The most common variations in the stories about the Woman of the Woods involve a young girl participating in the chuunin exams being killed or left to die by her teammates during the second part of the exams, in the "Forest of Death." The girl's ghost now haunts the training grounds, punishing those who forsake their teammates by sealing them into trees, and, in more benevolent interpretations, rewarding those who stay united and help one another by parting the forest and making their journey easier.

The Woman herself is usually described as having long, dark hair, frequently appearing by descending from the treetops, or making her presence known by manipulating the branches of trees around her, and sometimes in controlling the surrounding wildlife, as well. More modern variations describe the Woman as a less human-looking creature, smaller in size, with large eyes.

The most well-known versions of the story most likely began as propaganda pieces, to encourage teamwork in the chuunin exams through scare tactics and word of mouth. The earliest recorded tales, however, seem to have sprung up in reaction to the sudden regrowth of the Forest in the wake of the Day of Pain, now known to be the result of chakra-enriched soil, attributed to the First Hokage and his Wood Release.

- Excerpt from the chapter "Konohagakure" from the book Understanding Urban Legends, written by Kuchisake Sadako

ACT 3

FOREST

Chapter 15 - First Steps

The chuunin exams began on a Friday.

It was a cloudy day, sort of miserable-ish. But nothing could dampen the excitement.

Inou's consent form sat on his desk, already-signed by him, his father, his mother. It had been sitting there, staring at him, for hours, as he tried to fall asleep the night before.

He was feeling much better. He was feeling almost confident.

His father had even almost smiled - that was a smile, wasn't it? - when he had said that he was going to go to bed early, so he'd be at his best for the exams.

"Do whatever you need," his father had said, before turning his back on Inou.

When he woke up, there was also a bouquet of flowers on the desk. Small, understated; more of a gathering than a bouquet, really. There were daphne flowers in it.

He knew what they meant, and he ignored them, getting dressed and pulling his necklace over his collar and brushing his hair.

He felt good.

Everyone was at the table for breakfast. Even Hajime. Even Nadeshiko.

"Good day for a chuunin exam, isn't it?" his father said, after putting down his bowl of miso soup. "Hope everyone is well rested and ready to go."

Yes, their father was almost smiling, that morning.

Sasuke had to leave early, a requirement from the academy. Inou and Karai left around 2 to meet with their teams.

"Good luck you two!" their mother had called, from the doorway. "I'll be rooting you on!"

"Good luck," their oldest brother, Hajime, said. He looked tired, and uneasy, but he managed a smile.

"Don't die," Takeru said, smiling, smugly, as usual. "Oh yeah, and good luck, I guess," he added, after a dirty look from their mother.

Nadeshiko didn't say anything, only waving at them from the doorway with the rest, a gentle smile on her face, as if a word from out of her mouth would curse them with identical failure.

(She had left an arrangement of flowers on Karai's desk, too. It was the same as Inou's, but with a spray of foxglove instead of daphne flowers.)

Karai gave Inou a hug when she saw her two classmates, Sanji and Usui, in the distance, down the street they had promised to meet at. "Good luck, Inou."

"Yeah. Same," Inou managed. He didn't hug her back.

He went to go find Shikake and Chouko.

"So what's our plan for the written part, huh?" Shikake said. She was sitting, cross-legged, against a tree, hands behind her neck. "Since we got the Forest of Death pretty much covered from last year."

"Well, they change the rules almost every year…" Chouko said. She put her finger on her uppermost chin; she'd painted her nails a deep red. "But it's the same basic principle - information-gathering."

"I think I can handle this," Inou said. The two of them looked at him - Chouko slightly worried, Shikake clearly skeptical. "No, seriously. I can do a thought-scan, see where the plant is, and get all the answers from them if I don't know them already. Then I'll possess you two and write down the correct answers on your papers."

"You think you'd be able to do that without getting caught?" Chouko said.

Inou smiled. "Are you kidding? Of course I can. I've been working on this."

He'd been planning for ages.

"Well, you can do that if you want. I got somethin' of my own that I'm gonna use for gathering info," Shikake said.

"Oh? And what's that?" Chouko said.

Shikake smiled. A smile that clearly said, "Nice try, but here's where it's really at." Inou's stomach sank lower and lower. It reminded him of Takeru.

She produced a little device from out of that short-sleeved jacket of hers, a little mirror, with loops and knobs on the corners. "Oldie but a goodie. I can install this on the ceiling before the test and remotely manipulate it with chakra threads to get a look at just about anyone in the surrounding area. I can manipulate it so you guys can see - install multiple ones, if you can't. Won't take much effort."

…that was it? Inou frowned, almost glaring at her.

"That's… nice, Shikake-chan. But I think we're better off sticking with Inou-kun's plan," Chouko said, winking at Inou. "Sound good?"

"Whatever," Shikake said. She put the mirror away, and Inou's stomach finally returned to its proper place, his nerves realigning.

It sounded great.

And it worked perfectly.

Go'on was still shaking when the woman in the grey uniform with the pigtails in her hair - Moegi, that was her name, Examiner Moegi = smiled, dryly, and told them that they had passed the first test. Really, it had been an effort to even keep the letters in his answers on the sheet coherent. The grip on his pencil was very firm.

He'd balked at the questions, at first. And then, when it became apparent that he was supposed to cheat? He became even more nervous.

Go'on didn't like cheating people. He didn't like it, but sometimes he had to. He was better at keeping secrets than stealing them, though.

Luckily, he had Kyou and Sunao on his team, and he was so relieved by this fact. Kyou was intimidating in his enthusiasm but it was only because wanted to help, always because he wanted to help. And Sunao was so much more understated, so patient. They helped him so much, in so many ways.

Go'on didn't feel like he gave back to them nearly as much, but none of them made a big deal about it, and neither did Sasuke-sensei, so he left it alone.

Sunao got Go'on's attention about midway through the test by tapping her pencil twice, heavily but quickly, like how you'd say his name. Go-On. And once she knew that she had gotten his attention, she compared her answers with him like the way one played a game of charades. Tap, pause; tap, pause; tap-tap-tap, pause. First question; first word; three syllables.

Kyou, listening nearby, caught on quickly enough, because he was tapping along with them about halfway through.

They were never caught. And by the end of the test, Go'on had his paper filled with what most of them felt was correct information.

Oh, it was over now? Thank goodness.

There was a new woman at the front of the examination room, now, with bright red lipstick and short, wavy hair. She had a nose you could cut paper with. "I'm Yuuhi Benio, Second Chief Examining Officer," she said. "You're all coming with me for the next part of the test, so let's get going, okay?"

Go'on took a deep breath in, and out. He stood up, and went to go be with his teammates.

"Thanks for your help, Sunao-chan…" he said softly, as he followed her and the rest of the passing students out of the examination room. "That was really clever, what you came up with."

"Really, you think so?" she said. Her oval-shaped face was low with thought. "I suppose it was clever, since it worked. But it was so simple, I was afraid we'd get caught…"

"But we weren't…" said Go'on.

Sunao laughed. "No, I guess we weren't! And besides, I guess we were a lot more subtle than some other people. Did you notice? The girl beside me was using a mirror on the ceiling to look at other peoples' tests."

"Really, huh?" said Go'on.

"Yes. Seemed so convoluted…" she said. "I wonder how she got it up there?"

"Well, I think what you came up with was wonderful, Sunao-chan! Great work!" said Kyou. He had his fists balled up in front of his chest. His forehead protector was tied on properly, for once. "All of us did great work, I think! We won as a team. That was the whole point, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…" Go'on said. "I guess it… was, really."

All that talk about team points totals and penalties seemed like a distant memory, now. They got outside, and a wave of fresh energy came over him. He always felt better outdoors, rather than indoors.

Kyou kept talking, almost the entire way. And a few people glanced and glared at him, which prompted Sunao to tell him to tone it down once or twice.

"Where are we going?" one kid asked, eventually. A younger kid. A few of the older participants scoffed and smirked and laughed. Examiner Benio simply smiled.

"You'll see," she said.

Go'on almost didn't want to see. His nerves were already all kinds of shot from the written test, and what he'd had to do. He wondered if he was even doing the right thing.

But Sasuke-sensei had said that he felt they were ready for the chuunin exams. "I believe in your abilities. You are all very talented," he had told them.

Sasuke-sensei, while terrifying, while strict, was almost never wrong. And he was an incredible teacher.

(Go'on had almost forgotten his mother's stories about him, even. He had been a monster, yes. Once. But not any more.)

So Go'on went along with it. He talked to his mother about it the month before, and had gotten her signature on the consent form. And she'd just smiled when he told her he felt nervous, and unsure about his sensei's judgment.

"You'll do just fine, Go'on. I know you will," she had told him. "You should trust your sensei. I know you can do it, at any rate."

He trusted his mother more than he trusted Sasuke-sensei, most of the time. To hear support from both of them meant an almost one-hundred-percent approval rating, in his eyes.

But he still had doubts. Then again, Go'on always had doubts. Sasuke-sensei was working on getting rid of them.

(Nobody had ever told Go'on that he was really talented, before. Above-average, yes. Special, yes. But never talented.)

His thoughts returned to the prospect of the second test. It had to be worse than the first. It wasn't wrong to get worried.

He was sure he'd get by fine, with the help of Kyou and Sunao. And he'd pitch in where he could, where he could help. Oh, but what kind of test would they make him do? He squirmed and fidgeted and shivered. He shoved his hands in his pockets to try and keep still.

"Here we are," Examiner Benio finally said.

Go'on wondered, for a moment, if there had been some kind of mistake.

And then he remembered. In his nervousness, he must have forgotten.

"This is the site of the second exam. Training Ground Number Forty-Four. A.K.A., the Forest of Death." Examiner Benio's voice was laced with playful, harmless malevolence. "It's a survival exercise. And I guarantee, right here and now, that fewer than half of you are going to pass his round."

Pangs of worry shot through the crowd, and Benio began to explain the rules, the business with scrolls and five-day time limits.

"Whoa, they're actually sending us here? To the Forest of Death?" Kyou said to Sunao, eyes wide, as the explanation continued. He grabbed her shoulder to try and get her attention. "Oh man, Sunao-chan, y'think we'll actually get to meet the Woman of the Woods?"

"Hey, hey, what was that you said back there?" Examiner Benio said. Kyou glanced around shyly as a crowd full of eyes all turned to stare at him. Benio shook her head, sighing, smiling. "It is my official duty as Examiner to inform you that we've conducted thorough examinations of the area, and concluded that no Woman has ever been found in there, and that none of you are gonna be turned into trees." Her words were flat, obviously rehearsed. "So rest easy! You've got more to worry about in there than some sorta ghost. Like bears. And giant tigers." She paused. "Oh, and heat-seeking giant forest leeches. Those guys are the worst."

"H-heat seeking giant forest leeches…?" Kyou said. His forehead protector slipped over his pale eyebrows, as the crowd lost interest in him, tittering as they worried over the leeches as well. "I've never read about those…"

"They're really nothing to worry about. You can usually avoid their nests by just listening closely. They make pretty identifiable squishy noises. But… if they get on you, just tickle them in the middle of their backs. They pop right off…"

Go'on was smiling.

Kyou and Sunao stared at him.

"So… you've dealt with them before, Go'on-kun?" Kyou said.

"I… I, um… Well, sorta. I know a lot about… bugs and stuff, I guess…" Go'on replied. He scratched the back of his neck, losing the confidence of only moments before. "I dunno…"

"Three consent forms for one scroll, so all of you'd better sign up if you don't wanna fail!" Benio called out. Papers were being handed from student to student.

"Well, you are pretty outdoorsy," Sunao said, smiling warmly. She took three consent forms and handed one other each to her teammates. "Maybe you should lead our team for this round, Go'on? Since I guess I took charge last time…"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! I mean, I don't know anything about giant leeches n' stuff…" Kyou adjusted his headband again, and took a pencil that was handed to him to sign the paper against his knee. "I think it would be best for the team!"

"Well, if you guys think so… then, okay!" Go'on said. He managed to smile again. His mouth wasn't shaking. "I mean, usually you guys are the ones helping me out, but here…"

"You can help us right back!" Sunao said.

"Yeah! Let's all try our best," Kyou added. "As a team, you know?"

Together, the three of them went to turn in their consent forms, and were given a scroll with the kanji for Earth written on it. They were then escorted to a chained-up gate.

"Now… I know you're the leader, Go'on-kun, but might I make a suggestion?" Sunao said, as they were waiting.

"Go ahead," Go'on replied.

"Well, we have five days to get a Heaven scroll and meet at the tower in the center of the Forest. I think we should start off slowly, and get our bearings first," she said, thoughtfully. She was holding her elbow with one hand, cradling the side of her face with another. "I mean, we don't wanna burn ourselves out, you know?"

Go'on actually laughed.

Kyou and Sunao stared at him. Go'on never laughed. At least, not like that.

"Don't worry about the time limit. We're… going to be fine. I think…" Go'on said. "All you guys need to do is keep up with me. We'll… be done before the end of the day."

The sureness felt almost foreign to his teammates, as he smiled and looked at the gate, anticipating when they'd be released.

"Is it just me," Kyou whispered to Sunao, hand to her ear, "or does Go'on-kun seem really excited about this?"

Sunao just shrugged.

Well, Go'on did like trees a whole lot. And whenever she managed to get small talk out of him - which was about as easy as getting conversation out of a shy toddler - it was always over nature-ey things. Plants and animals and bugs and stuff. Those were just the things that Go'on cared about.

So, scary and strange and intimidating as it all was (even to her), this was his element. Naturally, he'd feel more comfortable here than her or Kyou.

A signal went out, and the gates were unlocked. Simultaneously, twenty-three ninja teams were sent out into the forest.

"Follow me," Go'on commanded. And he leaped up and into the trees, and he ran.

He was in his native element, here. The Forest was like a home to him.