Fuyu 05.
"Let me remind you, this is a timed exam. In an hour, I will give you the 10th question to the test." Ibiki instructed "Good luck." he concluded with a sly smile.
As soon as the words flowed from his lips, Fuyu pulled her gaze down to the exam that laid before her.
If a shinobi was hiding in the shadow of a 40ft tree perfectly, how far away would the shinobi be? She read to herself mentally, looking over at the illustration next to the problem. I didn't think math would be apart of the exam. She thought to herself, looking up and almost immediately locking gazes with a chunin to her left.
She quickly diverted her gaze towards the tapping of a pencil on a wooden clip board, watching another chunin glare directly at the boy she sat next to.
Why are there so many of them? She asked herself, scanning around the classroom carefully. They don't expect anything to happen, right-?
"I forgot to mention this but, the chunin that are lined up on the two parallel sides of this room are carefully watching each and every one of you just to catch if you're cheating or not. Each time you're caught cheating, a point is deducted from your total score of 10. in other words, if you're caught cheating 10 times, you and your team are disqualified." Ibiki explained, looking over the the worried faces of the genin in front of him. "But no worries though, just don't cheat. Each team will need a total of 20 points to continue onto the next part of the exam." he chuckled mischievously.
Fuyu pouted slightly. That just makes this exam even more nerve wrecking. She thought to herself, gazing at the backside of her teammate, Ritsu. If it's only 20 points out of 30, then if Soma and I answer each question correctly, then there's nothing to worry about. She planned to herself looking back down at the exam.
But what if I can't? She asked herself, carefully folding the right corner of her paper.
Why can't we just do a simple transformation jutsu like we did when we became Genin?
:-:-:
Sasuke involuntarily tapped the eraser of his pencil repeatedly on the desk below him. I hate to admit it, but even I'm having problems figuring out these questions. He thought to himself, glancing over at Soma's blank exam. Good thing I'm not the only one. He smirked to himself.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Soma asked almost inaudibly.
"Figured out what?" Sasuke sighed back.
"That we're going to have to cheat in order to pass this part of the exams."
"We can't cheat. Each time we do, a point will be deducted-"
"That's the point. I'm guessing they want us to cheat to see how well we preform in gathering information undetected. Doesn't that sound reasonable?"
Sasuke sat back in his chair slowly, scanning over the 100+ genin that were in the same boat as he was. Then that must mean there's someone out here with the answers. He thought to himself, bringing his gaze back down to his exam.
"Two rows in front of us, third from the left." Soma clued almost silently. "I have a feeling he has all the answers."
Sasuke smirked quietly, silently activated his sharingan. Don't think this will make anything easier between us.
Almost instantly, Sasuke acquired the complete answer to the first question with ease. You'd think they'd make it a little more complicated. He thought to himself, preparing to search for the next question.
Before focusing onto another exam sheet, his gaze involuntarily veered over to Fuyu who, seemed to be, flying through the test with ease.
A small, nearly invisible smile formed on his lips. I wouldn't expect anything less from you, why should I be surprised? He asked himself, looking back at the exam of the genin that sat ahead of him.
It seems like they've finally figured it out. Ibiki thought to himself, noticing as a wave of calmness came over the Genin before him.
"Participant 35 is disqualified" A chunin announced, taking off the last point that genin had. "So are Participants 49 and 85."
"Participant 32 is also disqualified along with participants 12 and 4."
Ibiki smirked quietly. They're not so good at it though. "You 6 turn in your exams. Better luck next time." he bidded as the two teams of genin left the room in defeat.
Fuyu's curious brown eyes watched as the 6 genin filed out the room, leaving everyone in pure silence.
"They really are serious about cheating." a male from Kusagakure commented quietly, pinning his gaze to his exam.
A sad, worried smile graced Fuyu's lips as she looked back down at her exam.
I only have these three last questions left, then everything is up to Soma. She thought to herself, gently rubbing her temples with her free right hand. But then, there's no guarantee he's doing so well either. She added, looking over at Soma from the corner of her eyes.
And then there's Sasuke..."It's not fair to think about someone who's on a different team." Fuyu sighed deeply as she involuntarily tapped the tip of her pencil on the 8th question repeatedly. It doesn't hurt that if I think about others, especially Sasuke. She reasoned to herself, looking through the series of windows that bordered the wall to the left of her.
But in the end, worrying doesn't help anyone. She thought to herself as she tore her gaze from favorable weather outside to the not so favorable exam that laid before her.
This is my main worry right now, everything else will just have to be dealt with later.
:-:-:
50 minutes have passed by since the beginning of the first part of the chunin exams. The written test.
Sakura, Fuyu, Sasuke and Soma finished with ease once they finally caught onto the underlying mission of the exam. That sadly leaves:
Naruto and Ritsu.
10 minutes left. That's fine. Ritsu thought to himself, looking up at the clock. That's enough time to finish this exam! He said mentally, looking down at 9 boxes that had various ninja doodles filling them.
He sweat dropped while pouting silently. I wonder if anyone else is having as much problems as I am. He thought to himself, looking over his shoulder at his 5 close friends. Even Naruto looks like he's got an answer or two. He added, sinking into his chair slowly.
HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO FINISH IN 10 MINUTES! Naruto asked himself, panicking frantically. I can't let Sakura and Sasuke down. Especially not in the first part of the exams-
"There will be 10th question, after an hour has passed, I will explain it to you." Ibiki's voice rang through Naruto's mind. That's it! I'll just wait till the 10th question. That counts as a point doesn't it? He thought to himself, sitting back in his chair taking a sigh of relief.
I guess my best bet will be to put everything on this 10th question. Both Naruto and Ritsu thought to themselves, waiting for the short minute hand to strike 12.
"Participants 98, 120, and 21 are disqualified." a chunin announced with a devious smile.
"That's just too bad. You three only had 10 more minutes to hold onto that one last point." Ibiki commented, watching the saddened Genin file out the room.
:-:-:
A few more moments passed by accompanied with silence, and the constant disqualification of various Genin and their teams.
The anxiety of the few remaining Genin began to build up as some struggled to find the answer to that last question, others begging that their teammates won't get caught, and the rest just wanted to get out of their situation onto the second part of the exams.
We've gotten this far without Ritsu getting caught. Soma thought to himself, as his gaze jumped from person to person. Then I'm sure Fuyu's completed hers with ease, I wouldn't expect any less from her. Soma let out a deep sigh, finally relaxing completely. Now, all that's left is the 10th question. Then onto the 2nd part.
Then I'm that much closer to having the possibility of fighting Sasuke. Soma thought to himself looking over at the stoic Uchiha from the corner of his dark brown eyes.
"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, your dumb game, won't have any effect on the friendship that Fuyu and I manage to have." But, you won't find that out till she tells you herself."
"Tell me, does she know that her Birthday is the anniversary of your clans massacre? Or do you continue to hide it from her?"
The exchange of words between the two young genin replayed once again in Soma's mind.
I guess I'm going to have to drag that competitive spirit of yours out of you, Sasuke. Soma thought to himself, waiting for the 10th question to finally roll around. Exactly how I did during the mission to Kirigakure.
"Alright!" Ibiki exclaimed, easily gaining the attention of all the remaining Genin. "An hour has passed, which means it's finally time for the 10th question." he explained, scanning over the worried expressions before him.
Alight! The 10th question. Naruto thought to himself, literally sitting of the edge of his seat.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, ask it already! Ritsu demanded, chewing on his bottom lip nervously.
Fuyu sat up straight involuntarily in her chair as the words "It's finally time for the 10th question." finally rang in her tan ears. This is it.
Sasuke smirked to himself. Let's get this over with.
Let's take the 10th question head on.
:-:-:
"Ritsu, Naruto, Sakura. You three stay with Tazuna." Nagare instructed in the thick mist that surrounded the two teams of Genin. "Fuyu, Sasuke and Soma, you three stay with Kakashi. Try and make this as quick as possible."
"You got it." Soma replied quietly.
Sasuke simply grunted in understanding while Fuyu nodded her head lightly, keeping her eyes on Kakashi's every movement.
"You guys did ask to have more intense missions, didn't you?" Kakashi asked,amusement lining every word that flowed through his mouth. "Let's go ahead and execute formation B." he instructed, getting into a fighting stance, slowly lifting his headband from his left eye.
Following their orders, Fuyu, Sasuke and Soma each weaved various hand signs needed for their jutsu.
"Hyoton: Yukifuri no Jutsu." Fuyu summoned, causing a smaller variation of the Saatchi clan's signature jutsu to form.
Taking the surrounding snowflakes to his advantage, Soma weaved the last sign he needed for his newest and most favored jutsu he knew: "Lightning release: Spider Trap."
With those few words, the surrounding snowflakes slowly took on an electrical state.
Weaving the final sign he needed, Sasuke took in a deep breath preparing to preform "Kanton: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
the snowflakes easily evaporated, only leaving small balls of electricity traveling straight towards Zabuza.
Before their assault could effect them though, using the shield of the Hidden Mist technique, he sprinted silently towards the weakest link in formation B:
"Fuyu!" Kakashi called out, instantly catching onto his intention. "One of you, protect your teammate!" Kakashi ordered, straining to see through the thickness of the mist .
Both Sasuke and Soma raced towards Fuyu only to collide into each other, defeated both of their purposes.
With one swift hit, Zabuza landed a bone crushing punch straight into Fuyu's stomach, sending her back towards Nagare with worrisome speed.
Recovering from their collision, both Soma and Sasuke strained to see through the mist, searching for their teammate.
Already prepared for another strike, Zabuza came through the mist readying another hit on the two genin that allowed the condition of their teammate to cloud their mind.
"Soma! Sasuke-!" Kakashi warned, only to be interrupted by a swift kick piercing through Zabuza's right side, sending him to a large tree slumping over in defeat.
Knocked unconscious, his hold on the Hidden Mist Technique failed giving the two teams their vision back.
With all urgency, Kakashi sprinted over to Zabuza's limp body, checking for a pulse as Nagare sprinted back towards Fuyu, checking for the same thing.
"Is she going to be alright?" Sakura asked worriedly.
Nagare remained silent as he finally took his two fingers away from the conjuncture of Fuyu's neck.
"What happened with you two?" He asked, looking over at the approached Soma and Sasuke.
"I'm guessing a miscalculation." Soma responded quietly, before shooting his gaze over at Sasuke.
"A miscalculation that almost caused your teammate her life." Nagare countered as Kakashi approached the group.
"But she's going to be alright, right?" Sasuke asked, wanting to get to the point.
Nagare sighed deeply. "Yes." he replied quietly, looking back down at his unconscious student. "but nevertheless, this shouldn't have happened."
"If it's needed, my home isn't too far off." Tazuna suggested quietly, looking down at Fuyu with sad eyes.
"Thank you." Kakashi mumbled, watching keenly as Nagare slowly picked her up with care.
"Let's go." he commanded quietly, waiting for Tazuna to lead the way.
:-:-:
Fuyu, still unconscious, laid quietly on a small makeshift bed that was situated in the living room of Tazuna's home.
"She should be fine, she'll be in a lot of pain tomorrow, but she'll be fine nevertheless." Kakashi explained, noticed the worried looks that stained his students.
"It wouldn't have happened if you knew your place Sasuke." Soma claimed quietly, only so Sasuke could hear.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked quietly, his mind being preoccupied y what happened to Fuyu.
"She's not your teammate. You shouldn't have rushed towards her, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten in my way."
"Don't make a big deal about it Soma." Sasuke responded quietly. "She's going to be fine."
"Either way." Soma countered, looking over at Sasuke. "I rather that not happened anyways."
"So you're blaming this on me?" Sasuke asked, finally directing his glare over to Soma. "Because I tried to protect her?"
Soma shrugged lightly. "She isn't your teammate." He repeated.
"That shouldn't matter." Sasuke countered coldly. "I should protect her whether she's my teammate or not."
"I don't disagree with you on that, but her actual teammates should go to her aid before anyone else."
"I think friendship comes before being teammates." Sasuke replied softly, as he allowed his mind to slip back into a trance.
Soma stood up slowly, before looking down at Sasuke. "just remember, if myself or Ritsu is around, let us handle it."
"What is this, a contest?"
"If you don't listen to me, it vary will become a contest." he replied warningly before walking out the living room.
Sasuke silently watched as he disappeared around the corner before his eyes caught onto Fuyu who was stirring slightly.
Since when did this become a contest between teammates? He asked himself, maintaining his gaze on Fuyu.
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