They were called to attend the second trial at night. Torches were lit and applicants followed escorts back out into the desert. Six teams were in attendance. There were now 3 Suna teams, 2 Konoha teams, and 1 Iwa team.

Half had passed the first trial. Kioshi was excited to see what was in store next. Stars shone brightly overhead, and he shivered slightly from the chill. Deserts held little moister so they became very hot, but also fairly cool at night. Team 2 had come prepared with pants, jackets, and hoods.

"Welcome to the second trail of the chunin exams!" The woman from the first trial announced. She was standing on the same raised platform. The only difference was it was now in a different location and was lit with blazing lanterns. "Congratulations to you all for getting this far. I hope you all enjoyed what the Labyrinth had to offer!"

The applicants stayed quiet, some sulking at the joke. The woman smiled at this and continued. "This next trial will not be like the last. Instead of competing against proctors, teams shall compete against each other. This trial will test tracking, stealth, fighting, defense, interrogation, and torture resistance."

There were a few mumbles at the last one.

"Yes it is quite a long list," the woman nodded, purposely misinterpreting the concern. "But don't worry. Teams will most likely only need to excel in three of these skills.

"There will be two types of teams. A teams will be tested on stealth, defense, and interrogation. And B teams will be tested on tracking, fighting, and fortitude. B teams will be required to pick one of their team members to be held captive by an A team. This captive will be tied up and disabled with a chakra seal. A teams will take this captive and will have 30 minutes to run and hide.

"A teams will be given an amulet at the start." The woman held up a red glowing object that looked like a glass stopwatch on a string. "To win this trial you must be the team that holds an amulet at the end of seven days. That, or you must end your trial early."

The woman pointed, and as if on cue again, an 8-foot tall statue lit up, outlined with blue chakra lights. "This statue will remain lit during the night. To end the trial early, A teams must touch the statue with a green amulet. B teams, in turn, must touch the statue with a red amulet. All amulets start out as red. Red amulets will turn green once a certain code is entered. This code will be given to B teams.

"An A team's job to keep their red amulet safe for the allotted time, or to turn it green and return it to the statue. B teams…it is your job to find and take a red amulet from an A or B team. B teams should also avoid giving away the green code. If an amulet turns green, it will take 24 hours for it to shift back to its original color.

"A teams, you are tasked with extracting the green code from B captives. Killing or permanently maiming a starting captive is forbidden. Our medical team will give A teams a form that states what is permissible. To all others, you can use lethal force.

"Each applicant will also be given a surrender and tracking beacon." The woman held up a small black cylinder tube. "If you feel you cannot complete the trial, press the red button on the top of your beacon three times. This will alert us to come retrieve you. Are there any questions?"

Kioshi raised his hand.

The woman nodded. "Yes?"

"Are codes unique for each amulet, or are they all the same?"

The woman smiled. "Smart question. Yes, they are all the same. A teams do not necessarily have to interrogate a certain B team for information. They could spy, steal, torture, or form alliances with other A or B teams if they choose. The same goes for B teams. You do not have to track down the team that holds your teammate, though it will save them pain if you did. Only one team member is required to return an amulet to the statue. This will cause the whole team to pass. However, a person needs to touch the statue to be safe. If you abandon a member, they will need to make it to safety on their own or survive the allotted time. "

Another hand rose up.

"Yes?"

"Can you go rescue a teammate after you touch the statue with an amulet?" A boy from Konoha asked.

The woman shook her head. "No, once you touch the statue you will be returned to Suna. You will not be allowed to sabotage or help others once you have secured your team's position."

"If a person surrenders, does the entire team fail?" A girl from Suna asked.

"No." The woman said flatly. "This trial does not require an entire team to pass."

Another hand rose up.

The woman nodded permission to speak.

"Are A teams allowed to brutally kill or torture B members if they are not the original captive?" A large blond-haired boy from Iwa asked. "You said that all B members would receive the code, correct?"

The woman frowned at this but nodded. "Yes, to both questions."

The large boy grinned.

"However, if a participant is able to press their surrender beckon, Suna proctors will be able to interfere." The woman explained. "Attackers and victims should keep this in mind."

The woman waited and scanned the applicants, making sure they understood, then continued. "Each team will receive six gallons of water and a pack of food. Anything else will need to be found in the desert. You will not receive any shelter materials. Any more questions?"

After ten seconds of silence, she nodded. "Then please have one person from your team come and pick a card." She spread out six playing cards in her hand like a magician.

People from different teams began to move forward. Kioshi looked behind him at Emi and Itachi. Since he was the one in front they gestured him forward. Kioshi walked up to the woman. He picked a card, flipping it around and reading it before returning back to his team.

When all the cards had been drawn the woman spoke again. "On your card you will see both a letter and a number. The letter represents your A or B team status. The number represents which team you will be paired with. Applicants, please read each of your cards out loud."

The woman started pointing. "A2"... "B3"... "B2"... "A1"... "A3"... "B1", teams called out, each saying a letter and a number when told.

"Good." The woman stated. "B teams…the A team with your same number will be holding your teammate captive. You have 30 minutes to plan and decide which member you wish to offer. A teams, use this time to also make plans. Your time starts now!"

Team 2 turned to each other. They had gotten the "A1" card. This meant that they would be interrogators.

Koru growled.

"What is it boy?" Kioshi asked.

Emi snorted. "He's pissed we don't get to track down a team. He was really looking forward to it."

Kioshi nodded sympathetically. "Well, look on the bright side. At least none of us have to be tortured."

Koru remained blankly silent, and Emi rolled her eyes.

"What did he say?" Kioshi asked, eyes narrowing. There had obviously just been a mental communication.

"He said that he was looking forward to that even more," Emi grinned.

Kioshi looked at the puppy, affronted. "Are you saying you would like to see me or Itachi tortured!?" Seeing as Emi was the only physical tracker, she would have obviously been excluded from selection in such a situation.

Koru barked, and Emi smiled again. "You specifically, Kioshi. Itachi he might try to rescue."

Kioshi rolled his eyes. He and Koru had a bipolar relationship. The puppy loved his treats and belly rubs, but at times there was hostility and mischief.

It was probably because of all the pranks. Kioshi did it mostly to test his stealth, but the reactions Koru gave at being stuck up on and scared were also hilarious. Koru, in turn, responded by trying pranks of his own or angrily ignoring him.

"If you think about it," Itachi said. "Being a starting captive is actually the safest position. They are the only ones protected against fatal or lasting harm. Maybe this is Koru's way of saying he cares for you Kioshi."

Koru barked in indignation at such a suggestion.

Kioshi smirked. "Humm. I think you might be right…Self consciously I am Koru's favorite." This caused an even angrier bark, but Kioshi ignored the puppy, tapping his chin in exaggerated thought.

The conversation was interrupted when a Suna exam coordinator came up to them. "Here are your surrender beacons and your interrogation form. Read and follow the rules stated. Punishment for ignoring them will depend on the severity of the crime."

Kioshi became serious again and nodded. Koru also let their argument rest, resting his head down on Emi's shoulder. Kioshi took the paper and the small cylinder beckons offered. "Thank you," he said politely.

The man nodded and walked away.

Kioshi passed out the surrender beckons and then brought his torch closer to read the interrogation form. It was quite detailed, stipulating all the types of wounds Suna healers could handle and fix. "There are a lot of restrictions here," Kioshi said after he'd finished. "If we are going to interrogate our prisoner effectively, I think it is best to use genjutsu."

Itachi took the form and read it as well. He nodded afterward. "It seems that Suna does not care about a person's mental health."

"Are you up for it?" Kioshi asked the Uchiha. Itachi was the best out of all of them at illusions, especially when it came to being sinister and frighting.

Itachi frowned but nodded. "We should try to end the trial as soon as possible. Amulets will be more sought after as time goes on. Once a team returns an amulet to the statue, their corresponding enemy will pick a new target. We should avoid having more than one team after us."

Kioshi nodded. "As long as there is only one team attacking, we have the advantage. We start with an amulet and a prisoner. We also have all three members to fight."

"B teams only have to steal an amulet though," Emi reminded. "They do not need to get information to end their trial."

"And having a captive is not always a good thing," Itachi added. "We will have the challenge of protecting them. If they are rescued or knocked out, we will not be able to get the code."

"The best thing to do is to remain hidden," Kioshi said. "Emi can help cover our physical tracks, and I can cover our chakra signatures. Both of us can stand guard while Itachi interrogates."

Emi and Itachi nodded.

Kioshi looked around for eavesdroppers and then leaned in closer. "Another option is for me to use my portals," he whispered. The woman announcer hadn't mentioned this event was going to be filmed. It was probably due to this being a stealth exercise and the event being located in an endless desert. Swarming cameras would expose teams, and the area was too vast to set still cameras in the right locations. The woman hadn't even given them a circumference that they needed to stay in.

"We could simply outdistance and outrun all opposition until the time is up." Kioshi continued. "With the supplies in my dimensional realm, we can last in the desert for more than seven days."

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. "While that might be the safest route, I think we should use this opportunity to test our skills. Finishing early will also give us more respect."

Emi nodded. "I agree. We should see how we hold up against opposition. I do think, however, that Kioshi should hold the amulet in his dimensional realm. It will be impossible for it to be stolen this way. It being in his possession will count to our victory. Even if he dies, it might count."

"Gee thanks," Kioshi commented dryly.

"Not that we're going to let this happen," Emi stated quickly. "I'm just pointing out that Kioshi can make this trial impossible to fail."

Itachi shrugged. "I am not opposed."

"We will have to wait until we are out of sight," Kioshi said. "I don't want people to know of the ability just yet."

Emi and Itachi nodded.

They sat in silence for the last ten minutes, done with basic planning. Kioshi spent this time studying other teams. Teams had grouped and separated far away from each other, all huddled around their own torches and lanterns. Their corresponding B1 team were Suna ninjas. They were examining them in turn, quietly talking and gesturing amongst themselves.

After the 30-minute planning session was up, the woman announcer got back up on the platform. "Chosen B-team captives, it is time to come forward to be sealed and secured. Team members of the captive, please accompany them so that we can tell you all the code to the amulets.

"Before we do so, however, there is one last rule." Everyone stopped at this, a bit annoyed." The woman smiled placatingly. "It will not affect things much, only those who wish to form an alliance." That made most relax.

"This rule applies to B teams. As I said before, you are allowed to form alliances, even with opposite letter teams. B teams, however, are not allowed to share the code with any A teams until A team's 30 minute head start has expired. A teams cannot be attacked until after this time. It would be unfair to allow them to complete the trial before this. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. B teams enabling A teams to finish the trial quickly was unlikely, but seeing as both Suna and Konoha had teams with both opposing letters, teams of the same village might sacrifice for each other.

Nobody seemed interested in forming alliances though. Even the two A teams from Suna didn't get together and discuss anything.

After another 10 minutes, the woman got back on the stand. "A teams, your prisoners are prepared. Please come forward and retrieve them."

Team 2 walked up to a large tied-up boy. Kioshi was surprised this was the one out of the B1 team to be picked. The Suna boy looked to be 16 or 17. He was the biggest and toughest out of the group. Kioshi figured B1 would want someone of such stature as an attacker.

The size and toughness, however, were a double-edged sword. It would make it hard to drag the boy around and interrogate. The boy obviously seemed to think this as well. He smirked at their approach. "A girl, a puppy, and two small children. I'm so scared," he mocked. "Are you sure you don't just want to surrender now?"

Emil glared at him. "You're the prisoner, not us. If I were you, I'd shut your mouth."

The boy scoffed and turned his head away.

Suna proctors came up and gave them two packs of water and food. Itachi and Kioshi both heaved and strapped the packs onto their shoulders. "Emi, you carry the prisoner," Kioshi said.

"Yeah, carry me, babe," the Suna boy leered, eyeing Emi up and down suggestively. "Just don't get too grabby."

Emi turned away and took a few calming breaths. "It's a pity we can't kill him," she said, glaring off into the distance. Koru was especially angry at the boy's insinuations, his growls audible.

Attention was drawn when the woman announcer spoke on the platform again. "A teams, it is now time for you to go hide in the desert. You have 30 minutes. During this time, no team is allowed to attack. Begin!"

Team 2 jumped into action. Emi grabbed their prisoner's collar and proceeded to drag him across the sand, heading off into the open dark landscape. Kioshi and Itachi followed, both carrying torches, their eyes being less adaptable to the low light.

"Hey! Easy their chick!" the Suna boy choked. "Can't brea-athe!"

Emi ignored him, picking up speed. If the prisoner hadn't been wearing long pants, the friction would have rubbed the boy's legs raw. The treatment was like someone hog-tied and dragged behind a running horse, sand and dust flying in every direction.

Once they covered a good distance, Emi stopped, looking back. The light of the platform and the other applicants were out of sight, only dark rolling desert dunes were seen. The prisoner was choking and spitting out sand during this time, trying to catch his breath after his collar was released. "Crazy bitch," he muttered, voice cracking.

"I think we should put away this nuisance for a time," Emi said, turning to Kioshi. "His weight and mouth are annoying. Store him away along with the amulet."

Kioshi nodded, checking the surroundings once more before creating a large portal. The purple energy flared brightly in the darkness.

The prisoner's eyes widened as it came towards him, struggling in his restraints "Wha-" The boy's voice was cut off as he was swallowed up with some sand, the boy vanishing into Kioshi's dimensional realm.

Kioshi proceeded to make two other portals, creating a small one to store the amulet, and a larger one to hold their two packs. Akio said it was unwise to store everything like this, but in this situation, the benefits outweighed the risks.

Speed was important. They had to make some distance between them and other teams before 30 minutes were up. Without packs or a prisoner, they would make great time. They flared chakra into their soles and muscles, and took off, only making subtle footprints along the sand. The marks didn't require attention. There was a strong wind from the west, blowing elements across the plain, so they would be quickly covered.

As they traveled, Kioshi and Itachi also pushed the team's physical chakra residue away with spiritual chakra. This would make it harder to pick up a clear line of travel.

They ran hard and long for three hours, stopping in a canyon of rocks. "I think we should stop here," Itachi said. "We don't want to get too far away. The canyon should hide us from enemies and shelter us from the wind."

Emi and Kioshi nodded.

"Take out our packs," Itachi continued, looking at Kioshi. "We need to rehydrate and eat."

Kioshi obeyed and formed a red portal, dropping out the packs. As he did so, he masked the technique with spiritual chakra. It took a lot of concentration to do so, but it would lessen the chance of the strong signature being detected.

Team 2 ate and drank their fill, as they kept all their senses open for threats. Deciding it was best to start interrogation as soon as possible, Kioshi then dumped the Suna prisoner out of a red portal.

The tied-up boy fell put and landed on his face, Kioshi having made the portal a little bit up off the ground. "W-what in hell!" the large boy said afterward looking around in confusion. Seeing Kioshi, Itachi, and Emi all sitting on rocks with dark shadows of a tall canyon behind them must have been confusing. In the Suna ninja's perspective, no time had passed. It was obvious they were now in a different location.

"Kioshi, give me something to gag him with," Itachi said blankly. "His screams will echo here."

The boy glared. "Nice try at intimidation kid, but I'm not scared of you. Nothing permanent can be done, so you're wasting your time. I won't talk."

Itachi didn't respond, simply accepting some thick rags and a belt that Kioshi had pulled out of a portal. The Uchiha then grabbed the boy's mouth and harshly forced it open. The prisoner was twice Itachi's age and size, but the action was easy. The prisoner's chakra was sealed away. Right now, he was as weak as a civilian.

Stuffing cloth into the prisoner's mouth until his cheeks bulged, Itachi then secured the cloth inside the wet cavity by wrapping and tightening the belt around the teenager's head. The prisoner tried to make the action as difficult as possible, bucking and struggling, but Itachi simply landed a hard punch in the large boy's stomach, making the Suna boy stop and groan over in pain.

Kioshi and Emi turned their backs to the pair, watching out for danger. Kioshi scanned for spiritual chakra in a two-mile radius, and Emi listened for sounds.

It wasn't long before they heard muffled grunts and screaming from their prisoner. To Kioshi and Emi, nothing was being inflicted. Itachi was simply standing there calmly, arms to the side.

After about ten minutes, the prisoner's sounds and movements became more frantic, mumbled protests coming out in panicked bursts through the gag. Itachi let him speak. "W-what have you d-done!" the boy gasped out once his mouth was free. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! THIS ISN'T ALLOWED! Suna will kill you for this!"

Itachi must have silently taunted the boy more through genjutsu, because the Suna boy grimaced, tears leaking out of his eyes. "You sick bastard…" he said, voice hopeless. "My life as a ninja is over."

Kioshi watched the scene with fascination. Was the boy truly so blind to not realize that it was an illusion?

Itachi must be using all his skills to deceive. It wasn't necessary to do this. The prisoner couldn't use chakra, so it was impossible to dispel the illusion. But the tactic was clever. Getting the prisoner to believe the things happening were real made it ten times worse. One couldn't just psyche and comfort themselves through it.

The fact that Itachi could do this even when the victim knew this was a sanctioned interrogation, attested to the Uchiha's skills.

"G-go to hell…" the Suna ninja croaked, as if in answer to something. Itachi must have asked for the code. Seeing as the prisoner didn't answer, Itachi stuffed the cloth back in the older boy's mouth again, and the screams continued.

Ten minutes later the gag was removed again. The boy was crying and choking, body shaking. "O-Okay. OKAY! P-Please stop! Sage of six paths! I-its t-two zero n-nine f-five three. T-two z-zero nine five three! You-you monster! I w-was trying t-to tell you!...

Kioshi pulled out the amulet and typed in the code. It flashed green. Itachi noticed, and released his spiritual chakra off the teenager. The prisoner passed out after this, his mind apparently at its end.

"Remind me not to piss you off," Kioshi joked, trying to lighten the mood. The scene was a bit disturbing.

"You would have seen through it," Itachi stated flatly. "The Suna ninja didn't pay attention to details and was easily convinced of my motives."

"The boy acted like you dismembered him," Emi said. At Itachi's uncomfortable blush, Emi's eye widened. "Wait… you didn't…

Itachi cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter how I got the information, what matters is that I did. We should focus back on the mission."

Emi didn't let it go through, a smirk on her face. "Why Itachi, you're not as innocent as you look."

Itachi glared. The Uchiha was obviously in a bad mood.

"What should we do with the Suna ninja now?" Kioshi asked, trying to change the subject. Itachi didn't seem to have enjoyed performing the interrogation. Emi should probably drop further teasing.

Itachi turned back to the still form. "We should take him back with us. The form says we only need to leave a surrender beacon within reach, but he could be killed by desert beasts before waking up or help arrives."

Kioshi nodded. Suna was their ally. There was no true malice between them, at least there shouldn't be. While leaving an unconscious prisoner to the wild elements wasn't against the rules, it wouldn't be ethical.

Kioshi was actually a bit concerned that Suna hadn't addressed this loophole. Perhaps being a starting captive wasn't the safest position…

After scooping the boy back up into a purple portal, Kioshi proceeded to store their packs and amulet away as well.

"There are no near signs of human life," Itachi said. "Let's keep it that way. There is no need to make this difficult."

Emi and Kioshi nodded.

The team then proceeded to run back into the open desert, heading in the direction they had come. Itachi and Kioshi worked together, scanning different areas with spiritual chakra.

They sensed two teams along the way. One they easily avoided by simply diverting their course. The other one, however, hung around right near the statue.

It was the Iwa team. Instead of tracking down someone to steal an amulet, it seemed the B team had decided to wait and try to ambush people who tried to complete the trail.

Kioshi frowned. The people waiting for them were the large blond-haired boy who had been eager for torture and a cocky pink-haired girl. Kioshi already had a bad impression of the individuals. The fact that they had abandoned their smallest teammate caused even more anger. He had seemed like the underdog.

"Emi, shield formation!" Kioshi yelled over the rushing wind of their travel.

Itachi and Kioshi fell in behind Emi at this, the girl responding, flashing out a strong golden shield.

Seeing that their cover was blown, the girl and boy from Iwa rushed at them from their crouched positions in the darkness, firing long distant ninjutus's. Kioshi and Itachi hammered them with genjutsu's in return. They couldn't fire physical attacks since the shield surrounding them worked both ways.

Emi, blocked every attack, while the Iwa boy and girl ducked and became confused, one seeing fake lightning bolts headed towards them, and the other seeing their targets completely disappear.

It was soon realized what was going on and the Iwa ninja's dispelled the illusions, but it was too late. Team 2 had passed them in a blur, quickly reaching the statue and touching it. The Iwa team almost attacked in anger, but two proctor ninjas got in the way, reminding the pair of the rules.

They were reluctantly obeyed, the Iwa genins slipping back out into the darkness.

Kioshi quickly made a red portal which dropped out their green amulet. He then touched the statue with it and handed it out for the proctors to take.

The proctors seemed surprised by the portal technique, looking where the amulet had appeared, but didn't comment on it. They quickly focused back on their job and checked the records, nodding at the amulet's color. "Team 2 of Konoha, your time is 6 hours and 18 minutes. Congratulations, you are the first to complete the trial. Please follow us."

Kioshi bit his lip, remembering something else. Pausing, he created another red portal, this one much larger. Out of it dropped the Suna boy. "This is our prisoner," Kioshi said. "He fell unconscious after being questioned, so we decided it was best not to leave him in the desert. He might need medical attention."

Both proctor ninjas were tense and stared at the place where Kioshi's portal had disappeared, looking even more surprised. They looked down at the Suna boy and back, and seemed to want to ask even more questions, but professionalism again stopped the action.

The prisoner started to moan out of his still state. Medical ninjas arrived for an examination. Seeing that the boy wasn't in fatal danger, the healers retreated. The boy hadn't surrendered, so he was still in the game.

Team 2 followed a guide back to Suna.