Chapter 17: Too Strong

They make it to the next testing site. Team nine and team 10 walked together. Yuri didn't know how this test was going to go… and it worried her. They were told to come to a training ground. And Yuri wanted to prepare for the worst. She managed to grab some food pills and extra supplies. Walking with her team and Shikamaru's, Yuri can't help but to feel nervous. With the other teams close by. Yuri stays close to Isamu, but she and Shikamaru are walking next to each other.

A large caged area is in front of them with people at a table. The actual chunin are waiting, and they seem to be watching the genin walking into the area. She knows this next part of the test is going to be a mess.

She is in awe of the whole thing.

And Anko, the woman who tastes awful, stands at the front. Yuri sticks closer to Shikamaru to keep herself from throwing up, as the taste isn't bad now, but she doesn't want to get closer to the woman.

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam. It's the 44th Battle Training Zone. But we call it the Forest of Death."

But of course… There is a fake rock. Yuri facepalms. Of course they would show up here, and right before the second part of the exam! While it could be funny… she can't help but wonder where they have the guts to do this.

"Of all the times…" She mutters.

Shikamaru snickers. "Now? Really?"

Yuri can't help but laugh when she sees a square rock chasing Naruto. While it is amusing, anyone who hasn't been around Naruto doesn't know he has three academy students chasing after him all the time. She shakes her head as Saskue comes over to them.

"Lame on top of lame." He puts his hands in his pocket.

"Oh I agree. It's Konohamaru." Yuri shakes her head.

"Why does that brat have to be here now?" Shikamaru groans.

Kenji scoffs. "He loves Naruto. And clearly wants his attention. It's rumored Naruto was the first one to not call him honorable Grandson every few seconds."

Yuri shakes her head. The ball of sunshine doing some good? Who would have guessed such a strange thing to happen? Surely, no one is surprised.

Yuri muses. "Leave it to Naruto to do something like that."

But it's announced they are being interviewed. Yuri lets out a groan. She would avoid it if at all possible. Why are they interviewing people? For a newspaper at school? She doesn't remember there being a newspaper.

She is talking but then she sees Kitty boy and a different girl. She has dark black hair and these really pretty green eyes. For someone who lives in the desert, she is rather pale. But, Yuri has to admit, she is really pretty. They are approaching where they are standing. Yuri turns and crosses her arms, an amused smoke coming across her face.

"Ah, you're the girl who is actually smart." Kitty boy has his hands in his pockets.

"And your Kitty Boy, the one who had some obvious cheating." Yuri smirks as Shikamaru shakes his head.

She enjoys people who can banter with her. It makes her happy and amuses her so much. Everyone can talk, bantering seems like a form of art she loves to see.

"I didn't introduce myself. I'm–"

"Kankurō. Also known as Kitty boy. I think I'll call you Kitty. I'm Yuri." She doesn't extend her hand, but tilts her head.

Kankurō smiles and chuckles a little at Yuri.

"And this is Hani. She is on one of the other teams." Kankurō keeps talking after Yuri stops.

She notices Saskue looking between them. But she doesn't care. Saskue usually doesn't care when she is talking to others. But she also sees Shikamaru getting a warry look on his face. But, Yuri likes meeting new people, it means she knows about people she needs to look out for.

Hani extends her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Yuri looks at it and nods. "Sorry, I don't like physical contact."

Kitty boy tilts his head. "Ah, so strange. But anyway, maybe you and I could tra–"

"Sorry, she's busy." Saskue steps between them.

Yuri is taken back by this. As is Shikamaru. She puts a hand on Saskue, wanting him to back down. And even Kankurō sees that, and he looks between Yuri and Saskue for a moment before getting a smirk on his face.

"Oh tough boy? What? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

There is a tense moment of silence as Saskue and Kankurō only look at each other. Yuri shoots Shikamaru a look, wanting him to help her out. She doesn't know what is up with Saskue and why Kitty boy is… she doesn't even know what Kitty boy is trying to accomplish. She sees Hani look between the three as well, and a small smile comes across her face.

"Saskue! We have to be interviewed first!" Sakura comes up to them.

She pulls Saskue away as they all watch Saskue being dragged away. But her mind is racing. What was that? Why did Saskue get between them? While she might find it sweet, she also finds it annoying as hell. Her eyes linger on Saskue and his form, she doesn't know what to think about it. She didn't think Saskue had something like that in him.

Slowly, Yuri turns her attention back to the group, even Shikamaru is staring at her.

Kankurō is staring at Yuri, and she shrugs.

"So what? You two a thing?" Kankurō asks.

Yuri shakes her head. "No."

But she glances at Ino and sees her all upset and balling up her fist. Yuri doesn't know what happened at that moment. And she needs to talk to Saskue about it. He was out of line! But… Why was Ino so upset? Was Yuri becoming part of his dumb fanclub?

The woman calls them all back together after all the interviews.

"What was that Yuri?" Shikamaru whispers.

She glances at him. "I don't know. I can't tell you what Saskue is thinking."

"He seemed to be pretty protective of you. I can feel Ino's anger. Are you sure you and Saskue aren't together? You seem pretty cozy." Shikamaru shoves his hands in his pockets.

Yuri is about to respond when Isamu pulls her to them. Shaking his head. "Focus Yuri, we can't afford to be distracted. We can worry about it later."

Slowly, she nods her head. Yuri and her team are standing close to Naruto's team. But in between team ten and team 7, she can see Saskue and Shikamaru looking at her. But she keeps her eyes forward.

They moved away from the others and needed to talk.

"What's the plan? This place looks rough…" Isamu says.

"I know, we take it slow and don't let them know what we are thinking." Kenji comments.

Her attention is back to the front. She can't say anything. Not with her head spinning like it is, that was a lot that happened right in front of her.

"This place is called the Forest of Death, you'll soon realize why."

Of course…. Naruto mocks her. And claims he isn't afraid of anything. Yuri knows its BS, but it's a good way to get her mind off everything. Naruto being an idiot helps her forget the dumb thing the boys were doing. She shouldn't even be interested in anyone, they are going into the second stage of the exams!

But a strong taste overtakes Yuri. It's the strongest she has ever tasted. And it paralizes her. She can't move at all, it's dark and she fears it. How is she supposed to overcome it? She only gets out of it because of Anko throwing a Kunai.

Yuri grabs Isamu's hand, hard.

"Ow." Isamu whispers. "Yuri, that hurts."

And it's the same taste Anko has underneath. She mentioned it to her team yesterday after they got out… and she thought she wouldn't have to deal with it again.

"Yuri?" Kenji asks.

"Dark taste, it's overwhelming." Yuri pushes out.

She isn't even paying attention to the scene happening before her. She can't, even when Saskue notices her look, and when Hinata notices. She tries to keep her composure… but its near impossible.

"Where?" Isamu asks.

"Behind Naruto…" She mumbles.

She looks and sees a grass ninja with a kunai in their tongue. That isn't gross at all. And once she looks at that ninja…she knows that's the ninja.

"The grass… purple bow…" She can pinpoint… but only when she is with someone whose chakra she has.

Kenji pulls Shikamaru's team closer, since they all know. Shikamaru grabs Yuri's wrist to help her focus. While it helps, Yuri can feel her heartbeat going like crazy. Yuri takes a few deep breaths, wanting to get herself calm. She needed to focus.

"Well, before we start the second exam, I have something to hand out to you all." She pulls out a piece of paper. "It's just a standard consent form. Before the tests, you have to sign this. From here on out, corpses are going to come out, I have to get your consent to that! Or it would be my responsibility."

Still shaken, Yuri can barely focus on anything else. She needed to step away from this place, or get away from the taste.

Did she say consent to die? They need to fill this out?

Yuri gets the paper and she stares at it while the woman keeps talking.

"Well, I'm going to start the explanation for the second exam. Here, pass these out. In a word, the limits of your survival will be challenged. First, I'll give you step-by-step instruction on the terrain of this Training Field. Training Field Number 44 is surrounded by 44 locked entrance gates, there are rivers and a forest and a tower in the middle. It's about 10 kilometers from the tower to the gate. In this confined area, you will go through a certain survival program. The contents of which are an anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls!"

"Both of them?" Someone asks.

"Yes. I want you to fight for two scrolls, the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. All together 38 teams got through the first test. So half of those teams will get the Heaven scroll, while the other half gets the Earth scroll. I'll hand over only one kind of scroll to each team. To put it simply, that's what you're vying for."

"Okay, so how do we pass?" Saskue asks.

That gets Yuri to slightly snap out of her daze. She blinks and her eyes go to Saskue, she takes a breath and looks back at Anko.

"Your entire squad has to bring the Heaven and Earth scrolls to the tower in the center."

"That means at the very best 19 teams, half of them will fail for sure…" Sakura puts it together.

So that's what she meant by half. Out of all the teams… so many are going to fail it. Some are going to get killed… it's going to be all over. And she can feel herself refocusing.

"No one said it would be easy. Oh, and one more thing, there is a time limit. You must finish it within five days."

Yuri's mind is working. Ino and Choji both have an outburst about the length of time. A whole five days there… she packed some food… but not enough. She wishes she had known. That means they need to get to the center as soon as possible.

But she glances at the grass ninja, seeing them staring at Naruto and Saskue.

"Just look around! The forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you."

Kabato speaks up. "However, that's not all the forest is. There are man-eating beast, poisonous plants and bugs, and so much more."

"A challenge…" Isamu gulps.

"Long days, short nights. We have to be smart about resting and recovering chakra." Kenji mumbles.

Yuri nods, having calmed down a little. "We can manage. But we should watch some of these teams…"

"Right and this test also measures endurance. This is designed to be a grueling test and I'm sure some of you won't be up for the challenge."

Shikamaru raises his hand. She goes back to holding Isamu. She needs to rely on her teammates here. And while she does normally, Shikamaru, Saskue and Hinata were the first tastes she had.

"So, let say midexam, can we quit?"

Yuri rolls her eyes. Of course Shikamaru would ask that.

"According to the rules, you cannot give up in the middle of it! Just like in battle, I mean I guess you could but it would probably end up with you dead."

"Great… what a drag."

"Moving on, conditions of disqualification. Number 1, if all three members of the team can't make it to the tower with the Heaven and Earth scrolls within the time limit. Number 2, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated. There's that, and this is a supplement. Absolutely do not look at the contents of the scrolls until you have reached the tower!"

"Wh-what happens if we look at it halfway through?" Naruto asks.

It's a fair question. Some people would and she wouldn't put it past Naruto to look at it.

"When you look at it, you'll find out!" She pasuses. "There are times when a Chunin must deal with super-secret text. This is to test your reliability. That's all the explanation! I'll exchange your three consent forms for the scrolls in the hut over there. After that, pick your entrance, and all the gates will open simultaneously!"

It seems like the end, but Anko lets out a sigh.

"Finally, just a word of advice. Just don't die!"

"What a motivating speech…" Yuri mumbles.

Everyone spreads out, but before they can, she needs to warn the others about it. She needs them to know there is more danger than she thought.

"We should warn the others… that taste…"

"We have to be quick…" Kenji says.

Yuri nods. Before they get away she tugs Hinata, Shikamaru and Saskue to her. They all pause and huddle around her.

"What is it, Yuri?" Hinata asks.

She lets out a breath. "Listen… that grass ninja? The one who brought Anko back her kunai? Stay away. Really strong chakra… like off the charts. Like Jirya's and it tastes horrible. I feel like I need to wash my mouth out. Stay together."

Yuri walks off and signs her form. She knows her teammates followed her, she walked as far away from the bad tastes as she could.

"We are signing right?" Kenji asks.

Yuri nods her head but Isamu speaks first. "Hell ya! We can do this!"

"Look at who gained confidence." Kenji chuckles. "Glad to see you back on earth, but we lost another one."

Yuri shakes her head. "I know. I'll get my head in the game." She glances back. "Looks like we won't know who has the scroll."

All of them see a curtain being put up. And this is to make sure groups don't know who gets what scroll. It will help her, but she has to remain focused. Asami sensi would be disappointed if she allowed a taste to get to her like it has been.

Kenji looks over. "We won't… I might have an idea to help us though."

When they go in they hand over their forms and are handed the Earth scroll.

"Closest gate we can get?" Isamu asks.

"Sure." Yuri shrugs and follows them.

They make it to the gate and she smiles when she sees Jelly there. She knows it's him, and she wants him to know she knows more information than she lets on. It's one thing to not let the genin know. But letting a chunin know? Seems like fun.

"Watch this." Yuri walks up to jelly. "You messed with the genin in the first part right?"

He seemed surprised with Yuri calling him out. "How did you…"

"Oh, she's a sensory type. She can figure this stuff out quickly." Kenji puts his arm around Yuri.

"Cleaver. But I shouldn't be talking to you guys."

Yuri frowns but she tastes blood. She notices Kitty boy and his team passing them. And she shakes her head. Looking away from Kitty boy and needing to keep her head in the game.

Isamu shakes his head. "We need a plan."

"Right." Kenji pulls out some scrolls. "I have extra. I was going to write in there when I had a chance, but maybe we can throw people off?"

Yuri smiles. "Fantastic. I think I remember the heaven scroll, I'll make copies of those, how many do you have?"

"Three."

Yuri looks at Isamu. "I make Heaven and you make an earth?"

With a quick prep, they mix their Earth scroll in. None of them know who has the true scroll, but with luck they won't need to. It's more about hoping that other teams try to take the fake heaven scrolls.

When the gates open though, Yuri holds the boys back from running in.

"Lets walk in. No point in rushing."

As she walks in, the boys follow and Jelly seems extra confused. But she has a feeling they should find team seven… something tells her they need help.

"I see, walking in, we have a better chance at being found first." Isamu says.

"Meaning… we can set a trap." Kenji says.

"Exactly, and we can get some scrolls… but I do want to find one rookie team." Yuri looks around.

Kenji nods. "Why?"

Yuri doesn't answer as they continue to move. They should get more scrolls soon. Once they get near some bushes, Yuri pulls the boys into them

Yuri lets out a sigh. "Let's get scrolls quickly, knock teams out and help the others."

Kenji nods. "Fine, I don't think they need that much help, but we can."

Shaking her head, she disagrees. But she needs them to get a scroll and move on with their lives. No point in delaying in getting a scroll.

"Byakugan!" Yuri looks around.

She points to her right.

"People that way? Let's go get a scroll." Isamu puts his hands together.

Without talking, Isamu goes underground and Kenji stands up. Being the fastest, he can run away. Yuri moves out and into the open, making a small x in the ground, so Isamu can find it. The less the three of them talk the better. And it gives them a chance to improves their teamwork.

It only takes a second, but Kenji comes running back with three people on his trail. She doesn't know what he did to get them to chase him, but he managed it. And she couldn't be more proud.

Hidden rain.

He runs past Yuri and she stares at them wide eyed. Of course… having established she is weak, so they need to break that now. And she was excited to play with them, it will be worth it to her to give them a taste of how she works.

"Give us the scroll." One says.

Another one chuckles. "I remember her. She was hiding behind someone the whole time. Take her out and grab the scroll."

A small smile came across her face. They are underestimating her, just as she would like them to. She knows she doesn't look that strong, but she is. Before they begin moving towards her, she makes a choice to end this fast.

Making some quick handsigns that look like fireballs, she switches it to a genjustu. They had all moved to dodge her, but she had copied Sakura, who was amazing at genjustu. None of them moved their eyes from her, so it made it too easy.

Trapping them there as Kenji comes back and knocks two of them. The last one snaps out of it and looks at Kenji, ready to go after him, but Isamu comes out of the ground, hitting the boy in the jaw. He falls back.

"Search them for the scroll and any food they have." Yuri says.

Kenji looks at her. "Really? Their food?"

"Yes." Yuri crouches down. "This is a survival test, if we are going to be fine, we need food. Taking it from them means we have more, and have more energy. And impairs them since they have to hunt for their next meal."

"She has a point, Kenji. Make them focus on their survival and give them less chance to go after us." Isamu is already pocketing food. "We have to pass this."

After a moment Kenji pulls out a scroll and holds it up.

Yuri is about to say something, but then there is a scream.

Notes: Hello! Welcome back to another chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Things start branching of here from the main storyline. But I hope you guys like the changes. Please like, comment and follow the story!