Howdy!
Sorry, this one took longer than usual… Lots of accursed Physics homework and I'm going to Western Nationals to boot… But worry not! We'll live!
For those of you wondering when the Naruto arc is going to end… I'd say probably 7-ish chapters.
So, without much more ado about nothing: Chapter 29!
This is bad, Meari concluded, having discovered the absent trick question. Up till now, everything has pretty much been the same as the manga… I mean, sure the destination for the written exam was changed, but that wasn't a big deal… but this… she sighed. This is a disaster.
Meari racked her brain, trying to recall everything she knew about the exam that now lay on her desk. The exam was meant to test our information gathering skills… It's set up to force the students to cheat in order to learn the answers… She looked at the test, recognising the same impossible questions from Naruto. We don't have the tenth question anymore, but if Kotto-kun and Sai-kun can get find least a couple answers without getting caught, we can-
Meari bit her fingernail as she choked on her own breath. Oh right… I forgot to tell the boys about the whole cheating thing. Crud. She glanced over to her Cell mates, both clearly in a state of panic. If they could just calm down for one second, they can figure it out! Please guys, think! THINK! She began to will all her energy in a futile attempt to beam the message into their brains.
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After what seemed like an eternity, Meari saw Saimon begin to fiddle around with the ring on his finger. He took a surreptitious look around, then rested his face into his arms, and didn't budge. Well, it looks like he's up to something. Meari looked over to Sukotto-
-just in time to see him discretely shove a Power Bar into his mouth.
GASP! COUGH COUGH!
Sukotto was quickly escorted out of the room by a proctor. Meari made a sickened face. He wouldn't eat that unless he had a plan… Meari relaxed ever so slightly. Alright, now I just have to worry about getting the answers for myself. Meari thought for a moment. Maybe I could cause a distraction over by the chalkboard, and while everyone… No, no… That would be too obvious. Maybe if I could use my chain to open one of the windows to a certain angle, I could copy off the reflection- no, they'd definitely catch me. Meari pondered. What can I do?
A noise at the back of the room caused everyone to turn around. A proctor entered, closing the door behind him. His strange voice greeted them, low pitched yet very squeaky. "Uh… Sorry I'm late. Had to take care of some troublemakers."
Who is that? Meari wondered, taking in the extremely bizarre appearance of the newcomer. His uniform was abnormally bulky, the far-too-long shirt sleeves concealing his hands, the pants covering his feet. His hitai-ate covered his forehead and bandages concealed everything on his face, save for a small beady eye shining out from a hole in the cloth. He seemed disoriented, and he stumbled many times as he walked towards his seat. He sat down with some difficulty, taking out his clipboard.
Something isn't right about that one…Meari watched him for a moment as the proctor's eyes did a quick sweep of the classroom, then looked down at his clipboard, fumbling with the pages, almost nervously. He stopped on a particular one and stared at it intently.The proctor then looked up at one of the students, looking without so much as a blink. Meari followed his gaze to the student in question.
Saimon had begun to write, filling in the first answer with his messy scrawl. Does the proctor have something to do with that? Meari glanced back to the strange shinobi, who repeated the process of looking at his clipboard, then staring back at Saimon. Yep. Looks like it. Sai-kun fills in an answer every time that proctor looks at him. Meari sighed. Well, if he can figure out a way, I can- huh?
Saimon paused, cocking his head to the left, a suspicious expression on his face. He stared into this space for a brief moment, and then returned to his test. What was that about? Meari looked to Saimon's left as the boy seated there had a small spasm, his whole body seizing up. He then picked up his test and brought it to eye level. It would've been a completely innocent act had Meari not noticed the confused frown of the student. This is starting to get weird.
"Oops." Saimon had accidentally swept his paper off his desk. He grabbed it from the floor and slowly pulled it up, briefly showing Meari two words he had written on the backside of his test: That's Sukotto-kun!
Meari frowned for a moment. Kotto-kun? Meari looked over to the other boy. Did he… do that with magic? Almost as if to answer her question, the boy placed the sheet of paper on his desk, and tensed up once more. He then fell to his desk, asleep. Kotto-kun…You can do something to help me, can't you? Meari bit her lip, and then crossed her fingers. Concentrating all her mental power, she cried out in her mind: KOTTO-KUN! HELP ME!
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Meari opened her eyes. She was leaning on her desk; her arms sprawled out beside her. She sat up slowly, shaking her head clear. What happened? She looked at her test and gasped. The answers had all been filled out in a familiar handwriting. Kotto-kun… It worked! Meari smiled, and then noticed a note that had been written on top of her test:
Sukotto-kun! Speak again!
Meari stared at it for a moment, and then realised what it meant with a small giggle. Oops. She did the same as before, calling out the Order with all her mental power; KOTTO-KUN! SPEAK AGAIN! Nothing happened, but Meari was fairly certain it had worked. She looked at the clock. 15 minutes left. If Kotto-kun can get back here and write his answers down, we'll pass!
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At the end of the test, Ibiki returned to the front of the room. "Return your tests to your proctor. Time's up!" The exams were handed in, and Meari stretched. That was a weird day… She looked at her team-mates and frowned. We need to do some thinking…
