Kei-Kei Yuki: Finally getting into the Second Exam!

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

Drabble Sixteen

Forest of Death

Sasuke knew the second exam to the Chunin Exams was not going to be easy. He knew once the test began, some were going to die in this forest, others critically injured. It would be foolish if he didn't prepare himself for what awaited them ahead, but this... This was nowhere near his expectations. It felt as if the second exam had only just started, yet they had somehow already stepped a foot into hell.

First, some gas-mask ninja tried to replace himself as Naruko, but Sasuke was quick to call him out on his phony transformation skills. Since the guy's fake acting was nothing like the original Naruko, minus the scar Naruko had gotten on her cheek right before the exam could begin. Luckily, Naruko managed to get herself out of the gas-mask ninja trap and gave him a brutal beat, seeing how the blonde was not pleased that the stranger caught her with her pants down. Even Sasuke winced when the angry blonde thrust her knee towards the guy's groin as Sasuke swore he heard something break.

Then finally, after the team was reunited again, they had come up with a plan if one of them got caught again. It took no more than twenty minutes to pass when someone else tried to impersonate Naruko. At this point, Sasuke felt as if everyone was after the blonde and it was beginning to piss him off. Sasuke was this close to tying the blonde to himself. But that was beside the point, since now he and Sakura had to face off against some powerful grass ninja.

At first, Sasuke was arrogant enough to think he could face off against this opponent, but it took only a fleeting second later for an utter will of terror to consume both his and Sakura's soul, the fleeting vision of their death embedded in their minds. At such time, Sasuke couldn't help but think back to the words Naruko once told him.

"That cockiness and ego of yours are going to get you killed one day."

'Tch, idiot. Even in such a dire situation your annoying voice still pops up inside my head.' Just by recalling her voice, Sasuke somehow found the will to stand up again. It was due to this voice that he somehow found the will to stand in front of Sakura and protect her. He wanted to run, but he knew in Sakura's current state, this would be impossible. So he did what Naruko would have done if she was in his same predicament. Protect their team, because no matter what, she would have done everything in her power to protect them and that was what he was going to do.

So Sasuke wasn't surprised when the girl who was on his mind suddenly appeared in all her bright orange glory covered in disgusting slime. "Yo! Teme! Did ya miss me? By the way, sorry I forgot your stupid long password!" She had that ridiculous childish grin plastered on her face, yet when both Sasuke and Sakura saw it, they couldn't help but feel relieved.

'What a troublesome idiot! Always doing stupid things, a complete idiot, who at times reveals a small intellect...' Sasuke clenched his teeth as he thought more about the girl who appeared before him. The girl was obnoxious as hell, always spouting out her dream, never seizing to get on his nerves, but... never had Sasuke been so happy to see her.

"N-Naruko!" Sakura found herself tearing up upon seeing Naruko. It was something about the blonde that always shined a light on the darkness of situations. 'With Sasuke and Naruko together... Just maybe we can make it through this ordeal alive.' For a moment, Sakura began to feel hope... that maybe they wouldn't die in this forest.

In a cave, watching over her two teammates, Sakura couldn't help but think of her thought before as foolish. The pinkette placed a wet cloth over Naruko's forehead before once again checking on Sasuke. Both of the two were unconscious which happened as a result of their battle with the person who called himself Orochimaru. Whenever Sakura's brain recalled that fierce battle, her body couldn't help but tremble.

Remembering when she screaming out to Naruko, when that man did something strange to blonde, causing her small body to go limp before being thrown away like a discarded rag doll. Sakura was quick enough to throw a kunai that caught the blonde, but even she was unprepared when Sasuke let out an angry scream of rage. Sharingan blazed in his eyes, charging towards Orochimaru.

In Sakura's eyes, it was as if Sasuke was on a warpath, constantly throwing kunais, shurikens, and jutsus that were rendered useless against their opponent. The battle was obviously one-sided and she could do nothing but watch when that person stretched out his neck and bit Sasuke on the shoulder. This caused the raven to drop down to his knees, piercing the forest with his agonizing scream. Sakura didn't know what to do, seeing how she was now stuck in the dangerous forest with two of her teammates out of commission.

"Naruko... Sasuke... What should I do?" Sakura helplessly asked herself. Even after she had recovered the two bodies and found a cave that offered them shelter, Sakura's mind was still in disarray. Looking over the two, she saw how Naruko's face seemed calm and peaceful, almost as if the blonde was in a deep sleep. Though as she glanced over at Sasuke, his face was scrunched up with pain, grunting and groaning, when suddenly she saw his hand reach out, only to grab Naruko's wrist.

"...N-Naruko...Naruko...!" It seemed even when struggling on the verge of death and pain, Sasuke couldn't help but think of Naruko. Seeing this, Sakura felt a stab pity shoot through her heart. Sasuke and Naruko. Naruko and Sasuke. One could never say one name without saying the other, but never would they even think about saying, Sasuke, Naruko, and Sakura. She was the one who was always left out.

Even back in the academy, those two were inseparable, despite how much they seemed to hate each other. Out of all the girls in the village, the only one who Uchiha Sasuke ever paid any attention to was none other than Uzumaki Naruko. Uzumaki Naruko, who was loud, brash, unladylike, and so many other things. Yet Sakura couldn't help but compare herself to the blonde; she felt inferior to Naruko, despite how dumb that may sound.

Sakura may be smart, but she didn't possess courage like Naruko; she wasn't fearless, nor could she confront Sasuke like Naruko. Despite her being ashamed to admit it, she also didn't train as hard as Naruko. Even if Sakura wanted to say she was better than Naruko... she knew out of the three that she was the weakest. Heck, even Sasuke before the start of the Chunin Exam had called her out on it. She knew that she couldn't call herself a true kunoichi when she was too busy worrying about her looks, romance, and fawning over Sasuke.

When she thought of how a true kunoichi should act, Sakura couldn't help but take a glance over at the unconscious Naruko."You are so many things, most of them are flaws, yet...somehow... I can't help but want to be more like you, Naruko. I know I'm not strong like you, but... I'm going to do my utmost to protect both you and Sasuke-kun. Don't worry, for once I'm the one protecting you two." Sakura was going to the channel Naruko's courage and protect her two teammates as they always did with her. She was not going to allow anything to happen to them.

End of Drabble Sixteen