"I've finally found you after all these years. I thought I would have gotten you when you were at the academy; but you ran off. You knew you couldn't fight me, now here I am. Are you strong now girl? Do you think you can beat me now? After what I did to you and your family? You don't have the guts to stand up to me! You'll just run again, like a coward. Shall I remind you what might happen if you run again?" he said. He pulled Kimiko up by her hair. She was screaming and crying.
"Run! Don't worry about me! Just run! Go! Get out of here! Go!" she shouted.
"Shut up runt!" he yelled, before stabbing Kimiko. Her blood splashed onto her face and onto Hikari's terrified face. She knew she had to run, to get out of there. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. She felt helpless. She had to do something. Hikari took in a deep breath before she shouted.
"Stop it! Kimi!" Hikari screamed, rolling out of the bed and sitting up, hitting her head on the table.
"Ow!" Hikari yelled, rubbing her head. Iruka ran into the room.
"Hikari? What happened?" he asked, helping her get off the floor. She was breathing heavily again.
"Another dream? Was it the same one?" he asked. She shook her head and ran out of the room to find Kimiko standing in the living room talking with team eight. She didn't care that her chest was covered in bandages to her waist and that she was in shorts, she hugged Kimiko.
"Thank god it was just another dream…" she mumbled. Kimiko hugged back.
"Another nightmare… Go get dressed, we need to go to the exams," Kimiko told her. Hikari nodded and went back to the room to change.
"H-Has she been having those a lot lately?" Hinata asked. Kimiko nodded.
"Fourth one this week… I don't think it was the same one though," Kimiko said.
"Maybe she's just a little stressed about the exams. That could do it," Kiba said. Kimiko nodded.
"I hope you're right," she said. Hikari walked back out and they left. Hikari had stopped a few times to stretch, having to catch back up with them.
"A-Are you sure you're alright Hikari?" Hinata asked. Hikari smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yeah! No problem! I'll be fine!" she told Hinata.
"Oh shut up! You're getting annoying like Naruto now," Kiba teased. Hikari Jumped on Kiba's back and gave him a noogie.
"You're just jealous," Hikari teased.
"Jealous?" Kimiko asked. Kiba covered Hikari's mouth.
"She's lying. What's going on? Why can't anyone get in?" Kiba questioned, looking at the door. Someone with bushy eyebrows looked over and smiled. He walked over.
"I am Rock Lee! Who might you be?" Lee asked Hikari as she got off Kiba's back. Hikari noticed Sakura and the rest of her team trying to get in.
"I'm Hikari Maki. I'm on my way to the Chuunin exams; but it seems like everyone is in my way," Hikari said.
"We're all trying to get in there," Lee said.
"No, I mean, I need to get past and go through this hall way. I thought we were supposed to go to room three o one? Not three o two," Hikari said.
"It's only the second floor," Sakura said to the kids guarding the door.
"How did you do that before the beautiful Sakura?" Lee asked.
"Do what? It said two not three. How did you not see it?" Hikari asked. Kimiko grabbed her arm and started pulling her along.
"Sorry, my friend here is kinda smart for her. See you later kid!" Kimiko said.
"Kimi that hurts my arm!" Hikari whined.
"That kid was strange…" Kiba said.
"He seemed nice to me. Oh look, they're here," Hikari said, pointing over to Ino and her team. Hikari sighed and leaned against the wall. Kimiko stood next to her as Naruto and his team walked in. Ino was on Sasuke as soon as he walked in. Kimiko giggled and Kiba walked over with the others.
"Hm?" Hikari said, looking over at what Kimiko was giggling about.
"Poor Sasuke can't go anywhere without being attacked. Those two must be enemies. I'd hate to be apart of that," Kimiko said. Hikari smirked.
"Hikari, you're not thinking what I'm thinking are you?" Kimiko asked.
"Well, I told Sakura not to worry. I think it'd be fun to piss blondie over there off though, right?" Hikari said, walking over. Kimiko followed her.
"Hikari come on, you don't need to start something!" Kimiko warned her. Shino had said something to Chouji, then Hikari pulled on Ino's hair. Ino screamed.
"What is your problem?" she shouted at Hikari.
"Get off him. Can't you tell he's annoyed? Jeez, he just wants one certain person on him like that and it's not you, pig nose," Hikari said with a smirk.
"And who do you think you are?" Ino yelled. Hikari put her arm around Sasuke, who blushed lightly; but hid it.
"Get off him! Sasuke's mine!" Ino screeched.
"Oh shut up. I'm just an old friend of his. I wouldn't want him like you and Sakura do. Who would want him? He's a dunce," Hikari said getting off Sasuke.
"What's your name?" TenTen asked walking up.
"I'm Hikari Maki. Yours?" Hikari asked.
"TenTen. I haven't seen you around before, who's on your group?"
"TenTen, we have no time to associate with rookie Genin," another guy said. He had eyes like Hinata.
"I'll have you know Hyuuga, I've only been a Genin for a week. Not even, just a couple of days. The Hokage and a Sanin passed me and my friend, allowing us to be a two man team for the exams before being placed onto teams," Hikari told him with a smirk. He didn't look scared, but Lee had popped up with wide eyes.
"One of you is the one Gai-sensei told us about! The one who nearly took out the Sanin her first day of practice! Which one of you is that one?" Lee asked. Hikari smiled nervously while Kimiko giggled.
"Hikari, looks like you have an admirer already," Kimiko teased. The guy from a few minutes ago looked scared now.
"I am Neji Hyuuga," he said.
"You almost took a Sanin out? How?" Lee asked, taking Hikari's hand and looking at her with eyes full of passion. Hikari took her hand back.
"I would have if he didn't move out of the way," Hikari said.
"Lee, let's just go back to our seats," Neji said as he walked away. The other two followed. Hikari turned around to see someone talking to the other nine.
"What'd I miss?" Hikari asked Kimiko.
"His name is Kabuto; he's been here seven times," Kimiko told her. Hikari nodded. She felt a disturbance and looked around the crowd. She froze.
"Hikari?" Kimiko asked. Dosu attacked Kabuto, who moved out of the way.
"Hello Hikari," Zaku said. Kabuto's glasses broke and he fell over in pain.
"Hikari? Oh, I didn't notice you there," Dosu said. Hikari took a breath and looked at Dosu.
"There was no need to randomly attack hm like that Dosu," Hikari said. Kimiko hid behind Hikari shaking.
"You know these guys?" Kiba asked.
"We were in the same class at the sound academy," Hikari said. Kin smirked at Kimiko.
"Leave her alone Kin," Hikari threatened through gritted teeth.
"You've always been protective of this weak little brat. Wasting your abilities to keep her safe," Zaku said.
"Shut up," Hikari told him.
"Or what? You'll hurt us?" Zaku said mockingly. Hikari went to kick him; but was stopped by Lee; who also just stopped Sasuke from kicking Dosu.
"Huh? Lee?" Hikari asked, standing back up. Then their proctor came in and instructed them what to do. Hikari got number thirty-nine and Kimiko got number four. Hikari sat down, she was next to Lee and a grass ninja.
"You did the good thing protecting your friend Hikari," Lee said.
"I know. Her name is Kimiko, she's my sister," she told him.
"You don't look related," he said.
"My parents took her in," she told him.
"Oh. Nice of your parents. What are they like?" he asked. She gripped her pencil and it snapped in half.
"They're…. They were kind and nice people. They're dead," she told him. Lee's face fell.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up," he told her. She smiled at him.
"It's okay, we should listen now," Hikari said, as the proctor started explaining the rules. Once they were allowed to start, Hikari put her pencil down and scratched her nose; then went to scratching her eye. She pretended to cough as she made a half triangle hand sign, causing the 'itchy' eye to see what was going on above them all. She spotted out one person who was going through it easily.
'A Chuunin. Let's just slip into your head real quick,' Hikari thought, using her jutsu to see what the kid next to the Chuunin was writing; making his eyes look over to the Chuunin's paper. She finished and then portrayed the image of the paper into Kimiko's head. Kimiko scratched the back of her head when she was finished; signaling Hikari that she could stop. Hikari closed her eyes and leaned forward. When it came to the last fifteen minutes; the proctor explained. Many people left; and Hikari thought Naruto might have been deciding to leave until he told the proctor he couldn't scare him off.
"You all pass," Ibuki said. There were complaints and confusion. Hikari just smirked, laughing a little.
"You there! What's so funny?" Ibuki asked Hikari.
"So many of these people were disqualified, others feared never being able to become a Chuunin. I finished this test in the first fifteen minutes; and with what you just said, I wasn't even scared once. I just think it's a little funny; that's all," Hikari told him. He smirked.
"You're a brave one. What's your name?" he asked her.
"Hikari Maki."
The moment she said her name; others started muttering about what they heard; what Lee had said earlier. Then one person said the wrong thing.
"I hear her whole family was killed and that she's all alone," someone whispered. Hikari glared at the direction and it was Zaku, smirking.
"I see you're quite popular," Ibuki said.
"Yeah, I guess so," Hikari muttered, before someone showed up.
"Anko, you're early. Again."
"Oh… Hehe, oops!" she said. She explained that she was the second proctor and to meet at the next place soon to continue the exams. Everyone got up and started walking out. Hikari waited, and Lee stayed next to her.
"I apologize for what I said before the test started," Lee said.
"It's alright. You didn't know," Hikari said, getting up and meeting Kimiko outside.
"I was wondering if we could train after the exams are over? You seem like a strong opponent," Lee asked. Hikari smiled and nodded.
"Sure, sounds great," Hikari said. Lee smiled and went to find his team.
"Still kind of a weird guy," Kimiko said. Hikari just rolled her eyes.
"There you two are! Come on," Kiba said, pulling them along. They followed Kiba to the next exam location, where they were given a ten minute break for an interview with Konohamaru. Anko started explaining the next test. Hikari and Kimiko got their consent forms and signed them. Anko walked up to them with a smirk.
"Do you two think you can really last on a two man team? The Hokage told me about what he has planned after the exam," she said.
"We've lasted the past seven years on a two man team; what'll stop us now? I've dealt with worse," Hikari said.
"We are now handing out scrolls!" a ninja shouted from behind the curtain.
"You must be the famous Hikari I've heard so much about this week," Anko said with a smile.
"Who keeps talking about me? I didn't do anything!" Hikari shouted. Kimiko covered Hikari's mouth as she continued to rant.
"Sorry ma'am, she gets like this," Kimiko told her with a smile. Kimiko dragged Hikari to get their scroll and head to their gate. Hikari put the scroll in her kunai pack as they walked up to gate twenty-three. They stood there for a few minutes; waiting.
"If we have to, will we have to fight one of the other teams we know for a scroll?" Kimiko asked.
"It's a possibility. Hopefully not," Hikari told her. The gates opened and they walked in.
"Let's just walk for a little bit; everyone will be rushing to get to the tower," Hikari said, putting her hand on a tree. Kimiko nodded.
"We won't have to worry about Gaara if we stay back a little. He's on the opposite side of us. Let's find a place to take cover if necessary," Hikari said.
"Staying above would be smarter than on the ground," Kimiko said, walking up the tree. Hikari followed her and they started jumping the branches.
They had been jumping branches for a couple of hours, when Hikari stopped and looked down.
"Hikari?"
"Shh," Hikari said, pointing down to a group of grass ninja. She pulled out a poison smoke bomb and threw it down. The group started coughing and falling over.
"Stay here," Hikari said, taking a deep breath and jumping down. There were shouts and screams. A yelp came from nowhere and Hikari ran out of the smoke cloud with another scroll in her hand. Kimiko started following her in the trees until they reached an opening. Hikari fell to her knees, dropping the scroll and grabbing her shoulder. There was a needle going straight through it.
"Hikari! You shouldn't have gone in there blind!" Kimiko shouted, pulling the needle out and fixing Hikari's shoulder.
"I got their scroll… Just our luck they had a heaven and we had an earth. Hey don't wrap it to tight!" Hikari shouted. Kimiko laughed.
"Well, we can head to the tower now right?" Kimiko asked.
"It's going to get dark soon, we better just stay up there for the night," Hikari said, pointing to a lard branch big enough for them to camp on. Kimiko nodded and they climbed up. Hikari laid on her back, playing with a love bug she found.
"You're so strange sometimes," Kimiko said, lying next to her.
"You still love me for it. I'm starting to like Shino," Hikari said, hesitating on the last part. Kimiko choked and sat up, looking at her like she was crazy.
"What? He's so… Silent! You're so open! How can you like someone who you don't exactly even know?" Kimiko asked.
"Hey quiet down! I guess it's that mysterious physique he has to him that just… I dunno. He hasn't tried to pry in like the other guys have so far. Just cause I'm some new eye candy that doesn't have an obvious crush on someone and that person has an obvious crush back mean they can try to get at me," Hikari complained. Kimiko giggled a little; then stopped and looked at Hikari confused.
"Wait, are you trying to say Kiba likes me?" Kimiko asked. Hikari sighed.
"Yes! He told me when we went to the store; like I didn't already know. I had already brought it up to Shino too, and he didn't deny it. I told him if you were to ask I wasn't going to lie; but I didn't tell him you like him. I'm not that stupid; I just play my cards right," Hikari said. Kimiko nodded.
"So let's see… There's Sasuke, Kankuro, I saw Shikamaru and Chouji noticing you too. I think that Lee guy is starting to like you and Sakura. That's five," Kimiko said.
"Thank god Naruto and Kiba don't, and I doubt I'll be getting on the good side of that Neji guy either. So nearly all but three of the Genin… Since when did I get like Sasuke with guys?" Hikari laughed.
"Well it was like that in the sound too. Remember how Dosu and Zaku acted before we left?"
"Don't remind me," Hikari said.
"I think I'll be going to sleep now," Kimiko said, rolling onto her side.
"Night," Hikari said, sitting up.