"This whole place just completely creeps me out," Sakura says as we start at the dark forest in front of us. I personally, am not impressed. I've seen kittens scarier than this place. Then again, they were giant man eating kittens that were the product of one of Orochimaru's experiments.
"It should," Anko chuckles. "They call it the Forest of Death and soon enough you're gonna find out why." Forest of Death very original, note the sarcasm.
Naruto, being the idiot that he is, sticks his butt out and in a mocking voice says, "They call it the Forest of Death and soon enough you're gonna find out why." Straightening out he points at Anko. "Do you're worst, you're not gonna scare me away! I can handle anything!"
"So looks like we've got ourselves a tough guy." Anko smirks and whips a kunai at Naruto, grazing his cheek. She appears behind him, one hand on his shoulder, and whispers, "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid, are you? Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest."
She smiles menacingly and moves her hand to touch the blood running down Naruto's face. The smile disappears in an instant and a kunai shoots out of her sleeve into her hand. A woman with long black hair and a hat rolls a disgustingly long tongue over her shoulder. Clutched in the end of her tongue is Anko's kunai. If I were her I wouldn't even think about touching that kunai, I mean that's just sick! "I was… just returning your knife." The woman says and a shiver goes down my spine. There's something familiar about her chakra and I know I've seen that tongue somewhere before.
"Why thank you grass ninja." Anko says with a closed eye smile. Hm, she must hang around Kakashi too much. They go into some kind of intense stare down before Anko speaks. "You know, I really only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." She takes the kunai and the lady's tongue retracts into her mouth. Again, so gross.
"My pardon. With the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair, I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." The woman laughs and walks away.
"Likewise," Anko says to her retreating form. As she walks away, the grass ninja passes by Sakura and I. Our eyes meet for a second and a jolt of pain goes through my neck. I instantly reach my hand up and rub the spot where my curse mark is. "Seems like everyone here today is quick-tempered, there must be something in the air. This is gonna be fun."
"Quick-tempered is not the word I would use to describe that lady." I mutter under my breath. "I think creepy or disgusting would better fit her."
"Now before we begin this test I have something to hand out to you all." Anko says walking to the front and pulling a stack of papers from her coat. "It's just a standard consent form. Before the test all of you are going to have to read over this form and sign it."
"What for?" Naruto asks.
"Some of you may not come back from test and I have your consent to that risk. Otherwise it would be my responsibility!" She laughs and everyone breaks into whispers. "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here pass these out." She hands the consent forms to Naruto and he takes one before passing them to me. After grabbing one I hand them to Sakura. "The first thing you need to know is that this test will tax every one of your survival skills. First, I'll give you all a description on the terrain of the practice field. The 44th battle training zone has 44 locked entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a large tower located ten kilometers from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test. The test consist of an anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls." She holds up a black scroll and white scroll.
"Both of them?" A random guy asks.
"Yes, you'll be fighting to get both a heaven scroll and an earth scroll." She answers. "All together 26 teams will take part in this test. So half those teams will be going after the heaven scroll and the other half will be trying to get the earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team and that's what you'll be vying for."
"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" My twin asks.
"Well, obviously we need to get both scrolls genius," I say rolling my eyes.
"That's not what I meant!" He exclaims.
"I know," I smirk. "I'm just messing with you. Don't take it so seriously."
"Your whole squad must bring both a heaven and earth scroll to the tower." Anko says cutting into our banter.
"That means at the very best half of us will fail, more if not every team is able to get both of the scrolls." Sakura says.
"Thank you Sakura for, once again, stating the obvious," I say and hear Ino snicker.
"Hey!" She shouts offended. "At least I'm not ugly like you and Ino-pig!"
"That's a great way to make your crush return your feelings," I say sarcastically. "Insult his twin sister and her friend! Wow Sakura, do think you could give me some advice to help with my crush?"
"Girls!" Anko shouts. "Stop arguing! And no one ever said this test would be easy."
"She started it," Sakura mumbles, but Anko just ignores her.
"Oh and one thing." She says. "The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."
"Five days out there!" Ino shouts.
"What are we supposed to for food?" Chouji whines.
"Just look around, the forest is full of things to eat." Anko says. "There's plenty to feed all of you."
"Yeah, but that's not all the forest has plenty of," Kabuto smirks. "There are man eating beast and poisonous plants." Way to scare the younger kids Kabuto. He should really look into a career in teaching.
"Oh man," Chouji whines again.
"Quiet down," Ino scolds. "This is why they call it survival, you know."
"That means with these circumstances there's no way half the teams will pass the test." Neji says.
"Sakura must have rubbed off on genius boy," Suzume says. I didn't even notice they were here! Wow, I should really pay more attention to my surroundings. "Now he's stating the obvious."
"Shut up, Suzume!" Sakura shouts. "Kami, I can't believe we're even related."
"Believe me," Suzume sighs. "I wish we weren't."
"With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter. So we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover." Lee interjects. "It is a challenge indeed!"
"Bring it on!" Hikari shouts.
"Completely surrounded by enemies there won't be time to rest. We'll have to keep a constant watch." Sasuke says.
"You can keep a constant watch if you want, but I'm getting as much sleep as possible." I say. "That way when you're sluggish and slow from fatigue I can save you ass in a fight."
"Right." Anko says. "This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."
"So, um, let's say mid exam, can we quit?" Shikamaru asks with his hand raised.
"Of course not! In the middle of a battle you can't say 'sorry I quit,'" Anko says then rethinks her answer. "Well, I guess you could, but it'll probably get you killed."
"Oh just great," Shikamaru groans. "This is gonna be a drag."
"There are also some ways you can get disqualified," Anko says holding up a finger. "The first is simple, if all three members of the team can't make it to the tower within five days. The exception to this is the four man squad, in their case all four of them must make it to the tower. Number two, if the team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you, absolutely none of you may look at the contents of the scroll until you've reached the tower."
"What if it just happens to fly open and you read it?" Naruto asks.
"Let me put it to you this way young man. You. Don't. Want. To. Know." Anko smiles. "There are times when a ninja will be asked to carry secret documents. The scroll rule is to test your integrity. Okay we're done. Each team take your consent forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls." She points towards a table manned by a few shinobi and a curtain in front of it. "After that each team pick a gate and you'll be let inside. Oh and I have one more word of advice… Just don't die!"
We all disperse and everyone starts to read their forms. Whatever, it's not like any of these people can hurt me. I mean I did train with one of the most powerful groups of rouge shinobi around. I take a seat on the ground in front of a tree and lean back against the rough bark. I quickly sign my name and set the form aside. Glancing around at the competition I notice Luna waving avidly at me and Suzume motioning for me to join them.
I slowly get up and walk over to them. "Hey guys," I smile.
"Tora!" Suzume squeals in a childish voice. "I missed you!"
"I don't want to alarm you Tora," Hikari says, "But there's a guy staring at you and he's been doing it for a while."
"Who is it?" Luna asks looking around.
"The red head from Suna." She answers.
I scan the crowd and my eyes land on Gaara. Sure enough he's standing there openly staring at me. I look away quickly and blush. I'm not exactly sure if what happened last night was real or just a dream. "Just ignore it," I say with a hint of sadness in my voice. "I'm probably just his next victim."
"What's with the blush?" Suzume asks.
"What blush?" I ask trying to feign ignorance.
"Could he be that crush you mentioned earlier?" Hikari raises an eyebrow.
"W-What? I was just s-saying I had a crush to h-help mock Sakura," I laugh nervously.
"She's lying," Suzume says. "You totally have a crush on him."
"I do no-"
"Tora has a crush! Tora has a crush!" Luna sings loudly and begins skipping around us. Everyone turns and stares at us. The heat rises to my face again and I jump on Luna's back covering her mouth with my hand.
"Could you not broadcast the fact that I have a crush to the entire world!" I shout.
"So you admit that you do have a crush on him!" Hikari exclaims triumphantly.
"I do not have a crush on him!" I fume.
"So you have a crush on someone else?"
"No!"
"But you just admitted that you have a crush," Suzume points out.
"Fine I have a crush on him! Happy now?" I yell and storm off.
"Extremely!" Luna shouts after me. Too late I realize that I stormed off in Gaara's direction. Trying not to blush or make eye contact I walk past him and his team to a boulder a few meters behind them. I lean against it and glare off at nothing. Damn it! My composure's usually better than this! What the hell is happening to me?
"Hey Tora! Come on we're gonna go get our scroll now, believe it!" Naruto shouts. Oh Kami, not that believe it thing again! This is going to be a long five days. I jog over and we go up to the table. Naruto hands the man at the desk our consent forms with a goofy grin and the man hands back a heaven scroll.
"Listen up!" Anko shouts. "All the teams have received their scroll so everybody go to your gate and wait there. When the gates open the test is on!"
We make our way over to gate 12 and I block out everything in order to mentally prepare for the test. From what Anko said, it shouldn't be too hard, but Kabuto in there anything can happen.
The guard moves and unlocks the gate. "Alright heads up you maggots!" Anko yells. "The second part of the test has begun!"
The gates open and of course instead of taking off and running like every other team is probably doing, my team just walks. "Here we go guys!" Naruto shouts.
"Don't shout!" I exclaim. "Do you want the other teams to know where we are?"
"Sorry," he apologizes.
We start walking at a slow pace until screams ring out through the air. "That sounds like someone screaming," Sakura says.
"Thank you captain obvious." I mutter sarcastically.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Naruto says trying to reassure her. "But, uh, I really gotta pee." He runs over to a bush and starts fiddling with his pants.
"Not in front of us you don't!" Sakura and I shout simultaneously.
"Go find a bush somewhere us girls can't see you!" Sakura says hitting him on the head.
"Fine," he says and sprints off.
I sit down on a rock and lean back looking at the sky. This is going to be a long five days. A little while later Naruto comes back, only it's not the real Naruto. First off his chakra's completely different from Naruto's. Secondly, Naruto's not left handed like this guy and thirdly he doesn't have the cut on his face that Anko gave him earlier. Amateur.
"Oh man, that was a lot," the imposter laughs. "I wrote my whole name!"
"That's disgusting!" Sakura shrieks and then goes on to lecture him on how gross he is. Part way through Sasuke finally catches on and punches the fake in the face. I would help, but it looks like he's got it covered. I look back up at the sky and daydream about a certain redhead.
"Tora!" Someone's hand is in front of my face and their snapping their fingers, bringing me back to reality.
"Is the imposter gone?" I ask.
"You bet!" Naruto exclaims.
"Good," I stand and stretch my unusually tan arms for an Uchiha, over my head. "But we can't trust appearances now. We need something to prove that each of us s who we say we are."
"We need a password," Sasuke says while Sakura and Naruto nod.
"We can't trust anyone who doesn't know it." I say.
"Listen closely because I'm only going to say this once." Sasuke says in a low voice. "The question will be, when does a ninja strike? And the response is, a ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike."
"I got it," Sakura nods.
"Got one a little shorter?" Naruto asks.
"Yeah, that was a bit long." I say. "In the Akatsuki we just used things like 'What's Leader's favorite color?' To which we would respond, 'Leader is an emotionless bastard without a favorite anything."
"Sounds like a charming guy," Naruto mutters.
"Yup," I say. I wish we did something like that, I already forgot the password. Oh well…
"Okay, I'll take the scroll." Sasuke says.
"Because not giving it to the former S-ranked criminal that's stronger than all of you makes complete sense." I say under my breath. Something hits Naruto's face and he looks around in confusion.
"What was that?" We stand up just as a huge tunnel of wind hits us. Naruto is knocked into me and we grab onto each other so we aren't separated. I close my eyes as a giant snake rears up and swallows us whole.
"Let us out!" Naruto shouts stabbing the gooey pink innards with his kunai. "I'll make you sorry you ever swallowed me!"
This has to be a coincidence. There's no way this snake is his. Kami, please don't let this be one of Orochimaru's summoning snakes. Fear grips my body and I find myself unable to move as we slip further down the snake. Kabuto must have told him I was here! "Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto shouts and he begins to multiply filling the snake until it bursts.
Wait, if this snake really does belong to him and he's not here then… Oh no, Sasuke! "Naruto! We have to get to Sakura and Sasuke!" I shout and take off to where I feel their chakra. I know that woman's chakra felt familiar. You better be able to keep up Naruto. I pump chakra to my legs and sprint faster.
They come into sight and I see Orochimaru slithering up a tree towards Sasuke who's frozen in fear. "Stay away from my brother you bastard!" I shout and throw some kunai at him causing him to stop. I land lightly in front of Sasuke and hold a kunai out in front of me.
"Tora no! Get out of here!" Sasuke yells from behind me. "She'll kill you!"
"Well, well." He drawls. "If it isn't little Tora. You're a bad girl for running away, but I don't want your eyes anymore. I want your brother's!"
"You're not gonna get them," I growl and start up the jutsu Kakashi taught me yesterday, minus the wind so I don't pass out. Lightning sparks around my arm and I rush towards him. "Chidori!"
My lightning covered hand connects with his face and he flies backwards, hitting a tree trunk. "Now, now. Is that anyway to treat the one who gave you so many abilities?" The skin on his face melts away to reveal his pasty white skin. His right eye changes from a black color to it's normal golden-yellow with slit pupils.
"I hate you," I growl as my eyes connect with his. And excruciating wave of pain goes through my body and my hand shoots to my curse mark. Damn it! Why does it always have to hurt so much when he's around? "B-bastard." The edges of my vision start to blur before everything goes black.
"W-where am I?" I ask as I stand in a field covered in blood.
"You did this to me!" A voice shrieks behind me. I spin around to see the headless body of a girl lying at my feet. Next to it is the familiar head of my old best friend, Yumi. "You killed me! Just so you could get your Mangekyo Sharingan!"
"No! I-I didn't want to," I cry. "H-He made me do it! Orochimaru's the reason you're dead!"
"Liar!" The decapitated head shouts. "You're the one who did this to me!"
"Please, believe me!" I say as tears begin to pour down my face. My pleading onyx eyes meet her once bright purple ones.
"Never!" She screams. "You're a murderer! Just look at all the lives you've taken!" The bodies of all the people I've ever killed fill the field all in the state I left them in. Whispers of murderer and killer fill my ears and I fall to my knees covering them.
"Please stop!" Tears stream down my face and I shut my eyes so that I don't have to see it, but their faces float across the backs of my eyelids.
"Look at us!" They all shout and I open my eyes and take my hands from my ears. "You did this!"
"Stop it! I didn't want to hurt any of you!"
"But you did!" Yumi shouts. "And now you'll get what you deserve!"
As one the mangled and bloody bodies all stand up and start towards me. I try to run, but Yumi's body grabs my ankles to hold me in place. A shinobi from the waterfall village that I assassinated for the Akatsuki is the first to reach me and digs his nails into the skin of my arm. Pain flares from the spot as a blood bubbles from the cuts. More and more of the people I've killed reach me and claw at my body. Ear-splitting screams tear out of my throat as pain lights up every nerve in my body.
"Please stop!" I shriek desperately. "Somebody help me!"
"No one's coming!" Yumi shouts gleefully as a hand grabs my neck forcing their fingers into the skin to rip out my throat.
"NO!"
I bolt upright from where I'm lying on the ground breathing heavily. Sweat coats my body as tears form in my eyes. That was the worst nightmare I've ever had. I clutch my hand to my heart and take deep breaths to calm myself. I look around and notice my team along with Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Tenten, Neji, and Lee all milling about the clearing I'm in. As I look at them their faces slowly change into those of my former victims. Panic seizes me as a sob escapes my throat.
They all turn to look at me. "Tora are you okay?" One of them asks in a soft voice as they slowly make their way over to me.
My heartbeat accelerates and I back away from them as the rest start moving towards me, just like in the dream. "Get away from me!" I shriek and scramble to get on my feet.
"Tora, what's wrong?" One asks as they get closer to me.
"I said get away!" I scream and take off into the forest.
"Tora!" It shouts, but I'm already long gone. I know they're my friends, but it looked so real. I had to get away. After I put a good five kilometers between us I stop to catch my breath. Another sob escapes my throat and I collapse with my head in my hands.
I haven't had a nightmare like that for a long time. Orochimaru used to have me restrained every time I woke up from one of them. But I haven't had one since I came to the Leaf. I guess seeing Orochimaru triggered it. I sense three chakra's approaching me, but they don't feel like my team. I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down and wipe the tears from my eyes. Shakily I get to my feet and pull out a kunai. The three people stop in a bush on the edge of the clearing I stopped at. "I know you're there." I say facing the bush. "There's no use in hiding."
"Looks like you caught us." Kiba says as he and his team emerge from the plant.
"It's not like it was hard," I say with a small smile. "You guys need to work on hiding your chakra."
"We'll keep that in mind," he laughs coming closer.
"W-Why were you c-crying?" Hinata asks in a quiet voice while pushing her two pointer fingers together in front of her.
"What are you talking about Hinata," Kiba asks. "She wasn't crying."
"Y-Yes she w-was," She says avoiding eye contact. "H-Her eyes are r-red and p-puffy."
"Really?" Kiba asks getting close to my face inspecting my eyes.
"Personal space please," I say taking a step back.
"Why're you crying?" Kiba asks.
"I… I was knocked out during a fight and while I was asleep I... er… had a nightmare." I mumble the last part and look away in embarrassment.
"It must have been one bad nightmare to make you cry." Shino says.
"It was," I agree. "But… the nightmare wasn't the worst part. When I woke up everyone around me looked like the people in the dream. I knew they were my friends, but in my moment of panic I ran and ended up here."
"W-What was the d-dream about?" Hinata asks.
"I was in a field of blood," I say biting my lip. "And… I was being attacked by everyone I've ever killed."
"You've killed people before?" Kiba asks surprised.
"When you're part of a criminal organization, you kind of have a lot of people who want you dead." I laugh. "So it's kill or be killed."
"Where's the rest of your team?" Shino asks.
"Somewhere back that way." I say pointing in the direction I came from. "But I can't go back to them just yet. They saw me in a moment of weakness and will want me to tell them about it. There's no way I can face them."
"Y-You could t-travel with us u-until your re-ready to go b-back." Hinata says shyly.
"I would love to," I smile sweetly at her. "Besides, I'm sure they'll be fine without me."
"We should get going then," Kiba says.
"Okay," I say as we take off into the trees. "So did you guys get your second scroll yet?"
"Yup," Kiba brags. "We'll be the first ones to the tower."
"We should probably keep a look out for any teams ahead of us." Shino says. "So we can avoid unnecessary confrontations."
"Yeah, yeah." Kiba says. "You know, you can be kind of creepy sometimes." Akamaru barks and Kiba sniffs the air.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Hey Hinata, check out the area about a kilometer ahead of us." Kiba says.
"O-Okay. Byakugan!" She says and veins appear around her eyes as she uses her Kekkei Genkai. "Yes, there are six people ahead of us."
"Let's stop by," Kiba says arrogantly. "Maybe we can take their scrolls and decrease the number of people who can pass."
"Or you can give the scroll to me," I say.
"Or that," he says.
"I don't think it's wise," Shino says.
"Don't worry we'll just check it out and if it seems too risky we'll leave." Kiba reassures and we continue on.
"Don't forget to hide your chakra," I say as I suppress mine. We duck behind a bush just outside a clearing and Akamaru starts whimpering and shaking.
"What's wrong boy?" Kiba asks him.
"I think I know," I say peeking out from behind the bush to see Gaara and his team facing some ninja from the Hidden Rain village. Two of them have these weird hats that are flat on top and slant down while the one in the middle has a black cloak on. "If he can sense chakra, then he's terrified by the redhead's."
"That's one scary looking bunch," Kiba says.
"Y-Yeah we should g-get out of h-here." Hinata says.
"We'll be fine," Kiba says. "As long as we stay hidden they won't know we're here."
"Do you believe the nerve of these sand ninja," One of the hat wearing ninja's says. "Challenging us head on."
"Yeah, they're a bunch of fools," the other one says.
"What's he thinking," Kiba says referring to Gaara. "That guy's way too little to take on a guy that big."
"Trust me," I say looking at Kiba. "He's stronger than you think. Don't you know that size doesn't matter?"
"Whatever," he says.
"Too bad kids," the ninja in the black cloak says. "You should have picked your opponents better. Now you're all gonna die!"
"I've heard enough out of you," Gaara says his voice, once again, sending shivers down my spine. "Let's make this quick. I don't wanna waste time on this guy." Damn, is it just me that thinks that sounded incredibly sexy? Judging by the looks on Kiba and Hinata's faces, it is just me.
"Hey Gaara," Kankuro says. "Doesn't it make more sense to follow these guys and gather information first? I mean, if they have the same type of scroll as us then we're fighting an unnecessary battle."
"I don't care. They looked at me the wrong way, so they're gonna die." He answers. That sounds a lot like something Kisame would say… well I would say it too, but it's more of a Kisame thing.
"If you think you can kill us, then try it!" The main guy says pulling a bunch of umbrellas from his back and throwing them into the air. "And now, Ninja Art: Senbon Rainstorm!" The umbrellas begin to spin as senbon begin flying off them towards Gaara.
"This is gonna be good," I say smiling sadistically. There's nothing I love more than watching total strangers fight to the death!
"Up, down, left, right. No matter where you go there's no blind spot in this jutsu and even then, it's deadly accurate!" The man says and all the senbon rain down on Gaara at the same time causing a dust cloud to form. The dust clears to reveal Gaara standing there unharmed with a sphere of sand impaled with senbon around him.
"Is that all you can do?" He asks in a deadly voice.
"It can't be! Not one wound!" The man says in disbelief. "Impossible! Alright." He sends more needles at Gaara, but his sand rises to protect him.
"A senbon rainstorm, huh." Gaara says. "I have an idea let's make it rain blood instead." Wow, I think he might be more sadistic than I am… Nah.
"That chakra," Kiba growls. "It's so powerful and do you smell that odor? His sand stinks."
"Odor?" Shino asks.
"Yeah, it smells like blood." Kiba whispers.
"He's created a wall of sand!" The man exclaims. No really? I would have never guessed! Looks like Sakura rubbed off on this guy too.
"That's right," Kankuro says smugly. "It's a defense and nothing can get through it. He carries around all that sand in the gourd on his back and when he's attacked he uses the power of his chakra to harden the sand. It's a jutsu that only Gaara can do and somehow it happens automatically, independently of it's own will. So any attacks against him would fail."
"I guess he forgot that I broke through it," I say under my breath.
"Oh yeah!" The man shouts. "Well, we'll see!"
"Just face it," Kankuro says. "You guys can't hope to defeat Gaara."
"Give me a break," the man says and charges at Gaara.
Gaara makes a hand sign before flinging his hand out and saying, "Sand coffin!" His sand flies at the man encasing his entire body in it, leaving only his face open. His umbrellas fall from the sky and stick straight up in the earth.
"L-let me go!" The man says, terrified.
"All I have to do is cover your big mouth and you'll be dead." Gaara says grabbing one of the umbrellas. Opening it he puts it over his head. "But that would be too easy and too boring."
"I like his style," I smile and Kiba looks at me as if I'm crazy. "What?"
"Nothing," he mutters.
Gaara extends his arm and the man rises into the air. "Sand burial!" He shouts and closes his hand. The sand constricts on the guy as he screams and blood flies everywhere.
"Man he really wasn't kidding when he said he was gonna make it rain blood." I whisper.
"There wasn't any pain," Gaara says. Nice to know that he's somewhat human. "I crushed him with more force than necessary, so it was over quickly. The corpse's bitter crimson tears flow and mingle with the endless sand, feeding the chaos within me and making me stronger." Looks like he's a poet too.
"J-Just take the scroll," one of the ninja says pulling it out from behind him and setting it on the ground. "Go on, here. Just take it, please spare us!"
Gaara doesn't even listen as he sends his sand to swallow the other two ninja. Their screams fill the air as he closes his hands crushing them beneath the sand. "Oh man this is bad," Kiba says. "We gotta get out of here before he finds and kills us!" Team 8 starts to crawl away, but I stay where I am.
"You guys go," I say. "I'll cover you in case he does notice. I've broken through his defense once before, so I should be okay. You three just get out of here."
"A-Are you s-sure," Hinata asks.
"Yup, I'll be fine." I say with a reassuring smile. "Just go."
"Okay," Kiba says and they continue crawling and I relocate to a high up branch to watch.
"We got lucky," Kankuro smiles as he picks up a heaven scroll. "It's a heaven scroll. Alright, let's head to the tower."
"Just shut up." Gaara growls. "It's not, it's still not enough for me!" He looks over in the direction of Hinata and her team. Shit, I gotta do something.
"Come on Gaara, let's go." Kankuro says.
"Are you scared, coward." He says and Kankuro's eyes widen. My hand shoots to my mouth in an attempt to stifle my giggles.
"Look Gaara, I know it's no problem out here for you, but it's dangerous for Temari and me. One set of scrolls is good enough. It's all we need to pass!"
"Losers, can't tell me what to do." At that comment I can't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Kami, I hope the others are far enough away! I double over and clutch my stomach, but that only causes me to fall out of the tree I was hiding in. In midair I flip so that I land on the ground in a low crouch. The siblings look at me and I can see the murderous intent in Gaara's eyes while Kankuro and Temari's eyes widen. "Look, I don't even have to go very far for my next victim."
"I'd like to see you try," I smirk. "Besides what makes you think I would be the victim? You fight me and it's your blood that's going to be raining down."
"You know, for a good looking girl, you're not very bright." Kankuro says.
"Oh really?" I laugh. "That's exactly what all my other victims said and they ended up mangled beyond recognition. But I don't really want to fight any of you; I just came to watch the show. It went quicker than I expected. If it were me I would have tormented them for a while."
"You enjoyed watching Gaara kill those men?" He asks in surprise.
"They call me sadistic for a reason," I shrug. "People say it's because I was neglected as a child and lived with S-ranked criminals for a while."
"You are one screwed up girl," Temari says.
"Why thank you," I say with a bow.
"Damn," Kankuro mumbles. "Why are the hot ones always crazy?"
"What was that?" I growl.
"Nothing," he says quickly as he and his sister look at me like I'm crazy. Gaara just stands there silently staring at me, as if he's trying to figure something out.
"Well, not that this hasn't been fun or anything," I say. "But I really should go find my team; they aren't exactly the smartest people in the world and might get killed if I'm not there." I turn to leave, but Gaara's voice stops me.
"Wait. Why aren't you afraid of me?" He asks the same question he did after I helped him on the roof, if that was real and not just a dream.
"I just think there's more to you than your scary appearance and how you act. You're different and that intrigues me," I answer and wink before jumping away. Now to find my team. I search out their chakra and find it in a relatively close location. Making the correct hand sign I teleport and appear in front of them in a puff of smoke. "Hey guys!"
"Don't do that!" Sakura shouts having a spaz attack. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," I say scratching the back of my head in embarrassment.
"What happened to you?" Naruto asks. "You woke up and started freaking out then ran off!"
"I, um, had a really bad nightmare that transferred into real life." I say looking down. "I'm sorry I ran, but I was just really freaked out and needed some time to clear my head."
"It's okay," Sasuke says. "You just had us worried."
"Don't worry, I won't do it again." I smile. "So where are we on the whole scroll situation?"
"Our heaven scroll was destroyed by that Orochimaru guy," Sakura says. "And we got an earth scroll from some sound ninja." I look at her and realize that her hair is shorter than it used to be. Whatever, it's none of my business what she does with her hair.
"So we only need a heaven scroll?" I ask.
"Yup," Naruto says.
"Well then, let's go find one!" I exclaim and we take off into the woods.
"It's already been four days since the second exam began," Sasuke says as we sit around the fire waiting for the fish to cook.
"That's right," Sakura says.
"We're sure not gonna break any records," he growls. "And we only have twenty-four hours left."
"Who cares about breaking records?" I ask. "It's not like the speed in which we pass the test matters, as long as we can pass it in the five days."
"I wonder how many of the other teams have already gotten their scrolls and finished." Sakura says. These guys need to look on the bright side. One set of scrolls was destroyed by Orochimaru, but as long as we have one scroll there's going to be another team out there with it's match. All we have to do is find them. I notice Naruto staring at the largest fish with his hands twitching, ready to grab it as soon as it's done. I pull it off the fire and he watches me with hungry eyes.
"The fish is done," I say as I rip a chunk off and pop it in my mouth. Naruto's face falls and he looks at the remaining fish. He grabs the second largest as fast as he can, but ends up reaching across the fire and burning himself.
"Ouch!" He says holding up his arm to inspect the burn.
"Here, let me see." I say grabbing his arm. I make a hand sign and my hands begin to glow with a soft green light. I touch my hand to the burn and new skin grows over it.
"Thanks Tora," he smiles.
"No problem," I say and sit back to enjoy my fish.
"We have to face it," Sakura says sadly. "There may not be any more heaven scrolls left."
"Well that's a cheerful thought," Sasuke says and I give him a weird look. "What?"
"You used sarcasm," I say in disbelief.
"Yeah so?" He asks.
"You never use sarcasm. That's my thing."
"Well if you were in the Leaf for the years you were with the traitor you would know that it's my thing too." He growls.
"Why do you always have to connect everything to Itachi?" I ask. "Honestly it gets kind of annoying after a while."
"Whatever," he says standing up.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asks.
"To get more water." He growls and storms off into the woods.
"He's mad at me," I sigh and lay back on the ground. "Oh well, he'll get over it."
"Hey guys," Naruto whispers. "I know how to do this without having to face anyone."
"Huh?"
"Look," Naruto says dumping some scrolls out of his bag.
"Look at what?" Sakura asks.
"What do you mean, look at what?" He exclaims. "Scrolls, I've got tons of them."
"Congratulations," I say sarcastically. "But how that going to help us?"
"We can change one to look exactly like the heaven scroll," He answers.
"Stop!" Sakura shouts. "Don't even! Even if you could fake the outside, how are you gonna fake the inside? You couldn't know without reading it and that's against the rules, idiot!"
"I think I've got it all figured out," he says putting a hand to his chin. "I think these things have a code written in them that only makes sense if you put them both together! And that secret code is what you need to get into the tower at the end of the exam, get it?"
"All I get is that you're a nimrod. We've never even had a heaven scroll so how on earth are we going to fake what's inside it!" She shouts and Naruto's face falls. "Next brilliant idea you get, how about keeping it to yourself. We've got enough problems."
"Harsh," I mumble.
"But wait," Naruto says seriously. "We do have a clue as to what's inside the heaven scroll. The earth scroll." He holds it up.
"You wouldn't," Sakura growls.
"It's our only chance. I'm gonna open and read this scroll."
"Naruto can't you get it through your empty head?" She shouts and hits him on the head. "We were forbidden from opening the scrolls until we're at the tower!"
"I know," Naruto says as tears stream down his face. "But if we don't do anything we'll never make it!"
Sakura sits back as both their eyes wander to the earth scroll. "Okay let's do it," Sakura says and Naruto picks it up.
"I wouldn't if I were you." I say.
"What else are we supposed to do?" Sakura asks me. "This could be our only chance!"
"Whatever," I say and close my eyes. "Just don't blame me when this blows up in your faces." My thoughts drift to Gaara and the fight I witnessed a few days ago. I wonder what happened to him to make him that way. Could his past be similar to mine?
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," an extremely annoying voice says breaking into my thoughts. Opening my eyes I see Kabuto with his hand on the scroll stopping Naruto from opening it. "Hello Tora." He says with an irritating smirk.
"Kabuto," I growl.
"It's been a long time." He says.
"Not long enough."
"Wait, you two know each other?" Naruto asks looking between us.
"Sadly, yes." I say. "We met during the years I was wandering with the Akatsuki."
"You don't have to sound so excited to see me," Kabuto says sarcastically.
"If that's what you think, then I must not be doing a good job of showing my hatred of you." I retort as Sasuke runs over to us with a kunai out. "You can put the knife away, he's not here to hurt us."
"Then why is he here?" My twin asks.
"To stop those two idiots," I say pointing at Sakura and Naruto. "They were going to open the earth scroll."
"I can't believe you guys!" Sasuke says looking at them.
"If I didn't come along when I did," Kabuto says. "They would have opened it."
"Sorry," they mumble and look down at their feet.
"There have been others who have broken the rules and tried to peek at the scrolls. I've seen what happens to them. They're protected by a powerful hypnosis jutsu, a kind of booby trap for anyone unwise enough to try to read them." Kabuto explains. "It'll knock you senseless and by the time you wake up the exam is over."
"Kabuto right?" Sasuke asks. "We met at the registration. What are you doing wandering around all by yourself?"
"Don't worry I'm not after your earth scroll." Kabuto says.
"Yeah, he's probably after our lives," I mumble to myself.
"I'm not," Sasuke says. "I suppose if you were you would have swiped it from Naruto when you had the chance. So you're looking for a heaven scroll too huh?"
"Not really," he says pulling out two scrolls and holding them up. "You see I already have them both. I had a run of luck, I was just on my way to the tower to wait until my teammates show up. So if you'll excuse me." Of course he already has both scrolls. He probably manipulated it out of someone. His presence is really starting to piss me off, not to mention the fact that we seem to have another unwanted guest watching us.
"Hold it," Sasuke says. "I'll fight you for it."
"You'll fight me for it?" Kabuto asks.
"Hold on a second!" Naruto yells. "Is this a joke or what?"
"Are you serious?" Kabuto asks.
"Perfectly, but I don't have time to play nice."
"Back off Sasuke!" Naruto screams at him. "In case you've forgotten this guy saved our butts!"
"Naruto's got a point," Sakura says. "We don't want to be ungrateful or anything."
"Shut up! It can't be helped, it's either him or us. Out here it's all about surviving and winning, nothing else matters!"
"That's the spirit bro!" I cheer. "Kick his ass!"
"Hm, you're lying." Kabuto says. "Come on admit it, for all your tough talk you're heart really isn't in it. If it was really true, if winning is all that really matters to you, why openly challenge me to a fight? Why announce it and put me on my guard? Why not just jump me when my back is turned? After all that's what a ninja would do."
"That's pretty deep," Naruto says.
"It's okay, I admire you for it." Kabuto smiles and I shudder. "So here's what I'll do, I'll show you the path you should follow. But let's go, it's best we get outta here. The smell of that cooking fire will draw every beast in these woods and not just the beast, the competition too." He smirks as I feel the chakra of our other guest disappear.
"There's no way I'm going with you," I say and turn my back on them.
"What? Why not?" Naruto asks.
"Because he's a lying, cheating, manipulative, bastard!" I shout. "And I wouldn't trust him for anything!"
"How can you say such a thing?" Sakura gasps. "He saved us from opening the scroll."
"That's what he does!" I exclaim. "He does something nice, gets you to trust him, then stabs you in the back!" Multiple times with a fucking scalpel while Orochimaru injects you with some weird fluid that makes your body feel as if it's on fire!
"Tora," Kabuto says with mock sincerity. "I'm hurt that you would think that about me. I would never do anything to hurt you or your team."
"Funny," I laugh. "Because I remember you saying something like that just before the Northern Hideout Incident."
"What's the Northern Hideout Incident?" Sasuke asks.
"Don't worry about it," I say and glare at the glasses wearing bastard in front of me. "You guys can go with him if you want, but I'm going to find my own way and search for a heaven scroll. I'll meet you at the tower." I jump away from them and take off into the forest. Once I've put enough distance between us and Kabuto I stop and search the surrounding area for chakra. It's my lucky day, because I sense three people coming towards me.
I pull out a kunai and hide high up in a tree. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" A familiar voice asks as my least favorite team, at least at the moment, stops below me.
"Yes I'm sure we're going the right way," Suzume says looking at Hikari. "They call me a genius for a reason."
"Of course it's you guys," I say dropping from the trees. "Now I can't attack you and steal your scrolls."
"Tora!" Suzume squeals.
"Who in the what now?" Luna asks spinning around and seeing me. Her eyes widen and she runs up to put me in a bone crushing hug. "I'm so sorry I embarrassed you like that! Please don't be mad at me!"
"I-I can't br-breath," I gasp.
"Sorry," she says releasing me.
"And I'm not mad at you anymore." I smile. "I'm just glad my brother didn't hear you."
"He would probably interrogate you on it," Suzume giggles.
"Yeah," I laugh.
"Speaking of your brother, where is he and the rest of your team?"
"With the silver haired asshole I pointed out to you guys at the first exam." I sigh.
"Why are they with him?" Hikari asks.
"They bought his nice guy act, but after all the shit he's done to me I wasn't fooled and I told them if they were going to be around him, I'll leave. So I left. We're meeting at the tower." I explain.
"So you guys have both scrolls?" Luna asks.
"No," I sigh. "I still need to find us a heaven scroll."
"Oh," she says. "Well you're more than welcome to come with us to the tower."
"Thanks," I say smiling gratefully. "Hopefully we can find another team and I can get a heaven scroll along the way."
"That's the spirit!" Hikari says hitting me on the back.
"We should get going," Suzume says. "It's starting to get dark." I look up at the sky and realize that the moon's already coming out.
"Well then what are we waiting for?" Hikari asks. "Let's go!"
"I wonder if that cute red head you like passed," Luna teases.
"He did," I say.
"How do you know?"
"I saw one of their battles with some rain ninja's and at the end his brother was saying how lucky they were that it was a heaven scroll and that they should head to the tower." I explain.
"So is this guy you like strong?" Suzume asks. "Actually I don't think you've told us his name either."
"His name is Gaara," I say. "And yes, he's extremely strong. He took down all of the ninja by himself and I learned that he's just as sadistic as me. I think I was scaring poor Hinata with my smile."
"Why was Hinata with you?" Luna asks.
"I was with her team, because I left my team after having a nightmare turned to a breakdown." I say.
"So what did he do to qualify as sadistic?"
"He made it rain blood and after killing the leader of the group he didn't spare the others, even after they willingly gave up their scroll. And the whole reason he fought them was because they looked at him the wrong way," I laugh.
"Are you saying you would have done the same?" Suzume asks.
"Yup," I smile.
"I think you need to meet our sensei," Hikari says. "You two would get along great."
"Really?" I ask.
"Mhm."
"That's cool," I say. "So how much further to the tower?"
"We should be there soon," Suzume answers as the big red building comes into view.
"Awes-" The world begins to blur and when it comes back into focus I'm no longer with Suzume and the twins. I'm in another darker area of forest and my team is surrounded by a bunch of clones. The chakra is the same as the guy who tried to impersonate Naruto on the first day.
Naruto flies at one and hits it, but he goes right through it as if it were made of water. I watch as another clone grows out of the body of the one Naruto just hit. Oh Kami, if this is a vision then they could be dead by now! One goes to hit Naruto, but Sasuke throws some shuriken at it, cutting off it's arm. That's all I get to see because in the next moment I'm back in the forest with Suzume's team.
"Are you okay?" Luna asks. "We were running and all the sudden you just collapsed!"
"I'm fine," I say. "I just had a vision."
"A what?" Hikari asks.
"I explain later." I say and look up at the sky. The moon is in the exact same position as it was in the vision. Could it be that it was a vision of the present? Standing up I search for my teams chakra and find it a few kilometers away surrounded by an unknown mass of chakra. So it is the present. "Sorry guys, but my team's in trouble, I've gotta go!"
"Okay," Suzume says. "Just make sure you find a heaven scroll and pass the exam."
"Don't worry, I will." I smile and take off to save my team.
"Bye Tora!" They shout after me.
I force chakra to my legs and sprint as fast as I can. Hopefully I can get there in time to save them, but not Kabuto. I hope they kill him off. The forest blurs around me as the moonlight creates swirls of color around me. I don't make it until the sun is about to come up. I stop and hide in the trees as I look down at the scene. My team and Kabuto, who is sadly still alive, are on their knees breathing heavily as the clones around them begin to disappear and the real ninja come out of hiding. It only takes me a second to realize that the people on the ground are only Naruto and three of his shadow clones transformed. I search out the other's chakra and find it hidden in a bush behind the ninja. "Clever." I breath. "Use the clones to draw them out. Must have been Kabuto's idea."
The three ninja's eyes widen as they finally catch on and the others reveal themselves. "It looks like they've got this under control." I smile and jump away to go to the tower and wait for them. I make it there just as daybreaks and sit back against our door. A little while later Naruto comes out of the woods and runs over to me excitedly.
"Tora you aren't gonna believe this!" He shouts and launches into his story about the clones and how they defeated them.
"Good for you!" I smile. "And you got a heaven scroll. That's good, because I was going to jump a team for theirs, but they ended up being the team with Sakura's cousin and they're my friends so I traveled here with them."
"Kabuto you're late," a deep voice says as two men walk out of the woods. I'm assuming they're more of Orochimaru's followers here to pose as Kabuto's team.
"Sorry," he says. "But I got a bit sidetracked."
"Yeah and are we glad you did!" Naruto laughs. "It's only thanks to you that we got all of our scrolls."
"Not really," he says. "You did most of it on your own. Especially you Naruto, very impressive." Naruto just laughs and grins wider.
"Oh great," I mumble. "Now I have to worry about him taking in interest in Naruto."
"Well, this is where we go in. Goodbye and good luck to us both," he says with a smile.
"Yeah, break a leg." I say. "Literally. Or better yet go jump off a cliff."
"Tora, a pleasure as always," he walks over and hugs me to whisper in my ear. "Believe me, if we didn't have your brother, I would be here for you. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other in the future. See you soon." He releases me and I groan.
"Great, now I have to burn these clothes. I hope we get to go home soon because I want to shower and scrub the Kabuto germs off of me!" He only laughs as him and his team enter their door. "Asshole." I mutter.
Naruto goes over to our door and pushes it open. We walk into an empty room with a banner on the other end. "There's no one here," Naruto says looking around. "I don't get it, what do we do now?"
"Hold on!" Sakura says pointing at the banner. "Just look at that."
"Great," Naruto says. "What is it?"
"If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." She reads. "If earthly qualities are what you lack, then train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever. This something is the secret way that guids us from this place today."
"This what?" Naruto asks. "Or is that a secret too?"
"It's like there's a word missing there. Anyways it's about the scrolls. I think we're supposed to read the heaven and earth scrolls now." She says taking the heaven scroll from Naruto.
"Okay, here goes nothing," Naruto says as they open the scrolls. I look at the markings and realize those are for a summoning.
"Guys drop the scrolls and stand back!" I say. They follow my orders and drop the scrolls. As soon as they hit the floor Iruka appears in a puff of smoke.
"Hey long time no see, huh?" He says looking up with a smile.
"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asks in disbelief.
"Looks like you've been through a lot in this test," he says.
"Hey wait, what's the deal with the surprise entrance? Why are you appearing with the summoning?" Naruto asks.
"At the end of the exam we chunin are sent to welcome the test takers back and well it was just good luck that I was the one givin the important task of being the messenger for you guys," he explains stepping forward.
"A messenger?" Sakura asks. Wow this is boring. I wonder what Kakashi's up to. Once we get out of here I think I'll go irritate him. Or practice my new version of his jutsu. Or I can irritate Kakashi by using him as a target to practice my new jutsu! That's perfect! Man I'm such a genius.
I wonder when I'll see Gaara again. I really want to fight him, he seems like he could be the only person in these exams that would be a challenge for me to fight. Well, Kabuto would be a challenge too, but with how much I hate him I'm sure I can kick his ass easily. But Gaara's a completely different story. I've only seen him fight once and his style is a complete mystery to me. Not to mention that I wouldn't take the fight seriously because I like him. At least I'm the only one who likes him, I would die if he had a group of fan-girls following him around like they do my brother.
"Tora!" Someone shouts. "Hey, earth to Tora!"
"Hm?" I ask as I snap out of my thoughts.
"We have to go." Naruto says.
"Go?" I ask. "Go where?"
"Weren't you paying attention to what Iruka-sensei said?" Sakura asks.
"Um… no."
"Man do you have a short attention span," She sighs. "Anyways we have to go to a practice hall in the tower in order to get a speech from the Hokage."
"Oh joy," I mumble.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto shouts as he runs off.
"Naruto wait!" Sakura shouts and runs after him. I notice Sasuke having difficulty standing and I hold out a hand to him.
"Need some help?"
"Hn, no." He says stubbornly as he shakily stands up.
"Too bad." I smile and grab his left arm and throwing it around my shoulder to support his weight. "Come on, let's go find our irritating teammates."
"Whatever," he grunts turning his head away as we start walking. Out of the corner of my eye I notice something black on his neck. I turn my head to get a better view and see a curse mark similar to my own. Anger bubbles up inside me and I struggle to contain it. How dare that snake bastard do this to my brother! Next time I see him, he's dead!
I know it's been a while since I last updated and I'm extremely sorry for that, but to make it up to you readers I made this chapter really long :) I want to thank AoiKitsune12 and lizlovestoread for encouraging me and yelling at me for not writing as well as all the people who have followed this and told me what they think. You guys are awesome! I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and hopefully it won't take as long to write the next one.
~C.S.