Child of the Moon

Selections

"And now I will begin the explanation of the final exams..." The Hokage started speaking, but Aiyanna's mind was elsewhere.

She'd noticed Kakashi-sensei and Tsukiko-sensei leave roughly the same time - she suspected that both were going to check on the missing members of both teams. Aiyanna's heart clenched painfully as she remembered Nanami...

A dark glare escaped her as she glanced at the kunoichi responsible for it, before shaking it away with a frustrated sigh.

"This is what happens when you become a ninja... people get hurt... still..." she looked over at the Sand ninja again. "They're utterly ruthless..."

"Yo, what did he say?" Aki leaned over to whisper.

Aiyanna flinched for a moment - "Shoot... I wasn't listening..."

"You too, huh?" Aki snickered.

She clicked in on the conversation leading into how they had a month to prepare for the final battle - they needed that time to pick up new tricks and adjust to battle with their future opponent. The two girls locked eyes, a nod of understanding passing between them.

"In a calm, orderly fashion each of you is going to take one slip of paper from the box Anko is holding," the Hokage informed.

"Oh shoot, I hope I pull Naruto's name," Aki said cheerily.

"Really?" Aiyanna smiled wryly.

"Yeah, it should be fun!" Aki said. "He'd keep getting back up no matter how much I beat him down. It would be amazing."

"Well, why not Katsu then?"

"Oh, shoot, you're right..." Aki lapsed into silent contemplation as Anko moved through the lines.

Eventually, they each got to pick theirs - not names, but numbers.

Aki pulled a six, and Aiyanna... an eleven.

"Going left to right, tell me the number on that slip," Ibiki said.

Once everyone said their number - all different, so Aiyanna had no idea how the matchup was supposed to go...

"Unless they do every second number is a matchup? Or One vs Two or something like that," she pondered.

"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up," the Hokage announced.

"Yessir," he flipped the board, and Aki leaned forward with a slight squint to see her name.

Of course, the tournament-style rounds was a concern - if only one person could become a chunin at the end of this, Aiyanna didn't exactly want to crush her best friend to accomplish that. But the Hokage assured that that wasn't the case - judges would be present to determine eligibility based on performance. Meaning a loser could still qualify.

"Sorry Aki, you know I hate to lose," she grinned slightly to herself. "But it looks like I get to fight Katsu... right at the end. That sucks."