Island of Storms [Sakura]

Chapter 56 | Victory

The two boys looked around the large city in awe, seeing homes that scaled large pillars of rock and disappeared into the clouds that laid low in the area. They were called to by Shino and followed after him again, being sure not to get distracted for an umpteenth time. Inari trailed behind slightly to allow people to pass them on the crowded street, his eyes catching the new Shuji clan mark of a simple holly branch within an inverted triangle on the back of Kosai's jacket. Iro had made him a new one as a gift after the paperwork for a brand new clan had been completed, this one not having the marking that matched the scars on his waist.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the testing site, finding dozens of other people crowded around the large entrance. They made their way through to the front desk, Shino telling them to go and get their participant numbers.

"May I get your names?" the woman asked as they approached.

"Terumi Inari," he spoke, still having a weird feeling in his gut even after his aunt had told him he could use the name.

"Here's your number. Next?"

"Shuji Kosai."

"Here's your number."

They made their way back to Shino, a little puzzled.

"I thought they'd say something about me having a surname now," Kosai muttered as he stuck his number on his jacket.

"Lady Namikage only said that two gennin would be participating, she never sent your names," Shino explained. The two boys nodded, now understanding. Having one last reminder on the things they needed to remember for their exams, they finished up talking. The two boys then followed the large sign for participants that showed them where to go.

By the time they entered, Kosai already felt nauseous. The eyes of those around them dug into him like knives and he could only imagine how much worse they would get. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked at Inari next to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah..." He took a deep breath before giving a grin. "It was all going to my head."

"Don't worry about anything until the exams start. I read if people try anything before or after they get disqualified."

The first test they went through was clear cut: a written test. Shino had told them about his first and second experiences with the Chunin Exam, and this was something they had anticipated. It made Kosai recall all of the hours Inari had forced him to read through the notes inside his books and go over flashcards as neither of them had a way of cheating that would go unnoticed. Surprisingly, Inari passed with flying colors, while Kosai just made the cut to his relief.

The number of participants had gone down by more than half, leaving only about fifteen people as those whose team had even one failure had to leave and try next time.

To their surprise, the second test was similar to the one in their teacher's stories. They were given a scroll that they were to bring to the other side of a densely clouded area but were not to arrive until the next morning.

They had found a small cave and decided to make it the place they would lay low for the duration of the night. With a relatively simple genjutsu Inari had learned from Kurenai, the entrance was covered and they slept for a few hours. After eating some snacks they had brought with them, they headed out through the dense fog and made it to the other side before they had the time to run into anyone.

"I feel like we're getting overly lucky..." Kosai muttered as they stood waiting for the proctor to call the final team.

"I don't think so..."

"What do you mean? We didn't run into anyone the entire time we were out there."

"I don't think many other people did either... Look around." He followed the instructions of his teammate and glanced around, finding that many of the other teams seemed to be in mint condition as well. "Personally, I think the first test eliminated enough people this exam for there to not be too many interactions during the second test."

"There's only three teams that I can see are missing at this point," Kosai muttered.

"It seems a few don't have their scroll though..."

Not too long after, it was announced that there were now only eight people participating in the exam. Two teams of three were left, as well as Inari and Kosai's team of two.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai found himself swallowing his nerves as he watched Inari and his Suna opponent move off of the arena. His teammate had beaten his opponent with just taijutsu, something he wasn't sure that he could do himself.

He wished he could do it himself.

He let out a long sigh as he heard his name called by the proctor. He stood looking up to see Inari was making his way over.

"You'll do great, don't worry about what other people think," Inari reassured, giving a pat on his shoulder as they passed by each other. Kosai made his way out to the area and climbed the stairs.

On the other side of the arena was a boy who looked about a year younger than himself. He had pastel blue hair that was held back by his headband and was wearing attire that told him he was from Kiri. Kosai took a deep breath that he let out as a chilled fog before getting into a defensive position. The other boy had seen what he had done and appeared to be thinking about what it could have been before the bell went off to signal their match.

Neither of them moved. Apparently, the simple act of letting out a sigh was enough to startle the opponent. Kosai closed his eyes and drowned out the sound of the crowd before opening them and dodging a shuriken that had been sent at him. He wondered why they had only sent one before realizing that the opponent was now rushing him.

Kosai easily blocked the oncoming kunai with his own, wondering if he were just more experienced than his opponent. The other boy didn't seem to plan very well, but he still had to keep on his guard.

Realizing that his opponent was going to jump back, he leaned down and placed his hand on the ground, forming a small rounded mirror of ice before sliding it across the ground. He held in a laugh as the boy landed in it and slipped, falling face-first onto the ground. Kosai didn't waste any time in pointing his kunai at the boy's neck. The bell for the end of the round sounded.

"W-What was that?" the boy asked, sitting up to see Kosai was holding out his hand to help him up. He accepted and was pulled to his feet.

"Next time, put chakra in your feet, don't worry about being able to move in mid-air."

His opponent blinked in surprise as Kosai quickly made his way off the arena and to the waiting area.

He could hear the crowd murmuring.

He let out another deep breath as he made his way back into the waiting area, sitting down next to Inari and sinking into his seat.

To be truthful, he had hoped that people wouldn't be able to tell what it was that he did. That hope was in vain, it seemed.

"Hey kid!" a man called from near them. "You used Ice Release just now didn't you?"

"That kid's a Yuki?"

"Aren't they all dead, though?"

"I'm not a Yuki, I'm a Shuji," Kosai stated bluntly as he stared ahead of him at nothing in particular. With his lack of response, the others seemed to not find interest in poking at him any longer and quietly talked among themselves instead.

The last battle passed without him paying much attention before the Chunin Exams came to an end. Inari, Kosai, another boy, and a woman stood upon the arena. They were congratulated for passing the exam.

All Kosai could hear were the murmurs of the crowd.