Deidara stood, gazing at his surroundings, from atop a stone. The three Genin had been in the second part of the Chunin Exam for some time, perhaps three hours, and they had not seen one other team around. Deidara leapt, hitting the ground and rolling to a playful stop in front of Yoko, who gazed down at him with contempt.
"Stop playing around! This is serious business. Remember, we could be attacked at any time!" She tapped her foot, waiting for the young blonde to get up. He finally did, after much mulling in his head over whether or not to get up.
"You worry too much, un! This is going to be a piece of cake. We might not be the best Genin, but we can certainly enjoy going on to the next round, un. I mean, all we have to do is hold on to our scrolls, right?" Yoko sighed, clouting the boy on the head.
"You idiot! We need more scrolls!" She gazed at the ground as Deidara rubbed his head ruefully. I wish that I didn't feel so weak, Yoko thought to herself.
"Hey...you guys comin' or what?" Bushio crouched on a rock, overlooking the two. Yoko nodded, walking up the slight hill to where Bushio was. Deidara contented himself by hopping from rock to rock, again looking around.
"It'd be nice to finally see someone else, un!" Deidara was still staring down the mountain, taking in all he saw. The village Iwagakure was behind the mountain, and everything he could see was new territory. Not much, trees, plains, and more trees, but still, it was always exciting to him to revel in nature. "You can see so far from up here, un!" He was still gazing about when he noticed a small head of hair walking below him. "Hey! Up here!" He waved his arms, trying to gain the attention of the person below him, when Bushio tackled him to the ground, putting a hand on his mouth. Deidara scowled up at him, but lay still.
"You need to shut up! Remember, everyone is an enemy now...even you!" Bushio took his hands off, and Deidara gulped a fresh breath of air down into his lungs. Sneaking to the left, Bushio left the boy on the ground, taking a quick peep above the rock. A kunai flew in, sticking in the bush just behind the boys. Ducking his head, Bushio gasped. That had been close.
"Crap!" The kunai fizzled, and both boys jumped out of the way as the explosive note exploded, sending shards of loose shale flying crazily. Deidara rolled, coming up in a crouching position and taking his gloves off. He shoved his hands into the clay holder he had fashioned, smiling with contentment as he felt the tongues on his hands lapping at the mixture. He had hardly any time to think, however, as another kunai came flying in. He dodged, coming out of the roll with his hands at his sides, the mouths working furiously to process the raw clay into something workable. A boy flew in, throwing a punch. However, Deidara was already prepared. He blocked, coming in with a punch of his own. The opposing nin threw his hands up, catching the young boy's blow and swinging him off his feet. Deidara flew through the air, crashing into Yoko, who had just come running. They went down in a heap of legs and arms, the girl trying vainly to extricate herself from the jumble.
"You guys are the lousiest ninja I've ever seen!" The enemy laughed, reaching into a weapons holster and picking out another kunai. He threw it, aiming for Deidara. Yoko screamed, and Deidara closed his eyes. However, they both suddenly found Bushio standing in front of them. He blocked expertly, sending the kunai flying away, before throwing himself head on at the Genin with a roar. They went down, feet and arms flying. Deidara got up, helping Yoko to her feet before joining in the fray. The Genin proved his mastery of taijutsu as he expertly evaded and blocked the attacks of the other two. Coming up from a crouch, he clocked Bushio in the chin, sending him crashing away. In the same movement, he was able to grab Deidara's hand once more, flipping him up and over. He spun away, hitting a rock and making him gasp for air.
"Earth Style: Rock Clone Jutsu!" Four clones appeared, Bushio standing in the middle of them. In unison, they began an onslaught on the boy who had appeared. However, he seemed to be in complete control, blocking, dodging, and outmaneuvering Bushio's attempts. He shot his hand out, catching one clone in the chest and disintegrating it. A sword appeared in his hands, and he beheaded another two. The other clone leapt up, throwing out a fist. The sword spun, and the boy increased its rotation.
"Sword Technique: Spinning Arrow Blade!" The sword rotated faster and faster, and suddenly flew from the boys hands, a whirling, psychotic blade of destruction that tore through the clone in less time then Deidara could blink. However, his hands were already busy with molding his clay, and he stood up.
"I'm not done yet!" Bushio jumped to the left, creating more hand signs. "Rock clone jutsu!" More clones appeared, and they attacked, but each one fell to the boy and his sword. It cleft through the clones like butter, slicing up, down, around, and across. Each clone was dispatched as it made a vain attempt at doing damage. Finally, it was just the boy and Bushio, who was heaving, his chest going in and out as he sucked in large quantities of air. The other boy smiled, pointing his sword.
"Give me your scroll...and I won't have to kill you!" Bushio smiled, shaking his head.
"Never. Get your own scrolls." The boy smiled back, bringing his sword level to his face.
"Then I'll have to take it from you by force. Fine with me!" He ran forward, shouting. Bushio stood, waiting for him to get close. When he did, Bushio did the only thing he could think of...he fell backwards, allowing the sword to cleave thin air. Using two kunai as a kind of pair of scissors, Bushio shot out, catching the sword and rotating it out of the boy's hands. Burying the sword point down in the ground, he used it as a balance pad, flinging his feet up and catching the boy in the face. He went backwards, tumbling down the steep incline. Before he got half way to the bottom, Bushio was already on him, kicking him to the side and sending him flying into a boulder. He hit, smashing the rock to pieces. He hit the ground, a trickle of blood showing from his lips as he sighed, going into unconsciousness. Yoko squealed as Deidara stared, his creationary clay sitting undisturbed in his hands.
"Bushio-kun! That was amazing! Wow!" Bushio grunted, feeling the exertion from the fight and breathing in slowly.
"He wasn't so tough. Deidara, take his scroll." Deidara nodded, putting his clay back in his pocket and walking over to the Genin. He got down, sifting through his items until he found the scroll. This he grabbed, standing and tossing it to Bushio.
"Here, you earned that one, un!" Bushio nodded, shoving the scroll into his pack. He glanced up, noting the clouds beginning to gather.
"Alright, that's enough of that. We should find a camp now and get ready for tonight." Bushio turned, walking back up the hill. "I think that there's a cave up here somewhere. We should use that," he said. Deidara nodded, looking back at the Genin.
"What should we do about him?" However, his question was answered almost as fast as he said it. A Chunin examiner appeared, looking down at the boy.
"Wow...look's like he got beaten pretty good, huh? Took his scroll, then?" Deidara numbly nodded, watching as a the Chunin examiner smiled. "Well done. Look's like his time is over," he said. He stooped, picking up the boy. "Well, good luck you guys! I'm off!" With that, he disappeared, leaving nothing behind but a set of footprints. Bushio nodded.
"Yeah, I wondered what was going to happen to those who got beaten. Looks like they take 'em. Probably get 'em some medical attention back at the village." He turned, fighting his way up the steep incline. "Come on, the cave should be right up here!" He got to the top, the other two following as he waited outside the cave. He turned, going in. Many things happened at once. Bushio stopped and glared, Yoko screamed, and Deidara crouched, ready for action...as they came upon a team already using the cave.
"Hey! This is our cave! Get out!" One of the boys from the other team stood, hand flexing. Deidara was already shaping his clay. Bushio grunted.
"We'll fight you for it...and your scrolls!" However, he talked more cockily than he felt. His body was still feeling the exertion from his previous fight. Now, instead of one opponent, they were faced with three, all of whom looked like they were fresh. A kunoichi, standing up, pointed at them.
"Fine! I'll fight you!" The other two boys sniggered.
"Yeah, we can always use more scrolls. We only have two each!" They ranged themselves out, coming in a triangular pattern. So...the girl must be the leader of this group. She's at the head, Deidara thought. Slowly, he put a hand behind his back, grabbing a kunai from the waist holster he had on. He brought it out, letting the light from the fire reflect back. Suddenly, the cave went into chaos as the two boys and the three Genin around the fire clashed. Deidara stopped a sideslash, kicking out and barely missing the girl, who had dropped back. One of the other boys stepped in, thrusting out and catching Deidara on the cheek, sending him backwards. Bushio was also engaged, flinging out his arms and feet as fast as they could go. The three were skilled, but not unusually so. In a few moments, they retreated, slinking to the back of the cave and eyeing the two in front of them.
"It looks like we'll have to go to...THAT plan," the girl said, turning her head to look at the other two. They smiled, nodding.
"Deidara, be prepared for anything!" Bushio said. Deidara grunted.
"Yeah, I am. You alright, un?" Bushio smiled.
"Of course...these wimps ain't got nothing on me!" The three snickered, walking forwards and backwards until they formed a triangle shaped figure.
"Special Technique: Tri-Seal of Bonding Jutsu!" They shouted in unison, and the space between them erupted in light. Deidara threw a hand in front of his face, looking at Bushio, who had also thrown a hand up to protect his eyes. Then, as if a great weight lay on his body, Deidara was unable to move. He could sense that Bushio was equally immobilized, and both stood, paralyzed on the spot.
"What? What the hell is this?" Bushio grunted, trying to force his limbs to comply with his demands for motion. The girl sniggered.
"This is the tri-seal! Using our chakra, we can immobilize you...long enough to take your scrolls and knock you out, of course!" She laughed, walking forward. One of the boys grabbed her shoulder, looking around.
"Wait! Wasn't their three of them?" They glanced about until the girl scoffed.
"She probably wet herself and ran away. No matter, two scrolls are better than none! Let's make this quick!" With evil intent, she began crossing the gap between herself, Bushio, and Deidara, who couldn't move a muscle.
"I'm worthless...I can't do anything right. Why should I even bother. Those two are better without me, anyways," Yoko told herself. She was sitting a good deal away from the cave, telling herself the reasons that she shouldn't be a shinobi. She had no great gift, and she could only do the barest minimum when it came to doing techniques. She sniffed, watching the water run down her nose and stain the earth.
"I'm useless. Completely and utterly useless. Why try?" She heard an exclamation come from the cave, and buried her head in her legs.
"Alright! This one had two scrolls on him!" One of the boys had dug through Bushio's belongings, coming up with some miscellaneous gear and equipment, and the two scrolls the boy had. The girl sniggered.
"Good! That's great! How about that one?" The other boy was busy rummaging through Deidara's things. Suddenly, he smiled, coming up with the scroll.
"Got this one to!" The girl nodded.
"Well, I guess that's it! Time to finish the job then!" She began walking forward, stooping to look Deidara in the eye. "It appears your time in this exam is up, my dear! To bad for you!" She grabbed a rock, large enough to bring down on the boy's head and knock him out. Deidara closed his eyes, waiting for it.
"Hey! Don't mess with my teammates!" Yoko stood, emblazoned in the doorway as a crash of lightning shot down. The girl stopped, looking up and smiling wickedly at Yoko.
"Seems she wants to join her companions, boys! Get her!" The two rushed with a yell straight at the young kunoichi, who calmly waited for them to arrive. She sidestepped, crashing a fist into the side of one boy's face and bringing a knee up into the torso of the other. They both went down without another word.
"But...how? You're useless! You ran away...errr, I'll show you!" The girl dropped the rock, flinging herself at Yoko, who caught a punch in the eye. She staggered away, holding her face. The other girl smiled at her as she felt the offending area.
"Wait...that didn't hurt at all!" Yoko smiled, bringing her hand into a fist as the other began to back away, terror clearly written on her features. She suddenly found herself faced with an enraged kunoichi, and the extremely short battle ended as fast as it had been started. The girl lay on the ground, dark bruises already appearing on her face. Yoko smiled again as the two boys began to gain motion in their appendages.
"Yoko...that was amazing, un!" Deidara rushed up, congratulating her. Yoko smiled back at him.
"It was nothing, really." Bushio grunted, looking down at the three ninja.
"It really was nothing. That technique is used to hold an enemy. If you miss one, you're screwed. Look," he said, pointing to the three nin on the ground. The girl lay back as if asleep, and he cautiously removed her sleeve, showing them her arm. "See how the muscles look...and her skin is pale to. That technique must have used way to much chakra. They must only have had enough to go on, not enough to fight..." he said, almost thoughtfully. He stood, shaking his head. "That technique is worthless. Doesn't leave much, does it?" Yoko, once throughly overjoyed that she had helped, began to lose her spirit.
"Hey hey hey! Don't act like that, un! She saved the day...right Yoko?" Deidara turned to her, a huge grin on his face. Yoko smiled weakly at him, nodding.
"Right...sure I did. Thanks Deidara." She whipped her hand up, catching the scroll that Bushio chucked at her.
"Here, at least you earned that one. Deidara and I will take the other two...since we were the ones trapped in the jutsu." Bushio grabbed for the other two scrolls, stuffing one in his bag and tossing the other to Deidara. "Here...keep that!" Deidara nodded, placing it into his clay bag. Yoko stood, gazing at the girl on the ground. "Yoko...snap out of it. Help us get these guys outside!" Yoko nodded dumbly, grabbing the girl's arm and hoisting her to her shoulder. Together, they managed to get the three Genin outside. A Chunin Examiner was not long in the coming. He quickly made some clones, taking the three Genin off the mountain.
Deidara returned to the fire, seating himself by it. Bushio grunted as he sat, warming his appendages by the heat of the flames. Yoko stood near the doorway to the cave, staring out as another flash of lightning erupted. "Come over and sit, Yoko. We have plenty of room, un!" Yoko turned, staring at the blonde boy before smiling.
"Thanks...but I want to be alone. I'll take first watch tonight. You two go ahead and sleep...you'll need it." Deidara grinned, laying back by the fire.
"Suit yourself, un! Wake me up for second watch. Goodnight!" With that, he fell asleep, exhaustion telling in his voice. Soon, all that could be heard from the youth was "Mmmm, my art...is...a blast...zzzzzzzz...blast...art..." Yoko smiled to herself, and began to walk out of the cave.
"Where are you going?" Bushio hadn't looked up, just kept staring into the fire. Yoko sighed, staring out into the night.
"I'm going outside for some fresh air...like you even care," she said. Bushio turned, words on his lips. But, they died just as quickly. He grunted, staring back at the fire.
"Fine...just don't get lost." A tear coursed down Yoko's face as she grunted a response and stepped from the cave, out into the wind and cold. She took up a position on a rock facing away, hunching down from the elements and staring out into space.
"Bushio-kun..." The wind whipped her hair around, and she tried to straighten it, but to no avail. She got up, staring around, and then back at the cave. "That big jerk...I totally saved him, and he acts like nothing ever happened...the jerk." She strode resolutely off into the night, attempting to quell her rising anger of the situation by exertion. "I shouldn't have saved him...I should have let him be taken away...he did try to leave me in that cave...that good-for-nothing little so-and-so...why, I have half a mind to go back there and..."
"Hehehehe...looks like we have one out in the open...all to ourselves." She gasped, turning. Two nin stood behind her, staring down at her with evil intent. She began to back up, hands in front of her.
"I don't want to fight you guys...I just want to be left alone right now!" One snickered, staring over at his partner.
"Hear that? The girly doesn't want to fight. Guess we should leave," he said. The other one smiled back, nodding. They turned, making as if to leave. They both heard Yoko sigh in response, then they turned, throwing themselves at her...
It was over in a matter of seconds.