It had only been a couple of hours since the Written Exam was completed. Team F was back at their hotel room awaiting the results and next steps. While Koji and Yatogo were in the common area exchanging small talk, Tora was sitting by the wall in her bedroom, looking out the window. The female pulled her knees to her chest as she watched the rain fall from the thick, dark clouds in the sky.

If Izumi were here, she would ask her to play cards or something. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt as if everything happened yesterday. It just felt so unfair and she couldn't find the pieces of the puzzle to make sense of it all.

A knock against the doorframe to her room interrupted her thoughts and Tora turned her head to see Koji standing in the doorway. There was a soft frown across his features and immediately, she knew that he was worrying about her.

"Do you want to eat something before it gets too late?" The gray haired male asked as he looked down at her.

Tora sighed as she mulled it over before smiling at him. "As long as it's not eel."

Koji's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her smile - something he hadn't seen from her in a while. Hearing her words, he let out a small laugh. "Yeah, definitely not that."

Tora stood up and joined Koji and Yatogo in the common area. They ate the pre-packaged takeout that was given to them by their escorts in awkward silence. Although the two males in the room had seemed to come to an agreement, Tora had not spoken to the newcomer since their altercation before the beginning of the first exam. Clearing her throat, Tora decided to break the silence.

"I wanted to apologize for my earlier actions, Yatogo-san." She spoke up. "I have a bit of a temper and I let it out on you.

"Well, it wasn't uncalled for… I was a bit presumptuous myself…" Yatogo rubbed the back of his neck.

Tora shrugged. "You were." Koji kicked her shin underneath the table and she hissed, rolling her eyes. "What? I'm just being honest. I'm not going to hold it against him."

"Let's just go to bed and prepare for whatever test they'll make us do tomorrow." Koji stood up from the table. "Regardless, we're a team now so we need to focus and work together. No questionable shared information." He looked at Yatogo before turning to Tora. "And no snarky side comments. We need to act like a team now, not later." Agreeing with him, the teens turned in for the night.

The next morning, Team F was escorted to the testing site, which was a rooftop on the other side of Amegakure. Their exam was simple wordwise - capture the scroll. One team would protect the scroll on defense and the other would be the retrieval team. By the luck of the draw, Team F was on the offense. A horn blew in the distance, signalling that the exam started. The three immediately scattered.

Their objectives were to find the target, then neutralize them. Since they were training to be a tracking/ambush team, it was almost like this exam was made for them. Koji was the first to determine the location of their prey. They were inside an abandoned building with no windows. Signalling his teammates to join him, they quickly made a plan to get the scroll. Yatogo was going to cause a distraction with his genjutsu first, Koji would subdue the subordinates, and Tora would go in for the final kill. Making good on their plan, the trio dispersed again and started on their attack.

Yatogo moved in through the back door and looked around before moving forward down a short hallway. The opening led to a spacious warehouse room where their targets were in the center of the room with their backs to each other to cover every scope. From their headbands, it was clear that they were from Takigakure. All three of the shinobi looked a couple years older than them and were definitely on the more muscular side. Honestly, from the outside, the matchup looked illegal - a bunch of kids against grown men.

"We're going up against a bunch of muscleheads? What do you think they ate for breakfast?" Yatogo smirked.

"Little boys like you." Tora automatically answered, causing the male to roll his eyes at her comment. Koji reached out and pinched the girl's side as a warning. "Ow! Are we not allowed to joke either? Stop being a stickler."

"Focus and be professional." Koji ignored her protest and turned his attention to Yatogo. "Are you ready to commence, Ryugen-san?" The latter nodded and formulated a few hand signs. Once his first layer was established, he moved forward with the second layer as the terrain started to change in the eyes of their enemy. Once they were distracted, Koji rushed in and disarmed the first guy with complete precision before moving onto his teammate. Tora sunk down to all fours and silently eyed the last available target with a predatory smirk along the scroll sticking out of his tool pouch. All she had to do was sink her teeth into him one good time and he'd be out for the count. Finally, Koji gave her the signal to end their exam.

Jumping out from behind the wall, Tora made a beeline and was about to pounce on the man when he suddenly looked straight at her and took her attack head-on. Locking onto her wrists, he used brute strength to swing her body towards the ceiling. Shifting her chakra, she landed on her feet upside and glared at the man. Their plan had been flawless - a standard ambush. Did that idiot mess up his genjutsu?

"There's no way you saw through that! My technique was near perfect!" Yatogo clenched his fist as he stepped out from behind the wall.

"Shocked? I had a feeling you would choose the most obvious trick in the book with a genjutsu. Unfortunately for you, I'm blind so all that doesn't work on me. You're looking for this, right?" The leader smirked and pulled out the scroll. No sooner had he shown the merchandise, he swallowed it whole, much to the horror of the three teens. Tora dropped down on the ground in a crouched position by Yatogo.

"What the… How am I supposed to get the scroll now?" Tora hissed quietly.

Yatogo shrugged. "Well you can't kill him due to the rules so there's only two ways to get it out."

"You can't do anything else? Genjutsu is supposed to be your specialty." She glanced in his direction.

"I, uh… I'm only proficient in visible sensory genjutsu. I'm still learning everything else." He admitted. Tora's eyes widened in disbelief, but before she could lash out on him, she moved out of the way as the first teammate Koji had taken down lunged for them.

The blind man turned his attention in Tora's direction. "Guess it's just you and me, girlie."

Narrowing her eyes, Tora lowered her stance as she pushed the thought of their failed ambush out of her head. It was too late to have any regrets now; she could only focus on the challenge in front of her. Making the first move, she was quick and agile. Every jab she made, it was as if he could predict them as he blocked each one perfectly. She found herself trying to calm herself down as she was getting frustrated that she couldn't land a good hit on him. In her moment of weakness, he landed a direct hit against her left side and knocked her back into the wall. She coughed up a bit of blood as she fell onto her hands and knees.

"Tora!" Koji looked over in her direction. In a burst of adrenaline, he tried to finish off his opponent so he could get to her side, however it wasn't possible. They were going up against formidable opponents who obviously had more experience on their side versus the years of training Team F had received. None of these fights were going to come out of a textbook.

"What's the matter, girlie?" The blind man sounded amused as he started walking towards her. "Your problem is you're too loud; I can hear your next attack coming from a mile away. Don't fret though. Go home, train some more, and you can come back during the next exams. That is… if you're still alive to participate."

She never had this problem before. Her speed wasn't working. Her taijutsu wasn't good enough. If her teammate's genjutsu didn't work, then her attempt wouldn't make the cut either. How could she run out of options? She had to be faster… She had to will herself to be faster… There was no other way.

"I want to feel more of your lackluster attempts. Fight me." The man swung his leg to kick her in her chest, but Tora jumped back away from him, holding her side. There was no doubt in her mind that she had broken a bone or two as her side was bruised and swollen. "There's no time limit, but don't make it boring! Let's up the ante, shall we?" He formed a couple of hand signs and suddenly, the room started to flood with water. It was evident that he didn't care about his team members as their bodies were engulfed in the currents.

Koji appeared next to Tora's side and pulled her with him, joining Yatogo on the ceiling. Forming a few hand signs himself, he administered some first aid medical ninjutsu to reduce the swelling and take away some of the pain. Yatogo frowned as it was evident the man was pulling water from the rain outside. It was already bad enough that he insanely ate the scroll and they wouldn't be able to hide on the ceiling forever.

"His senses are way too heightened for us to be able to do anything to him." Yatogo whispered as he bit his thumbnail in thought. His voice was enough for the male to notice their position and launch a blast of water in their direction. Immediately, the three teens scattered. Focused only on the opponent in front of her, Tora decided to take matters into her own hands. This was her job in their plan, so she had to be the one to defeat him. She couldn't drag her team down now.

Faster...

Tora jumped from the ceiling towards the man, only to be thrown away.

Faster… Faster...

She jumped again, pushing her chakra to her legs. Again, she was thrown away into the water. Koji signalled for her to stop so they could regroup, but she ignored him. There was no way she could lose here. Her body had to move faster.

Faster… Faster… Faster!

Before Tora could try again, Koji jumped down to stop her. Their opponent smirked and created a whirlpool of water. No sooner had Koji landed, he was engulfed in the rising torrent. Yatogo and Tora watched in fear as their teammate was brought back to the deranged man. As the water leveled out, Koji was held by his throat in the air. He clawed against the man's iron grip to no avail.

"Come on, girlie! I have years over you. You don't know the first thing about the world of shinobi." The man laughed as he watched Koji squirm and struggle to breathe. "Don't worry. I'll be the one to teach you with our delightful volunteer."

Rage immediately enveloped the female as her nails sharpened into claws and her eyes glowed amber as she readied herself to attack again. It was obvious what his threat was. It was clear to see that this was a trap. Everything rational, however, escaped her mind as all she could see was red. If she lost him too, she wouldn't be able to bear it. Koji was all she had left of her home away from home.

"Tora, don't!" Koji croaked out. "Stay away!"

The female growled, everything went white, and, in an instant, everything was over. The water slowly started to seep out of the building and the bodies from the other two men were lying limp on the floor. Their main opponent was on the ground in a small crater with his eyes rolled into the back of his head, clearly unconscious as he was still breathing. Tora was on top of him, breathing heavily and shuddering from the adrenaline. The scroll was laying a few feet in front of them, no doubt from being launched out of the man's throat. Eyes widening from the shock as she checked back into reality, Tora immediately looked around for Koji.

"Tora… When did you…?" His voice spoke and she turned around, his surprised eyes meeting her equally expressive ones. A horn blew in the distance, signalling that their exam was over.

"That was absolutely amazing!" Yatogo ran over to the two. "I saw the whole thing from the ceiling! There was a huge flash and then, boom! It was all over. It was like you disappeared and reappeared out of nowhere! Like a jolt of lightning! None of this was mentioned on the information scroll I received! Which parent do you get your lightning nature from, Tora?"

The words seemed to go in one ear and out the other as she tried to process everything that had happened.

...Lightning?

•─────⋅ ⋅─────•

"Listen to me, Tora." A woman with short, charcoal gray hair squatted down so she was eye level with the child in front of her. "When we start moving, whatever you do, don't let go of my hand and keep running."

"Mommy, where are we going?"

Five year old Tora stared up at her mother with wide, expectant eyes. The way her mother was speaking, she knew something was wrong. A loud, thunderous crash sounded outside and a rush of smoke flooded their home. A warm hand grabbed hers and she was pulled deeper into the house and down a case of stairs. The child could feel clean air fill her lungs as the smoke started to clear out, however she couldn't enjoy it. Another loud crash happened and she let out a squeak of surprise.

"Don't stop, Tora. We have to go." Her mother instructed and Tora nodded, however her mind wandered.

"What about Grandma and Grandpa? Aren't they coming too?" Tora asked as she looked back into the darkness. The underground pathway they were running in was so pitch black, she couldn't even see her mother who was beside her. The only way she knew she wasn't alone was through feeling her mother's hand gripping hers. "And where's Auntie Habana?"

Her mother didn't answer her and continued pulling her along, the child barely being able to keep up. A strong rush of adrenaline overcame Tora as she heard a couple more explosions in the distance, her ears ringing from the sound. She was scared and her lungs were on fire, but their footsteps did not cease. Once the two reached the opening of the tunnel, they climbed out and, using a couple of hand signs, her mother resealed it.

Tora stood in horror as she looked out at her home from the outlying mountainside cliff they were on. The grounds were covered in the bodies of her family and fellow clansmen. Her eyes widened as she saw her grandparents being walked out of their house by a couple of ninja in masks. The elders were forced onto their knees and one of the enemy ninja drew their sword. Raising the hilt, there was no hesitation in taking the final swing.

"No, don't!"

Tora jolted up from her sleep and clutched her chest as she gasped for breath. Her vision was shifting between her nightmare and the darkness of her room. Slowly, she realized that she was just sleeping. Earlier that day, her team had passed the second round of the chunin exams. Once again, she had another dream and there was no doubt in her mind that the two were connected. Something happened to her and her mother, but for some reason, she couldn't remember all of the details.

Suddenly, her breath hitched in her throat as she fell back into reality. There was someone else in the room. With her free hand, she grabbed the hilt of the kunai laying next to her leg. In one swift move, Tora threw the tool at the back right corner of the room by the window. Immediately throwing her blanket up as a diversion, she darted for the door to escape, only for a body to block her exit and a cool hand covering her mouth. The female grabbed the wrist of her attacker and flung his body down on the futon. Unbeknownst to her, their roles had changed and he shifted his weight, causing her to fall first so he could pin her down.

"Don't move, Dakuo-san."

That voice… It was familiar. Stunned, Tora looked up at the male over top of her. It was still dark in the room, but the soft light from the moon outside illuminated her aggressor's face. "...Itachi-san?"

"I don't believe this is an appropriate position to talk in. If I let you go, will you stay put and keep your voice down?" Itachi requested. Once she nodded, he pulled back and sat down on one end of the futon. Slowly, Tora sat up as she watched him. There were so many questions running through her head that she couldn't think straight. How are you doing? Where have you been? Have you been eating? Finally, her lips started to formulate her most urgent question.

"Do you regret it?"

It had been on her mind for a while now, ever since the funeral. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the voice in the back of her head kept telling her that all the townspeople were right. That Koji was right. That her suspicion was right. Of course, there had to be a logical reason for it; something happened behind the scenes that she wasn't aware of for the consequences to be this grand.

Itachi looked back at Tora, directly in her eyes. They were filled with more concern than pity. Even if his face didn't show it, he was surprised by her question. She didn't outright accuse him of murder, nor did she try to turn him into some kind of psychopath. What was she trying to do? What was she getting out of this?

"I had to do what needed to be done." He answered, looking away from her.

Tora frowned at his answer. "Itachi-san, I won't believe it unless you tell me straight. Don't beat around the bush. I know what everyone has been spreading isn't the full truth because that's not you. That's not the Itachi-san that I remember. I promised Izumi-"

"What they are saying is the truth." Itachi interrupted her, looking back at her. "I killed them all by myself, Dakuo-san. I trusted the process and succeeded. I don't know what you think of me, but you don't understand me and you never will."

Tora shook her head in denial. "That's not fair! You're not a cold-hearted killer. There's no way someone who could cry tears at their teammate's gravestone, someone who could have so much love and positive influence over their brother, someone who could make me like them…" Her voice trailed off once she realized she was pushing all of her beliefs onto him. She understood now… what it was like to see someone for what you wanted them to be versus who they really are. Maybe she really didn't know him after all… If that was the case, then why did her intuition keep telling her otherwise?

"Don't defend me and stop looking for me." Itachi stood up to take his leave. He appreciated her belief in him; it was nice to know that there was someone looking out for him. Unfortunately, this was his fight and no one else's. For her safety, it was best that their relationship ended here. She had a life to live, whereas he had an unknown death sentence that only time could tell. "Thank you, Tora."

Before Tora could say anything else, his body disappeared.