Sand and Blood

Chapter Thirteen

Death Forest: Day One, Part Five

Even in the face of death, never, ever back down from your fears...

"Lee... shutup. They may have a scroll that we need. You can't be so compassionate to your enemy. Let down your guard and your only doing what they want. They didn't save you on purpose. They only wanted to save one of their own, you just came with her." Neji said with a solemn face.

"...We don't have a scroll. It was taken-" Tetsuo began, elbowing Yosh gently. Yosh seemed to understand what he wanted.

"...Really? So soon?" Neji said cynically. "You're lying. I can tell just by looking at your eyes. Well, there's an easy way to find out who has your scroll,"

Reaching down to his immobilized arm with his good one, Yosh grabbed his other hand. He held them both up to his face, using his teeth to hold his broken arm's index and middle fingers upright to form a handseal.

"Imeji kiri no jutsu!" Yosh hissed through the two fingers held up by his teeth. Both his arms fell to his side, his eyes becoming completely white and bloodshot. He stumbled backwards until he leaned against a thick tree, on the opposite side as Neji's group. His head rolled back slightly and he leaned on the tree silently, not moving an inch.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled, paying no attention at all to Yosh, his eyes fixed on Ryu, positive that he had the scroll.

"Which one is it, Neji?" Tenten asked calmly, waiting to hear who to team up on.

"Kuso! None of them have a scroll! My Byakugan doesn't lie... That one was lying!! ...hm?" Neji paused, his eyes fixed on the tree Yosh was behind. "That one!-"

"Has the scroll?" Tenten was ready to attack.

"No! He's... using chakura, after I attacked him and got rid of it all!" Neji was pissed. "Kill him! He must be using some kind of an illusion-" Before Neji was finished, Tenten leaped into the air, getting quickly to the other side of the tree and stopping in front of Yosh before Tetsuo could catch her.

"...Are you sure? He looks dead..." She raised an eyebrow, but wouldn't think of questioning Neji's Byakugan. She pulled out a kunai, aimed at his throat.

"Yosh! Wake up!!" Tetsuo yelled, realizing he couldn't get to him in time. Yosh's eyes came back into focus and he gasped for breath, his illusion dispelled as Tenten threw her arm back, kunai held above her head.

"There! I see it!" Neji ran for Ryu, seeing the scroll in his pocket now that Yosh's illusion was gone. Ryu couldn't move, the direct hit from Neji on his chest immobilizing him.

Tetsuo stood in the middle, a friend on either side of him about to look death in the eyes. Tenoki stood, blood running down her arms, and collided with Neji feet away from Ryu. She pulled out a kunai from her arm and jammed it into Neji's shoulder. They were at a standstill, each of them gripping the other's hands at shoulder-level, trying to force the other onto the ground.

Tetsuo ran for Yosh, his swords crossed in front of him. One of Tenten's hands was on Yosh's good shoulder, pressing it against the tree, his other arm hanging limply at his side. He was still trying to recover, his body frozen in place. She held a kunai above him.

Tenten glanced over at Tetsuo and smiled.

"I was hoping you'd do that," She reached the arm that held the kunai to the side, whipping it in front of her. Yosh yelled to Tetsuo that it was a trap, telling him to run. Tetsuo heard it behind him, the sound of a blade slicing through the air. He saw a thin wire in Tenten's hand that had pulled it. He could hear the blade cutting through the air fast, right behind his head. It was too late to duck.

The clang of metal-on metal was deafening behind Tetsuo's ears. He slowly turned his head around to see a man standing with his back to him, his white hair the first thing Tetsuo laid his wide eyes on. The blade Tenten had attached to the wire fell to the ground, a disgusted look on her face. She drove the kunai in her hand straight at Yosh's neck. The white-haired man was in front of her in the blink of an eye, grabbing her hand and stopping the kunai inches away from Yosh's neck. With one swift kick she was knocked backwards, disarmed.

By this time the struggling Tenoki and Neji had stopped, standing locked in each other's arms and watching. Ryu still lay on the ground, having trouble breathing. The white-haired man chuckled as Tenten rolled over to her knees, the wind knocked out of her. He strutted over to her, grabbing her by the roots of her hair and yanking her to her feet. He held a kunai to her throat.

"Let go of Tenoki and I won't kill her." He said calmly. Neji did not loosen his grip on her, nor did she try to struggle out of the headlock he put her in. One turn of his hand and her neck would snap.

Yosh, out of his frozen trance, rushed over to the fallen teammate of Neji, the one in green, Tetsuo guarding Ryu.

"If you don't comply you'll be the only one left of your team," Yosh said, his knee in Lee's chest holding him down while his one good arm held a kunai to his throat.

The white-haired man grinned again. "You all catch on quick, I'm impressed," He laughed, "Yet I can see none of you have let your guard down with me either," Everyone watched him cautiously through the corner of their eyes, which he found most amusing.

Realizing defeat, Neji shoved Tenoki away. Tenten and Neji rushed to Lee, knocking Yosh off of him. They each lifted him up, putting one of his arms on each of their shoulders, and carried him away. Lee was content, for Tenoki had spared his life when she could have let him drown. Neji was so mad he couldn't even look anyone in the eye.

"Lee! Why didn't you just take the weights off?! If you had none of this would have happened, and we might have been able to beat them if you hadn't incapacitated yourself, even if they did outnumber-!" Tenten's hysterical rant was cut off.

"Tenten! Keep your head on, it's only the first day. If we don't use our heads from now on things could get a lot worse!" They continued their retreat in silence.

"Ok, so who are you?!" Tetsuo demanded, helping Tenoki to her feet, her arm around his shoulder. Him nor Tenoki or Yosh took their eyes off him for a minute. The man continued to smirk arrogantly, using his index finger to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"...Ka....Kabu...to..." Ryu grabbed everyone's attention with his attempted speech through the blood in his mouth. The man stopped smiling, and strode over to where Ryu lay on the ground. He kneeled down next to him, only to be forced to back up when Tetsuo jumped over top of Ryu and stood directly above him, swords drawn and blood running down the handle of each.

"It's nice that you're so protective of your friends," Kabuto lowered his head in a respective bow. "But I mean you no harm." He pointed to his forehead protector, an for the first time everyone noticed it was a music note, the symbol of the Hidden Village of Sound. Tetsuo turned to Yosh, who told him it was no illusion. Tetsuo hesitantly backed away, but kept his swords in his hands.

"Why haven't I ever seen you in the village...? And why don't you have a group? ...Or... Are they hiding in the trees, waiting for the opportune moment to attack?!" Tetsuo began to make assumptions. Kabuto just laughed, shaking his head.

"You've never seen me in the village because I don't stay there much, most of the time I'm out doing missions with my group, or for Orochimaru-sama-"

"...Who's that?" Tenoki asked, not wanting to speak or to interrupt but finding that some of Tetsuo's obnoxious personality was beginning to rub off on her. To her surprise, everyone looked at her.

"He's the founder of our village...You don't know him?" Yosh asked, his good arm cradling his broken one again.

"Yeah, I knew you lived alone with my brother but sheesh!! He musta really been serious about his whole 'do not intrude on my plans leave them alone' thing. Up until you had to live with me, right Tenoki?" Tetsuo grinned stupidly, and for once, it was Tenoki who felt like the dumb one of the group.

"Anyways..." Kabuto continued, disregarding her statement, as if not wanting to get into the subject. "Like I was saying, I don't stay in the village much, and no, my group's not even taking this test with me. I've taken this test many times, I am only here to collect information and assist when needed." Ryu choked again, and Kabuto began to form handseals while he talked. Tetsuo held a sword at Kabuto, who pretended like he didn't see, or that he didn't care.

"...You sure are a possessive one, Iragi Tetsuo. I know your brother well; you obviously get it from him. He is one of the Jounins in my group. But when little Tenoki arrived he had to stay in the village more and more, and only do missions that could last a week or so at most. Right, Hari Tenoki?" His eyes turned to her as he finished forming handseals and his hands began to glow a soft blue. Tenoki nodded.

Kabuto held his hands above Ryu's chest, aware that he was being watched by three of the most untrusting people, yet he was confident that they wouldn't turn on him.

"What are you doing?" Tetsuo demanded at seeing Ryu's teeth clench in pain, his eyes shut tight.

"...It's....ok... Tetsuo...." Ryu said in a soft, harsh voice. "He's....a...."

"Don't talk, Ryu." Kabuto ordered.

"He's a what?!" Tetsuo said, his eyes fixed on Kabuto.

"A healer," Tenoki noted, staring at his hands. Kabuto praised her for her assumption, which was, unlike all of Tetsuo's, correct.

"And how do you know? Maybe he's really using a jutsu that will control Ryu and use him to kill us as a part of his twisted game!!" Tetsuo yelled in one breath, freaking himself out even more. Tenoki fell over onto her butt, letting out a sigh and squeezing her bleeding arms.

"Tetsuo! Get your head out of your ass and put down your swords," She hissed at him.

"No way! what makes you think we can trust him?!" Kabuto listened with amusement, his focus really being Ryu.

"Mitsunari has told me about you a few times, Kabuto... I know you can heal," Tenoki told him.

"You listen well, Hari, a talent that far surpasses anyone with substantial sight. Your family would be proud," Kabuto nodded his head to her slightly. "He also told me that you and I'd make a good couple," He added, smiling at her. Tenoki wasn't used to anyone but Tetsuo hitting on her, so her response was silenced by being caught off guard. Kabuto's remark only infuriated Tetsuo, however, and he growled through his teeth.

Kabuto still held his hands on Ryu's chest, concentration on him and ignoring Tetsuo. Ryu seemed to black out, for he breathed normally; taking slow, deep breaths, and his teeth were unclenched. Tetsuo's suspicions slowly began to disappear.

"Baka, why don't you put down those swords, he's one of us, Tenoki wouldn't lie-" Yosh tried to coax Tetsuo into letting his guard down from where he threw himself down on his butt next to Tenoki. Kabuto only chuckled.

"I'm sure he would if he could," Tetsuo glared at Kabuto, who leaned back, his hands stopped glowing as he stretched all his fingers out. "There, that's as much as I can do for Ryu now. He's out cold, and will be for a while. The attack from that Hyuuga could have killed him, but I'm sure his heart's going to pull through until after the test, when we can get him to a hospital." Kabuto stood up, facing Tetsuo. "Now, about you..."