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**Camera Static**
"Last time, on Total Ninja Island. Our competing ninja teams had the chance to strut their stuff, some succeeding," A clip of Haku, Samui, and Tenten's performances, "Some failed," A clip of Lee and Kankuro's performances, "But in the end, it was Karin's sabotage that threw off Temari's performance and cost the Toads the win. At the campfire, Karin tried to throw the blame onto Temari, and even with her cousin not voting against her, the first of Sasuke's fangirls was voted out." Kakashi monotone the entire intro, hands in pockets with zero showing emotion.
"Who will go home next, will schemers Kurotsuchi and Ino get outed by their teams, will Chojuro get to speak, find out here, on Total! Ninja! Island!"
**Camera Static**
"GOOD MORNING FELLOW NINJA!" Gai's boisterous voice rang over the intercom at the crack of dawn, making the few awake flinch at the sound, and sending the many sleeping into fits of surprise, several falling off their bunks. "TODAY'S CHALLENGE BEGINS IMMEDIATELY, EVERYONE REPORT TO THE EDGE OF THE WOODS IN WHATEVER STATE YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN TO LEARN ABOUT THE CHALLENGE FROM MY HIP AND COOL RIVAL KAKASHI!"
"Does that man not have an off button…" Tenten groused as she grabbed a small prepped bag she had on top of her duffel as she headed out of the girls half of the cabin, Haku already waiting for her, fully clothed, after they spent the night in the boys half of the Hawks challenge.
"I do believe Gai believes his enthusiasm is a part of his natural charm and ninja way, and to be quiet would be anathema to him." Haku remarked as the duo departed the cabin, noticing it was only Shino, Sasuke, and Neji even partly dressed and ready from their team alongside them, while from the Toads, Naruto, Lee, and Gaara were the only three fully dressed and prepared.
Over the next few minutes, the rest of the teams showed up in various states of dress and preparedness, most yawning and in their pajamas, but Samui and Karui both were fully kitted out, hair damp from showers.
"Welcome little ninja!" Kakashi spoke up, putting away the brightly colored book he had been reading as the ninja campers arrived at the edge of the woods. "As ninja, you will often be expected to survive in hostile territory, with minimal levels of preparedness. For this challenge, you will be spending the next 24 hours in the woods here. You are not permitted to leave the woods, and anyone who does, will cost their team. There are two campsites marked deep within the woods, you are to make your way there as teams, spend the night there, and then rush back here come dawn. First team back wins immunity, and sends the losers to elimination."
"Are we allowed to sabotage our competitors?" Sasuke's dry voice cut through the quiet of the morning, a sharp glare pointing straight at Naruto, who returned it with a challenging grin of his own.
"You may sabotage your opponent's food gathering attempts, and their shelter building attempts, but you are not allowed to enter open combat against them. Woodland survival requires stealth, and open combat goes against that goal. Alright, GO!"
Without any warning, Kakashi yelled at the teams and startled both teams of teen ninjas into action, sending them sprinting off into the woods with Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee all at the head of the pack.
"HAHAHA! Look at them run, such youth!" Gai said cheerily as he joined Kakashi at the edge of the woods, teeth flashing as he smiled widely.
"You say something Gai?" Kakashi asked, seemingly coming out of a trace as he turned to face his assistant host.
"Curse you and your hip coolness Kakashi!" Gai comically shook a fist at Kakashi, "Did you remember to tell them that we've trapped the entire woods to challenge their youthful skills?"
"Oh," Here Kakashi was cut off by a pair of explosions going off in the woods at the same time, "I'm sure they'll figure it out fairly quickly.
**Camera Static**
The Toads had all followed Naruto and Lee's lead, dashing along the forest floor until Naruto had bounced off several trees and began hopping through the branches like a monkey on a sugar high.
"Anyone who can tree hop follow me as a lead group, everyone else, stick to the ground path, we're gonna beat Sasuke-teme today dattebayo!" Naruto shouted encouragingly to his team before leaping off into the forest, leaving the rest of his team staring at his wake, all remaining on the ground.
**Camera Static**
"Ok, so I'd heard that high level ninjas can leap through the trees like it's nothing, but to actually see someone my age doing it, when I can only manage two jumps before falling on my face, is impressive." Temari said, arms crossed and huffing, "And if Naruto can pull it off, you can be sure Sasuke can as well, knuckle headed rivals that they are."
**Camera Static**
"So… tree hopping…why must Naruto be so troublesome." Shikamaru groused, face resting wearily in one hand, still dressed completely in his pajamas, with his thick vest lazily thrown over them.
"I could follow him, at a much slower pace, but why bother, too much work for this early in the morning."
**Camera Static**
"Yosh! I must take this chance to perfect my tree hopping skills to keep up with Naruto! Truly he is an inspiration and talented ninja!" Lee fist pumped dramatically, his eyes bursting into mini flames in determination.
**Camera Static**
"Yosh! I shall follow you Naruto! Everyone, we will meet you at the campsite with food!" Lee cheered and jumped into the trees following Naruto, fell down with a loud crash after three jumps, and then got back up and continued trying to follow Naruto's flawless tree jumping.
"Welp…that's our two top fighters off on their own…troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned and Ino smacked him across the back of his head before marching forward.
"Well who needs them! Lee said they would get food for us, so we have to count on that. The rest of us have to hustle to one of the campsites Kakashi mentioned and set up shelters for the night, because looking at the clouds right now, we're due for some heavy rain!"
Ino's declaration was punctuated by her marching forward, intending to lead the group on foot through the woods, but three steps forward she stepped on a hidden tripwire, and twin explosions rang out from either side of her, splattering her in gallons of sticky sap. Sap that smelled distinctly like sewage.
"KAKASHI!" Ino raged as the rest stared at the sap covered blonde, everyone taking several steps backwards to get away from the smell.
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed already peering into the black of the forest they were marching deeper into, his mind churning through potential trap placement ideas.
"Welp, guess this is a good chance to practice dismantling and avoiding traps." Fu said cheerily, pulling a tool kit out from her pajama top, the mint haired girl smiling as the tool kit unfolded to reveal a complete lock picking set, several screwdrivers and wrenches, and a bundle of senbon needles.
"Anything to not end up like that." Temari thumbed over at Ino, who growled and spat a wad of sap out of her mouth as she glared viciously at Temari.
"Well then, lead on Fu." Samui gestured to the mint haired girl, who grinned impishly and walked in front of Ino, hunching low to the ground and keeping an eye for more trip wires and other traps.
**Camera Static**
With the Hawks, they were in a very similar situation, except for a few small differences. When Sasuke tree hopped away, no one followed him as the rest of the team stared as their silent and stoic leader gave them a side-eye before hopping away through the treetops.
And instead of the local fangirl taking charge, it was a disheveled Kurotsuchi, very done with Kakashi and his early wakeup calls. And just like Ino, she ended up with a face full of sap.
Tenten couldn't hold back her delighted cackle as Kurotsuchi silently seethed and wiped what she could off her face, the other Hawks edging away from her as the smell hit them.
"Well, it looks like Kakashi-san forgot to mention that he trapped the forest." Haku commented blandly, holding back their own giggles as Tenten continued laughing at Kurotsuchi's misfortune.
"Then we must continue onwards with caution." Shino remarked from the back, leaning against a tree as the heavy coat he wore over his pajamas hid his features.
"No shit genius." Sakura shot at the usually silent and creepy teen, who's response to the pinkette was unseen behind his sunglasses and high collared coat.
"Alright, since Sasuke up and left us puny little mortals," Tenten started, finally recovered from her laughing fit, "And Kurotsuchi is having a moment connecting with nature, here's the plan. Me and Haku will go find us all some food, and hopefully the river so stink bomb here can rinse off, while the rest of you go find the campsite and start getting set up."
"Sure, why not." Karui said with a roll of her eyes.
"Great, and I hope one of you guys has some tools on you, because mine are for getting me and Haku through the forest, so good luck." Tenten held up her stocked weapons bag before departing, a pair of knives flicking out from under her pajama sleeves and cutting a pair of waist high trip wires that went off as she cut them, wasting their sap payload across the forest, floor, leaving Haku and Tenten to gracefully step around them as they left the rest of the Hawks.
"I too shall search for food." Shino spoke up again, getting looks from the rest of his team. Ignoring them, the coat wearing boy marched off in the opposite direction of Tenten and Haku, heading more towards the large cliff they had all jumped from in the first challenge rather than deeper in the woods.
**Camera Static**
"Sure, why not have creeper boy wander off on his own, that won't come back to bite us in the ass at all." Kurotsuchi, still glazed in the disgusting sap, growled into the confessional camera.
"And I am absolutely DONE with Tenten. She's made it abundantly clear by now that she wouldn't give me her sweat to drink if we were both stranded in the desert. Once I finish solidifying my power base, she is GONE. And Haku after her." Kurotsuchi wiped another handful of sappy gunk off her with a disgusted growl.
"I can get Karui on board no problem, she already owes me. All I need is for something to set pretty boy off, and then help him get rid of it, and he'll follow me believing it's whatever 'fate' he rambles on about."
**Camera Static**
"I have no interest in the blatant power grabs and social drama my team regularly partakes in." Shino sat stoically in the confessional, bits of twigs and leaves covering his coat. "This is a male kikaichu insect, a rare and dying breed, and never present without a female queen in the area. My family has been hunting down and capturing as many queen kikaichu as we can for generations, and this woods trip is the perfect opportunity to continue my search."
**Camera Static**
"You heard miss weapons then, let's just get to the damn campsite." Kurotsuchi finally spoke up, her tone snappish.
"Hinata and I shall lead us, our all seeing eyes shall not miss any traps in our path." Neji stepped forward, his long hair swishing behind him as he swiped a hand forward and disabled a second trip wire that was only a few feet past the one Kurotsuchi had triggered.
The cousins led the remaining Hawks forward, disabling whatever traps they could find, most times disabling the trap simply caused it to go inert, but several of the wires they cut caused the sap explosion to preemptively trigger, and splatter a section of forest in the sewage sap that was now drying on Kurotsuchi, much to the pink eyes girl's displeasure.
"Oh dear." Neji said suddenly, breaking the silence of the careful march through Kakashi's devil trapped woods. The flawless strikes the long haired boy had been using to cut through the tripwires faltered only momentarily, but it was enough of a delay for a sap trap to be triggered, and a shoulder level sap bomb went off directly next to Hinata's head, covering her entrie upper half in the nasty sap.
"How unsightly, truly your inferior eyes and skills show themselves once again, failure." Neji spat down at Hinata, who had stumbled and fallen when the sap explosion hit her.
Looking at her team, Kurotsuchi noticed that only Kankuro and Choji really seemed bothered by Neji's comments and actions against his cousin. Karui just huffed and rolled her eyes and Sakura was giving the large chested Hinata a stink eye of her own.
"Alright alright, let her get back up while we keep going." Kankuro said, leaning down to help the quiet girl back up, ignoring the sputtered squeak she let out as he hauled her back to her feet by one arm. Choji quickly offered her a bandana he had in his pocket to get the sap off her, getting a derisive snort from Neji.
"And of course the failure gets special treatment for her failings, typical." And with that, the boy brusquely stalked onwards, Karui and Sakura following him while Kurotsuchi only offered a commiserating look to Hinata, gesturing to her own sap covered form before following.
"Just go on ahead, I'll be b-behind you in a minute." Hinata stuttered out, shooing Kankuro and Choji away with one hand as she leaned against a tree.
"If you say so Hinata, but if you want me to wait around it's no problem." Choji insisted.
"Yeah, no pretty girl deserves to be treated like that." Kankuro agreed, brushing a few leaves of his pajamas, without his makeup and jumpsuit, he went from weirdo, to normal brown haired, sharp eyed ninja teen.
"I'll be f-fine." Hinata insisted.
Looking at one another, Choji and Kankuro shrugged and continued onwards, leaving Hinata to try and clean herself off alone in the woods.
Once she was sure they were gone, Hinata sank back to her knees, silent tears falling out of her eyes, wiping the sap away from her face alongside the falling tears.
"Neji-niisan." Hinata mumbled quietly, wiping the sap off her hands onto the grass.
She sat in lonely silence for several moments before it was interrupted by a sunshine blonde head poking out from the treetops upside down.
"Hinata, is that you?" Naruto asked, a dead rabbit hanging from one hand while the other held a thick tree branch like a sloth.
"N-naruto?" Hinata realized the blonde leader of the other team was looking down at her cautiously, flinching slightly as he fell gracefully from the treetops and landed on his feet in front of her, sending her scrambling up, hurrying to wipe the sap and tears off her face.
"Kakashi trapped the woods to high hell and back if he managed to get someone as skilled as you with one of those sap bombs, huh?" Naruto pulled off the top half of his orange tracksuit, leaving his upper half only covered in a partially see-through metal mesh shirt, sending Hinata into a blushing mess as he offered her the top to towel off the sap. An offer Hinata gratefully took, if only to cover her blushing.
"I-it was my own fault I got h-hit by the sap." Hinata mumbled into the warm piece of clothing, not mentioning the actions of her cousin.
"If you say so, but that doesn't give your team any right to leave you behind like this." Naruto remarked, plopping down next to her, watching her with careful eyes. "If I had known they would treat you like this I would have drafted you for my team instead of Kiba or Omoi or someone."
"Th-thank you Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered out, touched by the idea of being on the kind blonde's team rather than the Hawks, who were openly cutthroat, even Tenten, who was extremely kind to her, was more focused on the competition than making friends like Naruto and Lee were.
"Alright then, let me pass this off to Lee and I can help you find your way back to your team." Naruto said, rising to his feet and accepting back the sap stained jacket Hinata handed back to him as she rose to her feet on her own. "And if you'd rather not rejoin the main group, I saw where Haku and Tenten were hunting around near the river earlier."
"I'd l-like that, Tenten and Haku are good friends." Hinata said quietly, still blushing as Naruto threw the tracksuit jacket back on, but didn't re zip it, leaving his well sculpted chest and defined abs in clear view for her.
"Alright, just wait here for a minute then." Naruto said before vanishing back into the foliage, leaving the shy girl alone again. Blushing and letting her imagination run wild from the sight of a nearly shirtless Naruto, Hinata couldn't stop the slight trickle of blood that leaked from her nose, nor the warm and comforting feeling that Naruto inspired in her.
She was absolutely certain now that she had it bad for the sunshine blonde, but whenever she tried to picture going out with him, a peaceful date or just being with him, Neji's cold voice rang through her, spitting down on her and calling her a failure.
Hugging herself tightly, Hinata sat mostly paralyzed by her cousin's ringing insults until Naruto returned, jacket unzipped and the dead rabbit passed off to Lee, who was presumably somewhere around the forest.
"Alright, I sent Lee back with the food we gathered, now let's go find your friends." Naruto said cheerily before noticing how frozen Hinata was, and gently pulled her into a hug, ignoring the bits of sap that got on him that she hadn't been able to get off her.
"N-naruto…" Hinata trailed off any protests as she took in his warmth, her blush reaching atomic levels and Neji's words were wiped form her mind.
"Come on, I'll give you a piggyback ride, no chance of hitting any more traps this way." Naruto said, scooping up Hinata easily and leaving her to hang off his back and get a really good feeling of his powerful muscles at work. Similarly, with Hinata pressed into his back, Naruto realized just how much of her figure the baggy jacket Hinata wore was hiding, giving him a light blush that Hinata missed in her own blushing.
"Alright then, onwards!" Naruto cheered, dashing off into the forest as if Hinata wasn't weighing him down.
**Camera Static**
The Toads, minus Lee and Naruto, had worked their way through the sap field Kakashi had prepared, and had finally reached the circular clearing marked as a campsite by the flag planted in the center marked with both a Toad and Hawk logo.
"Finally!" Ino griped, wiping sap off her as she sat firmly on the ground next to the flag. While Fu had managed to disarm many of the traps, there were still a few she missed. And every single one she missed ended up going off in Ino's face, leaving the platinum blonde fuming and drenched in stink sap.
"Alright everyone, we've got shelters to build until Naruto and Lee get back with food, and Ino, you've gotta get to the river and get that mess off you, or the stench will keep us up all night." Temari took command of the campsite, and with Naruto off finding food and Ino completely done, no one protested.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru complained as Chojuro grabbed his arm and dragged him off into the forest, shoving as many large sticks as he could find into the lazy boy's arms for their shelters. Fu tucked away her trap kit and followed Gaara, who dryly mentioned collecting leaves to insulate their shelters for the night.
Samui and Temari took to the final task of setting up the two shelters as both pairs brought back the supplies, as well as using some of Fu's tools to dig up a campfire pit, which Shikamaru was all too happy to light with a lighter he had in his vest.
Halfway through the process of shelter building, Lee came tumbling from the tree tops, three dead rabbits clutched in his grip and a pouch stuffed with herbs and other edible vegetables at his side.
Gaara had a knife ready and expertly prepared and cleaned the rabbit carcasses, all under Temari's watchful and nervous eyes as her brother's hands got covered in blood in the process, not that he even flinched as the warm liquid splattered across his hands. From there, the food preparation was handed off to Fu, who expertly roasted the rabbits and vegetables over the little campfire as the sun began setting, the journey to reach their campsite at the sedate pace of avoiding and disarming traps taking well into the afternoon and the shelter construction still ongoing.
It wasn't until Naruto reappeared and the last of the small branches laid out over the leaf stuffed lean-to shelters that the food was ready, and the Toads all happily took part in the meal Fu had cooked.
"What took you so long anyway, Naruto?" Samui asked cooly as she bit into a rabbit leg, the fatty meat lightly staining her lips as she ate.
Ino, who was damp and just made her way back from the river free of sap, was quick to add her own two cents, roasted carrot in one hand as she spoke, "Yeah, I thought for sure you'd be the first one back rather than Lee."
"Well you know." Naruto trailed off, waving his own skewer of rabbit meat aloft as he grinned impishly. "Kakashi said we couldn't attack the other team, but he never said anything about making sure their food for the night got sabotaged."
Most of the Toads laughed at this, happy with their own meals and shelters as faint thunder rumbled above them.
"Now I'm sure that's a story and a half." Fu joked, lightly elbowing Gaara, who sat stoically next to her, eating his own share of the rabbit.
"Nothing much really." Naruto admitted. "Not my fault they split up much more than we did, and that I talked their hunting group into not rejoining the rest of them for the night. I'm sure Tenten will be happy with a full stomach while Kurotsuchi and Neji go hungry." Naruto admitted, shrugging and smiling like a fox, his whisker marks stretching from how wide his smile was.
"Sowing discord amongst our enemies, excellent." Gaara remarked as he finished his food, tossing aside the skewer as he stretched.
"Very sly blondie, didn't think you had it in you." Ino admitted, to which Naruto smirked at her.
"I'm a ninja aren't I?" He asked rhetorically. "Not to mention that back home, I'm known as the prankster king from hell. No one's earned my attention here yet, but I've driven four teachers to quit their jobs and dozens of bullies into moving with my pranks."
The Toads all laughed and settled in for the night, content with their shelters and meal for the night.
**Camera Static**
The Hawks on the other hand, were much worse off.
They found their campsite easily enough, but with Hinata left behind after the sap incident, Shino, Tenten, and Haku off finding food, Sasuke who knows where, and Kurotsuchi immediately ditching them once they reached the campsite, the remaining Hawks only managed to get a campfire started and one shelter finished by the time sunset began, the ominous thunder in the distance telling of heavy rainfall the coming night.
And even after Kurotsuchi got back from rinsing off in the river, there was no sight of any of the food gatherers or Hinata coming any time soon.
"Well this is just perfect, we're missing like half of our team, have no food, only have enough shelter for like, half of us unless we're willing to get 'comfy' with one another, and it looks like it's about to pour." Karui groused, furious at the state her team was in.
"Not my fault Tenten got lost in these woods, if we lose, I blame her." Kurotsuchi chimed in, already in the shelter, claiming her place for the night.
"Now hold on, it was Neji that drove Hinata away, that's on him for acting like an ass, and there's nothing wrong with getting comfy for the night." Kankuro chimed in, wiggling his eyebrows at Kurotsuchi, who rolled her eyes and flipped off the usually catsuit wearing boy.
"Not to mention that she had nothing to do with Shino being a creep like usual." Sakura said as she poked the fire with a stick, failing to mention that Sasuke had ditched them like Shino had.
"Not my fault Hinata is such a failure, she should be the next one we should vote off, so she doesn't drag us down." Neji coldly remarked, unflinching even as his stomach growled.
"Leave Hinata alone you ass." Choji cursed at the long haired boy, suffering himself with the lack of food.
"Of course her failure friend speaks up for her, what can you do about it fatty?" Neji challenged Choji, who growled at Neji's words, and lashed out, a weighted fist catching the proud boy in the gut, sending him stumbling backwards into their shelter, collapsing it around Kurotsuchi, who got bruised and buried in the sticks.
And with perfect timing, the sky opened up and it began to pour, drenching the foodless and shelterless Hawks.
"Perfect…just perfect." Kankuro sighed, leaning back against a tree as the rain came down.
**Camera Static**
Tenten had not been expecting for Naruto, who was on the opposing team, to drop off Hinata like he had, nor was she expecting him to have such a good idea. And she was all for it after hearing how the rest of her jackass teammates treated poor Hinata. The girl who wouldn't hurt a fly did not deserve to be bullied by her own family, and if the rest of them didn't want to stick up for her, then all the fish she and Haku had managed to fish up didn't have to be shared.
The two girls and Haku were all well fed and safely perched in the treetops when the rain came down, the extra branches Tenten had cut and tied together leaving them dry under the weight of the storm.
"Welp, what's the betting on the rest of our team being soaked, hungry, and generally miserable, all because they're a bunch of jerks?" Tenten mused as Haku chuckled, and Hinata looked slightly put off by the thought of others suffering, even if they had been mean to her before.
"About as likely as Hinata having a massive crush on Naruto, that is to say, certainly." Haku teased, sending Hinata into sputtered protests, and Tenten into a laughing fit.
"This right here, this is the most fun I've had since this competition started." Tenten admitted, gesturing between herself, Haku, and Hinata. "So what do the two of you say, the three of us making it to the final three, that way whoever wins, we can be sure it isn't a jackass like Kurotsuchi or Neji.
"I would be amenable to that." Haku quickly agreed from their perch next to Tenten, reaching out a hand to shake, which Tenten easily shook with a wide smile.
"A-are you sure, I don't w-want to drag you two down." Hinata said nervously, tapping her fingers together.
"Have a bit more confidence in yourself, Hinata." Tenten encouraged her teammate, "How about this, we'll help you confess to Naruto along the way, that way even if you don't win, you'll have a badass blonde boyfriend to show for this whole thing."
"EEP!" Hinata squeaked and blushed, but once she had calmed down, shook hands with both Tenten and Haku, solidifying the alliance between the three.
**Camera Static**
Morning came quickly for everyone. At the main Hawk camp, the rain and general bad mood kept everyone awake for the entire night, meaning that the whole group was ready to sprint back to the main camp the second morning rolled around.
Kurotsuchi led the charge for them, and it quickly became apparent that Kakashi's traps hadn't all been taken care of the night before, or he had been out in the rain resetting them, because all of the Hawks ended up tripping the traps, leaving the entire group hungry, cold, and coated in the disgusting sticky smelly sap.
"Finally!" Kurotsuchi shouted once back at camp, seeing not just Kakashi, but a dry and sapless Sasuke waiting for them, munching on a full grown tomato as if it were an apple.
"So we win right, Sasuke was the first one back?" Sakura asked as she struggled with the sap stuck in her long pink locks.
"Hn." Sasuke spat out a tomato seed and glared at his team, his gaze flickering back at Kakashi as the cheery host somehow managed to stay dry in the pouring rain.
"Unfortunately for you, my sappy soggy Hawks, like I told your esteemed leader, your WHOLE team must be present for you all to win." Kakashi said cheerily, holding up four fingers as he did so. "And it looks to me like you are four Hawks short at the moment.
"Make that one missing Hawk." Tenten's voice emerged from the woods as she led Haku and Hinata out of the woods, all three of them remarkably sap free, even if they were soaked by the ongoing rain storm.
"And where have you been all night?" an annoyed Karui shot at Tenten, who shrugged in response.
"We couldn't find the rest of you, Hinata made her way to us, but by then, the rest of you were long gone and the rain was starting, so we hid in the treetops and just hoped Shino would find enough food for all of you."
"Where is Shino anyway, if he gets here before the Toads do we win." Kankuro remarked, not even bothering to clean off the sap covering him as he peered back into the woods, as if expecting the creepy boy to appear from thin air.
"Nope, because we're all here." Naruto's confident voice came from the woods as he led the entire Toads team back into the camp, only Ino having any sap on her, as she visibly steamed in annoyance at being covered in the disgusting stuff once again.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 little Toads means that the Hawks are the losers of the day!" Kakashi announced and the Toads all let out a cheer and the Hawks groaned in disappointment.
"We would have won if it weren't for you leading the food group away Tenten!" Kurotsuchi rounded on Tenten, who was quick to fire back.
"I'm here aren't I, and would anyone from your group say you did anything worth doing this challenge?" Tenten challenged her, and the rest of the group that got sap and rain covered on top of going hungry shifted and looked amongst themselves with barely restrained animosity.
"Where is Shino anyway?" Choji asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Not here, costing us the win." Neji growled out, spitting out a wad of sap before he stormed off.
"Well, you Hawks have until this evening to get the sap out of any nooks and crannies its found its way into, and you too I guess Ino," Here Ino shrieked in annoyance and stomped off the the showers, "I'll see you Hawks tonight for the elimination ceremony once we've tracked down our missing Hawk."
**Camera Static**
Shino had indeed made it to the cliff side, and had tracked the kikaichu he was looking for to a cave, only for one of Kakahsi's traps to go off, sealing off the one exit to the cave with steel bars, leaving the under equipped Shino trapped inside the cave.
**Camera Static**
"She may not have been why we lost, but Tenten has to go!" Kurotsuchi seethed, "I was fine with her when she was just doing her thing, but with Sasuke being a broody no communication leader, it's my job to pick up the slack, and I don't need her trying to usurp me. If I had allies already I could get rid of her, but until I can pull Neji over to my side he's just going to be a loose cannon."
**Camera Static**
"I want Kurotsuchi and Neji gone." Tenten spoke confidently into the confessional, twirling a kunai on one finger. "With Haku and Hinata working with me, it should be easy, but with the amount of cocksure loose cannon on our team, who knows what's gonna happen. We just have to cast our votes and hope for the best. At least we know that us three are off the chopping block for tonight."
**Camera Static**
"I am confident that despite being the reason for our loss, I will not be eliminated tonight." Shino said blandly, a kikaichu beetle resting on his finger, "Why? The animosity between Tenten and Kurotsuchi will drive the team to choose between them, leaving me safe."
**Camera Static**
"Welcome back Hawks, to your second elimination ceremony!" Kakashi welcomed the Hawks, still somehow staying dry in the ongoing downpour. "Your win streak ends at two and someone is going home tonight."
Tenten and Kurotsuchi glared at one another, and Neji sent a harsh glare of his own at Hinata who was curling into herself under his withering glare.
"I have 10 marshmallows of delicious safety here, and 11 Hawks in front of me, and the first birdies safe are….Hinata, Kankuro, Sasuke, Neji, Choji, Karui, Haku, and Sakura."
One by one the marshmallows left Kakashi's platter, leaving two marshmallows behind, and Tenten, Kurotsuchi, and Shino empty handed.
"All three of you drew your teammates ire in the challenge, Tenten for not bringing back food, Kurotsuchi for being a bad leader while Sasuke was gone, and Shino for getting trapped in a cage and costing you the win." Kakashi drew out the tension before tossing over the next marshmallow, "Tenten."
The weapons prodigy caught the sweet treat deftly and shot a triumphant look at Kurotsuchi, who shrugged back at her, a smirk of her own forming.
"And the final marshmallow goes to…"
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"Kurotsuchi."
The pink eyes plotter caught the marshmallow smugly as Tenten was surprised, and Shino was left with nothing.
"Shino, your creepy bug obsession cost you, you're done, the dock of shame awaits you." Kakashi gestured and Shino silently departed from the campfire, not looking back at his team at all as he left.
**Camera Static**
"As much as I want Tenten gone, Shino was much easier to turn people onto." Kurotsuchi admitted, wringing the rainwater out of her short hair. "I had to cover my own ass for tonight, and now that I know who is following her, it's time for me to make my own alliance officially."
**Camera Static**
"So you wanted to speak to us?" Karui asked Kurotsuchi, Neji silently standing next to her as they met in secret at the edge of the woods.
"After tonight's vote it's clear to me that Tenten talked Haku and Hinata into working with her in an alliance, and if we don't target them, they'll be set to go as far as they want after the teams merge." Kurotsuchi said, watching Karui and Neji's expressions, happy whe she saw the disgusted look on Neji's face when she mentioned Hinata.
"Alright, I'm willing to work with you, but I'm not sure about fate boy over here." Karui jerked a thumb over at Neji, who was watching both of them.
"I'm assuming you want proof that we can overthrow Tenten and her group?" Kurotsuchi asked the prodigy, and Neji nodded in affirmation.
"Then work with us on a trial basis, if the three of us work together, then we can get rid of Hinata next, and your little failure cousin goes home, and it deprives Tenten of an ally." Kurotsuchi pissed, and a wicked grin grew over Neji's features.
"I am not opposed to the idea, but I am hesitant to tie down my loyalties." Neji admitted, but still held out a hand. "I will think about this, but I will not share this information with others. I will come to you if I feel it will further my goals."
"You got yourself a deal." Kurotsuchi shook Neji's hand, and with that, the long haired teen departed.
"You sure it's a good idea to not fully have him on board?" Karui asked Kurotsuchi, who smiled at her new ally.
"With Tenten and Haku backing her, Hinata will be safe unless we act against her, which we won't until Neji joins us, Sakura and Kankuro are excellent fodder until then. Then when he comes to us, we can easily follow through on the promise to get rid of Hinata."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Karui smirked, happy that she was in a strong alliance with one of the strongest women in the game, and one just as cutthroat as herself.
**Camera Static**
"That Hawks taste defeat again while the Toads feast on victory, the Hawks splinter into two factions, led by Tenten and Kurotsuchi while the Toads are happy working as a team. And romance is in the air as our resident sunshine blonde has wooed the shy Hinata, and a few others are starting to give each other looks." Kakashi wiggled his one visible eyebrow.
"Who will go home next, do our contestants have what it takes to face what I have in store for them next, will any couple officially get together, will the alliances hold, or fall apart? Can the teamwork of the Toads continue to overcome the splintering Hawks? Find out next time on Total! Ninja! Island!"
**Camera Static**
I wrote this in a day….I am impressed with myself. Literally the day after posting the previous chapter, I sit down and knock out this entire chapter. Not gonna post it for like a week to make sure everything is all put together and edited cleanly, but it feels good to be writing again. I'm working on chapters for my other stories, but this is just what's flowing for me right now, so probably more TNI incoming.
Edit: gave everything a once over, fixed some grammar mistakes and that annoying habit of google docs to turn every 'or' into an 'and'. Why it does that, I don't know, but it's annoying. Hope everyone had a good weekend and of course,
Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus