I'll Show You Insanity

Chapter 43

"Hey guys!" Yuma cheered, tackling the entirety of her team to the ground and interrupting Anko's explanation of this portion of the exam. "Try not to die today, m'kay?" She giggled.

"Oi, brat," Anko called out in annoyance. "You're being disruptive!"

Yuma turned to grin at the woman. "Sorry," she giggled, sticking out her tongue.

In order to spook the child, Anko threw a kunai near the girl's face, to frighten her as it had the young blonde. She wasn't expecting the girl to turn her head and catch the blade of the knife with her teeth, eyes glinting maliciously.

It was then that realization hit Anko, and she ignored the stunned examinees staring at the charcoal haired youth in awe. The bluish haired woman grinned as the small girl disappeared, leaving her teammates in a daze, and the woman soon felt the sharp point digging into the back of her neck.

"With just a slight pressure," a creepily soft voice said in her ear, "this kunai slides through the vertebrae, cutting the jugular just as quickly. You'd remain alive for a time, but it'd be an agonizing death."

Proctors and genin alike were frozen, unsure of what to do in this situation, and thoroughly confused as an entertained smile spread across the endangered woman's lips.

Suddenly, the girl behind her giggled, and Anko burst into laughter.

"You little brat!" She snickered, reaching back and taking her weapon from the youngster, who gave it over without a fuss as the woman turned her upper body and roughly ruffled the child's hair. "God, you're growing like a weed, squirt."

"I am?" Yuma laughed, hugging the woman tightly around her middle.

"Well, to be fair, the last time I saw you was when you were admitted," Anko chuckled, looking back on the day her squad had been forced to put the young girl away at the AFEDP. "You nearly killed my team that day."

"Whoops?" Yuma giggled. "I'm a better kid now, don't worry!"

"Bah," the older woman waved away the younger girl's assurance. "I imagine if you were going to kill me, I'd be dead."

Yuma giggled again, releasing the woman. "I just wanted to wish my friends luck. Once I'm done I'll leave, 'promise."

Anko grinned. "Yeah."

Yuma turned her rusty gaze to the crowd staring at her, and found the friends she hadn't yet tackled. She was gone in a flash, and Shikamaru and Choji prepared themselves for the impact. 

In a matter of seconds, a blur of grey had them on the ground, a slim arm wound around each of their necks. "Stay safe," Yuma muttered, voice softening.

The boys beneath her chuckled, and Choji reached up to pat her head affectionately.

"Don't worry, Yuma," he said, smiling down at her. "We won't do anything stupid."

She nodded, and released her hold on him, but before she could rolled off of Shikamaru, he sat up, and wrapped both his arms around her small frame, setting his chin on her head.

"We'll be back before you know it," he muttered softly, almost too quiet for her to hear as she sighed contently, resting her head against his chest.

"You better," she sighed. "And don't get yourself too hurt..."

He smiled a bit to himself, running a hand through her hair as she looked up at him with narrowed eyes to show her seriousness.

He chuckled, standing them both up and placing a hand on the back of her head, placing his lips on her forehead. "Don't worry."

She huffed, but nodded, and turned to Ino. "Don't let them be stupid."

The blonde laughed lightly. "You bet."

Yuma grinned, holding out her fist, and the girl before her bumped it with her own- the two were on much better terms since the shorter's funeral.

Yuma turned to wave at the other team from her class, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba before disappearing, leaving them all in silence before Anko started up her explanation where they'd left off.

~~~

Yuma stood at the Hokage's side during the preliminaries, and once again her presence gained the attention of many of the participants, as well as viewers.  Her eyes skimmed over the group and was relieved to see many that she cared for came out of the forest without major injuries. Her only concerns were Sasuke, who was clutching the side of his neck with a somewhat pained expression , and Naruto, whose chakra was thrown off for some strange reason. Her gazed locked momentarily on Sakura, trying to gauge the seriousness of the situation by studying the concern level of her pink haired team mate- the situation was obviously not good.

She looked for Kakashi, and made eye contact. He nodded, and she relaxed, knowing that he had a plan of sorts, before continuing her search.

The red haired boy from the sand was unharmed, as well as his siblings. Yuma was happy about this, and made a mental note to  try and befriend the red head after preliminaries.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, and locked onto a spiky head of hair.

Shikamaru.

His gaze locked with hers, and he smiled. She was instantly at ease, and smiled back.

A large hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up at the Hokage, who smiled at her.

"Come along, Yuma, let's find our seats."

"Okay, Grampa!" She chirped, allowing him to lead her to their booth. "Grampa, why do I have security guards?"

The older man glanced at the grey haired girl, and smiled assuringly before looking forward once again. "Simply precaution, dear Yuma."

In truth, he was concerned. There were rumors among the shinobi of Orochimaru being back in the village. Even if they were only rumors, Sarutobi wanted to assure that Yuma was safe from the greedy rogue's clutches.

A small hand secured his, and he looked down at the young girl, who smiled brightly at him.

"Don't worry, Grampa!" She chirped. "I won't let anyone harm my home!"

He was stunned a moment, then smiled more sincerely at the sweet, albeit lethal, young girl.