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Chapter 20: The Day It Began
The sun rose happily over Konoha and for the first time in a long time, it found Sasuke resting just as happily in bed.
He rose and raced to get dressed and meet Naruto for breakfast.
Tomorrow was the first day of this year’s Chuunin Exam, and there was so much to do. They had to print out the tests for the first part, write out the jutsus for the second, and clean the tower and the stadium. He still wondered why he volunteered.
But first there was a meeting with Tsunade.
Every Jounin assigned to the Chuunin Exam was there. There were a few ANBU kept on hand because of last time’s antics, including himself, Neji, Sakura, and Naruto.
After the meeting, they each raced off to their separate jobs, Sasuke and Naruto racing to the center of the Forest of Death.
All but for those eyes, the intelligent silver-blue eyes that watched every move he made.
Hakai knew in his heart that he’d just adopted another child.
Takara and Takao were ecstatic to have a little sister and Emasi had just looked at him sideways before smiling.
She whimpered and he rocked her gently.
“Hush, little one, you are safe. Nothing to worry about.”
She hushed, her gaze never leaving his, so intelligent.
“What shall we call you now?”
He stood and walked over to the window where the sun was just rising. There were still many stars shining in the sky. In view of those stars, the tiny babe looked away from him and into that black-blue abyss.
Hakai followed her gaze to the bright Polaris.
“Do you like that star? It is a guide to all, the North Star.”
Then he smiled. “Yes, my little Kita, you have chosen your name. Kitahoshi, my little North Star.”
“So that is her name now? Kita?”
Hakai nodded to his brother. “She will have a much better childhood than ours. I promise that.”
Emasi smiled as Kita smiled at him, giggling around the bottle.
“We are not prepared for such a little visitor.”
Hakai smiled at the tiny addition to their household.
“Then we shall have to prepare won’t we?”
Then something Emasi was not quite prepared for happened. Hakai began coughing, cradling Kita in one arm while he covered his mouth with the other. It could’ve been just a regular cough, but not when blood began to leak between his fingers.
Emasi should’ve been expecting it. For all the chakra he’d used against Akatsuki, Hakai had not yet paid.
Somehow, he managed to catch both Kita and Hakai as his brother collapsed.
Hakai looked up at his brother.
“You’ll be all right alone with Kita?”
Emasi smiled. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
Then Hakai and the Gen’ei San set out for Konoha and the Chuunin Exams, along with several other Genin groups.
After going through the tedious task of finding each of them a place to stay, Sasuke headed to the gate to make sure no more were coming. Dressed fully in his ANBU gear, he landed in front of Kotetsu who was staring forward with a very bored look on his face.
“Any more?”
Kotetsu sighed. “I’ve been here an hour with no more showing up. Hey, wait a minute.”
They could see a group of about ten coming towards the gate. There was a basic order but three were prominent as the group grew closer.
When they stopped in front of the table, Kotetsu looked at his list.
“Are you the group from Shizukonogakure?”
The Jounin leader nodded but now that Sasuke looked at him, he didn’t really look like a Jounin.
He wore a short sleeve fish-net shirt with a black vest over that, black capris, and bandages around his left ankle with the simple sandals worn by most shinobi. Besides the forehead protector he wore around his left arm, he gave no other sign of rank.
He also wore his hair back in a short ponytail; it was silver, striped with deep orange and black. He had green cats’ eyes.
When Kotetsu inquired as to his name, he responded without question.
“Hakai Neko.”
Kotetsu blinked but wrote it down anyway. Sasuke flipped through the files in his hands until he came to Silence’s folder.
“Follow me,”
The other genins followed him for a few steps.
“One moment,”
Sasuke stopped and looked at Hakai, who had spoke. Hakai was looking towards one of the genins.
“Takao?”
Takao nodded and stepped forward. Sasuke couldn’t help but smother a gasp as the Sharingan filled the boy’s eyes. He gazed around the village and then nodded, letting his eyes fade back to china blue.
“I’ve memorized it,” Takao stated to his father.
Sasuke said nothing but kept walking, his head spinning in thought.
“Been a while since we were here, huh?”
Hakai nodded, looking up and around. “Seemed bigger then.”
Kaiya nodded as well, looking up at the sky. “It looks like rain.”
Hakai followed her gaze and nodded. “It shouldn’t last long though.”
He reached an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him as she rested her hands on his chest.
Looking up, she smiled. “Why is it always raining?”
For an answer, Hakai gently pressed his lips to hers.
Sitting on the hill behind her house, Kaiya closed her eyes and remembered her own Chuunin Exam.
Sora Hahli, he was sure her name was.
He couldn’t help but walk over to her.
“Sora-sumisu-san,”
She turned and looked at him. Solid black eyes met solid white.
“Hyuuga-san,” she replied.
“Are you all right?”
She turned back to the wall she’d been standing in front of.
“I’m fine.”
Neji searched his head for a reason to stay but couldn’t find one.
“You don’t want to stay out too late, Sora-san. The Chuunin Exams begin early this year.”
“I’m not too worried. We are just taking it as a formality.”
Neji stopped in his retreat. “Ah?”
She nodded. “Takao, Takara, and I are all past Jounin level but since Shizukanogakure was only recently recognized, we haven’t been able to test. This is going to be a breeze for us.”
Neji couldn’t help but stare. Uchiha Takao and Suta Takara were both barely 13 years old.
“H-How old are you?”
She turned. “I’m 17. And don’t call me Sora again. My name is Hahli.”
Neji gave her a small smile. “Hahli-san,”
“And what’s your name unless you want me to continue to call you Hyuuga.”
“It’s Neji…Hyuuga Neji.”
“Konbanwa, Neji-kun.”
Neji blinked at the honorific but she was already walking away.
Sasuke was sitting in the middle of his bed, the file for the three genin from Silence spread out in front of him.
Sora Hahli was a specialist in ninjutsu with extraordinary skill in taijutsu and recognition of genjutsus.
Suta Takara had little to no information on her, only that she specialized in combos of gen and taijutsus.
“Uchiha Takao,” Sasuke said to the empty room.
They didn’t even try to hide his clan name. And today he had used the Sharingan without a second thought. In all other instances, Uchiha Takao was completely blind.
Surprisingly, Sasuke smiled. “I can’t wait to see you fight…Takao.”
Without undressing or even clearing his bed, Sasuke turned and lay in the available space, asleep before his head hit the pillow.
The red head in the center of the formation smiled at the Heaven scroll he’d obtained and sighed.
“Shut it, Akiro. Don’t be such a whiney baby.”
“I don’t know, Chiko-sama, those Konoha-nins looked really good.”
“It’s their fault for letting their guard down.”
“Honestly, I’d be happier if he was bitching about it.”
“Would it be possible for you two to be quieter?”
The three halted as their leader knelt to the ground, examining minuscule signs of their quarry’s passing.
“Easy for you to say! You practically hand our scroll to those brats…”
“…don’t tell us…”
“…wait like ten minutes…”
“…then randomly…”
“…stand up and tell us, ‘Oh, by the way, those guys have got our scroll and we’ve got to go get it back!’ What the hell!?”
He stood. “You said you wanted a challenge. We’ve only been genins three months and Sensei already put us in for the Chuunin Exam. Next thing you know, we’ll all be ANBU. Let’s teach a kid a lesson for once.”
The second male of the three shrugged. “At least we can practice our tracking.”
The girl shrugged as well. “No crying over thrown kunais, I guess.”
“Chiko-sama!”
He slid to a stop. “What is it this time, Akiro?”
She looked worried and San stopped to adjust his glasses.
“We’re in a genjutsu, a very elaborate one as well.”
Just then the air to the left shimmered and just as they made it into formation, a young man stepped through. They could tell from his outfit, hair, and skin tone that he was an Uchiha.
He raised his head and smiled slightly. “Oh, hi.”
Chiko stepped forward, angry. “You don’t just step out of a genjutsu and say ‘Oh, hi.’”
“You have my scroll.”
Chiko blinked and now that he looked twice, he recognized the ninja.
“This…this is your genjutsu.”
“Not really. If you had better eyes, you’d realize that the chakra creating this genjutsu and my own are completely different.”
Akiro and San were backing up. “He’s scary,”
“Orusai!" Chiko yelled at the two behind him then turned to face the Uchiha. "If you want your scroll back, you’ll have to fight for it!”
“Doshite?”
Chiko blinked. “Doshite? What the hell do you mean, why!?”
“You didn’t fight to take it, why should I fight to take it back?”
“I don’t care what you had to do! You aren’t…”
“Kanashibari no Jutsu.”
Akiro screamed as Chiko froze, staring forward, seeing nothing. The Uchiha walked forward and took his scroll from the bag on Chiko’s shoulder and yet ignored the Earth scroll of their team.
“Kai,” he said, knocking Chiko over as he said it.
Akiro ran to the fallen Chiko and stared up at the Uchiha.
“He’ll be fine, Akiro was it?”
“H-Hai.”
He turned and knelt next to her. “Akiro, remember. Never protect someone you wouldn’t be willing to protect for the rest of your life.”
He stood and walked back towards the place he’d came. San ran forward.
“Wait, what’s your name?”
“Hm?”
“Shouldn’t we know who defeated us?”
“The Erito Uchiha San, and my name is Uchiha Itachi.”
San hitched a breath and Akiro bit her lip. Itachi waved at them as he turned away.
“Jaa mata, San, Akiro, Chiko-kun,”
Then he was gone.
Tsunade stood when they entered. “Good, everyone is here.”
It was to the two shinobi that Sasuke’s gaze was drawn as Tsunade began her little speech. Hakai was sitting cross-legged dressed much as he was the day before with his hands resting lightly on his knees while the two shinobi knelt behind him, their heads down though they listened.
Instead of what you could call normal shinobi dress, consisting of lightweight clothing and gear, the two were dressed in midnight black dougi. One had blondish short hair and wore dual katanas over his shoulder. The other had long brown hair, held back away from his face and had a bo staff as his only visible weapon. Both were lean and of an average height.
“It is rare we have a visiting Kage to stay with us the entire time,” Sasuke heard Tsunade say. “But I’m glad you’re here, Hakai.”
“When you told me about what happened last time, Tsunade-san, I was glad to lend a hand.”
Tsunade nodded to Hakai’s remark. “In honor of the recent alliance between Silence and Leaf, Hakai has placed shinobi from his village in a perimeter about 150 feet from the village wall. We also have discreetly placed alarms throughout the surrounding lands. If anyone approaches during the Exam, we’ll know.”
Hakai nodded.
“Now, Hakai,” Tsunade continued. “Would you introduce the gentlemen behind you?”
Hakai laughed. “Oh, I forgot. Apparently my brother doesn’t trust me not to get into trouble.”
Shizune smiled and Naruto laughed. Even Neji gave a small smile.
“Anyway,” Hakai continued. “These two are from the KnS, sort of like your ANBU. The blond on my right is Doku Atsuishi and the one on my left is Suta Koji.”
The one named Atsuishi straightened a bit and raised a hand over his head, grinning.
“Sorry for the short notice, Godaime-sama, but Emasi-san didn’t tell us we were following Hakai-sama until the group had already left.”
Tsunade couldn’t help but smile. “Well, the Exams are about to begin. I suggest everyone head on to their places. Hakai, would you like to join me for breakfast?”
Hakai stood as the others did. “Not a bad idea, Tsunade-san.”
Sasuke hadn’t yet stood up but his gaze was still fastened on the two…KnS, Hakai had called them? They’d appeared quiet and demure before but they weren’t completely submissive. Atsuishi had an arm around his companion and was talking energetically about something while Koji seemed rather subdued, almost worried.
Suta Koji…wait! Wasn’t Kaiya’s married name Suta? Could he be related to her husband?
“Come on, Sasuke! You said you’d judge the first exam!”
He heard Naruto and he followed Naruto but he didn’t like the way this exam was turning out either.
Morino Ibiki finished explaining the rules of the first Chuunin Exam but Sasuke never really heard him.
“All right…begin!”
The Chuunin Exams had begun, come what may.
“Atsuishi, Koji, why did Emasi send you?”
The carefree act all of them had put on was gone. Koji was particularly silent, green eyes piercing through the darkness.
“He is worried,” Atsuishi answered, golden eyes flashing, his gaze narrowing.
“Orochimaru,” Koji continued. “Orochimaru left the Sound Village late last night. Early this morning, one of our refuge towns was found destroyed, with a message scrawled in blood on the floors of the huts, in every home.”
Atsuishi handed Hakai a small piece of paper. Opening it, all the color drained from the Kage’s face.
“Hakai-sama!”
Atsuishi managed to steady the faint shinobi but he could not stop Hakai’s hands from shaking or the steady fear that crept into his eyes.
“H-He…He knows…”
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