-Jiraiya-

I knew that Alixa was serious about this as soon as she started playing with her hair. The only time she ever did that was when she needed to think.

"Her five minutes are up."

Genma said, but still Alixa didn't move. She continued to play with the end of one of her braids. As it was reaching ten minutes from when Anko entered the woods and she still hadn't moved Genma got impatient.

"She's just making it harder on herself. The longer Anko has in the woods the harder it'll be for her to find her."

He said and I smiled at him.

"Believe me, Anko will need all the time she can get before Alixa goes after her."

I said, but Genma scoffed at me.

"Yeah right, Anko was practically raised in these woods."

He said and I simply smiled when Alixa got to her feet, put everything back in her pouch, then disappeared as she jumped up into one of the trees before us.

"And so it begins."

Sarutobi said and I nodded.

-Anko-

It's been ten minutes since I walked into these woods and I made sure to hide my chakra and get to a place where I could blend in and watch the ground for any movement.

"If it's taken her this long then I guess she's not as good as Jiraiya made her out to be."

I said aloud to myself.

"Is that so?"

I heard a voice behind me and turned, but didn't see anything. I frowned and turned back around so I could keep an eye on the ground. Even if she did manage to find me, I'd set a trap and she would have fallen in if she even got close to me. I heard something in the branches next to me and threw a kunai only for it to be a squirrel. It was then that I realized the forest around me had grown silent, dead silent. And the only time that happened was when a powerful predator was near. I looked around, but couldn't see anything. I couldn't risk checking for her position without giving out my own.

"Where are you?"

I asked, pulling another kunai from my pouch and holding it tightly in my hand.

"You really sure you want to know?"

I heard someone say from my left and turned only to see the wind blowing the branches around me.

'What the hell is going on here?'

I wondered as I looked around.

-Alixa-

I had jumped into the forest after thinking about the best thing to do. I'd wasted ten minutes, but I had a plan now. I used my enhanced sense of smell and followed Anko's scent until I got close to her. I stopped a few feet away when I noticed her scent was heavy around a certain area on the ground and I looked at it and saw the grass had been replaced.

'A trap? Not bad, but she'll have to try a lot harder than that.'

I thought before jumping into the tree next to me and hid my chakra and used the feline grace Shakelle graced me with and walked across the tree limbs and landed silently behind her. She was crouched down, staring down at the ground.

"If it's taken her this long then I guess she's not as good as Jiraiya made her out to be."

She said to herself and I smirked as I bent down close to her so I could whisper in her ear.

"Is that so?"

I asked and jumped back into the leaves of the tree above her as she turned to look where I'd just been. When she saw nothing she turned back to look at the ground. I smirked at her and felt my playful side come out. I loved hunting almost as much as Shakelle did, even if I wasn't allowed to kill my prey. I crawled along the branch I was on until I had gotten close to her again. The forest animals sensed my presence even if Anko hadn't.

"Where are you?"

I heard her whisper after she'd scared the crap out of a squirrel.

"You really sure you want to know?"

I asked and I leapt up to the branch directly above her as she turned to look where I'd just been. I smirked at her and reached into my pouch and pulled out the rope I'd been given. When she turned around again I jumped down and pinned her to the ground. She tried to turn and attack me, but I grabbed both her hands, knocked the kunai from her hand and bound both of them, then bound both her legs, pulled the duct tape from my pouch, tore off a piece and placed it over her mouth. I put it back in the pouch and crouched infront of a bound and gagged Anko with a smirk on my face as she stared at me with wide eyes.

-Anko-

When I'd been forced to the ground from something above me I tried to turn to see my attacker and defend myself, but the kunai was knocked from my hand, then both my wrists were bound as were my feet and I saw Alixa had been my attacker when she pulled out the duct tape and put it over my mouth. I stared at her as she crouched before me and my eyes widened when I saw her gray eyes were golden and cat-like and she had a gray and white striped tail steadily rising and falling behind her.

'Just what is she?'

I wondered as I stared at her.

"Seems like I win."

She said before she reached out for my arm that had my watch on it.

"And only….three minutes after I came in here after you. What a pity, took me longer than it normally would."

She said before letting my wrist go.

"Aika I mant mo mak mif mou."

I said, but the tape made it so I couldn't really talk. She sighed and tore the tape off my mouth and I grit my teeth at the pain until it subsided.

"You were saying?"

She asked.

"I said I wanted to talk to you."

I said and her tail flicked to the side and back again.

"What about?"

She asked and I blinked in surprise at her.

"You….you do realize you have a tail right?"

I asked bluntly and she blinked before bringing the tail infront of her and smiling sheepishly showing fanged teeth.

"Oops, looks like I got a lil carried away."

She said as if that explained it all.

"I want to see what the next part of the test is, so lets go back."

She said and I looked at her confused until she reached down and tied some rope around my tied hands, untied my feet, and pulled on my hands as she stood, pulling me to my feet. We both jumped down to the ground and started heading back to Jiraiya and the others, but I stopped as we got closer to my trap.

"What?"

She asked turning to look at me, her tail flicking from side to side.

"My-"

"If you're talking about your trap it's alright."

She said and I looked at her skeptically, but she didn't give me chance to do otherwise as she pulled on the sting attached to my wrists and I was forced to follow her right over it. We got to the other side of it before it activated.

"What the…?"

I wondered aloud.

"I used my chakra to reinforce the grass and sticks until we'd gotten across."

She said as she kept walking. I blinked in shock. She had definitely passed this test.

It took us a few minutes, but we finally reached the edge of the forest and as we stepped out her tail disappeared and she ran over to Jiraiya, pulling me along with her.

"What the? Anko, you got captured?"

Genma asked in shock and I smiled sheepishly at his remark.

"Told you."

Jiraiya said and the others just looked at him. I looked at Alixa and saw her eyes had yet to return to normal.

"Can you let me out of these now?"

I asked holding up my bound hands.

"Oh, sorry."

She said and used a kunai to cut the ropes.

"Thank you, but can you explain what happened back there?"

I asked and I noticed how she paused and Jiraiya tensed.

"What are you talking about?"

Asuma asked, but I kept my gaze locked on Alixa's face.

"Jii-san?"

Alixa asked Jiraiya and I heard him sigh.

"Sarutobi?"

He asked and I turned to look at the Hokage. He nodded and in turn Jiraiya nodded to Alixa.

"Okay, but what you guys see you have to keep a secret."

She said and we all nodded confused. I watched as she walked to the edge of the forest to get out of the streets and take a deep breath. Then I felt a huge spike in her chakra and watched as she was surrounded by a white light, then she fell forward on her hands.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I asked, but stopped when I saw her body be fully enveloped in the white light and I could no longer see her. When the light died down, in the place that Alixa stood there was now a 5'2" tall white and gray stripped tiger with golden eyes.

"What the hell!?"