Me: I do not own Naruto.
Last time:
The clearing was silent. The world was silent.
Kasumi... almost wanted to laugh.
Curse
The silence didn't last.
A rustle, and then: "Kasumi-chan?" Choji knelt beside her, eyes wide and concerned, as kind as ever. He pointedly ignored the three corpses splayed out behind him.
"... Ah." Kasumi managed to murmur out. "... I'm okay." She was exhausted, demoralized, disgusted, but she wasn't lethally hurt.
"Troublesome." Good, old Shikamaru. He strode out from the bushes that had been their hiding place, hands tucked into his pockets nonchalantly, a subdued Ino following close behind. Perceptive dark eyes scanned Kasumi, "You sure you're okay?"
She had a set of cracked ribs, plenty of bruises, a busted eardrum, and a beautiful case of heartache but... "I'm fine, Shikamaru-san. Give me a moment." Kasumi slowly, wearily wove her fingers through the Mythical Palm Technique and raised a glowing hand to her ear.
"Man. What a drag." Shikamaru sighed, glancing around at the ruined glade. His eyes lingered on the dead Sound genin for a second and then he made a face, saying, "Kasumi. Do you know if one of them has a scroll?"
"Shikamaru!" Ino gasped, horrified at the idea of rooting around a dead body, but Kasumi was already nodding, her sense of balance gradually returning as she healed the damage.
"He was the leader." She said, nodding to the mummy-man in front of her. "So he probably has it."
"Got it." Only a minute later, Shikamaru held up a scroll, taken from the sound nin's pocket. "Earth. Damn, we need a heaven."
"Don't worry about it." Kasumi replied, struggling to her feet. Still frowning, Choji grabbed her arm and helped her up, steadying her when she wobbled. Shooting him a grateful smile, she continued, "We have two heaven scrolls and one, now two, earth scrolls. I'll give you our extra."
Shikamaru's eyes widened visibly, Choji's mouth fell open, and Ino outright gaped. "Three scrolls?" The blonde questioned incredulously. "But... how?!"
Kasumi trusted Shikamaru and Choji to a comparatively large extent. She had little to no experience with Ino. "Luck." She claimed, closing her eyes briefly. She was so tired. Reaching into her backpack, she retrieved a heaven scroll and tossed it to Shikamaru. "Ino-san, step to the right please. There's a trap there."
Ino squeaked, hurriedly jumping away from the danger zone. "Hey, where's Sasuke-kun - " She hurriedly cut herself off as a storm of dark chakra rose from the curved roots of the tree that had been their shelter... from Sasuke himself.
Kasumi went motionless, feeling a cold shiver run down her spine. The warnings that had finally died down after the Sound nin were all dead flared up again, flashing urgent bright red. She knew her teammates. She knew Sasuke.
She didn't know that chakra from her dark-haired teammate.
Biting her lip hard, she turned around, leaning partially on Choji for support, and found Sasuke up on his feet, dark, flame-like spread partway across his face and completely down his left arm. Swirling Sharingan eyes locked on her instantly, the corrosive fury in those familiar eyes frightening in a way little else could be.
"Kasumi... who did this to you?" Sasuke asked softly, a violent edge to his tone that made her heart stutter.
This wasn't the boy who had watched a butterfly spreads its wings with her. This wasn't the boy who had held her when she cried.
But it was.
"Sasuke-kun!" Ino exclaimed, a bright, almost forced smile on her face. "You're awake! I'm so happy to see that you're okay!"
Those dangerous, cold eyes turned, focused on the Yamanaka. Kasumi frowned, reading the peril in his body as only someone who regularly fought with him could. He wouldn't...
"But you were hurt, weren't you? Do you need to sit down? The battle's over, Kasumi did all of the work. You don't need to worry!" She chattered on, reacting to the darkness on Sasuke's face and trying to break the tension the only way she knew how.
Because, no matter how much she was willing to give that impression, Yamanaka Ino wasn't dumb and she could sense that something was wrong with her crush, could feel the dense murkiness in his chakra.
What she didn't know was how to make things right.
What she didn't know were the consequences of being anyone but a teammate at the moment.
Beside her, Shikamaru stirred uneasily, danger sense on high alert. Choji was tense, eyes flickering from his female teammate to the Uchiha.
Sasuke's hand flexed, fisted.
He would.
No.
"You are okay, aren't you?" Ino leaned forward, blue eyes wide and pleading. Asking for reassurance, although she didn't really know what the problem was, nor how to fix it.
Sasuke moved, but Kasumi was one second ahead of him. Having pushed off of Choji, she ate up the distance between her and the other kunoichi, adrenaline and chakra lending her speed. Shoving her roughly out of the way, Kasumi only barely dodged Sasuke's punch herself, her ribs screaming in protest.
Ino went sprawling in the dirt, the shocked look on her face painful, but Kasumi wasn't paying attention to that. She cupped Sasuke's face in her bloody hands, pulled him down so her eyes bore into his. There was a kind of confused puzzlement in his eyes that told her that he wasn't that gone... not yet.
"Kasumi...?" He questioned softly, brow furrowing as he tried to comprehend just why she would throw herself in the path of danger... in the path of danger from him. He could have hit her, and it wouldn't have been pretty. Sasuke could understand that much, at least.
"Stop it." She commanded sternly, feeling the amber chakra that had been keeping her going, keeping her from collapsing starting to fade away. Any longer and there would have been side-effects, and her subconscious had recognized that, but...
Kasumi wished it would stay. Every single last one of her emotions was coming back to haunt her with a vengeance and her voice trembled. "Stop it!" She shook him lightly, her breath coming fast and harsh. "Uchiha Sasuke, stop using that chakra right now!"
Sasuke hesitated, the dark marks retreating sluggishly from his face, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough.
"Please." Her voice broke, tears stinging her eyes. Kasumi wasn't so sure she could handle this here and now. The deal with Orochimaru... his little henchman... she had just killed three genin because it suited her purposes...
And now her teammate was half insane.
The hysteria threatened at the edges of her mind, but she pushed it back with the remains of the willpower at her disposal. She could have another breakdown later. Preferably when both of her teammates were physically and mentally well.
Sasuke's eyes were conflicted, but the rest of the marks receded and the Sharingan faded, leaving comforting obsidian eyes staring back at her.
Kasumi's sigh was relieved and tired both, and at last, she succumbed to the black abyss of unconscious, eyes fluttering closed, and body caving in against Sasuke's. The last thing she felt was the warmth and strength of Sasuke's arms as they automatically wrapped around her waist, keeping her from falling.
Strange how their relationship seemed mutually based on that.
Review
Naruto woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. He grinned, stretching his arms out. Glancing around, he was surprised to find that he was on the floor, the roof was made up of curving roots, and there was a thick scent of blood in the air.
He frowned. What the hell? Searching his memory, the blonde stilled and then jumped to his feet as the creepy guy know as Orochimaru slithered his way to the front of his mind, long-ass tongue flicking eerily. Where were his teammates?! They were okay, right?!
They had to be okay.
Panic brewing in his heart, Naruto hurried out of the little shelter-thing and was promptly blinded by the sunlight. Blinking rapidly, his eyes readjusted to the bright light after a few seconds and he blinked.
What in the name of the Ramen God was going on?!
Mind scrambled by the chaos he found, Naruto instinctively searched out his teammates first. To his relief, he found that they were both all right. Well, sort of all right. Sasuke was standing upright, the look on his face one that Naruto had never seen before.
Sheer bewilderment and disorientation mixed with flickers of guilt and pain and concern.
He was holding Kasumi in his arms, and, to Naruto's worry, their female teammate wasn't looking so good. Her shiny white hair was all over the place, matted with blood and dust. Red scratches and colorful bruises jumbled her skin, blood streaked across the pale cream. Her clothes were torn in some places, stained red in others.
Sasuke wasn't just holding Kasumi, Naruto realized with a scowl. He was holding her up, because she was unconscious. Uncharacteristic lines of strain creased the kunoichi's face, the frown that drifted on her lips fatigued. She looked like she had been through the wringer, his smart, kind teammate, and Naruto wanted to punch someone's face in.
That wasn't everything though.
For two, there was the Idiot Trio. But for once Shikamaru wasn't being lazy and complaining. He was actually standing straight up, a deep frown on his face, staring at Sasuke like there was something wrong with him. And Choji wasn't stuffing his face either. He looked a cross between anxious and upset, also frowning.
And Ino... Ino was on the ground a few feet away from Sasuke and Kasumi, her eyes impossibly wide and completely focused on Naruto's teammates. She looked a little scared, a little apprehensive, a little concerned. She was somewhat scratched up, too, like she had been thrown around a bit.
For three, there were the dead genin strewed around the thoroughly messed up and burned up place. Naruto might not have his teammates' keen observation skills, but he didn't have to. The senbon, the carefully placed traps, the cool ruthless pragmatism... this was Kasumi-chan's work.
But Naruto thought about what he knew of his female teammate, put it together with the wounds on her body, and decided that they probably deserved it. Kasumi wouldn't go out looking for trouble with Naruto and Sasuke in such a state, so they must have been the ones that attacked.
They totally deserved it.
"Oi, teme!" Naruto yelled, because the quiet was suffocating and uncomfortable and who better to break it up then him? "Kasumi-chan's alright, right?"
Sasuke's eyes landed on Naruto with something that might have been relief. "Hn. She's fine, dobe." He said, and if there was anything that could convince Naruto, it was the degrading but pretty affectionate nickname.
"She better be!" His grin wasn't entirely forced, but it wasn't entirely real. Naruto linked his hands behind his head. "So, what happened here?"
Shikamaru sighed, shoulders drooping again. "Troublesome. Naruto, you sure are a piece of work."
"Hey! What does that mean?!"
Kickoff
"Those damn bastards!" Naruto thumped a fist into his palm after he had been caught up, cerulean eyes blazing. "I knew they had it coming!"
"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke rolled his eyes, Kasumi resting on the ground not far away. The teme looked like he had composed his 'holier-than-thou' mask - Kasumi's words - during story time and was back to normal. "We should get a move on."
"It's only been two days in." Choji said, munching at his chips.
"Yeah! What's the rush?" Ino fiddled with her hair nervously.
"We all have our scrolls, though." Shikamaru pointed out, holding the heaven scroll that Kasumi had ever-so-graciously given them in his hand. Naruto was pretty sure the Idiot Trio didn't warrant just getting their key to passing the Second Exam handed to them, but they had sort of helped his teammate so he let it pass.
"The longer we stay in this Forest, the more of a chance there will be that we'll be attacked." Sasuke said, taking over the role of strategist since Kasumi was out. "We have five scrolls in total. That's one extra; there'll be other teams that will try and target us soon enough. Not to mention the other dangers of the Forest."
"As soon as we can get to the Tower, the sooner we're safe and have time to rest." Shikamaru agreed, unknowingly echoing Kasumi's words. Naruto fought a flinch and saw Sasuke's eyes tighten.
"But... Kasumi-chan's still unconscious." Naruto said, glancing at the kunoichi in question.
"One of you carry her then." Choji suggested.
"Dobe, you do it." Sasuke commanded, already moving to retrieve their supplies.
"Shut up, teme!" Naruto retorted, but he did as told anyways. The blonde didn't know what was wrong with Sasuke - it wasn't like his teammate to try and hit Ino, no matter how annoying she might be - but he thought it was best he had Kasumi-chan for the time being.
He didn't think Sasuke would try and hurt their teammate, but, like she always said, better safe than sorry. Beside, Naruto rather thought Kasumi would approve, although she wouldn't be happy she needed protection from Sasuke in the first place.
Scooping her up in his arms, Naruto frowned at how light Kasumi felt like in his arms. He hoped they got to the Tower soon.
Arrival
As it turned out, Kasumi woke up an hour later when the combined group was nearly at the Tower. Even before she opened her eyes, she was aware of the wind rushing past her face, the feeling of moving at a fast pace.
"... Naruto-san." She said sleepily, eyes focusing drowsily on the shock of bright yellow and pure blue.
"Kasumi-chan!" He glanced down, grinned that sunny grin. "You're awake! She's awake, guys!"
"Jeez. Don't wear out her ears, Naruto." She identified Shikamaru's lazy drawl with ease as Naruto pouted, grumbling under his breath about lazy bastards.
Shikamaru... Choji... Ino. Sasuke. Orochimaru. The Sound Trio.
"Is everything okay?" Kasumi asked through a yawn. The momentary nap had been very beneficial; she no longer felt like she was going to go hysterical at the slightest provocation.
"Yeah!" She had the feeling Naruto would have given her a thumbs-up if he wasn't carrying her. "You did great, Kasumi-chan!"
"Ah... put me down, Naruto-san." She protested, suddenly aware that the blonde must have already been carrying her for a while.
"Don't." Sasuke's voice interrupted, and he dropped back to appear in the corner of her eyesight. He was scowling at her, an irritated slash worried look in eyes that were consolingly obsidian and familiar. "You tired yourself out fighting those sound nin."
"You're not heavy, Kasumi-chan." Naruto reassured her. "I can barely feel your weight."
Kasumi frowned, but subsided, knowing she couldn't argue against both of her teammates when she was still so tired. The remaining journey to the Tower passed in a blur, her drifting in and out of sleep. She was scarcely cognizant of Team Seven and Team Ten changing routes several times to avoid some jeopardy or another, but that seemed faint. Faraway.
They arrived at the Tower maybe an hour a half later and Kasumi pushed weakly at Naruto's chest. "Down." She said before they entered the door. "Down, Naruto-san." She repeated when it looked like he was going to disagree.
Naruto frowned, but carefully released her. Kasumi's legs were rubbery and aching, but they held her weight with only a slight twinge of pain and she took a step forward, ignoring the two boys hovering over her like mother hens. Her legs didn't buckle.
Satisfied, she shot her boys a look and, looking disgruntled, they retreated. But only marginally, seeing as they still remained at arm's-length, ready to catch her if she fell. Shaking her head, Kasumi turned to Team Ten, who had watched the spectacle with varying degrees of emotion. "Ready?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, saying, "This is a drag, but I guess so."
Smiling wryly at the Nara's judgment of the situation, Kasumi propelled the door open. "Then let's go."
Tower
"Nobody's here.." Naruto commented, looking around the huge room they found themselves in. It looked completely ordinary, bare the occasional seals on the wall and the large scroll right in front of them.
"Look." Kasumi said, gesturing to the words on the scroll.
"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." Shikamaru read calmly. "If qualities of Earth are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are open together, the peerless path with be righteous forever. This... is the secret way that guides us from this place today."
"What the hell does that mean?" Naruto asked bluntly.
Kasumi was silent for a moment, thinking things through. Her body might be battered, her heart hurt, but her mind was working just fine. "Shikamaru-san? You got it?"
He smirked, hands tucked into his pockets. "Sure. Heaven and Earth represent our mental and physical energies. AKA, the scrolls should be opened."
"Eeeh?!" Naruto scratched his head.
"The combination of mental and physical energy is what makes chakra, Naruto-san." Kasumi explained patiently. "Therefore, if we open both of the scrolls, something should happen."
"But won't it get us disqualified?" Ino asked.
"Nah. The crazy snake lady said we couldn't open the scrolls before we got to the Tower. We're in the Tower; that rule doesn't apply anymore." Shikamaru yawned widely, unconcerned.
"Okay. Ready, Ino?" Choji took out his scroll, and reluctantly, Ino followed.
"Kasumi-chan?" Naruto turned to her, Sasuke retrieving their earth scroll.
Kasumi handed Naruto their heaven scroll and watched as the boys - and Ino - gripped the edges of the scrolls. "Three..." Sasuke started.
"Two..." Naruto tensed.
"One!" They wrenched the scrolls open, and Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and recognition immediately.
"Let go of the scrolls!" He shouted, throwing his own into the air. "That's a summoning jutsu!" Without a second thought, Naruto complied, and Ino and Choji didn't hesitate for more than a second either. Moments later, smoke exploded from the scrolls, and suddenly, two new chakra signatures were in the room.
"... Huh?" Naruto blinked as the smoke eventually dissipated.
"You are...?" Sasuke trailed off.
Kasumi smiled gently. "Hello, Iruka-sensei."
"Hey!" Iruka grinned, arms crossed before his chest. "Long time no see."
In the background, Kasumi could hear another chunin talking to Team Ten, no doubt the gist of what Iruka was probably going to tell them. "I suppose we pass the Second Exam, Iruka-sensei?" She asked lightly.
He chuckled despite the concern in his brown eyes as he looked her over. "That you guys do. Looks like you ran into some trouble..."
"Eeh?" Naruto sounded spectacularly confused. "Why was Iruka-sensei summoned?"
"At the end of the Second Test, it's set up so we chunin meet up with the exam takers. And I was allowed to be the one to greet you." Iruka explained. "Now, like I said before, all three of you pass the Second Test. Congratulations. To celebrate, I'd like to buy you a pound of ramen but..."
A jolt cut him off and he blinked, looking down at the orange-black genin that had just attached himself to his waist. "Huh?"
"We did it!" Naruto cheered loudly.
"H-Hey, Naruto, listen until the end..." Iruka said feebly, not that Naruto listened.
"We did it, we did it, we did it! We did it!" He threw his arms in the air, grin bright enough to light up the room. "I'm so happy!"
To this, Iruka could only smile fondly. Sighing to herself, Kasumi slid to the floor, relief weakening her muscles.
Sasuke joined her, muttering, "He sure has energy..."
"You really haven't changed in your inability to relax..." Iruka said with a mild sweatdrop.
Sasuke blinked. "Heh. I see. If we had opened the scrolls during the test, what were you going to do, Iruka-sensei?"
"As always, you are sharp, Sasuke." Iruka knelt down to roll up the scrolls. "As you may have figured out, this test's rules are set up to test your abilities to perform missions correctly. So if you were to break these rules and open the scrolls, you would be put unconscious for the remaining of the test period. Those were my orders."
Naruto grinned, settling down next to them. "Heh! We were never tempted at all, Iruka-sensei! We even have an extra scroll!"
"Oh?" Iruka looked honestly surprised and Kasumi let out a tired giggle. Reaching into her backpack, she threw him the heaven scroll they hadn't used.
"Well, well, well." He smiled proudly. "I'm impressed. And it's only the second day, too."
Kasumi sighed. "I don't suppose we're allowed medical help, Iruka-sensei?"
"Ah." He winced, rubbing the back of his head. "No, I'm sorry."
"That sucks." Was Naruto's concise response.
"It does. Any chance you've figured out the missing word here?" Iruka turned to the scroll.
"It's that character on those scrolls, right?" Kasumi nodded towards the scrolls in Iruka's hands. "Person. Us genin."
Iruka grinned encouragingly, "Absolutely correct, Kasumi. These five days of survival were to test the exam taker's basic abilities needed to become a chunin... and you guys successfully passed that. Chunin's are at the rank of military captain, you have the responsibility of guiding a team. The knowledge, stamina, and inner wisdom, all are needed for your duties."
"I want you guys to challenge the next step with the chunin motto in mind." He met each of their eyes with his own squarely. "That is all that I have to pass on to you."
Naruto saluted with a grin, standing up. "Roger!"
"Great! Ah. Izumo, are you done?" The other chunin had wandered over, the one that, again, looked suspiciously like one of the 'genin' guarding the false '301' door.
He grinned. "Yeah. You willing to take over?" He pointed at Team Ten, who was also wandering over.
Iruka looked exasperated. "Sure, sure." The other chunin, most likely his friend, copied Naruto and saluted with a grin on his face before disappearing with a poof of smoke. Their Academy sensei turned back to them, "I'll lead you all to the rooms you'll be resting in here."
"Will there be bathrooms?" Ino frowned at the state of her clothes.
"I'd like a shower, too." Kasumi added, eyeing her hair with disgust.
The girls exchanged a knowing smile, while their teammates looked blankly at each other.
Iruka laughed. "Sure. Come on, this way."
And off they went.