Forgotten
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal
Chapter 14: The Chuunin Exam
"And that's what happened during our mission." Kakashi told the Third Hokage.
"I see. Well, good job everyone. You've all worked hard. Do get some rest tonight."
They all bowed before leaving the Hokage's office. Yuki stayed behind. Once the door closed, she removed her mask. It had been a while since she took it off.
"You must be exhausted too." The Third said to her. "You can work on your report later. Just get some rest for today."
"It's already done. I did it on my way back. It's not much different from what Kakashi reported, really." she said as she handed in her written report.
He looked at what she wrote. He then closed that document. He looked at her in the eyes and asked her:
"I'm curious about one thing. How was it working with them?"
"It's certainly different. They get involved emotionally quite often."
"Did you not this time around?"
Yuki remained silent. She, to her own surprise, did. She grew to care for Haku as a friend only after a few encounters.
"You've changed without even knowing. I think it's time for you to quit the ANBU organization."
"I..." started Yuki.
"It's an order. I want you to try out for the chuunins exam."
"You must be joking..."
"I know your abilities surpass many. They probably would allow you to be a jounin right off the bat, but I think it will benefit you to go through the procedure with them."
"By them, you mean Kakashi's team? They are rookies, will they even join this upcoming exam?"
"They will. I can guarantee that."
"But..."
"No more buts Yuki. I already found a team for you to join for this exam. They are short of one member to participate."
"Hokage-sama..."
"I just want the best for you."
"Grandpa..."
"I will take your mask back from you, thank you." he said as he stretched out his arm demanding for that mask she was holding onto so tightly.
She bit on her lip and reluctantly handed him the mask. She turned around towards the door to make her leave.
"Meet your team downstairs! Be nice, now!" he said in a light-hearted tone.
She waved a silent goodbye, before heading downstairs. She was really annoyed by the fact that he was making her go through the chuunins exam. It wasn't because she had to go through the exam, it was because she hated the fact that she would now have to reveal herself to everyone. She liked being the shadows. She liked having her own space, no one to look out for or care for. She didn't know that those things were long gone ever since she started caring for Sasuke in stead of Itachi. She forgot that she was no longer in the shadows the moment she helped out Kakashi's team in their last mission. She was no longer all alone the moment she held people dear to her heart: Itachi and now Haku as well. The Third was right. She had changed without her own knowledge.
She was still deep in her thoughts when she reached the first floor. There were two ninjas, around 2 years older than her, standing there. They were most likely her teammates for this upcoming exam. As she got closer, their faces got clearer as well. They did not have any special traits to them. Their chakras weren't special either.
"Are you Yuki?" asked one of them casually.
She nodded. His voice was not particularly pleasant to listen to.
"I didn't know she would be that young." said the second to the first one.
His voice was not pleasant to listen to either.
"We're your teammates for this chunnin exam. My name is Kenji and that's Kunio. This is our second time trying out for the Chuunin Exam. We've trained hard for this one so don't mess it up for us."
Yuki glared at them, but then changed her expression to a kinder one:
"We should fight to learn each other's abilities. You guys already know each other, so the two of you against me?"
"Aren't you being too confident?" asked Kunio. "Judging by your age, you must be fresh out of the Academy."
"I just believe in my own abilities. So, what do you say?"
They both nodded with a grin on their faces. Yuki smiled back. She was rolling her eyes in her mind.
"I'll meet you guys on the training grounds in an hour?" she asked still trying to maintain her smile.
They agreed and left in direction of the training grounds. Yuki looked at them walk away. She definitely did not like them. Be nice. She thought. I wonder if Grandfather should be telling me or them to be nice. If we are going to pass this Chuuning exam, I'm going to have to take the lead. They will only let me do so if I can shut their arrogant mouths.
The one hour was almost over. Yuki had time to grab a quick dinner and take a nice bath. Most people wouldn't take a bath before a battle. After all, they would sweat and get dirt on themselves once again. As she was heading towards the training grounds, she bumped into Neji. Their eyes met. It had been a while since they last saw each other. It had been a while since he saw her without her mask on. He didn't say anything, nor did she. He then looked away as if he did not recognize her. She looked away as well. She then walked away. She could only take a few steps when she heard:
"I haven't seen you around lately."
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. He hadn't moved from where they bumped into each other. He looked over his shoulder as well.
"Gai-sensei told me you were joining the upcoming Chuunin exam. Why would an ANBU do that?"
"An order is an order." she replied.
He didn't ask any further. He turned around and kept walking as if nothing had happened.
"It was nice seeing you too!" she yelled out. "I'll see you again during the exams!"
She didn't expect an answer from him, but, to her surprise, he waved his hand as if he was trying to say see you later. She couldn't help but smile. She turned her head around and walked toward the training grounds with light steps. Neji was known to be cold, insensible, but Yuki has seen so many glimpses of the child that was in him. He was actually a very warm person. He lost what nurtured that warmth, but it was still there, somewhere.
She finally made it to the training grounds where her two new teammates were waiting for her.
"You are late." said Kenji.
"Only by a minute." she replied nonchalantly.
"A minute means life and death during the Chuunin Exam." said Kunio.
Yuki raised her eyebrow. At least they were aware of that. She thought to herself.
"We thought of the rules of this fight. First one to hit the ground loses." said Kenji as he readied himself with some kunais.
Yuki nodded. They both had their kunais out. They were ready to fight. Yuki didn't bother taking any weapons out. In fact, she did not even bring any weapons with her. From their stances, she could tell that this was going to be an easy battle. She didn't want to hurt their pride though. Be nice. She thought to herself. They rushed towards her. She easily avoided their first few attacks. She didn't even touch them yet. She wanted to observe how agile they were and how much strength they could use.
"Aren't you going to strike back?" asked Kenji seemingly annoyed by her nonchalance.
"Eventually." she said calmly.
She continued to simply dodge their attacks. They were predictable. There was nothing special about their combos.
"That's enough!" yelled Kenji. "Let me show you some ninjutsu. Let's see how you can avoid this."
Finally. Yuki thought. She took a few steps back. He formed his seals. He shot quite a few water bullets towards her. She avoided it them without much problem. She heard him yell in anger. Kunio pulled out his katanas. He was quite skilled with them, although the speed of his movement was quite average. Again, Yuki did not have to struggle much to avoid his attacks. They were already panting. Time to finish this. She thought. She disappeared in a whirlwind of snow and appeared right behind them. She struck them from behind, just hard enough so that their knees would hit the ground.
"I guess this means I win?" she said gently.
Kenji, angered, tried to hit her sneakily with his left arm. She stepped on his hand quickly making him yell out of pain.
"If we are going to be teammates, I would like you to know a few things about me. One, I hate sore losers. I cannot stand them. Two, I hate people who can't control their emotions. It is often the cause of a failed mission. Three, you both might be older than me, but believe me, I have much more experience then you guys. Questions?"
Kunio stood up and brushed off the dirt on his knees.
"You said you wanted us to fight so that we would know better about each other's ability, but we know nothing about yours right now."
"I lied. I wanted to know more about you guys so that I could adapt. You are much more level headed. You are quite good in taijutsu. Your ninjutsu is weak, so is your genjutsu, that's why you never let go of your weapons. Am I right?"
He nodded.
"And you." Yuki said as she looked down to Kenji who was massaging his hand. "You are short tempered. You have good moves, but you are not aware of your surroundings. It makes all your good moves go to waste."
Kenji looked at her angrily.
"I am not saying I am without flaws. I will sum up my best and worst traits to you. I am quite well balanced in terms of my skills. My genjutsus skills are probably my worst. I am quite fast and precise, but I lack in terms of strength. I tend to like to work on my own. Teamwork is definitely not my strongest point. I learn fast and I can adapt well. I tend to be a little cold in my approaches to things. That sounds about right. Let's pass this exam together." she said with a smile, a genuine one this time.
Kenji was still pouting while Kunio smiled back. They then said their goodbyes before heading back to their own homes.
Yuki was now lying on her bed, looking out her window. It wasn't that late. She could have stayed up to read, but she decided to hit the bed early. She then heard somebody knocking on her door. She slipped her little feet in her slippers and walked towards the door. She opened it and the Third was standing there with a box in his hands.
"Can I come in?"
Yuki made way for him to come in. She turned on the lights. They sat at her dining table.
"I brought some cake over. I know you love sweets." he said.
"Thank you."
"Are you upset I made you enter the Chuunin Exam?"
"Not really. I just don't see the point..."
"I wasn't being entirely honest. I received a report from Jiraiya how there was some weird activity from Orochimaru. He heard that he had something to do with a new village, the Sound village. They are going to be part of this Exam."
"You wanted someone within the Exam to be able to keep an eye out for them."
He nodded.
"Is that an ANBU mission or a personal request from you to me?"
"I told you to quit the ANBU, didn't I? It is a personal request from me."
"So I am not getting paid?" Yuki asked jokingly.
"Aren't you paid with this cake?" he answered with a big grin on his face.
"I will enjoy my pay. Thank you very much."
He stood up and headed for the door.
"Are you heading back already?" she asked him as she followed him to the door.
"I want you to get some rest. It's been a long day for you and I believe tomorrow too."
"How come?"
"They are arriving tomorrow. If I am correct, you will try to gather information about each team that is coming to our village."
Yuki nodded with a smile. She waved him goodbye, closed the door and locked it. He was right. Tomorrow was probably going to be another long day. She placed the cake in the fridge, turned off the lights and headed straight to bed. She knew she wasn't going to sleep much, but she tried to fall into the world of dreams anyway.
End of Chapter 14
And a new part of Yuki's story has begun.
Thank you for your support!
xoxox
Krystal