This chapter includes:

Bushy Brow's Pledge: Undying Love and Protection!

Sakura Blossoms!

Battle Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho!

I opened my eyes, feeling something was wrong. I sat up, and groaned a little, pressing my right hand to my neck. I looked around, not really seeing anything, but looked back at Sakura. She was fast asleep. I smiled a tiny bit, and saw a wire right next to her. I followed it up, and saw that it held a log. Alright, so a last minute defense. Good thinking. I moved to the entrance of the little trunk cave we were camping in, and kept an eye out. Something was wrong, and it bothered me.. She couldn't have come back..could she? I looked over, seeing the cloth on Sasuke's head, and decided to change it real quick. I put water on it, and squeezed it out, switching the towels, and hanging the previous one up. I wish I could have one..now's not the time.. I went back and sat at the entrance, when Sakura gasped loudly.

"Sakura?!" I turned and looked at her. "What's wrong?" She let out a sigh.

"It was..just a dream.." She said. I nodded, and relaxed, looking back at the forest. I narrowed my eyes though, seeing the bush move. I grabbed a kunai, holding it ready, but saw it was just a squirrel. I let out a sigh, as did Sakura. It started coming closer, when I gasped. It had a paper bomb on its back! Sakura gasped too, and sent a kunai in front of it, stopping it and making it run away.

"Nice timing, Sakura." I said. I smiled and turned around, looking at her. "Get some sleep, alright?" I asked. She stared at me for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay.."

I closed my eyes a little, but kept my inside alarm clock on. However, when I heard the voice, my eyes shot open.

"Some lookout, you're half asleep." I glared at them, preparing to pull out a kunai. "At least you don't have to keep watch anymore, I mean, what's the point when we've already found you? Now wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him." I growled, and looked back at the pinkette.

"Sakura. Sakura, wake up." I said. She opened her eyes, and looked at me.

"Huh..?" She looked ahead and gasped, getting ready to pull out a weapon. The mummy looking man narrowed his eyes.

"Not her. Wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him." He said, slower as if I was stupid.

"What do you want here? I mean, what do you really want? I know Orochimaru is calling the shots from the shadows." Sakura said confidently. The sound of his name coming out of her mouth made me physically shudder, but I don't think they noticed it. The sound ninja in front of us tensed, suddenly surprised. "What's that strange bruise on the back of Sasuke's neck? And the one on hers?" Sakura asked about me. I felt it sting a little, and put my hand back on it. "You're behind this too, aren't you? And now you want to fight him when he can't defend himself?"

"What...in the world..could he be thinking..?" The leader asked. I narrowed my eyes, and kept them trained on all three. One wrong move, and Sasuke's dead.

"I can't stay quiet after hearing you talk to us like that." I clenched my fist, and pulled out a kunai finally. "First I'm gonna kill this girl, and then I'm gonna kill Sasuke." He stood on his feet, but bending down on the boulder he was on. I laughed, trying to hide the nervousness in me.

"You'll get to her, after you get through with me, you dirtbag." I said, and stood up. He scowled at me, standing up all the way, when the mummy man stopped him.

"Wait, Zaku.."

"What? Why?" The mummy man walked forward a little, and bent down.

"It's so obvious..this is the color of dirt that's been recently dug up. And this type of grass doesn't grow in a place like this." Sakura growled a little in response.

"It was a nice try.." I said, trying to get her to relax a little.

"You know, if you're going to lay a trap, there's no point unless it's actually hidden."

"Ha! You're just a joke. You threw your kunai there, so that squirrel wouldn't spring the trap you set, huh?" I tilted my head at him a little, glaring still.

"Well...that, and..there was a paper bomb on its back." I said. "How cruel."

"Now we kill them." They jumped up towards us. I smiled a little.

"You have the honors." She cut the thin wire, making a giant log swing out towards them.

"A log!" Zaku shouted.

"They also laid a trap above? Watch out!" I watched closely, hoping it would splatter their blood everywhere, but I gasped, seeing it explode into pieces. "Clearly neither of you have no talent as a ninja.." He said coy. "Someone like you needs to make a little more effort, don't you think?" I growled under my breath, and pulled another kunai out, one in each hand.

"Sakura. No matter what happens, promise me you will stay here and protect them."

"W-What? What about-"

"Promise me!" I interrupted her. She hesitated at first, but then agreed.

"I promise.." I flashed a smile at her, and got ready to fight. This was gonna be ugly. But I'm not giving up that easy.

"Leaf Hurricane!" The familiar voice shouted. I gasped, and watched as Lee easily kicked them all backwards. Sakura jumped as he landed in front of us.

"What is he doing..?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Looks like you also need to make more of an effort." Lee grinned a tiny bit, holding his hand up in a fighting stance.

"Who are you?" The mummy man asked.

"I am the Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village, and my name is Rock Lee." He replied. I looked up, and saw the squirrel on his shoulder. The one from earlier.

"W..What are you doing here, Lee?" I asked, looking at him in disbelief.

"I will always appear, any time, and anywhere that you are in trouble, Tessa." I gasped a little, as Lee put down the squirrel gently. "This is really all thanks to you, little one. But now it is time for you to run along." I looked at Lee, still in disbelief, and stood next to him, looking at him.

"Lee, you can't be here." He looked back to me in shock.

"What? B-But-"

"It's too dangerous for you to be here, Lee. I really appreciate it..but these guys are dangerous. Please. Just go, so you don't have to get hurt." He stopped, and put his hand in front of me.

"No. I will fight." He smiled a little.

"But right now, on this test, we're your enemy!" Sakura pointed out to him. Lee looked back at her and flashed her a smile.

"But I already told Tessa." He looked back at me serious. "I will protect you until I die." I looked at him with a little fear in my expression.

"Lee, I know, and I thank you for that, but-" I stopped, feeling the pain in my neck, and I hit the dirt on my hands and knees. I pressed my right hand on my neck, and almost fell over all the way, yelling in pain.

"Tessa? Tessa, what is wrong?" Lee asked, bending down to look at me.

"Better keep your focus on us." The mummy man's voice said. "I'll take care of these two. Zaku, take care of Sasuke." Lee looked at me, noticing I can't really fight. But that doesn't mean I'll damn near try.

"Lee...S-sorry..I'm good..I'll help.." I said, and forced myself to my feet.

"That guy with the bushy eyebrows is pretty good at Taijutsu. Looks like I get to have some fun!"

"No. Tessa, rest. I will handle this." Before I could argue, the mummy man attacked. Lee gently made me back up, and he reached into the ground, pulling up a large trunk from underneath, that made the mummy man back up. "I am positive that there is some kind of trick to your attack. Therefore, I will not waste my time, trying to dodge it. After all, I have seen your jutsu before." I watched with amazement. Lee was strong. But how long could he last against 3 of the enemy? I watched him carefully, as he started unwrapping the bandages on his hands, and suddenly spoke. "To protect the life of someone precious!" He made a simple handsign in front of his mouth. He disappeared, and kicked the mummy man under the jaw, sending him flying up in the air, and then I remembered.

This is the jutsu he was gonna use on Sasuke. He appeared behind the man, and his bandages wrapped around him, Lee almost hugging him after. Then they both plummeted straight towards the ground.

"Oh no, Dosu! There's no way he can break his fall!" I saw Zaku making handsigns.

"Uh oh." I said, and started to run towards Zaku to stop him. He shoved his hands into the ground, and I stopped, looking over. Dosu's head was in the ground, and Lee was jumping away.

"Ha. Gotchu just in time." Zaku smiled. "That impact could've been much worse for you." Lee landed, kneeling down, when Dosu pulled himself out of the dirt pile with ease.

"What?!" Lee watched, surprised. "This cannot be!"

"That is a frightening jutsu. Nearly took me out, even though I landed on this soft dirt. Lee stood up, and panted for breath, watching carefully.

"Now, it's my turn." I growled, and appeared in front of Lee.

"I don't think so!" I ran at Dosu, while he ran at me, and tried to sweep his feet out from under him. He jumped, chuckling, and kept going towards Lee. "Dammit!" I moved in front of Lee again, when he gently grabbed my arms. I knew he was gonna move me, but before he could, Dosu's arm swung in front of us, making my ear scream, if it could. I heard Lee behind me yell in pain, and I pressed my hand against my ear, groaning.

"Your jutsu is indeed fast..but ours is even faster, because it travels at the speed of sound." I wavered a little, and hit the ground on my butt, and I could hear Lee trying to stay up too. "Effort by itself does nothing...now watch. We're going to show you something called 'The Wall'." I panted for breath, and kept my hand to my ear. I didn't want to really, but if I had to.. I concentrated, and felt my ear repair a little. Before I could do anything else, Lee vomited beside me, and groaned. I moved, and knelt down to him.

"Lee..Lee, here.." His hand went up to his ear, which was bleeding.

"Ooh, I forgot to mention this little gadget I wear.. You might be able to dodge my blows, but you can't get away from it." He laughed. "I don't need to strike you with my fists. I can hit you with the power of sound."

"S-Sound?" Lee groaned.

"What makes it possible for the ear to hear things? What is sound, really?"

"Vibrations.." Sakura answered.

"Give the little lady a prize. Yes, the vibration of molecules in the air creates a sound wave. These vibrations are collected by the ear, then directed to your eardrum. The human eardrum will rupture when exposed to a certain height limit of sound. Basically, it becomes impossible for you to balance. Best if you don't even try to stand up for a while." I growled, and moved, pulling Lee over towards Sakura gently, and then pulled down Lee's hand from his ear.

"Lee, here..trust me.." I whispered. I put my hand against his ear gently, and felt the warm blood trickle down his cheek. I concentrated and closed my eyes, and started to feel some of the energy helping him a little. He looked at me confused, as if I just did something impossible. Which, is sort of true, but whatever. I knelt down in front of him, and smiled a tiny bit. "Thank you.." I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. I turned around and stood up, surprising him. I smiled a bit, and pulled out two kunai. "Surprise." He scowled a little.

"Your turn, little girl!" He ran right at me.

"No!" Lee shouted. I held the kunai close, ready to dodge his sound waves, when Lee jumped in front of me.

"Lee, no!" I frowned a little.

"Leaf Hurricane!" He groaned, and stopped in the middle of his kick.

"Ha, not as effective as it was before, is it?!" Dosu asked, and backed up. "Still, it's impressive you can move at all!" He ran back towards the both of us. "We'll have to do something about that!" His arm slammed into Lee's, and I could hear his device ringing. "You hear that? This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound!"

"Dammit Lee!" I growled. I couldn't do anything. If I got close, I'd be hit too, and then I wouldn't be able to help Lee or Sakura, but I'm not going through Lee either to kill Dosu.

"A sound wave I can channel with my chakra, focusing all its energy on any target I desire!" Lee gasped a little in pain, and I screamed at them.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Lee didn't move in any attack, but he fell to a heap on the ground, making Dosu seem to grin. I think. I couldn't see his face. Maybe he's ugly and that's why he wears bandages..shut up Tessa! Focus!

"Time to end this, little man.." I ran forward, appearing in front of Lee, and slamming my foot into Dosu's chin, sending him flying back.

"You won't touch him!" I knelt down in front of Lee, protecting him. I pulled out a bunch of shurikan, and threw all of them. "Take this!" Zaku put out his hands, and sent them flying back towards me, with air. I growled more, when someone grabbed a bunch of my hair, pulling me back. I gasped, and tried to grab their hand, but they only kicked me in the ribs, making me spit out blood. I shook, and looked up, seeing the girl on their team. How did I not keep track of her?!

"My, my, what soft and shiny hair you both have. But you know what? If you spent a little less time shampooing, and a little more time practicing your jutsu, you might not be in this fix!" The girl said, shaking my head. When she stopped, I looked over, and saw Sakura in the same place as me. She got us both. "Hey Zaku, I know what would be fun! Let's make these beauty queens watch while you finish off that Sasuke guy."

"Why not? Sounds like fun to me!" Sakura started leaning forward, as did I, but the girl only pulled us back hard.

"Don't even think about it." I heard Lee groan, and he looked over, seeing Sakura and I.

"T-Tessa.." He tried to say. I looked at him with a worried expression, and noticed Sakura crying. I looked over and tried to smile a tiny bit.

"H-Hey Sakura..don't cry..I promise...nothing will happen to Sasuke...we just gotta find a way out of this.." I looked up at the girl holding our hair. "I swear to god when I get out of this, I'll kill you. NOBODY touches my hair." I growled. She seemed to wane a little, but didn't let go. My eyes swept back to Sakura quickly then. "What do you wanna do, Sakura?" There was no response, but she must have been thinking. A moment later, she pulled out a kunai, holding it in her hands. I knew exactly what she was gonna do.

"Come on! It's pointless, that won't work on me." The girl said, holding my hair tighter. I pulled one out, and she cautiously watched me out of the corner of her eye as well.

"This is gonna suck, Sakura." I chuckled nervously. "I grew it so long, and I got so happy with it."

"Huh?" The girl gave us both a confused expression. Sakura grinned, and looked back at the girl.

"It's not meant for you."

"What the-" With a quick sweeping motion, Sakura and I lifted the kunai, and cut our hair. I cut mine to just before where the girl was holding mine. I hoped I cut her. I stood up, feeling a little bit lighter, and made handsigns with Sakura.

"Tessa...Be..careful.." Lee said, and passed out.

"Kin, finish them!" I grinned as I watched Kin hit a log that was my substitution, along with Sakura's. We both ran after Zaku, sending weapons flying his way. He grinned, and put his hands facing Sakura and I, and blew the weapons back at us. I appeared somewhere else, seeing the log I used again get hit. Sakura jumped at him from the air, getting hit with a kunai. Idiot. He thought she was fake this time. I used that chance, appearing in front of him, and tackling him to the ground. I sat on top of him, digging a kunai into his shoulder, while Sakura dug one into his arm. I sat there, and started punching him in the face and chest, as hard as I could. He tried to hit me, but couldn't, as Sakura bit him, and kept her kunai in him. "Somebody get these crazy girls off of me!" He eventually started punching Sakura and I. He threw Sakura to the side, and rolled over, sitting on top of me. He took the kunai out of his shoulder and arm, throwing one to the side, and he started pushing it down into my chest, trying to stab me. I gasped, and pushed as hard as I could to stop him from doing it. I struggled with him for a little bit, when the weight started getting too heavy. Eventually it poked the top of my chest, and I screamed.

"Sakura! Sakura!" I couldn't hold it any longer. I felt it start to dig in my skin, and I panicked, looking at Zaku's face, which had a big smile on it. My eyes closed when I started to feel the blood pour out onto my chest and neck, but the weight quickly disappeared. I opened my eyes, and saw Shikamaru holding me in his arms. My gaze went to where I was and I saw Zaku on his knees, glaring over at us with the bloody kunai in his hand. "S-Shikamaru..?" my eyes went back up at him and he smiled a tiny bit at me.

"It'd be a dick move to just let him kill you." He said, and gently put me on the ground next to Sakura.

"Heh. So what's this, the second string?" Zaku asked, standing up.

"Ino.." Sakura identified her.

"Surprised? I swore I'd never let you show me up, didn't I?" Ino took a fighting stance.

"But why..?"

"I'm tired of you showing off in front of Sasuke, and trying to get all of the credit!"

"These leaf village worms will be sorry they squirmed into something that doesn't concern them!" Dosu warned.

"Are you two crazy, what are we doing here?" Choji asked, shaking. I looked back up, and noticed Shikamaru had Choji's scarf stretched out. So he pulled him out here... "These guys are bad news, man!"

"Don't look at me! It was Ino's idea! But what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let a girl do all the fighting?" Ino chuckled a little.

"Sorry for dragging you both into this. But we are a three man squad, right? All for one, and one for all."

"Yeah, what's meant to happen, will." Shikamaru said, looking back at Dosu.

"This ain't teamwork, I call this suicide!" Choji yelled, trying to run away. He struggled to pull away, while Shikamaru pulled him closer.

"Stop struggling. You're getting on my nerves!" Zaku chuckled at Choji trying to get away, and spoke.

"Better a live sheep than a dead lion, right fatso?" Choji stopped squirming, and I thought I saw his ear twitch. I chuckled a little, putting my hand on the top of my chest, and groaning a little.

He's a dead man, now..

"Did I just hear that right? What did that guy just say?"

"Huh?"

"You wanna try saying that again?"

"I said you're smart to get out while you still can, fatty." I sat up, and leaned against Sakura a little, who looked at me with concern.

"That looks bad.." I shook my head.

"I'm good..watch this.." Choji was silent, but only for a second.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING FAT?! I'M JUST A LITTLE CHUBBY, OKAY?!" Choji turned around, and concentrated his chakra. "CHUBBY POWER!" He pointed his finger at Ino. "That does it! Now this is personal! It's a fight to the death between Leaf and Sound!"

"Good job. Thanks a lot, now we gotta live with him."

"Don't worry, it won't be for long." I saw Sakura look behind me at Sasuke, and I looked over at Lee.

"Sakura, Tessa." Ino called. My head tilted up to her, feeling air go on my back from my haircut. "Your teammates are down. Look after them." I thought about the pain in my chest as I did, and looked over at Lee.

"Sakura can look after those two...but Lee.." I appeared quickly next to Lee's body, picking him up, and disappearing, back with Sakura, and gently laid his head in my lap. "I got him, Ino. Kick their asses." I said, glaring towards them.

"Alright, Team Ino, let's show em who's boss."

"Got it!" Shikamaru and Choji acknowledged.

"Formation! Ino"

"Shika"

"Cho!" They each said.

"Okay, take it away, Choji!" Ino smiled, making Choji slam his foot down.

"My pleasure! Expansion Jutsu! Followed by Leaf Taijutsu!" He pulled in his limbs and his head, spinning for Zaku. "Human Boulder Jutsu!" I smiled a little bit. That would be powerful if it hit. Meanwhile, I looked back down at Lee. He was so kind..he protected me, and he barely knows me..I smiled a tiny bit more. Thank you, Lee...I'll owe you.. My eyes widened, and I looked at my hand. I know! I gently pressed my hand against his ear, and concentrated, hoping it would be repaired a little bit. I also made sure his other ear was okay, and nodded. He just needed to wake up. This could be doable. The next moment I knew, Shikamaru's shadow had Dosu, and Ino's body was slumped over, Kin looking at her teammates in shock from the ground and blood dripping from her mouth.

"What then?!" Kin asked.

"Sasuke." I noticed Shikamaru's chakra started dwindling, when his shadow jutsu started to ware off. "Ohh..So, your paralysis jutsu has a pretty limited duration, I see."

"Shadow Possession Jutsu. Get your Jutsu's right."

"Whatever. And I see your teammate is able to slip her soul into her opponent. Very clever, but dangerous. Anything that happens to Kin, happens to her, too. So if say, Kin were to die.."

"What are you gonna do, kill your teammate?!"

"Well if push comes to shove, yeah." Shikamaru growled, and stood up straight.

"Oh man, what a drag."

"Yeah, no kidding!" Choji said, snapped out of his state.

"Did you really think you could beat us? Face it, you ninja are just a bunch of hacks!"

"From a second rate village." I growled, and gently laid Lee down on the ground, getting ready to get up.

"Huh. That's pretty tough talk. I guess that makes your village, third rate!" Neji Hyuga's voice said. "I wonder if any of you amateurs are ready to take on the real thing." I saw their eyes gaze over to me, or rather, Lee on my lap.

"Lee!" Tenten called worried.

"You blew it." Neji added to his little speech.

"Ha. These genin keep coming out of the woods like cockroaches."

"It looks to me like someone used our teammate as a punching bag. No one does that and gets away with it!" Neji yelled.

"You're right, Neji..and I'm gonna deal with it." I said, standing up tall, and walking out and over, next to Shikamaru.

"Huh?" Eyes everywhere flickered over to me.

"I really didn't want to use this. Hell, nobody was supposed to know about this! But...I'm tired of you hurting people!" I yelled.

"Heh. What are you gonna do? Cry like a little baby?" Zaku teased.

"No." I said firmly. I lifted my hand next to my face, and felt my eyes change, and there was a layer of black magic over my hand. Or at least, I called it magic. "But you will."

"Huh? What the-" I smiled, and felt eyes on me.

"Tessa, what is that?!" Shikamaru asked next to me. I only smiled a little bit.

"Stay back, Shikamaru. Trust me." I started walking forward. "So you like to play with sound, huh?" I kept walking forwards towards the ninja, when Zaku ran straight for me.

He's too naive. I smiled. He's first. I flicked my wrist, sending my hand to the side, and Zaku effortlessly went that way, landing on the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" Zaku yelled. I didn't stop to even glance at him, but continued toward Dosu. He backed up a little, and I flicked my wrist again, slamming Dosu into a tree trunk. I finally walked up to Kin, and lifted her up with the black magic without hurting her.

"Ino, get out of her body. Don't worry, I got her." I said. She nodded, and made a handsign.

"Release!" The girl disappeared, and Kin fell limply. I grinned and let the magic cover Kin, before slamming my flat hand into a fist. Kin seemed to move a little, and then I flicked her to the side, slamming her into Dosu. I then heard a voice that made me look back.

"Sasuke! You're awake!" Sasuke had chakra flowing all around him, but he stood up effortlessly. I smiled a little, and turned back to Zaku with an evil smile.

"Sakura..who did this to you?" Sasuke asked. I felt a little more magic come through, and I pointed towards Zaku.

"He did." I heard my own voice echo. It was starting to get too dark. I had to stop before It made me worse, but I couldn't. I felt some fangs grow in my mouth a little, and I smiled bigger.

"Dosu! Come on, you're not getting cold feet are you?"

"No, Zaku! You don't understand!"

"Watch this, I'll take care of the whole bunch of them in one swoop! Super Sonic Splicing Wave!" I smiled a tiny bit, and simply appeared in front of all of us, putting my hands in front of me, and concentrated, sending a large shield of magic to cover us. Zaku stared at us in disbelief, and the shield dropped with my hands.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." I snarled, and disappeared. Sasuke slammed Zaku back with a sickening crack against the ground. I appeared behind him, Sasuke right next to me. "Awe, what a sweetie. Here to help me?" I smirked at him. I gripped one arm, and Sasuke gripped the other, both of us pressing our feet against his back.

"You seem really proud to have these arms of yours.."

"You must be very attached to them." I tilted my head a bit.

"No! What are you doing?!" Sasuke smiled, and started to pull, as did I. His arms cracked loudly, making me laugh a little. Sasuke dropped him, but my head tilted a little bit, staring at him.

"Hm...It's not bloody enough for me." I heard my voice echo louder. So without hesitation, I moved, and pressed my foot on his back, gripping his arm, and pulling as hard as I could. Without any resistance, his arm gave, and I ripped it off, sending blood everywhere. I laughed loud, letting the limp arm hit the ground with a thud. "THERE WE GO! NOW THAT'S A PARTY!" I looked back at Dosu, feeling the power. He looked at me in horror, making me laugh more. "Now, now. Don't be like that. Come on, let's PLAY!" I walked towards him, when I heard Sakura.

"No! Stop!" She slammed her body into Sasuke's, hugging him. I quickly felt a hand on my shoulder, and I stopped, looking at the person. It was Lee! He stood there, and looked at me serious.

"Tessa..please..stop." I looked at him confused. "This is not you. Stop, and come back." I stared at him in disbelief, and looked down a second, before looking back up. I felt one eye turn back to blue.

"L ... L..Lee?" I felt my voice turn back to normal. He smiled, and nodded.

"That's right." I let out a sigh, and felt the power recede. My eyes closed quickly, and my knees hit the dirt, but Lee gently helped me, one hand on my shoulder. "It is alright. Relax." I gasped for breath, and without warning, turned my head to the side, vomiting into the ground. That's so gross. I felt bad for Lee next to me.

"Y-You don't have to stay.." He didn't move.

"No, but I will." I panted for breath a little, and started to fall over. Lee gently helped me, and set my head down in his lap, making me look at him. I smiled a tiny bit at him, and I felt his fingers move some hair from my face, and he frowned. "Your hair.." I moved, forcing myself to sit up, and looked at a strand between my fingers.

"I know..I'm sad..I really liked my long hair.." He smiled a tiny bit, and helped me up. I smiled up at him gently, and then frowned, looking back down. "I...I'm sorry you had to see me like that.." I looked down a little more, ashamed. My hair fell down in my face, hiding it from Lee, but his hands moved it.

"It's alright..you helped us." He grinned. "I'm sorry I didn't help you." I shook my head and chuckled, looking towards Sasuke and Naruto.

"Trust me. You helped more than you thought."