Here's chapter 11: The Good, the Ugly, the Bad.
So it's been about a month since this story was last updated - sorry about that!
This one, amongst my stories, is definitely the one where I most deal with things I find harder to write, part of it as an exercise to improve myself by writing outside my comfort zone, part of it as my friend and proofreader pushing me to explore things I personally have no experience of - meaning I have to do a lot more research on trauma, PTSD and similar things.
It has definitely opened my eyes to better understanding people close to me that have suffered such instances in the past. If you have someone in your life dealing with past trauma it's definitely worth reading up as much as you can - not as a method to necessarily help them, although that's a possibility, sure, depending on the person and their journey - but to deepen your understanding and lessen any friction over things you couldn't understand about them before.
Mental health is more important than ever, take care of yourselves, y'all!
Well that's me off my soapbox! Onwards to another chapter!
Trigger warning:
Nothing big, but at the end of the chapter is a situation where some unpleasant connotations could be drawn. Nothing is shown explicitly or even talked about explicitly, but felt I should warn either way for those that do not wish to read.
Although at this point in the story I doubt many remain who truly wish to avoid any mention of such things what with war coming.
With the horror tag on there, this isn't exactly going to be a pleasant fic, even though there will be plenty of fluff and Kushina goodness mixed in with the war and gore.
As usual I do not own, make money off, or in any way have a right to the characters of Naruto or its world. I'm just a lowly fanfiction writer.
Hope you enjoy it!
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A survival exercise makes sense, it really does. There's a war going on, who knows where we could possibly end up as itty bitty genin. We could be separated completely from our Jounin-sensei. Separated from our unit - completely apart from our battalion. It was vital to be comfortable in traversing unknown land, taking stock of supplies, food and water. Navigating your way forward and ensuring you're not accidentally doubling back - or leaving too obvious of a track of your passage.
All of this is taught in the Academy. Everyone knows this.
Logically I understand all of this. Yet… It's the whole team part of it that's not really working out for me.
Cue surprise. Inohana isn't gelling with other people. Gasp! I think sarcastically.
"We should take a short break." Genma suggests mildly, again. Walking annoyingly, nonchalantly, slowly, and acting completely laid back, not an ounce of effort having been expanded by him so far. His suggestion, succeeding in drawing another annoyed twitch out of me. It's the third time in the past 3 hours he's suggested a break.
Third time. In 3 hours.
It bears repeating.
Civilians could move faster than we have so far. My newly found mantra of - think of the teamwork! Brand spanking new for this exercise - Is breaking down for every pleasant little comment the lazy ass drops on his stroll through the land of Fire!
Enjoying the picturesque view of trees. And woods made up of trees. And more trees. Sometimes there's a squirrel…
We've barely made any progress at all! What was his problem!?
I mean, other than being incredibly annoying as a person…
"Why is that, Genma-san?" I bite out, eyes peeled for any sign of an observer in the trees - or a possible trap ahead, would be just our luck being ambushed out of the gate, so to speak. Especially as we've barely left it… "Feeling tired already?" I may or may not have been using a slightly mocking tone… Sue me, it's been 3 hours! Trying to do teamwork sucks!
People should just be reasonable to begin with!
I miss adult life when you held a paycheck over someone's head and just told them to shut up and get to work! Worked great on any of my co-workers, I myself had been too much of a workaholic to need a reminder. Working until exhaustion worked well in preventing nightmares or being stuck thinking too much back then…
Thinking too much was dangerous. Remembering too much was just… No. I shake my head, not going there. Old life is dead. Leave it. Dead!
Shizune puts her head in her palms where she is walking behind us, after giving us both a tired look. The medic utterly exasperated with the teamwork on display. I don't know why she's including me in that exasperation though - I'm behaving perfectly well, it's not my fault Genma is insisting on arguing over every little thing, and walking, when we could be… Oh, I don't know… Running? Tree hopping?
I'd take a light jog at this point. Or speed walking. We could even move forward with a hop and a skip. Anything was better than this … Sunday stroll bullshit.
And to think I used to think Genma was cool! Once upon a time. Certainly never again!
"I need to pee." The lackadaisical senbon fetishist says, hands in his pockets. Looking as if he's a moment away from breaking out in whistling.
"So? Pee then!" I growl out, hands clenched into fists at my sides. Even with my annoyance at Genma, I still keep my senses sharp and my eyes open for any movement. I might be failing at teamwork at the moment due to being teamed up with an oaf. I refuse to actually fail at the survival exercise. We will make it back on time.
The first step to becoming strong enough no one can ever take advantage of me again is graduating - I will not fail!
I have no doubt that this survival exercise will have more to show for it than simply making our way back, scrounging for water and food. If I was running the exercise… I'd wait until the teams had gathered supplies and then ambush them - stealing the supplies - rough the teams up a bit. See how they react. Do they respond by coming together and toughing it out through to the end - whether they manage to find more supplies or not? Or do they fight each other, lose cohesion and a plan - spending too much time on foraging instead of returning as soon as possible. Do they abandon the mission for resources they could have survived without? Even if it's unpleasant.
The difference between an academy student and a genin, no doubt. Probably the whole point of the exercise.
If that's the case… I really need to find out what's going on with Genma. Fix this. Because by nightfall things are likely going to turn rough - and I can't afford to be fighting with him, or have our medic waste energy jumping between us. I make a sour face - sometimes I wish I could just act my age instead of letting my experience win through, I really don't want to make up with the idiot.
I'm the one being reasonable here!
Only with Kushina does my emotions and thoughts keep reverting to what I want, what I hope and wish for - childish feelings. Instead of what I need to do. I'm an actual grown up here, I need to act like it for once. Not keep hiding under Kushina's skirt. Wants and wishes are for children. Not me.
There's no Kushina here… Show some balls, Inohana! I think with annoyance. Nodding decisively to myself, I turn around. Just to immediately look skyward, "Genma-san!" I cry out in tired protest. Shizune is already determinedly staring in another direction, face beet red.
"It's dangerous to separate the team, Inohana-san, I'm just helping out where I can." Genma drawls, an impudent grin on his face as he continues to roll his senbon over his tongue. While unashamedly peeing, having at least the courtesy to face away from the group. Even as he looks back towards me with that dumb grin on his face.
All that can be heard is the quiet chirping of birds in the distance and his stream of urine hitting the ground. Shizune looks like she's going to boil over any minute now with how red she is. I'm almost expecting steam out of her ears.
I have seen much worse than his little soldier, it doesn't bother me, not anymore. It's his absolute disregard for the team, for Shizune and I, that really just fires me up. He may not like me, I accept that I am a bit of a bitch. But he could have at least warned Shizune! He's taking this ridiculous behavior too far!
"What is your problem!" I finally snap, looking down from the sky, and into his eyes, the boy looking surprised that I'm looking at him with not a trace of a blush of embarrassment. "We're supposed to be a team, even if you can't stand me! Have some care for Shizune-san!" I'm glad for my long sleeves of my Hakama, they hide how my clenched fists are absolutely shaking with the need to punch that carefree smirk of the bastard's face!
"Please don't bring me into this!" Shizune protests, still resolutely turned away, fidgeting with her medic pack nervously.
Genma rolls his shoulders, taking his time to finish and zip back up, before giving me a flinty glare, no smile in sight on his face anymore. "My problem is you." He says slowly, with no bite to it, just as if he's talking about the weather.
Weather report for today - bit cloudy with chances of Inohana being a bitch - no surprise there. It's rich coming from a guy that's been slowing us down this entire time.
"That's been apparent the entire time," I respond tersely. "Maybe explain why you're purposely being difficult, Genma-san!"
"I said from the start, you shouldn't be leading us." He says, holding up a hand when I'm about to respond vehemently against him. "No, let me finish, Inohana-san!" He crosses his arms against his chest, "You're a prodigy, I get it. You're stronger than me and Shizune together… I get it!" He bites out, senbon dinging against his teeth as he gets more agitated, "Sometimes being stronger isn't the point! You're horrible with people. And I'm not saying it to be mean!" He fires off against Shizune who looks like she is going to jump in, her face conflicted, "You're just bad at it."
My back is ramrod straight as I stand and listen to his diatribe, quietly admitting he has a tiny miniscule point in there, "So you're being a horrible teammate to prove a point?" I say quietly. And I hadn't picked up on it… I'm honestly more upset about that…
Genma runs a hand over his bandana covered hair, looking frustrated, "Not exactly," He sighed, "I mean maybe a little,"
"Thanks for the clarification," I say dryly. Drawing a small giggle out of Shizune, who gives me a hesitant but supportive smile when I glance over at her.
"I was giving you a chance, and proving a point." Genma tries to explain, "We have three days together, and you just started barking orders, deciding you were in charge, so I acted out a bit, to see if you'd just continue to be…" he shrugged, not willing to continue the sentence to its natural conclusion.
I have no such compunctions, "A bitch…" I finish for him with a deep sigh. I look at Shizune, "Did I take over that badly?" I ask plaintively.
Shizune fidgets slightly, eyeing me nervously, and I sigh again, shoulders slumping, "It's alright, just say it, I need to hear it."
"Well… You decided to be the leader… But you haven't told us anything of what we're doing, where we're going, what the plan for rest or in case of a fight is." Shizune starts counting on her fingers as she lays out all the myriad of tasks important on a mission that I had completely missed, treating my teammates like simple tools, there to follow my orders. She is right, I never once laid out what my plan was - how we would fight together or act in case of ambush - not even a code for if we got separated. "- What to do if we run out of supplies - if we should ration supplies." Shizune is still going on and I raise my hand, stopping her. The girl catches her breath, a slight pink tinge to her cheeks.
"I get it, and as much as it pains me to say… "I turn towards Genma, bowing my head slightly, "Genma-san you are correct as well, I am bad at people, the emotional aspect. I didn't think of your feelings or thoughts and just rushed ahead. I'm sorry."
Genma smiles, giving me a thumbs up, "There you go, that's all that's needed! Now we can plan, alright?" He says cheerfully like nothing's even happened.
I bite my lip, "Do you have any ideas?" I force myself to ask before I start firing off plans and strategies and completely miss the point again. I have a team. I need to utilize them - not just tell them. I can't… Do the same things as my old life… The things people like my father or Orochimaru would do. I can be better.
Shizune hesitantly raises her hand, Genma rolling his eyes at the action, "Shizune we aren't in class!" He groans. She steps forward and punches him in the shoulder for that, the senbon fetishist exaggeratedly moving his limb like it's been injured severely. We both ignore him.
I take a deep breath and turn towards Shizune, who's looking a lot calmer and more settled after that punch, "Alright, let's hear it, Shizune-san." I say with forced cheerfulness.
I have gotten too used to learning about people's brains and psych profiles. Old life and new. I needed to learn to listen and understand people - in the now, too.
I keep repeating that I won't be like Orochimaru. Well, here's my chance to start on that road.
I listen attentively as Shizune begins to speak, Genma piping in with his own suggestions now and then.
This is fine.
I can work with this.
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By nightfall we'd made considerable headway considering how badly we'd started. Our planning session had lasted no longer than fifteen minutes - all of us thinking in similar patterns vis a vis plans. Surprising me as I honestly hadn't really thought there was much of a brain behind that bandana on Genma's head.
Shizune of course was smart as a whip as I'd figured - just working on the courage to speak up everything that is on her mind.
Now that the unpleasantness had been aired out - we traveled by speed. Our only limit being keeping an eye out for possible ambush spots or suspicious movements - as well as keeping an eye out for water. With only the one water bottle between us and the speed we were now moving at, we moved through that bottle quickly and had to detour to water sources whenever we could. Genin were taught a moisture collecting water Ninjutsu that even the most useless Ninjutsu users could manage to wrest out at least a mouthful of water from - useful for when you were nowhere near a water source or had the storage capacity to keep enough. We weren't genin yet however, and although I knew about the jutsu - I did not know how to perform it.
Which made our decision to camp out for the next couple hours of the night pretty obvious - when we ran across a natural spring, with a nice rockcliff we could put at our backs - leaving us less of an area to monitor for an ambush. At least theoretically. In the real world a Shinobi could well bring it all down on us, but we all agreed it was unlikely any 'pretend' ambush would take it that far. They wouldn't actually kill us. We weren't the Hidden Mist.
There was no need to take this exercise as if we were Chuunin. We're Academy students. There's being keen, and then there is overkill.
The sooner we got back the better in my opinion, but I had to take my two teammates into account, and if we didn't get some rest, some food and kept up with the water supply. There would be struggles.
Food luckily did not become an issue, there were enough animals around the forests of Konoha and the land of Fire, any half competent Shinobi wouldn't starve. As it is, we had three nice rabbits and a snake, cooking nicely over our small fire.
"I still say the fire is a risk." Genma muttered, poking the half cooked rabbits with a stick, sat around the fire between Shizune and I on a fallen tree log we had dragged over.
"We used every technique we've been taught to hide it, and the smoke from it," Although nothing would hide the smell from a sensitive Shinobi nose… "There is such a thing as taking this exercise too seriously as well, Genma-san." I say, eyes closed as I sit on my part of the log, stretching my chakra sense as far as I can - attempting to pinpoint anyone out there before they could arrive. If tonight was the night.
We'd used some of our sparse collection of Kunai, wire and Shuriken from my pack to set up rudimentary traps around the camp - we'd disarm them and take them with us when we left. We really couldn't do much more to protect the camp as we are. Maybe experienced genin have techniques to help, we do not as of yet.
Although Shizune did show some Earth Ninjutsu skill, sinking our fire pit into the ground with just a few hand seals.
"She's right, Genma," Shizune says from where she's tiredly leaning against his shoulder, the run having taken more out of her as she was less physical compared to Genma and I. "If we truly were to treat this as the real deal, we wouldn't have dragged the log over here to sit, leaving tracks everywhere for someone to spot when we leave." She chides gently, the log having been Genma's idea, as the boy absolutely refused to sit on the ground when there was a perfectly good log so close by.
I didn't feel the tentative camaraderie we'd started was worth arguing over making more tracks then we needed to.
If given enough time we could erase all tracks, but it just wasn't necessary in this scenario, where just arriving back home on time was the goal. We weren't being chased. If anything was going to happen - they were going to be waiting for us somewhere ahead of us. They already knew who we were, where we're heading and why. No need to track where we've been.
"I can't feel any other chakra around us." I say, pleased that we appeared to be safe, for now. I stretch languidly, feeling the muscles in my legs protest slightly - I rarely trained or ran for as long as we had today, I could definitely feel it. Yet only as a light twinge, I'm cheered up by this proof of my training, I am getting stronger. This is proof of it. I could have never in a million years made this distance with barely a twinge in my old life. Professional athletes wouldn't have succeeded. Chakra really is bullshit.
"It wouldn't be genin, they'd have Chuunin or Jounin waiting for us - if we're going to be ambushed." Genma points out with an easygoing smile, to take any heat off the mild rebuke. "They would be able to avoid your senses."
"I've sensed ANBU before. I doubt they're going that far for a survival exercise."
Shizune perks up, looking over Genma towards me, "Is that using the skill Tsunade-Sama says will heal my uncle?" She questioned curiously.
I flip my hair over my shoulder moodily and sigh, "She told you about that, huh?" I complain. "It's not really the same skill, although I really wish she wouldn't go around saying I'm going to do anything…" Just what I need, more Sannin pressure…
"If Tsunade-Sama believes in you, it's going to happen." Shizune says, a confident smile on her face, looking so different from the somewhat shy girl that's been around today. Or maybe that was just nerves. It might have something to do with the fact I did punch her in the face, that one time. I didn't exactly give her any reason to warm up to me.
Especially as I never explained the whole situation to her.
I probably won't either. Sharing a weakness is still not something I'm comfortable with. Not with what essentially is a stranger - for all that we're comrades.
"Well, food's almost ready, so if you're saying we're not going to be attacked right now, that's good enough for me, I'm starving." Genma says with relish, as he drools over the fire.
Shizune giggles at that, playfully shoving him away, "That's our food you're slobbering all over, Genma!"
I smile a bit melancholy, watching the two of them start playfully arguing with each other. I rise and plod over to the natural spring, falling to my knees, letting my tired calloused fingers run through the water for a moment. Enjoying the cool water. Before loosening my water bottle from my belt and filling it up. The moon light reflecting off the spring gives everything a kind of beautiful ethereal feel. I just enjoy it for a moment, taking a deep breath and just smelling the fresh water, the vegetation around us, enjoying it for once, not just focusing on a goal.
This is nice… I think happily, running my fingers across the surface just staring at the ripples I leave behind.
Like a firecracker going off in my head - a chakra presence appears at the far edge of my sensory range - moving right towards us. "Incoming, 5 o'clock - one target!" I shout, scrambling to my feet as Genma jumps up, pushing Shizune behind him, the girl taking the opportunity to slide a kunai from her medical pack into his hand. With my pack practically depleted, and Genma having brought no weapons other than his solitary senbon - we would be outmatched in weaponry.
With the speed the chakra presence was advancing in - our attacker is completely avoiding our traps.
Well, that was a waste of weapons, I think with annoyance, even as I move with speed towards our team.
I land right next to Genma just in time for a blur to appear amongst the trees - a brace of shuriken already flying our way - thrown in a way to force us to separate.
Once split, we'd be easy pickings.
Maybe if we were just your average academy student, but we weren't. Genma and I both parry what we can with our kunai in lightning quick strikes - and duck away from what we can't get in time. And as planned in case of just such an ambush, Shizune has already moved into a squat behind Genma - executing hand seals, the missed shuriken going well above her.
Earthen spikes ram into trees ahead of us, reaching up towards our attacker from behind him - forcing him into the clearing. Shizune does not have the chakra capacity or strength to do much more with the jutsu, but we don't need her to - we just need to deny our attacker from moving back again, and force him into the open. In front of us.
Where we could force whoever it is, to act against all three of us at the same time. Numbers being our biggest advantage.
I am counting on the fact that our area denial tactic would be considered good enough for a genin and our proctor for this exercise would show himself.
A Chuunin or Jounin could just as easily launch a jutsu or make it back across the earth spikes using greater speed or strength then we could deal with. As a test however…
They shouldn't make that move.
It's only as our attacker jumps into the clearing that I realize with a start that the chakra is familiar. And Genma isn't the only one to groan in dismay as Hatake Kakashi lands silently in front of us at the tree line. Looking haughty and ice cold as he glares us down.
"H-Hatake-san!" Shizune stammers with a fierce blush, "What are you doing here!?" She thankfully does not move from where her hands are planted on the ground, already primed for another earth spike.
Hatake? Seriously? I mouth towards Genma, with a twist of my neck in Shizune's direction.
Genma shrugs, looking annoyed, I don't get it either. He replies soundlessly.
"Just because you don't make noise doesn't mean I can't see that you're moving your mouths - stop talking about me!" Shizune complains huffily.
"Are you done not taking this seriously yet?" Kakashi spits out, eyes dark and foreboding as he continues to stare us down.
I smirk condescendingly, flipping my hair with my off hand, purposefully being flippant just to piss him off, "I mean we were going to, but then you showed up, ugly!" My smirk turns absolutely beatific, "So really, the one we don't take seriously is you!"
What can I say… Kakashi brings out the worst in me. Or is it best? Also, take the bait, you arrogant little shit!
"Shit! I have you all pegged wrong!" Genma whispers in utter delight, staring at me with almost hero worship. I almost giggle at that. Me, giggle? I need to stop spending time around Kushina so much.
"Guys, take this seriously!" Shizune hisses, "Hatake-san is a genius!"
If anything Kakashi looks even more disgusted. I tilt my head looking at him consideringly, "Shizune-san, another earth spike. See if you can dislodge the one already up in there."
Genma starts laughing, saluting me with his kunai, as Shizune mutters something indistinguishable but performs the jutsu. Kakashi easily dodges it of course, since we'd announced it and everything.
The Hatake scion scoffs as he lands even closer to us, "You should all be sent back to the first year of the Academy, what are you even doing? You haven't covered your tracks, your cooking can be sensed from a mile away," He eyes the fire disdainfully, his nose twitching in his mask, "You're acting like you're on a camping trip, and not a exercise to determine if you have what it takes to become Shinobi!" His fists clench angrily as he glares at me in particular.
Taking it personally, are we? I think, rolling my eyes slightly. Because I beat him once, he's going to be like this.
I continue smiling as it seems to be pissing him off, at this point it's not only because I enjoy needling him, it's a tactic. Kakashi, when cold and calculating, would steamroll Genma and Shizune. Angry however, angry he might make mistakes. In fact I am kind of counting on it.
"I can't go back to first year, Ka-ka-shi!" I sing- song cutely. "I'm graduating the senior class in the first six months…" I tap my kunai to my cheek seemingly carelessly, no one able to see the chakra string connected around it, or the ones connected to my pouch. "Wouldn't that mean I'm kind of your equal? Eh, ugly ?"
"Oh, snap!" Genma mutters, foot sliding into a better holding position, right in time for Kakashi to explode forward with a guttural snarl, heading straight for me. The ground cracking underneath him as he is launched forward.
I look entirely out of position, a kunai held to my own face, relaxed body posture, the picture of incompetence, really. A thrown kunai from Genma on one side and Shizune throwing one last earth spike to Kakashi's other side keeps him on a trajectory straight for me. A kunai flashing into his hand.
In that last moment, where he's almost upon me, cold steel flashes out of my pouch, five kunai from almost point blank range shooting against him, the one held against my face being yanked down by chakra string to my hand to meet his charge if my attack fails. His own kunai flashing back against my small barrage.
In-between one step and the next, Kakashi sinks into the ground, my kunai flashing through nothing but air. Genma and Shizune both curse simultaneously as they slam into my back, all three of us standing silently, searching, back to back in a triangle. Leaving no avenue of surprise attack.
Except one.
It's harder to pinpoint his chakra underground, but I hardly need my chakra sense to know where he's going to go. "Jump!" I shout, just before Kakashi's hands reach for Shizune's ankles. All three of us flashing what weapons we have down into the ground, just missing his limbs. Genma's senbon and my last kunai clatter together uselessly against the ground. Shizune immediately shares what she has left in her pack with the both of us.
Without warning our campfire sinks into the ground and disappears, and with it…
"Our food! Kakashi! It was just finishing up! Have a heart, man!" Genma shouts. Sounding actually anguished to miss out on his rabbit.
I have a niggling feeling, I reach down, and sure enough my water bottle is gone, the loop holding it - severed. I flash back to the mad run straight at me, when had he thrown the kunai…? He had, hadn't he, right through my barrage as well, I hadn't paid attention after that as he'd missed me completely. Or so I had thought…
"He has our water bottle too…" I grit out, annoyed at myself. Well played, Kakashi. I admit to myself grudgingly.
Said Shinobi appears in the undergrowth again, leaning casually against a tree, holding the water bottle up. "You three…. Don't have what it takes." He says, bluntly, before disappearing from sight, and soon enough my chakra sense.
He'd played me. Played us. I'd been trying to rile him up, never realizing that's exactly what he expected of me, and he played on that to get close and take our supplies. This would significantly worsen our pace. Another glance around fills me with more dismay, he's taken the kunai we'd launched against him as well.
Odds are our traps are gone as well, no wonder he could hit us so quickly… But how had he evaded me so easily?
"This isn't good…" Shizune says, examining our surroundings, having caught the same thing I have.
"Bastard got us good," Genma says morosely, foot poking around in the remains of our fire, no food in sight. "I thought we actually had him…"
"I can't believe they have Kakashi of all people involved in this." I say tiredly. We still needed to get rest, but now have only some edible moss and a few berries to eat, and while water was plentiful here… We couldn't fill up for our journey anymore.
"I can, he's always been apart from everyone, it's no surprise, he's probably the only genin proctor in this exercise." Genma says, with a put upon sigh.
"Shizune-san, do you have something in your pack to test the water with?" I say, eyeing the spring contemplatively. He'd taken everything else, has he managed to taint this too? It's what I would have done in the same situation. And did he already have the capability to use shadow clones? Because how did he do all of this so fast without getting caught? In our spars we'd been almost matched - him having a slight advantage, but not to this extent…
Has the bastard…. Been holding back on me!! I think, absolutely incensed.
So we need to test the water, because he's done exactly what I would do - so no doubt he has for this too… Take the food, supplies, destroy the water source, force the team to either sacrifice sleep to find another source, or be all that much weaker in the morning. We would endure, but it would make the rest of the run more chancy. Especially as Kakashi would likely keep one step ahead of us - ruining any chances for rest or re-supply.
Genma throws a dubious look at the spring, "I'm not sure I trust it either way now," He says, sounding absolutely disgusted with everything. Looking forlornly at the spot on the ground where he'd spat his senbon - taken by Kakashi. Leaving him senbon less for the first time I've ever seen.
He's not looking happy about it.
I want to say grow up, we have more important priorities right now. But… Teamwork.
Shizune rummages in her pack, bringing out a small tablet, biting her lip, looking at the spring. "It's really meant to test a small sample only," she says apologetically.
I grab one of the kunai we have left and quickly carve out a part of the bark from the log, curved enough to at least hold a small couple handfuls of water. I dip it in the spring, then remove it and hold it out to her.
We all watch as she drops the tablet in, it dissolves quickly. We all feel the tension, had he gone that far.
I have a feeling I already know the answer…
"It should remain clear if there is no obvious poisonous matter in the wat-" The water in the small piece of cut out bark turns slightly reddish, "Or like that… If there is…" Shizune finishes weakly.
"We'll have to decide… Find a new water source and then sleep, or stay here for a few hours of rest first." I say seriously, we could go without sleep for the three days of course, but it was really not ideal, especially if Kakashi is going to be harassing us the entire way.
Shizune and Genma both share a look before turning to me, "Water first."
"We might even be lucky and run into some food on the way, eh?" Genma says, nudging Shizune in the ribs. "Really piss of that masked baby." He sends me a sly look, "The ugly baby, right Inohana-chan?"
Trust Genma-san to try and keep our spirits up, I think, shaking my head slightly exasperated. At least it means he's not going to obsess about his senbon, so small mercies.
Shizune huffs, pushing Genma away, "Why did you have to call him that, Inohana-san? It just made him angry!"
I shake my head, "No it didn't, it was a ploy to get close enough to steal our crap." I shrug with forced casualness, "And anyone that hides their face like that has to be seriously ugly." Well… I do just say that to mess with him. But the timing of his attack was too good, I can't rule out that he's keeping track of us somehow, and I'm certainly not going to admit to messing with him for fun if he's actually listening.
"Well… We should get go-" I'm interrupted by an explosion going off in the distance, flames soaring into the sky. The smoke is too light to be an exploding tag - that was a fire jutsu!
"What the? No other team should be near us… Right?" Genma asks, eyes narrowed, searching our surroundings suspiciously.
"No other academy student would be able to fire off a fire jutsu like that… It's either enemies… Or Kakashi…" I say quietly, straining my chakra sense, but it's no use. It was far enough away that I couldn't sense any chakra other than the feel left over from the massive fiery explosion.
"Kakashi-kun wouldn't use a jutsu like that for no reason, if it's him…" Shizune says, eyes flicking between us. "We need to go help him, he could be hurt!" Her face is tense, but serious. She'll leave without us if necessary. I can tell. Stupid Konoha conditioning…
I share a look with Genma. Seeing my hesitance mirrored. I take a deep breath. "Let's go then. Slowly. We need to see what we're getting into." Maybe I'm just as stupid as the rest of them, damn you Kakashi, for making us come save you just after you stole our weapons!
Shizune gives me a thankful nod, and Genma pats me companionably on the shoulder as we start moving. I bite my lip stressfully, teamwork is getting there…At least something is working out.
As long as I'm not leading them into something that gets them killed… This jutsu does not feel like it belongs in this test…
Don't fuck this up, Inohana!
＊＊＊
Kakashi returned to his small base camp feeling annoyed. He barely managed to hold back an aggravated growl.
His camp was nothing more than a comfortable spot up in a tree, a camouflage tarp covering it, he quickly and efficiently disarmed the five traps around it, taking care not to set off the exploding tag. He wasn't an amateur.
He'd be able to erase all trace of his presence within minutes if he needed to. This was the proper way to set up a temporary camp. No one would even be able to sniff him out, let alone read the normal signs of passage.
He scoffed quietly, as he dumped the stolen weaponry, preparing to wrap the tarp around it and get moving. Just in case those absolute amateurs would come this way.
He'd been annoyed to be pulled from his training to oversee this pathetic exercise. But orders were orders. So he would perform to the best of his abilities. Feelings did not matter in the face of duty. So he'd gathered his things and made his way to the pre-exercise gathering.
When he'd found out he'd be shadowing Inohana's group, he'd at least had some relief, in the mistaken belief he wouldn't have to suffer through absolute incompetence for three days.
She was almost able to keep up with him, as annoying and unprofessional as she was - as emotional and fragile as she was. Kakashi could respect the skill if nothing else about her. Surely she could knock this test out in a day - day and a half at the worst.
Cut Kakashi a break for once - instead of being a pain he constantly had to deal with.
Then he'd made contact, having to use chakra dampening seals and the hidden mole jutsu to avoid detection from Inohana's sensing ability. He wasn't sure how long it extended, so he took extra precautions to only travel underground near them. Which, if she was doing a proper job, she would have extended her senses further underground and found him. Disappointing…
And he'd found only unprofessional team interactions, whining and bickering when he found them. Inohana had managed to make her team just as ridiculously emotional as her. They had a duty to perform.
They had been walking at a civilian pace for Kami's sake.
They weren't taking this seriously. Becoming a Shinobi was not done for fun! There were rules and regulations to adhere to, they knew them, what were they doing disregarding them!?
His disgust just grew as he saw them making camp. Even as he retreated and made his base camp far out of Inohana's range - as he believed it to be from observation, not surprisingly it seemed he was correct as they made no move to close in. He could still smell their cooking, their academy level attempts to hide it, absolutely pitiful. If they had enemy Shinobi after them, they'd zero in from miles away on that smell alone.
You didn't have to be an Inuzuka to find ways to recognize smells from a distance. Any half competent Shinobi could do at least that much. Their lazy attitude rubbed him the wrong way. There is a war going on. These people are the ones he might have to back him up to complete a mission. He would not fail because of substandard tools.
He'd returned then, angry. Coming from the underground, using sensei's chakra dampening seals to hide himself - when he slowly loosened the ground under their fire to let him completely take it and their food afterwards, disabled their traps and stole them, tainted the water. And only then, finally did he allow himself to let the seals go. Making for the camp at speed. Announcing his presence. Giving them at least half a chance instead of just coming up from under the earth and destroying them.
Their display hadn't been bad, necessarily. For a low level opponent, they had done enough to flush a Shinobi of their level out, draw them in and use their numerical advantage. Even if it was wasteful to use the medic to perform Ninjutsu. Who came up with that awful plan?
If he hadn't already had to deal with Inohana so much… He could admit, only to himself. That he'd probably have rushed in without thought at the taunting and unbearably smug attitude of the girl. She really did think she wasn't in danger because she'd gotten a cheap shot in for one spar.
Instead he'd shown them the divide, the difference between someone taking a fight seriously. And children playing.
They had no water. Little to no food. They would get no sleep. He'd ensure it. If they didn't move soon he'd be back to harass them. To make them give up. To force them to drop this before they got someone killed.
They wouldn't make it back in three days. He would put a stop to them. They didn't deserve to graduate yet.
Especially Inohana.
She obviously didn't know how to interact with teammates. He thought derisively. Too emotional, second guessing herself too much…
His eyes narrowed as his nose twitched. There was a smell in the wind…
He turned and threw three kunai, all three thudding into a log that appeared in a small cloud of smoke.
Replacement jutsu! Kakashi thought, mind whirling. It couldn't be the three of them, not yet. He did his own replacement, just in time for his base camp and the tree it was on to go up in an explosion, bark and branches flying away from the epicenter, skewering his replacement log in his place.
A-rank fire jutsu…This is bad, someone's infiltrated the exercise!
He ignored the deafening sound, hiding behind another tree, eyes, ears and nose all searching for the culprit. There's at least two of them then …
"Come out little baby ninja. We're not even after you. Just need you to take a little nap for a while." A low masculine voice called out. Using a trick to throw his voice, obfuscating his location.
He wasn't the only one that could do that trick. Kakashi threw his own voice, placing it behind some trees within his sight, "Fire isn't really conductive for a night's rest." He drawled, sounding unaffected and bored.
I'm just a kid, boasting, come on, underestimate me…
A low laugh echoed around the forest, "Ah, that was just to show you we're serious, child." The voice became mocking in the end. Taunting him.
As if he'd care to be called a child, this enemy had no idea who Hatake really was. He'd regret it. Kakashi decided. Getting ready to move.
Kakashi could see a dark shape moving towards the location he'd thrown his voice. His youth was working to his advantage, no doubt the enemy thought he couldn't do the same. One of many misconceptions he'd correct by the time he was done.
He still had no idea of the second enemy. Couldn't even smell him. His limbs grew taut as he prepared himself anyway. He'd need to move quickly, before the unknown enemy could respond. Waiting for more information was not an option here, he had a target, he could only do his best to take it out and move on to the next situation.
As soon as the shadow made its way around the trees and came straight into Kakashi's sights, he pounced. Body flickering straight for his jugular, giving him no warning other than that brief flash of chakra, not enough for the man to defend himself in such a short distance.
Yet he was drawn to a standstill, body jerking in place as he let out a choked gasp. A hand around his neck, preventing him from reaching any further, his kunai just inches away from the jugular of the first man. A scarred middle aged Shinobi, gray haired with an Iwa headband. A line drawn through the middle of it. Kakashi's eyes bugged out of his head from lack of air and shock.
IWA, here? How? He thought frantically, his attempt to perform a jutsu to escape his hold being thwarted before he could make more than one hand seal. Ninja wire wrapping around him like a cocoon. Chakra conductive he noted with displeasure.
"Brat almost killed you, Ito!" Came the low masculine voice of the man who had been throwing his voice, the man who'd fired the A-rank fire Ninjutsu. The man who held him by the throat with thick meaty fingers.
He could smell them now, whatever jutsu the man had used to hide his scent, dropped. He could smell mud, and fire and… Snakes?
"Quick for a tiny one, ain't he? You sure we shouldn't kill him, Matsuda?" The pale, unshaved face of the second man, the one he'd almost killed, came into view, frowning at him. His nose had been broken at least once, Kakashi idly noticed.
"The orders were clear. No deaths… " Matsuda said roughly, "But, we can have a little fun with the other ones. He specifically requested it…" Kakashi struggled to get some air in his lungs, dangling in the man's grip as he laughed quietly.
Shit! Inohana! Get out of here!
His vision was growing black. He hadn't expected a Jounin. He'd failed his mission. He'd failed.
It felt like something inside him just wanted to rip out and burn this entire clearing down. He'd failed!
"Well… Look at that, Ito… We won't even have to find them, they came to us!" Matsuda rumbled approvingly, the one named Ito laughing in sadistic glee.
No! What are you doing! Run! Kakashi thought angrily, desperately.
He helplessly fell into unconsciousness, raging against his own weakness and the stupidity of the team he was supposed to harass, sure. Make their lives miserable.
But ultimately protect.
At least his bastard of a father had saved his teammates even though he failed the mission. The wrong choice for a Shinobi, proving his father as a failure, but he'd accomplished something even if it was the wrong thing.
Kakashi was failing at both!
What did that make him?
Only blackness answered.
＊＊＊
We approached fairly slowly, not willing to risk a charge into what could be a full out fight. Moving silently through the dark woods. Yet even moving carefully - it only took us a few minutes to get close. A Shinobi moving slowly still moves faster than a normal athlete.
The closer we got, the easier of a time I had to sense the chakra of the combatants. It didn't look good. Kakashi was there. But so was chakra I'd tentatively label Chuunin… And a Jounin. Just based on feeling alone. And they didn't feel like they were getting along.
Tossing aside how on earth a Jounin and a Chuunin had infiltrated this exercise… We had to do something, come up with a plan. With barely no resources, having had no food, little water. And no rest after running all day.
Needless to say, the situation isn't ideal.
I lay a hand on both Genma and Shizune's shoulders. Getting them to stop creeping forward and pay attention to me. I signal two enemies to them. Jounin and Chuunin. They both grimace, but nod to show they understand the information. None of us look happy or confident. And yet we're still here. Konoha Shinobi are idiots!
Shizune signals back a query, quickly. " Ally?"
I shake my head, making the sign for. " Hostage." I could feel Kakashi's chakra struggling, and with how close he is to the other two… He isn't winning.
" Plan?" Genma signals, looking uncharacteristically grim.
Do I have a plan? Not really. This is just not something we should deal with. Logically we should attempt to make contact with another Konoha Shinobi. Try and make it to Konoha, or meet up with another team and hope to find their proctor and communicate a breach. Because no way was this part of the test. Not if they were going after Kakashi.
They wouldn't play this far. Not with the last Hatake and only student of Namikaze Minato. He might not be the fourth Hokage yet, but everyone knew he was a candidate. They would not play this shit with his student for a couple academy students. And Kakashi does not feel like he's faking anyway.
Then there is the issue with not having this fight right now… Trying to get away for reinforcements.
What would be the point? Anyone that could take down Kakashi, would easily catch us no matter how fast we run. Our best bet is to free Kakashi, and then deal with them four to two. If we can get one of them out, maybe our numerical advantage can trump even a Jounin.
There are way too many maybe's with this plan.
I point at Genma, then at myself. " Occupy enemy." I signal. " 1 minute." I take a deep breath meeting Genma's eyes. Both of us are just preparing ourselves, mentally. " Chuunin." I point at him. Leaving myself the Jounin. There isn't another choice.
My chakra abilities might be able to do something. Maybe. But Genma doesn't have any advantages like that.
I look into Shizune's eyes, the normally kind brown eyes are set in a determined if frightened gaze. " Hostage. Heal." I signal. Getting a clear nod from her. " 30 seconds." I signal a last warning. As we creep closer to the tree line. Able to hear the voices of the enemy Shinobi.
"Well… Look at that, Ito… We won't even have to find them, they came to us!" A mountain of a man says, holding Kakashi by the throat, the Hatake going limp just after that. The bald and horrifically burn scarred man, with a missing nin Iwa headband, turns to the treeline. Tossing a wire cocooned Kakashi to the ground carelessly. "Come out and play girl… We have something special for you!" He leers.
I freeze in my tracks, feeling my heart almost stop in my chest. They could mean Shizune. It's possible. A glance at her shows the absolutely terrified eyes of my teammate as she's wondering if it's her. Yet… I somehow know it's me. It's always me.
They know we're here, what little plan we had is practically worthless. Yet we're not left with much choice. I signal Genma and he and I both jump out, rushing for our targets. Shizune uses what little weapons we have left as covering fire - before rushing for Kakashi.
I rush the mountain, my tiny frame nothing but an ant before him as I try to tie my chakra strings around his limbs, to hold him down as I explode off the ground and slam straight into his guard.
He grunts in amusement, flexing his limbs curiously, having broken through my chakra strings with a flare of his own chakra. "Not bad, girl. But someone with stronger chakra isn't going to be held down long like that."
I slip my last kunai behind my back using my strings, before firing it over my shoulder, up towards his jugular. My hands caught in his guard making it impossible for me to escape. To my frustration the man tilts his head out of the way, chuckling.
Effortlessly.
As a desperate last resort I pulse chakra, what few steel sharp leaves I have in my storage seal flying out, sped along with chakra strings aiming for his eyes. To my astonishment the guy simply breathes out fire, no hand seals - and my leaves burn before they can do any damage. I haven't been able to make them completely fireproof yet.
Hopefully an oversight I'll live to regret.
"Oh, you're fun!" He laughs after that, before lifting a large foot and stomping down viciously, I hear a loud crack and my vision temporarily goes white. I hear agonized screaming. It takes me a minute to realize it's mine.
I look down through the tears, my foot is absolutely crushed. I can see bone poking out, blood flowing freely. I fight the urge to puke. I'm not going to be able to heal that… I think sickened. No, no, this can't happen! I've just started! I think desperately, my career hasn't even taken off yet, and I'm already overmatched.
"I always do end up breaking my toys," The giant of a man sighs loudly, wrapping an arm the size of a tree trunk around me and picking me up. "Are you done, Ito?"
I feel fear rushing up my spine as I'm turned to face the other man, and my team. Genma lay unmoving on the ground, his bandana stained red. Not far from him, the other man, Ito. Is holding Shizune. Almost nuzzling her neck as the terrified medic is pressed against him, a kunai to her jugular. His other hand is roaming over her.
"Done? I haven't started yet…" Ito chuckles nastily. "You're making a mess as usual, Matsuda. I thought that one was supposed to come out alive?"
"She'll live." Matsuda rumbles, jostling my foot with his knee, drawing out a scream of agony from me. I have to fight to keep conscious, the pain is beyond anything I've felt before. I thought I was accustomed to pain, but a crushed limb was more than even I could try to ignore.
As I pant through the pain, watching Shizune's terrified face. Listening to the men casually discuss my supposed survival from all this. I feel a stirring of hatred inside me. Shizune, Genma, even Kakashi. This didn't happen to them. Not originally. This is happening because of me! And if they couldn't injure me too much. Too much being subjective, considering they'd crushed my foot! Then what were they going to do to Shizune!?
My chakra isn't idle, in my desperation I try to reach the Shinobi holding Shizune. Invading his brain. Fighting and clawing myself through his chakra pathways. Feeling myself drown as I always do in the more powerful chakra, feeling my efforts slip away.
Failure!
"Girl… what do you say? This girl would look so much better with a few cuts here and there, huh?" Ito says casually, drawing a Kunai against Shizune's cheek, just barely drawing blood.
I pale as Shizune closes her eyes, whimpering. Expecting the worst. My mind flashes back to classes. No… NO.. "I will NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!"
I don't even realize I screamed that out loud until I hear the rumbling laugh from the man holding me aloft. "And how exactly… Are you going to stop us?" He growls with dark pleasure.
My chakra strings stab into both brains at the same time, my focus dividing, my eyes almost going blank as I hang unresponsive in the Iwa missing nins grip. I fight and fight and I fail. I fail. I fail!
Failure, such a failure, daughter… I see my father's sick face, as he declares me defective. A waste. Too weak to do what needs to be done.
Failure!
I see Shizune gasping in pain as Ito slices a line along her neck. Just enough to bleed. Licking up the blood, Shizune's teary eyes met mine. The revulsion and fear in them matching my own.
Think! Think damn you! Why isn't it working? Dan says it's reminiscent of his technique… How?
I fight alongs the surges of the pathway. Trying to imagine what Dan would do… Dopey, caring, kind of incompetent, Dan.
Did he fight every inch, using his technique? Did that seem likely? Dan clawing and scratching his way forward…
No…
I… Let go. I allow myself to float along the chakra pathways. The Shinobi's own chakra leading me along its system. Leading me to the brain. This is what I've been missing. What Orochimaru has been missing. It's too hard to force another's chakra pathways. It's how you control a civilian. But they're different. They're not born and bred to fight. A Shinobi is always ready to fight. His chakra is primed for it. You can't just fight it. Control it.
I infiltrate it. Float along. Try to mix with it, resonate. Fool it to believe I'm part of it. I close my eyes, Shizune's sudden scream fading as I focus completely.
Putting my Genjutsu training into practice. To fool someone's chakra into believing I'm part of it. Be the illusion. Put everything into being an illusion.
I flow into the brain, a part of the whole. My direction is it's direction. I concentrate. With slow, careful effort. I spend what I have left. Every drop I can reach. And for both men, I use my chakra to resonate with theirs, to lead it to where I want it to go, without them even knowing. Their chakra identifying my own as part of them, flowing along now.
I scream suddenly, sobbing in absolute agony. My foot throbs as I land on it, my legs folding as I fall to the ground in a heap. Through my tears I see a shaking and confused Shizune, a green hand already on her neck, Ito collapsed on the ground behind her.
Matsuda must have collapsed as well, that's why I'm on the ground… I think with fuzzy thoughts, they are having a difficult time concentrating. Did I use all my chakra?
Did…It… Work?
＊＊＊
The messenger nin did not have a glorious job. It certainly didn't win him acclaim or the respect of his peers. Or his wife.
He was almost sure she was having an affair with the shoemaker next door. She did buy a lot of shoes lately.
On his salary. He wasn't made of Ryo.
But it was simple. It paid the bills - even shoe bills. And it didn't mean he'd have to fight in a war. So all in all, he was happy with his lot. Mostly.
Except for days like today.
Going underground was always the worst delivery job anyway. But the labs were just creepy beyond belief. He'd take literally any assignment over this one.
He jumped in fright as one of the lights on the gray tiled wall flickered suddenly. Scowling at it. He was almost sure they were doing it on purpose. Surely a lab of this complexity and expense could afford proper lighting. It played with his nerves to walk through the underground hallway, when it felt like you were plunged into cold darkness between every light.
He'd heard stories about this place… He jumped again as another light flickered.
Too creepy…
He slowly made his way into the main laboratory. Looking for the recipient. Lamenting how the Hokage's office surely had better men to send on a job such as this.
Surely though, more important people should be sent on an errand to a Sannin. A Jounin or something. Someone used to dealing with… This.
He'd been elated to find out he would be able to find the man overseeing the academy survival exercise instead of in his lab. Just to arrive there to find out the snake Sannin had left the rest to a subordinate and returned to his domain.
He'd thought he'd been saved from having to come down into creepy labs where he half expected he'd never manage to come back out again. And yet here he was. He shivered as he looked away from a tube holding only the torso of a man. What kind of man is completely blue?
"Orochimaru-Sama?" He asked nervously, as he entered the main lab area. Surgical tables and desks in front of him. Thankfully well lit up. With working light fixtures.
"What is it?" Came an annoyed hiss… From behind him.
He jumped in fright. Turning around, smiling nervously at the sudden appearance of the snake Sannin. "A message for you, sir!" He held out the simple note. Hand shaking. He felt damp and sweaty as he watched long pale fingers reaching forward to take the note. Golden eyes watching him with distant contempt. Like he didn't matter enough to actually feel any true feelings about.
He didn't understand why anyone would send such a simple note to the Sannin. It wasn't even sealed. He'd read the message just by picking it up. It wasn't hidden or sealed. It was the strangest message he'd ever delivered. Because he never delivered such an open, simple message.
What could Orochimaru possibly need delivered so quickly. The note simply said.
She did it.
Nothing else.
The delivery Shinobi yelped in fright as the lights in the laboratory suddenly went out - throwing the area into darkness.
"Ku ku ku…"
＊＊＊
Authors note:
So some Kakashi pov there. Poor boy is a little confused by Inohana sending such mixed messages of competence and utter idiocy in his mind.
Or otherwise known as being quite good at your job but maybe not very emotionally or mentally stable. She'll get there. Maybe.
So Orochimaru interfered in the test. Dan's niece was there. So was his possible savior. Wonder if Dan is going to be chill about all that?
I'm sure Inohana won't hold grudges for her crushed foot either. She's so forgiving and kind. At least Tsunade is still in Konoha to heal it.
Inohana loves healing!
Fun times ahead in Konoha.
Cheers
JollyHippopotamus