Hi everyone! I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long...I just haven't really had the time. Sorry! Also, I would like to clarify some confusion among you all. The Kikyo in Healing of the Heart is a COMPLETELY different character than the Kikyo in Inuyasha. So please, do not confuse them both. I have only taken the name and the looks of the Inuyasha Kikyo, and that is all. Healing of the Heart Kikyo is different.

Well! That being said, here is Chapter 5...

5th CHAPTER

Shikamaru and Choji walked wearily toward the front of the school, where the battle was taking place. Sasuke and Naruto were already there, taking their positions by the clearing in the middle to watch the battle. Master Iruka was in the middle of the clearing, and motioned Shikamaru and Choji over so he could begin the fight and judge.

"And…BEGIN!" Master Iruka's voice rang loud and clear.

"Ha! Take that, boneheads!" Ino laughed, placing her hands in the signal for her special attack, Art of the Valentine. She could take control of another person's body with this ability. She aimed at Sakura, who just stood there, totally confused. However, Kikyo knew immediately what it meant, and pushing Sakura to the side, she placed her hands in the "tiger" symbol and closed her eyes as she concentrated.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Ino screamed as she was flung through the air by an invisible hand. "AAAAGGGGHHHHH!" Ino released another ear-splitting shriek as a pink bubble appeared underneath her as she fell, and she bounced on it…later being thrown into the sky once more.

"Hmm." Kikyo smiled coldy, raising her hand to Ino so that Ino froze in the sky, her eyes wide and terrified. "Sakura…would you like to do the honors?" Kikyo asked, and Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Whoooossshhh…" Kikyo dropped her hand, and the wind whistled as Ino dropped startlingly fast toward the ground. She landed in a heap, gazing upward disbelievingly. Sakura took out a kunai knife, and walking to her, she held the knife at Ino's throat and mocked, "Well, well Ino…do you resign?" Ino held her breath, and forcing a sound to come out of her mouth, she whispered, "I…I…yes. You win…"

Master Iruka, dazed, nodded, and proclaimed, "Kikyo and Sakura are the winners!"

Sasuke was silent, even though beside him Naruto was jumping up and down, screaming, "GOOOOO SAKURA! THAT'S MY GIRL!" He was thinking…when he saw Kikyo reopen her eyes, there had been the faintest trace of red in her eyes…maybe it was his imagination, but he could have sworn that he saw her pupils dilate and narrow, becoming almost like cat eyes. Shaking his head, he sighed, and decided it was just his imagination…(or was it?) The fighting Kikyo had seemed completly different compared to the Kikyo that he had first seen...

"Class! Come back inside!" Master Iruka yelled, and the class filed back into the building. "It's time for you to meet your new senseis. These people are much more advanced than I am; they're chunin, and they are here to teach you beyond what you can learn here. So behave for them, and make me proud!" Master Iruka concluded his speech, and herded separate teams (one at a time) into a room so they could wait for their new chunin senseis.

A LONG WHILE LATER…

"UGH! Darnit! It's not fair…we have to wait so long just to reach this teacher! All of the other teams have gone…even Master Iruka!" Naruto complained, stretching unhappily.

"You lazy dope! Get a grip…" Sakura scorned, glaring at him before turning her eyes once more to Sasuke. He made no notice of her, and instead continued to stare at the blackboard.

All of a sudden, the door slid open and a unfamiliar face peered in.

"Uh, is this Team 7? Sorry I'm so late…I was merely walking alone in the woods on the way over here and I suddenly got attacked by a group of vicious birds!" the stranger laughed.

He received no reply. The extremely annoyed team stared at him coldly, and he chuckled meekly and looked away.

"Right…to business then! I am Master Kakashi, your new sensei. Hmmm… let us go somewhere else to talk, shall we? Then we can introduce ourselves!"

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kikyo shrugged, got up, and followed him out of the room.

"OK! That's better! So, who wants to go first? How about you, young man with the blonde hair?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure! My name is Uzumaki Naruto…I LOVE ramen, and I hate the long wait after your pour in the water! My dream is to someday become Lord Hokage, and the villagers will respect me at last!" Naruto smiled.

"All right. How about you, the pink-haired young lady, and then the dark-haired young man, and then finally you." He gestured over to where Sakura, Sasuke, and Kikyo were sitting behind Naruto.

Sakura shrugged, and started, "Um…my name is Haruno Sakura, and I like best…um…it's a boy, not a thing…I hate: NARUTO! Um…my dream is to someday---'' she broke off and blushed deeply while peeking at Sasuke.

Master Kakashi sighed, and running his hand through his hair, he motioned for Sasuke to speak.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I see no point in talking in my likes or dislikes, as there is practically nothing I do like, and I hate mostly everything. But…what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan, and there is someone…I have sworn to kill."

Leaves blew around the motionless group, waving their hair in the wind. Sakura stared at Sasuke, blushing slightly. Naruto, however, was flinching and looking over every once in a while at Sasuke. Kikyo was completely still, except for when she flinched sharply and glanced at Sasuke.

"My turn? My name is Kikyo. Um, I like…uh…several things and I also hate several things. One thing I hate a LOT is insects…um, my dream is to one day---'' she hesitated, and looked over at Sasuke.

"Um, this is strange. You see, Sasuke has the same goal I have. I…I have also vowed to kill someone…" Kikyo looked down and avoided everyone's questioning looks.

Sasuke, taken aback, stared at her strangely before twisting back around. What! She…she has also sworn to kill someone? What if…what if the person she is out to kill is also Itachi! No…that's not possible…

"Right. That's enough. Tomorrow is our first mission. Be here by 8:00 in the morning." Kakashi said turning around to leave. "Oh! And just to tell you, our mission is a special one. We are to travel out of Konoha with another team. Be prepared!"

And with that, the five ninjas disappeared, leaving nothing but leaves blowing gently in their wake.

"Sasuke? Um...are we going to your house?" Kikyo tried to open up a conversation, but Sasuke gave no reply and merely nodded. Looking down miserably at the ground while they leaped from tree to tree, she clenched her fingers tightly. During the fight with that obnoxious Ino, she had given away too much...Sasuke had noticed something. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to not have noticed anything, but that still didn't get rid of the gnawing feeling in her stomach. Over her past experiences, Kikyo had learned to trust her instincts, and apparently, ifshe was right again, then the mission tomorrow would go horribly wrong.