Chapter 3

The Exams Begin

A few days later Rusuta, Koni and Umani went to the Ninja school with Yumo, there were lots of other younger looking ninja around from lots of other sects, it was time to start the exams and Yumo was giving his little team a pep talk to keep them focused.

"You three are the best I've ever trained, you can do it," he said in an arrogant voice.

"He's said that three times," whispered Koni.

"He must really be nervous," replied Rusuta.

"You holding up ok after the other day?" asked Koni.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just want to do this before mother gets back, what a surprise it would be huh?" she smiled.

"Hardly, she probably fully expects you go rule this thing," smiled Umani joining in.

"So you guys ready!" cheered Yumo having finally finished his speech.

"Yes Yumo Sensei!" cheered the three teens happily. Suddenly the doors opened and all the groups could go inside, Rusuta and Koni stuck together with Umani following them to the exam room. It was a small room made of what looked like bamboo and thatch all the groups continued to stick together and barely mingle and then Rusuta spotted Sakura.

"Sakura," she smiled.

"Hi Rusuta, you guys actually made it this time," she smiled back.

"What you doing here?" asked Koni.

"Kakashi wanted me to invidulate," she sighed, "it's going to be so boring watching you guys sit in silence, won't be like my exams at all."

"What do you mean?" asked Umani.

"Sorry can't really say much other than that," she sighed again before seeing a rough looking man enter the room, he slammed a kendo stick onto and small table set up at the front of the room attracted the slightly shocked attention of everyone in the room before instructing them to take their seats. The set up was alphabetical so with names like Monolo, Tsomuso and Yuchi, Rusuta and her friends were sat very far apart. However a young man sat next to Umani locked eyes with the strange looking leaf ninja and the two smiled as if they knew each other.

"How's it going stranger," said the young man.

"I have no complaints," replied Umani.

"How do you think you can cope with the task?" he asked probingly.

"I'm not without confidence," smiled Umani and his companion smiled too.

"Then, I wish you luck," replied the young man before the rough ninja at the front of the room started yelling and making noise again.

"He's really flaky for a Sensei," thought Rusuta as other ninja started passing out blank pieces of paper and pencils.

"Alright there's some questions on these papers, I know they look blank but finding the questions is up to you, I couldn't be bothered to make them easy, you'll only be able to answer the questions if you can find the question completely. Your team's cumulative score is all that important so if you're a complete dunce let's hope the rest of your groups smart huh," he laughed.

"Weird kinda test?" though Koni glancing at the paper on the desk, it was completely white not even any evidence of tampering or watermarking.

"You have an hour and I don't want any noise, no talking no conferring, why do you think you're sat like you are, like we really wanted you to be able to ask your friends for help, the Ninja around you will make sure you're not cheating so I don't have to, well I think that's it, best get to it," he said sitting down and reclining on the chair putting his feet on the table. Sakura looked at him exasperated.

"What a drag, this guy hasn't got a clue."

Rusuta looked down at her papers but found exactly like Koni it was completely blank.

"Maybe it's like a trick question?" she thought before hearing the sounds of pencils moving around her, other people had seen the questions, there must be something.

"I don't get it, gee Yumo Sensei said nothing about disappearing questions," Koni thought glancing around. With his last name being Yuchi, Umani was right in one of the corners and Koni could see he'd already started without any trouble.

"Oh great, now I'm being shown up by that little punk," he grumbled under his breath placing his hand flat out on the paper, when he pealed it off the paper looked translucent and underneath he could see the other piece of paper and thought he saw letters. He lifted the first piece but the second was as blank as ever, he put the first back over and it had gone back to being solid, how strange. Rusuta stared and stared at the paper and started to really worry.

"I can't see anything, oh no, does this mean I'm going to fail, mother would kill me, there has to be something, there has to be," she panicked.

"Calm down," she heard a voice, she was startled for a moment but it was only Homaru.

"Homaru?" she thought so the others couldn't hear her conversation.

"You can do this Rusuta, it's just a simple vanishing Jutsu, they probably use it to hide covert material, it's a strong one I'll admit, there's no way any of these normal Genin will be able to break it," sneered Homaru.

"Then how can I?" wondered Rusuta.

"Look at your wrist, your panicking has enacted your rune like it always does; stay like this and the judges will notice, then you'll fail for sure," replied Homaru.

"Ok, I'll get a grip," she replied breathing trying to calm down.

"There's one thing you can do that these others can't, you can read Yulikas," he told her.

"The Blood Creed script? I've heard of it but I've never tried to read it?" replied Rusuta.

"No need to try, Alana and I can read it, and then I can tell you the questions and you can write the answers," he told her.

"But I don't want to cheat?" worried Rusuta.

"It's not, besides I won't give you the answers," she heard him laugh and Rusuta agreed to the plan.

"Ok, take your pencil and jab it into your left index finger, but do it subtly," he told her, Rusuta tried to hide her grimace of pain as she stabbed herself with the pencil, in a moment it bled and one of the drops hit the paper, before her eyes hundreds of red symbols appeared but they disappeared soon after.

"What was that?" she wondered worried others had seen.

"Don't worry that's just the energy from your blood lighting up the words on the paper, no one else can see it because they're not Blood Creed," comforted Homaru, "now take your bleeding finger and place it in the bottom left corner of the paper, this way the symbols won't disappear, I'll try to decipher them quick, otherwise you'll fall faint from blood loss." She heard Homaru laugh but when she put her finger to the paper she could see the symbols again and could finally start the exam.

"I hope I have enough time," she sighed listening to Homaru's translations.

"Now Rusuta's started, what am I going to do," worried Koni who still hadn't figured it out. He was starting to sweat a lot sitting in that warm room worried about the exam, there were others in the same boat but not many now. He held onto the paper again and his sweat turned the paper translucent again.

"Stupid paper, no better than tissue," he grumbled putting it down, this time he could really see the letters underneath.

"The, the questions, you're kidding a little sweat and they show up like neon lights? What kind of test is this?" wondered Koni amazed.

"Hey oh I uh fell asleep, uh fifteen minuets you got it?" the ninja heard the man at the front say.

"Guess I have no choice but to rush this, I hope the others do ok too, I'll look like a dope to Rusuta if I can't get at least one of these right," he worried speeding through what he could see and then hurriedly looking for more.

Fifteen minuets later the man at the front stood up and banged his hands on the table stopping everyone in their tracks.

"That's it, end game, finito, you're done, pencils down you're all free, see you all back here bright and early, well those of you who passed at least," he laughed, "ah yes another class of deadbeats beaten by Akimno Horagu, master examiner! You guys get the papers I'll grade them in a min, should be done by the afternoon." The man left then and everyone started talking.

"That was so hard," Rusuta heard a girl say.

"Yeah I barely think I got anything," said a boy.

"No way, I was counting on you!" cried another.

"Rusuta, you did well, Krysta's going to be happy," said Homaru disappearing back into her heart.

"What a relief," she sighed flopping back in her chair only to meet the worried eyes of Koni.

"Koni?" she asked sitting up worried.

"I don't think I did so well, I'm sorry Rusuta," he told her.

"Hey that's ok," she said standing with him, "Horagu Sensei said it was our team's score that mattered, we'll be fine."

"You don't think I'll drag you down?" worried Koni.

"No way, we're a team, we always will be," smiled Rusuta as Umani joined them.

"Nothing like invigorating test hay Koni, what do you say we stick around and check our scores," he sneered confidently.

"Good idea, let's grab something to eat though, I'm a little hungry," smiled Rusuta and they left the room and went to a small hot food stand nearby whilst they waited for the scores.

It was still really hot and like Homaru had told her Rusuta was feeling very strained from using her blood to answer the questions, Koni and Umani were eating happily but Rusuta just kept pushing the fish of her sushi round the bowl like she didn't really want it.

"What's wrong Rusuta, salmon's your favourite, you've barely touched it, you're not sick are you?" asked Koni.

"No, no it's fine," replied Rusuta finally putting some in her mouth. Koni watched as she seemed to find it hard to first chew and then swallow her food.

"You sure you're ok, you haven't been eating lately, your mom's worried too," replied Koni eating some more noodles, Rusuta stayed quiet and tried to eat some more.

"I'm so hungry, but I, I can't eat this, I feel like I'm going to be sick just looking at it, and its salmon too, I thought I might be able to stomach my favourite food, it's not fair, what's happening to me," she thought sadly unable to eat another bite.

Then two female ninja walked by them, they stopped and looked at the downtrodden Rusuta.

"There she is," sneered one.

"Little miss perfect!" sneered another.

"What do you want?" asked Koni annoyed.

"You haven't heard?" giggled one of them.

"Yeah Horagu Sensei's spitting feathers about her score," giggled the other.

"My score," worried Rusuta.

"Seems she totally beat the system, every question right, every single one," one of them huffed.

"You're so gonna get investigated for cheating," sneered the other one.

"Horagu Sensei's never had anyone get your score before, that's why they use him as the examiner, you think they really want a ton of really smart Chunin running around? See ya cheater!" giggled the first one leaving.

"Yeah cheater!" giggled the second following her friend.

"What a pair of…" growled Koni before hearing Rusuta sobbing, "Rusuta?"

"I knew, I knew they'd find out," she sobbed.

"What do you mean?" asked Koni softly.

"Homaru, he helped me see the questions, he turned them into Yulikas and told me what the symbols said, he didn't give me the answers but I knew, I knew I was cheating, I'm so sorry, I just thought my mother would kill me if I didn't pass, now when she finds out what I did," she sobbed bitterly.

"But you didn't cheat," said Umani, "that vanishing Jutsu could be stopped a number of ways, I just happen to know an illusion break jutsu for just such things. I don't know what Homaru or Yulikas is but if you translated something into another language just to see it you weren't cheating at all, in fact, that's a near Jonin level technique."

"Really?" said Rusuta drying her eyes.

"Yeah, he's right, just because some over arrogant examiner got his system beat doesn't mean you cheated, let's go check out the scores, we'll know what's what then," smiled Koni helping her up and then going back to the school.

A bunch of ninja were standing in front of a sign post, some looked really dejected and others happy and jokey, Rusuta guessed that the happy ones passed. When the group saw her they all moved away from the sign and stared at her like she was an alien. The little group had a look for their scores and found them near the bottom of the sign.

"Umani Yuchi, eighty-nine, humph, that's pretty good," he smiled arrogantly.

"Koni Tsomuso, fifty eight, whew that could have been so worse," laughed Koni relieved.

"Rusuta Monolo… one hundred," gasped Rusuta, "it's true!"

"There you are!" they heard Sakura call from nearby, the three went over and Sakura hugged Rusuta tightly.

"If anyone was going to wipe that smile off his face it was going to be you!" she laughed happily.

"You're not mad?" asked Rusuta.

"Mad?" asked Sakura.

"Some girls accused me of cheating, I didn't I promise," said Rusuta.

"I know, not even Horagu Sensei thinks that, they're just jealous you got the highest score. So you guys are through huh?" she replied.

"I guess our scores add up to over two hundred so I guess we must be," smiled Koni, Sakura giggled.

"He set the pass mark so low because of his arrogance you and Umani could have both got a thirty and gotten your team in," she laughed.

"That makes me feel better about my score," smiled Koni.

"We better go rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," smiled Umani and the three bid farewell to Sakura and left for home.

"You're in, that's wonderful," smiled Kumico helping Velia finish her dinner.

"Yeah, Rusuta got every question right," smiled Koni, Rusuta blushed.

"Ah, just like your mother," smiled Kumico.

"How did you know that?" asked Rusuta.

"Jun and Yumako may have been dead by the time Krysta took the exam but I've known for a little while since coming back here," he smiled.

"Uncle Kumico, snooping in the private files," sang and clapped Velia.

"Kumico," laughed Rusuta.

"I'm a proud uncle," he smiled.

"What about my parents?" smiled Koni nervously.

"Jivana's was a little higher than Varundo's but they were both in the mid eighties," he replied.

"Great," sighed Koni.

"Koni, you did fine, everything came out ok," Rusuta tried to comfort him.

"Are you going to go away now big brother, I heard there was a mission involved?" asked Velia.

"Yes, but we'll be home soon ok, and hay mom and dad might come back before us," smiled Koni hugging his little sister.

"Come help me practise in the yard ok big brother, Kumico's trying a new trick for my scar," said Velia dragging Koni away, Koni could barely wave goodbye with his sisters strength.

"She's certainly something, the bloodline's fast reforming, it does my heart good," smiled Kumico watching them go.

"Not mine," sighed Rusuta, "the Monolo bloodline dies with my mother, with my mixed blood I'm barely Creed at all."

"Come on now, you know that's not true, you have the Blood Creed god hauled up right there in your heart," he tried to cheer her up.

"The only way for the Monolo's to have a line as strong as Koni's is for mother to have another child by a Blood Creed warrior, and that only leaves you and Sir Varundo," she replied defeatist.

"Rusuta your blood is stronger than you think, it doesn't matter about your father you hear, you're a Monolo think of Alana as your oldest great grandmother the blood can be mixed until it's more sundry than Creed but Alana is your ancestor and both you and your descendants will always have her blessing," he told her and Rusuta smiled a little, "but you're young Rusuta, now is not such a time to be thinking of the future of the bloodline."

"I know Uncle," she replied going up to the roof.

"Tomorrow I go on my first really dangerous mission, so why aren't I excited?" she sighed sitting and looking at the sky. It was that time of the year again, the time where Rusuta would sit all night on the roof and wait for her father to come; only tonight she wasn't as expectant as she had been before and she started to well up with tears.

"I know why, I'm not excited I'm angry, I'm so angry, angry you haven't come for me, angry with myself for continuing to believe you will!" she cried huddling up, "look at me, I can't eat, I'm tired, I'm sick, I'm supposed to go fight and I'm in no condition. But if I don't go, then we might never get another chance, I have to do this for mother." Rusuta felt a cold chill come over her, she looked up from her huddle and a dense fog had settled in, Rusuta couldn't even see the edge of the roof.

"So…cold, what is this," she said standing worried, "another nightmare?"

"This is no nightmare," she heard a voice say.

"Who's there!" she cried out turning around, there wasn't anyone there.

"Look at you, jumping around like a rabbit, hearing what you can't see, you really think you can beat anyone like that?" the voice replied.

"Go away!" she cried out still looking around.

"Even if I were there I'd have nothing to fear from you, this sheer cold will freeze your muscles within minutes and this fog has you cut off from your friends, no one can save you, you're going to suffocate from the cold, your roof could use a pretty statue on top of it," the voice began to laugh and Rusuta started to panic, she felt her arms become heavy and cold, and then numb, her legs soon followed until she couldn't stand on her own.

"I don't know what you are, if you're in my head get out, let me go, please! Koni! Kumico! Koni!" Rusuta screamed before the voice laughed louder and the fog rushed towards her cutting her silent.

"Koni!" she screamed suddenly waking up in her bed, she was shaking all over and her arms were red and sore as if she'd been burned, however she was still cold and her body felt like a lead shell.

"What, what happened to me," she worried before Koni rushed in having heard her scream.

"Rusuta, oh thank goodness," he said hugging her.

"Koni, I, I was so scared," she told him.

"You scared us, we heard you screaming and then as I looked up you leapt off the roof and landed hard on the ground, you were out cold but Kumico was able to make sure you were ok. Rusuta I know something's wrong, please just tell me," he asked her worried.

"How could you see me through all that fog?" she asked confused.

"Fog? There was no fog?" he replied.

"That cold, cold fog, I'm still really cold, there was someone there, I couldn't move, my arms my legs, they just froze, then I just blacked out," she told him breathing heavily.

"Rusuta, we don't have to go through with the exams, we'll wait till next time, you're not well," said Koni.

"No, no we cant we have to go, I'm fine, I'll be ok I promise, just let me dress, I promise we won't be late," replied Rusuta standing up and despite all the pain she was in, dressing quickly and meeting Koni in the front yard soon after. Kumico and Velia met them there.

"Rusuta, I know you want to do this but you know that if you're not well Krysta will understand, she'd hate for you to get hurt," said Kumico.

"I'm fine, I have to be," said Rusuta.

"Rusuta you jumped off the roof, I thought you were trying to kill yourself," worried Koni.

"Why would I do that? I told you what happened, I'm fine," she replied a little defensively.

"Good to hear it," said Umani reaching them.

"Umani, you ready," said Rusuta.

"I've got your back, you two look a little frazzled though, late night?" he asked.

"I'm fine," smiled Rusuta trying not to worry.

"Yeah, I guess everything's ok," said Koni still a little worried.

"If you three are ready, shouldn't you be going?" said Kumico sternly, Rusuta turned round and nodded. Velia hugged her leg and wished her luck before hugging her brother.

"Be safe ok, I want you to come back safe," she sniffed worried, Koni bent down to her.

"I'll be fine Velia, you train hard ok, we'll come home soon," smiled Koni hugging his sister and then leaving with his friends. However he was still very worried about Rusuta, he'd seen no fog the night before so why would she throw herself off their roof?