„How much further is it?", Kiba's statement cut through the air.
Shino snorted. I sighed.
We were only ten minutes away and he was already asking how long it would take. That would be something if we were to do foreign missions as shinobi. I would rather not be in the skin of the leading Chunin or Jonin and listen to such comments. That could still become funny with Kiba.
Abruptly Kurenai stopped. We were inside the forest, which stretched around Konohagakure.
„All right, it should be far enough from the village now. Then I will now explain the test to you."
„Huh?", Kiba made.
„What kind of test, I thought the final exam was the last test?"
Kurenai laughed softly.
„No, on the contrary, there will be many more tasks ahead of you if you pass the upcoming test then. But this will depend on you. Because if you don't," she drew out the last word extra-long and looked closely at each of us. She seemed to have a little fun putting us on the rack like that. I bit my lip, suspecting bad things.
„You guys go back to the academy. ALL OF YOU."
Dead silence reigned.
Kiba, unsurprisingly, was the first to get his mouth back in gear.
„W-what, but why?"
„Does that mean that only a certain number of genin, are allowed to pass, because otherwise you wouldn't be taking the test would you?", I interjected.
Kurenai smiled and nodded. „That's right. We want to put your skills to the test and find out if you will be suitable as a shinobi at all. Because if not, you will be allowed to go back to school. But I think you certainly don't want that, do you?"
Exactly synchronously we shook our heads.
No, definitely not. I wanted to become a ninja, there was still a long way to go, but I was willing to give everything to achieve this goal. My eyes narrowed and I looked Sensei Kurenai firmly in the eye.
„Then let's get started right away."
„Alright, it's actually quite simple. I'm going to divide you into teams of two. Each team will get a piece of cloth. That will be your flag."
„I see, and once you have the opposing team's, you win," Kiba interrupted Kurenai, eyes flashing with expectation.
But she just shook her head. No. I thought I knew it was something else she intended.
„No. I don't care if you win or lose in this case."
„Uh, and then what's the point? I don't understand," Kiba said in confusion, reminding me a bit of Naruto. Oh man if I shoved that in his face... The reaction would be divine.
„Well," Kurenai said, bringing her face very close to Kiba's. „You'll have to figure that out for yourselves."
Like lightning, realization flashed through me.
„They want to analyse our abilities along with our combat skills and find out how well we can cooperate as a team. Shinobi also have to be able to work together on missions, whether they like their comrade or not, and that's what matters. Especially since we all don't know each other that well now and we can't gauge the full extent of each other's abilities yet," I blurted out.
Kurenai nodded.
„Well spotted. That was exactly my goal. So, try. I'm sure you can do it," the black-haired woman said. "And above all, never doubt your abilities."
At that, she directed her gaze right at me and Hinata.
„Alright, the teams are: Tora and Hinata, Kiba and Shino."
Something flashed in Kiba's eyes and he looked triumphantly in my direction. I suppressed a groan. There was still something there. Apparently the Inuzuka hadn't forgotten the fight in the schoolyard any more than I had.
„The first team, meaning yours Tora, will hide in the forest. You will be given thirty minutes to discuss and make certain preparations. Then I will send the boys after you," Kurenai continued.
She scrutinized our faces. „Got it? Good, let's go."
Hunched over, Hinata and I sat in the bushes. As a precaution, we had smeared our skin and clothes with the scent of a forest plant. This might sound a bit strange, but we both knew about Kiba's keen sense of smell. So, he would not be able to locate us so easily for the time being. Hinata had told me about Shino's insects and what tactics she knew from him. With her Byakugan, she was also a great help to me.
Around our place I had laid out small traps that would hopefully keep the two of them busy for a while. In my time as a thief, I had to teach myself to build them. Because they had saved my neck time and time again. Invisibility was not everything.
„Hinata ... could you maybe briefly?", I asked cautiously. The black-haired nodded.
„Yes, I will. Byakugan."
There was silence for a while. Strained this looked through the forest. Finally, she shook her head.
„There's nothing to see yet. Sorry." I smiled. She was just cute.
„It doesn't matter. I mean, they're surely going to come. And you and I will stick together. After all, we're a team, right?" Tentatively, she nodded, then tilted her head a little. „You remind me a little of Naruto, Tora."
Confused, I looked at her. Me, reminding her of Naruto. No way. The two of us were fundamentally different after all.
„Why?" A slight blush began to grace her face. She was probably floating in her mind again with the blond Uzumaki. I grinned. Hinata's crush on Naruto was kind of cute. But I didn't know if it would be the same for me. Because I was still suspicious of such feelings.
„Well, I ..." she began, but was interrupted by a shrill scream.
„IHHH! What's that? How do I get this stuff off? Akamaru your beautiful fur!"
Firmly I clenched my teeth, and Hinata seemed to have to pull herself together as well. Apparently Kiba had fallen into our clay pit...along with the dog. The image that appeared imaginarily before me was just too divine.
„Oh great. You idiot. Now they know where we are. So there goes the surprise attack." Shino seemed quite annoyed with his teammate. No wonder. With the noise the Inuzuka was making. A real situation would probably not have ended so smoothly in this case.
Then it would probably start soon. I grinned. Somehow, I was looking forward to the fight, but at the same time I could not underestimate the two. Kiba was still angry with me, because of the small fight in the schoolyard and Shino, the ability of the Aburame I did not know at all to estimate. While Kiba liked to act rashly, the latter was the more deliberate. But still, both of them had very serious abilities. But Hinata and I were not without either. Somehow, I was hoping they would underestimate us.
„I see them. Here we go," Hinata whispered. I gulped and nodded to the invisible shadow clones sitting in the trees around us.
Then we should show them once what a former thief and the member of the Hyjuga clan were capable of.
Hinata and I lay hidden in the bushes and waited. Only our regular breathing and the cheerful chirping of the birds, was what we could hear. Now we had to be patient and not move from the spot, because every movement could betray us. Hinata's eyes were tremblingly directed at the surroundings. Every now and then my eyes wandered over to her.
With one leap, Kiba and Akamaru jumped out of the bushes. Pretty filthy to be exact. Especially the nin-ken had gotten quite a bit. His white fur was covered all over with clay and mud. Desire to fight gleamed in the eyes of both of them. Kiba had drawn his kunai and a hint of triumph flitted across his face. Well, if he did not rejoice too soon.
Because the visible double, which he had jumped at, now dissolved into nothingness. And Kiba stood dumbfounded on the spot. But unusually fast he had caught himself again and looked around attentively and sniffed. Back-to-back, he stood there with Akamaru and listened. Actually, I could have attacked him now, but something held me back. Something was not normal here.
Wait! Where was Shino?
A soft rustling sounded next to my ear, but it was only one of my shadow doubles. They hadn't seen Shino yet either, so, where was he? Slowly but surely, he was getting a little scary for me.
Something tickled my hand. Two little bugs were sitting on it and I shook them off. But at the same moment I understood. Where these little creepy-crawlies were, the Aburame couldn't be far. So I closed my eyes and concentrated on my environment. Tried to let everything else move into the background.
I had taught myself this technique. Because if I did not strain one of my sense organs, the others became all the stronger. And I could now take full advantage of that. In the first moment I heard only the rustling of the trees, Kiba's steps and ... a hissing in the air. Abruptly I jumped up and dodged the approaching kunai.
In the movement, I opened my eyes and realized that Kiba had lunged at the surprised Hinata, while Shino took over me. Inwardly, I was annoyed that my counterpart wore those glasses, because it made it even less possible for me to assess him, read his eyes, or figure out what possible moves he was planning.
Suddenly, masses of insects shot towards me. A quick, well-aimed and precise attack. In a flash, I jumped back, channelled chakra into my feet, and clung upside down to the nearby branch.
Completely expressionless, I looked down at him, trying to anticipate any of his moves. For now, I was completely reluctant to waste my chakra on an ill-considered attack. Rather it was my intention to wait until Shino had less chakra than I did. Then I was one step ahead of him and thus able to use stronger jutsus.
A scream rang out. Kiba had managed to pin Hinata to the ground. Akamaru sat next to him and licked his fur. I grimaced. No. Not Hinata. With an imperceptible wave, one of my invisible shadow doubles detached himself from the bushes and pushed the Inuzuka off Hinata.
He crashed to the ground, rolled, and got up again. Akamaru stood next to him, growling menacingly. But his master seemed confused.
„I know Akamaru. I can smell them, too. But still, it's hard to tell who's the right one. To be honest, impossible."
„Well, I guess you'll have to figure that out for yourselves," my clone said and began attacking the two while a second joined in. But my attention was supposed to be on Shino, who had suddenly disappeared.
Something white flashed not far from me and immediately four small shuriken left my hand. All I heard next was an ominous buzzing.
And then they came shooting toward me. It seemed as if Shino had unleashed all his bugs on me. Instinctively, I took a step back, but quickly caught myself. Wait a minute. Had I actually considered running away just now? No, I was not allowed to do that. Giving up was not an option here at all. In a real fight such a decision would have ended rather negatively for me. Either way, the bugs would get to me.
Except...
„Jutsu of the invisible shield," I said and felt once again the familiar closeness, the invisible, strong shell, which nestled around my body and protected it. The good thing about this shield was that I could shape it as I wished. All this depended on my sole concentration.
The insects bounced off my shield and began buzzing in confusion and anger at the same time. And for the first time in my life, I thought I saw Shino surprised. Even though I couldn't make out much of his face, I still saw his features slip away for a brief moment. And I used this tiny moment of distraction to attack head-on.
Shino, who was caught off guard for the time being, could only partially avoid my blows, and so one in the stomach sent him staggering backwards. My fists flew faster and faster towards him, I was playing for time here, because I knew that my shield would not or should not last forever. It would consume too much chakra. To extend this period of time, I would have to train for a while.
In the meantime, my opponent seemed to have regained some composure, because the next time I struck at him, I hit nothing. He had dodged and dissolved into insects. In an unguarded moment, Shino had created an insect shadow clone and had pulled himself to safety.
The air rushed next to me and I quickly jumped backwards to get out of danger. Kiba had jumped up to me. Behind him, I could make out a heavily breathing Hinata. The Hyuga seemed to be visibly exhausted. She lay curled up like a small ball on the ground. But I could not see any serious injuries. Only a few bruises lined her body.
Kiba seemed to have held back, which surprised me. The little Hyjuga seemed to be only under heavy chakra loss. Relief spread through me as I eyed Kiba. The brown-haired boy seemed to be pretty worn out, too. Hinata had apparently been quite hard on him. Breathing heavily, we stood facing each other. Because also with me the energy loss made itself noticeable.
A bang sounded and another of my shadow doubles disappeared into thin air. Insects buzzed through the trees. Apparently, Shino is looking for my real body, although it was standing here in the clearing. Or else he was trying to take away my defenders. I would not allow that.
While I laboriously dodged Kiba's and Akamarus attacks, I also tried to concentrate on my surroundings to locate Shino. With a few quick moves, while dodging, I had fished a letter bomb out of my pocket and tied it to a kunai. With another evasive maneuver, I jumped into the air and let the weapon fly in the targeted direction.
A loud explosion and a creaking sound followed. Through the clouds of dust, I could make out a large, long, swaying shadow. It was already too late when I realized. Furiously, the tree was toppling toward me. But I was frozen, unable to move a muscle. I felt a breeze, a thunderous crash, and then silence fell over the forest.