Been a LONG time since I touched this story; so much that I forgot most of my original plans.
HOWEVER, this gives me the opportunity to make new ones that will hopefully be better!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Me, Myself, and I
Chapter Five: Start the Testing
Kikyo stood in front of her two mentors with a blank expression that the older women felt was odd to see on the normally sweet girl. To Anko's interest, the blank look was directed specifically at Yugao and the swordswoman looked a tad uncomfortable.
"…How long were you going to wait until you told me, Yugao?" Kikyo asked after another couple of tensely silent minutes.
"Tell you what, Kikyo-chan?" she responded, sounding lost.
"That my mother taught you," the redheaded young woman clarified, her left eye changing to pink in response to her restrained anger. "You knew who she was and that there was a connection between us. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Whoa now," Anko cut in, trying to mediate. "Where did you find out something like that?"
"Kyuubi-san told me. He said that Yugao smelled familiar to him and mentioned how he remembers someone with a similar smell when he was held by mother."
Yugao sighed at that. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know how to approach the subject. Sensei was an important person in my life, and I failed to look after her child. I didn't know how to let you know that I wasn't there for you, and I'm sorry… I know that my excuse is poor, but please understand that I didn't keep quiet out of spite; I was just scared to face the consequences of my failings."
Kisaki looked ready to take over, but the Kyuubi spoke up. "She is speaking truthfully."
"How the hell do you know that?" Kisaki questioned angrily.
"An ability of mine is to sense the negativity of others. The only thing I can sense from her is self-loathing and regret. This supports her answer to your question of why she was silent."
Kisaki grew annoyed at that, but she held back from taking control while Kikyo gave a slow nod to Yugao. "I'm not happy that you didn't say anything. I probably won't ever get over knowing that you kept the truth from me."
Anko winced for Yugao's sake while the swordswoman stood in silence and waited for Kikyo to finish.
"I expect to hear everything about mother in the future. Maybe hearing about her before she had me will help me move on; I don't know… But I can't dwell on that when the Chunin Exams are about to start. I want to focus on preparing for it and advancing my rank."
The two older women nodded in understanding while Yugao looked noticeably relieved that the twins didn't lash out at her.
"Unfortunately, Blue Eyes, I can't be a part of helping you get ready until you pass the second stage of the Exams," Anko explained. "I'm the Head Proctor for that part, so it'd look like I was helping you cheat."
"I understand, Anko-nee."
"This means I'll be your sole instructor for the next two days," Yugao continued. "During those days, I'll have you and Kisaki train with myself and a Shadow Clone. Kisaki will spar with me and I'll look for any possible holes in her kenjutsu. Kikyo, you'll train with my clone about basic genjutsu theory."
Kikyo nodded for both herself and her sister, making a clone for herself while Kisaki took control of the main body. The look in both the sisters' eyes showed nothing less than unwavering determination; an unflinching drive to pass the Chunin Exams.
Both purple-haired Jonin smirked at this, feeling pride for the Uzumaki Twins and eagerness to see them dominate in the Exams.
Grunting was heard before a cry of pain cut through the sound; a bluish-white blur being sent into a tree's trunk with another painful shout. Falling on his ass, Sasuke glared furiously at his sensei who looked as disinterested as day one as Team 7's Jonin.
"Well?" the man asked casually. "You had enough?"
Off to the side, Sakura looked to Sasuke in worry at him pushing himself so much while Sai watched calmly. Danzo showed some interest in the young Uchiha's growth under the infamous Copy-Ninja, and the "Genin" was mentally recording everything for later reporting.
The Uchiha struggled to get back on his feet; his clothes damaged, and his body covered in bruises and scrapes. Still, he managed to stand up again and assume a ready stance. With an enraged shout, he once again charged at Kakashi to engage in another round of taijutsu.
'I won't fall behind! I won't stop until I'm strong enough to defeat them!' he repeated in his mind, almost like a mantra as his psyche conjured up the images of his brother and the redheaded bitch that dared to get between them.
When he saw the Uzumaki in the Exams, they were going down!
Kikyo decided to make a little addition to her normal kunoichi attire the night before the Exams began. She still wore her red sandals and shorts with the bell-sleeved white kimono top; but instead of a red obi holding it closed, she wore a bandolier with various scrolls attached to it. Each scroll held a sealing array that Kikyo had made during the previous two days of training, and the twins felt that they would prove crucial to passing.
Currently, Kikyo stood amongst a crowd of Genin from both the Hidden Leaf and various other villages, even a team from the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud. This was surprising since last the twins heard, the two aforementioned villages were not on good terms with the Leaf.
The Hidden Stone team held nobody worth noting. They were a three-man cell of boys that looked about a few years older than the Leaf's graduating class. Nothing about them truly stood out.
The Hidden Cloud team was more noteworthy. Two kunoichi and a ninja, each with a sword of sorts strapped to their backs. The blonde held a figure that the twins were sure wasn't comfortable, based on how often she rubbed her shoulder or lower back. The redhead was busy bonking her male teammate on the head, calling him overly paranoid while said boy held his new lump while shifting the sucker he had in his mouth.
Another team the twins saw – only because they moved to attack – was the Hidden Sound team. Kikyo was surprised to see them going after Kabuto, not knowing that her medical tutor was taking the Chunin Exams too. The two male members attacked while the lone kunoichi kept her distance, but Kikyo noted that her right hand held some senbon needles between her fingers, and there was the faintest sound of a chiming bell.
"Hidden Sound, so she probably has bells strung up to her senbon," Kisaki analyzed. "Be careful of her. She's probably a genjutsu type that could keep up the illusion with the bells even after we break free of it initially."
Mentally nodding, Kikyo turned her attention to the man she recognized as Anko's mentor, Ibiki Morino, stepping into the room flanked by some Chunin.
"Listen up, maggots!" he bellowed out, almost growling the order. "There will be no fighting in these Exams unless it is cleared by myself or any of the other proctors. Am I understood?!"
Nobody answered verbally, too afraid of having his attention on them. Most people simply nodded in silence while the rest didn't respond.
"Good. Now, each of your teams will be given a scroll. Your first objective is to covertly study its contents and fulfil the assignment held within. If you feel your assignment is too difficult, you could always swap scrolls," the man explained, smirking a bit as he mentioned swapping scrolls.
Kikyo's eyes narrowed at that, and she noticed that many other Genin were tense and eyeing the other teams, hoping to find weak links to exploit. She herself knew that, being a team of one (technically two when counting her sister), she would be a prime target for many teams.
The Chunin passed out the scrolls to each of the teams, and the Genin immediately started studying their contents. When Kikyo received hers, she opened it and saw a simple order:
Make an opposing Genin Team quit
There were no specifics, which meant that the twins had free reign to see the assignment through. Briefly letting Kisaki take over, the Uzumaki girl surveyed the room in search of a team to remove from play. There were plenty of teams that looked nervous or intimidated by everything; but they'd be too easy to scare off.
She needed a challenge to prove she fulfilled the order given to her.
To her amusement, the best option looked to be the Hidden Stone team. Relinquishing control back to Kikyo, she called out, "Those rockheads over there are the best choice. How do you want to go about this, imouto?"
'We need to wait and see what Ibiki-san says next,' Kikyo replied, watching as the proctor got the attention of the Genin once more.
"You all have an hour to complete your assigned scrolls. Once you have, report back here and present both your scroll and proof of its completion to myself or these Chunin with me. Now, get going!"
With that, the Genin scattered while Kikyo kept her blue orbs locked on the Hidden Stone team that rushed out one of the windows towards the Hokage Mountain. She gave one last look to Ibiki and offered the man a polite smile before taking off after her target.
Ibiki, having seen the smile, simply chuckled at his colleague's little protégé. She may look sweet, but she'd seen what the girl's sister could do.
She'd do fine.
Keeping to the shadows, Kikyo kept pace with her target as they kept heading for the mountain. She had a close call at one point when she mistimed a jump and knocked against a hanging sign; but they didn't see her when she took cover.
Then again, all they did was look behind for a couple seconds before continuing. 'Not the most cautious of Genin, are they?'
"They probably think they're hot shit and can ace these exams because their older age makes them 'more experienced' than other teams," Kisaki replied. "Pride cometh before the fall…"
Kikyo shared a smirk with her sister before her danger sense went off and she rolled to the side to avoid a trio of shuriken that struck the rooftop she was on. Looking to her assailant, she saw that it was a Hidden Rain team that consisted of three teens dressed in yellow jumpsuits and wearing rebreather masks.
"Unlucky me," one of them spoke, his voice distorted by the mask.
Standing up, Kikyo politely addressed them, "May I help you, Rain Ninja?"
"Lucky us have the assignment of removing the Weakest Team from the Exams," another of the trio informed her, sounding particularly confident in their chances. "You're a single-person cell; that makes you the weakest by default."
"Logical, but rather stupid," Kikyo shot down as her image faded like a mirage prompting the three Rain Ninja to stand with their backs to one another.
"What the-?!"
"Where'd she go?!"
"Unlucky! We gotta find her!"
"Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary, boys," they heard their target say from inside their formation.
Before they could say anything, the three of them felt something thick and metallic wrap around their necks before lifting them in the air. Gasping for breath that escaped them, they were forced to turn around and face Kikyo who had golden chains sprouting from her back as she held a Ram Seal.
"Sorry about this, but you all chose wrong," she calmly admonished before flexing her chakra and having her Chakra Chains toss them away into one of the random patches of trees that littered the Hidden Leaf.
With that nuisance handled, the Uzumaki girl resumed heading after the Hidden Stone team.
Unknown to her, her actions were spied upon by the Hidden Sound team. "Be careful around that one," Dosu spoke up.
"What, afraid of some random bitch?" taunted Zaku, only to get elbowed roughly by Kin. "Fuck was that for, Kin?!"
"For being an idiot," she replied in annoyance. "Remember that girl Karin? She can make chains like that too. Not to mention that both she and that Leaf girl are both redheads and look related."
"So?"
"By the kami, you're thick…"
Before Zaku could blow up on Kin, Dosu explained, "It means that both Karin and this girl are from the same clan; the Uzumaki Clan based on her last name. History says that the Uzumaki had their own nation that took the combined efforts of two or three of the Great Five Villages to take down; and that was with massive retaliatory losses."
That shut up Zaku almost instantly. "Well, shit. So, what do we do?"
"For now? I say we leave her be," Kin suggested. "We don't know what else she could be capable of."
"I agree," Dosu accepted. "Keep an eye on her, but do not engage. Simply report about her to Lord Orochimaru."
His two teammates nodded in understanding before the Sound Team rushed off to complete their scroll.
"There's nothing up here! We're wasting our time on these fucking heads!" one of the Stone Genin complained as he and his teammates looked around on the busts of the Four Hokage.
They're objective was to locate a scroll that was reported to be hidden somewhere on the mountain. Being raised in a village that prided itself on its stonework, the three Genin didn't bother trying to take another scroll and assumed that their assignment would be a cinch.
Instead, half their time was already gone, and they saw no sign of the scroll in question.
"Shut up and keep looking!" the team leader ordered. "You bitching about it is just wasting more time that we don't have!"
"Seriously man, just help us keep searching," the final member spoke up, hoping to calm down his angered teammate.
He didn't.
"We've been up here for half an hour already, and we haven't found shit! Those Leaf fuckers are just pulling us along for some sick joke, having us look around these fucking heads and being close to that murderer!" the first member raged, pointing furiously at the bust of the late Fourth Hokage.
His teammates both sighed, one in annoyance and the other in resignation. Every time the Fourth was mentioned, their teammate would get riled up. All they could do was stay silent and let him vent.
"Ahem," they heard a feminine voice speak up before they could continue arguing. Turning to the direction it came from, they saw a redheaded Leaf kunoichi standing atop the head of the Fourth Hokage with a scroll in her hand. "Looking for this, boys?"
Blinded by the sight of their supposed objective, the three of them leapt at Kikyo, ready to take the scroll by force. They had superior experience, training, and numbers on their side. Surely one little girl wouldn't be an issue.
"Oh, dear me. It looks like you were looking for it," Kikyo continued, giving an exaggerated look of concerned surprise. "Whatever will I do to get out of this?"
The Stone Genin all smirked at this, two of them going through handseals while the other reached into his pouch to grab some shuriken. They had this first part of the Chunin Exams in the bag!
…At least they assumed they did before an unrelenting wave of intent stopped them in their tracks and weighed down on them more than the heaviest boulder in the Hidden Stone. Paralyzed by the feeling, they were forced to lock eyes with their target and saw that her once blue eyes were shifting.
First were the pupils, stretching and thinning into slits as dark as the deepest trench.
Next were the irises, which had the blue bleed away into a gleaming pink before that too darkened to a bloody crimson.
Lastly were her teeth, which gained sharpened canines that looked like wicked fangs gleaming in the afternoon sunlight.
The grin she gave… It coupled with the weight pressing down on them made them try to take a step back, but their bodies wouldn't listen. Instead, they were rooted in their spots as her eyes were shadowed by her bangs and drops of blood started to slowly roll down her chin from her mouth.
"…Run."
As if that single-worded order acted as the key to release their bonds, the three Stone Genin took off and scrambled against one another to try and outrun themselves just so they could get away from the psychotic girl.
In their haste, they never noticed that their assigned scroll had been skewered by a Chakra Chain that swerved toward the Uzumaki girl and dropped the damaged item into her waiting palm. Kikyo was seen to be in control again; only, she never relinquished her control.
No, instead she had used one of the most basic of genjutsu that Yugao had gone over with her previously.
Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique.
It was a D-Ranked genjutsu that allowed the caster to plunge their target(s) into a false world of their own design. For Kikyo, she simply allowed her targets to view Kisaki taking over before the Kyuubi seemingly overshadowed their body, showing his influence on their image.
A simple scare tactic that worked beautifully, which made Kikyo feel rightfully pleased with herself.
"Nice work, imouto," Kisaki praised gently, smiling at her sister. "It was a basic technique, but it still got the job done."
"I can appreciate how you used my influence to drive in the final nail," Kyuubi spoke up, his tone smug. "Of course, all should fear me. It's only natural."
'Kyuubi-san, please try not to get a swelled head,' Kikyo gently admonished before she gave a teasing giggle. 'Unless of course you're trying to have your head match the size of your rabbit ears.'
The Bijuu sputtered at that while Kisaki gave out a bark of laughter, not expecting her kind-natured sister to actually tease the great beast.
She was so proud!
"Well, it's pretty obvious that you passed," Ibiki stated to Kikyo when she returned with both her scroll at the pierced scroll of the Stone Genin. "After you ran them off, they rushed in here babbling like a bunch of ornery chimps and begged to leave. I'm curious…"
"About what, Ibiki-san?" Kikyo asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"How'd you scare the living piss out of those boys? I'm always curious about possible new tactics or tricks that could make my job easier."
"Nothing special, I'm afraid," she shot down. "Just the Hell Viewing Technique that Yugao taught me recently."
The man hummed in disappointment. "Well, that won't help me. D-Rank genjutsu don't cut it for interrogation. Anyway, report to the Forest of Death at 0600 tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," the blue-eyed Uzumaki replied before excusing herself.
Ibiki meanwhile chuckled as he watched her go. "Yep. She'll do just fine."
This chapter wasn't very long, huh?
It probably wasn't even the best replacement I could've made for the First Stage (aka the Written Test). But I didn't wanna just rehash canon stuff, so here's what I came up with. Next time will be the Forest, and I'll do my best to mix things up there too.
Based on the ending notes for the previous chapter, I hinted at two girls that would be added to the Yuri Harem and offered the chance for someone to choose a third if they guessed correctly.
Sadly, I never got back to whoever guessed correctly. So, whoever guessed Kin Tsuchi and Mabui as the two lovely ladies guessed correctly. Unfortunately, I waited too long to get your choice from you.
As for adding a fifth girl to the harem, I will hold off on doing so for now unless one of you lovely readers can suggest someone and give a SOLID reason for adding them. You can suggest ALMOST any lady from the Naruto series, so long as you can support that choice.
I look forward to reading what y'all have to say.
Remember to stay safe, stay healthy, and stay supportive of one another.
Dreaming of the Future
pain17ification