::I have been officially bitten in the arse, but can't complain. I'm extremely sorry for the wait and wouldn't be too surprised if most of you gave up on me. The problem has been simple writer's block. Gomen::
Hinata gulped and stared at the forest in front of her. She was teamed up with a couple of the older genin, but both were still years younger than her. Her hand itched to rest protectively over her hip pouch where her team's heaven scroll was hidden, but she resisted. Even though the test hadn't started yet, she didn't want to let anyone have a chance at figuring out exactly who had her team's scroll. The gate opened and she jumped ahead.
"Hinata! Whoa!" Yuki called behind her. She glanced back, but didn't slow down. She wasn't that fast, the boys could catch up easily. Yuki and Hiei came up on either side of her looking confused. "We've got five days, no need to rush."
"Come on, Yuki. Hinata has been through this several times, can't blame her if she just wants to get it over with." Hiei and Yuki often held the team discussions on their own, usually about whatever Hinata was doing at the time. The boys' conversation was quiet and low, but Hinata could tell at least one group had to be trying to follow them based on that.
"Quiet," she said, and she stopped. Leaning against a tree she performed a quick seal and opened her eyes wide. Now with her improved Byakugan she could see further and with more detail than ever before. She waited.
"Come on…" Yuki whined. He wanted to keep moving inward. Hiei shook his head and leaned against the tree with his arms crossed and his eyes scanning the treetops. Hinata was doing her all-seeing thing and they would wait. Hinata turned left and both boys leapt for the tree branches above. She remained below, the bait, looking around as if she couldn't see the team of water nins coming closer.
Almost within range… They need to be just a bit closer… Hinata ducked a set of shuriken and ran for a tree. Where are they?! Yuki! Hiei!
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Kakashi sighed. He could think of a lot of taunts to fling at Naruto right now, but deciding which was proving to be an issue. "That was quick work, Naruto, ver detailed report. How many pretty little Sound nins did you knock up in the process..?" Predictably that got him a killer glare and a thrown kunai to avoid. Having recovered his poise, Kakashi sat behind his desk and propped his feet up. "I take it you're a hundred percent sure this is correct?"
Naruto nodded. "I got it out of a Sand chuunin near our old training ground." He didn't say how he got it, and Kakashi wondered if Naruto had overheard this detailed account of the Sound and Sand's plan or if the situation had forced him to be more 'active' in acquiring information. He couldn't really see Naruto torturing someone, but this was a threat to his beloved Konoha. And contrary to his teasing, he didn't believe Naruto slept with any enemy nins for the information either.
Closing his visible eye and leaning back, Kakashi said, "And I'm sure she's crying over her broken heart right now… Alright. Go fetch the rest of your team and bring them in." Naruto nodded and went to the door. Kakashi blinked. Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru walked in from the hallway and stood at attention. I'd been counting on having a little more time to plan while Naruto found them all, but ah well. Kakashi stood and said, "Sakura, you're to start at the Academy and head through the town to begin a low-level evacuation. Be discrete; make sure the instructors are well informed, as we may need to call on them. Then leave word with the respective clan heads so they may prepare. Shikamaru, Sasuke, you two will spread the word at the usual muster points for the nins to be on guard and inform those on the walls they will be our first wave. Everyone else is to lay low until the enemy is in the city.
"Naruto, you will go straight to the center tower of the exam area and inform the instructors of our situation. It's only been a day, so most of the teams are still scattered throughout the forest. Avoid them. Do not attack the Sand and Sound teams in the exam." He looked around the room and sighed, losing his commanding aura as he scratched his head. "Only a few hours, huh? Too bad, the new Icha Icha Paradise just came out and I haven't finished it yet…"
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Hinata yawned and stretched, slowly waking up. She looked around and sighed as she remembered that she was camped outside in a forest and not at home in bed. With Naruto across the hall… She blinked and shook her head as she jumped down from the branch she'd been asleep on. Opening her canteen she rinsed off her face and began to feel better. It was then that she noticed her teammates were missing.
Instantly wary she silently climbed back up into the tree to get a better view of the ground. There was no sign of them. She checked her hip pouch and then opened it. She still had both scrolls. Of course the scrolls meant nothing if she couldn't get her team together. Hinata sighed and activated her byakugan. Yuki and Hiei were visible almost immediately. They were hanging upside-down about a hundred meters east. She didn't see anyone else around them, but it was obviously a trap.
Her old nervousness tried to take over. How can you free your two teammates when your team is usually the one taking care of you? Be realistic, you're just gonna get caught too, lose the scrolls, and probably die… Even as she thought this, her feet were already shifting position on her branch and she jumped to the next. Her eyes still looked all around, peering into darkness in an attempt to see her enemy. Nothing yet. A few more jumps closer and she dared not go any further just yet. Turning left she began to go around the area her team was in to try and find threats. Again nothing.
It can't be this easy… She started into the center to free Yuki and Hiei when her feet stuck to the tree she was climbing. Looking down she noticed nothing out of the ordinary, no jutsus or sap. Then she looked forward again and her eyes grew even wider. Yuki and Hiei were only illusions! Hinata felt ashamed to have been fooled with her byakugan for so long, but at the same time she now knew she'd have to remind the boys to not wander off so far they got lost. Yuki's one gift was genjutsu, and it seemed he and Hiei had gone on 'patrol' for enemies, lost their way, then settled down with a jutsu to disguise their sleeping forms with already captured ones.
Hinata looked down at her feet and pulled up. She fell off the trunk and curled up into a ball. I'mgonnadie!! To her dismay, she hit the ground hard, but had shifted her weight enough to roll some to ease the landing. It still hurt. For a moment she remained curled up, then she slowly began to unwind and make up her damage report. "Ow…" She rolled onto her back and looked at the dark canopy of green far above her. The ground underneath her was spongy with dead leaves, and not all that uncomfortable aside from the dampness. She was content to lay there a while, but realized that fall must've gotten someone's attention. Her group was close to the tower, and she imagined other teams were also closing in. Biting back a grown she sat up and tried to get her feet under her.
"Ah!" she fell down. Her face was pale and her eyes squeezed shut. She wasn't fond of pain.
"Hinata-chan!" The Hyuuga looked up to see Yuki and Hiei scrambling down the trunk of the tree with anxious looks on their faces. It was Yuki who'd called. He landed first and looked at her pained face. "Are you okay? What happened? Were you attacked?"
She blushed a bit and shook her head. "I got momentarily stuck on the tree trying to get to you and then fell." Her hand hovered over her ankle. "I think I sprained it." Hiei sighed and Yuki bit his lower lip as he thought.
Standing with his hands on his hips, Yuki declared, "Then I'll just have to carry you!" Hinata winced. She was small enough, but it would wear him out too much if he tried to keep up a lively pace.
"We still have to get to the tower. If you carry me you'll be too tired to fight." She brought out a roll of bandages. "I'll take care of this if you two are willing to wait a little more..?" Hiei and Yuki nodded.
"I'll go see if I can find us something fresh for breakfast," Hiei said before running off.
I hope he doesn't get lost again… Hinata thought grimly as she removed her sandal. Her ankle was already turning weird colors. Running her hands over it she looked at the damage with more than just her eyes. Bruising, swelling, damaged chakra lines, she had the works. Taking a few calming breaths that sounded more like shudders, Hinata started to poke at her ankle with the same determined stare Naruto used on cups of cooking ramen. Yuki watched with interest as she administered her newest style of first aid.
The first things to go were the nerves that would give her the most trouble. Then she did her best to moderate the swelling and keep the flow of chakra in that appendage normal. When she was done, she wrapped it up and put her shoe back on. There had been something else amiss with her foot, but she couldn't put her finger on it… Shaking her head with a sigh, she knew her medical knowledge and skills were hardly professional grade. Further treatment would have to wait.
Hiei returned with some sketchy looking berries that the other two opted not to eat. Instead they feasted on the power bars Hinata had brought. When she stood up, Hinata felt a slight twinge of pain, but was surprised at how easily she could move around. The team moved on towards the tower.
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Naruto sighed with relief as Hinata walked into the tower and her team opened their scrolls. Iruka, who had been put in charge of this part of the exam for once, cast a look at Naruto and smiled as he looked away and busied himself with going over the leaf's applications to find the ones for Hinata's team. It was only the second day of the exam, and four teams had already shown up.
"Naruto-kun, there are still too many teams out to try to stop the exam. Filling the forest with leaf nins will make the other villages call foul. A single team may go in and try to sniff out any problems, but until we know Orochimaru is in there I can't allow any more." Naruto's back stiffened and he gave his former teacher and current ramen-eating companion a steady look. It reminded Iruka of someone, but he couldn't remember exactly who.
"Alright. I'll inform Kaka—er, the Hokage." Naruto disappeared into a wisp of smoke. Iruka sighed and walked over to the observation monitor. Pressing a button, a tape came out. Naruto hadn't noticed that the video was from the last chuunin exam. Iruka had just needed to do something to calm the boy down. The truth of the matter was only two teams had already arrived, and neither of them was Hinata's. While Iruka was sure he'd see hers soon, he did wonder who Orochimaru could be after in the exam.
It seemed clear to all except Naruto that the sennin's target was still Sasuke. Despite successfully ridding himself of the heaven seal, the Uchiha could still be marked again. Iruka set the papers for Hinata's team aside and looked at the two that had already come in when there was a knock at the office door. It opened as he looked up and a chuunin stuck his head in. "Another team just got in." Iruka turned on the live video feed and relaxed. Hinata, Yuki, and Hiei were standing in one of the rooms with two open scrolls and an instructor talking over them. Iruka picked up the papers he had pretended to mark before and did so now. Much better timing than last year, Hinata. I guess training with the sennin helped.
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Sakura looked back over the heads of the children walking through the stone halls and felt a moment of panic. She hated thinking she'd lost someone, but it seemed there were a couple of the younger girls who hung back from the group constantly. "Step faster, Girls," she said. They gave her a glance and caught up, but Sakura could already tell they would be slowing down again soon. At least the students were all taken care of. The other village children would be arriving shortly—but with chaperones. Sakura had helped the substitute instructor taking over for Iruka because he'd been the only one around, and she doubted his ability to keep an eye on so many kids.
Catching his eye, she said, "I'm going back to the front."
He gave her a smile that lit up his green eyes. "I can handle this." Sakura nodded and walked off just as the ground began to tremble….
::Okay, cruel cliffy, but I think I know what I'm doing now. The next chapter should be up in a timely fashion::
