~A Flower Amongst Thorns~

Chapter Ten: Arrival

"Asuka, please try to keep up with the rest of the group!"

"Yes sensei…"

The group of three genin and their sensei were currently en route to Konoha so they could apply for the chunin exams. While two of the genin were excited about the exams and the prospect of being promoted to chunin, their teammate wasn't. The event itself didn't bother her, it was the location that she had a problem with. Konoha was a place that she didn't want to be. Too many bad experiences and bad memories that she just wanted to forget. That, and her sense of impending doom was on high alert. She absolutely didn't want to go.

The reason why she was going at all was because of her teammates. They needed her in order to even apply for the exams; they needed a full team of three. However, unbeknownst to her teammates, there was another reason. One that was much more important.

Orochimaru had given her a very important mission that would begin during the exams. He had planned on attacking the village while the exams were taking place and he wanted Hana to inflict serious structural damage within the village itself. He was basically giving her an opportunity to take revenge on the people who had wronged her all those years ago. It was quite a shock, and Hana was still trying to wrap her head around it all.

Even now, as they were travelling, she was still replaying the conversation in her head.

"You're gonna attack Konoha during the exams?"

The look on Hana's face clearly expressed her shock and confusion regarding the subject at hand. It came as quite a surprise to her. It wasn't a bad kind of surprise, but it was quite shocking nonetheless.

Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk and chuckle to himself upon seeing the confused expression on Hana's face. He did just throw all of this information at her rather suddenly, so she had every right to be confused. But he still found it rather amusing.

"Yes, I am. I've been planning this for quite some time now, and I believe the time to act upon it has come at last."

"Alright…but, what does this have to do with me?"

Orochimaru's smirk grew wider. He had a very special task for Hana to undertake.

"I want you to aid me in Konoha's destruction, my dear."

Wait a minute…seriously?

Now she was really confused. What reason did he have for requesting aid from her? She wasn't exactly the most ideal person to recruit for an operation like this one, crazy chakra and all. So, why her?

"Why me exactly? Wouldn't Mamoru be a better choice for this mission? He has better control over his chakra than I have over my own."

"It's quite simple, really," Orochimaru began, "While Mamoru may have superior chakra control, I can't trust him enough to complete a mission like this one on his own. You, on the other hand, can complete a mission like this and you have my trust."

So it was all a matter of trust.

Well…she had been here much longer than either of her teammates had. She had also worked extremely hard in order to gain Orochimaru's trust. Maybe he had a point. Maybe she was best suited for this mission.

"Alright, so what do you need me to do?"

Orochimaru stood up from his chair and he motioned for Hana to follow him. He walked over to a table that was off to the side and Hana followed close behind him. He handed her a small stack of sealed paper bombs.

"The night before the attack, I want you to place these paper bombs on different structures in the village. Preferably important structures, such as the headquarters for the Cipher Corp., the armory, and the Academy. When the attack begins, you are to detonate them. I will give you further instruction between now and then." he explained.

Hana repeated the instructions in her head a few times before she nodded in confirmation.

"Got it. You can count on me."

"Hana? Hey, Hana!"

Hana was drawn out of her mulling by Mamoru calling out her name. She looked up and she saw the rather concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright? You kinda spaced out there for a minute."

Hana nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

Mamoru was a bit concerned about his teammate. She had been acting strange ever since they left Otogakure, and she was spacing out more often than usual. It wasn't like her to zone out this much. He really had to wonder what was going on in her head right now. It must have been something very important. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he decided against it. It wasn't his business, and he didn't want to pry.

Their journey to Konoha was supposed to last three days at least while travelling on foot. They would be able to arrive in a fraction of the time if they travelled through the night as well, but Setsuna made them set up camp once the sun had gone down. She wasn't going to let them travel at night. There was some protest, but only from Asuka who was all too eager to get to Konoha. Her protests were quickly silenced.

The arrived roughly three days after they had departed from Otogakure. As they entered into the village through the large gates, Hana stopped and stared up at the massive structure. They seemed so much bigger when she was a child.

"Hana?"

Her thoughts were interrupted, once again, by someone calling her name. This time it was Setsuna.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Hana just nodded silently.

Setsuna walked alongside Hana as they entered the village. Hana was gripping the straps of her backpack so tight that her knuckles were turning white. God, she was so tense; her body was so rigid, almost like a wooden post. Maybe it was paranoia setting in, but she felt like people were staring at her. Watching her.

They found their way to the application desk and all three genin were registered for the exams. The date for the first of exam was the first day of July – in three days' time- and would begin at three o' clock in the afternoon. It was odd that they would start so late in the afternoon, but it had been decided by the Hokage.

So, once they had placed their applications, they left the registration desk and went looking for a place to stay while they were in the village. Luckily, there was an inn not too far away from the Academy. They were able to rent two rooms- one for Asuka and Mamoru, and one for Hana and Setsuna- that were connect. They needed to hold a team meeting, and the connected rooms made this much easier.

"So what're we supposed to do during the first exam?" Asuka asked.

Mamoru shrugged.

"Not sure. It's in a classroom, though, so maybe it's a written exam." he answered.

Hana, who had been stretched out on her bed, spoke up next, shedding some light on the subject.

"It's a written exam, but they're testing our information gathering skills." she stated plainly.

Asuka raised an eyebrow, a bit confused.

"How're we supposed to gather information during a test?" she questioned.

Hana pinched the bridge of her nose and gave an irritated sigh. She couldn't believe that Asuka was this dim.

"We have to cheat, you idiot. We have to cheat without getting caught." she groaned.

A dark growl escaped Asuka's throat after being called an idiot. She knew that she wasn't the smartest member of the team, but she certainly wasn't an idiot.

"Hey! I don't know what your deal is, but that doesn't give you the right to call me an idiot!" she yelled.

Instead of yelling back at her teammate, Hana turned over onto her side and pulled a pillow over her head.

"Can you not be so loud? I've got a headache…" she muttered.

Asuka opened her mouth to retort, but Mamoru stepped in and stopped her, shaking his head. He placed a hand on her shoulder to help hold her back.

"Asuka, leave her alone. She's not feeling well, and yelling isn't going make it better." he stated.

Asuka rolled her eyes and then walked back to the other room through the connecting door. Mamoru apologized to Setsuna before following Asuka.

Setsuna was thankful for Mamoru's calm demeanor. If he hadn't been placed on this team, Hana and Asuka would have torn each other apart on the first day of training. Having a level-headed kid on the team made Setsuna's job so much easier.

Setsuna also felt bad for Hana, knowing that the girl didn't want to be in this village in the first place. After all that had happened to her, she had every right to be nervous. The only reason she was doing this was to make Orochimaru proud. Setsuna knew that she couldn't do much, but, for now, she could let the girl rest.

She drew the curtains closed, blocking out the sunlight, and then she turned off the lights in the room. The room was left in darkness, and this would probably help with the girl's headache.

She would need plenty of rest; all three of them would. These exams would be brutal and would both physically and mentally taxing. However, Setsuna had faith in her students. She knew that they would make it through the exams. But she couldn't help but worry. She had a feeling that something would go wrong, and that one of her students would end up gravely injured.

She shook it off as her nerves getting to her. Nothing bad would happen to her students. They were all prepared for this, and they would make it out just fine.