Task One
It's the morning of the first task, each team is awoken promptly and led to where the first task is going to take place by a leaf ninja, Konan and Yahiko tell Nagato what they learnt whilst he recovered. "How are you feeling Nagato? Better I hope." Asks Konan.
"Yes actually, a lot better, these wounds have almost completely healed." He still has bandage around his arm and his chest.
"Me and Yahiko tried scoping out that team from the rain, we couldn't really find much out, this is the first time the rain has ever sent ninja for Chunin exams, or at least the only team I know of. Yahiko was too busy looking at those books that Jiraiya likes reading!"
"I was not!" Yahiko turns bright red "I was just doing research… Using the book as a cover."
Konan scoffs "Pay more attention to the real women in your life." She walks a little ahead of the two for the rest of the journey there.
"Did you actually find anything out?" Nagato asks Yahiko.
"Yeah the girls on page twelve have massive bre…" Konan slaps him with a sheet of paper before he finishes "Oww!" Yahiko looks like he enjoyed that ever so slightly "Well Nagato, no, not really. But Konan did find out that the one of the rain team has the Byakugun, you know the one with hat that covered his eyes and one of them is strong with genjutsu, and we don't know much about the other."
"The Byakugun… That's what the Hyuga use, how did someone in the rain end up with that?"
"That's like asking how you got the Rinnegan, sometimes these things just happen." They eventually reach a huge arena where they can hear the clatter of huge crowds; every team is taken into the great arena, its terrain is rocky as if someone had let of an explosion and built an arena around it, and presented in front of the crowds and Hokage, he starts to speak.
"It seems we are now all here! I present you to the first task, if you used the first clue wisely you should know what to expect, for those who haven't the best of luck to you. Each team will have taken it in turns to fight in the arena, and will end when they find the next hint or are unable to continue. All of you go to the tent and await your turn, good luck ninja, and don't die!" The teams are moved off into the tent, but one unlucky three is left to take the first go.
There is an uneasy tension there of excitement and worry, in her usual fashion Kissala makes her appearance right in front of Nagato "Hmm…" She pokes Nagato's chest and reacts slightly "Great! I'm glad you made a recovery!" She hugs him "Jaster recovered too!" Jaster doesn't even look like he had been in a battle that nearly killed him. Nagato apologises to Jaster and he the same to him, both feeling bad about that day.
Konan and Yahiko stand behind Nagato as he talks with Kissala, subtly giggling the each other as they talk "You know, what you did during the fight with Jaster was quite amazing." She has her arms behind her back and slightly on her tip toes too meet Nagato's height.
"Err, thanks I just sorta do things sometimes…" Nagato nervously laughs.
"You know… I think the Hokage would be able to help you control those abilities of yours a little better!" She puts her hand on his forehead "How is your head?" She stares at him "Hmm…"
"Oh its fine, I didn't really get any hits to the head the other day…"
"Hmm… Oh! Good!" She takes her hand away and hugs him again "Good luck Nagato Uzumaki!" she whispers in his ear, she then re-joins her team, Nagato looks slightly confused by what just happened, they meet up with Kushina and Minato and await their turn, every so often they can hear the gasps and cheers of the crowd, eventually the teams whittle down until its just them in the tent.
"Are you both ready?" Before either of them have a chance she squeezes them both together, they hear the crowd cheer and leaf ninja comes to collect them "You're up." She says and the three step out into the arena.
There is a relative sielence, the crowd and Hokage watch eagerly, awaiting to see what the boy with the Rinnegan is capable of, a terrible screech echoes through the arena and huge pale grey bird with four wings and four legs with a crooked beak flies up, like it has been caged and this is the first it has been able to spread its wings, its tied down with a long chain wrapped around its neck. The crowd roar with excitement.
"What the hell is that thing!?"
"Just focus on finding the clue!"
The great bird lands in front and lets out a terrible cry, the three split Yahiko and Konan go left and Nagato right, it focuses on Konan and Yahiko, it use the power of its wings to hurl boulders at them "Get down!" Konan yells, she creates a protective shield using paper and crowd goes wild. Nagato throws a chakra rod at it to find its attention "You two find the clue, I'll keep it busy!" They both nod and start the search.
The beast flies up use the full momentum to crash down in an attempt to kill Nagato, it makes tremors and sends shrapnel flying all over the arena, Nagato dodges and tries to keep out of the way of its destructive beak, it snaps at Nagato trying to catch him off guard, he tries to use ninjutsu on it but its feathers deflect it rendering it in affective.
"Damn it! Where the hell is it!?" The two search frantically for the hint, but its nowhere around the arena, the bird flies up high and it begins to rain small explosives, Nagato run to them and puts his arm up and protects them by deflecting the bombs with Almighty Push "Have you found the clue yet!?" He asks frantically, there's no answer "Damn it!" It lands in front of them eyeing them all up, it stretches out his wings to full wing span and creates a gust so powerful throws them all back to the edge of the arena they all wince to the shock, it then lunges beak first at them, it almost goes straight through the wall, as Konan dodges she sees it "There! On its ankle!" The clue wrapped around its ankle near its vicious claws "Nice one Konan!" Yahiko says.
The three regroup while the bird recovers, they quickly weigh up there options and Konan runs to latch on to it ankle she glues herself to its angle but it flies high pushing the limits of the chain which is keep it in the arena, and Konan's plan goes south. The bird flies with all its might and the chain buckles and breaks and Konan up there with no way down in the clutches of the bird. The crowd scream with horror as she is taken away "Come on, we need to hurry!" Nagato and Yahiko jump over the arena in pursuit of the unmissable grey beast.
Konan is just within reach of the clue but she can't get steady enough to grab it, the bird flies over the leaf village trying to shake her off, it flies dangerously close just brushing over the leaf buildings "Okay, okay. Keep calm, keep calm…" Konan tries to compose herself, but she is losing grip the relentless shaking is making her slip.
Her breathing gets heavy, hundreds of sheets of paper begin to peel apart from her "Just a little more…" the papers start to swirl around her forming her paper wings, she slips but she stays suspended in the air "Forward!" she hurls herself in pursuit of the beast, its taking massive amounts of chakra to hold her wings to together and she starting to lose it, paper peels apart from her wings and she hasn't got the reserves to replenish them.
She is getting weak, but she is almost in reach of the birds clue just a couple more seconds and she will have it, but two more seconds under the pressure she is in feels like hours, she starts a countdown in her head "Two… One…!" and in one final burst she has hold of the clue and she is now spinning in the freefall.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Yahiko is raised up on the pillar by Nagato and catches Konan before she becomes part of the pavement "You know, they say only angels can fly." Yahiko says, his voice breaking in the relief "Idiot…" Konan lightly slaps his face, too weak to put in any effort. The bird flies of into the distance free from the clutches of the exams.
Yahiko, Nagato, Minato and Kushina all stand over Konan, she jumps when she wakes and pushes everyone's faces back as she sits up "Did you see me up there!?"
"Yes." Nagato and Yahiko say at the same time, Minato and Kushina look confused.
Konan shivers "Ehh that bird…" She lies back down "I'm going to have nightmare about that; you know I don't even like heights."
"Nagato, your clue?" Kushina asks "And our task went fine, thanks for asking!"
Nagato nervously giggles "Sorry! We just got words in ours, "An hour you have to look." What about you?"
"Ours say "We cannot breathe above ground." She grunts "Come on Minato, THINK!" He looks shocked by his sudden inclusion in the conversation "Err…"
"Guys… Listen…." Yahiko gains all their attention "Two teams are dead…" There's only silence "They were… Christ…" He drops the flyer he was reading of "That could have been us!" His tone sends chills through them all "Konan you came this close."
"Yahiko… It's alright, were all still here, I'm fine, we're fine." She goes up to him holds his face and look right at him, his hands gently touch hers.
"One mistake Konan." Minato and Kushina exit the scene, leaving the three, Konan just looks up at him, and she is lost for words.
"Look at you both." Nagato begins "You know I can leave if you need some time alone." Nagato tries to defuse the tension the best he can, he get a slight reaction of them "I'll make sure nothing happens to you both, no matter how much pain I may have to go through, I won't let anything happen to you…" there is a silence for a few minutes.
"Well I guess this is the part where we put our hand together and cheer, one, two, three Ame Orphans!" Yahiko regains his confidence "Love you all!" He winks at Konan, they all laugh hiding the worry over the next exam in two days.
