Silence weighed heavily on her group of friends when Hitomi came back to them. Naruto, his features darkened by anger, took her hand without a care for Hinata's blood on her fingers. He was tense, as if he too, was hearing a voice telling him to go back and avenge their friend, to make blood run, to deploy a carnage worthy of this offense. It wasn't impossible: now that he knew the Kyūbi was inside him, maybe could he hear its voice… And the fox didn't want anything more than an opportunity to take control and destroy Konoha, which had dared chain him again.

The screen between the two balconies buzzed once more, two new names replacing the Hyūga's. Sabaku no Gaara vs Rock Lee. Hitomi breathed in deeply, her mind clearing from part of her anger. She trusted Gaara with her life. She knew this fight would go okay for both of them. And if it really wasn't the case… She could still make them both see reason. She allowed a smile to reach her lips when she saw them go downstairs side by side, like they were allies. They weren't as close as the Son of the Sand was with her friends, but Gaara knew she liked Lee and that was enough to treat him like a friend.

"Hajime!" Hayate demanded when they were facing each other.

Lee rushed towards Gaara, who didn't move at all. His attacker's movements were incredibly flexible and fast, as elegant as a dance. Each of his hits was stopped by a wall of sand that was always just a bit quicker than him. Maito Gai, standing in the balcony opposite from Kakashi's spot, waited for his student to be perched on a statue of the Tiger Hand Seal to speak, his booming voice filling the whole room. "Lee, take them off!"

"With all my respect, Gai-sensei, I'm only allowed to take them off when I protect several important people!"

"No problem, you have my authorisation this time, my boy!"

Lee's face lightened up with a mix of incomprehension and delight that made Hitomi's heart ache in a strange way. He sat on the fingers of the statue, rummaged under his gaiters and took two wrappers of weights from it. They looked to be maybe a few kilograms each, but the girl knew the truth, remembered that moment like she'd already lived it. And yet, like everyone else, she jumped when the weights fell to the ground, digging deep craters at the point of impact in a deafening noise.

"Now go, Lee, give your very best!"

The boy obeyed, so fast he disappeared from sight and turned into a vague green blur. Suddenly, Gai appeared next to Kakashi and the two men exchanged a half-proud, half-amused look. Hitomi had to admit she had jumped again when she had felt him appear, but at least she hadn't threatened him with a weapon. When he introduced himself, beaming as usual, she answered without meeting his eyes. She had just threatened and almost killed one of his students. He probably disliked her.

Her breathing stopped for a moment as she thought about Hinata. She'd been so pale, so pale… She gulped nervously, rubbed her damp palms against her kimono and tried to focus on the fight in the arena. Gaara's sand was struggling to follow, and yet Lee was constantly picking up the pace, as if there was no limit to the speed his body could use. He managed to hit his opponent once, twice, bruises blooming immediately on the Son of the Sand's pale skin as Kankurō and Temari let out exclamations of disbelief.

"He hasn't ever been hit before, has he?" Hitomi asked them, leaning against the – somehow repaired – railing.

"Nope, never!"

"Hm hm. He leans too heavily on his sand for defence. He doesn't dodge, doesn't even attempt to parry… Against Lee who's just a Genin, it's not too preoccupying, but if he had to fight against a far more powerful opponent one day, an opponent who'd notice this weakness immediately and decided to take advantage of it…" She let her voice die out, her tone a mix of thoughtfulness and worry. Maybe it would be enough to plant a seed of doubt in the siblings' minds, maybe they would help him to find a way to overcome this weakness. She hoped so. How would he manage against Deidara otherwise? She was still working on that, though, and the fact that Kakashi-sensei had finally explained how corporal seals worked opened a whole new field of possibilities for her.

"He used the Sand Armor!"

"The Sand Armor? What's that?" Naruto looked as perplexed as he was amazed. For him, who was leaning so heavily on his taijutsu skills, Lee's proficiency had to be fascinating. And yet, this subject was the only one he couldn't become better at by using his clones, since one hit would dispel them. Hitomi smiled as Kankurō explained the Sand Armor. Maybe she should remind him of the common memory his clones and himself shared, since he didn't use it to train faster. What a pity… He'd be incredible with Wind Release paired with his sword.

Suddenly, Lee totally disappeared for a second. He had unwrapped the bandages on his forearms. Hitomi knew what it meant; she grimaced at every impact and stiffened when the Konohajin caught his opponent in his deadly embrace, falling with him headfirst towards the ground at a breath-taking speed. For a second, she thought Lee had won, thought Gaara hadn't had time to switch places with some of his sand… But when the dust fell down, she saw the Sand Armor falling to pieces, empty.

This time, Gaara was the one to attack, exploiting the repercussions of the Front Lotus on Lee's body to send his sand to him. The Konohajin couldn't run anymore, his limbs exhausted after the forbidden technique. Hitomi feared he would open the Gates and injure himself even more, but suddenly the sand dived on him like millions of birds of prey and the fight was over, Gaara's chakra wrapping around him almost like an embrace. "I could pursue this technique and crush him alive," the Sunajin stated in a loud, expressionless voice. "However, I do not wish to draw blood from a worthy opponent when I can avoid it."

Hayate, the proctor, seemed a bit dumbfounded, like all the Genin who knew how good both the fighters were. "Sabaku no Gaara wins this match!" the man announced.

When he heard those words, Gaara let the sand relax around Lee and drop him carefully to the ground. He approached, one of his rare, discreet smiles on his lips, and the two boys shook hands, going back together to the balcony where Hitomi was waiting for them. "You were both amazing," she said gently.

The compliment seemed to pick up Lee's spirit, according to his beaming smile. "You'll see, Hitomi-san, next time I'll win, promise! If I fail, I shall crawl two hundred laps around Konoha!"

"I'm sure you'll succeed. I'll be there to watch when that day comes." And she believed in those words. She had grown quite fond of Lee during the three days they had spent with their friends in the tower. Every morning, he had been there to welcome her and talk. He had even comforted her several times when her nightmares had been so unbearable they continued weighing on her after waking up – yellow eyes and a never-ending tongue. He always seemed intimidated when he touched her, but he did so with respect and delicateness, despite the terrible strength in his callused hands. He was patient, tender, attentive to the littlest detail, and his passionate temper had strung a chord in her. She was always looking for peace and quiet, but, with him… "Lee? This dinner we planned on having once this part of the exam is done… I'd like to make it a date, if you want."

He looked on the verge of tears all of a sudden, as if she had proposed to marry him. He beamed even brighter, if it was possible, his cheeks blushing intensely, then vigorously nodded. "Alright! I shall pick you up at your house. Would tomorrow, six in the evening be okay? Thanks for giving me a chance, Hitomi-san!"

"You deserve it, Lee. You're very brave. I can't wait for tomorrow." She smiled then turned away, blatantly ignoring Kakashi and Gai, who seemed to hesitate between cooing – Jōnin and their gossip, really – and strut about to protect their respective student. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide how cute she found them. She sought refuge next to Gaara as Ino was declared winner of her match by default, and thus qualified.

She brushed her fingertips against her friend's bruised cheeks. "Those are your only injuries, right?"

"Yeah."

"When we get home, I'll ask Ensui-shishou to heal them, if he's home. If he's not, then Yoshino will do it. Shikamaru's mom, remember? I don't want you to go through all the colours under the sun until it heals up, it clashes with your whole though silent guy thing."

"It was weird, taking hits. I'll train with him in the future."

"He'll be delighted, I'm sure. Thanks for not harming him. I know you could have… It would have been easy."

"Yeah, but why draw blood when it's not necessary? You know… I talked a lot with Naruto, while we were waiting for the end of the exam. About the demons inside us and… other things. He told me of his dream to become Hokage, and I think I'd like to succeed my father in leading Suna, one day."

Hitomi's eyes went wide. She hadn't expected this, and yet it made so much sense, it felt so natural. Gaara and Naruto could only get along. "I'm sure you'll make an extraordinary Kazekage once that day comes."

They exchanged a look then focused on Gekko Hayate again; the man was calling all the qualified Genin and asking them to come down. Hitomi stayed on the balcony, surrounded by Gai and Kakashi. As for Orochimaru, he had disappeared the Hermit knew where. He hadn't come back after their meeting in the Seal Room, which relieved her beyond what she was comfortable admitting. She had never had an anxiety attack as violent as the one she had gone through there. She would have to spend a lot of time with her therapist to heal from the abject terror invading her each time she even thought about seeing the Sannin again.

"You've qualified for the third phase of the Chūnin exams," the proctor said down there. "One is missing, but still, congratulations! Hokage-sama, the room is yours."

The old man took Hayate's place and cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm now going to explain the final stage of the exam in more detail. Just like I explained earlier, you're going to fight in front of the public. As representatives of your countries, you'll have to give a worthy show and your very best! For that to happen, the tournament will only happen in a month."

None of the qualified Genin showed any surprise, which seemed to annoy Hiruzen. Did he think the young generation was too impatient and impulsive to go rummage through the archives? For Hitomi, that place was an echo of paradise. If only she could have access to more sections of it…

"I think it is a reasonable span of time to get ready. First, we'll have to share the program with all the esteemed guests coming to see you perform, as well as the date, time and place. But for you, it's mostly a personal training time. You'll need it to get to know your opponent, analyse the information you gleaned during the preliminaries, and evaluate the best course for success. Until now, you have fought against opponents you didn't know anything about, or close to it, like in a real mission. This is different. Some of you have already revealed their secrets to their rivals, others have been wounded fighting against worthy adversaries… We want the tournament to be fair, and that's why the month-long delay has been imposed."

Approving nods ran through the gathered Genin. No matter who their opponents would be, they knew they were going to give their best, and that required preparation.

"You'll be dismissed in a moment. There's still one last formality to take care of."

"What now?" Naruto exclaimed. "We have to go train!"

Hitomi muffled a little laugh as Kakashi shook his head and rubbed his face with a pained groan.

Down in the arena, Anko stepped forwards, a blind box between her hands. "Calm down, kid. All of you, you're going to pick a paper from this box. I'm coming to you, so wait for your turn." One after the other, the contestants announced their number. Hitomi had already deduced that most fights would be similar to the canon, a few details aside. "Dear contestants, here are the first opponents you'll have to face!"

Upon hearing Anko's words, Kakashi activated his Sharingan so he could read the names. He repeated the matches out loud one after the other for Hitomi's benefit. "Naruto versus Neji, Gaara versus Sasuke, Kankurō versus Shino, Temari versus Ino versus Shikamaru."

"Ouch, that last match is gonna hurt. I can see Ino kick Shikamaru's ass when he's being too lazy for her tastes, but Temari is a whole other problem."

Down there, the Hokage was explaining the tournament to the contestants. Hitomi had to admit she liked the idea that winning the whole thing wasn't the only way of getting promoted. She would have really liked to be a part of it but, apparently, some things were more important than a promotion in her eyes. Maybe did she still have some morality. That thought reassured her, but just a little bit.

When she saw the others scatter around, she left too. She wished to spend some time alone, perhaps to meditate inside her Library, shaken since her meeting with Orochimaru. As for Kakashi, he had gone down to congratulate Naruto and tell him about a training regimen. She knew her brothers wouldn't need her for the month to come. Shikamaru and Ino would be trained by their fathers, and the Children of the Sand would be in Baki's very capable hands, perhaps with specialists that would travel from Suna to guide Temari and Kankurō in their respective fields. As for Gaara… The only person he shared skills with was his father, and he would die rather than ask for the man's help.

That meant that, for a whole month, Hitomi was free to train with Ensui, when his duties for Shikaku left him with free time for his poor apprentice. She also had to find time for Hai's training, which had been postponed long enough, and she wanted to see Yoshino about medical ninjutsu. She also had to get her pawns moving to prepare for the next several obstacles in her way, analyse what the canon gave her information-wise about them; she had to plan and think, two things that hadn't exactly been her strong suit these past few days. Hadn't she allowed Orochimaru to mark Sasuke even though she knew it was going to happen?

When she arrived home, she found her brother asleep. Kakashi had taken care of tucking him in and had even put some of his gear from the exam away in neat piles. Sasuke would be absolutely pissed to learn his teacher had dared put his hands in his package. With a little smile, she left the room, keeping the door ajar so he would be able to hear her presence downstairs once he woke up. She settled in the living-room, sitting in seiza on the thick rug.

Her Library had suffered from the night in the Forest of Death and from her meeting with Orochimaru in the Seal Room. The bloodstained ground was back, just like the door at the back of the room. Several shelves had cracks on them, as if they had been violently shaken. With a heavy sigh, Hitomi got to work, cleaning one space avec the other until her mind was in a satisfying state. She had an appointment with her therapist in two days. Fukuda would know how to help her further.

After an hour of hard work, she was done. When she opened her eyes, the sky was turning to dusk colours, even if the sun wasn't yet on the horizon line. Neither her mother nor Naruto were home yet. For the blonde, she guessed he was looking for a training supervisor and Kakashi would probably place him soon in Jiraiya's capable hands, without trying Ebisu – not when his seal was damaged. As for Kurenai… She was surely waiting for news about Hinata. Hitomi's breathing itched. Her hands shaking, she summoned Hoshihi, who had been enjoying a well-deserved rest in the spiritual world.

"Lady Summoner?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'd like to spend some time with you, if you have nothing important to do."

"Don't be a mouse brain. Of course I always have time to spend with you."

Later, after a thorough cuddling session on the couch, which was almost too small for the giant cat, she cooked enough food for her whole family and ended up eating alone, dropping pieces of fish to her feline companion when he gave her the puppy eyes. She had found a book that would keep her occupied, but her brain registered the words without investing in them. Hinata's pale, pained face danced in front of her tired eyes, leaving a bitter taste of failure on her tongue.

Finally, she heard steps on the porch. With a little distressed and anxious noise, she ran and hid in Ensui's arms before he was even done taking off his boots, which almost made him fall. Without question, he hugged her as hard as he could. He was hurting her, just a bit. It was perfect that way. She gripped his clothes until her joints turned whine, breathed in his smell like a drug, hid her face against his neck, where she could feel his pulse and heat, so necessary to her well-being.

He ended up picking her from the ground and taking her to the living-room. He put her on the couch Hoshihi had left free for them then sat so he could still hold her in his arms, his calloused thumb brushing against her new scar. His features were creased with worry, the dark grey eyes deeply set in their orbits and haunted with a vague, bitter gleam. "Kakashi and Gaara told me everything," he whispered, his voice hoarse and hard. "I'll kill the bastard."

Those words filled Hitomi with a violent distress. Ensui was amazingly strong… but he wasn't a Sannin. No matter what he did, no matter the progress he could still make, he wouldn't ever be a Sannin. "You'll die if you go after him. I have no need for a corpse. I need you," she growled, her tone fierce and fervent. "I need you to make me stronger, as strong as you can. I need you to train me."

Ensui sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, the worry hadn't left their depths, but they had softened. "I know you're right. But, maybe, one day, if I have the opportunity…"

Oh, she would do her best for him to have one. It was time one of her plans succeeded, and one of them was ready to unfold. Just one thing was amiss for it to begin: the invasion. But Hitomi hadn't done anything to stop that event from happening. Orochimaru could still take control over Sunagakure by impersonating the Kazekage, he just had to find something else to use as a diversion. If the invasion happened without a major change… Then maybe she would be able to have Ensui by her side for what would come next.

She'd thought about it at length during her work in her Library. She would ask Haku and Zabuza if they could spend some time in Konoha without being noticed – they were still deserters, after all. If they could train her, make her Water release better, then there was a strong chance they would still be there when she'd need their help further.

"Have you already thought about what you want to do? What do you want to train on?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. "Mainly fūinjutsu, with you. Kakashi-sensei gave me the first clues for corporal seals, so I want to work on that and maybe create some of my own invention. I already have ideas… But I'm not sure what will be possible."

"And for Hai-chan?" Hoshihi asked. He was sprawled on the rug at her feet, purring gently.

"I doubt my mother will be busy during the month, not when Shino will rely on his whole clan for training on his techniques and individual skills. I've no genjutsu skill, so Hai-chan will mainly work with her, although I'll still spend time training her to work with me, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, it is, but I'd still like to assist with the training sessions. Hai-chan can be a bit lightheaded and she hasn't been an apprentice for long yet."

The girl nodded in approval, a thoughtful expression on her face. "And then, there's medical ninjutsu. I want to learn the basics at least. I know you mastered the first-aid techniques, shishou, but I'd like to ask Yoshino if she could teach me. I heard she was terrifying in the field when she was still part of the medic corps."

"You heard that right. Yoshino was, and still is, an excellent medic, but what made her incredibly precious to her teammates was the fact that she could handle herself in battle, even halfway through a medical procedure. I think some veterans from Iwagakure still have nightmares about her."

"Good. That's what I want. Oh, and I'd also like to work on kenjutsu and ninjutsu. Having those skills is useless if I can't land a hit, am I right?"

"Hm, I'll make up something for you. I see you have a very full plate once more… I'll get you tomorrow at dawn and we'll start working on all this."

"I can't wait. I… hum. I'll have to be home at six in the evening tomorrow, though, exceptionally."

"Oh?"

"Would you be terribly shocked if I told you I have a date, shishou?"

He burst out laughing, the sound like a balm on Hitomi's wounds. Fascinated, she watched the way his face relaxed, how he threw his head back to free his hilarity – a habit she had adopted as her own. "Oh, no, young lady, I wouldn't be shocked. Kakashi told me about your little romance in the Land of Waves. Haku, right?"

"Yeah… But I think it's going to be different with Lee, if we decide to pursue this further than just one date. We're both Konohajin shinobi, which means we have time to decide if we really want to have a romantic relationship, and if it's gonna be serious or not."

"The only thing that matters to me is your happiness. I don't care about who makes you happy, but if that person hurts you, trust me, I'll suddenly have plenty of compromising intel about them."

This time, it was Hitomi who burst out laughing, which seemed to put Ensui over the moon. How much had he worried upon hearing what she had faced with her brothers in the Forest of Death? Kakashi and Gaara weren't the kind to minimise such things.

"I'm not forgetting your other problem either," he said gently. "Kakashi told me about a voice you were hearing?"

She sobered, lowering her gaze to her clenched hands. "Yeah… It tells me things. Things I want to listen to. It's what I did in the forest, I was so desperate I gave in. The voice took control, massacred the three Otojin by doing weird stuff with their blood and chakra, and when she was done, I thought she was going to make me attack Shikamaru who had just arrived. He told me, after that, that during all the time the voice was there, my meridians were visible through my skin."

"Worrying indeed. Like your sensei, I'll do some research. I'll talk to your grandfather to see if he has access to your clan's archives and, if I don't find anything there, I'll go to the ones the village holds. I thought about taking you to the hospital for tests but…"

"I don't want rumours."

"Me neither. We don't want some people to hear about what you could do, now, do we?"

After that, they shifted the discussion to lighter topics under Ensui's influence. He would have walked on his hands and juggled with his feet if it had made his apprentice smile, but he knew it was useless. Holding her against his chest, with his chin on her head, the noises of his breathing and beating heart to comfort her, would have far better effects on her than a simple laugh. Later, when she was closer to peace, more focused, he knelt in seiza in front of the coffee table and unsealed a bundle of blank sheets, a brush and a bottle of ink. "Why wait until tomorrow to get started, hm? Come here, I'll show you some patterns that you'll use in corporal seals."

Fascinated, a sweet and peaceful smile on her lips, Hitomi did as he asked. The smell of ink, the song of brush against paper, so slight, comforted her greatly, above what words could even start to explain. Soon enough, she was allowed to draw the patterns herself, one after the other, until her fingers were stained by ink, her wrist aching, and the clock in the living-room announced it was two in the morning.

"Don't you want to go home and sleep, shishou?"

"It's the last thing I want when my apprentice is unwell. Make your movement more rigid when you draw that spear. Look, it's not exactly that shape…"

For a moment, Hitomi thought she was going to cry. With her shishou by her side, she felt bright enough, prepared enough, safe enough to accomplish everything she wanted, and everything she didn't even dare dream of.