It was nighttime, and holding her aching head, Ino sighed as she looked at Toru, who was currently cooking three fish. Some time had passed, and they were now at a different base, since staying in the same place was dangerous.
"Smells really good..." Hinata said.
"I know, but it won't have any flavor," Toru replied, confusing Hinata.
At the same time, Ino walked over and sat beside Hinata. She stared at the campfire as she remembered Orochimaru's words.
'It's been three days since the exam began. In a few hours, the fourth day will begin... That means we have a little over one day left to get a Heaven Scroll, since the one Orochimaru gave us is useless.'
As she thought, Ino paid closer attention to the center of all the recent events: Toru.
'It makes me nervous how calm he always is. This is the second time we've been on the verge of death, and he's acting as if nothing happened. Sometimes, I'd like to know what's going on inside his head.'
She sighed. She had too many things to think about. She had barely realized that almost all of her attention was usually focused on Toru. On the other hand, Hinata was now always glued to him, as if she wanted to protect him all the time.
"I need to use the bathroom. Hinata, can you watch the fish for me?" Toru said.
"Yes. No problem."
Toru responded with a slight nod and headed into the forest.
Hinata and Ino were left completely alone. Both stared at the bright flames of the campfire as if they were hypnotized. Eyes as white as ocean pearls and eyes as green as great emeralds...
"Hinata..." Ino suddenly said.
"Yes?"
"Let's do our best to get through this exam."
Ino looked at Hinata with a warm smile.
"Yes. I'll do my best," Hinata replied shyly.
'I should forget about what Orochimaru said until the exam is over,' Ino thought. 'For now, I have to give it everything I've got. I'll make sure I'm not a burden again because, if something happens, I won't be able to just stand by and do nothing.'
Just remembering Orochimaru treating Toru like trash made her blood boil. She clenched her fists as she stared at the campfire.
Meanwhile, not far from there, Toru was resting on a branch. The truth was, he had lied about needing to use the bathroom. He just wanted to be alone so he could think.
'I'm almost certain Orochimaru went after Sasuke. The two of us are similar, after all. It's just... What is this gift Orochimaru mentioned? That's what worries me the most.'
Toru leaned his back against the tree trunk.
'I hope Sasuke doesn't accept anything from Orochimaru...'
Closing his eyes, he tried to rest for a while, but the image of the blue sun with red rays returned to his mind.
'There's also that... I really don't understand it. Maybe it's because I'm not getting enough rest. Ino knows about these things, so I shouldn't question her too much, but resting won't give me any answers.'
Either way, he needed to rest, or things would only get worse.
—The Next Day—
Toru was eating some wild berries while the girls slept when Ino woke up.
"Where am I...? Why does my back hurt?" Ino said, stretching her arms. "Toru...? Is it morning already?"
"No, it's still nighttime. In fact, it hasn't even been ten seconds since you fell asleep. Just look at the sky. I call it 'The Bright Night' because you can see the sun up there."
"Your sarcasm isn't funny..."
"Then why do you ask such obvious questions?"
"Shut up, Toru."
After saying that, Ino got up from the ground and brushed off her clothes. Then she looked at Hinata.
"She's still asleep..."
"Yeah. She must be tired. Increasing the number of times she uses her Byakugan every day has taken its toll on her, but we can't afford not to know what's going on. We'll have to sacrifice some of our sleep so she can use her eyes more often."
"I see... You always know what to do, don't you?"
"It's just personal experience."
'Personal experience, he says...'
As if the memories invaded her mind at the worst possible moment, Ino remembered what Orochimaru had said.
'Someone killed Toru's family, and Orochimaru offered him power to take revenge...'
"Good morning, Hinata," Toru said, drawing Ino's attention in the process.
Hinata got up from the ground and looked around. She seemed tired, but when she noticed that her two teammates were already awake, she decided to stop resting so they could continue with the exam.
"Good morning, Toru-kun and Ino..."
"You woke up a little late, Hinata. Are you still tired?" Ino asked, studying her carefully. She didn't seem to have any injuries or anything like that. That was a good thing, but the problem was that Hinata looked exhausted.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry."
Hinata smiled slightly as she looked at the ground.
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," Toru said. "If you feel like we're putting too much pressure on you, don't hesitate to say so, and we'll give you a break."
"Yes... I understand."
Ino smiled kindly.
"You don't have to make that face. We're just worried about your health, that's all."
Toru crossed his arms and looked upward. Well, he couldn't see the sky because of the trees covering everything, but he could more or less tell that it was early in the morning.
'Hmm... The exam ends tomorrow. We have to get the scroll we're missing today.'
They needed a Heaven Scroll to advance to the next test. They had two Earth Scrolls, but having two of the same kind was useless.
'We'll have to go out and find the Heaven Scroll ourselves.'
Conveniently, something appeared. Hinata said:
"Someone's coming! It's a team of three."