Yay! The next chapter has arrived! No, I'm serious. This is it, the second chapter. I know, you're probably all like 'Whoa, it's a miracle' or something like that. Anyways…
It's the next day, (I think) and it only brings more trouble to Team 7! Just what do those sound ninja plan on doing? Will they survive? And what could be causing Naruto so much pain that he attacks anyone near him, even in his sleep? Find out in this newest chapter!
All Characters in Naruto belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.
Any Character that does NO belong to Naruto belongs to me.
Key
"Word" Talking
'Thought' Thinking
Lee leaped from branch to branch, scouting out for any nearby teams that might have a scroll. So far however, he hadfound none.
Somewhere not to far away…
Naruto thrashed violently about, but Sakura and Sasuke could do nothing to help him. Any time they tried, he would attack them. All they could do was watch and hope for the best.
"Naruto…what could be happening to make him act like this?" Sakura watched sadly as her friend continue to scream in pain.
"I'm not-! No! Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!!" Naruto screamed into the air. It was a surprise that no other shinobi team had found them.
He went limp for a moment, and you could see tears silently streaming down his face. "Please…stop…please…"
Sakura felt her heart nearly break in two. He sounded so sad.
"I wonder what he's dreaming about…" Sasuke muttered. "At least we managed to get him onto the ground." Sakura nodded.
In Naurto's Dream…(A/N: You don't have to read this if you don't want to, but it might help you understand a little more in the story.) (P.S. This part might make you cry.)
The present Naruto watched a younger version of himself.
The younger Naruto watched, eyes tear-filled as one by one, everyone turned their backs on him. Some paused to insult him.
"You freak!"
"Leave us alone, you monster!"
"Go away!"
One even picked up a stone and threw it at him, hitting him on the cheek.
"Wait!" Naruto cried, reaching out a hand, but none of them waited.
Drip.
Drip.
Tears splashed onto the ground as Naruto cried. "Why won't you recognize me!?" he wailed.
It was then he spotted Iruka. His face brightened immediately. "Iruka! Iruka-sensei!" But when his former sensei turned to look at him, it was not with the kind, gentle look he usually wore, but one of pure hatred. The young Naruto took a step back.
"You monster fox you! You killed my parents!" Iruka raised a fist and hit the young Naruto, who reeled back from the blow.
"Iruka…"
But his sensei had already turned his back on him and was walking away, along with the others.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto tried to run after him, but stumbled and fell.
The present Naruto watched horrified. IT all seemed so…real…
In the Real World…
Sasuke frowned. What seemed to be dark purple charka was emanating from Naruto, but he couldn't be sure, but he didn't have time to check anyways as there was a rustle in the trees.
Sakura and Sasuke looked up from their positions at looked curiously at the bush, poised in case of an attack.
There were a few moments of tension, and then a squirrel poppet out.
They relaxed, but then tensed up again. The squirrel had started running forward, but that's not what concerned them, not much anyways.
Sakura threw a kunai right in front of it, sending it running back into the forest.
"Phew…that was close." Sakura relaxed again, as did Sasuke.
"Do you think they saw that explosion tag we set on the squirrel?" Asked a sound ninja, who was still in hiding.
"No. I suspect that it was something else. Let's take a closer look." The one in the middle replied.
Back with Lee…
Lee paused on a branch, surveying the area. "Hmm…Ah!"
He spotted a squirrel thrashing violently on the ground, something burning on it's back.
He quickly leaped down and scooped the squirrel up, then tore off the burning thing and extinguished it. "An explosion tag…who would do such a thing?" he glanced at the squirrel, hoping for answers.
With Sakura and Sasuke…
Sakura and Sasuke went into fighting positions as three sound ninja appeared before them.
"Move aside." The one in the middle ordered.
"Forget it!" Sasuke shouted at them angrily.
"Well then…can you wake Naruto-kun? WE want to fight him."
Sakura shifted her position slightly. 'These guys are…' Trembling, she reached for her shuriken holster. "What are you talking about? What is your purpose? WE know that a guy named Orochimaru is behind all of this!"
The fact that they knew who was behind the grand scheme of things seemed to surprise the sound ninja.
"What's that weird bruise on Naruto's neck?" Sasuke demanded. "You want to fight Naruto-kun after you did this to him?"
Dosu (The ninja in the middle) frowned slightly. "I wonder too, what that person is thinking."
Now the ninja on the right spoke. "But now that we heard that, we can't ignore it. I'll kill this girl, too. I'll even kill Sasuke."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and got into a better position.
"Wait, Zaku." Dosu spoke.
"What?" The one named Zaku looked at Doku.
Dosu stepped forward a little and knelt down. "How unoriginal. The color of the dirt shows that it has just been dug up. This grass doesn't grow here."
Sakura's eyes widened. They had discovered the trap already…
"There's no meaning to a trap if it isn't made well." Dosu concluded.
"So she threw that kunai so that the squirrel wouldn't get caught in the trap." Zaku nodded.
"Let's kill them right now." Dosu stood up, and Sakura and Sasuke prepared to fight.
The three leaped, and Sakura grinned. She cut a string that had been tied down next to her, sending a log towards the three ninja. Sasuke smiled, confident that they would not be able to dodge or block it.
"What?" Zaku exclaimed, "A log?"
'So, there was a trap above us as well?' Dosu thought. "Crap!...Not." Before the log could hit the three enemy ninja, Dosu put his hand on the log and blasted it apart using the metal thing attached to his arm.
Sasuke and Sakura gasped as the log split in two and the three sound ninja continued their descent towards them.
"To be blunt, you have no talent at all." Dosu smiled thinly as he prepared to attack. "People like you two need to work harder."
Just as they were in attack range, a green blur came out of nowhere. "Konoha Whirlwind!"
The three ninja were kicked away from Sakura and Sasuke and landed in front of them. "Wha…" Sakura muttered.
In Naruto's Dream…(Another part that might make you cry. Again, you don't have to read this.)
Naruto picked himself up and stared at where Iruka had disappeared. "Why…?"
"That's easy to answer." A voice responded from behind him. Turning around, both Naruto's saw Kakashi walking towards him, with the usual aloof face that he was always wearing…yet something seemed different.
"It's because you killed his parents, just like he said. But his parents aren't the only ones you killed…you killed many of my friends…Stupid fox!"
Suddenly Kakashi's face was replaced one with anger, and he slapped the young Naruto with the back of his hand, forcing Naruto to take a step back.
"Kakashi-sensei!" But like Iruka, Kakashi was already walking away.
Drip.
Drip.
"Why…Why does everyone hate me? Why!?"
In the Real World…
"Who are you?" Asked Dosu.
The 'green blur' looked up. "I am…Konoha's beautiful blue beast…Rock Lee!"
Had the situation not been so dire, Sakura might have laughed. AS it was, the battle could result in someone's death…
Sasuke stared at Lee. "Why…Why are you helping us?"
Lee glanced behind them, and, looking at Sakura, he said, "When you are in danger, I will appear any time." He set the squirrel on the ground. "Thanks to this little guy, I was able to find you." To the squirrel he added, "Now, go."
Sakura frowned. "But, Lee…right now, we are also you're enemies."
Lee smiled faintly. "I told you before. I will protect you to the death." This was directed at Sakura, but Sasuke couldn't help feeling a bit glad that someone was looking out for Sakura.
"Oh, thank you…Rock Lee." Sakura's face showed the slightest trace of a smile.
In his mind Rock Lee was cheering, while on the outside tears were streaming down his cheeks.
'I did it! I did it perfectly Gai-Sensei!'
Dosu sighed. "We have no other choice." He said, taking out an Earth Scroll from his pocket.
"Zaku, I'll leave Naruto-kun to you." Dosu tossed the scroll to Zaku, who caught it easily.
"Kin, you and I will take out these three."
Lee analyzed the situation. 'Judging from both Sasuke's and Sakura's appearance, neither are fit to fight.'
Dosu was doing some analyzing of his own. 'That fat eyebrows guy is quite efficient in hand-to-hand combat. Looks like I can have some fun.'
Dosu rushed forward, his sleeve pulled back.
Sakura, in somewhat desperation, threw a kunai at him. Sasuke tensed, eyeing Kin, however, she made no intention to attack; yet.
Dosu easily dodged, but before he could continue further, Lee yanked a tree root from the ground, forcing Dosu to rebound, smashing part of the root in the process.
"You're attack has some sort of trick to it, right?" Lee asked. "I won't be able to dodge it in a normal way."
Dosu looked surprised.
"I saw you're attack before." He continued.
Zaku smirked slightly, while Sakura and Sasuke looked amazed Dosu's power.
'He's…strong.' Sakura thought.
Lee frowned. 'But still, I'm at a disadvantage since it's one against three. Unless Sasuke or Sakura joins in to make it even, which I doubt, I'll have to gamble.'
He then remembered the people behind him and renewed his resolve. 'I will defeat them one at a time with everything I have!'
In Naruto's Dream…
The young Naruto sniffed. "I…I just want people…people to recognize me!"
"I recognize you, Naruto." Came an old voice.
Whirling around, both Naruto's saw the Third Hokage approaching, and at the same time both their faces lit up.
"Hokage-sama!" The young Naruto squealed, rushing towards the old man, but paused when he held up a hand.
"Naruto…I'm so sorry to have to put you through this and give you false hopes, that you could ever become hokage…"
Naruto looked confused. "What… what do you mean?"
"What I mean is, you will never be able to become hokage, and even if you do, the people will never truly recognize you. I'm sorry Naruto." Like the other two, Sarutobi turned and walked away.
This time Naruto did not protest, only just stared. His dream…had been shattered.
Now we go check in on a certain team…
Chouji sat on a tree branch, munching on a bag of potato chips…as usual. Below him Ino was complaining.
"WE can't find any weak people at all!" She ranted.
"Actually, only Naruto's team is weaker than us." Shikamaru informed her.
Ino made a fist at Shikamaru. "You baka, do you know what you're saying!?"
"What?" Shikamaru asked.
A vein in Ino's forehead popped. "Naruto and Sakura are weak, but they have the super genius, Sasuke-kun!"
Shikamaru 'hmphed'. "I don't know about that. Geniuses can become quite fragile in real combat."
The vein in Ino's forehead got bigger. 'What!?'
Shikamaru sweat-dropped. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry that I upset you." 'Geez, what a troublesome girl. She always glares at me when I talk badly of Sasuke.'
Ino seemed to accept this before continuing on about how great Sasuke was.
"There's no way Sasuke-kun could be defeated!" Ino turned away, folding her arms. "Although, Sakura can be."
Chouji, who was now munching on what seemed to be bread, spotted something. "Hmmmm?...Sasuke's hurt badly. And Sakura is fighting."
"What did you say?" Ino asked, jumping up onto the tree branch with Chouji. Shikamaru followed close behind.
Looking closer Ino gasped.
Let's take a look at what Lee's teammates are doing…
"He's late. That Lee…" Tenten sighed. "Something's wrong. He's always on time. Maybe he encountered an enemy." She looked up at Neji. "Did he…?!"
Neji smiled slightly. "That's not possible." The smile disappeared from his face. "Anyway, let's go look for Lee.
Tenten nodded. "Okay."
In a blur they both disappeared.
Lee's Flashback…
"I did it! I finally mastered it!" Lee shouted, jumping up and down in joy.
"Gentlemen! You can never run out of breath in the springtime of you're life!" Gai declared happily.
In the background, Neji and Tenten were covered in scratches and breathing heavily.
Gai smiled proudly. 'Only Lee was able to master this move in the end.'
Lee continued his little dance. "Yeah! I did it! I did it!"
"Lee." Gai said quietly.
"I did it! If I try I can do it!" Lee said, having not heard his sensei.
"Lee!" Gai repeated, this time a little louder.
Still Lee did not hear.
"Lee!" Gai once more said, a slightly high pitched note in his voice.
Lee still had not heard.
SMACK!
Gai punched Lee in the face, sending his student flying a few feet.
"Listen to you're teachers burning message!" Gai said as Lee got up on his knees.
Tears started pouring out of Lee's eyes. "What is it? Please say it in cool words!"
Tenten gaped while Neji stared, both slightly disturbed.
"This move, the Lotus, will be treated as a forbidden technique.
Lee looked shocked. "What?" Even Neji and Tenten looked surprised.
Lee ran up to Gai. "What's the meaning of that?"
"This technique is a last resort move that places a heavy burden on you're muscle cells. Normally, people use 20 percent of the power that the muscles possess. Only 20 percent…And, if you try to extract all 100 percent of it's power, you're muscles will break down. That is why you're brain limits you're powers. However, this move forcefully removes that limiter from you're brain using charka, And enables you to produce enough power to execute high speed continuous hand-to-hand combat moves."
Gai's voice took a more serious tone.
"In other words, it's a dangerous technique that enables you to use powers that challenge the human body's limit. That's why you can only use this move under this condition."
Lee stood up taller. "What is the condition?"
"Listen carefully. The condition is…
In the Real World…
Lee carefully unwrapped the bandages on his hands.
"Gai-sensei, I will now use this move without hesitation. Because now is the time to…"
Dosu rushed forward again.
"…protect an important person!" Lee shouted, forming a hand sign.
Suddenly Lee disappeared.
Dosu slid to a stop. 'He disappeared?'
Suddenly Lee reappeared under Dosu and kicked his chin, sending the sound ninja flying into the air.
Lee then boosted himself into the air so that he was behind Dosu. "I'm not done yet!"
The bandages that Lee had unwrapped now started re-wrapping themselves around Dosu's body.
Dosu was fully immobilized as they started to head downwards, headfirst.
Zaku tensed. "That's not good. He can't break a fall like that." He started to perform hand signs, all the while Dosu and Lee approached the ground at a frightening speed.
"Take this!" Lee shouted, starting to spin them round and round. "Secondary Lotus!"
Right before they hit the ground Zaku inserted his hands into the ground, while Lee leaped off of Dosu at the last second.
There was a large cloud of dust, and when it cleared, it reveal Dosu, his head stuck in the dirt while the rest of his body lay almost straight up in the air.
Lee looked behind him. 'That feeling…'
Sakura and Sasuke grinned, believing him to be dead, or seriously injured.
Zaku smirked. "Oh boy…Looks like I made it in time.
Moments later Dosu pulled himself out of the ground.
Lee was shocked. "That can't be!"
"That is a terrifying move. I was dropped onto sponge ground but that still hurt like hell.
Both Lee and Dosu stood up, with Lee panting heavily.
Dosu pulled back his sleeve. "Now it's my turn."
'This isn't good…' Lee thought. 'My body is still weak from that move.'
Dosu rushed forward and tried to hit Lee, who dodged, but suddenly Lee felt his ears ringing, and his whole body was wracked with shudders.
"Lee-san!" Sakura gasped, eyes wide. What was going on?
Lee's vision was murky, and his hearing wasn't all that great at the moment either.
He faintly heard Dosu saying something.
"You're move is indeed fast. But our moves are the speed of sound and excel yours."
Lee fell onto his knees, trying not to faint.
Sasuke grimaced. Things were not going well.
Dosu was not finished talking. "I will teach you that there is a wall that you can't get past just by hard work."
Sakura and Sasuke prepared themselves to help defend Lee.
It was at a stand off point for the moment, then…
Lee fell to his knees, ears bleeding. My left ear… Lee raised his hand to it.
Dosu lifted his arm um, the sleeve falling back to once again reveal the metal contraption.
"There's a little trick in my attack." He rested his arm in his other hand. "Just dodging it won't help."
What did he do? Sasuke wondered.
Dosu chuckled. "It's sound." He explained. "You dodged my fist, but the sound attacked you."
Sound? Lee thought.
"Do you know what sound is?" Dosu asked.
"Vibrations?" Sakura guessed.
"Correct. Being able to hear something means that you're eardrum catches the vibrations in the air." He lightly pinched his own ear, stretching it out a bit.
"And the human eardrum will shatter at anything above 150 decibels. On top of that, applying a shock to the semicircular oracles, An opponent will lose his sense of balance."
Lee gasped.
Dosu chuckled again. "You won't be able to move you're body well for a while."
"You're outdated hand-to-hand combat moves won't work on us." Zaku said.
Lee grimaced again.
"It was effective for a while, but I showed you my technique. So it's not going to go as smoothly as you thought it'd be." Zaku pulled his hands out of the ground at long last.
"I can control supersonic waves and air pressure, and I'm capable of destroying even a rock." His hands clenched into fists as he raised them into an X sort of shape.
"I can send air into the ground and make it into a cushion as well. It's different from your dumb moves." He opened his palms and turned them to face the Konoha group, sending two narrow streams of air at nothing in particular.
Sakura sucked in sharply, while Zaku grinned.
'Damn It…' Lee gritted his teeth.
Lee's Flashback…
Gai smiled down at Lee.
"Lee, the only time you're allowed to use this move is when you must protect someone important."
"When I must protect someone important?" Lee questioned.
Gai put a hand on Lee's shoulder and bent down. "Still, I'm impressed that you mastered it."
Grinning, the sensei poked Lee's forehead, and his entire head was pushed back before flopping forward again.
"Well done, Lee."
End of Flashback
'Damn it…!' Lee cursed again in his mind.
Suddenly Dosu took action.
"Okay." Lee in took sharply, having a bad feeling of what was about to happen.
"You're next!" Dosu charged at Lee, but then suddenly turned so that he was charging at Sakura.
"Shoot!" Lee turned around.
'He's coming!' Sakura took out a kunai and prepared to defend herself.
Sasuke watched on, horrified. 'No!'
Suddenly Lee started speeding towards them.
"That can't be!" Dosu said, shocked.
'Lee-san?' Sakura and Sasuke were shocked.
"Konoha Whirlwind!" Lee prepared himself for the kick, but he was still off balance from Dosu's last attack.
Dosu jumped up, placing a hand on one of Lee's legwarmers. "Looks like my previous attack was effective." Dosu sprang back a foot or two, but then charged again.
"You surprised me a bit, but I don't see a trace of your chain combo that was executed in a flash." Dosu thrust his fist forward, but Lee leaned a little to the right, his arms protecting the side of his face.
Dosu moved his arm so that it made contact with Lee, before activating the ear-splitting ring that came from within the metal contraption.
Dosu said something, but it was barely heard over the noise. "This arm amplifies the sound that is generated inside to the maximum, like a speaker!"
Lee grunted, trying not to cry out in pain.
"Lee-san…" Sakura muttered, not within range of the attack.
"But the sound of my attack is not limited to the direction of my hand. I can use my chakra and join it into by target!"
Lee's eardrum burst, and finally he screamed.
"Lee!" Both Sasuke and Sakura cried out.
Lee crumpled to the ground, barely conscious. Blackness edged his line of vision.
Dosu drew back his fist. "Now then, time to finish you off."
"I won't let you!" Sakura withdrew three shuriken, throwing them at Dosu. He easily blocked by raising the metal contraption. The shuriken harmlessly bounced off it.
Dosu lowered his arm a bit. "Geez."
Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji watched from behind some bushes.
"Come on, let's run away. They're dangerous." Chouji said.
"Look's like Naruto is out of it, while Sasuke is just barely even hanging in there, even though he hasn't done much of anything. He must be badly injured." Shikamaru said quietly.
"But even Lee is getting beaten, and now it's just Sakura and Sasuke" he turned his head to face Ino.
"What are you going to do now, Ino?"
"What, you ask?" Ino muttered, her eyes trained on the fight.
"Sakura and Sasuke are in danger. Is that okay with you?" Shikamaru pressured.
Ino's eyes flickered towards the lazy boy.
"You two were best friends, right?" Shikamaru continued.
Ino's eyes widened as she remembered the day they stopped being friends…
Ino's Flashback…
A younger version of Ino and Sakura sat on a bench together.
"What is it, Sakura? You're being serious all of a sudden."
"Um…Ino-chan…" Sakura looked a bit nervous.
"So, what is it?" Ino asked.
"You like Sasuke-kun, right?" Sakura looked at Ino.
A light blush appeared on Ino's face, and a cold wind blew.
Sakura stood up. "Then, we're rivals from now on." She turned and walked away.
Ino stood up, watching her go.
End of Flashback…
Ino was quiet. 'Why…Why am I remembering that even?'
"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru was still looking at her. "What are we going to do?"
"I know we have to help, but we can't do anything!" Ino said, annoyed. "We can't just jump in there."
Shikamaru frowned.
'Besides, even if I join now…I'll just get beat.' Ino's legs trembled.
'I…I can fight too…!' Sakura thought as she threw several more shuriken.
Zaku suddenly sped in front of them, arms outstretched. Air blasted from the two holes in his hand, sending the shuriken back to Sakura.
Sakura covered her face as the deadly projectiles whizzed past her.
"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, moving to help her. But before he could, he collapsed onto his knees, unable to help.
"Damn it.
'Air pressure?' Sakura slowly lowered her arms as she was forced to her feet. 'My shuriken were reflected.'
Zaku lowered his arms as well, cutting off the powerful air stream.
Sakura tried to get up, but suddenly Kin appeared behind her, and grabbed Sakura's long hair, holding her hostage and forcing her to sit on her behind.
"Your hair is glossier than mine." Kin said with a scary face. "If you have time to care for your hair, train more!"
She shook Sakura's head back and forth.
"Trying to be sexy?"
"Zaku!" She called out to her team mate. "Kill that Naruto guy in front of this pig!"
"That sounds good." Zaku smiled.
"Hey now…" Dosu said.
Sasuke was too far away to help, and even if he could, he didn't have the strength. He felt like screaming, but he could only watch on, onyx eyes burning with anger and hatred at the three sound ninja.
'I won't let you..' Sakura shifted, but Kin yanked her head back. "Don't move!" She ordered the pink kunoichi.
Lee turned his face to them. 'Sakura-san…'
Sakura's fingers ground out small, shallow lines in the dirt. 'I can't move…'
Slowly, tears started to flow down her cheeks and trembled, crying silently.
'I'm…just being a nuisance again.' Her head bowed down somewhat.
'I've always been protected…This is vexing…' She thought of her comrades, Naruto and Sasuke, and then of Lee.
'I thought that I won't be this time…I thought that it was my turn to protect my important people.' Her hands clenched into fists.
In Naruto's Dream…
Both Naruto's eyes were downcast, but they suddenly looked up as another figure approached.
"Sasuke!" The young Naruto cried, looking at a younger version of Sasuke.
"Hmph. Loser." Sasuke said, standing several feet in front of Naruto.
"What do you mean? You're the loser!" Naruto shouted angrily.
"Really? Then why is it that you have failed the graduation test FIVE TIMES? I never have. But, then again, it's to be expected by someone like you."
"What do you mean?" The young Naruto carefully watched Sasuke with a guarded expression.
"What I mean is, you'll never be recognized. Face it, I'm better than you in every way. All the girls like me, but hate you."
Naruto winced. It was true.
"Sakura will never love you, no girl will." Sasuke's voice started fading as he walked away.
"So, do us a favor. Stop trying."
Out of Naruto's dream…
Zaku stepped forwards. "Then let's do this." He slowly started walking towards Naruto, who seemed to have quieted down. However, darker and larger wisps of chakra seemed to emanate from him, not that anyone really noticed.
Out of desperation, Sasuke took out three kunai and threw them at Zaku.
Zaku turned and easily deflected them, sending the back towards Sasuke.
One got turned around so that the handle was facing the Uchiha. Before he could move, the handle hit Sasuke right below the headband, knocking him out.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, but Kin jerked her head back again. "I said don't move!"
Zaku continued to head towards Naruto
Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru leaned forward. "Hey, Naruto is in trouble!"
Ino stared, unable to move. 'What should I do…?' Her eyes were attracted as Sakura moved.
The pink haired girl took out a kunai.
"There's no point to that.' Kin said. "That won't work on me."
Sakura turned her head just enough to let See Kin see her face. She was smiling, the hard glint of determination in her eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
"What!?" Kin gasped.
In one fluid motion, Sakura cut off the chunk of hair Kin was holding.
Everyone who wasn't unconscious stared, completely shocked.
Kin fell backwards, still holding the cut off hair.
But in doing do her headband also fell of.
'I've always been acting like a grownup ninja…and I've always been saying that I love Sasuke-kun…and I always lectured Naruto like I was better than him…But all I've been doing is watching their backs.'
Sakura stood up. 'Still…They always fought to protect me.' Sakura's headband sailed silently through the air, plummeting to the ground.
Lee silently watched.
'Lee-san…You said that you liked me…and fought with your life while protecting me.'
Her headband quietly clinked as it made contact with the earth, the Konoha symbol facing upwards.
'Everyone…this time…' Sakura's fist tightened, trembling slightly. 'Please watch my back!'
Ino's eyes widened. 'Sakura…'
"Sakura-san…" Lee whispered, before finally falling unconscious.
Zaku's mouth turned into a snarl. "Kin, kill her!"
Kin turned around, taking out three senbon needles.
Sakura made several hand signs.
Zaku made a hand sign as well. 'That seal must be…'
Kin charged forward and stabbed Sakura in the middle with them. But the attacker's eyes widened as Sakura was replaced with a log.
"Replacement technique!" Kin said.
Zaku opened up his palms. 'She's to the right. Who does she think we are? She's going to fight me using such a basic technique. '
Sakura charged forward, four kunai in each hand.
"Kin, stay back!" Zaku shouted. Kin leaped to a safer distance.
"Useless!" Zaku said as Sakura threw the kunai at him. 'Air pressure, 100 percent. Supersonic waves, 0 percent. Power…'
Sakura halted, making several more handsigns.
'Can she only use one technique?' Zaku wondered.
"Air cutter!" He shouted, using wind to force the kunai back to her, edges first.
Sakura finished the jutsu just in time. Three kunai hit her, but instead it was only a log.
'So obvious. She's above.' Looking up, he saw her using once again the same jutsu.
"I'm telling you, it's not going to work more than two or three times." He took out three kunai and threw them at her. "This is good enough for you!"
Sakura took out her own shuriken as well.
One lodged itself in her shin, while another hit just below the elbow area, and the last one in her stomach.
Zaku looked around. 'Now where'd she go.' Suddenly he felt something wet hit his cheek, blood.
He looked back up. "What!?" 'She didn't use a replacement this time!'
He raised his arms, and she lowered the kunai, stabbing him in his right arm. They both feel to the ground with the impact. Right before they did, Sakura bit down hard on his other arm.
"Let go, damn it!" He shouted, punching her with his bloodied arm, but she refused to let go.
Ino stared. 'Sakura…'
Ino's Flashback…
Young Ino was crouched down by a young Sakura, who was crying. The sun was just starting to set, painting the sky with reds, yellows, and oranges.
"You always get called forehead girl and get picked on, huh?" Ino asked.
Sakura looked up, trying to suppress her sobs. "Who are you?"
"I'm Yamanaka Ino." Ino replied. "What about you?"
"I'm…Sakura." Sakura answered after a moments hesitation.
"Eh? I can't hear you. Speak up."
"Haruno Sakura!" Sakura shouted.
Ino rested a finger on Sakura's forehead. "I see. So your forehead is wide."
Ino stood up, smiling. "Which makes you forehead girl." She lightly pushed back on Sakura's head.
"That's why you hide your forehead with your hair." Ino's hand slipped under Sakura's bangs, resting on her forehead.
"Just like a ghost."
Sakura's face scrunched up again.
"Sakura, right?" Ino turned away.
"Come here tomorrow, too." Ino raised a hand in farewell. "I'll give you something nice."
Sakura looked up. "What?"
End of Flashback…
Zaku punched Sakura again. "Damn it, let go!"
Ino's Flashback…
Sakura and Ino stood facing each other. The bangs, which used to rest over Sakura's forehead, was now head back with a red ribbon.
"See? You're cuter this way, Sakura. I'll give you that ribbon." Ino had her hands on her hips.
"Arigato…But…"
"But what?" Ino demanded.
"My forehead…"
Ino leaned forward, raising a finger.
"You get picked on because you hide it! You're cute, so don't be afraid."
'Ino-chan…' Sakura thought.
Later…
The two were walking side by side.
Two of the children looked up.
"Eh? Who is that Ino?" One asked.
"This is Sakura." Ino answered. She looked to the pink haired girl. "Come on, say hi to them."
Sakura hid behind Ino. "Hi…" she said quietly.
Days Later…
Sakura ran up to Ino and some other girls, no trace of her shyness left.
"Everyone, listen, listen!" She stopped in front of them.
"I have a boy I like now!"
"Who do you think it is?" Ino asked.
"Say it concise format." A boy said.
"Don't tell us." Another girl asked. "It's Sasuke-kun."
Sakura looked surprised. "What? How did you know?"
Ino was shocked, while the girl beside her spoke up.
"Isn't it obvious? Sasuke-kun is the most popular guy."
"What? Really…" Sakura tilted her head.
"So there's a lot of girls who like him…What should I do?"
The girl beside Ino continued to watch Sakura. "Hey, Ino. Sakura has become more cheerful, don't you think?"
Ino looked away. "She's just acting tough."
A Few Days Later…
Sakura had her hands on her knees, leaning forward.
"Ino-chan! I heard that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair." Sakura said, smiling.
End of Flashback
Ino looked at the cut hair, Sakura's words floating back to her. '…Likes girls with long hair…'
Her gaze returned to Sakura, who was till holding on, despite the ferocious blows he was giving her.
Ino looked ready to cry. 'Sakura…'
Ino's Flashback…
An older Sakura stood, her back facing Ino, and Ino did likewise.
"Your hair has grown quite long." Ino said.
"Ino."
They turned to face each other.
"Why are you on the same team as Sasuke-kun!?" Ino demanded.
Later…
"I won't lose to you anymore Ino." Sakura said.
"Me, either." Ino retorted. "I won't lose to you, no matter what Sakura."
End of Flashback…
Blood was now caked Sakura's face as Zaku continued punching.
Finally, Ino started to cry. 'Sakura…!'
For a brief moment, Sakura let go, coughing up blood, but she quickly bit down again.
'I…I have to…' Sakura desperately trying to hold on.
But it was useless. With one final punch, Zaku sent Sakura flying into the dirt, several feet away.
He stood up, staring at her. "Cut it out already." He growled.
"This is bad." Chouji muttered.
"Hey, Ino!" Shikamaru tried to snap his team mate back to attention.
Sakura sat up, breathing heavily. Blood trickled slowly down her face. 'I have to protect everyone!'
Zaku prepared to attack again. "You bitch!"
But before he could attack, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji suddenly appeared in front of Sakura.
Chouji looked as if he had been dragged into it.
'What?' Sakura was surprised.
"Heh. Some new weird ones are here now." Zaku said.
"Ino…" Sakura muttered.
"Sakura, I promised that I wouldn't lose to you, remember?" Ino smiled.
Sakura's eyes widened. "Ino…Why are you here?"
Ino leaned forward. "I'm not going to let you take all the good parts in front of Sasuke-kun!"
'They just keep swarming in…' Dosu thought. 'Konoha's bugs have wandered in here again.' A dangerous gleam entered his eye.
Chouji gasped. "What are you two thinking!? These guys are too dangerous!" he cried at them.
"It's troublesome, but we have to do this." Shikamaru said, holding onto Chouji's scarf. "Since Ino revealed herself, we men can't just run away."
Ino giggled. "Sorry to get you two involved, but we're a three man team. We do everything together."
Shikamaru smiled faintly. "Oh well, whatever happens, happens."
Chouji yanked back. "No! I don't want to die yet!"
"Let go of my muffler!" He scrambled to get away, but Shikamaru kept a tight hold on the scarf.
"Shut up! Stop moving!" Shikamaru said, annoyed.
Zaku laughed. "You can run if you want…Fatty."
Chouji froze, his ear twitching. "What did that person just say? I couldn't hear him too well." His back was turned to them.
"Eh?" Zaku raised an eyebrow.
Shikamaru's eyes widened. 'Those words are Taboo on Chouji!'
"If he says it again…" Chouji said quietly.
"I said that you can go jack off in the woods if you want, you fat ass!" Zaku said.
Chouji wheeled around, a pissed off expression on his face.
"I'm not fat! I'm just big-boned!" He roared.
Chouji's hands formed huge fists, and chakra swirled around him.
"Hurray for big-boned people!" Chouji shouted.
Sakura stared, unsure of what to say. 'Wow…'
Chouji faced his teammates, pointing a finger at them. "Okay! You two understand that this is a fight between Konoha and Sound, right?" There was a fire burning in his eyes.
Ino smiled. 'Good, he got pissed off.'
"Geez, this is going to be troublesome." Shikamaru complained.
"That's our line." Zaku said. He frowned. 'Damn it, we were told to kill Naruto before the exam ended.'
Sakura looked at Naruto, finally noticing the strange chakra.
"Naruto-kun…"
"Sakura." Sakura looked up at Ino.
"Take care of the two back there."
Sakura smiled and nodded.
"The Ino team is going to go with everything they've have!"
"Roger!" Chouji and Shikamaru said.
"Formation Ino!"
"Shika!"
"Chou!"
IT kinda cuts, off, but I couldn't find a better place without the chapter dragging on too long.
At first I wasn't going to do the memories with Sakura and Ino, but then I was like, 'Aw, to hell with it.' And put them in. Besides, a lot of it wouldn't have made sense without them. So yeah.
Moving on, I need two opponents for Sasuke and Naruto. I have had two so far, but I'm interested to hear other peoples ideas.
Here is the form, which is basically what I want to see, should you have an idea.
Name –
Gender –
Age-
Village – (Preferably Sound, but it can be different.)
Description –
Jutsu – (Do they use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Taijutsu?)
History – (This is optional, but if they have something to do with Orochimaru, please put this down. IF not, feel free to ignore this.)
Hobbies/Likes – (Who knows? I just might use them again later on…)
Dislikes – (Same reason as above.)
And that's it. I think…If I come up with anything else I'll put it down in the next chapter 'Naruto Awakens!'
Please review! (No flames please, constructive criticism welcome.)
Tropi