Narrowing the Field: Sudden Death Elimination!

"This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying, In the world of the Shinobi, that is friendship." said the Third Hokage. "The third exam is a battle in which the pride of your nation as well as your very own dreams are at stake."

I swallowed hard. "Well if that's not motivation, then I don't know what is." I thought, smiling.

"It took a week and two parts to finally make this exam interesting." Helena grinned and licked her lips. "We can handle anything this exam throws our way."

"Damn straight." I agreed. I smiled and nodded my head, placing my right hand on my hip and standing tall.

Before the Third Hokage could explain the rules of the third exam, however, another man appeared in front of him, kneeling on his knees and bowing at the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, before you begin, please allow me, Hayate Gekko, appointed at proctor of the third exam, to speak first." he asked.

"Very well then." answered the Third.

When the new proctor turned around, I noticed he had short, brown hair, that was mostly covered by his forehead protector, and deep lines under his eyes. Other than that, he wore the standard uniform of a Konohagakure ninja.

"Before you all begin…there are some things I need to tell you…before the start of…the third exam." Hayate informing, coughing in between phrases.

We all stared at him, in complete confusion.

"Uh, we have to hold a preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one." Hayate announced.

"A what?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Preliminary?" Shikamaru repeated, "Just what do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry, sensei excuse me." I spoke up. "But what's this preliminary all about? Why can't we just move on to the third exam?" I asked, stepping to the side.

Hayate's answer was blunt, "We didn't think this many candidates would pass the second exam. A preliminary can be held at any stage, in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."

"But, is that even fair?" Orchi asked.

"It's just at this stage we need to speed things up a bit." Hayate answered. "Like Lord Hokage said, a lot of people will be watching and we can't afford to waist their time." he added, coughing. "So if any of you feel like you're not in top physical condition, now's the time to bow out. The Preliminaries will be starting immediately."

"You mean right now?" Ichiro yelled.

"We just got through barely surviving the last exam, don't we get a break?" Ino whimpered.

"Man, what a drag." Shikamaru groaned.

I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure.

"Oh yeah, the winners will be determined by one-on-one matches, sudden death." Hayate added.

I clenched my hands into fists, then I saw Sasuke flinch and grab his neck.

"Sasuke?" Sakura whispered.

She and I both looked at him, worriedly.

"It's the Curse Mark, that's what's bothering him." Helena noted.

I gulped.

"Sasuke, listen to me, you have got to quit." Sakura told him, making the three of us gasp. "You've been like this ever since you tangled with Orochimaru, and it's getting worse." she added, her voice in a hushed whisper. "It's that mark he put on you, isn't it?"

I gasped, so she was catching on too.

"Sakura does have a point." Helena agreed. "And it's gonna get a whole lot worse before it starts getting better."

I gulped, remembering when Orochimaru first put that mark on Sasuke, and what it turned him into.

{Flashback}

"Oh I assure you, he and I will meet again." Orochimaru chuckled, forming a hand sign that was unfamiliar to me. Then, his neck became like rubber and he latched his fangs right into Sasuke's neck.

Sakura and I gasped in unison, "Sasuke!"

Orochimaru pulled away, smiling and licking his lips. I looked at Sasuke's neck and right above the two fang marks, appeared three black tomoe in a circle.

"The Cursed Seal of Heaven." Helena gasped, her spirit backing away into my subconscious mind.

Helena gulped. "Something's here. Something…Evil" she whimpered again.

And suddenly, I felt was she was feeling. A dark, ominous presence was close, and it sent shivers down my spine. I gulped, tasting nothing but copper and iron.

"Where is this chakra coming from?" I asked.

Helena whimpered. "You don't want to know." she said. "Don't turn around."

Now that answer made me want to know even more, then I remembered. The mark on Sasuke's neck. I turned my head and saw dark purple streams surrounding his body. "I only thought Helena's chakra was that color." I thought, remembering some of my earlier dreams about the demon wolf. Soon, Sasuke's body was engulfed in the dark purple chakra.

"This is not good." Helena gulped.

Sasuke slowly rose to his feet, the purple chakra swirling around him like a vortex. I gasped because he seemed…no looked different. Half of his body was covered in small, flame-like marks.

"The Cursed Seal of Heaven." Helena whimpered. She receded into my subconscious, curling up into a ball, whimpering and shivering, eyes shut as tightly as she could get them.

"Sasuke?" I questioned. My demon seal pulsated, causing me great pain as I coughed again, blood pouring my mouth and wound.

"I am an avenger." Sasuke went on. "To follow my path I must have power. Even if means giving my body to evil."

I gasped. "He would go that far just to kill him?" I thought. "What does this mean for the rest of us?"

I had the sudden feeling that my life would never be same after these exams, and I made it a priority to talk to my father about this, and hoped there was something he could do about the Cursed Seal of Heaven.

"Now one of you girls tell me." Sasuke said, to both Sakura and I. "Which one of these people did this to you?"

Zaku smirked. "That would be me." he said, sounding almost happy that he beat Sakura and I about a few inches from our lives.

Sasuke's eyes darted to where Zaku stood. He faced him, anger in his Sharingan eyes.

"Kris, what the hell is goin on?" Shikamaru asked, kneeling in front of me.

I gripped the collar of his mesh t-shirt with my free hand, trying not to collapse. "A piece of advice, one friend to another…" I coughed. "Get the hell outta here. You, Choji, and Ino, go…" I lowered my head so I wouldn't cough blood on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru placed his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it. He then moved it under my chin, lifting my face to meet his. "We won't be far, okay?" he said, wiping the blood from my mouth.

I looked up at Sasuke, who's face was contorted in anger. The black marks on the left side of his face extended to the right, covering his face entirely, making him look even more…evil. As the marks extended, his chakra grew, as such the nature of a seal.

I gulped, terrified at the sight I was witnessing.

Zaku cracked a smirk, placing his palms together. "Dosu!" Zaku called. "What's wrong? Not getting cold feet are ya?"

Despite Dosu's pleas, Zaku aimed his 'Supersonic Slicing Wave' right at us. Everything happened in a swift motion. First, Sakura and I were in front of the tree, with Sasuke standing in between us. The next thing, all four of us were moved out of the wave's reach. The seal was defiantly doing its job. Not only did it increase Sasuke's chakra, but it also increased his speed and strength. How else did he manage to move me and Sakura, and an unconscious Naruto, to safety. He moved us behind Zaku, without him even realizing it.

"Ha, I blew them away." Zaku gloated.

"Nice try." Sasuke rebuked, backhanding Zaku, sending him skidding to Dosu's feet. Both sound ninja were amazed at Sasuke's newly acquired speed.

Sasuke's speed was so much faster, I couldn't follow. He executed the 'Phoenix Flower Jutsu' hiding shuriken in the flames, which Zaku fell victim to. Then, in a blink of an eye, Sasuke was behind Zaku, holding his arms behind him, his foot on his back. His lips curled back in a devilish smile.

{End Flashbacks}

Sakura clasped her hands over her chest, and tears welled in her green eyes. "Please Sasuke, quite now before…"she sniffled. "I don't know what, I'm scared." she wiped the tears from her eyes, holding back her worry.

"Sakura." I muttered.

My teammate wrapped her arm around my neck and cried into my shoulder. I moved my arm and patted her head, soothing her.

"She really, truly cares for him." I thought. "Even though all those years in the Academy, he ignored her, she still tries." I closed my eyes and let her cry. "Maybe she's not kidding when she says she's in love with Sasuke." I smiled, weakly. "Could this be what love really is? And will I, one day, find out for myself first hand?"

"Please Sasuke, you know as well as the both of us that you're in no condition to be fighting right now." I admitted, closing my eyes, avoiding Sasuke.

"Shut up, both of you." Sasuke spat.

I looked at him, "You think we're blind? Or stupid?" I scoffed. "Don't you know that we can see the suffering you're going through?"

I felt tears well in my eyes as well. "I, of all people, know what marks like that do to a person." I covered my hip with my free hand, "And I can see that mark is doing the same thing to you as mine did to me." I kept holding my tears back, after all, we couldn't have two emotional Kunoichi break down in this arena.

"That's enough, now drop it." Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared at me.

I tightened my grip on Sakura, who was gaining control over her emotions. "I'm sorry but I can't let you do this to yourself. I know the pain of being consumed by that power, and the burning sensation of the marks, I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy, let alone my best friend." I clenched my left hand into a fist, trying to keep calm. I closed my eyes, "I'm going to tell the Hokage, and then maybe you'll understand…"

I went to raise my hand, when someone else did, and everyone gasped.

I dropped my and turned to see who was withdrawing…it was Kabuto.

"You got me, I'm out." he said, almost smiling.

I could tell from the look in Naruto's eyes, he was disappointed, and upset. After his name was recorded, Kabuto moved to exit the arena.

"So that's it, you're just gonna quit?" Naruto asked, as Kabuto passed us.

"Oh Naruto, I'm sorry." Kabuto apologized. "I can't hack it, my body's just too beat up. And to have to fight again, right away, I can't."

He put on a smile and waved goodbye, and my team and I watched as the ninja that helped us pass the second exam, walked out before the third.

"So now, does anyone else, wanna quit?" Hayate asked.

I gasped, "I have no choice, I have to tell them, even if it means Sasuke hating me forever." I thought.

I slowly began to raise my hand, when Sasuke slapped it down and gripped my wrist, tightly. I flinched and looked into his deep onyx eyes.

"Don't you even think about telling them about this mark." he barked.

I sniffled and held back the tears I felt coming. "I don't get what you're trying to prove here. You're my best friend and I care about your well being, I can't let you go on in these exams." I whimpered. "You just want me to stand here and let you tear yourself apart? No Sasuke I can't bare to watch that!" I looked down, ignoring the fact that Sasuke was gripping my wrist a bit too tightly, and it was starting to hurt.

"Then don't watch Kris, but stay out of it." Sasuke replied, "This has nothing to do with you. Either of you." his eyes shifted from me to Sakura, then back to me.

Sasuke let go of my wrist and I, instinctively, pulled it back to me and rubbed it gently. He then looked right at me, "Like I've told you before, I am an avenger." he repeated. "For me, this is far more than just an exam. Whether I become a Chūnin or not means less than nothing to me." he added, and I saw anger well in his eyes. "Am I as strong as I can be? All I want is the answer, and I can only get that by fighting the strongest…the best." Sasuke looked around at the remaining Genin in the arena, "And the best of the best, are all here."

The look in his eyes, confirmed my suspicions. I knew things were changing, I just didn't know the most drastic change had already happened. And what he said next, backed it all up. "I walk a path the rest of you can't follow."

"So this is it then." I thought. "Everything's gonna be different now. I just didn't think things would change this soon."

I wiped the tears from my eyes with my black arm warmers, and I tried to keep calm.

"Hey, what are you biting their heads off for, you ass!" Naruto yelled. "It's just because they care about ya."

"Naruto." Sasuke said, turning to face him. "You're one of the ones I wanna fight the most."

Naruto gasped, as did Sakura and I myself. The two of us looked at each other and clasped our hands together.

"Okay, we will begin the preliminary round." Hayate announced. "The round will include one on one, individual combat, at full battle intensity." he added. "Since there are twenty four of you remaining, we will hold twelve matches. So at most, only twelve of you will move on to the final rounds, if that."

I gulped.

"As for the rules of this preliminary round, there are none." Hayate went on. "The battle will end when one combatant dies or concedes defeat. Naturally, those who are loosing should concede, to avoid a fatal outcome." he added. "And as proctor, I am given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches. I may occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless, to save as many lives as possible." after giving each of us Genin one more glance over, Hayate directed our attention to the panel in the upper corner of the room.

"The names of each pair of opponents is chosen completely at random." Hayate informed. "Before each match, the names of each combatant will appear on the display behind me. Now let's begin."

The names of everyone appeared on the screen, half above and half below the vs. word. A buzzer sounded and the first two names were revealed.

Ichiro Hagane vs. Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke smiled.

"Of all the rotten luck, why did Sasuke have to be chosen first?" I thought.

I looked over and saw Ichiro was smiling as well. He looked back at us and his eyes met Sasuke's. This was going to be an interesting match, no doubt, I was just worried what was going to happen if that Curse Seal acted up again.

"The first two people, please step forward." Hayate ordered.

Ichiro and Sasuke stepped forward, and faced each other. Satsuki-sensei and Kakashi-sensei glanced at each other, and Satsuki smiled.

"You have been chosen for the first match." Hayate announced. "Ichiro Hagane verses Sasuke Uchiha. Does either combatant have any complaints?"

"None here." Sasuke answered.

"No sir." Ichiro followed.

Both boys stared at each other, ready to fight.

"Okay let's begin the first match." Hayate said. "Now every one other than the two opposing candidates, clear the arena and move to the upper level."

All the other teams dispersed, the Leaf village Rookie teams and Team Guy moved to the right level, and the other teams moved to the left. Only my team and Orchi's remained.

"Ichiro, so soon?" Orchi asked, her hands clasped together.

"It's better than waiting around, that's for sure." Ichiro replied, smiling. "Besides, that just means after this I can sit back and watch the other fights, and not have to worry who I'm gonna face."

"How can you be so calm, man?" Sakoku asked, sighing.

"Genetics." Ichiro replied, sticking his tongue out.

Satsuki-sensei walked up to him, "If you go into battle with that attitude son, you'll loose." she warned.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mother." Ichiro replied.

Satsuki smile and patted Ichiro's head. She led Orchi and Sakoku to the upper right level, smiling at my dad and us along the way.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, waving at my dad as he approached us.

Kovu walked past us and stood behind Sakura. Dad whispered something to Sasuke before we left the arena floor. "Good luck." was all I caught.

"C'mon kids, let's get moving." he said, placing his hands on Sakura's and mine's shoulders, leading us off the arena.

"He's gonna be okay, right dad?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Everything's gonna be fine, you'll see." Dad smiled down at me.

I walked up the stairs with the rest of my team and we found our spot to stand, in between Guy-sensei and his team, and Team Nine, Satsuki's team.

Team Eight was on the far left of us and Team Ten was on the far right. And to the right of them was another team, one that I didn't recognize as candidates. All four were girls, and as I looked closer I realized it was Konoha-sensei and her three students, who were Chūnin now, even though they were the same ages as us Rookies, they just graduated a few years before and took the Chūnin exams earlier than the rest of us.

One of her girls, Arée Namikaze, had medium length blonde hair with pink highlights, crystal blue eyes, and she wore a dark purple kimono with black trim and a navy blue headband over her hair. Arée stood on the end, in front of Konoha-sensei.

Next to Arée was Blood Rose, or just Rose Kranes. She had long, white hair pulled back in a ponytail, her eyes were the color of red dirt and she had two, small crimson lines running from the bottom of her eyes to the center of her cheeks. Rose wore a lavender scarf with a purple lightning pattern, a purple tank top and matching skirt, and her headband at an angle around her waist. She stood in the middle of her teammates.

And the final member was a second or third cousin of Sasuke's, Shirayuki Uchiha. Shira, for short, was a kind and gentle girl. She had pale white skin, hazel-green eyes, short charcoal black hair, and wore a brown coat with a green trim on the sleeves and bottom, black pants and her headband around her neck.

And lastly, Konoha-sensei herself. She was around the same age as my dad, and was a real pretty woman. She had long, blue-black hair, deep brown eyes, tan skin, and wore a short, white above-knee length dress with a long blue sleeve covering her right arm and bandages around her hands, up halfway to the elbow, and on her thighs.

I turned my attention back to the arena as the match was ready to start. And it got off to a quick start as both boys threw shuriken at each other.

"Not so fast." Ichiro smiled.

He charged forward and began throwing punches at Sasuke, who flinched when he dodged. But Sasuke managed to break Ichiro's foothold, and brought them both to the ground.

Ichiro smiled and put his left index and middle fingers to his chin, closing his eyes. Then, he began to sink into the ground.

"What the hell?" Sasuke grunted.

Ichiro came back up, standing with his hands clasped together, forming the 'Mi/Snake' sign, one that's woven more in Earth Style than any other nature.

"Earth Style: Mud Ropes." Ichiro shouted, and strings of wet earth wrapped themselves around Sasuke, restricting his upper body and arms.

Sasuke glared at Ichiro as he hovered over him, gripping the fabric of his blue shirt.

Orchi and I exchanged looks from where we stood.

Satsuki chuckled. "Well now Kakashi, I guess we'll get to see whose boy's the stronger fighter, out of our teams anyway."

Dad looked at her, "Appears so, Satsuki."

I glued my eyes to the arena, praying to anyone who listens, that the Curse Seal of Heaven won't win this match for Sasuke, and that I don't loose my best friend and teammate forever.

Next time…

Helena: With that Curse Seal on him, Sasuke's at a major disadvantage.

Kristin: It's like he can't even defend himself against Ichiro's earth techniques.

Helena: He could win, if the Curse doesn't kill him first.

Kristin: Just whose side are you even on?

Helena: *giggles* Next time: Ichiro vs. Sasuke: Lion's Barrage Unleashed!