Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.

Italic Speech: Almost always Magi, sometimes other characters but only when mentioned.

Koshiro always thinks in normal text.

Chapter 6 - Graduation Exams Pt. 1

'Just speak already!'

I must have been silent for over a minute, as Kenshi started snapping his fingers in front of me. "I heard he does this a lot in class, but he always responds whenever the teacher asks," Enjo explained quietly.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't say anything. Why was I afraid of saying my own name?

"Oh, sorry... My name is Koshiro Kataoka," Kenshi's eyes widened in realization, I glanced at him for a moment before continuing. "I'm part of the Kataoka merchant family, my father used to be a shinobi but now he's retired."

"Oh, so you're Koichi's kid... Your dad and I were teammates you know." Moku-sensei commented. I looked at him with questioning eyes. He chuckled, "I'm older than I look."

"I study puppetry and my chakra control is pretty good," I paused to think, "My hobbies are meditating and puppeteering. I like the texture of wood, especially when it's wood from the land of fire. My dislikes, um." I scratched the back of my head.

"Can't think of any." I smiled. I genuinely couldn't find anything that I hated, maybe some things I found annoying but nothing really rubbed me the wrong way. 'Good for you, then. A healthy mind is a healthy body.'

Moku-sensei nodded, "Good, a healthy mind is a healthy body. You don't let things get to you and I can respect that."

'Great minds think alike.'

"Well, I guess it's my turn now. My name is Moku Shirogane, I'm forty-six years old and you guys are my second genin team. I specialize in fuinjutsu and information gathering…"

'Fuinjutsu? That's odd, especially in Suna.'

"I like the feeling of warm sunlight on my skin, not the blistering heat we have in summer but the cooler air in winter. I dislike wet areas, especially the land of water. The missions where I get sent there are the worst. My hobby is also meditating, it helps calm my nerves after a long day of working…" God, he talked a lot like my dad. Or Magi when she's set off.

'What?!'

Oh, it's nothing.

A loud ringing of a bell broke me out of my musings.

"Whoops, it looks like it's almost time for the exams." Moku-sensei stood up and dusted his clothes, "Alright, guys. I'm not supposed to tell you anything, but... Just know that you don't have to follow the rules to the letter."

"What does that mean?" Kenshi asked, but sensei merely shrugged and made us follow him to the central area. All of the other teams were also here, we were all ready for the exam.

Kenshi gave me a short glance, "We'll talk later." I whispered and he nodded slowly. Good, he's willing to talk.

"Attention, everyone." The third Kazekage suddenly appeared in a swirl of iron sand. "Woah, he's so cool!" Kenshi whispered and I shrugged. He was definitely strong, no doubt about it. I just felt that having iron sand as your gimmick was pretty predictable.

'He's a ninja, he probably has more than enough techniques to compensate.' Fair point.

"The exams will start in half an hour, I will explain the rules to you beforehand." The Kazekage pulled out a scroll and read from it. "All of you will be transported into the caves by your Jounin-sensei, those are where the exams are going to be conducted."

"All participants are not allowed to leave the caves until the exam is finished. If you break this rule, then you will be sent back to the academy." It makes sense, they don't want anyone leaving the play area.

The Kage pulled out a glass orb, "This will be your target, there will be twenty orbs scattered throughout the caves." He gestured his hand and the orb disappeared in a swirl of iron sand, "They will be well hidden, and you'll have to find two to pass. You can only have a maximum of two per team, so if you find an extra you'll have to leave it be."

"If your team is carrying more than two orbs at one time, you will be disqualified."

Twenty orbs… That means only ten teams will pass. How many teams are there? 'Eighteen, that is a lot of potential losses. They might have a special remedial program for the losers, they will not have all of that potential military power go to waste.'

"If any member of your team breaks an orb, your entire team will be disqualified." The Kazekage did another hand gesture and iron sand filled the roof of the room, "My Iron Sand will be spread throughout the caves, it will impede your progress in certain areas. It will also stop anyone from getting too violent."

Smart. 'Yes, not only does it increase the difficulty, but it also acts as a safety net. That sand of his is quite a useful ability.'

"As you may have realized, this will be a Team Deathmatch. Of course, killing is not allowed. And try not to cripple anyone."

"No promises." I heard Kenshi mutter.

"If any team has two or more members that cannot move or are crippled, they are automatically disqualified. You have a time limit of twelve hours to gather two orbs and bring them to the Jounin standing by in one of the caves, you will know they are the right one if they break your orbs right away."

Right, cause if you bring an orb to an enemy disguised as the Jounin, you'll know they're fake if they hesitate in breaking your orb.

"Well, those are the rules. Please head towards the cave entrances and your Jounin-sensei will transport you into your starting positions."

I looked towards Kenshi and Enjo, they looked back and nodded. We're definitely not going back to the academy today. I also didn't have to worry about Sasori, since he's way stronger than me.

"You three ready?" Moku-sensei asked, "Yep!" Kenshi answered for us.

"Good," Moku had this gleam in his eye, "I like you guys, so you better not lose." He slipped me a note as we walked towards the starting area.

What does it read, Magi? I rubbed the paper and felt the areas where a pen must have written. 'I don't like doing this, but your dad made me help you out. That is what is written, underneath that is a seal matrix.'

Do you know what it does? 'No, I do not have enough knowledge of seals to determine its purpose.'

There was a short buzzing noise in my head, 'Yo, yo, Big bro! It's me, Rance! Here to tell you that seal right there has that Chiyo woman's chakra.' Chiyo? What does she have to do with this seal?

'Don't ask me. How should I know?'

'Anyway, there's something else we have to tell you.'

Tempe? What's up?

'There is an abnormally large amount of natural energy in that cave, I have no idea what it might be nor does Empress. I think it might just be a concentrated part of this earth's ley line, or it might be something more. You should investigate it when the opportunity arrives.'

Natural Energy? Isn't that what sages absorb to do senjutsu?

Well anyway, thanks for the info Tempe.

We approached the starting area, though we all had to walk down a long set of stairs. It went so far down that the sandstone walls blended into regular stone. 'I believe right next to this cave system is the village's safety bunkers, quite an efficient way to use space.'

"Alright, kids. We're here." Moku-sensei stopped us, there were only four of us in an isolated room. The other teams must have gotten their own. Sensei gave me a look and glanced towards the note he gave me. I nodded slightly in understanding, he wanted me to use it in the exam. "I'm going to shunshin you guys into the caves, then you're on your own. All I can say is good luck, and be careful."

Without any more words, he reached out with his hand and we placed ours on his. In a swirl of sand, the four of us were transported into the play area.

"How will he use it I wonder…" Moku was laying down on a couch in the spectator's lounge, a big screen showing the play area in front of him and the other spectators. "What did you give your team, Moku-sensei?" His acquaintance, a female Jounin with short white hair sat down next to him.

This was Kura Owari, a female Jounin of the Owari clan. She was one of Moku's previous students, she had risen up the ranks in a pretty short time.

"Kura-chan, when are you gonna drop that honorific? You're a Jounin now." Moku sighed, to which the woman blew him a raspberry. "When you decide to treat me like a real woman!"

The man shrugged and looked away. "Not when you're still so reckless, how did you become Jounin again?"

"Hmph. You haven't answered my question yet."

Moku scratched his chin, "I gave em' a puppet from Chiyo's, it should be fun to watch. Koichi's kid is looking to be one of the best puppeteers this generation has to offer, next to Chiyo's kid of course." He pointed towards the screen which showed his own team standing in a dark cavern.

"So, what did you give your team?" Moku asked the woman, who gave a cheeky grin. "Explosives."

"Figures, just don't come crying to me when you get billed for damages."

"Hah! I'll just ask you for money again!"

"Very funny. Anyway, isn't your little brother participating too?"

"Oh, Daisuke? He'll be fine, he's got this exam in the bag. He'll blow everyone away with everything I've taught him." Kura had this sinister grin on her face.

Moku's face paled, "No, don't tell me..."

"Yep, he's learned to use his explosion release. Let's see your kids survive that!"

'Kami save you guys, I can't believe I'll have to see this happen again.' When Kura had her graduation exams, the Kazekage had to help keep the caves from collapsing. And knowing her little brother's explosive personality, it might just be even worse.

After the sand subsided, we reappeared inside a dark cave. "Oh great, they didn't mention it'd be dark as hell here," Kenshi commented. "I brought a lantern," Enjo said, pulling out a steel lantern from her satchel. She lit it with a match and the entire room was lit. "Damn that's bright." Kenshi shielded his eyes.

"It's because the caves are so dark, this small lantern feels so bright in comparison," I said, looking around. There were two entrances, one was narrow and the other was pretty large. My eyes met Kenshi's, there was a fire brewing in his, the passion of a warrior. We both nodded and glanced towards Enjo, who had a hesitant look. I reached out my fist, "Let's go through this together, shall we?"

She slapped her cheeks, shook her head, then nodded. The three of us fist-bumped and I felt my body pumping with adrenaline.

'Oh, hey, hey! Is it my turn already? Come on baby, let's go!' Suddenly, a new voice appeared in my head.

'Chariot, you're finally awake.' Empress spoke to the new voice. 'Haha, yeah! Looks like this idiot's finally going to fight for real, so it's about time I stopped dozing around.'

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Sorry for the really long update, I've been preoccupied with graduation exams and Persona 4 Golden released on pc right after that. (Persona has been a big inspiration for this story.) Also, thanks for all of the follows and reviews. It's really been a big motivation for me to keep going.

Now, for the story: I have to repeat that this is AU, maybe until now you've seen a lot of similarities to canon but it'll deviate soon enough. It's not a complete AU though, most of the canon characters will still be themselves and lots of plot points from canon will still be prominent. That's all I really wanted to say, thanks for reading!