The First Cut is the Deepest
Date: July 1st, 13 aNb
Days Until Exams Start: 0
Time: 11:45 AM
Kabuto Yakushi was silent as he exited his small apartment. Today was the day; the day his Master had been waiting years for… The first day of Sasuke Uchiha's first Chuunin Exams attempt. The spy had seen the after-action report of the Land of Waves mission written up by Kakashi and - even if it had been a fluke - a pair of Genin taking out a rogue-nin duo consisting of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist and an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai user did show that Itachi's younger brother was cut from similar cloth.
'Lord Orochimaru and two of the Sound Four will be arriving shortly to enter the Exams, though he hasn't told me who he plans on replacing. He's assuming Uchiha will make it to the second stage, but I'm not as confident; not with Naruto "Whiskers" Uzumaki on his team and who knows what twist Ibiki Morino has planned for the written exams.'
A loud trio of pops from behind him caused him to start and reflexively reach for a kunai as he spun about. A trickle of red began to seep into his eyes as he feared that he'd somehow messed up and was about to be caught in a counter-intelligence sweep. He would not be going quietly to the RNL, that was for DAMNED sure.
Only to stop short, his brain briefly short circuiting at what he saw. The hand that had been going for a weapon came up to his face to adjust his glasses as he struggled to surreptitiously erase the signs of his bloodlust.
"Holy shit, you three..!" Yakushi chuckled despite himself. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"You three" turned out to be Sho Inugami and his two sisters; Kabuto had been so deeply in his own headspace he hadn't sensed their presence. The girls were holding a handmade banner between them in one hand and all three had spent party poppers. The banner had phrases like "Good luck in the Exams!" and "Seventh time's the charm!" written over it in the handwriting of all five members of the Inugami family.
'If there was any part of me that still carried regrets for what I do in order to serve Lord Orochimaru, this would have triggered it…'
"Good luck, Mr. Kabuto..." Little Lucia Inugami said, looking down to scuffle her feet nervously; a slight flush to her cheeks. Her brother might be her favorite person in the world, but the youngest member of the Roshsyan Imperial Family in Exile had been developing something of a schoolgirl's crush on the twenty year old over the last few months.
"Thanks, Lucia-chan." Kabuto Yakushi replied with a genuine smile. Lucia's flush turned into a full-on blush as she bolted away, dropping her side off the banner as she did so. As she ran off, she vanished from view as she activated the Hide in Plain Sight jutsu she'd already mastered.
Karin sighed as she looked at Sho, rolling up the banner. "I'll go catch the munchkin… Can't have him be late on the big day."
"Thanks, sis." The white-haired Inugami sighed. "I'd help, but I'm on last chance supplies duty; ferrying crates with FoD must-haves to the muster station outside the 44th Training Grounds. Got to make sure the unprepared idiots don't forget their insect repellent, after all!" His dual color gaze rolled upwards. "Not that it's going to do them a hell of a lot of good if one of the omukade centipedes targets them!"
"Hey, I'll be one of the last ones to shed tears if one of the Satou gets eaten, but we have to try to be accommodating, after all…" While Karin had been the one to talk Motoko down when she'd gotten into it with Amaya Satou, she had yet to truly reach the same level of tolerance that their Father had achieved.
It's like there was something inside her that wanted to finish what Saki-obaasan had started even though she'd been raised to be more forgiving…
Karin gave Kabuto a quick nod. "Knock 'em dead, Yakushi-senpai." She ran off in the direction her younger sibling had last been going. "Lucia! Where are you!" Her voice echoed back as she rounded the corner.
"Meeting Vampire and Boneless at the Academy?" Sho asked hopefully.
Kabuto chuckled. "Otouto, I know you don't care for Yoroi or Misumi - hell, I wouldn't willingly associate with them if they weren't assigned to as my teammates - but they've been through a lot to make them the way they are…" Akado and Tsurugi had both been low quality experimental specimens that Lord Orochimaru had reassigned to the spy network after getting every useful bit of data out of their unique bodies.
The fact that they'd survived the experimentation process at all was a testament to their durability and loyalty to Otogakure, but they had, unfortunately, picked up a number of Lord Orochimaru's less savory traits in the process.
"I guess I should be grateful we've only had to deal with them for the last three years that you've been trying to make Chuunin, Aniki. There's just something about them that sets my teeth on edge the way the Aburame Clan does…" A slight shudder rippled down the younger medic-nin. "Maybe because their abilities deviate too much from the human norm."
> Which is rich coming from us! < Ohs chuckled.
'Shut it, you.'
Imaguni rolled his mental eyes. > Whatever. <
'Look, I don't know what's been going on with you lately, Ohs, but this kind of petulance is not what I agreed to when we made our deal back in May. Now knock it the fuck off!'
> Fine, DAD… < Ohs replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm in his tone.
Inugami shook his head. If Kabuto had noticed a lapse in Sho's conversation, he made no sign of it. The white haired young man clapped his friend's shoulder. "Come on, Aniki… We've got a busy week ahead."
* * *
Time: 11:55 AM
Kimiko Itou and Nakahito Haruno had been going stir crazy in the Hyuuga Manor for the last day and a half since the Amegakure threat had made itself known, leaving only in groups of three or more and only when necessary, such as Nakahito's mandatory and Kimiko's voluntary therapy sessions. Despite the additional stress of dealing with a threat that could pop up undetected from the ground or a pool of water, the two Genin under Miho Hyuuga's protective custody had been given a preliminary approval to return to their ninja duties for D rank tasks only and were restricted to in-Village missions.
This morning, however, would be the end of their protective incarceration; at least for a few days. This was because if the Amegakure ninja failed the First Stage, the written test, Miho-sensei already had a team of ANBU agents on standby to escort them from the Village. If they passed, they'd be locked up within the Forest of Death for the next five days for the Second Stage, the practical skills and survival test.
The only concern would be if they passed the Second Stage… That would extend their access permit for another month.
This morning, Itou and Haruno were joined by Motoko Hata in accompanying Hinata to the Academy, where she'd meet up with her teammates Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru to participate in the Exams. The flame-haired girl had been spending time with Hinata on and off for the past week, since the revelation of the swordswoman's dojutsu and Anastasia Inugami's discovery that it was rooted in the Byakugan.
Apparently, Hiashi Hyuuga owed the Inugami family a favor or three that they'd cashed in on Motoko's behalf to help her learn some of the principals behind dojutsu use.
'Momo's eyes were always so beautiful before, but that kaleidoscope rainbow iris is mesmerizing…' Itou thought to herself as they exited the Hyuuga district and entered the northern marketplace and administrative/diplomatic district. 'If I awaken the Mizugan that my Clan was known for, I hope it looks cool like this Reikigan or Hinata-chan's Byakugan… Anything but that ugly red and black of Uchiha's Sharingan!'
As they walked past the Suna embassy, Motoko Hata paused to scowl as a cluster of Satou women exited with their teams to walk in the same direction as their party. Kimiko patted her friend's shoulder. "Is she with them?"
Hata growled, the lids around her rainbow eyes tightening in anger. "I don't see her over there, but my eyes don't have X-ray functionality like Hinata's… We found that, if I focus, I can get finer color gradations that might give me more details as to what specific emotions a person is experiencing, but what those colors actually mean?" Motoko shrugged her emerald green clad shoulders. "It's honestly anyone's guess. Anasta… Sho-sa's mom sent a request to the psychological services unit to see if anyone there has done studies on Reiki-type auras, but we probably won't hear back for a few more days at a minimum." She sighed. "It'll be months - if not years - before I really figure this power out."
Nakahito chuckled, his eyes not even glancing in the direction of the seductively clad Suna women - a fact that irritated Itou for some reason - causing his three female companions to look at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking of how much Raiden would be bitching if he ended up with what he'd undoubtedly call 'a touchy-feely power…'" Haruno made air quotes. "...rather than something cool."
A soft snort of amusement escaped Hinata before she covered her mouth in cute embarrassment. "I was just trying to imagine Rai-kun getting in touch with his sensitive side…"
"Unfortunately, Hinata-chan, my twin brother's sensitive side is either buried DEEP inside him wearing a gimp mask or it went out to play in a minefield one day and never came back…" This elicited a laugh from Sho's teammates, but Hinata just made a wan smile.
A soft bark drew the group's eyes upwards to see Kiba Inuzaka with Akamaru the ninja hound in training perched atop his head standing beside the dark shades-covered eyes of Shino Aburame as Team 10 walked into the building behind them.
"Plenty of time to spare!" The boy with the red fang marks under his eyes grinned. "They're letting us in now, but the First Stage doesn't start until 1 PM. You ready, Hinata?"
The Byakugan Princess nodded distractedly, glancing around, clearly looking for Uzumaki, but was left disappointed. Motoko leaned in and whispered something to the short-haired girl that put a slight blush to her cheeks before hugging the swordswoman. "Let's try and sit as close to each other as we can." Hinata breathed as she linked hands with her teammates and led them inside.
Kimiko stretched her back. "What did you say to Hinata-chan, Momo?"
"That Team 7 is over by the Arena. They're stationary, so they're probably waiting for Kakashi…"
"Again." The three friends said in unison before laughing.
Hata nodded. "And those creeps from Hidden Rain are already in the exam room, so the two of you are safe."
"Man, I wish I was a sensor type…" Nakahito grumbled. "...being able to know where my enemies are without having to see…" The orange haired kunoichi giggled. "What?" Motoko pointed to the one window without a reflective glare on it. On the other side, Oboro of Amegakure stood, glaring at someone the three Leaf ninja couldn't see. "Whoa… If looks could kill!" Haruno chuckled even as he felt the majority of the tension that came from being hunted left him. If the Chuunin Exams were anything like the Graduation Exam for the Academy, once Examinees entered the large classroom capable of handling the 100+ participants, they were not allowed to leave, save to visit a restroom under guard to ensure no cheating occurred.
"Well, since we're in the clear, what are we going to do today?" Itou asked, brightening with relief. "Because there is no way in Hell I'm setting one toe in Hyuuga Manor if Hinata-chan isn't there after being sick there the last few days!"
Motoko suddenly perked up. "Sho-sa and Yakushi-san just entered my sensory range and they should be here shortly. Can we wait for him before we decide?"
Itou sighed, shaking her head. "Momo, you have NO idea how happy I am that you're experiencing your lifelong dream of dating my teammate and I'll be the first to admit that there's been a DRAMATIC improvement in his personality since…" She paused, glancing at Nakahito, and chose to gloss over what Hata had talked about in the Imperial Family Sento. "...Everything that happened between you in Mizumiyo, but you're both getting a little clingy and it's starting to creep me out…" Rounding the corner were Inugami and a gray-haired teen who must be this Yakushi person her friend had just mentioned; the one Sho had clearly gotten his fashion sense from. "It's almost becoming hard to tell where one of you ends and the other begins!" Hata looked briefly insulted, but quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry, I'm just calling it like I see it!"
Right then, Sho - who couldn't possibly have heard Itou's words - stepped up beside his girlfriend and they wrapped one arm around each other's waists. "WhaTEveR dO yoU MeaN, KImiKo..?" The white and orange haired couple asked in discordant harmony, their eyes getting a vacant look.
"GAH! THAT!!" Kimiko Itou cried, feeling a disturbed trickle of fear down her spine, as the swordswoman and the medic began giggling at her reaction while Nakahito had to cover his mouth. "How the hell did you do that?!"
"Motoko-sa can hear my thoughts and she's learned basic telepathy from one of the Yamanakas on the JRD payroll for one way communications." Inugami replied with a grin.
Nakahito snorted; it was clear from the looks on their faces that neither he nor Kimiko believed the explanation. "My condolences, Momo; it's got to be a special kind of hell hearing what goes through Sho's mind."
Imaguni Ohs growled. > As opposed to the total LACK of thinking that goes through yours? <
'I thought I told you to shut up.' Sho grumbled, even as he mentally chuckled at the joke.
'Be nice; both of you.' Hata's voice whispered in the medic's brain.
'Yes, Motoko-sa.' > Sorry, Motoko-chan. < The two halves of Inugami replied apologetically.
Kabuto chuckled, patting Sho's shoulder as he walked past him to where two ninja with menpo-style masks hanging loosely beneath their glasses - corrective ones for Misumi "Boneless" Tsurugi and sunglasses for Yoroi "Vampire" Akado - were waiting by the entrance.
As Yakushi stepped past her, Motoko looked him up and down. Shades of yellow, indigo and blue dominated the gauzy aura that surrounded him, turning brown as he looked at Sho. Hata smiled to herself - according to what she'd learned so far, brown was a color for courage and support; it was clear Kabuto genuinely cared for her boyfriend. He was a breath of fresh air compared to the dark colors of his two teammates that sent an unconscious shiver down her spine.
' > They creep us out, too, Motoko-chan < Motoko-sa.' Both halves of Sho's mind said in unison, save for the choice of honorifics.
"I'll see you in five days, Otouto." The gray-haired twenty year old said as he waived back at Inugami with a grin.
"Knock them dead, Aniki." Sho threw his fellow medic a thumbs up.
"Only if necessary." The seventh time examinee chuckled.
"Hey, Sakura!" Nakahito Haruno called, raising an arm as his cousin appeared with Naruto and Sasuke. The fire jutsu user trotted over to the girl with the long pink hair, talking to her as they walked together to their alma mater.
The second Kabuto Yakushi glanced in the direction of Team 7, Motoko froze, gripping Sho's waist in raw terror. In the blink of an eye, the pleasant colors were replaced with burnt orange, muddy green and pink… But the worst part of all was the cloudy blue that all the other colors swirled around.
Something about it was somehow WORSE than the aura of Kabuto's teammates.
'Distrust, infidelity, betrayal, cynicism, superiority, insecurity, revenge, and wrongness… Oh, oh no..!' The kunoichi focused her Reikigan on the blue, discerning the specific shades: leaden and slate… 'Damn it, what do those shades mean?!'
'Baby, what's wrong?' Inugami thought, his dual color gaze conveying worry.
> Seriously, if someone's bothering you just say the word and we will happily end their day! <
The swordswoman opened her mouth, but the words couldn't form either there or in her mind. Just as quickly as it appeared, though, the dark aura vanished. Motoko blinked as she realized that the man Sho considered a brother had disappeared into the Academy. Tears began to well up in her eyes as the rainbow lights of her Reikigan vanished as she lost focus.
'Gods damn it!' Hata thought to herself, looking over at Team 7. 'Who was the trigger for the abrupt change in Yakushi?! Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, or Sasuke-san?!'
"Earth to Motoko! Come in, Motoko!" Kimiko demanded, giving her friend a vigorous shake until the swordswoman's eyes snapped to focus on the last Itou. "There you are!" Her eyes softened. "You're crying, what's wrong?!"
"Ka… Kabuto…" She whispered, her voice filled with dread; her jade green eyes flicking to Inugami. "Oh, Sho-sa… I'm so sorry…"
The medic-nin looked confused as Nakahito walked back, shaking his head and muttering something about Kakashi standing his team up again, to rejoin the rest of his Team. "What is it? Aniki just went into the Academy; he's fine!"
"His aura… He took one look at Team 7 and it turned darker, more menacing than those teammates of his! I… I think he's going to try to hurt them!"
Inugami flinched back as if physically struck by her words. "No… No, that can't be right, Motoko-sa! Aniki… Aniki is one of the few people I would trust with your life if I were… indisposed."
Motoko gave him a hurt look, having heard his actual thought, not his verbally sanitized version. "You mean 'dead,' Sho-sa! You would trust him to protect me if what you fear in yourself results in your death!" She grabbed his shoulders, the tears flying from her eyes. "You aren't a Demon, Sho; the Village isn't going to have to execute you to protect itself from you!"
Nakahito's jaw dropped. "W-what?!" He gasped in shock. "Dude, what the fuck..?!"
"'Hito…" Kimiko whispered, taking his arm. "This is between them."
"But how can he..?"
"The boar." Itou hissed. "It's why Sho became Oni; to protect everyone from him."
Nakahito grimaced. "That heart-to-heart during the Hide and Seek mission must have been really something for you to keep THAT little nugget to yourself!"
"Oh, hush; I keep your secrets just as vigilantly as I do his… This is for Sho and Motoko to sort out;" A pained look crossed her face. "Just like the one you and Kanna had a month ago. We have to stay out of it."
Haruno sighed. She had a point and he knew it.
Motoko winced as she felt a burst of static through the telepathic link between Sho and herself. "Hnnngh!" She moaned, gripping her head as the feedback intensified.
A look of horror filled Inugami's face. "No, Motoko… What have I done to my Motoko-sa?!" Horror mutated to pain as his hand gripped his skull, knocking his cosmetic lenses slightly askew. "Argh… My head..!"
"Sho-sa..? What's wrong?!" Hata asked, her own discomfort pushed to the back burner. "Oh, Gods, what is..?" Beneath Sho's glasses, visible only to the orange haired kunoichi because of her position, the colors of his eyes abruptly shifted. His gray left eye suddenly turned as pink as Sakura-chan's hair while his green one turned a burnt orange a few shades darker than hers.
"> 'Sho-sa, Sho-sa, Sho-sa!' It's always about Sho; never about ME! <" Inugami spat…
In a dry voice.
"Imaguni?" Hata asked; clearly confused, taking a reflexive step back. Sho's anthropomorphic Subconscious had stepped in once before when the medic-nin's mind was occupied, back in River Country, but it hadn't affected Inugami's body like this!
An animalistic growl of sexual satisfaction escaped the medic-nin's lips. "> Ooh, you saucy little thing, you! You've never called me by my first name before, Motoko-chan… <" He gave her a lustful, toothy grin as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into him. "> I kinda want to hear you moan it next… <"
Kimiko and Nakahito looked at each other; both were beyond confused by the bizarre shift in direction this interaction had taken.
The swordswoman slapped his hands to put space between them. "Knock it off, Ohs, and give Sho-sa his body back! This is SERIOUS; Kabuto's aura was nice and pleasant when the two of you were approaching, but it…"
The look on Inugami's face turned dark; angry. "> Turned evil?! Aniki, after YOU, is the most responsible for us keeping our sanity after THOSE shits… <" He made a stabbing gesture at Nakahito and Kimiko with one finger. "> And everyone else started ostracizing us! Those new rainbow eyes of yours may let you get an uncensored peek at someone's soul, but you've had that power all of three months, so FORGIVE the FUCK out of US, <" The dry voice, shrill with stressed sarcasm, practically screamed in Hata's face. "> ...if we feel disinclined to toss away six years of friendship and camaraderie over some new age emotional spectrum mumbo jumbo that you could be making up as far as we know! <"
Motoko Hata recoiled at the words of Sho's subconscious mind speaking through the lips that she wanted more than anything to have pressed against her own. 'Something's wrong here… Ohs can be a crude bully, but this anger… It's like there's something wrong with him.'
Meanwhile Kimiko and Nakahito looked at each other in complete disbelief and slight guilt - even though both of them had apologized and Inugami had accepted - for doing exactly what Sho had accused them of. But more, they were so utterly shocked that they couldn't voice it… Never, not ONCE, had Sho Inugami ever raised his voice to Motoko Hata in the Academy.
"> Look sweet cheeks, YOU'RE the one that decided that letting us fondle that epic tit yours and proceeding to nearly ride us before abruptly stopping - giving us balls bluer than the ocean's depths - because that was as far as you were ready for in Mizumiyo and this CHUCKLEHEAD went along with it like the weak coward he is! <" Ohs' hand thumbed at himself before pointing at her accusatorially. "> You said you wanted to continue where we left off when we were reunited, yet YOU'VE been limiting us to first base since we got back six days ago, so now you're trying to make us closer to you by convincing us to isolate ourselves from Aniki?! <"
'No, no… This is wrong…' Motoko internally screamed to herself, fighting to keep the tears from her eyes and beginning to fail, as she kept trying to push through the mental haze between Sho-sa's mind and her own. 'There's no part of my Sho-sa that would - COULD - ever say such things to me! It's Ohs' voice, but not his personality!'
Nakahito Haruno was feeling equally unnerved. 'This is bad; I've never seen Sho with this many storm signs at once… And every time he shows even one, he's kicked my ass before I can blink! I've got to stop this, stop him from crossing a line he can't come back from but HOW?!'
Kimiko Itou was deathly silent, both inside and out, her blood beginning to boil in rage at the way the medic-nin was talking to her closest friend. The friend she'd encouraged to take a chance on the white haired jackass before them.
Ohs' hand began to wind up, like he was on the verge of striking the kunoichi, but he was so frothingly ANGRY it was distracting him. "> I want to plow that untilled field filled with orange wheat of yours that you showed me in that sento more than I want anything, Motoko-chan, but I can't believe you think your platinum quality pus- <"
Ohs' crudity was cut off by a resounding *SLAP* across his face, courtesy of a now thoroughly disgusted and pissed off Kimiko Itou that not only connected, but sent his glasses flying off to shatter on a nearby wall. "HOW DARE YOU, SHO DAIJO INUGAMI!" The brown haired kunoichi raged. "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"
'Holy shit, Kimi landed a clean hit on Sho?!' A stunned Nakahito realized, his seafoam eyes agog. 'And he didn't roll with it? He always knows when I'm about to strike and blocks or minimizes the injury!'
Almost instantly, Sho straightened himself back up, his eyes back to their normal emerald green and steel gray. The orange-haired kunoichi actually let off a sigh of relief to see his normal eyes; especially when that mental static disappeared with the bizarre coloration. "Sho-sa..!"
The medic-nin gave his girlfriend a look of pure horror and self-loathing that actually hurt Motoko to see displayed on his normally loving features. He opened his mouth to say something, but, whatever it was going to be, it died stillborn.
> Wait, what was that..? < Motoko could hear Imaguni Ohs ask internally. > Why did I..? *GURK!* <
The dry voice was abruptly cut off as a flash of rage struck Sho, causing him to grit his teeth as he mentally throttled Ohs, before he vanished with a pop of displaced air. Motoko Hata closed her eyes, intending to backtrace which of his Flying Raijin tags he'd targeted when suddenly the mental link between them went dead.
Motoko, overwrought with emotions, fell over as the connection was severed; dropping her to her knees. 'He… He cut me off!' Tears began to fall in earnest as Kimiko knelt down and hugged her friend close. "Sho-sa..!"
"Jeez, you think you know a guy!" Nakahito said, visibly disgusted by his teammate's words. "Talk about things that never happened, right, Motoko?" Hata and Itou just glanced at him, both their cheeks coloring slightly. "What..? Which part of that is true?"
"The Sento thing was real; I heard Momo's scream when it happened. The rest is bullshit, though…" Itou said confidently as she rose to her feet. "I'm going to his house and I'm going to beat our perverted teammate half to death, let his sister patch him up and do it again! Come on, 'Hito; I can't handle him alone." Kimiko growled as she turned to the east where the Inugami Compound was.
Hata's hand snapped up to catch Itou's; her face turning darker red as her heart raced. "He… He wasn't…" Kimiko looked at her in confusion. The swordswoman pulled down on her mesh undertop, revealing a line of hickeys. The jaws of Inugami's teammates fell open slightly. "Sho-sa wasn't lying… About any of it."
"What..?" Kimiko croaked in disbelief.
The orange-haired kunoichi released Itou's hand to prod her two index fingers against each other as she regressed to her more timid state as she began feeling overwhelmed at sharing the details of her and Sho's private moments. "But he wasn't telling the whole story, either. And this is going to sound really confusing, to both of you, but the person you slapped, Kimi, wasn't my Sho-sa…"
"WHAT?!" Haruno and Itou demanded in unison before Nakahito followed up with… "Wait, is that why you were calling him Imaguni or Ohs?"
The swordswoman gestured towards the tree with the wooden plank swing on it as she stood. "This gets really confusing, so I'm going to have to start from the beginning and it's kinda convoluted." She explained once they were under the shade of the swing tree. "I hate betraying Sho-sa's trust, but with the way Ohs just acted… Well, it's more than worrisome and I know Sho-sa would never be able to forgive himself if you thought you were dealing with him instead of Imaguni and got hurt." She paused. "Do you know where Hyuuga-sensei might be? She should probably be here for this, too."
Team 13 shook their heads. "She's third in the line of succession after Hinata- and Hanabi-chan. With Hiashi-oji out of town with Hanabi for the week and Hinata taking the Exams, she's in charge of the Clan." Itou explained.
Hata nodded, quickly summoning a lightning clone messenger, the technique Sho had taught her in his first letter home after they'd been separated, and sent it racing to the Hyuuga Compound. She sighed, sitting on the familiar swing as Sho's teammates sat at her feet.
"As with everything unusual about my Sho-sa, this mess is because of that damned boar from seven years ago…"
* * *
Time: 12:10 AM
On the third floor of the Konoha Ninja Academy, in a classroom already half full and filling quickly, Team Kari entered a few minutes after Temari and Kankuro had managed to herd Gaara in.
'Five nights until the full moon…' Kane Suzuki thought as he found a seat on the opposite side of the room from the Jinchuuriki of Shukaku, the One Tailed Sand Tanuki. Any Suna resident that didn't have a death wish had learned, in the last six years, to accurately - instinctively - track the phases of the moon.
Because to set foot outside on the nights it was full - or nearly so - was to court an agonizing - albeit quick - death.
Tarnia Nakamura whimpered at the sight of Gaara, wishing she could have brought Bara with her into the classroom, but the rules were clear: animals must have certified animal-nin documentation or emerge from a summoning web to be permitted in any of the Exam stages. While Bara had initially emerged from a summoning web, it had been nearly five years since he'd done so and there were no animal-nin training facilities in Suna.
Kane, a self-declared misogynist - but only against his kin of the Satou Clan that had stripped him of the Clan's name when his mother unexpectedly had a "true" heir, his sister Emi, when he was four - slid out a chair on his left side, where his muscular bulk would block the view of Gaara from the young woman with piercing violet eyes and brindled white and pink hair.
"Gratitude… Kane." Nakamura mumbled softly.
"It's okay, Tarnia; Gaara isn't quite as dangerous when the sun's up, but I get the fear... Hell, I feel it, too."
Amaya, in the meantime, had taken a spot by the bank of windows that had a row of chairs beneath them for reasons that would likely become apparent when the first stage began in just under an hour. She felt a sensation that she was being watched - something every Satou got used to - but this was more than the usual "I wonder what she looks like naked" stares…
She could feel the murderous intent.
By shifting her weight to her other leg, the minor position change caused the interior surfaces of the window to start displaying ghostly reflections of the people gathered behind her… It took her all of thirty seconds to notice the glares of the Amegakure ninja that had been serving under Akira Muto in River Country. Amaya sent a minor illusion to her two teammates identifying the trio as a potential threat.
Kane sneered in her direction, but tightened his forehead protector in acknowledgement. Kari-sensei had long since made it clear that when they were on their own that the Satou Princess was in charge and - as long as they were reasonable - her orders were to be treated as the Jonin's own. And, while Amaya was as vain and impulsive as their mutual grandmother, she had never abused Kari-sensei's authority.
The Amegakure team's leader, the one with two visible eyes, stood up and walked over towards her, stopping a few windows down. "If you make it to the next round, you're a dead woman, bitch." He declared with a surprisingly calm voice.
"Oh, really..?" Satou asked, looking at her flawlessly manicured nails without an ounce of fear, inside or out. "And why exactly would you want me dead, Oboro of the Rain?" The ninja in the off-cream outfit looked surprised. "Oh, please, you might have been working for Akechi wa Jubei, but your Jonin still had to check you in with Palace Security when you arrived as part of Daimyo Bankotsu's retinue. When that mountain of a man fished Muto's corpse out of the aquarium, did you honestly think it would take the Leaf or the Imperial Guard long to suspect your involvement?" She gave him a flirty, but cruel smile. "I'd recommend you three avoid the Land of Rivers for, like, forever."
Oboro scowled behind his rebreather. "A Leaf ninja named Sho Inugami might have killed Muto-sensei - a crime for which he WILL pay for if we find him - according to that announcement the Aquamarine Throne sent out, but YOU forcing that confession from the client resulted in disavowal of Muto-sensei; branding him a rogue-nin and nearly sidelining my team's ability to participate in the Exams!"
"Oh, cry me a river... I just did a better job serving my client's interests than you did yours. It wasn't personal, it was just business." Satou rolled her eyes as she turned her head back to look out the window.
That's when she noticed two figures standing hip-to-hip talking to the girl that had been impersonating Reiyuriko and the young man that had beaten the unholy hell out of Akechi. One was an all-too-familiar girl with flame orange hair and a yellow ninjato strapped to her back, the other a young man with white hair and a black lock dangling over his forehead protector; a pair of green tinted lenses covering his eyes. "That's Hata!" A gasp escaped her lips as she realized the true identity of the other. "Is that what Inugami really looks like when he's not undercover?!"
Oboro's head snapped to look out the window and down to the street two floors down. His masked eyes narrowed in rage. "Inugami… Lucky..!"
'Shit! I didn't mean to give that away!' Satou grimaced. 'Now I have someone else hunting my prey!'
"Damn it, what the hell, Sho?!" A voice complained out loud to nobody. "Don't backslide now, man!"
Amaya blinked as she saw a young man with a severe widow's peak that was revealed because of the topknot his hair was pulled back into had appeared beside her. His jacket bore the sigil of Konoha's Nara Clan. Satou returned her attention to the interaction of the ninja below to see the fake princess slap Sho Inugami hard enough to send his glasses flying out of view.
The distraction specialist had clearly missed something while mentally castigating herself for doxxing the Decimator's grandson!
The medic-nin picked himself up, a look of guilt on his face before he suddenly ceased to exist. Satou's jaw fell open; whatever her target had done, it was clearly not that invisibility technique he'd displayed in Mizumiyo Palace, given the consternation on the brown haired kunoichi's features.
"I wonder what that was about…" A new voice, this one belonging to an obvious medical ninja with a hairstyle, uniform, and even glasses that were identical to Inugami's, save for the color palette being more a dark purple than the white and powder blue clothing Amaya's prey wore. His presence had been so thoroughly erased that Shikamaru, Amaya, and Oboro all startled as Kabuto Yakushi appeared at the window bank. "Although his Flying Raijin is far more refined than it was the last time I saw Otouto use it. Guess I'll have to update Sho's data card... Again." He rolled his dark eyes.
"Damn, you nearly gave me a heart attack, Yakushi-senpai!" Shikamaru Nara complained. "I swear to God, we need to put bells around both your neck and Inugami's!"
Yakushi chuckled. "Hiro Jeitsy wouldn't give you good odds on being successful…"
"Probably not." Nara chuckled ruefully. "But a little warning would be nice!"
"So that WAS Sho Inugami, right?" Amaya Satou asked out loud, causing the two Leaf ninja to eye her suspiciously, but that faded as she released a small trace of Trust pheromone. "Sorry, I met him a few months back in River Country and he looked quite different than just now; I thought I was imagining it."
A deck of orange cards appeared in Yakushi's hands and he quickly extracted one. As he poured chakra into it, an image of Sho Inugami appeared, showing his image, his teammates and Jonin, a mission record showing an A rank completion along with 10 D ranks, but nothing in between, and a visual depiction of his skill stats.
'Holy shit..!' Amaya gasped mentally. 'He doesn't seem that physically imposing, but those stats…' She glanced over at her cousin. 'Kane has the advantage in raw strength, but everything else they either tie on or Inugami has the advantage in; especially that maxed intelligence rating! No WONDER I believed his Urashima persona so completely; he wore his disguise like a second skin.' She paused, 'But that's assuming this is real data; I can't imagine someone that calls the Decimator's grandson "little brother" would be so loosely lipped with Inugami's information.'
That's when Amaya felt a wave of Genjutsu wash over her mind, giving her a brief vision of this Yakushi fellow's Leaf forehead protector melting away to reveal an Otogakure musical note!
Only a decade of living the Satou training lifestyle kept her face from betraying her shock. While she was recovering, Oboro slipped away, returning to his team to discuss their primary target that he'd identified with Satou's help.
'Akiko-ba said that the "Gentleman from Rice Paddies" - whoever that is - had a spy operating within Konoha that would make contact once the Exams began to give me some critical info… And that once I had it, I would have to make sure my team - at a minimum - fails the First Exam stage so I can act on the information before our access visa ends the day after the Second Stage ends! I haven't told Kane this part of the plan because he'll get all pissy; he wants Chuunin status so he can go on higher rank missions and find better opponents to collect forehead protectors from…'
At that moment a trio entered the classroom for the exam: a girl with pink hair and a white ring like the ninja who'd beaten Akechi had worn - clearly a family or clan symbol that Satou didn't recognize, a goofy looking blonde with whisker lines on his cheeks in a day-glo orange coat and pants with blue and white trim - hardly conducive for stealth, and this year's MVP: the last Uchiha.
"'Scuse me. I'd better go over there before Naruto does something moronic to start a war…" Shikamaru grimaced as he walked away. "Ugh, such a drag…"
"So, you look like you've done this a time or two… Or perhaps this is your seventh try?" Satou asked, trying to be absolutely certain that the connection between the spy before her and her true target was what she suspected, based on his appearance and Dr. Anastasia's words when she was getting her pheromone detector. "Any words of advice for a first-timer? In the spirit of inter-Village cooperation?"
Kabuto sighed as he set his deck of ninja info cards down on the windowsill. "From a personal opinion standpoint, I'd recommend against acting on whatever plan you have cooked up for the Decimator's heir; the data I showed you is just the surface level… Even I, his best and closest friend, don't know if we're talking lake or ocean deep - he keeps things too close to the vest." There was a stir by the door as six other ninja, including topknot, joined the previous trio. Yakushi sighed. "Preteens! I'D better go over there before they earn themselves a beating from these other teams!"
The Sound spy walked away.
Leaving his data cards on the windowsill.
'Obviously he wants me to have them, but how do I grab them without…'
"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I'M GONNA BEAT EVERY ONE OF YA!"
Amaya Satou startled at the abrupt shout from the orange-clad ninja, but it did draw the attention of everyone in the room, which the Suna kunoichi took full advantage of to grab the data cards and tuck them into her bra during the brief melee the Leaf brat's words caused.
There was a sudden burst of smoke as a man with a severely scarred face whose outfit identified him as nothing less than a Tokubetsu Jonin along with over half a dozen Chuunin assistants appeared through the substitution jutsu.
"I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor… And, from this moment, your worst enemy."
* * *
Time: 1:30 PM
"...and that's when Sho-sa tripped over one of the numerous cables criss-crossing the Security Closet, ripping a massive hole in my dress, his hand…" The kunoichi's face flushed at the memory of what happened next even as a soft moan of desire escaped her lips. It had taken her nearly an hour and a half to get to this part of the story. "Anyways, Sho tried to pull back, but I grabbed his hand and wouldn't let him go. We talked, he rolled us onto his back and gave me total control over what we did - and didn't - do. Stopping was a mutual, if slightly reluctant for both of us, decision."
Both Haruno and Itou's faces were as red as Nakahito's padded jacket. "Holy hell, I'm not sure if Sho's a eunuch or a saint!" The male Genin breathed.
'He's no eunuch, that's for sure!' Naughty giggled in Hata's mind.
"I mean Kanna and I had a literal tumble down a hill and we barely stopped ourselves from crossing first base, to say nothing of…" He made an up and down hand wave gesture towards the swordswoman.
Itou turned to look at a drawing in the dirt of two circles, one split in half that said Sho and Ohs on either side of the line while the unsplit coin had the kanji for Unconscious drawn there. Hearing that Kanna and Hito had gotten close to first base left her feeling slightly hollow for some reason, but hearing they hadn't crossed it made her feel slightly better. So she did the same thing Inugami would do when having an emotional crisis he couldn't explain…
Ignore it and focus on the problem.
"So, just to make sure I understand all of this…" She pointed at the whole coin. "Inside Sho are three different minds: his Unconscious, which you can hear only when Sho is asleep via this psychic radio you have because of your Reikigan, and he sounds like Sho did around the time his brain broke because a supernatural entity that is INSIDE him popped out, slaughtered the boar like he showed me when he shared his memory, and then went back inside with no explanation beyond keeping Sho alive at any cost… Am I following that right?" Hata nodded. "And because he relived the attack while trapped by Forced Sleep, he could have BLOWN UP AND TAKEN EVERYONE IN MIZUMIYO WITH HIM?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, MOMO!?"
"Easy, Kimi, easy..!" Nakahito breathed soothingly as he rubbed her shoulders in just the spot that always relaxed her. "Momo stopped it. And, let's face it, if she'd told us ANY of this before today, would we have believed it if we hadn't seen this Ohs in action? Even with that explanation of Sho's combat mind that Karin-chan gave us back in March?"
Kimiko huffed as she felt the tension leave her. "You're right, you're right..!" She looked at her friend pensively. "Sorry for yelling, Momo." She took a calming breath as Hata patted her hand. "Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the coin, we have the Sho that we've known our entire Academy lives, but also the personification of his Subconscious, which he started being able to hear after he turned fifteen, that is going by Imaguni Ojiad Ohs - literally Sho's name spelled and pronounced backwards. Right?"
The swordswoman nodded. "Ohs is Sho's emotional heat sink; feelings that he can't cope with or that he can't let distract him in the moment are pushed onto Imaguni to process. I can hear both Sho and Ohs talking to each other or me only when Sho-sa is awake and, before today, I could only tell the difference through the tone of their voices… Sho-sa's eyes changing color when Ohs took over control is both new and slightly unnerving. Before today, Imaguni could be horrible and crass but he could also be tender and encouraging; he just has no filter between his part of Sho's brain and his mouth. That's why I think there's something wrong: we all know Sho, what part of ANY of that was him?"
'Aside from his hot body that I want to kiss ALL over…'
'You're as bad as Ohs!' Motoko thought with a blush, though she couldn't deny that it was not a small part of her that wanted to act on her personified libido's impulses.
"I remember how he reacted when he realized your feelings weren't platonic…" Kimiko Itou smiled at the memory. "I'd never seen him so terrified before… Aside from after the boar, I mean. The Sho I saw that day would have…" She paused. "Knowing that Sho's grandfather was a samurai, is it classist to infer he would rather..?"
"No." Nakahito and Motoko agreed in unison.
"Sho-sa even told Rai as much a week ago that he'd rather… that… than ever hurt me." Hata pointed out, wincing at the thought of Sho committing seppuku. "And Ohs' whole deal with Sho was they work at reuniting - something that would result in Ohs' ceasing to exist - just so Sho would take a chance on us! It's like something is causing Imaguni to rot from the inside…"
"Should we tell Karin-chan or Sho's parents?" Nakahito Haruno asked, genuinely unsure whether expanding the circle of knowledge was a good or bad idea.
Hata looked genuinely conflicted. "Sho decided not to tell his family about his mental split because he was starting to show signs of healing, of opening himself to more than just me; like helping you train on seal-less transformation."
"He told you?!" Haruno demanded incredulously, getting titters of amusement from the two kunoichi with him. "Oh, right; I told him to bust my balls and stomp on my pride to keep helping me mature… Of course he told you!" He sighed, thinking about his Princess. "And everything he's done for Kanna… You're right. The Sho from before wouldn't have done half of that."
Motoko had a sad smile on her features. "And I would have kept all this a secret if not for Kimi jumping to my defense; I don't want you to think ill of Sho-sa for something that is clearly an external influence." She sighed. "But HOW is the question! It almost reminds me of the effects from that brain worm kinjutsu that Sho-sa and the Senseis saved Lord Mizuzaki from, but…"
"But Muto, the curse maker, has been dead for nearly two months." Itou agreed with a frown. "And while his Genin are here in town, Inugami's brain resisted the likes of Yuuhi-sensei; even working in unison like they did Hinata-chan, I can't see them being able to crack his mental defenses!"
"And that's assuming they got through whatever defenses are on the Inugami Compound." Nakahito pointed out. "His parents run the JRD! They've got to have Hokage-level defenses; especially with all the other Villages in town for the Exams!" A slight shudder ran down his back. "I wonder what would be worse; getting caught by the ANBU or Sho fuckmothering Inugami for messing with those he cares about?"
Hata got a sudden sinking sensation in her gut. She hadn't even THOUGHT of what Sho was going to do to Ohs for not only taking control but nearly raising Sho's hand against her. "Shit, we need to find Sho-sa! He won't take Imaguni's actions lightly; before he cut me out, I heard Ohs getting strangled! I don't THINK he can actually kill part of himself, but…"
"Sho would totally try to punish the rogue part of himself." Itou agreed. "Any guesses where he went?"
Motoko grimaced. "I know he's got a target tag for his Flying Raijin at home, but he might have others… Plus he's had nearly two hours to go anywhere in Konoha!"
There was a sudden shattering of glass overhead as a fast-moving figure leapt through one of the windows into the classroom for the Exams. "What the hell was that?!" A shocked Haruno shouted.
The swordswoman glanced at her watch, which showed 2:00 PM on the dot, remembering that woman that had attacked Tanaka-sensei during her team's last D-Rank mission before the Land of Rivers. "That would likely be the Proctor for the Second Exam stage. Okito-sensei said she was a little crazy…"
"I wonder how Hinata and Sakura did…" Kimiko mused as a crowd of dejected-looking candidates began filing out of the Academy's main entrance. Those that failed had been held until the written portion was concluded to ensure those still inside didn't receive any outside assistance.
"I can't fucking BELIEVE you 'Maya!" A voice the orange-haired kunoichi recognized was shouting as Team Kari emerged with the 72 others that had washed out. "You had ONE job! Get the test answers out of the ones that didn't seem to be having a problem with the questions!"
"Well, EXCUUUSE ME!" Amaya Satou bitched back at her cousin, holding up her pheromone detector. "They were only going to let me take this off for the Second Stage and beyond! There's only so much you can expect from those idiots experiencing Happy Servitude at grades 1 and 2!"
"Can we fetch lunch for you mistress?" A number of Leaf ninja asked with baited breath.
"Oh, go jump in a river!" Satou spat in frustration. The ten ninja nodded dumbly and started running to the Nara River to the south. If Nakahito hadn't witnessed what the Suna woman in the black and pink yukata could do in Mizumiyo Palace, he would have been shocked.
"Great… Now that bitch is going to be loose in the Village instead of locked up in the Forest of Death when Sho-sa isn't at 100%..."
Amaya glaced around and saw Motoko glaring kunai at her. Grinning at the swordswoman, Satou blew Hata a kiss and made a 'see you around' wave with the individual fingers of her right hand as Kane Suzuki stormed off. The third member of their team muttered something and ran off in the direction of the Suna Embassy.
"Hito, Kimi, would you two go check the Hospital and see if Sho-sa went there? I'll go to Sho-sa's home and see if Karin-nee might know where to look for him."
Sho's teammates nodded as Haruno ground his heel in the dirt to erase Motoko's diagrams. "Can't leave anything for that thirsty bitch, can we?"
Hata and Itou nodded in agreement before the three split off in two different directions.