Konnichiwa konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!
Lately I can't seem to find interesting things to talk about, guess my life isn't too interesting.
So, without further ado, Mystic Eyes of Reincarnation 始まります!
Chapter 25: After the second test
With both scrolls at hand, they rush towards the tower. It's not hard to avoid all the traps and ambushes lying in wait for them. Not only do they have all-seeing eyes, but Hinata was literally trained as a reckon specialist in a past life. Still, it's with a breath of relief she crosses the gate. They're finally away from that terrible forest. Even if they're not safe yet, that's at least one step closer.
Hinata hides a smile with a fist, doing her best to not giggle at Naruto-kun and Iruka-sensei's antics while Sasuke looks away with a sigh of exasperation. They have arrived with a bit over three days to spare. But she's sure they're not the first team.
-"Hey, hey, Iruka-sensei" -Naruto-kun asks, as if sharing her mind- "Are we the first team? I bet we set a record or something!"
-"No, that team from Sand pulverised all records arriving in less than two hours, and Team 8 arrived a couple of hours before you guys."
-"Aw… bummer."
-"Umpf."
That was a 'I bet they didn't have to fight a freak like the snake creep' kind of Umpf, what reminds Hinata they still have to do something about Sasuke's Curse Seal.
-"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei, is the examiner available?" -Sasuke will probably throw a tantrum if she suggest having that mark looked, so she'll have to use a roundabout. Mitarashi Anko should know about that seal too- "We fought someone incredibly powerful while in the forest, I'm worried about that."
-"Yeah! That snake bastard was hella strong! No way in hell he was a genin."
That doesn't seem to ring any bell on Iruka-sensei. Well, it's not like a legendary S-rank criminal suddenly popping out during a Chunin exam is something most people would believe in the first place, must less when the only clue is 'a hella strong snake bastard'. It's not like Orochimaru is the only snake user in the world and apparently the alarm over his presence hasn't spread just yet. At least he tells them where they can find her.
-"If you're doing this for me" -Sasuke tops in the corridor, putting a hand on her shoulder. His eyes are defiant when she turns to look at him- "Don't bother, I'm fine."
Boys and their pride. She could stick with the excuse she gave Iruka-sensei, that the encounter was highly suspicious and they should report it. But she'd rather do without one of those Uchiha brow-arched-in-an-incredulous-yet-amused stares. She takes a breath, readying herself to guilt-trip him again.
-"I'm just worried about you, Sasuke-kun. You were… really scary back then."
-Yeah, Hinata-chan is worried for you, be grateful you bastard!"
-"Hmpf."
In other words 'I'm not arguing because is not worth my time', but if you pay attention it actually means 'If that'll calm you down...'. Oh, Sasuke can be such an emotional cactus… It's funny, because she could understand if some girl found that endearing. But his fangirls will never look beyond that 'cool' image they've already formed an see how he really is. Alright, maybe it's not funny, after all. It's actually a bit sad.
As expected Mitarashi Anko takes things properly seriously as soon as she seen Sasuke's mark.
-"The fuking bastard! I knew he was behind this all!"
Before they can ask what she's going about, she grabs the back of Sasuke's shirt and starts dragging him with her.
-"I'm taking you to Hokage-sama. Right now!"
Naruto and Hinata had to strain themselves to keep up her pace.
Things went… well? No, not exactly. Nothing can really go well when you know your train has no brakes and has to cross a crumbling tunnel. A tunnel in flames. Transporting explosives. And kittens. But taking into account they were going straight into a full-scale invasion of Konoha where the Hokage would most likely lose his life, things were going pretty well.
For one, Anko had been… vocal and very graphic about the downsides of using the [Curse Seal of Heaven]. Probably much more effective than the 'this isn't true power. Now I'll trust an unstable teen with revenge issues to take those four words at face value and feel proud of my adequacy as a teacher' Kakashi-sensei had used last time to discourage its use.
Seriously, who uses professional killers as teachers? Maybe they have good know-how, but you can't really blame them for their lack of pedagogical competence. Hinata sighs at that thought. Killers training other killers, first out of necessity and then because that's how things have always been. Expert teachers like Iruka-sensei or Ebisu-sensei are actually looked down upon because they're not the strongest and we find ourselves with a self-perpetuating mistake.
She's getting sidetracked again. The Hokage had looked appropriately worried with the news of Orochimaru, but didn't seem willing to cancel the exam. Apparently the Kazekage had been missing for a couple of days now and cancelling the exams could be seen as a hostile maneuver.
Hinata wondered why that event didn't cause more worry before remembering the Kazekage was actually being impersonated by Orochimaru. He'd no doubt left around instructions so his people didn't worry too much if he went dark for some time, probably his disappearance was another way to press the Hokage into not cancelling.
Anyway, since this time Team 7 didn't arrive within minutes of the time limit, Kakashi-sensei made preparations to counteract the Curse Seal before the preliminaries began, and they were allowed to assist. They were allowed by Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke on the other hand, as soon as he knew what the ritual would entrail, was very vocal about them not stepping inside the room where he would have to sit half-naked for heavens know how long.
So they stood right outside, Naruto making fun of him just loud enough to be heard until Kakashi's head popped out of the door and threatened with making them leave if he didn't allow him to focus. The rest of the process went without disturbance, probably because the personnel was not busy watching over the fights and infiltrating unnoticed would be harder even for an S-rank missing-nin.
Sasuke finally emerges with Kakashi in tow, doing his best to look annoyed.
-"Well guys, good work getting back in the second day. I lost my bet to Kurenai on whose team finished first, but all things considered you did an excellent job" -Now that Hinata pays attention, Kakashi doesn't seem to be carrying his book today, what exactly did that bet involve? -"Nothing is supposed to happen until the exam ends and you won't be allowed to leave the tower, so take the time to recover. We'll see again then, bye!"
With that, they go choose a room. Hinata can use the off time, but something tells her Naruto-kun won't be thrilled by the prospect two days of inactivity.
…
She was wrong, in both respects.
It took approximately half an hour for Naruto-kun to somehow rile Kiba up in some kind of contest, and they spent all the time running around the halls and causing trouble to proctors who weren't too sure of how to handle them. Anko finding their shenanigans funny didn't help their case.
Sasuke was content with brooding around too.
But her…
-"Brat, you're gonna pass out from worry if you keep that up."
-"But..."
-"The kit will be fine."
-"But!"
-"If you say a single more time this is your fault, we're gonna have a problem."
-"She's been bedridden since I told her to warn the proctors!"
-"For the last time, you didn't knew the [Estrangement of the Moon Hill Seal] would weaken her skills this much. Heck! I didn't knew it and I'm the expert here! The kit doesn't mind, her health isn't in any serious danger and she'll probably get mad if she hears of you skipping meals out of worry for her. How about you find something else to beat yourself up for?"
-"There's nothing to do here…"
-"You can always go on a date with Naruto or something."
That sends her mind back to the events during the survival test. Particularly, to a certain adorable blonde acting all dependable and calling her pretty again. Maybe she could do without her jacket after all. Her image has changed enough by now that nobody would find it particularly odd, right? Yes, she can surely afford it.
…
That's it. She's resolved.
-"Hmm… About that date thing…"
-"Tha… that's going too fast!"
-"And here we go again…"
The deadline for the test is finally here. Seems like the Oto-nin trio managed to recover their loses and make it it time, and nothing seems different from how it was the first time around. Even Kabuto appears as beaten up, probably this time is just an excuse to forfeit again.
As the teams stand attention to receive the Hokage's words, Hinata takes a look at the Konoha Twelve. Besides Shikamaru eyeing her funny, the Ino-Shika-Chou doesn't seem to have changed much from the first time around, but that's hardly surprising, she's had no real chance to interact with them just yet.
Same couldn't be said for Team Gai. If Shikamaru regarded her with curiosity, this whole team is wary of her. It's to be expected after her… indiscretion right before the test. Now that he's had time to process things properly, Lee's eyes are practically burning and Ten Ten is only a step behind. Even Neji eyes her with something that could be… grudging respect? That's probably just wishful thinking. At the very least it's not the disdain that hurt her so much in her first life.
Maybe he doesn't feel so bitter about his fate if the one he's 'destined' to serve proves capable? Not that she intends to let that stupid fate take hold in the first place. She hasn't had time for any concrete plans to get rid of the [Caged Bird Seal] just yet, but she's determined to not lose him again, at least not imitating his father's stupidly noble sacrifice. It could mean Naruto-kun doesn't need to beat sense into him this time though.
Team 8 seems to have sat well with Sakura, she has a confident smile and seems comfortable with her team, pretty much what Hinata had hoped for when she manipulated the lineups. There'll probably be downsides somewhere along the line, but it's too soon to tell. Kiba whispers something to her ear with a smirk and she looks scandalized for a moment before answering with a punch that's easily dodged.
Seems like those two have a teasing relationship. At least it seems more well-meaning that the unilateral way Sakura used to beat Naruto-kun up every time he said something that bristled her. Actually… yeah, she's smiling again. This will be much healthier for all parts involved.
Shino seems as stoic as ever, but when she catches him staring and waves (those sunglasses of him are very practical for discreetly studying people, but useless against someone who knows him well), he answers the greeting with a nod. That's pretty much as friendly as he can get with an stranger.
Still, Hinata plans on abusing her student-teacher relationship with Kurenai-sensei to spend some quality time with her old time at some point. This polite distance simply won't do.
Soon Hayate Gekko makes his announcement about the preliminaries and asks for quitters. Of course Kabuto forfeits. Hinata glances at Sasuke, he didn't show any trouble with the mark since the sealing, so there shouldn't be any reason for her to try and make him forfeit. Not that it would have worked anyway.
-"Well then, first match starts immediately! Please step forward Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi!"
Meh, boring title for an unremarkable chapter. There are some important things happening here, but how to say it? This doesn't feel like it measures up to other chapters…
Since Hinata sent him flying, Anko didn't have a chance to confront Orochimaru, neither did he return in time to taunt Kakashi during the sealing ritual. Well, Hinata doesn't know she blew the creep half continent away, so she doesn't even consider he's not back around just yet.
On another note, I wonder how many people noticed the pretty big ripple this changed Second Exam will cause…