D: Yay, it's the first part of the Chunin Exams!
A: Yay! But wait, how will we cheat?
Shika: It's not really cheating, it's more like intelligence gathering.
D: …. Who the hell invited you?
Shika: I wasn't aware you had to be invited. But if that's how you feel, I'll leave now.
D: Hold on, while you're here, do the disclaimer; I think the three of us are sick of doing it.
Shika: …Fine, she doesn't own anything. Okay, bye.
D&A&K: Bye Shika! *We all wave dramatically*
A: Okay, so how are we cheating?
Shika (in distance): Intel gathering!
D: No one cares!
K: Well, I think we'll figure it out in the story, so let's get on with the show peeps!
Chapter Ten:
Written Exam:
We all sat silently at the breakfast table. "We" being me, Shika, Yoshino, Shikaku, Kye, and Akito.
"So, what's our plan?" Akito asked, finally breaking the silence. "We need someway to cheat."
"Technically, its Intel gathering," Shika said.
"So, in short, cheating," I said.
"Intel gat –" Shika started, but then stopped. "Oh, I'm not doing this."
"I repeat, what's our plan?" Akito asked.
"I don't know," I said. "Any suggestions, Kye?" She didn't reply. "Um, hello, Kye?" This time she closed her eyes tight and slapped her hands over ears. "Um, okay. Does any one know what's wrong with her?"
"What's wrong with me?" She asked. "I can't think because everyone is yelling! It's giving me a headache!"
"No one's yelling," I said. "I'm the only one talking, and that's all I'm doing: talking."
"Really? Because I hear everyone shouting," she said. "Well, they aren't yelling, just all talking at once, it's really annoying and it's giving me a headache."
"What do you hear?" I asked.
"Well, Shika is saying how the Chunin Exams are a drag, Yoshino is going on about cooking and how she's excited for us to be gone for five days so she doesn't have to cook for us, you and Akito are talking about are plans for the first part, and Shikaku Sensei is saying how we are either going to fail or die."
"What?" Akito and I exclaimed together glaring at Shikaku Sensei.
"But wait," he said. "I never said it. Thought it, true, but I didn't say it. This is my first time speaking today."
"Yeah, same with everyone, before your little outburst, Akito and I were the only ones to have spoken," I confirmed.
"So does that mean I'm reading minds?" She asked. "That's so cool! It must be my kekkei genkai!"
"Aw, now I'm the only one with out one," Akito pouted.
"Don't worry, Akito, I'm sure you'll get yours soon," I said. I didn't really think so, but she couldn't blame me if she didn't get her wish, I couldn't tell the future.
That's not very nice, Kye's voice rang in my head.
"What?" I asked out loud.
Apparently I can also communicate to you, she explained, still telepathically.
Does it work both ways? No answer. Kye, are you listening? Does it work both ways? Still no answer.
"Kye!" I finally shouted out loud.
"What?" She asked.
"Where you listening, I asked if it worked both ways," I repeated.
"Oh, no, I guess it doesn't," she said. "I was busy reading Akito's mind."
"Well, that explains it then," I said. We finished breakfast quickly.
"You girls should hurry up," Yoshino said.
"Yeah," Shikaku Sensei agreed.
"Okay, we'll get there quickly," I said standing up. Akito and Kye followed me out the door. As we were walking down and ally way, three girls appeared around the corner. We could tell from their forehead protectors that they were from the mist village.
"And so it begins," I said to my friends.
"Indeed," Kye said.
"Should we be nice?" Akito said.
"Yes, of course we should, as we are the hosting village for the Chunin Exams, it is important that we act hospitable," I said.
"Fine," Akito sighed in defeat. Our two teams met halfway, and we stood there staring at each other, mostly because neither team wanted to move out of the other team's way.
A girl with dark blue hair pulled back into a pony tail stood in front of me. She had blue eyes, and she wore a dark blue halter top, a blue skirt with black leggings, and blue ninja sandals.
"Hi," the girl said. "My name is Tsuki." She held out her hand for me to shake.
"Darcy," I introduced, taking her hand.
"I'm Mizuka," the girl to her left said, holding out her hand to Akito. She had a black bob, and black eyes. Her outfit was the same color as Tsuki's, but she had a tank top and pants instead. Her shoes were the same, though. As was the other girl's.
"Akito," was all Akito said, shaking Mizuka's hand briefly. She was still disappointed the she couldn't beat the shit out of them.
"I'm Kana," the third girl said. She also had a bob cut, but her hair was white, and her eyes were black. She had the same outfit as Mizuka. They looked like the popular girls you would see in Disney movies, you know the ones. There's the main, pretty, popular girl, and then her two followers who wear similar clothes to her, but they are less flattering than the main girl's clothes. It was clear Tsuki was the leader here.
We stood in silence for a while, before Tsuki finally broke the silence.
"We should probably hurry," she said to her team.
"See you guys later," she called over her shoulder as she, Mizuka, and Kana hurried away.
"Come on, guys," I said, starting off the way we were headed. "We still have time to calm down and think." In other words, relax before the hell started.
We were at the clearing where we had the picnic.
"You know, this place is really nice," Akito said.
"Yeah, it's beautiful here," Kye said.
"I disagree," I stated flatly.
"Hey, look, more people," Kye said, pointing across the clearing, where, sure enough, four people were arriving. The saw us and made their way over.
"Hi," I said rather flatly, I was still upset about being here.
"Hi," one boy said.
"My name is Sakumaru," the other boy said. "What's yours?"
"Darcy," I said.
"Not you, her," he indicated Akito.
"Who, me?" Akito asked, indicating herself with her index finger.
"Yeah, you, gorgeous," Sakumaru said.
"Okay, first off, my name is NOT gorgeous," Akito said. "Secondly, I was going to tell you my name, and then I wasn't, and now that I realize you'll just call me gorgeous if I don't tell you my name, I'll tell you. My name is Akito."
"You could have just said 'my name is Akito' in the first place," I said, still grumpy. "No one asked for that long, pointless, stupid, meaningless, dumbass story!" My voice gradually got louder as I spoke.
"Just because you're upset doesn't mean you have to rub it off on everyone else," Akito pouted.
"Whatever," I said sourly.
"Anyways, I'm Kye," Kye introduced.
"My name is Ria," a girl with short black hair and hot pink bangs and blue eyes introduced. She had a white kimono on, kind of like Temari's (in the second part) except shorter, and she had black leggings on, and black ninja sandals.
"Tsukyo," the final boy said. His chakra signature seemed strangely familiar, but I shrugged it off. He was dressed just like Sasuke, but, of course, I shrugged that off, too. Then, the fourth person, a man, who looked strangely like the man Orochimaru disguised himself as during the preliminary round of the Chunin Exams, stepped forward.
"I am the team's sensei, Steven," he said. "Steven Viper."
"Steven Viper?" Kye asked, quirking her eyebrow. "You guys are from the sound." It was a statement, for they all had forehead protectors with the sound symbol on it.
"Yes, we are," Steven Viper answered, even though it wasn't a question. "We must leave now, but I look forward to when our teams compete." And with that, he left.
"That is so Orochimaru," I said once he was out of ear shot.
"Definitely," Akito said.
"I half expected him to be wearing that 'I am Naruto' shirt the he wore in the Naruto Abridged series," Kye said.
"Well, let's continue on and see who else is coming," I said.
"Good idea," Kye said.
"So, where to now?" Akito asked.
"I guess we should head to the testing room," I said. Akito and Kye both nodded in agreement, so we set out to the testing room. I was beginning to get really nervous. It was that pre-test nervousness that (most) people get right before a test.
It took us about twenty minutes to reach our destination. I guess we could gotten there quicker, but we decided to take our time.
"I wonder who our prompter will be," I wondered allowed.
"Probably Ibiki," Kye said.
"Oh, I really hope not," Akito said. "I don't want him messing with the way I think."
"That's true," I said. "But he really taught everyone a lesson that one time." I pushed open the door to building the test was in (I think it's the academy, but I'm not sure).
"Hey, is this where the first part of the Chunin Exam is?" A girl asked from behind us. We turned to see two girls and a boy entering the building behind us.
"Yeah, it is," I said. "I'm Darcy, by the way. Who are you?"
"Anna Iato," she said. She had long black hair with dark red highlights and onyx eyes. Her outfit was just like Kye's except it was dark blue with a black trim and white shorts underneath. She had on black ninja sandals.
"I'm Kokomo," the boy said. He had black hair and eyes, and he wore all black: pants, long sleeved shirt, and ninja sandals. On his belt he had two blue sward hilts, but no blades.
"And I'm Miako," the last girl said. She had blue eyes, long, braided blond hair, and she wore a semi-sleeve pink shirt, a pink mini skirt, black leggings, and black ninja sandals.
"We're from the rain village," Anna said.
"That's nice," I said. "We're from the leaf village. Oh, wait, I guess that's obvious."
"It's so nice to meet you! I can tell we're going to be great friends!" Miako said excitedly.
"Ahaha, I guess so," I said. Now that I was away from the clearing, I felt a lot better.
"This is going to be so much fun, right Anna?" Miako asked.
"Whatever," she said. "Let's just go take our test." And with that, she walked away. Probably headed to the testing room.
"What's her deal?" I asked.
"We don't really know," Kokomo said. "She just doesn't like people."
"I see," I said.
"Oh, my god, she's just like Sasuke!" Jade cooed. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Itachi we want!"
"Does she always talk to herself?" Kokomo asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," I said. "Come on, let's get going." We hurried after Anna, and, eventually, we made it to the testing room. And just in time, too. As soon as we entered, Ibiki and his team of eagle eyed Chunin were there and ready to begin.
"Okay, that's everyone," Ibiki said when we entered. "Now, I'll give you a number, and then you'll sit down. Once everyone is seated, I'll pass out the test and explain the rules."
"Wait, a written test?" Kye suddenly cried out. "No, wait, I haven't studied yet! Oh no, oh no, I'm going to fail!
"Um, well, once you sit down, and I'll explain everything," Ibiki repeated. But that didn't set Kye at ease.
"I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail," Kye repeated. Akito and I tried our best to hold in our laughter, because we knew exactly what the test would be like. Well, we didn't know the nitty gritty details, but we had a general idea. Not to mention my kekkei genkai and Kye's. This would be a breeze.
We all got our numbers and sat down. I subtly looked around for Akito and found her sitting in the front left corner.
Good, now I know where she is. You know, you don't really have to do anything. Kye could just give the answers to you and Akito. Well, yeah, I know that. But I want to be useful. You've been training as a medic; your time will come when you need to heal your team. That's true, but I want to be useful here, too. After all, I am the leader. Really, when was that decided? It wasn't. I guess it was just a given. If you say so.
"Okay, now for the rules," Ibiki said. He started writing on the bored. "First, you will all start out with a perfect score. So if you get a question wrong, you lose a point. You start with ten points, so if you get three questions wrong you'll have seven points left. Second rule, you are scored as a team. If one person gets a zero and fails, the whole team fails. And now, the third and final rule: There is absolutely no cheating at all! For each time you are caught by one of the sentries, you lose two points. Get caught five times, and not only do you fail, but so do your teammates. Is that clear?"
"Wait, so if one person is caught cheating, then the whole team loses?" Miako said. "No pressure or anything."
"If you are stupid enough to get caught cheating in my classroom, you don't deserve to pass. Also, there are only nine written questions, I will give you the tenth," Ibiki said harshly. "Now, you all have the test, you will begin on my mark." He paused too look at the clock. "Ready… Begin!" There was the sound of paper flipping over and pencils being picked up. I read the first question in my head:
Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shurikin thrown at enemy C by ninja A seated atop a tree seven meters tall. Aw, man, it sounds like math. Describe and formulate the trajectory required…
I trailed off.
Ah, shit, this makes no damn sense! You're telling me. When will Kye get the answers to us?
Be patient, I'm still gathering information, Kye told us.
Um, how'd you hear me? I asked her.
You accidently wrote what you were thinking on my paper, she explained. Don't worry, it came off, and nobody saw.
Okay, whatever, just hurry up, I said.
I stared at my paper for a while, pretending to figure out the questions, waiting for Kye to hurry the hell up.
I can hear you, you know, her voice rang in my head.
Sorry, I replied.
No, you're not, she laughed. Anyways, I have the answers. Do you want me to give them to Akito or do you want to do that?
How about I do it, that way the answers stay in front of her. How about you tell her that I'll give it to her letter by letter, and I'll give her three seconds with each letter, I ordered.
Got it, Kye said. A minute later, her voice rang in my head. Okay, I told her. First I need to give you the answers. I'll tell her when you're ready. Here are the answers.
As she told me, I used my kekkei genkai to write them on the table in front of me.
Okay, now for Akito, I thought.
She's ready, Kye informed.
I closed my eyes and imagined writing the letter in front of her, waiting for three seconds, and then erasing it and replacing it with the next letter.
By the time the three of us all had our answers, there were fifteen minutes left in the test.
"Fifteen minutes," Ibiki announced.
I flipped my paper over so the blank back was facing up, and laid my head on my arm and waited. I ended up falling asleep, actually. And I didn't have a very good awakening. Hey, how would you like to wake up flying across a room towards the window? And that's how I awoke.
My fluttered opened.
Oh, I'm flying across the room.
I closed my eyes again. Then the snapped back open.
"Shit!" I cried out as my body hit the window. I nearly feel out, but I flung my hands at the wall, slowing, and eventually stopping, my fall with my chakra. "Who the hell tossed me out the f***ing window?"
"Ibiki, she's awake," Sakura called. And so my question was answered.
"Sakura!" I shouted angrily. She poked her head out the window.
"Yes?" She asked innocently.
"Don't act so innocent, bitch! Why'd you toss me out the window?" I shouted at her as I made my way back up the side of the building.
"Ibiki asked me to wake you up," she said. "I tried the gentle way, but you were fast asleep. So I threw you."
"Out of a window?" I asked as I pulled myself into the room.
"Oh, I didn't mean to do that, but it happened," she shrugged.
"You need to learn to control your strength," I hissed menacingly as I stalked her.
"And you need to control your anger," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. That wasn't enough to stop me, though. I continued to stalk her, and she continued to walk backwards until she bumped into Ibiki. She quickly hid behind him. I was trying to glare him to nothing so I could punch Sakura.
"Take your seat," Ibiki instructed. "Now."
"Yes, sir," I reluctantly forced out, and with that said, I turned on my heel and stalked back to my seat.
"Anyways," Ibiki continued. "The tenth question."
The tenth question. We needed to answer this right, or we might not be able to try and become Chunin ever gain.
"You have a choice if you want to take the question," Ibiki said after a moment of thought. "If you leave, you can try again next time, but if you choose to take the question, you are no longer competing against the other teams, just your teammates. The team member with the lowest score will be bared from taking the Chunin Exams ever again!"
"You mean that the person with the lowest score will be stuck as a genin for the rest of their life?" I asked. That wasn't fair.
"Exactly," Ibiki said. "I'll give you a minute to decide if you want to stay or leave."
What should we do? If we leave, then we have to wait, but if we stay, there's a chance that one of us will be stuck as a genin. And that one could very well be me. It'll definitely be you. It'll be everyone. Think about it, he gave this question to Idate, too. He did. But there has to be another choice. No there's not, he didn't give you another choice. No, there's always another choice. I just need to think.
"Okay, times up, raise your hand if you want to leave," Ibiki announced.
No, wait, I need more time! You better come up with something now, or we're done here.
A few people raised there hands, but not many. They had to stay for the question, apparently.
"Idiots," I muttered to myself.
"Is that it? If you want to leave, now's your chance," Ibiki said. One more person raised their hand. "If that's all, then –" I wouldn't sit for this. Oh, no, I stood up, pointing and accusing finger at Ibiki.
"We can't go against our team; that goes against all the rules we've been taught" I said.
"In here, I am the rules," he replied.
"I don't care," I said. "In the ninja world, there are no rules. There is always another choice. You gave us choice A and choice B, well, I chose choice C."
"And what is choice C?" Ibiki asked.
"To stand through thick and thin with my team," I stated simply. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, true, but those who abandon their comrades, are even worse than that. There aren't any rules that I need to follow in the ninja world besides my own, and there aren't any rules here that I have to follow." I stared at him, and he stared at me.
"Well, it seems there is a third choice," he said. "Raise your hand if you wish to choose that option." There was a pause while everyone thought, and slowly but surely, the remaining contestants raised their hands.
"Well, with that said, you all pass," he said.
"What? That's it?" Tsuki cried out in exasperation. "What were the other questions for?"
"To test if you could successfully gather information with out getting caught," he said. "The whole point of the test was not to cheat, but to cheat successfully. It was as simple as that. But, you needed the answers, so, for that, we had two Chunin sitting in with you so you could get the answers." On cue, Sakura raised her hand.
That explains why she was here. But who was the second? Look.
"Huh? Shika?" I cried out in shock. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because it would have been way to easy for you to gather Intel.
"You mean cheat," I said.
"Don't start this," he said. I just smiled.
"Anyways, you all need to get going for the second part of the exam," Ibiki continued. "Follow Sakura and Shika, they'll show the way."
Kye, Akito, and I quickly met up with each other.
"You guys ready for this?" I asked.
"Oh, hell yeah," they said in unison, high-fiving each other.
And with that, we headed to the Forest of Death.
D: Okay, sorry for the late update, but I was tying to think up something original for the tenth question, but I ended up just using what he used for Idate, and I just sort of added to it.
K: It was a great chapter!
A: Yeah, and long!
K&A: Review please!
D: Yes, please do! Oh, and I'm leaving to go camping tomorrow, so I won't be updating for a while. Plus, my first day of work is this Sunday, like, right when I get back from camping, and band camp starts on Wednesday, but the first full day is Thursday, but that's not the point, the point is that I'll be very busy, and I'm also about to start my junior year of high school, which I hear is the hardest year, and I really want to get good grades, so I'm going t try my best. I understand you want me to update, but it would be great to have the full support of my readers :D Thank you! Anyways, review, and I hope you enjoyed! Again, review (incase you forgot the first two reminders)