"Did you stay up all night the past two nights?" Kimiko asked as they were walking through the forest.
"I stayed guard, don't worry. I'll be fine. Its day three. Wait a minute;" Hikari said; stopping Kimiko by putting her arm out.
"What is it?" Kimiko whispered. Hikari peeked through bushes to see Sasuke sitting with Sakura,
Naruto knocked out and so was Lee.
"Everyone's here," Hikari said, walking through; mentioning Kimiko to follow her. Kimiko nodded. Shikamaru turned around and threw a kunai at them. Hikari caught it and threw it back.
"Hey now; we just came to join the party," Hikari laughed.
"Don't scare us like that!" Ino shouted. Hikari smiled then looked over at Sasuke. She walked over and kneeled down.
"You guys are all beat up… What happened?" Hikari asked. Kimiko started talking to Shikamaru and Chouji.
"We ran into those sound ninja and someone named Orochimaru," Sakura said. Hikari froze, looking at Sakura scared.
"O-Oro…Chimaru?" Hikari asked quietly. Sakura nodded.
"Why?" Sasuke asked, sounding emotionless. Hikari took a calm breath before shaking her head.
'This isn't good… We need to get out of here now,' she thought, "Nothing. Just get better. I'll see you at the tower." Hikari stood back up and turned to see TenTen shaking Lee.
"Everyone seems to be fine; not seriously injured," Kimiko said. Hikari nodded.
"We have our scrolls. We should go," Hikari said, looking around. Kimiko nodded. Hikari looked at Sakura talking to Lee, then hitting Naruto. Hikari sighed and walked over with a smile.
"I see everyone's been fighting hard. I wish you all good luck. Lee, try not to tire yourself out again okay? It's not good," Hikari said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
'She… She kissed me! This day could get better if one of them was to be my girlfriend!' Lee thought.
'She kissed his cheek? I guess she can be a nice person… I was wrong; she's not completely like Ino,' Sakura thought with a smile.
"Did you just kiss bushy brows?" Naruto shouted walking over. Hikari sighed and punched Naruto.
"Sorry; don't jump into things you don't know Naruto. It was his cheek, for good luck," Hikari told him. Kimiko giggled and grabbed Hikari's arm.
"We'll get going now. Bye," Kimiko said, disappearing with Hikari. Lee felt his cheek and smiled.
"I didn't know how else to get us out of there after that. What happened to what you said the other night?" Kimiko shouted at Hikari as they were a little ways to the tower.
"I said it was for good luck. That's all it was," Hikari said with a smirk. Kimiko looked at her and nodded.
"Alright; well we're here," Kimiko said as they walked inside.
"Gaara's already here… So is another group," Hikari said as they walked inside. They hadn't even got to put their stuff down to rest when Kimiko was tackled over by Kiba.
"You guys made it!" he shouted. Hikari laughed, pointing at Kimiko; whose face was as red as a tomato.
"If you don't breath, you'll pass out," Shino said behind Hikari. She jumped and glared.
"I said stop sneaking up on me like that!" she shouted.
"At the moment we're still enemies right? A good enemy can sneak up behind," he continued.
"Ah, forget you," Hikari said, sitting down. Hinata giggled lightly and sat down next to Hikari, Shino joined them. Hikari sighed and leaned against the wall. There was talking from the hallway; and Gaara walked in with Temari and Kankuro. Kiba's team all looked scared of him.
"Look Gaara, Hikari made it too!" Kankuro said happily.
"Good for her," Gaara said, still walking past them all.
"Good to see you're untouched like usual Gaara. Kankuro; get lost," Hikari said with her eyes closed.
"Why do you have to be so mean?" Kankuro asked. Hikari opened one eye.
"You hate brats? You called Naruto a brat? I've been told I'm kind of like him. So I'm a brat. In turns; you hate me? I know you only dated me cause I was apparently hot," Hikari said, closing her eye again. Kankruo's eyes twitched as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
"Who… Who told you that?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Oh, no one. Just the whole village," Hikari said.
"Kankuro just come on. You're just going to get hurt," Temari told him. He sighed and followed them.
"I-I'm sorry he's a jerk," Hinata said. Hikari smiled and chuckled a little.
"Ah, it's alright. It's good to know he's scared of his brother though," Hikari said laughing. She stopped laughing when she felt a pain in her shoulder again. She grabbed it and Kimiko walked over.
"Told you," she said, unwrapping the bandage to put a new one on.
"What happened?" Kiba asked.
"Oh a few hours into the exam we ran into some grass ninja and I went into poison smoke to attack blindly. I got hit with a needle," Hikari said.
"So you're not invincible like everyone puts you out to be huh?" Kiba teased.
"I'm not superman. I get hurt like everyone else. Actually, Sasuke could kick my butt. That Neji guy and Lee too. I'm just careful to dodge," Hikari said. Kiba nodded.
"Then how did you? The Sanin?" Kiba asked.
"He said come at him; he didn't think I would have known that attack so it threw his guard off."
"See? She's just like us. Just sometimes a little stronger," Kimiko said as she finished. Hikari smiled brightly and then yawned.
"You shouldn't have stayed up two nights in a row," Kimiko told her.
"Says you," Hikari said, laying back against the wall. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in an instant.
"She must have been really tired," Hinata said quietly.
"I wouldn't doubt it. Is anyone else here?" Kimiko asked. Shino shook his head.
"Why are you always so quiet?" Kimiko asked him.
"It keeps the enemy on their toes. Even the loudest of insects know how to be silent when necessary," he said.
"Bug nerd," Kiba mocked. Shino sighed. Kimiko smacked Kiba's leg.
"Be nice. He could just save your life someday," Kimiko told him.
"Whatever," Kiba sighed. Hikari slid down the wall sideways and hit her head on the ground with a loud thud. Kiba grabbed his head in pain.
"That sounded like it hurt!" he shouted.
"She's sleeping idiot! Do you really want to wake her?" Kimiko yelled.
"She we see if she's okay?" Hinata asked.
"Oh, she's fine," Kimiko said as Hikari started to snore a bit.
"Jeez, she really does have a thick head," Kiba said.
"She understood more of the studying we did than you did," Shino told him.
"That's it! Do you really want to fight Shino? Bring!" Kiba shouted, getting in stance. Shino sighed and stood up. Kiba was about to attack when Hikari was between the two; blocking Kiba's attack, then kicking him into the wall.
"You don't ever turn on your own teammate and attack when on a mission," Hikari told him, rubbing her arm. Akamaru barked, agreeing with Hikari.
"How did you move so fast? I thought you were sleeping!" Kiba said.
"Akamaru bit me," Hikari said.
"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru barked, "You're right, you should have woken her to stop us…" Kiba said.
"Now, we're all tired. Best thing to do is get some sleep," Hikari said, sitting back down. Kiba yawned and nodded. Hinata laid down, but Hikari patted her lap.
"The ground is hard; not very comfortable," Hikari told her. Hinata nodded and laid her head in Hikari's lap and fell asleep. Kiba laid down, using his jacket as a pillow. Akamaru laid down next to Kimiko, who had fallen asleep. Kiba put his jacket under Kimiko's head and used his arms as pillows.
"Thanks," Hikari told him. He nodded. Hikari closed her eyes and Shino sat against the opposite side of the room against the wall, watching them.
'Why is he just sitting over there? Everyone else is asleep… I'll see what he's thinking,' Hikari thought after an hour. She put Kimiko's head on Kiba's stomach, and took Kiba's jacket to put underneath Hinata's head. Shino watched her, still pretending like he was asleep. Hikari stood up and walked over silently. She sat down next to Shino and poked him. He jumped slightly and looked at her.
"Don't poke me," he said.
"Ticklish?"
"No."
"Oh… I am. Just don't tell Kiba or Naruto that. I know they'll try, and I'd end up hitting one of them."
"Why are you telling me?"
"Cause I know you won't tell. You keep to yourself. Not many people understand you. You're quiet."
Shino nodded.
"I understand your silence; but doesn't it get boring?"
He shook his head.
"If you keep being quiet; there's a chance someone is going to say you have selective mutism."
"So?"
"I'm just saying."
"You talk too much."
"I may talk too much; but I don't say much."
"Hm?"
"I talk a lot, sure; but is any of it something that would be considered important? No, not really."
"You have a point. You don't let any of your own secrets out. Smart."
"I guess so."
"Guess?"
"There's even secrets I can't tell Kimiko that I'm sure others know about… It wouldn't surprise me if even Iruka knew," she said, looking down.
"Like?"
"I can't say…"
"Why?"
"I… Don't know."
"Is it trust?"
"Sometimes that's one issue… We're enemies until this exam is over. If I told you my secrets now; you could use them against me," Hikari told him, looking up. Shino's eyes were curious behind his glasses.
"Whose team do you think you'll be on?" Shino asked after moments of silence.
"I dunno… Whoever the Hokage picks is all I know. I just hope Kimi gets put on a team is a team I can trust."
"I see."
"Mhm…" Hikari yawned.
'Why would he care whose team I got on?' Hikari thought.
'With her strength, she may be put on Gai's team,' Shino thought. Shino put his hand in his pocket, remembering the bracelet his father made him take.
"Shino, take this. If you run into the girl that the other Jounin were talking about lately, the Maki girl, give it to her," his father said.
"Why?" Shino asked, questioning how his father would even know about them.
"Because, I know a lot more about the Hikari girl than you do at the moment. I also know how you're struggling to figure out your feelings for her with how your insects are attracted to her."
Shino's breath caught in his throat, wondering how his father knew.
"Mine acted the same way when I met your mother. Whoever they decide to attract themselves to is going to be the one you'll want to be with. I found that out the hard way."
"And if they are and I'm not?"
"Then you'll go through years of suffering until you give in. Just ask your grandparents."
Shino sighed, taking the bracelet before he shoved it in his pocket and walking outside to meet his team outside.
'He never even specified when to give it to her or why… What does he know?' Shino thought. He looked at Hikari. She had fallen asleep as he was thinking. She was hugging her legs while lying on her side. She was wincing and shaking. He realized she was also laying on her bad shoulder. He sat her up and she mumbled something before she wrapped her arms around him; snuggling to him. He stopped moving, not knowing what to do.
"This couldn't get more awkward if it had to be," he mumbled to himself.
"It could be if someone had a camera," Kiba whispered to him. Shino looked over, his wide eyes hidden behind his glasses.
"What on earth are you two doing anyways?" Kiba asked.
"She fell asleep on her injured shoulder. I was trying to move her so she wouldn't be hurt. Then this happened."
"Hah, you like it. Don't deny."
"It's unnatural… How do I get her off?"
"How is it unnatural? I think this is the most you've ever really spoken to me about anything but bugs and missions."
"Just help me Kiba."
"Can't, I have Kimi on me. I'm afraid to know what happens when we'd wake them. I mean, waking Hinata was a bad idea that morning remember?"
"Right," Shino sighed. Kiba just snickered. Hikari jumped, letting go of Shino and covered her mouth before she could scream.
"Hikari, are you okay?" Kiba asked. She uncovered her mouth and took a few deep breaths.
"I… I'm going to go for a walk…" she said getting up. Shino looked at her curiously as she walked out of the room.
"Should we make sure she's okay?" Kiba asked. Shino shrugged. Kimiko sat up and yawned. She stretched and hit Kiba in the face.
"Ow! Already hitting people I see?" Kiba teased.
"Sorry! I forgot you were there… Hey where's Kari?" she asked looking around.
"She just walked out of the room. I think something is wrong with her… Should we have followed her?" Kiba asked. Kimiko stood up.
"What happened before she walked out? Did you upset her or something?" she asked the boys.
"She was shaking and covered her mouth before she walked out," Kiba said. Kimiko sighed and walked out, following Hikari.
"What do we do?" Kiba whispered. Shino shrugged and Hinata woke up and stretched with a yawn.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
"Oh, no. Nothing at all Hinata," Kiba smiled. Hinata smiled back and nodded.
"Should we have told them they needed to open their scrolls when they got here?" Shino asked, and then a shout came from down the hall.
"I think they just found out," Hinata said with a giggle. They waited for a minute, and then heard Hikari shout at whoever came from the scrolls.
"I get it, so stop looking at me like that!" she shouted.
"Well maybe if you didn't ask so many questions to begin with!" the Chuunin shouted back at her.
"Hikari drop it… He was nice enough to let us pass our exam right? Just stop the yelling," Kimiko said, trying to reason with her.
"Looks like she's the sensible one," the Chuunin said. Hikari grunted.
"Says you!" Hikari said. He laughed.
"Go get team eight and meet the rest of the teams inside. I believe Naruto and his team just got here too," he said before he disappeared. Hikari jumped back up and walked back to the room the others were in. As soon as she walked in, Kiba let out his laughter.
"Oh you heard?" Hikari asked.
"I can't believe he said you're not sensible! That's hilarious!" he laughed. Kimiko walked in and giggled a little.
"He's right. It only took us three hours to get our other scroll thanks to your idea too," Kimiko said. Hikari nodded and crossed her arms.
"Thank you!" she said with a smile. The other three stood up and Kiba put his jacket back on and they walked into a room and met with the other students.
'Wow… A lot actually made it through… That's surprising…' Hikari thought. Kimiko nudged her and nodded at Zaku, Dosu, and Kin. Hikari bit her lip. The Hokage started explaining things; and then some guy jumped in. He kept coughing like he was seriously sick or something.
'Hikari made it. Good. I wonder if we'll be going against each other… I wonder how this will be evened out since they're just a team of two,' Sasuke thought, looking back at Hikari. Ino noticed this and was boiling with anger.
'Why is he staring at her like that? His eyes should be on me! It's bad enough I have to compete with Sakura, I don't need someone else to take my spotlight!' she thought.
"As for the Maki girls, one of you will fight more than once. One of you will fight the first time; the other the next times. Do you know who will be doing what?" the man asked. Hikari spoke up.
"Kimiko will be fighting once. I'll go the other times," Hikari said bravely. He nodded.
"Kimiko will fight in the preliminary test then" he said. Kimiko nodded.
'Wow, she's really going to stand by and let her best friend fight for her life like that?' Sakura thought, looking at Kimiko.
'Having one person stand for a two man team is difficult,' Neji thought, 'She won't last long.'
"Now, before we start the preliminary's; it'll be a fight till death. Is there anyone who wants to drop?" he asked. Everything was silent for a few minutes; the others whispering among themselves, until Kabuto put his hand up.
"You got me. I'm out," he said with a smile. Naruto seemed to be upset with this.
'Why is he dropping out?' Hikari thought, watching Kabuto as he whispered to his teammate.
"You were always Orochimaru's favorite Kabuto," he said. Kabuto said something back and continued walking.
'Wh-What? O-Oh no… Wait, fight till the death? Kimiko wouldn't be able to defend herself against anyone in here… I can't let her do this!' Hikari thought, turning to tell Kimiko; but she already had her hand up.
"Kimiko Maki? You may walk out," the man said. Kimiko nodded and smiled at Hikari.
"I'm too weak to do this… You have it in the bag though. You'll be fine," Kimiko said. Kiba shot her a glance. He was happy, yet sad at the same time. Kimiko walked out and Hikari turned back around.
"Then you'll be alone in the exam Hikari," Kankuro whispered.
"So?" she asked.
"What if you get stuck against Gaara or Sasuke? There's no chance you'd win. Do this as a favor for me and just drop out," Kankuro told her, his eyes full of worry for her. She realized how much he still cared for her and swallowed. Shino was peering over too, thinking the same thing.
'No one would blame her right? She should drop. She'd be alone in the exams…' Shino thought.
"Hikari, do you wish to stay in the exam?" the Hokage asked. Hikari sighed.
"I… I do," she said.
'Idiotic brat!' Kankuro thought.
'I hope she knows what she's doing,' Sasuke thought.
"Anyone else?" No one moved.
"Alright. Then first round shall be Hikari Maki verses Sasuke Uchiha," he said. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat and he looked over at Hikari. She sighed and nodded. Everone got out of the way, and they waited for the match to begin.
"Begin!" the man coughed out. Hikari pulled out a needle and licked it; taking a deep breath in, then throwing the needle down on the ground. Sasuke looked at her strangely; then he charged. She exhaled a cloud of poison smoke at him before he reached her. She covered her eyes with her headband and used her Kakke Gen Kai to watch his moves and dodge them.
"Why don't you attack?" he shouted at her when the smoke cleared. He threw a kunai at her and caught it. She kept it up for fifteen minutes, before she appeared behind him; cutting his arm and kicking his leg out from underneath him. It was a substitution and he cut her head band off of her head. She closed her eyes and he kneed her in the gut; causing her Kakke Gen Kai to stop. She opened her eyes when she realized he had caused her to stab herself with the kunai she had in her hand. She gasped.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He backed off and she stood up, realizing he also had her necklace in his hand. She put a hand over her stomach and pulled the kunai out, throwing it at his arm. He dropped the necklace and grabbed the kunai. She ran at him and kicked him across the room. She picked up the necklace and put it back on. She stopped bleeding and she pulled out another kunai. She threw it past Sasuke's face, it landing in the wall past him. His cheek was cut and he was surprised she moved so fast.
"Go Hikari!" Kiba shouted. He was going to regret shouting out in a minute.
"I forfeit," Hikari said. Everyone gasped.
"Sasuke Uchiha wins," the man shouted. Hikari walked out with a medical ninja to the clinic.
'Forfeit? But why?' Shino thought.
'I hope she's alright,' Kankuro thought.
'She was going easy on me…' Sasuke thought. He was right. He knew Hikari wasn't one to give up so easily, whether she was a little injured or fatally wounded. She'd fight till she'd die. Something wasn't right and he knew it.
As Hikari was being treated, Kimiko walked in a little worried.
"I saw you walk out of the other door. Are you alright?" she asked frantically. Hikari laughed.
"I got stabbed; but that was about it…"
"Who won?"
"She forfeited," Iruka said, walking in with Hikari's head band. The medical ninja finished wrapping up Hikari's stomach and left the room.
"Forfeited? But why?" Kimiko asked.
"I wasn't going to become a Chuunin and leave you a Genin," Hikari told her with a smile.
"She was also up against Sasuke. One of them would have died if she didn't give up," Iruka said.
"I didn't want to go any further. I don't want people knowing my true strengths yet," Hikari added on. Kimiko hugged her.
"You would have given up either way. That's just how you are… Always wanting others to reach their dream and not worrying about yours," Kimiko told her. Hikari hugged back.
"I guess you're right," she laughed when Kimiko pulled away. Iruka looked at Hikari a little puzzled.
"What exactly is your dream Hikari?" he asked. Hikari looked at him with a straight face, then smiled.
"To be happy. That's all I ever wanted," she answered. He smiled.
"I'll go ask if you can leave," Kimiko said, walking out. Iruka sat down next to Hikari.
"Really… What is it?" he whispered.
"I want to fight Orochimaru… I want him to realize what he had put me through… I want to know I can be safe with him gone; and not have to worry about if he'll find me or not. What he did to Sasuke… He might turn my very own friend against me now," Hikari said. Iruka sighed.
"Don't stress about it too much. Sasuke's in another fight with someone else at the moment," Iruka told her; but as soon as his sentence ended; a ninja from Kabuto's team was brought into the room.
"Miss Maki you may leave now," one of the medical ninja told her. She nodded and walked out with Iruka, putting her shirt back on.
"Come on, I'll transport us back to the exams to see how the others do," Iruka said. Kimiko walked back up and he put a hand on both their shoulders. The three of them appeared next to Kiba and Hinata. Shino had just told Zaku to surrender.
"Shino's up?" Hikari asked.
"Yeah… Do you think he'll be alright?" Hinata asked.
"He'll be fine. He's the last guy I would want to mess with here," Kiba said. The three girls looked at him a little puzzled, then the battle began. Shino was knocked down by Zaku's sound blast. Kiba looked worried, as did Hinata. Kimiko tugged on Hikari's arm.
"Alright fool, you had enough?" Zaku asked.
"Is he okay? I can't see," Kimiko said, trying to look past all the smoke. Shino was still on the ground, and Hikari was starting to grow worried too. She bit her lip; but couldn't help shouting at him.
"Shino! Get up! Show this punk he's just all talk!" Hikari yelled. Shino was up on his feet moments later.
"He's… There's no way," Zaku said. Hikari smiled. The sound of crawling filled the air. There were bugs pouring from Shino's jacket and pliantly more behind Zaku.
"Hey…What?" Zaku questioned, "Great. Now that you've creeped us all out, what happens next?" Zaku looked shocked and then turned to look behind him.
"They're a rare species of parasitic beetle that attack their prey in a swarm. Eating its chakra. An army this size, will suck you dry in less than a minute. Your only intelligent option is to forfeit the match. You can't fight two opponents at once. If you use your good arm against me, my friends will swarm you from behind. Conversely, if you use your good arm to keep them away, then you'll have me on your blind side. Either way, your defeat will be certain, and unpleasant. It's wise to always have an ace in the hole," Shino said, scaring Zaku. Hikari heard Kiba snicker. Hikari took a calm breath; but she knew Zaku all too well. He wasn't going to give up so soon. Hikari knew that this wasn't going to be easy for Shino, and Kiba knew this wasn't going to be easy for Zaku.
"You know Zaku right Hikari? Is… Is Shino going to be okay?" Hinata asked. Hikari, staring at both of the boys, couldn't come up with an answer.
"I… I don't know," Hikari said.
"Huh? What do you mean you don't know?" Kiba asked her.
"Zaku… He's… He's someone who won't give up. No matter his odds; he isn't going to lose so easily. I know that for sure," Hikari said. Kimiko was growing more worried, as was the rest of the leaf ninja around to hear Hikari.
Zaku shouted, and pointed one hand at Shino, "Now you've done it! Now you've made me mad!" he shouted, forcing his other hand to point at the insects. Hinata gasped.
"I told you," Hikari muttered. Kiba, Kurenai, and Hikari could tell Shino was slightly surprised by Zaku's actions.
"Like you said yourself, always have an ace in the hole. Right?" Zaku snickered. Shino gasped, now completely shocked.
"What the? I thought his right arm was shot!" Kiba yelled.
"I told you, Zaku's not one to give up. Make him mad, and you might just get hurt," Hikari said, looking back at Kimiko. Kiba followed Hikari's gaze to her. Kimiko looked down.
"What does she mean Kimi?" Hinata asked.
"Show them. Go ahead," Hikari said. Kimiko turned around and lifted the back of her shirt where a large cut was. It looked like it just about done healing up and would leave a slight scar for a few weeks.
"He… He did that?" Kiba asked. Kimiko put her shirt down and looked at him with a nod.
"How?" Hinata asked.
"I blocked him from hitting Hikari," she told them.
"I'm not the only one who defends in this group. Just like I'd block an attack for her; she'd block one for me. Especially one that almost left me blind," Hikari said, turning back to the match. Kimiko did the same; but Kiba, who was starting to fill with anger, couldn't get the image out of his head.
"I'll blow you away!" Zaku shouted. Before he attacked, something was wrong with his arms. Everyone was in shock.
"Augh! My arms! What's wrong with them?" Zaku yelped. He looked down at his hands, then terror covered his face, "Wh-What?"
"What does he mean what?" Hikari asked. Shino moved quickly behind Zaku.
"Earlier while I was distracting you with my advice, I was also sending some of my friends to plug up those bothersome wind holes in your hands. Both hands just to be sure. You see while an ace in the hole is good, two aces are better," Shino told him. Zaku went to hit Shino, but before he could, Shino knocked him over; sending Zaku sliding across the floor. The proctor stepped out and checked out Zaku.
"I'd say this one… Had it. The winner is Shino Aburame," he said. Hikari smiled. He headed his way up the stairs.
"Oh well, ah, congratulations Shino," Hinata said.
"Way to go. Good work," Kiba told him.
"Hm, just see that you two do the same," Shino told them; he sounded a bit harsh when he said it. Kiba glared at him and Akamaru barked. Hikari felt that something might have happened during the second exam, but let it go; knowing they'd be fine later on. The board started to choose the next two ninja to fight. Hikari watched it closely, hoping it wasn't Hinata who would be next with so many strong ninja still in the exam. When the board read Kankuro verses Tsurugu Misumi, Hikari's breath caught in her throat. The other guy from Kabuto's team.
'Kankuro, don't do anything stupid… Get hurt and I'll kill you,' Hikari thought.
"Hikari, you alright?" Shino asked. Hikari turned to him.
"Yeah, why?" she asked, a little harshly.
"You look a little… Worried," Hinata said.
"This idiot is going to get himself killed… He should have taken his own advice," Hikari said.
"He asked you to drop didn't he?" Kimiko asked her. She nodded.
All of a sudden, Hikari felt a sharp stabbing pain around her stomach and back. Like needles were going around her like a belt; but stabbing into her skin. She gasped and hugged herself as she kneeled down to the floor.
"Hikari! What's wrong?" Kimiko asked. Hikari was gasping for breath; she knew something was wrong somewhere else in the village. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata had stepped over to see if they could help.
"Back off guys, give her room to breathe," Kurenai told them, and they did so. Something had hold of Hikari's mind; making her feel this pain. She pulled out a kunai from her pouch and cut her arm, releasing whatever was holding onto her. She took a deep breath and sat back.
"What… What happened?" Iruka asked her.
"Some Ninjutsu… I felt like needles… They were stabbing me," Hikari said. She felt another wave of pain as she looked down to see that her new bandages had small holes and were now being covered with blood.
"Gah! Wh-What's going on?" Hikari shouted. They paused the match before it started to get Hikari out of the area and to the hospital. She was thrashing, screaming, shouting colorful words, and she couldn't control herself. Shino watched them carry her away on a stretcher, worried. Kimiko's legs were shaking. Kakashi walked over and questioned Kimiko.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked.
"She… She said it some kind of Ninjutsu… But then she started bleeding," Kimiko answered, trying to keep herself from crying. She was terrified. Kakashi looked at Iruka with a look that meant they needed to talk. They disappeared and the match restarted again. Kiba hugged Kimiko, and told her to take her mind off of what happened to watch the match. The match was soon over; but it did worry Kimiko for a minute. They all were given a short break, and the first place she went was with Iruka to check on Hikari.
They brought in the other ninja from Kabuto's team. Hikari opened her eyes to see who it was; and smiled when she saw who.
"I knew he wouldn't do something stupid," Hikari laughed to herself. She was still in slight pain; but it was going away.
"Looks like you're doing better," Iruka said, walking in. Hikari sat up when Kimiko walked in.
"I see Kankuro won," she said with a smile.
"It wasn't a long match… Kinda short. Sakura and Ino are going against each other now. I wonder how that'll turn out," Kimiko joked.
"Probably a lot of shouting and fighting over Sasuke," Hikari laughed.
"How many times are you going to end up in here today? I don't know how a Ninjutsu could have done this to you unless they were really strong and in the room," a medical ninja asked. It was Hana, Kiba's sister.
"Heh, so far twice. Hopefully not anymore though… I feel fine now," Hikari said, lying a little bit.
"Alright; but next time you get hurt; you're going to the hospital got it?" Hana asked. Hikari nodded and got up. As soon as they started walking out, Kankuro was walking toward them.
"Hikari!" he shouted, running up.
"Are you alright? I almost got distracted because something happened to you?" he asked, pulling her into his arms as if they were a couple again. Hikari blinked and punched him in his gut.
"One, I'm fine now. Two, don't you even dare think about doing that again!" she shouted at him, emphasizing then word think. He grunted and rubbed his stomach.
"Yeah, she's fine," Kimiko giggled.
"I wanted to come and tell you that Temari is going against that TenTen girl," Kankuro said.
"Who won against Ino and Sakura?" Kimiko asked.
"It was a tie. C'mon, let's go watch," Kankuro said. They all transported into the room after Temari's and Ten Ten's fight ended. Temari won. Lee was upset, but Gai stopped him. Then went Shikamaru and Kin. Shikamaru won. When to board showed Kiba and Naruto, Hikari caught her breath in her throat.
"Heh, looks like we're up," Kiba said, petting Akamaru who barked. He walked down with Naruto. Kimiko bit her lip.
"I know Kiba could beat him; but this still is going to be a tough match," Kimiko said.
"Who knows. They're both good," Hikari said, steading herself against the railing. Something felt strange again, and her mouth filled with blood; but she held it back, wiping it from the corner of her lip. Kakashi raised a brow and looked over, noticing Hikari's roots weren't the same color as her hair these days.
'She dyes her hair? Why?' Kakashi thought. He elbowed Iruka and pointed. Iruka nodded.
"I'll explain later," Iruka whispered. Kakashi nodded. The fight started, and Kimiko and Hikari couldn't peel their eyes away. Shino noticed blood slowly leaking from the corners of Hikari's mouth as she wiped them and swallowed the blood back.
'She's not doing well again. Something is definitely wrong' he thought. He walked over and stood next to Hikari, watching her movements as well as the ones in the match. Kiba knocked Naruto down; and he stayed down for a minute. Kiba started walking away; but Naruto sat up. Hikari swallowed back some more blood and smiled.
"Come on Naruto! If you're going to be Hokage someday; prove it to us now!" Hikari shouted. Kiba glared over, and Hikari shot an apologetic smile at him. Naruto smiled. Kiba ran at him; throwing smoke bombs. No one could see anything. Hikari bit her lip and covered her eyes with her headband, activating her crystal ball sight level two; being able to see both of them through the smoke. Naruto came out but was knocked back in by Akamaru. Soon the smoke disappeared and she cut off her jutsu and Kakashi uncovered her eyes.
"I think it's safe to look now," he said kindly. Hikari nodded and was shocked when Akamaru bit Kiba. Turns out it was Naruto biting Kiba. As the match went on, Akamaru turned into Kiba as well; both attack Naruto.
'Hn, Naruto might get it now,' Shino thought.
"Yeah! Come on Kiba!" Kimiko yelled.
'I see… Well, he's trustworthy now,' Hikari thought, looking back at Kimiko as she wiped more of the blood that kept trying to get out. Kakashi saw this; but didn't say anything.
'Did Sasuke hit a vital organ? No, they wouldn't have let her back in here then to watch… Then what is- That Jounin! His eyes!' Kakashi thought, looking at the sand teams' leader.
Kiba and Akamaru knocked Naruto down. Kiba called him weak, and said he'd be Hokage someday. Kimiko was a little taken back by this. Hikari bit her lip.
"He's not weak. Get him fired up enough and he could kill you Kiba. Don't push him to far… Be smart about this," Hikari whispered.
"Why don't you say that a little louder," Shino said. Hikari looked at him surprised. He nodded and she smirked.
"Hey Kiba! Why don't you listen to yourself! Filling your words with nothing to back them up? Naruto isn't weak, he's just getting started!" Hikari yelled. Everyone looked at Hikari like she was crazy for shouting at him.
'Grr… I want to see if she can back herself up next!' Kiba thought looking over. Kimiko was smiling. She knew Hikari was just being mouthy, having a fun time since she's been able to lay back. Naruto got up.
"Come Naruto, on your feet!" Sakura shouted.
"You can do this! Show him he's just full of himself!" Hikari shouted. Kimiko joined in; but on Kiba's side.
"Kiba! Prove these girls wrong!" Kimiko shouted. Hikari smiled, she was having fun pissing Kiba off. Minutes later, Naruto had tricked Kiba. Not once; but twice, and now Kiba was biting his hand to keep calm till he bled.
"He loses his temper, he could seriously hurt Naruto," Shino mumbled. Kiba get going at Naruto, and fast.
"I-I've never seen someone move so fast except for Hikari. I had no clue he was this quick," Kimiko said.
"Just wait," Shino said. Things kept getting more heated in the fight, then Naruto let it out, and ripped one. Everyone was not only grossed out; but couldn't believe he had done it either. Naruto then attacked, and Kiba was out.
"Kiba!" Kimiko shouted. Hikari laughed.
"Ha-ha! Way to go Naruto!" Hikari yelled. Kiba was carried out. Kimiko wanted to follow; but Hinata's name and Neji's name appeared on the board. Hinata looked scared. As they stepped into the area, and Neji kept badgering on about things. Hikari was worried. Hinata seemed to be terrified, and Naruto screamed at Neji. The fight went on for minutes; Hinata was down a few times, but she got back up. Hikari, not realizing she had done it, gripped Shino's hand and squeezed it when she had gone down and got back up. The match was over, and Neji tried to attack again. Kakashi, the proctor, Kurenai, and Gai all had to jump in and stop him. Hinata went down again. When the medical ninja came in and said she had no pulse and she had ten minutes tops; Hikari and Kimiko looked at each other scared. Shino squeezed Hikari's hand comfortingly, and Hikari realized she had a hold of his hand.
"Should we go with them to make sure she'll be okay?" Kimiko asked.
"You… You go. Make sure she'll be fine and see how Kiba is. I want to watch the next match; Gaara hasn't gone yet," Hikari said. Kimiko nodded and left with Iruka. Hikari looked down at Neji.
'If I get put on his team… That jerk. Someone so ignorant shouldn't let a family tree ruin peoples' lives,' Hikari thought. Chouji shouted something and Hikari giggled, realizing he was talking about food. She looked at the last four remaining. Chouji, Lee, Dosu, and Gaara. She recognized the look in Gaara's eyes. Someone might die next is Gaara is their opponent. She just hoped it was Dosu. She looked back at him, his leader was staring straight at her.
'What? Is he staring at… Me? Who is he- His eyes… Th-This feeling… Who is he?' Hikari thought. The man smirked, winked; and then he was in her head. Hikari's knees buckled; but she kept standing.
'Hello little one. Thought you could escape that night? I almost had you in the academy back in the sound village. Did you know it was mine? Is that why you ran? Do your precious little friends even know what happened to you? You showed up and left with that girl the same year. Such a shame; I thought you both could have had great potential heh-heh. That pain you're feeling, that you've been feeling, is a jutsu of mine I created just for you. You'll never escape me again you little brat! Once you find out the whole truth; you'll be wanting me to die at your hand even more. Too bad it won't ever happen. Don't move so much, you might reopen the senbon wounds I gave you earlier,' he said inside her head. Her teeth gritted and she didn't hear who was going next.
'Get out. Leave me alone… I never did anything to deserve this! Just leave me alone!' she shouted back at him. Their eyes were still locked; his were harshly playful, hers' full of anger and hatred. Shino looked at her concerned and followed her gaze.
'The sound teams leader?' Shino thought, realizing her hands were close to breaking the bars they were gripping onto.
'Looks like your boyfriend here is a little worried don't you think? Don't worry, I have no desire to go after him. I would much rather go after that little red head you've known for so long. If you wish for her to be unharmed; I suggest you try and stay with her on a team. How about I let you enjoy the next match, the leaf ninja is going to suffer. Wouldn't want to miss that now?' he said, before pulling himself from her mind. Hikari gasped and fell to her knees, holding onto the bars for support. Kankuro looked over from talking to Naruto.
'Is she okay?' he thought.
"I don't like you!" Naruto shouted at him.
'This kid is toast,' Kankuro thought, walking past him to Hikari. Shino was kneeling down; whispering to her, trying to get her to talk. Kankuro kneeled down on her other side.
"What's wrong with her?" Kankuro asked in a whisper.
"I haven't the slightest clue," Shino told him. Hikari's breaths were short and quick as she tried to forget what just happened. She looked and saw Kankuro, who looked slightly worried.
"G-Go do your recon s-s-somewhere e-else Ka-Kanky," she told him. She couldn't even get his whole name out, and was forced to use his old nickname.
"You heard huh? Are you alright?" Kankuro asked her. He put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, moving her headband up. She grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, crushing it. He gasped at the pain and she glared at him.
"Don't t-touch me," she growled. He backed off. She looked down to see it was Gaara verses Lee.
'Oh no! This won't end well! He… Lee promised to train with me after the exams. Hopefully he can keep to it,' Hikari thought.
"I don't know what kind of moves the kid with the dumb haircut has got, but he'll never take Gaara down. Not in this lifetime," Kankuro said, standing back up.
"Wrong," Naruto said after a moment. Hikari looked over at Naruto.
"What?" Kankuro asked.
"Lee's stronger than you think. You have no idea," Naruto said. Hikari smiled; but it fell when she looked back down at the two. No one could ever put a scratch on Gaara… Not unless they could move as fast as Hikari had when they got tangled. Lee attacked; but couldn't get to Gaara. Kankuro explained the sand to Naruto.
"No one's ever been able to touch him," Kankuro said. Hikari almost spoke out; but decided against it at the moment. Lee was about to be crushed by sand, and Hikari looked away; closing her eyes tightly.
"Lee, take them off," Gai said. Hikari looked again. Lee had taken off weights. The weights crashed and shook the whole stadium.
"That was hundreds… Maybe even thousands of pounds he just took off!" Hikari shouted. Lee started attacking, and Gaara started to look worried. Hikari was amazed by Lee's speed. Everyone was shocked when Lee head kicked Gaara. Hikari had hope that Lee might actually win.
"Come on Lee… You've got this. Just keep your speed up and surprise him," Hikari muttered.
"How do you know? He's never been hit before!" Kankuro shouted at Hikari. Hikari stood up and almost hit Kankuro; but Gai had come from behind and grabbed her arm right before it hit his face.
"Incredible. You're speed is merely close to Lee's," he said.
"Because I've been able to hit Gaara before too Kankuro!" Hikari shouted. Gai was surprised, so was Shino, Kakashi, and Kankuro. The fight continued and Lee hit Gaara again. Hikari put her arm down; but Gai didn't want to seem to let her go just yet.
'I let her go… She might just try again. If she was this quick, why didn't she continue fighting the Uchiha boy?' Gai questioned himself. When Hikari stopped shaking, he let her go; and continued to cheer for Lee. Gaara had encased himself in sand.
"Oh no…" Hikari whispered. Shino looked at her.
"His armor… He'd never do that unless he actually feels threatened. This isn't going to end well," Hikari said. Lee was able to use the primary lotus; but Gaara's whole body was sand and caved in. Gaara appeared again from behind. Hikari knew his demon was awake now; and not happy. Kankuro knew it too.
"Lee run!" Naruto shouted.
"Get out of there Lee! Watch out!" Hikari cried out. As Lee tried to defend himself; Hikari looked away again, closing her eyes.
"He should just give up. It was bad luck that he got Gaara as an opponent," Kankuro said. Hikari bit her lip and peeked, seeing Lee trying to out run the attacks. She knew Lee would lose if he didn't use some other jutsu. Why wouldn't he?
"Wh-Why doesn't he try something else?" Hikari asked.
"He can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He was even lousy at Taijutsu when I met him; now he's excellent. He's giving it his all," Gai told her.
'Huh? He'll get pulverized! He just… He needs to give in,' Hikari thought. The others started talking; but Hikari kept thinking to herself. When she realized that they were talking about the hidden lotus; Lee had opened the third gate. The match was starting to get interesting again. She didn't know why she was wanting Lee to win; still knowing he'll lose to Gaara, she just had a good feeling that he could get further with it than anyone ever will. Gaara was being thrown around like a tennis ball, and then Lee used his hidden lotus again; after he opened the fifth gate. No one could really see; but Lee rolled out of the smoke. Hikari leaned over to look closer.
"Did… Did he really win?" she asked out loud.
"Gaara?" Kankuro shouted. When the smoke cleared, it showed that sand had caught Gaara; who was still moving. He sent sand at Lee, and broke his leg and arm.
"L-Lee!" Hikari yelled. Gaara was about to kill Lee, when Gai jumped in the way; fighting off the sand. Gaara started walking away; but Lee got back up. His left arm and leg covered with blood; and shaking.
"He… He shouldn't be…" Hikari couldn't finish her sentence. Lee was unconscious though, and still standing. Gai, feeling horrible, was crying; hugging his student close.
'He's… He's kind of like a father to Lee isn't he? Taking someone under their wing like that… Caring for someone so dearly…' Hikari thought, not realizing she had tears in her own eyes. Kankuro looked over at her.
"You're not going to cry are you? Just cause he lost the match?" Kankuro asked, sounding like a complete jerk.
"You'll regret that," Shino told him, realizing Hikari was smiling; happy for Lee.
"Huh?" Kankuro asked, looking over at Shino, "You say something freak?"
Hikari wiped her eyes with the hand closest to Shino, and then punched Kankuro. She glared at him.
"Jerk. If you can't understand someone who is as simple as me, how do you think you're going to make it as a Shinobi? He gave everything he had; and I know for a fact Gaara didn't. You don't even think before you open your big mouth do you? If you did, then maybe I wouldn't be hitting you all the time," Hikari told him. Kankuro sat up and rubbed his cheek.
"And one more thing; Shino isn't a freak, you are," she said, looking him in the eye. Her glare was cold, and stabbed into his soul like daggers. Kankuro shivered, completely scared. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder.
"No need to start another fight now," Kakashi told her. She sighed and turned back around, facing away from Kankuro. The next match was Chouji and Dosu.
"Oh no; if Chouji can just stay away from him and surprise attack, he should be fine," Hikari said, then Ino and Dosu called Chouji fatty.
"D-Didn't he get upset about that before? Why would you do it again Ino!" Hikari screamed over.
"It gets him riled up!" she shouted back. The match was over quickly.
They rest of them were called down, and had to choose numbers. Once revealed, it was chosen who they'd go up against.
"Sasuke has to fight Gaara?" Sakura said. She had moved over to stand next to Hikari.
"Least he has a chance… Shino and Kankuro? Naruto and Neji? Those two matches… Naruto also has a chance against Neji; but Shino and Kankuro… That's going to keep me worried," Hikari said. Sakura nodded.
"You've gotten close to Shino haven't you?" she asked.
"You could say that I guess. Kiba says he talks more when I'm around, and only very few sentences when I'm not."
"He was always quiet at the academy. What about Kankuro? You're so mean to him. How do you even know him?" Sakura looked at her a little confused. Hikari looked at her blankly.
"Oh him? I dated him a month ago, and just left him a week before Kimiko and I showed up here." Sakura looked at her and her jaw dropped.
"You dated him? Isn't this awkward now?"
"Well, if he wasn't so afraid of making me mad; then yeah I guess. Personally, I just like being able to knock the snot out of him and he doesn't do anything back. Sure, he picks on me a few times; but he doesn't know when to stop. He learns when after I beat him up; though sometimes Kimiko has to stop me cause he presses way to far."
"I meant it being awkward that he's your ex, and Shino is you're-"
"Shino isn't my boyfriend!" Hikari shouted, cutting Sakura off.
"I just thought, since you two spend a lot of time together and all. Sorry, my mistake," Sakura apologized, laughing a little. Hikari nodded and smiled kindly.
"Hikari! I want to speak with you. Come down here," the Hokage shouted at her. Hikari looked over and jumped over the railing; landing right in front of him.
"Yes?" she asked. She sounded like she was speaking to a grandfather when she answered.
"I have decided which teams to assign you and Kimiko to. Though you both will not be able to do anything until after a month from now; I figured I could let you guys get warmed up to your new teammates. Though the team I have decided to put Kimiko on, she won't have to warm up to them," he told her.