Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or Naruto series characters, please support the original manga/anime . I own my OC's: Iridessa, Corianna, Kai-kun and Ibiki-sensei.
Beta Writer: SilverGoldsun - .Day
things are starting to get intense in the chunin exams! Enjoy!
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The sun was just slightly past mid-way in the sky, so Corianna assumed it must have been around 3 in the afternoon. Corianna's team had already acquired both the earth and heaven scrolls, and they were just taking it easy and killing a couple ninjas here and there when they felt like it. The team was too busy talking that they didn't realize they had wondered into an eerie part of the forest. The tree branches formed a thick layer that blocked out a lot of the sunlight, and the marshy ground gave off a mysterious fog. They paused in an open clearing, and all three ninjas look around confused. "Oh my god… now where the fuck are we?" Corianna asked placing her hands on her hips angrily. "I have no idea…" Iridessa admitted, a slight uneasy feeling playing up in her stomach. Suddenly the team heard a familiar yelling followed by a ninja in a bright orange jump suit, a dark haired Uchiha boy and a pink haired female ninja. Naruto stopped abruptly in his tracks when he caught sight of Corianna standing there, "Corianna..." Naruto began a blush crossing his face, "…fancy seeing you here." Corianna smiled and in reply said, "How are you guys doing? We're a little bit lost here in the forest." She chuckled. Corianna noticed Sasuke looking at Iridessa, and she couldn't help but feel the awkward tension between the two of them. She made a mental note to ask Iridessa about that later. "Have you guys got your scrolls yet?" Kai piped up. Team 7 shook their heads and Sasuke kicked the marshy ground. The two teams stood facing each other in a moment of silence, Corianna kept an eye on her fellow ninjas, because even though they were all (except Sakura) friends, Sasuke would be determined to get his teams remaining scroll, even if it meant attacking friends. Iridessa walked over to a slightly uprooted tree and leant against the damp branches; suddenly Corianna saw her friend stiffen and noticed a shadowy figure emerge from the darkness behind her friend.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Iridessa felt him before she sensed him. A cold, clammy hand grasped her shoulder, while a raspy voice whispered in her ear "I want you." She screamed and turned around, drawing the attention of the other 5 ninjas. A creepy looking man was behind her, his face twisted into an evil smirk. He jumped up onto a branch of the tree and licked his lips, his tongue slithering like a snake. "Ew! What the fuck man?" Iridessa heard Corianna yell from behind her. The man then began to pick at his skin on his face, and slid off his hidden grass headband. He then peeled a piece of the tanned skin off, exposing white skin and a menacing yellow eye framed with purple markings. Sakura gasped in fright and fainted; Iridessa rolled her eyes at the passed-out ninja and muttered "how useless" under her breath. Suddenly the creepy ninja smiled and darted towards Iridessa. She easily dodged him, but then his neck began to grow from his body like a snake, ripping his over coat of skin in the process. Iridessa was stunned and grossed out at the same time, her body froze from confusion, and before she could react the snake-like man shot his face at her direction, biting her firmly on the neck. Iridessa could feel something being injected into her skin from the bite. Iridessa felt her body grow heavy and she slumped to the floor. Sasuke called out her name and shot a fireball at the ninja. He effortlessly dodged and vanished. Moments later he appeared behind Sasuke and bit him as well on the side of his neck. Sasuke tried to fight him off, but when the strange ninja pulled away Sasuke collapsed on the ground out of pain. Iridessa felt panic arise in her body, she tried to get up and fight, but she couldn't move. All of a sudden, an intense wave of pain passed over her and she black out.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Shit." Was all Corianna thought when she saw first her best friend, then Sasuke fall to the forest floor. The mysterious man then pulled off the rest of his ruined skin to reveal a pale and terrifying face. Corianna stood there, shocked. She didn't know why she didn't recognize him before. "Orochimaru…" She snarled. Orochimaru looked at her amusingly. Corianna suddenly felt anger building up inside of her. She clenched her fists and cursed under her breath. She wanted to knock his lights out, but she knew that she wasn't supposto show her strength this early on in the exam. Besides that, she had Iridessa and Sasukes's health to worry about. She glanced sideways at Kai, and he nodded ever so slightly in reply. One of the reasons that team 13 was working so well together was that the three of them, Corianna, Iridessa and Kai could communicate their feelings almost telepathically. Kai then ran at Orochimaru, his speed was incredible for someone who looked seemingly weak. Corianna could tell Orochimaru wasn't expecting that. Kai then began to attack Orochimaru from different angles, drawing him away from Corianna and their wounded teammates. "Naruto!" Corianna called over her shoulder at the dumbfounded ninja, "Move Sasuke into that cave under the tree over there, I'll get Iridessa and Sakura." Naruto obediently ran over to carry Sasuke's twitching body. Corianna picked up Iridessa's body in a piggy-back style, and she grabbed Sakura's still body by the waist and hoisted her up. She quickly made her way over to the cave-like structure where Naruto and Sasuke were. Corianna turned around and saw that Kai was still doing a good job of distracting Orochimaru. Suddenly, Kai was smashed down to the ground with one flick of Orochimaru's arm. "Kai!" Corianna yelled, she could feel her body tense and the fire within her begin to burn with anger. She quickly regained her composure, and at that moment Orochimaru turned and fled into the thickness of the trees. Kai stood up and started to run after Orochimaru. "Kai!" Corianna called at the fabulous ninja, "forget him! I need you to help me with Iridessa and Sasuke!" Corianna then beckoned Kai over and he helped her treat Iridessa first, then Sasuke. Corianna, Naruto and Kai then lay the three unconscious ninja's on the ground side by side. There was nothing they could do, but wait until they awoke.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Iridessa awoke slowly, her head was numb from some kind of medicine blocking out the obvious pain that she was in. She felt the moist forest floor beneath her and she could hear the chatter of Corianna and Kai nearby, which gave her some comfort. She could also hear the heavy breathing of what appeared to be a male to her right, and the soft breathing of a female to her left. Iridessa slowly opened one eye. Thankfully the mid afternoon light was dimmer in the thicket of the swamp-forest, because the light didn't cause too much strain on Iridessa's eyes. She glanced sideways to her right, and she came face to face with a handsome Uchiha. He was sweating ever so slightly, and his face kept frowning and un-frowning, as if he was thinking really hard or in pain. Iridessa assumed he was in pain, judging from the bandage wrapped around his neck and shoulders. She then looked to her left, and she saw the pink haired Sakura fast asleep. She rolled her now open eyes and muttered "how useless…" before promptly standing up. The ground felt a little shaky beneath her feet, but since one of her elements was earth she was able to quickly ground herself and stabilize her legs. She walked over to Kai and Corianna who were deep in conversation.
She plopped herself down next to Corianna and leant against the tree. As she did so, Corianna and Kai looked at her, slightly astounded. She raised an eyebrow at them, and Kai quickly spoke, "Are you OK? The herbal remedies I gave you we're supposto knock you out for at least six hours." Corianna smiled at her best friend and said, "Oh of course she's ok! It's Iridessa we're talking about. Ain't nothing gunna hold her down." Iridessa smiled back at her best friend and then glanced back over at Sasuke. He had curled into a some-what fetal position and she could see his hands shaking. Naruto then appeared carrying what seemed to be a bundle of fire wood. "Is this enough?" The blonde ninja asked putting the pile of wood down off to the side. Corianna nodded in reply and walked over to the pile of wood to begin building a fire. Naruto then looked at Iridessa, "Wow! You're awake already? How do you feel? How's Sasuke and Sakura doing?" Iridessa just sat there trying to compute what Naruto had just said. He was speaking so fast and her brain wasn't fully awake yet. Thankfully Kai came to the rescue. "Iridessa's just woken up, give her time to fully wake up. And if you want to see your team mates they're over there." Kai lazily pointed in Sasuke and Sakura's direction and then he got up and walked down to the river to try and catch something for the team to eat. Naruto obliged and went to sit by his team mates.