"What?"
"I told you to stay the fuck clear of this Haruto."
"I promise not to hit on him if that's what you are worried about," Kin answered slyly, seemingly unwilling or unable to see the other girl's darkening features. "He's cute, but he's got the wrong parts and—" The raven-haired girl found herself cut off mid-speech and thrown violently against a nearby tree. Kin gasped in pain and surprise.
"Stop fucking around! I'm being serious!"
"Ok. I won't pick fights with him," Kin quickly agreed as she rubbed her joints. It was a simple request after all. The genin was confused by the vehemence in Tayuya's words.
"I also want you to throw the match if he ends up being your opponent."
Now, that was something else.
"What?!" Kin's eyes literally bugged out. Was she being serious? Tayuya's stern demeanor screamed yes. "Why?"
"Because I said so, that's why!" Tayuya answered simply. While stonewalling worked well enough against Kin in the past, it just didn't cut it this time. Suddenly, the raven-haired girl felt very, very angry.
"So that's it? What happened to giving it your all? Or win the goddamn tournament or I'll beat your ass red until you can't sit for a month?" Kin protested, throwing the redhead's words back at her. "You might be a jounin of Iwa, but as a kunoichi of Sound, I won't throw my match just because you said so. Sorry, Tayuya-sama, but I won't play your game this time."
Tayuya's eyes initially widened with surprise before narrowing into dangerous slits. Despite their village affiliations, Kin had always been perfectly subordinate if not outright submissive.
"I'm going to ignore that for your sake. And I suggest you stop being so damn cocky, genin. You wouldn't even be taking part in this exam if it weren't for me. I pulled you out of the gutters, so don't think for a minute that I won't throw you back in."
The Iwa commander's cold words were greeted with painful silence.
Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me so. It was Kin's conviction that the person who coined the phrase didn't know what they were talking about. In retrospect, both kunoichi probably regretted making those unkind comments, but only one of the two was bold enough to seek reconciliation.
"I'm sorry for my behavior, Tayuya-sama. Please accept my apology." As usual, it was Kin who swallowed her pride and begged her significant other for forgiveness like a collared bitch. Her only consolation was that at least she didn't have to do it on her hands and knees.
Kin's act broke the ice. The defused Iwa redhead also muttered something in return. It wasn't an apology per se, but Kin was happy to get it all the same.
"You know, if I throw the match, Orochimaru will have me killed for sure," Kin stated in a more subdued voice. Hidden Sound was a new village and had a reputation to establish. Those who soiled its name could expect little mercy from its Kage.
"I can protect you from Orochimaru," Tayuya declared with confidence.
"But not from this genin?" Kin asked with an incredulous expression. Tayuya briefly paused to weigh her options before laying down the facts.
"Right now, you can't last five minutes against me. The last time we met, this fucker took my fucking flute and damn near killed me."
Tayuya's frank admission floored Kin. The great Tayuya lost her treasured possession in a fight? Unthinkable! The redhead's reputation for being unwilling to admit any weakness was legendary among the rank and file. Surprise, however, was quickly replaced with guilt as the raven-haired girl recalled her earlier outburst. She realized the other girl must have been trying to protect her in her own stubborn way. Any lingering anger in the genin instantly melted away.
"I see. Okay, I'll do it. You know I trust you, Tayuya-sama." The Sound kunoichi turned and was about to leave when two slender but powerful arms grabbed her and spun her around.
"What are you—" Kin's words died mid-sentence when Tayuya's mouth slammed against her own. The genin's brief cry of surprise quickly morphed into longer lasting moans of delight. The two only separated after a good five minute lip-lock. After that, it didn't take a genius to connect the dots between Tayuya's genuine smile, which was most likely her first in many days, and Kin's glazed, starry-eyed expression.
"Fuck it. You know I'm not good with words, Kin…"
"It's ok. I love you too, Tayuya," Kin stated as she embraced the other girl. The genin smiled widely at the redhead's wide-eyed expression. Oh, she was definitely committing that moment to memory. It was not everyday that she managed to catch the great Tayuya off guard.
"Tell you what, stay the fuck alive, and I'll have a treat ready for you afterwards, deal?" Tayuya posed with a devious and, according to Kin, sexy smirk. The Sound girl nodded, all the while resisting the urge to squeal in an overly girlish manner.
"Just remember to kick some ass! Don't worry about the plan. We'll win for sure. Konoha would only stand a chance if they had someone like me, which they obviously don't," Tayuya bragged to her lover, giving one last boastful assurance.
If only the Iwa firebrand knew.
"Genji, I heard about the incident between the Rain and Grass teams. I think this report will interest you."
The younger shinobi skimmed the report handed to him.
"A skirmish occurred near the Rain-Grass border sometime yesterday. Both sides quickly blamed each other and began mobilizing their reserves…" Genji looked up, "This wasn't us."
"No, it wasn't. We're pretty sure that at this point, with a hostile Grass active on their borders, Rain would have to pull whatever support they might have pledged to our enemy's cause… just as you predicted. I believe congratulations are in order," Tenzou added with a touch of pride and admiration. Like the Hokage, Tenzou had questioned the logic of his student's premeditated attack against the Grass team. The results, however, removed all doubt from his mind. In a single brilliant stroke, Genji had scored a great victory for Konoha before the invasion had even begun.
"We should probably wait until this is all over, but everything looks to be going well," Genji answered slowly, not feeling entirely comfortable with his mentor's praise. Tenzou, however, mistook his student's hesitation for false modesty and who could blame him. After all, how was he to know that his young charge had trouble sleeping at night? As for Genji, the news was definitely welcomed. It made him feel just a bit vindicated for his less than wholesome actions. "Is Alpha Team going to be the security force for the exam?"
"That's the idea. Most of the team is currently deployed, but I have scheduled for them to be recalled a few days before the final day of the exam," Genji nodded at his captain's answer. That was a good move, keeping most of the team away and therefore out of the reach of potential spies.
"Now, we just have to sit on our hands and wait," the younger shinobi frowned. The veteran ANBU chuckled.
"Patience is a virtue, young one."
"Yes, Sensei." The youth's tone was petulant, but both knew it was in jest. Tenzou opened his mouth to speak again when his radio buzzed. Genji watched as his superior put on his headset and conversed in a low voice. Two minutes later, the ANBU captain ripped off his headset and turned to Genji.
"Perimeter patrol just found a body. We're going to check it out."
"Why us?" Genji asked confused.
"It's a Konoha nin, and it's believed to be one of the exam proctors."
Genji immediately killed off any further protest. Suddenly, their previous confidence about the operation seemed far less credible.
"Gekkou Hayate. The ID checks out. It's him for sure," answered the chuunin who had found the body. He looked curiously at the two ANBU members, wondering why members of Konoha's special force were getting involved.
"Have you filed the report?" Tenzou asked. The chuunin shook his head.
"Good. I'll take over. I need to report this to the Hokage immediately. Genji, I want you to find the vice captain," Tenzou ordered. Only his superb training allowed him to catch his subordinate's momentary freeze. The ANBU captain gazed at Genji's tense form for a minute before nodding in understanding.
"On second thought, why don't you report this to the Hokage. I'll handle Yuugao." Tenzou gave a hidden smile as Genji sighed audibly in relief.
"Thank you, sir." Genji quickly turned his attention to the body as Tenzou disappeared.
Yuugao-sensei is going to be crushed. Genji thought glumly. His relationship with his vice captain had improved immensely in recent weeks so he knew how hard this was going to hit her. Once again, he was very grateful for the porcelain mask that hid his face.
"Has a medic come by to diagnose his cause of death?" Perplexed, the chuunin shook his head.
"I didn't bother because the cause of death seemed obvious. He was hit by lightning attacks. I thought his attackers must have been a Kumo infiltration squad."
Ever since news of the Lightning delegation's massacre became public, people pointed northeast whenever something bad happened. The suspicion worked in Konoha's favor so far as the coming invasion was concerned. Its population's preoccupation with Kumo undoubtedly lulled its western enemies into a false sense of security. That was the point. But being aware of the underlying deception, Genji was less quick to cast his suspicion eastward. But if Kumo nin didn't do it, who did? The list of suspects was short.
"Get a medical team here to take him in. I want a full autopsy." Genji ordered firmly, leaving no room for argument. He had a hunch, but he needed proof to substantiate his theory.
"He didn't die from those lightning techniques, he couldn't have."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Genji stared the chief coroner in the eye.
"Positive. All the external markings and internal damage are consistent with postmortem use of high voltage lightning techniques."
Genji resisted the urge to express himself in a very vocal manner. "What killed him then?"
"This, probably," the medic-nin remarked as he parted the blackened skin near Hayate's shoulders to reveal a thin but deep cut. "Look at the tissues under the skin. It's like the epithelia cells underwent some sort of synchronized necrosis. I've never seen anything like it before, but I'm pretty sure chakra was used to inflict this wound."
Genji leaned forward to examine the incision. By a stroke of luck, he recognized the features of the wound almost instantly. The jounin sensei of Team 10 had showed off his skills as a wind wielding, trench knife user a couple of days before the exam. Genji recalled the perfectly even marks Asuma's weapons had left on the interior of his stationary targets.
"Wind! The wound was made with wind chakra," Genji exclaimed.
"That could be it. If you charged a blade with wind chakra, you could get a wound just like this. But wind users are extremely rare in most of the elemental nations. The only location that has many of them is…" The doctor stopped short of finishing the sentence.
"Sunagakure," Genji finished with a wince.
"What does this mean?" the doctor asked.
"It means that I was right," Genji stated.
In retrospect, the attempt to pin the deed on Kumo was obvious. He had done something similar in the Forest of Death just days earlier. Only in that case, he had used Grass' suspicion of Rain to frame the latter village.
This guy's good, Genji thought. He realized that someone intelligent must have come up with this idea; someone creative and imaginative; someone who thought like him. He also realized that if this someone was truly on the other side, then they were a significant threat to his plans and to Konoha.
"It also means someone's trying to fuck with us," Genji admitted with a hard glint in his eyes.
"What?" a very confused doctor asked as he looked at his companion. His young companion responded by handing him several official looking papers.
"Everything we just talked about is now classified as an A-rank village secret. Tell anyone and expect a visit from Ibiki."
The good doctor acknowledged numbly. He watched as the almost childish looking ANBU disappeared. Sure he felt his age at times, but on days like this, he really, really felt old. The medical expert did not know how the Sandaime Hokage managed to keep up with his younger subordinates, but he wished the venerable leader the very best of luck.