Exhausted, I buried my face in my hands. What a run. And we had made it. Together. Hopefully we would be able to sleep peacefully that night, which I rather doubted for myself. Too many thoughts would flood my head about what to do next, how to tackle the next exam, what to prepare.

Gawd!

It was already starting. The desire to become a chunin had never been so urgent, so important to me. Perhaps I wanted to prove to myself that I had become better. What years of training had achieved. And that I could finally compete with my father. Although... every now and then I doubted that, as I was more than half his age. He had more fighting experience and...

„Hey Tora. Don't worry about it so much. Tomorrow will be fine. Today is today for now, alright?"

Kiba had sat down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder, grinning as he looked into my face. Akamaru stepped up next to him and rested his head on my knee. He looked up at me with round, brown eyes. A smile crept onto my lips. Even though he was an adult now, sometimes a look like that was enough to cheer me up.

I took a short breath before my body rose up of its own accord. Kiba's hand didn't leave my shoulder at all. Since Naruto had left and Shikamaru was mostly occupied with his duties as chunin, I had spent more and more time with my team. I now had a close friendship with Hinata, based on strong trust. Kiba and I were like buddies and Shino was a good friend.

And I enjoyed the strong relationship with my team. We had built ourselves up together and had become stronger. Everyone had benefited from the strong bond that had developed between us. Especially Hinata. Hyjuga had really blossomed thanks to all the trust we had placed in her. Not only had her chakra become significantly stronger, but also her skills. She had even invented a few new jutsus.

When we entered the dining hall, it was already quite full. They were all sitting there staring at their food. I pulled a face. If they all pounced on it at the same time...a good ending...no, that would definitely not happen.

We strolled casually past the long table. Unnoticed by the others, I concentrated my chakra and discreetly slipped bread and vegetables into my pockets. After all, my team was going to get something to eat.

Heavy footsteps moved in our direction. A rather broad genin came in our direction. He already had a piece of dried meat in his hand. His eyes, however, were clearly focused on the laid table. He seemed to be quite warm, as the water was running down his body in streams. I was also sweating a little, but not as much as he was.

Nevertheless, I stood firm.

As he moved even further, the crowd began to move. Several genin jumped towards the guy at the same time and pushed him back. Still, they could do little. Large, sticky drops of sweat flew through the air, heading for the food. But before I could use the invisible shield, Neji fended them off with one of his rotations.

Unfortunately, the result was that all the food was swept to the ground. The table was destroyed. No one seemed to want to eat what was there. I could understand the fatty meat and fried eggs, but all the bread and rolls. The floor didn't look like it was totally dirty. On the contrary. I didn't understand the problem and was about to bend down to pick up a few slices when I heard an angry voice.

„How dare you! All that nice food," said an angry genin.

„What have you done to our comrade? You're going to be sorry."

Kiba raised his hands, seeming to want to apologize.

„Please don't misunderstand. We just wanted to save our food."

I shook my head in exasperation. This was definitely going to get out of hand. The situation was definitely beyond saving. Apart from the many angry ninjas who were now standing against us from Konoha. A great view. Really.

The black-haired girl from Matsuri's team made her way to the front, positioning herself - as best she could - in front of Kiba.

„So you wanted to save your food and didn't care about ours, huh?" she snorted.

Enough already. We weren't that selfish...well...maybe a little. At least I was...as far as the sandwiches in my pockets were concerned. Luckily for me, no one here knew that. Kiba immediately destroyed my hope for a possible peace.

„Hey, what's with the accusation? Let's be honest. It just shows that Gaara didn't train you properly."

Completely wrong sentence, Kiba. Not good... not good at all.

The black-haired girl was grabbed and pushed aside. Involuntarily, I stepped forward and stood diagonally next to Kiba, already anticipating what was to come. It was going to be painful once I saw the look on her face and Kiba didn't seem to see what was coming.

„Did I just hear someone insult Sensei Gaara?"

Uh oh. Hope definitely dashed.

„That's absolutely unforgivable!"

She merely shouted the last words before her fist came hurtling full force towards Kiba's face. My hand cracked as it caught Matsuri's punch. She had strength, I had to give her that. To be honest, I couldn't really explain why I had protected Kiba. Firstly, because he was my teammate and secondly, I still had the ridiculous hope of stopping this fight.

Which probably didn't work out as I had hoped, because now additional battle noise reached my ears. Together with Akamaru, Kiba threw himself into the fight.

I would definitely kill him. Hadn't we agreed on something? Hadn't he been the first to agree to it with complete enthusiasm? I would kick his ass.

I gritted my teeth and let go of Matsuri's fist, which did nothing to stop me.

Practiced at dodging flying fists, I ran towards Kiba, who was wrestling with one of the grass ninjas, grabbed the Inuzuka by the collar and dragged him out of the fighting zone. Matsuri looked at me with a partly annoyed, partly irritated look. I paused for a moment.

„I understand your anger at him, I probably would have reacted similarly if you had insulted one of my sensei like that, but I'll still be the one to tell him off here."

To my surprise, the brown-haired girl's expression began to change and even the beginnings of a grin appeared. She understood. Meanwhile, Kiba tried in vain to wriggle out of my grip. To no avail. I dragged the Inuzuka to the edge of the battlefield and dropped him there. I glared angrily at my opponent.

„I thought we had an agreement, my friend?" I said angrily as he rubbed his sore neck.

Kiba growled angrily and stood up, trying to make an impression with his size. Wrong idea, buddy.

„They didn't deserve it any other way. And besides... there's you, Hinata and Shino. The rest have no idea about your powers. What difference do Akamaru and I make?"

What difference did that make? I didn't think I heard right. Quite a lot. Had he forgotten all the strategies and combat moves we had practiced together in combination? Our opponents would now know what to expect. What the two of them were capable of and be prepared accordingly.

Against my own expectations, I didn't shout at him. I said nothing of what I was thinking. It would only give the others an advantage to find out more about our strategies and abilities. We had to continue to prevent that. At all costs. We had a goal and we would achieve it.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose in exasperation. This was going to be fun.

The back of my neck tingled and the little hairs stood up. Abruptly, everything inside me was on alert. From one moment to the next, my posture changed and I gave Kiba a meaningful look. The Inuzuka understood and broke eye contact with me for a tiny moment before our eyes crossed again.

„The genin from Amegakure. They're watching you," he said. My eyes narrowed immediately and I resisted the urge to turn around, staying in place, looking fixedly at Kiba, who suddenly looked thoughtful. His face had darkened and it seemed as if he wanted to stare to death at the tiled floor.

„This isn't the first time either, Tora."

I paused. What was he saying? When? Where?

But something else caught my attention. Behind the scuffle, which still hadn't stopped... In one corner diagonally opposite us, close to the wall, there was an uneven spot. No... that wasn't it. Something round was there in the wall...or in front of it?

Involuntarily, I took a step towards it, still feeling burning glances at my back, trying to ignore them before I changed my mind, turned around on the spot and made eye contact. It was the girl with the purple hair. Her yellow-orange eyes focused on me without expression and I returned the gaze. Now I couldn't go on like I had with Ibiki a few years earlier, I couldn't give in. My arms crossed in front of my chest as if of their own accord and I took a stance, showing self-confidence.

Then she looked away, a smile on her face. I stared at her purple mop of hair in bewilderment. Whatever that was... I couldn't understand it. What was that about? My eyes narrowed in irritation before I turned my gaze forward again towards the strange object that was no longer there...

Then I remembered. What kind of blind fish was I? That it hadn't occurred to me before. Even though it had been about three years since I had last seen this jutsu, which was only used for observation and spying.

Well, another way to monitor the chunin exam...wait a minute...that also meant that he had seen everything. I wonder what he thought of the little altercation with his student and the fight that followed. Well, if he hadn't intervened so far, he would probably tolerate it, at least I hoped so...

And then the ceiling exploded.

Sand and dust trickled down from the ceiling, making it blurred and difficult to see. The genin had moved to the side and stared upwards in horror. A shadow appeared in all the swirling dirt. Coming closer and closer. Maybe it was Gaara. I heard the air rustle as it was cut by a light body. No, it wasn't him...that chakra...wait a minute...

„Yahoooo."

A petite figure with mint green hair and orange eyes landed in front of us. Wide-eyed with joy and excitement, her arms raised in the air, she looked towards us. We looked at Fu as if paralyzed. My gaze slid to the immense hole in the ceiling and back to her. If she had caused this, then she had a lot of strength in her. More than it seemed.

The amount of chakra in her was clearly one of the reasons. She jumped up and down like crazy in front of our eyes. My goodness. She could get pretty close to Naruto with that kind of energy. I'm sure he'd get on really well with her... My heart sank. But unfortunately he was in an unknown place, training with Jiraya to get stronger. And I missed him very much.

When I looked at Fu, how she tried to make it clear to the others that she wanted to make friends with them, but every one of them blocked her and turned their backs on her, I couldn't help but think of Naruto. He had always wanted friends too, almost begged for them. No one had wanted anything to do with him. Almost no one. But even someone like Shikamaru hadn't always been able to be there for him.

He had often been alone. I had seen him roaming the streets, looking for company, on his own. I had wanted to play with him so much, I had never feared him, no matter what my father told me about him. My relationship with my father had never been close, so I hadn't believed anything he said. Everyone had seen Naruto as the monster he wasn't. The one who had been locked into his body without his consent. That had destroyed half the city. And they blamed Naruto for it.

I didn't know exactly what Fu was, why she had this power. Maybe it was innate. But somehow I liked her. The girl reminded me a lot more of Naruto than I wanted to admit. The need to help her, because I couldn't with Naruto back then for fear of my father, drove me to approach her.

She stood alone and sad in one spot. They had all gone away, laughing at her strange behavior. Even my team had left. It made me sad. This behavior. Just because she was a little different. In character, more lively and perhaps a little naive. It wasn't fair. I had seen it many times before, not only with Naruto, but also at the academy.

That shinobi were ostracized, ignored or laughed at because of a different character trait, their appearance or some other factor that disturbed their fellow human beings. It made me angry to see something like that. Another reason why I had always withdrawn before I became a thief. I wanted nothing to do with these children who looked down on others with contempt. I knew then as I do now that not everyone was like that. What's more, I was more of a loner, wanted my peace and quiet, preferred to sit in the corner reading a book, sharpening my kunai or indulging in my thoughts.

Determined, I walked a few more steps and stopped in front of Fu, who was sad and depressed, lost in thought. Didn't even seem to notice me. She was in her own sad little world.

„It's always the same. What's so bad about me? You don't even know. All I want is friends. People who care about me," she whispered so quietly that I almost couldn't hear her.

I carefully put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, looking at me with teary, wide eyes. A twinge went through me, burrowing into my stomach. That look on her face... was that hope?

„Let me tell you something Fu. It's not important how many friends you have, but that the ones you do have respect you for who you are. Not idiots who are just chasing after you because they want something you have. Let you down when the going gets tough. Friends are something who can laugh at the same shit you do. Cry with you when you're hurting, show you compassion. That's what friendship is."

I smiled slightly as her expression began to change and she wiped the tears from her cheek.

„A valuable thing. More important than anything else in the world. You know, you remind me of someone. A person who means a lot to me and isn't with me at the moment. He's just like you. Or was. A bit of both, I think. For that and many other reasons, I would like to be your friend Fu," I said and held out my right hand to her.

She looked at the proffered hand with an almost absent look. Slowly, her fingers touched my palm before fully enclosing it and squeezing it gently. Then a smile spread across her face and she fell into my arms, rejoicing. Only now did I realize that she was smaller than me. That was quite an achievement.

My arms wrapped tightly around her body, which was trembling with joy. I felt happy and content.

„AAAAAAH."

A scream broke through our thoughts and we scrambled apart. Our eyes slid out the shattered window into the dark power. Fu's gaze turned to determination. The delicate girl clenched her fists and slipped the red rucksack off her shoulders before standing on the windowsill and removing the remaining glass from the window.

I hurriedly followed her. She wasn't going to jump. But the look on her face clearly suggested that she was. I gritted my teeth and took the hand she offered me.

„You're not going to jump, are you?"

„No. Not exactly," she replied, before a powerful force pulled me out of the window. Her hands gripped my stomach and...I paused. We weren't falling anymore...flying through the sandstorm out here. But...how could that be?

My gaze wandered to Fu. I couldn't see much from my position, but a strange fluttering sound reached my ears and it came directly from her back. No...that couldn't be. Her chakra seemed to have become stronger. She was clearly gathering it at this point. And suddenly the scales fell from my eyes. It could only be this one reason. Why else would she already know this hostility, have such powerful chakra...

She was a...a...

Okay...there's something big down there. I'll catch up in a minute, just need to get some speed."

Yes, and what about me? At least that's what I wanted to ask. The strong breeze answered my question. She wasn't serious. So if I survived this, I would definitely kill my new friend.

Wind and swirling sand hit me in the face. Blurred, I recognized a broad dark shadow beneath me before a long armored spike whizzed just past my nose. This couldn't be true. A huge scorpion. And according to the screams, it had several genin in its grip. Damn. It was definitely going to kill me.

With a grinding sound, I pulled the katana out of its sheath and let my chakra flow through it. Whoever it was, I had to free him or her. Something pink flared up on my right, something purple and red on my left. This was getting better and better. On top of that, a team I knew all too well.

Just a few more meters and then I would hit the ground. My body landed roughly on the scorpion's hard shell. I rolled off and sprinted on to one of the rear, thin feet. If I managed to pin this immense creature to the ground, we might be able to defeat it.

If Fu showed up soon.

Raiton chakra flooded the blade and it began to glow with a bright blue light. Clutching the scales of the giant beast with one hand, I braced my feet against it, pushed off from the body and jumped.

„Jutsu of the cutting raiton blade."

It crunched as the flashing metal drove through the hard armor, through flesh and armor again, before the steel dug into the ground and stuck.

The scorpion let out a bright, shrill noise and reared up, in terrible pain, as I had chosen the armored tail instead of the foot.

A familiar fluttering sound reached my ears as Fu cut the air and plunged a kunai, arm outstretched, deep into the top of the monster's skull. It screamed, writhed in unbearable agony and finally slumped to the ground. Lifeless. Abandoned by its soul. The shaking of the earth as the heavy body landed on it still rang in my ears. Dazed, I dared to look at Fu, who was performing a little victory dance on the scorpion's hump.

I grinned. It was funny to watch, but still. We should first see if the others were all right. Choji, Ino and Sakura were sitting on the floor, dazed, and seemed to be recovering from the shock. The former was holding his stomach and complaining to the others about his terrible hunger.

I was just about to sheathe my katana and jump down to them when a voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

„What's going on?"

Three shadows emerged from the dark walls and ran towards us. The one in front was probably sprinting, while the other two followed quietly. I grimaced a little when I recognized Sensei Gai. Not good. Hadn't we been given strict instructions to stay inside the buildings? Well, that rule had already been broken. I hope Gaara didn't get any of this... My stomach was rumbling.

Damn.

The red hair was unmistakable. An uneasy feeling spread through me when I recognized him and Temari behind Gai. I took a deep breath when his eyes met mine and made my way downstairs. I had to get through this now.