Chapter 21: Creeping doubts
Antidote?
Kabuto's eyes wandered across the rookies. He didn't expect them to have someone aiming specifically for them, less of all looking for something like an antidote.
"He's still alive?" It was all he could do to keep the surprise out of his face as the Higurashi heiress' voice sounded loud and innocent. "I see you managed to counter some of the poison then; I'm surprised, with how much he was moving, I thought he would've been dead by midnight for sure."
So it was the girl then, he supposed he shouldn't be so shocked. The Uchiha's character didn't lend itself for such subtle mediums, and the blond was just way too honest to do something like that. He hadn't expected her to be capable of killing someone in cold blood just yet, though. His information tended to paint her as a gentle person.
"Say, how about this, I'll give you guys the antidote after you leave your scroll here?" There was something slightly unnerving about the way she spoke so calmly and politely.
The illusions launched at them.
Only Naruto flinched.
Both clan heirs remained where they were, weapons raised in waiting for the enemies' actual bodies to come at them. Absolutely confident that what they were facing was purely genjutsu instead of some sort of summon. Either one of them was incredibly attuned to chakra, or they were naive enough to trust his word with no reservations.
Probably the former.
"Is this all you can do?" The arrogance in Sasuke's voice was far more within his expectations. "That's why one of you is slowly dying right now."
In a second, the giant insects were replaced by dozens of copies of the Ame nin. Completely surrounded within the genjutsu. Well, visually surrounded, there was no way these were physical clones; the amount of chakra required to create this many was just laughably impossible. Things were still getting more complicated.
"You're the ones at our mercy." The voice seemed to come out of all directions; at least the illusion wasn't mediocre. "Trapped like rats."
"Shut up!"
The blond lost her temper, racing and punching one of the many images only to pass right through it. Unsurprisingly, the clones were part of the illusion. Kabuto stayed behind, grey eyes watching the ever-moving bodies move around them; the other two genins seemed fairly composed in stark contrast with Naruto. According to the information he'd managed to compile, they'd completed a B-rank mission. He'd assumed it was all because of their teacher; perhaps he'd done them a disservice. A slight burst of chakra had him looking to his side; crimson had overtaken the Uchiha's eyes, two tomoes spinning wildly inside.
Now, wasn't this a treat, to see the famed sharingan in action.
Though the boy had to be struggling more than he'd thought if he failed to move away from the kunai flying straight at him. Bloodlust coming from the apparent illusion.
"Sasuke, your left!"
He felt the blade piercing his shoulder as he tackled the momentarily frozen Uchiha to the ground.
A volley of senbons rained on the spot the kunai had come from, the Higurashi girl's gaze cold as she let the projectiles fly. Probably trying to make sure the real opponents would be forced to move before rushing to Sasuke-kun's side.
So that piece of his intelligence, at least, was correct. The connection between those two wouldn't be cut easily...if it was possible at all in the first place.
"Since they physically hurt Kabuto, that means these guys are solid bunshins and not illusions? Even when clones have some substance, they normally fade away once you beat them...but they're still here, so is this real after all? Which is it?" Naruto was screaming now, frustration evident in his every word. "Damn it!"
"Wait! That's no good." The Uchiha was quick to stop the other boy as soon as the blond's hands formed a hand seal. "They're illusions, genjutsu cast by the enemy.
"B-but...Kabuto's wound is real."
"Do you remember the bell test?"It was Kagome this time, her voice just as calm as it was when this began. "They are doing the same thing we did, fill the space with obstructions, and snipe from a safer place. They're just using regular clones instead of kage bunshins."
"They're synchronizing a real physical attack with the movements of the enemies we think we are seeing. It enhances our perception that the shinobi we are fighting are the real ones," he added; he needed to offer something to the conversation.
"So, I'll hunt down the coward's who's throwing kunais from behind the scene and kick his ass!"
"There's no need, Naruto-kun." The girl's calm demeanor had to be unnerving their opponents. "If they want the antidote, they'll have to get out of their hiding spot soon enough. I admit I made a miscalculation earlier; I failed to consider that maybe they had something that could delay the effect of the poison. It doesn't really matter, though; that was made from a combination of toxins, done with liberal use of oleander. If they don't move soon, they'll fail the exam and lose their teammate. There's no chance that guy is going to live to see another day without my antidote."
Now that was a fascinating poison for someone who claimed to dislike confrontation to have on hand. Kagome had to have prepared it herself; while the flower grew in a couple of places in Hi country, it was always sold on its own. It was usually deadly enough like that; the fact that she'd mixed it with something else would likely ensure death for anyone unfortunate enough to be exposed to it.
Just how much did this girl know about medicine?
He'd noticed it while she stitched his arm, the distinct lack of hesitation, the Higurashi heiress had found the edges of the injuries and sown it together, and now, it seemed like she liked to dabble with drugs as well. Such a fascinating finding.
"Fine then!"It looked like the village prankster finally snapped. "I'll just give them a little push then!"
"Naruto!" Kabuto tried to top him; fighting with an injured member was always harder after all. "No, don't squander your chakra! A direct attack can't help us!"
The whole clearing was filled with smoke.
Clones, perfect physical recreations of the blond filled the space. Had Kabuto been anyone else, he might've missed the light layer of chakra enveloping the whole area, the massive explosion of energy the kage bunshins caused hiding it.
Genjutsu.
And judging by the speed it was made with, it looked like it was deliberately timed to the prankster's jutsu.
A strong pull on his arm had him following the other two rookies out of the clone infested area. The girl's breathing was becoming heavier, though, so even exhausted, she'd managed to pull off an area-wide illusion.
"Can you aim at Kagome's copy with wires?" Sasuke spoke from his left, clearly the one who'd pulled him.
The older teen spun around, looking back at the center of the clearing; indeed, three copies of them were sitting still in the center. Had the knuckle-headed prankster done that?
That was an immense amount of chakra. Creating all those clones and then carefully transforming them in the split of a second. The strain of doing that had to be monumental, and yet the teen was moving like it was nothing. And Naruto was still very much a boy; if he were to gain mastery over that massive chakra...Konoha could very well have a monster in their hands.
"It's a modified version of the way we passed our sensei's little test," Kagome explained.
"They'll rush at her for the antidote; the more wire around that area, the better." The Uchiha already had wired shurikens in his hands as he aimed at his teammate's copy.
"And the real Naruto?" Because this could end up a disaster if the blond was caught in the fire.
"Won't be anywhere near that."
So it wasn't just the two heirs, judging from the girl's words, all three were way more closely tied together than he'd imagined. Which, while interesting, could...complicate things a little.
"Got it."
"At my signal."
A silent conversation passed between the pair of genins in an instant before the Uchiha nodded reluctantly. The Higurashi heiress' hands went through a string of seals, stopping right before the last one.
His eyes widened as he realized what the plan was only to smile right after. Some would call this overkill, Kabuto though, he appreciated the fact that they were clearly taking this seriously. If they were willing to go this far for an exam, then how far would they go for their actual goals?
A silent nod had the barrage of weapons searing through the air, the wires tensing as they passed the bunch of strings to the girl. Fire traveled through them with ease, passing through several clones that only added more smoked to the chaos. The loud agonizing screams of the two that tried to get to the disguised clones filled the air.
Calm settled in after a couple of seconds, the bunshins vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a smug-looking blond and two scorched and knocked out Ame nins. The now extinguished wires lying carelessly on the floor.
"Kagome-chan!"
Just as the blond screamed, Kabuto managed to turn around in time to see the girl falling to her knees, her breathing visibly ragged. The Uchiha was holding her by her arm in an attempt to break her fall. The older teen knew the Higurashi heiress had been low on chakra; with her so willing to keep going that morning, however, he'd figured she'd recovered at least a quarter of her usual reserves. Clearly, he'd been mistaken.
"You let her do that last Katon?!" There was a surprising amount of anger in Naruto's accusation.
"Look here you...!"
"Naruto-kun." Her voice was tired and barely audible; still, both boys shut up. "It's alright; I was already near exhausted after the genjutsu. There was no point in having someone else waste their chakra if I was already going to be stuck with just taijutsu anyway."
"Just look for the scroll; if they have a Heaven scroll, then it won't matter." If Kabuto thought there had been tension between the two genins before, it was nothing compared to now. "Once we have that, we'll be in the tower by nightfall."
As it turned out, it was a Heaven scroll, and they did reach the tower by nightfall.
In all honesty, it was a bit of a shame they weren't attacked in their way there. The girl's plan had kept the Uchiha from using any chakra at all. Plus, he was genuinely curious as to how she'd handle being powerless when her group was beginning to show cracks. Idly, he wondered, how much had she been able to get from the cursed mark on Sasuke's neck? Perhaps that was the reason she'd chosen to tire herself to the point of being unable to stand on her own and allowed the blond to fight with the other boy.
They were an intriguing bunch, well worth the pain of having to injure himself to get them to lower their guards.
Ignoring his own teammates' annoyed glares, Kabuto entered the room, his smile widening as his gaze landed on the man resting against one of the walls.
"What's the outcome?"
"They've already exceeded all projections, sir." Sure, it was a shame he failed to see Sasuke-kun be forced to use his chakra, but the fact that he'd managed to activate the sharingan even once and had recovered mobility fairly soon had spoken volumes.
"I've kept a careful record of their progress throughout the second exam." His hand went for the stack of cards he always kept secured in a hidden pocket. "I figure you'll need this."
"And...how was he?" the man asked as he took the offered cards.
"Hehe, it almost sounds like you're a little bit worried, Orochimaru-sama." With the Taisho's sudden reappearance, he supposed it wasn't unwarranted.
"No, I'm just curious to hear your opinion." Orochimaru-sama smiled, unperturbed by the insinuations. "As one of my best spies."
"Not really necessary, is it?" the teen asked as he healed his shoulder with a simple movement. "Because just as always, the decision is yours alone." Legendary clan showing up at Konoha or not.
"Heh, I do so enjoy your intelligence." The man smirked before turning around. "Good work."
Kagome coughed as the smoke cleared in front of her. She was sure they'd done the right thing by opening the scrolls at this point of the exam, but she was more than ready for any and all surprises to just end.
Having the things turning out to be summoning scrolls was not a pleasant surprise, and having to jump back was not the best way to finish an examination like this one, at least not in her tired opinion.
"Heh..." the blond faltered slightly. "You're..."
"Hey, kids," a familiar voice said, her former teacher's face finally visible after the smoke explosion. "It's been a while."
"Iruka...sensei?" she said, her mind too busy trying to handle the pain and exhaustion to properly keep up.
"You three look like you've been through the wringer."
"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing popping out of a summoning spell?"
"The spell was designed so that we, chuunin, could greet the applicants at the end of the second exam." Because scaring already tense shinobi (no matter how experienced or inexperienced) was clearly, a great idea. For sure. "It was just good luck that I got to be the messenger for the three of you."
"Messenger?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, you guys got here with a full night to spare, all in all, not a bad time for rookies to clear the second test. This calls for a celebration; wish I could take you out for ramen at Ichiraku, but..."
Whatever their former teacher was going to say next was drowned by the blond's cheer as he tackled the man. Kagome felt some of her tension leave as she saw the genuine affection inside the man's eyes. Right, she'd almost forgotten that had it not been for Iruka-sensei, Naruto may not even be here; the chuunin had risked his life to protect the prankster...even knowing who else was living inside his body...
No, she pushed back the doubts that came with the thought. This was not the time to question the morality of their decisions. She could do that later; there were far more important matters right now.
"Hey, Naruto," Iruka-sensei managed to get out. "Let me finish..."
"Yes!" Unsurprisingly, the blond failed to listen. "Yes, yes, yes! This is great!"
Kagome let out an exhausted sigh, and yet she couldn't stop the smile that bloomed on her lips at the scene in front of her. These were the kind of moments she wished to preserve in her memory.
"He just keeps going," Sasuke mumbled.
"You haven't slowed down one bit," resigned, the chuunin laughed. "Huh, Naruto?"
"I don't think that's possible, sensei." Kagome could hardly remember any time when the prankster wasn't a bundle of hyperactive joy (with two glaring exceptions, but she decided not to think about that either).
"So that was it," Sasuke continued, the boy's patience for their childhood friend's antics probably dwindling. "If we had sneaked a peek at the scrolls before we reached the tower, what would you have done, Iruka-sensei?"
"You're as sharp as ever, Sasuke-kun. As you seem to have guessed, a crucial component of this exam was that you demonstrate the ability to remain within the mission's stated parameters. And you were specifically instructed not to open the scrolls until you were here."
"And if we tried to read them..." Kagome trailed off.
"Our orders were specific; anyone standing around an open scroll was to be knocked out until after the exam was over." The man smiled at them. "Now, as for the second reason I'm here," he motioned to the scrolls. "is to make sure the words passed down from the Hokage would be completely understood."
The girl zoned out a bit as their former teacher explained the meaning behind the riddle.
She had overdone it.
It was taking her entirely too much to remain standing. Kagome had feared she'd passed out after the Katon, but letting Sasuke use chakra near Kabuto was something she had no intention of doing. This was the price she was paying, though. Now that the adrenaline was fading, her strength was leaving with it. Worry began to creep; while there was still some time before the second test ended, she'd be nowhere near peak condition for whatever came next. Forcing out those thoughts, the girl tried to concentrate on something positive...at least, she should be able to stand without having to concentrate this much.
She was missing most of the conversation; simply smiling without listening to a word that was said. Had it not been for Sasuke's hand guiding her through the halls to what she later learned were the rooms arranged for those who arrived early enough, she probably would've gotten lost.
Saying goodbye and closing the door behind them, she finally fell to her knees.
"Kagome-chan!"
"It's alright," the girl tried to smile at her childhood friend. "I'm just depleted; it'll be better after we rest little."
"Oi," Anger was quickly filling Naruto's voice as he turned to face the Uchiha. "Now I remember why the hell was she the one to do that last jutsu; I can understand her making the illusion, but...!"
"Whatever that thing is, it's connected to his chakra." She intervened before a fight could start; she was in no state to stop them if they began to truly argue." Using the sharingan once was too much risk with Kabuto there."
"Wha...you really doubt Kabuto..."
"Something is off with him, Naruto." Kagome could tell Sasuke was making an effort not to start a shouting match. "For all his warnings and knowledge, he's failed seven times, yet he still applies again? On every single exam?"
"Well, he's been unlucky."
"Or maybe, he's entering for another reason altogether." The Uchiha scoffed.
"Oh yeah," Naruto was getting annoyed again. "Like what?"
"Information, probably." The girl held back a groan as she allowed Sasuke to lift her off the ground and move her towards one of the futons. "This is the best place to gather information about not just only the host village but everyone else too."
"There was way too much data for a simple genin to get their hands on in those cards," Sasuke added.
"But he helped us! He was injured himself!"
"Kagome."
"It was a fairly superficial injury, Naruto-kun." Even taking the hit for Sasuke didn't really prove a thing. With enough talent, it was possible to take hits and have them land in unimportant places. "It bled a lot but was well away from all important nerves and arteries. It was also in a place he could easily reach himself."
She could see the disbelief in the blond's eyes. Kagome couldn't blame him. Just a month ago, she'd probably find that explanation hard to swallow. Right now, however, there were one too many coincidences in the story, her intuition also sending alarm signs whenever they were close. Yet another reason she lamented not being able to get a hold of those damnable cards. If only she hadn't been so tired...
"Oh...yeah..."Naruto spoke again, his tone subdued. "I'd forgotten about it, but... aren't you going to tell someone about the mark thing? Maybe someone can get rid of it?"
"No," the Uchiha bit out. "And you can't tell anyone about it either."
"Wha...but we don't know what the hell that thing can do." A sentiment the girl shared if she was being honest.
"Then I'll just use taijutsu and be done with it." Unsurprisingly, Sasuke's mind was made up. "We can recover a bit more tonight, having a proper meal will help. I won't risk them taking me out of the exam for that freak."
Unconsciousness was beginning to creep in; stubbornly, Kagome pushed it away, not having to remain standing gave her just a little more strength to keep her eyes open.
"As soon as this is over, we have to at least tell Kakashi-sensei." The Higurashi heiress still wasn't sure how much they could trust the man, especially regarding the Uchiha situation, but it would be better than nothing. She may have decided to help the curse enter out of a desperate attempt to make sure Sasuke survived, but it didn't mean it couldn't have unwanted consequences. Kagome wasn't willing to risk it.
"...fine."
For all of her tiredness, her sleep had been less than restful.
Constantly waking up from nightmares where snakes had replaced dark mazes, or in some cases, just joined them did little to help her recover. Which was why she was walking out the halls of the tower towards the rooftop. Sasuke's hand intertwined with hers in a fruitless attempt to calm the fear their encounter with the intruder had brought to the surface.
Cold air hit her as they opened the door, and she took a deep breath before glancing to her left. Judging by the circles under his eyes, the Uchiha also failed to obtain a decent night's sleep. It had to be the mark; Kagome knew the boy well enough to know that all his calm demeanor was as genuine as hers had been the day before.
A necessary bluff, and nothing more.
"Can you remember anything about that guy?"
Late last night, they'd agreed not to say the name until they were done with the examination. If the man was as dangerous as they thought he was, then just uttering the name could have this whole thing called out.
"Vaguely," the Uchiha muttered. "I remembered studying about them, but I can't recall the reason behind their separation."
"Funny." Her tone was dry as she spoke. "Same here."
After hearing the fake monk, Miroku, talk about the Sannin, her memory had finally been jogged enough to tell her why the name sounded familiar. But just like he'd implied, she couldn't remember the teachers ever explaining why the legendary trio was fractured like that.
A bitter laugh escaped her.
It was like all the village's mistakes were out to get them.
They failed her family, so she ended up an orphan.
They failed the Uchihas, so they killed them before they could retaliate.
And now, they failed to clean up their mess and said mess was targetting them.
Maybe it would be for the best if the whole of Konoha was turned to ashes.
"So they were right about our schooling, at the very least." Pushing those thoughts back, Kagome tried to focus on what they could do. "We're going to have something else to look for."
Sasuke simply groaned; having to search for hidden information with the little resources they had was nothing short of frustrating. They would still do it, of course. Finding out why Orochimaru had been hunted out of the village could give them an idea about why the man was so interested in them, in the sharingan. Maybe it could explain how he was related to Itachi.
"Sasuke-kun!" The door opened with a bang, an irritatingly familiar voice destroying their silence. "I thought I saw you when I arrived."
Seeing her pink-haired former classmate alone did little to soothe the wave of irritation at the sight of her. No, maybe having Hojo-kun here as well would've been easier than dealing with just Haruno. At the very least, the boy wasn't overly touchy like the pinkette insisted on being.
"Haruno-san." Her voice had too much of an edge. She needed to calm down.
She wasn't in the mood to be calm.
"Oh...I didn't see you here, Higurashi-san." Haruno spoke, a saccharine smile on her face. "You look quite tired."
Like the other girl looked any better, Haruno looked like she'd rolled on the ground for a couple hours and then tried to comb her hair with her hands. Even then, Kagome was sure that the pinkette had done little to help during her test. She was paired with older genins to fill a space in the team; there was a very real chance that the only reason her name was brought up was to let the other two compete. And yet, here she was, trying to make herself look superior in front of Sasuke.
"Yes, well, that's what happens when you fight strong opponents; you don't look all that tired, Haruno-san." Kagome forced her voice to remain even. "Looks like you were lucky, congratulations."
"Wha...listen..."
"What do you want?" Sasuke snapped.
"I...just thought I could come...you know, say hello..." Haruno blushed; her eyes completely focused on the Uchiha. Like Kagome wasn't on the rooftop. "See how you were..."
"You already did, now leave."
"Eh...but..." the girl insisted.
"Don't you understand," Sasuke's voice was mocking as he glared at their former classmate. "You're annoying, leave."
"I...I guess we'll see each other later today, r-right..." Haruno stuttered before running back inside the tower. Kagome would feel better if she believed for a second the other girl had gotten the hint.
"They're incredibly persistent." Kagome's voice wasn't quite as casual as she would've wanted while she stood from the place she'd picked to sit on the floor.
"Do you really think I'd waste my time with the likes of her?" There was an oddly satisfied tone on Sasuke's words.
"I know you wouldn't."
Ever since she could remember, the boy had hated all those who flocked towards him because of his name. The hordes of fangirls were no exception. They still grated on her nerves.
"And you wouldn't either, right?"
Kagome turned to look at him, confusion painted in her features; this wasn't the way this kind of talk normally went. His voice was unusually strained.
"You wouldn't waste your time with anyone from this sorry excuse of a village, or some so-called prestigious clan, would you?" Dark eyes bore into her as he spoke.
Oh, so that was it.
It wasn't the first time she'd heard the underlying tones of jealousy in his voice. As a child, he'd hated it when she paid attention to anyone else, used as he was to be the only one her age around her, even Naruto-kun had been harshly treated when she first dragged the boy to the training ground they'd been using to play hide-and-seek. Sasuke had always been a selfish child.
It was, however, the first time she heard the threat of violence bubble up beneath the surface. Not directed at her, no, but at anyone who tried to gain her attention.
"You know I wouldn't," the girl smiled at him; there was something else, something beneath his gaze that had changed, but it didn't matter. This would always be her answer. "Besides, we have way more important things to do."
"Right, of course, they wouldn't matter...what about him?"
She froze; the girl could hear the name without needing him to say it.
Even as a kid, Kagome had always preferred Sasuke to anyone else, not hesitating to turn away from whoever she was with if she noticed the boy wanted her focus to be on him. Not once had she been forced to deliberate whether what she was doing was right or not. It made no difference, for his sake, for him, she had killed. Her hands would continue to get more and more tainted in the path they'd chosen, but she'd walk it regardless. If her life had to be sacrificed, then so be it. There was no one more important than him...except for the one person.
No matter the time, Itachi had always been able to occupy her thoughts; she'd loved him even when the reasons behind the massacre had been murky and ambiguous. Part of her wondered if she was incapable of not loving him in one way or another. With him she'd never had to give anything up instead, it was Itachi who gave it all up to be with her, with them, using what little precious free time to be with them. Oh, it wasn't that she wasn't angry with him. Of course, she was; even knowing what she did, the girl couldn't help but wish the older teen had picked a different course of action. One thing didn't change, though...
"I still love him..." That had been what kept her looking for a reason behind his actions after all.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. That's just like you."
She felt his arms circle around her, trapping her inside his hold, and for just a second, she froze. There was something different, something possessive that hadn't been there before. She could almost feel a part of her protesting, telling her to push back because this was dangerous. Kagome was never one to fool herself; she knew their relationship wasn't normal. They were too intertwined with one another. And right now, she felt like she was slowly drowning in him...would she be able to distinguish herself if she let it continued? Would she be able to separate her will from his?
She felt her arms moving to wrap around him as she pushed those thoughts away, settling in his possessive hold. It was fine, she figured. It didn't matter...
After all, he was drowning too.
His life, it seemed, was destined to be full of helpless frustration. Kakashi gave one last look at the scroll in his hands before resigning himself. After being notified by the Hokage and Anko about the nuke nin's appearance and attack on his students, the copy ninja had been given a scroll with instructions for a seal that should help contain the curse mark. Of course, there was the little warning that it wouldn't actually be able to get rid of the seal.
He'd like to believe that would've been good enough, but his paranoid tendencies stopped him from relying on the one single thing, especially when his team was concerned. He'd thought he'd understood with Zabuza; he had been wrong, though. It wasn't until the name of Orochimaru, and those of Sasuke and Kagome were uttered in the same sentence that he realized just how important all three of his students had become to him.
Before he could even realize how it happened, the trio of brats that had been unceremoniously dumped on him had managed to do what no one else in the village could claim.
They'd managed to make him care for someone once again. To wish the sight of their happiness and growth.
And they were in real, undeniable danger now.
Oh, he'd known from the start that there was no way none of those children would eventually be sent against S-ranked enemies. Their potential had been so clear since the beginning. Even without it, he knew the Uchiha would have to be granted permission for his revenge mission, the other two faithfully following behind him...he'd thought he'd have more time.
As it was, he spent the whole night after being notified of their success going scroll after scroll in a vain attempt to try and find something else, something better that could be used before Sasuke was forced to fight.
Or at the very least, some small improvement on the seal Anko had inked in her skin.
All for naught.
And, of course, the one person who had any chance to do the improvements themselves was so far away from the village they might as well not exist.
Oh, Kakashi understood why the last of the Sannin was almost always away. Information was essential for any country, especially one made of shinobis. To them, it was just as important as their actual physical strength. The man had managed to make information gathering an art without having to leave a crimson trail behind him. Plus, his sensei often praised him.
Right now, though, the copy ninja was fighting the urge to burn his little orange book out of frustration towards its author.
"Ah, Kakashi-sensei!"
"Hmm," he turned around to see his brats' former teacher sprinting to catch up with him as he entered the tower through one of its windows.
"Ah...I was looking for you." Whatever confidence the man to sought him out after their not confrontation seemed to be fading. "I wanted to offer an apology."
The man had a bashful smile on his face as he spoke, evidently, he wasn't considered high enough on the hierarchy to be informed of the rogue Sannin's intrusion. And clearly, Iruka was also naive enough not to realize his students were just bluffing.
"They were pretty banged up, but they had such high spirits; they even made it back a night before the deadline."
The elite ninja resisted the urge to snort. He'd seen the video of them arriving at the tower. To him, the signs of Kagome using any and all her willpower to remain standing were clear as day, as was the way she only began to move after the Uchiha nudged her in the right direction. Sasuke himself seemed to be way more tense than usual, probably holding back the pain from the cursed mark.
They were good actors, but Kakashi had trained them to the point their knees buckled under them. He'd seen how they acted when they wanted to look like they were alright. Had memorized the little tells that told him they'd reached their limits when their pride kept them quiet.
The only one in genuinely good spirits had been Naruto.
"Maa, they were already good when I got them."
It seemed there was still someone optimistic about the whole thing; Kakashi wasn't cruel enough to burst Iruka's little bubble.
His eye wandered around the group of shinobis gathered in the room as he opened the door. All of the jounin teachers were lounging around. Apparently, he was late.
Quickly taking his place, he tuned out most of the chatter the genins that were trickling inside made and focused on his students. As expected, only Naruto looked fresh and recovered after a night's proper rest. Sasuke looked fine enough, but he could see the tiny signs of tension that indicated something was wrong, and the bandages wrapped on Kagome's limbs were more than just a little worrying.
Anko hadn't mentioned Orochimaru leaving another gift behind for the girl, but she was obviously injured, and he'd bet her reiki and chakra were close to depleted.
"Your students made an impressive showing; wonder how much of it was dumb luck." Of course, Guy had somehow maneuvered himself to his side in less than a second despite Kakashi choosing one end of the line. "Not that it matters; my team is bound to knock them out in the next round. At the next level, it will be all about their abilities or lack thereof. Ah, well...sometimes being young is all about learning how to deal with heartbreak, eh Kakashi?"
"Huh?" The copy ninja blinked, slowly. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Once again, the former ANBU captain let his thoughts fly as Anko passed the mic to the Hokage so he could explain the real purpose under the spectacle that would be the third exam. His attention only flickering back to ti at Naruto's disbelieving scream before scrambling again.
His eye paused slightly on the pristine white-clothed shinobi on the opposite corner of the line. Taisho Sesshomaru stood stoically, his eyes not bothering to check on his own students. Instead, his gaze roamed the full group of genins in front of him. Idly, Kakashi wondered if he now understood why Guy got so easily frustrated at his casual arrogance.
With the ease of years of experience, Hatake Kakashi pushed those feelings down.
This was not the time to be getting distracted by emotions.
Time.
That's what he needed more of.
It felt like things were happening too quickly, and he was struggling to keep up.
First, his students lied to him, then the chuunin exams forced him to focus more on their training than figuring the reason behind the lie, then it was the reappearance of the Taicho clan on the shinobi public scene, and now, Orochimaru had returned and was aiming for his kids...
He needed more time, if only it didn't feel like everything was slowly slipping through his fingers.
A/N: And finally they're out of the forest. Fair warning that while some of the next fights are going to remain the same due to them being necessary for plot (or because I just like them too much to change them), many of the original pairings for the preliminars will be switched. There are more people so it only makes sense that they'll change.
Also, thanks for the good luck wishes everything went mostly okay, and we should be back to the regular upload schedules for a while
As always thank you guys so much for reading, and any and all reviews/comments/criticism is greatly appreciated, they do mean a lot.