I'm so frustrated that I end up joining the spectators and Sen in heckling and booing at Shikamaru on his way back to the competitors' area. My brother, with his face somehow pink from his held in breath, looks about ready to explode.

"Forget everything I ever said!" I seethe. "There's nothing amazing about him! He's lazy, and he talks really big for someone who throws a won match!!" I lean over the railing once more to point an accusing finger at his back. "Becoming a Chūnin's just one great big drag, isn't it, Shikamaru?!"

"I... take it he's not going to hear the end of this?" Sen assumes, settling back stiffly into his seat.

"Oh, you can bet your white underpants he's not," I grumble. Sen snorts. "What's so funny?"

"The way you get angry," he easily admits. "It's more entertaining than the matches."

"Oh, shut your prince hole," I snap, and with a ghost of a smile still on his face, he does.

Naruto jumps over the railing where he'd been standing with Shino and starts shouting at Shikamaru. He's interrupted by some words I can't hear and a gesture over Naruto's shoulder toward the entrance to the waiting area, where both Garasu and Iori appear.

"Move it, kids," Garasu says, her voice loud. I squirm in my seat, made even worse when Naruto decides to yell back at her, about me.

"Oh, just let them fight already so she can go back to the Hidden Snow," I groan, head in my hands.

"I'm sorry about Garasu, Kari," Sen says, having placed a light hand on my shoulder. "When I agreed to pose as her Jōnin Sensei, I had no idea there were any ulterior motives behind her request."

"I... I'm not mad at her for that," I admit, after giving it a moment of thought. That's all it took to set aside my own personal feelings for what reality is. "During our fight, she told me she had something to prove to someone, and that I was just a "stepping stone" for her to start proving it. Whoever it is she did this for had nothing to do with me. Not really."

"Are you saying you're not mad at her with how your match turned out?" he inquires further.

"I'm more so mad that she couldn't have at least held back just a little," I answer. "I could have died from what she did."

I watch him watch the two below take their spots along the scarred grounds of the arena. "... you really have grown up quite well, sister."

"She mentioned something about me during that fight, though," I add quietly. "Called me "the Yamada Princess"; said I had some kind of legend."

"While that does have a nice ring to it, I-I can assure you, sister, that even my title of "prince" is false." I purse my lips at him, skeptical. "Simply, it's how we introduce ourselves to specific groups or countries that it would make them more willing to open their doors to us. "Yamada" is a very common name, but its attachment with the Land of Fire is an entirely different issue altogether. In the Land of Snow, where its harsh weather leaves much of the nation uninhabitable, it wasn't difficult to establish ourselves over the past five years. And because we had been such a private clan from the Land of Fire that produced few talented Shinobi that we are able to publicly release, we aren't entirely recognized as a clan anywhere else."

"You make it sound like that's a good thing," I say, noting how relieved he'd sounded a moment ago.

"Yes, well... it keeps out techniques safe. Unlike Kekkei Genkai, our Hiden can be learned. At the very least, there is a catch – a safeguard – in attempting to use any of them without being given permission."

"Permission?"

"Perhaps "blessing" is a better word for it, but there's a permissive seal that is placed on the woman who is to perform the technique. Without it, using our Hiden would come at a price." And as if reading my mind, or the expression on my face, "I'd rather not describe it, Kari."

"G-Gotcha... But why are there safeguards, anyway? Are the techniques that dangerous?"

Sen chuckles. "Nice try. I still can't talk about it, sister."

Huffing, I fall back against my seat. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Let the third match between Garasu Fujikaze and Iori Shihana begin," the proctor calls, and not even a second passes after he finishes speaking that Garasu is rushing at Iori.

I'm shocked by her speed – I don't think she was moving nearly so quickly when she was fighting me, although that could've just been through my perspective. But Iori doesn't even seem phased by it, having already had her fingers and hands positioned in a single hand sign.

I don't remember her fight back during the preliminaries; I realize. I got my butt beat by this woman. Is Iori strong enough that she doesn't even feel the need to take a stance?

My surprise only grows when a single plant appears at Iori's feet. Uh... her bare feet. When did she take off her shoes...? It's got a bulb with a smaller flower sprouting from the top, which only finishes growing at the same time Garasu reaches her. My heart nearly stops, my surgery scar beginning to ache like crazy, when Garasu places a hand on Iori's chest.

"Not exactly a smart move, now, was it, little flower girl?" we hear her say. My breath catches in my throat when I spot a green glow coming from Garasu's palm. Iori winces but remains unconcerned. "Hm? What's with that brave face you've got on?"

"What is Miss Shihana up to?" Sen happens to wonder aloud.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The Shihana Clan has a Kekkei Genkai—Miton. They use their chakra to influence the growth of seeds within the earth."

"I... didn't even know Iori was a part of a clan," I admit. "I... don't really know her at all. Wait, how do you know about her?"

Sen chuckles. "Garasu did a lot of research on the participants before we came here together. Call her an overachiever if you will—" a psychopath, more like, I snidely remark in my head "—but she wanted to anticipate every possible battle situation she could.

"The Shihana Family are famous not through their position as Shinobi, but for their close relations with the research facilities here in the Hidden Leaf Village. They are death defying medicine folk who are behind much of the medications and antidotes you'll see throughout the world."

"... I'm kind of annoyed that she knows more about my village than I do," I grumble, watching Iori finally knock Garasu's hand away.

"She's been around a little longer than you, Kari," Sen tries to reason. "She's bound to know more than you, already."

"Still... knowing that I'm from here and not the Land of Snow, knowing Makara and the Uchiha are from here, and the Yamada, too, and I... I just know nothing."

"And that's not your fault, Kari," Sen has to remind me. It barely helps, but I nod anyway, and focus on their match once more.

Obviously, Garasu has decided to use the same technique on Iori that she'd used on me during our battle. It shows by the lack of colour in her tanned cheeks, and the way her eyes look glossed over, even from where Sen and I sit. And when she cries out, I instantly begin to panic.

Garasu's technique is capable of killing. It's not any different than the other Jutsu used here today – they're all capable of killing – but by the time it becomes obvious enough that something bad is happening to Iori, they won't be able to stop it. I almost died, but I'd been helped almost right away. So what is it doing to her right now?

I'm up and out of my seat, having flown to the edge of the balcony.

"Lord Hokage!" I hiss. "Sir!" I call again, as he doesn't hear me the first time. Slowly, his head turns, his eyes narrowing at me. I put my foot on the edge of the railing, ignoring Sen's words of concern, and the Lord Hokage nods. I jump quickly, careful not to attract the attention of the spectators or the two down in the arena and kneel before him and the Lord Kazekage. "You have to stop this match, sirs."

"For what reason?" he asks me, tone attentive.

"One of the competitors uses a Jutsu that targets your organs," I explain quickly. "When we fought during the preliminaries, Garasu nearly killed me. And I just know she can do more than this, with just a single touch..." I shiver at the thought, the extent of which she might take things to prove herself. "She doesn't care if she seriously injures someone, sirs."

"There are no rules to what kind of Jutsu a competitor can use in these matches," the Kazekage says. I find myself having to bite back a glare and some choice words for the man. "Unless it is a Forbidden Jutsu?" He turns to the Lord Hokage.

"Not likely," he says. "I have seen Medical Ninja with this ability. It isn't an uncommon phenomenon. Most likely, Garasu is also a Medical Ninja. If what you say is true, Kari, then we cannot stop this match."

"But sir!" I start to argue, though I'm silenced by one of his raised hands. "But if she dies..."

"I would imagine Miss Shihana is already well aware of Miss Fujikaze's ability, having been present for the preliminaries, herself," the Lord Kazekage says. I wait for him to speak again. He doesn't.

"If Iori wishes to concede, she may. The match will continue. Return to your seat, Kari," the Lord Hokage orders.

"But sir!!"

"Now, Kari." I can't help the noise of frustration that escapes me in their presence.

"If it were Makara-sensei," I murmur, pushing myself off my knees, "she wouldn't have taken such a risk." I jump back over the balcony, reclaiming my seat at Sen's side.

"What on earth was that about?" he asks when I do.

"Garasu," I tell him through gritted teeth. He only nods.

"When she told me that she was a Medical Shinobi wishing to participate in the Land of Fire's Chūnin Exam, I assumed it to mean that her teammates and her were a strong enough unit to participate together. I only learned of her ruse the day she arrived in the village – that her teammates were simply placeholders; that she was their main damage dealer. Garasu is no pushover. But I believe Miss Shihana has a few tricks up her sleeve today."

"What makes you think that?"

"That plant," he says, gesturing down below. "They grow at the Land of Fire's border—I noticed several pods of them on my way here. Normally, they're troublesome enough that they must be contained or destroyed—it's nicknamed the "dream flower" for a reason."

And after a moment of guessing, "It makes you sleep?"

"Yes. It's safe to assume Miss Shihana plans on getting out of this match without using much violence." I spot the plant suddenly twitch between Iori and Garasu—Iori's done a good job at keeping her at a distance now, with the plant in between them. "But if she isn't careful, she just might end up be on the receiving end of that plant's effects, herself."

"At least it might end in a tie," I end up mumbling. "It's like she's hoping for that."

And then, the plant's bulb bursts, and from it flies a strange white liquid that turns airborne into Garasu's face. She splutters and spits, dragging her tongue against the back of her hand, having accidentally taken some into her mouth.

"A sleeping agent?" she says aloud after a pause of thought. To my surprise and against the character I've seen from her so far, Garasu bursts out laughing. "I guess I'd better hurry then!"

The rest of the match goes on as expected. I suppose I should be grateful that it's dragging on so long—Sasuke still hasn't made an appearance and it's starting to worry me. I can't sense him anywhere around here, nor Kakashi-sensei.

Iori begins to cough, distracting me from my worries about Sasuke, and returning me to my worries about her. She quickly raises a hand to her mouth to stifle a particularly deep hacking fit, but when she draws her hand away, there are gasps throughout the arena at how her hand has been painted red.

"Iori..." Her name slips out of my mouth before I can help it. I fight every urge to jump over our balcony again, no matter how badly I want to stop their match. But the Lord Hokage's right. She watched my match with Garasu. She knows what she's capable of. She made her choice; she's taking her risk.

Garasu stumbles. At first, I'd thought she'd tripped over one of Naruto's dug outs, but she's still a few feet away from any one of them. It hasn't been long that Iori cast her first Jutsu – maybe only thirteen minutes, and since then, she's managed to avoid any further physical contact with Garasu – but it's almost too obvious that it's started taking its toll on her opponent.

The crowd isn't as loud and obnoxious as they'd been during the previous couple of battles. Sure, there's cheers here and there, but surprisingly, it's more conversation than anything. Personal strategies, theories on the Snow Shinobi Garasu Fujikaze's true techniques and the Shihana Clan's Hiden's true potential. It's just that interesting, I suppose. It's no different than mine and Sen's conversation from fifteen minutes prior.

Garasu looks about ready to pass out. Iori is... no different, really. Except for the fact that she's going to need to be hospitalized the second she collapses. According to the murmurs of the crowd, Iori's technique is called the Flourishing Orchid Jutsu – it's a specific plant grown by her clan with an unnatural level of sedative pollen. It forces a certain reaction in the body that triggers an allergic reaction so severe that it forces the body to rest, as if it were dealing with recovering from an actual allergy.

Suddenly, Iori stills, and Garasu doubles over onto her knees. It's synchronized, the way they both collapse on their faces. It makes the crowd let out a sharp fretting sound when their noses cushion their fall. And the way Garasu lands, I can only suspect – hope – that it broke her nose. Iori, at least, managed to turn her face at the last second. But now they're both down for the count.

The proctor walks up beside each of them, pressing two of his fingers to their neck before sighing.

"Since both competitors are alive but are unable to remain conscious, the match is tied," he announces. A polite round of clapping and soft cheers go around when the two of them are taken back inside the arena walls on stretchers, carried by the medics who'd arrived only seconds after their loss was announced. Both Naruto and Shikamaru jump down into the arena after they've left, Naruto immediately hounding the proctor about Sasuke.

And then, the anxiety starts up again when the next announcement regards him, and how if he doesn't arrive in the next ten minutes, he'll be disqualified. Naruto's head snaps in my direction, to share his panic with me.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." I stare hard at the arena gate, willing for him to appear.

"He'll be here," Sen tries to assure me.

"Oh, you don't even know the guy!" I say, accidentally a little harshly. I don't mean to, but right now, I can't handle his sickly sweet positivity. I want to yell and shout because this day has had me experiencing a pool of emotions. I'm supposed to be in recovery – I shouldn't be out of the hospital, but I had to lie to watch my friends win today.

I just want to take a nap. Could Iori make me one of those flowers...?

Those ten minutes pass almost too quickly. "No!" I shout down at the proctor, in the hopes that he'd just stop talking, but he's able to call over me, his eyes trained at our balcony when he speaks again.

"The time limit has expired! So, I'm officially calling this match—"

For some reason, he cuts himself off, his eyes trained on something above him. But even from our height, Sen and I can't see it, and we shrug at each other, confused. Naruto apparently sees it, too, and Shikamaru. What the heck is happening?

Suddenly, a large funnel of wind begins to gather along the grounds of the arena, picking up the debris and chucking rocks and the petals left from Iori's Jutsu all around. Two figures start to form in the center of the funnel, one at least twice the size of the other.

I swear...

"Sorry we're late," a familiar voice calls from beside them, and instantly, my jaw tightens. "You wouldn't believe the traffic."

The wind funnel disperses, properly revealing both Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke.

"What did I say, hm?" Sen says, patting my arm. I grab his arm and shove it away. "K-Kari?"

"And what did I tell you?" I hiss through my teeth. "The guy just has to make a grand entrance and show everyone up, doesn't he?"

"And what's your name?" the proctor asks him. Sasuke looks up at him and smirkety-smirk-smirk-smirks at him.

"I'm Sasuke," he says. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Updated June 6th, 2022 | 2,952 words