The trees whipped Naomi as she sprinted with all her might through the dense forest, her face, arms, and legs sliced by branches and thorns. Her heart raced as the hurried sound of footsteps behind her grew closer and closer. Her legs burned, and her heart raced so fast she couldn't breathe, but she kept going.
I have to get away. I can't let them take me back, not after this, she thought to herself. She gritted her teeth and pushed forward, pushing off the ground with more force with every step she took to increase the gap between her and her pursuers. A dim light glowed through the trees in the distance, and Naomi's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.
Her foot caught on a small rock that sent her tumbling forward face-first into the dirt.
"Nngh.." she groaned as she pushed herself onto her knees, which had both been scraped raw from the fall. The racing footsteps stopped behind her, and someone snatched her by her long, purple hair. She winced and cried out in pain as a massive, muscular man pulled her up by her hair, forcing her onto her feet.
"Let me go!" Naomi cried as she flailed her arms behind her, scratching at the man's face and pulling away from him as hard as she could. He laughed a menacing laugh, and two other men on either side of him joined in the laughter, shrouded in shadow.
"Why don't we have a little fun with you before we take you back home?" the large man said, with a wicked, crooked grin. A single tear trickled down Naomi's face. Her legs shook before giving out underneath her, her body limp, her hope and will crushed. The man let her fall to her knees.
"There's a good girl. Thank you for being so accommodating," he said as he wrapped his fingers around the waistband of her dirty, tattered shorts. She lifted her face from the dirt a stared with longing at the warm light glowing just out of reach. She almost made it.
No…I'm NOT going back, she thought to herself. She gritted her teeth, scooped up some loose dirt in her fist, and threw it in the man's eyes. He wailed and reeled back, rubbing his eyes in a panic, his eyes watering against his will. Naomi took the opportunity to push up off the ground and take off running.
"Idiots! Go after her! Don't let her get away!" the large man commanded, and the other two men ran after her while he stayed behind. Naomi ran faster and faster with every step, the light glowing brighter and bigger as she approached, unaware that there was a steep drop-off at the edge of the forest.
She breached the dense trees and gasped as her feet fell from under her, and she fell forward over the steep hill, her face smashing into solid rock, taking the full force of the impact. She tumbled down the steep hill, her body flailing about like a rag doll until she came to a stop on a dirt road.
The trees rustled behind her, and Naomi's heart spiked out of her chest with panic. Her arms and legs trembled and ached as she struggled to push herself up off the ground and keep running, but she couldn't. She was at her limit. Tears welled in her eyes, and she let her face fall flat to the ground as she lost all hope.
They're going to take me back to that awful place. What'll they do to me for running away? she wondered to herself, crying freely now, sobbing without restraint.
"Hey! Who's out there?" a young boy shouted as he rushed out of a nearby ramen shop and came to Naomi's side. He took up a protective stance between Naomi and the trees, armed with only a kunai knife. "Why don't you stop hiding like cowards and show yourselves?" he demanded. Still, there was no answer- only the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps growing fainter as Naomi's pursuers retreated back into the forest. "Well, whoever was out there is gone now. Are you okay?" he asked, cradling Naomi in his arms. She groaned and mumbled something unintelligible, barely conscious, her face covered with blood, sweat, and dirt. Her vision went blurry as she faded even more out of consciousness, but she was able to catch one detail; a headband with a leaf symbol carved into it glinted in the moonlight.
"Don't worry. I've got you, now. You're going to be fine," the boy said as he picked her up and carried her away. She didn't know this boy or why he stepped in to defend her, but she trusted him enough to let herself pass out.
She awoke in a hospital bed with the sunrise as it shined in through an open window, a cool breeze blowing strands of hair across her face, tickling her nose until her eyes finally fluttered open. She winced and turned away from the window and caught her breath. Asleep in a chair next to her hospital bed with his head resting against the wall was a young boy that couldn't be more than a year older than Naomi. He had his hair pulled back and a scar across his nose, and Naomi recognized the headband he was wearing.
"Oh, you're awake!" a perky nurse said as she walked through the door, a bright smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"
Naomi reached for the glass of water sitting by her bed. The nurse lifted the glass and helped Naomi drink from it.
"Thank you," Naomi said in a whisper, her voice still weak. She turned to the boy. "Miss, who is that?" she asked.
"Isn't it so sweet? He's been here every day since the night he brought you to us."
"And, where is that, exactly?"
"You're in a hospital in the Hidden Leaf village."
Naomi looked back at the sleeping boy and squinted as she racked her brain for more details from that night.
"Is that because of me?" Naomi asked, tapping her nose with her finger. The nurse let out a dainty laugh.
"No, sweetie, don't worry. Please, try not to strain yourself too much just yet. Are you hungry? I'll be back with breakfast for the both of you," she said and left the room before Naomi had a chance to answer. She looked at the boy again, a perplexed look on her face.
"Why would he go so far for me, a complete stranger?" she wondered.
The boy shifted in his sleep and slightly opened his eyes, wincing from the sunlight. He yawned, stretched, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His eyes widened in surprise when his eyes met Naomi's. He got up from his seat so fast, he nearly knocked it over.
"You're awake! I'll go get a nurse," he said as he turned on his heels and rushed toward the door.
"It's fine. A nurse is already coming with breakfast for the both of us. You can relax," Naomi said, stopping him in his tracks.
"Oh…how long have you been awake?" he asked as he pulled his seat closer to her bed, leaning forward with intrigue, staring intently into her eyes. Naomi averted her gaze and laughed awkwardly.
"Only about 30 seconds longer than you," she answered.
"How are you feeling? Are you in any pain at all? You were in really bad shape."
Naomi waved her hands in front of her.
"No, I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me." Her voice shook as she spoke, her nerves getting the best of her.
"What the hell were you doing running through the forest in the middle of the night? Who were you running from? You could have gotten seriously hurt, or worse. You're lucky I was passing by," the boy said, speaking quicker and louder as he continued, an intense look in his eyes, and frustration in his voice. Naomi stared flabbergasted and open-mouthed for a moment, bewildered by the sudden switch in his tone. She then glared up at him, and he was taken aback as she matched his intensity.
"Well if it was so dangerous, what business did you have getting involved with a complete stranger to you?" Naomi demanded. She waited for his answer without wavering. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and he slapped his knee as he threw his head back with a laugh.
"What, you're serious? I'm Iruka Umino, a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, you know. Of course I had to stop and protect someone too weak to protect themselves. Otherwise, I'd have no right to wear this headband," Iruka said with pride as he pointed out the leaf symbol on his forehead protector. "What a dumb question," he added as he leaned forward and grabbed his sides as he continued to laugh. Naomi glared and balled her hand into a fist. She then punched him with all her might over the top of his head.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Iruka cried out, rubbing his head where she had hit him while Naomi rubbed her aching knuckles and bit her lip to keep from whimpering in pain. The door then slid open, and the nurse peeked her head in.
"Oh! Am I interrupting something? You have a very special visitor," she said with a sweet smile. Naomi's heart jumped in a panic. Had she been found? Had someone even stronger shown up to take her home? She held her breath as footsteps drew nearer, her heart skipping with every slap of sandals against the cold, hard floor.
She then let her mouth drop open and stared up with starry eyes at the older man that walked in, dressed in robes and carrying a pipe.
"Lord Hokage!" Iruka jumped out of his seat and bowed to the man. He let out a raspy, jaunty laugh and patted Iruka on the head.
"You've done a fine job, Iruka. You've done well to look after our guest," said the Third. Iruka rubbed his head once more and glared in Naomi's direction.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
The Hokage then smiled down at Naomi. "How are you feeling? Can I ask you your name? Mine is Hiruzen Sarutobi, and I'm the Hokage of this village."
"N-Naomi Kasai," she answered timidly. The Third Hokage sat beside her on her bed.
"And where do you come from, Naomi Kasai?"
"Th-the Land of Waves, sir," she answered timidly yet again.
"My, that's quite a distance for someone so young to travel alone. Why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?"
Everything? Naomi's eyes welled with tears as she recalled every detail of her journey, every time she thought she was caught, and she remembered every reason she had for running away in the first place without a place to go. The tears flowed freely down her face, and she collapsed forward into the Hokage's arms, sobbing. He was surprised, but didn't hesitate to pull Naomi into a hug and comfort her.
"It's alright. You're safe here," he reassured her with a warm smile and all the tenderness of a loving grandfather. He then turned to Iruka, who was looking down at Naomi with a look somewhere between concern and pity.
"Iruka, you've done enough for now. Why don't you take a break? I think Mizuki's been looking for you."
Iruka nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait," Naomi said with a shaky voice mid-sob. She cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Iruka with only admiration in them. He waited and tapped his foot impatiently, disinterested in anything she had to say. "I'm sorry I hit you earlier," she began.
"Tch. Is that all?" he asked. She shook her head and smiled at him.
"I'm safe because of you. Thank you, Iruka."
There was no mistake that he was flustered suddenly when she said his name by the way his cheeks became rosy in color and the way he frantically waved his hands in front of himself.
"D-don't worry about it, please. And, I probably deserved it just a little, I guess," he said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed his head once more with one hand. "Take care, Naomi," he said with a smile before leaving. The Hokage chuckled to himself.
"That boy certainly has the will of fire within him. It's what drove him to protect you, you know," he said to Naomi.
"The will of fire…hm.." Naomi thought to herself and wondered if she, too, could possess it.
Naomi smirked confidently at her opponent, sizing him up from across the arena. The brawny Mist shinobi towered over her with hands the size of her head, biceps that she couldn't wrap her hands fully around, and a wide, rock-hard chest. His stance was wide, unwavering, and proud, like that of a mountain.
What the Hell are they feeding them in the Hidden Mist? She wondered to herself. Okay, so he clearly has me beat in brute strength. I'll have to be faster than him.
"Alright. Combatants ready? Let this match between Naomi Kasai and Toru Nagano begin!" Shikamaru decreed. The crowd roared with excitement as the match began. Naomi flicked open the pouch holstered at her thigh and pulled out a kunai knife. She twirled it around on her finger playfully before charging forward, her only plan: don't get hit.
She threw a flurry of punches and kicks that Toru blocked with ease, making the slightest movements. Naomi dodged his punches with grace, dancing her way around him. Blow for blow, he was stronger, though he couldn't match Naomi's speed. Even the impact of her fists against his chiseled physique was painful, her knuckles already bruising. She glared and threw one more punch with all her might. With little effort, Toru swatted her hand downward, sending her stumbling behind him. She regained her balance and came at him from behind, this time with a flying kick.
He turned and grabbed her by the leg, swinging her around and launching her through the air towards the crowd. She threw her head back and flipped in the air so that her feet landed square on the wall, sending a constant flow of chakra to her feet to keep her attached firmly to the wall. Several hundred people in the audience gasped in shock.
"When did she learn to control chakra like that?" Ino asked.
"I don't know. As far as I know, she couldn't use chakra at all. I wonder if she's mastered any jutsu," Sakura said, leaning forward in her seat.
"For a while, we thought the same thing," said Iruka as he entered the stands and approached the girls.
"Oh, Iruka-sensei, what are you doing all the way out in the Hidden Sand? Did you come to see Naruto and Konohamaru?" Sakura asked.
"Or did you come to see Naomi in action?" Ino asked with a sly grin. Ino, Sakura, and even TenTen lit up as Iruka's demeanor changed, becoming more bashful and defensive. He cleared his throat and put on a stern act.
"I came to support all my students participating in this year's Chunin Exams."
"And Naomi," Sakura said with a smile.
"Yes, and Naomi," Iruka hesitated to admit. He took a seat next to Sakura and leaned forward in his seat, watching with a wide grin on his face as Naomi dazzled the crowd with this surprise turn of events. The woman who many thought could never be a ninja just surprised the five great nations.
Naomi pulled a total of six kunai knives from her pouch, each one nestled between her fingers, and threw them all at once. She then made a hand sign.
Clone Jutsu!
Each physical kunai multiplied until there were over 100 headed for Toru, though all but six were illusions. Toru calmly pulled out a kunai, prepared to dodge every single one. While he was distracted, Naomi super charged her speed by sending more chakra to her feet, she sprinted down the wall until she was on solid ground again and charged straight for Toru. While his eyes were focused on the downpour of kunai, Naomi practically danced her way through it, focused her chakra in her right fist and landed a solid punch in his stomach.
He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and he was sent tumbling back, rolling and stumbling until he met the wall, his arms and back wedged snugly into the wall from the force of his impact. He groaned in pain and let his head hang and bob as he fought to maintain consciousness. He glared up at Naomi, who sat comfortably on the ground cross legged, while twirling a kunai playfully on her finger with a smile on her face, taunting him.
"Amazing! That was the Third Hokage's jutsu," Lee said from behind Sakura, standing up and pumping his fist with excitement.
"She said it was her way of honoring him and all he ever taught her," Iruka said with an enamoured, dreamy-eyed smile.
In the arena, Toru ripped his arms from inside the wall one by one, bits of rubble falling at his feet. "No more playing games," he said with a menacing, intimidating growl. Naomi jumped to her feet and prepared for another fist fight. Toru smirked and chuckled as he made a hand sign. An eerie, dense mist rolled over the arena, engulfing everything. Naomi shivered and turned her head frantically, searching for Toru in the mist, but she was completely blinded by it.
"What will you do now, little girl?" Toru taunted her. She turned in every direction in search of him, her heart racing and her breathing pattern becoming quick, sharp, and uneven, stricken with panic. Nothing was worse than being able to hear an enemy that couldn't be seen. Naomi was then knocked to the left. She gasped and stumbled to the ground from the unexpected blow to the face. She whimpered and held her hand up to her swollen cheek.
"Ach!" she yelped as she was pulled by her pony tail, forced to stand on her feet again. Toru then kicked her with a mighty kick in the small of her back, launching her forward. She rolled like a tumble weed in the wind for a few meters. She groaned and pushed herself up onto her elbows. Toru stood over her and lifted his massive leg over her and then brought it down in a swift motion over her head, slamming her head face-first into the dirt.
He kneeled beside her, with one knee pressed into her back, and he pulled her up by her hair again, arching her back. "Give up, little girl." Toru wailed on her, punching her face, her chest, her back, slamming her face into the dirt repeatedly for good measure until he wore himself out and her headband came loose.
"What is Shikamaru doing? Why doesn't he stop this?" Sakura asked, barely above a whisper, her voice cracking as she fought back the urge to cry for Naomi.
"No kidding. This is getting difficult to watch," TenTen said, peeking through her fingers.
"Don't underestimate her," Guy said with a stern look on his face. "She might be down now, but she's not out. Not by a longshot. Don't you worry about her," he said with a confident grin as he looked down at his student. "We haven't even given her a chance to show us what she can do. She can still pull out a victory, all the more rewarding because it was difficult."
Iruka leaned forward over the protective railing, gripping it until his trembling knuckles turned white. "C'mon, Naomi. Show everyone what you can do. Fight. Win," he pleaded.
In the arena, Naomi rolled onto her side and stared up at Toru with tired eyes, still knelt beside her. She heaved and panted, spitting blood.
"You should quit now before you get killed," Toru said. Naomi smiled and laughed, though it was agonizing.
"I won't hand this fight over to you so easily."
Toru frowned and gripped her bangs and yanked her up to his level. She winced in pain.
"You don't know when to quit, little girl," he snarled. Naomi looked him directly in the eyes with a look of pure determination.
"You got that right," she said, and jammed and kunai deep into his side and twisted it. He screamed in pain and stumbled back, dropping Naomi to her knees. She wasted no time. She made her hand sign.
Wind Tunnel Jutsu!
The dense mist dissipated in a vicious whirlwind with Naomi in the eye of the cyclone. Toru grounded himself firmly, but brought his arms up in front of his face as a shield from the ripping wind and dirt. The crowd screamed and cheered with wild excitement, everyone jumping out of their seats.
"Yes! The power of youth prevails! What did I tell you?" Guy's boisterous voice boomed over the entire crowd as he stood on his seat and gave Naomi an approving thumbs-up.
"Who knew she was so good at wind style?" Ino asked.
"She's not through surprising us yet," Iruka said as he smiled down at Naomi.
Naomi struggled to push herself up off of her knees, her legs shaking as she stood doubled over to pick up her headband. She straightened her back and tightened her headband around her forehead once again. She smirked at Toru with a new wave of confidence, though she was bruised and battered.
"I hope you're ready for me," she called to him. "'Cuz I'm just getting started."