A/N: Ahhh, gomen ne. I've been a bit slow in this update due to vast amounts of work (and being off and acquiring extra work -.-) but I've got another (quite bad) chapter out! Finally! :D I gave up my night out to get this out for you, so i love you all very, very much. (My liver also loves you very much ^^). Things may get overly dark later on, I'm studying the Gothic genre xD
Again, don't forget the pairings in this story are open for discussion, it's not strictly SasukexKari. :) I'm happy to listen to any requests for pairings and random fluffy moments between characters.
My beautiful reviewers! AzuraSoulReaver (congrats on 1st review of the chapter! :D), narutonarutolove (there's no set pairings as of yet :)), Anindoufu (I'll do my best to put some in where appropriate :) probably later chapters or sequel time), Jenjenjojo1012, animerox023, MyutsuChey3x (there may be elements of NejixKari if readers want it :)), MegassaTheBomber (He is isn't he xD he's coming out of his shell a bit so that's probably why he seems a bit OOC, but I'll try not to overdo it :) I'll see if I can add more fluff for you later on :))
And of course, cutiekyoto, for our many PM's and your constant support, not to mention the beautiful fanart you gift me with :)
Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sempai owns Naruto, though I swear he and I both share the idea that Gaara should rule the world.
Claimer: Kari, Kita and all material not in the original anime/manga belongs to me.
Eien no Shasai
(The Edited Version)
Chapter 17;
Morino Nakani
Into the Forest
To be unprepared is to be unprotected.
But how does one protect themselves against the unknown?
-x-
Kari frowned up at the large looming forest in front of her. She'd woken up cold and stiff, Gaara staring at her like she was an alien. She got back to Sasuke's only to have an angry torrent of demands to know where she had been and why she had never came back when she said she'd be 'five minutes'. She normally would have paid more attention to the looming trees and Anko's booming speech of doom, but she felt too sore and sleepy and really couldn't bring herself to listen properly. On top of everything, Kakashi had ordered them to meet before the exam so they could have a new team picture including her and Kita.
She was sure he'd giggle evilly every time he saw her grumpy morning face glaring out from behind the frame. She'd managed a smile though, between the boys with Sakura on the other side of Sasuke, Kakashi with a hand on Sasuke and Naruto's heads, dragging the arguing pair away from each other. It was all Sasuke's fault really.
"Welcome to the stage for the second test, practice area 44; 'The Forest of Death'! You'll soon find out why it's called The Forest of Death," Anko promised.
With a 'hurrumph!' Naruto put his fists on his hips and wiggled his bum while he imitated Anko in a mocking voice. Kari blinked and raised an eyebrow at him, a laugh barely kept down at how silly he looked.
"You think that scares me?" Naruto demanded, stopping his bum-wiggle dance in favour of thrusting a finger at the proctor. "That's nothing! I'm not afraid!"
"Oh? You're spirited," Anko commented, but the twitch in her eyebrow showed her hidden irritation. In a flash a kunai was in her hand and Kari was snapped out of her sleepy stupor. But before she could act, Sasuke had a hold of both her arms, holding her back and preventing her intervening as the kunai sliced through Naruto's cheek. "Kids like you are killed quickly, spraying that red blood that I love." Anko whispered from behind Naruto, her small pink tongue catching a drop of blood that ran from his cheek.
Kari's hissed when a Kusa-nin appeared behind Anko, handing her the discarded kunai with its grotesquely long tongue. That ninja gave Kari the major creeps making her fur stand on end.
"Thank you. But y'know, don't sneak up behind me. Unless you want to die," Anko said sweetly, taking her kunai as the Kusa-nin's tongue retracted.
"No... I just get excited when I see red blood... Plus, you cut my precious hair... I couldn't help it..."
Kari shuddered. Even it's voice was creepy! She couldn't even tell whether the Kusa-nin was a man or woman. The Kusa-nin was more androgynous than Haku, though Haku was way, way nicer to look at. Kari sighed sadly, lost in a moment of depression at the thought of her lost little bishounen.
"Looks like we have a lot of bloodthirsty ones in this test, this should be fun!" Anko chuckled gleefully. The Kusa-nin turned to walk back to it's previous position, giving Kari an intense stare that shook her to her core. Anko held out some papers. "Now before we begin this test, there's something I have to hand out. You have to sign these agreement forms, there'll be death's in this one! And, if I don't have you sign these, it will be all my responsibility." She grinned as the participants shuffled nervously. Naruto jogged back to Kari's side, holding his stinging cheek grumpily.
"I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign them afterwards and then each team will sign in at that booth behind me. The second test, simply put, is the ultimate survival. First I'll explain the area where this will take place." Anko pulled out a scroll with a map. "Around practice area 44, there are forty-four locked gates. There's a forest, river and a tower in the centre. From gates to tower is about 10km. During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no rules scroll battle." She reached into her coat and drew out a cream and a navy scroll, each with different kanji painted on the front. "You will fight over these two scrolls, the 'Heaven' and the 'Earth'. There are eighty-two people here, meaning twenty-seven teams. Thirteen will get the Heaven scroll, thirteen will get the Earth scroll. The remaining team will get one or the other. To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls. Therefore, a maximum of half will pass. However, there's also a time limit to consider. The second test will last one hundred and twenty hours, exactly five days."
"Five days?" Chouji shrieked. "What about dinner?" Kari concurred.
"You're on your own. The forest is full of food. Just watch for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants..." Anko said trailing off thoughtfully.
Plants? Kari frowned. That's pretty much vegetables.
"And thirteen teams passing isn't likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal becomes farther, and the time to rest will become shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies, you won't get much sleep," Anko explained. "So, not only will some fail by losing the scroll, some will die from the harshness of the course. Now I'll talk about what will disqualify you. First, those who don't make it to the tower with both scrolls inside the time limit. Second, those who lose a team-mate or have a team-mate killed."
Kari was conscious of Sasuke's eyes boring into the side of her head. As the least experienced and the one with the worst sense of direction, she was particularly vulnerable to this rule.
"As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle. You will be in the forest for five days. And one more rule, you must not look inside the scroll until you reach the tower."
"What happens if you do?" Naruto asked.
"That will be a surprise for anyone who does," Anko said simply. "A Chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your trustworthiness. That's it for explanations, exchange your teams forms for your scroll, then choose a gate to get ready to start. A final word of advice, don't die!"
They parted to read over the agreement and Kari took the opportunity to rush off and wish her dear ones luck. Shino and Kiba gave her their word they would take care of Hinata. Lee had been by far the most enthusiastic in his luck wishing, with good guy pose and tears galore. Kari didn't know how Lee and Neji would survive five complete days in each others company. Poor TenTen.
"Ne, hiding from girls?" Kari said popping her head around a rock to see Sasuke brooding there. He was glaring darkly at everyone and turned that glare onto Kari when she sat down next to him.
"Hn." Kari retorted with her own glare at his monosyllabic answer. "Where's your pet?"
"Kita-chan?" Kari asked, immediately perking up. "She's getting a look at the competition and saying bye to Akamaru."
"You need to take this exam more seriously."
"I am," Kari said as the humour left her face. "Let's avoid that Kusa-nin. He really doesn't sit right with me."
"Aa," Sasuke agreed, recalling the shudders that had clearly tumbled down her spine when their gazes had met. "Let's get our scroll."
After retrieving their prized item, they stopped outside of gate twelve, Naruto jumping around excitedly as Kita settled onto Kari's shoulder, baby blue eyes focused on the foreboding shadows behind the gate. After thirty minutes an instructor came and unlocked the chains barring their entry.
"The second test of the Chuunin exam," Anko bellowed in a voice that carried to every gate. "Begins now!"
At once teams dashed inside and Kari shook off her hesitation and forced herself to concentrate. She had to remain vigilant in this forest, she had a team to protect. It seemed as though the instant the gates disappeared from view, screams sounded. Kari shuddered and dragged her hitai-ate down, freeing her ears for clearer auditory information. Those screams were men, none of the voices she recognised.
"That was a human scream, ne?" Sakura whispered. "I'm getting a little nervous."
"It's nothing Sakura-chan," Naruto reassured and then paused looking thoughtful. "I gotta take a piss." He'd only managed to unzip half way before Sakura's fist crushed into his skull.
"What do you think you're doing in front of a lady?" Sakura shrieked. "Do that in the bushes!"
Kari could have sworn she heard Sasuke mutter 'what lady...' and shot a glare at him. As Naruto trudged away she couldn't help but feel nervous. Instinct told her to keep them together.
"Naruto! Do you want me to come with you?" Kari called.
"Daijobou Kari-chan! I'll be back real quick!"
"Pervert," Sasuke grumbled, but was surprised when she didn't react. In forcing him out of his own shell he had learnt a lot about her, particularly that she hated backing down in their insult exchanges. His eyes narrowed noticing her unease, but he decided against mentioning it. She was overly defensive if she thought someone considered her weak.
"Man! So much came out! I feel so much better now!"
Kari was about to feel relieved, but flinched when she noticed differences. She knew Naruto pretty much like the back of her hand, this... this wasn't Naruto.
"I said, not in front of a lady!" Sakura cried, raising her fist to hit him again, but she was beaten to the punch when Sasuke ruthlessly backhanded him across the face.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried reproachfully as the impostor collided with a tree. "You didn't have to go that far!"
"What the hell are you doing?" the impostor Naruto cried in protest.
"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke demanded as he glanced left and right and then looked to Kari. "Do you hear him? See him?" When Kari shook her head he cursed.
"What... What are you saying?" impostor Naruto demanded, wiping the blood off his lip.
"Your shuriken holster on your left side, Naruto's right-handed. And you don't have the scratch from the examiner on your cheek. Your a fake who's transforming ability is even worse than Naruto's," Sasuke declared and Kari inwardly sighed, wondering why Sasuke felt the need to insult Naruto when he wasn't even there. Did he do that to her? She could just imagine him storming around his home grumbling about her. But she was glad it was Sasuke who acted. Even if it was a fake, the thought of attacking something that looked like Naruto was hard for her.
"Unlucky!" the impostor cried as in a puff of smoke he revealed himself as an Ame shinobi. "Which one of you has the scroll then?" Kari forced herself not to give any sign that the scroll was concealed with her. "I'll just take it by force then!" He immediately darted for Sakura and seeing this, Kari shot towards him, Kita jumping down and hiding beneath the bushes as instructed.
"Katon! Housenka no jutsu!" Sasuke cried and spat multiple balls of fire towards the enemy, but he rapidly snaked out of the way, Kari hot on his heels with a kunai gleaming in her grasp.
"Sasuke!"
Glancing down, Sasuke caught sight of a tied up Naruto.
"Ahou!" Sasuke hissed and flung a kunai near Naruto's hand.
"An opening, lucky!" the Ame-nin cried as he dodged under Kari's kick and hurled a kunai at Sasuke who used the branch to block. Kari abandoned the enemy and shot towards Sasuke, grabbing the back of his collar with her fist.
"What the -?" Sasuke hissed, about to shout at her, but as he was dragged back he caught sight of the sizzling note. "Explosion tag!"
Unfortunately, they didn't get out of the explosion range and heat and splinters pierced their skins before they met the floor.
"Now this is lucky! Move and I'll kill you!" the Ame-nin declared with a kunai at Sasuke's neck. Kari's eye twitched and she thought to herself that if that guy mentioned the word 'lucky' one more time she'd ram his kunai where the sun don't shine. "Hand over the scroll!"
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried in alarm. But Naruto came to the rescue, throwing a kunai from above. The Ame-nin jumped up and Kari shot up the tree after him.
"You wont get away! Get him Kari-chan!" Naruto shouted as Sasuke used his Chakra to fling the kunai back at the Ame-nin before following Kari into the air. Seeing Sasuke's approach, Kari abandoned her attacks and instead grabbed the enemy in the air, holding him still while Sasuke thrust a kunai into the Ame-nin's shoulder. With a strangled yell, the Ame-nin broke free of her, clutching his open wound.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura gasped.
"This is rough but I have no choice! Don't just stand around, their might be others! Listen! Relax for a moment and you really will be killed!" Sasuke shouted down to the pinkette. He and Kari landed, watching the wounded enemy retreat into the trees. Naruto and Kita immediately went to Kari, who assured them she was fine. Naruto gave her a stern look gripping her trembling fingers. She really was fine, but seeing the blood smeared on Sasuke's face made her body start shaking. She frowned, not understanding the physiological reaction. Maybe she just found it upsetting, her mind thinking Sasuke plus blood equals injury.
"Listen," Sasuke said as they all sat down. "If we get separated next time, even if its one of us, don't trust them. This could happen again."
"Then what do we do?" Sakura asked.
"We make a codeword, just in case. Listen, if they get the codeword wrong, assume they are the enemy, no matter what they look like," Sasuke explained. "Listen carefully, I'll only say it once. The nin-song 'Ninki', when this is asked, reply with 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent, a shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared."
"Matte, that's impossible to remember," Naruto grumbled and Kari nodded in agreement.
"Are you stupid? I already memorised it," Sakura said.
"Kari, you're to stay with me," Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto and Kari's mouths opening in complaint. "You're inexperienced, I'll make up for that."
"Pfft," Kari scoffed but paused, her ears twitching.
"Kari-chan?"
"I hear something, something coming..." Kari said, frowning as she tried to figure out what the noise was.
"Ite-e..." Naruto mumbled as his other cheek was cut, the trickle of blood distracting Kari momentarily. Before she could direct her attention back to the noise, a huge gust of powerful wind knocked into them, catapulting Kari backwards. With lucky timing, Sasuke managed to snatch hold of her wrist, her light weight unable to anchor her against the force of the attack.
"More enemies? Kari k'so! Baka, hold on!" Sasuke shouted as she began to slip from his fingers.
There was a resounding boom as the wind turned into an explosion.
-x-
Sasuke had taken refuge underneath the bushes, his grip bruising on Kari's wrist as he lay on her, forcing her to be still and quiet. She'd almost sneezed twice from the dust and had dirt in her eyes, making her unable to see clearly. But he knew it was her. He could feel her heart speed up in embarrassment to his proximity, as it always did when she wasn't sleeping. Only she would be that stupid.
Kari's ears twitched slightly and Sasuke noticed the footsteps approaching too.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried as he and Kari stood, the kunoichi desperately rubbing her sore eyes to try and rid them of the dust.
"Stay away! First, the codeword," Sasuke demanded, holding a kunai protectively in front of them. "The nin-song 'Ninki'."
"Oh! Oh yeah, a large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent, a shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared," Sakura recited flawlessly. Kari blushed, embarrassed she hadn't even been able to memorise the first sentence.
"Oww... you guys alright?"
Kari immediately frowned. That voice was strikingly similar to Naruto's but it just didn't sound right.
"Naruto! Wait a second the codeword!" Sakura cried.
"I know... a large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent, a shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared," the Naruto look a-like repeated perfectly. Kari's suspicious look hardened to a full blown glare in an instant.
If she couldn't remember that speech, Naruto most certainly couldn't. His memory was even worse than hers.
Sakura sighed in relief as Sasuke smirked, a kunai in his hand in a flash before he hurled it at Naruto who bent in a C-shape to the side to avoid it before falling to hid side.
"Sasuke-kun, nande? The codeword..." Sakura asked in confusion.
"So this time it's someone good enough to avoid my attacks," Sasuke mused as Kari pulled out her own kunai, twirling it around her finger as she waited for the moment to strike.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura cried.
A dark smirk crossed the Naruto-like face and Kari shivered. Such a look did not belong on Naruto's face.
"So you two knew?" the imposter cooed, fake blue eyes switching from Sasuke to Kari as the smirk widened. In an instant the impostor blew up into smoke as they returned to their previous form. "Impressive..." Kari's fingers tightened painfully around the kunai as she saw the one person she had hoped to avoid. The kusa-nin. "How did you know I was a fake?"
"I knew you were listening to our conversation from underground," Sasuke said shooting a glance at Kari. The Kusa-nin followed his gaze until it's eyes settled on Kari's previously hidden wolfish ears. "That's why I made a codeword like that, there's no way he could remember a song that long, so you had to be a fake."
"Your mannerisms, your voice, your expressions, your movements," Kari murmured in addition, eyes narrowing. It was difficult to trick her when it came to Naruto.
"Keen senses," the Kusa-nin said sweetly and Kari resisted the urge to snarl like a cornered dog. "Neither tired nor ill-prepared, are we? This'll be more fun than I thought..."
-x-
Naruto-kun! Kita thought in alarm as she watched the giant snake swallow him whole. She paused for a moment as she watched the yelling lump slide down the snakes throat. With a gulp she stalked the snake carefully, eager not to be dessert.
-x-
"You want my earth scroll right? Seeing as you have the heaven scroll," the kusa-nin teased, flaunting the scroll in front of them. Its tongue extended to wrap around the scroll, before parting its lips and swallowing the scroll whole. Kari watched in horror as the fight or flight reflex shot through her like a bullet. She'd never had such a strong flight instinct before, her instinctual fighting choice wasn't feeling as dominant as usual.
This person... this person was dangerous.
"Now, let's begin... the battle for each others scroll..."
It reached for its eye.
"With our lives on the line..."
There was blood, blood everywhere... everywhere!
Her blood, Sasuke's blood, Sakura's blood!
She couldn't move as the blades sliced them apart. She stood rooted to the ground unable to counter, protect, shield...
She watched trapped, helpless as kunai shot into Sakura and Sasuke's forehead eitherside of her, her eyes following the point of the kunai as it struck her straight between the eyes.
Kari had little experience with genjutsu, but when that vision struck her, she felt like she had another Raikiri thrust straight through her.
She barely registered they were on their knees, Sasuke's vomit, Sakura's tears. She just stared straight ahead, listening to the pounding doki-doki of her heart as it desperately tried to escape the confines of her ribcage and flee from the battle.
"S...Sakura!" Sasuke whispered urgently, but she was deaf to him, her tears drowning out everything but the enemy in front of them.
Kari heard Sasuke try to cry out for her but she couldn't process his desperation. It was like Namigakure all over again. She was torn between the burning need to cry and the insane urge to smile. She fisted the grass underneath her. They needed to get out of here, Sasuke and Sakura were down, Naruto was gone, it was up to her.
"Hehe... you can no longer move," the Kusa-nin teased. Kari's legs twitched in protest as her nerves told them to move. By sheer will she got them underneath her and bent forward onto her arms, into a shaky crouch, ready to spring. "Oh? Some resistance?" Kari glared in frustration, she abandoned trying to calm her frenzied thoughts as she desperately tried to escape this hold the enemy had over her body. The feeling of being trapped in her own body felt like her sanity was slowly being pulled apart. She couldn't stand it, not for another second, nano second or other mere moment in time...
She caught Sasuke struggling in her peripheral vision and clumsily grabbed her discarded kunai with shaky hands. It was absurd... but she thought she knew what to do. It was almost like she was being coaxed to do it.
She caught the glint of three kunai between the Kusa-nin's fingers and acted on impulse, grabbing the sudden idea with both hands despite her doubts and followed the instructions without hesitation.
She barely heard Sasuke's strangled protest as her kunai cut through her own flesh. She winced slightly as waves of burning pain spread through her body from the wound. Her nerves on fire, adrenaline on overdrive, she felt a smirk spread across her face as she felt control return to her body. Fighting bag her instinct to attack, she turned and in a blur, had Sakura and Sasuke up in a tree, away from the enemy.
She watched from their position, the tip of her tail twitching slightly in anticipation.
Sasuke groaned as he pulled the kunai out of his thigh, seeing her logic of fighting fear with pain. Kari shot him a disapproving look for the noise before turning her attention back to search the enemy.
Sasuke heaved lungfuls of air as he clutched his bloodied kunai. He glanced at Kari, watching her as she observed the surroundings. She'd completely grasped her survival instinct and appeared uncharacteristically calm, though he could see from the whiteness of her face and the wideness of her eyes that she had been shaken just as badly, if not worse than them. He went to reach for the kunai embedded in her ribs but her wrist grabbed his, the slightest turn of the head ordering him not to touch. She felt cold, so cold.
He tried to cling to her supposed calm, hoping her strength would give him strength. Surely his wildly beating heart would give them away at any second.
"Sasuk-" Sakura began but Sasuke slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her. Kari didn't react to his abrupt silencing technique like she usually would have, keen eyes searching for attacks. Kari's eyes fixed behind them and she grasped Sasuke's wrist. She frowned at his racing pulse, perspiration clinging to his skin. He was panicking, they couldn't afford to panic right now.
"Hebi!" Sakura screeched, ripping Sasuke's hand from her mouth. The three of them jumped away as the giant snake hit the branch, before twisting up a thick tree trunk. In a split decision, it went for Sasuke.
"Temee..." Kari growled as she leapt of the tree and towards the snake.
"Stay away!" Sasuke suddenly cried and desperately flung a barrage of weapons into the snake's face, attacking its eyes and mouth. With a roarin hiss the snake flung its head back, blood spraying from its wounds as it fell onto a nearby tree, shaking leaves from its branches with the force. Kari was shaken by Sasuke's scream and began to worry about him. He was usually the cool-headed one who got them through situations like these. She couldn't defend him and Sakura on her own without Naruto or Kakashi to back her up, the enemy was too strong.
"Sasuke!" Kari cried landing on the branch next to him. "Sasuke, listen to me!" Grabbing his arm she turned him to face her grabbing hold of his shoulders. He just stared at her with the same panicked eyes, shaking like a rabbit about to bolt. Kari felt her confidence begin to fall apart as she looked at me. "I can't do this on my own, you said you'd make up for my inexperience, ne?"
"We'll be killed," Sasuke croaked.
"If you think like that we wont stand a chance! Sasuke I need you to help me! Reamember what Kashi said about teamwork, together we can do this, okay?"
But he had stopped listening, choosing instead to stare behind her with horror etched onto his face.
"S...Sasu...?" Kari murmured as she looked around to see what was distressing him.
"You guys shouldn't relax, even for a moment... Prey should always be doing its best to run away..." Kari recoiled in disgust as the Kusa-nin broke free from the snakes scaly side. It didn't seem at all affected by the liquids clinging to it in a slimy coat and grinned licking it's lips with its horridly long tongue. "In the presence of a predator."
"Sasuke!" Kari cried as he inched backward beside her. "I'm h,ere, I'll protect you no matter what, okay?" she cried desperately trying to calm him down. She would have given anything at that point to have a snappy retort. 'Baka, I can look after myself, you are the one who needs looking after, you baka-onna."
As the Kusa-nin darted for her and Sasuke she felt momentarily helpless. She felt alone in the presence of half her team and could taste death on the tip of her tongue. Desperately clinging to the tattered remains of her survival instinct, she tugged the kunai out of her ribs with a sharp intake of breath and waited for the enemy to reach her.
"Ne, Sasu, if we make it out of this... buy me icecream, ne?" she murmured in a weak voice.
Her eyes widened as the incoming threat was momentarily stilled by kunai and shuriken littering the bark infront of its path.
"Gomen, Sasuke."
That beautiful voice.
"I forgot the codeword."
The hope that had all but deserted her returned, swelling inside her chest that made her feel light and warm, just at the sound of his voice.
"Naruto."
If this wasn't such a dire situation, she would have jumped up to that knuckle-headed best friend of hers and kissed him.
"Naruto-kun..." the Kusa-nin said. "Hehe... Looks like you successfully defeated the giant snake."
"Oi, oi! It looks like you were picking on the weak! But more than that, you were picking on Kari-chan, dattebayou!" Naruto said with a heavy scowl. "That's my best friend, no one's allowed to pick on her!"
Sasuke shifted and with a quick glance Kari saw he had deactivated his Sharingan and had seemed to calm somewhat. Kari jumped slightly when Sasuke took hold of her arm, the other hand delving into her pouch.
"I will give you the scroll," Sasuke said and spinning around, Kari saw their Heaven scroll clutched in his hand. She stared at him in shock, Sasuke, he was giving up? "Please, take it and leave us."
"Sasuke!" Kari cried, trying to see if this was a bluff, that he had a plan to catch the enemy off guard. But his face was set and she could see nothing but honesty as he held out the scroll.
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