Chapter 11- Chūnin Selection Exam: Preliminaries! (Part 1)
(Yugi POV)
Everyone was watching Hayate closely as they waited for him to explain what he needed. I had walked back closer to my team and kept an eye on everyone else in the room. Throughout all of this I had noticed a few people here that were definitely not here when I watched the Anime. I honestly wasn't sure what to think of this, it was almost as weird as the fact that we were here. I was starting to wonder if there world wasn't based off of the Manga but instead the Manga was based off of here, meaning the Manga could be slightly different from what actually happened.
How that could be actually possible I wasn't sure.
"Ah, we have to have a preliminary exam before we have the real one."
Sakura's eyes widened. "A what?"
"Preliminary, just what do you mean by that!?" Shikamaru shouted.
"Um Sensei, excuse me but... I really don't see the point. What's this preliminary all about? Why can't we just move on to the third exam?" Sakura asked.
"Ah... well you see... the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is that we never expected so many of you to be here still, according to the rules of the Chūnin exams, a preliminary round can be held at any of the stages in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."
Joey scuffled and growled from next to me. "To easy my ass, Ryou could have died in the second exam."
"Ah but... is that fair?"
Hayate looked to Sakura and nodded his head in response to her question before looking over at the rest of us. "It's just at this stage, we have to speed things up a bit. As lord Hokage said, a lot of important guest will be watching. We can't afford to waste their time. They have come to see only the best, so if there are any of you who feel you are not in top physical condition, now if your chance to-" He cut off as he started to cough violently.
We all grimaced and I felt bad for him that sounded extremely painful.
"Sorry about that, as I was saying any of you who don't feel up to this, now is the time for you to bow out. The preliminaries will be starting immediately."
Kiba growled. "Come on you mean right now!" He shouted and Akamaru whimpered from where he was on Kiba's head.
"We just got done barely surviving the last one." Ino mumbled.
Shikamaru sighed. "Man what a drag."
"Ah... oh, ya, winners will be decided on one-on-one combat, Sudden Death. As I said anyone of you who don't feel up to it, now's the time to raise your hand.
Everyone started talking amongst themselves as they decided if they should continue. Yami turned to us and tilted his head to the side. "How are you guys? Feel up to this?"
Heba nodded his head and crossed his arms over his chest, a grin plastered on his face. "I feel fine, a little tired, dirty, agitated and wanting to take the world's longest shower, but over all fine."
Atem nodded in agreement to that. "I am not backing out now, we put up so much to get to this point, I won't quit."
"Dragon and I could take out an army!" Joey exclaimed and we all laughed at that.
"How about you, Yugi?" Yami asked and everyone turned to me. I thought it over for a moment, I was indeed tired, dirty and felt physically drained but I wasn't injured to the point where I didn't think I could go on.
I was slightly worried that I wasn't going to be able to put my best toward a fight but I did think I could give the opponent a good fight. "I am alight, I won't give up, and I won't back down."
The group nodded their heads to that and looked back to the front of the room as everyone went silent by Kabuto raising his hand. Naruto and his friends seem seemed surprised by this eyeing him confused.
"Excuse me... I'll quit." He spoke up.
"Kabuto?" Naruto questioned tilting his head to one side.
Hayate eyed him for a moment before looking to his clipboard. "Let's see..." He mumbled flipping through the pages. "Kabuto Yakushi of the leaf village, correct?" Kabuto nodded to him. "Then you may step back."
"Yes." He responded and started to walk to the back of the room as Naruto called out to him.
"Kabuto!? Why are you quitting?! Tell me! Why?"
Kabuto paused and looked over his shoulder to Naruto. "I'm sorry Naruto, but my body is worn out. Actually before the first test, when I wrangled with that guy from the sound village. I've actually had no hearing at all in my left ear. To fight right away, and to be told my life would also be on the line, I can't go on."
Naruto got a disappointed look on his face and looked down to the ground. I glanced at him sympathetically and then casted a glare to Kabuto. Naruto looked up to this guy; I hated that fact knowing what Kabuto was really up to. I watched him converse with a member of his team for a moment before he turned and waved to Naruto and then walked away.
Once he was gone Hayate coughed to get our attention, making all of us look back to him as he spoke. "Now then, are there no others who will quit?"
When no one raised their hand Hayate folded his hands with his clipboard behind his back and looked over all of us. "Now then, we will begin the preliminaries. The preliminaries to come will be one-on-one individual battles, in other words, actual battle format. There are now actually thirty-two people, so we will conduct sixteen battles. The winners will be able to advance to the third test. There are no rules at all. You will fight until someone dies, collapses... or admits defeat. And... Please admit defeat right away if you don't want to die. However in case I judge that a match is over..." He paused and started to cough again. "Err... I don't want to needlessly increase dead bodies, so I will intervene and stop the match... or something to that effect. What holds the key to your destines is..."
Hayate turned and looked up to the wall making all of us follow his eyes. We glanced at a spot on the wall that was opening to reveal a giant monitor.
"This." Hayate spoke again and I casted my eyes back to him. "The names of two foes will be selected and displayed on this electronic sign board. Now then, let's get right down to it and announce the two names for the first battle."
Once he said that my eyes snapped back to the board. I knew first up should be Sasuke and a member of Kabuto's team whose name I couldn't remember, but with people here that were never here before... I wasn't certain how this was going to play out. For all I knew, Heba or I could end up being first. I prayed we weren't though.
The names scuffled trough on the screen for a moment before it stopped, causing a sigh of relief to come out of me when I read the names.
Yoroi Akadō vs. Sasuke Uchiha
"Now then the two displayed on the signboard, come forward." Hayate commanded and immediately Sasuke and the man from Kabuto's team walked to the front of the room. They stopped a few feet from Hayate and turned to each other. Hayate raised his hands, motioning to the both of them. "The first battle, Yoroi Akadō and Sasuke Uchiha has been selected. No objections right?"
"Right," "No." Sasuke and Yoroi answered in unison.
"Now then, we will begin the first battle." He coughed again before directing his next comment to us. "Now then, everyone besides the foes, please move to the upper area.
Every one of us including the Jounin started to move to the stairs and up to the second level. Mahad made his way over to us with a lady I had never seen before. She was dressed in the usual Jounin uniform and had long black hair. She was quite gorgeous in my eyes.
"Yami, Atem, Joey, Yugi, Heba, I am very glad to see you made it this far." Mahad commented and Yami arched a brow at him.
"Did you have doubt we wouldn't?" He asked and Mahad chuckled a bit.
"Honestly? I thought Atem's over confidence, Joey's stomach and Heba's temper would get in the way..."
There was a chorus of "Hey's!" and Dragon growling that followed that statement. The woman with Mahad simply laughed and Yami smirked as Mahad attempted, and failed, to explain what he meant. I looked around Mahad and saw Ryou, Malik and Mana walking over to us.
"Mana, Ryou, Malik!" I called, waving to them. They smiled to me and stopped next to the woman.
"Ishizu Sensei." The greeted and she nodded her head to them.
"You guys made it here, I am very proud of you." She complimented making Mana blush and Malik grin like a cat.
Ryou simply sighed and looked down to the ground. "We wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for Yugi. I got into a bit of trouble, I actually could have died, but he saved me."
I blushed slightly and shook my head, trying to tell him once again that it was nothing but he cut me off. "No Yugi, really, I am forever in you debt."
Ishizu smiled and looked over to me. "Thank you then, not a lot of people would go out of their way to help someone on an exam or mission where everyone is supposed to be considered an enemy."
I shook my head and looked to her seriously. "Exam, mission, or anything else, Ryou is a shinobi of the Village hidden in the Leaves, that makes him an ally, a friend. And I don't turn my back on my friends, regardless of the rules."
Mahad smiled at that and looked like he was about to say something when Hayate spoke, interrupting us.
"Now then, please begin."
All of us turned and looked over the railing and down to the arena where the two of them were. Hayate backed up to give them more room and the two of them got into fighting stances. Yoroi started the match by stealing Sasuke's chakra with his chakra absorption. We watched for a while in silence, taking in everything that was going on. The match seemed hopeless for Sasuke, until he heard Naruto's taunts that is.
"SASUKE! You call yourself an Uchiha with that!?"
Sasuke, panting, turned and looked over his shoulder slightly to Naruto.
"What is that idiot doing?" Yami mumbled and I smirked, looking over my shoulder to Yami.
"Encouraging him..."
Yami arched a confused brow at me and I just looked back down to the arena.
"Don't be looking so lame! Give your best!" Naruto shouted and I watched as Sasuke's eyes moved from Naruto to Lee. I watched his eyes widened slightly and knew this was when the fight was going to come to an end.
When Yoroi went to attack him again he used the Lion Combo, a partial copy of Rock Lee's Front Lotus, which I remembered he had captured using the Sharingan before. He threw the man into the air and from where I was, I could see the curse mark start to take control. It only lasted for a few seconds before Sasuke forced it to recede. After he got control he smacked Yoroi down to the ground forcing him to be knocked unconscious.
After a few seconds Hayate moved to check if Yoroi was still alive. As he did that Sasuke forced himself to stand to his feet, wiping blood off from his mouth. Hayate looked over to him before he spoke. "I'm stopping this match from going any further. Therefore the winner of the first battle, Sasuke Uchiha... Passes the preliminaries!"
"YES!" Naruto shouted and I smiled, clapping for the boy.
"That was amazing." Heba commented from next to me and I nodded my head in agreement. It was one thing to see it on TV it was a completely different thing to see it in person.
"I agree, he really did an amazing job." Atem responded, walking over to stand next to Heba.
There was a poof from the arena making us all look back down. Kakashi stood behind Sasuke, reading his porn book but I had a feeling he wasn't actually reading it.
"Well... good job..." Kakashi congratulated.
Heba growled and glared at the man. "That perverted moron, if I ever get my hands on that book..." He growled clenching his fists. "I would shred every page and then burn the pieces of paper."
"Sasuke! You, you, won in such a lame way! Look at you, all battered up, you idiot!" Naruto shouted and I rolled my eyes. He wasn't going to look any better after his battle. Kakashi led Sasuke out of the Arena and Hayate cleared his throat to get our attention again.
"Um... now then... we will get right to it and begin the second match."
The room fell silent at that and we all looked up to the giant screen again. I knew in the show the second match was Zaku Abumi and Shino Aburame, but that didn't mean it would go that way now. I felt my heart skip a beat as the names started to shift and when they came to a stop, I thought my heart did to. Everyone around us visibly stiffened and I could have sworn I heard someone mumble, 'shit'.
Heba Moto vs. Anzu Mazaki
"Well then... I guess this means I am up." Heba mumbled from next to me and I snapped my head to him.
"Heba, please, if it gets to be too much, please forfeit!" I begged looking over to him. "Please... you, your all I have left..." My voice got soft at the end and tears started to form in the corners of my eyes. Heba simply smiled to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Yugi, believe in me, I can handle myself. But regardless I promise to forfeit if it does get to be too much."
With that said he gripped the railing and launched himself over it, gently landing on the ground in a kneeling position. I watched him pull himself to his feat and walked over to stand in front of a girl who had brown hair and blue eyes.
(Heba's POV)
This girl... I swear I have never seen a sluttier outfit... She was dressed in a pair of short shorts that I thought at first were underwear, a fishnet shirt and a belly shirt that barely covered her chest. She had on standard ninja blue shoes, a pair of ninja gloves and the Konoha hitai-ate strapped to her left thigh.
'Was I going to fight the first ninja stripper?' I questioned myself in my head.
"Now then, the match between Anzu Mazaki and Heba Moto shall now commence, no objections right?" Hayate asked.
"No." I answered simply.
"No." Anzu echoed me and Hayate nodded his head.
"In that case, please begin."
Hayate stepped back to give us more room and I watched Anzu, studying her. She didn't move, simply eyed me up before looking over me to where the stands were.
"So you're a member of Yami's team?" She questioned and I narrowed my eyes at her.
"So what if I am?"
Her eyes drifted back to me and she smirked. "You might want to forfeit then, less you make a complete idiot out of yourself in front of your team and your boyfriend."
My left eye twitched in annoyance at her. She was trying to psyche me out? How? All she was doing was annoying the hell out of me. And who exactly was supposed to be my boyfriend? If it was Yugi, I was going to bash her skull into the nearest wall to knock some sense into it.
"Of you could just stand there and let me beat the crap out of you, it would save us all a lot of work since you are no match for me. Then when I am finished with you I'll take out that brat of a brother of yours. Maybe when I am finished with you all Yami will see what a strong woman I am and take me as his."
My eyes widened at all of this before her last words sunk in. My lip twitched before a full burst of laughter broke from me. My arms wrapped around my waist and I doubled over from laughing so hard. I literally had to force myself to keep standing. "Y-Yami... I-Is s-she se-serious?!" I shouted up to him and I could have sworn I heard him sigh in exasperation from where I was.
"What's so funny!?" Anzu demanded and I forced myself to stop laughing and stand up straight so I could answer her.
"Look old lady, I am going to lay this out for you as simply as I can so your small brain can process it." I taunted and her mouth fell open, from what part of that I wasn't sure, though I was almost certain it was the old lady part. "You dress like a whore, you act like a love sick idiot, and I am pretty sure Yami is gay, that or bisexual with a stronger preference to men... I haven't quite figured it out..." I mumbled the last part just as Yami's voice rang down to us.
"Hey! No one needs to know that! Especially a whole room full of Jounin and the Hokage!"
"D-Did you just call me a whore!?" She shouted at me and I saw her hands start to move. Getting prepared for anything I moved my body to stand in a fighting stance and grabbed a Kunai from my pouch.
"Yes, yes I did." I answered with a smirk and she scowled at me before lunching herself at me, her hands forming a quick simple signs.
When I was about to make contact with her with the Kunai the word seemed to freeze and she vanished before my eyes. I looked around confused before a sharp pain radiated though my back. A gasp left my throat and I was forced to my knees from the immense pain. The weird thing was though, I didn't feel anything pierce my skin or feel any blood on me, it was just unimaginable pain.
"H-He-Heba."
I blinked at the sound of my brother's voice and looked up to see the boy lying on the ground in a pool of blood. That was when it hit me, there was no way this was real, it to be an illusion. I growled and forced myself to my feet, looking around I started to spot the things that were different from the real world.
"It's an illusion. That was how you made yourself vanish, and that was how you're causing me the pain."
I gasped again when a sharp stabbing pain hit me in the shoulder. I growled and formed a few simple hands signs to release me from this genjutsu. "Release!"
My sight blurred for a moment before it straightened out and I was once again in the right state of mind. Looking over to my burning shoulder I found a kunai logged in it. Gripping the hilt of the blade I yanked it out of my skin and spun around to face to woman. "That all you got, grandma? I know my brother wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood, not with Yami, Atem and Joey here. If you're going to caste a Genjutsu, use a proper illusion."
I smirked when she got a look of irritation on her face. This time I launched myself at her, swinging the Kunai in my had at her. She quickly grabbed one of her own and blocked my attack. Finding this the perfect timing, I brought my leg up and slammed it into her side, sending her flying into the nearby wall.
She smashed into the wall and I gasped when it brought me with her for some reason. I slammed into the wall next to her, smacking my head onto it rather harshly. Groaning and pulling myself from the concrete I looked down to my right ankle and cursed. "You bitch; when I was under the genjutsu you tied a chakra string to my ankle."
She smirked and that was when I got an idea, I had no idea what she was planning to use the wire for, but I could use it. Smirking myself I walked away from the wall, purposely pulling her with me. She gave me a confused look and pumping Chakra into my feet and hands I knelt on the ground and pushed myself into the air. Anzu gasped as she was pulled with me and once we were a reasonable distance into the air, I started to form a few hands signs, Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.
"Flame style, Flame Bullet!" Panicking Anzu tried to escape. Letting go of the wire she was holding she tried to get away from me, but was to slow. The bullet of fire erupted from my mouth and slammed down into Anzu's chest, forcing her barreling toward the ground. She slammed into the arena floor and I fell as well, landing next to her on my feet.
Hayate walked over and checked her pulse before motioning for the medial Nin to come get her, apparently she was still alive. He stood after that and waved a hand toward me. "The winner of the second round, Heba Moto."
I let out a sigh of relief at that and jumped back up to the arena where the others were. I leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground, gripping my injured shoulder.
"You okay Heba?"
I looked to Yugi and nodded my head, offering him a weak smile. "Just got slammed into a wall and stabbed in the shoulder, over all I am fine."
"Take your shirt off so I can bandage your shoulder." He commanded and I nodded my head, pulling away from the wall slightly so I could remove my vest, shirt and ripped fishnet shirt. Yugi pulled out some antibiotics and a roll of bandages from his bag and set to work.
"You did well Heba, I am proud of you using her own Jutsu against her." Mahad complimented and I nodded my head to him.
"I figured I interrupted her in the middle of tying me up when I broke that genjutsu. She must have been planning to constrict my movement since Chakra wire is almost impossible to break with physical force."
"Very true, a simple plan but an effective one if carried out correctly." Mahad added.
Yugi pulled away once he was done and smiled to me. "There you're all fixed up."
"Thank you Yugi." I pulled my shirt back on and stood up, walking over to the railing as Hayate spoke.
"Alright, we will now choose the candidates for round three."
I looked to the board as names shuffled through and smiled when Yugi was again safe and two familiar names appeared on the board.
Zaku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame
-TBC-
Inu: -hums and flips through reviews before stopping at one and almost dropping the computer in the process.- Damn...
Heba: What? -tilts head-
Inu: -hands computer- Read this.
YGOfangirl4ever
"It took me WAY to long to finish reading these chapters! But anyway, I really like what you're doing here :D I have a feeling this is going to turn in an awesome story.
Now, I really hope you don't mind me giving you a bit of concrit*, your probably most often mistake seems to be with the words 'there' 'their' and 'they're'. Remember:
'there' is meant to show a place/direction meaning spatial orientation.
'their' is supposed to show third-person possessiveness. So that's used when you say stuff like 'that's their bottle'.
'they're' is short for 'they are'.
BTW, I am really missing two things in your stories: your A/n's, and the middle-of-the-page format you used some time back. Why'd you change that? *tilts head*
*concrit short for 'constructive criticism'
I would probably have some more concrit, considering my perfectionism, but I gotta go now... And anyway, I'm really looking forward to your next update."
Heba: -blinks- People actually read the author notes!?
Inu: Right! I never actually thought they did! And did she mean my chapters are to long? I really hope not... Most people tell me there to short... -Shakes head and pouts- Anyway answers time! I don't mind constructive criticism I actually encourage it, especially if you guys see something wrong with my information on the Naruto Universe, though I do an extensive amount of research so you really shouldn't. But I use Microsoft Word for everything I type and it corrects the grammar for me, so they shouldn't be wrong, but I will be sure to check more. Now about the author notes, I didn't actually think anyone read them, so I don't always bother to put them up.
Heba: You're just lazy...
Inu: Lies! -Pouts again- Be nice to me!
Heba: Why! -Points finger- YOU STABBED ME IN THIS CHAPTER!
Inu: I could have done worse! You got off easy!
Heba: Slammed into a wall, and stabbed! I did not get off easy!
Inu: -deadpans- I could have killed you.
Heba: I am a main character...
Inu: Point?
Heba: ...You can't kill me...
Inu: Wanna bet...
Heba: ... -silent-
Inu: I didn't think so. -smiles- Anyway! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thank you for those who review this story every review means a lot to me!