A splitting headache woke Naru from her slumber, along with the cold feeling of water washing over her body. Her chakra pulsed outward, checking the positions of three attackers. She found Sasuke and Sakura beside her, each stirring from their slumber. Her mind was hazy, her gaze unfocused when she finally allowed her eyes to open. She heard the murmuring above her, her body spurring into movement when she heard 'water' once more.
Her legs shot out, her hands reaching for one another before her kidnappers even had time to register she was moving.
"Wind Style, Wind Cutter!" The Uzumaki muttered into the dark room.
Normally Wind would be the worst choice in such a closed off space such as the one Naru was inside, especially with her teammates beside her, but she trusted her improved control over her best element over the safer options of say, water or earth.
She would waste chakra with the other two, but wind was everywhere, and it came to her like willing friend, breaking past her lips toward her capturers before the words left her lips.
The three Nin were tossed backward, kunai flying after them from Naru's right side, while shuriken imbedded in the body of another from her left side.
Team Seven rose to their feet as the older more experienced Nin began to fight back, ignoring their wounds while the younger one's continued to inflict and take damage.
Soon, however, the three Genin had pushed the older Nin to their knees. Sakura's quick work with ninja wire had them bundled separately, while Sasuke and Naru made quick work of disarming them.
The three traded messages through silent taps or traces across the others' hands, each coming to an (reluctant on Sakura's part) agreement that they had blacked out after Ibiki had introduced himself for the first exam.
Once they had all settled, the Genin facing their captors together in a line, a wall against the blank looks their received from the unidentifiable nin.
None of them had headbands, and they all wore plain clothing so they couldn't really name their village. The older men had weapons on their person, however, and they all showed skill.
Akihane, the decided leader of the group since the training had started, glanced to the sealed door at the back of the room, before glancing back at the other Nin.
Pausing, Naru closed her eyes and pulse her chakra again, finding that she couldn't 'cast' it outside the walls.
"There are seals on the outside. The door has a few locking and containment ones as well. I suspect they were going to place repressing seals on us but didn't have time. Right now our only lead is in their heads and out that door. Sakura, Sasuke-San, please use Genjutsu and any other methods to pry the information from the men. Here are some seals for their chakra while you're at it." Naru offered her teammates the tags after speaking, one of the seals a lightning seal that targeted nerves, another a silence seal, and then there were silence seals. Each group had three sets, one for each nin.
Sasuke nodded in thanks at Naru as Sakura glared at the seals in distaste, before she slapped the repressing seal on her target and sent out a chakra pulse to activate it. Sasuke took care of the other two, before the Genin began to cast their Genjutsu.
Akihane made sure her teammates were okay as she moved on to the steel door blocking their exit. She pressed her hand to her chin and allowed her chakra to spread across the door and the room so she could open it to the seals and other implants that decorated the area. Her eyes crossed over the faded lines and the ones that were exposed while they traced the work decorating the surface.
Her lips pressed into a thin line and her brow furrowed before she reached to unseal her own scroll, a glass vial of ink and a brush with a blank scroll appearing at her feet.
The Uzumaki picked up the ink and her brush as she stared at the door for another moment. With a light shrug the Uzumaki set to work destroying the structure of the seals.
I~~~~I
Kakashi watched his and the other Konoha Twelve Teams cut through their opponents. His team wisely separated their skill sets to cover more ground, and Team Nine and several foreign teams doing the same, while the others ganged up or were being taken out.
The whole concept of the entire scenario was Enemy information gathering, as well as infiltration and learning how to escape. Each room was decorated with the opposing factors to the students, or ways to practice their reported strengths.
All of the Sand Nin were stuck with water users in a humid boiler room, while the Iwa Nin had a situation that also involved repressing seals. The other teams had similar conditions or trials, Team Eight stuck in a blank black space without any clue where they were at, their senses useless. Team Nine was confronted with a tricky set of puzzles, and the rest had whatever came their way.
Kakashi and the other Sensei's had helped create the rooms shown, months of collaboration and thought processing leading to every room in the giant maze of a building the students were stuck inside, filled with traps to test their endurance and caution in enemy territory.
In order to pass the Exam the students had to escape the compound safely, their points adding up from how well they performed, the information gathering merely a helping hand for the next task.
"Kakashi, what is Akihane doing?"
Kurenai's voice cut through Kakashi's thoughts, drawing his gaze back to his team that stood amidst their supposed enemies. Sasuke had finished with one nin and Sakura had finished up her own. Naru was painting the walls with seals, ones he knew all too well. He sweat dropped as the girl pause at the door, her brush tilting ever so slightly to the side, just enough to no doubt cross a linking part of the invisible seals, causing the whole array to crumble. Excess chakra was channeled through the remaining linkage lines, activating the seal Naru herself had drawn.
The door seemed to heat up, a hissing heard even through the cameras. Most of the Sensei's turned to watch as Naru's seal burned a hole through the steel door.
Briefly, Kakashi heard the crackling voice of his student over the speaker from the camera.
I~~~~I
"Sasuke-San, Sakura, are you done?" Naru asked quietly.
Sasuke stood from his spot kneeling over his victim, nodding at the blonde, while Sakura finished up, pushing her long hair back with a heavy breath of relief.
"Yes, the man had info on the next task…guess we were right. The test began already." Sasuke murmured to his other teammates.
All three shared gazes as Sasuke stepped over the fallen body of his victim. He calmly slapped a lightning seal and a silence seal onto the remaining male. Sakura turned away from the enemies before she walked over the body of her opponent toward Naru without a single glance back to the man and her teammate. Sakura's posture became tense as Sasuke channeled chakra into the seal and sizzling was heard. The man's screams remained silent all the way until he passed out and the silence seal was shattered.
The others were glad that Sasuke had only used a slight amount of Chakra, because they didn't want to deal with the repercussions of the men dying.
The three exited the room leaving the sight of the one camera. The screen went black for a moment, before it shifted to a view of the hall Naru had broken through to.
"Alright, stick close and keep up your guard. Sasuke-San, ready your fire chakra. Sakura, keep a kunai handy at all times. I'll keep some wind chakra ready and release some of my chakra to sense as we go." Akihane told Sakura and Sasuke.
Naru took in the rest of her team, her eyes shutting after a moment.
The two shared looks, before they felt a warmth spread across them, the tingling chakra spreading throughout the small space as it spread further into the tunnels.
Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath as he felt his friend's chakra after so long, Sakura struck speechless at the utter heat of the chakra, potent enough to physically express peace and calm throughout their tense bodies.
Maroon eyes snapped open from where the source of the power stood, a heavy breath leaving her lips as she came into contact with the other natures of the two before her. Sakura's tender and caring green chakra, as well as Sasuke's similar warm, but also rolling, chakra.
She pushed her emotions back, placing them under lock and key in order to not get over whelmed. She had forgotten how strong her ability was when unleashed since she had mostly caged it after Shisui's death and only let small portions through that allowed pulses of her chakra to scan the area, but nothing as insane as what she had now. It seemed as though she had a second pair of eyes that noticed the tiny cracks on the floor, the small strand of hair lying across Sakura's cheek, and the veins pressing at Sasuke's skin.
Naru breathed again in order to push past the beginning haze. She inwardly settled on getting more training with her ability, because at times when she needed it she also didn't want to be overwhelmed.
I~~~~I
Ibiki watched as Team Seven decimated any forces sent their way as they marched through the halls of the maze-like building dedicated as the old Chunin Training Facility, repurposed on occasion for events such as this Chunin Exam. Originally there was going to be a written exam, but upon request of the Hokage, the other villages agreed to change the second Exam to something much different.
Now, instead of safety and security the teams had to keep on guard, and they had to watch themselves and make sure not to reveal information while waiting to escape. The Maze had several chakra triggers inside of it, summoning animals, sealed element scrolls, weapons, and Genjutsu distortion.
So far only the main Sand Team, Team Seven, Team Nine, and the Iwa Team had started on the Maze. Three teams had been taken care of, leaving behind Teams Ten and Eight, twenty-five more Konoha Teams, nine more Suna Teams, the Seven Ame Teams, the two Kusa Teams, two Taki Teams, and the Oto Team.
Ibiki paused when he noticed Team Ten and the Team Kabuto had both exited their rooms, Team Ten sporting a slightly injured Choji and a shaken Ino, while the Elder Team sported a warry Kabuto whom had just healed one of his brasher teammates.
Soon more teams were leaving their rooms, entering their own sections of the maze ahead.
Team Seven stopped momentarily, caught in a Genjutsu for a moment, before the girls released it and Sasuke disrupted it with his chakra.
Ibiki hummed softly under his breath as he watched Akihane take command of her teammates, prying the information they gathered with each step, piecing things together with her analytical mind.
Ibiki found he rather liked the way the Aki went about the entire situation, having drilled her a bit on the subject himself back when she had just met Raidou.
The Hokage had purposely assigned Ibiki to give Raidou a simple letter about his next mission during a training session the man was holding with his Imuto. To say Ibiki was surprised that Naru was managing to hold her own against a Jonin, whether he was holding back or playing with her in general, was an understatement. Naru grasped tactical thinking at a level that Ibiki hadn't seen since the famed Second Hokage, followed by their Professor-the Sandaime-, and lastly by Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Akihane had tried to leave the moment she had spotted him, Raidou's hand on her shoulder being the only thing that stopped her. The man's actions had led to her tagging along with him in her younger years to his office to fetch paperwork for the Hokage, or drop it off.
As a result of the young child's frequent visits, which increased after Inoichi retired from the force, she became one of the more tolerated younglings in the TI division, especially by Ibiki's own apprentice.
"-like you said we are on the First Exam. Because of this I suggest Escape from this place. Sakura, Sasuke-San, what do you think?"
Ibiki glanced back at Team Seven, finding that the three had grouped up once more and were discussing plans, each holding weapons and no doubt still building chakra just in case they ran into more trouble or it ran into them.
Annoyance flashed over the pink haired girl's face, before she reluctantly nodded. The Uchiha gave the words some more thought, before he too agreed, this time with a small grunt.
Naru accepted both answers, the three starting their trek forward once more, Naru's chakra pulses bouncing across walls, diverting them from dead ends, while the pinkette marked the walls with her Kunai just in case their memory failed them. Of course Sasuke could activate his Sharingan and ensure they didn't get lost, but Ibiki could see that they wanted to conserve Chakra. The Idea was smart and had merit, but it could also lead to some very unwanted situations. Such as the summoning circle the three had activated.
I~~~~I
Sakura, surprisingly, was the first to notice the newest presence in their tunnel. She turned around sharply at the faintest noise, flinching as she remembered Asuma and Kurenai's horrid training over enhancing her senses and awareness.
She saw the pink lining crawling along the walls before she heard the slick sound as it grew across the floor.
"N-No way…N-Naru, Sasuke!"
The other two turned, their eyes widening as they spotted the soft and squishy pink material that was coming closer. They shared looks, before quickly turning to run in the opposite direction of the strange material.
Naru, in an effort to figure out what the hell the substance was, allowed her chakra to press against the force. She nearly choked when she saw the blinding amount of chakra building in the area, most of it the same shade as those of the trees and foliage outside, only much stronger. Her entire body tingled at the feeling, causing her to stumble.
"I-It's drowning this area in c-chakra…W-We can't get caught by it!"
Naru shouted at them as her voice choked and she began to feel the area grow thick with the intense form of chakra, her vision slightly hazy.
Sasuke cursed as Naru's throat grew tight, the girl stumbling on her feet. Sakura turned sharply to catch the blonde on reflex, wincing as she heard the girl groan, her body shaking.
Sasuke rushed toward them both, quickly lifting his slipping teammate over his shoulders. Sakura helped him secure the blonde, before the two were off once again, the odd material seeming to speed up.
Both teammates cursed, Sasuke's chakra building up as he channeled it through his lungs.
"Sakura!" The Uchiha shouted, tossing Naru to the Pinkette. Sakura caught Naru with a grunt, skidding across the floor as Sasuke turned sharply, his hands flashing through signs.
"Fire Style, Grand Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke shouted, forcing excess chakra into the jutsu, causing it to block the path of the odd substance, burning the surface.
The Uchiha turned, rushing toward Sakura. Sasuke turned to Naru, and when he heard a soft whimper escape her lips, he caught her tightly shut eyes, and quickly guessed what her problem was.
"Damnit, I told you that being such a powerful sensor had its disadvantages Akihane…Collapse your chakra, I know it's hard and it takes focus but just do it, or we might not get out of this. Sakura, construct a wall before that stuff catches up again!"
Sakura nodded from beside her fellow Kunoichi, her hair whipping across her face as she turned toward the slightly burnt material which had slowed its growth a bit. She channeled her chakra quickly, focusing on drawing out the bits of earth she had inside her, before she slammed her hands onto the ground.
Cracks formed form the pressure of her concentrated amount of chakra, the miniscule nature energy traveling through the ground, before it cracked open a foot in front of the pink goop.
"Earth Style, Mud Wall!"
Sakura called out, her chakra forcing the construct upward, blocking the wall from the goop.
Sasuke hissed from beside Naru, his sharingan active and blazing as he took in the green haze surrounding the area. He quickly cut the power to his eyes, huffing as he walked over to Naru. The blonde was panting, her forearms braced on the floor as she sucked in sharp breaths, her chakra nearly non-existent from the wraps it was drowned inside.
Akihane's body was wracked with shivers as she tried to figure out what the hell that was.
Her eyes tilted upward to meet the slightly shaken Sakura's green orbs, as well as Sasuke's worried black. She addressed Sasuke when she finally got a grip on her lungs and her tongue.
"D-Did you s-see it?"
Sasuke gave her a look, before he sighed a nodded, his gaze shifting to Sakura as he explained to the confused girl.
"When I had my sharingan active I saw a strange buildup of chakra…it was green and white at the same time, burning against my gaze. I had to cut off the sharingan because of the intensity. I suspect that Akihane felt he same thing when she used her chakra to sense the object."
Sasuke glanced over to the blonde for confirmation, finding her resting her back against the wall as she caught her breath. Her eyes were shut while the frantic pulse at her neck slowed.
"Y-Yes…It was overwhelming honestly…I've only ever seen so much chakra in H-Hokage-Sama when he was angry…So much…"
The Uzumaki cradled her head in her hands, Sasuke closing his eyes to avoid seeing the shaken body of his teammate. He felt useless enough already, but with that attack he felt like he should have done more. Naru's own ability had been used against her with that odd buildup of Chakra, harming his eyes no doubt, while also leaving Sakura as the one with the most wits about her.
Said girl was watching Naru like a hawk, taken in the defeated form and other such signs of shock that littered the normally calm girl's body.
"Naru, you've never dealt with that before?"
Naru paused at Sakura's question, her head lifting as she gazed at the pinkette. A cloudy look entered her eyes, her words leaving her lips.
"I-It's the whole reason I don't do that…My chakra is very sensitive to abundant amounts, so I keep it under wraps. I-I figured it'd help right now…Honestly I didn't expect them to send something like that against us."
Akihane looked upward, Sakura flinching. The girl had never seen the Uzumaki looking so vulnerable, had never even thought of the girl as ever being helpless to something.
To think that Naru was stuck with suck a burden, being unable to allow her chakra free because of her ability, one that Sakura had envied since learning about. Honestly, between the Beastly actions and personality of the Inuzuka and Naru's faulty Sensor abilities, Sakura was rather glad she didn't have a bloodline.
Sasuke dropped down beside Naru in an unexpected show of care and worry, his arm reaching to pull the girl against him. He glanced to Sakura, patting the spot beside him with a softer-than-normal look.
"Let's rest for a moment, and then we'll head back out. I want to get away from this damn place as soon as we all are up to par."
Sakura huffed, but she accepted the offer, pushing away the rising unease in her chest, followed by the recently building self-loathing.
I~~~~I
Team Seven emerged from the building in second place, the team from Iwagakure heading those who managed to escape.
Morino Ibiki met them alongside their sensei, Hatake Kakashi.
The presence of such a memorably shinobi brought the attention of the Iwa Team down on them, the Sensei narrowing her gaze upon the Copy Nin.
The Sensei was a dark eyed teen with raven hair and the average red Iwa attire. A brown vest was strapped over her shoulders, exposing her right side, the left covered in the sleeve of her red undershirt.
A red headband was wrapped around forehead, the two rocks, one overlapping another, proudly displayed beneath her raven bangs. She wore grey fishnet leggings, along with a short red skirt, the right side covered with a bit more dark red fabric down to her knees, the short skirt reaching mid-calf. Lastly, brown ninja sandals adorned her feet.
The young Jonin scanned the group, taking in the pink haired civilian Kunoichi, the raven haired Uchiha, and the odd mini-me standing beside Hatake Kakashi.
The mini-me wore all black, her jacket sporting two red swirling patterns on the shoulders.
Normally, such identification wouldn't be odd, especially in Konoha where the woman knew that all Chunin and Jonin had the swirling pattern on their vests, however this girl was a Genin, not a Chunin.
"That's the girl who helped us find the hotel, Kurotsuchi-Sensei."
Shisui offered the elder Kunoichi, his dark brown eyes sweeping over the other team.
Kurotsuchi hummed under her breath, her dark eyes dancing over the girl she had heard her team pondering over in the later hours of the previous evening. Maroon eyes met her gaze, the passive look decorating the Genin's features surprising Kurotsuchi.
"Intriguing…What did she say her name was, again?"
The Sensei questioned her students, the three sharing glances before Shisui answered.
"Uzu Akihane, Sensei."
Teams began to file out, one of them being another Konoha Team that Kakashi's team walked toward immediately.
Akatsuchi's eyes grazed over Akihane's jacket, taking in the red swirling pools etched into the black fabric, along with the extra pouch at the girl's side that looked a little too much like a sealing-tag pouch.
"Keep your eyes on that one…I have a feeling she'll be important."
I~~~~I
Akihane stood beside Hinata and Sasuke until Ibiki had decided to tell them those who passed.
Of course, the Rookies all passed, along with Team Nine, the Team Kabuto, one other Konoha Team, The Sand Siblings, Iwagakure's Team, Two of Amegakure's Teams, Two Kusagakure Teams, and a Takigakure Team.
Ibiki was clear on who didn't pass, as well as why. He quickly put every celebrating team in their place when he removed his headband, revealing the torturous scars marring his skin, marks of his career.
Akihane turned away when Ibiki pulled of his bandana, already knowing why lay beneath the cloth. How could she not know, when she had read his file and found out all of the horrid situations the Jonin had been put through.
Naru reached to her side, grasping the hand of her only real support at the moment, Sasuke.
"Sasuke-San…"
Akihane whispered, drawing the boy's eyes to her own. They shared another silent exchange, Sasuke letting out a grunt as he looked back up to where Ibiki was glaring at the other children, donning the cloth once more.
The Interrogator opened his mouth to speak once more, instilling as much fear as he could into the Young Ninja surrounding him, only to be cut off.
Confetti exploded around the man, a large banner dropping from the tree branches above him as a flying form landed right in front of him, kicking up dust as they landed.
Faintly, Sasuke heard Naru curse under her breath.
"N-No way…Why would Jiji-Sama put her in charge of children?!"
A cackle rose above the smoke, and in the midst of the speech, Sasuke and the rest of the Genin didn't notice their instructors had vanished, only now catching their vacant posts as they turned to question the adults that surely knew what was going on.
"Now, now Kiddies…You can't always rely on your Leaders like that."
The sultry voice sent shivers down the Genin's spines, drawn out through unintended movement as the owner of the voice stepped forward.
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat when he recognized the crazed women grinning at the rest of the Genin.
Steel plated heeled ninja sandals poked out first, followed by a dark grey fishnet covered calves, a dark beige skirt secured with a black belt that had an attachment running along the hip of the shapely woman, the same dark fishnet riding upward, fitting to the form of the Kunoichi standing at attention. A corded necklace hung over the shirt that left little to the imagination, a beige coat cast over the whole assemble, barely hiding much other than the woman's shoulders and her arms.
Iris hair was pulled up into a spiky bun, several bangs framing the pale-skinned face sporting dull colored eyes and a shining black headband.
"My name is Mitarashi Anko, and I'll be your Second Exam Proctor!"
I~~~~I
There's another one. I just finished around two chapters today, wrapped up a third, and will probably start a fourth. I can't wait until the Second Exam, especially since things are getting good with the whole Iwa Team I implanted last minute…all because of a damn sketch I made with my new supplies. Also, can anyone guess what the summon was? Hmm?
Omake-Insane Kunoichi
Mitarashi Anko was the Second Exam Proctor.
The fact rung in Naru's ears like a rather pesky alarm, one she wanted to repeatedly stab with a kunai, laced with poison and lit on fire.
Akihane Naru truly cursed her luck that the woman who had taken quite a liking to her over her trips to TI happened to be the one controlling her test to become a damn Chunin.
Hell, Ibiki was hell enough, and yet the Hokage had decided that adding Anko, the damned Snake Mistress of Konoha, was a good idea.
Akihane vowed to get the man checked for insanity once she made it out of the next round of the worst days of her life, promising to haunt the Hokage as well if she didn't make it through the test.
Sasuke shared her sentiment, having been on the receiving end of one of Mitarashi's 'games'.
To think that minutes ago Akihane was worried about the Iwa Team being a threat.
Turned out, the most liable threat to her safety and that of her Team was a Konoha Citizen.
Of course, Akihane was only able to think about all this because Mitarashi had decided to make everyone travel to the Second Exam, halfway across the village, in a Training Ground Naru knew quite a bite about thanks to her elder 'siblings'.
Genma had often recalled The Forest of Death, the most outrageous Training Ground that Konoha had to offer.
Not even seasoned Jonin entered such a place without being absolutely sure they wanted to.
Akihane brought her right palm to her face, muttering under her breath repeatedly as she tried to think of a way out.
She couldn't just forfeit, no, because such an action would only draw Anko's attention to her even more.
Naru wanted to remain under the radar when it came to the insane woman, even if she did enjoy her input for pranks every once in a while.
After Anko had tried to skewer Akihane with her dango skewers, Naru decided to cut losses and simply avoid the woman until she decided to calm down.
Of course, this meant that if Anko saw Naru before she had made peace with her insanity for even a moment, than the Kunoichi was doomed to be harassed.
Now such things as dodging weapons wouldn't be too bad, considering Akihane did enjoy the practice.
However, Anko did not stop with her weapons, but went even further.
Sasuke had been present for the last incident, one that he clearly did not want to repeat.
"Akihane…If she sees you I say screw the Exam and we run."
Sasuke managed to speak up, confusing their teammate who had been wondering what made the two Genin on her team so jumpy.
With mention of a 'her' had Sakura thinking about the Proctor to the Exam, the woman who looked a little odd in the head in all honesty.
"No can do…It'll make it worse when she catches us, and she will Sasuke-San…You know that."
The two shivered, Sakura glaring at them both.
"Are you talking about Mitarashi-San?"
The two froze, sharing looks before pushing themselves into Sakura's personal space.
Normally, Sakura would be squealing at the thought of Sasuke being so close, but considering the crazed look her crush was now adopting, she thought twice.
"You don't understand Sakura…That woman…Anko, she'd insane…You really do not want to mess with Konoha's Snake Mistress, bad things, really stupid but horrid things, happen when you do."
Sakura blinked at her teammates, wondering where the former professionalism had gone, where Naru's worry over her chakra had vanished off to.
In fact, Sakura was starting to question if the two before her were indeed Uzumaki Akihane and Uchiha Sasuke.
Of course, if they were clones or something, someone really didn't do their homework.
"We'll just have to deal with it…Dang it this sucks."
Akihane whimpered out, leaning on the sullen Sasuke while Sakura inched away from them both.
"Maybe Kakashi-Sensei would let me trade after all."
Two heads snapped up, Sakura withholding a yelp as she was suddenly grabbed and dragged down the road.
"Sooner this is over, sooner we can get away from Mitarashi-San. Sakura…Forewarning, don't' mention anything girly or even look at Mitarashi-San. I don't really like you…but I don't wish her on you."
Sakura sighed, simply choosing to relish in the touch she gained from Sasuke.
"Gee…Thanks Naru."
