A/N: Here's the next chapter and we finally visit the Forest of Death... Yay!

1. (Added 6/6/2015) Some editing has occurred to correct mistakes pointed out to me by a friend, let's see if you can spot them. ;P

2. Speech/Thoughts Key:

"Here we go again with you and your hair-brained schemes." - Zanpaktou Spirit/Biiju/Summoned Creature Speech

So...how exactly are you going to get out of this one?- Zanpaktou Spirit/Biiju/Summoned Creature Thoughts

"Well, that was exciting... not." - Human Speech

Wait, where are my clothes? How the hell did I lose my clothes? - Human Thoughts

2. Still nowhere near lucky enough to own the rights to Bleach, Naruto, Naruto Shippuuden, or Rurouni Kenshin... On with the story!


The Second Exam: The Forest of Death


A Few Hours Later

Kenshin

Kenshin and his team had passed the first exam, if you could call being given a bogus written test that any samurai or shinobi with any skill and an understanding of the basics could pass and told that if they were caught cheating five times individually that the team would be disqualified, an exam. In other words: cheat as much as you like, just don't get caught doing it. Kenshin and his team had watched the field of candidates go from sixty teams down to forty, and many of those that failed the first test had failed the final question: How much are you willing to risk to achieve victory?

Now Kenshin and his team, along with the other thirty-nine teams were standing outside of Training Ground Fourteen, better known as 'The Forest of Death' waiting for their proctor to tell them about the exam.

They had been waiting over an hour when their proctor arrived and as soon as Kenshin felt the proctor's reiatsu, his back had been to where the proctor had shown up, he said, "Oh, great. Well this is going to be fun, not."

Kakashi turned towards him, "What are you…" then he saw who Kenshin had turned to look at, "isn't that-?"

Kenshin nodded, "Yes it is. Well, this is going to be interesting."

Kenshin saw Kakashi looking at him, "How so?"

Kenshin answered, "It will be interesting to see how many of these candidates will pass out under the weight of my father's reiatsu if he gets just the smallest bit excited about even the prospect of fighting someone here before releasing us into the forest."…


Rangiku

Rangiku turned to look at who Kenshin was talking about and froze. The man towered over everyone there, standing only about four inches shy of seven feet with a broad frame with a wolf-like build crisscrossed with scars from countless battles, the same wolfish features as Kenshin except that Kenshin didn't have the same hooked nose as his father nor the scar that seemed to bisect the right half of Kenpachi-sama's face from scalp to chin or the coal black eyes that held a deadly glimmer, shoulder-length black hair that had been styled into long spikes that gave his head an almost corn row appearance as well as appearing as if a spiked crown had been placed on the back of his head, and tan skin. He was wearing the formal samurai shihakusho with the Shihoin crest embroidered on the left breast of the kimono under the traditional white haori (over-cloak) of a captain in the samurai ranks of Konoha that seemed to have had its sleeves ripped off and the symbol of Konoha embroidered above the Shihoin Crest and both were centered in a black diamond centered in the middle of his upper back, a strange eye patch covered his right eye, and his zanpaktou slid through his obi at his left hip. Kenpachi's zanpaktou was of a length equivalent to a normal person's otachi but on him, it matched a nadochi in length with a sheathe that was completely wrapped with bandages from throat to end, a similarly wrapped hilt that looked to be plain wood under the bandages with a length of bandage hanging off of the pommel like Kenshin's Tensuga, a non-traditional guard that appeared as an almost gold-colored multisided diamond devoid of any ornate emblems or shape, and, according to Kenshin, when the blade was drawn, one could see the fact that it had an uneven serrated edge as if from extensive use, bohai (fuller or blood channel) that stretched the length of the blade, and was a uniform steel in color. Also according to Kenshin, its name was Nozarashi (Weather Beaten One) and was one of the Ryuudaimyo of the Tenryuu, as well as being a permanently release shikai. Rangiku moved to where she was standing behind Kenshin so that she was shielded from the killer intent and insane reiatsu radiating from him.

Rangiku looked from Kenshin to his father and instantly knew where her now-friend and long time object of a silly girl crush got his desire for and enjoyment of battle, as well as his insane reiatsu reserves. She watched as Kenpachi-sama's single visible eye roved the gathered candidates, a maniacal grin causing his features to take on a familiar predatory appearance that sent an all-too-familiar chill down Rangiku's spine, "So, it looks like more teams than expected made it through the first exam," his chuckle sounding more like a growl, "The forest will take care of that, however, there is an easier way. Anyone who is brave enough to challenge me and can defeat me will automatically be advanced to the final exam. Any takers?"

Before anyone could step forward, Rangiku watched as a woman wearing the samurai shihakusho and captain's haori of a Konoha Samurai Captain appeared out of shunpo next to the tower of a samurai. The captain stood a couple inches over five feet tall with hip-length raven black hair shot through with threads of gray that she kept in a single thick braid that went down the front of her body and stopped just short of her hips, the hair framed a beautiful round face with thin black eyebrows above midnight blue eyes that held the same glimmer as both Kenpachi-sama and Kenshin, the same tall nose as Kenshin, a petite hourglass frame that was both attractive and taut with lean muscle, and a smile that at the moment was gentle and promised friendship but Rangiku imagined that that smile could go from gentle to 'I'm going to kill you now' just as fast as Kenshin's could. Looped over her left shoulder was a red braided cord that was tied to metal loops, one at the throat of the nadochi-length sheathe and the other at the blade end of the black sheathe, the guard was rectangular with what looked like an infinity symbol cut out of it on either side of the blade, and had a pale green over dark red hilt with a bronze pommel.

Rangiku saw Kenshin noticeably relax as he recognized who the other captain was and she could hear laughter in his voice, "Well now we won't have to worry about bloodshed before we enter the forest."

Rangiku frowned as Kenshin turned towards her, "Why is that? Won't your dad just overrule the other captain and continue with his challenge?"

Kenshin chuckled, "Because there is only one samurai that my dad is truly afraid of: My mother, Retsu Shihoin and that is her. But, make no mistake, she is as vicious in battle as my father, if not more underhanded."

Rangiku gave him a confused look, "Underhanded, how is Retsu-sama underhanded in battle?"

Kenshin gave her a wolfish half-smile that she was beginning to think had been patented by the Shihoin Clan, "Because, she will use poisons, kunai, and any other tool she can think of to gain the upper hand in a fight so that she can win. Also, don't forget that she works at the hospital so she knows her way around the human body."

Rangiku looked back at Retsu-taichou as she approached her husband with a sweet if somewhat psychotic smile on her face and swallowed hard before speaking to Kenshin again, "Now I see where you get it from. Are all of you Shihoin that deranged?"…


Tier

Tier, whose team was standing nearby heard the conversation and Rangiku's question about the Shihoin Clan's sanity and was about to respond when she saw Kenshin's half-smile exploded into a full-blown grin that caused a quickening of her own pulse and Rangiku to visibly shudder and heard him answer in that playfully-psychotic tone that he used with Tier and his other friends when he let his guard down, "Deranged: no, we're not deranged. Psychotic: yes, we all suffer from what my mom calls 'Acute Battle Psychosis', and it is quite enjoyable at times and can set in rather quickly whenever we face a strong opponent. Besides, it makes playing with shiny things like swords all the more fun. Ooh, and don't forget the explosions...explosions are always cool."

She chuckled softly at seeing Rangiku's reaction to Kenshin's response as the strawberry-blonde took an involuntary step back from Kenshin as if he had some sort of disease before she noticed Kakashi was doubled over, holding his sides, and shaking with held-in laughter. Tier had to smile at the girl's obvious discomfort at being so close to someone who just admitted that his family was a bunch of raging psychopaths. She saw that Rangiku was about to ask Kakashi what was so funny about Kenshin admitting that his entire family was psychotic, not that the girl probably hadn't realized that already, but there was something about hearing it out loud that seemed to Tier to have an unnerving impact on Rangiku, when Kenpachi-taichou waved his sheathed zanpaktou around over his head, again proving how psychotic Kenshin's family was, to get everyone's attention, "Oi, all of you runts come over here and I will tell you about how this exam will work."…


Kenshin

Rangiku, Asuma, Kenshin, and Kakashi, who was still trying to recover from his silent laughter, as well as all of the other candidates made their way over to where Kenpachi-tousan and Retsu-kaasan were standing with a couple of the shinobi and samurai proctors from the first exam.

Kenshin's father started explaining the exam after all of the candidates were gathered around him and his wife, "So this exam is going to test how well how each of you and your team work together and how well you follow orders," with that he pulled two scrolls out of one of his shihakusho sleeves with his other hand, both scrolls fit easily into one of his hands as he held up two scrolls that were about five inches in height, half that in bulk, one of them was a dark blue in color with a white center stripe that featured the kanji character 'Ten' for Heaven, and the other was a light tan with a matching white center stripe that featured the kanji character 'Da' for Earth, "Each team will be given one of these scrolls before you enter the forest. Your objective is Two Fold: First: collect the opposite scroll so that you have both, in any way that you can; Second: report to the tower that is at the center of the forest with both scrolls, intact and unopened, within five days of entering the forest.

"If you open the scrolls before you have both and before you reach the tower, your entire team will be eliminated and escorted out of the forest by one of the proctors that will be watching your progress but will not interfere unless the a fore mentioned conditions are met.

"Now the proctors will go around and hand each team their gate assignment for entering the forest. You will receive your scrolls when you reach the gate. The exam will begin at the sound of the horn. Good luck."

With that, the proctors went around handing a member of each team a piece of parchment that had a number on it…


A Few Minutes Later

Kenshin

Kenshin and his team were waiting outside of gate forty-three to enter the Forest of Death. From where they were waiting, Kenshin and his team couldn't see any other teams from their vantage point which was taken into consideration when this training field had been designed back during the time of the first Hokage. As they were waiting, Kenshin noticed someone approaching out of the corner of his eye and it wasn't a proctor. He turned and gave the person approaching the smile that he saved just for her. He watched as Soi Fon approached where he and his team were waiting to enter the forest, the look in her eyes and her movements spoke to her being not just angry, but monumentally pissed off…


Soi Fon

Retsu-sama had pulled Soi Fon aside after she had returned to the Shihoin complex with tears in her eyes after watching Kenshin go into the Chuunin Exams without her there to watch out for him and protect him. She had been furious about Soi Fon trying to hide her familiarity and sisterly affection towards Kenshin from her, that Soi Fon had violated her trust as the female head of the clan as well as the closest person that Soi Fon had had to a mother growing up because her own mother had died during her birth and her father had died in battle when she was only five. After she had admonished Soi Fon for not talking to her about how she felt about Kenshin, Retsu-sama had done something that Soi Fon hadn't expected: she had informed Soi Fon that she had been adopted into the head family, that she was now Kenshin's sister and would no longer be able to perform her duties as his bodyguard and that if she ever tried to hide anything from her again that there would be hell to pay. Soi Fon also remembered that Retsu-sama, no Retsu-kaasan, had said that she was taking over Soi Fon's training personally so that she would be ready for her future duties as the head of the Shihoin Clan security.

Now Soi Fon-Shihoin was slowly approaching Kenshin, anger coloring her emotions about being removed as his bodyguard only to be promoted to his sister, at his request no less, he asked as she stopped in front of him, "Soi-imoto (Little Sister Soi), what's wrong?"

Soi Fon shook her head looked up at him, her voice flat, "Nothing."

Kenshin inquired, an eyebrow rising in question, "Then why do you look like you went ten rounds with my mo-?"

CRACK! Soi Fon-Shihoin saw all of their friends' jaws drop in shock out of the corner of her eye as she finished slapping Kenshin across the face, effectively ending his question, her anger dictating her action and her following words, "SHE IS NOT JUST YOUR KAA-SAN ANYMORE, YOU BAKA! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU NOT TELL ME THAT YOUR PARENTS HAD ADOPTED ME, EH?!"

She watched as he did something that she had not expected as he started laughing at her, not his usual small chuckle, no, a hearty full-blown laugh that just pissed her off even more as she continued her rant in a voice that seemed to be entirely too loud for her pixie-like body to produce, "WHAT IS SO TENRYUU-DAMNED FUNNY, NII-SAN?"

Kenshin at this point, along with everyone else standing there, was laughing so hard at her antics that he was having trouble breathing. She felt a tic develop over her left eye as she seriously considered trying out the technique that her zanpaktou, Sezumebachi (Hornet), had taught her the other day. She waited as his laughter finally died and he said, straightening himself back to his full height, "I felt it would be better for Kaa-san and Tou-san to tell you than me," he grinned at her, causing Rangiku to visibly shudder for a reason unknown to Soi Fon, "turns out, I was right. Oi, Kakashi, Asuma, pay up."

She stood stunned as she watched him catch two rolls of ryō that were tossed to him by the named individuals, causing her left eye to do a fair imitation of Asuma's 'Gai Eye Twitch.' Soi Fon asked incredulous as her reiatsu began to rise, "YOU BET ON MY REACTION?!"

Kenshin smiled at her and said, "It was only natural, imoto to bet on your reaction to me asking my parents to adopt you into the head family and make you my sister officially. Knowing how you react to things like this, I decided to place a friendly wager with Kakashi and Asuma, both assumed that you would be happy about it and thank me profusely, but I know you well enough to bet that his would be your reaction."

Soi Fon was about to say something more when she saw one of the proctors approaching holding a blue and white scroll. She stepped back from Kenshin and watched as he turned to face the proctor, his voice and face all business, "Yes, sir?"

The proctor handed the scroll to Kenshin and said, "Here is the scroll that your team will carry. Remember what Kenpachi-taichou said the rules were and time limit, and good luck. The exam will start in five minutes."

Soi Fon watched as Kenshin nodded, "Understood sir."

She watched as Kenshin looked down at the scroll and chuckled, "Huh, I guess they do favor us."

Kakashi asked, "Why do you say that?"

Kenshin showed him the scroll, "We start with the Heaven scroll."…


Sword Dude

Waiting outside of another gate leading into the forest were Sword Dude, Misty One, and Misty Two, as the team from Hidden Village of the Bloody Mist had been dubbed by Kenshin Shihoin. In reality their names were Zabuza Momochi (Sword Dude), Omi Toranaga (Misty One), and Toda Toranaga (Misty Two). Zabuza was growing impatient to get started and find that Shihoin kid so that his team could execute their mission, which was to either to kill or kidnap the Shihoin brat. Zabuza preferred the first option, the very thought of killing sent his blood singing through his veins and an evil grin to cross his face.

Omi complained, "Bah, why did we get selected to take out one little samurai brat? He's not even strong enough to waste the time of the three of us, three ANBU jounin, and the Mizukage said that this was an S-rank mission. I think he needs to get his head examined."

Zabuza gave Omi a flat look that silenced any further complaints and said in his usual deep raspy voice, "Did you even bother to read the profile that they gave us on the kid? He is the strongest samurai of our generation so it would make since that our allies in the Rock and Cloud Villages would want him out of the way before they started their war against Konoha, Suna, and the Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village). Plus they want his body to see if they can discover the secrets of the Shihoin Clan's Tengan. Besides from the way he looked when we were waiting for the first exam, he might be worth killing."

Omi looked like he was about to say something else when one of the proctors approached and handed Zabuza a tan and white scroll with the kanji symbol for 'Earth' on it and said, "The exam will start in five minutes. Be ready," then the proctor stepped in close to Zabuza and said in a voice that only Zabuza could hear as he handed Zabuza another slip of paper with the scroll, "The Shihoin kid and his team are starting at gate forty-three, it is half way around the parameter to your left. It is marked on the map I gave you."

Zabuza nodded as he slid the scroll in the equipment pouch attached to the back of his belt and palmed the map. The proctor didn't say anything else as he walked away in the direction of another one of the gates to their right. Zabuza smiled, "Let the hunt begin."…


Five Minutes Later

Kenshin

A gong sounded and forty teams launched themselves into the forest. The forest was special in that the trees were over three hundred feet tall and close to seventy-five feet across at their base. Besides the fact that the size and seemingly sameness of the trees and terrain was disorienting by itself, the forest was also home to many dangerous animals, all of which were several times their normal size. This led to tigers that stood six feet tall at the shoulder, centipedes that were a dozen feet long, pythons that were some sixty feet in length and that was just the small ones, not to mention the dozens of other dangerous or poisonous species that inhabited the forest and loved killing unsuspecting shinobi who thought that they were strong enough to enter. This was the reason that whenever the Chuunin Exams were hosted by Konoha, they used this forest to weed out the ones who couldn't follow orders or were too weak for the finals. Some shinobi from other villages claimed that the forest gave the Konoha shinobi an unfair advantage, but the truth was that the forest didn't care who was a Konoha shinobi or samurai or not.

Into this forest Kenshin and his team went, not bounding along the tree tops like so many others, but calmly and quietly along the ground, moving as shadows within the shadows of the forest. Kenshin and the others had discussed it at length and had decided that the slow and steady approach would be best for both finding the earth scroll and for making their way to the tower in the center of the forest. As they moved through the forest, all of them could hear the sounds of miniature battles breaking out all around them in the distance as other teams clashed against one another in order to gain the opposite scroll from the one they started with.

Time passed slowly as they moved deeper into the forest with barely a spoken word between the four of them. A few hours had passed by when Kenshin and his team spilled out of a narrow path between the roots of a thick group of trees into a wide clearing that had a clear and swift moving creek running through it near the far and end of the clearing that was shaped like an oval. Kenshin held up one hand to signal everyone to stop as he scanned the clearing, looking for any signs of a trap or any danger at all.

Kenshin heard Kakashi move up next to him and saw out of the corner of his eye Kakashi using their team's sign language, What's wrong?

Kenshin placed his left hand on the ground and idly drew a few symbols that looked like a bunch of scribbles to outsiders but the motion of Kenshin's hand conveyed a clear message to Kakashi, We are being stalked by another team. Three of them, our eleven o'clock, in the trees about three quarters of the way across the clearing.

Kakashi scratched the bottom of his chin with his first three fingers with the tip of his thumb resting under the corner of his jaw on the side of his neck, Ambush?

Kenshin nodded then said quiet enough for Rangiku and Asuma to hear him, "No sudden moves but we are being watched from our eleven o'clock about three quarters of the way across the clearing near the creek. I sense three of them. Be ready."…


Zabuza

Zabuza and his team were waiting in the trees at the edge of the clearing with the creek running through it almost directly below them. They had been waiting in this area, which was on the most direct line from the gate that their target and his team started at to the center of the forest, for over three hours in the oppressive heat and humidity that seemed to have settled over the forest, causing every breath to become a chore of drinking the almost scalding air into their lungs. Of course, this was only a minor discomfort for Zabuza; he was so keyed up for the fight that he hardly noticed the overbearing atmosphere. The very thought of fighting someone as strong as this kid was supposed to be sent the familiar bloodlust scorching through his veins, though he had to be careful not to let it spill over or their prey would detect his team's presence.

Subtle movement in the boughs of the tree to his right caused Zabuza to look in that direction, Toda was trying to wipe sweat off of his face for the umpteenth time and said in his usual whiny voice that Zabuza found positively grating, "Where the fuck is this fucking kid? I wish he would hurry the fuck up and show the fuck up so that we can fucking kill him and end this fucking charade."

Zabuza looked back towards the far end of the clearing as movement at the edge of the trees caught his attention. As if on cue, their mark and his team appeared from under the trees at the far end of the clearing and began moving across the clearing slowly, as if they could sense that something was wrong. From what he had read about this kid they were supposed to kill, he probably picked up on Zabuza and his team's killer intent.

Zabuza chuckled softly as he said, "Get ready to attack."

Then he began weaving hand sings and felt his chakra gathering inside of him until he completed the sequence of hand signs and released his chakra into the air around him, "Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu." (Water Element: Hiding in Mist Technique)

Suddenly a heavy fog swallowed the clearing, making it difficult for their targets to see what was around them, but for Zabuza and his team, the mist was a welcome advantage, one that they would use to its full advantage. This technique was one that all Mist shinobi knew how to use whether their elemental affinity was water or not and even beyond that, it was a technique that their instructors at the academy and their jounin instructors used to train all young Mist shinobi in fighting without the use of one or more of their senses. It was part of the reason that Mist shinobi were feared the world over for their silent kill technique that utilized the mist to approach and kill their mark without anyone knowing they were there because when the mist lifted all that the others around their mark would see was a dead body. Zabuza nodded to his two teammates and watched as they silently dropped off of the branches of the tree that all three of them were standing in and moved to position themselves to cut off the only two escape routes that they could see, the paths at either end of the clearing. Zabuza settled in to wait for just a little bit longer until his target was within striking distance…


Rangiku

Rangiku and the rest of the team had frozen dead in their tracks when the unnatural mist swallowed the clearing. She could feel the malice of whoever cast this jutsu in the mist and the sensation sent chills down her spine and set her on her guard. Rangiku heard a noise to her left that caused her to turn and rest her right hand on the hilt of Haineko, ready to draw and attack as she mentally reached down inside of herself and loosened the hold on her reiatsu so that she felt it flowing through her, a warm tingle that helped overcome the fear she was feeling. She was about to draw her sword when Asuma appeared out of the mist, ready to fight as well. Rangiku said, almost breathless with relief, "Asuma, thank goodness."

He looked at her, "Rangiku. This mist feels insane. There is some serious malice laced in it. Have you seen Kakashi and Kenshin?"

Rangiku shook her head, "No, have you?"

Asuma shook his head and was about to respond when they both caught movement out of the corner of one eye and simultaneously turned to face the perceived threat, only to relax as they saw Kakashi emerge from the mist, but that sense of relief changed to one of surprise when they saw that he was supporting Kenshin who had blood running down his face as if he'd been crying blood. Both of them saw how Kenshin looked weak, as if the mist was sapping his strength.

Asuma moved forward to help Kakashi with a just barely conscious Kenshin as Rangiku asked, "What happened? Was it an attack?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I don't know what happened with Kenshin, one minute he was walking at the front of our little group and as soon as the mist showed up, he gasped and dropped to a knee while clutching at his face. As for an attack, I think we are caught in the middle of one right now."

Asuma nodded as he took on more of Kenshin's weight from Kakashi, "I would have to agree with you Kakashi, this mist feels heavy and unnatural. Who do you think it is?"

Kakashi said, "It's probably the group of Mist shinobi that Kenshin pointed out to me when we were in the room waiting for the first exam to start. Kenshin said that they did not look like they were here for the exams themselves, so it could be them."

Just then, Kenshin levered himself off of Asuma and said in a slightly shaky voice, "Most likely."

Rangiku and the others looked at him as Asuma asked, "Are you alright, Kenshin?"

Kenshin, who now had rivulets of drying blood on his face, giving him an even fiercer appearance said in a voice that was growing stronger by the minute, "Yeah, I was stunned for a moment because this mist blinds my Tengan and if I try to use it, it causes damage to my eyes. Now that I've stopped using my Tengan, I'm feeling much better. The good thing is that I can still extend my senses outward, but that won't do us much good because this mist dampens everything and all I can sense more than a couple feet away from us is malice and bloodlust. It looks like we may be as close to blind as can be in this mist."

Rangiku watched as Kenshin turned back in the direction that they had been traveling through the clearing and said, "We should get moving."

Rangiku and the others were on guard as the four of them slowly made their way across the clearing. They were close to the stream when a cold and blood thirsty chuckle filled the air causing all four of them to freeze. The sound of the voice seemed to echo all around them, making it completely impossible for them to pinpoint its source.

She watched as Kenshin looked over his right shoulder back at the rest of the team, "Stay ready. The enemy is here."

She was about to ask what he meant when she saw a figure seem to appear out of the mist in front of Kenshin and swung a sword at him in a fast horizontal arc, meaning to cut him in two at about mid-chest. Rangiku was about to shout a warning when Kenshin responded so fast that she didn't see him turn to face the attack while at the same time pulling Tensuga from his back and bringing it down to block the attack that came from his right.

The two blades met with the sound of screeching metal. The fact that the sound seemed to be muted by the mist barely registered with Rangiku and the others as she watched in seemingly slow motion as the attacker's sword seemed to slice through Tensuga's blade about midway between the hilt and tip and an instant before the cutting edge of the attacker's massive sword reached Kenshin, he dropped to a knee below the arc of the sword only to meet a powerful roundhouse kick by his attacker that hit Kenshin square in the jaw, snapping Kenshin's head back and lifting him off the ground to send him ripping through the air to land somewhere at the far end of the clearing that they couldn't see but they definitely heard Kenshin hitting the base of a tree, hard. Rangiku's attention was snagged away from trying to see what happened to Kenshin by movement where Kenshin and his attacker had been standing. The movement was the upper half of Tensuga's blade falling through the air to hit the ground with a metallic thud.

Rangiku also noticed that Kenshin's attacker had disappeared back into the mist. She heard Kakashi say, "Quick, everyone get back to back."

The three of them moved to where they were back to back with each other, forming a triangle in the middle of the clearing, eyes roving the mist.

Everything was silent for a minute when they were startled by a voice that seemed to come from directly in front of Rangiku, "What the fuck? I thought this fucking brat was supposed to be fucking strong enough to fucking warrant using three fucking ANBU like us. One fucking attack and his fucking sword breaks and he fucking gets his fucking neck broken, what the fuck?"

The first voice that they had heard spoke again, the sound of it echoing around them in the mist, "Toda, shut up before you give away your position."

The second voice spoke again, still directly in front of Rangiku, just out of striking distance, "So fucking what, it's not like they can fucking know where my voice is coming from, is it? The mist you threw up throws all of our voices all over the place, right? So I can walk right up to fucking big-tit fire fucking crotch over there and fucking tell her that before I fucking gut her I am going to fucking tie her up and fuck her until she fucking begs for death and then I am going to fuck her some more, making sure that I abuse all three of her fuck holes with my huge fucking cock."

Rangiku couldn't stand it anymore so she said, "Will that be before or after I cut you dick off and shove it down your throat?"

The voice said, "What the fuck you say you fucking wh-?"

He never got to finish what he was going to say because Rangiku used shunpo to move from where she was standing to directly in front of him and kneed him in the balls and as he fell to his knees, Rangiku kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling, before using flash step to move back to her previous position.

Rangiku and her teammates heard the person hit the ground. The voice stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "What the fuck Zabuza? You fucking said that this fucking mist of yours would throw our voices and make it hard for these fucking brats to fucking find us. What the fuck happened?"

The first voice spoke again, sending chills down Rangiku's spine as it seemed to come from directly behind her, "I warned you that the mist only throws my voice, as it would yours if you had cast it, you fucking idiot."

The other person, who was probably on his feet by now said, "Idiot? I am going to fucking kill you when we're fucking done here, Zabuza. But first, I am going to fucking fuck fire crotch over there up."

Rangiku sensed the attack a moment before the same guy that she had kicked earlier emerged from the mist in front of her with a wicked kunai drawn and aimed at her stomach. Steel flashed as she drew Haineko in a reverse grip and brought it up to intercept the kunai. Steel met steel with a screech as her attacker's kunai slid along her blade.

Rangiku suddenly had the wind blasted out of her as her attacker quickly stepped in and drove a knee into her solar plexus. She didn't have a moment to recover as he drove an open palm into her jaw causing her mouth to shut with a clack of her teeth clicking together. The blow also sent her staggering into her teammates who turned to catch her to keep her from falling. As Kakashi caught her, Asuma moved forward between her and the Mist shinobi that had been attacking her, his hands already flowing through a series of hand seals. As he completed the last hand seal, Asuma took a deep breath and said, "Katon: Haisekisho!" (Fire Element: Burning Ash).

Then he leaned forward and spewed a cloud of dark gray chakra-infused powder that engulfed Rangiku's attacker. Just before she could wonder what he was doing, Asuma clicked his teeth together, causing a spark that set the cloud of ash-like powder aflame. The clearing was suddenly filled with the blood-curdling scream of Rangiku's attacker and the sickening smell of burning flesh.

From their right they heard another voice, "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" (Water Element: Water Dragon Bullet Technique).

Then they heard a rumbling from the same direction as a wingless serpent-like dragon made entirely of water came out of the mist and straight at them too fast for them to dodge. Kakashi threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it at the water attack, shouting as he did so, "Move!"

Rangiku, Asuma, and Kakashi dove to one side as the tag ignited and exploded a moment later, causing the water to flash to steam, destroying the water dragon completely, and causing the mist to grow even thicker. The steam also had the added effect of dousing the fire that Asuma had set earlier with his burning ash technique.

All three of them were on edge waiting for the next attack from their opponents when there was a dragon's roar that became a constant growl as the air around them began to vibrate violently. Asuma looked at the others and said in a somewhat sarcastic voice, "Now what?"


A/N: I know, I know... I just had to get the Forest of Death in there somehow.

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