koko chan: update "everyone's fool" need to update "rise and fall" as well . -.- dun ask, it's sum weird promise i remebered making XD

======

Forfieth the game,

before somebodyelse takes you out of the frame.

Put your name to shame,

cover up the pace.

You can't run the race,

the pace is too fast.

you just won't last..

-linkin park

Sasuke looked all around them, sensing chakura here and there. It seems like two teams decided to gain up on them. It sounded pretty foolish...unless they were friends and wanted to help each other get scrolls. Sasuke felt his pocket, the smooth surface of the scroll toched the tip of his fingers. No way was anyone going to take his oppurtunity from him.

Sasuke looked over to his teamates. Sakura, had a kunai in one hand and Naruto, just stood there waiting to fight. 'I've been training with Naruto, along with the help with Kakashi..but..' Sasuke eyes reverted back to Sakura. 'We don't know if Sakura got strong or not. She might get in the way..' Sasuke ended his thoughts when a kunai was thrown again.

"Hell yeah!! Bring it on!!!!" Naruto yelled and he struck out a kunai and ran into the trees. You were able to hear the cries of "Kage bunshin no jutsu!". Sakura half smiuled but turned her attention back on the ninjas around her. Holding the kunai stiffly, she remembered what Tsudande had told her...

~flashbacc~

Sakura laid her back on the cool grass. The moist mist from the grass was absorbed by Sakura's sweaty clothes. Tsudande also was a little sweaty, but not as bad as Sakura.

"I did..it..I mastered..the.." Sakura didn't know how much her breath could hold on, so she just left her sentence unfinished.

The slience was greeted after a good laugh from Tsudande. "Yes Sakura, you've mastered it."

Sakura sat there for a while, letting in the moist water from the grass. Staring into the now dark sky. Sakura felt fotsteps coming to her, then a "thud".

Tsudande laid her back on the ground next to Sakura, also staring into the sky. "Sakura, I want you to know something." Sakura let out a muffled grunt. Tsudande smiled again and continued, "I don't want you to show your new found power to everyone. Keep the weights on, hold some of your power back."

Sakura rolled her back to face Tsudande. "Why..?" She managed to get out.

"In truth Sakura, I don't want you to put too much attentino to yourself, I know you want to impress that Sasuke boy and all..but please, just don't use too much of your power." Tsudande answered. Sakura nodded, not fully understanding why.

"Yeah, I promise."

~flashbacc end~

Sakura but her lip, this was going to be hard. She turned to see Sasuke's back. He was standing there to protect her, or so Sakura thought. She gripped the kunai tighter. There was a rustle and then Sasuke threw a kunai, dropping down two shinobis. Naruto came out dragging three. The trio both checked all five of them, but still no scroll. One team had the heaven scroll, but they needed Earth. Naruto saw no reason in keeping the Heaven scroll and left it there. Sasuke got up and scanned the area for the remaining Shinobi.

Sakura felt like she really needed to do something, she didn't want to be left out after all. She promised Tsudande she wouldn't use all of her power, only some right? Sakura got up and dusted herself. She quickly used her eyes to scan the area just like Sasuke. Except, since her ability to use chakura was better than anyone else's in her team, she put some chakura in her ears, and listened.

Rustle..silence...rustle...rustle...silence...rustle...rustle..thud. Bingo. Sakura pulled out a kunai and threw it to the direction the trees. Naruto seemed a but shocked because the kunai was thrown almost directly next to him. Sasuke looked over and was greeted with a black shadow falling out of the bushes.

Naruto looked wide eyed and grinned. He got up and jumped the poor shinobi. He reached his hands into the guy's pocket and pulled out a scroll.

"Bwhahaahaahhahaha!!!" Naruto laughed. He looked at the marking on the scroll and frowned.

"Not the one huh?" Sakura asked, quickly reading Naruto's expression.

Naruto nodded and threw the scroll back at the shinobi. "But Sakura chan! I was really surprised you caught him!!! I thought you were going to turn on me!"

Sakura playfully whacked Naruto on the head. "Ba-ka. If I kill you, it would just mean that I can't go ahead to the chunnin exam."

Naruto smiled and thought for a while. "..but if you didn't have to have all three people, you still wouldn't throw a kunai at me right?"

Sakura didn't respond and grinned, she happily walked forward into the woods. Naruto ran after her constantly asking if she would throw a kunai at him. Sasuke walked behind them, watching them debate.

'Sakura mangaed to catch that last Shinobi before me. Hm. Maybe she has gotten stronger.' Sasuke thought.

..he didn't know how right he was...

--day later---

Naruto once again jumped into the river, causing the fish to jump up. Sasuke, again, threw some kunais to catch the fish, sticking it to a tree near by.

"This is not fair!! You made me do this last time too!!!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke just smirked and yelled to Naruto to go jump again.

"Sasuke kun!! We need to use your fire jutsu to start the uhhm...fire!" Sakura yelled over. Yup, it was just like last time. Sasuke went over and started up the fire, while Naruto went to go dry himself up.

It was silent between the two shinobis. Sakura really wanted to start up a conversation, but it's been a long time, she didn't know what to talk about. Seeing on how quiet it was. Sakura finally had the guts to start talking.

"So...what have you been doing these past two weeks?" She asked.

"Training." Was the only reply she got. She exhaled deeply. Sasuke was not a good conversation guy, unless you wanted to talk about how much you wanted to kill your brother and rebuild a clan.

"I have been training-" Sakura stopped short, remembering what Tsudande had told her. Sakura can't draw attention to herself. So, she remained her sentence unfinished, thinking Sasuke wouldn't really listen to her anyways.

..but he was listening. Sasuke also began to wonder why Sakura didn't finish her sentence. Why she was able to move a bit more faster than usual, yet her legs seemed to look like something was dragging on them, yet she was still able to run. He began to wonder, just who she was training with these last two weeks. His thoughts were interupted when Naruto came back.

As usual, he began to talk to Sakura, who would talk back. They seemed to have grown closer together, since in ways, they were alike. Sasuke became more comfortable around Sakura and Naruto. He faced Naruto as both a rival and a comrade. Sakura, as a comrade. He would never see them as anything above or below.

Sakura was still the love sick girl she was before, except she had grown repect for Sasuke's own space and solitude. She learned to respect Naruto more and becoem friends with him. A lot had changed, but the more things changed..the more they stayed the same. Everytime Sakura would go talk to Ino, they would have such a great time, but when the word "Sasuke" came up, it was war.

Naruto still loved both Sakura and ramen, he was still not aware of Hinata's feelings toward him. Though, he began to talk to her a bit more. Naruto was able to control the kyubi inside of him a bit more than usual, he knew just how to call it out, or how to take some chakura from it.

The trio were soon interupted when a rustle in the bushes were heard. Sasuke stared a bit longer, then, three shurikens struck out. Grabbing Sakura, and pinning her to a tree.

"Sakura chan!" Naruto yelled. He couldn't finish, a shinobi quickly got out a kunai and ran to struck Naruto. Naruto brought out a kunai and blocked the other. It was a battle of Taijutus, about seeing which one got the first strike.

Sasuke handled two shinobis. Both swung chains around, each chain was connected to a large shuriken. Sasuke immediately went to Taijutsu mode just like Naruto. The chains were swung violently, until they both clashed into Sasuke. Both Shinobis ran across each other, tightening the bond the on the chains.

Sasuke started to spit out blood. One of the Shinobis smirked.

"That's why we were so lucky not to have a female shinobi on our team." One said.

"Yeesssss..femalessss alwayssss get in the way..." The other one agreed.

From the tree, Sakura just had about enough of this. She used her feet and boosted herself off the tree and into Naruto's enemy. Seeing the guy distracted, Naruto brought down his kunai and into the guy's shirt, then knocking him unconscience.

Sasuke swiftly used Kawarmi[sp] no jutsu and switched himself with a long nearby. He sumersalted and threw two shurikens and nailed the shinbois to the wall. Following that, Naruto did another two punches and the Shinobis were out.

Sakura ran over and scanned the team. She smiled and held up the Earth Scroll. Naruto did his fox like grin and Sasuke half smiled. It was only about two days and they already got both of their scrolls..now the hard part. Getting to the tower in one piece..

======

koko chan: weird chappie..yeah. plz review!! suggestions are encouraged!!!