Master of All Beasts

Chapter 51: Exams

"Are you alright?"

Shisui groaned, rubbing his eyes and yawned for the tenth time in the last two minutes. "Just a little sleepy. The damn cat broke into my room again last night."

Ara eyed her partner sceptically but decided to drop the topic. She took her mask and placed it on her face, "If there's anything I can do, just ask. We all know how bad sleep deprivation can affect us."

"Ah, stop worrying. It's not my first rodeo." The Uchiha pulled out two bars of chocolate from his pocket and handed one to the girl. "Here. For good luck. You're the newbie here, you'll need it. Now, where do we have to stay again?"

"West side of the written exam room, for today. Nothing too hard."

He huffed. "This is the hardest, believe me. Second round? You get to see something fun in the Forest. One-on-one battles are even better. But this? It will bore us to death."

"You. It will bore you."

Shisui whined his complaints, now ignored by Ara. She took her spot on one of the highest trees around, giving herself a perfectly clear view of the exam room. The Uchiha also settled himself next to her, playing with a kunai of his own. It was quiet and peaceful, uneventful, for a good moment, until Ara noticed something strange.

"Hey, look at that. Seat number 42."

Shisui looked up. "Yeah. He's cheating - a pretty clever trick, too, but that's exactly the point of this exam, right?"

"Isn't it a little too advanced for a genin? Or, soon-to-be chunin?"

"What?" He frowned, "He's from... Kirigakure?"

"Uh-huh. Recognize that jutsu?"

"I've encountered it a few times. Rouge nins, jonin level, at least. You're right, that's a little shady. Where's his team?"

Ara shrugged. "I don't know. Your guess?"

"... Probably the ones at the corners. First and last seat." Shisui turned back to his partner, "They're the only ones who are hiding most of their chakra."

"Oh? I didn't notice that."

"They're pretty good at it. You think..."

"Spies." Ara nodded, "We could be wrong, but let's not take any risk. And keep this between ourselves, for now."

*/*\*/*\*

Ara scoffed, pulling out her clipboard and uncapped her red pen, crossing out another team off her list. "That's two teams in fifteen minutes. This will be over in no time."

"This year's participants aren't as smart, but they're stronger than others. I'm betting for two days. They wouldn't like staying inside the Forest for too long."

"Betting or hoping?"

"Both." Seeing Ara's expression, Shisui shrugged, "What? I'd like a thick mattress from a cheap inn or your living room's couch or the spare futon in Sasuke's bedroom! Sleeping bags aren't my kind of thing, not to mention we have to take turns keeping watch on everything here."

"... Be a writer, a traveller or something, then. Luxury beds aren't for shinobi like us."

Shisui gave his partner an unbelieving glare. "I'm an Uchiha. Nephew of the clan's leader. I have the Sharingan, the Mangekyou, and I've memorised all the clan's secrets since I was 5. Can I not be a shinobi, Hatake?"

"Good point." Ara bit her thumb and ran it through the summoning tattoo on the right side of her neck. Shisui noticed this move but said nothing, only raising his eyebrow when a large centipede suddenly appeared below them.