10. Oh Deer…

The two ninja surveyed each other for a while, taking it information about each other. He dislikes children, Chika thought, that was apparent by the way he treats people younger than him A puppeteer, so he must have trained, and studied hard... A brother and sister, either the oldest or middle child, and dislikes both.. A… poor relationship to say the least, regarding his brother and sister.

"I'll get you out of here, if you answer some questions." Chika said slowly, not making any sudden movements. Kankuro glared at the girl.

"I thought you didn't know the way out."

"I lied. But we'll be here for a while, if we keep going at this pace."

Kankuro was confused under his mask of face paint. "Why are you interrogating me?"

Chika's face hardened, "I have my reasons."

"I'm not answering any of your stupid questions." Kankuro turned around, and started to look for a way out. Chika sighed, and pulled at her hair.. This was going to be a lot harder than anticipated..

"You don't have to do this, you know."

Kankuro didn't look back, but his eyes were on the ground, adamant not to give Chika the satisfaction of answering, or even looking at her. He hated her. She walked the streets of Suna liked she owned the place, conned him out of many of his valuables, and now she was looking to interrogate him? On top of all the shit he was being put through? His creepy kid brother, and bitchy older sister?

"Do what? Compete in the Chunin Exams? I want to do that, and obtain the rank of Chunin. Why else, would I compete in it?" Kankuro smirked, and looked at Chika, like she was the fool. She sighed, and an expression of defeat washed over her face. She wasn't a ninja. She didn't see things the same way other ninja did. She saw an arrogant, cocky, irritating boy a year younger than her, lying to get out of trouble. Chika then remembered her promise to Lord Hokage, Asuma, and her father. She couldn't back down now. She could never back down.

"And what about the Sound? I know you have a connection to them, Kankuro." She argued, standing up, as Kankuro stood defensively, his arms folded.

"Look, the Sand's business with Orochimaru is none of your concer-" He stopped himself abruptly, realizing what he had said. Chika slowly reached for her bag, and pulled out a scroll, as Kankuro watched, the words washing over him.

By the time he reacted, Chika had already pulled out her own sword, she had gotten from a Swordsman of an unknown town. It was a fine steel blade, and it was used as another limb of Chika's.

Kankuro's kunai flew towards the rocks, and Chika could catch sight of a piece of paper, but didn't know its purpose. She flew towards Kankuro, trying to strike him down.

'You aren't going to get away this time!'

To her misfortune, she found out what the paper was. A microscopic bomb was hidden in it, and it blew the rocks back, hitting both Chika and Kankuro.

Kankuro recovered quickly, and fled, before Chika had time to stand up, from where she had been knocked off of her feet. Her leg made her cringe in pain, and found herself unable to stand up. She pulled the leg of her trousers up, all thoughts about Kankuro forgotten, and flinched at the gash one of the rocks made in her skin. The flesh was red and raw, with black grains of rock in it. Panicking, she whistled, in hope Haru might have heard her.

For once, her wish was granted, and the welcoming figure of the large chocolate coloured deer came into view, and cantered to where Chika was. As her reached down with his long neck, Chika grasped it for support, and flinched when she felt her right leg almost fail her. With a lot of effort, she managed to haul herself onto Haru, and lead him down to the forest.

It was clearly midday, Chika noticed, the sun hung in the sky, and burned her wounded flesh, as Haru trotted through the forest. Checking her bag, and its contents, Chika fished through kunai, scrolls, parchment, an assorted collection of unnecessary books-she couldn't help but bring them- until she found what she was looking for; the Earth scroll. She daren't unwind it, because of the orders Kotetsu and Izumo gave her. She must make it to the tower first.

Chika spent a couple of hours trotting on Haru. The sun beat down on her skin, and her leg began to burn. She found her thoughts wandering as she did.

Chika started to wonder about Team Eight. Were Shino, Kiba and Hinata okay? Did they get food so they wouldn't starve? She focused on the forest, and its strange sounds, her sword put back into her scroll, for it caused too much pain. Her leg was still badly wounded, although the blood stopped dripping from it, it had a rather nasty look. Chika couldn't walk on it, and she cursed her weakness, and inexperience.

The tree rustled in the breeze, and as Chika sped up, she could barely hear the traces of voices, that she recognized. Slowing down to a walk, sensing something was wrong, Chika cautiously moved ahead, pulling tree branches out of her way.

What she saw next terrified her.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were standing in the clearing of the forest, and another team the other end. However, Gaara was controlling the sand from the oddly shaped gourd, and had constricted the ugly looking opponent, in the sand, crushing him to his death.

Chika felt the contents of her stomach rise in her throat, as the fumes of blood intoxicated her nostrils. She managed to keep it down, and felt her eyes water from the stench.

"J-just leave us alone!" Shouted another of the teammates, laying their scroll on the ground, and backing away slowly, "Take it!"

Chika's head cleared, and she saw what scroll it was. Heaven. Without thinking, she made Haru gallop towards the scroll, the Hokage's mission and whatever else, gone out of her head. She needed that scroll, and she had to get to the tower safely. Although the odds that she would succeed were low, she gained speed.

Crashing out of the bushes, Chika caught sight of Kankuro walking towards the scroll, as Gaara had killed the other teammates. When he saw Chika, he stopped, surprised to see her again. Chika scooped the scroll off the ground, as Haru cantered on, and fear struck her as she felt the grains of sand rise, and head towards her.

"Go, Haru, Go!"

The stag was afraid. And as all deer do when they were afraid, Haru ran as fast as he could, legs blurry, as Chika's head spun, dazed from the blood rushing to her head. She held onto the scroll with one hand, and with the other, she clutched Haru's fur, so she wouldn't fall off.

She ran in fear that the ninja would come after her, knowing she was defenseless against the strong people of Suna. Slowing down, she gasped for breath, her heart echoing her in ears.

"That…was too close… for comfort." She breathed, a sigh of relief, then took her bag from her back. Inside, she chose an empty scroll, and locked the Earth and Heaven scroll inside it, as a form of inception. Chika relaxed, knowing she had her two scrolls, and was getting closer to the tower. She still had no clues about the Sand and Sound though..

All she had was one name; Orochimaru. The name rang a bell, but Chika couldn't put her finger on it, so she let Haru drink by the stream that flowed down the forest.

Sitting against a rock, Chika looked at her reflection in the water. Her face was covered in a layer of grime, strands of her dark hair had fallen from her ponytail, and her eyes were tired, her face pink from lack of dehydration, and the sunlight.

Splashing water onto her face, she thought about food. How was she to get any? Chika was in no position to run or hunt, and she hadn't thought of bringing food with her. Why did she overlook the obvious things? She was a coward, unwilling to fight, fleeing instead.

She stayed leaning against the rock until her breathing returned to normal. Chika whistled for Haru, and with the aid of the deer, managed to pull herself up, balancing cautiously. What Chika would do to be able to stand again….

The air was warm on Chika's skin, and she could feel herself burning up again. Her head was beginning to feel dizzy, and she realized how long it had been since she had eaten. Her stomach growled, and Chika closed her eyes trying to calm herself.

'No time to get ill now, not here, not at this time..'

Breathing in deeply, Chika reminded herself on why she couldn't fall sick now. The Hokage's mission to protect Konoha. Asuma-sensei. Her mother and father. Shikamaru. Team Eight. She had to make it to that tower, she had to see Shino, Kiba and Hinata again.. She had to.

When she breathed out, she heard a sharp breeze beside her bent head. Chika's eyes snapped open in shock, and stood up straight, forgetting about her leg until the pain reminded her again. Glancing around the forest, she saw nothing unusual.

'This stupid place is playing tricks on me…'

Chika thought that, until she heard it again. The trees and bushes rustled, and Chika felt scared. She was defenceless. What was she to do? Dizziness clouded her mind again, and she felt herself grow weaker and weaker…

"What do we have here?" A voice asked menacingly. Chika opened her eyes, and saw a girl, who appeared to be a year younger than Chika, stand in front of her, arms folded, with a smirk on her face. She was pretty, Chika noticed, and had long black hair almost reaching the ground, but tied at the end. The girl wore a pale green vest, and snake-patterned pants with a matching scarf.

"A bird with a broken wing." Commented another voice, a male voice. "Poor little bird."

Beside the girl, appeared a boy, with spiked black hair, snake patterned pants, and a scarf, like the girl. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front. His forehead protector had a face guard, and signified, that he was a Sound Village ninja.

"Kin, Zaku." Chika's head was having trouble detecting one new voice from another. "Take her scroll. I don't think there's any need to finish her off. She already looks like she's about to collapse."

This voice was from behind Chika. Chika's head turned to see the latest addition. He had gauze covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck, a straw rain coat protruding from the back of his scarf, and a large amplifier on his right arm. His back was hunched, making him look smaller than he actually was.

"Heh, this is gonna be easy." The spiky haired boy called Zaku snickered. Chika felt her face burn up again, and she tossed her bag to Zaku and Kin, giving up. Surprise registered on their faces, as they looked up.

"Check for all you want." Chika told them. "Mine was taken from me, by those Sand Ninja."

The other ninja remained quiet, before telling the others to search the bag, while he watched Chika carefully. As Zaku took out and put back the contents of Chika's bag, the plain scrolls, filled with books, he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Dosu, she's really telling the truth. There's no scroll in here." Zaku said, after throwing Chika's bag back at her, and it landed at her feet.

"…..Kill her so."

Shock and fear struck Chika, and her head was filled with air, as Kin casually struck her stomach with two senbon needles, and Chika fell to the ground in defeat. She clutched her stomach, not in pain. This was more than pain, it was agony.

Chika could hear the grunt of Haru, as she saw Zaku try and take on the stag. Haru wasn't having it happen, and he kicked and bucked for all he was worth.

Chika's head filled with pain, as Haru did all he could to fight the ninja. Out of nowhere, the Nara Myth that Chika's grandfather told her, came into her head.

'Naras have a way with deer. Their alliance kept them in touch with the Guardians of the Deer. The Guardians were so grateful to the Naras, that whenever a Nara, touched by the Spirits of the deer, was in trouble, the Great Spirits would protect them. However, there has not been a Nara touched by the Spirits, since your Grandmother, who passed away before you were born.' He grandfather told her that story many times.

And that's why Chika wished for the fairytale to be true. However, she knew she wasn't that lucky, and she didn't believe in fairytales. That's why, when she felt the new blow of senbon needle to her gut, she wished she were.

She could hear the grunts of Haru, as his snout pressed against Chika's cheek, she felt grateful, that her companion, who did so much for her, without even knowing it, was with her, at that moment. For years and years, her and Haru had been connected, and it was only right for him to be there in her moment of sorrow..Chika silently wished goodbye to all of her friends and family, and accepted her death. She wished she could have finished the mission, and made somebody proud.

She wished she could have grown up to be a puzzle master, and marry a man, who wasn't too good looking or too ugly, who had a head on his shoulders and could manage intelligent conversation. She would have liked to have a child, a girl, who would follow her dreams, as Chika would spend her days, solving puzzles, and visiting the deer.

Chika's eyes closed, and she was crumpled in defeat. But, even from behind her shut eyelids, she saw the great white beams of light, and a mighty roar echoing through the forest, and making her insides curdle.

That's when Chika died.

Kankuro was bored. He, Gaara and Temari were at the tower for just over a day. After that Nara girl had stolen their scroll, Gaara had no problem finding another one. But it really pissed him off, the way she could just waltz in and steal from people, like she always did.

Considering she hadn't even gotten to the tower yet, Kankuro hoped she were either lost, or had her scroll taken off her. Or both.

He was sitting on one of the sleeping mats laid out in the three man room. He had spent much of his time there, contemplating what had happened in the forest, trying to keep the silence between him and Gaara. Not that his creepy little brother spoke much, it was just, he and Gaara weren't like that.

Kankuro still had another two days to go, before the next test. Or was it one? He had lost track in the dull tower, after hours of going over his strategies, and fixing Crow to perfection, he had nothing else to do, but wait.

Wait for what?

For something interesting to happen.

And that, was when something interesting DID happen.

"Kankuro!" He heard the panicked voice of his sister call for him. Looking up at her greeny-blue eyes, and worried expression, he grunted unenthusiastically in response.

"We need your help! Someone's been poisoned, and the Chunin can't recognize the substance."

Kankuro stood up, and followed his sister, listening to the details of the wound.

"It's a stomach wound, with senbon needles, dripping in poison. According to a Genin, the poison has begun to spread throughout her abdomin."

Hang on a second…Her?

Kankuro and Temari turned the sharp corner, and it was on the grey concrete floor, he saw her, with her spiky-haired brother by her side, and three Genin, and two Chunin kneeling beside her. A familiar grunt was heard, and Kankuro head turned to see the large stag eyeing him with, was that a glare?

"My brother specializes in poisons," Temari told the Chunin, and Kankuro nodded, surprised by the compliment. "He should be able to identify the poison."

The two Chunin nodded, and backed away. One had spiky black hair, and Kankuro recognized him as a proctor from the written exam. "We have to leave now, there are many injured people we need to attend to, so we're relying on you." They went reluctantly, seeing Kankuro's Suna headband, and Kankuro asked.

"How much do you know?"

Nobody answered for a few seconds until, a cool, quiet voice answered.

"Her pulse has stopped, however, it's possible that the poison has frozen her heartbeat. The poison is rapidly spreading throughout her vital organs."

It was the Genin Temari was talking about. Kankuro couldn't see much of his face because it was covered with glasses, and a large collar, but he believed the Aburame, who seemed weirder than Gaara.

"Okay," Kankuro nodded, then gently pulled the hem of Chika's undershirt up so he could see the wound. It was bad, the skin had turned a dark purple and red, and the senbon needles were still lodged deep into her stomach. He instantly recognized the poison. It was one of his own creations, and he had the antidote. But, then he thought.

"I know how to heal her." Kankuro said, confidently. The spiky-haired boy who was clearly her brother, looked up.

"Well? What the heck are you waiting for, she's not getting any better." Shikamaru glared at the boy, his apathetic ways forgotten, in the panic. His sister needed him, and he wasn't about to let her go.

"Why should I? Maybe I want to keep the antidote, in case I need it."

Shino stayed crouched, but a low buzz came from his sleeves, and a swarm of black insects emerged from the coat. This shocked Kankuro, who kept his cool, hating the Nara girl more and more with every second that passed.

"You will heal her." Shino told Kankuro, who looked away, smirking. With a tug of his fingers, Kankuro pulled Shino's arms down by his side.

Without looking away from the puppet master, Shino's insects began to feast on the chakra strings, and within seconds they were gone.

"Every minute you stand there, is a minute more, she will most likely die." Shino told Kankuro, and the Kikaichu beetles began to swarm again. "And believe me when I tell you, she is not going to die."

Kankuro glared at the Aburame, who clearly had the advantage. He was interested in the way of those bugs of his, but needed to get away. However, Shino was strong, and Kankuro had a need to fight him, and prove he was the better ninja. But in order to do so, he had to heal her.

Kneeling beside her, Kankuro grudgingly removed the senbon needles, but was careful to do so in his work, as he felt Shino glared at him throughout the entire process.

Shikamaru was shaken. His older sister was lying here, dead. And after all of the hard work she had put towards the Chunin Exams. After only returning to Konoha for a few months, she was leaving again. And the worst part was, Shikamaru never got to tell her, the effect she had on his family, how the house was so much calmer when she was there, how Yoshino wasn't so cranky, and how their father smiled so much more. In a way, he should hate Chika, and there were some days, he really did hate her, he did want her to go away. But now that day was here, and he couldn't watch her go. He wouldn't let her go.

Shino had a strange, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was watching Chika lie on the ground, wounded, dead. He normally wouldn't break his calm demeanour, but he just didn't know what he felt.. It wasn't until he met Chika, did he realize, he didn't have to feel the same, dull, emotions. Throughout the few months of knowing her, he felt more uplifted, in general, and he was sharper in his training. Chika made him open his eyes to all of the happier things about the world, all of the puzzling ways of people. It was one of the better things about knowing Chika. She could explain to him, why people act so differently, why they are so puzzling. And she didn't declare him weird, or strange, or shudder at his interest for insects, (although he was sure she was uncomfortable about them) like most people would have. Shino had spent years studying the ways of insects, and knew their behaving patterns off by heart. However, when he tried to study people, he could never quite understand the way they worked.

Kankuro was put under pressure. He was almost one hundred percent sure that the antidote he had was sufficient, but he had not wanted to waste it on Chika. He had no choice, he wished to fight Shino, but he knew that Gaara would murder him brutally if he started any suspicious fights. And he was curious to find out how Chika managed to be infected by his poison, when he hadn't even harmed her.

After Kankuro had finished treating Chika's wounds, he felt her wrist for a pulse. It was a slow, painful few seconds before he could pick up the trace of a heartbeat, and he felt relieved, partly because he was afraid he had killed her. Kankuro did not want to become his little brother, the murderer.

"She's alive." Kankuro announced, standing up abruptly. "She'll be awake in an hour, and by evening, she'll be sitting up, and talking."

He began to walk away, before he heard the conversation starting.

"I'm glad Chika's alive, but how did manage to get here, if she was so injured?"

"I-I don't know, Kiba-kun.."

How did that girl manage to arrive at the tower? He would never know.

As he walked down the corridor, he entered the room, with his brother and sister. Temari was reading, a scroll, and Gaara was looking at the wall. Kankuro shook his head. What an interesting brother and sister he had. Not even a hello was said, and Kankuro was pretty sure Temari only realized he was in the room when he sat opposite her. Pushing her sandy hair back, she asked.

"So, did you manage to fix the girl?" She didn't sound half as worried as she had before. In fact, it was almost like she was mocking him.

"Eventually."

"I just want to know how she got here in that state.." Temari commented, rolling her scroll up. Kankuro shook his head, and retained himself from rubbing his eyes.

"Nobody knows."

"The deer." Gaara said suddenly, eyes not taken off the wall.

"Y-yeah, that must be it." Temari agreed quickly, not wanting to anger her little brother. Another reason to hate his family, Kankuro thought.

Shikamaru breathed a shaky sigh of relief, and slumped against the wall. He was sweating lightly, from the worry, and he was exhausted. Chika was alive, and yet, he knew his mother was not going to be pleased with all of her bruises. But, he'd get the blame anyway, so it didn't change much. However, it was lucky that Chika was alive..If it weren't for Shino, she wouldn't have been seen to half as quickly. Turning to the bug user, who was sitting beside Chika, Shikamaru watched him for a few seconds.

"Thanks."

Shino glanced at him for a second. At least, Shikamaru thought he looked at him. Who knows, with thoses black glasses?

"For what?" He had an intelligent voice, and only spoke when absoloutely necessary.

"Saving my sister. I would have never been able to take him on." Shikamaru commented, yawning. He got up and left to find Chika's deer, which had wandered off in the drama.

Shino was surprised by Shikamaru's words. Usually, no one would speak to him, so it was odd to converse with his old classmate. But, he thought, it wasn't a bad odd, rather just unusual.

Shino waited for Chika to wake up for a full hour. The kikaichu buzzed, impatient for their host to let them escape. Shino didn't though, he watched over Chika, to be sure that the Sand Ninja wouldn't go near his comrade again. After seeing the terrifying powers of Gaara of the Sand, Shino wanted to stay away from them at all costs. Nothing would free his mind from the memory of that day, the putrid smell of blood, it was sickening. That was when Shino recalled seeing Chika for the second time, in the forest of death.

She had been reckless, to go in for the kill, without waiting or watching first. She could have been destroyed had Gaara's sand reached her. She was lucky. But, it was so unlike Chika..

"Eh? Shino?" A cough was heard, and Shino was brought back to reality. Chika had woken up, inunder an hour, and was trying to sit up. She cringed in pain, and leant against the wall, breathing deeply.

"W-what happened? I can't remember much.."

"You were dead by the time you arrived at the tower. You were lucky to be healed in time, or the poison would have spread to your vital organs, and rotted them." Shino told her quickly, not naming who had healed her.

Chika's head bumped against the wall, and her eyes were closed, and for a split second, Shino had thought she took a heart attack. Then he realized, she was crying. It was a sad sight. Tears silently poured out of her eyes, but she didn't make a sound. Unsure of what to do, he waited until she stopped, then, got up and went out of the entrance, puzzling Chika. When he arrived back, he had brought Shikamaru with him, then proceeded to leave the brother and sister alone.

"Eh, Chika, how're ya feeling?" Shikamaru asked, sitting beside his sister. She looked pale, sick, and tired, but nodded nevertheless. Her voice sounded cracked when she spoke.

"I'm fine Shikamaru. Just…a little sore."

Shikamaru nodded. "What the heck happened anyways?"

"I don't know."

"Did you at least manage to get the scrolls, or did you waste all of that time for nothing?" Shikamaru asked, relaxing, knowing his sister was okay. Chika thought for a moment, then nodded, and reached for the bag that laid beside her. Pulling a scroll open, and reaching for the Earth and Heaven scrolls she had stolen, she unwinded them both, and in a poof of smoke, Asuma appeared before her, smiling.

"Congratu-wait a second, what's happened?" He asked, seeing Chika lying against the floor, with blood stained bandages covering her leg, and stomach. He looked at Chika for an explanation, and Shikamaru answered for her.

"Her deer found her dead, so supposingly it dragged her to the tower. We were just lucky one of the ninja had an antidote, or she would have been.." He didn't finish the sentence, but Asuma understood.

"Eh, Chika, you should thank the person who saved you." Asuma advised the girl, "Both of you rest up, the next test is to be announced tomorrow. I have to go now, but I'm glad to see that both of you made it here, your father will be proud." And with that, Asuma vanished, leaving Shikamaru and Chika alone again

Shikamaru stood up, and stretched. "Asuma-sensei's right, we probably should rest up."

Chika smirked, "You were going to do that regardless."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome woman."

"Old man." Chika shot back, smiling. "Now help me up."

Shikamaru did, reluctantly, and he and Chika made it down the corridor, to where the Konoha rookies all sat at a long bench and table, in their little groups. Chika instantly recognized some of the faces. Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Hinata and Shino were all there, as well as Neji Hyuuga, a previous year's number one rookie, and Rock Lee, the beautiful green beast of Konoha, which just made Chika laugh at the poor boy.

Team Eight and Team Ten looked up when they saw the Nara siblings arrive. The other team paid no notice.

"Eh, Chika-chan! What happened to you?" Ino asked, appearing at Chika's had practically made it with barely anything. A few scratches that was all.

"Nothing, Ino, I'm fine." Chika reassured Ino, who just raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so.."

Chika left Team Ten, and greeted Team Eight. Kiba and Hinata were surprised to see her up and running, but Shino remained silent, and greeted her with a curt nod.

"Chika, are you alright?" Hinata asked, worried about the older girl. She was relieved to see Chika smile, and pat her head.

"Yes, yes Hinata, I'm fine. Don't go worrying yourself, it's unnecessary stress." Chika told Hinata friendly, but firmly. She was fine after all. Nothing to worry about.

"Eh, but you couldn't see yourself, earlier on." Kiba reminded her, "You were dead, and if it wasn't for that Sand boy, you would've never been able to be revived."

He laughed, still, Akamaru yapping in his coat. "Still, I guess you're just lucky anyway."

Chika's eyes widened. Sand boy? Kiba couldn't possibly mean Kankuro, could he? Kankuro wouldn't heal Chika, he wouldn't. But then, who was Kiba talking about? It worried Chika, making her more serious, and her mission was in her mind. However, no one noticed, and carried on with their talking.

"Kiba. Be quiet." Shino said suddenly, snapping Chika out of her thoughts. Kiba was surprised at the bite in Shino's voice, and backed down reluctantly. Chika smiled inwardly. She was wrong. Someone did notice. Then again, Shino was always good at observation.

"Eh, Chika, you must be starving." Kiba commented, tossing her a small plastic bag. It contained several tablets. Raising an eyebrow, Chika looked at Kiba questioningly.

"Food pills." He explained. "I figured your stomach wouldn't be able to handle food right now."

"Thanks, Kiba." Chika said, sincerely grateful for all the help she was receiving. She didn't deserve much help, after all of the trouble she had caused. She should have been left to rot. Swallowing the food pill, she asked,

"How did I get here, if I was dead?"

"Haru brought you here." Hinata twiddled her fingers. "He's with the Chunin, being brought to the stables. He was too large for the tower."

Haru. Chika couldn't explain how much that animal did for her. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Do you remember anything?" Kiba asked, as they sat down at one end of the bench. Chika was going to tell them she didn't, but decided to tell them truthfully.

"Three ninja attacked me. They were Sound ninja, and one of them hit me with the senbon. I don't remember much after that.." Chika frowned trying to remember. "I do remember a bright light, then I woke up, in the tower, and saw Shino."

"You must have hit your head or something." Kiba commented, as Chika frowned at his her scowl, he quickly backtracked. "Hey, at least you made it, not like that Naruto."

"Eh, whatever." Chika shook the conversation out of her head. Thinking about the boy who saved her, she had to confirm her theory inside her mind, that was bursting to be said.

"Who was it?"

"Who was what?" Hinata asked, confused.

"Who healed me?" Chika asked, looking at the two boys. As she waited for one of them to answer, she heard a familiar voice say.

"I did."

Thus, her theory was correct.