An Unexpected Friend (Book 1 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 18 - Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me (Chunin Exams Continue)

"It's already been four days since the second exam started. Since the exam started in the afternoon, we only have about twenty-five hours left to complete it," Sasuke told them. "Some teams probably have already passed, but there will be some left. We'll have to be careful from now on."

"The teams that are left are probably hiding near the tower," Kokoro surmised. She chuckled as she watched Naruto drool over the broiling fish. "We need to be at our strongest when we decide to make the trip to the tower."

"We still need another scroll, though," Sasuke said, frustrated. He pulled out an Earth scroll and glared at it. "There's no way we'll make it in time."

"I can't wait anymore!" Naruto shouted. He reached for a stick, but Sasuke pulled him back at the last minute. Naruto huffed and pouted, muttering something about being hungry. Sasuke cuffed the back of his head and grabbed two sticks. He inspected the fish and handed one to Kokoro, keeping one for himself. Kokoro blew on it before she took a bite and swallowed greedily. She polished off her fish and licked her lips.

She glanced around and casually tapped Sasuke on his thigh. He looked at her curiously. Her eyes flitted to the scroll in his hands and tapped against his leg twice. His frown deepened as he tried to figure out what she was telling him. It was at times like these when Kokoro wished she knew ANBU code. It would be so useful at the moment. Sasuke screwed his face into confusion, holding his half-eaten fish slightly away from his body, and it took all her willpower not to hit him. She decided to try another tactic.

"It sucks you only have one fish to eat, Sasuke, when I have two," she said, stressing the numbers.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. "The last one is for Naruto."

At the mention of his name, Naruto grabbed the last fish and scarfed it down, happily burning his tongue in the process.

"The fish is absolutely heavenly even though it tastes so earthy, isn't it Naruto?" she asked innocently. Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto scratched his head.

"Uh, I guess," Naruto said plainly. She was thrilled at least one of her teammates was smart enough to figure out what she was trying to say. Naruto was a great friend, but sometimes his dimwittedness got on her nerves. She'd have to ask her dad to help him work on that.

"How?" Sasuke asked, astonished. She shook her head and gestured towards her ears. Someone could be listening in on their conversation, and they couldn't afford to be ambushed.

"We should rest for a bit," Kokoro suggested. "We should gather some water, too."

"We can't rest now," Naruto argued. "We don't have time!"

"We're all exhausted," Kokoro pointed out. "If someone were to engage us in a battle, are you confident in saying we could win?"

"Naruto's right," Sasuke butted in. "We don't have time to rest. We need to get to the tower before the end of the day."

"But-"

"We have to risk it," Sasuke interrupted. He put out the fire and stood up. "Let's get going."

He walked off with Naruto in tow. Kokoro bit her lip and shook her head. She had to stick with the team. Even if she thought they would benefit from rest, majority ruled. She threw her stick to the ground and caught up to them. They carefully walked through the forest until they saw the tall tower up ahead. Naruto exclaimed, and right after, there was a rustle of leaves. Naruto threw a kunai in the direction of the noise and hit a centipede in the center of its head. Kokoro pulled a face at the giant bug and couldn't stomach watching it wiggle around. She glanced away and focused on Naruto instead.