A/N: Told you guys I would probably update faster ;) I'm kind of sad that xXCobaltFlameXx was the only one to review, but some of you might just not have gotten around to it or whatever. I'm okay though because I'm happy as long as people are reading it :D This is the chapter where Hitori's name means something so remember Hitori = one person.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
After the first exam we met up with Kakashi sensei and told him how we did on the first test. Naruto was definitely lying about how well he did, but he was pretty enthusiastic so we didn't really care. Sasuke didn't share much about how well he did, but he did tell Kakashi sensei about his progress with his sharingan. I think sensei might actually have been impressed when I told him how I gathered information. Then again, who could tell when the only thing you could see of his face was an eye. As we each left to go home after the first test Kakashi sensei told us that we were to report to the 44th training ground at seven a.m. for the next test.
I met Naruto and Sasuke on the way to the grounds and we walked the rest of the way together. What we saw when we arrived, apart from the hundreds of ninja, was a fenced in forest with trees that were immensely overgrown. "This is the 44th training zone." Anko told us. "But we call it: The Forest of Death. And soon enough, you'll find out why."
Naruto gaped for a short time before mocking her, "we call it the forest of death, and soon enough you'll find out why." He danced while he sang this. Then he stopped and pointed at her, "Do you worst you can't scare me away! I can handle anything!"
"Looks like we have a tough guy," Anko noted before throwing a kunai that cut Naruto's cheek. Then with remarkable speed she appeared behind Naruto, "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid are you?" She cupped Naruto's face in her hands, "Guys like you usually leave your blood all over this forest. Her eyes went serious and she pulled out a kunai. Seconds afterward another one of the examinees hovered over her shoulder. With an abnormally long tongue she grasped a kunai and had it hovering over the one Anko already held. At the sight of the genin I froze. It couldn't be… it just couldn't.
"I was just returning your knife." The creepy genin told her without bringing her tongue back in.
"Why thank you grass ninja." Anko offered with smile. "You know I really recommend you only stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." She grabbed the kunai and the genin and drew her tongue back behind her lips.
"My pardon. With the sight of blood on your blade slicing through my hair," he gigged, "I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." I still stood frozen as the grass ninja walked past me to rejoin her team.
As that event drew to a close Anko gave us each a consent form we had to sign. Despite what the first proctor said about no lethal damage this test had no rules, and we very well may die. Well, I say no rules, but there were a few. It's just that they focused on the scrolls we were going to be given. A short rendition of what the proctor told us was there were two scrolls. We needed to bring both to the tower in the middle of the grounds in five days to pass and we couldn't open the scrolls before we arrived. Also, all of our team needed to survive for us pass.
My team easily signed the forms, that's not to say that we didn't understand the danger, ust that we were all determined to do anything to reach our individual goals that all required power. The booth where we would trade our signed forms in return for a scroll had a curtain surrounding it so no one could see what scrolls the other team received.
We allowed Sasuke to carry the heaven scroll we got because, like it or not, he was the strongest on the team. Then we headed to the 12th gate and waited for them to open and signal the start of the second test.
/(^_^)/ NARUTO \(^_^)\
Not long into the test we heard a scream echo throughout the forest reminding us how dangerous the test was. We paused in the clearing we were standing in when Naruto announced he had to go before rushing a little way into the woods. While he was gone Sasuke turned to me, "You can't freeze up if something happens, Hitori."
"Huh?"
"I saw your reaction to the grass ninja. There will be a lot of ninja just like him, so you can't freeze." He insisted.
"That wasn't…" I started before sighing, "nevermind."
That was when Naruto returned, "Aw man that was a lot! I could write my whole name with it." My eyes were drawn to missing cut on his cheek, then to his shuriken holster that was on the left instead of the right. I prided myself on my observation skills, and I could tell that it wasn't Naruto. Sasuke also noticed because it didn't take him long to fly into action by kicking the fake Naruto into a tree. "Wh-what was that for! ? What are you doing! ?" the fake demanded. Sasuke was relentless, and continued to go after him.
I grinned, "Who d'ya think you're fooling? Even Naruto can do a better transformation jutsu!" I shouted up to the ninja.
Sasuke was the next one to speak, "Talk! What have you done with Naruto?"
With a poof of smoke 'Naruto' changed into a strange-looking rain ninja. "Alright you got me, so what! I'm still gonna take your scroll so hand it over, or else! So, which one of you has it?"
"Ha! Like it matters! You couldn't get it from either one of us!" I taunted the enemy ninja.
"Fine then, I guess I'll have to take you both out!" He announced before lurching into action. Sasuke quickly jumped into the air and even faster he morphed his hands into the signs for the phoenix flower jutsu. The enemy hopped just out of each of the four fireballs before he and Sasuke met head-on with their kunai. When the enemy bounded across the trees Sasuke and I followed him and saw Naruto tied up in another clearing on the ground. I freed him while Sasuke kept the rain ninja preoccupied.
Naruto thanked me and we both headed to where Sasuke and the other ninja were still going at each other with kunai. Naruto threw a kunai which Sasuke quickly avoided while I dashed to where the enemy ninja dodge. After building up a sufficient amount of chakra I threw my fist at the ninja and hit him square in the jaw.
/(^_^)/ NARUTO \(^_^)\
After realizing he was outmatched the other genin retreated into the trees. We went the other direction to gain more distance before stopping and sitting in a circle. "That proves that we can't just trust appearances." Sasuke stated, "We have to come up with a way of proving that each of us is who we say we are, and not some imposter using a transformation jutsu."
"What's the plan?" I asked.
"We need a password. Something only three of us know." Sasuke looked at us, "I'm only going to say this once. The question is: When does a ninja strike? And the response is: A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike. Got it?"
"Got it." I confirmed, but still looked at him questioningly. He knew as well as I did that Naruto would never remember that.
Or at least he did when Naruto asked, "You got one a little shorter?"
"No Naruto, that's it." Sasuke said with exasperation.
"Fine fine, I got it."
We had just finished our little meeting when something flew and cut Naruto's other cheek. Shortly following a large gust of wind separated the three of us. We stared at each other and asked at the same time, "When does a ninja strike." Then we answered in sync as well, "A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike."
"Hey what's up! ?" We turned to see Naruto rushing towards us, "Are you guys okay?"
"Naruto, when does a ninja strike?" I asked.
With a grin Naruto answered the password easily. I narrowed my eyes before pulling out a kunai at the exact moment that Sasuke threw a kunai at Naruto. He dodged, "What was that! ? You could have killed me!"
"Gotta hand it to you, you're quicker than the last one!" Sasuke stated. "There was no way Naruto could memorize all that. Party's over, come on out whoever you are!"
The grin that appeared on Naruto's face was a grin that sent shivers down my spine. It was something that should never have appeared on that idiots face. It was when the tongue slipped past his lips however when it became obvious which genin was masquerading as Naruto, "Aren't we the clever one?" the voice was that of the grass ninja, not Naruto who she was disguised as.
In a poof of smoke the second fake Naruto that day changed into an enemy ninja. "Tell me, if your teammate is really that dim-witted, why did you come up with a password he'd never be able to remember."
"You see, it wasn't so much for Naruto as it was for anyone who happened to be nearby that might be trying to eavesdrop on us." Sasuke explained. "You stumbled right into the trap I set up."
"I'm impressed," The grass nin practically hissed, "You certainly haven't dropped you guard have you? This promises to be very entertaining." She flicked her tongue lazily. She reached behind her and pulled out an earth scroll, "You would love to get your hand on our earth scroll wouldn't you? It would go so nicely with your heaven scroll. She brought the scroll to her mouth and coiled her tongue around it allowing her to swallow it whole. "When this is all over one of us will have both scrolls and the other will be dead."
The killer intent that the ninja gave off was so powerful that I saw my life pass before my eyes and I was brought to my knees by fear alone. It was then that my head allowed me to admit who this person was. Not just some grass ninja but man who destroyed my life.
"H-Hitori?" Sasuke questioned next to me.
I had tears pouring down my face, "Y-you bastard." I barely managed to get out. "How can you be here?"
He looked startled at my question, but his face quickly morphed into the grin that I had etched into my memory from the time I six. "Hitori. He moved forward to caress my cheek, just like he did when I was small. "One person all alone." I forced my legs to stand and using will alone I punched the man in front of me. He chuckled in his feminine voice, "I'll make this quick." He told us while he pulled out a couple of kunai. "I expected you to be more of a challenge." I clenched my eyes shut, awaiting death.
Instead of pain I felt myself flying through the air. I opened my eyes cautiously right as Sasuke was setting me down on a tree branch. I saw the deep gash on his leg and held back a gasp. We sat on the tree watching for any sign of him to come back. "Sasuke!" I shouted as gigantic snake came toward us.
The snake moved toward Sasuke so he threw shuriken at it while desperately shouting, "Stay away!" His fear was obvious. The snake fell back onto the tree branch and its skin began to crack. We watched in horror as the real snake man emerged from its skin. He slithered up the trunk of the tree toward Sasuke who was visibly panicking. He had nearly made it to my teammate when several shuriken and kunai lodged in the tree in front of him.
"Looks like I came just in time!" We heard Naruto's voice. "Oh and by the way, what was that password again?"
"Naruto! Get out of here!" Sasuke yelled up to our late squad member. "What are you thinking? You don't know what you're up against! Hurry! Go now, while you still can!"
"So Naruto you managed to escape from my friend, well done." I looked at the man who tore apart my life and drew a kunai. I breathed in and out, attempting to distance myself from my fear before throwing the knife at him. He caught it with his tongue. "Don't worry Hitori I haven't forgotten about you. Your family is doing well. Especially that brother of yours."
I screeched. "Go away go away go away! It's not real!" I crumpled into a ball on the branch I stood on and sobbed. Even though I couldn't see anything with my eyes I could remember his real face from when I was small. The snake-like eyes that matched his cruel grin. I escaped into my own world muttering, "it's not real." Over and over again. For a little while I could faintly hear the fight between Naruto and Sasuke in the background, but eventually everything faded and the only thing I was aware of was my own tears and sobs.
/(^_^)/ NARUTO \(^_^)\
Maybe it was some instinct to save a teammate I'm not sure, but something brought me away from my tears right as Naruto was falling from a height that he wouldn't be able to survive. I threw a kunai to catch him before turning back to Sasuke. He and I both had a breakdown from the fear we experienced and neither one of us had fully recovered from it. I lurched forward from my branch to stand beside Sasuke. "I don't know about you but…" I turned away from my teammate to stare down my deepest fear, "I don't want to be a coward."
Sasuke awakened the sharingan next to me and leaped into action. Despite my words I could only watch as two people who were incredibly out of my league traded blows. First I thought that Sasuke had the upper-hand, but after a substitution he was flung around like a ragdoll. However, I realized afterwards he was setting up a trap using ninja-wires. He used the wires to pin the snake bastard to a tree so he couldn't move when he used his dragon flame jutsu. Sasuke thought that had ended it, and was exhausted, but when I rushed to stand by Sasuke I eyed the tree carefully.
"What mastery of the sharingan at so young an age." Midway through the sentence his voice changed from that of the grass-nin to his real one. "You're a true Uchiha after all. Yes you'll do nicely." He revealed a sound insignia that he wore on his headband. "You are definitely his brother. If anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's.
"Who are you and what do you want!" Sasuke demanded while I stared. His fake skin had partially burnt off I could see one of his true-eyes. Those evil eyes.
"My name is Orochimaru, but as to what I want that will have to wait until we meet again." He pulled out a heaven scroll which he must have gotten while I was out. "Which won't happen until you finish this test with the best score of all." The heaven scroll in his hand began to burn with a green flame. "To do that you'll have to beat the hidden sound ninjas who serve me."
"Orochimaru!" The name sounded like poison on my lips, "I swear I will kill you to bring back my family!"
He laughed his cruel laugh, "I can assure that won't happen." He turned to Sasuke, "We will meet again someday, until then." He formed a hand-sign I had never seen before his neck grew impossibly long and his mouth attached to Sasuke's neck like a vampire. When released his bite along with the puncture holes a strange symbol appeared on the skin.
While Orochimaru sunk into the tree Sasuke howled in pain before collapsing into some sort of coma.
A/N: Okay so how many of you saw that coming? Hitori's family taken away by the sadistic snake I mean. Of course this doesn't clear up all of the mystery, such as who Hitori's family is, but that won't come for a long time. Anyway, that's just something I could see Orochimaru doing. Leaving her there because her name means one person.
Next Chapter: How will Hitori fare without her teammates?