As we come around a corner, Naruto's cheering stops abruptly. Room "301" is just up ahead..with my brother standing right next to the door. He stares at us a moment before saying in a relieved, knowing voice "Glad you made it. I'm glad each of you came, not only for your own sake, but for each other's as well" We all give quick looks at each other. "Now you can formally register yourselves for the Chunin Exams."
"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asks.
"Yeah..what would happen if one of us didn't show up?" I add.
"You see, only groups of three are allowed to apply for and take the exam, that's the way it's always been. However, this team in particular is..special. There are four members instead of the traditional three."
"But Sensei, you said the choice to register was completely optional." Sakura says.
"That's right, I did."
"Well..was that a lie?"
Kakashi shrugs. "Sort've. It's an individual decision, but it affects all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want any one of you pressuring the other to register." I let out an "Ah." while Naruto makes a noise and nods his head once in agreement. "At the same time," my brother continues, " I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate because of any feelings you might have for Sasuke..and the other's, Sakura. I wanted this to be of your own, free will. " Kakashi says, eyeing her. She glances over at Sasuke before her eyes fly to the ground, streaks of red color her cheeks.
"So if Sasuke, Naruto, and I showed up, but Sakura didn't, then that means-"
"I couldn't let the three of you in without her." Kakashi finishes for me. "But it's a mute point. All of you showed up for the right reasons. Sakura..Naruto..Sasuke..and Amedoru." he says, looking at each of us individually. All of us smile back in return.
"I'm proud of you. I couldn't ask for a better team. Good luck." He gives us all an eye-smile and steps away from the door, and my heart clenches tightly from both disappointment and happiness. He's speaking to us as one, as a team, but nonetheless..it's a step closer to hearing what I've been wanting to hear my whole life. Sasuke and Sakura walk ahead of Naruto and I and push the doors open for us.
"We won't let ya down, Sensei." Naruto says before he walks through the illuminated doorway. I follow behind him, and with one foot in the door turn around with a soft smile and wave to my brother. It reminds me of when I was a little kid waving goodbye to Kakashi after he dropped me off at the academy. The last thing I see before the door shuts all the way is his reassuring, warm look.
I come to a jerky halt as soon as I turn my head away from the door, coming face to face with the massive gathering of people.
"..woah." Naruto let's out.
"Gee, I guess we really aren't alone." Sakura gulps nervously.
"Um, is anyone else feelin' kinda warm?" I ask, pulling back the collar of my shirt with two fingers. A sea of faces..of grown faces stare us all down, sizing us up. A few snort and turn away, but other's hold their eyes firm. One guy even cracks his knuckles.
"I had no idea there'd be this much competition." Sakura says in a dazed voice. The air around me continues to grow even warmer. I lift my eyes from all the intimidating faces to the headbands fastened around their foreheads. Hidden Sand..Hidden Mist..Hidden Leaf. I think there's even a few that might be from the Hidden Sound. The rest though..well I have no idea where the rest of these people are from. The markings on their headbands are completely foreign to me. To think that all these people are here in the village just to take these Exams.. who knows what kind of Jutsu are in their arsenal..
"Sasuke! Where've ya been?!" A feminine voice shrieks. Sasuke lets out a surprised cry, and I whip my head to the side in alarm. Ino's latched onto his back with her arms around his neck. A crooked smile breaks out on my face. If Ino's here, then Shikamaru's gotta be close by. I lean back and look around Sasuke and Ino just as she and Sakura start arguing. As soon as Shikamaru comes into view, a big wave of comfort washes over me. He walks towards our group with his hands shoved in his pockets. Choji follows beside him, munching on a bag of chips. I step around Ino and meet them halfway. Shikamaru smiles when he see's me.
"Amedoru, thank goodness." he says, bumping his shoulder against mine.
"I'm glad to see you too. Hey Choji" I add with a wave. His only response is a guttural grunt followed by a head-nod.
"At first I thought we were gunna be the only Rookie Team here." Shikamaru leans in closer and whispers in my ear. "All these people in here give me the creeps."
I pull away and nod my head before tugging on my shirt collar quickly, making Shikamaru chuckle. Naruto comes up beside me. "I knew this was gunna be a drag, but I didn't know it was gunna be this lame." Shikamaru says, sweeping over the sea of people in front of us.
"So.. all three stooges are here." Naruto says with half his mouth curved upwards, and I bring a hand up to rest on the back of my neck. Three Stooges, huh? Only Naruto..
" Hey, you know what Pipsqueak? ..awh forget it, you're a waste of time." Shikamaru says in a gruff voice, and I stifle my laughter." A different set of footsteps approach us, and when Kiba, Shino, and Hinata come to a stop in front of us, I wave to Hinata who's half-hidden behind Kiba. She raises up a little higher and waves back at me, and I smile. Hinata and I don't talk much, or even hang out for that matter, but I still consider her a friend nonetheless. I look past her and into the sea of people again. I wonder where Lee is..and Gaara.
"Well well, whattya know? The whole gang's back together again." Kiba says in an amused voice.
"And this time you don't gotta worry about giving Shikamaru and I "it's all clear" signals." I say, and he laughs, gravelly and short.
"Oh uh..hey Naruto." Hinata says with a shy, hopeful face as she peeks even further around Kiba. Naruto looks up with a "Hm?", and I internally palm-smack myself. Hinata's face falls as it flushes, and she stares at the ground.
"You guys too, huh? Man everyone's here for this stupid thing" Shikamaru says, and I give him an understanding look. He's probably thinking about all the competition and the stress that comes with it. Shikamaru's reminds me all too often of the clouds we spend so much time watching-he can't be restrained, forced, stressed, or anything of the sort. He has to be free to move along.
"Yep. Here we are, the nine rookies. Er..ten actually." Kiba says, shooting me a look. "This is gunna be fun" he continues with a chuckle. "At least for those of us good enough to make the cut. Right Sasuke?" he asks as he eyes him. Sasuke snorts under his breath with a wry smile.
"Kiba. Careful not to get too over-confident." That coming from Sasuke is pretty ironic. Kiba responds with a snort of his own, and Shikamaru and I share a look. Despite what Sasuke said, Kiba's ego has always been pretty high.
"We're gunna blow you guys away, just wait. We've been training like crazy."
"What do you think we've been doin? Sittin' around pickin' daisies? You don't know what training means!" Naruto yells with a pointed finger.
"Um, don't mind Kiba" Hinata pipes up as her fingers press against each other repeatedly, "I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it."
"Huh?" Naruto asks a bit gruffly, and I sigh.
"Naruto.."
"What's wrong?" he asks, looking from Hinata to me. I shake my head at him and he returns his attention back to Kiba, who looks over at Hinata with a questioning look on his face. Choji's hand, I notice, pulls out of his bag of chips slowly, and he makes his way towards Kiba. Shino moves in front of him before Choji can take another step.
"Hm? What do you want?" Choji asks. "What's wrong?" he asks again when Shino doesn't respond. His eyes, though hidden by his black shades, are staring intensely at the ground, and Shikamaru looks at me with a raised eyebrow. A small black dot moves at a quick pace towards Shino's foot, and I gesture down to it.
"Thought you didn't see it." Shino says. "Didn't want you steppin' on it."
"Why? You saving it for lunch or something?" Choji asks. Shino doesn't say a word, but Shikamaru leans forward a little, like he's anticipating something.
"Hey guys." A voice calls over to us, and we all turn our heads to the side. A man with grey hair and big ,circle framed glasses approaches us. "You might wanna keep it down. I mean , no offence, but you're the ten rookies fresh outta the academy, right? I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves, this isn't a class field trip." He takes another step towards us, and to my surprise I take one step back. Shikamaru notices and gives me a worried look, questioning me with his eyes. I look at him before the man in front of us, wishing I could tell him that for some reason..something about him's not ..right." Shikamaru nods subtly and returns his eyes to the man, and ever so slowly they travel from his head down to his feet.
"Well who the heck asked you anyways?" Ino asks. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really, look around you. You've made quite the impression." he says, and all of us spin around. The massive gathering of people who were either sitting down or leaning against the wall when we first walked in are now on their feet, eyeing us with a more hardened glare. I turn around fully to the other side with everyone else following, and Sakura lets out the uncomfortable noise I can't seem to force out. These ninja looking at us in particular are just plain creepy. For a second all I see is the whites of their eyes until I blink. "You see those guys? They're from the Hidden Sound Village, very touchy. They all are, come to think of it. This exam has everyone tense..and you don't want to rub them the wrong way when they're like that." Kabuto says. And though it sounds like he's trying to help us, it's a bit strange how he just showed up out of the blue with all this confidence. "But you can't help it", he continues, " I mean how could you know how things work? You're just kids, rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."
"It sounds like you have a lot of experience when it comes to stuff like this." I say, eyeing him.
"You're right about that. This is actually my seventh time taking the exams." he says, and my eyebrows raise. Shikamaru lets out a noise from beside me.
"These are held twice a year, so this'll actually be my fourth year." A dry lump begins forming in the back of my throat. These exams are probably worse than I thought..
"Wow, a veteran!." Sakura gasps. "You must be an expert by now."
"Yeah, sort've." Kabuto says in a light tone.
"Cool! That means you can give us inside tips!." Naruto says with a grin.
"Yeah, some expert..he's never passed." I agree with Shikamaru. Kabuto scratches the back of his neck nervously.
"Well, uh..seventh time's the charm, right?"
"So I guess all those rumors about the exams bein' tough are true then. Oh man, I knew this was gunna be a drag." Shikamaru lets out a worried sigh, and I look over at him.
"You can't leave by door without walking through it first. We'll get through this... shoot, we'll probably end up laughing about it later on." I say as I wrap an arm around his shoulders with one big squeeze before I return my arm to my side. He looks from the ground up at me a moment before he nods with a small smile on his face.
"Thanks, Amedoru."
" I think I just might be able to help you kids out a little." Kabuto says with a smug smile on his face. His hand digs around in his side- pouch and pulls out-
"These are my ninja-info cards." He says. Something glints in his eyes. If those are what I think they are..how does he even have them?
"What are those?" Sakura asks.
"Well it's kinda hard to explain. These cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years." Kabuto kneels on the ground and places the deck of cards at his feet. "I've got over two hundred of them. So you see, I haven't been wasting my time. Not completely, that is. They may not look like much to the naked eye,in fact, they appear blank." he says as he flips one over. Sure enough, the backside of the card doesn't have a single mark on it. "Wouldn't want just anyone looking' through these after all." Kabuto places two fingers on the card and begins twirling it around in a circle.
"What the.." I begin.
"I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets..like this." Kabuto says before he holds his other hand up to form a sign. A brief moment passes before the card stops spinning. A poof of gray smoke appears on top of it, and when it clears away quickly the image of a map appears. Several village signs are drawn on the bottom.
"Awesome!" Sakura says "What's that a map of?" she asks.
"It's the geographical distribution of all the candidates here for the exam." Kabuto says excitedly. "What villages they come from, and what that village's population is." Looking at the card's like looking at a weapon. It's definately something that can be used against other villages. This Kabuto guy is getting stranger by the minute. "Why do you guys think everyone comes here at the same time?" he asks, looking up at us. Choji keeps munching away on his bag of chips. "It's the foster-friendship between nations, of course." Kabuto says. "Foster" friendship?
"But there's another reason." Sasuke states.
"Yeah. The important is that this way, they can carefully regulate the total number of Shinobi that end up in each village, thereby maintaining the balance of power. If the balance isn't maintained, one nation could end up with more Shinobi than it's neighbors. To prevent attacks they maintain the status quo. Makes sense when you think about it "
"Oh yeah..balance of power." Naruto says as he crosses his arms. Hm..regardless, how did Kabuto even get these? Could he have made them on his own?
"So do these cards of yours have any info on the candidates?" Sasuke asks, taking a step forward. "Individually?"
"I might." Kabuto says. How'd he even get the information? By stalking? Stealing? " You have someone special in mind?" I watch Sasuke carefully, noticing how his eyes narrow into near-slits. Robin's egg eyes flash in my mind.
"I might." Sasuke says as Kabuto places the card back into his deck and pats it back into order.
"My information is not complete yet, but I have something on just about everyone. Including you guys, of course. Just tell me who it is."
A cold shiver crawls down my back. How is that even possible?
"It's Gaara of the Desert." Sasuke says, confirming my suspicion. "And Rock Lee of the Leaf Village, while you're at it."
"Okay, wait a minute. How do you even have information on us?" I ask. Everyone eyes me, even Sasuke. A few others, like Shikamaru, cross their arms and eye Kabuto skeptically, waiting for an answer.
He just shrugs with a small smirk on his lips. "I have my sources."
"Well don't you think giving away other people's information like this is, I don't know, wrong? You have all this information on different Shinobi, and from the sound of it, it's like you've been doing this kind of thing for a long time. How come you haven't passed the exam yet, then?" I ask, and everyone casts their eyes to the ground, thinking. Shikamaru makes an uneasy humming noise beside me. The look in Kabuto's eyes are hard..but it gradually relaxes and his lips curve up in a loose smile as he shrugs again.
"Maybe I just lack skills or something. As for your earlier question..well, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" I have one more question for him: Why is he so willing to help us? But before I can ask him he sweeps his hand over the deck, pulling out two separate cards. "Here they are." he says.
"Show them to me." Sasuke says, and I look at him again, at the almost-mad look in his eyes. The way his voice sounded just now...it was filled with hunger.
"Alright. First up is Rock Lee." I push my way up to the front and squeeze in next to Sasuke with Shikamaru right beside me. This has gone too far. I'm not letting Sasuke get the upper hand on Ro-Lee like this. Just as Kabuto begins listing off the facts written on the card, I slam a foot down onto it, making Naruto jump. Kabuto looks up at me with raised eyebrows.
"That's enough." I spit, not even bothering to try and hide my anger. I meet Sasuke's hard stare. " This your plan? Get the details off some guy so you can get the upper hand on Lee if you have to fight him?" Sasuke doesn't say anything, but the hard look in his eyes intensifies. "That's just wrong, Sasuke. It's wrong on so many levels. If you really wanna win? Do it on your own, not like this." Sasuke's the first to break eye contact, and he snorts aloud before looking down at Kabuto who coughs uncomfortably. I take my foot off Lee's card and Kabuto hides it form our sight again. Shikamaru places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze, and when I look over at him the look in his eyes tells me he understands.
"Gaara of the Desert.." Kabuto says, laying down another card. I shake my head and walk back to the very end of the group with Shikamaru's hand still on my shoulder. Kabuto's voice carries on, and I try my best to block him out. Though his last sentance grabs my attention: " He went on one "B" ranked mission as a Genin..and made it out without a single scratch on him. Come to think of it, all his missions went like that." Shikamaru and I share a look.
"He went on a "B" ranked mission without a single scratch?" he asks.
"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asks from the front. Kabuto shuffles the cards around in his hands and goes on about how big the competition is this year, and how much potential all of us in this room possess. Naruto hunches over suddenly and begins trembling, and I crane my head around Kiba to get a better look at him. I take a step forward to go see if he's okay when he whips around with a loud yell so suddenly I almost fall backwards on Shikamaru. With a hand on his hip and a outstretched pointed finger, Naruto faces all the other Shinobi in the room with a carefree grin.
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm gunna beat every one of ya! Beeelive it!" Shikamaru sighs next to me, but I just chuckle softly. "Yeah! I feel a lot better now!" Naruto finishes as he folds his hands behind his head.
"Uh, could you say that a little louder?" Kiba asks from behind his hand in a mocking voice. "I didn't quite catch it."
"You moron. Are you trying to get everyone in here to hate our guts or what?" Shikamaru says. Naruto just laughs it all off. A pink blur leaps onto him, and I race over to them, plowing a path through our smallish group.
"Naruto, you jackass!"
"Easy Sakura!" I yell, trying to pull her off Naruto's back, though it's extremely hard since the both of them are flailing all over the place. When Naruto starts gagging I bear hug Sakura from behind and try to pry her arms from around his neck.
"Uh..uh..Sakura! You're embarrassing yourself in front of Sasuke!" I say in a rush, and her whole body becomes still. I take a step back from her as she disentangles her arms from around Naruto's neck. She faces the crowd of people and begins apologizing in a rush before turning back to Naruto, growling in his face. All of a sudden two kunai embed themselves in the ground, and Kabuto slides backwards until he's against the wall. A ninja with something big and furry on his back takes a swing at him, but Kabuto ducks just in time. What the heck's goin on? Someone walks up quickly beside me, and when I look over to the side I see it's just Shikamaru with slightly wide eyes. Kabuto smirks before both lenses of his glasses shatter into a thousand small fragments, all falling to the floor like little ice crystals.
"Oh, I see. It was that kind of an attack." he says with a small smirk. How the.. I look from Kabuto to the ninja who attacked him. He's wearing a Hidden Sound headband. Could that mean he used that in his attack somehow? Used Sound?
"Hey, I saw that. He dodged the attack." Sasuke says.
"Maybe it came closer than it looked. Look at him, acting like it's no big deal. Reeeal tough guy." Shikamaru rolls his eyes.
The smirk on Kabuto's face grows..until his body cranes backwards some. He gasps before falling down on all fours, and his body lurches forward as he vomits onto the ground. All of us take a step back.
"Kabuto what is it? What's wrong?" Sakura asks worriedly. She and Naruto rush towards him and grab his arms, helping him to lean back a little.
"Write this on your stupid little cards." One of the Sound-Ninja says. "The Genin from the Hidden Sound are gunna be Chunin by the time this is over."
Naruto's mouth quivers as he bears his teeth and leans forward, and I beg him with all my mental strength not to say anything. These Sound-Ninja and their attacks..I've never seen anything like it before. I don't think anyone of us have.
"Alright you baby-faced degenerates!" A rough voice barks out as smoke fills the room. "Pipe down and listen up!" The smoke clears, and a large group of ninja- Jounin instructors, I think, take it's place. "It's time to begin." the one in the very front says. "My name is Ibiki Moreno, your proctor. And from this moment, your worst enemy." Shikamaru looks at me, and I look at him. And at the same time, we both try and swallow, the gulping noise that accompanies it seems to bounce off the walls. "First, you Genin from the Hidden Leaf and from the Sound-knock it off! Who told you you could fight? Do you want to be failed before we've even begun?! I'll say this once so listen up. There will be no combat between candidates without the permission of a proctor. And even then any fatal forces will be prohibited." Proctor Moreno sweeps his eyes over us all, his look sharp and strong. "Anyone who even thinks of crossing me will be disqualified immediately, got it?" No one replies, except for one of the Sound Ninja, but the proctor ignores it. The Jounin behind him, though, snicker to themselves. " Alrighty, we'll proceed with the first stage of the Chunin Exam. Hand over your paperwork. In return you'll each be given a number, which determines where you will sit. Once you're all seated, the written test will begin."
So one of my hunches was right..
Naruto's face scrunches up as he looks at me. "Wr-written? Did he just say written?" A couple of the proctors pass a big stack of papers to each other down the small line they created. "NOO, NOT A WRITTEN TEST!" Naruto yells, slamming his hands onto the floor. The proctors all stare at Naruto, some with raised eyebrows, the others with scowls. Naruto looks at me again and I move my hand into a "breathe in, breath out" motion, smiling reassuringly after he takes a nice, deep breath. Proctor Moreno orders us into one long line. As soon as Shikamaru and I get our numbers, we compare them quickly before we walk inside the classroom. His reads " 34" and mine says "35". I sigh in relief.
"These are our new lucky numbers." Shikamaru whispers over to me as we sit down.
"Lucky numbers, lucky seats." I say, and he laughs. Looking up from the blank piece of paper in front of me, I raise myself a little higher to try and see where Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are sitting. I can't spot Sasuke, but Naruto's sitting a few rows up from me with Sakura a couple rows behind him. I can hear his groan from where I'm sitting, and I cup a hand over my mouth.
"Naruto!"
his whole body jerks up as his head twists around. "Down here" I say, and when he sees me his eyes fill with anxiety. I make the "breathe in, breathe out" hand motion again, and mouth it to him too. He slams both hands palm down on his desk and inhales deeply, and I give him a thumbs up. Hinata says something to Naruto from her place right next to him, and I twist back around in my seat with a smile.
"Okay everyone, eyes up here." the proctor says, tapping a piece of chalk against the board. "There are some rules you need to follow, and you'd better pay attention because I'm not answerin' any questions later. His back faces us as he scribbles on the board, all the while explaining the rules to us.
Rule Number 1: We all begin the test with a perfect score, though for every question answered wrong it's a one point deduction.
Rule Number 2: We pass or fail based on the overall score average of the rest of our squad-mates.
Rule Number 3: If any one of us gets caught cheating, it's all over. There are Jounin Ninja stationed all around the room, watching us. And for every gesture, for every look that, in their eyes, counts as cheating, it's two points counted off the culprit score. Oh, and we all get five warnings each. If someone reaches the fifth, they have to leave the room before they finish the test along with the rest of their team.
"The eyes around here are not to be underestimated whatsoever. If you want to be called Shinobi, then prove it. Oh, and one more thing." our proctor says. "If anyone scores a zero on the test, then the whole team fails."
"WHAT?! WHAT'D HE SAY?!" Sakura shouts, and I lean back further into my chair. So far this whole thing isn't looking so hot..
" The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the test. You have one hour total.."
"Amedoru." Shikamaru whispers over to me, and I glance up at him from the corner of my eye.
"Yeah?"
"Good luck."
"You too, Shikamaru. Thanks."
"Alright! Begin!" The proctor says, and the sound of pencils scribbling on paper fills up most of the silence. Alright, It's time to do this. I scan over all the questions on the sheet to try and see if there are any I can answer right now, but there are none. The wording is kinda confusing. I'ts fine reading over it for the first time, but when I try and re-read it, words that didn't bother me before stick out and don't make much sense like they did the first time. What's the first question again? My eyes rake upwards... there it is. I think I have to crack some kind of code..but it looks more like a mini-maze. I wish I can look at something other than the piece of paper in front of me, but the instructors seated next to me will think I'm cheating. My thumb brushes against the paper and leaves a reddish-brown smear. I really need to stop picking at my fingers. I close my eyes for a second, and when they open they immediately focus on a random problem.
What are the chances of the Copy-Cat Ninja's sister sleepwalking again without getting caught? Also keep in mind that the frequent voices she hears in her sleep might or might not be the main cause of this.
I sit up straighter in my seat and bring the paper closer to my face, reading it over again. There's no way..it's gotta be all in my head.
What is the trajectory of the shuriken when thrown from an angle of..
But what brought it on?
After rubbing my eyes, I focus again on the paper. No weird questions are written on it..it was all in my head. These questions on the paper call for a straightforward answer, but that's impossible. I have only one other option, but..
"A ninja must always see through deceptions." my brother's voice echoes softly in my head, followed by what I said to Naruto before about Kakashi's rope trap. "If you go for the easy stuff every time, you'll only end up upside-down." It all makes sense now. I have to cheat..as wrong as it sounds. Shikamaru sneezes next to me, his foot kicking mine in the process. When I glance down at the floor I see a tiny square piece of paper resting on the ground. I cover most of it with my foot.
"Don't know who to copy from or how to do it. Any ideas?" it says much to my surprise. Shikamaru's usually always got a plan up his sleeve. This test is probably getting to him too.
I shake my head to the side subtly when a kunai whizzes through the air and embeds itself in a desk with a dull thunk a few rows behind me. Two instructors drag out the guy who got caught along with his two other teammates, much to their protest. When things settle down again, I untie my headband and place it down next to my arm on my desk, making sure to press my fingers lightly onto my forehead and rub the area in small circles. Hopefully to the instructors it'll look like I took my headband off only because I have a "headache". Shikamaru's trying really hard not to laugh right now. The person right behind me has their pencil going, and it's from their paper's reflection on my headband that I get my answers. I give Shikamaru a quick look, and he smiles at me as he rests his hands on-top his head. He waits a moment before staring at his headband fastened around his arm so he can memorize the answers before waiting another moment to copy them to his paper. The instructors begin calling out even more numbers, and it's like a different team leaves every minute or so.
"Alright, listen up." our proctor says, " Here's the tenth and final question.." I forgot all about that. I wonder what curve-ball they're gunna throw us now.. "But before I give it to you, there are some more rules you need to be aware of. They are unique to question ten so listen carefully..and try not to let them frighten you.."
Rule Number 1: It is completely up to us to make the final decision of whether or not we want to be given question ten. Although if someone chooses not to answer the last question they get a zero despite what they scored on the first nine questions. In short, if I decide not to answer the question, I get my teammates and myself failed.
"Let me finish" the proctor says in response to everyone's different responses."If you do decide to answer this question, but you get it wrong, not only will you an dteammates fail..you will never be allowed to take the Chunin Exams ever again!." This creates a domino effect of gasping. Shikamaru sighs and crosses his arms.
"What a drag.."
More blood coats the tip of my thumb, and when I glance down my index pulls away from my thumb, leaving behind a bloody, peeled mess.
"Hey man that's bull! That's such a bogus rule! I mean, come on, there are lots of people here who've taken the test before." Kiba shouts, and Akamaru adds his own input in in the form of a bark.
"I guess you're just..unlucky" Proctor Moreno laughs darkly. " I wasn't making the rules before. But I am now. Of course, if you don't wanna take it, you don't have to. After all, if your not comfortable with it now you can just come back and try again next year." the proctor paces back and forth in front of slowly, chuckling to himself.
So to review, this choice is completely up to me, though if I choose not to answer, I get a zero and fail not only myself, but my team as well. On the other hand, I could choose to go ahead and answer this question, but if I answer it incorrectly I still fail. What's the endgame here? I ask myself. It would have to be failing-both options can end that way if things go sour. I think back earlier today . Kakashi was glad that all of us showed up to room "301". He had said that registering was an individual choice, but it affected all of us in turn. Is it even possible that my brother knew about the tenth question then? Maybe he was trying to give us all a hint or something..
"It's time for the tenth and final question. For those of you who don't wanna take it raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and you'll be free to go."
I'm staring at my arm like it's going to raise up on it's own, even though I know for certain that I'm going to just take the question and hope for the best. There's no way I'm getting my teammates and I failed. I wonder what everyone else is thinking..Shikamaru..Lee..my teammates. The first person to raise their hand causes a chain reaction. I peek over my shoulder and see Naruto with his head ducked low, his whole body shaking.
"Naruto, I know you've been thinking about it all, but no matter what you do I'll have your back one hundred percent." I say softly, though I know he can hear me. Inside though, there's a part of me that wants Naruto to keep his arm down. He could end up getting the question right, who knows? Then he'll be a step closer to becoming a Chunin..which is a step closer towards becoming Hokage-his dream. After a moment he lifts his head up enough for me to see his face. He nods and gives me a look before his arm raises shakily into the air.
"He really serious?" Shikamaru asks me quietly, looking back at Naruto
"I'm not sure exactly. If he is though, I won't blame him."
"Me either. "
Naruto's hand continues shaking lightly above his head..but after a very long moment he slams it down hard onto his desk. His fiery blue eyes snap open. "Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't gunna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as being a Genin for the rest of my life." He shoots up out of his chair. "I'll still be Hokage some day!" He stares down our proctor before he plops back down into his seat, crossing his arms and letting out a frustrated huff. Naruto, I'm proud of you, I think to myself.
"This is a decision that could change your life. If for any reason you wanna quit, now's your last chance." the proctor says.
"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the Ninja." Naruto says firmly, and I smile at him, just like the rest of us left in this room. The proctors eyes scan over each and every one of us, lingering, waiting for one of us to crack. When his eyes land on me, I just pick up my headband from the desk and retie it on my forehead, making sure that it's crooked..er, tilted downwards a bit just the way I like it. With a final sweep over the rest of us in the room, Proctor Moreno gives a firm nod.
"Right then. I must say that I admire your determination, if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you..that you've all passed the first exam." Someone's pencil clatters against a desktop, and a chair groans against the floor as it's pushed back.
"Hold on, what do you mean we passed?! Where;s the tenth question?!" Sakura asks. Proctor Moreno's eyes curve down into two half-moons as he laughs heartily. A big difference form the dark laughter he gave us throughout his whole thing.
"There was never a tenth question in the first place." he says. "Not a real one, at least. In fact, your answer to stay was the answer to the tenth question."
"Wait, so those other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time?" the Sand-Ninja girl asks angrily.
"No, no, not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. The first nine questions had a special purpose-to test your ability to strategically gather information under the most strenuous of circumstances. My objective was to test you as a team and how well you function as one instead of as individuals. That's why the test was scored on a team basis-every personal decision affected your teammates. I wanted to see how you handled the pressure."
"I think you just gave "thinking outside the box" a new meaning" I say.
"This test was designed to encourage cheating. And those who were caught, failed. Better not to cheat, than cheat clumsily." Proctor Moreno says, as he removes his headband and the cap-like blue cloth attached to it. My mouth opens before shutting abruptly at the sight of the marred, scabby skin covering the entire top of his head. From the look of it, Proctor Moreno's been to hell and back. "Information. Our most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather it can determine whether you pass or fail your mission." the proctor continues. " You just have to risk your life to get it. Although you do have to consider the source of that information first. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate. Dis-information can be worse than absolutely no information-keep that in mind. It can lead to death and destruction. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather information..cheat..in order to survive. The ones who weren't good enough at it were weeded out-leaving the rest of you."
"..there will be many mission that will feel like suicide missions, but you do not think of that. You think only of the goal, of completing the mission with courage and discipline ." the proctor continues after explaining more about the tenth question. "These are the qualities required of a Chunin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of two paths, those who's determination falters in the face of danger, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own..those who would save their necks at the price of their own, sacred honor will never be able to call themselves Chunin. As for the rest of you, you've successfully answered the ten questions I gave to you. Therefore earning the right to continue on with the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Exams completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck."
Naruto leaps up onto his chair and starts cheering, and Shikamaru and I bump our fists together before he collapses back in his chair with a big sigh.
"Amedoru, that whole using our headbands thing saved my skin. Thank you." he says, opening one of his eyes.
Before I get the chance to say anything, though, something crashes through the window, and several kunai embed themselves in the walls.
"Is this part of the test?!" Naruto asks, his voice raising in pitch just a little. Proctor Moreno doesn't answer him. His back faces us as he stares at the big wall of cloth with white writing on it. Someone leaps up from behind it.
"Hey now this is no time to be celebrating, boys and girls. I'll be your next proctor. Anko Miburashi" a woman..wearing very revealing clothing says, jabbing a thumb at herself. "Ready for the second test? Good! Lets go, follow me!" she yells, not even pausing between her sentences.
"Your early." Proctor Moreno says. Anko blushes before looking out at all of us.
"You really let all these kids pass? Your tests must be too easy. You must be getting soft.'
"Or maybe its because we have a stronger group of candidates this year."
"Hm" Anko hums. 'Well you just wait. By the time I'm through with them more than half will be eliminated." Shikamaru slowly slides upwards in his seat.
"Alright maggots, listen up. You've had it far too easy so far but things'll change first thing in the morning. I'll tell your squad leaders where to meet me. Dismissed." I let out a startled 'Woah!" when Shikamaru practically snatches me from my seat and dashes us both out the door.
"Heh..nice place" Naruto mutters as he shifts on his other foot uneasily. I look first to the small watchtower holding three or four instructors, then over to the chained up fence separating us from a forest I've never seen before.
"Welcome to the location of the second phase of the exams. They call this place Battle Mission Training Ground Number Forty-Four, but I call it the "Forest of Death" Anko says with a sickly smile. Last night before I went to bed, I asked Kakashi if he knew where Anko was having us all meet her at. He told me he couldn't tell me just yet, but had grabbed both of my shoulders in his hands and looked at me right in the eyes.
"Tomorrow Amedoru..just be careful."