Chapter Twenty-Three

It didn't take five seconds for the situation to spiral out of control.

"Help me!"

Obito skidded to a halt on the forest floor and looked up to see Hinoki barreling toward Ando. For a second, he thought it was the Rock who had screamed, but after a brief clash, Hinoki rushed past Ando, and shouted again for help. His head swung right and left, looking for something – or someone.

Obito jumped up into a tree, partly to hide and partly to get closer. As the distance between them closed, he could hear the other's pained groans and saw him clutching his side as he lurched unsteadily from branch to branch.

Had Ando injured him? If not, that meant something had happened on Ryo's side.

Ando recovered his balance and attacked again, just as a second figure darted down the tree from above – Tomura. He was aiming for the two who were swiping and lunging at each other with fist and kunai. He was almost within striking range when Dojima leapt in to intercept him and they both tumbled out of sight.

Hinoki ducked under Ando's wild strikes and dove for a lower branch, only to cry out as a barrage of shuriken rained down on his back. Obito snapped his head up to see Ryo descending on them with speed that surpassed even the Sharingan's enhanced perception.

His aim –

For a second, Obito met Hinoki's eyes – wide, panicked, desperate.

"I'm from Konoha! Help me!"

Obito was moving before he even knew it, propelling himself toward the branch Hinoki had fallen onto. But Ando was already there, throwing himself onto Hinoki and screaming words Obito couldn't make out.

"Stop! Ando!"

Only when Ando froze, his kunai raised over Hinoki's throat, did Obito realize he had activated the paralysis seal. Before he could even realize his mistake, Ryo's katana impaled Ando's neck and buried itself in Hinoki's chest.

Obito tumbled onto the branch to see Ryo giving the blade a deft twist and pulling it out. Hinoki wheezed. Ando vomited blood and collapsed. Obito stared at them, his mind blank.

"What are you…"

His words were so weak they were drowned out by the sound of Hinoki's gasps.

"Help… me… please…" He tried to turn, and Ando's body slid off the branch.

Obito lurched forward to grab him, but his fingers only caught the worn fabric of the prisoner's shirt. It ripped like paper under the strain on his weight. The man wasn't even conscious anymore, and Obito knew he would never wake up again. Not with the blood pulsing out of his neck like that. Numb, Obito watched him fall, distantly aware of the tears staining Ando's ashen skin.

What… had just happened?

A hand grasped his leg and jolted Obito back to the present. Hinoki, twisted on his side, was staring at him with wide eyes, his mouth open and dark with blood. His lips moved, and it took Obito a moment to make out what he was saying.

"…I told them everything I know… about Kokoro. I regret ever joining them. I swear. Please… I pledge my life to the Hokage… Give me another chance!"

Kokoro? Another chance? Nothing he said made sense to Obito. More confused than ever, he tore his eyes from the wounded shinobi and glared at the ANBU.

"You said he was a Mist."

"I lied."

"Why?! What's a Konoha shinobi doing as a prisoner?"

"He committed a crime. Why else? He's a traitor. They were plotting to kill Sandaime."

Obito stiffened.

"I'm sorry," Hinoki pleaded. "I was wrong. I was tricked. I never –"

Ryo raised his sword and swung it down. Out of reflex, Obito threw his weight against the blade, clashing against it with a kunai. The ANBU withdrew a step and then lunged forward again, but Obito refused to move from his position in front of the prisoner.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" the ANBU asked.

"He's a Konoha shinobi," Obito shot back, straining against the force behind the katana. "No matter what he's done, he doesn't deserve to die like this."

"Is that your answer?"

"What answer?"

"Never mind." Ryo pulled back once again and sheathed his sword. Instead, his hands came together in a seal. "Uchiha Obito, Chuunin; protects a convicted criminal in an act of treason. As such, you can either die with your precious 'comrade' or be treated as a criminal yourself."

"Wait, you can't be serious," Obito shouted.

The ANBU didn't reply. He slammed a foot against the branch and whatever ninjutsu he used, it splintered the wood with a loud crack. The branch plummeted, throwing Obito off balance. He dove after Hinoki but was immediately forced to twist around and block Ryo's kick that shoved him away from the falling shinobi.

He wasn't given another chance to help Hinoki as Ryo unleased attack after attack, seamlessly weaving elemental techniques in between taijutsu strikes that Obito was barely able to dodge. A frantic look around the area revealed the wounded prisoner slumped against the trunk of a tree some ways down, unmoving. Even if his wounds weren't fatal, it was only a matter of time before he bled out.

Obito snapped his eyes away just in time to see Ryo's blade rising straight for his neck. It was only with the Sharingan's vision that he was able to throw his weight back and get away with a shallow cut that ran up his cheek.

A flurry of shuriken flew between them before they had the chance to clash again and Obito swung around to see Dojima making his way down from a higher position in the tree.

"What the hell is going on?" the Mist demanded, landing on a branch close by.

"I don't know," Obito replied truthfully. The ANBU withdrew to an adjacent tree and was shortly joined by Tomura, who was bleeding from his leg. Obito glanced at Dojima to see him pressing against a wound on the right side of his stomach. Were the two equal in strength? Dojima noticed his look and gave a rueful smile.

"He also fractured a couple of ribs."

Obito frowned. Of course they weren't equal. Dojima had spent the last two years in a cell while Tomura had been on the frontlines until recently.

"Hey, I can tell what you're thinking," the Mist grouched. "I'll have you know I'm more of a stealth fighter."

"I believe you. Just don't get hurt anymore."

"I'll try. Ando's dead?"

Obito bit his lip and nodded.

Dojima didn't ask for details. "And now they're targeting Hinoki for some reason?"

"He's a Leaf. Ryo said he plotted against the Hokage."

There was a pause. "I see."

Obito wanted to ask what he saw, because he wasn't seeing anything, but his attention shifted when the ANBU called out his name.

"This is your last warning. If you keep trying to protect Hinoki, I'll kill you with him."

He wasn't joking. Obito had noticed a difference in the way Ryo fought. While he had always been unforgiving, there was now a colder, more brutal edge to his attacks that held a clear intent to kill.

"Are you out of your mind?" Obito shouted back. "Everyone makes mistakes. He regrets it. Killing him only weakens Konoha."

"As if he was a force to be reckoned with? He only regrets it because he was caught. Let me be clear. There's one thing I won't ever forgive, and that's betrayal."

Dojima hummed quietly. "That's why he chose to save Tomura, huh?"

"It's not that I forgive what Hinoki tried to do either," Obito muttered, "but he failed. His death is pointless."

"You going to save him?"

Obito was about to nod when he stopped himself and glanced at Dojima, realizing how selfish that would make him. He had no idea whether the 'rules' were still in play, but if they were –

"Don't give me that look," the Mist said. "I always planned to be the second to last one standing. Now what's your plan? We don't have much time."

He was right. Now wasn't the time to be second-guessing himself.

"Knocking Ryo out comes first. I'll play by ear after that."

Dojima gave him a horrified look. "I know I said we don't have time, but… Please tell me you aren't the strategist on your team."

"I'm not," Obito growled. "That's Kakashi's role."

"Thank heavens," the Mist chuckled. "Oh, here we go."

Whether they were finished coming up with a plan of their own or unwilling to give Obito and Dojima anymore time, Ryo and Tomura took off from their branch.

Tomura attacked first. Obito caught sight of his seals and recognized the basic sequence he had seen Kakashi perform countless times. He had a second to regret not putting more time into mastering the Reverse Wind. Instead, he collected chakra in his lungs and released a Fuuton gale that collided and scattered the lightning attack in a bright flash.

Dojima used the opportunity to blindside the Cloud, so Obito turned his attention to finding Ryo. His priority was neutralizing the ANBU. Then he would wait for the Deer and explain…

Both his thoughts and movement came to a grinding halt. The Deer knew about Hinoki. There was no reason to believe he didn't. That meant the ANBU and Intelligence had both agreed to Hinoki's fate. Had the Hokage? Was Obito the only one trying to save him?

He almost didn't sense the attack until it was too late. A gust of wind sliced straight through the branch he was standing on, forcing Obito to throw himself out into the air. A faint disturbance above him was the only warning he got. He barely saw the glint of a blade before the ANBU's katana sliced into his left shoulder, the metal protector on the back of his right hand the only thing keeping the sword from cleaving further into his body.

Biting down on the pain, Obito flung an explosive kunai into Ryo's stomach, but the ANBU deftly twisted out of its trajectory. As it burst harmlessly above them, Ryo kicked Obito into a tree and made straight for the forest floor.

Gasping for breath and clutching his bleeding shoulder, Obito chased after him, half leaping, half falling down the tree. Hinoki was staggering through the snow not far away. It wouldn't take three seconds for Ryo to catch up to him.

"Don't!" Obito screamed.

Someone shouted his name at the same time.

Even before he turned, he felt Tomura's presence – his hatred, his malice – closing in behind him. With a sinking feeling, he realized they had planned this. They had predicted Obito would rush after Ryo, creating the perfect opening for Tomura to attack.

But he couldn't stop now.

Risking a kunai to the back, he planted his foot on the nearest branch and was preparing to push off with a burst of chakra when Dojima dove in between them. Obito froze, his eyes widening in horror. He could tell. The Sharingan showed him Tomura's weapon cleaving into Dojima's neck.

"Go!" the Mist shouted.

If he did, he might be able to save Hinoki.

But if he did, he would be making the same mistake all over again.

Midori would never forgive him.

For a second, his sight blurred, and then grew sharper than he had ever experienced. Obito locked gazes with Tomura and the Sharingan spun, adding a third tomoe in each eye.

The illusion's effect was immediate. The Cloud stiffened and his hand jerked back. It was all the time Obito needed to twist Tomura's arm and plunge the entire length of the kunai into his neck. The prisoner coughed, choking on his blood, and by the time the genjutsu cleared from his mind, his failing body was falling down the tree.

Dojima crashed onto the branch. Through shallow gasps, he pushed himself upright to stare at Obito. "Why'd you do that? What about Hinoki?"

"Too late now," Obito muttered. He turned and searched the forest. The thickening darkness and relentless snow made it hard to make out anything, but he soon spotted Ryo standing over a bloody mass on the ground.

"Looks like it," Dojima said. "Why, though? You could have made it."

Obito gave a wry smile devoid of amusement. "I liked you better than I liked Hinoki. That's all."

Dojima was silent and Obito said nothing more. He was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to drop down and sleep for days. Forget everything.

But the faint crunch of feet landing on snow refused to grant him the dream. Obito tensed, facing Ryo and the Deer who stood in front of them on either end of a forking branch.

"We confirmed Tomura and Ando's deaths," the Deer said.

"I killed Hinoki," Ryo added. "That leaves Dojima."

Obito put himself between the two ANBU and the Mist. "You said the last one standing goes free."

"That's up to him," the Deer said. "We're taking him back to Intelligence."

Dojima raised a brow. "Did they forget to ask what color underwear I'm wearing?"

"Trust me, they know." For the first time, there was a hint of humor in the Deer's voice, as fleeting as it was. "They have a proposal to make."

At this, the Mist perked up. "What, they changed their minds?"

"Their minds weren't made in the first place. It depended on your actions today." He nodded to Obito. "You put your life on the line for a Konoha shinobi."

"Maybe I just took a liking to this brat," Dojima said, poking a finger into Obito's leg. The Uchiha scowled down at him but held his tongue.

"Nevertheless," the Deer continued, "we brought you here to place you under observation. We've determined that we may be able to trust you."

"Maybe, huh?"

"You can refuse if you want. Like I said, it's up to you."

Dojima smirked. "Something tells me my life isn't guaranteed if I refuse."

"Wait," Obito began, but Dojima cut him off by grasping his shoulder and heaving himself to his feet.

"It's fine. It's a better deal than just going free." He grinned. "I owe you. You're the one who saved my life in the end."

Obito started to be speak, then just shook his head. In that split second, faced with the two choices, Dojima's words had rung true, but its essence sat so uneasily inside him that he wasn't able to voice it just yet.

Whatever the Mist thought of his silence, he gave Obito's shoulder a pat and then jumped down with the Deer, leaving only a small patch of blood on the snow where he had last stood.

"They'll treat him, won't they?" Obito asked. The pain of his own wound penetrated back into his mind and he pressed a hand gingerly against it.

"They won't let him die, that's for sure," Ryo replied. "As for you, you still have a technique to learn."

Obito frowned. "The exam's still on? I thought you were going to kill me for trying to save Hinoki?"

"What I said was true. I won't ever forgive traitors. But my sole mission for this exam was that," he said, pointing to Obito's eyes. "There's little point in killing something I worked so hard for."

"You mean…" Obito stared and felt his mouth falling open. "This whole thing was for the Sharingan? The prisoners? Your spiel about comrades? It was all a setup?"

The ANBU's voice turned hard. "I meant it about your naïve ideals. We're lucky if we can save just the people closest to us. Usually, we fail even that. And here you are wanting to save everyone from Konoha? That sort of wishful thinking is only going to put your team in danger."

Obito gritted his teeth. He had no words. In the end, Dojima and Ryo were saying the same thing. He had to choose. But he had already. Just the other night, he had agreed with Kakashi that sacrifices had to be made. Did he have to narrow down his priorities even more?

Was he that weak?

He pushed up his goggles and pressed his fingers against his eyes. The prickling heat seemed to burn his freezing skin while a bitter smile twisted his lips. It seemed the older he got, he kept losing more of himself, chunk by chunk. Was that normal? Was it just him? Was he not cut out to be a shinobi?

Obito tipped his head back and released a shaky breath. The snow blinded him, making him feel like it was trying to bury him alive. His thoughts wandered as he felt his consciousness slip. He heard Ryo's voice as if from a distance and wondered what Kakashi was doing. At the very least, he hoped his teammate was doing better than him.

.-.-.-.

Kakashi had never known he could harbor so much hatred – toward ducks.

For that matter, he hadn't known how ruthless they could be either. He dodged under the thrashing wings of a goose that stood nearly as tall as him and threw a heel into its underbelly. He barely had time to regain his footing on the river before another one tried to skewer him with its unnaturally sharp beak. Kakashi snatched a kunai and drove it down on the bird, but a shuriken flew in from the side, knocking the weapon from his hand.

With a growl Kakashi threw himself to the side and shuddered as the freezing water splashed over him.

"Hey now, don't hurt my precious friends," Yuki drawled. He sat cross-legged on a boulder in the middle of the river, his chin propped lazily in one hand.

"They're as tough as bricks," Kakashi snapped. For evidence, he pointed to the goose he had kicked without a shred of concern for its wellbeing. It was wading happily in the water among a dozen others, all of different shades and sizes – all equally savage. His clothes were torn from countless lacerations and one of the birds had dug especially deep into his half-healed burn wound.

"Aren't they the best?" Yuki said, stroking the feathers of a tiny grey duckling sitting in his lap.

"Best of the worst maybe," Kakashi muttered, but his words were drowned out by the drone of a waterfall several hundred feet behind Yuki. This close, the water's current ran strong beneath his feet, chipping his concentration. Under any other circumstance, he wouldn't have given it a second thought, but he had been standing on it for over a day and half, all through the snowstorm the previous night.

While the blizzard had let up in the early hours of the morning, the sky was still overcast and the wind bit into his wet clothes. He glared at the ducks. If only they would stop attacking him every time he tried to approach the ANBU.

Placed on the rock beside Yuki was the White Fang's sword. Kakashi's task was to retrieve it. But in addition to the ducks, his examiner was surrounded by a barrier ninjutsu. He only knew one of counteracting seal that could disable a standard barrier, but it was clear this wasn't a low-level technique. That left brute force as the only option, which he suspected was the ANBU's aim all along. The only trouble being, it had withstood every single one of his attacks.

He could just imagine Obito falling over with laughter when he heard about this ridiculous situation.

"Speaking of summoning animals, when are you going to sign the contract with the dogs?" Yuki asked.

Kakashi frowned. "I'll do it when I need them."

In truth, he had already considered it, numerous times. Yet each time, he had rolled the scroll back up, reluctant to face the pack that had stood so faithfully by his father's side.

As if seeing right through Kakashi's lie, Yuki smiled knowingly. "You'll be okay, kid. If you ask nicely, I'll even hold your hand for you."

"If you're so eager to lose that hand," Kakashi replied.

Yuki made a face. "Jokes aside, sign the contract. Kuchiyose animals have powers that most of us will never achieve. As you can see here."

Kakashi eyed the multi-colored geese with no small amount of doubt.

"Not them," Yuki said. He gestured to the barrier. "This. I'm not a barrier expert, but with Tsuruhime's help, I can make something powerful enough to keep most people out."

"Tsuruhime?" Kakashi glanced at the fuzzy gosling under the ANBU's hand. "That doesn't look like a crane."

Yuki rolled his eyes and was about to speak again when his attention turned to the sky. A dark bird was flying low over the trees and headed straight for them. Kakashi watched it glide unhindered through the barrier and land on the ANBU mask sitting on top of Yuki's head.

He had guessed it wasn't an illusion from the way his examiner occasionally threw physical weapons from inside the invisible dome, but seeing the messenger bird confirmed it. He went through his mental list of techniques once again, desperately looking for something powerful enough to decimate the barrier. He had already tried every Suiton and Raiton that he knew of, and they were the most destructive ones in his arsenal. Even a combination of them hadn't worked.

Then there was the Rasengan. He knew Minato could likely penetrate the barrier, but his was far inferior to his teacher's. That had been proven in the early morning hours when he had tried and failed. The only way to create something more powerful was to combine it with his primary affinity. Something even Minato hadn't yet accomplished.

A low whistle sounded from Yuki.

"Guess what? Obito's still hanging on by a thread."

"You make it sound like some sort of miracle."

"It is. I honestly didn't expect him to make it this far. Especially since I ordered Ryo to force the Sharingan to evolve."

Somehow, it didn't surprise Kakashi that Yuki had been behind it. For someone who didn't possess the Clan trait, he certainly made free with the people who did.

"Did he manage?" Kakashi asked.

"He did. Barely."

Kakashi felt relief, and at the same time, an undeniable sense of urgency. He didn't have the leisure to be wavering over what he could or couldn't do. Not when his teammate had cleared one of his biggest obstacles.

His mind made, he raised his hands, but paused when he saw the thoughtful look on Yuki's face.

"What?"

"I was just thinking how different you are to Obito."

Kakashi frowned in confusion. "I'd hope so."

Yuki chuckled. "Of course. You're nowhere near as soft-hearted as him. By the way, I've never asked you what your dream is."

"My… dream?" The unexpectedness of the question threw him off.

"Let me guess, you've never thought about it, have you?" Yuki sighed, exasperated. "Every kid should have a dream, Hatake. Shame on you."

The only dream he had ever had was to make his father proud. After Sakumo's suicide, he hadn't regarded any of his goals as 'dreams.' Aspirations maybe. Resolutions for certain. But not dreams.

"I don't have any."

Yuki slapped a hand over his eyes and gave an exaggerated sob. "Oh, how tragic. A child without dreams."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You should be an Academy teacher."

The Uchiha peered at him from between his fingers. "You think dreams are childish, huh? Well let me tell you something. Even the strongest resolves can break under enough pressure. I've seen it happen. Same with ambitions and determination, not to mention flimsy hopes. But dreams don't break. They're inherent and surprisingly tough."

"What's yours then?"

"You think I'd tell the likes of you?" Yuki replied in a sing-song voice.

Kakashi groaned, sorry that he had even asked. He took a breath and sighed. "I don't have a dream, but Obito and sensei do. Midori had one too. I'll fight to make their dreams come true. That's all."

"There's nothing you want to accomplish? No vision you want to realize?"

"Theirs is all the world needs."

Yuki was silent for a moment, then he smiled. "I see. That's not bad either. Now," he said, striking a different tone. "Are you done thinking? My ass is ice cold. I'd like to get up soon."

Swallowing the complaint that he was the one who had initiated the conversation, Kakashi took several steps back and formed a sequence of seals in response.

"You tried that already," Yuki grouched. "Be a little more…"

He fell silent when Kakashi slammed his lightning affinity into the Rasengan swirling in his hand. He gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his element from bursting into chaos. But it was a losing battle almost as soon as it had begun. Flashes of lightning spilled out from the Rasengan and disrupted its spin. Within seconds it was collapsing out of control, at which point Kakashi had always given up.

This time though, he continued to pour electricity into his hand, using it to scrape together whatever was left of the Rasengan. His skin felt like it was burning. Still, he gathered his chakra and forced it out, distantly aware of a screeching sound coming from the blinding light in his hand.

He knew it was a complete failure. But it was all he had.

With a bolt of lightning through his legs and chakra-enhanced speed, he flew over the water, covering the distance between them within a second. He heard Yuki shout and saw the flock of geese disperse, but the landscape blurred into obscurity on either side of him.

It didn't matter. His target wasn't moving. He threw his hand against the barrier and thought his arm would break from the force of the impact. Then he felt it. Something splintered and gave way.

Yuki threw himself to the side an instant before they collided. Kakashi, unable to stop his momentum, barely managed to snatch his father's blade before tumbling headlong into the water.

He came up with a gasp and heaved himself onto the water's surface on shaking limbs. His right arm was numb, and he thought he could still hear the screech in his ears even over the sound of his own harsh breathing.

"What the hell was that?" Yuki demanded. He stood tense on the river, the gosling still in one hand while the other rubbed a cut on his cheek.

Not what he had intended, was all Kakashi knew. He just shook his head and staggered to his feet, holding his trembling arm close to his body.

"I was surprised enough that you can use the Rasengan," Yuki said. "Don't tell me that's what it looks like when it's combined with your nature."

"No, that's what I was aiming for, but it didn't work." He had felt a difference in the way the chakra had flowed. A different destructive force. At any rate, the fact that it had broken through the barrier meant it could do more surface damage than his Rasengan.

The ANBU looked thoughtful. "Whatever it is, develop it so you can use it in live combat. Stealth and speed are all good, but you need something more for when push comes to shove."

Kakashi could already see a few obstacles for that to happen but stayed silent on those counts. Instead, he glanced at the short sword in his left hand. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"What do you mean, what do I want you to do with it?" Yuki scoffed. "Use it. It's yours. That chakra blade was made specially for Sakumo-san. Anyone can use it, but you're now the only one who can use it to its full potential."

"I have no intention of becoming White Fang the Second," Kakashi said, nevertheless strapping the sword across his back. His wet clothes made him shudder and cringe.

Yuki laughed. "Don't worry, you'll get a name of your own. Like the Baby Fang."

Kakashi refused to rise to the bait or waste any more needless energy. Instead, he trudged over to the rock Yuki had been sitting on and swallowed a breath of relief at feeling solid ground under his feet.

"Tired?" Yuki peered into his face. "The fun part hasn't even started yet."

"What now?" Kakashi had never known how long a week could feel. He tried to calculate how much time was left, but the nights and days bled into each other.

"You have 33 hours," Yuki said, "to send me to the hospital. If you can't do that and get back to the East Gate, you're out. I'll be aiming to do the same."

"Have you stopped pretending you're trying to kill me?"

The ANBU shrugged, unrepentant. "Doesn't mean I won't break both your legs."

He shifted the little duckling to his shoulder and signaled the rest of the geese to return to their domain. Then with a groan, he stretched his back and grumbled about sitting still for so long.

Kakashi watched him from the corner of his eyes, and then said, "Yuki-san."

The Uchiha blinked. After all, it was the first time Kakashi had called him by name. He turned – and Kakashi hurled a fist into his face.

The force of it sent the ANBU stumbling back with an unmistakable pop. He immediately rolled into a defensive stance, his laid-back air gone and replaced with instinctive lethality. Kakashi was glad he hadn't risked a follow-up attack. It could have cost him an arm.

Yuki swore sharply, but with his jaw hanging open in a distinctly crooked position, his words came out as an angry scream. Breathing shallowly, he cradled his face and grimaced.

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Is that enough for you to go to the hospital?"

Yuki's eyes narrowed dangerously, and with a jerk of his hands, he snapped his jaw back into its joint. He moved his mouth a few times, clearly in pain, before spitting, "You fucking brat."

"That's for the broken nose."

"It is, is it?" Yuki pulled down his mask with a violent jerk. "You have a lot of nerve, I'll give you that. Better pray it's enough."

Kakashi shrugged. Whatever happened in the next 33 hours, at least he felt a shade more satisfied than he had just moments ago.

A/N: Some serious, some humor. Heading into the final stretch of the exam :)

Thanks for taking the time to read! Hope you enjoyed.

.LinSetsu.