Chunin Exam Arc: The Great Disappointment
The fog was anticipated, but it hadn't made it any less annoying. It was thick and dense, beyond normal fog patterns. She could practically taste the water. She needed to stop it. Yuina needed people to have a full view of them.
She pressured Zabuza until he released his jutsu. She continued a flurry of attacks, knowing she couldn't stop. She couldn't allow Zabuza an opening. He was known for his quick, accurate attacks. Her tanto often helped her to more closely even the range between herself and larger people, but against Zabuza it offered her a greater reach. She dodged an attack and swiped downward. Zabuza, unable to dodge, met her attack with a kunai. Their positions put her at an advantage, so she applied more force, resulting in his kunai flying out of his hand. She sent a follow up attack.
"I forfeit."
Yuina could barely redirect her attack.
She faced Zabuza. What? He had more fight in him. He was capable of more. Why did he forfeit? She needed him to keep fighting. There was more she needed to exhibit, and she couldn't do that if he quit. She was so off-kilter that she said, "What do you mean you forfeit?" Yuina had taken his words before their match as confirmation that they were fighting to the death.
"Forfeit means I quit."
"I know what it means!" She needed to breathe. All this life, she learned to control her thoughts and feelings. She couldn't let them out now. Not for this. Not now. Never.
Yuina was on high alert. Things weren't going according to plan. What if she wasn't able to do all that she intended? Yuina didn't dare look up into the stands. What would the Hokage think of her? What was she going to do now? There would only be one more round, but there was too much to shove into one match.
She barely registered the proctor calling her alleged victory.
It didn't feel like a victory.
This was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
She had no control over the situation. She only had control of herself, and she was losing control of that too.
Yuina went from feeling elated to having her soul suffocate her.
This is what she got for speaking up. This is what she got for not lowering her head and quietly follow orders. Things often worked in her favour, but they always ended horrendously when they didn't. Was this divine retribution?
Yuina walked to the stairs.
No. No. She had time. She wasn't kicked out. It may not be perfect, but there was still more she could do. A showstopper. All she needed was a showstopper. She needed to prove she wasn't all talk. Even then, whispers echo in her mind that it wasn't enough. She wasn't good enough.
She reached into her pocket for her pills. Two left. She consumed one of them.
She was almost back at the top when she froze. Her heart hammered as she was engulfed by an all-consuming fear.
Memories washed over her in waves. Five of the 38 hand signals she had learned so far appeared in the quick flashes in her mind. Things were confusing enough. She didn't need absurd claims from him.
Yuina rushed up the last few steps, so that she could look over to the audience watching in one of the other mountain peaks. Her eyes searched for purple until they finally landed on Orochimaru. He was there. Her heart was caressed with impending ruination before being compressed until she thought it would burst.
Her mind went back to Zabuza and his inappropriate forfeit.
Had it truly been Orochimaru risking himself to deliver that damning news? Had it been deemed that she wasn't good enough? Did her plans no longer hold value? Had they only wanted information out of her and see how far they could push her? Was she compromised? Had someone found out what she had done? Would someone be coming after her? By a foreign-nin? By the Hokage under the guise it wasn't done under his leadership?
The semblance of composure she regained crumbled. She couldn't ask for clarification. She couldn't seek guidance. She needed to decide what to do.
Yuina jerked when a hand tapped her shoulder. She had certainly lost it if she hadn't perceived Mushiro before he touched her.
He screeched. "Look, I know you're mad he quit or whatever," Yuina was in disbelief, "but you won."
Won? Oh, her match with Zabuza.
He didn't know. Couldn't know.
Tazuka and Kisame were called down for the next match. It should have been a match of interest. Kisame, though isolated himself, had a strong presence from the beginning. From the moment he passed the first round alone and waltzed in as if it had been nothing. Tazuka, who had been designated the same room as her in the first round, demonstrated solid intuition and had a demeanor of being someone in control. Kisame, who exhibited strength, endurance, and adaptability in the other fights. Tazuka, who displayed cleverness, patience, and his family's hidden technique. Yuina would have thought it was a bloodline if she hadn't overheard commentary from Rito.
It wasn't, though. How could it be of interest if she couldn't focus on it? She needed a plan on what to do about the message Orochimaru sent. Yuina had to work under the assumption it was from him. If it wasn't him, then she was already doomed. Believing it was him was the only semblance of hope she had.
Hokage. Orders. Abandon. Mission. Immediately.
What could have possibly happened to receive those orders? Yuina felt cornered like there was a pack of lions surrounding around waiting to devour her. She canceled her jutsu. She felt nauseated her head filled with information. It was too much to comprehend in an instant, but she couldn't afford to waste any more time. She couldn't control the shaking of her hand or the perspiration that formed.
Yuina only had a few minutes to figure out what to do as the other two fight.
Tazuka descended the stairs, but Kisame stood still.
"I withdraw."
Yuina's head snapped to Kisame in disbelief. She wasn't the only one.
It made no sense. More things weren't making sense. First Zabuza and now Kisame? He stubbornly fought his last two matches. There was no reason not to put up another fight. He showed no fear or resignation. He's emotions were an impenetrable, emotionless block.
There were whispers, and grumbles, and booing.
Her mind fractured. She felt as if she needed answers for the two Kiri-nin's actions, but that also cancelled anytime she had to think of how to address the finals.
Abandon mission.
She couldn't fight with everything at her disposal. She would have to fight restrictively, but Tazuka was one of the few people in the exams who offered a challenge. To face him now with her restrictions certainly meant an unknown outcome. If she lost, it would show Konoha as weak. If it looked like she wasn't fighting the same, then would it put her in a worse position? But wouldn't it look as bad if she dropped out like Kisame? She didn't know the details, but she didn't want accusations of that she was affiliated with him.
This was ridiculous.
The proctor was checking with Kisame to ensure his decision was final. A drop out in the semi-finals wasn't what anyone wanted to see.
Beyond ridiculous. Absurd. Insane.
"Tsuda Tazuka will proceed to the finals. Final Match: Hatake Yuina against Tsuda Tazuka."
Yuina didn't have time to think. Her actions were pure reaction. She swiped her hand under the cloth of her clothes and swiped the palm of her hand against the tip of a kunai and quickly brought her hand to her mouth to release a chain of forced, aggressive coughs. She let her tongue touch her palm to circulate blood in her mouth, allowing a few droplets to fall from her hand. She pressed her upper teeth above the cut, coughing more, to encourage more bleeding – both to hide the wound and replenish the lost blood donated to her mouth.
"One moment. I'll be—" Yuina coughed more. She brought one arm up to press against her stomach. Her other hand was not raised fast enough, so she could spray a few specks of blood against the ground.
"You're bleeding!" It was the first time Yuina was thankful of Mushiro.
Yuina hesitated. "I can still fight."
"You should see a medic."
Yuina stalled as if considering Mushiro's recommendation. "I want sensei." No one spoke against that. The other foreign-nin wouldn't want the Iwa-medics looking over them, either.
The proctor declared a ten-minute break to grant time to be looked over, hoping for a quick fix.
Yuina was escorted to a private room, and another nin guided Orochimaru to the room. She didn't have faith that others couldn't hear them. She couldn't get her answers. She had to accept Orochimaru's lack of reaction, aside from a few bland words, was proof that the message was his. "How bad is it?" The unsaid question was 'does she fight?'.
"It's not something that can be healed in an instant," said Orochimaru. His hand hovered over her stomach and glowed with chakra. It was all for show. "I don't have any with me, but there is something at our hospital which may help. Using your chakra may irritate it until then."
She had already canceled her jutsu, but his first statement made her think there were complications regardless of whether she fought. "What kind of irritation? It's only one more match."
"The poison is eating at you. You hold some resistance from training, but the worst outcome is death."
It was meant to be cryptic, but too many blanks made it hard to interpret what was a reference to what – assuming the cards he referenced were even known cards to her. Whatever the issue was, it was worsening. Speculating who could be harmed and why was too much. Either it was deemed the information given to her was all she was to be told or explanations were too complex to discuss in the methods they could communicate.
"I'll drop out." Yuina brushed a stray hair behind her ear and looked up at the ceiling. "There goes my reputation."
Iwa was outraged to hear the Konoha girl quit too. A few joked about other nations being scared of Iwa, but most were furious that the semi-finals onward were a complete and utter bore. The final round would go on to be known as 'The Great Disaster' to those who were forced to watch such embarrassment – which, naturally, spread throughout the village.