Adventures of Shiori Senju (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 37: Beware of the Dark!

I hunched over to get my breathing in order and wiped the sweat from my brow. "That was a tough fight,  I'll need more training." The medical ninja came to do their thing and took Zen away on a stretcher.

Hayate smiles, "You did well. We'll need to clean the mess up from your fight before we start the next part."

I straightened myself but soon after I was falling from chakra depletion. A pair of arms swoop me up and I glanced up to see Kakashi.
He smiles, "Good job." He walks back to the balcony out of the area so everyone could do their business. As soon as we got to the group everyone was gathered around us.

Naruto cheers, "Shiori that was amazing!"

Kane rushes over and places his hand on my shoulder. He frowns, "You're not unstable anymore. Your opponent stabilized you before the fight. Interesting..."

Naruto blinks, "Did something happen to Shiori before the fight?"

I smiled, "I was a little weak from the forest of death but I'm better now. It's nothing to worry about."

"Okay, if you say so." Naruto looked concerned.

Sakura pushes Naruto, "Are you sure you're alright? That fight was scary rough." Kakashi steadies my feet on the floor so I could stand.

I nod, "See I can stand on my own"

She jump hugs me, "Try not to scare me like that again."

"I can't keep that kind of promise but I swear to be more careful."

Katsu bumps into Sakura and hugs me, "My woman no one touches her but me." My arms were pinned under his arms. Shikamaru and Choji both frowned at his declaration. Kakashi had to swallow another growl that vibrated deep within his throat.

Sakura cracks her knuckles while glaring at him, "You're dead." I sighed heavily, this is getting ugly fast. I glance at the arena where the cleaning was almost finished.

Kane pats Kakashi's shoulder with a smile, "Let's head down to the arena."

Hayate was directing how each of them such lineup then begins, "The third part of the exam will be explained by Lord Third Hokage."

Lord third steps forward, " The third exam will start a month from now. But first, each of you must be paired up. Draw a piece of paper from the box that Anko is holding.

Anko steps in front, "Stay put and I'll come to you." One by one each of us draws from the box until everyone had a slip of paper. Anko steps out of the way for Ibiki.

He holds his clipboard ready to write, "Good. Everyone has one now from left to right tell me the number that is written on your slip of paper."  The group one at a time tells Ibiki the number they drew. He jots down the information on the clipboard and then shows us a chart of pairings. Fifteen names are paired together to equal eight rounds in the finals. I was fighting against Natsume but the most concerning ones were Haruna versus Kai and Gaara versus Sasuke.

Lord Third proceeds, "These are one-on-one matches that show off your ninja skills to nobles and other villages. This will determine our military force and job requests as a village. It'll also get individuals jobs either inside or outside the village. We'll decide if all of you are worthy of becoming Chunin or not based on if you got the qualities of a Chunin. Any one of you could become a Chunin even if you lose the match based on your fight. You'll have a month to prepare for your match. Good luck! You're dismissed."

One by one leaves for the exit doing whatever they need to do. Naruto grins while punching the air, "I'm going to train extra hard this time."

Sakura's eyebrows draw together, "I'll go see Lee at the hospital."

I place my hand on her shoulder, "You should visit tomorrow so you can rest and recover your strength."

"That goes double for you," Kakashi glances at me. His eye narrows and continues, "I heard an interesting story from Guy earlier. He told me that you stopped Lee's primary lotus before he could use it on Sasuke. You certainly know how to make me worry."

I laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, that was before the written exam nothing too extreme."

He sighs, "What am I going to do with you?" Before I could say anything he continues, "That was a rhetorical question."

I huff while folding my arms, "Do you have to ruin my fun."

"Someone's got to rein you in." He chuckles and places his hand on my head. Kane was on the other side of me.

He asks, "What about Zen Uzumaki?"

I frown, "He's a mystery but I'm about to remedy that. I don't know why he would help me? Unless he has a motive behind his actions. During the fight, something strange happened. Did you see it?"

Kane nods, "A dōjutsu was used but what kind is unfamiliar to me."

"It had an unusual pattern. From what I can tell it was a mutation of some kind," Kakashi states.

I hummed, "I theorize that this mutation branches off from the Byakugan. The blood flow increased causing the veins to bulge. I'll have to find Zen and ask him myself."

Kakashi shakes his head, "No, what if he's dangerous."

"It's a good thing that you're coming along to protect me," I winked.

He rubs the back of his neck with a slight blush, "Yeah." I fold my hands behind my back with a smile on my face. We got out of the forest of death training ground toward the village streets. The group from there split off into different directions except for the one who lives with me. Kakashi was still here conversing with Kane and Kena about training techniques. Darkness lingered behind the group as we strolled down the main street. Kakashi and Kane moved closer to my side without it being so obvious.

I closed my eyes to focus on the chakra and a long burgundy-haired man flashes through my mind. He was an attractive man and his smile was threatening. His voice echoes, you'll soon be mine. My chakra scatters in a wave as I push him out of my head. I fell on one knee gasping for air. Kakashi kneels, "What just happened? Are you alright?"

Kane growls, "Damn that Hantei!"

Kena pats his shoulder, "We better get home fast."

"We'll have to lose the entourage first," Kakashi swoops me up while exposing his Sharingan eye. Before we even had a chance to scatter into groups the dark presence vanishes from our senses. Everyone still ran back to my house and had the house guarded in shifts. Kakashi stayed over that night in case he was needed. This won't be the last time Hantei would make his presence known.