Spoiler Alert: I jut found out that Itachi is actually a good guy and has been this entire time. I'm just sitting here like O.O I honestly couldn't believe it so I'm determined to somehow incorporate him in the story. He deserves it.
"You want me to do what?" I demanded, exasperated. I was standing in front of Lady Tsunade in Konoha. I had only arrived from Suna the day before. I had left without saying goodbye, departing around four o'clock in the morning. Now, I was regretting not staying longer. I had made it home just in time for this.
"I want you to attend the Chuunin Exams. Actually, I don't want you to, the council does."
"But I'm already a chuunin."
"Exactly. They don't believe you possess the proper qualities to be a chuunin and that my judgment was flawed. Now that I want to promote you to jounin, they're insisting upon it. This is the only compromise. Either do this or be demoted to genin. Your choice." I sighed and puffed at my bangs.
"I'm guessing that there are going to be additional precautions to prevent me from accidently killing any unfortunate genin."
"Of course. You'll be informed of those as you go along. Now, is there anything else you want to report to me about your mission?"
"Just that it was a complete success and that these cuffs," I held up my hands, "are designed to help control the excess chakra that is released with the jutsu I perform. Now I can kill an enemy without killing my teammates. They work quite effectively, actually." Tsunade motioned for me to come closer.
"Can you take one off so I can analyze it?"
"I'm afraid not. Only Gaara knows how to take them off."
"He created them, then?"
"Yes." Fascinating. I wonder why he'd put forth such an effort for Nari. Or, perhaps, he was taking extra precautions to assure his village's safety. Still, this may not be a good thing. "It's not as though I'm much of a ninja," I tried to appease her. "In fact, I've only just completed my very first mission and that took over six months."
"You're skill set requires different types of missions to be utilized effectively. That's why I want to make you a jounin, so that you can go on more S-ranked missions." I frowned and ran a finger through my loose, ebony hair. I hadn't put it up since the Kazekage Initiation Ceremony. I'd have to either put it up or cut it soon, though. I hadn't decided which yet. Admittedly, I was reluctant to cut my hair. The only part I had ever cut before was my bangs. To lose all those black locks…
"Now, the squad you'll be working with is waiting for you in room 302 in the academy. You're dismissed." I snapped my attention back to the present and nodded before taking off. I went into the academy for the first time and looked at the numbers above the doors. Screw it, I thought. I'll just ask for directions. And I did from one of the various chuunin teachers around. I was guided to where I needed to be and came across two genin.
"Are you Squad 2?" I asked softly, walking up to them. It was a team of two boys. They had probably lost their female companion on a mission and had been stuck with me.
"Yes. I'm Dai and this is my partner, Sadao," the taller of the two boys said. "Are you our new teammate?"
"I am. Nari Ninetails at your service." I bowed a little. "How old are you two?" They almost looked like twins, the only difference in appearance being height. They both had brown hair cut short and brown eyes. They had the same, tiny nose, long faces, and lean, muscular bodies. They also had the same skin tone. It was kind of scary, to say the least.
"Twelve," Sadao stated. "And Dai is thirteen. We're brothers."
"I can tell. Shall we go in then?" They nodded and we stepped into the room full of other genin hoping to become chuunin. I glanced around and realized for the first time that I had no idea what I was getting into. Not only was I on a team full of complete strangers, but the only part of the Chuunin Exams that I knew anything about was the very end. I made sure to stay close to Dai and Sadao.
"Alright, listen up," I said to them. They weren't too happy about me immediately taking the leader role. "I know you know nothing about me, just like I know nothing about you, but you have to trust my judgment, alright? My skills are in getting information out of others. If these tests consist of any mind games, I will figure them out and respond correctly. You just need to follow my lead. Got it?"
"Why should we?" Dai demanded.
"For one, I'm fifteen, which makes me older than any of the genin from your year. Secondly, I already am a chuunin. The only reason why I'm taking this exam is to prove to the council members that Lady Hokage was correct in her decision to make me one and to prove that I'm capable of being a jounin. That is why you should listen to me."
"Have you ever been on a B-ranked mission?"
"I killed sixty sound ninja during the invasion nearly a year ago and I just got back form an S-ranked mission, something normally only jounin are privy to. Don't laugh at me by asking if I've been on a B-ranked mission." Dai shut up and lost his desire to argue with me. Once I laid down the law, he had no problem obeying it. "So, are you going to follow my lead?" It was a pointless question I already knew the answer to. "Good." I stood up a little straighter and broke from the huddle to study the genin participating this time. Rock Lee, Ten Ten, and Hinata were on a team. Neji must have already made chuunin. There were others I recognized but decided to ignore entirely. I just wanted to pass this test. I didn't care about anyone else. Well, other than my team, of course.
"Alright, everybody settle down," a man with a head covering on said. He was wearing a dark trench coat and was rather scary looking. "My name is Ibiki Morino and I am your test proctor for the first part of the Chuunin Exams. Now, these ninja," he gestured to the collection of chuunin behind him, "are going to show you to your seats." We were sat down one at a time and presented with nine of the ten questions for the first test. It was a difficult test but I found the correct answers hidden in the minds of others around me. Finally, the tenth question came around.
"Before I give you the tenth question, I must warn you. If you decide to take the tenth question and fail, one of your teammates will die." An eruption of protests arose from the remaining participants. Many had been escorted out during the exam for being caught cheating. "It will be your team's decision who dies. If all three teammates are correct, all three will pass. Any who do not want to take the tenth question, leave now." I smiled, seeing in Ibiki's head what he was up to. I leaned back in my chair, unmoved. Many genin got up and left, though. Sadao almost did but he glanced at me at the last second and remained.
There's not many left, Ibiki noticed. Good. "You've all decided to stay then?" Hesitant nods. "Here's the tenth question. Which one of you isn't human?" This question wasn't actually important, he was just curious to which of the genin noticed that I wasn't human. "Write it down on your paper." I did, trying to contain my laughter all the while. This was simply too easy. When everyone finished writing and put their pencils down, Ibiki gesture for his helpers to collect the exams. Then he stepped back and studied us.
"You all pass," he stated calmly. There were about ten squads left. "You'll meet your next proctor tomorrow morning in front of the Forest of Death." Murmurs coursed through the room, some of delight for passing the first stage, some of horror to what was to come. I pushed my hair out of my face and stood. The two genin I was with stood as well, ready to follow me out. I smiled and mouthed to them to relax. As everyone else left, I stayed behind. Dai and Sadao gave me questioning looks but I told them to go on ahead.
"That was a sneaky move, Ibiki," I said softly, glancing at him. We were the only two left in the room. "My teammates almost lost their resolve and left."
"I'm sure they only stayed because they trust your judgment."
"Surprisingly, yes. Anyway, I just wanted to see how many of them guessed correctly," I stated as I glanced towards the stack of papers. We sorted through them without another word. Almost sadly, only three had been able to guess correctly: Hinata, Rock Lee, and Ten Ten. "They worked together," I figured.
"Yes. All of their papers are identical."
"Good for them. Have a nice evening, Ibiki."
"Good evening." I went to leave but he stopped me. "You're not to sleep tonight," he told me. I nodded and said that I understood. Then I went to await the next round.
►§◄
My squad stood in the Forest of Death, ready to go as soon as the signal was given. "If you let me take the lead, we'll have our Heaven scroll within the hour," I offered. Dai glared at me but nodded. He hated my authoritative attitude. His younger brother, on the other hand, was starting to get a crush on me.
Suddenly, the signal rang across the field. I watched as our gate opened, and we walked in. "Let's not rush, Nari," Sadao began. "Maybe we should take it easy and enjoy our time in the forest. Dai smacked his brother upside the head.
"This isn't the time to score a date. We're trying to complete the Chuunin Exams. The sooner this is over, the better."
"Besides," I joined in. "We'll have plenty of time to relax and get to know one another in the tower once we complete this." Sadao just nodded and, as promised, I took us to the nearest group with a Heaven scroll. Before they could even realize what was happening, I knocked each of them out with a swift hit to the side of the head with my staff. "Never underestimate the power of a wooden stick," I muttered as the two brothers' jaws dropped. "Let's go." All in all, we got to the tower in about fifteen minutes.
"How did I know you'd be the first team," Tsunade said, leaning against a doorway inside of the tower.
"Lady Hokage," Dai exclaimed, bowing extensively. Sadao followed his example.
"Probably because I put a mind reader with my best squad from their year." Dai and Sadao glanced at me, not believing their ears. "Or did you do everything yourself and they just tagged along?"
"There's no point in risking failure if we can handle things ourselves. If I needed their help, I have no doubt they'd assist me." Lady Tsunade glared at me.
"If there's anything you haven't learned; it's the importance of teamwork."
"I don't like taking unnecessary risks. Why should I send in a group of genin who may not survive, when I could send in one jounin who surely would?" To this, she had no response. "I was raised to fend for myself and not to worry about others. The impulse to protect someone is rare, so when I get it, I follow it. I like Dai and Sadao. I don't want to see them hurt when I could avoid it."
"You don't want to lose them like you lost Miu and Takeo," she corrected me.
"There's that, too," I agreed. "But I'm being sincere. They don't trust me, in fact Dai despises me, but I like them."
"Well, good. Have a nice evening, Nari. And congratulations. All of you passed." We had to wait five days for the last of the teams to show up. Of all the genin there, only three squads made it to the finals. We drew numbers and prepared for the final round.
►§◄
"Yes?" I called, hearing Sadao sneaking up on me. He really did have quite the crush. He came out of hiding and sat next to me. I was sitting on the roof, staring at the moon. The next day would be the final part of the Chuunin Exams. I was not permitted to sleep tonight, just to be on the safe side. I fully intended to use taijutsu for the majority of the fighting but I understood why Lady Tsunade was taking such precautions. At this point, no village could really afford to lose any ninja, even if they were genin.
"I hear the Kazekage's going to show up to try and make up for the last time his village participated in the Chuunin Exams."
"It wasn't his decision, then," I reminded the boy softly. "He was just a genin at the time, like you. Lord Gaara is very young for a Kazekage. Very, very young… Shouldn't you be sleeping, Sadao?"
"I couldn't sleep. You?"
"Same," I lied. In truth, I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep considering I had slept the night before. Still, I couldn't know for sure since I hadn't tried. "Are you nervous?" He nodded. "Don't be. You don't have to win to become a chuunin, you just have to do your best. You'll be fine."
"But I'm facing someone from Iwa."
"You'll be fine. Trust me. I am too, remember?"
"But you can read his mind. You can predict his moves."
"You'll be fine, Sadao. I promise." He smiled up at me.
"I hope you can stay on our team when all of this is over. Our teammate, my sister, died during the invasion. I've never really forgiven the Sand for that but I know you really like them and all so I think it'd be good to have you around. You could teach us and protect us and…" I put my hand on top of Sadao's brown hair.
"I think I'd like that too," I admitted. I truly had become fond of the boy and his brother. "Sadao, I like you but… I don't like you like that. I don't want to be mean about it and I'm honored that you think so highly of me, but I'm not interested in you that way. In fact, I'm not interested in anyone that way. My friends don't tend to stick around for long and I think I'd rather have a close friend for a long time than someone like that for a short time. Will you be that friend?" Sadao was hurt a little bit but he was also immensely happy. He wanted to be there for me.
"Yes, Nari. I'd love to be that friend." I grinned back and swung my legs cheerfully. Just one more day…
►§◄
I just barely managed to dodge the kunai launched at me. I growled as the ninja fled underground. I waited patiently for him to attack, following his mind and his movements. It was all I could do to block out all the bystanders. "Nari, watch out!" someone shouted from above. I didn't move an inch as the ninja's clone attacked me from behind. It wasn't real, just an illusion. It passed right through me and disappeared while I reached down and wrapped my hand around the wrist protruding from the earth.
Dragging a stone ninja out of the ground is no simple task. I had to use all of my upper body strength and then launch him across the arena. He skidded across the ground, panting as hard as I was. I walked over and raised my fist above him. "No! No more!" he shouted harshly. I had been kicking the guy's ass back and forth across the arena for nearly a half hour. "I forfeit!" I nodded happily and peered up at all those cheering as I was announced the winner. That's when my head just about exploded.
I fell to ground, screaming in agony and clutching my head. Medic-nin rushed over and helped me up, asking me all sorts of questions. I pushed them off and clamped my mouth shut. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself silent. I walked myself to the medical area so that I could rest and try to focus on a mind that could stop the pain. With the start of the next round, most of the audience lost their interest in me. Thank the gods. It only took about fifteen minutes to get the raging mass of thoughts down to a small mumble of a few people here and there. The Iwa ninja was staring at me.
"What happened to you?" he demanded, unable to understand how he had managed to hurt me when he had barely touched me at all.
"I get massive migraines sometimes," I explained softly. "I got one out on the field. I'd been holding it back for the duration of the entire fight thanks to my focus on winning. When I lost that focus, it surrounded me like a storm."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault."
"Yeah…," he breathed. "Are you really from Konoha?" he asked randomly.
"Yes. Why?"
"Well, you look like someone I met before. This girl. She was really little and she was traveling with a rogue ninja from Iwa. With the eyes and all, I thought for sure you were her." I saw in his memories the girl he spoke of.
"That was me," I reassured him. "I was raised by rogue ninja, passed from one to the next. Konoha was just kind enough to take me in."
"Oh," he muttered.
"Anyway, I should probably get going. I hope you heal alright," I told him. "Honestly, I do." He half laughed, half coughed, and then I was gone. I went straight to where the other waiting competitors were. My next match was still a ways away. I had to be content, for now, to watch the others.
Finally, my turn came around. I was delighted with who my opponent would be. Rock Lee, the taijutsu master I had been hoping to face. We shook hands before the fight, both recognizing the other as a worthy opponent, and then began to circle each other. Lee attacked first, coming at me with full force. I stepped out of his way but was surprised with the speed at which he came for a second blow.
"You are much faster than I am," I admitted. "I think I've gotten slower just as you have gotten faster. I apologize, Lee, but I must use some ninjutsu if I hope to succeed." I jumped away from him and began series of hand signs.
"Do not apologize. It is a compliment that such a worthy taijutsu master must use other jutsu to defeat me." I laughed and smiled as my nine-tailed replication jutsu took place. As always, the audience was surprised by the appearance of a nine-tailed fox. She didn't last long though, taking human form to help me win. We double-teamed Rock Lee, making it nigh impossible for him to avoid our blows. Suddenly, my cuffs began to constrict. I jumped away from Lee and glared up at Gaara. I breathed in and breathed out, trying to concentrate on overcoming the pain and winning this fight.
He's a wicked piece work, I tell ya, my clone stated. I just nodded in agreement, unable to get words out as I tried to focus. Lee was very confused as he took notice of both of me looking as though they were in pain. I bit my tongue and then launched myself again. I had trained under Orochimaru for a year. I could handle a bit of pain.
The constriction of the flow of blood to my hands soon resulted in the inability to form hand signs. For whatever reason, Gaara had left my feet alone. I took that to my advantage and landed most of my blows via kick. My clone wasn't having as much luck as I was, on the other hand. The intense pain was forcing her to shift. I didn't want that. Nine-tailed fox Nari was hunter Nari that would like to rip out the throat of her prey. I couldn't have that so I was forced to let her go.
The fight was slowly leaning in Lee's favor. I didn't have more stamina than him, I wasn't better with taijutsu, and my wrists were crushed to the point that I couldn't feel my hands anymore. Finally, I jumped away from him and landed next to the proctor. "I forfeit," I told the man. He nodded and called the match to an end. I slipped away, focusing on Lee's ecstatic thoughts all the while. I didn't head to the medical room but back to where the genin were. Despite my pain and anger, I still wanted to see how Dai and Sadao did. They lost both of their matches…
"Are you alright, N – Nari?" Hinata stammered, glancing at me as I sighed and slid to the floor.
"I've been better, but thanks, Hinata. I'll be just fine."
"O – okay." I hit my head against the bar and willed myself to be patient and watch the rest of the exams. I owed the other genin that much.
This chapter may have seemed pointless but it help set other things up. Anyway, about that idea I had; I've decided not to go through with it. I might use it later on but not so soon. Well, thanks for reading and please tell me what you think.