𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 | 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 [HEAVY EDITING]

𝟐𝟑 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬: 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm scared, too, Kari," she says, "and... if you're worried that you're not strong, well, I say you're wrong. You've only been here for a few months, but you're really great."

I feel my cheeks warm up at her words. "Thanks," I mumble. "You are, too, Sakura."

She tries letting out a laugh of confidence, but it warbles. "T-That's right – we're great! We can do this." And she grabs me by the arm to drag me to a table where we submit our "waivers". It's some kind of contract that says Miss Anko isn't responsible if something happens to us while in the Forest of Death.

... becoming a Chūnin is becoming to sound more exhausting than it's worth.

After we'd done this, we're sent to one of the gates around the fence, number twelve, now in possession of one of the scrolls. On the way there, I take note of my team members and their behaviours. Sasuke's been muttering calculations of our probable deaths; Naruto's practicing forward jabs and uppercuts; and Sakura, who despite her early attempts at staying confident, is now a bundle of nerves, walking next to me with her arm wrapped around my bicep. I'm in no greater of a position. Maybe I'm just the better actor between us.

"All right! Heads up, you maggots!" Our gate finally opens. "The second phase of the exam has begun!"

"Here we go, guys!" Naruto says, passing through the gate first, his fist stretched above him.

My attempt at a deep breath comes out as a huff. "Let's win!" I cheer through clenched teeth, my own fist rising above me stiffly. Okay, that sounded convincing. A little bit of forced optimism should get me going!

That is, until the screaming starts.

"D-Did you guys hear that?!" Sakura shrieks, her grip on my arm tightening.

"I-I wonder what happened to them," I say aloud. My eyes take to the trees and the long branches above our heads. "I... really don't like this place."

"Oh, come on!" My knees end up buckling when Naruto hits my other shoulder. "There's nothing to be scared of! This is gonna be a piece of cake."

"Yeah, well, maybe you think so," I end up snapping back, my nerves taking the reins momentarily. He raises an eyebrow at me before stalking over to one of the trees. "S-Sorry, sorry."

I start a mental discussion with just myself about how I'd like to go out, with fighting being the only option in this place. Sakura suddenly releases me to go and yell something at Naruto, as he'd been about to do his business in our presence.

"Go in a bush or something!" she angrily suggests, and without another word, he runs into the trees.

He returns about ten minutes later, laughing brightly.

"Man, that was a lot!" he announces. "I wrote my whole name!"

"You are such a pig!" Sakura screeches, raising her fist to him. "You know, you can be really disgusting sometimes!"

I'm surprised by his reaction to Sakura, though. He's usually quick to cower when she threatens him – I mean, who wouldn't? She packs a punch. A-And apparently, so does Sasuke?! Naruto had gone flying backwards from a random strike from him, his back smashing into one of the massive tree trunks.

"Sasuke, why did you do that?!" I cry, rushing over to Naruto's side. I drop onto my knees to try and shake him into proper consciousness.

"I-It wasn't that bad, Sasuke," Sakura stammers. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Naruto snaps back into it almost instantly and allows me to help him up. My eyebrows knit together in confusion.