Neji had been wandering near the school for a while now as he searched for Hinata, but as of yet, he hadn't seen anyone. It was like everyone had simply taken off into the night and not given a second thought as to who was behind them or where they were going. Neji himself was more cautious then panicky, though he was upset about Kiba's death. They hadn't been close, but Kiba had always been very nice to his shy cousin, for which Neji was grateful.

He had yet to open his bag to examine what weapon and supplies he'd been given, deciding to hold off until it was needed. First thing he needed to do was find Hinata. Poor thing was so scared when she left that she could barely walk. He hoped that when he told her to wait, it hadn't simply gone in one ear and out the other and she'd fled in some direction in a blind panic.

And speaking of blind, Neji was so lost in his thoughts that he tripped on something on the path and nearly fell, catching himself with a grumble. He was glad nobody was around to see him do something clumsy. Naruto especially would never let him live it down.

He turned to see what he had tripped over, and his heart dropped into his stomach. "Oh god... Tenten..." He sank to his knees next to her and reached out with a shaky hand. Her skin was icy cold, but he didn't need to check her pulse to know that she was dead; her skull had been completely pulverized, the rock that was the obvious murder weapon sitting beside her.

He swallowed hard, taking in a shaky breath. Despite his good looks, excellent grades, and talent in martial arts, Neji had never been a very popular student. He was once very arrogant and mean, and though he had lightened up considerable in the past couple years, some of the other students still avoided him because of the person he used to be. Lee and Tenten were the exceptions, his two dearest friends that stuck with him through thick and thin. They were more than friends, they were family. And now a part of that family was laying dead before him, blood and brain-matter caked in her dark brown hair.

He felt his gorge rise, but forced it back down with another swallow. As much as he might want to, he couldn't afford to get emotional. Not here. Not now that he knew that there was at least one person that was totally willing to kill the people that had been their friends and classmates only hours ago. He would mourn for his fallen friend later, and maybe even get the chance to avenge her, but for now, he had to find Hinata before whoever murdered Tenten did.

He attempted to arrange her in a more dignified way, but the best he could do without half of her skull falling away was sort of a curled up sleeping position. He closed her eyes with a gentle touch and then removed his jacket, placing it over her face. "I'm sorry Tenten. I should have waited for you. I will avenge you if I can." He said a small prayer and stood, making his way eastward without looking back.

He walked for several hours with no sign of anyone, but nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice from a nearby group of trees called out to him in hushed tones. "Psst! Neji! Over here!"

Neji tensed, ready to spring if someone were to attack him as he walked up to the small grove. But relaxed and once when he saw Lee and Hinata sitting beneath a very all fir tree.

Hinata ran up, throwing her arms around his middle and hugging him tightly. "Neji-niisan! You're here! I was so worried! When Lee-san found me before you did, I was afraid that something terrible had happened to you!"

Neji patted her head gently before pulling out of the hug and looking at her. Her face was still stained from where she'd been sprayed by Kiba's blood. "It's alright. As you can see, I'm perfectly fine." He took out his hankerchief and began to clean the blood from her face gently as he looked up at Lee. "Thank you for taking care of her. I owe you."

"Don't mention it." Lee said with his usual smile. "I thought this would be a good place to hide until we figured out what to do. I thought we should meet up with the others and work out some kind of plan, that way we could-"

"No." Said Neji shortly. One of the others had...

"But Neji, if we can all gather together, we can-"

"Tenten is dead." he interrupted sharply.

Lee's already large eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "W-what?! Dead?! B-but how?!" He sounded as though he couldn't wrap his mind around that fact that Tenten was just... gone!

Neji shook his head, looking away. "Someone bashed in her skull with a rock. One of those others you were talking about teaming up with. No. I won't allow it. I won't let whoever murdered Tenten near Hinata." His little cousin mean the world to him, more like a little sister. It wasn't always so good between them. When they were children, Neji had been very cruel to her, and once even beat her up so bad that she was in the hospital for two weeks. To this day, the lines of that guilt were etched in his face any time he looked at her. He'd never allow anyone to hurt her again.

"Neji, there has to be someone we can team up with. We do have other friends. What about Naruto-kun and Sakura-san?" Lee persisted.

Hinata gave a nod. "W-we should find them if we can."

Neji looked between the two of them and gave a sigh. Besides Lee and Tenten, Naruto was really the only friend he had in the class. He supposed teaming up with him might not be so bad, and Sakura was nice enough. "Alright. But ONLY if we happen upon them. I won't put us in danger by actively searching for them."

Both Lee and Hinata nodded, acknowledging that it wold be the best they could get for now. "So, what weapon did you get?" Lee asked.

Neji blinked. "Oh. I'm not sure yet. Haven't checked." He sat down and un-zipped his bag, rummaging around. "What about you two?" He asked while he searched.

"I got these." Lee said, holding up his fists. He was wearing a pair of brass knuckles. Well... those would be sort of useless at anything but the closest range, but it seemed appropriate, given Lee's obsession with martial arts.

"A-and I got this." Hinata held up a katana in a beautifully decorated sheathe.

Neji gave her the faintest ghost of a smile. "That looks like a good one. Keep it close." He finally found his weapon... He stared at it for a while, his eyebrow twitching with confused annoyance. "Is this somebody's idea of a joke?" For he was holding a rubber chicken. He squeezed it and it made a noise between a honk and a squeak. It was so absurd that if the situation were less grisly, he might have laughed.

Lee on the other hand did laugh, and Hinata managed a small giggle. "That's crappy luck. But the proctor guy did say the weapons would be completely random. But it should be okay anyway. You know just what pressure points can kill a man."

Neji nodded, giving a small sigh as he stuffed the gag toy back into his bag. "Yeah. But here's hoping I wont have to. I think we should head east." he said pointing to a spot on the map. "There's a ridge up there that should have a decent view of most of the island."

Lee and Hinata nodded and gathered up their things. They weren't sure why, but something told them they had to move fast.

...

Shino Aburame had a large stick held firmly in his hands. His weapon, if you could even call it that, was a bag of marbles. Though pretty, they didnt' exactly help the aspiring entomologist to stay alive. He had always been quiet and strange with few friends, one of whom was dead in a pool of his own blood in the classroom, and the other of whom was making her way east.

He had a momentary lapse in attention when he saw the shells of several cicada larvae attached to a tree. Shino was nothing if not obsessed with bugs. He had collected them his entire life, and could name more varieties than most people even knew existed. He set down his stick and carefully picked the shells off the tree, placing them in a small glass box he carried with him to collect any samples he should find.

He turned around as he was about to put the case in his pocket, when he felt all the air rush out of his lungs. It felt like someone had punched him in the chest, but when he looked down, he saw a large bowie knife sticking out of his sternum, clenched in a hand that seemed to know what it was doing. More puzzled than alarmed, Shino followed the hand to an arm, to a shoulder, and finally to the face of Sasuke Uchiha.

There was no doubt that Sasuke was the most popular boy in class. Dashing good looks, a cool devil-may-care attitude, and talent for anything he tried, all the girls wanted to be with him, and all the boys wanted to be him. But now, Shino realized, Sasuke had stabbed him in the chest.

Without a word or a change of expression, Sasuke withdrew the knife and stabbed again, driving the blade upward in the gap between his rib cage. This time Shino made a sound, a horrible noise that tried to be a cry of pain, but turned into a gurgle as blood bubbled up in his throat and spilled from the corners of his mouth. The blade was withdrawn a second time and Sasuke pushed him against the tree he'd just taken the samples from. Shino Aburame died as he slid down that tree, the little glass case fell from his hand and shattered against the ground.

Sasuke cleaned the knife without interest and put it back in it's scabbard before searching his dead team mate. A bag of marbles. Useless. He put them aside and took his food and water rations instead.

Sasuke Uchiha had a vendetta elsewhere, and he was not about to let the program get in the way of it. Even if it meant killing everyone he knew...

18 Students Remaining

(Told ya it would be longer! Read and review! Also if you have predictions, let me know!)