XXIV - What's The Plan?

Breakfast went by in a blur.

I barely touched my food, to the extreme dismay of Yumi who said I was getting smaller and thinner every time she looked at me, and I only picked at the Dorayaki that Hiroka had ordered for me to get her off my back. Well it was partly that but mostly because Hiroka had insisted that I needed to eat to gain some of my strength back. So, I indulged him just a little, taking obvious bites of the red bean filled pancakes to placate him. After that, I ignored the valiant attempts by my peers to feed me anything more. I pushed aside miso soup, which usually would have appealed to me, and even passed up the dango that Akiko and Sora were quickly devouring.

I just couldn't stomach any food, my nerves were too shot to eat, so instead, I opted to fill myself with soothing green tea with the hope that the hot liquid would calm the fluttering in my belly. It hadn't really done much for my anxiety, but it did clear my head a little and allowed me to keep my usual cool, calm and collected exterior firmly in place regardless of how bothersome my interior felt.

We left the tea house with our bellies full and our outlook a tad less weary and then headed directly towards the Konohagakure Administrative Building, at the foot of the Hokage Mountain.

I was doing a pretty good job at maintaining my strong, usually expressionless front. Yumi had stopped fussing over me and Akiko had repressed his watchful glances - returning his attention back to his friendly warfare with Sora - and Hiroka had even allowed me to fall back to the rear of our squad without worry, like all was commonplace. All so completely normal. We were not about to meet with three key leaders of our great nation, it was just another regular day and we were just another shinobi squad walking together through the clean streets of Konoha.

As we approached the building, I could see the other members of Sora's squad waiting for us at the entrance. His sensei, Gin, had a scowl plastered across his face - which again, was normal - and the other two boys, Kaito and Touma, looked equally unimpressed with the reappearance of their previously absentee squad mate. That was until they spotted their respective Sand buddies and stepped forward to greet them with delight, Sora forgotten.

"Hiroka." Gin addressed our sensei cordially along with a slight bow of his head, "You gained another student, I see." He observed, obviously referring to Sora.

"Reluctantly." Hiroka replied.

"You can keep him if you want," Gin commented, without even a hint of a smile. It was just a joke, but it was so tense that on second I thought it might not have been one at all...

Hiroka snorted a laugh, "Ohh no, you can have him back. I have enough trouble with these three."

"No doubt," Gin agreed and shifted his steely blue gaze over to me.

I immediately felt exposed under his hard stare, and I couldn't help the shudder that tickled my spine.

Gin had a reputation amongst the jounin of all the villages. Hiroka had described him as merciless, an extremely talented and intelligent shinobi who carried out his duties meticulously, and with an expert efficiency. But most and more importantly, he was loyal to a fault. Gin would do anything in his power to protect his village and the people he cared about regardless of the cost. It was no wonder why the academy had chosen the black-haired, blue-eyed jounin as Sora's sensei. That relationship made perfect sense to me - especially considering the history of the Uchiha Clan and their troublesome boys.

"You look well, Kimimaro." He finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence, and, to my astonishment, he grinned. "And healing exceptionally fast." One of his brows arched with curiosity.

Heat flooded my cheeks. Yep. There was something about the way he looked at me that made me feel completely self-conscious, like he was trying to see past my surface and peer right inside of me.

Hiroka did me a favor by interjecting, "Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai has some impressive qualities." He slung his arm over my shoulders and tugged me against his side for support.

"Mmm," Gin responded, "Impressive indeed."

Somehow, I knew he was not just referring to my advanced healing abilities… actually his blunt focus suggested a whole lot more than that. Getting to that meeting, and quickly, almost didn't feel so daunting now...

"We should get moving. Don't want to keep the Kage's waiting," Gin suggested, "Sora, get over here."

The unusually quiet Sora had enough healthy respect for his sensei to not back-talk and do exactly what he was told, giving me a sideways glance as he passed to stand beside Gin.

Hiroka ushered me forward after them.

"So, what do we do?" Yumi piped in before we entered the building, "Can we not come too?"

"No," Hiroka replied, "It's best we limit the attendance to only those involved in the… incident."

"Sora wasn't involved." Yumi declared with a pout.

"Whatever happens, it impacts Sora too." Hiroka reminded her.

She huffed, "Fine." It wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, but it was the right one and she accepted it reluctantly. And probably because she suddenly realized that she would get to spend some adult free time with her crush, Touma, who looked equally as keen on that idea. Kaito and Akiko, well, they had already moved on to planning their days activities before being told they could not attend the meeting.

I was completely jealous. I wish I felt that carefree.

"Let's go," Gin ordered.

Instantly, my stomach began its flip-flopping routine again. I glanced wistfully back at my friends before I entered the building. Gin and Sora first with Hiroka and I in tow.

We walked a few yards before Sora abandoned his position next to his sensei and fell back to walk with me. Naturally, Hiroka fell into stride with Gin up front and they began to chat.

"Hey," Sora whispered, shifting his gaze over to the adults to ensure we were well out of ear-shot before he continued, "So, have you thought about what you are going to say in there?" He asked, motioning with a jerk of his head in the direction of the Hokage's office.

"Yes." I replied simply. My mind had been made up days ago, as soon as I had found out about the meeting I knew what I was going to do, what I was going to say.

He gave me a hard look, "Why do I feel like you are not going to tell the whole truth?"

"Because you are right." I stated.

"I hate being right all the time," He grumbled and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

A rare smile touched the corner of my lips, "Oh, don't worry, you're not." I patted his arm.

He cracked, finally grinning in that stereotypically Sora way, "Does anyone else know?"

I shook my head, "No. And I want it to stay that way." I replied, then sped up to follow our sensei's more closely. I knew what was coming next and was hoping I could avoid the second-degree from my best friend by catching up with Hiroka and Gin.

He jogged a few steps to keep up, "They need to know."

I felt his hand fall against my palm. He linked our fingers together, slowing me down and so I couldn't escape from him. I glanced down at our clasped hands and then back up to him again, "I don't need you to agree with me, Sora. I just need you to understand."

"I get it. But fuck." He growled out, "You shouldn't be punished for what that asshole did to you."

"He didn't do…" I sighed and pressed my fingertips to my temples, my head was already starting to hurt, "This meeting is not about what Tachi did or what he said to me," I began to explain, "It's about how I reacted. And I reacted dangerously."

"You are not dangerous,' Sora countered, squeezing my hand gently.

"Then why is Tachi still laid-up in the Hospital and I'm out here?"

"He deserved it!"

I stopped walking then and spun on my heels to face him, "Sora. Please, just… promise me you won't repeat anything I told you."

"They need to know." He repeated.

I placed my free hand on his shoulder, pleading with him, "Promise me, Sora."

"Okay. Fine." He grumbled, "But it's not fair and you know it."

'What's not fair?"

We both abruptly turned our heads. Gin and Hiroka had apparently caught the tail end of our conversation and we're both looking quite curious about our animated exchange.

I gave Sora another pleading glance.

He was the only other person, beside Tachi of course, that knew what had really happened in the arena. And Tachi wouldn't be at this meeting. He was too beaten up to leave the Hospital so his squad mate, Yuuto, would be representing him in his place. So, unless Tachi was stupid enough to spill the dirt on the incident, and incriminate himself to his Mist counterparts, there was no other way his verbal abuse would be disclosed.

I trusted Sora, yet, there was still a small part of me that wished I hadn't said anything at all and kept it all to myself.

"Nothing," He declared, to my relief, "It's nothing."

I mouthed a silent thank you, Sora's returning grin seemed forced and unnatural. I knew he disagreed with me and my plan to stay silent in the meeting, but I didn't realize it bothered him that much. Though, I guess I understood why. If I was in fact disqualified, our fight would not happen, and the Chunin Exams would be officially over. I didn't like that idea any more than he did but keeping my secret was more important to me then a fight.

Without another word, Sora slowly released my hand and then moved away to join his sensei, Hiroka guided me forward after them and we began to cover the remaining distance to the Hokage's Office.

Shikamaru was waiting for us just outside Lord Naruto's Office.

"You're late," He commented.

Gin ignored him and went right on inside the office pusing Sora along in front of him. I thought it was a bit rude to blow off his superior like he had but maybe that was just how Gin was. And Shikamaru didn't seem phased by what I perceived as insubordination, like it was an expected reaction from his jounin.

"Hiroka, Kimimaro." The Hokage's advisor greeted us much more politely, though there was that usual hint of annoyance underlying his words.

"Lord Shikamaru," Hiroka returned, "Is everyone already here?"

"Yes. You are the last. The Kage's have been waiting." He swept his hand out in front of him, "Please. Go in."

A soft hand came down against my shoulder. Hiroka's. It was his way of saying that he was there in support without having to speak the words. "Come on, kid."

One deep breath in, and one deep breath out. I was ready for this.