Of Sand Ninja, The Chunin Exams, and New Rivals pt.2
-Of Sand Ninja, The Chunin Exams, and New Rivals pt.2-
"You're an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" The boy, now known as Gaara, asked.
"I know! I-I-I mean, they challenged us! They started the whole thing really. See here's what happened--" Kankuro stammered nervously before he was abruptly cut off.
"Shut up. Or I'll kill you." Gaara threatened, the ominous tone in his voice sent unpleasant shivers down Amaya's spine.
'It's almost as if he actually meant it!' Amaya thought to herself, surprised at the look in the red heads sea-foam colored eyes.
"Ah right. I was totally out of line! I'm sorry, Gaara, I was totally out of line!" Kankuro nervously replied.
'They're terrified of him... What is he capable of to shut this kid up so quickly?' The brunette thought to herself once more, taking in the shaken expressions on the twos faces.
Gaara turns to look at the group. "I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused."
'This guy has an evil look in his eye.' Sasuke thought to himself as he glanced down to his teammates. 'Amaya can sense something's off about him too.' He added before locking his gaze back onto the red head.
'He stopped Kankuro with a pebble, and that girl took him down like he was nothing. Made it look easy. They're both someone to keep an eye on.' Gaara thought to himself as he observed the two.
They all watched collectively as sand begin to swirl around the red head before he appears on the ground standing between Kankuro and the girl. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games." He ordered as he turned to his compatriots.
"A-alright sure. I get it." Kankuro stutters as he places the object back in its original spot, before he turns and begins to follow behind silently.
Sakura runs forward. "Hold on!" She calls out but is ignored as they keep walking. "HEY!" She yells, prompting them to stop.
"What?" The blonde-haired girl asks, glancing over her shoulder before turning around completely.
"I can tell from your headband that you've come from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Of course, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission! So, state your purpose, and it better be good!" Sakura replies.
"Really? Have you guys been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on, do you? We have permission." The girl informs as she holds up a identification card along with an application form. "Of course, your correct, we are Hidden Sand Genin. Our home is the Land of Wind. And we're here for the Chunin Exams. Get the picture?"
"The Chunin Exam? What's that? Well I've never heard of any Chunin Exams, believe it." Naruto replies as he stares in confusion.
"I believe it alright. That you're totally clueless." The girl retorts.
"Hey, Boss, those are the exams that every Genin's got to take in order to graduate to being a full on Chunin." Konohamaru informs, making it click inside of Naruto's head.
"Oh! Well why didn't you just say so? I am so there!" Naruto replies ecstatically.
Feeling that the conversation was finally over, Gaara and the others turn to leave again. As they walk away, Sasuke jumps down from the tree to stand slightly in front of Amaya. "Hey. You. Identify yourself." He calls out, making the group stop once again.
"Hm? You mean me?" The girl asks, slightly bashful as she turns back around with a faint blush in her cheeks.
'Oh brother. There's another one.' Amaya thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.
"No, him. The guy with the gourd on his back." Sasuke replies emotionlessly, making the red head turn to face him.
"My name is Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you too. Who are you?" Gaara replies blankly.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke introduces himself, almost smugly.
"And you?" Gaara asks again, looking directly at Amaya whose eyes widen a fraction.
"Amaya... Amaya Minamoto." The brunette replies, leading the three into a stare off.
"Hi there! I bet you're dying to know my name, right?" Naruto asks, breaking the silence that fell over the trio.
"I couldn't care less." Gaara replies simply before he and his companions turn and jump away.
'Hmm, things are getting interesting.' Sasuke thought to himself with a smirk.
"Well that was eventful." Amaya sighs, her tone making Sakura look at her exasperated.
"More like intense!" The pinkette corrected as she released her own sigh of relief.
"Hey, Konohamaru, do I seem uncool or something?" Naruto asked as he turned to the younger boy.
"Well compared to Sasuke and Amaya.. yeah you're pretty lame." Konohamaru answered bluntly, angering the blond.
"GAH! You're not gonna show me up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he rounded on the Uchiha.
"Hmph. Back off loser." Sasuke replied, uncaring.
-Meanwhile-
"Alright. It's time we chose our candidates for the Chunin Examinations. To begin, will those in charge of the rookie Genin step forward?" Lord Third begins as he released another cloud of smoke, prompting Kakashi and two others to step forward.
Lord Third then continued, "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma. What do you say? Are there any in your squads you'd recommend, who are ready for the exams despite their inexperience? As you know, any Genin who has carried out eight or more missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that, only you can decide when they are ready. Of course, most Genin require a much longer training period, at least twice as many missions."
'There's no need to say all this. It's way too soon for their squads.' Iruka thought to himself from his spot among the crowd.
"So, Kakashi, you begin." Hiruzen prompts as Kakashi takes a step forward and raises a hand.
"I lead Squad 7. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Amaya Minamoto. I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all four of these Genin for the Chunin Selection Exam." The silver haired Jounin replied, making Iruka gasp lightly.
The woman from before stepped forward with a raised hand. "And my squad is number 8. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. And now I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend all three."
"And my squad is number 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chōji Akimichi. And now I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all three." The man from before with a cigarette informed as he also stepped forward with a hand raised.
At their replies the room quickly breaks out in whispers. "Hm.." Hiruzen hummed to himself lightly as he made eye contact with Kenji.
"Hold on just a minute!" Iruka yells as he makes his way through the crowd.
"Yes? What is it, Iruka?" The elder asked as he tuned to face the Chunin.
"Lord Hokage, with all due respect. The ten names that were just given, were all my students at the academy. I know their skills and abilities. Everyone of them has great promise, but it's too soon! They need more experience before they are tested. If they try now, they're sure to fail the exam!" Iruka exclaimed, trying to get everyone to see reason.
"When I became a Chunin, I was six years younger than Naruto is now." Kakashi voiced.
"Naruto is nothing like you!" Iruka spats as he walked forward. "Are you trying to destroy him?!"
"Well, they're always complaining about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping the exams will teach them a lesson. A little pain is good." Kakashi replied nonchalantly.
"What did you say?!" Iruka asked, glaring at the Jounin fiercely.
Kakashi's shrugs. "Oh, nothing fatal of course. But seriously Iruka, relax. Listen, I understand how you feel. It's very personal for you and upsets you but--"
"Alright, Kakashi. Back off, you've said enough." Kurenai interrupts, sending a look to her fellow Jounin.
"On the contrary, Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to realize they're not his students anymore. They're mine." Kakashi retorts, not breaking eye contact with Iruka.
'Enough already.' Asuma groans to himself as Kurenai sighed in response.
"But these exams could destroy them! You know that! Minamoto-sama, Amaya is your daughter, surely you're not okay with this?!" Iruka yells in disbelief as he glances at the white-haired male standing next to Hiruzen.
Kenji lets out a sigh. "I'm not okay with the fact that she's growing up, Mitsuko reminds me every day. And no parent wants their child in danger... However, I do trust Kakashi's judgement and I also trust in Amaya's ability to take care of herself when I can't be there." He replies, giving the Chunin a small smile.
Iruka goes to say more but he is cut off by Hiruzen. "Iruka, you've made your point. I understand."
"Lord Hokage." Iruka concedes respectfully, hesitantly backing down on his argument.
"Accordingly, I have decided that the best thing to do is to hold a preliminary test." Lord Third stated informatively, shocking some of those in the room.
"Pre-preliminary test?!" Iruka repeats in disbelief.
Amaya let out a sigh as the two boys continued to bicker. "Hey, you guys..." She calls, earning the groups attention. "I gotta meet up with Tou-san now, he needed me to do something for him." She informs earning nods and a "Hn." from Sasuke.
"See you guys tomorrow!" The brunette calls over her shoulder with a wave as she took off in a light jog.
***
After climbing the many stairs, Amaya rounded a corner leading to the Hokage's office. Knocking on the door, she stood there quietly until she heard the raspy voice of Lord Third beckoning her inside.
"Ah, Amaya, your finally here." Lord Third acknowledged as he motioned her to step closer. "We have a task for you."
"We need you to show a group of visiting ninja around and to where they are staying, so they can meet up with their sensei later." Her father informed, making the girl nod silently.
"Okay, I can do that." Amaya replied with a small smile, as Lord Third let out a chuckle.
"Send them in." The elder orders as a Chunin left the room. When the door opened again, Amaya turned, and the smile instantly dropped from her face.
"These three are the current Kazekage's children. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. However, no one else needs to know that. They're here to participate in the Chunin Exams." Her father informed before taking in the strained expressions on the quartets faces. "Is something wrong?" He asked, looking at his daughter's neutral expression.
"We've met." Amaya answered simply, ignoring the question as she locked eyes with Gaara. "Where are they staying?" She asked as she turned to her father.
"You should know where it is." He said as he handed her a paper with the inns address. Kenji then turned to the trio. "My daughter Amaya here, will take you to where you need to go." He reassures, placing a hand in the brunette's head, giving her locks a gentle ruffle.
"Tou-san..." Amaya groaned out as she tried to fix her already unruly hair, making the two adults in the room chuckle. Looking up, she gave the trio a smile. "Saa~... Lets get going then!"
'She's in a completely different mood than earlier, even though she's still wary. Kankuro must've really rubbed her the wrong way.' The girl, now known as Temari, thought to herself as the brunette motioned them to follow her.
***
As they walked down the street, the trio couldn't help but notice the cheerful atmosphere that Konoha possessed. "So, is there anywhere else you'd like to go first? I can show you where some of the bathhouses or restaurants are?" Amaya asked politely as she glanced back at the three.
"The inns fine enough, thanks." Temari answers curtly, narrowing her eyes at the back of the brunette's head. "Why are you acting all nice after what happened earlier?" She asked.
Amaya turned around and started walking backwards. "For the most part, I'm generally a nice person. And to be honest, what I said earlier was true. What little effort I put into that little spat earlier wasn't worth the time, and I wouldn't be here right now if it didn't benefit me. But Papa asked me to do this before we even met, so I'll be civil." She replied before turning back around.
There was a moment of silence after that, before Gaara spoke up. "You. Are you entering in the Chunin Exams?"
Amaya lightly jumped at the sudden sound of his voice before turning her head to look at him. "Can't say for sure... It's really up to my sensei if my group and I enter or not. Half of us didn't even expect it to be this soon." She replied before noticing a familiar building up ahead. "Here we are!" She added with a sigh as they reached the door. "If that'll be all, I'll be going." She informed, taking a few steps backwards.
The trio nodded and stepped inside, Temari glanced back. "Thanks." She said before closing the door behind her.
Amaya let out a sigh. "Well that's done with. Better check back in with the old man." She said as she clapped invisible dust off of her hands before walking back the way she came.
-THE NEXT DAY-
"Why?! Why?! Why?! It's always the same! He sets the time, and then we all have to wait for him!" Sakura yells angrily as Naruto stands near her nodding along in agreement.
"It's not fair!" The blond adds as he rose a fist into the air.
Amaya and Sasuke make eye contact for a moment before looking away. 'Saa~... They're so loud today.' The brunette thought to herself as she relaxed on the railings, looking up to the sky as she listened to Sakura rage on in the background.
"What about my feelings?! I rushed here so fast, I didn't have time to blow dry my hair!" Sakura complained.
"And I didn't even have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Naruto informed, still going along with the pinkettes rant. The information made the three stare at him in slight disgust.
"You, uh, didn't? That's really disgusting, Naruto." Sakura informed as she gave the blond a funny look.
'First thing in the morning and they're already driving me nuts. Tch.' Sasuke thought to himself, looking up towards the top of the bridge as Kakashi appeared with a hand raised.
"Hey! Good morning everyone! Sorry I'm late, I got lost in the path of life." Kakashi said cheerfully, giving a closed eye smile.
Sakura and Naruto rounded on the man, both exclaiming at the same time. "You liar!"
They all turn to the once relaxing brunette as she mumbled something about "Déjá vu." The Minamoto then turned to Kakashi with a blank expression. "Saa~... Every time, Kakashi-sensei, every time." She murmurs as the Jounin sweatdrops.
Kakashi sighs before jumping down. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I've recommended you for the Chunin Exams. All four of you." He informs as he holds out a few papers. "These are your application forms."
"Application forms?" Sakura parrots as she stares at the papers with slight confusion.
"You're repeating me, Sakura... This is voluntary, it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready, out can wait till next year." Kakashi replies, sending Amaya a look as she was about to correct him.
"Alright! Kakashi-sensei, you rock!" Naruto exclaims as he jumped onto the Jounin, the two spinning around slightly.
"Hey d-don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi scolds, exasperated as he shook the boy off. "Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application and come to room 301 at the academy. It's at three o'clock p.m., five days from now. That's it." He added as he handed out the forms.
"Chunin Exams! Chunin Exams!" Naruto cheered with a laugh before looking closely at the paper.
"Saa~ I suppose you've redeemed yourself, Sensei." Amaya said as she took the form, her words making the Jounin sweatdrop once more.
***
"Saa~ I wonder how many will be participating in the exams this year..." Amaya mumbled to herself as she walked back to the compound, studying the application form. A light breeze blew through the area, sending a few strands of the brunette's hair along with it.
Suddenly, a raspy and ominous chuckle rung out through the pathway. "Well you for one, won't be." A man replies as he jumped down from a nearby tree.
"Pardon?" Amaya asks, staring at the stranger with a raised brow. 'Are all of these outside ninja a bunch of clowns or something?'
"I'm here to seek revenge against the Ambassador, your father, Kenji Minamoto! He'll know true pain once I take away his children from him, and his life!" The man replied dramatically as he dropped into a fighting stance.
"Uh-huh, okay. Nice talking to you, sir." Amaya responds blankly. 'What a loon.' She thought to herself as she continued to walk past the man who sweatdropped at the girl's apathetic answer.
Recomposing himself, he spun around. "Big mistake!" He yells, throwing a kunai which embedded into the girls back.
Suddenly, a loud popping sound echoed throughout the area as the girl disappeared with a poof, revealing a log stabbed by the kunai in her place. 'A Substitution Jutsu?!' The man thought to himself in surprise, staring around the area in a tense silence. As he looked around, he noticed a shadow coming from above. Looking up, he jumped away as she brought her foot down onto the ground. The two then pulled out their own respective kunai and clashed weapons. This continued for a moment before Amaya twisted around quickly and kicked the man in the side, sending him stumbling backwards.
Once he came to a stop, a sudden clone appeared and drop kicked the man to the ground before dispersing. Leaving him behind in a moderately sized crater.
The Minamoto stared blankly at the groaning male before resuming on her walk. "Saa~.. and here I thought Papa was gonna "pay" for something... What a waste of energy." She mumbles as she clapped away imaginary dirt from her hands.
"So how did it go?" Kakashi asked, staring out at the village as the man from before appeared behind him.
The stranger thought back to all of the battles he had earlier that day against the rookies, wincing once he remembered a certain Minamoto and Uchiha. "They all made it. Your squad and the others, all ten Genin proved themselves ready for the exam." He finally replied before releasing his Transformation Jutsu, revealing a sheepish Iruka. "You were right, Kakashi, they were good. They've all developed very impressive skills." Iruka added.
"Hm... But the Chunin Exams can break anyone. We'll see if they can tough it out." Kakashi mutters as he stared out over the moonlit houses and shops.
"Sakura! Hey you're late!" Naruto called out with a wave, catching Sasuke and Amaya's attention, prompting them to turn around.
"Uh, right. Sorry guys. Good morning, Sasuke." Sakura replied, earning a raised brow from Amaya.
"Yeah." Sasuke replied simply as he observed the pinkette.
"Saa~.. Well, lets get this over with." Amaya grunts, making the three nod before they turned to go inside the academy.
***
As they reached the second floor, they noticed a commotion going on in front of one of the classrooms. Amaya looked up at the sign noting that it read 301 instead of 201. Looking over, she gave Sasuke a little nudge prompting him to nod knowingly.
They turn back to the crowd surrounding the room as a boy wearing a familiar green jumpsuit is knocked back by two others. "Tch. You're taking the Chunin Exams, but you can't even get past us? Why don't you just give up now before you get hurt?" One boy sneered, wearing is leaf headband like a bandanna on his head.
"Yeah, I think I hear your mommy calling." The other added, he had spiky hair and bandages on his chin and cheeks.
'Those two look awfully familiar...' Amaya thought to herself with a slight deadpan.
"Please let us go through! We're supposed to go in there." A girl with her hair in two buns pleaded, taking a few steps towards the two boys standing in front of the classroom door.
The first boy, with the bandanna, steps forward and punches the girl in the face sending her backwards onto the floor. Whispers broke out, some commenting on how harsh the two were being.
"Did you just say harsh? Don't kid yourself, were being nice by comparison. The exams are gonna make this look like a picnic." The boy replies, looking around at the crowd.
"Some of you won't survive the exams. Others will be wrecked for life and some of you may go crazy. For Chunin it's always life or death. You think it's a joke? Chunin are qualified to lead missions. The lives of your squad members are in your hands, so you better be tough enough to take the heat. Delicate little girls don't belong here... We're just thinning out the herd, you won't pass anyway so go home and play with your dolls." The one with bandages added, causing Amaya to let out a scoff.
"Real nice speech. Now both of you step aside and let me through. And while you're at it, reverse the Genjutsu, we can see through your illusion anyway... We're going the third floor." Sasuke cuts in as they stepped forward.
'I'm terrible at Genjutsu and anything to do with it... And I still noticed it.' Amaya thought to herself as she stared at the two closely. 'I still can't place where I've saw theses two from...' She added as an afterthought, her stare making the two almost uncomfortable.
"What does he mean? We're on the third floor." One of the patrons in the crowd mumbled aloud as hushed murmurs broke out again.
"Well, well." The boy with the bandanna smirks as he made eye contact with his companion.
"So you noticed the Genjutsu, huh?" The one with the bandages added smugly.
"Go ahead and tell them, Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did." Sasuke prompts, not turning it look at the pinkette.
"Huh?" Sakura asks, confused.
'She's been out of it today... He must be trying to perk her up.' Amaya thought to herself, giving a small smirk.
"You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our squad. You must've seen this coming from a mile away." Sasuke replied, urging her to agree.
"I must have? Well sure! Of course, sure I spotted it right away! This is only the second floor." Sakura said confidently with Naruto in the background nodding along. "Right!"
The Genjutsu is released, revealing the rooms original number, 201. "Heh, well aren't we the smart ones? So you noticed an illusion. Now let's see you deal with this!" The boy who Amaya silently dubbed as "Bandaid Boy" exclaimed as he aimed a kick at Sasuke who retaliated in kind. However, before the two could make their move, a blur of green caught their legs in a tight grip.
'It's that kid from before! The one with Gai-sensei!' Amaya thought to herself in slight surprise, not realizing that the boy who got knocked back earlier was Lee until now.
The brunette watched as Lee's apparent group stepped up.
"Hey what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile, and don't let anyone see our skill level." A boy with long brown hair and milky, light violet eyes said.
'He must be a Hyuuga...' Amaya thought to herself before locking eyes with the girl behind him. The girl from earlier, with the buns, gave the brunette a small nod which she retuned.
"I know but..." Lee responded as he turned to look at Amaya and Sakura with a light blush on his face.
"Never mind it's over, forget about it." His teammate replied with a sigh.
Lee walks towards Amaya, fidgeting slightly. "Hello, Amaya-san, it's nice to see you again." He greets, surprising both of their groups equally.
Amaya stared at him for a moment before giving a closed eyed smile. "Yo! And likewise. You're Rock Lee, correct? We met the other day, I believe." She replied politely, making the boy nod furiously with a deeper blush.
"Amaya-san, I must ask something of you." Lee informed, suddenly serious making the brunette and their groups sweatdrop at the change in attitude. Taking the girls silence as a signal to go ahead, he takes her hands in his and breathes deeply - as if to settle his nerves. "Will you be my girlfriend?!" He asks, his eyes sparkling slightly with hope.
Amaya let out a nervous laugh as she looked around at the group's expressions. Lees squad seemed to be completely used to his antics and hers were in shock at the sudden proposal. 'Mama would get a kick out of this...' She thought to herself with a sweatdrop. Clearing her throat, she pulled her hands free and scratched her cheek, giving him an apologetic smile. "S-sorry... But I'm gonna have to say no." She replied, making the once energetic boy deflate. "I don't even know you all that well... Sorry again." She added prompting the boy to nod understandingly.
Suddenly, Lee's eyes focused on Sakura before he walked towards her. "My name is Rock Lee, you are Sakura, right?" He asks rhetorically.
The pinkette lets out a small confused sound.
Lee gives her a thumbs up and a wink. "Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!" He proposes with a smile, one that Amaya could've sworn sparkled.
Amaya and the others sweatdropped. 'Well he doesn't let rejection bring him down...' The brunette thought to herself before snickering.
"Definitely.. not." Sakura answered with a creeped out look on her face.
"Why?" Lee asked, ready to deflate a second time. Which he did when Sakura replied.
"Because you're a weirdo."
Naruto began to cackle loudly, which quickly turned into a groan as Amaya elbows him in the side.
"Hey you! Over here. What's your name?" The Hyuuga boy asked, staring intently at Sasuke.
"It's common courtesy to give your name before asking someone else's." Sasuke replied coolly, much to the boy's annoyance.
"Hey, you're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you anyway?" The boy asks again.
"I'm not obliged to answer." Sasuke answered emotionlessly, making Amaya smirk.
"What's that?!" The Hyuuga spat with a glare as the girl next to him giggles.
Sasuke doesn't reply. Instead he turns around and walks past a dejected Lee and Naruto, who are hunched over side by side with one hand for support on the wall.
"A weirdo?" Lee asks himself, depressed.
"Ah, no one wants to know my name." Naruto murmured just as sad as the boy next to him.
"Hey, Naruto! Amaya! Sasuke... C'mon let's go!" Sakura called as she tugs the two boys behind her.
Amaya gives the other three a small wave before running after her teammates.
***
"Heh, so that's the bunch of misfits that Kakashi and Gai have been going on about? I guess they passed their first test. Getting their applications through." The boy with the bandages states as they watched Kakashi's group walk away from behind another classroom door.
"Right." The other replies as they turn and release their Transformation Jutsu revealing older versions of themselves, the two Chunin who work the check-in desk at the village gates. Izumo Kamizuki and Kotesu Hagane.
"It looks like the exams are gonna be fun this year." Kotesu states with a smirk which Izumo returns as he replies, "Yeah for us, but maybe not for them."