Yes, I've managed to make this update quick :) Hopefully the next ones will come easy too... granted, this one wasn't as complex a write as the previous... the exams move forward and you get to learn Toramaru, Naraku and Buryaku's fate after their loss against the Sawa team.
As always I wish to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to review and remind everyone who may be interested that CHARACTER POPULARITY POLL is still open, so if you wanna cast your vote on your favorite characters, there's still time to do so.
I also realized that, in haste to complete the previous chapter, I missed the title page for it... oops ^^' Not sure how many of you even care about those, but I'll fix that mistake here:
Title page for chapter #21: Gaki is hitting a punching bag, making its inside get blasted from the other side
And with that, lets us move on to the actual chapter itself:
Chapter #22: The Next Best Thing to Being There
Title Page: Hinako is playing with a ball of yarn, while Kuroki is peacefully sleeping on the top of her head
"Now then..." Neji began, gaining the attention of all the gathered gennin. "About the results of this exam..." but as he said so, Toramaru crossed his arms, a frown escaping his mouth: "Like there's any need for that; I'd say the outcome is quite obvious..."
"Have you not learned it's ill-mannered to interrupt when your elder is speaking?" the white-eyed man asked sternly, gazing at the blond. Toramaru may have been the son of Hokage and a Main Family member to boost, but there was still some protocol. Seeing the boy quiet down, the jounin gave an approving nod as he went on: "Despite his crude way of announcing, Toramaru is correct – victory in the match is claimed by the Sawa squad..."
None of the three swamp-nins gave indication this was any surprise... nor that they cared. Neji, however, didn't stop there, making Buryaku rise her eyebrow at his next words: "And as for the outcome of this exam... I determine both teams have advanced to the second test!"
"Wha?" Naraku gave a dumb-fooled look as his jaw dropped. He quickly exchanged confused glance with the white-eyed gennin, while their female teammate decided to ask the question they were all wondering about, rising her hand to show respect: "I'm sorry, Neji-san, but how is that so? We lost the match..."
"And when have I said that this would decide your fate?"
"At the very beginning" the female Sawa gennin reminded him, slightly displeased with the idea their opponents will get to participate in the second exam after all. "You claimed that getting allowed into next phase is decided by our result as a team."
"Yes, I specifically said that" the proctor nodded with a stoic expression, shifting his eyes towards the kunoichi. "I still don't see how you get from there to the claim that only the victor advances forward. Not once have I, or Emisu-san for that matter, said that you have to win to proceed... nor have we said winning grants you a place in the second exam either..."
"I don't get it" Toramaru announced, completely clueless.
"I figured you might" the jounin stated with a smirk; different he might be, but the blond was still the son of THAT Naruto: "Thus, allow me to explain – this exam was not a test of your fighting skills, though rest assured those will be graded as well..."
"Then what did this exam tested?" the black-skinned swamp-nin asked in a demanding tone.
"Teamwork" Neji responded simply, making most gennin gathered make a shocked face. Seeing this, the proctor smirked as he went on: "The whole point of using a team battle as the first exam was to see how well each of you could work with others; if you recall, before the first combatants went into the bunker, I announced those that will prove worthy shall be granted the right to proceed and that was exactly the case – even if you lost, but shown that you're capable of forming a squad, you passed..."
"Of course, the opposite is true as well" Emisu joined in with a calm exterior: "Win by individuality and you fail anyway..."
"But, if that is the case, why do those guys pass?" Toramaru asked accusingly as he pointed at the Sawa team, who made little of the outburst. To this, the proctor let out a sigh as he explained that as well: "Being part of a squad also means you know your own limitations along with your teammates' strengths and weaknesses... the Hidden Swamp were intelligent enough to determine their single member was all it took to win the match and, judging by what transpired, I'd say they made a good call to stay out of his way... although it's not exactly what I'd had in mind, that is a form of teamwork; believing in your comrades..."
"Believing in your comrades, huh?" the blond boy repeated, looking to the side.
"As chuunin, you'll be placed as squad leaders... thus your capability to work well with others is essential to the rank. Being incapable of forming a team is a clear indication one is not suitable for chuunin... now then, you will each receive a scroll from Emisu, detailing the place and time of the second exam" Neji announced as his assistant held out two scrolls towards the gennin. "If either team member will fail to arrive at the spot in time, the team is disqualified, despite the result of this test. I wish you luck in the upcoming challenges" he finished with a warm smile, much to everyone's surprise.
The black-skinned swamp-nin quickly walked towards the ring, moving his palm over its floor, making Neji narrow his eyes at the gesture. Seeing this, the Sawa gennin grabbed a piece of hair and placed it into his pocket as he spoke before getting back to his teammates: "Just a little... souvenir..."
The six gennin slowly headed towards the exit as Emisu went for a button at the wall, which Buryaku assumed activated the buzzer. Before leaving, however, Toramaru turned around and walked to the edge of the ring, bowing his head deeply, making the proctor rise his eyebrow, confused about the gesture.
"Thank you for a valuable lesson, Neji-san" he proclaimed before rushing after his teammates. The white-eyed jounin took that as a good thing; after all, there was no chance for the blond to see a cheerful smirk that appeared on his face...
-A little later, Shinku Sushi Bar-
"The first exam should be coming to an end right about now" Hinata announced, taking another piece from her plate. "How do you think our students are doing?" she asked as Hiyoko walked over to them, carrying two trays in her arms with makeweights.
"Well, I don't know about you guys..." she proclaimed, placing the sushi on the table, which gathered most of the rookie gennin instructors. "But I'm quite confident my team has already cleared the test and are on their merry way to the next" she stated with a confident grin before elbowing the jounin, who sat closest to her: "How about you, Hasaki-kun?"
"It is pointless to engage in speculation" the swordsman replied in his usual monotone, using his chopsticks to grab another bite. Putting the food in his mouth, he chewed and swallowed, continuing only after completing that task: "But I would not have recommended my students to take the test if I did not think they were capable enough to handle themselves."
"So... you think they passed?" Hiyoko asked, unclear how she should understand his words.
"That I cannot determine at this point in time."
At this, Hinata giggled; Hasaki certainly reminded her of Shino is many ways. Her female companion however was not pleased with such a display. Luckily, Lee decided to join the conversation, wrapping his arm around the redhead: "Fear not, Hiyoko-chan! I'm sure our students have already embraced their youthful spirits and shown what they're capable of! Why, I wouldn't be surprised to hear they all finished as top among the participants!"
"The exams are not graded until their last stage" the swordsman pointed out, keeping his emotionless exterior. "There is very little possibility anyone can determine their standings throughout the event."
"Ain't you mister sunshine?" the bar owner noted with a sweat drop as she hung her arms. "Makes me kinda glad Teigo-chan didn't come... with you two joining forces, there's no fun to be had... Shika-kun, at the very least, doesn't let his lack of social skills get on my nerves..."
"Hey, I heard that!" the lazy jounin announced, getting out of his nap at the mention of his name.
"Where is Teigo-san anyway?" Lee wondered, looking around.
"He's not much of a social type" Hinata reminded him with a slightly concerned voice. "It's really not that surprising that he turned down Hiyoko-san's offer... I believe he claimed to have some, important matters to attend..."
"He always does" the redhead crossed her arms, letting out a frown. "I thought that getting gennin to look after would get him to open up at least a little, but tis was a fool's dream. I really cannot understand why would Hokage-sama agree to someone like that becoming part of Konoha. Say, Hinata-chan, you're quite familiar with Rokudaime's brain, getting busy with the boss and all" she noted with a devilish smirk, instantly making the head of the Hyuuga blush. "How about cluing us in on the whole thing?"
"Hokage-sama most definitely had his reasons" Hasaki replied her in stead, much to Hiyoko's dismal. "If he has not shared that information with you, it is not her place for Hinata-sama to do otherwise" he stated simply, placing another sushi in his mouth.
"Y'know, you could stop being a robot every once in a while" the redhead stuck out her tongue at the man, a little annoyed. In an attempt to break the tension, Lee jumped in again, his voice optimistic, like it usually was: "Well, anyways, we should use this time for fun! Soon our students will be begging us to prepare them for the final exam!"
"That, I wouldn't be so sure of" Shikamaru replied, rocking back in his seat with his eyes closed.
"What do you mean?" Hiyoko asked suspiciously, eying the man.
To this, the lazy jounin chuckled as he responded: "Obviously, you didn't hear who the second examiner was... regardless to the results of the first test... the second will not be that easy..."
-Back to young gennin-
"So, you guys, lost your match?" Garou repeated with bug eyes as the rookie gennin exchanged their stories of the first challenge. Apparently, each of the recent, Academy graduates made it through, which Toramaru saw as a good thing... for most part anyway.
"Yeah" Naraku nodded as he glared at the only, Sawa squad in the gathering. "And I advice you watch out for that creepy guy with bandages; I don't know what he is, but one thing's for certain – he's not human... and he's not to be taken lightly..."
Buryaku also kept a close eye on the trio as she tightened her fist, recalling the fight from just a few hours back: "I swear" she promised herself, determination written all over her face. "Never again shall I allow myself to be that useless!"
"It'd appear our guess was correct" Akumo stated, readjusting his glasses. "People gathered for this exam... are quite strong" he finished, making Gaki narrow his eyes as his attention shifted to a familiar group of metal-nins, who awaited the start of the second test near the wall.
All gennin now stood at the entrance into a hedge maze; the spot mentioned in the scrolls they received from Emisu. This was the place where their second exam was supposed to begin... or so they thought. Kumo already took the liberty of scanning the surroundings, as well as the participants, slightly shaken by his findings... not that anyone could actually tell: "Out of seventy two teams, fifty seven still remain" he concluded as his bugs crawled up his skin. "That is quite... unexpected..."
"So, Hakachi, feeling glad your brother made it through?" the headgear wearing sand-nin asked his female teammate in a teasing manner, noticing the kunoichi kept staring at the other, Suna team for the last, few moments. The blond gazed at him with a stoic expression, only to smile a moment later as she replied: "Well, I figured he wouldn't fail that easily."
"She's happy" Fuugo thought to himself, with disbelief. "Positively, absolutely happy" he concluded, keeping his arms crossed as he leaned against the tree. Glancing to where Shikyo and his squad was, a smile crossed his face, albeit his mask managed to cover that face perfectly: "Well, of course she's happy... unstable he may be, that guy's still her younger brother..."
"I gotta say this is a tad overwhelming" Jun stated, looking around. "Having this many people pass the first test" he added, then shifted his attention to the side, where a group of grass-nins were headed their way.
"Well, this is the gathering of the best gennin from the allied countries" announced a girl in the yellow kimono. "It's only natural that this exam was gonna be a challenge. But, those who won their match in the first test can, at the very least, claim that they have a better chance of advancing them some others; for example – if there is another fight, we already know we can take on that Hidden Rain team we defeated in our battle..."
"And you would be?" Toramaru asked, rising his eyebrow. They truly met a lot of people these past, few days. To this a pale boy with spots stepped forward, answering in a weak tone: "Just a curious, Kusa squad" he explained, grunting a couple of times before continuing: "No-one you should overly concern yourselves with any" he added with a cough.
"Relative of yours?" Garou joked, turning towards Gitou, who merely gave him a sleepy glance.
"I'm Ibara Kouba and these are my teammates: Makiba Hana and Utsuru Nekkei" announced the youngest in the bunch as he walked over to Akemi, bowing slightly. "And while my companion may be exaggerating a bit, he speaks the truth – we mean you no, ill will... well, until we're pitted against each other in the exam at least..."
"Everyone is surprisingly friendly for a challenge where all participants are, essentially, enemies" Gaki noted annoyed with a snarl. Certainly he didn't enjoy getting acquainted with people he cared little for... which constituted most of the gennin gathered.
"You really gotta work on your people skills" Hinako stated, displeased with her teammate as she greeted the grass-nins, making quick introductions; once she got to Akemi, Kouba seemed to flinch slightly, which made Toramaru narrow his eyes at thhe sensation: "Another one" he made a mental note, scanning the Kusa shinobi closely.
"Seems like your group is quite popular" Monuke announced with a cheerful voice as he joined the gathering with his teammates close behind. "What a guy gotta do to get that sort of attention?" he asked teasingly, making Naraku sweat drop: "Dunno, but if you ever figure it out, I'd be willing to trade it for ya..."
"Thanks, but we have Madoka" the pale leaf-nin reminded, pointing towards the girl. "We get all the attention we need... from guys anyway" he winked towards the kunoichi, to which she smirked. Kouhai rolled his eyes at their behavior, yet said nothing, keeping his overall calm exterior.
"We also saw our... friends from the other day" the kunoichi stated, pointing behind her, where an all-too-familiar trio of snow-nins sat, showing little interest in all the commotion. "I guess that they weren't all talk after all..."
"Who are they?" Shunrai asked concerned, turning towards her crush, but Toramaru merely waved the question off: "No-one you need to worry about... just a bunch of annoying idiots..."
"Yes" Hitomi nodded with a stoic face. "A lot of these seem to be walking around here" she added, glancing in the direction of a certain trio of cloud-nin, who seemed to be in the middle of a heated discussion:
"Let it go already, Fukaru" Juryoku snapped, visibly angered, as she crossed her arms. This was going on for a couple of hours now and she really had it up to here with her teammate's constant whining about stuff she didn't even found worth of mentioning.
"All I'm saying is that you should be more... composed" the blond boy went on, disregarding her words. "It's not lady-like to act as you did... besides, you really didn't had to go that far..."
"This was a match between shinobi, pinhead!" the kunoichi yelled, her eye twitching. "The goal was to defeat the enemy! I just used my ninjutsu to knock them out!"
"Yeah, but they surrendered before you did so" Fukaru noted, sweat dropping at the memory. "Which made your attack kinda uncalled for... besides, you didn't even gave a chance for me or Aitou to step in, so it was also selfish" he proclaimed, making the girl tighten her fists at his words as she barely held back her anger: "Just wait for these exams to be over..." she said to herself.
"Man, this waiting is killing me!" Shimiru announced, hanging his head. "When will the second exam start?" he asked as if anyone could actually answer him. True, most of the gennin had very similar thoughts as the supposed time for the next phase pasted a few minutes earlier and the examiner was nowhere in sight.
Suddenly an explosion occurred at the entrance to the maze, making everyone gaze in that direction. Unlike with Neji earlier, the blast was accompanied by fireworks that erupted from the smoke, painting the sky in a rainbow as the flashes made some of the gennin cover their eyes. Soon the sparkles formed a message in the air, which read "rejoice, Akimichi Ino has arrived!".
Sure enough, a moment later a young woman stepped out of the smoke, making the fireworks died down as she gave the gathering a cocky smile, blowing a few kisses, while most, young shinobi got frozen with shock at the display: "Greetings, brats! My name's Akimichi Ino and I was choosen as the proctor for your, second exam! Happy?"
Garou was about to howl from delight, but Toramaru managed to cover his mouth just in time, tilting his head to the left, where Choumaru stood: "Perhaps it's not the best idea to do that with the woman's son standing right besides you?" he purposed, sweat dropping that he even had to mention that.
"Well, looks like this time you dudes are in a favorable position" Shimiru teased, turning towards Shikamaru's students as his eyebrows flipped a few times. Shunrai immediately looked away, while Gitou coughed... per usual. The chubby gennin wasn't as thrilled as the skateboarder though: "Frankly, I fear it may be the opposite really..." he replied, his face frozen at the horror of the display they all just witnessed.
"Wow" Fukaru noted with his mouth wide opened. "Konoha jounin sure are weird" he proclaimed, making Aitou sweat drop at the comment: "Like you're any better" he thought to himself, barely managing to keep his emotionless exterior.
"And here I thought Mashino-sensei was the pinnacle of stupidity" Kobura hung his head down at the sight of the female jounin. Even the waterfall-nin with the large scroll, a teammate of Sayoku and Kitou, found it difficult to remain indifferent to the over-the-top entrance that the proctor made.
"Freak show continues" Shunsai nearly sighed, keeping his annoyance in check.
"Follow me as I lead you to the starting point of your, second exam!" Ino said in an ordering tone as she headed right into the labyrinth, making the gennin reluctantly tail her, some rather discouraged by the turn of events.
"What do you think the second exam is?" Gai asked excitedly as he looked around the narrow corridors, each looking the same as the previous, making it impossible to find one's way through the maze.
"Well, taking the spot into the account, it'd stand to reason it will have something to do with the labyrinth" Buryaku replied, carefully scanning the route. "The most likely possibility being that we'll need to find our way out of it before some sort of time limit runs out..."
"Not exactly fair for those of us who DON'T have a Byakugan in their midst" Akai teased with a warm chuckle, patting his female teammate on the back: "But if that is the case, as long as we have Akemi, we'll manage" he proclaimed, making the green-haired girl blush at the compliment. Gouka, however, did not share their enthusiasm:
"Most shinobi would have no problem reaching the top of these walls" she noted simply, keeping her eyes on the front as she walked before most of her, former classmates. "Unless there's some sort of a catch, such an exam would be too easy to test who's chuunin material and who isn't..."
Despite sound logic behind that claim, some of the gennin still decided to take no chances as for them, the second exam already began; Shikyo kept leaving tiny grains of his sand on the way, marking the route they used to help himself and his comrades to retrace their steps. Also Kouba, every now and then, sunk his arm into the walls for a moment; one could only guess it was in hope to gain some sort of advantage. Even Toukai, who closed the procession with his companions, at each fork in the road, draw a symbol on the ground at every entrance as means to get back.
All of that proven in vain as the group eventually reached the center of the maze, spotting a stone tower that climbed high into the sky. Its architecture was unusual as the building itself seemed to consist of square blocks, each placed on top of another without any, actual order, giving the impression the structure was very unbalanced.
"This it the Tower of Terror" Ino announced, turning towards the gennin with an evil smirk on her face. "The place of your, second exam..."
-do you dare enter?-
This concludes this chappie; hope you enjoyed it. I know this may seemed a bit filled-upish, but I can't just jump from one exam to the other ;P You do get a bit of the inside into Konoha jounin instructors as a bonus ;)
To be honest, with the reviews I was getting for the previous chapter, I was kinda temped to fail Toramaru and his team with the first test, just to make it a twist no-one saw coming ;P But, like NNG, this tale was planned ahead and I have limited possibilities to change the plot now... like how I kept Neji alive, despite recent events in manga (granted, I have a weird feeling Kishimoto is gonna pull another, crazy stunt and revive Neji, only without the cursed seal, so I'm not THAT worried over keeping him in this tale ;P).
Konoha #1 (Teigo Kinuta): Buryaku Nara, Naraku Uchiha, Toramaru Uzumaki
Konoha #2 (Lee Rock): Hinako Nekko (the redhead girl with a black cat, Kuroki), Gaki Nayamasu (the muscular boy), Gai Rock (the boy with a bowl-like haircut)
Konoha #3 (Shikamaru Nara): Shunrai (the girl with a crush on Toramaru), Choumaru Akimichi (the chubby boy), Gitou Hisakata (the coughing boy)
Konoha #4 (Hinata Uzumaki): Gouka Uchiha (Naraku's twin sister), Kumo Aburame (the boy in green overcoat), Garou Inuzuka (the boy with the dog, Hanomaru)
Konoha #5 (Hasaki Kinzoku): Hitomi Hyuuga (white-eyed girl), Jun Hatake (the masked teen), Shimiru Abunage (the blond with piercings and a skateboard)
Konoha #6 (Hiyoko Shinku): Akemi Nekata (green-haired girl), Akai Kagami (the redhead), Akumo Megane (the boy with glasses)
Konoha (?): Madoka Garasu (the girl with gems), Kouhai Shimura (Danzou's cousin), Monuke (the pale-skinned boy)
Suna #1 (Mashino): ? (girl with metal protectors), Kobura (the boy in black), Sabaku no Shikyo (the boy with the gourd)
Suna #2 (Kankuro): Sabaku no Hakachi (the girl with the gourd), ? (the boy with a headgear and scrolls), Fuugo (the masked pipsqueak)
Kumo (?): Juryoku Kakeme (the blue-haired girl), Fukaru Makaze (the blond boy), Aitou Mekakushi (the blind-folded boy)
Ame (?): ? (the kimono wearing girl), Shunsai Irezumi (?), ? (the boy with a headgear)
Kane (?): Moroha Gengetsu (the girl with a crescent-moon blade), Toukai Kurogane (the violet-haired boy), Kousotsu (the armored boy)
Kusa (?): Hana Makiba (girl in a yellow kimono), Kouba Ibara (the boy in worn-out clothes), Nekkei Utsuru (the sick boy)
Taki (?): Kitou (the girl with a praying stick), ? (the boy with a large scroll), Sayoku (the boy with bandaged mouth)
Yuki (?): Orafu Futotta (the fat guy with the shield), Erikku Hakabakashi (the redhead), Balegu Seiretsu (the swordsman)
Sawa (?): ? (the girl with the pipe), Kawaridane (the double-pupil teen), ? (the black-skinned teen with drums)
Yes, the list is corrected with the names mentioned in this chapter (like the name of the first Suna team instructor)... the list will eventually have all the names in it (but those of you, who couldn't wait, already got them from the Popularity Poll list, so none should come as a surprise ^^').
With that said – thanks for tuning in, hope you review and that in 2013 you'll get to read more of "those..." then last year ;) Until next time!