Chapter 21: Cinnamon Tea
A/N:Hello my readers! A bit of a break between the action as we dive into a brief intermission before the prelims, plenty to write about though!
Thanks for the reviews as usual
Now then, onto the story… By the way I love this chapter, blows my other non-action chapters away with such ease lol.
:) Enjoy
Itachi reached for the last dango stick but blinked in confusion as a feminine hand raced to the plate and took his food captive. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the rudeness in display but Anko just ignored him as she took a bite. Orochimaru chuckled at the exchange, some things never change it would seem.
"So," Anko swallowed. "You're plan is working… You made it to the preliminaries; now what?"
Orochimaru walked over to the door, glanced both directions in the hallway and shut the door, they were in the room Anko and (hopefully) her Genin were assigned in the tower. So far, there was no word from them but Itachi and the two Sand siblings already advanced so the three of them got together to discuss things of importance. The room had two good sized bunk beds, a desk, a pitifully small closet and a restroom with a shower included.
"For now, we continue to play along with the exam," Itachi supplied, he and Anko were sitting on the bottom bunk across from the other beds where Orochimaru was seated, since three in one spot was far too cramped and the Sannin wasn't really hungry.
Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, this cover option is no more if we don't have a team member in the finals. So if one of Itachi's 'teammates' don't make it, he will, and that will buy us a whole month."
Anko finished the dango and dropped the final stick before responding. "Are you sure the Akatsuki are buying this? I'm not saying there's a flaw in your story… But what if they're onto either of you guys?"
Itachi's lips stiffened. "Pein doesn't display emotion. He's used some accusatory language with us but ultimately he hasn't given the impression that he is certain of betrayal."
"He is suspicious, there's no other reason why he would specifically have me target Tsunade of course. Luckily we managed to counter that move," Orochimaru added.
"Anko, we need you to keep us up to date with news regarding the Hidden Sand…" Itachi addressed, provoking a raised eyebrow from the kunoichi.
"Why's that?"
Orochimaru smirked at his ex-pupil. "We're looking forward to hearing news of Sasori's demise."
Anko's eyes widened and the Snake Sannin continued. "When we were dealing with Baki and his brats… We gave away information to lead the Sand right to him. The Kazekage will be most pleased with the Leaf when he visits to attend the finals," He chuckled.
"You set up an Akatsuki… in the Land of Fire… after you two were working with him. Don't ya think you're going to arouse suspicion on yourself?!" Anko retorted.
"We're communicating with the Hokage and looking to make a few moves against them, we'll be exposed soon enough. It won't hurt if they find out a little sooner than our original intention," Itachi explained.
"I spoke with the real Baki using a Shadow clone last night…" Orochimaru explained. "He's going to send the Sand the necessary information with a request that Pakura of the Scorch style lead the mission…"
"We know where Sasori is staying for the time being, waiting for us to return from our mission," Itachi added.
"And he is supposed to deliver Tsunade's body to the Hidden Rain village, while we return to other business," The Sannin finished.
"I thought this was to test your loyalty and collect on the bounty money…"
Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, but it would seem Pein has an ulterior motive as well. Itachi has a theory…"
She looked to the Uchiha who exhaled exhaustingly. "As you probably know already from Orochimaru's reports, Pein is not a single entity. Rather, he hides in the shadows and controls six other bodies using chakra receivers." Anko listened intently, wanting to soak in any knowledge she could about any Akatsuki, having already gone at it with Kakuzu… She knew she needed to be ready for anything.
"Each of the bodies he controls is limited to one type of ability for some reason. Also, because of his Rinnegan, he can see from the perspective of each one at the same time. Little else is known about Pein, and I do not know many of his abilities specifically but those are deductions I've made over the years," He explained and Anko nodded thoughtfully.
"The only thing I can think of that would lead Pein to seek Tsunade's body is to create a seventh entity; perhaps he believes her body could enhance a Rinnegan healing jutsu he's discovered."
Orochimaru frowned at that, he'd heard this theory of his partner's before but it bothered him deeply. Pein sought the control of tailed beasts and destruction in order to create a global government that held peace together through fear and pain. What sort of agenda could a person such as that have that involved healing people? It never made sense to him, but at the same time he had no theory of his own to counter Itachi's.
"But why would Pein want to heal people?" Anko questioned, almost echoing her sensei's thoughts. "Isn't that kind of contradictive to all his goals?" She chuckled, though there was a lack of humor or amusement in her voice.
"I don't know, but so far it's the best I can think of," Itachi admitted.
"What if you're just thinking of the wrong ability?" Anko prompted, attracting a confused gaze from both of the disguised rogues. "What if he's seeking her strength?"
"Hm.." Orochimaru considered. "Pein is already capable of running a secret organization containing only S-Class criminals and surely could give myself or Jiraiya a run for our money in a fight. Not to mention, his Rinnegan offsets Itachi's Sharingan for the most part. I don't see why he would seek more strength or jutsu that didn't pertain directly to the Akatsuki's objectives." Itachi and Anko said nothing, drifting in thought as this unknown move Pein was trying to make puzzled their minds.
Itachi's eyes shot to the door as they heard voices and the knob suddenly turned. The rogue Uchiha shared a look with his "sensei" as the two resumed their façade as Sand shinobi that were nothing but acquainting themselves to Anko.
The door cracked open and the first figure stepped into the room, a blonde kid clad in a dirty orange jumpsuit with multiple tears in it from the exam. Orochimaru's eyes widened a little at how much the brat was beginning to resemble the Fourth Hokage. He silently clenched a fist in memory of the Fourth… not in resentment, but because thinking of 'Little Minato' always reminded the Sannin of his mistakes because of Danzo and what he almost did to Anko… A pair of Genin stepped in just behind the Uzumaki and Orochimaru easily recognized the resemblance and styles of clothing (despite that they too were wearing dirty and torn clothing) to determine which was the Inuzuka and which was the Nara. So these are Anko's students… A pity I can't introduce myself properly.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shikamaru Nara… A pleasure," Orochimaru greeted, drawing a shocked gaze from Anko and caused Itachi to allow a brief flicker of confusion to escape his emotional guard as they did not expect the Sannin to reveal that he knew their names without being introduced.
The three banged up Leaf Genin shared a variation of surprised gestures upon hearing what appeared to be a Sand Jonin speaking their names unexpectedly. "Oh uh hey… you too… But who are you?"
The Sannin chuckled and he drank in the silent nervousness radiating off of Anko. "I am Baki of the Hidden Sand, and this is… Gaara," He replied gesturing Itachi on the last part after a slight but almost unnoticeable hesitation as he had remember the name Itachi was going by.
"We were just socializing with your sensei over some dango… Your team is making a name for yourself you know," Orochimaru told them.
Team six grunted in surprise. The Hidden Sand were talking about them? A mere Genin squad? Seeing their inquisitive looks, the Akatsuki spy chuckled. "Well not your own names… But there have been some rumors floating around about a promising Genin team from the Hidden Leaf that has already encountered multiple S-Class rogue ninja and survived. When I discovered it was Anko's team… my interest piqued."
The Genin accepted the praise with some embarrassment and didn't pay much mind to the fact "Gaara" was quietly analyzing each of them. "Well we haven't done that much…" Naruto admitted.
"It's a drag but I don't think we can take a lot of credit… Sensei's the one who was really put to the test on those missions," Shikamaru insisted.
Orochimaru smiled slightly at the humble response. She's lucky; her team lacks a personality like Tokuro. None of them strive for extra attention or recognition and easily took the praise as a team. If she can keep this kind of chemistry they are bound to turn out far better than Team Orochimaru.
"Baki-sensei," Itachi spoke. "I don't intend to rush you, but you know we have to check on Temari…" The rogue lied, not enjoying the situation during their disguises.
"Well it was nice meeting you three… But Gaara and I have some things to tend to, and I wouldn't want to intervene with your reunion with your sensei after that tiring stage of the exam. We'll see each other again later," He promised as he walked out, Itachi giving a slight nod of acknowledgement before following him out and shutting the door behind him.
"That was kind of weird," Kiba commented.
"Yeah he was a little too interested for a foreign ninja don't you think?" Naruto agreed.
Shikamaru was inclined to agree. "I'd keep an eye on those guys Anko-sensei…"
Anko bursted up laughing at their comments and they just stared back blankly. They gave her a chance to get a hold of herself before waiting for an explanation to the obvious question. "It's nothing," Anko giggled, clearly not interested in sharing something she knew that they didn't.
Deciding they didn't care enough to press on it, they each went about their business. Shikamaru dropped his bag on the floor and nudged it under the bed with his foot, as bending over to deal with it would have been too much work. He then plopped onto the bed and adjusted a mildly comfortable pillow, wanting to get some rest after all they just went through against those Mist ninja.
Kiba nudged Akamaru awake, who was sleeping inside his hood and let him get on the bed on the other side of the narrow room where Anko was sitting. He then pulled off his bag and tossed it on the desk next to Naruto's, who was now emerging from the bathroom.
Anko sweatdropped. "Aren't you guys gonna tell me how it all went these past four days?"
"It's getting close to dark sensei, and we're all tired from our battles and our run trying to regroup at the tower," Kiba explained.
"Long story short… It was a drag, we got both flags and beat a skilled team from the Hidden Mist, and made it to the tower in good health," Shikamaru offered.
Anko pinched the bridge of her nose at their laziness; at least the Inuzuka's was only temporary and fatigue-induced. "Naruto…?" She asked hopefully.
"Yeah I'll tell you all about it," He promised. "But first things first… I'm starving!"
She shot him a smile and stood up. "All right I suppose you've earned it. You guys want me to bring anything back?" She offered her other two Genin.
"Nah, no thanks I'm good Anko-sensei… I still have some leftovers."
"Leftovers?"
"Smoked rabbit," He answered, licking his lips.
She glanced at Naruto who shook his head as if to say 'No, you don't want to try it' "Okay then. Shikamaru?" She turned to the Genin who still hadn't answered her and she found he was already asleep.
"Lazy bastard. Oh well, his loss c'mon Naruto."
Next day
It was early in the day, around 9:30 or so. Anko was sitting at the desk reading a messenger scroll sent by the Hokage to inform her of the latest developments regarding the foundation's pursuit of her sensei and the possibility he may mistake Orochimaru's presence for an attempt to acquire the Sharingan or capture Naruto. Great… She thought as she sipped her tea. Just what I need, the foundation snooping around during these exams. She had a passionate hatred for the foundation for everything she knew about them doing or attempting to do.
Orochimaru… Yusuke… Kinnoe and the other children that were rescued during the foundation's darkest hour… How many people have the foundation wronged over the years? Something told her if she knew the number she'd be unable to contain her rage and die trying to kill every last one of them by herself.
Anko took another sip of tea and gasped. Her mind had been racing as she went through the scroll and she hadn't even noticed something was missing when she took the first sip. She stood up and walked over to her jacket, searching one of the pockets before finding none of what she was looking for. "Shikamaru, I'm out of cinnamon packets."
"Hm? Uhh… Check that small pouch on the side of my backpack," He responded, keeping his eyes locked on the glass panes that exposed the sky for his favorite pass time.
As Anko began looking where he directed, Naruto didn't even bother to hide his disgust. "Wait wait Shikamaru drinks tea now?"
"Yup," Their sensei answered for him. "You really should give it a second chance."
"No way!" Naruto refuted stubbornly. "The only things worse than that are coffee and expired milk… Or any combination of the two…"
Shikamaru allowed his eyes to shift over the Uzumaki momentarily. "I didn't like tea either, but she convinced me to try something a little different and it's actually pretty good."
"Forget it," Naruto reasserted, he'd tasted tea before… Never again… Ever…
Shikamaru shrugged and went back to his pass time as Anko closed his bag having found the packet and sat back down to fix her tea and finish reading the message.
Kiba scratched Akamaru's belly as he observed his other two teammates. Shikamaru was on the bottom bunk of the other bed, Naruto on the top whereas he and Akamaru had the top bunk on the other side and Anko had used the bottom bunk of that one.
Shikamaru was being… Shikamaru. Watching clouds and doing absolutely nothing was ideal and perfect for the Nara. Hilariously, to Kiba anyway, Naruto was clearly going insane laying around with nothing to do. The over-energetic member of Team Six couldn't handle resting like this but from what Anko told them… there wasn't a lot to do at the tower.
Kiba chuckled as he recalled when the messenger delivered that scroll to Anko the Uzumaki pestered her to see what it was about out of curious boredom. "Yo Naruto, I'm gonna take Akamaru for a walk. Want to tag along?"
Naruto jumped down immediately. "Sure, what are we waiting for? Anything is better than this."
Anko casted an amused glance their way. "No invite for Shikamaru?" She asked even though she had a pretty good idea why.
"He doesn't need one! He lives for these moments!" Naruto objected, drawing laughter from Anko and Kiba at the Nara's expense who merely shrugged and went back to cloud watching.
Tokuro Hyuga sat at a desk in his own team's quarters, not unlike Anko –not that he knew anything of the sort– He even had a cup of tea of his own. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a small packet of cinnamon and tore it open over the tea. Tossing the empty packet aside, he grabbed a spoon and stirred slowly as his mind drifted in misery.
Flashback
An extremely pale hand gripping a spoon tapped down on his cup lightly, descending the drips into the rest of his tea before carefully setting the spoon down on a napkin and raised the cup to his lips allowing them to absorb the steaming hot fluid into his mouth. He exhaled his breath contently and delicately placed the drink down.
"My apologies for being away so long my 'Little Hyuga,' Anko."
Tokuro grit his teeth angrily to Orochimaru-sensei's delight. Anko portrayed a smirk at him as well while she tore open a cinnamon packet over her own tea and Orochimaru went on.
"Jiraiya and I were held up longer than expected in the Land of Lightning," He explained. "But ultimately we succeeded in our mission and in a few days… Team Orochimaru will resume taking missions as per usual. Speaking of which, where is-"
"He wasn't home," Tokuro cut in. "I'm not certain he even got the message to meet with us here."
"Ah… A pity. I suppose I'll have to track him down later today then," He decided, then shifted his Genjutsu slanted pupils to Anko. "Unless you happen to know where he is?"
"Nope," She shook her head. "If he's not with both of us," She gestured a finger at Tokuro. "He's usually with neither of us."
"I see," Their sensei stated with simplicity. Suddenly he stood up alarmingly, causing Tokuro to instinctively activate his Byakugan.
Orochimaru chuckled at his male apprentice. "Relax, you misunderstand. I just remembered there was a meeting I was supposed attend… With Sarutobi-sensei."
Tokuro nodded with a sigh of relief as he deactivated his Dojutsu. "I'm afraid I have to cut this little reunion short. I'll be looking for all three of you tomorrow," He informed them and walked out of the café.
Anko reached across the table and grabbed his cup, drawing a questioning eyebrow from her teammate who placed it in front of him. "I noticed you haven't tried the cinnamon thing yet," She explained with a faint smile. "It's good."
End Flashback
Tokuro stared at the black liquid as if it were the source of his problems. Here I am… drinking the same thing today, as I have ever since. It disgusted him that he had a non combative trait that had resided with him for all these years that stemmed directly from Orochimaru and Anko. After all, how could he allow even the slightest thing about him be like them? That was the question Tokuro was troubled by.
The Hyuga snorted. "It's just tea," He scolded himself. What did it matter how he picked up the habit? Cinnamon tea wasn't going to make him conduct insane experiments. Cinnamon tea wasn't going to make him enjoy blood in his hands. Cinnamon tea wasn't going to make him betray the village and cinnamon tea certainly would've make him become a spy for the traitor himself.
He sighed and reached for the cup's handle. He must be allowing the stress eat at him with Anko being in the tower and his lack of sleep. All four nights he'd spent in the tower, he forced himself to stay awake and sleep during the afternoon in order to watch over things, sometimes with his Byakugan sometimes without.
Unfortunately, from what he could tell, Anko had conducted no suspicious activities to his dismay. Being forced to live in the same building was a good opportunity to bust her for the informant he believed her to be, but she hadn't shown any signs. If only he knew what kind of schedule or signals she and Orochimaru were using to contact one another.
Although he hadn't found anything suspicious on her end, he did notice that Baki of the Sand and her were seeming to get along well at an usual fast pace. Just because he despises his former teammate didn't mean he forgot he knows her. And it certainly wasn't like her to socialize with a new acquaintance so frequently, not at all. That said, it relatively meant nothing. He needed her to do something shady, to catch her in the act of doing it, and have evidence. Then and only then would he have a lead to Orochimaru!
Tokuro tensed as the sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts. "Kin? Is that you?" He asked, knowing his other Genin left to get breakfast not ten minutes ago. As he turned around to look into the visible eye of a bandaged old man with a cane. "Oh, Lord Danzo, forgive me for my insolence," The Hyuga greeted.
"Tokuro Hyuga, as I recall you were a student of Orochimaru…" The village elder cut to the chase, provoking fire into Tokuro's pale eyes.
"I indeed was, regrettably."
Danzo merely nodded. "I am aware you hold a great amount of hatred for your former sensei, is that right?"
"Your informants have earned their keep…"
"So they do," Danzo agreed. "I've come to inform you that Orochimaru is here, in the Leaf village."
Tokuro's eyes widened with shock but Danzo went on before the Hyuga could reply. "How we know this is of no importance. But we believe he is still around, and he may be looking to steal the last Uchiha's Sharingan."
Tokuro bit his lip thoughtfully, that sounded like his sensei… He always did hold a deep admiration for the Uchiha Dojutsu. "I see, and you're expecting Anko and I to be on high alert since we know him."
"No, not Anko," Danzo scolded. "I do not trust her with this information."
So I'm not the only one. "Nor do I," Tokuro admitted.
"In fact, I want you to keep an eye on her as well. She could very well be his accomplice," the elder requested.
"As you desire."
Kin smiled at the Waterfall ninja heading opposite direction of her by in the hallway, the said ninja offered no returning hospitality and suspiciously kept his eyes locked with hers until they passed. Jerk She inwardly muttered.
Why do all the foreign ninja have to act like none of us can get along? The Hidden Waterfall is an ally to the Leaf… and yet they STILL have a distrusting stick up their ass? She pondered.
Sighing, she reached the end of the hall and reached for the doorknob of Team Tokuro's quarters, but then she heard voices and hesitated instinctively.
"How we know this is of no importance. But we believe he is still around, and he may be looking to steal the last Uchiha's Sharingan," An older man, by the sound of it, revealed with a pinch of authority. Interested, Kin withheld from opening the door, fully aware she was basically spying now.
"I see, and you're expecting Anko and I to be on high alert since we know him," The voice of Kin's sensei responded a moment later.
"No, not Anko," The other voice scolded. "I do not trust her with this information."
"Nor do I," Tokuro agreed with the older voice.
Why wouldn't they trust Anko? She wondered.
"In fact, I want you to keep an eye on her as well. She could very well be his accomplice," the elder requested. Accomplice? Accomplice to what?
"As you desire."
"If it becomes clear she is aiding him, kill her," The elder ordered the Hyuga.
Caught by complete surprise at his statement she grunted out a small croak that both men heard, she knew because the sound of footsteps racing toward the door from inside was all too apparent.
Thinking quickly, she opened the door and forced herself into a coughing fit, raising an arm to her mouth to help sell the possibility that she'd heard nothing and had just got there but the older man, who she now could see was really old and taped in bandages trapped her in the doorway holding his cane to her throat, his visible eye slicing into her with distrust.
"Lord Danzo," Tokuro-sensei intervened, grabbing the cane and tugging it back slightly, allowing her to breath. "It's all right. She's one of mine…" He explained.
Danzo reluctantly removed the cane from Kin's throat completely and without an apology walked out into the hallway. "Keep what we talked about in mind," He said without turning back to gage her sensei's reaction.
"I will," He promised, and shut the door.
What the hell is going on!? Kin thought. At least that fucking wacko gave me an excuse to be on edge. I'm not nearly good enough at masking my emotions to not alert sensei something was bothering me. "Who was that psycho?!" She demanded in a panic, her sensei had to buy that the part of her that was freaking out right now was from that abrupt lashing from the elder.
Tokuro's eyes narrowed upon her. "That 'psycho' was Lord Danzo; he's one of the highest authorities in the Hidden Leaf, a member of the council, the leader of the Foundation, and a veteran of the last two wars. He is a model shinobi, and is to be respected greatly."
"B-But you just watched him attack me for no reason! What kind of paranoid nutjob does something like that to someone for entering their own room?"
"He knew you were spying," He retorted, closing his eyes.
"Don't you mean he thought I was spying? There's a difference you know," She defended.
Tokuro let out a solemn sigh. "Your acting needs work," He noted. "It pains me to do this, Kin."
Her eyes widened. He doesn't buy it. When Tokuro's eyes re-opened, she was facing a Byakugan and a hand clasped over her mouth before she could even think to scream.
7:25pm
Genma leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly chewing on a senbon with his arms crossed, awaiting the food. It was dinner time in the tower, and now the second stage of the exams were officially over, the final two victorious teams having arrived during this final day. He for his part was far more bored with all of this than the other Jonin instructors, after all… Team One was the first to successfully arrive with both flags in their possession, finishing in an astounding timeframe. Initially he was surprised but after Shino's explanation of how he "bugged" all the teams in order to track down the opposing team for their flag and key when their guard wasn't even up he realized it wasn't much of a challenge for a team with a smart, gifted Aburame heir.
Each day, more teams would come and certain Jonin of the losing teams would vanish. He found it mildly surprising that of the advancing teams, five resided with the Hidden Leaf. What was profoundly shocking however, was that all three of the rookie teams made it. His, Anko's and unbelievably Kakashi's would all be enjoying this dinner together. Then there was Gai's team, which was something he expected, having met them before. Neji Hyuga was a prodigy and some claimed him to be the strongest Genin alive. Tenten had outrageously good aim for her age, which particularly impressed Genma, him being the senbon king and all.
And then there was… Rock Lee…
Genma desperately wanted to accuse Gai of having Orochimaru produce a clone of himself in that secret lab the rogue Sannin had before his desertion several years back. But with Anko and Tokuro coming to this dinner, it seemed like a terrible idea. He didn't know much about Tokuro's team, though to his interest he had heard a rumor that his team's kunoichi was an avid senbon user.
In addition to the five Hidden Leaf squads, there was one Genin team each from the Hidden Sand, Waterfall, and Snow. The only thing he knew about the Snow team basically, was that their Jonin was really shy; he quickly picked up on this while playing poker with her and some of the other Jonin as they waited for the conclusion of the first exam. He was rather accustomed to that trait though, with all the time he'd spent trying to help Hinata improve on her character. Of course, what good would that information be for his team? 'The Snow team's Jonin instructor is really shy. That's all I know. Go get em!' Completely useless.
Unfortunately, he had zero information to give for the Sand and Waterfall teams too, so all he could do is hope two things. The first, being that they hurry up and serve this dinner already. The second, being that his Genin be matched up with fellow Leaf ninja so they had a heads up on what they were facing.
"Hey Shikamaru!" Choji, who was sitting beside Genma waved. "Over here guys, we saved some seats."
"Ah man… They still haven't served the food?" Naruto muttered as he followed his teammates with his hands resting behind his head.
Kiba chuckled. "They would've been done cooking about twenty minutes ago but someone told them you were attending so they had to make preparations for double the amount of food."
"Choji and Naruto? Triple the amount of food…" Shikamaru corrected as he sat by his Akimichi friend.
"Chip?" The rotund Genin offered, and the Nara smiled and accepted it.
"Thanks. Nice to see you guys made it too!" He added with a hint of excitement.
"Was there any doubt?" Choji replied rhetorically.
Naruto took a seat in between Hinata and the other side of Genma. Unbeknownst to him, the reason why Hinata wasn't sitting right next to her sensei was because she wanted him to sit there. Ironically, he sat there in order to be at Genma's left.
"Genma-sensei!" He greeted.
"Hey Naruto," The senbon expert greeted, still chewing on one, getting more and more annoyed the chefs weren't producing something else to chew on.
Hinata tapped her fingers nervously and didn't dare look up as she greeted him. "H-hell-lo, Naruto."
As if he had been completely oblivious that she was there he twirled around his seat and smiled brightly. "Oh hey Hinata," he responded and the smile itself burnt the Hyuga's cheeks to a crisp.
Kiba, who was seated on the other side of Choji with an empty chair between him and Shino looked over at the stoic Aburame. "Hey Shino, why're you being so distant, man?"
"I am not known to be social. Therefore, it is impractical for me to sit between those are enjoy to be social. Because of this, I intentionally left two empty seats between Choji and I."
Kiba sweatdropped. "Ahh… I guess that makes sense." Why is it that this guy's sentences always sound like some kind of formula or hypothesis!?
Naruto turned his voice down to a whisper and leaned towards Genma. "I used the Wind style senbon in the second exam."
Genma turned to him with a mixture of pride and uncertainty in his eyes. "Are you sure you can control that well enough to make it hit the mark every time yet? You don't want to waste chakra on a rampant needle that shoots off into the sky somewhere," He reminded.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, to be honest I might not have it mastered all the way just yet… But I've come a long way!"
Genma nodded. "That you have. Still, you have to be careful with your use of it in battle… That holds a lot of potential for wasted chakra." Even with your extra chakra. I wonder if he even knows how to tap into that at will yet.
"Don't worry sensei, I know," He assured.
"Uh N-Naruto?" Hinata forced herself to speak. I don't even want to talk about this but I can't think of anything else. It's so hard to think when he's around.
Spinning around to face her he replied, "Yeah?"
"I… Was just wondering," she paused and swallowed. I hope he doesn't take this wrong… I don't want to offend him. "How mu-uch have y-you improved? Since the academy?"
Smirking, the Uzumaki punched an open hand with his other fist. "A looottt," He emphasized. "But I'm not going to tell you very much, I've gotta keep secrets for the exam! Anko-sensei would kill me if I told you all about our team."
"Ohh… Of course, how silly of me," She replied softly.
"OH! By the way, thanks for the help back in the written exam! I never would've passed without you," The Shadow Clone expert smiled brightly.
Hinata blushed. "That's okay," She insisted, lips curving upwards. "I'll always help you."
Meanwhile, in the hallway leading to the dining area, two kunoichi and an annoyed Uchiha strolled their way through.
"You're kidding!" Ino squealed at the blushing Haruno.
"Well he did help us out back in the forest… And he's always been nice to me and I'm not interested in Sasuke anymore so I thought maybe I could try being nice and just talking to him and stuff… See what happens."
"I'm right here you know," Sasuke interjected.
"Aw… Sasuke finally getting jealous that he's not the center of our attention?" Ino suggested in a cute voice without bothering to turn around and look at him.
"Of course not," The Uchiha huffed. "I just find it irritating that she throws my name around like that as if I wasn't here.
Sakura and Ino exchanged a glance. A sly smile formed on Ino's lips and became contagious as Sakura acquired it as well and nodded. To Sasuke's extreme annoyance, both chose not to say anything to that comment and resumed their own… As if he wasn't there and hadn't said anything, just to play with his emotions. This was their way of paying the Uchiha back for all the times he played with their emotions, although in a completely different way.
"So… Sakura, you gonna sit by him?"
"Maybe…" She responded coyly producing a snicker from the blonde as the trio entered the room.
Kakashi was still in the hospital from his injury situation, so he had never made a trip to the tower and wouldn't see his Genin partake in the exams at all unless one of them made it to the finals. Sasuke intentionally split off from his teammates' company the moment he entered the room, finding a spot where several vacant seats were so he could hopefully eat in solitude.
A cheer from a certain Akimichi shamelessly attracted gazes from foreign shinobi as the kitchen doors parted and the waiters and waitresses began bringing platters worth of food in, and most of the shinobi in the room stood to begin dishing themselves something up.
As this was going on, another team entered the room. "So, where we sitting guys?" A makeup covered face prompted.
"I don't really care… You guys chose," Temari offered.
Itachi's eyes immediately noticed his little brother sit down for the second time, with a full plate and a glass of ginger ale, once again away from everyone else. "There," He pointed at his actual sibling for his 'siblings.'
His 'sensei' chuckled. "Is that really such a good idea?"
"An interesting voice of caution… coming from the guy who was all too willing to introduce himself to Anko's Genin," The Uchiha retorted.
Orochimaru laughed a little more visibly this time. "I didn't go out of my way to do so; they just happened to arrive during our meeting."
"You didn't have to let them know you knew who they were," He countered pointedly.
"Perhaps," The Sannin conceded. "Curiosity can be very influential can it not?"
Ino rested her arm around her reconciled best friend reassuringly. "Cheer up; I'm sure it's nothing!"
Sakura was reluctant to agree, as she watched Naruto and Hinata sitting together, Hinata blushing and both smiling about something. "Y-Yeah you're probably right."
Ino giggled as they sat down. "Look at you, worrying about him getting interested in someone else after all the times you said no."
Sakura sighed. "Well I still don't know if I'm interested it's just… I really don't need a new disappointment right now. He's always wanted to go on a date with me and I always wanted to go on a date with Sasuke! Now that I actually am thinking about giving him a chance he's sitting with the girl who's liked him for years and both of them are smiling at each other!"
"Like I said, I'm sure it's nothing!"
"Yeah.. yeah you're probably right," Sakura said for the second time.
Ino, realizing her friend was probably going to let this bother her the entire dinner, chose to take more decisive action. "Then again…" She began, making Sakura's gaze jolt to her attention. "Maybe you finally scared him off with your big forehead!"
"INO-PIIIG!"
Whereas most people in the room were watching the sudden screaming match between Ino and Sakura, (Sasuke was not among said people) Tokuro ignored them and sat down by the two male Genin from his team.
"Sensei?"
"Yes?"
"Did Kin tell you where she was going? We haven't seen her since we got up… I wasn't worried cause I figured she'd be here but I think just about everyone's shown up except her."
"Yeah, weird isn't it? She never disappears like this!"
"No, I'm in the dark just as you," their sensei claimed, but Kiba overheard the conversation.
"Akamaru… Wasn't that girl we met at the hospital named Kin?" He whispered. "I thought so," He muttered upon getting a nod from the ninja hound.
"If she doesn't show up soon I think I'll offer them your services all right?" Akamaru gave him a bark of agreement and the Inuzuka dove back into his steak.
"Is there something on your mind?" Sasuke asked sarcastically at the Sand ninja that seemed to keep looking his way. "Or is my food really that interesting?"
Itachi wanted to answer, but he knew his younger brother had given him an incredulous look upon hearing his voice when he spoke with the proctor of the first exam, and so he hesitated.
Orochimaru chuckled, but chose to bail his partner out. "I think what my Genin is wondering… Is why aren't you seated with your teammates? He's far too polite to produce such a rude question."
Sasuke looked 'Baki' in the eye, and answered. "That doesn't appear to be your business."
"So it isn't," Orochimaru agreed. "But we didn't present you an inquiry, you simply demanded one."
Sasuke scowled at the Sand Jonin. "If you have a problem, then leave. I was here first."
Temari and Kankuro exchanged a look, not eager to involve themselves in their temporary associates affairs.
Orochimaru returned to his meal, and began to saw off a piece of his steak. "That is not necessary," He stated and Itachi begrudgingly returned his focus to the food as well. There was no point in making enemies with his brother, especially considering he'd already did that a long time ago.
"We've got more refreshments ready!" A waitress shouted before heading back into the kitchen.
Lee got up, his sight on some of the caffeinated beverages. "Lee! Grab me a root beer!" Tenten shouted before he walked too far. The spandex clad Taijutsu specialist spun around with a creepy smile and shot his teammate a thumbs up and resumed his "mission."
"Neji, something wrong?" She then addressed, seeing he had barely touched his food, and appeared to be deep in thought.
Gai studied his stoic prodigy's face carefully and sided with Tenten. "If you're worried about something, let us know."
He shot his teacher a glance and then looked back at Tenten. "Did either of you notice Team Kurenai is absent?" Gai and Tenten shared a stunned look.
"The proctor from the second exam… Kinnoe or whatever it was, said that eight teams would advance."
The bun haired kunoichi scanned the room, counting. "Anko's team, Kakashi's, Tokuro's, Genma's, the Sand team, Snow, Waterfall and… us."
"Precisely. And if all eight teams are present now, that means one of the other seven found a way to beat Yakumo's Genjutsu. One of these teams is extremely dangerous, or at the very least one of their team members is," Neji concluded.
"Hmm…" Gai considered, resting his chin in one hand. Someone that's able to counter the Kurama clan's Genjutsu should not be at Genin level. Whoever it was should be able to beat everyone with utmost ease! I can only hope that none of my team is forced to face such an opponent in the preliminaries.
"What in the world is Anko-sensei doing?" Naruto wondered.
"Yeah now that you mention it… I think she's the only one who isn't here," Shikamaru commented.
"I wouldn't worry about her," Genma cut in.
Naruto rested his hands behind his head and leaned back. "Yeah you're right I guess."
"Excuse me, miss?" Tokuro heard, pretending to ignore them as he ate. "Would you happen to have any cinnamon in the kitchen? I prefer to mix it in my tea." Tokuro's eyes shot up and stared at the source of the voice with disbelief.
It was the same Sand Jonin… Baki!
"I'll check for you, sir! Be right back," The waitress scampered off.
A Sand Jonin that's been talking to Anko frequently everyday that she supposedly did not know prior to the Chunin exams… That drinks cinnamon tea? Could he have picked it up from her within these last few days in the tower? Is it just a stupid coincidence? Or is it HIM…? Tokuro's mind raced. No… No it has to be him! A coincidence like that coming around the same day Danzo informs me Orochimaru is suspected to be within the village? Unlikely.
"Sensei? You all right?"
"I'm fine… I think I'm going to go find Kin, enjoy the rest of your dinner," The Hyuga excused himself. I need to speak to Danzo about this development immediately. He processed, rushing out of the diner. As he exited the room, he glared in passing at a smiling Anko, whose expression turned a one-eighty and returned the glare.
Back in the diner, "Hey," Kiba called out to Tokuro's Genin. "I can help you find her!"
Tokuro's disciples exchanged a knowing look and Kiba awaited a reply impatiently. "No, we don't need a favor from the likes of you!"
"What was that?" Kiba growled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Tokuro Hyuga is our sensei," The other one cut in. "Do we need to spell it out?"
"Tokuro… Hyuga? So what."
"You mean you don't know?" One of them raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything? Your teammate is missing and I'm an Inuzuka. I was just trying to be nice, but I guess if you don't care about your teammate I can just go by myself."
"Kiba," A commanding voice presented itself.
Anko walked up to where her ex-teammate's Genin were seated, pity in her eyes. "Don't waste your time trying to reason with these two. There's no point; they aren't going to listen to anything you say. Now, what about someone missing?"
Kiba looked at her inquisitively, wondering what these two had against him, but pushed it aside to answer the question. "I met their teammate when we were at the hospital for Kakashi-sensei. Her name is Kin, and no one seems to know where she is right now."
Kin? Anko thought, a small hint of worry flickering in her eyes. "Okay, let's go then. You and I."
"Sure you don't want our help sensei?" Naruto asked, standing up.
"Sit down Naruto… The last thing I need is this trouble," Shikamaru complained.
A slight chuckle left Anko's lips. "No, it's fine. Enjoy your dinner boys… Come on Kiba."
"Hey you're not going without us! Like we would ever trust you!"
"What's their problem sensei?" Kiba asked, his anger rising through the roof at this point.
"Fine," Anko agreed. "It doesn't matter to me if you come, but you'll only get in the way," She conceded.
Tokuro's Genin both snarled and followed the Jonin and her Genin out the diner, and another watched them exit from the corner of his eye.
"Hm, Kin sounds very familiar to me," Orochimaru muttered to himself, and took a sip of his tea.
"Lord Danzo, Tokuro Hyuga has come to see you on behalf of the hunt of Orochimaru. He claims it's urgent."
Already? The head of the foundation thought. "Send him in."
Tokuro's Genin insisted on being behind their fellow Leaf ninja the entire time they walked. To what extent have you poisoned their minds against me, Tokuro? If these two hate me so much, have you been using Kin to search for "evidence" against me these past couple years? It looks like I was right to see her less frequently since they assigned her to your squad.
"Sensei," Kiba interrupted her spree of thoughts, sniffing the air. "Her scent is definitely coming from that last door in the corner," He announced.
"What? No way that's ridiculous! Why would she go back to our room instead of the dinner? And Why wouldn't Tokuro-sensei have looked there like, first thing!" One of Tokuro's brats rejected.
Before the Inuzuka could retort, Anko grasped his shoulder and shook her head. "Ignore them."
They proceeded down the hall and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Anko wordlessly looked to the Hyuga's Genin but they shared a look of their own. "We don't have it."
Rolling her eyes, she kicked the door down, to the alarm of all three Genin. "Kin's safety is more important than a door. Get with the program…" She walked in and Kiba was first behind her. Akamaru rushed over to the closet and barked three times.
"In there?" Kiba asked incredulously and Anko slid the door open. Sure enough, Kin was slumped against the wall under several hanging jackets and shirts, sound asleep.
"Kin!" Her teammates shouted wide-eyed. One of them rushed into the closet and tried to wake her. "Kin! Wake up…" He slapped her face lightly. "C'mon wake up… WAKE UP!"
"It's probably a Genjutsu you idiot," Anko berated, her first show of hostility towards Tokuro's apprentices.
"Er right… RELEASE!" He declared with a hand on her shoulder.
Groggily, Kin's eyelids opened and blinked a couple times confusedly. "Kin, are you all right?"
"I… I don't know. What happened?" She asked rubbing her forehead, feeling a vibrant pain that was sure to demand a few aspirin.
"We… Don't know," Her teammate replied. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Anko watched her carefully as Kin stared at the floor in deep thought, trying to recall just that.
Flashback
"Your acting needs work," Tokuro noted. "It pains me to do this, Kin."
Her eyes widened. He wasn't buying it! When Tokuro's eyes re-opened, she was facing a Byakugan and a hand clasped over her mouth before she could even think to scream.
"I'm afraid another opportunity to capture or kill Orochimaru may not ever come along again. I could die any day; that is the risk a shinobi comes to accept. But if he's here now… I WILL get him."
He looked into Kin's fearful eyes, securing his lock over her mouth as she began to resist. "If I allow him to escape now, I could die before another opportunity arises. So there's no way I'm going to take any risks," He explained sternly, and jabbed her in several places poking certain chakra points with his Jyuken.
Deactivating what he felt necessary he relented, but kept his other hand secured around her mouth. "I am aware that Anko was the one to bring you into the village… That is why I've never completely trusted you. Judging by today, it is obvious I was right not to. Still, on the off chance you listening to our conversation had nothing to do with them… I won't kill you."
End Flashback
"I-I can't… I'm drawing a blank."
"I'll get you some water!" One of her teammates told her, grabbing a plastic cup out of a backpack on one of the beds and rushing into the bathroom to access the faucet.
"Kin…" Anko spoke softly.
"Yes?" The distressed kunoichi answered.
"I want to talk to you for a moment in private," She said with pleading eyes. You can trust me…
"O-Okay," She agreed anxiously.
"But Kin!" One of the others began to argue, not trusting Anko even though so far she and her Genin had only shown good intentions.
"It's fine, don't worry… I've known Anko a long time. I just never talk about it because I don't want to anger Tokuro-sensei. Go on, I'll be all right."
Reluctantly, Kiba and Kin's teammates filed out of the room with Akamaru trailing behind.
Anko offered the teen a hand and brought her to her feet. "Let's sit," She decided and they plopped down on one of the mattresses.
Kin gulped. "You don't believe that I don't remember anything, huh?"
"Not a chance," Anko smiled back, and tugged at Kin's sleeve, revealing a dot from one of Tokuro's strikes at her chakra network.
"Oh," Kin realized. "I didn't want to tell them because I doubted they would've believed me… I can't even believe it!" She justified her lying.
Anko nodded. "I'm having a hard time believing it too… I never took him for the type to attack his comrade. I was his Genin teammate you know?" Kin nodded.
"We used to be good friends… Now he hates me."
Kin exhaled sharply. "He didn't do this without a reason, I know that much."
Anko raised an eyebrow down at her. Was she about to defend her sensei attacking her? "Anko… I was coming back to this room earlier today," she began and the purple haired Jonin simply nodded.
"And I heard voices when I reached the door. Not recognizing one, I hesitated and then I got caught spying on their conversation."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Tokuro-sensei… and Danzo or something like that."
"Danzo?" Anko questioned. Where'd she hear that name before…?
Flashback
"Orochimaru had a separate message to convey to you that he requested be kept between us alone."
Sarutobi scratched his beard in thought. This was a surprise to him but he gestured her to go on. "He wished to warn you that both he and Itachi would be visiting the hidden leaf soon."
"What!?" The third Hokage cringed.
"He told me he'd be sure to secretly contact me while in the village and said he has a plan to bring Itachi after Danzo. Apparently Itachi has an arrangement with Danzo but doesn't actually trust him, and he is going to use some of the lies surrounding his exile to direct everything to Danzo being the man who exposed Orochimaru's 'illegal activities' that we staged."
I better watch my tongue… neither Orochimaru nor Anko know of the sad truth of Itachi Uchiha. The third Hokage reminded himself.
"A good plan… Though you don't understand, Orochimaru is trying to use his current affiliation with the Akatsuki to solve the problem Danzo poses for the hidden leaf."
Anko blinked. "What?"
"Danzo is a power hungry village elder that we suspect is preparing to make a push for becoming the next Hokage… even if he has to have me assassinated or perhaps even make a deal with a rival village to enact war on our village. Orochimaru sees Itachi as a tool to solve that problem even if Itachi doesn't realize what's actually going on."
"Isn't allowing Itachi kill a village elder an extreme method? Not that I'm all that surprised my sensei would come up with a scheme like that."
End Flashback
"The village elder?"
"Yeah… One eye, wrapped in a bunch of bandages," Kin described. "Tokuro said he's on the council and is the head of the Foundation or something like that. I've never encountered him before but when they discovered my presence he lashed out at me. Sensei got him to back off and he left but then sensei weakened my chakra system and knocked me out in a Genjutsu induced sleep."
Head of the Foundation? Anko frowned. "What were they talking about?"
"Why?" Kin hesitated.
"Kin… If they were talking about something in secret behind closed doors and went to this much trouble to keep you quiet, it's important and I need to know based on what's taking place in our village right now."
"Would that something that's taking place have to do with Orochimaru?" She questioned with widened eyes.
"…Yes," The Jonin replied.
"The only reason why they realized I was there… was because I made a noise during my shock when they were talking about how they don't trust you and if they found evidence you were aiding Orochimaru, Tokuro-sensei was to kill you."
Anko gazed at the floor sadly. "Toke didn't hesitate or object did he?"
"I… Don't know I was too busy being attacked by Danzo."
Anko wrapped one arm around the younger kunoichi and pulled her into a slight embrace. "I'm glad you still trust me kid… I can tell you were conflicted between myself and Toke. I'd like to return that trust and tell you what I'm going to do now, but the Hokage wouldn't be happy with me if I did."
Kin nodded in understanding as Anko released her. "Do you think we can trust your teammates to lie to your sensei?"
"Why?" Kin questioned.
"Well, I had a few ideas how to deal with Toke finding out you've been released from the Genjutsu… But none of them guarantee he won't attack you again or your whole team if he found out I was in this room…"
"Honestly… putting it in their hands is a gamble, even if I showed them these marks from my chakra points being struck, they might not believe me," She admitted.
"In that case… I'm taking you to the Hokage."
"Hiruzen… I have a suspect of who Orochimaru is disguised as, provided by Tokuro Hyuga. And now I wish to attend the exams to keep an eye on him."
"Oh?" Lord Third replied. "And who does Tokuro suspect?"
"One of the Sand ninja, Baki."
Damn it… How did Tokuro know?
A/N: Believe it or not… there were 34 characters in this chapter if you count the Waterfall and Snow teams as 4 each even though they were just sort of…there lol. 8 teams of 4 (counting senseis) 32 characters minus Kakashi. Add Akamaru, the waitress that actually talked, and Danzo ya should get 34 wow.
That's gotta be a record for me, I did what I could to bring interactions among just about everyone other than the Waterfall/Snow OC teams that we simply don't care about lol. My apologies if the dinner wasn't enjoyable enough due to the fact no one got focused on for a long time period but what can I say there's a ton of people I wanted to include them all.
Why haven't I done names/descriptions for Kin's teammates? I have no plan for them to take part in this story after the Chunin exams. I can't say anything more than that about it at this time, for spoiler reasons.
Didn't expect this to get so long lol Til next time