Alright, some quick notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did... there would be a higher rating, plastic wrap on the volumes, and it would be a yaoi series. Nough said!
As for this chapter? It was huge... it went from being 9,100 words in it's original draft, to being about 11,000 words in the editing phase. Yeah. It was huge, so rather than make one MONSTER of a chapter, I've gutted it and chopped it into two updates, which took more editing than I wanted to do, pushed me beyond my deadline... but well: you get two chapters to N:K instead of one. Win-win. This chapter finishes the second Chunin Exam... and starts the process for the next part. Hopefully everyone enjoys it... and I'm going to post both chapters, rather than make you wait... because I'm so nice! Much love!
Read and Review!
~Sarai
Naruto: Kurashio
Chapter 12 – Glass Sheen p. 1
Some stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. These are the fairy tales, the history lessons… the droll, unsavory, bland morsels that come from the mouths of storytellers—people who recount the deeds and actions of others but have never once experienced such life for themselves.
No, a truly fascinating story has no specific structure… no designated form. A good story is a living, thriving entity. It changes as it needs to, supplying information and details that you would not normally get… there is no beginning… there is only the recounting. That effervescent sense of anticipation, intangible and fully gripping a listener… until the ending: that final climax of events, where the entire story culminates into the grand finale—a crescendo of masterful occurrences.
Sometimes, in order to understand those occurrences…
One must go back to their origins.
[…]
Fumato was transfixed by the orb in his hands; he had been ever since finding it that night. He'd been so shocked upon seeing it lying there in his bag… his body had literally shut down, and it had taken him several hours to recover
Ame had attributed it to his exhaustion, and Gemma had muttered several comments that were probably insulting, but Fuma didn't really care. The only thing he did care about was that he could remember that night.
Not everything—and he was silently thankful for that—but the moment he had touched the orb, had smelled the blood, a rush of violent images had flooded his mind. Grisly apparitions, black and red, violence tinged with blood and fire… and death. Fuma had felt nauseous, and his entire stomach twisted itself into knots, but no matter how hard he tried to put the orb down he couldn't quit staring at it.
And he knew the reason why…
He had killed those genin from the Sound Village. No… killed wasn't the appropriate word.
He had mauled them.
This orb was a constant reminder, and it kept his emotions tempered between apprehension and fear. Fuma still didn't know how he had done it, or even if he might do something like that again. All he knew was this: he never wanted to do something like that again.
The first instinct in him was to flee, to go running to Naruto. His dad had a way of understanding these things, or at least Naruto could always put things into good spirits with comforting words and that carefree smile of his… but Fuma refused to seek that comfort.
He couldn't ruin this exam for his teammates… especially when he'd already wasted so much time. Because they had waited for him to recover, they'd lost nearly a full day. Plus they had been forced to backtrack in order to find him. Because of all these delays it was already the final day of the exam, and they still hadn't made it to the tower. Fuma knew that if they failed the exam; he would be the one to blame.
"Fuma?" Ame's voice cut into his thoughts.
The boy looked up out of the corner of his eye, but didn't respond.
"Why don't you let Gemma hold onto that?" Ame offered gently.
Fuma shook his head rapidly. He wasn't going to let go of what he did so easily.
Ame moved in front of him at that point, effectively halting Fuma from going any further. The long haired boy crouched low and put a hand on each of Fuma's shoulders.
"Listen to me, Fuma. I know what you're going through, and I can only imagine what you must be thinking. I'm… sorry we couldn't help you, but we're nearing the tower. We could be attacked at any moment, and I'm going to need your help… so is Gemma. I promise you that we'll be in it together this time," Ame's eyes had such a somber look to them; it was more than remorse… it was sorrow. Fuma had a feeling that it was more than just an apology, almost as if Ame were guilty about something else… something long buried.
"But what if I hurt you?" Fuma whispered. He had almost mentioned Gemma, but deep down the young Uchiha wouldn't mind giving Gemma another good thrashing… or two.
"I don't think you'd ever do something like that," Ame said softly.
"Did you think I could do what happened in the clearing?"
Ame paused in his response, obviously having to think about Fuma's argument. "I think…" he said finally, "That we sometimes have to do terrible things… in order to survive. We aren't proud of them, but they don't control us either."
There it was again: that look of intense shame… Fuma had a feeling that Ame knew what he was going through better than the older boy was letting on, and strangely, Fuma didn't feel suspicious; rather he felt a stronger connection with Ame because the other boy could understand his guilt… and Fuma could understand the desire to not talk about it.
Reluctantly, Fuma nodded and held out the glass orb to Gemma. At first, the other boy looked as if he wouldn't even come near him, but, at a sharp glance from Ame, Gemma sighed and snatched the orb from Fuma's hand, stashing it somewhere within his coat.
Having let go of the fragile sphere, Fuma could already feel some of his anxiety fading. He was still worried about what kind of person he was, what his fathers would think when they learned about what he'd been capable of something so horrific… but somehow he also felt relieved of a burden. Fuma knew for certain that Naruto would tell him not dwell on what had happened. It would only make him unhappy and distracted, and as Kakashi always said—"A distraction can lead to death in an instant; therefore a distracted ninja is a dead ninja."
"Thank you…" Fuma whisper lowly so that only Ame could hear him.
"My pleasure," Ame gave him a wink and then moved to continue walking, his hair fanning out in the breeze as he turned.
The next few minutes of their trek were silent, a peaceful bliss for Fuma. Not a single thought entered his mind other than listening to the world around him, alert for any small disturbance. He was focused, attuned, and his mind wasn't wandering… things were looking better. The sun was just beginning to peak over the mountain top in the distance, which meant it was a few hours until noon, which meant lunch. Fuma's stomach got excited at the thought.
As the golden rays of light began to filter in to the rocky valley where they walked, they revealed the gleaming red and gold spire of the Mountain Tower. Fuma and his teammates walked up to the precipice of a nearby ledge in order to get a better view further down into the valley and of the tower itself.
The tower was the three story edifice composed of red stone and golden filigree, and it had a single, entrance of two, high-vaulted, golden doors. Descending from the entrance was a series of large, platform steps, which reached from the doors, down the mountainside, and into the valley floor. Each step was a good ten meters or so in length and depth, about the size of a small sparring ring, and there were about two dozen of these large steps leading from the ground to the entrance. It wasn't a difficult climb at all, but the fresh sunlight also brought a rather alarming scene into view.
A huge crowd of genin stood at the beginning of the platform steps leading up to the spire. There were about fifty or so genin in total. Some where standing on the first step while the others were scattered about the base of the steps and out in the valley, watching carefully; however, the odd thing was that no one made any attempt to advance toward the goal. Fuma's eyes drifted further up the steps, and he soon released what had the genin teams stalled:
The three genin from the Shadow Village stood on the second step, blocking the way for anyone wanting to make their way into the tower. They stood in a triangular formation, the gothic girl and the one that looked like a giant stood back several paces while the girl with the cold, blue eyes stood at their lead.
Yet again, Fuma found himself wondering about the woman in the alleyway… and how this girl looked so much like her. They both had the same cold eyes—unflinching, unwavering, unfeeling… like ice. She stood alone, facing down the gathered crowd of genin without hesitation, while the golden sunlight reflected off of her glossy hair like polished onyx, casting the girl in a light that made her seem almost ethereal—a monolithic goddess of old, daring anyone to question her authority.
It was then that Fuma noticed the steps behind her, each littered with a scattering of bodies that trailed from the door of the mountain spire, to the step just behind the Shadow genin. From his count there were about fifteen bodies, and they were all most certainly dead… if the spattering patterns of red marks and pools of blood were any indication.
"We need to get down there," Ame said. His voice was tense, worried, and Fuma knew why. Those bodies could be anyone, and the one thing he didn't want to find out was if it was anyone they knew.
"Are you crazy?" Gemma shrieked, "We need to find another way in, not go to where people are getting killed!"
"There isn't another way in," Fuma pointed to the tower, "No windows, and the roof is metal."
"Well what kind of genius designed this place?" Gemma groaned.
"An architect who wanted to test up-and-coming ninja," Ame said pointedly, "The steps are practically designed for battling. If a genin team is smart and strong enough, they could conserve their strength for a single battle and ambush another team which had already done the legwork… It's a good approach, but it seems like the Shadow genin have taken such a strategy to an even greater height."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't have time to sit around here discussing it," Ame dismissed, running toward the ledge, "You'll see when we get down there…" His words trailed off into the wind as he leapt, soaring into the sky and dropping quickly from view.
Fuma gave a look to Gemma, as if asking him if he wanted to go next.
"Are you crazy?" the boy replied, "I'm not going down there."
Fuma shrugged and tightened the strap on his sword, making certain that everything was securely fasted before starting his own running leap.
"You're both insane!" Gemma called after him, but Fuma didn't hear nor did he care. As he launched himself from the precipice, the wind blowing through his hair washed away all his apprehension and doubt as it roared in his ears. He felt the freedom of falling, the excitement of the next potential fight, and Fuma knew—no matter what he might do in the future—he was made for this.
[…]
Cala stood with her toes less than an inch from the edge of the step, looking out at the crowd of insufferable children. That's what they were. They weren't fighters; they weren't ninja… they were pathetic, ill-equipped children. This is what the world offered as ninja today? Such a thing was disgraceful. Cala couldn't understand what the Majokage's interest in this event was, but if she could keep this throng of pitiable weaklings from going any further… then she would take great pleasure in it.
Not that she hadn't been enjoying herself, no, it was quite the opposite. Her challenge had started at the top of grand steps, and she'd been slowly working her way through each insignificant challenger. The genin were getting smarter as time went on. Fewer of them charging recklessly; some attempted to circumvent her altogether, while others plotted what they believed would be an intelligent attack—but everything ended the same… blood and darkness.
Perhaps that was why no one had attacked her in the past few minutes. Had they finally come to realize the futility? As if desiring to prove her wrong, a trio of genin on the step below launched themselves at her.
A smirk played its way upon her lips, just a feint sign of the humor she found in the situation. Still… she had to give them credit. They had guts, considering how many before them had failed with the same tactic, and they were quite coordinated. The three genin moved in almost perfect synchronization, three fluid attacks aimed to strike her at once, possibly hoping that one of them would get lucky and land a blow.
How utterly foolish.
"Remember, Cala… the ninja is not a warrior…"
The words of her training were always present like shadows dancing through her mind, reminding her of her purpose and her skill. As the three genin struck, Cala was already a blur of motion. The one on her right was aiming high, a little too high… a pity for them. Cala ducked, dashing sideways. She put just enough distance between herself and the other two genin that her evasion threw off the synchronization of their assault. As she passed under her attacker, Cala could see the look of shock on his face, it only increased the hilarity of their failure.
"The ninja is not a defender, nor are they diplomat, guardian, or peacemaker…"
Cala brought her body into a spin, lashing out with her hands as the boy passed over her. She could feel the resistance as her nails met flesh, the rough hewn of the cloth and leather… the heated rush and the warmth of the blood… that dull, deflated crunch as the body hit the ground limp and lifeless.
"…is not human. The ninja is a tool… lethal—precise. You do not feel. You do not hesitate…"
As she came upright, Cala twisted and back stepped closer to her next opponent, closing the distance between them before the girl could bring up her slow defenses. The next attack was wild and hurried, and Cala had no problem dodging to the side before slamming her elbow into the girl's face. The blow killed the genin instantly, but Cala watched the body fall as if frozen in time—a lifeless face reflecting a meaningless life.
"You kill because it is the most permanent solution. There is no return… no lingering threat. You kill because it leaves a lasting impression on anyone who would dare attack you… A ninja kills because it sends a message: …you are not human."
The final attacker had a shot at Cala's back, a perfect opening for anyone with the speed, skill, or instinct to take advantage of it… unfortunately for the child, he had been shocked by the deaths of his teammates in rapid succession, and it had slowed his reflexes. This gave Cala all the time she needed to whirl around and deflect his attack. A hand with a kunai was stabbing for her heart, but with an effortless grapple Cala knocked the strike aside, throwing the boy off balance and leaving his torso wide open.
"Anger, fear, trepidation… a ninja has no concept of these ideals. A ninja has no heart…"
Her hand shot out, latching around the boy's throat. The tips of her iron nails dug into flesh, and little, red dots of blood began welling up from the fresh punctures. The boy dropped his weapon, tears flowing down his face as he wailed some unheard plea. Such words fell upon deaf ears.
"A ninja does not know mercy… show it once, and it will be your undoing."
"Please…" the boy cried,"I don't want… to die!" He couldn't be older than thirteen, probably twelve—like so many of these genin… just children.
It didn't matter.
"A ninja has no weakness… a ninja cannot be undone by such things…"
Cala's hand tightened and ripped down, tearing the life away from the blubbering adolescent. Before the body could even go limp, her foot lashed out, kicking the boy's corpse into the crowd of genin on the step below. They scattered like ants, several of them yelling shouts of anger and dismay, while others screamed. Again… their words fell upon deaf ears. Cala looked at her hand, watching the slow-trickling, crimson rivulets of blood as they snaked their way down her fingers…
"The ninja is the perfect weapon… unfeeling, remorseless, and most of all…"
Taking a single, exaggerated stride forward, Cala dropped down to the last step, which caused all of the genin to scurry backwards away from her. Most of them vacated the step entirely, preferring to join the bulk of the crowd out in the valley floor, but a few of the braver genin—or possibly stupider—stood their ground, their weapons raised defensively as if she would strike any moment.
"A ninja exploits these weaknesses in others…"
Her cold, blue eyes surveyed the remaining opponents, gauging their posture and most importantly their expressions. The eyes told everything: what a person was thinking, how they were going to respond, if their intentions were self-preservation or hostility… every intention could be read in an enemy's expression. Cala crossed her arms, watched, and waited. There was only one step left, and then it would be game over.
[…]
Kit stood transfixed. He'd been watching the ghastly scene since it started, and he felt as if the gods must hate him, otherwise how else could you explain the fact that he continued to cross paths with that murderous, psychopathic freak who called herself Cala? The redhead couldn't understand why he had such horrendous luck, but for some reason, he couldn't escape her. Ever since he'd bumped into her, Kit seemed to continue bumping into her.
…and their plan had been so good.
It had actually been perfect. Kit's team had staked out their targets, watching carefully for anyone who was approaching the tower with a complete set of orbs. Simple enough goal: find target, ambush target, take the orbs… finish the exam with one fight. Simple right?
Wrong.
Kit's life was never simple, and this exam was proving to mirror everything else. If something was going to go wrong, if it could go wrong, then it did. They'd first run into Cala's team and had to hide for fear of their lives, and Kit had watched the small gothic girl, Eira, as she murdered those genin from Kirigakure.
In an effort to avoid further confrontations with the Shadow genin, Kit and Kira had plotted a course to circumvent any possible run-ins with the deadly trio; however, they had been assuming that Cala would head directly for the tower. No such luck…
Their attempt to be safe had landed them right smack in the middle of another fight, Kit and Sainō had been hard pressed to win, and thankfully Kira had managed to catch one of the enemy genin in her "Mind-swapping Jutsu" to turn the tide of the battle. They'd won, but their opponents didn't have an orb. The battle had been completely useless. That alone should have been the worst of their luck, but fate stepped in once again.
Kit's team had come in on the tail end of another fight involving the Shadow genin. Kit was shocked as ever when he saw that the two people fighting were the giant tribal girl and Sasuke! During Sasuke's fight with Mavrí, Kit had seen just how fast Cala could actually move. The black haired girl had managed to not only stop Sasuke's attack from harming Mavrí, but she'd been able to completely nullify it—and Cala had gotten away with attacking a jonin, without receiving any penalties.
The entire fight had been as frightening as it was awe inspiring, none of them had ever seen any sort of jutsu like the one that protected Mavrí, something that Sainō kept trying to shout, forgetting to be quiet in his excitement. Thankfully Kit and Kira had managed to keep Sainō from giving away their position. Who knew what might have happened had they been found… Sainō could have gotten them all killed; the boy was completely fascinated with all of the different genin teams and their skills, and he would probably want to talk to them rather than fight. The boy was too kindhearted it.
Despite their setbacks, Kit's team had managed to make it to the tower without any further incidents, and they had also managed to locate a target that would have been perfect for their plan: a first year genin team from Earth village. It should have been an easy strike, but, once again, the gods decided to play a cruel trick on Kit.
Just as they were about to launch their ambush, the Shadow ninjas had appeared under the large, arched entrance to the tower. They slaughtered the genin team from Earth village and proceeded to block the way into the tower for any other teams. Cala was the only one doing the fighting, and each time she won a skirmish she would advance another step.
She was on the last step now. After that, Kit didn't want to let his mind wander to what she might do.
"Kit!"
The redhead turned as someone called his name, and he found himself grasped by a tall form with long, pale blue hair. It took him a moment to realize just who had tackled him into this bear hug. "Geeze! Ame, what's the big deal?" Kit coughed, trying to pry himself out of the vice-grip.
"We saw the bodies from the ledge up there," Fuma motioned, appearing from behind Ame, "We didn't know who they were, but Ame was worried."
"I'm so glad you're alright," Ame smiled wildly, patting Kitaka to make certain he hadn't received any damage.
"I'm fine," Kit scoffed, pulling away. He had to deal with Naruto being worried all the time, which was expected and endearing, but he didn't need another person worrying over him.
"And Jira?" Ame questioned anxiously.
Kira spoke up this time, "We've been here since those genin started… Jira hasn't shown up."
"We haven't seen him at all," Kit said, trying to keep his voice from sounding worried, but he knew his face was just as concerned as Ame's.
"Why is everyone just standing here?" Fuma asked, looking at the crowd as if they were acting ridiculously.
"No one can get by that girl," Sainō pointed to Cala, "She's incredible!"
"She's horrible," Kira snarled, smacking the boy upside the head, "How could you say something like that?"
"But she is, Kira!" Saino protested, "She hasn't even been touched!"
"Is that true?" Ame looked up the stairs, taking in the slew of bodies, "She did all of this?"
Kit nodded solemnly, "And that's not all…"
When Ame cocked his head in confusion, Kit elaborated, "We saw them twice... in the mountains."
Fuma and Ame looked at Kit in shock.
"We didn't fight them!" the petite redhead protested. He didn't want them to think he was suicidal, "But… they killed three other teams that we know about, and…" Kit trailed off at this point and looked at Fuma, not sure whether or not he should say anything else.
Fuma was too observant to let it go, "What else did you see?"
"Sasuke…" Kit muttered.
"Your father was out there?" Ame asked shocked.
"He's not my father!" Kit snapped, a little too hastily but it was too late to take it back. He looked down at the ground and kicked at a rock, "But yeah… he fought them."
"Dad?" Fuma looked a little panicked, "Did he win, is he ok?"
"Of course!" Kitaka snapped, "I mean… he looked fine, but he didn't stop them either."
"If they're killing genin teams for sport," Ame's voice was concerned, "The jonin moderators should have stepped in by now. I'm more concerned about why people keep attacking her. If Cala has already proved her skill level, why don't people try to go around her?"
To this Kit pointed off to the right. There, along the ledges were several black craters, and scattered around those charred holes were half a dozen burnt and scorched corpses. "She fried them," Kit muttered, "The same lightning jutsu that we saw in the alley at Ishitohi."
"They have the same forehead protectors as the woman in the alley too," Fuma added.
"You think the rogue ninja in Ishitohi was actually another ninja from this Shadow Village?" Kira asked, sounding as if she'd come to a brilliant conclusion.
"It isn't unlikely," Ame frowned, "But if that's the case, then Konoha could be in trouble politically if we attacked another village's ninja… even with our mission as an excuse."
"I think we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment," Kira pointed out, literally jabbing a finger at Cala.
"You're all nuts if you think fighting that girl is going to do any good," Gemma said, pushing through some of the genin who were milling about, "Did you see how fast she was?"
"We've seen it dozens of times," Kira rolled her eyes, "And we weren't hiding behind a rock…" she paused and looked off to the right, trying to avoid the gazes of her teammates, "At least not for most of them…"
"Yeah, well… I'm not dying for a stupid test," Gemma crossed his arms.
"Don't you remember what that guy Ibiki said?" Fuma pointed out, "This is the only time we get to take the exam."
"He was joking," Gemma sneered.
"Are you willing to bet your future as a ninja on that," Ame asked. He was smiling, but Kit could tell that the meaning behind that look was anything but happy. It was Ame's "are you really that much of an idiot?" face, and it was never a good sign when he used it. It normally meant you looked like a complete moron.
Gemma grumbled under his breath, but shook his head, "Fine… I get the point, but I'm not just charging in like those other idiots. I like living!"
"We all do," Kira rolled her eyes again; then turned to Ame, "I take it that you have a plan?"
The long haired boy shook his head, "Not yet… but let me watch her for a few minutes…"
Kit had a sense of foreboding at this statement; it crept up the back of his neck like pinpricks from an ice-cold needle. He looked up to where Cala was standing and was frozen to the spot.
She was looking right at him with those emotionless eyes… taciturn and stony. Kitaka felt as if his blood had turned cold, or maybe his heart had stopped from the shock. No, it was beating much too quickly; he could feel it slamming against his ribcage and surely everyone around him could hear it too.
If they could, none of them let on. Kit was locked in this private moment of horrific torment, unable to take his eyes off of Cala.
And then she spoke, "You're looking for these…"
The girl unfastened her sash, holding it up to the crowd to show them the collection of orbs which she had knotted into the fabric. Kit counted eight sets, some of which she had collected from the dead bodies that littered the steps—they still had a sheen of blood on them.
"For the rare teams out there that may have a completed set…" Cala continued, "All you have to do is make it pass me and your exam is complete." She looked behind her at the trail of corpses, "But as you can see that's not so easy."
She took a step forward and laid the sash on the ground, "For those of you who aren't lucky enough to possess a complete set… now's your chance. All you have to do is take them from me and make it into the tower."
Kit turned at the murmur which built up from the crowd at this announcement. The majority of people were calling it impossible, but not as many as those who had been saying it before. People were acting as if they were going to take another chance, or at least wait and see if someone else succeeded.
"She's baiting them," Kira whispered.
Kit looked out of the corner of his eye, sharing a knowing glance with his teammate, and nodded. He didn't want to take his eyes off of Cala, afraid that she might choose any moment to make good on her threat.
"How so?" Gemma sounded doubtful, "They would be stupid to try for it… nothing's changed."
"Not so," Kira explained, "She's put distance between herself and the orbs. She's challenging them to be faster than she is…"
"And then she'll attack," Ame said, summing up what everyone already knew, "Which might just give us an opening."
"What do you mean?" Kit asked.
"I mean that we have a complete set," Ame winked, "We just need to get to the tower."
This was news to Kit, but he hadn't expected any less—it didn't keep him from getting angry either. Of course Fuma would be able to collect a full set of orbs while Kit was struggling yet again. It would take a miracle to complete this exam.
"Fuma, Gemma…" Ame said turning away from Kit, "We need to time this perfectly."
And that was all the time he got. Kit was left to muddle through his impossible dilemma, and he was quite ashamed to admit it… but the though crossed his mind: perhaps Fuma wouldn't be so lucky. Perhaps Cala was good enough to stop them? The thought made him sick to his stomach, and Kit hated himself for even allowing it. Even if something were to happen to Fuma, it wouldn't make anything better. He'd still be stuck without a red or a blue orb… and he'd just have a slew of other problems to face after he failed the exam.
The gods hated him.