Chapter 26: Exam

・

'Inner thoughts'

Writing/sounds

Yukino Age 10

Currently known techniques in order

Beast soul (animal transformations) Koi, Red fox, Black cat

Mind transmission jutsu (mind link for short)

Forbidden: [No name available]

Wind style: Gale Palm

Body Flickering Technique

Water manipulation

Mystical hand technique

Nullify Summon

Stun Barrier

Multi shadow clone technique

Memory marble

Sexy technique (male only)

Fire style: Great fireball jutsu (not used for combat)

Adamantine Chains (still in progress)

Puppet technique

Water manipulation + Mystical hand technique = Hikari-tama (light sphere)

[Redacted] + [Redacted]

6 Months Later

・

3rd POV

Sitting in the teashop, was the Kazekage impatiently waiting for the child he was supposed to meet up with. 'We never agreed what time.' He realized after waiting for about ten minutes. The genin that were going to take the Chūnin exams sat a table away enjoying the small break of their trip when someone else came into the shop, a woman with long black hair and brown eyes. She looked around and spotted the Kazekage, walking up to him she sat across from him and just greeted him, "Rasa-sama it's been a while… I'm running a bit late but I should arrive in two minutes or so." The puppet said.

"Hm." The man responded looking outside and just as he did that he saw a small figure tumble out of the bushes. The kid's hair was blonde with a red streak on their bangs, they were wearing a dark grey cloak and underneath it were clothes that looked like that of a civilian. Standing up the kid looked around confused when he noticed the man looking at him. Prancing up to the man the small boy stopped and bowed. "It's been a while Rasa-sama." The kid said lifting their head.

The Kazekage's eyes widened slightly when he realized that he confused the girl he was expecting for a boy. "What took you so long?" He asked seeing how she took out a scroll sealing up the woman in front of him. 'That must be the puppet she made…' he noted.

"Oh, I got stuck in between two rocks. So I sent Rei ahead to tell you that I would be arriving soon." She said smiling but as she did she looked back as if thinking back to something that happened long ago. Standing up the man motioned towards his shinobi signaling that it was time for them to keep moving.

・・・

Passing through the gates the girl split from the group motioning towards the booth on the side. Understanding the man let her and continued walking while the genin and their senseis went off to the hotel where they would be staying for the next couple of days. The girl looked around and a wave of sadness hit her, lowering her head she wiped her eyes in a single motion with her fingers. 'It's been so long…' She thought as she took in a deep breath. Walking up to the booth she waved at the two people there to catch their attention. Barely able to see them over the counter as she stood directly in front of it she gave her full name and mentioned the black book that was placed separately from everything else. Pulling herself up slightly she signed her name in the book writing down the recent injury she sustained leaving out everything else that had happened to her. After quickly signing she left and headed to the red building in front of the Hokage monument.

・・・

Standing in front of the door the girl knocked and waited. Hearing the old man's voice to enter she grabbed the handle when the memories of why she left came back to her, her eyes began to sting as she remembered that she wasn't able to say goodbye to the woman who looked after her. All because the man on the other side of the door saw it necessary to send her away. Her hand began to shake as a thought came to her head. 'You had time to solve the mess between you and the Uchiha. But what did you do? You did nothing and sat there making things worse…' Taking in a deep breath she unclenched her hand and stood up straight removing as much emotion on her face as she could. In the time that she was alone, she had time to think about her situation and what led to it, harnessing a strong dislike towards the old man in power. With this thought present in her mind without any distractions, her mind wandered to scenarios where things could've been different where no one had to die that night. But the thing that those scenarios brought her to was the question of "why?". Even though the Hokage's indecision led to the Uchiha's hate to grow she still couldn't comprehend why Itachi would do what he did. 'He wanted to become Hokage so why?' She wondered over and over. Steeling herself up, she opened the door and entered the room with the two kage who were patiently waiting for her. "I'm sorry for taking so long." She said closing the door behind herself.

"You weren't late. The Kazekage has just informed me of what you have been doing the last couple of months." The older man said, making the girl turn around and face the man that had aged more since the last time she's seen him.

"I have," The Kazekage spoke turning his head slightly in her direction. "I told him about the missions you have taken and about your request for a break to focus on your studies." The man said telling her about exactly what they were talking about.

"Seeing the number of successful missions you have completed we decided that it would be best for you to take part in the Chūnin exams to see what level you currently stand-in." The old man said taking the pipe up to his lips. An exhale later he added, "I suggested that you take the test alone seeing how you have performed in the missions you've taken. In the end, however, it will be your choice whether or not you will take part." The man said taking out a slip of paper and placing it on his desk.

Standing there the girl looked at the two men in front of her before looking at the paper. "I will do it." She said looking ahead. The only thought running through her head when she said that was just going back to her old home and sleeping.

"That's great news. Make sure to bring this with you to the exam room in two days." The old man said grabbing the paper from his desk.

"I'll be taking my leave then." The Kazekage said saying his goodbyes and leaving the room.

Seeing him go the girl grabbed the paper and was about to leave as well when the man spoke up stopping her. "Wait. It has been a while, why don't you tell me what you went through while you were away?" The old man said with a smile on his face.

The girl turned around and blankly stared at him. "Like Rasa-sama said I've been allowed to go on missions and thanks to him, I got the opportunity to study under the great medical-nin Chiyo." She said turning around thinking back on what happened. "After a while however I decided to take a break from all that and focus on my studies. It was hard to decline Chiyo-baasama's offer but I noticed that I was behind academically." She lied looking around the office to see how much it changed her eyes then fell on a paper with the symbol of the land of Earth. 'I wonder how he is doing?' She thought as she looked out the window with a distant stare.

"I can see you are tired. Why don't you head home?"

She nodded and left the room without another word. Passing by many stores and shops she walked by each of them without glancing around, one place was on her mind and that was the home she left.

Reaching the front of the house she walked up to the pond and bent over lifting one of the rocks by the edge. Picking up the small object she wiped off the dirt to see the rusted key, glancing around carefully before activating her eyes she reversed time on the key returning it to its original appearance. Deactivating her eyes by just blinking she blew off the remaining dirt and walked up to the door.

"I'm home." She said once she walked through the door. Realizing she did it out of habit she began laughing quietly at herself.

Creak…

Reaching into one of her pockets she took out a kunai and held it at her side as she heard the sound of footsteps above her.

Standing where she was she followed the footsteps as it went from directly above her towards the stairs. Step by step she saw as the apron-wearing figure went down each step until they stopped. "Yukino, welcome home." The brown-haired man said with a soft smile as he lowered his bandanna covered head over the railing. Holding a duster he waved at the stunned girl.

Dropping the kunai the girl ran towards the man and hugged him tightly. "Otou-san, I missed you." Her muffled voice said through his clothing as she clung tightly to him.

"I missed you too." He said passing his hand through her hair. Waiting for her to let go he took a step back and looked at her. "My… look how much you've grown…" He said placing his hand on her head, glancing at the kitchen entrance for the faint lines with a reminiscent smile. "I dusted off your room and placed on your dresser the outfit she left you… I think that it should fit you now." He said remembering why he was there in the first place.

She looked up at him with a smile and walked past him quickly to the second floor. Reaching her room she opened the door and saw it the same way she left it. Dropping her cloak and bag on the floor she dropped herself on the bed missing the softness of the mattress. Laying her head on the pillow she inhaled the familiar scent feeling once again safe after six months of being on guard wherever she went. Feeling sleep begin to overtake her she pulled herself away from the comfort that the bed brought her and saw the box on her dresser.

Walking up to it she gently lifted the cover knowing what was inside. The gift Mikoto left for her that she discovered the day after her unfortunate demise. Taking out the kimono blouse she held it close to her body and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes no longer had that same brightness it once had when she was five. They might look the same in color but what she'd seen had slowly broken her old self. Staring now at the new her she smiled and twirled around once. 'Mikoto-san… I love your gift. Although it would have been more befitting the old me.' She thought sadly to herself the tiredness starting to take over. Suddenly a small spark lit up in her, her eyes lit up momentarily showing a spark of her five-year-old naive self. Placing the kimono blouse down she picked up her cloak and satchel and hung them on the hanger.

With a smile on her lips, she made her way to the bathroom that was across her room to take a very needed bath. Pouring the water in she dumped her clothes in the clothes bin before sitting inside it letting the warmth of the water soak into her skin. With a sigh, she slid into the tub and submerged herself with her eyes closed.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Hearing this she opened her eyes to see her father by the edge of the tub signaling for her to come up. Doing what he said she pulled herself out of the water. "Yukino I've told you not to do that. You could drown." He said with a worried look. Looking at her eyes his face changed from worry to happiness. Standing up, he went to the mirror and opened it revealing different vails and essences. Looking over the labels carefully, he took out a small vail, closing the cabinet he went back to the bathtub and poured some of the vail's contents.

"What's that?" The girl asked noticing the nice smell.

"Lavender, to help you sleep better." He explained closing the vail placing it on the floor. "Also, I came to tell you that dinner will be done in an hour." The man said picking up the vail, using one hand he placed it on the edge of the tub for support as he stood up.

"Wait." The girl said holding his hand. "Your hand is injured." She said noticing the band-aid wrapped around his finger. Healing the injury though the band-aid the man removed it and inspected his hand.

"You've improved." He said looking at his hand where the cut was. "Maybe I should come to you when I hurt myself. My little medic." He said pouring a bit more lavender into the water.

The girl laughed at this and smiled. "Are you sure you don't want Misa-san?" She said covering her smile with one hand happy that the two people she liked most liked each other.

Stiffening the brown-haired man looked around and wondered how she knew that. "D-did Kitaro-chan tell you?" He whispered kneeling next to the tub.

"Nope." The girl said grabbing the washbowl pail pouring some water on herself. "I saw it when I healed you." She said though her wet strands of hair.

"You can do that?" He asked taking the washbowl from her and pouring the water on her correctly. "Since when?"

Covering her face when he poured the water she said. "I'll tell you at dinner if you tell me about you and Misa-san."

The sound of someone opening the door downstairs surprised both of them, silent they both listened carefully to see who it was."Oh, right," Kamen said standing up placing the washbowl pail back in the water. "I forgot that there was going to be another guest tonight."

"Really? Who?" She asked as he grabbed the clothes bin.

"Someone you know." He answered the obvious as he headed towards the door. "I'll be washing your other clothes as well." She heard him from her room. Watching him go she continued soaking in the warmth of the water until she started to doze off.

Splash!

A wave of water hit her as she sat up straight to wipe away the water that ended up entering her eyes when she opened them to see who entered. Rubbing her eyes she was finally able to see the blurry figure of a boy her age. "Ta-dah!" The closed eye boy said with his hands' up waving them. "What do you think of my transformation?" He said in his usual cheerful tone.

Through the tears caused by the irritation, she was able to guess who the mysterious boy was, "Kitaro?"

"Exactly, thanks to Kamen-sensei I was able to grow more powerful since the last time. Due to his training, you can see me sitting before you like this!" He said posing dramatically before sitting down due to a breeze that hit him.

Moving to his side of the bathtub she turned on the faucet and washed her eyes. Turning to look at him she saw his red-orange hair becoming white towards the ends, his ears were out and they were black towards the tips, his tail was wet and submerged in the water the white end blurring with the bathtub. A jingle caught her attention as she looked up and saw that the bell was still around his neck. "Blegh!" She wiped her mouth as he poured shampoo on her hair. "W-wait!" She said feeling his nails scratching her head as his hand rubbed the shampoo on her hair.

"Kamen-sensei asked me to help wash your hair!" The boy said proudly as he splashed water on her.

・・・

To his best capability, he thoroughly washed her hair, feeling like she was being pampered too much she returned the favor and washed his hair, ears, and tail for him.

Dressing up in the warm and clean clothes that Kamen left for her she ran downstairs in her white dress with Kitaro following close behind her. Under his red haori, he wore a white yukata with a black obi holding it together. His sandals and bell could be heard as they both reached the first floor.

Entering the kitchen they both closed the curtains and took a seat on the table, cheering as the brown-haired man brought bowls of yakisoba. "Thank you for the meal!" they said in unison as they began to dig in. "So how did you and Misa-san end up together?" The girl asked excitedly as she took a bite of the food. When she opened her mouth the seal that was there was gone. After all, it had been removed a week after she left Sunagakure.

"Woah! You and the sage's adviser decided to be mates?!" The young boy exclaimed almost dropping his food.

"N-no. I mean y-yes. I mean you two are too young for this." He sighed trying to keep his composure but his face betrayed him as it kept increasing by several shades of red.

"How did it happen? Did you see the red string?" She asked believing in the tale he once told her.

"I-I. hm. It just happened one day." He said looking down with a smile at his food moving a noddle around with his chopsticks. "She just came up to me and asked me." He said with a small blush.

"You mean you heard her voice?!" Kitaro exclaimed choking on his food. "You mean after decades of not speaking you were the one to hear it?!" He asked extremely interested, like a fanboy meeting his idol. "How was her voice? Do you know why she doesn't speak? What else did she do?" He asked bombarding him with questions. Suddenly he went silent. "Wait isn't she way older than you? Like I heard she was around during the time of the Divine Tree." He questioned returning to his food.

"Divine Tree? You mean the one from the stories of the Rabbit Goddess?" The girl asked remembering it from one of the scrolls that she read from the Uzumaki temple.

"Yes, from the Rabbit Goddess time and no she was born decades after that– Wait how do you know about that?" He asked turning to the young girl curiously since he never mentioned it to her and if someone else did she would come and tell him about it.

"A scroll in the Uzumaki temple mentioned it. That is also where I learned my new technique. I don't have a name for it but it's for the better." She answered taking a bite from her food. The technique she was talking about was a combination of her mind link technique as well as the mystical palm technique. By combining the two she is able to read or see memories and thoughts of a person by passing her own chakra into someone and circling it from their brain and back to her. "Did you know that the temple mixed in fake information to trick whoever broke in? I found out after I was already halfway through a scroll. Oh, also most techniques are nameless, I believe that when a technique is described and there is no name it could be assumed to be just a rumor." The girl talked going through almost six months of things she learned about. "I should've mentioned this before but I was going to the land of grass but I got lost and ended up in the outskirts of Iwagakure. Luckily this man was kind enough to help me find my way back. His name was Roshi and he was just like Naruto he had a tailed beast in him I could feel it by the chakra and–" Looking down she saw that her plate was empty and the culprit was sitting beside her eating her food as he was engrossed in the amount of information she was dumping. "Hey. Anyways as I was going back I took a wrong turn and ended up in the rain village. But I had an umbrella so I didn't get sick." She added making sure it was clear so she didn't get in trouble. "This kind woman gave it to me she was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. She looked really pretty, too." The girl finished telling her story. "I'll promise to return the umbrella if I see her again." Activating her eyes she created a portal and took out the umbrella she mentioned. "See I still have it." She said returning it into her storage space. "That's it…" She yawned rubbing her eyes.

"I'll clean the dishes. Go wash your teeth and go to sleep you can tell me everything calmly when you wake up." Her father said taking the plates from the two young kids.

"You still didn't answer my questions." The young fox said, "So you have to tell me tomorrow or you're going to have to buy us candy." He yawned already following the girl upstairs.

"If you brush your teeth!" He stressed making sure they heard. Hearing a sure from both of them in response he hummed as he knew he would have to go and buy sweets tomorrow.

Two days later:

"How long is she going to sleep?" Kitaro asked watching from the doorway along with Kamen. "Is this normal?" He asked worriedly.

"It's fine…" He said walking into the room to fix the covers on her. "She's just tired." He said turning around to leave when he saw a paper on her desk. "What is this?" He asked picking it up and reading it. "Wait, this is today." Seeing the signature at the end he walked out of the room and looked at the clock. Looking down at the paper for the time he ran back into the girl's room and started shaking her. "Wake up! You're going to be late for your exam!"

Yukino's POV

Barely making it to the exam building I gave in my signed sheet and ran to the designated room. Currently, I was wearing the dark grey cloak that I came in along with the fox mask that the Hokage gave me a long time ago. It wasn't something I wanted to wear but I needed something to hide my identity while I was here, if I learned something about the scrolls that my clan left it was that secrecy can protect you from unwanted attention. Under my cloak, however, I wore the clothes that Mikoto-san left me. The beige kimono blouse with black embroidery, with the black obi holding it together. The skirt and stockings were too big for me so I left them and wore a short that I had. Stopping in front of the door I opened a small portal to get my forehead protector when I stopped. 'Which one should I wear?' I asked myself. Shaking my head I took out the leaf headband. 'I was born here, this has to be the one I should wear.' I thought to myself bitterly. Both villages gave me something that I hold dear. I was given an opportunity and a chance to grow in Sunagakure but here is where my family is. Tying the headband loosely from my obi I walked forwards pushing the doors open.

The room went silent for a moment as everybody turned and looked at me as I stood in the doorway. Seeing how I was the only one to arrive much later than everyone else would have been fine since the proctor hadn't arrived yet but the fact that I entered alone painted a target on me. Turning away from the stares I walked to the side to stand by one of the corners until the proctor arrived. 'Calm yourself, just wait. You should have reminded yourself about this. I just got too comfortable coming back. It was nice though for otou-san to wake me up.' I thought to myself laughing lightly when I remembered how he scrambled to wake me up and pack my pouches with enough weapons and explosive tags while I ran around trying to put on my clothes as Kitaro sat on the bed repainting the mask calmly.

"The exam hasn't even started and you're already breaking." A voice said sapping me from my happy memory. Turning my head slightly I saw a boy much older than me, his hair was ash-grey that was tied up in a ponytail and sitting on his nose were round glasses. His appearance wasn't what caught my attention though, it was that smile he had on as well as how he just said what he said. It was the same way I acted when I was putting up a facade. "Can't speak?" He asked with the same smile on his face.

"I can speak fine," I said watching him carefully through the holes in my mask. "What I'm wondering is if this isn't your first time here. You seem rather comfy." I said making my suspicion clear.

"It's that obvious? You're right, it is my second time." He said extending his hand. "My name is Kabuto nice to meet you." Looking down at it I didn't want to shake his hand so I nodded. "What's your name?" He asked when the door opened. 'Oh thank you!' I thought as I saw the proctor enter.

"Take your designated seats!" He yelled as he made his way to the front of the room. Watching everyone else I saw how they went to the people dressed in grey outfits that were seated on the sides of the room. Leaving the guy I found my seat and unfortunately ended up next to him. 'WHY?!' The fact that he put up that nice font was unnerving to me. 'He wants me to lower my guard to take advantage!' I realized as I glanced at him through my mask. 'We may be from the same village but I know what you're up to. Don't think that I will fall for it!'

"I'm sure you all understand the rules start!" The proctor said but as he said this I fixed my mask and adjusted my hood so it hid my hair properly. Grabbing the pencil placed in front of me I looked down at the question sheet.'Hm, the questions aren't so bad…' I thought as I twirled the pencil in my hand. Glancing to my side I could see him struggling, focusing back on my test I continued when I finally I noticed how with each question the difficulty increased. 'Wait. They don't even teach some of these things in the academy.' Glancing around I could see how others were using different ways to cheat. 'So that is the main objective of this test.' Understanding I returned to my test and did what I could before resorting to checking the answers of someone else.

・・・

Waiting for the results of the test I found myself having the third-highest score that the village has had, a few points below Itachi's. 'I will have to beat his record in the next test.' I realized grasping the necklace underneath my kimono blouse. 'Five hours and thirty-seven minutes.'

Forest of Death

Staring at the gates surrounding the huge forest in front of me I saw people go in line to sign the release form and get their scroll. Sighing I joined the line and thought of how I plan out getting to the middle. 'I could set up a trap in the river. At one point someone will get thirsty and go there.' I noted seeing a map of the forest by the gates. 'It goes all the way to the center too.' arriving at the front of the line I signed the form and got a heaven scroll. Holding the scroll I put it inside my cloak for now. "You're gate will be gate 12." The person told me. "Next!"

Exiting the tent I went to sit under a tree and wait until the proctors told us to go to our gate. "You're taking part in this?" I heard that same voice again.

Turning around I saw the same boy with that same fake smile. "You aren't?" I asked standing up.

"No… I don't think I'm ready." He laughed.

"Oh…" Standing there that was all I could say.

"I never got your name." He said.

Taking in a deep breath I decided to just be forward. "Listen, I don't know you that well and I just came here for the exams not to make friends." Shaking my head I turned away. "Either way I doubt we'll meet again." Hearing the proctors call everyone to go to their designated gates I walked away and headed towards the next challenge.

・・・

'I can't believe it out of every gate I ended up in the middle of the most densely forested area.' Hearing the horn the gates opened and I ran through the gates and ran towards the center to think about what to do next.

・・・

Within the span of more than an hour, I made it to the center by running there with a couple of breaks to rest. Looking around I could see the river so I made my way there and went downstream to set up my trap. Finding a good location where the water was deep I sat down beneath a tree and took out my scroll. Performing the signs necessary I sealed the scroll in my arm. Creating three mini clones I instructed them to hide in the trees near the river to be on the lookout while I took off my cloak to store it in one of my portals. Walking into the water I shivered slightly, doing a thumbs up to let my clones see me, I walked deeper into the water and sat down with the water reaching my collar bone. 'Koi Form,' I thought while doing the signs. My hair changed from blonde and white to pure white. My hands became webbed and my top half changed to an outfit that always appeared on me when I transformed into this form. A cool blue top covered my upper half and my arms with long sleeves. Reaching up I could feel the gills on my neck, looking down I saw that my legs were replaced by a long Koi tail that was light blue and white. Slipping deeper into the water I swam to a deeper part and hid in the shadows to wait for anyone to that would come.

After an hour or so I watched as shinobi came and went quickly, never staying longer than three minutes by the river. Bored of watching the fish come and buy one of my clones disappeared and with it what it saw, three shinobi from Kumogakure.

They had set up camp near the river where I was since the sun would set within a couple of hours but because it was the forest, darkness would come much sooner. It was perfect since one of them was here fishing alone. The downside was that they probably didn't have the scroll. 'Why have the one with the scroll alone?' I thought dejectedly when I also realized that I was probably at a disadvantage since Kumogakure nin specialized in lightning style. Looking up I saw the fishing line and thought of something. 'Two is better than three,'

Swimming up to it I tugged on the hook and felt the person tugging back, tugging harder I waited for them to pull hard enough to ambush them. Tugging a couple of times I held on the line tightly using my water manipulation until finally, the person pulled with all their strength which was my cue to send myself up using the water to shoot me up. Emerging from the water I looked down at the shocked face of the shinobi who pulled me out.

As I was in the air I extended my arms in a carefree manner to keep their attention up while I controlled the water into tendrils that would wrap around them. Nearing the ground I hugged myself making the tendrils in position wrap themselves around my confused prey.

Falling to the ground I focused on the boy before me and dragged myself towards him while the water wrapped itself around his mouth to prevent his screaming. He twisted and squirmed trying to get away, his hands tried to move together but I moved the tendrils to move his hands to the side of his body.

Reaching him I moved the water to bring him to my height. His eyes widened as he saw me extend a droopy sleeve in his direction. Pulling him towards me I held him still and applied pressure on his neck, knocking him out. Returning to my original form searched his body in case he had the scroll. No luck so I tied him up and hid him in a small space in between two rocks nearby. Transforming into him I grabbed the fishing pole and motioned for one of my clones to go see where his friends were, taking his place by the river I waited.

It didn't take long for his comrades to return from their little wood search. My second mini clone poofed away as soon as one of them headed my way. "I think that should be enough fish." The guy next to me said as he picked up the fish. "Still with the silent treatment." He sighed taking the fish. My third clone disappearing showing me how he was about to hit me behind the head with a stick he picked up.

Turning my body immediately to block him he swung with more force than anticipated knocking my mask off my face. From the corner of my eye, I could see how it had rolled a couple of feet away from me. Returning my focus to the person in front of me I kept my head down using my hair to cover my face. "Where is my friend?" He asked as I heard him unscathed a tanto from his back.

"Tch." I felt his friend approaching as he saw what was happening.

"Give up your scroll and we won't hurt you." The newcomer taunted unsheathing their tanto. Without a word, to each other, they dove towards me making me back up. Trying to avoid their barrage of slashes my foot slipped as my eyes met one of their blades. Holding back a hiss I grabbed my mask and used one of the trees behind me to pull myself up, covering my eye with one of my hands put my mask back on and I glared at them with my one eye. Standing on one of the branches I took out my shuriken and threw it in there direction. 'Gale Palm.' I thought as I thrust my hand forward increasing the speed of the shuriken.

Three landed and struck the two of them as the rest lodged themselves into the ground around them, creating an area of spikes at their feet. Weaving the water on the ground from earlier I shaped it into a net pattern under their feet connecting each shuriken together. 'I hope it works.'

Jumping off the tree and onto the water, I took out two kunai and readied myself freezing the water underneath my shoes just enough so they wouldn't notice. They both walked towards the river and stopped near the edge with their tanto sparking with electricity they stabbed the ground it. But as they did they ended up electrocuted instead, the shuriken that I threw created an electrical field around them since mine are made out of iron, a good electrical conductor. Waiting I saw their shocked expressions as the fell back hurting themselves more on the shuriken below them. Moving the water netting I placed I took out the shuriken and piled them together. Jumping back onto the riverside safely I healed my two opponents of their injuries before healing mine.

Blowing softly on the hot shuriken I spread them out to cool off while I searched the Kumogakure nin's belongings for their scroll. Finding it in the pocket of their clothing I put it away in my clothes. Opening a portal I took out my cloak and put it back on. Looking back at them I sighed and dragged out their third companion from where I hid him. Tying all three of them together I placed a Kunai within their reach. Feeling the need to leave I turned back and wondered what else I could do. 'What if another one of those huge bears come here?' With a sigh, I reluctantly cut some branches and used it to cover them.

Walking away from them I made my way back to the tower, around halfway there I stopped. Hiding within the shadows of the trees I waited for nighttime to arrive. Holding the Earth scroll with a smile on my face I sealed it in my arm. Climbing up to the top of the tree I removed my mask and looked up and saw the moon, twirling my white strand of hair I removed the bandage around my eye and faced the sky. Seeing my sight return to my eye I took out a kunai and saw my reflection on it. My eye had returned to what it looked like before, the blade only hit my eye and not the skin around it which meant no scars. "Thank you," I said to no one in particular as I continued walking towards the tower within my sight.

Nine hours and forty minutes, that is how long it took me to complete the second part of the exam. By the time I made it into the tower, there were already two teams waiting there. Alone and apart from everyone else I passed the next couple of days watching from the windows waiting for the remaining teams to arrive.

The Kumogakure team that I met never entered the tower. It should have brought me relief since it means that I wouldn't have to face opponents that knew how I fought but there was also the thought that they were probably hurt or killed trying to get both scrolls. After all that waiting we were allowed two weeks to rest and train. But I wouldn't be using those two weeks for that.

Konohagakure

After washing and making myself presentable I made my way to the Hyūga manor. But before I could do that I was stopped by my father who was holding a jar on his hands. "Here," He handed me the empty jar. "I know that as you get older there will be times that you will be lonely and that I may not be there. If you ever feel that way or you're just bored fill this jar with paper stars. I already taught you how to make them." He said taking out a colored paper from his pockets as well as a note. "Once you use up the paper read the note." He said before walking back into the house. Putting the paper in the jar I put it in a portal and ran the manor.

Tying my hair up I knocked on the manor doors I have come to be familiar with since I was a child. A minute or so of waiting someone opened the door, they gave me a single glance recognizing me even though I haven't been here for a year. "Are you here to see Hinata-sama perhaps?" The person that opened the door asked recognizing me.

"I am. Is she free?"

"She is free at the moment but she will begin her training in a couple of minutes. You can go inside if you still wish." The person said holding the door open slightly wider.

"Thank you," I said as I walked into the huge residence.

"I will guide you to Hinata-sama's room." Following close behind him looked around remembering the things that have changed. The tree branches have grown longer and the flowers have been replaced with different ones. The atmosphere around the house changed as well it wasn't warm like it used to now it felt slightly chilly, but that could also be to it being near winter. "Hinata-sama, you have a guest." My guide's voice said knocking on the door before leaving me.

The door opened and I saw my dear friend in her training clothes standing in front of me. "I'm back Hinata." I sang in a cheerful voice.

"Yukino-chan," she said grabbing my hands with a smile before wrapping me in a warm hug. "How have you been?" She asked letting go.

"I will tell you everything on our way to the training room," I said wrapping an arm around hers.

As we walked there I told her of everything that has happened, the man in Iwagakure, the kind woman of Amegakure, and what happened while I was in Sunagakure. I gave her a brief version of all of that but she still understood.

"That's awful," she said after she heard me tell my adventures. "How are you still smiling after all that?" She asked me quietly.

When she asked that I saw what had happened to her, she had changed as well while I was gone she seemed quieter than when I first met her. "Hinata what happened while I was gone?" I asked her.

"W-well Sasuke-kun is always alone and Naruto-kun well he is still the same as–"

"No, I mean what did you do?" I asked her.

"Oh, I-I have just been training… Tou-sama has begun training Hanabi now that she is old enough." She said with a sad face.

Sighing I remembered once seeing Hiashi-sama and Hinata train. It was much different than how I've been trained which shocked me when I first saw it. It was harsh the way Hinata would be pushed to the point where she could no longer stand without shaking. My training was similar except for the fact that we would stop when I felt too tired or when they decided to stop even when I didn't want to. Hinata was different and I could see that she wanted to stop at times but she couldn't say so, so she pushed herself until she could no longer handle it.

"I will wait outside," I told her seeing that we were standing right outside the room.

"But what if you get sick–"

"It's fine. I made you wait so now I will wait here for you. Anyways I'm used to the cold." I told her sitting down on the veranda's edge. After interrupting one of the training sessions years ago I was no longer allowed to enter without Hiashi-sama's permission. Facing the garden I heard the door slide open as well as Hinata's receding footsteps. Thinking of the jar that my father gave me, I took out the jar from one of my portals without worry and started folding the paper into little stars. As I did this I dropped every finished star into the jar passing the time quickly. Running out of the paper I saw the only one left, the note I was told to open.

There is a story I heard from someone in Inari mountain, they heard in a land far away that the number of stars you collect can mean certain things if you give it to someone. For you, I will give you the task of making 1314 stars, give it to the person that you end up falling for which will be the person that you know you will eternally love. Don't be rash and quick about it. Take your time and think about it before deciding. You still have time to enjoy life the way you want it. Whatever makes you happy I will support you.

PS. I'm not dying. This topic is just one I can't properly say in words.

Reading the sweet and awkward letter I was reminded of the story he told me about the thousand cranes. Seeing that the small letter was the right size I folded it into a crane. "Now I have two tasks," I whispered holding the crane in my two hands. I didn't know what I would use the cranes for but for now, I would make a room where I would keep them. 'Maybe one day I will need to use them to make a wish.' I smiled imagining an empty wooden room with tatami mats. Opening my eyes there was a small opening before me, reaching in with my hand I extended my hand and dropped the crane in. Holding onto the portal I moved it closer to me and placed the jar on the tatami flooring. Closing it, I closed my eyes and after a while, I leaned back and opened them to see lavender eyes that weren't Hinata's. "Oh, you're Neji-san Hinata's cousin… How long were you there?" I asked wondering if he saw me use my eyes, even if he did though he doesn't seem like the type to tell everyone in Konoha about it.

He remained silent and sat down on the veranda a few feet away from me as if waiting for something. Looking around I saw no one, so it couldn't be anyone. Looking from the corner of my eyes I saw the bandages covering his forehead which made me remember something I read. That night when Itachi helped me transfer the scrolls from the shrine to my replica in the mystic space. He was the one that found the scroll, he didn't read from it and neither did I and it remained like that until I got curious and read it a couple of weeks ago. The contents were about a deal made between the Hyūga and Uzumaki. In exchange for taking in a Hyūga without permission, the Uzumaki made a deal to avoid conflict, a seal, that the branch family is forced to bear. Even though I wasn't the one who gave the Hyūga the seal I still felt guilty as if I did. The scroll explained what the seal looked like as well as what it could do.

"Hey–" Turning away immediately I shook my head. 'What am I going to say? 'Hey, my clan was the one that made that seal on your forehead centuries ago.' No that is dumb and terrible. But Hinata cares for him so I should be friends with him at least.' The sound of the door sliding open surprised me as I turned around with a smile immediately like a toddler whose name has been called. But as soon as I saw who came out my smile dropped.

Hiashi looked down and saw me sitting awkwardly, quickly standing up I nodded. "Hiashi-sama, I see training has ended. I came back from my leave to ask you permission to allow Hinata to come and see me in the Chūnin exams." I spoke not realizing what I said until a second after. "B-but you don't have to, you know." I waved quickly as if it would erase what I said before. 'Dummy! Hinata will not like it, it's too violent for her!'

"You are taking the Chūnin exams?" He asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yes, I've made it to the third exam. I was recommended to take it when I returned." I told him, "If it isn't a bother do you think I can train with Hinata in the week leading up to the final exam?" I added using it as an excuse to spend time with her.

"Of course."

He turned around and left waiting for him to round the corner I went into the room and saw Hinata sitting by the side of the room drinking water. "Hinata?" I asked sitting down next to her. "Can I heal you?" I asked seeing the areas where the gentle fist hit her. With a nod, she closed her eyes as I grabbed her arm as gently as I could to heal it.

・・・

After healing her we left the manor and she guided me to one of the training grounds. "I think Naruto-kun should be here." She said softly as she led me around. Stopping she hid behind a tree and watched from the shadows. "He's there." She said with a small blush.

Looking in the direction that she was looking at I saw the familiar blond boy throwing rocks at a target. "Why are you hiding? Let's talk to him I whispered enthusiastically but she shook her head. "Okay, you can wait here. I'm going to surprise him."

"Wait–" She said but I was already gone.

Teleporting in front of him he dropped his rocks in surprise. "I'm back!" I said with a big smile.

"That's great, but who are you?" He asked.

"That's funny Naruto," I said laughing but I stopped when I saw how he wasn't laughing along. Creating am mind link I sifted through his mind but I ran into a wall preventing me from going further. 'He wasn't lying.' His memories of me were somehow locked away in a deep part of his mind. "Sorry I must've mistaken you… I'm sorry." I apologized before running back into the shadows of the trees. Sitting in the shadow's I watched his confused expression before he resumed to what he was doing.

"I was going to tell you that after you left Naruto-kun changed slightly," Hinata whispered sitting next to me. " …The way he acted seemed similar to Sasuke-kun." She said watching as well.

"You're right. He doesn't remember me just like Sasuke."

"Is there no other way for him to remember?" She asked trying to cheer me up.

"Two. But it isn't something we can do." I told her dropping my gaze to the dirt on my sandals. "But at least I still have you and that makes me happy." I smiled. "I will wait until their memories return," I whispered looking up hopefully. "When they do… I will throw a huge feast and then you will have to talk to Naruto." I said expanding my hands wide.

Walking Hinata back to her home, I headed to the Yamanaka flower shop and bought some bluebells and a white chrysanthemum. Making my way to the graveyard I carefully looked over all the names until I found one in particular.

"I'm back," I said guiltily to the dirty grave before me. Placing the flowers down gently I began cleaning up the headstone. "I'm sorry for not being present on the day of the funeral. I should have fought to stay but I didn't. I forgot why I didn't… I just hope you aren't disappointed in me…" I said cleaning the last corner. "Since I wasn't here to give you a flower I brought one today…" I added grabbing the white chrysanthemum and placing it in the flower holder. "I-I also brought these." I sniffed wiping my eyes and placing the bluebells in with the chrysanthemum. "Gah… I was planning on coming here and leaving a report on what's been happening… So I'll come by next time and tell you. But for now, I want to say thank you. Thank you, for teaching me so much and giving me the chance to meet your family. You were my second home."

Standing to leave I flinched when I recognized a familiar chakra signature behind me. Slowly turning around I saw Sasuke holding flowers and a box of incense in his hands. "I-I'm sorry. I'll be leaving now." I said lowering my head slightly to hide my puffy eyes.

"Wait." He said as I was planning to walk past him and leave. "Did you know her?" He asked.

"I did," I said still keeping my head slightly down.

He walked passed me and said quietly mumbled a thank you. Looking at him I saw him place down the flowers and incense. Smiling I walked away.

Two weeks later

I had to lose. I just had to. After watching my opponent during their matches I saw that I would need to use jutsu with long ranges or just with a wide range to deal some damage. That wasn't the issue was that I didn't want to use the jutsu that could've helped me. My adamantine chains? That was a nope, it was a clan specific technique so that was out. Gale palm? No, it could increase the speed of shuriken and kunai but that would still not cause enough damage to make my opponent give up. Water manipulation? Sure the only downside was that there wasn't enough water that I could use to completely subdue him. Which left me with only a couple of options. Close combat.

A couple of minutes earlier…

"Ready? Match… begin!" The referee said jumping away. I had gone through all my options for this specific match and I was not happy with the result. Jumping away from my opponent I created five clones to help me. Each of us did spread out halfway towards the wall surrounding the arena and did the sign for the stun barrier.

Focusing a good amount of chakra into the seal I touched the ground but I didn't see the circle appear. Looking up I saw one of the clones get sucked into the ground and disappear. Making eye contact with each of my clones we focused water around each of us to make us float above the ground slightly. Knees slightly bent we hovered back to the center and watched the area around us when we were enveloped in a huge mud wave. Silence surrounded the arena as it looked like I was swallowed up when in reality I had used my eyes to open a portal that led into the shadows of one of the trees. Waiting quietly in the tree we waited for the Iwagakure user to come out from under the ground. With the ref coming back the user came out as well. "Well, it seems that–"

Focusing as the majority of my chakra to my legs I pushed myself off the tree along with another clone as we soared to the Iwagakure nin that came out the other two clones stayed behind as they accelerated our movement with gale palm. Halfway there as I was losing speed my clone transformed into a rock and I used it to bounce myself up into the air. From above I handed a kick hard enough to hear a crack. Realizing what happened I quickly jumped away. Where I had kicked was now a substitution made out of stone.

Looking around I sighed. I could sense my opponent had returned below ground but there was no way I could reach him. Raising my hand, I said the following words. "I lose."

Hearing a few boos from the crowd I ignored them as the ref cleared his throat and announced the results. "Yukino forfeits and as such victory goes to -!" Walking back to the center, I met up with my opponent and shook hands. 'At least I made it to the semi-finals. That's something.'

Tsukiyomi's POV

Weeks after the exams had ended I had been patiently watching as the Hokage called young genin to his office to tell them of their promotion to Chūnin. They all smiled or cried with joy when given the news. But when she came to the office and received the same news she looked down at the Chūnin jacket with watery eyes. Not of the occasion but of what she remembered. She had achieved the same status at the same age as the person she was aiming to surpass. "Thank you," she said with a bow before leaving with the Konoha jacket she was never going to wear.

Following her, she entered the hospital where she gave a note to an injured Sunagakure nin. "Give this Rasa-sama on my behalf." She said placing the note by the bed. What was in the contents of that letter? I don't know, but I knew what I had to do.

Appearing in a swirl of snow I stood before the Hokage in his office. "It has been a long time," I said staring at him as he put his pipe down. "There is something I need from you."

With a sigh, he looked at me unfazed. "I knew you would say that–"

Cutting him off I held up a finger, "You acted without my permission when you sent her off to another village and for that, I should have gotten rid of someone important to make it even but I did no such thing. Since we both seem to have different views on who has power over her I have a proposition for you."

"What would that be?" The man asked looking at me in confusion.

"I will get to that. But there is also something I want to remind you of. That girl has the capability to destroy you, give her time to learn and grow and maybe she will. It would become troublesome if she decides that she doesn't want to be another shinobi following your orders. You have seen it, have you not you? The hatred in her eyes whenever she looks at you." I said pointing out the obvious. 'She still blames him for the Uchiha downfall. But that can work in both of our favors.' I told myself thinking how this would benefit her.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked after thinking about it carefully.

"An S-rank mission."

"An S-rank mission?"

"Yes, her mission will be to capture or kill 50 shinobi from the bingo book. With this, you can be assured that at one point she will come to you for aid or she will die. It works for both of us, if she survives we can bet that she will become stronger. If she dies then that's that."

"I feel like there is more to it than what you just mentioned," The man said bringing the pipe back to his mouth.

"There is, you must add that when she reaches the age of seventeen she is given the choice to stay or leave the village. The decision will be hers and it will reveal where her loyalties lie. Whoever she chooses gets to keep her." I said brushing my hair over my shoulder.

"What if she chooses neither before that time?" He asked.

"Easy you have Sasuke and Naruto. Two people, she cares about dearly. If you see her defecting before she turns seventeen then use them to convince her to stay until she reaches that age." I told him looking him in the eyes. "I know it will work since you have their memories of her sealed up," I added seeing how he almost let his pipe slip.

Coughing he cleared his throat and asked a question that has been on his mind for a while now. "The problem with what you are asking is that she can't be assigned an S-rank mission she has just been promoted to Chūnin. How do you plan to bend the rules?"

"The same way that scarred man has been bending the rules behind your back," I added knowing what has been going on. "This can be between the both of us and no one will have to know about it until years later when no one will care." I lowered my voice.

I could see him visibly sigh as he took out a blank paper that he began writing on. In the end he wrote down his signature, handing it to me I read over the page carefully before writing down the name I've been called the last couple of years. "Tsukiyomi." Handing it back to him, he began writing on another blank paper where he included the second part of the deal. He included his name and a line. "You should write another line. For the Hokage that will be taking your place when you become too old." I added seeing him draw another blank line. Grabbing both papers he stapled it together and took out a picture of her that he stuck to the first page. "Well then, see you in seven years," I told him before leaving his office the same way I came in.

3rd POV

By the time night had fallen in a small house hidden by the branches of a tall tree, a young girl just came from the hospital from her check-up came home to find a note on the fridge with an apology. Looking behind her she saw the udon noodles on the kitchen island, grabbing the bowl and her chopsticks she took the bowl with her and went to the veranda at the back of the house. With a sigh, she sat down and looked up at the moon through the branches above her.

Comfortable and safe in the shadows of her home she felt a light shiver crawl up her spine. Looking around she saw no one. Looking behind her immediately she still saw no one. Feeling her heart start to speed up she stood up and took her bowl with her as she quickly ran back into the house, making sure to lock the glass door behind her. With a sigh, she ran deeper into the house and placed her bowl in the kitchen before running to her room.

Making it to the room she dove under the bed and stayed there only hearing the sound of her rapid heartbeats. The sound of material dragging on the ground caught her attention as she noticed she hasn't moved. The cold feeling of hand suddenly grabbing her leg caused her to scream as she was pulled from under the bed.

"What are you screaming about?" The soothing voice of the woman who had created her said as she saw the screaming girl on the floor.

Stopping mid shrill scream the girl opened her eyes, "Tsukiyomi-san? I thought you were a ghost." She whispered seeing the illuminated figure standing before her. "It's been a long time since I saw you…"

"I know and I apologize for how I acted." She admitted looking at the small kid in front of her, "For that reason, I came to tell you about something that may benefit you." The dark-haired woman added turning away from her inspecting the small items on the girl's desk.

Carefully explaining everything without leaving out a detail she told the small girl about the deal that was made. After listening to what was told to her the girl sat down on her bed and thought in silence about the deal that was made without her say on the matter.

After a while, she finally spoke her opinion on it. "Why?" She asked she knew what benefits she could get out of this what she couldn't understand was why the woman in front of her was giving her a mission that could very well kill her.

"Consider this my apology and a gift when you start passing through the doors of adulthood."

"I know that but why?" The girl asked again

" …I've been aware of your emotions towards the Hokage since that incident." She said placing down the frame she picked up. "What would be the point in living in a place you do not like?"

"Okay. So when do I have to start this mission?" The young girl asked.

"Whenever you feel that you are ready. For now, just wait and train yourself in the skills you think are important." She said walking towards the door. "In the end, it will be your choice."

Standing there watching as the woman left the girl sat down on her bed and looked down at her feet. Confusion on her face as she thought about what the woman said both in the past and now. She still trusted her since her main plan for her was to grow stronger and smarter, something she has decided to follow and accomplish. Leaning back she closed her eyes and remembered about a book she read explaining the different units within the village. "Maybe I should join that unit…" She yawned falling asleep within a couple of minutes.

・・・

Waiting patiently for morning to arrive the girl made her way to the Hokage's office knowing what she had to do. "I have been informed as to the deal that was made so before I leave, I have a request."

"What would that be?" The Hokage asked putting in place files that he wasn't able to put away properly the night before.

"May I join the torture and interrogation unit?" She said without skipping a beat. "Just for six months, I believe the tactics that they could teach me would be beneficial."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked turning around to see her face. She nodded and took out a slip of paper that she handed over to him. Opening it one sentence was written over it.

This is my choice.

・

Sorry, I will be on hiatus until September 14 or so maybe earlier. I don't know. The reason being is that I will need the next couple of weeks to study for my SAT's on the 24th.