Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. I only own Karibi, Hayase and Riku
Chapter Nine
"Alright, you guys understand how this goes, right?" Karibi and Kurenai nodded as Natsuki smirked. "Anything goes. Don't try to kill your opponent though. We're aiming to recruit future chunin, not bury them." The two young girls nodded as the proctor stretched, cracking her back before she turned and jumped up to where the leader of the Leaf and Rock were. Karibi's eyes followed her, and the young girl's body stiffened entirely when her gaze fell upon the masked boy. She stared long and hard at him as he glared back, but from what she could tell, whatever he thought or knew—he was keeping it to himself.
"Alright. Let the battle begin!"
Kurenai had heard about this young rookie. She had never actually met her opponent personally, but she had heard things from Guy and from Asuma. And she also knew that Kakashi had some personal relationship with her, though she didn't know exactly what since he was rarely around anymore. From what she was told, Karibi was quite the pro with controlling her chakra. And although Kurenai was skilled as well, she knew she was going to have her hands full; the younger girl had passed the academy and had become a genin at the mere age of seven.
As for Karibi, she was terrified. Although she remained cool on the outside, her heart was racing and her body was trembling. She was afraid to move even an inch, or else her legs would give out, and the last thing she wanted to do was give away her weaknesses so early in the round. Not to mention she knew very little about this Kurenai's abilities. Still, she couldn't give up so easily. So, she stood her ground and kept a close eye on the 13 year old.
The red-eyed girl wasted no time as she swiftly darted forward. Karibi watched her movements carefully, not budging from her spot. She waited until the very last minute, mustering whatever strength she had to quickly jump over the attacking girl. Kurenai quickly turned and watched as her opponent landed on the ground, falling to her knees as her legs gave way. She smirked at that as she took her chance.
Karibi's eyes widened, having not expected the woman to have such speed and precision. She flinched when she felt Kurenai's elbow dig into her stomach. Then a foot dug into her gut twice, causing her to stumble back, and just as she prepared herself for another attack, she blinked, her opponent stepping into a cloud of mist and disappearing. She tried to sense the woman's chakra, but having very little of her own and nearly no strength keeping her up, Karibi didn't have time to realize that Kurenai had stepped out from a pink cloud behind her. The 13 year old pulled out a kunai and quickly pulled her arm back, and just as she swung, Karibi looked over her shoulder. Her amethyst eyes widened as she quickly twisted her body, avoiding any critical damage from the kunai; it merely sliced her right forearm.
"Damn," Kurenai cursed as she caught her balance, the redhead quickly pulling out paper bombs and throwing them in her direction. She quickly leaped out of the way, which gave Karibi just enough time to pull out five shuriken. She began to run, and as she did so, she threw the weapons with perfect accuracy, the blades of the shurikens breaking the lights.
The entire stadium was covered in darkness.
"Using the night to her advantage." Onoki smirked at that, his eyes quickly adjusting to the blackness of the night. The Hokage beside him had no trouble seeing through the dark, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as Kakashi stood silently on his right side.
She was stalling for time. Cheap tricks such as stealing sight from her opponent wasn't quite Karibi's style, but she didn't have many other options. Whatever chakra she had left, she needed to use it wisely and perform the right jutsu at the right time. That meant she needed to try and collect as much chakra as she could, but she couldn't do that with Kurenai on her tail.
Hence the lights.
Karibi held her breath as she vaguely sensed Kurenai about twenty feet to her left. Her ears twitched as she remained hidden by a large shrub, her adversary standing silently and listening carefully for any sign of her.
Although she was nervous, at least she had time to think.
The 8 year old frowned as she remained motionless in the cover of the bush. She quietly and slowly reached into her pouch that was at her hip, and carefully, she dug her hand into it and felt around to see what she had to her disposal. A wide grin came across her lips as her hands touched round orbs, and just as she began to pull them out, a twig snapped from her motions. She instantaneously froze as her eyes widened, a surge of chakra from Kurenai nearly causing her to panic.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" For just a moment, the stadium was lit by the light of the rather enormous fireball Kurenai ignited. She watched intently as her attack headed straight for Karibi's hiding place. Her red eyes tracked the younger girl's movements perfectly as Karibi narrowly missed the attack, the back of her left calf slightly burned.
"Genjutsu and ninjutsu?! That's almost unfair!" Karibi exclaimed helplessly, Kurenai cracking a smile for only a second.
Tumbling to the ground, Karibi winced, trying to push herself back up to her feet. Her eyes widened when she felt a hand roughly grab her by the shoulder. She coughed as she was shoved into the ground, the tip of a kunai lightly digging into her neck. Though it was a bit dark for anyone else to see, the 8 year old could make out Kurenai's face in the small distance between them as the girl pushed her into the ground.
"It's over," the 13 year old said as Karibi stared wide-eyed for a moment.
§
Kakashi's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but even still, it was hard for him to make out who was who. He could see a nimble figure on the ground with another shadow hovering over the person. He stared intently, realizing that it was Karibi who was on the ground, and although he was still boiling from what he had discovered earlier, he couldn't ignore the disappointment he felt for the young girl as he recalled the resolute tone in her voice as she pronounced her dedication to passing the exam.
It was almost a shame that she was going to lose.
Suddenly, the lights around the stadium began to flicker on one-by-one, and as they did so, Kakashi glanced over to see Natsuki balanced on top of a light on the far corner; it seemed she had lost all patience for the darkness.
As everyone finally gained back their sight, their eyes widened when they found Karibi smirking up at Kurenai, the young girl raising a brow.
"You seem a little too excited for someone who's about to lose." Karibi shook her head at that.
"That's because I'm not losing. Not tonight." Kurenai blinked before a rumbling caught her attention. She stiffened as she glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but by the time she had realized where the source of the noise was, it was too late.
A patch of the earth in front of Kurenai—just above Karibi's head—began to crumble and tear apart, and suddenly, another copy of Karibi jumped out from the ground, pushing Kurenai off of the original version. She let out a yelp as she fell back to the ground, her kunai slipping from her hand and skidding against the ground and away from her reach. The real Karibi quickly acted as her clone quickly slipped on two bracelets on to the unsuspecting girl's wrists, one for each arm. Then, the real Karibi quickly launched forward, tucking the same bracelets around Kurenai's ankles. The clone straddling the 13 year old abruptly poofed away, allowing the original to gracefully lean forward and place her hand on Kurenai's chest.
"Sealing Technique: Four Limbs Weighting Seal!" A surge of Karibi's chakra coursed through Kurenai, causing the restrained girl to gasp, her wrists and ankles suddenly heavier than they should have been.
"Wh—What!" Kurenai tugged her arms, trying to move them, but it was as if a cement block was holding them in place, and the same was for her legs. She was stuck on the ground, with Karibi grinning widely down at her as she pulled her palm away from her chest.
Breathing heavily, Karibi wiped her forehead with the back of her head, her shoulders sagging and her eyelids growing heavier; she had gone too far. She glanced up at the Hokage as he stared down at her with an awestruck expression; he wondered when Kushina had taught her that move. Tearing her gaze from her guardian's, Karibi watched as Natsuki jumped down from the light post and landed gracefully on the ground. She smirked as she nodded in approval, both genin had done well.
"Looks like we—" Natsuki stopped as she watched Karibi's eyes roll to the back of her head. The young girl went limp as she began to fall, and had the proctor not had quick reflexes, the unconscious girl would have hit the ground and received a rather severe concussion. Kurenai stared with wide eyes from her position on the ground as the small audience around them watched in awe.
"...Um..." The 28 year old wasn't sure how to call this match.
"For the moment, we'll leave the ruling of this match to-be-announced."
*Two Weeks Later*
Karibi groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision blurred as she winced, a warm light nearly blinding her as she tried to look around.
"So you're finally awake."
Karibi hadn't been expecting to see him.
"Ka—Kakashi." Her mind was a bit hazy, but Karibi hadn't forgotten what had happened between them before the last part of the chunin exam.
Which reminded her.
"Wait! What happened? Where am I? What about the exam?" Kakashi rolled his eye as he stood up from his seat by the window and strolled over to the bedside.
"You've been in the hospital since the end of your round. Out of technicality, Kurenai was named the winner," Kakashi explained as Karibi frowned but continued to listen. "Minato-sensei and Lord Tsuchikage announced those who passed a day after the end of the last part of the exam," the 12 year old stated quietly. "More people passed this year than any since seven years ago," Kakashi explained as Karibi's eyes widened.
"Who...Who all moved on?" The gray haired jonin eyed the recovering girl for a second before he turned his back to her and gazed out the window once more.
"Both of your teammates, Kurenai Yuhi, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, Chiru Akimichi, Rei Fujikawa, Yosuke Zomimaru..." Karibi's heart dropped as she stared with a wounded look upon her face. Kakashi stared down at the 8 year old with his single eye before he sighed and relaxed. "And you."
Karibi had lost her breath. It had felt like her entire world had just turned upside down. Although chunin was only one step above genin, and she had far more to go before she could truly call herself a shinobi, she was ecstatic. She had passed! Just as she said she would. She hadn't failed, she hadn't let anything get in her way. She had done just as she said she would. And although she had paid the price with her body, in the end, it had all been worth it to her.
"As exciting as this might be for you, this isn't why I came here." Karibi's happy mood completely deflated as Kakashi's crisp voice tore through the silence. He stared over his shoulder at her coldly, and at that very moment, Karibi wished she could hideaway into a dark hole; the young boy's stare was nearly burning through her.
"...Kakashi, it's not what you think..."
"Then why did you lie to Minato-sensei?"
It had been bothering him all this time. After making sure that Karibi's condition was stable and that her recovery time would be on track, Kakashi's mind had immediately began to plot different ideas as to what the truth was behind Karibi's lie. What had she been hiding? And why? She had come off as such an honest and genuine person, and although Kakashi had spoken little with her, the times that he had made him realize that if more people like Karibi existed in the world, then perhaps less people would suffer.
Perhaps he would still be able to have his friends at his side.
"Was it all a trick so you could infiltrate the village?" Kakashi inquired viciously as Karibi gazed up at him with a slight gleam of fear in her eyes. He wouldn't have been surprised if that had been her play all along. After all, she was exceptionally talented for her age, so it made sense to Kakashi.
"No, it wasn't like that!"
"Then what was it like?" He wasn't sure what had made him so angry, but the longer he looked at Karibi, the less control he had.
He had been duped. They had all been duped. He had been betrayed by someone he had—now that he thought about it—thought so highly of. She had been able to smile even after her family had been killed, and that had somehow subconsciously inspired Kakashi; it had made him want to stop lingering on the past.
But it was all a lie. Nothing but an illusion.
"Kakashi—"
"If you don't want to tell me that's one thing. But you won't be able to avoid Minato-sensei." Karibi panicked at that.
"Kakashi! Please! Don't tell—" Swirling around, the jonin glared coldly at the newly-appointed chunin.
"Why shouldn't I? Why should I protect the—"
"Because!" Karibi let her head hang low as she trembled, staring at her hands that were folded tightly in her lap. Kakashi watched her closely as she shook her head, slowly looking up to finally meet his gaze.
She had tears spilling from her eyes.
"My parents weren't killed by the Iwagakure ninja..." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. "They sold me to them." And then, suddenly, Kakashi was no longer angry.
"Wh—What?"
"My mother and father were old and tired. We were always going from place-to-place...and one day we'd been caught by ninja—the ninja that Minato-niichan saved me from." Breath hitching, Karibi wiped her eyes, but it didn't seem to help; the tears kept coming. "I don't know what they said, but they had been talking with those ninja for so long. And when they came back—" Choking on a sob, Karibi covered her face. Trying to hide from Kakashi's shocked stare, the young girl quivered as she cried.
"They didn't even look at me. It was as if I was invisible to them." Just talking about it made Karibi cringe. "...They sold their own daughter...to save themselves," she whispered as she slowly pulled her hands away from her face, staring blankly down at her hands.
Kakashi couldn't have felt worse. He had been so sure of himself and so angry with Karibi. He'd been so quick to judge the girl—and he had been wrong.
"...You think they were disappointed in you?" Karibi slowly looked up to Kakashi's incredulous stare. "That's why you think they did that?" The 8 year old said nothing as she quickly averted her eyes away from Kakashi's, a feeling of shame and embarrassment engulfing her entirely.
Kakashi frowned before he spoke once more. "Why didn't you just tell Minato-sensei and Kushina—" Karibi reacted harshly just at the brief mention of telling her guardians, her eyes bulging and her body tensing.
"Please don't say anything!" The jonin stared hard at Karibi as she gazed up at him, her hands somehow finding themselves holding his tightly. The young boy continued to gaze upon the redhead as she begged him with her weary eyes, her tears staining her cheeks. "I don't...I don't want them to know that about me." And Kakashi could understand that feeling—the feeling of being vulnerable and wanting to push people away before they saw and understood too much.
Kakashi stared down at Karibi's hands as they grasped his tightly. His stare softened before he slowly pulled his hand from hers, quietly making his way out of the room. He stopped by the door as he glanced at the cards and the flowers that had been left for the chunin; he had ruined her moment of celebration.
"...Congratulations." Tears now dry, Karibi blinked as she quickly looked up at the silver haired boy. He kept his back to her, but he could almost feel her smile as she stared at him.
"...Are you going to tell them the truth?" she asked quietly as Kakashi stood in the doorway of the hospital room. He didn't dare glance back at the young girl before he silently walked out, softly shutting the door. Karibi stared after him with a frown before she sighed and relaxed, leaning back on the bed and closing her eyes.
*One Month and Two Weeks Later*
Just as he had claimed, Kakashi hadn't said a word about what he had learned about Karibi. He had come to find that he respected her too much to betray her like that. And although it was wrong of her to keep the truth from Minato and Kushina, the jonin understood why she had done it, and because of that, he couldn't bring himself to mention it. Even if he had wanted, with all the missions that had been piling up as of late, he wouldn't have had time to say anything in the first place.
It had been a few days since Kakashi had last seen Karibi. He figured she was a tad bit busier now that she and her team were chunin. He wanted to apologize for his rash behavior. He wanted to explain that he wasn't normally so unreasonable. But he couldn't seem to swallow his pride and muster the bravery to say anything, so he left everything as was; he had left everything as it was when Karibi had left the cemetery with him.
Walking quietly down the streets of Konoha, the young shinobi strolled past Guy, Kurenai and Asuma. He didn't bother saying anything, but he nodded in their direction, acknowledging them for just a moment; it was still hard being around other people in the down state-of-mind he was in. He continued on his path, not entirely sure of where exactly he was going. He would have kept walking on-and-on had it not been for the familiar voice that called out his name.
"Kakashi-san!" Said boy stopped as he looked over his shoulder with a quirked eyebrow. He blinked as he watched Karibi run up to him, stopping a few steps away as she caught her breath.
"Karibi?" The chunin grinned as she stood upright, looking over her shoulder and making sure she hadn't completely gone ahead of Kushina.
"You've just finished your last mission, right?"
"How did you—"
"That means you're free for now, right?" Hesitantly, the 12 year old nodded.
"Then come celebrate!" He blinked, having not expected the invitation from the young girl as she smiled widely at him.
Seeing as she had fallen unconscious from over-exerting her body, Karibi never had a chance to properly celebrate her passing of the chunin exam. And once she had recovered from her exhaustion and exertion, she had been thrown into more missions with her teammates, making up for whatever lost time she had. But now that things were settling down, Minato, Kushina and Karibi finally had time to celebrate and eat.
And it seemed, so did Kakashi.
"We're going to get riceballs!" Karibi explained as Kakashi blinked, hands in his pockets. He swallowed hard as he stared into the girl's purple-hued eyes. They stood in silence for a moment as the ninja mulled the idea over in his head.
After what he had accused her off—after how disrespectful he had been to her, she still wanted Kakashi around. He wasn't even sure what she liked about him in the first place, but she enjoyed his presence, and apart of him was almost grateful. Because, someone as kind and as innocent as Karibi didn't mind being the presence of a darkened soul like Kakashi.
And in the back of his mind and heart, that gave him hope.
"...I owe you." Karibi blinked as Kakashi began walking past her to meet with Kushina and Minato, who were locked in a conversation about something or another. The young girl turned to look after the boy as he stopped and glanced over his shoulder back at her. "I owe you for skipping the last time." And then Karibi remembered when she had invited him out to eat when she had first become a genin; oh, how time flew by.
"Minato-niichan! Kushina-neechan! Look!" Both looked up and tore themselves from the conversation as they watched Karibi walk over to them with someone at her side. They blinked, having not expected to see Kakashi approaching them with her.
"Kakashi?"
"I invited him to come celebrate with us!" Karibi explained merrily as Kakashi merely nodded, a plain look on his face as always, though Minato noticed the slight gleam in his eyes as he glanced over at the young girl.
"This is exciting! I'm glad you could join us!" Kushina said with a wide smile as the jonin nodded again, not saying anything. Minato chuckled as he placed a comforting hand on the 12 year old's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Hope you don't mind riceballs. They're Karibi's favorite."
"Who doesn't like riceballs?" As Karibi led the way, Kakashi followed after her wordlessly. He glanced over at the girl as she began engaging into a conversation with Kushina—something about a cat? Kakashi said nothing as he quietly listened, and for the first time in a long time, he found himself feeling a little less hollow and a bit more whole again.
The end of the chunin exams arc has come! This is where things may begin to grow more serious. A turning point in the story will be coming shortly, if you will LOL I hope that this part of the story was fun and entertaining for whoever is reading. I've worked hard, and although I haven't been able to update as frequently as I would have liked, I'm still doing my best! I'll continue to work hard and I can only hope that my effort shows in the story itself.
Thank you for reading, favoriting and following, everyone :) I appreciate you all giving this a shot and I hope you will continue to enjoy! Thanks again!