Elemental

Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: I've got this awesome new Naruto/Inuyasha fic in my mind that I really want to write, but I'm holding out on it until Elemental is finished.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Inuyasha.


Sesshomaru stared down at the pale face before him. The boy was covered by three blankets, yet that did nothing to stop the shivers that raked his from. His mouth was pulled into a grimace and a sheen coat of sweat was on his face. It was hard to recognize that this was Kohaku.

"He's going to die if you don't return his memories."

A sigh left the other occupant, and she stepped from the shadows, revealing Midoriko. She cast a look of pity at the boy, returning to Sesshomaru's piercing gaze. "Then he'll die." she waved a hand at the brief anger that flashed through his amber eyes. "Now, now, none of that."

"My purpose here is for Kagome only, whatever happens to anyone else is none of my concern." The miko looked at her nails curiously. "You leave my daughter out of this." he growled. Midoriko laughed, giving him an amused look. "Please, pup." he took a menacing step forward. "She is not your daughter."

Tokijin was at her neck in moments and she eyed the blade with distaste. "She is as much my daughter as she is the jewels." he snarled, red tinting his eyes. She felt fear trickle into her heart before she squashed it down and sighed.

Moving the blade with her finger, she glared at him. "Returning his memories would ruin everything I've planned." she walked towards the bed. "If his memories are returned he'd only kill himself anyway," she sent a side-eyed glance to him. "And if he doesn't, he'd return to his sister, which seeing as she doesn't have her memories either, would make a problem. They are not demons, Sesshomaru, they are only children. They would not be able to handle two lifetimes in their head, it would drive them crazy. You may tell them all you want about who they were, but they may not get those memories back until they are ready."

Sesshomaru sheathed his sword, eyes darkening as they rested upon the young boy. He knew Midoriko was right, which pissed him off severely. "Fine." he grunted, turning away from the bed. He heard the small chuckle that left Midoriko's mouth before he exited the room, wondering what had happened to make the once pure miko so heartless.


After Ibiki had chastised the sound nin, he'd assigned them all seats to sit at. To her delight, she'd been seated next to Shippo. But to her dismay, Gaara was on her other side, and she fought to keep down the blush that threatened to show.

She wasn't sure why the red haired boy made her heart jump into her throat. She didn't know anything about him, except his name and the information Kabuto had told them. What made it worse was he seemed to show interest in her too, which made butterflies flutter in her stomach before she squashed them down. She was with Sasuke, and with him she would remain.

"Before we begin, there are a few rules you need to be aware of." Ibiki's booming voice interrupted her thoughts. "Rule number one; the written part of the exam is based on a point reduction system. Contrary to what you all might be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for every question you miss."

"Rule number two; teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members." many gasps went around the room. Kagome sent a worried look towards Naruto. "Wait a second! You're saying we all get scored...as a team?!" Sakura shouted. "Silence!" Ibiki growled. "I have my reasons. So shut up and listen!"

"Rule number three; the chunin you see positioned around the room will watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. For every incident you spot, they will subtract two points from the culprits score." murmurs went throughout the room. "If they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored." Ibiki smirked at their looks.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. Something didn't seem right here. "Anyone foolish enough to be caught doesn't deserve to be a shinobi. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be." she smirked suddenly, figuring out the whole point of the test. She just hoped the rest of her team did too.

"One more thing; if any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails with them." Kagome winced as she heard Sakura slam her head onto the desk and then groan. "The final question won't be given out until the final fifteen minutes of the testing period. You'll have one hour total. Begin!"

The sound of papers being turned over filled the room. And then absolutely nothing. It was dead silent.

Kagome began cursing her luck. Using genjutsu was sure to get her caught, she didn't have any mind switch jutsus', she hadn't learned to distinguish the sounds into letters, and Kaname had no clue what these questions meant. 'Sorry…' she whimpered, and she rolled her eyes.

Her thigh began to get warm and she looked down in shock to see Ju'hogosha glowing a faint blue. She grabbed the hilt, hearing the sword speak to her in her mind. "Be calm, pup. Tell me the questions and I shall answer them."

A smirked formed on Kagome's face.


She placed her pencil down with a sigh, turning over her paper. She only got a few minutes to rest before the chunin began to call out numbers. Nearly half of the teams were kicked out, some being dragged out when they resisted.

Ibiki turned to them, grinning. "The time has come for the final question." The genins in the room held their breath. "But first," groans went around the room. "there are some more rules you need to be aware of." Kagome sat up, curious now. "these rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you."

"Rule number one; each of you can choose to not be given the final question. It's your decision." a few sighs of relief went around the room, making Ibiki smirk. "However, if you do choose to not be given it, then you, as well as your teammates, fail the exam, and can leave now."

They began murmuring to each other, saying how they'd do it, and who would choose to fail. "Not so fast. If you do accept the question, but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be banned from taking the chunin exam ever again."

Fear and shock gripped her for a few moments before she decided to test the truth. She sniffed the air, falling into her seat with relief when she realized it was a lie. That confused her though; why would he lie? Was there something to this she didn't understand?

Kiba shot up from his seat. "Hey, that's not fair! There are people here who've already taken this test multiple times!" Ibiki began to laugh. "Ah, yes, that is true. But I guess you're just unlucky. 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."

"If you're not feeling confident then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year." he laughed again. "Now then, those who don't want to take the final question, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and then you're free to go."

For a while, no one moved or said anything. Then, a genin from their village raised his hand. He apologized, and he and his teammates left. Others began leaving too, apologies on their lips. By the time they'd left, less than half of what was left of the participants remained.

Kagome looked over at Naruto, sighing when she saw him shaking. She turned to her others teammates, surprised to see Sakura slowly raising her hand. Her eyes slowly widened. "Sakura, don't–" Naruto's hand suddenly slammed on the desk.

"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want; you guys aren't gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life – I'll still be Hokage one day!" Naruto sat back in his seat, arms crossed stubbornly. Kagome grinned. 'That's it Naruto...you were beginning to worry me there.'

"This decision can change your life. If for any reason you wish to quit, now's your last chance." No one raised their hand and Kagome's heart soared. Naruto's little speech had given them all the confidence to continue. Ibiki smirked. 'Eighty-five of them left. I didn't think there would be so many…'

"Congratulations. You have all passed the written exam."

She heard Miroku's short shout as he fell out of his seat from surprise, along with everyone's gasps of "what?!" throughout the room. "W-what? What do you mean we pass? Where's the tenth question?" Sakura yelled. Ibiki began to chuckle. "Don't you see? This was all a test to see if you had what it takes to get through a mission, despite the risks you have to take."

"Okay," Temari piped up. "But then what was the deal with the other nine questions?" Ibiki smirked. "Those were to see who could successfully gather information without getting caught. Jounin and chunin alike were placed withing the room, disguised as genin, who held the correct answers to the test. All you needed to do was figure out who they were and retrieve the information without getting caught."

Ibiki took off his bandanna, gasps leaving some of the genin. The top of his head was bald, but had a collection of burn marks, punctures from where screws were used, and long slash marks, scars from what could easily be called torture. "Information can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather intelligence can determine whether your mission's a failure or success."

"There will be times where you'll have to risk your life to get it. Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from the enemy is not necessarily accurate." he secured his bandanna on his head. "Always bear this in mind; disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or even worse, the loss of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence."

Suddenly something crashed through the window.

Kagome shielded her eyes from the glass shards, only opening them when she felt no danger. She gaped. A large banner with the words "Anko Mitarashi: Your Second Exam Proctor!" stood behind the women. But what had her surprised was that, besides the miniskirt she wore and the trench coat around her frame, the only thing covering her body was a full body mesh suit, which didn't leave much to the imagination.

A loud slap echoed the room, along with the words "Ah, Sango, why?!" and Kagome held in a giggle, knowing Miroku must have done something to anger the kunoichi. Shippo was having a tough time doing the same. "Ready for the second test?!" Anko shouted, thrusting her fist into the air.

"You're too early, Anko."

The women deflated immediately, a blush forming on her cheeks before she gathered herself. "Damn Ibiki, eighty-five candidates? That test must have been too easy!" Ibiki smirked. "Or it could be that they're a stronger crop of candidates this year." Anko seemed to ponder this before waving her hand in the air. "Nah, that's crazy! Trust me, when I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated." Gasps went around the room

"Alright you maggots, you've had it easy so far, but all that's gonna change first thing in the morning! I'll let your squad leaders know where you're supposed to meet me. You're dismissed."


Kohaku breathed through his nose, eyes slowly fluttering open. The headache he'd been experiencing the past week had vanished. He sat up in bed, weak.

He'd been having the weirdest dreams. Something about a jewel, and then him being taken over by this creepy guy who called himself Naraku, making him kill his whole family, save his sister.

His sister…

She must be worried. Or at least he hoped she'd be. He hadn't seen her much since he left the clan. All he remembers was a look of betrayal and anger directed at him as he left. Feeling a headache coming back on, he laid back down for some much needed rest.


Author's Note: and that's the end of this chapter! Hope you liked it, ten reviews for the next one.