Chapter Eleven
The Second Exam Ends and Preliminaries begin!
Ayane of Konohagakure vs. Kaiiri of Kirigakure!
I slowly opened my eyes as I heard some shouting from around the corner. I slowly stood and grabbed the crutches that Kitsuchi and Sutaru made for me. I slowly hobbled over to see Sutaru standing near the river's edge.
"Come on Kitsuchi! Hurry up with those fish! Ayane's going to be up soon and I'm starving!" Suddenly Kitsuchi burst out of the water. She had a spear on her hand and a frustrated expression on her face.
"If you think this looks so damn easy then why don't you come and try it?!" She yelled back. I hobbled over and smiled.
"I thought kittens didn't like the water?" I asked with a smirk. Kitsuchi glared at me. I smiled brightly. She sighed and dove back into the water. My face fell.
"What's wrong Ayane?' Sutaru asked.
"It's Kitsuchi, both of you actually, all because I was a little hurt you've completely changed. Kitsuchi doesn't fight me anymore and you don't have arguments with me either." Sutaru sighed.
"Sorry Ayane, but trust me as soon as we get out of this forest everything will be back to normal. Now I'll help you get to a nice spot under a tree and you can rest." Sutaru walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I quickly shrugged her off and glared at her.
"I don't need help. I can still walk, I'm not completely useless."
"Ayane…"
"Forget it Sutaru. I'll go and make a fire or something." Sutaru's face fell and I knew my words had cut through her like knives. She was only trying to help and I was treating her like crap. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to apologize and just walked over to a small patch of sand. I went and gathered some tree branches and started a small fire for the fish. As soon as the fire started to go I heard Kitsuchi take in a deep breath.
"There Sutaru, there are your stupid fish!" Kitsuchi yelled throwing three fish onto the shore. Sutaru smiled.
"Thanks Kitsuchi!" She left Kitsuchi to get dried off and found three sticks to use as skewers. She poked the sticks through the fish and placed them over the fire to cook.
It was only the third day of the exam. We had spent the first day retrieving the earth scroll we needed and had used the second day fighting against Orochimaru and his little sound minions. After the fight we had jumped off and stopped to get some rest and heal our injuries. Mine were far worse than Sutaru and Kitsuchi's but they were healing rather quickly. After this meal we were going to continue heading towards the tower. It was only the third day and we had lots of time left, but Sutaru and Kitsuchi were persistent we get there as soon as we could so they could get some proper doctor's to heal my wounds.
I smelled the air but the smell of fish quickly made me plug my nose. I hated fish, but seen as we were in a desolate forest and there wasn't any better food around I had to cope with it.
"Fish are done!" Kitsuchi exclaimed happily. I smiled and reached for one. The taste was bitter and I almost spat it back out, but it was the only food I would be getting for awhile so I plugged my nose and ate the fish as fast as I could. Kitsuchi and Sutaru smiled.
"Aww, poor Ayane has to eat fish." Kitsuchi teased.
"It's not my fault it's the only food we have. If we had just kept going we would have been at the tower by now and I could have had some good food." I sighed wishing I could take back what I had said. I was in such a foul mood that even talking to my closest friends was harder then it seemed.
"Ayane are you ok?" Sutaru asked. I bit my tongue to keep me from snapping back. I took a deep breath and answered as sweetly as I could manage.
"I'm just in a really bad mood right now. I think the curse mark," I lifted my hand to my neck, "is affecting me more than normal. It's making me…angrier."
"Why angrier?" Kitsuchi asked as she finished the last piece of her fish.
"I think it might be because I haven't released the power of it yet. It needs to be released or sealed or it causes some side effects like the unbearable pain and in my case anger issues." I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest. Kitsuchi and Sutaru looked at my sympathetically.
"And I guess our treating you like a baby isn't helping?" Sutaru asked. I shook my head.
"Sorry." They both apologized.
"No, don't be, you're just worried about me. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that." They smiled at me.
"It's ok." Sutaru patted me on the shoulder.
"Yeah, now let's get to that stupid tower already!" Kitsuchi jumped up. I slowly stood ready to go.
"Ok, and I don't think I need any help this time." I threw the crutches to the ground. Sutaru made a disapproving face.
"Do you think you're ready?" She asked. I smiled.
"I think so. Now let's leave before the smell of that fish draws enemies closer to us." Kitsuchi and Sutaru nodded and we jumped into the trees and headed back on the path towards the tower.
Jumping from tree branch to tree branch was a little shaky at first, but as we drove on it became easier to manage. We were going slower than usual, thanks to my new found clumsiness, but we were making good time. By mid afternoon we were more than three-quarters of the way there. We stopped to grab a bite to eat and then quickly headed out again. It was still daylight, so we doubted we would find any enemies now, especially so close to the tower and it only being the third day.
We smiled brightly as we could finally see the tower over the next hill. Within the next ten minutes we were at the tower. We walked around it until we came to the door marked "Gate 13". We opened the door and slowly walked in. On the wall was a giant sign. I took a step forward and read the message out loud.
"'If qualities of heaven are what you desire, acquire your wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities are what you lack, then train your body in the fields and prepare to attack. When both heaven and earth are opened together, the path of peril will revert to the righteous forever. This blank is the secret way…that guides us on from this place today.
The Third Hokage'."
I took a step back.
"So what do you think it means?" Kitsuchi asked crossing her arms.
"What's with the blank space?" Sutaru asked walking closer to examine the message.
"Hmm, I wonder if it means they want us to open the scrolls now." Kitsuchi and Sutaru looked at me.
"Maybe, I mean they did say to wait until we got to the tower to open them, and here we are." Sutaru replied.
"Alright I guess it's our only option." Kitsuchi pulled out her heaven scroll and Sutaru pulled out her earth scroll. I stepped between them. We looked at each other, took a deep breath, and Kitsuchi and Sutaru quickly ripped open the scrolls. I looked down at them shocked. Nothing happened. I suppose that was good but I was expecting something to happen with more of a boom. We examined the scrolls. Inside was the kanji for humanity.
"What's this supposed to be?" Kitsuchi asked unimpressed.
"Maybe it's supposed to fill the blank?" Sutaru offered. I tensed as the scrolls started to sizzle. I grabbed the scrolls out of their hands and threw them forward.
"Ayane what-" Sutaru was cut off when a puff of smoke suddenly surrounded the scrolls. We tensed and prepared to attack. When the smoke cleared we were surprised to find non other than Ryuunosuke-sensei smiling at us.
"Yo, happy you girls actually made it. Though I have to admit, I'm a little surprised." We smiled brightly at him, completely ignoring his comment. Before he could stop them Sutaru and Kitsuchi lunged at Ryuunosuke-sensei and embraced him in a warm hug. I slowly walked over, a small smile on my face. Ryuunosuke-sensei looked down at me surprised that I wasn't quite as excited to see him as the others were. They quickly let go of him and took a step back so they stood beside me.
"So Ryuunosuke-sensei, why are you here?" Kitsuchi asked a huge smile still on her face.
"Well, I'm your official messenger."
"'Messenger'?" Sutaru asked.
"Yeah, I'm here to congratulate you. So, Congratulations, you three pass the second exam." We smiled brightly. A thought suddenly occurred to me and a sly smile crossed my face.
"So tell me Ryuunosuke-sensei, were you part of that summoning scroll the entire time?" Ryuunosuke-sensei smiled.
"Well, looks like I've been caught." Sutaru and Kitsuchi stared at him blankly.
"What do you mean?" They asked in unison.
"Well, the way this exam worked was if any of you had opened the scroll before reaching the tower, I was to come out and basically knock you unconcious until the end of the exam, meaning that you would get an automatic fail. The point of this exam was to test your ability to stay within the parameters of the test itself. It was kind of a way to test whether you are truly trustworthy with important documents."
"Oh, well if that's all I suppose you can go now." Kitsuchi said shooing Ryuunosuke-sensei with her hand. Ryuunosuke-sensei glared at her.
"Explaining all that was not the only reason I'm here. I'm also here to explain the message on the wall."
"Really?" We asked in unison. Ryuunosuke-sensei's eye brow twitched. He ignored our surprised reply and continued to explain the message.
"This message here is a directive set down by the Third Hokage for all chunin to follow. In this text, the word 'heaven' refers to the mind, while 'earth' refers to the body. 'If qualities of heaven are what you desire, acquire your wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher'. In other words, if you're like Dark Kitty, and you lack the general knowledge needed to be a chunin, you'll have to study harder and learn the basic principals needed for her missions."
"What do you mean 'lack of general knowledge'?" Kitsuchi asked with a dark glare on her face. Ryuunosuke-sensei ignored her and continued on.
"'If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body in fields and prepare to attack'. Now in this case if you're like Bright-eyes and your weakest skills lie in strength and power, then you'll have to train harder to acquire the stamina and skill needed to properly defend yourself."
"I'll show you weak skills." Sutaru whispered under her breath. I smiled.
"And then if you are like Kichiku and already have both qualities of heaven and earth, then no mission will take you down the wrong path. You'll walk a safe path, no matter how perilous a mission gets you will be able to pull through."
"Yeah that's great and all, but what's with the blank space?" Kitsuchi asked annoyed.
"Well the word that goes there was the kanji that you three saw inside your scrolls. The kanji was for the word 'jin' meaning 'one person' or 'all people'. The main designof this exam was to test your ability to apply the chunin qualities over a five day time period. I have to admit, though I had my doubts, you all did an amazing job and made it here with two days left to spare. Good job, but don't get your hopes up yet. The chunin is a commanding rank, responsible for leading their teams. They can only do so by incorporating intelligence as well as strength into what they do to accomplish their goals. I can't emphasize this enough. The chunin directive…learn it, live it, believe it, from the very bottom of your hearts. Keep the directive at the forefront of your minds as you move on to the third part of the exams. And that's it, messaged delivered!"
"Finally, I thought you'd never shut up. Can we go through now?" Kitsuchi asked her arms crossed. Ryunnosuke-sensei sighed.
"Yes, yes Dark Kitty you can go through now." Kitsuchi smiled gleefully.
"Finally!" She grabbed Sutaru and dragged her towards the door. I smiled weakly and walked forward. Ryunnosuke-sensei suddenly put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
"Kichiku, you all need to be careful during the next part of the exam, it can get pretty rough out there."
"Why are you telling only me this?" I asked confused.
"Because of all three of you, you are the one that needs to be especially careful." I tensed.
"What're you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. All the jounin team leaders have been warned about both you and Sasuke. If either of you loses control you will be forced to forfeit your matches." I stared up at Ryuunosuke-sensei my eyes wide.
"What?"
"If you allow the power of that curse mark on your neck to take you over you will be forced to forfeit the match as well as your chances to become a chunin. Don't let it control you. I don't want to be the one to have to stop you from doing something you'll regret." I lowered my eyes.
"Fine but Ryuunosuke-sensei please promise me one thing."
"What?"
"If the curse mark does take me over, I suggest you stop me before it covers my entire body."
"Yes, but why before it covers your entire body?"
"Because if you wait, falter, or even hesitate to stop me because of some strange feeling of guilt and the curse mark covers my entire body, no one, not even you, will be able to stop me." Ryuunosuke-sensei stared down at me completely shocked. I shrugged off his hand and continued to walk forward. A sudden darkness began to crawl over me. If even Ryuunosuke-sensei couldn't stop me, no one ever could.
I smiled along with Kitsuchi and Sutaru as we made our way through the door and into the main lobby of the tower. We looked around. Not many teams had passed the test yet.
"So what did Ryuunosuke-sensei want?" Kitsuchi asked.
"Oh, uh, he just wanted to warn us to be careful during the next part of the exam. Apparently it can get really dangerous."
"Pfft, yeah…for the other teams."
"Well, well ,well, look who thinks she's all high and mighty just because she passed the second part of the exam." We turned to see Kiba, Hinata, and Shino walk over to us.
"Oh hey you guys. How long have you been here for?" I asked.
"We passed this stupid exam on the first day. We didn't get here though until after those creepy sand village shinobi." At the mention of sand village shinobi Sutaru perked right up.
"Which creepy sand village shinobi?" Kitsuchi asked. I couldn't help but notice her sudden interest in what Kiba was saying and I smiled. Suddenly Kiba stared behind me. I turned around to see the three Sunagakure ninja, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro walking past us.
"Those three, the one with the red hair especially." Kiba whispered to us. I watched as they passed by. The three of them turned to face us. They glared at me, Sutaru, and Kitsuchi and we glared back. I looked at Sutaru. She was shaking slightly and her eyes were fixed on Gaara. Gaara suddenly turned and stared right back at her. They were both fixed in a trance that was making me slightly nervous.
"Hey Gaara what's wrong?" Temari suddenly asked.
"That girl, I don't like the way she stares at me."
"And I don't like the way you stare back at me." Sutaru suddenly blurted out. Gaara's expression didn't change.
"Hey watch it shorty!" Kankuro called. Sutaru glared at him as darkly as she could manage and he slowly took a step back. Gaara sighed.
"Enough of this, Kankuro, Temari, let's go." They all turned to leave. As they slowly walked away Gaara turned to look at Sutaru one last time. She suddenly smiled and nodded at him thankfully. He suddenly stopped walking. He stared at her for awhile longer, not sure what to do, before turning back and hurrying after his older brother and sister.
"What was that all about?" I asked Sutaru. She blushed slightly.
"Nothing." I smiled and knew right away something was up with her.
"Man that kid really creeps me out." Kiba suddenly said averting our attention back to him.
"Pfft, he doesn't look so tough." Kitsuchi said flipping her bangs off her face. Kiba smiled. He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. It stuck out at awkward angles. Kitsuchi glared at Kiba while trying to flatten out her hair, it unfortunately only made it worse. Kiba laughed.
"There, now all you need to do is keep your hair like that and you can scare Gaara away! He has no chance!"
"Kiba!" She screamed. Kiba continued to smile and turned to run away as Kitsuchi chased after him. I laughed and began to look around. My face fell.
"What's wrong Ayane?" Sutaru asked. I suddenly looked straight at her.
"Oh, uh, nothing." I said trying to smile. I knew she had seen right through me and I sighed.
"Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura aren't here yet." Sutaru stared at me and smiled.
"Don't worry, they'll get here soon." I smiled grateful that she hadn't started to make fun of me like Kitsuchi no doubt would have. I suddenly tensed as pain shot through my neck. My legs gave out beneath me and I fell to the ground. My hands quickly reached for my neck. I started to shake and sweat started to form on my forehead.
"Ayane!" Kitsuchi and Kiba looked up from their little wrestling match and ran over to me.
"I'm…fine…my legs just…gave out beneath me." I breathed. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino looked down at me and I knew that they had seen the curse mark. I ignored them and looked up at Kitsuchi and Sutaru with pleading eyes. I hoped that Kitsuchi and Sutaru knew that it was more then just my legs that were bothering me. They quickly picked me up and brought me over to a couch in the lobby. I was panting even though I hadn't done anything.
"Sutaru you stay here, I'll go find a medic ninja." Kitsuchi quickly ran off. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata looked at me not sure what to do.
"Uh…we'll go get you some water and some ice for that weird bruise on your neck." They quickly ran off and I sighed.
"Well…at least they…only think it's…a bruise." I said through gasps of pain. Sutaru sat beside me. She forced my head onto her shoulder. She stroked my hair. I took deep breaths and soon the pain began to wear off. Kitsuichi suddenly arrived with a medic ninja who quickly ran over to me. He gave me a quick check. He rubbed a special ointment on the parts of my body that hurt the most and used his healing ninjutsu to fix small cuts and bruises. He stood and smiled.
"There, I think that'll keep you on your feet." I smiled.
"Thank you." He turned and left just as Kiba, Hinata, and Shino returned with a bottle of water and an ice-pack. I smiled and drank the water while Sutaru delicately placed the ice-pack on the "bruise". The cold sent shivers down my spine but it was very soothing. We stood in complete silence no one wanting to be the one to have to ask the awkward question. Suddenly Kiba yawned and stretched.
"Well…I think we should go find somewhere to sleep before the new teams steal them all. Get better soon Ayane." I smiled. I had to give him credit, that was a smooth getaway plan.
"Thanks Kiba." Kiba smiled back and headed towards the doorway that led into a long hallway. Hinata bowed.
"Uh…congratulations and uh…get better soon." We smiled at her and she blushed before running after Kiba. Shino nodded his head and then went after his other teammates. As soon as they had turned the corner Kitsuchi fell on the couch on the other side of me.
"Man that was too close."
"Well, they only thought it was a bruise so I suppose that's a good thing." I said trying to smile.
"Yeah that's true. How does it feel?" Sutaru asked.
"Better. The pain's subsided and I'm sure I'll be fine for now." Kitsuchi and Sutaru both sighed. They suddenly put their heads on either side of my shoulders.
"I can't believe we made it." Sutaru whispered.
"I can." Kitsuchi replied. I smiled. Before any of us had time to react we all fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up the next morning the sun was slightly shining through the windows in the lobby. I slowly sat up. Somewhere through the night we had all shifted in our sleep. I had fallen over and onto Sutaru's lap, Sutaru's head was rested against the couch, and Kitsuchi had fallen the other way and was curled up into a little ball beside me. I smiled and slowly got off the couch. I crept towards the doorway that led to that long hallway. I knew that if I made any sudden sounds Sutaru would jolt upright totally awake and I knew she needed her sleep. I finally made it to the doorway and walked through it. As soon as I entered the hallway my stomach began to growl and I realized that I was starving. I made my way through the hallway trying to see if I could find some food. I looked around to see all of the other teams that had passed sometime in the night while we were asleep. As I walked down the hall I thought, or rather hoped, that the next corner that I turned would have me come face to face with a certain boy with raven black hair, a blue t-shirt, and white shorts but no matter where I went I couldn't find him. I shook my head suddenly realizing that this hope was completely idiotic and continued on.
I finally turned the last corner of the hall and came into a small room. Kiba, Hinata and Shino were already here and behind them was a buffet table. I quickly walked over to the table and grabbed a few small pancakes and some berries for breakfast.
"Morning Ayane." I turned and faced Kiba
"Morning Kiba, Hinata, Shino, how did u all sleep?"
"Good." Kiba answered for all three of them. He started to look around and I knew exactly who he was looking for.
"So…uh…where's Kitsuchi…and Sutaru?" I smiled to myself knowing he would ask that question.
"She's…I mean they're both still asleep." Kiba glared at me but I just smiled.
"Choji slow down! We're tired and want to go to sleep!" Suddenly Choji came stampeding through the doorway into the small room. Shikamaru and Ino were close behind him. Without even noticing me, Kiba, Shino, or Hinata Choji ran straight for the buffet table. He grabbed at least five pancakes and stuffed them in his mouth.
"Finally food!" I finished my pancake and started to laugh. Choji turned and looked at me like he had seen me for the first time.
"Ayane! When did you get here?!"
"I've been here since yesterday." His eyes grew wide.
"Really?!" I nodded. Shikamaru and Ino walked over.
"Hey Ayane, where are Sutaru and Kitsuchi?" Ino asked looking around.
"Oh, they're still asleep." Suddenly Kitsuchi and Sutaru came through the doorway. They walked over.
"Oh, hey Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, did you guys just get in?" Sutaru asked.
"Yeah, but it looks like you guys beat us." Ino said with a sigh.
"Hey Sutaru, wanna play some shogi?" Shikamaru suddenly asked.
"But, there's no shogi board…" Suddenly Shikamaru went into his pack and pulled out a mini shogi board. Sutaru's eyes lit up.
"Well…?" Shikamaru smirked. Sutaru smirked back.
"You're on!" Sutaru grabbed a pancake, stuffed it in her mouth, and ran over to have a battle of wits with Shikamaru. I smiled.
"Wow, this is the first time I've seen Shikamaru interested in a girl." Choji said crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Shikamaru usually says girls are just a drag and that they aren't worth the trouble, but he seems to really like Sutaru."
"It's probably because he's finally found someone who actually has a chance against him in shogi." Choji smiled.
"That's probably it." I turned as I heard some gagging behind me. It was Kitsuchi.
"You alright?" I asked.
"These…pancakes…are…disgusting!"
"What're you talking about? I thought they were good…"
"They…taste…like…cardboard! I don't even want to know what the berries taste like!" I laughed. Kitsuchi's sense of taste has never failed her before. The fact that she made it so dramatic only made it funnier.
"Whoa Kitsuchi, you alright there? You're face is all red." Kiba walked over. If her face hadn't already been red from choking on the pancakes it would have been worse now.
"I…I...the pancake…uh…cardboard…" I smiled. Kiba suddenly walked up to Kitsuchi and put his forehead on hers. Kitsuchi tensed and I noticed that her face lit up.
"Hmm, you don't have a fever. You sure you're ok?"
"Fine…I mean…uh…I'm fine Kiba don't worry about it." Kitsuchi shrugged Kiba off but the damage had been done. Her face was still red, but not from the pancakes, and her eyes were happy and bright. Kiba shrugged his shoulders and walked over to watch the intense game between Shikamaru and Sutaru. Kitsuchi let out a breath she had been holding in.
"Can you believe that guy?! The nerve of him!" I cocked on eyebrow.
"You liked it and you know it." Kitsuchi's mouth fell open.
"I did not!"
"You so did! You're face was on fire and you stuttered! You never stutter!"
"Well…he…uh…he just caught me off guard." I smirked.
"Yes I'm sure he just 'caught you off guard'." Kitsuchi glared at me. I smiled. She turned and walked towards Hinata and Shino and started to talk to them. Choji came to stand beside me, a mountain of pancakes on his plate.
"What's her problem?" He asked his mouth full.
"Oh nothing, don't worry about it." I smiled at him. Choji then picked up another plate full of pancakes.
"Are those for you too?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Nope, these ones are for you. Being in that forest has made you even skinnier than before! You need some more meat on your bones."
"Come on Choji you know that guys only like skinny girls!" Ino suddenly said. Choji's face fell.
"That's not true…" I glared at Ino. She could be such a little, well, pig sometimes. I finally understood why Sakura called her that all the time. I quickly grabbed the plate, picked up a pancake, and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. Choji smiled at me while Ino stared at me not sure whether to be disgusted or insulted. I grabbed Choji's free hand and pulled him past her to go join the others.
The sun had set, the crescent moon was up, and there was still no sign of Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura. Already most of the Konoha shinobi had arrived except for them.
"You ok Ayane?" I looked up as Sutaru and Kitsuchi sat down beside me.
"Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine." I smiled weakly.
"You sure? You've been sighing all day." Sutaru put a hand on my forehead to make sure I didn't have a fever. Kitsuchi smirked.
"She's upset because Sasuke isn't here." She teased. I glared at her.
"Go find Kiba and pretend like you have a fever." She glared at me but didn't say another word. I sighed.
"I'm worried about Orochimaru. I know that he's not going to give up on me or Sasuke that easily. I have a feeling that he is going to be here for the rest of the exams, but I just don't know where or when he's going to strike next." Kitsuchi and Sutaru looked at the floor.
"I suppose you have a point." Sutaru said.
"Yeah she does, but there's nothing we can do except for wait until he does strike. When he does we'll just have to strike right back." I smiled at Kitsuchi. Her use of force for everything always made me feel better. I leaned my head back and sighed.
"I suppose that's true." Kitsuchi smiled.
"It is, now let's go get dinner, hopefully it's something edible, and then rest up. Tomorrow is the last day of the second part of the exam and I want it to be over quickly." I smiled and together we walked to the dining room.
The sun shone through the windows on the last day of the exam. As soon as I woke up I made a quick scout through the tower lobby. My face fell. There was still no sign of Team 7, and I was really starting to get worried. I sauntered into the dining room and had a small breakfast before walking back out into the lobby. Everyone who had made it through was all gathered around. I walked over to Kitsuchi and Sutaru.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We're not sure yet. They just asked that everyone gather in the main lobby." Sutaru explained. I stood with them and we waited. Suddenly Anko walked in.
"Congratulations. You have all passed the second part of the exam. Not bad at all. Now if you'll all follow me we'll head into the main part of the tower."
"W-wait a second! I thought we still had another day?! What about the other teams?!" Anko looked at me and sighed.
"We're going to give them a couple more hours. We just need to gather everyone who's here up right now so as not to waste any time. Now let's go!" We followed Anko out of the lobby and through the large hallway until we came to a door that was locked. Anko quickly pulled out some keys and opened the lock. She opened the door for us and we piled into the room. The room was gigantic! It had a large tiled floor and two sets of stairs that led onto two rectangular balconies. In front of us was a large statue of a shinobi making the o-hitsugi hand sign. The Hokage, as well as all the shinobi team leaders and the exam proctors, were standing in front of the statue. We all walked forward and lined up with our teams. Sutaru, Kitsuchi, and I stood beside Neji's teams and Kabuto's team. We all stood and waited for something to happen. Kitsuchi, Sutaru, and I looked up and scanned the group until our eyes fell on Ryuunosuke-sensei. We waited until he noticed us staring at him and we all waved happily. He turned his head trying to ignore us but the red tint his cheeks had gone meant that he was happy we were there. I looked at Anko who kept glancing at her watch and soon more teams began to come through the doors. My heart did a flip when I finally saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura come through the door. Sasuke turned and scanned the group until his eyes found mine. I smiled at him and his face went slightly red. He quickly turned away and lined up with the rest of us.
"Ooooh, Ayane you're Romeo is here!" Kitsuchi whispered. I smirked.
"And if you look about two teams down you'll see that yours is trying to get your attention." Kitsuchi quickly turned to face Kiba. She glared at me when she realized I had tricked her. I smiled triumphantly and she turned away. I noticed Sutaru glancing nervously over at Gaara. I smiled. At least she was quiet about everything, unlike me and Kitsuchi. Though I was still trying to figure out what Sutaru saw in Gaara.
"Alright punks the second part of the exam is officially over! Now everyone listen up! The Third Lord Hokage is going to explain the third part of the exam to you, so you better take what he says to heart!" Anko suddenly yelled out. We all turned forward and faced the Hokage as he prepared to make a speech.
"The third exam is about to commence, but before I go into the specifics I would like to first make something perfectly clear, the purpose of the exam. Why do you suppose we conduct this exam with all of our allying nations? 'To promote friendship among allied nations and raise the level and standards in the art of shinobi…' be very clear on what those phrases mean. The series of these so-called examinations is, in fact, a miniature war between the allied nations." Everyone gasped and I couldn't help find myself slightly excited about this.
"W-what do you mean?" Tenten asked.
"If you were to study our recent history, and the map of the world, you would notice that the alliance is merely a temporary and mutually beneficial agreement between geographically conscious nations whose previous existence was one of continual strife, constantly fighting openly and in secret for power and the control over resources that were practically depleted during the great struggle. That was when the plan to hold the chunin exams was devised."
"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! I thought the point was to just choose who was gonna become chunin?!" Naruto blurted out. I sighed but Kitsuchi smiled brightly.
"Make no mistake, by the end of this exam we will have weeded out the weaklings and have found those worthy enough to be named chunin, but even more importantly, it serves as an arena for genin to honour their homelands and fight, to the death if need be."
"'Honour their homelands'?" Ino asked.
"This third part of the exam will be viewed under the watchful eyes of the most esteemed of guests, including the aspiring rulers and nobilities of the various lands you all serve and among their number will be those who rule over each country's own hidden ninja villages. They will all be watching you. If any one nation's applicants shows a form of distinguished skill or superiority, the nobles from every land will be quick to commission that shinobi trained in that superior nation. However, if the shinobi are seen as feeble little weaklings then the commissions for that country will dwindle. When a country is strong in battle and therefore receives many commissions and in turn flourishes then that village can easily turn to its neighbour and say 'beware for we posses prowess, riches, and the influence of political power'!"
"So what?! Why is this so important that you force us to stake our lives on it?!" Kiba yelled out.
"The strength of the country is derived from the strength of its village, and in turn the strength of the village is derived from the shinobi who live there. The greatest strength of those shinobi is only shown in desperate fight-to-the-death battles. This exam provides a public arena for each country to boast and show off the power of its shinobi and hence the strength of the country! This test has great meaning and an even greater consequence. As you struggle for the sake of your lives and your people you help to fulfill the dreams of all our ancestors."
"But you've always emphasized the concept of 'friendship' if what you say is true, then why?" Tenten asked.
"Though my meaning is subtle I choose my words with care. To preserve the balance of power at the risk of lives is the essence of friendship in the world of shinobi. Let me reiterate once more before we begin the third exam, this is no ordinary test! You risk not only your own hopes and dreams, but the dignity and prestige of your home as well."
"Whatever, could you wrap up the philosophical theories and get to the life-and-death stuff any time soon?" Sutaru glanced up again at Gaara's remark. Everything about him creeped me out.
"So you insist I explain about the third exam? Well the truth is-" The Hokage was cut off as another shinobi suddenly appeared before him.
"Forgive my interruption Lord Hokage, but if you don't mind could you hand over the rest of the proceedings to me, Hayate Gekko, proctor of the third exam?"
"Very well, go ahead." Hayate nodded and turned to face the rest of us.
"Good to meet you everyone, I'm Hayate." My eyes grew wide as I looked at Hayate. He had black rings under his eyes and looked like he could barely stand. He kept on coughing and I thought for sure he was going to fall asleep at any time.
"Uh, before we start the exam I must ask you all to do something for me. You see there are some preliminaries that we have to go through, and whether you go on to the main exam depends on how well you do in those."
"Preliminaries?!" Shikamaru exclaimed.
"Uh, Hayate-sensei I don't understand what you mean by 'preliminaries'. Why can't all the remaining applicants just go through?" Sakura asked.
"Well, not to say that the first two exams weren't hard enough but the truth is there are still too many applicants left. Under the rules of the exam we have to hold preliminaries to cut down the number of applicants who make it through to the third exam. As Lord Hokage already stated a number of honoured guests will be arriving to watch the third exam so we have to make the exam intense, tight, and fast-moving. Anyway, now that you all know what the exam's all about anyone who doesn't feel up to it, either physically or mentally, can walk away. Just raise your hand and take a step forward, because the preliminaries start now!" I tensed. Now, so soon? We had just gotten out of the forest and they wanted us to start fighting already? I was slightly nervous, but at the same time I was also very excited. I noticed Kitsuchi glance up at me.
"Kitsuchi I'm fine, I can do this, so don't even think about it." Kitsuchi sighed and smiled.
"Ok, just making sure." I smiled at her. At least she wasn't persistent when she wasn't supposed to be. I looked to the side as Kabuto put his hand up and stepped forward.
"Well, I'm outta here." Hayate picked up his clipboard, coughed one more time, and turned to Kabuto.
"You're Kabuto Yakushi right? Ok then you can go. Oh and in case I forgot to mention, from here on in you fight as individuals, not as members of a team. So if you want to quit you can without worrying about anyone else. So anyone else want out? Show of hands?"
"Kabuto what's up with quitting?!" Naruto demanded.
"Naruto I'm sorry but those guys we fought last beat the crap outta me, ever since I fought with those sound ninja I've been deaf in my left ear, and now they're saying this could be a fight to the death?! I just don't think I'm up for it." I glared at Kabuto. There was something about him I didn't trust. He glanced down at me, smiled, and continued to walk out. I crossed my arms and sulked. I really didn't like that guy.
I scanned the sensei standing in front of us. My eyes fell on the sensei from Otogakure. Something about him seemed very familiar, but I wasn't sure what it was. His head slowly moved and his eyes fell on mine. I tensed as another wave of pain erupted from the curse mark. I cringed and quickly brought my hand up to my neck. Sutaru and Kitsuchi quickly surrounded me trying to block me from everyone's view.
"Is it hurting again?" Kitsuchi asked worried.
"Y-yeah, but it's not as bad as it usually is. I think I just need to catch my breath and it should go away." I glanced over at Sasuke as he glanced at me. His hand was over his mark too. I tensed as the pain became slightly worse and had to bite my tongue to keep from shouting out. When I looked back up at Sasuke he was holding Sakura's hand down and he looked angry. I took one more deep breath and the pain slowly washed away. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward again.
"Well since no one else wants to leave we'll begin the preliminaries. The preliminaries will be one-on-one battles that will continue like a mini tournament. Since there are twenty-six combatants we'll hold thirteen matches and the winners of those matches will advance on to the third exam. This is a no-holds barred fight. Combatants will continue to fight until one is either dead, unconscious, or admits defeat. If you sense that your opponent is over-powering you then I suggest that you admit defeat if you value your life. Since we don't want a total blood bath there will be certain cases where there is an undisputed winner and I'll have to step in to finish the match, but don't count on it. From here on out your fates are held in," a board on the wall slowly lifted revealing a blank screen, "this electronic score-board. So, umm, not to hurry you all to the slaughter house or anything, but let's begin. We will now announce the first two names." We all turned to look up at the score-board. It flashed many different names preparing to choose two at random. I looked at the screen anxiously. Suddenly, the names stopped flashing and only two remained.
"Ayane Kikuchi and Kaiiri Unora. Would the two individuals with those names please step forward." I smirked. Kitsuchi and Sutaru looked at me with worry on their faces.
"Calm down you guys, I'll be fine." I smiled and stuck my tongue out at them playfully. They smiled. I stepped forward and stood in front of Hayate. As I stepped up so did my opponent Kaiiri. I immediately recognized her as the girl whose team we first faced in the forest.
"Huh, so you managed to make it through after all." I said. She glared at me.
"Yeah, and now it's time for some payback. I have to admit, they chose this battle perfectly." I smirked.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Ayane Kikuchi, Kaiiri Unora, you two are the first match, do you have any objections?"
"None." I replied.
"No." Kaiiri replied after.
"Good, then would all the remaining ninja please make your way up the stairs on either side of you and wait up there for your names to be called." I watched as everyone made their way up the stairs. All the Konoha ninja took the stairs on the right while everyone else went up the left stairs. Ryuunosuke-sensei threw me a quick warning glance. I ignored him and turned back to Kaiiri.
"Go Ayane!"
"Yeah! Take her down!"
"Yeah Ayane!" I looked up at Kitsuchi, Sutaru, and Naruto. They were all cheering wildly and I smiled.
"It doesn't matter how loud they yell, there's no way you're going to beat me."
"If you think I need them cheering me on to win then you are sorely mistaken." Kaiiri glared at me again and I smirked at her. The more she hated me, the more interesting this match would be.
"Now if no one else has any other objections, let the match…Begin!" Kaiiri quickly jumped back as Hayate jumped away from us. I smiled as I ran straight at her. Before she could react I punched her in the face. She skidded back and fell to one knee.
"Why you little…"
"That's what you get for doing the same thing as everyone else. Whenever a battle starts people always jump back, personally I find it more entertaining to run right into it." Kaiiri smiled and pulled out a kunai.
"Alright then, let's try it your way." Kaiiri ran at me and I prepared for her attack. She threw the kunai at me and I quickly jumped to dodge it. Suddenly while I was in the air, the kunai went back into Kaiiri's hand and she threw it back at me. I pulled my arms up to cover my face and the kunai hit me in the left forearm. When I landed on the ground I looked down at the kunai. My eyes grew wide as I realized that the kunai had no grip, it was just a blade. Suddenly the blade shifted and flew out of my arm, creating a small trail of blood behind it. I looked forward and finally realized what had happened. Kaiiri smiled.
"Retractable kunai. When I throw them I just throw the blade and not the grip. If I miss my target I can quickly pull the kunai back and re-aim it at my target. It saves me a lot of time and kunai." I glared at her and she smiled. I could feel the blood falling down my arm but ignored it. I pulled out a kunai and ran at her. She prepared herself. Before I reached her I jumped to the side. Thinking I was going for her side she lunged at me. I dodged her attack and slid under her. I kicked up and she went flying. I quickly jumped up above her, placed both feet on her chest, and pushed her back to the ground as hard as I could. She flew back to the ground and landed with a hard thud. I landed a couple of feet away from her.
"Yeah Ayane!" Sutaru called.
"Nice one that was totally awesome!" Kitsuchi called after. I smiled and turned waiting for Hayate to call the match. Suddenly I tensed and tried to turn but was too late. Kaiiri had gotten up and ran at me from behind. She put her arms under mine and pulled back.
"Never let your guard down until you're sure your opponent is definitely out." She suddenly flipped me back. I quickly straightened myself up and bent my legs to catch myself before I hit the ground. Kaiiri looked at me shocked and I smiled. She smiled back at me. She suddenly swung her leg over. I tried to dodge but her foot hit my right side. I let go of her and jumped back.
"Nice plan, kick me and force me to let go, but I'm afraid you didn't do much."
"Didn't I?" I looked at her confused. Suddenly pain shot up my right side. I looked down and my eyes grew wide. Across my side was a deep cut. I looked at her expecting an answer. I found it when I looked down at her shoe. Her shoes had built in blades inside the soles! This girl was a walking, talking weapon! I grabbed my side to stop the bleeding and glared at her.
"Why you little…come on Ayane! Kick her butt!" Kitsuchi called down. I smiled. I put my hands together and made the o-hitsugi hand sign. Six other clones appeared. I quickly equalized my chakra through them so that we were all the same. I ran at Kaiiri. I quickly turned and all of me ran around Kaiiri as fast as we could.
"Whoa, I didn't know she was so fast!" I heard Naruto comment. I smiled. I suddenly stopped and repressed my presence as much as I could. My clones and I stood around Kaiiri, taunting her.
"Well, which one of us is the real one?" We asked in unison. She looked between the seven of us, not sure what to do.
"Incredible, I can't even tell the difference between them!" Kakashi exclaimed.
"That's my Ayane for you." I heard Ryuunosuke-sensei say. I smiled. Kaiiri kept glancing at each clone, not knowing what to do.
"Come on Kaiiri! Hurry this up already!" One of her teammates called.
"It's not that easy!" She yelled back.
"Aww, is poor Kaiiri confused?" I taunted. She glared at me but worry was all over her face.
"Shut up!"
"Come now, can't you tell just a little bit?"
"I said shut up!" She threw one of her retractable kunai. I quickly released the chakra from that clone, spread it to the rest of them, and then repressed my presence again.
"Come on Kaiiri! Stop playing and finish her off!" Kaiiri turned and glared at her teammate. She turned back to me and took a deep breath. She suddenly lifted her arms up. I smiled.
"Just taking us out two at a time may double your chances of finding the real me, but it will also leave an opening for me to attack." Kaiiri smiled back.
"Taking you out two at a time would be fun, but why do that when I can take you out all at once?!" I tensed as Kaiiri began to spin around. She eventually started to spin so fast she looked like nothing but a blur. Suddenly my clones began to disappear. I didn't realize what was going on until I was pummeled with a barrage of senbon. I put my hands up to protect my face. Suddenly Kaiiri was right in front of me. She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into her knee. She then elbowed me under the chin and flipped backwards, kicking me in the face as she flipped. She jumped back and ran at me as fast as she could. She jumped up and using both feet kicked me in the chest. I flew backwards and rolled across the ground.
"Heh, that'll teach a brat like you what happens when you mess with a true shinobi like me. Let's face it, you were doomed the moment you handed in your application. There's no way a weakling like you will ever become a chunin." I tensed. "You're a weakling Ayane, you disappoint me", "Can't even handle a small fight like this? Get out of my sight", "You're a disgrace to shinobi, you'll never amount to anything". His voice echoed through my mind. All my life I was never good enough. I was too weak, too soft, I didn't do the hand signs fast enough, I didn't use the proper form of taijutsu. Never was I worthy of anything. I never received praise, even when I did something right, and I was always disciplined if I did something wrong. I stared at the ground, wondering if I should even bother getting up. Suddenly I felt a cold sting on my neck. The curse mark was starting to hurt again, but for some reason I didn't care. I put my hands on the ground and slowly began to push myself back up.
"Ready for some more punishment?" I stood shakily to my feet. Senbon were sticking out of my body but I didn't care. I slowly lifted my gaze. My bangs covered my left eye. I glared darkly at Kaiiri and fear filled her face. She quickly shook the fear away and smiled.
"This time I'll end it for sure." Kaiiri pulled out a kunai and ran straight for me. I waited for her to come. When she finally reached me her eyes grew wide. At the last second I had stepped to the side and stabbed my wrist blade through her shoulder. She stopped and looked down at my hand. I smiled darkly.
"You're not the only one with hidden weapons." I walked towards her and slowly pushed my wrist blade into her shoulder. She cried out in pain. When I was close enough to her I put my head on her shoulder and whispered into her ear.
"You hurt me, and now I'm going to kill you." Her face filled with fear and she looked at me. I smiled and punched her in the face. Kaiiri flew back. I ran after her and when I reached her I kicked her in the stomach. I then turned and punched her in the face before turning around and kicking her in the side. She flew back and rolled along the ground.I walked over to her and lifted her up.
"P-please don't." She pleaded. I smirked.
"It's not over yet." I threw her up and kicked her in the back. She flew forward and hit the wall. I heard a couple of cracks and knew that some of her ribs had broken. She stayed on her feet and coughed up blood. I ran at her, grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her up. I pulled back my other arm and unsheathed my wrist blade. Gasps filled the arena. I smiled wickedly and pulled my arm back.Suddenly the pain on my neck became worse. I felt the marks begin to cover my body. I began to shake and for some reason I had trouble controlling my arm. I finally realized that the mark was trying to force me to kill Kaiiri. I fought back as hard as I could. I didn't want to kill Kaiiri, though I thought I did, I truly didn't. If I were to kill her then it would only prove every word that Orochimaru had ever said to me, and I refused to let that happen. I cringed and fought back the curse mark. Pain erupted through my whole body. I yelled out and continued to fight. I slowly moved my arm away from Kaiiri's face and at the last second my arm released and stabbed through the wall only inches from her cheek. A small cut appeared on her face where the blade had come so close. Beads of sweat fell down my face and I was panting heavily. I dropped Kaiiri to the ground.
"Q-quit now, or you are going to die."
"Wh-what?"
"I said, quit now or I will kill you!"
"B-but I…" I quickly turned and glared darkly at her.
"I…said…quit!" I pulled my wrist blade out of the wall and slashed her across the stomach. Kaiiri screamed out in pain. I fell on her, grabbed her throat, and held the wrist blade above her head.
"Quit, damn it, quit!" Tears were falling down my face. If she continued to stay in this fight, for whatever reason, she was going to die by my hand. Kaiiri stared up at me, fear and confusion plastered on her face.
"Please, please just quit. I don't want to kill you but if you stay in this fight I won't be able to control myself anymore, and you will die." Kaiiri's eyes filled with tears. She quickly closed them and screamed.
"I give! I give up! Please just stop her! I don't wanna die!" Suddenly Ryuunosuke-sensei was by my side. He lifted me from Kaiiri and held me back. I was shaking violently and my body had gone limp.
"The match goes to Ayane Kikuchi!" Hayate yelled. The medical ninja as well as Kaiiri's teammates and sensei quickly appeared. They lifted Kaiiri onto a stretcher. She was bleeding profusely and had three broken ribs. They quickly took her away. Ryuunosuke-sensei led me up the stairs to where Kitsuchi and Sutaru were waiting.
"Ayane you did it you won!" Kitsuchi said with a bright smile.
"Congratulations! You made it to the third exam!" Sutaru hugged me. I cringed and she quickly let go.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"It's ok, I just need to take these senbon out." I sat down on the edge of the balcony and began to take the senbon out one by one.
"Shouldn't you let a medical ninja do that?" I looked up to see Kakashi-sensei standing above me. He sat down next to me.
"I have basic medical training. I can heal these wounds easily."
"Really? Not many genin can say they have the same skills."
"Well in case you haven't noticed I'm not like the other genin." I forced chakra into my hands and began to heal the cut on my side, the cut on my arm, and the small cuts the senbon had made.
"Impressive."
"Are you here to admire my medical ninjutsu or do you have a reason for sitting beside me?"
"I just came to tell you not to go anywhere just yet."
"Why not?"
"After Sasuke's fight I'm going to seal the curse marks." My eyes grew wide.
"You know how to seal the curse mark?"
"Yes and I need to seal them quickly. In you're fight you came very close to losing control. I noticed it when you started to brutally attack that girl." I smirked.
"Alright, I'll stay."
"Alright, but what's with the smirk?"
"When I was 'brutally attacking' Kaiiri, I feel it safe to tell you that it wasn't the curse mark, that was all me." Kakashi stared at me shocked. He slowly stood to his feet. He walked away but kept throwing me concerned glances. I sighed and stood back up. I walked over to Kitsuchi and Sutaru. They were watching the names flash on the screen. The names suddenly stopped.
"Sasuke Uchiha versus Yoroi Akado. Would the two individuals whose names are listed there please come down here." Sasuke smiled.
"Didn't think I'd be going this soon." I looked at Sasuke. Ever since the incident with Orochimaru he had been ignoring me and it was making me worried. He went to head down the stairs when I suddenly lost control of my mouth.
"Sasuke!" He glanced at me.
"What?"
"Well…uh…I…" I blushed slightly. I had no idea what I wanted to say to him.
"Stop wasting my time. If you don't have anything to say then please excuse me I need to get down to my match." He turned to leave again.
"Sasuke wait!" He turned right around and glared at me.
"What is it?!" I took a deep breath.
"Good luck with your match. I hope you win and just so you know…I'll be cheering for you." Sasuke's glare became soft and his eyes grew wide.
"Well…uh…thanks." I smiled at him. His face turned slightly pink. The smile quickly faded.
"Something else bothering you?" I looked back up at him.
"Well, Sasuke, just be careful." Sasuke stared at me and then gave me one of his so rare smiles. He put his hand up, wrist down and moved it in a shooing motion.
"C'mere." I walked over to Sasuke. Just as I was just about to reach him he stuck his index finger and middle finger out and jabbed me in the middle of the forehead.
"Oww! What was that for?!" I asked putting my hand up to my forehead.
"Calm down and stop worrying so much. I'll be fine." I stared after him as he turned to leave. When he was at the stairs he turned his head to the side.
"Hey Ayane?"
"Yes?"
"Good job on your match, you were pretty impressive out there." He turned back around and continued down the stairs. I felt my face go bright red. Everyone was staring at me. I quickly turned around and faced forward. I looked down at Sasuke. He glanced up at me and threw me another one of his smiles. I must have done something good to get two smiles in one day. The thought made my face glow an even brighter shade of red. I sat on the ground and put my legs through the bars. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the heat radiating off my face. I then found myself smiling as I watched Sasuke staring down his opponent.
"Good luck Sasuke, and thank you."