Chapter 11

Kurenai and Naruto sat in a dango shop near Kurenai's apartment. They had just gotten their order when Anko stumbled in, clearly smashed. She staggered over to a booth in the back of the room and flopped onto the bench. Once seated, she crossed her arms on the table and dropped her head onto her crossed forearms. The waiter hurried over and she ordered without even looking up.

Naruto looked at Kurenai with concern. "Have you ever seen her like that?" Naruto asked.

"Not in a very long time." Kurenai replied. "Last time she did that to herself was when…" Kurenai muttered before her eyes widened in realization. "Excuse me Naruto-kun. I have to talk to her." Kurenai apologized as she rose.

"Not a problem. I know Anko-sensei fairly well myself." Naruto said as he rose with the older woman. "Let's go see if we can help her."

They could smell the sake rising off her before they even got within arm's reach of the woman. Kurenai also noted that the woman's shoulders were shaking. 'I haven't seen her cry since Oro-teme left…' Kurenai thought as she slid into the booth across from Anko.

Anko raised her head a fraction of an inch and looked up though her bangs as Naruto sat down next to Kurenai. Even though her hair, they could see the streaks of tears on her cheeks.

"Lea' me alone." Anko slurred. "I 'ust wanna be lef' alone…" She said before dropping her head back down, causing her now loose hair to pool on the table around her.

"No." Naruto said simply, causing the woman before them to look up. Danger flashed in her eyes before the crushing sadness returned once more. At this time the waiter brought her order of dango and two bottles of sake. Naruto swiped the sake before it could get anywhere near the depressed jounin.

"Gimme my sake…" Anko sighed, as if talking we nearly too much effort.

"You don't need anymore." Naruto replied.

"Anko-chan, what's wrong?" Kurenai asked.

"Don' even play like you care." Anko snapped. "N…nothin matters anymore…" Anko trailed off before she slumped back, her bangs covering half of her face. That was when they noticed she wasn't wearing her hitai-ate.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked.

"I thought I tol' you I din' wanna talk…" Anko slurred.

Naruto shot out of his seat and stepped around the table, shocking Kurenai. He reached down and jerked the drunk woman out of the booth by the front of her jacket. Bunching the front of her coat in his left hand, Naruto slapped her sharply across the face twice. "Snap out of it you stupid girl." Naruto commanded. "You have been through way too much shit to let whatever happened destroy you like this."

Anko sagged in his grip, looking like a puppet with its strings cut. "He hates me…" She sobbed out before dissolving into tears once more. Naruto pulled her close before swinging her legs up into his arms and holding her bridal style.

"Reach into my left hip pocket and grab my wallet." Naruto told Kurenai. She fished his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Pay for her meal. We need to take her home." Naruto said. They paid for both their meals before leaving the building. "Where does she live?"

"This way." Kurenai replied as she jumped to a nearby rooftop, followed by Naruto. They arrived at Anko's apartment in short order, and soon had the intoxicated jounin asleep.

"Can you take care of her by yourself for a while?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, I have before. Where are you going though?" Kurenai asked.

"The only reason I could see Anko-sensei doing this, is if Enishi-teme did something stupid." Naruto said though gritted teeth. "I'm going to go beat the story out of him."

Elsewhere

Satoshi stood across from Enishi in a clearing not far outside of Konoha. "Why did you call me out here?" Satoshi asked. "Finally feel like explaining yourself?"

"You know why I did what I did." Enishi said simply.

"And lashing out at Anko-sensei like a spoiled child when she stopped you from murdering Sasuke-san? Did that make sense?"

"That was… unfortunate." Enishi said, his voice losing some of its ice. "It's getting worse. I wanted to talk one last time while I still have some of me left." Enishi said.

"Don't talk like that!" Satoshi shouted. "You're stronger then this! You've beaten the curse before!"

"It wasn't nearly this bad last time, and it almost killed me then." Enishi said. "After the finals, I'm leaving the village. Don't try to stop me, and don't come after me. I'm going to try to finish this for good. The only way to correct the corruption of the curse is to use it to kill the one who cursed you." Enishi said as he flicked open his zippo and lit a cigarette, prompting Satoshi to do the same. "Take care of An-chan for me. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me." Enishi continued sadly. "I don't know if she'll believe you or not, but tell her I'll always love her." Enishi said just above a whisper as he turned to leave. "See you in the finals." He finished, the ice returning to his voice as he leaped into the trees.

"Don't do anything stupid Enishi-kun." Satoshi whispered.

Naruto landed next to Satoshi with a soft thump. "Where is Enishi-teme?"

"You just missed him." Satoshi said sadly.

"Which way did he go? I owe the fucker a beating."

"Why?" Satoshi asked as he handed Naruto a smoke.

"Did he tell you what he did to Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked. "I had to carry her home, she was so drunk. Now tell me, why do you think she was drinking?"

Satoshi sighed. "Don't go after him. The way he is right now, the only people he wouldn't kill on sight would be Anko-sensei and maybe me."

"What happened in the forest? He wasn't like this when you went in." Naruto asked.

"Have you heard about the Kuroi Jutsu?" Satoshi asked.

"No. What is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's a curse more than anything." Satoshi began. "The jutsu is incredibly powerful, and allows Enishi-kun to use some amazing techniques, but it twists part of your personality, forming an evil version of yourself in your psyche. The more you use the jutsu, the stronger you twisted side becomes, until eventually, the twisted portion of your mind takes over." Satoshi explained. "Enishi-kun was forced to use the Kuroi jutsu in the forest, and it pushed him almost to the breaking point. Right now, he's on the verge of losing himself to his dark half." Satoshi said. "If you face him in the finals and his eyes turn yellow during the fight, forfeit. At that point, he no longer recognizes friends, or even loved ones."

"If it's so bad, why are you leaving him alone?" Naruto asked.

"There is nothing I can do for him. As much as it pains me, this is his fight alone. He must win it." Satoshi said. "And this time, I'm not sure if he can…" Satoshi whispered.

Elsewhere

Enishi stood panting over the corpse of what could have been a deer, although it was hard to tell with how torn up the animal was.

'That was far too close. I almost lost control on Sato-kun.' Enishi thought as he tried to center himself.

'Why do you care for the boy so? No one cares for you.' A sinister voice in the back of Enishi's head spoke.

'You're wrong. I will protect those precious to me. Even if it means I can't be with them.' Enishi retorted as he clutched at his head in pain. Suddenly, Enishi straightened and a cold smirk crossed his features. "Fine, I won't kill them. Yet." He said to himself. "But when the time comes, I will destroy everything you hold dear. I WILL HAVE VENGENCE!" Enishi roared before he staggered back, as if struck by a blow. He fell to his knees and grabbed his head in agony once more. "Get… outta… my… HEAD!"

Anko's apartment

Kurenai looked over when she heard a knock at the window to see Naruto perched on the window ledge of Anko's sixth story apartment. She hurried over and opened the window, allowing the troubled goth into her friend's home.

"What happened?" Kurenai asked. "You look upset."

"What do you know about the Kuroi jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"The what?" Kurenai asked, causing Naruto to sigh.

"I don't really understand it myself, but I'll try to explain. Basically, Enishi-kun is cursed with a forbidden jutsu. Every time he uses this jutsu, it warps part of his mind, causing him to become bent on its power." Naruto said. "He was forced to use it in the forest, under extremely stressful circumstances, which makes the side effects even worse. Basically, Enishi-kun is fighting a war in his own mind with an evil version of himself, and from the looks of things, he's losing." Naruto said, his words tapering off to a whisper. "I'm sorry I can't do more. For Enishi-kun, for Anko-sensei, and most of all, for you Kure-chan. I wish I was able to stop this and put things back the way they were." Naruto whispered as he hung his head.

Kurenai stepped flush up against the teen, gently pushing him back onto Anko's couch before placing her knees on either side of his hips and sitting in his lap. She placed two fingers under his chin and gently tilted his head back, causing him to look her in the eye. "We all do the very best we can do with what we have." Kurenai said. Naruto began to open his mouth, but Kurenai placed a finger across his lips, silencing him. "This isn't the end. I'm sure we will find a way to make everything right again. We just need some time to think of what to do." Kurenai finished before replacing her finger on his lips with her own. "Now cheer up."

"I don't know if I can." Naruto sighed as he dropped his head back on the back of the couch.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder then." Was all the warning the young genin had before Kurenai leaned in and nipped at his neck. "After all, someone has to look after Anko-chan, so we've got all the time in the world." Kurenai whispered into his neck. She ran her tongue up the side of his neck before whispering in his ear. "Everything will turn out alright. Even if things have to get worse to get better, somehow, everything will be alright." Kurenai said.

She didn't know how right her words would turn out to be.

One month later

All the shinobi that passed the preliminaries gathered in the stadium, the only noticeably absent was Enishi. As the proctor for the tournament stepped forward to introduce himself and explain the rules, the ground at the edge of the group heaved up. The dirt crumbled away, leaving Enishi standing with his arms crossed and a baleful glare on his face.

"Now that we are all here, my name is Genma. The rules for this phase of the exams are the same as the last time. If I call a match, then the match is over. Do not question me or argue. My word on this is law." Genma explained. "Shikamaru and Temari, remain here. The rest of you report to the contestant box."

The match between Shikamaru and Temari was a long and drawn out affair, but far from boring. Both shinobi proved that they were a credit to their village and more then prepared for the responsibilities of leading a team through their brilliant use of strategy. In the end, Shikamaru backed Temari into a corner and caught her with his Kagemane no Jutsu, but had to forfeit for lack of chakra.

The proctor called Enishi and Dosu into the arena. Dosu jumped down to the floor while the ground in front of him heaved up and burst, revealing Enishi.

"Second Match: Enishi versus Dosu. Hajime!" Genma shouted before leaping back, knowing full well how much Enishi hated Oto nin.

He wasn't disappointed either. As soon as the match was called to a start, Enishi lunged forward. There was an uncanny grace in his assault, but none of his normal precision. He looked like an enraged lion, simply aiming to draw as much blood from his foe in as short a time as possible. Dosu dodged and blocked like his life depended on it, because he knew it did. He knew the second Enishi got him off balance for even an instant, the match would be over and he would be dead.

Even for all his effort, Dosu did not escape the first bout unscathed. When he finally managed to disengage from the other nin, numerous shallow cuts crisscrossed his arms. Enishi wasn't uninjured either, but if he felt his wounds, he gave no indication of it. The green haired teen grinned sinisterly as he licked some blood from the blade of the kunai in his hand.

"How did that feel Oto scum?" Enishi asked. "Do you want some more?" He finished as he launched himself forward to continue the fight.

The fight had more akin with a barroom brawl then a ninja match. Enishi didn't bother to use his impressive array of ninjutsu and showed no strategy whatsoever. Dosu, on the other hand, had no time for either, as Enishi kept him dodging and scrambling for his life.

The match ended anticlimactically. As Dosu stepped back to avoid another of Enishi's swipes with his kunai, his heel caught on a rock, sending the Oto genin stumbling back. Before he could even hope to catch his balance, Enishi had him by the throat. Genma opened his mouth to end the match just as Enishi plunged the blade into the other boy's chest.

The crowd sat silent in shock at the brutality displayed before them. Enishi dropped the boy's lifeless body and turned away to return to the contestant box.

The medic nin quickly removed the boy's body from the arena as the proctor called the next two contestants into the arena. Haku and Neji stood facing each other. Haku had a serene smile on her face, completely confident in her ability, while Neji looked somewhat disappointed to be fighting a girl.

"Fate has decided that you will lose today." Neji began.

"I don't believe in fate." Haku cut him off. "Fate is the first resort of the cowardly. Those too afraid to reach out and take what they can to improve themselves." She said harshly as the smile dropped from her face. "So come at me, coward. Let's see how far your fate takes you in the face of skill." She finished as she pulled a scroll out of her equipment pouch. She slapped her hand to the seal in the center and a huge amount of water gushed forth, turning the area immediately around her into a quagmire.

"Congratulations. You can make mud." Neji sneered. He activated his bloodline before charging at Haku. He had just entered the pool of mud and water surrounding her when a dome of mirrors formed around him.

"Foolish of you to openly charge into a foe when you don't know their capabilities." Haku remarked coldly as she stepped into one of the mirrors, causing her image to appear on all of them.

"I do not need to know your abilities. Fate has decreed that you will lose to me today and so you shall." Neji replied.

Haku sighed and pulled out a handful of senbon. "Is that all you ever talk about is fate?" She asked. "I used to be like you once. I thought that all ninja were simply tools to be used. But then I met Satoshi and he showed me that I can be more." She finished as senbon seemed to rain down on Neji from every angle.

The instant before the needle like weapons touched him, Neji spun activating the main families Kaiten technique. "This is an interesting jutsu, but no match for my defense."

"And pray tell, how long can you keep that defense up?" Haku asked. "From the look of it, it's a pure chakra move and a very costly one at that. Whereas this jutsu is mostly physical ability with a much lower chakra output." She said before launching another barrage of senbon at Neji, who replied with Kaiten once more.

'Shit. She spotted the weakness in this move after seeing it only once. Now what?' Neji thought. He caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and replied with a kunai only to catch three senbon in a tight grouping in between his shoulder blades. 'Does she know…?' He thought as darkness ate at the edges of his vision and a sound like rushing water filled his ears.

Neji; the genius of the Hyuuga branch family fell face down in the mud, out cold.

"Shousha: Haku!"

Haku vanished in a burst of water, only to reappear next to Satoshi.

Naruto turned to Satoshi. "How do you want to do this?" He asked as they both leaped into the arena.

"I would say we showcase our abilities, but you'd win for sure as you can summon stronger Kitsune and your Katon Hi no Jigoku is more powerful…" Satoshi began.

"What if I limit myself to what you can accomplish?" Naruto asked as they walked to stand in front of the proctor.

"Now that has possibilities…" Satoshi mused. "But do we really want everyone to know what we can do?" He asked as he lit a cigarette before tossing the pack to Naruto.

"Good point…" Naruto replied as he caught the pack of smokes. Pulling a cig out, he lit it and tossed the pack back to Satoshi. "Why don't we summon two kitsune of equal power and let them fight for us?"

"I like that idea. Let's do that." Satoshi replied.

The proctor looked stunned that the two opponents spent so much time arguing how to fight their match.

Both black clad nin turned to the stunned jounin. "Well?"

"OH! Fourth match: Satoshi versus Naruto, Hajime!"

At the proctor's shout, each of them summoned a two tailed kitsune. The one next to Naruto was a golden color while the one next to Satoshi had ice blue fur. The two summons immediately understood their job and lunged at one another and began to wrestle.

Naruto vanished in a swirl of leaves only to reappear next to Satoshi.

"Five ryo says Aoi-chan wins." Satoshi offered as he pulled a little orange book from his pocket and began to read.

"No betting on our match!" Naruto shot back.

"Why not?" Satoshi asked, taking a drag from his cigarette before flicking ash from the tip.

"Because it's immoral." Naruto replied as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "And besides, you aren't wagering near enough. One hundred ryo on Kogane-kun."

"Done." Satoshi responded, tucking his book back in his pocket, he shook hands with Naruto and they turned back to the two kitsune. "So how are things with Kurenai-sensei?"

"As well as can be I suppose." Naruto replied. "She's worried about Anko-sensei a lot. Have you talked to her?"

"Not since before the preliminary matches." Satoshi replied. "I figured seeing one of the three Goths wandering around Konoha would hurt her, especially since I am friends with him."

"Well you know her better then I do. Talk to her after the finals. It might help."Naruto said, unintentionally reminding Satoshi of Enishi's words the last time they had talked.

"You have a good point there." Satoshi mused. "I'll talk to her when the exam is over." He finished as Aoi pinned Kogane. "I win and you owe me a hundred ryo."

"Bummer." Naruto sighed as they both dismissed their summons. "I forfeit."

"Shousha: Satoshi!"

As the two nin were preparing to return to the contestant box, the Kage seating suddenly exploded in purple smoke.

Saxyguy – Yeah, yeah I know. I took my sweet ass time writing.

Raaven – You sure as hell did! If you had left your laptop with me, we'd have like twenty chapters done by now!

Saxyguy – Or I'd be out a laptop. *Lights Cigarette*

Raaven – I wouldn't lose it…

Saxyguy – Whatever you say. I have a dinner date with Haku so laterz! *walks away*

Raaven – *Mumbles* Stupid non-trusting friend of an author… REVIEW!

Saxyguy – Yes I know that the fight between Naruto and Satoshi was disappointing, but honestly if they faced off in a straight match, Naruto could easily overpower Satoshi, so I wrote it this was. If you don't like it, too bad.;