Chapter 2

"Good morning everyone!" Miyako smiled as she approached her team the next morning, "I hope you got a good nights sleep because you're gonna work your butts off today!"

"What do you mean?" Murasaki gave her sensei what was possibly the blankest look ever, "It's just a survival exercise."

"Yes, but the thing is…" Miyako gave the group an apologizing look, "This is a pass or fail exam to see which teams are truly ready for the life of a shinobi. And the fail rate is at least sixty-six percent."

"Oh, my," Murasaki's voice was wistful and naïve, "That's very high, isn't it?"

"Ya think?" Enkai snapped; Murasaki wasn't very quick on the up-take.

"Okay, what you're gonna do is…

"You have to take these bells from me by twelve noon," Kimiko held up two silver bells in font of the kids.

"That's three hours," Suru stated, "That should be enough if we work together…"

"Yes, well," Kimiko frowned at the fact Suru had interpreted the meaning of the exercise so quickly, "Let's get started with the exercise. Ready, set…"

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"…GO!" Nakuru yelled. Her three students took off. The blonde jonin smiled, "This is gonna be fun."

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"Alright," Mikazuki murmured to her teammates, "We have to work together on this; otherwise, we'll never get those bells."

"What do you suggest?" Joshi asked. She had an idea, but wanted to here how the others wanted to do things.

"I suggest we split the task into three parts," Midori stated, "Distraction, capture and completion. One of us will distract Nakuru-sensei and lead her to the next team member who will capture her in a trap. The third will take the bells."

"Sounds good," Mikazuki nodded, "What do you think, Joshi-san?"

"I'll set the trap," Joshi smiled, "I can capture her by the feet with my kasuri. Mikazuki, you distract her and Midori can grab the bells. Is that a plan?"

Midori and Mikazuki nodded.

"Yosh," Joshi smiled, "Ikuze!"

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"Kimiko-sensei!" Mizu jumped out at the black-haired jonin, "Fight with me!"

Kimiko sweat-dropped, 'This kid's wacko… not exactly the strategy for a ninja to use…'

"If you won't comply willingly," Mizu ran at her sensei, "I will force you to fight!" Mizu slid under the jonin, grabbing her feet and successfully bringing her to the ground.

"What the…?" Kimiko gasped as her back connected with the dirt, "Who taught you taijutsu?"

"Me, myself and I," Mizu grinned, shifting into a fighting stance that greatly resembled Neji's rotation technique, only her back hand was above her head in a fist.

The brunette lunged at her sensei, palm smashing into the older shinobi's solar plexus. Kimiko gasped for air. Mizu then swung her leg around, only to have the older ninja dodge backwards.

'Perfect!' Mizu grinned, "Now, Suru-onii-kun!"

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"Quickly, Enkai-san," Sasayaki called from were she stood manipulating the plants that had their sensei tied to the ground, "Grab the bells!"

Taking her time, Enkai bent down and untied the bells from where they hung on their sensei's vest.

"We win, Miya-sensei," Murasaki said in her sing-song voice, "So that means…"

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"…That means were genin now right?" Joshi asked from where she stood facing her sensei with her teammates.

"That's right," Nakuru smiled, patting the girl on the head, "Starting tomorrow…"

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"Starting tomorrow you three will be training and going on missions like all other ninja," Kimiko smiled, "Congrats you guys."

"Yippee!" Mizu glomped onto her sensei, "Domo Arigato, Kimiko-sensei!"

"Don't thank me quite yet," Kimiko laughed, "Wait until later, when you're tired of the missions, then you can thank me."