Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ Fight toward the Tower ( Chapter 16 )

Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words

 

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called `Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?

Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri

AN: This chapter is dedicated solely to LON, since without her I wouldn't have ever finished! Thanks! This chapter is rather long but it's necessary since it builds to the end, and some of it is building up to the sequel. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Sixteen: Fight toward the Tower~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Mubi cried out as the kunoichi's blade pierced his body and he fell back. The fight hadn't been as easy as she had anticipated since the shinobi had been a Genjutsu specialist. Amane growled as the body she had just impaled through the chest disintegrated. Another bunshin.

 

Her eyes closed as she heard, rather than saw, as he moved to attack Iwane. The other girl was defending Eizan since the second enemy ninja had tried to kill her while his teammate had distracted them. Amane came between the two and the sound of their kunai crashing resounded through the trees surrounding them.

 

They jumped apart and she slid several centimeters before coming to a complete stop, and her weapon still lifted to defend. Only his left eye was visible but most of his face was covered by his air mask and her ears perked as his breathing changed pitch. She didn't have the best eyesight, but she could hear every single beat of his heart if she concentrated and the shifting of his feet. When they shifted next, she moved with him.

 

He dashed left and she followed him. They met several times in the air and on the ground, and only the sound of their clashing weapons gave away their location. It was still dark on the ground, but as the sun rose higher with time, the light would start to filter further past the dense branches.

 

During her fight, her opponent had managed to slice through her long hair. She had ducked under an attack, but her hair hadn't been quick enough and the blade had cleanly cut through. The severed strands had scattered along the ground around them as they continued to fight. Amane hadn't paid it too much attention but now realized that it was almost to her shoulders, just a bit shorter.

 

The four still capable ninja continued to fight and in the mist of Amane's battle, she heard Iwane cry out. It struck a cord within her chest and she made the mistake of turning away from her opponent. Her teammate's slumped body came into her line of sight, and a heart beat later, pain exploded at her side.

 

She had missed the Ame-nin's oncoming attack and a pained gasp escaped her lips as a shudder passed through her. Even as she felt warm blood run down her side, since it had hit just under her wire mesh shirt, her obsidian orbs hadn't strayed from Iwane's direction. Amane didn't know what had happened, but there were several kunai littering her body, which was spread on the ground, and there was another bloodied kunai gripped in her opponents' hand. She looked dead and Amane was too far to tell.

 

`Miwako!' The rain-nin tried to jam the kunai deeper and her hands unconsciously came to wrap around the sharpened edge of the weapon. As he tried to push, she increased her grip to hold it back, but the edge sliced open her flesh and blood ran around her fingers and down her wrists.

 

A scream tore from her mouth when he pulled back instead and twisted the kunai to increase the damage done, and the edges ravaged her hands in the process. She felt a kick connect with her legs and then she was falling. As she fell, her eyes were on her fallen comrade once more and the blood stained kunai in the Ame-nin's hand.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Are you my friend or not?”a voice whined behind six-year-old Itagaki Akemi, and a sigh left her lips. She collected her notes in her small hands and stuffed them into a note book which she clutched against her chest.

 

“You already know the answer to that,”she responded in her usual quiet, almost shy voice. She left the classroom and quickly walked down the hallway, but paused in the doorway as she glanced at the darkening sky. It actually looked like it was going to rain and they hadn't had any in too long so it'd be welcome. The young girl only wished she had known and she'd have brought an umbrella.

 

As predicted, the rain came as she hurried down the street and she stopped to make sure her notes wouldn't become soaked and ruined. Suddenly, the rain stopped hitting her and she blinked in confusion before glancing away from the slightly damp notebook in her hand. The object of her recent headache was grinning at her and was raised on her tip toes to hold up a red umbrella and keep both of them dry.

 

“We may not be friends, but I'd be very mean to let you get all wet!”she chirped happily. Her ebony hair was tied in two short pigtails, and Akemi could see a gap missing where a tooth had once been. She knew all about the girl's rowdy behavior, and wondered if it had been lost during one of her many quarrels with the boys in their class. She was a strange girl.

 

The rain was coming down lightly and wouldn't last too long, since it never did in Kaze no Kuni. Her mouth opened to ask why she would help her but the smaller girl grabbed her by the wrist and started to pull her along. Akemi had to run at her pace to stay dry.

 

“You're strange, you know that?”she yelled at the girl. However, she couldn't help but feel the same excitement that was coming from the other as they ran down the wet street. Their feet landed in puddles and sent water every where and reflected the dying sunlight so they sparkledlike stars.

 

Miwako turned to look at her and gave that trademark grin of hers. It had never been directed at her before but she realized why people seemed so drawn to her. Her emerald eyes danced with glee as they met with her dark ones.

 

“I know!”She laughed and turned back around, still pulling her along. Akemi felt a smile curving her lips as she matched her stride as the water soaked the bottom of her skirt, but for the moment all she cared about was keeping up with this strange, yet exhilaratingcreature known as Erizawa Miwako.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Haruno Sakura coughed as she felt the punch nail her against the abdomen and she stumbled back and fell on her ass. The other girl loomed over her and withdrew a kunai but before she could attack again a cry escaped her lips as she was knocked to the side. She lifted her eyes to see the Uzumaki standing there and he quickly helped her stand.

 

She sighed wearily and accepted the support he offered with his hand against her forearm. A quick glance at the Uchiha revealed that he'd finally taken down Dosu but there were scratches and blood dotting his face and body, but otherwise unharmed. Naruto didn't look seriously injured either and she was relieved.

 

“Arigato, Naruto-kun,” she muttered and moved away from his hold to stand by herself. She pushed back an uneven strand of hair and glanced around at the destruction and then moved to search her opponent as the others did the same. It was Sasuke that turned up an Earth scroll. “Good, now we need to recover another Heaven scroll.”

 

Sasuke nodded and glanced at Naruto. “You're not injured?” he asked the blonde who quickly shook his head. “Sakura?” The kunoichi also gave a negative answer. “Good. We'll move out before they decided to wake up.”

 

Sakura took the scroll from the Sharingan user and smirked when he glared at her. She wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek as she glanced at Naruto, whom was also giving her a questioning look. “I think I should hang onto it,” she said and stuffed it into her pouch. “It might give us a slight advantage since the enemy might not expect the weakest member to have it.”

 

Naruto stretched his arms a bit and nodded. He'd noticed that the Haruno female hadn't been acting like a Sasuke chaser since Haku had come to Konoha and he was glad, since that meant he was spared a beating whenever he insulted the Uchiha. “Hai, that seems like a good idea. Now, we better leave before these guys regain consciousness, dattebayo,” he said with a yawn.

 

Sasuke couldn't argue with that way of thinking, and shrugged. “Alright then, let's move out and keep a close knit formation,” he instructed and was glad that Naruto did as he was told with no arguments. He had to remind himself to thank Haku the next time he saw the older teen.

 

They left the camp after making sure that no signs of their presence had been left behind. There were still four days left to recover the Heaven scroll and they couldn't waste a single moment of it.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A grin was seen spreading over Anzai's handsome features as he lifted the scroll to show his two teammates and then he tossed it over to Take. “See, what'd I tell ya?” he cockily commented. It earned him a glare from the kunoichi but he merely shrugged it off. His slightly tanned hands flicked away a strand of his dark brown hair, and the sunlight caught in the natural blonde highlights and his hair seemed to glow. He sighed and walked over to them. “So, shall we move on to the tower now?”

 

Haku, or Take, stuffed the Heaven scroll in his pouch where the other one was stored. He pushed back a long strand of his now shoulder length dark brown hair behind his ear and turned light brown eyes on his slightly shorter team member.

 

“Maybe we should wait and rest before continuing on?” Haku was wearing a black, long sleeved form fitting shirt that went to the throat, and this was worn underneath a dark blue, short sleeved haori with a loose obi of a lighter shade around his waist. Also, he wore matching umanori hakama, and instead of the zori that he had always worn, he now had on the blue issue ninja sandals. Around his forehead, he now wore the Konoha hitai-ate instead of his Kirigakure one which he had stashed away where he was sure no one would ever find.

 

He was still getting use to his name and at times he wouldn't answer when called. Haku lifted his gaze when the younger female said his name and he inclined his head to indicate that he was listening even if he wasn't really. They were arguing on whether to proceed to the tower or rest for a while before doing so.

 

Moments later, the sound of a fist hitting a skull resounded within Haku's ears and he sighed. It seemed that Sanako had gotten her way yet again. It was strange that the brash boy could be pushed around by his “younger” sister, but he guessed that he allowed it since he cared a lot for his twin sister. “So, are we resting Anzai-san?” Haku asked.

 

The mention boy gave a frustrated groan as he rubbed his sore head and plopped down where he had been standing. “Shut up, Take,” he grumbled, shooting dirty looks at his sister. The girl, which looked a lot like him, only gave him a sweet smile. She turned amethyst eyes to her now “older” brother, since Haku had been adopted into their family, but he was actually more of a friend to them than a sibling.

 

From what their mother had told him, they had once had another boy within their Genin team. She hadn't told him the name but only that all three had been in the Academy together. Then he'd died during a C rank mission that had gone horribly wrong and it was one of the reasons that Anzai resented Haku. He and the other had been best friends and he hadn't expected the boy to be replaced so quickly after his death.

 

“Hai, we're going to rest but I don't think it should be for too long,” she muttered and glanced around. “Do you think we should set up traps before we rest?” She bit her bottom lip in worry and unearthed a rock with the edge of her blue sandal. Her headband was fastened around her right bicep today since she didn't like to leave it any one position, and the same thing could be said about her shoulder length light brown hair. That day, she had it in a bun pinned at the base of her head. She was wearing loose, light green pants that came to end just at the ankles and her holsters secured by bandages at her left thigh. The beige shirt had no sleeves, but there were light green arm warmers that ended to loop around only her thumbs.

 

Anzai sighed as he ruffled his already wild, jaw length hair and stretched his arms before leaning against the root of the huge tree they had come to stop by. The seat of his black pants was getting dirty, but he didn't seem to care that much. He adjusted the pouch at his back to a more comfortable position and his holsters at his right thigh as well. It seemed that while he had protested taking the break, he also seemed to be taking advantage of it and rested his right ankle against his right knee. He was using his arms as a make shift pillow and when he did that, the leaf headband shifted at his forehead slightly.

 

Haku's eyes flicked toward him to observe the other boy and noticed that his blood red shirt with its fishnet long sleeves had ridden up to expose his taunt stomach. He found himself staring for a moment before looking away when Anzai turned his cobalt eyes in his direction. “No, we won't be here that long,” Haku commented and moved to take a seat on the ground.

 

He withdrew a small water canteen from his pouch and drank from it before replacing it. They distributed the rations that had been collected during the first day among them and ate in silence. Soon, they would move for the tower but they would have to be cautious. Those that had also already secured their scrolls would be heading that way and if that were true then they might be attacked. Many would want to reduce the number of teams for the third portion of the exam, so they'd have to be alert.

 

After an hour, Haku stood and dusted off the seat of his hakama and turned to his two team members. They nodded once and were off again, jumping up into the trees and heading deeper into the forest. It was already dawn but the surrounding area was still dark.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Iwane growled as she lifted her weapon and narrowed sharp emerald eyes on her opponent. She had intercepted him when he had made a move to attack Eizan and she could only thank Kami that she had been able to interfere in time. They were much too close to her position still and had to alternate between fending off an attack on herself and the other girl so it was a bit tough. She found herself doing as Eizan had told her, and tapping into the speed that she had never tried to use before.

 

“You can't defend him forever,” the Ame shinobi sneered and lunged at her. She parried his attack as their kunai met over and over again in the next few minutes. Iwane didn't know how Amane's battle was going with the other ninja and she didn't dare take off her eyes from her own opponent.

 

“Yes I can,” she growled, not even bothering to correct him about Eizan being a girl. She lifted her weapon to eye level and moved to attack this time and once again their kunai clashed several times before they jumped apart.

 

A smirk was seen on the rain ninja's face and she wondered what he was planning but he was attacking her again and she was forced to abandon her train of thought to defend. Then it happened as he moved back and flung several kunai in Eizan's direction and the distance between them as well.

 

She cursed and knew that at the speed the weapons were traveling that if she moved to help her, she'd get hit by the kunai and when she fell, the other projectiles would hit Eizan. Making a split second decision, she jumped up to trying to avoid as many kunai as possible, and quickly went through hand seals in mid air. She came down just at the edge of the kunai's range, since she had to be as close as possible.

 

Her open palms slammed against the ground as she landed and a cry escaped her lips when she felt three kunai impale her body. The wall of earth rose in front of the Ashikaga girl and blocked the weapons as the Iwane hit the ground.

 

She lay there for several moments as her opponent walked up to her. He had a bloodied kunai gripped in his hand, which he had used to nick her arm during their battle. Iwane found that she couldn't move without pain shooting through every inch of her body. The side of her right leg had been pierced through by the blade, and so had the right side of her abdomen and her right bicep. She was only glad that her left arm had been spared where she had the mark that showed where her alliance lay.

 

The sound of a scream reached her ears and she felt her heart skip a beat when she realized it had come from Amane. It was through will power alone that she didn't cry out as she struggled to a sitting position and her eyes fastened with her teammates' black ones over the distance. She was down and her opponent was getting ready to deliver the final blow. `Akemi!'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eizan was standing in the darkness again and she reached out her hands, but she couldn't feel anything. They very air was freezing and it was starting to seep into her very bones so they ached, and the warning was flashing through her mind, almost screaming at her.

 

She had started to walk in a random direction but the warning followed her and seemed to come from every angle as her ears ached. As she continuedto advance, she tripped over something and almost fell, but she regained her footing and felt around for what it might have been. After a moment, she realized that it was a body and the warmth was fading quickly from their skin.

 

The kunoichihad no idea whom it might be but she tried to warmthem up all the same. She tried to rub the feeling back to their stiff hands but her own were completely numb that she probably couldn't seals to save her life. Well, that's what she needed right now, to form seals, but to save this persons'life.

 

For a brief moment she wondered if she could light a fire with her mind as she had done when she had been younger. During that time she had no control over it and when she tried it usually resulted badly but it was her only option at the moment.

 

She torethe sleeves of her shirt and most of the shirt as she shivered but concentrated on the task at hand. Her features twisted as she stared at where she thought the pieces of clothing were but nothing happened for several seconds.

 

“Arisa.”She stopped and lifted her head and listened but all she could hear was the wind. It seemed to moan and wail, and perhaps that was what she had heard. “Arisa.”There it was again. A chill went through her, and Eizan wanted to curl into herself but she had to light the fire since it was their only hope of surviving the cold.

 

After another minute where she thought she'd go out of her mind, there was a spark and the cloth caught fire. The light reflected off the contours of her face and her blood-rimmed, black eyes.

 

“Arisa,”a voice whispered just at her ear. A startled gasp left her mouth as she turned around and saw that the person had been a man and had sat up. His arms stretchedlike rubber, and pulled her against him as she yelled and tried to break free. The appendages were a sickly white and the fingers dug painfully against her sides as they held her in place.

 

She cried out in terror when the flesh of his face started to melt away and she found herself staring at her brother's face. Her mouth dropped in shock as the thing grinned cruelly at her. “Arisa, you killed me,”he whispered as she shook her head. That wasn't her brother's voice. “You killed me.”

 

The arms tightened their hold and he leaned closer to her as she caught a whiff of decay from him. No, this wasn't her brother. He suddenly fastened his mouth over hers as her eyes widened in surprise and horror. `This isn't Eizan-nii-san,'she told herself as the nails pierced her skin and drew blood. `This isn't my brother!'

 

She closed her eyes as she pulled away with a cry and let her chakra burst forth and both of them burst into flames. The thing shrieked but continued to cling to her as she struggled to get loose.

 

It suddenly stopped trashing around and pressed its mouth against her ear as she froze. “You will be mine, Arisa-chan,”it hissed. Then it leaned down and bit into her neck as she screamed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

 

Oboro and Mubi stopped abruptly as a feeling of terror gripped them and they shuddered before looking up. The once unconscious third member of the Suna cell shifted and rose gracefully to his feet. That wouldn't have been so surprising, but there was a visible, black aura surrounding him and it moved and shifted like fire. There were black, flame-like marks spreading from his neck across his face and down the length of his left arm.

 

Iwane's opponent, who was the closest, found himself stepping back when the shorter shinobi's gaze turned in his direction. The black eyes had blood red cracks over the surface of them and the pupils burned fiercely and he saw his death in them. Oboro turned to flee but was quite shocked when a figure appeared before him. His breath caught in his throat as he was met with that terrifying gaze and moments later he felt a chakra enhanced hand plunge through his chest.

 

The Erizawa female watched in stunned silence as Eizan's hand came out of the boy's back. His screams filled the surrounding area as his skin started to peel and burn, and it looked like he'd been hit by the fire user's Jigoku no Jutsu. That wasn't possible since she hadn't even performed the seals and it almost seemed like he was burning from the inside.

 

When the Ame-nin's screams had gone quiet she pulled out her hand and the body fell apart like embers. With a flick of her wrist, the ashes on her hand and arm burned off. Now she turned to the remaining rain-nin and he froze. His face was hidden so it wasn't possible to see his expression besides the widening of his left eye.

 

Mubi stepped back when she calmly walked in his direction as a terrifying expression adorned her features. He withdrew his kunai uselessly and flung it at her but it stopped in midair before her. The weapon melted as if it were butter and gathered in a black pool on the ground at Eizan's feet.

 

The enemy ninja was shocked at the show of power by the teammate they had originally thought was weak since she'd been injured before the other two. Now he was regretting their miscalculation as he backed away from the Suna-nin.

 

“Onegai,” he pleaded as he took out the scroll and set it on the ground before backing off quickly. “Take the scroll, just let me go!”

 

Iwane had watched as the Ashikaga killed her opponent without a second thought and she had seen the sadistic grin that had been stretched over her face. It reminded her so much of that snake bastard's that it was frightening.

 

`This isn't Arisa,' she thought and pulled out the kunai one by one and let them drop to the ground. She stood uneasily and turned toward Amane. The wind user had already reacted and now she was standing as well.

 

Amane coughed and stood as she clutched her bloodied side. The wound caused a spasm of pain to flow through her and she clenched her free hand till she felt her nails biting into her flesh. Her eyes lifted to watch as Eizan walked toward the Ame-nin. The Itagaki took a deep breath and moved swiftly toward the enemy and knocked him to the side with her body. She struggled to remain on her feet, but finally straightened and kicked the boy against the side of the face to knock him out.

 

She turned to see that Iwane had limped over to their teammate's side and Eizan was looking at them both with hostile eyes but made no move to attack them. Despite what Orochimaru had done, it seemed she still recognized them to some extent.

 

“Eizan-sama,” Iwane gasped and reached out for her. The smaller girl flinched away, and she lowered it with a slight wounded expression. “It's okay. It's just us.”

 

Amane moved closer as well and gave a strained smile, her hand still clutching her wound as her fingers were covered in blood. “It's Amane and Iwane,” she told. Her eyes fastened on the remains of the other rain shinobi and she sighed. “Please stop this, Arisa.”

 

Eizan flinched and looked down at the ground as she closed her eyes momentarily. It looked like she was trying to regain some form of control and after several seconds, the black flames started to recede from her arms and face before completely fading. When she opened her eyes, they were back to normal, and she stumbled forward before collapsing onto her knees. “Oh Kami,” she whispered. “What did he do to me?”

 

Her two teammates helped her stand. “What ever it is, we'll over come it,” the earth user muttered. The brown haired kunoichi nodded in agreement and they helped the shorter girl to sit beside the tree trunk she'd previously been resting against. The terrain had been severely damaged during their fight but they paid it no mind. Attending to their wounds was more important than the destruction surrounding them.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was just after dusk when they came upon the clearing that reeked of fire and blood. They had moved out earlier that day, and encountered one more team from leaf and had disposed of them. However, it turned out that they also had an Earth scroll and not the Heaven they needed. They'd kept it in case they ran into another enemy they couldn't defeat, and then moved on again.

 

They came to stop on the edge of the clearing which had the strong scent of death and they were shocked at the scene that met their eyes. They had found a dead Ame shinobi on the ground as they had been approaching. There had been a kunai driven through the back of his neck with its tip coming out of his throat.

 

His features, which had been uncovered due to his air mask falling off, had been twisted with pain, and the binding hid his eyes from view. By the looks of the tips of his fingers and ears, that had already started to turn purple, he'd been dead for maybe a day. They had cautiously approached the area where most of the battle had more than likely taken place.

 

There was another dead rain-nin, and his body was sitting on the ground and slumped against a tree trunk. It looked like he had been in the process of standing and attacking and had been impaled by several kunai and shuriken. The kunai had fallen inches from where his hand had dropped and his one visible eye was glazed over in death, and his mouth had an air mask secured over it.

 

“I wonder who did this?” their female teammate asked herself quietly. Sakura had pulled back the now shorter strands of her pink hair and secured it with her hitai-ate. She crouched down to observe the ground, pulling the ends of her black pants up and adjusting the red shirt almost nervously. Her sleeveless jacket had been torn in her battle with the Oto kunoichi, and had been discarded.

 

Sasuke walked more into the battle site and crouched besides a pile of ash. He frowned when he saw a scorched rain headband, remains of clothing, and another gas mask within the pile. “I found the third teammate,” he said over his shoulder. He wondered what type of Katon jutsu had been used that was strong enough to reduce a human body into nothing but ash so effectively.

 

He stood and glanced to the side and promptly froze in disbelief at what he saw several meters away between the roots of a huge tree. There was a Heaven scroll lying on the ground and besides a bit of blood splattering the surface, it looked relatively unharmed.

 

Naruto hurried over and stopped a few feet away before forming a hand seal. `Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' When a single clone appeared he ordered it to go over and pick up the scroll. It did as he instructed but nothing happened so that meant that no traps had been placed around it. Also, the scroll was solid and when the Naruto-clone walked over, he held it out as the Uchiha activated his Sharingan.

 

“It's real,” he muttered and deactivated his dojutsu. When he took the scroll from the clone, Naruto dispelled it and Sasuke turned to look at his teammates as they shrugged. “Maybe the other team dropped it?” It was a stupid suggestion but the only one that seemed plausible.

 

Sakura moved forward and crouched around the area where the scroll had been. She placed a hand against the ground and felt the cool earth underneath her fingers. “They've been gone for a while,” she commented. “If they did drop it, they would have noticed it by now and came back.” She turned teal orbs on both boys and frowned. “Either way, we have to get moving toward the tower.”

 

The blonde Genin frowned and shook his head. “What if it's a fake, dattebayo?” he asked them and withdrew a scroll from his own pouch. It looked almost the same as the Heaven scroll but it was obviously not the same one because the kanji on it was different. “It would be easy to change it and make it look like a Heaven scroll.”

 

“That's true,” the kunoichi of their team nodded. “But remember the rules.” She lifted her hand and took the scroll from Sasuke. “It says that we're not allowed to open the scrolls until we have both of them in our possession. So, we'll simply open the Heaven before the Earth scroll, and if it's a fake we'll know then.” She turned her eyes to look at the Uchiha prodigy. “Sasuke, did you sense any traps or anything out of the ordinary when you looked at it with your Sharingan?”

 

He shook his head and realized that this was one of the few times she'd said his name without `-kun'. He didn't mind since it would have been better than putting the -san at the end. It was a relief that she'd stopped chasing after him since his feelings lay else where. “Iie,” he commented and took the scroll and stuffed it into his pouch. Sakura still had the other and it would be safer if they were separated. “Let's move.”

 

They nodded and were off again. “One or more of the other team was injured,” the kunoichi commented, since she had seen the blood that had been around the scroll. It had been hastily covered up and so that meant they were in a hurry and couldn't afford to linger any longer or cover up their tracks properly. “Either way, we should be careful.”

 

The two boys nodded and continued on their way to the tower. They now had the second scroll and hoped it wasn't forged or they'd have to return to the forest and search out a team that had what they needed. It that happened, they'd loose precious time.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Amane practically kicked open the door as she held up the shorter girl, but let Eizan go when she insisted that she was fine and could walk on her own. They had been making their way toward the tower and had finally reached it. It was nearing dusk and there didn't seem to be anyone in the room they had just entered. She was grateful that her injury wasn't that serious but her hands were another thing. The kunai had sliced them up pretty badly and were now wrapped in bandages.

 

When they had left the clearing, it had been after an hour of rest and they had bandaged their wounds and quickly covered up the evidence of them being there. Iwane had complained that it was sloppy but they couldn't afford to stay there for too long since they could be attacked again. So, they had proceeded to the tower and Eizan had insisted they leave the Heaven scroll. She refused to touch it since she had acquired it using whatever unwanted power Orochimaru had given her.

 

Iwane sighed and plopped down on the floor before glancing up and narrowing her eyes on the sign posted overhead. “What's that?” she wondered out loud. The other two looked at what she meant and saw what she was now pointing at. “If qualities of Heaven are your desire...eh, blah, blah,” she sighed and let herself fall onto her back. “Whatever, it's probably some deep meaning about being a Chunin like that guy said during the first portion of the exam.”

 

Amane chuckled quietly at her jovial teammate's words and stretched her arms over her head. She sat upon the floor before glancing at Eizan. The girl was leaning heavily against the wall besides the door they had just walked in through. Her bangs had become messier so her eyes were no longer visible, but it looked like she was ready to collapse and only through sheer will was she still on her feet. The wind wielder could tell by her labored breathing and rapid heart beat that the past two day's events had taken their toll on her and she was making herself stay conscious until they had passed the second part of the exam.

 

“It's time to open the scrolls!” Iwane replied in a singsong voice as she jumped to her feet. They both wondered where she always got so much energy from, but Amane knew that she realized the same thing she had. If they lingered anymore without opening the scrolls, then Eizan would collapse prematurely. She knew that Iwane was suffering from the wounds she had sustained in their fight against the rain-nin and was no doubt holding back. It must have hurt like hell to jump up the way she just had with her injured leg.

 

After a moment, the other two also stood and Eizan extracted the scrolls from her shirt. She handed one to Iwane and the other to Amane, and both girls hesitated only slightly before they nodded. When they opened them they saw the kanji sign `Jin' in the center of the scroll and surrounded by other symbols.

 

It was Amane who first realized what they held in their hands and she threw down the scroll and the earth user did the same a moment later when hers started to shudder. Smoke started to rise from the scrolls and they stepped back. They glimpsed a figure and were immediately alert as each withdrew a kunai and flung it into the rapidly dissipating smoke.

 

A startled cry was heard and it was quickly followed by the sounds of the kunai being deflected. “Tomare!” a voice yelled before they could attack again. They complied but refused to drop their guard.

 

As the air finally cleared, an older ninja came into view that looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt and the green Chunin vest over it. He had matching blue pants with his holsters attached at his right thigh and the ankles of the pants secured with bandages that ended just above his blue issue sandals. The girls relaxed only slightly when they realized he was a Konoha Chunin, judging by the leaf hitai-ate at his forehead.

 

He looked at the three Genin before him and saw that they looked like they'd gone through quite a bit over the last two days. They were looking at him pointedly and he realized he had been staring at them but he couldn't help it since he didn't know whether they were three boys or girls. “Oh! I'm Umino Iruka and-”

 

“Did we pass or not?” Eizan muttered as her long bangs continued to shield her eyes from view. She did feel like she could faint at any second and she wanted to know they had passed before falling into unconsciousness.

 

“Well, yes you did pass since there's three days left,” he said and looked her over. He noticed that she was in pretty bad shape. “However, if your injuries are too severe, you will be forced to forfeit.”

 

Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her face and he saw her eyes finally. They were like fire and he stepped back at feeling a powerful aura coming from her. Then she winced and clamped a hand against her neck. “I'm fine,” she muttered stubbornly. She refused to fail at this point.

 

“I...” he started, but saw as she squared her shoulders defiantly. “Very well.” He sighed and scratched his head, and they were able to see that most of his dark brown hair was pulled in a high ponytail. His kind, black eyes moved from one to the other. “I need to explain the sign overhead.”

 

“No need,” Amane commented as she stretched her arms. She tried not to wince since her hands were still a bit sensitive and knew that they'd have to be treated with more than what she had already administered on them. “We know what it means and what goes in the blank space. Jin.” She smirked when she saw his slightly surprised expression. “Now, is there some place we may rest until the rest of the exam is over?”

 

Iruka was a bit surprised but nodded after a moment. They were obviously tried and most likely didn't want to stand around listening to him speak about what they already knew. “Hai,” he replied and turned to lead them away from the room. “Right this way.” They followed him and he explained that since there was still three days left, that they could be looked over by a medic-nin.

 

He was stunned when they refused and only asked where they could find their instructor. It seemed that the sand ninja were rather untrusting, but then it was understandable since they were in a strange village, ally or not. “Are you sure you don't want to have a medic-nin look you over?” he asked again. They looked pretty tried and he noticed that the tallest of the three had both hands bandaged up.

 

Eizan glanced sharply at the man and saw the concerned look on his face, which was only marred by a scar running across the bridge of his nose. Her lips turned up in an actual smile as her eyes softened slightly. “We're sure, Umino-san,” she assured him and then turned away. She walked into the room he'd led them to as the other sand ninja bowed slightly at the Chunin and joined their comrade as the door closed behind them.

 

Iruka was a bit confused by the whole experience. The aura coming from the shorter kunoichi—he'd realized they were all girls—had been terrifying and almost familiar. Then her smile had seemed genuine despite the exhausted state her body was in.

 

He sighed and moved in the direction of the infirmary to warn the medic-nin to be ready on hand in case they were needed. The Suna-nin might have refused treatment but he wanted the medical staff to be ready in case they changed their minds. Afterwards, he hurried back to his post. Naruto's team hadn't arrived yet, but judging from the progress they'd made over the last few months, they wouldn't take too much longer.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A team of three Konoha-nin entered the empty room and glanced around. “At last!” the short haired male cried and plopped down on the floor. The kunoichi rolled her eyes and turned to the other boy in her team.

 

“You open one and I'll open the other, Take,” she told him, taking one of the scrolls from him. With a nod, they opened them as Anzai continued to lounge on the floor. “Get your butt over...here?”

 

Anzai glanced up when he heard her tone of voice change and saw the scrolls starting to shake. He was on his feet in an instant as Take and Sanako threw the scrolls down. They all extracted weapons when they saw someone come out of it. They instinctively attacked.

 

“Ack!” the person exclaimed as they tumbled out of the smoke, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the projectiles. “Watch it, those things are dangerous!”

 

They didn't recognize the man but he was obviously a Chunin. “Hey, old man,” Anzai muttered. “Did we pass?”

 

The mentioned `old man' twitched and jumped to his feet. “I am not an old man!” he sputtered. “Such disrespect!”

 

He yawned and then eyed him warily. “How old are you?”

 

The Chunin puffed out his chest as he was asked this question, still managing to look indignant in the process. “I am barely 27 years old,” he stated matter-of-factly.

 

Anzai snorted and shook his head. “Like I said, old man, did we pass?” He met the ground a moment later as he felt a fist connect with the back of his head, courtesy of his sister. “Ow.”

 

Sanako huffed in annoyance and glanced apologetically at the older man. “Gomen nasai,” she told him. “We'll try to gag him next time. Now, could you please tell us if we passed to the third portion of the exam, Chunin-san?”

 

The man was pleased with the respectful tone that the kunoichi used with him and smiled smugly. “I'd be more than happy to respond but since this boy was so rude I will not tell you right off. I will first explain the complex meaning of the sign behind me.”

 

Sanako's left eye twitched as he said this. “GET ON WITH IT!” she yelled, startling the Chunin. “I WANNA SEE HIM!” She had been trying to be polite but he was being impossible. She wanted to get inside the tower and see if she saw...him. It had been a while since she'd last seen him since he had still been in the Academy when she graduated and then she'd been distracted by missions.

 

When he'd become a Genin she had been hoping to see him more often but it hadn't been possible. Not to mention the fact that she was jealous of the kunoichi within his team. She had to make sure that the evil witch hadn't gotten her claws into him.

 

The leaf-nin reached out, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off his feet. “Tell. Me. Now.” This was said between clenched teeth, trying to keep her cool or she'd fling him through a wall. She'd always had excellent chakra control and this last year it had improved drastically.

 

“You passed! You passed!” he yelled as his feet dangled clean off the floor. “Now put me down!”

 

Sanako grinned and set him on the ground and skipped out of the room to find the man of her dreams. Meanwhile, the Chunin had collapsed to the floor besides Anzai. The younger ninja hadn't even bothered getting up. “Baka! You shouldn't have gotten her mad.”

 

Haku rolled his eyes. `He should take his own advice.'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The red head frowned as he saw the look that crossed Enoki's face as he spoke quietly with Eizan's teammates. They had approached the man and asked to converse in private with him, but Eizan had not been with them. Whatever they had told him, Gaara saw his hands clench and his lips press into a thin, bloodless line. Something was wrong.

 

Before he could even try to find out what was going on, the three ninja turned and headed out of the room without so much as a word in their direction. His turquoise orbs narrowed and he turned to head out of the room. He heard Baki ask him where he was going, but he merely ignored the man.

 

It had been two days since the start of the second exam and he found it strange that it had taken Eizan's team this long to finish. From what he knew of her abilities, she should have gotten her team through that same day. `Did something happen?'

 

He knew that the Ashikaga was still gathering intelligence on the Genin from the other countries, and wondered if perhaps that had been the reason they had taken so long. That thought didn't sit well with Gaara, and it had been him that had originally told her to gather the information.

 

Gaara searched out the girl's chakra signature and when he found it, a frown twisted his features. There was something different about it. A startling amount of malevolence was soaked into it and he could tell that it was external. He'd known her long enough to know that even though she killed for him, she'd never been cold-blooded or cruel. So, whatever was coating her normal chakra, it was evil.

 

The scarlet haired shinobi disguised his spiritual energy and approached to listen at the door. He heard muffled voices coming from inside and he only made out a few words. The ones he was certain he'd heard were `bitten' and `mark'. He might have heard a name but he couldn't really tell. When he heard footsteps approaching the door, he vanished in his sand but kept his third eye above the door.

 

From the angle of the eye, he only glimpsed part of the room and the foot of a bed. He knew the fire wielder was spread out on it since Iwane was standing besides the bed and looking to the left and out of his line of sight. Amane was speaking with Enoki, who had been the one that opened the door. He had obviously paused and turned to respond to the wind user.

 

“Keep watch over her for tonight and if anything happens, come find me,” he said quietly. His visible features were twisted into a frown, eyebrows furrowed. “It's definitely a curse seal but it's not my area of expertise. I have done all I can do.” He shook his head with a sigh. “The Fuuin jutsu I placed on it can only hold the curse seal at bay by her will. If she should falter... it will consume her.”

 

Gaara watched as the muscles in Amane's face hardened and her hands clenched. “Can it be removed?” she asked him quietly. Her knowledge of curse seals was dwarfed when compared to Enoki, so she had no choice but to ask.

 

His head dipped as he sighed again. “Iie, it can't be removed.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, which was mostly covered by his cloth mask. The man looked exhausted and had undoubtedly used a large amount of his chakra sealing the curse mark. “It's likely that she'll carry it the rest of her life.”

 

Iwane sighed quietly as her eyes lingered on the unconscious girl for a moment and turned in their direction. She paused for a moment as Gaara frowned and a moment later an impish grin spread over her face. It caused an unknown emotion to build inside of him that he'd later recognize as annoyance.

 

The other two Suna-nin turned to look at her and the grin was gone before they noticed it. “Then all we can do is keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't lose control.” After saying this, Iwane's eyes flicked up and fastened in the direction of his third eye. “She will rest undisturbed for now.”

 

Gaara knew she was speaking to him and he frowned since he heard the warning in her voice. His eyes narrowed before he dispelled the jutsu and turned away. His figure moved along the corridor located in the interior of one of the many floors within the tower. He turned the corner that would lead him back where he'd left his team, but something kept bugging him. `Who gave her the curse seal?'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A gasp left her lips as her eyes snapped open. She moaned softly and rolled onto her side on the bed. Pain gripped her entire being and she hissed quietly as she curled into a ball, her hand gripped against her neck.

 

There was an uncomfortable layer of perspiration covering her body, and her clothes -or what little she wore- stuck to every curve of her slender frame. Eizan had been haunted by the ghastly images once again, and her pounding pulse overpowered every other sound within the pitch black room. She wasn't conscious of the time but the silence that seemed to almost pulsate against her ears indicated that it was probably late.

 

The few minutes she spent withering in agony seemed to last a lifetime and when it finally subsided, she took a deep breath to calm her racing pulse. She sat up and slipped off the bed enough for her bare feet to touch the cold floor but remained sitting. After she'd allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkened room she saw two figures spread out in the other beds. This was the room Iruka had led them too and he'd explained that the quarters in this level could accommodate three people.

 

 

She silently left the room and walked along the silent and empty hallway. The corridor was dim but there were a lights spread out along spaced intervals so it wasn't completely dark. So, she was spared the irritation of bumping into anything within her path. It was July, but even then she shivered in the slightly cold hall, since she wore nothing more than shorts and a sleeveless tank top.

 

Eizan stretched out her senses and winced only slightly from the sting of the curse seal, and concentrated on Gaara's chakra signature. She found it within moments and moved in the direction of his presence. The fire user was sure that he would know she was coming as she turned a corner.

 

His figure was leaning against the frame of one of the double doors that led onto a small balcony, and moonlight bathed his lean body and the gourd on his back. His eyes were turned to peer outside as she approached quietly before crouching.

 

Her head was lowered in submission, right knee and hand touching the floor beneath her. She hadn't bothered to replace her hitai-ate and her bangs fell into her face, shielding her eyes from sight. “Gaara-dono,” she muttered.

 

“What are you doing up so late?” he asked her in that emotionless voice she had yet to grow accustomed to. It was surprising that he'd responded so quickly, since he usually never spoke until after she had given her report. Even then, he sometimes didn't speak and only dismissed her with a nod of his head.

 

“The report,” she explained. Her head lifted slightly to take in his stance. It was a bit stiffer than usual and from the angle he was standing she could tell his arms were crossed over his chest as usual. His long blood red hair almost looked brown in this light and it had been pulled into a low ponytail, and something in his face caused her whole body to stiffen. There was something wrong.

 

“Go back to bed,” he said before turning completely away. He flickered and was gone in the next second. Only the slight litter of sand along the floor gave any indication that he'd ever been there. Now that he wasn't blocking the door, the moon's light spilled more into the room and over her crouched body.

 

Her lips were slightly parted in stunned disbelief and she stayed kneeling for a while. She straightened at last and lowered her head. Eizan didn't understand what had just happened, but it filled her with dread. Something was about to happen, and she only hoped it wouldn't be the end of her.-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
1. haori: is a hip- or thigh-length kimono coat which adds formality. Haori were originally reserved for men, until fashions changed at the end of the Meiji period. (During the Naruto time, it is still only men that wear them, I believe). Nowadays they are now worn by both men and women, though women's kimono jackets tend to be longer.
2. Obi: are the top-most sash worn with various styles of Japanese clothing, including kimono and yukata.
3. Umanorihakama: There are two types of hakama, divided (umanori, horse-riding hakama) and undivided (gyotohakama). The umanori type are divided like trousers, but nearer the bottom of the garment.
4. Zori: are thonged Japanese sandals made of rice straw or other plant fibers, lacquered wood, or—increasingly—synthetic materials. Zori are quite similar to flip-flops.
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End Chapter Sixteen