Chapter 11.

Exam Troubles.

Waiting for the rest of the genin to finish was quite boring. Naruto decided this as he sat on one of the couches. He was tired, and his eyes kept drooping. They closed, flickered back open, then closed again. This time for good.

Wham! A smack to the face was all he needed to open his eyes. He glared at Sasuke but didn't say anything. He had actually asked Sasuke to hit him if he started to fall asleep. Without hesitating, Sasuke had accepted.

Naruto shifted to lean on the arm of the chair. How boring. Everyone else was either talking, or playing cards with a deck Shikamaru had brought. Sakura was sitting with them. She was talking, laughing, and having a good time in general. He was glad.

When Shikamaru had whipped the cards out, Sakura had immediately stood up. Naruto wasn't a big card player, but had considered it if Sakura was going over there. Looking over at Sasuke, whose face had not shown a remote interest in going, he decided not to go either.

After taking a step forward, Sakura had glanced back. "You coming?" she had asked.

Naruto had considered it again. "Naw," he replied. "I'm a little tired. Fighting yourself can take a lot out of a person…" Her jade eyes hadn't left him. It was as if she was penetrating him. A beautiful penetration, he decided. "But don't let me stop you, go ahead." A long silence had taken place. "Okay…" she had said, walking toward the table. Naruto looked quizzical. Was that disappointment he had detected in her voice?

Now, seeing her laugh from afar made him happy. It was like he was her guardian. A chop to his neck brought him out of his thoughts. Clutching his neck, he stood up. "What the hell?" he shouted at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't shout back.

Instead he replied calmly, "You told me to hit you if you looked sleepy. So I did. Loser…"

Naruto fumed. "Sleeping and daydreaming are two different things, moron!"

"Watch what you say." Sasuke's reply was clam yet again. He wasn't even looking at Naruto.

"Look at me!" Naruto demanded. Sasuke didn't respond. He didn't even move. Naruto clenched his fists. "Look at me!" he said again. Sasuke did nothing. Naruto couldn't believe it. His own teammate ignoring him. It was like everyone else that he had met in his life. Ignoring him, detesting him, wishing he was gone. He couldn't stand it. "Damn it, Sasuke…" he said quietly. "Look at me…" Naruto couldn't believe it. He was shaking.

He grabbed Sasuke's shirt collar. Naruto lowered his voice. "How long have you wanted to fight me, Sasuke?" His voice was raspier, more forceful.

Sasuke reacted to this. How odd… What a random question. He decided to answer it. "A while. Our last fight was interrupted… I'd like to have one where that doesn't happen."

Naruto didn't know why he did what he did, but he did it none the less. Perhaps it was the fact Sasuke was ignoring him. Maybe it was because he was angry. Perhaps it was because the Fox was leaking out… Maybe it's because he wanted to?

Drawing his fist back, he punched Sasuke.

-

Sasuke couldn't believe it. He had only been playing with Naruto, just for the enjoyment he got out of it. He didn't think the bastard would actually punch him. He was sent sliding across the floor. He finally caught himself, swinging back onto his feet. Everyone in the room was staring at him. He was glaring at Naruto.

Naruto's arm was shaking, he noticed. And he seemed to be making a noise Sasuke couldn't interpret.

"What the hell?" he called out, hoping Naruto would respond. He didn't, but now Sakura was on her feet, staring at Naruto with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

Naruto didn't respond to that either. Instead, he rushed forward. Sasuke braced himself. If it was thing he knew about Naruto, it was that when he put his mind to something, he wouldn't quit. Naruto reached him, jumped and kicked. Sasuke not only blocked the kick, he caught Naruto's leg and, after a quick spin, sent him flying.

Naruto twirled in the air, landing on his feet. He looked up at Sasuke.

Sasuke flinched.

His eyes were still the same colored blue, but his pupils were slits. They were eyes that he hadn't seen before, and it made him nervous.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. It came out more as a growl then an actual word.

"Yeah?" Sasuke finally responded.

"Ready?" Now it sounded like a half growl half laugh type of thing. But that didn't matter, because Naruto charged forward. At first he was on the ground, then jumped and was running on the wall.

Sasuke called upon his Sharingan, and got into a stance. Naruto tackled and punched. Sasuke flipped over the tackle and turned around. Naruto rolled when he landed. They stood facing each other a minute, then charged at the same time…

Well, tried to…

Niether one could move. It was as if someone had glued their feet to the ground. Not only that though, they couldn't move any part of their bodies.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" He heard someone call. "This is stupid. Stop!" Sasuke saw her out of the corner of his eye. Sakura was standing on the side beside Shikamaru, whose hand came apart from a hand sign.

I see, Sasuke thought. He could also tell Naruto was struggling to move.

"Shikamaru!" he shouted. "Let us go!"

Shikamaru threw his hands behind his head, relaxing his posture. In turn, Naruto and Sasuke did the same. "Afraid I can't do that, Naruto," he replied. "We have enough Exam troubles without you two fighting."

Naruto didn't respond, however, he did look angry.

Sasuke sighed, and his Sharingan vanished. He found Sakura starring at Naruto with a worried expression. Sasuke looked back at Naruto. He was breathing heavily, and Sasuke noticed he was calming down. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be concentrating.

Shikamaru must have noticed this too, because he released the jutsu. Sasuke, lowered his arms, but didn't move from his spot. Naruto shook his head and opened his eyes.

They were no longer slits. They were normal.

But before anyone could do anything else, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. He appeared in front of Naruto, who was no doubt surprised.

"Sensei?"

In a flash though, Kakashi gave Naruto one swift chop to the neck. Naruto immediately fell forward, and Kakashi caught him. Hoisting over his shoulder, Kakashi turned around.

Sakura huffed. "Sensei, what are you doing?!"

He ignored her. "I've explained to Shizune what I'm doing. She's not quite done in there, but I told her not to start the Second Exam until I returned."

And with that, he was gone.

Sakura stood flabbergasted, and even Shikamaru seemed to be confused. Sasuke stared at the place where Kakashi had just been standing, and a single thought crossed his mind.

Just what are you…Naruto?

-

Kakashi jumped from one rooftop to the other with surprising speed. The Hokage Tower stood proudly in the distance. He huffed as he continued.

He had been placed as leader of Squad Seven for many reasons, but the most important one couldn't be ignored. Control the Nine Tailed Fox. Because of this reason, he had trained himself to notice if the Kyuubi was leaking out. If he wasn't to far away, he would know.

That it was brought him to the First Exam. The second he noticed the Kyuubi's presence, he stopped what he was doing (reading the newest issue of the Make Out series) and headed over.

But it wasn't the same. Kakashi knew what the first Exam was. There was no reason why the Kyuubi would come out. After all, Naruto couldn't have been in any mortal danger. Because of this, Kakashi had come to a conclusion. A simple conclusion, but dangerous at the same time.

The seal was weakening.

-

Tsunade was tired. The paperwork had been astounding lately, no doubt from the Chunin Exams. She hated paperwork. She didn't expect so much of it when she decided to become Hokage. After signing six papers about… something, she sat back in her chair. Glancing around, she smiled, pulling a bottle of Sake from her sleeve.

"Finally…" she said, raising it to her lips.

A sudden knock on the door, startled her. Quickly leaning forward, she dropped the Sake, and sent many papers all over the floor. Son of a… she thought, eyeing the mess. "Come in."

To her surprise, Kakashi walked through the door, carrying… was that Naruto? She could tell he was about to speak, but he didn't. She followed his gaze to the mess on her floor. "Don't mind that," she said, blushing. "What do you want? I was in the middle of some important paperwork."

The Sake bottle rolled from under her desk to Kakashi's feet. He picked it up. "Apparently…"

She turned her head. "Don't make me repeat myself." She said.

Kakashi smiled through his mask. "Of course." He placed Naruto on the table in the middle of the room. "I have some information regarding…" He undid Naruto's jacket, and lifted his black shirt up "…this."

Tsunade looked at the seal. Realizing this matter was serious, she walked from around her desk to Kakashi's side. "What about it?"

"Just a little bit ago, I sensed the presence of the Kyuubi. It obviously happened while Naruto was taking the First Exam. But as you know, the First Exam isn't anything life threatening, so there's no reason for the Kyuubi to have leaked."

"I understand… You think the seal is weakening…"

Kakashi looked at her. "Precisely. Not only is the it twelve years old, but another factor could be that the Kyuubi is trying to control Naruto."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Can it even do that?"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's a possibility. As you know, the Kyuubi is a part of Naruto's consciousness. It can have as much a factor on Naruto as his own mind."

Tsunade didn't say anything. Kakshi continued. "I can't think of another reason why Naruto would let the Kyuubi leak out." He scratched his head. "The Kyuubi told him it would be a good idea, so he did." He sighed. "I'm sure Sasuke didn't help that much either…"

Tsunade nodded. "I understand. You want to strengthen the seal…" She turned his back to him. "But I'm not the Fourth Hokage. I don't know how to do a Sealing Jutsu of that measure. If anyone, you should be asking Jiraiya." She rolled her eyes. "If anyone knows where he is…"

Kakashi looked back at Naruto's sleeping form, and pondered what to do next. He could try to find Jiraiya… But he didn't know where to start, nor had any idea where he might be. He could not do anything and hope for the best… He hit himself on the head. Some Sensei I'll be. Then an idea struck him.

He looked at Tsunade's back.

"I want to use Oppressors." He saw Tsunade tense. She turned to face him.

"Oppressors?" He nodded. "You know as well as I that-"

"Yes," he said calmly. "But that's the only option we have right now."

"But they'll affect Naruto more then the Kyuubi."

"I'm aware of this. Look, I know Naruto reminds you of your brother, but he isn't. Stop being protective and do what has to be done."

She sighed. "I know that… But Oppressors are dangerous. If we give him even one, his team won't pass the Second Exam."

"I know. A small price to pay until we can find Jiraiya and fix this permanently."

Admitting defeat, Tsunade walked over to a door in the right corner of the room. Taking a key from her sleeve, she unlocked the door. Swinging it open, she stepped inside. The room was relatively big. It was neatly packed with hundreds upon hundreds of scrolls of different sizes, jars with all sorts of things, and books with tattered covers.

Walking to the back of the room, she opened the biggest book Kakashi had ever seen. Flipping through the pages, she finally stopped, running her finger down the page. She looked around, and her face brightened as she took a jar from one of the top shelves. Exiting the room she walked over to Naruto, Kakashi right behind her. She opened the jar, and brought out a small white sphere.

She handed it to Kakashi. "Another." Her eyes widened, but she gave Kakashi another one, then headed back into the room. Kakashi leaned down next to Naruto, holding the object in between his index finger and thumb. Leaning Naruto into a sitting position, he slipped the sphere into his mouth. Then, taking a canteen from one of his vest pockets, he poured water down Naruto's throat.

He saw Naruto's face grimace, and sighed. "One more," he said. He repeated the process with the second Oppressor, and hoisted Naruto on his shoulder again. Turning, he face the Hokage. "You may think badly of me, but as the Hokage you should know this is the right thing to do."

"I know it is," she said, even though her face didn't show it. "I've just never liked Oppressors. I hate what they do."

A moment of silence. "So do I." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "But I'm doing this for Naruto's sake."

He vanished, and Tsunade sighed. Pulling another bottle of Sake from her sleeve, she sat back at her desk. She hated paperwork.

-

The room was wet, to say the least. About a foot of water covered the entire floor. The walls were a dull gray, and the room was rather dark. But perhaps the oddest aspect of the room was the giant cage that sat at the very back of it. The bars were rusted, and you couldn't see into the cage. But on the middle bar, there was a piece of paper with a single word on it.

Seal.

Usually, steady breathing can be heard from within the cage. Occasionally you may hear a growl or two, but if you're lucky, you can hear a single word be uttered from it.

"Seal…"

The voice this word belongs to is very menacing. It is a dark, foreboding voice. A voice not many people would want to hear twice.

The person the voice belongs to is not really a person at all. It is a creature. It is one of the most ferocious creatures imaginable. A demon. This is not an ordinary demon, though. This demon has nine tails. Nine large, powerful tails.

This demon did something to earn this cage. It attacked a Village, and took on one of the strongest ninjas ever. It lost. And now it is sealed within this cage, a cage that it can not breakout of.

The cage with the word 'Seal' on it.

Today, the demon is awake. It is happy. The demon has recently done an experiment that was a complete success. Next time, he will be released, he knows it.

The foot of water in the room, is moving. The demon observes this, somewhat interested.

Suddenly, it is as if all the oxygen in the room constricts. The demon is now annoyed. Now it feels as though weight is being piled on his back. The demon does not like it. It stands for as long as it can. Its legs are shaking, and its back is straining. Its tails are having trouble moving. It let's out a low growl. It is angry. What's happening? The pressure is unlike what it's used to, and it doesn't understand where it is coming from.

The pressure suddenly increases. The demon stands for a couple of seconds, then collapses. Water goes everywhere. The demon cannot move. The pressure is too great. It tries to move its tails but they, too, will not budge. It let's out a earth shattering roar. The water ripples below it. Finally, he lays his head down, and closes his eyes.

They think they can suppress him. They think they can protect themselves. They think they are stronger then him.

The demon smiles, showing his bare, sharp teeth.

They think they are stronger then a demon.

Its voice is menacing.

"They are wrong."

End of Chapter.

Next Chapter:

The Second Exam.