It didn't take long to become acclimated to the Mist's weather, but the tension within the area kept everyone on edge. Each village was given their own hotel, contestants and viewers alike, because wounds from the war were still fresh.
Kotone sat under the patio of one of the many restaurants across the street. She watched with contempt at any shinobi from outside from her own land. They were told to keep rivalry to other contestants in exams only: no instigating, no fighting, but somewhere in this village was the man who took everything from Kotone. If she came across him, she wasn't sure she'd be able to control her anger.
"Heya, how's it going?"
"What's up, Izumo." Kotone nodded to the rival genin.
"Ah not much, waiting for my team to meet me. What about you? Where's Mizuki and Iruka?"
"No idea. They ran off a little while ago."
"You ready for this week?"
She grinned. "I've been ready since we got here."
Izumo's face lit up. "Yeah me too! One of my friends who passed a while ago said if I make it through this year he'll buy me as much barbecue as I can eat."
"Genma?" She questioned with a laugh.
"Yup. He's been my best friend forever. Ya know?" Izumo leaned into his chair, "It's weird having friends, I mean… Having to fight friends here."
"You do what you have to."
Truth be told, neither genin really knew the other. Kotone's sudden callous comment threw him off guard.
"I mean I'd totally fight the other genin here, no doubt, but if they pit us against one another, who wants to fight their own village? Not that I'm saying I'd hold back because I'd still fight you."
"I wouldn't want you to hold back." Kotone rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go as far as death to win against our people, but you have to want the win."
"Sometimes winning doesn't mean you accomplished anything though. Who cares if you win if you're friends get hurt, ya know?" He paused. "Oh! There's my team, gotta go. See ya later!"
Alone again, Kotone folded her hands under her chin. The drizzle was beginning its vicious cycle of hard drops that could tear skin. People ran for cover or pulled hoods over their heads. She felt eyes on her.
Kotone turned to the roof tops with a blink. There was definitely ninja there, already gone before she could make out more than a quick blur. Whether they were enemy or Leaf ANBU doing their watch duty over competitors was unknown.
At long last her food arrived, the smell causing her stomach to growl loudly. Her server chuckled.
Kotone scarfed it down. She remained seated, contemplating. She wanted to serve her village, but she also wanted to know about her mother, about her father. Was it acceptable to want a promotion for such selfish reasons?
From the way her birds spoke, Kotone couldn't fathom how her dad, a man of such talent had no recognition. She thought of the little boy, son of a jinchuriki and the Fourth Hokage, who would never be allowed to know his parents. Was the village hiding her dad as well?
A heavy sigh escaped her lips. It was too close to be worried.
.
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"Listen and listen good, brats."
Kotone bristled at the Mist jounin that stood above all the genin.
"Like every year, this is a variation of the training ground mission. You have a scroll and four days to make it to the other side. There you will deliver it to a jounin of your village and your village only, extra points are awarded if you arrive with scrolls from other teams. If you show up with other scrolls, but not the one you are about to be given you will fail. If you hand your scroll to the wrong jounin you will fail. If you don't make it to the other side in the allotted time, you will fail. We will not look for you. If your village wants to send people, they can. Anything goes and deaths will be inevitable if you don't take this seriously."
Even the Mist genin shuffled nervously, though Kotone had suspicions they were used to this intensity of training. She took holding the scroll, Iruka and Mizuki on either side as they entered the arena. The rain pelted through any cover provided by the scraggly cliffs; rapids which carved through the land were deep and far wider than Kotone pictured.
The roar of water and mudslides collapsing on top of one another put everyone not from the Mist at a disadvantage
"Four days starts now." A voice echoed.
Immediately all teams took off.
"We should try to get another scroll." Mizuki said.
Looking to her left, Kotone frowned. "We shouldn't risk it. It'll take at least two days to reach the other side of that mountain."
"Which means two left."
"The mission comes first." She couldn't risk not making it past the first round. On top that, she wanted her friends to get out without casualties.
"I agree, but we should be the top team. I know we're better than anyone else here."
Iruka, who had been silent, suddenly lunged to the right shoving his team into the nearest tree. They groaned in pain. Iruka rolled off the dog pile and on to the next branch. His kunai flew snapping through two trip wires before the entrance of the ravine.
"How the hell…" Mizuki grunted sitting up.
"It seemed too easy." Iruka noted.
"Thanks."
Kotone felt her back flowering purple with a wince, yet she couldn't take the time to check her injuries. They were on a clock and it was push forward or be left behind, so she chose to ignore any pain.
Much more carefully the trio prepared to head into the heart of the exam. Their eyes were vigilant and every step was taken swiftly, but with caution. Trip wires were set up all between the muddy walls. Most of them were easily avoided. A few still snagged Iruka's ankles once he took the lead.
The sun hid behind a blanket of gray clouds making time indistinguishable and as the gray grew black, the genin froze. Lightning sparked the sky followed by a loud crack echoed. On the mountainous ledge behind them, waves of water and sludge crashed over quickly filling the ravine.
"Start running up the sides now!" Kotone ordered.
Mud slid underneath their feet. Even the strongest shinobi could struggle to keep chakra steady on the terrain.
Kotone's foot lodged under a rock hanging off the side and as the boys kept on, she panicked realizing how quickly she was being left behind.
Her body slid down closer to the rapid flood below.
"Mizuki!"
He turned around. "Kotone?"
"I- I can't move! I'll fall! You've got to take the scroll; we can't lose it!"
She slashed a kunai forward with her free hand in hopes to steady herself while Mizuki scaled back down. Mud seeped over her knife until she felt her grip disappear. Mizuki hesitated, his hand lingering between grabbing her wrist and the scroll.
"Shit." Kotone breathed and watched another mudslide rush down. The look in her eyes begged for help, but Mizuki didn't budge. She tossed the paper upward before letting herself fall.
Iruka screamed.
Black fell over Kotone in waves so heavy she couldn't tell mud from her closed eyes. Hidden debris smashed into her, thwarting a feeble attempt hold her breath, and she let out a cry.
Her body went limp as the pain in her leg became excruciating. She had to be close to the bottom by now, any second she expected to be thrown into the deep of the river.
Instead there was nothing more than the wind whipping her sides. It took a minute to blink away the caked mud and Kotone realized both her arms were free. She was held in suspension over another cliff, Iruka's hand digging into her wrist. Where mud started and Iruka began, Kotone didn't know, but she could see him smile.
"I promised I wouldn't let you down."
Mizuki fumbled check on the scroll, then leaned to take Kotone's other arm; the boys yank hard to drag her up.
She collapsed onto the side coughing. All she could do was wheeze while guiding Iruka and Mizuki on how to use chakra to clear her lungs. Worse still, breathing was painful for half an hour after that.
It was a fat chance in hell she wasn't bleeding, but Kotone didn't care.
When she hacked the last of mud out from her mouth, the three looked at each other. No one dared to mention that Mizuki had let Kotone go, that he picked the scroll over her. Instead, Kotone silently checked them for vital injuries of their own and when she was satisfied, they climbed to higher ground quietly. They came to the top to see a plume of smoke indicating it was 9 p.m. A full twelve hours since they started the day. Kotone suggested making camp for the night noticing how even Mizuki was struggling to catch his breath.
She offered to take the first watch. Graciously Mizuki and Iruka curled up against a tree stump.
Three hours later Hayabusa appeared next to Kotone.
"I'll need you tomorrow." Kotone said putting a bandage back around her thumb.
"You are going to let them finally see your summoning?"
"I haven't needed you guys until now."
"Haven't needed or didn't want?"
She pulled out two syringes and pushed one into her upper thigh, the other in her forearm. "Shut up, Haya."
"Two full doses?"
"I can't afford to treat each individually."
"Why did you wait until now?" He questioned. "If you were hurt, you should have taken care of it earlier."
"What?" She didn't look up from her needle.
The falcon's milky eyes pierced Kotone in dismay. "Your friends do not know? Kotone, that is incredibly dangerous."
"Shiro knew. He said we could keep it a secret until I was ready. I'm not ready and he's not here now." Kotone wanted to bite her tongue at the last part. She must've sounded bitter.
"Do you not think they need to know in case something happens? Or if you get hurt and they try to treat you only to find you won't stop bleeding?"
"I know, but not now. They'd treat like I was fragile, maybe even make me quit the exam. I want teammates not martyrs."
"I can't say I agree, but I will protect you with the best of my ability during this time." The bird ruffled his back. "The Iruka boy, you said he was the one who saved you."
"Yeah."
"And Mizuki did not try?"
"He did what I asked. He put the mission first."
"That is no excuse. You never put a comrade's life after a piece of paper."
"Well he-" Kotone's shoulders fell. She couldn't deny being hurt that he picked the scroll over her, he barely stopped to consider helping her because all he wanted to was to win with or without Kotone. She looked back to her sleeping team. Iruka dropped himself down at least fifteen feet in seconds to have been able to have caught Kotone. He put his own life at risk to save hers.
She changed the subject. "When this over can you teach me the Sage jutsu for falcon summoning?"
"Of course." Hayabusa trailed off, "But you kno-"
Kotone stared at the sky. "I keep hoping if I learn what it is, if I can master it, I can be closer with my dad. And I asked some of older shinobi, people alive a while before the war. Only one recognized his name, the rest said they didn't know who he was."
Hayabusa didn't move an inch. He wished Kotone would leave the subject alone.
"Kouto told me my dad was well known… Someone the village loved."
"He was."
"Then why can no one tell me about him!" She hissed. "I want to hear about him, how he met my mom, why he died, all of it."
"Kotone…" He hopped closer to her. "There were a lot things working against your father. His secrets, they are meant to protect you, you know that."
"Protect me from what?"
"After the chunin exams and if you pass, I will talk to some people and see what I can tell you."
"So even if I become a chunin you aren't promising?"
"I cannot promise anything."
She yawned widely then shook her head. "Okay. Okay I can live with that. Can you look around for us?"
Hayabusa shot up into the air to start a patrol. The rain made sustaining long flight hard, but he could manage enough space to locate some other teams. Their chakra signatures glowed in the dark. And if birds could smirk he would, Kotone was wise to send him out for recon and if she ordered it he could swipe another scroll before the genin realized what happened.
He circled on and off until daybreak, and his return was welcomed.
Iruka gaped at Hayabusa. He smacked Mizuki in excitement. "Whoa, that's a huge hawk."
"I am a falcon." Hayabusa lifted his chin. "Not one of those brainless messenger birds."
"Falcons are small." Iruka pointed. "And you're almost half of Kotone's height!"
"He's one of my summons." Kotone rubbed her eyes as she woke up.
"He's your summon!?" Mizuki exclaimed. "You've had him this whole time?"
"I don't like relying only on my birds."
Hayabusa went airborne again. "I will take the front and report back every few minutes. We can make it just over the peak by tonight if you children hurry."
Kotone retied her forehead protector. "Lead the way."
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Sorry again for the long wait!