Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! Sumtyms, Nino, aurora0914, sirenmergirl, NaviTheGoddess, reneelg1963, evil-x-love, and Guest
Chapter Nine
The Art of Deception
a.k.a "A shinobi must see the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings."
The light of the morning sun shone in through the break in the curtains. She sighed sleepily and snuggled up against the man sleeping beside her. She glanced up at his face through her eyelashes. Content that Itachi was still sleeping, she shifted closer to him. His arm was draped across her lower back. His chest rose and fell against hers.
He'd volunteered to sleep on the floor and give her the king sized bed, but she refused. They hadn't done anything except sleep in each other's arms last night; however, the warmth of his body against hers and the gentle whisper of conversation before she drifted off in his arms made her think that anything could be possible. She wasn't engaged to that odious nobleman. She wasn't on thin ice with her clan elders. She was warm and safe in Itachi Uchiha's arms. Her limit was the sky.
She shifted out of bed and went to take a shower. They would wander around the casino resort together today before the poker tournament started that evening. It was going to take a while showering, doing her hair, and disguising her eyes, so she decided to get an early start.
Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped a fluffy white robe around herself as she dried her hair. She opened the door to the bedroom and walked over to her suitcase to get the seals that Tokuma Hyuga provided her. She applied one to each of her temples and pressed into them with chakra. Squeezing her eyes against the agony of the fuuinjutsu activation, she couldn't help the gasp of pain.
When Tokuma had demonstrated the technique for her, his resulting eye color was grey. He'd been surprised that hers was such a bright and unusual shade of purple. Her Byakugan must have had purple undertones rather than the silver undertones typically found in her relatives. This technique was for infiltration missions to disguise the Hyuga's very noticeable white eyes. Unfortunately it only caused Hinata to have noticeable purple eyes instead of white ones.
She uncapped the small bottle of eye drops on the counter. The transformation made her eyes dry. She tilted back her dark head and put a drop into each eye. Closing her eyes and titling her head forward, she stilled for a moment. She opened her eyes and blinked at her reflection in the mirror. She would never get used to her violet eyes.
She startled when she noticed his reflection appear in the mirror behind her. "That's uncanny," Itachi said leaning against the door.
She blinked at her reflection in the mirror, wiping away an errant eye drop from under her eye. "It looks unnatural," she murmured.
He turned her towards him, staring deep into her eyes. "You look ethereal, like the goddess Tsukuyomi."
The first portion of the chunin exams began the next day. The genin teams were ushered into a large room in the building to the left of the Raikage's tower and arranged along rectangular tables in groups of five.
Hanabi was separated from the other two members of her team. There were many rows of tables for the exam. Hanabi would have guessed that as many as thirty-five teams arrayed along the tables. The vast majority of them were teams from Kumo – Hanabi had counted fifteen teams of Cloud ninjas as she, Kosho and Aoshiso milled about in the atrium with the rest of the genin teams.
There were fifteen from Kumo, the four from Konoha and two apiece from the other great Shinobi villages - the remaining ten or so teams came from villages whose symbols she didn't recognize. Focusing again on the white test paper face down on the desk in front of her, Hanabi watched as the Kumo jounin wrote the instructions for the written portion of the exam down on the board.
Chunin Written Exam
1.) There are five questions.
2.) You receive one point for each correct answer.
3.) One point will be deducted for each instance of cheating.
4.) Your team will pass this portion of the exam only if your entire team receives at least eleven points.
"Begin!" the man barked out. Hanabi flipped over her test paper and grabbed her pencil, ready to begin.
The first question was about medical ninjutsu.
You have tried to control a teammate's bleeding with direct pressure and elevation, but the bleeding doesn't stop. Where would you apply pressure to slow the flow of blood to a wound on the forearm?
Hanabi didn't have any training in medical ninjutsu. She could try to guess and get the question wrong or try her chances at a question that she had a better chance of getting correct. Her team needed eleven points to pass. Luckily Aoshiso was the medical ninja on their team. He would probably know the answer to this question.
The second question was about topography and geology. Hanabi didn't have too much knowledge about that either.
In a cliff, you see coal near the base, then sandstone above it, then limestone, then sandstone again, and finally coal near the top. This pattern most likely means what?
The third question was even more difficult. It was some sort of cipher that she had to decode. It was four lines long and provided no key.
M IJQZGTQ SWIP MLKMYI NWP PJO SQIIQGZ VQBIP.
M IJQZGTQ SWIP ZODOB IJGK OSGPQGZ.
M IJQZGTQ SWIP ZODOB UWOIPQGZ PJOQB AGSSMZHOB.
M IJQZGTQ SWIP NBONMBO TOVGBO QP QI PGG LMPO PG.
Well that looked extremely advanced. Glancing down to the next question, she was dismayed to find that it was even more difficult than the previous one.
A kunai is thrown with an initial velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizontal. Find its horizontal and vertical displacements 1.1 seconds after launch.
As Hanabi glanced at the fifth question she felt a horrible feeling of helplessness. This was the most difficult question yet. She didn't know a single one these questions!
Suppose that the number of missions successfully completed in a year by a certain shinobi follows a Binomial distribution with mean 4 and variance 3. The payment for each mission follows a gamma distribution with mean 50,000 and variance 500,000,000. What is the probability that a shinobi will receive more than 350,000 ryo in payment for missions during the upcoming year?
Glancing up at the chalk board with the directions written in a precise hand, Hanabi paused to consider the situation. A shinobi must see the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings. It was impossible for a genin level ninja to get much more than one or two of these questions correct. They were much too advanced. The majority of these questions required jounin level knowledge of topography, applied mathematics, and cryptography.
In addition, only one point was deducted for cheating. In any other test, the person caught cheating would be thrown out of the exam for being caught. Peering around the room at the large number of Kumo chunin gripping their clip boards eagerly, Hanabi could finally feel the pieces coming together in her head.
A shinobi must see the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings.
The proctors wanted them to cheat. How else could each team get eleven points? Only one point was deducted for cheating.
So the question was: how to find the person with the answers?
Uchiha Itachi and Hyuga Hinata entered the private room reserved for the poker tournament arm in arm. She was resplendent in red silk. The bodice was tight across her chest and two straps came over her shoulders to be clasped by an elaborate brooch at the small of her back. The skirt flared out at her knees into a trumpet. Itachi had dressed in a black suit with a crimson and ebony marbled waistcoat to complement her gown.
Hinata was playing her part very well. She leaned against him as he went to cashier to get his chips, angling her body so her front pressed tantalizing against his side. Wrapping an arm around his waist, she whispered in his ear, "Two of the men here are consistent with intelligence we have about the Akatsuki. I can see Kakuzu of the Hidden Waterfall who Kakashi's team fought. He's speaking with a man who is consistent with sketches of Hidan. There are two other people standing with him that I don't recognize."
Itachi slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to himself. He balanced his tray with 100M ryo of chips in the other hand. He kissed his way up the column of her neck before remarking. "I can see them too. I don't recognize the blue haired woman or the orange haired man with them."
"Yes," Hinata whispered back breathlessly. Itachi chuckled before pulling back. The expression in her eyes was seductive in its innocence. She cleared her throat before running a hand up his chest to step close to him. "Do you see the team from the Cloud?"
Itachi nodded. As they neared the table, Itachi put the chips down on the table before leaning against it and pulling her closer. "Remember," he said. "We aren't supposed to know the other team from Konoha. Try to avoid making our connection with Team Asuma obvious."
"Alright," she whispered back. "Good luck, Itachi."
As the dealer began shuffling the cards at the table and the players began arranging their colorful stacks of chips, the moderator explained the rules. "Gentlemen and Lady Ito, you should have all collected your 100M ryo worth of chips now. If you lose all your chips, you will not be allowed to buy back into the competition. The tournament will take place over two days with three hour-long blind round each night. The blinds will increase from one blind round to the next. We will have a half hour intermission after each blind round of the night. The first blinds will be 500k/1M."
The dealer dealt everyone two cards. Shikamaru flipped the corner of his up – the king and six of clubs. The man to the left of the dealer threw in the 500k for the small blind and the man next to him threw in the 1M for the big blind.
The big blind this round was a man named Tanaka Akio. Ino had excitedly explained that the dashing blond haired man was a famous movie star. Shikamaru couldn't see what was so special about this Akio guy. Itachi was next; he threw in 1M to play the round.
Asuma had recognized the man who was sitting next to Itachi. He had explained to his former student that the man's name was Yakuza Takeo, an infamous crime boss from Tea Country. Like the member of the Akatsuki at the table, Takeo was no doubt there for nefarious reasons. He had brought two body guards with him. They both looked like dangerous fighters; however, they wouldn't be much match for ANBU trained ninja.
There was a man who owned a famous business from Fang Country. He sat between the crime boss and the Akatsuki member. There were also a number of men and a woman of noble blood. The Cloud Diamyo was playing as well as the son of Iron Country's Diamyo. He was there to have some fun with daddy's money. The nobleman from Grass Country sitting to the left of the dealer had introduced himself as Kuza Iwao. There was also a noblewoman from Crescent Moon Country itself, Hoshi Ito. The moderator had greeted her by name; she was the only woman at the table. Itachi and Shikamaru rounded out the ten people seated at the table.
Shikamaru was assuming the part of a notable poker tournament winner from Fire Country. Itachi, who was there with Hinata, Kakashi and Okami, was playing the part of a friend of the Diamyo's family who liked to partake in poker tournaments. The presence of Okami Hato helped to back up his cover story. The name Nara was rather innocuous, so he could easily slip into the part. The name Uchiha, on the other hand, was famous throughout the world as an illustrious ninja family. Therefore, several of the other players at the table knew that Itachi was a shinobi.
As a poker champion from Fire Country, it would have been difficult to explain the presence of two ninja body guards – Asuma and Choji. So the other members of Shikamaru's old team had taken jobs in the casino as bartenders for the event. Choji manned the front bar with the other bartenders and Asuma was working at the second bar across the room.
After the crime boss had tossed in a 1M black chip, he threw in a dark green chip and raised the bid 5M. Only two of the players at the table folded.
The dealer burned a card and turned over the flop: the seven of hearts, the four of diamonds and the six of hearts. The first two players called and then the crime boss, Yakuza Takeo, bet 3M. Three more players folded. Shikamaru and Itachi called. Shikamaru was curious to see that the Akatsuki member had folded.
On the turn, they got the king of hearts. Shikamaru's pair of sixes had become two pair - kings and sixes. The nobleman from the grass and Itachi both called. The crime boss bet 6M. Itachi, the Iron Country's Diamyo's son and Shikamaru all called the bet and threw in a dark green and a black chip.
After the dealer burned a final card, he flipped over the river card. Although he didn't show it on his face, Shikamaru was pleasantly surprised to see the six of clubs. His two pair had turned into a full house. Itachi was the first to bet. He looked at Yakuza Takeo carefully before betting 5M. The four players at the table called Itachi's bet.
Itachi flipped over his cards – the King of Clubs and the seven of spades. The dealer pulled them towards him and slid forward the King, seven and one of the sixes on the river. "Two pair, kings and sevens."
The crime boss, Yakuza Takeo, frowned and tossed in his pocket queens. The dealer slid forward the king and the two sixes. "A lesser two pair, queens and sixes."
The Diamyo's son from Iron Country looked abashed as he tossed his three of clubs and four of hearts. "Guess you weren't bluffing after all."
The dealer slid them towards him as well. Not needing to move the king and sixes, he said, "A lesser two pair, fours and sixes."
When it came to Shikamaru's turn, he flipped over his king and six. The dealer slid them towards himself and said, "A full house, kings full of sixes. Nara-san wins."
Shikamaru slid the large pile of chips towards himself and arranged them with his other chips. He was up 87M after one hand! Itachi had played Yakuza Takeo well, though it was a shame that Shikamaru had taken 20M of Itachi's chips. Why on earth had the man from Iron Country played that hand? Was he an idiot?
Hanabi had finished her test. She had all five answers. Activating her Byakugan, she looked around the room for her two Uchiha teammates. Kosho was several rows behind her. His red Sharingan eyes were fixed on her.
Was he using his clan's dojutsu to copy her answers? That was very clever. Glancing down at her test paper again, Hanabi wrote in the corner: Are you using my answers?
Kosho nodded. Putting her pencil to the paper again, she wrote: Then we each have five questions right. We need eleven to get to the second round. Aoshiso needs one question right for us to pass.
Kosho nodded and put his pencil to the paper to write something back. Hanabi read the message. Check Aoshiso's status. How many questions does he have right?
Their other Uchiha teammate had his shoulders hunched over his paper as he frantically scribbled. Could Aoshiso get one answer on his own? He didn't have the Sharingan like Kosho, but if he could cheat and still get one point, their team would pass. Maybe Hanabi could wander over and drop her paper off with Aoshiso. If he could copy her answers down quickly before she had to return to their seat then they could gain an extra three points. That would be enough to pass.
Searching Aoshiso's paper with her Byakugan, Hanabi read the answers. Aoshiso had gotten the medical ninjutsu question correct and was about to finish solving the cypher.
"A shinobi must always put the mission first."
"A shinobi must never show emotion."
"A shinobi must never question their commander."
"A shinobi must prepare before it is too late to."
He had known more of the questions than she did. She wouldn't have gotten any of them correct without the use of her Byakugan.
Aoshiso's got two correct. Hanabi wrote on her paper, hoping that Kosho got the message. Hanabi closed her eyes in relief as she erased the message at the top of their paper. They would make it to the next round.
Ino had decided to wear the black floor length silk dress for the first night of the competition. She had chosen a strapless one because it showed off her shoulders and back to best effect. She wore her long blonde hair down. It fell in an undulating golden wave down her back. The silk was gathered on the right with a brooch shaped like a bouquet of flowers. The black silk parted whenever she took a step, giving a glance of her right leg.
She leaned against the bar with a cosmopolitan balanced in her right hand. She had given Shikamaru a rum and coke before dropping a kiss on his check and congratulating him for his winnings so far. He had played one other hand that the crime boss from Tea Country, Yakuza Takeo, had won. Uchiha Itachi had quickly made up the money that he had lost in the first round to Shikamaru. He won the second and third rounds; his chip stack was about as high as Shikamaru's. Unfortunately, the Akatsuki member was as successful at winning as the ANBU captain. It seemed that part of the reason was that the son of the Iron Country Diamyo's son was horrible poker player. He was hemorrhaging chips.
"23M, all in!" the young man said, pushing in his meager pile. The Akatsuki member smirked before throwing white, dark green and three black chips into the pile.
"Your boyfriend's doing well," said a voice at Ino's shoulder.
Ino turned slightly to look at the woman standing next to her with a raised eyebrow. She woman was very beautiful. Her jaw length dark hair fell in a dramatic angle across her face. Her dark eyes were warm as she held out her hand. "Yamane Suzume."
"Yamanaka Ino," said the blonde kunoichi accepting the woman's hand and shaking it warmly. "You aren't the Yamane Suzume from The Man with the Golden Katana?"
The woman laughed and said, "Guilty as charged!"
Ino took another sip of her drink. "That's one of my favorite movies. Weren't you in that with…"
"Yes, I'm here with Tanaka Akio. We started dating after the movie came out last year," said Suzume.
"Then you must be doing a good job of keeping it out of the tabloids, I haven't seen any mention of your relationship."
"We prefer our privacy." Ino nodded in understanding. "I'll have a mojito." Suzume said to the bartender. Leaning back against the bar next to Ino, the actress remarked, "That man from Rain Country is really good. He's bleeding poor Akio dry. I've never heard of him before. Then again I haven't heard of your boyfriend Shikamaru before either. He's doing really well. Someone said that he win a big Poker Tournament or something in Fire Country."
Ino smiled and nodded. Suzume grinned and said, "It's neat to see a real live ninja here too. I've heard the name Uchiha before. They're really famous. I guess I can see why the Fire Daimyo wanted him to play in his stead."
"Your Mojito, Yamane-san," said the bartender from behind them. He placed the drink on a napkin in front of Suzume. The actress accepted the drink in both hands and took a sip appreciatively. Ino turned to look back at Asuma as he walked off to serve another patron.
Turning back to Ino, she continued, "I'm prepping for a role as a ninja. It's based on those best-selling books written by that Head Ninja from the Fire Country. What was his name?"
"I think his name is Jiraiya."
"Yeah, that sounds familiar. Akio and I will be in it together. We're really excited. I've been doing all this kick boxing and cardio and stuff to prep for the role."
"Are you doing your own stunts then?"
"Some of them - like the hand to hand combat. I can't do any of that magic stuff that you hear about sometimes."
"Yeah. You don't think they can actually do stuff like that?" wondered Ino.
"It does seem a little farfetched: fire breathing and teleporting and stuff."
"Definitely."
The Iron Country Diamyo's son had fallen out midway through the second blind round. Kakuzu of the Akatsuki had pressured him into going all in with his remaining 23M in chips and taken them all from him in one fell swoop.
Itachi, Shikamaru and Yakuza Takeo all had healthy portions of the other player's chips. The movie star Tanaka Akio only had 25.5M left of chips. The other participants were also down from the 100M of chips that they had started with. They had each won a round or two, but they couldn't compete with the strategy and ruthlessness of the four chip leaders. The three remaining players were each down about 20M on average; though 80M worth of chips was still enough to stay competitive in the game.
Hinata walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. She kissed him on the cheek and offered him a fresh martini. He had finished his in the first blind round.
"Thank you, darling," he said. "Enjoying the tournament?"
Hinata winked at him and said, "Very much so."
He watched her as she walked back to where Kakashi was leaning against the first bar. Tanaka Akio said to Itachi, "Your girl's quite beautiful, Uchiha-san. Is she in the modeling business in your home country? I've never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes."
"Something like that," Itachi answered tersely.
Akio laughed, "No need to be short with me, man, I'm not going to try to steal her away from you if that's your worry."
Itachi rolled his eyes. "I'm strangely comforted."
"Unless, she wants to," Akio said with a leer.
The Cloud Daimyo and the noblewoman from the Crescent Moon, Hoshi Ito, were the big and small blinds respectively this round. Itachi glanced at the two cards in front of him – pocket tens, spades and hearts. He would see what he could do with those.
The nobleman from Grass Country, Kuza Iwao, went first, throwing in the 2M to ante. Akio went next, increasing the bet to 10M. Itachi threw in two dark green chips to see the flop. The Cloud Diamyo, the big blind, folded as did Shikamaru and Kakuzu. Everyone else called the 10M bet.
"Guess I wasn't able to scare off too many of you lot," laughed Akio.
The Dealer burned the first card and then flipped over the first three cards. The Ace of Diamonds, the Ten of Spades and the Ten of Diamonds. Itachi couldn't be more pleased – he'd gotten quad tens on the flop. Now was an opportunity to get a wealth of chips from the other players.
"I check," said the Grass Country Nobleman.
Akio counted his small pile of chips. He threw in four more dark green chips. "Let's make this interesting. I'll bet 20M."
The crime boss from Tea Country, Yakuza Takeo, tossed in his cards. Standing up from the table, Takeo walked over to the bar to talk with one of the men had brought with him. Everyone but Itachi, Akio and Ito folded. The turn gave them the King of Clubs.
"All in," said Akio, sliding his remaining chips into the pot.
Itachi looked down at his chips and asked, "How much's that?"
Akio paused for a moment before taking stock of his chips. He had quite a number of the black 1M chips. "That's ten point five mill," said the moviestar.
"Alright," said Itachi plucking two white and one yellow chip from his pile. "I'll call."
Ito counted the chips from her pile as well and tossed them in. She only had a medium stack of black 1M chips and a handful of the dark green 5M ryo chips left. Itachi's stacks of black, dark green, white and purple chips didn't intimidate her. "I'll also call."
The river card was the King of Hearts. Akio who was out of chips started the final betting round by calling. Itachi eyed Hoshi Ito's pile of chips. "How much do you have left, Madam Hoshi?"
"Twenty-five and a half million," she replied.
"I'll bet 25.5M," said Itachi, throwing in a purple, a dark green and a yellow chip.
Hoshi Ito exhaled discontentedly. "What do the rest of you have?" she asked herself. "Are you trying to edge me out of the picture so you don't have to share the pot?" She slid the rest of her chips forward. "I'll call."
Akio flipped his cards over. The Dealer accepted them and said, "Aces full of Kings."
Itachi tossed the dealer his two tens. "Four Tens, a High Hand."
Akio cursed and threw in her Ace of Diamond and King of Spades. "I should have known. Well played, Uchiha-san."
"Thank you, Hoshi-san," said Itachi as he slid the large pile of chips towards himself and started arranging them into stacks.
Hanabi's team hadn't even made it out of the room before there was a complication with the first test. The chunin exam proctors had graded the tests, commanding them to all stay seated. Apparently too many teams had passed the first section of the exam. They would need to have a final portion of the first test before they could move onto the second section of the chunin exams.
Of the thirty-five or so teams that had entered the exam, twenty remained. Surprisingly, all four teams from Konoha had completed this first portion. Both of the Iwa teams had gotten through. However, the other villages haven't done as well. Only ten of the Kumo teams had passed. Of the two teams that had entered from Kiri and Suna, only one had passed. Of the ten or so teams from minor villages, only two had made it through the first round.
Hanabi, Kosho, Aoshiso were all separated from each other and taken to individual rooms off the hall from the large meeting room. Hanabi felt a cold chill of terror at being so isolated. Before she left Konoha, Neji had painted on a copy of the branch seal on her forehead to protect her. Had the Kumo ninjas seen through her fake seal?
Her sister Hinata had been kidnapped by Kumo ninjas for her Byakugan when she was only three years old. Would the same thing happen to her? She would fight them with all the strength in her body if they tried to take her eyes, but what if they sent a whole squad of jounin against her? What sort of chance would she have?
She had her Byakugan activated and her sword out when the Kumo jounin walked into the room. The blonde haired woman gave out an amused chuckled at seeing the Konoha kunoichi braced for an attack. "You can put that away, girl. I'm not here to fight you."
The woman's blonde hair was pin straight and cut in an impeccable line. Her figure was very womanly. Hanabi felt self-conscious. She would probably never be as attractive to men as this woman was.
"Hyuga Hanabi. You scored five points on the test. Your teammates Uchiha Kosho and Uchiha Aoshiso scored five and two points respectively on the exam."
"Alright," said Hanabi. "So why am I here?"
"The proctor has come to the conclusion that our pass rate was too high for this group of genin. We have decided that to pass onto the second round, each member of the team must have scored at least five points on the examination."
Hanabi cleared her throat. "I scored five points. So why am I here?"
"Your team only scored twelve points, so you are here to help determine the fate of you other team members."
Hanabi cleared her throat. "I'm listening."
"For each team whose three members do not have enough points to pass to the next portion of the exam, we would like to offer each member the opportunity to redistribute the points that you gained during the written portion of the exam."
"Redistribute?" asked Hanabi. She didn't like the sound of this.
"Yes. We will give you a chance to do one of two things. You can either cooperate with your other teammates or defect from your team."
"And what does that mean?" Hanabi asked tersely.
"Listen carefully," said the blonde woman. "The number of points you receive will be dependent on your answer as well as the answers of your two teammates. If all three of you decide to cooperate, we will distribute the points evenly among you. That is, each member of your team will be awarded four points."
"Four points?" Hanabi asked. "But you said that each member of the team needs five points to enter into the second round of the chunin exams.
"Yes," said the woman.
"So even if I cooperate, I lose one of my points to Aoshiso."
"Yes."
She hated herself for even asking, but Hanabi found that the words left her mouth before she could stop herself. "And what happens if I defect?"
"Ah," said the Kumo kunoichi. "That depends on what your other teammates do. If both of your teammates cooperate but you defect, they each receive two points and you receive eight points. If one of your teammates cooperates and the other defects, you and the other defecting member receive six points and the cooperating member receives zero."
"But I only need five points to move onto the next round. Can I donate my extra points to one of my teammates?"
"No, you may not."
"I'm assuming that the payoff is the same for my other teammates. If Aoshiso and I cooperate but Kosho defects, Aoshiso and I both are awarded two points while Kosho is awarded eight points."
"Yes."
Hanabi rubbed her hands over her tired eyes. What was she supposed to do? With the rules as they were it was impossible for her entire team to make it to the next round. Looking up at the kunoichi who was grinning at her with a cruel smile, Hanabi asked, "When do I get to talk this over with my teammates?"
The woman had the gall to laugh at her. "You can't talk this over with your teammates. Each of you much answer for yourself."
"Oh."
"I'll leave you to deliberate. When I return, I will expect your answer," said the Kumo jounin as she left the room.
Running both hands through her hair and pulling it away from her face and into a messy pile on her head, Hanabi exhaled in frustration. What was she to do? What would her teammates do? All three of them wouldn't be able to enter the next portion together. It would either be a subset of them or none of them at all.
She and Kosho had answered all the questions, Aoshiso had only answered two. Granted, she had gotten all of the answers by cheating and Aoshiso was actually able to answer two of the questions on his own. So were she and Kosho more deserving of this or was Aoshiso?
All three teammates came from noble clans, so one didn't necessarily have more riding on their performance than the other. All three had about an equal amount of pressure from their families. Hanabi's family was from the ruling Hyuga family. She was second in line for the position of clan head after her sister, Hinata.
Kosho's grandfather was an elder of his clan as well as one of the three members of the Konoha small council. His family wielded considerable power. Aoshiso on the other hand was from a smaller and less significant Uchiha family. If Hinata's friend Uchiha Sasuke's family was considered the Uchiha "Main House," then Kosho's family would be one of the lesser families of the "Main House" and Aoshiso's family would be one of the lesser families in the "Branch House."
Out of the three of them, Aoshiso had perhaps the fewest expectations upon him by his family and clan but perhaps out of the three of them, Aoshiso had the most to prove. Was it better for only one or two of them to continue onto the second test or was it better for the three to stop here and wait until next year? In Hanabi's opinion, it should either be two of them continuing or none of them at all. For two of them to continue, one would have to cooperate and the other two defect. If two of them were to continue, which two would it be? Which pair would have the greatest chance of being successful? Which pair deserved it the most?
Hanabi sighed. What had Shisui-sensei told them before they went off to the first exam?
"Good luck all of you and remember, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
How could she show her face to Shisui-sensei after abandoning one or both of her comrades like that? A shinobi must see the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings. Was this a bluff? Just another test? Was the correct answer for all three members to cooperate? Would only teams that were united pass to the second portion of the exam?
The door creaking open startled her, but she had made her decision. "I will cooperate," she said proudly.
Ino collapsed boneless on top of him. She folded her arms on top of her chest and rested her blonde head on top of them, her breathing unsteady after their vigorous lovemaking. He ran his hands up her bare back and laid kisses up her neck. She sighed happily. "Shika, do you think we'll be able to win the tournament?"
"I think we have a good chance," he murmured. "Itachi and I are both chip leaders after all."
She sat up, straddling him. "I didn't realize that you were so good at poker. You're a man of hidden talents."
He slid his hands across her smooth, flat stomach. "Did you have any revelations about the other players? I think I've figured out Kakuzu's tell."
Leaning towards him, she captured his lips in a kiss. "I saw that too. I think it was a double bluff, Shika."
"Why would he do that?" he murmured between kisses, rolling them over so that he was on top of her.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her ankles around his waist. "He knows that Itachi is from Konoha. Mhm … he saw the team from the cloud. He's on his guard. He wants you to think that's his tell. He's – Oh! Oh, yes! – he's hoping to trick you out of your chips."
"We'll discuss this tomorrow morning with everyone," he said with a groan. "I'm—I'm curious about what Itachi saw as well."
The first night of the poker tournament had gone well for Itachi and Shikamaru. After the three hours of play, two of the other participants had been eliminated from the competition. The Prince from Iron Country had lost very early in the night. The moviestar went out on one of the last hands of the night. The man who was sitting to the left of Itachi was able to read the other man like a book. Asuma had recognized the man's face. He was an infamous mob boss formerly of Tea Country.
Hinata tried not to show it, but seeing the participants toss in six million ryo for the big blind like it was nothing, made her stomach tie up in knots. And to think that the blinds would only increase as the tournament went on! Itachi had explained that the blinds would start at 5 million / 10 million at the start of the first blind round in the second day of the tournament. The Hyuga were a proud and wealthy clan, but she had never encountered that much money before in her life! The Uchiha were a proud and powerful clan, but they had nowhere near the financial strength of the Hyuga clan. It was amazing watching Itachi and Shikamaru play the game. They looked so comfortable at the table.
They had determined who was the Akatsuki's man relatively early in the night. His poisonous green eyes and bloody sclera were a terror to behold. His companions were no better. The violet eyed man in the slick black suit sent chills down her spine. He was extremely handsome with his slick silver hair, but his smile was predatory and dangerous. The blue haired woman with them was colder than winter. Hinata had tried to strike up a conversation with her in the bathroom as she had been touching up her mascara, but the blue haired woman's conversation was succinct and chilly. The orange haired man with them seemed very out of place with all of his piercings.
The rest of her team were running reconnaissance and discussing the game amongst themselves. They had regrouped with the team from Kumo. The Cloud Diamyo was not doing as well as the two shinobi from Konoha.
Hinata and Ino had stayed for part of the conversation. They had discussed Kakazu of the Akatsuki's play during the previous night, trying to determine his tell. Itachi and Shikamaru had both seen something in the other man's movements. Itachi was sure he had determined Kakazu's tell from when he had bluffed and then folded in an earlier round.
Ino wasn't as sure. She had seen it as well from her seat at the bar. However, she thought it was a double bluff. Ino thought the Akatsuki member wanted Itachi and Shikamaru to think that he was bluffing. When Ino voiced her opinion, Itachi had politely contradicted her. Shikamaru hadn't been as polite. It was obvious who Ino's teammate trusted more: his legendary ANBU captain instead of his lover. Fiery and Passionate, Ino had stormed out of the meeting room. Hinata gave the others an apologetic look before following the other girl out as well.
Trembling with rage as she stormed over to the elevators and hit the down button, Ino growled out, "I can't believe him. He makes me so angry sometimes."
Hinata put a hand on the other girl's arm. "Why don't we go for a walk on the boardwalk to cool down for a little bit?"
Ino smiled at her friend. "That sounds great. I'll meet you by the fifty-sixth floor elevators. Do you bring a wig and contacts too? We don't want people to recognize us. Genjutsu disguises can be dangerous on undercover missions."
"Yeah."
They stepped into the elevator and Hinata hit fifty-eight and fifty-six. Ino waved as she got off on the fifty-eighth floor. She and Shikamaru shared a room on that floor, with Asuma and Choji sleeping in the room across the hall. Hinata shared a room with Itachi on the fifty-sixth floor. Okami and Kakashi shared the room next door.
Hinata wandered over to her room as well to grab her sandals and purse. She glanced over at the carefully made king sized bed where she had slept in Itachi's arms last night.
Ino was already waiting by the elevator when Hinata wandered over. Ino had changed into a light blue sundress and was carefully applying lip gloss in the mirror across from the elevators when Hinata walked up. Ino's eyes were brown and she wore a strawberry blonde wig. Hinata looked a little funny with her now blue eyes and brown hair.
"Ready?" Hinata asked. "Do you think they have that salt water taffy stuff here?"
Ino capped her lip gloss and smiled, "Hope so."
Hinata would never get used to riding the elevators. Their speed was dizzying! Her ears would always pop as they zoomed down from the fiftith-something floor down to the casino level of the resort. Exiting the elevator, they wandered through the casino trying to find their way outside to the boardwalk. The casino felt much different in the morning than it had the night before. The lighting was the same and the hypnotizing sounds were the same, but it felt eerie. There were very few people around and those that remained where sitting by the slot machines like ghosts. It was almost difficult to tell what the hour of the day was. Had they been there all night?
Hinata thought she saw a flash of orange hair out of the corner of her eye, but when she glanced back, she saw no one there. She felt a chill run down her spine. One of the Akatsuki members had orange hair.
Hinata and Ino weaved their way through the slot machines and the now empty roulette tables. A waitress wandered over to an older woman sitting at the slot machine looking almost hypnotized by the dinging noises and spinning symbols. She handed the woman a bloody mary before wandering off to serve other patrons.
They eventually found their way out of the casino level and wandered through the shops on their way to the boardwalk. They wandered through a street based on the famous shopping district of Cloud Country and then were completely bowled over as they made their way through a replica of downtown Konoha on their way outside.
"That was…weird," Ino breathed.
"Yeah," Hinata whispered.
She closed her eyes and let the soothing sound of the waves and squawking of seagulls roll over her as they strolled along the wide boardwalk. They ignored the man pulling something resembling a rickshaw down the boardwalk when he asked if they'd like a ride. They made a face at each other after the third such man came by, looking at them expectantly.
Music came cheerfully out of one of the shops along the way, playing a song that they weren't familiar with. Ino turned to her friend and said, "Sometimes I forget what civilian villages look like, having lived in a shinobi village all my life."
Hinata looked down at her sandaled feet. "Yes. It's so unfamiliar. I wonder what Kenkaji looks like."
Hanabi eyed her two teammates. Kosho was calmly slipping on his fingerless gloves and checking his chakra levels. Aoshino was taking stock of their supplies. He had some medical training and as such was particularly interested in the antidotes and salves they carried. There were other beasts in the mountains besides the other ninjas.
They had all been taken to the entrance to the second exam separately by the Kumo ninjas who had proposed the deal. Aoshino glanced up at Hanabi in puzzlement. "Were you also taken to a room and forced to make a choice?"
"Yeah," said Hanabi. She tightened the strap of the sword strung across her back. "What did you two decide on? Did they offer you the same options? Cooperate or Defect?"
"Yep," said Kosho.
"Yeah," answered Aoshiso. "I thought that the both of you would defect, so I said cooperate so that the two of you would at least be able to continue the competition."
Hanabi looked at her Uchiha teammate curiously. "You didn't realize that it was a trap? It was a bluff."
Kosho snorted. "Kami, you almost cost us the exam, moron."
"Shut up, Kosho," Aoshiso muttered.
Of the twenty teams that had been separated from their teammates and offered an impossible decision, only fourteen teams remained. Again, all four teams from Konoha had passed. Only one of the Iwa teams had passed. The teams from Kiri and Suna had both made it through. One of the teams from a minor village passed and six of the Kumo squads made it through.
Checking their mission scroll one last time, she eyed her prey. It was the team from the sand village. She had noticed them when they went to the first test. Shisui-sensei told then that the sand ninja's sensei was Temari of the Sand, a clever strategist in possession of very strong wind ninjutsu.
"Kosho," she said as she handed him the scroll.
Holding it in his hand, he asked his teammates, "First impressions?"
Putting a hand through his wavy brown hair, Aoshino remarked, "They don't appear to be a powerhouse team. The one boy on their team could be a challenge. He knows how to handle that sword across his back. The tall blonde haired girl has a lot of senbon on her. I'm almost certain that they're laced with poison. We might not have an antidote for it. We'll have to be careful not to be pricked."
Hanabi sighed in annoyance; poison was a lot of trouble to deal with. She picked up where her other teammate left off. "The last girl on the team - the one with the brown-hair - she's the Kazekage's apprentice. No doubt she has some tricks up her sleeve."
"Do you think she can control sand like the Kazekage?" wondered Aoshino.
"Doubtful," answered Kosho.
"She doesn't carry that gourd around like the Kazekage does."
The signal exploded into the sky. The second test had begun.
"I wonder who will be after us…" voiced Aoshino. The one thought haunting his teammate's minds.
"Only time will tell."
"Who would you say would be our most dangerous adversaries?" asked Aoshino.
"I didn't like the look of that older cloud ninja team," said Hanabi. "Byakugan!"
"Three days of this hell?" growled Aoshino. "This isn't going to be any fun."