The sound of crackling wood started to grow louder as Hanabi prepared a campfire. It's already early morning. Sai had volunteered to go hunt for some wild game, so she took the initiative to start a fire for them to start cooking straightaway when Sai returned.
Hanabi sat back down and looked at Haku's sleeping form. It's rare to see him still asleep at this time of the day when they are camping out. Haku had always been a light sleeper whenever their team is camping outdoors.
He must have been very exhausted from the previous night.
Truth to be told, she herself is a little mentally exhausted too. Hearing the details of Haku's life story made her realised how spoiled and pampered she and her classmates are. They are fortunate, very fortunate, to be born in Konoha. The biggest calamity that befell on her thus far was her kidnapping, but she had made it back safe and sound.
At the expense of Haku's future.
That is one thing that she can never get over no matter how many times Haku had reassured her that it wasn't her fault. If she can go back in time, maybe she should have-
She was brought out of her thoughts when Haku starts to stir.
Haku opened his eyes and blinked a few times to rid himself of any remaining traces of sleepiness. He sat up and spotted her.
"Morning."
"Morning. Sai had gone to hunt. He should be back soon."
Haku gave a nod of acknowledgement as he took a drink from his bottle and moved to sit down beside her. The two of them spent a minute in silence, watching the fire.
"I'm sorry. I said some hurtful things to you last night, didn't I?"
"It's fine. I… I…" Hanabi struggled with herself for a short while before she continues to speak. "You were right. You could have lived the life you always wanted if it wasn't for me. If we didn't meet, you-"
"If we didn't meet, you would have suffered a fate worse than death. If we didn't meet, I may have the chance to live the life I dreamed of, but I also could have been dead due to a bandit raid or because I am unlucky enough to cross the path of a crazy shinobi, because I would not have the chance to learn the shinobi arts to know how to defend myself. Let's not speak about this again, there's no longer any point to talk about 'what-ifs'. We have gone through this many times. It's not your fault."
Hanabi looked downwards, partly because she is still in guilt and partly because at how useless she feels about this entire issue. There's nothing she can do for him, but he had done everything he could for her.
No, there's still something that she can do for him.
"Can you promise me something?"
"You know I had never denied you anything. Looking back, you are the one person that I truly care about since my parents died."
Hanabi's heart warmed a little at Haku's words. She lifted her hands and gently cup the sides of his face before slowly turning him around to face her.
"Next time, don't bottle everything up and keep it to yourself. I am always here with you, Haku. I know you don't trust easily, but I can keep secrets, especially when it comes to you. If something is bothering you, talk to me. I am here to listen. There's no need to handle everything alone."
Haku's eyes softened a little.
"I don't know if I can keep this promise, but I will try."
"Is now a bad time to interrupt?" Sai chirped out as he poked his head out from behind a tree nearby. "I can always go for a walk and be back later, but the food takes time to cook and I don't want to have a late breakfast. I hope I didn't just interrupt a kissing session. I had read about a book that-"
"Shut up, Sai."
"The fact that the both of you are in sync means that you are probably ok now, girly-kun. When are you two tying the knot?"
Sai walked up to them with a dead rabbit already gutted and skinned. Ignoring Sai's last comment, Haku received the wild game from him and poke a sharp stick through it before letting it roast over the fire.
"Thanks, guys. For everything."
"Why are you so formal with us? The book that I had read mentioned that good friends are rarely formal with-"
"Just accept it, ok? Books aren't always right and they can't cover every scenario."
Sai whipped out his notebook to start jotting down whatever Haku just said. Haku and Hanabi just sigh in resignation upon seeing this action. Sai is still socially hopeless.
The three of them enjoyed a quiet breakfast as the sun slowly rose and shine over the dense forest.
"Do you know if… er… Just what did I say last night? How much did I say? My mind was a mess and I really couldn't remember how much I told everyone."
Hanabi looked up at Haku.
"You don't remember?"
"Only a vague idea. I vaguely remember that you were with me last night, but I can't really remember what we talked about, only that I was crying non-stop. It's weird, like trying to remember a dream kind of weird."
"You told us how you and your father… well…" Hanabi gestured with her hands, trying to avoid saying anything sensitive that might trigger Haku. "You only told them the bare bones of what happened. You told me the details."
"Ah. So it really wasn't a dream. I did tell them."
"They have no right to judge you." Hanabi said with fierce protectiveness as she unconsciously clenches her fist. "We need to find them, Haku. We need to warn them not to go around telling everyone-"
"Just leave them be. I am not going to be all buddy-buddy with them after what happened, but if they talk about it to someone else, so be it."
"Haku!"
"There's no way my past can be kept a secret any longer since I blurted it out." Haku reasoned. "We had met Orochimaru. He had taken an interest in me. The higher-ups are going to question us everything about our encounter, there's no way we can leave the outburst of my past out of it. We had broken all logic and protocol by leaving their group when it was safer to be together. The higher-ups will want to know why. Team 7 and 10 will have no choice but to tell them what really happened."
"It's not their choice to make! It's your past! Your privacy! We can-"
"Hanabi." Haku interrupted politely to stop her tirade. "We are living in a militaristic society. Concepts such as human rights and personal privacy can be easily changed by the higher-ups at their whim, all in the name of the greater good of the village. The sooner you realise this, the better. We are shinobis. We are simply tools to the village. Tools have no rights, nor do they have privacy."
"That's true." Sai agreed as he finished up his meal. "That's what grandfather said to me all the time. We are simply tools to the village, we live and die for the village. There's no need for emotions or a sense of self."
"But that's… wrong!"
"And it is how it is." Haku said with finality. "In a world where the economy is dependent on constant bloodshed to keep it functioning, such things are inevitable. This is why this world experienced three world wars in such a short period of time. It helps to keep the economy growing. This is also why this world never knew peace."
"You sound as if you have an idea on how to establish peace." Sai stated as he drank a sip from his bottle to wash off the taste of his meal.
"If it were me, I will abolish the shinobi system to establish peace across the nations. That is assuming I have the power to do so. Obviously, that is impossible."
"How will abolishing the shinobi system establish peace?" Sai asked curiously. "What makes you think that way?"
"Everything runs on money, everyone needs money to live and survive. Why do we go to war? Because some nations made more profits than others. What is the biggest source of income for the Five Great Nations? The revenue their Hidden Villages made for them through missions. Oh, look. Village A is stealing our clients away from us. We need to stop them. Oh, look. Village B is stealing the clients from Village A and Village C is stealing from Village B. Maybe we can ally with Village B to wipe out Village A and C? We can pillage the spoils of our victory from them and get our clients back. We can profit if we win a fight with them. We can profit even more if we backstab Village B right after we wipe out Village A and C."
Haku paused to look at Sai.
"Sounds familiar, right? Can you now see why the previous three wars started? If you read everything related to shinobi history and look at it objectively, the real history of shinobis since the founding of the Hidden Villages is nothing like what the academy teachers taught during our history lessons. It's not always about defending our motherland and fighting for the Will of Fire. It's not always true that our enemies are despicable simply because they are from Iwa."
Haku paused a moment to let his team mates digest what he just said before continuing.
"But no matter the village you are in, it's always about trying to accumulate more power and money. It's always about greed. This world runs and profit from the blood of others since everyone is paying shinobis to get rid of their problems by offing whoever stands in their way. It is the prevalent mentality in this world. Do you guys know why?"
Hanabi shook her head and Sai gave a shrug. They both don't know the answer to Haku's question.
"Because for civilians, the solution is always so simple. A violent solution, but simple. They don't even need to dirty their hands. It is the only way civilians know how to solve any difficult problems they faced. The only thing they need to part with is money. For shinobis, it is the only way that they know how to make a living and shinobis hold a lot of power in this world. In reality, shinobis call the shots. Not the civilians, not the daimyos, but the shinobis. When it comes down to it, the daimyos are nothing more than puppet figures who think that they hold power when their power is meaningless in the face of shinobis who are able to properly utilise chakra. How can this world know true peace if this is how the world functions? How can this world know true peace if the few people that holds the most power in this world lead their people to war so that their village can continue to prosper? If you look back, every brief period of peace between the wars is so short it's not even funny. It's like borrowed time for every village to prepare for the next war. The longer the peace, the bigger the next war. Try naming a Kage that never experienced a war in their lifetime. Our periods of peace are just that short."
"Am I supposed to be worried that I actually understand the point you are making? If what you said is true, the next war will be really huge." Hanabi asked as she too finished her meal.
"I am surprised that I actually understood what you are saying as well. It is a refreshing point of view. It is one that I never thought about."
"And it will remain as that, a point of view." Haku waved it off with a hand. "There's no way the Hidden Villages will want the shinobi system to be abolished. Unless someone with that same idea is actually strong enough to stand against their combined might and enforce it, it will never happen. It will take another war for this idea to be implemented, if it gets to that point."
Haku had finished his meal as well. The three of them packed up and erased any traces of their presence in this area before preparing to set off once more.
"So, Mr and Mrs Yuki, just so that we are on the same page. We head straight to the tower?"
"Not funny, Sai. Try harder next time if you want to try cracking a joke. And to answer your question, we already have both scrolls with us even before we met Orochimaru. Why not? We will proceed as how we did before we met him. If we run into any teams, leave the fighting to me. The both of you took the night shifts last night while I was out like a light. I can handle most of the teams out there by myself."
"Haku, are you sure that you are really alright? We can wait for another day-"
"I'm fine. All of us can rest better in the tower anyway. Let's just aim to reach there as soon as possible."
"I agree. What about you, crackers-chan?"
Hanabi raised an eyebrow at Haku. There's no way he's perfectly fine yet, but she has to admit that Haku's current state is a lot better than she had expected it to be. He is obviously still hurting, but at least he is acting as normal as possible.
"If you two are really ok with it, then fine. Just don't overexert yourself if the fighting gets too tough."
"The only team I am worried about is the Suna team, but don't worry. I won't overexert."
"Sorry to interrupt your flirting session, but we really need to-"
"Shut up, Sai."
"Must you guys greet me with that phrase every single time I say something?"
Hanabi let out a small sigh of relief in her mind. Haku's mood is still a little foul and he hasn't fully healed from what happened last night, but from what she can see thus far, he is as fine as he can be. She can only hope that he can remain this way at least until the end of the exams. It will not do well for him if he suffers another breakdown at this point.
It's obvious that something had changed within Haku. She doesn't know what it is exactly, but she can tell. He is a little less hesitant, a little more ruthless. It's like he had truly come to accept the life of a shinobi for whatever reasons. She can tell from the way he carries himself.
It's like he had came to a realisation and decided upon something. Something that she does not yet know.
Their journey to the tower isn't smooth sailing. It is also what allows her to see that Haku had changed.
There were a few teams from foreign villages that had either found them through sheer luck or skill when they were travelling. It was the only time Team 13 had gotten any action. They dismantled all of their oppositions in record time.
To be more accurate, Haku did most of the work. Hanabi and Sai simply stood by the side and watched as Haku demolished whoever is stupid or unlucky enough to face them. Haku didn't kill them, but injure them enough so that they probably couldn't pass the exam in time.
The two Kumo teams that they ran into after that weren't so lucky.
Team 13 had wanted to detour and avoid them initially when Hanabi had spotted them with her byakugan. Everyone had signed the agreement forms given out by the proctor, that Konoha would not take any responsibility for any deaths in the second stage and all the participants knew that it is a free-for-all in this forest, but Team 13 wanted to avoid escalating the already fragile peace between the two villages as much as possible.
The Kumo genins didn't think about it this way.
There was obviously a sensor among the two teams of Kumo genins since they home in on them like a hawk to its prey despite Team 13 taking the extra effort to avoid them. Haku was already in a foul mood when he learnt that it was Kumo genins that they are avoiding. The scars that littered his arms are a constant reminder of what he had experienced from Kumo. The Kumo genins purposely seeking them out made him even more moody than he already is.
What the Kumo genins did next sealed their fate.
In hindsight, they were probably trying to rile them up through trash talking. The moment they appeared, they had threatened to kill Hanabi and pluck her eyes out of her skull so that they can present it to their Raikage when they returned to their village.
Usually, using such tactics might work on others. If you managed to rile up your enemies, chances are that they might make fatal mistakes you can capitalise on in your battle. However, they shouldn't have done it right in front of Haku.
Haku had always been someone who is able to keep his cool no matter what. There are only a few things in this world that can truly rile him up and he had somehow encountered those few things in the short span of this stage of the exam.
Five seconds. That's all the time Haku took to eradicate the two Kumo teams that had threatened Hanabi.
It is a side of Haku that Hanabi had never seen before. It scares her a little, and it made her realised how much Haku had been holding back during their spars. Haku had cared too much about her, so much that he never showed her just what he is capable of since most of his invented jutsus with the Ice Release is a one-hit-kill type of jutsu. Jutsus that he can never use in their spars since he will never harm her.
Shards of ice that made themselves invisible by refracting light so that their target will not be aware of its presence until it's too late. Freezing his opponent's blood with just a touch. Coating himself in a layer of ice that blocked all kinds of physical damage and giving frostbite to anyone who had touched it. Exploding his ice cubes like an exploding tag, sending shrapnel of small ice spikes into his opponents.
The Kumo genins were torn apart by Haku's power. Some were skewered. Some were brutally ripped apart limb from limb as bits of brain matter, gore, and blood showered down from the sky. There was one who simply became a frozen statue, his very blood in him got frozen the moment Haku so much as touched him.
Haku did all these in just five seconds.
It's like Haku had totally embraced his darker and shinobi side of him. It's like whatever doubts and apprehension that he had in being a shinobi had disappeared. During those five seconds, Haku had truly became a monster.
Before, Haku had never killed simply because he was able to. There was always a good reason to why he killed even if he wasn't bothered by the act of killing. Now, he had killed because some Kumo genins had let their mouth run without their filters over it. This has never happened before.
But he still did it anyway, because he cannot stand anyone threatening her. Hanabi knew that she is important to Haku but she never knew how important until now.
She will never admit it aloud to anyone else, but she actually felt a little happy seeing Haku so protective of her. Should she be worried about her own mental state too? The fact that seeing the Kumo nins getting massacred by Haku because they so much as verbally threatened her actually made her a little happy. Is she a little mentally unstable as well? Is it wrong to feel this way?
No, she supposed it isn't. There's no point in denying her feelings for him. She loves Haku, she is sure of it. She will burn the world for him if it meant keeping him happy and safe like what he is doing for her now. Right and wrong are subjective concepts anyway. If Haku is happy and safe, then it probably is the right thing to do.
Another shocking thing is that Haku had later admitted that he only recently invented these jutsus in that short amount of time after his run-in with the Kiri nins during their C-rank mission and this exam. He would have used it against Orochimaru if he hadn't retreated when he did. These jutsus are his trump cards for the exams. It was supposed to be used against anyone that is too dangerous to be brought down in a non-lethal manner. It was not meant to cause a senseless massacre.
Haku is so brilliantly smart and creative with his Ice Release that it is frightening. The layer of ice that he coated himself with would have made him invincible against her Gentle Fist. She would have gotten frost bite the moment she touched them. How can she win against something like that?
What made her jaws dropped is when Haku had said that he had more ideas in his head, he even has an idea to create S Class jutsus with his Ice Release that might allow him to take on a jinchuriki in theory. It's just that he doesn't have the power and control over his bloodline to make it a reality yet.
Hanabi didn't doubt the truth in his words, and neither did Sai.
Thankfully, they didn't encounter any more opposition after destroying the Kumo team and they reached the tower by the end of the day. They walked through the main door, where a pair of chunin guards congratulated them and told them to make their way up to an empty room on the second floor.
"You know, I think Hinata's team is already here. I can sense them." Haku said as they walked up the stairs to the second floor.
"Really? Nee-chan is here?"
"If I focus my chakra on the surrounding water vapor in this building, I can do some form of chakra sensing. I'm just not too good with it since the amount of chakra control needed is ridiculous. I am familiar with Hinata's chakra, so it makes it easier to sense her. Come to think about it, if she asks you about my past, just tell her. If her entire team wants to know, then you can tell them as well. Just leave me out of the storytelling session. I don't want to risk another breakdown and I don't want to see their looks of pity."
"You don't need to let anyone else know about your past if you don't want to."
"I rather they find out about it through you than from Team 7 or 10. Don't get me wrong, you don't need to purposely approach them to tell them my life story. I'm just giving you and Sai permission to tell them if they ask you guys for it."
"I don't think I am suited for storytelling. Crackers-chan can have the honours."
As per the instructions, the three of them opened both scrolls at the designated room. A chunin appeared to congratulate them, explained to them of the importance of possessing both "Heaven" and "Earth", and telling them to rest until the next stage of the exams kicks in. Sai had interrupted the chunin by reporting their run-in with Orochimaru but the chunin reassured them that the Hokage and other capable shinobis are already onto the matter and that they should concentrate on their own exams.
From the chunin, they also found out that Sai's messages had never made their way to anyone. Orochimaru had somehow found a way to intercept them even when he was busy toying around with Team 7.
True to Haku's words, Team 8 had reached the tower before them. The only team that reached before Team 8 was the only Suna team that had entered this exam. Team 8 and Team 13 decided to room together since it will be easier to keep an eye out for each other.
The Suna team is dangerous. None of the teams want to be alone around the red-headed kid with a gourd.
Hinata had picked up on Haku's foul mood despite how much he had tried to hide it, and she had pulled Hanabi aside to ask questions. Hanabi hesitated in telling her twin the truth, but decided to do so anyway. Haku's past is bound to leak out after Haku had blurted it out like that. In that case, she'd rather her twin and her friends find it out from her own mouth instead from someone else who didn't know any better, like what Haku had said.
Haku needs more friends that are willing to stand by him, and Hanabi thinks that Kiba and Shino are people who are willing to stand by their friends.
She is going to help Haku no matter what.
The door creaked open and Hinata watched as her sister entered the room and closed the door behind her gently. Hanabi walked up to her and sat down by her side on the bed before wrapping her arms around her and burying her face into her chest.
"Hanabi?"
"I will kill Orochimaru, Nee-san." Hanabi spoke as if she didn't just state that she will kill one of the most powerful shinobis currently in existence. "He hurt Haku. I will kill him."
Hinata patted her twin sister on the back comfortingly. It's obvious to everyone that Haku isn't alright despite how much he tried to hide it. He is obviously emotionally hurting from something. It pains her to see Haku in such a state. Haku had cared for her and Neji in a brotherly way ever since he decided to open up a little when they were young, even if she knew how awkward he felt about it. But he tries his best and that is all that matters to them.
Despite how soft Hanabi had made her proclamation to kill Orochimaru, it had caught the attention of the rest of the occupants. None of them had anything to do anyway, the fact that the only other team right now in this tower is the team from Suna prevented them from being able to rest properly since they had witnessed how unstable he is. What they witnessed about the red-haired shinobi from Suna had scare them. He is one guy that no one on their team would want to fight against even if it is 3-on-1.
Akamaru trotted up to Hanabi and gave her a lick on her face to cheer her up. Shino and Kiba walked over from where they were resting as well. Sai had taken Haku with him to do…. whatever. She will find out when they returned.
Hinata gave her twin an encouraging hug before asking.
"What exactly happened in the forest? Haku, he… changed. He doesn't feel right."
And so, Hanabi told them. Everything that happened with the two other teams that night.
"Man, it is that bad, huh? I'm not very close to him, but I always thought Haku was someone who cannot be broken no matter what. He is one scary dude. It's hard to even imagine that he actually broke down."
"I believe that it would be better to keep your mouth shut, Kiba. Why? Because your words right now are only making Hanabi and Hinata feel worse."
"Kiba's not wrong." Hanabi whispered out as her face remained buried in Hinata's chest, who is still trying to comfort her twin sister. "I had thought that Haku was infallible too. He is always there. I never saw him back down no matter how impossible the situation seemed, yet Orochimaru managed to hurt him with just a few words." Hanabi finally released herself from Hinata, her eyes still a puffy red. "I only just realised how little I know about Haku before we met."
"He never told you until then?" Kiba asked disbelievingly.
"No, I didn't know about his past until he snapped. Don't even think about asking him for more details." Hanabi said as she wiped whatever remaining tears from her eyes. "Whatever he experienced was horrible, and that is putting it lightly."
"We will take note of it." Shino reassured her.
It wasn't long before Hanabi succumb to her mental exhaustion and fell asleep on Hinata's bed. Hinata activated her byakugan to spy on Haku and Sai to check that they are alright. Once satisfied with what she saw, she deactivated them.
"I will go find the two of them. Best if someone is there to keep a lookout on him, Sai is a social idiot."
Hinata murmured her thanks to Kiba, who waved it off and Akamaru followed him out of their room. Haku is not overly close nor is he overly friendly to their academy classmates, but they were also classmates for years before graduating from the academy. There is still a form of camaraderie and friendship between them that is forged from spending so much time in the same class for years. Kiba is not one to leave a friend unattended despite how rash he can be. He is loyal to a fault.
"I think I should go over as well. Why? I need to be there to do damage control in case Kiba accidentally riled Haku up."
Hinata smothered a laughter into her hand at Shino's words. Shino is a quiet individual but that does not mean he is antisocial. He cares about his friends just as much as anyone else.
"Thank you. I want to be there for Haku-kun too, but I think Hanabi needs me more right now."
"Don't worry too much about it. You should be here for your sister."
Hinata shuffled closer to her twin sister and pulled the covers over them. It has been a long time since they slept on the same bed together, although she wished it was under better circumstances that they indulged in some sister bonding.
For once in her life, Hinata felt a fierce sense of protectiveness welling up in her, a sense of aggressiveness that she doesn't even know she possess. Haku mental scars were being ripped apart forcefully and re-opened by that snake of a man. Hinata don't know how Haku endured what he had experienced and still managed to emerge as a functional human being, at least she knows that she would have probably broken down if she had experienced what he did. You would need a special kind of courage or attachment to life to continue to live on.
Having your mental scars ripped like that have to hurt.
Their father would have known about Hanabi's and Haku's encounter with the traitorous Sannin by now even if he doesn't know the specifics. She will need to tell him all about it, there is no way their father will take this lying down. He treats Haku like his own son even if he never said anything about it. Their father is a strong believer of the notion that actions speak louder than words. She will have to tell Neji about it too the moment his team reaches the tower. He can help and he will help. Haku is hurting and they need to be there for Haku. They are siblings.
Siblings stand by each other, no matter what.
The days in the tower flew past in the blink of an eye.
My mental state had mostly recovered by the time the second stage had concluded. I don't even know why I had a breakdown in the forest. I had never expected for something like that to happen nor have I experienced so many conflicting emotions before, but I don't feel like it's totally a bad thing. It feels good to finally get something heavy off your chest even if I don't remember exactly the extent of my past that I shared. I wasn't in the right state of mind and everything about that night was a jumbled mess.
Hanabi had told me that our academy classmates now know enough about my past. She never gave me a chance to be alone and let my mind wander. She snapped me back to reality every single time I did so.
I'm glad that I met her, I had felt so sorry that I had snapped at her back at the forest on that night. She didn't deserve it.
Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve someone as supportive as her to be by my side. Other than the one time which I saved her from her kidnappers, I had been nothing but trouble to her.
Both my team and Hinata's never left me alone during the days that we spent in the tower and I really appreciate their company and gesture. Neji's team arrived a day after us and they joined us as well the moment they reached the tower. Neji looks a little ragged from traversing through the dense forest but otherwise he looks fine.
Neji, Tenten, and Lee comes in a package deal during our stay there. Wherever Neji is, these two are sure to follow. Tenten is ok, the green monstrosity aka Might Guy's mini-me? Not so much. He means well and I know that he is a good person to befriend, but he is way too loud. Thankfully, Neji and Tenten are able to control him.
Team 7 and Team 10 came through the doors of the tower at the very last moment on the last day, looking extremely tired but capable of going through the next stage of the exams. Hanabi looked very annoyed by that. She didn't have a good impression of both teams after what had happened in the forest. She was hoping for them to fail.
The fact that she is angry at them for my sake is one of the warmest feelings I have felt to date. It feels like even if the entire world fell apart, she will still be here, by my side.
I might have gone insane a long time ago if it wasn't for her constantly being around by my side all these years. I cannot fathom a world without her, I will probably burn the world down in response. Or maybe I would bring about a period of ice age for the Elemental Nations that lasts a few generations. That works too.
Right now, there are nine teams that made it through the second part of the exam. Twenty-seven people is admittedly a little too many genins for the third part of the exams.
There were five teams from Konoha, namely the Rookie 15. The sand siblings were the only team from Suna. The Oto team had passed the second stage as well. There were two teams from Kumo who made it and among them, one of the teams had Karui and Omoi in it. The last member of their team looks vaguely familiar, and I think it is the guy who is Samui's brother. The one who keeps going on and on about 'hot' stuffs when he and his sister went to face Kinkaku and Ginkaku in canon.
Great. More canon characters.
The next big surprise is the fact that the preliminaries before the third stage of the exam will no longer be a one-on-one battle as per canon. It will be a free-for-all for all 27 of us. The last twelve people standing will be the ones to qualify for the next stage of the exam.
Technically speaking, there is no longer a need for a team. It is every man for himself.
"… Do you understand now? This is the truth of the chunin exams. It is a substitute for war. There is no need for twenty-seven people to be competing at the last stage of the exam. The remaining twelve left standing will advance, the rest will be eliminated. What are you genins waiting for? The preliminaries start now. The only condition is no killing, anything else is fair game. The jonins here will pull anyone who is incapable of fighting out immediately, so feel free to release your full power."
Upon Kizashi's words, the room exploded into a flurry of actions as everyone instantly spread out to separate themselves from one another. I cursed within my mind at Kizashi's decision to host the preliminary in this manner. This is going to be a bloodbath.
At the same time, I can see why he did that. Konoha has an overwhelming numerical advantage right now. If the five Konoha teams grouped up, we can take down the remaining teams with relative ease. Konoha will emerge as the overall winner for this chunin exam.
Too bad none of the teams realised this. Even if they do, most of them won't want to work with me unless they are a Hyuga or if they are a member of Team 13.
Who will want to trust someone who had killed their parents to watch their backs?
My team and I jumped backwards to create some distance from the middle of the room. I gave them a sideward glance and they nodded in return. Good, they have the same thinking as me. I know people like Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke will probably opt to fight on their lonesome to prove that they are capable of going solo against everyone. Sometimes, their pride is too huge for their own good.
Oh well. They will grow. In time.
For Team 13, it is obvious to us that it is better for the three of us to work together. Our chances of survival are higher this way.
The current chaos is also advantageous for our team. We are a search and rescue team that is also equally capable in ambush and assassination. We are good at launching surprise attacks. We can make use of the chaos.
"We are going in for a blitz tactic. Aim for the Oto team. Cover me."
I know we can handle the Oto team with ease. I handled them with ease by my lonesome when I defended Kiba. It will be way easier with all three of us gunning for them.
Using my ice mirrors, I reappeared behind bandaged-face and swiftly knocked him out with blunt force via a Water Bullet shot at his head. The other guy tried to blast me with his modified arms but I disappeared once more into my ice mirrors just as Sai's ink snakes wrapped around him and attempt to strangle him. The Oto kunoichi tried to injure me by throwing her own senbons at my ice mirrors.
What a joke.
"You are a hundred years too early to be using senbons against me, girl."
The kunoichi in question was alarmed at my sudden reappearance at her back, but I knocked her out with a chop to her neck. When I looked up, Hanabi had already finished off the guy with the modified arms. I'm sure that he was given a name in canon, but I cannot remember what it was. He probably wasn't an important character.
"The Kumo team on the left. Follow my lead."
Sai and Hanabi didn't question my orders as we went in once more. The near instantaneous speed that I attain through using my ice mirrors is too broken an ability for most genins to handle. It is a broken ability to possess, especially so when I actually managed to master it.
I surprised the Kumo team by appearing in the middle of our targeted group, who immediately tried to skewer me with their swords upon spotting me. A shield of ice got in their way and prevented me from getting turned into shish kebab.
The ice that I created to shield me quickly spread and grew onto their swords, forcing the three Kumo genins to abandon their weapon unless they want to suffer the same fate as them.
"Hanabi, Sai."
Hanabi crashed into one of the Kumo genins like a speeding missile and her surprise attack knocked him out the moment she used a single finger to shut down his chakra pathways. Sai slashed at another using his tanto and rendered that person's arm useless with blood gushing out from the wound. Using that advantage, Sai formed a single seal and immediately swarms of ink snakes slithered out from the scroll in his other hand and tied his opponent up. Sai used the end of his tanto's handle to send him to dreamland thereafter.
"You fuckers!"
I merely gave a disinterested look and froze the last Kumo genin of that Kumo team in a cube of ice with a wave of my left hand. I have very little tolerance to Kumo shinobis given my history with them.
I am feeling vindictive today.
"The next Kumo team. Let's go."
Yeah, I am getting vindictive and petty, but I don't care. Our team alone had wiped out six people, that's about half the number of people that was to be cut down until we reach the maximum of twelve contestants for the third and final stage of the exams.
The Kumo team that is full of canon characters were already ready for us seeing as we had taken down their comrades with ease. Maybe we should have gone for them first.
Karui gave an angry yell as she slashed at me the moment I appeared. I blocked her strikes by creating a small shield of ice on my forearm and the shield immediately grew spikes to force her off me. I was hoping to puncture a few holes in her, but I guess I can't get everything I want.
Hanabi went to engage her in taijutsu as she swiped at Karui with a kunai in hand. Hanabi can handle Karui with no problems, I need to help Sai deal with the remaining two.
"Ice Release: Ice Grenade"
I created small cubes of ice in my palm and threw them towards Omoi and probably-Samui's-brother. The two of them sensed the danger behind my attack and ducked, but I refer to the cubes of ice as grenades for a reason.
The cubes exploded violently and countless shards of broken ice launched themselves outwards. Sai took this chance to create more drawings that can aid us later on.
"Cloud-Style Flame Beheading!"
A blade coated with fire slashed at me which I blocked with a Water Wall. A large arc of intense flames followed the trajectory of the blade and created a wall of fire as well. Omoi's team mate is no slouch in his swordsmanship and also in using the Fire Release, but he got me as his opponent.
I am a skilled user of the Water Release.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
A huge vortex of water swept across the Kumo team and I can see a few other teams jumping out of the way to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. This room is a little too small for 27 people to be fighting it out simultaneously. Everyone have to be on constant alert to ensure that they did not get themselves caught in attacks that weren't meant for them.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"
Hanabi appeared right in front of the Kumo guy who uses fire (No, really, what's his name?) and took him out of the competition with her Gentle Fist. Omoi leapt back, he is outnumbered and the only thing he can do now is to run.
We were about to end him when a huge wave of sand fell upon the entire room. I quickly rose a pillar of ice to bring me and my team up and away from it. This has to be Gaara's work. Had he given in to his madness prematurely?
"Hinata! Kiba!"
Shino's uncharacteristic loud cry got our attention and I watched in shock as Gaara's sand wrapped around Hinata. Kiba and Akamaru got themselves caught up in the sand too when they tried to rescue her. Shino's bugs are doing all they can to siphon the chakra off the massive wave of sand around his team and render it useless, but it is no use. Gaara's sand has too much chakra for Shino's jutsu to be effective.
Gaara already had his left arm stretched out and his palm open. He slowly closed his fingers inwards. I know what is going to happen next. It is a signature move of his back when he was still an anime character in my previous world.
The jonins are not moving, they don't see a threat in Gaara's actions. They don't know what Gaara is truly capable of yet.
I do.
Hinata is not Hanabi, but she had tried her best to care for me like how a sister will care for her brother. She is one of the few who I am close with. I will probably shed tears if she died.
Hanabi will also be devastated if she lost her twin.
There's no time to think.
I reappeared next to the cocoons of sand that trapped Hinata and Kiba and flash-freezed the sand surrounding them with a single touch. A knife chop from my palm broke the ice, shattering the confinement that held them.
It seems I was still a little late. Hinata and Kiba were already injured by another attack before I had gotten to them. From the looks of it, they got hit by blunt force. Maybe Gaara had injure them with a Sand Bullet or with something similar?
In any case, they are in no condition to be able to continue fighting. We need to get them out of here.
"Shino, I will hold the Suna team! Get the two of them to the jonins and out of here!"
Shino wasted no time to argue and immediately pulled his team mates out of the area. I sent a wave of ice at the Suna team, who were taken aback by my ability to match Gaara's sand.
Gaara isn't the only one with a unique ability to change both the weather and the terrain.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Shockwave!"
The enhanced version of Water Shockwave stopped Gaara's sand from advancing and I can see the surprise on his face together with the madness in his eyes. Damn, he is unstable right now. This can't be good for us.
"Wind Release: Great Cast Net!"
A huge current of air combined with extremely sharp blades of wind, courtesy of Temari, tore through where I once was as I escaped with my mirrors. I went through hand seals for my next jutsu.
"Ice Release: Raging Blizzard!"
A huge blizzard blew from my mouth as I used it to overcome Temari's continuous use of wind-based attack and freeze the section of the room that we are at. Gaara had used a wall of sand to block my attack and shielded himself and his siblings from harm. I am surprised that he didn't go berserk yet and that he actually has the sense to shield his siblings. Didn't he not care about them in canon until Naruto talked sense into him?
A puppet sneaked up from somewhere behind me and launched a barrage of senbons that is no doubt coated with poison. Hanabi got behind my back and dashed towards the rain of needles.
"Kaiten!"
With that simple move, Kankuro's attack was deflected. Sai's ink lions pounced on the puppet, forcing Kankuro to call it back to his side in case his puppet got itself mauled beyond recognition by the lions.
"Quicksand Waterfall Flow"
I quickly backpedalled, grabbed Hanabi and Sai with me before diving into the safe confines of my ice mirrors to bring us out of here. Bringing people along with me consumes a lot more chakra as compared to the normal usage, but I have to do it or they might get themselves drowned in sand.
As I expected, Gaara flooded the entire room with a huge volume of sand he called upon from somewhere. Even the jonins in the room had climbed upwards to escape the attack via the walls of the building.
A huge fist made of sand went flying at Team 10. Choji only had just enough time to grab Shikamaru and threw him out of the danger zone. I can tell that he tried to save Ino too but he was too late in doing so. The two of them got themselves punched into a wall. There's no way they can continue with how big the impact was.
Sand began to wrap itself up around everyone as Gaara attempted to crush us all into paste. I had hidden the three of us in my mirror and had teleported to the ceiling to escape his initial salvo, but the sand is now trying to get to us as well.
I called upon the powers of my bloodline to aid me once more as I froze the approaching sands that was threatening me and my team. A drizzle of sand, each drop of sand the size of pebbles, then rained down upon the area and forced us all to either start dodging or defending ourselves on top of getting out of the initial sand trap.
Temari gave a war cry and got a sneak attack onto Tenten, who was too focused on trying to get out of the sand trap to notice her arrival. Neji broke himself free with a Kaiten and tried to save Tenten but he was too late. Temari backed off the moment she took Tenten down with Kankuro cooperating with her to secure her escape.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Swarms of orange clones bombard themselves like torpedos onto Gaara, who simply defended himself with a huge wall of sand. Sasuke attempted to get past his defence but he was too slow, he had not yet attained the speed needed to bypass the shield of sand.
Gaara had made himself a common threat to everyone here. Everyone now wants to take him down as soon as possible.
Kankuro, who had stayed hidden at Gaara's back the entire time, used the advantage of Gaara's absolute defence by hiding behind his shield of sand and constantly harass his opponents with his puppet. He almost succeeded in taking Sasuke out when his puppet almost nicked him with a poisoned blade. However, Sakura had pushed the unknowing Sasuke out of the way and the blade grazed her instead. Sakura had immediately fell unconscious after that. The poison used must have been a fast-acting poison.
"That Suna team is good." Sai complimented as we distanced ourselves from Gaara by clinging onto the sides of a wall with chakra. Gaara is completely ignoring us as long as we don't attack him and his team. He seemed to prefer taking out the easier prey before trying to get us, he probably doesn't want to waste time with us when I had proved that I have ways to stop his sand.
"We can wait until he takes out all of the competition for us. There are thirteen people left, let the Suna team do the work. The sand guy will probably not waste time and effort trying to catch us when there are easier preys out there." Hanabi added.
"Your cousin is out there fighting for his life and this is all you have to say?"
"Meh. Neji nii-san can take care of himself." Hanabi replied with a casual wave of her hand. "He is way stronger than me or Nee-san. We will only help him if he needs it, like how Nee-san needed our help earlier."
Still, I'm feeling competitive and a little suicidal. Letting the Suna team do all the work and letting them advance with all of their team members intact is demoralising, especially with how they are demolishing everyone else despite the fact that they are the only team from their village competing in the exams.
It is making everyone that is not from Suna look bad. None of us here who had advanced to this point are weak, but Gaara is at a completely different level as compared to most of us. Taking Gaara out is not possible unless I want to come face-to-face with the legendary tanuki. Temari is also too alert for me to connect my attack onto her. That leaves their puppet user.
Ok, I admit that I kind of want to get back at Kankuro for trying to ambush me with his puppet earlier. I wonder if I can take out Kankuro with a sneak attack? It is possible to do so if I time it right.
"Ice Release: Exploding Ice Clone"
My ice clone immediately disappeared into an ice mirror and re-emerged behind Kankuro. Kankuro sensed the danger within a second and spun around. I can see his fingers frantically moving to call his puppet back as he tried to duck and roll out of harm's way at the same time.
Too late.
My ice clone exploded with a loud boom that sent sand and ice in the vicinity to fly everywhere from the explosion. Kankuro lay unconscious on the sand with numerous shrapnel of ice embedded in him. With that, there are now exactly twelve contestants left to advance to the third stage of the exams.
Maybe I shouldn't have took inspiration from both Deidara's battle style and canon Itachi's exploding Shadow Clones, but I can't deny the effectiveness of having a living bomb do the work for you. I can see why Deidara loves his explosions. This method is just too simple and effective.
There was a look of rage in Gaara's eyes the moment he realised what had happened. I had bypassed his defence and took out someone who was using it for protection. I don't think the current Gaara really cares if Kankuro is dead or alive, but he had probably taken my success in getting past his defence as an insult to his pride and ability.
Like I care about that. I have better things to concern myself with.
The proctor with a constant sickly cough called for the end of the preliminary round before Gaara had the chance to go homicidal on everyone in this room. On hindsight, it might not be the brightest idea to do what I just did. What was I thinking in drawing attention to myself in that manner? I need to stop being suicidal.
"I think you just pissed eyebags-kun off with that, girly-kun. Do you want me to pray for your safety? I can afford some time to go visit a shrine to pray on your behalf after this is over."
"Eyebags-kun?" I parroted with curiosity. Is this Sai's new nickname for Gaara?
"Doesn't the black lines around his eyes makes it look like he hasn't slept in forever?"
"Maybe it's a Suna culture?" Hanabi suggested with a finger to her chin. "His puppeteer teammate does put makeup on for whatever reasons. Maybe the black markings around his eyes are makeup as well."
"Maybe to make himself look pretty? I had read that certain guys swing-"
"I doubt it, Sai."
As the remaining twelve contestants who had proved that we earn ourselves a spot to advance to the next stage, we all went to draw lots to see who we will get ourselves paired against for the final stage. I cursed my luck the moment I saw the pairings for the coming match.
1. Shikamaru vs Temari
2. Sasuke vs Neji
3. Hanabi vs Omoi
4. Haku vs Gaara
5. Shino vs Sai
6. Naruto vs Lee
Me against Gaara.
Great. Just great.
There's no way this wasn't rigged somehow. The preliminaries had displayed Gaara's ability and it probably had gotten the higher-ups very alarmed, they probably weren't expecting a genin to be this skilled. Glad to know that the higher-ups in Konoha had so much faith in my abilities to stay alive.
Or maybe they just don't want to risk the lives of their clan heirs by pairing them against Gaara. Unlike the clan heirs, I am a disposable tool in the eyes of Konoha's leaders despite the value of my bloodline. There are no political ramifications if I somehow got myself killed in my match against Gaara. Hiashi will kick up a fuss if I got myself killed due to this, but ultimately, there's nothing that he can realistically do.
I am able to deal with Gaara's sand to a certain extent as shown in our short bout earlier, but I am unsure if I can match his jutsus that are on a way larger scale than what he just showed in the preliminaries. I know what he can possibly do at his current age from what I had saw in the manga and anime in my previous life, his battle with Kimimaro had left a lasting impression to those who had watched it. I need to work on my Ice Release if I want to prevent myself from getting killed, it is my only option in dealing with his sand. Water alone will not be enough.
We were dismissed after the pairings for the third stage were announced. I walked off to join Hanabi and Neji, who were waiting for me at a corner of the large room. Gaara was standing beside me when the proctor announced the pairings earlier. He suddenly spoke to me, much to my surprise.
"I will kill you in the third stage. Mother wants your blood."
"Be a rebellious kid for once and tell her no, won't you? I'm sure she will understand, what's with puberty and all."
I replied half-heartedly as I walked past him. I don't want to spend time with this version of Gaara anymore than necessary.
"You have the same eyes as me, I can see it. You know what it is like to be alone."
This remark made me paused in my tracks as I turned my head around slightly to look at him.
"So? Your point being?"
"I will kill you, only then can I feel alive. Only then can I validate the meaning of my existence."
"Good luck to you then. I admit that this life sucks, but I still want to try and continue living. Unlike you, the reason for my existence is no longer about me alone. I owe my life to a select few who had did everything they could to piece my broken self together and get me to try and continue living. You will have to work for it if you want to kill me."
I walked towards Hanabi, who was watching our interaction although she was too far to hear what me and Gaara said to each other. She gave me a bright smile as I walked over and pulled me by my arm to drag me to visit Hinata at the medical bay. Hinata wasn't too badly injured, but it could have been a lot worse if we didn't intervene and saved her in time. Neji and Sai followed with Shino trailing after us at the back. He had lasted long enough in the mayhem earlier after he got his teammates to safety to a jonin stationed nearby.
It is no longer about me alone. I will try, just this last time. I will try to trust. People come and go in your life and there's no way to tell if all of them are worthy of your trust, but I don't need many friends. I just need a few.
Whatever had happened that night is a complete mess in my mind, but I clearly remembered something. I remember Hanabi asking me to trust her. It was a plea from her to me, I can never deny a plea from her.
I will do what she asked for both her sake and mine. I know she will never betray my trust, we are always there for each other. It has been that way since we first met so many years ago.
This life is no longer about me alone. There are people who care about me, especially Hanabi. She has always tried her best to keep me happy and sane. She had pulled me back from the extreme guilt and madness I experienced that night. I don't know what would happen if she didn't succeed in doing so, but I would probably go insane and start doing something suicidal. Believe it or not, I was this close to losing my sanity.
I need to forget my previous identity if I want to keep myself sane. Whoever I was before is no longer relevant. Whatever values I used to hold dear is no longer important. I need to remember that I am now in a different world with a different identity. I need to remember that I am now Yuki Haku, the last known member of the Yuki clan and a shinobi of Konohagakure. I need to start acting like a true shinobi. I need to try and truly accept the fact that I am now a killer for hire. I need to remember that I am now a ward of the Hyuga clan, adopted by the Clan Head Hyuga Hiashi himself. I need to remind myself that I am now a member of Team 13 under the leadership of Uchiha Obito, the Phantom of Konoha.
I need to accept the fact that I had directly or indirectly caused the death of both my parents. They had died by my hands, one way or another. It was a tragedy that I had tried to fool myself in thinking that will never happen as I was too drunk in the happiness at having the fortunate luck of having loving parents in my second life. It still happened anyway. My Mum had died trying to save me from my father and I had killed him in return.
It was a tragedy that resulted from the fear borne out of love.
Regardless, I need to accept the fact that I had committed an unforgivable sin and move on. The tragedy had caused me to lose my sense of reality for eight long years. If it wasn't for Hanabi pulling me back every single time I had negative thoughts about life, who knows what I would have become. People can talk about my past all they want; I don't care much about their opinions anymore. However, none of them are qualified to judge me unless they too have the blood of their parents on their hands.
I need to finally try and accept this reality. No more running away. I need to cast away my fears and face it head on. So what if this is an alternate universe of the so-called canon and everything went to shit from the get-go? It is my reality now; it is my life now. My Mum had used her life as the price to let me continue to live on. What was I thinking in wasting her sacrifice away for eight long years?
I am such a failure of a son.
I miss her. I want to speak to her once more. There are so many things I want to say to her and I will never get the chance to see her or hear her voice again. I want to apologise to her, for everything wrong that I did and could have done better.
God, I miss her so badly.
I lost Mum, but now I have Hanabi.
For her, I will try.
I will try.
I will try.
For she had showed me that I am never alone.