Deidara opened his eyes, squinting into the midday sun. Bushio and Yoko had been up, and the fire was burning low. He blinked, sitting up and rubbing a dirty hand over his face. Scratching his head, he stood, yawning.
"What time is it, un?" He didn't expect a reply, so he went and stood on the ledge, looking out over the scenery. Suddenly, a kunai whipped in, piercing the bush next to him and causing him to fall flat.
"Hahaha! If I had been an enemy, you would've been dead!" Bushio was walking up the hill, laughing. Yoko was behind him, also in a good mood. Deidara scowled at them, letting Bushio have his laugh as the other boy pulled the kunai out of the bush, pocketing it.
"That wasn't very funny. You could've killed me, un!" Bushio shook his head, rubbing a hand through Deidara's hair.
"Naw, you're too short to hit. Come on, we got dinner!" He walked into the cave, Yoko giving a quaint hello to Deidara as she packed in a heap of wood. Deidara grinned, walking into the cave and sitting down as Yoko heaped the fuel on the fire.
"So...what did you bring me, un?" Yoko laughed, watching as Bushio pulled a dead rat out of the pack.
"This should be really, really tasty!" Deidara scowled deeper, setting his arms in front of him.
"No way I'm eating some dead rodent, un! I'll go find my own food!" He stood, but stopped when Bushio laughed. He chucked the vermin away, showing him the real food.
"We found some wild turnips growing down there...along with some potatoes and some more eggs. Those doves you found yesterday had been back. Oh, we caught those to! There's enough here for everyone. What do you think, Yoko?"
"Sounds good to me, Bushio!" She sat, eyeing the food hungrily. Deidara was glad to see that most of the bruises looked much lighter, and she was much more jovial than the previous night. He smiled, going across the fire and nudging the older boy.
"So...what happened last night, un?" Bushio glanced up at him, and gave him a playful shove.
"Nothing. You just need to concern yourself with eating!" Deidara nodded, walking across the cave to his pack.
"Well...it just so happened that I ran into Yoko's friends last night, un! They wanted to let her know how sorry they were about the whole thing the other day, and they gladly gave me her scrolls back...with a little persuasion on my part, un!" He grabbed two scrolls from his bag, chucking them over to Yoko, who grabbed them out of the air. She stared dumbly at them for a second, and then back at Deidara.
"These...these aren't your scrolls, are they Deidara?" Deidara chuckled, opening his bag and showing her the multitude of scrolls in it.
"Naw...those are yours. They also were so sad they hurt you that they gave me all their scrolls to for some reason. Hahahaha!" He closed his bag, throwing it into a corner. Yoko smiled, a tear dripping from her cheek. Getting up, she went to the boy, kneeling and throwing her arms around him.
"Thank you, Deidara...that was very brave of you." Deidara blushed, waiting for her to let go. Bushio smiled across at him, and then handed him a roast dove. Deidara blew gently on it, taking a bite.
"Hey! This is great, un!" He took another bite as Yoko walked back to her spot, taking a bird gingerly and sampling it.
"Mmmm...you know, you'll be a chef in no time, Bushio!" Bushio grunted, taking a bite of his own bird.
"Well, this is all well and good. Deidara and I have scrolls, but you still need more. I wonder if we could find you some before..." but Bushio didn't finish. A horn sounded, echoing through the cave and around the mountain. Deidara glanced up from his meal, looking at the other two.
"What was that?" They shrugged, and all three walked to the edge of the cave. They saw the remaining Genin herding to the plateau, guided by Chunin. A Chunin suddenly appeared, looking down at them.
"Hey guys! That horn means that the test is over. You can come down now!" Then, he left. The three stood there, eyeing each other. Bushio turned, walking back into the cave and picking up his pack, kicking the fire to extinguish it.
"Well...I guess we should leave now." He walked past the other two, making his way down the hill before turning. "Come on! We don't have all day!" Yoko and Deidara threw the remnants of their meal away, picking their packs up and following Bushio down the hill. When they arrived at the common area, Deidara was surprised at how many Genin seemed to be missing. At least two out of every three Genin that had gone to the mountain weren't there. He silently counted heads. Ok, I see at least seventy Genin. I know that about one-hundred and fifty went on this trial. Not many left. The Tsuchikage was in the front of the mass, waiting for the murmuring to die down. Then, he raised both hands, making the chatter cease all together.
"Very well done. For those of you who are still here, I congratulate you!" The Genin let out a mass roar, deafening Deidara as he shouted aloud as well. The Tsuchikage smiled, and then held his hands up once again. "Alright, now I have an announcement to make!" The field went deadly quiet, and Deidara was up on tip-toes, waiting. "I want everyone who is here without their three teammates to stand forward. I want them to be recognized!" The Genin began looking at each other, and small groups of ones and twos began walking forward. When Deidara counted, there were about twenty three Genin up front. All seemed rather proud that they had made it that far without their third...or even any teammates. The Tsuchikage smiled at them. "Very well done. You made it through the second trial...some by yourselves and some with only one compatriot. You should all be rewarded for your skills!" They smiled brightly, looking at each other and then back at the old man, who nodded. "Therefore, it is my decree..." and then he stopped, and they all waited for him to continue with bated breath. He smiled widely at them once again before continuing. "It is my decree...that you be escorted back to the village. Your time in the Chunin exam is done!" He turned, about to address the rest of the group, until one of the failing candidates voiced his opinion.
"What the hell? You mean we fail? Why? Didn't you say that teammates aren't important? What the hell do you mean we fail?" The Tsuchikage gazed sadly at the twenty-three odd Genin packed around him.
"You fail...because you fail to see what it means to be a ninja!" They stood, gazing at him with misunderstanding. He took a puff on his pipe before going on. "You fail to understand the basic principles of being a shinobi. You fail to understand the basic principles of being a ninja. A ninja must see through deception. He or she must be able to pick out what is right from the illusions of this reality. You did not fully comprehend that at the beginning of this test."
"But...you said we didn't need our teammates!" Another Genin was still pressing the issue.
"Of course I did! If I had been an enemy, and I told you I was going to play by the rules, would you have believed me? If you did, then you would be dead. A ninja must be able to see through basic illusions such as this. Perhaps you don't realize what being a comrade really means? Do you think that you are in three-man cells to work alone? Of course not! You are in three-man cells to learn teamwork and responsibility. Those of you who left your partners in the first exam were doomed to failure from the start! Now, you must go back to those same partners, and hope they forgive you for your arrogance and foolishness. Now, get them out of my sight!" A squad of Chunin's appeared, leading the Genin off the field and back to the city. It took the Tsuchikage a few minutes before he was able to calm down. He had hated to let them go like that. However, if he hadn't been that harsh, they would never have learned. The cold, cruel truth is often the best teacher. To the remaining Genin, he smiled, looking down upon them all.
"Very well done, all that are still here. Now, as promised, those who have the most scrolls from this venture will gain something special. Please count your scrolls." The Genin began emptying pockets and bags, counting diligently. Deidara upended his bag and pockets, counting his scrolls carefully.
"Let's see, I have the thirteen that I took from those guys that beat Yoko up, minus the two I gave her. Then, I have the six from that one fight...and that one from the cave fight...and my own scroll. That leaves me..." he began counting on his fingers. It had never been one of his strong points. "That leaves me...twenty-one scrolls, un!" He placed them all back in his bag, getting up with a smile on his face. Yoko stood, eyeing him.
"I have three. Those two you gave me and Bushio's one. How about you, Bushio?" Bushio stood up, patting himself down.
"I have eight all told. Those six from the big fight, plus the one from the cave, and the one that was given to me originally. Not bad." Yoko looked guilty, and began pulling a scroll out.
"Here...take yours back. I just needed it that one time." She was about to hand it to him when he shook his head, holding his hand out.
"Naw...keep it. You may need it yet." She smiled, replacing the scroll in her bag.
"Thanks, Bushio." He smiled, nodding. Deidara grinned. It was good to see them getting along.
"OK! Will everyone who has ten or more scrolls please walk forward!" The Tsuchikage stood, glancing around at the Genin. Deidara watched for a second, and then walked forward, standing next to the old man. The Tsuchikage glanced down. "Deidara...you have more then ten?" Deidara grinned, opening his pack.
"Yep! I have twenty-one in fact, un!" The Tsuchikage shook his head, wonder in his eye. The boy was indeed amazing. No one else walked forward, so the Tsuchikage glanced around. That left 29...ten teams, but an odd number of candidates. The old man sighed.
"Very well. Who has 8 or more?" Bushio walked quickly up front, leaving Yoko behind after a quick wink. She smiled, staring at her two partners up front. As no one else joined them, the Tsuchikage smiled.
"Very well! We have an even amount of people now! The next test will begin shortly. As to the prize for the ones with the most scrolls..." and then he turned, looking down at Bushio and Deidara. "You two are exempt from this test! You need not bother taking it, as your scrolls show your ability. However," and then he turned back. "To the rest of you, we need to lighten the load a little, so the next test will be a tournament. It will consist of one-on-one matches. You will each fight, and the winner of each match will go on to the final test. Now, we will go back to the village! A tournament ring has already been set up!" He turned, walking back in the general direction of the village. Bushio and Deidara stared at each other.
"So...we're exempt, huh?" Deidara shrugged.
"I don't know. Does that mean we fail, un?" Bushio shook his head.
"No...I don't think so. I think that it means that we automatically go through to the next round. No need for us to fight," he said. Deidara sighed.
"Darn...I want to fight now that I can't." Bushio laughed, patting him on the back.
"Well, don't worry. You will probably end up fighting later on." Deidara nodded, still forlorn. Yoko ran to them, throwing her arms about them.
"Well done, you two. Don't worry, I'll totally kick ass so I can go to the next round with you guys!" Deidara looked up at her, grinning.
"You better! We're a team, right? A team can't be broken up, right un?" Bushio laughed again, nodding.
"That's right. We're a team! A three-man cell!" Yoko smiled.
"All the way to the finals, baby!" The three of them took off at a run, leaving the other Genin behind in their enthusiasm...to get to the finals! As they ran, Deidara remembered Tazuriko's words that night around the fire.
"Don't get broken up, Deidara. Whatever you do, stay together..."
Thank you, Tazuriko-sensai...thank you!
And so, Deidara learns about teammates and comradeship and all that other crap! YOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! Now, review before I go insane and stop writing all together. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Next time on Deidara: The Early Years...To Fight, Or Not To Fight! No, that's not it, but it sounds good. Next time: The Beginning Matches! See you there!