The Fox's Third Flash of Hope

Chunin Exams Arc Preview

Hello~

REALLY sorry I haven't updated for months. I just don't really feel like writing fight scenes right now. But I feel guilty for not updating, so here's the solution I've come to: 

I'm going to kind of make a trailer/preview of the entire Chunin Exams arc. It's going to include selections of scenes of all the upcoming chapters of this arc(which I haven't actually written out yet, but I've planned enough of it to be able to do this).

Hopefully you'll like it. 

*****

"So you all managed to find this place."

The team of three simultaneously turned towards the source of the voice. Through the blinding light they saw nothing, but they had no issue at all hearing the new arrival to the scene. 

"Well done. I assume that you have all come to the conclusion that this is the place you were supposed to find?" The tone used was surprisingly kind. But of course, that changed very quickly.

"But your troubles are far from over, you eighteen."

Kansen was instantly alert. "Eighteen?!"

"That's right, little girl. You thought your team was the only one here, did you? Take a good look around."

Around them, other figures appeared through the light. Fifteen in all. They seemed just as baffled by their situation as Kansen's team. 

"There are no rules. This is the only chance you'll get to obtain the keys to pass this exam."

Some of the more intelligent contestants instantly caught on. The slower ones still didn't quite understand, but they would soon enough.

"Now, let the game begin."

*****

It was a rickety old sign, creaking and threatening to fall off its post in the gusts of ocean wind.  However, the paint that was slathered onto the knobby wood in solid layers was anything but worn out. 

"Exit to the Chunin Exams that way?" Penami mused, raising an eyebrow. "That's way too fishy."

"You don't say," Kansen mumbled weakly. She was crouched down in the sand, her back to the expanse of salt water and her head in her hands.

"Oh come on, pull yourself together. You're the leader of this team!" Niju glared down at his redheaded teammate, arms crossed.

"Leave me alone......."

"Kansen, it's just an....endless.....no......wavy...no.....violent........I give up," Penami lamented her inability with encouraging words. She was only ever good at being verbally abusive. "But in all seriousness, crossing that ocean to that island over there in the distance is our best shot right now. We've been wandering for days and our rations are about to run out."

"No."

"Kansen, please."

"No."

Niju sighed. She left him no choice. Drastic times called for drastic measures.

*****

If the circumstances were even slightly different in pretty much any factor, the scene before them would be absolutely breathtaking.

But in their current predicament, the archipelago of sky islands were spelling out their doom. The sizes and gaps between each island varied greatly, and those large, empty spaces led down to impenetrable clouds and mist, which led to either a ground thousands of miles below or an endless void. Neither were very nice options.

"So, where do we go from here...?" Kansen narrowed her eyes, mostly talking to herself. She showed no signs of fear of the unpleasant fall below them, unlike her two teammates. Penami looked over the edge of their current island. Wrong choice. She quickly turned away and half sprinted to the very middle of their land mass, falling to her knees. The minuscule blades of grass by her hands were spinning with her distorted vision. Niju fared no better, although he didn't show it quite as much.

"I assume our objective is to get over to the other islands somehow, and then find something somewhere," that sounded about right to Kansen. This type of seemingly impossible dilemma was exactly what the Eighth would cook up.

"But.....how.....?" Penami looked up feebly.

"I don't know. But we'd better figure it out-" the team leader stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening. The wind currents were turbulent. That wasn't supposed to happen in a topographical place like this. Something was coming. Something huge.

A moment later a shadow swooped in over them.

*****

Her loose brown hair knotted against the ground as Penami skidded over the harsh gravel on her side. Her cheek burned, and she could feel something jabbing at her chest from within. A metallic taste rose from the back of her throat, and she hacked up a clot of blood, the fluid spraying over the ground in a morbidly beautiful, jagged edged fan. The cough made her chest hurt even worse.

She tried raising her head to look at the enemy standing before her, but she no longer felt anything in her limbs. She opened her mouth wider and exhaled harshly, more blood spilling down the side of her mouth and into a small pool on the ground. 

The pain in her chest subsided as she closed her lightless eyes.

*****

Niju awoke to a dark room, sitting against a wall. Weird, he didn't recall having fallen asleep. As his thought process restarted, he noticed that there was a heavy blanket draped over him. He moved his head, disturbing something that was resting on his shoulder. He turned back around, much more carefully this time, and realized that none other than his redheaded teammate was asleep next to him, her head leaning on his shoulder. She too had a blanket spread over her.

"Kansen, wake up," he gently shook her arm. His voice scraped against his throat, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time. Moving his arm caused both his and his teammate's blanket to fall down, and he became aware of the thin, flexible tube attached to his forearm. It looked suspiciously like an iv tube. A similar contraption was on Kansen's arm as well.

The redhead opened her eyes. "Hmm....?" She was still mostly asleep, and even in her lethargic state detected a terrible crick in her neck. She abruptly straightened, and winced when she pulled a muscle in her back. "Where are we?"

"Who knows?" Niju replied. He tried standing up, but immediately collapsed when his knees gave out from under him. "Ow.."

"You alright?"

"Do I seem alright?" he stood up again, slowly straightening his legs and managing to keep a wobbling balance. Kansen followed his example with much more grace, using the wall for support. Her hand bumped against something hard that protruded from the wall. From the smooth, cold surface, it was made of metal.

"I think I found something," she stated.

"What is it?"

"I think it's a doorknob." Sure enough, it spun when she twisted it.  She pulled inwards, moving out of the way of the swinging door. She turned her eyes away from the painful amount of light that spilled in.

*****

And that is all~

Note: This may or may not have been in chronological order. You can decide that for yourself for now.

If you liked this part, tell me in the comments. I'd be willing to do this for every arc if you guys want me to. It's a good way to set up an outline for the arc instead of groping around in the dark and giving myself an excuse to procrastinate.

No promises though.