"Are you alright?"

Shisui groaned, rubbing his eyes and yawned for the tenth time in the last two minutes. "Just a little sleepy. The damn cat broke into my room again last night."

Ara eyed her partner sceptically but decided to drop the topic. She took her mask and placed it on her face, "If there's anything I can do, just ask. We all know how bad sleep deprivation can affect us."

"Ah, stop worrying. It's not my first rodeo." The Uchiha pulled out two bars of chocolate from his pocket and handed one to the girl. "Here. For good luck. You're the newbie here, you'll need it. Now, where do we have to stay again?"

"West side of the written exam room, for today. Nothing too hard."

He huffed. "This is the hardest, believe me. Second round? You get to see something fun in the Forest. One-on-one battles are even better. But this? It will bore us to death."

"You. It will bore you."

Shisui whined his complaints, now ignored by Ara. She took her spot on one of the highest trees around, giving herself a perfectly clear view of the exam room. The Uchiha also settled himself next to her, playing with a kunai of his own. It was quiet and peaceful, uneventful, for a good moment, until Ara noticed something strange.

"Hey, look at that. Seat number 42."

Shisui looked up. "Yeah. He's cheating - a pretty clever trick, too, but that's exactly the point of this exam, right?"

"Isn't it a little too advanced for a genin? Or, soon-to-be chunin?"

"What?" He frowned, "He's from... Kirigakure?"

"Uh-huh. Recognize that jutsu?"

"I've encountered it a few times. Rouge nins, jonin level, at least. You're right, that's a little shady. Where's his team?"

Ara shrugged. "I don't know. Your guess?"

"... Probably the ones at the corners. First and last seat." Shisui turned back to his partner, "They're the only ones who are hiding most of their chakra."

"Oh? I didn't notice that."

"They're pretty good at it. You think..."

"Spies." Ara nodded, "We could be wrong, but let's not take any risk. And keep this between ourselves, for now."

*/*\*/*\*

Ara scoffed, pulling out her clipboard and uncapped her red pen, crossing out another team off her list. "That's two teams in fifteen minutes. This will be over in no time."

"This year's participants aren't as smart, but they're stronger than others. I'm betting for two days. They wouldn't like staying inside the Forest for too long."

"Betting or hoping?"

"Both." Seeing Ara's expression, Shisui shrugged, "What? I'd like a thick mattress from a cheap inn or your living room's couch or the spare futon in Sasuke's bedroom! Sleeping bags aren't my kind of thing, not to mention we have to take turns keeping watch on everything here."

"... Be a writer, a traveller or something, then. Luxury beds aren't for shinobi like us."

Shisui gave his partner an unbelieving glare. "I'm an Uchiha. Nephew of the clan's leader. I have the Sharingan, the Mangekyou, and I've memorised all the clan's secrets since I was 5. Can I not be a shinobi, Hatake?"

"Good point." Ara bit her thumb and ran it through the summoning tattoo on the right side of her neck. Shisui noticed this move but said nothing, only raising his eyebrow when a large centipede suddenly appeared below them.

-You called?-

Ara jumped down, landing in front of the beast. "I need your help. I'm gonna leave my post for a little while, can you stay here and take over? Just keep an eye out, tell me if anything suspicious happens. And don't get hurt, okay?"

-Alright.-

Shisui tapped her shoulder. "What is it, Ara?"

"We need to talk. Got any place in mind?"

"Sure." Within a blink, the two found herself inside Shisui's room. The guy instantly threw himself onto his bed, grinning as he took off his mask and grabbed a large pillow, carefully arranging them under his sore back. "Alright, now you can talk."

Ara shook her head in disapproval. "You're ridiculous," she muttered. "Well, how's the coup? Is there anything you haven't told me?"

Shisui froze. "How did you-" he scoffed, "I don't even wanna know. Yes, there's something new, and I'm sure you're not gonna like it."

"I already hate it, give me your worst."

He let out a sigh. "It's already decided; Itachi will be the one to assassinate the clan. And everyone who knows about the operation, except for the council, will be silenced."

"You mean murdered."

He shrugged, "That's too blunt, but yeah. Which includes me, so Itachi will probably be the last Uchiha alive once it's over."

"What do you mean probably? He's-"

"I'm not sure if he can kill Sasuke. You know how close they are, Itachi can't-"

"I'm talking about you, Shisui," Ara growled, "You won't die, I won't let you. None of this was supposed to happen, but when it does, you're the one who will get out of it alive-"

"That's bull and we both know it, Ara." Shisui sat up and gave her a glare, "When it comes to Sasuke or me, Itachi will always choose his brother, and that's okay for me."

Not waiting for a reply, he continued, "No one can stop it, not even you. You can't protect me forever, Ara. They're gonna kill me, it's just a matter of how. In Itachi's hands or yours, or perhaps by another nameless Anbu on the job. They'll do it quick and dirty; maybe in a dark alley or who knows, the council might kidnap me first. If I don't cooperate, they're gonna use my family as a leverage. Maybe even you or Hana, and I can't let that happen. I'm not going to have someone else involved; heck, I didn't even want you to know! But people will die, and whoever survives, they're gonna be a wreck. You're the only one I trust to take care of them, whoever that may be, to protect the remains of my clan when the council destroys it."

Ara had to hold back her tears. "... They can't- Minato-san wouldn't-" she groaned in frustration, "Why would they throw you away like that? You've done so much for them, and you're one of the village's greatest assets."

Shisui nodded with a bitter smile. "And I'll simply become another collateral damage to defend the council's pride, like any other shinobi before me. Another number in the reports, another headstone on an empty grave."

*/*\*/*\*

The last round of exam was, as expected, the most 'troublesome' of all. Almost everyone in the village decided to watch the battles, leaving the streets mostly empty and the stadium packed with people.

"Have I ever told how I much I hate crowds?"

Shisui glanced at Ara and gave her a shrug. "You never told me, though I'm sure everyone already knows from the way you're holding that," he gestured at the clipboard in her hand, which already had a crack or two on it. "Careful, I'm not gonna buy you another one if you broke that."

Ara rolled her eyes, but settled herself on one of the wooden beams at the top of the building. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you."

The Uchiha smirked and turned away, wordlessly pulling out a candy bar from his pocket. He unwrapped the treat and stared at it for a while, before shoving the entire chocolate-covered waffle into his mouth. Not long after, he was already mumbling something incoherent.

"Swallow first, talk later."

Shisui nodded. "Uh-huh." He crumpled the wrapper in his hand and shoved it into his pocket, "Isn't that your teammate? The asshole? And who's the girl with him? A relative?"

Ara gave him a flat look, "First of all, you gotta stop calling him that, he has a name too. And yeah, Yuito has a little sister."

"Huh."

"... What was that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Hey, do you remember that Kirigakure guy who cheated on the first round?" Ara knew he was avoiding the topic of her teammates, but decided not to ask.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's dead."

She had to take an extra second to process the two-words. "Really? What's his name again?"

Shisui shrugged, "ID number is 207. Ko was the one who kept an eye on his group. He told me everything he saw, and the details were... disturbing, at least."

"You know Ko-san?"

He grinned. "Sure do, we were close, at least until a couple years ago."

"What happened?"

A bitter smile. "Things got rough in his family; it's not my story to tell." Shisui adjusted his mask, "Anyways, that team, a standard two guys and a girl, they were fighting a Suna team when another Konoha team saw the battle and decided to join in. Apparently, 6 against 3 is enough to beat them. One died of poison, the other two gave up and had to drag themselves out of the Forest, almost literally. Guts half spilling-out and bones broken."

"Not a spy, then?"

"Ko said that the dead body has no major injuries, except for the poison. If he hadn't been shot, he would have survived. And from his weapons, the way he fought, his chakra reserves, there's no way he's a genin. Shuld be at least jounin, or maybe a low-level Anbu in our standard."

Ara frowned. "So, it's just him, not the whole team? That's strange."

"Well, there's nothing we know for sure, except for he's already dead and he can't do anything to us anymore."

She nodded. "What about your clan?"

"Can we not talk about them?"

Behind her mask, Ara's jaw fell agape. "We have every right, every reason to talk about your damn clan. Everyone who got promoted to chuunins will have to take part in the coup."

Ara could tell when did her words truly seep in. Shisui's shoulders tensed, his hand almost reaching to his mask to pull it off, but then he clenched his fist and slammed it on his other hand. "Fuck!" he hissed, "How the hell did I even forget that?!"

She shrugged, handing him her clipboard. "I'll give you the honor."

He hastily scanned through the papers, flipping the pages impatiently while mumbling under his breath.

"So?"

"... All of 'em," he finally said with a sigh, "They all made it to this last round. How the hell is that even possible?!"

"Well, it's an elite clan, after all."

Shisui gave her a suspicious look, "Are you talking about the good or the bad thing?"

Ara turned away.

"I take that as an insult."

"I thought you hate your clan?" she asked back, "You barely ever spend your free time there, you're always raiding my fridge, sleeping on my couch."

"Without me, your apartment would be covered by dust, with how rare you're ever home," he retorted, "I don't hate my clan. I hate the pricks who thinks they have the right to rule over it, the pricks who thinks they deserve their titles."

"... If you have the chance to change everything, who would you choose as the head of the clan? Yourself?"

He chuckled. "No way, that's gonna be too boring."

"Itachi?"

Shisui stayed silent for a while. Ara noticed the way he rubbed his chin, probably squinting behind the white mask. Later, he shook his head; barely visible, but the movement was there. "He could've been a good one, but now? I don't think he's fit to do that."

She waited for more.

"He's smart, selfless, hard-working too, but his priorities aren't right. He's a soldier, he's gonna follow the Hokage, not making decisions for his own clan. The first would be his brother, then the village and lastly his clan. If he becomes the leader, he couldn't sacrifice the whole clan for a village that's not a part of his responsibility, let alone a single person."

"So? Who's it gonna be?"

He frowned, deep in thought, but Ara could never forget the moment he raised his head, slowly turning to look at her, shaking his head slightly as if he couldn't even believe what had just crossed his own mind. Even though she couldn't see his face, she's sure that the Uchiha was grinning wide.

"Should I be afraid?" she muttered, more to herself. Shisui snorted.

"Call me crazy, but I'll take his brother."

*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*

I'm totally disappointed in myself. Months and barely 2000 words here?! *showing off my new Supernatural one-shot* *gets slapped*

Okay, fine. I'm on the verge of leaving this fandom and moving on to the next (They have pies and a Chevy Impala over there), but I'm gonna do my best to keep this fic going. After all, we haven't gotten to the good part yet.

But yeah, this chapter more or less only serves to settle what will really happen on the coup (and to lie to myself that I'm being productive *gets slapped, again*), which may come on chapter 52 or 53? Not much later, I promise.

Tell me what you think? Comment, vote? Sorry the chapter's so short, but I really think I have to upload something.

Love you guys! See ya!

- Rae