Concentrate.
He swiftly hopped over a gigantic tree root on the path with ease, catching a better momentum through the uneven terrain made by the trees as he followed the white puppy that hopped alongside him.
Concentrate.
Kiba pushed his heel into the dirt once he reached flatter land between the trees, screeching to a halt, forcing Akamaru to stop a few centimeters ahead of him and looking back to him, waiting for Kiba to relay a command.
I gotta find her before the others do, Kiba thought as he inhaled sharply, twisting his head around. Her scent now muddles with the surrounding trees that he encountered as he reached deeper and deeper into the training grounds, away from the forest reached into his beige pack and pulled out the petal he took from the pile of Kurenai's petals that left behind.
The petal was real alright. Kurenai said it was a Genjutsu - but do genjutsu leave behind physical remnants?
Why didn't Kiba pay attention to that section of class closely? The Academy teachers downplayed the art, saying it required specialized training to be able to be competent in the art, and he thinks he only had one Academy teacher who actually used Genjutsu, but only to demonstrate the effects.
Even that demonstration wouldn't have prepared him for how Genjutsu would translate out in the shinobi world. The only thing Kiba remembered was how to expel a genjutsu when you were trapped in one and when a comrade had fallen for one; either you determining that you're in a Genjutsu, expelling the illusion itelse, physically harm yourself forcing yourself out of the spell through pain, or a simple Tiger sign and concentrating the chakra to the tips of your index and middle fingers before tapping it on your fallen comrade's forehead, disrupting their chakra flow and waking them up.
Without even thinking much of it, Genjutsu was complicated to use, going beyond his own abilities as a straight-from-the-Academy ninja, and much more complicated to understand.
The lectures they would have on Genjutsu always consisted of learning the ins and outs of the human brain and the nervous system, having to study systems within systems and how they were different from each other, and how Genjutsu works.
None of which Kiba absorbed, only remembering that the hippocampus had something to do with learning and it sounded really close to hippopotamus (which you have to admit, is a funny word), and Naruto must have cracked a joke about not having one in the middle of class and...
Can't worry about the details now, Kiba thought as he lifted the pink petal up to his nose. I need to follow her scent.
Regardless of whether the petals were an after effect of Kurenai's jutsu or not, Kiba knew one thing for sure; where there is something physical, there is a scent attached to it, and since the petals were from Kurenai, Kurenai must either smell like the flowers or vice versa.
Either way, it should link back to her.
It was like using the Substitution Jutsu; you substitute yourself with an object nearby, but your traces would still be on the item because you touched it yourself when you switched with the item.
Makes sense right?
Kiba won't claim that he's exceptional with his sense of smell compared to others within his clan, no, he still had a long way to go before he can have the type of chakra control they had, with a longer range and a stronger sense of smell, but he knew how to pick apart various overlapping scents, given that he had a guide that would enable him to pick up the scent he wanted to follow.
And with these petals that were found, they had a scent that led down a specific path; almost like a single invisible string connecting between the petals towards the Training Ground 1, the training ground closest to the Hokage Rock. The petals were similar to cherry blossoms, yet their scent was more like a garden of roses from what he could discern. Maybe there was more to it that he couldn't determine at the moment, but the rosy scent was evident and stood out against the various scents found in the training ground, from the dirt underneath their sandals to the various trees that populated that land.
"Alright Akamaru," Kiba said, squatting and holding the petal towards. Even if he managed to lose her scent, Akamaru had a sharper nose, being an actual living dog and all, so if Kiba's underdeveloped sense of smell leads them astray or he can't capture the scent anymore, Akamaru would be able to take the lead.
That's what ninken - ninja hounds - were mostly used for, after all; they're an asset for any ninja, especially for any ninja specializing in tracking. And with the Inuzuka clan, tracking is a must-have skill that all shinobi within the clan must possess.
That and, well, the ability to assault an enemy with said ninken.
Hopefully Kiba would be able to demonstrate his and Akamaru's teamwork together; they may not have that much time developing their ninja skills together, but Akamaru listened to Kiba and knew how he moved, which was more than enough at the moment.
"I got her scent, Master!" Akamaru barked, wagging his tail as he lifted his nose further through the trees to their left, further away from the river that broke through the training ground they were in and further with the trees. Kiba could smell the roses going deeper that direction as well, and nodded, giving Akamaru an affirmative grin while patting his head.
"Good job," Kiba said in a more direct and deeper voice, trying to stop himself from sounding like he was cooing at his puppy (even thought, dammit, Akamaru looked really cute when he got excited and happy over doing something right), before standing up, facing the direction Akamaru had pointed out. "Let's go!"
With Akamaru taking the lead, Kiba followed him with equal speed. They continued through the trees until Kiba could see a clearing in the distance where they were heading, the rosy scent he had lost earlier becoming suddenly clear as they approached it.
"Akamaru, stop," Kiba commanded as he quickly halted, letting out a low whistle immediately to get Akamaru's attention when they were a few meters away from the clearing.
"Be ready for anything, boy," Kiba continued, his voice dropping, as he reached to the pack that sat on his waist, feeling his way around it, making sure he had everything he needed.
Kunais? Check.
Shurikens? Check.
Smoke bombs? Check.
Paper bombs? Check.
The four main items that a shinobi must have at all times on them - also known, in his head, as: Keep Shit (together) and Smoke Paper (Bombs). Iruka had probably taught them a more appropriate mnemonics, but this was the only one that stuck in his brain.
He then reached to the blue holster wrapped around his right thigh, an easy access point for the most pertinent items he would need to defend himself, having at least one of each item inside. When he made sure he had everything set, he glanced down to Akamaru, who was waiting patiently for his next command.
"Alright Akamaru, you know what we have to do," Kiba replied. "She probably has that headband tight on her forehead, so we're going to have to pull the headband all the way back. You think you can yank it off with one pull?"
"Yessir!" Akamaru barked with intense determination, sitting down and staring at Kiba with intent as Kiba explained the course of action they would have to take.
He wasn't as a rash as he may appear to be- he knew that in order to achieve your goal, you have. You especially needed to make sure everyone in your team knew what their job is.
And his team right now is himself and Akamaru.
"Alright...I'm counting on you buddy," Kiba finished up as he lifted up his hand towards Akamaru in a high-five. Akamaru immediately tapped his hand with his own paw, his soft, padded soles light and small against Kiba's palm.
C-Cute, the thought slipped into his mind for a moment, feeling his hand gravitating towards Akamaru's head, fingers itching to pet him, but he held himself back. He shouldn't be praising Akamaru too much. Kiba is trying to be a full-fledged shinobis; and shinobis are not the coddling type, no sirree.
And he will especially not coddle his ninken, who's supposed to obey what he has to say to begin with.
...okay maybe this once, Kiba finally thought, giving in and gave Akamaru a quick ruffle on his head, receiving a happy whine from his ninken as he closed his eyes, enjoying the massage.
"Let's go," Kiba said as he retracted his hand, standing up quickly as Akamaru barked a 'yessir!'.
They silently walked towards the clearing, each step cautiously avoiding any twigs and leaves that would make any sort of sharp sound that would indicate they were nearby. The closer they got towards the last set of trees before the clearing, the louder Kiba could hear his heartbeat against his chest.
He wasn't nervous, no way! ...Well, maybe a little, he never had to actually fight before, those sparring matches at the Academy definitely didn't help...No, wait he can't think this way! A shinobi should never be nervous! He just needed to calm down- just take a deep breath and focus on his objective...forget about the shame of returning to the Academy, if he comes home after failing an important test like this, imagine how hard his Mom would kick his ass in front of the whole neighbourhood! She'd be more strict than she already was, he didn't need to have her on his case more than she already was! There's no way he's gonna go back to being treated as some little runt who had to be watched over and babied, no way-
"You found me."
Kiba felt his heart skip a bit as he stared directly to the source of the voice, to find Kurenai standing on the opposite side of the clearing, her jet black hair and deep red dress sticking out like a sore thumb against the green around them.
Kurenai seemed to have been waiting by the tree just for Kiba to make his appearance. She stood up straight as she usually does, arms crossed over her chest, her hands empty of anything - no kunai, no shuriken.
She just stood there.
Kiba's eyes shifted around the clearing quickly, looking from the flat, ground relatively worn down likely from the amount of people training on this surface, trying to look for anything that could tip off that it was a trap; some invisible thread, that might trigger a net trap and hoist both him and Akamaru up off from the ground and swinging on a tree branch. Or, maybe some dirt that looked freshly patted back on, hiding a deep hole in the ground.
"Kiba Inuzuka, was it?" Kurenai's smooth voice broke through the silence, still standing straight, barely moving an inch as Kiba approached her. He stopped a good few meters away to allow him to see her and her immediate area. She paused as the wind started to blow sharply against his left cheek, her long black tresses swaying to the left. "From the great Inuzuka clan."
"Damn right I am," Kiba grinned at the mention of his clan, a sense of pride swelling in his chest, his voice loud and confident.
"And you're Hana Inuzuka's younger brother, correct?" Kurenai continued with missing a beat, unbothered by his confidence, watching him carefully. Kiba could feel the atmosphere still for a moment at the mention of his sister's name, almost out of the blue.
"Yeah, I am," Kiba replied, now a bit forceful with his words, trying not to appear hesitant at her question as he maintained his fighting stance. "What about it."
"I've worked with her before," Kurenai said, eyes never leaving the young boy. "She's quite a brilliant girl; incredibly perceptive, amazing tracking abilities...I was surprised when she decided to pursue being a medic- a veterinarian at that- but, that job requires incredible finesse in many skills, so her abilities aren't going to waste."
"She does what she wants to do," Kiba said courtly, squinting his eyes slightly, scanning around Kurenai, trying to discern anything out of the ordinary.
"Your clan are indispensable to Konoha; and those within your family have quite the presence within the shinobi force," Kurenai continued with a soft smile. "I wonder if you'll live up to their precedence."
Kurenai lifted her arms with a quick motion, triggering Kiba to pull out a shuriken from his blue holster, holding it tightly in his right hand in front of him, positioning himself. Kurenai had her hands in front of her and quickly started to create hand signs, so fast that Kiba would have missed the sequence if he had blinked for a second too long.
Tiger. Boar. Ox. Dog.
A clone jutsu? Figures started to cleave out of Kurenai's body, smoke appearing as clouds in front of them as it slowly started to settle, revealing three Kurenais in a line, taking a slight forward leaning stance. Kiba's eyes trailed down, noticing her legs barely splitting far enough to take a proper stance from her dress, an arm in front of her chest, while the other arm was extended, parallel over her leg that was placed forward.
How is she going to fight like that? He never saw his mother or sister wearing a dress when they left for work, opting for the typical dark cargo pants and maybe the standard navy blue long sleeve shirt, with the spiral symbols on the side.
"Your Academy profile said that your strong suit was Taijutsu," all three Kurenai replied, synchronically waving the hand that was outstretched, beckoning him to come towards her. "And you even said it yourself yesterday. Now...let's see what you got."
"Akamaru, to your left," Kiba ordered immediately as all three Kurenais started to rush in towards him, one straight through the middle, while the other two looped around. Akamaru let out a bark of acknowledgment, already digging his paws into the ground, ready to pounce.
I already know that clones are useless and they can't do anything, Kiba thought, glancing to the left. "So…"
Kiba stepped back as he did a roundhouse kick with his right leg to one of the Kurenais, who didn't bother moving out of the way and dissipated as his leg swung through, flicking his right wrist to send the shuriken in his right hand flying straight towards the Kurenai heading towards him.
The centre Kurenai produced a kunai in her hand, slipping out of her left sleeve, and used it to deflect the shuriken away, sending it rocking towards the side and onto the ground.
So she's the real one! Kiba thought, as he pulled out a kunai from his blue leg holster, throwing it so it landed a meter before Kurenai, slightly to the right of her running projection from his perspective.
"You missed," Kurenai said, continuing to run, never straying from her path.
Kiba smirked at this, a crooked smirk with his fangs baring, saying with a scoff, "No I didn't."
A hiss emitted from the spot that his kunai had just landed, the smell of burning paper suddenly infiltrated the air. Light grey smoke formed strings wafting upwards towards the atmosphere from the kunai, and if you looked closely, there was a piece of paper, the size of his hand with red borders, flapping around as it was slowly being eaten by a flame.
Kiba bent backwards, pushing his hands off the ground hard to get further back from the kunai's site, taking a stance as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, bracing himself. Kurenai quickly halted to a stop, looking straight at the kunai, piercing eyes glancing at the kunai as she side- stepped to the left, but it was too small of a step to escape from the blast zone.
A flash of bright white light engulfed the surrounding ground, before a loud blast emitted, the heavy sounds of crumbling dirt and debris being pushed out and haphazardly slamming the ground, the shrubs, the trees. Big puffs of brown dust had engulfed the smoke, slanting and drifting with the direction of the wind.
Did we get her? Kiba thought, eyebrows furrowed as he wafted away the dust that had made its way towards him, shifting his eyes around as he blinked a few times. The sound of something skidding across the ground could be heard for a moment, before Kiba could see Kurenai emerge from the smoke, sliding directly opposite to where the bomb exploded, a hand on the ground to hasten her stop.
The dust started to settle more than before, and Kiba can see how scuffed her dress looked now with a layer of dust covering over it, the edges of the white stripes that zig zagged across her body looking frayed, singing from the bomb. The explosion didn't seem to have left much damage to her, though, just making her look like she rolled across the ground, her skin unscathed.
Once she stopped, Kurenai let out a hasty sigh, and looked up towards Kiba, who watched her for a moment. Her face was no longer the calm one that she had on earlier; her eyebrows were pulled in slightly, her eyes narrower.
Now she'll take him seriously.
"That was a close one," she said, maintaining her cool tone. "I admit, I underestimated your ability to strategize. If I had hesitated, I would've gotten hurt just now. Good thing your plan didn't work-"
"That wasn't my plan to begin with."
Kiba didn't think twice- he quickly put his thumb and index finger into his mouth, pushing it to the sides and onto his tongue as he let out a sharp whistle. Kurenai stared at him, eyes widening as she glanced around. There was a quick rasping sound that started to get louder.
CHE-CHE-CHE-CHE.
"What the-" Kurenai let out a gasp when she glanced towards the ground around her, the sounds from there, and before she could step away in time, the dirt beneath her crumpled and collapsed, crashing deeper into the earth.
Half a meter away from her, something bursted out from underneath the ground, a small figure popping out, it's fur covered in a layer of brown dirt over its white fur coat.
"Akamaru!" Kiba cheered as the small figure that had popped out of the ground let out a bark in confirmation, shaking his body quickly to dissipate the dirt off his body.
Kurenai's feet disappeared into the ground, then her legs, her torso, until the tip of her black hair disappeared, a loud thump being emitted right afterwards and a grunt following suit.
"Alright!" Kiba continued victoriously, clenching his fist as he punched the air, running towards where Akamaru stood. "You did it, buddy!"
"Just as you planned!" Akamaru barked, panting as Kiba gave him a pat on the head.
And he was right. Kiba wasn't trying to hurt Kurenai at all with that paper bomb. They didn't want to combat.
The name of the game was to get that headband. While displaying his physical prowess to his teacher would be on the top of his list of things to show off, it wouldn't matter how good he was unless he got that damn headband off her head.
Kiba's eyes strayed from his face to the tip of Akamaru's nose, the dirt still stuck, before continuing down to his paws. Some parts of Akamaru's nails had chipped from digging into the soil, the hard dirt leaving scratches on what's left.
"I'll make sure we get all that dirt out of your nails and everything tonight, alright boy?"
"Alright!" Akamaru barked, and Kiba started towards the hole, a kunai his hand, ready to get the headband from Kurenai.
He peered through the hole to find Kurenai sitting on the ground, and he grinned as he called out, "I guess that means I win sensei! Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking that headbandof yours!"
Kurenai stared back up at him, saying nothing at first. Kiba could see, however, a ghost of a smile on her lips, and before he could say anything, white smoke emerged out of Kurenai's body, engulfing her.
A clone? Kiba though in disbelief, watching as the puffs of white smoke started to settle to the ground. In the place where Kurenai had just sat in was now a log about his size. No…A substitution jutsu!
"You really are full of surprises," a voice hummed from behind him, so close to his body that he jolted forward, strangling the small yelp that was about to escape his mouth from being spooked so suddenly.
He didn't have time to think- a new rush of adrenaline surged through his body, his heart beating quickly as he twisted his head back around, before spinning his whole body back with his heels, swinging a hooked punch directly towards Kurenai. Unwittingly, despite his reactionary swing being fast, his fist was caught and hit pack by a bandaged hand, causing a surge of back that held onto his fist, squeezing it hard suddenly as her sharp, red finger dug into the back of his hand, cutting into his skin, a sharp pain coming
Kiba lifted his leg, kicking downwards at an angle towards Kurenai's shin, forcing her to step to the side, as he did a high back kick to where she stood. She quickly let go of his fist, jumping back to avoid his heel to her chin. Once Kiba got his foot back to the ground
Gotta push her back and make her waste her energy! Kiba thought as he felt his breathing hitch up as he threw a punch, rotating his hip to maximize its force as Kurenai rotated her body sideways, his fist barely touching her stomach. He managed to take a step forward, making his body face towards her, and did an uppercut punch with his other hand towards her chin, however, Kurenai reacted quickly and stepped backwards, away from him.
"You're using your fists," Kurenai noted while she took a step back. "I thought your clan likes to gouge their enemies?"
"You want me to fight like that?" Kiba growled as he loosened his fists immediately. "I'll fight like that!"
He flexed the top parts of his fingers in, as he swiped out across Kurenai's face as she blocked it with an arm. His clan's fighting style - Juujin Taijutsu or Man Beast Technique - was the Inuzuka technique that was known for being.. well...more ferocious and wild compared to other fighting styles. They continued to spar as Kiba continued to swipe his hand around, trying to claw at Kurenai, but Kureani was too fast - she either dodged or blocked, circling around him to avoid getting hit.
He could feel his arms starting to ache slightly, the lactic acid building up and making his muscles feel stiff. There was a sharp cramp in his stomach, but he had to break Kurenai down.
"Akamaru, jump!" Kiba commanded.
"On it!"
He can feel the light step of Akamaru's paws jumped on top of Kiba's shoulder and running along his extended arm towards Kurenai, mouth open, fangs baring. Akamaru did a quick snap of the teeth against the side of her headband, ripping it off her forehead and yanking it through her hair, making her head snap back from the force of his bite.
"Nice one Akamaru!" Kiba said as he pulled away, Kurenai stumbled backwards from being tugged back, but planted her feet quickly and maintained her stance.
"Alright!" Kiba whooped, punching the air triumphantly as Akamaru bounced up and down around his feet. "We got it! We passed the test!"
"Yay!" Akamaru yipped with excitement. Kiba glanced down to his companion, grinning, and gave a satisfied pat on his head.
Alright! Now time to take the prize-
"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?"
Kiba felt his heart skip suddenly, the atmosphere frozen at the coldness of her voice, distant and an echo. Kiba glanced back towards her, her torso bent forward as she stood up, facing his direction, her long black tresses covering her face. She stood up straight as she ran a bandaged hand through the middle of her hair, pushing it aside.
"What are you on about-"
"The flower petal," Kurenai replied, barely moving an inch as her eyes trailed down to his pack. "You used it to find me, didn't you?"
"What d'ya mean?" Kiba snapped back immediately, not understanding as he followed her gaze and glanced down. Kurenai's silent stare made his hand slip into the pack hesitantly.
A glitch jolted through the pink petal within a fraction of a second, breaking the petal in half, before it dissolved and dissipated into his hand, disappearing with a trace.
"What the-" Kiba gasped as he lifted his hand up to his eye level, squeezing his fingers against his palm as he opened and closed it a few times, flipping his palm down to look at the back of his hand. "Where'd it go!"
"Master, the headband!" Akamaru exclaimed quickly, making Kiba whip his head back down towards his other hand that held Kurenai's headband. His stared with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock as the handband started to have jolts of empty space punctured along the headband, before becoming fuzzy and melting into his hand, leaving no traces of its being behind.
"What the hell!? What's going on?"
"I thought you would at least figure it out by now," Kurenai replied, her voice light and airy, as if genuinely mystified by Kiba's behaviour. "I even left a hint before we fought-"
"What hint?! What are you on about!" Kiba barked back, feeling a combination of annoyed and confused anger at what was happening before his eyes.
"...Your teammate, Shino," Kurenai continued cautiously, and Kiba could feel his teeth grinding at the mention of his teammate. "Figured out they weren't real immediately. Before we began, I did mention that everything was a genjutsu, after all."
A..a genjutsu?
"So...am I even in the training grounds," Kiba replied hesitantly. "Or am I...still at the Hokage Rock? No wait, but...everything felt normal until I got here...it was the usual distance...Hold on... wait I'm confused...shit-"
"Language," Kurenai interrupted, eyebrows pulling in slightly. "This is something they taught you in class. Genjutsu is all about manipulation. Sometimes, it's the little things...the things you think are there, but are actually not there."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll figure it out," Kurenai continued, her face softening slightly. "I'll leave you alone for now. But next time we face each other...I won't be so easy on you. Think before you move."
With that, Kurenai disappeared into the backdrop, leaving not a single trace of her behind as Kiba watched with wide eyes and gritted teeth.
He was confused.
And he was pissed off.
How did he manage to get himself into a genjutsu? When did he get himself into a genjutsu?
Kiba lifted his left hand up, gritting his teeth, inhaling deeply.
He closed his eyes, to prevent his mind psyching himself out. Drawing a kunai from his pack with his right hand, he faced his palm to face sideways, and quickly pushed the sharp tip of the kunai in, beyond the epidermis into the tissue, a sharp pain immediately following as gushes of blood slowly leaking from the parameter of the kunai, down to his wrist.
His eyes shot open as he immediately sat up with a sharp breath, wincing while pulling the kunai out of his palm. All the endurance training, physical and mental, during his Academy years and his mom's ass kicking might have helped him with his higher pain tolerance, making the pain comparable to a slight sting, but the action of stabbing himself made him cringe in slight fright - it's something he still needs to work on.
"Dammit," Kiba muttered as he quickly scrunched his bleeding palm against his sleeve, putting a slight pressure against it, trying to stop the bleeding. He was sure he didn't push too deep and hit any veins, but he didn't want to lose more blood than he needed too. And he especially did not need to get an infection from having an open wound - he would never hear the end of it for both his mom and sister.
He levelled out his breathing, glancing around. He was alone in the same place where he was with Kurenai before- the same landing, the same ground, the same trees…everything was in place except for Kurenai's presence.
He sniffed, concentrating on trying to capture Kurenai's scent- but all that he could smell were the trees around him, the green leaves and the water from a stream nearby where he sat. The rosy scent was nothing more than a memory, barely a trace in the air.
But how?
A scent never disappears. Even if you cover it up, there will always be a trail that is left behind…
From the corner of his eyes he could see a small, tuff of white curled up beside, and he glanced down to find Akamaru, eyes closed, sound asleep under the genjutsu Kurenai had placed on them.
"Akamaru, wake up," Kiba croaked out, tapping the puppy with his non bleeding hand, but Akamaru kept snoring away, barely reacting to Kiba's touch. Kiba had to use pain to bypass the genjutsu and escape it; he knew that genjutsu
Letting go off the pressure on his hand, Kiba lifted both hands up in front of him, intertwining both of his ring and baby fingers together, leaving his middle, index, and thumb to press together, as he concentrated his chakra to flow towards his hands. At least he picked up something from his lessons that he could use.
Kai! He tapped his right fingers over Akamaru's forehead.
"What happened?" Akamaru asked with a light bark, moving his head around, surveying the area around them. "Where is Kurenai-sensei?"
"We got trapped in her genjutsu," Kiba replied, crossing his arms, his eyebrows automatically pulled in as he replayed everything that had happened, from the moment Kurenai disappeared while they were on top of the Hokage Rock all the way until he came down to the Training Grounds and supposedly confronted her.
A genjutsu within a genjutsu…
It all started with those petals...Touching had triggered the genjutsu to start and lead him down to Training Ground 1...but those were definitely not real, they were illusions so how was he able to follow the scent?
What did Iruka-sensei teach us, Kiba scrunched up his face as he recollected his memories, shifting through all the classes he sat in, all those times he sat in those goddamned uncomfortable benches. Think...Think…
"Besides taijutsu and ninjutsu, another ninja art that a shinobi must learn and understand is genjutsu. Learning genjutsu is quite hard compared to the other two arts, though; it requires time and practice. At the Academy, we won't teach you any genjutsus, but we still want you to know what it is and how to prepare for it, " Iruka's voice rang into his mind, as he tried to recollect his words. They were in class, just like any other day at the Academy; though it was at the beginning of his shinobi Academy years and they were covering basic theory about the different shinobi arts. "First, we need to understand what Genjutsu means. It literally means 'Illusionary Technique'- therefore, we can refer to it as the Art of Illusion."
He remembered Iruka walking towards the board, notes in hand as he picked up a piece of chalk and started to write on the chalkboard, writing down the symbols of the word and his short definition. Iruka then turned towards the class, and continued.
"Illusions. What is the definition of illusions?"
"Illusions are things that you think are there but are not actually there. Like a mirage; it's an optical illusion that is created by refraction of light from the sky when it's really hot," a different voice piped up further away from where Kiba sat, closer to the front row, a girl's voice...it must have been Sakura Haruno, his pink haired classmate; she was always the first one to raise her hand. Smart girl, for sure, but man, was she annoying as hell.
"That's correct, Sakura," Iruka said with a smile. "But there is a key component that you are missing. That definition implies that it's only illusions that we are able to see that can occur; but that's not accurate."
Iruka quickly jotted a word on the board that Kiba couldn't bring himself to remember, before etching 5 lines branching out of the word he wrote, jotted down a word by each of these lines.
"I want you guys to remember this: illusions are anything that can be perceived wrong by ⬛⬛⬛⬛," Iruka said as he returned to face the class, the word barely reaching Kiba's ear, as Iruka tapped underneath the word that was centred between the lines. "⬛⬛⬛⬛ are manipulated and influenced by Genjutsu, either together or separately. Now, we'll get into the intricacies of how exactly genjutsu affects our bodies. I assume you all read the assigned readings? All of this and the readings are a part of your first test, after all."
Grumbled responses filled immediately out, as students shuffled around to pick out their notebooks and textbooks, Kiba kept staring at the board, already having everything out but not bothering to write it down, knowing that he would just cram everything and purge out the memory of Genjutsu by the time he left the Academy. Like Iruka said, they had to know about it, but how useful is it if most shinobi don't use it?
He was such an idiot. Why didn't he write any of this down? He remembers cramming for this test but...the moment he finished the test and handed it in, his head went back to being empty and blank.
Genjutsu is the art of illusion, Kiba repeated in his head. And illusions are anything that can be perceived wrong by...by what? Was it...was it senses?
It sounded right. Optical illusions, like a mirage, are what affects your sight and your other senses.
"She said she gave me a hint before we started fighting," Kiba muttered to himself. "What was it?"
He looked around at his surroundings. A gust of wind, cold and dry, came through, hitting Kiba on his left cheek once again, making his head turn away slightly like he had to do earlier…
Her hair blew to my left, Kiba realised, remembering the way Kurenai's hair sway. But the wind…
An optical illusion. That should've hinted that he was in her genjutsu immediately. How could he not realise that something was off right away?! Looking back at it, it was obviously an error in what he saw- how could he let that slide?!
Alright, but those are not the only senses humans have, Kiba continued his train of thought.
Sight is a major sense, for sure, but there's also sound, touch, taste…and...
Smell.
And if Genjutsu can affect them all together or separately...
"Nooo," Kiba groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his face.
"What's wrong?" Akamaru asked, pushing off the ground with his two front legs, balancing on his two rear legs, setting his front paws on top of Kiba's bare knees, the soft padding of his soles bringing little comfort to Kiba at the moment.
"I don't think we're going to be able to smell her out that easily, boy," Kiba said with a huff, glancing up. "The flower petal wasn't the only thing she manipulated. The scent from the smell and associating it with her...that was part of the manipulation. Makes sense...that petal was a cherry blossom but it smelled like roses…The moment the petal left, so did the scent..."
And if she can manipulate her smell, that means she can easily mislead us and push us away from her, Kiba thought, lifting himself off of the ground, staggering slightly. This is going to be harder than I thought it was gonna be, dammit!
He glanced up to the sky, the sun rising further up, brightening the sky further revealing bluer shades, higher than where it had stood when he left. An hour must have passed since this test started. That means he only has four hours left to find Kurenai, take her headband, and officially be inaugurated as a shinobi like he should be.
But the question is… how is he going to find her?
He's back at square one - he doesn't have a piece of clothing from her or even a strand of hair; the whole fight occurred in a genjutsu. That Kurenai was far from real, and she was probably watching and controlling the illusion play out from a distance.
For all Kiba knows, she could have left as soon as she set up the genjutsu within the genjutsu...man, this the most he's actually through about the word genjutsu before.
"Shit...Shit, what am I gonna do now?" Kiba kicked the dirt with the toe of his sandal, trying not to let his annoyance and anger get the best of him, trying to rack his brain for a solution to this entire mess.
He knew he was wasting time; he probably lost an hour already from getting caught in that genjutsu, from the way the sun was sitting in the sky, and with every second he stands there
Akamaru was sniffing the air, his tail wagging excitedly as he started panting, as he bounced around on his paws, barking, "Master! Master! I smell someone!"
"Who is it Akamaru?"
"Hinata!" Akamaru barked cheerfully, glancing up to him with excited eyes. "She's in the Training Grounds!"
"She is?" Kiba asked, lifting his head, sharply inhaling, trying to discern through any of the scents, but he didn't necessarily know what scent he was looking for. Everything was melding together, a hodgepodge of deep, green, pine bark and moist dirt and dewed grass...He couldn't catch anything out of place that would indicate that a person was anywhere nearby.
Everything has a scent. Everyone has a scent. That doesn't mean, however, that Kiba was familiar with all the scents in the world.
And especially not another person's scent.
Being Hinata's classmate from a young age, he had a lingering notion of what she would smelled like- but it was not enough for him to recognize it instantaneously compared to how he's able to recognize his friends' scent, and it was definitely not enough for him to find it amongst all these other scents around him. He would need something that belonged to her with her scent, like her jacket to have a temporary sense of her smell.
But for him to really understand someone's scent, to really etch it into your memory, well...it's more intimate than that.
Hopefully it doesn't get to that point with them, though.
"Where is she?" Kiba continued to Akamaru, his tongue sticking out, waiting for Kiba's next command. "How far is she?"
Akamaru circled around a bit as he continued to sniff the air, closing his eyes slightly as he paused for a few seconds, before he sat down, his head facing straight, saying, "She's on the edge of the area that way. About...2 km away!"
No wonder I couldn't smell her, Kiba thought, scrunching up his nose slightly. As much as he is embarrassed to admit it, his range in scents is not as mature as it could be...he's been trying to expand it the past year, but there's only so many ways to expand one's sense of smell when you were already familiar with your surroundings and nothing new really shows up to force you to focus.
I can't let them know that though, Kiba shook his head. He can't let that distract him. He needs to find Kurenai as soon as he can and get that damn headband off her head!
"Master! I think there's someone else there!" Akamaru spoke up after a few moments. "There's an unfamiliar scent in the same direction as Hinata!"
"Unfamiliar scent?" Kiba repeated, piercing eyes widening for a moment as he stared towards the direction that Akamaru was looking at. That must be...
Kiba stared at the trees before him for a moment; judging by how the sun had risen, he can only assume that the dense forest before him would lead them towards the direction of the wall that surrounded the village. Hinata should be directly across from where he was standing...maybe a bit further in, considering how much time he must have spent in that genjutsu.
"They seem to be staying in one place!" Akamru continued, waiting patiently for Kiba's next move. "What should we do next?"
Kiba pondered this for a moment, his gaze returning to the ground. What should he do...Should he just follow through and go to where Hinata is? What if he has to fight Hinata for the headband...Well it's not like he's worried about wrestling the headband out of her hand.
And it is not like standing around here, thinking too hard about what he should do, is going to make Kurenai come to him- the goal of this game is to hunt her down, no matter what.
Kiba took a step towards Akamaru, determination coursing through his body as he grinned at Akamaru. "We find them."
She ran through the trees, not at the usual full speed that she would normally take, but quick enough to let her take in her surroundings and be alert for any changes in her environment that felt out of place.
I have to hurry...I have to find Kurenai-sensai and pass!
Hinata wasn't sure how long she'd been running at this pace, but she knew she couldn't stop anytime soon. Thankfully, Kiba told him which direction Kurenai was heading, and with that in mind, Hinata was able to make her way through Training Ground 1, using the tracking skills she used from the Academy to follow a clear cut path. Kurenai must've laid a few traps along the way- trip wires, nets, you name it- Hinata found a trail of them along the way, hidden by the grass and bushes, that she disarmed so it didn't hurt anyone else who could have encountered them.
She thought of it as a sort of favour, she guessed, to the others. She knew that they were supposed to be her competition, her rivals in this little test to become a shinobi, but... Kiba didn't have to tell them where she was. He could have kept it to himself, but he decided to tell Shino and her where Kurenai was heading, saving them time...
Maybe...maybe he's not so scary after all… Hinata thought, stopped along her tracks at a small clearing between the trees, catching her breath for a while. It's too bad we can't be a team...Or, atleast, that's what Kurenai-sensei said.
That's all Hinata could really think about as she travelled through the grounds, trying to track Kurenai down, her words echoing in her head. Why would the Hokage put them into teams like this- carefully considering their skills, their backgrounds, their academic performance - only for Kurenai tell them that she would only accept one? She did believe Kurenai's words about being sent back to the Academy, and yet…
This felt counter to everything she was taught in the Academy. Throughout her years studying in elementary school and during the Shinobi Academy, there was an underlying emphasis for everyone to collaborate and work together, no matter what. Always trying to make things work out, even if you were paired up with people you didn't necessarily get along with (not that Hinata didn't get along with anyone...but she wasn't necessarily friends with anyone).
An elevated patch in the clearing in front of her drew her attention, the obvious height difference making it difficult to ignore. Hinata threw a kunai towards the elevated patch with as much force as she could muster in her arm, hitting it somewhere around the middle, and the patch collapsed from the weight of the kunai, folding into the emptiness underneath.
Another trap? Hinata thought, as she carefully walked around. Kurenai must have set these up beforehand, but it was hard for Hinata to believe that Kurenai would actually take the time to dig up so many holes in the ground...
From the fresh dirt pebbles that strayed further ahead beyond the hole, Hinata assumed that Kurenai must have headed even further into the Training grounds in the directions the dirt led. For a Jonin, Kurenai was pretty sloppy, in Hinata's humble opinion...or she must have wanted Hinata to find her to begin with.
Regardless, from this point on, Hinata sensed that she had to be even more careful than before. She pulled out a kunai from her beige pack, holding it close to chin as she started to walk carefully through a pair of bushes. She could see more light coming from beyond a few trees ahead; indicating a larger clearing was nearby. Running water, bubbling and splashing rocks, could be heard distantly as well as she started to make her way towards the tree; she must have been near the edge of the grounds, where it laid against the wall that guarded the Village. The river fed through from the outside land, carrying fresh water and little minnows along the way, and was a place that she had seen a few students playing hooky when they were practicing their tracking skills.
As she started to reach the open landing, she caught a scent in the air that came out of nowhere, a heavy rosy perfume that filled her nostrils, and she could feel her breath hitch as she paused momentarily. Hinata continued, cautiously, quietly, and she squatted and crawled behind a few bushes when she could the clearing in its entirety.
There stood Kurenai, her red dress a stark contrast and making her an obvious target, standing as she stared off towards the river to Hinata's right.
She had to think of a game plan. Quickly. What should she do? What can she do? Kurenai was right in front of her and hadn't spotted Hinata as of yet...she has the element of surprise on her side. She needs to use that to her advantage!
I have smoke bombs...maybe I could throw it at her and come behind her...no, but it could make a sound if I threw it and would give where I am away… I know! Maybe I could throw a shuriken at an angle and it can come around like a boomerang and can somehow confuse her? No...I'm not really good at throwing shurikens in a straight line anyways, how would I angle it to come around...
The silence was getting the best of Hinata, as did her rising anxiety as she tried to formulate a plan.
She could feel her heart beating louder and louder with every shuffled step she took towards Kurenai, her ears and wrists throbbing from her blood pulsing through her veins. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her kunai, so tight that her hand started to shake slightly as it started to turn pale.
She can't see me, Hinata told herself, taking a shallow breath. I just have to make sure I don't make a sound-
SNAP!
Hinata froze as she looked down, biting down on her lip hard to stop herself from yelping at the sight of her foot stepping on a twig - a small, harmless twig. Kurenai's head snapped immediately towards the direction Hinata stood, eyes immediately meeting hers, unwavering.
"Who's there?" Kurenai asked, never moving a muscle. Hinata, slightly embarrassed by her amateur mistake, shuffled past the bushed into the open landing, keeping the hand that held the kunai in the same place, except her grip was tighter.
"Hinata," Kurenai said, her tone inflecting, slightly surprised to see the young Hyuuga. "You found me. That was pretty fast. How were you able to do it?"
"I-I-" Hinata stumbled over her words, glancing between Kurenai and the ground, feeling her blood running cold. She could feel Kurenai's eyes drilling into her, watching her every movement, from the way her hand shakes slightly to the quiver of her lips as she tried to form words.
"If you keep holding your kunai like that, you're going to drop it."
Hinata forced herself to look up to stare back at Kurenai, directly into her eyes, flecked with gold specks along the brown of her irises-
Her irises...
"Your eyes," Hinata spoke suddenly, a bit too loudly for even herself, feeling her fingers around the hilt of the kunai loosening as she continued to stare. "Are not brown."
Within a split second, the tips of Kurenai's lips flicked upwards, a soft smile, and she looked at and their surroundings melded together, Kurenai disappearing into the surrounding spaces.
"I'm happy that you figured out the genjutsu out," Kurenai's voice came from behind Hinata, and she spun around immediately, keeping her guard up, but not moving immediately to her weapon pouch. Kurenai, red eyes and all, walked from behind a tree and towards Hinata, keeping a fair distance as she stopped. "I can't say that same about your teammate, though."
"You already faced them?" Hinata asked. Of course, Hinata was already falling behind compared to his peers. How long has it been since the test started? An hour? Two hours? Regardless, Hinata took way longer than she should have to track Kurenai down- especially if she was supposed to be a part of a tracking team.
"One of them," Kurenai said. "Kiba, I believe his name was. The one with the dog. But he got stuck in another one of my genjutsus, so I doubt he'll wake up anytime soon."
Wake...up? Hinata repeated, feeling her heartbeat picking up pace, louder and louder, her imagination of what her other genjutsus could have entailed. This one was easy and light; it was a simple perspective illusion, a minute detail that didn't lead into any sort of injury.
Or, atleast, Hinata was able to get out of it before she could have been injured.
"I know your clan specializes in a unique form of Taijutsu," Kurenai said as she started to make a few hand signs. Hinata's eyes automatically traced them, following them, but she was not able to recognize the sequence.
And she didn't want to find out what it was.
In a split second, she threw the kunai towards Kurenai as a means to distract her, but Kurenai simply stepped aside, the metal whizzing past her at an alarming speed. Kurenai finalized the hand sign, and suddenly puffs of smoke started to surround her, making Hinata take a step back and squinting to peer through the smog.
Once the fog settles, Kurenai stands there with...a few other Kurenais?!
A clone jutsu! Hinata thought, as she took a horse stance, and arm up with the palm of her hand facing outwards, the other hand sitting against her hip and facing downwards, open, readying herself.
The Gentle Fist - the fighting style of her clan - required her to have a more open stance and use her palms and fingers instead of her fists to attack and that more grounded stances that they are usually taught. The Gentle Fist was advantageous with the Byakugan - being able to see the inner working of the chakra network into enables her to see the points that would affect the person the most to disarm them, and the Gentle Fist works synchronically with the Byakugan, making it a dangerous weapon in itself. It was safer for her to use this as well; the style allows for evading most taijutsu attacks. And she definitely needs it; she doesn't know what kind of fighting style Kurenai uses and she needs to figure it out before she can even think of getting her headband.
"I want to see how good your taijutsu is," all of the Kurenais, six to be exact, said in unison, taking on a stance with one arm forward and straight, the other one up and in a fist.
One of the Kurenais started to charge towards Hinata; an unusual strategy, usually shinobi would use the clones all at once to confuse the opponent. Hinata could only assume that this was a clone and the real Kurenai was testing her out to see how Hinata would react.
Kurenai came up to her and threw a direct punch, Hinata swinging her back leg around to dodge the move in a circular motion, without ever losing balance. She striked forward with the palm closest to her hip towards Kurenai's shoulder, who bent backwards, narrowly missing the strike and taking a step back. Hinata kept striking as she stepped forward, finding a rhythm in her strikes as her movements became faster, Kurenai blocking and bending to dodge the attacks. There was a moment where Kurenai's stomach was exposed, no arms covering the spot, and Hinata bent lower, striking Kurenai with the push of her palm.
Hinata expected the clone to disappear immediately into the palm of her hand, dissipating and phasing into the air, but instead the clones turned into a big puff of smoke, white and thick that floated down to the ground.
Illusions? Hinata thought as she spun around and threw a shuriken towards one of the Kurenai clones that came towards her while the others waited and watched. The shuriken hit the clone with a sharp tack to the throat, the clone falling to the ground before a big puff of smoke was released from the clone, engulfing it. Usually the Clone Jutsu would faze out, any objects easily being passed through, but this clone seemed to have a physical, material body.
Another clone appeared through the smoke of the first clone with a punch, Hinata pivoting just in time to avoid contact, before the clone started to throw a few punches at her, pushing her back as she tried to avoid the hits. The clone quickly dropped to the ground and hooked her leg around Hinata's leg in the middle of her stepping back, sending Hinata's body swinging upwards in midair, before falling to the ground with a loud THUD.
"Eugh!" Hinata cried out as she fell to the ground onto the side of her hip, a sharp pain stinging through her pelvic bone and muscles, quickly putting her arm up in order to cushion her head from hitting the ground hard.
Using one hand, she waited until a punch came towards her and she lifted her hand gently and guided the clone's fist, following along the arm pushing it away from her, circumventing the pathway before forming an open knifed hand and karate chopped the clone's neck as she stood up with a quick flick.
She didn't think it was as strong of a cut, but it had an intense effect on the clone, and she could hear a thud as her hand connected with the neck, feeling flesh and bone, slightly warm. The clone, just like that last one she had hit, suddenly exploded into white smoke.
Hinata shuffled back further, taken aback from the contact, even more confused than before. What is this thing?
Horse. Tiger. Boar. Hare. Rat. Dog. Horse. Dog. Hare. Rat. Boar. Snake.
Byakugan!
A sudden burst of adrenaline surged through her body, her head tensing slightly as she felt her temples start to flex. She opened her eyes quickly, feeling a slight external release of chakra from her eyes, and her vision cleared as she saw the world, in what she would describe, with an extra layer of film over everything. The colours were the same- the same green trees and the same blue sky -, but she noticed all the fine details suddenly, everything sharpening and contrasting, and within that scope she saw a blue energy spilling out of the peoples in front of her.
A substitution jutsu? Hinata thought, but upon taking a deeper look, she was shocked at the sight that laid before her. All the clones had chakra inside of them, evenly divided, the blue liquid circling around their body, eclectic and sparking with the pace of a pump of the heart.
She has never seen clones having chakra, they were always blank inside; they weren't supposed to be carrying any type of chakra actually. It's how she would have been able to discern which Kurenai was the real one. Was this a clone jutsu that she wasn't taught about at school?
She didn't have time to critique the Leaf Village's academic learning plan; another Kurenai came towards her and she stood up immediately, spared with it a bit before she struck the Kurenai clean in the stomach, right on one of the main chakra points, white smoke cascading around her hand. There were still three more Kurenai's left; two of which should be clones. But which ones were the fakes?
I can't tell them apart at all! Hinata said as another Kurenai came towards her. She would just have to keep fighting until there was only one left. She continued to parry and spar with the Kurenais, and she could feel her movement starting to slow down, her strikes becoming weaker, and her resorting to circular dodges in order to evade an attack that could leave her in the hospital for a few days. Her hip that she fell on continued to sting, as did her legs from taking a horse stance and sparing for longer than she expected with the Byakugan.
Finally, she managed to strike the last clone, leaving only Kurenai standing.
"I have to admit, I underestimated you Hinata," Kurenai said suddenly, as she stood up. "I didn't think you'd be able to endure for this long."
Hinata could start to feel her eyes becoming wearing, stinging slightly as tears started to form, forcing her to blink a few times. How long had she been using the Byakugan for? The longest she had been able to use the Byakugan continuously was for 5 minutes, and even then, her sight started to blur slightly and her eyes became hurt, forcing her to stop and rest. She must be at that point right now where she couldn't maintain her Byakugan any longer- if she tries to go on, she might actually cause more harm than good to herself.
I can't… Hinata started to blink her eyes rapidly, trying to keep her eyes focused, but her eyes became even more watery. I can't keep it up!
She can feel the veins along her temples relaxing, the sight of the chakra system disappearing, as a pulsing headache started to form. Suddenly, she felt her knees buckle, and she became self aware of how sore her entire body felt. She rarely used the Byakugan while sparring an opponent; it was always test dummies that were set up in the courtyard, and even then, it was exhausting. And Kurenai was a tough opponent to fight against; this was nothing like the Academy fights at all. She did have hands-on practice with Neji during the last year, but he oftentimes went very easy on her while they practiced sparred, avoiding any type of serious injury to Hinata (obviously, Neji was forced to spar with her and not out of his own volition, she had heard her father order him to do so behind closed doors).
She overdid it, more than she intended to; she was careless and used the Byakugan for too long, and now she can barely move. Everything started to spin slightly, and she stumbled a bit forward, closing her eyes, trying to relax herself as she fell to the ground, exhaustion taking over.
Hinata heard footsteps coming towards her, and she mustered up the strength to open one of her eyes and saw Kurenai's feet right in front of her.
Move...move... Hinata groaned, and tried to push herself up, but she heard Kurenai say, "I'm not going to hurt you...but for now just sleep."
Hinata felt a wave drowsiness suddenly fall over her head, and before she could say anything, everything went black.