[The day of Chuunin Exam...]
Ayuda's P.O.V
"C to the H to the U to the U to the N to the I to the N! What is it?!"
Kazuki and I deadpanned, "Chuunin."
"That's right!" Kaito gave us a thumb-up and he resumed to lead us to the Academy with me and Kazuki following behind. The two of us exchanged knowing glances.
It goes without saying that Kaito was more anxious than all of us. He admitted to us that he was not ready at all for the Chuunin Exam and only did the last minute preparation yesterday and this early morning. For these past few days, he wasted all of his time curling up in his comfy bed and came out of his house whenever he needed to.
Kazuki and I knew that the reason why Kaito started goofing around and singing out of the blue was to get rid of his worries for the exam which will start an hour later. I started to comfort him so he could at least be at ease during the exam, but Kazuki would summon back all of his concern by teasing him about being too edgy.
Kazuki was all cool and relaxed and I thought that he was well-prepared for the Chuunin Exam. I asked him about it and he proudly bragged that he practiced a lot these past few days. He predicted that he will become a Chuunin when the exam is over. Sometimes, he can be very overconfident and underestimate a lot of things. Shiori, Kaito, and I would tell him to stop being boastful and he responded with an "I'll try".
The three of us arrived at the Academy and we proceeded to make our way deeper into the building. Our destination was room 301. Kazuki and Kaito led the way while I followed behind.
That's when we heard low chattering of a horde of ninjas from different villages. The hallway was almost congested by them and their attentions were fixed on the situation before them. There were two men whose faces I recognized a little bit, but I couldn't put my finger on it. There was one door behind them with [301] sign. Pfft, what a weak genjutsu. This is the second floor so that should've been [201].
We halted and watched the scene from a safe distance. We were intrigued of what happened here.
My eyes widened at the sight of a teenage boy with bushy brows in a green jumpsuit fell to the floor. A girl with brown hair which tied up in two buns rushed to his side and one of the two boys who blocked the door spoke up with a smug look, "You're trying to take the Chuunin Exam with that kind of level?"
The other boy with light voice added, "Maybe you should quit, kids."
"You're still just kids," the other boy with deep voice mocked.
The girl with brown hair began to plead as she walked closer to the two boys, "Please, let us through."
The next thing I knew, the brown-haired girl got punched in the face. Anger boiled deep in my system as hot as lava as I watched her falling to the spot next to her friend. That scene triggered something inside me. How dare they punch a girl!
"How dare they..." I hissed before I furiously strode towards the two boys.
"Ayuda..." Kaito and Kazuki's voices trailed away as I stormed off.
"Hey!" I called out loudly, gaining almost everyone's attentions. The low chattering of the crowd gradually diminished as they watched this turn of events. I stood in front of these two impudent men; behind me were the brown-haired girl and the boy in green jumpsuit. My eyes narrowed into glares, "You don't have to punch people whatever you like, especially a girl! That was too cruel!"
As if they were unfazed by my angry outburst, one of them with the deeper voice mocked calmly, "What did you say? Listen up, we're being kind to you. The Chuunin Exam is extremely difficult."
Then the other one with lighter voice continued, "We have seen those who gave up on becoming a ninja or become seriously injured taking this exam."
"A Chuunin is a commander of a squad," the other one with deep voice added, "It's the commander's responsibility for failing any missions and the death of their subordinates."
I smirked, "You two sound so overconfident. That's something that can only be said if you have the strength to back it up. So then, let me ask you. Can you back up those words?"
One of them with deeper voice arched an eyebrow at me, "Oh? Are you challenging us? I can prove it to you right now by defeating you in just ten seconds."
I started cracking my knuckles, "I will prove it to you too."
The one who challenged me quickly swung his fist at me with above-average speed. I was about to jump away when a foot entered my vision. My eyes widened as the foot planted itself harshly on the impertinent boy's face. The foot leapt away, causing the insolent boy stumbled backward. He would have fallen to the floor if it wasn't for his friend who held him.
In my line of vision, the foot landed beside me. I was about to look at its owner when I was bonked lightly on the head. A familiar voice penetrated my ears, "Don't go around picking a fight just so you could show off your 'glorious' skills, you dimwit."
I looked up to take a good look at this person.
"Sasuke...?" I murmured.
To my surprise, Sasuke Uchiha stood there, looking at me with a lazy yet firm gaze. I spotted Naruto and Sakura standing behind him. I looked around to see Kaito and Kazuki had taken the spots behind me.
Sasuke turned his head to the two impudent men and spoke up, "That was a nice speech, now step aside and let us through. And undo this field you've created using an illusion technique. I want to go to the third floor."
Some ninjas in the crowd began to ask each other of what Sasuke said. Seriously, they didn't see that?
The insolent boy with lighter voice asked, "You noticed?"
I rolled my eyes as if that genjutsu was the most obvious thing I've seen today, "Duh. That was a weak genjutsu."
Kaito suddenly laughed, "You got busted!"
Naruto joined in, laughing out loud with Kaito. Some ninjas in the crowd gave them funny looks. The genjutsu on [301] sign was reversed and replaced into [201], the original one.
One of the two impertinent boys who had deeper voice spoke up with a smirk, "You're pretty good. But just being able to detect it isn't enough..."
Without warning, he swung his leg at me and Sasuke swiftly moved in to block the attack with his leg as well. Tch, Sasuke! I can block that too, so stop stealing all the spotlights already!
A green object suddenly appeared in between Sasuke and the impudent boy. It was the boy in the green jumpsuit! He effortlessly held their ankles; Sasuke's ankle on his right hand, the insolent boy's ankle on his left hand. I froze. He's too fast. He's different from the person who was just being hit.
The boy in green jumpsuit released their ankles and breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke gritted his teeth, contemplating the speedy boy's bandaged arm. It was clear as a day that the boy in green jumpsuit has piqued his interest and also mine. I must not underestimate him...
"Oi, you broke the promise," a boy with long brown hair walked to the speedy boy. The girl who had her hair tied up in two buns followed suit. One obvious thing that attracted my attention was that the boy with long brown hair had a pair of Hyuuga eyes. Now that I think about it, will I be seeing Neji Hyuuga? I've heard he will be participating in the exam...
The boy with Hyuuga eyes added, "You're the one who didn't want to gather attention by doing something that stands out."
"But..." the boy in green jumpsuit responded while he took glances at Sakura and I. He then walked straight to Sakura with an undaunted look. He began, "My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura-san, right?"
Sakura simply blinked her green eyes at the boy questioningly, "Eh?"
Rock Lee grinned and winked and showed a thumb-up, "Let's go out together! I will protect you until I die!"
I snickered while Kazuki, who also had his eyes on Sakura, shouted, "Oi oi oi oi oi! How dare you ask her out! She's obviously not interested in you!"
The speedy Lee shifted his attention to Kazuki, "Who are you?"
"My identity is not of your concern!" Kazuki moved closer to Sakura who froze at the sudden confession, "Now stay away from her!"
"Oh, sorry," Rock Lee's cheerful look faltered as he glanced at Sakura and Kazuki, "I didn't know you two are a couple..."
Kazuki laughed proudly, "Obviously-"
"N-n-no!" Sakura frantically waved her hands around, her face flushing, "We're not a couple!"
Rock Lee arched a questioning bushy brow, "Eh? So you mean... you are still single?"
Sakura answered, "Yeah but-"
"So go out with me then! I vow to protect you with my life!" Rock Lee asked her once again with a grin. A sparkle flashed in his teeth and Kazuki was trembling with fury next to them. He glared murderously at Rock Lee who didn't pay any attention to him.
I began to ignore them as I casted a look at the girl with two buns. She seemed to notice my glance since she looked back into my purple eyes. Taking this opportunity, I struck up a conversation, "Are you alright?"
The girl smiled back at me replying, "I'm fine. The punch I got is nothing compared to the intense trainings I had these past few days. Anyway, thank you for backing us up."
The smile on my face widened, "You're welcome."
"Ano (Umm...)" I looked to the side to see Rock Lee now standing beside me. Kazuki and Sakura were talking behind him. They probably had already solved their problem. Noticeable blushes were forming on his cheeks and I got a feeling of what would happen next...
"We may not know each other very much, but I swear I will protect you with my life! So please, be my girlfriend!"
His sudden confession had left me open-mouthed. I just meet him today and he probably doesn't know my name and yet he asks me out now!? Wow this guy has such courage to ask girls out... But I have to decline him. Plus, I'll be engaged to someone else after this exam is over.
"Umm..." I was perturbed, "...well, you see..."
"She's not interested," Sasuke spoke up boldly.
I shifted my gaze to him. That sounds plainly cruel, but I guess that's the way Sasuke helped me by getting me out of this mess. He knew of my arranged marriage and probably noticed of how flustered I was. I was hoping that Rock Lee would just drop the subject and moved on. I never had people confessed their loves to me. Now that I got it, I don't want to break Lee's heart. It must be terrible to be rejected twice in one day.
Rock Lee glanced at Sasuke, then me, then Sasuke, then me. He spoke with a sad expression, "I see..." he shifted his eyes to the Uchiha, "I'm sorry for asking your girlfriend out..."
Wait. What?
"He's not my boyfriend," I protested at the same time as Sasuke who also said; "She's not my girlfriend."
"They are not a couple!" Sakura hollered. We simply ignored her.
"Hey you, over there!" the Hyuuga boy with long brown hair walked up to me and Sasuke. His gaze was fixed on Sasuke's face and he inquired with an unsmiling expression, "What's your name?"
Sasuke responded, "It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking for someone else's."
The Hyuuga boy continued to ask, "How old are you anyway?"
"I'm not obliged to answer," the Uchiha replied rather coldly.
The girl with two buns started to blush and giggled. Great, another Sasuke's fangirl. The Hyuuga boy's eyes narrowed menacingly, obviously offended by Sasuke's discourtesy. He growled, "What was that?"
The Hyuuga and the Uchiha began to stare at each other in silence. I sighed while taking a sideway glance at Sasuke, "You don't have to be a jerk, you know."
"Hn," Sasuke averted his gaze from the Hyuuga.
"Hey! Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura's voice called out. There were confidence and sanguineness in her voice, "Come on, let's go!"
Team 7 began to walk off to a direction. Kazuki, who was staring at Sakura's back, finally turned to me and Kaito and said eagerly, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Kaito, Ayuda!"
"Haha! You can't wait to catch up with Sakura, huh?!" Kaito laughed as he rushed to the impatient Kazuki's side.
"Ayuda?" a somewhat familiar voice repeated my name as if slightly surprised to hear it.
I turned around to see the Hyuuga boy staring at me with unwavering gaze. It was definitely his voice. He then queried, "Your name is Ayuda Makino?"
I arched an eyebrow. What's up with this guy? Unlike Sasuke who acted like a jerk to this Hyuuga boy, I answered with a vacant stare, "Yeah."
Rock Lee flashed a thumb-up at me and winked, "That's a beautiful name!"
I gave him a smile that did not reach my eyes and walked off with my teammates.