I just feel I have to mention this. In the series, TenTen uses mirrors attached to wires to reflect answers to Lee for the first part of the exam. WTH? First off, wouldn't the proctors have noticed when she hooked up the device? It's like thrown up into the ceiling with kunai. That must have taken some serious throwing power. Secondly, wouldn't they have noticed the big mirror attached to the ceiling as it moved around? I mean, they're supposed to be hyper observant in all. And it must have reflected some light. Thirdly, you see her with her hand in front of her face, pulling on the wire all obvious. I just think it's pathetic and there's no way in hell I would have had Kara do the same. Instead, I had her take the easy way out.
Chapter 12: The Fine Line Between Cheating and Lying to Yourself
Kara casually strolled down the street on her way to the Academy, her hands stuffed down into her pockets like the cool cat she was. She had had a good night of sleep the night before and was actually running ahead of schedule, a full forty five minutes to be exact. Ah, such a lovely afternoon. Shame I have to spend it inside for this exam.
"Pssst! Kara-chan!" A voice whispered to her from behind a bush.
"Eh?" The girl backtracked a couple steps before crouching down to see who it was. "Guruko-kun? What are you doing down there in the shrubbery?"
The dog poked its head out, tilted sideways. "Shrubbery? Seriously?" She really needs to get away from her sensei more. "I ran away from home so that I could wish you luck."
"Aw… you're so sweet." Kara picked him up and squeezed him tightly like her own personal teddy bear. "I can use all the extra luck I can get."
"Extra? Who else is wishing you luck?" The dog pushed away from her with his paws in order to get a better angle of her face. "You better tell me."
"Well…" She hummed and hawed for a moment. "I'm assuming its luck." Balancing Guruko in one arm, she reached into her pack and pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope. "See? This letter is from my mom… or dad… heck, it could even be from an uncle for all I know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I figure whoever wrote it would want me to be safe. And not getting myself killed would be victory enough for me during this exam."
Guruko blinked his large puppy eyes at her. "You're always going to be safe so long as we're around." He was referring to himself and the other dogs. "We would never let anything bad happen to you."
Kara squeezed him again. "Aw! You're too much." She kissed him and set him down on the ground. "Now hurry up and run back home like a good boy. I wouldn't want Pakkun to scold you for going A.W.O.L." The little dog licked her hand before bounding down the street back home. Gosh, he's almost too cute. I wish he was my dog. Heh… maybe if I had a ninken of my own I'd actually stand a chance of making it to the finals.
She continued onward toward the Academy. Out front there were several people of varying ages and village affiliations getting themselves pumped up and ready to go inside. Kara didn't see either of her teammates out there so with a shrug of her shoulders, she headed into her old school and up the nearest stairwell. Though her destination was the third floor, she noticed that there were a large group of applicant's on the second, her two boys amongst them. Huh? Did they change the room for the exam?
"There you are." Neji turned toward her as she approached. "We only have another thirty minutes till the exam."
"Yea. So what are you guys doing here?" She glanced over at Lee who seemed to be facing down two rather snotty-nosed kids blocking his way.
Neji stared at her blankly. "Please tell me you didn't hit your head on the way over here. We're here for the exam, Kara."
"But we're only on the seco- Uff!" Lee was knocked back into her and the two fell to the floor. "Owww… geez. That hurt. You alright?" The young girl checked her teammate's condition before she scrambled back to her feet. "Why did you do that?" Her shocked expression directed at the boy who pushed Lee down in the first place.
"Oh we're just trying to spare you weak little ones from getting yourselves killed during this exam." A boy with spiky black hair and bandages on his face stood haughtily before her.
Weak? Lee could hit this brat so hard his grandchildren would feel it. He must have fallen on purpose. Kara took a step forward, intentionally putting herself within range of the self appointed bouncers. "Who are you to judge? You look younger, and a heck of a lot weaker, than me, kid."
The boy's hand shot out to strike her across the face. Kara had every intention of just taking the hit like Lee had, but luckily for her flawless features, the scarring injury would not be taking place at the moment. Her eyes, already scrunched up in a flinch, popped open to see Sasuke standing beside her, his hand clamped around the boy's wrist. Kara sighed more out of annoyance than relief. Her planning and preparation never seemed to do any good when he was around. "Nice timing." She mumbled as she crossed her arms with a slight huff.
"It'd be a waste if you got hurt and couldn't compete." The Uchiha smirked, proud of himself for his show of chivalry in front of the gathering of applicants. He let the scowling boy go.
Kara rolled her eyes and let her arms drop back down to her sides. "Believe me. I have every intention of competing." She looked back at Lee and Neji. "Speaking of which, how's about we head up to the examination room now?" They stared at her puzzled, thinking that they had already arrived.
"Sounds fine to me." Sasuke turned to his own teammates. "No point in wasting time here on the second floor."
"Heh. Just cause you can see though a measly illusion doesn't mean you're good enough to take the exam." The snot-nosed boy had not lost focus and came at Sasuke with a kick that would have undoubtedly taken Kara out with him, had Lee not intervened.
In the blink of an eye, Lee appeared between the two boys, stopping any further conflict. "Are you alright, Kara-chan?" His concern was solely for Kara's well-being. She nodded furiously and gestured for him to let the two combatants go.
Damn… this guy! Completely different from the loser that got knocked flat on his ass a second ago. Sasuke turned away without so much as a second glance at either Lee or Kara. "Let's go." He vaguely ordered his teammates.
"Yea, let's get going." Sakura chimed in perfect agreement with the object of her obsession.
And that was all it took to capture Lee's heart. Kara noticed the change first. "Lee? … Lee. No, stop." She reached out too late to stop him from embarrassing himself and the rest of his team. "Darn it…" She hissed.
"What?" Neji stood beside her and watched Lee approach the pink-haired girl. "Oh."
"Excuse me…" Lee got the young girl's attention. "My name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura, right?"
Sakura stared back a bit deterred by the boy's appearance. "Um… yea…"
"My name is Rock Lee. Will you go out with me? I'll protect you with my life."
The boy's gleaming smile and polished 'good looks' were rewarded with nothing but a dull, "You're so lame", from the young cherry blossom.
Kara shielded her eyes from the carnage and ignored what was going on as best she could. But Neji watched the reactions of the pink-haired girl's teammates. One in particular caught his eye. "Hey you." He called out to Sasuke. "What was your name again?"
Huh? Me? The Uchiha coolly turned and faced him. "I never said. What's yours?"
Ignoring the question that was posed to him, Neji went on. "You're one of the rookies aren't you?" He nudged Kara in the side. She uncovered her eyes and blinked, surprised a bit by the turn the situation had taken. "You two know each other right?"
Kara remained silent, looking back and forth between the two boys. Uh-oh… Neji's picked out his competition. Great. Now he's gonna want me to help him win… or rather, expect me to take his side.
"Yea, I know her." Sasuke broke the silence. "Doesn't mean I owe you anything though." He turned and stalked off with Naruto and Sakura in tow. Damn I look like a badass.
"Geez, Neji. Why do you have to be so mean?" Kara shoved him lightly on the shoulder, not enough to budge him.
He looked at her. "I can't believe you just let him go."
What? Sasuke? "Why would I stop him?" She lost track of the conversation.
"Oh I don't know." The Hyuuga's pale lavender eyes rolled in a slow 360 degrees. "Maybe because he's our teammate." He pointed past her to the spot where Lee had previously occupied. "You let him chase after that pink-haired girl, whatever her name was."
Lee? "Huh?!" Kara spun around and just managed to catch a glimpse of Lee's orange legwarmers as they disappeared behind a corner. "Ugh! Why didn't you stop him?"
"Not my job. Now go fetch him before we get in trouble with sensei. I'll wait for you guys in the examination room." He glided down the hallway in the opposite direction, following the dispersing crowd.
Kara grumbled and mocked the natural born genius of a comrade she was stuck with as she rushed after the love sick clone of her sensei. Why do I always take care of these two? … Better question: Why in the world is it my job to 'fetch' Lee?
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura batted her eyelashes at the boy in an attempt to gain his attention as they turned the corner away from Kara and her teammates. "Why did you protect that girl? What was her name again? … Kara, right?"
He sighed as the question which instantly brought him down from his high of showing up that pale-eyed weirdo. Why do I care so much about whether or not Kara gets hurt? … Better question: What answer will make Sakura shut up about it? "I don't know. It was the right thing to do." He mumbled, trying not to pay her too much attention, lest she continue speaking.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're so caring and humble!" She swooned.
"Caring my ass…" Naruto cut in. "He probably did it to piss Kara off. Ya' know, she doesn't like it when people play her up as the damsel in distress. She's probably annoyed with you right now."
"Like I care." Sasuke answered coolly while he continued walking across the second floor. "Let's just get to the exam, alright?"
"Ha! See!" Naruto pointed his finger in Sasuke's face. "I told you Sakura-chan! He's not as great as you think he is!"
Sakura readily smacked her blonde annoyance upside the head. "Shut up, Naruto. Sasuke's right. We need to hurry up. We only have twenty more minutes to turn in our applications."
"Hey you with the face!" A voice called down from the walkway above. All three genin looked up to see the awkward looking fellow from whom it originated. The disgust was obvious on all three of their faces.
Sasuke unsurprisingly answered, it being in his self-absorbed nature to assume the creepy, green boy was talking to him. "What do you want?"
With one flawless leap, the boy jumped down to face him. "I am challenging you to a fight, Sasuke Uchiha."
Oh, so he knows my name. Tch. Kara probably told him. If she's as mad as Naruto says she is, then she probably put this freak up to challenging me. "Is that so? Well… if you insist."
"No! Lee, stop it right now!" Kara shouted from the walkway above the four kids. "If you start fighting you could get us disqualified!"
Lee raised his open palm to his comrade's outcry. "I cannot back down for I fight to prove my love." He blew a kiss at Sakura. She only narrowly escaped its trajectory.
Kara pinched the bridge of her nose. "If you don't stop this right now, I swear I'll tell sensei on you!" Oh gosh, this is so irritating.
"Nothing will prevent me from my mission. Do not interfere, Kara-chan." Lee remained focused on his target before him.
"Yea, just stay out of this Kara." Sasuke called up to her. "But if you'd like, you can stay and watch me kick the crap out of your friend here." He snickered, overly confident in his abilities and somewhat amused by Kara's connection to the bushy-browed freak. Guess she didn't send him. Doesn't change anything though.
Wow… to think, I was going to spare him the humiliation of defeat. "Fine." She snapped callously. "Lee. You have five minutes to beat the Uchiha to a fine powder, before I tell sensei about you breaking the rules."
"Your understanding in this matter is much appreciated, Kara-chan." Lee glanced up and smiled at her, grateful to be granted the chance to test his ability and show off for a pretty girl.
"Yeah, yeah…" Kara stalked off to find Gai. "But you're gonna have to deal with the consequences when Gai-sensei finds out." She mumbled under her breath.
"So, Kakashi. You really expect your students to show up for this exam?" Gai leaned back against the third floor window.
"Yea. Why do you ask?" The copy ninja idly flipped the page of his favorite book.
The two men were standing in front of the examination room door. Kakashi was waiting for his students and Gai might have just been there to bother him. "I just think it's a bit presumptuous of you to think they're ready. I gave my kids a whole year to prepare."
"Speaking of which…" Kakashi snapped his book shut and glared at the pompous green giant. "Why is it that Kara has yet to be taught anything of any actual use?"
The question threw him for a loop. "What are you talking about? She's an excellent fighter!"
"Taijutsu doesn't count, Gai. Didn't you ever think to test her aptitude for other skills?"
"What do you mean, 'Taijutsu doesn't count'? It's the basis of any decent training regime. I could base my entire career on it!"
Kakashi sighed and decided to try to come at this from another angle. "What I'm trying to say is; why haven't you taught her any ninjutsu? I really don't know why you hate using it so much and I think it's very irresponsible of you to deprive her of the opportunity to learn. You know, she might actually be good at it."
Gai pondered his response carefully, but it still came up lengthy and unfulfilling. "I don't think she would be. Don't get me wrong. She's good enough to make it through this exam and it would be great if she were apt to learning things, but Kara's not all that dedicated. What skill she has, she was born with. I've done everything I could think of to make her care but, I don't think I've ever seen that girl really try. Heh…" he chuckled to himself. "I guess laziness runs in the family, eh?"
I'm not lazy. And neither is Kara. She's just… overly pensive at times. Kakashi could hear a pair of footsteps approaching from around the corner. "Whatever you say, Gai. Whatever you say."
Kara took her time walking up to the third floor. It was quiet because most, if not all, of the other applicants had already gone to the examination room. Just as she turned the last corner on her way there, she froze. At the far end of the hall, right in front of the door, were Gai and Kakashi. Both seemed to be waiting fairly patiently for their students it seemed, but Kara knew better. Beneath their calm exteriors, they were still fighting with each other… or at least Gai was. And she knew that one way or another, she would end up involved. Arg! Why can't today be a nice peaceful, normal day?
"Kara-chan!" Gai cheerfully greeted her as she approached the two men. "Ready to take the exam?"
"Mmm-hmm." She kept her mouth tightly shut. She had promised Lee at least another ten seconds. The shared gaze of the two was too much for her. Kara instantly turned her attention to the slightly shiny nature of her shoes.
Gai started talking first. "Neji's already inside and you're here, but where's Lee-kun?"
Three Mississippi, Two Mississippi, One Mississippi… Kara looked back up with a grin. "He's downstairs beating the living daylights out of Sasuke. I would have stayed and watched, but since we're not supposed to fight before the exam, there was a conflict of interest."
"He's what now?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Kara's words.
Gai broke in triumphantly. "She said that my protégé is kicking your protégé's ass."
"Basically." Kara agreed with her sensei's translation, though not his choice of words.
"That's unlikely." Kakashi's confidence was met with hard stares from the other two.
"You don't know Lee, sempai." The young girl shook her head back and forth. "Just wait till you see Sasuke. He'll have bruises everywhere… his ego in particular will appear badly wounded." She snickered at the thought of it.
"True, true, bugaboo." Gai spontaneously picked her up in a hug and then dropped her to go get Lee. "But now I must go and get our golden boy. Good luck, Kara-chan. Remember your teamwork." He disappeared around the corner.
Kara visibly twitched where she stood and blinked a few times before regaining focus. "You alright?" Kakashi poked her head.
She glanced up at him, rubbing her forehead. "Would you be?"
"Right, dumb question." He knelt down to her level. "So are you really ready to take the exam?"
"Yea, I guess." Kara shrugged her shoulders. "I can at least make sure my teammates make it to the finals."
Kakashi's visible eye hardened. "What kind of an attitude is that? Why wouldn't you be able to make it there yourself?"
The teenage girl again shrugged her shoulders. "A bunch of those guys in there," she nodded to the door behind him "have special jutsu and techniques and years more experience than me. And well, there's nothing all that special about me. I figure I'm strong enough to help my friends and that'll be enough."
I wish she wouldn't be so… selfless, I guess. Unambitious seems more accurate though. Maybe Gai was right. "What about that jutsu I showed you? Haven't you been practicing it?"
Kara sighed and assumed it would be better to show him rather than try to explain in detail the problem with his logic. She quickly made the hand signs and then reached up and brushed her hair with her fingers. Strands of her hair stood up at random intervals. "Just static electricity." She held her hands, palm up, in front of her. Red and white lines crackled under her skin. "I guess I just don't have whatever passion it takes to make it more." Kara folded her hands together and stopped the jutsu. "It's fine though. I'm good enough for what I want to accomplish."
She doesn't know just how close she really is. Kakashi stood back up and guided her toward the door to the exam. "Don't give up on it. I know you're capable of perfecting it." He cracked the door open and glanced down at her one last time. "Good luck, Kara-chan."
Kara reached out and squeezed the man's hand. "Thanks, sempai." She smiled softly and walked inside. Hehe, that makes four now.
The room was packed full of applicants, but it only took her two seconds to spot Neji sitting a few rows in front of where she stood. Kara took a deep breath and sighed out. She had to push through a small pack of rookies on her way to sit down. "Excuse you." A pig-faced blonde girl snapped at her when she accidentally bumped into her.
"Huh? Oh, sorry." Kara continued past.
"You should be." The little girl crowed.
That was a bit too much of an insult to take. Kara paused and spun around on her heel to face the brat. "Is there a problem? I was just walking." She propped her left hand on her hip. Well, someone's overreacting.
The blonde sneered. "Yea, maybe there is." She took a step forward, settling into a fighting stance.
"Ino, cut it out." A boy with spiked black hair and narrow eyes pulled on the girl's arm. "You don't know her. What if she's stronger than you?" He whispered.
She turned and hissed in his ear. "Please… I could take her. It'll make us look tough if I kick someone's ass in front of everyone."
Kara rolled her eyes. "I have excellent hearing. And I'd listen to your friend there. My name is Harada Kara and it's very unlikely that a brat like you could compare to me… Ino, was it?"
"Yamanaka Ino, and I'll have you know I come from a long line of elite ninja who specialize in the art of infiltration. You wouldn't even see me coming." The girl stuck her chin in the air and puffed out her flat chest.
"… right." Kara turned her head away. "Well… I'm gonna go now." She spared a quick glance at the boy who had tried to hold back the pig-faced child as she made her way to Neji. "Good luck. You'll need it with comrades like her." …freaks.
"Tch. Yeah, that's right! Run away! See? I told you she was weaker than me, Shikamaru." Ino put up a front but was still completely deflated from Kara's complete lack of interest in facing her challenge. Freak.
"Hey." Kara sat down with a flop next to Neji.
He went straight to the point. "Where's Lee?" But she didn't have time to answer before the door opened again, the taijutsu genius marching through confidently with a bloodied up face.
"Sensei got him for me." She slunk down in her seat and propped her feet up on the bench in front of her. "Just like old times, eh Neji-kun?" She yawned, bored already by the classroom setting. Clearly the tense atmosphere of the locale was not affecting her in the least. Lee sat down on the other side of Kara. "Tell me you won." She asked from behind closed eyes.
"A victor was not determined." Lee sat straight in his chair.
Kara opened one eye. "But you hit him real hard, right?" He nodded. "Heh, good." She went back to her faux sleep.
A sudden loud shout brought her out of it. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and none of you are gonna beat me!"
Dear lord… Kara sat up and stared at the blonde, along with the rest of the room. Is he serious?
"Kara-chan." Neji was watching the group of rookies by the door. "What can you tell me about them?"
I knew it. I knew it! He wants me to give him an advantage. She shrugged her shoulders. "His name is Naruto. What you see is what you get."
"And the others?" He prodded.
Kara didn't see the harm in telling him what she knew; mostly because she didn't know much. "Um… the girl is 'something' Sakura. I don't think she's anything special. Except that she seems immune to Sasuke's wrath." That last word caught Neji's attention; Kara noticed. "Yeah… the boy can really argue and fight. He can be very unpleasant at times. But they're all fairly normal, I think. Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about." She patted him indolently on the head twice.
There was an unexpected commotion by the door. The group of sound ninja rushed an older boy who had been standing with Naruto and the others. "Do you see that Lee?" Kara leaned her head toward the boy, now throwing up on the floor. "That's why you don't start fights at an exam." He nodded quietly.
Another loud burst of shouting brought the attention of the room around a complete 180 degrees. "Would you all just shut up?!" A low, male voice boomed throughout the room. Out of a cloud of smoke appeared a large group of ninja, the proctors for the first part of the exam. "Sorry to have kept you guys waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki. I am the chief proctor for this section of the exam. Now if you'd all be so kind as to line up and turn in your applications, at which point you'll be assigned a seat. Once everyone is seated, we'll pass out the written portion of the exam."
Kara blinked, not wanting to believe it; not to say she hadn't expected it given their location. Oh joy…
It had been ten minutes since the exam started. Kara sat in the seventh row; two up from Lee and four down from Neji. The random seating assignment had done a good job of splitting up all the teams. She sat silently, her left arm covering her test, her right hand propped up and spinning her pencil around idly. She had only known the answers to three of the first nine questions. Not a good point ratio.
Geez, this point subtraction deal sucks. I mean, these questions are nearly unbelievable. You'd have to be a real genius or a bookworm to know 'em. Kara rubbed her eyes as she considered the fact that the girl sitting next to her had yet to stop scratching answers down on her test. Who'd have thought that Sakura, a complete fangirl, would have been so smart?
The seconds continued to tick by, one after another. Come on Kara…, she coached herself. Think. I only have three points here. How do I get more? She looked up at the clock. Twenty minutes had passed and only forty minutes remained.
'Thunk' A kunai struck dead center on some kid's test. "Whoa! What the hell?!" He shouted.
"That's five times, kid. You're out." The proctor that threw the weapon grinned slyly. "Get your teammates and leave."
"You can't prove I cheated five times!" The boy refused to comply.
With deadly speed, the proctor shot across the room, slamming the boy into the far wall. "We proctors are the best here. We don't miss anything. Now scram." He growled.
Hehehe… Kara laughed nervously in her head. Oh boy, these guys are hard-core. Her thoughts dwelled on the cheater's words. He cheated five times and lost all his points and all the points of his teammates. To think, if he had only cheated four times, he'd still be in the running.
The obvious conclusion hit Kara like a ton of bricks. We have to cheat. We don't need to know the answers to these ridiculous questions! We need to steal them from someone who does without getting caught! Instantly, Kara sat up straighter and refocused herself. Okay, wait. Slow down. This is still a team event. How are my teammates going to get their answers?
Kara dared not look anywhere but straight ahead and down at her own test. Neji's probably already figured this out and is using his Byakugan to get his answers. I don't need to worry about him… but Lee. How is he going to cheat without getting caught? He's quick like me, but his memory is only good enough for maybe five or six answers. He'll get caught easily if he dwells any longer than that on someone's exam. She stopped twirling her pencil and used it instead to pick at the cuticles of her nails. Unless… I buy him some time.
The clock ticked another five minutes past. Eleven full teams, thirty-three hopefuls, had been disqualified. Kara crunched the numbers in her head. Neji will have all nine points. I have three right now. And I'll assume Lee has zero. If I make a distraction long enough, Lee can get at least six points. But any diversion will be marked as an attempt at cheating. …geez, I wish I had listened to Pakkun more.
Sakura's scribbling stopped.
No sense in getting points taken away if I'm not gonna get some answers out of it. I'll cheat… just this once and I'll get nine answers; nine points. Neji will have nine and Lee will have, at worst, six. Then I'll need to subtract two from each of us because of the penalty for my cheating and that'll leave me with seven, Neji with seven and Lee with four. Gosh, I hate underestimating Lee in all, but this is a mental challenge not a physical one. He's the weakest on our team in that respect. Kara took a deep breath. Her decision was made. She had to sacrifice if she wanted her team to make it any further in this exam. Now then… who to steal answers from?
There was a slight gasp to Kara's left. She glanced out of the corner of her eye as a natural reaction to the noise. What's up with Pinky? A sly grin slowly spread across the green-eyed beauty's face. Her gaze narrowed in on her exam sheet and began scanning the page in what looked like an attempt at memorization.
Kara continued to stare. Something wasn't right. "Is there a problem?" The nearly cruel looking Sakura hissed in her direction.
"Maybe there is." She absently responded, turning her attention back to her own paper. Holy cow! That's not Sakura! That's that brat that tried to pick a fight with me earlier. Geez, she wasn't kidding about the infiltration thing. Kara snuck another peek at the possessed girl. Whelp… no time like the present, eh? Without another moment of hesitation, Kara stood up and swiped the piece of paper out of Sakura's hands. "Cheating is against the rules, Ms. Yamanaka." She whispered just loud enough for the girl to hear. "Oooh! What have we here?" Kara chirped at an audible level as she stared at the paper.
Sasuke, along with a majority of the room, stared at Kara's show. What in the hell is she doing?!
Seven! Yes! Seven proctors looked at me! Come on Lee. You better have taken advantage of my little stunt here. "My, my… what clever answers you have." Kara folded the paper into smaller and smaller squares after looking at it for a mere two seconds. The possessed Sakura sat frozen, staring up at her in horror.
Ibiki picked up the roster with the names of all the applicants and their seating assignments. He quickly found Kara's name and barked out at her. "Ms. Harada. I hope you have a good reason for this outburst."
The chief proctor's voice sent shivers through the classroom. "Yessir." Her voice chimed sweetly through the stagnant air. She remained immune to the tension in the room. "But I can't seem to remember it at the moment." She giggled.
"Then sit down and say goodbye to six of your team's points." The man did his best to make his voice low and intimidating, it terrified most everyone in the room, but Kara had already figured out his game. Her smile never faded.
"Collateral damages." She shrugged her shoulders and sat back down, smacking the folded piece of paper down in front of Sakura. "Get out of her right now or I swear…" Kara growled lowly at the girl.
Sakura snorted indignantly. "…fine. Just shut up, would you?" Ino dispelled the jutsu and let her go. The pink-haired curiosity shook her head back and forth briefly before looking down at her folded sheet of paper. How did that happen? She stole a glance at Kara to her right, but only caught her furiously scribbling down her own answers. Huh? That's odd.
Sweet! Kara flipped over her test paper, her stolen answers hidden from view. Alright then, at best my team has twenty-one points… at worst, eighteen. Now all that's left is the tenth question. She crossed her arms over her exam and laid her head down for a nice little nap.
Kakashi sighed and let his head fall into his hands where he sat. He along with a few other jonin sensei were sitting around with nothing to do. "Wow… sure is boring without the kids, huh?"
"Aw, I wouldn't pout so much. I'm sure we'll be busy in no time." A burly fellow sitting across from him breathed out with another puff of his cigarette.
A younger woman with long wavy hair asked the question. "Why do you say that, Asuma?"
"Ha!" Gai walked confidently up to the threesome, settling nearest the copy ninja. "I'll tell you why you're little group of rookies are going to be crawling back to you any second now."
Kakashi leaned as far away from the man as possible. Sometimes, I swear he stalks me.
"Do you know who the chief proctor for the first part of the exam is, my dear sweet little flower?" Gai had gracefully drifted over toward the woman. Kakashi seemed grateful while Asuma quickly lit up another cigarette to calm his nerves.
She stared at him, her red eyes slightly bugged out. "No. Should I?"
"Cut it out, Gai. Leave Kurenai alone." Asuma shooed him away, throwing a protective arm around her. With another drag on his cigarette, he continued the conversation. "The proctor's name is Morino Ibiki."
"You're kidding me." Kakashi was too thrown to notice that Gai had ended up next to him again. "How could they even let him in a room with children?"
"I'm sorry. What am I missing here?" The woman spared a quick apprehensive glance at the arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Gai was only too happy to answer her question. "Ibiki is the ANBU Black Ops Torture and Interrogation Specialist. He's the very best at what he does and there's no way any of your first-year students stand a chance with him."
Thank you, Gai. Your insight is always appreciated. Kakashi glared at him from out of the corner of his eye.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that Gai-san." A masked ANBU approached the group fanning himself with a file.
"Tenzou. You brought it." Kakashi's mood instantly picked up.
"I sure did, sempai." The cat-masked man handed the file to him. "What's the point in having the Chunnin Exams here if we don't get first dibs on the reports?"
Asuma, Kurenai and Gai all squeezed in around to see for themselves. Without the slightest dramatic pause, Kakashi opened the file and read. "You were saying Gai?" His voice had the tiniest bit of gloating in it.
Asuma's cigarette dropped out of his mouth onto the floor. "Ha! I would have never believed it. My lazy-ass kids actually passed!"
"They're an exceptionally gifted group." Kurenai suppressed her joy into a small smile. Oh, I'm so glad they all made it. Hinata especially.
The report quite clearly stated that all nine rookies had made it past Ibiki and his dreaded tenth question.
"Yea, well…" Gai yanked the file out of his rival's hands and continued reading over the more finite details of the first exam. "It looks like my Kara made an impression. Says right here that Ibiki thought she was 'brazen and fearless'. Hmm… if that's not a dead-on judgment of her, I don't know what is!"
Your Kara? Kakashi's eye twitched as he snatched the papers back and handed them back to Tenzou. "Thanks for bringing them. You can go ahead and take them now. I'm sure the Hokage will want to see them."
"No problem, sempai." The ANBU nodded and left the group to properly deliver the file.
"I should get going too." Kurenai waved goodbye to her male counterparts.
Asuma instantly rushed after her. "How about some company?"
The brunette paused. "It's just boring errands."
The man chuckled deeply as he led her out the door. "Oh, I can make it more fun. I promise."
Great. Now it's just he and I in here. Kakashi tried to resist the urge to smack the pompous grin of his rival's face. "Ya know… the report also said that the only reason anyone passed the tenth question was because of my student, Naruto."
Gai's expression did not settle down in the least. "True. But I'm sure he got some inspiration from my ever affectionate Kara's bold initiative." He stared down the silver-haired man, willing him with his eyes to ask about his choice in adjectives.
…ugh. What is he on about now? Kakashi's one lazy eye blinked once; his cool façade never cracking.
Gai's patience ran out. "I have finally won Kara's absolute adoration, before you!"
"Is that so?" He pulled out his book in an attempt at looking bored.
"Yes! In fact, she kissed me on the cheek last night to let me know how much more important I am to her than you." The jubilant green man froze, expecting an impassioned response.
With the utmost grace, Kakashi rose out of his seat and began walking out the door, the book in his hand leading the way. "That's not why. She was just saying thank you for letting her enter the exam. I'll see ya' around Gai." He left the man floored and shaking his fist angrily after him. Heh, what kind of an uncle would I be if I didn't keep a sharp eye on my niece?
Ya' know… sometimes I think I lay the irony on a bit too thickly. Can't help it. I like ironic humor.
I added that last bit with Kashi and Gai out of pure fanservice for those of you out there who wanted to see it. (I think someone mentioned it?) Wasn't going to write it cause I didn't think Kara's little peck meant anything more than she likes him. Then my mind wandered with its significance. 'Course nothing can phase the ever-cool Kakashi.