Second Time's The Charm

Chapter 19

After the laughter died down, Lee and his two teammates, who they learned were Hyuuga Neji and Tenten, took off to find their own scroll.

At the mention of scrolls, Kanoko pulled out the Heaven Scroll and tossed it to Shikamaru. He looked at, then reached into his own bag and tossed Kanoko an Earth Scroll.

Kanoko almost laughed at the coincidence.

"Sakura, where did you learn to do that?" Kanoko heard Ino ask Sakura, as she was healing a few of Sasuke's wounds with the Mystical Palm Technique.

Sakura moved her shoulder to gesture at Kanoko, since her hands were preoccupied. Kanoko just shrugged at Ino's stare. Ino then turned to Shikamaru and glared at him.

Shikamaru's eye twitched, "What, troublesome woman?"

Ino's eyes narrowed further, "You're holding out on Choji and I! Your sister can use wind, water, and yin jutsus, advance sealing techniques, and can also heal?! There has to be more you can do than the Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

Kanoko opened her mouth to say that she never actually took the time and effort to learn healing jutsus; she just knew the basic principle and shared it with Sakura. From there, Sakura just ran with it. Sakura really learned it all by herself with minimal assistance from Kanoko, but Kanoko didn't get the chance to say anything before her brother spoke.

Shikamaru scoffed and crossed his arms, "Maybe my sister's just amazing. We can't all be prodigies."

Ino's glare turned into a giggle, "Oh I see."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "What do you mean by that...?" Kanoko looked over, curious as well.

Ino just covered her mouth with her hand and giggled again, "You're sister's something special, isn't she?"

"Of course she is." Shikamaru said firmly – no room for question.

Kanoko turned away, knowing where this is going. Instead, she placed her hand on the ground, searching the area for chakra signatures.

Northwest.

Kanoko turned to Hinata, "Hinata, I believe there is a team northwest. Can you confirm?" Kanoko didn't really need her to confirm, she just wanted the others to listen and shift gears to the more pressing concerns: Like getting out of here.

Hinata answered, "Hai." She activated her Byakugan and affirmed the presence of a team.

With that Sasuke got up, "Then let's head out."

They all filed out after that.

Not before a, "Who put you in charge, Teme?!" from Naruto.

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Standing where the rookie nine were previously stopped was a ninja of the Leaf Village. Taller than most genin at the exams, he had light gray/silver hair in a short ponytail.

He adjusted his glasses before speaking lowly, "Orochimaru is not going to be pleased..."

00000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko opened her eyes slowly before letting out a low yawn. She rolled out of bed and walked towards the window in her room. She placed her hand at the top of the windowsill, leaning against it. She took a look outside, watching the villagers walk down the streets.

She stretched her arms before starting to get dressed. While she was getting ready for the day, she thought about the second phase of the exams.

After gathering the last scroll, the rookie nine made their way to the tower – not before running into a few of Suna's famous beasts. They made it there, though, just in time.