Konohagakure has been preparing for the start of the Chunin Exams for the past few months, and no other ninjas in the village have been preparing themselves more than the genin. Each youthful ninja is ready to prove their worth in a test of skill for the world to see. On the final day before the exams begin, Konoha's teams are taking their final steps of preparation for tomorrow's grueling tests as other teams from neighboring lands make their way to the village hidden in the leaves.

The teams entering this year from Konoha have been training and honing their abilities, waiting for their best shot at succeeding. Two teams from the Hidden Leaf Village have caught the attention of many people, as they are led by two famous Jonin, who were mentored by the current Hokage, Sarutobi Gennosuke. Emi leads Team 5 with her carefree approach, nurturing her genin's talents for quick-thinking and recovering from their mistakes. Whereas her fellow Jonin leading Team 9, Daichi of the Hyuga clan, tries his best to mold discipline and tact into his young ninjas with boisterous personalities.

---

Standing on the fields of the Twenty-Seventh Training Grounds also known as Flower Hill, both Jonin leading Team's 5 and 9 figured it would be best for their genin have a little fun before the exams, agreeing to a friendly match of capture the flag.

"Rules are as follows," Daichi began, "first team to capture their opponents flag along with still having theirs wins. Any team member who falls off the hill is also out of the game."

"It's a friendly match, but try your best and have some fun." Emi said with her bright smile. "Now if there aren't any questions, let's get to our sides."

Ataru's eyes wandered the fields full of marigolds as he took in the refreshing scents the flowers were giving off into the air. Upon reaching their flag, the young ninja bent down and wafted the scent of the marigolds towards his face again, inhaling deeply with pure relaxation expressed on his face. "I don't get why we don't train here more often, it's so nice here."

A wide smile ran across his face as he picked one of the flowers, oblivious to the game at hand that was just about to begin.

Hoeski and Kana were no doubt ready for this, after all, who wouldn’t be? Not Mizo. She was cracking her knuckles and tightening the leaf headband that was tied around her forehead. It was scratched up from all the rough training she’s done. Team 9 was standing directly in front of the gates, ready to start. She remembered to wear her chakra braces, a pair of arm guards made of a special metal that conducts the properties of one’s chakra. If a wind style ninja wore them, their fists would be like knives. In Mizo’s case, her fists would be like rocky shields, but she wasn’t going to rely on some fancy gloves alone, no, she had a team.

”Daichi sensei, should we be doing this? I mean, the chunin exams are tomorrow. Shouldn’t we be going over some last minute stuff? Like, I don’t know, what kind of taijutsu the other genin are gonna use?” Mizo knee Daichi was a more disciplinary shinobi, not that she had a problem with that, and she was certainly grateful that they had the chance to do something fun. But of all the times to do so, he chose now? The Hokage himself was sure to watch the exams, and Mizo could be working on her Antlion Hole Jutsu.

”Is this really the time?” In any case, she’d surely have a chance to practice against others, but it would still be nice if she could learn about the genin she doesn’t know about. That’s the problem with Mizo, she just doesn’t seem to know when to cut loose, when to know that she’s done enough. At least she had a team to help her out in that way. Miso wasn’t exactly stressed about the chi in exams, she had a great teacher, but it never hurts to know as much as you can about an opponent before you face them.

---

Have some fun before the chunin exams tomorrow. A match with another team is not exactly what he would call fun, but, he supposed it could be. Having a friendly match with another team could help prepare them for tomorrow with what they may face. Kushizu cracked his neck by shifting it from left to right. Besides, it has been awhile; they have been on a mission. Nice to get some action in even if it is a simple game of capture the flag.

Might even make Emi proud. He has learned much under Emi though she is not what he expected of a teacher. Her carefree approach to training threw him off, but, he has gotten used to it. Not many like her he imagined, and Kushizu sometimes wonders how it would be like if he was trained by someone else. Still, Kushizu liked Emi even if he did not show it. As for his teammates, they were okay. Ataru tends to have his head in the clouds, and Kimiko well is troublesome to work with. But, they are his team, so he has tried to make it work, which will show during this match and the chunin exams tomorrow.

After arriving at their side of the field. Kushizu scanned the landscape. This place would make a great spot to stargaze. He could picture it now, lying down in the clearing in the center. Back to the ground with an ocean of stars above him. No one around and with minimum light pollution. A good night that is and mentally slap himself. Focus on the now rather the what could be, and Kushizu walked over to where Ataru was. Kneeling down next to him, "When you are done with the flowers, we got a match to do, and I would rather us have some kind of plan rather than winging it".

KANA KINOSHI

Kana had woken up early as usual. This was the only way to catch both of his parents awake at the same time, if only for a brief twenty minutes or so. He was not an avid cook but with his propensity to follow directions, he had no issues trying out recipes. The house still smelled of mushroom, bell pepper and grilled bread when the sleepy disheveled head of his father came into the kitchen. Being one of the best surgeons in the village meant that one way or another he was always occupied. The older Kinoshi smiled at his young son. “It smells delicious, sure made it easier to get up”. Kana set a plate in front of his dad with a warning “Careful still hot.” The warning went unheeded however as his father yelped and sucked in his breath as he haphazardly tried to chew the gooey bite of cheese, mushrooms and bell peppers. Kana gave his father an admonishing look and started setting another plate.

Almost as if on cue, his mother appeared in the doorway. He spectacled eyes red from having been on night shift. “I knew I could smell your famous grilled cheese sandwiches a mile away” Her sweet voice matched her smile. Kana gave her the respective plate and then pushed a brown bag into his father’s hand. “Now, this is for Akimi….and no sneaking bites. She tells on you faster than a shuriken flies.” Kana shook his head at his father who gave him an wounded look of innocence as he rushed out the door. Kana soon followed him hearing his mother’s “good luck” as he closed it behind him and he called out a “Thank you”.

The streets of Konoha were mostly empty in the twilight hours of the morning. The sun had not yet crested over the Hokage monument and a slight breeze swirled around the few passersby feet. Kana adjusted his glasses and took from one of the cargo jeans pockets the recent journal he was reading regarding poisons and how to counter act them. In this way he made his way through he village. His eyes hardly leaving the words on the journal as he expertly navigated his way through memorized paths and waving to usual merchants and early risers. He was not an overt person but was always ready to share a smile.

Soon the agreed upon training ground of Flower Hill came into view. The rays of the sun starting to cast shadows and whisking away any morning dew still on the grass. Kana took a deep breath as he took it all in. The majesty of the mountain, the colors of the morning painted on the sky, and the morning sounds of nature blissfully ignorant that this same field was used to hone the skills of warriors that went to battle and sometimes never returned.

As the son of medics, he knew how fragile and fleeting life was. He had seen many a shinobi fighting for their lives in the surgery tables and many medics fighting with them. His mind immediately brought to him his sister, Akimi and he grimaced a slight sideways smile. Some people who fight never even saw a battlefield.

He took another deep breath and he pushed back his melancholic thoughts. Life was indeed precious which is why shinobi like him had the sacred duty of defending the life of those they held dear. His assigned team would get here soon so he chose a tree that was near the edge of the field so he could both see and be seen by anybody approaching. Again, he took out his journal and began to read. Within seconds, he was engrossed in data and research…

It was not long before people started to arrive. Kana stood up and tucked his rolled journal into the cargo pocket and walked over to stand next to the ones who had been designated as his teammates. He did not know them well of course but he knew them from the Academy. He had known all along that to be shinobi meant to be part of a team. He sighed as he stood with his team and listened to their Jounin’s speech regarding a last hurrah before the exams the next day. He always took a back seat to the antics of the other two and merely nodded towards Hoseki as he requested his back up. What else was he to do? The brawny member of his team always seemed to rush it head long into a fight. However, this benefited Kana in that he was able to flank and maneuver with the big diversion of flying fists being provided by the fiery you man with ruby eyes.

“Yes, Hoseki, you can be assured that I will be here and support however I can.” Kana said with a weak smile.

Seven letter word for tiresome because of length or dullness.

As Daichi-sensei of Team 9 outlined the rules of the joint training exercise, Kimiko’s mind wandered. She thought of all the other possible things she could be doing with her time. Lounging about back home. Eating some of Masahiko’s homemade udon. Taking a nap. Finishing up that crossword she was working on. Maybe even ‘borrow’ another one of Takehiko’s smutty romance novels?

Nope! No time for any of that. Rather than relaxing and enjoying one final day off before showtime, she was stuck here. In the middle of a field. Being briefed on how to play capture the flag. It was all just so very…

Tedious.

Needless to say, Kimiko wasn’t exactly in the best of moods. All of her plans of vegging out were ruined, and for what? What could a last-minute game of capture the flag possibly do to help prepare literally any of them for the Chuunin exams? Surely if they weren’t ready by now, then they were hopeless, right?

The young Uesugi girl narrowed her eyes at the rival team captain. It didn’t take a Byakugan to see through his bullshit. This whole dog and pony show was just an excuse for the spineless little shit to get to spend time with Emi-sensei, wasn’t it? Pathetic. Despicable. If he wanted to ask her out, then he should have grown a spine, done so, and left the rest of them out of it.

Whatever.

The girl took a moment during Spineless-sensei’s super stupid speech to take in her surroundings. The training area was actually rather beautiful all things considered. The plateau was engulfed in a sea of gold surrounding a lone tree. Marigolds reached up and tickled her exposed calves as the girl shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She mindlessly tugged at the band above her left bicep, tightening the knot holding the Leaf’s metal protector in place before returning her right hand to the top of the twin hilts of the swords that sat against her hip. If she drowned out the droning, then the training grounds became a rather peaceful place.

She let out a quiet yawn as she glanced over towards the Team 9 trio. Emi-sensei and the invertebrate posing as a man were teammates back in the day, and as such, Kimiko ended up spending more time around them then she might have done so otherwise.

The girl’s eyes landed on Hoseki first. To be fair, he wasn’t that hard on the eyes. Shitty personality aside, the guy was hot. A little on the short side, but still hot. Kimiko even had a little crush on him back in her academy days...but then this weird phenomenon occurred in which every time he opened that fat mouth of his, he somehow became less and less attractive. Totally weird. Anyway, Kimiko didn’t see him as much of a threat. He seemed...sloppy. He had stamina for days but...he primarily relied on taijutsu, and rather unrefined taijutsu at that. Getting in close enough to punch her would mean getting within range of her extremely sharp swords. Which would be, to put it quite frankly, stupid. Though to be fair, she wasn’t completely convinced that the guy was capable of thoughts more complex than ‘durr, Hoseki smash.’

Still hot though.

Next, her gaze passed over a truly revolting sight. Aberashi Mizo. That disgusting little toad.

Stupid. Fake. Weak. Pathetic. Loser. Nerd. _cute.

She wasn’t worth Kimiko wasting precious energy over. She might have had everybody else fooled, but Kimiko could see right through the phony bitch. When Mizo questioned Daichi-sensei on the purpose of the exercise, Kimiko couldn’t help but roll her eyes. So intense was her dislike of her Team 9 counterpart, that Kimiko silently rallied to the defense of Konoha’s resident Man-Slug hybrid. How stupid did you have to be to not get the point of an exercise like this? Dummy.

Kimiko would place Mizo about the same as Hoseki as far as threats went. Maybe slightly higher? She shared the whole “punch first, think later” philosophy when it came to fighting, so Kimiko welcomed yet another idiot running into her range. But hey, at least she had the mental capacity to know that going into battle completely unarmed was maybe not the best idea. Those arm guards of hers would make her a bit more durable. Still, fist versus blade didn’t often turn out well for fist.

Finally, Kimiko glared over at the remaining Team 9 member. Uh…

…

Fuck. What was his name again? Hana? Lana? Vamana? Banana? Whatever it was, he hadn’t left much of an impact on Kimiko. He was small and quiet. She often saw him reading on those rare occasions that she actually made note of his presence, so unlike his knucklehead teammates, he was at least literate. A slight breeze might knock him over, but at least he could probably read a map, so, y’know Team 9 MVP right there.

He was probably the biggest enigma to Kimiko on Team 9, to be honest. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what the little guy could do. Oh well. It probably didn’t matter.

As she finished her initial assessment of her enemies, Emi-sensei called for the teams to get in place. That worked for her. All she had to do was beat the shit out of the Toad, cut out Hoseki’s tongue, glance menacingly at What’s-his-name, and hope that her own teammates could manage to not lose the flag.

Speaking of which…

Kimiko approached her team, consisting of two little boys picking flowers. The girl could feel a vein throbbing in her forehead, the harbinger of a massive migraine in the very near future. Konoha’s best and brightest right here, folks.

The boy actively picking flowers was Kanman Ataru. Like Team 9’s Hana Banana, Ataru was also a small, quiet boy. To put it bluntly, he was weak. There really wasn’t much debating that. Still, despite his frailty, Kimiko had some respect for the boy. Well, as much as she was capable of mustering. See, while he was physically weak, Ataru was smart. Way smart. To be a little guy and excel in their line of work, he had to be. She could still whoop his ass - of that she had no doubt - but that didn’t mean that she would want to be on the opposite side of him. Smart, supportive types like him could be a nuisance to go against and a godsend to fight alongside. As long as he stayed out of her way and put that big brain to good work, they were shoo-ins for the exam.

Also, she just liked the little guy. He was a good dude. Weird, but you got used to it.

And beside little Ataru, there was Kushizu. Despite being teammates, Kimiko didn’t know a lot about the guy. He was kind of a clam. Which was fine by her - he didn’t want to talk about it and she, quite frankly, didn’t care to know. He did his job well enough. He was also fairly smart, although he could handle himself a bit better in a fight than Ataru. More of an all-arounder, really, and a bit more mid-ranged than she was. The way Kimiko saw it, as long as Kushizu could protect Ataru and also stay the fuck out of her way, they would get along just fine.

“You’re worrying too much, Kuku.” Kimiko cooed as she approached her boys. “We’re up against a couple knuckleheads and a bookworm.” she continued, a smug smile spreading across her face as she jabbed a thumb back over her shoulder towards Team 9.

“Honestly, I’m pretty sure that you and Ruru can handle this just fine without me.” she added, crossing her arms in a little self-hug before letting out a drawn-out yawn.

“I might even just hang back and take a nap by the flag if that’s cool with you two.”

Mizo noted that smug glare from Kimiko while she was talking to Daichi.

_Bitch.

Okay, that’s probably a bit too harsh, considering Mizo and Kimiko are actually friends and such, but man can she be an ass sometimes. Being a princess must give you a big head, huh? In any case, she ignored Hoeskin ruffling her hair and stuff. ”Sure, but we still have the Chunin Exams in the morning. Hoseki.” Kana was minding his business, clearly. Mizo has no problem with her team at all, Hoseki had his heart in the right place, and Kana...well, he keeps others’ hearts in the right place - physically speaking. Glancing at the blankets of golden flowers upon the hill, Mizo began strategizing, she didn’t say anything out loud just yet, since they were right there. Would Emi and Daichi join them? Who knows. ”Hmm...”

Kimiko probably thought Mizo was thinking of a slugging match at this very moment, but that was a big lie. Mizo, in her head, was thinking about testing a new Jutsu on none other than the Bitch Queen her Smug-gesty. The Antlion Hole Jutsu. Mizo just knew that Kimiko would try and keep the flag for herself, probably thinking Kushizu and Ataru wouldn’t be able to handle the I unimaginable responsibility of running from someone while hoarding scraps of cloth. Hoseki wouldn’t notice, and would probably go in guns blazing - in a quite literal sense that his arms would be on fire - and Kana might hang back, maybe he’d catch wind? Either way, his style is lightning, so she’d have to be careful not to clash with him...Anyway, about Kimiko...

She’d probably be right if they knew about her new Jutsu, which she hasn’t even mentioned to Daichi and the others yet. Daichi would certainly be able to find her, since he’s a Hyuga and all, but Hoseki and Kana would no doubt just literally walk right over her. She was imagining in her head the chakra forms needed for it. It was a pretty awkward jutsu, it was a trap. And springing it would be the hardest part for Mizo to execute. Hopefully she can do it. If she can manage the trap, it would be incredible in the matches tomorrow.

”A cone...no, splitting apart, maybe...”

Miso was a full blown Earth Style user, and that was no secret among anyone who knew her, Kimiko, Daichi, Emi, hopefully Kana, who is lightning. Thankfully, the terrain was a large forest, plenty of rocks and soft ground to tear up, hell, Mizo night even come up with some more Jutsu. The more you got in your pocket, the better.

KANA KINOSHI

Kana stood with his hands in the pockets of the grey-ish cargo pants that he wore. His T-shirt was also an non-descript grey with a tight breathable long sleeve shirt under it the color of dull brown. A leaf head band tied to his right shoulder was the only sign of his position as a ninja. His short hair that fell just past his ears was wavy and swayed in the morning wind.

He waited patiently for the signal to begin to be given. He could see Team 5 on the opposite side of the field. He did notice that the boys seemed to be enjoying the golden blooms. No doubt the source of the hill’s name. Speaking of names, he could not recall any of theirs. It was not because he did not consider them important but because his mind classified anything not medical related as non-necessary for filing in his brain archives. There was no animosity but there was also no sense of camaraderie. Indeed, there was really no feeling towards them at all. One thing was for certain that he would run into a hail of shuriken and pull them out if need be.

He sideways glanced at his own team. He would do the same for them too. Despite their rough nature, he knew that there were some deep feelings in those two. Very seldom are people so spirited as Hoseki and Mizu moved by weak feelings. Heck, Hoseki even manifested those feelings via his firsts and Mizu could literally build walls around her. If chakra was the melding mind and spirit then it would not surprise him if those two held deep reserves. Kana was not one to talk however as his feelings were very well kept inside him. They distracted him from the here and now. He always seemed to manage a smile or two but was not exceptionally good at it. Perhaps he should practice more. After all, if he was to become a medic, bedside manner was extremely important. A crooked smile started to appear on the left side of his face. To any onlooker it would seem like he was having a twitch that left his face comical looking.

Just like Mizu, Kana wondered why they needed to be here. Surely the best recipe for a successful result to the exam was rest and relaxation. However, he knew that people such as Hoseki would rather expend some energy that be stuck at home. Well, whatever the case, he needed to finish this quickly. He had promised Akimi he would take her to see the fish at the Koi pond. She really liked the way they gobbled up the pieces of bread he took with him. This time, his smile was genuine as he felt a warmth for his little sister few would think him capable of.

The smile almost immediately disappeared. Not because he was ashamed but because a new wave of fear, sadness and anger about Akimi’s condition came to the front of his mind. Few knew this was the reason he was always researching, always perfecting any jutsu that could be connected to medical capabilities. Despite his aloof attitude towards this exercise, he knew that Akimi would reprimand him for not trying hard. Again the smile appeared and it stayed there longer than usual clearly visible to anyone.

He craked his neck, a sudden sense of commitment towards the exercise visible in his countenance and his body posture. He surveyed the opposing team, as if seeing them for the first time. It would have helped if he had researched and known their abilities but he would just have to learn that on the fly. A plan started to form in his mind. He was no Nara but he was not a complete idiot….he thought…

It was hard for the Hyuga to ignore the question of the sole kunoichi on his team, knowing that she already had made up her mind even if he did respond to her. As Daichi was about to blurt out a response, he received the go-ahead from his old teammate, ready for the start of the Capture the Flag. Lifting his arm into the air, he swung it back down quickly in a slicing motion shouting. "Begin!"

The tiny boy's mind fluttered as both his teammates began talking along with what felt like thundering voice of Daichi-sensei signifying the start of the game. Ataru's mind was always full of jumbled thoughts and ideas that fired left and right, always putting him in a daze.

Somehow Ataru had ended up in Team 5, under the tutelage of Emi-sensei, who was one of the top kunoichi, if not one of the top ninjas in Konoha, along with two other students from his academy class, a lot of eyes have been on them. Kushizu wasn't too expressive or open about himself, even after their team was formed, Ataru didn't know much more about him than he had during their academy days. Of course, getting to know him wasn't something Ataru was going to initiate himself. All he knew about his teammate was that he had no parents, and he was extremely empathetic, a trait Ataru tried to inherit from him. Kushizu was a bit of a enigma, something Ataru's parents tried encouraging him to press on in order to become a better teammate and friend, something he was trying to work on. Kimiko on the other hand towered over everyone, not just with her height, but with her abilities and prowess, something Ataru envied. Ataru considered her the de facto leader whenever Emi-sensei wasn't around as her voice was the loudest and strongest of the three. She was confident in her own abilities, which is the one trait Ataru wanted to gain from her, whereas he lacked that self-confidence for sure.

Ever since being assigned to Team 5 Ataru has been learning a lot about himself and who he should be to become a good ninja, something his teammates taught him. They showed a lot of respect and kindness, even if he was weird, and for sure he knew they all got annoyed of each other at times, but their success all really depended on how well they all did together.

"I know we should probably stick with what we're good at, but let's try something different today." Ataru said as he got his head back to the game at hand. "Emi-sensei said we should have some fun today, so let's try that."

On their past missions, Team 5 had a cut-and-dry strategy and formation that almost always worked. Emi-sensei would lead the team, followed by Kimiko, who was physically the strongest and most intimidating of the three; then by Kushizu, the most rounded teammate; and in the back of the team was Ataru as their support. "They have to come get the flag, so if we have Kimiko-chan here defending instead of me, that'll give them a disadvantage when it comes to one-on-one combat. If you and I charge in, it might not be as strong as having Kimiko-chan charging in, but it gives us the best defense while we try and take their flag, Kushizu."

"Also... Not that I can't defend the flag," Ataru added, "but I don't think I can take one of Hoseki's punches if he's the one attacking. Pretty sure I could handle one of Mizo-chan's either..." With a nervous breath, he tightened his headband and pulled out a few scrolls from his pouch, kneeling and attaching them to his teammate's shoes.

"These acceleration seals will help, but only for a few minutes until I can reattach some more." The white haired boy said. He was nervous, but there wasn't ever a time that anxiety didn't fill his body unless he was reading or dreaming of dungeons and dragons.

In an instant, Mizo dipped into the field, running like she was on a mission. ”I got a plan, there’s a new Jutsu I’m working on that I haven’t told you guys about yet. It’s a trap. If I keep our flag, I can hide it along with myself while they look for it. At that point I can spring out from the ground and grab their flag, or not let them get any clue about ours.” She told Kana and Hoseki while the three of them were on their way in. Mizo’s pack was full of ninja tools. Smoke bombs, paper bombs, wire, that sort of thing. She had a lot of room for planning with the other two.

She never did ask if their squad leaders were gonna join them. Not that it mattered, best case scenario was her teammates figured her plan out with Daichi’s byakugan. Worst is Daichi somehow got in the way. Not that he would, after all, he’s a Hyuga and knew that Mizo could come up with some good tactics. Most, if not all of her strategies revolved around the earth. Mizo just happened to be running into a large, spacious field of shaded, soft ground to play with. She could just feel the jutsu she was working on would be perfect for this scenario, and maybe she could win the battles in the chunin exams without a single punch. That would be something.

”Kana, this jutsu I’m talking about would be ruined if you zap the ground, so be careful. Our chakras would cancel out.” She told Kana. He was a pretty observant ninja, so it probably went without saying that he could disrupt her jutsu, but then again, Mizo knew he was a medical ninja, so it was safe to assume in her head that he’d hang back. ”Hoseki, I think if you go full force like usual they’ll be too busy worrying about your attack to notice me preform the trap. Of course, if anyone’s got a better idea for handling those swords Kimiko has, I’m listening. Hoseki’s fire would just be blown back by her wind style.” Not that such a thing would stop, or even matter to Hoseki. His hot-hot headed nature would nearly compel the guy to just charge at them all. Mizo was pretty confident in her ability to come up with a plan, especially with a team that could execute it like this, but at this point in her life, full blown head to head combat like Hoseki’s was in the passenger seat. Such a thing was why she made the Antlion Hole Jutsu, at least until she could fill the gap with even stronger fists. Sure, she was good at throwing punches, but the problem was that she needed the circumstances to be on her side, an even playing field would be the most she could handle without a plan in mind beforehand.

Mizo dropped instantly behind Hoseki, firmly planted on the ground. ”On it.” She very quickly busted out two hand signs, horse followed by dragon, this resulted in the ground liquifying and rising up, it molded itself into a shape that took on the colors of Mizo. It was a mud clone. The idea was to keep Mizo’s absence from being detected. The voiceless clone stood side by side with Hoseki as the real Mizo focused on another set of hand signs. ”Watch your step-“

Ox-Boar-Dog-Dragon-Serpent-Ram-Dog

Earth Style : Antlion’s Hole Jutsu!

Mizo pressed her fist into the dirt as it caved in, a small sinkhole formed deep enough to cover Mizo’s head. She gracefully fell in as the surface of the hole filled itself up. ”I’ll know if they come by here with the flag. If they slip past you, drive them towards me... With that, the real Mizo was gone from sight. Clone Mizo cracked her knuckles, and prepared a battle stance. It was common knowledge on team 9 that Mizo’s clones had no voice, but they could fight with as much skill and power as the real deal while the real deal was focusing her chakra and pouring it into the earth to detect anyone on team 5, if the soft dirt was shaken, the vibrations would reverberate into the earthen chamber Mizo was hiding in. Presumably, while Kana and Hoseki knew what Mizo was planning, only Daichi was theoretically capable of detecting this trap, and the thick, rigid chakra surrounding it.

_{”The trap is ready.”}

"That sounds like a plan I can get behind and the thanks for the added boast". Kushizu smiled and got up. He liked Ataru's plan, even if it was different then what he is used to. Normally Kimiko would be in the lead with Ataru in the back supporting the team. It could throw the other team off or make it easy for them to win. Though with Kimiko as the flag's defender, getting their flag will not be easy. Granted that is if Kimiko agrees to the plan that is. Since he kinda doubted that since Kimiko was their strongest, that she would like to be a flag defender. Still, Kimiko may surprise him.

Then he heard Daichi say begin and Kushizu watched as Mizo immediately rush on to the field. Followed by Hoseki shortly behind her. "Frick, looks like we are on", Kushizu rushed on to the field and stood in between the other team and the flag. Noting Hoseki's fiery display as fire moved towards them and around them. This guy does not care if he burns the whole field down. Which Kushizu would rather not get burned the day before the chunin exams.

"What are they planning? Kushizu said under his breath as the fire raved. Preparing himself for a fight, Kushizu did a series of hand signs, used the Water Release to summon weapons made of water. Specifically, a sword made of water and held it in a defensive stance while his team gets into position. Kushizu in a way was a counter to Hoseki in that his fire techniques are weak to his water ninjutsu. Still, he is more of a bruiser and Kushizu may not last long against him if he lands a hit. But, Kushizu fighting style is around dodging attacks until an opening presents itself. So as long as he can dodge Hoseki's attacks and Kushizu is confident he can. It will not be a problem. Just needs to wait while his team gets into position on the field and then the game can really start.

Chaos begets order.

As contradictory as it may seem, Kimiko believed in that wholeheartedly. It was her experience that despite how unorganized and wild a battlefield may appear at times, there was a certain rhythm that chaos often followed. It was unpleasant and harsh, but Kimiko could feel the twisted harmony hidden beneath the discordance. Her body was powerless to resist moving to the beat of that vile song whenever it began to play. Anything could happen, there was no reason for anything...but in that moment of confusion, everything just sort of clicked. In that chaos, any decision that did not result in her death was the correct one. That made everything simple.

While Kimiko had been attempting to rile her companions, she had little intentions of actually hanging back. Well, at least at first. Her original plan was to just rush down Team Nine’s flag. With her natural speed and smart use of the Gale Palm technique, she could likely cross the field far quicker than any of the others. Unless any of those dorks on the other side had any tricks up their sleeves, she couldn’t really think of a way they could stop her. She could just grab the flag and be done with it. Then maybe her WHOLE day wouldn’t be wasted.

Kimiko had barely noticed the subtle sign that Emi-sensei had given before the bellowing came from the Team Nine leader. The game was on.

Fuck.

She was just about to take off when Ruru began to speak. If it had been just about anyone else, she likely would have blown them off and went to do Kimiko things. After all, her song was playing: she needed to dance. But, the kunoichi held herself, her right hand tightening around the sheath of her katana. She would give him a moment of consideration. Nothing more. And if he bored her, she was out.

His plan caught her off-guard. She had been joking about actually hanging back. That just wasn’t in her blood. Surely he knew that, right? But...she couldn’t deny that he made a decent point. This wasn’t like their normal mission. If she were to rush in and somehow be stalled, they could potentially lose, even if she did get the flag. Especially if Ruru was rushed down while alone. If their normal formation was flipped, then Kuku and Ruru could keep throwing themselves at the Team Nine defense as much as they needed to. After all, nobody was getting through Kimiko. Of that, the young woman was certain.

Hah! She had to give the little guy credit where it was due - he knew how to play her. Clever brat.

“Wooow. That was almost kind of cool, Ruru. Consider me impressed.” Kimiko teased as she walked by the team’s strategist, bending over as she passed to ruffle the boy’s snow-white hair while he was busy attaching a seal to Kushizu’s shoes. She walked towards their flag, lacing her hands behind her head and arching her back in an unsuccessful attempt to pop it.

“I suppose I could let you boys take center stage this time. Just don’t take too long. If I get bored, I’m ending this myself, got it?” she continued, another yawn dividing her last two sentences.

It was about that time that Kimiko heard Kushizu mutter something before taking off. The girl spun around just in time to see a blast of fire crashing towards her, engulfing the flowers as it went.

The song crept its way into Kimiko’s head, and she could feel each thunderous, crashing note collide with the next, the introduction to the chaotic concert. Her body moved in time, dropping into position, breath slowing and steadying. Right leg planted firmly. Right hand gripping the katana’s sheath. Left hand tight around the hilt. As the song climbed in step with the approach of the flame, Kimiko’s body jerked. Her left leg shot back, as did her right hand with sheath in tow. With the left hand, she pulled the katana from its sheath with frightening speed, slicing upwards in a vertical slash.

A solid blue light traced the path of her blade, and upon the completion of the strike, was propelled forward. The bottom of the blue crescent cut into the ground, tearing a path ever forward through dirt, flower, and flame as it sailed forward on a collision course with not only the bolt of fire, but the one who conjured it as well. It narrowly passed by Kushizu as he armed himself with his water blade.

This was Flash - the samurai’s answer to the more mid-to-long ranged shinobi. As it cut through the air towards the fire, Kimiko flipped her sword and slid the blade between her thumb and forefinger before returning it to the sheath, a ritual ingrained deeply within the girl. She hadn’t even given thought to the possibility that the attack might land. The blades formed by Flash could move quickly, but given the distance it would have to travel in the clear, open field, it was unlikely to actually land true.

That was fine. She didn’t need to actually hit anybody - just make them aware that she COULD.

The girl dropped back into her stance and prepared to draw again.

Flag duty or not, Kimiko fully intended to be a threat.

KANA KINOSHI

When the order was given, Kana planted his feet and took off with all his might…in the opposite direction!!!!

His legs pumped hard as he made his way towards the pole stuck in the ground with a bright green flag numbered 9 tied at its peak. He executed a spinning jump as he approached it and struck the pole with his heel a foot or so above the edge of the grass at an angle causing the wooden pole to break with a loud crack. Pausing just enough to catch the falling pole, he did a flourish as he ran and held the pole as a spear behind his back, the flag portion just barely touching the ground.

He made all haste towards the furthers edge of the hill at an arc to his left. The air in his lungs working hard to provide fresh blood to his straining muscles. He was no speed demon, but the head start of the open space between both flags would give him enough of a distance advantage. Daichi Sensei had said that a team won who would have both flags in their possession and this maneuver would assist in the diversion and confusion required for Mizo’s plan. Kana’s logic was:

first, if the other team wanted the flag they would have to catch him. Second, with his other team members being more of front-line attackers they would head towards the other team’s flag looking for a quick win. Third, the other team would either have to split up sending somebody after him, which would mean that Hoseki and Mizu could over power the remaining members, or they would develop a defense strategy around their flag at which point Kana would circle back and attack from a distance. If during this last strategy the other team would try to go for him, Kana would just run again to draw them out. It would turn into a caged bird strategy. Finally, Mizu could also use this diversion to target specific members of the other team or bypass them completely and capture the flag herself.

This was risky however, because if the other team was faster and caught him, then he would probably be disabled, and his other teammates would be at a disadvantage. If the other team was stronger and disabled Hoseki and Mizo then it would be three on one. Perhaps he should have conferred with the other two members of his team before executing his plan, but the confusion would be evident to the other team too and would encourage them to chase him thinking team 9 had no cohesion. Knowing the other two, they would exploit any opening probably thinking that the aspiring medic would deserve any beating he would get. A smile appeared on his face. If he got caught, then he would definitely deserve getting beaten up.

But he had read somewhere that no plan survived first contact. A quick smile appeared on his face. I guess we will have to see...

The action started with what seemed like no hesitation by the other genin on the field. Fire flew in Team 5's direction brought on by the flames of Hoseki, but was dodged or countered by Ataru's teammates with ease. The young ninja was able to come out of the flames untouched, but a bit toasty. Lunging forward, he started on their offense, following behind Kushizu.

Taking notice of the two ninja's before them, his eyes scanned the field, counting the final member of Team 9 running off into the distance. Ataru and Kana were around the same height and carried almost the same build, so noticing someone who was oddly similar wasn't hard to notice.

"Kana has the flag," Ataru said as he ran past Kushizu, gripping two kunai from his bag. "Cover me, I can try and get past Hoseki and Mizo!" It was strange that Ataru was taking initiative. It wasn't like him at all, but the thought floating in his head was that if their team were to finish this game as fast as possible and that meant that they would be able to have more free time before the exams started tomorrow. Making that extra amount of free time the real reward that the ninja wanted.

Crossing his fingers before him, still holding onto his kunai, Ataru signed a quick and easy shadow clone technique, continuing his sprint across the flower field. Knowing for a fact that he couldn't take on Hoseki or Mizo, he left them up to his teammates, hoping they would be able to cover him as he ran towards Kana's direction. Knowing he wasn't out of trouble, Ataru and his clone spat out another technique, something he knew he was fairly good at. "Lightning Blade: Projectile Cutter!"

Pivoting from running head on into the muscle of Team 9, Ataru and his clone both side-stepped to the right as they each threw out two electrically-charged kunai in their opponent's direction. As he pivoted onto his right foot and pushed off, his left foot slipped, causing him to ungracefully tumble down.

It was utterly embarrassing.

The fall felt like an eternity, but in reality it was a short few seconds as Ataru's clone quickly picked up the dirtied host. "Come on," the clone said, patting Ataru's back. His face was flushed, but he had a flag to get. He just hoped that his fall wasn't noticed by anyone else.

Mizo’s clone didn’t actually react verbally to Ataru falling on his ass, it was funny, sure, and the real Mizo felt it in the dirt, but the clone simply crackled her knuckles and charged right at Ataru and his two Kunai, dodging the lightning attack that the clone didn’t even care to pay much attention to, she leapt towards Ataru’s shadow clone with a right hook aimed at its jaw, the real Mizo noted how both Atari and his clone were alarmingly close to the antlion trap.

Mizo was messing with the dirt underground, spacing out the ground to rig up a strategy that she presumed would work against some hopeless genin, nameless Kimiko, during the Chunin exams. The only problem is that this hole wouldn’t be as big as the one she’d need for such a thing to work, knowing this, she simply rigged up a few Kunai to be stuck in the walls of her space, between each kuna was string that would presumably tangle the target up, and for good measure, smoke bomb for somebody to fall an and flail to get away from, tangling themselves even more...imagine Kimiko getting smoked like that...it almost made her chuckle.

KANA KINOSHI

Kana had no time to be aware of the commotion happening not far from him. He had expected that his team mates would take the fight to the enemy and cause them to divide or coalesce but it appeared that team 5 was taking the initiative. He hurriedly dug in his Genin pouch that housed his ninja tools. His hand clasped the familiar shape of an explosive tag. He rolled the flag around the pole tightly and he slapped the tag onto it keeping the flag rolled. Worse came to worse, the young ninja would explode the flag denying the opposite team the victory. In real life, this would equate to a squad having to destroy sensitive information to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

That task being completed the proceeded to tie some metal wire onto about five of his kunai. He was taking advantage of the little time he had to prepare. His plan may have been too hasty but at least it had drawn the enemy as he had hoped. Now, he just had to keep them at bay while Hoseki and Mizo did the rest. His gaze fell on the opposite team’s flag. It fluttered defiantly behind a female figure. Even from this distance Kana could sense the utter determination and offensive stance.

The young aspiring medic was not very good at taijustu or any sort of fighting but even he could tell that the young woman standing on the opposite side of the field knew her stuff. He smiled at little as she reminded him a bit of Mizo. He would assume the fight be tween the two would be epic. It would definitely cause a major distraction as people would no doubt stop to watch.

He actually hoped for that brawl. Mizo would not be happy until she beat up somebody. His gaze fell towards Hoseki where he now noticed that……A…At…Ataru! Yes that was the boy’s name who he had ran into a few times at the library. Ataru seemed to have slipped. Kana grimaced but knew that the best quality of a ninja was to take advantage of any situation. The young medic was actually a bit jealous that Ataru seemed to be able to use the Shadow clone jutsu. That was something he would hope to add to his knowledge base.

He tightened this grasp on the kunai he held and looked determinately towards the incoming team. He was not really good at rumbling but he was exceptionally well at dodging.

After the great blast of fire scorched the field, Hoseki jumped backwards, almost right over Mizo’s trap. He remembered that spot, knowing full well that she was trying to get Kimiko to walk right over it, so he didn’t step on it. Instead he positioned himself behind it so if Kimiko charged him, she’s run into it. Hoseki watched as Kana readied an attack nearby, while that one guy - what was his name? - stormed off. Not like he’s find Kana’s flag like that or anything.

”Hey, Samurai Bitch! You want the flag? Come get it!” He deliberately tried to distract Kimiko, taunting her with name calling, that was the one thing he knew about Kimiko, she didn’t like name calling. Hoeski’s fists picked up flames from thin air, like he was ready to punch her lights out. ”What? Scared?” What he didn’t realize was that Kimiko’s wind style would make short work of his fire style, possibly blowing it back in his face.

---

Meanwhile, Mizo’s trap was ready. The small hole was big enough for two people, and wires were suspended from the walls to tangle someone who fell in. Smoke bombs with carefully placed at Mizo’s feet, 4 of them to be exact. One was enough to really mess someone up, but knowing Kimiko, she’d cause a scene and blow a single one away, so 4 would work. She could feel Hoseki’s chakra burn the air, Mizo knew he was trying to lead her directly into the trap. That’s team 9 for you....The plan was to spring up from the hole as fast as possible, grab hold of Kimiko long enough to to take the flag, and slam her into the hole as fast as possible, lighting the smoke bombs and tangling the wire around her.

_{”Yeah...that’s right...gimme that flag, Kimiko...}

Things were certainly heating up on the field, both figuratively and literally thanks to Hoseki and his fire jutsu. He watched as Ataru ran passed him and gave the heads up that Kana has the flag. So the flag is mobile, that changes so things but, Kana can not run forever and with the battlefield being a flat field. It should not be too hard to spot him and caught up to him. However, it seems that Ataru has taken up the role of getting the flag and wanting Kushizu to cover him. That was unexpected, Kushizu is used to Ataru being support and not going to the frontlines. He wondered what caused this change but was not bothered by it. It was kinda nice to see Ataru take the initiative for once but, whether or not it will work out has yet to be seen.

Then Kushizu watched Ataru fall to the ground unceremoniously. Kushizu's face noticeably turned as the fall happened. Though Ataru was able to get back up quickly with his shadow clone helping him up. Kushizu decided not to bring up when the match was over. One bump on getting to Kana does not need to be repeated. Especially to Kimiko and hopes that this stays unheard by her.

With the plan to cover Ataru, Kushizu moved closer to Ataru as Mizo got in range of Ataru. Watching as Mizo about to punch Ataru's shadow clone in the face and rushed to cover his teammate. Handling Mizo should be easier to deal with Hoseki. Should being the keyword, and Kushizu did expect her to be an easy target. When he finally got in range, Kushizu aimed with his mouth at Mizo and used Water Release: Water Gun. A torrent of water was launched out of his mouth and headed straight towards her. Now let's see if this can get Mizo off of Ataru's back.