A/N: I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter. Oh and to any and all Patriot fans, we have a fucking amazing team to root for in this years Super Bowl. (EDITED)
It was a warm sunny day in Konoha, with only a few scattered clouds hanging in the sky. The civilians of the village could tell it would be a good day to go out and just enjoy themselves. Though who cared about the civilians and what they are doing. Not I and hopefully not you.
Walking towards the outskirts of a large barbed wired fence, Kamiko sat on a fallen log silently. She pulled out an orange from a bag she had brought with her and slowly began to peel away its soft shell. As she pulled away at the orange, the girl softly hummed to herself.
(Ah. Could there be a better start to my day than this? None of the villagers caused me any trouble this morning. No annoying teammates have showed up to bother me. And I can eat my orange here in nice silent peace while I wait.) Nodding to herself, Kamiko finished peeling her orange just as it was snatched out of her hand. For only a second she sat motionless as a smile stayed frozen on her face before it slowly turned down into a dangerous frown. "Bitch who stole my FUCKING orange better get your FUCKING ass out here before I come hunting for my DAMN food!"
Slowly coming out of the cover of the tree she was in, Anko looked wide-eyed at Kamiko. "Uh, damn Kamiko-chan. I was just messing with you," Anko chuckled as she reached out and dropped the orange she snatched. "If I had known you'd go all psycho bitch on me I'd have just said hello."
Kamiko caught the falling peeled orange in an outstretched hand and smirked up at Anko. "Well maybe next time you'll think before you try to steal a girl's food." Frowning, Anko drops from the tree she was in and glared into the younger girl's smirking face. At first look it seemed like the two girls would soon be coming to blows before much longer, but soon two large goofy grins broke out on to both of their faces as they suddenly hugged each other. "Ah, its nice to see you again Anko-oneechan," Kamiko said happily.
Anko chuckled and roughly ruffled the young Genin's hair. "Yeah, its been kind of boring without you around Gaki, and what did I tell you about calling me 'oneechan'? Just neechan will do just fine you know."
Stepping out of the hug and covering her sly smile while looking away, Kamiko chuckled. "But you are my older sister oneechan. My much older sister." Anko's eye twitch at the small jab Kamiko was making at her. The young red head knew that Anko wasn't that old, but also knew that her age was a sore subject for her along with a certain two other kunoichi in the village.
After Kamiko stopped chuckling, she began peeling off pieces of her orange and swallowing them. "You know you're supposed to chew your food first right?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow as the young girl just shrugged in response.
Hopping atop the fallen log she had been sitting on, Kamiko swallowed the rest of her orange in one go and did a little twirl. "Anyways, I was looking for you Anko-oneechan. I tried to find you a few days ago, but it was like you were hiding from me or something." After blinking for a moment, Kamiko looked at Anko with fake tears in her eyes and trembling lips. "Y-You weren't trying t-to avoid me were y-you Oneechan?"
Going wide eyed, Anko rushed over to Kamiko and tried to placate the young kunoichi. "What?! No! I wasn't trying to avoid you Gaki. I just got stuck with a mission until I got back just yesterday. Come on, don't go crying on me out here." Grabbing the girl's shoulders, Anko shook her. "What did you want? You wanted something right? We can go do it right now no matter what it is." Anko quickly realized her mistake as a devious smile quickly spread across Kamiko's face. Slowly the expression on Anko's face turned from that of slight worry to a blank stare into the distance as she began to regret her words. "Fucking hell..." she whispered as she felt a sudden pain in her pocket.
After a few hours of running about and going from one store to the next, Kamiko kicked open the door to her house and waltzed in with three clones following in behind her. She merrily swung the one bag that was in her hand about as she went into her kitchen with a smile on her face. "Set everything on the counter and then you three can go do whatever until you get bored alright?" Smiling happily, the three copies of Kamiko set down the three bags that each of them carried before hurrying out of the room. "They're like little kids... wait..." Kamiko said with a slight chuckle before she noticed that she was talking about herself in a way since they were her.
Shaking her head, Kamiko climbed a top the table in the middle of her kitchen and sat down with closed eyes as she began to meditate. When she opened her eyes she found herself in a forest that would resemble the time of Autumn to most, but to Kamiko just looked like a dead forest. Dried leaves littered the ground in an assortment of different colors with the majority of them being black. The trees were all completely bare and looked more frail than any ball of glass had ever been looked upon as. The girl sighed as she began her trek deep into the dead forest.
The walk didn't last very long. After a couple of turns and a few stops to push aside a fallen tree, Kamiko found herself standing at the edge of a clearing that was the only area that had any greenery what so ever. Slowly from where she stood, grass could be seen starting to grow until it finally reached the point that it formed a circular yard around the one tree in the clearing. This tree, unlike all the others that had been seen thus far, was as healthy as could be. While most of the trees were about three to four times as tall as Kamiko was, the tree before her now was more than triple the height of any of the other average trees. It's bark was a dark brown that looked like even an axe made of pure diamond would be unable to cut it down. It's branches were cluttered with lush green leaves on practically every inch of them. It was the one area in the entire forest that was not completely dead and gave the young woman a feeling of comfort.
After just looking at the beautiful scene for a minute, Kamiko walked over to the tree before she began a slow trek up its trunk. The girl took her time and just absorbed the beautiful leaves and let the sight fill her with a happiness that few other things in the world could do. As she broke through into the leafy tree, Kamiko closed her eyes until she no longer felt the leaves caressing her skin. "Hello Kamiko," a soft voice that would put Hinata's voice to shame said, "it is so nice of you to visit me."
Smiling softly, Kamiko opened her eyes. Tilting her head slightly up, the young woman found herself looking into one of the most beautiful faces, outlined with red hair so bright it was practically glowing, that she had ever seen. "Hello Kurama-chan," Kamiko said as she walked forward, "it has been awhile since I last visited you so I thought I would just drop by if that is fine with you."
Kurama smiled at the young woman as she approached. Kurama was a tall woman who always wore a black dress that covered everything but her hands. Her aforementioned hair was usually found being completely straight and flowing all the way down her back. Her eyes were just as bright a red as her hair if not brighter than it. Her smile was always something that made Kamiko feel happy. "You know you are always welcomed her my child. You never need to worry about whether or not I'm going to want you around."
"I know that Kura-chan, but it doesn't hurt to check neh?" Kamiko said with a small wink as she sat in the lap of the taller women and looked into her face. "How have you been? The tree has gotten much fuller since the last time I came in here to visit you."
Kurama chuckled as she ran a hand through Kamiko's blond hair. "I have been doing quite well Miko-chan. You know that this area is all your doing. This tree and the grass that is growing around it, it all represents the positives that you feel with in you. The fact that it has grown as much as it has since you graduated the Ninja Academy is quite remarkable Miko-chan."
"Yeah maybe," Kamiko chuckled as she tried not to think about the rest of the forest surrounding the one lush tree. "I really owe it to Haku from the mission to Nami no Kuni. If I hadn't had met him I would probably still be hiding myself away as that idiot Naruto." Kamiko made slightly disgusted face as she thought of her false persona that was nothing less than horrible to keep up.
Kurama shook her head and kissed Kamiko's forehead. "Now you need to give yourself some credit every now and then Miko-chan. Not only that, but I don't think that Naruto was that bad." Kamiko gave the woman a strange look that said she was insane. "What? I kinda liked the personality that you gave him. That never say die attitude that he had and the confidence that he expelled was quite enjoyable. Someone like that could have a story written about then with a tv show and several movies to boot."
Kamiko shook her head and snorted. "As if anyone would waste valuable time in their life to write a story about some stupid kid like that. I bet they would probably make the kid appear gayer than a fucking rainbow with Sasuke or someone like that too I bet. Next you're going to tell me that you would be sealed in him as a male with only have half of your full chakra instead of all of it and still be called a fucking badass."
A knock to the head shut the girl up before she could say anymore. "What have I told you about that mouth of yours while you're in this tree Uzumaki Kamiko. This is the purest place in your entire world, so you don't need to go sullying it with that vulgar language of yours do you understand?" Kamiko nodded as Kurama chuckled. "Good as long as you understand that. Plus, even a quarter of my strength is, as you say, badass."
After that the two woman entered into a comfortable silence. Kamiko let her eyes close as she relaxed into Kurama's body. The soft blow of the wind began to swirl around them as Kurama wrapped her arms around the young woman and began to hum softly in her ear. It was a slow tune that seemed to rise and fall like the waves of the ocean and flow like wind current in the sky. It had the power to calm even the angriest beast down from a horrible rage. As she hummed on, Kamiko snuggled into the woman and thought about how the two first met, but quickly shut the memory down as it was too painful for her too think of. Unfortunately, just the thought of the memory was enough to ruin the girl's good mood and unknowingly kill the outer edge of the yard surrounding the tree.
"Kura-chan," Kamiko said softly as she slightly opened her eyes and tears began to flow out of them. "Will I ever get over this?"
Sighing, Kurama squeezed the girl in arms into her tightly. "Of course," Kurama whispered into the girl's hair. "It's going to take time, just like everything in the world will take some amount of time, but it will get better. You've already made so much progress." Kamiko nodded but began to shake until she felt something soft wrap around her body. Looking down, she saw three red tails covering her body as a fourth tail cupped her face and Kurama placed her cheek onto the top of Kamiko's head and began to sing.
Guilty Crown - Euterpe (A/N: I suggest you just listen to the song it's lovely.)
Saita no no hana yo Oh wild flower,
Aa douka oshieteokure ah…could you please tell me
Hito ha naze kizutsukeatte why people hurt each other
Arasou no deshou and fight each other?
Rin to saku hana yo Oh dignified flower,
Soko kara nani ga mieru what can you see from there?
Hito ha naze yurushiau koto And why can't people
Dekinai no deshou forgive each other?
Ame ga sugite natsu ha In a summer with much rain
Aoi wo utsushita blue was substituted.
Hitotsu ni natte Becoming one,
Chiisaku yureta it faintly wavered
Watashi no mae de in front of me
Nani mo iwazu ni without saying a word.
Kareteyuku tomo ni What do you feel
Omae ha nani wo omou towards a dying friend?
Kotoba wo motanu sono ha de How much love can those wordless leaves
Nanto ai wo tsutaeru convey?
Natsu no hi ha kagette The summer sun gets clouded,
Kaze ga nabiita the wind was swayed by it.
Futatsu kasanatte Joining them together,
Ikita akashi wo I will sing
Watashi ha utaou the proof of life
Na mo naki mono no tame for those nameless ones.
Song End
As Kurama's song slowly came to an end, she smiled down at Kamiko. The girl had slowly drifted into a deep sleep while listening to the beautiful song flow out of the mouth the woman holding her. Sighing, the woman wrapped the two of them up using the last of her five tails to do so. "Everything is going to be alright Miko-chan," Kurama said sadly. "I promise you." Outside of her mind if a person were to look in on Kamiko they would find a slightly tear streaked girl curled up into a ball sleeping soundly atop her kitchen table.
A week and a half later found all of Team Seven standing just outside the doors of building where the First Exam of the Chunin Exams were to be held. Sasuke and Sakura would occasionally glance at Kamiko as the three teammates proceeded to open the doors to the building. The girl had started wearing the clothes that she had gotten out of the expense of Anko's wallet instead of her own. She wore a dark blue zip up jacket that was completely zipped along with a completely black skirt that stopped just above her knees. It wasn't much, but it was not what either of the two Genin thought would be worn by their teammate. What truly drew their attention was the color of Kamiko's hair since last they checked it was blond and not red.
As they walked up to the second floor silently they caught sight of the commotion that was happening just in front of what was apparently room number 301, the room in which the first part of the exams were supposed to take place. As they slowed their approached they listened in on what was happening. They watched as a boy with a bowl haircut in a horrible green jumpsuit was knocked down into a crowd of uncertain Genin. There were two boys, one with a bandaid on each cheek along with his chin and spiky hair while the other one had short straight hair with no defining traits, were blocking the door with smirks on their face that seemed to look extremely familiar to Kamiko for some reason.
The spiky haired boy laughed at the fallen boy. "You plan to take the Chunin Exams with that?!" he said with a sneer. "You should just quit now while you still have a chance. You're just a little kid." The guy's partner in crime nodded in agreement and chimed in with a 'yeah yeah!'
A girl who resembled that of a small panda due to her figure and two buns in her hair kneeled to the side of the fallen boy. "Please... let us through..." she begged to the two boys before everyone as she took a step forward to them. A mistake on her part as a swift backhand to her face knocked her away from the boys and made her cry out in slight pain. Gasp rang through the crowd as they started to talk furiously yet with a clear level of nervousness in their voices. The voice of one Genin was heard clearly as he called the act horrible.
The two door blockers jovial expressions over causing large mass nervousness among the group quickly turned into glares. "What did you say?" one of them said. "Listen... this is our kindness. The Chunin Exams aren't easy... even we have failed it three straight times. Those that take this exam and end up quitting as shinobi and kunoichi, those that die during the exam, we've seen it all." At the mention of dying during the exam, Kamiko noticed the shock and horror that registered on Sakura's face and sighed inwardly. "Chunins often become captains of military teams. The failure of a mission, the death of a comrade... That's all the captain's responsibility. Yet kids like you think you can pass these exams?We are just thinning out those who will fail anyways. What's wrong with that?" A few teams of Genin had quickly lost their resolve and walked away from daunting task of taking the exam.
Kamiko sighed and looked past the commotion and sighed. She knew exactly what was going on. She knew that the two boys were a) most definitely not little boys nor of the lowly Genin caliber they were attempting to portray, and b) they were doing exactly what they said they were doing. They were thinning out the number of competitors who wouldn't be able to handle the situation. This is only the second floor so that room is obviously under a genjutsu, and I feel like Sasuke is about screw everything up any moment now, and I'm really tired of this little stink that Sakura seems to be in right now as well. Sighing the girl cut a look at both of her teammates before walking past everyone as Sasuke began talking. Just keep walking and don't look back.
Traveling the halls on her own was quite relaxing. She didn't have to deal with the uncomfortable silence of being in between a stark silent chatterbox of a girl and the ever dead silent king of all emos when she was alone. The sound of her own echoing steps flowing down the hall sounded beautiful to Kamiko and she smiled as she closed her eyes and began to hum. She stayed in that peaceful mindset until she arrived at the true entrance to room number 301 with Kakashi standing there in front of it.
"Hm, where is Sakura and Sasuke?" Kakashi asked slightly puzzled. "Did they not decide to come participate in the exams maybe?" Throwing a glare at the masked man, Kamiko just pulled the hood of her jacket up, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall as if Kakashi hadn't said a word at all. Sighing, Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm guess you're still mad about your ribbon not being found I guess. Look it wasn't like I forgot to look for it nor that I decided to just flat out not do it." Kakashhi would've said more, but was stopped by Kamiko throwing up a hand before sliding down the wall to the ground and promptly falling asleep. Great talk... Unlike Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi was not surprised my Kamiko's hair color since he already knew that it was never truly blonde.
Kamiko wasn't truly sleep. She had only tuned out the world so heavily that her body reacted as if she had suddenly laid down to bed. What the red haired kunoichi was truly doing was feeling the chakra behind the closed door of room 301. There were many chakra signatures behind the door. All ranging from the miniature little nothings to those that rivaled or even surpassed her own. There's not a lot of them, but it seems like there are actually some challenging people behind those doors. Hm, well this could actually turn out to be a bit more enjoyable than I thought especially if I end up facing off against one of those two.
There were three signatures that Kamiko had memorized from a few days ago when she noticed an interaction between them and her two teammates while she was passing by. The girl gave thought to intervening but found the thought far too troublesome and just watched from afar to get a feel of the three strangers that Sakura confronted on the half of the Third Hokage's grandson, Konahamaru. Sasuke was probably only there for the glory of being the savior of the day, but that doesn't matter. To think there is going to be one other Jinchuriki in these exams is quite... The girl's thoughts trailed of as she felt a chakra signature that was similar to Kurama's mixed with someone else's chakra the way any other Jinchuriki's chakra felt. ...interesting. Kamiko smiled as she finished her thought thoroughly amused before Kakashi's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Ah, all three of you decided to show up," Kakashi said as Sakura and Sasuke walked down the hallway towards them, "now we can properly take the exams."
Kamiko stood slowly with a frown as surprise register on Sakura's face. "Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here, and what do you mean by 'properly take the exam'?"
Putting his hands in his pockets, Kakashi turned so that he could see the entire team. "Simply put, the truth of the matter is that this test can only be taken by teams of three Genin." Shock registered on Sasuke and Sakura's faces as Kamiko let her hood slide forward to cover her eyes, but her frown showed her obvious displeasure. "Now I know it seems like I lied to the three of you about this being an individual choice, but if I told you the truth, Kamiko or Sasuke might have pressured you to take the exam Sakura. Even if you didn't want to, if Sasuke asked you... you would, even though if it wasn't in your heart. For the sake of Sasuke... and.. well.. Kamiko too..."
Sakura balled her fist into her dress as she looked up at her sensei. "So if only Sasuke-kun and Kamiko had shown up?" she asked feeling she already knew the answer just like the other two did.
"Then the exam would have ended here and they would not get to go any further," Kakashi said seriously. "But you came of your own free will; you guys are my proud team after all." Walking past Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi waved a hand. "Now go on and pass this test." Kamiko rolled her eyes behind her hood as Sasuke and Sakura smiled with renewed confidence they got from their senesi's final words. Turning towards the room the three proceeded to open the door and walk in.
As the door closed behind them, the renewed resolve that Sakura had gained was visibly shaken as they took in the room they just entered. "What... is this?" she whispered. The room was large and was able to fit a considerable amount of Genin into it at once. All of these Genin instantly turned their heads towards Team Seven as they entered and the door closed behind them. Sakura shivered slightly as she looked about the room as Sasuke intensified his glare.
Sighing, Kamiko quickly inched away from her team to a corner where she could sit in comfort and observe all of the Genin in the room without being disturbed. She found she had moved away just in time when Ino launched herself at the slightly surprised Sasuke. It didn't take long for the rest of Team Ten and the members of Team Eight to show up after the girl's appearance.
Electing to ignore them all momentarily, Kamiko took stock of the competition in the room. She was able to count that there was roughly more than sixty different Genin teams all hailing from different villages to participate in the exams. She noticed a boy with blood red hair and a gourd on his back sitting with a guy in what looked like a cat suit for clowns and a woman with a giant black board like item strapped to her back. She recognized them as the three Suna nin who had been confronted by Sakura and Sasuke some time back. Having little interest in the cat boy or the girl, Kamiko sized up the red head. He wasn't much shorter than her and seemed to be extremely calm as he appeared to be staring off into nothing. Just from watching him now, and remembering how he acted towards Sasuke and his own teammates, she could tell he liked to fight a great deal. The boy most likely loved to kill even more than he liked to fight.
"Ah, my younger brother Shukaku, or better known by the humans the Ichibi is within that child." Kurama said as she spoke out of Kamiko's mind so suddenly that the girl jerked slightly. "He isn't the most stable of us biju and he loves to torment his Jinchuriki unfortunately. That boy over there may seem like he has it all together, but I bet he is truly deranged and hasn't slept in a very long time. I would advise you to be extremely weary of this character Miko-chan. You never know what he might try to do."
Yeah I got that, and can you like give some sort of warning before you start talking or something? I'm not used to you talking to me like that Kura-chan and it scared the... crap out of me alright. Kurama chuckled as she agreed to find a way to announce herself before she began to speaking to Kamiko. Now let's see if I can find that other Jinchuriki. It seemed like it might have come from... now what the hell is going on over there?
Among Teams Seven, Eight, and Ten sat a boy wearing glasses with short spiky silver hair who was kneeling before them. Kamiko stalked forward so that she could hear what was being said. The silver haired boy chuckled as he looked at Sasuke who was kneeling beside him alongside Kiba. "There are some guys you're worried about huh? Anyways, the info on all of this exams participants isn't perfect, but I do have it. Even about you guys. Say something about these guys and I'll take a look to see if I can find them for you."
Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke clenched his fist. "Show me Gaara of Suna, Rock Lee from Konaha, and Uzumaki Kamiko from Konaha as well." Surprise registered on everyone's faces as Sasuke asked for information on his own teammate to be revealed out loud in front of potential enemies, but all of them kept quite about there opinions of the boy's choice.
Glasses sighed playful as he waved a deck of cards in front of his face. "Oh you know their names. This should be much easier than it would've been then if you hadn't, but a lot less fun." As the boy swiped three cards out of the deck, Kamiko inched closer to the group. "Ok, first is Rock Lee. He is a year older than you guys. Mission History: 20 completed D-Ranked missions and 12 completed C-Rank missions. His sensei is Matio Guy. The guy's taijutsu has improved greatly in this year, the rest is nothing impressive. Last year he gained attention as a talented Genin, but he did not participate in the exams. Like you guys, this is his first time. The members of his team are Hyuga Neji and Tenten..." The Genin surrounding him were all surprised at the amount of information that was on the small card about one of their own fellow Konoha ninja and made a few of them feel uncomfortable.
"Next is Gaara," the boy said as he pressed on. "Mission History: 8 completed C-Rank missions and 1 completed B-Rank mission. Wow, a B-Rank mission as a Genin. That is pretty remarkable. The member's of his team are his brother Kankuro and his sister Temari. Since he's a new comer from a foreign country I don't have much info on this guy but... It seems he has returned from all of his missions without even getting a single scratch on him." Sasuke grunted in frustration as the boy moved on to Kamiko's card.
Everyone waited a moment as the silver haired boy glared at the card as if it offended him. "That's strange," he said as he turned the card towards the other Genin, "I have less on this girl than i have on anyone else. All my cards come with at least a picture of a the person, but her's isn't there. Her skills are said to be widely unknown and that no one has even heard of her until recently. All I have on it is her name and her teammates. Which would be you Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan."
All around who were able to hear the first two information on the cards were surprised at the revelation of the girl's completely blank card. It was a dilemma that the silver haired boy didn't seem to like. It was at this time that the hooded girl herself decided to appear in between Sakura and Hinata while standing just behind Sasuke himself. "What the fuck do you think you are doing you teme?" Hinata squeaked softly in surprised as she jerked away from Kamiko's sudden appearance while Sakura swiftly turned to the girl with surprise written all over her face.
It felt like someone had thrown each and every person in the room into a freezer as they all could feel the chilling tension that suddenly came into being. The look on Sakura's face slowly turned from one of surprise to one of slight terror as she began to take slow shivering steps away from Kamiko as Sasuke slowly stood and he turned to face Kamiko. He looked into her eyes with a glare to match hers as he seemed to be trying to use his slight height on her to intimidate her. No one in the room could understand the way the two Genin were reacting to the girl who had suddenly appeared before them and felt the need to observe the situation. "I asked you a question damn it," Kamiko said with little to no kindness in her voice. "What the hell do you think it is that you are doing by trying to reveal information on me in front of so many potential enemies?" Sasuke only intensified his glare as he took a threatening step towards Kamiko, which was the mistake he would soon regret.
Kamiko sighed before she stepped closer to Sasuke. "Don't try and push me here Uchiha. You may think you're some kind of badass or something, but I can bet over half the Genin in her are most likely just canon fodder. Kind of like you and Sakura." Another step was taken that put Kamiko's fairly large chest against Sasuke's. It forced her to look up at the boy, but with only one menacing eye as the slant of her hair and hood covered the other. "If you were to go up against anyone in this room that was even just a little bit of a decent shinobi or kunoichi you'd struggle just to get the win, possibly even lose. Shinobi and kunoichi on the level of those two you just asked about would crush you in a match easily. I bet they could even kill you if they wanted to without even really trying, so here is my warning to you teme. Don't cross me so lightly unless you think you honestly have a chance against me." For what seemed like years the two glared at each other. The boy seemed as if he was going to say something before he began to shake. Something from the look and Kamiko's eye was starting to get to Sasuke. Not only that, but he wasn't sure if it was his own imagination, but it seemed as if Kamiko wanted him to say he could beat her and it unnerved him slightly. Clenching his fist, Sasuke looked down and away from Kamiko which caused the members of both Team Eight, excluding the ever silent Shino, and Team Ten to gasp in shock at the almighty Uchiha's obvious so of submission to the shorter girl's words. "Hmph. I thought as much," Kamiko said as she brushed past him.
Kamiko walked through the throng of people that practically parted for her to walk through. If no one knew who the girl was before, they all got a good long look at her. Uzumaki Kamiko may be a short girl, but she was not someone to be taken lightly. Her message for one was recieved by all. Finding a spot to sit down not too far away from the group, the hooded girl relaxed into a chair as a shaking Sakura returned to the group with downcast eyes. Kamiko watched as they all began to question the two on what exactly had just happened between the three teammates. The only ones not asking questions were Shino, who didn't seem to care and rarely talked anyways, and Shikamaru who was looking at Kamiko with a frown as he had known Kamiko as she was before becoming Naruto, and found this girl not to be the same as the one he had met a long time ago. The Naruto she had become was much much closer than the girl he was looking at.
As the Genin team from Otokagure attacked the silver haired boy for some reason involving village pride or something, Kamiko looked around and spotted what she had been looking for originally. A girl who wore an orange clip in her short, spiky mint green hair that matched her orange eyes. She wore a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Her forehead protector was worn on her right arm with the symbol for Takigakure on it. She also carried a cylindrical object in red wrapping on her back that made Kamiko slightly curious. Well now... she's looking pretty cute over there with a biju locked up in her. Kamiko let a slight giggle escape her lips at her own thoughts.
As everyone seemed to be talking loudly at once a large explosion of smoke appeared at the front of the room. "Quiet down you worthless bastards!" As the smoke cleared it revealed a number Konoha Chunin behind a man with a trench coat on. "Thanks for waiting... I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chunin Selection Exam's first test." The man's intimidating appearance caused many of the Genin to shiver as he pointed over at the group that was causing a bunch of commotion. "Otokagure guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already?"
The boy who appeared to be the leader of the team turned his bandaged head towards the examiner. "I apologize," he said. "This is our first time... We got a bit carried away..." Kamiko doubted that that was the reason that the three Oto nin had flown off the handle the way that they had, and the examiner quite obviously didn't believe them either.
Ibiki sighed. "Here's a good opportunity to say this... There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, intentionally killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"
As many of the Genin mumbled among themselves, the other male on the Oto team sneered. "This exam is sounding like it's going to be a cake walk to me."
Ibiki ignored the boy as the Chunin behind him snickered. "We will now start the First Exam of the Chunin Exams. Instead of your current seating arrangements... You will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat that is assigned to you. We will then hand out the exams." Kamiko was surprised to find that it would be a paper test, but shrugged it off she got a tab that put her in the exact seat she was currently sitting in.
As she sat waiting for everyone else to get seated, Kamiko twirled a few strands of her hair aimlessly. "Kamiko-chan," Hinata said as she sat down next to the girl and the test were set down in front of them face down. "Let's do our best..." Kamiko nodded at the shy girl and gave her a small smile.
"Do not turn over your tests over yet," Ibiki said. "Listen closely to what I'm about to sat. There are many important rules to this First Exam. I'll write it on the board while I explain, but questions will not be allowed so listen carefully." Relaxing into her chair, Kamiko listened as Ibiki spoke. As she listened to the rules, the hooded girl slowly began to smile. While she found some of the rules to be stupid and redundant, the rule about cheating was the only one she needed to hear before she understood what the entire first exam was about. She personally knew who Morino Ibiki was and knew what it was he did for a living and that all led to the test basically being handed to her on a silver plater as far as Kamiko was concerned.
Once they were allowed to start the test, Kamiko flew through the questions that she was able to work through before flipping her test over and laying her head down with a smile on her lips. Most of the Genin here that have brains will most likely just understand the questions and go right trough them before the others who know what the true meaning of this test truly is finds a way to cheat off of them. I'm so fucking smart I deserve a pat on the back. Chuckling, Kamiko fell into a comfortable nap for the rest of the exam.
Kamiko woke to the sound of small celebrations as Ibiki once again congratulated the remaining teams on passing through the exams. The girl rubbed her eyes and looked around to see who was left in the room. She wasn't surprised to find that a little over half of the teams had disappeared from the room. She sighed in relief when she saw Sakura and Sasuke were still sitting in their respective chairs with smiles on their faces. Teams Eight and Ten had also survived Ibiki's mind games to get through to the next exam. The Oto team that had attacked the glasses wearing boy was still in the room as well as the two teams that housed the other two Jinchuriki in the exams. Good, I would have been disappointed if those two didn't make it through the exam. This thing can still get interesting.
As the small celebrating continued, it was cut short as a small purple ball came flying through and smash through the glass of a window as it came into the room. Surprised registered on everyone but Ibiki's faces as glass flew everywhere and a banner was suddenly erected in an instant. The banner blocked as a woman spun around stood in front of the banner. "You guys! This is no time for celebrating! I am the examiner for the Second Exam Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go follow me!"
Silence enveloped the room as Kamiko slowly let her head fall to the desk with a soft thump. I... I love my Onnechan... I love her so much... but she is so... so... Ibiki pulled the banner away slightly as he peeked around it at Anko who had struck a slight pose. "Bad timing," was all the man said to her as everyone just stared at her.
Looking for anything to draw attention away from herself, Anko counted the number of remaining Genin and was surprised at the remainder. "132?!" she said while looking at the first examiner accusingly. "Ibiki! You left 44 teams?! The test was too easy this time!"
Ibiki merely chuckled. "This time.. There are a lot of outstanding ones."
"Whatever. That's fine." Anko turned towards group of Genin. "I'll cut them in half in the Second Exam at the least." Surprise etched its way into the faces of many. "Ah, I'm starting to get excited. I'll explain everything once we have changed places, so follow me now." As everyone followed Anko out of the room, Kamiko made sure that she was right next to the examiner as they walked on. Without looking at her, Anko sighed. "Don't you dare say a fucking word you hear me Kamiko-chan. Not a single fucking word."
For a while Kamiko was silent as they walked before she bowed her head. "I'll always love you Anko-onneechan... I'll always love you..."
Anime tears trailed down Anko's cheeks as they walked on. "Shut up. I had it all planned out perfectly. It should have upped my coolness level that entrance." Before they reached the place where she was taking all the Genin, Anko shook off her depression of her failed entrance and separated herself from Kamiko. When they finally stopped the group was in front of a large fenced in forest that read 'Danger' and 'Keep Out" every fifteen feet of fence. Looking back at the Genin with a smile, Anko spoke. "Welcome to the stage for the Second Exam of the Chunin Exams. Practice Area 44, also known as... 'The Forest of Death'." Many Genin began to grumble and wonder at the nick name of the forest as Anko enjoyed their uncertainty. "You'll find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death' soon enough so pipe down. Now before we start the Second Exam, there's something I have to pass out." Anko whipped out a stack of papers with a smile on her face. "You must sign these agreement forms. There will be deaths in this part of the exam, and if I don't have you sign these it will be my responsibility."
People gasped as Anko trudged on. "I'm going to explain the exam first, then you can sign it if you still want to participate afterwards. After that then each team will check in at that booth behind me. Now in a nutshell you will be attempting the ultimate capture the flag inside the forest behind me here. Around Practice Area No. 44 are 44 locked gates. Forest, rivers, and a tower at the center. From the gates to the tower is about ten km. During your survival in here you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsus, you will compete in a no rules scroll battle."
A random Genin raised his hand as he questionably repeated the word scroll to which Anko replied, "Yes. You will fight over these two scrolls. The 'Heaven' and the 'Earth'. There are 132 people here, meaning that there are 44 teams of you Genin. Half of you will get the 'Heaven' scroll, and the other half will get the 'Earth' scroll. Now what does that mean to you my little Genin?"
Shikamaru lazily raised his hand and scratched the back of his head. "That there is going to be 22 copies of both the 'Heaven' and 'Earth' scroll right?" he asked.
"That's part of it. To pass this test your team must make it to the center tower with both scrolls in hand." Everyone instantly understood her previous remark in room 301 when she declared that she would be cutting the number of teams and Genin in at least half. There was no way for more than half of what was left to make it through. "But there's a time limit," Anko said warningly. "This exam will last a total of 120 hours. That is exactly five days that you could be spending inside the forest hunting for the adjourning scroll to the one you have."
Ino and Choji raged slightly at the number of days that they could possibly be spending in the forest. "Five days?!" Ino hollered as Choji cried about what they were supposed to do about food in the forest, namely dinner.
"You're on your own," Anko said in reply to Choji's complaint. "The forest is full of food. Just watch out for the man-eating beast, poisonous insects, and other things. Just so you know, 22 teams passing is not a likely outcome in this forest. As the days go on the distance to the goal will become further away to you, and the time to rest will become shorter with each passing moment. The area is crawling with enemies, so you won't be able to get much sleep. So not only will some be failing by losing their scroll, but a number of you may die from the harshness of this course. Now I'll talk about what will disqualify you from the exam. First, those that don't make it to the tower with both scrolls in hand within the given time limit obviously fail. Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed before reaching the tower. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle of this exam. Once you enter you are in there for the full five days no matter what the situation." Anko looked like she was about to stopped talking when something else struck her. "Oh, and before I forget there is just one more teeny tiny rule. You must not look inside the scroll until you make it to the inside of the tower. If you decide you just have to open the scroll, well I hope you enjoy the surprise."
Anko pocketed her hands in her tan trench coat. "A Chunin will be asked to handle and deliver classified information from time to time. This is to test your trust worthiness. You won't always know what you are transporting. That is it for the explanations. Exchange the three forms of your team for your scroll. Then choose a gate once you have done that and get ready to start."
As everyone started walking about, talking amongst tgemselves, and signing their forms, Kamiko and her team turned in their signed forms and received a scroll. Choosing gate number seven for luck, the team waited for the exam to start. Being the one who was given the scroll, Kamiko shoved the scroll down in her jacket until Sasuke complained. "I think the scroll would be better off if it was in more capable hands dobe. Hand over the scroll so I can take care of it." Sakura nodded in agreement with Uchiha but kept her distance from the two. Kamiko debated on what she should do. While knocking the boy out sounded like a really appeasing idea, she knew that she needed him fully functioning for the exam. Without a word she gave the scroll to the boy who smiled smugly. "For once you actually made a good decision."
Before Kamiko could do any damage to the prize of Konoha, Anko's voice cut through the air. "The second Exam of the Chunin Exams now begins!" As she finished talking the gate before flew open and they ran through it immediately. (Now let's see what this years crop of Genin have to offer,) Anko thought with a smile as she watched teams disappear into the forest.
...
...Now what is this slip of paper Kamiko-chan handed me?...
Sitting in the Jonin lounge with Asuma an Kurenai, Kakashi shivered violently. He blinked as the other two looked at him awkwardly. Why did I feel like I just died a hundred times over?...
A/N: I hope you were all able to enjoy this action-less chapter. I didn't see anywhere I could squeeze in a bit of fighting that would nave been pretty out of place in chapter like this unless I decided to keep the chapter going and start the Second Exam instead of waiting for the next chapter, but that would've taken me a lot longer to do. I was really lazy about the First Exam since I really don't like it myself, but I couldn't think of a replacement so I kinda just skipped it. What did you guys think of Kamiko's interaction with Kabuto and Sasuke? Too much? Should I eventually write up what the three clones did while Kamiko talked to Kurama and slept? Please review. Until next my friends.