I held my hand out, focusing on trying to pop the rubber ball that was in my hand.
Finally, after many hours of struggling, it burst open for the first time and it took me a few seconds to register what just happened.
"Yes!" I shout with excitement, startling Rin and Obito.
"What happened?" Obito asks, turning around from the log to face me.
"Oh, nothing," I replied. "I finally managed to break one of these stupid balls open and now I just need to pop the rest to finally learn the rest of the jutsu,"
"I don't understand why you need to pop a toy just to learn a new jutsu," Obito said.
"It's complicated to explain," I replied and went back to the second rubber ball.
Rin and Obito went back to their training while Kakashi just distanced himself from everyone. I felt guilty because I knew why he's acting like this today. It was because of yesterday, I knew he could tell I was lying about the "family outing."
Uncle Minato walked over to the training ground to check on us.
"Hey guys, how's the training going?" He asks.
"It's great!" I smiled enthusiastically. "I popped my first rubber ball. Can you show me the rest of the jutsu?"
"I'm glad to hear that you popped the first one, but remember I need you to pop the rest of them and then you can learn that new step," Minato replied.
I huffed and he explained to the others what areas they should improve in. Obito begged Minato to teach him a new jutsu, but it didn't work. Kakashi was apparently self-teaching himself a new jutsu and claimed it was going to sound like a thousand birds chirping. I was curious how this new jutsu of his was going to turn out.
After about twenty minutes of more training, I popped a second balloon and now it was time to go home.
"Are you ready to go home, Hana?" Minato asked.
"No, I need to do something first," I replied.
I needed to visit Mariko because it's been a while since I've last seen her. I really wanted to know if her heart condition was improving. I wanted her to make it so that she would be old enough to get that heart surgery.
"Oh, okay. Just be home before it gets too dark."
With that, we left the training ground. Obito caught up to me and was panting as soon as I stopped to ask him what he wanted.
"Can I come with you?" He asked, in between pants.
"Sure, but why?"
"I just..." His cheeks dusted pink. "I want to see how she's doing!"
He rushed that last part and I shrugged.
"Sure, you can come with me,"
We continued walking over to the hospital and I felt nervous now. The last time her and I have ever spoken was when Naomi stopped her from being severely harmed and I can't help but wonder if she'd hold a grudge against me for not saving her when she screamed for help.
Now Obito and I were at the hospital. I was nervous.
I checked in and the nurses told us what room she's in. I turned to Obito before walking in the room.
"Is it okay if I went in alone? I just wanted to talk to her by myself. You can come in after I'm done," I ask.
"Yeah, sure. Just let me know when to come in," He replied and sat down, leaning against the wall.
"Thanks,"
I walked inside the room and sadly, she wasn't awake this time. Her skin still looked pale, her wavy brunette hair looked matted, and she still looked too skinny. She even had an oxygen mask to help her breathe and the guilt grew bigger.
I sighed and walked over to the bedside. I put my hand over hers and even if she couldn't hear me, this would at least help me.
"I'm sorry Mariko," I looked down. "I failed to protect you. I knew I shouldn't have left you back at the estate, that was a stupid move on my part. Rentaro and Yukio were able to overpower me and harmed you somehow. I'm a huge failure. I promised to keep you safe and I couldn't even notice he was posing as Kazuki,"
I felt my eyes starting to get misty.
"My pride is broken and after all of that, it just seems like I can't win. I struggle at everything. What if I don't pass the Chunin Exams?" I ask. "What if I just fail everyone on my team and end up making them go through all of this for nothing?"
I looked back up to look at her. Her eyes were still shut and the only sound in the room right now was just her breathing and the beeping of the heart monitor. I didn't know whether she was sleeping or in a coma, but at least I got to talk to her.
I turned to let Obito in and I saw he was standing closer to the doorway. It made me wonder if he heard everything or not.
"You can come in now," I said.
He walked over and he wrapped his arms around me, comfortingly.
So, he did hear me.
"You heard what I said, didn't you?"
He just nodded and said, "Hana, you're not a failure, okay? You're learning a new jutsu and you even managed to beat that Kuroshi guy back in the Forest of Death,"
"You don't get it Obito, those rogue ninjas just held me down like it was nothing and now she has a huge scar on her back. It would've never happened if I didn't leave her behind like an idiot," I retort.
I explained to him what happened on the mission. Rentaro, Rika, Yukio, Kazuki, her heart condition, and how the Ishida thought that the real Kazuki betrayed them. He still insisted that Mariko being hurt wasn't my fault, but I didn't believe him.
Obito looked over at Mariko and then back at me.
"Let's get going so she can rest,"
I nodded and we both walked out of the hospital. He suddenly squeezed my hand and I looked down at our hands and then back at him. His cheeks flushed slightly.
"Let's focus on training for the final rounds, I'm sure Mariko will be better by then," His cheeks flushed pink again.
I pulled my hand away shyly and gave him a small smile. A part of me didn't want his hand to leave mine, but I knew he probably still had feelings for Rin. He's just concerned for me because I'm his best friend.
After exiting the hospital, I saw that it was pretty dark outside.
"It's pretty dark," I remark. "Are you sure you want to walk me home?"
"Yes, Hana," Obito replied. "I can't just leave you alone like that, especially knowing that Nozomi and Kuroshi are here,"
I decided that it was probably a good idea to not tell Obito about how Kuroshi went to my house. At least not now because I just want to find out the whole story and then explain to everyone once I understood myself. Kuroshi appears to be on my side for now, but I still needed to know his motive and whether he would turn on me or not.
I had to be cautious because this all might be a lie so he could gain my trust and then, later on, use that against me to kill me.
Finally, we were at my house and Obito smiled at me.
"Goodnight Hana."
"Goodnight Obito."