Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind

The Labyrinth

I looked up at the high ceilings of the cavern; was this really where we would be competing? It was fairly dark, not that it bothered me much.

Anko and Sakura stood on a stage, the latter waving at us of course.

"Alright, kiddos," Anko began, "Welcome to the second exam! Smaller group this year, huh? Guess Ibiki was worried about going too soft on ya this time." That was a way to put it, "Well, I hope to thin down the numbers even more." oh boy, "My lovely assistant and I have concocted the perfect instrument of your torture." Ah, so now we were going to be tortured.

It seemed it was Sakura's turn to speak, her throwing up her hands enthusiastically, I couldn't help but smile at the familiar gesture, "A labyrinth!" she cried out.

"Yep," Anko smirked, "You all will be tasked to not only get through this labyrinth of traps expertly designed by the lovely Sakura and I, but you will also have to do so with a hostage!"

A murmur passed through the crowd, and Izumi leaned over to me curiously, "Like an escort mission?"

I shrugged in response.

"Each group of three will have to find one hostage and successfully remove them from the labyrinth. If the hostage gets injured, you lose. If any of you get too injured, you lose. And if you can't get out in twenty four hours, you lose." She raised a fist into the air, "So, whenever you're ready... GO!"

The ground broke beneath our feet, Kiba quickly grabbing onto me and Izumi as we fell down some sort of earthen slide, being dumped unceremoniously in some random lower area of the cave.

"Fuck..." Kiba groaned, sitting up and massaging his wrists.

"That was... unorthodox." Izumi hummed, gazing around the space we were dumped in.

"That's my girlfriend for you." I sighed, standing up, "Kiba, tracking is your thing, they might have put blood on them for 'realism' knowing those two."

"Oh, yeah, don't worry about it." Kiba huffed, "I can smell their fear too while I'm at it."

"You can do that?" Izumi asked cluelessly, and I hid my smirk in my collar.

"No." Kiba scoffed, "Well, kinda." he nudged Akamaru, "Try and get a scent, buddy."

Akamaru stood, beginning to lead us down the one way path of the cavern.

"It's kinda nice down here." Izumi commented after a while of pointless meandering.

"Yeah, if you like cold, and dark, and damp, and no goddamn sunlight, and dirt, and rocks, and low ceilings." Kiba grumbled.

Izumi smiled, "You're just claustrophobic."

"Everything smells like wet dirt." Kiba mumbled.

"I like it." I decided to play into Kiba's current misery a little.

"You would." he shot back.

"I thought you liked cold; you dated Hinata." I hummed.

Izumi covered his mouth in a poor attempt to muffle his surprised laugh. Kiba stared at me in disbelief, "I should just leave you two cave dwellers in this goddamn place."

Izumi looped his arms around Kiba's neck, "Aw, c'mon don't be like that."

Kiba pouted, pointedly looking the other way.

Izumi poked his side, "You just trying to focus on tracking or are you just being Mr. Uptight Pants."

Kiba swatted Izumi's hand away, but couldn't suppress a smile, "I'm trying to focus, dumbass." he chuckled.