Chibiusa means little rabbit in Japanese.
I was wondering, does the cursing offend any of you? If it does, could you please tell me? And I'm sorry for the previous chapters~
:-:-:
Fuyu 04
The young Uchiha prodigy looked over at the alarm clock that rested on the night stand near his bed. Repeating the same series of actions, every 5 minutes.
A small smirk grew across his face. I didn't think it would be this excited about the Chunin exams. I just can't wait to fight all those monsters. He thought to himself cockily as images of, Soma, Neji and a certain red-head flickered through his mind.
I'll be sure to take advantage of every opportunity to fight all of them. He promised as he forced his onyx eyes shut.
Especially you, Soma.
:-:-:
Fuyu silently laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling in darkness.
I don't think I'm going to be able to do this...She thought to herself, balling up her left fist lightly. I don't want to risk everything and in the process embarrass myself and my team.
She rolled over onto her right side, facing the wide window that allowed the rising sunlight to flood in. But then again...I don't want to seem like such a coward.
"All of this is so frustrating! What am I supposed to do!" She whispered/yelled out loud, not expecting for anyone to answer.
"Fuyu! Don't be so worried! We'll dominate those Chunin exams!" "You did come up with the majority of this jutsu, there shouldn't be anything that holds you back from becoming a chunin."
"It seems like everyone else has all this confidence in me, but myself." she sighed to herself, slowly shutting her eyes.
"How do I ever expect to keep up Soma and Ritsu if I keep feeling this way?"
:-:-:
"So this is it, isn't it Fuyu-chibiusa." Yukito asked his daughter as he watched her slip on her shinobi sandals through sad eyes.
"It just seems like yesterday that you started attending the academy, Fuyu. And now...now you're going off to take the Chunin exams." Chifuyu expressed, cupping her daughters cheeks in a loving manner.
Fuyu sighed silently. "I still don't feel like I can do this though. I keep thinking that something's going to go wrong." she responded, looking off at budding Japanese Apricots that thrived in the Saatchi compound.
"That's the last thing you'll want to be thinking on the first day you start the Chunin exams, Fuyu." Yukito advised, crouching to Fuyu's level. "I understand you have some doubts about yourself, but don't let that affect your actions and decisions. If anything, use those doubts to your advantage and prove to yourself that they were wrong."
"That's a lot easier said than done." Fuyu replied, looking sadly into her father's chocolate brown eyes.
A sad smile formed on Yukito's face. "But it's not impossible."
"Fuyuuuu!~" A familiar voice called from the entrance of the Saatchi compound "You ready? Soma and I are all fired up! C'mon, let's not keep our enemies waiting!" Ritsu called, ushering her to come with them.
Fuyu waved a hand in acknowledgment before looking back at her parents.
"You'll be fine, Fuyu-chibiusa." Chifuyu reassured her.
"Remember, those two" Yukito began pointing at her two teammates "Are looking after you every step of the way."
a small smile managed to grace Fuyu's features as she nodded her head in agreement. "I'll see you when I get home." she bidded, bowing respectfully before running off to meet up with her teammates.
And we'll be waiting. Chifuyu thought to herself, clasping her hands together worriedly.
"Fuyu!" Ritsu called once she finally fell instep with the duo. "You ready to beat some butts during the Chunin exams?" he asked, fire blazing in his eyes.
Fuyu smiled nervously before looking over at Soma with a confused look.
"You should've seen the way he was acting on the way to your house." he responded, maintaining his gaze on the road ahead of them.
"What kind of people do you think we'll be going up against?" Ritsu asked enthusiastically. "I hope they're strong, just so I can see how powerful I am." he added, looking down at his hands as he clenched and unclenched them repeatedly.
"Be careful what you wish for, Ritsu." Soma warned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Although, I can't help but wonder who I'll be up against. Soma thought to himself, with an image of Sasuke almost immediately appearing in his mind.
"Whoever we go against, let's just make sure we win." Fuyu added with a warm smile.
"You bet!"
"I don't think we could have it any other way."
a toothy smile formed on Ritsu's face. "Let's go, I don't want to be late for the first part of the exam!" he exclaimed before sprinting off to the Academy building.
Soma sighed deeply before running after him, with Fuyu following suit.
Still subconsciously thinking about his steps, Soma peered behind his right shoulder at his female teammate. Don't start having doubts now Fuyu. He said to her mentally, raising his eyebrow slightly. Or, don't start worrying about people who aren't worth your thoughts.
It's not fair to think about someone who's on a different team. Both Fuyu and Soma thought simultaneously as they continued trailing behind Ritsu.
:-:-:
"Alright." Ritsu began pulling out his -crushed- application. "It says we're supposed to go to the 3rd floor for the exam room." he explained, looking back at his teammates.
"Well then, standing out here won't help us will it?" Soma asked with a cocky smirk on his face.
"That's what I'm talking about, Soma!" Ritsu responded enthusiastically. "Let's go-"
"Oi, Ritsu!" a familiar voice called from behind him.
"Hey Naruto!" he called back, waving his right hand frantically. "You guys decided to take the Chunin exams too?"
"Hell yeah! What made you think we wouldn't?" Naruto replied once he and his team finally grouped up with their partner team.
A sly smirk appeared on Ritsu's face. "That means there's the possibility that we'll be going against each other."
Soma scoffed. "That'll be perfect." he added before looking over at Fuyu. "Hey-"
"Did they pressure you into taking the Chunin exams, Fuyu?" Sakura asked, gaining Fuyu's attention.
"As much as I would like to blame it on them, I made the choice myself." she replied with a small smile. "But, if anything happens to me, I'll blame them either way."
Sakura laughed lightly. "That sounds like a good idea. I just might use it on Naruto and Sasuke."
"What are you two talking about over there!" Ritsu asked, looking past Soma and Naruto. "I heard something about blaming something on us."
"They're probably planning for us to work together as one team." Sasuke teased, smirking lightly.
"Don't worry, we won't need any of your help." Soma retorted coldly.
Sasuke's smirk slowly transformed into a scowl. "Like I'd help the likes of you."
"I don't take the personally, Sasuke."
"What's going on between you two?" Ritsu asked quietly.
"Nothing I hope." Fuyu answered quietly, periodically switching her gaze from Soma to Sasuke and back. Especially now of all times.
I don't think you're that naive to not notice anything going on between us, Fuyu. Soma thought to himself before heading towards the entrance of the academy. "Of course not." he finally responded before looking over his shoulder at his teammates. "Let's go tackle this Chunin exam."
"Hell yeah!" Ritsu yelled before rushing in after his teammate.
Before following suit, Fuyu looked back at Sasuke, who's gaze was glued on the back of Soma's head. Sharply, his gaze locked onto Fuyu's honey brown eyes.
Please don't let this escalate anymore Sasuke. Fuyu pleaded mentally before following her teammates into the academy.
You know I won't be the first to back down, Fuyu. Sasuke thought, as if he read her mind perfectly. "Well, what are we still doing out here?" he asked in a cocky tone. "Let's go show them what team Kakashi can do."
"-Dettebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air, while Sakura nodded her head in agreement.
I won't let either of you down. She thought to herself, following her teammates through the doors.
:-:-:
"Don't worry, we won't need any of your help." "Like I'd help the likes of you." When did this sour relationship between you two begin? Fuyu asked herself, looking up at the backside of Soma. Ever since the mission to Kirigakure, the atmosphere between those two has been uneasy.
"Well, it looks like the whole teams here." a familiar voice commented from behind the trio.
"Nagare sensei!" Ritsu called happily.
"What are you doing here?" Fuyu asked curiously. "I thought Sensei weren't allowed to take the exams with their students."
"they're not, I just wanted to wish you three good luck is all. Not that you'll need it."
"Of course we don't need it, Sensei! We've got this in the bag." Ritsu responded confidently.
A sad smile formed lightly on Nagare's face. "I have no doubt of that."
Unknown to him, Fuyu almost immediately caught onto his forced smile. What could he be worried about?She asked herself, absentmindedly cocking her head to the right slightly.
"Anyways, go on. From now on, you'll be faced with obstacles many people can't overcome but I have all the faith in the world that you three will surpass them." Nagare said sincerely, turning away slightly from his students. "Who knows, maybe the next time we go on a mission, you'll all be Chunin."
"Sounds like a challenge to me!" Ritsu responded before rushing in through the white double doors with Soma following behind short thereafter.
Before taking his last step out the opposite door, Nagare stopped in his path and looked back at Fuyu who stood there looking up at her Sensei through confused eyes.
"What is it, Fuyu?" he asked, walking back over to her.
"Nothing I guess." she replied with a light smile. "Just...believe in us, and we'll be sure to succeed Sensei." she whispered, bowing slightly before going through the same double doors.
If that's all you need, Fuyu. Nagare thought to himself, heading back towards the doors. Then so be it.
:-:-:
"T-there's so many people..." Ritsu whispered to himself, scanning over all the scarred faces of the various shinobi that sat before him. "How do they expect us to become Chunin, if all these people are participating at the same time?"
"I can't argue with you on that one." Soma agreed, constantly dodging death glares he received from various genin.
"I think my confidence just went down the drain." Fuyu whispered, hiding behind her two teammates.
"That's disappointing." a voice teased behind her "I'd expect more from the heir to the Saatchi clan." Sasuke finished, walking over to the trio.
A light smile graced Fuyu's features. "Sorry to be so disappointing Sasuke." she responded, looking right into his onyx eyes. That's the last thing I want to do.
Unknown to Fuyu though, Sasuke maintained his gaze at her, catching onto every thought that ran in her mind. You'll never get far if you keep underestimating yourself, Fuyu. He thought to himself, smirking quietly.
"So, when does the exam start?" Naruto asked, completely ignoring the numerous groups of Genin before him.
"10 more minutes-!" Fuyu answered, only to be interrupted by a special Kunai whizzing past her nose. Her honey brown eyes locked onto the projectile, which was now struck inside the wall to the right of her.
"What the?" Ritsu mumbled looking from where the kunai came from. "Who threw that!" he asked, raising a fist to each person in the room.
"I think that would be me." a feminine voice answered from behind the group of rookie genin, easily gaining Fuyu's attention.
What was the purpose of that? Fuyu asked herself mentally, looking right into the vibrant green eyes of the girl in front of her.
"I heard that kid" he began pointing at Sasuke "say something about you being heir to the Saatchi clan. Is that true?" she cooed with an amused smile.
"It doesn't concern you." Soma answered, not giving Fuyu to.
"I believe I asked her, not you." she retorted before looking back at Fuyu, still awaiting her answer.
"I am." Fuyu responded, more confidently than she had expected "Why?"
A sly smile formed on the girls face. "Aoi Hintou." she replied "Is my name."
"Hintou?" Fuyu questioned, calling many things to mind. "From Yukigakure?"
"Correct! They did say your clan was full of geniuses, but I didn't think you'd be one of them!" she responded happily "Anyways, since you're from the Saatchi clan...I'll be waiting for my opportunity to fight you."
Fuyu's eyes widened slightly.
"I mean, only if you're up to it, Fuyu-hime." she added, bowing mockingly.
Fuyu grew silent, barely adjusting the becoming the center of someone's attention so suddenly. A mischievous smile formed on her lips. "I'll be looking forward to it also, Aoi Hintou."
Aoi smiled just as mischievously. "Sorry about the Kunai." she finally said "I wanted to get your attention in an exciting way. Hope you mind."
"Of course not." Fuyu said sincerely.
"Till then." Aoi bidded before walking smoothly back to her teammates.
"You really don't wish to fight her, do you Fuyu?" Sakura asked from beside her, worry lining her words.
Fuyu shrugged her shoulders lightly. "In all honesty, not exactly." Fuyu confessed with a small smile. "But she'll just serve as more incentive for me to try even harder."
"Hm." Sasuke grunted, gaining Fuyu's attention. "Who would've thought you would react so calmly to such a direct threat like that, Fuyu."
"You're underestimating her, Sasuke." Soma warned.
"It's fine. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up just to lead them to disappointment." Fuyu countered with a light smile.
"Well" Naruto began quietly, "I don't know about you guys, but...I won't lose to any of you!" he claimed, pointing at the groups of genin that silently watched every move of the rookie genin.
"Naruto." Fuyu whispered warningly "Was that really a good idea?" she asked, motioning to the now irritated genin.
"Of course not, he's an idiot." Ritsu responded. But I could've sworn I was going to do that first. He thought to himself, pouting slightly.
"You all should probably keep things a little more quiet around here." a foreign voice advised from behind the group of rookie genin. "You're all making it obvious that you're the rookie genin that are participating."
"Who are you? Making yourself seem all high and mighty." Sasuke asked coldly.
The stranger smirked while pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. "Kabuto." he responded "I've taken the Chunin exams about 4 times now, I think I have the authority to warn you all about things like this."
"Forgive him, he isn't exactly sociable." Soma explained, ignoring the death glare he received from Sasuke.
"Hm. You're also making it obvious that you won't work well as a team." Kabuto added.
"We're not on the same team." Sasuke corrected.
"Ah. That explains things. Either way, don't give away all your secrets in one standing, whether it's intentional or not." he said before walking back over to his teammates.
"You two really do need to fix whatever happened between you." Ritsu murmured. "What if we're going to need each others help during the exam? It won't work as easily if you two have this rift-"
"Simple. Don't ask for our help." Sasuke countered, avoided Fuyu's concerned look. "It is an exam after all."
"Deal." Soma smirked.
"Stop it." Fuyu commanded softly. "I don't care what happened on the mission, but you both need to put it behind you. It doesn't matter if its an exam or not, we shouldn't be going against our fellow teammates anyways."
Sasuke shot a cold look at Fuyu, one that failed in wavering her stance. "So, what are you going to do if you have to fight one of us for the final exam."
"Forfeit." Fuyu responded instantly. "I'd rather remain a genin, then fight my own teammate just to earn a title."
Sasuke's glare eased slightly as he brought back to memory the few words he caught onto between her conversation with Iruka-Sensei. "...I just don't want to go against him." "He's...my best friend." "I don't want to deal with it now! If that time ever comes, then I'll deal with it then. I refuse to fight Sasuke and you can't make me."
Sasuke slowly took in a deep breath, letting it out just as slowly. Even after all these years, Fuyu, I still don't understand why you go to such an extent with your kindness.
"I'm with Fuyu on that one!" Ritsu declared. "Even if it's someone like Shikamaru or Choji, I'll probably think twice before fighting them."
Neither do I understand why you have such an effect on people. Even with a simple smile, you manage to completely change someone's mind.
"Alright!" a commanding voice called, dragging Sasuke out of his thoughts. "All of you, turn in your applications for a numbered paper and take your seat at the number!" he commanded, looking over every face in the room. "I am Ibiki Morino and I will be the conductor of the 1 part of the Chunin exam which is a written test."
A written test? Fuyu asked herself, gazing at Ibiki curiously. Perfect.
A written test? How does that prove if we should be Chunin or not? Sasuke asked himself, clenching his fists lightly. Waste of my time.
"What are you waiting for! Get your number, and sit in that seat!" Ibiki repeated loudly.
Finally obeying his commands, the group of 6 genin walked over to a wide desk, and traded their applications for a small numbered paper, accompanied with their written exam.
Number 34. Fuyu thought to herself, edging her way towards the seats closest to the windows.
67. Sasuke thought to himself, as he shoved the small paper into his pocket, easily making his way to his numbered seat.
I'm so glad I got a seat near the window. Fuyu thought to herself, looking out the window which filtered the early morning sunlight into the room. Hopefully...it'll start snowing.
Number 13. Ritsu thought to himself, spiriting over to his seat in the front of the room. They must think I'm so talented that I have to be in the top 20! He added, looking around the classroom for his teammates. Too bad Soma and Fuyu are so far away, and then...the test doesn't look all the easy either. He thought to himself, pouting slightly. Never mind, I don't want to be in the top 20!
It looks like they separated the teams on purpose. Sasuke thought to himself, slyly looking around the classroom trying to locate Naruto and Sakura.
"Aren't I lucky?" a voiced mocked from beside him.
"Soma." Sasuke growled. "You don't have to follow me around you know."
Soma held up the small paper, which read "68. Trust me, I have no desire to follow you around Sasuke." he retorted, taking his seat.
"You sure have the desire to start things though."
"Not quite. I have the desire to stop you from spoiling others intentions." He corrected quietly. "and by others, I mean Fuyu."
"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked, shooting a scowl to Soma.
"I understand you two have been friends since childhood, but you've changed dramatically since then. Fuyu on the other hand has maintained her personality, which I really don't want to be changed."
"And you feel like I have that on effect on people?" Sasuke finished.
"Exactly. Need I recall what happened on the mission?" Soma answered, looking over at Sasuke. "I don't care how many times she scolds us for acting this way, I won't let you win Sasuke."
"There won't be an opportunity to win or lose if I don't participate in your game Soma. And let me tell you this once, Soma. Your dumb game, won't have any effect on the friendship that Fuyu and I manage to have. You might think you know her, but you are sadly mistaken." Sasuke warned before directing his gaze to the front. "But, if you're stubborn enough, you won't find that out till she tells you herself."
Soma scoffed. "Your friendship with Fuyu is a touchy subject for you, isn't it? Tell me, does she know that her Birthday is the anniversary of your clans massacre? Or do you continue to hide it from her?" he whispered.
Sasuke grew silent, as he looked over at Fuyu from the corner of his eye.
"But that's fine, Sasuke. I like challenges."
"Your friendship with Fuyu is a touch subject for you, isn't it?" Sasuke clenched his fists underneath the table. When did I let it have such a bearing on me?
"Before we start the exam, let me explain a few rules." Ibiki began, facing the board. "Anyone caught cheating will be automatically disqualified. That persons team will be disqualified as well." he added, looking over his shoulder with a sly smile.
Every pair of the rookie genin's eyes widened slightly at such a rule.
How the hell am I supposed to do this! Naruto and Ritsu thought to themselves simultaneously.
But this test, is close to impossible for anyone but me. Sakura thought to herself before looking over at Fuyu. And possibly even Fuyu, and of course Sasuke and Soma. But...what about Ritsu and Naruto? She asked herself, sweat dropping slightly. We're screwed because of them.
"Damn it." Sasuke muttered to himself. Naruto. He growled mentally, looking over at the blond. Don't screw this exam up so early.
Ritsu. Fuyu and Soma thought as they looked over at the gray headed boy who's nerves were already wrecked.
Just...try your hardest. Fuyu added, looking at her teammate with sympathy.
Don't get caught.
Thank you so much for reading! Every read that my story gets means a lot to me. :)
Please leave a review/comment about what you think about this chapter, and what I can/should work on. I'd really appreciate it!
-EZ