The shadow princess

Chapter 3

[Nara Shizuka P.O.V.]

Wearing just a training bra and training shorts I place my hands on my hips as I look up at the sky while slightly panting. Dawn is setting in, making it slowly change color from deep dark blue to orange blueish. I shiver slightly as the morning breeze blows through my hair, making my sweat extra cold. Time to head in and take a shower before everyone else wakes up. I step inside but stop walking as the light shines on the pictures I pass. In most of the pictures of us together as a family, father is holding Shikamaru and mother is holding me. In just a few it's the other way around, but in those he's holding me closely while smiling brightly, and the cute toddler me is smiling brightly too. "What happened hmm?" Father says as he wraps an arm around my shoulders as he pulls my back against his chest. "To that happy little girl over there" he adds softly as he lays his chin on my head. "She's long gone" I mumble. "Nah. She's in there somewhere. After all you're aspiring to be exactly as your Toochan is" he tickles my side. "No I'm not" I say as I trying not to laugh. "Yes you are" he says. "No I'm not" I say as I'm trying to stop his hand now. Father stopt tickling and wraps his arm in front of his other. "Listen to me carefully now Shizuka" father says. "The chunin exam starts today. And I know your motivation which causing you to rush sometimes" as I listen I look at the pictures of Shikamaru and I together. "Chunin exam is different. You have to be smart about it. Think of it as a game of shogi. Do that and I'm sure you'll be chosen to be a chunin" father lets go of me before squeezing my shoulders slightly. "Go shower, you're sweating"

Hisato, Kaiyo and I deliberately sat in between the others in here for the chunin exam. Because of this it annoys us even more when I see my brother and our friends from the academy being loud in the morning. Especially as Naruto shouts he's not going to lose from everyone in here. "Let's go" I sigh. Kaiyo and Hisato follow me toward the other rookie. "You're quite the rowdy bunch aren't ya?" I ask as I place my hands on my hips. "Mendokusai" I sigh looking up at the ceiling. "Try not to piss anyone else off allright? You're only making trouble for us" I say, looking at Naruto and Kiba especially. "Oh hello there Akamaru!" I say cheerily. I pet Akamaru who is on Kiba's head. "Well hello to you too Shizuka" Kiba looks down on me and I smile brightly at him. "Hello" I say. "Shizuka" Kaiyo says. "Yeah" I say. Shikamaru takes my arm as I walk past him. "Don't be stupid" he says. "You're saying that to me?" I ask, as I glare at him. I pull my arm back and disappear into the crowd with Kaiyo and Hisato.
Not long after the first round starts. We get assigned seats and have to take this written test. I look down at my paper and smile as I know the answers. My smile grows as I hear Kiba groan beside me. "You'll be fine. You don't have to be smart, you just have to be clever" I whisper. Kiba looks at me and I wink, before looking at Akamaru on his head then back at him. He grins as he understands me. I look around for my teammates and see Kaiyo not far from me. He gazes back at me. He nods slightly and I nod back. I'll help him now and he'll play the answers forward to Hisato. "Ninpō: Kagemane no Jutsu" I whisper after I make the handseals. I see my shadow make its way to Kaiyo, which succeeds. As I'm writing the answers, he is to because with every move I make, Kaiyo makes the same. I grin slightly as I hear Akamaru say answers to Kiba.

"So how do you want to play this Shizuka?" Hisato asks. I lean my forearms on my knees, balancing on my toes as the wind blows through my short hair and my eyes capture the remaining teams for the second round of the chunin exam. "I don't know yet" I say. "I don't have all the information yet. But you're going to have to buy me some time as the exam starts" I say. "So can come up with the best strategy for this round" I add, pushing my index finger against my chin. "Leave it up to us" Kaiyo says. "I know I can count on you" I say, smiling slightly. "What are you going to do if we're up against your brother?" Hisato says. "We won't. He and his team will probably run away. They might know some of my strengths, but they don't know any of yours. They won't take the risk" I say. "Won't they do what they have to do pass this test?" Kaiyo asks. "Yeah. Just not against me" I say, standing up and placing my hands on my hips. "If you say so" Kaiyo folds his hands behind his head. My eyes glide over the participants again. I scoff slightly as I see Shikamaru laying in the grass, Kiba and Akamaru are looking around too. As his eyes meet mine he smiles slightly, I smile back before turning to my team mates. As soon as Anko starts the exam, Kaiyo, Hisato and I run into the Forrest. "So, we first have to find a quiet spot" I say. "So you can give me a minute" I add. "A little up ahead. Follow me" Hisato says. We follow him and as we reach it I crouch down and press my fingertips against one another and close my eyes as my team mates stand in front of me to ward of any enemies. After a few minutes I stand up. "Okay I got it" I say.