The cheery, near flirtatious demeanor between the youth and the proctor dropped as soon as the two were alone, as if a switch had been flipped. Both were obviously seasoned veterans of the game, though Anko looked impressed at how well her companion played his impromptu role.
"No 'thank you' for getting you out, brat? For a minute, I thought you were going to chicken out. I know this line of work isn't for everyone," Anko half teased, half taunted.
"I could have gotten away by myself. What's the big idea?" Haruto scowled. Ok, so he was not being completely truthful since he had been looking for an exit plan, which the female special jounin oh-so-helpfully provided. Anko rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say, short stuff. Seeing that you're new, I would offer to lend you a hand, but I got bigger worries."
"You mean there really is an intruder?" Haruto asked with alarm. He really, really hoped it was not who he thought it was.
"Orochimaru," Anko answered after a brief moment of pause. In retrospect, the young woman would wonder why she chose to reveal that bit of information.
"Your sensei, right?" Haruto blurted out in surprise. The blond blushed at the cold glance his companion bestowed him.
I hate it when I'm right, Haruto thought. The blond had a nasty suspicion why the snake ninja was here, which prompted another thought along the lines of "why didn't I predict this." In truth, he did in fact predict this. Haruto had been the one to advance the proposition that Orochimaru was seeking out the Sharingan, after all. But with the fallout post Mizuki's capture, he and everyone else on Konoha's side had assumed that the whole thing had been a ruse concocted by the infamous hero-turned-traitor.
They should have known better. He definitely should have known better.
Dammit. Haruto was furious with himself and rightfully so. He had effectively sent all three rookie genin teams into the maws of the serpent. He had no delusion about Team 7's ability to elude the S-class ninja or his peers' chances should a confrontation occur.
"Hey, you worry about your mission, and I'll worry about my former sensei. Got it, short stuff?" Either Anko was a mind reader, or his nervousness was just that obvious. Haruto's gut reaction was to protest and obstruct. Orochimaru had made a mockery of him at least once already. The young prodigy's pride was unwilling to tolerate a second insult. But ultimately logic and reason intervened.
"Right, got it." After glaring at the older woman for a good minute, Haruto acquiesced at last. The special jounin made a good point even if it was left unsaid. There was nothing he could do for his peers about the S-class criminal at this point. His best choice was to complete his task and hope for the best.
On that awkward note, the two most unique ninja in Konoha separated, each unsure whether the other would survive the coming storm.
Somewhere in the Forest of Death, three genin were cautiously making their way though an unknown hazard.
"Ugh, I can't see anything through this fog. Where the hell did it come from?"
"Who knows? Just keep moving!"
"Can't you dispel it or something? I thought you were the almighty Suiton expert ?"
"Shut up before I decide to drown you in a pool of your own sweat. If it's a water technique, it's not like anything I have ever seen before. Just keep your guard up. It could be a trap set by the proctors."
"Those weakass Konoha pansies? I don't think so. I can't believe a pathetic place like this is considered the strongest ninja village in the land. I'll tell you what. I can't wait to kick the shit out of—"
"Shut up, Daisuke! You're so full of shit! Now, be completely quiet and keep on moving!"
And so the three Kiri genin moved onwards, or rather two of them did. Daisuke, the brash and boisterous one, suddenly stopped moving, having become the hapless victim of an advanced genjutsu. A figure materialized beside him and silently slid a kunai across his throat. Daisuke died without so much as a whimper.
"It sure is quiet. Maybe you were too harsh on him, Koji."
"Pfft, yeah right. Hey, Daisuke?" the one named Koji called out only to be met by silence. "Daisuke?"
It was testimony to their inexperience and perhaps to how much Kirigakure had changed that one of the genin failed to predict and intercept the sudden attack. Koji's other teammate cried in pain as he fell, a kunai sticking out of his chest.
"Bastard! You'll pay for that!" Koji was furious at the fall of his two teammates, which incidentally meant his elimination from the exam. But he remained confident of his ability to handle himself. He was the best genin to hail from Kiri after all.
"Suiton: Mizu Tobidougu!"
Koji smiled with satisfaction as his lightning fast attack crippled the attacker as he tried to disappear back into the fog. When another struck from his flank, the Kiri genin remained steady and undaunted. His confidence rose further when his new attacker revealed his elemental affiliation.
"Katon: Karyuu Endan!"
"Suiton: Suijinheki!"
Koji calmly cast the appropriate counter and watched the fire attack dissipate harmlessly against his shield. The fire user, most likely a Konoha shinobi, would be no match for a skilled water ninja such as himself. Victory was surely his now. The Kiri shinobi shifted into offensive mode and unleashed a barrage of rapid blows intermixed with water attacks. After several minutes of furious fighting, Koji found the opening he was waiting for.
"Die, bastard!" With a surge of chakra enhanced speed and strength, the Kiri ninja plunged his kunai into his opponent's neck. Koji's sense of exhilaration and triumph, however, turned into shock and dismay as the enemy nin subsequently puffed out of existence as if it were made of air.
A clone! Sensing a trap, Koji tried to prepare himself for the coming attack, but it was already too late.
"Raiton: Raikou Tobidougu!"
Koji had been too enthusiastic in his attacks. His water drenched body, which had helped thaw fire attacks, now became the perfect conduit for the enemy's electric assault.
The Kiri ninja's tortured scream echoed for miles as the internal organs of his body were turned into liquid mush. Not taking any chances, the new attacker quickly slit Koji's throat for good measure.
"Go. The boss needs to know that the Kiri team has been taken care of," the executioner said to another figure that appeared beside him. "I'll take care of this fog."
"Right," the other clone acknowledged before dissipating from existence. The first clone set about eliminating the artificial fog, which took a good five minutes. After that was done, it too disappeared, leaving behind the remains of the dead genin.
Some distance away from the location of the Kiri team's demise, another genin team was making its way through dense vegetation. The group came to a stop before a scene of utter devastation.
"Geez, I never figured a simple exam to be like this," one of the youths remarked. His companion silently assessed the scene with cool indifference.
"Hey, there's someone here. She's still breathing," another voice, a distinctly female one, called out. The two genin followed their teammate's voice to a battered body off to the side. The female was laid out on the ground, half naked and looked for all intents and purposes like she had been run over by a herd of elephants. Her Konoha forehead protector hung limply off the side of her lightly bruised and marred face.
"Hang on, she's waking up."
Said girl moaned and shifted before opening her eyes. Two bright blue orbs stared back at the three ninja.
"What, what's going on? Where am I? And who… who are you?" The girl tried to stand up only to topple over herself.
"Slowly! We won't hurt you so just take it easy," the kunoichi of the team reassured. Gesturing to one of her teammates, she helped maneuver the wounded girl to a more comfortable position.
"Why don't you tell us what happened?"
After a fair bit of prodding, the young woman finally revealed her ghastly tale.
"… and I-I never saw their forehead protectors," the girl finished at long last.
"Your attackers were Rain nin, I'm sure of it! Only Rain ninja would attack in such a cowardly fashion, hiding behind their illusions to strike down the helpless," one of the foreign shinobi spat passionately. His kunoichi teammate urged him to calm down, but the young man was having none of that.
"Rain did the same thing to our country and to our people!" He turned to the Konoha kunoichi, his eyes ablaze with fiery passion. "They pretended to be our good neighbors, but conspired with Iwa to conquer and to divide our country. They maimed, raped, tortured and killed without restraint. Konoha might have forgotten Rain's past treachery, but Grass never will. There's not a shred of dignity or even humanity in that entire waste of a country and this just proves it! The only good Rain nin is a dead one!"
"That's enough!" Everyone jumped at the command from the erstwhile silent member of the group. The speaker looked piercingly at the Konoha female.
"My question is, what proof do you have about everything you said? Rain ninja are very skilled and thorough. I find it hard to believe that they could have left you alive. What proof do we have that you're really a Konoha ninja and not a Rain plant?" The suspicious genin held up two Rain throwing stars. "These could be yours and not your attackers, after all."
The other two Grass genin gaped at the audacity of their teammate's accusation. The supposed Konoha female progressed through various expressions of surprise, fear and humiliation before finally coming to a resigned look of resolute acceptance.
"So you want proof?" she asked. To the shock of all three Grass ninja, the female calmly peeled away her torn pantaloons, leaving her bottom bare except for the tattered remains of her panties. The article of clothing was colored with stains, leaving little doubt regarding what they were. The female Grass genin, who was closest to her, was easily able to make out the motto inscribed on the piece of cloth, "Will of Fire."
Out of respect, the two male shinobi deflected their gaze as the Konoha kunoichi clothed herself.
"My attackers must have left me for dead afterwards. There are things worse than death, you know," the girl admitted, adopting a facial expression of sad resignation. The forlorn look, coupled with the dirt, grime and cuts all over her, dulled her seemingly sunny disposition, giving her the appearance of a broken and despoiled angel.
"I need a bath and I think there's a stream nearby. Am I allowed to go now?" The Konoha kunoichi tried to phrase the question in a lighthearted manner, but no one felt like laughing. The stoic Grass ninja, who was the recipient of the kunoichi's barb, grimaced as the young female he so thoroughly insulted hobbled away.
"You do realize that the Land of Fire is our nation's ally and that Konoha is our village's biggest supplier, right?" the other male shinobi asked, looking at his friend as if he was crazy.
"I know. I'll apologize when she gets back," the Grass nin stated, throwing his arms up in resignation.
"Make sure you do," his female teammate huffed before following their Konoha guest.
"Whipped."
Mr. Stoic made a point of ignoring his friend's bemused imitation of cracking a whip. Despite his gruff manners, the Grass genin was not cruel. Somewhat convinced of the girl's authenticity, he now felt sick for accusing the Konoha kunoichi of deceit. How horrible it must be to be accused of being in league with the very monsters that had slaughtered your teammates?
When the Konoha kunoichi did return from her longish bath, the stoic shinobi made a heartfelt and sincere apology, though a hint of suspicion remained in his eyes. The Konoha girl did not mind though and the small but vibrant smile she subsequently gave seemed to light up the whole sky. Suddenly, the Grass ninja felt like they were looking at a whole new person. Clad in wet transparent clothing and framed by long, blonde locks that stuck like an angel's halo, the Konoha girl resembled a goddess. Her creamy skin was flawless except for the patches of purple bruises and shined in the darkening glow of the setting sun. The two males could not help but gasp at the ethereal beauty before them, their gaze reflexively tracing the gentle bounce of her bountiful assets. Their equally stunned female companion valiantly repressed her female biological desire to crow like a jealous harpy.
"I realize this may be difficult, but can you tell us what happened? We want to be prepared for whoever did this to you," the Grass kunoichi asked, hoping to gain intelligence and to distract everyone from the visual display of flesh before them. It worked… to an extent.
The Konoha genin reluctantly agreed to the request. For obvious reasons, she shied away from details, but painted enough of a picture for her rescuers to get the gist of things. It had been a classic ambush. The Rain nin, being the traitorous sneaks they were, hid behind their infamous illusions and struck the Konoha genin in their blind spot as they were passing by. The kunoichi's two teammates were quickly taken down. She fled, but was ultimately caught and overwhelmed in short order. Defenseless and restrained, the beautiful, busty blonde then became the hapless captive of her enemies for some time. From the uneasy manner in which the girl sat and the purple marks left on her, the Grass ninja figured that the attackers had not been gentle.
"Poor girl."
"She must be hurt all over."
"Bastards who did this should pay!"
Those were the common and expected thoughts. However, at the same time, colder and darker thoughts filtered through the minds of the Grass genin. Sure, those Rain nin were bastards, but ultimately it was the girl and her team's fault for getting caught off guard like that. Besides, she was a kunoichi and a soldier, so what did she expect? And with a body like that, how could they not have done it? To the victors go the spoils of war, right?
It was a very fleeting thought, but a distinctively revealing one. And one that elicited both the strongest emotions of arousal and self-loathing from the Grass nin. While it was common and indeed considered fashionable for the ninja of various nations to mock the honor code of their samurai brethren, few considered themselves to be "dishonorable." As propagated by their leaders and teachers and internalized in their own hearts, nasty affairs like rape, torture and genocidal killings were exclusively the preserve of the "other" or individual bad apples on their side who did not truly belong. The two males were clearly shocked at the unsavory connotations concocted in their minds. To their credit, their female teammate's reaction was not perfect either. Green with envy, a part of the Grass kunoichi, albeit a very small part of her, felt vindictive satisfaction from the thought that the busty sexed up doll got what she deserved.
Naturally, the Grass ninja immediately felt horrible for thinking those thoughts. But every time they turned back towards the scantily dressed wet girl, with her perfect skin, hair, face and breasts, their dark fantasies returned in a flash. All the while, the Konoha kunoichi acted like she was completely oblivious to everything around her.
"It's late, maybe we should set up camp for the night," the stoic shinobi suggested after finally tearing his gaze away from the Konoha kunoichi.
"Right, I'm hungry as hell. I'll start the…" the other Grass shinobi started to say.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
The Grass nin watched as the Konoha kunoichi lit a pile of wood. They looked at her appraisingly. That act seemed to have dispelled their remaining doubt about whether the blonde was a Konoha nin or not.
"Ugh, this is horrible! The food smells like leather and sulfur!"
"No, don't eat that! It could be contaminated," the Grass kunoichi called out as she quickly repossessed the meal that had been doled out to their Konoha companion. As Hidden Grass was the premiere village of poison experts, the group was naturally alerted to the unusual foul smell. A few sharp barbs were exchanged where the Grass genin accused one another of mixing their food stocks with their poisons. The blonde kunoichi quietly and intently observed from the sideline for several minutes before offering a suggestion.
"Hey, I might still have some food. Those Rain ninja might have missed the bag where I packed some instant food." The more emotive of the two males immediately jumped at the idea of some food and quickly convinced his teammates of its merit. It did not take long for the group to hunt down several bowls of instant ramen.
"Sweet ramen!" The guy did not even wait for the water to boil before pouring it into a bowl of pork flavored noodles.
"I'm so jealous of your village. Even your instant ramen taste better!" There was perhaps a bit of truth in that statement. Even in comparison to the other great ninja villages, Konoha was the land of plenty and both its citizenry and ninja force were, on average, accustomed to quality products that only the wealthy could afford elsewhere.
The blonde could not help but laugh cheerfully at the Grass boy's enthusiasm for ramen.
"What's so funny?" he asked from between mouthful of noodles.
"You just remind me of someone. He, ahm, also likes ramen… a lot."
"A boyfriend?" the Grass female queried, apparently unable to stop her sex's biologic imperative to gossip.
"Boyfriend? No, I'm afraid not. He's sort of a like a twin brother," the Konoha girl's eyes lit up as if she was sharing a private joke that the others could not understand. It was at this point that the blonde noticed that one particular Grass genin was focusing all his attention on her and NOT eating his noodles.
"What's wrong? You don't like beef ramen? You can have my miso instead if you want."
"Just ignore him. Grouchy is always paranoid like that. He'll eat once he's hungry enough." Grouchy shot his teammate a dark, reprimanding look.
"Just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you," the stoic nin parroted back at his teammate. "We don't know what's in these bowls."
"Oh, but they are prepackaged," the blonde offered hesitantly, having recognized that the suspicion was on her, but confused as to why.
"Like I said. Just ignore Grouchy." Grouchy studiously ignored his teammate's eye roll and kept his gaze focused on the blonde. Under any other circumstance, it would have been creepy.
"Oh, I see." The Konoha female looked down with a dejected look but then her eyes lit back up. The Grass nin watched in confusion as the slender girl stood and walked up to Grouchy. Their eyes bugged out when the beautiful blonde then knelt inches before him and used her chopsticks to pick up and deposit a sizeable chuck of his cooling noodles in her own mouth. Grouchy almost dumped the content of his bowl onto the girl's chest. The blonde made an exaggerated show of ingesting the noodles before opening her jaws to show that she had indeed swallowed. Gazing at the neat rows of white teeth, the Grass shinobi could not help but wonder if she swallowed other things equally well.
"Why? Why did you do that?"
"You helped me when you didn't have to. I figured that the least I could do was make sure you eat dinner. So, are you going to eat or do you want me to feed you, too?" the blonde asked coyly. The shinobi known as Grouchy was sorely tempted to accept the offer if for nothing else other than to piss off his friend who was undoubtedly muttering unkind words about his person.
"That's alright. Thank you." For just a moment, Grouchy seemed less grouchy than usual as he dug into his meal. He said nothing when the Konoha girl sat down beside him, but even he could objectively testify that cold noodles never tasted so good. While the two Grass males were reasonably content now, their kunoichi companion was not.
"Where are you going?" the blonde asked. "You haven't touched your ramen. It'll get cold."
"That's alright. I'm on a diet," the other female muttered as she rose to her feet. "Enjoy your meal, Haruka. I'm going to take a dump." While not exactly hostile, neither was the Grass kunoichi friendly. That was certain based on the manner in which she enunciated the Konoha genin's name.
"Haruka, huh? That's a nice name." The Grass shinobi guessed his teammate must have cajoled it out of their guest earlier.
"Thanks." Conversation pretty much died then as Haruka seemed put out at the abrupt exit of the other girl. And that was true to an extent. She had not expected such a strong reaction from the female and would undoubtedly need to improvise later on, but really, she was only waiting.
In a fatalistic fashion, the Konoha kunoichi waited and waited and waited. For a moment, she wondered if she had screwed up, which would have sucked a lot. But then she felt a brief wave of dizziness, which passed almost instantly as the Kyuubi's chakra kicked in to neutralize the foreign toxins. Seconds later, she heard the sound of one of the guys fumbling for the water container. Then came the wheezing and the coughing, of which there was plenty.
"What's wrong?" Haruka asked good naturedly as if nothing was wrong.
More coughs, violent ones, answered her. The more talkative Grass genin, the one who had finished all of his noodles, suddenly slumped to the ground in a daze, as if his muscles no longer gave him the strength to stand. He looked up only to be stunned into inaction as he watched the Konoha babe disrobe completely and fling her lingerie into the fire.
Haruka could not help but give a grim smile. It was abundantly obvious that the Grass shinobi never expected to seriously confront a fully naked hostile female. The fact that said female had been so cheerful and personable just minutes before did nothing to steel his resolve. In the doomed genin's favor, few green ninja could have hoped to act differently. They might have known what to do in an abstract and intellectual sense, but in practice, they were blind as a bat. Real experience mattered and was, as they say, what separated the men from the boys. Unfortunately, these shinobi would never grow up to be men.
As for why the blonde decided to flash the doomed ninja? The answer was quite simple. Why get her hands dirty and potentially attract unwanted attention when a bit of visual shock was sufficient to deal an incapacitating blow to the foreign genin before the poison knocked them out. The true measure of a good ninja was not how well she can deal with hostiles and threats, but rather how well she can deal with them in an effective and expedient manner.
The first Grass shinobi shook his head to clear the image of the naked girl. His hand drifted unsteadily to wipe his bloody nose. To his immense surprise, the coppery red liquid did not come from his nose.
It came out of his mouth…
Haruka looked back at her victim, a sad, knowing smile on her shiny face. It would not be long now. Realization finally dawned on his face, but it was far too late. The Grass ninja could do little but convulse feebly as his life and chakra slowly ebbed away. Beside him, his more paranoid companion was fumbling desperately for his weapons, only to come up empty. Mr. Stoic looked up in amazement to see his would be killer gaze back at him with an impish grin. The now completely naked blonde held up a kunai and several shuriken, all of Grass design.
"I can't allow you to keep these, now can I?" Haruka uttered.
The second Grass shinobi, Mr. Grouchy, directed hateful but impotent glares at the luscious blonde. It was almost a shame. Out of the three members of the Grass team, Grouchy was probably the best ninja of the bunch. His intuitive streak of paranoia and instinctive suspicion might have been beneficial if not for one thing. Grouchy carried himself in a manner that clearly revealed his paranoia to others. Forewarned, Haruka easily and smoothly wormed her way around the Grass shinobi's mistrust and used her sluttish behavior as a cover to preemptively divest him of his armaments. The pickpocket operation was actually much harder to pull off than it looked, but her earlier practice on Anko definitely helped.
Haruka looked at the slumped shinobi. They were definite goners, but Haruka knew her work was not done. Her cold, blue eyes turned to the forest that hid the last Grass team member.
"Your teammate should have just taken her medicine," the blonde muttered. It certainly would have been easier for her at least. But then again, Haruka had not expected the Grass kunoichi's severe reaction when she flirted with her teammates, especially with Grouchy. For a moment, she swore she saw the previously stoic Grass shinobi struggle more fervently when she mentioned his remaining teammate. She would really rather not read too deep into it… for her own peace of mind.
As the two Grass shinobi laid helplessly on the ground, Haruka slit their throats, taking care not to get their blood on her. There were no invocations of valor, no outbursts of patriotism or any of those things. Their deaths were quiet, not glamorous in the least, but somehow fitting for two unfortunate victims of war.
Without donning any clothes, Haruka marched towards the trees where the Grass kunoichi had vanished into, ignoring the cooling air. The blonde only took the time to wrap a weapons belt around her waist. After all, if things got messy, she did not want to have to clean up the blood on her clothing.