Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.
Thinking
'Signs to communicate.'
"Speaking"
A/N: This story will contain POVs from other characters too.
Previously,
Once we finish, I grab everything I had sealed, tie my head band around my neck again, take a deep breath, because I'll be needing it for the shit that's going to go down, and Sasuke and I leave the house.
We meet up with Shikamaru on the way, and we head over to the Academy.
We walk up two flights of stairs, then hear a commotion.
"Please let us through! We're supposed to go in there!" I hear Tenten say.
Then a smack and a groan. We push through the crowd, and I see Kotetsu and Izumo transformed as kids.
I stifle a laugh as I hear them make a speech about what being a Chunin is like.
When Kotetsu catches my eye, I wink at him. He grins, then turns away.
"Release the Genjutsu." Sasuke commands. "We have to go to the third floor."
"So, you noticed, huh?" Izumo smirked.
"Of course." Sasuke scoffs. "Go ahead and tell them, Sakura. You have an analytical mind and sharp eyes; you must have seen this from a mile away."
I put my hand on my chest and widen my eyes, "Me? Little old me? Well, if you insist."
Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"You see, we only walked up two flights of stairs, so this is the second floor, not the third." I explain. As soon as I say that, the board saying '301' swirls and changes back to '201'.
"Boom. There ya go!" I smile.
"So, you noticed the illusion." Kotetsu mock scoffs. "Now, deal with this!"
He spins around and tries to kick us, when Lee zooms in front of us, stopping his attack.
I smile at him, "Thanks, Lee."
"Anything for you, Sakura-chan!"
"Thanks, Sakura." Tenten says, shaking her head. I know she is joking, but I still grin sheepishly.
Meanwhile, Neji walks up to Sasuke, "Uchiha."
"Hyuuga." Sasuke replies.
Rolling my eyes, I grab Shika's and Sasuke's hand, "C'mon boys. We have an exam to pass!"
"Stop pulling, Sakura." Sasuke says, pulling his hand out of my grip.
I pout, but let go of both of them. We reach the real room, and see Kakashi-sensei standing there, leaning on the wall and reading his book.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" I chirp.
"Sakura-chan. I'm glad you decided to come. Lazy-Ass. Duckling." Sensei eye-smiles at us.
Shikamaru offers a lazy tip of the head, and Sasuke offers a two-fingered wave.
"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asks.
"Just wanted to see if all three of you would come, or I would've had to stop you here. You see, the Chunin Exams are always taken in teams. The decision to come was yours, but if one of you didn't choose to come, the other two wouldn't have been allowed to enter."
The three of us nod and Sensei eye-smiles again. "I'm proud of you three. Now go in there and kick ass."
He moves out of the way and the three of us enter.
The entire room turns to us and offers their hatred towards us.
"Well, that's a lot of people." I state.
Shikamaru sweatdrops, "You don't say."
And then Ino comes outta nowhere and jumps onto Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun!" She squeals. "I was hoping you'd show up! Oh look, you even brought the dead-weight!" She glares at me.
I smirk, "Ino, are you really so intimidated by me, that you have to insult me every time we meet?"
"Sakura-chan!" I hear Naruto yell. I turn to him.
"Oh, hey Naruto! Choji!" I smile.
"Well, well, well! Look at that! All the rookies are here!" Kiba says.
"Hey, Hinata! Shino! Kiba! Akamaru!" I wave.
"H-Hello, Sakura." Hinata stammers.
Shino tips his head in my direction.
"Sakura! You've changed your look again!" Kiba grins at me. Akamaru barks.
I flip my hair dramatically, "Well! I can't be seen wearing the same thing every day, now, can I?"
He laughs, and I grin along.
"This is gonna be fun!" Kiba declares. "At least, for those of us good enough to actually pass! Right, Sasuke?"
"You're getting over-confident, Kiba. What makes you think you're on my level?" Sasuke smirks, looking down his nose at Kiba.
I smack his head, "Now who's getting over-confident?"
He glares at me, and I ignore him.
"Just you guys wait! We're gonna blow you all away! We've been training our asses off!" Kiba continues.
"And what have we been doing then? Plucking daisies?" Naruto demands. "You don't even know what training means!"
"N-Naruto-kun, I'm sure Kiba-kun didn't m-mean it that way." Hinata stutters.
"Huh?" Naruto turns in her direction, and she flushes and looks away.
Choji takes a step forward, but Shino stops him. "Careful."
"What?" Choji asks.
Shino looks down and I say, "There was a bug there. Shino didn't want you killing it."
Shino turns to me, "You are correct."
I smile politely.
"You guys!" I hear a voice that I despise say. "You might want to keep it down a bit."
Kabuto steps up.
"I mean, you are the nine rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy?" He smirks. I glare at him, and will his head to explode. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen.
"Don't go around making spectacle of yourselves. Quiet down. This isn't one of your school picnics."
"Who the hell asked you?" I ask through gritted teeth. My teammates turn to me in surprise.
"I'm Yakushi Kabuto." He replies, but is taken aback by my expression. "Anyway, look around. You kids have made quite an impression."
We look around to see the whole room glaring at us.
"See those guys behind you? They're from the Rain village. Hot-tempered. The Chunin Exams make everyone tense." Kabuto explains. "And you don't want to make a bad impression."
Then he smirks again. "Well, I guess you can't help it. I mean, you're fresh rookies; how could you know how things work?"
Damn it, I want to wipe that smirk off his face in the most painful way possible!
"You all remind me of myself from a while back." He continues.
"Then this isn't your first time taking the exam?" Ino asks.
"No," He rubs his head sheepishly, "It's actually my seventh."
"Seventh?" Shikamaru says incredulously.
"You see, the Chunin Exams are held twice a year, so it's my fourth year now." Kabuto smiles sheepishly.
"Wow..." Ino says in awe, "Then you must be an expert by now."
"Or he really, really, really sucks." I add. "Personally, I'm going for the second one."
Kabuto frowns at me, then plasters a smile on his face again. "Kind of..." He says to Ino.
Sasuke frowns at me, "Why are you so hostile towards him?" He murmurs in my ear.
"My gut's saying he's an enemy. I don't trust him at all." I whisper back.
"Cool, so you can give us all the inside tips, right, Kabuto?" Naruto grins widely.
"Yeah, he's some expert. He's never even passed." Shikamaru drawls.
Kabuto rubs his head sheepishly again, "Well, they say seventh time's the charm, right?"
"No one says that." Shikamaru says, "So, I guess all those rumors about the exam being tough are true, huh? Man, how troublesome."
"Don't give up so easily." Kabuto reaches for something, and my hand instinctively goes for my kunai pouch, "Maybe I can share some information with you all."
He pulls his cards out and says smugly, "With my Ninja Info Cards."
"Ninja Info Cards?" Naruto tilts his head. "What's that?"
"They're chakra coded information cards that have everything I've learned on people from the past. And they're keyed to my chakra only."
He kneels and places them on the ground, "I've got more than 200 of them, so I haven't been completely wasting my time in the Exams."
I roll my eyes.
"They look pure white to the naked eye, but when I do this," he spins the card on the ground and it poofs. "It's a map of the number of applicants from each village. Why do you think everyone gathers in one place at the same time for the Chunin Exams?"
He looks around.
"To foster friendship between the villages." I answer, still glaring at him.
Then he praises me, "Very good." He smiles charmingly.
I growl.
"What's the second reason?" Sasuke asks.
Kabuto pushes his glasses up, "It's to find out the total number of shinobi that come from each village, and maintaining the balance of power."
"Balance of power, big deal. It's all so troublesome." Shika adds.
"Do those cards have any individual information on the candidates?" Sasuke steps forward.
"Maybe," He smirks, "Why? You got someone special in mind?"
"Maybe," Sasuke scowls.
"Now, the info might not be perfect, but it's everything I have gathered. Including you guys." Kabuto smirks again.
I growl. Again.
"So, which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, and I'll give you the information." Kabuto holds up a card.
"Sabaku no Gaara." Sasuke says.
"It's not as fun if you already have their names. That makes it easier." Then he very dramatically swipes a card from it and his glasses reflect the light, "Here we go. Sabaku no Gaara. He's got 8 C-ranks and wow, even one B-rank! Not much info on him, but apparently he's survived every mission with a single scratch!"
"A B-rank as a Genin?" Kiba barks. "And not a scratch on him?"
"What's up with this guy?" Naruto frowns.
Sasuke just looks thoughtful.
Kabuto picks up another card and says, "There are candidates from Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall and Sound. Of course, the Hidden Sound Village is small and came up recently. No one knows much about it."
He places his cards back and smiles at us, "Anyway, you get the picture; the competitions going to be tough this year."
"T-That's enough to make s-someone lose their confidence." Hinata looks uncertain.
"Don't worry, Hinata!" I smile reassuringly, "You'll do great, I'm sure."
I notice Naruto's fists clenching and him shaking and I know what's coming.
He spins and points at the crowd, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to beat the crap out of every one of ya! Got it?" He grins.
I face palm as Ino slaps him. "Naruto! Stop drawing attention to us!"
I wait for a few seconds, then jump back. Sasuke and Shikamaru do the same, just as the Genin from Sound come for Kabuto.
Zaku throws a kunai at Kabuto, making him slide back, and Dosu pulls his arms back for a punch. Kabuto leans out of the way, and smirks.
But then his glasses break.
"Oh, I see. It's that kind of attack, huh?" Kabuto mutters, taking off his glasses.
"Hold on, I saw the attack; he dodged it. How did his glasses break?" Sasuke demands.
"It probably came too close to his face." Shika says.
I shake my head, "No, you're wrong."
"What?" They both turn to me.
"Haven't you figured it out?" I ask quietly. "They're from Sound and that dude has gauntlets on his arms."
They both look confused for a minute, then realization dawns on their face. I nod in confirmation.
Then Kabuto's eyes widen and he falls to his knees, puking his guts out.
Serves you right, you traitorous bastard.
"Kabuto, what's wrong?" Ino gasps.
The Sound three smirk. Naruto turns to me. "Sakura-chan, you can heal him, right? Right?"
I glare at him, but shake my head, "No, Naruto. That's out of my league. I can only heal a few cuts and bruises."
That's when there's a huge blast of smoke, and Ibiki's voice yells, "Alright, you degenerates! Shut up and listen!"
Everyone turns to the front. Ibiki and ten more proctors smirk at us, including Kotetsu and Izumo.
"It's time to begin. I'm Morino Ibiki, the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams. And from this moment, your worst enemy."
I roll my eyes. How dramatic. But it worked, all the candidates either gasp or look afraid.
Ibiki pointed right to us, "Firstly, you three from Sound, attacking fellow contestants in anything less than an official match is not allowed! You want to fail before the Exam has even begun?"
"Sorry about that. It's our first time. I guess we're just a little... jumpy." Dosu replies.
"Now then, let's proceed to the first stage of the Exams." Ibiki continued. "Hand over your applications and take a number in return. Whichever number you get, go sit there, and we'll start the written test."
"Written... test?" Naruto asks, horrified. I smile sympathetically.
Before moving forward, I stop in front of Sasuke and Shikamaru.
"Guys, keep an eye on my hand. I'll sign the answers to you if you need them. Two taps on your desk, and I'll sign every answer. Alright?" I whisper.
"What makes you think I'll need them?" Sasuke smirks.
"Trust me, you will." I smirk back.
Everyone one hands over their papers, and takes a number and exam paper from Kotetsu.
When it's my turn, he grins and mutters, "Good luck, pinky."
I grin back and take my seat. I'm two rows behind Naruto and Hinata, and a few seats in front of Sasuke.
Ibiki then starts explaining the rules, "Rule number 1! You all have ten points to begin with! This written exam is by a point reduction system! There are ten questions you need to answer! One point will be taken for each answer you get wrong!
Rule 2! Your passing or failing will be determined based on the total points of your fellow teammates.
Rule 3! The proctors placed around the room are there to watch every one of you very carefully. Any signs of cheating, two points will be deducted from the culprit's score. And if they catch you five times, you will be dismissed that very moment.
And one last thing! If any candidate should get zero points, the whole team fails! And the final question will be given fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You have a total of one hour. Begin!"
I read the questions and answer them quickly.
Good thing I studied before coming. I smirk mentally.
A little while into the test, I hear two sharp taps from behind me.
Told you you'll be needing it. I smirk again.
I sign the answer to every question I have written till now, and then complete my paper and sign the rest.
Suddenly, a kunai whizzes past Naruto and imbeds itself into the paper of the guy behind him. He screams and his breathing is shaky.
"What the hell?" He asks shakily. Kotetsu answers smugly, "You got caught cheating five times. You're out."
"N-No way!"
"You and your teammates can leave the room now."
All three of them walk out, two of them glaring at the third.
"Candidate number 23 fail."
"Number 47 and 27 fail!"
One of them protest and is carried out by two other proctors.
"Hey you! Do you have proof I cheated five time?!" One of them stand up. "There's no way you can keep track of all of us! You've got the wrong person here!"
A proctor with bandages covering his head slams him into the wall nonchalantly with one hand still in his pocket.
"Listen brat. We're the elite, even among other Chunin. There's no one here who can even blink without us seeing it." The proctor drops him to the ground, "Now take your team and get out."
At that moment, I stretch out my sensing, and feel Ino's chakra build up. I finish my test, flip over my paper and cast a genjutsu on it, showing the wrong answers.
Then I feel something hit me. Somehow, I can still see everything happening, and even see Ino inside my head.
Is it because Inner Sakura merged with me or something?
I saw Ino flip the paper over, read all the wrong answers, and leave smugly.
As soon as she leaves, I regain control over my body. I cast another genjutsu over it, and flip it over again, feeling extremely smug and satisfied.
Once the second hand strikes 3:45, Ibiki says, "Here's the tenth question!"
He stops for suspense.
"But... Before I tell you the tenth question, there are some rules you need to be aware of..."
Then, squeak, the door opens.
"Just in time. I hope you found your time in the bathroom enlightening." Ibiki smirks at Kankuro's wide-eyed expression. "Anyway, sit down. These rules are very important so listen to them carefully. And try not to let them frighten you too much.
First rule; you can choose whether or not you want to take this question. It's completely your decision."
"What's the catch then?" Temari shouts.
"If you choose not to take the question, your points go straight to zero and you and your teammates fail." Ibiki says quietly.
Everyone yells, "Then of course we'll take the question." And, "Why wouldn't we?"
"Enough!" Ibiki commands, "You didn't let me finish. If you do choose to attempt the question but get it wrong, you lose the chance to take part in the Chunin Exams... ever again."
"What kind of bullshit is that?! There are lots of people who have taken the test before!" Kiba stands and yells.
Ibiki laughs menacingly, enough to make someone lose their courage just from hearing that.
"I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before... but I am now." Ibiki looks at us with that glint in his eyes. "And if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. You can quit now and take the exam again next time."
There's a tense silence.
"The final question... Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand." Ibiki orders.
There's another stretch of silence, then someone breaks.
"I'm sorry! I can't do this!" Someone says, standing up.
"Number 50 failed!"
"Number 130 and 110 failed!"
One by one many teams quit, till there were only 28 teams left.
Just then, Naruto raises his hand. Then slams it down.
"Don't underestimate me! I don't run! I don't quit! Act as tough as you want! You're not scaring me off! No way in hell! I don't care if I'm stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life! I'll be the first Genin to become Hokage! Believe it!"
He sits back down, and Ibiki tries again.
"No way. I'm not going back on my word. That's my Nindo." Naruto declared.
Ibiki looks at the proctors, then nods. "Very well then! For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do! You all... pass!"
"Hold on a minute, what about the tenth question?" Ino demands.
"That was the tenth question! Our decision to stay was the 10th question!" I say, as if I just realized it.
"There never was a tenth question to begin with!" Ibiki grins. "But yes, this decision can be counted as the tenth question!"
"Wait, so are you telling us the first nine question were useless?" Temari yells.
"No, the first nine questions were to test your information gathering." Ibiki explains. "You see, my objective was to test your skills individually and as a team. That's why the test was marked on a team basis. I wanted to see whether you could handle the pressure. The first nine questions in the test were too difficult for Genin to solve. That's why you must've figured out that you have to cheat in order to pass the exam! Although, it would've been futile, that's why there were Chunin plants around the room who knew the answers."
Ibiki takes off his headband, and I can't help but gasp. His scars look much more gruesome in person than on a TV screen!
"Information can be the most useful weapon you could possess." Ibiki declared. "Of course, the information must be correct. Wrong information is worse than no information! Wrong information can lead to the death of comrades or the loss of a village." He puts his cloth back on. "Now, a proctor will come to each of your seats to check your answers. The total marks for your whole team has to be above ten or above or the team fails!"
A proctor comes to my seat and I release the Genjutsu on it. I turn and see Ino's eyes widen. I grin and turn back.
"All your answers are correct." The proctor informs. He jots something down and moves on.
Then crash! The window breaks and someone rolls in with a banner behind them.
She throws two kunai at the ceiling, making the contents of the banner visible.
"Heads up, maggots! This is no time to be celebrating, because I'm your next proctor! Mitarashi Anko!" She declares.
"Hi Anko-sensei!" I wave. She grins at me, the continues, "Are you all ready for the next stage? Good, then follow me!"
"You're early, Anko." Ibiki says from behind. That's when Anko sees everyone in the room.
"Holy crap, 26 teams?! Ibiki! You let all these guys pass? I guess your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." Anko looks at him.
I look around. Huh. Two teams were failed. Oh look! Ino's team isn't amongst them!
"Or maybe we've got a good batch this year." Ibiki retorts.
"Hmm. We'll see. My exam will cut them at least by half." She smirks. "This is gonna be fun. Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are gonna change first thing in the morning! Your squad leader's gonna tell you where to meet me. Dismissed." She commands.
I meet up with my team.
The first thing I say when I see Sasuke is, "I hate to say I told you so but... I told you so." Then I pause. "No, I loved saying that. I told you so."
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever. But thanks anyway."
"Hey Shikamaru." I say to the slouching boy.
"Hey."
"Let's go." Sasuke says and starts walking away.
I roll my eyes, but follow him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Today, I woke up at 7:30 instead of four. Kakashi-sensei told me to sleep in, since I'll need all the rest I can get. I trust him, since we're going to the Forest of Death.
And here I am, standing in front of the Forest. Sasuke and Shikamaru are with me, and we're grinning widely. We know this place well enough to know where the tower is.
Except... my grin is a fake. We're only a few hours away from battling the Snake Sannin Orochimaru, and I can see him in his Grass Shinobi disguise.
His gaze keeps coming back to Sasuke, which, frankly, is creeping the hell outta me.
I snake my fingers through Sasuke's and Shikamaru's and hold them tight. They both look at me weirdly, but still close their fingers around my hand.
I smile a bit, but then feel Orochimaru's gaze on me and I shiver.
"Man, this place is creeping me out." Ino mutters.
Anko smirks, "It should. It's called the Forest of Death for a reason."
Naruto mocks her, and declares, "Do your worst, Lady! I can handle anything!"
"Ooh, a tough guy." Anko smiles. Suddenly, a kunai shoots through her sleeve and cuts Naruto's cheek. She wraps herself around him from behind, "You're not scared, are you? Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over the Forest."
She starts to wipe his blood off with a finger, when Orochimaru zooms past us. Anko draws another kunai and holds it to his tongue.
"I was just returning your kunai." He says, tongue holding her kunai.
A shiver goes through me again.
"Thank you, Grass Ninja, but I don't recommend standing so close to me unless you wish for a painful death." Anko says, taking her kunai back.
His tongue goes back in, "Apologies. At the sight of blood and your kunai cutting my hair, I'm afraid I got a little excited is all."
Orochimaru brushes past me and I grip my teammates' hands tighter.
Anko walks back and hold up a paper, "Before we begin this test, you all need to sign this waiver. It's just to ensure your deaths aren't my responsibility and you're going in at your own risk."
She passes it to all of us and Sasuke and I hand ours to Shikamaru. Somehow, Shika got stuck with all our paperwork.
"Now, this is a survival test. I'm going to give you all a description of the whole Forest."
I zone out.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck Orochifuckingmaru is behind us and going to kill us fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.
Sasuke shakes me out of my inward panic attack and I look up at his concerned expression.
"Are you ok? You've been scared or something the whole morning." He murmurs.
"I'm fine." I say automatically.
No, I am not fucking ok! Orochimaru is going to curse you in a while and there's not a single thing I can do about it except fight him but he's a fucking Sannin! So, no, I am not ok!
"Sakura!" He shakes me again. I blink and face him again.
"What?" I ask.
"You zoned out again. Are you sure you're alright?" He sounds really concerned, even for him.
"Yeah, we've been shaking you for the past five minutes." Shikamaru adds.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm just worried about the exam." I smile. A fake again.
"If you say so." Sasuke says skeptically. "Anyway, we have to go get a scroll now."
Shika hands my paper to me and I quickly sign it on the way. We get a scroll and Sasuke pockets it for now.
It's a Heaven scroll.
We go to our usual entrance and I pace back and forth, scared for what's going to come.
I notice the boys exchanging glances, but right now, I really couldn't care less.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Shika places a hand on my shoulder, "Sakura. Breathe. Seriously. We've been in here before and we know the layout well enough."
I take a deep breath, "I'm fine, Shika. Or rather, I will be once we get out of there." I smile reassuringly.
They both look at me skeptically. I sigh, "I'll be fine, boys."
They exchange glances again and I ignore them. I continue pacing. I take off my headband and tie it in my hair again, to keep the bangs out of my face.
The Chunin in front of us coughs lightly. I look up and he opens the gate just as Anko-sensei yells, "Alright maggots! The second part of the exam has begun!"
We race in and I try to control my nerves.
"Who are we going for first?" Sasuke asks.
"Who would be the easiest?" Shika asks instead.
I think about it. Then smirk, "Let's play prey instead."
The boys smirk as well and we jump down to the ground.
We all sit down.
"First we need a password. Just in case someone tries to impersonate one of us. The question will be when does a ninja strike." Sasuke says.
While he was talking, he started making discreet hand signs.
'We need to ask a question only the three of us will know.'
"And the answer will be 'a ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is when the enemy strikes. Got it?" Sasuke continues speaking even though none of us are really listening.
We nod and then I tense.
'Enemy. Right behind you, Sasuke.' I sign.
Sasuke nods minutely. We loosen our posture and laugh as if we just told a joke. All three of us subtly pull out a kunai.
Then after a few minutes of useless banter, the enemy decides to strike. It's the same guy as canon, who impersonated Naruto.
"Give me your scroll!" He demands. He throws a couple of shuriken and we easily block them.
Sasuke races forward, holding out a kunai. He pulls his left hand back, and the enemy ninja crosses his arms in an 'x' to block it. Instead, Sasuke kicks him in his chest, making him stumble, and a hard punch to his nose, effectively breaking it.
Sasuke then shunshins behind him and cracks his neck. He searches his body, but comes up empty, so he uses the fireball to burn any tracks of the body and we tree jump away for a couple of minutes.
We find another clearing and drop down again.
"We need to decide who holds the scroll." Shikamaru says after we make sure there's no on behind us.
"I think Sakura should hold the scroll." Sasuke says.
"What? Why me?" I yelp.
"You're the medic and, no offense, a girl. Everyone will automatically underestimate you and think one of us have the scroll. They'll leave you alone and it will give us enough time to retaliate."
I sigh, "Fine, it does make sense."
As soon as we say that, a ridiculously strong gust of wind comes in our direction.
Nonononono not now! Please, God no!
Then suddenly, it stops and the three 'Grass' ninja appear in front of us.
"You both fan out in the woods. I'll take care of these three." The one in the middle says.
Immediately, the three of us go into hiding. I move towards Sasuke who comes up behind me and presses a kunai to my neck.
"When does a ninja strike?" He asks. I look down to his hand, where he's signing,
'What does Kakashi call me?'
I verbally say the answer to his first question, while signing,
'Duckling and Duck-Ass at times.'
He removes the kunai and opens his mouth to say something, when we hear Shikamaru.
"Are you guys ok?" He yells.
Sasuke and I both hold a kunai at him, "When does a ninja strike?" I ask.
With my left hand, I sign,
'Where do I live?'
Shikamaru only gives the verbal answer, not paying attention to my hand.
I bite my lip and throw the kunai at him. He dodges it and jumps to the side.
"What the hell?" He demands.
"Wrong answer." I say, trying not to whimper.
"What?" He sits up.
"The correct answer was 'the Uchiha compound'."
"We've seen past your Henge. Come on out, impostor." Sasuke commands.
Orochimaru does the weird tongue thing. "You got me." He releases the Henge.
I whimper. Sasuke looks at me weirdly, then turns back to Orochimaru.
"But that's not the answer she said. I said the same answer word for word. What was wrong with it?" The Sannin asks.
"We have our own password. A different one only we can understand." Sasuke smirks.
Orochimaru takes off his hat, "I'm impressed. You both certainly haven't dropped your guard. This is going to be very entertaining."
I take out two kunai, not that it will help, and hold it defensively. Orochimaru takes out the Earth scroll. Sasuke gasps lightly and he smirks.
"Ah. You would love to have the Earth scroll, wouldn't you?" Orochimaru says. He wraps his tongue around it and swallows the scroll. A shudder goes through me.
"Now... at the end of this, one of us will have both the scrolls." He looks up. "And the other will be dead!"
Suddenly, a blast of Killing Intent overwhelms us.
We both gasp at the amount, but try our best to stay standing.
This is much more than Sensei's! I... didn't expect it to be... so much!
"Oh, you're still standing, huh? Tough kids." Orochimaru smirks again.
My knees start trembling.
No, no, no! I will not fall! I will not fall, damnit!
"How about this?" He asks. He increases the KI by a few notches.
No matter how badly I want to stay standing, my body gives up and I collapse to my knees.
I see the images of our blood splattering on the ground and trees, and Orochimaru putting us out of our misery with a kunai to our heads.
I notice Sasuke trying to move, but just ends up coughing up a little blood.
Gritting my teeth, I reach for a kunai and pull a Sasuke. I stab myself.
"S-Sasuke?" I mutter. His head turns to me with much difficulty. His eyes look hollow and frightened at the same time.
I feel a wetness on my face and realize I was crying. How absolutely pathetic. I wipe my tear away, and stand up with a lot of difficulty.
"Now what are you going to do?" Orochimaru stalks towards us. She pulls out two kunai and smirks, "Don't worry, I'll make it quick. But then again, I don't need to tell you that, do I? After all, you saw it with your own eyes."
He raises the kunai, "I expected you," He looks straight at Sasuke, "To be more of a challenge. How disappointing."
She throws the kunai at us. The image of us dying flashes through my mind again. I stab myself in the same spot again, deflect both the kunai, and drag Sasuke away. I jump past the trees and land on a wider branch.
I slap Sasuke on his arm hard. He hisses in pain, but comes back to his senses.
"Sakura?" He murmurs.
I put my finger to my lips.
'He could still be around'
My eyes snap to the side and I see the snake coming towards us.
Sasuke and I jump away, and the snake targets Sasuke. I throw numerous shuriken at the same time as him.
It falls down, bleeding from its neck.
I jump to the same branch as him, "Are you ok?"
He nods shakily. The belly of the snake starts cracking, and Orochimaru comes out creepily, murmuring, "I can sense your fear and desperation. It's only natural, I suppose. The prey should never let down its guard. Not even... for a moment, in the presence of its predator!" His head comes up with a crazy gleam in his eye.
I let out another whimper.
He leaps up, his body wrapping around each branch at a fast pace.
Sasuke yells, and I throw my kunai and shuriken in his path. That stops him, but a few more kunai fall with mine.
I turn around and see Shikamaru standing there, covered in slime and his clothes a little burnt.
"Shikamaru, you're ok!" I say, relieved.
Before he can say anything else, Sasuke shouts, "Shikamaru! Get out of here! Get yourself to safety!"
"So, Shikamaru, you managed to escape my friend, huh? Good job." Orochimaru says, still wrapped around the branch.
"Shikamaru, run away while you still can! You don't know what you're up against!" Sasuke yells again.
"Those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. I do not want to explain to Kakashi-sensei why I'm worse than trash! Say what you want; I'm not leaving you guys hanging!" Shikamaru declares.
I smile a bit, then remember Orochimaru is still here.
Sasuke growls, then turns to me. "Sakura, give me the scroll. It's the only way."
I shake my head. "Sorry Sasuke, but I'm not giving it. You heard hi- her. She's not going to leave us alone till one of us is dead. For all we know, she'll just swallow this scroll too, and then kill us all."
He growls again, but I look him in the eyes. "I am not giving it."
"The girl is smart." Orochimaru purrs. I glare at him.
Shika jumps down to our branch, "What are we going to do?"
Sasuke looks at the two of us in annoyance, "You guys are so annoying."
I roll my eyes, "You're just going to have to deal with it. Get used to it, Sasuke, you aren't alone anymore."
"What she said." Shika smirks. "Now, how do we get past her?" He turns back to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru chuckles menacingly and stands up. He pulls up his left sleeve dramatically, and I gasp.
Shit, he's going to summon the snake.
I run to him and throw a few kunai which he easily dodges. He reaches out for me, but I jump above it and shunshin behind him. I try to punch him, but he kicks my side. I grab onto his leg, using it as support, twist myself and kick his face. He growls and grabs my own leg and throws me away.
He bites his thumb and smears the blood on the tattoo. "She's right. But I could also just kill you, and then take the scroll."
He runs through the hand signs and says, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A huge gust of wind again, and a suddenly, he's standing on a snake.
I jump back to the boys' branch.
"You three will make a tasty meal for him. Careful, he likes to play with his food." He chuckles again.
The snake's tail comes to our branch, and the three of us jump away from the now broken branch.
"Now then, let's see how well you do, Sasuke." The snake starts slithering towards him, and I jump down next to him. I don't care if I get hurt at this moment, I need to stop him from marking Sasuke.
Orochimaru growls in annoyance and the snake's tail tries to grab me. I jump above it, throwing a few kunai at it.
It flicks them all away. The snake stops a meter away from Sasuke.
I turn to him and slap his arm again, "Snap out of it, Sasuke! Are you really going to die now? Before you even get a chance to kill him?" That snaps him out of it.
Before I can react, Orochimaru's tongue wraps around me, lifting me off the ground.
I thrash around, trying to get out if it, but it's all futile. He brings me close to him, "You are smart, girl. But unfortunately, you aren't needed here. Sasuke is who I'm here for, and you are in the way."
He squeezes me and I hear a few bones cracking. I grunt in pain.
I reach for a kunai, but Orochimaru throws me away, slamming me against a tree.
I cough out blood, but twist my body around and stick to the tree using my chakra.
I jump back to Shikamaru and Sasuke.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Shikamaru jumping away, going behind him. He uses his shadow to try to catch Orochimaru in it, but the snake's tail catches him in the stomach, slamming him too, to a tree.
"Do no try to sneak up behind me, brat. It will not work." Orochimaru says, not bothering to turn around.
Angry, I turn to Sasuke, "Is this what you want? To die at his hands? Will you give up? Like he said you would? Or will you fight? Do you not want to kill Itachi?" I yell.
At his name, Sasuke's Sharingan activates. He glares at me and I glare back defiantly.
The snake poofs away, the smoke clouding my sight for a few seconds.
I hear Sasuke saying, "Don't you dare interfere, Sakura!"
Once it clears, I see Sasuke running towards him with a kunai in his mouth. He throws a few shuriken at Orochimaru, who just tilts his head, dodging all of them.
Sasuke throws a barrage of punches and kicks, dodging Orochimaru's too.
Then Orochimaru starts running at a pace I can't keep up with. He just looks like a blur to me.
Sasuke, on the other hand, can not only see him, but keep up with him. He flashes through hand signs, and uses the Fireball Jutsu. Orochimaru is caught in it, but then sinks into the ground, and appears right in front of Sasuke. He throws a punch, but Sasuke jumps back.
Orochimaru's eyes narrow a bit. He turns around, and I see Shikamaru behind him with a kunai in hand.
Orochimaru throws a punch which is too fast for him, and it catches Shikamaru in his jaw. He's thrown back, and just as Orochimaru shunshins behind him, I freak out.
I have to help him!
I jump down and with a burst of energy, I punch Orochimaru's ribs from the side.
Once he's pushed aside, I grab Shikamaru and shunshin us away.
I land on a branch, but Shika goes and accidentally hits his head on the bark, and knocks himself out.
I stare at my fist. That punch was exactly like what Shippuden Sakura or Tsunade do! How did I do that? I didn't even apply chakra to my punch.
I look back and see Sasuke standing beneath us, panting. That's when Orochimaru's body melts into mud.
"Mud clone!" Sasuke yells. He runs away just as numerous kunai try to kill him. He uses his ninja wire and swings down a branch.
Orochimaru comes up in front of him and punches him in the face. He knees Sasuke in the stomach.
Orochimaru punches him very hard once and Sasuke lands on the tree branch with a groan.
I bite my lip hard. I can only watch as Orochimaru walks to him and says, "What a disappointment you are. The Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Stupid little worm."
Suddenly, there's a blast behind Orochimaru, and Sasuke takes the chance to flip back and throw shuriken at the fallen Sannin.
He had attached ninja wire to the shuriken, and he uses them to pin Orochimaru to the tree.
Sasuke does the hand signs to the Dragon Flame Jutsu and sets Orochimaru on fire.
Orochimaru screams as he's burnt. As the flames extinguish, I jump down to Sasuke and look at him.
He's bruised everywhere.
"Sasuke?" I ask. "Sasuke, can you electrocute him really quick?"
He looks at me with a 'Are you serious right now?' expression.
He starts panting and places his hands on his knees. I wrap an arm around him for support.
I hear the strings breaking and I say frantically, "Sasuke, we need to go. We need to go now!"
Orochimaru uses the Paralysis Technique and I curse.
"Such mastery of the Sharingan at such a young age." His voice changes to his real one, "You are a true Uchiha, Sasuke. Oh, yes. You will do nicely."
Sasuke glares at him and I grunt to make myself move.
"Yessss, you are truly his brother." Orochimaru hisses. "If anything, your eyes are even keener than Itachi's."
He makes a seal and his neck elongates.
"Nooooooo!" I scream.
I build up my chakra and let it out with a burst. I jump up and kick Orochimaru's neck, trying to get it away from Sasuke.
Orochimaru turns to me, "You are a very annoying little girl." He growls.
I glare back, still trying not to whimper.
He turns to me and unleashes his Killing Intent. I freeze and fall to my knees again.
He smirks at me, and his head continues towards Sasuke. He bites Sasuke's neck.
I've failed. I've failed in the one thing I had to do. I had one job.
His head retracts, and he says, "There. My gift has been given. Soon, Sasuke will seek me out. He will desire my power."
With another menacing chuckle, Orochimaru sinks into the tree, and Sasuke writhes in agony.
I lunge at Sasuke and support him just as he starts falling. He screams in agony and I place my hands on the Curse Seal. I send out waves of numbing chakra, and I think it works. He's stopped screaming, now it's only shaky breaths.
He starts to get up, then faints.
And right there, for the first time in the past two and a half years, I cry.
I break down and cry my eyes out.
"I'm so sorry." I gasp. I apologize for the next few minutes, then stand up. I wipe away my tears and lift him up.
I walk to Shikamaru, and drag them to the closest clearing, which happens to be the same one Canon Sakura took Naruto and Sasuke.
I place them both under the tree and then place a few traps.
I unseal the cloth and water, and wash their wounds. Since I can't heal them, I just bandage the wounds.
I wash my face with a little water, drink some and then place the cold, wet cloth on Sasuke's forehead.
I lean my head on the bark of the tree.
Forgive me, Sasuke. I couldn't stop him from marking you.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I sigh as I switch the cloth from Sasuke's forehead.
It's been a day and a half since the fight happened, and I'm still here with two unconscious teammates.
I eat a soldier pill and drink some water. I pull out my weapons.
I don't have much. Maybe I can use the boys' for a while if I need it.
I hear the squeaking of a squirrel and narrow my eyes.
I am not in the mood for this shit.
I walk out and pick up the squirrel. I pull the tag off, attach it to the kunai and throw it in the Sound shinobi's direction.
"I am not in the mood for this shit right now, so you three better come out." I growl.
The three of them jump out just as the tag explodes.
I cross my arms, "What do you want?"
Zaku and Kins smirk as Dosu speaks, "Wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him."
"Fuck off. Orochimaru's marked him and he's in no condition to fight. Unless you're so bad you want to fight someone, who can't defend themselves?"
Zaku's eyes narrow, "Well, I can't sit still after hearing that. First, I'll kill you, then your boyfriends."
I twirl my kunai lazily.
"Wait." Dosu walks to my first very obvious trap. He makes a speech I don't hear and then says, "Now, we kill her."
I sigh and cut the string holding up the log. It goes straight to their faces, and then as expected, they blast right through it.
I simply twirl my kunai as Lee comes in, "Leaf Hurricane!"
He says, blowing the three of them away.
"Hey Lee." I smile.
"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" He asks.
"I'm fine, thanks. I was actually going to kick their asses, but feel free to do it. I'll go check on Sasuke and Shikamaru. And I owe you one."
"Alright, Sakura-chan! I will not let you down!"
I sit down next to my teammates and send another wave of numbing chakra through Sasuke. I start healing the few remaining wounds on him and Shika, and then I sense Lee's eyes on me and I speak, "Hey Lee? I know I don't look very good right now, but I can still fight, ok?"
He tenses, and I chuckle.
I continue healing them, ignoring the sounds of a fight behind me.
"Also, they work with sounds so be careful of their gauntlets and if they use it." I say loudly.
Once I finish working on their wounds, I turn back to the fight. I see Dosu standing over Lee, who was kneeling on the ground, wincing.
Shit, he was hit by their sound attacks.
Seeing Lee down reminds me of Sasuke and Shikamaru. Suddenly, he starts coughing, and blood trickles down his ear.
I stand up and murmur, "Sorry about this, Lee."
I knock him out. I pull him next to Sasuke and put him down there.
Once he was lying down, I face the Sound three.
I glare at them, "You hurt him. Prepare to die."
"Oh, I'm so scared." Zaku mocks. I smirk, "You should be." I drop the weights and put them away.
Feeling significantly lighter, I run towards them so fast they don't even have time to display their shock. I throw a few kunai, taking advantage of their surprise.
As expected, they dodge and deflect them all, but then I use Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, and sink under the ground.
I walk under Dosu and grip his ankle. I use Double Suicide Decapitation and pull him underground till only his head is above the ground.
I emerge from the ground and smirk at the other two, "Told you, you should be scared."
From the bushes, I hear Naruto muttering, "Wow, she's good."
"Forehead, when did you get so good?" Ino murmurs.
Zaku is the first to recover, and he charges, his hands in front.
I flash through the hand signs and use Hell's Fire Technique.
He stops in his tracks and starts writhing. He screams and Kin decides to attack.
She pulls her hand for a punch, but then I feel a stab of pain in my shoulder.
She stops and smirks at me. I feel my shoulder and pull out a kunai. I turn around to see Zaku standing there.
"Did you really think I would fall for such a pathetic trick?" He smirks.
My eyes widen, then I throw a few shuriken at both of them. They both deflect it and come at me at the same time.
I block their attacks for the first few minutes, then exhaustion starts getting to me.
They land more hits on me, and I Substitute with Kin.
I jump out of the way and try to catch my breath.
"What happened? I thought we were supposed to be scared of you." Kin says.
"Yeah well, sorry if I'm not my best after fighting your fucking boss." I growl.
I hear Naruto saying, "That's it. I'm going to go help her."
"Don't interfere!" I yell, not looking at them. "This is my fight. Whether I win or lose, I have to do it on my own."
"Forehead..." I hear Ino sigh.
Zaku and Kin both narrow their eyes and run towards me. I hold my hands in the ram seal and shunshin away from them.
I come up behind them and knock Kin out. Zaku, however, kicks me in my stomach, pushing me away.
I cough out blood, but stand up and charge. I lunge for him and manage to plunge a kunai in his thigh, but I got hit by three of his own kunai.
He punches my in the face, breaking my nose, and then kicks me off.
I land on my back, and he comes up in front of me.
"This is the end, girlie." Zaku grins maliciously.
"Not if I have a say in this." I growl.
I flash through the hand signs before he can kill me and yell, "Water Style: Water Senbon!"
I had landed close to where the boys were lying, and I used the water from Sasuke's wet cloth.
I spit the senbon straight into his left eye, blinding him.
He staggers behind, holding his eye. I push myself up and punch him in the nose. He screams in pain, and I knee his stomach.
He coughs up blood on me, and I kick him in the head with a switching roundhouse, slamming him into a tree.
Suddenly, Dosu comes up behind me and kicks my back; making me fall on my face.
Just as I start getting up, I feel an abnormal amount of bloodlust coming from behind me.
I turn around and see Sasuke standing up, walking towards us with tainted chakra rising from him. The black marks on his skin had covered half of his body.
"Who did that to you, Sakura?" He demands.
"Sasuke..." I sigh in relief.
"Who did that to you?" He asks again.
Zaku stands and says, "That would be me. Why? Worried about your girlfriend?"
"Sasuke, are you alright?" I ask, feeling very worried.
"It's ok, Sakura. I'm fine. I've never been better, in fact. He showed me who I am. I am an avenger. I need power if I need to follow my path. Even if it means being consumed by evil." Sasuke replies.
Sasuke faces Zaku, and I cough out some blood.
Zaku uses his sound attack, and I grab Shikamaru and roll out of the way. Sasuke disappears, and reappears once the attacks fades.
He stands right behind Zaku and backhands him. Zaku rolls away, landing on his front.
Sasuke uses the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and hides shuriken in them. The sound waves blow the flames away, but do nothing to the shuriken. They cut Zaku, and suddenly, Sasuke comes up behind him.
He pins Zaku down with his foot on his back, and hands pulled behind.
Meanwhile, I pull all the kunai out of my body.
"You seem very proud of your arms." Sasuke pulls them a bit. "You must be very... attached... to them."
"Bad pun, Sasuke." I call.
He ignores me. He pulls Zaku's arms and breaks one of them. Zaku screams in agony and Sasuke smirks. He pulls and breaks the other one too. Another scream, and Sasuke drops him.
"You," He faces Dosu, "You're next."
I cough again.
Sasuke walks towards Dosu, who's paralyzed with fear. I cough and spit out blood.
Seeing the crazed look in his eyes, I stop Sasuke.
"Sasuke, that's enough." I command.
He ignores me.
"Sasuke." I try again. He ignores me, again. Frustrated, I run in front of him.
"Move, Sakura." He grits his teeth.
"No. You need to listen to me. You already broke Zaku's arms. That's good enough. Don't get influenced by the Curse Mark. Please. Don't make me beg."
He doesn't say anything.
"Sasuke, please!"
He doesn't say anything.
"I'll but you tomatoes for a week."
"A month." He replies.
"Two weeks."
"Deal."
He sighs and the curse marks start receding.
I smile shakily at him. "Thank you."
We grab the scroll from Dosu and shoo him away.
I look at the bushes, "You three can come out now."
Then I turn to another branch, "And you both."
Naruto, Ino, Choji, Tenten and Neji come out.
"Hey." I smile at them.
Team 10 starts talking at the same time, and then Shikamaru wakes up.
"Guys? What's going on?" He asks. I look at him and chuckle weakly, "It's a long story."
"We'll just take our teammate and leave." Neji says, walking towards the unconscious Lee.
"Wait." I stop them. I walk towards Lee. "Let me heal him first. It's the least I can do."
"Sakura, you aren't in any condition to-" Sasuke protests.
"It's fine, Sasuke. It isn't much trouble."
I heal Lee in a few seconds, then head back to my team.
"Which scroll is it, Sasuke?" I ask.
"Heaven." He says through pursed lips.
I groan, "Another Heaven scroll?"
"I think we can help you out." Tenten speaks up.
I turn my head slightly to look at her, "How?"
"We have two Earth scrolls. We'll trade you one for a Heaven scroll."
I take it from Sasuke and toss the Heaven scroll to her just as she tosses the Earth scroll to me.
"Nice doing business with you." I grin.
With that, all of us go our own way. Sasuke and Shika set me down there.
"Wait, Sakura did you take care of us the whole time?" Shika asks.
I nod.
"On your own?"
I nod again.
"Wow, thanks."
I brush it away. "Could you pass me that scroll?"
Sometime later, the three of us head to the tower. After a few hours of walking and a fighting a few Genin, we reached the Tower.
"Here, this is our gate." I speak.
We read the inscription on the wall and figure out we have to open the scrolls together.
There's a poof, and Kakashi-sensei appears, eye-smiling.
"Congrat- what happened to you?" He asks, coming closer to us.
"Orochimaru." I answer bluntly.
"What?!" He yells.
We explain everything that happened and he sighs. "Of course, that happened. Anyway, there are still two days left, so go get any vacant room and stay there. The three of you will have to bunk there for two days. Sakura, I'll call a medic for you, and... I'm so proud of you three."
I beam at that. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
Sensei vanishes and the three of us find a room.
"I'm calling dibs on the shower first." I say, not willing to take no for an answer.
As soon as we reach the room, I dash into the shower, coming out after fifteen minutes, wearing a white top and dark blue skirt.
I unseal Sasuke's clothes and throw them at the boys, "Here. I got some from home."
They take it gratefully, and I crash.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two Days Later
Here we are again. All of us standing in a line, listening to Hokage-sama's speech.
Well, I'm not really listening.
The past two days, I helped ease Sasuke's Curse Mark pain by sending out some numbing chakra every time it got too much.
Even right now, I'm standing behind Sasuke with my hand on his shoulder. Every time he lets out a grunt of pain, I send out a strong wave of numbing chakra.
"Thanks, Sakura." Sasuke says again. I ignore him. He says that every time and it's getting annoying.
Ah, here we go.
"Now, if there are any of you who don't want to go on with the preliminary, now is your chance to quit." Hayate says, coughing again.
Shikamaru turns to Sasuke expectantly. "I think you should quit."
"What?" Sasuke demands, "No way am I quitting now!"
Shika looks skeptical, but he gives up when I shake my head.
Sasuke turns to me, "Are you going to tell me to quit too?"
"Will you quit if I tell you to?"
He shakes his head.
I smile, "Then no, I'm not going to. Just promise me you won't use your Sharingan or any of your chakra, ok?"
He doesn't say anything.
"Sasuke, promise me!" I press.
"...Fine. I promise. No Sharingan or chakra, whatsoever." He says quietly.
I smile, "Thank you."
He winces again, and I send another wave of chakra.
Then Kabuto raises his hand, "I'm sorry, but I'm quitting."
Yes! Let's go! Fuck off, you traitor!
Hayate checks his name and place and tells him to step back. Kabuto walks out after saying something to his teammate.
"Alright, let's start the battles." Hayate coughs. "Before each match, the names of the contestants will appear behind me. The first two names are."
We all look at the screen.
"The first two contestants are Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi. Everyone else please move to the stands." Hayate requests.
I send one last wave, and then head up. "Don't forget your promise." I murmur.
The fight goes exactly like canon, which is very weird, considering Sasuke is much stronger here.
Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of pain he's going through right now?
Once the fight is over, Kakashi-sensei shunshins down, using his knee as a support for Sasuke.
"Come on Sasuke. We need to go seal that." Kakashi-sensei says.
I watch in surprise as Sasuke shakes his head, "No, Kakashi-sensei. I want to watch their matches too."
"Sasuke, we need to seal that before it grows too strong." Kakashi-sensei orders.
He denies it again, "Sensei, I want to watch their match." He repeats. He looks straight into Sensei's eye, almost like he's challenging Kakashi-sensei.
"Fine. But as soon as their fights are over, we're leaving. Clear?" Sensei growls.
Sasuke nods happily. He comes up and I smile, "Good fight."
"Mm. I need to get stronger, though." Sasuke says.
I narrow my eyes, "Don't you dare go all revenge-y on me again." I hiss.
He doesn't say anything. I sigh.
He looks at me pleadingly, and I give in. I place my hand on his shoulder again. He smiles gratefully, but I make a mental note to keep an eye on him.
The screen shuffles the names again, and the next two names displayed, are Abumi Zaku and Aburame Shino.
I glare at the Sound ninja. He has a bandage covering his left eye.
The two of them stand in front of each other.
Zaku pulls one arm out and says, "One good arm is more than enough to beat you!"
He charges, but is blocked by Shino.
"You couldn't beat me with both your arms." Shino retorts.
"Yeah? Well, I've got news for you!" Zaku pulls his left arm back and uses the Slicing Sound wave, pushing Shino back.
Shino rolls to a stop on the ground, making Zaku smirk. Suddenly, he stands back up, and his bugs start coming out of him.
"Great! You creeped us all out! What comes next?" Zaku scowls.
From the sound of chirping, Zaku whips his head around, startled to see an army of bugs coming towards him.
"These are a kind called Parasitic Insects. They attack in a swarm and eat your chakra. With an army of this size, they'll suck you dry within a minute. Are you sure you don't want to forfeit?"
Getting a crazy gleam in his eye, Zaku opens his left hand and aims it at Shino.
Then very dramatically opens his right hand and aims it at the bugs.
He uses his chakra, but it comes out from the gauntlet the wrong way. Almost like there are holes in his arms.
He opens his palm, only to see bugs crawling in and out of it.
"What?" He looks in shock.
Shino comes up behind him. "You see, when I told you to give up, I was also sending a few of my friends to stop the sound. To both arms, just to be sure. Because, even though an ace in the hole is good, two aces are better..."
Anger gets the better of Zaku, and he turns around, but gets back handed to the floor by Shino.
Hayate examines Zaku's arms, and declares, "The winner is Aburame Shino."
The medics carry Zaku out on a stretcher and Shino joins us on the balcony again.
I look back to Sasuke who seems to be wincing in pain more frequently.
"Sasuke," I chew on my lip, "maybe you should go get that sealed. The waves of pain are coming faster, aren't they?"
"I'll be fine, Sakura." Sasuke says tightly.
"Don't lie to me!" I say sharply. He looks at me from the corner of his eye, "I said I'm fine."
I glare at him, "Sasuke..."
He sighs, "I just want to watch both of your fights. Please?"
After a few seconds, I sigh, "Fine. But tell me if it gets too much."
He nods and I look back to the proctor.
"The next fight is between Misumi Tsurugi and Kankuro."
I ignore the match.
I head to the bathroom and wash my face. I sense someone behind me and pull out a kunai.
I spin around only to find a certain blonde pain in the ass.
I sigh and put my kunai back.
"Well, aren't we jumpy?" She smirks.
"Probably because I know what a battle really is like. I mean I would discuss it with you, but what would you know?" I mock.
She growls and says, "Sasuke-kun collapsed after his battle, y'know. I wonder what would happen to you? I think you should quit before you get hurt."
"I'm sorry, did you not see me fight against the Sound three on my own?" I ask incredulously.
"Oh please!" She scoffs, "Everyone knows that was pure luck!"
I scowl, "Well, that does it. If we both ever fight, I'm going to wipe the floor with you."
She scoffs again, "We'll see, Forehead."
I walk out. I reach my place beside Sasuke and Shikamaru, and ask, "Who do you think it'll be next?"
"Someone very troublesome, that's for sure." Shika drawls.
I laugh. Kakashi-sensei wraps an arm around my shoulder and says, "Now isn't the time for laughter, Sakura-chan."
He points at the screen and the names, 'Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata' are displayed.
I gasp.
I have to fight Hinata? I thought it was supposed to be Ino!
Iturn to Ino, "After this is all over, you, me, a proper fight."
"Good luck, Sakura." Sasuke and Shikamaru chorus.
"Thanks." I smile.
I'm gonna need it.
I grab my water bottle and jump down from the balcony and come face to face with a nervous Hinata.
"G-Good luck, Sakura." She stammers.
"May the best kunoichi win." I smile.
"Hn. A battle of two failures." I hear Neji say.
I turn to face him. I put my hand inside and pull it back out as if I took something out, and start shaking my hand vigorously like I have a buzzing device in my hand. "Oh, I'm sorry, my moron detector was on. I didn't hear what you said."
Sasuke bursts out laughing while Shikamaru snickers. The whole arena either snickers or giggles. Or at least the Konoha ninja.
Neji glares at me, "As expected of a failure. All talk and no show."
I put my other hand in my pocket and say, "Wait, I have something for you."
I take it out and flip him off.
I walk to the other side of the arena and empty my water bottle.
Sorry Hinata. As much as I want you to prove you aren't a failure, you have one of the most prestigious clans behind you. I don't. I have only myself. I have to prove myself here.
I walk back, take my stance and let out a breath.
"I don't know why you did that, but are you both ready?" Hayate asks.
I nod. Hinata takes her Jyuuken stance with her hands trembling. And activates her Byakugan.
I can't fight her in hand-to-hand combat. Neither can I use Genjutsu. I'll have to rely on Ninjutsu and tactics. Unless... Hehe. Let's use that as a last resort. Good thing I have practice fighting Hyuugas. Training with Neji is going to pay off. Especially since he's much better than her.
"Begin!" Hayate jumps back.
I jump backwards and flash through my hand signs and say, "Suiton: Mizu Peretto (Water Style: Water Pellet)!"
I shoot a few fist-sized water bullets towards her and throw shuriken behind it.
Hinata swerves through the bullets and runs to me.
She attacks with her Jyuuken straight off the bat and tries to close my tenketsu. I dodge every one of them, take the opening when she stops for a moment.
I throw a barrage of punches and kicks, not stopping for a second, scared she would exploit it even if I make a single mistake.
I jump back the next minute and shunshin around her at a fast pace. I know she can track me, but it's worth a shot. While doing that, I create a Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone), and the two of us attack together.
I dodge another strike to my tenketsu, and try to roundhouse kick her. She blocks it, but her hand grazes my leg. I feel her block my tenketsu and I wince.
Damn it!
I jump back and catch my breath. I kneel down and take off my weights. I throw them to the side, then attack at full speed.
I throw punches and kicks faster than she can track and some connect. Like a side kick to her stomach, a punch to her jaw, a snap kick to her face and so on.
She jumps back and tries to catch her breath. I take out a few more kunai and hide poisoned senbon behind them.
I throw them and see three senbon graze her skin.
Perfect. Now I just have to get her moving and it should spread.
"Hinata, please withdraw. You're poisoned, and the more time you take, the sooner it'll reach your heart. And if it does, you'll die." I bluff. It's only a simple paralyzing poison.
She gasps. Then her jaw sets and she says, "I-I'm sorry, but I can't w-withdraw. Not now."
I sigh through my nose, "Very well then."
I charge again and attack her while dodging her sloppy blows. I notice the poison taking effect, and her body stiffening.
I see her arm freeze, and I exploit it. I grab her arm and throw her in the air, then leap up and hit her with a switching roundhouse with enough force to slam her to the wall. She coughs out blood and falls to the ground.
I walk towards her, "Give up, Hinata. I don't want to kill you, but I will if I must."
She gets up again and wipes the blood off her mouth. "I t-told you, I can't give up now. A-And I'm not going back on my w-word. That's my Nindo, my n-ninja way!"
She runs towards me again, and attacks with one hand. I bat her hand aside and punch her stomach, making her bend over, then knee her nose, breaking it.
She coughs up some more blood and my eyes harden. "I will continue attacking you till you give up. And the more you stall, the faster the poison will spread. You've already lost feeling in you left hand and your foot, haven't you? Give up and I'll give you the antidote. Continue, and you'll lose anyway."
"Even if I'm g-going to lose," She coughs out a lot of blood, "I-I refuse t-to give up!" She stands shakily.
I pull out two flash bombs attached to a kunai and throw it in the middle.
"Last chance." I warn. She looks at me defiantly and I raise my hand in a half-tiger seal. And then I say something I've always wanted to.
"Have it your way then. I say Katsu." I detonate the flash bombs.
I hear a cry of pain from her while I cast Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings.
Once the light fades away, she looks around and then looks at one of the previously fallen kunai in fear.
I created the Genjutsu in such a way, that she would think I had attached many other flash bombs to the previously fallen kunai, so she wouldn't activate her Byakugan.
She stares away to the side where Genjutsu Sakura is supposed to be standing, and she rushes towards her.
I shunshin there and knock her out while she's having an imaginary battle in the Genjutsu.
I make the half-tiger seal again and say, "Kai!", releasing the Genjutsu on everyone.
I look up and see my team looking at me with pride on their faces.
Hayate calls the match and I hear most jounin say,
"How ironic. Defeating a Hyuuga with Genjutsu of all things."
I turn to Neji, who's looking at me with an emotionless mask and look him in the eye. "I'm coming for you next."
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Well, that was the end of this chapter.
Also, I need someone to train Sakura during the one-month training period, and I have no idea who should. Some suggestions would be nice, please and thank you.
Anyway,
Review, Favorite and Follow!
Bye!
Kristina...
P.S: There is an Omake I wanted to add in the previous chapter, but I forgot, so I'm adding it here. This has no relevance to the plot whatsoever. And it is right after Sensei threatened my dango! Twice!
Anyway.
Enjoy.
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Omake- Ground Rules.
I snuck into an apartment, dodging all the traps. I found the books I needed five minutes later, and snuck out.
I smirked triumphantly. I Henge'd the books as my kunai and hid them in my pouch.
I had scheduled a meeting with Kakashi-sensei, so I went to meet him.
I walked into the Training Ground and smiled, "Hello, Kakashi-sensei."
"Hello, Pinky! So, why did you want to see me?" Sensei closed his book.
I donned a serious expression and said, "Sensei, we need to set some ground rules."
"Oh? And what might they be?" His eye was displaying his amusement.
I pulled out the three kunai and released the Henge. I smirked when I say Kakashi-sensei's eye widen.
"If you threaten my dango, this," I held up the Makeout Paradise Super Special Edition, "Makeout Paradise, will turn into Takeout Paradise. All you need to do is threaten my dango, and you can kiss these 'Special Edition with Bonus Pictures' books goodbye."
His fingers twitched, like he was going to reach out for it.
"I understand, but how did you even get into my house?! No one knows where it is, and even if you found it, those traps were jounin level! How did you get past them without a single scratch?" Sensei's eye was fixed on the books.
"Well... let's just say... I was very motivated." I smirked.