Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ The Many Ways to Cheat ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called `Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?

Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri

AN: Woo, I got away from that meddling boyfriend of mine, lol. I'm exhausted and my tattoo itches like heck, but its all worth it! It's the kanji `Ai' over my heart, hehe. I'm crazy, so what! It looks awesome! I'll hopefully be able to take a picture soon and post it on my website. (Yay, we're at the half-way point! Only twelve more chapters to go! ^.^) Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Eleven: The Many Ways to Cheat~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amane leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, and had to bend down slightly since Eizan was shorter than her, a bit of knowledge that irritated the slightly younger kunoichi.

“To the left,” she spoke quietly, her eyes narrowed. Her hands were in her pockets and one of them was clenched around something in the right one. After a moment, she closed her eyes and isolated the voices out of the hundred or so inside the room. `...have some fun with them?'

The Ashikaga nodded but didn't let her gaze move from the Konoha rookies as Iwane also leaned toward her. “It's the ones from the rooftop,” she whispered. Eizan's crimson-rimmed orbs narrowed and this time flicked quickly on the Oto-nin from earlier, and then her gaze shifted toward the red head as he turned to meet her eyes.

They were planing something, but she knew that it might be a mistake. Gaara had let her in on a bit more detail of the plan, but not all of it. Oto was involved and she knew that if they started something here then they might be expelled and the plan would be ruined.

The three sound ninja started to move, darting among the shinobi that were gathered and some didn't even notice them. When she saw Gaara narrow his eyes and flick his head to the side slightly she tensed. “Go,” she muttered and the other two girls nodded and became blurs of motion.

Kin darted to come around the side, but paused as she found herself face to face with Iwane. She attacked her but the Doton user blocked and easily took her down. The Erizawa grinned down at her as her foot held her securely in place on the floor. “Why don't you settle down, hmm?”

Zaku jumped into the air and flung a few kunai at Kabuto and the gray haired teen was about to jump back. The black haired sound-nin was shocked as a figure identified as Amane, appeared in front of the older boy and easily blocked the kunai with a Senbon needle. They impaled into the wall as Amane smirked chillingly. “Pathetic.”

Meanwhile, Dosu tried to go around as he aimed for Kabuto, pulling his right sleeve back to reveal a strange device attached to it. He cried out as a kick connected with the side of his head and he flew to the side and slammed into the wall. Eizan appeared where he had just been with arms at her side as if she hadn't moved at all. “You're disturbing the peace,” she said quietly.

Sasuke had watched the whole thing, and was astounded at the speed in which they had appeared and deflected the attacks from the other Genin. `I didn't even see them coming,' he thought as he frowned. He glanced at Eizan and wondered what his real name was.

It was obvious that his teammates were almost as talented as him and thus Sasuke was interested in knowing about them. He turned his attention to the Oto shinobi and he was surprised to see the wall damaged in the direction that the taller boy's device had been pointed at.

Neji frowned as he had observed, taken by surprise at the speed the shorter boy had been moving at. “Lee, did you see them move?” he asked and his companion shook his head. While the others' speed had been quick, it could probably be said that it matched Lee's speed. However, the short haired one that had taken out the shinobi with the bandages was faster.

“The two with long hair were fast, but he,” Lee would motion toward Eizan, “was faster. I wasn't even able to see him move.” Frowning, he looked the boy over and noticed the hitai-ate he wore. “They're from Sunagakure.”

Dosu had recovered his bearings and Zaku was openly glaring at Amane. His hand was gripped around his kunai tightly and was ready to attack.

“I think everyone should calm down,” Kabuto spoke up when he saw the two Suna ninja preparing to defend against the two boys. The kunoichi of their group was still incapacitated by Iwane who refused to allow her to move.

Before things could get heated up there was a loud explosion in the middle of the room. “Would everyone quiet down!” a voice yelled from the smoke before it cleared. There were many Konoha shinobi revealed, all looking older than any of the Genin gathered from the different nations. The young ninja were surprised by their sudden appearance.

There was one that stood out among the rest and he was more than six feet tall with scars running along the plains of his intimidating face. He had a dark grey button shirt and matching pants, and he wore slightly different sandals than other Konoha ninja. His hitai-ate covered his whole head from view and one could tell that he was bald, but the most noticeable thing was the long, black leather coat he wore.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said with a malicious smirk. “My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam.” The expression on his face made the more inexperienced ninja to shudder in fear.

Eizan smirked and shook her head with a slight sigh. She seemed to flicker and disappear, only to reappear where she had been standing before. Iwane and Amane were beside her in the next second. It was almost like they had never moved.

The Ashikaga glanced at the red head, who actually smirked in her direction. She felt her face flush as her heart skipped a beat so she turned away before he saw her. Eizan knew he must have seen it. She always thought that Gaara knew her feelings and that's why he had started to keep her at arms' length more and more.

`Is he disgusted by me?' she silently wondered. Her heart ached and she knew that she'd rather die than know the truth. It was frightening.

“You Genin from Oto can't just do anything you want,” he said as he pointed at the three recovering shinobi before turning toward the Suna kunoichi. “You three may have stopped them, but you will also be disqualified if you continue to disrupt things before the exam.” He turned to face the room. “Now it's about time someone laid down a few ground rules.”

His gaze hardened into a deadly serious expression to show that he meant for these to be followed. “From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer and even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers an applicant's life is strictly forbidden.” The same malicious smirk returned to his lips as his eyes burned a bit sadistically. “Any of you little piglets who break that rule will be disqualified. No second chances. Got that?”

Eizan had leaned back against one of the desks, crossing her arms over her chest as she tilted her head to the side. “Rules are meant to be broken,” she commented only loud enough for her companions to hear her as they both laughed quietly. Well, Iwane laughed and Amane simply smirked. She hadn't laughed much since...for a long time now.

“The first part of the Chunin Exam is about to commence. Turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignment cards and report directly to the seat indicated.” The Genin started to do as he instructed and turned in their applications, and then taking up the assignment card. “When everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test.” One of the proctors shuffled a pile of papers he had with him and prepared to hand them out, some ninja already taking their seats.

Meanwhile, Naruto blinked in confusion as he looked at the main examiner and then at the stack of tests. “Huh?” His face suddenly became a cross between shock and horror as his eyes widened. “A...A PAPER TEST!?” he yelled as many were either stunned or amused by his outburst.

Eizan glanced at the seat she would sit and saw that it was several seats away from the red head. She was glad since lately she'd found it hard to think straight in his presence. However, she also saw that she was in a different row than her teammates as well.

She took a seat and saw that there was already a test paper face down in front of her. Her eyes roamed the room and smirked when she noticed that Amane was sitting next to the Hyuuga boy. She actually giggled, but managed to stifle it. The girls had told her of what had happened between them and the leaf-nin.

Iwane was a few seats to her left, and two rows down. She was sitting beside a kunoichi from Taki and Eizan rolled her eyes as she saw that the Erizawa was wasting no time in flirting. The girl was blushing and giggling and the short haired girl wondered if she realized that her neighbor was also a girl.

The fire user turned to her right and almost sighed when she noticed that the Uchiha was sitting one seat away from her. `Oh joy,' she thought sarcastically. She rested her folded arms on the desk in front of her and turned away when the boy glanced her way. She'd choose to ignore him for the moment.

“Papers face down until I give the signal. Now listen up.” Morino tapped a piece of chalk against the black board behind him. “There are a few big rules for this first test. I'll write them on the black board and explain them all,” he turned around and started to write, “but I'm not taking questions, so listen carefully. I will say this only once.”

“Rule Number One! Each one of you starts out here with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point. For each you get wrong, we subtract one point from you. Get all ten right and you retain the ten points you have.”

Everyone was paying him the greatest attention as he started to write the next rule. “Rule Number Two. This written test is still a team event. Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members of each cell. The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total.” He heard mutters from some of the Genin as he smirked privately to himself.

He started on the next rule, hand moving easily as he wrote. “Rule Number Three. Anyone caught attempting to cheat or aiding and abetting a cheater will lose two points for each offense.” At this point, he turned as the murmurs started again. “That's right. In all probability, some of you will run through your entire allowance of points during the test. If so, you will fail and will be asked to leave.” His grin was enough to warn that there would be consequences if any protests were made.

Eizan nodded and compared the rules to the other test and had to admit that they were slightly similar from the test that her brother had taken. She moved to flip over her paper, thinking that he would now tell them to start. However, his hand continued to write out a fourth rule. “And the forth and final rule,” he spoke as her hand froze as she had gripped the test paper.

“Anyone who has no points left at the test's end--whether due to being caught cheating or to an inability to answer any of the questions correctly--will automatically fail,” he turned as he finished writing. “If a single individual fails, the remaining two members of that person's cell will be failed as well.”

There were several exclamations then as Eizan smacked her hand against her face with a groan. A few rows in front of her, Amane let her head fall against the desk with a resounding bang as the Hyuuga prodigy glanced at her in confusion. Iwane scratched the back of her head and started to laugh rather loudly as one of the proctors told her to be quiet.

Sasuke glanced at the short haired kunoichi as she had smacked herself and lifted an eyebrow, but then understood her reasons when he heard one of her teammates let her head fall against the desk and then the other burst out laughing. It seemed they had one just like Naruto on their team as he glanced at said blonde in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Naruto shuddered as he hugged himself and rubbed his hands up and down against his arms. “I can feel that someone wants to kill me,” he whined to himself and knew who the two were. He turned toward the main examiner as he stepped away from the black board, having let the chalk fall on the piece of wood jutting from the wall that was there for that purpose.

His face was hardened into a frown before he grinned slightly. “You have one hour starting...now!” he said as the clock struck four o'clock in the afternoon. The sun was sinking closer to the western horizon as the young Genin turned their tests over and started. Many were reading the questions with worried looks, others glanced around momentarily, and a few started to write almost immediately.

Eizan had frowned in Iwane's direction momentarily and then started to write immediately. She was sure that Amane knew more than her, especially the ones that involved math. While she didn't know as much math as the wind user, she was confident about the other problems. So, she got started on the first question and saw that you had to decode a cipher and summarize the meaning.

She read over the second question and sighed as she glanced in Iwane's direction and saw the girl shift her shoulders from the left to the right. It seemed like an attempt to remove the tension in her shoulders, but Eizan's eyes narrowed as she then shifted them to the left. Her gaze flicked in that direction and saw the window that was besides her.

A smirk twisted her lips as she saw the leaf shinobi that was one seat behind the earth user. His had was moving with fail over the sheet of paper in front of him, and wasn't glancing around like many Genin in the room were. `Chunin?' she wondered. It seemed probable. `I see now.'

Her blood rimmed eyes left him and moved along the room and spotted two others scattered around the Genin. This wasn't so much a test to know how much you knew, but how much information you could gather. `Stealing information without getting caught,' she mused with a slight grin. She refrained from rubbing her hands together and instead concentrated on what her next course of action would be.

Eizan closed her eyes as her pencil stilled over the paper and she used her other hand to form a single seal under the desk. The temperature in the room rose a few degrees but nothing more, and a part of the window's glass beside Iwane started to melt. It reformed quickly and silently.

It was just within Iwane's line of sight so that she would only have to shift her eyes to the side. Also, since she was sitting at the edge, she made sure to have it almost against the wood and high up so the proctors that were at the front or sitting against the wall didn't see it.

The small Katon jutsu turned the glass into a roughly made mirror and which would allow her to see the test paper of the person behind her. It hadn't used too much chakra and it was still too distorted for anyone to see it properly. However, for Iwane's sharp eyes it would be no problem.

Having taken care of that she answered the question she could, and kept watch over her teammates out of her peripheral vision. They had designed some signals in case they needed help on a question and had to make sure to be paying attention to both girls. So far she was lost on the second question since it had quite a bit of math, and it was the same for questions five and eight.

Eizan was wondering what the deal was with question ten when she saw Amane scratch her head out of the corner of her eye. Her pointer, middle and index finger moved in the motion and the others were rolled into the palm of her hand.

The girl was to her right side and two rows in front of her. Since it was fairly quiet in the room any sound made would be easily picked up by Amane's sensitive hearing. She started t move her pencil as she gazed at her test, and let it tap against the desk quickly and in a distinct rhythm that the girl would understand.

Over the last year, they had developed a way to communicate with one another without having to use words and not even Enoki was able to break it. After a moment, where it only appeared like Eizan was doing the soft tapping as a habit, the other girl gave a sigh and she stopped almost immediately.

Around the room, many had already picked up on the subtle hint that their only way to answer the questions was to cheat. Then it started as many commenced their own way to steal the answers from those that had already had them, or that knew them to be placed there judging by the constant movement of their pencil. During this time, many were caught and points were deducted without their knowledge for the moment.

Amane glanced out of the corner of her eye at the Hyuuga and saw the veins around his eyes protruding against the skin. She knew this to be his Kekkei Genkai and so that meant that he had already started gathering the information he needed.

However, she had come to the eighth question and answered it quickly but knew that Eizan wouldn't be able to. Just like she had given her the answer for the second and fifth one, she pushed back her bangs with all five fingers as she extracted two fingers from the pencil that was gripped before her as she lifted her head slightly.

Eizan caught the sign and cleared her throat to indicate that she had seen it and the other started to wag the pencil in the air before her, concentrating on the paper. There was a certain fluid that could almost be said of the movements, but that was because they had designed this code so that they each communicated in a slightly different way.

Her eyes narrowed and shifted to the side, taking in the information quickly, and before the other started to run it over again, to make sure she had it, she sighed and the other stopped.

As she wrote the answer to number eight, she saw as Iwane stretched her arms over her head and then curl all of her fingers into two fists. That was the signal that she had finished the test and only needed the last question that informed the reader of it being asked after forty-five minutes into the test. Each girl wondered especially about this one but Eizan was distracted as she saw the signal for the ninth question.

Moving, she started the soft tapping against the desk as she rested her head against her other hand and peered almost longingly at the paper, as if she were trying to think of the answer.

When she heard the other sigh, she stopped and then started to move her pencil over the paper. There was nothing more to write and so she merely started to doodle on the paper, and before she realized it, she had written the kanji signs for love and death.

She glanced to the right and was able to see Gaara. His eyes were closed and his fingers were pressed against his left one. Eizan recognized the jutsu as his Daisan no Me. He closed the hand that he held in front of him and he noticed that he had also brought the chief examiner's attention to him.

The short kunoichi winced suddenly and closed her eyes with a sigh. `Something's in my eye', she muttered to herself, but then froze and moved her arms to fold them before her. He was using the technique and it appeared as if Eizan's test was his target. If it had been anyone else, she would have dispelled the jutsu because a shinobi at times had to hide information even against the ninja of your own village, but this was Gaara. Even if it brought about her own destruction, she wouldn't care as long as she helped him.

After a few minutes, she moved one arm to rub her sore eyes, but still left the other in place in case he was still writing the answers down. When she was able to see, she discreetly glanced down and was in time to see the eye disappear in a swirl of sand. She closed her eyes to make sure no more of it got into them again. Amane had already given her the signal that she'd finished and so she rested her head on the table and let her crimson tinted orbs close.

Her long bangs fell over her hitai-ate and over her closed eyes. She shifted her head to the side and to Gaara's direction, but didn't notice since she was tired. Her eyes had been feeling heavy all day, since she hadn't gotten too much sleep last night, or the night before that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The scarlet haired youth had used his third eye technique, and when it had appeared in front of his subordinate it was to see that all nine questions were answered. He had been watching them and seen the exchange that the proctors had missed.

Gaara had witnessed them train on several occasions and he'd seen the code they had used. Seeing it now had been enough proof that they had been exchanging answers. He wasn't able to break it himself and had to use Daisan no Me to get the answers.

He picked up his pencil and quickly started to copy the answers on his own sheet of paper. When he finished he disconnected the third eye and then turned to look at Eizan to see if she had noticed the eye. This wasn't necessary since he'd seen her fold her arms in front of the paper so that it would be covered from view. `Then why bother to look in her direction?'

Her head was resting at an angle against her arms so her face was exposed to his sight. He saw the slight shadows under her eyes as he frowned, and then chastised himself because he wasn't supposed to care. Also, he noticed for the first time that Uchiha Sasuke was sitting one seat away from her.

Minutes before, a Genin had been caught cheating one too many times and had been failed, and the male sitting between them had been in his team. Now there was no one there, and he felt a burning heat form in his chest as he saw the black haired boy turn to glance at the kunoichi, whose eyes were still closed as if in slumber.

It was apparent that he wasn't trying to cheat off her since her arms were resting over her test and his had been turned over to indicate that he was finished. `So why the hell is he lookingat her?' he growled silently, hands clenching into fists.

Before he could even think of doing anything, his twisted mind already thinking up ways to make the black haired boy suffer, the chief examiner cleared his throat. He announced that they going to be asked the tenth question at this point. Then he also explained that he would add a new rule.

Glancing -more like glaring- one last time at Uchiha Sasuke, he turned his attention to the front. Kankurou had just arrived after having been in the restroom. He'd been handcuffed and taken by one of the proctors, but Gaara knew that it had been Karasu, his marionette, which he controlled with his Chakra.

The examiner smirked. “Just in time,” he spoke to him. “It seems the time you've spent playing with dolls won't go to waste,” he said slyly. When the youth seemed to be confused as well as alarmed, the other male waved him off. “Don't worry about it, just take your seat.” He did as told, moving past Temari and making sure to slip her the answers for the first nine questions. It seemed that they had been cutting it a bit too close, but at least now they had the information needed to pass the first part of the exam.

The room was completely silent, quite a few seats having been emptied during the exam by those that had been caught cheating five times. There were still thirty-one teams present, not counting the three Chunin that were scattered around. “Let me explain. This rule is absolute. First, you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question.”

Temari frowned as she continued to grip the paper with the answers in her palm. “Ch-choose?” she asked loudly. “What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?”

The man took this time to stuff his hands into the pockets of his long leather coat. “If you reject the question and don't even try answering it, then you'll lose all your points immediately and fail!” Once again there would be a cacophony of surprised voices that sprung up following this. “And both your teammates will fail right along with you.”

This time there were many distinct yells from the Genin. “Say what?!” one male ninja shouted. “Then why would anyone choose to reject it?”

His features held the same chiseled expression that he'd worn for most of the explanation. “Because of the second part of the rule.” While it seemed strange that there were all these rules, they still listened without interrupting. “If you tried to answer the question and got it wrong, you will never be permitted to apply for the Chunin Exam, not ever.”

One of the boys from the rookie teams slammed his fist against the test before pointing at the examiner, his small dog barking angrily as he yelled. “You can't be serious! That's ridiculous!!” The red stripes on his cheeks gave him a wilder look. “There are ninja here who've sat for the Chunin Exams more than once already! We know there are!”

He would stop as the tall man chuckled slightly, but his face was still hardened into a frown. “Just your rotten luck,” he commented, the head band cast a shadow over his eyes so he looked more menacing. “I wasn't making the rules in past years. I am now.” He stepped forward once, his hands still in the pockets of his coat. “I've been up front with you. You can take a failing grade now, and try again later. Anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now.” His lips spread into a grin, turning slightly to the side so that he would be looking at them out of the corner of his eye. “Come back and reapply next year, and the year after that.”

Iwane folded her arms behind her head and gave a cocky smile but stayed put. She saw Amane as she rested her arms before her and leaned against them, but the slight curve of her lips also indicated that she would not back off. Eizan, meanwhile, was glancing around the entirety of the room to see if any were looking to refuse the last question. There was no way she was going to back down from this.

“Ready?” Morino asked. “Then let's begin. Those who chose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number is confirmed, they will have to leave the room.”

The first hand lifted and they replied that they were rejecting the question. The Genin besides Naruto stood and announced that he was also refusing to answer the question, and he was failed along with his teammates.

A few more teams failed and then it seemed that no one else was going to give up. Suddenly, the fire user turned and looked at the blonde boy, seeing as he lifted his hand into the air.

`He's giving up?' she thought, not quite believing it since she'd picked up a defiant attitude from him. She had thought him different, but even she was mistaken at times when it came to reading people.

His entire arm was shaking as he lifted it up, closing his startling blue eyes. After a moment, he slammed his hand down against the desk as a fiercely determined look spread over his features. “Never underestimate me!” he yelled at the examiner, shocking many of the ninja.

“I don't quit and I won't run away! I'll accept your stupid question. Even if I risk ending up a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage, even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness. I don't care!” With an arrogant grin, he pointed at Morino. “I'm not afraid of you!”

While Naruto had had his outburst, the chief examiner hadn't moved a muscle in his body or his face. He glanced around and there didn't seem to be anyone else that would quit. “I'll ask one last time,” he tried again. “This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now, while you still have the chance.”

Naruto grinned back at him, steadfast in his decision. “I never go back on my word,” he responded, slightly adjusting the Konoha hitai-ate at his forehead. “Cussedness is part of my shinobi skill set!” While many in the room had commented, at one point or another, that Naruto was below ninja skill they couldn't help but smirk. Even shinobi from Amegakure and Takigakure were either smirking or grinning. It seemed that the loud blonde had dashed away their doubts, as well as his own.

Morino looked on, his facial expression not having changed yet as he glanced around. `Eighty-four of them are still here. He dispelled their doubt and hesitation. More than I expected.'

Turning, he glanced at the other proctors and they all nodded. `There's no point in dragging it on. Thanks to him, no one else will quit.' His gaze would once again settle on the Genin. “Good call. So, everyone who is still here,” he started, seeing a lot of them tense or pale in anticipation. “You've just passed the first exam!”-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End Chapter Eleven