Me: I do not own Naruto!
Last time:
Iruka laughed. "Sure. Come on, this way."
And off they went.
Boot
"Yeesh!" Naruto threw himself onto his bed with a grin, hands behind his head. "We're finally out of that darn Forest."
"Hn." Sasuke sat down on his bed, hand clapped over his neck.
"Does it hurt?" Kasumi questioned with a frown, settling down on her own bed and wrapping her arms around her bent legs.
Naruto sat up, also frowning at the Uchiha. With everything that had been happening, they hadn't had a chance to talk about their encounter with Orochimaru and the mark he had placed on Sasuke.
Sasuke grimaced. "... Yeah."
"How bad?"
"... Bad." He admitted reluctantly.
Kasumi sighed, biting her lip. Speaking of... "Naruto-san. What did Orochimaru do to you when I was preoccupied?" AKA, almost drowned in a mini lagoon.
"Oh." Naruto wrinkled up his forehead, hand coming to rest on his stomach. "He... uh... did this weird thing with his fingers."
She could guess well enough the area of interference. Damn. The Kyubi's Seal was nothing to mess around with. "And your chakra?"
"Sluggish. Weird." He reported unhappily.
"Sasuke-san?"
Sasuke shrugged a bit. "My chakra feels weird, too." He hesitated. "Especially... back in the Forest..."
They all knew which incident he was referring to. Kasumi rocked back, sighing again. Of course her teammates had problems she couldn't even touch on, much less help. But before she could say anything, the door was abruptly slammed open with a loud bang, and they each reached for a kunai on reflex.
Kiba sauntered in with a smirk. "Well, well, well. Look at that! You guys passed, after all." At his feet, Akamaru gave a bark of agreement.
"Humph." Naruto put away his kunai and fell back down on his bed dismissively. "It's only Kiba."
His eye twitched. "What was that?!"
"... A-Ano..." Hinata stepped into the room with Shino at her side, poking her fingers timidly. Her lavender eyes fell on Kasumi and widened with horror. "K-Kasumi-chan! W-What happened?!"
"Holy shit!" Belatedly, Kiba noticed the bruises and blood on the kunoichi. "What the hell happened to you?"
Shino said nothing, but the faint buzzing that originated from him signaled his surprise and displeasure as well.
"Run in with a Sound team." Shikamaru answered from behind Team Eight before Kasumi could, walking into the room as well. Ino and Choji followed him, the Akimichi munching on a fresh bag of chips.
"It was terrible." Ino said, shuddering at the memory. They both carefully avoided mentioning the fact that said Sound team was now dead.
"Well then, where were you two then?" Kiba swung around to point at Naruto and Sasuke, who both looked rather disgruntled, albeit to different degrees.
"Unconscious." Shikamaru said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. If Kasumi hadn't known him as well as she did, she could have thought that... he was upset at that situation as well. Which actually made some sense, considering Ino had almost gotten her ribs broken, too.
"Tch." Kiba crossed his arms, sneering at Naruto. They had been friends back in the Academy, but he was an Inuzuka and Pack loyalty was everything. He almost felt disappointed in the energetic blond. "Just what I'd expect from a dead-last."
"A-Ah... K-Kasumi-chan... ar-are you okay?" Hinata asked softly, drifting away from her team to talk to her.
Naruto jumped to his feet, cerulean blue eyes burning. "What did you say, Kiba?!" He liked Kiba, but he had no idea what they had gone through, creepy snake-guy and all!
Kasumi smiled reassuringly. "I should be fine. A portion of your healing ointment wouldn't go amiss, though." After she had given the Hyuga a tub back in the Academy, Hinata had grown interested in creating ointments and successfully crafted several of her own.
"You heard me! Who's the idiot who left his teammate to do all the work?!" And gotten hurt in the process. Kiba didn't like Kasumi, but, damn it, this wasn't the sort of behavior he could condone. Especially after what he had seen that Gaara guy do.
"O-Oh!" Hinata blushed, pleased. "O-Of course!"
"Shut up!" Naruto gritted his teeth, hands curling into fists. "You don't know anything!"
"Hn." Surprisingly - for Team Eight and Team Ten - Sasuke intervened, glaring at Kiba coldly. "Butt out, Kiba."
Kiba scoffed, covering up his mild surprise. "Oh, riiight. You were out, too, huh? I expected more from you, but I guess you're just like Naruto now."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Mind your words, Kiba."
"O-Oi!" Ino flared up, eyes flashing. "Stop it, you guys! We're not here to fight!"
"No one asked you, Ino!" Kiba volleyed back, unhappy that the blonde had decided to get involved.
Shikamaru straightened up, and Choji paused in his chip munching. Normally, they would have let Ino handle this herself - she certainly could - but they had almost watched their teammate get hurt, really hurt, by one who was supposed to one of their own and were edgy with that realization.
"What was that, Kiba?!" Ino drew herself up to her full height, nostrils flaring.
"Pl-Please d-don't fight..." Hinata trailed off uncertainly and Kasumi frowned at the scene. Naruto and Sasuke were furious, Kiba was upset, Shino was disapproving, Ino was angry, Shikamaru and Choji were troubled, and Hinata was anxious. The lot of them were about to come to blows right here, right now.
Sighing again, she seemed to be doing that a lot recently, Kasumi rose to her feet, wincing slightly at the ache from her ribs. "I'm going to take a shower." She announced when every eye automatically swiveled around to focus on her. "Ino-san, may I ask a favor?"
Ino blinked, evidently surprised. They had never had anything more than a polite, distant acquaintance, but Kasumi knew that the loud, brash Yamanaka was best suited to the job she had in mind. "What is it?"
Kasumi smiled sweetly, moving towards the bathroom every room had. "Kick the boys out, please." She said, ignoring Naruto's dropped jaw and Sasuke's irritated glare. "I think some girl time would do us all good."
Ino lit up, a wide grin stretching across her face. After days in the Forest of Death with little idea of how to survive and succeed and the disaster with Sasuke-kun, she knew how to do this. "I got you, girl." She assured Kasumi, flipping back her long blonde hair.
Kasumi nodded in gratitude and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She cared for her boys, she really did, but sometimes, it was nice not to have to deal with their antics. Behind her, she could hear Ino shout, "You heard her, boys! Out! Not you, Hinata, you stay right there. But the rest of you, out!"
Shower
Kasumi didn't know precisely how they got plumbing and hot water to the Tower in the middle of the Forest of Death, but she was grateful for it. Standing directly underneath the spray, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes momentarily.
So many events had happened in the past few days like tumbling dominoes - she wasn't quite sure what to think. She had already cried herself out after the encounter with Orochimaru... and directly after that she had killed three genin.
Kasumi laughed bitterly, fairly disgusted with herself for not being able to feel a whisper of genuine guilt. It reminded her of the Wave Mission, when she had slit one of the Demon Brother's throat. She hadn't felt remorse then either. For a genin... wasn't she a little too jaded?
Even Sasuke hadn't killed anyone yet. She had already killed four. She wanted to wonder at her moral values, wonder if she was jumping off the slippery slope already... but she knew that if it happened again, she wouldn't hesitate to repeat her actions.
They had been threatening her teammates.
The smile that curved her lips now was moderately mocking. When had Naruto and Sasuke become so important to her? She didn't know. Was she that important to them? She didn't know.
It seemed like she knew little these days.
Sometimes, Kasumi could have sworn that Fate was conspiring against Team 7. But she knew there was no such thing as fate. Or perhaps, she simply didn't believe in fate. What she did believe in was the tapestry of life, each thread woven in with a million different others to create the full picture.
How those threads were colored or where they went was up to themselves.
Twisting off the hot water because the other girls would doubtlessly want a shower as well, Kasumi dried herself off and pulled on a nude bra and underwear. She wrapped herself up in a pale towel and knocked lightly on the closed door. "Ino-san? Are the boys gone?"
"Yup!" Came the bright reply. "Boy-free zone accomplished!"
Laughing softly, Kasumi opened the door and walked out to find Ino and Hinata lounging on the beds previously occupied by Sasuke and Naruto respectively, though she was sure Hinata would blush at the implications if she bought it up. Their backpacks were on the floor and it looked like they had made themselves at home in the twenty-or-so minutes she had been in the shower.
Ino grinned cheerfully at her, blue eyes twinkling. "Took your time, did you?" The Yamanaka sounded significantly more at ease, fully acting like herself for the first time since they had met in the Forest of Death.
"Maybe." She said slyly, sitting down on the bed she had claimed for herself. "I have some cracked ribs. Hinata-san, could I borrow your medicinal cream?"
"H-Hai!"
Hinata gasped audibly and Ino paled when Kasumi let her towel fall away, exposing the dark red and black bruising on her skin. Kasumi glanced down, made a face herself. It really did look ugly without the bandages covering it.
"Jeez, Kasumi." Ino shook her head as Hinata hurriedly rummaged around her backpack for the cream. "You got yourself beat up."
She smiled sheepishly, checking her chakra levels. At this rate, she would probably be able to heal most of the damage by the time the Second Exams came to a close. "I guess so. But it was Orochimaru."
"O-Orochimaru?" Hinata handed her the tub, looking confused.
"Ah! You don't know about it, do you?" Ino looked excited, falling naturally back into the role of storyteller/gossiper. "See, back in the Forest, Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and Kasumi ended up meeting..."
Kasumi listened halfheartedly as Ino bought Hinata up to speed, spreading the cream carefully over her multi-colored skin. It really was an excellent medicinal ointment, she thought to herself as some of the pain began to fade away. The damage was still there, of course, but she felt better, nonetheless.
"I-I'm glad y-you're okay, Kasumi-chan." Hinata said after Ino was finished, sounding entirely sincere.
But, then again, that was Hinata.
Kasumi smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Hinata-san. Ino-san, would you mind helping me bandage myself up?"
Ino grinned. "Sure!" Grabbing a roll of bandages, she walked over to plop herself down beside Kasumi, chattering as she worked. The topic ambled from flowers to boys to dresses to make-up, but neither Hinata nor Kasumi objected, occasionally imputing their own thoughts.
Shifting back, Ino patted her work lightly. "There! All done!"
"My thanks, Ino-san."
"Hey! Don't be so formal!" If anything, Ino was not formal.
Kasumi smiled, glancing considerately at the other kunoichi. Unlike some others, she had never made much of an effort to cultivate a friendship with her. The fact that she was a member of the SUFA was deterrent enough, her being the Yamanaka Heiress only making things worse.
But it was looking more and more like the status quo known as the Rookie Nine would be staying, long-term wise. And it was apparent from the previous incident that, while outspoken and bossy, Ino was very much a sensible aspect of the three teams and, to be quite honest, Kasumi herself wouldn't mind some more female company.
Who knew? Maybe, like Sakura, once the fangirling wore off, Ino Yamanaka would be a good friend.
"You know, I ran into Sakura-san in the hospital a while back." She said casually.
Hinata blinked. "S-Sakura?"
Ino looked oddly proud. "Yeah! She's a medic apprentice now! My work obviously."
"Y-Yours, Ino?"
"Really?" Kasumi didn't know about this either.
"Mm-hm." Ino's nod was adamant. "See, when Forehead Girl's team failed, she came to me. I was the one who recommended going into the Medical Corps for her. And look at how she's turned out now!"
Ah. So that was what had happened. This time, Kasumi's smile was assessing. Yes, it looked like Ino would turn out to be a good friend, after all.
Sleepover
The girls ended up talking until after midnight, finding a surprising common interest in the form of flowers - Ino's family owned a flower shop, Hinata adored making flower arrangements, and Kasumi rather enjoyed their vivid beauty - and the pain of trying to keep their boys in line.
"You guys are lucky." Ino swung her legs in the air, lying on her bed with her chin propped up on her palms. "Shikamaru is soooo lazy and Choji never stops eating! We never get anything done!"
"Ah, but they get along, right?" Kasumi replied, dragging a hairbrush through her tangled hair. "Naruto-san and Sasuke-san never stop arguing. And we rarely get anything done either."
Accordingly, both of them glanced over at Hinata who squeaked. "Umm... umm... Shino-kun is always very quiet." She offered up meekly. "And Kiba-kun sometimes doesn't think before rushing in."
Ino nodded firmly, flipping around to splay her hands out. "It's official! Our boys would totally be lost without us."
Hinata giggled while Kasumi smiled, deft fingers twisting her hair into a braid. "Was there ever any doubt?"
Ino laughed, turning her head around to smirk at them. "Of course not!"
Later, around nine or so, there was a knock on the door. They paused their discussion of whether or not Hinata should grow her hair long to peer at the wood like they could see the potential intruder. There was silence for a long heartbeat as they traded glances.
Huffing, Ino swung herself off her bed and marched up to the door, wrenching it open to display a startled Naruto and an indifferent Sasuke. "What do you guys want?" She demanded, disenchanted enough with her crush and pleased enough with her new-found camaraderie with the girls that she didn't start fawning immediately.
"Umm... to sleep?" Naruto shuffled his feet, wary of the temper that had easily sent all of the boys out the door two hours previous.
Ino leaned against the doorway, glancing back at the others, a question in her eyes. Kasumi smiled smoothly, rather certain her boys could take care of themselves for a night, while Hinata was blushing tomato-red and looking anywhere but at Naruto.
The kunoichi sniffed pridefully, standing her ground. "No."
"N-No?" Naruto spluttered, eyes bulging. Even Sasuke seemed sparsely surprised.
"No." Ino said solidly. "We are going to have a sleepover and you boys can go bunk with the others."
"B-But, you can't do that!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.
"Oh yes, I can. Now, goodnight, Naruto, Sasuke-kun." And with that, Ino slammed the door in their faces and hit the lock. There was a long moment of silence while she leaned against the door and they held their breath.
Then, "Augh! Fine! Teme, I'm with Kiba and Shino. You go bother Shikamaru and Choji!"
"Hn." Sasuke sounded disgruntled, but there was the distinct sound of footsteps moving further away from them and a minute later, they were gone.
The three girls looked at each other and burst out laughing, though Kasumi was careful not to aggravate her ribs too much.
And by the end of the sleepover, Kasumi could safely, confidently say that the night had turned out much better than she had thought it would.
Rest
The next morning, Kasumi met up with her teammates in the small lobby area where teams received food. "Naruto-san, Sasuke-san. Good morning."
"Kasumi-chan!" Naruto wailed, sitting down in the seat to her left of the round table. "You left me with Kiba and Shino!"
"Hn." The look that Sasuke shot her was openly annoyed, suggesting that he hadn't had such a good night either.
"Gomen, gomen." She said, not in the least sorry.
From the way Naruto pouted and Sasuke scowled, they knew it, too.
But, to her slight incredulity, Sasuke dropped his vexation to scan her up and down, obsidian eyes uncomfortably perceptive. "You look happier." He stated.
Kasumi blinked. Did she?
"Yeah, you do!" Naruto beamed, heaving a dramatic sigh. "So I guess it's okay. We caught Kiba and Shino up to what happened while you guys were doing your girl talk. But, you know, Kiba snores really, really loudly."
"OI!" Came the shout from the genin in question, Team Eight sitting a couple of tables to their left.
Kasumi laughed in amusement, eyes lighting up, and Sasuke shook his head, but smirked. Naruto grinned foxily, jumping up to his feet. "It's true, Dog Breath!"
Distracted with watching the spectacle of Naruto and Kiba getting into a wrestling match on the ground while Hinata did her best to break it up without fainting, she didn't quite notice the way the Uchiha's gaze lingered for a bit on her satisfied smile.
After that, the days passed in a dizzying whirl. Kasumi gradually managed to heal her ribs as her chakra levels recovered. There was nothing any of them could do for Naruto, so she never bought it up, aware the blonde wanted the fox to be kept a secret.
Sasuke's mark though...
"It still hurts you." She said on the morning of the fourth day, watching as he rubbed at his neck.
Sasuke grunted noncommittally.
Naruto got to his feet, a frown on his face. "Oi, teme, why haven't you said anything?"
He shrugged. "It's not we can do anything about it."
Kasumi was silent for a moment. "Maybe we can."
Sasuke and Naruto snapped their heads around to stare at her, eyes wide. A flicker of hope crossed Sasuke's face.
"Really, Kasumi-chan?!" Naruto bounced up and down in place with excitement.
"Hmm. Maybe." She rose to her feet and said, "Stay here." Confused, Naruto and Sasuke did as told, and a couple of minutes later, she was back with Team Eight.
"Eeh?! Why are they here?" Naruto scratched his head.
"Hush, Naruto-san." Kasumi counseled, moving so she stood next to Sasuke. Turning to Team Eight, she said, "Hinata-san. You have the Byakugan; would you take a look at Sasuke-san's chakra system?"
"O-Okay." Hinata shuffled closer, forming a hand seal. Feeling Sasuke tense, Kasumi let her shoulder touch his in silent reassurance. "Byakugan!"
"Woah!" Naruto gaped at the veins that bulged near her temples, the pupils that appeared in her eyes. "That's so cool, Hinata!"
Hinata blushed, glancing down at her feet. Hiding her smile, Kasumi prompted, "Hinata-san?"
"H-Hai!" The Hyuga stared at Sasuke intently, biting her lip.
"Can you see it?"
"Y-Yes. It's a m-mass of chakra, concentrated n-near his neck... umm, u-underneath his m-mark, I think."
"Is it spreading?"
Hinata nodded, shifting uneasily. "H-Hai. Throughout his chakra coils..."
"How far?" Kasumi leaned her weight against Sasuke comfortingly, feeling the small tremors that shook his frame.
"It's down his sh-shoulder and r-reaching toward his h-heart." Hinata said, twisting her fingers. "It's... r-really dark. L-Like p-poison."
She considered what she knew of how the Hyuga Clan worked, their method of attack. "Could... could you block it off?" She asked. "Just until this Exam is over and we can get medical help."
Hinata thought about it. "I-I think s-so."
"Wait a minute. This isn't going to be dangerous to you, is it, Hinata?" Kiba cut in, frowning.
She shook her head. "I-I should be f-fine."
"Will there be any side effects?" Sasuke wanted to know.
"Th-The chakra to your a-arm will pr-probably be re-really weak and yo-your shoulder might feel a little n-numb." Hinata said apologetically.
She glanced at Sasuke. "It's your choice."
He didn't hesitate. "Do it."
Kasumi watched and hoped she hadn't made the wrong decision.
Appraisal
"We should compare information." Kasumi said on the dawn of the fifth and final day of the test. As usual, they were all in Team Seven's room, crowded on the beds by team. Sasuke sat next to her on the edge of her bed while Naruto messed around on the majority of the bed behind them.
"Yes. That would be prudent." Shino adjusted his glasses, crowding against Hinata and Kiba on Naruto's bed, though none of them looked uncomfortable.
"What do ya mean?" Kiba glanced between them, frowning in confusion.
Shikamaru yawned, lying on Sasuke's bed. Ino fussed with her hair, kneeling near his feet while Choji sat on the edge, eating potato chips. "Troublesome. What they're saying is that we should share what we know about our opponents of the Third Exam so as to better our chances of success."
Kiba opened his mouth and then shut it, as if suddenly reliving an experience. "Yeah." He said, voice unusually subdued. "I guess you're right."
Naruto eyed him strangely. "Oi, Kiba. What's up?"
"There was this guy we met in the Forest of Death." Akamaru shivered and buried his face in Kiba's chest, matching the dark tone of his voice. "His name was Gaara."
Sasuke stirred. "Gaara? Redhead with a tattoo on his forehead?"
"That's the one. Have you guys met him?"
"Yes, but go on. What happened?" Kasumi didn't like that Sand genin. Any information on him, any at all, would be useful.
"He was a monster." Kiba said bluntly, face pale. "He tore apart three genin without blinking... and he would have killed us, too."
"... How?" Shikamaru asked.
"Sand." Shino said. "He was able to control sand. With hand gestures, he manipulated the sand he stored in the gourd on his back and completely enveloped his opponents. Then, he applied brutal pressure and crushed them to death."
"I-It was horrible." Hinata breathed, eyes wide with fright.
Naruto grinned confidently at her, cerulean eyes warm. "Don't be scared, Hinata! I won't let him touch you!"
Kasumi watched with amusement as Hinata's face went red, the girl wavering unsteadily. But... "Anything else?"
"Yes. His teammate, apparently also his older brother, referred to a technique in which sand was utilized to block incoming projectiles as 'a sand based total defense'." Shino said.
"Total defense, huh...?" Shikamaru didn't sound convinced, but then again, it was mutually agreed between the strategists that very few things in the world was "total".
"Correct. He implied that it was automatic, happening with or without the user's will and only capable of being used by Gaara himself. Their other teammate, said to be the older sister, claimed that any sand in the air or on the ground can be controlled by him."
"Scary..." Choji said through a mouthful of chips.
"Yeah." Kiba bared his teeth. "He almost killed us, too. It's only because his brother and sister argued against it that we're still alive."
"What about his teammates?" Ino asked, frowning at a knot in her blonde hair. "Anything on them?"
Hinata shook her head. "Th-They didn't d-do an-anything."
"They didn't have to." Kiba added.
"... The kunoichi had a large fan strapped to her back." Kasumi said, recalling their former meetings. "She is most likely a wind user. The other ninja... he is probably a puppet user. Sunagakure is famous for their puppet masters."
"Alright. I think we can all agree that we avoid the Sand Team. They're too troublesome." Shikamaru glanced around the room, noting the concession on everyone's faces.
Well, everyone but Sasuke, of course, although only Kasumi truly noticed it. Because her teammate was near suicidal.
Regardless, she locked her eyes with his until he inclined his head subtly. If they weren't matched up together, Sasuke wouldn't go looking for a fight with this Gaara person. Not with the danger to his team and the mark on his neck.
"There was another team." Naruto spoke up. "Bushy Brows' team."
"Who?" Ino gave him a weird look.
"Rock Lee." Kasumi clarified. "He's a Leaf genin."
"Right. The one that Kabuto told us about, right?" Choji said.
Kasumi fought down her innate revulsion to that guy's name, not oblivious to the looks that Naruto and Sasuke shot her as they remembered what she had said to them at the start of the Second Exam. Before she said anything, Shikamaru beat her to it. "That guy's troublesome. We should stay away from him."
"Huh? Why? He was nice to us when we met him." Kiba defended.
"No, Kiba. Shikamaru is right." Shino intervened. "A mere Leaf genin, no matter how many times he has taken this Exam, should not have the depth of information Kabuto did."
"How so?" Naruto questioned.
"He knew about B-rank missions, Naruto-san. From a genin from Suna." Kasumi said. "About skills and abilities, could compare them between last year and this year. That's not normal."
"So, we should avoid him." Choji summarized simply.
"Yeah. So back to Rock Lee." Sasuke said, eyes narrowing in distaste and interest both. "He's got good taijutsu but nothing else."
"Not good taijutsu, teme." Naruto disagreed immediately. "His taijutsu is awesome! He even kicked - " Kasumi prickled a senbon against his upper leg discreetly - "some guy's ass!" He finished awkwardly, giving Kasumi a wary look.
She ignored it. While Lee was certainly very powerful, there was no need to tell the others of the fight between him and Sasuke. Said Uchiha looked part grateful, part annoyed... but only to Kasumi and Naruto. To the others, he probably looked as unreadable as ever.
"But just taijutsu?" Shino said.
"Yes. Just taijutsu. But his strength and specifically his speed are formidable. Don't underestimate him." Kasumi warned. "Kabuto-san said his teammates are Hyuga Neji and Tenten, if I remember right."
"That's what I've got, too." Shikamaru rested his head on his arms. "That guy's your cousin, right, Hinata?"
Hinata peeped as everyone's attention swung to her, staring at the ground. "H-Hai!"
"So, he can use the Byakugan, too." Shikamaru deduced. "Probably powerful. Jeez, what a drag."
Ino rolled her eyes, grabbing a pillow to throw at him. "You think everything is troublesome, Shikamaru!"
"That's because everything is troublesome."
The room filled with laughter, the tension fading away.
"Well, no matter what's going to happen, we're all going to be fine!" Naruto said with conviction, grin as bright as the sun. "Believe it!"
"Yeah, yeah, dead-last."
"What was that, Kiba?!"
"Stop it, you two!" Ino screeched.
"See? Troublesome."
