There was a determined set to Shikamaru's shoulders. It was the first thing she noticed when he entered the hallway with Ino and Chōji by his side. Miho thought he looked different somehow, eyes sharp and focused. Even just up until a few weeks ago, he always looked half-asleep. For a vague moment, Miho regretted that he couldn't stay that way. He couldn't remain the Shikamaru of her memories, or even of the Images. He had to change. They all did.

Ino's eyes found her first and she took the shortest path over, through a mass of other genin attempting to argue their way through an illusion. It was Tetsuya that had pointed it out, sitting back out of the way to watch the happenings as if it were a film. Miho had idly handed him a bag of chips, smiling as he dug into them.

"Glad you're okay." Ino's arms went around her neck and Miho smiled into her shoulder. Ino'd changed her usual outfit to something more all-terrain with thicker material and more storage. It seemed Ino was, once again, battening down the hatches. Miho didn't expect anything less. After all, Ino had been preparing for this for years. "I nearly wrang Koji's neck when he told us."

"Why? Koji didn't do anything."

"Because she's a harpy and didn't get why I said anything!" Koji retorted before Ino could respond. He shot her a dark look from where he sat along the wall. "I told you 'cause you're, like, her best friend or whatever! Figured you'd wanna know."

"If Miho chose to tell me, then she decides that, you idiot! You're her teammate and you went on a book tour about her injury!"

Shikamaru and Chōji finally arrived, eyeing the genjutsu with tired expressions. Her eyes found Shikamaru's and she lifted her brows. In answer, he nodded just slightly. Soon, they knew, Naruto and Team Seven would arrive. In the Images, it'd been clear. She expected that was when the Plan "started." In the meantime, they'd have to wait.

She fished around in her pack, withdrawing a scroll. She sat it in Chōji's outstretched hand, watching as he furtively dropped it into his own bag.

At Tetsuya's raised brow, Miho smiled. "Food scroll." Tetsuya and Koji fell into comfortable conversation with Ino and Chōji, who were purposefully drawing attention away from Shikamaru and Miho to give them a moment.

Shikamaru leaned on the wall next to where she sat, eyes on the crowd. "As soon as the troublesome part starts, open it. Issue the warning and take the punishment."

Piecing it together, Miho nodded. That solved more than one problem. It wouldn't quite answer everything, but it was a solid start. If a genin team opened one of the scrolls in the Forest of Death, then a shinobi would be summoned and render everyone unconscious. It made sense for her team to be the one disqualified because of it. They weren't supposed to be part of this anyway.

"Ino will give you the rest."

Nodding, Miho nodded and looked up at him. She could see how much was resting on his shoulders. A thirteen-year-old guy who didn't want any of this. Who was in such a sickening position. Who knew that if he screwed up, then it would be his father's life on the line, along with everyone else he cared for. His eyes cut down to her and he shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he sighed.

He was resigned to all this.

"Don't be a drag."

"I'm not. I'm just…sorry."

He turned to face her fully, the put-on exhaustion leaving for a few scant moments. "It's this or the other. We're not going to let the other happen." She wished she had that kind of confidence. And there must've been something about her expression that made his harden. "We have a chance."

Miho sighed, watching as Lee was shoved back by the genjutsu, or the wielders of the genjutsu. She was on her feet in an instant, moving to the front of the crowd. Shikamaru didn't move with her, staying back to watch the "troublesome" situation from afar.

"Maybe it'd be best if you runts quit."

"You're green-assed brats, after all."

Kneeling down at Lee's side, she touched a hand to his arm. The two bullies were being especially loud about it, very obviously putting on a performance. Lee didn't even turn to acknowledge her, staring at the bullies with a frown. A girl she recognized from Lee's descriptions stood from his other side, politely asking that the two bullies let people through. She took a blow to the face not second later.

Miho leaned into Lee's ear, voice low. "It's a genjutsu."

He turned and shot her a grin before the disappointed and determined mask fell back into place. He knew it was a genjutsu. He was just playing the fool.

Mouth opening, Miho shook her head and settled onto her haunches. She glanced up at to the right to see Hyuuga Neji staring at the two, fists clenched. If Lee sensed it, then Neji did as well. This was all a performance. Shaking her head again, Miho leaned over to Lee once more.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Trust me, my friend."

"— have business on the third floor."

It seemed Uchiha Sasuke had not caught on to the game.

Miho sighed, pushing herself up to stand. The longer she sat like that, the more her legs tingled. Her hands pressed over the front of her yukata top, smoothing out the wrinkles over her rolls. She tipped the toe of her shoe under Lee's thigh then turned to see her team paying attention to the exchange. She jerked her head.

They followed her to the stairs, leaving what sounded like some excitement behind them.

Room 301 was filled to the brim with chūnin hopefuls. Some young, some old. The age range was honestly far more diverse than Miho had been expecting with the way that Genma-sensei had described the demographics. She cut her eyes to the left and then the right, finding Team Ten tucked in the corner. Chōji was calorie-loading while Shikamaru sat on the ground, resting.

"Lotta folks here, huh?" Koji questioned, already turning to walk toward where the only familiar team stood. Tetsuya was wide-eyed, but still trying to puff himself up to look taller.

"Chubs, there's no way we can—"

Miho shushed him, meaningfully glancing toward the crowd. "Let's not count chickens."

"They don't look like chickens. They look like badasses."

"Did Sakura see the stuff downstairs?" Ino questioned, crossing her arms. "She's been really nervous about this."

"Has every right to be nervous," Koji returned with a scoff. "Look at these guys." He jerked his head toward a group of rough-looking Kusa teens. "I think she saw it though. They'll probably be up sooner or later."

"Sooner would be better than later." Miho sighed, shooting Ino a look. "Darn it, there's Kiba. I better—" Ino laughed outright as her friend scrambled to grab the back of Koji and Tetsuya's shirts. "Don't you dare start something with that loudmouth! This isn't the time or the place."

"We won't start somethin' if he don't start somethin'." Koji retorted, crossing his arms. "But if he shoots his mouth off— at you—again, I don' care if we get disqualified— I'm deckin' him." Then, a cruelly-colored smirk dawned on his face and Miho felt her hackles rise. Koji was vicious with grudges and he really didn't like Kiba. "Genma-sensei would be down for it. I know."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. He was right though. Genma-sensei would support it.

"Yeah, and I'll hold off his team when you do it. Genma-sensei was proud of us last time." Miho resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. Tetsuya nodded, eyes shut as if this were some kind of sage advice rather than a stupid plan. "I'm sure I can take the Aburame."

"You can't take on Shino." Miho scoffed, distracted by the claim. "I guarantee you."

Even Shikamaru smirked at Tetsuya's affronted expression.

"What the hell, Chubs? We're supposed to be teammates!"

"What? Teammates tell it like it is!"

Tetsuya looked to Koji for some kind of support, but only received a shrug as their teammate continued to stare Kiba down from across the room.

"Did Kiba do something, Miho?" Chōji questioned around a handful of chips. His eyes were shut as he savored the flavor, but she could feel the intensity of that question. Beside her, Ino fell into hysterics, holding her sides. Chōji's eyes opened and he stopped eating. "What'd he do?"

"Noth—"

"Called her a 'fatass tub of lard' among other things."

"Called her a 'useless fatass tub of lard' to be more accurate."

Miho's hand whipped out so fast, one might've thought she took off her weights. Tetsuya squawked, flailing into Koji as they both toppled. The movement caught the attention of a few teams nearby, but she ignored them. Her heel stomped as she towered over her nonplussed teammates.

"Stop holding grudges over it! That was ages ago and it doesn't even bother me!"

"It was three weeks ago!"

"You didn't tell me he said that!" Ino barked. "You just said they were posturing."

"He called you what?"

Miho winced and turned.

"Now is so not the time for you all to get protective. Do I look bothered by it?"

"They're here."

Miho sighed, slumping against the wall as Team Seven entered the room. She sent Shikamaru a thankful look, earning one of his signature long-suffering stares in return. His hands dipped into his pockets and his shoulders curved forward.

"Yo! Miho, you're here too!" Naruto approached, throwing up a hand in greeting. She knew he wouldn't bring itup here in mixed company, but when he threw his arms around her as far as they would go, she knew he was putting every emotion he could into it. He braced his forearm at her shoulders, dragging her down to his height. In that hug was everything he couldn't say in present company. "I was hopin' Team Five would get to kick ass with us!"

"Team Ten is here too, ya know." Ino slapped at his arm. He wailed dramatically, pulling away and giving her a pathetic look. She sniffed, raising her chin. "And we'll kick ass more than Seven or Five."

"Don't make such troublesome statements." Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes.

Chōji was back to eating chips with a bit more vigor than before. But Miho knew that kind of rapid eating. He only ate that fast when he was angry. Her brother liked to savor flavors and let the seasoning sit on his tongue. Instead, he was scarfing the chips down with abandon. Her brother was angry and when his eyes opened to see Kiba's approaching figure, Miho patted Naruto's shoulder and moved toward where Chōji was standing.

"I know you're mad, but let it go."

His eyes opened again and they were sharp like kunai. Even Shikamaru tensed, sensing the difference in how her brother was holding himself. Every so often, her brother dropped all of his masks. It was during those moments that got a view of the man he would become. The fierce protector that lurked underneath. He took a single step forward and Miho gripped his arm in warning.

"Don't."

"Found y'all! Well, well. Looks like everyone's here!"

Miho tightened her hold on Chōji's arm. The muscle was taught, even as if moved chips to his mouth. Ignoring Kiba's ribbing, she turned to her team and caught their eyes, jerking her head toward the desks. If she could make a quick exit before things got tense or before—

"All twelve genin rookies are taking the exam, huh? Now then, how far do you think we can go? Eh, Sasuke?"

Rolling her eyes, Miho released Chōji's arm with a pat and moved to where Koji and Tetsuya were still leaning against the wall. "There's a lot of testosterone in here. You fellas wanna prove somethin' too?" Miho smiled at their irritated huffs. Koji made a show of flexing his muscles, earning a snicker from Tetsuya. She heard Ino snicker, too. "No? You're my favorite team."

"We're your team. If your favorite was someone else, we'd need to have a team meeting."

"I dunno. She likes Team Ten a lot…"

"Too much."

Koji glared, crossing his arms.

There he is. Snake in the grass.

Ino's voice startled Miho and she jumped, looking wildly around until her eyes settled on Ino's face. Eyes closed as she leaned against the wall to her left. She had no idea Ino had mastered this technique yet! Her sideswept bangs hid the intense tilt of her brows.

Let Shikamaru handle this guy. We've got other things to talk about. Other than the fact that we're talking about Kiba's insults after all this is over.

Miho deflated, watching as Shikamaru took over the conversation with Kabuto. He steered it into useless territory like a master, taking the guy in circles.

"Is the Chūnin Exam that high of a hurdle? Man, this is utterly bothersome."

It's the second test that's the big problem. Shikamaru thinks the biggest issue is letting the Hokage know about Orochimaru as quickly as possible. Thing is: you're gonna have to sell it.

I can sell it.

Miho watched as Kabuto filed through his information on Lee and Gaara. The idea of that creep having information on either made her uncomfortable and that discomfort translated into a grimace, which caught Koji's eye. Kabuto was an unsettling guy. Even from what she remembered: she hated him. Using people for his advantage with basically no purpose. Knowing that he knew so much about Lee and Gaara…

And what was coming for Gaara in a few years' time.

The boys definitely noticed that you remembered more about him than anyone else aside from Naruto.

With as much self-control as she possessed, Miho didn't turn to look at the team from Suna. Instead, she reached over and flicked Ino's ear. Her friend twitched but maintained her mental connection.

It was kinda hard not to notice.

"Maybe we should go find some seats."

Miho nodded, glancing to Chōji, who moved to take her spot by Ino while her friend was occupied. She rested a hand on his arm, meeting his eyes for a long moment. She moved to press her forehead against his, one of the more traditional Akimichi gestures. She felt him press back. "I love you, brother. Be careful, okay?" She moved away and he smiled, nodding as he raised a fist for her to bump.

"Good luck, Miho. Love you."

"C'mon, Chubs."

Wait one hour into the second exam. Open the scroll and alert the responding jōnin. Good luck, Miho. Be careful, okay?

She felt Ino leave her mind, like water flowing out of a funnel. When she glanced back at the gathered group, Ino sent her a wink, a determined expression settling over sharp features. She could see Naruto's frustration building, mounting and mounting just like it did in the Images. Seeing this, she saw Shikamaru deflate.

Some things were just impossible to stop.

They found some seats along the back, just behind Lee's team. They were the only group of rookies to separate from the rest, drawing a little attention for exiting the fray. Lee turned around a bit to look her over, eyes checking to make sure she was okay. She held his gaze for a long moment, flicking her eyes toward his teammates with a meaningful nod.

After all, he knew her teammates.

Even if it was because Koji liked to gossip.

"Neji, Tenten, this is Akimichi Miho. One of my dearest friends. I have been training with her since we were very young." Tenten turned while Neji's attention remained on the building tension on the other side of the room.

"Lee's mentioned you before. He said you're fast."

Neji's eyes finally turned to her at that, attention drifting down at then up to her face again. He didn't scoff, but he did turn back to the entertainment without a word. Koji noticed, bristling at her side like cat dropped in water. Tetsuya looked like he was gauging his chances. Miho sent Lee a bland expression, seeing the apology written in his eyes. It didn't bother her. On the one hand, people often underestimated her and, on the other, Neji underestimated everyone. She turned back to Tenten.

"Not nearly as fast as Lee. He's mentioned your weaponry skills! I use bōjutsu. It's honestly nice to meet someone else who appreciates weapons. I was hoping to train in naginata next." Part of her wanted to mention that her teammates were both weapon-wielders as well, but she knew that was best information kept close to the chest. Lee knew though. Tenten's eyes lit up in excitement. "I hope we get the chance to spar sometime."

"Same! I bet it's—"

"MY NAME'S UZUMAKI NARUTO! I WON'T LOSE TO ANY OF YOU! GOT IT?"

"Is he…an idiot?" She heard Tenten murmur to Lee. Miho watched as a ripple of indignant disbelief surged over the crowd. A bit of pride made her sit a bit straighter, watching as Naruto held his fist high. That was her Hokage, after all. Some day. Eventually.

"Oh, man…" Koji laughed a bit at her side. "Naruto's kickin' a bee hive."

"He's mighty high-spirited."

"Naruto's spirit burns bright." Lee grinned, throwing her a thumbs-up over his shoulder.

Think we can remove one problem from the equation?For now, at least?

Her attention jerked over to where Ino was still standing against the wall, arms now crossed and eyes closed. Chōji stood slightly in front of her, eyes narrowed into slits and chip bag put away. He was tensed, tight as a bowstring. Shikamaru leaned on the wall just beside her. She could barely see him behind Chōji's mass. What in the—

Does Shikamaru have a plan for Kabuto?

Ino's laugh was like bells in her head. Ah, you know Nara. He's got a plan for everything. She saw an image in her mind and she felt her eyes slide closed, even as chaos erupted with the attack of the Oto team.

Somehow, the attack— which previously only broke his glasses and made him puke in the original Images— was doubled in force. Kabuto was thrown into the wall. His head struck the concrete wall and he slumped into unconsciousness. Naruto and Sakura ran to his side, just like before, shaking him as if he would wake. Miho felt the corners of her lips tick upward before she schooled it away.

Well, that was certainly different.

Whoops.

Her eyes cut back over to where Chōji was now devouring a bag of barbecue chips, a pleased smile on his face as her gaze met Shikamaru's. He separated his hands and stuck them in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders.

The self-satisfied smirk on his lips made her smile outright.

You have the coolest teammates, Ino.

I knew we were your favorite team.

Ino melted from her mind again and her friend's head rose across the room.

"What the hell is all this?" Tetsuya questioned beside her. "Seriously, is it always this dramatic? Can't we all just get field promotions and be done with it? Seriously." Koji laughed, jabbing his elbow into Tetsuya's stomach. "Man."

"Get a bunch of drama queen ninja in one room—whaddya think's gonna happen, huh?"

Genma-sensei had said as much during their meeting. He'd lamented (as much as their teacher could lament) that the Chūnin Exams were a hotbed for ridiculous schticks and complexes. He'd forbade any monologuing or pot-stirring, even taking the senbon out of his mouth to deliver the warning. He'd be watching, after all. Her eyes scanned the room, finding four cameras.

"Think we should wave to Genma-sensei?"

Koji grinned, kicking back in his seat and putting a senbon in his mouth. Knowing him, he'd probably noticed the cameras as soon as they entered the room. Miho smiled at him, watching as Tetsuya held up a peace sign to the closest camera. She could imagine their teacher's reaction. Miho nodded to the camera, shrugging at the boy's actions. What can you do, Boss Man?

Then, the exam began.

Genma loved his kids.

He was resigned to it at this point. Only a few months into this whole teacher thing and he really couldn't help his fate. He wouldn't have called it a "slow descent;" it was certainly a "fall" of some kind. When he saw Koji mimicking his mannerisms, Tetsuya grinning like a loon, and Miho's shrug, Genma held back a smile. They definitely weren't going to pass this exam, but they were hamming it up regardless.

"You've definitely brainwashed them."

"Just because your kids are lame doesn't mean you get to rag on my kids, Hatake."

He watched as the kids were mixed up among the crowd, no two teammates sat next to one another. He barely withheld a scowl when Miho ended up next to the Inuzuka brat. Kurenai shot him a look, grimacing at the amused look on the dog boy's face as he poked her most prominent roll. Miho just stared at him.

Genma was pretty convinced that it would eventually come to blows.

Miho was going to deck this kid into submission at some point when her seemingly endless patience wore out.

He wanted to be there to cheer when she put his face in the dirt.

Asuma scoffed around his cigarette. "Lame? Did you see Uzumaki's declaration? You know Uchiha was the highest ranked in his year."

Genma sent Asuma a deadpan look. He knew Asuma didn't care about ranking. That was bullshit. Ranking meant jack shit at the Academy. All their scores were biased in some way. Even Tetsuya scored high in practical when he was probably middling. His grandmother's political pull at work. Scores were no indication of potential. Ever.

"Case in point." Kurenai laughed. It was a bit amusing to see Kakashi's head dip a bit. "Though, it takes some serious determination to shout something like that in front of so many people."

"Number one most unpredictable…" Kakashi murmured, settling back on the couch.

Genma watched the screen, waiting to see what his kids did with the exam. He'd led them through these kinds of exercises before and he was more-than-confident that Tetsuya would manage cheating just fine. He was, after all, his grandmother's descendant. Sure enough, Tetsuya sat his sword on the table, as if the weight were awkward on his back. He angled it in just the right way to see the inverted answers from the paper below him. Huffing a laugh at the obvious action, Genma sat back and observed as his kid lost two points, but got the work done.

Koji was a bit more surreptitious. The kid had been covert for most of his life, hiding his true origin in a long "undercover mission." He was also stealing all of the answers off Gai's green-clad student, who was using his teammate's mirrors. Someone else was doing all the work for him, but shinobi were meant to use all the resources available.

While the Inuzuka's dog told him the answers, Miho's hand was moving swiftly across the page. She was selling it, but Genma knew better. Miho was smart, sure, but not smart enough to know all of the answers on that test. After a while, she sighed and sat back, withdrawing a bag of chips. Anyone less of observant might've missed the shadow receding under the desk behind her.

"Your kid is helping my kid." Genma told Asuma.

Asuma, despite his obvious effort to seem unaffected, did sit forward and stare at the screen. The Nara leaned forward and laid his head on the table, seeming to fall asleep right there in the middle of the exam. If you weren't looking for it, an observer might've missed the slight smirk on his face before he hid it in his arms.

"Huh. I thought he was a complete layabout, but— He's been very motivated for the past month. Hell, my whole team is gung-ho. It's weird. They practically never stop training. It's wild."

"Kids being motivated is weird?" Kurenai questioned.

Considering who she had on her team, she would think that anything less than capital-D Dedication was strange.

"Nah, it's just… from what I heard, Shikamaru was never the kind to help out someone else unless he had to. Preferred sleepin' and resting and all that. Laying about, with Chōji." Asuma let out a puff of smoke, casually shrugging his shoulders. "Then, it's like a switch was flipped the day after I got 'em."

Genma cut him a look at the tone. Something was off.

Swirling the senbon between his teeth, he watched Ibiki put on a show.

"Here is the tenth question!"

Hearing the proposition, Genma waited to see what his kids would do. They knew they weren't really ready for this. The prospect of never taking the exams again if they failed the question was something he'd only hinted at, not wanting to advantage his team above others. Miho turned slightly, chip halfway to her mouth as she looked to Koji first.

Koji grimaced, shaking his head. His eyes tracked to Tetsuya, who signaled that they remain in place.

Miho nodded, tension obviously easing as she turned around again. She'd wanted to stay, it seemed.

Kids filtered out, team by team.

He watched as Miho's eyes turned to watch Naruto, who slammed his hand down on the desk. Despite the blond being the center of attention, Genma watched his student's reaction. Her smile was so big that her eyes closed.

"Don't underestimate me! I won't run! I'll take it. But even if I'm stuck being a genin forever, I will become Hokage no matter what it takes!"

She withdrew a few cookies, holding them in both hands as she ate, eyes flickering to the windows every few moments. Genma sat forward in his seat, angling on the edge of it as Ibiki dramatically wrapped the first exam. Something was off. Miho was paying more attention to the window than the exam proctor, which was very out of character for her.

His brows pulled together.

What—

The window that Miho was glancing at shattered and Anko appeared, in all her usual glory. Genma shook his head, adjusting the senbon between his lips. Miho beamed around her cookie, throwing a glance back at the Yamanaka and then her brother and the Nara.

Not her teammates.

Strange.

That was strange. Pair that with the fact that the Nara had helped her in the exam, Genma shifted the senbon between his lips, eyes narrowing on his female student. Something was up. Miho's grin became even more pronounced as the second proctor posed.

"Oh boy." Asuma muttered, palming his face.

Genma couldn't help but to agree.

It almost looked like his one female student was about to start clapping for Mitarashi Anko.

And Genma, for the first time in his life, thought he was too old for this.

This was not the plan. Miho threw herself to the side, crouching in front of Koji who was groaning in pain on his side. He was bleeding, but she wasn't sure how or why. It all happened so fast. Tetsuya was about twenty feet away, in a fierce hand-to-hand battle with some nin from Kusa. Other than the fact that the girl's hair was red, Miho could barely process anything more than that as they battled. She couldn't remember much about the Forest of Death other than Orochimaru's attack on Team Seven.

And that wasn't working to her advantage in the slightest.

It was already Day Two and this would be the third attack they'd fought off. They showed the wear and tear of it. Her clothes were a mess. Tetsuya was sporting a black eye from some Suna jerk. And Koji had a sprained ankle. But they'd made it this far and they'd repelled every attack against them.

Apparently, her weight made the other teams think they were easy prey.

They learned.

"You're not getting our scroll."

She needed that scroll so she could open it and alert the Hokage that Orochimaru was in the forest. And that time was quickly approaching. There was no way she was giving up that scroll so easily, not even if this Kusa team wanted to kill her for it. She'd kill them first.

"C'mon, fatass. It's not like you'll be getting an Earth scroll anyway. Just hand it over and go back to your snacks."

"Son of a bitch." Koji hissed, rolling up from his side to his knees. She adjusted her hold on her staff, preparing for the two guys to start attacking before her teammate got off the ground.

Sure enough, the green-haired teen approached first— throwing a kunai as he moved. She blocked with a swirl of her bō, jabbing it into his stomach with a quick block of the other's attack with the other end of her staff as he came at her from behind.

"Back off. Don't wanna have to hurt you."

"Hurt us? You're really gonna get it!"

Miho saw his determination and then saw an opportunity— for a cover story. She smiled sweetly, using the staff to propel her back from the two Kusa nin, to the edge of a clearing. If they followed, then…maybe she could concoct some sort of story to sell Orochimaru's presence. Winking, Miho looked to the clone of Koji nearby. Miho could sense her teammate overhead, hidden in the low-hanging branches.

"I'll handle these two. Help Tetsuya when you're ready. I'll be over here…for reasons."

Her expansion jutsu needed space.

She darted out into the open, sealing her bō into her armor once more before flying through a series of seals. She felt her chakra burn and writhe, pulling from her fat and searing its way through her limbs.

"Even your teammates think you're useless, letting you go off on your own!"

Miho turned and rolled her eyes, planting her feet in the grass. Her heels dug in and she felt the chakra release as it build and coiled. "They let me go off on my own because they know I can handle it, handle YOU!" Finishing the sequence of handseals, she pumped the extra calories into her legs. Rather than expand, they burned gold as the lactic acid built and burned.

An Akimichi technique for endurance fighters. She darted forward. Only one was able to catch her hit. The other fell to the ground, unconscious. Sweeping his leg out, the green-haired boy knocked her knees out from under her. Miho fell into a roll, catching her forehead on a rock as she moved, twisting and expanding her body as she moved. She grabbed an outcropped rock and swung around, throwing herself bodily into the guy. He yelped and struck a nearby tree, breaking it in half.

Releasing the jutsu, she let out a startled breath as her knees shook. She'd never done that sequence in practice before, but…desperate times.

The bodies lay still, both unconscious, and Miho withdrew the Heaven scroll from the green-haired boy's pack. He wouldn't be comfortable when he woke up and Miho took an extra moment to lay him flat rather than back-breakingly slung against the broken tree.

Working up the character, Miho forced her face to pull into a frantic and terrified expression. She pulled absolute and all-consuming fear into her stomach and she threw herself, stumbling toward where she knew her teammates to be. One terrified breath, another.

Reaching up, she tore her hair from where it was held up in ponytail. Her curls fell into her face, matted with sweat and blood. She let the underbrush tear at her skin as she moved, hurrying toward the clearing where she knew her teammates were waiting.

When she finally fell between the trees, she forced herself to be breathless. She purposefully stumbled on a tree root.

"Miho! Miho! You alright?"

"Chubs!"

"We need to open this. We need to— Guys, this is bad. I don't—"

"Calm down. Miho, calm down. We need to what?"

Miho sucked in a deep breath, catching her hands on her knees. Real, very real, fear lanced through her. Orochimaru could already be attacking Team Seven at that moment. Naruto could be in danger, again. Or it could be Chōji and Ino and Shikamaru. Or Lee and his team. She needed to do this fast. She didn't have time.

"Orochimaru is...in the forest."

Tetsuya's eyes went wide, mouth falling open. "Whaddya mean he's-?"

"The sannin? Here? He's a missing-"

They watched her hands hold out the scroll. "We have to tell someone. We can't make it to the tower first. Guys, please-" It was Tetsuya that nodded after the briefest moment of conflict. Koji looked her over, fear falling like a shroud of his face before he nodded, too. Though she felt terrible for lying to them, it needed to happen. She had to do this. She had to.

Grabbing one side of the scroll, she threw it open and chucked it into the grass. "I— I'm sorry, guys."

She didn't recognize the man that appeared— sunglasses and a slightly askew headband— but she held up both hands as he started to move. "Orochimaru is in the forest!" He stopped, hand poised to strike, staring her down from behind his glasses. She could feel the wave of Killing Intent that made her knees buckle a bit. "Tell—Tell the Hokage! Please, tell the Hokage." The jōnin, because he had to be a jōnin, seemed to stop breathing. His attention focused solely on her, no doubt eyeing her roughed-up state. Silently thanking every force of good out there, Miho stumbled toward him. "He's in the forest."

"In the forest? You saw an S-rank missing nin in this forest and you survived it?"

Miho nodded. "I wasn't worth the effort. It was him. It was!"

The jōnin's eyes flickered to her teammates, who were both nonplussed, obviously confused, and fearful. She'd have to tell them something eventually, but, at the moment, the boys looked concerned that she'd 'encountered' such a huge threat.

"Who's your teacher?"

"Shiranui Genma."

His face betrayed nothing, no recognition or emotion. Miho felt her stomach turn when the jōnin appeared behind her teammates, slamming his hands into the back of their skulls. The boys crumpled to the ground and Miho tried to school away her shaking. She tried to stand strong in the face of what she knew was coming.

He disappeared and she felt him behind her.

"We'll check on it."

The world went black.

Kakashi seriously thought that Genma's students were weird. Honestly. They were a bunch of little Mini Me nerds that for some reason seemed to idolize Genma. Genma, of all people. Genma, who was arguably one of the most boring people he knew. Then again, Genma was on a team with Gai. Most people seemed boring by comparison. Still.

He thought they were even weirder when they were dropped in the main tower's holding room by Yamashiro Aoba. Well, to put it more accurately, the boys were dropped like two sacks of potatoes. The Akimichi girl was set down like some kind of heavyweight china doll.

Genma rushed toward them, worry very clear on his face. The guy was former ANBU, but seemed to be much more of a doting teacher.

The former badass knelt down, hand tracing over a wound to the Big Guy's gut. A superficial kunai wound, likely from some kind of close-range fight. The Utatane heir was also a little worse for wear, dirty and bloodied. His clothes were soaked through and bloodied, from less recent battles. Then, Genma's fingers pressed to a few cuts and bruises on the Akimichi. The girl had a large cut on her forehead, which painted half of her face red.

Genma was an S-rank assassin.

Genma was an S-rank assassin who loved his students more than anything.

That much was clear.

"What happened?"

"Your girl said Orochimaru's in the forest."

Kakashi felt his heart stop, eyes flashing over to where the other jōnin teachers were sitting. They rose from their seats, approaching. Genma seemed to choke on nothing.

"She what? Did she encounter him?"

"He said she wasn't worth the effort."

Kakashi vaguely wondered if Genma had the ability to kill Orochimaru. Probably not alone. Genma was one hell of a fighter, but he couldn't go head-to-head with a Sannin. For his part, Kakashi settled himself into mission mode.

"Genma, Asuma, Kurenai— let's go. Ibiki, alert the Hokage."

"Aoba, take care of my kids." Genma settled a hand on his buddy's arm before turning, battle-ready. Aoba nodded, moving to lay them out a bit more neatly. He turned, flicking open his holster of needles, settling them into his palms. "How'd that son of a bitch get into the village?"

"Are we sure the girl wasn't lying? I mean, she could've just opened the scroll and—" Asuma was cut off by a senbon piercing the wall by his head, just a hair from his nose. Kakashi would've laughed at his expression, if the situation weren't dire. Genma's expression was thunderous. "Fine, fine. So then—"

Kakashi stopped, brows pulling together in thought. Asuma had a point. They knew nothing about what they might be approaching. He turned to Aoba, who was still kneeling over the kids. "Aoba. Do it."

Aoba, good guy that he was, seemed shocked for all of a few moments before shaking his head. "She's just a genin. We don't even know—"

"Do it."

Genma's mouth opened as if to protest, but he instead closed his lips over the senbon and then withdrew it. His eyes had hardened to reveal the infamous Red Rain, the internationally-known assassin and killer. "Do it, Aoba. I trust you to protect her. After all, I was gonna ask you to teach her eventually."

That seemed to surprise Aoba, who immediately pressed his hand to the girl's forehead. His eyes slid closed behind the sunglasses. Kakashi shifted, waiting. Aoba had the ability to read minds. One of the best in the village and one of the topmost ranked members of Torture and Interrogation. If anyone could pick through a pre-teen's mind in a tactful way, it would be Aoba.

To do this to a young genin was taking extreme measures, but the girl was unconscious and she was obviously trying to warn them. They couldn't wait for her to awaken.

Aoba came to a moment later, frantically scanning the room, whipping his head this way and that. Checking entrances and exits. Genma tensed beside them, noticing the expression on his friend's face. Battle-ready. After a few moments, Aoba seemed settle, looking down at the Akimichi with his mouth opened as if he didn't know what to say.

Her eyes opened and she immediately sat up, staring at the man next to her with wide eyes. She looked as if she'd awakened from a nightmare. Her entire large Akimichi frame was shaking as she gulped in huge breaths. Genma shifted next to him, looking like he wanted to run to his student's side again.

"Miho."

She didn't turn to her teacher. Instead, she kept her eyes on Aoba. It was as if she didn't even hear Genma's voice.

"Aoba. C'mon, man."

Kakashi waited, watching as Aoba continued to stare down at the Akimichi. She stared back up at him. Any other person might've gotten uncomfortable under Aoba's gaze. The guy liked to pick people apart, deduce all he could about them, figure them out. He called it "intuition" and it was annoying as all hell. And it was disturbing when he did it. The girl shifted and winced, pressing a hand to the wound on her head. He wondered if Orochimaru's attack had been worse than they thought.

"He's-He's here. He is." The girl's voice was brittle as she seemed to panic, still staring at Aoba. His inaction was stalling and she sensed it. "Do something. Please."

Finally, Aoba looked up and stood.

"Orochimaru plans to attack Team Seven. He wants the Uchiha's eyes."

Kakashi moved before hearing the rest of what Aoba had to say.

A/N: Okay, so I am hiding from packing. Anything I can do to avoid packing. I sincerely appreciate all the well-wishes with my move! I'm super excited about it!

Thank you all for your lovely support of this story. Things are about to go off-the-rails real quick! Thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts!