Trapped

Hey everyone, I just wanted to point out that some changes are made in this story that didn't happen in the anime. For example, in the last chapter, I mentioned that Sakura still had long hair, even though her hair was cut. I assure you that this is not a mistake, and there will be many more changes such as this one in the future. Sorry for any misunderstandings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sasuke-kun, you're not supposed to be here, Sasuke-kun. Here, battling in the preliminaries, against experienced ninja. You should be in the hospital, having that mark on your neck checked.

Don't you see that you have a severe disadvantage? Every time you try to draw out your chakra, you're met by unbearable pain. That would mean that you are forced to battle without any chakra, which is a shinobi's greatest weakness.

Is it worth it, Sasuke-kun, putting your life in such danger just so that you can "get stronger?" You mentioned on that first day we became a team that you wanted to kill someone. Is all this effort because of him?

My gut is telling me to act calm and natural, for I am a shinobi. I must not allow my emotions to get in the way of my mission, which in this case is passing the chunnin exams. But my heart is telling me to do something else. To tell Kakashi-sensei about the mark so that he'll stop the match. So that you'll be safe. But then you'd hate me. And that would break my heart.

So here I stand, watching you, praying that you'll be all right. I try my best to put on an emotionless mask, just like the one I've seen you wear all the time, only I'm pretty sure that mine isn't as convincing.

I let out a long, held breath when you were able to end the match with your Lion's Barrage (a move that I have never seen before). But I couldn't help to worry yet again about your mark. For a second there, when you were in the air, I was sure that I had spotted your mark spreading. However, It disappeared in the blink of an eye.

--

I continued to watch the matches without paying much attention (although I should since knowing their abilities may come in handy if I pass the preliminaries). However, after what seemed like an eternity, my match had been announced.

I wasn't even paying attention, until Kakashi-sensei pointed it out for me.

I would be fighting Ino.

Now this was both good and bad. It was good because compared to many of the other ninjas here, Ino wasn't that strong. The only jutsu she knew was the mind transfer jutsu (which travels slow and would render her useless if she missed). But it was bad because I was certain, that this battle would bring back unwanted memories.

Naruto was immediately cheering me on. He, and probably any other rookie in the room, was confident that I would win. After all, I did graduate as the top kunoichi. But would I really be able to concentrate entirely on the match? Kakashi-sensei seemed to realize my worries and bent down to whisper in my ear.

"I know you're worried about Sasuke. Don't. He's fine. Now just concentrate on your match. You're stronger than her, and you know it."

He winked at me.

"Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"……"

I took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. Sensei had a point: I am stronger than Ino. While she's been combing her hair and doing her make-up, I've been doing some serious training. My only concern is that my past will get in the way.

Ino and I had once been good friends, but she broke off the frendship with me when she thought that Sasuke and I were getting too close.

She glared and me, and attempted to intimidate me. "Well if it isn't Forehead. I hope you don't expect to win this match, cause I will defiantly defeat you. I don't care if you graduated as the top kunoichi, but you're still going down."

I let out a small smile. "Prove it."

I saw her glare at me. Suddenly, she charged at me with a kunai. I saw her throw the weapon; I merely stepped to the side to avoid it. Then, she threw a punch at me, which I dodged. I did a black flip and landed gracefully on my feet.

I knew I was pushing Ino's buttons by making my moves look so easy. But I had to make her realize that being a ninja takes more than just her daily one to two hour training sessions with her team. It takes extra training, and will power.

I continued to dodge all of her attacks with ease, making sure to never stop my movements completely so that she would not have a chance to use her Mind transfer jutsu. I could have ended the match any time, but something inside me prevented me from doing it. Perhaps I felt as though Ino and I were still attached somehow. Like our friendship never officially ended. after a while, I could tell that everyone was getting bored. I sighed and readied myself to perform the genjutsu I had in mind. I saw Kakashi-sensei smile underneath his mask. He knew exactly which jutsu I would use.

I made a hand sign and aimed at Ino. I saw her freeze in place. Then, after about ten seconds she screamed, "Sasuke-kun!" and fainted. It was the same jutsu that Kakashi-sensei had used on me during the bell test, only I had figured out that it was a genjutsu and was able to release it in time.

I had won the match. Naruto congratulated me with a big grin. "Good job, Sakura-chan. I knew you would win."

I smiled back. Yes, we all won our matches. It seems that Team 7 will be going to the final matches together.