Chapter 29
Final Stretch: Heaven and Earth as One
Lethargy and fatigue strangled every cell in Amari's body. Her limbs felt heavier than they should, as if Kakashi snuck in during the Exam and placed weighted seals on her when no one was looking. Dull aches replaced the screeching, white-hot pain of her wounds, sore muscles kept her down and the usual fiery spirit in her body no longer burned. The embers she kindled cooled, leaving only ashes behind for the phoenix to eventually rise from once more.
Or, perhaps, for the dragon to awaken from its hibernation would be more accurate.
Amari shrugged it off. She was too tired to think, too tired to do anything except sleep and wait for her energy to return.
Her wait was in vain. She remained sapped of strength; body and mind worked in a state of automated actions and responses, none of which she really remembered. Most of the days were a blur, like a hastily put together collage of unimportant everyday moments she took part in, yet had no recollection of doing.
There were moments where Mimi's voice and blue eyes were directly in front of her, forcing her to focus on a specific task, such as eating or answering a question. Then it was back to sleep. Back to the hibernation her body desperately needed to recover as her mind dreamed of the Sound shinobi fight.
"I'll take care of your buddy and all these Genin's right now in one fell swoop!"
She believed him. She could sense the chakra building in him, far more than he used in his Slicing Sound Wave. No way for Shikamaru's team to escape. No chance for her team or Lee to get out of the blast radius.
Everyone one will die…
"Supersonic Slicing Wave!"
The power was incredible. She could feel the earth shaking. She could see the huge wave of power surging at them in slow motion.
No…
Amari shut her eye. Everything hurt. Everything hurt so much. She couldn't even feel the fingertips of her right hand.
You have to stand up…
Her body twitched. Her toes and fingers curled and stretched, the muscles in her legs and arms tensed and relaxed.
They need you…
Her heart pumped faster and faster, pumping the blood through her body as she curled her tiny body over the remaining embers to protect them from the cold embrace of unconsciousness.
Don't fail them too…
The scar over her left eye started to burn.
You swore to never sit and watch people you loved die again…
Chakra surged through her body.
Don't lose them like you lost Ryu!
Amari's red eye snapped open as her embers reignited into a large inferno. Her chakra exploded to life as she dashed forward.
No one else. No one else. No one else.
She threw her hands out in front of her and created a tornado of green chakra around herself.
It won't be enough. It's too powerful.
Her Sharingan could perceive every millisecond as the attack barreled towards her. Inch by inch it neared, her chakra rapidly spinning and draining even faster as she tried to move it faster, faster, faster.
They'll die because you're too weak.
Too little chakra. Too weak. Too pathetic. What hope did she have of protecting them when she couldn't even save her Ryu and Kasai? Amari squinted and gritted her teeth against the strain.
I won't…I won't let them die. No matter the cost.
The scars on her left arm started to itch and burn alongside the scar over her eye.
I will…
Amari's right eye widened, the tomoe within spinning rapidly as chakra poured into her eye.
Protect them!
"Ultimate Defense: Dragon Shield!" she roared from the bottom of her heart.
An imperfect jutsu against the Supersonic Slicing Wave, it was the only card she had left to play. While it protected her friends it tore her muscles apart. And as soon as it ended she felt the distinct lack of chakra in her body. She was but an empty shell on the verge of death as unconsciousness claimed her.
The inferno faded, and the embers quickly started to fade like tiny orange stars succumbing to inevitable darkness.
Mom…Everyone…I'm sorry, but it's time for me to go home to my family…
Amari's eye slowly started to roll up into her skull.
I love you all. Thank you…for giving me people worth living for.
Then, as the final ember started to burn out, life surged back through her. The ember remained lit as chakra poured into her body, and with the return of her strength, her eye hardened.
She would finish this.
Amari tried to shake the memory off. Her scars itched, burned, more than her real wounds did. But, despite the damage her body endured, Amari was content with the way the fight turned out.
Sakura found her strength, everyone survived and they finally got the Earth Scroll; what more could she ask for?
Orochimaru never showing up.
Another bonus was field testing her new jutsus. It opened her eyes to the flaws of her Ultimate Defense and Shadow Dragons, as well as the possibilities for their real strength.
A mentally awake Amari would already be dialing in on the weaknesses, piecing together their origin and how to fix them. A mentally awake Amari, from there, would figure out what training to focus on to empower them.
Amari, however, was not mentally awake. Not even close.
Thinking about jutsus at a time like this? Talk about a drag. That was way too much work. All she wanted was to go home, have the largest bowl of ice cream her mother allowed before falling asleep in her bed.
Ice cream…
She could almost taste its cold sweetness.
Unfortunately, the likelihood of an ice cream shop suddenly opening in the Forest of Death was low. Really low. Opening up a shop out here wasn't a good business move. Too many giant snakes and other dangerous creatures to ward off customers.
Ice cream would have to wait.
Good news, she could slowly feel her strength returning. Amari was nowhere near one hundred percent. Hell, she wasn't even close to fifty percent by her tired estimations. But there were enough lights on to take her off autopilot zombie mode back to semi-functionality.
I have to take my victories where I can, Amari thought, a tired eye watching her teammates. She hugged her left knee to her chest and rested her chin on it with her right leg extended out in front of her.
Some distance away, Naruto and a few clones stripped down into their boxer shorts dove from a cliff into the river. The plan, or hope, was to cause some fish to jump out of the water into Sasuke's line of sight. The Uchiha boy stood on the shore nearby, a set of kunai at the ready, prepared to strike their breakfast down.
I wish it was ice cream…
Vanilla ice cream for breakfast, with cookies crushed and mixed into them. Oh! What about two sugar cookies with a scoop of ice cream crammed between them? She could create several homemade ice cream sandwiches and then have her bowl of ice cream.
I'm a culinary genius. Her stomach growled. And really hungry for sweets.
Next to Amari, Mimi laid on the ground with Aoko lying on her stomach after yet another healing session. Their eyes remained closed and breathing calm while they waited for the boys to return with breakfast.
Thanks to Mimi's consistent work most of the pain was gone. There were still lingering problems; her right arm still tingled, the tips of her fingers were numb, not to mention the phantom burning sensation from her scars. Those, however, were her struggles to overcome.
One day at a time.
She lightly pressed two fingers to her left eye. Ryu…when I dreamed of the fight, I would see you every time the dragon appeared, standing at my side. I know it's a dream…but I like to think you really were there, giving me the strength to protect my precious people.
I- I miss you…Amari lowered her hand and exhaled a quiet, sad sigh. But I'm not coming back to you yet. Not until I fulfill your last wish.
I'll try not to be early.
Physically Amari felt better compared to the immediate aftermath. What Mimi was doing for her, she really appreciated it. She could have left with her team and finished the test faster, maybe even been the first to arrive at the tower. Instead the Inuzuka chose to delay her team and stay to heal Amari, expending chakra she wouldn't have had to use otherwise.
Amari did her best to express her gratitude when she could. It was only right. Without Mimi she would have lost more blood and been in even more pain. She wouldn't even be functioning relatively normally right now without her help.
She's a good friend.
Amari pulled at Mimi's sweater, readjusting it to hang more loosely on her smaller frame. Once comfortable, her eye flicked up to check on Sakura. Her fellow kunoichi knelt next to their extinguished fire pit, preparing it for a new fire to cook their breakfast.
After breakfast they'd be setting out to reach the tower.
Hopefully there won't be any trouble, she thought. But honestly, I think I'm just going to expect the worst. At least then there's a chance I can be pleasantly surprised.
A total of three days passed since they embarked on this exam. That left them with all of today and all of tomorrow to reach the tower. It wasn't a bad situation. Time was still of the essence, but at least they weren't on the final day.
It sucks we spent day one and two getting our butts kicked.
No chance they were going to set any records, not that she cared. She hadn't come here to set records. She came to test her strength against stronger shinobi. I really need to be more careful what I wish for. Amari sighed. Seriously, next time I ask to be challenged, I need to make sure I say against people who aren't legendary shinobi or so out of my league I'll live only on their whim. Or have stupid minions.
These last few days had been the biggest drag.
"Hey Amari, do you have the chakra to light this?" Sakura asked.
She nodded shortly and created the Tiger seal. She exhaled a tiny, pitiful fire. Pitiful it may have been, but it was all she could do, and it set the wood on fire. Another small win for the exhausted Amaririsu Yūhi, she drawled sarcastically.
Sakura smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
At least I can help a little bit. I'm not completely useless. Not like when she lost Ryu.
Amari watched the flames dance, her thoughts awakening a little bit more when Shikamaru came to mind. Did you make it to the end yet, Shika? Are you safe? She hoped so. Part of her wished he stayed, but it was better this way. He could get to safety and pass the exam without endangering his team further.
I wonder if Hinata's team made it through. It'd be cool if all of us rookies make it to the final stage.
Her stomach growled and thoughts of the exam faded.
Sasuke and Naruto returned and pierced the six fish they caught with sticks. After setting them over the fire, the group sat in relative silence as they waited for their food to be cooked. Once it finished, they each took one fish each and gave the other two to Mimi and Aoko.
Their food gone, Sasuke stood up and took their makeshift bamboo pitcher to go get fresh water for the team.
"Amari, do you think the area around the tower is going to be heavily layered with traps?" Sakura asked as they sat by the fire.
She and Mimi nodded. "Definitely," Amari answered. "At this point in the exam, anyone who doesn't have a scroll or wants to eliminate competition is going to be waiting around that tower for the remaining stragglers. Although intelligent shinobi will know to be cautious, it doesn't change how perfect the conditions are for an ambush and traps. Those who have had time to set up will be well rested and well-prepared for incoming shinobi."
"Good thing you have Aoko and I here to help smell out the trouble before we run into it," Mimi said, brandishing her usual grin.
Yes, they were extremely fortunate to have the pair here. Her need to replenish chakra left her eyes off limits, and in her state of fatigue her sensory abilities weren't sharp enough to avoid enemy shinobi. Mimi being here ensured they had a higher chance of avoiding all fights instead of stumbling like tired idiots into them.
"True," she said. "Your help does increase our chances significantly, but we can't afford to get overconfident in our abilities now. Between my current state and Sasuke's, we're already at a severe disadvantage in strength and sensory abilities. We'll be liabilities to all of you. It won't take an intelligent opponent long to notice our weakness."
Her exhausted state placed a giant target right on her. Sasuke, on the other hand, had to keep himself from expending too much chakra. If he didn't, or if he was placed in a situation where using chakra was mandatory to survival, the vile chakra from the Seal would gain more of a foothold in his system.
Something none of them wanted.
"Don't worry so much," Mimi soothed. "We'll avoid trouble when we can and take down any punks who get in our wa—" The Inuzuka's eyes sharpened and then she was gone.
Amari sensed the new chakra presence a second later—a second too late if it weren't for Mimi. She turned to face the new presence, kunai in hand and a quiet curse under her breath.
Why now of all times? Hadn't they been through enough already?
Next to Naruto, a familiar ash-grey haired and purple shirt wearing shinobi knelt on one knee.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kabuto said, his hand extended out to hold Naruto's hands in place.
"Thought I caught your scent, just didn't think you'd be stupid enough to come here," Mimi growled, her kunai to his throat. "I know you're alone. Let go of the kid or I'll remove your head." She pressured the blade against his throat, a sliver of crimson trailing over her onyx blade. "Don't try to call it a bluff. This forest has taken what little patience I have and torn it to pieces."
No one doubted her.
"Heh, easy," Kabuto soothed nervously, a bead of sweat falling down his cheek to join the stream of crimson. "I'm not here to attack you guys. See?" He motioned to Naruto's hands with a downward flick of his eyes.
Amari and Mimi looked to Naruto's hands. In them was their Earth scroll, part of the paper unwrapped, but not enough to see what was inside. The Nara groaned. Of all the stupid things…
"Naruto! You know we are forbidden from looking into that scroll!" she reprimanded.
Mimi snarled, lowered her blade from Kabuto's throat, flipped it so the blunt end was facing away from her then swatted the blond top of his head. Naruto yelped and grabbed at the area, dropping the scroll into his lap. "Damn goofball."
Movement caught Amari's attention in the distance. Sasuke was rushing over, ready to destroy Kabuto from the look of it. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"Troublemaker making trouble when we weren't looking," Mimi responded, an edge to her voice. Kabuto retracted his hand from the boy and sighed in relief. She cast a glance to the older shinobi. "Sorry about that. Couldn't take any chances, and as I said, this forest has left me with no patience."
He laughed it off, a bit shaky and full of his relief. "No harm done. I understand completely."
Sakura walked over to Naruto and snatched the scroll from him. She stuffed it into her ninja pouch and returned to her seat, grumbling under her breath the whole way.
Mimi remained standing. Her eyes pinned back onto Naruto in a scathing glare seemingly meant to set him on fire. "Hey, what's the big idea? After everything you guys went through, and what Amari put herself through, why the hell were you trying to peek at the scroll?" she growled.
"That's why I wanted to look!" Naruto defended himself. "Amari put herself through so much, so I wanted to see what was so important inside." Mimi swatted him with the blunt end of her kunai again. Naruto recoiled and covered his head again. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?!"
"For being an idiot!" she fired back. "You were about to get your entire team disqualified and render the sacrifices pointless out of curiosity! I ought to tear you to shreds and unleash this pent up aggression I have!" Naruto visibly shrank in fear of the furious Inuzuka. "You heard that crazy proctor: 'You. Don't. Want. To. Know.' Ring any bells? Whatever is in there will probably lay us all flat on our asses!"
"She's right," Kabuto agreed, standing up to his full height. "There have been others who broke the rules to read the scrolls. I've seen what happens to them." Sasuke joined the group, casting a suspicious look at the older shinobi behind his back. He didn't like him. Then again, his timing was inherently suspicious. Amari was just too tired to question it at this point.
"The scrolls are protected by a strong hypnosis jutsu—a sort of booby trap for anyone unwise enough to disobey the rules. It will knock you senseless, and by the time you wake up the exam is over."
Naruto blanched visibly.
"Thank you, Kabuto," Amari thanked. That would have been an unfortunate end to this exam.
He smiled at her. "It was nothing, really. I owed you one."
"What are you doing out here anyways? You obviously got past the genjutsu," she pointed out.
"Don't worry. I'm not after your scroll. I already have both, see." He pulled out both of his scrolls to show the group then stuffed them back in his pouch. "I was just on my way to the tower actually but fell into the genjutsu. I prepared for an ambush after I released it, but none came. I concluded it was set up to hide a team instead of meant for an offensive attack, so I came to see who was in trouble. Maybe they were enemies I could eliminate, or perhaps they were allies I could help." Another smile. "I'm pleased it was the latter."
"Mm. Lucky you showed up when you did, otherwise that goofball would have knocked us all senseless."
The ash-grey haired ninja put his scrolls back then regarded the Inuzuka carefully. "You're the medical-ninja from Team Guys team, right? What are you doing here?" he asked clearly confused.
Mimi's seriousness fell for a grin. "Lending a hand to the rookies. They were half dead when I found them; begging for help, pleading for the great Mimi Inuzuka to please, please, please guide them to the end."
All four members of Team Seven frowned at her humor.
"You don't say," Kabuto chuckled.
Guess it is partly true, the Nara conceded.
"If you're heading for the tower, then I don't see why we should wait around any longer," Mimi continued, far more serious than before. "We might as well go together. Increase your chances since you're on your own and increase our strength. A win-win."
"Can't deny it." Kabuto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I wouldn't mind the help getting to the tower. This is the furthest I've gotten in my years taking the exam."
Aoko sniffed the air then growled lowly. The Inuzuka's eyes flicked to the side behind Amari. "We should go now. We're lucky you were the first one to get through the genjutsu, but its potency isn't as strong as it was. I get the feeling the competition has caught onto to our ruse."
All the Genin nodded in agreement to the subtle message: the enemy was near.
"Get dressed, Naruto, and try not to do anything too stupid," Sasuke scolded before moving to get ready.
Naruto growled under his breath then proceeded to mimic and mock Sasuke behind his back, pulling faces and gestures as he moved to get dressed.
"What about Amari?" Sakura asked.
The question of the last two days, no doubt. Amari started to move to stand. "I'll be fin—"
Mimi's gloved hand rested on her shoulder and halted her motions. "Ah, ah, ah, no. You're not walking on your own just yet," she stated firmly. "You've got to rest the leg while you can, otherwise it won't heal properly."
"But—"
"No, Amari. When you're the medic and I'm the patient, we can have arguments like this. Until then, you'll be listening to me."
Amari sighed, displeased at the situation. Sure she understood Mimi's point, but she didn't want to burden the team any further. As long as they moved fast her leg wouldn't be an issue. But she wouldn't argue. Not when it was impossible to win.
Troublesome girl.
"Sakura, you'll carry her as we move," Mimi said, removing her sweater from Amari and putting it back on.
She received a nod.
As soon as Naruto finished getting dressed they set off towards the tower.
Through the trees, above the forest floor, they traveled, Sakura piggybacking Amari and the others remaining aware of their surroundings. Along the way Kabuto explained to Naruto and Sasuke why the area around the tower was the most dangerous.
The best way to get a scroll would be to set up shop around the tower with traps. Considering Kabuto said he found shinobi who opened their scrolls, half wouldn't be able to pass anymore. Even less scrolls were in the field, and that made shinobi more desperate as the days counted down.
People without both scrolls would realize this the longer they went without running into other shinobi. It would become clear the tower attracted all participants, and so they would wait around it, setting up ambushes and traps to get the scroll or scrolls they needed. Today and tomorrow shinobi would be waiting in abundance.
Then there was the other problem that Amari was afraid of being possible.
Collectors.
Those who had both scrolls but wanted to eliminate competition, give a scroll to their allies, or use extras to barter for safe passage when faced with a stronger enemy. This brought the group to the reason why Kabuto came along.
There were going to be a lot of ninja between them and their goal. Kabuto was away from his team, which left him vulnerable to teams of collectors should he encounter them. Sticking with their group meant they wouldn't face ninjas alone and added numbers into their favor.
We're a bigger target, but with Mimi and Kabuto we have a shot. If they could reach the tower without problems, it would be great. Wonderful even. Yet if they did run into trouble, having Kabuto, Mimi and Aoko would help to make up for the absence of Amari and Sasuke's strength.
Here's hoping we can make it without issues.
By the time the tower came into sight, night was nearly upon them. "There's the tower. Too bad that means we're in a hostile environment more so than we were before," Amari said as Sakura let her back down for a small break.
Naruto pumped an enthusiastic fist into the air. "All right bring 'em on!"
Amari cringed. He already forgot the cardinal rule of silence. There was no telling how many enemies were out there, or how many just heard his voice.
"Hey Naruto, do us a favor and try to keep it to a dull roar, would you?" Kabuto stated in a question. The boy made a sound of confusion. "You see, the idea is to make sure no one knows we are here. If you go crashing through the forest like a bull in a china shop then you are going to draw collectors like flies."
"Which is bad, Goofball," Mimi teased with a grin.
"It's going to be a drag, but we want to avoid them completely if we can," Amari agreed.
"Time for us to shine, right Aoko?" Mimi directed to her ninken. A soft murmur was her response. The duo sniffed the air. "Okay, follow me as quietly as you can. We have an entire day left, so let's move with purpose but remain cautious."
They all nodded and followed the Inuzuka, Sakura once again piggybacking the Nara.
Two proverbs to trust in Konoha: "Always trust an Inuzuka's nose" and "Never play shogi with a Nara."
Jumping through the trees was no longer an option. Naturally they would want to move quick and fast, but now was the time to be more like a tortoise and less like rabbit. Or, more like Kakashi and less like Guy.
The large team moved with purpose on the forest floor, using the foliage and the Inuzuka's senses to sneak around enemy teams or avoid them outright. Twice they had close calls. Their large group used their shinobi training to hide from sight as the teams searched for the shinobi they were certain had been there.
They weren't wrong, but lacking a sensor left them unable to find the Leaf shinobi hidden among the forest.
Closer to the tower they ran into other ninjas—dead ninjas.
In a tree above them, caught up in ninja wire and littered with kunai were three shinobi. They paid the price for setting off a trap, whether through arrogance or sheer coincidence. It was a sad sight to see. Such a waste of potential life.
All shinobi eventually killed. It was a part of the life they were in, and sometimes there was no other choice. One day Amari herself would have to face the same reality. Because of that, she wanted to spare life where and when she could. I'll need to start taking genjutsu training more seriously.
"Seems some of the others really took the no holds barred thing seriously," Amari said to herself.
"It will only get worse as we go," Kabuto observed wisely.
Mimi and Aoko both quietly searched the area with their eyes and noses. The kunoichi looked troubled to a degree yet her confidence wasn't wavering. "Mimi?" Amari prompted.
"We're being followed, have been since we left camp." She shook her head. "I don't think they're trackers. If they were, they wouldn't have nearly lost our trail an hour ago, but they're back on it. I've tried changing our paths a few times to lose their trail all the while avoiding other ninjas, but these guys are stubborn," Mimi said distantly, her mind distracted by the three ninja on their tail.
"What are you thinking?" Kabuto asked.
"I want to say keep going and reach the end before they catch up, but it's unlikely we could. Not at the pace we're going and not if we want to avoid collectors. They could trap us in a genjutsu or set up a trap ahead of us if we did. We could try hiding, but if they found our trail again they are probably smart enough to find us if we hide. That would also waste time and leave us out here in enemy territory."
"A trap or a straight up fight are our only two options," Sasuke said.
The Inuzuka nodded. "Yeah, and the second one is a bad idea. We've be going all day and almost half the night. They may be just as tired as us, but with you and Amari in weakened states and me at half strength we'll just place your scrolls and Kabuto's at risk."
"And a straight fight will attract unwanted attention," Amari said, pursing her lips in thought at the problem in front of them.
"Why don't we use a trap like the one we used against the Rain shinobi," Sakura offered. "Naruto can create clones to transform into our group. We pick a place to hide and wait for them to take the bait then take them down."
"Think you can pull it off, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"You bet I can. It'll be no sweat at all," Naruto declared.
Amari shifted on Sakura's back to release some of the tension building in her thigh before speaking. "If they're smart, they won't try to take us on head-on, even if they are desperate."
Kabuto nodded. "She's right. They've made it this far without being killed or getting caught by the collectors. We should be cautious."
Sakura turned her head to look back at her. "What are you thinking, Amari?"
The gears in her brain slowly started to spin again, grinding and sparking as if unused for a century, but they were finally turning. It was a good sign. "They've been following us all day, so they have to be just as tired as we are. In their position, under the impression my enemies have no sensors among them, I would want to attack from the shadows and wear my enemies down even further while I remained rested.
"But the flaw is how much chakra Naruto will have to expend with his clones." She shook her head. "We wouldn't be able to wait them out all night; it'd sap Naruto of most of his strength." Especially in his current state. He may not have realized it yet, but he didn't have access to nearly as much chakra anymore. For him, they needed to be careful. "I say we draw their ambush to his clones. From there, with Mimi's senses, we take them out quickly and efficiently."
"It's a good plan as long as they don't see through the clones," Kabuto agreed, pushing his glasses up. "Until then we should try to find a good ambush area closer to the tower. Mimi, do you think you will be able to keep track of the ninja and all others around us?"
She nodded. "I'll track the ones around us. Aoko, you track the three on our tail." Her ninken gave a bark of understanding and then the group continued on their way.
When the ninja on their tail were closer, the large team set up their trap and hid themselves away in small groups. Mimi and Aoko paired up with Amari while Sasuke, Sakura, Kabuto and Naruto hid close by.
As they waited, Mimi placed a single hand to Amari's thigh and used her Medical Ninjutsu to knit together whatever damage was left. "Try to keep off the leg as long as you can," she whispered.
"I'll do my best."
Mimi glanced up at her shoulder and frowned. "Your shoulder…You'll need a more experienced medic-nin to fix it. It's beyond my current skill level. The tingles you feel and the numbness won't go away until you get it taken care of. The same applies to this wound on your leg. I can't fix all of it, even without restraining my chakra." Mimi sighed and removed her hand, shaking her head. "I appreciate and respect what you did to protect your team and Lee, I really do." Hardened blue eyes landed on her. "But don't you ever stab yourself again. You're lucky you didn't hit the artery."
Amari laughed softly. "Trust me, I don't plan to ever stab myself again. Getting stabbed really sucks."
Mimi grinned at that. "You don't say." Aoko's ears twitched up, as did Mimi's head in response to a sound only they could hear. Her features turned serious. "I'll be right back."
Then she was gone.
This is such a drag, Amari sighed. I can't even offer anything except tactical analysis.
She felt useless, and she hated it. Hated it nearly as much she hated the injuries responsible for her uselessness. No doubt Mimi and the others were already taking down their stalkers. And sooner or later they'd come back to grab her, all in an effort to keep her protected.
Amari appreciated everything they were doing for her. They kept her safe, carried her when her legs couldn't and healed her injuries. Truly, she was glad to have such good friends. But she didn't train so hard to be protected by others. She trained to be the protector, to keep others safe so they wouldn't succumb to the same fate as Ryu.
I know my wounds are severe. I know I've done a lot to protect them…
But she needed to be stronger. To stop Kasai, to protect her precious people, she had to become stronger than this.
I will. Amari curled her left hand into a fist. I swear I'll get stronger.
Mimi suddenly appeared next to her. "All right, time to move." She grabbed her arm and wrapped it around the back of her neck before Body Flickering again to the field where their trap had been set.
Face down in the center of the field was a familiar shinobi and his two teammates. "Hey, it's that guy we took the Heaven scroll from," Amari pointed out, surprised to see them again.
The Rain ninja and his teammates didn't have any visible external wounds on them, but they were clearly unconscious.
"Poor guys didn't even see her coming," Kabuto said, smirking at their misfortune.
"Strike quickly and efficiently was the plan, right?" Mimi grinned.
"What did you do?" Naruto asked, lightly tapping one of the Rain ninjas with his foot.
The downed shinobi did not stir.
Mimi shrugged nonchalantly. "Aoko and I hit the pressure points in their neck with chakra. They'll be napping for a while."
Kabuto hummed. "Impressive. That must take some real precision to pull off."
"Aw man, and here I was ready to fight," Naruto whined.
I'll have to keep that skill of hers in mind, Amari analyzed. Kabuto wasn't wrong, the precision and anatomical knowledge Mimi needed to do that spoke volumes of her level of skill. If she gets behind me, she could knock me out without any issue. But if she's even off by a few centimeters, her attack will fail.
She would remember that next time they fought.
With their pursuers down and out, the team continued on their way to the tower. It took some time; they couldn't abandon caution entirely even with the Rain shinobi down. Not when they were so close to the end.
They reached the tower without further incidents. All around the tower were doors marked with their starting gate numbers. For Team Seven and Kabuto, their doors were literally next to one another.
"Kabuto," a voice called. The group half turned to see Kabuto's teammates walking out of the forest to regroup. "You're late."
Amari frowned. Well, that's a nice greeting. No worry or question of why? Just "Hey, you're late. What's your problem?" Jerks.
"Sorry about that. I got a little sidetracked," he apologized.
"It wasn't so bad. In the end we were able to help one another get to the end. It all worked out if you ask me," Amari said.
"True enough," Kabuto agreed, nodding once. He glanced to their door. "Well, this is our door." He looked back at them with a smile. "So long and good luck to us all." Kabuto gave them a thumbs up then left with his team.
Not even a second later Team Guy jumped down out of the trees to join them. "Mimi, you're okay," Tenten breathed out happily.
Mimi grinned at her teammate. "As if there was ever any doubt. Right, Aoko?" Her ninken barked a pleased bark. "I told you I'd be here today." She looked up at the darkened sky. "Took a little longer than planned, but I always keep my promises."
"Trouble?" Neji questioned, his eyes flicking over to the door Kabuto's team entered through.
"Them? No. Rain ninjas who couldn't find their own asses if they were sitting on their two hands? Definitely."
Lee looked a lot better than last time, his usual youthful energy alive and well in his eyes. Unlike Amari, he could stand on his own feet; she was once again piggybacked on Sakura.
This is such a drag.
"You guys okay?" Mimi asked.
"We're all right. We've kept ourselves hidden most of the last two days and haven't run into any shinobi," Tenten answered.
"Lee?"
"I am well, Mimi, thanks to your healing and the rest I received while we waited." He looked over to the two kunoichi's. "How are you, Amaririsu and Sakura?"
"I'm okay, Lee, don't worry," Sakura said.
Amari nodded in agreement. "Me too. Mimi's been a big help."
"Glad I could help. Now we can all finish this exam. Hopefully the next stage is something a bit more exciting." Mimi grinned. "Or maybe I should just hang around you guys more often. You guys attract all sorts of entertainment and fun."
"You have a strange sense of fun, Mimi."
Tenten jabbed her fellow kunoichi and smiled. "You get used to it."
"Oh, you wound me once more!" the Inuzuka quipped dramatically.
Amari giggled tiredly at the dramatics then let her features sober up. "Thank you for the help, Mimi," she thanked sincerely, bowing her head as best as she could in appreciation.
"Eh, don't worry about it," Mimi waved her off. "I'll stop by after we get through whatever the deal with these scrolls are and heal you a little more if there aren't any professionals here." The Inuzuka gave Team Seven a casual two fingered salute. "See you four later."
With that, Team Guy left for their door.
Team Seven entered through their own with Naruto in the lead and the other three taking up the rear. The room it led to was large, and empty, made either with concrete walls or painted to appear as such. On the wall opposite of the entrance was a large parchment hanging high up, the writing old and faded at certain points. One part in particular was incomplete.
This is strange.
She expected there to be an assistant to the proctor or the proctor herself waiting for them to give directions. After everything they went through, she hoped for a quick turnover so she could get healed, get ice cream and take another nap.
"Do you guys think they have an ice cream shop here?" she asked aloud.
Her question earned a giggle out of Sakura, a snort from Sasuke and a grin form Naruto. They thought it was a joke. Amari was dead serious; she really wanted some ice cream, its cold sweetness called to her.
Sakura shook her head. "I wouldn't count on it."
"How troublesome," Amari grumbled.
"Hey, there's nobody here! What are we supposed to do now?" Naruto's voice reverberated off the empty room.
No answer came.
When they neared the center, Amari tapped Sakura on the shoulder. "Sakura, you can put me down here. You've been carrying me all day, and obviously we'll be here for a little while."
"Okay." Sakura knelt down and let the Nara lower herself to the floor to sit.
The floor was hard and uncomfortable. Cold, too. She could feel it underneath her palms and on the back of her calves as she leaned back and stretched her legs out in front of her.
"I'd check the parchment," said Amari. "Maybe it has directions."
Or maybe they would be stuck waiting for an hour until someone appeared. Amari shrugged. Oh well. Not like it mattered. They still had a day left of the Exam anyway.
"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher," Sakura read from the parchment. "If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever. This…something is the secret way that guides us from this place today."
A riddle. It had to be a riddle. And a riddle missing a word, no less. Amari was too tired to deal with this.
"This what? Or is that secret too?" Naruto asked, perturbed by the vagueness.
Amari massaged her temples. "There's a word missing, or it's so old it faded away," she explained tiredly. "The main point of it all is to tell us to open the scrolls together…I think. Maybe." She shrugged. "At this point it's the only option we have."
Sakura pulled out the Earth scroll and Sasuke pulled out the Heaven scroll. Neither appeared confident after her poor reassurance, but they still went through with it. They knew she was right. There wasn't any clear sign of where to go or what to do, and any door that might lead out of here was blocked off for them. Through process of elimination, it could only be the scrolls.
The group formed a small half circle with Sasuke and Sakura in the middle and Naruto and Amari on the outer sides. The pair looked at their scrolls, hesitant and full of concern over what might happen.
"Think happy thoughts. It might help," Amari offered from her seat below them.
Both shot her amused and nervous smirks before crouching down to open them for her to see. They unrolled the paper scrolls at the same time and pulled them out to their farthest distance. What was written within caused Amari, Sakura and Sasuke to share startled gasps.
"What does it say? What does it say?" the knucklehead pestered.
"Sakura, Sasuke, toss the scrolls quick! Their summoning scrolls and they're about to summon!" Amari warned.
Her teammates came to the same conclusion and tossed the scrolls away towards the parchment. Smoke poured from the scrolls before an explosion of smoke concealed the entirety of the area in front of them. Team Seven tensed, reaching for their ninja tools and preparing for a final fight.
When the smoke cleared, they were able to finally see the person it summoned. Brown hair in a ponytail, arms crossed over his chest and a long horizontal scar across his nose.
"What? It's you?" Sasuke said in shock.
"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto and Amari questioned in unison.
Before them stood their Academy sensei. "Hey. Long time no see huh?" Iruka greeted casually. He lifted his head as he opened his eyes and gave the team a smirk. He was genuinely happy to see them here, though his eyes did trail to Amari sitting form. The blood once covering her limbs had been washed off, thankfully, otherwise she was certain he'd have a heart attack.
But even then he could see the blood stains in her clothing and the pure exhaustion on her face. Worry did take form, but he did his best to keep it hidden.
"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura echoed her three teammate's surprise.
"Looks like you've gone through a lot in this test," he said.
"You could say that again," Amari mumbled. She wanted to tell him about everything they encountered. She wanted to explain the dangerous shinobi who infiltrated their home and left his mark on them. But she couldn't. Not yet. He was here for the Chūnin Exam first. As soon as he was done doing his duty, she would tell him.
"Are you making dramatic entrances now Iruka-sensei? I admit you surprised me and the others completely," she said.
He smiled at her. "At the end of the second exam we Chūnin are supposed to welcome the test takers back. And, well, it was just good luck that I was given the task to be the messenger for you guys."
"The messenger?" Sakura was as puzzled as her teammates.
Iruka, for the moment, ignored their confusion and reached into his pant pocket to pull out a stopwatch. He hummed. "Looks like you guys made it one day before the end of the exam." He closed it and gave them a closed eyed smile. "And now: Congratulations! You passed the second exam."
There was a collective exhale of relief. Thank Kami, it's over.
"To celebrate your passing I would love to treat you all too some Ichiraku Ramen, bu—"
"Ramen!" Naruto's shout cut off their sensei. "Seriously?! That's so cool!" He tackle hugged their old sensei without knocking him over.
"Wait! I'm not done. Let go. Hey, Naruto!" Iruka tried to get through his continued shouting about how awesome getting some ramen would be.
Their sensei finally gave up on outshouting the loudest ninja around, choosing instead to smile at the little knucklehead he cared a lot for. Sakura and Sasuke promptly collapsed next to Amari. The boy fell back onto his butt and the kunoichi to her knees in sheer exhaustion.
"That boy has too much energy," Amari sighed.
"Where does he even get all that energy from?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know, but I wish I had some right now. I'm beat," Sakura said. She received nods of agreement from the two Uchiha's who were equally tired. "Naruto, can you put a lid on it? We're tired."
Naruto released Iruka and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry about that."
Iruka's eyes returned to Amari. "Amari, are you all right?"
She nodded. "Better than I would have been without Mimi Inuzuka's help. But she said I'd need a professional to look at my right shoulder and thigh." His features became even more worried. "It's…been a long few days, Iruka-sensei. I'll explain it when you finish telling us everything you have to."
He gave a reluctant nod, though his concern did not fade away.
A new thought hit Amari. "So Iruka-sensei, if you were summoned by the scrolls, that means if we were to open them out in the forest you would have come out, right?" she asked.
Kabuto must have misunderstood the sealing work.
Sasuke caught onto her line of thought and exhaled an amused laugh before smirking up at their sensei. "What would you have done to us, Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka turned around to grab the Earth scroll off the ground. "As usual Amari and Sasuke, you two are as sharp as tacks." He turned around and showed them the symbol on the summoning scroll. "You two have figured out the secret. Part of this exam was to test how well you could see a difficult mission all the way through. Simply put: you knew that opening the scroll was forbidden for your mission, and if you tried to open one…" Their sensei stopped, and then an evil smile formed on his face.
It was answer enough.
"Man that would have been a drag."
Sasuke nodded in silent agreement.
"What? What would have happened?" Sakura questioned.
"If the scroll was opened, we were ordered to knock out whoever opened it. Some ninja found that out the hard way," Iruka explained.
Both Uchiha smirked and looked to Naruto, shared humor in their eyes. "Heh. It's a good thing you didn't open yours, huh Naruto?" Sasuke teased dryly.
"It would have been a jack in the box to end all jack in a boxes. Da, da-da, da-daddity da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da, da. Da, da-da, da-daddity da-da, pop there goes Na-ru-to," Amari tagged on in a singsong voice.
His eyes grew wide in fear as he let out a wordless stutter of shock, finally realizing the implications of what his curiosity would have caused. Naruto clasped his hands together, almost as if he were praying, and grinned up at the ceiling in fear.
"I owe you. Thanks a million, Kabuto."
Sakura giggled in response to the two Uchiha's teasing then stopped when a thought seemed to cross her mind. "Oh yeah, Sensei?"
"Yeah?"
She pointed up to the board with the writing on it. "What does the writing on the wall mean? The parchment is kind of eaten away. We can't really understand it."
"Oh please," Naruto interjected. "Listen, we passed this test! That stuff doesn't matter now."
Their sensei turned back to them, a sheepish smile on his face. "Well, actually explaining that is one of the other duties I've been sent here to take care of."
"What?! Seriously?" Naruto's disbelief was palpable.
"That's right, it's serious business. Give it a good read. They are instructions Lord Hokage recorded as principals Chūnin should follow."
"Instructions?"
"Yes. Heaven stands for your mind and Earth for your body. If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." Team Seven remained in confused silence. "All right, I'll explain. In other words: if your weakness lies in your intellect, Naruto." Iruka smiled and brought his thumb to his forehead protector. "Then you have to make doubly sure that you work hard to learn all the information and skills you need to prepare for your missions."
Amari muffled her giggle the same as Sakura when Naruto growled, annoyed by his valid point. "All right, I get your point."
"And you." Iruka continued as he looked to Sakura. "If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. So if your weakness lies in your physical strength, Sakura, then you have to make sure you work on your physical conditioning every single day so it improves all the time."
Sakura rubbed the back of her head shyly as she gave a nervous laugh.
It was then Iruka's eyes fell onto Amari, and so her teammate's eyes followed them to her. "When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path will be become righteous forever. This means if your mind and body are working together as one, even a very dangerous mission can become an easy one."
"Mind and body working together creating perfect balance…" Sasuke trailed off thoughtfully then continued when he seemed to hit a realization. "You specified when we were assigned to Team Seven that Amari was put on as the balancing point. You could see her mind and body were closer balanced than ours, and through her you expected us to find our balance."
"Right." Iruka smiled.
"I…I never even thought about that," Amari mumbled. She just thought she was meant to keep them in line. She didn't know Iruka and Lord Third put her here to help her teammates find their own balance.
"But what about that spot with the missing letter?" Sakura asked.
"Well that part is meant for all of you to fill in." He lifted up the scroll again to show them the seal. "Do you see that symbol on the scroll? It's the character for person."
"This person is the secret way that guides us from this place today," said Amari.
"Right," Iruka said. "You see, these five days of survival were to test your abilities as Chūnin, and to see if you'd be any good at it. And I gotta say, you guys really did magnificent. A Chūnin is a leader, a guide. It's a Chūnin's responsibility to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of those serving under him or her, and to know what skills and training those ninjas are going to need in order to succeed on a mission.
"As Chūnin it will be your duty to lead other shinobi. One day you will be the leader who must guide your subordinates through a tough mission and back home. All of you have done an excellent job on your mission, and I want you to remember these instructions on your next one."
Iruka closed his eyes and smiled. "Well, that's it. That was all I was supposed to tell you."
"Got it." Naruto saluted their old sensei.
A troubled look crossed Iruka's face as he stared at the group, in return they each looked at him equally troubled and confused. "Uh…One more thing. For the third exam…please don't push yourselves too hard. I worry about you Amari. You're always pushing yourself harder and harder every day. The same with you Naruto—"
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto interrupted him. "When we got our headbands we stopped being students. So you don't need to worry about us at all, not anymore." Naruto grabbed his headband. "I mean these headbands mean we're full-fledged ninjas, right? You gave it to us. I may still be hyper, but I'm not a kid and neither are Amari, Sasuke and Sakura. Like you said, we got through the second Chūnin Exam, and we're going to pass the third one for sure. Right now, we're ninja too."
Naruto held Iruka's gaze, refusing to budge and hoping to find acceptance in his words. After a few seconds Iruka smiled proudly at the group. "Naruto, you're right. I'm sorry about that."
"Was Naruto just told he was right?" Sakura asked the two Uchiha, a tease in her tone.
Sasuke closed his eyes exhaled a long and deep sigh. "Well, I guess the apocalypse is coming."
"Naruto is right and my clan-brother isn't so broody anymore?…Yep, it really is an apocalypse."
"I was not broody."
"Yes, you were," she retorted matter of factly, smirking at him.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, you were pretty broody," Naruto agreed.
"Ah, can it, Loser! Just because you were right once doesn't mean you always are. Even a blind rodent can find food once in a great while."
The outburst silenced the room. Team Seven stared at one another, the two kunoichi's eyes widened as they looked between the two boys. Then Naruto started to laugh, slowly but surely losing all control until he was clutching at his gut. His contagious laughter spread to Amari next, who began to giggle. From there it spread to Sakura until finally getting Sasuke to chuckle lightly.
Honestly, Amari wasn't sure what they were laughing about or why. The fact they survived death? Sasuke's ridiculous statement? Maybe reasons didn't matter.
After everything they went through, this laughter felt really good.
It wasn't ice cream, but it was the next best thing.
Iruka stared at his former students with pride and a smile on his lips as they laughed about nothing. You've all really grown since your days in the Academy. It's quite surprising how far each of you come in all aspects. I know you four will do your very best in the next part of the exam.
He thought back to the concerns he held when he asked Anko to be their messenger. How badly he needed to be here when they passed to see them with his own eyes. See what injuries they might have sustained in the test, what state of mind they were in and to be here to remind them there was no shame in being incapacitated.
The Chūnin Exams was no joke. It hadn't been when he took it or when his seniors had either. The rookies hadn't waited a year like Team Guy to increase their skills. They jumped right into the frying pan to forge themselves to be stronger barely a year into their shinobi career.
He worried for them.
"Iruka needs to realize that they're not his students anymore. They're mine."
Looking at Team Seven, his eyes opened to finally see the growth Kakashi witnessed. These weren't the little kids he spent years teaching. Perhaps in age they weren't any older, but these four carried themselves differently. Stronger, more confident and battle ready.
Their youthful appearance kept them as children, but their experiences brought them closer to being shinobi. One day, perhaps sooner than he realized, they would cease to appear as children and become men and women—each shinobis in their own right.
In his heart they would always be the children he taught, his students who looked to him for guidance or gave him trouble every day. But in the time under the tutelage of Kakashi, they surpassed the strengths and weaknesses he once knew them to have.
It seems to me that the one who truly understands the strength and weaknesses of these young ninja best might very well be you, Kakashi.
He looked to his students again, who were calming down from their laughter but still brandishing smiles and smirks. And who knows, maybe there are Chūnin among these young ninjas already.
"Hey Amari, what did happen to you four?" Iruka asked.
Iruka never could have guessed what he would soon learn.
"I see." Lord Third exhaled deeply through his nose, eyes falling away from the Head of the Crows. Her news was grave indeed. He did not wish to believe his former pupil had returned or that he had attacked Team Seven, nearly capturing one of Amaririsu's eyes and using nefarious fūinjutsu on Sasuke and Naruto, but he would be a fool to ignore the truth.
"Young Haya will seek to inform you as soon as possible," said the Head of the Crows. "She will see it as imperative to the safety of Konoha and her team. I ask you to reassure her it can be fixed. At this point, she needs hope to combat the darkness she has endured."
Lord Third nodded. "Of course. It will be done."
Haya…He never forgot her original name or the family she belonged to. Even years after she was believed a casualty of the massacre, one look at her small, malnourished frame, the blue hair and mirror like onyx eye was enough for him to remember the child she used to be.
The child named Haya Uchiha. Daughter of two incredibly talented shinobi…two shinobi he once considered great friends.
He could still remember the joy of her parents when her mother became pregnant with her. And the day she was born, he couldn't recall ever seeing them so happy before. But every day after, any time he asked them of their child, they bloomed like flowers in the spring with happiness and bliss.
They were not alone in the feeling. Haya's cousin…he cherished her. From the day she was born to the day he died, everything he did was to keep her safe. To protect her purity and give her happiness. The Hokage feared the day she would remember him and their bond, for when that day came, Haya would experience a pain unlike any she had felt before.
The pain of losing the person most precious to her.
The loss of her family was a heavy burden on the Hokage's heart, as well as the loss of the rest of the Uchiha Clan. Until his last breath he would regret the fate of the Uchiha.
A fate he wished he could go back and change.
"As soon as the next phase is over," he spoke, "I will have the fūinjutsu Orochimaru has placed on Naruto and Sasuke taken care of."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage." The crow bowed her head.
"Are you sure you do not wish to speak to her in person?" he asked.
The crow nodded. "Yes. For now she must focus on the present and the battles ahead." She shook her head. "I will only be a distraction to Young Haya at this time. She will have many questions, some of which she is forbidden to know at present."
The Hokage hummed. "I understand."
"However, my time in the shadows of her life will soon end. Until then," the crow bowed her head again, "fair winds and farewell to you, Lord Hokage."
"To you as well."
The Head of the Crows disappeared into the darkness, leaving the Hokage to ponder on both his next steps and past mistakes.