A Shard Among Leave: Preparing The Stage (Patreon)

[Preparing The Stage]

“So this is Konoha huh?” Kankuro stared up at the massive walls of the hidden village as he and his team approached. The walls loomed over them, high and imposing, but they had nothing on the natural canyon that hid his own village. He scoffed. “Doesn't look like much.”

Beside him, Temari huffed, fanning her face with an annoyed expression. “Why would anyone want to live somewhere so humid? These trees don’t do shit for the heat. I feel like I’m in a sauna.”

“Tch, wimp.” Kankuro smirked at his sister’s discomfort. She scowled at him, before smirking as well and pointing a finger at him.

“Says the one who’s makeup is running down his face.”“What?” Kankuro reached up and rubbed underneath his eye, grimacing as purple war paint came off on his fingers. “Damnit. I shouldn’t have made the mix so watery. I’m used to Suna’s dry heat. And it’s not makeup, it’s war paint.”

“Sure thing, princess.”

“Both of you, quiet.” Baki turned a glare on the bickering siblings. “We can’t afford to fool around here. Keep your minds on the task at hand and don’t get distracted. We need to stay in top form.”

Kankuro smacked a bug off the back of his hand with an annoyed expression while Temari sighed, glancing up at the walls ahead of them. “I almost feel bad for them,” she said. “They have no idea what’s coming.”

“Let's keep it that way,” Baki grunted.

They approached the gate where a pair of Chunin stood watch in booths, checking papers and waving people through as they approached. The one on the right held out a hand as they walked up, clearly noticing that they weren’t exactly merchants here to hark their wares.

“Here for the Chunin exams?” He asked, looking them up and down. Baki nodded and the Chunin turned, grabbing something from behind him. He returned with a clipboard, placing pen to paper. “Alright, village affiliation?”

Kankuro sneered. “You got working eyes?” He flashed his headband, tapping the symbol with one finger. “What's it look like?”

The Chunin didn't so much as blink, marking something down on his clipboard. “Mm. Head on inside. A Chunin will be by to escort you to the place you'll be staying. Welcome to Konoha and don’t cause any trouble.”

He looked pointedly at Kankuro during that last sentence and the puppet user narrowed his eyes. As they stepped through the gate, Kankuro rolled his shoulders, feeling Karasu shift with the motion. “When things kick off, he’s my first target,” he decided quietly.

Temari rolled her eyes. “Really gonna waste time with a guy who gave you some attitude? You’re so immature.”

“You—”

“Kankuro. Temari.” Both siblings went stock still at the gravely voice. A pair of dead green eyes slowly turned towards them, malice radiating from them in waves so potent, both of them could actually feel it. “Shut up.”

The two didn’t even dare to respond. Responding meant talking, and talking meant disobeying a direct order from their little brother—death, in other words. They simply turned away from one another and continued down the street in silence so thick, even Baki would be unable to cut it.

Meanwhile, the village was alive around them. Konoha had put on its best face for the Chunin exams and everyone was in high spirits. It was such a removal from Suna that it was almost jarring. It was clear that the village was prospering, and that went a long way to remind most of the group why they were there.

Temari inhaled, her stomach growling at the smell of something sugary and fried. She licked her lips. “Something smells good. We'll have to see what kind of food they have here when we get settled.”

Kankuro grunted, shading his eyes and looking around. “Where the hell is our help? I don’t wanna stand here all day.”

“I was preoccupied. I apologize for making you wait.”

Everyone present froze as the voice came from behind them. They whirled around, Temari and Kankuro reaching towards their respective weapons out of sheer surprise before they caught themselves. Even Baki shifted, subtly putting himself a half-step away from Gaara in preparation for the jinchurikki’s usual method of battle.

Instead of the opponent their battle-honed minds thought they would find, they were met with a little girl in their place. She was small enough that she barely came up to Kankuro's chest, wrapped head to toe in clothes that were even heavier than Kankuro’s suit. The only parts of her that were uncovered were her wild black hair and a tiny sliver of skin underneath her yellow goggles.

How did she sneak up on us? Temari wondered, a bead of sweat slipping down the back of her neck. None of us sensed her coming; even Baki was surprised.

They all knew better than to let their guard down, especially in a crowded place like this. And yet, this little girl had managed to surprise every single one of them, including a Jonin. On top of that, the kid was just plain creepy to look at, hunched over in her sheets of clothing and standing so still it was hard to tell if she was even alive under it all. All of it put Temari on edge, her instincts telling her to keep an eye on this… whatever this was.

Kankuro recovered first. He scowled, his brow furrowing in what Temari knew was unease rather than anger. “Buzz off and bother someone else, brat. We’re waiting for someone.”

“I cannot do that.” The girl's voice was muffled by her scarf, but the flat tone came through clear. “Because I am the one who has been assigned to show you to your place of temporary residence.”

Baki's eyes sharpened, flicking from the girl to the busy street around them. “You're our escort?”

“I am.” The girl nodded once. “If you will follow me, I’ll make sure you’re settled.”

She turned and walked off without waiting for a response. Temari and Kankuro stared after her. Temari glanced at her brother, then at her sensei. “She’s like, ten. Are we really going to follow her?”

Baki stared after the girl with a serious expression on his face, but was unable to actually answer as Gaara took the initiative and followed the girl, leaving them stumbling to catch up.

“If you are looking for something to eat, there are several restaurants situated near your abode,” the girl said as she led them through the packed streets. “They have very good reviews, though of them serve Suna cuisine. The cost of transporting spice from the Land of Wind makes the dishes too expensive to put on a regular menu.”

Temari's stomach growled again, but her expression was anything but hungry “Good to know.”

They walked in silence for another two blocks before Kankuro leaned toward his sister and whispered, “This has to be a joke, right? There's no way that kid is a Chunin.”

“Konoha must be desperate,” Temari murmured back, “if they're promoting brats like her.”

“That's not true.” 

Both siblings glanced over at Baki, who was watching the girl's back with an intense expression. “Don’t let your eyes deceive you,” he said, his voice low enough not to be heard. “This girl’s the real deal. She’s much more dangerous than she lets on.”

“What are you talking about?” Temari asked.

“Not here.” Baki tapped a finger twice against the side of his jaw, and both siblings nodded, understanding the hidden message for what it was.

They both nodded, and finished the walk in silence, regarding the small girl ahead of them with far more wariness than before.

Once the Suna team had been shown to their abode, Hirari went about her other duties.

A short time later, she found herself shadowed by the massive trees in Colony Forty-Four, moving through the underbrush as she searched for her objective in the low light. It was deafeningly loud in the forest, a cacophony of nature blasting against her eardrums constantly. The forest recognized her as its own, and felt no need to hide from her, unlike some people.

“Yo, brat!”

The forest around her quietened as Anko dropped from the treetops, an easy grin on her face and a pinecone stuck to the sleeve of her trenchcoat.

“So this is where you've been hiding all week, huh?” Anko said, picking the cone off of her coat. “So? You excited? First time terrorizing a whole batch of kiddies in over their heads; it's bound to be a blast.”

“I am not interested in terrorizing anyone.” Hirari paused at the mouth of a rather large burrow, crouching down to inspect it. A low growl rumbled out from the darkness within, and two points of light reflected off her goggles as the resident lifted its head. “My duty is to weed out the weak and those unworthy of becoming Chunin. No more, no less.”

Anko laughed. “God, you're kind of a bore, you know that?” She pointed her dango skewer at the Aburame. “Come on, you gotta lighten up. What was your exam? It had to be at least a little fun, right?”

Hirari postponed her answer in favor of the task. She reached into her tool pouch and withdrew a small brown ball, roughly the size of a marble. It was soft to the touch and gave off a faintly sweet, earthy smell. She rolled it a few inches in front of the burrow's entrance, then stood and stepped away.

The growling inside the burrow stopped. A second later, the rustle of a massive body shifting could be heard as the tiger inside crept toward the curious new smell.

“It was held in Yugakure,” Hirari said after a moment, walking toward a nearby tree. “There were not many participants that year, so the proctors decided to forgo the standard format. Rather than a staged examination, they held a free-for-all. The last three people left combat capable in two days would become Chunin.”

“That so?” Anko raised an eyebrow. “A forty-eight-hour slugfest, that's it?”

“Yes, and only one member of any given team was permitted to compete.” Hirari settled her hand against the tree's bark, and a handful of kikaichu crawled from her sleeve, disappearing into the crevices of the wood. “It was a curious arrangement. It meant that only one person from any team could possibly win.”

“That's a stupid way to do it. What was the point?”

“I believe the intent was to remove the safety net of teamwork and evaluate each participant's individual capability. Yugakure has never been renowned for producing high-quality ninja. I suspect they were looking for outliers.”

Above them, the canopy began to stir. Seven beetles, each as large as a dog, descended from the treetops and down the trunk, drawn to the scent of the treat that Hirari had laid out for them.

They skittered down the bark and reached the burrow's mouth and paused, antennae waving in the air as they tasted the treat waiting for them. Then, one by one, they slipped inside. The sound of gruesome violence followed shortly after.

“So,” Anko said, settling her hands behind her head as she leaned against the tree. “Since you've got the rank, I'm assuming you placed pretty well.”

“Correct.”

Anko chuckled. “How? Last I checked, you Aburame were pretty squishy in a one-on-one. I know a handful who can take a good punch, and less who can dish one back.”

“The rules stated that the last three people left standing by the end of the second day would become Chunin.” Hirari settled onto a low branch of the tree beside Anko, watching the burrow. “Nowhere did it state when the test would begin, only when it would end. Technically, it began the moment we set foot inside the village. It was simply that nobody but me realized this fact.”

Anko paused, a grin sliding over her face as she anticipated Hirari's solution. “Yeah?”

“We were gathered the night before for a celebratory meal. It is tradition in Yugakure to celebrate your victories before they occur. Everyone was required to attend and partake, but the meal was prepared by civilian chefs. I saw an opportunity.” Hirari's goggles glinted in the light as she cast her gaze toward Anko.  “I disguised myself and poisoned the meal with a mild gastrointestinal agent. It was not lethal, but the symptoms lasted several days past the end of the test. I  had already built a resistance to the poison and as such, was combat capable when the second day arrived, just as required.”

Anko snorted which quickly became a chuckle. “I bet the proctors were thrilled about that.”

“I would not know. They also ingested the meal,” Hirari responded idly, drawing another snort from the woman. “I was awarded Chunin status upon my return to the village, alongside an entry in Yugakure's Bingo Book. It's rather sparse. They seem to believe I utilize poison as my primary weapon.”

Anko was laughing heartily now, the sound disturbing the natural call of the forest around them. She reached out and slapped Hirari on the back, causing her to sway with the impact. “You're a fucking riot, kid! I woulda paid good money to see a spectacle like that.”

“I don't believe you would have enjoyed it. The hot springs surrounding the village made the stench quite unbearable. My teammate had to sedate her ninkin so they would not flee. She was also quite angry with me though I am unsure why. I made sure she built up an immunity.”

“I couldn’t possibly wonder why.” Anko sighed wistfully. “You know, when they told me they were assigning me to the second exam alongside you, I figured it'd be pretty damn fun, but I'm starting to think this'll be the best exam in years.”

Movement at the burrow drew their attention. One by one, the beetles emerged from the darkness, their glossy shells now stained dark and sticky. They moved sluggishly, gorged and content, their mandibles working idly as they dispersed into the undergrowth, trailing blood behind them.

“So, you gonna explain what this was about?” Anko asked, nodding at the retreating insects.

“The tigers are an uncontrolled element.” Hirari dropped from her branch, landing softly beside her. “Forty-six of them currently reside in this area, and their hunting ranges are unpredictable. I cannot control them, so they must be removed.”

“So you're feeding them to your bugs?”

“It solves two problems simultaneously.” Hirari began walking, and Anko fell into step beside her. “The surviving tigers flee their burrows for farer grounds, and my colony is well-fed and therefore less ravenous when they encounter the examinees.”

Anko hummed. “Well that's no fun. Ravenous is one of my favorite words.”

“An underfed colony is an aggressive colony, and I would prefer to keep unnecessary deaths to a minimum.” Hirari glanced up at her. “The second exam is designed to test survival capability in an unknown environment whilst simultaneously keeping to one's mission objectives. My colony's role is to apply environmental pressure. Deaths are unavoidable, but success will be earned through merit rather than luck.”

They walked in silence for a stretch, the forest growing quieter as they moved deeper into the territory Hirari had carved out for her colony.

“So how many are you planning to fail out?”

“The number of passing teams is not my concern, their quality is.” Hirari explained. “Konoha is hosting these exams to display its strength to the other villages. It would be counterproductive to allow weak or unprepared Genin to advance to the finals. A good showing from both sides would be best.”

Anko hummed thoughtfully. “Y'know, most proctors would just say 'I wanna see who's got the guts.' I woulda just tossed them in here and had them fight it out. You're pretty damn canny for a brat.”

“I will choose to ignore the insult in favor of the compliment.”

“Good idea.”

They emerged into a small clearing near the forest's edge where the fencing loomed, topped by razor wire and covered in warning signs.

Anko grinned, stretching her arms above her head until her shoulders popped. “Alright, I've got a speech to rehearse so I'm out of here. You have fun with your bugs and don't stay in here all night, you little weirdo. You don't want to be half-asleep during your big day.”

“I will make sure I'm properly rested. Goodbye, Anko.”

Anko waved over her shoulder and sauntered off toward the gates, humming something off-key. Hirari watched her go, then turned back to the forest. She had much more work to do.

Like getting rid of that pack of chakra-devouring leeches. If they were to get ahold of any of the genin specimens, then there would be less chakra for her colony’s Kikaichu to feast on.