You Were There  

(So Chitose is the type to protect his own, huh?)

Chitose looked down at the arena, completely unaware that Yosuke was studying him with great enthusiasm.

The man-eating fish seemed to have taken a liking to the Sand genin who called Ruri a "traitor", immediately leaping out of the water towards him the moment the proctor announced the start of the exam. Its massive tail forcefully struck the seawater, creating several meter-high waves that blatantly displayed its powerful tail strength. It used the force of the water to propel itself at an incredible speed incongruous with its large body, shooting like an arrow towards the surprised youth. Its gigantic body, occupying the entire viewing stand, meant that even if its target was just one person, everyone on the platform had to jump to avoid its exceptionally sturdy frame.

At the exact moment everyone leapt into the air, the seawater flooded over the platform, submerging where the two genin teams had been standing.

Or rather, at the precise instant their feet left the concrete surface, the outflow rate of the seawater suddenly increased dramatically, the water level visibly and rapidly rising.

The youth directly facing the man-eating fish was clearly too preoccupied to notice this. He was seen quickly regaining his wits, flicking out his black cloak to release a black shadow that swiftly carried him away, narrowly avoiding the bloody maw. It then deposited him precariously on the lowest stone block. Seeing the fish had missed its attack and was beginning to descend, the youth was slightly relieved. With a twitch of his fingers, the black shadow surrounding him deftly gathered at his right hand, floating obediently.

All this occurred in the blink of an eye, the other genin having just reached their nearest footholds.

Chitose, who had been fixated on the fish, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The muscular man-eating fish, realizing it had failed to catch its prey, actually twisted its body fiercely in midair, its fat yet powerful tail whistling through the air to viciously slam into the youth's face!!

"Shinki!!" The two Sand genin on his team cried out worriedly, their shouts snapping Kagura and Buntan out of their daze. They saw Kagura had already ascended two or three steps, turning back to mouth "Cover me" at them.

The two exchanged a glance and nodded, turning towards the other two unattacked Sand shinobi.

Among the three of them, Kagura had the best foundation and was the fastest, making him the ideal choice to retrieve the Night Pearl.

On the other side, Shinki had barely found his footing when he felt the seawater lapping at his ankles. Watching the raging fish tail bearing down, he rapidly surveyed his surroundings but realized not a single stone was suitable for solid footing - they were all slanted or curved surfaces.

He frowned slightly, his gaze flitting past Kagura, who had already leapt across several stones, and his hesitating teammates. His heart sank as he recalled the monstrous strength he had witnessed this fish use to bite through a marble block. Not daring to directly confront it, he steeled himself and leapt towards the nearest oval-shaped foothold, shouting to his teammates, "What are you waiting for? Leave this to me, go get the Night Pearl quickly!"

His two teammates looked at each other before finally resolving themselves. Instead of directly climbing up, they split off, one agilely chasing after Kagura while the other engaged Buntan and Hassaku alone. True to expectations, Shinki slipped heavily on the wet oval stone. At the last possible moment, the black shadow beside him forcefully knocked into him, barely allowing him to regain his balance. No sooner had he steadied himself than the fish's tail smashed into the spot he had been standing, its tremendous force not only pulverizing the hard marble but also shattering through the water screen to viciously slam into the wall behind, creating a tail-shaped crater.

Water and shattered stone sprayed everywhere. Without a backwards glance, Shinki turned and began leaping upwards level by level.

Almost simultaneously, the outflow rate of the seawater rapidly increased again. Those higher up were fine, but the black-cloaked youth below was in a precarious position, the water level line practically chasing at his heels, continuously surging upwards without giving him a chance to find steady footing. The slightest pause would submerge his feet.

At this rate, the man-eating fish only needed to open its mouth underwater to swallow him whole.

Chitose watched Shinki's now rather gloomy profile, frowning in thought.

This match seemed destined to end faster than he expected. The man-eating fish was more intelligent than he had anticipated, already securing an advantageous angle of attack, forcing the youth named Shinki into an unfavorable dead corner from the very first move.

The iron sand he used likely operated on the same principle as the Fifth Kazekage Gaara's sand control, but in this all-water environment, it would be difficult to effectively utilize. The fish had clearly anticipated this, prioritizing its attack on Shinki while also buying itself time to set up another advantageous strike.

Shinki's iron sand appeared only capable of carrying him a short distance at considerable chakra cost, hardly effective against the rapidly rising water level. However, remaining near the water's surface was undoubtedly extremely dangerous for him now.

The situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable for the Sand team.

By this point, Kagura had reached about two-thirds across the arena when the pursuing Sand kunoichi blocked his path with a thrown kunai, forcing him to pause on a long, narrow rectangular stone block. The kunoichi promptly ascended this pillar. As the latecomer, her speed and chakra control were undoubtedly exceptional.

She smiled smugly at Kagura's wary stance, exhaling deeply before removing her hood to release her long hair in preparation for combat. Simultaneously, Buntan and Hassaku were double-teaming the masked Sand genin but failing to gain any advantage. One lapse in attention resulted in Hassaku being swept off his feet by the youth's staff-like weapon, both of them tumbling from their perches.

Buntan reacted swiftly during the fall, grabbing onto a diamond-shaped stone below. However, its sharp edges sliced a deep gash across his hand, blood immediately gushing down his arm, rapidly staining half his body crimson.

The unlucky Hassaku had no such platform to catch himself, plummeting directly towards the water's surface. Spinning around mid-fall to face the water, he saw the fish's bloody maw burst out from below.

His eyes widened in horror, a shrill scream tearing from his throat.

The situation had reversed.

This was the collective sentiment.

"Hassaku!" Kagura called out urgently, but a sudden chill and noise assailed him. He hastily turned his head, the noise disrupting his movements just enough for a kunai to graze his cheek, drawing a shallow cut and a trickle of blood. The opposing kunoichi smiled at him, "Getting distracted during battle could get you killed, you know."

Kagura's expression darkened. "You—"

Suddenly, his face contorted as if losing control of his body, stumbling a step while the kunoichi's smiling face blurred before his eyes.

The alarm bells instantly rang in his mind - Not good! The kunai was poisoned!!

An overwhelming dizziness seized him, the world seeming to spin as his senses gradually dulled, the surrounding noises fading into an indistinct blur. He bit his tongue to maintain clarity, but it had no effect. He tried reaching for the emergency antidote in his pouch, but could no longer feel his hands.

He heard Buntan's scream, the pitch so shrill that he forced his eyes open, only to be met with inky blackness.

He knew what this was. He reached for his sword but, even through the mental haze, could not bring himself to draw it, instead gripping the entire sheathed blade from his waist to defend himself.

But it was too late. Before he could muster his strength, he was struck and sent flying backwards.

Instinctively clenching his sword tighter, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at not being swallowed whole. Suddenly, his vision abruptly cleared, the world seeming to spin - no, it was him spinning. He had regained his senses. The poison had passed.

Then, a blinding burst of white light pierced his vision. Kagura's eyes widened in disbelief, his purple pupils quivering.

He unconsciously reached out, straining towards that illumination. An icy chill met his palm.

He collided against something forcefully, the sensation of weightlessness indicating he was falling. His still muddled mind could not formulate a solution before he felt himself caught by someone.

He froze, his entire body tensing until he felt himself and his catcher land, the weightless vertigo dissipating. He was safe.

It took him a delayed moment to carefully open his eyes, the unprecedented sense of security from being held allowing his body to instinctively relax, his clenched fists loosening enough for the gentle white light to spill through his fingers, banishing the darkness around them.

His gaze immediately met those black eyes calmly reflecting that white radiance, and within them, his own form cradling the Night Pearl.

The youth who caught him smiled faintly at Kagura's hesitantly opening eyes. "Are you alright, Kagura?"

In that instant, like melting snow, the handsome features lost their chill, softening with tenderness.

The purple-eyed youth stared at him, murmuring, "Chitose...? How did you catch me?"

An admittedly nonsensical question that momentarily stumped Chitose before he smiled.

At this moment, surrounded by darkness with only this smiling youth's jet black eyes glimmering with light.

"Because Kagura was there," he said in a nonchalant yet matter-of-fact tone.

Kagura slowly, slowly widened his eyes, his pupils quivering.

***

"Are you sure you don't need to rest, Kagura?" Hassaku asked with a pallid expression, still shaken.

The purple-eyed youth nodded firmly. "I'm fine. You go rest first, Hassaku. I'll check on you later."

During Kagura's poisoned delirium, Hassaku had been rescued at the last possible moment by the instructor monitoring safety. However, no one expected the man-eating fish, enraged at having its meal snatched away twice, to immediately surge back up, using the now waist-high water level to attack Kagura, who happened to be standing directly above where Hassaku had fallen.

Although temporarily immobilized by the neurotoxin, Kagura still managed to deflect the fish's bite. However, lacking the strength to fully defend, he was powerless to stop its charge and was instead struck away himself.

By sheer coincidence, he flew directly towards the Night Pearl, effortlessly scooping it into his arms just as the pursuing Sand kunoichi was about to claim it, leaving her absolutely infuriated. And so, the second exam's first round ended on Kagura's fortuitous fluke.

Kagura watched the still shell-shocked Hassaku depart before catching sight of the displeased Shinki.

His purple eyes flickered with a hint of regret, but it was fleeting, immediately shifting his gaze as the proctor reset the arena.

The earth-style proctor restored the stone platforms, rearranging their positions, while the water-style proctor returned the water level and inspected the outflow control mechanisms.

Of the Mist team, only Kagura remained, Buntan and Hassaku having retreated to the medical bay. The entire Sand team stayed, huddling together to glare at the upcoming match.

They couldn't help feeling some resentment. Both the fish's stubborn fixation on Shinki from the start and Kagura's sheer luck in being flung right next to the Pearl seemed far too suspicious in their eyes.

Their accompanying jonin instructor went to discuss this with the head proctor but was brushed off with "That fish is simply capricious; don't believe me, then watch for yourself."

Hence, they had lost their right to advance but still refused to leave, remaining to observe.

Kagura averted his eyes, only for Shinki to glare icily back at him. "If it was a fair fight, there's no way you'd beat us, you underhanded cowards."

Kagura pressed his lips together before turning to meet Shinki's gaze, his expression unusually serious. "We didn't cheat. And even in a fair fight, we wouldn't lose."

Shinki responded with a disdainful scoff.

Kagura frowned unhappily, turning away only to catch Chitose watching him inquisitively from nearby. He faltered, instinctively not wanting to burden Chitose with these troubles, forcing a brilliant smile as a gentle, reassuring aura seemed to emanate from him.

The corners of Chitose's lips curled upwards as he glanced at Shinki, calmly remarking, "Sometimes, luck is also a form of strength."

Not to mention, Kagura's team didn't exactly win by sheer chance.

Shinki's eyes only grew icier, about to retort when the head proctor's voice rang out, "The arena is prepared. Leaf and Cloud teams, please take your positions on the circular platform."

Chitose arched a brow at Shinki, his expressionless face somehow conveying, "Unfortunately, I have a match now, so perhaps hold off on whatever you wanted to say."

Kagura watched him with crinkled eyes, a warm current welling up as he inwardly mused:

—So Chitose is the type to protect his own, huh?

As if discovering a new continent, he smiled faintly, the thought unexpectedly delighting him.

He watched the youth smile back at him, the exquisite, painting-like beauty of his features quite striking. Gazing upon it, Kagura unconsciously took two steps forward until he stood before Chitose, who was slightly shorter yet inspired in him an unprecedented sense of reassurance. His purple eyes brimmed with gentle emotion as he softly, in a tenderness he didn't even realize, murmured, "Please be careful."

Chitose's black eyes remained tranquil as he gave a slight nod before turning and leaping down, descending in a few deft bounds to land squarely on the waterlogged circular platform below, his footing utterly unperturbed - a display of impeccable chakra control that drew concerned looks between the similarly dressed Cloud trio. They had walked down the stairs, certainly lacking such precision.

Clad in a white undershirt, black attire and boots, the slender yet handsome youth's mere upright stance was enough to catch the eye, his aloof coldness lending him an innate, disdainful aloofness that made everything around him pale in comparison.

Some people are born to shine.

Kagura remained oblivious to his inability to take his eyes off that figure.

Though he felt nothing amiss, it did not mean others failed to notice.

Standing beside Chitose, Yosuke suddenly remarked, "Didn't expect you to be such a smooth talker, Chitose."

Lost in thought, Chitose gave him a bewildered look. "What?"

The youth smirked at him. "Oh, come on, don't play dumb. That princess carry earlier, the line 'Kagura was there', then defending him just now... tsk tsk, no wonder you've got girls fawning over you all the time."

Chitose stared at him blankly for a moment before turning his attention back to the head proctor without a word.

Yosuke's expression froze in disbelief. "Ignoring me? This guy is actually ignoring me?...Eh? Could it be he doesn't understand what I'm saying? No way, right? This guy can't be the type with low emotional intelligence yet still capable of maxing out everyone's favorability without realizing it, can he? I didn't notice before... That line 'Kagura was there' definitely meant 'you're the only one I see', right? Isn't that what Kagura thought too? Hey—"

"Yosuke." The girl's soft voice suddenly interrupted the boy's self-talk. Meeting her ordinary gaze, a flicker of concern passed through her dark red eyes.

Oblivious to her worry, he smiled. "What's wrong Ruri? You think I'm right too?"

The girl didn't respond, only grasping the hem of his clothes as she smiled faintly. "...It's nothing."

The redheaded boy stiffened.

Chitose finally turned back towards him, a hint of exasperation in his black eyes. "If even Ruri has noticed, you really are hopeless."

Yosuke stubbornly denied it. "What are you talking about?"

The black-haired youth silently observed him.

The white-haired girl pressed her lips together, carefully watching his expression before hesitantly elaborating, "Because... Yosuke tends to talk more when he's nervous."

The redhead boy suddenly froze, his icy blue eyes staring blankly at her.

"Didn't we discuss this before, Yosuke?" the handsome black-haired youth glanced at him, his tone calm yet inexplicably imbued with a reassuring power.

"It's okay. We'll all be fine."

"I promise."