Caged

Chapter 18

Kai began reading the questions, her brow furrowed. She bit her lip, trying to figure out the questions. She read and re-read the questions, trying to figure it out.

Looking around the room, Kai could see a few people cheating, but some were less obvious than others. She could see Neji's Byakugan activate, and that's when it clicked. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner... She thought to herself. She put her head down and activated her Byakugan, looking around the room easily with her Kekkai Genkai. Smirking, she wrote down answers from various places around the room. Kai deactivated her Byakugan as soon as she finished, not seeing the need to keep it on. She kept herself busy by spending time to think to herself. All she could do was wait anxiously, anticipating the obstacles her and the rest of Team Kurenai wait face.

Time seemed to pass slowly, and little by little, Kia's nerves began to eat her up inside. Her pale eyes reflected her worries, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. All she could do to hide the nervousness she felt, keeping her head down, hiding herself form those around her.

She glanced around briefly, trying to see how her teammates were doing. Akamaru was barking softly and looking around on Kiba's head. Shino had obviously used his bugs and Hinata her Byakugan. Kai smiled, proud of her teamates. Knowing her team was fine, she relaxed slightly, a small smile remaining on her face. Kai looked at Neji, knowing he was smart enough to use his Byakugan like she and Hinata did, but she couldn't help but worry for her cousin too.

Now that she was sure her team was fine, the only other person in the exams she could think to worry about was Neji. She didn't know his teammates personally, but she remembered that she had bumped into them once, and they looked nice enough.  If they're on Neji-Nii's team they must be skilled... Kai thought, looking at her older cousin's teammates. While she lost herself in thought, time had run out and it was time for the final question.

"You can take the risk and answer the final question, or you can play it safe and opt out of the exams. If you choose to answer the final question, you will never be able to take the exams ever again, staying a genin forever. Choose wisely." Ibiki warned, a faint smirk on his face. The genin stirred nervously before they began dropping like flies.

Naruto raised his hand, signaling that he was going to opt out, before he slammed his hand down, making a scene about following his nindo and never giving up. His speech instilled faith the the remaining genin, giving them confidence to move forward. Of course, Kai thought, that's why Hinata admires him so much... He has a certain aura around him that can give so many people confidence... Kai looked at Hinata, who was smiling at Naruto, but he never noticed.

Kiba smiled brightly in his seat, glad that he and the rest of his team had made it past another round. He was about to speak to Akamaru before a woman burst in through the window, dressed in full fishnet and a long coat. "Don't get comfortable! It'll only get harder from here!" She exclaimed.

Kiba sighed slightly. At least his team was okay for now. He looked around, looking for each of his teammates. Hinata was smiling, Shino was emotionless as always, but Kiba was sure he was happy, and Kai was also smiling, though she only allowed a faint smile to show. Kiba's eyes lingered on Kai for a moment, remembering when they had both confessed their feeling for each other. Kiba couldn't help but smile widely. "I wonder what adventures are in store for us Akamaru," he said, his eyes softening as he stared at Kai. " I wonder."

Author's Note:
I am so sorry for the extra long wait and the short chapter. This chapter was just so boring for me, and I have so many possible plans for the preliminaries and for Shippuden that I just could t focus. It's been awhile since I've seen the Chunin Exam arc, and I'm writing these chapters by memory, so sorry for any mistakes. Like in the last chapter, if you guys want to see Kai fight someone specific in the preliminaries, just leave a comment. Thanks for reading, and hopefully the next update won't take so long.