Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Kai honey! Time to get up!” Fumiko called from downstairs to her daughter, stirring the tween awake.

Kai grumbled, rubbing at her emerald green eyes as she rolled out of bed. “I’m up… I’m up.” With a yawn, she started to brush out her long silver hair before putting it up in a simple braid, fighting with a stubborn piece of hair that refused to lay flat. She wore a light blue crop top with the clan symbol on her back over a fishnet armor shirt, khaki pants that were cuffed to the ankles, and fishnet fingerless gloves.

After finally waking up and coming to her senses, she realized what day it was. Graduation Day! With renewed energy she raced down the stairs. “Morning Mama!”

Fumiko smiled, her emerald eyes shining in the morning light, jet black hair tucked behind her ear. “Hurry up and eat darling, don’t want to be late.”

The girl rolled her eyes playfully and scarfed down her breakfast. “Shikamaru will probably slow me down, since everything is always so troublesome with him.” She shared a laugh with her mother. “Do you think Papa will be back in time for the ceremony?”

Fumiko hummed, finishing up a bento box for the young shinobi. “He wouldn't miss it for the world. Here’s your lunch.” She kissed Kai on the cheek, sending her off to the Academy.

As the kunoichi wandered, so did her thoughts. She knew she had a high chance of graduating. Her ninjutsu and taijutsu were top notch among the class and she was working on being able to cast and dispel genjutsu. She just needed her father to stop taking missions and actually train her.

“Earth to Kai.” A bored voice snapped her back to reality, her eyes focusing on the figure in front of her.

“Is that? No… It can’t be. Who are you and what did you do to my Shika-kun ? He would never be awake this early!” She teased, sticking her tongue out and poking him in the chest.

Shikamaru huffed and muttered under his breath, flicking the girl’s forehead. “Troublesome woman.”

Kai winced and rubbed at her forehead but refused to back down. “I know that’s code for ‘I value our friendship’ Shika. Can’t fool me! But seriously, I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of your bed again.” She matched his stride as they continued down the path towards the academy.

“My mom made me wake up early so I wouldn’t miss out on the test today… man what a drag .” He folded his hands behind his head, pace slowing as he caught sight of a cloud in the sky.

“Come on Shika, after this we don’t have to go back to the academy! We’ll be genin and we can go on missions and train and get strong! No more tests or homework!” She hated homework. “Papa said once I get my headband he’ll teach me a new jutsu!”

Shikamaru groaned. “My old man has been trying to get me to train, it’s-”

“ Such a drag .” Kai chuckled. “I think I need to get you a thesaurus. Upgrade that vocab a little Shika.”

He only rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. The pair walked the rest of the way into the academy in comfortable silence.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. The written test had some trick questions in there, but nothing Kai couldn’t handle. Then came the final test: Clones.

One by one classmates were called into a separate room to perform the clone jutsu.

“Hagakure Kai.”

The young girl jumped up, a smile plastered on her face. “Ready sensei!” She practically skipped to the test room, standing in the center.

Kai took a breath, focusing her chakra and making the Ram hand sign. “Clone Jutsu!” Suddenly three perfect copies of herself appeared next to her.

“Great job Kai. You pass!” Iruka smiled, handing her the leaf headband.

The grin on her face spread from ear-to-ear as she bowed. “Thank you Iruka-sensei.” Once she was out of the room, however, she squealed and jumped around, admiring the headband. She tied it around her forehead and wrinkled her nose. Papa always has it around his forehead but this feels weird… She shrugged, leaving it there for now as she made her way outside to the waiting parents.

Kai scanned the crowd, spotting Ino with her family first, followed by Choji and his father, and Shikamaru and his parents. She bit her lip and picked at the hem of her shirt, trying to spot the silver hair of her father. Maybe his mission took longer than expected… All of a sudden she was lifted high into the air and tossed over a shoulder, only a squeak falling from her lips before she met her mother’s emerald eyes. 

“Mama!” She turned and locked eyes with Kaizuma Hagakure and giggled. “Papa! You made it!”

The older man chuckled, squeezing her tight before letting her back onto solid ground. His bright purple eyes sparkled in the sunset, Jonin vest and uniform still dirty from the mission. “Of course, firefly. Wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” He poked her cheek; their little sign for ‘I love you’, and walked his family over to his old teammates.

“Well well well, look at what the cat dragged in.” Shikaku chuckled, slapping Kaizuma on the back. “Successful mission?”

“I’m here aren’t I?” Kaizuma stretched his arms out, back popping in the process. “Looks like we’ll have a mini Team Ino-Shika-Cho-Kai, huh?”

Inoichi cleared his throat. “Let us hope. Kai here seems more combat forward than you were in our academy days.”

Kai smiled, though the thought of not getting on the same team as her friends upset her a little. Kaizuma must have picked up on that and ruffled her hair. 

“How about some dinner, eh? My treat.” Chozo chimed in, and of course Choji agreed heartily.

Everyone was enjoying their BBQ together, celebrating the newest genin graduates and wishing them bright futures. Kai couldn’t help but wonder what her future really held. Whatever it is… I can’t wait.

Chapter Text

Kai woke up bright and early the next day, corralling her hair into her standard braid. She attempted to tie the headband on her forehead again but it just felt wrong. After fiddling around with it for a while, she settled on tying it around her left thigh right above her kunai pouch, fixing her hip pouch to her right side.

She rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, finding her parents at the table with breakfast. “Morning!” She grinned at the pair, kissing them both on the cheek.

“Mornin’ firefly. Ready to get assigned?”

“‘Course I am, Dad! When I get home can we work on the Heaven’s Arrow Jutsu some more?”

Her father smiled and ruffled her hair. “Sure thing, little bug. Go make sure that Nara boy is awake, yeah?”

Kai grinned, heading off to the Nara compound, the sun bouncing off the freckles scattered across her face and shoulders. She stretched her arms out, resting her hands on the back of her neck, humming to herself as she basked in the sunlight. 

“Good Morning Kai.” Yoshino-sama called out from the deck of the Nara’s house. “Shikamaru is still asleep.”

“Well let’s get him up then shall we?” Kai smirked, cracking her knuckles. She took a deep breath and Yoshino covered her ears. “ Shiiiikaaaaaaa waaaaaake uuuup! ” She heard a thunk above her and knew she accomplished her mission. A few moments later, a furious Shikamaru appeared at the front door.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Kai chirped, grinning from ear to ear.

“You troublesome woman…” He grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Yeah yeah, come on I don’t wanna be late!” She tugged at his arm to which he retaliated by swatting at the piece of hair sticking out of her hair. “ HEY !” Her face turned beet red and she covered her hair, following behind Shikamaru.

They eventually met up with Choji; the three of them walking in relative silence. Except of course Choji’s chips. 

As they entered the classroom, however, the air filled with chatter. There was a large crowd of girls surrounding Sasuke Uchiha. Choji and Shikamaru ignored the scene and sat, Kai investigating a little further. She had always felt bad for Sasuke but knew better than to even attempt to talk to him. His fangirls were crazy scary. 

She looked around the room and noticed a few faces missing. Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto made sense; he was almost always late. But Ino and Sakura usually beat Kai to the academy. She shrugged and sat on the other side of Shikamaru, reclining back and trying to ease her nerves for the upcoming team assignments.

“Surprised you’re not in that crowd trying to sit next to Sasuke.” Shikamaru muttered, leaning against his arm on the table and attempting to go back to sleep.

Kai scoffed. “Please. Short, dark, and brooding over there? So not my type.” She closed her eyes, missing the look Choji gave Shikamaru.

Akimichi decided to speak up. “Oh yeah? What is your type Kai-chan?” He snickered at the jolt through her body.

“That’s a need to know basis… and you guys definitely don’t need to know.” She turned away from the boys, trying to hide her red face.

Thankfully before either boy could try to pry further, Naruto came bursting into the room.

“Outta the way losers! Future Hokage comin’ through!” He announced, grinning like a mad-man.

Kai rolled her eyes and Shikamaru jolted up. “Hey Naruto, you can’t be here. No dropouts allowed.”

“Shika be nice.” Kai muttered half-heartedly. “He’s got a headband.”

“Yeah Shikamaru, listen to your girlfriend why dontcha? This is a regulation headband which means I graduated! Believe it!”

Naruto shouldn’t have said that.

Kai was out of her seat and behind Naruto in a flash. “Idiot.” She decked him in the back of the head, making him land on his face, before returning to her seat.

Naruto shambled to the bench and sat next to Sasuke right as the door flung open again. Ino and Sakura were shoving each other out of the way to try to get in first. So that explains why they were late…

The girls were bickering over who made it in first and were actively trying to prevent the other from making their way to Sauske’s table. Sakura ended up breaking away and shoved Naruto out of the way, attempting to slide her way next to King Angst but now the other girls weren’t having it.

“It’s too early for this.” Shika grumbled.

“Agreed.” Kai nodded, crossing her arms. That was until Naruto hopped up on the desk in front of Sasuke. “Shika… Shika look.” And as if on cue, the poor soul in front of Naruto leaned back, shoving him face-first into Sasuke.

Kai was frozen. Naruto and Sasuke were kissing. They were kissing right in front of all the girls in their class. 

“Aw how cute. Their first kiss.” Kai snickered, immediately getting death-glares from every girl (except Hinata who looked frozen in shock, poor thing). Thankfully their rage was redirected at the gagging Naruto who got the beating of a lifetime.

Finally Iruka-sensei arrived to announce the teams. A few people seemed surprised that we’d be broken up into teams. “We have an odd number of people so one team will consist of four of you.” He started to announce the squads, the girls trying to hide their disappointment when they didn’t end up on a team with Sasuke.

“Squad Seven. Naruto Uzumaki… Sakura Haruno…” Oof… Poor Sakura “And Sasuke Uchiha.” Nope.. Poor Sasuke.. Definitely poor sasuke.

“Squad Eight. Hinata Hyuga. Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame.” Oh heck no thank you lords above for not putting me on a team with Shino. Kai shuddered. She vaguely heard Ino and Shikamaru bickering but was too focused on the next squad.

“Squad Ten. Ino Yamanaka. Shikamaru Nara. Choji Akimichi.” Wait but- “And because we have an odd number of people this year, Kai Hagakure.” YES! “After lunch you will all meet your Jonin teachers. Until then, class dismissed.”

“Hey Ino! Wanna join Me, Shika and Choji for lunch?” Kai jumped up, waving her bento.

Ino rolled her eyes playfully. “I guess so. Looks like I’m stuck with you, huh?”

Kai threw her arms around her new teammate, grin spreading from ear to ear. Kai and Ino hadn’t really been close growing up; Kai preferred the calming company of Shikamaru while Ino enjoyed playing around with Sakura… until a certain boy came into the picture and the two decided they were mortal enemies.

Team Ten made their way to one of the balconies for lunch, Ino yammering on about following her lead. Kai and Shikamaru shared a look and rolled their eyes. 

“Huh?” Shikamaru looked out towards one of the open windows. “What the heck is Naruto doing?”

Kai leaned forward on the railing right as Naruto jumped Sasuke. “Woah!”

Then as soon as it started, Sasuke hopped back out of the window. “Yeah serves you right Naruto!” Ino cheered.

“Alright… Who’s gonna check on Numbskull?” Kai muttered, looking at her teammates who quickly averted their gaze. “Alright, guess I’m doing it.”

She hopped over to the room and doubled over laughing. Naruto wasn’t beaten to a pulp; Sasuke was tied up! How did that idiot manage to outsmart the number one in their class?

Kai crouched down next to Sasuke, twirling a kunai in her hand. “Maybe I should send Ino in to help you out, huh Sasuke-kun ?” She snorted when he shook his head, taking pity on the poor emo boy and cutting through the ropes.

“I’m going to kill him.” Sasuke muttered, hands already formed into fists.

“Don’t do that. Then I might have to join your team. You don’t want that, trust me.” Kai stretched and gave Sasuke a two-fingered salute before hopping back out the window to rejoin her team.

They made their way back to the classroom to wait on their sensei.

A tall man with dark hair and an impressive beard entered, cigarette lazily hanging by his lips.

“Team Ten?”

Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kai stood, following their new sensei outside to the training grounds.

“Alright guys, I’m Asuma. I’ll be your sensei from here on out. How about we break the ice a little. Why don’t you all introduce yourselves?”

Choji raised his hand. “Uh…. like how, sensei?”

“I’ll go first. My name is Asuma Sarutobi. I like to play Shogi, and I dislike asparagus. Something like that, yeah?” Asuma smiled softly at the team, waiting for someone to speak up first.

Kai glanced at her teammates and sighed. “I guess I’ll go first, sensei. My name is Kai Hagakure. I like stargazing and dango and I really hate natto. I wanna work on my genjutsu skills.” She smiled softly, folding her hands in her lap.

After that it was like dominoes falling; Ino, then Choji followed by a very reluctant Shikamaru.

“Alright. Meet me here tomorrow at 8 am with your full ninja gear. You’ll have your first mission.” Asuma sparked up his lighter, his cigarette glowing amber at then end

“Um… Asuma-sensei? What kind of mission should we prepare for?” Ino asked tentatively.

Asuma looked up through his eyelashes, a puff of smoke escaping his lips as he spoke. “Survival.”

Chapter Text

Team Ten met at the Twenty Second Training ground the next day, Asuma sitting on a tree stump at the edge of the forest, smoke trailing from his cigarette. 

“Mornin’ kids.” He drawled, a soft smirk gracing his lips.

Kai and Ino pouted. “Don’t call us kids, sensei. That’s condescending.”

Asuma chuckled. “Sure. How about... Squirts. Munchkins. Brats. Small Fries.”

Shikamaru scoffed. “How troublesome…”

Asuma stretched and put out the cigarette. “Alright rugrats, here’s the deal. This survival mission is a test to see if you’re even good enough to keep training. If you fail you all get sent back to the academy. Pass and you stay on the team with me, sound fair?”

Kai blew out a puff of air. Of course they wouldn’t have made it easy on us.

“So today… your goal is to immobilize me by sunfall. By any means necessary, of course.”

The genin looked at each other, faces white with shock.

“You can begin whenever you’re ready.”

“Wait, seriously?” Ino shouted, looking at her other team mates.

Kai glanced over at Shikamaru, meeting his unwavering eyes. He gave her a subtle nod, watching as she charged up her chakra to the palm of her hand, a bright white light emanating from it. She charged at Asuma who swiftly dodged, grabbing her left arm and hooking it behind her back, grabbing her right wrist and holding it aloft, keeping the burning chakra away from his body. Shikamaru grabbed Ino and Choji’s collars, escaping to the cover of the forest.

Asuma scoffed. “Abandoning their teammate? That’s low.”

“Nah I don’t think so, sensei. I mean… I can probably take you. How tough can you be?” Kai smirked, jumping up and flipping over Asuma’s front and ending up back-to-back with him, wrist still in his grip. She spun hard, dislodging herself and aiming to strike again. Asuma quickly jumped out of range. The chakra fizzled out and Kai cursed under her breath, jumping away to further herself from her teacher, fumbling for her kunai pouch.

Asuma produced one of his Chakra Kunai, waiting for the pounce… and pouce she did. Something feral tore through Kai’s throat, launching herself back at her sensei. Kunai clashed and sweat began to bead at her forehead. Come on Shika… Where’s that genius intellect when I need it? As if on cue, Ino charged out and swapped places with Kai. 

“Thanks Ino.” She gave her a two-fingered salute, passing Choji who was sent out as well. She jumped into the shadows. “Shika? Where are you?” An arm reached out and pulled her behind a tree. Kai would be lying if she said her heart wasn’t racing at that moment. “You must have a plan, right?”

He groaned. “Yeah. Ino and Choji are distracting him now. They’re luring him closer to the forest so I can trap him in my shadow.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “This is really annoying…”

Kai rolled her eyes. “Thank you so much Kai for jumping up first and attacking our teacher and helping you analyze his attack patterns, what would I do without you?” She mocked, crossing her arms. “I’m guessing I’m back here now in case you need to increase your range?”

He flicked her forehead and smirked. “Yep.”

The pair waited in place, watching Choji and Ino gradually back into the forest. The plan was working… until Asuma stopped pursuing. He must have caught on to the plan.

Shika grumbled and Kai cracked her knuckles. “Welp… I guess it’s Plan B time.” She closed her eyes and made three hand signs; Boar, Dog, Serpent. “Ninja Art: Dance of the Fireflies.” Dozens of tiny firefly-like lights erupted from Kai’s fingertips and fluttered in a path leading towards Asuma, creating enough extra shadows for Shikamaru to work with. “Ready Shika.”

The shadows stretched out of the forest, slinking towards Asuma’s feet. Ino took quick notice and rushed at their sensei, forcing him back and into the shadow. The team watched Asuma tense, looking around with his eyes. 

“Damn… Good job guys. Safe to say you pass.” Asuma chuckled, stretching at Shikamaru dropped the possession. “That was a good strategy. I bet you’re one hell of a shogi player.”

Kai grumbled. “He beats me every time. But I got him once!”

“Cuz I went easy on you dummy.” Shika smirked and flicked at her forehead again, a small red spot growing. 

Asuma and Ino watched the exchange while Choji chose to open up a fresh pack of chips. Kai reached out and snagged a few out of habit, continuing to bicker with Shikamaru.

Asuma cleared his throat, lighting up a fresh cigarette. Great… I get to deal with Lovebirds… “Guys, focus please? I wanna see what you guys got individually. Yamanaka you’re up first.”

Ino showcased her Mind-Transfer Jutsu. Choji his Expansion Jutsu. Shikamaru was challenged to a Shogi match and won (of course). Kai was asked to show off her jutsu from earlier. 

“Oh? My Holy Palm you mean, sensei? Sure!” Kai grinned wide, holding out her hand. She focused her chakra to her palm, the bright white light emanating from it again. “Cool huh? It's a Hagakure specialty!” She turned her palm around carefully, touching the nearby tree. Smoke rose from her hand as it singed the bark. “I still have to work on it, of course. Dad can burn through a tree like this with one finger!”

“And the Ninja Art?” Asuma chimed in.

She performed the hand signs again, producing fewer fireflies this time. “They produce enough light to make new shadows for Shika to use!” They fluttered around her face as she dropped the jutsu, the biggest grin on her face.

“Well I can’t wait to help you guys hone your abilities. I think you’ll make fine shinobi.”

Chapter Text

“Shika could you at least pretend to help?” Kai muttered, elbow deep in the garden, pulling out weeds.

“Yeah, sure... you missed a spot.” He replied, pointing to a stray weed poking out. He returned to his spot in the shade, watching the clouds float by. Choji followed suit after picking like three weeds. It was down to the girls for this mission.

“Hey Ino, is this one here a weed? I don’t wanna pull out anything by accident.” Kai called over her shoulder to her teammate on the opposite side of the garden. The girl glanced over at where Kai was pointing.

“Nope! That’s a carrot.” She smiled, returning to her tasks.

“Thanks! See Shika, I would have pulled out a carrot if I listened to you.” Kai stuck her tongue out at the boy, grumbling as she carried on. Missions like these were boring. Honestly, Kai preferred training days. Yeah sure everyone needs to help and you all just graduated from the academy but picking weeds from a garden was kind of belittling, especially with the flower heiress herself on the squad.

Pulling weeds like this took her back to kunoichi classes and that dumb flower arrangement assignment. Kai wasn’t good with that kind of stuff and thought maybe Ino could have helped her understand, but when she found her future teammate, Sakura was the one getting help. Kai huffed, a little jealous of the pink-haired girl. She managed to get help from her mom but still, now Sakura was glued to Ino’s side.

“Mama it’s not fair! I wanna hang out with Ino too!”

She shook her head. Little Kai was so jealous. It’s not like she hung out with Ino after their friendship fell through anyway… though Ino’s obsession with Sasuke probably didn’t help that factor.

Asuma looked at his squad and shook his head, rubbing at his temples. How did he get stuck with such unmotivated kids? Choji only cared about food, Shikamaru flat out refuses to apply himself, Ino is boy crazy, and Kai… well Kai is the best of the bunch but her head’s in the wrong place. She would rather train than do nice missions like this. 

He clapped loudly, startling all but Shikamaru. “Well, good job girls. I think you deserve a reward.” He smirked, watching the boys' faces drop. “Ino, I will let you rant about Sasuke the entire time I train with Kai.” The kunoichi’s eyes lit up, Kai jumping to her feet and stretching in place.

“Psh. Some reward. What a drag. ” Shikamaru mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, that just sounds like more work… well except Ino’s thing.” Choji chimed in between bites.

“Well, I could have had time for a shogi game or BBQ after Kai and I train but… you guys didn’t do any work so I guess we’ll have to skip it.”  Asuma shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets after lighting a cigarette.

Choji looked like a beat puppy dog, scanning the garden for more weeds to pull but alas, the girls combed through and plucked every single one.

“Alright Asuma-sensei! What are we training on today? Holy Palm? My ninja art? Ooh! Maybe finally start learning some genjutsu tricks?” Kai was bouncing on her heels, giddy with excitement.

Asuma shook his head and let out a puff of smoke. “Nope. You’ll be climbing that tree.” He pointed to the tree with the Team Ten boys at the base. “Except with no hands.”

She nodded. “Right… okaaaay…. How?” She tilted her head to the side, squaring up the tree. She supposed she could get a running start and make it to the first set of branches, but how would she get up onto it without her hands?

“Chakra. Like your Holy Palm, you focus your chakra to the bottoms of your feet.” He made his way to the base, easily taking a step onto the trunk… then another… and another. Asuma was walking perpendicular to the tree trunk and ended up upside-down on the first branch. “Like so.”

“Oh… Cool!” Kai stepped to the base, kicking some dirt at Shikamaru cheekily. Then she closed her eyes and focused on the pads of her feet.

“Now you might need a running-” Kai was suddenly walking up next to him- “start.” Asuma chuckled, crossing his arms. “Well how about that?” He dropped, landing on the floor below. “Okay, but can you use only your hands?”

Kai swung around on the branch and dropped to the ground. “Uhhhhh…” She bit her lip. “Okay, yeah sure… why not?” She dipped into a handstand before focusing the chakra to her palms, walking on her hands a little before placing a hand on the tree. She focused too much chakra and started to singe the bark. “Shit.” She cursed, stepping away and trying again.

While Kai was training, Ino was making a flower crown and rambling on about Sasuke, filling the quiet with her voice. Shikamaru groaned, shifting further into the shade. Why are women so troublesome? As if to accentuate his point, Kai landed on his lap. “Oof.” He groaned.

“Sh-Shikamaru! Move! You’re in my way!” She hit his chest, trying to hide her red face.

“Stop hitting me woman! Go train somewhere else!” He grabbed her wrists to stop her, the two of them in a stare-down.

“I was here first.” Kai huffed, wrenching her arms free.

“Technically I was. My tree, my shade. Claimed it.” Shika gave her a shit-eating grin. 

Kai growled. “Fine. I’ll move.” She stood, placing her hands on the tree right above Shikamaru’s head. “I’ll move right up this tree. Don’t know if I’m gonna fall again but at least I’ll have a human pillow to cushion my fall!” She pushed up from the ground, taking three… steps? Hand-placements? Strides? Whatever . She was fully focused now, moving one hand in front of the other. Her arms were trembling from supporting her body like this, her core tightening quickly. She just had to get further than before. She was doing pretty well-until she wasn’t.

She felt herself start to slip, her arms giving under the pressure. Quickly she shot chakra to her hands, leaving handprints where she was at before letting herself fall, looking below her to notice Shika had moved. Hah! Serves him right! She landed gracefully, tossing her dutch pigtails out of her face. Again. Rinse and Repeat.

She had made some pretty good progress but damn her arms were aching. She hadn’t realized it until then but Shikamaru, Choji, and even Asuma-sensei were gone. Ino was left finishing up what looked like her fifth flower crown.

“Oh! Kai! You all done?” Ino chirped, smiling widely at her teammate.

“Uh.. yeah I guess? Where’d the guys go?” Kai looked around, rubbing at her arms to try and get the circulation back through them.

“You were training for a while. We all tried calling out to you but you were really in the zone. Shikamaru and Choji left first, Asuma-sensei peeled out a little bit ago.”

Kai flushed. Hard. “Shit why didn’t anyone like… hit me or something!” She rubbed her temples. “Gods I’m so embarrassed!”

Ino laughed, placing a flower crown of little blue and white wildflowers on Kai’s head. “Don’t be. Sensei was pretty impressed. He even managed to squeeze some training out of Shika and Choji because of it.” She adjusted the crown so it sat right on Kai’s head. “Wanna come walk home with me? We’ve got a really good herbal tea for aching muscles.”

Kai grinned wide. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

That became the new norm for her. Missions, training, occasionally walking home with Shika and Choji but more often than not, Kai would hang out with Ino. On their days off, she would even find herself subconsciously making her way to the flower shop. Kai and Ino started sleeping over at each others’ houses too. Kai even got to learn the real story of Ino and Sakura.

“So she just decided you two couldn’t be friends anymore because she likes Sasuke? That’s crazy talk!” Kai spread out on the floor, Ino’s latest facemask spread across her cheeks and forehead. “I mean, two girls can like the same boy and still be friends. Right?”

Ino shrugged. “It would have been really hard. It was just easier for both of us to accept the fact that one of us would lose so we became rivals.”

Kai scoffed, sitting back up, hands in her lap. “Or Sasuke could fall in love with someone else and you both lose. Twice.” She held up two fingers. “First, you lose Sasuke. Second, you guys lost on all those years of friendship you could have had.”

Ino pouted. “You don’t understand, Kai. It’s not like you have any competition trying to win Shikamaru over.”

Kai laughed nervously. “Who ever said I like Shikamaru? What? Me? Nooooo . Come on he’s so… lazy and… and…” She peeked up and met Ino’s knowing eyes. “... Is it that obvious?”

“Pfft. Maybe not to him no. I swear when it comes to strategy he’s a genius, but girls ? Hah! He’s dumber than a sack of rocks.” Ino waved at the air nonchalantly.

“Iiiinooooooo!!! What if he figures it out! We’re best friends! I don’t want to ruin that because of a stupid crush !” Underneath the mud mask, Kai’s face was glowing bright red.

“So that’s why you act like a little tsundere around him!!” Ino squealed like her name-sake.

Kai flopped back to the ground, her soul leaving her body. “I’m dead. Yamanaka Ino has killed me on this day. Goodbye Mother, Father. I love you both.”

Ino joined her on the floor. “Oh stop being such a drama queen. If he hasn’t figured it out by now, he never will. Not unless you tell him directly. And if he doesn’t like you back? That’s his loss. You’re an amazing shinobi, Kai-chan. He’d be lucky to have you.”

Kai stopped her death scene and smiled. “Thanks, Ino-chan. You know what? Same goes for you. If Sasuke doesn’t like you back, to hell with him. He has bad taste anyway, I mean his first kiss was Naruto.” You couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “I’m sure you’ll find a guy out there that is perfect for you.”

Chapter Text

“So, did you hear about Team Sevens awesome mission to the Land of Waves? I bet they had fun getting to see a different village… Totally not jealous of them or anything… That one looks like a koi fish.” Kai pointed up into the sky, a stray cloud passing overhead. She shifted her hands back under her head, enjoying the gentle breeze waft through. Shika was lying next to her, finally doing some much-needed coud watching. Missions had been stressful lately, so it was a relief when Asuma told the team he had an important meeting to attend to that morning.

“I guess…” He grumbled.

“Okay, what’s up with you?” Kai shifted to look him in the face, though it was awkward since he was upside-down. “You usually go along with my antics, or snip about how troublesome Naruto is… what’s wrong?”

He sucked his teeth. “My old man has been going on and on about the stupid chunin exams. It’s so annoying.”

Kai shot up. “Ths chunin exams? So soon! That’s awesome, I can’t wait to watch the final round!” She flopped back down, her silver hair spilling out underneath her and whipping Shikamaru in the face.

He swatted the hair from his face with a huff. “Ugh, it’s such a drag. Dad’s been getting on my case about becoming a chunin so much that my mom’s joined in on the nagging too.”

“She does not nag Shika, she gently pushes.” Kai loves Shika’s mom, she was practically a second mom to her and her cooking is to die for, though no one is brave enough to tell Fumiko Hagakure about that. “I think you’d make a great chunin.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like her… troublesome women .” 

Kai just laughed at his trademark, looking at the fluffy clouds once again. “I wonder when we’ll get to participate…”

~*~*~

Training days were Kai’s favorite, there was nothing better than sweating away all your worries in her book. Currently she was working on climbing up a tall tree with just her hands; she had been getting better at it though her vertigo got the best of her sometimes. Shikamaru was working on the limits of his Shadow Possession Jutsu, Choji on the speed of his Human Bullet Tank, Ino on hitting a target with her Mind Transfer Jutsu with higher accuracy.

Asuma cleared his throat. “I’ve recommended all four of you for the upcoming chunin exams.”

“WHAT?!”

All hell broke loose. Ino turned and caught Choji in her mind-transfer, making him lose control, her body falling to the floor. Kai lost concentration and fell from the tree, landing on her face. She couldn’t move, however, because she landed right in Shikamaru’s shadow, forcing herself to eat dirt.

“-MARU Naghh- LET M-pfft- GO TH-ugh- STANT!” Kai shouted, trying her best to wiggle herself free from his control. He finally snapped out of it and dropped the jutsu, allowing her to stand and spit the mud out of her mouth. “ Thanks .” 

Ino’s body rose, clutching at her head. “Asuma-sensei you’re not serious, right?”

Choji groaned from the ground. “Yeah, there’s no way we’re ready.”

Kai looked at her teammates. What were they talking about? Of course they were ready! “Well… I think we’re ready. Sure we need work but we’ve been improving! I mean Formation In-Shika-Cho-Kai is really coming together! There’s no harm in trying, right?”

Asuma chuckled. “I think you’re absolutely right, Kai. You guys have been making excellent progress.” He lit his cigarette, inhaling deeply. “Here’s the application forms, make sure to bring them with you to room 301 at the academy. 3:00 PM. Friday.”

The genin took the applications, looking over the info.

“I’ll be straight with you guys. They require teams of three to participate but that doesn’t mean if one of you doesn’t want to do this, you’re scott free. Squad 10 is a five-man squad and the Hokage wants you guys to participate as such. If y’all don’t want to do it this time around, that’s fine, but it needs to be a team decision, not an individual one.” Asuma let the cigarette hang from his lips, smoke rising from the burnt end. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Individual training until then, see you on Friday.”

With that, Asuma disappeared, leaving Team Ten to their devices. Choji spoke up first.

“Well, I don’t want to.” He opened up a bag of chips, munching away.

“Me either, this is too much of a drag.” Shika chimed in, reading over the application.

The girls shared a look. “Shikamaru I understand… but Choji? Really?” Ino huffed in annoyance. “Why not?”

He paused, hand still in his chip bag. “I don’t think we’re ready. We’re still rookies, we’ll be eaten alive.” He stated matter-of-factly.

Kai sucked her teeth. “If you agree to come with us, I’ll pay for BBQ~.” She sang-song, swinging back-and-forth on her heels.

Drool pooled in Choji’s mouth and Shikamaru slapped his forehead. “Deal!”

“Choji you dummy, now I have to show up too…” Shika groaned, meeting Kai’s shit-eating grin. “Whatever, it’s your money.”

“Thank you Choji!” The squad started towards the restaurant, Kai hanging back. “You guys go ahead and get a table! My pack is still in the tree!” She leapt up, carefully folding her application paper and making sure her wallet was in fact still in her hip pouch. “Phew, thank goodness.”

“... help …” A hoarse voice shook her from her bag and she quickly drew out a kunai, attaching her bag back to her hip.

“Hello? Shika? Is that you?” She drew her back to the tree, scanning the area.

“ K-Kai-chan… h-help us…” That was Ino’s voice that time.

“Ino-chan?!” She jumped down from her spot, running towards the voices. They sound like they’re in pain . Then… she saw her teammates.

All three of them were littered with kunai, bleeding profusely. Choji was face-down and wasn’t moving, his chips littered across the ground and ruined. Ino slumped against a tree, clutching at the kunai in her arm. She’s breathing… okay that’s good-for now. But Shikamaru looked the worst, his clothes were shredded, holes in his body from where he ripped out the weapons.

“ Kai… run… it’s-a trap… we walked right into it..” He coughed up blood, clutching at his side where a gross wound was quickly becoming purple.

Poison… “Shika, don’t move. It’s only going to make it worse…” She was breathing heavy. Think Kai… THINK! She scanned the area and squinted. Wait a minute. There were trip-wires littered all across the terrain. There’s no way Shika would have just walked into this . She closed her eyes, forcing her chakra out.

“Release!”

She was alone again, the forest empty. Genjutsu… but why? Suddenly a ninja from the land hidden in the mist appeared before her, his voice grating and annoying.

“Well, saw through my illusion, eh? Guess I’ll have to take care of you myself!”

She grit her teeth, charging at the ninja with the kunai while charging up her right hand. He easily dodged her knife but ran right into her trap and she hit him in the side with her Holy Palm. Then he was gone with a ‘poof’. A clone?! What the hell! She scanned the area but no one else came out. I should make sure everyone else is okay .

She ran to the BBQ joint in a full sprint, a smile widening when she saw the three of them waiting outside.

“Guys! You’re never gonna believe what just happened!” She froze in place, getting in a defensive stance and scanning. The other three did the same. She hadn’t noticed they were also panting and looked like they had just been in a fight. “You’re really you, right?”

Shikamaru looked at her in confusion. “Yeah? What happened, Kai?”

She shook her head, not lowering her guard. She forced out her chakra again, trying to release the genjutsu. “Release!” She blinked. They were still standing around her, though now all of them were confused. Kai chuckled, dropping her stance and rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry… I just had a crazy run-in with some ninja from the Mist.”

The three shared a look. “So did we.” Ino spoke up, everyone sheathing their kunai. “Three of them attacked us out of nowhere but they were all-”

“Clones?” Kai finished for her, rubbing her temples.

“This is so troublesome.” Shika muttered, the squad heading inside. Kai explained what happened to her and placed the order for the table, looking at her comrades.

“Yeah that’s what he looked like! As soon as we got out of the forest he just sprung us!” Ino exclaimed, growing frustrated. “What’s going on here?”

Kai gulped. “I think someone has it out for us.” She whispered, placing a slide of meat on the grill.

Shikamaru scoffed. “Probably. We’re rookies that got recommended for the Chunin Exams. I’m sure the word spread quickly and people aren’t too happy that rookies made it in. I say we cut our losses and don’t bother.”

Kai rolled her eyes. “If that’s the case, we should try harder to prove we belong there! We’re bad-ass rookies that got recommended for the Chunin Exam, guys! Have a little faith! If people are trying to get rid of us before this thing even starts, that means we’re threats!” She scooped up the perfectly cooked beef, eating it triumphantly.

Ino chuckled. “She’s got a point Shikamaru. Besides, if you don’t want to be a chunin, you’ll have to listen to others’ orders for the rest of your life. Or maybe it would just be easier to drop out now and find a part-time job. I think my parents’ flower shop is hiring.” She stuck her tongue out as Shikamaru got more annoyed.

“Fine, fine. God, when did you two get so buddy-buddy? Choji and I don’t stand a chance anymore troublesome women .” He grumbled.

The girls giggled, talking amongst themselves for the rest of the meal, ignoring Choji and Shikamaru completely.

~*Friday 2:00 pm*~

“Asuma-sensei said it didn’t start until three.” Shika groaned, dragging ass behind Kai.

“He said to report by three which actually means to report no later than two-thirty, Shika. There might be a line or something.” Kai elbowed him in the ribs, skipping ahead with her application waving in her hand. “Come oooon! I wanna become a chunin and get our earrings from Asuma-sensei! I wanna wear the cool flak jacket and lead missions and… I dunno whatever else chunin do!” She giggled, beaming at her childhood best friend. Today her mom braided her hair back into a french-braid, adding blue and white beads to the strands as she went.

“One bead for every generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho-Kai legacy.” The last bead - the 15th - was the largest and held the rest of her hair together.

The pair met Ino and Choji outside.

“Ready to do this?” Ino smiled, holding up her form.

“Duh! Let’s go!”

Squad Seven made their way up the stairs and noticed a large crowd around a door. Kai looked up and noticed the number 301. She bit the inside of her cheek, swearing they only walked up one flight. She tugged Shikamaru’s sleeve, noticing two genin blocking the door and punching anyone that tried to get in.

“Ignore them.” Shika whispered. “Can’t you sense it? Pretty weak genjutsu if you ask me.” He kept going, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Shouldn’t we say something?” Kai whispered back, pulling her hair over her shoulder. She didn’t like the idea of just letting those other guys get bullied around like that.

Shikamaru shrugged. “If they can’t figure out that’s the wrong room, that’s on them.”

They went up the next flight and ran into Asuma waiting for them in the hallway.

“Well look who decided to show up. Shikamaru, I’m surprised they managed to drag you here.” He chuckled, Shika sighed.

“They outnumbered me. Someone bribed Choji with BBQ.” He flicked Kai in the forehead.

That made Asuma shake with laughter. “Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Kakashi about this! Anyway, I’m proud of you guys. Seriously. I’ll see you on the other side.” He gave them a two-fingered salute and disappeared with a ‘poof’.

None of the genin moved, however. No one wanted to be the one to open the door. In a moment of bravery, Ino stepped forward, pushing the doors open to a huge crowd of scary-looking ninja.

“Holy shit.” Kai whispered, instinctively hiding behind Shikamaru a little bit. 

Team 8 sauntered up, Kiba’s canine’s flashing in a toothy grin. “Hey, looks like we’re not the only rookies here after all. Nice.”

Shino just stared, unimpressed… Well that’s what Kai thought at least. It was hard to tell with that guy. Hinata, on the other hand, was hiding behind both team members.

“Hey Hinata! Tired of ol’ dog breath here yet?” Kai mirrored Kiba’s grin, pushing him out of the way to talk to the shy girl.

“Oh um… No?” God she was so precious.

“I’m sure he’ll get on your nerves eventually.”

“HEY!” Kiba growled and Akamaru yapped.

Right when Kai was about to fire back, the doors shot open to reveal Team 7. Oh no… Immediately Ino glomped onto Sasuke, gushing over how long it’s been since she’s seen him. Kai face-palmed. Naruto was being loud as ever and Sakura started bickering with Sasuke. Even Shikamaru and Kiba joined in teasing Naruto. This is a disaster!

Someone clearing their throat made the rookies freeze. “Uh, guys?” A tall man with white hair pulled back into a ponytail and large white glasses spoke up. That’s when everyone else seemed to realize the scene they were causing.

I wanna curl up into a ball and die!  

This guy, Kabuto, went on about the chunin exams and how he’s taken this test seven times or… whatever. Kai didn’t really pay attention until he brought out his cards. She was intrigued by the use of concealing data using chakra more than the actual info itself. Then, of course, Sasuke went all dark and brooding, asking about a Rock Lee and Gaara of the Sand. Does this guy ever have any chill? She rolled her eyes, ignoring the conversation to scan the room.

Everyone was still staring, of course. I mean, I’d stare too if some guy came up and started dishing out info to the rookies… What’s their deal? She noticed three ninja staring down Kabuto pretty hard. It looked like they had music notes on their headbands. Oh so those must be ninja from the Sound Village … Then she saw a tuft of ash blond hair, following it down to see a girl staring her down. Hard. 

Kai gulped. Okay… What’s this girls issue? And why is she only staring at me? Before she could dwell on it, the Sound ninja started towards her group. She squeaked and stepped back, dragging Choji out of the way. Without warning, one of the Sound ninja lashed out at Kabuto- who dodged it quickly. He’s fast . But then… his glasses shattered? 

Before Kai could really process what happened, their proctor showed up. It was time to turn in their applications and… take a written test?! No way!

Chapter Text

Kai handed in her application and got her number. They’re splitting us up…  Great… She looked around; Ino and Choji were pretty far back, Shikamaru only one row behind. There were jonin posted all around the room, clipboards in hand. Ibiki, the proctor, stood at the front of the room, preparing them for what was to come.

“Everyone, eyes front. There’s a few rules to go over and I will not repeat myself. So you’d better pay attention the first time around!” He started writing on the chalkboard behind him.

Well if he’s just going to write them down, there’s no reason to even ask any questions…

“Rule Number One: The written part of the exam is conducted on a point-reduction system. Different from what you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of Ten points. One point deducted for each question you get wrong.”

Seems straightforward enough.

“Rule Number Two: Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all members.”

Kai watched Sakura headbutt the desk. 

Ooh, tough luck there pinky.

“Wait a second! You’re saying we all get scored as a team?” Sakura burst out. 

Uh… yeah.. He literally said that. Way to just repeat exactly what he said, billboard brow. Kai rolled her eyes, bringing her hair over her shoulder to mess with the ends.

“Silence! I have my reasons, so shut up and listen. Rule Number Three: The sentinels posted around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprits score.”

Kai straightened at that. Oh? That’s different.

“Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp. And if they catch you five times, you’ll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn’t deserve to be here.” Ibiki finished, his voice booming above the shocked gasps of everyone.

Kai squinted. Okay so just don’t cheat, easy… right?

“If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be… One more thing. If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test… then the entire team fails.”

Kai heard the shocked gasps of Team Seven, practically seeing the gloom hover above Naruto. She took that moment to steal a glance back to Shika, who looked as bored as ever. Well, glad he’s not shaken. Ino and Choji seem pretty alright too… I’ll need to do my best!

“The final question won’t be given out until 15 minutes before the end of the testing period. You will have one hour total…. BEGIN!”

Kai flipped over her sheet and got to work. Okay… Okay… Decipher a code… Physics and trajectory… these are pretty tough… and they get more difficult as we go… She stole a glance at the ninja in front of her. Seems like most people are having a tough time… in fact, there’s probably not a lot of people that could actually answer these kinds of questions. The code was pretty easy to decipher, but to find the furthest point the shuriken can travel? That’s a bit much.

She tapped her pencil on her paper, filling out the first question. Ibiki-sensei kept emphasizing cheating… no… he emphasized getting caught … With the sentinels all around us and nearly impossible questions… They’re practically asking us to try! And if you get caught, you don’t get immediately tossed out. Hell, you can try five times! A lightbulb went off in her head. Kai, you’re an idiot! Of course they want you to cheat! They want to see how we can gather information in a seemingly impossible situation! She let out a huff of a laugh, popping her neck.

She had no idea how she was going to help out her team mates though. She was sitting ahead of all of them so it would be hard to send out her fireflies… She heard someone hit the desk behind her, and Sakura to her right froze. Yes Ino! Way to go!

Teams were getting dismissed left and right, some people not too pleased that got caught. Kai shuddered when one guy got pinned to the wall. They’re not kidding with this stuff . Behind her, Ino copied down all the info she got from Sakura and transferred into Shikamaru, doing the same for his paper, then she hopped over into Choji. Kai stiffened, her whole body locked in place. She glanced down and noticed the shadow of her chair looked darker than normal. Then her hand was moving on it’s own; though a little clunky since Kai is left-handed and Shikamaru is not.

He was tracing what Ino wrote, making Kai mirror his moves as more and more teams fizzled out. Once her paper was full she could go back and fix the handwriting to make it look like she actually did it… and then there were only 15 minutes left.

“All right, listen up. Here’s the tenth and final question.” Ibiki broke the silence in the room, everyone’s heads snapping to meet the man at the front of the room. “But… before I give you the final question, there’s a few more rules you need to be aware of.”

More rules? I’d hate to be on a team with him… He seems like a stickler.

“These rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you.”

Kai gulped. Forget stickler! He’s worse!

“Rule Number One: Each of you is free to choose not to be given a final question. It’s your decision.”

The girl from the Sand village spoke up, her voice loud and brash. “Woah so what happens if we don’t wanna do it? What’s the catch?”

“If you choose not to answer the tenth question, regardless of your questions to the other nine, you will get a zero. In other words, you fail. And that means, of course, both your teammates fail as well.”

Everyone whispered amongst themselves. Kai gripped her pencil. So then we all chose the last question, simple.

“However,” Ibiki’s voice got quieter, more threatening “If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail… You will be barred from taking the chunin exam ever again!”

Kai gasped, dropping her pencil. Sadist! He’s a sadist! What kind of bull is this?! Don’t answer but fail, or answer, possibly fail, and never ever get to become a chunin!

Kiba shouted. “That’s bogus! There’s tons of people here who have taken the test before!”

Ibiki’s laugh was like poison filling the room. “That’s because I wasn’t here. I’m making the rules now. Of course, if you don’t want to take it, you don’t have to. If you’re not feeling confident, then by all means… skip it. You can come back and try again next year. Now then, if you’re ready.... The tenth and final question. Those who don’t want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and then you’re free to go.” He stood at the front, an imposing figure casting a large shadow.

Kai gulped. Do I risk it? I don’t want to be the reason any of them go home today, but I also don’t want to prevent them from ever becoming chunin again! I was the one that convinced everyone to come… What do I do? The question could be easy…. Or it could be the hardest of them all!

One hand towards the front raised and like dominoes more and more followed. It didn’t quell Kai’s nerves. She started to raise her hand slowly, hoping it wouldn’t catch the attention of her teammates. Maybe she could make a run for it after they were all dismissed. She got half-way before her body froze again, her hands being forcibly shoved into her pockets. She closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek, knowing Shikamaru would feel it, but he didn’t let go.

She felt the jutsu drop suddenly and peeked her eyes open. Naruto’s hand was up in the air and he was trembling. Kai jumped when he slammed it back onto the table.

“Don’t underestimate me! I don’t quit and I don’t run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren’t gonna scare me off! I don’t care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I’m still gonna become Hokage someday!” He plopped back down into his seat with a huff.

“This decision could change your life. If for whatever reason you would rather quit, now’s your last chance.”

“No way! I never go back on my word. That’s my ninja way.” Naruto was confident now and honestly, Kai felt confident after that display. She grinned, leaning forward in her seat, buzzing with energy now.

“Well then… I admire your determination, if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there’s only one thing left to do. And that’s for me to tell you… that you’ve all passed the first exam.”

Kai jolted and fell out of her chair. What?!  

“Hold on what just happened? What about the tenth question?!” Sakura blurted out as Kai crawled back into her seat.

Idiot! Don’t remind him!

Ibiki… smiled? He was laughing but it was like…. Hearty! “There never was one. Not a written one at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question.”

“Wait a second.” The blonde sand ninja outburst. “So the other nine questions were just a waste of time? Is that what you’re saying?!”

“Quite the opposite actually. They had an overriding purpose: To test your ability to gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances.”

“Oh yeah, that explains everything.” Ponytail replied, sarcastically. Kai didn’t like her one bit.

“Let me explain. It was to test you not only as individuals, but as a team, and on how well you function as a part of that team. That’s why the test was scored on a team basis, so you’d know that everything you did, or failed to do, would directly affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you handled the pressure.” Ibiki continued to explain how the test was designed for cheating and even had a few chunin sit in on the test to provide the answers. He then took off his headband to show his battle scars, emphasizing how important info-gathering truly was.

The words struck true in Kai’s mind. Disinformation can be worse than no information at all.

“You here have successfully answered the ten questions I placed before you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate, I hereby declare this chapter of the chunin selection exam completed. There’s nothing left but to wish you all good luck.”

Suddenly a large ball crashed through the window, kunai launching into the… ceiling? A banner unfolding? What’s going on? A woman appeared before them, black spiky hair pulled up into a bun.

“Heads up, boy and girls. This is no time to be celebrating. I’ll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi.” 

Oh my god I didn’t even know they made full body chainmail like that! You can see everything! Her trench coat barely covers her-her-! Kai crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to hide that and her red face.

“You ready for the second test? Good! Let’s go! Follow me!” She was loud and energetic, like a certain blonde in Team 7. Second test? That was quick . “How many are there? You let way too many pass Ibiki, you must be getting soft.”

“Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year.” 

“Nah… Don’t worry, by the time I’m done with them, more than half will be eliminated…. This is gonna be fun. Alright, you maggots had enough fun so far but things are gonna be different first thing in the morning. I’ll let your squad leaders know where to meet me. Dismissed.”

~*~*~

That next morning, everyone met outside a large looking forest with tall gates surrounding it.

“What is this place?” Naruto asked.

“This is the location for the second phase of the Chunin Exam, the 44th battle training zone… But we call it… the Forest of Death.”

The Forest of WHAT NOW?!

Chapter Text

All the examinees stood outside the large gate, the forest imposing against them. Anko smirked at the front, hands on her hips.

“Pretty soon, you’ll realize why we call it the Forest of Death.”

Naruto jumped into action, mocking Anko. “Soon you’ll realize why it’s the Forest of Death! Hah! That kind of stuff doesn’t work on me! I’m not scared!”

Kai facepalmed, but Anko got eerily… quiet. 

“Well… looks like we’ve got ourselves a tough-guy.” And within a flash, she produced a kunai and threw it right at Naruto, nicking his cheek. Then she appeared right behind him. “Kids like you die at the very beginning, leaving their blood all over the forest. Not afraid, are you?”

Are all the proctors sadists?!

A grass ninja appeared behind Anko, returning her kunai with… her tongue… Kai shuddered. This was getting weird, fast. Finally, Anko explained the consent form.

“Before we can start this test, I need you to read over and sign this consent form. There’s a chance you might not come out of this task alive, and I don’t need that kind of responsibility on my hands.” She laughed, making everyone uneasy. “While blondie passes out the forms I’ll explain your next task. In simple terms, the limits of your survival will be challenged. Every last one of those skills. The 44th battle field is surrounded by 44 locked gates. There’s rivers, forest, and a tower in the middle. It’s about 10 kilometers from each gate. From inside, you’ll undergo the survival test.”

Kai took her paper, reading over the terms. She could already hear Shika complaining.

“The test consists of an anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls. You’ll be fighting to get both a heaven scroll and earth scroll. Half of you will start with a heaven scroll, the other half, the earth scroll. Each team gets one so you’ll have to figure out how to obtain both.”

“And how do we pass?” Sasuke spoke up.

“Well, your entire squad must bring both scrolls to the tower in the center. Also… there’s a time limit. You’ve got five days.”

Oh no. “Five days?!” “But what about food?!” Yep, leave it to Ino and Choji…

“It’s a survival mission for a reason. Be self-sufficient! There’s plenty of food options!”

“More than just food. There’s man-eating beasts, poison bugs, poisonous weeds and worse.” Kabuto, or Mr Encyclopedia, chimed in.

Choji’s gonna be tough to handle under these conditions… We’re going to have to constantly stock up.

“The days are getting longer, the nights shorter. There will be less time to rest and recover. A challenge indeed!” Some guy with really bushy eyebrows replied… enthusiastically?

“And you’re surrounded by enemies. There won’t be time to rest, we’ll have to keep constant watch.” Sasuke monologued.

Anko chuckled. “Exactly right, this test is built to simulate being across enemy lines.”

“So uh.. Let’s say mid-exam, can we quit?” Shikamaru raised his hand and Kai elbowed him in the side.

“Of course not! In the middle of a battle you can’t just quit and call uncle! Well you could but it would probably get you killed.”

“Oh just great… this is gonna be a drag…” Shika groaned, Ino glaring in his direction, and Choji already munching down on his chips. Kai whimpered, rubbing at her temples. 

We can do this… we can do this!

“There’s also some disqualification conditions. First, if all members of the team can’t make it to the tower with both scrolls within five days. Second, if a team loses a member or a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. Last, and most important, none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls. None of you. You don’t want to know what’ll happen to you if you do. Sometimes, a ninja might be asked to carry secret documents. This will also test your responsibility. That’s it. Each team, fill out those consent forms and bring them to the booth. From there you’ll receive your gate assignment and your scroll.” She sighed. “One last piece of advice: Just Don’t Die!”

Kai gulped and straightened, everyone around doing the same. Seems like that really pumped some people up. Squad 10 huddled under a nearby tree, starting to go over the form… Until Sakura wandered their way.

“Well well, if it isn’t the future failure! What’s up Billboard Brow? Thought you would have washed out of the program by now!”

“So sad! You’re just jealous I get to spend five days with Sasuke! And it’s turning you into a very petty and ugly person… oh wait, you were already ugly! Heh~” Sakura sneered, the two girls growling and practically creating sparks from the tension.

Kai rolled her eyes, looking to Shika and Choji for any kind of backup… but they were useless. They looked like scared little kids; trembling like leaves. “Wow you guys…” She stepped forward and placed a hand on Ino’s shoulder. “Ino come on, she’d not worth it.”

Ino snapped out of it, huffing and flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You’re right, Kai. Let’s go. I’m getting a sunburn from the reflection off Sakura’s big head anyway .” She marched away with Kai toting behind her. Shikamaru and Choji relaxed, muttering something amongst themselves, though Kai couldn’t hear.

Finally, they turned in their forms for a Heaven scroll and waited at gate 27.

“This test could cost us our lives… what a drag… but since we gotta, let’s aim for Naruto first.” Shikamaru was in his cocky mood, he usually got like this during shogi so it wasn’t surprising to see. Choji was sorting through his hip pouch, organizing his snacks in order of when he wanted to eat them.

“How did you fit a strawberry cake in your bag… and when will you let me have a bite?” Kai grinned, pouting when Choji shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “You suck, I thought we were friends!”

The gates opened and they rushed inside, bounding through the trees until they made some pretty good headway. Then they stuck to the ground, stealthing their way through the forest. Shika’s plan involved avoiding any and all combat until they knew what kind of scroll the opposing team had. Though the main goal was Naruto first. Choji sat down all of a sudden, opening up a bag of chips.

“Seriously?! We haven’t even been out here five minutes!” Ino screeched, though Kai tried to quiet her.

“Come on Choji, we’ve got a job to do here.” You know it’s bad when Shikamaru agrees with Ino.

“But I’m hungry! I gotta keep up my strength somehow .” Choji wined.

Kai huffed. “Come on Choj, you could at least share.”

“Or you could have brought more kunai.” Ino glowered.

Shika jolted “You guys, hide.” Ino jumped for the bush, grabbing Kai as she did while Shika dragged Choji in by his scarf. Three ninja jumped down in the clearing moments later. Kai and Shikamaru noticed the chips at the same time.

Shit, there goes our advantage.

But this team obviously weren’t trackers, otherwise they would have been caught for sure. They just bounded off the opposite direction. Team 10 let out a collective sigh of relief… until they heard screaming out in the distance.

“Geez… Five more days of this? Sorry for dragging you into this you guys.” Kai muttered, getting back into formation as they snuck around the forest. They managed to avoid confrontation for the rest of the day, finding a river to take a brief rest. Choji finished off two bags of chips while Ino cut down some bamboo to use as cups. That left Shikamaru and Kai with the task of finding food.

Kai split off, gathering a few different berries. She popped a few in her mouth on the way back, noticing Shikamaru had snagged a few fish and was in the process of starting a fire.

“I thought you didn’t want to draw any attention? Wouldn’t smoke and fire make a beacon right towards us?” She muttered, holding out a raspberry for him.

He huffed, taking the fruit. “Wanna eat these raw?”

Kai rolled her eyes, sitting down next to him. “No I guess you’re right. I could use my chakra but it would take a lot of it… and we have no idea who else is out there.” She sighed, concentrating on her index finger as she stuck it in the branches Shikamaru had arranged, the wood cracking from the heat and eventually a small fire sprung forth. Kai smiled to herself, helping Shika load the fish onto sticks to roast them.

Ino came back with fresh water and Choji managed to find a covered area for them to post up. Once they all finished their food, they made camp.

“We should keep watch in rounds. Three two-hour shifts. We rotate through, so whoever doesn’t take watch tonight will start the next one.” Shikamaru emphasized, everyone else nodding in agreement. “Last person on watch is in charge of waking everyone else up so we can get a move on. We don’t want to stay in one place for too long.”

“I can start tonight’s watch.” Kai raised her hand.

“I’ll take next shift.” Ino piped up. Now it was down to the boys.

Choji cleared his throat. “I guess I’ll take the last watch so Shikamaru can sleep in today.”

Everyone nodded again; Ino, Choji and Shikamaru getting as comfortable as they could, Kai posting up against a tree. Her shift remained relatively normal. She noticed a few wild animals cross her path but they were all harmless rabbits or frogs.

Maybe Kabuto was wrong about the dangers here… Maybe the Forest of Death is just a scare tactic. Everything is really peaceful.

That was until a giant centipede made its way towards her, slithering down the tree trunk. She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop the screech before it woke everyone up, fumbling through her kunai pouch and producing two shuriken. She jumped away, launching the shuriken at the monstrosity, thankfully nailing it in the head. Kai watched as it fell limp, legs still twitching.

“Disgusting.” She muttered, shaking her hands in disgust. She glanced over at her comrades; they were all still snoring peacefully.

Kai gently pushed Ino’s cheek, hovering over the blonde. “Ino.” She whispered. “It’s your turn.” But the girl wouldn’t budge. Kai huffed and tried again, poking her friend in the ribs this time. “Ino.” Her voice was a little firmer.

Nothing.

Kai groaned and gripped Ino’s shoulders, shaking her awake. “Inooooo.” She whisper-yelled, finally getting through to her.

“I’m up! I’m up!” Ino whisper-yelled back, thankfully remembering their situation. 

“Good! I’m tired!” Kai huffed, curling up for the night.

~*~*~

“ Crunch-chomp-crunch.”

Kai stirred, squinting at the sudden sunlight. “What the-”

“Mm… crunch-smack-nom. ”

Kai rubbed at her eyes, sitting up groggily. “The fuck?” Once her vision cleared, she made eye-contact with Choji who was elbow deep in a chip bag. Ino and Shikamaru were waking up around her as well.

“Morning guys!” Choji beamed, finishing the last chip.

Kai groaned, bringing her braid over her shoulder, trying to pick out the twigs and leaves that got stuck in it in her sleep.

“Alright. Let’s get moving.” Shikamaru led the pack through the forest.

Ino sensed someone and you all dodged into the bushes nearby. Kai heard the footsteps get closer.

“Alright, come out of there.” The voice was monotone and… annoyed?

“Crap! How did we get spotted?” Shika panicked.

“Okay, Strategy One didn’t work. So we go for Strategy Two!” Ino nodded and Kai facepalmed.

“Are-are you sure?” Choji was apprehensive.

Ino grit her teeth. “You got a problem? Trust me, it can’t fail!”

Kai grimaced. “What do we have to lose?”

Thankfully it was only Neji Hyuuga, though Kai didn’t like kissing up to him like that. Ino unleashed her ‘sex appeal’ and Neji quickly turned the other way. That only ticked off Ino as she monologued in her head, punching the air.

“Did you just raise your fists at me?”

Everyone froze.

“N-no way!” Ino shrunk in on herself.

How did he even see that?!

Neji let them scamper off into the bushes again, something about being a laughing stock if he took their scroll. Whatever, they survived… for now. They ran and ran until they were panting.

“Alright, let’s find some weaklings!” Ino laughed maniacally, affixing her hair back into her ponytail.

Yeah… except I think we’re the weaklings…

Chapter Text

“Ugh! This sucks! We can’t find anyone weaker than us out there!” Ino screeched.

“Hang on, I still think we have a chance if we go after Naruto’s team.” Shikamaru crossed his arms and Kai nodded.

Ino didn’t like that one bit. Kai quickly retreated. “Take that back!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“I won’t have you bad-mouth Sasuke like that!”

Kai shuffled away from the two bickering, jumping up into the tree to join Choji. She took one of the peaches from him, munching quietly. She knew better than to get between them, it never turned out well for anyone.

“Hey… Sasuke’s collapsed. And Sakura’s fighting.” Choji pointed out, breaking everyone from their thoughts.

Kai looked out to where he was pointing, Ino and Shika joining them.

“No way…” Ino whispered, grabbing Kai by the wrist and bounding through the trees towards the fight.

“I-Ino what the hell?!” Kai stumbled, trying to keep up, Shika and Choji not far behind. They dove behind some bushes (shocker), Ino clamping a hand over Kai’s mouth to keep her quiet. Peeking through the bushes, she watched as three sound ninja faced off against Sakura and the loud bushy-brows from earlier. 

Lee, right? His ear was bleeding and Sakura didn’t look too good herself but she was still fighting back.

“These guys are scary! Let’s get outta here!” Choji whimpered.

“Sasuke and Naruto are knocked out… Lee’s not looking too good either.” Shika whispered, looking at Kai and Ino.

Ino was frozen.

“It’s just Sakura… all by herself…” Kai turned to Ino. “We have to help, right?” She started to rise from her position, Shika quickly pulling her down.

“It’s your call Ino.”

“Wh-why me?” Ino was shaking now.

“Because if we don’t do anything she’s toast. Are you really okay with that?!” Shikamaru sneered and Kai jumped. She had never really seen him like this before. “You and her were friends once, right?”

Ino froze in shock.

“Hey… Ino? You still with us?” Kai whispered.

“Well? What’s your plan?” Shika snapped at her.

“Why do you keep asking me that? What am I supposed to do? You want me to go out there and get myself killed?” She was trembling now, knees knocking together.

Kai heard a yelp and suddenly Sakura was getting dragged by her hair. She couldn’t make out what the black-haired girl was saying but by Sakura’s face it wasn’t good. Tears were running down Haruno’s face and one of the sound ninja made his way towards Sasuke and Naruto’s unconscious bodies.

Sakura drew a kunai, exchanging a few words before slicing her hair.

What?!

She broke free from the sound ninja’s hold, her headband clattering to the ground. The sound attacked and she countered, using substitutions to jump around the battleground. She managed to pin one to the ground, biting his arm as he whalloped her head.

Sakura!

As soon as Sakura was thrown from the Sound ninja, Kai turned to Ino. Ino grabbed Choji’s scarf and the four of them jumped out in front of their comrade.

“I’m not letting you show off in front of Saskue.” Ino was confident, squaring up with the opposing force.

Choji, however, was trembling. “Are you guys insane?! These guys are bad news!”

Shikamaru was still holding tight to Choji’s scarf, knowing that the minute he let go, his friend would make a run for it. “What else were we supposed to do? Sit back and let the girls do all the fighting?”

Ino laughed nervously. “Sorry to get you guys involved, but all for one and one for all, right?”

Kai pushed Choji to stand. “Yeah! We’re a team! We’re in this together!”

“It’s suicide is what it is!” Choji was in full panic mode, all three other members now gripping his scarf to hold him in place.

“Heh, better to drop out now than die later, huh fatso?” The very very idiotic Sound Ninja piped up, Team 10 froze.

“What did that guy just say to me? I didn’t quite catch that…”

Oh shit… not that word.

Choji got quiet. “Wanna repeat that?”

Dum-dum scoffed. “I said, run away while you still can, fatty.” 

Choji whipped around, fire in his eyes. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING FAT! I’M JUST A LITTLE BIG-BONED!” He roared, his battle-cry echoing through the trees. “Alright! Now it’s personal! A fight to the death between Leaf and Sound!”

Well, he’s got the fighting spirit now…

“Thanks a lot, now we gotta deal with this.” Shika chimed in.

“Sakura, your teammates are down. Look after them.” Ino commanded. “Team Ino, let’s show them who's boss! Formation Ino!”

“Shika!”

“Cho!”

“Kai!”

“Take it away Choji!” Ino shouted, prompting Choji to use his expansion jutsu into his human-boulder technique. The opposing Sound ninja used some kind of wind to stop Choji in his tracks. Choji launched high into the air and the mummy-looking guy raced to push his teammate out of the way.

That’s when Shika joined the fight with his shadow possession jutsu, trapping Mr Mummy.

“Just me and my shadow.” Shika chuckled, making a funny pose.

“Ino. Kai. Whoever wants the girl, I leave her to you.”

“Kai, look after my body. I’ll take care of this.” Ino announced, prompting Kai to jump behind her friend, arms out, bracing for impact. “Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!” And like that Ino’s body slumped into Kai’s arms as her soul entered the black-haired ninja. 

Choji continued his assault, Ino holding a kunai up to the enemy’s throat. “One false move, and this Kin girl is as good as dead! So here’s what you’re gonna do: drop the scroll and run away with your pathetic tails between your legs. Once you’re far enough away that I can’t sense your chakras, I’ll let her go.”

Neither ninja budged though. Uh oh! The one with spiky hair raised his hand toward Kin and fired an air blast. Choji barreled his way toward her, getting caught by the air and pushing right into Kin, shoving her against the tree. Ino’s body started bleeding from the mouth.

“Guys this isn’t good!” Kai called out, desperately trying to think of an alternate plan.

Chapter Text

Kai huffed, shifting Ino’s body in her arms. She took a cautionary glance back at Sakura, trying to assess the situation.

“Shit.”

She heard Shikamaru mutter under his breath, his shadow weakening. Kai moved to make her hand signs but it was too late, the shadow returning to its owner.

“Well well… looks like your little paralysis jutsu has a time limit.” The now freed ninja chuckled darkly.

“It’s Shadow Posession. Get it right.” Shika scoffed.

Dosu turned to Kai, eyes focused on Ino. “And it looks like this kunoichi can send her soul into another’s body.. But whatever happens to Kin happens to her as well. It would be a shame if Kin were to perish.”

“What are you gonna do? Kill your teammate? What kind of monsters are you?” Kai spat out, gripping onto Ino’s limp form.

“That’s what you children fail to understand. We don’t care about some stupid scrolls or even this test. Were her for one reason: to kill Sasuke.” The mummified-ninja sneered.

“Yeah! One wrong move and I’ll wipe her out myself!” Spiky-hair bellowed, aiming his hand at his comrade.

Ino-Kin’s body flinched, her eyes meeting Kai’s before shifting to Sasuke’s limp form. Kai heard Sakura react similarly behind her.

Shika groaned. “Man! What a drag!”

“Did you really think you could beat us? You guys are just a bunch of hacks!”

“Second-rate ninja from a second-rate village.”

“Is that so? Then you must come from a third-rate village.” A new and familiar voice called out from above them. “I wonder if you amatuers are prepared to take on a real challenge?”

Neji stood with TenTen on the tree above the group.

“Lee’s team. Thank goodness they showed up.” Sakura muttered, wiping the blood from her cheeks.

“Someone used our teammate as a punching bag…” His eyes widened and Kai felt a shiver run through her. “No one does that and gets away with it!”

It’s like he’s looking right at all of us… no… through all of us…

“No more playing around. TenTen, full power!”

TenTen readied herself but Neji hesitated.

“Lot of tough talk. Are you going to come down and do something about it?” Dosu called up, challenging Neji.

Neji scoffed. “Actually, it looks like it’s been taken out of my hands.”

While everyone was focused on Neji, no one noticed Sasuke was not only awake but upright. Dark purple smoke whisked around him, strange markings covering his skin. Kai felt her whole body start to tremble just from looking at him.

His voice cut through the silence. “Sakura… who did this to you? Who was it?”

Something wasn’t right with his eyes. Sure his sharingan was active but there was something more behind them, something Kai couldn’t quite place. The intent behind his words did nothing to soothe her fears.

“Well look no further! I did that to your precious teammate. Whatcha gonna do about it huh?” The arrogance was strong with Spiky-hair, and he would quickly regret those words.

Choji dove for the bushes. “I’m getting out of here!”

“Ino, Kai, come on! If you stay there you’re gonna get involved!” Shika called out, running to follow Choji.

Ino quickly returned to her body, grabbing Kai’s wrist and tugging hard but Kai was frozen in place, her muscles locked up. “Kai come on let’s go!”

Shikamaru jumped out, trading places with Ino. “Go to Choji, I got this.” He gripped Kai’s shoulders, trying to get her to meet his eyes. “Kai, we gotta get out of here. Things are gonna get bad.”

No response.

The marks were spreading over Sasuke’s entire body, smoke getting thicker… more violent…

“Super Sonic Slicing Wave!”

Shika shoved into Kai, pushing her from her spot and covering her body with his as an intense wave of air rushed past. The air subsequently got knocked out of Kai’s lungs at the impact, shaking her from her stupor.

As the air calmed, she sat shakily, looking over Shikamaru’s shoulder in time to see Sasuke right behind the panting Sound Ninja. He sliced a hand down hard, tossing him like a rag-doll into a nearby tree.

Bursts of flames erupted from Sasuke’s mouth, which Zaku snuffed with his air, revealing shuriken hidden inside. Then Sasuke disappeared, reappearing with his foot on Zaku’s back, an arm in each hand.

So fast.

“Seems you’re pretty proud of these hands of yours. You must be… very attached to them.” With a wicked smile on his face, he pulled up… hard. The sound of ripping muscle and breaking bones filling the forest only to be drowned out by Zaku screaming in pain.

Kai watched in horror as his body fell to the ground; arms going limp beside him. She felt like she was going to throw up.

“Looks like you’re the only one left.”

Kai briefly registered Shika’s grip at her wrist, holding her tight… grounding himself. She took a deep breath, reaching out to Ino and doing the same, giving her wrist a squeeze. Team Ten watched as Sakura raced up behind Sasuke, holding him tight, begging him to stop.

The marks faded.

The sound ninja left.

Kai jumped up, the rest of Team Ten following suit.

“Ino, Kai. Go check on Lee. Choji and I will go to Naruto.”

“Right!” The girls responded in unison, rushing out to the green-clad ninja. They hoisted him up together, tossing him up on their shoulders.

A scream drew Kai’s attention, making her freeze in place.

Naruto scrambled up, screaming about a grass ninja and crawling around on the floor, only stopping when Choji continued to poke him in the head with the stick they whacked him with.

Those boys can be so cruel sometimes. Kai sighed, walking Lee over to their group, only being stopped by TenTen.

“I’ll take care of it from here, thanks girls.” She took Lee from their arms and shook him like a doll. “Snap out of it Lee some on!”

Ino and Kai shared a look.

“Sakura! Something happened to your hair!”

Not going to mention her face?

“Oh this? It just got in the way. I like it long but being out in the wilderness like this was making it difficult…”

“And you guys… Shikamaru, why are you here?”

“It would be too much of a pain to explain it…”

“Hey! Bushy Brow! You’re here too?!”

“Naruto! Don’t say anything bad about Lee!” Kai could feel the rage packed behind that punch as Naruto went hurtling across the forest floor.

Shika sidled up next to her. “Man… He’s really out of the loop, huh?”

Choji joined in on the other side. “He’s so out of the loop he doesn’t know there even is a loop.”

Kai chuckled to herself. “Yeah… He’s no protagonist.”

“Hey Sakura! Come over here! I wanna fix your hair for you!” Ino shouted.

“Oh great… I should go make sure she doesn’t ‘accidentally’ make Sakura bald.” Kai joined the other Kunoichi just in time to hear them muttering insults under their breaths. She crouched down, observing Ino’s handiwork. “Y’know Sakura… I think you look nice with short hair.” She smiled, pulling out her kunai and fixing up the bangs, trying to mediate any further conversation.

Chapter Text

Once everyone was settled, all the teams split up, venturing further into the forest. 

“Well… that sure was interesting.” Shika murmured under his breath. “What a drag, now we’re behind.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to catch up. From the looks of it, Team Seven still has to find another scroll.” Kai offered, bounding through the trees. “We should really start strategizing though… maybe move closer to the tower.”

The others nodded, changing direction towards where they assumed the middle was. Everyone started bouncing ideas off each other; Ino offering to Mind Transfer into people to figure out what scroll they had, Choji wanting to stick to their bush method, Shikamaru factoring all possibilities.

“What if we made some kind of trap?” Kai offered, fishing through the supplies she brought. “I’ve got some wire strings, explosive tags, and smoke bombs… Shika, you should have some flash bombs, right?”

He nodded, pulling some out of his hip pouch. “Ino could transfer into someone and lead them right into our trap. Good ideas everyone.”

They made their way to a clearing and got to work.

Kai strung the wire across the forest floor, attaching them to the explosives that Choji stuck to nearby trees while Shikamaru hooked up the flash bombs. The plan was to have the flash bombs go off first, blinding the team and disorienting them so Ino could escape out of whatever body she was in, then Shikamaru would use Shadow Possession to trap all of them, allowing Choji and Kai to search for the scroll. The explosives were their back-up just in case the flash didn’t go off in time or the team decided to pursue.

The sun started to set so Ino and Choji went off to collect some food while Kai and Shikamaru found a near-by place to make camp.

Shikamaru plopped down at the base of a tree, stretching. “I’m taking first watch.”

 Kai huffed, sitting next to him. “I’ll join you.”

Shika shook his head. “You took the first last night, you need sleep.”

Kai bit her lip, dragging her knees up to her chest. “You sure? I can do it, I’m not tired. Plus… someone’s gotta make sure you stay up… right?” She chuckled weakly, moving her braid over her shoulder and playing with the end.

Before Shikamaru could retort, Ino and Choji came barging through with arms full of fruit - though Choji was already eating some of his.

“Tadaaaaa~! We return victorious!” Ino grinned, her face sombering when she noticed the tension in the air. “Here Kai… eat up. You too Shikamaru. We all need to be in tip-top shape if we’re gonna snag another scroll.”

As they ate (though Kai was really just nibling), Choji was the first to pass out, his soft snoring filling the air.

“Night guys.” Ino yawned, curling up on her hip pouch.

“You should sleep too.” Shika muttered, poking Kai in the shoulder.

She shook her head, though she could feel her eyelids growing heavy. “No way… not tired…” She grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“Uh-huh… I’m not buying it.”

“I’m just… resting… my eyes…” Kai yawned, curling up into the tree, her eyes closing and breath evening out.

“Night Kai.” Shika chuckled, watching the stars.

Purple smoke swirled around her, the intense feeling of immense chakra suffocating her. She noticed the raven-haired boy standing not too far away, the look on his face nothing short of murderous. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. They locked eyes and suddenly he was behind her. 

“Let’s see how you fare without your arms.” 

Her hands were being pulled behind, her torso slammed into the dirt. She screamed but no sound left her lips, tears running down her face. She was shaking now, back-and-forth.

Kai awoke with a jolt, gasping for breath. She felt hands on her shoulders and frantically swatted them away, curling into a ball. Her face was wet from tears, her breath shaky.

“...Kai?”

It was a familiar voice… though gentler than she’s ever heard it… Shikamaru’s voice.

She peeked her head up, meeting her friend's gaze. He looked so concerned, worry written all over his features; his hands hovering just above her. 

“You alright?” He whispered, almost like he was afraid she’d break if he spoke too loud.

“...Nightmare…” She whispered back, trying to control her breaths.

He sighed, moving closer and wrapping his arms around her. “Come on..” He tucked her head into his shoulder, rubbing her back. “Wanna talk about it?” 

Kai wrapped her arms around his torso, wiping her tears away on his shirt. She sniffed, squeezing him. “What happened to Sasuke? What would we have done if he turned against us like that?” She breathed, closing her eyes. “He was so… ruthless…”

Shikamaru nodded, rubbing small circles into her back. “Honestly? I don’t know… But he only seemed to do it because Sakura was hurt so he wouldn’t have hurt any of us.” He tightened his grip on her, basically pulling her into his lap.

Kai just closed her eyes and focused on his heartbeat, Shika’s hand rubbing larger circles into her back lulling her back to sleep. “...-re right…” She yawned, snuggling into his warmth. “-anks…. -ika…” Her eyes closed again as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

The morning came with a bright light in Kai’s face, making her stir. She groaned, her muscles sore from being at an awkward angle for so long. Something shifted underneath her, making her jolt awake. A sleeping Shikamaru was underneath her, his arms loose around her waist, head resting on top of hers. Her face went bright red and she tried her best to retreat but her arms were trapped under his torso.

“Shika…” She hissed, shaking her arms.

He jostled; eyes blinking open. “Wh-wha?” His eyes met hers and his face went red, arms immediately shooting up into the air, freeing Kai from his grasp.

She quickly shuffled off his lap, clearing her throat. “So uh… thanks f-for… comforting me… l-last night..” She breathed, playing with her braid.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. “Y-yeah… of course…”

Kai went to say something when a bright flash caught her attention. “The trap!” She whisper-yelled, shooting to her feet and gripping Shikamaru’s arm. “Come on come on!” She practically dragged him from their camp right in time to catch some stumbling genin before they tripped over the explosive wire.

“Shadow Possession Jutsu!” Shikamaru called out, his shadow catching the fleeting moments of the flash bombs to catch the three-man team.

“What the hell?!” “It’s a trap!” “No shit, dumbass!”

“Great job Shika!” Kai called out, running out and patting down the three guys. “Alright, where’d you hide your scroll?” She muttered, trying to hurry for Shikamaru’s sake. 

“Kai? Shikamaru?” She heard Ino’s voice calling out for them.

“Ino over here! Hurry!” She hollered out, rummaging through a hip pouch. “Ugh, you guys need a bath. Bad.”

Ino and Choji came running up. “Woah! Nice one Shika!” Choji grinned.

“Idiot! Hurry up and find their scroll! Shikamaru, raise their hands up!” Ino took charge, everyone following suit.

Kai had to admit, it was always funny watching people’s first-reactions to Shadow Possession. The three genin’s eyes were blown wide as their bodies moved against their will, giving Kai, Ino, and Choji better access to search their things.

“Got one!”

“Found it!”

Choji and Ino called out at the same time, both brandishing a scroll.

Kai grinned. “Awesome! Let’s take the Earth scroll and go!”

Ino, however, had other plans. “What if we took both? Then they’d have a harder time finishing! More room for us in the next round!”

“H-hey wait!” “That’s not cool!”

Kai shook her head. “We only need the Earth scroll to get to the tower. That’s it. Give then their Heaven scroll and let’s go.” She stole a glance at Shikamaru, the shadows starting to get thin. She took a breath, making her hand signals and performing her Firefly Jutsu. She focused on his shadow enough to strengthen it, creating a line between Shika and their prey.

Ino returned their Heaven scroll as Choji pocketed the Earth one; the two of them getting behind Shikamaru. Kai made her way as well, hoping her next plan would work. 

“Okay… Shika.. On my word, drop the jutsu.” She whispered, getting three shocked looks sent her way.

“But-!”

“You guys are gonna have to trust me. Please.” She pleaded, moving her fireflies to create a wall between the two teams. “I have a plan.”

She locked eyes with Shikamaru. He seemed to be contemplating for a minute but he eventually nodded. “On your mark.”

She took a deep breath, conjuring the image in her mind. “Okay… Now!” A bright flash emitted from the ‘fireflies’ and the shadow shrank back to its owner; Kai quickly grabbed her team and tugged them down into the bushes.

“Come on let’s get them!”

She heard one of their opponents shout, their footsteps heading away from them. “Phew! Let’s get to the tower, yeah?” She dropped her jutsu, the fireflies fading away as she stood, brushing off the leaves and making the proper way towards the tower, leaving her dumbfounded teammates in the dirt.

“Wh-wh-wait! Kai!” Ino charged up behind her. “You can’t just walk away and act like nothing just happened! What was that!” The two boys followed.

“Let’s just say I’ve been working on a new jutsu with my dad.” She giggled. “Hey look! We’re here!”

The tower loomed ahead of them as they slunk through the trees, thankfully getting to their assigned door without much incident. The team collapsed onto the floor once the door closed, knowing they were safe at last.

“Uh-oh guys… Looks like this isn’t the end!” Choji whined, pointing to a large tapestry on the wall above them.

Kai huffed, reading it outloud. “If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever-”

“So we need to open the scrolls at the same time.” Shikamaru interrupted with a yawn.

“Are you sure? We weren’t supposed to open them though!”

“Ino’s got a point, Shika… are you sure?” Kai murmured, fiddling with her braid.

Shika placed his hands behind his neck. “We couldn’t open ours … this is telling us to open both . I’m sure of it.”

“Well… you take one… and I’ll take one.” Kai straightened, reaching out for one of the scrolls.

They stood next to each other, scrolls in hand.

“Ready?”

She nodded, the both of them ripping the seal and opening the scrolls together, a cloud of smoke appearing after a moment and suddenly Asuma stood in front of them.

“Well well well! Looks like y’all made it after-all!” He chuckled heartily, smoke trailing from his cigarette.

“ Asmua Sensei?!”

Chapter Text

“You guys don’t look half-bad. And you finished with a day to spare.” Asuma chuckled, crossing his arms.

Team Ten stared in disbelief.

“Asuma sensei, what are you doing here?” Ino called out, everyone else nodding along.

“What’s it look like? You guys summoned me after all! You passed the second exam!”

Kai let out a breath, falling to the floor. “Thank goodness!”

Ino and Choji followed suit, both of them letting out a breath.

Asuma chuckled. “Normally I’d say we could go for some barbeque but you’ll have to go to the holding rooms until tomorrow. There’s already a few other teams that have been here, including team eight.”

Ino screeched. “No way sensei! You mean Hinata’s team beat us here!”

“Yep. They’ve been here since day one.”

Shikamaru scoffed, crossing his arms. “They’re a tracking-type team, of course they were faster. With Hinata’s Byakugan alone they could have found an opposing team’s scroll and the tower. Add Kiba and Akamarus noses and Shino’s bugs and they were made for this exam.”

Asuma nodded, taking a long drag from his cigarette. “Through those doors they’ll have food and beds for you to use-“

“Food…” Choji drooled.

“-so rest up and be ready for tomorrow.” Asuma opened the door to the inside of the tower, stepping back to let his team in.

“Sensei… you won’t be staying here?” Kai pondered, also wanting to ask if there were any showers but deciding against it. 

Their mentor only shook his head. “Nope. I’ll see you all tomorrow when the exam is over. Be prepared for anything, it looks like a lot of teams passed.” And with that he disappeared.

The girls stood and started towards the door but Choji tore past them with fire in his eyes. “Outta my way I’m starving!” He was inside in an instant, searching for the promised goods.

“Choji! What the hell?!” Ino charged after him, most likely to chew him out.

Kai sighed, looking back to Shikamaru. “Guess we should make sure they don’t kill each other, yeah?”

Shika smirked, letting out a huff. “When did we become the parents of the group?”

Kai shrugged, laughing at their team's dynamics. It was going to be a long night. She used that time to catch up with Team Eight and get some food in her stomach - actual food, not just various fruits and bugs (unfortunately). All the teams were given different rooms to sleep in to avoid confrontation and the next day flew by quickly. Next thing everyone knew, they were being corralled into a large arena, all the teams lining up. The sensei’s were lined up on a stage along with Anko and the Hokage, the other proctors taking their places at the foot of the stage.

“First off: Congratulations on finishing the second exam.” Anko exclaimed through her headset, though she was loud enough she didn’t really need it.

Kai took a cautionary look around from her vantage spot in the very back of the lineup. Team Guy passed, obviously. The Sand ninja were apparently the first to pass and had been at the tower since day one like Team Eight. The ninja from the Sound passed as well… unfortunately. Most surprising, however, was Team Seven and that Kabuto guy’s team… They looked like they came in fresh from the forest. Only Seven teams made it… That’s not a lot.

“Man I’m hungry.”

“There’s still this many teams? What a drag…”

“Oh look Sasuke passed!”

Her team talked amongst themselves as Kai tried to keep her nerves in check. What did Shika mean by that? Are there usually less teams? And all the rookies made it through, that’s good… right?

“Now listen up maggots, Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you! Pay attention!” Anko bowed respectfully to the Hokage, letting him take the stage.

“First, before I tell you what the third exam entails I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely, this is something you all need to understand. The true purpose of these exams. Why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?” He paused but no one moved to answer.

“To raise the ability levels of the shinobi and increase friendship between nations, sure, but it’s important to understand it’s true meaning. The exams are… so to speak… a representation of the battle between allied nations.”

Huh?

The Hokage went on to explain the history of the nations and how they chose champions to fight for them in a mutual location, essentially continuing that tradition. He also mentioned that feudal lords would be in attendance to look for outstanding shinobi and even offer them jobs, determining the course of your life forever.

“The third exam is a fight for life with the pride of your village and your own dreams at stake.” The Hokage took a puff from his pipe. “Alright I will now explain exactly what will take place for the third exam.”

Suddenly a shinobi appeared before him, wishing to speak. 

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Hayate Gekko, the proctor for the third exam-” he was interrupted by his own coughing. “There’s something I’d like for all of you to do before the third and final exam.” He kept breaking down into coughing fits, almost like he had been smoking all his life. “So uh…. We have to have a preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one.”

To say that everyone was shocked would be an understatement.

“Huh?” “Whaa?”

“Preliminary?! What do you mean by that?!” Shika burst out, taking Kai off guard.

“I’m sorry sensei, I’m confused. Why can’t we just move on to the next exam?” Sakura asked over Shika’s outburst.

“Well… uhhh… The first and seconds exams might have been too easy… We never really expected so many of you to be here. According to the rules of the Chunin exams, a preliminary round can be held at any stage to reduce the candidates remaining. We have to speed things up a bit since a lot of important people will be watching. We can’t afford to waste their time. They’ve come to see only the best of the best.” He cleared his throat, projecting his voice a little louder. “We’ll begin immediately. The winners will be determined by one-on-one sudden death combat.”

There was some commotion with Team Seven. Kai dared a look and noticed Sasuke clutching at his shoulder. That’s where those marks were emanating from back in the forest… He looks like he’s in a lot of pain .

Hayate cleared his throat again. “Alright, we’ll begin with the preliminaries. These will be at full battle intensity. There are 22 of you, so we will need to have eleven matches. The eleven remaining will advance to the third exam. As for the rules… there are none. You will fight until one dies, admits defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing. Naturally, those who are losing are encouraged to concede to avoid a fatal outcome.”

A battle to the death?! No way these guys are serious!

“Furthermore, as proctor, I’m given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches. I might intervene if a match seems hopeless to save as many lives as possible. Now… let’s see what fate you all have in store.”

A panel opened to reveal a screen, names flashing along the top and bottom.

Akado Yoroi

VS

Uchiha Sasuke

“Alright, those whose names are on the signboard, come forward. You have been chosen for the first match, any objections?”

As if they’d get to object .

Everyone else was ushered to the upper level to watch the fight. Kai took a spot against the railing, wanting a good view. “Hey Shika… do you know anything about this Yoroi character?”

He shook his head. “Nope… but he looks like a creep.”

The match started and Kai noticed Yoroi’s hand begin to glow, Sasuke dodging and pinning him to the ground. Yoroi must have done something because Sasuke was suddenly on the ground, limbs going limp. 

“You’re stealing my chakra!” Sasuke grit his teeth.

“That’s not good.” Kai whispered, gripping the railing. “That’s a really dangerous jutsu.”

Sasuke managed to separate from the larger man, dodging his attacks as best he could. Naruto started trash-talking his own teammate but it seemed to burn a fire within. The Uchiha was doing better, dodging every attack and finding an opening to kick Yoroi into the air. The marks, however, began to spread across his body again, making Kai tense, her whole body shaking. All of a sudden the marks disappeared and Sasuke was kicking his opponent down to the ground, rendering him unconscious.

“I’m declaring this match over. Uchiha Sasuke moves on to the finals.” Hayate called the match, allowing Kakashi to tend to his student.

He’s really strong… I would have hated to go up against either one of them…

“Hahaaa I knew he’d make it…..!” Ino seemed almost deflated, a breath of relief leaving her body.

The medics came in, taking Yoroi away on a stretcher as the names started to flash again.

Yakushi Kabuto

VS

Hagakure Kai

Kai froze in place, reading that screen over and over again, her hands gripping that railing tight. “Wow… hahahaha so soon?” She turned to look at her team and Asuma was right behind her, hand on her shoulder and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“You’re gonna kill it out there kiddo. Make your dad proud.”

She took a breath, looking down at the white-haired ninja already standing in the arena. “Okay… okay… yeah…”

She made her way to the floor, staring Kabuto right in the eyes - well… glasses… It was hard to find his eyes behind the glare.

“Yakushi Kabuto versus Hagakure Kai. Ready? Begin!”

Kai rushed forward, her hand glowing with her Holy Palm, trying to land a hit but Kabuto was very good at dodging. His hand lit up as well, almost like a blade. He thrust out toward her, which she somersaulted away to dodge. She dropped her Holy Palm, making hand signs to release her fireflies. Kabuto stopped for only a moment, scoffing at the display and charging at her again. She created a curtain with the lights, focusing on creating the wall behind her. She activated the genjutsu, her ‘curtain’ emitting a strong flash, creating the false image of her disappearing.

It worked .

She rushed out, running right behind Kabuto while he was disoriented and landing a kick to his ribs. He snapped out of her genjutsu and leaped away, clutching at his side and panting. Kai took a steadying breath, charging at him with full force and readying up her curtain of light. She activated the genjutsu again, jumping up as the image flashed, landing on top of him to pin him to the ground. He threw her off his chest, her body tumbling across the floor from the force. 

He was stronger than he let on.

She jumped to her feet, readying her curtain again. This time it flashed multiple times, creating an image of her running back at him though she stayed stationary. Kabuto saw through the genjutsu and dispelled it, the fireflies dispersing into the air. He charged at her, swiping an arm out towards her neck. Kai was able to dodge at the last second but whatever jutsu Kabuto was using sliced an inch off the bottom of her braid, making the hair fall loose and beads slip out of her locks.

Kai froze in place, her silver hair falling into her face. She was trembling looking at the beads that scattered across the floor.

Kabuto scoffed. “Weak genjutsu, weak combat, and you lock up when your hair gets ruined? Just go home little girl.”

He threw a punch towards her face but her hand shot up, catching it in a vice-like grip. She growled, rage filling her every word. “Don’t you know … not to fuck up … a woman’s hair ?”

She vaguely heard Shikamaru’s laugh and a “now he’s screwed” before lunging like a jaguar, pulling Kabuto’s hand towards her to deck him in the face. She swung around to his back, using that momentum to throw him onto the floor. Without letting go, she charged her free hand, aiming a Holy Palm Strike for his chest but he was quicker.He wrenched his hand free, rolling out of the way as she slammed her palm into the ground, singing the stone slightly. He sliced out with his hand, making her dodge back. She fished out a kunai, jumping back into it and trading blows. She lunged and he blocked, shifting to attack while she blocked with her kunai. Her rage was the only thing fueling her now, making her sloppy. She started telegraphing her moves and that’s when he got her.

He sliced right through her arm, making her cry out in pain and drop her jutsu. She looked at her arm but there was no blood… What?!

Kabuto smirked, adjusting his glasses. “It’s called a chakra scalpel. Lets me target inside your body without ever breaking skin. I just sliced a major tendon so you should begin to lose feeling in your fingertips soon.”

Kai huffed, pushing past the pain and dropping her kunai. She focused her chakra to her other hand, trying to catch him in the middle of gloating but he was too quick and sliced her other arm.

“Seriously just give up! You can’t use your arms!”

She hung her head, hair covering her face. He was inching closer and closer, his hand glowing with his scalpel again. Once he got close enough she kicked out and hard, her toes glowing. While he was talking, she focused the rest of the chakra she could manage to her left foot, kicking straight up into the air and catching his chin. Where they connected, she singed his skin, leaving him screaming and tumbling backwards. She kicked a few more times, her arms just limp at her sides, silver hair swaying wildly.

Kabuto landed on the ground and she placed a firm foot on his chest, forcing the rest of her chakra to her heel and digging in. Smoke rose from his burning shirt, skin sizzling.

“I concede!” He yelled out.

“Wh-what?”

Kabuto pushed her foot off his chest, taking heaving breaths. “I! Concede!”

“Hagakure Kai is the winner of this round!”

She let out a breath, stumbling on her feet. Asuma was instantly behind her, sweeping her up into his arms.

“Easy there, dragon. Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

“But… I wanna see who’s next… What if I miss Ino… or Choji… or Shika? And my beads… I need those.” Both her hands were now numb.

Asume looked up to Shikamaru, nodding. “He severed your tendons, we need to get you medical attention. I’ll keep you updated.” He placed her on the gurney and followed the medical ninja into the infirmary.

Once Kai was safely on the gurney, Shikamaru jumped down, collecting all the beads and pocketting them to keep them safe. He was sweating from watching her match, his hands hurting from gripping the railing so hard to prevent himself from jumping down and hitting Kabuto into next year.

Chapter Text

Kai’s name flashed on the screen and Shikamaru tensed. Shit… We don’t know anything about four-eyes… He kept his back pressed against the wall, trying to seem nonchalant. 

Kai took the offense immediately: she was always quick to run in head-first without much of a second thought, but this Kabuto guy had quicker reflexes and forced her to the defensive. She managed to get some distance and made a few familiar hand signs.

Dance of the Fireflies… but how is that going to help?

The little lights moved, collecting into a rectangular shape like they had back in the forest after they took the scroll. 

She never did explain what all that was, troublesome girl.

That’s when he noticed a new hand sign: she extended her index and middle finger quickly. If he had blinked he would have missed it. There was a bright flash from the lights and Kai took off running but Kabuto wasn’t moving. 

“So it was genjutsu,” he muttered, smiling to himself, “can’t believe she managed to keep that a secret for so long.”

Choji nodded beside him, watching the match intensely. “Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t even know she could do that.”

“Yeah Kai! You go girl!” The loudmouth cheered on, practically hanging over the railing.

“Ino, quit distracting her.” He pushed off the wall in time to watch Kai get thrown across the floor, her body tumbling like a rag-doll. Fuck that’s gotta hurt. Four-eyes is strong…

Kai’s jutsu started flashing multiple times, probably projecting multiple images but Kabuto dispelled it quickly, the little lights flickering into the air and disappearing. He started slashing out at Kai with his hand and Shikamaru could only assume he was using a jutsu of some kind. It was confirmed when a seemingly harmless touch to Kai’s braid cut off a decent inch, unraveling the hairstyle.

“Shika look! Mama braided up my hair for the exams!”

“What’s with the beads?”

“It’s for good luck! Each bead represents a generation of Team Ino-Shika-Cho-Kai with this bigger one at the bottom being our parents! It’ll be like they’re right there with us, cheering us on!”

Beads of blue and white bounced across the floor as they slid out of her hair, the silver strands falling into her face and covering her eyes. Eyes that normally sparkled like emeralds in the sunlight. Shikamaru didn’t even notice he had been walking until the railing stopped him, he couldn’t look away. While Kabuto was ranting about how weak her jutsu was, Shika noticed a flash in her eyes that sent shivers down his spine.

Four-eyes threw a punch and Kai caught it, her hand shaking she was gripping it so tight. Her eyes snapped to his. Once shimmering emeralds, her eyes were now vats of acid. The rage that seeped from her was palpable and toxic.

“Don’t you know … not to fuck up … a woman’s hair?! ” Kai growled through clenched teeth, earning a shudder from four-eyes.

Shikamaru couldn’t help the laugh that left his mouth. Sure on the outside, it seemed like Kai was fired up over her looks, but he knew better. Any other day, she wouldn’t have cared. Maybe cried afterwards because she’s troublesome… but today…  he disgraced her family and ancestors... “ now he’s screwed.”

As if on cue Kai let out a primal yell, pulling four-eyes towards her and decking him right in the face.

“Yes! Show him who's boss! Woo!!” Ino was electrified now, jumping up and down.

Kai shifted her weight, pulling Kabuto over her shoulder and flat on his back. Her hand started to glow and he rolled out of the way at the last second, her palm hitting the ground hard. The stone was burnt from the chakra.

She’s reached killing intent.

While one hand was still burning bright from her Holy Palm, the other produced a kunai.

Her taijutsu skills aren’t to the same level as his. She’s gotta beat him quickly before her adrenaline wears off.

They were trading blows and while she had the upper-hand for a moment, that moment faded. Kai was telegraphing her next moves, leaving openings. She was getting sloppy in her rage and Kabuto found an opening, slicing out at her bicep. She cried out in pain and Shikamaru froze.

What the hell happened?

She dropped her kunai, gripping her right arm like she got cut but… there was no blood. Her arm was just dangling.

“Like that? It’s called a chakra scalpel. It lets me cut through you without ever breaking skin! I just sliced through a major tendon so you should be losing feeling in your fingertips rather soon.”

This asshole is gloating!

Asuma sucked his teeth. “Medical ninjutsu… That’s some tricky stuff. To be able to do that as a genin though…”

Kai lunged forward but was struck down again, falling to the floor. 

“Hey!” He growled, but Asuma placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. He didn’t even realize he was about to jump over the railing.

“If you jump in there now, she will lose. They’ll call the match and she’ll be crushed. She has to concede on her own.”

Shikamaru growled. “He’s going to kill her if we don’t do something.”

Asuma sighed, letting go of his shoulder. “Kai is stronger than she looks and smarter than she acts. You of all people should know that.”

Shikamaru huffed, turning back to the arena, leaning against the railing. Kai was back on her feet, head hung low. Her arms were just hanging limp at her sides as the prick inched closer and closer, mocking her. Suddenly her leg shot straight up into the air, catching him in the jaw and making him fall flat on his ass. He let out a scream and Shikamaru could see the flesh under his jaw was red and burnt.

She forced the chakra through her toes so she could burn him… and she’s still kicking wherever she can meet skin.

Finally Kai kicked down and into his gut, leaving him laying in the ground. Her foot pressed firmly on his chest began to glow white, smoke rising from the contact point.

“I concede!”

Kai removed her foot and Kabuto couldn’t even sit up. She had won. Asuma disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind her and sweeping her up into his arms before she collapsed. Shikamaru relaxed and hissed, looking down at his hands. He had been gripping that railing so tight it left blisters.

“Woah… Kai’s badass…” Choji muttered.

“Of course she is! She’s a part of our team after-all!” Ino beamed, though Shikamaru could tell she was boasting to hide her fear.

Shikamaru took a breath, making eye contact with Asuma and nodding before running down the stairs to collect the beads. She’ll be wanting these back . He watched on as the medics transferred her to a gurney and took her away, gripping the large bead tight as Kabuto’s gurney passed him. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to deck that four-eyes in the face.

Chapter Text

The harsh light of the infirmary stirred Kai awake, though, when she went to shield her eyes she hissed out in pain.

That’s right… Kabuto sliced my tendons.

“Easy there Miss Hagakure. You’ll still have some pain from the procedure.” A medic appeared at her side, blocking the light with his head.

“Procedure?” That’s when she looked down, noticing the gauze around her arms, slings holding them close to her chest. Her chest was wrapped in cloth, her tank top folded neatly on a chair nearby. Her hair fluttered into her face, making her groan. “Where’s Asuma sensei? Are the preliminaries over?” Her voice rasped, dry from the anesthesia.

The medic smiled down at her with kind eyes. “We just had to go in and re-attach the tendons. Thankfully they were cut through cleanly and not torn so it was easy to fix, though you might be sore for a few days. I can flag your sensei down if you’d like, though, the preliminaries are still going on.”

She sat up quickly, making the medic jump back so she didn’t headbutt him. “Can I go watch?!” 

He let out a soft chuckle. “I suppose that couldn’t hurt. Let me get a wheelchair and help you back into your shirt.”

Thank all the beings above her shirt was a zip-up. It was a whole process trying to get it back with just two people (really one, Kai couldn’t do that much) but a t-shirt would have been impossible . The medic, Tagumi, finished zipping her up and helped her into the chair, wheeling her to the arena entrance. As they breached the entryway, the arena was cluttered with all kinds of weapons. A gurney passed by and Kai could see the tell-tale buns that belonged to TenTen.

I can’t believe TenTen got beat up so badly… Who was her opponent?

She scanned the arena, noticing the blonde from the Sand village climbing up the stairs with a smug look on her face. Kai couldn’t contain the growl that left her lips.

“Everything alright Miss Hagakure? Offer still stands to tie your hair back so it stops falling in your face.”

“N-no I’m fine. Thank you.”

Asuma sensei was in front of her in a flash, stopping the wheelchair. “Excuse me little lady, what do you think you’re doing out here?”

Kai gulped audibly. “Uh… watching the preliminaries and cheering on my comrades? I-I got cleared, see?” She raised her arms, wincing slightly at the pain. “I’m all good!” She gritted out.

Asuma glared at Tagumi who kept a surprisingly calm facade. “I’ve cleared Miss Hagakure, sir. As long as she keeps the slings on for 78 hours and sleeps at and upward angle tonight, she should be fine. And she knows that if she has any further complications that she can come find me at the hospital and I will personally take a look.”

Kai beamed. “See? Can I join my teammates please? Did I miss any of them?”

Asuma sucked his teeth, helping her up and out of the chair. “Ino had a match. The boys are waiting for theirs still.” He bent over and picked her up bridal-style. “She had to fight Sakura…” He started up the stairs, heading towards their team.

That’s when Kai saw Ino passed out against the wall. “No way…” But Sakura was also against the wall, stirring awake slowly. “Wait… what?”

“They knocked eachother out… It was a draw and neither moved on.”

Kai let out a low whistle as Asuma sensei let her down, getting a gentle pat on the back from Kakashi sensei.

“Hey there trooper. You did pretty good out there.” He gave her a one-eyed smile, though it fell when Guy sensei jumped up from behind him.

“Your gift of perseverance shone as bright as your palms young lady! Ah the power of youth! It brings tears to my eyes!”

Kai laughed awkwardly, looking to Asuma sensei for backup but receiving none. “Th-thanks a lot, senseis! I still have a long way to go though.” She smiled brightly and quickly made her escape.

Choji saw her first, waving her down and elbowing Shikamaru in the side.

“Ow! What the hell Choji?” He turned and made eye contact with Kai. “Oh…”

Ino stirred and was abruptly introduced to a crying Kai in her face.

“Inooooo~!!! I’m so sorry I missed your match! I shouldn't have been so reckless and I can’t even hug you properly and oh my god are you okay?” Tears were falling steadily and Kai didn’t even care. She was so disappointed in herself.

Ino gently patted Kai’s head, smiling softly. “It’s okay. You didn’t really miss much.”

Kai looked up and finally noticed. “ Your hair! What happened to your hair?! Did Sakura cut it off? I swear I’ll show that girl a thing or two-”

“I did.”

Kai stopped, her mouth agape. “Wha-”

“It was actually pretty genius.” Shika interrupted. “She infused her chakra into the strands of her hair and made a leash to trap Sakura in place so she could use her Mind Transfer Jutsu.”

“A-and then you entered her body… but sensei said you knocked each other out… no one can break from that jutsu…”

Ino shrugged. “Sakura did. It’s weird, it was like there were two souls in there already. Naruto started screaming and she got fired up and forced me out.”

“Wow….” Kai breathed, looking down the aisle at Sakura who was talking with Naruto.

Choji elbowed Shika again. “Yeah yeah… what a drag. Here Kai.”

She whipped around, looking up at Shika. He fished through his pocket and held out all the beads that once were woven through her hair. “O-oh… thanks.” She instinctively went to reach up but stopped herself, looking at her slings. “Uh…”

Ino piped up. “I got it. Here turn around Kai, I’ll braid them back in.”

Kai flipped, smiling softly. “Thank you Shika.. And thank you too Ino.”

Shika shrugged, shoving his hands back in his pockets and breaking eye contact. “Whatever… Don’t lose them again, it was troublesome trying to pick them up.” He peered back at her and tutted. “Ino. It alternates blue to white ending with the large blue bead at the end.”

All of Team Ten whipped their heads around to look at Shika now. Ino snickered. “Oh yeah Shikamaru~ ? Why don’t you do it yourself then?”

“Pfft, troublesome. I’m just trying to save Fumiko-sama from having a heart attack. She’s already not gonna be happy about your arms, Kai.” He turned away, staring at the screen as names flashed by again.

Before they even stopped he was heading towards the stairs.

“Sh-Shika?” Kai called out, not able to do much from her spot.

Then the names stopped.

Nara Shikamaru

VS

Tsuchi Kin

Shika was already in the arena. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Chapter Text

Kai shuffled to the railing, Ino and Naruto shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Give her the number 16 combo Shikamaru! You can do this! Yeah!”

Kai couldn’t help but chuckle, both at Ino’s burst of energy and the fact she could almost hear Shika’s thoughts. “He’s gotta be thinking about how much of a drag this is… and he’s facing off against a girl .” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I never understood his thing with fighting women.”

Choji slid to her side, laughing to himself. “Well, you know Shikamaru. He’s a chivalrous white knight if we’ve ever seen one!”

Kai sucked her teeth. “Yeah… real chivalrous .” She shook her head. Shika’s got the disadvantage on this one. We have no idea what kind of jutsu she uses but she’s already seen Shika’s… But no one can outsmart him so this should be an easy win!

Shika started off with his Shadow Possession Jutsu but Kin evaded, throwing two senbon with bells attached to the ends. Kai noticed Sakura and Naruto flinching at the sound of the bells. Maybe they encountered her jutsu before we showed up? No way, Naruto was knocked out… unless she knocked him out… oh well.

“Please, not that old trick. Next you’re gonna throw some senbon with bells and some without. I just have to pay attention to everything you throw.”

See? Can’t get past Shika’s brain! He’s got you all figured out!

He dodged a few but the bells went off well after Kin threw anything, catching him off guard. Kin took the opening and threw two senbon right at him. He dodged last minute, taking the hit to his arm.

“Shikamaru!” Ino and Kai cried out as the bells rang again.

Kai watched as Kin subtly made a hand sign and Shika froze in place. “Oh no…” She whispered, watching as Shika zoned out and fell to his knees. “She’s using a genjutsu…”

He covered his ears to try and block out the sound but that wasn’t working either. The way Shika was looking around, his eyes glazed over, Kai knew exactly what his enemy was doing.

“She’s making him see double… maybe triple… either way, it’s not good. He can’t focus on the real one and she keeps ringing the bells, keeping him in the genjutsu and maybe even amplifying the effects.” She mumbled, watching as Kin readied more senbon.

“Shikamaru wins this.” Choji nodded, crossing his arms.

“Huh? How are you so sure all the time, Choji?!” Naruto burst as Shika took three more senbon to the arm.

“This time it was three, then it’ll be five, then seven until you end up looking like a little hedgehog!” Kin laughed, readying her attack again.

“Quit playing games. If you plan on ending it, then just end it!” Shika gritted out and Kai smirked. 

“Yep. Shika wins.” Before Naruto could interrupt again Kai turned to him. “Just watch.”

Kin froze in place. “Wh-what?! I can’t move my arm!”

“Looks like my lame jutsu was a success after all.”

“What? Wh-what do you mean? I made sure you never threw your shadow!”

Kai and Shika scoffed, the latter taking the explanation. “Oh yeah? Check out the thread you’re holding. Weird how it’s even casting a shadow at this height, right? You were so focused on killing me that you never even noticed I can shrink my shadow. And now I’m attached to you.”

“C-cute trick, but all I do is mirror your movements.”

Kai rolled her eyes. “God she’s annoying.” Though her statement died in her throat when Shika reached for his shuriken.

Kin seemed to share the sentiment. “Are you insane? If you throw that shuriken at me, you’re wounding yourself too!”

The two wound up for the attack. “Makes it kind of interesting, don’t you think?”

No Shika, I don’t find it interesting!

The shuriken flew in the air and Kai held her breath, holding back her laughter as Kin slammed her head into the concrete wall behind her. Shika’s shadow retracted and Kin was knocked out.

“Yeah! Go Shika!” Kai hollered, giggling as the rest of their team applauded. 

“A wise shinobi scouts the physical layout of their battlefield and never loses sight of their position on it. She was too focused on me, she didn’t realize she was that close to the wall and whapam ! Who’s hearing bells now?” Shika gloated, heading back up the stairs after being declared winner. 

Kai grinned wide, kicking him in the shin gently. “You were awesome out there.”

He scratched the back of his neck, putting on his bored face once again. “Yeah yeah… whatever…” He refused to meet eye contact as he leaned against the railings, waiting for the next names to come up.

Chapter Text

Kiba vs Naruto was… interesting. At first, Kiba and Akamaru’s tag-team tactics were overpowering Naruto and the poor kid couldn’t catch a break as he was consistently pummeled. Until he caught his second wind… literally. Kiba’s nose was assaulted by a pretty vicious fart from the loud blonde, throwing him off his game momentarily. Naruto even used his shadow clone jutsu to disguise himself as Akamaru to take Kiba down. To think he used to be terrible at clones and now he was fooling everyone with his on-the-spot thinking!

On the flip side, Neji vs Hinata was intense. They were both using their byakugan and while Neji stayed on the offensive, Hinata was doing a pretty good job blocking his attacks. Until she wasn’t. Neji landed a hit to the heart and nearly killed her on the spot. It got to the point that all the sensei’s had to jump in to stop it before Neji could do any more damage, making him the victor even though he totally should have been disqualified.

Then there was Gaara vs Rock Lee… Kai had a hard time watching this match-up. Gaara was scary and his jutsu was strong; being able to manipulate sand as defense and offence? Talk about overpowered. Lee was quick though, expertly dodging the attacks and even landing a few. Then Lee’s weights came off. Kai couldn’t even keep up with Lee’s movements, she barely saw what was happening. Something about ‘opening the inner gates’. Right when it looked like Lee could be the victor… Gaara’s presence changed. Chills ran down Kai’s spine, getting flashbacks to the intense chakra that seeped from Sasuke in the forest. Next thing anyone knew, Lee’s arm and leg were crushed by Gaara’s sand. Guy sensei had to step in and end the match, otherwise Gaara likely would have killed Lee and it almost looked like he was willing to kill the both of them right there.

Scary…

After all the excitement, it was finally time for Choji. The only person left was the creepy mummy guy from the Sound Village, Dosu. Choji was quaking in his shoes.

“You can do it Choji!” Kai tried to encourage him, hating she couldn’t use her arms because she really really wanted to give him a huge bear hug right now.

Asuma leaned in real close, a shit-eating smirk on his face. “I’ll treat you to some barbeque after this if you win.”

Well that got him fired up as he charged down the stairs.

“Let’s go Choji!” Shika cheered.

Ino snickered. “Come on fatso!”

Choji charged up, using his Expansion Jutsu and tucking his head and extremities into his Human Boulder.

He can’t get to Choji’s ears now! Smart move!

Dosu kept dodging around the arena until Choji… ran into the wall and got stuck. Kai sighed, drooping over the railing as Dosu punched into Choji’s large form. All of a sudden his whole body was vibrating and he was out for the count.

“Yeah…. That went about as well as I thought it could.” Ino muttered.

“Poor Choji..” Kai sighed, watching at the medics checked up on him. She could barely hear him muttering:

“Meat… I want meat…”

Asuma chuckled. “Least we can do is treat him to some barbeque after-all.”

As the dust settled, the Hokage called the winners of each round back to the arena. Everyone lined up, the same question in everyone’s minds: 

What’s next?

“You Ten will put your battle skills on display in the final rounds. You’ll demonstrate the power and control you’ve achieved in your respective disciplines. As such, the final round will commence one month from now.”

“Wait, we’re not just gonna keep going now?” Naruto interrupted.

“We must provide a suitable period of preparation. Not only must we announce the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each country's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare for the summons for the final selection. Not to mention the time it takes for the examinees to prepare for something this important.”

The Hokage keeps dancing around the point. I’m still not sure what it is we’re supposed to be doing in a month.

It seemed Kai wasn’t the only one with questions, as Kankuro spoke up. “What are you even trying to say? What’s the point of all of this?”

“In other words, in order to know your adversary, you will need time to prepare yourselves. Even though up to this point all the battles have been real battles, they have been against an unknown enemy. That is no longer the case now that you have all seen each other's skill-sets. So in order to make the finals fair and just we are giving you this month to train hard and learn some new tricks. By now, everyone here knows your techniques so using the same techniques is a sure way to lose. And make sure you get plenty of rest as well.”

Okay… so ask Papa for more training…. And sleep… for whatever it is the Hokage wants us to do… We’re being judged individually now so maybe it’s going to be the tournament?

Anko stepped forward with a box.

“Everyone, draw a number from the box Anko sensei is holding”

“Stay where you are, I’ll come to you.” Anko made her way down the line, the finalists drawing a number. She stopped in front of Kai and chuckled.

“Here kiddo, I’ll pull one for ya. Sasuke gets the last one.” She fished through the box and took out a slip of paper with the number 10 written on it, slipping it between Kai’s fingers for her to hold.

Ibiki spoke up this time, holding up a clipboard. “Now that everyone has one, from left to right I’d like everyone to read off their number.”

Dosu: “Eight.”

Naruto: “Number One of course.”

Temari: “Seven.”

Kankuro: “Five.”

Gaara: “Three.”

Neji: “Two.”

Shino: “Six.”

Shikamaru: “Nine.”

Kai: “Uh… Ten.”

“Then Sasuke would have number four.” Ibiki muttered as he wrote down some things on the clipboard.

“Right, now that that is settled, it’s time to explain how the final tournament will work.” The Hokage announced.

“Whaaaaat??” Naruto practically screamed.

Even Shikamaru seemed a little shocked. “That’s what we were doing? Pulling lots?”

Ibiki flipped around the clipboard, showing the tournament breakdown:

(1) Uzumaki Naruto  vs  (2) Hyuga Neji

(3) Gaara  vs  (4) Uchiha Sasuke

(5) Kankuro  vs  (6) Aburame Shino

(7) Temari  vs  (8) Kinuta Dosu

(9) Nara Shikamaru  vs  (10) Hagakure Kai

No way… I have to face-off against Shika right off the bat?!

Shika raised his hand. “Could I ask a question? If this is a tournament, does that mean there’s only one winner at the top? I mean, only one of us will get to become a Chunin?”

“On the contrary. There’s various judges that will be overseeing the tournament, of which I am one, along with the Kazekage, shinobi leaders, and various lords from around the continent that ultimately give out missions. Through this tournament, these judges will be able to make a thorough assessment of your capabilities. They will then decide whether any or all of you have the qualities of a Chunin. Even if someone loses the first round, they could still become a Chunin.”

Temari interrupted. “So, there’s a chance all of us could become Chunin.”

“Of course… there’s also a chance that none of you could become Chunin. The advantage in fighting more rounds is you get to showcase your abilities in front of the judges. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru?”

He sighed and nodded subtly, glancing down at Kai with that bored look on his face. Except she knew Shikamaru well, she could see the hints of worry in his eyes.

“Thank you all for your patience. Let us adjourn until next month.” And with that the shinobi leaders and Hokage left, leaving the examinees to their devices.

Kai took a big breath, puffing out her chest as she turned to face Shikamaru. “You better not go easy on me, Nara . Cuz I won’t hold anything back.” 

His eyes widened a bit before he relaxed again, an easy grin spreading across his face. He reached out and ruffled her hair, her bound arms unable to stop him. “Uh-huh, sure. How about you get out of those slings first, huh, Hagakure ?”

Chapter Text

The following month was… torture.

It all started once Kai returned home. Fumiko took one look at the slings and went off.

“Kai darling… what the hell did you do ?!”

Before Kai could even open her mouth, Kaizuma had burst in the front door. “I heard someone made it to the final round! I’m so proud of y-” he froze, meeting the glare of his furious wife, “-ou.”

“Your daughter almost killed herself out there!”

Both Kai and her father winced at the tone of Fumiko’s voice.

“Fumi, the Chunin exams are dangerous. Being a ninja is dangerous . You should have seen me at the end of my first chunin exam!” He chuckled, wrapping his arms around his girls. “Now, I would love to hear all about this year’s exam!”

They all sat around the kitchen table as Kai recounted her adventures (omitting the Sasuke situation of course) but when she got to the preliminaries, her dad was practically hanging off his seat.

“So uh yeah… he saw through my genjutsu after the second use and used this jutsu called Chakra Scalpels or something and was trying to attack me with them. He cut my braid apart and then I just kinda went.... Well Ino called it ‘feral’... uh but that meant I also got sloppy so he kinda sliced my tendons…”

Her parents shared a look but didn’t say anything.

“And then he was in the middle of monologuing so I focused my chakra to my feet and kicked his jaw and didn’t stop kicking until he was on the ground a-and I think I started singing him until he conceded… but I don’t really remember… d-does that make me a bad person?”

Kaizuma and Fumiko were instantly at her side, hugging her close.

“Oh firefly… no not at all. You stood up for yourself and succeeded even after all seemed lost. The Chakra Scalpel is a highly skilled medical ninjutsu so your opponent was no joke.”

Kai scoffed. “Yeah, except now my first match is against Shika so I don’t even stand a chance.” She couldn’t admit it in front of her team but she was really nervous about fighting Shikamaru. Her jutsu only ever powered up his; she’d only be helping him defeat her.

This time, Kaizuma scoffed. “Please, if he’s anything like his father, there’s always a weakness.”

“Papa… Shika is literally the strategist for our team… he beats Asuma-sensei at Shoji like… every single time they play…”

“Sure, the kid’s smart but he’s unmotivated. I bet he won’t even take this month to do any training. Unlike you, my little firefly, because all missions are on pause until the Final Round takes place so I’ll be here to help you train.”

Fumiko cleared her throat. “ After she’s cleared from physical therapy, of course.”

Kai grinned. “Of course mama! I can’t wait!”

Looking back, she definitely could have waited.

After two days of physical therapy and a few rounds of extra healing, Kai was cleared for training. She barely took two steps out of the hospital before her father swooped her away to get to work.

She had a daily workout regimen she had to follow as soon as she woke up each day: push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, and squats followed by a one mile run all before breakfast. Then she would have to fill a pitch black room with as many of her firefly lights as she could, trying to eliminate any possibility of even having a shadow in the first place, even extending her Holy Palm jutsu past her hands and feet, light slowly creeping up her arms and legs. Then she would have to create multiple ‘screens’ and try to flash images of herself on as many as she could.

All of that was relatively okay… until Kaizuma decided he would throw hand-to-hand combat into the mix.

“Shika doesn’t even like to use Taijutsu!” Kai shouted as she dodged another kunai.

“But once you beat him, you face off against either that kunoichi from the Sand Village or the ninja from the Sound. You have to be a well sharpened weapon. No weak spots allowed.” He swung out again. “Keep your chakra flowing through your legs, it should help you move faster.”

Rinse and repeat. Every. Single. Day.

Eventually the workout became second-nature, even running up to two miles some mornings without realizing. Her fireflies filled the room with light quicker and quicker and her whole body gave off a slight glow. The Refraction Technique still needed work: Kai could make three screens show the same image but any more would get distorted, and she could get more movement with one screen.

Hand-to-hand combat against her father was never easy though. She landed on her ass more times than she could count, adding more bruises to herself and her ego with each loss.

The hardest part about that entire month?

Not being able to see Shikamaru.

Sure, Ino came over a few times when she wasn’t busy working at the flower shop and even joined in on the combat when Kaizuma needed a break, but it wasn’t the same as cloud watching or playing Shoji with Shikamaru in their downtime.

“So, you ready?” Ino panted, sipping at the ice water Fumiko brought out for everyone. “You buffed up a lot since the forest.”

Kai looked down at herself for probably the first time in a month, fingers ghosting over her biceps. She had gotten more muscular, more defined. She didn’t just feel stronger… she looked stronger. Her smile faded when her fingers brushed over her scar at her shoulder. “I-I mean I guess? Muscles can only get you so far... “

Though the medics had done a great job repairing her tendons, Kai still needed surgery and that a white puffy scar on either shoulder. Ino noticed Kai picking at her shoulder and slapped her hand away.

“Come on, you’ve been training non-stop for this, Shikamaru doesn’t stand a chance . If anyone deserves Chunin, it’s you. And stop messing with that! I thought you said scars were cool and ‘showed your fighting spirit’ or whatever!”

Kai scoffed. “Yeah, when you get them in battle… not from surgery. And how is everyone always so sure I’m gonna beat Shika? I couldn’t do much of anything in the first two exams and I only made it through the prelims out of sheer luck!”

Ino rolled her eyes. “Kai, Shikamaru is a good strategist and he’s smart but, like, whatever! He’s got nothing on you! If you didn’t bring all your tools for the forest, I don’t even know how we would have gotten a scroll. Plus you gave us the opening to run away to the tower! And you beat that four-eyed freak because you’re awesome and badass so you have nothing to worry about in your first round. Plus, Shikamaru has that weird thing against fighting girls for some reason and I know he would have a hard time bringing himself to actually hurt you.” She slung her arm over Kai’s shoulders, hugging her close.

“Yeah… but I’d wanna beat him at his best, y’know? I don’t want him to hold back just because it’s me. We’re all here to show off our talents and become Chunin and I would hate to make it to the next round just because Shika went easy on me. Or worse… if he concedes before we even fight?” She leaned into Ino, resting her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “A stab in my tendons would be nicer than that.” 

-

The night before the final round, Kaizuma left to meet up with his old teammates for some drinks, giving Kai the night off. She tossed on a white tank top over her workout gear and put her hair up in some pigtails, meeting up with Ino at the flower shop. The pair skipped around the streets, enjoying a multitude of the food stalls and playing some games. Kai won Ino a stuffed pig from a dart game which resulted in said blonde chasing Kai through the crowds, promising revenge.

After a few more games, the girls had a flower crown on their heads, stuffed animals in their arms, and smiles on their faces. 

“It’s getting kinda late, we should probably go round up our dads, huh?” Ino snickered, clutching her stuffed animal close.

“Yeah… Papa’s not very quiet when he’s drunk and I need my beauty sleep tonight!”

They rounded the corner as Shikamaru walked in, making Kai stop in her tracks and press up against the wall, scooting closer to listen in.

“-go home already?”

Shi-sama’s deep voice broke through the ambient chatter inside. “Listen, don’t be a drag. You’re supposed to be living it up at this festival.” Oh yeah… he was drunk .

“Sure, right . Some festival.” 

Kai couldn’t help but peek inside, watching with wide eyes as Shikaku-san chugged down the rest of his drink, rambling on about how the night before the chunin exams have always been a time of celebration.

“Yeah except I’m in that final competition tomorrow. Man, I really don’t have time to babysit you.”

“Huh? You’re in it? Seriously?”

Wait… Shika didn’t tell his dad? Kai looked back to Ino who shared a similar confused face.

“Shikaku, ya big dummy. Of course he’s in it! Why do you think I’ve been training my Kai so hard?” Oh no… Dad was drunk too.

Kai took a steadying breath and squared up, waltzing inside and feigning surprise at seeing a stammering Shikamaru there. “Oh! Hey Shika-kun! Shi-sama, Ino-sama, Cho-sama.” She bowed politely to each man. “I’m here to retrieve my father for the night.”

She had to hold back her rolling eyes at her father’s “puppy dog face”.

“Hey, Kai. So you made it to the finals too, huh?” Shikaku spoke, though his eyes never left his son who kept shifting on his feet.

Kaizuma popped out of his chair, wrapping himself around Kai. “Yep!  Shikamaru, son, you better watch out. My firefly’s gonna give you a run for your money!”

Kai could see the gears turning in both the Nara’s minds as they stared off against each other, Shikaku finally breaking the weird silence. “So… your first round is against Kai, huh?”

Kai took another breath, holding her dad steady. “Yes sir, it is. And on that note I’m going to take my father home so I can be properly rested for tomorrow morning. Have a good evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow Shikamaru.” She bowed as much as she could with a grown man hanging off her back, shuffling him out of the bar.

“Oh my gosh Kai you were awesome!” Ino squealed. “Good luck tomorrow! Not that you’re gonna need it, of course!”

“Thanks Ino. Goodnight!”

And so, Kai shuffled down the street, dragging her father home and passing out for the night.

Chapter Text

Kai woke that next day bright and early, taking her morning run before getting ready for the final round. She had to stop herself from subconsciously wandering into the Nara compound to make sure Shikamaru was awake.

“Focus on yourself, Kai… he obviously… didn’t bother… to train… so that means… you gotta… try to... prove… yourself... even harder…” She panted to herself as she picked up the pace, practically sprinting right past the compound.

Once she was back and showered, she slipped on a long-sleeved mesh armor under her usual sky-blue tank top and wrapped her legs with bandages, like Ino had shown her, before slipping into her khaki pants - cuffing the bottoms as per usual. She braided her hair up into a high pony before wrapping it around itself and tucking it into a bun. Her side-swept bangs side- swept into her face, causing Kai to growl a little bit. She tucked the hair behind her ear as best she could, pinning it back with two blue bobby pins crossed in an ‘X’ for a more secure lock-down.

Only after triple checking her hip pouch did she finally leave for the arena, enjoying the walk by herself for once. The streets were filled with chatter, everyone clearly excited about this tournament. Neji, Gaara, and Sasuke’s names were on everyone’s lips as she pushed past the crowds which made Kai both relieved and disappointed. 

On one hand, no one was placing bets on her round with Shikamaru so she wouldn’t ruin anyone’s expectations but no one was even talking about it… like they didn’t care that two teammates would be facing off against each other just to become Chunin. She shoved her hands in her pockets, shaking the thoughts from her head.

I need to stay focused if I’m to beat him… gotta remember everything Papa taught me. Try to conserve my chakra for the future rounds but don’t hold back too much cuz then I’ll lose for nothing.. but if I feel like I’m gonna lose, just go all out and at least show the Hokage what I’m made of… easy… right?

Kai was closing in on the arena when a hand on her shoulder snapped her from her thoughts.

“Huh?” She whipped her head around, coming face-to-face with none other than her first adversary.

“Troublesome woman, I’ve been calling your name for the past five minutes.” Shika removed his hand, lacing both behind his head. “Were you in your head, or just ignoring me?”

Kai sucked her teeth, falling back in stride with him. “Both. So... you ready for this?”

Before he could answer, or back out, they arrived at the doors. Two Jounin were there to guard the competitor entrance and check everyone in. Once Kai and Shikamaru were cleared, they entered through the main tunnel and into the large tunnel. The fighting area was huge; sporting a few trees and rocks that could be used as hiding spots or vantage points, super high walls to keep the spectators safe from any rogue weapon or jutsu, but most impressive were the spectator stands. They completely surrounded the arena, allowing a good view no matter where you sat.

Kai had watched a few tournaments in the past but everything looked so much larger now that she was in the “lion’s den” as her father had phrased it. She felt so small… so insignificant.

Especially standing next to none other than Neji Hyuga.

Last year’s Rookie of the Year. A force to be reckoned with. So willing to reach his goal he would have killed his own cousin if he felt he needed to. And he almost did.

Then there were the “Sand Siblings”: Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara.

Kai didn’t know much about Temari but knew that her giant fan was her biggest asset so she assumed she used some kind of wind-style jutsu to beat TenTen in the preliminaries. Kankuro, besides the purple face paint, didn’t really stand out much compared to his other “siblings” and honestly… Kai doesn’t even remember his fight. Either he went while she was in the infirmary… or he went after Gaara…

Even thinking back to his fight sent shivers down Kai’s spine. Forget reckoning, he was a force to be afraid of . He showed no mercy, no sense of morality, nothing. Almost like he wanted to kill Lee.

Poor Lee.

Kai had tried to make room in her schedule to visit him in the hospital, but any time not training was taken up by eating or sleeping. Thankfully Ino let her know Sakura had been visiting him, leaving flowers and such. Apparently, just like Kai, when he wasn’t passed out from exhaustion he would sneak out of the hospital to train… even though he may never continue to be a shinobi.

Loud fireworks snapped Kai from her thoughts, signaling the start of the tournament. Kai looked around, noticing Shino had snuck in at some point… but no one else. And the proctor that stood before them wasn’t Hayate-sensei but instead some other Jonin with his hitaite tied around his head backwards and a stick hanging out of his mouth.

“Man… I would expect Naruto to be late, but Sasuke?” She muttered to herself.

Shika sucked his teeth. “Yeah, and that Dosu guy from the Sound isn’t here, either.”

Just then, there was a loud ruckus from outside and a certain loud-mouthed blonde came rocketing into the arena, landing flat on his face.

Kai snickered at Naruto’s antics, joining Shikamaru and helping him up to his feet. He kept rambling on about some kind of stampede outside.

“You’re insane, Naruto. But at least you made it.” Kai laughed 

“Yeah, I don’t believe you.” Shika chimed in, moving back into the lineup.

“Hey. Quit fidgeting back there. Stand up straight and present yourself proudly to the spectators.” The proctor broke the chatter as the Genin all fell into line, deafening applause erupting from the stands.

“You guys are the heroes of the final competition.”

Kai cracked her neck and squared up her shoulders, looking up into the crowd with determination as the Hokage rose from his seat.

“Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming here to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this year’s Chunin Selection. We have come to the final competition between the nine candidates who made it through the preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until all the matches are completed. Now, everyone, enjoy.” 

The Hokage’s voice echoed across the field, the cheers following quickly after.

“He only said nine.” Shika mumbled. “What a drag.”

“By the way, there’s been a slight change to the match-ups.” The proctor, who had introduced himself as Genma, pulled out a slip of paper, showing the tournament chart. “Everyone get one last look at who you’ll be facing.”

That Dosu guy isn’t on the chart… maybe he dropped out? And it looks like…

“So I have to wait for their round before getting to go? Sounds a little unfair to me, how am I supposed to showcase my abilities’ with one fewer round than everyone else?” Temari spoke up, glaring daggers in Kai and Shikamaru’s direction.

Genma huffed. “Think of this as a forfeit. You won your first match and get to move on to the second round right away.”

“Hey what about Sasuke?” Naruto piped up. “What if he doesn’t show up?”

“Any candidate that is not here in the arena at the time his name is called… he forfeits the match.” Genma smirked, his long toothpick sticking up in the air.

Well then what about Dosu? Did he forfeit in advance?

“Alright, as long as there’s no other questions, here’s how things are gonna go down. Just like the preliminaries, there are no rules. Battle continues until a candidate surrenders… or dies. That being said, if I determine that a match is over, I can step in and stop it at any time. No arguments permitted, understood? The opponents for the first match are Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga. You two stay, everyone else, to the waiting area.”

Everyone else went up the stairs, waiting for the match to start. The tension in the air was palpable.

-

Wind billowed around the two as the match began, though neither made the first move. Kai honestly commended Naruto for resisting the urge to jump in right away, and it was a smart move too. Though it all went out the window as Naruto charged. He summoned a few Shadow Clones to try and create an opening but Neji took care of them quickly.

Suddenly there were twenty-something clones, it was hard to count when they were suddenly charging again. Neji pushed through, attacking the Naruto that was hanging back and making the rest of the clones disappear. Kai thought that was the end of it until Shikamaru pointed out the two clones behind Neji.

Something happened and all of a sudden, only one Naruto flew back into the dirt and Neji stood in a small crater. More clones, deeper crater. Then Neji was on the offence. Naruto was powerless against the assault, flying back into the dirt.

After a while, Naruto finally stood… and then the two were talking… a lot…

Kai leaned against the railing, resting her head in her hand. “Y’know… I thought there’d be more… I dunno… fighting … in this fight.”

Naruto was on the ground once more and it looked like Genma was going to call it over before he was up once again.

And they were talking again.

Shika gasped, clutching at the railing. Powerful chakra was now flowing around Naruto. 

“What the-?!” Kai breathed, tendrils of orange-red chakra whipping around in the air before it formed like a cloak around Naruto. Then he was gone in a flash.

He’s fast! Way faster than before!

Naruto was jumping around, now successfully dodging Neji’s attacks easily. They were matching blows now, one powerful strike creating a small explosion. When the dust settled, there were two large craters and both boys were missing.

A hand shot up, and Neji crawled out of his hole, battered and bruised. Naruto’s body was limp and lifeless.

Naruto… You did so awesome… WHAT?! I

A hand shot up out of the ground, decking Neji in the jaw. He couldn’t get up.

Shika chuckled. “He… he really did it. That bastard dug a hole underground-”

“And hid himself with a clone.” Kai muttered, biting her thumbnail. “Quick thinking… Geez, way to put the pressure on the rest of us, Naruto.”

“The winner is Naruto Uzumaki.”

The crowd went nuts, even Kai couldn’t help but holler.

Chapter Text

Naruto was running around the arena like a lunatic, cheering over his win.

Kai watched in disbelief, shaking her head but a huge smile on her face. Shikamaru, however, didn’t seem to share in her sentiment.

“Naruto defeated Neji… I can’t believe it! I thought he was the same as me. Now everyone’s saying he’s gonna make something big of himself. Just great. I doubt I can beat him now… Gah, what a drag.” He was hanging over the railing like a drama queen.

Kai shared a look with Shino as Naruto made his way back up, the crowd quieting in anticipation for the next match.

“Congrats Naruto! That was some really quick thinking out there!” Kai beamed, the audience starting to grow restless.

“Where’s Sasuke? You don't think he’s… forfeiting, do you?” Shika muttered.

“A wise man never courts danger, leading to a wise decision.” Shino chimed in.

Naruto scoffed. “Huh? Whaddya talkin’ about? He’s definitely gonna be here, believe it!” He glowered in the direction of the Sand Siblings, Gaara returning the glare.

Kai whipped her head back and forth between the two, trying to figure out when they managed to build a grudge. As the spectators started getting unruly, another jonin appeared in the arena, whispering something to Genma, then disappearing again.

“Listen, everyone. One of the competitors from the next match has not arrived yet, so we’re going to postpone this match briefly and simply jump ahead to the battle that would have followed this round.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“You gotta be kidding me, what a drag.”

“So, for the next match, Shino and Kankuro, come down.” Genma drawled. 

Shino moved to jump down… but Kankuro spoke up. “Proctor! I withdraw!”

Everyone whipped their heads in his direction. “ What?! ”

“I withdraw, so please move on to the next match.”

That didn’t make the crowd happy at all and Kai suddenly felt nervous.

“Ugh. Due to Kankuro’s withdrawal, Shino Aburame wins by default. On to the next match.”

Well… I thought I would have more time to get the adrenaline pumping but…

Kai took a breath, jumping to stand on the railing. She turned around, looking Shikamaru in the eyes and giving a two-finger salute before falling backwards into the arena, flipping and landing next to Genma.

“Kai Hagakure, sir. I believe it’s my turn.” She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying on her feet.

“Alright.” They both turned to where Shikamaru was still at the railing. “Shikamaru Nara. Come on.”

There was a bit of commotion between Shika and Naruto, the loud-mouthed blonde almost pushing poor Shikamaru over the ledge. Eventually he made his way down the stairs, hands shoved in his pockets.

“Maan… what a drag.”

Kai laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re chickening out on me, Nara. ”

Shika scoffed, looking absolutely over her shit but Kai could see that glimmer of mischief in his eyes. The one that would always appear when they pulled pranks with Naruto. He was totally amped for this, but didn’t want to show it. “As if.”

Kai crouched into a ready position, watching Shika’s hands as Genma hummed.

“Alright. Match begin.”

Shika moved to activate his Shadow Possession but Kai was faster, leaping towards him. “Yeah right! I won’t give you the win that easy!”

Thanks to her training, she was lighter on her feet and quicker with her reflexes, throwing punches at her opponent to keep his hands busy. He was successfully dodging them all - bobbing and weaving around her fists of fury - but Kai wasn’t really aiming to land a hit.

Remember, Shikamaru is a strategist. He’s going to try to find patterns in your attacks and make his move from there. Best way to beat that? Be unpredictable. 

Her fathers words rang true in her head, swapping out punches for kicks every now and then. Sometimes her fists would be alight with her chakra, the heat just barely grazing Shika’s face as it whizzed by. Sometimes she’d back off only to duck under his legs and start and attack from behind. 

Unfortunately, he managed to find an opening and quickly jumped away to make space between them. Kai used that moment to activate her Dance of the Fireflies jutsu, fifty-something little lights floating around her. 

“Geez woman, where’d you find all that energy?”

Kai grinned. “Whatcha talkin’ about Shika? It’s always been there! Now, you gonna fight back or what?”

He smirked, his hands already in position. He summoned his shadow and it started to chase after Kai but she somersaulted away, taking out a few shuriken in the process. “Here! Catch!” She tossed them his way, making him drop the chase to dodge.

Shika was back on his feet, shadow once again chasing Kai around. She made sure to stay away from the shadows of the trees and the hole that Naruto left behind as they would only increase his shadow’s strength.

She met his eyes and bit her lip. He was watching her too intently now. Any move she made would be calculated so she couldn’t risk eliminating the extra shadows and lose some of her only form of solid defense. Her eyes darted around the field, looking for any other options that didn’t involve jumping around shadows.

Welp… I could always make more lights… maybe.

Condensing all her lights into a ball, she made an “explosion” and sent them scattered across the whole field all at once. A few diving into the hole in the ground, most going to the edge of the wall and dispersing some of the shadows there.

Okay… maybe he didn’t see where everything went?

Shika was scanning the field now, his shadow retreated back. He scoffed a little and crouched, putting his fingers together in that ‘hand-sign’.

Okay-okay! That’s a good sign! Right? That means he has to think of a new strategy and I have time to… prepare… but he’s also coming up with a new strategy and I’m probably screwed.

Quickly, she dashed towards him, hoping to make him lose his train of thought as she swept her foot under him. He jumped out of the way and his shadow was back on its assault.

“Shit!” She hissed, barely dodging it in time. “ Hah that was a close one Shika!” She panted, already feeling the strain of using up a lot of chakra. 

Just a little bit more!

Kai went for another attack but her muscles were frozen. “Wha-?!” Her eyes widened. “When?!” She gasped, looking at the shadows from the wall. The sun had set a little, extending out the shadow from the wall.. But that wasn’t enough. A few of her lights had been positioned behind some trees or rocks and as the sun set, her fireflies only stretched those shadows out further, giving him plenty of options to choose from.

Shikamaru cleared his throat, walking towards Kai-her muscles moving without her permission. “I’ll admit, you did good lighting up the hole Naruto left behind. That was my ace.” 

Kai grit her teeth, her arm shakily rising in the air as Shika’s did. Something wasn’t right. Something was off with his expression. Normally he’d have this smile like he’d taken the last cookie from the jar, but he seemed almost… passive…

He’s not…

“To hell with it-”

“ I give up! ” They both called out at the same time, the crowd going dead silent.

Kai hissed. “You win Shika! You caught me and there’s nothing else I can do so just let me give up!”

Shika scoffed. “Yeah? Well I used up all my chakra on that last Shadow Possession. Plus, if i kept going that’d just mean more work.”

The shadow sputtered away, letting Kai’s muscles relax. “I used most of my chakra too.” She held out her palm, the soft glow pulsing before fading out and her fireflies all disappeared one by one.

Genma looked up to the Hokage and sighed. “Then I declare this match a draw. Neither contestant will move to the next round!”

Kai sucked her teeth, looking out into the crowd. “Well… I’m gonna find my parents. I don’t wanna be too close for this next match.” She shuddered, leaving the arena and taking the stairs up to the stadium seating, trying to comb through the attendees.

Eventually her eyes landed on the shock of brown, blonde, and pink hair.

“Choji! Ino! Sakura!” She called out, rushing down the stairs. “Mind if I slide in with you guys?”

Ino and Sakura slid down and Kai took her spot between her teammates.

“I can’t believe you two gave up! I thought you wanted to go all the way, Kai!” Ino whined.

“I knew Shikamaru wouldn’t have followed through, but you surprised me.” Choji spoke between handfuls of chips.

Kai huffed, feeling drained. “I dunno… I mean I probably could have kept fighting but… Shika had this look on his face and I just knew he was gonna give up, but he beat me fair and square so I tried to beat him to the punch.” She leaned forward, resting her forehead against the row in front. “And now my chances of becoming a chunin are basically zero…”

She sat up quickly, a new fire burning behind her eyes as she clenched her fist. “But that’s okay! Because now I don’t have to fight that scary girl from the Sand Village and, as long as Sasuke gets here in time, these are awesome seats to see all the action for this next match!”

The crowd around was getting restless and at some point Naruto had joined Shikamaru in the arena.

“C’mon! Where’s Uchiha?”

“I took two days off work for this!”

“Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha!”

“Boooooooooooooo!!!!!!!”

After what seemed like forever, Genma finally spoke up.

“Alright! The time limit had been reached! I’m officially calling this match-”

Just then a huge gust of wind and leaves erupted in the middle of the arena., revealing Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. The crowd was dead silent, jaws dropped and frozen in place.

“Sasuke!” Sakura gasped.

“I see. So he made it in time.” The genin all whipped their heads towards that voice.

“Rock Lee!”

And the crowd went wild, Kai almost couldn’t hear her own thoughts at their volume.

Can’t believe it. Dramatic entrance and a new outfit? Talk about a drama queen.

Chapter Text

The roar of the crowd was deafening around Kai, especially from Sakura and Ino as the match began.

“Sakura, what’s it like being on such an amazing team?” Ino asked dreamily.

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah Ino. What the heck?” Kai jumped a little at the harshness in her own tone, though Ino seemed to brush it off.

Ino giggled. “Oh you know what I mean. First Naruto surprises everyone by beating Neji.. and then you’ve got Sasuke who’s like the superstar ! I mean everyone wants to see his match! You’re like the All-Star team!”

Kai sighed, sitting back in her spot. From her peripherals she noticed Lee shaking in his spot.

“Lee! Your bandages!” She jumped up, noticing his white bandages quickly becoming red. “Here, let me.”

She pulled him to the bench, rummaging through her hip pouch to find a fresh roll and quickly patched him up again. “There! I made sure to add some extra padding to your knuckles. You should really take it easy on yourself.”

Lee kept his head down, looking at his hand. “Thank you very much, Kai. I do not deserve your kindness.”

Right as she was about to respond, footsteps drew everyone’s attention. The spiky silver hair stood out first followed by the signature mask of none other than Kakashi-sensei.

“Hello, Guy. How are you feeling, Lee? You alright?” His smooth voice filled any awkward tension in the air. He seemed to finally notice Sakura in the bunch. “Oh, right. Sorry for not keeping in touch.”

Kai scoffed a little to herself, sitting back down once Lee was steady on his feet (and after he refused to take her spot). Let him have it, Sakura. Asuma-sensei would never do something like that to our team.

Instead she got sad. “I don’t mind…. Listen sensei… You know there was a mark on Sasuke’s neck, right? Is… it…?”

That must be what we saw in the Forest of Death…

“It’s nothing to worry about.” And there was the signature one-eyed smile. 

That seemed to quell any fears Sakura had because she turned toward the match with unparalleled excitement.

~

You could hear a pin drop from the dead silence that rang from the crowd, everyone seemingly holding their breaths as they waited for the math to start.

Instantly, Gaara’s gourd unleashed sand into the air and Kai sucked in a breath, waiting in anticipation for what was to come next.

~

Gaara made a clone of sand, using that offensively and defensively for a bit until Saskue… disappeared? He was so fast Kai couldn’t keep up.

Almost just like Lee...

And suddenly Sasuke was behind him, taking that opportunity to attack Gaara directly and sending him flying. Sasuke kept up the assault, making it past the sand barrier every time. Eventually Gaara summoned up his sand, creating a ball around him, the sand hardening like a shell. When Sasuke tried to attack, sharp spikes shot out at him, puncturing his leg.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto’s loud voice echoed through their stands, making everyone in the group whip around.

Kai’s breath hitched at the sight of a panting Naruto and Shikamaru. Something about the look in their eyes made her stomach churn.

“Sensei! You gotta stop this match right away! This guy, Gaara, is completely different from the rest of us! He’s about as far from normal as you can get!”

Ino scoffed. “Naruto, slow down! What do you even mean by that?”

Naruto grit his teeth. “He thinks his point in life is to kill people.”

Kai gasped, whipping back to the match.

“Don’t you see? If the match continues, Sasuke will die! You gotta believe me!” 

An ominous swirling of sand appeared above the ball.

What is he doing? What the heck is that? And what did Naruto and Shika see that scared them so bad?

Kakashi hummed to himself. “Relax, Naruto. No need to panic. Sasuke and I weren’t just goofing around. There’s a reason we were so late getting here.”

Sasuke jumped back into action, attacking the sand-ball from all angles. Spikes shot out to ward him off. Then Sasuke leapt away and up the wall, using his chakra to stick to it.

“Just keep your eye on Sasuke. He’s about to surprise you.”

More than chilling almost all the way up the wall of the arena? Yeah, okay.

That’s when it happened. Blue sparks shot from Sasuke’s hand, the air filling with… birds chirping? 

“That’s Lightning Chakra… and a whole lot of it…”

Sasuke rushed for Gaara, the screeching birds getting louder and louder until the point of impact.

Guy smirked. “So… you taught the boy Chidori… the only tool in your arsenal you haven’t copied off someone else… A dangerous technique… not one to be taught lightly.”

Kakashi growled. “Yeah, you’re one to talk. Right, Lee?”

Sakura grinned. “Well I don’t really understand it much but it looks awesome!”

Kai laughed, nodding along. “Yeah, what you said Sakura!”

“ Blood! It’s my blood! ” Gaara screeched out, loud enough to reach the stands. Sasuke tried to wretch his arm free but the sand wouldn’t give and he had to activate the Chidori again just to get free.

As Sasuke jumped away, a monstrous looking… arm … jumped out after him, slamming to the ground before slithering it’s way back into the sand ball.

Kai thought she was going to puke from the sight alone.

What the hell was that ?! Is that what Shika and Naruto saw?

An inhuman roar echoed out from Gaara’s ball, making all the hairs on Kai’s body stand on end. She started trembling almost instantly. The ball started cracking bit by bit before it dissolved around Gaara’s feet.

Kai started to lose focus of the arena, squinting her eyes as her vision filled with falling feathers. Her body grew heavy and tired but quickly realized it was genjutsu, focusing her chakra.

“ Release! ” Kai and Sakura called out at the same time, both of them looking around at all the slouched bodies around them.

“It’s like everyone’s asleep…” Kai whispered, gasping as an explosion went off right at the Hokage’s stand.

Multiple attendees revealed themselves to be sound ninja as a purple barrier went up around the Hokage Stand. Sakura stood quicker than Kai could stop her, noticing something inside.

“Orochimaru! Hey Sasuke!” Sakura called out and two Sound Ninja jumped up to attack.

Kai tugged on her sleeve, “Get down!” and Kakashi appeared behind her, disposing of the attackers.

“Sakura… Kai… just stay there while I trim the enemies’ numbers down to size.” He gave that signature one-eyed smile and more Jonin joined in the fight against the invading Sound. Guy-sensei, being the competitive spirit he is, ended up in a battle against Kakashi-sensei to see who could take down more ninja.

“Girls… you have a knack for genjutsu… I’m glad. Go wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto should be pleased. He’ll be getting a mission after such a long time.” Kai didn’t like the tone of Kakashi’s voice. It was too serious.

“What kind of mission?” Sakura asked.

“You’ll have to be careful on this one. It’s the first A-rank assignment since the Land of the Waves.”

No way! An A-rank mission?! Wait… Land of the Waves… didn’t they almost die out there?!

“Sasuke’s out there chasing Gaara and the other Sand Ninja. Sakura. Kai. Release the genjutsu, wake Naruto and Shikamaru, and follow Sasuke.” He sliced his thumb with his kunai.

Summoning? What could he possibly be summoning at a tie like this?

Kai thought for a moment. “Kakashi-sensei, shouldn’t we wake Ino and Choji too? I mean our formations-”

“There’s no time. The longer you stay here, the more Sound and Sand shinobi may have already infiltrated the village. You need to stay covert and a large group like that will draw attention. Besides, add more than the four essential members of a squad and it takes longer to get anything done. You did learn that in patrol training, didn’t you?”

Kai gulped. “O-of course sensei.”

Sakura piped in. “Does that mean you’ll be coming with us?”

Kakashi shook his head, making a few hand signs. “No, I can’t leave. Summoning jutsu!” 

From a puff of smoke appeared a small brown dog with a Leaf headband around his head.

Huh??

“Pakkun will track Sasuke by scent and will lead you in the right direction.”

“Seriously, sensei? A puppy?”

Kai couldn’t agree with Sakura more, though Pakkun didn’t seem to like that statement and got right in her face. 

“Listen here little girl. Don’t you go around saying I’m just some cute puppy.” Oh gods his voice was deep and gravely and wait he can talk?!

“Girls, it’s time. Go release the genjutsu.”

Kai took a breath and tightened the band securing her bun and got on all fours, leading Sakura up the stairs. Sakura took to releasing Naruto while Kai crawled up to Shikamaru.

Wait a minute.

His eyebrows twitched and his expression tightened. 

“Shika… don’t tell me…” Kai sighed, rearing back to smack him but Pakkun beat her to it. He waddled right up and chomped down on his leg, making her poor teammate jump up and scream.

“Shikamaru you released the genjutsu you big faker! Why were you pretending to be asleep this whole time!” Sakura growled out after successfully waking Naruto.

Pfft. Of course he did. He just didn’t wanna-

“-get involved.” Shika groaned, pulling Pakkun off his leg and fucking around with his mouth. “Gimme a break, I couldn’t care less about Sasuke.” 

Pakkun also didn’t seem to like that answer--or the poking and prodding--and promptly bit Shika’s hand.

Naruto seemed to just then actually take in his surroundings, but not well enough. Out of nowhere a Sound shinobi appeared then disappeared just as quick. All thanks to Guy-sensei. He also provided a great escape-route by punching the shinobi through the wall behind them.

Kakashi appeared on the other side of the hole. “Now, as soon as I explain the mission, go through that opening. First, track down Sasuke and stop him. Then, find a safe location and wait for further orders. Got it?”

“Wait did something happen to Sasuke?”

Naruto you daft boy .

“We’ll explain on the way, let’s go!” Sakura man-handled Naruto out through the wall.

“Man… why me?” Shika groaned but before he could say any more Kai stood and grabbed him by the ear.

“Oh come on Shika, let’s just go!” Pakkun jumped up onto her shoulder as she leapt out into the forest, dragging Shikamaru behind her.

~

Eventually Shikamaru started running along with them and Sakura caught them both up to speed. Pakkun took the lead through the forest, following Sasuke’s scent. However, there was something else Pakkun caught wind of as well.

“Hurry it up. We’ve got company!”

“Is it Sasuke already?” Naruto asked, quickening his pace.

“No. There’s two squads behind us. Eight… no… there’s one more… nine ninja following us.”

“What?” Kai breathed, while Shika didn’t seem too thrilled. 

“Give me a break already.”

“We need to shake ‘em.” Pakkun lead them to the ground and stopped in the middle of a clearing, staring at his feet. “Follow me.”

He started moving backwards, landing on his previous tracks perfectly.

“We’re going back over our footprints. If we pull this off, our track will seem to disappear.”

Kai grumbled, looking behind her and carefully moving back, trying to line up her steps perfectly. 

“Seriously? They’d be pretty lame ninja if this throws them off our trail.”

Kai couldn’t help but agree with Naruto on this one, jumping back up into the tree.

“It just needs to buy us some time. If our pursuers get impatient and succumb to the thrill of the chase, they could lose sight of our tracks and I for one certainly won’t complain.”

Sakura and Shika joined Kai and Pakkun in the tree.

“Hurry up!” Sakura called out.

“We don’t have all day you know.” Shika droned.

“Come on, Naruto, you can do it!” Kai beamed, trying to keep everyone in a positive mood, though  it didn’t seem to be working.

“Quit bugging me! You’re distracting!”

Finally they were back on track… for a while a least.

Pakkun sniffed and grimaced. “This is not good. Be prepared for an ambush. They’re back on our trail.”

“Great.” Shika grumbled. “They’re probably at least Chunin or higher. We’ll be wiped out if they catch us.”

No way.

“Listen up, that means we’ve got no choice! We’ve gotta ambush them!” Naruto seemed a little too confident in that prospect.

“An ambush could work… It would give us an advantage even if we’re outnumbered. If we can just catch them off guard.” Sakura joined in, making Kai bite her lip.

“But there’s twice as many of them as there are of us. Even with a surprise attack, they’re obviously more skilled than us.”

Pakkun nodded. “Besides… These guys are most likely Orochimaru’s henchmen. My guess? They’re all Jonin level.”

There’s that name again… Who is this guy and why is he such bad news?

Shika sighed. “I really thought that could work…”

Kai nodded, already understanding Shika’s thought process.

Team Seven needs to work on their tactical training a bit more since both Sakura and Naruto were confused.

Kai tried to find the words to explain. “Okay, so yeah, an ambush is a major battle tactic and can be really really beneficial but…”

Shika took over. “For it to work, you have to meet two conditions. Number one: The ninja on the run must be completely quiet and must find the enemy first. Number two: They have to be able to catch the pursuers off guard at a location where they can do a lot of damage quickly, and then conceal themselves just as quickly.”

Kai nodded. “Exactly. And both conditions have to be met in order for the ambush to be effective at all. I mean, the first condition wouldn’t be too hard since Pakkun can sniff out the enemy and the second condition is in our favor since we know the layout of our own village…”

“However… Orochimaru is a former Leaf Ninja. We’re out of luck.”

Wait… Orochimaru… is a former Leaf Ninja? 

“What do you mean, Shikamaru?” Naruto chimed in, breaking Kai from her thoughts.

“This was a planned attack. Our pursuers have studied the layout of this village and I have to assume that they’ve been put through simulated practices for this mission. An ambush could give us an advantage, but so many things are uncertain. I can’t help but think that our enemy is a special unit specifically put together for this operation. And what are we?”

Kai didn’t like where this was headed.

“A fool, a kunoichi with no particular talent, a mutt, a kunoichi too deep in her own head, and me, the shirker who doesn’t even wanna be here.”

Jeez, read the room Shika.

“Look… Tactics are all about grasping a tough situation and formulating the best plan. Right now, there’s only one plan that makes sense.”

“And that is?” Sakura piped up, wiping the irritation off her face.

“A diversion that looks like an ambush. One of us is gonna stay behind… and slow them down.”

Kai blocked out what everyone else was saying, already knowing where Shika was going with this and she didn’t agree one bit, coming to a stop with the group. They all stood in silence, the repercussions weighing heavily on everyone’s conscious’.

“So… who's gonna do it? We need the dog to follow Sasuke. So that means...” Shika broke the silence and Kai clenched her fists.

“I will.” She spat out, but Shika and Naruto spoke up as well.

“Alright I guess-”

“I’m the only one that can do it.”

She whipped around. “No! You’re not, Shika. I can hold them off.”

He wouldn’t even look at her. “I’m the only one of us who’s got a chance of pulling off this decoy act…” He jumped to the back of the pack… next to Kai. “ And of surviving this attack. After-all… Shadow Possession Jutsu was invented as a delay tactic.” He turned to her, smirking a little. “I’ll catch up with you guys later. Get going.”

Kai trembled. “Let me help! You used up so much chakra in our fight, you know you won’t last long. It’s suicide!” She didn’t even realize tears were welling up in her eyes until he flicked one away from her cheek with his index finger.

“Eh, I’ll be alright. Got some food pills with me. Besides… those two will need all the help they can get.” He chuckled, flicking her ahoge. “Stop overthinking things. That’s my job, remember?”

Pakkun started to lose Sasuke’s scent, informing them they needed to head out. Kai sniffled, hugging Shika tight.

“You better catch up or I’m sending your mother after you.”

“Yeah, yeah… troublesome woman.” He sighed, pushing her off gently so she could catch up to the others.

“We’re counting on you Shikamaru!” Naruto called out.

Kai turned, watching Shika’s arm raise, his back still facing them as they disappeared into the distance.

Please… just be careful...