Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Mioaw.
Sorry for the delay. Lost track of time.
Things as they are
Chapter 8
"So," Obito drawled, "Who's betting on their team?"
Asuma shrugged and raised his hand. "I'm pretty sure Shikamaru's tactics will get Team 10 through," he told the other Jonins. "After all, he is a Nara." Some of the listening Jonins nodded and raised their hands with Asuma's. Obito grinned and wrote all of their bets down on a small, worn notepad filled with random clippings.
The ruby-eyed Jonin, Kurenai, smiled and raised her hand as well. She did not usually bet, for gambling was pocket-emptying, but this time she had no qualms about the confidence in her team. "I'm sure my team will pass. They've been training very hard and their teamwork has been coming along well. They're smart and resourceful; I am glad to be their teacher. Besides, Hinata's Byakugan will ensure they pass by enemies instead of running into them, with Shino's cool logic keeping Kiba out of trouble." she concluded. Reassured by her confidence, a few more Jonins raised their hands, and Obito quickly scrawled the bets down.
Then, the Uchiha cocked his head at his old rival, Kakashi, who had been listening carefully while leaning against the side wall. The Hatake gave no impression of betting, and Obito did not expect him to bet - Kakashi was annoyingly stiff at times and betting was one of those "no-nos" for him. But still, it would be more interesting if he did. "Come on, Kakashi," he called suddenly, causing his rival to blink. "You need to have more faith in your team! Aren't you going to bet?"
Kakashi paused momentarily, and then shrugged. "I have faith in my team. If nothing else, Sasuke will get annoyed enough and catapult them all to the tower, with a pissed off Naruto and a flustered Sakura in tow." He paused, thinking about something. "So yeah, I guess I'll bet on them."
Obito blinked, as did most of the Jonins familiar with the famous Second White Fang and the stick up his butt. "Really?" he asked, disbelievingly.
"Do you need to make me repeat myself?" Kakashi asked, slightly irritated. This is what he got for deciding to play along with Obito's games for once.
His teammate shook his head vigorously. Apparently Kakashi was in a rather... tense mood. Inwardly, though, he laughed. He knew all along that getting a team would be good for that bastard! "Aa... well, anyone with Kakashi?" he asked casually.
The Jonins glanced around at each other, as if daring anyone to raise their hand. As a result of this, no one actually did. Obito glanced at his teammate, but Kakashi seemed unaware that no one was willing to support his decision. A brief few seconds elapsed before Obito suddenly burst out. "Well, if Kakashi's actually betting on his team this time - not that he's ever had a team before - then I'm in! Besides, I've seen Sasuke in action and just know this, you're all going to be sorry~." He scribbled away in his worn notebook with over-enthusiasm.
"But," a Jonin stuttered, "Doesn't Team 7 have that boy on it?"
"So?" Obito responded succinctly, continuing his scribbling. "Haven't you been listening to recent events?"
The same Jonin turned to Kakashi. "Surely you aren't entering him? He could hurt the Genin!"
"So?" Kakashi asked, mimicking Obito's careless look perfectly.
Obito snickered as the Jonin's expression turned horrified at Kakashi's indifference. He himself had never thought of the Kyuubi kid as dangerous - Sasuke had certainly never acted suspicious... until lately, when he had begun to know and be able to do things he shouldn't. But until that point, he had been a happy kid. Or he had acted happy. But it didn't matter that much to Obito - it wasn't his team, after all.
Besides, Kyuubi had killed all of those people, not Sasuke. Sasuke was just a boy, trying to get people to notice him. For all they knew this could have been his great plan to get people to do just that and if it had been, then it sure as hell was working, just not in a positive way.
"Anko-san!"
Anko turned around sharply and showed a toothy grin to the Chunin, who gulped. He now realized why Anko was feared even among her own peers due to her insanity. Her grin widened as she saw his fright. "That's Anko-sama to you, squirt."
The Chunin started sweating but nodded quickly. "Anko...sama, we found something interesting in the Forest of Death!" he rushed out.
"Oh? And what is that?" Anko released the poor Chunin of her grin and turned back to her magazine. Interesting could mean many different things, not all of them actually interesting, at least not by her standards.
"It was the strangest thing! There were these Genin who were dead, and they didn't have any facial features!"
Anko stopped flipping through her magazine abruptly, freezing. Only one person could do that, and that was exactly the last person they needed at the Chunin Exams, especially when one of their own genin, their jinchuriki at that, was acting so weirdly. "Like, their faces were wiped clean? As in still skin but no features what so ever?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Completely clean?"
"Uh-huh!"
Anko dropped her magazine. "Lead me," she ordered. If that was who she thought it was, this Chunin Exam could turn into something a lot more complicated and ugly, fast.
Sasuke was nervous, to say the least.
Orochimaru should have shown up by now, but he hadn't. He had no intention of biting any of them, he was hiding, or he was waiting for an opportunity or trying to decide who was the better victim; and Sasuke fervently hoped it was the first choice. He was sometimes cocky and arrogant, but he was not rash (at least, not most of the time). He very much doubted he could fight Orochimaru while trying to prevent him from biting his friends or himself. Not as he currently was. Perhaps not even as he had been. Orochimaru always had been able to strike quickly.
Deviating from that topic - he never liked that topic anyway - his progress in merging with the other Sasuke was amazing, and that was not necessarily a good thing. Sasuke found himself - well, not quite louder, but definitely more outspoken and inviting to people. (He had never before really enjoyed talking to others and now he was frequently talking at team meetings.) Instead of viewing friends as needless, Sasuke was now open to them, craving them, needing them.
Naruto's now dark and cold nature, however, irked him to no end - surely I hadn't been that bad when I was a Genin! Surely Naruto had never had to suffer through this? - and Sasuke could now find no way to befriend him. Naruto had acted bright, cheery, and idiotic, but he wasn't going to do that. And besides, it hadn't done much; Sasuke had still left Konoha, albeit with nightmares about that battle and with secret regrets for doing so, but regrets that were never thought upon so they didn't really count.
Thankfully, he had not lost his skill or much of his strategy. What would happen if he did... well, it would be a repeat of the other universe, only from the other end. And he did not want that. It would only increase his guilt about leaving Konoha in the first place–
Sakki - concealed but intense sakki!
Sasuke's mind snapped back to reality and his head jerked to the trees, his fingertips dancing on the handle of his kunai. A dark, foreboding feeling came over him, and he realized that Orochimaru was certainly not gone.
No, in fact, he is right here - !
The cup slipped from his hand just as he was about to sip from it. It slid off his lap, leaving a dark, burning tea stain from its trail, and clattered onto the floor.
Minato frowned. Surely he wasn't that clumsy. Except for that time with the crystal ball, he thought as his eyebrow twitched. It was all Akito-san's fault, he thought sourly. I'm more careful than that... aren't I?
Other past accidents disagreed with this, but he decided that he could get off that subject. Anyway, there was this burning tea stain on his Hokage robes, so he should probably give them to Akito-san to wash.
As revenge for the crystal ball of course, seeing as he hadn't had the heart to demote her.
Minato promptly yanked off the robes, which were becoming incredibly hot, being over his Jonin outfit. He wore the outfit under his robes in case he needed to make a sort of undercover leave of absence from the Hokage's office. Most looked for the robes and not the jonin vest.
"Akito-san..." he grinned as he waved his robes.
Never did the thought of the cracked cup being an omen cross his mind once, far too concerned over his own lack of grace.
"Hello," the tall, Ame lady greeted in a silky voice, that wasn't quite as smooth as it should be should it aim to garner comfort and trust.
Sasuke clenched his fists. What do I do when he releases that sakki of his? Should I fake it? Yes, I'll fake my fear. I am no threat in Orochimaru's mind right now, so if I can keep it that way and then surprise him, I may have a chance of defeating him. He adopted a frightened look, something he found strangely difficult. How did I look when Itachi massacred the clan? I can't remember! Fear is a weakness and it's not me!
The lady held up a Heaven scroll with three long, slender, pointed fingers. "You want this, don't you?" she – he? – asked as if he already knew. So how long had he been watching?
The grin spread and his eyes flashed with amusement at their faces. Naruto was unperturbed, determined to defeat anyone in his way; of course, he had no idea this "Genin" opponent was actually the S-classed missing-nin, Orochimaru, one of the three legendary sannin. Sakura was scared, and she had every right to be; even though she had been training lately (There really hadn't been much more time than for some pointers from Sasuke), she was still only average in her skills, besides intelligence, which was little use if one could not execute the plans thought out. She also looked as though she was about to drop to the ground in utter defeat.
"You aren't going to just give it over, are you? What do you want?" Straight and to the point as always, Naruto readied himself into a fighting stance, completely ignorant of the fate that awaited him.
Idiot, Sasuke thought. Don't provoke him anymore than necessary. Play at the lowest, and maybe he'll leave us alone, thinking we're unworthy of his ranks or attention. But WHO is he after?
Orochimaru's appearance had not changed. A large, purple bow was tied at the back of his pale kimono, matched with the false, strangely intimidating feminine mask. No ounce of emotion showed on Orochimaru's face, except for amusement. Amusement at our foolish bravado, our false assumptions, and our poor, pitiful techniques, Sasuke thought disgustedly. If only he knew that Sasuke was one step ahead of him, technically. Was it enough?
He watched in silent revulsion as Orochimaru's long, pink tongue gripped the scroll and carried it back inside his mouth. He'd seen it many times before, but that made it no less disgusting in his eyes. Orochimaru certainly hadn't grown any less disgusting than the Orochimaru back in that other world. They weren't getting that scroll that was for sure and he wasn't even entirely sure he wanted it after that.
"Seems that you want my Heaven Scroll," Orochimaru smiled creepily. "Well, let's play, Naruto-kun… and let's see if you can get it from me," a slithery voice called.
And how the hell was he supposed to do that? Slit your stomach open?
Nonetheless, a breath hitched in Sasuke's throat. Naruto-kun? That confirmed the target, maybe. It made it more in favour of it being Naruto. The bastard was after Naruto! But why? Asked a voice in his head, yet he ignored it. You won't bite him – not over my dead body!
A part of him actually hoped he was wrong, that Orochimaru was after him instead.
He hadn't realized that he'd spoken out loud until Orochimaru actually answered his thoughts. "As you wish, Sasuke-kun," that slithery voice responded amusedly, "Though it is to your advantage if you and your pink-haired friend leave." AS IF!
Another wave of sakki flooded through the trees, causing Sakura and Naruto to immediately collapse and vomit. Sasuke, however, remained standing – frozen not because of the massive killer intent, but instead of shock. The killing intent was nothing to him, only a mild annoyance. At least that had not changed.
This isn't right! Sasuke thought desperately. He was supposed to go after me! Not Naruto! What did I do wrong? Is it because of the Kyuubi? This isn't fair! Naruto doesn't deserve this! I do, for all the things I did in that other world. Naruto, despite his broody attitude is really still just an innocent.
Again, he did not realize that he had spoken out loud, words coming out like he had no control, like Naruto used to do; however, this time Orochimaru remained silent. "This isn't right, he was supposed to go after me"? That's not usually the thoughts people think. Does he know something? Orochimaru's lips curled venomously. I may have to kill him after all, despite the somewhat promise he displayed earlier. What a shame, such a waste.
Sasuke took out a kunai and gripped it in his left hand, forcing himself not to act like Naruto again. Acting like the dobe right now wasn't going to help them at all. He wasn't left-handed, but it would be better if his right hand were free. He could form seals with just his right hand – although, he very much doubted kawarimi no jutsu, henge no jutsu, and bunshin no jutsu – the only jutsus he knew how to do with one-handed seals – would do much against an S-classed missing-nin. Surprise was always an asset on his side, but even that did little more in getting his friends to safety than if he had none at all.
But he had to have faith in what he was able to do. After all, Kakashi-sensei always used the kawarimi.
He couldn't defeat Orochimaru even with help from his teammates, so that was off the list. He couldn't run away from an intent S-classed missing-nin, so that, too, was off the list. He could just fight, faint, and let Orochimaru bite Naruto, but he wouldn't let that happen, so that was off the list, too.
That didn't really leave him any options. Would the Kyuubi make a difference in this fight?
A voice suddenly called out, and Sasuke snapped his head towards it; his mind immediately identified it as Sakura's.
"Please let us go!" Sakura begged. Naruto shot an annoyed glare at her; he was not one to run away from a challenge yet he still did not understand this situation, but Sakura ignored him and continued. "Please! We'll give you our Earth scroll if you do!"
Before he could stop himself, Sasuke burst out in a voice he barely recognized as his own, high … desperate "Idiot! He doesn't want our scroll, he wants to bite -" Immediately he stopped. The factor of surprise was a small but definite help in combat, and he could not have Orochimaru realizing the extent of his intelligence.
The edges of Orochimaru's lips turned downwards slightly. So the brat did know something, after all. Very few knew of the technique he used to mark his victims, even in his own domain. Was it possible that Minato – that insolent yellow-haired brat – had somehow learned of it and leaked it out as common knowledge? His eyes narrowed. Yes, that must have been it. There were only two people who could've found out about it, Minato and that dropout Jiraiya.
Or perhaps little Anko-chan had managed to remember something after all. But that was for another time. He was close to achieving his objective after all.
They, no matter who it was that informed this little brat, were going to pay, dearly, but first, this insolent Uchiha brat.
Swiftly bringing his two hands together into a seal, Orochimaru disappeared into the scenery using henge no jutsu. It was a pitiful technique, although with his level these Genin should have much difficulty in following him. And really, it was only the calm before the storm. He would defeat them – and as punishment, kill the Uchiha brat and the whiny pink-haired girl, first. Yes, and he would bite the blond kid, and that brat Minato would regret that he'd ever taken the seat of Hokage - !
Scanning his opponents (although they could hardly be called that), he watched amusedly as they visibly tensed. He'd always enjoyed watching the fearful expressions of his opponents, whether they were high-levelled or not. Most would call him sadistic… and he agreed with them wholeheartedly. Now, he no longer cared how inhuman he was; immortality and power was everything to him and the cost to gain those two things was of little consequence in his eyes. Mercy, generosity, kindness, remorse – those fickle emotions could easily be cast off in exchange for the true prizes.
These brats, this "Team 7" was so naïve. And to think Hatake Kakashi had seen something in them, enough even to train them. As if they could bargain their way out of this mess. Nothing they could give would be useful to Orochimaru, except perhaps their servitude, well only the Uchiha brat's but he didn't appear to be going down that path any time soon. Reports stated that he hadn't activated his Sharingan yet and that was a disappointment. Reports also stated that he was hiding something which was intriguing but after today, no one would know what it was because he'd be dead.
He shunshin-ed across the tree branches, covering the distance to the blond gaki in a split second. He dropped the henge – it was no use now. Naruto-kun's teammates could do nothing even if they wanted to, and he wanted to see them suffer. Yes, suffer! Suffer seeing their teammate writhe in agony as the cursed seal worked its way through his body.
But no – Orochimaru snapped his head towards Sasuke – or rather, where Sasuke had been. Cautious, he glanced around quickly, and was startled – no, beyond startled – to see the Uchiha brat right next to him. How did he catch my shunshin – and how did he react so quickly?! ran through his mind as Orochimaru brought a hand up to block a roundhouse kick.
Releasing his hold of the shocked Naruto's shoulder to dodge another kick, Orochimaru twisted his face in anger. That Uchiha had just completely ruined his plan! But wait! He could still salvage this. It wasn't over yet!
He thrust his hand out, and large, venomous snakes slithered out of his sleeves, threatening to bite the boy. With reflexes as fast as they shouldn't be, the boy jumped two feet to the left and launched another kick. Orochimaru could not but help noticing how well thought-out the boy was. Obviously, Sasuke was using taijutsu because hand seals would give Orochimaru the time to move closer to Naruto-kun. With his speed, Sasuke was fast enough to keep him away from Naruto-kun, but also slow enough to avoid using hand seals. And even if he did, the most he could do with the limited time would be pitiful jutsus. Yes, this boy was intriguing, but actually more of a pain in the neck rather than intriguing at this very moment.
As taijutsu was not his forte, Orochimaru swiftly formed a few seals and deftly switched himself out with a kage bunshin. By the time Sasuke realized it was a clone, he would have bitten Naruto.
But the fight was far from over, for the Genin. As a price, both the Uchiha and the girl were going to die.
Sasuke breathed heavily as he dodged a katon jutsu. It wasn't that he was tired exactly, but that the terrified beating in his heart would not stop. What exactly was he afraid of? It wasn't Orochimaru that was for sure. If Naruto was going to get bitten, if Sasuke failed to stop this, he would leave Konoha. And if he left Konoha, Sasuke would try to go after him. And Naruto would kill Sasuke because this time, that bond was only just beginning to form, it hadn't managed to solidify into something unimaginable to break. Everything was going to happen all over again.
It was like a nightmare come true.
Only, this time there would be no waking up.
Sasuke flipped backwards as he dodged another jutsu. The tree branch which he was standing on erupted and a huge hand made out of the wood emerged from the surface and grasped at him. He was barely surprised at this, having seen this particular jutsu before in Orochimaru's domain, but what he did not know was that this jutsu was not intended to hurt him – only distract, which it accomplished successfully. The tree branch which he landed on erupted just like the last one – only, instead of a hand coming out, it shattered into sharp, threatening shards which flew at him.
He, startled, quickly jumped off and landed on another tree. However, before that tree could do something, he jumped to another tree, and another tree, and another tree. It gave Orochimaru no time to launch that jutsu again. His path was unpredictable and random; Orochimaru would have a hard time predicting his next jump. But that was not Orochimaru's purpose.
However, Sasuke frowned mentally as he jumped again and again. The sounds of the jutsu's effects were fading away… What was happening? He turned his head back, and his eyes widened. Orochimaru – that bastard – had suddenly switched tactics and attacked Sakura with kunai instead!
Sakura, who was frozen by the sakki and mesmerized by the sharp knives, stared at the oncoming danger. If she didn't move, she was going to get hit. And if she got hit, she would die, or at least be severely wounded.
This was one of those split second decisions. Abandon Naruto and protect Sakura, or abandon Sakura and protect Naruto.
Sasuke abruptly changed his direction and launched himself at his pink-haired teammate as fast as he could go. He had to get there before the kunai reached Sakura!
Landing directly in front of Sakura, Sasuke snatched one of his own kunai out of his pouch and deflected all five of them. He was adequate at weapons, though he wasn't cocky enough to say that he'd mastered them. He'd have to say that that girl on the Hyuuga's team – Tenten, the girl they'd met in the hall of the room 207 – was truly the weapons master. Or, more accurately, mistress. Sasuke had gotten some training from some Sound nin, but since Orochimaru himself was not that fond of using weapons, Sasuke learned only the basics.
Wait. Orochimaru himself was not fond of using weapons. So why had he launched kunai at Sakura, instead of using a technique?
Sasuke swore. Loudly. Sakura stared at him, not used to the idea of him using those types of words, but he ignored her. It was all just a distraction, and I fell head over heels for it.
That was not good. Not good at all.
Naruto. Where was Naruto? He wasn't doing a very good job of this at all.
Immediately his gaze shot up to the higher tree branch Naruto was supposed to be standing on, but the blonde wasn't there. He was… he was… Sasuke's gaze travelled quickly, glancing over the many tree branches, tempted to activate his Sharingan but not daring to for fear of being bitten himself.
His pulse quickened as he caught sight of two figures: Naruto and Orochimaru, the latter holding onto Naruto's neck.
With his teeth. The cursed seal.
He'd failed. He'd failed, he'd failed. He promised himself that he would protect Naruto, and he hadn't.
He'd failed.
Sasuke's breathing became quicker, and his gaze turned red, but it wasn't the Sharingan kind of red. Naruto had the cursed seal now, but if there was no one to control the cursed seal…
He would kill Orochimaru once and for all. Then, all of this would be over and done with. He could still keep his promise, to protect.
All he had to do was KILL!
Absent-mindedly, he wondered when his motto had become 'to protect' instead of 'to avenge.' But that thought was all swept aside by the more pressing and urgent thought of Orochimaru must die.
Giving a roar of anger, Sasuke leapt off of the branch with speed he didn't even know he possessed. Orochimaru was going to pay. That was the only thing running through his mind at the time. Orochimaru was going to pay. Dearly. With his life.
It was a promise.
Orochimaru unclenched his jaw from the bite on Naruto's neck, ignoring the boy's feverish whimpers. He dropped his hold as well; Naruto would come to him, in due time. There was no need to capture him now.
Ah, Sasuke was approaching. How inconvenient. He really did not have time to play with the intriguing genin, who by the looks of things, lost his interesting traits while under the influence of the Kyuubi's power. How disappointing.
He brought both of his hands together. "Gogyo Fuuin!" he muttered as his hand connected with the Uchiha's stomach, rendering whatever attack Sasuke had planned useless.
Sasuke felt a sharp pang in his stomach as soon as Orochimaru's hand had made contact. It sickened him immensely, and he resisted the urge to vomit. He could feel himself falling, falling, and falling down into the deep, endless darkness below. Sakura's voice cried out to him – she cried out, didn't she? Or was that simply my imagination? – and his mind shouted at him to respond, but his mouth would not move and he could utter nothing.
He'd failed as a friend.
Again.
And it hurt more than watching Itachi kill his family over and over again. In fact it made his brain hurt a lot. But he was so very tired ….
Anko fingered the broken branch thoughtfully. It was her old sensei, all right. Felt like him. There was no doubt. It even looked like him! Some of the tree branches had seemed like they were burst from the inside, but that was only one of the jutsus Orochimaru knew.
If any of the three Genin survived, she thought, it would be a miracle. Orochimaru never spared anyone who got in his way. She was the exception, out of her teammates; she had survived, and that was enough to make him spare her. But that was all she had been to him: an experiment.
It hurt to think that she had once trusted and believed in him whole-heartedly, worshiped his every deed, aspired to be just like him. To be so gullible!
The purple-haired Tokubetsu Jounin shook her head. The past could not be changed; only the future could be shaped. She would defeat and kill that man in the future, and looking back would only hinder her progress.
Back to the fight. Obviously the team her sensei had targeted was Team 7, Kakashi's team. There were no other teams he could have been interested in, after all. They had the son of the Hokage, the Kyuubi kid, and a girl who wasn't important enough to mention. But the first two were definitely extraordinary, especially the Kyuubi kid if the rumours floating around had been anything to go on and from what she herself had witnessed.
The were no bodies, so death could not be confirmed, but Orochimaru was obviously capable of erasing their corpses, so life wasn't confirmed, either. But… if they could track Team 7 down, then…well, they would know that something extraordinary had passed. Orochimaru could kill them without a sweat, but if they were alive, then they were alive because he wanted them to be alive. And that… would probably ensure the very thing she'd been dreading: he had marked one of them with the cursed seal, possibly two of them.
But who? She thought. Haruno was out of the question. That girl was silly and fangirlish. Sasuke… he was the Kyuubi kid. And Naruto, he was the Hokage's son. The man that had cost Orochimaru everything he'd ever pretty much been guaranteed since his genin days. Of course, Anko hadn't forgotten that Orochimaru held resentment against Namikaze Minato, because he'd been chosen when her sensei hadn't been. It could be either Sasuke or Naruto; she wasn't sure which one, though. It would be best to alert Kakashi – if the Hokage hadn't already – and send an ANBU to look for Team 7.
Anko motioned to the ANBU at her side. "Rabbit."
"Hai, Anko-san?" the black-clad ANBU answered.
"Check the forest for Team 7, 'kay? It consists of a blond brat, an Uchiha brat, and a pink-haired brat. Can't miss them."
The ANBU bowed. "Excuse me, Anko-san. I do not believe you are in the position to order ANBU around."
Anko turned around, her mouth curved into an almost bloodthirsty smile. A wicked gleam twinkled in her eye. "Yes… but since I was the old man's student, I believe I have the right for the leadership of this mission. And since you are part of this mission, I believe you are under my command."
Behind the white mask, the ANBU gulped. Not many things scared her, but Anko was sure one of them. There was just something about the kunoichi … "Hai, Anko-san." Honestly, she was surprised that she could say that without stuttering.
Anko turned back to the scene of the fight. Just even thinking about her old sensei made her blood boil. Oh, how she wished she could destroy that bastard once and for all! … But she would have to wait. Getting all hyped up about it now would do nothing later, when she finally faced Orochimaru. She would have to wait in the shadows for now.
Sakura shivered as she stole another glance at her two teammates. They hadn't stirred at all for the last ten hours, except for their tormented expressions and feverish whispers, and it was frightening her. What if her teammates died? What would she do then? She had joined the Academy with the intention of following Ino, but that soon changed into the intention of gaining Naruto's approval. If Naruto died, would she have the strength to continue on? Would she be able to stay as a shinobi? Or would she succumb to being "ordinary?" Would she even want to be any different?
They were so strong, Sakura thought sadly. And she was nothing. They fought that strange Grass-nin without fear, even Sasuke – but she had done nothing. Absolutely nothing but get in the way. She hated feeling useless, but she was. She had cut her hair for the reminder that she would strive to become powerful… but that sacrifice hadn't shown at all in that last fight, had it? And really, what had she expected cutting her hair to do other than gain Naruto's attention?
It was time to face the truth. She was nothing to the team. A burden.
And she very much doubted in her ability to become anything more.
Why did Sasuke seem to think she could be anything more than deadweight? And she couldn't deny that he did, because he wasted his own time to train her. At least he had tried to.
She swallowed, trying to keep the tears from falling out, but it was hard. One tear dropped, and another, and another. They wouldn't stop. Soon, she sniffed, again and again. How utterly useless she was!
And Sasuke… her green eyes turned to stare at his feverish face. He had completely turned her expectations. Completely. Before, she had thought that he was a useless, good-for-nothing person, and that he hadn't been even worthy enough to pass the Academy Exam! But he had, and from what she'd learned later, he had surpassed Iruka-sensei's expectations as well. From then on, he surprised everyone – not just his teammates – with strange jutsus and more advanced knowledge than anyone had suspected! He had even managed to surprise the Hokage, if that bitter look she'd seen on his face when Kabuto had told them about him being a suspected spy was anything to go on. Had he really been hiding all of that during the days in the Academy? It didn't make any sense, if he had. Why would he actually try to be a dead last?
The other possibility was that he was… well, a fake. She could think of nothing else, and understood why the Hokage had labelled the genin that was rumoured to be his favourite as a spy. But who would want to impersonate a dead last, instead of someone who blended into the crowd? And if he was, why? If he was actually an enemy Shinobi who wanted to destroy Konoha from the inside, wouldn't he have acted before now? Sasuke had done nothing hurtful to Naruto-kun, herself, or Kakashi-sensei. It couldn't be possible… that he was actually conspiring with that Grass lady?
No… but that wouldn't make any sense. The Grass lady had hurt him, after all. She had done something along the lines of 'Gogyo Fuuin'. Gogyo Fuuin? Five-pointed seal? What did that mean? And… what had the Grass lady meant to seal? Sasuke's chakra? No, during the last ten hours, his chakra had been leaking out in irregular spurts, so it couldn't have been that. Something else, then?
Maybe Sasuke had a secret nobody except perhaps the Hokage and Kakashi-sensei knew. Like that S-classed one that involved him.
Maybe that was why all of the adults sent glares at him and told their children not to associate themselves with him. Sakura wasn't blind, after all. She could see that they clearly disliked – or even stronger than that; hated, perhaps? – Sasuke, and she couldn't imagine why. She had once asked her mother why she wasn't allowed to play with him, while she was very young.
"Okaa-san, why can't I play with Sasuke?"
"Sweetie, I just don't want you to get hurt."
"That's not an answer! Why, okaa-san?"
"Listen, Sakura. I'm tired of you asking me this! Now, I'll say this once again: do not even go near that boy! Do you hear, Sakura? Do not!"
"…Hai, okaa-san."
She had pointedly ignored him for the rest of their Academy years. Now, though, she regretted it; he had saved her life. Because of her, he had been forced to choose between protecting Naruto-kun and protecting her. He had jumped in front of her, and because of that, Naruto-kun had gotten hurt, and he had as well. Why would a person like that be hated? What was there in Sasuke to hate? Sure, he had been annoying – especially to her – in the Academy, but now he was different. And yet, her parents kept telling her to change teams. Didn't they understand that he was a fine Shinobi? (Though Sakura would never tell him herself.) And didn't they understand that she couldn't just… change teams on a whim? It probably took appealing to the Hokage. And that, she knew she couldn't do. After all, people just didn't go to the Hokage and ask for a switch in teams.
Then she frowned. Hadn't… Sasuke said he'd asked the Hokage for a switch? No, surely he hadn't. It was impossible. People just didn't… they just… they didn't…
She jerked up as a groan came from the object of her thoughts. It wasn't one of those moaning, painful groans; it was one of those groans people made when they were waking up.
Waking up. Sasuke wasn't going to die? He was okay?
Hope budded in her chest, daring to rise. He was alive! Alive! After that… 'Gogyo Fuuin' the Grass lady did. He survived.
His dark lashes fluttered, and his bleary, dull coal eyes blinked open. Sasuke groaned again. "Too… bright…" he whispered, closing his eyes again and turning over.
"Hang on, Sasuke-kun! I'll get you another wet towel for your forehead." Sakura grabbed another white towel, folded it, and placed it on his forehead carefully. After that, she froze. "I… just called… you… 'Sasuke-kun'…" she murmured mostly to herself in shock.
A raspy, broken laugh came from the boy. "Yeah… 'bout time you started doing that… After a while… I kinda started missing it… Can… can you believe it, Sakura…?"
Sakura leaned back, shocked and well, a bit disappointed with what she was hearing. He was still clearly dazed. She had never called him 'Sasuke-kun' before, to her knowledge. Perhaps, it had been in one of his dreams about her? "I…" Her lips closed. I don't remember calling you 'Sasuke-kun' before, but I won't say anything, because what's important is for you to recover, and I won't weigh your recovering down by denying it.
Her lips thinned into a long line. Sasuke was not normal, and she didn't know how she hadn't noticed it before. Was it necessarily a bad sort of different? The villagers seemed to think so. But he'd saved her life so no, it wasn't. He was just … different.
But first, he had to recover. Then she'd bombard him with question.
Inner Sakura cackled evilly.
Sasuke had also quieted after he had said those words. It was his plain thoughts, and when he was so tired like this, it was easy for him to lower his guard. Sometimes words would slip out; in the future, he would be more careful of what he said. He had to. He didn't want people asking questions he didn't have the answers to.
He fervently hoped that Sakura wouldn't notice the inconsistencies between his words and reality. She was smart enough, but maybe she was tired enough not to notice. Or, better yet – not to care. If she did notice, and did care, it would lead to a lot of questions he couldn't answer, or perhaps didn't want to answer seeing as the thought of telling anyone in this world what he'd done in his own world made him cringe. And when he wouldn't answer, she'd get Naruto or Kakashi-sensei. And they would get the Hokage, the man Sasuke felt a strange compulsion to be truthful towards.
He wasn't comfortable yet with sharing his past and he didn't think he ever would be.
And besides, they wouldn't believe him anyway. After all, who would believe a 12 year old boy that they were actually 16 and they had been sent to another universe by his psycho teacher? Or so he assumed.
Geez, even he wouldn't believe himself. They might accept it if he could phrase it in a way that was acceptable – but he had never been the most eloquent of people. Anyone could tell that.
But, if Sakura did notice, what would he do? He couldn't bribe her. He had nothing she wanted. The only thing she'd care about was Naruto's love, but he couldn't get that for her. Naruto was even less cooperative with him than – than – than… Man, he couldn't think of anything.
A throbbing headache rose in his head, and he sighed.
And this was why doctors told patients not to think too much while recovering.
Figures the dobe would be the centre of it.
Well, he could just cross that bridge when he came to it. Sakura would – hopefully – not notice. If she did, he'd figure something out. He always did.
… Man, this headache was so annoying.
Fire and ice, there was fire and ice in his veins. Flowing through them, coursing to his heart, and that place on his neck where the Grass Shinobi had bitten him. It burned horribly, as if a searing iron had torn through his neck. He couldn't speak, he couldn't open his eyes, he couldn't wake from this horrible dream which called itself the Chunin Exam. He couldn't signal - not even a small twitch - to his teammates that he was still alive. He couldn't move at all.
Pain - such pain - he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, it was so numbing -
There was this buzzing in his ears - loud and continuous, irritating to no end driving him mad with its unrelenting-
How long? How long had he been in this raging inferno? In this manmade hell? No, not manmade. This pain, this torture, it was inhuman. Only an inhuman creature would take such delight in torture. His skin was hot and sweaty, throbbed in perpetual agony. Thousands of sharpened needles dug into his skin, slowly tearing away at his insides. This was worse than that time those enemy nin had invaded, had left him for dead.
"Naruto-kun?" A ghostly voice from a distant past. A small content laugh. "Where are you?"
A childlike giggle, echoing in the darkness that surrounded his world of perdition.
"I can't see you anywhere Naruto-kun." That female's soft voice, so alien to him, yet so familiar, wrapping around him and protecting him.
No! He didn't want this –whatever it was– to go any further! He didn't want to see. Not again.
A flash of red, a deep crimson red. A colour that invaded his earliest memories of childhood.
"Got you Naruto-kun!" Deep blue, a blue like the endless sky and a loud squeal of happiness.
"I love you . . ."
He groaned.
Or did he? He couldn't tell. So far the line between nightmares and reality had shifted, slowly fading into the oppressive darkness that held only flashes of colours he did not want to see.
A new image swirled over the odd flashes of the other one. This one more images than sounds.
He could imagine - no, see - himself dying, himself slowly being overcome and succumbing to whatever this was, himself and that man and their bodies – they died, they died, my teammates died and I wasn't strong enough - No, no, take it away! I don't want to see–
They were lying there, on the ground, unmoving. Sasuke's body was facedown, something which he was thankful for. There was so much blood coating his back, a deep crimson just like from his earliest childhood – he didn't want to see, take it away, take it away! – Sakura was on her side, and he desperately tried to not think of her, those newly trimmed pink. This was his mind, and he could not shut his eyes even if he wanted to. Her glassy eyes haunted him, strangely still pleading with him to do something, anything... but it was already too late.
A kunai protruded from the ground in front of both of them, mocking him as if this were the only grave heading they were going to get.
He tried to scream, but he couldn't. His throat lodged, and he could only gasp in rough, uneven breaths. Tears dripped from his eyes – since when had he been crying? Since when did he cry?
Since when did he care about them?
They were gone.
And he had failed to protect them. Just like that one time, so many years before.
He awoke under a tree. Surprisingly slowly, considering how far away he wanted to run from those dreams. He immediately shoved them to the back of his mind, deeming them nothing but a distraction.
For a moment, he just lay there, trying to take in enough air through his mouth but failing because his lips were so dry and cracked. The air was hot, dry, and it parched his mouth, but he didn't care. He was alive. Alive. He hadn't died. Were his teammates alive? Were they alive?
"Naruto-kun!" Sakura's voice rang out, clear and happy.
They were alive. That was a relief. Such… such a relief. They hadn't died, after all. They were safe… His eyes started to close.
"Don't close your eyes now, teme," Sasuke ordered. "We have to get that other scroll and get to the tower as soon as possible."
Sakura reprimanded him. "But he's injured! You don't move injured people!"
Naruto could almost see Sasuke's shrug. "As far as I can see, he's just broken out of a crazy fever. Nothing that bad." But there was something in his tone, suggesting that he knew what Naruto had gone through.
"You baka!" He heard Sakura's fist connect firmly to the back of Sasuke's head, but to his surprise, the Uchiha didn't shout back. He wanted to know what expression was on Sasuke's face in that moment but he couldn't see much more than a few blurry images. He blinked a few times to try and clear his vision.
"You should be more careful, Sakura." He replied instead in a flat tone. "I'm your teammate, after all, and these are fighting grounds."
Naruto supposed that he meant, "If we ever run into any enemies, you'll regret you injured me because I won't be able to protect you", but much to his amusement Sakura took it as, "These are fighting grounds, and if you injure me again, I'll hurt you."
She scooted back a foot unconsciously, an indignant expression on her face. Though, both she and Naruto knew that Sasuke was not an opponent to be taken lightly, especially after that battle. Sasuke had almost single-handedly managed to protect both of them but had been overwhelmed by two things, when the grass-nin had played dirty and the lack of co-operation from his teammates.
Naruto knew Sasuke was hiding something; now the question, what? He had been surprisingly capable of matching the Grass-nin's speed. Was Sasuke more than what he'd previously let on? It was a scary thought, that the dobe was a powerful person. It just didn't match the loud, idiotic face back at the Academy; however, it did eerily match the profile he had after the class had been sorted into teams. Not to mention, he was suspected of being a spy. Not that he actually acted like one. Then there was that bitter grumbled remark about having skills being a problem.
He knew there was something strange going on with Sasuke. His otou-san knew it; Kakashi knew it; and probably some prominent council members as well. But, how about the rest of Konohagakure? Were the rest of the adults truly in the dark? It didn't seem something like his otou-san would do. He'd want everyone to be on the lookout for a potential threat from the Uchiha genin.
Maybe Sakura had heard something about the strange matter. She was smart, after all, and he grudgingly admitted that she was better than him in the 'knowledge' part. Maybe she would be able to put together the clues.
On the other hand, she was a fangirl. She'd gotten better after Team 7 formed – was that another one of Sasuke's tricks? Somehow he felt it was – but how would she respond if he asked her what she thought of their mysterious teammate?
But, he really wanted to know what she thought… It was a risk he'd just have to take.
He really, really hated fangirls.
Sasuke didn't say much after that. First, he knew for certain that Sakura was suspecting something of him, because she'd been giving him odd looks whenever she thought he couldn't see her. Second, Naruto had no reaction to the cursed seal after he'd woken up. The cursed seal hadn't been timed – he had studied with Orochimaru long enough to know that – so, maybe it reacted when one of the snake's cronies came? No, Sasuke himself had been around them for two and a half years – and he'd never had any adverse reaction. Then… this cursed seal was different? He couldn't see how it could be different, but otherwise it made no sense. Maybe the Hokage had done something. He knew Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato had some sort of a rivalry – though a bit one-sided rivalry – and maybe the Hokage had messed up Orochimaru's experiments.
Something like that. He couldn't think of anything else plausible.
Well, okay. Half -plausible.
It was like his mind was stuck behind a barrier. Was this a symptom of his turning more into his other self? Would his skills really be affected? He had to find a way to stop that, to write it all down, everything he knew. Write it down and practise it over and over till it become a conduit of this reality and not his previous one.
Getting back to his previous musings …
Thirdly, weren't those three Sound nin supposed to come and fight anytime soon? He hadn't woken up until about halfway through the battle, but they would've come by now, right? Unless Orochimaru had told them to stay away due to Sasuke's earlier display. He knew that he had been trying to do the impossible but it still didn't distract him from the fact that he'd failed.
Failed to protect his teammates, failed to even make a dent on the sannin. Failed. Failed. Failed! Failed!
Again there was that odd throb in his head from just before he had passed out.
He forced his thoughts back into order, trying not to dwell in things he had no control over anymore.
He focused, trying to hear anything suspicious, but was unsuccessful. He hoped fervently that the Sound team was not there, because they were hardly in the shape to fight. Naruto couldn't even lift his head, Sakura had stayed up for ten-plus hours nonstop, and he himself was still taxed from the 'Gogyo Fuuin', whatever that was. But whatever it was, it was working – he had barely enough chakra to sustain himself. It was as if someone had put a constriction on his chest and his chakra and he found it hard to breathe. Had Naruto been hit with this the first time around?
He'd hardly been in the shape to notice nor care.
Sasuke could almost feel his teammate's stares. He had screwed up badly – very badly – perhaps even past the point of fixing. If that was the case, he'd just have to tell them, as harmful to his plans it might be. What plans? A tiny voice asked him.
Suddenly, the air around him changed. What? What did I miss?
"Did you hear that?" Sakura jerked her head towards the noise, coming from the bushes. It was soft, as if someone were trying to hide themselves, but not soft enough to sneak under Team 7's notice, injured as they were.
The Sound trio? This time Sakura wasn't facing them alone.
Was the curse mark perhaps set off due to a sense of danger? Naruto was going to be falling into that very soon.
With a groan, Sasuke pushed himself up into a sitting position. This had to be the worst time to have an attack. Couldn't they wait even one day?!
Naruto tried to rise as well but failed. Apparently the cursed seal had done its toll on Naruto's strength, and he fell back, succumbing to the cries of his aching body. Sasuke gave him a concerned glance; he would have to fight, there was no doubt about it. Sakura could do little against three Sound nin. Sasuke had a problem with his chakra so even if he wanted to, he couldn't fight very well.
He tried to remember what it had been like for him, so he understood what Naruto was going through.
What had happened last time? He racked his brain for answers, but there were none to answer his summons. He didn't remember anything, because the first memory after waking up was staring down at his blood-stained hands. And that was a bit after he had woken up – that is, 'gone mad' as Sakura called it. He would just have to hope for the best.
Gritting his teeth and ignoring the shooting pain throughout his chest, the black-haired boy rose to his feet, swaying. Steadying himself on a nearby branch, he experimentally walked a few feet and crouched down – or rather, collapsed – next to Sakura, who was sitting at the small entrance to their temporary domain. "What do you think it is?" Sasuke asked her. He already knew what it was, but it didn't hurt to get her opinion.
"I don't know," Sakura answered worriedly, but he knew better. She feared they were other Shinobi.
"Probably Genin," Sasuke muttered, confirming her fears. She glanced at him, terrified of the prospect, but he didn't look at her. It would be of no use to 'butter it up;' he spoke what he thought.
"Let me –" Naruto's voice came from behind them, and Sakura opened her mouth to rebuke him, but Sasuke interrupted instead.
"Be quiet. You're in no position to fight, teme, and you know it." Sasuke's tone came out much harsher than he'd intended, and he could almost see Naruto biting his lip, trying not to contradict the statement. Trying to be the hero now could end up costing then their lives.
Another rustle came from the bush, and Sasuke tensed. He would have to fight his hardest here, or they would never make it to the tower.
As expected, for Sasuke anyway, three figures emerged from the bushes. One – What was his name again? D-something – had many off-white, dirtied bandages wrapped around his head and limbs. Another – Ah, Zaku, I remember. Was he the one I fought while the cursed seal had control of my mind? – had an ordinary brown coat with the kanji for 'death' on it. His expression was curled up in an arrogant smirk. The last – the girl who I don't quite remember the name of – had a sleeveless green vest on with the camouflage grey shirt and pants underneath.
"What do we have here?" A raspy, deep voice asked rhetorically from the bandaged face. These three were more than mere genin, placed in this exam to test Naruto specifically.
The girl smirked. "A bunch of Genin, eh? They look pretty weak to me."
Zaku chuckled, but then frowned. "Where is the blond brat?" he asked.
The bandage-face Sound nin seemed annoyed at Zaku's ignorance. "Look where they're guarding. He must be inside of the tree trunk."
The girl stepped forward, twirling a senbon that hadn't been in her hands before. "They're guarding him? Oh, too bad. I guess we'll have to just take care of these two brats first." She didn't seem at all worried.
"We should hurry," the bandaged Sound nin urged. Sasuke noticed that his eyes darted around, looking for something. He looked around, too, but nothing was there. Is he scared of Orochimaru? He wondered silently. Is Orochimaru here?
But as soon as he thought this, another thought came to mind, dismissing the notion. Orochimaru would've had plenty of time to take Naruto, if that were the case.
"Oy," Sasuke's voice carried over the clearing easily. "How do you know that Naruto is here?" he asked contemptuously. "How do you know that whoever you're working for hasn't already taken him?"
The Sound three paused a moment, as if contemplating the thought, but at an almost uncanny time all three smiled again, simultaneously. "He hasn't. We would know if he had," Zaku replied with a grin on his face. Sasuke knew that Orochimaru's thugs liked to bluff just as much as the next ninja, that most of them thrived on it.
"Is that so?" Sasuke cocked his head. It was more of a statement than a question. "Then," he stood up, "I guess we have no choice. Ready, Sakura?" he glanced down at his teammate and gave her a confident grin, knowing that she would be near useless in this fight anyways and that he'd end up protecting all of them once again. Could he do it?
He'd have to use that taijutsu. To hell with the consequences. Rather them, than death.
She nodded all the same, probably thinking the same thoughts as he was. "Right." She stood up as well.
"Now, make sure that they don't get near the tree," Sasuke told her, not bothering to conceal his voice.
"Hah!" Zaku crowed. "So he is in the tree trunk!" That statement had proved that hadn't really be sure after Sasuke's little announcement and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Sasuke shrugged. "What was the point of lying if you already know?" he asked sarcastically. He settled into a familiar stance, one which the Sound nin gasped at. It's safe. I can use this without worrying about questions later, except from Sakura or Naruto. But that shouldn't give me away any more than those other hints I'd accidentally given earlier. Besides, it's not like they would know what this is anyway.
Taking a deep, calming breath he moved into the stance that he'd been using the last two and a half years in the other world: Orochimaru's personal stance, the Dance of the Snake.
Chunin exam nominations Extra
Kakashi held up a hand. While his posture and his expression remained the same, he merely raised a hand.
Minato's voice trailed off as he stared at the silver haired jonin, wondering what he was doing now. Even Obito had cocked his head slightly.
A loud crash and shriek from just outside the door alerted the jonin in the room that something was happening, perhaps something unpleasant.
BANG!
Slowly, almost as one, every person in the room aside from Kakashi turned to face the door. Obito cheerfully walked towards it and yelled. "Who is it?"
When no answer was forth coming other than a slightly louder bang, Obito answered the door, imagining a struggling chunin with too much paperwork. And being the helpful guy that he was, he was only all too happy to open the door.
What he didn't expect was a little orange object to whiz past his face and directly into Kakashi's raised hand.
"Uh, Kakashi-kun, what is that?" Minato asked in confusion.
"Don't know. Found it in my pouch. Tried tossing it but it has this rather interesting boomerang effect. It just keeps coming back. At the moment I'm trying out an experiment. I'm trying to see how long it takes to come back after I toss it away at different distances." Kakashi shrugged.
"It's an Icha Icha book, sensei. Someone seems to think Kakashi is actually going to read it." Obito supplied with a snicker. "Poor deluded soul. So how far have you thrown it so far?"
"Across the village." Kakashi replied blandly.
"Oooo, did you try seeing if tying a rock to it made a difference?" Obito asked, joining in on the experiment.
"More weight huh?" Kakashi mused. "Hold on, sensei would you mind jumping this thing a little further out than the village?" Kakashi asked the bewildered blond Hokage, holding out the book.
"No. I'm not a delivery boy." Minato growled back.
"So you're not even slightly curious?" Obito challenged.
"Aren't you even slightly worried as to why there is an Icha Icha book following you around?" Asuma asked with a raised brow.
Obito and Kakashi looked at each other blankly before shrugging and replying at the same time "Nah."
Watching them from the shadows was a certain scowling genin. When the hell was Kakashi just going to start reading the thing? It was time to up the stakes because apparently, simply attaching it to the jonin wasn't enough. He was having far too much fun with that.
It was time to attack Kakashi's personal library.