"Found you."
Sakura opened her eyes, only to look straight into Chi's pale orange eyes. The other girl let her arm go and Sakura remained hunched for a moment before straightening. She gaped at her former classmate and then flung her arms around Chi. The latter stiffened and barely managed an awkward pat on the back before Sakura released her.
Chi looked her over, for as far as the evening sun allowed it. The pinkette's eyes were red rimmed with dark bruises underneath and her skin was nearly translucent. Her heartbeat was clear to Chi's ears, and it was fast. Too fast.
"What happened?" Chi asked.
Sakura sniffed and rubbed her nose. "We got attacked by some strange man who could summon snakes."
Chi's breath hitched. Sakura felt a stab of heat in her veins but she blamed it on the soldier pill. She continued explaining.
"He did something to Naruto and then he bit Sasuke and now they are both unconscious and I don't know what to do!" She nearly fell over if not for the dark haired girl who grabbed her shoulders.
"And what's happened to you?" Chi reached behind her and twirled a short strand of pink her between her fingers. Sakura looked away.
"Had to cut it to free myself in a battle."
"And what is happening on the inside?" Chi's voice lowered, her eyes straight on Sakura's.
"I had to take a soldier pill. And then another one..." Sakura mumbled guiltily.
"Damn it Sakura, do you want to die?!" Chi exclaimed, her hands up in the air. "Two soldier pills? Jonins can't take that much in a week and you took them in what- twodays?!"
Sakura winced but could not reply because suddenly there was a hand on the base of her neck, spreading a delicious coldness through her heated body. Chi pushed her gently towards a wall and let her sit down.
"Rest for now, try to wear this pill out using my chakra. It's consuming your muscle mass now to produce energy and it will only become worse if you keep moving."
Sakura could only nod and slumped against the cool rocks. Chi watched her for a moment and then went to tend to the two boys. She crouched next to Naruto and started to check his breathing.
Sakura looked at her through her eyelashes. As far as she knew, team 11 was against all odds very close. It seemed that Chi had reluctantly become a pillar of support for the two girls. Which made it strange that Chi was all alone now. Sakura was certain that neither Shinji nor Ryuya would stray this far from Chi in a battlefield.
"Where is your team?"
Chi turned around, one knee on the ground. "We got attacked and Ryuya got herself injured, a leg fracture I think. Shinji is guarding her now."
"But then- why are you here?" Sakura lifted her head, feeling more and more nervous now.
Chi apparently sensed that, by the way her eyes turned paler, but she showed her hands instead. "I am the real Chi, don't worry. I felt Naruto's outburst all the way from our position and then sensed yours and Sasuke's. Figured it was best to check up on you."
Sakura nodded and Chi went back to work. She had felt that intense chakra again. She had encountered it in her childhood, in the Land of Waves and again two days ago. It had nearly consumed her and still made her shiver but she pushed those thoughts away. Chi sighed, checked if Sakura was looking at her (she wasn't sleeping but had closed her eyes with determination) and gathered her energy.
A ring appeared around her pupils and revealed Naruto's veins pumping all his chakra to the vicinity of his belly, ending in a whirlpool of energy around his bellybutton. Chi blinked and the image faded. She reached out and pulled Naruto's shirt up.
Chi's hands were shaking and she clenched them into fists. There was a very large seal painted on Naruto's stomach, circling his bellybutton. It was a seal she had seen plenty of times in the books of her grandmother. As a child she had seen it being performed twice. Afterwards, there were only stories with one in particular that stood out and was repeated plenty of times. It was about a great sacrifice on a night full of blood and destruction.
It all makes sense.
She faintly noticed that she was on both knees now, knuckles digging in the dirt. She looked at it again and froze. There was an extra circle. She leaned forward, turning her head to see it better. Around the original Dead Demon Consuming Seal there was another circle, an unfamiliar one to Chi. She squinted and tried to recall what the specific characters did. It wasn't an exceptionally strong seal, much less unique, but there was no way she would try to release it.
She put a hand on top of the seal and immediately retracted it. The chakra had reacted to her touch and it pulsed in her head. She yanked Naruto's shirt over his belly and sat besides him. Chi remained seated for a moment until the headache subsided. She rubbed her hands and turned away from her friend to go and see the Uchiha.
Sasuke was paler than usual. There was a thin layer of sweat on his skin and there was again a current of chakra concentrating on a single point. Chi reached out and pulled his collar back.
Orochimaru.
Her face contorted. The braces hummed alarmingly. It was the Cursed seal of Heaven. A techniques that could easily destroy Sasuke's mind as the boy would take advantage of his increased strength and durability. Knowing Sasuke, he would use it even if he knew what it would do. He would do anything for the power to kill his brother.
Chi hated the seal, hated it from the moment a young shinobi had stumbled in their clan, reeking of alcohol and clutching a deep cut in her neck. She had tried to cut the seal out, she had explained, it hadn't worked obviously. The woman had asked them if they were able to get rid of it, seeing as no one seemed to be able to. She wanted it removed or die, it was ruining her.
The seal was meant to be permanent. Too bad that it had its roots in the Ketsueki sealing techniques.
Chi summoned a small blade and made a cut over the length of the palm of her hand. She focused on her hand and prayed that she had not forgotten the technique. Blood welled up and turned dark as she mixed her chakra in it. With her free hand she pulled Sasuke's head and shoulders on her lap and pushed his collar further away.
Chi took a breath. Here goes nothing.
She pressed her bleeding palm against the Cursed Seal and hissed as the contact made her skin burn. Licking her dry lips, she send a quick prayer to her grandmother who had been intent on teaching Chi everything she knew.
"Ketsueki style: Hell's Purging Seal!"
The blood circled around her palm, encasing the other one. A new seal formed and from it appeared branches that spread out over Sasuke's neck. The Cursed Seal reacted violently, turning the white skin gray before it was enveloped by the Blood Seal. The black ink got pulled apart by the scarlet lines and receded. The red seal dissolved slowly and the skin turned pink.
Chi fell back, panting heavily and sweating. She held the back of her injured hand over her eyes as she tried hard to catch her breath. Her ears were ringing and her heart beat in her throat. Her hand throbbed painfully and she closed her fist again,
"Chi?"
The girl opened one eye and turned her head towards Sakura. The latter anxiously glanced between Chi and Sasuke and had already reached Naruto's side.
"What are you doing?"
Chi shook her head and forced the words out "It's- Ah- Orochimaru."
Sakura's frown fell off when the name clicked with her. "You mean..."
Chi nodded and turned her eyes towards the ceiling.
"But then-"
"Naruto... Needs help. I fixed Sasuke..." Chi regained some control over her breath again and pushed herself up the ground. "He just needs a check up with a doctor."
She pushed his head off her lap and got up from the ground. Sweat ran down her neck and she was parched. "I need to get Shinji and Ryuya here. We have a very big problem."
Sakura jumped up and went to support Chi as she walked to the wall. Chi send her a small smile.
"Thanks. That damned Seal nearly necked me. Orochimaru is way too powerful."
"Tell me about it." Sakura mumbled, leaving the complicated questions for later. "We would've been dead if he hadn't stopped his attack."
They lowered themselves on the ground, leaning back against the rock. Chi sighed and flexed her fingers. The blood had stopped flowing, but there were blisters forming as far as on her wrist while the center of her palm was scorched black. Sakura's eyes grew wide at the sight.
"What happened?"
She grabbed Chi's hand and immediately reached to the seal on her pouch where she had hidden her medical supplies. Chi sat silently as Sakura worked on cleaning the wound, carefully dabbing a potion on the burned skin. She then grabbed a little pot of salve and put a generous amount on the blisters. When she reached for her stitching kit, Chi stopped her.
"No need. My skin can renew itself."
Sakura gawked at her. Chi shrugged and inspected her hand.
"Looks good, thank you." She carefully formed a very familiar seal.
Two exact copies of Chi appeared in front of them, complete with the burned hand. They nodded at the original and left.
"They are going to get Shinji and Ryuya." Chi sat back with her eyes closed. It didn't seem like she would get up any time soon so Sakura went to get some water for when she woke up.
After she had done that, she went to Sasuke. He looked a lot better now, with a light blush on his cheeks and when she checked, his temperature had gone down as well. Sakura leaned forward over his neck and pushed his shirt aside. There was nothing except for a light bruise on his neck. She leaned back, puzzled.
The clones reappeared some time later, when Chi was fast asleep and Sakura was dripping water in Naruto's mouth. They were carrying a pale Ryuya and an indignant Shinji. Sakura never would've thought that she would be so happy to hear Shinji's swearing again.
Ryuya was put on the ground and Shinji was dropped unceremoniously on her butt. The clones poofed away the exact moment Chi woke with a start. When she assessed the situation, she relaxed and even allowed a grin when her eyes fell on Shinji.
"Yeah, laugh as much as you like. " Shinji muttered darkly as she got up and dusted herself off. "I will make you pay."
Ryuya waved at Sakura and the girls exchanged greetings. Both were surprised to see her short hair and Ryuya offered to even it out. Sakura accepted readily, desperate to have some link to her normal life. She did check on Ryuya's leg first, seeing as it was bruised and unmoving.
Sakura prodded the leg, trying to sense where the fracture was. It was indeed broken and Sakura could only fix the makeshift splint Shinji had made and give some painkillers. Afterwards the girls sat down in a corner and started a careful conversation.
"So, what happened?" Ryuya asked, as she combed the pink hair.
Sakura looked at her teammates "We got attacked by Orochimaru."
Ryuya's hand stilled. The cave was silent except for Chi who got up with a grunt. She walked to the exit and looked outside. Shinji got up as well and joined her.
"We need to inform the teachers." Chi looked at her friend.
Shinji nodded and then thought of something. "That Kabuto guy..."
"Accomplice." Chi confirmed "I could sense that man's scent all over him."
"And he had those cards, damn." Shinji sighed.
She walked outside and turned back. "Give me a hand will ya? I got a way to get to the teachers without leaving here. I know your communication doesn't work from this distance."
Chi nodded slowly and followed her.
In the cave, Ryuya had started to even out Sakura's hair. She was quiet for a long time before she spoke, startling Sakura.
"We got attacked by the team from Sand. I didn't pay attention and suddenly there was sand around my leg. That redheaded boy, he was like a monster. He almost crushed my leg before Chi got back from fighting the other two. She used the blood of some squirrels to control them and send them at the boy. He crushed them."
Sakura breathed heavily, too afraid to interrupt. I was right about that guy. And Chi could control squirrels through their blood? Can she control us as well?
"Chi was fighting all of them at the same time while Shinji got me away. Then suddenly, there was this Killer Intent in the air. You know it right? Chi's Killer Intent is really cold but it's also as if something is rotting."
Sakura frowned but nodded in response.
"It was everywhere. The boy and his teammates were frozen. Chi was... She looked as if she was in pain. She didn't react to us calling her. And my body was burning too." Ryuya paused to untangle a knot.
"When she looked up at us, her eyes were really yellow, you know? A very bad sign, so Shinji fled with me. There was a lot of screaming behind us, and Chi joined us some time later. She seemed tired but the trio was still alive, she said. They were super strong."
"Do you think, that she could have killed them?" Sakura wondered out loud, her question echoing in the
cave.
It took a while before she got an answer.
"I think Chi can kill anyone." Ryuya's voice was quiet. It was a sobering thought.
"She scares me sometimes." The blue haired girl confessed.
Sakura felt wrong, talking behind Chi's back while she had helped her so much.
"Yeah, me too."
Outside, Chi had her hands on Shinji's shoulders. Shinji took a breath and inspected the message again. It was written in code in case it got in the wrong hands. She had also made sure that the pint sized owl in front of her had memorized the entire message.
The owl in question was this close to exploding, from Chi's point of view. The little brown feathers were puffed and the creature was jumping up and down on his spot. Theodore, was his name. A rather lame name for a summon, according to Chi and a very cute one according to Ryuya. Shinji was just excited that she could summon him after weeks of getting eggs and bald newborns.
Theodore could only be summoned if Shinji was either well rested and fed, or borrowing Chi's chakra. So now she leeched whatever chakra Chi had left and summoned the overenthusiastic little owl to perform this crucial task.
"So, you got everything?"
"YES MA'AM!" Theodore saluted awkwardly and Chi hid her laugh in a cough. Last time she had laughed in front of him, he had sulked for a whole day in a tree. No amount of mice could have brought him down and in the end Chi had resorted to requesting a high-profile mission for him to soothe him.
"I got everything! Everything, ma'am!"
"Alright then," Shinji sighed "off you go and be safe!"
"YES MA'AM!" He cried.
The message was rolled up and tied around his collar and the little summon took off. He soared up for a moment and then plummeted down before pulling up just in time to avoid smacking into a tree. His little figure was soon a swaying dot in the distance.
"Are you sure-"
"Yes, Chi." Shinji interrupted her friend, wincing when the little dot almost hit another tree, and turned around. "Let's get back inside. We have got some planning to do."
They entered just in time to see Ryuya try to walk and instead sway dangerously and emptying the bucket of water over Naruto. Naruto then woke up with such a start that Sasuke jolted awake as well and then there were six Genin staring at each other.
"-the bucket." Sakura finished lamely. "Right." Was that all it took to wake them up?
Chi sighed and turned around, patting Shinji on the back. "Let's pack up and leave, I'm pretty sure that the whole forest knows we are here."
Sasuke, for his part, was still gawking at his former classmates. He turned to Sakura, eyes wide. "What the hell happened?"
Naruto jumped up and pointed at her. "Sakura-chan, your hair!"
Sakura felt like crying. She just waved and went to pack her stuff. "I'll fill you guys up on the way."
"Wait! What about- that thing... The scroll!" Sasuke had never looked so bewildered before. Shinji wished that she had brought a camera.
Sakura pulled the two scrolls out of her pouch. "I got the second one."
Not even questioning it, the two boys nodded. Then Sakura looked up "What about you guys?"
Shinji grinned "We stole one right in the beginning. I think those guys are still tied up there."
"Huh, nice work." Sakura gave her a thumb up.
They all looked up when Chi's voice came from outside. "Let's go already!"
And so they did. The camp was cleared out, traces wiped away and soon they were all running high above the ground. Naruto felt like he had energy for days and he could no longer control it. He nearly crashed in Chi's back who simply pulled him straight, much to his surprise. Sasuke was dizzy but not about to show it. He muttered something about protecting the back and didn't try to overtake Naruto.
The group of six had very little stops. Once when Chi took Ryuya over from Shinji and once more for Naruto to carry Sakura who had started to shiver. The second soldier pill was breaking her muscles down and she felt like vomiting.
Sasuke had no complains about the delay. He was looking rather pale himself. Chi wouldn't have been surprised to see him faint but the boy's pride kept him on his legs.
The trees were a green blur around them and it was all they could do to keep themselves from falling over out of plain exhaustion. In the end they had to stop when even Chi started openly showing signs of weariness. Out of breath, the Genin leaned against the thick branches while she oriented herself in this massive part of Konoha.
"You know the way, right?" Sasuke panted, slumping downwards until he was crouching.
Chi nodded, wiping sweat off her chin. She pointed eastwards and licked her lips. "That is the nearest exit out of the forest."
She pivoted on her heel and pointed at the opposite direction "That is the tower where we are supposed to meet. It's just outside the forest in a restricted area."
Sasuke wanted to yell at her, but Shinji beat him to it. "Then why the hell are we running the other way?!"
Chi readjusted Ryuya on her back and fixed her teammate with a glare "Because while you guys enjoy running into enemies, I prefer to avoid them. I've been tracking the others ever since we got here, they are all in that direction. Going that way would slow us down because there is no way they won't spot all six of us."
She paused to take a breath. "We have to go in a wide line around the group and use the path alongside the border to get to the tower. It is longer but it is the safest route."
Ryuya peeked over Chi's shoulder and quietly nodded towards Shinji. The latter sighed, annoyed but unwilling to argue. "Fine, let's go that way then."
Naruto looked them over "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm all fired up, believe it!"
In the bar~
Ibiki should have know something bad would happen. (Really, it had only been a couple of months since he started training these brats and his liver was now the size of a beanbag.) He should have known, yet his heart still skipped a beat when a tiny owl shot straight at his face, barely missed it and instead fell face first in a collection of shots ordered by Asuma. Ibiki took a breath, downed his shot and lifted the bird by its claws.
The Jonins in the bar gathered around him, curious to see what was happening. Ever since the start of the second exam, they had taken to spending every bit of free time in either the bar or at the finish line. It didn't help when right after the start, Genma had told them to watch out for trouble.
"It's Shinji's summon." The torturer-turned-teacher explained. The little owl nodded, out of breath and soaked in alcohol, much to his dismay.
"What's up?" Ibiki tried to act calm.
Theodore heaved and shook the liquid out of his feathers. There was a small scroll in the pouch around his neck. Ibiki snatched it before the little owl could open its beak. He read it once, then twice and then a final time.
"I need more vodka." He leaned over the bar, feeling very tired and very horrified.
Theodore hopped over and patted his arm sympathetically. "If I may, Sir. It is much worse in reality."
Ibiki groaned and dropped his head in his hand. Theodore jumped in the sink and turned the knob to wash himself.
"Ibiki?" Kakashi stood next to him, one hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Ibiki scanned the room, it was empty except for his trusted friends.
"Orochimaru."
