Alright DB here with the next chapter of A Tale of Swords and Sages. I don't know about you all, but I don't like that it took so long for me to put out this chapter. I'll try to update faster in the future.

Same thing as before Tips/Tricks are always welcome as are reviews and alerts. Flames will be used to roast the Flamers in Hell.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"SHOUTING"

Techniques

"Greater Being/Inner Sakura talking"

'Greater Being/Inner Sakura thinking'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Knonohagakure – One week after the preliminaries – Three weeks before the Third Exam

Haruno Sakura was walking through the leaf village to a well known lake in the nearby forest. Normally if she wanted to relax she'd head to the local hot springs, but there were a number of strange rumors that a creepy white haired pervert had been

stalking the area. So in order to protect her innocence, she was going to every lady's second choice: the forest lake. Unknown to her was that this was the same region that a certain orange ninja and white haired pervert were training. Luckily for her

they were currently training at the hotsprings, otherwise Jiraiya might have finally converted Naruto to the church of perversion.

'Ugh, I can't believe I still can't believe I tied with that stupid pig, though at least Sasuke-kun didn't see my failure' the pinkette thought. "Yeah! Next time we'll kick that blonde bitch's ass and make that hunk ours! SHANARRO!" her inner Sakura

yelled. The girl moved quickly through the city streets until eventually arrived at her destination. "It doesn't look like there's anyone hear, though seeing how this place was under ANBU investigation recently, I'm not surprised." Indeed, after the

preliminaries ended, a large squad of ANBU black-ops had been sent to investigate several large chakre signals in the area.

'But Kami damn it, why did the water line in my house have to break this week? Well at least there's no one here, which means I can finally take a bath.' After stripping down to her bindings, and laying her clothes and weapons at her side, the pink

haired kunoichi began to wash herself.

Suddenly she saw something flash in the bushes, 'A pervert's telescope?' she thought, "Take this!" and with a mighty heave, she threw a kunai at the light source. CLANG! Sakura paused at that. That was not the soft thud of metal hitting flesh, nor was

it the harsh tsh of metal breaking glass. Rather this was the hard sound of metal striking metal.

Sakura pulled out a second kunai nervously as she pushed through the bushes to investigate, completely forgetting that she wasn't wearing anything except her bindings. She found herself in marshy river area just of the lake. 'What's this?' the pinkette

thought as she looked at the shining object imbedded in the ground next to her thrown kunai. The object was a very large, and rather ornate, broadsword. Wordlessly the girl tried to pick up the sword. 'Wow this thing is heavy' she thought with surprise

'who used his sword, Lady Tsunade?' Suddenly a low moan broke the silence 'What was that?' Sakura thought in surprise, she looked in the direction of the noise and pulled back the reeds "Oh Kami!" she exclaimed. Lying there, face up in the water,

was a young man. He was blond, wore a red cloak and had a strange gold-metal gauntlet on his left forearm. There was a rucksack attached to the large belt around his waste, and there seemed to be something belted to his back. He also had a large

gash on his forehead that had clearly been bleeding profusely.

Sakura rushed over to the injured man and knelt down next to him. "Hey are you alright?" she asked as she bent down towards his face. Red Cloak's eyes flickered open and he looked up at the young girl who had found him. "An angel," he said looking

her in the eye "a beautiful angel." Sakura blushed upon hearing the compliment while Red Cloak reached up toward the pinkette with his left hand and felt it touch her shoulder, and then slip lower to her chest. Sakura then realized two things:

A: She was almost completely naked (except for her bindings) with a complete stranger and

B: Said stranger was groping her.

As she came to these realizations, the pinkette's face grew redder and redder, until she finally did what all women would do in that situation. She curled her hand into a fist and screamed "PERVERT!" before slamming her fist into the injured teen's head, knocking him about twenty feet away from her and into deeper water.

Red Cloak resurfaced a few seconds later "What the hell was that for? Are you trying to kill me you crazy BITCH!" he yelled back at her. Sakura immediately went red again under his gaze.

"Don't look at me you perv!" this time she leapt towards him and gave a stunning round house kick to the head. Coincidentally, this gave the stranger a good view of her butt. The kick sent Red Cloak flying out over the lake where he crashed head first into a boulder and cracked his skull open.

Red Cloak woke up about a half-hour later with a splitting headache. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying down on the ground and there was a beet red (and currently dressed) pink haired girl sitting next to him. "Um, are you the same girl I

saw earlier?" he asked weakly. The girl turned and looked toward him, and then promptly gave him a look that would have made Hidan crap himself in fear. The kunoichi moved up close to him and grabbed Red Cloak "Listen right now you son of a bitch."

She said in that quite, menacing tone that only incredibly furious women can use. "If you ever tell anyone about what happened today, I will hunt you down, castrate you with a blunt and serrated kunai, and then feed you your balls. Got it?"

"I don't get what the big deal is" Red Cloak grumbled, "There wasn't much to see anyway," This turned out to be the wrong thing to say, as the pinkette, upon hearing it, promptly smashed her fist into Red Cloak's head. Again.

About another half-hour later, Red Cloak woke up again to see the same demonic, pink-haired kunoichi sitting next to him. "So," he asked meekly "what's your name?"

"Haruno Sakura" the pinkette replied, "What's yours?"

"I … I am … I'm …" Red Cloak stammered

"Well spit it out"

"I don't know!" Red Cloak yelled. "I can't remember my name."

"What do you mean you don't know?" the pinkette exclaimed "How can you just forget your own name?"

"Oh, I don't know," the blonde said sarcastically. "Maybe it has something to do with you hitting me in the head several times!"

Deciding that this wasn't going to get them anywhere, Sakura changed the subject. "Well can you at least tell me if this is your sword?" She picked up the broadsword that she'd found and handed it to Red Cloak. "I mean, you do have an empty scabbard on your back and I found it near you."

"I'm not sure," he replied "It certainly looks familiar." As he took the sword from her, she asked him again if he remembered his name. "Your sure you can't remember it?"

"Yes I am."

"Well see if you can remember anything about your past, annyythiiing aatt aaall."

"Excuse me?" Red Cloak asked for the girl had slurred her words. Then he noticed that the colour was fading from the world around him, leaving everything in black and white. It was almost as if the universe had paused around him.

"Okay … what the hell is going on?" He spun around to see if everything else had gone crazy and what he saw, surprised him to say the least. "Holy Crap!" the blonde definitely wasn't in a sunny forest anymore. Red Cloak was in what appeared to be an underground, crumbling, and poorly maintained, temple.

As far as could be seen were large, chiseled columns (similar to what's seen in Greece) that were easily seven feet in diameter. They seemed to tower on forever, as the ceiling was shrouded in darkness. While there were torches attached to many of the columns, there also seemed to be an ambient light surrounding Red Cloak, though it didn't extend very far. He could see no entrance or exit, nor any other way for him to have come to this place. There was also a faint trickle of water, but the swordsman couldn't tell where it was coming from.

'I wonder,' he thought, 'did I dream seeing that girl? No, dreams don't end with everything suddenly turning black and white, that would be foolish.' Red Cloak looked down and saw that he was still holding the sword. He sheathed it, somewhat surprised that it fit perfectly, and had another look around. The floor that he was standing on seemed to be made of concrete and was dry and flat. It must have sloped downward though because in some places it was covered in a few inches of water. 'That must be where the sounds are coming from.' The blonde reasoned. "But what the hell is this place!" He roared.

"Ura … ok"

Red Cloak froze upon hearing the deep voice. It appeared to have come from all around him, and he couldn't identify its source. "Uhm, are you talking to me?" he said meekly.

"Sa … Sh"

"Seriously, are you talking to me?" Red Cloak said, much louder this time.

"Awa … lock"

"SPEAK UP, OH GREATER BEING!" The blonde yelled sarcastically, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"YOUR NAME IS URASAWA SHYLOCK YOU STUPID BASTARD! Good Kami, I'm never helping you again if this is the way you act."

"Wait, uh, thank you can you tell me more?" Shylock was surprised that whatever entity was down here knew him.

"Nope, forget about it. You had your chance and now you can just get the hell out of here."

"Hey wait," Shylock yelled as the world began to blur "Who am I?"

Haruno Sakura was feeling annoyed. This blonde kid who couldn't be much older than herself, had decided just to drop out of the conversation. As if she wasn't trying to help him! She reached up and knocked on his head "Hey, is there anybody in there?" she said and was rewarded by seeing him shaking his head. "You fazed out on me for a sec, can you remember anything?"

"Uh yeah actually … I just remembered my name." He was a bit confused because he now held the sword in his hands, when he could have sworn that he sheathed it in the temple world.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME ASSHOLE?" The pinkette shrieked, and then immediately covered her mouth not believing that she cursed out loud. 'Oh no' she thought sadly 'My mouth is soiled, there's know way that Sasuke-kun will want to kiss it now.'

Red Cloak either had missed the swear, or if he had heard, he decided to ignore it. "My name is Shylock, it's Urasawa Shylock." Right after he said the words, it occurred to him: 'Oh you've got to be shitting me! Why do I have such a stupid sounding name?'

"Shylock? That sounds ... foreign. I guess you're not from around here then."

"Hey, lady," Shylock said, "I don't even know where here is."

"Oh I'm sorry, you're inside the Fire Country, Just outside my hometown, the village of Konoha." The kunoichi told him. "Come to think of it, there are a number of foreign dignitaries arriving for the Chuunin Exams, one of them probably knows you!"

"Wait a minute," he said, "Konoha is a shinobi village?"

"Yes, Konoha is short for Konohagakure, which means Village Hidden in the Leaves. It is one of the five great shinobi villages: Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist; Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds; Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the

Rocks; Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand; and Konohagakure. Each village has a kage, or shadow, that acts as the military and political leader: Kiri has the Mizukage; Kumo has the Raikage; Iwa has the Tsuchikage; Suna has the Kazekage; and

Konoha has the Hokage." After Sakura finished her long-winded explanation, she asked "Does shinobi mean anything to you?"

"I'm not sure," Shylock replied while sheathing his sword. "Everything's really fuzzy and dark right now. But I digress, if there is someone in Konoha who might know me, then we should head there." With that the swordsman got up and, setting a brisk pace, began to walk away.

"Uh, Shylock." Sakura said.

"Yes."

"Konoha is that way." She deadpanned while pointing at the hundred foot tall walls about four kilometers behind her.

"Oh, well we'd better go that way then." He said sheepishly he took a few steps forwards and then "Blargh, gah (cough) (cough)" Shylock collapsed and fell to his knees vomiting blood. His lungs were burning and it felt as though dozens of shuriken were being shoved up his throat.

"Shylock?" the pinkette turned towards the teen, "SHYLOCK!" she screamed as he collapsed completely in a pool of his own blood.

"Get this boy to Trauma Room 8 stat!" A medic yelled while pushing a stretcher that carried Shylock. The swordsman was wearing an oxygen mask over his face and had an IV drop in his arm. The medics had also put him in a neck brace to prevent damage to the vertebrae when Shylock thrashed around.

"Dr. Toshinagi Kimura report to Trauma Room 8 for surgery! Dr. Toshinagi Kimura report to Trauma Room 8 for surgery!" The message roared over the hospitals speaker system.

It had been a very busy night, Toshinagi reflected. What with all the increased security for the Chuunin Exams, people were being more protesting the amount of money being spent on the feudal lords and diplomats. Some were stupid enough to riot, but were quickly put down by various ANBU and ROOT members. Things had gotten even worse in the past week due to the strange chakre spikes near Konoha Lake. After those spikes security got much stricter, and in turn people were getting more pissed off with the councils and the Hokage.

As Toshinagi entered the trauma room, he looked to the orderly in charge. "What do we have Tomu?"

"Well sir the patient has multiple fractures, as well as several hemorrhages; damage to the skull and spine; a one of his lungs has been pierced by two broken ribs; he seems to be low on chakre; and it looks like his head suffered extreme trauma recently."

"What are his chances of survival?" Toshinagi asked.

"I'd put it at fifty/fifty depending on when we operate."

"Well then we'd better get started." The doctor said urgently, "File the medical report and prepare the patient for surgery!"

Sakura sat outside the operating room with her head in her hands. 'Did I do this?' she wondered. 'Am I the reason that Shylock's like this? I mean sure, I hit him a few times but could I have really caused him to vomit blood?' Just then the orderly came out of the room.

Sakura ran to him "SIR, SIR, is the boy in there going to be alright?" she yelled. Tomu turned to look at her "Miss are you the person that brought him in here?"

"Yes."

"I need your name for my report. What is it?

"Haruno Sakura, sir."

"Well Sakura, I am the head orderly and my name is Higurashi Tomu. The patient's condition is stable, though it could deteriorate quickly. Tell me, do you know what may have caused these injuries?"

"Well I might have … hit him … a few times." Sakura said hesitantly."

Tomu's eyes hardened. "So are you always abusive to your boyfriends, or is this the first time?"

"NANI?" The pinkette shrieked. "He's not my boyfriend! I just met him today! Besides, should you really be asking personal questions like that?""

"Well," Tomu said, "If there was a young kunoichi roving around the village and attacking young men, then the Police Force and ANBU would need to be informed."

"It's … I didn't mean to, I just … I hit him because he saw me naked" Sakura mumbled while blushing from head to toe.

Tomu's face broke into a wide grin. "Is that all? Don't worry; a few hits from an Anti-Perversion Mega-Punch won't cause his injuries. Though, permit me to ask but; do you know the patients name? It's for my report."

"Yeah. He told me what it was shortly before he started vomiting."

Tomu smiled at the girl. "So what is it?"

Sakura turned and looked at the orderly. "He said his name is Shylock. Urasawa Shylock."

Though no one knew it yet, the name Sakura spoke was one of three names that would shake the ninja world to its very core.

Konohagakure – Two Weeks, 6 days before the Third Exam

And there's is my latest chapter. If you haven't seen any Bourne Identity references by now then; you clearly know nothing about the Bourne Identity. Not much action going on, though that will pick up soon. Anyway next chapter will (probably) be when my OC meets Naruto

- Shylock enters the room

Ah speak of the devil there's my OC. What can I do for you?

"Hey DB, uh so my name is Shylock, right?"

Yes it is.

"Well I was wondering, does that mean I'm Italian?"

- DB sweatdrops

Uh no, no it doesn't.

"Your sure."

Yeah, there are no Italians in the world of Naruto.

"Aright then. Oh and folks, keep reading and REVIEW if you want to find out about my past."

Well said Shylock. Bye now everyone.