Chapter 8: Let The Chunin Selection Exams Begin!
A few mornings later, Shizuka woke up to the bouncing of her younger brother on her bed. The curtains were still closed, letting in only a sliver of the morning sunlight. The white-haired girl turned onto her stomach and buried her face in her fluffy pillow. She groaned inwardly at the energetic 5-year-old.
'Naruto...why oh why do you have so much energy in the morning...?'
"Shizua-nee-chan! Get up! Get up! It's today!" The blonde boy finally stopped jumping and instead, sat beside his sister, shaking her shoulder. Shizuka got up sluggishly, stretching her arms.
"SHIZUKA!"
At the booming voice of their mother, the white-haired girl threw her covers off and sprinted around the room. Naruto blinked at the speed and wondered if he had accidentally mixed up his father with his sister. With a toothbrush in her mouth, Shizuka brushed her thick hair and placed it over her right shoulder as she checked her tools in her utility pouch.
'Kunai, check. Shuriken, check. Medicines, check. Scrolls, check. Smoke bombs, check...'
Shizuka paused for a bit to sprint into the bathroom that joined hers and Naruto's rooms together to spit out her foamy toothpaste. She rinsed out her mouth several times before washing her face and returning to finish up her checklist.
Once she was sure she had everything, the white-haired girl turned around in her body-length mirror to check to see if the blue qipao dress she was wearing was all good and ready. Stainless and clean.
"SHIZUKA! You're going to be late!"
At that threatening voice, the white-haired girl flashed down to the bottom floor all dressed and set to go using the Hiraishin seal that her father had secretly hidden at the bottom of the stairs. She tied her hitai-ate around her forehead, then hung her katana on the edge of the seat before sliding into her seat as her mother turned around from her cooking.
Kushina raised an eyebrow, "I am really, really contemplating on releasing all those seals you and Minato have placed around the house. I'm telling you, the Hiraishin is the source of all the laziness in this family..."
Shizuka just smiled at her mother before looking around the table to see only two places set: hers and Naruto's.
"If you were wondering, your father went to set up the beginning of your exams today. He left early this morning, so I ate with him," Kushina placed a glass of orange juice in front of the white-haired girl before turning her head towards the stairs. "NARUTOOO! YOU BETTER GET YOUT BUTT IN YOUR CHAIR OR ELSE I'M TAKING AWAY YOUR KUNAI FOR A MONTH!"
The boisterous sounds of the tiny boy's clumsy steps echoed throughout the residence and on the last flight of stairs there was the sound of tumbling. Naruto's mess of limbs reached the bottom of the stairs and he stared up at his mother and sister with a goofy grin.
Kushina didn't give him a break though. "In 3...2..."
The small blonde boy's eyes widened as he scrambled to his chair and plopped down in it before their red-haired mother could finish her countdown. Satisfied, the former jinchurki could only smile before turning back to get Naruto's plate of food. By the time she returned, Shizuka finished her last bite of her meal and was gulping down her orange juice.
She stood up quickly and bowed her head in thanks to her mother before slinging her katana over her body and waving bye at her baby brother.
"Wait! Nee-chan!" Naruto whined at the girl who was leaving him alone with their temperamental mother.
"Good luck, Shi-chan!"
Once outside, Shizuka stretched her arms above her head, enjoying the warmth the rising sun casted on her pale skin. The birds continued to chirp while Shizuka waved 'good morning' to each familiar face she passed. The shops were all opened and the streets were already busy with bustling people despite the sun just beginning to rise.
"G'morning, Shizuka-chan!"
"Hello, Shizuka-san!"
"Shizuka! Today's the big day! Good luck!"
All the voiceless girl could do was wave back and smile in acknowledgment at the person who greeted her. She continued this routine until a certain voice called her,
"Shizuka?"
Turning from the farmer standing at his fruit stand, Shizuka turned to see a tall boy with short, messy brown hair. He wore a black, high-collared shirt with matching shorts. Tied to his right thigh was a bandage and a kunai holster and wrapped around his forehead was a signature Konoha hitai-ate.
The boy jogged over with a wide grin on his lips. Behind him were two large dogs–one with off-white fur and clear blue eyes, another with black fur and a sandy patch that looked like a lightning bolt on his back. On the back of the large black dog was a girl. Two bright red, fang-like marks on her cheeks marked her loyalty to her clan but tied to her forehead, like the first boy, was a Hidden Leaf forehead protector. The girl wore a loose-fitting, dark brown leather jacket that stopped short at the middle of her sides. Underneath she wore a light gray t-shirt with mesh armor under that. She also wore long, black pants with a bandage and kunai holster strapped to her right thigh. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and her brown bangs hung over the mark of the village on her hitai-ate a little bit.
"Shizuka! Today's the big day isn't it?" The girl slid off of the giant canine to pull the smaller girl into a friendly hug. "Our team just got our newest mission outside of the village, but don't worry, we'll be back in time to see your final battles." The girl winked with a smirk.
Lastly, a boy with sand-colored hair and red streaks sauntered over. He wore a long, short-sleeved gray coat that stopped at his knees. Underneath that he wore a plain black t-shirt with mesh-armor. The boy proudly wore the summoning seals he had tattooed along his arms. He wore long, dark-colored pants like the girl before with tiny chains that hung from the tops of his pockets to the sides of his pants. On the boy's back was a large scroll held vertically. "Shizuka-san," the boy gave a subtle smile. "You're taking the Chunin Exams, correct? I wish you luck."
The white-haired girl nodded politely just as the Inuzuka nudged the boy. "Geez Katsu, you treat her like she's way older than you. I understand you're being respectful to the Hokage's daughter, but Shizu's our friend!"
Shizuka bit her bottom lip shyly at the comment, looking at the second boy through her light eyelashes. An arm was thrown around her shoulders, pulling the girl upright and fixing her posture. She looked to the side to see the boy with messy hair grinning at his two teammates. "You sound so old fashioned, too!"
"And you need to act your age, Shisui," was the older boy's dull response. "Even my puppets can be better teenagers than you."
"But they're controlled by you, a teenager," Shisui retorted. "Hence the name 'puppets'!"
The young puppeteer rolled his eyes and the white dog nudged the boy's long legs with his body. The Inuzuka girl threw her arms around both of her teammates.
"Ouch, Ran!"
"That was a little rough. You do need to keep in mind that you're a girl..."
Ran's eyebrow twitched at Katsu's comment but kept quiet about it. She pulled them away from Shizuka while throwing a smile towards the girl. "We should let our little flower go on. She's got the written test ahead of her today. She doesn't need any more distractions, guys."
With one last wave from each of the three young Chunins, Shizuka waved back before turning forward to face her destination.
By the time she reached the building in which the written test was to be held, over 50 three-celled genin teams had been assembled in the waiting area. A familiar boy with dark, shiny blue hair waved her over to a large group with a wide grin. "Shizuka! Over here!"
Squeezing herself through people around the room, Shizuka finally arrived at the boy's side.
"There you are, Shizuka!"
The snowy-haired girl only smiled at the pale-blonde boy who had just thrown his arm around her shoulders despite being slightly shorter.
"It's just a written test, Inoki. What are you so excited about?" The boy with spiky, black hair in a ponytail sighed. "If anything, it's totally troublesome..."
"But we'll get to be Chunin if we pass all three tests!"
"Who cares about Chunin–"
"I do!" Inoki interrupted the lavender-eyed boy, who just continued to speak.
"Jonin is what I'm aiming for."
"Woah there. Slow down, Tokuma. It's gonna be several more years until your promotion to Jonin," the blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow at the Hyuuga. "Don't be so hyped up for it now."
"What does an everyday citizen like you know about such important ranks?" the Hyuuga crossed his arms and let out an arrogant breath.
The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes with a frustrated groan. Shizuka shook her head and patted the older boy's shoulder lightly. 'You know that it'll turn out like this. Why do you even bother with him, Ao...?' She thought to herself.
"It's almost time," the Uchiha who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed pushed himself up. Just as he spoke, the doors to the exam room opened up and the genin teams began to file in. Drawing a number from the box, Shizuka sat down in a seat close to the center of the room. Glancing around the room, she found that her teammates weren't too far away. Ao was sitting a few rows behind her and Itachi was sitting a few rows in front.
It took about ten minutes to get all the examinees to settle down in their seats. Many older shinobi sat in their chairs around the room, clipboards in their laps and a pen in hand.
The noise level in the room was high, causing Shizuka to shrink down in her chair in wait for quietness to come. Shinobi were supposed to be quiet, so why were these people so loud?
Three loud claps sounded around the room, successfully silencing the young genin. All heads turned to the man in front, who was dressed in the natural Konoha ninja attire–green flak jacket, dark blue pants, kunai holster tied around his left thigh. The only thing that marked him different from the traditionally dressed shinobi around the room was the large gray trench coat draped over his shoulders. His arms had been pulled out of the sleeves, crossed across his chest, letting the long sleeves lay limp at his sides. The man's dark bangs hung over his eyes a little bit. His hitai-ate that marked him a Konoha shinobi had been tied around his right bicep.
"My name is Kagawa Akio. I will be your examiner for this first part of the Chunin Selection Exams," the man uncrossed his arms twirling something around his fingers. Shizuka looked closely to find a dark kunai swinging around his index finger. "You will have two hours to complete the questions printed on this sheet of paper–" Akio held out a flimsy piece of paper with lines, diagrams and words printed on it. "–which I will hand out shortly. There is but only one rule for this test."
Murmurs began around the room, Shizuka glanced around to see her blue-haired teammate frowning and laying his chin on his crossed arms on the table.
"No cheating is allowed. Like any other written test you must have taken as a child," the man let out a bored breath before crossing his arms again. He continued to ignore the murmurs from the genin around the room. "Anyone who is caught will be asked to leave, but you are free to take the exam again next time. The Chunins around the room–" he waved a hand out to the older shinobi sitting in the chairs with clipboards and pens, "–will be monitoring you. I do not give second chances, so do be careful–"
Akio was interrupted when a poof of smoke appeared at his side. When the smoke cleared a woman in the average Konoha costume was seen kneeling. Recognizing the lady as a part of her father's guard platoon, Shizuka nearly stood up from her seat.
"Kagawa-san," the woman spoke clearly, but softly. "I fear that I bring you distressful news. The Chunin Exams are to be postponed until further notice."
'Postponed?!' Itachi's eyes widened, but he quickly composed himself.
Inoki, sitting closer to the window in the center row, gaped at the words that had just been announced. The test he had been looking forward to so much was now... cancelled?!
'This is troublesome...' Lazy Shikato rested his cheek in the palm of his hand with a tired sigh. 'Everything about this exams business is troublesome...'
Shizuka furrowed her light eyebrows, placing her crossed arms on the table in front of her. She watched the pair in the front of the room in curiosity. 'Why would they come right before the test to postpone it? What would be so important that this would be necessary?'
"Why is that?" The examiner narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows pulling together. A frown spread across his lips.
The woman looked up, "we are being invaded."
"By who?!" Akio shouts, making several of the genins flinch back.
"We don't know, sir. We have several teams investigating it now. But we have no leads as to who is leading this assault," the woman bowed her head. "Our manpower has been cut down by a lot, many of our Jonin and higher-ranked Chunin have been sent out on missions away from the village and won't be back until later. The only ones left are wounded and out of commission."
The dark-haired man brought a hand up to rub his forehead. He let out a groan of frustration and began pacing the front of the room. The woman from the Hokage Guard continued to observe him in silence.
There was a deafening explosion outside a few miles away. Shizuka noticed that many of the kids in the room winced at the low, but sudden, sound. Suddenly, Akio whipped his head around, facing the many young genin in the room.
"Since we need all the help we can get, I will give you genin a mission."
"A mission?" An older genin with a Sand Village forehead protector stood up. "Isn't this too dangerous for genin, like us, to do?"
"Like I said," the examiner crossed his arms, looking straight at the girl who had stood up. "We need as much help as we can. You will all split back up into your original teams and head out to find out who is attacking us at this time and why."
"Kagawa-san..." The woman stood up but was silenced by his hand.
"If they can't do this much, then they have no reason in becoming Chunin."
Those few words were able to silence the whole room. Taking a look around, Shizuka noticed that the Chunins that had been sitting around the room had disappeared. Shrugging it off as them going off to investigate, she turned her attention back to the man in charge.
"You are dismissed!" Akio announced before turning back to the kunoichi who had brought him the news. He continued to speak with her as the room of young shinobi began to get out of hand.
A young Genin from the Hidden Grass was arguing with the boy sitting beside him. Another girl, with a Hidden Rock Village forehead protector around her neck, slammed her hands on the table as she fumed at the boy standing in front of her. The entire room was in chaos.
Amidst the disorder, Shizuka felt a hand tap her shoulder lightly. She turned around to see Itachi who had a seriousness about him that told her he knew exactly what needed to be done. He held his hand out to her, and she took it hesitantly as he spoke, "staying here will do us no good. If anything it would be best to get to the bottom of this and return to report to Lord Hokage."
The white-haired kunoichi nodded her head as she stood up. The two off them weave through the pandemonium. Itachi had to dodge a punch when someone was trying to hit another person across the aisle out of anger. Shizuka swore that she saw a shuriken fly across the room and lodge itself in the ceiling by the chalkboard in the front of the room. By the time the two young genins made it to door where they had entered the room, their blue-haired teammate was already standing there.
"What took you two so long? I thought I was gonna fall asleep waiting for you two," Ao taunted as he pushed himself off of the wall. His smile was overshadowed by a more solemn expression,"we should get going."
The snowy-haired girl nodded her head and stepped out of the room with her two teammates without a backwards glance.
The strong wind blew through her hair as she ran across the rooftops of the Hidden Leaf. Behind her, her two teammates sprinted, following her lead. There was another large explosion to their right, making them stop and turn their heads to see a rising pillar of smoke emanating from an envelopment of red and orange flames.
The team stopped on one of the taller roofs and glanced at one another. The first to speak was Itachi. He approached the white-haired girl with a worrisome look, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "Should we go check that out first?"
"But we need to get to Lord Hokage, he might have an idea of what's going on," Ao countered with a frown. He pointed in the direction of the pillar of smoke. "I'm sure the forces there can handle the attack. Even if we were to go there, we wouldn't be much–"
The blue-haired boy was cut off by another loud boom. This time it was on the entirely opposite side of the village. Turning their heads to the West, a second pillar of smoke arose with an even larger flame.
"We need to hurry, or else that side will burn down. If the wall burns down, everyone will be in trouble!" Itachi let out a frustrated noise."Not just the citizens, but us shinobi too. We'll be weak because of the destruction of the outer wall."
"But Lord Hokage is in charge. He has the greatest judgment and he knows the most important place to put us. With our skills, I don't think we'd be able to take the forces of the enemy on our own."
As her two teammates argued over which course of action to take, Shizuka curled her fingers into tight fists. Closing her eyes, she thought about what the best way to go about the situation was.
'It's such an unheard of situation. All skilled Jonin and Chunin are missing from the scene. Unknown invaders. Dad isn't anywhere to be seen... Something's fishy...' Another strong wind blew between the three of them, breaking Shizuka off.
There was a dark chuckle and then, standing in front of them was a man in a long-sleeved cloak. His face was obscured by the hood of his cloak and the hilt of two swords peeked over his broad shoulders. "Why if it isn't the Hokage's Daughter? The youngest hero of Konoha yet. What a surprise to see you here."
A/N: Sorry about last week, Labor Day Celebration party and work got in the way... _ And school sort of just started and Pre-AP Chem is already killing me... Please forgive me! But on a different note: Love you all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^_^
Oh! And in response to Coolestbee's review: It isn't exactly a MinatoxShisui pairing...It's just really the list of characters since they're the main canon characters (+Itachi). Sasuke probably won't be mentioned much, unless I'm talking about Naruto and him in the Academy. I haven't decided what to do with his relationship with Naruto yet since...yeah... *shrugs* If you're looking for him, I promise you I will incorporate him more in the future ^_^
