Blood of a Lost Girl (Book 1, Naruto)

Chapter 21

The whole team 7 – minus Kakashi-sensei of course- stood at the bridge by the time I got there. I didn't bother to quicken my pace even when Naruto yelled at me. "Why are you so late, Miyuki!?"

I sighed, tiredly. I had, thankfully, finally gotten a decent sleep, but it didn't last long as I had to get up early. I had to stay the night at the Hospital, what with the poison in my blood and all. The doctor told me that I had one of the worst broken bones in the history. My carpal and metacarpal bones (the bones in my fingers) had been broken – more like shattered- in such a way that there had been splinters of bone loose. Luckily he had been able to repair it a bit, but he had to operate in my poor hand. Thankfully I didn't feel that phantom pain I hear so often about, my hand also wasn't in pain anymore. I'd been surprised when Kakashi-sensei had summoned me too. I'd thought I'd be with my new team most of the time from now on, not that I mined of course. I enjoyed being with Team 7. "Why are you so early?" I threw back at him. "You guys should know by now that Kakashi-sensei will be late." I laughed sheepishly, putting my hand on the back of my head. "Also I couldn't leave the hospital until they discharged me..."

"Loser." Sasuke grunted. "What'd you do now?"

I scowled. He made it sound like I hurt myself frequently. "I didn't do anything!" I said defensively. Of course, none of them believed that. "I'm serious! I didn't do anything. Someone broke my hand..." I trailed off, avoiding their eyes. I wasn't going to tell them that it was Gaara who did it.

"Who did it?" Of course I refused to tell them. They kept bothering me with the same question over and over. I'll give them credit, they were a persistent bunch, but there was no way they could ever hope to beat me. I'm not stubborn as an ox, I'm worse – which is really saying something.

We waited another half hour before Sakura finally burst. "Why, why, why!? It's always the same! He sets the time then we have to wait HOURS for him!"

Naruto put his fist in the air. "It's not fair." He agreed. They kept complaining while I just leaned against the bridge's railing, enjoying the breeze that flitted through my raven hair.

I pushed myself up from my lounging position and folded my arms, cutting Sakura off mid-sentence. "You can stop complaining now. Your wait is over." I turned to the arch where Kakashi-sensei was crouching.

"Hey, good morning everyone. Sorry I'm late, I'm afraid I-"

I waved my hand at him and winced. Some movements still hurt me. "You got lost on the path of life. Again." I crossed my arms and pouted. "Sensei, you keep using the same excuses." I whined.

Kakashi chuckled and jumped down. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunin Exams. All 3 of you."

I frowned. Three? "All 3 of us? But... We're four..."

He sent me a close-eyed smile. "You too Miyuki, in fact, you got two recommendations. Ken'ichi Suoh also recommended you."

I grinned. "That means I get to take the Chunin Exams? Yes!"

He held out 4 forms. "These are the application forms."

"Application forms?" Sakura asked with a bewildered expression.

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntary; it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready you can wait till next year. Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application forms." He told us when to come to the Academy and which room it would be in. It was five days from now, so I would need to begin training straight away. There was just no way I'd let this opportunity go. I was going to take the exams.