ENJOY!


~INVINCIBLE~


"In My First Life"

Kakashi x OC

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Invincible © Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi


~Opening Theme~

"Invincible- Hedley"


Chapter Ten

"Chuunin Arc: Part 2!"


"Guys..."

Suo and Aki looked back at me, each arching the brow closest to me.

"I...don't think that this is a good idea."

We had just arrived at the village, Kumogakure, a few days ago and already the uneasiness in my stomach had doubled. I thought the village was beautiful, and quite intriguing, but at the same time I knew I was completely out of my element. Anybody could attack and it was nerve wracking.

Suo slung and arm around my shoulders, grinning like an idiot as Aki and Hiroi-sensei walked ahead.

"Don't be stupid Shima! When we walk out of here we'll be the big baddies and everybody else will be kissing our tail ends!"

Still, as we walked towards the Chuunin exams, I could feel that something was off. Instinct told me to high-tail it out of there and run for my dear life, but I was a ninja. Ninja don't run away.

At least, the strong ones don't.

Hiroi-sensei stopped in front of a building, then turned to us and smiled.

"Alright, one final speech before you all head in." He looked to each of our faces, sizing us up one last time. When he seemed satisfied with what he saw, he smiled and began.

"As I said before, there will most likely be very few Genin able to take the exams, and even less are being sent by their countries as the treaty is still fresh. The Genin sent, their countries believe they definitely will become Chuunin, which means you three have to watch each others backs. No matter what, team work is always your greatest asset."

Suo looked like he was feeling a little sentimental, sniffling and holding back a few tears.

"S-Sensei..."

Hiroi-sensei waved to us one more time.

"Good luck!"

Then he disappeared.

Nobody said anything as Aki and Suo both went to grab open the double doors. I walked through, followed by Aki and Suo. Inside, we walked down the halls, until we came across a single room.

We did the same arrangements, opening the doors again.

Inside this room had to be at least fifty Genin, though most were in sitting in their three man teams. I noted the majority were from Cloud, which didn't make me feel any better.

One group in particular got me a little bit more nervous. They sat in the very center of the room, all three were eying us up and down. A shiver ran through me as I took them in.

Cloud Ninja.

The only girl looked frail, tall, and had her nose in the air the whole time she looked at us. Her long hair was so neatly combed, and the way she carried herself, she and Aki could be a pair.

The boy on the right had a dull look in his eyes, like this whole thing was stupid. He earned my displeasure instantly, reminding me of Hatake as his 'my shit don't stink' attitude. His body, though, was so mutilated. Long drag marks roamed over his face, his bare arms and neck all had some sort of intrusions or burns and even cuts. He looked so weathered for someone who looked the same age as Suo, who was a year older than myself and Aki.

However, the boy in middle was the one that really caught my eye.

He wasn't really standing out, I mean he didn't have any visible scars, and he wasn't as thick as the other boy, he had a sinew kind of build actually with his hair kept in a ponytail. What really caught me, was that sharp gaze.

He wasn't judging me.

He wasn't underestimating me.

He was looking through me.

Into my core.

Like he wanted to know what kind of weird species I may be. My gaze caught his, and we were in a staring contest for a while. Neither wanted to give up, both having a blank expression other than our eyes.

"Shima! Let's go!" Suo yanked me back to reality, and we all sat down at a desk near the front. The boy's eyes were breaking through me, I knew he was watching me carefully.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and in came the creepiest looking guy I have ever seem.

By creepy, I mean he had this crazy mustache that defied gravity, big dinner plate eyes, and a cheesy grin that made his chin sticl out too far to look normal.

"Alright children," Suo and I both tensed at the sound of his high pitched voice. Aki and Suo exchanged a glance as both of them grabbed one of my hands as I was sitting in the middle. "My name is Ishimaru. Time for the first exam." In his hands, he held a stack of papers.

I blanched, my head falling against my desk.

Remember how I said I couldn't pass the academy? Well the test is 50% written and 50% practical. I could pass the written part, but because I couldn't do the practical I always failed.

In short...

I hate tests.

Especially written.

"You will each come up with your team, hand in your registration papers, and then receive an assigned seating." As he said this, a few other ninja wearing the standard Cloud Shinobi uniform walked in, taking seats on chairs over by the walls.

So we get up...

Hand in our sheets...

And then I find out I'm sitting next to bratty girl, while Aki and Suo are both behind me.

"The rules are simple children. Answer all nine questions, answers will be based as a team, if you are caught cheating three times, you fail. Pretty simple."

Ok, so if Suo and Aki both pass, it won't matter if I fail...good.

"Oh, and if one person on your team cannot answer a single question right, the whole team fails."

...

Oh, I think my brain just cracked.

"However, in forty five minutes, I will give out the final question. Good luck children!"

...I'm a purple dinosaur...

"BEGIN!"

So this is how it's gunna go huh?

My fingers trembled as I flipped the paper over. It can't be that hard right? It has to be answerable questions...so it shouldn't be that hard...

"Oh fuck me..." I muttered after reading the questions over.

Brat-face glared at me, but I was so caught up in how...complex everything was to give a damn.

Oh God! I'm gunna fail!

I'm so sorry Aki!

Sorry Suo!

I knew it, I was never cut out for things like this, I was always the type to do things the easy way...Also known as AVOIDANCE. I was very good at that though.

Suddenly, my body stopped trembling. At first I thought maybe my mind really had blanked, but then my left hand started to move on it's own.

I almost freaked out, but then my head turned down and I could see my shadow and what looked like the shadow of a cord moving around.

Wait a minute...

Suo's left handed...

My fingers wrap around my pencil and begin to write things down, and at first it's mumbo jumbo to me, but then I realize.

It's the answers!

Thank you Suo!

Did I forget to mention Suo, despite his aloof nature, is probably one of the most intelligent people I know? He acts so goofy, but he's told me something very wise before.

"A fool is expected to be foolish. Intelligence is expected to be impressive."

So I guess he was saying that he didn't want people to expect much from him.

Wait...

Did I just cheat?

Hold on, if we're allowed three tries, when it's usually the first sign and you're out-...Ohhhhhh sneaky!

If I've figured it out, Suo definitely has, along with Aki. He could use his Byakugan to see everyone's answers, so he should be fine.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty, finally the clock had been running for forty-five minutes.

"Alright children! Time to answer the final question!"

We all placed our pencils down, and everyone awaited quietly.

"Hmph, firstly, you should know something." Ishimaru said, that disturbing grin stretching just a little bit more."Should you fail to answer this question correctly, you will be barred from ever taking the Chuunin exams ever again!"

My heart thumped slightly.

Never again?

Not that it would stop me, but I wondered what Aki and Suo were thinking. Turning around, I noticed both of them looked steely, and smiled.

Good for them.

"WHAT?" Brat-face shouted, standing up. The guy on the other side of me growled, gripping the desk tightly.

"What is it number 45?" Ishimaru asked slyly.

"Is that some kind of joke? Never take it again? You can't just randomly make up rules!" Geez even her voice sounded stuck up. Pissed me off really.

"Is there a problem? Perhaps I am saving you from the war. Y'know, Shinobi die every day, you would just be another dead body on the battle field."

I gulped.

Brat-face shuddered at the thought.

"I could very well be saving you from being a starving child, sitting in the middle of another war. This one's ended, who knows how long it'll be before another springs up."

"Shut up." I say sharply.

Ishimaru just grins, before walking in front of my desk and leaning over me.

"What's the matter girl? The thought of being out there, one of the dead ones, does it hurt you?"

One of the dead ones?

Obito...

In a flash, I stand up and grip the front of his shirt. Ishimaru raises a brow, intrigued.

"One of the dead ones?" I choke out. "Is that all you people think of the ones who died to protect you? To protect your country?"

I push him back, and he takes a few steps in reverse. Slamming both my hands on my desk, I continue on.

"Those people died protecting you! They died thinking that you would live to see another day, one without war, one with peace! That's why I am a ninja! I must protect my friends, or what's left of them, from all the hardships! I would take all the pain onto myself if it meant they could see a peaceful future!"

I take a shaky breath, before giving a smirk.

"I would gladly be one of those starving warriors, if it meant seeing my friends happy."

I sat back down, glaring sharply at the proctor. He smirks, seemingly thinking about something. Finally, he motions to the rest of the room, and I could feel a few eyes on me.

"Anyone care to leave?"

Dead silence.

"Hm, interesting, I don't believe I've ever had a year where nobody has left..." He sighs, twirling a piece of his hair. "Well children, I guess there's only one thing left to do."

He smiles brightly, before he and all the other ninja that had been watching us smile and say.

"Congratulations! You all pass!"


"Nope, Ichiraku still tastes the best."

"Aw lighten up Shima! You can't have Ichiraku while in the Cloud, so just go with second best." Suo said, giving me a pat.

"He's right, just suck it up you whiny baby." Aki says smoothly before taking a sip of his tea.

We all sat in a booth at a restaurant, enjoying the fact that we all passed stage one. Personally I was thankful that we were away from creepy proctor what's-his-name more than anything.

"Nice speech by the way." Suo added. Hiroi-sensei was leaning back, watching us with a small smile as he sipped his drink, the same one he'd been nurturing all night.

"Well I can't stand people like him. I mean, the war happened, it will probably happen again. The only thing we can do is hold on and fight for a better future, y'know?" I said, looking into the broth of my ramen.

Maybe I had a bias, because I had lost Obito, because I knew he wasn't looking for glory or righteous resolve. He was looking to protect the village, his family, his friends.

He was fighting to protect people like me.

I wondered if Aki and Suo had lost others in the war so close to them. Many had fallen, how many was unknown by me though, Aki and Suo hardly talked about their families. Suo gave me vague examples like what his parents were like and that he had a little sister, while Aki flat out refused to tell me. Come to think of it, I've never seen either's families.

As for me, I couldn't tell them about myself if I wanted to, which I wish I could. The only thing I knew was that my father was a Kyouten. When I entered the academy, he said that all Kyouten graduated in their first years, they started young and progressed extremely rapidly. So Father told me.

Turns out he was dead wrong.

Mother never told me about her clan, it was like she wanted to forget where she herself came from. Compared to Father, she was docile and very level headed. Clearly I took after my old man more in the attitude department. I looked like my Mother though, that was for sure, we both had that unruly dark blood auburn hair, and bold green eyes.

I got my father's skin tone though, Mother was always so light skinned while Father was tanned with white hair and icy blue eyes. I got his build though, as Mother was rather frail and small.

My mind wandered to when my older brother would take me for jogs through the forest, I sat on his back and swooned as he leaped through the trees.

My brother, I wondered what happened to him for many years, but then I deduced that I didn't care. He didn't come back to me, he could be dead. I was just some small kid, I think he's in his twenties now, maybe he's got a wife and kids that he's taking care of.

Aki and Suo were talking with Hiroi-sensei about the Chuunin exams, but I was feeling too nostalgic to really care. Instead I sidled out of the booth and told them I was going back to the hotel. The waved me off, and I decided getting lost right about now wouldn't be a bad idea.

The village was actually quite a beautiful one. Different buildings were built right into the mountain sides, A breeze fluttered by, but I wasn't so bothered by it right now. It was colder than Konoha's climate yes, but with my full body jacket, complimentary of Hiroi-sensei as a late birthday gift, I couldn't feel it anywhere but my face.

The sun was setting, so I hunted for a good spot to go and watch it. It was there in the distance, ironically not far from the hotel. I leaped over buildings, sidled by others doing the same in multiple directions, and finally I made it there.

Before Obito, I never really cared about sunset. To me it signified that I would have to spend another night, completely and utterly alone. Although I had grown so used to being alone, you can never fully ignore that pain.

But with Obito, we sat and watched almost every sunset together on the top of the Hokage's faces. It had become customary to sit and watch it.

Sitting down on the cold rock, I watched from a strange point of view as the sun set. It was because of all the clouds, blocking my full view, that caught my eye this time. They danced and blurred with different colors in the sky, like wild fire that could not be tamed.

Obito, can you see this?

I had promised myself, promised Obito too on his grave, that I would not cry.

Still...

I couldn't help that lone tear rolling down my face. The sky looked beautiful! It was rather ironic that I would see such a thing after his passing. He opened so many doors for me, showed me color again, and then he-

Two feet landed a couple meters away from me. I turned to see who was there, but imagine my surprise when I see that boy from earlier. The one that had been staring right into my soul.

He kind of just stood there, sizing me up, so when I realized my tear was still visible on my cheek I quickly wiped it away and stood.

We both stared now, no one backing down.

"Who are you?" His scratchy voice asked.

I didn't say anything, not at first. Hiroi-sensei said to be alert, but what could he possibly do with my name?

"Yuushima, Yuushima Kyouten."

He stood stock still.

"And you?" I questioned after he still had yet to say anything.

He sized me up again, looking me over and scrutinizing me.

"You're his daughter, aren't you?"

My eyes widened, what the Hell? How the Hell did he know my Father? This kid looked barely older than me, how could he possibly know him?

"Who are you?" I asked again,this time a little more sharply.

"My name is Tayuusha." He smirked, as if seeing some unknown joke in his words. My brow furrowed, contemplating what was so funny to him.

"Tayuusha Kyouten."


Ending Theme Song

"Big Black Horse and The Cherry Tree"- KT Tunstall


Whew! Another chappy guys! Yesh!

Hope you like, I had been thinking about Tayuusha's character for a very long time. I wanted to bring the Kyouten Clan in from the very beginning, but as I've said I don't like revealing things right away so...

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISMS PLEASE! REVIEWS!

Cheers!

Kiwi-chan