Chapter 37
To the Iwa-nin's credit, she lasted longer than even Tenten had on her first go of Neji's special 'torture' method. Don't get her wrong, she was still squealing like a pig while throwing in creative curses that would make Kakashi blush, but not a single digit left her mouth.
By the end, she was a panting, groaning mess, her body twitching and writhing as the worst of the pain subsided from Neji's technique. She thought she had won, seeing that there were no more major points to close, but boy did her face go white when Neji revealed that he could reopen them all and start all over. It had only been 8 minutes, after all, and opening them all just to close them again did not at all sound like a process the girl wanted to go through again.
"A-ALRIGHT, FUCK, ALRIGHT! I'll talk!" She finally gave in, breathing heavily as her head hung low and her body slumped.
"Your number." Neji demanded, the girl trying to catch her breath before looking up at him with a glare.
"78523..."
Neji repeated the number in his head before turning to the Jonin. Said Jonin said nothing at the attention, merely staring blankly at the bound Iwa-nin.
"I-I told you, damn it! Now get these damn ropes off of me!" Despite the girl's demands, no one in the room moved. Neji looked down at her calculation, thinking about something she wasn't privy to.
"It would seem she is still not taking us seriously." Neji said, no emotion showing despite his words.
"Th-the fuck you talkin' about? I gave you the number, didn't I? The exam is over!" The Iwa-nin said, sweat going down her neck as the other Konoha Genin pushed herself off the wall to join her partner.
"How's about letting me get a go at her? I think I got just the trick for stubborn kind like her." The smile the Konoha girl gave her was arguably more terrifying than the Hyuga.
Stepping back, Neji deactivated his Byakugan while Tenten stopped in front of the Iwa-nin. Gulping, she tried to remain in control of her nerves but could not sweep away her hesitance, especially after what she had just gone through with the Hyuga. If he was bad, then what could this girl do?
"Hey there," Tenten started off gingerly, her eyes gentle and her smile understanding. "Listen, we got off on the wrong foot here. I know, you're from Iowa, and we're from Konoha. You hate your guts, we hate yours. But just because our villages hate each other doesn't mean we have to as well, right?"
The Iwa-nin gulped, not understanding where the Konoha brat was going with this.
"I-I don't know where you're going with this, but I ain't fallin' for it, tree-huggers."
"Oh, don't worry. No ulterior motives here, I promise! You see, you may not know this, but there is a reason we were sent here by ourselves." Tenten started, a hand now resting on her hip as her tone became solemn. "Truth is, we messed up, like, really bad in our last mission. Got our client killed, and if that's not bad enough, our Jonin sensei as well. Oh, but it gets worse! Turns out, the guy who died just so happened to be the lost son of the Fire Diamyo himself! Shocker right? It was for us too! Imagine not only being the reason for a mission going to hell and high water, but also getting the son of the guy who pays you killed. Doesn't look good for us, huh?"
The Iwa-nin looked confused, her brows furrowed as if trying to understand why the girl was telling her this.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. 'Why is she telling me this?' Settle down~, I'm getting there~. The answer is simple. After that mission, we were on very thin ice. The Daimyo wants us dead, but the Hokage promised that we could be useful to him, and in his infinite wisdom, the Fire Daimyo allowed us one more chance. But it was very, very, very thin ice. We have one shot at making things right, and that one shot is the Chunin exams. I hope that makes you understand how desperate we are here, and why it is in your best interest to be our friend here and not our enemy."
Saying that, she reached into her pouch and pulled something out. To the girl's confusion, it was paper. With a dramatic flourish, she tossed the paper into the air, the girl flinching at the action as they all scattered around the room. Confused, she looked around, not understanding the purpose of the dramatic action. It wasn't until she looked down, particularly to a piece that had landed on her leg, that her heart dropped and her face turned white.
"You see, this is our last chance. Fail here, and our 'usefulness' runs out, and the Daimyo has our heads polished over his fireplace." Her head tilted as her eyes closed, giving an expression meant to be cute, but looked all the more terrifying considering the situation. "I hope you now understand that this exam is life or death for us. If you don't give us the code, we're dead. If we go back home without becoming Chunin, we're dead. That's just not an option for us. Sooooooo."
Slowly, she brought up her hand into a sign, one everyone in the room was intimately familiar with. The moment she did, every paper tag in the vicinity began to catch fire. The Iwa-nin was shocked, her eyes wide and her body rigid at the sight of the paper burning away.
"I reckon you have a minute before all of those tags go 'boom' and level this entire building, your friends and allies included." Tenten's eyes open, and the Iwa-nin could swear she saw them glowing in the darkness. "Now, let's try this again. Your number, please."
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND!" The Iwa-nin shouted, struggling harder in her chair before falling to her side. Failing to free herself, she turned towards the Jonin once again standing idly by to yell, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE FOR?! WITH THAT MANY EXPLOSION TAGS, SHE WILL KILL US ALL!"
The Jonin blinked at her, looked at the tags then back to her as if The threat of being blown to Smithereens wasn't also his problem.
"No rules have been broken." He stated in monotone.
"FUCK THE RULES! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE HERE!"
As if to mock her, he grinned and said, "Then you better start spilling, kid. You're already down 20 seconds."
Realization hit her as she looked back to the tag in her lap. It was a fourth of the way gone, which meant she had more than half the time left before they all died a bloody death.
"Only thirty seconds left~." Came the singsong of the madwoman, forcing the Iwa-nin's attention back on her.
"I-I-Its 3753." She tried again. Going from the fact their faces hadn't changed after 5 seconds of silence, they didn't believe her. "A-ALRIGHT! 562!" She tried again, understanding that there were only 15 seconds left until detonation.
The girl moved this time, but instead of stopping it, she turned her smile to her teammate.
"It's a good day to die, ain't it, Neji?"
Her heart dropped to her stomach at that.
"Agreed." The Hyuga replied, his eyes closing almost as if in acceptance of their fate, and sealing Iwa-nin's.
10.
She looked to the door, the only escape she had.
9.
Then back to the tags. There was no way she could dodge them all.
8.
They were on the walls, ceiling, floor.
7.
And even if she could, what about her comrades?
6.
She could not abandon them.
5.
And even then, was that a good death?
4.
She was still a kid, only 13 years old.
3.
She wanted to go home.
2.
But the only way home was to-
1-
"TWENTY-THREE NINETEEN! ITS TWENTY-THREE NINETEEN!"
The moment the words left her lips, the Konoha Genin's hand flew up. At once, every tag in the vicinity stopped burning. The Iwa-nin's breaths came out ragged as the fear of death around the corner began to slowly wane.
The demon and her accomplice both look to the proctor expectantly, the man still silent as he observed.
Then a smirk came over his face and the Iwa-nin dropped her head in shame.
"You passed."
...
As the Konoha Genin triumphantly exited the exam room, the unnamed Suna Jonin finally moved towards the downed Iwagakure Genin. Her hair covered her face, obscuring it from the Shinobi's view even as he kneeled down.
"You know, the reason why these exams are important is because they prepare us for the field." The man stated, the Genin not bothering to respond as she tried to hold in the tears that threatened to break loose. "A shinobi must be ready to fight and die at a moment's notice. Death is a risk we all take, and the best of us make peace with that fact."
Reaching into his flak jacket, he pulled out a kunai, cutting the ropes restraining her to the chair.
"You, however, failed that part of your training."
As the ropes fell to the floor, the Iwa-nin brought her arms down, the sudden weight pulling them down like a boulder. When she could finally lift them, her fists clenched tightly at the man's words, shaking as the tears rolled freely.
"Word of advice," he said as he stood to his feet. "When you get back home, start taking this seriously. If you had been, then you'd have known the difference between explosion and electric seals."
Neji and Tenten sat in the waiting area afford to those clear to move on to the second phase of the exam. Three other teams were present, two of Iwa and one from Suna—specifically the redhead who had been glaring maniacally at their teammate in the opening of the exam. All teams stood clear of them as if they were to plague, none wishing to be around someone who was likely a few choice words away from considering genocide.
As such, their teammates were left to themselves, the both of them silently watching tending to their equipment.
It was only a few minutes later when Naruto walked into the waiting room, locking eyes with them immediately and giving a peace sign to let them know he was successful in keeping his mouth shut.
"Took ya long enough." Tenten said playfully as he approached.
"Sorry, the Rain guys that got me were really stubborn. I would have been a lot later if one of them hadn't cut my throat while I was distracted."
Tenten and Neji stared blankly at their teammate before the girl broke out into laughter.
"Oh, Kami. Only you would think that was a good joke, right Neji?" She said, elbowing her teammate to laugh along.
"...Who said I was joking?" Naruto said flatly, but like always, they waved off his truth.
"Well, since we're all done, what do you think the next part is gonna be?" Tenten moves on to better topics while ignoring the pout on the blonde's placid features.
"Whatever it is, I pray it is not outside." Neji said in a rare show of nervousness.
"Awww, I didn't know you hated the heat that much, Neji. A little sunlight too much for you~?" Tenten prodded.
"No. I simply dislike being baked." Neji defended, not at all amused by his teammate's teasing.
"I think it has more to do with his eyes. You know how sensitive they are." Naruto joined in on the ribbing, earning a glare from the Hyuga.
"If the two of you are not careful, I will demonstrate how sensitive my eyes are. Particularly in finding your chakra points."
"Gosh, Neji. Violence is not the answer." Tenten said.
"You are right. It is the solution."
"Oh, that was a good one! I'm stealing that for the future, if you don't mind."
"I got one too, if you're interested."
"We're not." Both Neji and Tenten immediately shot their third down.
"Well, you're a lively bunch." Three heads turned to the new voice interrupting their team bonding time.
Who it turned out to be was kinda unexpected.
The guy from the Suna team, the one in the body suit and make-up specifically, was walking up to them, a smile present and his hands in his pocket. His teammates could still be found on their bench on the other side of the room, the redhead looking out the window while the blonde looked their way with her mouth agape in horror.
"What do you want?" Tenten asked with an edge to her voice, her team sharing her sentiment.
"Relax, relax. I'm just here to chat. I promise I won't bite." The boy said, his voice a little nasally, but not overly so. "The names' Kankuro. Just wanted to check on the team my little bro is so fixated on."
"You're brothers?" Tenten asked skeptically, peering behind him to glance once more at the scary redhead.
"Heheh, yeah. He's the youngest, actually. I'm the middle child, which we all know are the best. And the bitchface over there," He points to the girl who had finally closed her mouth to glare at her brother for the comment. "That's Temari. She's the oldest. They're not really sociable, so it's hard for them to make friends. Thankfully, as the favorite child, I was born with the charisma that they were lacking. In a way, I'm the glue that holds this happy family together."
His words kind of contradicted themselves since one sibling paid him no mind while the other immediately scoffed at his words, able to hear despite being half a room away due to the silence of the other two teams.
"So, how did you three make it through? Must have been properly trained prior if you finished so quickly." Kankuro asked. Much to his surprise, the bun-haired girl's suspicion turned into a closed-eyed smile that was scary in a way.
"Not much. Just poked her a few times, then threatened to blow up everyone in the building. Sung like a bird after that."
Kankuro's smile went stiff at the answer.
"My interrogators were pretty bad." The blonde said bluntly. "They just kept yelling at me and making threats. It was boring, and I was tired, so I took a nap. That must have pissed them off because I woke up gargling blood and my throat cut open. I'm only sad I didn't get to kick their asses before the Jonin knocked them out."
Kankuro's grin grew strained. These kids definitely had a few screws loose.
"What about you guys? How did you finish so fast?" The bun-haired one asked, making Kankuro's smile become genuine again.
"Well, can't say we were as...creative, but we got the job done. It's amazing how scorpion venom works at times. A lot of it will kill you if you're not properly treated within a few hours, but there are some that are particularly painful, yet none deadly. Only took three stings before the little bugger cracked."
"Let me guess, you sent your brother to be interrogated." Neji said, to which the Suna-nin shrugged.
"To be honest, there was no better option. Temari hates pain, and I had the best tools fit for interrogation. Gaara was the only logical option to send. If someone can make him of all people talk, then they deserve to be Kage." He finished with a laugh that only one of the Konoha Genin understood. It probably wasn't so funny what Gaara likely did to his interrogators, but the fact that they were still in the exams meant he likely hadn't broken any rules, and that's all that mattered.
"If I had a brother who followed the phrase 'Don't break people's hearts, they only have one of them. break their bones instead. There are over 200,' then I would be hesitant to step into any room with him as well." Naruto intoned, and to his absolute shock, Kankuro began to laugh harder. It was so surprising that it made the blonde's eyes widen to saucers.
"D-damn, I'd never heard that one before! A-a-and it fits so damn well, too!" Kankuro choked out, not noticing his brother's attention suddenly turning to him or the way Naruto looked up to him as if he were descending from the heavens themselves.
"You're the first person to laugh at my jokes other than Flayn." Naruto awed, his eyes now sparkling at the Suna-nin as his laughter died down.
"If you got jokes like that, then I don't see why more people wouldn't laugh." Kankuro said.
"That's because they're bad." Tenten said flatly, to which the Suna-nin tsked.
"Now now, comedy is subjective, little one. Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean others feel the same. Even if the joke is bad, telling it at the right time can significantly increase your chances of getting that person to laugh. At the same time, knowing your audience is key. No point in telling jokes to people who can't find the humor in life."
While the teen spoke, Naruto nodded emphatically, his eyes growing in sprarkles the more the Suna-nin talked. Likewise, the teen absorbed the blonde's newfound curiosity like a sponge. The more he went on, the brighter his eyes glowed, until eventually...
Naruto stopped the teen with a hand held out in front of the Suna Genin to shake. He wasn't smiling, but the look in his eyes was that of someone who had found a long-lost comrade.
"I've decided. You are now my friend."
Kankuro blinked at the hand, not fully understanding how easy it was to befriend the kid, but not looking a gifthorse in the mouth and reached to take it into his own.
"Well I'll be damned. Looks like the tree-huggers made it before us." He was stopped at the voice, the group turning in tandem to find a familiar cocky Iwa-nin walking towards them with his hands behind his head and his teammates following close behind.
"I see they allow anyone to pass this portion of the exam." Neji adequately summed up their thougths, to which the Iwa-nin huffed in amusement.
"Don't compare us to you trash. My team finished within the first ten minutes. Those Suna bastards tried everything to get me to squeal. Unfortunately for them, Suna is piss poor when it comes to skill. Walked out of there with a smile and the satisfaction of knowing I eliminated out a few desert rats."
Kankuro's smile fell slightly at the last remark, something Katsuo did not let go unnoticed.
"Oh? Struck a nerve? Sorry, can't stop my mouth sometimes. But y'know, I'd be pretty upset too if my village was the weakest amongst the great five. Must suck when even your Daimyo considers the tree-huggers to be a better investment than his own domain."
The smile on Kankuro's face dropped.
"Oops, was I not supposed to say that out loud?" Katsuo smirked.
"I'd watch my next words very carefully if I were you, kid. You're a long way from home." Kankuro warned, his eyes narrowed while Temari stood from her perch in the back.
"Oooooh, scary. I'm actually shaking in my boots. I think the day I take advice from a guy wearing make-up is the same day I marry a tree-hugger."
"If you're gonna fight, can you do it away from us?" Tenten said, getting somewhat annoyed at both of their presence now."
"Heh, trash defending trash. I guess even dogs like flies." The Iwa-nin chirped before turning to walk away. "Come on, guys. It sticks over here." The arrogant said, leaving with a skip as his team followed silently.
"...Hey brats," Kankuro uttered upon the Iwa-nin's departure, not caring if the arrogant shits heard him or not. "I know Iwa and Konoha got a thing going on, but I'm gonna kill that guy before you have a chance to get to him. Hope you understand."
"Don't worry," Tenten reassured. "If we get to him first, we'll make sure it's slow."
That brought a smirk to Kankuro face.
"I knew I'd like you kids."
...
It took an hour for the rest of the teams to fill the room. From those teams, six were from Iwa, three from Suna, and only one from Rain. All in all, out of the 30 or so teams that had entered, over half were already gone.
It was a little after the final team entered that the proctor himself entered the waiting area; yet another cigarette was in his mouth as he observed the room.
"Seems a little less than half of you are still here. Impressive. You've passed, but the hard part is far from over. If you're still here, it means that you have passed the first phase of the Chunin Exams."
Removing his cigarette from his mouth, the man let out one final puff before looking to the Genin with the first sign of seriousness they had seen from him.
"As Shinobi, there may come a time where you are captured by the enemy. When that time comes, your loyalty to your village shall truly be tested. Regardless of whether or not you live the experience, how the people around you regard you will follow you through the rest of your life. The question you should be asking yourself is: do you want to be remembered as a protector, or a traitor?"
With those final words, the man took a deep breath and exhaled, a large cloud of smoke filling the room. Nearly everyone covered their face to avoid getting the fumes into their throat with many being unsuccessful. A moment passed and the smoke cleared...not the curly-eyed man. In his place was yet another Jonin, one Team 4 was particularly familiar with.
"Goooooooood morning my youthful kiddos! My name is Isami Ryu, and I'll be the proctor for phase 2 of the next exam! Pleasure to meetcha!"
"Ryu-san? He's our next proctor?" Tenten said, momentarily shocked at the reveal.
"He did say something about the exams before we parted ways." Neji pointed out.
"...And here I was hoping to never see him again."
"I HEARD THAT YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Ryu erupted, breaking all pretense of a dignified Shinobi to point an accusing finger straight at the Uzumaki. Seemingly realizing he had let his emotions get the better of him, the Jonin sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before clearing his through to continue. "As I said before, I am the proctor for your next exam. What will this next exam be, you may be asking? Well, unlike the previous one, this one is a lot more, shall we say, interactive. It will be not only a test of your skills, but a test of both your intelligence and situational awareness. There are many things a shinobi must learn in their lifetime, but the most important is-"
"Oh for fucks sake, can you just tell us what we're supposed to do instead of going off on some long spiel? I've heard enough of that for one day." The voice of Katsuo suddenly called out, his voice for once not grinding on Team 4's nerves.
Ryu was now pouting, and they could swear they saw a cloud over his head as he sagged.
"...Fine. Follow me to the next exam location."
...
The Genin followed the proctor out of the village, everyone forced to go the man's pace as he dragged himself through the village and towards the front gates.
Likely in spite for cutting his speech short, it took them nearly an hour to get to where they were going. The only positive in that was it pissed the Iwa-nin off something fierce, and he could say or do nothing because none of them knew where they were going for the next exam.
The moment they arrived, Ryu piped back into his usual persona, smile and all.
"Alright, kiddos! Now that we're all here, I'm proud to introduce to you the next part of the exam!" Saying that, another Jonin approached, carrying what looked to be a wooden doll the size of the Jonin. "When on any escort mission, the client is your top priority, even over your own life. You will be forced to protect them or die trying. There is no exception to this rule. All clients are God's until they reach their destination. For this phase, the remaining teams will be divided into groups of two."
The Jonin holding the doll suddenly stepped back and held out the doll towards the audience.
"In the groups of two, one team will act as the escort, while the other acts as the ambush. The goal is simple."
Without warning, he turned, swiftly pulling a kunai from his poach and throwing it towards his fellow Jonin. The kunai met its target, imbedding itself into the head of the doll. Thanking the Gods he didn't miss, Ryu turned back to the crowd, the kids no doubt stunned by his accuracy.
"As the ambushers, your aim is to kill the target. Hitting the dummy in the head or destroying it completely will count as a win. As for the defenders, your goal is to return your dummy back to the village—alive." His grin suddenly grew wider. "If that's too hard for you, then you're also permitted to kill your opponents to get to your target. If the dummy is killed in transit, then the protectors fail. If the dummy makes it back to the village alive, then the hunters fails. Pretty simple, right?"
The man finished with his normal smile, hoping the sudden change made him look cool in some strange aspect. When no one spoke, he raised a hand and another Jonin dropped appeared next to him holding a box.
"To decide your roles, each team will pull a ball from this box. White is the defender, while black is the attacker. We will then pair you up into groups and drop you off in key locations. Ah, I know what you're thinking. 'But awesome Jonin-san, how will we know how to get back to the village?' Well, I'm glad you asked my diminutive she Shinobi!" Reaching behind him, he pulled out a piece of paper. "Normally, this exam is completed using your own skills of tracking, but luckily for you lot, I'm the proctor this year! I took time out of my day to hand draw maps for every single one of you. Gosh, I know I'm awesome, you don't have to keep telling me."
Tenten and many others groaned at the man's continued self-absorbed dialogues.
"Oh, and before I forget, there is only one rule in this exam! One person must be carrying the dummy at ALL TIMES! That means no storage scrolls or any other methods to stow away cargo. I'm looking at YOU, Konoha brats!" Said Konoha brats flipped him the bird, Neji not included only because he felt his glare was enough to get his thoughts across. "And last but certainly not least, you have until the sun touches the dunes to get back to the village. Failure to do so will result in an automatic failure. Now, any questions? None? Good! Without further ado, pleeeeeeeease send up your representatives!"
The arrogant asshole of an Iwagakure Shinobi was the first to elbow his way to the front, a swagger to his step that made many roll their eyes. Once everyone had drawn, the proctors gathered the Genin and brought them to the center of the gate, each holding blindfolds.
"It's time to send you poor bastards off! But before that, I need everyone with a white ball to grab a blindfold and earplugs. Don't worry, it's a precaution for those of you who are particularly talented at memorization. Once you are told to remove the blindfold, the hunt begins! Hunters! You'll be dropped nearby, so attack at your leisure! Do it when the blindfold comes off, or prepare a surprise! As long as you kill your target, I don't care how you do it."
Taking a deep breath, the proctor let it out before his trademark smile return.
"That's all I have for you folks! I hope you got all that down because I'm not repeating it! Have fun out there, kids! And remember, you have until sunset to make it back to the village. Tata!"
With those final remarks, Ryu walked away, his fellow Jonin doing the rest of the job for him as he headed back towards the academy.
Since it would take some time until the brats to return, he decided to take the long route and get something to eat while he was at it. 30 minutes later, and he was back at the academy. Another 30 minutes and he was in one of the break rooms, flailed out on a couch as he took a bite from a meat bun he had picked up on the way back.
The kids should have been dropped at their respective locations by now. Even if a seasoned Jonin who knew the way around the desert, it would still take them at least an hour to reach the village. He'd give the first team to arrive at least three hours, maybe two if the team in question were the Kazekage's kids.
Three hours.
Three, sweet ours of not working at all.
In fact, that's exactly what he was gonna do. He was tired anyway, and could feel the beginnings of his food coma setting in.
Someone would wake him up in a few hours, so he didn't have to worry about setting an alarm. They knew where to find him, and they'd leave him alone unless something major came up. His eyes closed, and sleep began to take him—his dream filled with a world filled with peace, booze, women, and-
"Uh, Sir?"
...It would seem fate was not yet ready for him to close his eyes.
An eye opened, one of the Chunin from the gates now standing before him looking nervous.
"...Someone better be dying." Ryu warned the Chunin, the man seemingly growing more nervous at his tone.
"Well, no, not exactly. But, uh" he hesitated, likely unsure if it was necessary to go through with whatever prank his fellow Chunin had put him up to. "Well, Sir, the thing is, one of the teams returned."
The single-eyed lazy eye of the Jonin stared incredulously at the Chunin.
"If that's the best joke you guys got while rotting in that heat, then tell your boys I've heard better from Genin."
"Um, no sir, I'm serious. The team from-"
Ryu waved the guy off, "Yeah yeah, this was the best you guys could come up with. Heard the whole song and dance already."
"N-no sir, this isn't a-"
"Oh for fucks sake, give it a rest!" He finally snapped, tears coming to his eyes as he glared hatefully at the Chunin. "Yesterday I had to escort one of the hottest pair of tits I've ever seen in my life, only to realize they were attached to the biggest bitch I've ever met—and not even in the fun kind either! You have any idea what it's like knowing Kami sculpted a Goddess and put the mind of a bitchy cunt inside?! Oh, and don't even get me STARTED with her kids!"
"S-s-s, they're-"
"They're arguably worse! I've met camels who are less annoying! What kinda kid tells dad jokes? What kinda kid cuddles with a fuckin' sword?! Who stuck the stick up the Hyuga's ass?!"
"Sir, th-the kids are-"
"TWO DAYS I dealt with that shit! I even nearly got killed because of one of those brats last night! And now, on the day meant to be my day off, when I finally have some time away from work, I have the pleasure of being woken up from my nap to play a shitty joke! A JOKE! NO! To hell with you and any who-"
*BANG BANG BANG BANG*
Two heads turned towards the door, silencing the man's wrath but not cooling his anger.
"Ooooooooi, you in there, Ryu-san? We heard your voice. How long are you gonna make us wait? Hello? Oooooooi."
The voice immediately turned his features neutral.
'...Eh?'
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
"Oi, squinty-eyed bastard! We heard everything! If you got something to say then say it to my face!"
'...Eeeh?'
"U-um, I was trying to warn you that they're waiting in the hall."
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
'Eeeeeeeh?'
A/N: I believe I got the most reviews in one sitting last chapter and I just want to say you all are AWESOME! Brings a tea to my eye actually.
As for the poll, things have kind of shifted in an unexpected direction.
Edelgard - 12
Byleth - 12
Harem - 10
Sothis - 5
Tenten - 3
Fu - 2
Kagero - 1
Honestly it was expecting more Fu shippers, especially since that's who I planned to end up with Naruto at the end if it wasn't Sothis, but I like this result too. Got three more chapters before the pole ends as well as the second Arc to this story.
Don't have much to say now about this chapter, so as always, that you guys for the follows, favs, reviews, and have a DAMN good day!