Chapter 3: Exam Reflections
Pre-story A/N: I'm back with the third chapter of Red Moon's Cry! Consider yourself lucky! I was originally going to update Taijutsu Master, but the overly large amount of reviews (for me) convinced me to do a follow-up update! And congratulations to LordTorg22 for correctly guessing Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan! It was 'Until Next Time!' LordTorg22, your OneShot will be posted once I receive your request and write it! And now, to quote Queen, 'The Show…Must… Go ON!" This chapter's musical influence… My whole library again.
---Begin Chapter---
A long dusty road is the only one that leads up to the Eastern gate of Konoha. There is no other road connected to it for miles. Nothing interesting has ever happened along this road. No battles were fought, no enemies were slain, nothing. The road was a completely useless piece of dirt. It wasn't even worth protecting, due to the fact that no one ever used it, and Konoha was bordered by any Ninja villages to the East. So, being as how the road was completely empty, the guards never expected to see a genin squad, led by Hatake Kakashi no less, come traipsing up the road with some weird never before seen genin walking next to Kakashi. He kept his eyes closed, and his head turned towards the ground. His black streaked red hair gave him a somewhat menacing appearance. His outfit, made him look somewhat strange, due to the fact that it didn't exactly fit. But if he had been wearing a mask, they would have thought Kakashi had an illegitimate child. After seeing the group, the guards straightened themselves, and stood in what they hoped was an official looking pose. They waited till the group requested permission to enter Konoha.
"Quit wasting your, and our, time by trying to look like you were actually doing something useful. Just open the gate and let us in so we may report to the Hokage. And if you have nothing better to do than wonder whether or not I'm Kakashi's illegitimate love child, then find a new profession." The red haired youth hadn't even opened his eyes since they had seen him.
"And who are you to order us around you stupid brat! Just for that I think I'll keep this gate closed." The guard just smirked at his idea. They couldn't make him do anything! Could they?
"Ok, I'm sure Hokage-sama will be very pleased to hear that the guards refused to let in loyal Konoha shinobi, especially Hatake Kakashi. He'll be so happy in fact, I'll even convince him to let you retire. Ahead of… schedule." The guard swallowed hard at that statement. He had no other way to make money, and he had a wife and three kids he was supporting. He meekly nodded and opened the gates. The boy and Kakashi walked through, Kakashi smiling that damnable smile the entire way…
---Scene Break---
A dark room with almost no lighting except for a small black wax candle with a barely burning wick on table. In this room there were two separate figures. More than acquaintances if you will. One sat their back facing the other occupant of the room.
"Are the preparations under way?"
"Yes they are. Dog is in position. Horse will be joining us soon quite soon. Canin won't come easily will he Piranha?"
"That he will not Squid. But with some convincing, he along with Horse won't be long in joining us. However, friction between the two could repel them. Make sure Dog does his part. Frog must not have any part in this. If he catches wind of this, he will do all he can to prevent us from our goal. He will also alert Deer to us. She would be quite troublesome to deal with at this point. Is there any word on Monkey's movement yet?"
"No sir, he's lying low at the moment. But he knows what to do once the situation arises. I have motive to suspect that he may turn to help Canin and Horse. If he does, I'll handle Canin. Dog will surely be more than enough to get Horse."
"Very good, very good. But remember if Deer shows up along with Frog, will we be in serious trouble. Keep Salamander where he is. His status is important to the completion of our plan. Also, Sun must catch no hint of this. Any interference would destroy our plan entirely. But the most troublesome interference would come from Cat and Tiger. If Cat became aware of Tiger or if she met up with Canin. Then the whole plan will be shot to hell."
"Yes… due to their past… meetings, their meeting COULD ruin it for us. I'll be off now to make sure all preparations are made correctly… If not… I'll need to persuade a few things from a few… select… individuals." With that the figure disappeared as a slight wind rippled through the wind extinguishing the candle.
---Scene Break---
Nine figures stood around a round table, candles highlighting their hoods. Their clothes were decorated by numerous red clouds.
"I'm sure you all know what to do. The guise of the Bijuu is working. The Elemental Countries are completely unaware as to what we are planning. Although, several important pieces have yet to be placed. Piranha will be attempting to delay us, and keep us out of his plans. He believes we will destroy his plan, but we must keep it intact, at least, for now. Now, we need all players in position. The pieces are lining up. The pawns must fight the rooks. The rooks must fight the knights. The knights must fight the bishops. The bishops must fight the queen. And the queen must fight the king, while the king defends his pawns. The plan will tie itself together when they least expect it…
---Scene Break---
The Sandaime Hokage sat in front of the group of Jounin waiting for their recommendations. Almost all of the second year or higher genin had been entered. Sandaime was about to end the meeting when someone spoke up.
"Excuse me Hokage-sama; aren't you going to ask if any of the rookie genin teams would like to enter the exams?"
"You know as well as I do Asuma, that no Jounin would willingly enter their genin in an exam that would potentially end their careers prematurely."
"Well then, I, Sarutobi Asuma, nominate Team 10 for the Chuunin Exams." This caused quite a ruckus. Rookies in the exam? They would all die! Before any of the others could interject someone else stepped forward.
"I, Yuuhi Kurenai, nominate Team 8 for the Chuunin Exams." Uproar began to form until Hatake Kakashi stepped forward. Everyone sighed. Maybe he would convince these Jounin what would happen if they entered their genin in the exams.
"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team 7 for the Chuunin Exams." The room exploded. People were yelling and throwing things. It was uproar until the Hokage ordered silence.
"Excuse me Hokage-sama. I don't think these genin should be nominated for the exams! They were my students, and I don't believe they're ready for the exams! Maybe, Sasuke and Shino might stand a chance, but Naruto would be destroyed! He stands no chance in that exam!"
"Iruka-san, I beg to differ with your opinion. These genin are no longer students that you teach. They are soldiers of Konoha, who can, and will fight to prove their country's dignity and power. But they are not merely soldiers, they are fighters, they are dreamers, they are assassins, they are killers, they are mercenaries. But beyond all of that, they are shinobi, and, and they are children. We can't expect them to survive in this world where it's brother eat brother if we coddle them for a year before shoving them into actual combat. They'll have dealt with bandits and thugs, but can they compete with their equal or their superior? That's what we're here to find out. Do they know when to fight and when to run? Do they know who to kill and who to spare? No. They don't. This isn't merely a test Iruka; it's a rite of passage. If they can't learn these simple basics of shinobi life, then what can they learn?" Iruka was stunned. He hadn't heard Kakashi ever speak to someone like that.
"I… I never thought of it that way. Who would've thought, we thought we were protecting our youth, when we were actually crippling them mentally for the rest of their lives…" Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. The Hokage gave a wry grin. Looks like this year there would be some interesting competitors in the Chuunin Exams. He lifted a large wooden block before slamming it down on the official chuunin exam entry form.
---Scene Break---
Naruto was walking along when he heard Konohamaru yelling. Knowing he was in no actual danger, he turned a corner and came face to face with some guy in a cat suit holding Konohamaru and some blonde girl with a large fan strapped to her back. Naruto opened his eyes and stared at them. They seemed as though they might be of interest. He started to walk over and punched a board on the fence next to him. It flipped, and a loud thunk was heard as it slammed into something on the other side. On the other side of the fence, one Uchiha Sasuke collapsed on the ground unconscious. A fence board to the head does that to you.
Naruto approached the cat like man and stood a few feet in front of him not saying anything. The cat guy stared at him. Naruto stared back. The girl with the fan stared at him. He stared at the cat guy. The cat guy looked at fan girl. Fan girl looked at cat guy. They both turned to look at him.
"Put him down."
"Psh, why should I ya stupid brat? He ran into me and know he's gotta pay for what he did." The cat man was obviously testing Naruto's patience. Naruto just continued to stare at cat boy. The cat man started to sweat. Naruto's stare was quite unnerving.
"If you wish to maintain peace with Konoha I suggest that let the Hokage's grandson go. You wouldn't want to start a political incident after everyone hears how one of the Suna ninja attacked the grandson of the Third Hokage?" The cat boy dropped the boy fearing the political repercussions of not letting him go. The fan girl just stared at him a slightly annoyed look on her face. A slight noise attracted Naruto's attention. Standing on a tree branch was a red haired youth with a tattoo above his left eye. He had a large gourd strapped to his back, and the other two Suna Nin seemed to be afraid of him. Naruto raised an eyebrow staring at the new arrival to their little party.
"Kankurou. Cease your foolish actions of joytime or I will kill you." The cat like guy started to sweat yet not releasing the boy from his grasps.
"H-he started it Gaara! It was his entire fault, yeah! We were walking around when he saw us, attacked us and threatened us, so I started to-"
"Cease your drabbling lies! If you so much as smudge the name of Suna and our reputation I will personally take it upon myself to be the one to end your life! Now drop the boy. We are leaving." Kankurou shivered and released Konohamaru who rubbed his scalp attempting to cure it of its harsh treatment. Naruto watched impassively as the red-haired youth disappeared in a swirl of sand, re-appearing in the middle of the street, his back to him. Before he left he spoke once more.
"The blond one. What is your name?"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. And what might yours be Coon-san?" the boy made no reaction to his nickname, which referred to the rings around his eyes.
"Sabaku no Gaara." He began to walk away.
"I look forward to seeing you in the Chuunin Exams, Coon-san."
"The feeling is mutual Uzumaki-san." Naruto merely grinned, his smile eerily resembling that of some sort of canine, specifically a fox… Naruto gave Konohamaru a small pat on his head before walking away muttering something incomprehensible to himself. But if one had listened very, very closely, they may have heard something about how it was all coming together.
---Scene Break---
Haruno Sakura sat on her bed in her largely pink room. In front of her on her dresser was a small picture of one Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was the one and only reason she had become a kunoichi. She had wanted to impress the boy with her skill and hopefully win him over. But once she found out the things they were doing, Sakura started to wish she had never become a ninja. She didn't want to run somebody through with a kunai knife just because she was ordered to. She was brought up being taught that girls were supposed to be prim and proper and serve their husbands. This was largely why women did not become ninja. They were not taught the same as the men. But, despite this decidedly negative train of thought, Sakura assured herself that she would be fine. After all, her magnificent Sasuke-kun would protect her, right?
A voice called from down below Sakura's room. "Sakura honey! Dinner's almost ready, come down and set the table!" Sakura sighed and yelled back.
"Alright Mom!" Sakura took one last look at the picture. Sasuke would always be their, her knight in shining armor.
---Scene Break---
Uchiha Sasuke stood in large empty room large crimson areas staining the aged and graying wood of the floor. Every step he took creaked on the old wooden boards as they ground in protest under the strain. Sasuke ignored these noises as he ran through katas of the traditional Uchiha clan Taijutsu style. Kata after kata. He never ceased his movements. Every kata he performed, no matter how good it was, to him, it was inherently flawed. A twitch of a hand, a bat of an eye, a slight twisting of his foot. They were exaggerated within his own consciousness. He relentlessly repeated the movements, working himself to exhaustion. The more times he repeated it, the more exhausted he became. The more exhausted he became. The more exhausted he became, the more mistakes he made. The more mistakes he made the more he repeated it. This eventually led to him collapsing form exhaustion on the floor. He lay there panting. He slowly rolled himself onto his back.
Sasuke stared at the ceiling. The blood glaring back at him. The hatred of his clan, their despise, all because of… Sasuke shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head. The things Itachi claimed to be true couldn't be. There was absolutely no way. They didn't match. It was inherently impossible. But if it was in some cruel twist of fate, true, Sasuke had performed a deed a greater then treason against one's own village. Sasuke would have assisted in the death of one of the Clan's most important members. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, hot tears rolling down his face. He had never thought Itachi's words may have held even the smallest grain of truth in the desert of lies he was told. Yet, Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that he HAD caused it… That he WAS responsible for the most treasonous act to ever occur in the Uchiha Clan.
---Scene Break---
Naruto lay on the ground in a state similar to that of Sasuke. Except in front of him was a large and very thick training log. This whole area was filled with them. It was apparently where they stored unused training logs. Now, the log was not in exactly good condition. The log contained a large gaping pit in its side. There were splinters of wood littered around it and several shards still stuck out. Blood was also spattered on the wood. Naruto's knuckles contained crimson shards of wood, stained red by his blood. His knuckles were a blood mess. His bones could clearly bee seen through even through the thick amount of blood and wood. Naruto groaned as he started plucking out wood shards. The job was painful and time consuming, but allowed him to heal faster. As Naruto plucked the last splinter that was lodged in his joint from free form his hand, he could already see the wound begin to close. Naruto turned to the log and stared at it. Hanging his arms useless at his sides, Naruto launched himself fiercely into attacking the log with a flurry of kicks. His arms swung like pendulums with the momentum of his body. Naruto flung one particularly hard and furious kick at what remained of the decimated log. His foot ripped through it scratching his leg and tearing the pants of his already ratty jumpsuit. He sighed as he gingerly set his foot back down on the ground. He walked off to the side of the training field, and rolled out an ever larger and thicker piece of aged wood. He rolled it out to the previous log's position before standing it upright. He examined his hands, checking for signs of any damage. Seeing none, he launched into another attack on the log. Only this time, it wasn't for training purposes.
Naruto struck the log with anger and fury. He struck the log with hatred and pain. He struck the log with all the pain he had suffered concentrated into every punch. Each punch was ripping chunks and ships form the log's surface. Naruto's hands quickly became bloody and pained, but he pushed on, the wood sticking in his exposed flesh and muscle. In one final movement, Naruto smashed his fist clear through the log, leaving his limb trapped within its clutches. Naruto used his other arm to pry his hand from the log and flexed it seeing no external damage. Naruto then glanced at the remains of many training logs. Having fully relieved his anger Naruto picked up several long strips of bandages from the grounds before walking away, slowly wrapping hid forearms and hands in the bandages.
---Scene Break---
In the old Ninja Academy only one light was still on at such a late hour. The teacher still there was none other than one Umino Iruka. He sat at his old wooden desk, grading papers and reviewing his newest batch of students' files. Iruka was decidedly nervous and was only here because working calmed him. It drove away dark memories. He felt he really needed this as the next day was the start of the Chuunin Advancement Examinations. His latest batch of Genin was going to be entering. Iruka didn't know if he would handle it if one of them was to die while taking the Exam. Iruka had seen too many of his comrades die. He glanced down at a slightly open drawer that he always kept locked. Iruka bent down to check it.
"Hello. What happened here?" Iruka opened the drawer and his breath caught at what was in the drawer. Even though he had placed it there himself, it still drew up bad memories no matter how many times he saw it. Iruka drew out the object and looked at it. It was a mask resembling an animal. A relic. "My old ANBU mask…" Iruka looked forlornly at it. This mask held too many memories. All of them bad. Iruka placed the mask back in the drawer and locked it again. He packed up his things and left. He no longer had any interest in doing his work.
---End Chapter---
A/N: This chapter was much shorter than I originally intended. I'll be again shooting for 5000 words or more next chapter. I just felt this chapter shouldn't be taken any farther than it is already. It was going to extend into the Chuunin Exams but I felt this was a good place to stop. The importance behind Iruka's ANBU mask will probably come into play in the next chapter or two. It will have a very large impact on the story and its progression. So, stay tuned for the next chapter of Red Moon's Cry! The next thing I will be posting will be LordTorg22's requested OneShot which I have decidedly titled Kurai Kanagae meaning Dark Thoughts. Sorry it took so long to get your OneShot up Torg! But have no fear it will be up soon! So once again everyone, Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan!