Heeeey! Hello everyone ... - please don't throw anything at me. I know it's been a while. I'm currently really busy with classes, so this will probably be the last chapter before an emergency exam hiatus. I'll be back in about three weeks at the latest though, so it won't actually be any worse than waiting for this chapter. Just ... be warned this time. After that I have a (super, super) long break from classes, so there'll be more chapters.
In a surprising and delightful turn of events I have aquired a beta reader! Shout out to iSaint who has been putting up with my insane plans for this fic and then managed to squeeze about 500 words more out of this chapter than originally planned.
They have three days of 'reprieve' before the next task starts.
'Reprieve' because Kohaku-sensei pushes them hard. Hisana thinks the results of the last task may have amused him somewhat, but he also made it very clear that chaos won't be the answer to everything.
"You are all quick thinkers and very familiar with each other," he said. "That saved you. But one day you will be assigned to other teams – temporarily or permanently. Please remember that. They might not be as quick and they will certainly not know you in the way your genin teammates do. You need to figure out a way to communicate over distance. Preferably soon."
They practice more advanced hand signals and chakra flare patterns and how to leave inconspicuous marks on trees and stone. But all of these methods have a limited range of meanings or need visual of one or both of your teammates. They can be intercepted or worse – misinterpreted. It's an art more than a science; not something you want your life to depend on. And yet, knowing all this makes her feel a little safer.
The morning of the next task dawns bright and early. In Suna the sun rises at shortly past 5; they're up and moving even before that. The second task is going to take place outside of Suna proper, and Hisana has more than a bad feeling about it. The memories of their trek here, of gritty sand in her mouth and the freezing cold at night, have left her with a healthy respect for the desert. With the first rays of sunlight on their backs they march towards the massive gates of Sunagakure, yet again without their teacher. With a surge of satisfaction Hisana realizes that there are considerably less ninja joining them this time.
There is a group of people already awaiting them.
Sora stops dead and Hisana nearly walks into him.
"You see that?" he blurts out.
As she peers around him the reason for his bewilderment becomes apparent. At least twenty children are sitting in the sand just outside the gate. None of them older than ten and all of them with bright copper hair. A familiar little girl separates from the group and dances towards them with a smile.
"Good morning," she chirps and unapologetically plants a foot in Haru's stomach to climb him like a tree. When she finally sits comfortably on his shoulders she adds, "I'm Aki. We'll be working together again today, please take care of me."
More and more red-haired children separate from the group, presumably searching out the teams that 'liberated' them. Aki points a finger to the gate.
"That way," she instructs, spurring Haru on like a horse. "It's not far – just a few minutes running distance. I'll lead you there!"
True to Aki's words they don't need to go far. They do need to climb a rock though, which sucks worst for her quiet teammate, Aki still clinging to his neck like a limpet. Team 11 is one of the first to arrive. There are two single participants, also accompanied by children, as well as whom Hisana assumes to be the proctor, a pretty lady wrapped from head to toe in white linen. She shares the children's red hair, tied back in a loose braid.
In the next fifteen minutes more and more people trickle in, until there are four teams and twelve single participants. The last task decimated almost half of the teams, but only weeded out two single ninjas. The thought makes her uncomfortable. Do those people really deserve to be there? Solo missions aren't unheard of, but someone so selfish and completely incapable of teamwork – she wouldn't want to work with that sort of person. But Suna doesn't just seem to tolerate it, but reward it. Hisana has no doubt that the last task must have been far easier for a singular ninja. In and out – no back up, but also no one to consider in your plans. Bad for a real-life mission, but nearly perfect in an exam where you only have to prove yourself.
Across from them she watches a little red-haired boy repeatedly reaching for Hanada's hand. The girl keeps stepping away from him, hissing and spitting like a cat. On their other side Temari is carrying a giggling little girl on her back.
The proctor claps her hands and all conversation stops dead.
"I am your proctor for the second task," she starts in a strangely deep voice. "And this is your arena."
She stops her foot and the ground gives way, crumbling into tiny pebbles to reveal a perfectly circular hole.
"This rock houses an intricate maze of tunnels and caverns. Your goal is to move your reclaimed hostage through the rock to the ground level while eliminating your competition."
Hanada visibly sputters.
"An escort mission?" she squawks. "B-but that's unfair! That means the team participants have an advantage!"
The proctor smiles thinly.
"Acting on your own has advantages and disadvantages. A chuunin has to be aware of all of them – and live with the consequences of their choices."
Hanada's sour face feels a little like justice. Hisana throws Aki a worried look.
"What about you?" she asks the girl. "Will you be ok? If we mess up, I mean."
Aki grins a toothy grin at her; she's missing both of her canines.
"Don't worry, Nee-san! The Sada clan is known for their Doton jutsu – my brother helped make this cave, so I know it inside out. And watch this!"
She flexes her arm and the whole limb turns a sickly gray. Aki knocks on her biceps – it sounds solid.
"Hard as rock!"
The Sada woman stomps her foot once more and a whole cluster of holes opens up.
"I trust everyone signed the proper documents already. You have six days. Though I'd advise to hurry – there's no food or water hid anywhere down there. You should know yourself how long your provisions will last."
Hisana exchanges a quick look with her teammates.
"It'll be fine," Haru says quietly. "It can't possibly be worse than the bunker. At least we are together."
Sora grins. Hisana shrugs playfully.
"Oh, I don't know. Days on end in the dark with you two – I can't promise I won't try to get rid of you."
Her smile comes out sharper than intended and Sora flashes it right back at her.
"I'll give it two days," he stage whispers to Aki, "and then Hisana-chan will be the most dangerous thing down there."
Aki snickers. They gather around the nearest hole. Hisana kicks a pebble inside; for a long moment there's no sound. Then a muted clicking.
"Oh damn. That's deep."
"I'll go first," Sora offers. "Then Haru, to secure the perimeter while I catch Aki-chan."
Hisana nods.
"I'll try to memorize who is closest to us."
Sora unwraps a length of rope from his belt; Hisana and Haru wrap one end around their waists, while their remaining teammate wraps it around his arm.
"On my mark," the proctor calls. "Ready! … Go!"
Sora's weight nearly takes both of them off their feet. Then there's a deliberate tug and Sora's weight disappears. He must have either reached the bottom … or the end of the rope.
They pull up the rope and Haru wraps it around his arm.
"I'll try my best," Hisana promises, "but be prepared for a sudden fall."
While far slighter than Sora, Haru is still heavy. Once his weight disappears Hisana turns to Aki. To her horror the girl completely disregards the rope and simply jumps. After a long moment there is the unmistakable sound of an impact and a grunt of pain that is fortunately Sora's. Unwilling to let anxiety build up she follows Aki's example. Hisana's fall is a little more controlled; feet firmly planted on the walls she slows herself by pumping chakra into the stone. The rock is brittle, blasting dust and rubble into her face, and after a few meters one of the walls gives way to nothing as the tunnel opens up into a cavern and suddenly she's going into free fall. Panic grips her; there's nothing to hold on to. Adrenaline forces her Sharingan to activate. She barely has time to take in the muted outlines of the cave, the strange natural chakra that forms psychedelic patterns in dim blue, and then it's suddenly over, her teammate breaking her fall.
"Fuck, you need to lose weight," he wheezes.
She's too creeped out to whack him. Chakra pulses off the walls and disperses like smoke; the view pales in comparison to her teammates' chakra networks that glow an iridescent blue. She's seen this before – many times – but in the dark it's overwhelming. To her brain the images follows no logic. There's so much light, but it's not illuminating anything. Next to her Sora is nothing but a luminescent skeleton against the backdrop of the steel blue natural chakra of the cave. She reaches out to poke a finger against his cheek.
"What are you doing?"
"I can see you," she says.
"I can see you too," he retorts. "Your eyes glow in the dark, did you know?"
Sort of. She dimly remembers something about that, but it didn't seem important at the time.
"Does anyone have the rope?"
Haru's hand gropes for her. She reaches for him and he presses it into her hand.
"I can lead us for a while," she says, "take hold of the rope."
There's not much to lead. Hisana guides them out of the cavern and into a long tunnel. Every once in awhile she can hear someone stumble behind her, but there's no way to get lost. It's almost an hour in that they reach the first fork. The left entrance is covered by genjutsu; she hesitates. The air is musty and still.
"Boys … left or right? There's genjutsu on one, but that doesn't have to mean anything …"
Behind her Haru crouches to feel for a few stones.
"You have good ears," he says, "don't you?"
Listening for an echo is not one of Hisana's favorite things. She's trained her hearing, yes, but her ears are not the same as her nose. Interpreting the way sound waves rebound is not the same as sniffing out the source of a scent. It's more complex, more abstract. She hurls a stone down one way, then the other.
"Left one is longer," she decides after a second. "Let's try."
The rock maze is not a simple walk underground. The tunnel leads them upwards, turning so steep that they have to use chakra to crawl upwards. Her fingers cut deep grooves into the brittle rock; every once in awhile she can hear one of the boys cough and sputter. They keep choosing junctions by echo, trying to ignore the way they seem to go into the wrong direction. It takes almost a day of self-doubt until they are rewarded with a steep drop. Provisions will last for only two more days. Hisana wonders if any of the other teams have realized yet that they need to share food with their hostage.
The Sharingan constantly eats at her chakra. It's not much, but the drain makes her weary in an entirely mental way. Her eyes dry quicker each hour and her senses are dulled while all of her attention is focused on her eyesight. When they walk into a team it comes as a surprise.
There's a feminine yelp when they turn a corner and someone in front of her recoils. Her fist shoots out without hesitation, meeting and cracking a cheekbone. A Katon jutsu lights up the tunnel, momentarily blinding everyone and then there's a pair of large hands around her neck. She makes a blind grab for her opponent. But only when the fire dies is she back in control. Somewhere ahead of her there's the sound of fighting and she hopes to all that is holy that her teammates have the upper hand.
In a split second decision she lets go of the man's hands. It goes against every instinct to let him choke her; air is cut off immediately and her legs jerk without her consent. But it frees her hands for a quick sequence of hand signs and then she spits a sharp burst of water into his face. It's only a mouthful, only what can squeeze past her opponent's hands, but the Teppodama hits him square in the forehead. His head jerks back violently and then she's on him, ramming her fist into his face until blood sprays into her face.
There's a moment of confused fighting while Hisana rings with dizziness and other shinobi blindly tries to flip them. She gropes for her bokken and presses it against his throat. He struggles, succumbing to his own urge to grab at her sword. In panic he tries to break her fingers away from the wood, but her grip is like an iron vice. See how you like it, she thinks wildly. He bucks like a horse beneath her, but she simply leans her weight against him until he stops struggling. For a long second she simply sits there, straddling his still body, shaking like a leaf. Then a pained grunt echoes down to her and she jumps up to aid her teammates.
When she arrives, still dazed and unsteady on her feet, the fight is as good as over. There is a girl's head caught under Sora's arm; Hisana bypasses him to reach their last opponent. His back is turned towards her, entirely distracted. He doesn't notice her until she delivers a swift kick to his backside. The shinobi stumbles and Haru's hand catches him in the throat. He crumples, wheezing and gagging, windpipe crushed. Haru freezes, listening to the sounds of his opponent suffocating. Hisana can see him claw helplessly at his throat and is for the first time grateful for the darkness that surrounds them.
"Come," she beckons her teammate. "Let's take Sora and move on."
Haru shakes his head in the dark.
"N-no. I can't …"
He hesitates. But then draws one of his blades and, with a smooth flick of his wrist, slits the man's throat. Hisana stares at him.
Behind them the sound of the girl's feet scratching at the ground ceases. Sora lets her slide to the ground with a soft thud.
"Guys?" he rasps quietly. "You ok?"
"W-we're ok," Haru rasps back. "We're ok."
He's still shaking, so she takes his elbow, carefully steering him around the body and away.
"So … what now?" she questions, turning towards the last strange chakra network glowing in the dark. The small person opens his arms beckoningly. A little hesitantly she pokes him in the cheek. "Tap."
"Urgh, I'm dead!" a boyish voice chirps. "Victory for team Aki. Team Yuki is out. I'm staying right here!"
He pushes his back against the wall and the stone swallows him until there's only his face left poking out of the wall.
"Gonna scare the next one real good," he snickers.
For a long moment they simply stand in the dark.
"Ahh … has someone seen the rope?"
While Hisana scours the ground for it she can hear Sora exchange a few low words with Haru, before he picks Aki up from the ground and shoves her at the shaking boy.
"Haru's on Aki-duty," he announces. And that is that.
They move through the maze at a speed that almost worries Hisana. Are they missing something? Are they taking the right path? But there's no genjutsu she misses and they haven't hit a dead end yet. She doesn't know if that's worrying or not.
They pass two more teams, lost and stumbling about in a cavern. They sneak past, creeping up on a single participant. Hisana reaches out, trying to get at the sensitive pressure point on her neck, but then she jerks around with a gasp. They stare at each other. Then the kunoichi starts to scream. The eyes, Hisana thinks in horror, it's the damn eyes.
They glow in the dark, did you know?
A fist to the temple knocks the girl out, but the damage is already done.
There's movement at their backs.
"Team Kari out," she dimly hears a little girl chirp.
This time they're prepared for the Katon illuminating the cavern; in the afterglow of the flames they all stare at each other as the other two teams, one Kiri, one Suna seem to notice each other for the first time. Hisana's eyes zero in on a girl with a tantou and a man with a club … the Sharingan burns the picture into her brain and once the fire dissipates she takes off like a shot. The Suna kunoichi and the Kiri shinobi are the greatest threats, she's reasonably sure of that. They'd need to take them out together so … she's picking off the small fries first.
Behind her another Katon scorches the vault. The sharp zing zing of Haru's daggers tells her things are well in hand. Instead she skids past the slightest Kiri nin and rams his head against the wall. He sags to the floor like a wet paper bag. Once more hands wrap around her bruised neck and a knee hits her in the back. There's an unhealthy crack and the sensation that follows catches her entirely off guard. A choked off scream rips out of her.
Hisana's elbow finds her opponent's solar plexus, once, twice – the third hit something gives way. His grip loosens enough to pry his fingers off her neck. She hits him once more, easily weaving through his blind defense. His nose breaks with a satisfying crack. Followed by the even louder cracking of his skull as a club crashes into his temple and drives his head deeply into a stone column. Blood and tissue spray, his head is squished like a grape.
The earth quakes; dust fills the air, pebbles rain onto their heads as the column crumbles. There's barely enough time for the shock to register.
And then the entire ceiling comes crashing down on them.