Hey guys. How's life going? Anything new? Nothing new with me, but here is a new chapter. Yay! Sorry for taking so long again. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. There is some glimpses of Ryoko's personality. I was going through previous chapters and noticed not much was shown, She has a hard exterior that she doesn't let many see past so here we get a little of her real self


Ryoko, Naruto and Shikamaru made it out of the competitor's box and into the bleachers, looking for the rest of their teammates.

"You still have blood in your hair," Shikamaru commented and Ryoko pulled at her bangs, brown flakes falling on her hands. She shook her short hair, trying to get as much out as possible but to no avail. She was so focused on her hair that she didn't notice Naruto.

"There they are!" he exclaimed and pointed to were the other four were sitting. He started running towards them at full force, as if he wasn't drained from the match. Ryoko groaned and chases after him, trying to keep up with the energetic ninja.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" he called out as he skidded to a halt, Shikamaru collapsing on the ground in exhaustion and Ryoko breathing deeply and stretching out. She turned her attention to the match before her.

"Hey." His teacher greeted them with a lazy wave.

"Sensei! You've got to stop this match!" Naruto pleaded, "He isn't normal. He lives to kill others! Sasuke will die"

Kakashi was unmoved by his student's concern, "Don't worry. There was a reason why he and I were so late…" Ryoko stepped closer towards the match and watched Sasuke.

Gaara was kneeling on the ground, panting, with his sand surrounding him. His face and left arm had some cracks, which indicated Sasuke had succeeded on hitting him and broke his sand armor. He stood a few metres away from Gaara panting only a little with his Sharingan activated. Gaara glared at his opponent, slowly getting up onto his feet. He started performing a hand seal which made the sand encase him in a large ball. Noticing what was going on, Sasuke dashed towards Gaara, aiming a punch at the sand shield. The moment his hand connected to the orb, several sharp thorns protruded out of it, scratching him slightly. He jumped back before any of the spikes could do any serious damage.

"He's bleeding," Ryoko heard Hakkai's voice echo and she too noticed the small droplets of blood falling from his knuckles, his face and his legs. The sand spikes retracted back into the ball once Sasuke jumped away from it. "I wonder what that sand child is doing in there. I can sense a great amount of chakra." Ryoko hummed in agreement as she watched some of the sand separate itself form the main body and form a small ball of sand. Once it was all compacted together, the ball turned white before resembling an eye.

Sasuke wiped the blood off his cheek and launched another attach on Gaara's sand shield. He pulled out three kunai and threw them, but were immediately deflected as they hit the sand, as if it was as hard as concrete. He jumped to behind it and punched its surface again. The spikes appeared and stretched out towards him, making Sasuke jump backwards to avoid them. They continued to chase him until he jumped farther away, protecting the sand shield. It seemed that physical strength alone wasn't enough to break through Gaara's barrier.

"Sensei, what do you mean there was a reason for the lateness?" Sakura asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Hm?" Kakashi sounded like he was smirking under his mask. "You want to know?"

"We don't have time for this," Naruto yelled but he was stopped by his sensei's stern voice.

"Be quiet and watch him." The all turned their attention to the match below, anticipating Sasuke's next move

Sasuke jumped high up the wall behind him, kneeling vertically on it. Once he was settles, he started to perform hand signs. Once he completed his preparation, he pointed his hand downwards and waited. A shrill noise filled the stadium as blue sparks appeared on Sasuke's hand. The students stared in awe and Gai commented.

"No way, is that- "

Kakashi nodded. "I trained Sasuke because he is similar to me."

"I see." Gai said, "That's why you made him master hand-to-hand combat moves to dramatically increase his speed." He grinned behind his mask, pleased with his teaching.

"I've never seen chakra manifest like that before," Ryoko muttered before looking back at Kakashi. She could see him smiling as he pointed back at Sasuke, turning her attention onto the match.

"W-what is that?" Naruto stammered.

"It's making a lot of noise." Sakura noticed. "What is that move?"

"A simple stab." Gai muttered. "But it's Konoha's number one technique specialist, the Copy Ninja Kakashi's only original move. It's a secret move for assassination purposes. The speed of the thrust and the amount of chakra creates that heightened flash. Then he concentrates that large amount of chakra into the thrusting arm. And because of the incredible speed he moves at, it emits a distinct chirping sound similar to a thousand birds. That's why this technique is called Chidori." Sasuke charged towards the sand ball. The sand thorns shot out but this time he dodged them. Sasuke raised his arm with the intent to strike. He forced his arm through the sand shield. The lightning pierced through easily, unlike the other attempts. Sasuke panted a little with his arm inside Gaara's shield and a smirk played on his lips. "Chidori… Also called Lightning Edge." Gai said in a nostalgic tone.

"Lightning Edge?" Sakura asked.

"That's the name it took because Kakashi once cut through lightning with that move." Gai turned to Kakashi. "But you've taught him a reckless move."

"I don't want to hear that from you." Kakashi-sensei leans towards Lee. "Right, Lee?" Gai glared at his rival with flames in his eyes.

A loud scream echoed through the entire stadium. "BLOOD! MY BLOOD! I'M BLEEDING!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he tried to pull his arm back, but it was stuck on the sand. He pulled harder, gathering chakra on his arm and creating smaller lightning sparkles. He finally managed to take his arm out something came out too. It took the form of an arm with claws instead of hands and it appeared to be made from the sand, with dark markings swirling around it.

Sasuke pulled his hand out of the sand arm's grip, holding it close to his body as if in pain. The sand arm returned into the shield leaving a gaping hole. Sasuke stared at the hole he created with pure shock. The shield started to crack, falling apart to reveal Gaara standing in the middle of the sand. He clutching his left shoulder, where Sasuke must have stabbed him with the Chidori. Blood poured out of the wound but Gaara showed no signs of pain, his eyes were locked on Sasuke with a murderous glare. Ryoko could sense his bloodlust from where she stood, like the feeling she had when she crossed him in the forest. She was so engrossed in the match that she didn't notice white feathers raining down on the arena, it wasn't until the wave of drowsiness hit and she felt herself swaying, did she realise what was going on.

"You were always bad at genjutsu," Hakkai whispered but it fell onto deaf ears as Ryoko collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep. Sighing to himself, Hakkai slowly gathered Ryoko's chakra to where he was and started to break the genjutsu. Since he was summoned in her body, it was going to take a lot longer than what it normally should. "After this, we are taking genjustu lessons. I'm tired of bailing you out, Mistress."


Ryoko groaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. The scene before her could only be described as chaos. Ninjas were fighting left right and centre, having no idea who was on who's side. She saw Sakura crawling past her and whispered.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked as she ducked down, narrowly missing a kunai that flew over her head.

"We're under attack. Kakashi-sensei said we need to wake up Naruto and Shikamaru, then go after Sasuke. Can you help?"

"Um… I'm not good with genjutsu," she muttered and Sakura crawled past to release the other two.

"Mistress, can you release me?" Hakkai spoke loudly. It wasn't up for debate as Ryoko bit her thumb to draw blood and released the dragon from her body.

"Should we wake up the others?" Sakura asked, once Naruto and Shikamaru were awake.

"No, you four are more than enough. Just need one more." He bit his thumb and placed both hands on someone's back. "Summoning jutsu." Smoke filled the area and when it cleared, they heard a high pitch squeal.

"Oh, my god. What an adorable puppy!" Everyone watched in stunned silence as Ryoko snuggled Pakkun into her arms. This was the girl who had just killed a man without any remorse and now she was giggling over a dog. "You are the cutest pug ever!" she squeaked in delight as she rubbed her face against his head.

"You're squeezing me too hard." She loosened her grip but still held onto the dog.

"Ooohh, he speaks!"

"Despicable," Hakkai scoffed as he watched his mistress rub the smelly mutt's stomach. Naruto and Sakura's mouths gaped open but it was Shikamaru who spoke.

"Is this... normal?" he asked and Hakkai sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes. She has had an extreme fondness for pets. As a child, she lured stray cats and dogs to her home and raised them in the backyard. It's disgusting."

"No, it isn't." Ryoko glared at Hakkai while tickling Pakkun, who was oddly enjoying it. "They deserve love and affection and how can you resist such cuteness?" She lifted Kakashi's dog up and wiggled him. "He's wearing ninja clothes. So cute in people clothes."

"But isn't Hakkai a pet?" Naruto asked.

"Pah! Me, a pet? Don't insult me, boy. I would never stoop that low."

"He used to be cute when I was younger but now he is so sarcastic, cynical, overbearing and snarky. And he wouldn't let me dress him up."

"I am not a toy for you to do as you wish with, Mistress. I am your guardian. Your father trusted me to protect you."

"Well, you could have looked a little cuter while doing it," she huffed and continued to pet Pakkun. "Like this sweetie."

"I think she'd die if she saw Akamaru," Naruto whispered and Sakura laughed.

"Beside the point." Kakashi stepped in and took Pakkun away from Ryoko, who might have just burst into tears from being separated from him. "Pakkun will help you find Sasuke by sniffing him out and in turn Gaara." They all nodded and stood up. Ryoko turned around towards her guardian.

"Aren't you coming, Hakkai?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress. I think my services will be better here." Ryoko bit her thumb in worry. "Don't worry, you will be okay. If the mutt is of Kakashi, then I trust it." He transformed into his human form and leapt down, killing two sound ninjas in a blink of an eye.

"Go!" Kakashi yelled and they all ran off to find Sasuke.


Sakura explained what had happened as they followed Pakkun through Konoha. It seemed that the Chuunin exam was used as a distraction to kill the Hokage orchestrated by the Suna and Ota nin and Sasuke was instructed to chase after Gaara and his siblings.

"I see, so that's what happened." Naruto nodded

"So why did I get sent out here? So troublesome…" Shikamaru complained.

"We couldn't help it!" Sakura snapped. "Those were Kakashi-sensei's orders."

"How long will it take for us to catch up?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know." Pakkun said. "He's moving pretty fast." Ryoko sighed swinging on a branch to get more altitude with the others. Why did she come along? In the heat of the moment, she chased after them, leaving Hakkai behind. She probably would have been more help with the Sensei's than chasing after Sasuke. They kept leaping from tree branch to tree branch when Pakkun suddenly sniffed and turned to the others.

"Hey guys, increase your speed. A total of eight people are behind us. Wait, I sense another one. So nine guys are coming after us."

"Yay…" Ryoko mumbled sarcastically. "More work…" She should have stayed behind.

"Already?" Shikamaru exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding. This is bad. If they catch up with us, we'll be annihilated."

"Then we should stop and ambush them!" Naruto suggested.

"It won't work." Pakkun said. "They're ninjas from Konoha's former shinobi, Orochimaru." Ryoko frowned, her eyes narrowing. Why was that name familiar?

"Damn it." Shikamaru cursed under his breath. "I thought we might have a chance, but I guess not…"

"Why?" Sakura asked. "The enemy's level doesn't matter when you're ambushing them."

"You don't understand, do you?" Shikamaru snapped. "It's true that ambushing is a really advantageous basic tactic, but to pull it off there are two conditions you must meet. First, you've got to move noiselessly and discover the enemy first. Second, we must secure a location to catch the pursuers off guard, inflict critical damage to them and quickly conceal ourselves in that location. Once we're able to fulfil those conditions, an ambush becomes a valid tactic. Since we have a ninja dog, finding their location is pretty easy. As for the second condition, we're at advantage since this is our village and we know the terrain better. However, Orochimaru has been to Konoha before. If we're dealing with his men, that method won't work. On top of that, they're all ninjas that have most likely mastered the art of pursuing."

"So they'll be expecting an ambush." Sakura concluded.

Shikamaru nodded. "The enemy is a squad organised specifically for this. As for us, we have an idiot." he looked at Naruto, who growled. "-A kunoichi who has no special traits," he glanced at Sakura, who glared at him. "I know nothing about you but I think you're probably the best here judging from your exam performance" he gestured to Ryoko, who smiled and held up a victory sign, annoying Sakura and Naruto as she was the only one who received praise. "A dog, and the number one coward, me. A strategy is devised by understanding the situation, a creating the best plan for it. So there's only one thing we can do."

"And what is that?" Ryoko asked.

"A feint operation that looks like an ambush. One person will stay behind, set up things to look like an ambush and stop them."

"Play the decoy?" Sakura asked.

"Also known as a suicide mission." Ryoko turned to Shikamaru knowing what he was thinking

"I know," he muttered calmly. "But if that person can stop them, they won't be able to get the location of the other four." He came to a halt and the others followed suit. "So, who wants to take the job?" Shikamaru finally asked. "We need the dog to look for Sasuke."

Ryoko raised her hand. "I can do it." The four of them turned to her. "It's like Shadow Boy said, you know nothing of me, so they probably know nothing of me too."

"Probably?" Sakura echoed.

"There is always a small chance when it comes to ninja. But there are some things no one knows about me. I can easily stop them and catch up to you guys.

"No." All the attention turned to Shikamaru. "For precisely that reason, you are better staying with the group, in case something else happens. You're a dark horse and we need that."

"I agree," Pakkun added. "The girl stays."

"The only choice left is me." Shikamaru finally said with a bored sigh.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It's better than being annihilated."

"But-"

"The only guy who can pull off this decoy perfectly and actually has chance of surviving in this group is me."

"Are you sure?" Ryoko spoke up. "You practically drained yourself during the exam. Do you have enough energy to hold down nine people?" Shikamaru smiled.

"I have enough. The Shadow Possession Jutsu was originally made to stop the enemy anyway." He held his hand up and waved. "I'll catch up with you guys later." And with that, he jumped off.

"We're counting on you, Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted, hoping the boy heard him. The blond turned to the remaining group. "Ryoko, Sakura, let's go."

Sakura nodded and they began following Pakkun again. Ryoko looked back over her shoulder to where Shikamaru disappeared from. It was a suicide mission and she knew he was lying about his chakra. Was he going to be fine? She shook the negative thoughts out and continued to follow.

Pakkun started sniffing again. "The enemy is getting closer and closer."

"What? Did Shikamaru…?" Sakura gasped.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Naruto said confidently.

That didn't convince her. "How can you be so sure?"

"Shikamaru may be lazy and rather take a nap but he will do something he sets his mind to when he's motivated enough."

Naruto nodded. "He rarely does things on his own, but when he does he'll do it all the way." Sakura's expression fell, as if she was trying her hardest to believe in his words.

"The pursuers have stopped." Pakkun suddenly spoke up.

"It must be Shikamaru!"

"Yes! He succeeded in stopping them!" Naruto cheered.


They traveled deeper into the forrest, moving for a while now, when Pakkun spoke up.

"Sasuke has stopped!"

Naruto's face lit up, "Alright!"

"We have quite a distance between us and him, though."

"I guess that means he's caught up with the sand ninja," Ryoko muttered as they continued forward. However it wasn't long until Pakkun's eyes suddenly widened as his kanine nose detected something, "This scent…" He stopped on a branch and the others did the same as him.

"What's wrong?" Naruto inquired.

"Did something happen to Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

Pakkun shook his head. "I didn't notice until now." He turned to Sakura. "You use the same shampoo as me but my hair is much glossier." Pakkun added. Sakura looked like she was about to faint.

"Don't bring up something stupid like that in such a serious situation!" Naruto scolded, crossing his arms unhappily, while Ryoko let out an uncharacteristically girlish laugh. "Ryo, now is not the time to laugh."

"Ah ha ha, I know. But can I say I really love this dog." She picked up Pakkun again and kissed his nose. "Wanna ditch Mask-Sensei and be my ninja dog?"

"Depends what you're offering." She grinned and placed him down because of Naruto's yelling and Sakura's dazed state

"I smell like a dog… I smell like a dog…." she repeated, looking like she had lost her will.

"Um… Sakura?" Naruto called in a concerned tone.

Ryoko giggled and shook her hands. "Okay, let's switch gears and go on. Sasuke is probably getting beat up as we speak." That snapped them out of it and they continued to chase after their teammate


Hopefully I can breeze through the Chuunin exam so we can delve more into who Ryoko and Hakkai really are.

Love,

Minami