Grave of the Dragon / Kakashi x OC (CURRENTLY EDITING)

Special- The Chunin Exams I

NOTE: I'm just going to assume that all Chunin Exams were pretty much the same as the one featured in Naruto.

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"Sayuri, I think you're ready to take the Chunin Exams."

I turned towards Kakashi, sure I'd misheard. The Chunin Exams? It was said that not everyone who took part in them came out alive. It's an exam that all genin have to take if they want to be promoted to Chunin, I thought. But... am I not too young?

"But I'm only 9." I muttered.
"Age doesn't really matter," Kakashi said. "As long as you've completed 8 missions, you're allowed to enter. I'm sure you can do it." He winked. "You're my pupil after all."
Kakashi gave me a friendly smile and I returned it a little uncertainly. If Kakashi wanted me to become a Chunin I wasn't going to disappoint him.

"But don't I need to be in a team for this?" I asked.
"Well, yes... but the Hokage has agreed to make an exception and will allow you and another Genin to participate without a team. After all, it won't be putting you at an advantage."
I still wasn't quite convinced, but I nodded. Kakashi ruffled my hair proudly.
"The Hokage said you should wear the outfit you wear for your ANBU missions, though you don't need to wear the ANBU mask. Just wrap a scarf or something around your face."
I nodded again.
"Well, I'll be off then. I'll give you the week off to prepare for the exams." With a final wave, he disappeared through the door, leaving me behind in my living room. I guess I'll try on my outfit then... I thought.

I quickly lit a fire before walking over to my closet and taking out the light grey dress.
Once I had changed I looked at myself in the mirror. I wore the dress on top of sleeveless black turtleneck and slightly baggy pants. The shoes I always wore with it reached just bellow my knees- they were a thick, solid leather. Round my waist, a red cloth was tied, the symbol of Konoha engraved on a metal plate. I wrapped a slightly see-through, red scarf around my face and looked in the mirror. Well I guess that was the easiest part of the preparations.

***

"All competitors who passed the written exam this way please!" One of the examiners shouted, waving for attention.
I followed the crowd, swallowing nervously. It felt like I had butterflies in my tummy, but I wasn't excited... at least not in a good way. Suddenly I felt as if someone was watching me. I turned round and caught a young boy with black hair studying me before he turned away and disappeared in the crowd of people. Who was that? I wondered. He seemed to be about the same age as me... I remembered that Kakashi had mentioned another competitor that had been allowed to enter the exam alone. Could that boy have been who he was talking about?

My thoughts were interrupted when we reached a wire mesh fence, which surrounded a dark forest that was looming over us. This must be the Forest of Death. I gulped. The trees were uncommonly tall and their trunks were several meters in diameter. Why had I signed up to this? I felt like running away.

"Everyone please listen up!" The same examiner called. "I'm now going to explain the rules of this stage of the exam. If you don't listen then that's your fault. These scrolls..." The examiner took two sets of scrolls out of a bag. "Are what you will be fighting over. The Earth scroll," He lifted up the dark blue one. "And the Heaven scroll." He lifted up the white one. "Each team will get one scroll, half of the teams get a Heaven scroll, the other half gets an Earth scroll. The aim is for your team to win 2 scrolls: one Heaven and one Earth. I don't care how you get them- you can fight for them, steal them, barter with them, whatever- and take them to the tower in the middle of the training ground within three days.
"You will be disqualified if you don't get to the tower with both scrolls in time and if one of your team members is either incapacitated or dies"- I felt a shiver run down my spine at these words-"Every team will be taken to a different entrance so that you don't all start at the same place. Now you will be lead to you starting positions. An examiner will then give you your scrolls. And I forgot to mention: You'll obviously not know who has which scroll."

With that, the examiner turned away and the teams started to split up, following different examiners. Since no one asked me to follow them, I stayed where I was standing. Soon I was the only one left. An examiner walked up to me and wordlessly handed me a heaven scroll before checking his watch. After a long and awkward silence, the examiner turned to me. "You'll be starting from here. Good luck."

He opened the metal gate and I stepped into the forest, a little uncertainly. Behind me the door clanged shut. I sighed. I suppose I'll start making my way to the centre, I thought. I'll steal a scroll from the weakest-looking team I find.

I ran for an hour or so but nobody came across my path. I didn't even meet any dangerous animals. Was this really the forest of death? I was starting to think that my first impression of this place had not been entirely accurate.
After another hour of searching, I started getting tired and decided to take a break.
"Let's see now," I mumbled to myself after I had had a drink and taken a seat at the foot of a large tree. "Kakashi taught me how to sense chakra. Maybe there are participants close enough for me to sense."

I closed my eyes in concentration and waited a couple of seconds. At first, I thought there was no one around. Then I felt a chakra to my right, and it was close. My eyes flew open and I jumped behind a tree just as some kunai knives flew my way. They sunk deep into the tree's bark and I was very glad I had moved when I did. If I hadn't focused on sensing chakra, I might be dead now.

"Who's there?" I shouted, trying to keep my voice from trembling. There wasn't an answer. I looked around myself wildly, but couldn't see anyone. My previous uneasiness was back. I shouldn't have let my guard down, I scolded myself. "Come out and fight me!"

I drew my shikomizue and held it in front of me defensively. I heard a kind of swish, like something was flying through the air very quickly, and before I could even react there was a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I turned my head and spotted a needle sticking from just bellow my shoulder blade. My arm felt numb and dropped to my side uselessly. I cursed under my breath- being left handed, this was not good for me. I grabbed my sword with my other hand; it felt heavy and useless. There was another swishing sound but this time I was prepared. I barely managed to block the next needle with my blade but now I knew where the needles had been thrown from. I jumped in the direction it had come from, spotting a boy a few years older than me crouching behind a tree. At first, I could see a look of panic wash across the boys face as he caught sight of my sword's keen blade. Then his eyes focused on something slightly behind me and he relaxed.

It felt like time had stopped. I was still in mid jump and I knew that somebody had managed to sneak up behind me. The world moved in slow motion. I glanced to my right just in time to see a knee flying towards my head. As it crashed against my skull, everything went black, as if someone had flicked a switch. Damn it.

***

When I came to, my head was throbbing. My pocket was missing the weight of my heaven scroll and I couldn't move. I groaned and opened my eyes. I was alone in a clearing I didn't recognise, strapped to a tree with sharp wire. I tried to move my left arm but it was still numb. I wiggled my other arm but stopped immediately, wincing as the wire cut into my skin. I could feel myself slowly starting to panic. I took a deep breath. Calm down, I told myself. Look at the facts and find a solution. I don't have any team mates who will come and save me, but I can't free myself either because I'll be shredded by the wire if I move. Right now, I wasn't really liking the facts. Ok... Maybe some other contestants from Konoha will help me?

I closed my eyes searching for chakra. After a while I pinpointed someone to my right a few hundred meters away.
"Someone please help me!" I shouted as loud as I could. "Help!"
This is so embarrassing...
I closed my eyes again and was surprised to note that the person was heading my way. I only hope they're coming to help...

Soon enough, there was a rustling in the leaves and someone dropped into the clearing. It was a boy with black, spiky hair. He was dressed mostly in black and I was relieved to see that he wore a Konoha forehead protector. Then I noticed his red eyes. I shuddered slightly as I looked into them- one thing was for sure: he was no ordinary kid. His chakra was a lot stronger than that of most other contestants I had met and, even though his face looked older, I could tell from his size and boil that he was around my age.

Then I recognised him- he was the boy who had been watching me earlier.