Chapter Seven - Subterranean Subterfuge

The silence in the room hit like a freight train. Everyone actually felt the ripple of shock as the first Proctor entered; but none more than Ino.
"No way..." she whimpered to herself as the Proctor sighed and walked over to the chalkboard. Her eyes followed him but her mind couldn't keep up, she thought she had prepared herself for anything in these exams, but this was... there was no way to describe how unreal this was. Lazily lifting a piece of chalk he scratched his name down in his untidy scrawl.

"Shikamaru Nara, Proctor for the First Chunin Exam"

The silence broke into hardly concealed conferring and muttering. Taking a moment to look around, Ino noticed that all her comrades were just as surprised as she was. Chouji and Sakura looked just as stunned as she felt. Neji and Shino maintained their usual composure, but paying enough attention, one could see telltale hints of surprise. Kiba's face was priceless, he looked like he might pass out. Lee just looked incredibly eager, no surprise there. Ino's eyes sweeped across the room and met Tenten's. The older kunoichi, who had at first seemed surprised, giggled slightly and winked at her friend knowingly. As she was turning back, Ino noticed Hinata smiling, but wether she was smiling at Ino wasn't clear.

The muttering around Ino became clearer as reality began to sink back in. People were exchanging comments and questions left and right, informing comrades that Shikamaru was the only graduate from last years exams. Eventually one Cloud Village ninja slammed his palms on the desk and stood up suddenly.
"This is ridiculous! How can we be expected to accept a Proctor who hasn't even been a chunin for a full year? I thought Jounin were chosen for this role!"
Shikamaru turned to face the enraged ninja.
"No one is making you accept me" he stated, gesturing to the door, "Leave".
The ninja shook agitatedly, glaring angrily at Shikamaru, his teammates watching on worriedly. Soon he stopped and let his arms fall by his side.
"Very well, good luck, Tsuko, Shin... I hope you do well in this farce, but I for one will NOT be made a fool of, goodbye!"
As he was walking towards the door, all eyes following him, Shikamaru folded his arms.
"You two, his teammates... Leave"
The exiting ninja halted in the doorway and suddenly spun around to face Shikamaru. His eyes wide with anger. The whole room tensed up, and the two seated Cloud Ninja looked stunned. The upstart marched over to Shikamaru, raising his fist.
"What?! Why do they have to leave? It's me who has the issue" he spat, grabbing Shikamaru by the collar. Shikamaru knocked his hand away and groaned in agitation.
"The rules of the exams are clear; teams of three participate in the first exam, no more, no less. If one can't participate then the others are inelligible. I don't make the rules, I just make sure they are kept. I never asked to be the proctor, personally I can't think of a more bothersome chore, but I was selected, if you have a problem with that then take it up with the council. Now either take a seat, or take your teammates and leave"

A few minutes later the Cloud ninja had settled down enough to rejoin his teammates and the rest of the room had calmed down to a dull roar. Ino sat staring with rapt attention, her heart had finally stopped pounding so loud that she could focus; if Shikamaru had designed the first exam then they were bound to be in for a tough ride. Shikamaru rapped on the chalkboard to gather attention. Clearing his throat he began:

"As most of you already know, these Chunin Selection Exams are held every six months in a village decided by the allied ninja villages. As some of you will remember, the exams were held here in Konoha six months ago, but were disrupted. As a result, the ninja alliance decided to allow Konoha to host the exams once again, as both a demonstration of our determination and strength as a community able to rebuild and move on, and as an extension of forgiveness of past... mistakes..."
Even Shikamaru wasn't able to avoid letting his eyes flit across to the sand ninja at this point, "...you have all been selected by your respective villages to be tested for Promotion, as such you are expected to represent your village with pride and..."
he looked at the previously outspoken Cloud ninja pointedly,
"... dignity... during your stay here. No doubt you've already been told all about how these exams are designed to promote unity and peace between the different ninja countries, so I won't bore you with those details."

Shikamaru paused and looked out across the room full of ninja. They had the same range of expression he remembered from when he sat in this room; determination, excitement, calm confidence, concern, anxiety. He began to make estimations on who would make it through his test. That Cloud ninja would probably make it; his teammates looked smart enough to keep him in line. He imagined that Kiba would struggle... at first at any rate. He was certain Neji's team would make it without any problems. His eyes fell on the front row, where Ino, Sakura and Chouji were sitting. He wasn't entirely sure how they would fare. It was going to be interesting to say the least.

"Well I've talked long enough about things that I don't even think matter. So now I'll explain the exams. First exam, supervised by myself, will test several aspects of you as an individual ninja as well as your team ethics and integration. There will be nothing strenuously physical involved; that's for the next two exams. But I wouldn't want to deny the second Proctor the right to explain their own exam."

Ino was listening carefully, analyzing every word, as she knew the rest of her team and former classmates were. There was no doubt that they would need to focus clearly on what the test entailed. She remembered last years gruelling task. Many ninja gave up under sheer mental pressure, they couldn't take it. In fact she herself had been ready to give up, if it weren't for keeping up appearances and trying to outdo Sakura and... because of his actions. Yes, if it weren't for that knucklehead, a lot more people would have given up... who'd have thought.

"Alright listen up!" Shikamaru announced, "I'm only going to explain this once. You will notice that the other examiners are holding cards with a number. There is a number for each team. When I have finished explaining I will announce the numbers assigned to each team. You and your team are to go with your examiner who will take you to the actual stage of the first exam"

The room burst into chatter once more. So they weren't going to be taking the test in this examination room? This was unexpected. Ino sat looking at Shikamaru's face, but the young Proctor wasn't giving anything away.

"Your examiner will take you to a door with your teams number on it. Whilst there your examiner will give you one last chance to withdraw from the first exam. Once you enter that room the only way out is to fail the exam. And if you fail the exam you will be inelligable for promotion for a full two years." he paused to allow another brief outburst of shock from the applicants, he ignored loud protests, "I shall mention that until you are in that room you are welcome to leave at any moment. the door is right there, you'll be free to re-apply in six months, as will your teammates. Now the only instructions you need to know for now is: Do not open the box, or you will fail."

Team Ten-point-Two, as they'd named themselves, drowned out the surrounding noise as they all focused on what Shikamaru had said. Sakura noted that Shikamaru hadn't said that the instruction regarding the box was the only instruction they would receive. Just that it was the only one for now. Chouji took note of how simple the instruction was, and how there had to be more too it than that. Ino took a note of the little half smile Shikamaru let slip, the little half smile that always accompanied his mind settling on the final detail of a plan. The second she saw that smile, she knew Asuma had just lost the game of Shogi. So what did he have in store? Ino couldn't wait to see.

She turned to take another look around the room. Most teams had huddled together and were discussing the information that they had just received. One or two teams excused themselves quietly, withdrawing from the exams at the prospect of two years doing Genin grunt work. Ino noticed that the young leaf genin they had met earlier, Sakura's cousin or whatever, and her team, looked thoroughly unfazed by the exams description. In fact, the young Nara was sitting back, his arms folded, eyes closed, legs crossed on the desk... smiling... always smiling. It was unnerving. Ino had gotten the impression that he was well-mannered and friendly from their brief encounter, but something about him just made her uneasy. Suddenly she heard Shikamaru clear his throat as he began announcing team numbers.

* * * * Approximately One Hour Later * * * *

Ino, Sakura and Chouji stopped next to their examiner. They had followed him through the forest, past the training grounds to what appeared to be a random part of the forest. Turning to them he spoke.

"Team Seventeen; Yamanaka, Ino. Haruno, Sakura and Akimichi, Chouji. This is the final turning point. I am instructed to ask you now, for the final time. Do you wish to withdraw from the Chunin Exams, and remain elligible to re-apply in six months?" he asked, keeping an emotionless face. The three of them turned to look at each other, silently confirming their decision. They shook their heads firmly.
"Very well" the ninja responded. He then turned to a tree, performed several hand seals, and pressed his palm against the trunk. Ino briefly noticed a light blue "17" glow on the trunk before it folded away to reveal a sloping staircase leading to a door. "Please proceed, and good luck". The three of them bowed gratefully to the examiner and proceeded. Ino's hand shook slightly as she turned the handle on the door.


Inside the room was a table, three cushions lay on the floor around it. On the table itself, there sat an ornate chest with a small clasp. The three of them sat down cautiously. So this was the box they weren't supposed to open... so what was the test? Ino's eyes ran over every tiny detail of the box; it's design, the shape, the size, the clasp, the handles on the side. But nothing seemed in the least bit suspicious. Then she spotted something unusual.
"Is that a piece of paper under the corner, Sakura?" she asked, pointing to the corner nearest her fellow kunoichi.
Sakura blinked in confusion before lowering her head to look. Sure enough, a tiny sliver of white could be seen against the table. Sakura carefully retrieved the notice, reading it aloud to her team.

"Your mission is to guard this box
Your self-restraint and discipline it's only locks
But how long will your resolve stand

When the risk of Death is at hand?"

No sooner had Sakura finished reading the note, than a section of the wall near Chouji slid open, revealing an hourglass and another note. Chouji trembled as he read.

"A new development in the case
Against time you begin the race
When the sands have ran dry
All within this room shall die"

Ino felt her lungs tighten. What did it mean they would die? What was the meaning of this test? She turned to look at her teammates; Sakura looked sick, Chouji looked frightened. Ino briefly wondered how she looked right now. Standing up she walked over and inspected the hourglass. It was secured in place, so it couldn't be tampered with. Judging from the rate the sand was falling Ino guessed they had an hour to figure the test out. Walking back to the table she tried to keep fear out of her face.

This was madness...

"What the HELL!" Kiba growled angrily as he read the note. He clenched his fists as he turned away, "Man... I knew Shikamaru was weird.. but homicidal?". Akamaru whimpered quietly from beneath the table. Hinata absent-mindedly petted him as she tried to think. There had to be a trick to this. Looking across the room at Shino, she noticed he was sitting as calmly as normal. Kiba was punching the wall in frustration, but Shino remained unchanged by the current developments.

Perhaps he knew...

"Ah! I see! A test of our discipline! We must be willing to give our lives for the sake of our villages honour!" Lee exclaimed, folding his arms and nodding. Neji chuckled audibly.
"Not quite" he commented. Tenten's gaze drifted between her two teammates. She wasn't worried, they had the genius, Neji Hyuga, on their team. She was more concerned with Ino's safety. They didn't have their genius with them this time.

She had to stay strong...

The three sand ninja sat silently around the table, watching the box with no expression whatsoever. They already knew what had to be done for this exam. Gaara had first thought of tampering with the sand in the hourglass to give them more time. But before he could even walk over to the wall his sister laughed.
"You should both have spotted the flaw in this notice, and you call yourself Suna ninjas" she teased, leaning her fan against the wall and making herself comfortable.

Checkmate, Nara...

Rikuto felt his temple pounding. Manami hadn't stopped screaming hysterically for almost ten minutes now. glancing over his shades he saw that his other teammate was pouring tea from a thermos. This clearly didn't sit well with Manami, whose volume lowered just enough for them to make out a few words.
"TEA!!!!... NOW!?!?... DANGER!!!!... TIME RUNNING OUT!!!!... HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM!?!?"
Katsurou laughed as the girl practically passed out from lack of breath next to him. Supporting her on his shoulder he passed her the tea.
"Because this test is a simple case of observation and common sense. Now drink up and don't worry, we'll be fine"
Manami clearly wasn't totally convinced, but Katsurou always had a calming effect on her. So she sat quietly and sipped the tea gingerly.

Pain in the neck, smart people...

The cloud ninja were in a state of complete anarchy. None of them could hear above each other. Eventually one of them slammed his fist down on the table, cracking it slightly. Now that he had got their attention it was time to progress.
"Listen, this is so simple. They are trying to eliminate as many people as possible. So they put us in a room, with two locked doors, and a box that they say we can't open. Then they say we will die when the hourglass runs out. They expect the smartest of the bunch to realise that the only way to escape with our lives; is by opening the box!"
His teammates gasped in shock at his deduction. It seemed to make sense; maybe they hid the key to one of the doors inside the box!
It wasn't long before the brash ninja who had spoken out against Shikamaru was unfastening the clasp on the front of the box.

Child's play...

"Argh I just don't GET it!" Sakura bellowed as she kicked her cushion across the room. They had been standing around doing nothing for almost half an hour now. It frustrated her that this test didn't seem to test any sort of knowledge of ninja abilities or other theory. Chouji was sweating heavily, his eyes fixated on the box on the table. Without thinking, his hand lifted, reaching slowly for the clasp. He was woken up when his fingers were cracked against the table. Ino had swung around and axe kicked his hand.
"Chouji! We were told NOT to open that box!" the blonde ninja reprimanded, "We don't know what's in there, remember the heaven and earth scrolls from last year?"
Chouji remembered hearing how people who had sneaked a look at their scrolls, which was forbidden, had been knocked out cold by a chunin examiner and disqualified from the exams.
"But what if this is different? what if we're supposed to open the box? Maybe there's a way to escape inside" he protested.
"Until we know you keep your grubby paws off the box!" Ino scolded. She then turned to Sakura, who was still fuming next to the hourglass. This silence and tense atomosphere lasted a further twenty-five minutes. During that time, Ino found her eyes drawn to the box more and more frequently. Maybe Chouji had a point. If they were going to die then what was there to lose?
Ino sighed and looked across the table at Chouji.
"Maybe... it wouldn't hurt to take a peek..." she muttered. Sakura's head snapped up and she glared wildly at Ino, "Oh come off it Sakura!" Ino yelled, pulling the box towards her. Sakura frowned as her comrade continued her yelling, "... If we're going to die when that sand runs dry then what do we have to lose?"

Sakura's eyes widened suddenly. She turned and read swiftly through the note on the wall again, she spun back and screamed at Ino, who had begun unfastening the clasp.
"STOP! I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!"
Ino dropped the clasp like it had caught fire. It wasn't often Sakura sounded so sure of anything, and the sheer urgency of her tone told Ino that she was onto something. They stared at each other for a moment.
"Don't open the box... we'll be fine" she gasped in relief, turning to look at the hourglass. Their time was nearly up.

Three... Two... One...

The three ninja jumped as there was a loud click. Seconds later their examiner entered from the second door in the room. He remained as emotionless as before as he entered the room. He walked over to the table and opened the box. Ino watched as the examiner removed a small scroll. He unravelled it and showed it's contents to the team.

Discipline

"Congratulations, Team Seventeen, you are elligible to proceed with the first Chunin exam"

Sakura sighed, Chouji cheered... Ino looked dumbfounded. Proceed? There was more to come? She had thought the exam over. She should have known. Shikamaru wouldn't take half measures, even if he found a job troublesome he would do it well. Suddenly Ino turned to Sakura,
"Oh, Sakura, how did you know that we'd live?"
Sakura smiled and laughed slightly.
"Because we weren't dead when we entered the room"
Chouji and Ino exchanged confused looks. They spent a few moments trying to work out what she could mean, but came up empty. Sakura walked over to the wall where the hourglass was set.
"See here, the sand couldn't 'run dry' because it was never wet. It's so simple that we didn't consider it at first, no doubt Shikamaru expected people to miss this fact in the face of 'death' and open the box"
Ino nodded. It made sense now. She felt quite stupid for not seeing it herself. She noted that she'd need to find some way to train her mind next time she had a chance.

The examiner motioned to the team to follow him. He led them out the door he had entered from, into a tunnel that had clearly been built recently for this exam. After walking for about five minutes they came to a small chamber, with three seperate paths leading off in different directions. Above the three paths, carved in huge letters above all three was the word "Honour". Ino was about to ask which way they were to go when the Examiner read from a clipboard.

"Left path: Yamanaka, Ino. Centre path: Akimichi Chouji. Right path: Haruno, Sakura. At the end of each path is a room, you are to enter this room and remove the tag from the wall. When all three tags are removed the exam will begin, your instructions will be given at that time. Under no circumstances are you to touch anything else in the room before the exam begins. Failure to comply with this instruction will result in a whole team failure. As you have declined withdrawal, you can only withdraw if you realise that it will result in your whole team being inelligible for promotion for two years. WIth this in mind, do you wish to continue?"

All three of them nodded without hesitation this time. Secretly, though, each of them were dreading what lay ahead. Ino was panicking; what if she wasn't smart enough to figure the next challenge out herself? Passing these exams meant more to her than anything; but she was up against a prodigy. Would she be able to take the heat?

She took a deep breath and marched off down the left path, giving an encouraging thumbs up to her team mates. She was sure they'd be alright, Chouji was Shikamaru's best friend, if anyone could work out his way of thinking it was him, and Sakura was one of the top students from their year. Ino began to feel weighed down; Their passing or failing could be determined solely on how well she managed the task.

Soon Ino arrived at her room. As she entered the first thing she noticed were the two levers on the right wall, either side of what appeared to be a giant window, but beyond it was darkness, she took a moment to squint through, but she couldn't make anything out. After giving up she removed the tag from the wall directly opposite the door she came in. Once again she noted a second door on the remaining wall.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud as part of the wall fell away where the tag had previously been. Ino took a step towards the engraved wooden notice behind the revealed panel. No sooner had she put her foot down, than she heard a rumbling from behind her. on the roof above the door there was a small pipe, from which water flowed at a rapid pace, creating a puddle on the floor. Ino looked on, confused, as the puddle swiftly grew bigger. Then a sudden realization hit her and she turned to read the notice.

You've been chosen to judge today
Who shall leave and who shall stay
The lever on the left will save your friends
But unless you choose right, your life will end

Ino felt a chill crawl up her spine. A glint of light caught the corner of her eye. Turning to the window she screamed. She could now see clearly two empty rooms, about three metres apart, empty apart from a struggling ninja inside each one. Sakura was pounding on the door, screaming, tears streaming down her cheek, while Chouji was shoulder barging his door; a mixture of fear and frenzied determination in his eyes. Both of their rooms were also filling with water.

Ino froze in terror as she tried to comprehend the situation. Surely this couldn't be right, could it? Shikamaru wouldn't make someone choose between killing their team mates or suicide... would he? The water soaking her ankles was real enough. She began to panic. She couldn't bring herself to pull either lever. She couldn't even tear her eyes away from her struggling team mates. Sakura had abandoned her assault on the door, and was now standing, frozen, with more fear in her face than Ino ever could ever have imagined.

Her mind was racing, with her heart setting the pace. If she let them die she'd never be able to live with herself. But if she died then all effort she'd ever put into anything will have been worthless. She simply stood there, staring through the window blankly. Her hands hung limply by her sides as the water began to lap around her knees. She couldn't bring herself to move. What good was there in living if it meant leaving your friends to die? Surely self sacrifice was the right thing to do. Ino grasped the left hand lever, shaking with fear. But she faltered; it was much easier to say you choose death than it was to actually seal your own fate.

She clasped her hands around the sides of her head in frustration, tears streaming down her face. This was so cruel. How could Shikamaru do such a thing? Was this some kind of sick joke? As Ino stood there, breaking down the water began to soak through her top. Time was running out. She'd have to make a decision or they'd all die. Ino slapped herself hard and took a deep breath. She reasoned that, even if it did mean her survival, leaving Sakura and Chouji to die was simply out of the question. She stared at the left lever, building up resolve as the water sloshed around her chin.

By the time she finally moved, she had been completely submerged for at least thirty seconds. "He wouldn't accept a murderer" she kept mentally repeating to herself as she gripped the lever and kicked off of the roof. The lever moaned loudly as it shifted. Through the window Ino saw Sakura and Chouji's heads burst above the lowering water level, gasping for air, but alive. Ino closed her eyes and smiled. "Please don't forget me..."

* * * * Later * * * *

"Is she alright"

"She passed out, probably from oxygen deprivation"

"Will she recover for the final stage?"

"I don't know"

Ino was hearing voices in her head. How strange... was this what it was like to be dead? She had never really thought about it before. She was sure she recognized one of the voices... it sounded familiar... comforting... real. She was slightly confused when she found she could open her eyes. As she did she was met with a blinding light. She felt dizzy, but after a moment the light dulled, and she could make out a blurry figure standing over her.

"Well, it looks like we've got another live one" a voice said lightly. Ino didn't recognize this one. She tried to turn her head to find that familiar voice, but it only made her dizzier. The room was starting to come into focus. Ino blinked stupidly. This was strange. "Live one?" she thought to herself, "But I'm dead... aren't I?". She looked up again and was able to make out the face of a young woman.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?" she asked in a friendly tone.
"Huh?" Ino replied, the word was scratchy as it escaped her dry throat.
"Disorientated no doubt, and I would assume thirsty" the young woman answered for her. Ino watched as she poured a glass of water. Images started flying through Ino's mind. Her focus snapped back and she sat bolt upright.
"Chouji! Sakura!" she croaked "Where am I?" she added, confused. Looking around she didn't recognize the place. The young woman firmly pressed her shoulders back down onto the bed, which Ino hadn't noticed until just then.

"Everyone is fine, you included" she explained. "It was part of the test. No one would die, no matter which lever you pulled". Ino looked at her blankly as she shuffled up slightly to take a drink. She was sure she had drowned. Evidently not. She was relieved to hear that everyone was alright. She put the glass back down and looked at the other young woman
"Who are you?" she asked, probably a bit more bluntly than she normally would have. The other woman bowed slightly.
"I am Nodoka. I'm a medical ninja as well as your preliminary instructor for the final stage of the exam. I am to explain the previous stage as well as provide information on the final stage" she answered politely. Ino nodded, eager to hear how she had survived. Nodoka took a breath. "In the previous exam each member was led to seperate, identical chambers. Each chamber had a window through which the participant believed they saw their teammates struggling for life. In actuality each member of the team was presented with the same choice which you were. The teammates you thought you saw, were actually the result of a complex genjutsu" she explained, tapping her head as an illustration. Ino got the impression that she'd was quite new to her profession and had read and re-read the explanation herself a few times to remember it.

"The test was designed to test your honour; wether, in extreme circumstances, you could make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. If at least two of yor team pulled the left lever, you would pass; though the third would be reprimanded. To avoid conflict we request that you keep your decision private-" She was interrupted by Ino's gasp,
"Wait... we passed?!" she said, her eyes lighting up. It had just hit her, they had made it through this trial. "Where are Sakura and Choji?" she asked grinning. She wanted to see them, to apologize to them, even though she didn't know why. Nodoka smiled back at her.
"I was getting there, they will be in the room I lead you to once you are properly recovered" she answered. "But first, the rules: When you enter the room it will be pitch black. You are not to make a sound until the lights come on. After that, all you need to do is find your teammates and leave via the marked door"

No sooner had she finished than Ino had swung her legs out of the bed. She paused when she stood up. "Umm...where are my clothes?" she asked awkwardly as she looked down at the thin silk bedgown she was wearing. Nodoka giggled slightly.
"They are drying at home, your mother dropped off some spare clothes, they are in that box over there" she answered pointing to the corner of the room. Ino changed hurriedly and grabbed her equipment before turning to Nodoka,
"I'm ready" she said enthusiastically. She was one step away from passing Shikamaru's test. She wondered if he would be proud of her. She shook her head slightly. She had to stay focused. There was no way this challenge was as simple as the nurse had made it sound.

Ino followed Nodoka through another tunnel, lit by a small candle. It wasn't long before Nodoka was bowing and turning back, leaving Ino outside a small wooden door. Taking a deep breath Ino quietly entered the dark room. Not making a sound, she wondered how long she would have to wait. Only a minute or two later the lights flicked on and Ino flinched. circled around the room, standing in front of a door each... were three teams.... all of them her team.

Three Sakuras, three Choujis and two Inos all looked around at each other in shocked confusion. Ino grit her teeth. So that was the challenge. "Find your teammates and leave". But was this genjutsu or something else? This was likely a test to show that you could identify your teammates among imposters. Ino put a hand in her hip satchel. She had an idea to narrow it down, she just needed the right... there!
"Hey Chouji!" she called out. "Look what I found"
With that she threw a half-empty packet of Spicy Barbeque chips she had earlier confiscated from him into the centre of the room. As expected, all three leapt into the fray. The imposters had done their homework, that was certain. But Ino knew that the real Chouji was undefeatable when it came to fighting for food.

Sure enough, barely a minute later, two Jounin instructors bowed and sat out. It had become obvious who the real Chouji was when they both got pasted by his Human Boulder. Now contentedly munching on his chips, Chouji grinned. Ino called out, "Chouji! Now you have to find out which Sakura is the real one". Chouji turned to face her
"I need to find the real Ino too" he pointed out. Ino grinned,
"But why would an imposter just happen to be carrying your chips?" she asked.
But it wasn't going to be that simple, one of the other Inos walked over to Chouji.
"She's right, and since I was the one who threw the chips, you know I must be the real Ino".
She was answered by the other two Inos angered protests. Chouji turned to look at the three of them. "Three of them... great..." he thought exhaustedly. He'd have to try and work out which one of them had thrown the bag of chips. What he wouldn't have given for Kiba's nose right now. He had probably picked out his teammates in seconds.

Something hit Chouji. He didn't need Kiba's nose at all. He turned to the three angry looking blondes.
"Line up, I'll figure this out. If you refuse I'll assume you an imposter". he said firmly. The three of them stood in front of him, about three feet apart. Chouji walked up to the one on the far let. He asked her to show him her satchel. As he had figured, the bag was waterproof, which would explain how his chips had survived the previous test. He opened the bag for a few seconds before closing it and handing it back to it's owner. He took a step back.
"Partial Multi-size technique!" he yelled, his right arm growing to a mammoth size. He grabbed the Ino whose bag he had just inspected. "You, are an imposter" he said, before slamming the impersonator headfirst into the ground with a swing of his gargantuan arm. Sure enough, the Jounin transformed back with a puff of smoke. Chouji turned to the other two.
"Last chance. Will the other fake please step forward" Chouji requested. When neither of them did, he walked over to the next one. His arm shrinking back to normal. Once again he asked for her satchel. Once again he opened it for a few moments before shutting it and handing it back to her.
"Partial Multi-size technique!" he yelled, as he crouched back. His leg stretched out suddenly, striking the third Ino, and launching them across the room, shattering one of the doors. He turned to the Ino whose satchel he had just inspected with a smirk.

Ino leapt forward and hugged Chouji tightly, glad that he had managed to discern her from the others. He explained that there was still a strong barbeque smell coming from her bag since she'd been carrying an open bag of chips all day. Ino wasn't sure if that really counted as identifying her but it was smart enough, and the two Jounin went to join their other defeated comrades. The two of them turned to the three Sakuras, who all looked worried.

Ino thought of something almost immediately, but got the horrible feeling it wouldn''t work. She stepped towards them.
"Sakura..." she began, a bit weakly. "What was the first thing I ever gave you?"
All three of them looked slightly stunned. But before long one of them turned suddenly.
"Oh I remember" she said, her eyes glazing slightly as she remembered when they were younger, "It was a red ribbon, you said I should show off my face more" she answered, her eyes watering slightly. The other two Sakuras glanced at each other and transformed back. Ino was surprised and ecstatic. This meant that not only had they passed, but they had passed because she had identified two of the teammates. For one of the first times she could remember, she felt as though she had actually contributed to the team's success.

They proceeded through the only door with any sort of markings. It had the Fire Country symbol on it. When they proceeded through they found themselves in an empty room, apart from a scroll on the opposite wall. It instructed them to place their hands on the circles beneath the writing. When they did, a puff of smoke formed behind them.

"Ah, it's good to see you all made it"

Ino spun around. It was Shikamaru. He was standing there with his trademark smirk. He walked over to them.
"Congratulations, you've all just passed the First Chunin Exam"
The three of them cheered and celebrated a while. Sakura swung Chouji around enthusiastically while Ino and Shikamaru laughed fromt he sidelines. Ino hadn't felt this happy all day. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She was sure she knew what to expect for the rest of the exams. She smiled at Shikamaru, who nodded back before clapping his hands together loudly to get the others' attention
"Alright guys, time to head back to announce the results of the exam officially"

They were led back to the room they started in. There were a few disgruntled faces around the room; but everyone who had started was there. Hinata looked quite pale, ino figured she was probably still pretty shaken up from that second test. Scanning the room, Ino spotted Tenten, looking exhausted, but happy enough. The Cloud ninja from before weren't looking very confident. Shikamaru stood up the front and explained that if your name was read out, your team had failed and you were to leave. Soon there were a scattering of teams left around the room, including Teams Eight and Ten-Two, as well as Team Gai. Gaara and his team were still there, of course. A couple of teams from various other villages were whispering to themselves. Shikamaru cleared his throat authoritatively.
"Now the rest of you will progress to the Se-"

This was as far as he got as a small explosion went off near him, filling the entire room with smoke. Ino felt a strange sensation of deja vu, as the smoke began to clear. Sure enough, when the smoke cleared there was a large banner hung across the front of the room.

Anko Mitarashi: Proctor For The Second Chunin Exam Has Arrived!

And sure enough, there she was, standing in an ostentatious pose with a ridiculous grin on her face. Once she saw that everyone was giving her an odd look she completely deflated. She folded her arms behind her head.

"Oh snap, I must be early again..."

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Author's Note: Salutations! I guess I lied when I said I wouldn't write as much for a chapter ever again, so sorry for the wall of text and the long wait. I'll come clean, I had no idea what I'd do for the first exam until about halfway through November, and I'd like to thank my friend Mark for his help; cheers mate, sorry for changing a few details, it was easier to write this way. After that I blame the second stage of the exam for taking up my time. I couldn't write the suspense in a way I was happy with.*cuts off earlobe*


Is it just me or does this chapter remind anyone else of a certain pyschological horror film franchise which has released maybe 3 films too many? Just me? thought so...

Anyway, Teaser: Next chapter will see the return of the 44th Training Ground, as well as some showcasing of the new exam entrants. Hopefully I won't shoot myself in the foot and have to write such a lengthy chapter again. A four month wait just wasn't fair :P

Snippet:
"I'm only giving you four minutes from the signal. You have to find a team, take their scroll, and leave before then" he said calmly. His teammate didn't stir.
"I'll only need three".