Chapter 4
The Forest of Death, a bit of an exaggeration? And she was expecting so much. Only the baby ninjas pitted against each other made it seem dangerous, that and the carnivorous animals. Okay, maybe the title was merited.
They had sent the genin out with scrolls, telling them to go at it alone. She had cheerfully wished her teammates off from their gate with a good luck.
Fuu grunted something about not needing it, but Jinn bounced giving her a victory sign as he faded from sight.
Fuu was a poison and genjutsu specialist, whereas Jinn specialized in taijutsu, but not in speed but in sheer muscle. Thus, he was Lee’s “eternal rival.”
They would manage just fine.
She was making her way to the tower having appropriated both scrolls when she heard a voice from behind her.
“What is this feeling? This tightening in my stomach and feeling of… excitement?” His voice was raspy as if from disuse. She turned to look at him but blanched at his question. He had two scrolls tucked beside his gourd, and his cheeks were flushed, as if he had a fever, his hands balled into fists, but his eyes were confused and demanding answers.
“I think that’s best answered by your sister, or maybe your brother” she stuttered out, not looking in his eyes.
He got a stubborn appearance, crossing his arms, but didn’t say anything, merely continued looking at her.
She knew that look. Naruto had often graced her with it. It meant I will stand here until you do what I want.
She hadn’t noticed the sand encircling her feet until she tried to flicker away and found herself trapped.
She looked down at the sand around her feet, then looked back up at Gaara who raised his non-existent eyebrow.
Her eyes shifted to the tree behind him, sensing a presence. Naruto had never been good at being inconspicuous, especially with his color choices.
And he fell at the base of the tree, getting up and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. She saw he had both scrolls, so she wondered why he had stopped. Turning back around to demand Gaara let her go, whilst scanning Naruto for injuries, she found he had disappeared again, only leaving a few grains of sand behind. She wondered if he would ask his siblings for answers to his question. Awkward. She turned pink thinking about it though.