"Damn, I'm so late!" Kazuma shouted, running full speed through the mist. The fifteen-year-old's brown eyes scanned the mist for his teammates. He paused to brush a lock of brown hair out of his eyes, which fell in shocks over his freckled face. "Kazuma." A familiar voice caught his attention. Ryuho Tasukeda, Kazuma's teammate and the resident taijutsu expert, stared at him with rust-colored eyes. His thin face was cropped with a shock ofblue hair, which was dramatically coiffed over one side of his face. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans and the traditional ninja sandals. His hitai-ate, which marked him as a ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, was laced through his pants like a belt. Kazuma considered what he was wearing: his hitai-ate was draped around his neck. He wore a black t-shirt, the bottom to the waist of which had the markings of the Hidden Mist Tracker Ninja mask he wore into battle. He wore camouflaged shorts that went to his calves, the color scheme of which was purple, black and white. He wore a guitar case on his back like a backpack, which housed his guitar. He took pride in his ability to play and practiced when and wherever he had a spare moment. He wore the traditional sandals, but he bandaged up the exposed skin on his legs. He sighed and took a look around. "Where's Mihoshi?"
"W-wait for me!" a high-timber voice cut through the mist. Mihoshi Maehara, age thirteen, wearing a pale jacket and blue leggings, her hitai-ate tied around her neck as well, ran up to the two boys. The young kunoichi's violet eyes scanned the mist, searching for something. "I'm here: where's Kakihara-sensei?" Ryuho sighed, and replied, "He's late. Why is he always late?" Kazuma grinned and retorted, "Does it matter? I mean, we're bonding, right?" Ryuho smirked. Kazuma began twirling a senbon placidly between his fingers. "I wonder why Master Kakihara wanted us to meet him here, " he mused. Mihoshi nodded and responded, "Yeah! It must be really important!" Ryuho was silent. "Think it has something to do with the Chunin exams?" Mihoshi asked, brushing a lock of her blonde hair out of her eyes. Kazuma shrugged.
All of the sudden, a shape materialized in the mist. Kazuma grinned and muttered, "Kakihara-sensei, you're late." A tall jonin, with blonde hair and piercings running along a scar that ran on the corners of his mouth, the end result of a knife fight, stood up and raised a hand. He wore the body armor and normal trappings of a Mist jonin, with the symbol of the Village etched into the shoulder guards: two rows of two slanted "s" shaped lines, one row on top of the next. He smiled and croaked, "Good morning. I bet you all wonder why you're here." Kazuma laughed. "No," he joked, "We're trading baseball cards! I'll give you my Kakashi for your Zabuza card!" Ryuho snickered a little and retorted, "Hell no. Only for your Kazekage card!" Kazuma laughed out loud. Kakihara scowled. "Okay, that enough. This is serious." He ordered, and Kazuma stopped laughing. Kakihara cleared his throat, and continued.
"Today marks the start of the Chunin Selection Exam in Konohagakure-no-Saito, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Lord Mizukage, as you know, has commanded that only one squad of Mist genin shall enter the competition. And you three are that squad. Congratulations, kids." Kakihara smiled upon finishing this statement. Ryuho sneered, "We'll show those Leaf brats how real ninja do it. Right?" Mihoshi whistled and Kazuma shouted, "Yeah! We'll fix them!" Ryuho shouted, "They're so stupid, they go to bed with rulers to see how long they sleep!" Kazuma replied, "They're so ugly, you smash their faces into cookie dough, and you'll get gorilla biscuits!" All three genin laughed. Oh, they're ready, Kakihara though merrily.
"So, this is Konohagakure…" Ryuho mused as the squad cleared the gates. He was the unofficial leader, so he was up front. Kazuma smiled and murmured, "The sky. It's so clear, I feel like I could reach out and grab it." He loved the outdoors, but Konoha was different: there was a down-home feel to it, and the sight of other ninja was a welcome sight. He was getting dirty looks from some of the women and children. He smiled and waved at them, and they averted their eyes. "Hey, you!" a high timber voice commanded. Kazuma turned around slowly. The speaker was far younger than Kazuma was: she was a head shorter than he was, with back length pink hair and a red dress with a circle on the front. Kazuma smiled and replied, "Yeah? You need something, kid?" She scowled at him, and ordered, "You're ninja from Hiding-in-Mist. I demand to see your identification papers and visas!" Ryuho glared daggers at her: "You and whose army, brat?" Kazuma grabbed him, and whispered, "Ryuho, now's not the time. We're here for the Chunin exam, and we don't have time to beat up the local yokels. Just show the little brat our i.d., and we'll be on our merry way." They pulled out their visas, and walked away.
Sakura couldn't believe the absolute gall of that guy. Cha! Who does he think he is?, she raged. "Hey, Sakura!" a voice rang out from down the hall. "Oh, hi Naruto." She said, less than enthusiastically. Naruto Uzumaki, age twelve, ran up to her, his blonde hair hanging over his blue eyes in shocks. He was grinning from ear to ear, not unusual for him. Sasuke Uchiha, age twelve, was walking behind him, hands jammed in his white shorts. He was tallest of the three, with pale skin, black hair that hung over his face in shocks and steely eyes. He said nothing, opting to lounge against the acacia tree. Sakura felt her chest flutter and said sweetly "Hi, Sasuke! Isn't it a lovely morning?" Sasuke grunted in reply.
Kazuma pulled out his guitar and began to strum gently. They were at the main room, where all the ninja were. There were lots of them: ninja from all over the place. Some were from Waterfall and Rain, Mist's sister nations. Still more were from Konoha. Kazuma counted seventy-two Leaf ninja, twenty-one Rain, fifteen were from Hiding-in-the-Grass, twelve Waterfall, and thirty Sand ninja. Counting him, there were only three Mist ninja. So, all in all, there are over one hundred and fifty ninja here, he mused while playing "Stairway to Heaven". He looked around: there was a Sand ninja staring at him. He had blood-red hair, ice colored eyes and pale, almost anemic skin. He looked like he had zygodermia, and this feeling was further justified by the large, almost mascara-like rings that eclipsed his eyes. Judging by his height, he was probably Mihoshi's age, if not younger. Kazuma looked at the kid's teammates: one was wearing a pig suit, and had kabuki make-up on. He carried what looked like a sarcophagus wrapped in bandages on his back. The other one, who was really cute, wore a halter-top tunic. Under it, she wore a mesh body suit. Not only did it protect her body, it maintained her dignity. She had a giant fan on her back, which was tied to her waist with a sash. Her blonde hair was tied back into four separate ponytails. Kazuma smiled at all three of them. "Any requests?" he asked sweetly. The boy in the pig suit snorted, "Yeah, quit playing: you suck!" Kazuma felt a vein rise on his forehead. He jeered, "Oh, and you can do any better? Nice onesy, pal. Does it have snaps in the back so you can make poopy?" The girl laughed out loud, and someone yelled "Oh, no he didn't!" She giggled, and then piped, "Don't listen to Kankuro. He's just pissed because he can't play worth jack." God, she's hot! Kazuma marveled. She held out her hand for a handshake: "My name's Temari." Kazuma, ever the gentleman, took it and introduced himself, "I'm Kazuma." She smiled and asked, "So, you like playing guitar? That's great, considering that you juggle that and ninjitsu, too." Kazuma grinned and replied, "That's all well and good, but what I really want to do is take you out for dinner. I know this really nice place, best crème Brule ever." She blushed, and smiled, "Really?" Kazuma grinned and nodded. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine: that kid with the red hair was glaring at him. He turned and asked gently, "Any requests?" The boy blinked slowly and said simply, "No. Play whatever." Kazuma turned to Temari and asked, "And he is…?" Temari said quietly, "His name is Gaara." Kazuma grabbed Gaara's hand and pumped it up and down. "Nice to meet you, Gaara!" he said enthusiastically. He noticed a shaky sound: Kankuro was as white as a sheet, and Temari looked positively terrified. Kazuma looked back at Gaara: his blue eyes were glaring daggers at him, like he wanted to rip Kazuma a new one. Kazuma laughed and let go of his hand. He asked sweetly, "No touchy?" Gaara retorted, "No. No touchy."
Ryuho sighed. He's at it again… Mihoshi walked up to Kazuma and began to pull him away. "C'mon, Kazu. We have to go." She whined. Kazuma turned to Temari and winked. "I have to go: Mommy's calling me." He joked. His eyes were suddenly drawn to three distinct flashes. One of them somersaulted and hurled three kunai knives at the ground in front of some kid with glasses and a ponytail. He dodged them easily, but out of nowhere, one of the shapes popped up right in front of him: the shape was a kid with gauze bandages all over his face, covering his whole face with the exception of his left eye. He hitai-ate bore the minor scale, indicating that he and the other two shapes were from Otogakure, the Village Hiding in the Sound. He made the sign of the tiger, and took a swing at the kid with the glasses. He dodged it-
And his glasses shattered, the broken glass tinkling harmlessly on the floor. The boy very gingerly removed the glasses, and then out of nowhere, started to vomit. He doubled over, and began spewing a pink, soupy mixture out of his mouth. Mihoshi shrieked, "What was that?" Kazuma's eyes were steely: "It's sound. That Sound ninja has an attachment to his arm called a curdler. It has six holes on it, and these six holes emit an ultra-low frequency called infrasound. Using the power of his chakra, he can direct the sound any which-way he wants, even magnifying or dampening the sound as he sees fit. This determines how powerful the sound itself is. It can be louder than a Metallica concert, or white noise. He can blow out your eardrums, and he doesn't even need to hit you: he can do it with a near-miss, so watch yourselves around that dude. He, and his teammates." He jerked his head around his shoulders to make sure that Ryuho was next to him. He was. An explosion in the front caught everyone's attention. A voice boomed, "Will everyone just shut the hell up?" A large group of ninja appeared. The speaker, an imposing man wearing a zantoryu, a full head hitai-ate, began to speak. His face was covered with scars. He's been tortured, Kazuma thought. "All right, brats. My name is Ibiki Morino, the first proctor for the Chunin Selection Exam. Welcome to hell."
Kazuma could sense the tension in the room. It was radiating off the room like heat from a hot oven. It was everywhere, radiating off the other genin in noxious waves. Kazuma grinned without pleasure. "All right, you little pukes. Line up and we'll begin the written test for the first exam." Ibiki said gruffly. Two jonin stood up, one holding a large stack of papers, the other holding pencils and erasers. Ibiki casually raised a numbered tile up and continued, "After you get your tests, take a number and find the corresponding seat." After everyone had found his or her seats, Ibiki tapped on the blackboard with a piece of chalk and barked, "Okay, brats. I'm going to go over the rules. Rule Number One: I am answering no questions. So don't bother asking." He noticed the hand in the third row and roared, "Put your fucking hand down! Did I not say that I wasn't going to answer any questions?" He sighed, and continued: "Rule Number Two: You will start off with ten points each. Note that there are ten questions, so if you get one wrong, you lose one point. Rule number three: If you get caught cheating, you get docked two points instead of one. NO CHEATING!" He paused for dramatic effect. He grinned and began to wrap up his presentation, "Finally, your team's points overall affect whether or not you pass. If you do not meet a set minimum, you and your teammates will fail." Ibiki put his hand on Kazuma's desk and sneered at him, "No cheating." Kazuma grinned and retorted, "Hey, I'm cool Mister Ibiki, but I can take zero responsibility for any of these white devils!" For emphasis, Kazuma pointed his hand at everyone in the room. The room was full of laughter. Ibiki chuckled and walked off.
Kazuma looked over his test. He knew he'd be okay, and as soon as he was done, he'd give the signal to Mihoshi to read his mind. The signal was to stretch his arms, yawn really loud and give the High Sign (scratch the side of his face.) Within a few moments, he was done. He gave the signal, and felt Mihoshi slip into his mind. Hi, Kazu-kun, he heard Mihoshi's voice say. Mihoshi, this is the only place you can call me that, he thought. He heard Mihoshi giggle, and she said Kazu-kun, are you done? Oh, yeah. I got answers 1-9 done, and I know they're right. I got the highest grade point average in the Kirigakure Ninja Academy, he thought. What about number ten? she asked. We have to wait until the end of the test for that one, apparently. He was used to having conversations with Mihoshi under this circumstance. When he first met her, she used to project pictures of him kissing her into his head. She majorly crushed on him back at the Academy. So, when he wanted to keep her out, he began to think about some dull activity like re-stringing a guitar or going over the different kill points on the human body. But, Ryuho came in, and she fell head over heels for him. He kind of missed the attention, but she was really sweet and dependable. So, she got away with calling him Kazu-kun.
The first part of part one was done, and now the second part was afoot. "Okay. For those of you who passed, congrats. Now, for the real test. The next question could make or break you. You will be asked one question. If you get it right, you pass. But if you get it wrong, you fail, and will be barred from entering the Chunin exams ever again!" Ibiki sneered. Kazuma couldn't believe what he was hearing. If they get it wrong, they stay genin! Mihoshi, what do you think? He thought in Mihoshi's general direction. Mihoshi replied, We might have to drop out. Out of the blue, Kazuma heard Ryuho shout, There's no way in hell we're gonna drop out! We've come too far! Kazuma replied, Yeah! We've got our nation's pride on the line! We can't give up! Mihoshi concurred. Kazuma stood on his desk and shouted, "The three Mist ninja are in all the way!" There was dead silence. Ibiki grinned without pleasure. "So, are the rest of you in?" A short, blonde kid jumped up and shouted, "You're damn right we're in! Believe it! I never go back on my word! It's our shinobi paths!" Ibiki grinned even wider and shouted, "every single one of you who didn't drop put passes the second part of exam one. Congratulations!"
"So, how'd you do?" Kazuma asked Mihoshi. She smiled and replied, "As soon as I was done copying down the answers, I gave them to Ryuho. I followed your work down to the letter." Ryuho slapped Kazuma on the back and added, "Nice call with the paper exam!" Mihoshi murmured nervously, "What about the next exam? I don't think I'll be able to read any of those Leaf genin." Kazuma grinned and replied, "No, but they take to hypnotic suggestion like cancer to a prostate." Ryuho grinned and taunted, "You seemed a bit too knowledgeable about that Sound ninja, Kazuma. You ever seen anything like that?" Kazuma grinned even wider and replied, "I thought I've seen everything: I've been to Bangkok, too!" Mihoshi giggled. "Look, Mihoshi: we need to really pull it out, here." Kazuma said seriously. "I just got our consent forms. After we get our scroll, our collective nads will be centimeters from the bandsaw, so stay focused." Mihoshi stopped laughing, and Ryuho's eyes were steely. Kazuma sighed, pulled out a pen, and began to work on his consent form.
Name: Kazuma Yamato.
Nationality: Kirigakure-no-SaitoNinja Registration #: 951-8472
DOB: June 18 (Gemini)
Height: 5'1
Weight: 110 lbs
Age at Time of Application: 15
I, the participant, am indeed participating of my own free will and consent, as is outlined. By signing this paper, turning it in and receiving the scroll, I understand that the nation of Konohagakure-no-Saito and the shinobi within will not be held responsible if I or any of my teammates die or are seriously injured during the second, third or final portions of the Chunin Selection Examination.
Signature Kazuma Yamato
Kazuma smiled without pleasure. This form was not only the ticket to get the scroll, but it was a liability waiver. "Ingenious." Kazuma muttered. "It's set up so that the only way you can proceed with the exam is if you sign the waiver. In a way, it's forcing us to sign or leave." Mihoshi gulped. Kazuma shot her a sweet smile and said gently, "Don't worry, Mihoshi: we got your back, just like you got ours." Mihoshi smiled. Ryuho snorted, "What are we gonna do for food while we're out?" Kazuma replied, "I got some protein bars. We're not gonna spend more than a few hours there anyway." Ryuho sighed and retorted, "So sure of yourself. How are we gonna get that earth scroll?" Kazuma sat in the grass and mused, "Well, we're going in there blind. But, in a test like this, you're bound to find some collectors." Mihoshi sat up: "Collectors?" Kazuma replied, "Yeah, collectors. A collector, in this respect, is like a scroll bank: they kill the weak link ninjas and hoard the scrolls. Partly to buy off any ninja who might want to kill them, and partly to help their friends. We just need to know where to look."
The second exam was well underway. Kazuma had been tailing a group of Leaf genin for about an hour. One of these genin had a dog with him, the other wore sunglasses, and the kunoichi was very shy and withdrawn-looking. She twiddled her fingers and stuttered a lot. Out of the blue, they stopped. Kazuma landed on a branch and watched them. He crab-walked behind a collection of leaves, and watched them intently, taking care not to make too much noise.
"Hinata, we're supposed to watch out for hidden dangers, right?" Kiba demanded. Hinata nodded. "Then look ahead a kilometer or so." Hinata quickly signed horse-ram-monkey-tiger, and shouted, "Byakugan!" Her pale eyes dilated; the arteries and capillaries under and around her eyes popped to the surface. Her vision doubling in acuity, the scene around her zoomed about 500 feet, until it focused on a boy with red hair and a gourd on his back. "There's someone ahead. It seems that they're in a fight." Shino laid his head on a branch and mused, "I think there's about…six people." Kiba grinned. "Let's jump 'em." Hinata made a surprised noise, and Shino adjusted his glasses in agitation. "Kiba! Let's not rush into things! What would that accomplish?" Shino argued. Kiba sighed in annoyance and retorted, "In order to pass this exam, we were told to deliver one complete set of Heaven and Earth scrolls. But, they never said we couldn't take more if we wanted to! The more scrolls we get, the more teams will fail and the competition'll be cut down!" Hinata put her hand to her pale lip and protested, "But-but Kiba"- Kiba cut her off: "I just want to look. If it gets too hot, we'll take off." And with that, he was off, Akamaru hot on his heels. Shino sighed exasperatedly and thought, He's so unpleasant, not even the hungriest bug would take a bite out of him.
Kazuma watched them intently. He had split up with his teammates to cover more ground. The mission: Mihoshi and Ryuho would meet up with him at the tower with the Heaven scroll, and Kazuma was to find an Earth scroll within four days. Knowing Ryuho, he was already there, so Kazuma had a little over three hours. That'll be two hours and fifty-five minutes more than I'll need, he though smugly. He followed the Leaf genin for about a mile when they stopped. Kazuma took the opportunity to prepare: he slid his hitai-ate around his forehead, and put on his Ninja Tracker mask. His attention was caught by a familiar redheaded ninja. It's that Gaara kid, he thought. He watched them with interest: something big was about to happen.
The three Sand Genin stood on even ground with the ninja from Rain. Gaara stared at them passively. Whoever they are, they're going to die. Nobody crosses me and lives, Gaara thought. "Too bad, kids. You fucked with the wrong guy today, so now you're all gonna die." The leader, whom his teammates called Shibure, sneered. Gaara could tell what he was planning to do. "Whatever. Let's get this over with: and try not to bleed all over my nice, clean clothes." Gaara said in monotone, staring directly at Shibure, his ice blue eyes piercing Shibure's face like a rain of knives. "Hey Gaara! I can't tell if these wusses have a Heaven or an Earth scroll! Let's not jump into-" Gaara cut Kankuro off with a booming "Shut up!" Kankuro felt his mouth seal. "Anyone who gets in my way is gonna die!" Gaara snarled. Temari felt a chill run up her spine, and Kankuro felt his hair stand on end. Shibure, obviously agitated, grabbed the bushel of oil-and-paper umbrellas on his back and tossed them into the air, shouting, "You are SO deceased!" He signed rooster-dog-ox-tiger and shouted "Ninja Art: Jyoro Senbon! It's Raining Needles From Heaven!" The umbrellas spun and a downpour of needles swarmed the air. Gaara stared passively ahead. "Up, down, left and right: these needles all converge in response to my chakra. There're no blind spots or gaps, so no matter where you go, they'll perforate you!" the Rain ninja cackled. The needles poured down on Gaara, and the Rain ninja laughed evilly in triumph-
Only to have his victory cut short. Sand had amalgamated around this kid to form what looked like a big vase, which had stopped every needle in its tracks. The kid was completely unscathed: his clothes weren't even rumpled. He stood there, arms crossed, unflinching, and hissed, "It's that really the best you can possibly do? Pathetic." Shibure felt a drop of sweat trickle down the side of his face. "It's impossible! Not one needle. Those needles can pierce five inches of titanium! How the HELL DID YOU SURVIVE THAT!" Shibure roared. The kid in the pig suit chuckled, "It's your own damn fault you tried to take on Gaara. Not one person has been able to wound him. That gourd on his back is full of sand, and it reacts to his chakra, taking any shape he wants. He doesn't even need to think about it. It just happens." Shibure felt waves of terror and nausea sweep over him: his frontal attacks were worthless. There were still a few needles flying around. In an act of desperation, he quickly signed tiger, summoning the last remaining needles in an attempt to perforate this kid. As the needles closed in, the sand rose up and stopped them. Shibure felt a cry escape his throat. He growled and ran towards the kid: he'd kill this brat if it were the last thing he'd ever do! The kid smiled a sad, creepy smile and signed rooster. Shibure felt something crawl up his leg and hold him in place. It was the same sand that had defended the kid! "Sand Coffin!" the kid snarled. The sands swirled around Shibure, holding him in place, constricting his lungs. Shibure tried to scream, but couldn't. With his last breath, he wheezed, "Let me go, and you l-live-" but was cut short with his own cry of pain. His umbrellas plummeted to the ground. The kid walked up, took one, and popped it open. "All I have to do is cover your big fat mouth, and the weight of the sand will crush your lungs. But, that'd be too easy and way too boring." The boy raised his arm, and Shibure felt his body rise. The boy clenched his hand, and Shibure's world went black.
The smarmy Rain ninja's blood fell to earth in torrents. The umbrella Gaara held sheltered him from the blood and arterial fluid that rained down, staining the sand and turning it the color of rust. The technique he used was fairly simple: called the Sand Burial, it was used in conjunction with the Sand Coffin. While the foe was held in place with the Coffin jutsu, the sand forced its way into his body though any open orifice available, usually rectally or nasally. The Sand Burial forced the sand through the unlucky victims pores, causing a quick, painless death. Painless, but exceedingly violent, the technique causes the victim's blood to spray as a result. And Gaara knew that blood was a royal pain in the ass to wash out of clothing and skin, so he made the effort to cover himself while the technique was in use. He took a measure of pleasure in using the technique: it was a fun way to flex his muscles. The Rain ninja's left teammate rummaged in his pockets and produced a Heaven scroll. "Take it! Just take it! But please, let us go!" he pleaded, teary-eyed. Gaara tossed aside the blood-saturated umbrella and raised his arms towards the other Rain ninja. "For the love of God, please-", the other ninja began to shriek, and then was silenced, a quick splatter of blood and arterial fluid staining the already-soaked ground. Kankuro sauntered over to the Rain ninja's bodies and picked up the Heaven scroll. He kicked one of them in the side and sneered, "Thanks." Turning to his siblings, he said cheerfully, "Look: a Heaven scroll! Lucky us, huh?" Gaara was staring to one side. "Just fuck off," he snarled through clenched teeth. Kankuro felt a cold shock run up his spine, as Gaara turned toward him, his eyes huge and his pupils dilated. "It's not enough: I need to kill more!"
Kankuro suppressed a violent shudder and took a step towards his baby brother. "C'mon, Gaara, not this again! We got our scrolls, so let's get to the tower!" Gaara's eyes shifted towards Kankuro, unblinking and evil. Kankuro felt himself eclipsed by his brother's malice; his blood lust was suffocating. Gaara growled, "You chicken-shit. Scared?" Kankuro felt anger bubble to the surface, overriding the part of his mind that was telling him not to mess with his brother. He seized Gaara by his shirt and shouted, "All right, cut it out! You might be fine, but we have to obey the rules! Just listen to your big brother for once in your life, goddamnit!" Gaara glared at him and retorted, "I never once considered you or Temari to be anything but lead weights around my ankles. If you ever talk to me like that again, I'll fucking kill you both." Kankuro stared weakly at his brother, who continued to glare. Gaara slapped Kankuro's hand to make him let go of his shirt, and then raised his hand towards a bush. Temari gingerly took a step forward: "C'mon Gaara. Do this as a favor for me. Pretty please?" she pleaded in her sweetest voice. Gaara tended to listen to Temari more than he did Kankuro. Gaara shifted his arm to point at Kankuro. Kankuro felt a sudden desire to run for cover. No. You have to be firm with him! Give him an inch, and he'll think he's a ruler! Besides, if you run, he'll kill you for real! He thought. Gaara re-pointed his hand towards a bush, and then began to squeeze. "Gaara!" Temari screamed. Gaara made a fist, and revealed a large cork. Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief, and heard Temari whisper, "Thank God…" Gaara looked passively at the cork. "Okay, fine…" he grumbled. He fit the cork into the gourd with a resonating pop, and skulked off. Kankuro turned to Temari and hissed, "That's why I hate working with kids!"
Kazuma was intrigued. This Gaara kid was good; there was no question about that. But, he was far from invincible. I wonder if he'd be able to get out of my jutsu, Kazuma thought happily. The prospect of fighting Gaara excited him: an enemy who couldn't be touched by needles: that meant that Kazuma would have to go toe-to-toe on a Jutsu duel with Gaara. Kazuma really preferred to use his needles, but knew that in this case, it would be a complete waste of time. Gaara's sand jutsu was similar to Kazuma's water Jutsus: they use a flowing element to deflect attacks as well as wage them. Using the power of his chakra, Kazuma could make the water as viscous as he wanted, even freezing it solid. He often used it in conjunction with his other, more powerful jutsus. All of them were Water based. He sighed: the Leaf genin he had been tailing were gone, and he still needed an Earth scroll. He leapt off to find a new target.
Within a minute, he was rewarded for his patience: a pair of Leaf genin were huddled over an Earth scroll. They were both male, and deliberating amongst themselves whether or not to open the scroll. Kazuma decided to end their arguing by taking the scroll. Two senbon wedged in the carotid arteries of both Genin, killing them instantly and silently. Kazuma leapt down and picked up the scroll, just as their teammate came back from getting something to eat. Just as a cry of "What the fuck!" escaped his lips, Kazuma casually tossed a senbon at him. The needle planted in his skull, piercing his frontal lobe, not killing him, but rather lobotomizing him. The animals will kill him for me, Kazuma thought.
He met up with Ryuho and Mihoshi as they finished up with a collector from Waterfall. Ryuho had just snapped his neck, when Kazuma walked through the trees. He took off his mask and slid his hitai-ate back around his neck, completing his transformation from Killer-Mode to Casual-Mode. Ryuho smiled and greeted Kazuma with a casual "Hi." Kazuma nodded and held up the Earth scroll. Mihoshi smiled and cried out, "We got both scrolls! I'm glad you're okay too, Kazu-kun!" Kazuma grinned roguishly and flexed his muscles: "It was a total cake-walk! Those Leaf genin I iced didn't know what hit 'em, and the guy I lobotomized is probably wandering into a den of tigers as we speak." Mihoshi nodded and gestured towards the door. "Shall we enter?" The guys nodded. Ryuho pushed open the doors, and the three Mist ninja entered.
"Where is everyone?" Mihoshi asked. Master Kakihara, who'd informed them that they'd passed with flying colors, had just greeted them. Kazuma sat down on a bench and pulled out his guitar. He began playing "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" when the Leaf genin he'd been tailing walked in. Kazuma smiled and waved at them. "Hey, guys." The little girl smiled shyly at him, the guy with the dog grinned and waved, his dog barked a high-pitched greeting, and the guy with glasses gave Kazuma the slightest of nods. The kid with the dog walked over, smiling. "It's not often we see another shinobi who's so friendly." He said. Kazuma grinned and replied, "Hey, it's not like I want to kill you. Whatever happens, I just want to go in and out of this thing on good terms with the competition that survived." The kid laughed: either he didn't know that Kazuma had stalked him in the forest, or he didn't care. Either way was good. Kazuma held out his hand: "I'm Kazuma from Kirigakure. The girl is Mihoshi, and the guy with the Squealer hairdo is Ryuho." Ryuho flipped him off. The kid laughed loudly: "Name's Kiba. The girl is Hinata, and the brooding dude is Shino. And this"- Kiba continued, holding up the dog, "-is Akamaru." Kazuma stood up and patted Akamaru on the head. He nodded back at Shino and winked at Hinata, who blushed and turned away. Just as she turned away, the three Sand Genin walked in. Gaara was front and center, striding straight ahead. Temari and Kankuro were right behind him. Kazuma smiled and waved. Gaara's eyes shifted coldly to Kazuma, Temari waved happily, and Kankuro gave him the finger. Kazuma laughed aloud. Temari slapped Kankuro angrily on the back of his neck. He howled, "What the hell did I do!" Kazuma laughed and began to play "The Toxic Waltz". He couldn't wait for the third exam to begin.