Truth

they met kakashi's team halfway there, the fully armed anbu walked beside him and iruka couldnt help but chuckle gaining their attention.

"i either look like the most guarded man in konoha or a dead man walking"

he heard genma snort behind his mask as they continued down the road. coming through the tree's they came to the beginning of the sealed off forest. the great gates were open today and a single man stood in front. approaching iruka bowed polietly before giving his name.

"yep your the one, alright-err whats with the anbu?"

looking over his shoulder iruka smiled at the man.

"their friends, they have the hokages permission to oversea the exam but cannot interfere"

nodding his head he shuffled some papers around before making iruka sign some.

"alright last one, sign this and your all ready to go"

"you'd think this was a classified mission with the amount of paperwork"

the man smiled at him and asked how a chunin would know what a classified mission paperwork would look like. iruka replied without taking the man's tone to heart.

"i worked in the missions desk and the hokage office until i was moved over to the interrogations team"

the man seemed shocked to learn that a chunin had access to such things.

"so am i ready?"

the man collected himself and nodded.

"your examiners are already in the forest in random positions. they have no idea where you'll enter so you get some protection from that. however in ten minutes they will start to activly hunt you"

iruka nodded and took a step towards the entrance, when the guide held out the pack he was allowed to have. smiling he took the pack and shouldered it before turning around and saying to the anbu.

" see you guys in three days i guess"

the anbu nodded to him and iruka jogged into the forest. the anbu jumped into the nearest branches and started to follow him silently.

************

iruka had been in the forest for just over two hours now and hadnt come acrossed anyone, he'd managed to find a small outcropping of stones to use as a base camp and had promptly started making a wide variety of traps around his camp. finishing with the last of the traps, iruka took a break to go through the bag he had been given. he had all his weapons, his typical weapon pouches were full so he didnt need to worry about, he had no idea where kakashi and his team were, but he knew they were watching his every move. sighing he opened the bag and raised an eyebrow.  a scroll was tucked in the very top, pulling it out he examined it for a moment  before realizing it wasnt dangerous. figuring it held some sort of instructions for his exam he undid the seal and unrolled the paper.

    'umino iruka-you will be facing off against three shinobi during your exam. each examiner will test you in a variety of ways from your ability to use stealth and hand to hand combat. you will have three days to complete the following tasks.

* take one flag from each of your examiners

* reach each of the three checkpoints

* place your flags at each of the three checkpoints

*reach the finish line by midnight of the third day

further more you are not to engage the anbu who are being allowed to watch over the event, this includes ibiki's hand picked anbu as well as the councils anbu guard who will observing your exam.

iruka stopped reading long enough to think

'the council has anbu guard watching as well? i thought it was only going to be kakashi's team'

looking back at the scroll he read the last paragraph on the scroll.

    ' due to your specific circumstances,the council respectfully demands that you not use your kekkai genkai during the exam, if you are found to do so, you will fail the exam. the rest of the items in the bag given to you are limited. the council has agreed that your skill set already gives you an unfair advantage towards the examiners who are anticipating a chunin taught by a normal instructor. the use of force will not be tolerated and should you show intent to kill the anbu have orders to end the exam and use force if nessesary to restrain you. if you resist deadly force is authorized.'

sinking back against the rock he couldnt believe what he was reading. they were actually going to ask him to not use his families ability? he knew that the council wouldnt give him the same tools as a normal exam, but to actually assign some anbu to watch him fight to make sure he wasnt going to kill someone. did that mean that if he hurt the examiners he'd be killed?

 numbly he dug through the bag to see what else the council had seen fit to give him, there was a canteen, shaking it found it to be empty. of course. putting it aside he dug through to find a single field blanket, standard issue. he folded it and put it next to the canteen. he found the flags he was supposed to guard and quickly tucked them into his vest. he wasnt about to lose those. he found some vials and after twisting them around he found the labels. antidotes. oh friggin great he was going against someone with poison.

"like this isnt going to be hard enough they have to include a poison artist?"

he muttered as he tucked the vials into his vest, he found two ration bars, more than he thought they would give him and a map. he analyzed the map to see where the nearest checkpoint was, he had no doubt that the examiners would find him, no reason to go hunting for them when they'd come to him. he'd focus on getting his flags to the checkpoints and go from there.

repacking the bag, he took a moment to think. this was not going to be an easy three days, he hadnt expected it to be, but he idly wondered what the anbu exam was like. shaking his head he stood up and looked around, he might as well get a head start. jumping into the tree's he took off through the branches.

************

they followed the chunin through the forest and watched as he used a rocky outcropping as a temporary base. staying in the tree's they reguarded one another, they were spread out in a protective circle around the man, were it a normal mission iruka would have been more protected than the hokage on a normal day. as it was they werent allowed to interfere so they hunkered down and watched as iruka set a circle of traps around his resting point before taking a seat and opening the bag. he pulled out a scroll first, they watched as iruka read the instructions. they frowned when they saw iruka slump against the rock. what was it he was reading? he heard iruka sigh before rewrapping the scroll and setting it aside.

iruka pulled out a canteen, he shook it and threw it aside, they assumed it was empty by his reaction.they saw the typical field blanket that they doubted the man would be able to actually use, next came a set of three flags which they could guess was a part of his challenges. iruka was smart enough to put them in his vest before he moved on. they couldnt see what he had in his hands next, it was too small. but what they heard sent a chill up their spines.

"like this isnt going to be hard enough they have to include a poison artist?"

poison! the council was going to use poison against him? that could only mean that iruka was holding the antidotes for the poison. they watched as iruka placed the vials in his vest. making sure they were safe. glancing to one another they could read each others expressions without having to see more than each others eyes. there was shock, anger, concern, fear, and dissapointment.  they would deffinetly have something to talk about tonight.

iruka finished going through the rest of the bag finding some ration bars and a map which he examined before packing up and heading presumidly towards his first goal.  they followed without a sound.

***********

iruka was able to fill his canteen at a small creek before he continued on towards the first checkpoint. after taking a swig of the cold water he couldnt resist letting them know.

"this water tastes like piss just so you know"

the anbu who were hidden smiled, even though they couldnt respond they were glad that iruka was finding some way to relieve the stress even if he was techinically talking to himself.

it wasnt long before iruka stopped high in the tree tops, peering around one of the large trunks he hunkered down before pulling out his map. nodding he tucked it away before jumping down from the branches to land softly in the grass at the base of the trunk. looking around he carefully made his way through the underbrush to finally break through to see a small stand, it was obviously where a flag was supposed to go. taking a deep breath he used all his senses to see if there was anyone around him. when all of his senses gave him the all clear he looked for the usual traps. he was easily able to avoid them and once at the alter like podium, he inspected it carefully to make sure it wouldnt cause him any harm. he knew he was propably being more paranoid then he needed to be, but he wasnt going to take any chances. pulling out a flag he placed it in the container and jumped back as a sudden flare shot off into the sky. showing his exact position.

"oh shit"

darting for cover he dived into the nearest bush and didnt move a muscle. it wasnt a even a minute before a man came darting into the area. he inspected the alter and nodded seeing that it was an assigned flag. then he began searching. iruka steadied his breathing, he knew his best bet was to stay low to the ground and ride out the man's inspection unless he was caught.

the anbu watching iruka watched how careful he was with entering the field, his inspection of the traps and the alter, when the flare went off they all winced. silently urging the man to find cover. they all sighed in relief when iruka dived into a bush right  before one of the examiners appeared. they watched as the man walked around, yet glancing back they were shocked to see iruka in the same spot he had hid in. why wasnt he moving? why wasnt he just phasing through a tree and running for it? they got their answer when the examiner took one too many steps and suddenly found himself up to his neck in dirt.

iruka bolted towards the man who was struggling with his quicksand jutsu, ripping the flag from the mans vest he ran for it.

ah, so iruka had a secondary objective to get flags off of the examiners he was facing. that would be a tough thing for him to do, even though he was already ahead of the game, they werent surprised when it only took the examiner a minute to get out of the trap and give chase. they followed suit to see who was going to win, iruka or the examiner.

iruka made sure to zig zag through the forest instead of just going straight in one direction, but he knew that the man was quickly gaining on him, he was a seasoned jounin after all. thinking fast he rigged up a quick trap to slow the man down and was off again. he jumped into the high branches of a tree and continued from there hoping to make the man lose his trail by keeping to the foliage.

the anbu watched as iruka rigged a simple but effective trap before taking off once more. quickly taking his chase through the tree's. the examiner didnt fall for the trap though and was gaining on iruka. all they could do is hope that iruka would either be able to lose the ninja in the forest or beat him in battle.

iruka darted around a tree, to catch his breath. he hadnt heard his trap go off which was a bad sign. how he wished he could just vanish into a tree for a couple minutes, but that wasnt an option if he wished to pass. he knew that his friends were propably confused as to why he wasnt using his normal skills that he had used against them and he was going to tell them as soon as he lost the examiner. he might as well fill them in on how screwed he was. he felt the man's chakra signature come within 30 ft of the tree he was hiding behind. holding his breath he refused to let it out until the man's signature disapated as he left the area. letting out the breath he had been holding he sucked in air in giant gasps. sliding down the tree trunk he rested his legs for a moment. he knew he would have to get moving, he needed to get out of the immediate area to get as much distance between him and the examiner as possible.

looking up to the sky he figured now was as good as anytime to let them know

"alright guys, their playing hard ball with me. im sure you saw the antidotes for poison, cant wait to meet whoever has that up their sleeve."

he patted the pouch where the vials were.

"the scroll gave me a list of things to do, not overly hard things except their of course protected by guys like him. thats not the worst of it though."

looking straight ahead he sighed before saying.

"im forbidden from using my kekkai genkai. if i do i fail automatically. on top of that lovelly piece of information if i hurt any of the examiners i fail, or as they put it show deadly intent."

he used air quotes for the deadly intent part figuring that they could see him from where ever they were.

"and finally you guys arnt alone-there's other anbu out here watching, they have special instructions i guess, if i do something they dont like they get to fail me i guess though it sounded more like they'd get to beat the crap out of me"

he unrolled the scroll that he'd stored in the  bag and used a senbon to pierce it to the tree he was leaning against.

"there, i'll leave that for you guys to read. i already know what i have to do, well better get going. daylight is a wasting"

hoping to the neighboring tree he paused long enough to say.

"oh and wolf, you owe me lots and lots of sake"

then he darted off, heading towards his next goal.

*********

they sat pirched above iruka as the man started to talk to them.

"alright guys, their playing hard ball with me. im sure you saw the antidotes for poison, cant wait to meet whoever has that up their sleeve."

iruka patted the pouch where the vials were. the anbu smiled at the chunin, they were sure he could handle it. so long as he was careful.

"the scroll gave me a list of things to do, not overly hard things except their of course protected by guys like him. thats not the worst of it though."

they silently wondered what iruka was talking about when the chunin filled them in on the game at hand.

"im forbidden from using my kekkai genkai. if i do i fail automatically. on top of that lovelly piece of information if i hurt any of the examiners i fail, or as they put it show deadly intent."

that was illegal, you couldnt just tell a hyuga not to use their eyes or a nara to not use their shadow jutsu. and not hurt the examiners? this was a fucking test for crying out loud. injuries were to be expected. the group of anbu were fuming on their friends behalf.

"and finally you guys arnt alone-there's other anbu out here watching, they have special instructions i guess, if i do something they dont like they get to fail me i guess though it sounded more like they'd get to beat the crap out of me"

iruka unrolled the scroll that he'd stored in the  bag and used a senbon to pierce it to the tree he was leaning against.

the anbu were skeptical if there were indeed more anbu out here, so far they hadnt crossed paths with any of their brethern, but that didnt mean they werent out here somewhere. however allowing higher ranked ninja like anbu to use force against a competitor, that wasnt right and they knew it. they were glad that iruka had thought to leave the scroll with them. they would read it and keep it for evidence in case they needed to bring anything before the hokage when this was all over.they watched as iruka jumped to another tree before turning around and saying.

"oh and wolf, you owe me lots and lots of sake"

they held back their laughter as they watched the chunin progress through the trees. once he was out of the immediate area they jumped down to investigate the scroll. kakashi tore it from the senbon and read it quickly before handing it to asuma.

"bastards"

they passed it around until they had all read it, kakashi stored it in his vest. he wouldnt be losing this important document that was for sure.

"come on, lets catch up to him."

nodding they sprinted to catch up to the chunin.

********

just as the sun was setting iruka managed to find a good overhang to hide under. he was no fool, he knew he wouldnt be able to see in the dark and to try and progress would just be foolish. he didnt bother to make a fire as that would just give away his position, so instead he thought about his progress. he'd made good ground today, he'd gotten rid of a flag and gained one from an examiner. he took a swig of piss water and grimaced at the taste. gods he wanted some tea. leaning against the rock he prepared himself for another long evening of staying awake. looking out into the inky blackness he sighed. he wished that they could talk back to him, just to let him know that they truly were there watching over him. he knew that they wouldnt leave him, but he had no idea if the hokage would summon them away for emergencies or if the council would interfere and force them to leave.

"its going to be along night, so get comfy kids"

he smiled, before picking up a kunai and starting to draw in the dirt with it, it served two purposes, it kept him entertained and he was armed.

*********

they caught up with iruka just as he was making his little base camp. there were traps around the surrounding area and he was smart enough to go without a fire. using a special night vision jutsu they were able to continue watching iruka as the sun faded from view and night crept around them.

"its going to be along night, so get comfy kids"

smiling behind their masks they watched as iruka entertained himself with drawing in the dirt with a kunai.

it was a couple hours later that they noticed movement in the distance. an examiner for sure. it seemed that he too was using the night vision jutsu because he seemed to zero in on iruka. frowning they were amazed at what lengths the council were going to make this harder on iruka. all they could do was watch as the man crept closer to iruka, intending to catch him off guard.

'come on iruka, do something'

kakashi thought as he watched the man come practically behind iruka, a kunai ready to be plunged into the mans back.

'turn around damn it'

he almost wanted to turn away, but couldnt bring himself not to watch.the kunai came down in a sharp arch meant to catch iruka in the shoulder, a none fatal blow, but one that would seriously hinder the mans ability to fight. the team tensed as the kunai collided with iruka, but smiled as the clone dissapeared in a puff of smoke. looking around they tried to find the real iruka, he didnt seem to be anywhere.

'come on iruka where are you?'

and just like that iruka came down from the branches above, his own kunai ready to hit the examiner. the man easily avoided the blow by jumping out of the way. they could tell that iruka was practically blind in the dark by the way he was rapidly blinking.

the examiner was smiling as he crept around the nin silently. then iruka stepped into action, stomping fiercly on the ground sending off a chain reaction. wires sprung up from below the shallow dirt, criss crossing only to wrap around the examiner and anything  in the area minus a hole in the direct middle of the pattern where iruka stood. the examiner was bound tightly and slammed against a tree. rushing over to the sound of the man colliding he had a little trouble finding the second flag, but once he had he was off. not even bothering to grab the deserted pack on the ground. he'd already secured the canteen to his belt and the ration bars were in his leg pouch. he had everything he needed for the next couple days of hell.

iruka kept running, for what seemed like forever, he wanted to get a large distance between him and the angry examiner who he had left tied to a tree. skidding to a stop he took a quick breather, the sun was just starting to bring light back into the world and he was eternally greatful for that. being blind was not something he wanted to experience long term. deciding he had gone far enough, he climbed a tree and braced himself in the fork of some branches to relax a bit. his legs were tired, even being infused with chakra he was starting to feel the burn in them.