Chapter 11: CHAPTER 11: Team Eight
It was strange, the way the human mind could seemingly ignore something in the background.
It was even stranger, the way the human mind would still notice its absence, when this something was not there anymore.
One moment the insects in the forest were singing. Cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers and katydids… As well as more exotic species native to the Forest of Death, that Shino could mostly name.
The next instant, they stopped.
Inside Shino's body, his insects did the exact same. For the first time since he had been grafted with them, he could not feel their call. It scared him.
It was not the fear that they felt when there was a bigger predator. Most of the insects living in the Forest of Death did not really have this sort of instinct.
Those that did were long since gone, thriving in easier environments.
No, the reason they stopped was another instinct altogether.
The biggest fish of them all had entered the pond. They waited on its orders.
Fū whistled a jaunty tone as she stepped out of the shadow.
She saw Team Eight, proceeded to ignore them and skipped to the Rain ninja, who stood, paralyzed by fear.
Shino stood frozen in place as well, not sure what to make of the situation. Akamaru whimpered and Kiba knew right away they were in trouble.
She looked at him, contemplative, and then smiled.
Fū continued skipping until she stood in front of the downed teenager.
"There you are!" She laughed merrily. "I've been looking for you all over this forest."
"Please, no!"
"Aw, come on! I promised you we'd play, didn't I?" She smiled.
"I don't want to die, please, please I-"
"Didn't I?" Her face turned blank.
"Don't kill me like you did them, please, I'll do whatever you want." He begged for his life.
Kiba stepped in, face hard.
"Look, I don't know who you are, and what you did to him exactly, but I don't think he wants anything to do with you. And I can't blame him."
She threw Kiba an innocent look, her head tilted.
"But… He promised. Aren't promises made to be upheld?" There was a strange light in her orange eyes. Something not quite human, and not even really animalistic either.
"I don't think this one should be." Kiba gritted out.
"Well, then, alright!" She cheered.
"…You will let me go?" The unnamed rain ninja let out, not daring to hope.
"Well… No. If you remember… I also promised that I'd eat all three of you rain ninjas, didn't I?"
"No, please!"
"There's only one of you left, now!" She pointed a finger at him, laughing. "Say 'bye bye'!"
Hinata saw it in slow motion.
The greenish chakra that seemed to ooze through the rain ninja's wound seemed to wake up. It spread through his body in an instant, making his limbs move the way Fū wanted them to.
Then his legs twisted on themselves, breaking and squishing in a way the members of Team Eight wished they could forget. They never did.
His arms rotated out of his shoulders' sockets, while Fū laughed loudly, holding her belly.
He only stopped screaming when his neck finally bent too far.
She played with his body, making him dance a bit longer, but then seemed to get bored.
"Time to eat!" She opened her mouth wide, fangs jutting out of her face and took a large bite of his neck.
Blood sprayed her, and some of it hit Kiba and Akamaru, who was whimpering inside his master's jacket.
She chewed a bit, didn't seem to enjoy the taste of it, and spat out a mangled fleshy part.
She then turned to face Hinata and her team. Her face was covered in blood, not all of it fresh.
"Do you guys want to play with me?"
She smiled.
This qualified as the urgent kind of situation he had been created for.
Naruto's Kage Bunshin dispelled, warning the original immediately.
"Well, damn." Shisui said. "I wish I had known about this earlier."
Itachi nodded. "I know. But not even my father knows exactly which ninjas are going to be sent before the exam actually starts."
Shisui snorted. "I know it's supposed to be about fairness, but which part of this strikes you as fair? I taught some basic Sharingan genjutsu to my little brother, but…"
"Nothing prepares you to face a Bijū... except facing one." Jiraiya of the Sannin had said, once.
Shisui didn't quote him, but he definitely thought of it.
"Hopefully, this will be enough to get them out of trouble, if they are to face either jinchūriki." Itachi hoped.
"Yeah… Who's their last team member, again?"
"A Sarutobi. Naruto, I think."
"Oh, I think I saw him at Kurenai's funeral, then. Pretty ripped for his age, serious fella?" Shisui asked.
"That would be him, yes."
"Well, I hope he's learned a thing or two from Lord Third, then. Could come in handy."
"…I don't think 'facing an out-of-control jinchūriki' is on anybody's training schedule."
"Let me hope."
"Of course."
Shisui shrugged. "Only thing I can do, before the exam's over." He tried to relax. "These jinchūriki sure are something else. Poor guys."
"They do tend to live a hard life." Itachi agreed.
"Well, Konoha doesn't even have one anymore, so guess at least someone's avoiding that fate."
"I guess so."
"Toru, Sasuke!" Naruto stopped.
"Hm?"
"Team Eight's in danger! As in, real danger."
They turned serious right away.
"Lead us there."
Fū laughed, and as she did, breathed out a golden powder that had a greenish tint to it.
She bounced, spinning in the air at a dizzying speed.
The powder spread independently, seeking somebody — or something to infect.
"Don't let the powder touch you, Kiba." Shino said, leaping away from Fū.
"You think I don't know this?!" Kiba shouted back, feeding Akamaru a red pill.
"Watch out!" Hinata screamed.
Fū had completed her rotation, and came down at full speed, her leg wreathed in sick orange chakra.
Kiba barely dodged her, and still got hit by the debris she created as she hit the tree where he was standing one second ago.
She laughed and leaped to the sky again, spinning.
She came down even faster.
Shino seemed to explode when Fū hit the ground, and for a terrifying moment, Kiba thought that was it.
But his teammate had managed to replace himself with a log and came out unharmed.
A bead of sweat ran down his face. Seeing his normally composed teammate look worried was not good for morale, Kiba thought.
"My insects are not answering me." He said, lost.
"Shit!"
"We need to run, Kiba."
"We can't stay on the defensive!" Kiba screamed. "She's only toying with us!"
"Silly, I can hear you!" Fu laughed. All the same, she started spinning in the air again.
"Akamaru!"
His dog barked in agreement, and both of them transformed into a feral-looking version of Kiba.
"Inuzuka Secret Art: Fang Passing Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru started rotating as well. They dashed off the ground in a tornado of claws, going straight after the girl from Waterfall.
Fū stopped spinning.
With a mad grin on her face, she caught one of the Kibas by the collar of his jacket and pulled. She hurled him straight into the other, leading to him getting hit by the Tsuga head on.
The one who had hit him screamed, a scream that sounded more like a dog howling than a man. But...
"That was Kiba-kun." Hinata realized.
She jumped to catch him as he fell.
Above her, Fū grew wings, and as they beat with a buzzing sound, she hung in midair.
"Secret Art: Scale Pulse!"
She let out a scream that was more chakra than sound. Both Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were sent flying, their ears ringing.
They hit the ground with a dull thud. Hinata coughed, and she spat some blood.
"That's bad. What do we do?" She wondered.
Above her, flying ten meters above the floor, Fū looked at them the same way a cruel child would observe an insect, wondering what would happen if she were to rip its wings off.
Where was Shino…? She was too dizzy to focus her Byakugan.
Hinata would admit without sort of shame that he was the strongest fighter on their team, overall. But right now, he was crippled by the fact he could not use any of his clan techniques.
She saw Shino again. He was up in threes, and had used the distraction they had provided to sneak up behind Fū, a flat-edged blade in hand.
He wasted no time, jumping silently at her, aiming to take off her head in a single strike.
She casually ducked under his attack. Then she proceeded to catch his arm, holding him up in the air in a very uncomfortable looking position, suspended by an arm that threatened to break.
"Silly, I could feel you the whole time."
Shino grunted from the strain, but there was nothing he could do.
"Shino-kun!" Hinata cried out. She focused on Fū's wrist, focused her chakra in her right hand and let loose a high-speed palm thrust. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm."
Fū saw it coming, of course. She let herself drop down one meter and when she caught herself, Shino's arm broke.
He screamed. Hinata stopped moving and breathing altogether.
"What can I do…?" She would not risk Shino's life by attacking. Kiba was knocked out, and Akamaru would be of no use without his partner.
With her Byakugan active, she could read Fū's lips easily.
"You have insects inside you?" Fū cheered, talking to Shino. He didn't answer, settling for trying to free himself instead. "That's so cool! Me too!"
Hinata wasn't sure what she meant, but it had to have something to do with the seal she saw on her back, where the orange chakra was leaking from.
"Well… It's just Chōmei and I, anyway." She laughed, then pouted. "He wants to be free, but I don't know how to do it. I hope to find a way, someday."
Hinata didn't know who or what Chōmei was for sure, but she could guess something had been sealed within the girl.
"I think your insects want to be free, too." She cheered. "I think I can help you!"
Some of the noxious chakra escaped from her wings, and entered Shino's mouth, who turned stiff.
Hinata watched in horror as the insects he had been holding within his body crawled away from him, unbidden. The process looked more painful than it usually was, and they left large, weeping sores on his body.
The insects gravitated around Fu's chakra, buzzing excitedly in the poison cloud that was her life-energy.
"Here! It's all done." Fū said, with the satisfaction of a job well-done. "You guys are kinda boring, though… I wonder what I should do with you."
Her orange eyes drifted lazily over Hinata, Kiba… and finally Shino.
"Eh, guess you won't need him anyway. Now that he can't be of any use." She shrugged.
"No! Please, don't!" Hinata screamed.
"That's what the villages do, anyway." Her voice turned serious. "Squeeze you dry… And then throw you away once they're done." Poison laced her tone.
"This is not true. I beg of you, let Shino-kun go!"
"How cute of you. I wish somebody had… No, nevermind." Fū corrected. "I'm just doing you a favor, really. You'll see."
Hinata focused chakra to her feet, and jumped. Maybe she'd reach in time.
Fū slapped her away with a casual backhand, and she landed on a large branch, almost missing her landing.
"Well, time to move on." Fū declared.
Then she broke Shino's neck, and threw the body like a ragdoll.
There was a high-pitched noise.
"I should find my team. Maybe. Wonder if they have a scroll…" She hummed. "Well, I should have gotten one myself." Fū laughed.
She then flew away, as if nothing of interest had happened here. Or more precisely, something else had caught her interest, so she just went there instead.
The noise kept ringing, even though Fū was gone already.
A few minutes later, Sasuke arrived with his team — the Sarutobi boy she had seen in the academy and his cousin Toru.
Hinata only realized that she had been screaming once her voice had gone hoarse.
They ended up burying Shino in the Forest. Kiba absentmindedly told them this was the way Aburame bodies were disposed of, feeding the earth and its living creatures.
Kiba, Akamaru and Naruto ended up digging the hole.
Hinata sobbed the whole time, and Sasuke stood next to her, not knowing what to say.
Naruto resented the feeling of being so useless. Shino had only been twelve.
Dying was always a risk for ninjas.
But was it really worth it..?
Toru stood guard, his demeanor subdued.
Team Eight was obviously disqualified, — not that it mattered much compared to Shino's death — but they would still have to reach the safety of the towers.
They didn't have time to stick around, in case Fū decided to come back to finish the job.
The only thing Naruto was glad for was that none of his other clones had dispelled. The other teams were safe.
Making it to the tower had been easy enough, once they started focusing solely on it.
Team Eight — its two living members — gave them both of their scrolls, so they didn't even end up having to fight people for it.
They set up camp near the base, waiting to make sure everybody else from Konoha made it.
Once this was done, Team Six, plus Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata went inside.
They were among the last to enter, and probably the most affected.
Kiba and Hinata accepted their disqualification with a nod.
Their sensei, Hyūga Kō, took notice of Shino's absence right away, and led them away from the room, a forlorn expression on his face.
Without more fanfare, Team Eight was out of the Chūnin exams.
Hinata wondered what she could have done. And once more, if being a shinobi was really a good fit for her. Not that she would really have a choice, as the Hyūga heiress.
Kiba had been unconscious when Shino had died. They didn't always see eye to eye, but he had considered him one of his pack. He would mourn him.
Kō would have to talk to Shino's clan, as he had been responsible for him.
A very subdued Team Eight left the Tower.
It was strange, Naruto felt, the way everybody moved on to the next exam without any care.
"People have died in here."
"Shino was twelve."
"What's the point of this?"
Would he ever become like this too?
He listened with one ear as the proctor announced there would be preliminary matches to cull off the herd, as too many people had passed.
It would take place now. Then, one month later, they would hold the final exam, and select the new chūnin.
Naruto almost wanted to laugh. What did he really care about being a chūnin himself…?
If it hadn't been for Sasuke, Toru, and Ino, he'd likely not have stepped foot in this place.
Ino was fine, too, if looking a bit beaten up. Her team and her had arrived somewhat late, preferring to play it safe.
Team Four from Konoha had arrived, too.
Team Gai were here early, of course.
There were 27 people left in the competition.
Four teams from Konoha, which was not much of a surprise. They had entered more teams, being the host Nation.
Mist had refused to enter. So did Iwa, of course.
One team from Suna. Two teams from Kumo. One team from Waterfall. One team from Kusa.
The first match was announced.
Ino blanched, and Chōji started eating nervously. He had faith in his friend, but this…
Nara Shikamaru vs. Gaara of the Desert.
"Would the two contestants please step in the ring?"
"Damn, that's bad." Naruto thought.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru breathed out.
But he looked very worried.
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