We arrived at the tower a day later. Asuma greeting us with a proud smile.
"Not bad you three." He chuckled. We waited a few more days before the exam ended and all the teams that passed were there. Everyone from our graduating class was there. Sasuke was looking across from the other squads at me, but I ignored him. The strange power he wielded in the forest...the black markings everything about it sent shivers down my spine. I zoned back into the Hokage's speech when someone interrupted to explain that there was going to be a preliminary round to narrow down the finalists. A screen appeared from the wall.
"The matches will be decided at random." The proctor explained. The first match was Sasuke versus another Leaf Village shinobi. While he did win, that strange power had started to take control of him again. After the fight Kakashi took him away.
Finally my name had appeared by the most esteemed member to come out of the Hyuga Clan, Neji.
"Amaya and Neji come down." He had graduated a year before us and I knew he was strong. I walked down the stairs, walking to stand face-to-face with him. "I have the authority to stop the match at any time. If you're both ready you may begin." I jumped back as he took his stance.
"Scared?" He mocked with a smirk.
"Hardly." I spat back. I didn't want to use the Sharingan yet. I wouldn't last long in a drawn out fight. I made the fireball hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The fireballs went straight towards him. His movements were flawless as he dodged all the attacks.
"Is that all you can do?" I glared at him. "One of the last of Uchiha. You're nothing more than a joke to one of the Leaf Village's greatest clans." This drew me over the edge, the Sharingan appeared. My body moved instinctively, he was standing still. I knew there was a weakness to the Byugugan. I went behind him, punching him into the wall. "Wait you know about--" I didn't let him finish I went to make my genjutsu hand signs, but he appeared in front of me quickly, slamming his hand against my chest. Blood coughed out of my throat. "Not quick enough." I smirked, finishing the hand signs. He froze as the effects of the jutsu started. I backed away as my chest flared up in pain. My mouth filled with blood. I looked up at the proctor as Neji broke the genjutsu.
"I give up." I stated as I collapsed to my knees. My chest continued to hurt as blood continued to fill my mouth.
"Amaya!" Shikamaru and Choji jumped down to me. Asuma following as the medical ninja started coming to assess my injuries. Neji's hit must have damaged one of my organs. I coughed up some blood on to the floor in front of me.
"Were you trying to kill her?!" Choji yelled at him.
"Choji, its fine. If I had wanted to dodge it I would have." I muttered. The medical ninjas started assessing my body.
"She's got a collapsed lung, one of her ribs puncturing the other." That would explain why it was getting harder to breathe. They took me away on a stretcher, Neji watching me go the whole way, but instead of having a smirk on his face he had one of concern. What I had shown him with the genjutsu was enough for him to understand that I wasn't as weak as he thought I was.
The pain had become too much for me and I eventually passed out.
~
When I came to I was in a hospital bed, Shikamaru and Choji standing there.
"Choji...Shik..." I cut off coughing slightly as my chest burned.
"Hey don't try to talk yet, you're fresh out of surgery." I gave them a small nod. I pointed at a notepad on the table beside my bed, Shikamaru getting the picture and handing it to me with a pen.
How did your matches go? I wrote down.
"Shikamaru won his and I...well I lost." Choji chuckled a little.
You'll have to pay Neji back for me if you face him. I smiled at Shikamaru.
"Amaya...you told Choji you could have dodged that attack so why didn't you?" I looked down.
I can't show my full strength to people. It would give away the presence of the... I didn't finish the sentence on the page but they understood. I couldn't let the Ruby be exposed, especially with other Village's Genin attending the exams.
"Is Asuma coming by or is he busy?" Choji asked Shikamaru.
"He said he was going to, but with the exams a month away he probably has some important security missions to do before then."
Will you be training? I held the pad up to them.
"Yeah my dad wants to show me a new jutsu, its a real drag."
What about you Choji?
"Maybe, I did want to ask Asuma if he would help me." I smiled at both of them.
I'm sure you both will get a lot stronger. They both smiled at me. When are they going to release me? I wrote next.
"They want to make sure you're okay to move around before releasing you. A nurse is going to come by in a little bit to see. My dad and I are going to come back later to see if they'll release you since you're staying with us and we'll be able to take care of you." I felt bad for being such a burden on his family, but they all had been so nice to me in the time I had been staying with them.
With that they both left and I laid my head against the pillow again, waiting for the nurse to come to assess if I was good enough to be released into the Nara's care.
~
Three hours later*
Shikamaru and his father returned just as he said, the nurse had said I would be okay to be released, but had extreme restrictions. I wasn't allowed to go for long walks, as it would be difficult on my patched up lungs. I couldn't eat anything hot for the time being due to the issues with my ribs. Overall, I was being put on house arrest.
Shikamaru helped me get up, but his father was the one who lifted me up to carry me back to the house. When we got there he set me down so I could walk inside myself. I frowned and took a few steps before I felt the pain in my lungs, Shikamaru caught me gently before I could fall over.
"Thank you..." I muttered as he helped me inside the house and to my room.
"No problem. Are you alright?"
"People have been asking me that ever since my clan was slaughtered. I've never been alright." I whispered, looking away from him.
"Amaya..."
"I'll be fine, you don't have to stay and wait on me hand and foot. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself." I stated harshly and laid down in the bed.
"I know you're doing this to push people away." He stated matter-of-factly.
"You think you know everything about me, but you don't." I didn't look at him.
"You're afraid of losing the people you care about again, what you showed Neji in the genjutsu, it was what happened that night. I could see it in your eyes, I could see it in the look on his face as you were carried out. I know it pained you to show him that, but you did it because you wanted to prove that-"
"Enough!!" I yelled at him, I could feel the pain and burning in my chest as I pushed my lungs. My eyes started to water with fresh tears.
"Do you really think its going to be any different if you shut out the world? That's not what your dad would have wanted." This made me lose it.
"How would you know!? You never knew him!" I glared at him as I jumped up, which caused me a lot of pain and discomfort. The tears were now streaming down my cheeks.
"Then tell me, let someone in!" He yelled back this time. I flinched back, I had never heard him yell before like this. It seemed to startle his family as well as his father rushed to the room to see what was going on.
"I..." I looked away. "I want to be alone." I turned away from them and went to lay back in bed. Shikamaru stormed out of the room leaving his father looking confused.
"Amaya? What happened?"
"We had an argument."
"I can see that, about what?"
"My past..." And with that his dad walked away, shutting the door behind him. Most likely to speak with his son. I laid my head against the pillow and looked out the window. The sun was starting to set, but I felt hollow and empty inside. How would you deal with something that traumatized you so badly that it left you feeling alone and afraid of everyone you trust or care about? Its not as easy to understand when you haven't lived through it yourself.
I'm sorry Shikamaru, but there are somethings that are better left unsaid.