After staring at Sasuke for nearly five minutes, Asuka got off of Naruto and stood to face the new challenger. They glared at each other in total silence. The only sound heard was the rustling of the leaves. They stepped out to their side, preparing to charge directly into each other.

"Hey, I have a question."

Everyone toppled over, with the exception of Emi, Dawn, Shino, and the speaker, Shikamaru. After regaining her composure, Asuka addressed him. "Who are you? What do you want? And leave me alone." She planted her fans firmly into the ground and crossed her arms. "Well?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "You mentioned earlier, 'If you can't even beat me, what makes you think you could beat her?'"

"Uh-huh, what's your point?" She was getting impatient.

"By saying that, do you mean to say that that girl is stronger than you?"

Asuka groaned. "Don't ask me to explain difficult things."

"It was just a 'yes' or 'no' question." he muttered.

Emi, hearing this, evaluated on the subject. "It's not as simple as that. There are many things to consider such as stamina, speed, actual strength, ability to perform hand signs, and much more."

Great, he thought, someone who likes to think. Maybe she likes to play shogi, too...?

The air crackled with powerful chakra. Everyone turned their heads to where its source was, and a tidal wave of sand came closer to them.

"AAAAHHHH!" the Genin yelled.

Emi, Asuka, and Dawn, able to manipulate sand, each took control of a quarter of the original amount. The remaining fourth formed into a clenched hand.

The Genin cried out once more. "Nooooo! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" They ran around in circles and crashed into one another. "It's Sabakukyu, the Coffin of Crushing Sand!"

The three girls, likewise, also turned their portion of the sand into a clenched fist.

"Ready?" Emi yelled.

"Ready!" Asuka and Dawn answered.

"Jan!"

"Ken!"

"Po!"

Their clenched sand fists turned into scissor hands while the other had opened to reveal paper.

"Woohoo!" Emi jumped up and down. "We won this round of rock-paper-scissors!"

"That means it's our turn to glomp him!" yelled Dawn, who was already running towards the sand mist created by the now disintegrating hands.

The two caught up with her, and the disappeared from the Genins' views.

"OW!"

The Genin sat up. "Wait a minute...that aura! That sand! Sabakukyu! And that voice!" they gasped. "OH, MY GOD! WE ARE SO DEAD! It's Gaara! It's Gaara! Gaara, I say! Gaara!" They ran around in a panic once again.

"Ahahahahaha!"

They stopped right in their tracks. "Uhhh...laughter...?" Looking towards its direction, they watched with wide eyes as the sand diminished to reveal...GAARA LYING ON HIS BACK WITH THE THREE GIRLS HUGGING HIM? They turned into stone. "Wh-wh-what the...?"

Temari and Kankuro, siblings of Gaara, joined them.

"Mm-hmm! I know how you feel." Temari nodded. "Shocking, isn't it?"

"Grrrr!" Kankuro was angry. "I'm better looking than he is!" he cried. "Why does he get all the girls?" He blew his nose.

The girls squealed. "Ga-chan!"

The Genin looked on in amazement. "G-Ga-chan...?"

Naruto and Sasuke remained silent.

Dawn gathered her bathing supplies and carried them as she made her way out the door. "I'm heading to the onsen!" she told Emi.

"The hot spring?" Emi smiled. "Have fun!" She waved her goodbye.

When her friend had left, she explored the area again, It was hard to believe that the Hokage arranged for them, along with the Genin and sand arrivals, to stay at a fancy place like this. There were over 50 sleeping rooms, and about 10 dining areas completed with a kitchen in each one. The building was connected to a large bathhouse and an even larger hot spring.

Giggling at a thought, she ran to Asuka.

"No!" Emi and Asuka were having a hard time dragging Gaara to the bathhouse, Actually, hard wasn't the word to describe it. He was making such a huge fuss, and even attempted to surround himself with his sand shell, which was to no avail. They merely rolled the huge sand ball, with Gaara in it, across the wooden floor.

"We're here Ga-chan!" they said in a singsong voice.

Dawn had just finished scrubbing herself clean and shampooing. She stepped into the onsen and was amazed by how comforting the hot water felt. It was during this time that she became aware of another presence. She carefully scoped out the well-suppressed aura, and her eyes widened slightly as she felt the power and evil that corrupted it. She took her towel and reached for the subtly hidden kunai knife in its folds. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it to where the aura was emanating from.