A.N.: Okay, so more people read the top A.N. than I thought… Haha, you guys are so funny! :) I seriously LOVE all your reviews! It makes me want to pull a Gai-sensei and yell into the sunrise/sunset: "AHH THE YOUTH!"

My Protector

Chapter 23 – No Rest for the Weary

"Go back to sleep," Lee whispered,

I nodded feebly, letting my eyes close and my body relax without a second thought.

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What felt like only mere seconds later, I was awakened by the sound of movement. I could hear people talking in hushed voices, and the rustling of tents being packed up.

Before I had the chance to wake up fully, I jolted upright, clutching my neck. I grit my teeth against the sudden and sharp pain that zapped through the curse mark, clenching my free fist. The whispering stopped suddenly and I sensed the familiar feeling of people staring at me.

As soon as it came, the sting vanished, leaving me feeling a bit dazed. I opened my eyes finally, seeing Team Seven staring at me with wide eyes, and Neji and Lee sharing a quick concerned glance.

I ignored the throbbing throughout my body in favor of plastering a, hopefully convincing, smile on my face.

I cleared my throat nervously, "G-good morning."

All of the "less experienced" Leaf nin looked away at that, mumbling greetings in return. I assumed they had been the whispering I heard.

Lee, after a moment's hesitation, grinned widely at me, though I could tell it was strained. He bounded over to help me up, "Good morning!"

I caught Neji staring at me intently over Lee's shoulder. I gave the both of them a wavering smile, hopefully reassuring them somewhat. It didn't seem to work, as the crease between Neji's eyes grew deeper, and Lee's shoulders tensed.

I was touched by their concern, but was reluctant to let the smile slide off my face like I wanted it to. There was no need to Team Seven too much.

I stood up, stretching with a wince. The curse mark burned briefly, but I ignored it. Sending a tight grin to the awkwardly standing Team Seven, I ducked down to help Lee fold up the tent.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Akio hesitantly followed my example, working to pack up their own things, but kept sending me glances over their shoulders.

I sighed, somewhat annoyed. Sure, the darn curse mark or whatever it was hurt, but it isn't like I was dying. After a few more minutes of their not-so-stealthy glances I whirled around at them, regretting it as my head swan.

"Okay, enough with the looks. I'll be fine, stop your worrying!"

I saw Lee and Neji exchange a glance in my peripheral vision, not believing it for a second.

Akio grinned immediately, looking relieved. Sasuke, who was a bit more perceptive, gave me a skeptical look, almost glaring at me. I met his gaze determinedly, crossing my arms. A moment later he nodded, accepting, but not truly believing, what I said.

Sakura, however, reacted oddly. I could catch the glint of unshed tears in her eyes before she turned away, scrubbing furiously at her cheeks. Akio sent her a concerned look, but looked reluctant to involve himself in her 'female emotions'.

I blinked at the girl for a moment, bewildered. What was wrong with her? I thought briefly of asking her, but decided against it. The girl pretty much hated me, after all. My help wouldn't be wanted or appreciated, right?

Right.

So, with a worried glance in her direction, I turned back to finish packing up. We continued in silence for several minutes, until the small camp was packed and stored safely into our backpacks. Sasuke sighed, exchanging a look with Akio.

"We have to get going," he said, running a hand through his raven hair, "We only have until noon tomorrow to get to the tower, and we don't even have a scroll yet."

I nodded, smiling slightly, "Okay. You guys be careful, alright?"

Akio nodded, hitching his pack higher up on his shoulder. Sakura merely turned away, already starting to walk without a word. She had been unusually quiet all morning. Sasuke went to follow her with a backwards glance at me.

"See you guys at the tower!" Akio grinned, leaping to follow his teammates.

The three of us left watched them go until they disappeared into the surrounding trees and branches. After they were gone my smile slipped off as my shoulders slumped tiredly.

"How do you feel really?" Neji asked seriously, causing me to turn to face both of the boys I knew best. I glanced at Lee, seeing his eyes swimming with concern. I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face.

"Tired, mostly. And sore. This thing," I motioned to my shoulder, "is messing with me. I don't think its working quite as sick-snake-guy meant it to."

Neji nodded as if he had expected as much, ducking to pick up his pack.

"Well," Lee said, picking up his own backpack, "we'll just have to get to the tower as soon as possible."

I nodded, "Neji, can you see how far it is?"

The Hyuuga activated his Byakugan, straining to the edges of his vision. I looked to Lee while he did this, catching my best friend's eye. He smiled a dazzling grin at me, and for some reason I felt my cheeks warm just the slightest bit. I blinked a few times before turning away, wondering what in the heck was wrong with me.

"It's only an hour from here," Neji said, snapping my attention back to him. Lee nodded, hitching up his pack. I reached down to grab mine, only to have it snatched up before I could. I looked up to see Lee placing it on his other shoulder, right beside his own pack.

I opened my mouth to object, "I'm more than capable-"

"We know you are, Naru," Lee interrupted, "I just wanted to carry your pack for you, is that so wrong?"

I scowled at him, but was met with his most innocent, pleading look. I sighed, giving up just as another sting ran through my shoulder and neck. "Fine, fine."

Lee grinned brightly at me, while Neji smirked slightly. I scowled at the other boy too, just to get my point across. Neji's smirk grew even wider at this, amusement shining in his pale eyes.

I huffed quietly, trying to hide my own small smile. These boys kept me sane.

"Let's go. We should see the tower soon." Neji stated, turning away to jump into the trees. Lee and I followed right after.

I stumbled slightly as my foot almost slipped off the branch. 'Ah, darn! It's messing with my chakra!'

Neji and Lee glanced over at me, but refrained from saying anything. I was glad; they knew nothing could be done for it until we got to the tower.

An hour passed in silence. I found I was worn out more quickly than usual, which frustrated me to no end. Neji called a halt before us, just as the top of the tower became visible through the trees.

"There are a lot of traps set around here," he said, scanning the area with his Byakugan.

Lee and I waited as Neji looked around, searching for gaps in the hidden traps. I leaned against a tree in what I hoped was casual-looking, trying to catch my breath. By the quick look Lee gave me, it wasn't. However, he once more chose not to say anything, which I was grateful for. My pride couldn't handle being asked if I was 'alright' again.

"This way," Neji said suddenly, jumping to the left.

Lee and I followed dutifully through a series of twists, turns, and the occasional backtrack. At one point I thought I spotted a head of silver-grey hair and glinting glasses, but couldn't get a good enough look to be sure.

I stumbled to a halt on the ground in front of the tower. I forced myself to breathe properly, feeling ever more disappointed with myself. Never have I been so hard-pressed to keep up with my teammates since I became a Genin!

"The outside of the tower is free of traps," Neji interrupted my internal rant, "We should get inside."

He deactivated his Byakugan, glancing back at me.

Lee grinned and nodded, while I simply followed Neji in quietly. I was eager to get inside, if nothing else to rest and see my sensei.

Inside the stone tower was a large tablet hung on the wall, which was carved with a riddle on its surface. I read through it quickly, mouthing the words to myself.

"Heaven and Earth…?" I muttered, scratching the side of my face idly. Neji hummed to himself, mulling over the words. Lee looked positively stumped, a small, dare I say it, pout forming on his lips. I was brought back to the days of our childhood, when he would pout frequently to get his way, or to cheer me up.

Lee looked over at me then, having sensed my stare. I didn't look away, even as he retracted his lip and blushed faintly, having guessed what I was thinking of. I grinned at him then, feeling like I hadn't smiled in days.

A slight cough brought my attention back to the third member of our group. Neji smirked at us slightly before speaking.

"Who has the scrolls?"

I pointed my thumb over to Lee, who was still holding both mine and his pack on his shoulders. He dropped his to the ground and handed me my own, rolling his shoulders to stretch them.

I dug through the pockets to where I had kept both the Heaven and Earth scrolls we had, giving them to Neji.

Neji took one of them, leaving the Earth scroll in my hand, "On the count of three, we open them."

"What?" Lee objected, "But didn't Anko-san say…"

Neji nodded, but replied, "It's the only answer to the riddle."

I shrugged, waiting for the count down.

"One… Two… Three!"

I ripped open the scroll in my hands just as Neji did his. A loud bang and a poof of smoke appeared before us, causing the three of us to cough. I waved my hand, trying to clear the air as a figure became visible.

"Well done, you three!" Iruka yelled, smiling broadly at us. I smiled slightly at the sight of my favorite Academy teacher, watching as he frowned at all the scuffs and bruises we sported. I stood up straighter, trying to appear more normal, like the scuffs and bruises were all that was wrong. As if sensing my thoughts, the mark on my neck pulsed angrily.

"What in the world-" he was cut off by Neji as the Hyuuga waved a hand dismissively.

"No disrespect," he said formally, "But we need to talk with our sensei right away."

Iruka blinked at the boy, letting his eyes slide over him, then Lee and me.

"I…" He said, sounding bewildered, "Yes. Yes, of course. I'll bring you to him."

He turned and walked up a spiral staircase from off to the side. We followed quietly.

We walked in silence down a hall for a minute until Iruka looked back at us. "Did… something happen?"

Neji and Lee exchanged a look. I sighed and opened my mouth to answer, "Yeah, but we'd rather talk to Gai-sensei about it first."

Iruka looked back more, almost running into the threshold of an open doorway, concern shining in his eyes. I hurried to reassure him.

"It's nothing too-" Neji and Lee both shot me a look from either side of me, cutting off the rest of my sentence, "Well, I mean- uh, it's going to be fine," I finished lamely.

If nothing else, Iruka looked even more concerned and worried, but let it drop. It was obvious we wanted to talk to Gai about it first, anyway. The kind teacher turned back around, leading us to a plain door, looking exactly like the many others we passed.

"Gai's in there," he said, frowning slightly. I caught his eye and gave him a small smile.

"Hey, after this is over, we should go get some ramen, eh, Iruka-sensei?"

He smiled then, his eyes twinkling a bit. I grinned back as best I could, moving to knock on the door. A loud "Come in!" sounded back as Iruka moved to walk away.

As I opened the door I was met by the odd, but familiar, sight of our spastic sensei doing pull-ups from the windowsill.

Hanging on the outside of the tower. When we were on the second, if not third, floor. Of course.

"Ah! My youthful students have come to greet their sensei!" Gai yelled, throwing himself in the room and striking a pose. I smiled at the familiar cheery presence of my sensei that I had become so close to.

His smile drooped some as he looked over the three of us. Lee and Neji had come into the room after me, closing and locking the door behind them. His eyes rested on me for a bit longer than the boys, before snapping back to Neji and Lee.

"What has happened?" the Jounin asked, his face dropping into a serious and out-of-place frown. I sighed, moving to sit on one of the cots placed in the room. Neji crossed his arms and leaned on the wall as Lee moved to sit beside me.

"We were attacked," Neji finally responded, "And not by a genin either."

Gai looked confused, "There was only Genin in the forest-"

"No," Lee shook his head, "There was a Sanin as well, disguised as a genin."

"Sanin?" Gai yelled, "Which?"

"He called himself Orochimaru." Neji answered and meant to continue to explain before I interrupted.

I cried out against my will as the cursed mark on my neck emitted a sharp blast of pain, jolting my muscles and jarring my joints. My hand flew to the spot as three heads snapped in my direction, one in confusion and the other two in concern. Lee put his hand gently on my other shoulder as I closed my eyes and grit my teeth. A blot of black chakra appeared in my mind's eye before a flash of red drove it away.

I breathed out slowly as the pain ebbed. I opened my eyes to see Gai's concerned ones staring back. He had moved closer, but had halted a few feet away, frowning deeply. I attempted a strained smile, but it only caused the crease between his bushy eyebrows to deepen.

"What. Has. He. Done?" Gai asked haltingly, looking murderous. I shivered, almost literally feeling the temperature in the room drop. I had only seen my gullible and cheerful sensei like this once, and that had been when Kaoru had been about to kill the three of us on out first C-Ranked mission.

"I…" I sighed and pushed away the hair falling from my ponytail to reveal the mark to him. He moved closer immediately to examine the area, sitting on the cot.

I hissed slightly as his calloused fingers brushed against the spot. He retracted his hand immediately, sending me an apologetic look.

After a moment of silence Gai cursed, a rare thing for him. I jumped slightly as he stood and started pacing.

"I do not know very much about seals," He said, "But because it is irritated and causing you pain, I can assume it is not compatible with your chakra-"

"The Kyuubi keeps fighting it back." I said suddenly, drawing attention back to me.

Gai-sensei paused in his furious stride, then resumed, "Yes, that could be why. Kakashi would know more…"

He stopped walking and sat heavily in a chair with a tired sigh. He looked to the three of us, "Tell me what happened."

I left it to Neji and Lee to tell the story. My eyelids were growing heavy, lulled by the steady sound of Gai's deep voice, Neji's calm tenor, and Lee's familiar tone. I leaned my head tiredly on Lee's shoulder, feeling very much like a child, but not caring in the least.

I drifted in and out of sleep as I listened to them talk. Once, I awoke momentarily to being carried down the hall by my sensei, only to be shushed back to sleep by the man when he noticed my awareness. I had no qualms about this, and promptly fell back into dream-land.

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I jolted awake by someone shaking my arm gently. I opened my eyes, feeling distinctly disorientated.

My team was the first thing I saw, followed by Kakashi. I looked at the man confusedly, wondering when the heck he got there. Then I realized we were in an entirely different room.

"Sorry for waking you from your nap, Naru-chan," Kakashi quipped, sounding a bit more strained than usual.

"S'alright…" I mumbled, taking the hand Lee offered with a smile. I let him pull me up, stumbling slightly on the stone floors. I noticed he didn't let go of my hand, but said nothing.

"The Hokage wants me to seal that mark on your neck away," Kakashi explained, looking a bit less cheerful and more grim, "It won't get rid of it completely, but it'll lock it away for now."

"Oh," I said, waking up a bit more, "Okay, what are we waiting for?"

Gai grinned slightly at my remark, but said nothing as Kakashi continued.

"It'll be directly connected to your will. If you ever want to use its power, the seal I place will break."

I grimaced at him, "Like I'd ever want to use this thing."

Kakashi eye-smiled for a moment, "Just walking you through the procedure."

I flopped a hand, telling him to get on with it. I wanted this dumb thing to stop messing with me and sapping all my energy.

"Now," he clapped his hands, "Usually, I would have you take off your shirt-"

"Kakashi!" Gai spluttered, looked both outraged and embarrassed. Neji coughed and looked away. Lee blushed brightly just as I did, both our cheeks turning a cherry red.

"But," Kakashi continued, coughing into his fist in an amused way, "Your tank top should give me enough room to draw the seals."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Kakashi then directed over to a series of two circles inside each other, telling me how the jutsu would work.

"It's going to hurt," He then said bluntly, "And it will most likely knock you out."

Lee stiffened beside me, but I simply nodded in acceptance. A bit of pain now was better than this thing messing with me constantly.

"Okay, just sit in the middle circle and relax as I draw the seals."

I moved to sit in the circle, but Lee's hand still in mine stopped me. I turned back to look at him. He was frowning at me worriedly, his eyes shining with barely suppressed concern. He sighed lightly, giving my hand a last reassuring squeeze before he let go, walking over to join Neji and Gai on the sidelines.

I watched him go for a moment before turning and sitting as instructed. Kakashi moved my hair out of the way and pulled out a paint brush and some ink.

He worked quickly, drawing the shapes and symbols onto my skin with practiced ease. I held my breath as he put down the brush at last and started the hand seals.

After a moment I felt his hand collide with the back of my neck where the curse seal resided. I felt nothing for a minute, then pain consumed my senses just as a wall of chakra came up around us.

I yelled out once before it was over. Darkness clouded the edges of my vision as Kakashi stepped back and another figure rushed forward.

"Naru! Are you okay?"

"I can't believe she's still awake." I blinked once before the darkness consumed my vision, "Oh, wait… Never mind."

I fell forward into the warm arms of black unconsciousness once more, finally getting some quality rest.

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A.N.: Wow. This chapter took me way too long to write. I mean really! Four months? Ah, whatever, at least I posted it. And it's a bit of a longer chapter as well.

I love writing Gai so dang much. He's the best. The most YOUTHFUL character of all! :D

Well, I'll see y'all next time! Don't forget to leave a review!

STAY YOUTHFUL!