Chapter 6: The Letters

Now, before I start, I just wanted to say one thing; the woman that hosted the first part of the Chunin Exams does have a name, and it's Rika. I just couldn't come up with one as I was writing the previous chapter. She'll be making another appearance within this chapter. Anyways, that's cleared up. Onwards with the story!

It had been almost an entire week since the first part of the Chunin Exams took place, and Akahana was still somewhat rattled by it. Her sensei George Williams had tried to comfort her and tell her that it wasn't really that bad, and part of her bought it. However, the rest of her didn't for reasons that she just couldn't identify. She sighed loudly and stabbed her chopsticks into the bowl of ramen in front of her somewhat harshly, like someone stabbing a knife into a wooden target. She grabbed some of the noodles and brought them to her mouth, holding them with her lips. She sucked the noodles in and chewed them quickly before she swallowed. She kept doing this until she had finished the bowl off. She stood up from her chair and walked over to the sink, placing the empty bowl in. She threw the wooden chopsticks in the trash bin that was next to the sink and made her way out of the kitchen without even pausing to push in her chair like she usually did.

She went up the stairs and down a small hallway before getting to her room. She walked into her bedroom and made her way toward the window. She took a seat upon the windowsill and made herself comfortable on it before looking out on the village. It looked normal, just like any other day. She sighed softly and smiled, relaxing a bit. She placed her arm on one knee and let her hand hang. She leaned her head back until the back of it touched the windowpane. She closed her eyes, letting the slight breeze that had come to play with her hair. She thought back to when the three of them had just gotten out of the school and were heading on home.

Akahana, Akihiko, and Zero were walking down the dirt path away from the academy. Akihiko's body had finally relaxed, no longer in a tense situation, and Zero was his old self again. However, this wasn't exactly the case with Akahana. She was still pretty rattled by the whole thing. She had never experienced a test that made her so scared to know the results of it. Was she going to pass? Or was she going to fail and have to take it again next year? These questions ran through her mind, making her head spin. Akihiko noticed how tense her shoulders were and decided to ask a question,

"Akahana-chan, are you alright? You're a bit...tense." Akahana's head whipped around to face him and stared him dead in the eyes. He was surprised by this reaction and stopped, causing Zero to halt in his tracks. She then sighed and replied as her eyes averted away,

"I'm not one hundred percent, but I'll be okay. I'm just a bit rattled by the test and how I think I did."

"Well, who isn't? That was probably one of the hardest written tests we have ever taken and probably will ever take. It took a lot of courage to take it, and you know it as well as we do. And we made it this far. We've made it past the first hurdle."

"But won't we get notices saying whether or not we passed the test?"

"Most likely. I'm sure you did fine."

"I barely got past the first two questions! Who knows what's going to happen next?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I only got to the fifth question before the test stopped. What about you, Zero?" Akihiko now looked at his other teammate. Zero glanced over from under his bangs and shrugged.

"I only got to the fourth question before the test ended. It'll be a miracle if we all pass."

"I'm sure we all did. As long as we gave it our best, we'll be fine. Right?" Akihiko said. Zero shrugged again and Akahana gave a weak nod. Akihiko nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. The three of them walked along the roads of the village in silence, unsure of what else to say to one another. They got to Akahana's house and she went inside, but not without saying her usual good-bye and hugging the hell out of her two teammates. Then the boys walked away and came upon Zero's house not too long after. He went inside and Akihiko walked alone to his house.

She had to hand it to her teammates; they knew what they were saying back then, and she knew that their words got her mind off of the Chunin Exams for a while. She took her arm off of her knee, threw her legs into her room, and stood up from the window. She turned around and placed her hands on the windowsill. She had to keep a positive mind about it. She already knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but she still had to keep her spirits up. She couldn't bail on her team now because she was being negative about it. That just wasn't her style.

"I assume you're bugging me in the middle of my work for a good reason, Rika-san?" Naruto asked in a slightly annoyed voice as the black-haired woman stepped into the office. She was holding a folder containing some sorts of documents, which Naruto noticed after a few seconds. She nodded and answered calmly,

"Yes. It's about the first part of the Chunin Exams, Naruto-sama."

"Alright. Tell me what you have."

"First off, I have the acceptance letters to those who passed the test. The percentage of those who passed is much higher than last year's."

"Convince me." Rika could hear the fatigue in his voice as he said it. However, this wasn't going to stop her from telling him the good news (at least she hoped it was to him). A slight smile appeared on her lips as she spoke the next few words,

"How about forty-one percent?"

"That's a thirty-six percentage raise!" Rika saw him rise out of his chair a little and could see the excitement burning in the young man's eyes. She had to admit, even though the Hokage went through a ton of things, managing one's spirit through all of it was a feat in itself. That was one reason that she was so interested in the man and envied him in some way. She pushed the thought out of her head and focused on what she was going to say next. She cleared her throat before continuing,

"Should I send these now, my lord?"

"Send them as soon as you possibly can. Oh, and one question."

"Yes?"

"Did all the students from George's, Josh's, Amaterasu's, and Yumi's squads make it through?"

"Yes, they did. Any particular reason you asked me?"

"Just out of curiosity, my dear."

"If you say so, my lord." She whipped around on her heels and headed for the door. She exited the room and Naruto sat back down in his chair, leaning back in it. A big grin curled itself onto his thin lips. Well, they're going to be happy, that's for sure. He chuckled to himself at the little thought.

Akahana was sitting on her bed, her knees being clung to her chest. She had been this way for a while, trying to not think of what was coming up next. However, the thoughts kept ignoring her feelings for them not to return and kept on coming. She let out a loud sigh and fell onto her bed. Why am I letting these thoughts get to me? It's unusual and somewhat creepy and annoying. I wish I could stop thinking about this stuff. It would make living somewhat easier for me right now. She closed her eyes and rolled over, her back to the window. She didn't know what else to do but sleep. Maybe that would take her mind off of it and grant her some peace.

Two hours passed by and she hadn't had any luck getting to sleep. She groaned in slight frustration and turned back over, lying on her back once more. Why wouldn't these thoughts just leave her alone? She sat up and pushed herself off of the bed. She walked over to the door and opened it, going through the doorway without so much as a pause. She went down the hall and down the stairs quickly, heading into the kitchen. There she got a surprise; her mother sitting at the table, reading some sort of letter. What could she possibly be reading? She walked over to the table slowly and stopped a foot away from her mother.

"Mom, what are you reading?" Akahana asked in a slightly lower voice than usual. Her mother looked up from the letter, a smile plastered onto her face.

"You won't believe what I'm reading."

"What?"

"You're going onto the second part of the Chunin Exams!"

"No way!" Akahana snatched the paper from her mother, reading over the letter carefully. A huge smile curled itself onto her lips as she read it. Once she was finished, she placed it on the table and hugged her mother tight.

"I'm going on with the exams!"

"Yes, honey, you are! I knew you could do it!" Akahana let go of her, swirled around on her heels, and headed for the front door, but not before yelling out,

"I'm gonna tell my teammates!"

"You do that." She slipped on her sandals and ran out of the house. She booked it to Akihiko's house, dodging people at greater speeds than she had ever before. To her, they were just obstacles. She made it to his house in less than five minutes and jumped into his windowsill. He was sitting in front of a canvas, painting away. She knocked on the side of the window, getting his attention. He looked up from his work and smiled.

"Oh, hey, Akahana-chan. What's up?"

"I'm going onto the second part of the exams!" She answered happily. Akihiko could clearly see the excitement in his teammate. He smiled a little and nodded.

"Well, congratulations. So am I."

"Really?"

"Yes." Akahana leapt off of the windowsill and went over to where Akihiko was. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her. Akihiko blushed a little, not being used to this whole thing. He hesitantly embraced her and held her gently. She let go of him after a while and he let go of her. The two stared into each other's eyes. Akihiko could clearly see the spark in her eyes and Akahana could see his own excitement at the news. She sat upon the floor and glanced at his painting. She was suddenly confused by it.

"Why are you painting the ninja academy?" She asked, not being able to hold it in. Akihiko chuckled to himself a bit, baffling the girl more.

"Well, I decided to paint the academy as a symbol of achievement."

"A symbol of achievement?"

"Yes. It's where we became genin, and it was also the first step in becoming chunin."

"Hm. Makes sense to me." Akihiko nodded and turned back to his painting. He dipped the thin paintbrush in the blue paint, which was now a shade of light blue, and began to color the sky in. Akahana watched in silence as Akihiko worked on his art. She had learned, when she first met him in the academy, that he took his art very seriously, which also meant that he would take the critiques that people gave him seriously. Luckily, she had learned the easy way. She had seen Akihiko lash out only once during the entire time she had known him, and that was when someone destroyed a drawing he had spent many hours on. He had gotten detention for it, but the other kid didn't walk away unpunished either. It made her shudder whenever she thought of it. She wished that she never saw that side of her teammate ever again.

A light landing at the window caught both Akahana and Akihiko's attention. They both looked up and saw Zero and George by the window, George having a smile on his face. Zero looked his normal self, not letting much of his emotions through. George walked over to where Akahana and Akihiko were and placed his hands on their heads, ruffling their hair slightly.

"I knew you were able to do this. I had the fullest confidence in you three, and it seems it wasn't for naught."

"Thanks, sensei!" Akahana piped up. Akihiko simply smiled. George took his hands off of their heads and shoved them into his jacket's pockets.

"Just keep trying your hardest and keep being persistent in your dreams. I know you'll make it through." He said.

"Right!" The three teens answered in unison. George couldn't help but smile a bit more. I really have trained them well. Let's see how far they'll be able to go. He leaned against the wall and he, Akihiko, and Akahana began talking about random things, laughing the night away. Zero stayed by the window, watching his teammates and teacher talk amongst one another. He really didn't mind being left out. He just didn't know what to say in the conversation. As long as the rest of his team was content with the news, so was he. He had also gotten a letter stating that he was eligible to go on with the exams. A tiny smile formed on his lips at the thought.

Lee was creeping somewhat nervously through the forest. The reason for the anxiety was because he secretly feared that Haruo and Ayane would try to find him if they discovered him missing. He remembered the last time that he had been caught sneaking away from them. Haruo had to scold him for doing so and lectured him for at least half an hour about why he shouldn't have snuck off on his own. He didn't want that happening ever again. That lecture and scolding scared him to pieces. He picked up his pace slightly, afraid that they were already on his trail.

He reached a cabin almost an hour later and stopped at the door. Shaking, he lifted one clenched hand and placed it on the wood. He knocked on the door very softly, not even sure that the person inside had heard it. He waited, seeing if the person would come and let him in. He was shaking from the adrenaline rushing through his veins because of the anxiety he was feeling. No one came to the door. He was beginning to grow more anxious and knocked on the door again, but with a little more force. He waited again, shoving his hands in his pockets as he did so. The door suddenly opened, revealing a dark gray-haired male with eyes as dark as Haruo's.

"Lee. Odd seeing you here without sending a message first." The person spoke in a deep voice that was like velvet to Lee's ears.

"I just need to talk to you, Itachi-san." Lee responded. He could hear the shakiness in his own voice, and it scared him a bit. However, Itachi seemed to overlook this fact and motioned him in. He stepped into the cabin and Itachi shut the door behind him, walking past him afterward into the kitchen. Lee followed him in and saw a single cup of tea sitting on the small table. Itachi was at the stove, heating up the kettle once again. Lee took a seat across from the Uchiha's seat and glanced over to where he was, seeing a steel blue cup sitting on the clean countertop. He exhaled softly and turned back so he was staring at the table's surface. He folded his hands together and placed them in his lap, waiting for his tea to be done.

A few minutes passed and Lee looked up, seeing the cup that used to be on the counter now in front of him. He lifted his hands from his lap and grabbed the cup. He lifted it to his lips and took a sip of it. The warmth of it made him relax a bit and he looked up from his tea, seeing Itachi staring at him calmly. Lee sighed and spoke,

"I passed the first part of the Chunin Exams."

"Congratulations, Lee."

"But there's something else." This confused Itachi a little and he motioned for Lee to continue.

"I'm worried about the second part of these exams."

"You mean the Forest of Death."

"Yes, I do. Can you tell me, at least from your own experiences, what it's like?"

"When I had to take the second part of the exams, I learned a couple things in there. One: you do not let your guard down, not even for a second. Otherwise, you're dead. Two: there are very large creatures that you have to watch out for. Three: everyone is after you to get your scroll, which you can't open until you get to the tower in the middle of the forest. You need to rely on your teammates if you're going to make it out of there alive." This scared Lee a lot. He could die doing this test? He gulped, his anxiety clearly showing on his face. Itachi noticed this and his features softened a little.

"Don't worry about it too much. You have good teammates, your siblings, right? They are very skilled ninja, from what you've told me. You should be fine if you stick with them."

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't worry so much about it. I just don't like fighting all that much."

"I share your feelings, Lee-san." Lee was comforted by that fact. He knew that, from what Itachi told him, that he was a pacifist because he had witnessed some of the Third Great Ninja War when he was only four years old. He caught himself wondering how tough it must've been for Itachi to see something that horrible and not go insane because of it. He sipped at his tea again, thinking about what Itachi had just said to him about the exams. Haruo and Ayane are very good ninja. Even though Ayane is a bit crazy, she is still very reliable if I need any assistance. Judging from what Itachi-san said, I'm going to have to stick with them more than ever if I want even a scrap of a chance at passing this part of the exam. The two men sat there in silence, drinking their tea at a relaxed pace.

Some time passed, and Lee realized that he probably had to head out real soon. He drank the rest of his tea quickly and set it down gently on the table. He stood up from his chair, grasping Itachi's attention. He placed his own cup down and stared at him.

"I'm guessing from your quickened pace that you have to get back to your brother and sister soon."

"Yes, I do, or else I'll probably get lectured again by Haruo again."

"Well, it'd be best if you went off on your way."

"Thank you very much for letting me talk to you on such a short notice, Itachi-san."

"Anytime. Just make sure to notify me ahead of time the next time around."

"I will." Lee pushed in his chair and headed out of the kitchen. Itachi could hear the front door opening and closing soon after. He smiled a bit and drank more of his tea. Hopefully, he'll make it out of the Forest of Death alive. I kind of like that kid. He reminds me somewhat of myself. He pondered the thought a bit before pushing it into the back of his mind and drinking the rest of his jasmine tea.

Alright, this chapter is finally completed. And yes, I brought someone very awesome back (I'm still not sure how they were resurrected again after dying from the release of the Edo Tensei). The genin that survived the first part of the exam now move onto the Forest of Death. What will happen? Find out in the next chapter!