"So, I hear you've had a few encounters with a Suna shinobi," Toshiko stated as she gave Megumi a cup of tea. "I suppose that means the Chunin exams are sooner than we thought."
"Maybe we can finally do ninja stuff now," Megumi said sleepily, blowing on her tea to cool it down. After putting an excessive amount of sugar into her tea she looked up at Toshiko. "Do we have any milk?"
"I just ran out. Maybe ask the neighbor if they have any they can spare," Toshiko suggested. Megumi groaned and reluctantly got up. She knocked on the neighbor's door and waited for a response.
A young man answered the door. His hair was brown and neatly cut. He wore simple clothing, a black t-shirt and white shorts but no shoes. He was most likely not planning on going outside anytime soon. "Can I help you?" He asked, scratching the stubble on his face.
"Sorry to bother you, sir," Megumi yawned. "I live next door, would you happen to have any milk to spare?"
"Hold on," He closed the door. Megumi heard the faint sound of rummaging and the door swung open again. The man gave Megumi a full 2lt jug of milk. "Keep the whole thing."
"Oh, are you sure? Isn't this all of your milk?" Megumi asked, feeling guilty about taking it.
"No, I have at least 5 more jugs. Don't worry about it," He closed the door quietly leaving Megumi in the hall with a large jug of milk in her arms.
"Thank you mysterious milk ninja," Megumi said quietly before returning to her apartment.
A few days before the Chunin exams, Megumi, Toshiko, and Reiji were finally registered as Konoha shinobi and were assigned a Jonin sensei, Anko Mitarashi, for a short time. Their training began immediately, much to Megumi's protest.
"Alright you maggots! Keep training!" Anko yelled as she threw kunai at Megumi to keep her moving.
"Toshiko! Anko is trying to kill meeee!" Megumi cried as she ran to Toshiko for support.
"You can do better than that, Sleepy Ninja!" Anko threw more kunai at Megumi. "I want to see you run around this whole field until you throw up!"
"Make it stoooppp!" Megumi cried.
Toshiko and Reiji dragged Megumi down the street toward their apartment building, supporting her limp body as best they could. "I can't feel my everything," Megumi mumbled. "Am I dead? Is this what death feels like?"
"To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep," Toshiko smirked. "We're almost home. Just another block."
As they walked, they noticed a lot of shinobi from different countries. Grass, Waterfall, Sand, Sound, Rain, the list goes on. All here for the Chunin exams, they were sure.
The three ninja all went into Megumi's apartment and got confortable in her living room, telling each other stories, watching TV shows, eating snacks and drinking tea, having a great time bonding. Toshiko told the other two about her family and how her parents were killed. A tragic story but it was one that helped bring everyone closer now that they have their own little family together as a three-man squad. Three outcasts from three different countries banded together because of one thing they all had in common: The Tailed Beasts.
"So, Megumi," Toshiko started as she shifted on the couch to get comfortable. "Reiji and I have no idea what you can do in battle. What are you capable of?"
"Well," Megumi smiled. She did a couple hand signs and placed her hands out in front of her. A small mirror make of crystal appeared in her hands. The mirror had a pink hue and a beautiful faint glow. "I can use crystal release jutsu. Over the years I learned how to make these mirrors. They can let me talk to my tailed beast face to face easily. They can do a lot of other things but this is what I use it for most since I don't often fight."
The other two ninja gazed into the tiny mirror and saw a tiny six-tailed slug inside waving at them. "Hello friends of Megumi," It said. "I am Saiken."
"This is so cool," Reiji stared at the tiny mirror in awe. "Can you make these mirrors bigger?"
"Mhm," Megumi nodded.
"Wow, I hope I get to fight you just so I know how these mirrors work!" Reiji smiled at Megumi. She smiled back.
Today was the day. The day the chunin exams start. Many ninja were already inside of the room as Megumi, Reiji, and Toshiko made their way in. They took their seats as the written test was about to start.
"Okay, writing a test. Shouldn't be too hard, I've passed tests before," Megumi smiled to herself. "Okay, first question…" Before she could even read the first few words on the test she nodded off to sleep. She didn't wake up until the very end of the test when everyone moved on to the next round.
"Megumi, you idiot!" Toshiko punched Megumi in the head. "You could have gotten us disqualified if the test results weren't useless!"
"Ahk! I didn't do it!" Megumi responded as she woke up and rubbed her head. Toshiko sighed heavily as they walked to the next stage of the exam: The Forest of Death.
"Oh dear. Oh no. There is no way you're making me go in there," Megumi stated as they walked closer to the forest. "Nuh uh, finish this test on your own, I'm out."
"Not so fast," Toshiko grabbed the collar of Megumi's shirt and dragged her back. "You're not going anywhere. Not after the stunt you pulled during the first test. I'm going to make sure you don't ruin my chances of passing. We're doing this as a team."
"Toshiko is right, Megumi," Reiji added. "We have to do this as a team or we'll never pass." Megumi sighed heavily as they stood at the gates they were assigned. She groaned at the test began and sprinted inside of the forest.
"I never asked for this!"
Megumi was alone in the middle of a small opening in the trees, seemingly unaware of her surroundings. "Toshiko?" She called out in a worried tone. "Reiji? Where are you?"
Shadowy ninja were hiding in the trees above Megumi. "Easy target," They snickered and all lunged for her. Just before they were able to get to her, a crystal mirror appeared in front of them and were sucked into it. "Let us out! Hey! Hey, let us out!" Megumi turned to them and smiled.
"Give me your scroll and I've let you live," She said as she tapped on the mirror. They refused to give Megumi the scroll. "I really didn't want to do this but…Saiken, would you please kill them?" The ninja turned around to see a large six-tailed slug towering over them. They screamed in terror and then there was silence. A heaven scroll was thrown out of the mirror and rolled its way to Megumi's feet. "Thank you, Saiken." Megumi smiled as the mirror poofed away.
"Wow, way to go, Gumi!" Reiji smiled at Megumi as he jumped down from a nearby tree. "You handled yourself well, I'm glad we decided to let you handle getting the scroll!"
"Thanks, Reiji. Carry me," Megumi fell onto Reiji. "So sleepy."
"Gumi, no! Don't fall asleep! Gumi, please! I don't want to carry you!" Reiji pleased. Megumi fell asleep anyway and Reiji had to carry her to the building.
Megumi woke up and found that the second half of the chunin exam was over. Things were running smoothly for them. No injuries and no disqualifications. She looked around and saw some familiar faces. Naruto energetically waved at her and she waved back just as energetically. "I'm so glad you made it, Megumi!" Naruto smiled as the proctor began to speak. He informed everyone that too many of them had passed the second test and they needed to go though a preliminary exam before continuing.
The sleepy ninja and her team watched as everyone had a turn to fight each other. It wasn't until Hinata and Neji's battle that Reiji spoke, "Man, Neji is tough. I'd hate to go up against someone like that," He crossed his arms, "Or even that sand kid." Megumi nodded in agreement, hugging her arms close.
"Hey you," Kankuro called out to Naruto. "How come you're all by yourself? Why aren't you hangin' with your buddies?"
"Huh? What's it to you?" Naruto sneered.
"So, tell me something about this guy Neji. I get the feeling we didn't get to see the full extent of his powers in the last fight, did we? So what's his story?" Kankuro kept a cool demeanor as he talked to Naruto. Megumi was keeping an eye on the conversation. She wasn't too far away so eavesdropping wasn't so hard, she was curious to know why Kankuro came over to their side of the arena just to talk to Naruto.
"I'm gonna pulverize him! That's his story!" Naruto exclaimed, punching the air with his fist.
"Okaayyy, but that's not quite what I meant," Kankuro paused for a moment before continuing. "You know, you seem like a nice guy. I like you." At this point Megumi could tell he was trying to get information from Naruto.
"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't like you," Naruto sneered again. Megumi couldn't help but laugh; both Kankuro and Naruto could hear her and turned to face her.
"What's so funny, ragdoll?" Kankuro scoffed.
"Rude," Megumi mumbled, a bit annoyed with the pet name.
"Hey! Don't talk to Megumi like that. Unlike you, I actually like her!" Naruto huffed in the background. Kankuro ignored him and kept staring at Megumi, waiting for an answer.
"I don't feel like gracing you with an answer," Megumi shrugged with a smile. There was a slight smile on Kankuro's face.
"So, we're playing this game?" His smile grew, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"I don't see what you mean," Megumi giggled faintly but their little banter was cut short as Kankuro's name came up on the monitor.
The next match: Kankuro vs. Tsurugi Misumi
"Heh, watch and learn." Kankuro smirked.
"Oh sorry, I forgot my pen." Megumi shrugged playfully. Kankuro jumped down to the arena. When the battle began, Kankuro took the thing wrapped in bandages off of his back.
Misumi used a jutsu that made him like a rubber man, or so Megumi thought. He wrapped his arms and legs around Kankuro to prevent him from moving. "If you surrender then I'll spare your life." Said Misumi. Kankuro didn't say anything. Misumi had an arm around Kankuro's neck and he was practically choking him. There was a loud cracking sound. Megumi gasped. Misumi had snapped Kankuro's neck. "Tch, what a fool." Misumi sighed. Something strange happened. It looked as if sand was falling from Kankuro's face.
His head spun around, looking totally different. "Now it's my turn, so say good-bye." He said in a creepy voice. That wasn't Kankuro. It was his puppet, Crow. The real Kankuro came out of the thing wrapped in bandages.
"Puppet Master," Megumi whispered. Kankuro made his puppet crush Misumi. He smirked as he screamed in pain.
The battle was over as quickly as it started.
"So, what did you think? Impressed?" Kankuro walked back up the stairs with his hands in his pockets.
"Huh? What? Oh, sorry, I blinked and it was over. Do it again," Megumi stuck her tongue out and laughed.
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, ragdoll," Kankuro pointed to the screen showing the next match. Megumi held her breath as she turned around and read the names for the next challenge: Megumi Shioya and Reiji Utagawa.
"Nooo…" She whimpered quietly. "Why Reiji? Why not anyone else?" She turned to Reiji, who stood on the opposite end of the arena, and whimpered again. She knew how fast he could be and knew he had been training as much as he could everyday, unlike Megumi, who did no training at all.
"Hey," Naruto nudged her with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You can do this!" Megumi smiled at Naruto and gave him a nod before jumping down to the arena.
"You ready, Gumi? I'm not going to go easy on you," Reiji smirked with confidence.
"I know," Megumi sighed and got into a fighting stance. "Let's get this over with."
The match started. Reiji immediately ran at Megumi with speed she hadn't seen since they first met. Before she knew it he was right in front of her and tried to get a punch in. Megumi reacted surprisingly fast, ducking out of the way and sweeping her leg under Reiji so he'd lose his footing.
This didn't faze Reiji. He jumped into the air and sprouted bug-like wings, keeping him airborne. Everyone in the room started talking amongst themselves about Reiji's wings. This was also news to Megumi, since she never actually trained with him before the Chunin exam and there was never a time for his wings to be useful until now. "Surprised?" Reiji asked with a chuckle. "You shouldn't be, you of all people should know why I can fly." Megumi did know the reason; it was because of his tailed beast. She sighed and did some hand signs.
"Well, if you're not going to coming back down to me," She vanished into the ground. There was a silence that shrouded the room for a moment as everyone wondered where Megumi went. A large mirror suddenly appeared above Reiji, "I'll just have to come to you!" Megumi came out of the mirror and crashed into Reiji, causing both of them to fall to the ground. Before Reiji could react, Megumi gripped his wings, placed a foot on his back, and began to pull.
"AHK! No! Not my wings!" Reiji cried.
"Give up or the wings come off!" Megumi yelled, pulling even harder.
"Okay! I give up!" There were visible tears on Reiji's face. Megumi let go of his wings and helped him up. "You're a lot more cruel than I thought."
"Sorry, Reiji," Megumi gave him a hug. "Goes to show I'm not completely useless, aha."
They walked over to Toshiko, who was completely dumbfounded, waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. She still couldn't believe that Megumi was able to subdue Reiji. The little narcoleptic ninja who is usually too lazy to even train with the other two was able to beat the one on her own team who trained the most. Though, at the same time, Toshiko could tell Reiji was being cocky and thought Megumi would be an easy fight. "I'm really proud of you for being able to pull that off, Megumi," Toshiko smiled as they walked back up the stairs.
"Wow, Megumi! That was amazing!" Naruto exclaimed as her and Reiji came up the stairs. "Those mirrors are so cool, how did you learn to do that? Can you teach me?"
"I'd love to teach you but it's a kekkei genkai, a bloodline trait," Megumi scratched the back of her head.
"That explains it," Kankuro laughed to himself. Megumi turned to face him with a small scowl and narrowed eyes. "If you didn't have that kekkei genkai you'd be toast."
"Oh yeah?" Megumi poked him in the chest with her finger. "How about I battle you next time? Then let's see how…you…like it…" Megumi started dozing off and fell into Kankuro.
"Whoa, hey!" Kankuro caught her. Hearing a slight snore from Megumi made him laugh under his breath before handing her over to Toshiko. "I'm sure you can take care of this."
The next battle was Toshiko's. Megumi kept going in and out of sleep during the first bit of her battle. She sat down on the floor and leaned her head against the barred railing so she wouldn't fall over after falling asleep. She tried so hard to stay awake but still ended up dozing off anyway.
It would be a month before going up against their next opponents. Toshiko wanted to do some training on her own to better enhance her ability to control her tailed beast and Reiji thought it would be a good idea to train with Anko one-on-one for a while leaving Megumi to fend for herself. She found herself hanging out with Naruto since no one else wanted to be around her.
"Why so glum, Megumi?" Naruto asked as they sat together at Ichiraku ramen. "Still upset about that Kankuro guy calling you a ragdoll?"
"No, that's not it. Everyone is off training and left me behind," Megumi sighed. "My friends are so obsessed with training. I'm beginning to think I'm the black sheep of the group."
"Well, you don't really like training in the first place. What's so bad about being left out of it?" Naruto asked confused.
"It's just the fact that I'm being left out. Since my friends do nothing but train it's really hard to find time to be with them," Megumi shrugged. "All of their training is boring and way too intense for me. I've tried joining in but I can't handle it."
"Maybe you should be doing your own training?" Naruto suggested. "I mean, I know you don't like it but you'll be facing off against your best friend Toshiko in the first round of the finals. A little bit of training will help." He continued stuffing his face with ramen as Megumi pondered this. She did hate training but Toshiko is a tough opponent from what she's seen so far. Reiji told Megumi how easily she subdued her opponent in the preliminary round and slumped in her chair. Maybe a little training will do her some good.