Disclaimer: No I do not own Naruto.

Wings of the White Angel

Chapter 24: The Chuunin Exam's beginning

One month has passed since the members of Team Eight have encountered the leader of the Seven Sins, Death. After a crippling defeat by him, the members of the team decided that the next month should have been spent improving their skills, so that they could make a good showing during the Chuunin Exam.

Kin Watanabe trained under Naruto Uzumaki, learning much more than he had ever been able to learn on his own. He even began to learn more about the dark force that was slowly consuming him, and how to fight against it.

Kai Otogi left with Sasuke Uchiha, who he believed would be the perfect teacher for him. Their training methods were mysterious to everyone but themselves, so there is little information on their progress.

Yurei Akurei has made the most progress, in my opinion. Perhaps it is simply because he's been the only one of the three I've seen for a month, but I've watched him get progressively stronger and stronger. His Heart Rod, Shadow Goddess, seems to get harder and sharper every day, and his skill in the arts of the Shadow Moon style improve. What worries me is that he is becoming too reliant on the ultimate move of the style, the Shadow Full Moon. While its attack power is amazing, he needs to branch out more in his style of combat. Sooner or later, he'll run into an opponent that won't be taken down by a sword.

Aiko's hand stopped glowing and she wiped the ink off of it. ("I wonder how much Kin and Kai have grown. To think that only six weeks ago they were Genin, and yet they managed to battle against one of the Seven Sins and defeat him. I can't even comprehend how much stronger they have gotten now.") Standing up, she stepped outside and smiled, taking a deep breath. "Today is the day…the Chuunin Exam begins today." Then she disappeared in a burst of white smoke.

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Haru Minishiwa walked across the courtyard of the Ninja Academy, brushing back some of his blue hair. There were ninja everywhere…of all nationalities and types. ("Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and some who aren't any and some who are all…") A grin was plastered on his face. This was going to be a beautiful next few days.

"Hey, watch where you are going!" Yelled someone from within the crowd. The speaker was a large man wearing a headband of the Hidden Village of Sand.

The person he was yelling at was a young man wearing a black body shirt and shorts, with limp black hair and dull grey eyes. "Or you will what?"

"I'll run you down, you little…" The huge man cocked back his fist and swung.

The blow caught the boy on the chin, and he stumbled backwards. When his head lifted up though, it showed no damage to him. "It will take more than that to stop me."

"What did you say?" Cracking his knuckles, the huge tanned man charged right at the unfazed boy and struck him again and again with his fist.

Haru was about to leap in, but the boy took a couple of casual steps back. When he lifted up his head, he showed that there wasn't even a single scuff mark from the blows. "What was that anyway? If you wanted to say hello, there are easier ways."

"I'll beat you senseless!" The big man charged…

"Pain, if you would please." The boy turned away and didn't even flinch as the man screamed in bloodcurdling pain.

Howling his lungs out, the man clutched at his chest and dropped to his knees. "What's…" Then he felt a single hand touch his neck from behind.

"You're so loud…let me quiet you down." A crack noise echoed across the whole courtyard, and everyone grew silent.

Brushing off his hands, Pain walked over towards his teammate. "Hatred, why didn't you just kill him yourself? Are you soft?"

"Soft?" The limp-haired boy smiled tiredly. "Why waste the muscle effort killing him?"

"True…I only killed him because he needed to be erased." Pain smiled slightly and glanced behind him to see Haru standing just a few inches away. "Something the matter, Konoha dog?"

"Killing isn't allowed unless it's during the exam…" Haru reached out and grabbed Pain by the front of his shirt. "You're coming with…" Then he felt cold…and looked down at his arm. There was another hand grasping it roughly. "Who in the…" He looked to his left, and came face to face with a skinny gaunt man who had limp black hair and dull grey eyes.

"I would advise you to unhand my charge…" The man glanced behind him at a much taller man wearing a heavy black cloak. "By his orders, I'll kill you."

Haru frowned. "Just who do you think…"

The huge man in black stepped forward. "Your betters, that's all you need to know, pawn."

Haru found it hard to breath, his chest couldn't draw breath. ("What's happening to…me? It feels like someone is squeezing the life out of…") His eyes widened as he looked at the cloaked man. "You couldn't possibly…no one could be that…"

"Who are you to think what I can and cannot do? Can you stop me then?" A sharp wind blew by, flipping up the cloak enough to reveal a glimpse of the man's face. "You've been warned." Then Haru was on his knees, sucking in air and trying to regain his lost breath.

The two boys and two men turned and walked towards the complex, not paying the ninja another thought.

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Meanwhile, Yurei Akurei was wearing his best black bodysuit for this occasion. He had arrived just a short while ago, and was now using this spare time to polish Shadow Goddess to a glowing sheen. ("All of my training…I can't let Kai or Kin surpass me by too much.")

"Heya Yurei-chan!"

Yurei grew deeply pale. ("Oh sh…") And then he was getting the life squeezed out of him. "Hi…Ayumi…"

Giggling, Ayumi released the boy from her crushing glomp and motioned out to the huge crowds. "This is great! Can you just imagine how great of a showing Konoha will get to give to the rest of the world?"

Yurei nodded, trying to fix his ribs by readjusting them back into place. "Yeah…it will be great…I guess…"

Ayumi heard the rather depressed tone in his voice, and she grinned. "You're so down…you really want to see them again, don't you?"

"Of course." Yurei smiled warmly. "No matter what, those two were the greatest source of comedy I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Just who are you talking about?" A voice whispered between the two of them. And then they realized someone was standing next to them.

Ayumi nearly leapt out of her skin as she realized Kai was standing next to her. "EEEK!"

Yurei had already face-fallen.

Kai sighed and shook his head. "It's sad…both of you have improved so little in such a long amount of time? I'm disappointed, Yurei…"

Yurei leapt to his feet and struck a heroic pose. "Hey! Don't try and talk down to me, you moody child! I've improved ten-fold since we last fought!" Snapping Shadow Goddess' blade up to near Kai's neck, his voice lowered to a deadly whisper. "Or have you forgotten that I beat you last time?"

"You're not my rival." Kai turned away, ignoring Yurei's face-fall at having been brushed aside. "I have other things on my mind…many other things. There is a single ninja I must surpass, and therefore I have to see whether or not that has already come to be."

Yurei was already standing, and he frowned. "You mean Kin? Can you really expect to compete against someone who had achieved a power capable of making him Elite Jounin level?"

"Compete?" Kai slid his sunglasses on. "Compete is such a weak word. I intend to demolish him."

"Oh really Kai, is that a fact?" All three of them froze as they heard a voice that brought many different memories to them, each one different. One was of the strange single-minded boy they had come to understand, then another of the blazing white angel that moved so fast it was like fighting air, and the final one of the golden-haired 'retriever' that destroyed an opponent all of them had thought invincible. Finally, they turned.

Kin looked the same as ever, with the only exception being that he still had those green-haired canine ears on top of his head. With his hair brushed back, he revealed that he still had his normal human ears too. "Yo."

Kai's response was cold. "Don't try to act cool, it doesn't suit one such as you."

Ayumi just stared at Kin. Something about him was different from before. ("He seemed raw…but now his stance…it's like he is constantly holding back now.") His animalistic facial features didn't help against the image of some kind of wild animal acting civilized. "Kin…it's…"

Yurei just smiled knowingly. He could sense the change, and it impressed him. ("You're a strong man, Kin Watanabe…very strong…")

And then Kin's cold expression was shattered as he smiled warmly. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just no good at being cool, huh? Maybe I should just stick with being me."

Kai nearly face-fell, but to preserve his own coolness he stopped himself. "You're an idiot."

"Maybe so…" Kin grinned and flicked one of the ears on top of his head. "But at least I get compliments from the ladies."

Everyone stared at him like he was insane…

"It's all about the ears." Turning away, Kin started to walk towards the Ninja Academy center. "So, shall we sign up already?"

"Yeah…I guess so…" Yurei was left stupefied by that bizarre statement.

Kin giggled secretly, in his own mind. ("I have my own ways of acting cool, Kai. And now I'll just coolly…") Then he was face-first on the ground, someone twisting his arm behind him. "Who in the…"

"Long time no see, cousin!"

Kin turned ghost white. ("You can't mean it's…") He glanced up and nearly yelped in both surprise and fear. ("It's Kirin…")

The boy who held Kin in place had a huge red Mohawk, and wore a leather jacket with no shirt underneath. His pants were made of some kind of denim material, and his eyes were fire red too. He was definitely well-built. "How long has it been since…"

"Let me go Kirin!" Kin twisted his arm a little more and landed a kick on his aggressor's chest. They held that way for a moment, and then they separated, both landing about ten feet away from each other. This immediately began to attract a small crowd.

Kirin rubbed a finger under his nose. "How have you been, little Kin? I like the ears, though don't you think it's an inappropriate place for cosplay?"

Kin blushed bright red and pointed at his cousin angrily. "Shut up! You don't know anything, do you?"

Ayumi blinked in surprise as her hand was already being kissed. "Huh?"

Kirin finished kissing her hand and then stood up, smiling at her. "Hey there babe, what's a lovely lady like yourself doing in the prescense of my dorky cousin?" Kin face-fell.

Ayumi just stared at him, while Yurei laughed his ass off and Kai tried as hard as possible not to do the same.

Kirin smirked and ducked right as a punch flew past his hair. "Hey now, Kin. You want to spar here?"

Kin followed through with a knee, but already knew that Kirin would just roll away from it. "How stupid are you anyway? I would have thought that whole flirting problem of yours would have been fixed by now!"

"That's so cruel!" Kirin came up in a boxing stance. "It isn't a problem at all. The ladies love it!"

"Uhh…what's going on?" Ayumi just blinked some more, unsure what had just happened.

Kin narrowed his eyes, and his ears perked up slightly. "I'm going to wipe that stupid…"

"Just try it, dear cousin…Kirin Watanabe loves a good…" Kirin hands started to form seals for something…

Then the possible fight ended in a burst of white smoke. "Kirin, you fool! Even in the springtime of youth, there must be limits to your burning spirit!" A crack resounded from within the smoke, and Kirin was sent chin-first flying into the air. When the smoke cleared, it revealed an astounded Kin and a man wearing the clothes of a Jounin level ninja. He had black bobbed hair, and incredibly fuzzy eyebrows…and then he smiled to the crowd, a single star of light coming from his white teeth. "I trained you better than that!"

Kirin crashed face-first into the ground, leaving a small crater. Then he hopped up to his feet, completely unharmed. "But Lee-sensei, I was just…"

Rock Lee landed a heavy blow to his pupil's face, sending Kirin cleanly into the ground. "I won't tolerate stupidity on this kind of day! I want you to be on your best behavior, or else you might make Ereiki-chan cry!"

Kirin leapt to his feet, still unharmed. "But I…" Then his face softened. "Ereiki-chan might cry? That's unacceptable!" He turned to face his cousin, fires burning in his eyes. "Accept my apology or I'll pummel you!"

Kin face-fell, hard this time. He instantly recovered though. "Who do you think you are talking to? Why should I accept anything from you?" Then Kin was moving, as a fist nearly took his head off.

"I said accept my apology!" Kirin was a blur already, his entire body moving like lightning as it struck again and again.

"Kin!" Ayumi started to worry…

Kin side-stepped the third punch and then landed a punch to the side of Kirin's head. "I thought your teacher just told you to…"

Kirin turned, unharmed by the hit. "You're as fast as ever, but I'm still the best in the world when it comes to endurance!" Then they broke, now standing ten feet apart.

Kin sighed. "Well, it looks like you won't let this go huh? Fine, let's do it."

Kirin glanced over at Lee. "Sensei…"

Lee sighed as well. "Who am I to stop you from having some fun…go for it."

Kirin's face lit up with happiness. "Alright, let's do it cousin!" His hands started to move.

Kin's hands started to move as well. Both finished at the same time.

"Katon; Akahonoo Oni no Jutsu!"

"Fuiton; Shirakaze Tenshi no Jutsu!"

To be continued…