Author's Note: Thank you to all of my readers who have supported me by favoriting, following, and reviewing Toxic! Huge thanks to Dawn Summer, Akatsuki Wolf Rider, and Anzai for your reviews.

Chapter 1: Complications

{Part I}

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Peering over his steepled fingers, Hiruzen Sarutobi assessed the chunin who stood on the opposite side of his office. Dark hair swiveled across her shoulders when the young woman turned her sharp nose to the revered village leader. Hiruzen steeled his gaze, and wielded the authority that came with his position.

"Aiko, I decline your request to become a member of the ANBU Black Ops."

The young woman bowed. Her green vest crumpled into her stomach, organs tightening as she tempered her response. "Thank you for your consideration."

Sweeping his pipe off its tray, gray smoke trailing across his desk, Hiruzen sighed. "You are a fine shinobi, but your skills are not at an ANBU level." Aiko stiffened. Though her lips did not move, her green eyes flared under her lashes, challenging his assertion with resolute intensity. Hiruzen lowered his voice, apologetic but conclusive, "You know why I cannot promote you. I am still looking for a solution to your problem."

"Understood. May I return to my duties?"

"You may."

Heels clicking across the hardwood paneled floors, Aiko departed from his office. Hiruzen watched her, lowering the brim of his hat, and glanced at the unsettling document he had received from Captain Yura in Sunagakure. His withered fingers brushed the scroll, reading the urgent first line, but he neglected the message altogether when a frantic member of the Cryptology Team rushed into his office. "Lord Hokage! We received news from Sunagakure regarding the Chunin Exams."

"Oh?" Hiruzen leaned forward. "What is it, Yurika?"

"They have confirmed their intentions to participate."

Hiruzen mused, "Good. Perhaps we can build a stronger alliance. I understand that their recent budget cuts have devastated their economy, so this may be a good diplomatic opportunity." Yurika nodded, head snapping up and down, then took her leave. Hiruzen reclined in his chair, scarlet robes folding over his lap, contemplative mouth skimming the tip of his pipe. Financial difficulties often precipitated war, and the ninja world could not afford such instabilities. He glanced at the scroll from Captain Yura again.

"Perhaps," Hiruzen murmured, voice hopeful in the empty shallow room, "I can strike two birds with one stone."

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{Part II}

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Meanwhile, Aiko walked down the Academy halls, distraught from the denial. Her dress swished over her buttocks, hips containing the full sway of her pendulum emotions. She avoided eye contact with her Konohagakure comrades, glancing briefly at the classrooms where teachers had lectured her on the importance of duty. Sidestepping a flustered Iruka Umino, who barreled down the corridor, Aiko frowned when he shouted at his unruly students.

"Naruto! Shikamaru! Kiba!"

Apart from their yelps, giggles, and taunts, the miscreants refused to acknowledge their teacher. They leapt out the nearby window and dispersed in the courtyard. Iruka deflated, accepting the futility of his efforts, then noticed Aiko. She ghosted by him without a word. Iruka watched her, riled by her nonchalance. When she turned a corner, Mizuki, attracted by the ruckus, left his classroom and caught a glimpse of the haughty kunoichi. He smirked, tossing his head to the side, white hair swinging over his shoulders.

"Did Lord Hokage deny her request for a promotion?"

"Of course!" Iruka crinkled his nose, bunching the horizontal scar that stretched across his face. "She doesn't have what it takes to be an ANBU."

"Why?" Mizuki punctuated his question with a cool laugh. "Because she can't get along with anyone?"

Iruka stamped the knuckles of one hand against his hip and flipped open the fingers of the other. "Cooperation is important, but Aiko lacks a quality that is essential; she does not care enough for the village." He explained, "All upper-level ninja should have a sense of loyalty and, well," he exhaled harshly, "I don't think her loyalties lie with Konohagakure."

"Well, she is from a different village," Mizuki grinned, "not that she can return to it. Have you heard about what happened during her border patrol on Tuesday evening?"

"No."

"Oh, you'll love this—Kotetsu told me yesterday—apparently, she—"

Standing around the corner, near the exit, Aiko caught echoes of the conversation. Irritation edged into her mouth, but she had no interest in a confrontation.

Departing from the Academy, she walked into the sunlit afternoon. Warmth skimmed her cheeks, and fluttered down her back. She was content until a cool shadow eclipsed the land. Chilled to her bones, Aiko turned around. The stone faces of the previous Hokage glowered at her, summoning a horde of storm clouds, which closed around the kunoichi.

Despite the defiance that flared in her heart, Aiko remained cool.

Since she could not become an ANBU, she needed to prepare for her regular shift.

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{Part III}

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Blue rain slashed through the forests in the western quadrant of Konohagakure.

Aiko hated being on border patrol during these rainstorms. Dirt slickened into mud, which sloshed around her ankles as she searched for shelter. She scanned her surroundings, lifting her chin, flushed cheeks scraping the collar of her vest. Aiko located a large pine tree where a patch of dry grass, littered with pinecones, lay untouched beneath its umbrella boughs. She leapt over the glimmering rocks and roots, and landed under the shivering branches of the tree. She began to unravel her bandages, which spiraled down her upper arms and over her ankles, and paused when an urgent voice crackled from the radio on her waist.

"Enemy spotted."

Aiko stopped unraveling the bandage around her left bicep. She lifted her radio to her lips, replying, "Which quadrant, Genma?"

"Western."

Tensing, the kunoichi reached into the pouch attached to her lower back and withdrew two handfuls of poisoned senbon needles. She did not detect the bee, subtle and bred especially for espionage, that sidled up to her shoulder. Aiko pricked her ears to the radio. Two voices, the first belonging to Kotetsu Hagane and the second to Izumo Kamizuki, crackled over the speakers.

"Identified him as a tracker ninja from Iwagakure."

"Shit. He's targeting Aiko and we need to move, fast!"

Chills pierced Aiko to her core. Sweat, triggered by guilt, slid down the side of her face. This would be the second tracker ninja who successfully infiltrated Konohagakure with the intent to assassinate her. She squeezed her radio, looking down the misty road, heartbeat quickening when Hana Inuzuka spoke. "Aiko, I have your scent." Her dogs barked in the background, whining lowly when she reproached them. "Can you hear me?"

Aiko clutched her radio, but did not get the chance to respond.

A masked figure materialized on the road, barely visible through the fog.

Kenta, a tracker ninja from Iwagakure, intended to avenge his dishonored Kamizuru Clan tonight. A red sleeve concealed his right arm, which he bent at the elbow, hand raised to his face. Perched on his finger, an insistent bee alerted him to the presence of his target. His left arm, bare and muscled, bulged when he reached behind his head to grab his sword. His grey flak jacket added to his bulk, each pouch crammed with supplies for his long journey, and shifted when he unsheathed his weapon, brandishing it at Aiko, who rose to receive his contemptuous spiel.

"Aiko, formerly of the Merukuri Clan, I will assassinate you for betraying Iwagakure. You have used your kekkai genkai against your village and declared your allegiance to an enemy nation. Your acts of treason are unforgivable."

Aiko raised her needles. "My loyalties," she replied, voice crisp and incisive, "are none of your concern."

Kenta was on the verge of lunging. "If you do not surrender quietly, I will rip those Ketsuekigan eyes from your sockets."

Aiko slid into a predatory crouch and took her aim. "We'll see." When she flung her needles at Kenta, a swarm of bees converged on the road and barricaded the grim Kamizuru man. The buzzing insects then hurtled at Aiko, whistling through the mist like black and yellow missiles, stingers poised to kill. She performed a rapid series of hand signs and dropped to her knees. "Earth Style: Wall!" Slamming her palms into the mud, she summoned a crude earth wall and the bees splattered against the barrier.

Kenta leapt over her wall, sword hoisted above his head, water droplets streaming off his heels. "Too slow!" His blade came down between her shoulder and neck, snapping through her tendons. Kenta grunted. "You're finished." However, when brown sludge oozed from the injury, he tensed. "A substitution!" Kenta tugged on his blade, glaring at Aiko, whose form collapsed into a mud heap. Her remains pooled around his ankles, cementing the tracker ninja to the ground.

The real Aiko appeared from the bushes, pointing her fingertips with deadly precision.

"Striking Shadow Snakes!"

Three reptiles shot off her arm and sank their venomous fangs into Kenta's neck. He swore, grabbing the snakes by their bellies, and succumbed to a muddy explosion.

Aiko flinched at his substitution. She cussed under her breath and hopped upwards, onto a thick mossy branch, cautious about losing her balance. Glancing sharply to her left, Aiko dodged a strike from Kenta, who forced her out of the tree. Ponytail rippling as she plummeted to the ground, she landed, snapped up her chin, and sprinted down the road. Kenta pursued her, unstoppable, blade arced like the scythe of a reaper. Aiko blocked one of his incoming attacks with a kunai, but he sent her flying backwards.

Over the radio, which had fallen off her waist and crackled weakly in the rain, Hana exclaimed, "We're almost there!"

Skidding across the road, pebbles erupting under the soles of her shoes, Aiko readied a chakra scalpel. She could not wait for reinforcements. Blue flames bristled around her hands as she lunged forward. Kenta flaunted his blade, intending to hack off her arm, but he did not anticipate her speed. Focusing chakra into her feet, Aiko surged at her enemy, ramming her hand into his left shoulder, severing his deltoid muscle.

Kenta switched hands, pumped chakra into his swing, and carved open her shoulder.

Blood sprayed down her back and Aiko lost control of her chakra scalpel. Gripping her injury with one hand, she reached into the pouch at her lower back with the other, retrieving a handful of senbon. Poison droplets beaded and rolled off the silver tips when she cast them. Kenta parried her needles, knocking them to the ground, and charged at the chunin. Aiko ducked away from his fatal swipes, purple dress flapping around her thighs, and stopped beside her thrown senbon. She cast them a second time, chakra bursting from her fingertips, ensuring her accuracy.

Three of the needles struck Kenta, lining the back of his neck like porcupine quills, and he swore. Summoning another horde of bees, he rounded her.

Slowed down and weakened by her wound, the chunin retreated, throwing a desperate glance into the woods. Bees shadowed her, merging into a lethal throng above her head. Explosion tags crackled, fastened to their stingers and Aiko realized—too late—why Kenta had sent them en masse. Black ink sparked and flickered, hissing like fireworks, and the tags burst, one after another, into a frenzied orange blaze.

Crossing her arms in front of her face, Aiko cried out as the blasts flung her across the path, into a tree, which snapped on impact.

Black smoke obscured the chunin, unable to dissipate in the steady rain, and Kenta plowed through the smoke. He planned to decapitate Aiko, whose head was smashed into the splintered pine trunk. Blood dribbled behind her ears, vision blurred and hazy, and Aiko arched her nostrils when she saw the tracker ninja approaching, sword poised to impale her skull.

"Die!"

Before he could deliver a fatal blow, Kenta came to an abrupt halt.

Aiko sat in perfect silence. The tip of his sword hovered over her nose, blade reflected in both of her eyes, before it faltered. "What the hell!" Kenta stumbled backwards, puddles rupturing under his body, limbs overcome with violent spasms. His sword clattered beside his convulsing form. Propping her spine against the tree, Aiko watched Kenta thrash on the road, narrowing her shrewd eyes. She focused her chakra into her palm, fingers illuminated by a shimmery green hue, and caressed her shoulder.

"My needles are laced with a special poison," Aiko murmured, elucidating her opponent on his dire condition, "you'll convulse until it makes contact with your heart."

Crumpled on the ground, Kenta dragged his mask through the sopping filth, trembling like a beaten dog. "Whore!" He frothed at the mouth, poison scorching his veins, and clawed at the rocks until his fingers were raw. "Iwagakure will have your wretched head!"

"Pity," Aiko murmured, "you fought so desperately for a village that has sent you on such a thankless mission."

Kenta tried to speak, but the poison gripped his heart. Death strangled his tongue, empty words rattled in his throat, and he went limp. Aiko closed her eyes, relieved, and relaxed against the trunk. "That was too close." She looked at her fizzing radio and leaned forward to retrieve it. Then, she smelled the odor of burning flesh. When she heard a gruesome rumble, Aiko stopped. Glancing at her dead opponent, she saw his flesh bubbling under his flak jacket, steam rising through the fabric, and panicked.

"Oh, fuck!"

His body detonated.

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{Part IV}

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As smoke exploded around Aiko, a pair of strong arms slipped under her legs, plucking her off the ground. "Got you!" Hana had arrived in the nick of time, grin wolfish and playful as she looked at her shocked companion. Aiko caught sight of the triplet canines, who flew after their master, water rippling in their sleek grey coats, fangs bared in friendly smiles. They barked at Aiko. Hana stifled a chuckle, jumping from branch to branch, cradling her closest friend against her chest. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Aiko smiled as Hana darted to the ground, placing her against the trunk of a camphor laurel tree, where she continued healing the gash on her shoulder. "I'm a little tuckered out, but okay."

Kneeling beside the weary kunoichi, Hana parted her glossy lips. "Do you want any assistance?" Aiko politely declined her offer, wielding the mystical palms technique with telling ease. She lessened the severity of her shoulder wound, then moved onto her arms, ribs, and legs. Abrasions and contusions disappeared with a fluid sweep of her hand. The dogs gathered around the two women. They nudged their master who noticed that Aiko was quivering. "Hm," Hana frowned, tightening the red triangles on her cheeks, "this was a close call. You should consider joining the Medical Corps."

Aiko grimaced. "I want to join the ANBU Black Ops, but Lord Hokage declined my request. Until I earn a promotion, I want to continue working as a field medical ninja."

"I know," Hana frowned, "but, with the threats from Iwagakure, you would be safer in the Medical Corps."

"I don't want to change my position."

"Why?"

Skimming a sensitive bruise on her calf, Aiko winced. "I have my reasons." Before her friend could probe her for answers, Aiko sensed the presences of three other shinobi and was quick to change the subject. "Ah, I wondered if they were going to show up. All three of them are coming." Hana slanted her a concerned glance, but kept quiet as Izumo, Genma, and Kotetsu arrived.

Izumo landed first, soaked hair strapped to the sides of his face. He analyzed Aiko, frowning when he noticed the scuff marks on her cheeks, scattered along her limbs, discoloring her body. She raised her eyebrows at his scrutiny, prompting him to look away, and he collected himself with a firm cough. Genma and Kotetsu landed behind Izumo, and urged him to give a report. "The tracker ninja blew himself up," Izumo remarked, gaze returning to Aiko, "we found some of his remains and, as far as we know, Iwagakure sent him alone."

Straightening against the tree, Aiko murmured, "I suspect this was meant to be his final battle. Since he was from the Kamizuru Clan, Iwagakure probably had few qualms about sacrificing him."

Genma looked solemnly at Aiko, pivoting his toothpick across his lips. "You okay? Came damn close to losing a couple limbs."

"Yes, I'm quite all right, thank you."

With assistance from Hana, the wounded kunoichi staggered to her feet. She flicked mud off her shoes, ignoring the urgent glances from Izumo, but stiffened when she felt Kotetsu smirking at her. His black spikes blazed in the rain, shifting when he tossed his head, snorting to get her attention. "Have you considered working in a different position? I'm not sure you should be out here, all by yourself, on guard patrol—you can't seem to handle it."

"Huh," Aiko shrugged, "I can't recall a time when you fended off an ANBU-level enemy by yourself."

Keeping her friend steady, Hana leveled a glare at Kotetsu, but he spoke as he pleased. "True, but that's only because I don't attract danger like you do. This is a serious issue. You should consider the safety of the village, too."

"I am." Aiko tightened her jaw and separated from Hana. "I will find a way to deal with the situation."

"Really?" Kotetsu hummed. "You seem more confident in your abilities than Lord Hokage."

"Hey," Izumo scowled, elbowing his partner, "knock it off, Kotetsu."

Before the argument could escalate, the triplet canines barked, announcing the arrival of two other ninja, who sprinted down the road. A bad feeling swelled in the pit of her stomach when Aiko recognized Mizuki and Iruka. Sent by Hiruzen, they came to a halt in front of their comrades, too winded to speak immediately. The moment Mizuki caught his breath, he looked ready to make a smart remark, but Iruka locked eyes with Aiko, saying, "Lord Hokage has summoned you. Can you walk?"

"I can run," Aiko replied, flicking her stare from Mizuki to Iruka, "why has he summoned me?"

"You'll find out," Mizuki purred, "let's not keep him waiting."

Aiko faced the village. Through the haze, she could distinguish the outline of Hokage Mountain and her stomach knotted. Rearing to her full height, which hardly compared to the heights of her comrades, Aiko willed her nausea to subside. Hana did not disguise her worry, brow furrowing at her friend, who pretended not to be bothered by the summons. When she passed Izumo, he pulled her aside, entangling his fingers in hers for the briefest second. "Tonight," he whispered, voice barely audible in the rain, before he released her, "I'll come see you."

Lashes falling low over her stare, Aiko nodded, understanding that Izumo would not be dissuaded. The situation had become serious. Inhaling as deeply as she could, Aiko took off with Iruka and Mizuki, puddles splattering up her long slender legs.

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{Part V}

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When the Academy came into view, Aiko subdued her instinct to bolt. She walked behind Iruka and Mizuki, who exchanged few words. When they reached the Office of the Hokage, Iruka rapped his knuckles on the door, then walked in. They came face to face with Hiruzen, who sat enshrouded in the shadows, hollow cheeks illuminated by candlelight. His wizened face was unmoving when the trio entered his domain. He looked from Aiko and her chunin escorts to the door and, understanding his wordless command, Iruka and Mizuki departed. When the door closed, echoes reverberated off the walls and the flames snapped in half before they flickered into place. Aiko clenched her fists. Hiruzen placed one hand on an open scroll, while the other pinched the heel of his smoking pipe, then ordered the young woman forward with a nod.

Aiko unfurled her fingers, approached his desk, and spoke as calmly as she could. "You sent for me, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen removed his pipe, squeezing it between his thumb and forefinger, and fortified his stare with a stern tone,

"Aiko, I must ask you to leave the village."

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{End}