Much thanks to the ever lovely Tavina for her usual efforts as beta-reader. All errors this time are entirely on me for not waiting for the other betas.
As a note, beginning with this chapter I've shifted spelling conventions. After finals I will be going back and updating the previous chapters to match.
It belatedly occurs to me that I need to mention that while the OC (and Ino) are going off from the anime (especially for things Ino shouldn't know), for the fic itself I am going from the manga where there are contradictions.
"This is my fourth year." There was something about that delivery that made me angry that was the first thing I had to hear this time. Maybe it was the way it reminded me of the stuck up senior undergrad in the class I TA'd who casually tried to use his few years advantage to show off that he actually had no idea what he was talking about or something else, but it irked me entirely. The fact that Kabuto was a ridiculously impactful villain in the series barely made a difference.
The exam hall was crowded, filled with enough bodies that I couldn't help but imagine how warm it would be if it was real. In a hall this size, without anything but the most powerful air conditioning, even a winter day would become uncomfortably stultifying from the heat. I had a hard time believing that a ninja village would have effective air conditioning. This was the first time I wanted a refund on these dreams for less dramatic reasons, but it also reminded me that I probably should fish out my portable unit when I woke up if I was actually dreaming about overheating. It was starting to get warm for real, and my apartment complex, to my eternal woe, didn't check the built-in units and turn them on until late April.
"Are we supposed to be impressed by that?" I asked. Next to me, Kiba barely stifled a snort. Even with everything that had gone off course so far with these dreams, it looked like the gathering of the rookie teams was inevitable for this exam. While most of them looked nervous to some degree or another, Ino looked like she was holding back on something. She wasn't trying to get into my space, so I was more than willing to accept whatever it was.
Kabuto looked taken back; given that he was a good several years older than the 'Rookie Nine', he probably hadn't expected any kind of blow back or commentary on his own capabilities. Not with such a significant age difference. "What? I know about most configurations of the exam for the last four years as it's been held by not just Konoha, but the other villages."
"Then why are you still here?" I looked up at him. The gray hair didn't exactly help me pin how old he actually was supposed to be and I never cared enough to remember most of the ages the characters were supposed to be. "You're what, twenty? If the average academy graduation age is twelve, and this is your fourth year of taking the exams, then that's another four years before you were even considered to be nominated, isn't it? Is your advice actually going to be that useful?"
My comments were changing the reaction he was getting. "Wow, even Iruka-sensei made chūnin faster, and he kept talking about how hard it is to make it an' stuff," Naruto said loudly. That seemed slightly unfair to Iruka, considering I doubted he was teaching as a genin and by all indicators had been in charge of Naruto's class since they were originally matriculated. "You must suck."
Laughter tore through the rest of the room, with mentions of Kabuto's name occasionally loud enough to hear. "Even the Leaf rookies know he's a joke!" someone shouted from nearby.
Kabuto flushed red. With some anger radiating from his body language he reached into the pouch hanging from his back and pulled out his deck of cards. "You don't think it's that useful? Let me prove it. I already know who you are, Uchiha Sasuke."
"That's kinda creepy," Shikamaru said, under his breath.
"These cards of mine have information burnt into them using chakra. I know how many genin are here, from what villages… among other things. Only I can reveal it." He quickly shuffled them, before plucking a card out, seemingly at random. If it weren't for the fact that this was such a basic trick, it would have been more impressive. "Here you are." Kabuto held it up for all of us to see, visibly pulsing chakra into it.
The tiny photo of Sasuke on the card wasn't scowling per se, but his expression was still somewhere in the range of 'resting bitch face'. In some sort of alternate universe, it would have necessitated school photo retakes. I was very familiar with that kind of misfortune.
Shino pressed a finger to one side of his sunglasses, just slightly tilting them downward to get a better look at the card. I still couldn't see his eyes. "Genin teammates and jōnin leader, known mission numbers, estimated ability for taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, ninja tools, and kekkei genkai…" He looked up at Kabuto. "Do you have these on all of us?"
"I have a card on every single genin in this room," Kabuto said with a smile.
Shino pushed his sunglasses firmly back up on the bridge of his nose. "I see. May I take a look at the card?"
"Of course," Kabuto answered. He reached out with it towards Shino.
Instead of taking a hold of it, iridescent blackness emerged from his sleeve, spreading down to Shino's fingertips and crossing the short distance between his and Kabuto's hands. Kabuto shouted in surprise, and stepped back in shock, but it was to no avail. The card disappeared under the kikaichū as they first covered it, but it soon became apparent they weren't going to bring it to Shino; instead, they went from covering its rectangular shape to sinking down in a mass. The card no longer was extant and the insects quickly flowed back to their owner, no longer in sight.
The whole thing had happened in the span of seconds. "Thank you," Shino said.
For the briefest of moments— easy to miss— an ugly expression crossed Kabuto's face.
Shino looked at his teammates. Kiba looked disconcerted enough that Akamaru was trying to comfort him, nuzzling against him from the puppy's position in his coat, and Hinata was pressing her fingertips together nervously. "Let's go sit down," he said. At no point had Shino's tone ever changed, and before anyone had the chance to speak, he walked away.
"Yeah, sure," Kiba said, staring at his teammate's retreating figure. "Good luck, or something." He sprinted to catch up.
Hinata's eyes darted to look at Naruto. "Um, good luck, Naruto-kun. Oh, and everyone else, too…" she said, before trailing off to join the two boys.
Kabuto was still staring at me.
"So you have cheat cards," I said, looking right back at him. He actually flinched at the word. "How much does it actually help? Just because it's written down doesn't mean it's going to do you any good if you aren't able to actually synthesize the information correctly, much less understand it in the first place." I flicked my eyes back to the deck, the memory of Shino's bugs at the top of my thoughts. "Especially when you're trying to quantify things that can't necessarily be quantified. Unless you're comfortable with making things up to justify whatever biases you have."
Somehow, that got Shikamaru's interest. "Ninja in the field aren't like shogi pieces," he said, though it sounded more like he was repeating something, and suddenly squaring it against what was playing out in front of him. It would figure it would be how it would apply to game strategy. "Maybe it could work with genin, but I think we're seeing what the answer to that is."
"A resounding 'no'?" Ino asked. She looked unsettled, but then again, Shino's use of his bugs had been mildly disturbing just now. Chōji had put his bag of chips away.
"I'm sorry I offered to help you all out, then," Kabuto said, frostily. "I hope you don't end up regretting it."
"Yeah, yeah," went Naruto. His attention had never completely settled on Kabuto's attempt to show off. "Hey, I think I see Haku near the front. Let's go say hi." He ambled off.
Sakura rolled her eyes, but glanced at Kabuto. "Thank you for your offer anyway, Kabuto-san." It was her usual politeness, but just barely.
With the shortest of farewells to Team Ten, Sakura and I caught up with Naruto, and just barely in time. Despite how short the walk was, he stopped suddenly, staring in the direction of someone or something on the other side of the room.
Sakura immediately caught hold of his elbow. "Oh no you don't, we're not going through this again," she said, testily. "Once was bad enough!"
I turned to see what it was.
The bright red hair stood out even from here. Karin. She was supposed to be here originally, wasn't she? Either way, the fact all three of us were looking in her direction ended up catching her attention, and she stared back. Karin was soon blushing a red that was bright enough to match the color of her hair and eyes before she ducked away from looking at us. The attention was apparently too much.
"Ugh, see what you did, Naruto?" Sakura said, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "That poor girl's embarrassed now because you decided to be weird. Not every single person with red hair could possibly be related to you."
"Yeah," he said, after a while, still staring at Karin's hair. "I guess you're right."
We didn't have the chance to get any further, because the lights in the ceiling dimmed and then were blacked out entirely. I looked up and immediately regretted it. The light fixtures were covered by a shimmering, moving morass that soon covered the ceiling, which left the windows against the one wall as the only light source. It was nightmarish and I wasn't even afraid of insects.
Shouts of surprise broke out.
"What the fuck?"
"Who turned off the lights?!"
Someone screamed; he or she didn't sound just scared or surprised, but gripped by primal fear. Similar shouts and screams were also happening, if not to the same level of sheer and utter distress.
I suddenly became aware of a creeping, crawling, tickling sensation running up my legs and upwards. Given what was happening on the ceiling, I decided I did not want to look down, forcing myself to look at Sakura and Naruto. They looked spooked and unsure as they turned to look around at the other genin in the room, who were largely growing increasingly panicked or upset. "Don't look," I said. "Really, really don't look."
Sakura took in a deep, shuddering breath, and closed her eyes to concentrate better. "It's not a genjutsu." She sounded unhappy at coming to that conclusion.
Naruto was staring at my head. "Uh… There's a—"
"I don't want to know."
There was a burst of smoke in the front of the room, which only sent more cries of surprise up. The chūnin proctors looked the same as far as I could tell; I remembered the one with the face bandage and his bandana-wearing partner at least, though their names escaped me. Even when I used to, I could never tell which was which between them. The jōnin in charge was not the same.
The high collared coat was a tip-off— along with the swarming mass of insects in the room— that he was an Aburame, but I couldn't see him properly from where I was. I leaned around Naruto to get a better look, which at least gave me a better idea.
I was at least able to recognize the hair and sunglasses as being sort of unique. Shino's father seemed to be in charge now. I wondered what it meant that he was here instead of Ibiki. I was also completely blanking on his name, but I knew I knew it.
"My name is Aburame Shibi," he announced. "I will be the examiner in charge for this first test to determine your potential selections as chūnin."
So that was it.
"If you'll reach into your sleeves, pockets or pouches, you'll find a tab with your assigned seat number. After everyone is seated, the proctors will pass the exams out." As he said that, I realized the crawling sensations had mostly diminished and there was something in my right arm protector.
The chūnin behind him all held up large envelopes.
Naruto squawked in protest and looked between me and Sakura. "What am I supposed to do? I suck at paper tests!"
"Stay calm," I told him. I shook the foreign object out into my palm, and flipped it over. '16' was on it, engraved onto a white tile. "Panicking will just make it worse. You're not that dumb."
Shibi raised his arms up, and a buzzing noise slowly arose. The floor was soon covered in insects, moving downward from the crevasses of the desks and seats, emerging from folds of clothes, all moving in waves towards him. The ones that had covered the ceiling lights just flowed down, twisting and twining around the man's slowly disappeared down his sleeves, if they didn't move to go down the collar of his coat or the gourd that was resting against his back.
Someone started to audibly sob behind us. This final mass of insects was apparently the last straw for their ability to hold it in.
No one moved.
"The test," Shibi said, in a louder voice, "will begin when you are all seated, whether voluntarily or otherwise." A tendril of kikaichū rose from the gourd on his back.
After that, there was a frenzy of motion as everyone quickly tried to make their way to their assigned seats without actually clambering over the desks and seats. It seemed no one was all that interested in seeing exactly what it would look or feel like to be carried around by however many insects that would take. I didn't want to take chances on finding out either; that just spelled a bad nightmare. I ended up sliding into the assigned seat, which was in the first row, right by the windows. At least it had been easy to find.
To my dismay, the person sitting on my right ended up being Neji.
I thought that he had completely escaped the impact of the fireball, but I was wrong. Neji's hair was now as short as Hinata's, the main difference being the lack of forelocks to frame his face. Instead, a few short locks of hair hung over the top of his hitai-ate. He glowered at me when I sat down.
I decided to ignore it.
As if to make matters worse, one of the Oto-nin ended up sliding into the spot on the left. His name completely escaped me, but I remembered that the one with the faceplate was the ruder one of the two boys, so of course I got saddled with him.
Maybe I shouldn't have ignored Neji after all.
"What are you looking at?" the Sound-nin said.
Before I could answer, Neji spoke up. "Are you really the best your village was able to send? Otogakure must be desperate."
Whatever his name was, he scowled.
I turned to look around instead of letting myself get dragged into this. I had lucked out by being closer to the front and with a more obvious number to find. There were still plenty of others looking for their seats. To my amusement, Sakura had ended up sitting next to Karin, who had turned red again. Naruto was still looking for where he was supposed to be, and the rest of the Konoha Eleven were scattered throughout the room.
Angry shouts broke out from the right, which luckily distracted Neji and the Sound-nin from the increasingly sharp and rude conversation they were having around me that was more insult-filled than anything else.
The Kiri-nin were at it again. I recognized this one from the encounter with Suigetsu; he was the one who had been thrown into the street. He also had a bandage plastered in the middle of his forehead where Suigetsu had thrown one of his cohort's hitai-ate at his face.
"I refuse to sit next to this traitor!" he shouted. He was standing up in protest.
What was unmistakably Chōjūrō was sitting next to him. I wasn't sure what surprised me more; the fact that he was apparently a genin still, or that he already had his sword, which was leaning against the desk, bandaged up. He was staring at the other Kiri-nin in what was undeniable embarrassment, face flushed from the accusation.
"Shut up, you idiot!" Suigetsu called from somewhere in the back of the room. "Do I need to throw you out of one of these windows, too?"
Smackings of laughter— some of it nervous— filled the air again, if not as much had happened for Kabuto.
Shibi turned his head towards the two teenagers. "The seat positions were randomized. Your protests are acknowledged but it will not change matters. If you continue like this, I reserve the right to eject you and your team from the room and you will not progress."
An idea sprung to mind, and I stood up before the moment passed. "I wouldn't mind swapping with him, if that's allowed."
Shibi's attention shifted towards me. I felt the urge to squirm, but did my best to stay still. There was something undeniably unsettling about not actually being able to see his eyes or even be able to guess what was playing through his head, his expression neutral.
Finally, he spoke up. "I acknowledge your willingness to assist with keeping the peace, Uchiha-kun. You may switch places with examinee number three. I see no way that this will result in being beneficial to taking the exam for anyone." He turned his head to gaze at the whole hall. "
I slipped out of the row, passing by the Oto-nin, who tried— and failed— to trip me. I raised an eyebrow at him when I walked in front of the desk. He visibly simmered. He wasn't the only one. Neji's glare turned into an uglier look than it already was, and there was audible grumbling from the rest of the hall. The Kiri-nin squinted at me when we crossed, apparently unsure what to make of the fact I had volunteered and it had been granted. At least he was getting the same ugly looks.
I sat down next to Chōjūrō, who was visibly relieved, but wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Before any of you think I am being lenient, any further protests in a hope to improve your seating arrangement will result in an immediate removal from the room," Shibi said. "You have one more minute to make your way to your assigned seats."
In exchange for the special treatment, I was getting to have a target on my back. Delightful, though in retrospect I wasn't actually that surprised. Shakespeare's Shylock would be able to learn a thing or two about favors and demands from shinobi.
The chūnin proctors under Shibi dispersed, taking spots alongside the walls.
Shibi spoke, again, stepping back towards the chalkboard, where he picked up a piece of chalk. "I will now explain the rules of this exam." He started to write. "To begin, all examinees start with ten points. There are ten questions, worth a single point each. Unlike any tests that you may be used to, this one uses a subtraction system. Each incorrect answer results in the deduction of one point. Additionally, this will be by each genin team, rather than individual scores. Whether you pass or fail will be determined by your team's combined results." Shibi turned his gaze back out onto the crowd. "The final rule is the most important. Any genin who is caught cheating will have two points deducted per offense. Any team with an individual who loses all points will be escorted from the room. Any team with an individual who fails to answer any questions will be escorted from the room."
Shibi paused, staying silent as murmurs of fear and disbelief rippled through the room. Once it subsided, he motioned at the proctors, who opened their envelopes and began to pass the exams out. "Do not turn the test over until I give you permission," he intoned.
Eventually, all the tests must have been passed out. "You have one hour. I will announce how much time is left in fifteen minute increments. You may begin."
Filled with curiosity, I turned the paper over, trying to tune out the now-hiccuping sobbing that was still happening a few rows somewhere behind me.
A code puzzle, trigonometry and algebra questions, and a critical reading question were on the other side. Most of them were just ninja-flavored, but the core was there. While my math was rusty where trig was concerned, nothing on the page looked absurdly difficult. Then again, I was a few months short of turning twenty-eight. I had a bachelor's degree under my belt and a handful of years of working finance spreadsheets working in a job field that was completely out of my degree. I was even doing graduate level courses for my master's right now. The vast majority of the test takers in this room were closer to ten than they were to twenty. None of them even had the advantage of an education that was probably much beyond middle school material.
Of course, if all else remained the same, it wouldn't really matter; the tenth question was what was going to actually determine this exam. I vaguely wondered if Naruto would end up making the same passionate speech as he did in the series. While he was different— just a little more deliberate, just a little more willing to think through his actions, and what those of others might mean— he was still passionate about his goals and pushing others towards their own. The question was more if Naruto would feel riled up by Shibi. He didn't seem to have the same delight in being an asshole to children that Ibiki did.
"Examinee number eighty-six, please stop crying. You're distracting the others."
Even with trying to get someone who apparently had entomophobia to calm down he wasn't going full asshole when it would have been extremely easy to do so.
I idly tapped the end of the pencil against the paper for a few moments as I tried to decide what to do. Ultimately, none of it really mattered. Or at least, didn't matter to my real life. Mostly. It was impossible to deny that the dreams were changing. Even if it didn't make me particularly happy, and gave increasing cause to doubt my sanity.
If nothing else, I was curious enough to at least try.
I started to scribble the half-remembered math formulas I thought I might need on the margins of the paper, trying to forcibly remember what I could from
The whole time, occasionally examinees were called out for using up all of their chances, getting themselves and their teammates evicted from the room.
It wasn't long until a commotion started up. I turned to look back, just in time for him to get held up against the wall by a chūnin whose eyes were covered by bandages and his hitai-ate. As best as I could recall, it was the same guy who protested in the series. I guessed that even in this dream, he was still an idiot.
I ended up turning the paper over with thirty minutes still on the clock, still not entirely sure about the trigonometry question.
Next to me, Chōjūrō quietly groaned at the fact that I had finished ahead of him. The proctor against the wall nearest us snorted in amusement.
I laced my hands together, palms up, and stared at them.
Sasuke's hands were different, from the fingers that were still partially childish but showed the promise of becoming slender to the lines on his palms that weren't like my own. There were calluses, from very different kinds of activities. I didn't have any these days. Even the ones I had the longest from learning- and then playing— the guitar had long faded. All I had these days were the occasional stubborn ink stains, from taking notes and writing, and sometimes a scribble from a pen that refused to work the first time.
It was sobering to think about.
Eventually, the forty-five minutes passed, and Shibi looked out at the whole hall, instead of having his attention focused on one spot or another like I had noticed earlier. "It is now time for the final question," he announced. "There are additional rules for this question that did not apply earlier."
All of the attention in the room was now focused entirely on him, and it was as quiet as any filled room could get.
It was quiet enough to hear the door open. "Examinee number one hundred twenty-two, please take your puppet and sit down."
That must have been Kankurō, trying the same trick that he originally used in the series.
"You all must decide whether or not you are willing to answer this question or not. If you choose not to, all remaining points will be eliminated, and you fail, along with your teammates. You will remain genin, and nothing changes in your lives."
"If you take it, however, you open yourselves to fates worse than death." That was new. Maybe Shino's dad wasn't so mild after all.
A murmur rose through the room. There were no outbursts of confusion or anger. Shibi didn't seem to have the same flare for the dramatic that Ibiki did, and it was resulting in different reactions, even with the volatile personalities I was aware of in here.
"If you do not wish to continue, please raise your hand. When a proctor calls out your number, you and your team will be dismissed."
I couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like people stood up faster than they did for Ibiki in the anime. None of them were Kiri-nin, I noticed. I wondered if in the case of the ones who still gave their loyalty to the original it was because they were already used to that sort of situation.
Naruto, still predictable in at least this sense, stood up. He was all the way in the back, almost in the last row. "I refuse to be afraid! What's the point of being ninja if we're so afraid that we stay genin? They aren't just gonna look at us an' decide to take it easy on us just because we're genin. I won't run, and I won't back down! If I give up like this, there's no way I'll ever be able to become Hokage!"
Shibi said nothing, but his attention was clearly focused on Naruto, as was everyone else's.
"I will never go back on my word. That's my nindō."
The clock on the wall ticked away. No more numbers were called.
Eventually, the full hour finished.
"Well done on passing the first test," Shibi said, finally.
"What?" That was Sakura. She sounded more shocked than anything else. Turning around, I was able to see that she was several rows behind me.
"That was it?! What sort of bullshit is this?" Suigetsu. In his case, somewhat angry seemed to be his current baseline, and he liked to complain, so I doubted he was actually that upset.
"There were two purposes to this test," Shibi answered. "The first was to determine your capability to gather information as a unit. Whether you cooperated, delegated, or did your best to minimize what negative impacts you could have on your teammates, there are a variety of strategies that suit different units as they operate in the field.
"The questions on this test were selected in order to be past what the average genin or even chūnin would be able to answer, and encourage cheating. Embedded among you were chūnin who knew the answers. There were also a number of you who were capable of answering on your own."
The chūnin against the wall closest to me snorted again.
"This also happens on missions. Sometimes, you will discover one of your comrades will have the information you need by chance.
"The original proctor for this exam no doubt intended for this to be an object lesson on intelligence being more important than your own lives will be. I prefer to see it as one that explains the value of each member of a unit. As chūnin, you will be put in the position of having to decide whether the sacrifice of a person or your team is worth a mission's success, or if its failure is acceptable."
"There will be times ahead of you as chūnin where your own knowledge or abilities will sometimes be worth more to the enemy than the information you were sent to extract. Failure to make the correct decision then and there will result in a fate worse than death.
"Occasionally, there is no right answer except for being able to make a decision. Crucial intelligence can change the tide of war or if war will begin in the first place, but the loss of a comrade can be a significant boon to the enemy due to their skills being vital for village efforts or possessing a valuable kekkei genkai or ability.
"Knowledge does not always remove fear. Possession of ignorance does not guarantee safety. If you are unable to push ahead and make a decision from the knowledge you possess, even when it informs you that there is no good choice, you do not have the qualities required to become a chūnin."
Even though I half-expected it, at no point did Naruto speak up again to loudly congratulate himself or otherwise interject that he knew all these things. Was he really that different? I suppose he had to be.
"As you progress past this first test, you should keep all of this in mind for your futures, not just for the duration of the exam." Shibi turned towards the board, and stepping past the section where he had written the rules prior to this, started to write.
Not wanting to be surprised, I looked towards the windows, but disappointment was the only response. There were no broken windows, no Anko speedily rolling in with a banner to dramatically display.
"The next portion of the exam will begin tomorrow morning," Shibi said, as he turned around again to face us. "You will report at the village gates at ten. Any hostile action taken against your fellow examinees between now and that muster time will not only instantly disqualify you, but result in serious consequences."
That part was probably just as well.
"When your numbers are called, you are dismissed."
They ended up going in numerical order. Chōjūrō, several ahead of me, turned towards me with a grateful expression on his face. "Thank you for volunteering to swap earlier, Sasuke-kun. I appreciate it."
It made sense that he would know Sasuke's name, I decided, between Kakashi's mission and the fact that Team Seven had been included, even though I suspected that with the exam that part was probably on pause. "You're welcome," I answered, with a shrug.
When his number was called, he stood up, picking up his sword. He didn't bother to holster it, instead resting the wide bladed sword over his shoulder. I watched him leave, and noticed that Suigetsu was visibly angry— no, upset— when he watched the blue-haired teen pass by. It was different from his reactions to the Kiri-nin. They were only frustrating to him. Watching him as Chōjūrō left, however, showed a whole raft of conflicting emotions visibly flow over Suigetsu.
Shortly after that, my number was called. I left the room, looking over who was still present. The Konoha Eleven were still here, except for Neji. The Oto-nin had made it through, as did the team from Kusa that Orochimaru had used to get into the second test in the show. There were a surprising amount of sour-looking Kiri-nin in here still besides Suigetsu.
I tried my best to ignore a furiously blushing Karin at one of the seats closest to the door when I exited.
To my surprise, Kakashi was outside, leaning against the corridor wall, reading. Chōjūrō stood not too far away from him, his sword holstered. The teen was standing up against the window, looking out into the village with some interest.
Kakashi shifted in a move that I'd almost call awkward if it wasn't him as he unfolded to stand, lowering the book away from his face. It wasn't his usual Icha Icha this time, but I didn't get a good look at the cover before he put it away.
"Well," he began. "I see the three of you passed."
"Were you waiting out here the whole time?" I asked.
He didn't answer. Instead, he stretched slightly. "I'm here as an escort. There were a few… incidents this morning with both groups from Kiri."
Chōjūrō straightened, self-consciously. "The guy who was sitting next to me before you swapped is angry because his sensei decided to join Zabuza-sama," he said. He was so subdued sounding I could barely hear him. "His team has no choice but to join us now, if they don't want to be considered missing-nin once they leave here." He looked guilty over that, even though he really had no reason to.
That was harsh. Then again, Kiri.
"They probably wouldn't last that long on their own as missing-nin genin," I said, as the door opened behind me.
"Shut your mouth, Uchiha," the aforementioned Kiri genin spoke up. "I have family to worry about besides myself."
That was probably supposed to hurt.
"If you're so worried about consequences, why are you wasting your time fighting people here about it instead of sending a message home before it gets back that you've defected?" I asked.
The genin stared at me, visibly gobsmacked for a moment before he turned and started to harass Kakashi. "Hey! You! Jōnin-san! Can we do that?"
Kakashi looked like he regretted my existence again. Just this time there was no ocean to think about dumping me into. "I'll look into it," he answered. "For now though, you and your teammates are supposed to accompany me."
The genin looked visibly relieved at this, but not enough to be polite enough to thank Kakashi.
As genin continued to stream out of the room, one by one, Kakashi occasionally stopped some of the departing Kiri-nin, forcing them to wait along the corridor.
A pattern began to develop. The ones who were originally part of Zabuza's contingent seemed to already be aware of this planned escort, and walked to where Chōjūrō was standing, occasionally shooting glances at the other Kiri genin who were now part of their number, if unwillingly.
Then there were the ones who were now part of it whether they liked it or not, lumped in with bandage-head. Two of them were clearly his teammates, making them the set who had tried to hassle Suigetsu and got their asses handed to them. They were clearly resentful of not having any choice in the matter.
Then there was the third group, one I hadn't realized would even be a thing at all. The first one was lanky teenaged boy who gave the slowly accumulating second group a smirk that was poorly disguising the pity in his eyes. Kakashi held an arm out, blocking him from going any further down the hall. "Tomomi of Team Yosuke? Your circumstances have changed."
"What?" The look of bravado dropped entirely, replaced by fear. "No. No. We were in there for an hour! What do you mean, changed? You're lying. You have to be. This is some kind of twisted plot from you Konoha-nin."
"It means," Kakashi slowly said, staring down at the teenager with his one visible eye, "you have two choices. You can leave on your own and go off to the fate you would expect would come to a genin-level missing-nin without any protection. Or you can wait here with the others, leave this building under my protection, be able to collect whatever things you brought with you, and relocate to the lodging the Wave delegation is staying in. You might even live through the whole of the exams. It's your decision."
Tomomi swallowed, and slunk off to stand off on his own a distance away.
The rest of the Kiri-nin who were from Water became obvious after that, because they visibly shied away every time one of them entered the corridor and saw Tomomi and, once they joined him, his teammates. Tomomi's teammates were not the only ones to end up like this, with a second team joining them.
Sakura left the room after a few others, and after giving Kakashi a cautious look, went to stand by me, to watch the slow acquisition of Kiri-nin. She flicked her eyes at Kakashi meaningfully when she made eye contact with me. His poor mood was obvious to her, too.
After a while, I started to notice something. Chōjūrō looked to be the oldest of any of the Kiri-nin I had seen so far who were here as genin. In the series he had already been a jōnin when he showed up after the time skip, and he was clearly being treated as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist by the other Kiri-nin right now. Even Zabuza seemed to have accepted him as one, thinking back to the last dream. The fact he was still a genin stunk of politics and implied some ugly things about why his self-esteem was somewhere below ground. It was easier to keep an impressionable teenager tied down and dependent if they didn't think they were good enough to succeed on their own, even if everything else spoke to the contrary. It didn't have to be true, they just had to believe it.
Suigetsu seemed to have no sympathy whatsoever for any of the newly-and-unwillingly defected, considering that it seemed that none of them had had any for him in return before this. Haku did a much better job, going so far as to actually introduce himself to the various clusters of Kiri-nin taking up space in the corridor.
The reaction from the other examinees, including those from Konoha, varied.
Some of the Konoha-nin had swallowed the Kool-Aid, and eyed Kakashi suspiciously, especially when he was paired with the increasingly growing assortment of Kiri genin lined up in the corridor. None of the Konoha Eleven were part of that group, though Ino when she came out looked at the assorted Kiri-nin with wide eyes as she went down the corridor. Then again, she already seemed pretty dazed when she came out of the exam hall before she actually noticed them.
Kankurō left right after Ino; like most of the other genin from Suna, he gave the various Kiri-nin unsure looks, compared to Temari's carefully muted reaction and the lack of one at all from Gaara.
Seeing the Kusa-nin and their lack of reactions as they walked out, I tried to remember exactly when Orochimaru had replaced them in the show. It didn't really matter either way, but the thought niggled at me.
Naruto was one of the last to straggle out, his beaming expression cut short when he saw Kakashi. "Uh, yikes," was all he said, before he immediately cut over to join me and Sakura. "What's wrong with him?" he tried to quietly ask.
Kakashi did not seem particularly amused by this. "We're waiting for one more person," he said, at a completely normal speaking volume. He didn't need to speak any louder. All the Kiri-nin had silenced immediately the second he began to speak. It seemed he had been keeping track mentally. "Once he's released, then we depart."
No one in the corridor tried to say anything to dispute or question this.
When we finally left the building, besides Team Seven, there were eight other teams. Twenty-four others that Kakashi was in charge of, which probably went a long way in why he was in such a foul mood. Only three of those teams had even been with Zabuza in the first place, going from who had been near who in the corridor.
It was also indicative of a huge jump in how many were going to end up in the Forest of Death, at this rate. I wondered how this was going to end up playing out. Anko had been annoyed at how many had passed in the series in the first place, hadn't she? I couldn't remember how many there were originally, but I suspected that with how many other Kiri teams there were that had passed it was going to be far beyond that.
I doubt she was going to be that happy at this many extra people, if she was even in charge of that section still.
The whole walk was tense and silent.
It wasn't until we reached the place the Kiri-nin from Water were staying in that I realized something. The only member of the Konoha Eleven I hadn't seen leave the exam hall was Shino. It was probably because his father was there, but at the same time, Shino had seemed to be fairly serious where ninja responsibilities were involved. He didn't really strike me as the sort to hang around if his father was actually working.
Then again, maybe I was trying too hard to analyze a fictional teen in my dreams. Even if they were recurring, this was probably going a bit too far.
Outside, we were split up. "If you don't need to go in to grab your things, stay out here," Kakashi said. "Sasuke, Naruto. Come with me. Sakura, stay with Haku."
Sakura looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed quiet, though she looked reluctant to stay behind.
Naruto and I ended up trailing behind the six Kiri-nin who needed to go in. They were the ones whose jōnin-sensei had gone over to Zabuza's side while they were gone.
Inside, barely restrained hostility hung in the air. It seemed more like a hostel than like any kind of inn or hotel, but I reserved judgment until we went up to the second floor.
Naruto was already looking like he was barely repressing any questions he had.
When one of the newly acquired Mist-nin— a girl with muddy green hair in a tight braid that ran from the top of her crown— unlocked the door to the room they had been in, it opened up to reveal a tightly arranged room with three bunks and a set of lockers against one wall. The room was small enough that it was possible for me to make out everything in it from the corridor.
There was a black-haired sulky-faced teenager on one of the top bunks who drew a wicked-looking kunai out, but paused at seeing Kakashi.
"Try and see what happens," Kakashi told him.
The teenager very slowly and deliberately lowered the kunai.
The Mist-nin who unlocked the door scowled at the teenager on the bunk, before motioning for the other two on her team to enter.
As they gathered their things, Kakashi stood in the middle of the corridor, making sure he was obviously in sight. He wasn't slouching; instead, he was standing almost to his full height, head tilted slightly, the thumb of one hand hooked into his pants pocket on that side.
Somehow, in spite of his visible eye remaining half-lidded, everything else about screamed menace.
"I hope the hunter-nin carve you up," the teenager on the bunk told the girl.
Even from out in the corridor I could see her scowl and stop packing her bag. She pulled a scroll cylinder from the depths of the locker, and pulled its contents out. She unfurled the scroll inside with a sharp whipping movement, and released its contents. A grey Kiri flak jacket and a white mask with a lavender crescent painted on emerged.
The teen on the top bunk froze entirely at the sight of the mask. With Kakashi he had still been willing to move, but no longer.
The other two on her 'team' followed suit, unsealing flak jackets and masks as well.
The masks went into their bags. The flak jackets they put on instead.
The now-revealed hunter-nin looked up at him. "Learn to keep your mouth shut, Mikuri, and you might live through all of this. Then again, you couldn't even pass that first test, so maybe not." She threw the room key at him, before they exited.
Kakashi said nothing.
Tomomi and his teammates exchanged unsure looks at this discovery. Whether it was supposed to be at the realization they were far out of their element skill wise, the fact that hunter-nin had defected, or something else, I couldn't actually guess.
The room Tomomi's team was assigned to was empty, but just as densely furnished.
Naruto's sense of curiosity finally outweighed his current caution. "Why is this place so tightly packed?" he asked.
"Barracks-style temporary lodgings like this are common in all of the large hidden villages," Kakashi answered, not moving to look at Naruto. "While they're frequently used for events like the exam, they're present for allied troop movement. When exams aren't being held, they usually end up used by frugal travelers. Newer traders and migrant workers tend to stay in these rooms. If you ever go to any of the shinobi villages and it's not as part of a large group, you'll stay in a regular inn instead."
Tomomi and his team didn't need much time to grab their things. In the time it took Naruto to ask his question and Kakashi to answer it, they had taken their bags from the lockers and pulled them on over their shoulders.
When we left, Kakashi stayed to the back until we reached the street and where everyone else was.
Like the teenager in the bunk room, all of the Kiri-nin except for Haku momentarily paused at the sight of the three in flak jackets, but it wasn't paired with the same fear the failed teenager had. Probably because without the masks, it only signalled that they were at least chūnin instead.
The girl who seemed to be acting as their leader for the moment looked at the assorted teenagers, then at Kakashi, and came to a clear decision. She looked back at the jōnin once more. "Instead of joining you the rest of the way, my team is going to correctly register ourselves with your gate security. I'm sure this will take a few hours, between the paperwork and potential interrogations, so don't worry about us." She didn't wait for an answer, and instead departed, going just fast enough that her two companions had to quickly move to catch up.
I realized around the same time as Kakashi— going from his body language, at least— that the hunter-nin had just ditched us in preference of paperwork over the possibility of supervising genin.
For what were, I was sure, supposed to be good reasons, Zabuza's group was staying on the other side of the village. In practice, it made for a walk with a group of silent and mostly sullen morale-depleted teenagers. It became very obvious why the hunter-nin had escaped the moment they did before the halfway mark.
It was in one of the medium-sized buildings in a more dense part of the village, where proximity to one of the main thoroughfares and administrative buildings made it clear that they had started building upwards from a need for it. The building looked like it was constructed with the same idea in mind as the other one that had reminded me so much of a youth hostel, but with slightly more prominent visitors in mind.
"Well, there you are," Kakashi said, looking at the sorted Mist genin.
"You're not escorting us in?" Tomomi asked, looking between the front doors and Kakashi suspiciously.
"You have allies who can confirm it is a safe location," Kakashi said, ignoring the teen's tone. "You're better off going in on your own anyways. The radio-nin who's been assigned to handle the front desk for the duration of your stay doesn't particularly like me. Something about returning broken equipment too many times."
Tomomi cringed at hearing that. "You don't need to tell me twice," he grumbled. He and his team went for the door first, which resulted in the rest breaking off shortly after, eventually leaving only Haku, Suigetsu, and Chōjūrō behind.
Haku gave Kakashi one of his polite smiles. "I appreciate your escorting us, Kakashi-san."
"Some of the jōnin in your delegation will be taking you all to the muster point in the morning," Kakashi answered. While he didn't seem to be particularly happy, Kakashi was no longer screamingly obviously displeased, from his tone or from how he was standing.
Naruto took this for the chance it appeared to be. "Yeah! We'll see you there! Good luck, Haku!" He paused and tilted his head. "And you too, Suigetsu, Chōjūrō!"
Suigetsu gave Naruto a forced smile." Yeah. You too."
Chōjūrō just looked surprised at getting wished well by anyone. "Thanks, Naruto-kun. I hope your team does well at whatever this next test is."
"Good luck!" Sakura managed to give Chōjūrō and Suigetsu smiles. When it came to Haku though, it turned into a horribly self-aware rictus grin, and she turned around and hid behind Kakashi, blushing.
The only one who didn't completely ignore it was Suigetsu, who looked completely confused by what just happened. He glanced around, before finally speaking up. "…Is she okay?"
Chōjūrō looked at Haku who was suddenly very interested in examining the hem of one of his sleeves before developing a panicked expression of his own. He directed a pleading look at Kakashi.
"I need to take these three to grab some things," Kakashi said, grabbing onto mine and Naruto's heads. "You all should rest while you can." With that, he forcibly steered us away at speed, in spite of all attempts to escape. At least on Naruto's part. I didn't want to stick around for anyone trying to explain girls to Suigetsu either.
"Bye!" Naruto shouted, when he realized he wasn't going to be able to escape this time.
The last thing I could make out before they were completely out of hearing range was Suigetsu irritatedly complaining, "Is anyone going to tell me?"
A block away, Sakura broke into a wail. "I keep looking like an idiot in front of him!"
"I dunno, I didn't think so," Naruto said, when he was finally able to yank himself free.
"So," Kakashi said, with something that almost approached real cheer after earlier. It was several feet away still from being a good impersonation, but it was no longer the several miles away in the realm of 'irritated to the point of being intimidating' that it used to be. "What would you three like to get for take out? It's on me this time."
"What's the catch?" Sakura immediately said, twisting to look up at him.
"Ramen," Naruto answered at the same time. Before Sakura or I could question the complete lack of guile, he added, "The explanation can come second as long as you feed me."
"Ramen it is," Kakashi agreed.
"Naruto!" I couldn't tell whether Sakura was more annoyed at the fact that Naruto had undercut her attempt to get information out of Kakashi, or that he had won out on deciding on the meal.
"Look, you're the one who gave up your chance to say what we should get," he actually reasoned. "Whatever's happening for him to feed us out of his pocket's gotta be pretty bad."
"I hate how much sense that makes," I said.
"Free food's either because something bad's gonna happen, and he's breaking the news to us, to get us to behave if he thinks we're not gonna like something, or because we did something good. I can't think of anything for the last one, so we might as well enjoy it while we can," Naruto declared.
Kakashi squinted down at Naruto for a moment. "How often did that academy sensei of yours bribe you with food?" he asked.
"A lot, why?"
Kakashi sighed. "It was just a question."
Naruto happily led the way to Ichiraku's.
This time, without Kakashi's earlier foul mood and the Kiri-nin to be distracted by, I noticed that there was something different in the atmosphere that didn't seem like it was related to just the exams. There was an undertone of preparation happening that neither Sakura nor Naruto seemed to be picking up.
Even though it was early afternoon, there were closed storefronts and the smattering of restaurants we passed by seemed to only have civilians or the youngest of ninja present as customers.
To my disappointment, Kakashi ordered for all of us, preventing me from having the opportunity to see what the other options were. "Four orders of miso ramen with chashu pork to go, please," Kakashi said, after the owner greeted us.
"Four orders it is, with extra servings of noodles," he answered back.
Kakashi blinked in confusion. "No, that's not—"
"The extra noodles are free," the man insisted, "For my best customer. Business is doing well with all the foreign ninja in the village and a few mentioned Naruto by name. Let me pass it on, Hatake-san, since you're his jōnin-sensei."
Kakashi pulled the money from his wallet, looking uncharacteristically self-conscious at receiving something for free. He didn't seem used to it, at all.
Naruto cheered loudly. "Isn't Teuchi-ji the best?" He spent the whole wait for the food happily chattering, filling the man in on the events of the first exam and the to-him entertaining ongoings of the Kiri-nin along with exaggerated descriptions of the various genin he had run into over the last few days mixed with loudly asking about the business, how Teuchi and his daughter were doing, along other frequent customers, and if Iruka had stopped by at all recently.
Kakashi just looked mildly bewildered at the enthusiasm and knowledge Naruto had of and for this microcosm of the village.
"Thank you," he said quietly, when the food was ready and bagged up. Kakashi seemed lost in thought.
"Come by some time on your own," Teuchi told him. "It'll be a free bowl on me."
"Hey, hey, what about me?" Naruto asked, hopping up and down.
"Come back from this next test first, and then we'll see!"
Naruto laughed.
With a call of "Good luck," we left.
Naruto eyed the bags Kakashi was carrying with a hungry look, licking his lips, before he realized something. "Hey, wait, you ordered it to go. Why? Where are we going?"
"We'll be staying at Sasuke's apartment for the night," Kakashi said. "I took the liberty of collecting things you and Sakura-chan might need earlier."
It took me a moment to process this. "What?" I asked. Dream or not, suddenly discovering I had no say in my space being invaded wasn't one I was pleased with. Even if it was imaginary.
"You packed for me?" Sakura asked, looking horrified and embarrassed differently from her earlier reaction to Haku.
"Your mother picked some clothes out for you," Kakashi answered, actually sounding aghast. "I had her put them in your gear bag. I didn't touch anything."
"That's almost worse…" she mumbled.
"Why are we staying at my place?" I asked. This was both not what I was expecting at all and something I was feeling weirdly offended by.
"Naruto's apartment is a hazard, Sakura-chan lives with her parents, and I don't feel like letting the three of you know where I live," Kakashi answered. It came out too quickly and practiced for my tastes.
"You came up with those reasons after you decided," I concluded.
"Yes." It would have been nicer if I could have come up with a dream version of Kakashi with slightly more shame. At least he suffered to make up for it.
I felt strange and self-conscious on the immediate walk up to Sasuke's apartment door and even opened it to let them in. It wasn't mine, but I still felt the same way I would if I had sudden uninvited guests decide to crash at my own apartment.
At least Sasuke was a tidy person.
Kakashi immediately put the take-out bags on the small kitchen table, with barely a pause from slipping out of his sandals at the door, with Naruto following in, hopping around awkwardly on one foot and then the other as he peeled his own off.
Sakura, on the other hand, was slowly turning pink in the face and hadn't budged.
"I'm not going in until you do," I said.
"Oh!" The blush became stronger and she rushed in, taking her footwear off with more dignity than Naruto. Not that that was that hard to achieve.
I removed my own after I closed the door, chewing my bottom lip as I did.
When I looked up, Naruto had wandered to the other side of the apartment, looking around at everything, lingering near the desk. The pine cover notebook from the trip back from Wave was lying on top of it. Naruto spied it, and began to reach for it.
"Don't touch that," I said, surprised at my own terseness.
Naruto yanked his hand back, and looked embarrassed. "Sorry," he said. "I was just curious. I didn't think you were gonna actually use it."
Sakura and Naruto's gear bags were set next to mine— next to Sasuke's— by the foot of the bed. Kakashi's own was set apart from the others, by the wardrobe. Why did he bring a bag?
This wasn't how the story went at all.
I looked at Kakashi suspiciously. "What aren't you telling us?" I asked.
"I was hoping to put it off until after we ate," he admitted.
"Just spit it out."
Naruto quickly moved over to the table before Kakashi could answer. "Uh-uh, no way. Food first, bad news later," he insisted.
Sakura looked between me and Naruto, and then at Kakashi. "…I agree with Naruto," she said, finally. "We can hear what Sensei has to tell us after. It won't change things if we do it in that order, will it?"
"No," Kakashi answered.
Since there weren't enough chairs— and I immediately nixed the suggestion from Naruto of eating soup on the bed— we all ended up eating on the floor, except for Kakashi, who leaned against the wall instead. That seemed more awkward than being on the floor with us or even using the chair available at the table, but that was what he decided to do.
At no point did any of us ever catch him actively eating, but he finished regardless.
At least I knew how to use chopsticks. Overall, I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the taste— or to be more accurate, that I could taste anything to begin with, even if it was good. A sense of pain. Temperature. Smells and taste. Things that weren't that common in dreams I had before this.
Sakura ended up finishing last, partially between her own slow paced eating, and also the fact the two of us had stopped to stare when Naruto dumped his extra noodles into his remaining broth only to shove it all into his mouth the moment they were wet. I recovered sooner.
"Well, now that that's done," Kakashi said.
We stared at him expectantly from the floor.
"You're supposed to actually explain when you start off with something like that," Sakura said. She didn't sound as exasperated as usual when dealing with him.
Kakashi looked down at us, before he stepped away from the wall, pulling the lone chair out to sit on it, setting his hands on his knees. "There's been a serious security breach in the village." Just like that, the earlier foul mood returned in the full intensity of before; it seemed that it had never left in the first place, he had just shoved it down until it was time to talk.
Sakura frowned.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, staring up at him. "I mean, it's obviously bad, but…" he frowned, unsure of what exactly to ask or even say.
"We have reason to believe a missing-nin by the name of Orochimaru has infiltrated Konoha."
I blinked. That I was not expecting.
"Why would he want to come into the middle of the village if he's a missing-nin? Wouldn't that be a bad idea 'cause of the exams and all the foreign ninja who are here?" Naruto asked. His face was screwed up in serious thought.
"That would be the case with most fugitives, yes. Orochimaru is a special case. He's a former student of the Sandaime, and a member of the Sannin."
"Like Jiraiya-sama," Sakura realized.
"Jiraiya is the only one of the three currently serving the village," Kakashi explained. "Orochimaru fled from punishment for crimes against the village, and the other member, Tsunade, quit active service decades ago."
An uncertain expression crossed Naruto's face. "Uhmm. Jii-jii doesn't have a good record, does he?"
Kakashi, probably for the better, didn't bother to address that particular thorny question. "Orochimaru is extremely dangerous and there's reason to believe that the chūnin exams taking place are his target. That's why the second test was postponed to tomorrow, among other things, then. The hope is to find out if there is anyone in the walls assisting him and if possible flush Orochimaru out."
Things like escorting all of the Kiri-nin with Zabuza to their lodgings. Or this impromptu sleepover. No wonder Shino had stayed behind, then. While we had made up such a large group that we were nearly the last to leave, I somehow doubted most of the other genin— if not all of them— had left the building on their own.
"Why wouldn't they cancel the exam?" Sakura was looking increasingly concerned.
"This is the first time since his disappearance that his immediate whereabouts are actually known," Kakashi said. I wondered if we were even supposed to know that, before I decided probably not. "Orochimaru doesn't just know village secrets, he's powerful enough to destroy countries on his own."
"We're supposed to do this next test with him just out there?" Naruto asked. He was looking between us all, as if still trying to decide how worried he should actually be.
"I tried to withdraw you all from the exam when I found out. I wasn't allowed." That went a long way in explaining Kakashi's earlier mood. Even as he said it, the words were icy.
It wasn't hard to put together. "We're supposed to be bait," I surmised.
"That's right," Kakashi answered. He wasn't pulling back at all on this.
Sakura flinched at the confirmation.
"What?" Naruto got up from the floor, balling his hands into fists. "We're just expected to— to do whatever this next part is and roll over and be easy pickings? Or were we supposed to be clueless?"
"Their plan involves," Kakashi said in a way that made it clear what he thought of using that word for what he was describing, "keeping all of the genin who passed the first test in the second one where possible. The idea is that it will be too irresistible for him to ignore, even though by now he must be aware we're looking for him. Orochimaru was discovered performing human experimentation, including on kekkei genkai before he left the village." As he spoke, he was looking directly at me. "The expected loss of multiple genin to this plan is supposed to be outweighed by hopefully catching and killing him.
"I refuse to let any of you be sacrificial pieces if I can help it." Kakashi's voice was quietly serious. Grim, more than anything. "These exams aren't supposed to be a slaughterhouse, much less a suicide mission."
"The way people have been talking about it's made it sound so serious, though," Sakura said, looking worried. "I thought people died in them all the time?"
"Death is impossible to prevent in even the most tightly run exam," Kakashi told her. "Under normal circumstances, there are usually one or two from carelessness or from genin being pushed beyond their ability to be in these exams in the first place. Genin who can be considered for chūnin are supposed to be experienced enough that they can defend themselves against most enemies for at least long enough to be able to cut and run if necessary and be able to understand those risks. Understanding your weaknesses and limitations is an important part of your development as a shinobi. You can't succeed without it." Kakashi was being impressively informative for him.
"You give us such a hard time and you barely teach us anything, but you thought we were ready to become chūnin?" The skepticism in Sakura's voice was obvious.
"I don't make recommendations lightly. You're the first team I accepted," he responded. "If I didn't think any of you were ready to become chūnin I would not have put the three of you forward. But that's for normal circumstances. If you are in Orochimaru's way, or he comes for you and decides you are not what he wants, none of you will survive."
"Then what are we supposed to do then, huh? You said you couldn't pull us out. Would whoever's running this one let us quit if we say we chicken out?" Naruto looked frustrated at even asking.
"Probably not, no."
"Isn't there some way for us to disqualify ourselves? Or just not show up tomorrow?" Sakura asked.
"After I tried to have you removed myself?" Kakashi shook his head. "Not anymore."
Sakura bit her lip.
"The next test is supposed to be over the course of five days in one of the training grounds outside of the village walls. Training Ground Forty-four is known as the Forest of Death," Kakashi said.
Hearing this only made Sakura look more ill at ease. "Are you supposed to be telling us this?"
"No, but I don't care," he told her, frankly. "If any genin enter that training ground tomorrow completely clueless I would be very surprised."
"But—"
Kakashi cut her off before she could say anything further. "No. Listen very, very carefully to me. The second test in these exams is a free-for-all in a hostile environment. Our village favors an elimination system that's designed to thin out as many teams as possible. Killing your opponents is usually allowed, but most genin tend to not be at that level." Naruto and Sakura eyed me at those words, but said nothing. "They were discussing forbidding killing this time, but I don't know if they came to a conclusion. I expect you'll find out tomorrow.
"The second test is traditionally two-fold. I don't expect them to make any changes to it. One component is to travel to a specific end-point within a predetermined time limit. For the Forest of Death, it will be to or from the tower at its center. The other is the utilization of two scrolls. As a team you'll be given one of a pair. In order to pass the second test, you'll need to arrive at the end-point with both scrolls by taking the one you're missing from another team. Do not, under any circumstance, open either of those scrolls unless you've reached the end, do you understand? The proctor should tell you to not open them, but it is important that you don't."
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"The scrolls are supposed to summon someone to you. Under normal conditions, they're under orders to knock anyone nearby unconscious and leave them in that state until the exam is over if they are opened singly or in the forest. That being said, we don't know what Orochimaru's plans are or what assets he might have in place within the village." There was almost a kind of reluctance to Kakashi's voice as he brought that up, as though he didn't want to expose any of us the idea that the village's ideals were this compromised and its people not as loyal as they were supposed to be thought of being. Especially not when it was in the face of Naruto's unflinching optimism, which was taking a visible beating from this whole conversation.
Naruto screwed his face up, putting effort in trying to break down what Kakashi was actually saying. "So what you're saying is you think one of those guys could end up being traitors, too? You really think he might have people in like that? Wouldn't it be a bad idea to open 'em even if we do make it to wherever we're supposed to?"
"That's what I'm saying, yes," Kakashi said to Naruto. "The difference between the forest and the tower is that there is an electronic surveillance system in the latter in the event they can't be trusted."
"We're supposed to rely on some video cameras? I barely paid attention in the academy and even I remember being told how to evade them! I do it all the time!" Naruto threw his hands up. The frustration that had built up was finding its outlets, as Naruto was beginning to be physically agitated to the point of pacing.
"But Iruka-sensei said that avoiding them only works for certain situations," Sakura pointed out. She had slowly been pulling herself in, hands around her calves, shrinking to gradually take up less space as Kakashi spoke. "Because active surveillance can still notice if something is wrong based on how other people are acting in the shot or if anything happens. Right?" She was actually looking at Kakashi for reassure now.
"It isn't a fail-safe, but in this situation it can make a world of difference for how quickly someone can get to you," Kakashi said. "Response time will make a difference if it comes down to it."
"The difference between being almost dead or just dead," I said, under my breath. "You can try to fix 'almost dead.'"
"Right," Naruto said, with an angry laugh. "Because all we have to do is not just catch some other team and get their scroll if that's what we're supposed to do, yeah? But either get into somewhere or out of somewhere somebody decided to call the Forest of Death. And avoid an evil shinobi that's so out of our league the village is fine using all of us as bait in hopes to maybe catch him? So we just have to hope none of us are what he wants? An' just in case he's got extra help we can't expect help except maybe in one place? This is gonna suck, isn't it?" Naruto took a deep breath, collecting himself. "I didn't expect trying to make chūninto be the hardest part of the road to becoming Hokage."
Some of the tension that had been beginning to suffocate everything unwound itself in the room. Kakashi's shoulders loosened just the slightest, showing just barely some slack again, and Sakura let go of her knees, less hunched in on herself. I couldn't stop myself from quietly snorting.
Kakashi closed his eye for a moment. "Do your best to get to the end-point as quickly as you can. Don't let yourself get mired in fights away from the outside perimeter or out of view of the tower if you can help it. There will be jōnin units stationed outside the training ground boundaries and in the tower itself, but there will be limited personnel within the forest itself."
His gear bag. It didn't make sense for him to have one with him if he was going to be part of the units that could get replaced. "They're actually going to let you be in the forest while we're in there too?" I had to ask, because that seemed off.
"I may have traded some future favors," Kakashi answered, remarkably toneless.
"Couldn't that get us disqualified?" Sakura asked.
"At this point, I doubt that anything short of dragging the three of you out of the country would result in your being removed from this portion of the exam. For a variety of reasons, I would rather not resort to that," Kakashi commented. "While I'll be in the forest, it's large enough that it doesn't mean I will be able to find you or get to you in time if anything happens. Or anyone else, for that matter. As far as I'm concerned, your mission is to survive."
"We can do that," Naruto said. It wasn't loud, or that enthusiastic. Even Naruto found it lacking, repeating himself in a firmer voice. "We can do it. Believe it."
I woke up on the couch to a dead phone, and my painkillers and a mostly empty glass of water on the coffee table. I was just as exhausted as I had woken up to being the last few days, but the TV was off and I could tell the painkillers were still working. At this point, I would take what I could get.
I plugged my phone in to charge and dozed off again.
At some point after its battery was full, I turned it back on and canceled the therapy appointment I was supposed to have on Monday.
I hope everyone's having as safe a November as they can.
Next up, despite how Team Seven feels about it, is the Forest of Death. This coming chapter is going to be especially chaotic, with an awful lot happening out of sight of our OC friend.
As a result, I'll be including a secondary POV for Chapter 11. Who do you all think would be the most interesting option and why? ;)