Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other OC's are mine.


Sunrise was accompanied by a knock at the front door. Inoichi was already awake, meditating on the backyard deck. He opened the door to find a sleepy-looking Asuma and Kakashi waiting for him.

"I don't think the girls are up yet," He said, inviting them inside. He leaned into the stairwell, hollering, "Girls!" There was a muffled thump from upstairs and Isa appeared in her doorway wearing a gigantic pink shirt, her waist-length hair tangled from sleep.

"I was having a good dream," She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She peered down the stairs, blinking blearily, uncomprehending. There was a long moment before she realized that her teacher was standing in her living room. Panic suddenly dawned on her face, and she gasped. "Oh, no! Did we sleep in?! Oh, we're gonna be late, aren't we?" She banged on Ino's door and then dashed into the bathroom, going through her morning routine in a blur.

The three men sat in the living room to wait, and Isa appeared downstairs half an hour later, hair still dripping wet from the shower. She flew through the kitchen, inhaling a glass of orange juice and shoving a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Okay, I'm ready!" She announced, skidding to a stop in front of them. Asuma grinned.

"How come I didn't get the early bird?" He groused. A cigarette dangled from his lips, but it was unlit.

Kakashi chuckled. "Guess I'm just lucky."

Ino stumbled down the stairs, still half-asleep. "I hate everything," She said, taking the toast that Isa offered her. "Why do mornings exist?"

"You should have gone to sleep earlier," Isa said reasonably, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Ino appeared positively disgusted by her twin's energy. "I couldn't, I had to decide what to bring for this stupid thing. You'd think they'd actually tell us something instead of letting us freak out about it all night."

"I think we can help with that," Asuma said. "You're going to the Forest of Death."

"The Forest of... Death?" Isa echoed, visions of horrifying monsters and possessed trees springing to mind.

Kakashi nodded. "It's outside of the village, you'll know it when you see it."

"Yeah, huge fence, bigass trees, can't miss it." Asuma added. Inoichi shot him a reprimanding look, and Asuma grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Really big trees."

"How dangerous is it?" Isa asked.

Ino snorted. "It's called the Forest of Death, how dangerous do you think it is?"

"Shut up, eat your toast," Isa said, wrinkling her nose at her cranky sister.

Ino stuck her tongue out, but fell silent, munching on her toast and resting her head on Isa's shoulder.

"It's used specifically as a training ground, they're not going to throw anything at you that you really can't handle," Inoichi said, smiling at them reassuringly. He glanced at the clock. "You should probably get going. You'll be gone for a few days, at least, so be good, okay? Look out for each other." He stood up, kissing them each on the forehead.

"We will." Isa smiled brightly. She was full of nervous energy, despite the fact that she'd hardly slept the night before. She'd laid awake for hours thinking about the second stage of the Exams, imagining what they would have to do, who they might fight.

They left, waving goodbye to their father. Kakashi and Asuma walked with them to the edge of the village. When they were at the gates, Kakashi ruffled Isa's hair affectionately.

"Hey, be careful, alright?" He said, smiling at her.

She giggled and threw her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, we'll be fine. We'll be back before you know it, you won't even have time to miss us!" She let go of him and joined her sister. Their teacher's watched them go, waving until both girls vanished around the curve of the road.

They followed the path and, after a short walk, found the Forest of Death. Asuma had been right, there was no way to miss it. The trees were huge, enclosed by a tall wire fence. Isa couldn't see more than ten feet into the dense vegetation on the other side.

Naruto and Sasuke were already there. Naruto was staring at the forest with a worried look on his face.

"This isn't gonna be easy, is it?" He asked, pouting.

Isa bumped her shoulder against his, smiling bracingly. "Hey, you're the best ninja in Konoha, remember? We got this."

He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, you're right. The other teams better watch out, though."

"Tough guy, huh?" Anko was standing in front of them, smirking. She was playing with a kunai, twirling it between her fingers. She flicked it expertly, and it sailed past Naruto's face. A thin red line appeared in its wake, blood welling up from the cut.

Naruto froze, eyes wide. Isa's chakra was gathering instantly, percolating in her fingertips.

"You scared, kid?" Anko taunted, flickering and appearing behind Naruto. He wasn't breathing at all, hands shaking almost imperceptibly. She leaned in, running a finger along the cut. It came away bloody. "This blood's gonna be decorating the forest floor before too long."

Isa didn't even notice the tall, pale man behind Anko until he hovered directly over the proctor, unfurling a long, forked tongue. It held Anko's kunai, blood dripping from one edge.

"I was just returning your knife," The man said, voice sending chills down Isa's spine. Isa narrowed her eyes. That guy... he feels all wrong. His chakra is... muddled. His forehead protector marked him as a ninja of the Hidden Grass.

Anko was smiling, but there was a dangerous edge to her expression, and she held a kunai toward the Grass ninja. "Why, thank you. But, you know, people who stand this close to me usually don't survive to do it again." Her voice had lost all teasing, as wicked as it had been, but she took the kunai from the Grass ninja's tongue.

"My apologies," The man said. "I'm afraid I just got a little too excited at the sight of blood. I meant you no harm." His voice was silky smooth, and he smiled as he turned away, rejoining his group.

Geez, everyone here is crazy, Isa thought. She let go of her chakra, the tingling in her fingers fading. She pulled Naruto away from Anko; the proctor looked at her, and Isa met her gaze squarely, eyes sharp and cold.

Anko chuckled. "Looks like everyone's got a temper today. Should be fun." She walked over to the fence, then faced the assembled candidates. "Now, before we start the second exam, I have something to give you all. These are standard consent forms," She said, producing a stack of papers from her coat. "Everyone needs to read over this, and then sign it."

"What's it for?" Kiba asked. He was standing nearby with his team, arms crossed over his chest. Akamaru peeked out from inside his jacket.

"Some of you might not make it back from his test," Anko said, surveying the candidates with an impish grin, as if the thought positively delighted her. "And I've gotta get your consent for that, otherwise it would be my responsibility. And I really hate paperwork, so."

She thrust the papers into the hands of an unfamiliar candidate. He took them hesitantly and started passing them out.

"The first thing you need to know about this test is that you're going to need to use all of your survival skills," Anko continued. "The Forty-Forth Battle Training Zone has forty-four locked entrance gates situated around the perimeter. Each team will be assigned a gate, and enter the Training Zone from there."

She held up a map of the forest, pointing out the gates positioned in regular intervals around the circumference of the area. "In the center is a tower, and that tower is your final destination. You'll have five days to complete the survival test, which consists of an all-out battle to get these scrolls." She brandished two small scrolls. On them were the symbols for 'heaven' and 'earth'. "Each team will be given one of these scrolls when they turn in their consent forms, and it's your job to find a team with the other scroll, and take it from them."

Isa took the consent form that was handed to her, reading it over quickly. "So only half of the teams will be able to pass?" She asked. Anko glanced at her, evaluating the blonde girl, then nodded.

"That's right. There are twenty-six teams going into the survival test, but a maximum of half of those teams will make it through," She said. "Plus, the forest is full of man-eating animals and poisonous plants. So I'm betting that less than half of the teams will make it."

"So we'll be surrounded by enemy ninja and hostile animals?" Sasuke asked. "There won't be any time to rest, we'll have to keep a constant watch."

"Exactly. This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines," Anko said. "It's designed to be difficult."

Shikamaru raised his hand. "Can we quit mid-exam?"

Ino elbowed him in the stomach, hard. "No way, you're not quitting on me now! I'll tell your mom you wimped out and she'll never let it go. I swear I will!"

Anko frowned at him, dumbfounded. "No, you can't quit in the middle of the exam. I mean, I guess you could just give up, but you'll probably end up dead." She laughed at the thought.

Yeah, definitely insane, Isa decided, shaking her head.

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his stomach where Ino had hit him. "I knew this was gonna be a drag."

"That reminds me, though, there are also ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple," Anko said, holding up a finger. "If all three members of your team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after five days, you're disqualified. Two," She held up a second finger. "If a team loses a member or a member becomes incapacitated and can't continue. And third," She held up a third finger. "And this one is the most important, none of you, under any circumstances, may open the scrolls before you reach the tower!"

She gave them all a serious look, and then, abruptly, grinned. "Okay, that's it. Sign your consent forms and turn them in over there for your scrolls." She pointed at a desk, where two other proctors sat.

The crowd dispersed across the clearing, huddled into groups. Isa sat down against a tree, frowning thoughtfully. The ninja at the desk pulled shut a set of curtains around their tables, effectively hiding them from view.

"We won't know what team has which scroll," She muttered.

Sasuke sat down next to her. "Unless we have a way of finding out," He said.

"Right, but how?" Naruto asked, sitting down and enclosing them in a circle. "We can try knocking out one of the other candidates and using a transformation jutsu to sneak onto their team."

Isa shook her head. "There's not enough time to draw anyone away." She bit her lip, thinking quickly. "I can use my Mind Transfer Jutsu."

"How many times can you use it?" Sasuke asked.

She pursed her lips, watching the first team approach the desk and disappear behind the curtains. "Not a ton of times. Maybe three, maximum?"

Naruto frowned. "Let's do that, then. Try it on those guys," He said, nodding at the Sound team, who were getting up.

She focused quickly and, before the female ninja could escape her line of sight, formed the hand sign. "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped against Sasuke listlessly. They waited, watching the Sound ninja step past the curtains. A minute later they emerged, and Isa's eyes fluttered open.

She rubbed her forehead, wincing. "That was weird."

"Why? What's wrong?" Naruto asked, concerned.

She frowned at the Sound ninja across the clearing. The female ninja looked a little confused, but shook it off, following her team to their gate.

"I did some digging around in her head to try and figure out her skills, but I found..." She hesitated, uncertain. "Instructions, I think."

"Instructions for what?" Sasuke asked, frowning. She was still leaning against him, and she sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"It wasn't a complete set," She said. "It's like someone only told her part of it. It just kept popping up, though. 'Find the kid and kill him.'"

"'Find the kid'? What kid?" Naruto exclaimed, keeping his voice at a hushed whisper.

"I don't know," Isa admitted. "She didn't know that part, she just knew they had to find someone and kill him."

"So the Sound team is here on an assassination mission, not for the Exams," Sasuke said, brows knit.

"Should we tell someone?" Naruto asked. "I mean, we saw those guys in the registration hall with Kabuto. They're intense."

Sasuke shot him a derisive look. "We don't know who they're after. What are we gonna say? We think the Sound team is here to murder someone? There's gonna be a lot of people dying in the forest, we might not ever find out who their target is."

"We can follow them once we're in there," Isa suggested. "But do we even want to get involved? We're already gonna have a target on our backs since we're rookies, plus we have to find another team and get an opposite scroll."

"So we just ignore it?" Sasuke didn't look particularly happy with the idea.

Isa shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what else to do. Even if we tell the proctors, they might not be able to do anything about it. They might not even believe us."

Sasuke stood up, sighing. "It doesn't matter. Did you see what scroll they got?"

"Yeah, they got a heaven scroll," Isa said, standing up as well. Naruto joined them and they made their way over to the table.

"Let's hope we get one, too, then we won't have any reason to run into them," Naruto said. They ducked behind the curtain, scribbling their names on the consent forms and handing them to the proctors.

"Good luck," One of them said, handing Naruto a heaven scroll. Isa sighed in relief, and Naruto took it, tucking it into an inside pocket of his jacket.

"You're at Gate Twelve," The other proctor said, pointing it out on the map. They left and made their way to the gate. There was a proctor waiting for them, holding the key to the lock that kept the gate chained shut.

"So we don't go after the Sound team, then?" Isa asked quietly, worry creasing her forehead.

"It's up to you," Sasuke said, watching her with unfathomable eyes.

She bit her lip, staring into the depths of the forest. "Let's just focus on getting away from the gates first. And no matter what, we don't split up."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we gotta stick together."

With that, the gates were opened. Isa shoved away the gnawing pit of worry in her stomach, rushing through the gate. They were swallowed by trees instantly, leaping along the branches easily. She broadened her senses as much as she could, and they hadn't been moving for more than five minutes before she found something.

"Chakra signatures ahead of us," She said. Sasuke and Naruto followed her, slipping into the underbrush at the edge of a small clearing.

"What are those?!" Naruto gasped, staring wide-eyed at the overgrown ants that had cornered one of the teams.

"Looks like fire ants," Sasuke said. "Are they alive?" He nodded to the two prone bodies in the clearing. The remaining member of the team was backed against a boulder, kunai shaking in her hand.

Isa focused, then shook her head. "No, their chakra is going cold, fast. Do we help her?"

Sasuke thought for a split second, then nodded. They burst from the shrubbery, each singling out one of the huge ants.

Isa landed on top of hers, jamming a kunai deep into the juncture where its head met its body. It spasmed wildly, and almost managed to toss her across the clearing. She yanked her kunai out of its body, grimacing at the gush of greenish liquid that followed, and turned to the girl.

She was cowered against a rock, her bright red hair a stark contrast to her white, terrified face.

"Are you okay?" Isa asked her, peering at her forehead protector. Zigzag line. That's the Hidden Grass, isn't it?

The girl nodded slowly. Sasuke and Naruto finished off the last of the giant ants, standing beside Isa when they were done.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked kindly.

The girl swallowed hard, trembling. "Karin."

"You can't complete the exam," Sasuke said. Karin glanced at her fallen teammates, chin wobbling. "What scroll did you have?"

"Heaven," She replied. She stared at them uncertainly. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No," Isa said. "Try to find somewhere safe and wait out the exams. If you manage to get to the tower by the fifth day, you'll probably be safe there, even though you're disqualified."

Karin sucked in a shaky breath and nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

Isa offered her a smile, turning to leave. "You're welcome." She jerked her head, and her teammates followed her out of the clearing, scaling the side of a tree and vanishing.

"Man, that sucks," Naruto said, jumping effortlessly through the air. Isa and Sasuke kept pace with him, though Isa's mind was elsewhere, busy scanning their surroundings for chakra.

"They told us people would die," Sasuke said.

Naruto landed lightly on a branch, then pushed off without missing a beat. "Yeah, but that's tough. I can't imagine how crappy she probably feels right now."

Sasuke grunted in agreement. "You sensing anything?" He asked Isa.

"There's a team ahead of us, to the right. They're stationary right now," She replied.

"Do we wanna get them?" Naruto asked.

She frowned in concentration. "I think they're splitting up."

"Probably heading out to search for scrolls," Sasuke said. "Should we set a trap?"

"Yeah. One of them is heading our way," She said.

They left the trees, alighting on the ground. They went to work rigging up traps, stringing ninja wire along the ground and through the air.

Isa focused on the chakra signature as it drew closer. "Guys," She said. The chakra had stilled, and was hovering nearby, concealed behind the foliage. She shot a warning look at her teammates, then affected a casual expression. "Naruto, can you stay here and keep watch for a minute? Sasuke and I should probably try to find some food for later."

Naruto's eyes narrowed for only a second, then he nodded, playing along effortlessly. He leaned against a tree while Sasuke and Isa ducked into the forest.

As soon as they were out of eyeshot, they turned back, circling around and hiding behind a tree.

"He got Naruto," Isa reported. "He's using a transformation jutsu and waiting for us. Naruto is tied up behind a tree a little way's away."

"Should we get him?" Sasuke asked.

She uncapped the canteen she had strapped to her belt. Forming a hand sign, she focused her chakra. "Water Clone Jutsu!"

The water poured out of her canteen of its own accord, coalescing into a solid clone of herself.

"Untie Naruto and bring him back to the clearing," She told it. "Tell him to make a bunch of clones and position them around the area, then attack all at once." The clone nodded and took off.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Water clones?"

She shrugged, grinning. "I might have been practicing new jutsus in my free time. Can't blame me for trying to keep up with you two lunatics."

He snorted. "Showoff. Think you can get this guy with a genjutsu?"

She nodded. They crept around the tree and Sasuke entered the clearing. 'Naruto' perked up, waving cheerfully.

"Hey, that was quick. You find anything?" He asked.

Not a bad impersonation, but not good enough, Isa thought. She formed a hand sign, reaching out with her chakra. It was easy to make a genjutsu subtle enough to go unnoticed, but strong enough to affect him. She layered it on, twisting his sense of sight until the world was spinning just the tiniest bit.

He frowned and put a hand to his head. "What the hell?"

Sasuke smirked and burst into action, springing backward and hurling a handful of shuriken at 'Naruto'. He dodged, stumbling away. Isa smirked.

Off balance? So sorry about that.

Sasuke pressed the attack, forcing the ninja back. When a kunai caught him, slicing into his arm, he grunted in pain, and the transformation jutsu dissipated.

"Guess you're smart than you look," He spat. His voice was distorted by the rebreather over his mouth, and his forehead protector was marked with four parallel lines. Rain Village, Isa thought. He chuckled, hands forming signs, and four more images of him shimmered into existence.

Isa waited until Sasuke was swooping in for another attack before she launched her own. Sasuke was throwing shuriken left and right, and the clones were disappearing faster than the ninja could produce them.

She came in low, striking out with her foot. She knocked his legs out from under him, then spun, landing solidly on top of his chest. The air rushed out of his lungs and he scrambled to push her away, but her fingers were already forming an 'O'.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

She shoved down his consciousness, paralyzing his body, and rifled through his thoughts. A person's brain was a convoluted place, a maze that was laid out in a way that only made sense to the owner. A talented Yamanaka could navigate the maze in seconds, but an impatient one could simply blow it away.

She didn't bother being gentle as she searched through his head. Scroll, scroll, scroll, where is it? Aha! Earth scroll, huh? And look at that, you have it. I'll just be taking that now.

With a sense of accomplishment, she returned to her body. Sasuke had caught her as she lost consciousness, placing her carefully on the ground before proceeding to bind up the ninja.

She opened her eyes. "Earth scroll, jumpsuit, inside pocket," She said. Sasuke yanked open the jumpsuit and fished out the scroll.

"That was easy," He said, almost disappointed. She sat up slowly, grinning.

Naruto ran out of the forest, looking around wildly. "Are you guys okay?"

They nodded. "What took you so long?" Sasuke asked.

"Sorry, that guy tied me up really good and it took forever for your clone to cut through the rope," Naruto said, grinning ruefully. "And then I had to find my way back and I think I went the wrong way at first."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, huffing a quiet laugh. "We got an earth scroll." He held up the scroll, tossing it to Isa. She caught it and tucked it away inside her jacket.

"Man, this survival test is a piece of cake!" Naruto exclaimed, elated.

Isa stood up, surveying the tied-up ninja at their feet. He was glaring at them vehemently. "What do we do with him?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Knock him out and leave him?"

"He knows we have both scrolls now, he and his team might come after us," Isa pointed out.

Naruto laced his hands behind his head carelessly. "We can take 'em."

Sasuke crouched in front of the ninja. "If you attack us, we'll kill you and your team," He said, voice low and dangerous. He struck the boy in the temple and his eyes rolled back, unconscious.

"Should we take down our traps before we go?" Naruto wondered. Isa scanned their surroundings.

"I don't sense anyone nearby," She said, shrugging. They hurriedly disassembled the traps they'd set up, rolling up the ninja wire and retrieving the spring-loaded kunai hidden in the trees.

"Big help these were," Naruto muttered, tucking the ninja wire into his pouch.

"Better safe than sorry," Isa retorted, running up the side of a tree, stepping smoothly onto a high branch. Sasuke was already a branch ahead, waiting for them impatiently. Naruto joined her, and they caught up with their teammate, making their way deeper into the forest.

The lighting underneath the trees was dim, the canopy overhead blocking out the sky entirely, but Isa knew it had to be nearing midday. Hunger was beginning to make her stomach rumble; the toast and orange juice from that morning seemed like days ago.

They rocketed through the trees, swift and silent. Isa was confident, their encounters with Karin and the Hidden Rain ninja had gone so smoothly that she was beginning to wonder if the test really would be that easy.

We're actually working well together, too, she realized. She ran across the trunk of a tree, pushing off, gliding through the air in a blur of blonde hair. It's a miracle Naruto and Sasuke haven't started fighting yet. They haven't even sniped at each other all morning. Let's hope it stays that way. I don't want to spend five days with them if they're arguing the whole time. She smiled inwardly and focused on keeping up with them, staying alert for any incoming threats. They moved quickly, and for a while they just kept going, encountering no one.

Eventually, Sasuke stopped. "We should find somewhere to set up for the night," He said.

Isa nodded in agreement. "Good idea. I think I saw a river to our left a while ago, but we should stay away from that, right?"

"Yeah, everyone's gonna go there, I bet," Naruto said.

Isa frowned suddenly, looking around as if searching for something.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, eyes sharp.

She shook her head. "I thought I felt something. It must have been n-"

The gust of wind hit them with enough force to send all three tumbling off of the branch they were standing on. Isa was slammed into a tree, vision going black for a long second. And then she was falling, plummeting toward the ground.

There was a scream caught in her throat. All she could see was earth rushing toward her. Her mind told her to move, to reach out for something, to anchor herself to something. But she couldn't move, body shocked into immobility.

The ground was so close that she could nearly count the leaves of the bushes beneath her. She only closed her eyes when a force hit her from the side, breaking her fall. They fell in a tangle of limbs, rolling across the ground.

Sasuke groaned, arms wrapped securely around Isa. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She was breathing in harsh, short gasps, eyes screwed shut. "Sasuke, what's happening?" She whispered, clinging to his shirt.

"I don't know." He pulled himself free of her, untangling their legs and standing. She clambered to her feet, desperately searching for Naruto.

"I can't feel Naruto," She said, voice shot through with panic. "I don't know where he is!"

"Calm down, it's fine," He said, fingers sliding around her wrist. The contact grounded her, and she centered herself, wrestling her breathing under control. "What was that thing?" He asked, Sharingan activated, peering into the forest.

There was something out there, she could feel it. It was dark, creeping, almost fuzzy, as if it was still trying to hide from her. "Sasuke," She said, voice trembling. "Someone's coming."


A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows, it really means so much to me! I don't really have a lot to say here, but Chapter 12 is coming next Wednesday, as usual, so hopefully everyone sticks around for that, because it's going to get pretty intense. Hope you enjoy! :)