Hello! This is the slave/editor for Envy's Love. I hope we have not caused too much frustration in the long intervals between chapters. The style of this chapter may be a little different than usual but that's because I am the one writing 99% of it. "Oh how it's been so long we're so sorry we've been gone.." Lalala sorry random Panic at the Disco. Happy Easter if you celebrate it!
After giving them directions and laying down the rules, Anko let the teams lose in the forest. Not even ten minutes in they heard screaming. Nervously Kagami held Naruto's hand, unable to stop herself from shaking slightly.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked her.
"This place is creeping me out. It feels like we're being watched…"
"I know what you mean Kagami," Sakura agreed. "This place creeps me out too.
"This is no big deal you two," Naruto said as he kept walking foreword until he suddenly stopped. "Uh I haveta go." He then started to unbutton his pants when Sakura hit him hard on the head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Don't do that when girls are present!" she yelled. "Go behind a bush or tree."
Naruto walked behind a group of trees and was gone for a short period of time before he came back out. "Man I feel good now," he said. Suddenly Sasuke appeared behind Naruto and hit him square in the head sending him flying into a tree.
"What the hell Sasuke!?" Kagami yelled. "I know you don't like us going out but that was uncalled for!"
"What have you done with Naruto?" Sasuke barked, confusing her even more.
"He's right there bleeding!"
"Look at him closely Kagami!"
She took a second look before also tensing.
"You're right…this guy's even worse at disguise spells than the real Naruto."
There was a cloud of smoke before a strangely masked man was coming at them.
"Since you forced me to come clean, why don't you do the same? Which one of you three has the scroll?"
Sasuke jumped between them using kunai and fire to distract the attacker as Kagami searched for their missing teammate.
She found him tied up on the forest floor and quickly cut him loose.
"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, grabbing their attention before they had a chance to say anything. The man had him.
"You're not getting away that easy!" Naruto went to help only to find Sasuke free and pushing a kunai deep into the stranger's arm, blood spurting.
"He gave me no choice! Now move! We don't know where his friends are! You got that? Keep standing there and you'll all end up dead!"
Before they could move he was gone and Sasuke was safe.
*10 Minutes Later*
They were conversing in a circle, all eyes focused on Sasuke.
"Remember this if we get separated again…we can't trust each other blindly! It could end up the way this did!" He went on to lecture them on passwords, eventually choosing a poem that Kagami knew Naruto would never remember. Sasuke took the scroll from her when a sudden cut appeared on Naruto's cheek. They were looking around in confusion when there was sudden explosion that sent her flying.
She opened her eyes and all she could see was orange. Lifting her head she saw that she was on top of Naruto. Sitting up, she looked around to see where her brother and Sakura were. Not seeing them, she started to poke Naruto.
"What! What's going on?" He said as he jumped up onto his feet.
"We got separated from the others."
"Where are we?"
"Don't know. Maybe if we climb one of these trees here," she looked around, "we could…" She trailed off, mouth hanging open in sheer terror.
"What? We could what Kagami? What's wrong?"
"S-snake," she answered, pointing behind him. "B-big huge s-snake!"
Slowly he looked behind him and sure enough there was a gigantic serpent poised to strike. "SHIT!"
He grabbed her by the arm and started running. When it hit the ground where they once were the ground rumbled. Suddenly the snake's tail wrapped around Naruto and separated them with a strong tug.
"NARUTO!" She yelled as she watched it devour him whole before turning on her. She screamed, scrambling to get away. Kagami wedged herself between two fallen trees, too small for the beast. Giant fangs were inches from her arms, stripping the trees of their bark.
"Holy crap! Holy fucking crap! What the hell do I do? I can't exactly make sushi out of it cause I might hurt Naru…"
She grabbed a kunai from her pocket and took a deep breath. The serpent seemed to be tiring down after its big meal. As soon as it closed its mouth she jammed the knife into its eye. Warm, sticky, clear liquid gushed down, drenching her arm. As the snake reared up in pain she couldn't help but gag.
The snake was still suddenly except for a bubbling bulge around its middle. Without warning it exploded violently, releasing hundreds of Naruto clones. A chunk of bone hit her shoulder, causing it to flash with pain.
"You ok?" A tired and bloody Naruto was panting outside her hidey-hole.
"Not too bad. Are you? I thought you were dead."
"I'm better than fine and you should know by now that it'll take a lot more than a snake to get rid of me."
"You make it sound like that was a garden snake."
"It wasn't?"
"Shut up dork," she couldn't help but smile a little, ignoring the slowly numbing sensation in her shoulder. "We should head back and find the others."
Naruto and Kagami heard the other two before they saw them. She could tell the by the pitch of his voice that Sasuke was desperate, terrified out of his mind. The scene below was odd, but neither paused to think about it.
"Sorry Sasuke, I can't remember that stupid password!"
"Naruto to the rescue, huh? You're completely psyched to be saving the day but now would be a good time to run for your life! This guy is way out of our league!"
The strange ninja laughed in a manner that sent chills down Kagami's spine.
"Heh heh…my compliments on your stunning defeat of the giant snake…Naruto. Kagami."
"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
She was shaking but managed to keep her voice steady. To her surprise Sasuke took the scroll from his inside his clothing.
"If it's our scroll you want, come and get it! Just…take it and go!"
"Sasuke are you crazy!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Is this some clever way of beating the enemy? By handing over everything we've got?"
The man-woman ninja went on a rant about prey but Kagami wasn't listening. Her mind was running a million miles a minute. Suddenly Naruto was no longer at her side but down beside her brother.
"Stay out of this! You'll ruin everything!"
Naruto attacked Sasuke, catching him by surprise.
"I forgot the stupid password so I can't prove it…but this so-called Sasuke is obviously a fake! You're the idiot, idiot! You're a coward. Which Sasuke isn't. So you're not him! I'm not so sure we need to be afraid of this guy and even if we did hand over the scroll there's no guarantee he'd spare us! So even if you were Sasuke, I'd still be telling you you're an idiot…and maybe a chicken too!"
More laughs from the thing/person in front of them.
"Oh Naruto! This is rich! And you're right. Why bargain when I can simply kill you and take the scroll?"
She tensed up involuntarily. She watched as a battle ensued, barely containing her screams. She had been in battles before but never anything like this. He (she thought it was a he) was holding Naruto in the air with his tongue.
"The brat of nine-tails is still alive a kicking! How fascinating that, when he is consumed with rage, he loses himself and a bit of the nine-tailed demon fox trapped within comes through. An amazing development!"
"Sasuke? Please help him!"
The man-woman made a sealing sign and slammed his hand into Naruto's stomach causing him to let out a scream that rocked her to her soul.
Sakura looked at her before beginning to also plead with her teammate.
"Sasuke! Naruto needs you!"
The opposing ninja went through their bag and grabbed the scroll before throwing his unconscious captive away. Before Kagami could act, Sakura threw a kunai, pinning him to a tree.
"Naruto may be nothing like you…he's clumsy and he holds us back and sometimes he's a big nuisance, but at least he's go guts! Naruto's no coward!"
She looked to Sakura gratefully before waiting to see what Sasuke would do. She knew what was running through his head: Itachi. Before she could register what had happened he was a flurry of activity, moving so fast she brought out her Sharingan to keep track of the two. In a few seconds it was over and the thing's head was burning. 'Sasuke won," she thought, but he smile quickly faded. Somehow it was still alive; it's skin pealing off at one eye, revealing pasty white.
"That ones so young should have such mastery of the Sharingan mirror eye power! Truly, two worthy successors to the honored name of clan Uchiha! In fact…I believe I want you after all.."
Sakura and Kagami ran down to Sasuke, fear making her heart pound. What did he mean he wanted them? He shredded off some more of his skin, catching all of their eyes and paralyzing the three of them.
"It's marvelous fun, having you show me all your tricks! You really are his siblings, aren't you? You can see - and conceal - things with those eyes of yours that Itachi himself never dreamed of."
"Just who the heck are you!?" Sasuke yelled, her own mind reeling. This person knew Itachi, knew him well enough to compare him to them.
"I'm Orochimaru, the Giant Snake. If either of you'd ever like a rematch then pass this exam as quickly as you can! I'll see you again, if you manage to defeat the four Otonin Sound ninja who answer to me."
"W-what are you babbling about?" Sakura said in a wavering voice, trying to sound braver than Kagami knew she felt. "We never want to see your face again!"
"Perhaps," Orochimaru said with an evil grin that told her that what was coming would be worse than what had already happened. "…but wishing won't chase me away."
With a few blurred hand signs, his head was coming right at them, his neck elongating. She made to bring her hands up to protect her face but was reminded she couldn't move, horror keeping her eyes pealed open.
The man had bit Sasuke's neck, leaving two small holes, and was reuniting his head with his body.
"One of you shall suffice for now. I look forward to seeing you again in the quest for power!" She felt the bind on her body release as he disappeared. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sakura run to Sasuke, but made no movement herself until he broke her trance.
"Wh-what? Everything hurts!"
With that she too went to him. He was screaming like she had never heard him scream before. It sounded as though someone was burning him alive, the epicenter of his pain being his neck. She grabbed his hand and let him squeeze it until she was sure it would break, the pain in her shoulder magnifying.
"Hang in there Sasuke! Do you hear me? I'm right here."
She turned to Naruto but he was still out, hanging from the tree. Sasuke collapsed into her arms and tears began welling up in her eyes but she wiped them on her sleeve.
"S-Sakura, listen to me. We need to move them; we need to get them somewhere safer. My arm's busted so I'm going to need you. You…you take Naruto."
"I…" Sakura looked so scared that Kagami's own panic almost over took her.
"Do you know what they say about us Sakura? They say that you and I aren't good for much. That I black out every time something gets tough and all you do is cry and chase after Sasuke. And for a while now they've been right. Its time to step up to the plate and do our job. We're ninja damn it!"
*A Few Hours Later*
They were in a clearing, both of them swaying with exhaustion. Sasuke gave a little moan and Sakura replaced the cloth on his head. Kagami started drifting but caught herself and gave her head a little shake.
'It's already dawn?' There was a slight tapping noise and the two of them froze, Kagami pulled out a kunai only to find a squirrel.
"What are you up to scaring us like that?" Sakura asked it as it began hopping towards them. Kagami's heart gave a little jolt as it got closer and she threw a kunai, stopping it in its tracks. It had been dangerously close to blowing their booby traps. As it scrambled away they both gave slight sighs of relief. They turned back to their charges when a voice came from behind them.
"Heh heh… you two've been up all night standing guard, eh?"
They whipped around to see four sound ninja feet from them.
"As of now, you're off duty. Just wake Sasuke for us. We want to take him on."
Kagami pulled out a kunai, wincing as her shoulder gave another spasm of pain.
"Wh-what are you talking about?! I know that Orochimaru is the one who's been pulling the strings so what do you want?!"
The four look surprised, but Kagami only tensed more, it could all be an act.
"What does this mark on Sasuke's neck mean?!" Sakura joined in. "With Sasuke in this condition now you want to fight him!? Get out of here! Go!"
One sound ninja walked forward. His entire face was covered except for his left eye and he reminded her horribly of a porcupine with what seemed to be fur sticking out of his back. "Hmm…I wonder what Orochimaru's up to?"
"Whatever…"another one piped up, a smile appearing under his black hair. "I can't walk away after hearing that! I'll destroy both of you, and Sasuke too!"
"Wait, Zaku!" The first one warned.
"Wait? Why?"
Porcupine shuffled forward a little more. "It's obvious…freshly turned stones, exposed soil…grass in a place it would never grow. Someone's been setting booby traps…but what's the point of laying them if you leave evidence that warns your prey? It's amateurish! Well, they're no use to us. So…the person who threw the kunai knife was trying to stop the squirrel from springing the trap? So let's eliminate them first."
The two boys and a woman with black hair jumped into the air to attack and as planned Kagami cut the rope behind her, releasing the log. She heard their yells off shock and quickly switched places with Sakura, tossing her the kunai before taking out another and standing a little farther back, closer to where Sasuke and Naruto lay.
Her mouth fell open as Porcupine exploded the log with one punch.
"To be honest…you know you two are complete no-talents right? Stop dogging it and start working at it! It's an insult being underestimated by slackers like you!"
The ninja were about two feet away when they were thrown back by a whirlwind. Lee appeared between them with the squirrel from before riding on his shoulder.
"Look at who's talking! Try taking your own advice!"
"Wh-who are you!?" Zaku yelled, eyes visibly widening.
"Konoha's handsome blue beast…Rock Lee!"
"Where did you come from?" Sakura asked weakly.
"I came because you needed me and I always will!"
"I don't know how to thank you. You're a life saver."
"I promised when we met…to protect you until death do us part!"
The moment was almost comical, Kagami thought. As a battle quickly raged on, the other girl suddenly appeared beside Kagami.
She turned to face her opponent, expecting to be attacked, but the girl only smiled and held up her hands.
"I'm Ken'ichi. To be honest I really hate fighting…I'm surprised I made it this far! I only want to check on them, see if their ok." She pointed to Naruto and Sasuke, brown pigtails bouncing off her back.
"Can I? You can search me of weapons, I only have a kunai in my boot, I'm only backup so I've never really been trusted with a lot of metal. Oh and I don't have the scroll."
Kagami stared at her for a few minutes, only slightly hearing the shouts from a few feet away.
"Y-You want to help us? But you're the enemy!"
"So? Just because I'm the enemy doesn't mean I can't have manners. I think it's low to fight an injured opponent."
Suddenly there was an explosion behind them, and both girls turned. Porcupine was jammed headfirst into the ground, legs sticking up at awkward angles.
"Ichi! Get away from them if you aren't going to attack," the black haired girl screamed.
"Bye!" Ken'ichi muttered with a smile before disappearing to the other side once more.
Kagami reassessed the scene in front of her. Lee was bleeding from his ear and Porcupine was back on his feet.
"It's sound," she heard him explain. "Even if you block my fist, the sound waves reach you. Do you understand the fundamental nature of sound?"
"Vibrations?" Sakura muttered.
"Precisely. When you hear a sound, it's actually those vibrations displacing the air, which trembles against your ear drum. And the human eardrum – the tympanic membrane – ruptures when exposed to sound levels in excess of 150 phons. Moreover if the sound is powerful enough to upset the liquid within the semi-circular canals of the deepest inner ear it becomes impossible for you to maintain your balance. Heh heh and it will be some time before your equilibrium returns."
"So you see," Kaku piped in, "crude old fashioned physical arts simply don't work against us. You did start out very well, though. It's rare for a foe to force me to reveal the nature of my techniques. But now the tide has turned against you! I can wield sound waves as a weapon…with enough force to crush entire boulders! And with a mere thought I can use sound waves to force air into the Earth beneath me, transforming rock-hard soul into the softest kind of cushion…"
A rock suddenly flew through the air, catching him on the side of the head.
"You talk too much! No one cares what you can do if all you do is talk about it!" Ken'ichi stood by the black haired girl with another rock in hand. "Now get on with it if you're going to attack them!"
While all that was going on Porcupine made a move to go for Sakura but Lee jumped between them but was easily stopped as he grasped his ear. Porcupine hit him with a metal incased arm.
"This arm of mine magnifies every little sound from within to the utmost limits. It's an amplifier and it goes to 11! And not only that, but far from relying on the momentum of my arm's swing I can use my chakura to direct its power toward my chosen prey, wherever he may lie!"
Lee crumbled to the ground and Kagami ran to him as Sakura charged. Kagami had never seen Sakura so angry, as she dragged Lee to safety. The girl was throwing kunai left and right only to have them blocked. Then the black haired girl had her by the hair.
"Lovely hair…so much more bounce and shine than mine has! What ninja technique is that…the art of deep conditioning? You're a disgrace to all shinobi…fussing with your looks when you should concentrate on your training!"
"Sakura!" Kagami was about to run out to her friend but she stopped herself. This was Sakura's battle so she tensed and prepared to fend off an attack.
"Hold still!"
Zaku began walk toward her and she pulled out another kunai so she had a weapon in each hand. This may have been Sakura's battle but she wasn't letting anyone near Naruto, Sasuke, and Lee too now.
And then Sakura was free, hair flying every which way. The entire battlefield froze. Kagami couldn't believe it, for Sakura to go that far… she was all business now, gone was the timid girl Kagami had come to love. She watched in awe as Sakura allowed the weapons to pierce her so that she could pin Zaku to the ground, even as he dealt blows to her head. Kagami stood as Sakura flew through the air.
"You little bitch!"
Before Kagami could get to her, three figures blocked Zaku's path. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji had come from the bushes.
"Sakura, I told you I'd never let you show me up!"
Sasuke gave a little groan but Kagami held her stance and prayed the fight would be over soon so she could go to him.