Chapter 8 - The Chuunin Exams Begin
A/N: I do not own Naruto!
I do however own Mari Kaede and any other OCs mentioned, please ask permission before using her!
Warnings: Contains dark themes, such as depression, murder, experimentation, emotional, mental and physical torture and mentions of sexual activities!
Please read responsibly.
Hey guys, here's the rereleased chapter 8! Two more chapters, and the corrupted ones will no longer exist!
Enjoy!
"Put more force into your blows, you're gaining speed, but your power is pathetic!" Orochimaru told her strictly as he stood behind her, his arms crossed, watching her kick the ever loving crap out of a training dummy. "If you can't put strength into your punches, then you're enemy will overpower you in close range combat. Get a feel for your movements and move your body in a way that is both comfortable and effective, that'll help increase your force."
"Alright, alright!" She said with a small amount of bite, listening to his words as she stepped back and moved her body forward, lunging at the defenseless doll. Her fist slammed into the head of the dummy with as much force as she could muster, however only a few splinters came from the surface she made contact with, though he had told her what to do, it'd take more than one attempt to master these skills.
Orochimaru frowned at the weak hand-to-hand combat skills he had been observing for quite some time. When she was fighting him, she had put everything she had into that one kick, whereas here she seemed to be lacking that drive, that motivation. Perhaps she fought better when constantly on the move? Movement can help the momentum of the attack, after all.
Noting her heavy breathing and the fact that they'd been here for about four hours he decided now would be a good time to stop for the day. "That's enough." He said, arching a brow when she huffed.
"Not yet! I can keep going!" She promised, preparing to attack the dummy once again. Orochimaru's frown slowly melted into a smirk and he chuckled, admiring her stubborn determination. She may be a disobedient terrible hand-to-hand fighter, but her reactions would always amuse him.
"Now...I understand your desire to improve, however, I have another mission for you, so it can wait." He started, his words forcing her to stop and turn her head to look at him over her shoulder. Now he had her attention. "Kabuto has an important task to complete, therefore he is currently held up at the moment. I want you to return to the city you visited last month, and collect this month's supplies."
Kaede narrowed her eyes slightly as she pivoted completely to face him, her last trip had been the deciding factor that she no longer had another left in the world she could trust. It wasn't a pleasant memory, but as her goal was not to revisit her old home, she knew she would have to accept this mission. No matter how much she didn't want to go.
Gritting her teeth, almost forcing herself not to refuse, she nodded her head. "Fine." Her words were cold, showing her distaste as she clenched her fists visibly.
Orochimaru's smirk only widened as he tossed a bag of ryo into her hands. "Good girl." He said, his tone almost patronizing, causing her expression to sharpen into irritation. "Now get going, if you desire training so much, then let's see how quickly you can finish this mission."
With a huff of bitter laughter, Kaede's hatred infused brown orbs followed the Sannin as he went to leave the room. "Don't underestimate me, Snake Eyes...I'll be back before y'know it!"
"Hm, hm, I may just hold you to that."
~BHBL~
She kept to her word, having really pushed herself to increase her speed during this mission, she returned to the hideout within three days, panting hard from constant movement, her arms filled with bags of supplies. "Hah, hah...Damn." Kaede rasped, placing the bags down as she sat against the wall for a moment to catch her lost breath. She hadn't traveled a distance like that, that quickly in years.
The speeds she had been traveling at would have startled anyone who saw her, but at least she was taking her training seriously. How else would she overpower one of the Legendary Sannin?
Running her fingers through her hair for a second as she thought of her growing power, she then decided it was time to report to the one man she had left to despise. Using the wall as leverage, she got to her feet and picked up the bags, making her way down the hall slowly towards the office/throne room Orochimaru spent most of his time in.
Meanwhile, the Snake Sannin himself was holed up in his office, just as she suspected, his head low, back bent slightly as he read through the Kinjutsu scrolls he had acquired recently, calculating them and finding out how long they'd take to master. Just as he was about to come up with a conclusive answer, he heard a knock on the door and lost his train of thought.
A little irked, he glared at the door for a moment with a soft hiss, resembling the snakes he used in battle, before closing the scroll and leaning back against his chair. "You may enter." He said, relaxing slightly, assuming it to be Kabuto.
However, he was pleasantly surprised and forgot his former anger when he saw the door open and Kaede's head pop out from behind the wooden barrier. "Ah, Kaede." He said, chuckling. "I'm surprised you're back so soon. I never expected you to take my little joke during our training so seriously~"
"Don't flatter yourself," Kaede said stubbornly, walking over and shoving the bags in his arms, crossing her own when they were free once again. "I just thought I could be doing better things, so I decided t'make up for lost time."
"Is that so?" He mused with a hint of amusement in his tone, searching through the bags. If his eyes were correct, she had collected everything he asked, surprisingly there was even a little Ryo in the pouch he had given her.
Had she even haggled for a cheaper price? Well, well, she was full of surprises, wasn't she?
"Hm, hm. I see you've done a thorough job..." He said, placing the bags down, leaning back in his chair once again, his smirk morphing into a strong grin. "I didn't expect you to make such improvements, especially after the last time, when you took just under a week to return. Perhaps I'll give you this task more often."
Kaede blinked, unsure how to process these words. Was he praising her? In a split second, she felt both surprised and pissed off. Why was he praising her? He was just a monster who wanted to use her for his stupid schemes. She told herself that he was just mocking her, that he didn't have the heart to honestly praise someone, and huffed softly, asserting her own mental struggle.
Not that any of it mattered, in time his taunting would end with his life.
~BHBL~
Kaede laid on her bed, her arm over her eyes, her other hand resting gently on her stomach as she tried to settle down for a gentle nap. After a hard day of training, and a harder week of being taught by Orochimaru, she just wanted a bit of time to herself, some peace so she could rest her strained mind.
Suddenly there was a heavy knock on her door and she lifted her arm slightly, acknowledging it.
Well look at that, she got a whole two seconds to herself, that was a whole new record!
Growling softly at the interruption, she stood and walked over to the door, her bare feet slapping off the stone as she yanked it open. "What? Can't y'see I'm trying t'sleep?!" She snapped, exhaustion making her irritable.
The kunoichi on the other side of the door, Kin, was it? Stood with her eyes wide, her hand raised for another knock. She was one of Orochimaru's recent Genins who'd been wandering the halls and training in the same room as her. Honestly, she didn't really have many good skills, Kaede didn't see why Orochimaru even bothered with her, he was just ruining lives for the fun of it now.
"Kaede-sama?" Kin questioned and Kaede's eyes also widened with surprise, -sama, who called her -sama?
"...Yeah." Kaede eventually answered, her eyes alight with suspicion. "What d'you want?"
"Orochimaru-sama is calling us to his office, I was asked to collect you on my way there."
"Eh? Who else is going?"
Kin hummed and stroked her chin, she didn't really interact with them a lot, so she had a hard time remembering their names. "Zaku and...Um...Dosu, I think."
"Aren't they Genin?" Kaede asked, getting a swift nod from Kin. Unsettled and curious, the older Jounin told Kin to wait a minute and walked over to her bed, slipping on her robe and sandals before following her. "Did Orochimaru give y'any details?"
"Only that we have a very important mission."
"Right..."
The walk to Orochimaru's office was suffocatingly silent, Kin being the one to knock while Kaede stood in the background, her arms crossed, seriousness leaking to the outside with her suspicions high.
"Come in."
The two of them entered to see Orochimaru sat in his throne, a boy with black spiked hair and another with wrappings all over his body stood before him, looking very much like subordinates of an evil snake. "Zaku and Dosu, right?" Kaede asked as she walked in with the black haired girl.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Zaku, she assumed, sneered, he was already pissing her off, and she'd only been in the room five seconds.
"That depends on what ol' Snake Eyes wants..." Kaede countered, standing at the end of the line they'd formed facing the leader of this little village she was forced to work for.
Orochimaru chuckled at her obvious attempts at insulting him, leaning back in his throne with both hands on the armrests. "I have a mission involving the four of you..." He started. "The five of us, including some other shinobi from my village will infiltrate Konoha under the pretense of taking the Chuunin Exams."
Kaede's eyes narrowed, she was a Jounin for one, so that confused her, how would she join the Chuunin exams...? "What's your motive?" She asked out loud, her fingers gripping her arms a little tighter, though they were hidden behind her massive sleeves. "I don't see y'trying t'make someone here a Chuunin without gaining something yourself."
"Very perceptive, Firecracker." Orochimaru taunted with a mocking tone of praise, resting his chin on the back of his hand as his eyes lit up with glee. "We're going to infiltrate Konoha, assassinate the Third Hokage and destroy his precious village!"
Kaede's eyes widened with a gasp, shocked by this sudden decision on his part, what did he want to do that for? Since leaving Suna, her alliance with Konoha was no longer valid, but still, the thought of harming the Third Hokage and destroying Konohagakure bothered her greatly.
"However, you have another mission before that. Not the first priority, but still important..." Orochimaru said, interrupting her thoughts. "Zaku, Dosu and Kaede, you three will be taking the Chuunin Exams as a team, your first mission is to find someone by the name of Uchiha Sasuke, and take his life. Kin you will be working with me, I have a special task just for you."
Kin bowed her head, accepting this.
Hearing his whole plan, Kaede couldn't stop her stomach twisting with disgust and sickening dread, however, she forced it back with as much effort as she could. Just a little while ago, she had sworn to do whatever it took to end this man's life. If that meant taking on this horrible mission, then so be it, she'd swallow her guilt and sorrow and do what has to be done for the sake of her sanity.
She actually jumped slightly when Orochimaru's gaze snapped to her's with a look that could be considered a snake cornering its dinner. "Kaede, If you defy me at all during the course of this task, I will kill you without mercy. A slow painful death for ruining my ambitions, is that understood?" His expression went from dangerous to serious. "You're an important part of the main mission...Your Ninjutsu skills will aid me greatly in the final battle, therefore you have no choice but to participate."
Kaede wanted to defy him, wanted to tell him where he could shove his nasty ass plan, but knew that she would be forcing herself into a corner doing so. With a soft scrape of her teeth, she grinned maliciously. "Alright then, but I ain't doing it for you! I haven't had a good serious fight in ages!"
She felt bile rise in her throat when the Sannin's lips twisted into a sickening smirk of amusement and glee at her acceptance.
Seeing his grin had a negative effect on her as she ground her teeth softly, fingers clenched tightly into fists as she tried to suppress the rage simmering beneath her carefree exterior. Hell, she was used to doing this, after all, ten years of fury meant ten years hiding it.
Kaede mentally shook herself from her rage induced thoughts and focused her attention on Orochimaru, who had chosen to explain the entirety of the mission for all of them to hear.
~BHBL~
"Ah crap! These hand signs are a pain in the ass!"
Orochimaru chuckled as he stood outside of the hideout, awaiting Kaede to finish her transformation before joining them. He didn't look like his usual self, in fact, he had humanly pale skin with black tied back hair and the appearance of an Oto Jounin with the forehead protector and flak jacket included. Of course, that didn't mean his expression had changed, he still looked like the evil criminal mastermind he was.
Zaku, Dosu, and Kin stood near one another, feeling rather inferior with the amount of Jounin and Chuunin level shinobi surrounding them, as part of the plan there were at least four platoons escorting them to the village.
Kabuto, Yoroi, and Misumi had gone on ahead to the village, Orochimaru having told them to leave early to make sure they settled in as spies very easily without much fuss.
Right now, Kaede was in the hideout, trying to perform the jutsu he had taught her several hours ago when she came out, she would be fully disguised and very much unrecognizable.
Hearing footsteps, the entire group looked towards the doors as they opened and Kaede walked out, surprising everyone at her strange new appearance. Stopping a few feet from them was a woman with pale skin and no burns or wrinkles. She had the same brown ringed eyes, lopsided fang, and coppery red hair, but other than that she was no longer the Kaede everyone knew.
Hell, she looked nineteen, not forty-eight!
"Hm, hm, quite the difference I must say..." Orochimaru commented cheekily as Kaede looked at herself, she still wore the same outfit, but other than that, she couldn't even recognize herself. "Have you decided on a name for yourself? If you address yourself as 'Kaede,' your former village may recognize you..."
Kaede almost flinched when he mentioned her village, but forced it back. She knew there would be Suna shinobi there since most villages liked to send their best Genin forward to participate. She couldn't afford to be caught now.
A shiver went up a spine at the thought of being confined in a cell.
"Akari..." She stated, her expression all the more serious now that he'd mentioned her village. "I'll go by the name, Akari..."
He chuckled darkly at the meaning behind the name. "How fitting, a woman who sparks fire to go by a name meaning glimmer..." He said, and 'Akari' nodded, knowing just by the sight of his unpleasant snake-like eyes that it was Orochimaru who addressed her and no one else.
He was quite the master of disguise, able to pull off looking even slightly human. Now if only he could change his creepy personality too.
Without wasting a second, Orochimaru gave them a signal and the entire group shot into the trees, heading towards the Country of Fire. Konohagakure their target, and the Third's head as their bounty.
~BHBL~
They arrived in Konoha perhaps several hours before the exams were due to take place, having traveled for many days with very few stops for rest. The main group in charge of the missions remained in the village, while the shinobi who served as reinforcements stood back, hidden a fair distance from the village awaiting their signal to start the attack.
For the remainder of the day, they would wander the town, acting as if they were sightseeing and preparing themselves for the challenge when in actual fact, they were scanning the village borders and other areas for all it's weaknesses. Akari felt like she was betraying her allies, but knew this was not the case.
She was no longer affiliated with Suna, well with any village, therefore she was just a wandering falsely accused criminal waiting for her soul to turn black with the blood she would drench it in.
As the group scanned the village, they noticed that many of the other contestants and civilians would look at them with discomfort. She didn't blame them, out of all of them, her with her carefree grin and relaxed posture, made her the only kunoichi in Oto that looked approachable. The rest looked downright creepy.
Even though Akari's expression and posture made her out to be kind and happy, she wasn't. Right now she was putting up a front so others wouldn't see her true nature beneath it. If they could, they'd find her the perfect candidate for the village she pretended to work for.
Hell, she'd probably kill anyone who made that assumption, just further putting herself in their ranks.
"Before the exams, I should really get myself a nice curry..." She mused out loud as she looked from left to right, taking in the 'sights.' However, it was then that her blood ran cold and she faltered, freezing in place.
Stood a few feet in front of her, were three very familiar children from Suna. Kankuro, who had a painted face and a strange bandaged object on his back, Temari, who had blonde hair and carried around a large fan and Gaara, known as Gaara of the Sand, a boy who carried around a goard around on his back. The three children of the Fourth Kazekage, a man who was still training to take over the Third's role when she was thirty-eight and even back then, was known to be truly despicable on the inside.
He was the one to issue her arrest after she vanished, assuming the Third had retired, and for that, she'd never forgive him.
Her expression only further faded to shock when Kankuro looked at them and nodded his head slightly, acknowledging them. Were Oto and Suna...Working together?! Akari's head snapped to Orochimaru's eyes alight with questions and he smirked.
"They currently have an alliance of sorts with us..." He explained arms crossed as his eyes danced with amusement at her reaction. "They'll be assisting us in our plans to eradicate Konoha."
Unable to hold back the horrified anger that swept through her, Orochimaru's smirk fell when he saw her start to take deep breaths, teeth grinding together viciously as she began to take on a soft glow. Her rage was understandable in a way, after all, she was once part of a village that betrayed her and were now betraying Konoha as well.
'Snakes, the lot of them!' Akari thought to herself, shaking on the spot, the other Genin looking at her with surprise when they saw her obvious light display.
If this continued, she'd attract attention.
"Kaede." A pale hand clamped down on her shoulder, Orochimaru's hushed voice of warning brushing against her ear. "Calm down, you'll attract unwanted attention if you lose your temper here..."
Her harsh breathing continued and she shook off his arm, walking away from them. "I need some air..." She said abruptly.
"You know where to apply for the exams, correct?"
"I'll be there..."
He knew leaving her to calm down was the best decision so he nodded, choosing to trust her words, just this once. He then ushered the others towards the building where they would apply and Akari didn't even look back as she turned a corner, out of sight.
The 'Genin' sat down on the side of a wall, staring down at the gravel beneath her feet with a solemn frown. She couldn't fall any further than she had right now, her village were lying cowards who didn't even trust their own kin, while her 'current' village wanted nothing more than to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting village who had no idea what hell awaited them.
Couldn't she catch a break? For once, couldn't she just sit at home, eat some curry and relax with her favorite book?
With a deep sigh, she stood and made her way towards the hall.
~BHBL~
"That's a lot of Genin..." Akari muttered as she sat down with Zaku and Dosu. Inside the room, there were at least a hundred applicants for the Chuunin level, and each of them were just as serious as the rest.
Well except a group of nine by the front doors, they didn't seem to realize they were disrupting the entire exam hall with their loud banter and tough words. If they took a second to look around, they'd see how much trouble they were really in. "Looks like Konoha's Genin know how to act tough..." Zaku said with a smirk as he and Dosu watched the scene take place intently, while Akari just spectated over her shoulder, her back to them.
"Hey, you guys." A familiar voice called out, the Ninjutsu Expert's eyes narrowing slightly. Kabuto walked from the crowds over to the nine pre-teens, a smirk on his lips. "You should quiet down a little." He warned, stopping in front of them, placing a hand on his hip as he looked from one to the other.
They were all unique to say the least, each of them had different styles, appearances and the determination in their eyes was noticeable. Except for the girl with white eyes, she was a little softer than the others. "So you're the nine rookies that just graduated from the academy, correct?" His tone took on a hint of exasperation. "You're all fooling around with those cute faces. Geez, this isn't a field trip."
"Who are you to tell us that?!" A girl with long blonde hair snapped at him, making Akari smirk, it was funny how easily she was offended by that.
"I am Yakushi Kabuto." Kabuto introduced himself, speaking with a little mystery in his tone. "Look around you..."
The group of rookies looked around the room to see every other Genin's eyes locked onto their's, glaring at them because of their noisy conversations. The ones behind them were especially brutal looking. "The ones behind you are from Amegakure. They have a short temper."
The looks on the pre-teens' faces were enough to make anyone think they weren't ready for this, it was almost like dread. "Everyone is tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so you won't get picked on." Their expressions tensed before they turned back to Kabuto, who smiled with a soft sigh. "I guess it can't be helped though since you are just rookies who don't know anything." He opened his eyes and looked at each of them. "It makes me remember the old me."
Akari rolled her eyes at the way Kabuto settled into their little group, making them feel comfortable around him. Uchiha Sasuke must have been somewhere in that cluster of rookies then, otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.
"When do we get to mess them up?" Zaku asked, itching to cause a fight.
"Not yet," Akari told them, having been appointed leader of the group at the door before Orochimaru left with Kin. She was a Jounin and they were just juniors, it was only right that she lead them until their mission was done. "When I give the signal, y'can beat them until they're black and blue, alright? Remember, we need t'make them realize that we're not pushovers."
"Isn't it strange that we have to provoke them?" Dosu questioned cleverly, he was rather sensible compared to Zaku. "Our target is amongst them somewhere, so won't fighting put them on guard?"
"Orochimaru's orders," Akari told them, feeling sick at the mere words she uttered. "He told us t'show our true colors and make them recognize us. I don't know what that lunatic's planning, but I don't like it..."
"Whatever, I just want to kick some ass!" Zaku commented, and the experienced kunoichi decided then that Zaku was the most irritating one of her 'team.'
Kabuto caught their attention once again when he pulled out some sheets of paper called 'Recognition Cards' as he put it. Surprising Akari, as someone with a lot of experience, she had never seen cards that show information using Chakra, and she'd seen a lot of things over the years.
"What are you doing?" A girl with pink hair asked as Kabuto spun the card with his finger, warming the surface of it.
"It's made so you can't view it without my Chakra." He raised his hand in a sign. "Like this." In a split second, smoke surrounded the card with a 'poof' sound and an image appeared on it.
"Wow, what information is this?" She exclaimed, obviously the clever one in her team by the glee she got from new sources of information.
The exam's total number of examinees and countries participating." Kabuto explained. "It also has the number of participants from each hidden village." He looked up at them. "Let me ask, why do you think we do the Chuunin Exam together?"
Not one of the rookies answered the question, proving how little they knew. The only sound coming from them was the crunching the fatter Genin made whenever he ate a chip.
"First, it's to deepen the friendly relationships with the other countries." Kabuto continued after the silence stretched on. "Next, it's to heighten the level of the ninja. That's what they say."
"That's what they say?" A boy with black hair asked, Akari's eyes narrowing, she couldn't quite see the clan symbol on his back, but could make out white and red. Was he the Uchiha boy? She clearly remembered that the Uchiha clan were known for having a symbol of a white and red fan.
"Yes, the real purpose is to confirm the level of the shinobi in each adjacent country to try and balance out the power." The look in Kabuto's eyes showed how honest and serious he was being. Experience his source of information.
"Power? Balance?" A boy with blonde hair spoke, his arms crossed. He looked the least impressive of the rookies, the only unique thing on him was the orange jumpsuit and the whisker patterns on his cheeks. The confusion on his face showed the lack of intelligence he held, Akari knew he was nothing to worry about.
"And why do we go through such a troublesome task?" A boy with black hair tied up in the shape of a pineapple questioned.
Kabuto placed his hand over the card and another puff of smoke covered it, leaving it white once it dissipated. "If they don't do that, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers."
After that Akari zoned out a little, they went on to talk about personal information for some of the slightly more experienced Genin in the exam hall. The only thing that caught her interest was when Gaara's name was mentioned. She knew he was aiding their plans, so it wasn't a massive surprise. 'Still...They let the Ichibi Jinchuuriki join the exam? That creature is not to be messed with...' She thought, eyes narrowing. 'We'll have to be careful.'
She paid attention once again when Kabuto continued, explaining something about the ninja villages taking the exam. "Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, and Oto...This year many talented Genins from these hidden villages have come here to take the exam." He stared at the entire hall for a moment, all the eyes meeting him didn't unnerve him one bit, before finally looking back at the cute little wanna-be ninjas before him. "Oto is a village of a small country that was just made recently, so I don't have much information on them."
That's when the three of them twitched slightly, Akari not so much, but she knew their cue was coming up.
The fiery red-head closed her eyes and looked away, she would decide when they move, but right now was too soon. These children were already scared, if they frightened them any more, then they would quit the exam and Uchiha Sasuke would get away.
However her thoughts were groundless when she was startled by a loud, obnoxious voice coming from the door, spinning around, she saw that it was the blonde boy with the overly bright jumpsuit. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm not going to lose to any of you! Got that?!"
He relaxed while the two loud female rookies argued and rested his hands on the back of his head. "That felt good!" He exclaimed happily.
Akari's shock turned into a wide smirk as she watched the boy. He reminded her of herself when she was his age. All talk and no brains. At first, she had underestimated him, but maybe he was a tough kid after all.
'Now's probably the time to make ourselves known...'
"Did you hear that?" Zaku said, sounding irritated and excited at the same time. "They said that Oto is a minor village of a small country..."
"I'm hurt..." Dosu said, his own eyes alight with the idea of causing a fight. "They spoke as if we're just leftover ninja." Dosu agreed. "Let's make him add this to his data. Ninja from Oto are somewhat cruel!"
Akari grinned slightly, that small tear in her morality showing in her darker than usual eyes. "Then why don't y'play with them a little?" She said with a sinister tone, nodding her head, giving them the signal they had been itching to see.
"Shall we?" Dosu asked.
"Let's go." Zaku confirmed and within a second, the two of them rushed from the crowds in a blur Zaku jumped into the air above his comrade, forcing Kabuto, who had already noticed their movements, to turn in shock. The older teen dodged quickly when his 'enemy' tossed two kunai at him without hesitation.
Taking the opportunity, Dosu appeared in front of the older teen with his hand forming a seal, pulling up his sleeve to show off a strange device attached to his forearm. The bandaged pre-teen lunged at the medical shinobi, forcing him to dodge his blow, just like he had done with Zaku.
He smirked when the punch didn't brush his nose, however, his pride was short lived when his glasses cracked and he shuddered before falling to the ground, vomiting on the stone.
Seeing him in that state caused Akari's smirk to warp into a gleeful grin, since he had drugged her and assisted in Orochimaru's experiments for many years, she felt a sense of justice when he was forced to his knees like that. Maybe she'd have more fun in this exam than she thought if she got to do things like that.
Now she regretted not joining them in their little game.
She could hear Dosu taunting Kabuto and leaned back in her chair with a soft laugh. "That's what y'get for acting all high and mighty! I thought you'd be better, Mr. Veteran!" She taunted, calling to them from across the room, getting everyone's attention for a moment.
"Write this in your cards!" Zaku ordered Kabuto, who wiped his mouth with his arm, no glasses perched upon his nose, having removed them earlier before hitting the ground. "The three from Oto will definitely become Chuunin!"
While everyone tried to find a reason as to why Kabuto vomited when he did indeed dodge the blow, Akari just laughed and placed her feet on the desk comfortably. Now she could enjoy the first exam at least. Hell since she was kidnapped, this was the first time she'd truly had any fun.
It was a nice feeling.
She almost fell off her chair when her moment of content was disrupted by a smoke bomb going off in front of the chalkboard, a strong male voice calling from the depths of the mist. "Quiet down! You punks!"
Everyone watched as the smoke slowly cleared and several Chuunin stood there, the largest one being the man in the middle, his body riddled with scars and his head hidden behind a bandana with his village symbol on top. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He said with a large smirk. "I am the examiner of the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki."
Everyone remained silent as the large man who had seen his fair share of bloodshed pointed at Zaku, Dosu and then finally Akari. "You three from Oto!" He called out. "Don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Do you want us to fail you already?"
Akari huffed, she felt humiliated being scolded by her junior, but to keep up appearances, she pretended to feel a sense of guilt. "Sorry." She stated quickly, glancing to Dosu, who nodded. "It's our first exam, we got a little overexcited..."
Ibiki smirked at them before slipping back into his sinisterly serious expression. "This is a good chance to say this...You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is given, you are not allowed to kill the other." His eyes were almost as dangerous as Orochimaru's at that moment, as he glared at the two Oto Genin stood by Kabuto's fallen form. "Pigs who go against me will fail immediately. Understood?"
Almost all the Genin in the room didn't dare speak back to the man who could kill them without strain or effort, except Zaku, who Akari had noted was a troublemaker. "This exam seems so soft and easy." He commented rudely, smirking at the proctor.
Akari didn't feel unnerved when the examiners all laughed at Zaku's blatant ignorance, she had taken enough of these to understand how dangerous they could be. But she would keep that to herself, she doubted her teammates would really care even if she warned them.
"We will now begin the first exam of the Chuunin Selection Exam," Ibiki announced the only one who didn't laugh at the obvious stupidity the Oto Genin had displayed. "Turn in your applications, take one of these number tags, and sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exam..."
Akari huffed out a laugh and smirked at Naruto when he panicked over the idea of a paper test. She and her 'comrades' quickly collected their numbers and sat in completely different places in the exam hall. Whatever the examiners were planning, it wasn't going to be easy.
Hell, it was strange that all the examiners were sat on one side of the room, staring at them intently with a board and pen. It was like an interrogation. 'This exam has more to it than it seems, each of them are different, but I ain't been in one that's set up like this before...'
Her thoughts were broken when Ibiki tapped a piece of chalk on the blackboard, getting the entire hall's attention. "This First Exam has a few important rules." He explained, his expression not easing up once. Damn this guy was pretty intense. "I will not accept any questions, so listen carefully..."
With a quick turn, the chalk tapped off of the blackboard as Ibiki wrote down the rules. "The first rule is you are all given ten points at the start. The written exam consists of ten questions and each is worth one point." Everyone was listening intently as the examiner spoke without hesitation or pause, they had no choice if questions weren't allowed. "This test is a deduction based test...If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted. If you get three problems wrong, your points will be reduced to seven."
'So ten wrong and you're out, eh?' Akari mused, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes alight with calculation. 'Since these are Chuunin based questions, I should have no problems finding the answers, and because this is a team based exercise, I know that I can't be the only one who knows them...'
"The second rule, the pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points." Ibiki continued, shocking everyone else in the room except Akari, who scoffed out a soft laugh.
'Called it.'
She heard a thud in the room and turned her head to see the pink haired Genin, who was only three chairs away from her, lift her head and cause a ruckus. "Wait! Your team's total points? What?!"
"Shut up!" Ibiki demanded, silencing the confused young girl. "There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen." He turned back to the board. "Now that you know, let's move onto the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or do something similar during the test...Each action will cause you to lose two points."
Akari blinked, arching a brow with soft confusion. 'Eh? Just point deductions?'
"In other words, there will be people who will be forced to leave this place without their tests being graded." Akari looked at the examiners with the clipboards.
'That's why you're there...I thought it was a bit strange...'
"Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves..."
"We'll 'check' you at any time..." One of the other proctors threatened, smirking sinisterly, his board held up by one hand against his knee. People became unnerved by this fact, knowing they didn't have an escape option.
"You are all trying to become Chuunin," Ibiki stated, his own curled grin just as cruel. This was the first time she'd seen him show any emotion, and it was unsettling. "If you're a shinobi, act like a first-rate one. Also, if anyone in a team gets a zero, everyone on that team will fail."
This caused a chilling cold to freeze up everyone in the room, another outburst by the pink haired girl almost causing Akari to jump. "What did you say?!"
'Why did I get put on the table with this noisy Genin?'
"The last problem will be given forty-five minutes after the exam begins." The main examiner continued, ignoring the girl's constant yelling. "You have one hour for the exam."
The clock ticked slowly, seconds passing as Akari straightened up, preparing to take the exam she knew she would pass with flying colors. When a new hour began as the final second ticked by, Ibiki's voice rang out strongly. "Begin!"
Akari was quick to turn over her paper and read over the nine questions presented to her on the page. 'I was right, I know all the answers to these problems.' She looked over at Dosu and Zaku, who were reading over their tests as well. 'What that Ibiki said really bugs me...If I was caught cheating in the academy, I would've been kicked out there and then...' She closed her eyes and thought hard, running her fingers through her coppery red hair out of habit. 'Only a two-point deduction...And he even said...'
"Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves..."
Akari's eyes snapped open with realization, he wanted them to cheat. A shinobi must be able to collect information without being detected, this was the whole point of the test! 'Ah ha, ha...Pretty clever. I hope those two figured it out as well...'
Glancing back at Dosu, she noticed that he was writing quickly, and just after the person behind him did too. Seems he used sound waves to figure out the writing patterns the other Genin used. However, Zaku himself was just staring at his test, unsure what to do. 'That idiot...' She rolled her eyes, knowing that those who fought using sound had to know vibrations, therefore morse code.
Grinning as her idea formed, she wrote down the answers to her tests and knew Zaku wasn't far enough away not to notice her assistance. Without being too obvious, Kaede tapped her foot in the form of morse code, her grin widening further when Zaku flinched slightly, becoming aware of the noise.
When he began to write too, she knew she'd gotten through to him. 'Bingo! Now for question two...'
For the remainder of the forty-five minutes allotted to the nine starting questions, everything ran smoothly for her and her 'comrades.' By the end of the first three quarters, thirteen or so teams had failed out of the original fifty-one. By the end of her first test during her first exam, there were far less left than that.
How the generations have changed.
Ibiki smirked as the clock ticked in the silent room, an indication that everyone in the room had finished their tests, except one. "Okay, I will now give the tenth problem!" He announced.
'Finally...' Akari thought to herself, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips. 'I always hated these written tests, the sooner it's over, the better!'
"Yes, but before that, there's one thing I must say..." The tall examiner continued, his expression beyond serious. It was almost chilling. "There will be one special rule for this last question."
The Ninjutsu Expert's head lifted slightly, taking in these words. 'Another rule? This guy doesn't pull any punches, does he?'
Before he could speak, the doors to the room opened and Kankuro came back in with another proctor. Ibiki chuckled and spoke with no hint of amusement in his tone, which was unnerving in itself. "You're lucky..." People began to glance at the confused Genin. "Your puppet show didn't have to go to waste."
The Suna born shinobi looked utterly shocked and scared at the same time when Ibiki said this, Akari was almost impressed, seemed that Kankuro had more up his sleeve than being the Fourth Kazekage's son.
"Oh well, sit down." Ibiki continued, stepping forward with his hands in his pockets as Kankuro sat down, slipping a piece of paper to Temari as he passed her. "I will now explain. This is...A hopeless rule!"
"Eh?" Akari muttered with confusion. "What the hell is a 'hopeless rule?'" Now this was new, none of her former Chuunin Exam experiences mentioned a 'hopeless rule.'
"Shut up and listen." He ordered her bluntly, which caused a little irritation to bubble under the surface. "First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not."
Everyone in the room sported looks of question as they each tried to debunk the logic behind this rule. 'Won't we be removed from the exam if we choose not to take it?' Akari mused, running her fingers through her spiked hair as she did so. 'That must mean there's some danger, or special condition attached, otherwise this rule makes no sense at all...'
"Choose?" Temari called out. "So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?!"
"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero..." Ibiki explained, making Akari arch a brow.
'So much for 'no questions'...'
"In other words, you will fail." The way he said that with that sinister grin made Akari's eyes narrow with suspicion, and she braced herself for whatever he had planned. "Your two other teammates will fail along with you."
This caused an uproar in the room, people questioning and arguing with the rule given. Akari had to admit, this was both unfair and fair at the same time. If you can't put forth the effort, you shouldn't pass the test. That's how everything in life worked, this exam was no different.
"And here is the other rule...If you choose to take it and you get it wrong, you will...Lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exams forever!"
Akari's eyes widened. "What?!" She gasped, sitting forward, eyes alight with confusion. "What kind of a rule is that?! People don't stand a chance in hell with a crap law like that in place!"
"Yeah, that's right!" One of the other Genin called out, pointing at the examiner as if threatening him. He wore a hood and had a cute white dog resting on top of it. "There should be those here who have taken the Chuunin Exam in the past!"
Ibiki chuckled, finding this outburst amusing. "You were unlucky..." He stated, cruel eyes locking with their's one at a time. "This year, I am the rule. That is why I gave you the option of quitting." This put the boy in his place, silencing him. "Those who are not confident can choose to not take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that."
The pressure that settled in the room was almost suffocating. Akari glanced at Dosu, who nodded, causing her to nod back, the same applied with Zaku and even Kabuto too, who had shared this nod with his own teammates.
None of them would give up now, with every mission she achieved, she was one step closer to enacting her sweet revenge. Not even this so-called 'hopeless rule' would stop her.
"Let us begin. Those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."
One at a time, the fearful and unconfident Genin raised their hands, leaving with their teammates slowly, each of them apologizing for their weakness. Akari clenched her fists, her smirk fading the moment the rule was announced.
'I won't give up now!' She thought to herself, noticing something from the corner of her eye. Gasping softly, she watched as the blonde haired boy named Naruto raised his hand, looking very tense. At that moment she felt disappointed, she had assumed he was like her and would refuse to give in to a rule like this...
But he was just like those other cowards.
With a sigh, the woman rested her chin in her hand and picked up her pencil, twirling it with a hint of boredom in her brown eyes. 'I had big hopes for you kid-'
Suddenly the boy's hand slammed down on the table, which startled Kaede into lifting her head from its comfortable position. He looked at Ibiki with a glare that almost begged to start a fight. "Screw you! I'm not going to run away!" He boldly stated. "I'll take this problem! Even if I become a Genin forever, I'm going to become a Hokage no matter what anyway!" He stood up quickly. "I'm not scared!"
Ibiki just stared as Naruto settled down next to the smiling blue haired Genin beside him. Kaede relaxed back into her hand, smirking down at the young boy a few rows from her. 'Looks like I was wrong~' She thought, laughing softly, remembering her own reckless bet with the Kazekage during her first Chuunin Exam. 'You just might become Hokage after all...'
Her doubts for the boy's talents washed away and she leaned back in her chair, still twirling her pencil in her hand as Ibiki reined in the conversation. "I will ask one more time..." He started. "This is a choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."
"I'm not going to take back my words," Naruto told him, smirking away. "That's my Nindou!"
Everyone in the room wore confident, amused and determined expressions at Naruto's outburst and Ibiki huffed out a soft chuckle. 'Interesting kid...' He thought, not a shred of fear in anyone's eyes. 'He wiped out everyone's uncertainty.' The examiner walked forward slightly, counting the Genin left over. 'Seventy-eight students, eh? There's more left than I expected. Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.'
With a quick glance to the other proctors, seeing them all nod in agreement and nodding back with acceptance, Ibiki called out to the remaining examinees. "Nice determination. Then...For the First Exam, everyone here..." He closed his eyes for a second before grinning. "Passes!"
Silence filled the room for almost ten seconds, shock in the eyes of everyone there, even Kaede as the sound of Naruto's pencil falling onto the table broke through the suffocating stillness that had clouded the room. The poor boy looked lost.
It was that sound that broke the pink-haired girl out of her frozen state, and she stood, slamming her hands on the desk as she lifted herself. "Wait, what's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?!"
Ibiki laughed and the already obvious grin on his lips spread to a frightening size. 'I'd prefer t'have failed than ever see that expression on this man.' Akari thought, quite uncomfortable with his smile. Someone that sinister shouldn't have that kind of glee hidden away.
"There was no such thing, to begin with!" The proctor explained. "Or you could call the two-choice question the tenth question."
The pink haired girl didn't know how to respond to this, still thoroughly confused while Temari called out, her voice strong, a true Suna kunoichi. "Hey! So what were those previous nine problems?! It was all a waste!"
"No, it's not." Ibiki glanced out the window at the blue sky as he explained. "The nine problems accomplished their purpose." Without hesitation, his eyes met Temari's, confidence exuding from them. "The purpose to test each individual's information gathering skills."
"Information gathering skills?"
"First, the test's purpose lies in the first rule...Your pass-fail decision is based on your three-person teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team."
Naruto nodded with his arms crossed. "Yes, yes, I was kind of sensing that in this test."
The pink haired girl and Akari both thought the word 'lair' at the same time the blue haired girl giggled beside the young Uzumaki. 'He's just like me after all...' Akari thought with a wash of nostalgia, she brushed it off and focused on Ibiki, he was the proctor, after all.
"But these test problems cannot be solved by you, Genin..." He said, not hearing Akari scoff slightly. "So most of the people here must have come to the conclusion...'I have to cheat to get points!' He raised his hand, gesturing to the entire room. "In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So we snuck in two Chuunin who knew the answers to be targets of cheating."
The two Chuunin in question raised their hands in a wave, letting the entire class know who they were. Some of them were as young as Kabuto! Akari was impressed, she wasn't far off Kabuto's age when she became a Chuunin, but some of them even acted like experts, despite their young age.
"It took a while to find the guy..." One of the Genin called out, a friend across the room nodding in agreement.
Naruto let out an over the top laugh and leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "It was so obvious. It would be weird not to notice it! Right, Hinata?" He looked to the blue-haired girl at his side, who smiled warmly at him.
Akari froze for a second, able to see the girl's face, she knew that look well. That Hinata girl was in love, as she had been so long ago.
Painful memories threatened to surface and Akari's carefree nature almost wavered, of course, she was unaware of this change, the coldness in her eyes the only indication of her thoughts being different to her body language.
One man had captured her heart, ripped it apart and left her, while another took away any chance she had to repair it. Even though she no longer held ties with her village, and anyone inside, Kiyoshi had tried to save her so long ago, therefore, for his sake as well as her own, she would follow through with her goal for revenge, until the very end of her life.
If it weren't for the grin on her lips and the relaxed posture she held, everyone would have sensed the bloodlust slowly seeping deeper into the darkest corners of her mind.
Her morality continues to whittle away with each passing moment, she no longer had any need for it or the irritating washes of guilt. Slowly she'd become stone cold to the world she once loved.
If it meant getting what she wanted, she'd gladly give up her soul, her heart, and her warmth.
"But those who just cheated like a fool failed, of course," Ibiki said, even the trained interrogation expert couldn't sense her emotions. He slowly unraveled his forehead protector and pulled it off, putting the entire room, even Akari into a state of shock.
"Why? Information can have greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields..." Covering the top of his head, where not a speck of hair lie, were the worst torture scars Akari had ever seen, and she'd seen a fair few during her time in Suna.
The sight alone sent all her previous thoughts to the back of her mind within a second. "Information is contested with the lives of people!"
"How awful..." The Uchiha Boy breathed, looking both uncomfortable and disgusted. "Burn marks, screw holes and cut marks...They're the scars of torture..."
Having scarred some of the Genin for life, Ibiki replaced the forehead protector once again. Shielding his scars from view, speaking as he did so. "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate." He straightened up and dropped his hands. "Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village." Closing his eyes, Ibiki smirked. "So we made you all gather information in the form of cheating."
When his eyes opened again, he scanned the room. "We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."
"But I still can't agree with that last question..." Temari said with a slight complaint in her voice, seems she'd calmed down since her outburst earlier.
"But this tenth question was the main question of this first exam."
This confused most of the Genin in the room, and some hummed with question, Ibiki had a knack for causing their minds to run round in circles. "What do you mean?" The pink haired girl asked.
"Let me explain," Ibiki said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem." He raised his hand and showed them two fingers to emphasize his point. "Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it, and could not answer it..."
The rather sinister examiner's eyes snapped open in a dark glare. "Your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever." They narrowed slightly. "It was a very insincere problem."
Temari could not come up with a response at this point as Ibiki walked towards the center of the room and turned to them once again. "How about this two-choice problem...Let's assume that you have become a Chuunin. Your mission is to capture a secret document. The number of enemy ninja, their abilities, and armaments are unknown. And there may be traps that enemy ninja have set up. Now will you accept this mission, or not? Just because your life and the lives of your teammates may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions?"
Akari huffed and leaned back in her chair, twirling her pencil once again. "No way, if we did that, what kind of ninja would we be?" She said rather matter-of-factly.
Ibiki was amused by her knowledge and nodded. "Exactly. There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show your courage to your teammates when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation...That is what we look for in a Chuunin, a squad leader."
The way the atmosphere in the room began to change during this explanation was rather prominent, those who had been stricken with confusion now wore looks of strong determination, glad of their decisions. "Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation...Those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future...Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chuunin. That is what I believe."
He scanned the room once again with his black, proud eyes. "I am saying that you here who have chosen to take it, gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance! The First Exam of the Chuunin Selection ends now! I wish you luck."
Oddly even Akari felt some sense of motivation at Ibiki's strong words, not even aware that Naruto was causing another outburst with his excitement. She thought by now those words would mean nothing to her, but the truth was, they could be applied to anything. Her personal goal for instance, if she had light determination there, then what was the point in fighting at all.
With a curl of her lips revealing her white half-fanged teeth, she straightened up with eyes that shone with a newfound resolve, leaning back with her arms behind her head.
She had no idea what the future held for her.
Of course, the sudden swell of motivation she felt was soon forgotten when something large crashed through the window and unfurled, two kunai stabbing into the ceiling as a woman skidded to a halt in the middle of the room. "Everybody, there's no time to be happy!" The tarp straightened out as the woman stood up, it read 'Second Examiner Mitarashi Anko is here!' "I am the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's go to the next exam!" She thrust her fist into the air. "Follow me!"
Akari sweatdropped at the sight she was met with, this woman might be bold, but she had a few...quirks it seemed. The entire room had fallen into stunned silence as Ibiki peeked out from behind the sheet. "Grasp the atmosphere." He told her simply, causing the second proctor's face to take on a bright shade of red.
As the 'atmosphere' settled, Anko counted the leftover students. "Seventy-eight?" She asked, surprised more than anything. "Ibiki, you let twenty-six teams pass?" Her expression turned to a sneer and she tilted her head up, looking down her nose at the Interrogation Expert. "The First Exam must have been too soft."
"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time." Ibiki clarified, smirking with a hint of pride.
Anko huffed and turned back to the students with her own twisted grin. "Oh, well...I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam."
'This examiner really has faith in herself...' Akari mused, her eyes narrowing as seriousness overtook her, preparing her for the next exam as she crossed her arms, resting one hand on her elbow as she ran her fingers through her hair. 'More than half...Looks like we're going t'need a plan for the next part then...'
Anko hummed gleefully and Akari got a chill, a sense of familiarity. This woman reminded her of someone. "I'm getting excited~," The younger woman said with a very creepy voice, just further cementing that Kaede knew who this woman reminded her of.
Orochimaru.
Her eye twitched with slight anger, just her luck, she finally gets some time away from that irritating, creepy snake-eyed bastard, and someone equally as creepy comes along.
"I will explain the details tomorrow!" Anko said strongly. "We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin teachers about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed!"
The room was filled with the sounds of chairs scraping back and footsteps as Genin after Genin left the room for some fresh air. Kaede was approached by Dosu and Zaku and she nodded with agreement. They had to see Orochimaru for the rally point, the sooner the better.
With a deep sigh at her situation, she stood and walked out of the room with her 'teammates.'
Though she was still slightly reluctant at the end goal of their plan, she wouldn't back out now. Her eyes narrowed at the mere thought. No, she would see this through to the end.
'Uchiha Sasuke first...The Third Hokage soon after...Things are heating up...'
A/N: Thank you for reading, let me know what you think, your comments help me improve as a writer.
Japanese = English
Nindou = Way of the Ninja
