THIRD PERSON CHAP YO! Just a foreword. Keep reading, my babies! :3 (Oh and there are going to be some puns so brace yourselves. PLEASE DONT HATE ME.)
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Second Round
After Mononoke left his room, all Shikamaru could do was groan and flop back on his bed. As he looked up at the white bare ceiling, the never-ending rush of thoughts filled the entire cavity of his mind.
His mind began to wander to the moment from the previous hours, when they were just dismissed by the Morino guy.
Just as Shikamaru got up from his seat (as lazy as he was), he moved to meet up with Mononoke, since the duo had arranged to meet up to return home after the first part of the exam.
But Kiba was waiting for him at the end of the aisle.
The Inuzuka boy seemed a little out of sorts as the Nara heir got closer. "What's up?" Shikamaru had asked, wondering why the dog fanatic was blocking his way.
Kiba gritted his canines slightly, unsure what to say although he seemed ruffled, which was an uncomfortable surprise to the Nara, who knew that his old friend was never out of words, very much like another person he knows.
"So... what do you feel about Mononoke?"
The question literally caught him by surprise. He could see in the corner of his eye, the subject that Kiba was referring to being pushed out of the room by Sasuke. What the hell is Kiba talking about? What's going on? He had a bad feeling about this.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the other boy, "What do you mean?"
However, Kiba just shook his head, as if he changed his mind. The brunette smirked arrogantly, the previous hostility gone, "Forget it, Shikamaru. I'll see you tomorrow." The puppy sitting on his head whimpered a little, making the Nara heir looked at the canine quizzically.
Before he ponder about their strange behaviour any longer, the Inuzuka boy turned his heel and walked off. All Shikamaru could do was stare blankly at his retreating back. What? What did that have to mean? Why did he asked that question anyway?
"Well, that certainly shook him up." A snotty voice mused and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
Of course Ino had something to do with this. He turned to his infuriating teammate, "What did you say?"
The blonde shrugged slightly, "I told him he'd have to fight for Mononoke affections with you, since you like her and all that. Plus, you'd definitely have a better chance at getting her than he ever will."
"You what?" The pineapple head gaped at his teammate. Is it him or is everyone going out of their mind? Ino smirked playfully, planting her hands on her hips, "Obviously you have a thing for Mononoke, don't you?" Shikamaru was mute as he could only stare as the pretty blonde sashayed her way out of the room, seemingly quite pleased with herself.
Blinking, he shook himself out of the stupor, millions of thoughts scouring his mind.
Not in a million years had he thought he had fell for the moonlight haired daredevil. How could he? Sure, his heart always skipped multiple beats whenever she's near and at almost every tilt of her head, every raised eyebrow at his complaints, every lopsided smile of hers made him feel warm and fuzzy inside but he had dismissed these symptoms as a sickness, like a cold or something. Besides, as enchanting as she is, Mononoke can be a pain in the ass sometimes. But then again, she would always be there for him and he for her. Ugh, this is all so troublesome.
The Nara boy certainly didn't thought any of it was something as intimate as a crush. The very thought made his cheeks warm, but not in an uncomfortable way though, he grudgingly admitted. Perhaps he should thank Ino for making him realize this and also by causing so much trouble for him now.
Shikamaru shifted his pose and propped his arm under his pillow, turning to face the door, where Mononoke was standing moments before with that terribly amazing smile of hers as she tried dishing out a joke to make him feel better. The boy gave a short huff of amusement.
Whatever he was feeling for the clanless girl, it's going to be a whole mess of troublesome after today.
XXXXXXXXX
Mononoke laced her hands behind her head casually as she assessed the Forty-Fourth Training Grounds aka Forest of Death. Yada, yada, yada, bunch of bumpy bogus. Anko was trying her best to scare the heeber jeebers out of the whole lot of them. Naruto, obviously, wasn't fazed in the least as he put on a loud show of bravery again.
Either he's really ignorant or really stupid. Maybe a little bit of both. But then again, it's Naruto. However afraid he is inside, he'll always put up a brave front. It's become a habit really.
Sea foam eyes scanned her teammates.
Sasuke seemed indifferent to everything, to say the least. But he was a bit jumpy when Mononoke nudged him as a joke. The dark haired boy just pushed her head away in annoyance, but at least he did it gently.
Sakura was just plain worried, as usual. "This whole place creeps me out." the pinkette admitted, her beryl eyes darting around. The smaller girl smile and placed a hand on her teammate's shoulder, causing the latter to look over to her. With a large grin, Mononoke encouraged her, "Come on, we're going in as a team. At least we have each other's backs, right?" It seems like her words lifted Sakura's spirits because the larger girl nodded and smiled at Mononoke.
Although he didn't join in their conversation, Sasuke himself felt a little comforted by the ice wielder's words. He closed his eyes and smirked. The Uchiha never thought he would admit it but having Mononoke around is like having a salve to a wound.
Suddenly, Anko threw a kunai at their direction, slicing Naruto's cheek harmlessly but enough to make blood trickle out of the cut.
In a blink, she was behind Naruto, teasing him, "Tough enough to handle this? You're not scared, are you?" The blonde froze as she leaned in closer, "Tough guys like you always leave blood all over the forest."
Just as she wiped the blood off Naruto's cheek, she extracted a kunai and aimed it at the ninja behind her. The ninja had an extended tongue, Anko's previously thrown kunai sitting at the tip.
Mononoke felt her body curled in disgust at the sight. That tongue reminded her of the slug lizard from before. Sasuke noticed her slight shiver and stood a little closer to her, his body warmth radiating to her. She relaxed a little, grateful of the small gesture.
"I was just returning your kunai." the ninja explained.
"Why, thank you, Grass ninja," Anko said with a smirk, a slight edge in her voice, "But I would recommend you to not stand this close behind me... Unless of course, you want to reach a premature death."
"Pardon me, but with the sight of blood and your kunai slicing through my hair, well, I'm afraid I got a little excited." The Grass ninja explained before backing away.
Strange. Mononoke took a short intake of breath when the Grass ninja passed her by. She doesn't recall seeing them, because she has no idea whether the ninja is a male or female, at the first phase of the exam. She turned to count the attendees. Seventy eight, not including herself. That's very strange. Mononoke felt a tingle through her spine. Something's wrong.
"Looks like everyone's a little quick tempered today. Must be something in the air," Anko said with a haughty air, "Humph, this is going to be fun."
'Tell me about it. Look at all these guys. They can't wait to shed some blood.' Mononoke thought humourlessly as Anko moved to the front of the gate.
"Right. So before we begin, I'll be passing these to you," she held out a stack of papers, "Standard consent forms. Read them over then sign it."
Naruto scrunched up his face, "What for?" The woman just shrugged, a knowing grin on her face, "Well some of you might not make it back alive. So I would need your consent about this test or else it'll be my responsibility."
Anko handed them to Naruto, who was closest to her, "Here. Pass these out." she told him before turning to the others, "So I'll be briefing you about what we're doing here. The first thing you need to know, is that this is to test your survival skills. I'll give you a description about the terrain of the practice field."
She said as she pulled out a map, "The forty fourth training zone has forty four gates. There are rivers and a forest inside, in the centre there is a locked tower located ten kilometres from the gates. It's in this confined area where you'll undergo the survival test. The test consists of an 'anything goes' battle..." Anko rolled up the map before putting it away, then taking out two scrolls, "To get your hand on these scrolls."
"Both of them?" Sasuke piped up.
Anko nodded, "Yep." She held up the scrolls higher for all to see, the white one bearing the 'Heaven' kanji and the black one with 'Earth'. "You'll be fighting to get both an Earth and a Heaven scroll. Altogether there are 26 teams will be taking part in this test, which means half of those teams will be getting a Heaven scroll and the other half an Earth scroll. I'll be handing over one scroll to each team."
"Okay, so how do we pass?" Sasuke asks again, although he was pretty sure where this was going.
"Your entire squad must bring a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll to the tower." was her answer.
No wonder she said she could cut them down to half. Mononoke smirked. This woman definitely has her respect.
"That means half of us would fail?" Sakura observes. Anko just shrugged nonchalantly, "No one said this was going to be easy. Oh and one more thing; this test has a time limit. You must finish it in five days."
"Five days out there?!" Ino exclaimed in astonishment.
"What're we supposed to do for food?!" Chouji cried out, bewilderment clear on his face. Mononoke hid a chuckle. Five days? That sounds fun.
"Just look around you. The forest has full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you." Anko said with a smile.
Kabuto looked over to Chouji before turning to Anko, "Yeah... But that's not all the forest has plenty of. Man eating beasts, poisonous plants, things like that would definitely be in there."
Chouji groaned at this, "Aw man!"
"Quiet down. This is called a survival test for a reason, you know?" Ino told him off, her hand on her hips. Although she said it, Mononoke could sense her discomfort as well.
As everyone discussed the downsides and challenges for the exam, Mononoke could only listen with ease. She had tried camping on her own before, plus she went on several missions with Kakashi before. Most likely in survival wise, she would be able to take care of her teammates without a problem. As for fighting... Well, she could handle that too.
"So, um, let's say in the middle of the exam, can we quit?" Shikamaru piped up, getting Mononoke's attention. Of course he would ask whether they could pull out of it. Typical Shika.
"Of course not. You can't say 'I quit' in the middle of a battle. Well, maybe you could but you'll end up dead." Anko said with a chuckle.
"Uh, that's just great. This is such a drag." Shikamaru groaned, his shoulders slouching over. Mononoke snickered at his reaction. Silly deer boy.
"There are also some ways you can get disqualified," Anko continued, "The first is simple, your team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls in five days. Second, if a team loses a member, or if a team member gets incapacitated and cannot continue but most importantly; None of you, absolutely none of you... Are to look inside the contents of these scrolls until you're reached the tower."
Mononoke tilted her head curiously as Naruto asked aloud, "What if it just flops open and you read it?" Anko smiled at this, "Let me put it this way, young man. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Know," her voice dropped to a more serious tone.
"There are times where a ninja will be asked to carry out secret documents. The scroll rule is test your integrity. Okay, let's just wrap this up! Teams, once you've signed your consent forms, exchange them over there for your scrolls. After that, each team will pick a gate and you'll be let inside. Oh, and one more word of advise." Anko made a dramatic pause.
"Just don't die!"
Great. Just great.
Mononoke snorted as she read through the consent form, as she waited to get a pen to sign the dratted sheet of paper. Everyone was dismissed now, and all of them were discussing amongst themselves.
She didn't knew where her teammates went, that's one thing.
The other thing is this stupid 'standard consent form'. They literally listed every single way you can get maimed, from getting sting by deadly bees, third degree burns, losing one's limbs to getting skewered on a stick, get eaten by a cannibalistic animal or getting crushed into a pulp. They didn't leave anything out, that's for sure.
That's when she noticed a certain dark aura.
"Oh, Gaara!" Mononoke gave her best smile to the red haired boy as he stood under the shade of a tree. His teammates weren't anywhere nearby, no doubt trying to get a gawdamn pen. Seriously, what happened to all those things?
The sullen boy looked up to her but Mononoke could sense no ill will from him as he watched her with unblinking eyes. "Some exam huh? Have you read this thing? I never knew I could die from brushing against a plant. You learn something new everyday, huh?" she rambled, her eyes twinkling while she walked closer to him.
He didn't answered her but she went on, playing with fire.
Standing closer to Gaara, Mononoke sniffed before breaking into a dazzling smile, "You're still keeping the snowflake I gave you?" It wasn't so much of a question and more of a statement. Gaara noticed this but dipped his head in confirmation anyway.
She closed her eyes and grinned, showing her canines, "Hang on to it, okay? That way it's easier for me to avoid you inside. I don't want to us to fight."
Gaara blinked once, showing confusion but Mononoke just touched his elbow gently, her eyes opening again. The Sand ninja could almost feel the girl's eyes staring into the dark recesses of his soul. It unnerved him but somehow, he didn't want to kill her. It'd unsettling.
"Promise me you won't lose it?" Although her voice was kind, there was a certain firmness to it. Again, he dipped his head and she giggled, "Great! Good luck with the exam. Oh, and-"
"Mononoke."
The girl turned at the mention of her name. Sure, it was rude but she knew who it was. And he was always rude in the first place. Sasuke stood a few ways off, his eyes narrowed at the duo. She grinned before turning back to Gaara, "Well, gotta go! I'll look for you when this is all over."
With that promise, little spitfire went to her teammate.
"What were you doing with him?" Sasuke asked, looking down at his shorter teammate. He was slightly peeved to find her with his competition.
Mononoke snorted at the tone of his voice, "Talking." The Uchiha stood closer, seething, "He's dangerous. If he'd ever touch you-"
"Don't worry about it, Ducky. He wouldn't hurt me." Mononoke stated firmly, looking up into those onyx eyes. She could see her reflection in them. It's pretty cool, if you thought about it.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. Her reflection in the onyx orbs smiled back at her, "Come on. Let's go." Without another word, Mononoke held her teammate's hand and dragged him along to round up their team.
XXX
Mononoke laced her hands behind her head, looking up at the gate.
Number 12.
That's where they are. Already her mind was in motion, the plans, the traps, the ambush, everything. One of her teammates noticed the calculative look in her eyes and smirked. Sasuke had a feeling he knew what Mononoke was up to. Smart little brat. Naruto and Sakura on the other hand, were trying to shake off their fear and amped up. At least Sakura is.
Naruto was already raring to go. As usual.
Anko's voice echoed through the speakers, "Alright! Listen up, you maggots! The Second Phase of the Chunin Exams starts now!"
A whistle and the gates are opened.
"Last one in's a rotten egg!" Mononoke whooped as she rushed jin. She heard her teammates following closely behind her before she jumped up into the trees. "Mononoke! Wait!" Sakura's voice called after her but the smaller girl was already swinging in the treetops. "Come on, Sakura-chan! We're going to lose her!" Naruto exclaimed in glee before running up a tree and leaping after his friend.
Sakura fumed, placing her hands on her hips, "I swear, she's as bad as Naruto."
Sasuke snorted before catching up to the other two, "Stop complaining. She's got a plan." Sakura faltered slightly at this before she obediently followed after the Uchiha.
Once they had covered enough land, Mononoke slowed to a stop, landing on top of a thick branch. Turning back, she grinned, "Sorry about that. We have to get ahead of the others if we want a chance at this."
The moonlight haired girl had a lopsided smile when she assessed her teammates. Maybe she went a bit too fast. Naruto and Sasuke seemed fine, although they were panting a little. Sakura obviously did not have the stamina as she pressed one hand to her side and the other was leaning against the tree for support.
Well, she'll let them get some air first before she brief them.
"Right. Here we go." Mononoke placed her hands together, her middle finger crossed with her pointer, "Demon Art: Ice Wolves."
Immediately, twelve wolves formed from thin air and were placed irregularly between the members of Team Seven. Their tails wagged in curiosity as they sniffed around their mistress's teammates.
Sasuke hid a small smile as he scratched one's neck and it submitted happily, it's white tongue lolling out. Sakura squeaked when one of the wolves sniffed her hair playfully. Naruto, who was already acquainted with the wolves, looked as if he's right at home. Mononoke smiled at the sight. It's nice to see them all so friendly to one another. A soft whistle from her got the canines attention, their ears up and taut as they turned to her attentively.
Nodding to the wolves in a silent order, the wolves began to morph into shape. When they were done, there were four identical Team Sevens.
"Ryo, Yuu, hunt down the Earth scroll. Haru, recon. Go." Mononoke gave orders and the wolf teams dispersed.
"What was that all about?" Sakura asked in a huff, getting her voice back.
Mononoke smiled at the pinkette, explaining rapidly, "It's easier for us to get both scrolls this way, without getting too much casualties. I sent two teams to lure out the Earth scroll, after all three is better than one. The last team was to do some snooping around and to check if there are any enemies close by. We can't take any chances."
Two of them understood immediately what she meant but Naruto was still out of the loop. "So we just need to... huh?" The blonde tilted his head, not understanding what was going on. Mononoke smirked at his slowness, "It means we got some extra help. But we still need to be on guard. Anything can happen here."
XXX
A sharp gust of wind separated the team. Mononoke leaped for the trees, losing visual on her teammates. Cursing under her breath, the girl waited for the gale storm to subside before landing on the ground. Exactly as she said before, anything can happen. Already they were ambushed twice within the first hour of the exam.
She sniffed around but realized she'd lost Sasuke's and Sakura's scent from the hurricane. Mononoke stamped her foot in a spur of anger.
Dammit.
Looking around worriedly, she tried to go for her best bet.
Lifting her hand up, Mononoke pressed her middle finger to her thumb before blowing against it. A soft swirl of frost swirled, and from it, dozens of sparkling blue fishes emerged. She smiled as one of them rubbed across her cheek.
Find them.
A quarter of them remained at her side while the others separated, swiftly drifting towards the source of the wind. It's not hard since the hurricane left a trail to follow.
Mononoke turned her heel and went to the opposite direction.
XOX ~Meanwhile~
Sasuke and Sakura took a defensive pose as they squared off with their attacker. The androgynous Grass ninja from before.
"Well. You're pretty sharp for Genins, aren't you?" she said, licking her lips. Sasuke flinched as she reached behind and pulled something from her back.
Sakura blinked at the scroll in recognition and the Grass ninja chuckled, "It would be nice if you got this, wouldn't it? Shame, after this is all over, only one of us can get both scrolls and the other... would be dead."
She lifted the scroll up, her mouth gaping wide and both Genins watch in disgust and bafflement as she lowered the scroll down.
Suddenly a shadow appeared, snatching the scroll out of the creep's hand.
"Thank you~!"
The Grass ninja's eyes flew open in surprise before turning to the intruder. Sasuke almost cried out in relief at the sight. (Thankfully he didn't or else he would never hear the end of it.) Sakura could only exclaim in glee when she saw her teammate.
Mononoke landed on her feet with ease.
Standing straighter, she grinned at the Grass ninja as she waved the Earth scroll at her face, "It would be a shame if you swallowed this whole. I mean, if I'd had to cut open your stomach to get this, it ain't going to be pretty."
The ninja licked her lips, causing Mononoke to roll her eyes in disgust before she forced a smile, "Now, if you'll excuse us, my team and I need to leave."
A dark chuckle erupted from the Grass ninja's chest, "You think I'm going to let you off so easily?" The girl shrugged at this, "I was hoping to. I wouldn't want to weed you out." She snorted at her own pun before keeping the scroll in her tool bag.
Sasuke groaned at her comment before throwing kunais at the Grass ninja, catching her off guard. But the Grass nin avoided them easily. The Uchiha ran towards her and took out a few more knives, aiming at the ninja. Mononoke stepped in, somersaulting her way towards the creepy ninja.
"Use your fire, Uchiha!" she commanded as she froze the ninjas feet to the ground. Working in sync with his teammate, Sasuke listened and immediately began making hand seals.
Everything was already whirling too fast for anyone to comprehend, especially the Grass ninja, who hadn't had the time to look down at her feet as she wonder why she couldn't move.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
XXXX
AHAHAA LOOKS LIKE I DID IT AGAIN. Actually I'm kind of making a cliffhanger for selfish reasons. Because I want to update. BUT I HADN'T HAVE THE TIME. GAH. Believe me omg. I know this chapter sorta sucked. I WANTED TO DO BETTER BUT I GOT A DRIVING TEST TOMORROW. WISH ME LUCK. /cries
Sorry my dears, but there won't be a fact this chapter. I'll make it up to you all in the next one! SO DO STICK AROUND SOME BECAUSE THE NEXT ONE IS GOING TO BE LONG AF.
PINKY PROMISE.