In the forest, they faced a night blacker than they had ever seen. They ran, and stopped, until they couldn't see anymore. For a moment, all was quiet, but then the noise began. The harsh call of the wind shaking the trees, the sounds like lost whispers winding between their ears, the hiss and shout and groans of all the creatures who stirred in the forest, and of course, the screams, victims of the teams who wasted no time.
More than a few people were already finding different ways to be creative, to make this forest work for them as soon as they entered it. The first twelve hours of that dark night were the longest, Chance and Death and Fate and everything in between casting so many strands, weaving so many tight-knit patterns, washed in blood alongside each other.
It would take too much to move through it all, all the work that happened during the first night and into the early hours of morning, as night melted into visions that looked so much harsher in the light of day.
These are just a few of the stories, there are many more to come.
The first thing that Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji did was run. They ran for miles, until their breath felt like it had left them. With the thick canopy of trees overhead, they could barely see ahead of them, and barely see each other. They had no idea if they were running straight ahead or in circles.
But eventually, Shikamaru stopped. The feeling in his stomach, the strange unease when he looked at the small red-headed Sand village boy, had finally disappeared. Like they had final got away.
He looked around, his eyes adjusting a little, Ino and Chouji shadows around him, between hints of the rising moon between the tall branches above. This is good, he thought. The deeper it got into night, the more the moon would rise, and the more potential light they would have.
"Let's look into the pack," Shikamaru said.
"Look being the operative word," Ino said, her voice dry and sarcastic.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pulled the pack off his back and dumped its contents out. It looked like basic ninja supplies – a few kunai and shuriken, some medical equipment (salves and bandages), a bare bones map of the forest, and of course, their scroll, its Heaven kanji visible in the dull moonlight.
"No food?" Chouji said in disbelief.
"She said it was going to be our last meal," Ino said, not even remembering that had been. It felt like sunset had been both five minutes and several hours away.
"I know," Chouji said, "But I just thought it would be like the packs we got during real missions – overloaded with food and other supplies."
"It's a survival test," Shikamaru said, frustration clear in his voice, "Of course they're giving us bare bones supplies, just to make it more troubling for us."
He didn't know how he felt about this test. On one hand, he knew now was the time to act, not complain, but this was just so much. The raised stakes between the first portion of the exam and the second seemed impossibly big. And Shikamaru couldn't quite shake all the numbers that Kabuto guy had put into his head, how little chance they had of making it through, but also the other part too, the part about them being a unique set of rookies.
"We can forage for food," Ino said, sensing how uneasy both Chouji and Shikamaru were. She couldn't have them messing this up now; they had only just begun.
"Didn't she say that this forest was full of poisonous food, though?" Chouji asked, remembering that, and the many other warnings they had been given about this place.
"Yes," Ino said, knowing Chouji needed more encouragement, "But we have some basic foraging skills. Remember the days at the academy where Iruka taught us about survival tactics, you were always really good about remembering the food-related parts."
"Yeah, you're right," Chouji said, a smile flashing on his face. The memories of the charts of edible and non-edible plants appeared back in his head. He glanced around, and in the growing moonlight, already recognized some plants.
Shikamaru looked at Ino, could see what she was doing. It wasn't often, but sometimes, Ino could be the most proactive of the three, the one to push them when they needed it. She was doing it right now and Shikamaru needed to get with the picture.
"Shikamaru," Ino said, turning to him, "Do you think it'd be safe to make a fire? We need more light to figure out that map."
Just like with Chouji, it was the push he needed, "I think we can risk a fire, and I think I remember Iruka's lessons on how to make one without a flint."
He gathered their meager supplies back into the pack. He grabbed the scroll and then looked at Ino, "I think you should hold unto this."
Into grabbed it, confused. She and Chouji had been getting more than comfortable with Shikamaru acting as their de facto leader. It just made sense. And it would make more sense if he was the one holding unto the scroll.
"Why?"
"Because you're strong, but people wouldn't expect it," Shikamaru said.
"Excuse me," Ino said, suddenly annoyed. She was the only one who had made any type of helpful suggestion so far, yet Shikamaru was implying something else. "What do you mean people wouldn't expect it?"
"I mean…" Shikamaru said, his words trailing off. He didn't know how to explain this without Ino getting annoyed.
Chouji spoke up, knowing he needed to be gentle about this, "I think he means how you're a girl and everything."
"What does me being a girl have to do with anything?" Ino asked, her voice tense.
Chouji gulped and looked to Shikamaru for help.
"Look," Shikamaru said, his voice exasperated, "We know you're strong, okay? It doesn't matter if you're a girl or not. But a lot of those other ninjas look like the type who assume kunoichi are weak. If you hold unto the scroll, we'll know it's protected by someone strong, but the other teams won't. Besides, you've been making good calls, about the foraging and the fire."
In the dull moonlight, he could see her face turn up into her signature smirk, "That's what I thought."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. She'd be insufferable now, just because he couldn't get his mind off the numbers quick enough to say the same things about Iruka's survival training that she did.
Ino secured the scroll in the pouch on her side and they set about making something of a camp. Chouji foraged some plants and Shikamaru gathered up some kindling for the fire. Ino pointed out a space under the roots of a giant tree, raised up from the ground. It would give them some coverage.
"You're full of ideas tonight," Shikamaru said.
"You're not the only smart one," Ino said, satisfied by the fact that she was the one with the initiative right now. Of course, on the inside, she knew just how much of that was on there because of her own fear. She just wanted to feel safe, or as safe as they could in this current situation. And if her teammates weren't going to have any ideas on how to do it, she would.
"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru said, not sure if he liked having the burden of being the ideas guy taken away from him or not.
But after a while, they were settled into the uplifted roots, a small fire burning, and a handful of berries on their stomach. When they pulled the map out, the lit flames casting what felt like the first real light of the night, Shikamaru felt it coming back to him.
Kabuto and his numbers didn't matter. It was him and his teammates, right here, that did. So he pulled out the map and based on the entrance that they started at and the route they took, decided where they were at, and came up with a plan.
It wasn't the most strategic plan, not really, but it was the one they had. They planned to hide out until dawn, sneak up on an unsuspecting team with in an Earth scroll and take it, in the early hours while everyone was likely trying to take a little bit of rest, since most were either too amped or too scared to sleep during the night – they certainly were. None of them had someone with special eyes like the other two Rookie teams, they couldn't make use of the night like they could. Besides, shadows worked better during the day; Chouji needed to eat a lot more to make sure he had enough chakra stores for any potential fight; and there was no way Ino was willing to leave her body behind in the night, even if her mind could do work during that time. For now, they waited.
They were naive, really, to think they could make a plan. To think the Forest of Death would wait for them, would wait until their skills and bodies and ideas were safe in the warm daylight. Soon after they made their plan, the moon high and bright in a dark sky, they heard another team approach.
Shikamaru was the first to notice, nodded for Chouji and Ino to push themselves further in the roots, to stay hidden. The fire wasn't an issue – they had put it out once they were done with the map, once the moonlight was bright enough. As long as the ninjas didn't turn around or look too low, they wouldn't be seen.
"Can we please take a break?" one of the ninjas asked, frustration in his voice.
In the moonlight, between the tangle of roots, they saw a team that looked a few years older than them, with Rain Village headbands. Two of the three had straw hats, and all of them looked to be carrying long objects along their backs.
"No," one of his teammates replied, taller than the other two boys, "We've been running for hours and still haven't seen anyone. I want to get a Heaven scroll as soon as possible."
Shikamaru felt a nudge at his side, it was Ino. She gestured to third ninja; an Earth scroll was hanging from his belt.
"Yeah, maybe because neither of you are good ninjas," the third one said, the shortest but most lively looking of the three.
"Man, shut up," the first one said.
"Yeah, you don't know what you're talking about," the tall one said.
The shortest one shrugged and leaned against the tree, only around ten feet away from them, "I'm just saying, we know who the real talent is around here."
"Just because you figured out an easy way to cheat on the first test doesn't mean shit."
"Yeah man, stop acting like you're the best," the taller one said. He approached the shorter ninja and pulled the earth scroll off his belt, "You shouldn't even have this."
"Yeah, cause I should have it," the other one said, approaching the two closest to the tree and grabbing the scroll for himself.
They continued to bicker, making fun of each other and ripping the scroll back and forth from each other's hand. Shikamaru knew the plan, knew that his team would be stronger in the daylight. But how could they resist a chance like this? He turned his teammates, who both gave him determined grins. He turned back, and then jumped up from between the roots.
Shikmaru very rarely made moves without planning them first, so this was new, jumping into the middle of three ninjas without a plan.
But it worked, the surprise and speed catching them off guard.
"I'll be taking that," he said, a smile on his face as he grabbed the Earth scroll from the ninja's hand.
"What the hell!" the ninja shouted, looking at the empty space between his fingers where the scroll had just been.
"I don't think so!" the shorter one yelled, grabbing Shikamaru by his leg as he jumped up, whipping him into the ground. Shikamaru took the brunt of the hit but kept the scroll firm in his hand.
"That scroll is ours now!" Ino yelled, coming from out of nowhere, pulling the shorter ninja away from Shikamaru before he could hit again. She kicked him back and he slammed against his teammate, falling into the same mess of roots they had been hiding in earlier. There was a thud and the tallest member slammed into both of them, Chouj rubbing his hands.
They recovered quickly, but Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were faster, taking form before them.
"You want this?" Shikamaru said, holding their Earth scroll tightly in his hands.
The ninjas didn't say anything, just rushed their way. Team 10 dispersed, Shikamaru faking a toss, pretending he was throwing the scroll to Chouji, while he really handed it off to Ino, who pocketed it quickly. They followed the bait, diving on Chouji, whose fists grew in an instant and slammed them together, dizzying them but not fully knocking them out.
The taller of the ninja dived toward Shikamaru, pulling out one of the things attached to his back. An umbrella popped open, wide and protective, blocking any hits Shikamaru tried to lay on him. The end of the umbrella was sharpened to a stiff point, jabbing at Shikamaru. He dodged as quickly as he could, saw out of the corner of his eye that the other two were recovering, moving toward Chouji, with pointed umbrellas of their own.
And just as he thought, no one was looking at Ino. Just as Shikamaru had guessed, the other ninjas would doubt Ino. Besides, Shikamaru knew that Ino had something big on her plate, something she hadn't yet shared with them yet. He couldn't tell why, but he just knew.
He dodged another jab from the taller ninja, looked around frantically, for enough moonlight to create a shadow, but the forest was too dense, the light too dull, it wouldn't work. Behind him, he heard Chouji's enlarged fists slam into the ground, but saw the other two ninjas dodge them.
Ino took it in for a second, the ninjas attacking her teammates and not her – and yet she was the one with both scrolls. The ninja world and its sexism, it really would cost them today. They had no idea what Ino was planning.
She took a deep breath, made the new hand sign, the motions she had perfected in recent training sessions with her father, and let her chakra move.
All at once, all three Rain ninjas seized up, their bodies moving in quick jerking motions away from Chouji and Shikamaru. Their bodies took awkward steps toward each other and formed a small circle, reached their umbrellas out, the sharpened ends to each other's necks. Their faces looked panicked, their mouths agape as if trying to say something.
Chouji and Shikamaru glanced toward Ino, saw that she was doing a hand sign they hadn't seen before. Saw the struggle on her face, sweat beginning at her temples.
"I can't hold it for long," she said, her voice a tight whisper is Shikamaru's direction, "do something."
Shikamaru's head flooded with possibilities and questions. Ino was controlling their bodies, but not for long. And if she made them move with enough force, they would all kill each other, right now, sharpened ends of the umbrellas into their throats. And he knew Ino would do it too, if he asked. But he didn't want to ask.
He walked toward the circle of ninjas, their bodies twitching and eyes frantic.
"Me teammate back there," Shikamaru said, trying to sound cool and confident, "the one you didn't even glance at; she's pretty powerful."
"In fact, she has the power to end all of you right here, by your own hands," Shikamaru continued. Behind him, he sensed Ino smiling and saw, ever so perceptibly, their bodies move closer to each other, the sharp ends touching each of their throats.
"But I'm gonna have some mercy on you today, gonna tell her to let you free. But only if you make a deal with me – you let us keep the Earth scroll and you head out of sight. Or else we'll find you and finish the job," Shikamaru finished, hoping he sounded as intimidating as he hoped.
"Blink if you take the deal," Chouji said, in a voice Shikamaru could tell was his attempt at being tough.
All of the ninjas frantically blinked. As soon as they did, motion came back to their bodies, fear and relief intermingling on their faces.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" the shortest one yelled, running away. The others followed and they all jumped off a ledge just beyond the trees.
"Ino!" Chouji yelled, running forward and catching her as she fell. Shikamaru ran to her too, both of them setting her gently on the ground.
She was cold and clammy, but opened her eyes and said weakly, "Hey guys."
"That was so cool Ino!" Chouji said, with bounce in his voice, "What was it called?"
Ino sat up slowly, still feeling weak, "Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu, lets me take over people's bodies. Dad thought it would be good for me to know, taught it to me just before the exam. I've never done it with three people before."
Shikamaru smirked, just a little, "You really saved our asses."
"Yeah, so much for kunoichi not being strong," Ino said, her voice full of mirth.
"You're never going to let us live that one down, are you?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino laughed in response and after a moment, Shikamaru and Chouji did too. They had gotten through the hardest part of this portion of the exam – getting a scroll from another team, and it had been surprisingly easy. For a moment, they let themselves feel the joy of this, feel how happy they were that Ino had stepped up for them, feel relief that Rain Ninjas only just looked tough.
But then they heard screams coming from over the ridge…
Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were resting for a moment, at Temari's insistence, when a team from the Rain Village fell in their path, jumped from a ridge overhead, landing sloppily in front of them.
Gaara turned to them and in the soft light of the moonlight, Temari could see the hunger in his eyes. She sighed; they had only been in the forest for a few hours at most and it had already been so much.
When the entrances first opened, Gaara issued a sharp command, "Follow me."
Temari and Kankuro knew better than to refuse to listen to him and followed along, diving into a darkness they had never known before. It occurred to Temari that none of them never really knew true dark before. The skies in the desert were vast and open and so full of stars that even the darkest nights were full of light.
She remembered, especially, those long cold nights a few weeks ago. Laying on the flat sand, still hot from the day's sun. The night sky was so full of stars she thought they would spill over and drown her in their light. Part of her wished they had. Another part of her knew that she couldn't think like that, knew what she left behind that night in the desert and what promises she had made.
But now she was here, in a forest so dense the treetops shut out the sky and the stars and everything else.
They found another team in minutes, someone with the scroll they needed. She and Kankuro offered to help, but Gaara silenced them. It was over in the minutes; they barely had time to scream. The scroll was theirs. She thought it would be over then, thought they could make their way to the tower and be done.
But Gaara wasn't done. They didn't even need the scroll from the second team they found, but that wasn't the point. That wasn't the reason that Gaara found them. He took his time with the second, and as their begging scratched itself inside her mind, she turned to Kankuro.
"This is too much," she whispered, "We already have both scrolls."
Kankuro shook his head, his voice just as low, "Just think about it this way, he's making less competition for the upcoming portions."
Temari opened her mouth to say something but paused. He was right, technically, but she just didn't like it.
So, she let Gaara have his fun and eventually a bright moon spilled enough light between the tight branches, disturbing the pitch black of the night. In the dull cast of the light she could see the shock on the new ninjas' faces. They hadn't expected to meet anyone else, and, she guessed, they had just been in some type of situation. They looked flustered and scared but like they were trying not to show it.
"So, Sand Village ninjas," the shortest of the Rain ninjas said, "You don't look like much."
He looked to the other two with emphasis and they fell into formation behind them, steely looks on their faces.
"Yeah," the tallest one said, "I mean, look at that shrimpy one in the middle."
Beside her, Temari saw Gaara bristle. She wished they would shut up, could read on their faces that they were just putting on, trying to look tough. And she knew it would cost them too.
"I'd shut up if I was you," Temari bit at them, a warning.
"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna be scared of you," the one who hadn't spoken up yet said.
Temari rolled her eyes.
"She's scary alright," Kankuro said, throwing Temari a quick grin, "But she's right, you'd be quiet if you want to live."
The three ninjas laughed then, laughter that sounded more forced and nervous than they wanted it to be. Something had shaken them, even before they landed here, and they didn't want to show it.
"Like I'm scared of a bunch of kids from a two-bit village that no one ever wants to visit because it's hot as fuck," the shortest said, still playing the act.
"I've heard enough out of all of you," Gaara said, his voice a deep dark force that cut through them all.
Temari didn't know if she could deal with it anymore, knew that these punks weren't even worth their time, "Gaara, we already have both scrolls. You don't need to do this."
"Yeah," Kankuro said, knowing it worked better when both he and Temari asked, knew this was already too much, "We'd just be wasting our energy on them."
"I don't care," Gaara said darkly, "They disturbed my peace, so they're going to die."
"I'm not gonna be made a fool again!" the taller one shouted, pulling one of the umbrellas away from his back. "Baiu, Midare – with me!"
This was the scream that Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji heard. Worried that the Rain ninjas were turning around to come back at them, they ran to the ledge, prepared to fight.
"Get down," Shikamaru said, quickly and lightly, when he saw the scene below. The Rain ninjas hadn't come back for them, instead, they had run into another team. The very same Sand ninjas Shikamaru had tried to avoid.
He, Chouji, and Ino pressed themselves to their stomachs, peering below. Just like right before the entrances opened, Shikamaru felt a hard, dark wrench in his stomach, looking at the red-headed guy from the Sand Village.
There was another shout.
"Hell yeah Shigure!" the smallest Rain ninja yelled below them, ripping his umbrella off his back. The other ninja joined them and in synch, they threw their umbrellas into the air, spinning on the sharpened points. Then, hundreds of flashes of silver, a spinning vortex of needles flew off the umbrella and dove toward Gaara.
Temari and Kankuro didn't even flinch; they knew what would come next. As the needles dove toward Gaara, a flurry of dust filled the air. As it scattered, the three Rain ninjas looked at it in shock. Not a single needle had landed on the kid. Instead, what looked like a wall of sand surrounded him, taking in the impact of their weapons.
"Woah, is that sand?" Chouji whispered from above.
The feeling in Shikamaru's stomach grew worse, "I think it is."
"Nothing hit him," Ino said, her voice in disbelief.
"Is that all you got?" a dark voice came from behind the wall of sand. Gaara's bright eyes broke through a crack.
"No fucking way, that's our best move!" Baiu, the shortest of the Rain ninjas yelled. "Again!"
The three teammates cast another set of umbrellas up into the air and a new rain of needles flew out, this time heading toward Temari and Kankuro. Temari was quicker than her brother, ripping out her fan and pushing the needles away with a shove of air.
Kankuro nodded to her, his way of saying thank you.
"A rainstorm of needles, huh?" Gaara said, a dark hunger brewing behind his eyes. Some of his sand shelter fell away, fully revealing his face and the clear intent on it, "Let's make it rain blood instead."
"Gimme me a break!" Shigure, the tallest of them shouted, and ran toward Gaara.
Gaara brought his hands together in a triangle, the sand scattering around him.
"You're a dead man if you keep running," Kankuro said nonchalantly, knowing it was already over.
"We warned you," Temari said, just as apathetically. She noticed one of the umbrellas from earlier had fallen near her. She picked it up, avoiding its sharpened end, and raised it over her head. She looked over at Kankuro, who scooted over, standing beside her under the umbrella.
Shigure was only a foot from Gaara when it happened, a wave of sand rose up and covered him, lifting and freezing his body into the air, only his face free.
"What the hell!" he shouted, terror on his face. "I can't move! Baui, Midare, help!"
His two teammates looked at each, panicked, remembering all too well how it had felt just ten minutes ago, when that girl had had control of their bodies. They didn't want to go through that again.
Above them, Shikamaru felt his stomach drop even harder as he saw the sand snake around the guy. He watched the girl, the one he had shared his answers with, pick up an umbrella. She the other black-clad guy on their team stood under it, like they knew what was coming next.
"Shikamaru, you don't think he actually meant blood rain, do you?" Chouji asked, gulping. Ino looked at both of them, fear in her eyes.
Below, Gaara walked coolly toward Shigure, picking up his own fallen umbrella as he did so. He looked at Shigure, who was still panicking and shouting for his teammates, and turned his head from left to right, like he was curious.
So fascinating, a dark voice inside of his head whispered, when they try to beg.
He opened the umbrella over his head with one arm, and with another, he reached a hand out to Shigure, whose shouting got louder and louder by the second, "All I have to do is cover your mouth and you'd be dead, but that would be too boring."
The moment he said this, he closed his outstretched hand into a sharp fist. As he did, the sand around Shigure tightened in a flash and crushed him. There wasn't even time for him to scream as the sand tightened and his body was reduced to nothing but blood and parts, darkened sand spilled everywhere, raining down as Gaara promised.
Baui and Midare screamed and ran, but Gaara was quicker. Fresh sand spilled from his gourd and sped after them both, trapping and crushing them the same way it did their teammate. A fresh round of blood rained down, and the Sand Siblings held their umbrellas over their heads, each of their eyes dark.
Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji looked on in horror, each of them frozen in their own fears. They hadn't been full ninjas for very long, but even so, they had never expected to see something so brutal. Never watched someone kill so coldly and so deftly like that.
Finally, when the blood stopped, Temari dropped the umbrella and sighed. She was so, so tired and she wasn't sure she could take anymore.
"Let's go," she said softly.
"No," Gaara replied. His eyes looked above them, at a set of three dark shadows on the ridge above them, "There's someone there."
Shikamaru knew instantly that he was talking about them. He looked at his teammates, both who held the same panic in their eyes. The panic that this would be his last moment, his teammates' last moments. Shikamaru had been scared before, but he had never felt death so closely. But he felt it now, pushing into every fiber of his being.
But then he heard a voice, and somehow when he did, he knew he wasn't going to die, not yet "Gaara, please."
I was the girl, the one he had shared his answers with. She was looking at the red-headed guy, Gaara, a sad look of desperation on her voice. Shikamaru looked at her, and somehow, his fear evaporated. He couldn't explain it. He had just watched Gaara kill three people in cold blood, yet he knew that this girl wouldn't let that happen again.
Temari hated the way her voice cracked when she said it, hated that she let the fear that she tried so hard to hide trickle into her voice, "We have the scrolls, please, let's just go to the tower."
"Why, I haven't had enough. Have you?" Gaara said, his voice gravely and wanting, how it always sounded after he killed someone. He turned his eyes away from the ridge and back to her. Temari flinched. Sometimes, Gaara looked so much like Rasa that she couldn't help it.
Inside of him, the whispering voice pulsed. He needed more. More blood, more death, more chaos. He was hungry, and for now, Gaara was just his vessel.
Temari shook her head, not sure what to say, the fear inside of her cracking open and spilling through her veins.
"Look Gaara," Kankuro said, the same hesitation in his voice, "We know that you can handle this test, but it's dangerous for me and Temari. We're not protected like you are. If Temari hadn't thought so fast back there, those needles would've got us."
"You losers don't get to tell me what to do," Gaara said, the darkness inside of him speaking for him.
"Gaara, please," Temari tried again, "You need to listen to your siblings sometimes."
"Too bad I don't think of you as my siblings," Gaara said darkly, "I'd kill you just as easily if you get in my way."
Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji glanced at each other, too terrified to move or do anything. Couldn't imagine that those three were family, couldn't imagine how he could threaten the his siblings so easily.
Temari felt herself go numb, remembered too much that was at stake her. It wasn't just about the test or the deal they had made with the Sound Village. She had her own agenda, she had to make it through the end, to protect herself and her brothers, even if they didn't consider her as a sister.
"We're not your enemies, Gaara," Kankuro said through gritted teeth. He didn't understand why it always had to be this way.
"We have things we promised, remember," Temari said, thinking of the promise they had all made, and the promise she had made to herself. She knew this was the only way to appeal to him, "You'll get an opportunity for more later."
The darkness inside of him remembered then, the hushed meeting and dark whispers with Rasa before the Chunnin Exams. Everything that was promised, everything that was to come. Yes, it thought, it would be much better to wait until then.
"Fine," Gaara said, feeling the darkness in him settle, "We'll be okay this time."
He walked forward, the opposite direction of the ridge. As he turned his back, it was like the spell broke on Team 10. They didn't need to talk; they just knew they needed to get out of there. Once again, they ran into the dark night and didn't stop for a very, very long time.
Before she followed after her brother, Temari watched the shadows at the ridge disappear, and saw, in the dull color of the moonlight, that one of the shadows was the boy from the test, the one who had shared his answers. He and his teammates were gone in a flash and Temari knew that it was fear of Gaara that was propelling them on.
Just as her fear, of everything that had happened and everything that could happen, would be what pushed her forward.
Miles away from this, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were taking advantage of a less dense part of the forest, the bright moonlight bouncing off of them in big patches.
"I can't tell if it's a good thing or a bad thing that we haven't run into any other teams yet," Sakura said.
"Both," Sasuke said, "Good because we haven't yet been at risk. Bad because we haven't had any opportunities to find a scroll."
"Well according to the map," Sakura said, spreading it out in the moonlight, "We're still pretty close to the perimeter, we may need to go deeper."
"Ughh, more running," Naruto whined. It felt like that's all they had done. He either wanted some rest or some action, and it seemed like neither of those were options his teammates were offering him right now.
"Naruto, this is a survival exam, you can't be tired on the first night," Sasuke said coldly. Naruto had gone from hyped to tired in about thirty minutes and it was wearing on Sasuke's nerves.
"Sasuke is right," Sakura said, "Our goal is to get a scroll on the first night, we shouldn't rest until then."
"I'd be okay with staying up if something actually happened, but this is so boring," Naruto said. They were right; he was tired and wanted to stop. Today had been really long, when he thought about it. Turning in their paperwork, that fight with the weird guy in green, that test, the break between with all those numbers and the annoying proctor, and now this. What he really wanted was a nap. And if he couldn't get that then he needed something, just anything to happen.
"Naruto, it's only been a few hours," Sasuke responded. Naruto sighed.
The truth was, Sasuke was just as bored as Naruto, but he wasn't going to let that show. They'd find another team tonight, he was sure of it, and when they did, they would make sure to capture their scroll. Sasuke was antsy for it to happen, antsy for this part of the chunnin exams to be over. If they succeeded tonight, then they could take easy for the remaining days. But they just needed to find someone first.
"Whatever," Naruto said, restless, "I need to piss anyway."
He turned around to face a tree ahead of them and Sakura smacked him on the head.
"What are you doing, that's gross!" she yelled, "At least have the dignity to go like twenty feet away or something."
Naruto rolled his eyes and ran off into the woods. Sasuke eyed him warily.
In the silence left behind, Sasuke listened. He heard the soft shaking of the leaves, wind pushing through it. Something that sounded like smooth slithering movement, like a snake moving in the dark. And far off, the sound of screams, so far away they almost sounded like whispers.
"What do you think that is?" Sakura asked, hearing them too.
"Doesn't matter, it's too far away for us to make any difference," Sasuke answered.
Sakura looked at Sasuke, his face pensive and serious in the moonlight. If she was being honest with herself, everything about this forest scared her. Its sounds and darkness and the possibility of all the other ninja teams out there, especially the Sound ninja, who seemed like they wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the lack of rules for this round. But looking at Sasuke, she felt a sense of calm. She knew he could protect her, and that she could protect him too.
"Woah, that was a lot," Naruto said, returning with a dopey grin on his face, "I almost spelled my whole name."
Sakura rolled her eyes, "That's so digusting, Naruto."
But Sasuke's eyes were sharper, and he noticed something was off immediately. In a swift motion he kicked Naruto in the chest, sending him flying into a tree.
"Sasuke, that's too much!" Sakura said, confused, thinking Sasuke was reacting to Naruto's piggish attitude.
"What the hell!" Naruto shouted, recovering himself and standing up.
"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his voice terse and tense.
"What?" Sakura said, looking at Naruto. There was something off about him, she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"What are you talking about man?" Naruto said, walking toward them. Sasuke was even quicker this time, kicking him back harder.
"What happened to the scratch the proctor's kunai left on your face?" Sasuke demanded.
Sakura tensed and pulled out her kunai, seeing the other mistakes, this wasn't Naruto. "And your weapons pouch is on the wrong side. Naruto keeps his on his right leg. Yours is on the left."
The Naruto imitation chuckled, "Yeah, you got me. Doesn't matter, I'm still going to take your scroll."
A puff of smoke rose up. As it did, the poor imitation faded and left behind a guy in a tan jumpsuit and strange metal mask, which wrapped around his face and covered his mouth.
"So which one of you has it?" he asked, his voice odd and muffled by the mask.
And then he dove at them. They both jumped back, and Sasuke quickly made the hands for the fire style jutsu. Balls of flame shot from his mouth and toward the strange ninja who quickly dodged all of them. He jumped and met Sasuke again, their kunais clashing against each other before forcing them back.
Meanwhile, Sakura jumped behind the tree where Naruto had disappeared to, and there he was, tied and taped up. She slashed at the ropes around his arms and legs and ripped the tape off his mouth.
"Ow!" Naruto shouted, "Where is that guy?"
"Come on," she said, and pulled him from back around the tree, where the ninjas and Sasuke met kunais again. The guy flipped back and landed on a tree branch above them just as Sasuke landed beside them. In a flash, three kunai landed in front of them, each of them with their own sizzling paper tag.
"Paper bombs, move!" Sasuke yelled and they all did, jumping high up, landing in the branches near the guy as the small bombs when off below them, blowing dust and leaves up from the ground.
Sakura didn't waste a second, and dove forward, launching the guy into the air with a kick. He flew back but caught himself, jumping back at them as Naruto threw a kunai his way. He dodged it, but Sasuke was quicker, his eyes flashing a sudden red, everything suddenly clearer and concise to him. He jumped up and snatched Naruto's kunai out of the air, and with a quick catch and turn around motion, brought its hard point into the guy's stomach.
Warm blood spilled over his finger and he released, the guy fell out of the air, and landed hard on the ground.
Team 7 landed in front of him as he got up, pulling the kunai out of his side with a grunt.
"Don't let your guard down," Sasuke said tensely, "His teammates could be anywhere."
"I wish," the guy said with a harsh sigh, gripping at his bleeding side, "I came alone."
And with that, he was running off, like he meant it. Like he was scared of what else they could do to them.
"Come on! Let's go after him!" Naruto yelled. He was amped now. This was exactly what he had been waiting for, for something to happen. Besides, he wanted his own revenge for getting knocked around and tied up.
"Um…guys," Sakura said, her voice dripping with fear, "I don't think we can do that."
Sasuke and Naruto, both ready to pursue him, turned around to Sakura, to see what she meant. And then they saw what she saw. A snake, bigger than any of them had ever seen, thick as a trunk of a tree. Its massive body wrapped around branches further back than they could see. It moved slowly, winding its way down branches, the smooth slither the same sound Sasuke had heard earlier but hadn't thought of earlier. The snake's great eyes flashed in the patches of moonlight.
A tremor of fear pushed through all of them.
"Run!" Sasuke yelled, "Now!"
And then did, moving in the opposite direction just as the giant snake lashed out at them, squeezing at branches until it ripped them apart and hissing as it pursued them. It was so massive that even though they were moving quickly, jumping from tree to tree in frantic bounds, that it was still catching up with them.
And then suddenly it was gone, as if the snake had evaporated into the night. They all stopped, panting and weary, looking through the shadows around them. The snake had chased them deeper into the forest, into darker reaches where less moonlight made its way through the thick canopies above. Sasuke's eyes shone a blood red in the dark but even with enhanced vision, he could no longer see the snake.
He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, they were black, "It's gone."
Naruto let out a huge sigh, "Whew, that was clo—"
Sakura slapped a hand over Naruto's mouth, and looked, with frantic eyes, beneath them. Both boys followed her gaze and saw another team, far below them, sitting around a small fire.
All three of them were Leaf Village ninjas, based on the headbands, but none they had ever seen before. In fact, no one on Team 7 recognized these ninjas, not even from first portion of the exam or the break before or this or any other part of the day. Two of the ninjas looked generic, grey outfits and standard jackets, with ordinary faces. But the third, even in the dull light, they could tell was strange. They were a tan tunic of dark pants, with a thick purple rope around their waist. Their hair was long and dark, falling to their waist and their eyes were a dark eerie yellow. No one on Team 7 could quite tell if the strange ninja was a girl or a boy. They were speaking, but weren'ta understandable, the ninjas too far below them. But they watched as the strange one spoke, a tongue slithered from their mouth, pink and long and forked – just like a snake.
Sasuke felt his stomach drop at the sight, felt something which he hadn't felt in years crawl up from the pit of his stomach and grip hold of his heart. It was fear. Not like the fear he had on that mission, when he was worried Naruto, Sakura, or even Kakashi was dead. Not like the fear he had just had, while the snake chased them through the woods. But a different type of fear, dark and horrid, one that filled his mouth with bile and blurred his eyes and made his skin crawl. The last time Sasuke had felt this much fear was when he had walked in on the bloodied bodies of his entire family.
"Let's go," he said sharply, his voice so low it was barely a whisper.
Sakura looked at him, concerned. Even in the pale moonlight, she could see it, an expression she had never quite seen on Sasuke's face. It made her heart feel like it was trapped in her throat.
Naruto wrestled Sakura's hand away from his mouth, his whisper not as subtle as Sasuke's, "But what if they have the scroll we need?"
"I don't care," Sasuke said lowly, and turned away, jumping into the dark of the forest. He just needed to get away for a moment. Right now, Naruto and Sakura and this test and nothing else mattered. He needed to get away from this feeling.
"Sasuke," Sakura said lowly, all of her concern spilling over in her voice. She followed him into the dark.
Naruto stayed back for a moment, looking down at the ninjas below him. He pictured it for a moment, diving down on them and taking them all down. Getting the scroll and being a big hero for his teammates, showing up Sasuke, who was acting so weird. But going at it alone hadn't really worked for that other guy. And there was something pulling at Naruto, telling him that Sasuke needed him. That there was a reason for his hesitation, and Naruto needed to be there for him.
He cast one last wary look at the strange ninjas below them, and then jumped into the darkness behind his teammates.
While all of this happened, Team 8 went to work. Using the minimal map that they received, Shino was able to lead them to the section of the forest where his father had cultivated the slugs. It took them deeper into the forest then they expected, and they could barely see each other in the rising moon.
But they could see the slugs, shiny and slimy all over the trees. Shino showed Kiba and Hinata how to gather them without touching them, using leaves as a barrier. Their slime was poisonous and extended exposure to it could cause death. Even though only a little bit would cause them to pass out, they were careful in gathering them up. It was Hinata who had the idea that they net them up, using the provided bag to make it. They split is contents between their pouches, Hinata taking their Earth scroll and burying it deep beneath her weapons. She split the bag into thin strands and wove them together quickly, creating a wide, loose net, just big enough to hold a few people and a handful of slugs. Kiba was the one who had the plan about drawing another team out, about bragging aloud until someone showed up.
It took longer than they expected, with tired eyes working through the dark of the night until the first soft yellow edges of morning peeked beyond the horizon. It was soon after this that they heard them, another team, light feet hitting the trees and moving swiftly through the woods.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at Hinata and Shino and they nodded back at him.
"Well that was easy," Kiba said, his voice loud and triumphant, "Now that we have a Heaven and an Earth scroll, let's make our way to the tower."
"Yes, let's go," her voice much louder than normal, projecting into the woods.
As they spoke the shuffling stopped, just as they predicted it would. The other team was stopping.
"A heaven and an earth scroll you say?" a voice called. They looked above them, at three Stone ninjas standing above them in the trees, each of them in dark jumpsuits and goggles over their eyes.
Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all did their best to look shocked, like they hadn't expected the ninjas to overhear them. Kiba gave a barely perceptible nod at Hinata and she reached into her pouch.
"You mean one of these scrolls?" she said, holding out in her hand, trying her best to sound innocent.
"Well, if you're offering it up sweetie," one of the ninjas said and dove at her. The other two followed suit.
Hinata felt herself flush, annoyed by his comment, but she knew what to do. She dodged their assault by flipping back, avoiding the long reach of their hands and feet. Shino and Kiba jumped into the trees above, on either side of a long branch, pushing themselves into the shadow of the branches. Between them lay the net, flat and disguised, the brown of the slugs inside of it blending in with the darkness of the tree. It was Hinata's job to lure the other team there.
They followed the motions of her flips. One of them threw a set of shuriken her way and she barely had time to dodge them, felt the whip of them as they landed in a tree just beyond her. But this was good. It gave her an excuse to get higher. She jumped in the air, but as she tried, she felt a set of arms grip around her, one of the ninjas pulling her to the ground. Shino and Kiba made a move to help her but paused when the Hinata in the ninja's arms disappeared in a puff smoke, a clone she made before the chase even began. The real Hinata appeared on top of the net, in the branch.
The three ninjas, still on the ground, looked up at her.
"You still want this?" she said, the Earth scroll in her hand. They followed her into the tree, and she jumped back. Just as she did, Shino and Kiba tugged on the ropes they had set up and the net went up in a flash, trapping all three ninjas.
Kiba and Shino tied off the net and dove below the tree. Hinata followed them.
"Ugh, what are these?" one of the ninjas said, shaking off the slugs, which were roving over their bodies in the net.
"Fucking disgusting man," one of them said, shaking one of the slugs off.
"I'm not staying here," the third said. He pulled out a kunai and sawed through the net, and they all fell out. They barely managed to land on their feet, many of the slugs still clinging to their exposed skin. Already, the effects were taking place, their faces turning a pallid grey, their tugs at the slug getting weaker and weaker as they fell to their knees.
Kiba couldn't help but gloat, it had been so easy, "You fell right for our trap. We barely even had to try."
"Wha-what?" one them tried to say as he fell to the ground, his voice weak. The other two fell beside him.
"The slime on those slugs induces fainting," Shino said coldly, "Among other things."
The same ninja who had called Hinata 'sweetie' just moments before looked up at her, "Fucking bitch."
Hinata sucked in a breath as he passed out. His teammates followed him in seconds.
Kiba looked at Hinata, a look of concern on his face, "Ignore them. Besides, it worked, we get their scroll now."
Akamaru jumped from Kiba's jacket and nosed around the fallen ninjas, careful to avoid the slugs, who were still actively sliding over the ninjas' bodies. He yipped and buried his face into one of their pouches and pulled something out – a Heaven scroll.
He trotted over to Kiba and deposited in his outstretched hand.
"Thanks buddy," Kiba said, patting him on the hand and scooping him up again. He turned to his teammates, "I bet we're one of the first teams to get two scrolls. I mean, the sun is only just rising."
As he said this, the forest lit up in gold, as if making his point. Bright streams of yellowed light shot between the branches, leaves, and various flora and fauna of the forest. Hinata's eyes fell on the ninjas, piled just a few feet away from them, slugs still moving over their bodies. Their faces looked so pale.
"Our next objective should be making it to the tower," Shino said, pulling the map from his pouch.
"But what about them?" Hinata asked, gesturing to the fallen ninjas.
"Leave them, less competition is my book," Kiba said, casting a way glance their way.
"The process should be complete within 2 or 3 more minutes," Shino said matter-of-factly.
"But they'll die!" Hinata sputtered, shocked that her teammates would be so cold.
Kiba shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, they will."
"As ninjas, we kill all the time. It's part of the job," Shino said bluntly.
"Yeah, but that's when there are enemies," Hinata said, remembering too precisely the few different times she had killed so far. It hadn't been something she had thought on too deeply at the time, but this was different. "These were just other ninja teams, like ours, trying to make it through the exams."
"But they were so shitty to you," Kiba said, exasperation in his voice.
"I don't care!" Hinata responded, voice high and angry. She pushed past them and using the same method they had used throughout the night, collected the slugs with leaves, pulling them from the boys' bodies.
For a moment, Kiba and Shino just watched her, confused by why she would feel such pity for a ninja who used their last breaths to call her bitch. But then both Kiba and Shino felt the warm bubbling in the bottom of their stomachs, the one they always got when they looked at Hinata in a certain light or listened to her talk about her interests or so much more. And right now, Hinata was trying to save these ninjas because they weren't really their enemies. She was being kind.
They walked forward and helped her, carefully taking off more slugs and cleaning off the residual slime. Shino guessed they would live, but they would be knocked out for a day or two, so they pushed their heavy bodies under the cover of the tree roots.
When they were done, Hinata looked at her teammates, a barely there smile on her face, "Thank you, for helping, for not thinking I'm too soft."
Kiba's stomach warmed at the soft smile, "You're not soft, you're just kind. You're right. They're not our enemies, just some other genin trying to make it through,"
"It's our job to kill only when needed," Shino said, his voice a little more emotive and kinder than normal. "We achieved our objective without the need for further action."
"Well then," Hinata said, the smile on her face deepening, glad she had teammates who were understanding, "I guess we should get to the tower and claim our victory."
They nodded and followed after her as she jumped into the trees, diving away from the bright folds of the sun's new light, not knowing the harsh realities the day would hold for them.
As the sun broke through another part of the forest, a few ninjas appeared in a clearing. The first was Kabuto, walking into a clearing with an expectant expression. His two teammates followed, taller than him, both in the same outfits as him but with masks that covered the bottom of their faces and headbands covering their entire heads. Barely noticeable, compared to Kabuto.
Jumping from some trees into the clearing, another team appeared – the Sound Village team who had hurt Kabuto earlier. He gave them an icy glare.
"Had some fun last night?" Kabuto asked, his voice cold.
"Oh, you couldn't imagine," the girl, Kin, said with a grin on her face.
"Yeah, just like the fun you had with me yesterday?" Kabuto asked, his voice still as cold.
"Oh, come on," the boy with brown hair, Zaku, said, "We were supposed to make it look believable."
Kabuto shook his head and gave a quick glance to Dosu, the final Sound ninja of the crew. He had no words for him.
In a puff of smoke another set of three ninjas appeared. Two nondescript ninjas and a tall ninja, with indeterminate gender, long black hair, pallid skin, and a dark purple rope wrapped around a tan tunic.
"Seems like our friends from the Sand Village have already made their way to the tower," the ninja said, their voice an echoing hiss.
"What do you mean?" Kabuto said, his attention rapt and attentive to the strange looking ninja.
"Exactly what I said," the ninja replied, the same odd hiss in their voice.
"We don't need them anyway, right?" Kin asked, "They just need to make it to the final rounds, and we know they're good enough for that."
"Exactly," the strange ninja hissed.
"But still, it's incompetent," Kabuto said, an edge in his voice, "I don't trust them."
"You don't trust anyone," Dosu said, returning the cold gaze Kabuto gave him earlier.
"They're right Kabuto, we don't need the Sand ninjas until the final act," the strange ninja hissed.
Kabuto shook his head and decided it was time to change the subject, "So of the nine…?"
The strange ninja's eyes lit up, "Oh, I've decided."
"And…?" Kabuto asked, his eyes rapt.
"You'll find out in time," the ninja answered, and Kabuto deflated. "I think I'm gonna have a little more fun with them before we act."
"Yeah, we spooked them last night," one of the nondescript ninjas said, his voice amused.
Kabuto smirked, "And I thought you never played with your meals first."
The strange ninja shrugged his shoulders and then looked at everyone, "I want to do a little more on my own first. Meet at the next sunrise, and we'll plan it all out."
A wary look passed between all of them, each of them hoping for some early action. But they knew they needed to listen, knew what the consequences would be if they showed impatience or acted too soon. Only Kabuto could away with that. So instead, they all nodded and dispersed. As the sun fully lit up the forest, the clearing was empty again.
As the light of day shone through the thick woods, some of the ninjas relaxed, happy to leave the night. Others felt more tense, scared that there would be no place to hide, no place to pretend like they weren't going to be trapped here for so much longer. Some couldn't face what they had done during the night in the harsh light of day. Others reveled in the bright, new dawn and everything they could make possible in the light that wasn't possible in the dark. And, and, and….
Daylight would bring new stories.