"It's time to begin. I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and, from this moment, your worst enemy," The man at the front explained. He smirked. "I'll say this once, so listen up; there will be no combat between candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor, and even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately, got it?"
Kiba heard someone mutter something near the back.
"Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the chûnin exam. Hand over your paperwork; in return you'll each be given a number, this number determines where you will sit, we'll start the written test once you're all seated," Ibiki explained.
Kiba and the rest were handed exams and numbers, being sat by random people. Kiba sat down awkwardly between on person he didn't know, and the same girl from before. A bead of sweat rolled down his face. He wiped it onto his palm and glanced at Hinata, who was beside Naruto.
"Everyone, eyes front, there are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around," – he started writing it on the chalkboard in front of the group of genin - "Alright, rule number one is this; the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong, so if you miss three, your final score will be seven.
"Rule number two, teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members." Gasps were sent through the room at that comment.
"Waitaminute! As a team!?"
All gazes shifted to the angry pink blur. Kiba and his whole team glanced at each other and smirked. It was a written exam; Sakura's team was screwed with Naruto in it.
"Silence!" Ibiki yelled. "I have my reasons. So shut up and listen. Rule number three, the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for ever incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored."
Kiba gulped deeply.
"Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us, what exceptional shinobi you can be."
Kiba started to flip over his paper. "One more thing, if any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."
Everyone could tell Naruto was freaking out.
"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period, you'll have one hour total." Ibiki pressed down the button on his timer. "Begin!"
Naturally, Kiba was nervous. Kiba glanced at the paper. It was filled with complex ninja problems.
Not even Shikamaru could answer these… Kiba thought to himself while scanning the page. What do I do…?
Kiba rapped his pencil against the desk in thought.
Maybe I could…ch- NO! We're not allowed! Impossible! Kiba thought. He glanced at the girl beside him; she had all her answers filled out. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, his eyes widening.
I get it! The idea is to cheat without being caught! Kiba thought happily. He glanced across the room at Shino, who was speaking with one of his bugs. He must have figured it out too. Kiba glanced up at Akamaru, he was watching the test answers of the girl beside Kiba intently. Akamaru barked something into Kiba's ear and he nodded, understanding immediately and scribbling down the answers. After a while of sitting, the tenth question came.
"Before I give you the tenth question, there are a few more rules that you need to be aware of. These rules are unique to question ten, so listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you. Very well then, rule number one, each of you can choose not to be given the final question, it's your decision. If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words you fail, and that means of course both your teammates fail as well." – Alarmed whispers went through the room, but Kiba was feeling confident – "Not so fast, you didn't let me finish, if you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be barred form taking the chûnin exams ever again!" He started to laugh like a maniac.
Kiba jumped up in anger. "Hey that's bull man! That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that? There's lots of people here who have taken the test before!" He yelled, pointing his finger accusingly at Ibiki. Akamaru barked and Kiba sat back down. The girl next to him covered her face in embarrassment.
"I guess you're just… unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident then by all means skip it, you can come back and try again next year." Ibiki laughed again.
Ibiki announced the final question and asked who wanted to back out. Over half of the people in the room did, and got kicked out. Kiba, however remained calm. Kiba's eyes went wide when he saw Naruto's hand shoot up. He then slammed it down on the desk with a loud thunk.
"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage some day!" He yelled.
The look of admiration in both Sakura and Hinata's eyes made Kiba want to puke. But Naruto's speech gave everyone confidence and no one else gave up.
"Well well, I admire your determination, if nothing else. For those of you remaining there's only one thing left to do, and that is to tell you, that you've all passed the first exam!" Of course, Sakura started yelling.
Ibiki explained that the last question was whether or not you'd decide not to do the last question.
Then, he explained that they were supposed to cheat, adding that there were two higher level shinobi to cheat off of. The girl beside Kiba raised her hand and Kiba's eyes widened. She was a chûnin? Or…higher?
After rambling a bit more, Ibiki removed his cap, showing them all a bald but severely scarred head. There were scleroses and cuts everywhere. There will bullet-shaped dents and burn marks as well. Kiba gasped.
"Information. It can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather intelligence can determine whether the mission's a failure or success. There'll be times you have to risk your life to get it," He explained. He tied his cap back on. "Of course you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate. Always bear this in mind; disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or the loss of a village. That's why I put you in a position where you had to gather accurate intelligence, cheat, in order to survive. And that's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you."
He then explained the tenth question.
Ibiki glanced at the window defensively.
Just then a blur came through the window, throwing kunai and hanging a black cloth behind it. Ibiki sighed.
The blur was a girl, and the black cloth said a few words in bold white lettering; "Here Comes The Second Test's Proctor: Anko Mitarashi."
Anko had blue-black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore an entirely mesh outfit with a brown skirt and a light jacket that happened to stay in the right place at all times. She wore a long necklace and lower-leg protectors over her shoes and legs. She had dark grey eyes and a face that made her look angry almost all the time.
"Heads up boys and girls, no time to be celebrating! I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi," She narrowed her eyes. "You ready for the second test?"
She pumped her fist into the air. "Good! Let's go! Follow me!" Total silence followed. Anko muttered something to Ibiki about the genin looking weak and that more than half would be eliminated by the time she was done. Kiba gulped, glancing at his teammates. Shino's usually stoic face looked worried and Hinata seemed to be resisting the urge to grab Naruto's hand.
"This is the 44th battle training zone, but we call it, The Forest Of Death," Anko explained to them, standing in front of a large forest that was fenced off. It looked ominous and held a scary aura. It was dark and treacherous with many vines and tall trees, moss covered everything.
There was a large group of people standing around and Kiba heard a commotion on the left side, and, looking over, noticed some kids interviewing Naruto. Kiba and his team sat near a tree, watching the whole ordeal. Sakura was then talking to the children, ranting about Sasuke's wonderful qualities.
"I hate Sasuke," Kiba said blankly. Hinata giggled.
"He's not that bad," Hinata commented.
"Oh don't you-" Kiba started. Hinata laughed sharply.
"Ah, I'm kidding. He annoys me a little too," She said innocently. Kiba looked up at the sky absently, thinking. Could he do it? Could he make it through the "Forest of Death"? Would he have the strength to protect Hinata in the process?
"Each team will be given a scroll. Some will be given Earth Scrolls and some will be given Heaven Scrolls. Your goal is to get one of each scroll by fighting the other teams and head to the centre of the forest within three days," Anko explained. "Oh, and don't open the scroll until you make it to the centre."
"Or what?" Someone asked.
"Or else," Anko replied blankly, winking. Kiba frowned as they walked over to get their scroll. He had a lump in his throat that just wouldn't go away no matter how many times he swallowed. People die in the Forest Of Death, thus the name. He was really, really scared.
Shino turned to him with the scroll in hand.
"Earth," He told the team. Hinata nodded and Kiba said nothing, looking forward at their competition.
Kiba felt a hand on his shoulder.
"It can't be that hard," Hinata comforted. He smiled and walked off, Hinata's hand falling limply at her side.
"Okay!" Anko screamed. "Before you go, I need an energy drink!" Some of the helpers jumped off, and then Kiba noticed that girl. Something, though he didn't know what, compelled him to walk up to her.
He stuck out his hand for a handshake.
"Hi. I'm Kiba Inuzuka," He said. She shook his hand limply, giving him a lost look that said "I feel like I should know you… but who the hell are you?"
Kiba took off his hood.
"Oh! You're the guy I ran into!" She said with a shocked smile. She was wearing black pants with ninja boots and a tan vest over a mesh shirt with high gloves. Her light grey hair was pulled back into a ponytail with some of it hanging out and falling lightly on her blushed cheeks. She was wearing a little bit of mascara and a bit of eyeliner, bringing out her soft facial features. However, her eyes were blood red and stood out from the rest of her.
She pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear.
She enjoyed seeing him again, but she noticed something more this time, like there was more behind that happy disposition he put on. Like he was going through more than anyone could ever imagine.
"Well Kiba Inuzuka, I'm glad you passed the first round of the exam, don't die yet," She told him with a confident smile. Kiba stood there for a while longer, expecting more.
"Run along to your little friends," She ushered, waving her hand off.
"What's your name?" Kiba asked.
"Reika," She said with a warm smile, turning away from him. Kiba stood silently and then turned to go back to his team. He stood by Shino, who gave him a questioning look. Kiba tried to return it with an "I'll tell you later" look, but it ended up being more like a "You sicken me." kind of look. Kiba figured those two were easy to mix up. He didn't hear Anko yelling, but his team stood up, ready to go and he followed them around the fence of the forest to a faraway side in complete silence.
"Ready?" Kiba asked them.
"Yes!" Hinata said confidently, turning on her byakugan. Shino responded with a nod.
Kiba knew it would be hard, but he and his team were all ready.
rawr. Sorry. Made most of the crap with Anko up because I didn't feel like watching the show. :P
YAY Reika finally came in. I was waiting and waiting because I needed to take initiative finding her a name (I never name my characters 'till the last minute) so here ya go. Sorry if it's rushed. I promised someone I'd be five hours, so, here ya go! WOOHOO!
R & R (Rate and Review) my little palooka's.
- - Suzuki Yumi '.'
