When Waves Meet the Sand

Rubbing at her eyes in an attempt to erase the sleep from them more quickly, Kumiko yawned as she stumbled through the apartment to answer the door, dark blue tank top riding up her stomach and black pajama pants riding low on her hips.

Gaara had been rather unhappy about the interruption, but it was already morning and both needed to get ready for the next phase soon anyway.

Brushing her long, unbound hair over one shoulder, Kumiko opened the door, blinking up at the person standing on the other side.

“Oniisan?” She muttered, recognizing Asuma after a couple moments when her brain whirred to life.

“Ohayo, imouto.” The Jonin greeted, amused by his adopted sister’s bed-ruffled appearance. “I thought you might appreciate me taking the kids off your hands while you’re busy with the exam.”

Those bright blue eyes widened, surprised.

“Oh, you don’t have to-”

“I want to.” Asuma assured, ruffling her hair and stepping inside. “You have enough to worry about without those kids. I’m always happy to help my imouto when she’s in need.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kumiko challenged. “And what about bath day?”

“She bites.” Asuma whined, giving the most pathetic expression he could muster.

“Ki-chan’s a sweetheart.” She replied, smiling. “It’s your fault for pulling her tail.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Leading her Jonin brother to the children’s bedroom, Kumiko smiled at his defeated tone.

“Is your team ready for the next phase?”

“They should be, if they’re not being lazy.”

“That’s what you get for taking the easy way.” Kumiko scolded lightheartedly, opening the door.

The room was dark, curtains drawn against the faint dawn light, and the four bodies were sprawled on the large queen-sized bed.

While the children had permanent rooms at the Hokage Mansion, since there was plenty of space there, none had wanted to leave the night before and had insisted on a sleepover.

Stepping inside, Kumiko pushed aside the curtains and let the sun rouse her charges from a sound sleep.

Tomoko’s snores dissolved with a snort as she woke up, rubbing messily at her eyes, while Rei choked on his drool in surprise, shooting up and falling off the bed in the process.

Benjiro groaned at all of the noise and light, levering himself up with a yawn.

With a few slurred words about it being too early, Yei stretched leisurely, blinking hazel eyes clear of dreams.

“Time to get up, little ones.” Kumiko urged softly, lifting Tomoko up and setting her on the floor with a smile. “Uncle Asuma is going to take care of you while I take the next test, so you need to hurry up and get dressed.”

“What about breakfast?” Yei wondered, yawning as she was also lifted from the mattress and placed on her feet, soon followed by her blonde brother.

“I’m sure Asuma-ojisan would love to get all of you breakfast.” Kumiko assured, holding back laughter at the panicked look the man sent her way. “So let’s not waste any time, okay?”

Excited by the prospect of getting to choose where to eat, Tomoko and Rei jumped to find clothes, followed by their more sedate, but no less excited, siblings.

Herding Asuma out of the room, the Waterbender knocked on the next door, signaling to Megumi and Kana that it was time to get ready.

For now, she was glad that Gaara had insisted on staying in her room.

Though she loved Asuma like a blood-brother, he was very overprotective of Kumiko when it came to boys, even though she had never shown any interest before.

It would not be for quite a few years that Kumiko realized Asuma’s protectiveness was because boys had taken interest in her.

As the white-haired kunoichi thought of what to make for a quick breakfast, and what to put in the bento, the children burst into the front room and almost tackled Asuma in their excitement.

Giggling as the Jonin struggled to remain standing, Kumiko lifted all four into a bear hug.

“Now, be nice to Asuma-ojisan!” She scolded playfully. “If you knock him over, he’ll break a hip and won’t be able to buy you breakfast!”

A slew of apologies came forth, with Tomoko clinging to the man’s leg begging for forgiveness and pancakes.

Laughing at their foolishness, Asuma took the flock of children and herded them towards the door with assurances of a large breakfast.

“Arigato, oniisan.” Kumiko told him, sincere.

Knowing how much she worried for them, Asuma smiled back, ruffling her loose hair.

“It’s no trouble, imouto. Just do your best in the exam.”

Her entire face lit up.

“Hai!”

Just as the door closed behind them, strong arms wrapped around the kunoichi’s waist from behind, a chin resting on her shoulder.

“You took too long.” Gaara chided, only half-interested in a reply as he nuzzled the soft skin of Kumiko’s neck.

“G-Gaara…”

Kumiko stumbled over his name, caught off-guard by his sudden appearance and the butterflies filling her torso.

“You can’t put off the public displays of affection for a more reasonable hour?” Megumi voiced from the kitchen, filling the tea kettle. “I’ve already been kicked in the face once because of it.”

Kumiko was about to ask what she meant when the darkening bruise on the Firebender’s cheek became visible.

“Kana was half-asleep and thought you were an assassin at first.” Megumi explained, rubbing the bruise with a frown. “Apparently, she thought kicking me was the only way to get me up.”

“Jeez, said I was sorry…” Kana grumbled, shuffling into the room with a yawn that would make an Armadillo Lion proud. “Next time, gimme a little warning, red. Almost got my face burned off fer my trouble.”

Jade eyes widened in surprise, locking with unseeing green.

“What?”

The Earthbender paused in grabbing an apple, one brow rising in question.

“Whatta ya mean ‘what’? Hothead’s cranky when I wake ‘er up ‘fore sunrise, so just let me know it’s ya.”

“Not that.” He retorted, brow furrowing. “Why did you call me ‘red’?”

“Oh, that?”

The Earthbender shrugged, cleaning off an apple on her sleeping shirt.

“I ‘ave nicknames fer all my friends.”

For once, Shukaku had nothing to say.

They thought of him as a friend?

Dazed by the nonchalant admission, Gaara nodded, warmth filling his entire body at the dazzling smile on Kumiko’s face…

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The forest towered over them like a lumbering giant, barely contained by the tall wire fencing at the perimeter, and seemed to give off it’s own chill.

Kumiko shivered, recognizing the feeling.

‘It’s the chill of death.’

Her teammates seemed unaffected, but they said nothing while waiting for everyone to arrive, not even bantering amongst themselves the entire time.

That alone was enough to make Kumiko nervous.

Though she was skilled in ninja arts, like Taijutsu and weapons’ accuracy, the Waterbender had much less practical application than her teammates.

Most of the conflicts Kumiko had been a part of were spars, but her early training in Waterbending, then Taijutsu, had made them quick.

But here…

Here, there would be death.

“This place is where the second phase will take place.” Anko informed the group of Genin, smirking. “The forty-fourth training area…also known as the Forest of Death.”

An ominous wind blew, and Megumi sighed, eyes wandering clinically over the other competitors.

“A survival test.” She deduced, uninterested. “Most likely involving a primary objective using both information-gathering and tactics against other squads. There will be some fighting here.”

Kana grinned hugely, looking as pleased as the Unagi that had caught the Elephant Koi.

“‘Bout time, if ya ask me.”

Anko smirked, seeing the unease spread across the faces of the younger Genin.

“You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death.”

Seeing Naruto’s irritated expression, Kumiko felt her stomach drop into her intestines.

‘Oh, don’t you dare…’

“You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death.” The blonde mocked. “There’s no point in trying to scare us like that! I’m not scared at all!”

A sharp edge appeared in Anko’s smirk.

“Really? You sure are energetic.”

Quick as lightning, a kunai was in the woman’s hand, glinting in the sunlight-

Then Kumiko was there, deflecting the sharp projectile and catching it on a harmless descent.

“I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to threaten the competitors, Anko-san.” She chided.

For a moment, there was silence, and Gaara’s sand began to react violently to the implied threat.

Then a real smile crossed Anko’s face, lopsided and mischievous, as she pat the now-annoyed kunoichi Genin on the head.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Mimi-chan. I was only playing.”

Pouting at being treated like a child, Kumiko grumbled.

“I hope Ki-chan does her business on your lawn again.”

The Tokubetsu Jonin visibly paled, and laughed nervously as said Polar Bear Dog stood up at attention, Tomo lounging on her head.

“Oh, you wouldn’t wish that on your favorite obasan, would you?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed, a promise, and Anko removed her hand slowly, chuckling softly in defeat.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop.”

Brightening, Kumiko handed the woman her kunai.

“Arigato, Anko-san.”

Hiding a smile, Anko turned, waving the words away.

“Yeah, yeah…”

Sliding the kunai back into place, the Tokubetsu Jonin faced the crowd with a sharp smile.

A shiver ran down the foreign nin’s spines.

Though Kumiko had defended Naruto from the woman‘s wrath, it was likely that, if Anko tried with one of them, she would not do the same thing again.

“This is going to be interesting.” Anko mused, glad to still have so much fear at her disposal. “Before we begin to second phase, I’m going to pass these out to everyone.”

A pack of papers was retrieved from her jacket, and Kumiko read the words ‘Consent Form’ emblazoned on the top.

“Those taking this exam must sign these. From here on, people will die. Therefore, we need people’s consent before we continue.”

The woman giggled.

“Otherwise, I’d be held responsible.”

Kumiko stifled a giggle at Kana’s incredulous expression, scratching behind Fubuki‘s ears.

“Damn, I think they’re really tryin’ ta kill us!”

“More like putting us in the prime position to be killed.” Megumi informed neutrally.

“What, are ya coverin’ ‘eir asses now? If they wanna kill us, they might as well say it!”

“They are sending us into a place called the Forest of Death.” The Firebender reminded, brow raised. “Did you need them to say it?”

“Woulda been nice…” The brunette grumbled, arms crossed petulantly.

“Now, I will begin the explanation of the second phase.” Anko stated, grabbing everyone’s attention. “To be concise, you will all go through an extreme survival match.”

The consent forms were being passed around as the woman continued, opening a scroll that featured a map.

“First, I’ll explain the training area’s geographical features. The forty-fourth training area is a circular region surrounded by forty-four locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately ten kilometers away from the gates.”

Studying the placement of everything closely, Megumi was already formulating a plan, mind whirring through the possibilities.

“Inside this limited space, you will have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of a competition where anything goes…” Anko explained, pausing to pull two stouter scrolls from her jacket. “Over these scrolls.”

Kumiko read the seals holding them closed, and found that the white one read ‘Heaven’ and the dark one ‘Earth’.

“The Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth. You will fight over these scrolls.” Anko clarified. “Thirty teams in total passed the first phase. Half of those teams will get the Scroll of Heaven. The other half will get the Scroll of Earth. Bring the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates to pass.”

“In other words, the fifteen teams, or half the people here, that get their scrolls taken will fail.” Sakura deduced.

“Unless someone decides to get rid of the competition.” Megumi voiced ominously.

“But it needs to be done within the time limit.” The proctor stated, retrieving any lost attention. “This second phase has a limit of one hundred and twenty hours, or exactly five days.”

“Five days?!”

“What about food?!”

Squad Ten erupted in disbelief, and Kana snickered at their panic.

“Scrounge it up yourself.” The woman replied off-handedly. “The forest is a treasure box of nature. There should be plenty of food.”

“Though there are a lot of man-eating beasts, poison bugs, and poisonous plants.” Kabuto voiced.

“Also, it is not possible for fifteen teams, or forty-five people, to pass.” Neji deduced.

“As time passes, you will be required to move more. So, the time to rest your body will become shorter.” Lee agreed, smiling. “This seems quite rough.”

“And we’re surrounded by enemies.” Sasuke noted. “We won’t be able to sleep in peace.”

Anko looked over the groups, hands on her hips.

“People will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll, and those who can not bear this program’s strictness will emerge, as well.”

“Excuse me, can we quit in the middle?” Shikamaru wondered, hand raised lazily.

He almost flinched at the glare Megumi sent his way for thinking that way.

‘Troublesome woman…’

“As a rule, you are not allowed to give up during the exam.” Anko replied, smiling. “You will spend the five days in the forest.”

“Just as I thought…” He mumbled. “How troublesome.”

“While we’re on this topic, here are the conditions that will fail you.” Anko voiced. “First, a team that can not bring both scrolls to the tower with all three teammates will fail. Second, the team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note, you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower.”

“What happens if you look?” Naruto wondered, truly curious.

“That’s a surprise you’ll see when you look at it.” Anko replied mischievously. “If you become a Chunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It’s to determine your reliability.”

The Jonin straightened, serious once more.

“That is it for the explanation. We will exchange three consent forms for one scroll at that hut, and after picking your gate entrance, everyone will begin at the same time.”

Looking down at the paper in her hands, Kumiko let out a heavy breath, growing concerned.

“Here’s a last piece of advice…”

Anko looked each of them in the eye.

“Don’t die.”

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Having read through the form, Megumi signed at the bottom with the swift, concise script that had been hammered into her since she could hold a pen.

Kumiko hesitated before following suit, but Kana wasted no time in messily applying her name to the paper, ready to go.

The three shared a glance, remembering the plan.

Sensing a dark intent, Fubuki rolled back onto her feet, turning to the approaching nin with bared fangs and raised hackles.

Reacting to her Animal Guide’s sudden shift in mood, Kumiko faced the unknown shinobi, eyes narrowed in distrust.

If the chill of the forest had been unsettling, the one coming from that boy was almost panic-inducing, like the smell of death clung to him.

Kumiko had never been so afraid of someone before.

Instinctively, Kana and Meg step between this possible threat and their Avatar, the Firebender already gripping the hilt of her Dao Swords.

A dark light filled his eyes, as if glad for the challenge, and Kumiko’s anxiety spiked as Tomo hissed, arching against her neck.

Then Gaara was there, sand swirling violently in his gourd and eyes narrowed in a glare, promising pain and death if another step was taken.

The Grass nin looked between the angry Jinchuriki and the defensive kunoichi with a clinical coldness that left Kumiko feeling horribly exposed.

After a few moments, the Kusagakure ninja smirked, slowly backing off.

“So defensive…I only wanted to ask the lady a question.”

Those black eyes locked on her, filled with malicious glee.

“How do you plan on protecting them in the forest, little girl?”

The words struck a raw nerve, and Kumiko felt the pain spread throughout her entire body like a wave of acid.

Inside the Forest of Death, it would be every squad for themselves.

How could she protect them in there?

For a moment, she gave in to the seemingly indisputable thought that she couldn’t protect them, that they were likely to die in there and there was nothing she could do to stop it…

‘No.’

Oasis blue darkened to an icy midnight.

‘Never again.’

The strange boy was stunned by the steely determination in her face, an immovable object and an unstoppable force all in one.

“Just try and stop me.”

For just a moment, it was clear that the Kusagakure nin did not want to.

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Megumi was seriously questioning the sanity of some foreign competitors, staring up at the gate her team would enter through.

It was quite obvious that Kumiko’s Water Tribe upbringing, and tragedy, made her more than formidable in battle when properly riled.

So why would anyone do such a thing on purpose?

Were they testing her skills?

Her limit?

The Firebender scoffed.

‘Most likely trying to prove their strength, and underestimating the enemy.’

She planned to do no such thing.

That was why their Scroll of Heaven was safely in Kana’s keeping; of the three, she seemed like the smaller threat in comparison to Megumi, who was the oldest and deemed more experienced, and Kumiko, who had displayed her ferocity and skill before the first phase.

Just the thought of someone trying to intimidate the violent little Earthbender was enough to make a smirk cross Megumi’s face.

This might be fun.

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Bored with waiting for the test to start, Kana stretched her Seismic Sense, encompassing the entire training area in her ‘sight’.

It stretched twenty kilometers in all directions, with a large tower in the middle that barely beat out the trees in height.

Teams stood at most of the gates; some fidgeting, others staying still, but all of their hearts were racing.

Kana found their nervousness rather perplexing, actually.

Sure, this survival test promised to be a good challenge, but if they really felt ready for it, why were they so worried?

Personally, Kana was looking forward to it.

It had been ages since she was allowed to crush someone.

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The moment their gate opened, the three kunoichi went in, adopting a travel formation without speaking.

Kumiko took the lead with Fubuki and Tomo, to look out for danger, while Kana kept back to defend from a rear attack and Megumi ran between them, to back up either of her teammates if needed.

The trio traveled like this for a solid hour or two until a dark presence brushed against the edge of Kumiko’s awareness.

Stopping on a branch, trying to pinpoint that nagging sense of wrongness, the Waterbender froze at the distinct feeling that something horrible had just happened.

“Tomo, I need you to stay with Meg and Kana.”

The tabby meowed pitifully, not wanting to, and Kumiko nuzzled the furry red face with a hum as Megumi and Kana caught up.

“Please? For me?”

After a moment, the cat purred softly in acquiescence, jumping from his owner’s shoulder to Megumi’s.

“I need to go.” Kumiko told them, swinging onto Fubuki’s back with practiced ease. “Keep going without me. We’ll meet up later.”

Megumi sighed, nodding.

“Of course.”

Grateful, the young Avatar-in-training gave both of them a bright smile before her steed took off, heading towards danger.

Kana frowned, hands curling into fists.

“Ya think she’ll be a’right?”

Eyeing her teammate coolly, the Firebender reached up to soothe Tomo’s anxiety.

“I hope so.”

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A growl rumbled up from Fubuki’s chest, growing with each bound, signaling their approach to whatever danger Kumiko had sensed.

Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, the white-haired kunoichi urged her Animal Guide forward.

A scream echoed through the trees.

“SASUKE-KUN!”

Bursting onto the scene, with the Kusagakure nin moments from biting into Sasuke‘s neck, Kumiko leapt into the fray without a second thought.

Water slammed into the long neck like shuriken, distracting the shinobi from his goal long enough for Kumiko to reach him.

Encasing her fist in ice, the Waterbender picked up speed and punched the Kusagakure ninja across the face.

As the frozen water shattered at the impact, his neck retracted swiftly as if to protect the vulnerable windpipe and veins from further assault.

Landing on a thick branch, Kumiko stood, unaware of the faint glow coming from her tattoos.

“Oh, it’s you, little girl…”

The snake-man stood, licking his lips with an abnormally stretched tongue.

“I suppose I should have been expecting you. You have such an entertaining sense of loyalty.”

Power bubbled, hot inside her bones, and it took everything Kumiko had to keep from bursting at the sadistic gleam in that strange gold eye.

“Leave-them-alone.”

Looking over the small, harmless-looking kunoichi, he said the one word he should not have.

“Never.”

Kumiko’s control splintered like thin ice, and the air whipped itself into a frenzy as her eyes were overcome by white light.

At that moment, Orochimaru realized he had miscalculated.

This foreign energy washed over Kumiko’s consciousness like a tsunami hitting the shore, dimming her awareness of what was happening outside her body.

All she knew was the raging wind and the evil snake that threatened everything she loved.

Blades of air rushed out of the sphere being made around her, striking the snake-man like physical blows and sending him flying back from the force.

The assault suddenly ceased, and the disguised Oto nin looked up to see the kunoichi, eyes still blindingly white and tattoos bright, building up a massive sphere of air.

She said one word in a thousand voices, fierce and calm.

“Die.”

With that, the white-haired Avatar unleashed a hurricane, which picked the snake-man up like a rag-doll and threw him deep into the forest.

Sasuke and Sakura could only watch the entire thing in wonder, dumbfounded.

What had just happened?

The glow faded, and Kumiko fell to her knees, dazed by the sudden thrust back into the control seat.

“Chiyo-sama!” Sakura shouted in worry.

“I’m fine…” Kumiko assured, forcing herself to stand despite the lightness of her head.

Looking the two over for injuries, her mouth twisted into a frown at the stab wound in Sasuke’s thigh, blood still seeping out.

Blood, blood everywhere, screams and fire and-

Forcefully shoving the nightmare images from her mind, Kumiko jumped to the branch they sat on, pulling water to her hand and pressing the glowing liquid to his wound.

His cells reacted, and multiplied rapidly under her chi’s urging, knitting the skin and muscle together quickly.

With that done, the Waterbender stood, turning as Fubuki arrived with an unconscious Naruto held carefully in her jaws.

“Come on.” Kumiko ordered, taking the blonde nin into her arms. “We need to find a safe place for you to rest. It’s going to be dark soon.”

Sasuke hesitated, the thought that she might betray them now crossing his mind, but Sakura had no such reservations.

This was the Sandaime’s daughter, the little girl with sad blue eyes, and even contemplating a betrayal felt like one in return.

Climbing onto the Polar Bear Dog’s back, the pink-haired kunoichi accepted her unconscious teammate as Kumiko turned to Sasuke, eyebrow raised in question.

“We don’t have a scroll anymore.” The Uchiha informed her. “You won’t get anything out of this.”

“Sasuke-kun!”

For the second time he could remember, Sakura was both disappointed and angry with him.

Kumiko looked truly confused, and Sasuke began to see the foolishness of his suspicions.

The thought had not even crossed her mind.

“I wasn’t expecting to get anything…” The Waterbender replied. “Why would I have?”

Shutting his mouth with an audible ‘click’, the Uchiha climbed onto Fubuki’s back without another word, ignoring Kumiko’s curious gaze.

Deciding that it was not important at the moment, she signaled for the Polar Bear Dog to follow and took off into the trees.

Sakura had never known anything could cover ground so quickly, and the massive canine did so as if this were the most effortless thing in the world, jumping from branch to branch and scaling gargantuan roots with ease.

Running a few feet ahead, Kumiko ducked and weaved through the foliage, gaze sweeping over the area in search of a safe place to camp.

A small clearing caught her eye, where nature had dug a little cavern amid a tree’s roots.

Stopping on a tree branch, hidden from sight but still able to observe this possible campsite, Kumiko waited for her Animal Guide to catch up.

Landing with barely a sound, Fubuki crouched down low to stay hidden, waiting for orders.

With a jerk of her head towards the clearing, the Waterbender rocked back on her heels as the Polar Bear Dog raised her head to scent the air.

After a few moments, the canine’s tail wagged, a sign that everything was as it should be.

Smiling, Kumiko dropped to the ground, strolling fearlessly across the open space.

Sasuke and Sakura were not quite as confident when Fubuki followed, probing the trees with their eyes as if expecting an attack.

“Don’t worry.” Kumiko assured, smiling. “There aren’t any teams for at least two kilometers around. Ki-chan would have said if there were.”

“You’re sure?” Sakura wondered, nervous.

“Of course I am.” The smaller girl replied, leading her Animal Guide down amid the overarching roots. “Right, Ki-chan?”

The Polar Bear Dog woofed, tail wagging more energetically, as Team Seven dismounted.

Scratching affectionately behind the canine’s ear, Kumiko turned to help lay Naruto on the soft dirt.

Finding no visible wounds, her worry grew.

What had happened?

Unzipping the blonde’s jacket and folding it into a pillow, she coated her palm in water and ghosted along his chakra paths in search of damage.

Sakura watched in amazement as her hands moved, remembering how quickly that same glowing liquid had healed Sasuke’s injury.

She hoped it worked for Naruto, too.

Head, shoulders, arms, chest-

The moment her chi dipped into the well of chakra in Naruto’s stomach, dark chakra rushed up and forcefully shoved her out.

Hissing at the suddenness of it, feeling her chi pulse as if burned, Kumiko pulled away sharply.

Fubuki whined in concern, ears back and tail tucked low, as Sakura and Sasuke jerked forward in surprise.

“Chiyo-sama!”

“What happened?”

Massaging the burning tingle from her palms, Kumiko frowned while studying Naruto‘s stomach.

“Well, that’s never happened before…” She muttered.

Replacing the water in one of her pouches, the white-haired kunoichi raised her head with a sigh.

“Did he do some sort of jutsu on Naruto?”

“Well…” Sakura started, unsure. “It looked like Orochimaru pulled some dark chakra to his hand and hit Naruto in the stomach…”

Mind racing with the possibilities, being inexperienced with high-level jutsu like this, Kumiko straightened up.

“There’s nothing I can do if I’m being pushed out. We’ll just have to wait.”

“There’s no time to wait.” The Uchiha argued. “We need to keep moving and get two scrolls.”

“If you go on without Naruto, you’ll fail anyway.” Kumiko countered. “Take the time to rest while you can.”

Sasuke clenched his jaw, unable to argue and growing increasingly unwilling to do so.

The fight against Orochimaru had severely depleted his chakra, and he was likely to knock out anytime now.

Expression softening in understanding, Kumiko stood, motioning for Fubuki to head out first.

“I’ll keep watch. You should get some sleep.”

The boy did not argue with her, and was soon fast asleep the way only a trained ninja could manage.

This left the two kunoichi and the Polar Bear Dog on watch, and Kumiko was looking out into the forest with a contemplative frown.

“…Sakura-chan.”

Startled, the pink-haired Genin looked up, at attention.

“Hai, Chiyo-sama?”

The frown softened into something more like a smile as Kumiko turned back towards her comrade.

“There’s no need to be so formal. Kumiko-chan or Mimi-chan is fine.”

“But…” Sakura argued, unsure

“We’re the same age, Sakura-chan.” Kumiko reminded gently. “I haven’t earned that kind of respect.”

The taller kunoichi frowned, feeling that this called for a conversation in a less-deadly location about how wrong the petite kunoichi was, but said nothing.

When no argument seemed forthcoming, the Waterbender continued her original thought.

“I need to get my team. They must have run into a few teams by now, and may have an extra scroll for you guys to start off with.”

“Really?”

Honestly, Sakura could not fathom two kunoichi strong enough to get two scrolls by themselves, especially without Kumiko’s help.

Seeing the disbelief on her face, the young Avatar-in-training smiled.

“I wouldn’t underestimate Meg and Kana, if I was you.” She advised, stepping out onto open ground. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, but you’re in charge of them while I’m gone.”

Adrenaline hit the battered kunoichi’s bloodstream, and she shot up, grabbing onto Kumiko’s hand in a futile attempt to make her stay.

The thought of being alone, the only line of defense for an exhausted Sasuke and unconscious Naruto, was terrifying.

Sakura was not strong enough.

Reading the fear as if it was ingrained in the emerald of her eyes, Kumiko took firm hold of the taller kunoichi’s shoulders, gaze firm and a few shades darker than before.

“Sakura.”

Her stern voice cut through the girl’s growing panic, forcing her attention on Kumiko’s words.

“This is your team. Your team is your family, and you need to protect them, no matter what. Family means no one gets left behind, or…”

For a moment, Kumiko faltered, a sheen of tears coming forth before she pushed past it.

“Or forgotten. You can do this, because they need you right now. I really believe you can do this.”

Absorbing her words, Sakura nodded, straightening.

“O-Okay…”

With a reassuring smile, the white-haired Waterbender stepped back, putting a hand on Fubuki’s shoulder.

“I won’t be gone long. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Swinging onto the Polar Bear Dog’s broad back, Kumiko sent Team Seven one last glance before they disappeared into the trees.

Watching her go, Sakura soothed her worries with the girl’s words, and started preparing for whatever might come.

After all, Kumiko was counting on her.