(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Fortieth Chapter of the arc, the fighting is over but Kuroda is not yet done making mischief in the Hidden Stone Village. What will happen in the aftermath of his win? The Chunin Exams continue! What will be the outcome? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
Kuroda wakes up grumpily the next morning when Sakura pours cold water over his head. He jumps out of bed gasping, "Is there some reason you did that?"
She responds, "I have been trying to wake you for a while, but you must have been having a pretty good dream."
Kuroda explains, "I wasn't dreaming, I was meditating. Sleeping is a waste of time. You can accomplish the same regenerative effects by meditating plus experience a state of deep thought."
"Wow, really? Can you teach me?" she asks.
"When we get back to our village, we can start lessons," he confirms.
"Who taught you how to meditate?" asks Kayo, appearing in the doorway.
"No one," he responds, "I was able to figure it out on my own. It is not like it is that hard."
"No doubt you did. Well, now that you're up, we need to get going. The ceremony will begin in less than two hours," she says.
"Is it that late already?" he questions, "I guess I lost track of the time."
"You sure you weren't sleeping?" jokes Kayo.
They quickly make their way through the village to the appropriate building and are directed into a large room with a long table at the end. When Kuroda walks in he notices that almost everyone from the final rounds is there along with their teammates and some higher ranking ninjas from the respective villages. They walk over towards Jando who is talking with Shun and Ichimaru. They don't really talk, but just wait around for a while.
When Hoshi walks through the door, Kuroda tells Kayo and Sakura, "You two stay here, I have some business to attend to."
He walks over to Hoshi and is about to say something when he sees Chiasa Inuzu and Yamashita Uzuki coming in a few paces behind her. When Chiasa sees Kuroda heading towards Hoshi worry consumes her and she reaches for a kunai.
Kuroda steps forward and whispers into Hoshi's ear, "Hug me." She obeys the order. The room goes silent. Everyone in the room is very surprised when they see Hoshi hug Kuroda. They all start whispering and wondering what is going on.
Yamashita sees Chiasa's hand and advises, "I would put that away if I were you, Sensei. Creating a conflict with all these people around would be unwise."
She is very perplexed and wonders, "What the hell is going on?" However, she decides to heed Yamashita's advice. They walk over to some other Rock Ninja and converse quietly.
Hoshi quietly asks, "Why am I hugging you?"
Kuroda takes her hand and says, "So we don't arouse too much suspicion. Follow me."
Hoshi thinks to herself, "Isn't this making us look more suspicious?"
Jando asks Sakura, "What could Kuroda possibly be thinking? Why is he being all friendly with that girl? She's the one who beat me, and he destroyed her in the final match?"
Tousen Nohana interrupts, "Ahh, my young student, it must be true love."
Jando scoffs, "How is that possible? First of all, they only met each other a month ago, and not even long enough to have a conversation. Second, they are from two separate villages. It is impossible for them to be in love. Third, he kinda just beat the crap out of her a day ago."
Tousen explains, "True love doesn't care about where people come from, it just happens and there is no one that can stand in its way." He kneels down in front of Kayo, miming a proposal.
Rame Tsu shakes her head comments, "You're just as worthless as ever, Sensei."
Naoko adds, "No woman will ever love a guy like you."
Tousen responds, "You two are so cold, but I know that my dear Kayo will…"
Kayo unknowingly walks over to talk with Yoshikuni Dosu and leaves him all alone.
"I have been rejected," cries Tousen, in a corner.
Rame Tsu slaps her hand to her face and says, "How pathetic."
Naoko adds, "He will never learn."
Kuroda and Hoshi go to a secluded corner and sit down in some empty seats. Kuroda explains, "We needed to have a reason to be seen together, and now that we are over here no one will suspect anything. You can't just hand over a secret scroll in the middle of the room."
"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," she says.
"Where did you put it?" he inquires.
"It is in my back pouch," she answers.
He inconspicuously leans over and whispers into her ear, "I need you to laugh as if I told you a private joke."
She starts to giggle while he reaches behind her and retrieves the scroll, and then quickly sits back down. "So did you encounter any trouble while accomplishing your task?"
She reveals, "I have unrestricted access to most of the village's secrets. It was easy for me to obtain a copy."
Kuroda says, "I knew I chose the correct person to help me attain my dream."
"Attain your dream?" she questions.
"Yes," he replies, "But we can save that talk for another time. Now, are you feeling any better than you were yesterday?"
She quietly replies, "My injures are healing very quickly. Umm… can I ask you something?"
"That depends," he answers.
"Well, I wanted to know…" She starts to say when Hara Gaki walks into the room.
He immediately looks for Kuroda and when he sees him in the corner he walks directly over to him. Hara wonders, "Why are those two sitting together acting all casual? It is a little disturbing. Whatever, I can worry about that later, but I have some other questions I need answered." People start to get nervous when they see Hara charging toward Kuroda, but he doesn't even seem to notice until Hara is right in front of him.
Hara politely asks, "Can we talk in private?"
Hoshi starts to get up when Kuroda answers, "No."
Hara is irritated and asks, "Why not?"
Kuroda responds, "For a number of reasons. First, I was already deep in conversation with someone else. Second, I don't think that anything that you would have to say to me is important, interesting, or something I didn't already know. Third, I really do not have anything I need to say to you. Therefore any further conversation would be a waste of time."
Hara starts to get angered, "You think that just because you defeated me that I am not even good enough to talk to?"
Mazuma sees that the situation is escalating and calls for his student, "Hara, come over here, I have some people I want you to meet."
Hara is still angry, but walks over to his Sensei. Mazuma puts his arm over his student's shoulder and whispers, "We already have enough information for the time being and it doesn't seem like he is willing to tell us anything more at this point in time. So, just let the matter be settled for now."
"As you wish, Sensei," replies Hara.
Hoshi tells Kuroda, "You didn't have to be so rude just because you are superior to him."
Kuroda explains, "I was not being rude for that reason; I was doing it because Hara was being foolish by approaching me in the current circumstances."
Hoshi replies, "I suppose this isn't the ideal situation, but your actions are very confusing to me."
"You don't need to understand my actions, just follow my orders," states Kuroda.
"Then what is your next order?" she inquires.
Kuroda explains, "Your next assignment is to ask Tatsuki Asakura to meet with you in a secret location one hour after the ceremony is over. Make it clear that Miss Asakura is to come alone."
"The proctor of the third exam," Hoshi questions, "Why do you want me to meet with her?"
"I don't want you to meet with her," he explains, "I have something to discuss with her, but she won't come alone if I asked to meet with her. You don't need to actually show up at the meeting place, just tell me where it is. After that you can return to living your normal life."
Hoshi questions, "That is it? That is all you want me to do?"
He replies, "For now, that is all. This is the only task I have for you and I probably won't give you any more orders for a while."
Hoshi is confused and asks, "What is the point of forcing me to be under your control? It might be a bit more difficult, but I'm sure you could have accomplished all of this without me."
He replies, "Do you really think I would go to all that trouble if I merely wanted you to do those few simple tasks? I won't even begin to start on my real plans for a few years. All of this is leading up to them."
A small group of people come out of the double doors behind the long table. These people include the three proctors, a bunch of elderly people, the Hokage, and the Tsuchikage. They all immediately notice Kuroda in the corner talking with Hoshi. Tatsuki gets the chill down her back again and thinks, "Damn him! What did he do to me? There must be some reason this keeps happening to me."
The Hokage asks, "Lord Tsuchikage, is this okay?"
"What do you mean, Lady Hokage?" he asks.
"Do you approve of Kuroda being so close to your daughter after what happened in their match?" she responds.
"I guess he didn't tell you then. Mr. Taishi came to see my daughter in the hospital yesterday," he reveals, "He wanted to know how she was recovering and now it seems like they are friends. What a fine example of how good the relations between our two allied nations can be."
The Hokage is disturbed, "Why does he seem to be so calm and relaxed? If it was me I would be very nervous about the situation. Maybe it is just me, but something seems very off. I better keep it to myself for now."
"Yes, I guess you are right, Masato," she says, "Maybe more of our people will follow after their example."
"I would hope so," he replies.
Kuroda tells Hoshi, "It seems that our time is up. If anyone asks why you were talking to me just tell them that you like me." Hoshi seems to be a little embarrassed, but does not object. Everyone starts moving around the room and lining up. The group who came out of the double door room all take their seats at the table.
"Will all those Genin who participated in the final round and their Sensei please step forward," says one of the elder people at the table. The candidates and their teachers comply with the request.
The Tsuchikage stands up and gives a speech, "All of you have shown your hard work, dedication, courage, and strength in making it to the final round. All of these qualities are an important part of being a successful ninja, but being a Chunin takes more than that. It requires leadership skills, intelligence, a great understanding of one's own abilities, the ability to understand an enemy's abilities and adapt to them. A healthy knowledge of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, tactics, and many other things are required to become a Chunin. Only ninja who have attained all of these abilities are qualified to become Chunin. This year we have determined that Hara Gaki, Hoshi Ishimaru, and Kuroda Taishi all have the necessary requirements to become Chunin."
The people in the room give loud applause when the three of them take another step forward.
The Tsuchikage tells them, "As I am sure you have been told, normally this council would only be giving a recommendation for promotion to the individual villages you hail from. However, seeing as the leaders of your individual villages are here they have given their approval of your elevation to the Chunin rank. With this promotion you three will now have more responsibilities than ever before. You will be leaders of other shinobi and be asked to go on more dangerous missions, make harder decisions, and you will be entrusted with the lives of your comrades and the safety of your village. I wish you luck. Not only for your sake, but the sake of all your comrades and the people you care about." The ceremony concludes and people congratulate all the new Chunin. After a while everyone starts heading out. Kuroda, Kayo, Jando, and Sakura all make their way back to the hotel to gather their things.
When everything is packed, Kuroda tells the others, "You all go ahead. I have something to take care of on my own before we leave."
Kayo asks, "Please don't cause any trouble, Kuroda."
Kuroda ensures, "I won't do anything foolish, Sensei."
As he walks off in the opposite direction she thinks to herself, "You won't do anything you deem foolish, but that doesn't mean your actions won't endanger our village. I hope you know what you are doing."
"Don't worry, Sensei," says Sakura, sensing her mood, "He can take care of himself."
"That's not what I'm worried about, Sakura," she replies, "Anyways, we need to be going. The Hokage will be mad if we are all late."
While Tatsuki travels to the meeting place she starts to wonder, "What could be so important and secret that the Tsuchikage's daughter requested a meeting all alone? And why are we meeting out in the middle of nowhere? Does she have some sort of secret mission for me? Whatever it is, I am getting a very strange feeling. Something bad is about to happen." She arrives at the meeting place, but scouts around a bit to make sure it is safe.
"All right, looks like no one is around. Now, she said she wanted to meet near an orange rusted ladder," she mumbles to herself.
"You're late," says a voice from behind her.
Tatsuki thinks, "That's not Hoshi, but I know that voice."
She turns around shouts, "You! Why are you here? Where is Hoshi? What did you do with her?" The person standing in front of her is none other than the Leaf Ninja Kuroda Taishi. Tatsuki reaches for a kunai.
"Relax, Hoshi is perfectly safe, no need to get hostile," answers Kuroda.
"I was supposed to meet her here, what did you do with her?" demands Tatsuki.
"That is wrong, I specifically heard her say "There is something important that you need to know. Go to the Morak District on the west side of the village in one hour. Wait by the rusted ladder behind the abandoned tea house, and bring no one else." She never specifically said that she was going to be here," Kuroda corrects.
"What are you saying?" asks Tatsuki.
"I am the one who wanted to meet with you, I merely had Hoshi ask you to come," explains Kuroda.
"She set me up? Why would the Tsuchikage's daughter do anything for you?" questions Tatsuki.
"Well, if you hadn't noticed earlier Hoshi seems to be quite fascinated by me and developed a bit of a crush. It is quite flattering actually, but I picked up on it and decided to befriend her in case I ever needed a contact from the Hidden Stone. Then, today I merely asked her for a favor and she was more than happy to oblige," explains Kuroda.
"I see, very cunning of you to take advantage of a little girl. Well, what do you want then?" she inquires.
"I would appreciate it if you put your weapon away seeing as this is a friendly conversation," Kuroda politely requests. She hesitates to put her kunai away. "Are you afraid of me?" asks Kuroda.
"No," she answers defiantly, "It's just that I get this weird uneasy feeling when I am around you. There is something about you, something disturbing, that puts a chill down my spine and makes me sick to my stomach. I don't trust you."
"Ah, well, that is understandable, I wouldn't trust me very much either, if I were you. But you really should put the kunai away. Of course, I could always make you put it away, but that wouldn't be very nice or beneficial. So I guess you can do whatever you want," he responds.
She thinks about it for a moment and then decides, "He seems like he just wants to talk. I guess it is safe for now."
So she puts the kunai away and again asks, "What do you want?"
Kuroda explains, "I have a few messages for you. Two to be precise."
"Two messages? Why are they for me?" she inquires.
"These messages are not from the Hokage or anyone else in the Leaf Village and they are from me and me alone! Understand?" he says.
"I got it," says Tatsuki, skeptically.
"The first one is for your Tsuchikage and any other high ranking people in your village; you can give it to anyone you wish. I bring a warning that if I ever see any Rock Ninja following or tracking me for any reason, or if I encounter them on a mission, or if they disrupt me in any way I won't hesitate to execute each and every one of them no matter if they are allies of the Leaf Village or not."
Tatsuki at first thinks, "What is this, a joke? Is this kid serious? Wait, what is with that look in his eyes? He is serious."
"The second message I have is a little more personal," he says.
"More personal?" questions Tatsuki.
"You can share it with anyone, but I think you might want to keep it to yourself." Now Tatsuki is intrigued. Kuroda starts moving closer to Tatsuki and says, "The next time you see me, don't hesitate to kill me."
Tatsuki is surprised, "What? What the hell is that supposed to …" but out of nowhere Kuroda appears right in front of her and softly kisses her on the lips. She doesn't realize what is going on, but lets it happen and unintentionally kisses him back. Then without any warning, Kuroda stops the kiss and steps back, before disappearing in a flash.
Tatsuki regains her senses and says, "Little bastard, what the hell was that?"
She looks around and thinks, "Where the hell did he go?" She brings her fingers up to her lips and thinks over what just happened, "That wasn't half bad, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Wait, what am I thinking? What is up with that kid? He wants me to kill him, fine. I have no problem with that."
"Tatsuki what are you doing here? I heard someone yelling and came to check it out, but I didn't expect to find you here," says a familiar voice.
She turns to see a very tall, large, man walking towards her. "Kuma, what are you doing in this part of the village?" she asks.
"I could ask you the same thing," he retorts.
She touches her lips again, "I was just… never mind. Kuma, we have work to do. I just received an important message."
"A message from whom? There is no one around for a mile," says Kuma.
"I don't know if I can tell you who it is from, and I don't really have time to explain," she responds, "But I need to speak with the Tsuchikage immediately."
Kuma replies, "All right, if you say so. Let's get going then!" They head off back towards the center of the village.
The Hokage is at the entrance to the village with all the other Hidden Leaf Ninja. "I will look forward to our conference in a few weeks," says a tall and elegant looking dark-haired man who is obviously of noble birth.
"Very well," she replies, "If you want any additional security for the meeting don't hesitate to ask.
"I think my Grass Ninja are perfectly up to the task," he replies with a smirk, "Farewell, Lady Katonae, have a safe journey home."
"Yes, yes, you as well," she responds, as she waves to him.
"My Lady, we are almost ready to go," says a Leaf Ninja, stepping up to her.
"What is the hold up?" she inquires.
"Our favorite Genin seems to be unaccounted for," he explains.
She looks around and then calls Kayo and her team over to her and asks, "Where is Kuroda?"
Kayo explains, "Kuroda told me he had to do something before we left."
The Hokage starts to yell at her, "I thought I told you not to let him out of your sight until we get back to the Leaf Village. What the hell would he have to do besides stir up trouble and ruin our relations with the Rock Village?"
"Relax, Lady Katonae, I wasn't doing anything bad, merely returning a borrowed item to its owner," says Kuroda from behind the Hokage.
She whips around to face him and angrily asks, "What item and why didn't you give it back yesterday?"
"I was returning a sharpening tool from a blacksmith, and he was out of town yesterday so I did it today, and I wanted to thank him personally so that's why I did not give it to someone else," he explains calmly. The Hokage looks at him skeptically, not truly believing his story, but decides not to argue about it anymore at the time.
She turns back to all the other waiting Leaf Ninja, "We are leaving. Everyone move out, back to the Hidden Leaf!"
"Lord Tsuchikage, I have an urgent message for you," says Tatsuki, entering his private chambers.
"Is it really important because I am very tired from all the recent events, can it wait till later?" he asks.
"It probably is not urgent, but I think you will be very interested in this particular one," she replies.
"Very well, what is it?" he says.
Tatsuki proceeds to reveal the exact events of her earlier encounter except for Kuroda's personal message to her.
"You say that my daughter was the one who asked you to meet there?" he inquires.
"Yes, but I don't believe she had any knowledge of what he wanted to tell me," Tatsuki states, and then nervously adds, "She seems to be infatuated with him."
"Yes, I believe you are correct," he mutters, "Well, did you believe what he said to be true?"
"Yes, he was completely serious. Or at least he was confident enough in his own abilities," she answers.
"This is very interesting indeed, thank you for bringing me this message," says the Tsuchikage, "I need to speak with Kenji and Chiaki, please find them and send them to me as soon as possible."
"Yes, my Lord," bows Tatsuki and then she departs leaving him to ponder the message he just received.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Kuroda has given a warning to the Tsuchikage and stolen his first kiss from an older woman. What is the meaning behind it all? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)