Hanako returned to the meeting point and, just as she had expected, it was empty. She walked around, paying close attention to her surroundings, as she concentrated her chakra trying to find her teammates. She found them half a mile away from where she stood and hurried towards them. Hanako ran until something got in her way; a giant bear stood right in front of her with its sharp claws and powerful jaw. Hanako got into a fighting stance just before she noticed small drops of water, floating over the ground around the creature's paws. The drops joined together to form a water whip that tied all the four paws together, making the bear fall hard to the ground.
"Water Style: Water Whip." Hanako recognized Kazuki's chakra and smiled upon his appearance along Takeshi. She put away her kunai.
"I see...Water whips?" she asked. "Any other trick you would like to share, Kazuki?" Hanako observed the black haired boy as he rested over a tree branch. He chuckled.
"You're late, Hanako," said Takeshi. "Thirty minutes late." He mimicked a guy with a watch, taking the time. "What were you doing that took you so long?"
"I had some business to take care of. I couldn't come until it wasn't solved." Takeshi raised an eyebrow at her answer.
"Business? What kind of business could you possibly have in the Forest of Death?" Hanako smirked.
"Getting a scroll, perhaps? They're not easy to find, you know..." She pulled out the Heaven scroll from her pouch. "Although, this one was quite easy." The two boys eyed the white scroll.
"You did it?" Kazuki jumped down from the tree, landing right beside the Uchiha. Hanako nodded. Kazuki was about to say something when he was interrupted by a loud, strenuous sound.
"That was...?" Hanako narrowed her eyes.
"An explosion?" Kazuki turned to the direction the sound seemed to come from. "Should we check it out?"
"No!" Takeshi shook his head. "We already have both scrolls. What we should do is go straight to the tower and get out of here before we get into trouble," he suggested.
"You worry too much, Takeshi," Hanako said to him, focusing on sensing any chakra near where the explosion took place. She widened her eyes when she recognized three signatures. "It's...Hyori's team..." She turned to look at her teammates. "They're fighting two teams!" Kazuki looked back at her with surprise.
"Two teams?! We should back them up!" Takeshi flinched at the thought.
"What are you guys thinking?" Takeshi covered his face with both his hands. "You don't care what I have to say? Let's go to the tower before we get into serious tapioca! But noooo.... You guys want to go deep." Hanako looked at him with serious eyes.
"No, we're not going to the tower," she said. "If it were us in that situation, would you run away?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Would you leave us behind?"
Takeshi looked down and shook his head.
"Exactly. We're not leaving them either," she added. "They saved us once, now it's our turn to return the favor."
* * *
After saving the Uchiha's team, Hyori and the others went looking for their own Heaven scroll. A couple hours went by until they finally stopped to rest. They drank water and made sure no enemies were nearby as they relaxed near the roots of a tree. When they had regained their energy and were ready to continue, a group of ninjas appeared. They were the same ones that had tried to ambush them before, although this time, they didn't come alone.
"Well, well, so here you are...brats." The first ninja spoke.
"Don't get so excited, Daichi." Another one appeared, standing right next to him. "We told you we would come back, and this time we're definitely getting that scroll."
"Heh! Good luck with that!" Hyori scoffed.
"Do not provoke them, Hyori." Ren nagged her.
"They're messing with us! I won't let them get away with that!" She defended herself.
"Kenshi, can't we just kill them and get this over with?" Daichi asked.
"Do as you please." A third one emerged from the darkness of the forest.
"Kenta?" The other two looked at him with wide eyes.
"Rui and his team are on their way," he added. "I'm sure you already know who I'm talking about," he inquired as his eyes landed over Hyori. "You've fought him before, wood girl." Hyori widened her eyes. A laugh was heard.
"He's right." The members of Team Three suddenly paralyzed.
This guy! Was this the jutsu Hanako was talking about? Hyori thought, gritting her teeth.
"I never thought they would have the ability to paralyze. It'd be easier to defend myself if I could actually move," Hanako had said.
I can't move, the Senju thought worriedly as she watched the six Genin getting ready to attack.
This is bad. If we can't move, we can't defend ourselves or even fight back!, Ren thought trying to look for a way to save their team. The ninjas took out kunai with explosive tags and threw them around the paralyzed ninjas.
"I have to do something!" Hyori tried to concentrate her chakra without making hand seals. "Dammit!"
The kunai exploded but none of them got hurt thanks to a wooden shell Hyori managed to build around them just in time. Panting, she cracked a smile.
"Saved," she muttered.
"You managed to use your wood techniques without seals?" one of the ninjas commented. "Interesting."
The shell disappeared.
"However, it seems that it took a lot out of you. You're almost at your limit." Another one added.
"It looks like this won't be an interesting battle." Daichi was disappointed. "You're just a bunch of kids after all." He laughed.
"Shut up!" Hyori glared at him. "We won't lose."
"You can say whatever you want," Kenta said. "As you can see, you're clearly outnumbered. It's three against six."
"You're wrong." Another voice answered from the top of a tree. They all turned towards the provenience of it. "It's six against six." Hanako emerged from the shadows alongside her team. Rui widened his eyes upon recognizing her.
"You!" He pointed his finger at her. "You're that Uchiha brat!" Hanako focused her eyes on him as she activated her Sharingan.
"And you are the paralysis jutsu user, am I wrong?" Rui narrowed his eyes at her.
"Hanako!" Hyori called. "What are you doing here?!"
"To return the favor." The Uchiha smirked.
"We might be six against six, but you're still nothing but a bunch of kids." Kenshi commented. "We will take your scrolls. And we will dispose of you right here, right now." Hanako narrowed her eyes.
"Don't underestimate us. Looks can be deceiving, you know?"
The paralysis jutsu faded and all members of Team Three could move once again. Hyori smirked as she tightened her fist.
"And what could a girl like you do?" Kenshi inquired with a mocking tone.
"This." Hyori joined her hands in a seal. "Wood Style Technique." Wood tied around him tightly, but Kenshi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Substitution," Hyori undid the jutsu. Kenshi reappeared in another branch.
"Nice try, but you'll need a little more than that to get me." He smiled playfully. "And even more to defeat me."
"Hyori." Hanako warned. "Don't waste your chakra. These guys aren't newbies as we are; they're probably a little more 'experienced'." She glared at them.
"You realized that?" Kenshi raised an eyebrow.
"How many times have you participated in this exam?" she asked.
"This is my third." Rui said. "But Kenta and his team have been trying for almost three years. This is their sixth time." He chuckled. "They never make it past the second test." Hanako noticed that her teammates tensed.
"We don't stand a chance." Kaichi muttered worriedly.
"Well, there must be a reason while they're still here." Hanako got into a fighting stance. "They're either dumb or weak."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Everyone got ready to fight. Kenta launched a couple of shuriken towards them but they all jumped away, scattering around. Hanako felt a presence behind her and quickly turned around with a kunai in her hand, which she used to deflect her opponent's.
"I'll be your opponent!" Kenshi shouted as he attacked again. Hanako dodged and quickly made it for a run, deep into the woods, away from him. "Why are you running away?! Is the little girl afraid?"
Hanako ran even faster, knowing that Kenshi would follow. She had a plan, but she didn't want either Hyori or the rest to get involved.
"I'll take care of you, wood girl." Rui stood behind Hyori. She turned around just in time to receive a hard kick on her stomach that would send her flying backwards. She landed on her feet, and skidded to a stop.
"Suit yourself," she replied. "But I'll tell you. It won't be so easy." She made a seal. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu." She shot a strong water stream towards Rui, who covered himself among the trees. The water from the jutsu pierced all the trunks in its way but none of them got him.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu." Kenta attacked the Genin that remained with a fireball. Kazuki noticed this and quickly made hand seals for a water jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Wall." The fire died down. Through the steam, the silhouettes of the four ninja left could be seen.
"Now, now..." Kenta smirked. "Where were we?"
* * *
Hanako kept running at a blinding speed, knowing that Kenshi still followed her. She was surprised that he was able to keep up. "You know?" he suddenly said. "I'm getting tired of this little game of yours." Hanako looked sideways at him as he performed some hand seals. She narrowed her eyes with the Sharingan activated, getting ready for any kind of jutsu he might have. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." The winds around them suddenly became rougher; one hit Hanako dryly on her side and threw her towards a bunch of bushes. She landed hard on the ground and managed to get up, hiding among the trees. Hanako put her back against a tree trunk, until the winds went back to normal. When it stopped, she tilted her head to look right behind the tree, and took notice of the destruction the jutsu had caused.
"Well, if his chakra nature is wind, then I have that going for me." Hanako smirked.
"You think you can hide from me?!" Kenshi yelled. "I will destroy the entire forest if it's necessary! Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!" The wind cut through the trees like knives. Hanako was forced to leave her hideout when one of the wind knives cut through the trunk she was in. She landed in the clearing that was made, right in front of Kenshi. He chuckled. "So there you are, huh? I finally got you!" He made another hand seal.
It's now or never, Hanako thought as she made a hand seal of her own.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Kenshi made his wind rampage again.
Hanako concentrated a lot of chakra in her chest as she finally finished with the tiger seal. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" She released a big fireball from her mouth. It collided with the strong winds that Kenshi had generated and that caused a great fire that spread all around them, forming an enormous fire whirlwind.
Hanako protected herself with her arms as the expansive heat wave hit her, sending her backwards and out of the swirl. She landed face first on the ground, away from the fire. When she looked back at it, images flooded in her mind of the fire she had caused in the civilian town. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to stop blaming herself, she had no other choice.
Once the fire died down, Hanako stood up, feeling hurt by all the burns that covered her arms which she used to protect herself. She slowly walked towards Kenshi, who was lying on the ground unconscious and totally covered in serious burns just like her.
Hanako checked his weapon pouch carefully, in case he might have a scroll; and lucky for her she found an Earth scroll. She half smiled and put it away with the rest of the scrolls she carried. "Ouch..." Moving hurt like hell, but she still had to get where the others were. "Something like this won't make me leave the exams."
* * *
"Don't even think that you can run away from me!" Hyori shouted at the paralyzing jutsu user. When she thought she had found him, an earth dragon appeared out of the blue to attack her directly.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon." Rui controlled the dragon from one of the highest branches of the tree. He caught the Senju off guard with it, and dragged her over the ground carelessly until he undid the jutsu, thinking he had defeated her. When the dragon finally disappeared, Hyori was left on the ground. "I can't believe it; this was easier than what I had thought." He sighed.
"Don't flatter yourself," Hyori mumbled next to his ear, making him flinch. "This isn't over yet."
"What the heck?!' Rui jumped away from her, landing on the opposite branch.
"Look closely," Hyori said. He did so, and noticed that the body lying on the ground was actually a doll made out of wood.
"Wood Clone..." Rui muttered. "You fooled me, but⎯" He didn't get to finish his phrase when Hyori landed a punch square on his face. The force made him lose his balance and fall off the branch; but, before he hit the ground, Hyori continued to hit him and finish him off. She focused her chakra on her foot and kicked him so hard that when he landed on the ground, he crated it. Rui was left unconscious, while Hyori landed swiftly behind him.
"That's what you get for making fun of me," Hyori stuck her tongue at him in a childish manner. Then she turned on her heels, and returned to the group.
* * *
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Kenta attacked the remaining Genin with his fire jutsu. Kazuki quickly made some hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Wall!" He managed to turn down the fire. Through the vapor left from the clash of both techniques, the silhouettes of the four attackers appeared.
"Shit...We're done for..." Kaichi muttered worriedly. "The only one capable of using Ninjutsu is Kazuki, but he can't face the four of them alone!"
"Ninjutsu isn't the only way we can beat them," Ren said calmly. "There are other ways, calm down."
"How can you ask me to calm down?!" The blond shouted. Kenta made hand seals again.
"Dammit..." Kazuki fell on his knees. "I'm on my limit..." He panted. "I can't keep up with him. He's using too much fire jutsus and he has a lot more chakra than I."
"I guess now I can finally attack you all at once." Kenta ended his seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He exhaled small fireballs that were all directed towards the Genin but were intercepted by an earth wall that appeared before them.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Hiroki showed up, followed by Itachi and Koharu who stood at his side. "Don't worry. We came to help you." Hiroki smiled at them. They sighed gratefully. "Where are your friends?" he asked once he noticed that Hanako and the other girl were missing.
"Rui and Kenshi should be taking care of them." Kenta answered. "Probably by now they should be begging for mercy somewhere deep in the forest." He chuckled.
"Hanako isn't that kind of person..." Takeshi hissed. "She's not weak like you are!" He glared. "The one that should be begging for mercy is the one from your team of stupid buttheads!"
"Takeshi!" Kazuki placed a hand over his mouth. "Do not provoke him!" Kenta chuckled.
"We'll see about that." While they were chatting, one of Rui's comrades was making some hand seals.
"Lightning Style: Thunderbolt!" From his palms lightning emerged that destroyed Hiroki's wall.
"Well done, Souta. You have improved your Lightning Style." Kenta commented with a grin.
"Thank you, Kenta-san." He replied with a nod.
"I wonder how your techniques are going, Daichi, Rikuto..." the aforementioned looked at him wide-eyed and then at the ground. "I see...too bad."
"There's something strange with these guys," Itachi commented as he focused on their combat abilities.
"What is it, Itachi-kun?" Koharu asked.
"Their chakra control, the way they attack..." Itachi narrowed his eyes as he eyed closely their headband. They all belonged to Iwagakure. "These guys can't be Genin." All the rookies looked at him wide-eyed.
"Hanako thought about it as well..." Ren commented. "However, she simply categorized them as more 'experienced' Genin."
Hiroki suddenly realized what Itachi had just said. "No, Itachi's right." He looked seriously at the ninjas. "Not even a Genin is that experienced. Your techniques are almost Chuunin level. But what are Chuunin doing in the Chuunin Exams?"
Kenta laughed. "I'm flattered to know that you think we're Chuunin, but we're not." He cracked a playful smile. "We're just Genin who received a special training that you Konoha brats could never understand. We're prepared for a real battle, not just a game play."
"I suppose we have no other choice." Hiroki muttered. "Itachi, we have to use that combination." Itachi nodded; they immediately started performing hand seals.
"Earth Style: Flying Spears!" Hiroki made sharp stone spears appear from the ground, moving rapidly towards them.
"Fire Style: Great Firebaill Jutsu!" At the same time, Itachi created a fireball that lit the spears in fire as they went through it. The ninjas were attacked by a rain of fire spears, which could get through any defense, some getting through them as well. They were left unable to move, lying still on the ground.
"It's over." Itachi said as he walked towards them to check the bodies. "They're out." Hiroki checked each one of their pouches, only to find a Heaven scroll in Souta's.
"Shit, it's the same as ours." He clicked his tongue.
"That works for us." Ren commented. "We have an Earth scroll." Without giving it a second thought, Hiroki passed him the scroll.
"Hiroki, what are you doing?" Koharu widened her eyes at her teammate. "You can always take both scrolls from them." Hiroki shook his head.
"I don't want to fight them; and they deserve it after what they had to go through."
"Yeah sure... I did all the work." Kazuki scoffed. Hiroki chuckled at this.
Hyori suddenly appeared through the trees, calling everyone's attention. Kaichi and Ren ran up to her.
"Hyori! Guess what?" Kaichi exclaimed excitedly. "We did it! We have both scrolls!" However, she ignored him as she looked everywhere for a certain brunette.
"Where's Hanako?"
* * *
Hanako walked slowly over to a tree. All the burns in her arms hurt like hell and she felt like she couldn't continue anymore. She rested her back against the trunk and took long and deep breaths to calm her panting. Hanako closed her eyes for a second, but then felt a presence lurking over her, as if it were watching her.
She opened her eyes again, and observed her surroundings cautiously. There appeared to be nothing. Hanako frowned and decided to continue her way, when she felt the presence again. This time she turned around as fast as she could, but she only had time to see a strange white figure as it morphed into the tree. She narrowed her eyes at it.
"How weird..." she muttered, turning her back to it and continuing her way back. Maybe it was just exhaustion playing with her mind. The figure didn't show up again.
Hanako finally made it to where everyone was, finding all opponents to be knocked out. She sighed relieved. "Where's Hanako?" she heard Hyori ask.
"Right here," she muttered barely audibly as she walked into the clearing they were in, always careful not to mistreat her burns.
"Hanako!" Takeshi ran up to her with worry having stricken his face. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah..." she nodded. "These are just a couple of burns..." She flinched when Takeshi touched one of them.
"This will help you." Ren walked up to her, pulling out an object from his pouch. "This is a special ointment my mother gave me just in case. It'll help you heal the burns faster," he said as he applied it on her skin; it felt good. He also covered her arms in bandages. After that, he put a little ointment on her cheek, which hurt the most. Hanako hadn't noticed that she had a burn there as well. Ren also covered it with a band aid. "All done, you should feel better." He smiled.
"Yeah...Although I feel like a mummy," Hanako commented as she eyes the bandages around her arms.
"Stop complaining." Hyori sighed. "Ren was kind enough to help you, now you should thank him." Hanako looked over at the boy and smiled.
"Thank you," she said and he nodded.
"No problem."
Hanako started to feel dizzy all of a sudden and had to grab a hold onto Takeshi so she wouldn't fall to the ground. "I think you should rest, Hanako." She heard Hiroki's voice as if it spoke from afar.
"Rest?" Hanako laughed. "I'm perfectly fine!" The sudden movement she made had dizzied her more. She had to hold her head, she felt it wouldn't stop moving around. "I...am..." Hanako felt too tired to be awake. "Fine..." she muttered finally, letting herself be consumed by darkness.