Naruto: Lost in the Dark
Mission 3: one by one by one
I showed up late to training the next day. No one was very happy with me.
My response was just to laugh nervously. "Sorry, sorry. I was actually sparring with someone yesterday… and he got me real good, I'm still kind of sore." As if to prove a point, I rubbed my still sore back. Neji had a real good kick. He sent me flying back a couple dozen feet.
Kakashi-sensei seemed to smile. "That's fine, you didn't miss much, just the start of the mission." He held out the leash in his hand. "Here; I grabbed this one for you before we left the place."
At the end of the leash was a husky puppy, whose tail was wagging. He yipped a little and I simply picked him up. "We're just dog-sitting, right?" Kakashi nodded. "No problem here! This little guy is just too cute." The puppy yipped once more, his nose nuzzling my cheek.
With that, the mission started.
And of course, Naruto somehow managed to screw things up. I laughed nervously as the giant dog dragged the blond into a minefield. Several explosions let the rest of us know that he'd stepped on several mines. All Sakura and Sasuke could do was watch incredulously at his stupidity. I just laughed a little more.
Yet after the mission, relations between Naruto and Sasuke reached a head as I was chatting with Kakashi. Both of us stayed silent and watched, both of us completely and totally drained from dealing with the three all day.
"This team is complete chaos, isn't it?" I muttered to Kakashi. He nodded, glancing at his book again. "Um… promise me one thing." The Jounin looked at me. "Get me out of here if any of them look murderous."
His eye twinkled with humor. "I'll bring you to your friend."
He was forced to keep his promise rather quickly. Sasuke quickly irritated Sakura by shooting down her outright confession once again. Naruto just made it worse by even opening his mouth. Kakashi quickly put his hand on my shoulder and used his jutsu to get the both of us away safely.
=Uchiha Sasuke=
Sasuke approached the training field in order to… well… train. He wasn't dumb, like Sakura or Naruto. He knew that the Chunin Exams were coming up soon, and he had to get strong enough to pass.
When he got to the field, he saw two figures already training. He noticed a boy with long, black hair and pearly eyes aiming kicks and punches at a young girl whose hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. She simply continued to dodge the attacks.
"C'mon, Yuki! You can move faster than that, keep working at it!" the boy yelled. She jumped up and performed several hand signs. The boy's eyes widened a little and he leapt back before jumping and performing a kick.
Sasuke sighed before turning around to go back to his other teammates. "Neji, no using your eyes! That's so cheating!" he heard the girl yell.
=Akane Kayuki=
Before long, both Neji and I were out of breath and walking back along. "No way, you only beat my monkey because you used your Byakugan!" I retorted, crossing my arms and pouting.
He chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that, Yuki. I won fair and square. In the exams, Kekkei Genkai are perfectly legal." I just sputtered again before huffing in complete defiance.
"Bastard."
After Neji laughed again at my poor attitude, he paused. "Get down."
The two of us ducked down behind the fence, listening to a group of at least five people quarreling. Hopefully no one could hear us.
"First, I'm gonna waste this punk, then I'll squash the other," an unfamiliar voice drawled. My eyes widened as I heard a yell of protest. I exchanged a look with Neji. It was Naruto who yelled.
Without thinking, I performed a few hand signs. "Fox Fire Jutsu."
=Uchiha Sasuke=
Right after his own entrance, as the Sand Ninja continued to threaten him, a fireball zoomed past the two Sand Nin. Everyone looked to each other to see who had been the person to throw the fire.
He could hear another voice laughing from the other side of the fence. He looked over to see Kayuki, her arms looking somewhat bruised, but sitting on the fence with a fox made completely of flames. "You should stop trying to pick a fight here and now." She slid off of the fence and fearlessly approached the taller ninja. "You realize that fighting an unprecedented battle against the host village will cause bad relations for all of us, and it won't look pretty if your name is on the official records," she scolded him.
"Hn. What do I care?" he snapped.
Her eyes narrowed. "Look, I'm just saying that fighting now is going to put your exam eligibility at risk, especially since you're visiting simply for the exams. It's recommended that you keep relations clean."
The boy's hand simply moved closer towards the package on his back, all wrapped in bandages. Kayuki, with wide eyes, began to back off, the fox trailing near her feet. She backed up a bit until someone's loud voice rang through the air.
"Kankuro, stop."
The boy, now known as Kankuro, immediately froze in terror. Sasuke froze, too, but he froze in shock. He looked behind him and saw a boy with red hair and black all around his eyes. On his forehead was the kanji for "love." He stood upside down, his feet attached to the tree branch behind Sasuke.
How he snuck up on Sasuke, the black-haired boy didn't know.
He stared at the boy who had so clearly struck terror into the two Sand Nin. Kayuki just gazed up at the boy curiously, her fox disappearing as the flames flickered out and died.
"You're embarrassing all of us," he snapped.
Kankuro faltered and smiled sheepishly. "Uh… hey, Gaara! What's up?" The air was tense for a moment before Gaara's teal eyes flickered from person to person. His eyes landed on Kayuki, who just stared back. "Well… they started it… ya know? Here's what really happened."
"Kankuro. Shut up… or you're dead."
A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine as the two, Gaara and Kayuki, locked eyes and stared at each other for a few moments. She didn't look afraid of him, but his eyes were sparkling with bloodlust.
Gaara stared right at Kayuki. "I apologize for any trouble he caused."
She shook her head. "No. We were at fault, too, please accept my apology for my teammates' actions," she replied quietly, bowing. Turning to the rest of the brats who stood on the side, Kayuki prompted, "You should apologize to Kankuro, as well."
Looking sheepish and reluctant, the group chimed, "We're very sorry." Sasuke just sat in the tree, watching all of this, staring over to Gaara, who finally turned and stared back.
The two Genin were sizing each other up.
Within a few seconds, Gaara disappeared as sand and reappeared in front of his taller teammates. Kayuki smiled a bit, looking as warm and welcoming as ever.
=Akane Kayuki=
"You three are here for the Chunin Exams, aren't you," I stated more than asked. The taller girl turned around and nodded. I held my hand out. "Sorry, but I think I should ask for your passports… right?"
She smiled a bit, grinning down at me. "Sure. Here you are." She fished out an official piece of paper with her name and picture on it, as well as other vital information. Her name was Temari, she was fifteen, and she was a Genin from the Sand Village. "That enough?"
I handed it back to her, a small smile still etched on my face. I hoped no one could tell I was being wary around these people. Temari made a confused face; clearly, my smile looked weird in some strange way. "Well, since you're knew," I attempted to amend, "why don't I give you a tour of some of the village if you're not busy at the moment?"
Both Temari and Kankuro looked to Gaara, who was still staring at my face. I felt tempted to take a step back. I didn't though. I stayed frozen in place, trying my best not to start shaking under his intense gaze.
"No thanks." Gaara's voice was flat as he replied. "You shouldn't feel obliged to give us a tour."
I nodded and proceeded to begin walking away. "All right, fine. Feel free to track me down if you need anything else." Gaara made a small noise before I jumped the fence and walked away.
A presence at my side alerted me to Neji's reappearance. "That's Gaara of the Desert. He's got a reputation of being a 'monster' in the Village of the Sand. You need to be more careful around him… he could kill you," he muttered, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Shaking my head, I looked up a little. "I'm not afraid of him. I saw him. He's not a murderer and he's not a monster. All I saw was a childlike figure who needs a little love."
Neji gave me a strange look. "You do realize that you have a habit of reading people in strange ways, Yuki."
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. That's what I saw. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" It was Neji's turn to shrug. I shook my head and sighed. "Never mind me, Neji. Let's just train, okay? Enough about Gaara or the Sand Nin. The Chunin Exams are coming up, and we have to practice enough so that both of us can pass."
"That's right. We should focus on that for the next week."
=Hatake Kakashi=
He was late again for training the next day.
But this time, he actually had an excuse. Kayuki had sent someone to his door, the Hyuuga boy, and had asked him to help her out. She'd been training with her skills in Taijutsu, which Kakashi knew were non-existent. So she was really sore and tired.
He'd stopped at her house, where her grandmother had greeted him warmly. "Come in, young man. She's still asleep, but I can get her up. Feel free to eat a little breakfast while you're here."
The old woman had made waffles, sausages, rice, and miso soup. He hadn't had a meal like that in the longest time. While she was upstairs, Kakashi helped himself.
Only minutes later, he heard footsteps running down the stairs and he quickly finished off his meal, pulling his mask back over his face. Kayuki called, "You good, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Yeah, all set."
She walked in, tying her hair up hastily with a hair tie. Kakashi quickly noticed the weariness in her legs and sighed. "Sorry about this, Kakashi-sensei, and thank you very much. If there's anything I can do…"
He shook his head as he stood. "Nope. That meal was fantastic, I think we're even because of that."
"Good, 'cause apparently grandmother made lunches for the team today," she replied, walking into the kitchen. He noticed her legs shaking and the bruises all over her bare arms. He frowned; overworking herself again.
As the two stood outside, Kakashi knelt. "Get on," he demanded quietly. She clambered onto his back clumsily, almost dropping the lunch boxes. "Hang on tight, we're going super fast now."
Not moments later, he appeared in front of the rest of his Genin team. Kayuki waved. "Good morning!" she cheered.
Kakashi waved as well. "Sorry we're late; I got lost on the path of life, and I met Kayuki at the crossroads."
"You liar!" both Sakura and Naruto cried.
=Akane Kayuki=
I listened quietly as Kakashi-sensei explained the Chunin Exams to the rest of my team. He handed me a form after he passed out the forms to the other three as well. I read it over before filling it out.
Not a week later, the Exams had approached. Genin teams from all over were pouring in to take the Exams and become Chunin. Neji and I had been training for days.
But the thing is, my physical strength hadn't increased one bit, even with all the training I'd been doing with Neji. I was forced to keep attacking from the sidelines using my Ninjutsu. I was easily broken, my skin bruised and cut much to quickly for my liking.
I was, to be perfectly honest, very disappointed in myself.
But when a rogue ninja from another village approached me, I couldn't resist the challenge. Unfortunately, it hadn't been much of a challenge. After I restrained him with my Spider Root Jutsu, he vanished using the Substitution Jutsu.
I pursed my lips and sighed. I'd hoped that it would be a chance to get stronger, but to no avail.
The next day, when the Chunin Exams came into play, I got there early. I walked inside to see Neji and his two teammates being badly beaten by two other Genin who were clearly the typical, overconfident males.
I pushed my way through after seeing one of them lay a hand on a woman.
"Hey!" I snapped. All eyes turned towards me. "Hitting a woman for no good reason is the worst thing a man could do. You should apologize."
The two boys snickered and I felt Neji's hand tugging on my arm, trying to pull me back. "What's it to you, sweetheart? Oh, don't tell me you're entering the Chunin Exams, too. What a joke!"
Calling me a joke… now that was a mistake. "Oh, so I'm a joke, am I?" I growled, my voice sounding much braver than I felt. I quickly made a group of hands signs. "Snow Dog Jutsu."
When nothing happened immediately afterwards, the boys both snickered.
"Aw, is the little girl upset?"
I growled again, this time a tinge more upset than the first time. "Call me a joke if you want… but you'll see who's the joke after these Exams." The boys continued to snicker until a bundle of white tackled them to the ground. Sitting on the boy on the right's chest was a large, white dog that growled and placed one paw on each hand. Their hands froze immediately. "Who's upset now?"
Turning, I eyed my teammates, who were walking through. Sasuke's face remained impassive, but Sakura and Naruto both looked a little shocked and frightened by my fierce attack on two fellow Leaf Genin.
Neji placed a hand on my shoulder again. "You've shown these two enough. Why don't you step back and let someone else give it a try?" he muttered. I nodded slowly and backed up to stand next to him.
"Why didn't you do something?" I asked quietly. "You're stronger than they are; you could've beaten them to a pulp if you wanted to." He just chuckled, not answering my question.
Sakura's voice cut through my thoughts. "We're only on the second floor." I blinked; that meant that these two Genin had used a Genjutsu to conceal that from us. Of course, Sakura would have figured it out.
I knelt and helped the other girl to her feet. She sent a grateful smile at me while I helped the other member of her team to his feet. He had bushy eyebrows and a green jumpsuit on. He didn't look like much, and he'd proved that by getting knocked around. How he'd made it into the Chunin Exams, I may never know.
But he quickly proved himself to be someone who could hold his own. As Sasuke and one of the Genin began to attack each other, preparing to send a kick and a punch at one another, the boy quickly reappeared between the two.
He'd caught both of the boys attacks and held them there.
One would have been one thing, both is a completely different idea.
My eyes widened at the sight. So did Sasuke's. I blinked a little and looked up at Neji, who suddenly looked quite irritated with the other boy. "That moron. He wasn't supposed to…" he stopped himself, still looking rather irritated.
I, on the other hand, was amazed. He had to have such a large amount of chakra in just his arms in order to keep them from ripping each other to shreds. He gave both of their legs a good squeeze before dropping them and casually dropped them. Sasuke took a step back, looking somewhat irritated by the amount of strength that this boy had.
Looking to Neji, I asked, "Who is that?"
"Rock Lee," he replied steadily. "He's the Taijutsu master of our group. He's the strongest of all of us physically." I looked to the other boy, who I now knew as Rock Lee, and my eyes went wide.
If Lee was stronger physically than Neji, who was insanely strong in the first place, I would be toast if we were forced to face each other. I had no physical strength and I knew it. I drew behind Neji a bit, who chuckled good-naturedly and patted my head a bit.
"Lee. I thought we agreed that we'd be laying low for the first part of the Exam," Neji snapped at his teammate. Lee looked at his feet and shuffled them a bit, somewhat ashamed.
He looked anywhere but at the irrationally irritated Neji. "I-I know, but…" he stammered, trailing off at the end. He looked over to Sakura, much to my surprise. I'd have thought he'd had a thing for the pretty girl on his team.
… well, then wouldn't it have been just like Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all over again?
Yeah, maybe that wasn't my best idea.
I just shook my head and walked up the stairs and into the Exam Room, mentally preparing myself for the questions that were to come. I'd gone over everything we had learned from Ninja Academy to that which we'd learned from Kakashi-sensei. But honestly, what had we really learned from him? Not too much.
The Exam Room was full of chatter and Genin who were preparing to take the test. I just kept my head down and made my way to my seat. Before I could find my way to my seat, I bumped into something that strangely felt a lot like a brick wall.
Looking up, I saw a silver-haired boy with glasses looking back at me, a pleasant smile on his face. "S-Sorry," I muttered, backing away quickly. He just smiled a little wider.
"It's no problem, I wasn't exactly looking where I was going either," he apologized, that smile still on his face. "Are you here to take the Chunin Exams, too?" I nodded slightly, still slightly intimidated by the taller boy, who looked much older than me. "Oh! Well, then it's nice to meet you! I'm Kabuto Yakushi."
I smiled a bit, fidgeting underneath his gaze. "Um… nice to meet you, Yakushi. My name's Kayuki, Kayuki Akane."
He smiled a moment before taking out a deck of cards. "Let's see… I know that name, I know I do. Ah! There we go!" Kabuto held up one card in particular. It was blank, but writing quickly appeared on it right before my eyes.
"Ah… that's… me."
=Uchiha Sasuke=
Rock Lee… Weird kid.
Might Guy… Even weirder sensei.
Sasuke, with Sakura and Naruto hot on his heels, walked towards the Chunin Exam Room. His adrenaline was pumping faster than ever. He'd met several of his competitors in the Exam. They were all much more powerful than he would ever have imagined.
There was Neji Hyuuga, there was Rock Lee, there was Gaara of the Desert, there was even Naruto Uzumaki.
Heck… even Kayuki Akane was a threat… should she be that much stronger than he knew that she had been.
Kakashi was there to greet them, and boy, did he have some shocking news. "Due to the fact that there's four on this squad in normal times, one of you had to be reassigned to a squad without three Genin."
Naruto, looking almost upset, demanded, "Why?! Who was reassigned?!"
"The team member who isn't with you right now has probably already met her team for this Exam."
So it was Kayuki. She'd been assigned to another squad, even if only for the Chunin Exams. Sasuke frowned; having her against them would definitely be troublesome. To face her would be difficult, much more so than he would usually expect. Who knew what team she'd be on.
As the three Genin entered the Exam Room, Sasuke's eyes scanned the room. There were dozens and dozens of Genin, even though many didn't look like they were rookies.
But it just so happened that Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and, much to Sasuke's annoyance, Ino Yamanaka were in the Exams, as well. Not to mention Kiba Inuzuka, his dog, Akamaru, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame had also joined them. All ten of the rookie graduates from the Academy were there.
"Hey, you guys!" The group looked over to see Kayuki with a taller, silver-haired man who looked as if he should have become a Jounin by then. The silver-haired man looked somewhat annoyed. Kayuki just looked worried. "You nine look new. You shouldn't make a scene like that. So I recommend piping down."
Ino growled a little. "Who are you to say that?!"
He grinned slightly, standing up straighter. "I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But not that my name matters. What matters is that you nine have made an impression on everyone else."
The group looked around a bit. Kabuto was right; all of the other Genin in the room were staring at the nine rookies like they were fresh meat. Many looked frightening, many looked tough, still others looked both.
"Don't scare them, Kabuto," Kayuki scolded, crossing her arms. Kabuto shrugged and she heaved a sigh. "He's right though. I almost made the same mistake. Because this exam is so stressful, everyone's a lot touchier than they usually would be, including those from other villages."
Kabuto ruffled Kayuki's hair a bit, making Sasuke just that much more wary of the older boy. "That's right, they're only rookies. I guess I was the same way four years ago, when I first took this exam." He looked down at Kayuki, who was poorly attempting to stifle her giggles. "You remind me of me, too, Kayuki."
She burst out laughing at this point. "Nope. You're lying, Kabuto. You took this thing seven times… and each time, I don't get why you didn't pass."
He shrugged. "Six tries and three years later, here I am again. Year four, try number seven. At least I have a good team this time." He reached over and gave Kayuki an affectionate noogie as she protested and attempted to squirm out from under his arm, which was around her in a headlock.
"So…" Naruto began, suddenly looking thoughtful of the words just spoken. "That means that we've got somebody with all the answers! Hey, yeah! Kabuto would do that!"
Shikamaru just scoffed in response. "Yeah, right, you heard him. This is his seventh try and he's never passed the Exam to become a Chunin."
Lifting his hand to rub the back of his head sheepishly, Kabuto put a charming smile on his face. "Well… they say that the seventh time's the charm, huh?" he asked, a nervous laugh in his voice.
Sasuke, who had been silent this entire time, watched as Kayuki elbowed Kabuto, a familiarity and kinship between the two that he'd only seen Kayuki share with two other people; Kakashi Hatake and Neji Hyuuga. Yet she'd known Kakashi for a few months, Neji for whoever knows how long. But Kabuto… Kayuki had known him for perhaps an hour at most.
The handsome silver-haired Genin leaned down to listen to whatever Kayuki had to say. She whispered something in his ear and his face lit up with a small smile. He nodded good-naturedly at her before looking back to the others and clearing his throat.
"But you guys shouldn't give up. I guess I could give you a little bit of help, seeing as you're friends of Kayuki and all." He reached into his belt and pulled out a small deck of cards. "These are my Ninja Info Cards."
There was silence for a moment.
Kayuki giggled. "Basically, Kabuto has info on practically everything he knows. This includes different jutsus and shinobi, too." At that, Sasuke perked up. Now, now, he was interested in the information that Kabuto had gathered. "He'll tell you what you need to know."
Kabuto laughed a little bit. "Well, as long as I have the information, I'll do my best to help your friends, Kayuki."
It was then Sasuke stepped forward. Kabuto looked up to him. "I'm looking for a specific candidate in these Exams."
"I'm not going to promise that my information is complete or perfect, but I might have what you're looking for," he answered immediately. Looking up, the older shinobi's glasses glinted. "I have at least one thing on everybody… so long as you've got someone in specifics in mind."
Sasuke's reply was immediate. It was cold, calculating. "I'm looking for information on Gaara of the Desert. I'm looking for Rock Lee. And Kayuki Akane."
He could feel the gazes on his back at questioning his own teammate. The only reaction that he got from Kabuto was a heavy sigh.
The silver-hair complained, "Well, it's not much fun if you know their names… but I guess I can help you there. Too easy. But I'm going to reject that last request for Kayuki Akane. I'm not putting my own teammate at risk."
Sasuke almost growled. Kabuto pulled one card from the deck.
"First up, Rock Lee." The card spun around on the floor as Kabuto forced his chakra to reveal the information written on it. "Rock Lee, one year older than you, which puts him at about thirteen. He's done eleven C-Rank missions and twenty D-Rank missions. He's on a squad led by Might Guy with his two teammates, Tenten and Neji Hyuuga. Within one year, he's excelled in the art known as Taijutsu. However, he's not that great in anything but. Last year, even though he and his team qualified, he did not participate in the Chunin Exam. He's a first year candidate, like the ten of you."
The next card spun the same way the first did. "Now for Gaara of the Desert." Information appeared on the card, same as the first. "I don't have a lot on him, but in terms of missions, he's done eight C-Ranks and… woah. He's done a B-Rank mission and he's only a Genin… and he's gone through every single one of them without a single scratch. He came back to his village completely unharmed…" Kabuto paused. "Other than that… I have practically nothing." He shook his head and put the cards back in his deck. "Sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you."
Now there was a shocker.
A jolt of… what was it? Adrenaline? Fear? Excitement? Maybe a mix of all three… but they crept up Sasuke's spine, chilling him right through to the bone. Finally, there was someone who could provide a challenge.
"Well… you realize that Gaara isn't your only threat," Kayuki pointed out softly, looking around at the rest of the room. "There's shinobi here from all over. There's most from the Leaf, since we're hosting. Sand, Waterfall, Rain, and Sound have all sent some great candidates as well… all of them are insanely strong."
Kabuto nodded. "Yeah. That means that the competition is going to be all the more ferocious. Everyone will be going all out and doing the best they can. No one came here to lose," he added, his voice serious for once. "Out of all four years I've been here… this bunch of Genin are probably the most well suited for this Exam. It'll be a tough competition."
The older silver-haired shinobi stood, putting a hand on Kayuki's shoulder. The two exchanged a knowing look.
"Then let's get ready to take this Exam," she said. The two turned away, but they didn't get very far. Kayuki let out a loud shriek of surprise and fear as a group of three Sound Nin leapt out from the crowd.
One tossed a pair of kunai straight at the two of them. Sasuke moved to react, but Kabuto had already grabbed Kayuki and pulled her out of harm's way. The two landed a few feet back, the smaller girl quickly being pushed behind her temporary teammate.
Another appeared right in front of Kabuto, who let out a small gasp. A shattering of glass was heard as Kabuto dodged punches, continuing to push Kayuki further and further back as he backed up.
As soon as he thought the assault was over… boy was he wrong. Sasuke's smirk fell as Kabuto's glasses shattered, the glass falling from his lenses.
Yet the older shinobi seemed… calm. Like he wasn't even angry at how his glasses were ruined like they were. He just yanked them off and finally seemed to understand.
=Akane Kayuki=
I frowned a bit; Kabuto's glasses were shattered, which might have given us a slight disadvantage. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to see during the Exam. That worried me.
"Wait, didn't he dodge! I though I saw him dodge!" Sasuke exclaimed, looking just a bit confused at how Kabuto's glasses were completely shattered when the attack seemed to have missed.
Shikamaru also frowned. "Guess it came closer than it seemed."
I shook my head. "Nope. These ninja are shinobi from the Sound," I began explaining quietly. "They have the ability to create and manipulate different sound waves. That's what broke Kabuto's glasses."
It was then that Kabuto looked up, his eyes going wide. I let out a slight gasp as he collapsed to the ground and leaned forward, retching and hacking. I ran forward, but he threw up an arm. "Stay back, Kayuki!" he rasped. "They're dangerous!"
Shaking my head, I knelt at my temporary teammate's side and put a hand on his back and another on his chest, helping him up. He continued to cough as he tried to assure me that he was okay.
"Kabuto… I'll get someone to help you," I tried to plead with him.
He just shook his head. "No," demanded the silver-haired shinobi. "No, don't waste your time. I'll be fine."
I glared at the Sound Nin, who seemed sickly satisfied with their triumph over the older boy. I stood, growling dangerously, or at least, trying to, and reached for my kunai. Kabuto's hand caught mine. I looked down at him. He just shook his head. I pulled my hand away and continued to glare.
A puff of smoke at the front of the room quickly interrupted the grudge match between Kabuto and me and the three Sound Nin.
"All right, you baby faced degenerates! Sit down and shut up!" Out of the smoke came a group of tough-looking shinobi. The one in the front, who was the one who had spoken, had a pair of scars on his face. "It's time to begin! I'll be your proctor, Ibiki Morino, and, starting right now, I'll also be your worst enemy!"
I helped Kabuto to his feet, my partner still coughing slightly. Ibiki was a frightening person. He demanded no combat between the candidates of the Exam. The entire room did well and listened. Even the Sound Nin backed off, even though they were clearly somewhat reluctant.
"Kabuto, I'll get you your number," I offered quietly. With a grateful nod and a small smile, Kabuto handed over his paperwork and hobbled off to lean against the wall until I returned.
I faintly heard Naruto's yells of anguish behind me, reminding me that the other boy absolutely hated these types of exams. I heaved a sigh. Perhaps Naruto was doomed to failure. He had been in the Ninja Academy, as much as I hated to admit it.
Not five minutes later, everyone was seated. I looked over to Kabuto, fidgeting a bit. My teammate gave me a small smile and a thumbs up. I just grinned weakly.
The room was eerily silent.
I focused forward. There were only a few rules from the proctor. First off, the scoring was a reduction system. We'd start off with ten points. For each question wrong, we'd lose a point. Secondly, the teams of three would be scored together. Should one person on a team fail the exam… that would mean it was curtains for the rest of the three-man squad.
Biting my lip, I looked up to Kabuto. He just grinned again, a reassuring grin. He was trying to tell me that I'd do fine… and that he had faith that I would help him and his other teammate get through safely.
The third rule was quite clear; no cheating. If anyone was caught cheating, first, two points would be lost from the test score. Once someone was caught cheating five times, they'd be thrown out.
That just meant… don't get caught.
I grinned; now information gathering, I could do. And Kabuto was sure to have all the answers. I doubted he would mind; he was my teammate, after all.
We had one hour. Our time started ticking away.
My eyes scanned over the ten questions on the test. All of them looked far to hard for me; I didn't even know most of the information on the test. Looking around warily, I immediately put my hands together and began making subtle hand symbols.
A small, shadowy animal, a raccoon crawled out of the shadows near Kabuto.
=Yakushi Kabuto=
His eyes flickered to the raccoon that was crawling towards him, seemingly unnoticed by the shinobi sitting at the sides of the room. He grinned slightly; it seemed that Kayuki had also caught onto the trick that Ibiki was playing on the candidates of the Chunin Exams.
The raccoon crawled onto his lap and nudged his leg. Kabuto, in response, scribbled down all of the answers from his prior knowledge. He muttered the answers, just loud enough for the raccoon to perk its ears in acknowledgement of the words Kabuto had whispered. The raccoon quickly disappeared in a small puff of shadows.
Kabuto looked up; of course, there was Kayuki a few rows ahead of him, already scribbling down the answers, quick as she could. He grinned a bit. She would be just fine, and their other teammate already knew the answers, that was sure.
Time was ticking down once more, the hands on the clock moving faster and faster as the time kept ticking down.
One by one, three by three, shinobi were eliminated and they took their teammates with them. Kabuto slowly counted thirteen, fourteen, fifteen… sixteen teams in only a few minutes.
Kabuto, however, was keeping his cool. He looked towards Kayuki, who was sitting quietly, looking as if there wasn't a care in the world. But he noticed her eyes turn towards someone in the row behind her.
He smirked; she was passing on the answers to someone else, slowly but surely helping her friends.
She made a few motions with her pencil, twirling it as if in boredom. Kabuto's gaze flickered towards who she was motioning to. He recognized the boy, even from behind him. His name was Neji Hyuuga, age thirteen. He was on the team with Rock Lee and Tenten… and he was a holder of the kekkei genkai known as the Byakugan.
He suddenly saw the younger boy scribbling down answers and grinned slightly. It looked like those two had planned that from the start.
Suddenly, there was fifteen minutes left.
That was when the tenth question would be announced. Kabuto looked over to Kayuki. She wasn't at all nervous. She knew that he would know it and that he wouldn't let her fail.
Then, there was the ultimate curveball.
Each and every shinobi had a choice with question ten. Should they choose to stay and answer the question, they had to get it right. If they failed to answer the question and get it right, the entire team would be disqualified and would never be able to return to the Chunin Exams.
But they could also leave and decide not to answer the final question. If anyone chose the second choice, not to take the question, it would be an automatic zero. Which would mean a failure for the rest of the team.
Kabuto was thrown for a loop. His hand shook a little.
This was a risk he couldn't afford.
His eyes landed on Kayuki. Her façade suddenly flickered and vanished. She was shaking, too. He bit his lip and tapped his desk five times.
She looked up and looked back slightly. He nodded slightly. She bit her lip and looked forward. Her hand was twitching. She was ready to quit. He bit his lip as well. Teams were already falling, leaving the exam.
Hands continued to raise. Teams continued to leave. Kayuki's twitching slowly got worse. But she clearly wasn't ready to quit. She wouldn't do that, hopefully.
=Uchiha Sasuke=
He was just waiting for Naruto to quit. But Naruto's hand never raised. Sasuke then looked to Kayuki. Her expression was fearful, clearly torn between quitting and answering. But he knew that she was terrified of what was going to happen should she get the question wrong.
Looking down at his test, he realized how much she'd lose should she choose to quit. But he also knew that she'd lose much more if she answered wrong. She wanted to be able to prove people wrong and show how strong she really was.
So her hand never raised.
But it was Naruto's hand that raised.
Everyone was clearly in shock at that moment. The stubborn ninja, the number one, hyperactive shinobi… was quitting.
Sasuke quickly understood. Naruto didn't want to let them down… and he didn't want to lose his dream, either.
But that was wrong, and Naruto proved that. His palm landed on the table as he jumped up. "Don't underestimate me!" shouted the blond, suddenly looking up with a fire in his eyes. "I don't quit, and I don't run! Act tough all you want, but I'll never quit! No way! Even if I get stuck as a Genin forever, you can bet I'll be Hokage someday, believe it!"
Sasuke let a soft smirk over his face. Idiot. But at least he's not quitting. That would just make it much worse. He knows nothing, but he'll go for it. That's some courage.
He also looked over to Kayuki. Suddenly, her hand was no longer twitching… and no one else raised their hand either.
Ibiki grinned a little. "One thing left, I suppose. That's for me to say…" Sasuke gripped his pencil, preparing for the next question, one that would change their fates… forever. "Congratulations! You've all passed the first exam!"
Sasuke grinned once more. Although he didn't understand… they were moving on.
I know I fail. But I won. ;w; I WON FOR NANOWRIMO. AND GUESS WHAT SUCKAS. I USED THIS STORY. I WON I WON I WON I WON.
So in gratitude for you guys supporting me... I'm updating this! It's one of my favorite chapters. Anddddddd... I'm also beginning an AU story based off of RENT, for Lost in the Dark! I'm so excited for this one, because I think it's fabulous. I love RENT, and I love Naruto. So... yeah, I'll be updating that after I get it all set up straight. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
REVIEWWW~