XXXVII: The Second Exam Part II

Konoha, Forest of Death One Month, Nine Days Ago:

Hinata sat with her unconscious teammates in the shelter of a fallen tree. It had been more than an hour since Orochimaru's ambush and neither of her teammates showed any sign of improvement.

Sasuke had stabilized half an hour after the attack, but he was still stuck in a feverish nightmare, where he kept calling out for his long dead parents his elder brother, and, strangely perhaps, Naruto.

Naruto's condition, on the other hand, was getting progressively worse. His skin had taken on the complexion of a corpse, his hair had gone completely white and his face was lined and wrinkled like a person in their eighties.

And now, while Hinata did her best to care for her injured teammates and herself, Naruto's condition had taken another turn for the worse. Before, his breath came in short sharp gasps, like someone in excruciating pain, now each breath was a death rattle.

Hinata was terrified that he might stop breathing at any minute, but she had no idea what she could do. In her current condition it would take more than an hour to reach the Tower in the center of the woods, and even if she could find help there, she would have to leave her teammates unattended.

Or she could try to drag them there, but she doubted she could defend both of them out in the open. So she sat watch over them and hoped and prayed that someone would arrive and help her.

"Well, look what we have here." A team of genin had found her hiding spot, "A little trapped mouse." There were three of them two boys, one wrapped in bandages, the other had long spikey hair, and one girl with long black hair and bells on her ears, Each wore an Otogakure Hitai-ate around their foreheads.

"Zaku, stop playing with your food." The bandaged boy said. "Just kill them like the boss said, so we can get out of this place."

"It's no fun if they don't fight back." The spiky haired boy complained, "What's so important that we have to take timeout from the test to kill a team that's half dead three hours into it?"

"Don't know, don't care." The girl said.

"I w-won't let you hurt th-them," Still clutching her side Hinata rose to her feet and blocked The Oto team's path.

"Please, what can half dead mouse do to us?" The spiky haired boy, Zaku, scoffed at her, before trying to push past her. "You're not even worth my time."

Moving as fast as she could, with three broken ribs, Hinata struck Zaku four times on his right side. "ARGH!" the spiky haired Genin groaned in pain, "What the hell did you do?" He turned his left palm towards her and a blast of air knocked her over, "Goddamnit… I can't use my right arm…"

He kicked Hinata, who was struggling to rise to her feet, square in her broken ribs, causing her to collapse with a hiss of pain. But when he tried to walk past her she grabbed his leg with both hands and poured as much chakra as she could.

She stood shakily over Zaku, who was clutching his leg and howling in pain, "I-I s-said I w-won't let you hurt them."

"Very brave of you." The bandaged genin said, "But you have no choice. We out number you three to one and you're already half dead."

"Stop talking and kill her already Dosu!" Zaku yelled from the ground.

"It's your own damn fault Zaku." The girl said, "If you weren't so damn bloodthirsty all time Dosu would have killed them already, and we'd be done with this test like we're supposed to."

"Shut up Kin." Zaku whined.

Shaking his head at his teammates' bickering, the bandaged boy, Dosu, said, "Last chance."

"N-No.

"Fine." Dosu charged. To Hinata's trained eyes his form appeared sloppy, and he clearly favored his right arm in combat. So when he feinted with his left before swinging with his right, Hinata was ready for it. She easily dodged out of the way, and countered with a Juken strike to his side.

"Not bad," Dosu grunted, "But you've already lost."

Hinata collapsed suddenly. She was fine for a moment after his punch sailed past but then she felt like someone had spent three minutes shaking her. "Wh-what did you d-do?" she managed to ask before she began throwing up.

Dosu patted the strange looking gauntlet he wore on his right arm, "This little beauty came straight from the labs of the Otokage himself. It takes noise and focuses it into a high pitched vibration that I can send straight into my opponents' ears with my chakra."

"Th-tahnk you for the time to c-catch my b-breath." Hinata stood shakily once more. "Your g-gauntlet is v-very impressive. It's a shame it's w-wasted on someone as w-weak as you."

"You should have killed her as soon as she fell over you moron!" Zaku complained while he stood up. "Damn it I can barely stand thanks to that bitch."

"If we work together this will be quick." Kin said before pulling several senbon from a pouch at her waist. They had bells at one end Hinata noticed.

Hinata didn't give her opponents a chance to attack. She leapt at Dosu who was the closest, with both arms raised. Dosu barley had time to raise his gauntleted arm to cover his face before her Juken strikes hit. She had intended to hit him in the eyes, a move that could have permanently blinded him had she been allowed to connect.

Before she could swing again two of Kin's senbon hit her in the shoulder. Everything blurred and she almost missed Dosu's next punch coming at her head. She managed to duck under it again but then the wave of sound smashed into her left ear and she almost collapsed again.

"Still standing?" Dosu asked, "Very Impressive, but I doubt you'll be able to do much taijutsu with both ears damaged."

Before Zaku could try to move past her and into the shelter of the tree, Hinata quickly performed the hand seals for her Suiton: Suiben and bound both Zaku and Dosu. It wouldn't hold them for long but it gave her enough time to attack Kin.

"Oh no you don't!" Kin threw three more of her senbon at Hinata. Everything blurred for Hinata again, but the pain of her broken ribs broke the genjutsu before it could really affect her.

Kin swung wildly at Hinata, Taijutsu wasn't something she was good at apparently. Hinata ducked under the punch and maneuvered around Kin. She stuck her left leg behind kin and smashed Kin in the face with her left elbow.

The move caused Kin to flip over Hinata's knee, and while she was airborne Hinata smashed kin in the solar plexus with a Juken strike.

Dosu was the first to break free of the Suiton: Suiben, he made a beeline for her unconscious teammates. Despite her broken ribs Hinata sprinted after him. She tripped him with a sliding tackle and tried to block his path once more.

"You're stubborn, I'll give you that much." Dosu grumbled as he stood back up.

Hinata attacked him with a flurry of Juken strikes, but she was wearing down. With each punch it became harder for her to breath and easier for Dosu to block her attacks with his gauntlet. Finally she left an opening big enough for him to land a vicious right hook.

Hinata crumpled under the combined force of Dosu's punch and the sound from his gauntlet. "Damn woman damaged my Melody Arm…" Dosu inspected the tiny hairline cracks Hinata's Juken strikes had left in the metal, "I better be able to get a new one when we get back to Oto."

Hinata tried to crawl after Dosu, but a kick from Zaku caught her in her ribs again. "Still alive? Good that means I can kill you myself." He stomped on her, causing her to scream in agony. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"You're sick Zaku." Kin managed to say in-between gasps for air. She was still too weak to stand, but at least the vomiting stopped.

"Do you know how much that move hurt? I'm going to take my time with her. I might even have a litt…"

Before he could finish his sentence Dosu came flying out of the tree, he smashed into Zaku and both of them collapsed in a heap.

Sasuke stepped out of the tree after Dosu. His eyes were wide and his pupils dilated. The sweat from his fever-dreams still soaked his clothes, and he stared off into the middle distance. He wobbled with each step like a man on storm tossed ship. The black mark on his neck from Orochimaru's bite had spread across his neck in a pattern of flames.

Sasuke looked at Zaku and Dosu without really seeing them, "You…" He mumbled, "You killed them." Still not exactly looking at them Sasuke shuffled towards them. "You… Killed… Them…" despite his glazed expression murder shone clearly in his eyes. "Give me back my FAMILY!"

Sasuke sprang at the two standing sound-nin, "Carful!" Dosu warned as he stumbled out of the way of Sasuke's mad charge, "He's ridiculously strong."

Dosu tried to flank Sasuke, who was staring absentmindedly at Zaku. When Dosu got close enough to swing, Sasuke lashed out with a vicious back hand. Dosu had to block with his melody arm, and the force of the blow sent Dosu flying away again.

"Damn it…My arm…" Dosu said through grit teeth. Sasuke's blow had connected with the area Hinata had damaged. The force of it had shattered the gauntlet and embedded chunks of it in Dosu's arm. "I'll kill you for that!"

Zaku tried to blast Sasuke with his air technique, but a senbon from Kin hit him in the back and the Genjutsu threw his aim off. "Damnit Kin!" Zaku yelled, "I Almost had him! I'll kill you for that!"

"I'm sorry! I still can't see straight from that girl's punch!"

Zaku took aim once more, but Sasuke seemed to vanish and Zaku's shot went wide. "Damnit where'd he go?"

Zaku looked around for a moment, before he looked down and Sasuke's rising kick caught him in the chin and launched him in the air.

Sasuke turned his attention towards Kin who was struggling to escape. "Okaa-san?" he stumbled towards Kin, and grabbed her in a hug "I had a terrible dream. You were dead and Itachi killed everyone. I missed you so much." He buried his face in her shoulder and started to sob.

"I'm not your mother you freak get off of me!" Kin tried to push Sasuke off, but his grip was too strong.

"Just hold him there." Dosu said as he helped Zaku to his feet. "It'll make it easier to kill him."

Sasuke stood suddenly and spun around to face them, "I won't let you hurt Okaa-san!" He charged Dosu and punched him square in the nose. Dosu dropped like a felled tree.

Another senbon caught Zaku in the shoulder, "Damnit Kin, Stop helping me!"

Zaku tried to dodge Sasuke's punch, but whips made of water sprung from the ground and held in in place Just before Sasuke's blow connected Zaku caught a glimpse of Hinata behind Sasuke. Blood leaked from her ears and mouth, but she stared at him in grim determination, her hands held in the final seal for Suiton: Suiben.

Unable to dodge, Zaku caught the blow full in the chest. Hinata's whips broke under the force of the blow, if they hadn't Sasuke's fist would have gone straight through Zaku's chest.

Hinata could hear the sound of his ribs breaking from where she lay on the ground. She grinned with grim satisfaction, his kicks had broken a fourth rib, and cracked three more on her other side.

Dosu, who had been trying to crawl away from the fight froze in terror when Sasuke turned his crazed eyes back on him. "Dun't urd be…" he managed to say. His words came out garbled through his broken nose. "I'll do anyding you want."

"There's nothing you can do you monster." Sasuke said, apparently still believe that Dosu was responsible for the deaths of his family.

"Bonster? You da Bonster here."

"Sasuke, Come to mother." Kin said sweetly, "I have a present for you."

Sasuke's demeanor changed instantly he rushed to kin's side, "Yes Okaa-san?"

"Here," Kin handed him her team's earth scroll, "Give this to your friends over there"

"Kin what are you doing, you stupid bitch!"Zaku groaned from the floor.

"Okaa-san isn't stupid!" Sasuke kicked Zaku in the ribs, launching him into Dosu again.

"Okaa-san has some errands to run. You stay here and play with your friends and I'll be back soon."

"Kin, what are you doing?" Dosu hissed.

"Saving your sorry lives, that's what. Come on let's get out of here."

Meanwhile:

"One, two three dead bodies." Three Chunin exam assistant proctors had found the bodies at the edge of the Forest of death.

"What kind of ninjutsu does that?" The youngest member of the team looked ill.

"Come on we need to find Anko, this looks like trouble."