Chapter Text
The Chunin Exams are a big moment in every shinobi’s life; rather, it’s watching or entering. It doesn’t matter if it’s their first time or not. The event of the exams will forever hold a place in people’s memories. Not to mention the weight it holds on those taking the exams. It seems that the pressure doesn’t get to them for some, or they don’t show the stress. Then there is Uzumaki Naruto, who is just brushing in the room yelling.
“Who does he think he is?”
“Where does he think he is?”
“Doesn’t he know any manners?”
Are some of the questions being whispered by Kura and Sie. Kura is wearing a grey and black shirt under a red trench coat with black pants. Has short red hair. Sie is wearing a white jacket with sleeves so long they cover her hands and red shorts. Her long brown hair is in twin braids. Next to them is another one wearing an orange, dark yellow dress and white leggings underneath, all tied with a red bow around her waist. Long purple hair up in buns and pigtails. Calesta doesn’t care if this genin is acting like an idiot or not. It seems his team is yelling at him about it anyways. While her teammate stares at the new group walking in and talking, Calesta keeps her eyes forward, waiting for the exams to start.
After a short one-sided fight, the exams started. Kura is sitting in the back behind everyone. Sie is sitting next to her cousin Kiba. Calesta is sitting behind and to the right of the kid, yelling before.
The rules are simple, but the questions on the written test are not. Everyone seems to be freaking out or thinking. After about ten minutes, some figured it out and did what they needed to answer the questions.
Shino sent his bugs to help. Kiba is doing the same thing with Akamaru so is Sie with Ocha. TenTen somehow had mirrors on the ceiling to help her teammate Lee. The two Hyugas use their byakugan. Sasuke with his Sharingan. Desu uses sound to get his answers. Kura might be one of the few to know the answers. He already finished his test and is napping. Gaara uses his third eye while Kankuro asks to use the restroom.
Sakura falls like she was hit with a sleeping jutsu. She was hit with a jutsu; it was Ino’s mind transfer jutsu. That’s how Ino and her team got their answers. It seems Sakura knew them like Kura.
While everyone was gathering the information they needed, Calesta was sitting there, arms folded and eyes closed. At least that what it looks like; Calesta’s eyes were open; she was looking down on the person’s paper, to her left then the right. She would look up and around at the ones there to watch for cheaters before writing down the answers. Once done, she would fold her arms and look down again.
Ibiki was true to his words. Around ten minutes left, he asked one final question after adding one more rule. We either give up now or try to answer the question; if you fail, you can’t take the chunin exams ever again.The rule sounds suspicious to Calesta; she stays, her teammate also finding the rule suspicious as well. For a minute there, everyone thought the loud boy in orange was going to quit. Instead, he slams his hand on the table, declaring once again about being Hokage someday. Making others wonder if he ever talks about anything else.
Once the room was emptied a bit due to the people choosing to leave instead of trying to answer the final question, Ibiki speaks again. To everyone’s surprise, there was no question. Everyone in the room passed the first part of the Chunin Exams. Then someone jumps in through the window and makes some flashy moves to put up a banner.
The second half of the Chunin Exams will begin the following day. A test of survival at a nice place called The Forest of Death. The rules are simple: get the other scroll and head to the tower in five days, don’t look at the scrolls until you’re inside the tower. Now everyone except your teammates are enemies. No one knows what scroll each team will have.
After signing the release form, the team gets their scroll. Not only does the team get a scroll they also are giving a number. That number tells them what gate entrance they will start.
While waiting for the exams to start, Kura starts to complain, “Five days is way too long. To make it more challenging, they should make it three days.”
Sie is petting Ocha. The small little dog is a bit taller than Kiba’s dog Akamaru. White just like him but brown around her ears, eyes, muzzle, paws, and tail tip. No wonder the two dogs look alike; they are from the same litter.
“I just hope I have enough treats for, Ocha,” Sie rubs her dog’s ears.
Ocha gives a little bark of approval, and Sie checks her pockets. She has plenty of treats for her dog. She sighs in relief, making Kura perform his famous eye roll. What Sie likes to call it, ‘The rolling sigh.’ Since he sighs while rolling his eyes.
Like always, Calesta doesn’t speak, staring at the gate, waiting for it to open. She doesn’t care much about anything other than getting this exam done and over with, not even if she becomes a chunin or not; at the same time, she won’t let her teammates down.
The one guarding the gate is looking at his watch. Within a few minutes, he stops looking at his watch, and walks closer to the gate, then looks back at his watch. Not even a minute later, he turns his back towards the team.
“Get ready,” he calls over his shoulder as he unlocks the gate.
With a burst of speed, the three rush through the open gate and into the forest. They don’t slow down even as they take to the trees. While jumping from tree to tree, they make plans for the exam.
“I know it’s a low blow, but I think we should target teams weaker than us,” Kura stated.
“How can we tell if a team is weaker than us?” Sie asks in an acidic tone.
“We find a team and spy on them. Hope they get into a fight,” Kura grins.
He’s quite proud of his plans, even if it’s not the best. He is the type that will go ahead without thinking things through. Once an idea is in his head, he thinks it’s good, and others should join him. Tell him no and he will either complain or throw a tantrum. Good thing his tantrums are short-lived and quiet compared to a child’s.
Sie opens her mouth to speak but is cut off by Kura, “Let’s say we watch them for a bit, like a few hours; if no fight, then we move on.”
“There are parts in your plan that will work, but sadly I don’t agree with everything,” Calesta speaks in a hushed tone.
Both team members look at her. Claesta doesn’t speak much; everyone around her who knows her pays close attention to her words when she does.
“Finding a team we can take would be ideal. You didn’t seem to consider that they may not have the scroll we need. Do you have an idea on how to find out what scroll the other team has?” Calesta’s blank stare is aimed at Kura.
Unlike her teammates, Calesta’s face always remains emotionless. Unless she trusts you, then her face will emote more. Sie is always smiling even when she’s yelling, something that bothers Kura to no end.
“After the fight, if they win, they will have both scrolls. If we think we can take them, we fight. Only take the one we need when we win,” Kura speaks with pride.
Calesta looked forward again. She seems to be satisfied with the answer. For a while, they didn’t talk to each other. Instead scanned the area, keeping an eye out for other teams and anything else the forest may toss at them.
They stopped when Sie and Ocha smelled another team and warned them. Landing on three separate branches of the same tree, the team looks for the other team that was sniffed out. They are right below them, only a few steps to the side with their backs towards them.
Ocha whimpered and slid into Sie’s jacket, poking her head out on top. Sie pats the dog’s head.
“According to the headbands, they are from the Hidden Sand Village,” Kura whispers.
“Suna, from Wind country,” Sie also whispers.
Calesta closes her eyes on the team. They aren’t the only ones from Suna, but they stand out more than other Suna teams.
“We should leave. There is no way we can defeat them. If we fight, we shall die,” Calesta whispers.
“I agree,” Sie nods.
“We haven’t even seen them fight. How can you be sure?” Kura whines.
“Suna only cares about strong ninjas. They will only have strong ones here,” Sie answers.
“Then are we to avoid all teams from Suna?” Kura crosses his arms.
“No, only these three,” Calesta opens her eyes.
Outvoted, Kura sighs, and the three move on. Leaving the team below far away behind them. As soon as they took off, one of the sand ninjas looked at the spot they were just at.
“What is it, Gaara?” asked his sister.
“Nothing, let’s go,” Gaara answered.
The other two looked at each other, then the area Gaara was looking at. They shrug and follow their younger brother.
Not long until another team was found from Suna again; this time, they watch them for a bit. It seems they have found a team they might be able to beat. They looked tired, maybe they had lost their scroll, or they could have overdone them self. Maybe they were in a fight and won.
“Should we?” Sie asked.
Kura and Sie look at Calesta as she stares at the team that’s currently resting.
“We attack,” Calesta answers.
Both Kura and Sie stare at her with wide eyes.
“I can see an Earth scroll. I hate to attack them while they are in a weakened state. I know how unfair life can be. A lesson all must learn. Today is their turn,” Calesta blinks, “Let’s use the Play Dead technique.”
Sie and Ocha jump down in a bush as Kura jumps across the resting team landing on a tree on the other side. Calesta kneels where she’s at.
“Did you hear that?” One of the team members stands up.
He is looking at the bush Sie is now in. The others look at the bush as well. Out pops Ocha. She is whining and limping, taking a few steps before she collapses on the ground. The only female on the team rushes towards the tiny dog.
“Poor thing is hurt. I didn’t know there were such cute doggies in this forest,” she squeals.
“This dog looks familiar,” said the only sitting team member.
Before he could put his mind on it, Ocha bites the girl petting her. Jumping back, she yelps. That’s the single for the other two to go into action, while Ocha makes a mad dash back to Sie. The team tries to run but is blocked by a wall made of earth. They decided to backtrack to find they couldn’t move and are tied up with thin metal strings. Sie comes out of the bush and casually walks up to them. Searching them all until she finds what they needed.
“Sorry about this. We need this,” she says, taking one of their scrolls.
Checking to make sure it’s the earth one. She smiles and jumps back into the tree with Kura and Calesta. Sie hands Calesta the scroll, and she puts it in her sleeve before they head to the tower.