Let this chapter unfold…

Taya opened the scroll slowly. Her fingers shook, but she couldn't help that. She had been out in the freezing weather for days now. Inside was what the examiner had said, a map, and a detailed one at that, of the Land of Ice. Kado and Rinji stood by her sides and stared at the map for a while.

"This is bad. We have to travel almost all the way to the other side of this map to get to the tower and I don't know if we're going to make it in time," Rinji sighed with a worried look on his face.

"We didn't go through all that trouble for nothing. It's worth giving a try," Kado had put on his serious face, something he didn't use too often.

"Then we should head out now. We only have about 20 hours left," Taya tucked away the scroll in her pocket and nudged the guys to move. The three of them ran out of the underground ice camber and up into the wind.

"The wind is a little bit calmer today. We should move at a fast pace," Kado suggested.

"Roger!" Rinji humorously said. The team swiftly dashed across the ice, being extra careful. They moved steadily at that pace for only a few hours, stopped for a break and food, and then moved on again. The moon was unusually bright, but as long as it provided light for them to travel through the night, they didn't care. The three of them wanted to sleep, but they couldn't. Sleeping on the middle of a barren ice field in the dark couldn't be any more dangerous. That was a big risk, if they went on without sleep, their energy would not return to them. "We can sleep as much as we want when we reach the tower!" was Kado's motivation. Within five hours for nonstop running, they were halfway through.

"We're… almost there… just… a little bit… more…We can't… stop here…" Kado huffed as he fell to his knees.

"Look at yourself Kado. We need to rest now," Taya tried to help him up, but her energy was drained as well and she fell beside him.

"We're going to rest here, no buts," Rinji stood over them. He looked around and confirmed that no one was close by, closed his eyes, and allowed himself sleep.

Six hours passed. Rinji had awaked with a start. He pulled out his pocket watch and woke up the sleeping team mates beside him.

"Guys! We only have nine hours to get to the tower now! Wake up!" Rinji shook the both of them until they awakened. Taya winced, but stood up and pulled Kado to his feet. There was no time to stretch, the sooner they got to the tower, the better. They traveled just a bit faster this time since some energy was regained, but their movements were poor from dizziness. They fought the feeling as much as they could.

"So, do you think we'll have to do preliminary matches this year?" Taya asked.

"If we do, it would be such a pain in my ass," Rinji groaned. No one spoke again until the tower was sighted four hours later.

"Finally! Let's hurry up!" Kado grinned with excitement. The others were happy too by just thinking of getting out of the cold. They picked up speed again and arrived at the tower door 45 minutes later.

'I guess we rushed a bit," Taya panted.

"Since we're here already, let's go inside," Rinji opened the door. Five examiners and ANBU members were standing in front of them.

"Let's see the scroll," one of the examiners held out his hand. Taya took the yellow scroll out of her pocket and placed it in his hand. His eyes widened at the yellow color. "You guys found this one? Unbelievable…"

An ANBU member walked over to them. "Head over this way. We need to check for signs of frostbite and whatnot," a female voice said through her mask. Taya, Kado, and Rinji followed to a corner of the room. She looked at each of them closely and felt the places that were most valuable. "You three did well. Your bodies are just cold and weak now, but that's all," she confirmed as she gave each of them a blanket. As Taya looked around, she found only one other team was there. A team from the Village Hidden in the Grass.

"It looks as if this year's second exam was too harsh," Taya sighed.

"Wrong. I think this year's teams just suck," Kado argued.

"It doesn't matter. We got here and we're done," Rinji reminded them. Both teams sat quietly, dozing off every now and then. Taya was just about to close her eyes when she heard the other team mumble something to each other.

"Ha, you see that girl? She looks like she could be crushed so easily," the guy with an evil smirk said.

"Then we will crush her, huh?" the female member of the team said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Taya, are you listening to all this?" Rinji poked her. Taya gave a small nod and frowned a bit.

"They have no idea who you are, do you?" Kado yawned.

"Tell me, who do you think I am?" Taya said with no emotions in her voice.

"You're Hatake Kakashi's, Konoha's Copy Ninja, daughter; student of Haruno Sakura, former apprentice of the Fifth Hokage; and best friend of this team," Rinji whispered with a smile. "Geez, if they heard me, they're going to really try to kick our asses."

Taya sighed. She took in what he said, but didn't know how to respond.

Four hours passed and that was the end of the time limit. No other teams showed up at all. A few of the ANBU members left to search for the other 22 teams.

"Heh, looks like there's less people to torture this year," the second guy of the other team snickered.

"This is going to be troublesome. More than I want it to be," Rinji shook his head.

"We can't always get what we want. So let's do our best and get it over with," Taya stood up. Kado and Rinji followed her lead and walked over to the center of the room where the examiner was. The other team stepped up as well.

"Well, since there are only two of the twenty-two teams, there will be no preliminary matches this year. Anyway, you have one month starting after today to train since we need to contact all of the federal lords. We'll explain how the main matches will work when they start. Have fun, you're dismissed," the care-free examiner poofed away without another word.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Kado told his team mates. They both nodded and were about to poof away until they heard a woman's voice.

"Taya-chan! Congratulations!" It was Ino, the Chuunin that Taya had met years ago. This time she was no longer a Chuunin, but she had ranked up to Jounin. She ran up to Taya and gave her a bear hug before Taya could escape.

"Ino-sensei…" Taya could barely breathe. Kado and Rinji stopped in their tracks and stared at the strange event.

Ino turned to them. "It's Rinji-kun and Kado-kun! Do you still remember me?" she asked as she patted them on their backs.

"Eh heh… how could we forget our teacher at the Academy…?" Rinji answered hesitantly.

"I knew you would still remember! How have you three been?" Ino was still grinning, which scared all of them.

"We've been doing well," Taya answered, trying to act happier than she really was.

"Do you guys need a teacher to train you this month? I can finally teach you new material now," she suggested. They each looked at each other.

"I'm sure my father won't teach me anything that'll take a month, so Rinji, why don't you train with him? He's had some experience Taijutsu, which should help you plenty. And Sakura-Sensei wants to finish teaching me some healing jutsus. So Kado, would you mind training with Ino-Sensei? I know your major in Genjutsu, but I think you should learn a little bit more," Taya planned out everything within seconds.

"Sounds like a sweet plan," Kado agreed. He knew he was weak in everything else.

"Thanks Taya. I know I'll grow stronger if I train with him," Rinji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. She nodded and smiled. "I'm not sure if he'll do it, but it's a risk I'll take."

"Alright! Kado-kun, meet me in the meadow tomorrow at 11 AM! Don't be late!" With that said, Ino poofed away. The three of them sighed.

"Good luck to the both of you," Taya summoned the purple leaves and poofed away. After the two guys confirmed she was gone, they left as well.

At home…

When Kakashi sensed Taya's presence, he jerked up. When he saw the purple leaves, he walked up to them and waited for Taya to appear. "There's nothing left to worry about now," Kakashi thought quickly. When Taya appeared, her head hung loosely. She looked up at her father with dull eyes.

"Welcome home, Taya," Kakashi whispered as he gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Mm," Taya nodded. "I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" He moved his hand back to his side.

"Can you supervise Rinji's training for the next month? He needs you more than I do," Taya sighed. "Besides, Sakura-Sensei wants to train me."

"Sure," Kakashi firmly nodded.

"Then I'll go tell him to meet you…?" She asked.
"Here, at noon." He confirmed.

"Then I'll be on my way now," she arranged her hands into the rat symbol, but he pulled it apart.

"You just go t back, I'll go," Without another word, Kakashi poofed away. Taya smirked. "Rinji's in good hands now," she thought as she lugged her body to her room. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor the minute she closed the sliding door.

At Rinji's house…

Kakashi knocked on Rinji's door twice and waited. Rinji was the one who opened the door.

"Kakashi-Sensei… What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "I came to thank you."

"For what?" Rinji's eyes widened.

"Aiding Taya in the second exam."

"That's what team mates do. There's no need to thank me and Kado," Rinji smiled.

Kakashi was still grinning under his mask. He turned around and started to walk away. Then he lifted his hand so that it was level to his head and waved. "Oh, you're training starts at my house at noon." Rinji blinked a few times. After he couldn't see Kakashi anymore, he fell backwards. "So… I'm really going to receive training from the legendary Copy Ninja… Wait… at his house?" It took him a while to figure out what he just said to himself. "Taya's house!" Rinji smacked himself on the head. In the condition he was in, his simple punishment knocked him out.

This chapter… it ends here..