6 - The Written Exams!
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Monday, 7:00 PM
Hunna's Desserts
6 Days Until Chuunin Exams
Rena and Gaara's Relationship Level: 30%
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Being the first to enter the dessert shop out of their party, Rena and Gaara got to choose the table. Most were free. The place wasn't packed, strangely enough, although the rush would probably begin in an hour or so. They chose the one furthest from the door, closer to one of the windows. Sitting opposite from each other, both tried to look anywhere but at the other party. People became uncomfortable by Gaara's gaze on them, so Rena watched a few get up and leave.
A server girl approached them, clearly not wanting to. She stumbled forward a little bit. "Um... can you guys please leave? Our customers, they..." She was shut up as Gaara's eyes snapped to her, this time not even a gaze but a glare. She shrieked, dashing out of the shop, tears in her eyes. One of the other servers called for her to wait, but it seemed like they didn't listen.
"Gaara, you're scaring everyone. Can't you be more approachable?" Rena sighed, shaking her head as she placed her palm on her cheek. It was a little difficult to go anywhere with him when all he did was scare people. He finally looked at her instead of anywhere else, his eyes not leaving her face. Curiously enough, an expression of fear on her face was different than others. However, the way she looked at him happened to also be different; no longer did she seem to see him the way others did. He wondered if she ever really saw him how anyone else did. The innocence of her actions back when they were children and the way she blindly pledged herself to him today proved that perhaps she was never like the others.
Rena's eyes snapped to the door. A couple of Jonin were lead by the server girl, walking up to the table. Having no idea what else to do other than perhaps try to look innocuous, Rena grabbed Gaara's sash, pulling him closer to her in one swift movement and lightly kissing him. He was shocked, a little dizzy. He began to flush again. The Jonin stopped in their tracks, looking at one another, then back at the girl, who then looked unsure of whether Gaara was a threat or not. "Sorry! We're on a date," Rena began, smiling at the Jonin, "But you know how boys can be, always so shy. He hates public displays of affection or even thinking someone thinks we're a couple, so! So sorry!" The Jonin looked at each other, before turning around and talking in hushed voices.
"Just a date..."
"Dammit... can't break up young love like this,"
"Rui must be paranoid..."
One of the Jonin, having decided that he would buy Rena's explanation, sighed. "Alright, but try not to cause any more trouble. You can stay." As they left, they passed a bewildered Kankuro. Tsukiyomi entered behind him, ignoring the poor boy who had just witnessed the kiss. She sat by Rena, as close as physically possible, resting her head on the purple-haired girl's shoulder as she closed her eyes.
"I missed you, Master."
Kankuro stopped dead in his tracks as he'd been advancing to the table. Just what kind of relationship did Tsukiyomi and Rena have?! His sister brushed by his shoulder and took the OTHER seat beside Rena while he was waiting! DAMN IT ALL! Well, if he couldn't sit directly beside Rena, then he'd grab a chair from somewhere else and sit on the end...
NOOOOO! Suno did it before he could! The only other place was next to Gaara... "Well, Kankuro? Are you gonna sit down or what?" He took his defeat, sliding into the seat beside Gaara. What had that kiss been? It was just to get the Jonin off their backs, right? Yeah, that was it. No way would his Rena ever have feelings for his brother... his brother was a freak, after all...
"Ahhh, Rena! I spent the day chasing the ladies of the leaf... It was amazing! Although, there was this one girl I met who pretended like she couldn't see me.."
"I hoped that we could get in more training, but you saw a girl and you just had to instantly chase after her..." Temari sighed her face in her hands. "And to think we had such an intense training match before you ran off..."
"Hey! When you see it, you gotta get it. I got a few addresses for later."
"Aren't you only twelve?" Kankuro asked, annoyed by Suno's promiscuity.
"Yeah, but I've got more addresses of lonely housewives than you do."
A shadow cast over the table revealed a boy about their age. Their heads turned, a little in disbelief, as he stared them down. "Can I sit here?"
"No," Temari replied, putting her feet up on the last free seat. At first glance, he had no headband and didn't seem to be from any village. "Well? Go away."
"Temari, you've gotta be more friendly!" Rena insisted, but it was clear Temari wasn't the only one concerned. Both Gaara and Kankuro had expressions on their face that painted a sense of unwelcome. Rena herself took another glance at the boy. His eyes were strange. Where there was normally supposed to be white, red instead took hold. He had a rather egotistical expression on his face as if everyone around him was underneath him, but his voice represented other intentions. "You can sit with us."
It was clear Temari didn't approve, but the boy took a seat beside Gaara, ignoring him, staring at Rena. "Your hair..." He began, "Ah, never-mind." It seemed like the table was awkwardly silent. They didn't know what to say to him.
"So, what's your name?" Suno pitched in, trying to fulfill Rena's desire of being in friendlier company. "I'm Suno Akagari, this is Tsukiyomi Akagari, and that's Rena Hikari!"
Tsukiyomi ignored him, staring at Kankuro menacingly, while Rena waved. He continued looking at her, not breaking away. "I'm... Ikarinochi. Ikari for short. Don't have a last name." He... wasn't as friendly as Rena had originally thought.
"We should order." Temari tried, picking up one of the one-sided menus that had been left on the table by a wary server. She scanned over the menu, her neutral face turning into a grimace... "..." She took a straight minute, scrunching up her face at some of the menu options. "..." Her expressions captivated everyone at the table before she looked up. "I'll have vanilla ice cream."
It took that long for her to decide on something so plain?! Rena sighed, before picking up the menu herself and scanning it. Gaara remained with his hands at his sides, Kankuro read through it, Suno and Tsukiyomi shared theirs as they argued over what they were getting. "I'll just share with Kankuro, you idiot cat."
"Hey! I'm a smart cat!"
Tsukiyomi scooched over to where Kankuro was sitting, causing Gaara to get up and sit beside Rena to make more room. Kankuro's devastation was written all over his face. The nasty wound on his leg had already been tended to. Nobody needed to know about it, especially not Rena- something Tsukiyomi had agreed to. He still didn't understand her, nor her constant aggression. There were times where she seemed like she felt nothing and then times where she was simply angry. As they read over the list, he found one that looked good. "Chocolate Mocha Vanilla." He pointed at it. Tsukiyomi simply nodded. He noticed that the dove from before was still perched on her shoulder, staring down at the menu with her.
"Is there anything you'd like, Gaara?" Rena asked, offering a warm smile.
"I don't like sweet things. Skip me." He replied, looking away from her. He was deep in thought, thinking over the conversations he and Rena previously had. She sighed, shaking her head, before looking at a flower-shaped cake without even reading the description.
"Ah, that's our couples cake!" A more serviceable girl came over, pointing it out to her. "Would you like to share that with someone?" Kankuro's hand was about to shoot up, but Tsukiyomi's grip of steel on his leg stopped him. His eyes bulged from the pain, trying to pry her claws out of his leg.
"I'll share it with her," Gaara replied, not thinking twice about it. The rest of the table gave their orders, with Suno getting what looked like a banana cake and Ikari just getting plain chocolate. Tsukiyomi and Kankuro just ended up getting the menu special in the end after a bit more arguing.
"Hell yeah! Cake! Cake! Cake!" Suno's voice was louder than originally desired, his excitement painting him as what he was; a child. Gaara glared at him, quieting him down. A couple of Jonin looked in their direction, disdain on their faces with how the children of the sand were conducting themselves in another village.
"Be quiet. We're not going to be taken seriously when you're yelling cake at the top of your lungs." Temari kicked Suno's leg, causing him to grab it and fall back on the floor.
"That was one of my shins!"
"You deserved it." She muttered, clearly still salty about losing that intense training match opportunity. Within a few minutes, the sweets were brought out and everyone but Gaara and Rena had theirs. The server asked them a few weird questions, but nothing alarming until they felt pressure on their wrists. Metal handcuffs; tying either of their hands to the chair, their dominant hands. Was it an assassination or an ambush? Gaara would kill the waitress, no matter what was the case.
"Apologies! The lovers' special requires that you feed one another with the hands you never use. It's clumsier and cuter~ And you guys read the text under, right? We can't let you go until you finish the cake!" She placed the cake, in the shape of a chocolate flower, in front of them. It was small and delicate, with blue icing. Gaara struggled against the restraints, shaking them. Rena winced from the amount of strength he was using to try and get free. He gave the waitress a long, hard glare, his aggressions rising.
"I'm... sorry, sir, but we can't unlock the restraints unless you both participate and finish the cake... It's in the rules and you ordered it..." He was beginning to regret volunteering. He would have let Kankuro do it, but he seemed eager- too eager. Gaara's instincts told him letting Kankuro and Rena do this together would be against his best interests, so he'd have to suffer through this humiliation. It was too late anyway.
Surprisingly enough, rather than Rena herself, the first to give in to the whims of the waitress was Gaara. He stabbed the fork into the cake, peeling off just the right amount to fit into Rena's mouth. The fork raised into the air and paused before her lips. She stared at him, bewildered that he'd participate, "Open your mouth. Hurry up."
It seemed like they had attracted a crowd of onlookers, ones curious where this interaction would go. Rena tried to ignore their leers. If they had all placed bets on who'd give in first, they all would have lost. Her mouth slowly opened and the cake was placed inside it. It reminded him of his training with the sand, how if he pushed it too hard it would go too far and pushing too little made it stall and go just before the mark he had set for himself. The girl was falling, slowly, but gently into his plans for her, he was sure of it. Alike to his sand.
She would finally be like him. But, something stranger yet happened every time he pushed her just a little. She shoved, full-force back, Something different happened each time, but he could feel a small bud of growth within him. He didn't like it. For as long as they existed, together, in this universe, he would refuse. They could grow old and die together and still, he'd exist. He would not give in to her weakness, never.
It was Rena's turn to feed Gaara. Thankfully the cake was only four bites at most. Picking up the spoon and taking a slice, she held it up, her hand trembling. Was she afraid of him? He... dreaded looking in her eyes and seeing the same expression that everyone else had, but he couldn't stop himself. Instead of fear, there was a fever; her eyes were in a sort of daze. Not fear, nervousness.
She moved it forward much too fast and the cake fell off the spoon, sliding into his shirt and leaving a trail of chocolate cake on his skin. He looked down, then back up, silence filling the table. She was going to try again, it seemed, and the cake jiggled on the spoon, threatening to fall. Gaara took the initiative. Chocolate was much too sweet for him, but he still bit down on the spoon. She looked ashamed, shy, nervous and sad, but that didn't matter. Compared to Gaara, Rena seemed to be taking the gazes not so well, whispers and harsh judgment reaching her ears. Rena was weak, however, but still walking his path.
He would show her the truth. Everyone but they deserved death and that all desires shall be fed. Hers, his. The sand should feed on blood.
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Monday, 10:00 PM
Dancing Leaf Hotel, Rena's Room
Rena and Gaara's Relationship Level: 39%
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It had been a few hours since the spectacle at Hunna's. Everyone had come back and retreated into their rooms, but Gaara wasn't about to stay put. He opened the door to Rena's room, closing it behind him. She rose her head at his entry, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Gaara..? What are you doing here?" He remained silent, approaching her. He sat beside her on the bed, not answering her question. She stared at him, but nothing happened for a few moments. He leaned over, putting his head on her shoulder. He couldn't sleep, but there was a strange feeling of comfort being near her. Just one night... putting everything on pause was fine, just for a single night. Rena made no move to stop him, nor do anything else, but he suddenly pushed her down on the bed, getting on top of her. "G-Gaara?"
He closed his eyes, sighing, before opening them again. "Don't talk." He could see her cheeks turning pink. It cultivated the same reaction in him. He leaned down, their lips coming closer together, but he simply shuffled down a little and laid his head down on her chest. He was a little heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle. It was like that, both suitably warm, that they fell asleep.
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Tuesday, 6:00 AM
5 Days Until Chuunin Exams
Rena and Gaara's Relationship Level: 43%
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Rena woke up to the feeling of heaviness on her chest. She could hear Gaara's steady breathing, his arms wrapped around her lazily. Her blurry morning-vision came clearer and she saw Gaara, his eyes closed peacefully. Sometime in her sleep, he had shifted over to beside her rather than on top of her, the only thing remaining was his arm over her chest. He looked so serene, so gentle. It was almost unbelievable that he was able to make such an expression.
Her hand moved, brushing against his cheek, cupping his face, feeling his soft skin. He looked so cute while asleep. His eyes snapped open, the same gaze he had day-to-day back. She felt cheated out of a tender moment. Even if it was just a second in time, she figured that Gaara's heart had finally opened to her. "How long have you been awake?"
"Five hours." His voice was low, quiet, as if not to spook her. Little did she know, that was the most peaceful sleep Gaara had gotten in a long time.
"Why didn't you get up?"
"I was comfortable." And she would have been woken up if he'd moved, so he didn't. It was as simple as that. However, Gaara could turn into sand. If he did it with finesse, he could have easily avoided waking Rena up.
"I'm pretty sure we're going to be late for training," Rena said, her face flushing as she turned away, moving to get up, but Gaara grabbed her hand. She felt her insides tingle as she broke apart, turning to something else and lurching as she moved through the air. Suddenly, sunlight-filled her vision; they were in a training field, surrounded by green grass and a light breeze as the sun rose. She was surprised her innards hadn't become outwards.
The thing that bothered her most wasn't the experience she just had, but the irony substance stuck in her nostrils; the smell of blood. Rena hadn't thought about it until now, but the thought kept popping up in her mind as much as she tried to ignore it. She didn't want to think about what he'd done with that sand, but deep inside, she already knew. She knew who he became and why everyone was attempting to warn her about him.
As much as it bothered her, the way Gaara made her feel kept her persistent. She trained with him the entire day, learning new ways to dodge and attack. It helped with her agility a ton, although she didn't quite win. Day after day passed in peaceful bliss.
Some days were spent with Gaara, others with Tsukiyomi and Suno, and then Temari and Kankuro. She met Ikari and spent a day following him around, although he didn't talk to her too much. These days of bliss blended into one and before she knew it, it was finally the day of the Chuunin exams.
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Sunday, 12:00 PM
Day Of Chuunin Exams
Rena and Gaara's Relationship Level: 50%
Rena and Ikari's Relationship Level: [Can't Progress At This Time]
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"Kankuro, if you keep rushing ahead I'm going to hurt you," Temari muttered under her breath, pulling her overexcited brother back for the fourth time as he tried rushing into the Chuunin Exams. "We need to look like we mean business, and you looking like a child in a candy shop isn't going to do that for us." Rena and Gaara, on the other hand, were walking with their teams. Not side by side, but a respectful distance apart. Their teams were displayed for all to see, inciting curiosity and fear. The illusions almost fooled Rena, but Tsukiyomi seemed to look right through them.
Finally reaching floor three, they opened the door to the exam room. Silently entering, they waited for a bit, only for a rather recognizable trio to enter soon after. The pink-haired girl was yelling at the blonde-haired boy, irritating everyone around them. It was interesting to watch, but not a smart move on their part.
Rena heard it coming before she saw it, although her reaction was a little slow. Metal rang against metal as the kunai hit hers, bouncing off and thinly slicing the back of her palm.
"Rena Hikari." The girl who had thrown the kunai somehow knew her name. Her hair was a rather pure white, an uncommon colour naturally. "It was only a matter of time until we met."
"Um, excuse me, but who are you?" She asked, putting her kunai back in her pouch as she held the back of her hand. It was barely a scratch, but that didn't change the annoying stinging feeling.
"Who I am doesn't matter. You only need to know that we've been hunting you. It was only a matter of time before you were gonna show up." The girl's expression was harsher than Gaara's. Hatred burned in her eyes and her lips were twisted in a sneer.
"I'm sorry, but we're the same age. I don't remember you, but I would've if I met you. If I did something, I'm sorry, but I think I'm not the person you're looking for." The girl's expression changed into a frown.
"I see. My bad." She walked back into the crowd, but Rena had a sinking feeling it probably wasn't the end. Rena turned back to her friends. At that moment, if she had stayed in her position, the shuriken that the girl had thrown would have cut her face, not the tip of her ear. She winced, turning back to the white-haired girl. "I am Kana Yoru. You have made an enemy of the Yoru Clan, so turn around and show me your blood! The pigmentation of it will show who you truly are, you accursed monster!"
Rena sighed, withdrawing her hand and showing Kana her very much red blood. "If I'm a monster, and my blood proves it, I guess everyone else here is too." Kana's expression changed, one of contempt.
"It should have been a different colour..."
"Well, it's not. Happy? I'm not whoever you're looking for, I can't have made an enemy of your clan. I just barely qualify for the Chuunin Exams, but I hope you find the person you thought I was." By that, she meant she didn't qualify and had bullshitted her way in by asking the Kazekage to make up makeshift missions she'd been on.
On the other side of the room, having seen the interactions between the two, Kabuto searched through his cards. This girl wasn't in them and she hadn't been cataloged by Lord Orochimaru. Who was she? Orochimaru had a list of everyone who was in the Hidden Sand, as he was working with them. Anyone sent by the Kazekage, surely Lord Orochimaru knew. She seemed very familiar, though...
And then the memory of where he'd seen her before hit him. She was one of the recent escapees. The one nobody had extra details for. Nobody knew what happened in that cell when Orochimaru entered it weekly. Kabuto remembered her well from her frequent escape attempts; the girl was like a wild beast, although her intelligence was unlike it. Every time, a different escape attempt, a different route. It didn't surprise him she succeeded, seeing as she was so persistent.
Kabuto tried to imagine a situation in which he could capture her again. It wouldn't work now, there were too many people around. If he were to do it, it would have to be in the chaos the Hidden Sand would create or afterward. He had always been curious about the usage of the child, or at the very least her origins.
"Your sister sends her regards, Rena Hikari. I may not be able to prove it now, but soon you'll drop that amnesia act." Rather than Rena responding, however, a familiar face stepped in between them. It was Ikari, brushing a lock of his black hair out of his face. He glared at Kana to last a lifetime.
"Get lost, pest."
"I don't have a sister." Rena brushed past Ikari, standing in front of him. "Maybe if you explained yourself, or even better yet, just dropped this crazy act, people would understand you!"
Kana's eyes narrowed. It was clear she wasn't pleased with this outcome. "There's nothing to explain. The blood on your hands should say everything anyone needs to know. I'll be back... until then, keep pretending like you don't remember." She turned around, this time for good, only to trip and fall flat on her face. There was nothing there and Rena hadn't seen her trip over her own feet, so she wondered what happened. It was clear Ikari was thinking the same thing.
"Thanks, Ikari."
"Whatever." The boy replied, looking anywhere but her face as he turned away. "Don't get in my way during the exams." He began to walk in another direction, only for a man to appear in the middle of the room as he did.
"I'm Ibiki, and I'll be your proctor today." The man was tall, with a jagged scar crossing his eye and cloth of sorts wrapped around his head. He looked bizarre, at best. "It's time for the written exams."
As the rules were explained and the stakes were laid out on the table, Rena's assigned seat happened to be next to Gaara's by some miracle. She had a bit of trouble writing, as she'd never been to an academy, It was a little easy to figure things out using common sense, though. Gaara, on the other hand, gained her curiosity, causing her to stop writing for a bit. He had been rubbing his eye as if there was sand or dust in it, but that was generally impossible, as he controlled sand. The room was pristine levels of clean, probably having been cleaned minutes before it was available for entry.
People, one by one, got caught cheating. As they were dragged from the room, people began to complain and yell, wanting a second chance. The entire point of the exam was not to get caught, but it seemed like they weren't up to par for it. Better luck next year, she guessed. However, she couldn't fail here. Tsukiyomi was across the room while Suno was two rows behind her.
She flicked her pencil and it rolled off her desk.
Suno began singing, progressively getting louder as she leaned down to pick it up. She glared at her team member. "Is that you? It better not be you." He began singing again, before stopping, giving her a cocky smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Are you kidding me, Suno?! You're gonna get us booted out! There's a time limit on all of this, you know!" She slammed her hands down on the table. "You moron, I know you like pushing buttons but now's not the time!"
"Keep it down up there!" The proctor called, his eyes harsh. Rena made a threatening fist at Suno, a sign to keep it down but he kept going.
"Can I please punch him, Proctor Ibiki? He's distracting everyone!"
Ibiki seemed to think for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. Just one. Do it quickly."
"Hey, what?! I'm singing because it helps me focus!" Rena stood up, rushing over to Suno and giving him a nasty right hook- right through the window. If people were trying to focus, now they definitely couldn't. All eyes were on the pair. Half of his body was in the window, half out.
"Damn it, I hit him way too hard!" Rena began shaking him. Tsukiyomi, on the other hand, began to perform a hand sign or two while the Jonin watching her row rushed to assist Suno.
"Chameleon Puppet." She whispered under her breath. Her hands moved the puppet she had deployed, the doll rolling across Rena's paper. The words began to peel off, disappearing as the puppet took them. Gaara noticed it. Smart. Rena had been the one collecting information, most likely from his page when she noticed he was cheating off another contender. Tsukiyomi would deliver it to the others, while Suno was the distraction. Could the girl from his childhood have planned this? There was no way she had gotten this smart. Gaara wanted to know who'd come up with the plan. Even though it was basic, it required teamwork to pull off.
"I think I punched too hard," Rena mused, still shaking the poor kitty. His paper was still blank and the clock was tick-tocking away. She dragged him across the floor, only stopping when the proctor addressed her.
"I don't think he'll be waking up any time soon. I think I need to disqualify you."
"Oh, he'll wake up. Suno, I'm not gonna get disqualified because you're knocked out. Hey, if you don't wake up now, I'm gonna make sure all you eat for the rest of your life is kitty kibble!" Suno's eyes cracked open and he stood up as fast as possible, walking over to his seat.
Gaara was watching the scene as suddenly, Suno began to write- fast. It was an almost blinding speed, all of the questions his answers. The kitty cat grinned. He had a few specialties, sure, but his best was his ability to process and remember information. There's no way that anyone could remember something as well as he could; most would know it as photographic memory, not that he did.
Rena sat back, her duty to her teammates fulfilled. Both Tsukiyomi and Suno had succeeded in their goals to get the answers she provided. She had to rewrite the answers, but it wasn't all that hard, because Gaara slipped her hints now and again. Still, her mind was elsewhere, her confrontations with Kana fresh in her mind. By the time she came back, Ibiki was talking about the tenth question and people were clearing out. Blondie screamed something at the top of his lungs, much to her annoyance.
Tsukiyomi would stay. It wasn't a problem if she couldn't take the Chuunin Exams again, although if Rena got up she was sure to follow. Suno didn't care, as Rena would have the answers. In other words, unless Rena was dropping out, they weren't.
"You have all passed the test." She appreciated his rather straightforward voice. It seemed like one that people could respect and did truly. As he yammered on about the test's meaning, however, Rena tuned him out. She already felt she understood the meaning well enough and the fact she passed made her feel like there hadn't been any questions to ask.
A woman shot through the window as if it had been any normal day. "I'm Anko and I'll be your next proctor!" Rena groaned internally through most, if not all, of the instructions given. The only important thing she made note of was that a Jonin would be showing their teams to the next area and stage of the exams tomorrow morning. An entire day of rest and time to stock up on weapons and supplies!
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Later that night, 5:00 PM
Rena's Room
Rena and Gaara's Relationship Level: 50%
Rena and Ikari's Relationship Level: [Still Locked With A Hundred Locks]
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"It's been an entire week since we got here," Rena murmured, staring up at the ceiling. Gaara was on her bed, sitting up and leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed, his face as expressionless and hard to read as always. "Soon, we'll be facing the Forest of Death."
"And?" It had been a rough week for him. Everything was rough; there was always something to think about recently, most things involving Rena. Always on his mind, always making him unapproachable.
"And I can't possibly imagine what's going to happen to us in there. I mean, the written exams were probably the easiest part but what if one of us dies in there?"
"Then they die." He responded coldly. Rena sat by him, moving closer. Unlike his cold personality, as he leaned over and buried his face in her neck, he was being quite warm. His arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer as they both fell onto the bed. She was trembling pathetically, allowing him to come near her rather than moving further away. This trembling wasn't out of fear of him, but fear of what would come tomorrow.
This pathetic girl, clinging to him like she had no other purpose in life, was going to change and become more like him. He would be the only one who she looked at, who she was loyal to, who she relied on and devoted herself to. It felt like his bloodthirst was skyrocketing. Love meant nothing to him, he had no use for it. But her? He had use for her. He'd use her forever.
That was enough for him.
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8:00 AM
Forest of Death Field
Status: Tired.
Suno barely could get out of bed. "Hey, why do I have to get up so early? Do these exams for me, leave me here."
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Rena stared down the giant fence in front of her, rather nervous. Gate Sixteen was all hers to enter along with Suno and Tsukiyomi. Suno was chasing a butterfly while Tsukiyomi stood rigid, alert, ready. "It feels like it's been forever... since it was just us like this." This caused their attention to snap towards Rena.
Suno placed a hand on one of her shoulders. "Relax. You've got us backing you up. We'll never let you lose."
Tsukiyomi placed a hand on her other shoulder. "I'd do anything for you, Master. It's because of you that I exist and I will not allow any harm to befall you. Anything you desire, I desire." Rena, suddenly infused with a burst of courage, gave them both a smile and turned to them.
"You guys are right. What am I doing, being so nervous with such an amazing team on my side?! We're gonna beat the shit outta any obstacle that comes our way!" She pumped her fist in the air, turning to the gate, her eyes sparkling. "I accept your challenge!" She handed Suno their Earth Scroll, who placed it in his pouch.
There had been a conversation between her and Gaara, who had been assigned Gate Six. She recalled it, knowing that it was her best chance at making it through the forest even with Suno and Tsukiyomi on her side. Their goal was to reach Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro within an hour. "Give me an estimate of our plan, Tsu!"
"If we choose to power ahead without stopping or detours, then we should be able to reach the Sand Siblings in less than an hour. If we encounter any Shinobi, depending on their strength, thirty minutes to an hour will be added if we were to fight. I suggest to duck and run, in this case. This is a rough estimate. I don't know what to expect within the forest itself." The rough estimate sounded good.
"Can you give me any threat values on the shinobi we're going to face?"
"Rock Lee, trained by the Green Beast of the Leaf. Despite his strange and interesting demeanour, he is skilled in Taijutsu. One might go as far as to call him a specialist, although I don't believe there's much special about him. Shikamaru Nara is a budding tactician, although I'm not sure how far he's progressed. Ours isn't exactly..." She watched Suno play with the butterfly, chasing it around the field behind them. "Prepared." She had chosen the word carefully. The bird that she had seemingly tamed was a good spy; she had learned to communicate with it in a matter of days and it had retrieved all the information she wanted to know. The knowledge she could obtain with the eyes and ears of a normal dove was probably the greatest in the exams. She was sure nobody else could do better. "Neji Hyuga seems intimidating, but if we were to combine our jutsu, we would easily be able to remove him from the exams. Not any threat to us, provided we stay together. Sasuke Uchiha, although strong, does not seem to be at the peak of his greatest potential. However, Gaara is interested in him, so I suppose that means something. He also detected me in his home."
"You broke into Sasuke Uchiha's home?" Rena said in disbelief, not sure if she should praise Tsukiyomi or scold her.
"I did."
"What was it like?" She had to admit, she was a little curious.
"Very neat, clean and orderly, as if nobody else was living there. He detected me on the second day. He wasn't particularly angry and he did not attack me. He simply told me to leave after giving me breakfast and that he would not report this to the Hokage."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"I do not know. Knowledge of Sasuke Uchiha was inefficient. He did leave me dinner the previous night and this seems to be out of his character."
"So he detected you from the start after all!" Rena facepalmed, shocked at how dense Tsu could be. They were distracted by a very sudden, loud buzzing noise. Gate Sixteen slowly rattled open, exposing the unknown terrain of the forest before them. There was a small dirt path, trailing off into the distance behind some bushes. She stepped onto it, trying to see as far down it as she could. "Tsu, please tell me the likelihood of us running into shinobi if we take this path." She signalled Suno, whose ears pricked up and tail unwinded. He stalked into the forest, slowly and carefully, his ears listening for any noise within a sixty-meter radius.
"There's a sixty-seven percent chance that we will run into one of the aforementioned shinobi who we want to avoid."
"Then the trees it is."
They took to the trees, jumping through them, as fast as they could go. A few minutes later, Suno signalled to them quietly, stopping on a branch, his eyes pinpointing their first target. The others stopped, shifting through the trees, circling the clearing. It was a team of shinobi, not from the Leaf, but rather from the Hidden Sand. Rena recognized them as a group that had entered too, one that had been travelling not far behind them. Nobody wanted to stick around Gaara, so they had done their best to stay away. In her head, she apologized but gave Suno and Tsu a nod to set up an ambush. Quietly, while masking any noise she could have made, she jumped down, from tree branch to tree branch, until she was directly over the person who seemed to be their leader.
They were having a rather crude conversation. "Dude, I gotta go. I really, really, gotta go."
"Can't you hold it? Jeez, we're almost there."
"No, we're not almost there. I REALLY gotta go."
The leader of the team sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, go." The shinobi he had permitted to ran off into the bushes and was promptly jumped on by Suno, who knocked him out with a quick strike. Tsukiyomi, on the other hand, began to unleash a puppet that had been strapped to her arm this entire time. Her favorite jutsu was her Chameleon Jutsu, as always. The Jutsu was already active, so no need to reapply it. It was small but hid a bevy of weapons. She hung from the trees by her legs, hair drooping down. Rena prepared to strike, crouching on her branch. Their timing was perfect as Rena dropped from above and landed on one of the team members, wrapping her arm around his neck and holding as hard as she could as she choked him out.
Tsukiyomi's puppet implemented a paralytic as it slashed her poor target's arm. He struggled, trying to get it off of him, but inevitably fell to the ground, unable to move, nor do anything but watch as Rena walked up to him and sifted through his bag. She pulled out the scroll but yowled in disdain. "Damn it! It's the same scroll as ours, we need a Heaven Scroll!" She exclaimed, holding it up in the air to show them their plunder. Suno exited the bushes, his tail flicking as he pulled leaves out of his hair and clothes.
"This was so disappointing as my first fight! Can't we hit something more exciting?" He complained, receiving a glare from Tsukiyomi.
"This isn't a playground, Suno. Take into consideration time management and the fact we could be ambushed by stronger shinobi at any point in time." Tsu scolded.
"Fine, fine! Surely Rena knows where we're going next. Come on, where to, Master?" He looted the unconscious and paralyzed bodies of the shinobi, including any money they had on them.
"Gaara is heading north, so we have to head slightly northwest. Our paths should collide and we can team up. I'm sure there'll be another unwary team of shinobi we can ambush on the way; we only need the Heaven Scroll. I hope we don't make the same mistake again." She was back up in the trees in a flash. Little did she know, the scroll she was carrying would summon a personal hell.
They continued nearly thirty minutes without any sign of another shinobi. However, something strange happened. Suno's arm shot up, preventing Rena from moving forward. "Stop. Don't move."
"Huh? Is there something wrong?"
"Don't speak, either."