A/N: The sea was full of angry monkeys

A/N: The sea was full of angry monkeys. …I love Pearls Before Swine.

The next chapter brought to you by: ObsidianSickle; Queen of Semi-Colon Abuse


Chapter Fifty-Two: The Forest of Death


The day before the exam, Sasuke sat with Sakura at lunch time, telling her what he had planned for the exam, and how if the Heaven Scroll-Earth Scroll task still applied, he had thought of methods, using the skill of his teammates and his own, to acquire the other scroll quickly and then pick the best route through the forest to their destination.

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Sakura said smiling softly.

"I don't want to fail again," Sasuke said with a shrug, "Judging by the reaction of the judges for the 'interview', I'm probably jounin level in skill, and yet I'm still a genin. I have to become chuunin before I become jounin."

"Also, being a chuunin with exceptional skill is a lot less degrading than being a genin with exceptional skill," Sakura said with a teasing voice.

He gave her a disapproving frown, which only caused her to laugh. She really liked laughing at the expense of his pride. But somehow, he didn't really mind anymore. For some reason, he couldn't get irritated with her for teasing him…it was just a Sakura thing to do, and after being with her so long, he supposed he was used to it. Though he wasn't going to let her know he didn't care about his pride around her.

"Don't be annoying," he replied shortly, but not harshly.

She just put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile until she could blanche her face. Whenever he asked her to stop teasing him, she always did—he had a feeling that she knew that he didn't care about his pride around her, but she still stopped anyways. She was overly considerate for him, and he wasn't sure if being 'overly' considerate was a good or bad thing.

"What have you got planned for today?" she asked, steering the conversation closer to home.

"I'm supposed to meet my teammates today to practice working together so we're somewhat prepared for the Forest," Sasuke responded, picking up his dishes and carrying them over to the sink, "Why?"

"I just need some time to discuss something important with you, that's all."

Sasuke couldn't see her face, but he heard her voice go a little grim; the atmosphere changed to one of light mirth to one bearing something serious, the air holding back something that Sakura didn't want to talk about but needed to. He turned and looked at her, feeling a concerned frown bear down on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Well, remember how Tsunade-sama wanted to send me home because of my father's MIA status?" Sakura said slowly, "Never mind, you have to go meet your teammates."

"No, I've got time," Sasuke said, coming over and sitting down across from her, giving her a pointed look, "What about it?"

"Well, Kanaye knew that it would probably be better if I stayed here with you, but now that my father's back, and you're sight has been restored…" she trailed off for a moment, "When I went to visit my dad later yesterday evening, he said that I should come home."

Sasuke let a stony pause fill the room. "I want you to stay," he said simply, "It is my say whether you go or stay. I want you to stay."

"I know Sasuke, but that might not be good enough," Sakura sighed, "Your sight has returned, so what am I supposed to tell them?"

"Tell them anything," he replied with a shrug, feeling a bit irked by her rebuttal.

"Why do you want me to stay?" she said then, and Sasuke was inwardly taken aback. It was such a direct question; he fumbled for an answer in his mind and then it shut down defensively.

"Because I want you to," he replied shortly.

"But why?" Sakura emphasized.

"Why not?"

"You didn't answer my question," she told him exasperatedly.

"You didn't answer mine."

"Sasuke, I could give you a dozen reasons why I shouldn't stay," Sakura said, sighing again, "I don't see why you are so reluctant to tell me why you want me to stay. If you can't tell me why, then I find I might actually have to leave. Tell me now, Sasuke: Why. Don't. You. Want. Me. To. Leave?"

He wasn't facing her at this point, his head turned away looking at something across the kitchen blankly. He could feel her eyes on him, and a silence stretched out between them. He could sense her mounting anxiety and irritation, but he couldn't rightfully answer. He didn't know why. He couldn't… It was when she opened her mouth to declare something haughtily at him—probably to say she was leaving, that he found an answer slip out.

"You're annoying," he stated, and then added in an almost reluctant murmur: "That's why."

He cast a glance at her, and the expression on her face was one of surprise, like she hadn't expected that answer from him. She looked shocked, like an icy sensation had overcome her, and slowly her outward appearance began to recover itself. He knew there were many ways she could interpret his words, and honestly, he didn't know exactly what he had meant.

"I'll inform Tsunade-sama that my mission requires me to stay a little longer, then," she said after a while, rising to her feet.

He didn't move or offer to help as she put her dirty dishes in the sink. Something clouded his mind as he watched her walking around the room, putting things away, and it was as she made her move to leave that he voiced them.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to stay," it was a statement, but it was a question at the same time. He wanted to know her intentions—again, she was a mystery to him.

"Yes," she replied firmly, yet gently, "I do."

He gave a nod, and she left the room. A few minutes later he heard the back door close and he followed her chakra signature until it was out of range. He was left alone, wondering why it mattered so much to him, and it would be months before he knew the answer.


Haruno Kisho lay on the hospital bed with an expression of abject boredom on his face as he disinterestedly read an article in the magazine he had been given by one of the nurses. It was a couple months old and it wasn't all that interesting. It was a historical magazine that blathered on about the founding of the Village Hidden in Stars—a demure and tiny village with no great influence (in fact, it had such little influence that if the Village was hit by a meteor and wiped out, it would have no impact on any of the Great Shinobi Villages at all). Haruno was spending most of his time looking at the people depicted in the pictures of the article.

He didn't look up when a soft knock was on his door; Sakura had already come to see him before her shift of work and had chatted with him for a while. It was probably a nurse at his door who was here to check his temperature or something unnecessarily silly like that.

"Come in," he said gruffly, turning the page of his magazine and looking at a picture of Uchiha Madara—leader of the Uchiha Clan during the time of the First Hokage.

He expected a nurse to utter a polite greeting but nothing came. Instead, h heard the chair at the foot of his bed scraping against the floor. And when Haruno looked up for an instant he thought Uchiha Madara was sitting on the chair at the end of his bed, staring pointedly at him. It turned out that it was actually Uchiha Sasuke staring at him, black eyes studying him evenly. The boy had the back of the chair turned the opposite direction of its original position and was seated with his arms folded on the chair's back.

Haruno lowered his magazine and cleared his throat, trying to clear away his surprise with it, "Well, to put things quite frankly, I'm surprised that you of all people came to see me."

"And, quite frankly, I'm surprised that I came," the young Uchiha replied.

There was a pause.

"I see that you can see again," Haruno remarked awkwardly, taking note that the Uchiha was actually looking at him, "Last time I saw you, you were wandering around your house complaining if anything was moved the slightest inch."

"A miracle worked by Sakura," Sasuke said, blatantly ignoring the furniture remark, "One performed for me when I didn't deserve it, and one in which I owe her an unending debt of gratitude for."

"You're singing quite a different tune than you were years ago," Haruno commented, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"I hadn't met you back then," Sasuke replied, sounding offended, "I hardly think you're in a position to say that."

"I heard things," Haruno replied, a little guarded, "In ANBU, you were a real concern after what happened to the clan."

"Why?" a frown etched itself on the young man's face.

"Well, mostly because of your brother," Haruno replied squarely, "The other concern was that you might strike out on the path of vengeance. Which you did."

"I see," Sasuke replied, and there was another pause after that.

Haruno sighed, "What did you really come to see me for? I doubt you came to see if I was doing well."

Sasuke smirked wryly, "Hardly."

"You're probably as fond of me as I am of you," Haruno replied, his voice equally as wry.

"The reason I came was because Sakura mentioned to me this morning that you suggested to her that she should move out," Sasuke said, getting to the point.

"Yes, I did," Haruno said, narrowing his eyes, "Why?"

"I wanted to ask you why you suggested such a thing," Sasuke said, his expression unchanging, "Especially since she has already stayed in the Uchiha Manor for so long already. Why now?"

"My wife informed me of Sakura's ambition to restore your sight and about her success," Haruno said testily, "In fact, she has remained in your house a lot longer than ever originally intended, and even longer still during my absence. She has accomplished what she has assigned to do, and then some. You know I was never happy with this arrangement—and to your credit, nothing has happened—but now it's time for Sakura to come home."

"I wish for Sakura to stay at the Uchiha Manor longer," Sasuke said, "She said that I would be the one to dismiss her, and despite your suggestion, I asked her to remain longer."

"When did she tell you this?" Haruno asked bemusedly.

"Shortly after she was assigned as my caregiver," Sasuke replied, "Why?"

"She probably told you that you could dismiss her at your volition because she thought you would quickly tire of her and be unable to stand her," Haruno answered simply, trying not to feel smug at the subtle cold glint that appeared in Sasuke's eyes, "Besides, for what reasons would you have her with you? Why should she stay?"

"She promised to restore my sight, but she also promised me my Sharingan once again," Sasuke said quietly, and Haruno raised his eyebrows again, astounded.

"You would hold her to that even though you said you owed her an unending debt of gratitude?" Haruno was flabbergasted.

"I do owe her, but you were the one who asked for a reason why she should stay—I'm giving you one," Sasuke replied tartly, "Because her own wish to stay doesn't seem to be a good enough one for you."

Haruno was stunned into silence for a moment, a pause which Sasuke took advantage of.

"Anyways, I have some teammates to meet this afternoon, and a Forest of Death to prepare for," Sasuke stated, rising to his feet and turning the chair back to it's original position, "While you were gone, Sakura was really upset; try not to land yourself in a situation, or do something, that will distress her again."

The sullen boy left the room and Haruno looked after him in wonderment. Was this really the same Uchiha Sasuke from before? He sighed and picked up his magazine again, staring at the picture of Uchiha Madara.

"You better heed what you preach, Uchiha," he muttered to the open door, "Because whatever distress I caused her will be nothing compared to what you would."


Sasuke stood next to his two temporary teammates with the large crowd of other genin outside the designated meeting point where the Forest of Death challenge to begin. Mitarashi Anko was standing before them all, barking the rules out to them, making the nearest of the genin look frightened. Sasuke wondered, with mild amusement, if all the Proctors had bossy temperaments and loud voices—but then her remembered Genma, the quiet, apathetic Proctor to the Finals, chewing lazily on the end of his toothpick. And then there was Hayate, the Proctor of the Preliminary rounds, who had been hacking his lungs out the whole time he talked to them. Sasuke had heard he had been killed, but he never really had found out. Not that it really concerned him anyways.

"For this part of the exam, we will be handing out scrolls to each team here," Anko was now barking, and Sasuke was surprised—he had thought that they would have put a little variety on the Forest Challenge like they had on the written Exam, "The objective is to take your scroll to the Tower in the very center of the Forest before noon three days from now. Easy enough, right?"

There were murmurs of agreement from the other teams; Sasuke's team was silent, listening, calculating. He had a pretty good team, he thought to himself—probably not people he could work with long term, but they had good heads on their shoulders and thought alike to him.

"Wrong!" Anko snapped, causing half the younger genin to jump, "Not every scroll this the same—at random, some of the scrolls will change, and in order to pass, you must acquire the marked scrolls and head to the Tower. Now some of you will be lucky, and when you pick out your scroll, you will have chosen the marked scroll. But can you keep it? The rest of you will have the difficult task of finding those with the marked scrolls and taking them from their owners. There are only three marked scrolls, and there are ten teams here. Twenty-one people will not make the final cut. Nine of you may pass, but not everyone has…

"There are animals in this forest that will attack you, large insects, natural hazards, the other genin, etc.," Anko continued, pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "And then there are your other enemies—bad luck, lack of common sense, and overconfidence. Be careful and you might pass, think quick on your feet, and you might pass, apply your knowledge and expertise and you might pass."

There was a distinct stillness among the handful of genin around them. Sasuke studied the faces of some of them and saw a lot of those whose was the first time taking the exam, looked nervous. Yugito did not look nervous though, even though she had said that it was her first time taking the exam. Sai did not look nervous either, and his face was actually smiling—fake smiling, which didn't really count. Thinking on it, Sasuke didn't know if this was Sai's first time taking the Exam…in fact, the man had mentioned little about his knowledge on the Chuunin Exam. But that could merely mean that was taking the exam for the first time. The smile could also be a sign of nervousness. Either way, it wasn't Sasuke's business to know if Sai had taken the exam before. If he had, fine, he knew the ropes. If he didn't, he had proven well enough in the practice yesterday to show that he could hold his own. Sasuke pushed the thoughts from his mind.

"One last thing before people start getting their scrolls," Anko said with an air of one finishing off a long speech, "Ninjutsu are put on the scrolls, so that you can't open them until two o'clock this afternoon. This is to assure that nobody starts hunting for the marked scrolls just as we've begun. Nobody will know who has a marked scroll and who doesn't until then. Hopefully by that time you will have established a good vantage point to either attack or defend. If you open your scrolls before the designated time, it's an automatic fail—and yes, we can tell, and yes we will find you. Now, come get your scrolls!"

There was a mass scrambling from the younger people and a not so hurried approach from the older ones. Yugito volunteered to get a scroll and returned with it in her hand in short order. Sasuke held out his hand, wordlessly asking if he could examine it, and wordlessly, she handed it over to him. So they had changed it up a bit, he noted with approval—it definitely would make it more interesting. He stood very still, examining the scroll for slight traces of chakra that might determine whether it was marked or not—it would most likely be a very subtle hint of chakra, meaning that there would be no way he would be able to tell who had marked scrolls and who didn't, unless he held the other scrolls. Aside from the ninjutsu on the scroll, he sensed nothing else.

He turned it over in his hand, and on the flap was a seal with the kanji for silver written on it. He looked up at Sai, and then wordlessly put the scroll into the pale man's palm so that he could look at it too, shoving his own hands in his pockets afterwards. Yugito gave him a look and he shrugged in response. He focused his attention to the conversation drifting around him, listening in, hoping he could maybe pick up something useful.

"This seems too easy—" "Are you nuts? This is going to be so hard!"

"So we just gotta get the marked scrolls? I wonder what the markings will be like…I hope it's obvious, because it'll be so hard if it's just a subtle difference."

"See that team over there? With the blonde girl, and the two dark-haired pale guys? They look like they're going to kick our butts seven times over—I mean, did you see how they passed the scroll around without saying a word? The looks they gave each other…it's like they can read minds or something."

"Some of these people look like they'll be easy to pick off, like the guy over there with the boogery nose, and his companions—the girl with the weird hair and I think that's the Sandaime's grandson… But I dunno about that silent group over there, they look hard-core, you know? Better avoid them if we can—I hope they get a marked scroll, because then they won't come after us if we have one too."

"We haven't started yet, and already we're being talked about," Sasuke said to Yugito, somewhat amused.

"Yeah, I know, I can hear them," she replied eying the group that had labeled them as 'hard core'.

Sasuke looked at them too—they were standing farthest away from them. It wasn't as hard for Sasuke to hear them, as it was to distinguish their voices from among the rest, as his hearing was sharp. But he was surprised that Yugito could hear them too.

He masked his surprise and offhandedly commented: "You have exceptional hearing."

"I would say that you do too, Sasuke," she replied, looking at him, as if she was daring him to comment further, "but they were being rather loud."

Sasuke just gave a curt nod. He could take a hint.

"Alright, now that everyone's got their scrolls it's time to set you free," Anko said, approaching the gate and withdrawing a key. She opened the lock and removed the chains; pushing the gates open, she turned the group, "Now off you go—go frolic and gallivant. Oh, and one last thing: try not to get killed, especially if you're from out of the Village. The paperwork is something you can't even begin to imagine."

The teams hurried through the gates as quickly as possible and Sasuke, Sai, and Yugito were one of the last groups that got through. The other teams were already dispersing through the wood, though there were a few who had gone into hiding and were waiting to follow other teams in hopes that they would get lucky and have followed somebody with a marked scroll. He signaled to his team to follow him, picking a route that brought them not to close to the hidden teams and didn't follow anyone else. After a few minutes of travel, they weren't being followed and they weren't near anyone. He signaled for a halt after half an hour and pointed to a gnarled tangle of branches that would provide excellent cover.

They each seated themselves in a ring among the branches—three massive trees had grown close to one another and two or three giant branches and grown intertwined with each other, vying for the precious sunlight that the other branches were blocking out. They were knotted together quite firmly, and were very stable, supporting everyone's weight easily. Sitting down in a particularly thick knoll, Sasuke observed the hideaway; there was evidence to support that they weren't the first ones to use this area for cover. Yugito landed nimbly in the area first, looking around for hazards, and after finding none, gave the all clear to the other two. Sai and Sasuke followed her in, ducking under some overhanging bramble, and then they each sat on different branches.

Yugito had curled up on another branch, draped over it like a cat, eyeing the two young men with her yellow green eyes, "So, we gotta wait for half an hour?"

Sasuke nodded, "It would seem so."

"I usually get tired around this time of day—I'm going to get some sleep," Yugito said, closing her eyes, "Don't worry, I can be up in an instant if attacked, but I'd prefer it if I could rely on you two to forewarn me. Wake me up when the scroll is supposed to change."

She closed her slit-pupilled eyes and seemed to doze off almost right away. Sasuke looked around him then, peeking out from between the branches and out over the forest. As he had predicted back at the end of October, the leaves had all fallen off the trees and all that was left was a desolate wasteland of brown deadwood. He had chosen to wear black garb to better blend in the shadows, because anything blue he had would be a little to stand-outish. Looking out over the wood, he could see mostly branches—they were pretty high off the ground, but not near the canopy—and through the tangled mess he could see the top of the tower in the distance.

The easiest part would be getting to the tower, especially if they already had a marked scroll. Defending it wouldn't be too hard either—or shouldn't be; the training that the three of them had done yesterday proved as much. Sparring one on one with each other had revealed basic techniques that each favoured, and what range they liked to fight at. Yugito was right up close and personal with her taijutsu, practically clawing at you with catlike fury. Sai kept his distance and the instant anyone got close to him, he would leap out of range again and launch a counter attack. Sasuke had sparred in the manner that he had sparred with Sakura when he was blind—not going full out and not holding back enough to make it look like he was holding back. If his teammates were anything like him, they too were holding back on their full potential.

He looked at the dozing Yugito, wondering what this dark-elemental chakra was. He had heard of it before, but he hadn't heard of it in the context of ninjutsu for fighting. Dark-element chakra had been used in Orochimaru's labs, experimenting on individuals. He hadn't known it could be used for anything but. It made him slightly wary of Yugito, but at the same time, she had expressed she didn't like using it—in Otogakure, it had been something sought by others. It was a form of power that most people wanted, and if you had it, you were lucky. Laying a hand subconsciously on his curse mark, he thought about himself. He had wanted to use it against Itachi, that form of dark chakra, but that had been months ago, and now… Well, he couldn't use it anyways, but even if he could, at this point…he didn't think he would. Yugito had the power of dark-element chakra, but she didn't want to use it—so the same thing that made him wary of her also made him trust her, and respect her for it.

"Is your neck hurting, Uchiha-san?" Sai asked, and Sasuke glanced over at the pale young man, "You're rubbing it a little."

"I must have slept in an irregular position last night," Sasuke replied, dropping his hand casually, "I'm fine."

Sai let a pause pass before painting his fake smile across his face, "Ah, I see. As long as you are fine, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke hated that smile, it looked so fake, "Don't do that."

"Do what, Uchiha-san?" Sai asked, looking puzzled.

"Smile like that," Sasuke replied irritably.

All traces of the smile melted away entirely at that point and Sai looked down at the ground, "I apologize—I read in a book once that a smile is the best way to fool someone. It makes you look trustworthy, and it's the best way to get yourself out of trouble, or keep yourself out of it. You don't have to mean it, and it'll still deceive someone."

Sasuke didn't say anything but looked at the man with wary eyes. If he was smiling at him and Yugito so much, did that mean he was trying to deceive them? What could he hope to gain from pretending to be allied with them? What could he possibly want from them?

"Why are you smiling at us then, if you are using it to deceive?" Sasuke said darkly, his hand going to his katana, belted at his side. This was not what they needed, and he certainly did not want to have let this break out into a fight.

"You misunderstand me, Uchiha-san," Sai said, looking up and at Sasuke's hand on the katana, "I also read that a smile is usually used to engender a friendly feeling. I cannot feel anything, no emotions, nothing—I have no opinion of you, or of Yugito-san. I simply do not feel. Because of this, I did not want you and Yugito-san to be put ill at ease by my emotionless state and was using the smile not to deceive you, but to put you at rest about being on a team with me."

Sasuke frowned slightly, not feel anything? Was that even possible? If it was, he envied the man—the power to be completely indifferent. It was a powerful tool, and a powerful guard. He had tried not caring about things, people, but if he cared about one thing—his revenge—he found that he cared about other things too. He couldn't care about one thing and not about anything else, and he wasn't able to forget about revenge. But to be able to shake everything off, to be free of burden… He let a smirk paint itself over his lips and then loosened his hand on his katana; but no…he had ties now and like never before he appreciated them. The joys they brought outweighed the sorrows, and if he wanted to be able to remain attached with no consequences, he would have to protect them. Suddenly instead of admiring the man sitting across from him, he pitied him.

"Your smile doesn't work," he said finally, "It looks fake."

"I know," said Sai, his face still blank, "I have never been able to get it quite right."

"You have to have smiled honestly at least once in your life in order to let it come easily," came the voice of Yugito, and both heads turn towards her; her eyes were closed as she spoke, "If you have never smiled at the joys of life, then you can never smile properly."

Sasuke looked at Sai again, who looked down at the ground again, "Is that how you do it… I see."

Yugito opened one eye and stared at him, "If you can't do it right, then don't do it at all. Personally, I prefer Sasuke's blank face to your fake smile. Besides, I can't stand people who smile all the time, it makes me think they want something from me."

Sai looked up again and then nodded, "Alright. I shall stop smiling for the duration of the exam. Perhaps one day though I shall master it."

"Drop me a letter when you do," Yugito replied yawning.

Sai didn't seem to catch the fact that she was sarcastic because he nodded.

"How much time left until we have to open the scroll?" Yugito asked, stretching out and perching on the branch.

"Anytime now," Sasuke replied, and she leapt down and sat on the branch next to him.

He dug out the scroll and held it in his hand. The three of them sat and stared at it, waiting as the minutes ticketed by slowly. After about fifteen minutes—a good ten minutes after when they thought it was supposed to change—nothing phenomenal had happened. Sasuke slipped the scroll back in his pocket and rose to his feet. There was no indication, inside or out, that anything different had happened to it, and if anything was going to happen, it would have happened by that point.

"So what now?" Yugito asked, crossing her arms.

"It will take time to get to the Tower, and for the first day those with the marked scrolls will be fending off those who don't have them," Sasuke said calmly, "I suggest that we scout out the other teams systematically and find a marked scroll."

"How will we do that? This forest is big, even I can tell that," Yugito argued, making a vague gesture towards the woods around them.

"How good are your tracking skills?" Sasuke asked her.

"Poor," she replied shortly.

He looked at Sai.

"Moderately well," Sai admitted.

"We'll head towards the tower—everyone will converge there at one point. Whether it's because they hope to steal the marked scrolls before they get to the tower or if they're in possession of a scroll, the closer we get to the tower, the more signs we'll find of other teams," Sasuke instructed, "For today, we'll head further in and then tomorrow we'll scout out the other teams and find a marked scroll."

"This is why I could never be team leader," Yugito muttered.

"But to locate each team, in hopes of retrieving a marked scroll, when each individual team is moving, how will we be certain that we will not run into the same team twice?" Sai asked, and Yugito had an agreeing expression.

"I will oversee that," Sasuke replied, knowing that he would be able to recognize the chakra signatures if they had already run into the team once before, "I will make sure that we will not run into the same team twice."


"Guys," Yugito called to the two of them as dusk started fading into twilight that evening.

They had been traveling steady throughout the day, and had covered a lot of ground. So far, Sasuke had not detected the signatures of any other team but more than once he had detected the chakra of some genjutsu placed on an area, and had dispelled it almost silently before the other two noticed it. The trouble with the Forest of Death was that it was so large, so the traps set and the genjutsu laid out could have been set by either the enemy teams or competing teams from years back.

It was getting close to dark, and while Sasuke could see perfectly well in the dark—or rather, sense perfectly in the dark—he wasn't sure how well the other two would be able to travel by night. Yugito had expressed that she had exceptional night vision, and would be fine, and Sai said that he would be fine too. But as Yugito called out to them now, it was still a little light out.

"Guys, can we stop for a second? I don't feel so well," she said.

Sasuke halted, as did Sai, and the two of them leapt over the branch in which she was perched. Yugito was like himself, Sasuke thought, tough and wouldn't admit weakness even in the most dire of situations. So when she said she wasn't feeling well, she was really not feeling well. Sasuke, who had no medical training whatsoever, could see that she was feeling very ill. She looked really sickly in the pale in the fading light, and she was hunched over on branch, holding her stomach. Sasuke frowned with concern.

"You okay?" he asked her, and he could see sweat beaded on her brow.

"I don't know. This has never happ—" she paused to wince as she clenched at her stomach, "—happened before."

"Perhaps it's your menstruation cycle," Sai suggested, his face merely curious by her pained state.

Despite the obvious agony that she was in, she managed to replace her pained expression with one of fury and landed a swift punch in Sai's face. Sai staggered back a bit and almost fell off the branch. Sasuke looked at Sai with annoyance, and surprise at the pale young man's lack of tact.

"No! That's not it!" Yugito hissed, a light hue of red coming over her wan face, but Sasuke wondered if maybe that was related to her anguish instead, "I don't know what's wrong, but I promise you it's not that."

At this point, another wave of agony seemed to hit her, and she clutched at her stomach as she vomited, her lunch raining down into the dark forest floor below. Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and she swatted it away, wiping her mouth with her free hand. Sai, rubbing his slightly bruised cheek, came back over, and looked at Sasuke, looking like he was at a total loss of what to do.

Sasuke himself didn't know what to do, he didn't know any medical ninjutsu, and neither did any of the others, it seemed. He didn't know what was wrong with Yugito—it could have been anything, from what she ate to a disease she contracted, or a bug bite or something from the forest. The sky was starting get a really deep blue and the horizon only possessed a thin stripe of yellow over it. They should stop, and try and make up for lost time tomorrow. He had to pass this exam, but he couldn't abandon Yugito either—he'd carry her if he had to.

"Let's find a place to set up camp for the night, and we'll just keep going tomorrow," Sasuke said, looking at Sai, and then at Yugito.

"No!" she insisted, standing up quickly, "We can't stop tonight, we have a plan. I won't hold you down. I just needed to rest for a minute. I can take the pain from here."

"You don't know what was wrong," Sasuke replied sternly, "It could only get worse. Sleep it off."

"No, I'll be fine," Yugito insisted, "I'll be…fine… I'll be—"

Her slit pupils slid out of focus and she started to tip sideways, and in a second too late, Sasuke realized she had fainted. Her body fell off the branch and his fingertips just missed hers as she arched gracefully out of reach. Swearing, Sasuke jumped after her, and he gathered her up in his arms as they fell. Directing chakra in his hands, he grabbed at passing tree branches on the way down, slowing their descent but tearing the palm of his hand open in the process.

They landed safely on the forest floor, and a good distance away from Yugito's lost lunch. Looking at Yugito, he saw that sweat beaded her brow, and with the back of his injured hand he felt her forehead, dripping blood on her; he was no expert, but he knew for certain that she had fever. Sasuke looked up at the canopy, and saw Sai darting down among the branches, descending towards them. Within seconds the pale young man landed beside them.

"Your hand, Uchiha-san," Sai said, pointing at Sasuke's bleeding and torn palm.

"It's nothing," Sasuke said dismissively, "Let's find a place to camp first."

Sai carried Yugito on his back, as they ran along the forest floor. Sasuke knew that they were leaving a clear trail behind them, but he decided the instant they found a place to take shelter, that he would cast a genjutsu over them just to be safe. The sky was getting darker and darker still, until there wasn't even the yellow stripe on the horizon anymore. It was twenty minutes before Sasuke spotted something that would be suitable. Ahead, there was a thick tangled grove.

The trees looked dark, like they had been set on fire once, scorched by the flames and died. Perhaps a forest fire, or some irresponsible genin and a campfire, either way, it looked to be a good shelter. The trees were so tangled among each other that it was difficult to spot a way to the center. He indicated to Sai a small opening between two trees that would fit the three of them if they went through one at a time.

A sudden yell of anguish caused both boys to jump and Sasuke whirled around, hand on his katana. It was Yugito who had emitted the loud yell; it seemed that she had come to, and her yellow green eyes were glassy with tears of pain. Sai turned his head a little bit as she was mumbling something in his ear. Sasuke let go of his katana for the second time that day and waited.

"She said the pain is worse than before," Sai recounted.

'All the more reason to set up camp,' Sasuke thought; "Let's hurry."

They dashed across the small area between them and the tangled mess of wood, and as they got closer, Yugito started to wail like an injured cat, her voice rising with the pain. Sasuke would have told her to be quiet, in case enemy ears heard them, but there was nobody in range of his chakra senses.

"Please be quiet Yugito-san," Sai was saying in a soft voice, "We are almost at our campsite."

"It's getting steadily worse," she wailed, but fell into pained whimpering instead.

Sasuke quickly closed his eyes and scanned the dark interior of the tangled grove, surprised to find a large tree rising up in the middle, with a large split in the trunk, a huge hole left for shelter. There was a patch of grass outside the tree, as large as a room, which would be good for a campfire. He motioned Sai to follow him, and once the three of them were on the green, Sasuke checked out the interior of the tree. There didn't seem to be anything living inside.

Sai set Yugito down on the ground outside the tree, at the base of the trunk beside the opening. Tears of pain were running down her cheeks, though she wasn't crying; she was biting her bottom lip to keep from crying out, but quiet whimpers were still escaping her. Sasuke came over and helped her take off her backpack while Sai held her shoulders to steady her. Sai made sure she was leaned against the tree carefully, and then went to prepare a wet washcloth.

"Bedroll?" Sasuke asked, pointing to the roped up role of blankets perched on top of her backpack. She nodded.

He detached it from her backpack and started to untie the neat knots that held it together. Meanwhile Sai had approached Yugito with a wet washcloth, placing it on her forehead. At least they were finally getting a handle on things, Sasuke noted as he tried not to get too much blood on Yugito's bedroll from his hand, once she was resting, he would discuss with Sai what the next best plan of action would be. Yugito was really ill—her overpowering chakra signature was flickering with turbulent reactions, like a large fire being fanned by a violent gale.

Suddenly, there was a surge in the signature that engulfed Yugito, as her signature suddenly snapped out of the mask she had been concealing it with. Sasuke's head jerked up and looked at her at the exact same time that Sai shouted his name.

Yugito was outlined in an aura of dark purple and black, chakra becoming visible to Sasuke's vision—the last time he had been able to see chakra was when he had the Sharingan. Yugito's chakra was manifesting itself in such a concentrated manner that it was visible. Even Sai was fazed. The pale man had taken a step back and looked alarmed, unsure about what to do. The young woman had ceased to whimper and was now just panting heavily, sweat streaking down her face in pale trails of moisture. Her eyes were half lidded shut, but Sasuke could still see their distinct yellow-green colouring. She turned her eyes to him and slowly raised a hand to beckon him.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" she breathed, looking like she was in great pain.

Sasuke slowly rose to his feet and approached her cautiously, uncertain of what to make of the situation. He stood in front of her, and slowly she raised a hand to him, her palm up, looking like she wanted him to take her hand. Confused, he reached for it slowly with his bloody palm, not sure what she wanted.

"She…wants…" Yugito said quietly, closing her eyes, "…you."

Sasuke was confused, but slid his hand into hers anyways. The instant he did so, he felt Yugito's chakra engulf him and then the feeling of his shoulder hitting the ground. The last image in his eyes was that of Yugito's glowing purple chakra.


A/N: Yes, that was Konohamaru's team with the rest of them waiting to start the exam. Writing from Sakura's father's POV was an interesting experience. Never thought I would see that happen. I got this question once, but after being asked, I began wondering how many people will be asking the same. So I'll just say here. There will not be any SasukexYugito in this fanfic.

And, omg. Latest Naruto Chapters people? We saw the Raikage! rofl...I personally thought that was hilarious, and killed myself laughing when we saw him. Total drama-kill. Except I hadn't imagined him so...buff? O.o The mustache is pretty close though. XD Maybe he started working out after Team Seven left Kumogakure...he just wishes he could be as cool as Sasuke. :p As for why Sasuke didn't sense the Hachibi's chakra in addition to Yugito's, I've decided that in this fic, the Raikage's brother is normal. Well, normal in that he doesn't have the eight-tails. The rest of him is still weird. -.-

Umm…can't think of anything else to say. Questions?