Chapter Four

A/N: Sasuke may be a little OOC (out of character) and I apologize. There's a twist to this whole thing, and please don't kill me. KATHRYN. Cough.

Sasuke had woken up quite early, as usual. He was getting ready for everything that was to happen today. Well, he really didn't know what would happen, but a shinobi couldn't be more prepared for an assault, right? His thoughts wandered off to Naruto, his annoying teammate who didn't seem to back off and Sasuke probably had to bring him back later this morning. Then, there was Rai. She was a strange girl really. She had that weird aura that didn't stop bugging him. He was, although hard to admit, jealous of her sometimes. The thought of a mere girl beating him in such an area as perfect chakra control was almost unnerving. But, somehow, it seemed alright with Rai. On the bright side, he was glad overall that he wasn't in the same team with a crazed fangirl. That would've been horrible.

He glanced at a nearby clock. 3:42 AM, it read. He knew no one would be awake except Rai. He sighed inwardly for doing this, but he had to bug someone. Sure, he was the great heartthrob, but he really didn't like the silence. Gasp. I know. After the death of his clan, the silence was terrifying and unsettling. He walked out of his room, and looked for Rai. She was very close, and just around a corner. He knocked, but no one answered. He knocked again, and only silence followed. Figuring it was okay to walk in, he did so. What he saw was the trauma of his life.

In her room, was dangling things he couldn't possibly ever imagine. There were sharply carved bones suspended from the ceiling with thick strings, and there were considerably small human skulls in a jar. Masks could be seen everywhere, each more disturbing than the one before. There were also small dolls ragged and old, the vital points of the human body patched to differentiate. Candles were everywhere, and to Sasuke, it seemed out of place. On the floor, candles could be seen around an elaborate pattern seemingly drawn with a white chalk. Necklaces made of tusks, and others with crosses on them could be seen all over the room, too. In general, the whole place was just plain sinister. He was about to go back to his room, but bumped into a person.

Rai stood with her eyebrow raised in suspicion. Sasuke didn't know what to do, but to just stand there. He had to say something, but oddly, he couldn't choke out any words. Then, Rai asked a very simple question. "What are you doing?" Her voice seemed a bit irritated, but rather calm. Deciding not to say anything, he began to walk away. She took out a small bottle and uncapped it. "Kieuseru," she whispered with a vague hand motion, and all of the menacing material was sucked inside the tiny bottle. She closed the bottle and threw it near the rest of her belongings. Then out of nowhere, she smirked. Sasuke indifferently looked at her although a bit confused on the inside. "You weren't scared were you?" she mocked slightly, "You big scaredy cat." Sasuke frowned and was about tosettle with violence, but thought otherwise. He knew Rai wasn't the one to pick a fight with. He knew better.

Rai looked at Sasuke straight in the eye and squinted slightly. "Uchiha-san, your Sharingan is to be shown very soon. Either today or tomorrow. Most likely today." She walked out of the house, and vanished. Sasuke pretended that all of those things didn't happen, so he walked back to his room.

The girl faced the outside with no expression, calmly staring into space. Although on the surface she seemed so, but she actually was holding a conversation. Her "other side" was a little twisted, so they usually didn't agree. So this is how their conversation went. (This is Rai, and this is her "other side.")

I'm still confused why we're doing this.

You should understand. It's to test their abilities.

Yeah, but why are we testing them?

What's the point of staying on the team if the teammates are weak? You'll see my point someday, Rai-kun.

I hope so… You really think it's a good idea?

It depends on how you look at it. I'll take over so that you don't take the blame.

Woah… What's up with you? Suddenly being nice and all.

Shut up.

And that ended their conversation. Rai blinked out of her trance and walked to the forest. Her pace was perfectly equal to the step before and kept her head forward. The woods were silent, until rustling passed her ears. She didn't stop, and just kept her pace. But it wasn't long until two mist nin jumped in front of her. Usually, she would've just kept walking; completely ignoring them. But, these two were different. Their names just happened to be Haku and Zabuza. "Hello, my dear friends."

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Soon, everyone gathered at the bridge, including Naruto who provedto everyonethat he hasendless amount of energy inside him even after the intense training he put through. Tazuna was at work again, building the bridge like the bridge builder he is. Kakashi sat somewhere reading his very appropriate book while keeping an eye on the client. Ahem. Sasuke just stood looking pretty and calm, as usual. Naruto was trying to sit still, but failing horribly. Rai walked along the dangerously threatening edge of the bridge, not even flinching at the height. Everyone had brought their weapons, except for Rai who covered it up with the word, "oops."

Ah, so the game should begin sometime soon… Please let me out. Rai just shook her head and stood in her place calmly. Mist gathered up, and this time, everyone was aware what this sign meant. Zabuza and Haku soon appeared for everyone to see, but something was different about them. The way Zabuza had dressed was different, and another thing was, that he blindfolded himself with bandages. Haku had his mask on like before, but somehow, he seemed different also. Lastly, no words were exchanged between the two enemies. Just silence lingered waking the awkwardness.

The three Genin made a small triangle and Kakashi offered Rai to fight Haku. Rai replied with a, "no" and suggested Sasuke would be better for this fight. So Sasuke was chosen to fight him, along with Naruto. Rai was then stuck guarding the bridge builder. Kakashi warned the girl to watch out for Zabuza's water clones, and she walked away without an answer. She stood there without any weapons and possibly being the helpless little girl she—NOT. Are you crazy! Ahem. Tazuna seemed a bit worried that this girl wouldn't be able to protect him, but Rai assured him otherwise. "Don't worry, Tazuna-san. Momochi-san won't attack us, and that, I will promise." She smiled at him with such confidence that he almost believed her.

Haku was wicked fast, and both of the males had a hard time blocking all of his attacks. The long haired boy appeared weak, his arms dangling at his side almost looking useless. But whenever Naruto or Sasuke tried to attack, he managed to block them with tremendous strength. On top of all the frustration, he didn't even flinch when he did get hurt. The feminine looking boy didn't speak, not one word. Sasuke and Naruto just hoped maybe for an instant second, the boy would let his guard down. But their hopes crashed as fast as they had come. Kakashi on the other hand was doing great; he was beating Zabuza to a pulp! …Ok, not really. He wasn't doing great; in fact, he might've been doing worse than his students. Zabuza was blindfolded, and Kakashi probably thought he would have been easier to deal with, but how wrong he was. Bruises were splattered over Kakashi, but he didn't show it. He had tried his Sharingan, but that somehow didn't seem to work.

Rai stood waiting until the whole drama was over, seemingly somewhat bored. Tazuna couldn't see quite well through the thick fog, but he assumed it wasn't pretty. Rai yawned, and finally spoke, stretching. "Tazuna-san, I think I'm going to check up on my team. Hopefully, they didn't die yet. I'll put up a barrier just in case." The girl whispered a short spell under her breath, and leapt up to find her very tortured teammates and sensei. Rai then placed another spell she had used before which turned her or anyone else she wished invisible. She was completely camouflaged, and she observed the two battles.

To her left, Kakashi was fighting Zabuza as hard as he could, but of course, Rai knew thatthat wouldn't work. To her right, she saw her teammates battling the all-powerful Haku. Rai nodded silently, and felt her "other side" growl in impatience. Let me out…The reluctant girl shook her head as before and waited.

She waited for the animalistic instinct for the right time.

The incredibly cruel scene of doom is in the next chapter. I'm so sorry this chapter is short. Another note, when Rai's "other side" said Rai-KUN, please know that -kun isn't only used for males. It can be used for both of the sexes. Till then, review.