"For this test, the rules are very simple," said the Jounin. He took a scroll from his pocket, showing all of them the white parchment. "You just have to take this scroll from me…that's all," he said. The three stared at him, and he smiled back. "If you can do that before the sun hits those mountains over there," and he pointed to the West, where snow-capped mountains sat looming over the countryside. "If you do that simple task, than I will tell you my name, and you will be a Genin team. If not, then," he said, shrugging. He turned, putting the scroll back in his pocket.
"So wait...that's it? We just have to take a scroll from you?" The girl was incredulous. He smiled back at her.
"That's it. Oh, but don't worry…I won't let you take it. That wouldn't be any fun…for me anyways." He chuckled to himself. Bushio stood, eyeing him levelly.
"So, you said rules. What rules are there?" The Jounin looked at him, cocking an eyebrow up. He put a finger to his mouth, looking up at the sky as if trying to remember. Then, he clicked his fingers together.
"I got it. The rules are…um, wait. No, no rules. Just take the scroll. That's all," he said. He nodded, than sat on the ground.
"Ok, so no rules, and take the scroll. That's all?" The girl still didn't believe it. The Jounin eyed her.
"See, this is why you won't pass this test. I just told you what to do, and you're still questioning me. Geez, kids now a days. They have no brains between the lot of them," he said, shaking his head in disgust.
"Oh, by the way, we've been talking now for about, oh, ten minutes. That's ten minutes you've already wasted. But be my guest to waste more time. I really had nothing better to do today," he said. He lay down in the grass, plucking a stalk and putting it in his mouth, sucking on the blade. Bushio looked at the other two, and nodded.
"Fine, I guess I'll go first!" He ran, whipping out his kunai again. The teacher looked up in time to see the boy jump in the air. He smirked as the kunai pierced his chest. The girl squealed, and Deidara jumped to his feet.
"Hey, you're going too far, un!" He wanted to be a Genin, but he didn't think they should kill the Jounin to do it. Bushio just laughed, staring at his writhing adversary. He grabbed the shirt, ripping it open and snatching the scroll. He got up, walking towards the other two.
"See, piece of cake. Guess we'll need a new instructor, huh?" He laughed a little to himself. Yoko screamed.
"Great job, Bushio-kun! I knew you would do it!" She leaped in the air, and ran towards him. Only Deidara noticed that the Jounin began to disappear into the ground. He walked over, taking a quick peek at the scroll.
"Crap! Throw it away, un!" He dodged to the side. Bushio looked at him like he was mad.
"Hehe, looks like the younger one figured it out first. I would do as he says…it's on a timer!" A voice sounded from behind him. He turned, staring as the Jounin emerged from the ground, unscathed and untouched. He looked back at the scroll, noticing the thin trail of smoke coming from it. An exploding note! He threw the scroll, ducking. It exploded, sending shards of stone and dirt down around them. The girl was thrown back, completely knocked for a loop. Deidara, the one less touched, was still on the ground, covering his head.
"Hm, you fell for the oldest trick in the book. No wonder you're still Genins. Oh well, not everyone sees the stone clone in front of them…well, ok, most see it…by most, I mean every student I've had now besides you," the Jounin said, mocking the three in front of him. Bushio stood, raising his kunai. He charged, and the Jounin smirked. He waited until he had the boy within a few feet, and lashed out, catching the hand that swung the weapon while at the same time throwing the boy to the ground. He sat on his head, laughing uproariously at the boy's attempts to get back up.
"Bushio-kun!" The girl got up from her daze, dashing to the aid of her comrade. Deidara was still on the ground, seemingly useless to his teammates.
"Rushing headlong at me like that won't work, girl!" The Jounin jumped up, allowing her to run smack into the boy. They both tumbled over, falling in a clump in the grass. The Jounin was enjoying another good laugh.
"Oh yeah," Bushio said, getting himself up off the ground. "You're not the only one who can do stone clones!" He put his hands together, forming the seals. "Earth style! Stone clone jutsu!" Suddenly, three clones made of stone came up and out of the earth, all completely identical to the boy. So, he has talent after all the Jounin thought to himself. They rushed forward, catching him in a pincer movement. The Jounin jumped up, letting a kick fly out at the clone on his left. It crumpled under the impact of the attack. Dropping back down to the ground, he lashed out with his left leg, sweeping another clone off its feet. Grabbing it as it fell, he swung it into the last clone, breaking them all. He stopped his spin, standing in front of the two.
"That won't work, kid. I know that jutsu to," he said. Bushio grunted, making the hand signs again. Another four clones came out of the earth and rushed the Jounin, who simply shook his head.
"If it doesn't work the first time, then the second time is no good either," he said to himself. He put his hands together, waiting for the clones to get close. He made a few hand signs.
"Earth style! Earth chasm jutsu!" He yelled, striking the earth with the flat palm of his right hand. The earth trembled violently before a huge split cracked it, running towards the clones…and the two students. The clones were dispatched quickly, and the split went between the two Genin, making them fall. The boy caught himself, but the girl fell into the chasm, hanging on to a protruding root.
"Bushio-kun! Help me!" But he wasn't listening. He roared, throwing himself at the Jounin with every trick he knew. Every blow was blocked easily, and the Jounin began to wait for him to tire, using his superior abilities and chakra to wear his younger adversary down.
"Bushio-kun!" Yoko was crying out in vain, because Bushio wasn't coming. She didn't want to die like this…stuck in a hole in the middle of nowhere.
"Grab my hand!" A voice shouted from above. She looked up, staring at Deidara who was stretching as far out as he could.
"I can't! You're too short!" She wasn't about to let go of her root, and it was slowly pulling away from the side of the earth. Deidara put his arm down as far as he could. If the girl let go, she could grab a hold. The only thing he didn't know was if he could pull her out.
"Give it up, boy! You'll never beat me!" Bushio was still vainly attacking the Jounin, but he could see that the boy was fading fast. He was impressed by his tenacity, but in his fury his blows were becoming erratic and off target.
"Come on! Give me your hand, un!" Deidara was adamant. He didn't really like her, but he didn't want her to die. She gave one last look at his small arm before letting go of the root, grabbing onto his arm for dear life. He felt himself move forward with the extra weight, and began to pull back. It felt like his arm was ripping away from his socket.
"Come on! Come on!" He pulled back as hard as he could, willing his small frame to give him the support he needed. Little by little, the girl came out of the hole, and finally out onto the grass. They both lay down, panting. Yoko looked at him, a faint smile on her lips.
"Thanks, shorty. You saved me back there." He smiled back at her.
"Your welcome…but please, don't call me shorty." Deidara got back up to his feet, still heaving from the exertion of pulling Yoko from the chasm. He watched as the Jounin gave Bushio a kick to the face, sending him sprawling onto the grass. The Jounin looked unharmed, and he laughed.
"Well, it was a nice fight kid, but altogether useless. Oh well, maybe next year!" He turned around, seemingly to walk back towards the city.
"Hey! We're not done yet!" Deidara stood, his three and a half foot frame standing against the wind. The Jounin gave him one look and burst out laughing.
"Kid, you won't win. He's older, stronger, and faster than you, and he's done. You won't be any different. Stop trying to act the hero!" He was still chuckling as Deidara grinned back.
"He may be all those things…but I'm smarter, un!" The Jounin again burst out laughing. Deidara was still grinning as he put his hands up.
"Fine, little smart guy. Let's see how you fare against me!" The Jounin put his hands up in a fighting stance, giving him a nod of the head to begin. Deidara was still grinning as he made some hand signs.
"Boom," he said, under his breath. The Jounin was confused. What did the kid mean by boom? Suddenly, the ground underneath him exploded. He was thrown into the air, and landed on his back. When Bushio had attacked, Deidara had taken the initiative to drop some clay shaped like small grubs on the ground. These had burrowed in, making for a very efficient booby trap. His hands were already stuck in his pockets. The tongues lapped up the clay he had saved for a day like today, and his hands were busy turning the stuff into more bombs.
The Jounin got up, dusting himself off. Then, he looked at the kid in front of him. His eyes turned into slits.
"Ok, Mr. Funnyman, you got me. But you still don't have the scroll," he said. Deidara just grinned again, putting his hands to his sides. He felt the warm lump of clay press into his palms, and he worked it. Then, he began running towards the Jounin, flinging his hands out. The Jounin waited for his attack, but saw nothing come from the boy's hands. He took out a kunai, waiting. He heard, rather than saw, the buzzing of something on his left. He let fly, piercing the small bird flying in. It exploded. He smiled. So, the kid made explosives. He would figure out how later. He had to watch it from now on.
"So, you have explosives, huh? Well, I do to!" He took another kunai from his pocket, throwing it in front of Deidara, who was still running towards him. Deidara stopped, allowing the kunai to hit the ground. Then, it exploded, sending him flying through the air and tumbling on the ground. He stopped his tumble, lying on the ground, completely winded. The Jounin walked up, smiling down at him.
"Well, that was fun. But I guess the fun is over," he said, turning and walking away. Deidara, still on the ground, puffed. It wasn't over yet.
"Like I said, you guys didn't have what it took to be Genin. Nice try, but there's always next year…maybe!" The Jounin laughed, still walking away. Deidara propped himself up on one hand, throwing a kunai at the Jounin's back. He twisted slightly, grabbing a hold of the weapon.
"Did you really think that would work?" The Jounin smirked, tossing the weapon back at him. It landed not an inch away from his outstretched hand. Deidara stood, shakily, as the Jounin turned and continued to walk away.
"Stop…or I'll blow you sky high!" Deidara had his hands in front of him, ready to make a hand sign. The Jounin stopped, turning back to the yellow haired kid.
"Kid, stop. It's over. You lost. Give it up already!" He shook his head. The kid had guts, that was for sure.
"No, it isn't over. Now, give up!" Deidara's smile was gone, replaced by a grimace. The Jounin stood, completely vexed. He hadn't seen any traps, and nothing he could sense was in the ground. He smiled.
"Bluffs won't work out here, my friend," he said. Deidara was dead serious.
"It's not a bluff. Check out your left hand…the one that caught that kunai!" The Jounin glanced down. He saw minute specks crawling around on his hand. Ants? The kid was threatening him with ants?
"That's right...that kunai was covered in ants…my ants! Each one won't blow up very big…but it will still blow up. With the amount of ants that you have on your hand and arm, you'll lose them. Now…give up!" Deidara still had his hands in front of him, ready to make the hand signs. The Jounin was still looking at his hand as he spoke.
"Very well done, kid. Looks like you got me!" He turned his head, smiling at Deidara. "Or…do you?" Suddenly, he grabbed his arm, wrenching it off. Deidara's eyes went wide. The Jounin just ripped his arm off. He laughed, swinging the arm around and making the clay ants fly. After he was sure they were gone, he replaced his arm, screwing it back into place.
"Old combat injury. The new one works just as well as the old one does…in fact, it works as a great weapons case to," he said, showing Deidara the kunai that popped from his palm.
"But…how?" Deidara was stunned. The Jounin looked at him.
"Chakra. I can use my chakra to move the arm and hand around. It's not as great as the original, but like I said…it gets the job done," he said. He laughed again. Turning, he waved at the boy. "See ya!" He made it to the tree, taking another few steps, before stopping when Deidara called out.
"Hey…you lose something, un?" The Jounin turned, looking at Deidara with an upraised eyebrow. In Deidara's hands…he held the scroll. His own hands went to his chest, groping. Wait..where was it? He didn't have it on him. Deidara grinned, chuckling.
"I didn't know if my ants would work to make you quit…so I had some of them chew through the belt you wore for the scroll," he said. The man lifted his shirt, and a few ants fell out. They hit the ground, exploding on impact and making tiny craters in the dirt. The Jounin continued to stare as Deidara kept his impudent grin.
"Hey guys! I got the scroll, un!" He turned, walking back to his teammates, who had joined behind him. The other two, though sore about having a nine year old win the test for them, were still thrilled nonetheless. The girl bent over, giving Deidara a kiss on the cheek before turning to the other boy.
"Isn't this great, Bushio-kun? Now we're all Genin!" Yoko was clearly excited. Bushio nodded.
"I have to hand it to the squirt. He did put up quite a fight…good job," he said, smiling. Deidara put a hand behind his head, smiling back.
"You idiots…you didn't win a thing!" The Jounin was standing behind them, tapping his foot on the ground. Deidara turned.
"What do you mean…we have the scroll, un!" The Jounin laughed scornfully.
"Sure, you got the scroll, but you failed!" He said, pointing to the West. The three turned, and three hearts fell together…as they saw the sun beginning to go down behind the mountains.
Wow, sorry this was so long, you guys! But, I think it turned out pretty good. Did you remember to hug your weasel the other day...I sure did!