D: I'm baaaack! Did ya miss me?

A&K: NO!

D: Ya don't hafta be mean…

A: Yeah, yeah, whatever.

K: She doesn't own anything.

D: Here cooooommmmeees… THE SECOND PART OF THE CHUNIN EXAMS!

Chapter 11:

Survival of the Fittest:

"My name is Anko, and I am the prompter for the second exam!" Anko shouted at the group of genin standing out side the Forest of Death. "Your goal is simple: Find either a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll, and survive for five days. To do this not only will you need the will to survive and the strength to face enemies, but you will also need to know what plants you can and can't eat. You are only allowed to use what you bring into the forest with you. Is that clear?"

"Wait what about the scroll? What do we do with that?" Miako asked.

"I was just getting to that," Anko said. "In secret, you will get a scroll, Heaven or Earth, and while you are in the forest, you will be trying to get which ever scroll you don't have. Also, I need you to sign these release forms, in case you die. That way, I'm not held responsible if you die." She was laughing when she finished her little speech.

"Apparently, she finds this funny," I heard Anna whisper to her team as she got her release form. Once everyone had their form, they were called team by team to get their scrolls.

"Okay, Tsuki's team has a Heaven scroll," Kye informed me and Akito in a whisper. "And Anna's team and Earth scroll, and Sakumaru's team also has an Earth scroll."

"And now, it's our turn," I said, and we headed to the table that was surrounded by the curtains. We handed over our release forms, and received a Heaven scroll in return.

"Good luck, and don't die," one of the men said as we left.

"Well, that's encouraging," I said as Akito, Kye, and I made our way to our designated gate.

"So, we know who we're gong for?" Kye asked.

"Sakumaru's team, please," Akito begged.

"Why?" I asked.

"He was flirting with me, and it creeps me out," she said simply.

"Haha, okay," I said.

"Orochimaru is definitely their team leader," Kye suddenly said.

"Yeah," Akito and I agreed.

"And that Tsukyo dude is with out a doubt Sasuke," Kye continued. "Eep! Sasuke! We have to go see him! Shut up, Jade!"

"Enough, I'm so not in the mood right now," I said.

"Um, Darcy," a hesitant voice suddenly spoke up behind me. A voice that I did NOT want to hear. Ever.

"Yes?" I asked, not turning around.

"I just wanted to say," he paused and took a deep breath.

"Lord Kazekage," Anko suddenly appeared. "I have to ask you to leave, please, the second part is about to begin."

"Right, one moment," he told her.

"Okay." She turned and left.

"Darcy –" but I interrupted him.

"You heard her," I said rudely. "Leave." I heard a sigh, and he left.

"Darcy, you wanna talk about it?" Kye asked.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said bluntly.

"We're here for you," Akito said.

"Look, guys," I said, turning to face them with a smile on my face. "It's great that you have my back, but we can't worry about him right now, we have to worry about getting that scroll."

"Right," they said in unison. We all faced the gates just as the opened.

"Begin!" We heard Anko shout, and we bolted in. I was in the lead, with Kye to my back right and Akito to my back left (we were in a 'V' shape). We didn't stop until we reached a clearing were we could hide beneath the roots of a tree (they were some BIIIG roots).

"Okay, so we want to go after Sakumaru's group?" I asked.

"Hell yeah!" Akito cheered.

"So, first thing's first, we have to find his team," I said. "Kye, do you think your kekkei genkai will work for this?"

"Let's see," she said, closing her eyes and concentrating for a bit. "It's not working."

"Well, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way, I guess," I said.

"And that would be?" Kye asked.

"Surveillance," I said. "Let's split up, if either of you find something, try and find the others. We'll stay within twenty five feet, okay?"

"Got it," Akito said.

"Yup," Kye said.

"Good, then let's go!" I ordered. We all jumped into different directions (A/N: There's going to be a lot of POV changes, so bear with me, but this is still my POV)

I jumped through the trees, using my chakra to try and find any form of life. So far, there was nothing.

Kye's POV:

I raced around on the ground, using my kekkei genkai to try and find familiar thoughts. But so far, I had no luck.

Akito's POV:

I jumped up high into the trees and looked around. Eventually, I found what I was looking for. I jumped down from the trees, and ran to the outskirts of the clearing I had spotted from above, with out realizing that I had gone more than twenty five feet. Hiding behind a tree, I found Sakumaru's team. I really wanted to punch that brat, which was why I didn't bother to look for the others. In stead, I pulled out a kunai, and raced into the clearing.

Darcy's POV:

I had gone about twenty five feet, so I circled back, making sure to take a different path, just in case.

I can't believe that I didn't see a single enemy; that must be unprecedented. That's not necessarily true. Everyone must be elsewhere in the forest. That must be it. Well, at any rate, I should hurry back and meet up with Akito and Kye quickly. You mean 'we' should meet up with Akito and Kye. We're the same person. If you keep talking to me like this, then you have to say 'we'. Fine, WE have to go meet up with Akito and Kye.

Kye's POV:

"Nothing," I muttered to myself. "We better head back and meet up with Akito and Darcy, do you agree Jade? Yeah, but I really wanted to see Sasuke… Oh, shut up about him already. We have a connection. How many times have you kissed Itachi, huh? Many times. It doesn't count if it was in your dreams. Zero times. Exactly, Sasuke and I had a few very passionate moments. Yes, and I had to wash my mouth out with soap after that. Admit it, you enjoyed it! NEVER!" I had this argument with myself on the way back to the clearing. Darcy was already there when I arrived. "Where's Akito?"

"I don't know, I figured she was with you," she replied. "Well, she'll show up."

A few minutes passed, but she didn't show up.

Ten minutes passed.

Fifteen minutes.

Twenty minutes.

"Kye, use your kekkei genkai and try and find her via her thoughts," Darcy finally spoke up.

"Right," I said. I closed my eyes and let my mind go blank. I felt pulses of invisible chakra (both to the eye, and to people trying to sense it, unless they were sensors like Kerin [the little bitch-whore]). They best way to describe it was that it was like a radar, or maybe echo location, which it kind of was. Only, when it found someone's thoughts, it read them in stead of bouncing back to me. Once I found someone's thoughts, the kekkei genkai become more like a book, where their thoughts would lay out on my eyelids like a book. It was very convenient. "I can't find her with in the twenty five feet we decided on. Let's see if my jutsu can go any further than that." I tried again and again. "Sorry, Darcy, but it seems twenty five feet is as far as I can hear."

"Well, we should get moving, she could be in danger," Darcy said. We had reached the clearing that we had first separated. "Do you remember which way she went?"

"This way," I said, pointing in the direction I was positive Akito had gone.

Akito's POV:

"Give me your scroll!" I shouted.

"What?" Sakumaru said in confusion. I stopped in front of his group.

"You heard me, creep. Give. Me. Your. Scroll," I said slowly, so that he could understand me.

"Not a chance," he said, jumping up, kunai ready. After that, everything happened in a blur. He lunged at me, kunai at the ready. I jumped to the side and slashed his arm with my kunai. I felt pretty good about that until I saw a bunch of kunai flying towards me. Was there a trap somewhere or something? I didn't know; all I knew was that I was frozen where I was, and I was about to be hit by at least twenty kunai.

Well, crap, I though to myself. I cried out in pain as the knives made contact with my body and sent me flying back into a tree. I grunted in pain as I slumped down the tree. I tried to stand, but I was too weak.

This is it, I thought. But then, there was a strange feeling in my body, as if my DNA was changing. It wasn't a painful feeling, just a foreign one. I felt my arms and legs getting longer and… furrier? Yes, that was indeed fur. In fact, the fur was all over my body. I felt claws growing on my hands, and my teeth were getting sharper and longer. The wounds that had just left me weak on the ground suddenly didn't hurt as much. I stood up on all fours, for that was what felt more natural.

"Holly shit, she's a wolf," I heard the voice of Sakumaru.

A wolf? Epic, I thought to myself. I felt a growl escape from my lips, and, with out warning, I lunged forward, claws ready. As I was about to strike him, I was blocked by the sward of Tsukyo blocked me.

"I don't think so," he said. I was about to slash the side of his face when I was interrupted yet again.

"NOOOOO!" It sounded like Kye, but the tone of voice identified it as someone else. "GET AWAY FROM MY MAN BITCH!" Jade.

"Akito? Is that you?" Darcy asked. I felt my body changing from a wolf to a human.

"Yup, it's me," I said.

"I TOLD YOU TO GET AWAY FROM MY MAN!" Jade said. "Jade, be quiet, he's not your man anymore. SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FUZZ BAG! Hi, Sasuke!"

"Hey, how did you know?" Ria asked.

"We recognized his chakra signature," Darcy said."

"Jade, let go," Kye complained, for Jade had latched herself onto poor Sasuke. "NEVER, BITCH! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, boy," Darcy said. "Jade, how about you let go if we get the scroll?"

"Why should I?" She asked.

"Don't you want to pass this part of the exam?" Darcy asked, trying to reason with her.

"Well, yeah, I guess so," she said. "Then let go of Sasuke, and you can hug him later." Even Kye was trying to reason with herself (A/N: That just sounds weird…)

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Just go along with it, Sas-gay," Kye said (A/N: I stole that from you, PrincessAnna-UchihaLover). "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL MY MAN? You heard me SAS-GAY! DON'T BE MEAN TO OUR MAN! OUR man? Hello, Itachi Uchiha ring a bell?"

"Come on, guys, have this argument some other time," Darcy complained, addressing them as if they were two people, and not one.

"Fine," Jade said. "Sasuke, if you give me your scroll, I'll let go of you."

"YES! I WILL!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Um, I mean, sure, whatever."

"But don't think this will get you out of anything else later," Jade warned as she took the scroll.

"Whatever," Sasuke said.

"Let's go, guys," Darcy said. And we jumped into the trees and back to our clearing.

Darcy's POV:

"It's getting late," I said. "Do you two think we should make a camp here, or should we just continue to the tower?"

"Well, it's not dark yet," Kye said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should head towards the tower until it get's dark, and then make camp. We can take guard shifts."

"Hmm, what do you think, Akito?" I asked.

"That seem like the best choice," Akito said. "But who will take the first shift?"

"I will," I said. "Akito, can you take the second shift? Since it'll be the darkest time of the night, you can transform to a wolf so you will be able to better than me and Kye."

"Okay, I can do that," Akito said.

"So then I get the last shift," Kye said. "I'll wake everyone up when the sun comes up."

"Okay," I said, standing up. "Let's move out. Oh, but first, Akito, you're hurt."

"Oh, yeah, I am," she said looking down at the cuts on her arms.

"Here, let me heal you," I said. "Hold out your arms." She did as she was instructed, and I held my hands over her right arm, my eyes closed in concentration. Soon, I felt my chakra around my hands healing her arms. When that arm was done, I quickly healed her other arm.

"Whoa, where'd you learn that?" She asked.

"Sakura's been training me," I said. "Okay, now we can move out."

We jumped up into the trees and headed in the direction of the tower (we could see it, sort of). We managed to avoid all of our enemies because of Kye's ability.

When it finally got dark, we found a tree with large roots that we could hide under.

"We'll stay here for the night," I said. "You two get a good night sleep."

"How long will shifts be?" Akito asked.

I took out my phone to check the time. "Well, it's ten o' clock now, and the sun will come up around seven in the morning. So that's nine hours, so if we each take a three hour shift, that'll split up the time perfectly," I said.

"What happens if an enemy team finds u?" Akito asked.

"Wake up the people who are sleeping," I said. "Now get to bed. You two need to be ready for you shift's."

"Okay," Akito and Kye said together. They grabbed their blankets from their packs (when did we get those?) and got comfortable on the ground (as comfortable as you can get with roots and rocks and stuff jabbing into your back).

I left and quickly started to set up traps. Once that was done, I planted my self on one of the tree roots.

My three hours were long and uneventful. And I was glad when I went to give Akito my shift. Akito packed up her blanket and headed out take her shift while I set up my blanket. I was hoping for a good sleep and a good dream. But what I got instead was something completely different. It felt more like a vision than a dream.

A man dressed all in black and covered from head to toe except for a slit for his eyes ran through the night. He was in the Hyuga residence. Soon, the man was in Hinata's room. He silently gagged her, tied her hands and feet, and picked her up and left.

Later that morning, Hiashi Hyuga went in her room, and, upon noticing she was gone, called a meeting with the Elder Hyuga's.

"We cannot tell the Hokage, not yet at least," one of the elders said.

"And why not?" Hiashi asked. "This is my daughter we're talking about, the heir to the Hyuga clan. We need a team out looking for her immediately."

"We do not want to raise panic in the village, we shall deal with this dilemma ourselves," the elder persisted. "There is nothing more to discuss, Lord Hyuga."

"Very well," Hiashi said reluctantly.

Then, suddenly, Akito, Kye, and I stood with the sand siblings. We stood in what looked to be a laboratory. I saw Hinata tied down to a table, but then she was blocked bye three people in lab coats. They would have looked like scientists if it weren't for the kunai pouches on their legs'.

"Get out of here!" The middle man yelled.

"Soon, the beyakugan will be ours, and you won't stop us, Leaf and Sand Shinobi," the man on the left continued.

"If you don't leave now," the man on the right said. "We will be forced to make you leave."

"Let's see you try," I coaxed, taking a kunai. The man across from me (the middle man) mimicked me, and lunged at me. Suddenly, Gaara jumped in front of me blocking the scientist-ninja.

"Darcy, wake up," he said, turning to me. "Your friends are calling you.

"Darcy, it's time to get up," I heard Kye's voice call. It sounded distant at first, but as she called out again, it sounded like she was right next to my ear. "Darcy!"

"What?" I asked groggily.

"It's time to move out," she said.

"Okay," I said. "I have something to tell you about on our way, too."

On our way, we ran into some random team.

"It's clear you have your scrolls," the middle guy said. He had black hair and black eyes. I decided to call him Black (A/N: Please note that I am not trying to be racist here, the only reason I'm calling him 'Black' is because he has black hair and black eyes, and, well, I'm too lazy to come up with a real name. I am not trying to offend/insult anyone, so please, no one be offended/insulted. Thank you, that is all. Now, back to the story). The man to his left had blond hair, so I called him Blondie, and the man to his right had brown hair, so he was Brown. They all had on simple ninja outfits: brown shirts and tan pants and black ninja sandals. Very uncreative. Their headbands said that they were from the Village Hidden in the Grass.

Later, at the Tower:

"You really think that's happened?" Kye asked.

"It's probably just a dream, Darcy," Akito said.

"No, it was way too real to be a dream," I said.

"Well, we can just ask Lady Tsunade," Kye said.

"No, we can't," I said. "If this has happened, chances are, no one except the Hyuga clan knows. After this part of the exam, we'll go talk to them."

"You're probably just over reacting," Kye said.

"So what if I am?" I said. "But what if I'm not, do you want to condemn poor to who knows what?"

"You have a good point," Kye said.

"But when will the test be over?" Akito asked.

"Well, it took us two days, so three more days," I said.

"Ugh," Akito groaned. "I'm already bored."

Three Days Later, After the Test is Done:

"Congratulations to all who completed the test," Lady Tsunade said.

There were four teams left: Sakumaru's team, Tsuki's team, Anna's team, and my team.

"You have a month to prepare for the third part of the exam," she continued. "You can return to your home village to train or go on missions, or you can stay here and train if you would like. The purpose of this one month break is so that you can develop new skills, rest a bit, and so that I can inform important people of the start of third part of the exam. As for the exam itself, it will be –" but I interrupted her.

"It's a series of one-on-one battles," I said. "Each battle is a fight to the death, basically. If you feel the fight is too much, you can forfeit, and –"

"That's quite enough," Lady Tsunade interrupted. She was annoyed that I stole her glory. "But that basically covers how the rounds will go. It's a tournament style, so if you lose, you're out, but that doesn't disqualify you from becoming a Chunin. Before you leave today, you'll draw numbers that will pair you up with a random opponent. Before we do that, though, are there any questions?"

"If we decide to stay here instead of return to our village," Tsuki said. "Will you provide a home for us here?"

"Yes, just have your sensei talk to me. Now, are there any more questions?" When there was no answer, Lady Tsunade continued. "Okay, now we'll draw numbers."

When that was all done, the numbers looked like this:

Darcy: 1

Kye: 2

Akito: 3

Sakumaru: 4

Tsukyo: 5

Ria: 6

Anna: 7

Kokomo: 8

Miako: 9

Tsuki: 10

Mizuka: 11

Kana: 12

These were the pairings:

1 vs. 10

2 vs. 7

3 vs. 4

5 vs. 12

6 vs. 9

8 vs. 11

"That is all," Lady Tsunade said. "Don't forget, one month from today is the third part of the exam. Dismissed!"

Kye, Akito, and I turned to see the sand siblings standing to the right of the door and Shikaku Sensei standing to the left of the door. I grabbed my friends' arms and dragged them to Shikaku Sensei.

"I'm glad to see you passed," he said as we left.

"Are you kidding me, before we left you were hoping we would die," Kye said.

"How did you know?"

"I can read minds, genius," she said.

"Oh, right," he said. "Well, anyways, what do you plan to do for your one month training time?"

"Well, there was one thing we needed to do," I said. "Which we should go do now, right guys?"

"Right," Kye and Akito agreed.

"See you later, Sensei!" We called as we ran off.

"Okay, should we go find Neji, or should we just go straight to the Hyuga compound?" I asked.

"Neji, I think," Akito said.

"Well, I think the Hyuga compound," Kye said.

"Hmm," I said, thinking for a moment.

D: Well, I'm gonna try something new here, but I don't know how well it will work, for I actually need readers.

A: What is it?

D: I'm going to have the readers vote.

K: On what?

D: On weather we should go to Neji or if we should go directly to the Hyuga compound.

A: Why?

D: Two reasons. One, I've been playing StarCraft and there are a few missions where you get to choose if you want to do one thing or another thing, so I feel like doing something like that.

K: And the other reason?

D: I'm getting to it. The other reason is that I just want to finish this, so this is a great ending. So…

A: Review and…

K: Advertise!

D: See you next time!