Shows a bit about the Earth Ninjas towards the end. Also pretty violent towards the end. Hope you like it.

Chapter 22: The Second Exam

Kiba-san led the genin to a fenced off area. Signs hung on the fence that said "DANGER, DO NOT ENTER" or "DANGEROUS CREATURES LIE INSIDE." Maemi gulped nervously. He had a feeling the signs weren't their for intimidation purposes.

"Hey Ino. Here's my half of the Genin." Kiba said.

"It's about time. I not many are here. You did a good job on your intimidation. I just hope Choji didn't go soft on them," Ino-Chan said and sighed.

Choji came with his group. There were more then Kiba's half, but not by much.

"Congratulations Choji, you were actually intimidating." Ino said.

"Thanks Ino," Choji said with a smile. Maemi noticed the Earth Ninjas were still there. The bulk of Choji's group was Leaf and Sand, but the whirlpool team passed as well.

"Right. Now on with the second exam. You Genin will be put into the Forest of Death for three days. The object of this exam is to get both the Earth Scroll and the Heaven Scroll, take it to the tower in the center of the forest, open it, and do what it says next. Each team is given one of these scrolls. You have to track down other teams with the other scroll and take it from them. And one more thing; killing is permitted in this exam. If you would follow me one team at a time, I'll give you your scroll and assign you a gate to wait at. At three o'clock the gates will open and the exam will begin. I wish you all the best of luck and don't all die on me." Ino finished and walked towards a tent.

One by one the teams went to the tent to get their scroll. Maemi watched the Earth ninjas get theirs. He thought it would be funny for the Earth ninjas to get the Earth scroll. Ino probably thought it would be funny too. Soon it was his teams turn. They walked into the tent and got their scroll, the Heaven Scroll. Gate 13. Michiko took the scroll and hid it in one of her pockets and then they went to their gate.

"Shesh… Gate Thirteen. I hope that's not like an Ill omen or something," Maemi said.

"I don't believe in that stuff. It's meant to scare little kids, nothing else," Jiro said.

"I don't care if it means good luck or bad. We make our own destinies now," Michiko said. When they reach gate thirteen the sat down and waited. Waited for the gates to open and for them to begin.

It felt like hours before the gate opened a tad. Maemi jumped up first, then Michiko and Jiro. The gate swung open and they ran in. The exam had began. Death awaited some of them now.

Their bolt of excitement into the forest quickly subsided with awareness and fear. Noises of wild animals could be heard, some you could tell were unfriendly. Maemi's sense of smell seemed to get better. It seemed like the dog demon in him was giving him some talents. He's already seemed to be more agile and faster on his feet. Now his sense of smell has increased.

"I'll lead," Maemi said, "Jiro, take the back. Michiko stay in the center. Since Michiko's got the scroll she needs to be protected at all cost." Michiko and Jiro nodded their understanding.

Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro were all on edge. Before they had the protection of Aneko-Sensei, now they were on their own. They had already promised to only kill if absolutely necessary. Killing on a mission is one thing, but this is an exam and klilling should be avoided. At least that was their view on it.

Maemi's nose was on overdrive. So many unusual scents filled his nose. Including a scent he found addictive, fear. He raised his head suddenly. A scent had shocked him. Michiko jumped by his sudden jerk.

"What the hell?" She said, a bit agitated.

"Blood. I smell blood. It's strong too. Who ever is bleeding is close. Less then fifty feet, maybe even closer," Maemi said.

"Let's check it out. We need to see our competition in action. To study them incase we must fight them latter in the exam," Jiro said.

"Alright. But we need to be careful," Maemi said as he started leading them towards the smell. Soon the sounds of fighting could be heard. They stopped and moved carefully. Through the leaves they could see a team of leaf ninjas against the Earth team. One of the leaf ninjas laid motionless in a pool of his own blood. The stench of death filled Maemi's nose. He had to hold back the urge to throw up.

----------

"Give us the Heaven Scroll!" one of the Earth ninjas yelled as he did a round house kick.

"NEVER!" The defending leaf ninja said as he caught the kick. The ninja with the clay gauntlet ran behind the leaf ninja. He clenched his clay fist and in a flash it seemed to harden. The ninja punched the leaf ninja square in the back. A loud snap was heard as his spine snapped in two. The ninja collapsed on the ground as a lifeless corpse.

The last leaf ninja cowered in a fetal position, crying softly. She seemed younger then her two teammates that were killed, like she had just become a Genin not to long ago.

"Give us the Heaven scroll, now." The earth ninja said, his hand outstretched. The leaf girl fumbled with her hands as she handed him the scroll.

"Please leave me now. You have the scroll." She said softly. The head Earth ninja smiled.

"I don't think we can do that."

"W-why? You have the scroll. You don't need me anymore!" She stammered.

"But you belong to leaf. And we have specific orders to kill every leaf ninja we find."

"Please! Please don't kill me." She begged as she bowed on all fours.

"Sasuke-sama wouldn't like it if we spared you." He jerked his head towards her. The ninja with the clay gauntlet stared at his clay fist for a moment. The gauntlet morphed into a blade. The ninja smiled and stabbed her with it. She cried out in pain. She sat up quickly when he removed the blade. She crawled back as fast as she could. The ninja just followed.

"Die leaf," He muttered softly as he swung his blade horizontally, removing her head. The limp body fell backwards.

"Well that was mildly entertaining," The head ninja said.

"Lets just get to the tower. I'm bored with this 'Forest of Death' bull shit." The clay fist ninja said.

"Yeah. We need more challenging victims. The less ninjas there are, the less trouble Sasuke-sama will have getting to Naruto." The third ninja said.

The first ninja started running then jumped up and dove into the ground. The other two ninjas followed.

----------

Maemi turned around to see how Jiro and Michiko were taking it. Jiro's face was pale, but he couldn't see Michiko. Maemi feared Michiko had been kidnapped for the heaven scrolled when they were watching the Earth nins. He walked a few steps but couldn't hold back the feeling anymore and threw up. He found Michiko a bit farther back. She was in a fetal position on her side, crying to herself.

"It's… it's alright. They're done now. They've left," Maemi said softly. Michiko wouldn't move. She didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence. Maemi lifted her up into his arms. The sudden movement must of snapped her back into reality because she started crying heaver and clung onto Maemi.

"Shhh… it's aright. I'll protect you. No one's going to hurt you. I'll be sure of it." Maemi said softly as he walked her back to Jiro. Jiro was already in the battle field.

"Jiro. Come back here. We need to plan our next move," Maemi said. Jiro turned around and came back.

"First. You heard him too Jiro. I don't think Michiko heard though. We now know that Sasuke's still alive, he's more then likely hear at the Chuunin exams, and he wants to kill Naruto."