A/N: Next chapter is here, surprisingly faster than I thought. As usual please Read & Review - for all thepeople who've at least clicked onthe story (thank you for that), only one or two have been nice enough toleave reviews...

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Chapter 8

"Confrontation"

"What's going on?" Kaori asked.

Neither Takeo nor Kintarou said a word. Both of them stood calmly waiting for Ren's response, their arms folded across their chests in anticipation.

"No one…" Ren forcibly smiled. "No one else lives here. I-I said I lived by myself, remember?"

"Takeo-kun, Kintarou-kun," Kaori started. "What's the problem?"

"Takeo found evidence suggesting that someone else lives here," Kintarou revealed.

"Evidence of who?" Kaori questioned.

"A girl," Takeo stated, which made Ren look away in panic. "I found a skirt hanging with Ren's laundry on the side of the house. I also found that doll lying in the grass out back."

Takeo gestured towards the tattered figure still clutched in Kintarou's massive hand.

"I…don't know where the doll came from, I assure you," Ren said. "It's possible one of the villager's children dropped it while they were playing."

"And the skirt?" Kintarou replied with condescending eyes.

"Well, I'm not…everyone does their washing along the well near the square, so it just got mixed in with my things," explained Ren.

"But, Ren-san," Kaori interjected. "If you were planning on leaving with us, why would you bother to do laundry?"

Takeo and Kintarou glanced at one another, both sharing the same feelings of embarrassment for not thinking about that.

"Uh, that's simply because I…I mean it makes it seem like…"

Ren paused and dropped remorsefully to his knees.

"I'm sorry," he mournfully mumbled.

"For what?" Kintarou questioned. "What's really going on? Why did you lie to us?"

"Kintarou, drop your pack," Takeo said quickly, unzipping his jacket and tossing it to the ground. "I'm going to scout the perimeter."

Kintarou slid the hefty pack from his shoulders and placed it carefully on the hardened soil. Takeo removed the straps binding his heavy bow to the backpack, and began rummaging through it, finally securing his equipment pouch and empty quiver. Taking out the dozen or so arrows from a sturdy narrow side pocket, he filled the leather quiver and swung it back in its familiar spot over his head and left shoulder. With his bow in hand, Takeo grasped the forehead protector tied around the strap across his chest.

"Back in a flash."

"What about your Chuunin vest?" Kintarou started to ask.

But he was gone. In one swift motion, Takeo dashed out of sight. Still trembling on his knees, Ren could hardly speak.

"Ren-san," Kaori comforted. "Please tell us what is really happening."

"I can't," he stumbled, his voice obviously on the verge of cracking.

"If you truly wish to come with us to Konoha, you have to," Kintarou replied. "Or is it that you do not really possess the information we were told you do?"

"No, it's…I'm sorry, Kintarou-san. I didn't have a choice…they said-"

A loud explosion drowned out Ren's last few words. Kintarou and Kaori quickly turned towards the front entrance beside the remnants of the rock wall, where a large tower of red smoke was billowing upwards.

"Company," Kintarou scowled.

"You set up an explosive tag?" Kaori asked, readying herself.

"Yes," Kintarou nodded, kneeling cautiously down beside the pack carrying their gear. "I set it up when we arrived after Takeo mentioned your concerns. Be ready, Kaori-san."

The crimson-colored smoke had barely cleared when four figures emerged from within it. Both Kintarou and Kaori immediately noticed the forehead protectors wrapped around each of their heads. Engraved on the glistening metallic bands was a symbol neither would forget. Not after witnessing firsthand the events of the previous Chuunin Exam.

"Shinobi from the Sound," Kintarou growled.

"You'll forgive us if we skip introductions," a tall brawny shinobi called, motioning to his three companions. "Ren, you disappoint us. You realize what will happen now, don't you?"

Ren stood up instantly. "Please, no…I beg you…"

"Don't blame us," a woman with deep red hair countered. "You failed in your part of the agreement, and now I have to get my beautiful hands dirty eliminating these kids."

"Kids?" Kaori spat.

Rushing in front of Kintarou, Kaori swiftly formed several hand seals. A powerful surge of chakra flowed up from her feet as the dead blades of grass scattered about in the yard flew towards her outstretched hands. Without stopping, they circled around Ren, Kintarou and Kaori, creating a barrier between them and the Sound ninjas and shielding them from sight.

"Guard Ren-san," Kintarou ordered.

"Right," Kaori nodded.

Outside the barrier, the four Sound ninjas prepared their attack. The tall white-haired man stood patiently at the back alongside a stockier bald shinobi wearing a set of thick goggles. The red-haired woman moved forward, following a scrawny man with long tangled black hair.

"Get rid of that weak jutsu," the woman ordered.

"Okay," the man meekly replied.

He reached behind his head and removed a massive sword from a holster on his back, though it was a stretch to call it a sword. The oddly curved blade was without a single sharpened edge; several small holes lined the outside of the sword instead. The hilt was abnormally large, easily three or four hands long. Clutching the strange weapon in his hand, the small man suddenly lurched forward.

"Ninpou, Kaze Oogama (Ninja Art, Wind Scythe)"

A strange whistling sound escaped the porous blade until several jets of air violently hissed out from the top of the weapon, creating a sickle-shaped stream of high-speed escaping air. The extreme force tossed the man's hair all over as he raced towards Kaori's barrier. With one calm easy motion, he swung the sword down into the swirling cyclone of grass, immediately breaking the barrier and tossing the three inside off their feet. Hundreds and hundreds of grass blades hit the ground, fluttering down on either side of the large deep crevice created by the force of the weapon.

"Impressive, isn't it?" the woman chuckled to the recuperating Kintarou and Kaori as she dashed beside the scrawny Sound shinobi. "By channeling chakra through the hilt into the hollow blade, he can force air out of any of these holes at extremely high speeds into magnificent and deadly forms of wind weapons. That pathetic barrier was easily broken by its weakest form."

Still grinning cockily, the crimson-haired woman approached Ren and his two protectors. With uncanny speed, she thrust both hands into her long violet trench coat and withdrew them, clutching a long pointed sai in each one. She twirled them around her middle fingers a few times as she sneered at Kaori and Kintarou. As the two of them rose to their feet, the woman charged at them. Ren's panic-stricken face followed her movements as she closed in. Kaori leapt quickly to the side, avoiding the sai slashed towards her. Kintarou responded by moving in to defend her, but was soon on the receiving end of two sudden kicks to his knees, which buckled beneath him. Kaori leapt high in the air, flipping over the woman, and landed in front of her fallen team leader. She had barely lifted her head before the redheaded kunoichi from the Sound thrust each sai into her chest. And then through her chest, slowly twisting the long razor-sharp prong as it slid in. Kaori's body fell limp against the woman's weapons, the point of each weapon protruding from between Kaori's shoulder blades. The woman's bloodthirsty eyes unexpectedly began glancing around as her face contorted into an angry sneer. She stared intently at the entrance wounds, where no blood was flowing. Only small specks of dirt and dead bits of grass flaked off from around the marble-sized holes in Kaori's chest.

"What's this?" she irately muttered.

"Grass clones," Kintarou grinned. "Courtesy of our Genjutsu expert.

Concealed atop the roof of the tiny brick house, Kaori, Kintarou, and Ren stood and stepped into the view of the Sound ninja below.

"Call me a kid," Kaori scoffed. "Hana Buyou no Jutsu! (Flower Dance Technique)"

Holding out her petite hands, Kaori softly spread open her palm, revealing several dozen sakura petals, which began floating upwards. Aglow with a fiery aura, they began to swirl around her slender body. Standing beside her, Kintarou and Ren watched as she gracefully twirled around, her arms and legs flowing smoothly into an angelic dance. As she moved, the flower petals began mimicking her.

"Impressive isn't it?" Kaori mocked.

Before the woman could answer, Kaori folded both arms behind her back and then thrust them forward. The glowing sakura petals followed suit, rushing forward towards the stunned Sound kunoichi below.

"Only a Leaf ninja would use something as silly and useless as flower petals," the red-haired woman smirked.

Kaori ignored her and spread her hands out wide, leading the petals into a crescent shape surrounding the woman on the ground. She lifted on arm into the air as she began to spin. She gently dropped the index finger on her raised hand down. Instantly, one of the sakura petals encircling the Sound kunoichi flew towards her. She caught sight of it briefly and turned. It whizzed past her, leaving a sharp stinging pain on her rosy cheek. She instinctively brought a hand to her injured face, but recoiled when she felt the liquid running down her cheek. She lowered her eyes to the remnants of several drops of blood smeared on her fingertips. Her blood.

"You!" she seethed.

"You were saying?" Kaori retorted, preparing to slice through the air with her elevated arm.

The scrawny shinobi with the strange sword spun and immediately rushed the house. He lifted his weapon high into the air again to strike.

"Ninpou, Kaze O—"

"Kuma Tsume no Jutsu! (Bear Claw Technique)"

Charging forward, Kintarou's outstretched hands began to glow with a dull chakra aura, until blue-tinted claws appeared on the backs of each hand. He reached the Sound ninja with the lethal wind sword and caught the curved blade between his thick chakra claws before any air could burst through. Taken aback, the skinny shinobi brought his weapon back and lunged forward. Deflecting the attack, Kintarou roared viciously as he countered with an open palm thrust to the man's gut. The Sound ninja's narrow face lurched forward, only to be quickly met by a left hook. Kintarou's razor-sharp chakra claws caught his face, and the man's agonizing groan startled the other Sound shinobi. He flew back ten feet, landing violently behind the redheaded woman ensnared in Kaori's Hana Buyou. Cradling his injured face in his hands, the deep gashes in his cheeks and forehead began bleeding profusely. The scrawny man stumbled backwards toward the tall ivory-haired shinobi and his partner, who had remained motionless. Seeing this, the crimson-haired kunoichi shot nervous glances in every direction in an effort to escape. She glimpsed Kaori forcefully bringing her hand down, but stopped her movements when an earsplitting scream reverberated around her. She held her hands tightly to her ears. In the yard surrounding the house, Kintarou, Kaori and Ren did the same.

"Oi, Oi," the man with white hair chided, clearing his throat. "You're giving the Hidden Village of Sound a bad image, Mokina. Being caught in a simple Genjutsu like that."

The man stepped forward towards the woman, his husky counterpart in step behind him.

"You allowed yourself to be distracted by her movements," he continued, bending down and removing a handful of shuriken from the flower petals. "She used a Henge jutsu to transform these into petals and threw them out when she was spinning. Only these four could injure you. The rest are simply worthless flower petals."

Stomping down on the pink-colored mound, he stood back up and gathered his fellow Sound ninja beside him.

"This is taking too long," he sighed. "It's four against three, we have the…hmm…we're missing someone. Where's the skinny boy with the messy hair?"

Kaori, with Ren in her grasp, leapt down beside Kintarou. They looked at one another, wondering the exact same thing.

"Meh…whatever," the white-haired shinobi continued. "Doesn't matter. Oi, Oi…Ren…do you want us to kill you, too? It'd save you the trouble of offing yourself from guilt after we have to kill those two precious girls.

"Bandon, please…" Ren whimpered, shakily moving away from Kaori's protection.

"Is that a yes?" the man chuckled.

"Kumoya! (Cloud Arrow)"

The four Sound ninja turned at the voice behind them then quickly leapt away from the arrow speeding towards them. The dull, rounded tip shone with a powerful orb of chakra, which exploded when the arrow collided with the earth. A swirling gray mist enveloped the area, until it formed a thick smoky dark cloud, which made the visibility almost zero.

"Kemuriran. (Smoke Sight)"

A faint white color clouded over Takeo's eyes as he ran forward and into the soupy smokescreen. Outside, Kintarou and Kaori could only listen as a brief battle waged inside the cloud cover. The clang of kunai blade against kunai blade echoed above the brief moans and shouting as several of the Sound shinobi were obviously growing frustrated. The sounds abruptly stopped, and a figure flew up from the center of the smoky cloud, which was beginning to dissipate. He nimbly flipped over onto his feet and landed in front of Kintarou, Kaori, and Ren. Takeo wiped some blood from his shoulder and tugged at his red armband to secure it. As he lifted his head towards his teammates, the cloudiness in his eyes gradually vanished, and his sharp brown eyes peered straight back at them.

"Sorry I'm late."