Repressed Emotions Released

It's a week before the finals, and squad 7 has been hard at work. Naruto was working harder because he had double the work. Einjeru almost has the chidori down to a science. Sasuke and Sakura have some basic jutsu for their element. They decided to meet up one last time before the finals to do a progress check.

Jiriaya and Kakashi meet up at a dumpling shop prior to the meeting. Jiriaya starts off by saying "Naruto's using the shadow clones effectively. He can pull off the summoning jutsu no problem. His evasion tactics need work considering that he's going against Neji. How's Einjeru's progress?" Kakashi shrugs saying "Can't complain. She's been using the shadow clones to her limit learning the chidori, and her taijutsu should pull her through against Rock Lee."

Jiriaya nods saying "These Sand ninja are an enigma. Especially the one they call Gaara. He seemed a little off center according to Naruto." Kakashi said "The whole squad was on edge during and after the preliminaries because of his killing intent." Jiriaya nods and looks at the time saying "It's time to meet them."

At the training ground, Einjeru was leaning up against the logs, and no one else had shown up yet. She says to herself "I wonder what would happen if I did decide to be late like my dad." She then casted the thought from her mind. She stood up and stretched a little bit before seeing Naruto come. He looks at her and says "No wonder why no one answered. No one was home."

Einjeru smiled saying "I wanted to get here early. It's a hassle waiting for you guys though." Naruto laughs saying "No that's Kakashi sensei." They both laughed until Sakura showed up in a foul mood. Naruto looks at Sakura thinking "What's bugging her?" Sakura comes up to Einjeru saying "You ruined my dream!" Einjeru gets confused and says "May I ask how?"

Sakura starts off on her 'I love Sasuke' rant and said that Sasuke said that he had a crush on Einjeru. Einjeru widened her eyes at that ludicrous statement. Einjeru laughs and says to Sakura "You must be hearing things girl. No way in heaven or earth will Sasuke ever say those things." Sasuke comes into the training grounds with a smug look on his face and says "Actually I did."

Einjeru's eyes literally bugged out of her head when she heard that. However that made Sakura even more angry. Naruto grumbles thinking "Why the hell is Sasuke playing with Sakura's heart strings? Also, why is he trying to put the moves on Einjeru?" Einjeru decided to nip this in the bud right there and then saying "Sasuke, I don't like you in that manner. I consider you to be a close friend and comrade, but any more than that and it would be just weird."

Sakura hearing this calmed down enough to try and woo Sasuke over. Sasuke wasn't having it though. Kakashi finally appeared when a fight was about to break out among them. Einjeru went back to sitting against the log. She sighed thinking "What did I do to deserve this?" Kakashi looked at her thinking "Her honesty has won her some brownie points with Sasuke, but worsened her flame with Sakura. Naruto and Einjeru are almost cool no matter the circumstances."

Naruto then said "So what's up sensei?" Kakashi coming out of his long drawn out thought said "I just want to see how far you guys got before the finals next week." Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Einjeru look at him thinking he's crazy. Kakashi smiles and says "Come on." Einjeru then said "We'd be revealing our aces to each other and therefore giving ourselves a way to counter if we do face off."

Kakashi laughs saying "You guys are smart, but you won't be able to come up with countermoves for your opponent in only a week. Not even I can do that. The outcome is never certain." Sasuke shrugs thinking that there isn't anything to lose. Einjeru looked at Kakashi with uncertainty. Kakashi then said "Show them Einjeru." She gulped thinking "I swear to god if Sasuke copies this, I'm coming after you dad."

She weaves the signs and lightning appears in her right hand. The sound of birds chirping fills the air. Sakura covers her ears and says "What is that jutsu?" Guy appears after hearing the sound and wondering where it was coming from. He then says "That would be Kakashi's signature move. The chakra is so powerful that it's visible and sounds like a flock of birds. I'd never imagine he'd teach it to Einjeru so soon."

All of them look at Kakashi incredulously, and they got in reply "It was never labelled as forbidden, besides Einjeru has the ability to discern what her opponent will do next and has the speed to counter if necessary." Einjeru looks at Kakashi saying "Why would Guy be concerned about this?"

Guy fronted this by saying "High-level moves like that consume a lot of chakra. You can't use them in rapid succession." Einjeru retorts saying "Yet you taught a forbidden taijutsu to a fourteen year old." Guy retorts saying "We talked about this almost a month ago. Can't we let it go being as youthful as we are?" Einjeru retorts saying "Rock Lee has had to go to the hospital repeatedly. He might not even be able to compete." She released the chidori and faced Guy with a disgusted look on her face.

Kakashi then says "Now's not the time for arguing." Einjeru sighed and said "The more I talk about Lee, the less I want to go through our match. I wish I could summon Shiruba." Naruto hears this and says "Who's Shiruba?" Einjeru explains the summoning pact that she made with the ninken. She sighs and says "That's the progress I made this month."

Jiriaya watching from a tree thinks to himself "For a feisty kid, she sure is moody. I don't blame her though. She's in a tough spot. She has to deal with her ninja way and living up to expectations as the daughter of the copy ninja. Not to mention, her opponent is already injured giving her the advantage. I wouldn't want a handicap like that. I'd want to fight an opponent at their best."

Back over with the others, Sasuke shows off his newly acquired lightning style and Sakura with her water style. Naruto attempted to do his summoning, but summoned a young toad due to his inability to mould enough chakra. The young toad had an attitude that made Naruto want to change summoning animals. Kakashi nudges Einjeru saying "Show him." Einjeru rebuts saying "We don't even know if she can be summoned yet." Kakashi then says "If not Pakkun will appear. Just do it."

Einjeru runs through the signs for the summoning. Pakkun and Shiruba appeared. Pakkun looked at Einjeru saying "You must have been reading my mind." Naruto looks at the two ninja hounds and Einjeru saying "How can you summon two?!" Einjeru shrugs and says "My dad can summon eight of them including Pakkun. Shiruba will be my primary. Pakkun normally reports to my dad, but he's training Shiruba and the other trainees." Shiruba speaks saying "It's been a while." Einjeru looked at her saying "It has, and the last time I saw you, you were a small bundle licking my cheek."

Pakkun then says "For the runt of the litter she grew the most." Einjeru smiled saying "Like I said, size isn't everything." Shiruba growls annoyed saying "When are you going to stop referring to me as the runt of the litter?" Einjeru backed off and Kakashi says "She's perfect for you. You guys share a similar personality." Einjeru glared at him saying "I'm the youngest. It's expected that I'm the smallest. However I make up for that in speed and strength." Kakashi smiles and Shiruba comes over saying "Don't worry. You'll grow before you know it."

Einjeru's eye widened at the wisdom shown by her summon. Einjeru then says "Thanks Shiruba. I'm pretty sure you want to get going." Shiruba shook her head and said "You wouldn't mind if I stuck around, do you?" Einjeru shook her head and Naruto comes over saying "So this is Shiruba?" Einjeru nods and says "Yup, my beautiful summon." Shiruba sniffed his hand and Naruto gets nervous. Kakashi smiles saying "That's how a dog acquaints itself with a stranger."

Shiruba looks at Einjeru who's hanging back while Naruto is understanding the concept behind the ninken. Jiriaya thinks to himself "That idiot. He doesn't seem to understand the concept behind putting enough chakra into his summoning. However, it doesn't take that much chakra to summon a dog as opposed to a giant toad." He appears in front of the squad and bops Naruto.

Everyone has mixed feelings behind that and Naruto yells out "Pervy sage! Why'd you hit me?!" Einjeru looks and sees Naruto holding his head. Jiriaya then says "Look at your teammate. She summoned two ninja hounds for as much chakra you used to call the young toad here. What sense does that make?!" Sasuke and Sakura look at the debacle with a smile on their faces. Kakashi then said "Maybe it's time for them to go back to their respective homes."

Pakkun then says "Kakashi's right." Einjeru nods and waves them off. The young toad also dispersed. Jiriaya finished scolding Naruto, and Einjeru wanted to pull her wolf ears off. Sasuke then says "You trained for a month in a useless jutsu? Wow you're such an idiot." Sakura agrees and Einjeru punched the both of them saying "Summoning an animal isn't useless! You need to train a little bit more before you can utilize it in battle. I'm pretty sure that wasn't all Naruto was doing in the span of almost a month, so before you go saying that, you need to listen to him."

Kakashi then said "In Naruto's case, he needed to work on his speed and trying to use his wind chakra." Einjeru then said "In mine and Sasuke's case we have an affinity that is weak to Naruto's wind chakra." Naruto clapped his hands together and said "I have one wind jutsu under my belt." A powerful gust of wind blew, knocking everyone off of their feet. Einjeru's hair flapped in her face as she thought "Maybe it's not such a good idea to underestimate him."

Sasuke decided to test Einjeru's earlier statement by using a lightning style technique. He weaved the signs and discs started to appear. Einjeru's eyes widened as she saw who he was aiming for. Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke saying "Were you aiming for Naruto?" Einjeru stood in front of Naruto, happy that he learned an awesome wind jutsu, but concerned that Sasuke would aim at him with a lightning jutsu.

Kakashi dismissed the squad and kept Sasuke. Naruto and Einjeru go to Ichiraku and Einjeru decided to challenge him to a ramen eating contest. Sakura stuck close to the training ground. Jiriaya watched Naruto and Einjeru from a distance. Naruto smiled as he managed to get through his 10th bowl. Einjeru grinned as she got through her 11th bowl. Naruto said "That jutsu, it was called the gale palm." Einjeru smiled and said "It should give you an edge. Watch yourself around Sasuke. My first feelings from the first squad meeting are starting to come to light." Naruto smiles saying "Don't worry. It'll take more than the likes of Sasuke to kill me." Einjeru blushes and looks down.

Jiriaya notices the action and thinks "Is she starting to think of him as more than just a friend? I wonder what Kakashi would say." Naruto looks at Einjeru and says "You're turning red. Are you okay?" Einjeru blushed even more and said "I'm perfectly fine." Teuchi turned around and noticed Einjeru's face. Einjeru took a look at the time and says "I have to get going. I'll pay you back later Naruto." Teuchi smiled and said "It's on the house Naruto. She's looking at you in a different way than before."

Back at the training ground, Kakashi was giving Sasuke a lecture about his teammates. Einjeru came in with the blush still on her face. Sakura noticing this pulled Einjeru to the side. She started off saying "I thought you didn't like Sasuke in that manner." Einjeru gives a confused look and says "I don't. What are you talking about?" Sakura pulled out a mirror and Einjeru saw her reflection. She looked down and said to Sakura "I guess my blush never came down from when I was Ichiraku with Naruto." Sakura thinks to herself "Who did she see?"

Kakashi sensed Einjeru near by and thought "So it's happened huh?" He dismissed Sasuke. Einjeru noticed this and went up to Kakashi who was ready to say something. Sakura was watching and Einjeru yelled out "Go home Sakura!" As soon as Sakura left, Kakashi said to Einjeru "Let's take a walk. I have some things to tell and show you."

They walk around the village and Kakashi brings up the incident of when he first found her. Einjeru nods and says "What does that joke have to do with now?" Kakashi chuckled and said "Your views have changed. You're still blushing even though you left him 20 minutes ago. So still want to say that you don't have a crush on Naruto?" Einjeru looked down and said "I guess our friendship evolved into something else in my mind."

Kakashi smiles and says "Your 13th birthday is tomorrow. I'd be surprised if that part of you didn't kick in soon." Einjeru looked at him and he continued saying "I've known that you couldn't hold it in much longer. All those years of repressed blushes add up. Also, you've always stood up for him and stay close to him." Einjeru looked down and said "At first I looked at him like a brother that annoyed me, but now... I can't look at him without a smile or a blush." Kakashi shakes his head and can't help but to smile at his naive daughter.

Jiriaya appears and says "It was only a matter of time brat!" Einjeru wanted to growl at Jiriaya for intruding on personal time, but she knew he was right. However she didn't want to be lectured on love by the king of perverts. Kakashi then said "Master Jiriaya would know about wooing a woman. However, Einjeru needs to understand a few things first." Jiriaya pokes Einjeru's cheeks, and she snarled at him.

Kakashi grabbed her by the collar and said "Her cheeks are mighty sensitive." Jiriaya looks and says "I can see that by the look of her canines." Kakashi chuckled and Einjeru finally settled. He handed her a mask and said "Unless you want to draw attention to yourself because of your cheeks, put this on." Einjeru was reluctant, but it was better than trying to chew the toad sage's behind.

She put it on and Kakashi let her go. Jiriaya then says "How old is the brat?" Kakashi smiles saying "She'll be turning 13 tomorrow. She's still naive and cautious around you, so I'm not worried in that respect." Einjeru then said "Didn't you have something to show me?" Kakashi put his head to the back of his head and said "Yes, I do." Jiriaya then said "Ah don't worry about it. If anything, Naruto will be oblivious to those emotions for a few years yet."

Einjeru looks down and Jiriaya disappears. Kakashi then says "Come here. I'm going to show you something that very few people have seen." Kakashi started to blush and it was noticeable with his mask on. Einjeru looks in anticipation as Kakashi said "The last time my mask was removed... was the last time I was alone with your mom." Einjeru got a weird picture in her head and thought "Curse you Jiriaya." Kakashi pulled down his mask and Einjeru looked thinking "Well hot damn! My father's hot!"

Kakashi smiled at the reaction he got saying "Well at least you get to see the mystery behind my mask. Don't tell Ibiki. He might try to torture you into telling." Einjeru laughs and says "No worries dad." Kakashi pulled up his mask and Einjeru says "I have something to brag to Naruto about!" Kakashi shakes his head and says "Consider that your birthday present from me." Einjeru smiled and said "Okay."

The next day Einjeru just lied in bed. She felt weird. Kakashi came in the room and walked right back out. Einjeru was confused until she looked at herself thoroughly. She went 20 shades of red, and said "Errm... Dad? I think there might be something wrong." Kakashi who was trying to think of a way to tell her to not draw the wrong attention from boys and taking care of his nosebleed/scolding himself for looking at his daughter the way he did said "There's nothing wrong. You're just developing faster than normal."

Einjeru tried to find something to cover herself in, but all she could think about was Naruto and what he'd think. She turned red again and Kakashi handed her one of his shirts. "Man, this is awkward" Einjeru said. Jiriaya passes by and found his eyes glued. Einjeru cut the excess from the shirt so it would fit her better. She came out her room and Kakashi still recoiling from his nosebleed said "You look just like your mother."

Later on, Einjeru found herself getting some black form-fitting shirts similar to Kakashi's. She then found some silver straps for the white light chakra saber. She smirked, and found some purple pants that hugged her properly and allowed for proper movement. Guy bumped into her not realizing who she was and apologized profusely. Einjeru smiled and said "It's okay Guy." He looked and said "Einjeru?" She nods and says "It looks like I had a growth spurt overnight."

Einjeru finished her shopping and before she was to head back to the apartment, Guy grabbed her saying "I know it's your birthday today. You're not going home before I give you something." Einjeru didn't want to be rude, but she told Kakashi she'd be coming right back after she got her new clothes. She followed Guy hoping that it would be quick.

She ended up getting dragged all over the hidden leaf. The last stop was Lee's house. He came out saying "Guy sensei, who's the girl?" Einjeru wanted to chew the next person who asked that. Guy explained how he bumped into Einjeru. Lee then said "It's your birthday today?!" Einjeru nods reluctantly. Lee extends a happy birthday and smiles. Guy then says "Take a close look at him Einjeru." She looks at Lee's right foot, leg and arm. Her mouth dropped and she said "He's healed."

Guy smiles saying "That's my present to you. Showing you that Lee is ready for your battle." Einjeru smiled and said "I'm looking forward to our match next week." Lee gave a thumbs-up. Einjeru rushed back to the apartment after that and Kakashi stood there saying "Kidnapped by Guy?" Einjeru nods and says "Every year it never fails."

She went to her room to change into her new clothes and get a proper opinion. She came out with new clothes on, her hair tied back, her headband around her forehead, her bangs framing her face, and the white light chakra saber strapped to her back. Kakashi looks at her and says "You chose well. You look older than you are. Maybe your opponents will actually take you seriously." Jiriaya comes in saying "Wow, she looks great Kakashi!" Kakashi said "I don't care if you are one of the sannin. You make the wrong move and I will hurt you." Jiriaya recoils and Einjeru laughs saying "Wow dad, I didn't know you could be so menacing."

Meanwhile at the Uchiha compound, Sasuke looked at the room where he saw his parents murdered before his eyes. He balled up his fist and said with a hiss "I will get you Itachi. I swear it!" A snake happened along, but it wasn't a regular snake. He weaves his signs and the lightning built up in his hands. The snake used this moment to bite him. A mark appeared on the back of Sasuke's neck and he screamed out in pain. The ANBU assigned to watch the abandoned compound reported it and rushed Sasuke to the hospital.

Lord Third gave swift orders for Sasuke to be kept under close guard and to summon Kakashi. At the apartment, Jiriaya says "There's something going on." An ANBU appears saying "Kakashi, Lord Third has requested your presence at the hidden leaf hospital." Einjeru's eye widened and Jiriaya told her to head over to Naruto's apartment. "This is a great way to spend my birthday." Einjeru thought heading out.

At Naruto's apartment, Einjeru stood at the door with her mask on hiding her non-stop blush. As soon as she knocked, Naruto answered saying "Who are you?" Einjeru pulled her mask down and pulled it back up. Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head as he recognized Einjeru. She asks to come in and Naruto stood to the side. That same snake was lingering around waiting for Einjeru to be alone.

Naruto heads to the bathroom and Einjeru sits there enjoying the peace. The snake comes out and lunges for Einjeru. She revealed her canines and yelled out "I hate snakes!" She bit the snake, and grabbed a kunai out and chopped off the head. A voice started speaking saying "You're quick to react, and smart about killing it. I'm starting to consider about whether or not Sasuke was logical."

Einjeru was panting saying "Not in this lifetime, you snake!" A man finally appeared with snake-like eyes and pale skin. He smiles and says "Very little respect for someone who's been taught to respect higher ranking ninja." Einjeru "It doesn't apply to a S-Ranked missing ninja, Orochimaru." He smiled and said "So you do know who I am." Einjeru glared at him and lightning surged.

Orochimaru disappeared saying "I have a message for you to deliver to the Third. Tell him not to pull Sasuke out of the finals. The hidden leaf wouldn't like the outcome." Einjeru growled and thought "Should I do it?" She bit her thumb and Naruto came in the room saying "Are you okay?" Einjeru shook herself out of it and said "I've got to find my father. I apologize for the mess. I'll clean it later, but now we have a problem." Einjeru ran for the hospital.

At the hospital, Sasuke is in the ICU. Kakashi and Lord Third were discussing the situation. Outside Jiriaya was trying to get a peek at the hot springs and notices Einjeru running towards the hospital. He appears in front her asking what's going on. She ran through the spiel with him and he said "You did the right thing in coming to report this, but you left Naruto by himself." Einjeru looked down and said "I didn't mean to, but..." Jiriaya cut her off saying "It's okay. He can take care of himself. We do need to report to the third."

Jiriaya and Einjeru appeared in front of Kakashi and Lord Third. Lord Third then says "There better be a good reason for this breach." Einjeru then said "He came after me as well. He also gave me message to deliver about Sasuke. He said if we pull him out of the finals, the hidden leaf won't like the outcome." Lord Third bit his pipe thinking "What would have to gain from going after Einjeru. He's going after the most gifted in the village." Kakashi then said "You weren't bitten were you?" Einjeru then said "It'll be a cold day in the underworld before I get bitten by that snake."

Lord Third then said "As insurance, I'll have the ANBU guarding you. They'll be close enough, but not to the point where they'll interfere in your daily affairs." Einjeru sighed and said "This isn't the way I wanted to spend my birthday." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and said "I'll make it up to you." Einjeru shrugged it off and said "Things will be better when we get that cursed snake and kill him."

Einjeru headed out the hospital, and Kakashi requested that Tenzo be put on the guard. Meanwhile, Tenzo was getting back to the village after an assassination mission. He goes to Lord Thirds office to find that he's at the hospital. He gets to the hospital and Lord Third runs through what happened. Tenzo debriefs about the assassination and goes to change into a clean uniform.

Einjeru is at the training grounds trying to clear her head. Tenzo appears behind her and says "You should be at home." Einjeru turned around saying "Let me guess, you're on the guard detail?" He nods and says "So you're the kid that Kakashi senpai makes a fuss about." Einjeru sighs and turns around in a frustrated fashion. Tenzo removes his ANBU mask and says "My name is Tenzo." Einjeru looks at him and says "I'm Einjeru. I thought ANBU weren't supposed to take their masks off."

Tenzo smiled and said "This is a different case. Your father and I used to be in the same squad together. He requested that I be put on the squad to watch you." Einjeru shrugged and said "I come to the training grounds to clear my head." Tenzo then says "Would you mind if I put your skills to the test?" Einjeru shrugs and says "Sure, it's not everyday that an ANBU Black Ops. ninja asks to test a genins skills."

They stand in an open part of the training ground. Einjeru says to him "Any restrictions?" Tenzo said "Come at me with everything you have." Einjeru decides to start off with some taijutsu. She comes in close ready to land some hits. Tenzo thinks "She's fast. Let's see how strong she is." She shoots her fist for his face. He blocks and thinks "The force behind her hits is high. To think that she's only a genin. I'd swear she was a high level chunin with her speed alone."

She catches him off guard with a kick to his face. Tenzo stumbles and rubs his face. Einjeru looks at him grinning. Tenzo says "For a genin, you put a lot of force into your hits." Einjeru says "You've seen nothing yet!" She makes some shadow clones and surrounds him. Tenzo looks in amazement and thinks "This kid's brimming with talent. No wonder Orochimaru would come after her." The clones charge at him simultaneously.

Tenzo then uses the wood style to restrain them. The clones popped and Einjeru destroys the wood using chidori. Tenzo puts his hands up saying "So you know your father's signature move huh?" Einjeru releases it nodding. Tenzo smiles saying "You're basically a mini him." Einjeru gets a weird look on her face and says "But I'm a girl." Tenzo chuckles and says "I know. You have his demeanor." She gets into her lazy stance and says "But I'm not late for every meeting and reading those books by that demented pervert."

Tenzo laughs and says "It's getting late." Einjeru nods and Tenzo puts his mask on saying "We're to stay near, but not to interfere unless necessary." Einjeru nods and runs out of the training field to the apartment. Just before she gets to the apartment, Einjeru feels an ominous wind. She stops and looks around. She puts her hand on the chakra saber and says "Who's there?" She reveals her ears and her eyes change.

Orochimaru appears and says "You really are something else to be able to sense me by just a blow of the wind." Einjeru scoffs and says "What do you want, you pedophiliac of a snake?" Orochimaru comes closer and Einjeru draws her sword. He says "You still lack respect." Einjeru then said "What'd I tell you earlier. It doesn't apply to S-Ranked missing ninja." Her eyes honed over the area. She spotted the ANBU assigned to watch her and Orochimaru says "I assume you delivered the message?" She growled at him and said "I'll do anything to protect my home and friends. Even if it means following a request from someone we're supposed to kill on sight."

He then raised his fingers and three shinobi surrounded Einjeru on all sides. The ANBU tensed and got ready to strike. Orochimaru came closer and said "Consider this a test. These guys will attack you. If you defeat them, you can go. If not, then you're a good test subject." Einjeru growled knowing that she was between a rock and a hard place. She growled thinking about whether or not she should flip her mental switch from shy and innocent to cold and heartless killer.

Orochimaru looks at her smiling and says "You're a lot like Kabuto. You think things through." Einjeru then says "I'm flipping my switch. There's no way I'm going to survive if I don't." As soon as her switch flipped, her eyes changed, and she made a stern stab to her right. The blood splattered on her and the other two jumped from her. The ANBU watched in shock as a normal genin would be shocked after seeing blood for the first time.

Tenzo kept a focused eye on her thinking "She has the eyes of an experienced killer, or someone who's had tons of experience." Einjeru looked at them and said "Well, it feels like the second round of the chunin exams, except this is for real, and if I'm not mistaken, talking and using psychological torture won't get me anywhere." She slashed the white light chakra saber unleashing the white chakra from within.

The other two ninja were contemplating and Einjeru got behind them slicing their jugulars with a kunai. She huffed and said "You'll have to try harder than that. Now if you'll excuse me." She started to walk and the ANBU landed behind her to ensure that Orochimaru didn't attempt anything with her back turned. She got home and her mental switch flipped back to shy and innocent.

Kakashi looked at her walking in and said "You better have been forced into that fight." Einjeru said "I was surrounded on all sides and I flipped my mental switch." Tenzo appeared and said "It's true. Although I never seen that look in the eyes of a genin. It's like she killed before." Kakashi gestured to Einjeru. She started off saying "I did on our first mission outside the village. I was in total shock. Before the exams started I was seeing a shrink. I also discovered that I have a mental switch that allows me to work efficiently and keep my compassionate side. When my switch is flipped, there's no stopping me until my objective is complete. In this case it was defeating the opponents and ensuring my survival. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean up and take care of the blood before it sets in." She walks out of the room.

Tenzo then says "She'll have no problem making chunin." Kakashi nods and says "I've taught her the dark side of being a shinobi. Half of her embraces it. It concerns me though." Tenzo then says "If it wasn't for my sparring with her earlier I'd be concerned too. Against a friend she tries to avoid using lethal moves. She used the chidori as an escape tactic." Kakashi nods and says "How is she?" Tenzo replied "I'd guess as far as strength goes, she'd be a high chunin. Her jutsu is up there in the A-Rank with the shadow clones and chidori. Her planning was something I never assessed."

Meanwhile, Einjeru was in the shower thinking about what happened. She thinks to herself "Why is it that he's after Sasuke and me? No one outside of Squad 7, Iruka sensei and Lord Third know about the Hatake blood-trait." She rinses off the blood that splattered on her and and scrubbed her hair. She comes out and puts her pajamas on. She smiles looking at the dog print. She comes out of the bathroom and Kakashi sees his happy healthy daughter.

Kakashi looks at her and Tenzo says "Kakashi, you take overprotective daddy to a new level." Einjeru smiles and says "I'm kind of glad he's like this at times. He's there when I need him... most times." Kakashi gets a complacent look on his face and says "Well there will be a time where I won't be here. By that time, I will have hoped you're standing on your own." Einjeru looked at him and looked back down. She goes to her room.

Tenzo lets himself out and continues to watch Einjeru from a distance. He chuckles and thinks "Even though I just met her, I've grown attached." Einjeru slept the night away.

The next day, Einjeru woke up and smiled. She decided to gather up the squad for a day of hanging out if Sasuke was able to be discharged. She got dressed and found a note in the kitchen. "Einjeru, When you read this, report to the hospital." Einjeru sighed and rushed to the hospital.

As soon as she got there, the ANBU appeared behind her. She came inside and saw Kakashi. She cleared her throat and Kakashi said "We might have to cancel the final rounds all together. However Lord Third feels that after the hard work that you guys have put in to get ready, he'll give you guys a special test." Einjeru shrugged and said "Why would you tell me in the hospital?" Lord Third appeared and said "Your test is Sasuke. You're to guard him. This would be about a A-Rank for a jonin, but I'd figure to challenge you."

Einjeru groaned inwardly and thinks "There goes my plans for the day." She then says "I accept the task." Lord Third smiles and hands her a paper saying "You're going to need this to get past the ANBU guarding him." Einjeru nods and heads up to the ICU.

At the doors to Sasuke's room, the ANBU asked Einjeru to state her business and she handed them the paper. They stood to the side and she walked in. Sasuke was lying in the middle of the room. Einjeru knelt down next to him. She thought to herself "He was bitten by the same snake that I killed." A voice echoed saying "Sasuke will seek me out." Einjeru shook her head and said "No way. Not if I can help it."

There was thud outside the door. Einjeru hid and watched from where she was. The silver-haired genin from the first test came in. Einjeru kept her vigil until she saw his kunai. She stood behind him and said "What you're doing is very close to treason." He smirked and said "Well, you had to be exceptionally skilled or just plain lucky to avoid Lord Orochimaru's bite." Einjeru said "You must be exceptionally stupid to break into a guarded Intensive Care room."

The ninja laughed saying "I'm the chief of the medical corps. son. I should say the same of you." Einjeru chuckled and said "Under orders from the hokage to be here. You're not." The ninja then said "I forgot to tell you my name Einjeru. My name is Kabuto." Einjeru said "What do you hope to accomplish by being here Kabuto? Depending on the answer, I may have to take care of business right here." Kabuto laughs and says "You're just a rookie genin."

Einjeru flipped her switch and said "Yeah I am, but I'm a rookie genin with a lot of power." Kabuto smirked and said "It won't be enough. You hold Sasuke's life in your hands right?" Einjeru was behind him holding a kunai to his jugular saying "Want to restate that?" A sadistic grin came across her face. Kabuto thought to himself "Is this girl a genin? She sounds too experienced to be a rookie." Einjeru who was reading his thoughts said "Thanks for the complement."

Kabuto gulped and used the dead soul jutsu. Einjeru turned around and faced her clone. One of the dead ANBU came in and Einjeru immediately got on the defensive. Kabuto then says "For a brat, you're quite smart." Einjeru then said "ANBU aren't stupid enough to break protocol. They're not to come in the room unless instructed." Kabuto crashed through the window saying "Another time." Einjeru and her clone ran to the window and saw he was gone.

After the whole ordeal, Einjeru sent out a distress howl. Within a few minutes, Kakashi arrived and noticed the dead ANBU and broken window. Einjeru slumped and said "Flipping the switch takes a lot out of me." Kakashi said "Who was skilled enough to get past the ANBU outside?" Einjeru said "You're not going to believe this, but it was Kabuto Yakushi." Kakashi looked at her and said "Are you sure? You know that you're accusing a fellow Leaf shinobi and this can backlash on you?"

Einjeru nods and says "Is there anyone else in the leaf that can use the dead soul jutsu?" Kakashi looks at her and says "Most of the medical corps. can. However, they wouldn't compromise their position by doing that." Einjeru sighed and said "This is going to be a long day." Kakashi nods and the ANBU that were guarding Einjeru appeared.

They went to Lord Third and explained what happened. Lord Third groaned and said "The nature of the accusation is very serious. Kabuto is the same rank as you." Einjeru nods and says "I wouldn't be saying anything if it wasn't true." The ANBU came forward and said "We were observing from outside the windows. The ninja in question was coming towards Sasuke with a kunai. Einjeru subdued him the best she could. However, he escaped in another body." Lord Third rubbed his forehead.

Einjeru bowed her head and said "I apologize sir. I never intended for this to happen." Lord Third shook his head and said "This wan't your fault, however I put you in danger." Einjeru rebutted saying "How were you supposed to know about an enemy assassin in your own forces? However we do need to find Kabuto and restrain him." Lord Third nods and says "You're right in that respect." He hands her a chunin vest and a certificate saying "Congratulations. You're now a chunin. Your job right now is to round up the genin and alert them to the potential danger that befalls us. The ANBU will be searching for Kabuto." Einjeru nods and says "I'm on the job."

Once she got out the office, she threw on her vest. The first stop was Naruto's apartment. Einjeru and Naruto then went to grab Sakura. The next stop after Sakura was the Hyuuga compound for Hinata and Neji. They then went to grab Kiba and Shino. The group then went to grab Rock Lee and TenTen. Einjeru was doing a count and seeing that they needed to grab Shikamaru and Choji.

After retrieving everyone, they headed to the hospital so Einjeru could check up on Sasuke. Upon getting to his room, Einjeru noticed that he was gone. She then thought to herself "Damn it! We never replaced the ANBU to guard him. Now he's gone and heaven knows where." She bit her finger to draw blood and weaved the signs for the summoning. Pakkun arrived saying "What's up?" Einjeru replied "Sasuke is missing and we need to track him down." Pakkun nodded and sniffed the bed.

Einjeru followed Pakkun. The genin followed behind her. Einjeru called out saying "How far are we from Sasuke?" Pakkun replied "He's near the village gate." Einjeru groaned thinking "What is that idiot doing? For the person who got tied for top rookie of the year, he's not using his head." They sped up and got to the gate.

Einjeru took a flying tackle towards Sasuke saying "Are you crazy?! You weren't discharged from the hospital yet! You'll be setting your recovery back!" Sasuke tried to push her off to no avail. Naruto and Sakura come out to the front. Sakura goes to start yelling and Naruto held her back saying "Sasuke's not in his right mind. Einjeru would be the best one to knock some sense into him."

They rolled on the ground. Einjeru growled and unleashed her killing intent to show him that she meant business. All of the other genin are sitting there watching and wondering if this will end some time soon. Kakashi appeared saying "What's going on here?" Einjeru explained everything and managed to calm down. Kakashi replied "Okay, I also see you've gathered the genin as instructed. I was going to check on Sasuke myself."

All of the genin looked in confusion and Einjeru says "The hidden leaf is in a state of emergency and it looks like a potential fight will break out. You think I wanted to come and retrieve all of you guys from your homes to hang out? Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru excluded." Naruto then says "Alright! A battle!" Einjeru then says "Naruto? Can you guess what I'm going to say next?" Naruto looked down and said "We have to stay out of the fight?"

Einjeru nods and says "Lord Third doesn't want the genin involved." Kiba who was enraged said "Then what are you?!" Einjeru tugged her vest and said "A chunin." Naruto yells out "How!" Einjeru said "It was a hindsight, but it looks like the third rounds are going to be cancelled. I was given a special test. It was guarding Sasuke while in the hospital. That was why we had to go there and go on a wild goose chase."

Sasuke grunts and tries to walk off. Einjeru appears in front of him saying "Nice try Uchiha." Kakashi then says "This is not the time for arguing. Regardless of whether or not you like it, Einjeru is your superior. You are to follow her instructions after I leave." He disappears and Neji says "Fate has..." Einjeru said "Don't you dare start with what fate has in store for someone because I'm not having it."

All of the genin took a look at her and kept their mouths shut. Einjeru took a deep breath before her mental switch slipped completely. She turned towards the genin and said "There's a side of me that I don't want to bring out, but if you guys push me I will." Squad 7 already saw it and thought "When her switch flips, she becomes the queen of torture and heartlessness." Sasuke gets a smile on his face. Naruto sees that and Einjeru read his thoughts saying "Nice try Sasuke, but I already know what you're thinking. If you even try it, you'll regret it and end up back in the hospital. You may think just because I'm your teammate it means I'll go easy. I will stop just short of killing you because I'm not one to kill my comrades."

Einjeru took another deep breath and said "You guys should stay together while traveling. If you guys will excuse me." She walked off and the rest of them were confused. Neji started heading back to the Hyuuga compound and Hinata followed. Naruto went after Einjeru, and Sakura and Ino trailed Sasuke. Shikamaru and Choji went to hang out. Shino and Kiba stuck around each other because they were on the same squad. The same went for Rock Lee and TenTen.

Naruto caught up with Einjeru and says "What was that? You've never made a threat like that." Einjeru said "That was my switch slipping and my anger seeping out. It would be best to leave me alone Naruto." Naruto grabbed her hand and said "You're coming with me." Einjeru sighed and said "If we're going for ramen, you're buying." She thinks to herself "I had to fall in love with a goof-ball."

At Ichiraku, Teuchi says "The usual for you two." Einjeru and Naruto nod, and they sit down. A few minutes later their ramen came out and Einjeru was calmer. Naruto looks at her and says "You're red again." Einjeru pulled up her mask and says "I'm only like that when I'm with you." Naruto slurps some of his ramen and looked at her. He gives a cheesy grin and says "You're cute."

Her mouth dropped and she looked down at the floor. Naruto smiles and says "That's somewhat better. Come on." The next thing Einjeru knew she was being dragged around the village. She couldn't help but to smile and giggle. Kakashi was watching from a distance and said "If anyone can keep Einjeru wrapped around them it's you Naruto."

Einjeru said to Naruto "I'm kind of embarrassed." Naruto asks why and gets in reply from Einjeru "I'm a chunin being dragged around by a genin." Naruto laughed and said "You're better off smiling. Angry isn't you." Einjeru sighed and said "It's not my fault. The pressure gets to me a bit." Naruto kept dragging her around and said "Maybe you can get Lord Third to reconsider his decision about the finals." Einjeru pulled her hand from him and looked at him concerned.

He looks back at her and says "What's wrong?" Einjeru said "They cancelled the finals because of Sasuke. Because of this a battle is likely to ensue, yet you're more concerned about beating Neji to a pulp. I love you." Naruto looks at her and says "What did you say?" Einjeru bit her tongue and said "I love you Naruto. I always have." Naruto gets a slight blush on his face and he says "No wonder why you're so loose around me."

Einjeru says "I guess, but you're so concerned about getting into a fight, it took you until now to notice." Naruto smiled and said "How can I ignore you? You make it almost impossible most days since the Land of Waves." She looked down and said "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you felt like that." He then says "It's not in an annoying manner. It's more of an 'I care for you' manner." Einjeru smiled and said "That's good."

Kakashi appears and says "Hey you two, you should be heading back to the apartment. There's a curfew in effect for all the young ninja effective immediately." Einjeru looks at him and says "This was just put in place now?" Kakashi nods and Naruto says "Aw, but sensei?" Kakashi shook his head and said "Head home Naruto. You'll see her tomorrow." Einjeru was breathing a sigh of relief under her breath.

They head to the apartment and Einjeru said "Why is this happening all of a sudden?" Kakashi shrugged and said "Lord Third convened a meeting of all of the jonin sensei including the rookies. He wanted to put a curfew on the rookies especially." Einjeru shrugs and says "Even though I was promoted, I'm still under the category of rookie. Also it wasn't like I had a curfew to follow anyway." Kakashi shakes his head and heads out saying "If you do need to go out, use a transformation and your chunin vest so you aren't spotted." Einjeru nods and heads to sleep.

The next few days were filled with intense training and emergency drills. Einjeru was separated from the squad and bored out of her mind. She had to work under Iruka at the academy and help him with the students to get them ready in case something did happen. One of the students asked Einjeru if she was actually a chunin. Einjeru gulped and her hand twitched as she said "I am. Also I'm highly competent and able to help. Do you guys want to see something cool?"

The students all looked in anticipation as Einjeru flashed through her hand signs. She gripped her right hand and the lightning appeared in her it. One of the students looked in amazement and said "What is that jutsu?" Einjeru smiled and said "The original jutsu of the Leaf's Copy Ninja, my father. It's called the chidori." Iruka smiled in amazement.

Einjeru said "Being the daughter of an elite jonin has its perks." She released the chidori and said "I have another awesome jutsu but if I summon her or him they might be mad at me." The students look at her like she was crazy and decided to pitch a fit until they saw what she meant. She flashed through the signs praying that it would be Shibura that came.

As soon as she called it out, both Pakkun and Shibura appeared. Einjeru said "What do you know? I summoned both of them." Pakkun smiles and says to her "Yo! I have a message for you." Einjeru listens intently and says "I'm needed at the hokage's office?" Shibura nods and says "I was getting bored so I'm tagging along." Einjeru smiled and the students look in amazement.

Iruka then said "You can summon as well?" Einjeru nods and says "I've done quite a bit of training in this past month on both of these jutsu, I would explain, but it appears that I'm needed. I'll see you later Iruka sensei." She heads over to Lord Third and saw squad 7 minus Sasuke. Pakkun and Shibura disperse and Einjeru looks at them saying "What's going on?"