"Finished." Kakashi said, adding the final touches to the bandages wrapped tightly around my calf. That snake bite had done me in good, to that I'll admit. But the prospect of an actual challenge..
If I could go back into that forest, fight that snake again. Perhaps my calculations were only slightly off.
Or perhaps I was going about the attack the wrong way. A million possibilities flashed through my mind, tens of thousands of ways to improve my defenses, all the different angles I could use to attack. I grinned at the thought, the excitement flaring inside of me.
Kakashi nudged me. "Sure you're up to this?" He asked. I could sense the worry in his voice. He wasn't exactly subtle about it.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead gave him a look that spoke clearly, " You're kidding, right?"
I look at the board, waiting patiently for my turn. Idiots like Naruto and lee were begging for their own destruction. (HAH And this is where gaara destroys lee so this is like a super subtle prediction XD)
The names rotating on the board compared to the speed of light. Then they halt on two names. I study the two names carefully, before forcing myself to suppress a wild grin.
I've never been this riled up before, I admit. It's a new excitement. I was used to life being boring. But this exam had opened my eyes, showed me a new light.
Kuroki Cashile vs Nara Shikamaru
I looked across the arena where Shikamaru and his team were sitting. He glanced back at me, a bored expression settled on his face. *That* I understood.
True genius was often accompanied by boredom. Although there was a 63% chance that in Shikamaru's specific case, it was simply laziness.
I hop off the railing, flipping midair and landing almost in a feline way. I resist the urge to flinch but scowl as fire travels up my injured left calf.
The proctor of the third exams erupts in a series of coughs and I stand patiently as Shikamaru makes his way down the long twisty stairs. 35.32 seconds later he stands across from me.
"Do either of you wish to forfeit?" The proctor asks.
"No." I reply with a smirk, crossing my arms.
"Tch." Shikamaru says, scratching the back of his head.
"Then let the match begin." The proctor says, jumping out of the way, expecting punches to be thrown and the clashes of Kunai cancelling eachother out.
But I knew exactly what was going to happen. I study my opponent as he stands completely still, mirroring me.
I grab a Kunai and toss it at Shikamaru experimentally. As expected he cancels it out with his own Kunai.
I looked him up and down. Tai jutsu? His main technique was the shadow bind. He wouldn't have enough time to conjure up his jutsu if I kept him occupied in a physical battle.
But his jutsu complemented short range fighting. I could use ninjutsu. But there was a 13% chance I'd get distracted while I was conjuring up chakra, and get caught by his jutsu.
If I could get close to him, temporarily paralyze him, then the match would be over, and I'd be the victor.
I stand there contemplating different strategies on my head. Then it clicks.
We'd been standing still as rocks on a sunny day for 10 minutes and 23.47 seconds.
And I wasn't foolish enough to believe that Shikamaru stood there dumbfounded at my brilliance, although the thought was flattering.
He was planning something.
According to my calculations he had a 72% chance of using a distraction such as engaging in battle to trap me in his jutsu. But I wasn't going to disregard the 28% chance that he dropped the jutsu entirely and strategized to deceive me entirely.
Not likely that he would, but he could sure as hell try.
I was going to win.
