Day 5

Takumi stared at Shun Endoh, who was staring back. They both left their spots, running toward each other. Michiya sat at the base of a tree, watching the focus in Takumi's eyes. The look he possessed at first was one of boredom and complacency. He was the best genin Taiki had, but he had a habit of doing too little and putting his teammates in danger. One such scenario was firmly implanted in her mind…

Five ninjas had them ambushed on all sides. Shun and Taiki both went to attack, and she stood in a defensive stance, ready to deflect any attacks as best as she could. Takumi sat atop a tree branch, watching as Shun took out two ninjas and Taiki did the same.

The final ninja was laying in wait above Takumi's head. Takumi laughed a bit before flipping off the branch, then throwing a kunai in the tree. It missed, and the ninja came toward Takumi. With quick reflexes, Takumi ducked, then flipped, landing his foot on the ninja's head. It lost its balance, and Shun jumped in with a roundhouse, felling the final one.

Taiki immediately walked to Takumi who had a board expression on his face.

"C'Mon, Taiki-sensei, they were a joke. Michiya could've taken them." He said nonchalantly.

"There is never an excuse to leave your allies like that. What if they were in danger?" he asked.

"There was never any danger. I was giving Shun and Michiya a chance to train." He laughed, turning away. Taiki quickly whirled the lanky genin around, looking him squarely in the eye.

"If you are to be a leader, you'll have to take things more seriously. Look at the clan you come from. They were not only blessed with talent, but a sense of responsibility. Especially to those close to them."

"They aren't close to me. They're not family." Takumi snorted.

"You sure? You mean to say that if your life were on the line, and they were the only ones who'd step in, that they'd abandon you like you just did them?' Taiki asked.

Takumi opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't answer.

Shun fell on his back, staring at the tip of the Kurokawa blade.

"Taiki-sensei, he didn't even use any genjutsu." Michiya smiled.

"No, no he didn't." Taiki smiled.

… if you life were on the line … would they abandon you like you abandoned them?

Takumi helped Shun up, then sheathed his sword, letting the words settle into his mind. He remembered the way he reacted toward his genin after the confrontation. He gave Taiki the silent treatment mixed in with a mean scowl, but the chuunin knew better. He knew the words had gotten to Takumi.

"Tomorrow we will go through your goals and dreams before the festival. Tomorrow will be our last day of physical training. Tonight, go home, and speak with your parents about the experiences they had in becoming chuunin, if they have any." Taiki said. "Trust me, they will have great stories and advice for you. In a way, they are your trump card for the Exam."

- - -

Ichiro Yamada looked over the balcony, humming to himself as he watched a view of the city. Being a shinobi really didn't excite him. His father, a former ANBU member, said that the Exam was something all of his children would experience at least once. Ichiro's younger brother, Asuma, was already training at his early age.

He dreamed of performing in front of packed houses and royalty, not heartless, mindless, bloodthirsty assassins. The contrast baffled him, but he had to admit, the training was fun with Kichiro, and if he were attacked, he did have a few moves to protect himself with. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

Ichiro turned to see Minako sitting down with Kini in her lap. It purred softly as she stroked it. She was the most optimistic of the genin, and the only person who wasn't affected by the "slight" pessimism by Kasumi. Minako kept Kasumi from being to much of a wet blanket, and in her own cynical way, Kasumi appreciated it.

Their chuunin, Kichiro Watanabe was a well liked person in Konoha. He was one of the few chuunin who had his own comedy bit performing for the Kages from time to time. He took time off to develop genin's skills and loosen them up if they got too serious. Too much stress greatly affected the flow of chakra, he felt.

"Ichiro." Minako asked, her head down and resting her hands on Kini's back. "Do you think we'll be ready for the exam?"

The question hit him pretty hard. Their performances so far were without the pressure of pass or fail, life or death. The missions were simple, and Kichiro always had their back. But this time, they would be alone, depending on each other and in some cases just themselves to pull through. Both Minako and Kasumi had proud lineages to fall back on and use. His father was the only ninja of any kind in the Yamada clan. And what about the one on one fighting, a highlight for Konoha…

Ichiro gulped a bit before Kichiro walked in.

"If you don't think so, then you may as well quit now." Kichiro replied. Kasumi walked in after him, almost joyous for a moment.

"Someone wants to quit? That means we can't compete in the Chuunin Exam?" she asked, her fists clenched in joy.

"Do you?" he asked. Ichiro righted himself, still feeling his stomach turning a little. Minako thought as she stroked Kini.

"It may not feel like it, but we have come too far to quit now." Ichiro answered.

"Mew, everything leading up to now would be a waste if we were to quit." Minako said. "I'm not leaving, even thought I feel really nervous."

"Me neither," Ichiro followed. " Sorry if you wanted to quit, Kasumi."

Kasumi sighed, her hands in her pocket looking past Ichiro outside. Shikamaru would've been telling her now to get through with it, because her mother would've made her do it anyway. Her father didn't care, and did his best not to try to discipline her, saying daughters are much to troublesome to their fathers, and mothers should only deal with the daughters.

She gave a faint smile, remembering Shikamaru coming homewith his Chuunin status. The family was excited, well for the Nara household. That meant a lot of snide remarks and jokes and ribbing from his father. Their mother only had more advice and was more intent on why Shikamaru intentionally lost his match, and why he was always fighting women. He looked at them with his usual indifferent brown eyes, knowing they were proud of him.

"That's OK. I guess I can stick around." She mumbled.

"A change of heart, aaaayyy?" Ichiro said.

"Mew! We really need those Nara brains, and spirit!" she leapt out of her seat, Kini being thrown, but landing on its feet.

Kichiro shared in the laughter, then placed a firm hand on Kasumi's shoulder, looking her in the eye.

"We really do…" he said.

- - -

Shizuka rubbed her shoulder, feeling the burning. It was trying to surface. She looked up, only seeing red. She began coughing, feeling itching all over her body, She began to slowly scratch, feeling a little more helpless by the second. Her sight began to go out completely, before she went blind.

After she awoke, there was destruction everywhere. There was no doubt she had caused it. Burned bodies, charred property. It wasn't her choice to do this. She was helpless …

"Shizuka, Kimiko-sensei would like to see you." Hideki tapped her on the shoulder. She smiled a little

"I wonder how it feels." said Gonnoh. Watched Shizuka walked to her chuunin. "To have something like that inside of you."

"I'm to scared to look at her with my Byakugan." Hideki shuddered. "I'm really glad she's on our side."

- - -

Asuka walked through the town, looking at the different faces of the people. Most of the boys her age were a bit tentative when they talked to her. They tried too hard to sound tough, or were just mortified, thinking that if they said the wrong thing, she'd destroy them.

Although her training was going well, and she loved taijutsu more than anything, it didn't mean she didn't want a boy who was a friend. She felt awkward whenever a guy showed some interest.

She walked to Ichiraku Ramen, hoping to drown in a bowl of chiken and noodles. As she sat down, she felt a soft feeling on her ankles. She looked down to see an orange tabby purring a bit.

"Kini, don't go away like that…" Minkao ran in, scooping the cat up. She looked down, seeing a pair of white shoes with blue stripes. She stood upright, looking at Asuka Matsuo. She gulped a bit before starting to speak.

"Asuka, mew?" she said, feeling her heartbeat speed up. She heard stories about how Asuka would react to people she didn't know. Asuka looked at Minako with wide eyes, not sure of what to say.

"Uh – hi?" she said, unsure of how exactly to say it. "Min–n– a-k k- o "

Minako mewed before sitting next to Asuka, who was a little frightened. The only time people came this close to her deliberately usually tried to make her mad and fight them. She shuddered a bit before grabbing her chopsticks. They snapped in half, and Minako gasped, Kini leaping to the floor.

"Sorry. Maybe I should talk to you later." She said, picking up Kini. Asuka stuttered a bit before calling to the Kiba clan member.

"N-no. Please sit down." She said. Minako happily leapt into the seat.

"Mew! Let's talk!" she said. "Are there any boys you like?"

Asuka blushed a bit, looking down and poking at the noodles with her finger. Minako leaned in closer.

"Hmmm … looks like a yes." She nudged the taijutsu user. "Who is it?"

Asuka leaned over, whispering in her ear.

"WHAAAAT!" she fell completely out of her seat.

- - -

"Exactly six feet between the targets." Their chuunin said, looking at the kunai on the target. "For both of you."

Yoshi flared her nostrils, balling her fists. Miharu shared the same emotion, but grumbled inwardly. They both gave each other a pretentiously happy look, but felt disappointed.

Miharu-chan, why do you copy me? Yoshi thought.

Yoshi-chan, why must you emulate my actions? You should know by now that I am one of the few genin that can throw from every position? Miharu thought.

Yoshi grumbled something, then looked in the distance. Two trees stood crosswise from each other.

I have to make some kind of difference between us, even if I lose. I hate tying with you Miharu.

"Yoshi-chan, care to have a little race?" Miharu asked.

"Yeah." Yoshi smield, even though it freaked her out that her friend was thinking the same thing.

She shook it off, and prepared to run. The chuunin stood in the middle of them, holding his hands up.

"Go!" he shouted, throwing his arms down…

Yoshi Nakashima watched Kyo use his rope to chase around both Kento and Natsumi. Her genin were ready, with Kento assuming the role of leader, even though Kyo was better at breaking down situations. Natsumi was the wild card of her group, with her unusual training she received from her parents.

Before attending Academy school, Natsumi worked at her parents farm, where they grew wheat. She loved to run through before gathering it. Plus, she would run through the thick mud after the rain as well. This gave her strong legs which were used to straining. She also had great endurance from working in the fields. This allowed her more stamina than girls her age, and the ability to learn all sorts of techniques easily.

Natusmi ducked the rope, then ran at Kyo, who formed a hand seal.

"Rope Coil!" he said, the rope surrounding him. He heard all sorts of sounds hitting the rope from both sides, and it began to give a little, despite hardening.

"Rope … Explosion1" Kyo shouted. The rope burst, throwing both Natsumi and Kento back. Kyo caught the rope, which was smoking a bit. Both Natsumi and Kento were smarting, but rose to their feet.

"Very good work, you three. I'll stop it here before you get too serious." Yoshi said. "Tomorrow, you can have the day off."