Descent of the Dragon ~ A Naruto Fanfic (On Hold)

Chapter 12

Kai's POV:

The hypnotizing smell of perfectly-cooked meat filled the air. My chopsticks moved in a blur, expertly snatching the best cuts from the grill. Genma looked at me with a mix of amazement and frustration as I stole several pieces he'd had his eye on, but I just shrugged and kept eating.

Over a month had passed since our mission to the Land of Waves, and a lot had changed since then. 

After I reported how my curse went crazy during Naruto's rampage, the Hokage had deemed it too dangerous for us to keep taking on missions with Team 7. We didn't know why my curse had reacted to the Nine-Tail's chakra—though I had a few theories—or when Naruto might snap again. If I—and by extension, Shiro—was taken out of commission every time he used the fox's power, it could end up getting us all killed.

I didn't mind leaving the idiot trio behind, but sadly this also meant Kakashi wasn't our sensei anymore. But in hindsight, giving one person two teams full of problem children might not have been the best idea. 

Kakashi's role had been taken over by Genma Shiranui, a man with brown hair and eyes who always had a senbon in his mouth for some reason. Genma was one of the few people in I trusted almost completely, and he knew the circumstances surrounding me and Shiro in detail. I honestly wonder why he wasn't in charge of us from the start, since we didn't need to conceal our power as much with him watching over us.

Just like Kakashi, Genma was more of an advisor than a teacher. We reported to him after missions and could go to him when we had questions, but most of the time we were on our own. That said, Genma did accompany us on missions whenever he didn't have his own to deal with.

Speaking of missions, all the ones we'd taken recently seemed lacking. Running into a powerful opponent like Zabuza had spoiled me, and now I was starving for a challenge. "Aren't there any harder missions we can have?"

Genma laughed as I groaned in mock agony. "You just finished an upper C-Rank mission—something most rookies don't even get—and you're still unsatisfied?"

Just like he said, our last mission had been to capture or kill a bandit group known as the Wolf Riders. Since fighting them meant we also had to deal with their wolf mounts, it was supposed to be a dangerous C-Rank mission that almost qualified as B-Rank. But their base had been right next to a lake, so Shiro'd turned them into icicles before I could even throw a punch. 

"Fighting bandits is too easy." I sighed as I placed more food on the grill. Somehow all the meat had disappeared. "We'll never get stronger unless we fight real opponents. Right, Shiro?"

I looked to her for support, but Shiro was staring off blankly into space with her chopsticks still in her mouth. It didn't look like she'd heard a word I said. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Shiro jumped, as if just realizing we were there. "Oh, nothing." She looked away, developing a sudden interest in her plate.

Yeah, that's convincing.

Genma and I exchanged glances. She was clearly hiding something. But trying to force it out of her wouldn't do any good. 

"If dangerous missions are what you're after, I have something that might interest you." Genma skillfully resumed the conversation, holding out several forms. "You've both been recommended for the Chunin Exams."

"Really?" Shiro and I each took a form. I knew about the Chunin Exams, but from what I'd heard it was rare for rookies to join.

"Yeah. They're being held the day after tomorrow, and genin from various villages will be taking it together."

Shiro's ears perked up. "That explains why I've felt all those unfamiliar chakras the past few days."

I wasn't a sensory type like Shiro, but I'd noticed strange people gathering here too. Most of them looked weak, so I'd just ignored them.

"That's right." Genma leaned forward, lowering his voice. "It's even possible your friends are here, mixed in with all the genin. After all, it's the perfect chance for you all to reunite. But there's a problem." 

Genma held up the last form. "The Chunin Exam is taken in groups of three, and all the other rookies are taken. Unless you can scrounge up a third member from somewhere, you won't make it past the gate."

"No problem." I snatched the paper from him, grinning. "I'll think of something."

I felt Shiro look at me, but she didn't say anything.

Genma leaned back, crossing his arms as he looked me in the eye. "You're going to cheat, aren't you?"

I gasped in mock offense. "Genma, I'm insulted. Of course I'm going to cheat. Di you think there was another option?"

I'm not about to waste time searching the entire Leaf Village for a random genin who's not already taking the exam. Even if I did find someone, they'd just be dead weight without the skills or confidence to pass.

Genma laughed. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised.  After all, you two were bold enough to break into the Hokage's house."

Wow, that takes me back. After we'd parted from Zabuza and entered the Land of Fire a year ago, Shiro and I had heard rumors that the Leaf Village had a bunch of scrolls that contained powerful jutsu. So, we'd snuck in and borrowed a few. No one even noticed until we brought them back a few weeks later (after we'd made copies, of course). If Genma hadn't walked in while I was putting them back in the shelves, we'd have gotten away scot-free.

....It's funny now, but back then I thought we were screwed for sure. Until then only leaders we'd dealt with were the heads of criminal organizations and the bastards from our homeland, so it's an understatement to say I didn't have a good impression of people in power. And we'd been caught steal—er, borrowing from him red-handed. Luckily Genma's the type who talks first, or the Hokage's mansion could've become a bloodbath.

He stood, signaling for the bill. "Well, I won't stop you. Just be careful. If you're discovered, they'll disqualify you on the spot." 

"Got it." I saluted back, ignoring Shiro as she sighed behind me.

Genma went to pay at the counter, but his eyes widened when he saw the price. "What the—When did you eat this much?!"

And that's my cue. I scarfed down my—I think eighth?—plate and slipped out the door. "Thanks for the food, sensei!"

Shiro had already disappeared, leaving four plates stacked neatly on the table.

~Descent of the Dragon~

"Don't you feel bad making him pay?" 

Night had fallen. We were in my room, and at some point Shiro had slipped in and taken over my bed. It was a usual occurrence since our rooms were right next to each other, and there'd been many nights I ended up sleeping on the floor because she just refused to leave. Not that it bothered me. Half the time I slept on the floor anyway, and we'd been traveling together for so long it'd be weird to get embarrassed about her being here at this point.

But something seemed off tonight. Normally Shiro would be sprawled across the bed, her nose buried in a book or one of the scrolls we'd "borrowed" during our travels. But instead she was just sitting quietly, ears drooping as she looked at the floor.

"Not really. He's the one who wanted to treat us." I turned a chair around, leaning on it as I sat facing her. "But that's not what you came to talk about, is it?"

There was a brief silence as Shiro gathered her thoughts. "You're planning to use one of them for our third member, aren't you?"

"Yeah." I grinned, picturing the two friends we'd been searching for. "They'll join our team eventually and could easily pass these exams too, so we're not totally lying. The only question is who to use Reiko or Daichi?"

"About that." Shiro finally met my gaze. Her odd eyes were finally back to their usual sharpness. "I have an idea."