Chapter 4: The Chunin Exams
Hey everyone! Beautiful Siren is here to say that I'm going to time skip into the Chunin exams. Reason? Because the main events take place throughout the Chunin Exams, especially my main characters special powers and I love that time of the series. Plus, for all the Sakura fans out there, in this chapter, there will be a scene that would probably hate me. But, hear me out, Sakura is my favorite character from the series and I have nothing against her. In the future, I will create Sakura based fanfic (just brainstorming here) and I'm also debating if I should get a Wattpad so I can download my stories there too. But, asides that, Sakura is my favorite charater, and my will be friends with her I promise.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Naruto franchise, except my own characters.
Thank You!
(Time Skip: A little before the Chunin exams)
(Emma's P.O.V.)
"You've got to be kidding me… You can talk?" I asked a little birdie.
"I cannot speak, but you can communicate with animals… For someone so smart, you seem to be clueless" It said.
"Right…" I stressed out. I was supposed to meet my dad for practice, but then a tiny bird comes with a little note saying something's come up and that he was sorry.
So, I can talk to animals. Should I tell someone?... No, they'll think I'm crazy. I'll keep it to myself… But, if I was able to speak with animals, how is it that I didn't notice before?, I asked myself. All I know was after hearing the birds "voice", I can speak with them.
"Send this reply to Kakashi Hatake, please" I said and gently tied the note to the bird's leg.
"No problem" It said and flew away.
"Well… I might as well go find the others-" I stopped as I saw Sakura chasing Naruto and a few kids, "… Found them…"
Once reaching them, I saw a couple sand Shinobi's across from us. One of them was holding a kid. He was about to beat him, until someone threw a rock at him. We followed the direction of the rock and saw Sasuke bouncing another one in his hand.
"He's so cool!" Sakura and the little girl said in unison… Wait, how can they turn their eyes as a heart shape?
"You little punk! I'll get you for that!" the guy in purple make-up said as he removed a cigar like shape from his back. I rushed forward to kick it out of his hands, only to hear another voice.
"Stop Kankuro…" I stop as well and look at the direction of the voice. It was some red-head kid with a "love" kanji on his corner forehead.
"But Gaara, that little punk ran into me-" the guy I know as Kankuro said.
"Shut up… Or I'll kill you" Gaara said making Kankuro gulp. As he jumped off the tree, he landed between Kankuro and the girl, "I apologize for his reckless behavior… However; you girl…" he said looking at my direction… "… Next time, when you see him remove his Crow… Don't run towards him… Because you'll just be asking for your funeral"
Sasuke came in front of me, shielding me off Gaaras evil stare.
"Temari… Kankuro… Let's go" Gaara said as he turned to leave.
"WAIT! You're sand Shinobi, I know that you're allies with us, but you can't be here unless you have papers. What business do you have here?" Sakura asked.
"She's right…" I whispered as Gaara turned to look at us again.
"Of course we have them. We're here to take the Chunin Exams" Temari stated as she showed us the papers.
"The Chunin Exams?" I stupidly asked aloud. Suddenly, Gaara's up in my face, which indeed frightened me more than ever, not that I was going to show it. Before Sasuke retorts, Gaaras sand pushes him back with his sand enough to make him fall. Sakura and the others gasp as I'm standing my ground. He raises his arm and…
"Gaara! No!" Temari shouts… Gaaras hand is gently caressing the side of my face. From my forehead to my chin. His hands were cold, cold enough to almost make me shutter.
"It's ashamed that you won't be participating in the exams… I would love it if you saw me in the finals though… How does that sound?" he said as he cups my chin. "How does that sound?"… That didn't even answer my question about what the Chunin Exams is or how you participate. And what's with the touching?!, I thought confused and annoyed.
"Who do you think you are to touch her like that?" Sasuke exclaimed as he pulled me away from Gaara. Gaara slowly retreated his hand back.
"I am Gaara from the Sand. What's your name?" He said.
"The name is Sasuke Uchiha… And if-" Sasuke was cut off by him.
"I wasn't asking you… I was asking her" Gaara said.
"… Emma Toskino," I said quietly, but it was enough to be heard. Temari still had an astonished expression, even when he caressed my face.
"Until next time… Ms. Toskino" he said as he and his teammates walked away.
"Wait!" Naruto shouted "Don't you want to know what my name is?"
"No" Gaara said as he continued walking… Naruto was disappointed.
"Hey, are you alright?" Sasuke asked as he examined my face.
"Yeah, I'm alright… I wonder what all that was about… You can let go of my hand now" I said irritated.
"Sorry…" was all he said.
(One hour later; Authors Note: I really don't feel like placing the scene where Kakashi gives the registration forms for the Chunin exam. If you watched the episode, awesome. But if you didn't, just YouTube it)
"Guys, I'm alright. Really, I am… You didn't have to treat me for ramen, I would've paid mine…" I said as I was surrounded by boys at the ramen place Naruto liked so much… I'm pretty sure my teammates were really annoyed as I was because each boy wanted to either pay for my meal or feed it to me.
"I insist, you've earned it" said a boy with deep blue eyes and dark brown hair.
"Yes, indeed… How about after dinner, we can go out for ice cream?" Said another with forest green eyes and light blond hair.
"This is lunch…" I corrected… Which was a mistake.
"She's so bright"
"Then, I'll take you out for dinner-"
Then the bickering started. I don't get boys sometimes… They seem way too nice as a lot of the girls are hostile and mean to me. So, without interrupting them, I nodded my head towards my teammates, signaling them that we pay and leave. They nodded in agreement… Well, except Naruto maybe…
"Guys are weird sometimes… No offense Naruto" I say as we "escaped".
"None taken" he said.
"Aren't you supposed to be bright? You have no clue why the boys wanted to do for you? Why they even did all those things?" Sakura said irritated… Why did she sound so angry?
"No… Sakura, are you upset about what my dad said about registering for the Chunin Exams?" I asked.
"It's not about that! You can be so smart sometimes and an idiot the next!-" she shouted.
"If it's not about the exams, then what's bothering you?!... Are you on your days?" I asked the last sentence silently.
"No I'm not!" she yelled.
"Then-" I was interrupted.
"You became a part of this team!" she shouted.
"How is that a problem?" I asked.
"You couldn't go anywhere without your daddy, I bet that's how you got anyone to do all your work-"
"Shut up, Sakura" Sasuke warned… But she didn't listen.
"- And you're headband and this team. You probably cheated your way through every exam because of your "Dad"… You make me sick because every boy likes you and you're too heartless to notice it-"
"Knock it off Sakura" Naruto said.
"Shut up…" I whispered as my hands turned into a fist because of how angry I was becoming.
"-And you know what? You're a spoiled-"
"Shut up"
"Heartless little know it all-"
"SHUT UP!"
"Whose parents never even loved, wanted and abandoned!" she finished.
"Sakura!" Naruto and Sasuke said in unison.
After she said that… I felt broken like a glass vase. Everything was a blur, but I do remember one thing… I ran away from them as I heard Naruto call my name, but I ignored them… I was bullied before, but their words weren't as harsh like what Sakura said. I don't know what compelled her to say something like that to me…
Maybe I am heartless… Dad- I mean Kakashi told me that when found me, he thought I was a runaway… No one seemed to look for me or even seemed to want to adopt me, I thought to myself as I sat in a clearing far off to the training grounds… While trying hard enough not to cry… Boy, did I find that useless. I broke down crying because of what Sakura said… I wasn't a cheater, but I did feel heartless.
"Why are you crying?" a voice startled me. Thinking that it might be Kakashi or Iruka, I quickly wiped my tears away.
"Oh! It's nothing-" I stopped to see that it was a reddish burgundy colored wolf. I froze (obviously) as it started to walk toward me. I tightly closed my eyes because it was so huge and I could only guess it was going to hurt me… But the pain never came. Instead, I felt something wet under my eyes, cleaning off my tears. I was too afraid to open my eyes, but it gently nudge me with its head.
"It's alright… I won't hurt you" it said softly as if speaking to a child.
"Who- Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Ashido… I heard you cry and in need of a friend. What seems to trouble you?" He said as he laid his head on my lap.
"I feel confused… A teammate of mine just yelled at me saying that I was heartless, a cheater, and know at all… She also said that my real parents never wanted me…" I explained, while stroking his fur.
"I see… You have every reason to be angry with her. She had no right to tell you that… Did she know your original parents?" he asked, lifting his face up to look me in the eyes,
"No" I said.
"Are you a cheater?"
"No"
"Are you heartless?"
"No"
"Then why did you believe her, when all she wanted was to see you hurt?" he asked.
"Because- Because I thought it was true" I said looking away.
"Emma, look at me" he commanded.
"How did you?" I asked astonished.
"That doesn't matter right now… You shouldn't believe in what any person tells you just because they were angry… That just shows how a bad friend they were. Heck! They aren't friends at all. I've watched over you as a small child and saw the beautiful things you've done. For example; the one time I saw you help a little Canary when it fell off its nest and couldn't get up because it was a baby, so you climbed the tree to place it back on its nest. Or the time you helped solve a conflict when you were in the academy… You were also a good friend to me, but you have amnesia… that's probably why you don't remember me" he explained. At first, I couldn't believe it… I had a wolf friend, but that was due to my memory loss.
"Tell me, Ashido… Before I was brought here, do you know if I had a family before? Are they alive?" I asked.
"Well…" he stopped and sniffed the air, "… You need to go home"
"But!" I started.
"Emma, listen to me: I will answer your questions, but there are other things I would not rather tell you. Not until you're ready anyways… And remember: Just because someone is your teammate… that doesn't make them your friend. Especially what that one person that said things to you to make you cry… Do you understand?" he said softly as he placed a paw on my knee.
"Yes… Wait! Will I ever see you again?" I asked.
"… A teammate stays close to their teammate… A friend, however… Will be always closer to their friend… Now go"
"Okay" I whispered as I ran.
(Ashido's P.O.V.)
"What do you want?" I growled at the shadowy male figure.
"You spoke with her… Did you tell her anything about me?" The figure asked.
"Why should I tell a scum like you anything?!" I barked.
"You do know that sooner or later she'll figure it out… Right?" the figure chuckled.
Damn! He's right…, I thought.
"In a way… That is, if she believes you, which I'm full aware she won't" I snarled.
"You failed her before… What makes you think that you won't fail her again?" he asked.
"In this form, I am strong… However…" I said as I used my chakra to help me transform "In my original form, I know that for a fact that you can't stop me from protecting. Yes, I had failed her, but it won't happen again… I won't allow it!"
Hey Everybody! Just here to remind you to please review. I have a couple of reviews already and they are awesome people. Shout out to my peeps! No flames, please. Review and your avatar name might be sponsored in my next chapter. Thanks and have a beautiful day!