Mar watched in fascination as Kakashi and Gai effectively tag teamed all the opposing ninja. Whenever one of them missed a target the other would jump in effortlessly. It was beautiful, like a deadly dance. So entranced with the graceful movements was she, in fact, that Mar completely missed the ninja behind her readying a blow at her skull. Thankfully Kakashi's ninja senses started to tingle, and he smashed the foolish ninja's face in.
Mar blinked as she tried wiping the blood off the side of her shirt. "Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains out?"
"I'm sure you'll survive." Kakashi said as he ducked one ninja and kicked another one. Gai swooped in behind him and literally knocked one of the two through the wall. Mar winced as the poor guy's skull made contact with concrete. "Ah, my ever youthful rival! And who is this fair maiden?" Kakashi skillfully avoided the question by engaging another enemy. The fight led him away from his 'rival' leaving poor Mar to pick up his slack.
"Hello. I'm Mar. I would just like to say that I admire your skill, and that it would appear that Kakashi has gotten himself surrounded." Gai spun on the spot, and sure enough the Sound ninja had decided to focus all their energy on taking down one of the two at a time. Mar breathed a sigh of relief as Gai ran off to annihilate all in his path.
Deciding that out in the open was a bad place to be, a point that was validated when a kunai whizzed past her ear, Mar ducked under the row of seats. A human pincushion she was not. That was Sasuke's thing.
Watching the action all around her, Mar waited for an opening and promptly sprinted to the entrance, vaulting over a pile of defeated Sound ninja that had formed when Gai had used a single mighty punch to power through them. It had been both amazing, and traumatic to behold. Reaching the street and seeing the chaos made Mar wonder if her choice of action had been particularly wise, but it was too late to backtrack. 'Need cover. I wonder if anyone bothered trying to terrorize the empty Uchiha Compound?'
Goal in mind, Mar ran from building to nearly demolished building dodging knives and falling debris as she went. That was when the giant snake came into view. "I refuse to get eaten." Mar pressed herself against the wall, occasionally peering around the corner to check if the coast was clear. The snake had paused, tongue flickering in the air, head swiveling as it tried to pinpoint where it's meal was hiding. 'Okay, maybe I will end up getting eaten. I swear if I die, I'm haunting Orochimaru until Sasuke kills him.'
Plotting how best to annoy the Sannin for the rest of his days, Mar saw the snake slither closer to her hidey hole. Dropping to her belly, Mar army crawled through a hole that had been knocked into the wall. Ignoring the feeling that she was going to get stuck in the small space, Mar sped up until she was behind the snake where she promptly popped back up to her feet and ran for it. 'Come on safety!'
-3-
Kakashi had paused for a quick breather. All the opponents had been dealt with inside the arena, mostly due to Gai's inhuman strength. His wide range attacks were impractical with all the sleeping civilians littering the place. A quick glance up at the roof where the Hokage was fighting Orochimaru proved that their contingency plans were holding up at the moment, so Kakashi made as though to grab Mar and head into the village to help with the rest of Sound's invasion. That was when he realized that Mar was noticeably M.I.A.
"Gai!" His friend paused slightly as he made his way to the exit, indicating he was listening. "Did you notice where Mar went?" Kakashi waited anxiously, unsure if her departure had been her own idea. Gai looked thoughtful a moment, finally shaking his head. "I am afraid I did not see your youthful friend's departure. Allow me to help you in your search!" Kakashi nodded, eyes hardening. God help whoever was dumb enough to take Mar.
-3-
Naruto was shocked. Deeply shaken, practically rooted to the spot. It had been rough, tracking Sasuke and Gaara down. Shikamaru had been left behind to deal with the ninja following them, but he'd be okay. He hadn't gotten the chance for his own match, so his chakra reserves were in good shape. That puppet brat, Kankuro, had tried to hold them up but Shino of all people had appeared. It seemed he wanted his match against the puppet freak. Naruto's group didn't argue, just ran off and left Shino to it.
Now they had finally caught up, and Naruto wasn't sure what it was he was looking at. Sasuke was standing on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk leisurely. Gaara was opposite him, holding his shoulder and glaring at the Uchiha who was mocking him simply by refusing to fight. For the last few minutes, as Sasuke waited for Naruto to get his ass over there, the two had been staring at each other. Sasuke had refused to move from that spot.
"It's about time you got here, moron." Sasuke called up to him, knocking Naruto out of his thoughts. "Now about how we're going to do this without Mar flipping out and trying to murder us in our sleep." Sasuke didn't believe she'd ever be able to accomplish this task, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life sleeping with one eye open either.
Gaara paused, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What does she have to do with this?" Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look. "Did you really think your biggest fan would be okay with someone kicking your ass?" He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Disregarding the fact that it's impossible for either of you two to accomplish this, why would the girl take exception to you trying?" Gaara was having a rather difficult time wrapping his mind around the concept of anyone caring about his well-being.
Naruto was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that Sasuke was acting... very unSasuke-like. If he closed his eyes, he could practically see Mar saying the exact same thing, in the exact same tone. A glance to the side showed that Sakura looked just as alarmed by Sasuke's behavior as he was. Sasuke sighed, still shaking his head, before giving Gaara the flat look Mar had become known for. Naruto decided that Sasuke and Mar had had too much contact and should be separated for a few days.
"Mar likes you, for some bizarre reason, so of course she would care if something happened to you." Sasuke explained in the tone usually reserved for very young children. Gaara didn't seem able to grasp the concept, it actually seemed to cause him pain. Naruto yelled out a warning as Gaara lifted an arm and sand shot out towards Sasuke. Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke didn't even try to dodge, ending up wrapped in a sand cocoon.
With a very bored expression Sasuke released a burst of electricity. If Mar had been there she would have had flashbacks of older Sasuke fighting Deidara. That fight had been especially traumatic for her. The charge shot through the sand, causing Gaara's control of it to be broken. Freed of the cocoon, Sasuke rolled his eyes at the furious Sand ninja. "I don't suppose it would be too much to ask for you just to surrender and come back with us, would it?"
Naruto could practically feel his mind melting.
A/N- Cruddy internet, and the site refusing to cooperate, led to me not updating when previously intended. I apologize. I also wish to thank the reviewers, followers, and favoriters for being awesome. I am aware that favoriters isn't really a word, but I'm working with it anyway. :P