"So you're saying that that you saw Orochimaru in the forest." The Hokage asked.
"Yes Hokage-sama." Anko said as the medics looked over her neck. "In addition, he had four guards with him, though it was Saber who spotted them. He was forced to let them go to save my life. After wards he removed the cursed seal with some sort of dagger."
"How many fingers am I holding up?" a medic asked her interrupting the debriefing.
"Three, after that, Saber left leaving me to join the rest of the proctors in the tower." Anko finished.
"So, Berserker attacked again inside the forest?" The Hokage asked remembering the last time the two met.
"That is what he said. As far as I or any one of the proctors can tell, neither Saber nor Rider have helped them in any way."
Sarutobi sighed, if there had been any indication that the two of them had interfered with the exam, he would be forced to revoke the team from continuing the exam. As it stood, there was no indication that they did anything more than beat back various groups that had no business being in the exam. It was a slippery loophole, but it would work. Especially since he planned on sealing the records of this incident as an S rank secret.
"Now then," Anko interrupted, "What about my application to being a jonin with the seal removed?"
The Hokage looked over at the medics, "Well?"
The medic looked over the chart, "Her blood tests shows a negative, physical signs of the seal are gone, no signs of toxins or drugs to temporarily nullify the seal...as far as we can tell, the seal just vanished. To be honest, I have no idea if this thing is hibernating or if it is really gone."
The Hokage narrowed his eyes as he looked at Anko's shoulder, "And you're saying Saber got rid of it easily?"
Anko nodded her head smiling widely, "Yep, one quick poke with a strange dagger, a little pain, and it's gone."
The Hokage smiled, "It seems that I will need to have a chat with Saber soon about his mysterious armory." The man was a walking weapon of mass destruction, yet he also seemed to have the right weapon for the job at hand.
"So, what about my application?" Anko asked.
"I'll have it on hold for a month. If the seal does not appear, I'll process the application and have you tested for jonin." the Hokage promised.
Anko was a bit peeved that her application was held up, but understood the reasoning behind it. If Saber only repressed it for a while, then the promotion would be useless as she would have to get demoted for her safety. Jonins cannot afford to have seals on their shoulders that flare up randomly and paralyze them. That would get her killed on her first S class mission.
"Now then Anko, why is Orochimaru here?" Sarutobi asked seriously.
"He said that he was recruiting new members so he could attack the village. In addition, he bragged that he had just given the cursed seal to another." Anko reported grinning evilly. Her 'master's' plans were about to be derailed, she was sure of it.
"Sasuke," the Hokage said. It wasn't a question, rather a statement of the inevitable.
"Anko-sama," a chunin called in.
"What's up?" Anko asked in good spirits.
"We have confirmed twenty one participates passing the second exam. For the first time in five years, we will need to start preliminary eliminations before we can assign them to the third exam."
The Hokage was impressed, twenty one genin passed. This was an exceptional crop of participants this year. The Hokage and Anko both knew that the four teams who had gone through boot camp had gotten to the tower well within the time limit. Over half the teams were from Konoha had passed. From a financial standpoint, this would increase the number of jobs requested for Konoha. The more of their number that passed, the stronger their village looked.
"Very well," The Hokage told the chunin, "We'll continue the exam as planned." The chunin saluted and signed off. Looking back at Anko, he said, "We'll continue to keep an eye out for Orochimaru, but I expect that the man has long fled the area."
Anko was unsure of that, the bastard had always been sneaky and preferred to watch over his experiments and see the results first hand. More likely, the man would infiltrate the ranks and watch the preliminaries from a short distance, especially when the Uchiha gaki's turn came. Fool, he should watch all twelve of her gakis and see what she had taught them. They were going to be spectacular.
But enough contemplating, it was high time she collected the betting pool. After the preliminaries, Anko planned on buying a nice dress and shoes, then have Rider drag Saber to her for her date.
Saber felt a shiver crawl up his spine. For some reason, his instincts were telling him to run for the hills or summon his Reality Marble, one or the other.
'Rin must be planning something again.' Shirou thought. 'That or Blue blew up my grave in a fit of rage.' He's been getting a great deal of shiver's running up his back lately, this was never a good sign.
"First of all," The Hokage said as he addressed the genin, "Congratulations on finishing the second exam." Behind the Hokage was a large statue of two arms with the hands making a hand sign as if preparing to perform a jutsu. Above the hands was a large screen that was blank for the moment. Beside the Hokage were the proctors of the exams and the jonin instructors. Saber and Rider had discretely come out of their spirit forms and were on a balcony a level up from the genin watching for danger.
"Looks like all our teams made it," Gai said to Kakashi, "But don't think my students won't surprise you here, we spent every minute we could training for the exam after the boot camp."
Kakashi looked up from his book and asked in a deadpanned voice, "Huh? You say something?"
Gai turned away with tears streaming down his face like a waterfall, 'Damn you and your too hip attitude, while it is why I respect you, it really gets on my nerves.'
'Gai-sensei, fight on.' Lee thought, his face mirroring his teacher.
Team Yugito felt outnumbered and outgunned in the group. Of all the teams, only they were not from Konoha or an ally of Konoha. In fact, five teams were from Konoha, and the only other team was from Suna. Whatever the next test was, they were in a bad position. Alone, isolated, and surrounded by hostile nins...not good. Not good at all. They looked over at their teacher and saw how relaxed she seemed to be even though she was surrounded by enemy jonin. While there was supposed to be no fighting between them during the exam, what's to say an 'accident' happened to her? The only source of comfort was that Archer was looking on nearby. The problem was, None of the three of them could tell which one of the two white haired men on the balcony was Archer. The two of them were standing on opposite sides of the mini area.
Orochimaru was displeased that his Sound team had failed not only to test Sasuke, but had been eliminated in the second exam. According to them, it had been the brats from Kumo who took them out and paralyzed them for the duration of the exam. True, they were mere pawn that would soon be used for a special ceremony in the invasion, but it greatly displeased him to see his pawns beaten so easily. Orochimaru had planned on masquerading as their jonin instructor, but had to switch with his jonin spy for team Kabuto.
Baki looked on at his three charges and was unsurprised at Gaara looking spotless from the exam. Temari had been able to sneak a note to him detailing how Gaara had gone on a small rampage looking for the Uzumaki in orange. Surprisingly, Gaara came back in a bad mood and the Uzumaki boy was still alive. How that had happened was beyond Temari, but Baki was becoming suspicious. Even Jonins stand no chance against Gaara when he wants someone dead. Only Sannin level nins can force Gaara to retreat. Add in Berserker, and it would take a kage level nin to survive. For the Uzumaki boy to survive, he would have to have help or he was not what he seemed. Baki was one of the best jonins in Suna, as he examined the boy, he remembered a certain nin who became Hokage that looked just like that boy, though that nin wore a white overcoat instead of that ugly orange one.
If his hunch was correct, then he might have stumbled upon an S class secret that could get iwa to join in the Invasion. But first, he would have to do some research. If he reported false suspicions, it could turn Iwa against Suna instead.
Kurenai noticed that her team was acting strange. They kept looking over at the Suna team like they were afraid of them for some reason. Did they see something done by the Suna team that scared them? Akumaru was acting especially timid, going so far as to virtually hide himself within Kiba's shirt until only his nose was sticking out.
The Hokage continued, "Before I talk about the third exam, there's something I'd like to explain about the chunin exams. The true reason why we have the exams."
The rookie genin were confused as to what that meant.
"Why do the various countries take the test together? 'To promote friendship.' 'To raise the level of shinobi.' Those are good reasons, but they are not the true reason, The true reason is a replacement for the shinobi wars. If you look back on history, the shinobi world was filled with violence and war. Each village fought to control the world and who had the right to rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, this is the stage that the countries chose for battle."
"So," Naruto deduced, "This is a war game?"
"In part," the Hokage acknowledged, "It also measures the prestige of the village. Influential leaders and individuals will be watching the exams. They will watch and determine which villages are stronger and therefore more likely to complete their requests."
"So," Naruto said as he began to piece it together, "Because Konoha has so many participants, we show that we are strong and reliable."
'Yes, very good Naruto." the Hokage said, a bit surprised. In the past, Naruto would have been making pointless questions rather than figuring out the situation. Truly, Saber's and Rider's influences were doing wonders for the boy. "If a village shows a clear sign of strength, it will receive more clients, conversely, if a village is seen as weak, it will lose clients. Both of those outcomes will show the enemies of the villages that 'this is how much power' they have sending clear signals to both clients and vultures."
"So why do we have to risk our lives?" Kiba asked, thinking of his cousin who died during one of the exams.
"The strength of a country is the strength of the village." The Hokage intoned, "The strength of the village is the strength of its shinobi, and a shinobi's true strength can only be born in through life risking battle."
Many of the genin were impressed by that saying, but Naruto knew it all too well. He had seen Saber's true strength fighting against impossible odds against Servants. Naruto knew that he had no chance against a Servant himself, yet, Saber had done so when he was barely older that Naruto. That took a strength that Naruto envied and hoped to match one day, but first he had to find out about his family, and that involved passing the chunin exam.
"One last thing,' The Hoakge said, "This is not just a test, it is a life risking battle that puts your dreams and your countries prestige on the line."
'Who cares," Gaara interrupted, annoyed that he was being denied blood. "Hurry and tell us what this life risking battle is."
"That *cough* would be my *cough* job." a sickly looking proctor said appearing in a puff of smoke. "From here on, as the referee, I Gekkou Hayate will explain."
The man was about five foot nine with the palest skin anyone had ever seen and large bags under his eyes. The man looked like he would fall over unconscious any second.
*cough* "Before I begin, there's something I'd like to do." *cough* "It's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event."
"Eh, preliminary?" Sakura asked. This was different. "Why aren't we allowed to participate right now?"
*cough cough* "Because the second stage might have been too easy this year." *cough* "We have too many people participating. According to the rules, we need to cut your numbers in half. As the Hokage explained, you will be fighting in front of a crowd. However, *cough* the fights could take too long and we are limited on time. So...anyway *cough* those who feel unqualified or feel like quitting please step forward." Hayate asked.
Strangely, one hand actually went up. Kabuto.
"Umm, I'm going to quit." Kabuto said in a tone that said he was a bit ashamed.
"Eh?" Naruto said confused. Who would back away now. Granted, Kabuto and his team had shown up only a half an hour before the end of the test, but still...
*cough* "Um, you're Yakushi Kabuto-kun from the leaf right? You may leave now. Umm, does anyone else want to go? Oh, *cough* right, this is an individual battle, so if you quit, you're team will not be affected. " Hayate offered. No-one else moved.
"Sasuke," Sakura whispered, "How's the mark?"
Sasuke rubbed his shoulder, "Sore, but I'm not backing down."
'WhAt doEs tHe faNgiRL waNt Now?' a voice whispered in his head.
Sakura nodded her head. It had been three days now, and the mark hadn't flared up or anything so she wasn't compelled to tell anyone.
Anko looked on at the Uchiha boy with envy, he was clearly feeling the effects of the mark, but probably hadn't used much, if any chakra since he got the seal. As it stood, there were no real grounds to pull the boy out, besides, the boy had too much pride to back down now. And if the worst came to pass and the seal activated, she was sure that she could convince Saber to remove the seal on his own.
*cough cough* "Um now, lets begin the preliminaries" Hayate said, "*cough*This will consist of a one on one fighting. You will basically fight as if you were in a real life confrontation. Since we have twenty entrants, we will have ten matches, winners move on to the third exam. Basically *cough* there are no rules. Fight until one of you is knocked out or admits defeat. However, if I decide that the winner has clearly been established, I'll jump in and stop the fight to prevent needless death."
Behind Hayate the large screen turned on. All the genin looked up to see the words Uchiha Sasuke vs Akado Yoroi.
"The two entrants are to *cough* come forward and stand at the center of the area. The rest of you, get to the balcony and watch from a safe distance."
'YoUr'E tHe bESt, aN elITe. NonE cAn staND aGaiNSt yoU.' The voice kept whispering in his ear. The more he listened to it, the louder it became.
Yoroi was ecstatic that he was picked to fight the Uchiha. Hell, not only was he lucky, but he'd be done first. Orochimaru would be pleased. Afterwords, he planned to sit back and watch the fools flail around.
"Participants, are you ready?" Hayate asked
'WhO dARes to quEsTiOn yOu? You dECidE yOuR lIFe.'
Both genin nodded.
"Fight"
Sasuke noticed that his opponent's hand was glowing. His hands were covered in a thick layer of blue chakra. The fact that it was visible showed how much energy he was using. Yoroi, pulled out a few shuriken and threw them at him. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and immediately hit them all at once sending them right back at Yoroi who dodged them easily. Sasuke winced from the pain in his shoulder. It appeared that exertion caused the mark to activate. In that moment of hesitation, Yoroi dashed towards him and knocked him off his feet. Sasuke was barely able to roll out of the way as his opponent smashed his hand into the ground leaving a small crater. Sasuke planted his kunai into the ground. Using it as an anchor, Sasuke rolled in a circle around the knife and knocked Yoroi to the ground and pinned his arm with his legs. In this position, Sasuke was sure that he could easily break his opponents arm if needed.
'BrEak It. BReAk iT. ShOW ThEm wHo iS thE bEsT AvENgeR' No, there was no need to break it, just force his enemy to concede. The humiliation alone would be enough.
Yet, the glowing hand touched him. Sasuke immediately felt his strength being drained from him. Sasuke released the arm hold and rolled out of the area. That move was dangerous. Not only was his strength weakened, but his shoulder was flaring up in pain. Sasuke wasn't able to move in time to avoid Yoroi's next attack. The bastard slammed his hand into Sasuke's head. Sasuke kicked him away and flipped back onto his feet.
"Hmm, seems you figured it out," Yoroi said with amusement.
Sasuke had to think up of a plan quickly, take too long, and he'd be paralyzed with pain and drained of all his chakra.
"Sasuke," Naruto called out, "Is that all you've got? Seriously?"
'KiLl hIM, hE mOckS yoU.' Nah, that was Naruto being a dumbass again.
Sasuke glanced up at Naruto for a moment, it was easy for the dobe to tell him what to do. He wasn't the one being drained dry. Sasuke noticed that, as usual, Saber and Rider were standing over Naruto protectively in case someone attacked him. Dammit, why did the deadlast get to have such good help? Wait...
Sasuke looked over at Saber again. A plan formed inside his mind. Sasuke smiled, it was perfect.
'YEs, YoU aRe ThE bESt, eLItE, pOweRFuL.' Sasuke found himself agreeing with that sentiment. He was the rookie of the year and an Uchiha.
Sasuke drew two kunai, the longest ones in his arsenal. He switched from his clan taijutsu into a stance he had faced and analyzed hundreds of times. True, it was a reckless technique, but Saber proved that it worked.
Yoroi saw that Sasuke's right side was unguarded and charged in. This was it, with one more grip, the Uchiha brat would fall. Yoroi's hand outstretched...only for Sasuke to shift slightly so that his body was out of the way. Before Yoroi could move his arm, He was forced to leap back as a kunai nearly slit his neck.
Naruto looked over at Saber, "Hey, isn't that..."
Saber nodded, "Yes, it seems he plans on gambling with my fighting style." Saber shook his head. This was a foolish move in his opinion. Not only was the technique reliant on keeping vial parts of the body exposed to invite attacks, but it also relied on using weapons far larger than knives. True, it would work to a degree with shorter weapons, but it would not be as efficient or deadly.
Yoroi tried it again, seeing that Sasuke's leg was outstretched too far. Again, before he could even touch Sasuke, he had to avoid a counter attack. Unfortunately, he did not get away cleanly this time. Before he fell back, one of the kunai cut him across his chest, leaving a moderate gash across it.
'kIll, kILl, kiLL' If it came to that, fine...
Yoroi was annoyed about the whole situation. He just needed to touch the brat who was breathing heavily and twitching in pain, yet he couldn't get close enough to use his technique. He threw several kuani, but again Sasuke barely evaded or blocked each blow. Yoroi saw an opening on his chest and dove in, only to get his right arm cut deeply. Slowly, the Uchiha was cutting him to bits.
Naruto looked over at Saber, "Did you teach him your style?"
Saber shook his head, "No, I would never teach my style. It's too risky and suicidal. If an opponent lands even one blow, anyone using my technique will be crippled or die. That is why I will never teach it."
"So why did you learn it?" Naruto asked.
"I didn't learn it, I created it. It was made so that I could fight evenly with opponents that are faster, stronger, and far deadlier than me. To make up for this, I leave openings in my stance to invite attacks. By doing so, I can anticipate and counter their attacks. However, I have to have real openings for it to work as my enemies could tell if they were feints."
Kakashi, who had been listening in, whistled, "A fearsome technique if one can master it though."
Saber shook his head, "No, unless you have my...talent, no one can use more than a fraction of it's true nature."
Naruto thought of Saber's ability to bring forth countless weapons. It was true, Saber changed his grips and stances depending on the weapons he was holding. Sasuke was stuck with the weapons he brought with him. "'kay, that still doesn't explain how he's using your technique."
Kakashi explained, "That is the nature of the sharingan. It copies any taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu it sees. Because he's used it during the sparring matches with Saber, he was able to copy some of the movements."
Saber shook his head, "Foolishness. By coping, he fails to understand the full importance of each motion, each shift of the body, each reason why I do what I do."
"Maybe," Kakashi acknowledged, "But he's doing rather well with what he's mimicking."
Saber pointed at Sasuke, "Could have fooled me."
Kakashi and Naruto looked back over at Sasuke. The mark on his neck had traversed over half of his face. Sasuke was clearly shaking in pain and exhaustion.
"hmm, you had me a bit worried," Yoroi mocked.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, he was not going to lose now. His opponent was bleeding for several wounds, but the damned mark was crawling up his body. Dammit Dammit Dammit. It hurts. It's like there's a fire and his body is soaked in oil. God Dammit. 'I won't I won't let it control me.'
'GiVe in. LeT iT hELp yOu. YoU wILl bE MoRe tHAn yoU eVeR cOUlD be aLOne.' No, he was an elite, an Uchiha. Nothing would control him.
The onlookers noticed that the seal was receding.
'No! GiVe In.' No way in hell. 'I am an avenger, not a butcher.' Sasuke thought, clearing his thoughts a bit.
'He's controlling it.' Anko thought in astonishment.
Sasuke smiled as he gazed upon Yoroi, "Well?"
Yoroi was nervous, to control the seal meant a high level of mental discipline. Normally, it should have killed the boy. Instead, Sasuke had reversed the flow and was now controlling it. Hell, Sasuke looked like he caught a second wind. He must be pulling chakra from the seal unconsciously. Yoroi knew that he had to get a hold of Sasuke and cause the seal to activate again or he'd fall unconscious from blood loss.
Sasuke decided to take the offensive for the first time. Those who were unfamiliar with Saber's style were astounded by the ferociousness and seemingly indifference Sasuke had for his own life. His movements looked a bit too wide and a bit too sloppy, yet he was never hit and was able to slash Yoroi numerous times. The final blow came as Sasuke slit a deep cut into Yoroi's neck causing him to bleed profusely like a sprinkler.
'KilL hIm UcHIha. He iS An eNEmY.'
"That's enough," Hayate called out. Sasuke leaped back as medics dashed on the scene and began to apply pressure to Yoroi's neck to stem the bleeding. Sasuke looked over at Saber and nodded slightly. Saber refused to acknowledge such blatant copying. The boy would learn soon enough not to rely on movements that he had never taken the time to master.
Naruto looked over at Saber, "Hey, what are you going to do to him? I mean, you punished him for trying to copy your ability with swords."
Saber sighed, "Truly, I have no intention on punishing him. From sparring, he learned a bit about my abilities, but he has no notion of what each motion could do. At best, he has the roughest of ideas on my abilities from sparring. At worst, he will rely on the movements and learn why copying someone is a bad idea the hard way."
"What do you mean Saber?" Naruto asked.
"Simple, one day he'll end up with a knife in his gut or something." Saber said as Sasuke ascended the stairs. At the top, Kakashi motioned for Sasuke to follow him. In the corner where Yoroi's team mate stood, Orochimaru posing as a jonin licked his lips. What he had just seen was magnificent. It hadn't been a duel, but a ballet, a dance. Truly, there was much potential in Sasuke. Now, they would probably try to seal the cursed mark, but it was useless. The Heaven seal was one of the two strongest seals he had created. Sasuke-kun would never turn away the power offered to him.
Sasuke came up to Kakashi, "What is it sensei?"
"We need to seal that mark up." Kakashi explained.
'No! KeEp hIm aWaY. TrUSt mE. He iS jEalOuS Of yOuR pOWer.'
"Wait till after the prelims, I want to watch." Sasuke said to buy time. The voice was making sense. Why should he give up his power.
"Now," Kakashi ordered, "If we wait, it will be too late. I won't listen to such selfishness."
Anko appeared beside Kakashi, "It's fine, we can deal with it easily. Just put him beside Saber."
'Do nOT tRUst tHeM. tHIevEs, eVErYOnE of tHEm' maybe, but at least they won't try to control his life. The voice continued to whisper in his ear, but Sasuke wanted to focus on the other fights and see what his potential opponents can do.
Kakashi looked over at Anko quizzically then turned to the Hokage who nodded slightly. Kakashi sighed then turned to Sasuke, "All right, you may watch."
Sasuke nodded as Kakashi led him to his team to watch.
The screen changed to show the words Ayun Tamaki vs Aburane Shino
Tamaki was about to head down when Yugito grabbed his shoulder, "Don't" She warned. "You have no chance against an Aburane."
Tamaki blinked, "Why?"
"Bugs," Yugito said with a shudder, "They use chakra eating bugs that specialize in taking out ninjas. You're a close range fighter. You won't last a minute against him."
Tamaki regretted that he had drawn such a bad lot. He raised his hands and said, "I Ayun Tamaki forfeit my match."
*cough* "Very well." Hayate said, "Winner Aburane Shino."
Shino shrugged. He hadn't even had time to move before his opponent forfeit.
"C-congradulations Shino" Hinata said.
"Heh, one look at you and he ran away." Kiba said grinning.
Tsurugi Misumi vs Sabaku no Kankuro
Kankuro smirked this would be over quickly. The idiot wouldn't even know what happened until it was too late.
Baki noticed that Kankuro wasn't taking the match seriously. While Kankuro was an excellent shinobi, his overconfidence would get him killed one day.
Once Kankuro was on the ground, his opponent spoke up, "Unlike Yoroi, I show no mercy. I'll say it now, once I use my techniques on you, give up. I'll end it quickly."
Kankuro smirked, "Then I'll also end it quickly." With that, Kankuro put the placed his giant burden own and entered his battle stance.
"Begin." Hayate said.
Misumi dashed forward to chop at Kankuro's neck. Kankuro easily blocked it...only for Misumi to flow around Kankuro like water until he had surrounded Kankuro in a grapple from behind. Misumi's whole body ended up winding around Kankuro like a serpent.
"In order to obtain information, my body was altered to fit in any space. Give up, or I'll keep squeezing until I break your bones. Keep it up and I'll kill you." Misumi boasted. Kankuro looked upset that his body was completely surrounded by his opponent.
"Heh, no way." Kankuro said. Misumi was irritated and began squeezing his body. He could hear the bones grind and was rewarded with grunts of pain from Kankuro.
"Do you want to die?" Misumi asked knowing that he was close to breaking Kankuro's neck.
"You're the one who's going to die," Kankuro replied.
Hayate wanted to interfere, but his instincts were telling him to hold off. From the sidelines, Rider smirked, the boy had no idea how foolish he was. The 'Kankuro' had no scent, no blood, no flesh. Saber looked like he wanted to jump down and save the boy, but Rider held her hand out. "Don't, wait and see." Saber looked apprehensive, but agreed.
SNAP
Kankuro's neck went in a strange and horrific direction from the force Misumi placed upon it. Kankuro went slack. A few onlookers look disgusted by the 'dead' body.
"Fool," Misumi said, "You made me kill you."
Kankuro's head whirled 180 degrees. It's face was not that of flesh, but of wood and metal, "Oh good. Then it's my turn." Wooden arms exploded from 'Kankuro' and embraced Misumi.
"A puppet?" Misumi said in astonishment. The large bundle on the ground exploded revealing the real Kankuro orchestrating the events. The Puppet began crushing Misumi in it's embrace. "Gaah, Agh."
"If I break your bones, you'll be even more flexible." Kankuro said as Misumi collapsed in pain.
Hayate sighed, grateful he held off on saving the boy. "Winner Subaku no Kankuro."
Saber turned to Rider and nodded his thanks. He had missed noticing that the puppet wasn't breathing.
"Hey, Saber." Naruto asked.
"Yes Naruto?" replied
"Were you going to save him?"
"I don't like seeing people die in front of me. Yes, I will do all I can to keep everyone here alive." Saber answered.
Naruto nodded, "Good, but try to read underneath the underneath."
Kakashi smiled at that phrase, though he could sympathize with Saber's view. Death is a wasteful thing, especially during the exams.
Mentally Shirou snorted at being lectured, but acknowledged that he had it coming for missing the obvious. Saber bowed a bit, "As you command my Master."
"Naruto, my name is Naruto."
"Not when you give me commands Naruto. It is at that point that you are a Master, a being that is far more than a human." Saber countered.
"Shh," Sakura reprimanded, "I want to see who's next."
Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino
"Eh?" Sakura said astounded, "Me?"
Rider smirked, "You jinxed yourself."
Ino for her part also looked stunned that she had been set up against Sakura. The two had been rivals for years, and now they were going to find out who was stronger of the two. With a sense of determination, the two girls descended to the area.
"I didn't expect us to be fighting here." Ino said.
Sakura calmly, silently removed her headband and properly attacked it to her forhead. Team Seven knew that this meant that Sakura was going all out. She only wore her headband like that when she had to spar against Saber who had constantly berated her during her spars that she kept failing to protect her head. Putting it on properly instead of using it to control her long hair was a sign that she was prepared to use everything she had. Sakura's hands brushed her weapon packs and palmed two of her smallest poisoned needles for immediate use. The poison wouldn't kill, but it would cause temporary, blindness, numbing, and paralysis. Perfect for this match.
Shikumaru and Choji were nervous about this match. Ino and Sakura were the top Kunochi of their year, not to mention that they were both apprentice medical nins. Both of them knew the human body like few shinobi did as medical knowledge could be used for assassination in the right or wrong hands.
"Let's go Ino," Sakura said seriously. "We've been needing to do this for years."
"What the hell are you doing getting do full of yourself you crybaby?" Ino retorted.
"For a long time I looked up to you. You were my goal, my rival, my ideal. Today I am going to find out if I have surpassed you or not." Sakura said.
Ino was surprised by the confession. She also took her head protector from around her waist and put it on her forehead. She would not debase this fight with anything less than her best effort at crushing Sakura.
"Fighters, Begin" Hayate yelled.
Sakura instantly threw both needles at Ino. Ino had to leap to the left to prevent herself from being hit. Sakura dashed forward making a hand sign. There was suddenly three Sakura's where one had been.
"Bushin no Jutsu?" Ino said incredulously, "This isn't an academy exam. You think you can beat me with a textbook jutsu?" Ino focused on the Sakuras feet and was able to see that the middle Sakura was the real one from the dust kicked up from the ground. Sakura smirked as Ino's eyes looked down and made another hand sign. Sakura focused her chakra into her feet and launched herself at Ino. The increased speed threw Ino off enough for Sakura to close in and Punch Ino in the face sending her flying.
Sakura took that moment to pull out a few more needles hurling them at Ino as she tried to close in again. Ino flipped back onto her feet throwing two kunai back at Sakura. Sakura dodged one and deflected the other without stopping. Sakura pulled back her right fist and punched Ino in the gut. Ino folded in feeling her breakfast trying to come up the wrong end. Sakura pulled out a needle and tried to stab Ino, but Ino blocked it with a kunai before she leaped back.
"hah hah," Ino panted, "You're taking me seriously at least."
"I told you Ino, you were my ideal," Sakura stated, "Of course I'm taking you seriously."
With that, Sakura pulled out a kunai and charged forward again. Mentally, she was proud of herself for working so hard. If she had slacked off, this constant dashing would have tired her old self out already. Instead, she was barely sweating and her breath had barely increased in speed. Sakura began slashing and striking in the manner that Anko had taught her. Snake style relied upon fast strikes then a quick pull back to prevent counter attacks, like a cobra striking its enemy.
Ino was having a hard time dodging the attacks. She was the long range specialist of her team. Her biggest ability was her clan jutsu that would allow her to control other people. Instead, she had no time to perform her jutsu. Sakura was clearly in her element while she was out of hers. Ino had not choice, She lept back and cut her hair.
Sakura was stunned by the action. Ino was proud of her hair. She had been the one that claimed that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Now, that long blond had was ragged and torn. "W-what are you doing Ino?"
"I'm taking this fight seriously too." Ino declared throwing her hair. "With this I'll finish you." Ino made a strange hand sign with her thumbs, index, and middle finger touching with a large space between the thumbs and index fingers making a strange window.
Sakura recognized it instantly and was confused. Ino's clan jutsu took time to activate. Why was she doing this now? Sakura had to move fast to stop that justsu. As she closed in, she ran atop the pile of hair. It was then that Sakura was frozen. "Eh?" Sakura said startled
"You fell for it Sakura," Ino said pleased. "I caught you. This is a special rope I used using my hair." Sakura had a sudden flash of insight as to why Ino's father always kept his hair long. It was for this one moment that the hair could be sacrificed to pin an enemy down. Ino smirked and said, "Shintenshin no Jutsu" Ino's body collapsed and Sakura's head lower. Sakura's body began shaking with laughter
"Too bad Sakura," Sakura said looking up. The jutsu was effective. Ino now had full possession of Sakura. 'Sakura' raised her hand, "I Haruno Sakura would like to for-"
"Don't do it." Naruto yelled. "You got this far already. If you lose now, you're not a woman."
Sasuke nodded once, "Indeed."
Ino suddenly felt a massive pressure build up inside her. Never before had Ino felt this much fear in years. Inside the mind, Ino turned around and saw a giant Sakura with the word 'Inner' labeled on her forehead. The giant grabbed Ino and yelled, 'Ino, get out of my head now or I am going to kill you.'
Ino ran out of Sakura's mind in terror.
Hayate, not seeing the inner struggle came up to Sakura and asked , "m, *cough* do you want to forfeit?"
Sakura's head snapped and glared at Ino. Before Ino could move, Sakura threw a needle accuratly at her. Ino could feel the paralysis work.
"Forfeit? Not on your life." Sakura declared.
Ino fell to the ground shaking in paralysis as the poison went to work inside her body. "How? What? Two minds? What are you?" Ino gasped.
"Girls have to be strong to survive in this world." Sakura answered. She turned to Hayate, "My poison will keep her paralyzed for thirty minutes. There is nothing she can do."
Hayate hooped over to Ino, "Can you move?"
Ino tried to stand up, but was unable to move. *sigh* "No, I can't"
"Then I declare Sakura the winner." Hayate declared.
Ino felt her world fall into dispair. She had lost, and not to just anyone, but Sakura.
Sakura went up to Ino and held out a vial. "Here, drink this, it's the antidote."
Ino opened wide as Sakura poured it down her throat. After a few seconds, Ino could feel her limbs again. The two got up and began making their way to the balcony.
"Don't think I won't beat you next time." Ino said.
"Keep telling yourself that Ino," Sakura said lightly.
Saber looked over at Kakashi, "Well, two of them passed, all that's left is Naruto."
Kakashi smiled under his mask, "Could it be? After forty years another team becomes chunin in one try."
"Huh?" Saber said confused.
"Forty years ago, the legendary Sannin team entered the chunin exams and passed on their first try. It's been the dream of every jonin to have that occur again."
Saber shrugged, "Well, we've still got to get through the third exam before that happens."
Kakashi wasn't paying attention. He was thinking of the possibility of having eternal bragging rights. To think after forty years, there was a chance for his team to be the next rookie wonders.
"Uh," Naruto said cautiously, "Saber, I wish you didn't tell him that. He's creeping me out."
"My apologies, though I suspect that you can beat most of them here with your trump cards" Saber apologized.
Naruto patted a scroll in his pocket. His ultimate trump card. To be used only in the most dire of times. Ah well, he'd hold off on it unless he had to. Naruto lookd back at the board to see if he was next
Subaku noTemari vs TenTen
Temari and TenTen both hooped down to the field and looked at each other. Both could tell that their opponent was not a flower. Both of them were deadly weapons forged by their village to complete missions. TenTen held her storage scrolls at the ready while Temari readied her fan. The two prepared to fight with everything they had as soon as the word as given
"Fighters ready?" Hayate asked glancing between the two.
Both nodded their heads eager for a good battle.
"Fight."
TenTen summoned several kunai and sent them flying at Temari. Temari casually batted them away with her fan. TenTen then tried throwing various weapons like ball and chains, daggers, axes, and spears, but Temari batted right back at TenTen.
TenTen figured that any long range weapons were useless and had to opt for close range. She summoned a short and long Katana. TenTen tried to dash forward, but Temari blew her back with her fan once again.
Naruto looked over at Saber and asked, "Hey, is there anyway for her to win?"
Saber considered TenTen's fighting style. "She was a combination of short and long range when fighting, but she was far better with long range attacks. Temari was a long range specialist, but her fan was able to send opponents back with a single swish.
"Hmm, there are three ways that I can see for her to win. The problem is, two of them are probably illegal in this fight. The third option is risky, but doable."
"How?" Naruto asked seriously. The blond girl was a serious problem.
"Well, she can use explosive tags to destroy the ceiling and crush her. I doubt that would look good however. The second option is blow trenches into the floor with explosive tags. Again, probably looked down on. The final option would be to overwhelm Temari-san with a combination of short and long range attacks at the same time."
"Trenches?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, it's hard to blow someone away when they jump into fox holes. By slowly turning the field into a bunch of craters, that wind attack would be useless." Saber explained. The two of them went back to look at TenTen as she unfurled two scrolls and threw them up in the air.
"Twin Rising Dragons." Temari yelled as she sends hundreds of weapons at Temari.
"Look carefully Naruto," Saber warns as he places a hand upon his head, "This is what you should never do."
Naruto gazed as Temari send a massive gust of wind from her fan redirecting the weapons right back at TenTen. TenTen was hit by several of the weapons and blacked out. As she fell, Temari slammed her fan into TenTen's back.
Naruto winched, "I'm guessing that you meant never use projectiles at her."
Saber shook his head, "No, don't send projectiles while you're in mid-air and are unable to dodge if they get sent back."
Naruto nodded, it made sense. TenTen could have dodge the weapons easily if she were on the ground. "I think I'll go with the trench option if I have to face her."
"That or you can use one of the trump cards." Saber added.
Temari smirked and threw tenten towards the wall. Lee dashed with all his speed to save TenTen, but a red and black flash went past him and caught her first. Saber looked on at Temari and stared at her. Temari suddenly felt a bit smaller under Saber's gaze. "That was low. You are far better than that."
Temari tried to look brave, but she could feel the disdain the white haired man gave her. She had thrown the girl to send a message, but this man ruined it for her. Instead of looking tough, Temari was made to look inferior. She was better than that. She was a jonin in all but name, but this man made her feel like a recruit. Temari backed away and hopped back towards Baki.
Saber inclined his head at Lee and the two went back to the balcony. Saber carefully ran his hands over TenTen's back, but found no sign of broken vertebrae. "Good, it doesn't look like she'll be paralyzed. Though, she'll probably be feeling that blow for weeks."
Gai came up to Saber and bowed slightly, "Thank you for saving my beloved student."
"Yes," Lee said happily, "It was most youthful of you."
Saber patted Lee on the head, "You would have been there if I wasn't. Keep an eye on her."
Nara Shikumaru versus Takeda Ace
Ace hopped down smiling the whole way. His opponent looked like the laziest person in the universe, which wasn't that far off actually. The Nara boy yawned and muttered about something being "Troublesome." Ace remembered hearing about the Nara clan. Apparently, they made it a clan trademark to use that word. Now if only he could remember what the clan specialized in again. Something about light manipulation if he remembered his classes. He had been rather tired that day trying to learn how to form a bushin properly.
"Fighters ready?" Hayate asked. Shikumaru yawned. Ace felt a drop of sweat fall down from his forehead, though why that happened was beyond him, the room was rather cool.
"Fight."
Ace dashed forward pulling out his two new weapons and began charging them with lighting chakra.
There was a brief whistle from Asuma. "Elemental manipulation, that's a high jonin level skill."
Choji smiled, "But he's dealing with Shikumaru. If anyone has a plan, it's him."
Ino snorted, "What plan? He's a one trick pony."
As Ace moved forward, Shikumaru made a rat sign with his hands and waited.
"No don't" Yugito tried to warn her student as he came too close to the Nara boy. "Idiot."
Ace was almost upon his enemy when his movement was forcefully halted. "Eh?"
"Shadow Copy No Jutsu complete." Shikumaru said with a smirk. Ace and Shikumaru began circling until Ace replaced where Shikumaru was.
"What the hell is this?" Ace exclaimed.
"It's the Nara specialty you moron." Yugito yelled. "He's going to make you copy every move he makes."
Shikumaru pulled out a shuriken forcing Ace to do the same. The two of them sent their weapons flying.
"Lets see who can withstand the most damage," Shikumaru said as the weapons passed each other and headed for their targets. Ace felt a shudder of fear convinced that the Nara boy was a masocist. Who else would be uncaring of a weapon coming at them?
Yet, as the weapons came close, Shikumaru leaped back forcing Ace to do the same making him feel a sense of relief. Shikumaru leaned back to avoid the attack and Ace did the same...only to smash his head on a wall.
Ace had been so focused on the weapon that he failed to notice that there was a wall far closer to him that Shikumaru. Not that it would have done much good anyway. The force of the blow had resounded through the hall. Ace fell down unconscious.
Hayate looked the boy over and declared Shikumaru the winner.
Ace was now looked at as the weakest, and stupidest genin the collective audience had ever seen. The battle had lasted less than two minutes and the Nara boy was unharmed and barely did anything to win. Yugito silently swore to beat the basics back into Ace as soon as this farce was over. She looked over at Naru , "Do you want to fight? If you forfeit, we can go home and report back. If you win, we'll have to stay here."
Naru may be a shy girl who had a stuttering problem, but that did not mean that she was timid or weak. She was the strongest in her team, and did have a competitive spirit. She gazed on at her unconscious boyfriend and said, "I-I have no intention of throwing my match. I will win or lose with my own power."
Yugito nodded, "Very well. Good luck."
After Ace was moved out, the others gazed upon the board.
Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba
Naruto felt a sense of amazement that he was next.
"Good luck Naruto." Sakura encouraged.
"Don't you dare lose." Sasuke said, "We're all going together or you'll never hear the end of it."
Naruto nodded, but wasn't thinking about the team at the moment. He looked back on his memories of boot camp and recalled the clan jutsus that Kiba displayed back then. With Akumaru at his side, Kiba could become a cyclone of death unless he was stopped. Stopping Kiba, however, was far easier said then done, unless he was stopped before he began his Fang over Fang jutsu.
Over on the other side of the balcony, Kiba and Akumaru were congratulating on their luck at what they claimed was an easy match. Naruto rolled his eyes. There was a reason that Kiba was third last in the class. Only Shikumaru who said that tests were too troublesome and Naruto had done worse. Though, only Sasuke could beat Kiba at physical abilities and tracking.
Once on the ground, Naruto looked over at Kiba, "Hey, could I convince you to go one on one? Hell, you're already stronger than me as it is."
Kiba smirker, "Yeah right, how dumb do you think I am?"
Naruto refrained from answering. The silence was not lost on Kiba.
"Damn you." Kiba snarled and Akumaru barked.
"Fighters ready? Begin." Hayate yelled
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Naruto yelled forming a few dozen clones. Half of them turned to weapons and began throwing each other beginning Orange Flash. Kiba and Akumaru countered with man beast form and performed Fang over Fang. Over half the clones were destroyed instantly. Naruto threw a flash bomb he had on hand causing momentary blindness for both his opponents. Naruto had to decide quickly what the next course of action was. Kiba and Akumaru could use their nose as well as their eyes. He could try to overwhelm Kiba with clones, but there was too much risk he'd tire himself out first. Instead, Naruto opted to use his wind jutsu. Naruto sucked in the air and shot out three vacuum spheres. One of the two man beasts was hit and sent flying. That one turned into Akumaru, who was stunned for a moment. Naruto had no time to celebrate as the other one smashed into him at lightning speed.
Kiba was always one of the fastest in class.
Naruto could feel one of his ribs break from the blow. Unfortunately, if he tried to use most his wind jutsus, which relied on him taking deep breaths, he could puncture a rib. Naruto thought back on Kiba's weaknesses. There was one way to win instantly, but he'd get beaten up later. Ah well, Naruto understood too well from the dreams that it was better to win with whatever he had then deal with the concequences.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Naruto yelled.
Over one hundred clones charged at Kiba. Kiba prepared to defend himself, but every one of the clones made a hand sign "Harem no Jutsu."
What happened next, Naruto would later, much later, like decades later, blame on Saber for seeing the scene in his dreams. Instead of his standard naked blond bombshell with a large racks covered in a thin mist, the clones turned into naked Rias, no mist included.
Kiba took one look and froze. The clones all clung to him promising to do wonderful things to him. Kiba, a healthy teenager with a healthy attraction to females was sent flying from the jet of blood that exploded from his nose.
Many of the male population in the audience was also sent flying in jets of blood from their nose, though Hayate was able to turn away and imagine Yugau Uzuki. Kakashi buried his head inside his Icha Icha giggling wickedly. Asuma blushed, but thought about a certain woman not to far from him and was able to keep all but the smallest of nosebleeds from showing. Lee and Gai were both sent flying a good twelve feet into the air and left small imprints upon the walls from impact. Neji shivered from the power of that technique and prayed to never face it himself. Choji and Shikumaru were both relatively untouched, though they both found their jaws dropping a bit. Ace and Tamaki both had to turn to the side while their nose bleed profusely, though Ace received a slap from Naru and was called a pervert.
Yet, through the sounds of men fainting, there was this ominous sound of metal tearing. Sakura turned to her right and saw Saber bending the metal bars he had been leaning on while watching. He had on the most furious face she had ever seen. Sakura had planned on beating Naruto up for showing such an obscene technique, but it was clear that Saber would beat her to the punch. Hell, it was all together possible that saber would kill Naruto. There was a dark and powerful killing intent coming from Saber as he looked on at the naked harem.
Yugito was furious, yet amazed at the power that one jutsu had. With one move, men, even the Hokage passed out. This one jutsu had rendered the most powerful men in the village unconscious. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Beside her, Archer, the most unflappable men she ever met looked on at the boy in rage. Hell, she hadn't seen anyone that pissed off in years. Even scarier was the twin, Saber. She could feel the killing intent from the other side of the room. Archer had once warned her that Servants had their pride, to step on their pride was to walk upon the thinnest of ice. Many a Master had died because the tromped upon the pride of Servants. That dumb boy had won his match, but he may very well have sealed his death warrant.
"Winner Uzumaki."
Naruto looked up at Saber shivering in fear as the clones dispersed. In Saber's hand was the all powerful Torashinai. Naruto knew he'd be feeling the weapon upon his head for hours. Yet, as soon as he was announced the winner, rider was before him, shielding him from Saber's wrath.
"Master," Rider asked seriously, "What possessed you to take on that form? You know what she means to him."
Naruto tried to get his mouth working, but fear was making it difficult to talk. "I-I-I d-d-d-don't k-k-know."
"Master, it would be best if I kept you away from him for a while so that he may cool his head." Rider said as she grabbed him bridal style and literally ran from the area and ran out of the building. Many of the female population felt that Naruto had gotten off too easily, though a few looked on at saber and knew that divine retribution would come soon enough.
Sasuke looked over at Saber and shivered from the killing intent displayed. Not even the snake woman back in the forest had displayed such a killing intent.
"Saber, who was that?" Sasuke asked referring to the woman. There was no way that Naruto had changed into that image at random.
"Stay out of it boy." Shirou said with scorn. There are few things that pissed him off, but abusing Arturia's image was at the top of his list. It would be in Naruto's best interest if they both didn't see each other for days or he might end up beating his Master to death.
Sasuke flinched from Saber's tone. This was a new side of Saber that he was seeing. This rage, this anger was terrifying to behold. Sasuke sent a prayer to Kami that Naruto would never do that move again with him nearby.
Hayate dabbed his nose with a tissue and called for the next set of fighters. No-one had been looking at the board after Naruto's vulgar display.
Hyuga Neji vs Hyuga Hinata
Hinata froze. Of all the opponents she was facing, this was the worst match up. To make matters worse, her crush had fled the building to escape Saber's wrath. But...she hardened her resolve. Her father had declared that she was still the heir to the Hyuga main branch. Her father still thought of her as a daughter and a worthy heir. There were many of her relatives that had complimented her on her officiating on the duels between Saber and the clan.
She wasn't a weak failure, she was a worthy Hyuga. She would do her best.
Neji noticed that Hinata wasn't shivering in fear like he expected. Strange. A month ago, she would have been terrified of facing him in combat. Now, she was if not confident, at least resolved to fight as well as she could.
Honestly, Neji admired the resolve. Hinata knew that she could not win, but she would not back down, nor would she ask for him to go easy on her.
Neji looked inside himself and saw that he did not resent her as much as he had a month ago. Hinata had gone through the same boot camp as her and had come out stronger than ever. Just, not as strong as himself.
A month ago, he would have declared that fate determined everything. But now, he thought back on Saber. Saber was a self-declared failure of his peers, whoever they are. A failure, yet, he easily trounced the heads both branches of the Hyuga family. A failure, yet he was clearly one of the best fighters that Neji ever saw. Perhaps, Fate was determined by one's outlook, not just by predetermined sequences.
"I never thought I'd be facing you Hinata-sama." Neji said as he faced her in the arena.
"Neji-niisan." Hinata acknowledged with a bow.
"Fighters ready? Begin" Hayate declared
"Before we begin," Neji said, halting Hinata's advance, "I have to say, a month ago, I would have told you that you were not cut out for being a shinobi."
"And Now?" Hinata asked.
"Now? You have the potential, but you're not at my level yet." Neji told her.
Kerenai looked on at her student with pride. Months ago, she had been talking to Hiashi, who roughly told her that Hanabi was a better shinobi that Hinata and Hinata was a waste of time. That had been before the kidnapping of Hanabi. The main branch had to have fallen in despair when their rising star had floundered for a while, though Saber had done a remarkable job rehabilitating her. The main branch had, after the kidnapping reevaluated Hinata and saw her with a profound respect. Hinata had been a nervous wreck, but she had gotten as far as she did without anyone like Saber to work on her. Hinata had an inner strength that could not be measured due to how subtle it was.
Just last week, Hinata had told her team with pride that her father acknowledged her as the heir and that she got to officiate three duels between the Hyugas and Saber. Kiba and Shino had been proud of her work.
Below them, Hinata and Neji attacked using their clans unique fighting style, trying to cause internal injuries rather than external.
Yet, as everyone watched the match, one boy and a Servant were about to have a strange encounter.
Uchiha Residence
Both Rin and Luvia were becoming more and more irritated as they waited for Shirou. They had already waited several hours, and there was no sign of life in the area except a ramen shop that looked like it was going to open soon. Honesty, what was Shirou thinking making two beautiful girls wait? And after they had done so much, spent so much, and worked so hard to get here, the least he could do was meet them.
"Honestly, where is he?" Rin asked peevishly. "It's not like he didn't know we were coming"
"Eh?" Luvia asked.
Rin looked over at Luvia, "What? You wouldn't stop bragging how Shirou was exicted about seeing us again."
Luvia thought back trying to remember the conversation- "Ah," Luvia said in realization, "Um...yeah, I remember." Yeah, she remembered, remembered dreaming about that conversation. Luvia had bragged about it to Rin hoping to throw her rival off, but didn't think to actually tell Shirou.
Oops...
Illya was felling rather hungry after waiting, but there was no way that any of them had any money to pay for food. Good thing she knew exactly where Shirou would hide his stash of cash. He always hid it in a jar behind the pots and pans. As soon as she dug through the pots, she found a small brown jar with it's lid on securely. The Jar was rather light comparing what it should have been. Illya opened it up and dumped out a modest pile of money that Shirou had been saving.
"Illya!" Aoko said agast.
"Nani?" Illya asked mischievously.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm hungry," Illya said selfishly. It's not like Shirou ever held back on giving Illya what she wanted...except for one thing he promised, and Illya was determined to collect the debt.
Illya took a chunk of the money and skipped over to the ramen shop just as the owner put out his banner signifying that it was open. Illya looked over at the sign, "Ichiraku," Illya mused. It was a good name in her opinion. Behind her, the others in the group grabbed some of the money and followed.
Illya entered with Acrueid literally at her heels. Shiki followed at a more sedate piece while Aoko and Zelretch took up the middle of the pack. Rin and Luvia came last, casting glances back at the house as if they expected Shirou to pop out at any moment.
"Welcome to Ichiraku's," A young woman said smiling as she welcomed them. "You guys are new here? Are you here because of the chunin exams?"
They all shook their heads, it was Illya who spoke for them, "No, I'm looking for my stupid older brother."
Ayame was taken aback by that statement, "Oh? And who is that? I might know, everyone comes to Ichiraku these days. Especially with the new specials. We have Saber's special, Rin's special Rin began coughing at that) Matou's secret ingredient soup, and Berserker's challenge."
Yeah, Shirou had been here before, and clearly gave names for the the new foods.
"Um, would you happen to know a guy with white hair, gray eyes, darkened skin, black leather outfit with a small red cape and red on his arms?" Illya asked specifically.
"Ah? You're Saber's sister? Odd, he never mentioned having a little sister." Illya snapped her chopsticks, who could forget, kind, sweet, innocent, Illya? It's not like she was some sort of black sheep in the family that had fun killing people...lately.
"Ara," Rin said amused at Illya's reaction, "It seems that Shirou was keeping quiet about you. I wonder why..."
Illya glared at Rin and tried to use her mystic eyes on Rin, but Rin's magical resistance is too strong for it to do anything. Not like Shirou's where a simple glance had paralyzed him and allowed him to be kidnapped.
"I'll have that Saber's special," Arcuied ordered.
"Hmm, I'll have the pork ramen." Shiki said, preferring to eat known food.
"Berserker's challenge," Aoko decreed thinking that she could eat all the ramen within the time limit.
Rin was unsure about having 'Rin's Special', would it really stand up to her level. In the end, she decided to try it and then critique the chef if the food was unsatisfying. Luvia went with a miso ramen, while Illya went with a Saber's special herself. Zelretch decided to try the Matou's secret ingredient, but told Ayame that he would be very disappointed if the secret ingredient was nothing, as in nothing added to ordinary ramen.
When their food came, everyone gasped at the size of Berserker's challenge. If Illya curled up into a ball, she could almost fit inside the bowl. Rin giggled a bit thinking that the name was still misnamed, Berserker could have easily eaten the bowl of ramen and demanded seconds, if by demanded one meant threatening with a horrific roar and swinging his giant stone blade. Illya smiled fondly at Shirou's attempt to remind himself of old times, though why he didn't name a dish as Illa's special or the Einzbern special was irritating.
"Yoh, old man." a young voice called out.
'Ah, well if it isn't my favorite customer, where have you been for the past five days?" Teuichi called out from the kitchen.
A young boy with a disgustingly bright orange jumpsuit with blond hair and deep blue eyes entered the restaurant. "Ah well, the second exam for the chunin exams took a while. I figure I'll eat a few bowls before me and Rider head back to await the third exam."
At the mention of Rider's name, Rin, Luvia, and Illya whipped around. "Rider?" the three echoed. Zelretch smirked a bit remembering when he and the heads of the Tohsaka, Matou and Einzbern had workerd together to create the Grail wars. Of course, the first Grail war ended in disaster and ruin but that's life for you.
In walked said Rider with her flowing purple hair, purple blindfold and dark sexy outfit. Rinder took one look at the girls and felt a ripple of a strange emotion within her. Anticipation. Strange, why was she anticipating seeing these girls? The it came to her, these girls were in the mirror and were completely infatuated with Saber. Add Anko into the mix and a full blown explosive drama was sure to enfold. Oh the possibilities that Rider could come up with to mess with Saber. The numbers seemed endless.
Rider collected herself and smoothly walked up to the girls, "Hello," Rider said.
"Hello," Acruied said cheerfully. Shiki nodded his head curtly, Zelretch smiled but said nothing, and Aoko was busy trying to finish the challenge within the time limit. She had just finished the top layer of ramen and had run into a massive pile of pork. This was going to take a great deal of effort to finish. The looks on Rin, Luvia, and Illya were comical however, they all seemed to be trying to say something, but their mouths could not form words.
Rider decided to help them out, "Saber is not here at the moment. Master here made a foolish mistake and we decided to let him cool off a bit."
"What was that?" Acruied asked.
Rider explained in great detail what had happened enjoying the chagrin in Naruto's face as well as embarrassment. Honestly, Rider and her sisters should have been worshiped as goddesses of practical jokes rather than beauty.
For a second time that day, Naruto was under the gaze of a being that could kill him easily. This time however, it would take more than Rider to keep him alive from the divine wrath of the women in Shirou's life.
Good luck kid, you're going to need it.
Author's Note; I was going to continue this chapter, but I had been over a week since I posted, and I'm not sure when I would get enough free time to add more to the chapter, so enjoy what I've got here.
Next chapter will end the prelims and have shirou finally meet the girls.