lying in her bed, reading a book that her uncles have brought her to keep her occupied. She had been put on bed rest until she was completely healed; not that she was complaining.

Going through the exams was no easy task, but she had made it. Not only was she now a Shinobi, but she had made some new friends along the way. One of those friends was someone she never thought that she'd actually interact with without some form of fighting, Yurui Kumogakure. No one was as surprised as these two that they actually found they had a lot in common and as the exams progressed, they learned to get along and coexist in this small part of the universe.

Those who passed were getting ready to get their assignments, and Shikadai was a bit nervous. True, she was smart and knew how to use the resources she got; but being a Shinobi was a whole other experience than just competing to become one. She wasn't sure if she was ready for the real world yet; even though she had proved that she was.

Just as Shikadai turned the page of her book; Shikadai heard heavy footsteps heading their way to the infirmary. Thinking it was just a patient coming to get looked at; she continued reading her book. She didn't even know that whoever had entered had sat beside her bedside until a familiar voice had cleared.

She looked up from her book to see the very man that she had been thinking about. Sighing, she lowered her book and gave him a tired smile.

"You really shouldn't be here" she stated. Yurui gave her a half cheeky, half nervous smile as she rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, well, I was assigned my first assignment today." Shikadai nodded.

"And?" she asked, wanting to know why he felt the need to tell her that. He handed over a file that told her information.

"Turns out that you and I are to be partners in this." she glanced over the documents before looking up at Yurui.

"And you're ok with this?" he shrugged.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because. We're practically from two different worlds. Are you sure you want to share the glory with me?" Shikadai gave him a slight smirk.

"We're friends, aren't we? Besides, whether I like it or not, you are a tad bit more resourceful than I am. I know how to fight. You know how to do research. We can do this together; only so we can get this task over with and this guy dealt with. Then, if you wish. We can go over our separate ways." Shikadai nodded once more.

"Sounds like a plan." she frowned. "Although, we don't have to go our separate ways if you don't want to I mean" Yurui smiled at her and stood up.

"Well, darling. I have places to be. People to meet. Get better soon, ya hear?" Shikadai smiled.

"You can't keep me down for long" she watched his retreating back for a moment; before continuing his book.