Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other OC's are mine.
"Oh... wow." Isa breathed, eyes wide. The registration hall was packed, shinobi lounging on every available surface, feet propped up on tables, leaning against walls, staring each other down. There was an uncomfortable moment when everyone's eyes swiveled to them as the door shut and conversation died. Isa almost shrank away from the crowd, but Sasuke and Naruto were reassuring presences at her back.
"Man, there are a ton of people in here!" Naruto said, peering around with interest. He didn't appear at all intimidated by the mass of older, likely more experienced ninja who were watching them.
With a familiar laugh, Ino materialized from the crowd, flinging her arms around Isa. "What took you guys so long?"
Isa returned her sister's hug, the knot of anxiety in her chest loosening. Ino stepped back, smiling brightly, and immediately turned to hug Sasuke, too.
"Sasuke! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" She squealed, giggling girlishly. Sasuke grumbled loudly, but didn't bother pushing her away. Probably a good thing, Isa thought, trying very hard not to smile when Sasuke met her eyes with a miserable expression on his face. I think it'd take at least a few people to pry her off.
Shikamaru and Choji joined them, following Ino, shouldering their way through the crowd. "Decided to show up at the last minute, huh?" Shikamaru drawled.
"Of course they did, Team Seven's always gotta show up everyone else, don't they?" A new voice chimed in. Kiba Inuzuka grinned at them, a small white puppy sitting on his head.
"Shut up, Kiba, you wish you were as cool as us!" Naruto said. The rest of Team Eight appeared, hovering by Kiba's shoulders.
Hinata Hyuuga, a tiny purple-haired girl, peeked out from behind Kiba's coat. "H-hi, Naruto," She said, so quietly that her voice was almost lost in the noisy room.
Naruto blinked at her. "Oh, hey, Hinata."
She blushed furiously and shuffled backwards until she bumped into the third member of Team Eight, Shino Aburame. He was a tall, quiet boy with sunglasses and a coat with a collar so tall it obscured most of his face. He was impossible to read, but he didn't react when Hinata ran into him, despite her squeak of surprise.
"Aw, look, all of us are together again!" Ino said. She let go of Sasuke, much to his relief, and stood beside her teammates.
"Yeah, the Rookie Nine is all here. Just like old times," Kiba said. "Right, Akamaru?" The puppy on his head barked, panting happily.
Shikamaru sighed. "These exams are too much trouble."
"You say that about everything," Isa said, laughing when he shot her a deadpan look.
"Careful, if you drop out, Ino might kill you," Kiba said. Ino nodded emphatically, glaring at Shikamaru in warning.
"He's right, you know. You're not allowed to be lazy!" She hit him in the arm, none-too-gently.
"Yeah, it'll be interesting to see who makes the cut, huh, Sasuke?" Kiba grinned, a playful sort of rivalry in his eyes.
Sasuke smirked. "Try not to get overconfident, will you, Kiba?"
"It's not overconfidence, trust me. I don't know about you guys, but we've been training like crazy. Nobody's gonna know what hit 'em," Kiba boasted.
Naruto scoffed. "Yeah? Well while you were training, we were off doing an A-rank mission."
"And we've been training," Isa added, smirking playfully at Kiba and elbowing him in the side. "You sure you're ready for this?"
He laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "I was born ready!" Akamaru barked in agreement, licking her face.
She giggled, pushing him away. "Akamaru, stop!"
Shino laid a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped in surprise. "Stop moving," He said. He spoke so rarely that it was always strange to hear him talk, and combined with the fact that his voice was already a good deal deeper than the other boy's, he never failed to make Isa a little nervous.
She froze, and followed his line of sight to her feet. A small beetle was crawling across the floor, inches away from her foot. She muffled a squeak of fear behind her hands.
She could practically feel Kiba rolling his eyes. "Dude, that's a tiny bug."
She would have smacked him if she hadn't been busy inching away from the beetle. "Shino, please get it!" She pleaded, whining plaintively when it crawled closer to her. Shino knelt, letting the beetle climb onto his hand. He stood and moved to the window, depositing the bug outside.
Kiba snorted. "You're such a girl."
Isa smoothed her shirt self-consciously, cheeks turning pink. She glared at him. "Yeah, well, I am a girl, so that's not a very good insult."
Shino rejoined them, practically towering over her. "You've never liked bugs," He observed. Isa was fairly certain that he sounded a little disappointed, but she honestly couldn't tell. He said everything in a deep monotone, half the time she didn't even hear what he was saying.
She mustered an apologetic smile. "I like butterflies?" She offered sheepishly.
"Bugs are gross," Ino said. Shino's silence took on an irritated air.
Someone coughed nearby, politely getting their attention. "Hey, guys." They looked over to the silver-haired boy approaching them. He smiled, lifting a hand in greeting. "No offense, but you might want to keep it down a little."
"You know, when people say 'no offense', they usually follow it with something offensive," Shikamaru said dryly.
The boy laughed. "Well, you're the nine rookies, right? I don't think experienced shinobi are going to react well to a bunch of fresh Academy graduates invading their Exams."
"We're not invading anything," Naruto said, frowning at the stranger. "We got here fair and square, just like everyone else!"
"Who are you, anyway?" Ino asked, running a critical eye over the older boy.
"Ah, sorry! I'm Kabuto Yakushi. I really didn't mean to offend you, but you've kinda made an impression," He said.
He's right, Isa thought. The majority of the room was staring at them, most gazes varying levels of unfriendly. We might have just painted a huge target on our own backs. One look at the other rookies told her they'd realized that, as well.
"See those guys over there?" Kabuto nodded to a group of ninja nearby, their forehead protectors marked with four parallel lines. "They're from the Village Hidden by Rain. Really touchy, those guys. I don't think they like you very much."
Yeah, I don't think so, either. They were glaring at the rookies, muttering darkly amongst themselves. Well, we'll just have to avoid them. And everyone else in the room.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, though," Kabuto said. "Nobody likes the rookies. You guys remind me of myself, in a way."
"This isn't the first time you've taken the Exams?" Isa asked. He shook his head.
"No it's... my seventh." He smiled, a bit embarrassed.
Seventh?! Dad said most people don't bother going back after their fifth! Isa traded a shocked look with Shikamaru.
"Yeah, the exams are held twice a year, so this is my fourth year," Kabuto said, shrugging.
"So you probably know all the inside tips, huh?" Kiba asked hopefully.
Naruto looked excited. "Yeah, you're probably an expert! You can teach us all about the Exams!"
"Some expert," Shikamaru muttered scornfully. "How is it even possible for someone to fail six times?"
"Yeah, that's weird," Ino agreed, clearly unimpressed by the older boy.
Kabuto ran a hand through his hair, smiling cheerfully. "Well, you know what they say, seventh time's the charm!"
"D-does that mean that the Exams are going to be really hard?" Hinata piped up, still half-hidden behind Kiba.
Kabuto rummaged around in one of his pouches, producing a handful of orange cards. "I don't know what the Exams have in store, but I might be able to help you guys out with my Ninja Info Cards."
He knelt, setting the stack of cards on the ground, face-down. "These cards have been chakra-encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years."
"Like what?" Isa asked. Kabuto picked up a card, flipping it over. It was blank. He set it down, placing a single finger in the center of it. After a moment, a picture appeared on the card.
"Don't want just anybody to see what's on them," He said, smile taking on a distinctly sly edge. "This card shows the geographic distribution of the candidates. The most powerful village is usually the one who gets to host the Exams, and also provides most of the prospective ninja. This year, Konoha has about ninety participants."
"Do your cards have information on specific ninja?" Sasuke asked.
"Maybe. My information might not be complete, but I know something about almost everyone. Including you guys," He added, replacing his first card.
How does he have information on us? I don't think we've even been listed on the genin roster yet, Isa thought, startled. She glanced at Ino, whose frown matched her own.
"Do you have anything on a guy named Gaara? He's from the Hidden Sand," Sasuke said.
Kabuto nodded, shuffling his cards. "Anyone else?"
"Rock Lee, from the Leaf Village." Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting.
Kabuto held up two cards, placing them on the ground. It's so detailed, Isa thought, staring at the faces of Rock Lee and Gaara, frowning up at them from the cards. It's got their power distribution and everything!
"Okay, Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys, his sensei is Might Guy, and his taijutsu is off the charts. This is his first time participating in the Chunin Exams," Kabuto said, squinting at the cards through his glasses. "I don't have a lot on Gaara, but I do know that he's done a B-rank, and he's survived every mission without a single scratch on him."
"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, incredulous. "That's impossible!"
Kabuto shrugged, putting the cards back in the deck. "I don't know how he does it, but he's never gotten hurt on a mission."
"So he's the one to beat," Sasuke muttered. Isa shot him a warning look.
"He's the one to avoid," She said sharply.
"Yeah, I don't wanna tangle with him," Kiba agreed.
Kabuto produced another card, the map of the villages manifesting again. "He's from the Sand Village, over here." He pointed to a large section of the map. "The other candidates are from the Leaf, Grass, Waterfall, and Sound villages."
"The Sound Village?" Shikamaru repeated. "I've never heard of that."
"It cropped up recently," Kabuto explained. "No one really knows anything about it. Not even I have any information on the ninja from there."
Sound, huh? It's weird for a new village to have ninja at all, let alone send them to exams in another country, Isa thought, chewing on her bottom lip.
Kabuto shrugged, putting the cards back in his pouch. "Well, the competition's gonna be tough this year, I can tell."
"R-really?" Hinata asked, crestfallen.
"I've been participating for four years, and I've never seen a group of candidates with as much potential as this year's," Kabuto said, standing up.
Naruto and Kiba grinned at each other, delighted. "So we gotta prove to everyone that the rookies shouldn't be underestimated?" Kiba asked, chuckling. "Should be fun."
Shikamaru sighed, miserable. "This is such a drag."
"I'm so ready for this!" Naruto crowed, eyes alight in excitement. "Everybody better watch out because Naruto Uzumaki is taking the Chunin Exams!" He pumped his fist in the air, drawing the attention of the few people in the room who hadn't already been watching them.
Ino glared at him. "Naruto, shut up! Everyone's staring at us!"
"Don't yell at me! It's not my fault everyone else is boring!" Naruto cried, affronted.
"They're not boring, you're just obnoxious!" Ino yelled, hitting him on the head. He pouted petulantly.
Isa balled her hand against her mouth to conceal a smile, and Shikamaru groaned. "They're so loud," He muttered. "Why are they so loud?"
"I think they're insane," Choji said conversationally, munching on his chips.
"Geez, either of you want to talk any louder? I don't think people on the other side of the village can hear you yet," Kiba quipped, ignoring the nasty look Ino gave him.
"Stop," Shino said suddenly, voice terse. Isa noticed it the same time he did, a flicker of movement in the crowd. Someone was coming toward them, much faster than they should have been. She tensed, reaching out for the chakra signatures. It was hard to differentiate specific people in a room full of so many shinobi, but she pinpointed them just as one leapt into the air, flinging a pair of kunai at Kabuto's feet.
"Three of them," She said. Shikamaru and Sasuke were moving with her before the ninja had even hit the floor. They were in front of the group in an instant, kunai glittering in their hands. The others still appeared to be blindsided by the unexpected attack.
But they weren't going for the rookies. Kabuto skipped back, avoiding the kunai. The second ninja showed up right in front of him, fist sailing for Kabuto's face. He dodged it cleanly, smirking. Then the lenses of his glasses shattered and he stumbled, falling to his knees and retching.
Ino recoiled in disgust. "Ew, what is happening?!"
"He didn't even hit him," Shikamaru muttered, eyes sharp.
"I saw the whole thing, he never touched him!" Sasuke said forcefully, staring, uncomprehending, at the ninja.
Sound ninja, Isa thought. But he didn't touch Kabuto, so what's wrong with him?
"We need to stay away from these guys," She said quietly. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
The Sound ninja regrouped, staring down at Kabuto smugly. "Put this on your little cards," One of them said, sneering. "The genin from the Sound Village will be chunin by the time these Exams are over!"
They backed up, disappearing into the crowd. Slowly, conversation resumed around them, attention finally turning away from the group of rookies. Naruto helped pick Kabuto up off the floor.
"Are you alright?" He asked the older boy.
Kabuto nodded. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. You guys should go, they're opening the exam hall."
"Man, you sure you're okay?" Kiba asked.
Kabuto summoned a half-hearted smile. "Yeah. But don't mess with the Sound ninja, I guess, huh?"
He waved, returning to his group, wherever they were, only slightly unsteady on his feet. The candidates began filtering into the exam hall, guided along by the exam proctors. They handed each person a number card, hustling them along to the corresponding seat. The hall was a large room full of long desks; along the sides were seated a selection of Leaf ninja, clipboards in hand.
Isa was seated near the middle of the room, nowhere near either of her teammates. Sasuke was in the third row, and Naruto was on the other side of the room entirely, sitting next to Hinata. Isa craned her neck, looking around for familiar faces. Ino was two rows back, and she waved brightly when she spotted Isa. Shikamaru was nearby, slumped in his chair, and Choji was in the aisle opposite him.
They're separating the teams, she realized. As soon as everyone was seated, a tall, broad-shouldered man marched to the front of the room. He stood at ease, hands clasped behind his back, and when he faced them, Isa recognized him with a start.
Dad works with him, I've seen them talking before! He's in the Konohagakure Intelligence Division. What's he doing proctoring the Chunin Exams?
She cast another look around the room at the ninja with clipboards, their grey suits suddenly very familiar. This is... weird. Why would they relegate an entire section of the Intelligence Division to proctor the Chunin Exams?
"Alright, listen up, ingrates! I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor." He didn't speak loudly, but his voice commanded their attention, and everyone immediately fell silent. "Before we begin, there are some rules you need to know. Pay attention, I won't be taking questions."
He turned to the chalkboard behind him, scribbling on it. "Rule number one, the written exam is conducted on a point-reduction system. Everyone starts the test with a perfect score of ten points, and a point is deducted for each question you get wrong. Rule number two, teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members."
Isa's stomach sunk. Oh, no. She glanced at Naruto, who was visibly distressed. Naruto's the worst at written exams!
"Rule number three," Ibiki continued. "The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. If they catch you five times, you and your team will be dismissed."
What? Isa blinked, nonplussed. Why bother taking away points at all? Why wait until we're caught five times before kicking us out? That's totally counter-productive.
Ibiki was smirking. "Anyone stupid enough to get caught cheating doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be. And rule number four, anyone who gets a zero on the exam automatically fails, and their team goes with them."
Naruto, if possible, looked even more upset.
"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period," Ibiki said, raising his voice over the muffled grumbles of worry throughout the room. You'll have one hour total."
The sentinels around the room stood up and began passing out the tests. Isa took hers, flipping through it quickly. The questions were long and complex, nothing they'd even begun to cover in the Academy. Crap, Naruto can't do this! I don't think even I can do some of this!
Once everyone had a test in front of them, Ibiki looked up at the clock. "Begin!"
The room was dead silent. Pencils hovered uncertainly over paper. There were a few people who immediately began writing, confident in their abilities. Isa read through the test carefully, lips pursed. There were a few questions she could answer, but the technical problems regarding mathematics and physics were lost on her.
Keeping her head down, she scanned the room through her eyelashes, picking out the few people who were already writing. After a while, more pencils began moving, and she deemed it safe to start her own test.
Don't start it too early, or it'll make me a target for other people to copy off of, she thought. She filled in the few answers she had, and then glanced surreptitiously behind her. Ino had her head down on her desk, eyes closed. Isa waited until she opened her eyes again, scribbling furiously on her paper.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu," She whispered, putting her own head down. She left her body and gently entered Ino's.
"Hey, Ino," She greeted her sister, prodding her thoughts cheerfully.
Ino's giggle echoed through her head. "You're such a punk! Invading your sister's mind is rude, you know."
Isa looked through Ino's eyes at the test. "Hurry up and finish," She whined, playfully pushing against Ino's mind.
If Ino could have mentally stuck her tongue out, Isa was sure she would have. "Bossy much? You're gonna give these to Naruto, right? He looked kinda frozen over there."
Isa snorted. "Yeah. I don't really want to visit his brain, though."
"Ew, who would?" Ino agreed. She set down her pencil. "Okay, done. You got 'em?"
Isa memorized the answers as quickly as she could. "Yep! Thanks, Ino, love you!"
Ino rolled her eyes as Isa left, returning to her body. She picked up her head and copied down the answers from memory, looking up at Naruto. His hands were buried in his hair, staring helplessly at the test in front of him.
With a sigh, Isa put her head back down. "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu."
When she entered Naruto's mind, he balked away from her. Quickly, she seized control of his body before he could start flailing in shock.
"Naruto, calm down!" She said, trying to project soothing emotions onto the confused, panicked boy. "It's just me, I've got the answers. You can talk to me, just think it, and I'll know."
"What the hell?! Isa's in my mind. Like, inside it. What do I do? Do I sit here? I can't move, so I guess I'll sit here. Can she see everything in my brain? Oh, that's not good. It's probably really cluttered. And messy. I was just thinking about my frog slippers, I hope she can't see that. That'd be kinda embarrassing."
Isa winced at the mental barrage. "Naruto, one thought at a time!"
He quieted, and then seemed to realize that he could speak directly to her. "Isa, please don't go through my head!"
She picked up his pencil and started writing. "I won't, I'm just here to give you the answers."
"Do you really know all of this?" He asked, astounded, watching her write down the answers.
Her mental laughter echoed through their connection. "No, I got them from Ino."
"Did you do this... mind thing with her, too?"
She hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, and she got the answers from some other guy. I think there are chunins planted around the room with the answers so that we can cheat off of them."
Naruto radiated confusion. "What do you mean? You think they wanted us to cheat?"
"Well, yeah. None of the rules specifically said not to cheat, just not to get caught doing it." She finished writing, setting down his pencil. "Okay, I'm leaving now, so just act normal once you can move again, alright?"
She drifted back to her own body, looking up a moment later to see Naruto staring at his hands, a slightly disturbed expression on his face. She could see Sasuke writing, and any worry she'd had dissipated.
We've got this, she thought proudly. It didn't take long before the sentinels were calling out numbers, the failed candidates leaving the room with their teams. A lot of people got caught, and a lot of people were disqualified. It would have made Isa sad, but she knew that each person who failed brought her one step closer to becoming a chunin.
When forty-five minutes had passed, Ibiki cleared his throat. "Time for the tenth question," He said. "Before I give you the question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of."
More rules? Geez, they really take this thing seriously. She sighed, flicking her bangs out of her eyes.
"Rule number one, each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. If you choose not to take the question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero." Shocked murmurs ran through the room.
"Well, then, why would we do that?" Kiba asked from his seat near the back of the room.
Ibiki smirked. "You didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question, but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exams ever again."
Isa's mouth dropped open. Is he even allowed to do that? Can people really be banned from taking the Exams forever?
"Are you kidding me?! That's bull, there's tons of people here who've taken the test before!" Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru barked in agreement.
Ibiki laughed, a low, sinister sound. It sent chills down Isa's back. "I guess you're just unlucky," He said, grinning at Kiba, who blanched. "I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. You can always come back and try again next year."
No way, I'm not waiting another six months. But if we fail, we'll never be able to try again. Isa sighed, rubbing her forehead. What a screwed up test. Shikamaru was right, this is a drag.
"So, the final question." Ibiki leveled his gaze at the room, intimidation dripping from every word. "Anybody who doesn't want to take it, raise your hand."
There was a long, tense moment where no one moved. Then, haltingly, someone raised their hand.
"I can't do it, I'm sorry." The genin and his team shuffled out of the room. After that, it was practically a race to get out the door. Teams began folding left and right, and the room emptied significantly.
Isa looked around. There were still a lot of people left, despite the line of people flowing out of the room. Sasuke seemed confident, at least as far as she could tell, and when she caught Naruto's eye, he flashed her a grateful smile.
Ibiki waited until no more hands were raised. "Well, then, for those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do." He paused dramatically, and Isa felt her stomach clench in anticipation. "And that's for me to tell you that you've all passed the first exam."
Nobody moved.
"What?" Isa asked, gaping at him. She felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on her head.
Naruto was scratching his head, puzzled. "But what about the tenth question?"
Ibiki's glower broke, and he grinned merrily. Suddenly, he seemed less like an impenetrable wall of steel and more like an oversized teddy bear. "There never was one! Not a written one, anyway. Your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question."
"So all the other questions were just a waste of time?" Shikamaru asked. He sighed. "Figures."
"Oh, no, they weren't a waste at all," Ibiki assured him. "The first set of questions tested your ability to gather information under adverse circumstances. Those who were unable to perform accordingly were dismissed. You see, my intention was not only to test you as individuals, but as members of a team. That's why the tests were scored on a team basis, so that you were aware of how your actions would affect the fate of your teammates."
"So you designed a test that was way out of our league, and then waited for us to come up with a way to gather the information we needed to complete it." Isa said, smiling as the pieces fell into place. "We had to go into it knowing that if we got caught cheating, our whole team would fail, and if we couldn't answer the questions, our team would fail anyway."
Ibiki met her eyes, smirking in recognition. "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? You're right, the written test was designed to encourage cheating. The real test laid in your ability to devise a way to subtly gather information without getting caught by the sentinels. Of course, I had to plant two chunin in the room who already knew the answers, so that you actually had a chance of getting some of the questions right."
Isa crossed her arms over her chest smugly. I knew it!
"Information," Ibiki said, reaching up and undoing the bandanna around his head. "It can be the most powerful weapon on the battlefield. How well you gather intelligence can determine whether the mission is a failure or a success." He pulled the bandanna away, revealing a scalp marred by vicious scars.
Isa's pride fell away and she gasped, staring in horror. Ibiki's whole head was covered in thick, ropy scars, remnants of burn marks and puncture wounds littered alongside the slash marks. He waited until the horrified gasps calmed down before replacing the bandanna.
"Sometimes you'll have to risk your life to the get the information you need," He said solemnly. "And you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy isn't necessarily accurate. Always remember this, disinformation is more dangerous than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades or the loss of a village. That's why I put you in a position where you had to gather accurate intelligence."
"Okay, but what was the tenth question all about?" Temari, the girl from the Sand Village, asked.
"The tenth question was the whole point of the test. It put you, and by association, your team, in a no-win scenario. You could drop out, forcing your team to quit with you, or you could risk it, and potentially ruin your team's chance of ever becoming a chunin. It is exactly the kind of situation a chunin is faced with almost every day." Ibiki looked them over, eyebrows drawn together.
"There will be many mission that will seem almost suicidal if you think about it," He said. "But you do not think about it. You think only of the goal, and of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a chunin squad leader. Those who would choose the safe path, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own lives at the price of sacred honor, will never be able to call themselves chunin. At least not as long as I'm here."
His speech left the atmosphere in the room noticeably more somber than it had been previously. "As for the rest of you, you have passed. I hereby declare this section of the Chunin Exams completed, you may continue on to the next step." He smiled warmly at them. "Good luck."
Naruto and Kiba both whooped in excitement. Isa slumped back in her seat, feeling the stress draining from her body. Sasuke turned around, smirking at her, and she flashed him a thumbs up. Then, a rock crashed through one of the windows and something came barreling inside.
They stared in shock as someone hurled a pair of kunai into the ceiling, unfurling a huge banner. The woman who stood in front of it grinned at them, hands on her hips.
"Head's up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating!" She announced exuberantly. "I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi! Everybody ready for the next test? Yeah? Good!" Anko thrust her fist in the air for emphasis.
It's like... a female Naruto, Isa thought, torn between horror and amusement.
Somebody in the back of the room coughed awkwardly. Nobody moved. Ibiki leaned around the banner with a deadpan expression.
"You're early," He said. "Again."
Anko laughed, turning pink, then surveyed the room. "There's a lot of people in here. What, did you decide to go easy on 'em?"
"Maybe there's just a stronger crop of candidates this year," He said.
Anko snorted. "Doesn't matter, by the time I'm done with them, half of them are gonna be gone. Alright, you maggots have had it easy, but this next test is gonna push you to the breaking point," She said, raising her voice to address the whole room. "I'll see you first thing in the morning, I'll let your squad leaders know where to meet me. Dismissed."
They left in a hurry, regrouping outside the Academy. The sun was setting, a golden haze settling over the village. Isa threw her arms in the air as soon as she was outside, laughing joyfully.
"We did it!" She crowed, looking around at her friends with bright eyes. "We all made it!"
Kiba scoffed, pulling on her ponytail teasingly. "Of course we did, we're awesome."
"Yeah, come on," Ino agreed, affecting a lofty tone. "Nobody is better than Rookie Nine."
Isa grinned, lacing her hand with Ino's, swinging their arms back and forth. "We gotta look out for each other."
"That's what friends are for," Choji said matter-of-factly. He looked up at the sky. "Man, it's almost dinner time. I'm starving!"
"We should have a celebration dinner once this is all over," Isa said.
"That would be fun," Hinata said, smiling timidly.
Isa grinned at her. "It's a date, then! Everyone has to come. Even you, Sasuke." She said, poking him in the ribs.
He grunted, but the corner of his mouth was turned up in a smirk. "Sounds lame," He said.
Isa and Ino traded an exasperated look. Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head.
"Trust me, man, don't fight them on this," He said. "It's impossible to stop them from getting what they want."
Sasuke looked doubtful, but Choji nodded sagely. "They're insane," He agreed.
Ino huffed, tossing her hair. "We're not insane, you jerks." She looked up, waving at their father, who was walking toward them with a smile. "Time to go!"
"See you guys tomorrow!" Isa said, waving over her shoulder, letting Ino drag her away. Inoichi waited for them with open arms, laughing when they launched themselves at him.
"Looks like my girls made it. I knew you would," He said, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders. "Come on, your mom's got dinner cooking." They leaned against him as they walked, chatting mindlessly, the sun casting long shadows across the ground.
A/N: Thanks to everybody for all the support, the reviews and favorites and follows really make my day! I realize that I basically sped through the First Exam in half a chapter, but don't worry, we'll be spending a lot of time on the rest of the Chunin Exams. You'll probably be wishing I moved the plot along faster, but hey we'll get there eventually. As usual, the next chapter will be out next Wednesday, so hopefully you all stick around for that because there's just one more chapter until it starts to get fun. And by fun I mean traumatizing. Enjoy! :)