Kiba

Sand. Sand. Sand. SAND! No rocks nothing...just this horrible yellow-brown element. I was about to go crazy. We had been on the trail for half a day now and there was no team with a sky roll to be seen anywhere. It was maddening. It was just as well that we had enough to eat and drink. Thanks to Tora's daring actions, which in my opinion weren't really necessary. But she was too cautious, wanted everyone to be well, put our well-being above her own and the fact that she was putting herself in danger. She's always been like that. She would give anything for her friends and us, her team. It wouldn't do any good at all to drive that out of her. As stubborn as she could be.

„Yo. Well, there must be a sky roll somewhere, otherwise I'm really going to go crazy," I said out loud, clasped my hands behind my head and turned to the team.

„A team will be here soon," Hinata said confidently. Tora and Shino nodded. I snorted.

„They should hurry up. I don't want to sit in this desert for another four days and let those nasty creepy-crawlies infest us. The sooner we get to the tower, the better. Next thing we know, we'll meet giant ants or scorpions. Bah!"

"Kiba..." Tora warned with a nod towards Shino, whose aura had gotten a lot darker. Damn.

„Do I hear sky scroll?" said a voice behind us.

We wheeled around. An all-too-familiar team was standing there in front of us. The slightly broader genin who had been sweating so terribly. Next to him was a tall young man with rather untamed hair that was combed forward. His hands were resting on a large flag with a pointed end. The smallest member of the team wore black glasses. His dark hair was tied back in a plait. He looked bored, seemed either uninterested in the fight or didn't see us as real opponents. A possible theory that made me incredibly angry.

„It's nice that you heard our call for help. I see we understand each other," I sneered and the tallest raised his eyebrows.

„It seems to me that it was entirely your intention to lure us in, but all the better. We'll be done with you quickly."

„I'll flatten them all at once, Kazami," said the fatter one.

I took him at his word, figuratively speaking. When he came from above, we had little to counter him. It would be almost impossible to lift such a weight.

„We're still a team, Burami. We fight together and not otherwise," Kazami reminded them before he brought his flag into attack position and they pounced on us.

Reluctantly, Akamaru and I took up positions opposite Burami, trying to incapacitate him with targeted Gazuga attacks. But his body was strange. No matter what attack we tried... we always bounced off it. He could deform it however he liked.

This action made me furious when he then set out to pursue us himself. His immense body blocked out the sun as he jumped. Just in time, I threw myself to the side and began another attack. Somehow I had to hit him, somehow...

My gaze glanced over the battlefield for a moment. Hinata was defending herself against Kazami, while Shino had the little boy with the glasses. But where was Tora? Either she had gone into hiding to attack our enemies with a sudden attack, or else...no, that couldn't be...!

At the edge of the square, a small figure sat leaning against a rock. Blood was running from her mouth. Her jacket was open and she had one hand pressed to her stomach. It shimmered red between her fingers. She was breathing heavily.

„Tora!"

A scream escaped my throat and I abruptly broke off the attack, wheeled around, rushed towards her. A hand grabbed my foot. I hit the ground hard and the scroll was taken out of my pocket. Damn. A trap. They had tricked me. With a simple genjutsu. But then where was she? That worried me more than the fact that the opponents had our role.

„You've lost, realize it. Pathetic. And I thought Konoha had more to offer. Your little friend won't last much longer," Burami sneered, shaking his head with a laugh. He was standing right next to her, but she seemed too badly injured to be able to do anything.

Anger welled up inside me. That guy...I could take him...so much arrogance. How dare he look down on us like that. We wouldn't let him get away with it. Tora was incapacitated and therefore out. But we were still there, in a position to reclaim the role.

Burami bent down to the brown-haired girl.

„Loser."

Then something threw him backwards. The bald man hit the ground with full force. There was a crash. Rock and dust flew up. His companions jumped aside, startled, and looked at the prone man, who groaned in surprise. I looked at the place where Tora should have been lying, but it was empty.

Realization flashed through me. It had been her plan to pretend. Not telling us about it should probably make the situation all the more credible. Not bad of her. My eyes briefly flitted over the rest of Team 8. Hinata, Shino and Akamaru had positioned themselves next to me. The smell of their determination overwhelmed me, igniting a heady feeling inside me. I felt alive and confident.

The team in front of us might be strong, but they weren't invincible. Burami was incredibly arrogant, seeing only himself and not his comrades. Kazumi desperately tried to remind him of the importance of teamwork, as well as the others.

Kazumi was the only one who really knew what teamwork meant. But he didn't really seem to be able to pass that on to his friends. We, on the other hand, had been working closely together for several years and knew how to assess each other's actions. Well... almost all of us, apart from Tora, who was often unpredictable. But the most important thing was that we trusted each other, appreciated each other...something I wouldn't have bought in the past, especially when it came to Tora.

At the same moment, she stood next to me, her eyes firmly focused on our opponents. Her gaze may have seemed fixed, but I knew as well as anyone else on the team that this was not the case. She was aware of everything around her. Every single telltale sound. Every muscle in her body was tense, ready to strike.

„This is unbelievable. I can't feel her chakra." Kazumi's eyes widened in surprise. He was right. Nothing about her suggested that she possessed any at all. I grinned. A jutsu that she had only recently developed and was perfect for surprise attacks. No one could feel her chakra or see it. Not even Hinata. The jutsu of invisible chakra.

But when she used it, there was usually a plan behind it. Or it was already being carried out.

„I've had enough now. We've got what we wanted, so let's go. They can't stop us anyway," the little boy snorted and adjusted his glasses. A gesture that reminded me a lot of Kabuto. Tora stiffened a little. Apparently she was thinking the same thing.

Burami, who had picked himself up in the meantime, stepped forward. The sandy ground shook under his heavy steps. We were scrutinized from above. Anger rose up in me again. Never before had an opponent made me so aggressive. So much arrogance.

„Are you sure you want to leave already?" Tora asked.

Her voice was so calm that you'd think she wasn't under any stress at all if it weren't for the small drop of sweat running down her forehead and her heart beating so hard. It was just as well that our opponents couldn't hear it. They wouldn't believe a single word she said. But underestimating her was a mistake I wouldn't make a second time.

Something gave her that confidence and that reason had to be damn good. Especially with Tora.

„Without your sky scrolls?"

The brown-haired girl held out her hands. Six sky scrolls lay on them. Shining faintly in the light of the desert sun. In the time that the opposing team had been distracted with us, she had apparently collected all the scrolls that Kazumi and the rest had acquired in the battles before.

She had used the exact tactics that we had often planned in our missions. While we were fighting, distracting the enemy, she would sneak around the fighters, trying to eliminate them out of sight or take important objects from them. With this in mind, here are all the roles.

„I can't believe it now."

Tora didn't respond to the statement at all, but shrugged her shoulders.

„Well, I mean, you're welcome to go, but a scroll won't do you much good at the tower, will it?"

Three pairs of eyes narrowed. Annoyance, confusion, respect, arrogance, anger. I could see all kinds of emotions in them.

„That's enough now. I'll finish it."

The smallest one stepped forward and stood in front of us, as far as possible. He pressed his hands together to gather his chakra and then pressed them into the sandy ground. Damn. Not good. Not good at all. With this jutsu, we definitely had bad cards.

„Summoning jutsu!"

There was a bang. Smoke arose, dissipated and revealed an oversized mole that had taken up position directly behind our opposing team. Its shovel-like hands were poised ready for battle.

A dark rumble sounded behind us and I turned my gaze to see what was there. Gray-brown fur, streaked with individual black spots and stripes. The belly was as white as snow. The hair around his chin was a little longer, reminiscent of a short beard. Piercing silver eyes stood out from the fur, looking over at the smaller mole and narrowing.

Tora

I peered up at my shadow clone, who had taken a seat on Drakar's head. The silvery lynx already knew that it wasn't me sitting up there. We had often planned similar moves together. Different tactical maneuvers that we could execute together at some point. Like now, for example. Drakar was thoroughly enjoying the whole situation. His thin whiskers twitched in amusement as three quarters of our opponents shrank back in intimidation. Except for the giant mole, of course, which abruptly buried itself in the ground.

But every one of us knew that it would now attack from below. I grinned. Just because earth was his element, he shouldn't underestimate my furry companion. My body was still invisible to the naked eye. In the past, I had been able to train my chakra in such a way that I used relatively little neither for the shield nor for the invisibility itself. This was extremely important for much stronger jutsus, not only for me, but also for the whole team. Only Hinata had gotten wind of the fact that it wasn't my real body that was enthroned on top of the lynx's head. And it was going to stay that way for a while. The surprise effect was important. On both sides.

„Ha! Don't think that a simple lynx and a little girl can beat us just like that, just watch out," Burami shouted and rushed forward before his comrades could say anything.

Horror.

„How... how is that possible? My poison should have brought you to your knees?"

A grin crept onto my lips before I made small, short finger signs and a mighty wind arose on the battlefield, dispersing the purple mist in all directions. At the same time, I felt incredible joy. I had managed to master this jutsu. For the first time. And, as so often, in a pressure situation. Nevertheless, I hoped that this would not become a habit.

„I think that's irrelevant, don't you? You won't be able to win against us anyway. Besides, there's no point in us explaining our tactics to you," Kiba growled with narrowed eyes. Akamaru barked in agreement.

And then, as if on an invisible signal, we charged forward to take on the other team. In the background, Drakar fought against the mole. Her heavy footsteps, punches and blows echoed loudly in our ears, but didn't distract us from the fight. Kazumi took on Hinata as he had done at the beginning, whirling his flag around to create wind.

My katana sliced through the air like butter, parting it for the hyjuga to pounce on the surprised black-haired man. She would manage, take advantage of the surprise. Yuuago had been able to teach me a few things. She had trained with me the whole time, to the utmost. The training had started out relatively lax, but in the last six months... she had been really fixated on me getting better and better, which might have had something to do with the upcoming chunin exams.

She had been able to teach me a few jutsus. And we had also been able to invent new ones together. I had often noticed that she was still not completely over Hayate's death. As soon as the word chunin exams came up in conversation, her whole body began to tremble. She showed me once again just how deep love could go. However, I swore all the more not to let such feelings get to me, as I could see where it all led. Never.

The earth shook all at once and our opponents all turned for a tiny moment to the fighting Drakar, who had pinned his opponent to the ground, looking down at him menacingly.

The mole's body began to tremble, to shake as if it was being shaken by many convulsions. The creature let out a painful sound, something moved under all the fur and finally broke through to the surface.

Huge black beetles had eaten their way through the thick skin. The animal slumped to the ground, whimpering, and the brown-haired boy cried out in horror. Shino was ruthless when it came to his opponents. No question about it. I could empathize with him a little in this situation. His bond with the mole seemed to have been strong. I didn't want to know how I would react if Drakar had suffered such a fate.

„GAAATSUUUUGAAA!" was all I heard behind me before a vortex, barely recognizable as a doubled Kiba and Akamaru, rushed towards our opponents, who only now noticed that we had not remained idle.

Kazumi, who was already knocked out by Hinata's targeted blows, could only watch helplessly as Kiba rolled over his comrades. Ingenious. Simply brilliant.

Our opponents lay dazed on the ground, unable to move a muscle. Kiba had remained merciless. Good thing. Our targeted moves had thrown the opposing team off course blow by blow. And now they were here in front of us. The roll landed on us as if by magic. But we couldn't linger here too long. There was always the possibility that they would get up again and want to fight us.

Drakar disappeared after he had completed his task. I would miss him.

The wind picked up as we trudged through the desert. The tower still seemed miles away. Out of reach for us. What's more, the invisible element was coming towards us, slowing our march all the more. But as long as it was only wind and not a sandstorm, we were still relatively happy. It could always get worse.

At least I tried to calm myself down with that thought.

Kiba and Akamaru led us, followed by Shino, while Hinata and I brought up the rear. Every now and then, my eyes wandered to the hyjuga, whose irises were resolutely focused on the sand at our feet. Everyone seemed focused, doggedly pursuing our goal. Everyone would give their all to achieve it.

As evening approached, we stopped under a small rock. The rock provided us with shelter from the strong wind for the most part. Kiba and Akamaru were the first to fall asleep, followed by Shino. Hinata and I stayed awake.

None of us could close an eye. The voices of the wind were too loud and and comparison to those of the and gentle, they were more like singing, enticing words than the screams that could be heard here in the demon wasteland.

„I'll be glad when we get back home," the hyjuga sighed, leaning her head against the surprisingly cool rock. A relief, that much was certain. The wind was cutting, but it still felt like hot lashes on the skin. The heat of the sand burned through our shoes with every step. But by now the heat had subsided. In general, it had become cooler and cooler. I had completely forgotten that it could get freezing cold at night in the desert as soon as the sun was gone. I sat up abruptly, put my jacket back on, pulled a warm cloak out of my rucksack and spread it over us both.

„It always gets cold in the desert at night. We have to be careful not to freeze to death," I whispered. Hinata just nodded. Her eyes fluttered. She seemed tired. I decided to keep my mouth shut, because we'd all had a hard day and needed to rest. My eyes slowly closed, but my senses didn't go completely. My ears and sense of touch remained awake. My time as a thief would now prove its worth once again if an enemy tried to attack us. With this thought, I dozed off.

I didn't notice the watchful eye on our camp.

We got up early the next morning to move on. The sooner we reached the tower, the better. We were safe there. No team could do us any more harm. And with a bit of luck, this would happen without incident.

The higher the sun rose, the fiercer the wind became and my hope that it might have died down burst like a soap bubble. And not only that. Thick clouds obscured the bright blue sky. No... not clouds... sand. Tons of sand. The brown element flew towards us at breakneck speed. What none of us had wished for had arrived. We were facing an approaching sandstorm. My shield was powerless against the force of nature. It could do nothing against it. Probably only Gaara could.

Within seconds, it was almost completely dark around us. Grains of sand cut into our cheeks. We kept our heads down, avoiding looking up as much as possible. Nevertheless, everyone had to stay with each other. It was easy to get lost here. And that couldn't happen. Under no circumstances. Otherwise the test was over for us. We were a team. If one of us was missing... I didn't even want to imagine it.

The wind howled around us with increasing menace. I forced myself to lift my head and look at the others. But they weren't here. Swallowed up by the sand. My body began to tremble. A moment ago, I hadn't wanted to think about it. But now it had happened. Inevitable. We should have held hands, stayed close to each other, should have... should have... Damn it. None of that helped me any more. I had lost my team. I was on my own in this damn loud darkness. And that fact scared me more than the fact that I might not become a chunin.