Ch. 14 The Chunin Exams Part 4
{Rui's Point of View}
I watched Moeru go into the forest, leaving me with a rapidly dying fire. I checked my pouches and noticed she searched through them. Heh, she was hoping I had my team's scroll. Sly, very sly. I'll give her that one. Now the big question... WHERE THE FUCK AM I!?
'...I just allowed her to leave... Why didn't I follow her!? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I'm alone in this fucking forest again!' I thought angrily.
I tried to stand up, but my body suddenly shivered with intense pain. My... my chakra hasn't completely returned. I can feel it... ten percent? Why is it at ten percent? Why did I lose so much chakra?
I sat there trembling from the sudden outburst of pain, 'I need to do something about this. I need to start packing medicine in my extra pouch. Since I'm stuck here, I'll think about what I should pack. Some Bandages, Food Pills, and maybe some common anti-venom.' I thought to myself.
I heard birds chirping overhead and noticed how... peaceful, the forest looked. Did Moeru clear the area of danger? Wait... how long have I been asleep? I only wish I knew how Alexia and Layla are doing. Some bushes began to shuffle, and I struggled to stand. My body hunched over with one eyes closed from the pain of standing. I was fine a moment ago, did whatever drug Moeru give me, wear off? I'm almost in desperate need of a painkiller but will that help me? It might have adverse side effects that hinder my senses. Out of the bushes, appeared the very last person I expected to see, it was my sister!
"Hello little brother." She chimed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Who says that I am?" Mary asked.
"Huh?" I asked with a dumb look.
She raised her arms, "How do you know this is reality?" she asked.
I flinched, "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. I could be your subconscious using someone you look up to, to help drive you towards the correct conclusion, about the current situation." Mary smiled.
"Huh... Or you're just an imposter. You're using my sister to mess with my head and get me to trust you." I theorized.
"Oh really? Think about this. You pass out and suddenly wake up to Moeru. Isn't that a little... odd? She, miraculously, finds you just before you pass out, and saves you? Where are her teammates? Why is she even in this part of the forest alone?" Mary told me.
"...Hm..." I looked down and glared at the dirt, "You have a point there." I muttered.
"My best guess, genjutsu." Mary told me.
"Genjutsu? When would they be able to do that?" I asked.
"Idiot, you should be able to remember how effective genjutsu is. We learned about it in the academy." Mary frowned angrily.
I remembered back to when they taught us about Genjutsu, 'Hm... genjutsu. A type of jutsu that uses one of the five senses as a vector to disrupt a ninja. Vague but what genjutsu is, isn't important. It's how to break it. The only way I can break free is if the caster stops it, I break the flow of it, or someone else gives me chakra. Hm...' I held my hands almost like I'm praying, "Release!" I yelled.
"...You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" Mary asked before disappearing.
"Yeah... it's never easy. Hm... so what to do... I... I guess I just give up..." I spoke to myself.
I laid down and stared up before realizing what I'm doing. Giving up isn't going to help, it's only going to make things worse! I stood up and forced myself to make the release sign. I began using every bit of chakra I had, charging it up for this desperate effort.
"Release!" I screamed, using up as much chakra as possible.
-Reality-
I opened my eyes with a gasp, only to be met with intense darkness. Currently, I was strung up from a tree by my feet. I could hear owls hooing from a long distance with several insects chirping throughout the forest. I tried to reach for my equipment, but they were stripped from my person. Using more chakra, I made a shadow clone that fell to the ground.
I whispered to him, "Look for our equipment and grab a kunai from it."
He nodded quickly as I felt like my legs were going to be torn off. Whoever did this to me, kept the weights on to strain my legs. To make it worse, the fall is going to hurt no matter what.
'Shit... was it those cloud ninja that did this? When would they... wait... I never actually saw their third member! Did he hide like a bitch to hit me with Genjutsu?' I wondered.
I waited for my clone to come back but he never did. I just hung there helplessly like a full course meal for the forest animals. My clone must have gotten killed and I don't have enough chakra to make another one. Plus, the blood rushing to my head doesn't help.
"How did you break the Genjutsu?" I heard Denise say.
I looked around until I saw Denise come out of some bushes, "I have a better question. How did you get me under the genjutsu?" I asked back.
"You were under the genjutsu before we even fought. You were under it after dodging my Lightning Arrow. I was going to go for another attack, but Jerome stopped me. It wasn't necessary. You were helpless, so we just tied you up and hung you here." Denise informed.
I decided to be nice, "...If I ask really nicely... would you let me down?"
"No." Denise replied quickly.
"Please?"
"No! Right now, we're looking for your friends to make a trade."
"Come on, be neighborly." I chuckled.
"We're not neighbors." Denise glared.
"Alright, look. The blood is rushing to my head, I'm dizzy, hungry, and all I want is to be upright. Can you please just lower me down to the ground?" I asked politely.
"Sorry, but I'm not letting you down." Denise sighed with obvious aggravation.
"Well... you already did let me down." I grinned.
She flipped me off, "I hate Leaf Ninja."
"It's because I'm white, isn't it? Racist." I accused.
"I'm not racist!" Denise yelled.
"Then your sexist." I declared.
"I am not sexist you pig!" Denise yelled.
I continued to mess with her, "Only a sexist woman would call a man, a pig."
"You piece of... fine!" Denise allowed me lay on the ground and I felt so much better.
"Thanks. You look so much better this way." I smiled.
She blushed, "What?"
"You look a lot better like this than upside-down. I like that your skin has a nice shine to it. Do you lotion or anything?" I asked with innocent curiosity.
"Well..." She started twirling her hair, "Yes... I care for my skin regularly."
"It really shows. Your face looks so soft along with your lips." I smirked.
"Oh really?" She pulled out a kunai and flipped me onto my back, "I don't appreciate it when I'm lied to." Denise warned as she held the kunai against my cheek, "I also hate getting hit on by captives. Last captive lost an eye, what about you?"
I swallowed hard, "I'll stay quiet and not get injured... please?"
She twirled the kunai and put it away, "Good answer."
'Hm... So that didn't work... I'm tied down with wire so if I wiggle too much, it might cut my wrists. I can't make any handsigns either... Shit...' I sighed aloud.
"So... what's your name?" Denise asked.
"Rui." I answered quietly.
There was a long silence between us after that, "It was... nice of you to compliment me." She suddenly said to me.
"Your welcome. I was trying to butter you up, but I guess there was some truth to what I said." I admitted.
"Dating anyone?" Denise asked.
"No. You?"
"Yeah. I'm dating someone named Jerome." Denise smiled.
"You mean the muscular guy?" I asked.
"Yep, that's him!" she chimed.
She started giggling slightly and bounced a bit, "You must really like him." I realized from her giggling.
"Yeah! He's awesome! One day, he spent seven hours at a festival just to win me the grand prize. It was a variety of giant stuffed animals." Denise chimed excitedly.
"Just for that, he spent seven hours? Wow, he must really care about you." I smiled.
"Yeah. Charlie is jealous but I don't give a damn. I love Jerome and not him." Denise smiled so... proudly at that.
"You must be so bashful since two guys might be fighting over you." I chuckled.
She gave me a sheepish smile, "Maybe so. What about you?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, clearly confused.
"Don't be so coy." She giggled.
I frowned, "I can't be coy if I'm honestly confused."
"You have two kunoichi as your teammates, right?" Denise asked.
I raised a brow, "Yeah, so?"
"Then isn't it possible that they fight over you?" Denise asked.
"I don't think they would." I sighed.
"Why's that?" Denise asked.
"I have nothing to interest them with. Alexia is too focused on impressing her family and Layla likes hot guys, not an ugly one like me." I muttered.
"To be honest, 9 out of 10 times, a guy will be wrong on what a kunoichi likes. Some of us like hot guys, others like nice guys... then there are those that like helpless guys." She smiled.
"What do you mean by helpless guys?" I asked.
"Ninja like you, currently. Tied up. Young. Helpless. To some Kunoichi, you're just begging to be raped." Denise explained.
"I'm pretty sure a guy can't be raped." I scoffed.
"Not true. When a man rapes a woman, it's very simple, straight forward. Forces her down, rams himself in, gets his rocks off. If it's a group, the rape lasts longer. Simple as that. Females tend to be more... psychological. It's a lot more humiliating for a man to get raped. The memory changes them forever in a negative way. They act different, distant. Depression sets in, people don't believe that they were raped, people make fun of him. Then he might commit suicide. The end. Woman get raped and they can move on with help. Men, can't. The memory festers and festers and festers and festers until it just forces itself out into the open. You try to forget, you try to act like it never happened, but it did, and it will always haunt you. You get yourself a girlfriend and try to play it off by saying it'll feel good with her but then the thoughts come back. You feel like it's not really your girlfriend and your tied up again. Staring up at that horrid woman as she takes out a kunai to cut your clothing. She's ready to force her will upon you and infect your mind with a horrific event. She whispers about your uselessness. That no one can save you and, in the end, no one does. You cry, realizing slowly that her insults have a hint of truth behind them. Then, when it's over, she whispers about next time and you worry about her coming back." Denise looked up at the leaves before sighing.
"That... how do you know all that? Were you raped?" I asked.
"Hahahahaha! No! I thought you were paying attention. I was talking about a man getting raped by a woman. The reason I know this, is because of my brother. He was raped by a kunoichi from the Mist. He used to be so outgoing and fun. Then he went on that mission and came back a crying mess that refuses to even look at me. In the end, he committed suicide, but I got him to spill his guts before that. It was sad... My brother... he was never going to be happy ever again. Some of his scars were... horrific. What they did to him was unacceptable." Denise looked down sadly.
"I'm sorry..." I frowned, feeling bad for her.
"Don't. Just heed my warning. Avoid getting captured at all costs. Sometimes suicide is the only answer." Denise warned.
I was going to say something, but our conversation was interrupted. Her teammates showed up with my teammates.
Jerome looked irritated, "They have the same scroll..." he groaned.
"What?" Denise looked dumbfounded.
"We both have the same scroll. Meaning, this entire thing was pointless. We wasted about 8 hours just to find out we have the same scroll." Jerome groaned more.
"Rui, are you okay?" Alexia asked.
"Yeah. Think you can free me now, Denise?" I asked nicely.
"Oh, sure." She quickly untied me, "There you go."
"Thank you. Now, where have you two been?" I asked Alexia and Layla.
"Well..."
-Memory of Alexia and Layla-
The two of them are wandering through the forest looking for Rui. The two rivals keep glaring at each other, but they stop glaring for a moment to have a conversation. After all, they used to be such great friends before.
"How did you pass the first test?" Layla asked.
"Well, I examined the test and couldn't answer any of them." Alexia admitted.
Layla scratched the back of her head, "Yeah... I couldn't either." Layla chuckled.
"So, then I started looking around the room and quickly noticed most of us were cheating. I'm guessing that they were testing how well we can gather information. About 10 people in the room were blazing through the questions. Using my Sharingan, I copied one of their movements and answered 90 percent of the test. The other ten percent... I just did my best. Then... there were the sudden failures. The person I cheated off was suddenly failed just as he finished. It was like... he was set up to fail. Using my Sharingan, I could tell he wasn't using any jutsu, so he never cheated. If that's true... then maybe they weren't truly Genin. They were all Leaf Ninja as well and that makes it even more suspicious." Alexia explained.
"Hm... I cheated off the people next to me by knocking them out with my curse mark jutsus. Then I used my marks to trace their answers and transferred them to my paper." Layla smirked.
"Did Rui cheat?" Alexia asked.
"To be honest, I don't think he did. Speaking of Rui, I think I should say this now. I'm the one that's going to date him." Layla sneered in Alexia's face.
"I don't think so." Alexia replied.
"What makes you say that?" Layla asked.
"I'm the one that's close to him. Not you." Alexia replied calmly.
Layla started laughing, "Alexia, you got friend zoned!"
"So, did you, idiot." Alexia glared.
"Yeah, well... that's only now! If I tell him my true feelings, then he'll have to like me!" Layla yelled defiantly.
"Before or after he stops laughing?" Alexia asked, crossing her arms.
Layla flipped her off, "Fuck you tramp. The only way you'd get with him is if you placed him under genjutsu!" Layla retorted.
Alexia glared at her with the Sharingan, "How about I place you under genjutsu?"
"If you did, he'd be more worried about me and spend less time with you." Layla grinned.
Alexia scoffed, "Please, he doesn't like you that much. Stop thinking so highly about yourself, you dumb cunt."
Layla was about to say something, but a soft explosion stopped their bickering, "Did you hear that?" Layla asked.
"Yeah. I bet you one night's dinner that Rui got screwed over." Alexia replied.
"Deal." Layla grinned as they jumped up.
-Present-
"So? What happened?" Rui asked again.
"It's... been a challenge." Alexia chuckled nervously.
Layla sighed, "What happened to you, Rui? Those burns don't look normal."
"Giant Caterpillar. Damn thing fucking ate me, and the saliva did this to me. I got out using explosives and then these kind fellows captured me." I replied.
"Well... at least you're alive. Here, to show how happy I am. Let me hug you." Layla suggested.
"Ugh!" I coughed as Layla's hug almost crushed me.
"Sorry." Layla chuckled.
"Yeah..." I eyed Alexia and Layla as they glared at each other, "Can you guys just tell me what is going on with you two? This is serious. We can't pass if you two don't cooperate." I frowned.
"You want the truth? We're rivals and I'm not letting her one up me in anything. Not even your friendship." Layla replied in a half lie.
"Yeah. We're better friends, right Rui?" Alexia asked.
"No! He's my better best friend! I'm your bestiest friend right Rui?" Layla demanded.
"No, he's not! He's mine!"
"No, mine!"
They started bickering at each other and I pinched my nose in frustration, "Seems like they have issues." Denise giggled.
"Yeah... yep. I don't know what's gotten in them..." I groaned.
"Maybe it's what they want in them." She suggested.
"Yeah, maybe you'r- what?" I asked quickly.
"Oh, nothing. Just, good luck." Denise smiled before leaving with her team.
"Can you two shut up!" I yelled, getting their attention, "Look, we need to focus! I want to go home after the exams! Not get digested by some freak of nature! So, you two will shut the hell up and work together! That way, we can fight when we're not in the deep shit! Now, come on! We're leaving now!" I screamed at them.
They hung their heads, "Sorry Rui..."
"Keep your shitty apologies to yourselves and let's go!"
"Right!"
The three of us started jumping into the trees in search for another group of ninjas. This time, we're going to find someone with the opposite scrolls.
"Well then..." Mary appeared with her two guards, "Looks like those two want to date him but... will I let them? Heh. I don't think so." Mary grinned before following them.