Hello Everyone, how is it going? My god it feels like a longer time than usual that I've last typed. For those of you who do not know me, I am Orochi-no-Tsukiyomi. For those of you have seen my work before, I deeply apolegize for the long delays, what with college and the trials of life. However due to recent events beyond my control, I will be able to hopefully update alittle more frequently than normal. If you have questions relating to my work or anything, feel free to leave a reveiw or personally send me an e-mail at Aida_, and I will be sure to reply and answer you the best of my abilities.
Anyways, with all of that out of the way...Let us get to what we are here for, the story, yes? So without further delay or ado...ON WITH THE SHOW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, they belong to Kishimoto *glares at him* However, I do Ryatsu and Dok'Jenara, so if you want to use them in further projects of your own, ask me first, k?
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Reading'
"Demon Speaking"
'Demon Thinking'
"Jutsu"
Time/Location Transition
Chapter 13 -Genin Reunion, The Exam of Torment
Konoha- Shinobi Academy, Second floor - 7:29am
Cell Thirteen looked around at the large crowds littered all over the halls of the second floor. They looked down at the instructions of their sensei which said head to the third floor at room 301. Ryatsu looked to his friends as they nodded to themselves. They figured this was an illusion to weed out a lot of the applicants. The less people that were around, the better and stronger would be left. The challenge would be more concentrated for them. The decided to continue onto the third floor, wading through the crowds. If these shinobi were too dumb enough to not count the floors that was their own faults.
"What do you mean we cannot come in, that is most un-youthful of you to block us from taking the Chunin Exams!" A kid in green spandex yelled at the two "genin" guarding the room "301", obviously acting out a ploy.
"You kids don't have what it takes to survive these Exams." One of them warned as he shoved him away, "These exams are grueling and rigorous. People have died taking these, many go insane. We have failed it three times so we're giving you guys sound advice. Turn back if you value your lives, careers and sanity."
The odd kid's teammates grabbed him up, "Come on Lee, he's right..lets just go" the colder looking of the two whispered as they walked and weaved through the crowds up to the third floor.
The trio followed Cell thirteen, two of them were targets of personal interest of them. Ryatsu, the only true kenjutsu specialist of the genin in Konoha; and Uchiha Sasuke, the top Shinobi in his class and second best swordsmen to Ryatsu. They heard about them for quite sometime now and to say they weren't curious about their abilities would have been a lie. Rock Lee, the genin in the green spandex especially wanted to test the mettle of these two supposed geniuses of their craft.
"You two!" He called out to them, "You are Uchiha Sasuke, and you Ryatsu, are you not?"
The two turned around and raised a brow at the strange, bowl cut-haired teen in front of them. Ryatsu pointing to himself, his eyes confused behind his sunglasses, "I'm sorry, are you referring to us?" in an almost dead-paned tone.
"I have found an eternal rival matching that of Guy-sensei's with your hip attitude!" he suddenly exclaimed out as he suddenly got into a stance, bring a fist behind him, "I have heard rumored that you two are considered geniuses in your year, I would like to test that theory"
The two started sweating bullet in utter confusion, looking to each other, raising a brow to each other. The two stared at one another for a bit before nodding.
"If you want to test our might so well, save it for the exams" Sasuke replied, resting his hands on the pommels of his swords, "besides, if we were to fight, this place would be damaged majorly or we would hold back. We would hate to disappoint you so why not wait till you get a chance where you can fight us at our fullest, eh?"
Rock Lee paused as he brought a bandage hand to his chin, closing his eyes. He wrestled with his words as his head nodded. He was eager to fight them yes, but at the same time they would hold back in fear of damages. True to himself, he would be a little disappointed if he didn't get test them without restraint. he snapped his eyes open as he grinned and gave them a thumbs up.
"Very well you two, I will hold our fight till later. I, Rock Lee will prove you the power of a genius of the hardship is better than that of natural talent", grinning as he issued the challenge.
The two nodded as they quickly followed after Tenten to the room they were to meet for the Chunin Exams. Rock Lee and his team mates watched as they walked off, each looking at them in a mix of eagerness and curiosity.
"I feel my body trembling in youthful excitement at the prospect of fighting them" rock Lee spoke as he gripped his feet, "I will train to prepare myself. I will start off with a thousand pushup with only two fingers. If I cannot do that then I will run twenty laps around Konoha backwards on my hands"
"Lee-San...don't you think you should just wait patiently...I don't know about you..but I would think thinking about working out would distract you from anything else" The calmer lazier of the three spoke.
"Jin is right Lee, besides...Fate has already decreed that they would lose to us..we are the superior" Hyuuga Neji spoke cold and distantly as Jin sighed deeply at them.
Konoha Academy - Examination Room #301
Cell Thirteen opened the door of the room to see it jammed filled with an entire cavalcade of shinobi of various origins, all staring at the new arrivals. They all eventually returned to their prior business, bored quickly of them. Tenten looked at them as they choice to rest next to the corner near the door.
"Theirs so many people here" She commented as she looked around at the many groups.
"Yeah...All of them look tough and hardened to a degree" Ryatsu remarked as well, sitting down with his sword leaning on his shoulder.
"Should be a real test then, eh?" Sasuke added, earning a grin from the others, "We have already killed shinobi each much stronger than all of us. Whether by sill or luck we managed and grew stronger from it. What better way to test ourselves and show what we can do than here in these Exams."
"HEY! SASUKE-KUN!" Sasuke could only flinch at the noise as he immediately glomped to the ground from his blindside by a rapid blur.
Said blur was Yamanaka Ino. She was dress scantly clad in purple and wore her platinum hair in a long ponytail down her back, leaving one of her strand to cover one of her pale blue eyes. She was currently gripping Sasuke, who was desperately trying to grab his blades to help claw away.
"You idiot woman...so troublesome.." A very lazy voice followed behind her, "hey Ryatsu, how's life with Anko faring for you and the others?"
"Hey Shikamaru-san" Ryatsu nodded his head with a grin, "We've gotten much stronger thanks to Anko-sensei, even if I still think she tries to kill us in the form of play."
The Nara slacker sighs as he shakes his head, "Troublesome...I don't know how you guys handle it all..."
"If it isn't my friendly rivals, uh?" They turned to Kitsu, who was surprising not in his usual Illusion, grinning toothily, "You look surprised Rya?"
"Naruto you baka, when will you just drop that illusion and stop trying to act so damn cool all the time!" His teammate Kiba growled at him as his pup, Akamaru barked in agreement.
He simply closes his eyes as he brings a skeletal through his mane of hair, "and of course you know my teammates, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata, uh?" He grins.
Hinata waved meekly as she stepped behind Kitsu, holding the back of his jacket.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that all of us were here for the same thing" Ryatsu commented, "Who'd thought of it. This should be fun, eh?"
"Shut up Ryatsu, your just jealous because Sasuke-kun is going to blow the competition away your weirdo."
Tenten grabbed her collar and slammed her to the wall, a knife at her throat as she glared heartlessly at her, "I would watch what you said about Rya-kun in front of me, you blonde, dumb as shit, weak as hell, fan-girl...Lest I rip your throat out and see what color your blood is in front of everyone to witness" She spoke in a very cold, deadly and menacing tone as she edge the knife closer to her.
"Shizuka-Chan..lets not draw attention to ourselves love" Ryatsu whispered to her softly, looking around, "People are watching, last thing we need is a target on our backs, no?"
She continued to glare at her, watching the primal fear well in Ino's eyes. She closed her eye as he replaced the knife in his pouch, letting her go. Ino remained where she was, utterly frozen in fear. Her body trembled visibly as her eye narrowed into tiny dots in fright as she weakly slide to her knees. Gasping as she finally remembered to breath as she stared at Tenten in fright.
'W...W...What the..What the hell is she...I..I felt like I was staring...into the eyes of Death itself' She thought frantically as her teammates picked her back to her feet.
Tenten sat back down next to Ryatsu on the floor, her gaze still piercing her warningly. Her gaze slowly softening at the feel of Ryatsu's hand gently stroking her back, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Sorry Rya-kun...I couldn't stand that brainless and heartless bimbo insult you in front of me" she whispers softly to him as he holds her closer.
"That's alright Shizuka-Chan...I don't blame you for what you did" He whispers back with a soft grin, "Besides, if one of the guys tried to say something similar about you my love I probably would've done the same" He sweat drops as he grins sheepishly, earning a little giggle from her.
Their collective attention was gathered to the front of the room as a large plume of smoke exploded outward. The smoke cleared as it revealed an imposing and grim looking man with several Chunin and Jonin clad in grey suits to either side. The man towered over everyone as he wore a black trench coat and a bandana over his head, his face was scarred up as his eyes stared into each and everyone's souls.
"Alright maggots! Sit down and shut the hell up this instant!" He spoke harshly as his voice boomed in the large room, everyone freezing as they looked at him, "My name is Morino Ibiki, I will be your Proctor for this first Exam of the Chunin Exams."
The many applicants all took a seat, all looking at the imposing man warily. His cold eyes scanned each and everyone slowly, smirking slightly to himself. These had promise he could tell, but whether or not they had what it took to survive his test, he would be the judge for it. He turned to the monitors to his sides as they slowly moved to the walls to each side of the genin, smirking as they flanked tense air seem to get to several of the genin as they trembled visibly under the scrutinizing gaze of Ibiki.
"Now that I have all of your fullest attentions let us begin the First Exam then" He spoke with the menacing smirk, turning his back to them as he grabbed a piece of chalk from the board and wrote simply '12:30pm - 3:30pm'. "This exam is a written exam, testing your knowledge. Unlike most test where you start out with nothing, you have a full score already. Every question you get wrong you lose ten points. If you are caught cheating you will be marked and lose twenty. If you are caught cheating three times, you and your team shall be removed from this exam immediately. the tenth question will not be given for now until 3 pm precisely."
Everyone tensed up at his instructions. One mistake could cost not only their-selves but their team's chance to prove themselves. Ibiki saw this as he chuckled darkly, releasing a small bit of his killing intent, putting them even more on edge. the monitors gave a pile to either side of the rows they were watching, making the applicants pass the test to to whoever was next to him.
"A Shinobi should never be caught doing the simplest thing, such mistakes could cost you your life one day" He added grimly as he looked at the clock" And now, Let the First Exam...BEGIN!"
The room grew dead silent except for the scratching of pencils on paper as the air was very strained and tense. Ryatsu stared at the questions as he kept his right arm on his lap, letting Jenara nap as he raised a brow at the difficulty of the questions.
'If a shuriken is to be thrown at an enemy shinobi hidden in a brush behind a tree. At what should your trajectory and force should be in order to throw it straight at its heart? What kind of questions are these?' He thought frantically as he scratched the back of his head, 'Hell its like they intended to be that way...you'd have to be a pure freaking tactical genius...' he blinked as he pushed up his sunglasses more as he face palmed himself mentally, 'Or we're suppose to cheat..that makes sense somewhat, what with the rules, restrictions and glaring looks at cheating in itself..'
He nudged Jenara slightly, leaning down on the table as he whispers to her softly, "Jenara-chan..Jenara-Chan..I need a favor for you, ok?"
She hissed softly annoyed at being waken up as she lazily opened a emerald eye, "What do you want Ryatsu?" whispering back, understanding the need if he had to.
"Can you deliver a message to Sasuke and Tenten for me?" She nods as he continues, "Good, go and find them in the crowd and whisper to them the true meaning of this test, they need to cheat but not get caught doing it, ok?"
She swayed slightly as she nodded her head, slithering off his wrist as she moved to the floor to go find his teammates to relay the message. He sighed silently in thanks as he turned to his own test, twiddling his pencil as he tried to figure the questions out for now. Jenara weaved around the crowd of legs as she slowly found the others, slithering up carefully as she relayed the message to each of them, receiving a slight nod in return. Sasuke grinned as he lowered his head, activating his Sharingan for the first time since he first received it in Yuki. His sole eye spotted one guy who seem to be working faster, getting answers as he kept his eye on him. He brought his pencil down as he began to scribble down in mimicry to the guy a few seats ahead, keeping his head low so he wouldn't be spotted so nodded as she looked up to see what appeared to be mirrors on the ceiling, grinning to herself as she lowered her head, bring a hand into her pouch to grab some wires. she lay the wrapped pile in her lap as she pulled length out as she threw it up at the ceiling mirror. She tugs it testingly as she throws a second wire on the other edge, feeling it tilt just ever so slightly. grinning at her work as she moved the mirror subtly till she found it at an angle at a finish test. she lay her head down to the side, keeping an eye staring at the mirror as she copied the answers froze quickly as she heard a knife stab into the table next to her.
"#342 you are disqualified." The monitor commented at the Waterfall-nin next to her, "#230...#128 your out as well"
"But I didn't do anything! your lying you.." the genin retorted before the monitor grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him from the desk and slamming him to the wall as he stared at him, "Listen kid, we see everything, I caught you cheating three times already, I have every right to throw you out as I please, do I make myself clear?"
The genin gulped as he hung his head in shame. The monitor smirked as he dropped him and returned to his post. The genin's teammates rose from their seats as they glared harshly at him while they walked out. More soon caught on to the stakes of the game of the test. Neji and Hinata unleashed their Byakugan's to find their answers. A genin from Sand with red hair summoned and eye of sand towards the ceiling, relaying the information to his own. Ino took over a body to take the answers and forcibly got her victum and team disqualified before returning to her Genin with a musical note on his hit-tate close his visible eye as he copied based on sound as he hand signaled his teammates. Jenara slithered back up Ryatsu's leg and coiled herself around his neck under his coat, whispering the answers into his ear. He smiled lightly as he lowered himself to write down, hearing two knives slamming into the papers of the two unfortunate applicants to either side.
"#248 out...#12 and 48 also out" one of the monitors called out, flipping another knife in one hand.
"#301 out and # 54 and # 153 are also out" another monitor called out with a grin.
Soon more and more of the many genin in the room were being called out for cheating as the clocked neared its final stop. By the time it was even three twenty nine, the room had emptied down to maybe two hundred from the five hundred that crowded the room. Those who stayed stared at the clock as time seem to take forever to finish. All the while, Ibiki kept a strong, cold, and steady gaze over all of them, subtly sending killing intent to spook them.
"Alright" He finally spoke as the clock read '3:30 pm' ,"Now it is time for the Tenth Question. However before I give you this test I must give these new rules to it. If you fail this question, you and your team will fail immediately and will not be able to participate in the Chunin Exams for the rest of your life."
"THAT'S BULLSHIT! Some of us have been here years maybe, they know about this test already!" Kiba shouted in outrage, slamming his hands to the desk, earning a dark, unsettling chuckle from Ibiki.
"Be that as that may, They did not have me before now, so my rules, my test. However if you do not want to take this question, simply raise your head and give up. You and your team will be able to leave with those who failed, but will be able to take the exam next time. So choose now while you have time, the test of life and death. To take the tenth Question or to leave."
He unleashed his full killing intent slowly as he gave his instructions, watching the breaking resolve of those who would be leaving quickly. Many of the remaining applicants broke under the intense pressure brought on by both by the stakes placed and of Ibiki's killing intent. Many hands raised quickly as teams were called off and escorted continued his treatment for a bit longer, waiting to see if anyone else would bow off.
"Seems I have been left with those of much more sterner stuff, good' he thought to himself as he saw Kitsu's hand slowly raise.
"Are you giving up then I take it?" He asked coldly with a smirk.
He rose slowly as his skeletal hand rose proudly in the air, his teammates looking at him in shock and surprise. Kitsu opened his eyes as he lowered the hand near his eye level and gave Ibiki the finger.
"You can take that and shove it, eh?" He commented sarcastically with a toothy grin, "I have...plans so to say, and I'm not about to let some giant like you scare me off like that."
Ibiki didn't bat an eye as Kitsu sat back down confidently. He turned to see the growing resolve in the remaining.
'That damned kid...with that simple act of defiance...managed to break whatever left I had on the rest...still...I did manage to greatly weed out the trash...' He thought to himself as he addressed to the remaining, "If anyone else wished to leave, then tough shit. Now for the Tenth question.."
He paused as everyone watched him as he closed his eyes slowly. He bend forward and grinned lightly at them, "You all pass."
"WHAT THE HELL!" Kitsu shouted being the first of many to get out of the shock, "What do you mean we pass!"
He laughed as he looked at them, "This test was a mere ruse, a way to weed out the trash from the real shinobi in front of me. The whole point of this exam was to test your ability at gathering information. Those of you we found to be sloppy and glaringly obvious we removed them immediately. In fact we even planted several Chunin with the answers to see who would find them out" he nodded as the three Chunin seeds rose up nervously in front of everyone.
"But what about the tenth question?" Another shinobi from sand, a girl with four spiked buns shouted in mild shock still.
Ibiki merely chuckled, "I was getting to the point young miss. You see in choosing to face the question and not backing down at the option was the tenth question. You see their will come a time where you will be given a chance to save the lives of your team or to continue the mission. Those cowardly insects that choose to leave and abandon in hope of another time will never be a true shinobi." His face grew grim as he removed his bandana revealing a war-torn and scared head, "A true shinobi will do whatever it takes to finish their job, even if it means sacrificing their own life. Look long and hard at me so I may see the true conviction of your souls!"
The forty four remaining genin stared long and hard at the Torture and Interrogation Head with mixed feelings. He stared at them long and hard, smirking satisfied as he replaced his bandana back on over his head.
"For you our the future of our Land. You have proven to me your mettle under stressful environments. The First Exam of the Chunin Exams are now over." He declared as the monitors rose from their seats and vanished in plumes of smoke, "Now before we begin for the next Exam.."
Whatever he had intended on saying would never be heard to the group as what appeared to be a cannonball crashed through the window to his left. The members of Cell thirteen's eyes widened as the ball unfurled to reveal their teacher, Mitarashi Anko. Behind her was a banner scrawled with the message 'The proctor of the Second Exam, The Sexy Mitarashi Anko has arrived!'.
"Alright Maggots now is not the time to rest!" she proclaimed as she opened her eye to see the group, frowning somewhat, "Forty four? Ibiki, Are you growing soft on me!"
Ibiki moved out from behind the banner, groaning as he rubs his face, "Your too early Anko..and I haven't gotten soft at all. It just seemed that this year holds much better promise than before."
She snorted at him, crossing her arms as she eyed the crowd, smiling inwardly seeing her students, "I still think your getting soft Ibiki, but it doesn't matter. Once I'm done with them their number will be down by half for sure." she spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice with a sadistic grin.
He shook his head at her antics" Whatever you say Anko, their yours now." He turned to them, "I would start praying to whatever kind of god you believe in right now" He chuckled as he vanished in a plume of smoke, leaving them alone with her.
"Alright maggots meet me at Training Field #44 in Two hours. Any one late will be disqualified and will be hunted personally be me" She added with a dark grin, showing then she aimed to keep her promise before leaping out the shattered window.
The forty four genin got up and started heading to the mentioned area and Cell thirteen all turned to each other extremely confused.
"Did you know that She was part of this?"
"I had no idea...I wonder what she has in store though"
"Knowing our sadistic older sister, she is going to but everyone through hell in that forest, should be fun, eh?"
They all nodded in agreement as they quickly ran to catch up with the group, having no intention to be chased by their own teacher.
"Hijutsu: Cliffhanger-no-Jutsu!"
There we go. Ibiki's exam has ended and Anko's turn has begun. For those who will ask now, no they had no idea that She was partially headed the exam. What awaits them? Find out next time in Enter the Dark One: A Tale of Pain. Chapter 14 - Forest of Death, The Giant Snake Strikes.
Untill next we meet
Mata ne
~Orochi-no-Tsukiyomi