CHAPTER ELEVEN: "A downward spiral, just a pirouette."
The rest of Naruto's week went off without hitch, a few training sessions here and there, a shift or two at Torture and Interrogation. In the excitement of the upcoming chuunin exams, everything else seemed so boring, so mundane. Though, Naruto noted, her regular nightmares added a little spice to her life. Just a little.
As she roamed the streets of the village that raised her, she felt a strong sense of fear hit her. Instantly activating her sensory ability, she was shocked to find it was someone she knew in trouble.
"Konohamaru!" She remarked to herself, eyes flashing open as she took off in a dead sprint towards his signature.
She was there in moments. Naruto had mere seconds to take in her surroundings-
Sakura and Sasuke, 20 feet from conflict. Allies. One unknown party, two shinobi. One of which held her wannabe-rival by his collar.
Not stopping for even a second, Naruto flew in. With a move she'd first seen from Rock Lee, Naruto leapt off the ground. She hadn't even been noticed yet. It took one second and a spin, then she entered their vision.
And promptly, her sandal collided with the unknown Shinobi's face.
It struck true, the boy hadn't had a minute to contemplate, let alone kawarimi or evade. A loud crack rang out, either his jaw dislocating or his teeth clacking together, Naruto wasn't sure. The boy dropped Konohamaru wordlessly, falling backwards onto the ground.
His own teammate rushed to his side as Naruto landed by Konohamaru, scooping the child up. "What the fuck is your deal?!" Screamed the kunoichi of the pair, withdrawing a small fan from her shirt.
Carrying the brunet boy over to her allies, Naruto spoke smoothly and professionally. "The honorable grandson is not to be touched, let alone by violent Suna shinobi."
Placing the shaken child on his own two feet, she dusted herself off performatively.
The girl's eyes went wide in horror, as her teammate scrambled onto his feet. "He had it coming!" The offended teen yelled back, rubbing a hand against his jaw.
The two Suna shinobi took up defensive stances.
"Do you want to cause an international incident by fighting us now?" Asked Naruto tonelessly.
Beside her, Sakura stepped forward. "It's well-known that alliances are held up by a country's shinobi. To fight now, knowing you're in the wrong-" The pinkette paused, letting the tension grow. "Well, it could very well cause a war." Naruto grinned. They might have had bad blood, but the blonde could appreciate what Sakura was doing.
"Oh, and you'd certainly be withdrawn from the chuunin exams. But you could always try again six months from now." Naruto lost her stony mask, speaking to them as if they were toddlers.
They didn't take her condescension lightly.
Naruto felt something achingly familiar approaching. Something dark, controlling, something powerful.
Another jinchuriki. She knew it without even seeing the person.
Sasuke, sensing an opportunity to be a dick, stepped up alongside the two Konoha kunoichi. "I mean, that's assuming you make it home. This is our turf, and you threatened our honorable grandson. " He used Naruto's words easily, before continuing. "Suna couldn't save you from the consequences of that."
The threat hung in the air. Death penalty. Rather, a political killing, Naruto thought.
The boy with face-paint, the one who had Konohamaru, sneered. "As if you tree huggers wou-"
"Kankuro."
An ashen, raspy voice demanded all of their attention. A swirl of sand appeared in front of the Suna-nin, and right across from Naruto.
"Shut. Up." The newest shinobi, the blonde noted, was the jinchuriki she'd sensed. With fluffy red hair and black kohl lining his teal eyes, you'd almost see him as non-threatening.
Almost. There was a sallow nature to his skin, extremely pale and sickly seeming. Brown bags under his eyes stood out even with the kohl to distract.
A tattoo above his nonexistent eyebrows. Kanji, for Love.
Naruto stared at him wordlessly.
"You're like me."
He met her gaze. "What." It wasn't really a question, not with his blank tone. "You've got one too." She explained, pointing to her belly.
Despite both having a demonic passenger, Naruto thought the feel of them was insanely different. Her demon- It was fiery red and golden amber, feral growls and raw meat. It was rage and bloodshed, war and devastation. It was the epitome of blazing summer.
This boy's, his was…. It was never-ending spirals, screams that follow you into the night, into every dream. It was grasping claws and monochrome, a maddening hunger for something more.
Little did Naruto know, the boy in question was analyzing her, too.
His beast was oddly quelled, closer to silence than he ever remembered it being. After years spent amongst internal screams, silence was more deafening than anything.
The back of his throat felt painfully dry.
"Mother wishes to bathe in your blood." He said, voice never betraying the guttural fear within him.
Not fear. Never fear.
Gaara did not fear. He was fear.
She raised one brow. "Mother, huh? Is that what you call it?"
Noticing the way his teammates shook, Naruto stepped closer to him. She wasn't quite sure why. Was she becoming a loose cannon? Maybe.
"Naruto, no!" Sakura called out, voice urgent. Distantly, the blonde heard the sound of light footsteps scampering away. Sand was spilling out.
Konohamaru, she registered as the source of the footsteps.
"I've never named mine." She kept the conversation going, despite the fact she could feel sand grazing the back of her neck. "Who are you?" Asked the redhead, finally.
"Naruto Uzumaki. You?"
"Gaara of the Sand." Ah, that explained the sand spilling out around her.
"Will you be partaking in the exams?" He asked her, not blinking once throughout their conversation.
Naruto wasn't sure why her palms were sweating.
"Yes."
"You will die in them."
Like the good teammate Tenten was, she was preparing herself for the exam. And, preparing for her teammates. Using stock from the shop, and a bit of her own money, she'd stocked them all with bags of camping and survival gear.
Seeing as how she'd been through the ringer once, she knew that the Forest of Death was not something to be unprepared for. So, she'd gathered everything they would need and more. With three storage seals made with different colored inks, she sealed away each pack.
Later that day they'd be having a team meeting, and when it happened, she'd give them to her teammates.
Then, they'd discuss their game plan. Contentedly, she sipped her chamomile tea. She knew they would make it. She, Lee, and Naruto? They were beyond chuunin material.
The bun-headed girl smiled.
"You look creepy, sitting there smiling to yourself." Her father teased, causing her face to fall immediately.
He laughed, and she soured further.
"We have a customer out front, do you mind dealing with him? I've got to go crack open the boxes we just received from Iron." Her father's cocoa eyes twinkled when he looked at her, like she was his most prized possession.
Her distress at his antics faded immediately. "Yeah, I'll handle it!"
Finishing her cup of tea, she stood, leaving the residential half of her house and stepping up behind the counter. There stood one of Konoha's most infamous jounin.
With silver hair fluffy and pointing skyward, the man scratched his neck contemplatively. "How can I help you, Hatake-san?" Asked Tenten, knowing most of her customers by name. Hatake was by no means a regular, but he did drop in from time to time.
"Ah, I just need a new set of kunai… The best you have, please." Blinking at his awkward tone, Tenten took only a second to process.
Their standard kunai were kept on display in the store. The duds were out there too, advertised as such. He meant it when he asked for high quality, she thought.
They kept the best stuff behind the counter, where no shoplifters could reach. Bending down, she reached for a thin box. Laying on a velvet cushion, six steel kunai were sharpened impeccably. Clear plastic held them in their container, able to view, but not touch. Also contained within were 5 explosive tags on either side, customary for expensive sets like this one.
"Six of our finest, right here. This is handcrafted in Konoha, with the finest materials sourced out of Land of Ir-"
He waved her speech off, not caring for her assurances. Or, rather, her sales pitch. "Yes, yes, I'm sure. Do you do gift wrapping here? Preferably orange?"
Tenten wasn't sure whether to be offended he interrupted, grateful she didn't have to give her quality assurance speech, or curious who the hell he was buying a gift for.
She settled for doing her job. Sometimes shutting off the brain was good.
As Naruto sorted through Ibiki's paperwork stack, she wondered if that boy earlier had known she was the nine-tails jailer. She wasn't sure, but she figured that would make her outclass him. In a battle of the beasts, hers would win, she thought childishly.
"Naruto," A gruff voice called. Naruto smiled, looking up. "What. Are you doing. In my paperwork." Ibiki asked slowly, killing intent filling the office like a thick fog.
Naruto held back a wretch, keeping herself from gagging. She hoped Ibiki hadn't noticed. His KI hadn't affected her that strongly in a while. "I was told you've been behind. Figured you might be able to catch up if it were less scattered."
For the second time that day, Naruto entered in a staring contest. She was getting rather sick of those. He sighed, rubbing his face. Naruto grinned, feeling all of his heart-stopping KI dissipate from the room.
"Get out. Go play. Do whatever it is that kids do before exams." He finally demanded.
Naruto spun in his fancy chair, not noticing the way his eye twitched. "But that's so boring. And I missed you!" She explained, rather poorly, he thought.
If Ibiki's lips curled up in something vaguely resembling a smile, no one commented on it.
"Don't care. The last thing I need is you meddling in my paperwork."
She pouted, standing up and marching to the door. He didn't turn to face her.
Naruto sniffed. "Inoichi would never kick me out of his office." And then she slammed the door.
Ibiki's eyes twitched.
"Damn brat." He muttered to no one but himself, mentally preparing himself to face the three towers of newly sorted paperwork.
Maito Guy would never claim to be the world's best sensei.
His student's might disagree.
Lee, his proudest pupil, was the first to arrive at their meeting. An hour early, in fact. "GUYYYYY SENSEEEEIII!"
"LEEEEEEEE!"
"GUUYYYYYY SEENNSSEEIIII-"
"LEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Bounding into each others arms, one would've thought it had been years since the two last saw one another.
Neji Hyuuga knew better, giving them a very dry look. He honestly wondered if they'd ever stop greeting each other that way. Would they ever mellow out?
Long silky hair held back in a low pony, he looked rather aristocratic as he approached his foolish teammates. "Greetings, Sensei, Lee." He gave them both a nod, causing attention to fall onto him.
"Young Neji! Aren't you early?!" Boomed the voice of Guy, pointing a finger at the chuunin.
"Yes." Neji affirmed, silently wondering why they questioned him. They were early, too.
Smiling as he abruptly began stretching, "Ah, I love when my students take advantage of their youth."
Neji was long used to the irregular forms his Jounin used to stretch. They had names, most taking after animals. Neji never used them, but he had memorized them. Sitting on the beaten ground, Neji decided to meditate.
Closing his eyes, he left his byakugan deactivated, feeling for his chakra.
Taking hold of it, he compressed it into his coils, slowly but surely.
Deep breath in.
Once he had it gathered as tight as he could, bundled in his core, he released it.
He fought with his own chakra, resisting the guttural desire to let it unfurl immediately.
Slowly, he released it, tingling inside him as it refilled his tenketsu.
Deep breath out.
He continued like that, up until the two kunoichi arrived. Tenten first, and then Naruto a few minutes after.
It was hard to continue his meditation once everyone was there, the way they excitedly chattered around him disrupted his rhythm.
White eyes studied Naruto, who didn't seem to notice. Briefly, he wondered what meditation would be like for her. Did she feel her own chakra when she grabbed it? What did everyone else feel like?
He used to look down on her ability, he'd labeled her as the sorry last scrap of the Uzumaki. He couldn't regret it more. Couldn't regret the person he'd been anymore than he did.
"Hey, Neji! I almost didn't notice you over there." Tenten piped up excitedly, running over to meet him. Naruto turned her head his way, smiling at him.
Tenten stood over him, offering a hand so he could stand. He stayed still, looking up at her. "Hello," The Hyuuga greeted. His teammates didn't meet up as often as they used to, not since he'd become a chuunin.
Still, he made time for his teammates. They were his friends, even if he couldn't say it aloud. Approaching, Naruto and Lee joined in looking down at him.
He blinked slowly. "Why are you sitting here? Were you brooding?" Naruto asked, tilting her head.
Tenten frowned slightly, wondering why Neji hadn't taken her hand. She retracted it, turning her face to hide her humiliation.
Naruto gave her a glance.
"I do not brood." Sniffing, he continued. "I was meditating, tightening and releasing my own chakra."
Lee nodded his head, figuring that was exactly the sort of thing Neji busied himself with. He'd seen the Hyuuga do it a million times.
"Sureee. Riiiight. Meditation. Not brooding."
A booming voice called suddenly, "Students, return to me! We have much to discuss, these exams are no easy feat!"
"YOSH GUY-SENSEI, IMPART YOUR WISDOM UPON US!" Lee was gone in a sprint, Tenten jogging after him.
Naruto yanked Neji up by his collar, pulling him along with her.
"Faaantastic." Guy began, "Your quick approach tells me how your hearts must burn to be chuunin."
Lee nodded his agreement.
He struck a pose. "Youth is such an inspiring thing! It brings a tear to my eye to know I have such dedicated pupils in front of me-"
"Guy-sensei…" Neji tried to interrupt, staring at him.
"You kids keep me young and full of life! And it honors me to pass my wisdom onto you." Clearing his throat, he was ready to continue.
Neji, Tenten, and Naruto were exchanging glances. Lee was too enthralled in his idol's speech to notice.
"Young Neji has already become a chuunin… And it is my goal to get you promoted as well!" Gai grinned brilliantly, showing all of his pearly whites.
Clapping and cheering, Lee was clearly inspired by the speech.
Naruto grinned, forgetting the jounin's eccentricism. "Hell yeah!" Tenten smiled softly.
"I tried gathering information, it seems the exams will be the same as they were. An indoor test, followed by a survival exam in the Forest of Death, and then a final exam a month from now." Neji shared with the group, getting an elbow from Naruto.
"Aww, Neji, you really do care!" She cooed at him, getting a disgruntled expression from the boy.
"It was obvious to do information gathering before you enter into su-"
"Neji, I am touched to see your effort in assisting us! I am in your debt!" Lee shook his hand forcefully, and Neji looked something along the lines of violated and disgusted.
Tenten smiled, "Yeah, Neji, it's nice of you to affirm that for us. Thanks."
Looking amongst the three of them, she took a deep breath in. "Naruto, Lee, I actually did some prepping for us too." All attention turned to her, and she blushed a little. Pulling two seals out of her pouch, she passed them to Lee and Naruto.
"Sorry, Guy, Neji. These are for the exams, so you don't get any." The brunette rubbed the back of her neck apologetically. "You two can clip those seals on your pouch, there's a little hole on the top to be latched on with." She shrugged, "They're stocked with stuff. Lee, I know you have trouble with chakra, so yours is blood activated."
Lee's eyes twinkled. She was nearly tackled. Squawking loudly, she tried to shove him off, only for Naruto to grab her as well.
"Thank you, Bunny! My herooo," Naruto faux-swooned, rubbing her face against Tenten's shoulder like a cat.
Naruto and Lee suddenly fell onto their behinds. Tenten reappeared next to Neji, using the shunshin that Anko had taught her long ago. The girl was blushing and frazzled,
smiling brilliantly.
Naruto was on her feet in seconds. "Avoiding my affections, huh?"
Tenten giggled, "You probably have cooties from that Haku. Feminine guys tend to get around."
Neji suddenly felt all eyes on him, making an undignified noise of surprise.
Sticking her tongue out at the brunette, "Keep it up, Tenten, and you'll get something!"
"Cooties?" Lee asked innocently, tapping his chin.
Naruto's face turned red. "No! She'll get my fist! In her face! Punched!"
Guy's laughter echoed through the field, "Ha! You kids and your violence!"
With no other ideas as to what to do, her team meeting gone by, and having been kicked out by Ibiki, Naruto decided to go home. It was heading into the evening anyhow, the girl thought. She didn't know why the idea of being home seemed so …. Unappealing.
Maybe it was getting harder to be alone, she mused. She tried to ignore the grubby halls and faint odor of the hallways in her apartment complex, making a beeline straight to her door.
As she reached it, she took note of something rather strange. A box sat on her doormat.
A gift box.
Naruto glanced around suspiciously, slowly bending to pick the mysterious object up. The gray box had a note tucked beneath the orange ribbon. She quickly pulled the note out, tucking the gift under her arm for the moment.
" For the exams.
Good luck."
And that was all they wrote. No initials, no name, no signature.
Just those five words and the strangest looking henohenomoheji she'd seen in a while. It had hair, for some reason.
Unlocking her door and stepping inside, she immediately relocked it and took a seat at her table.
Carefully, she untied the ribbon, before lifting the lid of the box to reveal its contents.
It was a kunai set. Not just any kunai set, either. Naruto recognized it, it was one of the pricey ones from Tenten's shop.
She only grew more puzzled. Could Tenten have gotten them for her? No, she immediately realized. The girl had just given her a seal full of supplies.
Perhaps Tenten's dad then? He'd always been nice to her, more so than most of the adults she'd ever met. Maybe he knew her financial situation and decided to throw in a gift. But why not give it to her directly? Or send it with Tenten?
Maybe he wanted to save her the embarrassment, she thought, cogs turning in her brain. That would explain it, yes. He was exactly the sort of guy to give a henohenomoheji hair. Thinking of no other possible candidates, she rested with that as her answer. She considered giving him her thanks but… On the off chance she was wrong, it would be embarrassing…
And, if he didn't want her knowing, she figured he must have a reason.
"Better not to bother him about it." She decided, leaving it at that.
Little did she know, she was very wrong. It had been someone she'd have never suspected.
Placing them on her kitchen table, she walked to the fridge, eyes scanning the contents.
Unfinished ramen, a couple veggies, milk and soda... Soda, Naruto decided, was a perfectly healthy dinner.
Passing the messes of clutter on her counters and table, she went to the living room. Pulling the clutter off the couch, she tossed it to the floor, immediately dropping down onto the couch. Naruto aimlessly felt around for her TV remote, only to flick through the channels once she'd found it.
Opening her can of orange soda, the cracking and fizzing noise broke the silence, before she settled on a channel. Cartoons were good, she thought, turning the volume up and pulling a throw blanket over her.
The exams would begin tomorrow, as strange as it felt. She'd spent so long wishing for them, and here they were.
Knowing that, Naruto finished her soda and tossed it to the floor. Getting comfortable, she closed her eyes to sleep, still fully dressed in shinobi garb.
The noise of her cartoons and the warmth of her blanket guided her into a dreamless sleep.
Coughing, Naruto broke the silence that sat between the three of them. The forms they'd signed yesterday with Guy told them to come here…
"Last year, the first exam was done by one of the Yamanaka Jounin." Tenten revealed, looking skeptically at the nondescript building ahead. "This is the same building."
It was at least three or four stories, with plenty of windows and a large unimposing entrance.
It was painfully average.
Naruto looked to her friend, noticing Lee was a bit subdued. "You think it'll be the same as last year? Neji didn't say specifics." The new kunai in Naruto's pouch felt heavy, and she wasn't sure if it was denser material or a mental thing.
"Doubt it," Tenten started. "Since the second and last exams stay the same, you'd think they'd switch up at least one. Especially since this first one is meant to weed out most of us." Naruto nodded her affirmation. "Welp, waiting outside isn't gonna tell us much."
Lee suddenly pumped a fist. "Correct, Naruto! We must forge onwards, our promotions await us!"
With that, he grabbed them both by the hand, and took off in a dead-sprint.
He dragged them through the wooden double doors, the trio grinning as they ran on the linoleum floors. Naruto paid close attention to the environment, noticing all the walls were plain cream-white. There were occasional markers for hallways.
Running up the stairs, they followed the directions they'd taken the time to memorize before coming.
None of them stopped for even a second on the way to their destination, bypassing the genjutsu entirely. Outside the door, though, the three paused. "Are we ready? All of us?" Tenten questioned, her eyes trailing over her teammates. "Yosh! I've got my assigned seal for the later exam, and all the youth my heart can carry!"
Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I'm set."
Tenten grinned, "Great. Now, how do we wanna approach this?" Naruto and Lee exchanged thoughtful looks.
"We're gonna be entering a room full of enemies." The brunette said with a shrug, "Do we wanna make a show of our entrance, or try to be unnoticed?" Naruto hummed, "There are benefits to both." Lee raised his index to quickly interject, "A show might scare away unworthy challengers for the second exam!"
Tenten grimaced. "Those are the kinda challengers I'd prefer."
Naruto swallowed, knowing Tenten had been forced to kill in the last exam due to the fight she'd been caught in. "I'm thinking unnoticed," Naruto said, breaking the tie. "We can save the flashy entrances for the final exam." She added the last bit, out of the desire to satisfy Lee- And her own desire to showboat.
"Then, everyone in the arena will have no choice but to remember us!" He agreed, nodding passionately.
With that, the three of them waited no longer, shoving the door open and stepping inside. Taking stock of their fellow chuunin-hopefuls, Tenten felt a bit of dread.
'There.. There were so many more competitors than last year!'
Naruto was quick to lead them to an empty section towards the back, giving a happy nod to the Konoha genin she saw. They were clustered in the front, talking. Their own decision kept her from joining her fellow rookies, but Naruto didn't mind.
From now on, they were enemies.
She grinned mischievously.
At least till the end of the exams, Naruto amended.
Taking a seat in silence, Naruto noticed the way Lee was itching at the sight of all the seasoned genin. His knee bounced beneath the table, irises flickering around the room excitedly.
Worthy of battling, his brain must've thought. Naruto herself felt rather… Bored, maybe a touch antsy. Tenten looked antsy, too. Neither of them schooled their emotions as well as she did, Naruto realized.
Tenten was chewing the skin on the side of her thumb, looking at the table rather determinedly. At that moment, Naruto felt a lump in her throat. Just like with Team 8, she felt like she was on her own.
Her friends were all one big continent, and she was the lone island far off. She felt withered, separated. Old, even.
Naruto tried to muster some anxiety… Or even some excitement.
She was empty. Even with all of the emotions of those around her cloying to her peripherals, she didn't feel them herself. Naruto recognized them, knew they were there, but she didn't feel them.
Not like her ability usually made her do, at least.
Resting an elbow on the oakwood desk, she propped her forehead against her palm and waited.
The room was far from silent, the murmurings of other teams, (and her own, she realized numbly) making a cacophony of noise. There was something happening with the other rookies, but Naruto didn't really care.
Murmurings of, "look at them, easy pickings," and "woah! he just attacked four eyes!" were all she could make of it.
"Shut the fuck up, worms!" A familiar voice cut through the chatter, and Naruto's head lifted up immediately. Ibiki, and a team of other Intelligence shinobi. A few, she recognized. Some, she didn't. Some looked more like a research department.
Her eyes were impossibly wide as she stared at her proctor, who didn't even acknowledge her presence. Naruto didn't know why it hurt, he obviously couldn't say hello. An elbow in the side from her female teammate pulled her to the moment. "Everyone, up! Make a line up front, we're assigning you seats."
Groans echoed, and Ibiki laughed cruelly. "What, you didn't think we'd make it easy for you, did ya?"
A few more groans, "File your complaints with the Hokage. No one here cares."
With that, there was begrudging silence as everyone gathered up front.
A trickle of KI had started to generate, Naruto realized. It was like a film over the room, thin, easily disrupted, but noticeable.
"First, let me say, this is a written exam." Naruto herself groaned, and she wasn't sure if she actually got a glance from her department head.
She wanted to believe it wasn't imaginary.
As slips were passed out, Ibiki continued, genin taking their new seats.
"There will be 9 questions on the paper. After forty-five minutes have passed, you will turn over your paper and answer the tenth question."
Naruto headed to her assigned seat, surrounded by people she didn't know. The one next to her looked a bit old, Naruto thought. Too old.
She quickly spotted her teammates, who were far from her. The girl could only hope they'd be okay.
"I will administer the tenth question, so there's no working ahead." A curse from someone who sounded like Sakura was heard.
"Silence!" Ibiki shouted, a flush of KI filling the room. "There will be absolutely no speaking during the exam. If you cheat, you will be caught. You may not stand, stretch, or sleep during this exam." He looked over the room slowly, taking in all the faces before him.
He closed his eyes briefly, as chuunin began flanking the walls of every row.
"If you cannot answer any of the questions, you fail. If you get caught ten times, you fail. If you speak, you fail. If you sleep, you fail. If you answer every question wrong, you still fail. "
Well, it seemed there would be no participation trophies for this exam.
There was silence, and then Ibiki spoke. "Not only do you fail, though. If one of you fails, your entire team is disqualified. "
Naruto sensed an outburst coming from her fellow genin, she wanted to shout herself, but Ibiki preemptively silenced all of them. Killing intent and the narrowing of his eyes was all it took.
The tension was palpable. Naruto felt a bead of sweat go down the back of her neck. It wasn't just Ibiki's killing intent she felt, it was the chuunin as well.
The seconds felt like hours, making her stomach churn and knot. The others in the room were trembling, she noticed distantly. As quick as it was there; it lessened. Naruto silently sighed in relief, wiping her brow.
Tests were passed out, placed in front of every genin. "Any questions?" Ibiki asked, clearly condescending.
The room was silent. "Perfect. You may begin."
There was a collective sound of papers flipping over. Naruto eyed the exam.
Pencils scratching against paper.
Nine questions. Some practical, some textbook, some specialized.
Not one of them was ever covered in the academy. None of them, Naruto could truly answer. Lifting her pencil, she held it in a death grip. Looking over, she saw the older man next to her was already writing.
Fuck, she'd just cheated.
1 out of 10.
She averted her eyes and tried to think. She had ten chances. The rules were simple. Allowing herself to breathe, Naruto sat back. Refusing to stare anywhere but her paper, she listened to the man next to her quickly scrawling all the answers.
Either… This guy knew all the answers, or, he was just babbling in all the response boxes.
Naruto glanced over.
2/10.
His answers were genuine, sensical and fully written out. He was nearly done!
No fucking way, she thought. She'd never been book-smart, so maybe it wasn't as impressive as it seemed…. But, damn.
Looking away, Naruto tried to think of a plan. Then, it dawned on her.
They were letting the genin cheat. They knew this exam was too hard. So, that meant, either cheat so good you don't get caught.. Or cheat less than ten times.
Naruto chewed her cheek, nothing in her arsenal would be effective for information gathering.. She was an interrogator, not a spy!
But, wait, maybe… Well, she technically could just interrogate someone, couldn't she? It would be cheating, but… Naruto shook her head softly. It was unnecessary when the papers were right in front of them.
She fought the urge to glance over her shoulder, at the immobile man next to her.
Everyone in the room was cheating, Naruto realized slowly, one of Tenten's hawks flying overhead. Just less than ten times.
Then it hit her.
The papers were right in front of her.
Nothing was stopping her from grabbing one. Amused, the blonde huffed.
Without looking over, she grabbed the man next to hers paper, giving him her blank test.
3 out of 10.
Erasing his name, she filled in her own. Taking a page out of Ibiki's book, she concentrated her KI onto him to keep him silent.
4 out of 10. Maybe 5, if killing intent counted as cheating.
She looked over the answers, ignoring everyone else in the room. She was too afraid of getting more points docked off to examine the tactics being used around her.
Smiling like a cat who'd gotten the cream, Naruto didn't have it in her to stress. She had faith in her teammates, Tenten would make sure Lee got the answers somehow.
That was when a kunai split across the room, and the number of teams started dropping like flies.. One after another, cheaters were caught, and promptly disqualified.
Naruto didn't care, her team was solid. She stared ahead, taking in what she could. When Ino and Sakura Haruno both slumped, Naruto knew it had to be Ino's shintenshin. She grinned. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that all her friends would pass.
That was when a floating eyeball appeared directly in front of her.
Naruto blinked. The eye stared.
At her paper.
Covering it with her arms, she scowled. Shameless, truly shameless, Naruto thought. Hypocrite might've been her middle name. Maybe.
The echoes of, "Disqualified!" and "Fail!" Kept going, reducing their numbers by three every time.
Naruto tapped her foot against the green floors, looking to the ceiling above. The 45 minutes couldn't go any slower, she realized with a click of her tongue.
"Yes?" Ibiki's voice asked.
"I gotta pee," A male voice, oddly familiar, "Can I go to the restroom?"
"Fine. Go. Be back before the tenth question."
Sensing a way out, even temporarily, Naruto was inclined to raise her own hand. Worrying about the safety of her test, she decided not to. The minutes until the tenth question felt more like hours, dreary blue eyes watching the clock hands crawl.
The room was silent apart from the occasional disqualification, pencils scratching on parchment. Sandals clicked against the green linoleum, chairs squeaked against the floor.
Lights buzzed overhead.
Naruto almost died of boredom.
She was counting down the seconds when Ibiki finally spoke, "Times up! Pencils down, or immediate disqualification." Naruto sat straighter. Scanning the room, he didn't speak for another few seconds. "Flip your papers over. It's time for the tenth question."
Flipping her own paper over, Naruto wrote down, "10.)" with a blank space to fill it in. Biting her lip, she felt the tension in her bone marrow.
"Before we begin, I have to tell you the rules. This question is of more value than the rest."
He walked slowly across the room, the sound of his boots against the floor echoing in Naruto's skull.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"If you fail this question, you fail this exam. Your points are made zero, and your team is disqualified."
Cries of outrage, "That's not fair!" and various other such statements rang out. "What the hell!"
"Silence!" Ibiki screamed, vein pulsing in his forehead.
"Those are the fucking rules, and you agreed to them when you signed up for my exam!" Spittle flew from his mouth, shocking most of the genin to silence.
"And since you pissed me off, if you fail me today, you'll be a genin forever." He grinned wickedly, eyes looking a bit crazed.
"No fucking way!" The sand genin Naruto had kicked in the face screamed, slamming both hands on the desk.
"You can't do that!" Another voice yelled. Naruto caught Tenten giving her an alarmed glance, but Naruto gave her a thumbs up. She mouthed a few words of affirmation, and Tenten hesitantly turned back to her test.
"If you aren't willing to risk it, get the hell out of here!"
There was a beat of total quiet.
"Go!" Ibiki urged.
"I'm sorry," A boy said to his team,
before standing and walking out. His team was forced to follow after him.
The man next to Naruto, who's test she stole, stood and walked out. Two others followed behind him. Once it had been established amongst them that quitting was okay, their numbers began to lower again. The teams began to drop, one after the other, after the other. The room was half its population by the time ten minutes had passed.
"Are we ready to continue?" He inquired sharkishly.
Nothing was said. Fierce glares were aimed at Ibiki, by numerous genin in the room, from all different villages. If looks could kill, Ibiki would be mince-meat on the floor.
He chuckled darkly, pacing the room. "Well," He began. "You lot lasted longer than I thought you would."
Someone nearby gulped loudly. Sweat beaded on Naruto's brow.
"You all pass."
Silence. Then, even more outrage.
"Excuse me?!" One Sakura Haruno screeched, slapping a hand against her forehead. "Yeah, what the hell!" Yelled the Suna girl.
Ibiki cackled. Genuinely, actually cackled. "The tenth question was a litmus test. To see if you were willing to take a risk." He cleared his throat.
"To be a ninja, you must be willing to take risks. That's what every mission is. A risk, for your life, for your friends, for your village."
Naruto chewed the inside of her cheek.
"If you aren't willing to take risks, you don't deserve your title. Risks, are what got me these,"
Naruto's jaw fell, her eyes wider than dinner plates. Across Ibiki's cranium, thick, ropey scars were laid into his kin. Indentations, from burns.
"They cut my scalp from my head. They healed it. And they cut it again. They put out cigarettes and cigars in the new flesh. The torture was endless." He didn't look even slightly perturbed as he spoke, and Naruto thought that was more frightening than the scars themselves.
"I was beaten, pissed on, stabbed, sterilized, manipulated, and a hundred other forms of torture too. I was a prisoner of war for six months before being retrieved by Konoha shinobi." His pacing stopped abruptly, in the center of the room.
"It's possible you may-"
A kunai launched through a window, embedding itself into the wall. Attached to it, a banner unfurled behind it, revealing text. Ibiki's speech was cut off, then and there.
" Newly Arrived Second Exam Proctor, Beautiful, Deadly, Mitarashi Anko!"
Naruto couldn't help but giggle in relief at Anko's sudden, crass entrance, as she kicked through another window. "Ibiki! Are you going soft?! There's a million!" The purple haired woman griped, raising a brow at him.
Ibiki wiped away his irritation to give a slight shrug. "Good batch."
She rolled her eyes. "Alright, freaks. On your feet, be at Training Ground 44 and sign your papers in less than 30 minutes." Anko leaped out the window.
Naruto blinked.
"Put your papers on the desk. And get out."
No one hesitated to follow his orders, with Naruto and her team leaving the same way Anko did. Through the window.
Ibiki re-tied his bandanna, covering the scars on his head once again. Straightening the tests, he had a laugh. In all his time proctoring this very exam, which wasn't all of them.. He'd never met a shinobi gutsy enough to just grab the test from one of the chuunin plants.
Never.
The other people in the room began discussing it, and the various other methods used. Ibiki found himself joining the discussion, subtly bragging about his own student's bravery.
To everyone else present, it really wasn't all the subtle. When the jounin-senseis of the teams joined the discussion, multiple of them listened raptly to what Ibiki told them about her.
That was how Ibiki ended up breaking down how he practically read the genin's thoughts during the exam, and how he watched Naruto Uzumaki count all of her "cheats," before she outright grabbed the test.
Kurenai Yuuhi had laughed into her hand, "Wait until Anko hears about it." Asuma Sarutobi looked at her, "You know the girl?"
Nodding, the ravenette explained. "Yes, she was with my team on the Wave mission." Suddenly, Asuma's face lit up in understanding. One silver-haired man had kept his book closed the entire conversation.
Well, until they moved on from the students he cared about. Then, it was open, and he was pretending to listen.
"Alright, you little monsters, fill out the forms, and you'll get assigned a gate," Anko's speech continued, with Naruto feeling a bit antsy. She'd never been in the forest without Anko to guide her before.
Tenten grabbed her hand. "Hey, it'll be okay. Me and Lee have got your back."
Naruto hadn't noticed her hands were clenching and unclenching until Tenten had held one. Swallowing, she nodded. "Yeah."
"Yeah! Nothing to fear, Naruto! We will ace this test, without a doubt!" Lee encouraged, patting her back. Forcing a smile, she shook off Tenten's hand. Patting both her teammates in return, she excused herself. "I gotta go check on Ino and Team 8. I'll be right back, promise."
Scanning the group of shinobi, she saw the flaxen hair of her favorite Yamanaka in moments. Who looked to be chewing out her teammates.
"Ino!" Naruto called, causing the girl to spin on her heel. "Fish-cakes!" She greeted her excitedly, beckoning her over.
Next to Ino, Shikamaru gawked. He sputtered, rubbing his eyes at the girl before him.
He looked to Ino, and then to Naruto, and then to Ino again.
Choji made a noise of joy, "God, it's been so long!" Without hesitance, he grabbed her into a hug, pulling her in tight.
Naruto was tense, blinking in surprise. It had been… Forever, since she'd seen Choji, let alone been hugged by him.
"No fucking way." Shikamaru said. "Kai!"
Choji released Naruto with a hearty chortle, "She's not a genjutsu, Shikamaru."
Ino, who looked affronted that Choji had hugged Naruto first, grabbed the girl tight. Naruto, despite enjoying the smell of Ino's perfume, was getting a bit tired of all the touching. Hugging her blonde friend back, she looked to Shikamaru.
He waved his hands, staring at her, wordless. Baffled. Lost.
She covered her mouth as she giggled, a trait she'd accidentally picked up from Naruto. He looked at Ino, then back at Naruto.
"Hey, Shika." She greeted softly, with that same slightly ashen voice Shikamaru was used to. His mouth felt dry, an unfamiliar feeling falling over him.
His brown eyes searched her, still in disbelief. A charcoal gray kimono top, tied with orange. Fishnet armor under her top, and on her legs, in the form of thigh highs. Lack leg garters, to hold two scrolls, and her pouch hidden under the fabric of her shirt. A seal dangled from one of her belt loops. Naruto was wearing boots, not sandals, and her hair was tied into one high ponytail.
Her face had aged some since he last saw it, she looked less like a kid. There were rings under her eyes, light but still noticeable. She looked… Tired, he thought.
Ino watched the interaction closely, "Stop checking her out and say hi," The Yamanaka said dryly, causing Naruto to laugh brightly.
Naruto's eyes didn't twinkle like they used to.
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not checking her out.' He denied, before greeting the other blonde. "Hey, Naruto.. You're uh, different." Naruto scratched her cheek, right by her whiskers. "Yeah, I guess I am. You look the same, though."
She tried to make it sound like a compliment.
"Hey! Naruto! You think you can say hi to them and not us?!" A boisterous voice yelled, one Naruto immediately recognized as Kiba.
Thank the gods, she thought, someone to save her from this awkward reunion. Even if it meant more hugs. "Maybe!"
Kiba cackled, "C'mon, we killed together, Naru! Do I mean nothin' to ya?!" Naruto's chest tightened at the reminder, too soon for it to be funny. Still, she had to laugh, smiling and beckoning him and his team over.
He grabbed her in no time, faster than he'd been last time she'd seen him. Naruto returned the hug this time, because killing alongside someone really did mean something to he pulled away, he looked a bit concerned. He gave her a look that seemed to ask, " They bother you?"
Naruto grinned, giving a subtle nod to say no. He smiled back, moving aside so Naruto could greet his other teammates.
"Hinata! Shino!" She said cheerfully, feeling rather cheerful.
She opened her arms, welcoming the two into a hug. To her surprise, they both took it, though Shino made it quick.
"How've you been?" She asked them, giving Hinata an absent pet on the head. Hyuuga had phenomenal hair, she thought to herself.
Shikamaru just stared.
"G-great! My f-father, he's making changes in the clan, and he's allowing me t-to practice new things." Hinata said proudly, her eyes full of joy and hope. It warmed up the cold, exhausted part of Naruto. "I'm so happy for you, Hinata. Kiba, Shino? What about you?"
"Good!" Kiba answered. Pushing up his glasses, Shino responded last.."I will be receiving another colony for my participation in this exam. I am excited."
His voice was rather deadpan, but they all knew he meant it. "Good! Good. I'm glad things are looking up for all of you."
It suddenly dawned on her, "Oh, Shika, Choji, I forgot to ask. How are you two?"
Shikamaru felt like he'd bitten into a lemon. What happened to Team 8, why were they so close with her? Why.. Why was everyone so different?! First it was Ino, and now Team 8, and the most extreme of them all, Naruto.
Shikamaru shrugged emptily, lost. Choji answered in his place,"We've been good, same as ever, really!
Unfortunately, there was no more time for conversation.
"Alright, kiddos, enough chit-chat, finish signing your forms and line the hell up!" Anko yelled, and it felt oddly targeted. Naruto cursed. "Gotta get back to my team, guys. I'll see you after the test! Hinata, Ino, if either of you can find me nearby, and one of you needs help, come my way!"
Shikamaru felt himself wishing he'd said more.
With a frantic wave goodbye, she scampered off. Naruto grabbed a form, quickly scrawled her signature on it and turned it into the chuunin working there.
Then, she had to return to her team. Lee and Tenten had gotten comfortable, playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt. "Hey! Some Kusa shinobi were being weird to Team Seven, so Anko and us intervened, and we might've painted targets on our backs. Maybe." Tenten said, visibly apologetic. Looking up at Naruto, Tenten thought she looked a bit frazzled
Naruto blinked owlishly, "Well, at least you did a good deed."
Lee nodded, "Yosh! It is important to protect our allies, prideful as they may be!" Naruto agreed with that, smiling at him. "Oh, and we're gate two." Tenten shared.
As if on cue, Anko whistled loudly, calling all attention to her. "Get to your gates, Brats. Clockwise order. You're currently in front of Gate One."
Pulling her two teammates up from the dirt, the three exchanged firm nods. "We've got this." Naruto said to them, and to herself.
"Yeah," Tenten affirmed, looking at Naruto fiercely. "We will surely pass!" Lee smiled brightly.
Heading to their gate with no further words, Naruto stared at the looming, jungle-like forest. Birds called, rustling shook the leaves and Naruto knew large predators lurked within. Tigers, enormous centipedes, beasts of all kinds.
It was mid-afternoon now, and sunset would be arriving soon. Yet, with all of the foliage, the forest was already dark.
It was no wonder people all over Konoha called it cursed.