Perhaps threatening a protective Jinchuuriki with hurting those she cared about wasn't a good way to go about things. Yin was bound to be pissed at him for being so reckless.
I~~~~I
Yin was pissed.
He was beyond angry with the foolish Orochimaru for awakening the wrath of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, for bringing about that horrid chakra that brought back nightmares to Yin's mind.
Tenshi pushed through the trees like a blur, His fur lighting up in a streak of black flame as his paws barely brushed the surface of the tree limbs below them.
Heat mixed with hatred continued to spread throughout the Forest of Death, raising the hair on Yin's arms as he finally reached Orochimaru's position.
His eyes sharpened, and only a quick flash of an enraged child, spawning multiple clones and sending forth waves of wind typhoons, kept him from being caught.
"Tenshi, Twenty S, B."
Tenshi's muscles tensed, bunching as he was pushed back two or three meters.
The wolf landed in a crouch, Yin gazing forward with his sharpened eyes, his scar highlighted by the small patches of light shining through the dense canopy.
The spot before him was ridden with a dozen swirling whirlwinds, Orochimaru's gasp of pain heard clearly as the Sannin was caught in the middle. The winds, normally clear or white, were now red and burning. The corrosive chakra was mixing with the affinity. The source of such destruction caught Yin's gaze next, her narrowed eyes and deep red hair startling him for a moment.
Yin had forgotten just how much of an influence that fool of a godson had given the Kyuubi.
First Kushina had to struggle with the Fox, and now her daughter, Senshi's little granddaughter. Minato honestly was not Yin's favorite. That title went to the girl whose emotions were wavering before him, the girl who he could see being burned from the inside out by her prisoner.
Yin's chakra flared in warning as the winds died down, his legs pushing away from Tenshi's hide, launching him forward. His feet hit the ground, his body pushing forward.
His fingers flipped through signs, a swirling inferno appearing beside him, taking on his features before solidifying. The clone spawned of a blaze in a manner none had managed before, barreled through the swirling winds. The original meeting up with the source of the destruction, palm outstretching.
All too late, Naru turned sharply toward Yin, shock rising on her features before pain replaced anything else.
Yin's palm hit her stomach, sending her back further, her legs tripping over themselves, sending her tumbling across the ground.
"A-Akihane!"
The shout alerted Yin to the other two Genin who had somehow become free of Orochimaru's summon. Yin didn't spare a glance to the Uchiha, ignoring him in favor of walking forward. His hands twitched, drawing up the chakra he normally stored away. Pressure encased the air, much like with Kabuto, forcing the others to their knees while he strode toward the collapsed Jinchuuriki.
Naru's eyes lifted warily to him, her breathing halting against the force of his chakra as her red eyes deepened to maroon.
"Hey Furry-Ass, get the hell back in your cage."
Yin's words startled those watching him, Naru's red chakra flinching away from the strange man as he held up his gathered chakra.
Before Naru could regain her senses, a voice spoke up using her own mouth.
"Who are you Meat Bag?!" The voice was deep and guttural, normally terrifying against others who did not possess Yin's heavy chakra.
Of course, Yin only did what he always did in the face of those who annoy him. His lips twitched upward into a smile while his cold eyes slipped shut, a feral look cast over his supposedly harmless features, his scar seeming more prominent with ever tightening stretch of the tanned male's face.
"Oh, you know…A real damn Seal Master."
Yin's palm struck the young Uzumaki's gut, his chakra flowing through his fingers as a fierce fire burned across the seal. Naru's eyes widened and she let loose a scream of shock and pain, her eyes rolling back at the sheer pressure.
Yin focused on the seal, the pressure leaving the air completely as he felt sweat pass over his brow. The cloth of the girl's fishnet shirt began to burn away, leaving the loose fabric to hang over her stomach as the fresh kanji swirled against her Eight Trigrams Seal. Two more long stretches of interlocking kanji broke through the middle, twisting to the right slightly to cap over the other branches in the seal.
The interlocking kanji burned blue, settling against the girl's skin in a deep gray tone, unlike the black seal Yin had identified as Minato's.
Yin sighed, his eyes snapping open just in time to leap away from a sharp kick that smashed into the ground where he had been moments ago. Rising to his full height in that position was Uchiha Sasuke, the boy's Sharingan blazing with three tomo as he glared with a deep hatred at Yin.
For a moment Yin was a little confused, only for his brain to catch up, reminding him that Naru had made friends with the boy, and by doing so become one of the boy's most important people.
To Yin, who had watched many Uchiha fall victim to their insane love, this was both worrying, and yet a relief.
"Sorry Uchiha, but I have bigger things to worry about."
Yin dismissed the angry boy, turning toward his clone as it dropped down beside him.
Orochimaru was leaning against the clone, his eyes narrowed with distaste, his skin cut up quite a bit.
"We need to leave. The ANBU operatives are almost here…along with that little apprentice you had."
Yin told Orochimaru, watching as the Sannin turned his attention to the Uchiha.
"I suppose you are right. It was…an experience meeting your team, Sasuke-Kun. Perhaps, we can do it another time."
The Hebi Summoner's eyes sharpened, and in a blur of movement, his head stretched outward.
Sasuke stumbled, shocked as the head barreled into him, sharp fangs sinking into his neck.
"Argh!"
Sasuke grunted as he felt a searing chakra rush through his veins, his muscles turning to jelly as he collapsed forward.
He turned his head to the side as Orochimaru let him go, his blurred vision taking in the comatose body of his Akihane, just before he too joined her in oblivion.
Yin turned away from the spectacle, trying to tune out the noise of pain the boy had given as Tenshi bounded toward the two of them.
The Wolf kneeled, allowing Yin to pull himself onto his back, along with Orochimaru.
The Fire Clone dissolved into wisps, leaving ashes to sink to the ground, before Tenshi was once again surrounded by fire, launching away from the scene.
I~~~~I
Sakura felt frozen, from both fear and horror after witnessing Naru turn into some kind of monster, and then another opponent takes her down effortlessly, before finally, acting as the icing on we're-so-screwed cake, Sasuke got bit by the freaky woman-man-snake thing with a Kusa Headband.
Sakura's whole body already hurt, but the ache in her chest at seeing her teammates fall was much deeper than the ache in her no-doubt cracked or broken ribs.
"S-Sasuke-Kun…N-Naru?"
The Pinkett tried to get a response, wincing as she pushed herself to her feet.
A gasp left her lips when she felt a sharp pain down her back, but even then she did not waver, pushing herself toward her teammates.
It seemed that she was the only one functioning well enough to do something. In this case, it was getting the two idiots somewhere safe so that they weren't attacked while Sakura was the only defense. An injured defense wouldn't be giving them any points during this whole mess, she knew that.
It seemed that the stamina building exercises with the other sensei's would pay off in the long run.
I~~~~I
Hinata found the silence between her teammates soothing, despite the worry she held for Naru and Sasuke.
The Hyuuga Heiress was worried about the two after they had been bothered by the first exam, and the fact that not too long ago a pillar of fire had broken through the canopy nearby wasn't helping her worry.
Of course, Hinata kept her thoughts to herself, walking alongside her teammates through the underbrush nearing the middle of the forest.
"Oi, Hinata, Shino, Akamaru smells two teams up ahead…should we look?"
Hinata paused as Kiba spoke up, her mouth twisting into a line as she thought it through.
"What direction?"
The Hyuuga settled on her question, her pupilless eyes turning toward Kiba's gaze. The Inuzuka smirked and flushed slightly at the attention before he answered. "East. I'd say one or two kilometers."
Hinata nodded, and pulsing chakra to her eyes in the barest amount, she activated her Byakugan. The area around her lost its color, but everything became clearer. She stretched her gaze in the direction Kiba had stated, stretching her senses past the trees and foliage.
She stopped once her eyes came to the sight of a clearing, one that held six nin, three of them having a running chakra type she knew as Water from her training with Naru, the others soft but grainy, meaning earth and wind.
She bit her lip when she figured out that the teams were an Amegakure and Sunagakure team respectively. Already the heiress knew from Naru to stay away from the Sand Team, one with the Sand Siblings under the Jonin Baki if she remembered from the sorting at the beginning of the test correctly.
"It's the Sand Team and an Ame Team…I-I think we should avoid them. N-Naru-Chan told me that the small redhead on Team Baki was dangerous."
Hinata released her sight, the veins around her eyes relaxing as she pulled the chakra away from them.
Her head turned, her hair brushing against her ears as she looked to her teammates. Kiba looked a little put off and startled, while Shino seemed to be contemplating.
"I believe we should find someone else to take a scroll from…It'd be unwise to face a team we know we can't take down."
Relief flooded Hinata's features at Shino's proclamation, her lips tilting into a thankful smile as Kiba huffed in annoyance.
"Geeze, you guys are a bunch of pansies. So what if Naru says that the guy is dangerous. We can take anyone down. She's too used to being stuck with that asshole Sasuke and the idiot Sakura."
Kiba scowled, Hinata frowning at Kiba's blatant disrespect. While it was true Hinata didn't like Sakura, hell part of her even loathed the girl for being on her team, she wasn't quick to judge. After spending those months with the others of Team Seven, Sakura no doubt had grown. Naru wouldn't stand for a weak teammate, especially with Sasuke being at her side. Naru would force the girl, whether through words or actions, to better her skills.
"Kiba-Kun, please don't make such accusations when you have yet to test your abilities against either of them. Naru-Chan is a very strong Kunoichi, Sasuke-San an even stronger Ninja. Sakura may not be the best, but I know that she did not slack during training. You, however, lazed around and barely tried despite several Senseis trying to help you get better. Do not speak again unless you have a logical point to be made."
Hinata snapped at her teammate, her chest constricting as a bad feeling entered her gut.
Kiba's mouth dropped open while he stared at her in utter shock. Shino was the same way, though he hid it better.
As Hinata turned the opposite direction to the two teams fighting behind her, she felt a heat pass over her. Her eyes widened in shock and she whirled around in time to see a large explosion light up the entire forest. Malice rose along with the flames, choking at her as she forced chakra into her eyes.
She gazed toward the destruction, having enough time to find Team Seven and watch Naru get handled by the Kusa Shinobi Hinata recognized from the start of the Exam before her feet were forcing her forward.
"N-Naru!"
Her voice caught in her throat, chakra flowing through her limbs as she launched into the air, landing on a branch before pushing forward.
Shouts called after her before two others joined her.
Shino jumped to her right, Kiba at her left. Kiba's eyes were narrowed on her as he questioned her sudden movement. "Woah, Hinata, what's wrong, what was the source of that light?!"
Hinata bit her lip, replying with a strained tone.
"I-It's Team Seven, they are in trouble."
I~~~~I
Akihane gazed up at the dripping ceiling of her mindscape, her eyes fluttering as a drop of water fell again her eyelashes.
A searing pain had driven through her stomach, the burn still present even as her glassy eyes gazed upward.
Before her, writhing against the swirling shadows of interconnecting chakra, the Kyuubi No Kitsune roared.
The Nine-Tailed Beast thrashed about, snarling while all his tails slammed into the ground, his jaws snapping at the shadows pushing him to the floor.
The mighty Kitsune was swiftly struck across the back, more tendrils sprouting from two sharp points glowing in blue on the floor.
"I will snap that Meat Bag's head from his shoulders the next time I see him! His blood will spill around me as I tear his insides apart, burning his intestines as liquid heat sears his veins!"
Naru blinked at the ceiling again, tilting her head oddly to the side as her gaze cleared a bit. She sighed heavily, pain causing her to twitch as she bit her lip.
"Please s-shut up…My head hurts enough…"
The normally polite girl muttered sourly at the beast she happened to contain, her arm tossing itself over her eyes as another drop fell. Cool fingers pressed against her eye-lids as the blonde shut her eyes, her white hair spread out in the water below her.
"This is all your fault, Human!"
The Nine-Tails shouted at Akihane, stomping viciously before being dragged back down to his stomach. The shadows tightened, forming closer and stronger links of a chain. The chain pulled, drawing a sharp sound from the Biju.
Naru opened her eyes slowly, angling her head to look over at the bound Kitsune. "Struggling only seems to make it worse…"
Naru commented idly, her face impassive even as the Kitsune snapped at her again.
"GET OVER HERE SO I CAN TEAR YOU APART!"
Sighing, Naru turned to look at the side, her hand falling into the water with a splash as she sunk back into her thoughts.
"Who would have thought you'd be a testy individual… Kaa-San must have been incredibly patient to deal with you for so long…same with Oba-San…"
The Blonde muttered against the water, her vision darkening as the yelling beast's voice turned to white noise.
Akihane allowed her eyes to fall shut, breathing out heavily as she felt the darkness consume her.
The Kyuubi only snarled as the shadows binding him surrounded his Jinchuuriki, cocooning her.
I~~~~I
Sakura leaned back against a wall of bark, breathing heavily as she gazed at her downed teammates. Naru lay next to Sasuke, the girl's features impassive. Sasuke was sweating, his face twisted while his skin was flushed with feverish heat.
The two were complete opposites, what with Naru's snowy hair, Sasuke's dark raven locks, the calm appearance and the flustered one, and also their general attire.
Both wore black, but Sasuke's was plain while Naru had personal touches decorating her form, the Uzumaki markings standing out proudly on her coated shoulders.
Sakura glanced down at her hand, gazing at the glowing chakra shimmering around her palm. She hadn't had much time to work on her technique, having only been taught the very basics or Iryo Ninjutsu in her short time with the other girls under Kurenai.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back while biting down on her headband that she had untied for this purpose, tears seeping out the corners of her eyes as the ninjutsu began to slowly do its work.
The other's had mostly been healed already, her chakra levels depleting rather quickly despite her control thanks to the amount of pain all of them had been put through. Sasuke had the worst injuries, and the poisonous chakra circulating through his system made it hard for Sakura to do anything with her mediocre knowledge.
Naru passing out had to be the worst thing to happen by far, however. Sakura simply couldn't deny that Naru was the better healer in their group, Hinata being the best out of all the Rookies.
Sakura opened her eyes as she finished, removing her headband as she breathed in and out. Her chest heaved, but slowly she regained control of herself. Her eyes glanced to the side, taking in her two teammates.
She paused when she saw Naru curl up, her lips parting as her face began to contort.
A gasp left the Uzumaki's lips as she whimpered in pain, her hands tightening around her chest as she dug her nails into the fabric of her jacket.
Sakura rushed over, swiftly unzipping the jacket, pulling the flailing limbs from the clothing slowly as she tried to figure out what was wrong.
Her breath caught in her throat upon seeing the fishnet below, blue lines glowing beneath the fabric, decorating Naru's body in seals.
Sakura's eyes scanned the girl with concealed worry, spotting the source rather quickly.
On Naru's stomach, the part of her shirt that had burned off, two pointed swirls glowed, the seals stretching out from the sources.
"W-What is this…A-A parasitic Seal?"
Sakura murmured, her gaze flitting over Akihane as she whimpered again, twisting and gripping tightly to her arms, her body shaking in pain.
Green eyes glowed with worry as the pinkett began channeling chakra, reaching out with her green hand. She froze as she leaned over Naru, her chakra picking up three signatures outside.
Her body slowly turned, her head swiveling to look at the bushes were the enemies resided, before Sakura quickly retracted her hand and turned, grabbing the bucket of water off to the side. It appeared helping Naru would have to wait.
I~~~~I
"This is so Troublesome…"
Annoyance dripped from the lips of a brunette male, hands pulling at the ninja wire wrapping around the clearing.
Brown eyes dashed across the wrecked landscape, ignoring the blood that dotted certain areas.
The other hand hung at Shikamaru's side, grasping a dark brown scroll.
"Ino better not be slacking…I really hate this exam. I just wanted to relax, but instead, I have to find a stupid scroll…worse yet I have to grab it from one of these troublesome teams."
The Nara sighed heavily, reaching back to drop the scroll into his Kunai pouch as he yawned.
"Oh well…I hope the others are doing better than we are…"
The Nara turned away from the scene, walking toward the shadowed forest.
Lying there on the ground behind him were three genin. Two were tied tightly with ninja wire, knocked unconscious and bleeding quite a bit.
The third Nin was shaking, his mouth moving despite no sound coming forth. The Genin clutched a kunai tightly in his grasp, his mind housing one thought.
'Konoha is Insane…'
I~~~~I
"Hmm…Neji and Lee said we might have better luck this way, but honestly all I see in trees and more trees…No action at all."
Huffing, TenTen looked out over her section of the forest from a large branch. Her vantage point gave her quite the distance to view, and what with the whole explosions happening in the opposite direction, she figured that not having some action might just be a good thing.
Of course, the Bukijutsu expert still enjoyed a good fight just as much as her other teammates, and since they were just waiting around for more teams to come by so they could move on, she wanted something to pass the time.
Her head tilted and she sighed heavily, leaning back on her tree as she huffed.
"Lee got the best side…Geez, running straight toward the explosions going on. Why did I choose paper?"
Tenten gazed at her hands in a forlorn manner, before she straightened and pushed off her branch, rushing off into the forest once more.
I~~~~I
Hinata's gazed sharpened as she saw birds rising from the trees, rushing past the branches frantically. Ahead there were sounds of metal clanging, and when Hinata focused her eyes on the spot she heard the noise coming from, she spotted something that made her heart sink.
The Hyuuga Heiress' breath caught in her throat in a tight knot as she looked at the lone member of Team Seven, Haruno Sakura, as she battled three opponents.
Her eyes darkened, Hinata's lips moving as she shouted to her teammates.
"It's Sakura, she's in trouble…I don't see Sasuke-San or Naru-Chan. Get ready for a fight!"
I~~~~I
Sakura twisted to dodge a kunai sent by the twisted Kunai after her face, her gravity shifting to her hands as she flipped over the other two members. She landed roughly, biting her lip as pain shot up her ankles in sparks.
Her hands flicked, kunai flying in rows of three at the opponents.
Sakura's fingers skimmed over the seals in her back pocket, grasping a tag she recognized as a sealing tag.
She had only a few more, which meant she'd have to use this one wisely.
Another Kunai was dodged with a tilt of her head, setting Sakura's sights on the Kunoichi who was now shouting at her.
"Come get me you little pansy, or are you too scared to face a real Kunoichi!?"
Sakura's jaw set, her eyes burning with green fire as she channeled chakra into her legs.
The burst of energy had the seals drawn across her ankles deactivating, the extra weight of five pounds depleting drastically.
With a burst of speed, Sakura slid under the bandaged male who seemed to be the leader of the three sound nin, her sandaled feet kicking up dust in the eyes of the other, much stupider male, before she used her hand to push herself upward.
The Kunoichi shouted as Sakura dragged her kunai around, tossing it as she twisted her body to the side.
The point struck beside the girl's face, a smirk dragging over Sakura's lips despite the smile taking over the enemy's lips.
"You missed-"
The Kunoichi began as a taunt, only to freeze as Sakura rapidly shot Shuriken at her.
The trap was set, now Sakura just had to focus. It seemed that the Kunoichi hadn't noticed the 'faulty' tag yet, which meant that Sakura would be able to pull off her initial plan.
Now then, all she had to do was figure out whether water tags or lightning tags would be best against the three nin who had underestimated her.
Of course, the idiot boy thought that he could use his wind chakra to create sound waves and rupture her eardrums, but then brag to her after using it only barely. Sakura had made quick work of applying a healthy amount of earth chakra to her ears, providing a cushion that blocked the thin waves of chakra sent in her direction.
The look of surprise the idiot boy and his teammates had given her was worth the exhaustion she felt at doing such a thing.
Now, Sakura was working on the barest amount of chakra, managing quite well despite being outnumbered. She supposed it had more to do with outmatching the older nin, despite their experience. Unlike the three Oto Nin, however, Sakura had trained for a good while on her own and with others the past week in an effort to challenge the infuriating Naru. They honestly didn't scare her.
Sakura grunted as she was struck and sent flying back, her chest heaving as she landed in a crouch in front of the tree's entrance, guarding her resting teammates even as the three enemies pressed closer.
Alright, so she was having more trouble than she'd like to admit, but she wouldn't allow any of the idiots through. Naru and Sasuke were her teammates, her responsibility. Sakura would defend them, even if it cost her all she was, even if in the end, all she did was fall to the ground taking her last breath.
Sakura took Kakashi's teachings to heart, even if Naru was a prick and Sasuke could grate on her sometimes. They were hers to knock sense into dam nit, she wouldn't let these second class nin attack her teammates-
The inner rant was swiftly cut off by a rather eccentric shout.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
The ground exploded into a shower of earth, Sakura's eyes widening as they emerald gaze took in the green-clothed male slamming his foot into the chest of Nin-Baka Number Two.
Relief settled in Sakura's shoulders, her body collapsing forward as she breathed out heavily.
"Lee…You have no idea how glad I am you came…"
Sakura whispered, a smile crossing her lips as her eyes shut, hiding the glistening orbs.
A flash of teeth followed her admission, along with a thumb up and a rather good guy looking pose.
"I promise to always protect you, Sakura-San!"
I~~~~I
Brown eyes swept over the area, a muttered curse leaving chapped lips as a tanned hand swept across a set of spiky, but contained, locks.
"What the hell happened here…"
Shikamaru muttered as he gazed at the aftermath of a large scale battle, the same battle no doubt being responsible for the two explosions that had wracked the forest earlier.
"Genin couldn't have caused this…" The Nara muttered, his eyes accessing the large burn marks and the broken branches decorating the landscape. A human looking crater was formed in a tree, along with lashing chakra marks looking like tails.
Shikamaru walked forward, his form kneeling before one of the gashes scarring the land, his fingers trailing the mark.
His eyes darkened as he found dark red dirt, the smell of burnt metal filling his nose. Once more his gaze shifted across the ground, before finding something that was rather out of place in the brown and black landscape.
The Brunette reached, pulling the soiled piece of white thread, dread settling in his chest as he took in the familiar strand.
"Akihane…Oh, you Troublesome Woman…"
The Nara hissed, rising to his feet as his eyes raced over the area, trying to find any clues that would lead him to where the Team had retreated to. Knowing the Uzumaki, even as little as he seemed to, Shikamaru knew that whatever happened to cause Naru to released that thing from Wave, it must have been horrible. No doubt, Team Seven was still in trouble, and even if they weren't Shikamaru couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his gut at the thought of not helping anyways, of not making absolutely sure that Akihane, selfless, considerate, kind, fearfulNaruAkihane was completely okay.
The night spent watching the shadows in the night had nothing to do with Shikamaru's worry, the gently smiles the girl traded with him or the light smirks having nothing to do with the fear creeping past his senses.
I~~~~I
Sakura pulled herself together, huffing as she rose once more. Lee had backed up to her side, his body settled in his familiar stance as his large black eyes glanced back at her with worry.
"Sakura-San, you should rest. I can handle these three."
Sakura chuckled, reaching to place her hands around the male's head.
Lee froze, shocks racing across his spine as he felt chakra build around his skull. He sucked in a breath at the warm feeling, his chest tight as he felt Sakura's body fall against his back.
"T-There…The I-Idiot with the black hair has this weird Jutsu…He destroys your eardrums with sound. I made sure you couldn't be targeted with it…Sadly that's about all the chakra I have left."
Sakura chuckled heavily, leaning up to whisper into Lee's ear.
The male's eyes widened, before he nodded sharply, turning to catch Sakura as she slipped forward. The Konoha Genin settled the pinkette against the large root jutting from the tree Sakura had claimed for her team before he pulled away and faced the others.
The three had shared glances at Sakura's words and now wondered what else the pinkette had told him.
"You attacked my allies with the intent to harm…I will not let you leave here intact!"
Lee shouted at the three, his eyes hardening as he darted forward at them.
Sakura's eyes rested on the male, a sly smile working onto her lips.
Her hands twitched, chakra thrumming beneath her fingertips.
Lying had to be one of the best parts about being a ninja, especially when people believed you.
Now all Sakura had to do was wait for the idiots to attack, and then Lee and she would take two of them out in one swoop. This had to be one of her favorite plans yet.
Her eyes fell shut as she thought about the words whispered to Lee.
Silently, unheard of by the others that had met in the middle of the field, Sakura chuckled ruthlessly.
I~~~~I
Gotta say I enjoyed this chapter. Part of it may have hints of emotion since I had a bit of a break involving friends and emotions and what not…But all is good. Earlier this week I had a bit more trouble, but my writing doesn't seem to be affected in the slightest.
