21. Shiny Rings and Broken Things

My eyes took in my name, glaring down at me in yellow. They darted to the name beside it and my mind came up blank. Who was Etsuko?

I didn't wonder for long, however. I glanced up to the balcony that housed the foreign teams, my eyes landing on Natsuo's team. Only he and his female teammate remained, and she was bouncing up and down, clapping her hands excitedly.

Wordlessly, I removed my foot from the bottom stair, retracing my steps back towards the center of the room. Etsuko was quick to make her way to me, bouncing down the stairs like an excited child on Christmas morning. She practically floated towards me, standing mere feet away from me, her turquoise-colored eyes shining with delight and anticipation.

I felt my stomach turn. In my experience, the opponents who appear unstable are the most dangerous. My eyes subconsciously flickered to Natsuo.

Hayate stepped up to us, glancing between us. "This match is between Makase Nakao and Shiro Etsuko. Do either of you object?"

"No way!" Etsuko chirped, her voice high-pitched. I only shook my head.

Hayate nodded and coughed, stepping away from us. "Begin."

As Hayate retreated, my opponent looked me up and down. She was still smiling. "So, you're the Nakao."

Something crawled beneath my skin. Nothing about the way she said that made me comfortable to any degree. But I ruled my face, meeting her gaze. "That would be me."

Etsuko giggled, clapping her hands happily. "Oooh, this will be so much fun!"

Etsuko reached over her shoulder, unclasping the weapon on her back. The giant metal ring sported shiny blades along it surface, spaced out so that Etsuko had multiple areas in which to hold the weapon. The ring was nearly as tall as her, and appeared sharp enough to decapitate me. I eyed the weapon carefully, acutely aware that I knew nothing about this strange girl and her abilities. I slid back into a defensive stance.

"I'll go first!" she said happily.

With a mighty even, the green-haired girl hurled her ring in my direction. It spun so fast it was a silver blur. I waited for it to near me, letting it come as close as I dared before pushing off the ground, jumping out of harm's way. The ring whizzed past beneath me.

Still in the air, I took out several shuriken, flinging them down at Etsuko. She dodged with ease, which I'd expected. I dropped back down, drawing my daggers. I was hoping to land atop the girl and pin her to the ground, but it was an experimental move at best.

Etsuko calmly watched me come down at her before running through handsigns that I did not recognize. From thin air, dozens of vibrant green leaves came to life, shielding her body in a swirling vortex of leaves.

What the-

I'd tried to change position, but it seemed Etsuko had delayed her defense on purpose. I slammed into her barrier, unable to pass through. Sharp pain came to life across my body before I was pushed away.

I flipped in the air, managing to maintain my footing when I touched the ground, but I still skidded back from my momentum. My skin was burning, and a glance down revealed that my skin was covered in tiny cuts. They did not bleed, but stung like a hundred paper cuts. Etsuko dismissed her leaves, looking entirely pleased with herself.

"You can do it, Nakao!"

Naruto's cheer caught my attention and I glanced up to see him pumping his fists in the air. But I didn't have the time to let it affect me and I immediately looked back to my opponent. I thought about her leaves and a thought came to mind. Leaves burn.

Arashi Kamekaze.

Wind billowed to life, flowing down my arms, latching onto my blades. With another set of handsigns, I took in a deep breath, blowing out a fireball. Fire flared to life, dancing along my blades. Etsuko watched on, standing idly. I rushed her, slashing a blade across her chest. Her shirt caught fire before her entire form became consumed by flame. Her form broke apart, crumpling into a pile of ashes at my feet.

Shit, a replacement jutsu!

"Yoohoo!"

My head shot up, only to be greeted by Etsuko. She was falling down on me fast, her ring slicing down at me. I held up my daggers and the clash of metal on metal rang out across the room. She pushed against me and I pushed back, only to hear her voice come from behind me.

"Wrong again!"

Eyes wide, I exerted a blast of chakra, giving me the needed power to push Etsuko's clone away from me. I dodged to the side.

I dived towards the ground, pain searing up my left arm. I hit the ground, right hand immediately clutching at my arm. Just below my headband, blood seeped through my fingers, staining them crimson as the blood flowed towards my wrist. Adrenaline trying to push back the pain, I glanced up to find the clone was gone and only one Etsuko remained, standing several feet away from me, twirling around her ring casually.

I was breathing heavily. One millisecond late and she would have cleaved my arm off!

I hopped to my feet, still tightly clinging to my arm. Pain was pounding beneath my hand, like the wound had its own heartbeat.

Etsuko continued to play with her ring. "Hey, nice dodge!"

I watched Etsuko carefully. There was something very off about her. Was she truly insane? I'd never seen someone look so happy in battle. But she was winning.

My eyes caught a gleam of metal on the ground. I'd dropped my blade when my right hand went to hold my left arm. I needed to retrieve it, but self-preservation fought me, pleading for me to keep pressure on my wound. I pushed it away, slowly letting go of my bleeding wound. I wiped my blood-soaked hand on my black shirt.

The gash was deep, explaining the steady bleeding. A brief glance showed me the whiteness of my bone beneath a layer of tissue. I swallowed against my throat, a wave a nausea rolling through me. Ignoring it, my eyes flickered to Etsuko before I made a dive for my blade.

Etsuko's eyes flashed the moment I moved and she thrust her deadly ring straight for me. I slid toward my blade, grasping the handle before quickly rolling to the side. Etsuko's ring dug into the tiled floor where I'd been milliseconds earlier.

I hopped to my feet, breathing heavily. My arm screamed in protest, but it was distant thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my system. I set my eyes on Etsuko as her ring shuddered before flying back to her like a boomerang. She caught the blade in one hand, her fingers perfectly finding a section of the ring between the blades.

If I remained on the defensive, she'd quickly wear me out, I realized. I had to switch tactics. I gripped my blades tightly and rushed my opponent. Etsuko stood calmly, ring held out in front of her. Just as I was in reaching distance of her ring, I flickered and reappeared behind her. I sliced at her neck but she ducked, spinning around while crouching. She swept at my legs with her ring.

I jumped up, shoving my daggers back into their sheaths. I ran through handsigns before taking in a deep breath of air and pinching two fingers together. Bringing them to my lips, I spewed a jet of flame at Etsuko. Unlike Sasuke's trade fireball shape, my fire split into separate streams as they rushed downwards.

As one stream neared Etsuko, she jumped backwards and the flames struck the ground. Another stream was already headed her way and she was forced to dodge again. Again and again she dodged the flames. As my last stream narrowly missed its target, I activated my kekki genki and a blast of wind struck the flames before they could die. The fire roared anew, its flaming tendrils leaping out at an unsuspecting Etsuko.

A sharp shriek struck the air as the girl flew back. As the fire died and I landed on my feet, I found Etsuko on her feet, but her clothes were singed. The smell of burnt hair infiltrated my nostrils and Etsuko brought a hand up, running fingers through her mint green hair. Fried locks detached and fluttered to the ground. She watched them fall, mouth gaping open.

Her eyes suddenly snapped back to me and gone was the go-lucky expression she'd held onto the entire fight. Her face was contorted in anger, eyes flashing menacingly. Alarmed, I immediately rushed her, but a blinding white light erupted before me and I found myself knocked backwards and I hit my tailbone as I flew to the ground.

With a grunt of pain, I struggled to my knees. I looked around rapidly, realizing the room was no longer as I knew it. Everything was pitch black, like the night unlit with the moon or stars. The balconies were gone, along with their occupants. As my eye adjusted to the darkness, I noticed I was surrounded by trees.

What the hell is this?

I got to my feet, warnings firing off in my brain. Something darted out of the dark brush, causing me to jump in surprise. I swirled around, but I didn't see anything. My eyes were screwed up in confusion when something attacked me from behind.

Something latched onto my ankle, taking me by surprise. Looking down, I saw a tree branch wrapped around my ankle. I tried to pull my foot away, but it remained firmly rooted to the ground. Despite how I tugged, I made no progress. The tree branch began to grow, working its way up my shin. Another branch was beginning to wind its way up my other leg. As they stopped at my knees, I realized I was completely trapped.

Shit!

The leaves on the trees surrounding me began to rustle with an unfelt wind. The action was eerily quiet and I realized everything around me was mute. I watched with apprehension as leaves pulled from their branches, dancing towards me. One shot out, brushing against my skin with a sharp sting.

I gasped in pain, hand flying to the area. I could feel warm blood stick to my fingers. Another leaf sliced at my side. Another came, and another, until my entire vision was filled with blurs of green. I cried out as the sliced at my skin.

Th-this isn't real! I'm in the arena…I'm in the arena!

A leaf sliced at my throat.

It's genjutsu! It has to be!

I tried to fight it, tried to pull forth all concentration. I could not be beaten by a genjutsu; not when I'd gotten this far. Not after all I'd sacrificed. Not after everything I'd gone through with Naruto and Sasuke…

"Are you okay?" I finally whispered, breaking the silence.

Sasuke blinked, as though I'd ripped him from a ravine in his mind. Sasuke's hands were on my shoulders, as he'd kept me from falling. The fight with the Sound team had tapped out my power; and the relief I'd felt as they'd walked away just moments ago had left me dizzy. But Sasuke pulled a hand away, covering his curse mark. Concentration flashed across his face.

I watched on in worry and regret. I was still trying to unravel the mystery of Orochimaru. I didn't understand why he'd left Sasuke the curse mark. I still didn't understand whether or not it had truly been meant for me. And I didn't understand why Orochimaru would want to leave it on me.

Lips dry, I spoke again. "Why did you do it?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped to mine again and his other hand left my shoulder as he sat back. "Do what?"

My eyes flickered to his curse mark. "Jump in the way like that…"

Sasuke was silent for a long moment before he glanced away from me. "I don't know."

His words reminded me of our time in Haku's mirrors. How he'd jumped in the way then, claiming he hadn't known why. I gave him a small smile that didn't reach my eyes. "That seems to be a recurring pattern with you. I'm beginning to think you never know what you're doing."

Sasuke ignored my attempt at a jest. He seemed to get lost in his thoughts again before turning his attention back to me. "How did Orochimaru know who you were?"

I frowned. It was a good question; one I'd been asking myself since our confrontation with him. I shook my head. "I don't know. How did he know who you were?"

Sasuke mirrored my actions. "He said Itachi's name…"

"And he said Keitaro's…" I whispered in response.

I couldn't lose here, not now. I was no further to understanding Orochimaru; and Sasuke wouldn't be safe until I could. And if I wanted to understand, to solve, I couldn't lose right here in this made up forest.

Thankfully, my hands were free, and it seemed like an oversight on Etsuko's end. I ran through handsigns and felt the familiar breeze of my kekki genki coming to life. I closed my eyes in concentration, creating a vortex of wind, molding and widening it until it whirled around the entire, what used to be, arena. I pushed it out and once again used my fire jutsu.

Flame came to life, swirling around the arena. Heat washed over me as I poured in more chakra, expanding the flames as far and wide as I could. Finally, I heard a scream.

Just like that, the forest was gone. So was the darkness and the leaves. I was in the arena once more, blinking away the bright fluorescent lights. My legs were free.

My flames still swirled around the arena and I saw Etsuko leap from them, back towards the middle of the room where the flames were not active. She was cringing, a hand clutching at her left arm.

I couldn't help the sense of victory that swelled within. Payback was, in fact, a bitch. I shot my flames out at Etsuko. Before they could reach her, however, a surge in chakra levels told me she'd activated a jutsu. The tile floor suddenly pulled up, like someone had grasped a tissue and pulled it upwards. The fire struck the tiled floor, which now acted as a barrier.

She's just full of tricks, isn't she?

From Etsuko's other side, several tiles split from the ground, flying towards me. They were thick and jagged and my eyes widened as they whizzed in my direction. I dodged the first two, noting another tile headed straight for me. I dodged to my right, only to discover there'd been another tile in the shadow of the other. It shot out at an angle, taking me by surprise. I gasped, but noticed far too late.

The tile connected with my injured left arm. A loud snapping noise echoed through the room as white-hot agony shot through me. I barely heard my scream of pain as my bone snapped in two and black dots popped into my vision. I fell to the ground, whacking my chin hard upon the tiled floor. I groaned in pain.

The sound of approaching footsteps broke through the pain. I forced my eyes open to find that Etsuko was on her feet, slowly making her way towards me. Her left sleeve had been burned away, revealing a second or third-degree burn on her arm. Her hair was hopelessly burnt and patches had fallen away. Her clothes were still falling from her in patches as they smoked.

Etsuko's eyes were clouded in rage, her lips sealed tight. She raised her ring above her head as she approached, flinging it towards me with a cry of effort.

Panic caused my instincts to act for me. With a last desperate surge of my chakra, I activated my kekki genki again. A blast of wind billowed forwards, so fast and powerful it cut at my skin. It caught the ring, spinning it counter-clockwise and sent it flying back towards Etsuko.

The girl's eyes widened as her own weapon came hurtling towards her. She backed away quickly, only to run into the wall she'd created that had once been the ground. Her back pressed against the barrier and, before she could react, the ring slammed into her left arm, lodging into the wall behind her.

Tiles crumbled to the ground. They were joined by Etsuko's arm, as it was chopped clean off her shoulder and landed to the ground with a sickening thump. Blood leaked from the open bicep as blood squirted from an artery in her gaping shoulder socket.

In shock, Etsuko's eyes slowly looked to her shoulder where her arm used to be attached. Her mouth was gaping open, eyes wide and disbelieving. Still in shock, she fell to her knees, fumbling for her detached arm and desperately attempting to stick it back onto her shoulder.

"I'm ending the match," Hayate quickly rushed in between Etsuko and me, the medics hurrying in his wake. "Winner of the seventh match: Makase Nakao."

I gazed up at Hayate, barely aware that his image was blurry and the world around me was spinning. I felt dizzy and nauseous. The adrenaline was ebbing away, and searing pain took its place. It overwhelmed my concentration as it spread from my broken arm to the rest of my body. My body twitched and I turned my head away, vomiting onto the ground.

I heard quickly approaching footsteps and suddenly, I was rolling onto my back. There was a face in my vision, saying my name, but they sounded distant and I couldn't make out any facial features. I felt myself being moved, probably onto a stretcher.

I won… The distant thought popped into my subconscious. My stomach churned dangerously, the pain beginning to overwhelm my conscious mind. I won. Wait 'til I tell Sasuke.

The boredom was far worse than any residual aches and pain my body was experiencing. I threw myself down on the bed, discarding the magazine I'd been sifting through. I gazed up at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the tiles. I was supposed to be released from the hospital today, but so far, I hadn't even seen a nursing assistant.

Fortunately, my hospital stay hadn't been all that long. Thanks to the medical staff, my body was healed, with various scars and scabs as proof. My broken arm had been mended, and all that remained was a thick pink scar. It was my forth day waking up in a hospital bed and I was ready to leave the smell of antiseptic behind me.

A stack of magazines and books were piled on my bedside table. I'd needed plenty of entertainment since practically no one had bothered to visit me at my sick bed. I figured some of my friends were still healing as well, but I was sure neither Naruto nor Kakashi-sensei were. Rude. The only person who had come to visit was Keitaro; and that hadn't been a particularly heartwarming affair.

He'd visited once and it had been once too many. The entire atmosphere had been full of tension. I hadn't forgotten his doubt over my survival skills before the Exams started; and he didn't need to say the words for me to gather he'd felt he'd been right. It grated on my nerves even now.

Where had his mistrust come from? Did he really not think I was strong enough? Were my years of training inadequate in his eyes? It made my blood boil.

And neither had I forgotten all that had transpired in the Forest of Death. I could hear Orochimaru's words clear as day, as though he stood before me. I wanted to know what Keitaro knew and why a strange man who tried to kill us knew his name. It wasn't lost on me that a new dynamic had developed in our sibling relationship; mistrust and suspicion.

I felt these grow stronger every day that I was without answers. Why did Orochimaru seem so intimately familiar with my brother? And there was Natsuo…

"Sasuke, I think you just got dissed," I whispered to my teammate, scratching my head.

"You're honorable for doing so, however," Kabuto continued. "And for that, I will show you the proper path to take."

"Proper path?" I air-quoted with my fingers, eyebrow quirked upwards.

His quirked lips turned in my direction. "But first, put out that fire. It might have attracted enemies by now."

"Wait," Sasuke suddenly said, halting Kabuto in his tracks. He turned around as Sasuke continued. "Do you still have your recognition cards with you?"

I glanced over to my teammate in question. Another smirk slid onto Kabuto's face.

"Is there someone you want information on?" he asked.

"A Sand ninja; his name is Natsuo," Sasuke replied as Kabuto took his deck of cards from a pouch around his waist.

My body tensed at the very mention of Natsuo's name, but I swallowed. Smart of Sasuke to bring this up to Kabuto. Any bit of information on him would be helpful. Kabuto knelt on the ground, placing a blank card face-up on the ground. He glanced up in amusement. "No last name this time?"

Sasuke remained silent, but I felt my throat go dry. I found I couldn't speak for a second, but finally, I was able to get it out. "Makase."

Sasuke and Kabuto glanced to me. I could feel their burning stares, so I concentrated harder on the card on the ground. Kabuto applied chakra to it, and the card began to spin beneath his finger. When it came to a rest, the blank surface was now decorated with information.

In the upper, left-hand corner of the card was Natsuo's picture, showing his upper body. Beside this was a chart detailing his ability stats. Beneath that were thumbnail pictures of his teammates and sensei. Beneath these pictures were his mission statistics.

"Natsuo is sixteen," Kabuto's eyes scanned the card. "He's completed…this is incredible…he's a genin but there are no D-ranked missions listed for him. He's completed eleven C-ranked missions and 10 B-ranked. This is his first year taking the exam however so I could be missing information on him. It looks like all of his skills are fairly even except for his genjutsu. There's nearly no improvement on that. But the rest of his stats are pretty high. But like I said, this is his first time taking this exam and he's a foreign ninja…he could be even more dangerous."

Who was Makase Natsuo? How did he fit into our lives? He clearly knew my brother as well; enough that he'd told me I looked like him. It sent unease cascading through every inch of me, clenching at my heart and gut all at once. But I couldn't ask about it during his visit; this hospital room was no place for that conversation. And this was partly why his visit had been so quiet and short.

A knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced to the door in relief. It must be one of the nurses coming to release me from my confines. Finally!

The door opened, and the figure that walked through was most certainly not a nurse. But they were certainly the next best thing. My eyes brightened. "Kiba!"

Kiba closed the door behind him, shooting me a smile. The hood of his jacket was down, revealing the mop of curly brown hair on his head; and the puppy that rested upon it. He looked much better than he had when I'd last seen him on that stretcher, only a few scratches to indicate the ordeal we'd all gone through.

"You're okay," I breathed, not realizing the fear that had lodged itself into my heart over my ignorance of his well-being.

"Of course," he said, bemused. He pulled a wooden chair close to my bed. "They released me yesterday but it was past visiting hours so I couldn't come see you."

I was tempted to tell him he could have snuck in, but was distracted by Akamaru jumping into my lap. He yipped, licking my face. I laughed and began to scratch beneath his chin while he settled into my lap. "I'm glad you're okay too, Akamaru."

Kiba watched the exchange with a soft smile. "I tried to ask about you, but no one who visited could tell me anything. But Hinata brought me this so I knew you'd at least won."

"I went right after you," I said distractedly as I watched Kiba pull a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He opened the square, handing me the sheet.

On the paper was a printed bracket system. A glance at the names told me what the system was for. It was the matches for the next Exam.

"Everyone gets a month to train," Kiba explained as my eyes scanned the paper.

"A whole month…" I repeated, a bit surprised about the luxury. But my attention was easily snatched by the matches.

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Gaara

Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino

Makase Natsuo vs. Makase Nakao

Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru

My eyes hardened as my eyes fell on my match. Natsuo…

"Those are tough opponents," Kiba said quietly.

"Hmm?" I muttered distractedly.

"Please be careful…"

I lowered the paper, turning my full attention on Kiba. He was rubbing his hands together nervously, gaze set on his lap. His lips were twisted into a frown.

My eyes softened. Reaching out, I grabbed one of Kiba's hands in mine. "You don't need to worry about me."

Kiba looked up skeptically.

"I'm always careful," I offered him a smile.

Kiba snorted. "Right. Guess I'm imagining you're in a hospital bed."

I rolled my eyes, lightly punching his arm. Slowly, I glanced back to the paper, taking in Natsuo's name. "Don't worry; I won't be losing."

Author's Note:

I was so pleased with the reviews I decided to post this early! Although, to be honest, I've edited chapters through 24 and when I post, I go through again and make edits; and I'm not terribly thrilled with this chapter. It's a bit sloppy in my opinion, and short. Am I going to overwork myself to fix it though? Nope. My mind is already working through 24 and I've another story taking up my attention. So thanks for sticking in there! It gets better, I promise.

I LOVE NakaoXKiba so I am tickled others feel the same. Tots adorbs these two. Thanks so much for being here!