Hurricane [Gaara]

Chapter 21

As the Second Exam came to a close, the Proctor approached the ANBU Ninjas who had been stationed in the forest, gathering the stolen scrolls, and asking for reports on those they fought. They were each shown images of the candidates, commenting on each one if they had engaged, or never spotted.

When the man came to the hospital room that held Zumo, Uma, and Aito he chuckled at the fact that they were confined to the beds. "Looks like you three had a rough time in there."

"Shut it, Taio," Zumo grumbled.

"How many Chuunin did you take out?"

"Five," Uma answered.

"One got away," Aito added.

"Do they have a name?" the Proctor asked.

"Never told us, but it was a girl from the Land of Wind based on pictures we've seen and the headband. We know that group is outstanding from their record in the Chuunin Exam."

"Lexi." The woman standing beside him looked through the many files in hand, pulling out two and handing it to Taio. He held up the enclosed pictures. The three ignored the picture of the blonde, honing in on the one sporting black hair and a blank expression.

"That one," Zumo stated.

Lexi handed over the full file to Taio, the man looking over it. "Primary Elemental Chakras Wind and Lightning," the man read over. "She passed the First Exam with flying colors."

"We know, and better add more to the report from what we've got to say," Aito said.

"Yes, that little stunt in the forest was surprising. We saw it all on camera. Four jutsus. She's been holding out on us, but so was that boy from the Land of Wind, Gaara of the Desert."

"It was inhuman, her strength and ability," Zumo relayed. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Taio barked a laugh, shaking his head. "That's because you damn idiots went up against a Soldier!"

"A what?" Uma questioned.

"You're kidding me, right?" Aito asked in shock. "She's the last one of that Household? They were wiped out in the Land of Lightning."

"One managed to survive because they were in the Land of Wind when the assault happened. The Raikage kept her existence a secret up until they pushed the Land of Snow out and ended the war. To be sure they didn't hunt her down. I thought her hint about having to tame the demon Shukaku was enough for you to understand. Gaara is the one who harbors Shukaku, and from her files in the Chuunin Exam prior to this one she put up quite a fight against him. It's no wonder you're in the hospital. You three didn't stand a chance. Even if you did cut her cheek. You're lucky this is all she did to you. Azmaria Harvenheit, she's a force to be reckoned with."

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"You took your time getting in," Azmaria commented upon seeing Kankuro and Sanchi walk into her hospital room.

"Shut up," her teammate grumbled. "Damn animals in there wouldn't give it a rest."

"And thanks to your storm we had to take cover for a while," the puppet master commented.

She snickered. "Sorry about that, but my pursuers wouldn't give up either."

"Who were they?"

"Three ANBU Ninja. For some reason they decided I was worth their time and decided to hunt me down."

Everyone from the Land of Wind shared the room as nurses checked over their conditions for any wounds. Only Azmaria had been ordered to stay due to exhaustion and overuse of chakra, while the others were ordered to rest until the next exam. As the room emptied when the ninjas went to find places to sleep it left the Soldier alone with her Master. He refused to leave her bedside. "I was careless using so much chakra like that," she finally commented.

"You got them to stop, didn't you?" he asked, leaning back in the chair.

"Well, yes, but I went a little over board and showed them all four of my Elemental Chakras..."

"I heard from Baki."

"I should've been more careful."

"I showed three."

The girl looked over at him, cocking a brow. Their eyes didn't meet for his were closed, but she knew sleep was a distant thought in his mind. "You resorted to something more than sand?"

"The rain slowed it down too much. Water and Earth came in handy."

"No Lightning?"

"I didn't want to play with my life based on how it was raging overhead under your control."

Azmaria smirked. "You'll be promoted for sure with that kind of observational skill."

"Don't sell yourself short, Azmaria."

"They probably see me as something deadly and won't promote me for that reason..." she grumbled more to herself. "Someone too reckless."

"Good. I'm glad they think you're deadly. It tells them not to come to Suna looking for a fight."

That earned him a small laugh from the Soldier before the girl began to nod off.