Hello my Readers! Thanks for choosing SCCLD, I promise you will enjoy my writing! Well maybe…anyways I got this chapter typed up, and was pretty happy with it. It's longer than normal chapters, due to me tweaking my whole outline. Oh well, it was fun! However, it's December and things are kinda, well bad. I'm not falling behind in school, but the pressure is building. I'm scrambling to get my star event project perfected, and the paperwork in order. I have to focus in math, and I forget to get much sleep. I don't have a lot of time for fun things, but I try. Christmas Break is going to happen in two weeks, so I should get an update each of those weeks (Maybe even post one of my other stories or a Christmas special) I may end up in the gifted program however, so that may also take up more time. Over all I'm seeing that going to school again can be hard, but I'll be good. I'm sure everyone else has it worse when it comes to school…Not looking forward to end of the year. *Grumbles* Sooo not a testing person. Anyways enjoy, and thanks for all the Reviews and Follows or Favorites. I appreciate them all, as well as the PM's. If you want to review but don't want others to see it, just PM me. I don't mind it, and it always makes school easier to see your helpful comments or to hear you enjoy my story.

Disclaimer-If I owner Naruto, I'd move to Canada…Maybe…No I'd pay off my mom's student loans…

Chapter Dedicated to my readers, who give me something fun and educational to do.

Naruko's eyes locked with the man's, her heart beat accelerating as he licked his lips. He chuckled, and suddenly she was sent flying, clutching her stomach as the wind was knocked from her lungs. It registered in her mind that she had just been kicked in the chest. She slammed into a tree's trunk, before falling forward, down to the ground. She clutched her chest and her eyes narrowed as she got a grip of her hands. She flashed through hand signs as she neared the bottom, grunting as her chest spasmed, healing itself. "Blood Style, Three Petaled Blood Lotus Jutsu!"

Blood Chakra poured from the Jinchuuriki's hand as she slammed it into the air, forcing itself downward. The chakra sharpened to three petals, which curled inward once the chakra was on the ground, catching Naruko safely in their folds. Naru didn't have time to relax however, sensing the man appearing on the ground with her. She rolled out of her petals, releasing the jutsu as she ghosted her hands over her scrolls. The man smirked and brought his left hand up, holding the earth scroll she had strapped to her side. "Looking for this, Demon?" He laughed pleasantly, and the scroll erupted into flames.

Naru began to grind her teeth on one another as her canines sharpened. "Bastard!"

The man tsked, taking out another scroll. This one was a Heaven scroll, and presumably his. "Now, now. That's no way to talk to your betters."

He smirked and his tongue wrapped around the scroll, pulling it down into his throat without trouble. She felt her stomach squeeze, feeling sickened over the sight. "G-Gross."

His feet moving toward her however snapped her from her thoughts. "You have the Blood Style? That's unusual…I was certain that only Michiko-Chan's children had such a bloodline."

Naru shifted into her stance, her hands becoming occupied by her boa staff seconds later. Her eyes were now red, the pupils slit. "That's none of your business."

He only gave her a once over, before shifting his stance from carefree to on guard. "Why don't why duel, and if I win you tell me how you got ahold of that bloodline. If you win, I'll give you my scroll."

Naru didn't answer, instead lunging forward, Kurama's chakra running through her veins. "Damnit Kit…You need to grab your Teammates and get out of here!"

Naru didn't dare answer Kurama, instead trying to dodge and land a hit on the creepy snake-like man in front of her. He was only playing with her though, smirking as she went through her stances. She was careful not to reveal a lot about her style, instead switching between several when it was needed. She was glad for Tobirama and Madara's harsh teachings with Taijutsu and Bukijutsu now. She launched herself back, landing gracefully on a tree, her chakra sticking her to the bark effortlessly. "Your chakra control is quite good, considering the amount of chakra you have."

Again Naruko didn't comment, making the Man slightly annoyed. "Are you not going to answer me, Demon?"

Naru's fangs dug into her upper lip, and she twirled her staff, slamming it into the scroll at her side. Her other hand ghosted past the one of her right side, a blade appearing in her hand. "If you want a demon, you'll get one."

She twisted the sword into a backwards grip, her other hand resting just above the handle. She fed her blood chakra into the blade, swiping the blade by her lip in order to coat the side in blood. "Blood Style, Blade of the Dead!"

Red chakra gathered around the chakra sensitive metal, coiling and sharpening it as she lunged forward again. This time however, she stayed using one stance, one style.

Her body twisted, her arms remaining straight, her wrists the only things really moving besides her shoulders. She'd slice downward and across, the Man moving backward once or twice, only to find himself bleeding when he dodged. Naru kept her Uchiha Façade on, continuing her assault in hopes of maybe injuring the man fatally. However, after the first dozen hits, he seemed to have figured out the special properties of the jutsu she had cast. "You fuel Blood Chakra into the blade, and extend the cutting range per the amount of chakra surrounding the blade. It's an excellent technique against maybe a Chunin, but for someone like me who has been around Kenjutsu masters for years…"

She gasped, his arm gripping her hand on the handle, his lips set into a sneer. "You are nothing more than a child wielding a stick that can cut."

He twisted, and Naruko swore she heard her wrist snap. Her blade dropped, and she made a one handed release sign, forcing it back into its summoning scroll. The man raised his hand, moving it down in order to slam it into her shoulder, immobilizing her. Her eyes shut tightly, the red swirling orbs coming to surface, just as an immense heat forced it's way in between her and the man.

Sakura was quickly to snatch Naruko out of harm's way, tumbling to the side as Sasuke engaged the man in combat again. The Man was slightly surprised, but his surprise faded to a type of sick glee when Sasuke began his assault. "Oh Sasuke-Kun, couldn't stay away now could you?"

Sakura shivered alongside her female companion, the two feeling bad for Sasuke. "That Man…he's more powerful than Kakashi-Sensei."

Sakura looked at Naruko in shock, however seeing the events she believed her. It didn't take long for the Haruno to notice that Naruko's eyes were shut tightly, her teeth sharpened and clenched, her hand on her stomach. She was in pain, but didn't want to ask for help. "You Baka, you're injured!"

The Pinkette forced Naru's hand from her stomach, earning a gasp from the girl. "Let me heal you so we can help Sasuke. We have a better chance working together anyways."

Sasuke fired another fireball at the man, grunting as he felt his reserves deplete further. He was nearing exhaustion, and it was getting harder and harder to try and keep up with the mysterious and gross individual before him. He glanced back at his team, noticing Naruko with her eyes closed, being force-healed by Sakura. A sigh of relief slipped from his lips, the distraction costing him. He was sent flying back into a tree, in much the same fashion as his red-haired teammate, the wind knocked from his lungs as he slammed into the rough bark. He grunted, and forced himself to not fall forward into the dirt like he desperately wanted to.

The man was in the same space he was earlier, smirking at him in amusement. He seemed like a god, someone that couldn't be touched by anyone, let alone Sasuke. But Sasuke was an Uchiha, the best of the best. He was meant to do anything, including becoming a god-slayer. That's what killing Itachi would be like for him, slaying an unjust god. However, the beating he was taking was making it harder and harder to believe he could face Itachi. This man's strength had to be greater than Itachi's, he had to be smarter, because not even Itachi was at this level of power when he murdered their clan.

Sasuke's train of thought was disturbed however when a giant gust of wind flew at the man. "Wind Style, Great Breakthrough!"

Naruko landed beside him, along with Sakura. The Man skidded back a few feet at first, but soon remained unmoving. "Shit, he's funneling chakra into his feet. I so hoped to pay him back for earlier too." Sasuke's fist clenched at the fact that Naruko looked fine, despite the fact her eyes were closed still. "What the hell Dobe! You need to get Sakura out of here, I'll hold this bastard off!"

Naruko's eyebrow twitched, and she scowled. "Shut the hell up Uchiha Brat, we have a better chance working together like Sakura said. Now man up and fight with us, or continue being an asshole just because you don't get all the glory. I could care less."

Sasuke flinched, Sakura sighing but muttering that she agreed with Naruko. "Come one, my chakra control is better than last time. I want to do the combo that we did on Kakashi-Sensei."

Naruko nodded, flashing through hand signs. "Got it, Sasuke if you want to help, then do Plan B from the Bell Test.

With that said, Naruko slammed her hand into the ground, wincing as her chakra depleted to a third of its normal capacity. "25 Seal Technique, Geyser Arena Summoning Jutsu!"

Just as her chakra flooded into the ground, hot water geysers began to break through the surface, the man moving barely in time to avoid being sprayed with hot water. 'That took way more out of me than the last time.' Naru took out her seals and kunai attached to ninja wire, going after the man.

'That's because you had more water last time, you were near a river after all. Here however there's little water in the ground, forcing you to use more chakra Kit.' Kurama hissed out the explanation, and she sighed. It was handy other times, but right now she needed to focus or she'd end up dead.

l~~~~l

Minato looked over the wreckage around him, his eyes fixing on two Chunin. Both were fine, unconscious, but fine. Next his gaze drifted over Emerald Turtle, finding him helped Tobirama and Hashirama. A pair of sandals stepped up to where he lay, and Minato looked up to find Madara staring down at him. "You used Hirashin to get us out of there, didn't you?"

Minato didn't supply Madara with an answer, since the question was actually more of a statement of fact. Madara looked around them, his lips drawn into a tight frown. "Konoha always was bad keeping its people from turning on them."

Minato flinched at the statement, knowing it to be true. Still, he didn't want to agree with the statement. It was proven over and over throughout Konoha's history however. First Madara left Konoha, followed by several Uzumaki to their Homeland, next Orochimaru disappeared after his experiments were found. After that the Oreshizoku's ties to Konoha became strained when Konoha wouldn't send Shinobi to aid them, but Uzushio would. After the two clans met their gruesome ends, there were several Chunin that left Konoha in order to become missing nin. There was also Itachi Uchiha, only he was of the worst betrayal's, and finally Minato's own Daughter, Naruto, wanted to leave.

The blonde kage was unsure of whether she still did, do to them fighting over her ties to Gaara. His eyes suddenly widened, and his heart clenched as he felt a sharp bolt of fear through the charm bracelet on his right wrist, a matching set to his daughter's necklace. "Naruko!"

l~~~~l

Orochimaru's eyes lit up as he watched the ground the pink haired brat had hit explode into a giant crater. While the technique had nothing compared to his former teammate's, the girl was still very good at using that particular style. Backed with the fast and precise Nine-Tail's container and Sasuke-Kun's quick thinking, the Team stood a chance against most high level nin. However, Orochimaru's league was barely matched by two Konoha shinobi, both whom were away at the moment. He didn't even consider Sarutobi in the slightest, the old fool nothing but a bag of bones.

The Snake Sannin swiftly bent his back, far more than a normal person should be able to, in order to dodge another kunai. His eyes caught sight of the tag flying freely behind it however, and he was shocked to see not an explosive seal, but a lightning one. "Sasuke!" At the red-head's call, Sasuke pulled ninja wire that surrounded Orochimaru, explosive tags and lightning tags mixed along the lines and on the ground around him. He felt a grin threaten to split his face, moments before two jutsu's were called. "Wind-Style, Wind Cyclone Jutsu!", "Fire Style, Great Lightning-Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

A pause before both shouted out, "Combination Technique, Exploding Great Lightning-Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

A massive explosion took over the clearing, dust flying up high within ten meters of the area. Trees collapsed as a shrieking sound followed the roaring of flames. Sasuke collapsed next to Naruko, the girl panting just as heavily as he was. Sakura stood behind them, trying to catch her breath as well. Plan B of the Bell Test had been an elaborate lattice work of wire, seals, and jutsu. The wire would be wrapped around trees in a circle formation by one member of the team while the other two distracted the target. The lone member would switch places with one of the other two, and that member would proceed to place tags on the wire as their teammates handled the man. The last one would force the man into the middle of the trap before getting the hell out of there, allowing the ones who placed the trap to activate the actual sequence. In this case a Wind and Fire jutsu were added to the assault from the explosive and lightning seals in order to make it bigger.

Team Seven surveyed the area, Naruko's heart heavy as she hoped that it had at least done some damage to the bastard attacker. 'I doubt that stopped him kit…'

The smoke and sounds began to clear, Team Seven huddling together in case the man had survived. All of them were nearly drained, Sakura having the most out of all of them. Naruko had been the one to fuel the seals with chakra, so she was quite frankly nearly empty. She was hoping Kurama was wrong, but the heaviness in her gut said differently. Sasuke had been fighting the man before Naruko had even came, and the Fire Jutsu had drained a lot of his chakra. None of them were in any shape to continue fighting, they all needed rest. The dust began to settle, and all of them stretched their eyes, hands holding kunai just in case. Naruko tried to send out chakra to sense something, frowning for a moment. She was cut off however, by a searing pain on her neck were her necklace was. 'Kit, to your right!'

Naru's gaze turned sharply to Sasuke at her right hand side, and she shouted for him to move. She was too late however, a head with a long snake-like neck shooting out of the ground, a vicious grin etched into her memory as the head sank its teeth into Sasuke's neck.

"Sasuke!"

Naruko and Sakura shouted out at the same time, dashing for their teammate as the head retreated back to the ground, a body climbing out seconds later. Both girls were by Sasuke in seconds, Sakura holding his arm tightly, worry and horror etched into her features. The Uchiha screamed, eyes wide in pain as his neck burned under the hand that covered it. "D-Damn it…"

The Uchiha fell forward, Sakura barely catching him in time. "Sasuke! W-What did you do to him!?"

Naruko turned to the man, her nerves melting away as she felt a familiar burn in her chest. Her blood began to rush through her veins, her closed eyes now open, glaring at the man. Sakura glanced to her teammate when the killer intent in the area was raised, her eyes widening further when she saw Naruko's eyes. "N-Naru…y-you're eyes…"

The shaking in her voice caused Naruko to flinch, even as she glared at the man before her, who was also staring at her in wonder. 'Damnit, this isn't good.'

"You, you have the Sharingan…"

Orochimaru spoke the words in slight shock, and a form of eager joy. "It's also fully matured, unlike Sasuke-Kun's."

The man chuckled, and his eyes lit up. 'Naruko, get the hell out of here, NOW!'

A second after Kurama's warning a gasp of pain left Naru's lips, a palm now push into her stomach making her mind go blank as air was forced from her lungs. She felt her vision begin to blacken, the chakra she had left draining quickly as the 5 pentagram seal pushed Kurama out of her head. 'BASTAR-'

The Kyuubi's curses fell silent, her vision blurry as the chakra rushed out of her body to hide behind the seal. "Kukuku, so much potential as a Jinchuuriki with all those bloodlines at your disposal, for whatever you may need... I suppose I'll have to mark you too, Little Kitsune."

As the horrid voice and its cackling vanished, Naru felt a searing heat enter her neck, another scream echoing in the forest as she passed out, dropped to the tree branch below her as Orochimaru licked his lips. "Such power…without that fox in the way, I can control not one Sharingan user, but two."

Orochimaru looked up at the pink haired girl that was shaking beside Sasuke. "I'll leave them both with that parting gift for now. Make sure they make it to the finals, little girl, or I won't be pleased."

With that said, he sank into the ground, Sakura rushing over to Naruko. "N-Naru!"

l~~~~l

Minato appeared in the Hokage's office, his breathing ragged as his masked face turned sharply to Sarutobi. "N-Naruko, there's something wrong Hokage-Sama!"

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed on Minato as he stood. "Kin Kitsune, what about Naruko?"

Minato grit his teeth and clamed himself, staring into the Hokage's eyes. "T-The seal, it's been blocked. I can't go to her or feel the Kyuubi's chakra."

Sarutobi's gaze hardened just as an Anbu appeared kneeling beside Minato. "Hokage-Sama, Jonin Mitarashi has reported deaths of a Team of Grass Genin dated to before the Second Exam. Her conclusion was that Orochimaru was responsible. She promptly went to find him inside the Forest of Death as soon as she had told us. "At the name, the other Shinobi in the room stiffened, Minato's mind going into overdrive as his mind went to the worst and most likely conclusion. "Orochimaru went infiltrated the Chunin Exams, and attacked Team Seven for Sasuke's Sharingan…"

The Yondaime hissed out his theory, Sarutobi's eyes meeting his in a silent conversation. If Orochimaru had attacked Naru's team, than more than likely he now knew of Naruko's bloodlines. "Boar, set the Anbu on level 3 alert. Gold Fox, go with Boar and back up Mitarashi Anko."

They both nodded, Sarutobi's fist clenching as they left. He sharply turned towards the village, glaring out beyond the village walls. "Orochimaru…"

His fists tightened further.

l~~~~l

Sakura brushed the sweat from her brow, twisting the rag in her hands in a basin, before dipping it into another. She set it back onto Naru's head, repeating the process with Sasuke's rag. Both groaned, Naru having a feverish flush to her skin as she twisted on the rocky ground, Sasuke deathly still and letting out pained whimpers. She sighed gently, and channeled her chakra to her hands in a series of short breaths, placing her palm on Naru's forehead. She channeled her chakra carefully, sending in the cooling waves like the scroll had said. She let out a heavy breath when Naru's feverish flush faded, leaving the sweaty and exhausted girl to smile. "You'll be alright…I won't allow anything to happen to you."

The Pinkette let out a soft smirk, and continued over to Sasuke, pushing her chakra out again with a couple more even breaths. She stopped however when her chakra expanded her vision, allowing her to locate the three nin hiding in the shrubbery. She stilled for a moment before standing. She grabbed her bucket, and walked out of the tree trunk. She poured out the water, pretending to focus on the ground. In reality, she was forcing her chakra out in small amounts through the ground. She sensed the three nin again, and grew worried. 'I don't have enough Chakra…'

The Kunoichi calmed herself and entered the tree again, glad she set up her traps. She also took one of Naruko's scrolls, discretely summoning more weaponry. She needed to be ready for when they attacked. She knew they wouldn't go away, she had felt the bloodlust in their chakra.

l~~~~l

Gaara's head snapped back as his Team neared the tower, and his sand began to pour from his gourd. His heart and lungs felt tight in his chest as his bloodlust grew. "N-Naruko…"

Thinking about his fellow red head, Subaku clenched his fist and glared at the forest, his voice barking out orders. "Kankuro, Temari, go to the tower and wait outside. If you run into any Teams besides the Konoha ones, then attack them."

The Jinchuuriki didn't give them time to question where he was going, instead focusing his chakra on one point in the forest. Moments later, he appeared in the ruins of a battleground, his eyes darting around in an attempt to find anything useful. He froze when someone appeared behind him, a kunai pressed against his throat. His sand rushed to the spot, ready to defend him from the attacker. "Gaara."

The voice stopped his sand, and he glanced back, his glare unwavering as they bored into the man's golden fox mask. "Anbu."

The man removed his kunai from Gaara's neck, his posture stiff. "You…tracked Naruko?"

Gaara paused, before answering the man, looking away to avoid the spikes in bloodlust. "Yes, however her trail ends here. I can no longer sense her chakra."

Minato looked at the boy who was obviously trying to be civil. His heart aching, Minato chose to trust the boy with his daughter's safety, since he couldn't intervene with the Exams anyways. "Are you able to trace her scent?"

Gaara's gaze snapped back to his own, and the teen nodded mutely, still glaring darkly. There was a hidden softness Minato knew, because of his daughter. He looked down at the bracelet on his wrist, and had to clench his teeth in order to be able to remove it. It pained him, removing something that tied him to his little girl. He handed it over to Gaara after a moment of reluctance. "Use that to find her. Protect her, you hear? I'll be after your head if she's hurt, understand?"

Gaara took the trinket, glancing down at the pendant in the middle of the long black and red beads. "I'll give the bracelet to her, so she can give it to you after we pass the Exams."

Minato's gaze softened on the child, and he let out a grunt in agreement. "I-I'll trust you with this then…"

The disguised father said nothing more, vanishing in a soft yellow blur. Gaara didn't notice though, turning away from the spot as he clutched the bracelet. He moved his hand, and clasped the fragile thing to his own wrist. "Naruko…"

l~~~~l

Naru could hear the sounds of pain and smell blood, however her head was too foggy and she couldn't force her eyes open. She was stuck in what she deemed to be limbo, a black wasteland inside her head. It was strange though. Normally, she'd end up in Kurama's cage, or Kurai's ice lake. Instead, she was stuck in a world of shadows without light. Her back was pressed into the cold obsidian ground beneath her, her hands splayed at her sides. Her skin was deathly pale, and she didn't move an inch. Her breathing had even stopped, making her wonder why she wasn't uncomfortable. The mark on her neck was the only real source of color, as her clothes were all grey or black somehow.

The mark, previously black, glowed an ugly red as it sucked in her chakra. It then spit out the chakra, shoving the purple and dark feeling energy into her body. She tried to move again, tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge. She tried to let to a growl of frustration, but nothing came out. She felt fear cease her mind, and it only grew when her heart didn't react. She kept trying to forced her limbs to move, but couldn't. Her mind fought harder, ordering her limbs to move, her eyes to open, her heart to beat. 'N-No…I-I can't go…not yet! S-Sashiko!'

A small wetness formed on her cheek and Naruko felt her heart beat once as white chakra engulfed her body. Azure eyes sprang open in shock when a hand touched her cheek, a voice whispering into her head. "Fight Little Sister…"

Naruto's blue eyes snapped open, and a feral growl sprang from her throat when she noticed a boy wearing a large white scarf and a grey and black camo shirt looming over Sasuke, a kunai in hand. "Get away from him!"

The shocked Sound Nin turned to her, only to end up tackled to the ground. Naruko's hand grasped his wrist, and in one jerk, the bone snapped. The boy screamed, and she gripped the limp hand, her Sharingan spinning amidst her anger. She flung the boy out of the tree stump she had been in. He flew out, right into a girl dressed in similar attire. She gasped, falling over from the unexpected assault. In front of her stood Sakura, battered and torn, her hair cut horribly, her arm bleeding. To her side was Rock Lee, also bleeding only in the ears, and to her right, stood Gaara. Naru's body shook as the red head turned to her in shock, only to freeze when he saw her Sharingan. "Naruko?"

Naru nodded to him, and looked to the people in front of her.

Another boy stood behind the girl and the bastard who had tried to kill Sasuke. She saw their headbands and a smirk grew along her lips. She felt a spark of purple chakra flow out as the killer intent in the area sky rocketed. "You tried to kill my Teammates and harm a Konoha Nin…"

Influenced by the rising malevolence in her body, Naru 'tsked' and laughed as she stepped forward. Her neck began to burn and Gaara's eyes widened. The Jinchuuriki's bloodlust had started to be sucked out of him into the other Jinchuuriki. Gaara's mind was clearer for once, but he couldn't relish in the feeling. The dark emotions from the ninja before them were also sucked out, leaving them afraid.

"Oh…Orochimaru was the bastard that attacked us. Mmm, I suppose I'll allow you to return to him, with a message…"

Naruko purred out the words, and it made Gaara sick to see Naru turned into the sadistic person in front of him. He stepped forward, only for the red-head to vanish. She appeared in front of the boy she had tossed from the tree, the mark on her shoulder having grown to her elbow.

"Orochimaru-"

The Jinchuuriki paused in order to roundhouse the Sound Nin into a nearby tree. He let out a pained wheezing gasp, before falling forward coughing blood. She turned to the girl, snatching her up by her hair. She dragged her up, licking her lips. "is not-"

Again Uzumaki paused to attack with her fist, slamming it into the girl's gut, blood forcing itself out her lungs and onto Naru's face. Naru then brought the girl down, slamming her knee into her face. She snatched out her kunai, and with a quick swipe, cut the woman's hair quite close to the roots, even drawing blood where the kunai's tip skimmed the girl's neck. She let the girl fall then, and looked up at the last opposing Nin. She raised her kunai, pointing it at his forehead. Another second passed as a gust of wind blowing as Naru appeared in front of the boy, her kunai pressing between his eyes. "-to attack my friends again."

With the words spoken and her threat finished, Naruko dropped the Kunai, stepping into a solid stance. Her right hand's palm struck true, right in the boy's chest. He coughed up mucus, but Naru stepped back before it hit her. She chuckled coldly, holding her kunai again in her left hand instead. "Run."

The boy didn't have to be told twice, appearing by his Teammates. He picked them up, staring at Naru in fear. He tossed his scroll, a Heaven Scroll, forward, and left through the woods in a hurry. Naru twirled her kunai, her mark continuing to grow. "I need to let out a bit more of my anger…I'll let them think their safe for a few more seconds."

Gaara's fist clenched, and he stepped forward. He grabbed Naru's shoulder, turning her to face him. "N-Naruko, snap the hell out of it!"

Like normal, Subaku's voice was gravely. The boy was surprised when Naruko's eyes suddenly flickered from their Sharingan. "Gaara?"

Naruko stepped back as she registered her fellow red head, her eyes flickering again between Azure and red. Gaara kept his grip, glaring into the girl's orbs despite how awkward it felt to have contact with someone. For once, his Mother was silent, and he could think. He didn't feel bloodlust or confusion, and while he did feel hate or loneliness, no emotion overcame the worry and a form of warming emotion Subaku felt had for his fellow Jinchuuriki standing in front of him. "Little Sister, stop letting people rule over you."

Gaara's eyes drifted behind the girl, to the smiling cyan-haired girl with blue eyes made up of a faded form of chakra. Her see through white hand touched Naruko's neck, and Gaara heard her soft whispering voice. "Naruko…Don't let Orochimaru or anyone else take advantage of you, come back to your friends." The girl smiled softly with closed eyes, and vanished slowly in a swirl of white chakra. This chakra spiraled around the seal on Naruko's neck, that then split into lines, twisting to wrap around the seal. It then glowed blue, and finally turned black, sealing the curse mark. Naruko fell forward into Subaku's arms, unconscious, but free of the malevolent chakra.

l~~~~l

Naru groaned softly, opening her eyes and blinking the haze away. She looked around her room, only to find a spot of silver right beside her. A black eye stared into her blue, and she refrained from blushing at the closeness and warmth. "K-Kakashi-Sensei?"

The red head's voice was dry, leading Kakashi to believe she needed water. He offered the cool glass to her, and she allowed him to pull her upward into a sitting position. She drank from the glass as though she hadn't have water in days, which Kakashi supposed was true. The girl looked over to her Sensei, then around the room again. "W-Where am I? Where's Sakura…a-and Sasuke?"

Kakashi paused before answering, glad she seemed alright and didn't look to be in pain. "They're alright. The Sand Genin, Subaku No Gaara helped them make it over here with you."

Naru's eyes widened, and a flood of memories entered her head as she heard Gaara's name. She groaned as a headache popped up from the onslaught of memories. She remembered waking the first time, the overwhelming dark emotions and chakra, before she was encased in the warm chakra Gaara possessed under his sand and the Bastard Tanuki's bloodlust. She also remembered hearing a soft voice, and her hand drifted to her neck. She turned her gaze, and Kakashi set his hand on hers. She jumped slightly, and he murmured an apology, pulling her hand back as she stared at the cursed seal, another seal paced over it. The lines were intricate, beautiful, and familiar. "Gaara said that the seal worked on suppressing the chakra in the cursed seal, but he wouldn't say who put the seal on you."

Naru had to swallow air in order to stop herself from choking on her own voice. "M-Me…I-I asked him not to before I passed out. I funneled my chakra to the spot and used a seal I had seen in one of the scrolls I have."

It was a lie, all of it, but Kakashi wouldn't know. No one would, since you couldn't read the scrolls without her bloodline. She smiled softly at Kakashi, her lips straining as her head pounded. "It was a blood jutsu seal, meant to cage emotions…s-so you know I figured it'd keep back the bad emotions that the cursed seal was drawing into me and-" She was cut off by the door opening, Anko Mitarashi peaking her head in. "Kid, if you still want to compete in the Chunin Exams, you better go no. The Hokage is making an announcement involving them."

Naruko's eyes widened, and Kakashi sighed. "Thanks Anko, I'll get her ready, just ask the Hokage for a couple more minutes."

Anko smirked and winked at Kakashi, however her gaze had lingered on Naruko's curse mark long enough for Naruko to notice the fury in her eyes. "Fine, but you owe me Dango for ordering me around Hatake."

The woman left, and Naru's brow furrowed, her heart burning. Kakashi looked back at her and sighed gently, smiling through his mask in relief. He ruffled her hair, and she blushed in surprise. "Anko has a cursed seal too…she knows what it's like and she pissed that you had to get one. They stick with you for good after all."

Naru nodded, turning to hide her face as she wondered what the hell was wrong with her. However, her chest felt warm, and she wondered if she was happy. It reminded her of sparring with her Father, and of spending time with Sashiko. At the thought of her deceased sister, the overlapping seal on her neck pulse slightly, sending warm nice feeling shivers down her spine. She shifted her legs to hang off the bed, and stood. She was careful to do it slowly, and carefully looked at her attire. She wore a large shirt and shorts, and wondered faintly who dressed her. She pushed it off however when she caught Kakashi staring at her shoulder, or rather above and past it. "You alright Kakashi-Sensei? Not going Senile are we?"

The Jinchuuriki allowed a small smirk, and Kakashi sighed. "I'm not that old…"

A hum was Kakashi's only answer and he rolled his eye, gently pushing Naru into the bathroom with her scrolls. "Just get ready. We don't have all day."

The bathroom door closed, and then the door to the room. Naruko was thankful though, and unsealed the scroll she kept her clothes in.

l~~~~l

Naru stood among the groups of Teams, most of the teams from Konoha, one from sand, and one from sound. Naru's eyes drifted to the side, where Gaara stood. He was looking better, and he wasn't glaring at anyone. His siblings also seemed relaxed, and not nearly as scared of him. In fact, they even smiled at him, and he nodded back in acknowledgment, if a bit awkwardly.

Naru was shocked, but glad for him. With the seal on her neck sending more of the warming shivers down her spine, she found entitled to enjoy herself. She wondered if it was a side-effect of the seal, or part of the seal blocking her from Kurama. She calmed herself as she remembered the fox that would no doubt be yelling at her for not listening to him, if he wasn't being blocked by the Orochi-Teme's seal. Sighing, she turned her attention the new proctor. "Alright, my name is Hayate Geko. I-"

The man was cut off, hacking into his fisted left hand. Naru frowned when a metallic smell hit her heightened sense of smell. She bit her lip, growing confused as she felt worry for the man in front of her. She didn't even know the man, right? "I-I will be your new Proctor. Due to us having more contestants than we want, we will be holding preliminary matches. If you wish to back out, now would be the right time to do so."

No one raised their hands at first, much to Naruko's surprise. Her eyes shifted over to the other teams, and landed on Kabuto. The boy looked fine, and he was glaring at his teammates. Kabuto stepped forward and Naru felt the small rise in fear and killer intent, before it vanished as soon as it had appeared. Kabuto's dark haired teammate raised his hand, the red haired one looking away with a sigh. "I'll sit out."

Following that was another hand, this one from one of the Sound Nin. "I'll sit this one out."

He was the one she had kicked out of the tree, and she felt slightly glad she had. He was too scared to compete now. He looked at her, and quickly looked away. She ignored him, focusing on Kabuto again. Finding the whole exchange too forced, Naru barely heard what the Proctor said afterwards. She sniffed, and her eyes narrowed on Kabuto as she pinpointed snakes. The familiar smell it seemed, had been her least favorite animal, and Orochimaru's summon choice. Her head snapped to Hayate when the Proctor coughed again weakly, before pointing up to the flat screen in place of where a wall had been. She sighed, pinching her wrist and scolding herself.

The flat screen gained a vs sign in the middle, and several names began to flicker across the black surface. Naruko guessed that it was randomized, and glanced over to the Hokage. The Old Man was talking with an Anbu with a Silver mask, an Anbu with a gold mask beside him. Her heart picked up pace, and she felt her anxiety spring out of nowhere. "There are an even number of kids, so-"

Hayate paused to cough again and Naru winced. "We will begin by pairing you up with your opponents…"

The Jonin then turned to look at the board, Naru's fingers twitching as she felt a cool but firm weight press on her shoulder. It comforted her, and she looked up as well. "Uzumaki Naruko VS Hyuga Neji."

Naru's lips twitched, and with the boost of confidence from the weight that had vanished from her shoulder, Naru looked at Hayate and smirked. "Oreshizoku Akihane Naruko, Proctor."

Hayate raised a brow at the correction, his own lips twitching slightly as Naru stepped toward the field. Behind her, Sakura smiled and called for her to do her best, leading Sasuke toward the overhangs to watch her match. Naru looked in front of her, facing Neji. He was looking at her strangely, with a mixture of disbelief and displeasure. "Oreshizoku? I was sure that clan was dead."

Naru shook her head and shifted into a semi-familiar stance, much like Sasuke's. "No, not all of them are gone."

She closed her eyes. "And it's about time I stopped hiding what I was anyways."

She opened her eyes, displaying glowing red orbs with three black tomos.

Boom! Done. Next chapter will have the rest of the preliminary matches, and I am accepting matches you'd like to see. However, Gaara, Shikimaru, and Shino are going to pass on no matter, as well as Kabuto's teammate. The people in the preliminaries are:

Uzumaki/Oreshizoku Naruko (Matched)

Uchiha Sasuke

Haruno Sakura

Subaku No Gaara

Subaku No Temari

Subaku No Kankuro

Yamanaka Ino

Akimichi Choji

Nara Shikimaru

Rock Lee

Ten Ten

Hyuga Neji (Matched)

Hyuga Hinata

Inuzuka Kiba

Aburame Shino

Yakushi Kabuto

Daten-Shi Ken (Kabuto's Teammate)

Kinuta Dosu

Tsuchi Kin

That's all the characters participating. Thanks for reading, I love all your reviews! I have decided to make the Shippuden part of the story a different story all together BTW! Well bye, have a good day! I have school tomorrow…

(6-10-16:Corrected Name Errors, Re-Edited Line Format, Fixed Grammar Errors, Fixed Line Breaks, and Cut Paragraphs.)

Chibi Naruko- Naruko meets the Sand Siblings Part I

Little Naru grinned and chuckled evilly, dropping off a branch as the three brats chasing her disappeared.

"Finally got rid of Konohamaru…"

She yelped however when she heard someone behind her, turning slowly.

"Temari, I told you we don't need directions!"

Naru paused, staring at the strange individuals.

A girl with sandy blonde hair in two pigtails stood in front of a guy in a black cat-onesie, and a boy with red hair and a murderous aura around him followed.

Naru stared at them in mild amusement, before they finally turned to her.

The girl stared at her, before she squealed.

"IT'S SO CUTE!"

Naru raised a brow, before the cat-suit boy fell to his knees, shouting the same thing as his sister.

The red head looked up at Naru, who had her head tilted in confusion.

The boy's aura seemed to stay behind him, but Naru ignored it, and the two people.

She stepped forward, and held out a sucker to the red haired boy.

"You're looking for the Hokage right? Jiji? I can lead you to him! Take the sucker as a welcome gift to Konoha!"

Gaara's aura melted, and he blushed at the girl holding the sucker in his hand with a confused face.

His siblings stared in shock as the little girl dragged Gaara away, shouting-

"Red Hair Rocks you know? I'll have to let you meet Kurai! He has Red hair too!"

Later that day Sarutobi was greeted to the sight of an overprotective Sand Nin bending to Naruko's every will.

Preview

Naru narrowed her eyes as Sasuke smirk, looking across the ways at the boy beside Kabuto. Their master, a man with black sunglasses and a blue facemask, looked at Ken. Ken seemed to say something to the man, and the rustling of fabric on the man's face told Naru that he had replied. Ken then gripped the handle of his blade, flipping over the railing. He sailed, and rolled to spread the impact over his body, before standing up. Sasuke, not wanting to be showed up by some 'loser', launched himself over the railing. Naru winced as Ino's squeals almost busted everyone's eardrums, Sakura simply telling Sasuke to 'Kick his butt!' Blue eyes narrowed on the boy with red hair. He wore a black one piece suit with a green vest and green leg warmers that Naru figured were weights. Ken's red hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, red and white beads hanging on the ends of two of his bangs that fell out of the bandages holding his hair up. He had two swords, a short sword and a katana, as well as an arrangement of strange kunai along his waist. They were like flying thunder god kunai, only they had two prongs, not three. He had one scroll on his left side, and had a black scarf wrapped around his neck. Naru thought she saw a glint of silver under the scarf, but it was covered before she could be too sure.