Chapter 4 - Round One
Day 1 of the Shinobi Showcase
"Temari! You ready yet?!" Kankuro yelled as he, Gaara, and Baki patiently stood by the exit, the heir apparent still a no-show. "If we don't leave now, we're going to be late for sure. Don't blame me if we end up missing something important okay?!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" called the blonde, finally walking out of her room as she tightened one of her pigtails. "Sheesh, can't a girl fix her pigtails in peace?"
"Not if she wants to be on time for the Showcase preliminaries that is. This wouldn't have been an issue if you took care of your hair a little earlier. . . Now then, let's go." Baki announced as he opened the door and walked out, the siblings immediately following suit like chicks following after the mama duck.
They quickly left their hotel and traversed Konoha's many streets, weaving through the busy thoroughfares until they arrived at the ninja academy. It was a long multi-level structure coated in white marble with a roof of red tiles. The main door was wide open, but most of the action was happening in the surrounding courtyard.
When the siblings walked onto the premises, they finally came face-to-face with their competition, and there was plenty of it to be seen. The courtyard was almost filled to the brim with teams from kingdoms scattered all across the land, and teams were still filing into the courtyard after them.
Many instantly took notice of the three Wind natives, and while most kept their faces neutral, some wore expressions that clued them in to what they were thinking. A number of them seemed wary, while others weren't impressed.
The three didn't mind proving them wrong.
"Alright, this is where we part ways," Baki announced as he turned to his charges. "Traditionally, all mentors and senseis wait out the preliminaries away from their respective teams until a certain point is reached. So, until that moment comes, consider yourselves on your own."
"If that's the case, how many preliminary rounds should we expect to face then?" Temari asked, slightly amused. "Two? Three?"
"The number is not a standard thing Temari. It changes with each new edition of the Showcase. The participants usually don't know until they are well into the competition . . . Anyway, if that is all, I will see you all later."
"Well this should be fun. We get to face off against a lot of competition in a series of preliminary rounds whose total amount is unknown to us."
"Not only that Kankuro. What the rounds entail is not known to the competitors until they are actually competing in them, which means we don't have the luxury of planning and strategizing for them hours before they happen. We just have to wait and adapt when needed." Temari added, trying to be helpful, but her words only helped to darken her brother's mood.
"That too, and this is the preliminaries we are talking about here . . . Great," Kankuro grumbled as Baki took his leave. "Anyway, let's size up the competition, I guess. Do you two see anyone around here that could prove to be a problem for us?"
"Besides Princess Shizuka and her team?" Temari asked, pointing toward the staircase. The Fire Princess, Haruka, and Nanami, were the only team on the stairs, sitting along one of the flat stone railings. It was the first time the siblings had seen them since their first encounter at the training grounds days ago.
"Huh, so that's the girl's name. Shizuka, huh? Sounds strong." Shukaku mumbled, weirdly in a complimenting mood. "The girl definitely looks quiet, yet perfectly calm and unfazed . . . It's almost unsettling. I'm impressed."
Gaara couldn't help but agree with the tanuki's assessment as he observed the blonde, who looked completely serene despite the commotion going on around her, and the fact that her teammates were arguing about something toward her immediate right.
He would have threatened them with a Sand Coffin if he was in her position.
"Well, yeah, besides them," said Kankuro as the three walked over to the shade of a nearby tree. "Is there anybody else - besides them - that you guys think could cause us some trouble today? I'm sure you two have seen someone around here that you're worried about."
"Well, there is a lot of competition to look at," Temari mumbled. "A lot of them should be strong, considering that the Showcase is notorious for attracting teams with members from powerful ninja clans after all."
"Including us . . ." Gaara added as he crossed his arms. "The fact that we're royalty also has the drawback of putting a larger target on our backs compared to most."
"That's true, but at least we're not the only ones in that boat," Kankuro added. "The Fire Twins will be targeted as much as we will, if we think about things from a royal standpoint. Hell, they probably have the biggest target out of all of us because they do have the home soil advantage."
"Fair point," Temari conceded. "However, the last part you just mentioned could apply to every Fire Kingdom team competing here today."
"That's true . . ." the puppeteer conceded in return. "So, how long do you think they'll make us wait?"
"ALL TEAMS! MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE STAIRCASE! ALL OF YOU! OVER HERE! NOW!"
"Does that answer your question Kankuro?"
The brunet scowled, but Temari simply smiled in return before following Gaara over to the crowd gathering at the base of the stairs. As everyone gathered at the base, a rather intimidating middle-aged man stood at the top. He was dressed in a gray, military uniform with a black trench coat over it, matching black boots, and a black bandanna tied around his head.
Despite his intimidating choice of apparel, his face was what really sold his menacing appearance. Two long scars stretched across his face, with one stopping just below his right eye, while the other curved along his face's left side and through his lip, stopping in the middle of his chin.
"Welcome to the Shinobi Showcase!" said the man, his voice deep, grating, and very far reaching, being clear as a whistle to those standing in the very back. "My name is Ibiki Morino. I'm the head of the Interrogation Corps, but today, you will know me as one of the main proctors assigned to oversee the Showcase . . . Many of you are here today for glory, honor, or whatever incentive your kingdom offered you before sending you here. However, only a certain number of you will actually make it to the final round, and this is where the preliminaries come in."
"Now then, I bet you all are wondering how many rounds you'll be facing in these preliminaries," Ibiki continued, guessing right on what was going through most of the crowd's collective minds at the moment. "Well, might as well end the suspense now . . . You will only be facing two rounds, but many of you will be eliminated at the end of each one, I guarantee it. . . We can only allow a certain number of you into the finals, so if more teams pass the second round than expected, a special third round of preliminaries will take place to cut the numbers down even more."
"But how many people are expected to make it to the finals though?" Kankuro mumbled as an annoyed look crossed his face.
"He was nice enough to give us the number of rounds we're dealing with, but I guess asking for how many spots in the finals would be a bit too much, don't you think?" Temari mumbled as she continued to look ahead.
"I don't care about the number of people allowed in the finals,"mumbled Shukaku. "All I care about is spilling some blood before the competition is over."
"Blood, blood, blood . . ." Gaara grumbled, shaking his head. "That all you can really think about right now . . . Damn shame."
"Shut up! You make me sound like I'm addicted to it."
"Well, aren't you?"
Shukaku didn't bother to entertain that question with a response.
"Right now, you all will make your way into one of the classrooms here at the Academy. The choice of which classroom to go into is up to you, but your entire group must agree to it. Once there, the monitor assigned to your room will give you further details on today's first round," said Ibiki as he jutted his thumb to the building behind him. "It's time to move, and if I were you, I'd pick my classroom wisely."
The crowd moved to follow Ibiki into the Academy, walking past the main lobby and up a set of stairs to the second floor, where they were greeted by a hallway lined with jonin on either side, all of them dressed in the same uniform that Ibiki was wearing.
"Like I said before, pick your classroom wisely," said Ibiki as he stood beside the open door at the very far end of the hallway. "Now then, CHOOSE!"
"So, which room guys?" Kankuro quickly asked as some teams started entering random classrooms while others were still weighing their options. "Any ideas?"
"I suggest we go with the room that our biggest competition will be in," Temari advised as she looked around the hallway. "It's best to keep our eyes on our biggest threats at all times. If they make a mistake and show a weakness, then we'll certainly know about it."
"We're only left with one option then." Gaara pronounced as he looked down the hallway. His eyes were on the doorway that Ibiki was standing next to, which happened to be the same one that Princess Shizuka and her team just went through. His elder siblings nodded in agreement and quickly followed him down the hall. When they entered the large classroom, they saw that most of the shinobi were natives of the Fire Kingdom, including Prince Naruto and his team.
"Damn, a lot of teams came in here," said Temari as she looked around to get a layout of the classroom. The lecture-style room was simply designed at best, with the tables being long enough to fit three people, organized into three separate columns. " . . . And a lot of them look like they could prove a challenge."
"I think using the phrase 'a lot' is a bit of a stretch sis," said Kankuro, resisting the urge to chuckle at one team that consisted of a girl looking at her reflection in the window, a boy snacking on a bag of chips, and a second boy who already looked half asleep, his hair tied up in a way that made his head look like a pineapple. "I don't know about you guys, but some of these people look like they should be eliminated already."
"Appearances can be deceiving. You should never misjudge your enemy, or else you'll get a kunai in your throat for all your troubles," said Ibiki, startling Kankuro so much that he almost jumped out of his sandals. "If you really are that simpleminded toward others, I suggest you leave right now little princeling."
Kankuro didn't bother to respond. The intense stare he received from Ibiki instantly made him tongue-tied, much to Gaara's annoyance and Temari's chagrin. Ignoring the silent prince, the head of the Interrogation Corps walked back over to the open door and immediately slammed it shut, instantly gaining everyone else's attention.
"I want everyone to take a seat, but do not sit next to either of your teammates. Separate yourselves from each other as best as you can," ordered Ibiki as he walked over to the teacher's podium. "You have thirty seconds. Your time starts now!"
Not wanting to agitate the proctor any further, everyone quickly got into a seat, with some holding back more than others to see where people were moving to. One of them happened to be Gaara, who stood back as everyone scrambled for a good seat. When the dust started to settle, he saw that Princess Shizuka was sitting in the back of the room at the last table of the middle column. She was sitting in the middle seat, with the chair to her left being already filled by a shinobi from the Rain Kingdom. The chair to her right was still empty.
And it was the chair that Gaara decided to take.
"Bold move of you Gaara. Not many would choose to outright sit next to a royal, especially if they know that she's a jinchuriki. Granted, you're in the same boat, but still, it's quite ballsy of you to do such a thing . . . This should be interesting."
"Shut up you damn tanuki," Gaara retorted, not in the mood for the beast's amusement as he reached the table. He took off his gourd and placed it next to the table before sitting down. The Rain shinobi shot the prince a curious glance before turning away, but Shizuka never spared him a glance. ". . . And she doesn't even bother to look my way."
"Maybe it's because you and your siblings tried to spy on her the other day."
"Ok, fair point, but still, shut up." Gaara ordered as he noticed that Ibiki held a stack of papers in his hands.
The look on his face didn't help matters either.
"This first round is simple. In fact, it's probably the easiest round you will face in this entire competition," Ibiki calmly explained as he held the stack up like it was a hard-won trophy. "Simply put, you all will be taking a ten-question exam."
"What the fuck?!" "Is he serious?" "But I didn't know we had to study for a test!" were some of the answers that the man got in return. He brushed the comments aside as he began to pass the papers along. He kept them face down as he went from table to table, passing along pencils as well.
"You will have only one hour to complete it," Ibiki further added once he was done. "Any questions so far?"
"Um, excuse me, but is there a benchmark score we should strive for?" asked a pink haired girl from the front row. Gaara immediately recognized her as one of the girls from the training ground, the one who was a part of Prince Naruto's team.
"A benchmark? Hmm, you know, I'll let you guys ponder that one," said Ibiki, his smirk inspiring a sense of dread among most in the room. "However, I will tell you this. If any of you decide to quit this exam - and many of you will before the hour is up - you'll not only take yourself out of this competition entirely, but you will also be taking out your teammates as well. If you decide to leave, the rest of the team must leave with you. . . Also, here's another piece of advice, keep your eyes on your own paper. You got that?!"
"Hmm, it seems that this first round does not leave much margin for error."
"You're right. They are not making things easy for us,"Gaara added as he looked down at the paper before him. "If you quit, not only do you take yourself out of the competition, but your entire team as well. If they wanted to increase the pressure, this stipulation certainly covers it."
"Now then, you have your instructions. You can now turn your papers over and begin your exam. You have one hour!"
Everyone turned their sheets over and instantly, shock and dread were obvious on the shinobi's faces as they started reading over the questions. Despite the fact that only nine questions were on each sheet, the level of difficulty in each question was much higher than originally expected, especially since most of the field were officially ranked as genin, aka rookies.
All of the royals in the room were included in this category.
"They expect us to know the answers tothese damn things?" Gaara grumbled as he looked over the sheet. He looked around to see what his siblings' reactions would be, which was difficult since he was seated in the last row. His brother was shaking his head, as if the sheet offended him just for even existing. Considering the room's overall reaction to the test, he couldn't blame him.
As for Temari, she looked completely calm from her seat in the front corner of the room. She always did consider herself the most book smart of the three. For her, this could be a relative cakewalk for her.
"I can feel the pressure building in the room. They're definitely not making things easy for you little squirts, and I like it! If you want your spot in the finals, you're gonna have to really work for it, your princely status be damned!"
"Speaking of the pressure, it looks like the round has just claimed its first victims." said Gaara as two teams exited the room. He didn't linger on them long once movement on his left gained his attention. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Princess Shizuka was already halfway finished with her test, writing down her answers in her crisp, neat handwriting. ". . . Okay, didn't expect that, butit is impressive."
"This girl already has that much of the test completed, despite the level of difficulty. Hm, she must have studied under some really good tutors to accomplish this much already. . . Too bad you can't really cheat off her. With you two sitting next to each other and all,you would be accused of cheating right off the bat."
"Cheating . . . Wait a minute . . . I think you just gave me a good idea Shukaku."
The redhead tuned the tanuki out before he could even ask what he meant. Bringing a hand to his forehead, his middle and forefinger touched the skin right above his right eye, obscuring it from view. His action would seem normal to most, but in truth, he was discreetly molding his chakra-infused sand together until it became a replica of a human eye.
"I should have known that this test wasn't going to be as straightforward as it sounded. They gave us these hard questions for a reason. The organizers know that most of us will find them difficult if we had to answer them on our own."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that the organizers WANT you to cheat?" Shukaku asked. "Hold up . . . Oh, I see. They're not testing you squirts to see how much knowledge you have in your pea-brained skulls. They gave you this test to see how well you can cheat without getting caught."
"Exactly! Instead of testing us on our intellect, they're testing us on one of the core skills all shinobi must have, gathering information."
"And I see your way of cheating will be the Third Eye technique . . . Probably your only option at this point."
Gaara quickly sent said eye up to the ceiling without anyone noticing, placing it behind one of the light fixtures right above him. The angle allowed him a good view of the rest of the room, allowing him to see who was worth cheating off of and who to not bother with. He paid particular attention to his sister and the pink-haired girl, both already done with most of their respective tests. He quickly wrote down the answers he saw - going slow enough that the proctor wouldn't think that something was up, but fast enough to be considered a reasonable pace - and set the test aside before dissolving his technique, finishing everything within 20 minutes.
"Hmm, that wasn't so bad, but there's still an issue with the tenth question,"said Shukaku as another team left the room. "Mainly, WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THE TENTH QUESTION?!"
"We'll find out soon enough." Gaara calmly answered as he looked around the room, noticing that Shizuka was now finished with her test. So was Temari, the pink-haired girl, and a few others, including the boy whose spiky, dark ponytail reminded him of a pineapple. Others were still writing, with some, like Sasuke and Kankuro, calmly answering questions while others - most shockingly Naruto- were visibly struggling.
"Hmm, should have figured that some people would finish faster than others. The faster ones are probably the best when it comes to gathering intel. The slower ones, not so much . . ."
"I actually have to agree with you on that one," Gaara mumbled as more shinobi finished their tests. "But back to the tenth question though . . . What could it possibly be?"
"Don't worry, little redhead. I believe we're about to find out."
The sound of the new voice instantly made said redhead eyes shoot open, never expecting the response. Instead of hearing Shukaku's grating, slightly hysteric voice, the new one was calmer, feminine, and ancient, as if the voice belonged to someone - or something - wise beyond its years. It was completely unfamiliar to Gaara, but it seemed that Shukaku recognized it easily enough, because he was over his shock much faster than his host.
"RYUNA!!"Shukaku growled in disbelief, his voice reverberating through Gaara's skull so much that it made the redhead clutch his forehead, as if he suddenly gained a migraine.
"Ryuna?" Gaara asked, his voice laden with shock and disbelief, his mental ears open to see if the Ten Tails would speak again. Alas, he got no answer. The beast remained silent, as if she had never spoken in his head to begin with. "Was that really the Ten Tails speaking to me just now?"
"It was, but she's not bothering to answer back. She was probably checking to see if the link between me and her was still working or something. . . Nice to see that it is."Shukaku mumbled, no longer sounding surprised by his sibling's apparent intrusion.
Actually, he sounded quite used to it.
"I see . . ." Gaara whispered as he noticed that Shizuka had a tiny smirk on her face from the corner of his eye, as if she was in on the little intrusion.
Judging from the smirk, she probably was.
"Alright then. There are 15 minutes left, and it seems that all of you appear to be finished with the questions that have already been given to you . . . Well, most of you," said Ibiki, his voice cutting through the silence. "Anyway, it's time for the tenth question, well, if you choose to accept it anyway."
"Wait a minute. If we choose to accept it?" asked a boy dressed in what Gaara would describe as the most ridiculous outfit that he has ever seen a shinobi wear. Despite looking different, the clothes were simple at best: a green bodysuit, orange leg warmers, and bandages wrapped from mid-hand to the elbows. "What do you mean by that?"
"Before I tell you what the last question is, I will give you all a choice," said Ibiki. "If you choose to take on this question - which is the hardest of the bunch - and fail to answer it correctly, you and your team must leave, now banned from participating in any further Showcases from this day until your deaths."
Ibiki took that moment to pause, letting the shinobi before him absorb this bombshell. Once he saw that he thoroughly terrified a few souls, he continued.
"However, if you choose to leave now, you will remain eligible for future Showcases, but you will be eliminated from this one . . . Choose wisely. I'll give you all a minute to decide your fate."
"They really are not making things easy for you brats. I like their style,"Shukaku mumbled as a sizable amount of the remaining shinobi decided to call it a day. With their departure, less than half of the total shinobi that came into the room in the beginning remained. "It's amazing to seeso many lose their composure as soon as they hear something detrimental. . . Fucking hell, I saw at least three people cry as they walked out the door! How weak can they could be!?"
"Really? This many are willing to stay?" Ibiki asked as he looked around the room, his voice sounding unimpressed. "I don't believe it. I'm sure some of you are still thinking about leaving. Hell, some of you look like you want to leave. I won't judge you if you decide to go now, but time is precious, and you're wasting it at this point . . ."
Despite the complaint, those remaining in the room stayed seated. Some looked unfazed by the proctor's 'insistence', while others looked like they just didn't care.
"Hmm, what about you Naruto?" Ibiki asked, his eyes going straight to the Crown Prince sitting in the middle of the room. Gaara turned his head to see that Shizuka now looked mildly interested in this sudden turn of events; her eyes trained on him like a hawk. "Are you thinking about leaving Prince? I know as the heir to your father's throne, you have a lot of pressure on you to do well, but I'm sure he'll be okay with finding out that you decided to leave early."
"Not a chance!" the blonde exclaimed, unabashedly shaking his head. "Nice try Proctor Morino, but I'm not quitting this competition that easy! You're going to have to try something better than that if you really want to see me leave."
"Hm, should have known he would react like that," Shizuka mumbled, leaning back in her chair. "He hates it whenever someone suggests he quit something."
"Is he really that stubborn?" Gaara asked, going out on a limb to ask the question. He hadn't been planned to speak with her, but since he was sitting right next to her, he figured why not.
"You have no idea. Quitting is just not in his vocabulary," Shizuka answered. "Just like how sleep isn't a part of yours I'm guessing."
"Ooh, she got you there flesh bag!"
"No thanks to you, you damn tanuki!" Gaara answered right back, but Shukaku ignored him, still too busy chuckling over the dig the princess hit his host with. And speaking of the Fire Princess . . . "And let me guess, friendliness isn't really a part of yours?"
"To be honest, not really. My background really hasn't helped me in the 'friends' department, for more reasons than one might I add." said the blonde, her voice solemn as she gave her stomach a quick glance
"You and me both." Gaara thought, looking down at his own stomach, home to the seal that kept Shukaku at bay. The tanuki snorted at that remark, but before the redhead could say something back, the proctor's voice stopped him short.
"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ALL PASSED THE FIRST ROUND!"
A/N: I figured it would be nice to put in some Gaara-Shizuka interaction toward the end. As for Ryuna speaking in Gaara's head, there may be more of that and vice versa in the coming future. . . Well, maybe.
Anyway, leave a comment if you like.