"Yes, sir."
"Shisui, you'll be the proctor for the second test."
"Hai!"
"Hayate..." He motioned to the last one. "You'll be the proctor for the third test."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," he bowed.
"In that case, everything's been decided. Start with the preparations," said the Hokage. Everyone nodded and disappeared.
* * *
Hanako walked along the streets with her teammates after facing the Senju and her team. She suddenly saw Itachi walking in their direction.
"Wasn't Shisui with you?" Hanako asked raising an eyebrow. Itachi stopped in front of them.
"He was summoned to the Hokage tower," he explained.
Hanako nodded and suddenly felt an agonizing pain in her head. She reached both her hands to it as everything in her sight became suddenly blurry. 'Damn...I think I used too much chakra,' she thought. Everything around her became black; but before falling unconscious, Itachi caught her in his arms.
"Hanako!" Takeshi screamed worried. Itachi picked her up and carried her to a stone bench nearby at the side of the street. He placed her over it while the other two stood at his side. Itachi activated his Sharingan to look at her and after a moment he deactivated it with a sigh.
"Her chakra is dangerously low." He turned to look at Kazuki and Takeshi with an expectant look. "What were you doing?" The boys tensed and turned to look at each other before turning back to the Uchiha.
"Well..." Kazuki looked away. "Hanako and I had a match in the training grounds. Just so you know, she only used a fire technique and a Genjutsu against me." He looked up and flinched when he noticed Itachi's intent stare. "After that, we came across another Genin. We talked for a while and then..."
"Kazuki." Takeshi sighed. "He didn't ask for the details so just tell him what he wants to know." Kazuki nodded and looked at the Uchiha.
"Hanako got into a fight with someone. She used a Genjutsu on her and soon it was over, but I think she used a lot of chakra in it..." Itachi nodded and turn to look back at the unconscious girl. He pressed his lips into a thin line.
"She's worn herself out," he suddenly said. "It seems that she has already reached her limit. Let's leave her to rest." The other two nodded while Itachi picked her up again. "I'll take her home," he said before walking away with the girl in his arms. Takeshi rolled his eyes, clenching his hands into fists.
"I could have taken her home!"
When Itachi arrived to the young Uchiha's home, he softly kicked the door with his foot. Akira opened the door and worry struck her face when she took notice of her unconscious daughter in the boy's arms.
"Hanako?" She looked at Itachi expectantly, waiting for some sort of explanation.
"She's fine," he said calmly. "She's just exhausted; she has used almost all of her chakra." Akira sighed relieved and moved to let the Uchiha walk in.
"Right, she tends to do that... Come in." Itachi walked in. "She just never learns. It happened a lot when she trained with your father, he would bring her in his arms since she couldn't move to come here on her own. Next morning, she would be miraculously fine." Itachi smiled at that.
"I'll take her to her room," he said and Akira nodded.
"Upstairs, the first door to the left."
Itachi nodded and walked to Hanako's room. Once he entered, he placed her softly on her bed and stared at her. She breathed deeply, her chest rising slowly and falling again. She was probably going to sleep for a while. Deciding it was enough staring, Itachi turned his back to her. He started observing her room until a small object over the bureau called his attention. It was a picture of Hanako and her family. Hanako was laughing beside her older sister while both her parents looked at them lovingly. A small smile crept into Itachi's lips as he took the frame in his hand to get a better look.
CHAPTER TWELVE: Nominations for the Chunnin Exam
Start from the beginning
