Here we are with weekend update number one of...one. Or maybe two. As I've said in previous chapters, I have a lot of the plot written out, but this mini arc is all new content. This means the writing is going a little slower than usual. I hope I can get another one out Sun or Mon, but if not, rest assured if nothing else you'll get another good long chapter Weds. Thank you to everyone who has read my story so far. Your reviews and support are really appreciated. I'm super encouraged, and that means lots of writing gets to happen. So you guys keep reading, and I'll keep writing. Feel free to PM me with any questions or comments, and if you're curious about my other work, my deviantart has the same tag as on here (ponchoninjax3). See you on the other side :)

The sweat had plastered Beki's bangs to her face. Her braid had partially come undone, chunks of hair were sticking out and had generally frizzed her hair all over. Every inch of her skin felt grimy; her clothes clung to her in the uncomfortable, itchy way that only sweat soaked clothes could. The Sweater felt five times heavier than it had this morning. She had half a mind to peel it off and tie it around her waist, but that would leave her in only her sports bra. It had been stupid for her to not wear a tank top underneath. Then again, she had no idea that Ebisu sensei was going to work her like a dog on their first day.

Beki groaned at the sudden realization that she would have to do this all over again in a few hours. She knew it was a beautiful day, but that knowledge darkened the azure skies, made the birds' song piercing, and the sunshine blinding. Beki scrunched her eyes and looked at her feet, mentally willing each foot along one step at a time.

"Beki-chan!" A familiar voice called out ahead.

Oh god no, Beki thought. Please let her be alone. She looked up to see Hinata and her whole squad coming towards her on the path. Beki swore under her breath. Of course she would run into Hinata and her friends looking like a used dishrag.

"Hey guys," She tried to sound nonchalant, but even Beki could hear the razor in her words. She had stepped off to the side of the road to enjoy the shade of a tree. The trio plus Akamaru veered off course to join her.

"So you just finished training," Hinata was trying her hardest not to make a face, but Beki looked awful. Ebisu hadn't held back one bit on their first day. Poor Beki, she thought.

"Yeah," Beki sighed. "It was rough."

"What's rough is that sweater you're wearing," Kiba laughed. "Is that part of your training? To wear the ugliest sweater in history?"

"It's not ugly," Beki growled. "Maybe it looks ugly because you're colorblind."

"I am NOT colorblind," Kiba growled back.

"Then what colors am I wearing?" Beki raised her arms. "Huh?!"

Kiba started to stammer. Before he could answer, Shino chimed in:

"No, the sweater is ugly. Even if he was colorblind, it still looks like it was made of the pillaged remains of other ugly sweaters."

"Fair enough," Beki folded her arms. "But Kiba, what color IS my sweater?"

"Ugly. The color is ugly," Kiba scratched Akamaru's head self-consciously.

Beki eyed him suspiciously then relented. She could sense he was weak and she wanted to exploit it, but she was too tired to pry.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go clean up. Ebisu sensei wants me to train again this afternoon and I'd like to be comatose as much as possible in the meantime."

"Alright," Hinata watched her walk away. "Good luck!"

Beki grunted in response and continued the long march home, swearing vengeance on her new sensei.

…

Beki stared into her coffee mug with an intensity that suggested it would soon catch fire. Hinata eyed her with concern as she drank her own coffee.

"Just put in the creamer, Beki," Hinata pushed the bottle towards her. "Ebisu will never know."

Beki scrunched her eyes, picked up the mug, and took a long dreg of the coal black liquid. Instantly her face contorted into one of bitter disgust, as if someone had just told her that Seiichiro was in fact her mother. Tears welled in her eyes as she coughed.

"No," she cried. "I have to lose the weight."

Hinata huffed. It was wrong for a man to tell a woman she needed to lose weight, especially in such a callous manner. Naruto would NEVER tell her she needed to lose weight. When she thought about it, she couldn't imagine any of the boys she knew saying such a thing. Neji, Kiba, Shino- none of them would ever be so rude.

"Beki, why are you listening to him about your weight?" Hinata eyed her friend with concern. "Your weight is fine. You're healthy. I think you might be too skinny if you lose all those kilos."

Beki considered for a moment before she answered.

"I'm trying to prove something, Hinata."

"What are you trying to prove? Are you trying to impress a sensei who clearly isn't doing anything to win you over?" Hinata accused.

Beki sighed and took another gulp of the inky coffee. Her face twisted just as much as before, and stuck that way for almost a full minute before she could answer.

"I'm not trying to impress him, I'm…" Beki looked out the window. "Look, I don't want to give it away, but I have a plan. A good plan. But it involves me being the perfect little student for a while."

That worried Hinata. There was something in the way Beki spoke that set Hinata's hair on end. There was danger there, but she couldn't tell if it was for Beki or Ebisu.

"Beki, just tell me," Hinata urged. "Maybe I can help you." She put her hand on Beki's and gave it a squeeze. Beki stared at their hands for a moment in surprise. She regained her composure, gave Hinata's hand a squeeze and shot her a winning smile.

"Soon all shall be revealed," Beki said with the singsong voice of a fortune teller. She stood and dumped the rest of her black coffee and headed upstairs. She had training with Ebisu in an hour and a half. Beki made a point of being at least a half hour early every day, so she needed to leave soon.

True to her word, she had picked up some better training gear. It was basic and lacked personality, but that was exactly what Beki needed. Ebisu needed to forget that Beki had a mind of her own, that she had a mischievous spirit. The most dangerous opponent is one you forget exists. She threw on her gray and navy training gear and headed to the training yard. She passed the training field Team Gai was using and waved to them all as she passed. It looked like Gai sensei had them doing some kind of strange weight training exercises with enormous boulders. His training seemed twice as crazy as Ebisu sensei's, but at least Gai sensei was kind and fun to be around.

Her timing had been off that morning; she had spent an extra three minutes on her hair. She had decided this morning to put her mane out of harm's way by braiding it around her crown. It made her look like an old woman, but she'd rather that than her sensei slice her hair off during training. Instead of arriving thirty minutes early, Beki she got there twenty minutes early. Ebisu sensei was standing in the training yard, looking at his notes.

"There you are, Bekko, I was beginning to worry," Ebisu snapped the notebook shut and slid it in his kunai bag.

"Apologies, sensei," Beki bowed, and with the straightest, most serious face she could muster: "I helped some ducklings cross the road."

Ebisu watched her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was serious. He decided it wasn't worth it and continued.

"You have made significant improvement in the last few weeks," He explained. "I have arranged for us to do our first training with the Konoha teams of shinobi around your age. It took some coordinating with their squad leaders, but I think it will benefit all parties equally."

Beki resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had been on her absolute best behavior since the first training session. That duckling comment was the first questionable thing she had said to him since. She had even taken all of the sideways comments about her weight and being called the wrong name in stride. It was only because she knew soon she would have her vengeance.

"We will be meeting in the forest just outside the city limits. You will be given a thirty-minute head start, wherein you can do your best to hide your tracks and hide," Ebisu explained. "Each of the teams will be released, and their job will be to track you down and bring you in. They can either coordinate with the other teams, or within their own teams to do so."

That sounded promising. Beki had done a fair amount of wandering in the woods around Konoha, so she was already able to picture a few choice spots. It would be tricky to avoid so many teams, however. The bigger question was how could she make this humiliating for Ebisu? He had worked so hard to coordinate this with the other senseis. What would make him seem like a jerk?

"That sounds like a good exercise, Ebisu sensei," Beki cocked her head innocently. "When are we going to do it?"

He smiled at the praise. Even on her best behavior, Beki couldn't bring herself to compliment him often. The sight of him being happy nauseated her almost as much as the thought of eating natto.

"In three days, Bekiko. There's something else," He rocked on the balls of his feet with self-satisfaction before he continued. "All the teams, yourself included, are going out to eat together afterwards to celebrate everyone's hard work this season."

It was Beki's turn to smile. She had three days to set up her sweet revenge.

…

Beki came home sweaty but grinning, which made Hinata nervous. Usually after her afternoon training with Ebisu sensei, she groaned and complained for at least twenty minutes about how he was a snarky little yokai who was put on this earth specifically to torment her mortal soul. Then there would be conjecture about how he probably made mean faces at babies until they cried and double dipped at restaurants. Today was different. She rolled in the door and gave Hinata a big, sweaty hug.

Hinata's first instinct was always to lock up upon sudden physical contact, especially when it smelled so ripe. She eased into the hug and patted Beki's back as she nuzzled Hinata's neck.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I've got him Hinata," Beki pulled away and shook her friend gently. "I've got the bastard right where I want him."

Hinata blinked in confusion. It had happened. Ebisu had pushed her so far that Beki had snapped.

"There's no time to explain," Beki shuffled around in the supply closet. "Is there a grounds keeping shed on the property?"

"Um," Hinata thought long and hard about whether or not she should tell Beki where she could acquire pitchforks and axes. "Why?"

Beki eyed Hinata cautiously, realizing that she had probably said too much.

"You know what, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."

Beki opened the fridge and poured herself a cup of lemonade and pulled out her half eaten sandwich from lunch.

"I'm probably going to be out late doing some, eh, supplemental training," Beki said between bites. "Don't wait up for me."

Hinata was growing very nervous. What could she do? Technically speaking, she was in a position of authority over Beki, but there was no way she could ever give Beki an order. If she did, the girl would probably laugh in her face and scamper off anyway. What did that leave her, bondage? Hinata shook her head. She was not going to hogtie or handcuff her friend for something she MIGHT do. Maybe she would have to wait until Beki DID do something off color, then she could imprison her when she had suspicions of misconduct.

Oh my god, Hinata thought. I did not just try to justify when and why I could hold another person against their will. Is this normal? Is this normal in a friendship?

"I'll see you on the other side, Hina chan," Beki took Hinata's hands and twirled her as she danced out of the house, singing something strange and menacing.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. That had decided it. The second that girl stepped out of line, she was going to put her in handcuffs.

…

That's how it was for the next three days: Beki would slip out for training, come home for lunch, slip back out for training, come home for a visit, and take off back into the night. Hinata had waited up for her the night before; Beki got home sometime after 2 AM. It was incredible she was holding up as well as she was, having to report to training at 5 AM. Today was the day that all the teams were meeting just outside the village for a special group session. Ebisu had cancelled Beki's early morning training session; she at least was able to catch up on some of her missed sleep.

Hinata was making oatmeal when Beki came down the stairs, stretching languidly like a cat.

"Morning, Hina chan," Beki purred. She sounded so self-satisfied. Hinata really hoped they wouldn't arrive at the group training to find Ebisu tied to a tree.

"Morning, Beki," Hinata put a bowl down in front of her. Beki had been so good about her diet, and in spite of her especially smug mood this morning, she stuck to it. "How can you eat that plain?"

"The same way I've been drinking plain coffee and rice by itself," Beki took a bite of the mushy oats. "Necessity. Always necessity."

"You're like a different person lately," Hinata grumbled. "You're so secretive. I feel like I'm living with a cheating husband or a criminal or something."

Beki laughed out loud.

"Don't worry Hinata, I'll stop skipping our chick flick nights. Believe me, when you see what I've been up to, you'll understand."

Hinata furrowed her brow. For the rest of the morning, she got ready with Beki in tandem. She had her talking nonstop, and hoped during the monotony of showering, dressing, and walking to the forest, Beki would let something slip. Unfortunately, all she did was chuckle when Hinata asked a leading question, or stop talking right in the middle of a sentence if she realized it would give something away. It was so frustrating. Hinata couldn't wait to get whatever it was over with.

They ran into Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru on their way to the forest as well. They fell into step alongside the girls, Akamaru giving Beki a smile and a tail wag as a greeting. She scratched his chin and talked baby talk to him, much to Kiba's annoyance.

"So how does it feel to be the fox for today's fox hunt?" Kiba asked pointedly.

"Crazy," Beki smiled. "I feel crazy like a fox."

"You know, our team specializes in tracking," Shino adjusted his glasses. "It's likely we'll be the team to bring you in."

Beki patted him on the shoulder. Shino shrank away from the unwanted and unexpected physical contact. She chuckled and sighed:

"Oh Shino, if you only knew. If you only knew." She repeated.

Shino and Kiba both looked at Hinata uncomfortably.

"Don't look at me, she's been like this all morning." Hinata folded her arms.

"What's the deal Beki? Your sensei overworking you or something?" Kiba poked her. "You aren't making any sense."

"It doesn't need to make sense." Beki rubbed her hands together. "It only needs to work."

"How about we just stop talking to her?" Kiba suggested.

"That might be a good idea," Hinata sighed.

"Agreed." Shino was dusting off his coat where Beki had touched him.

They walked out of the village gates and followed the road for a few minutes. They saw Gai, Ebisu, and Asuma sensei standing in a copse of trees off to the left. The group walked over to join them. Several members of the other teams were there, however a few faces were still missing. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were the first to spot them. Chouji waved them over.

"So Bitchi, I guess we're supposed to hunt you down today?" Ino tossed her hair.

Beki smiled sweetly as she shot back:

"How'd the operation go?"

"What?" Ino blinked at her in confusion.

"Sorry, with all the bandages it looks like you got a boob job and a sex change." Beki folded her arms.

"Okay, that's enough you two," Shikamaru shook his head. "Women are so troublesome."

The girls separated, but the tension could still be felt. Hinata face palmed. It was going to be a long day.

"Whatever, Beki, we're going to find you," Ino growled. "If I find you first, I'm going to kick your ass."

Beki put her hands on her hips and puffed up her chest.

"If you find me Ino, I will run down Canal Street in my underwear."

"You're on, Bitchi." Ino glared.

Hinata sighed. She didn't know what it was about Ino that bothered Beki or vice versa. Maybe they were fighting for the title of bitchiest blonde girl. Some days it was hard to tell who was winning.

"There you are Beki," Ebisu waved at her impatiently. "Go. Go take your head start so we can get this show on the road."

"As you say, sensei," She practically skipped off into the woods. The bounce in her step made Hinata nervous. She was way too happy.

Thirty minutes later, after everyone had finally arrived, Ebisu began to explain the drill.

"Gather round, everyone," Ebisu smiled pleasantly. "I don't know how much your senseis have told you, so I'll just go over everything. Your job, either as teams or in partnership with other teams, is to hunt down and bring Bekko back. Her job is to evade you for as long as possible."

Hinata cringed. Ebisu had been working with Beki for almost three weeks and still didn't know her name. No wonder she didn't like him. When he gave the signal, the squads took off into the woods. The three squads had all worked together closely in the past, however from the get go they all separated. Each team had their own idea of the best way to apprehend Beki.

"If I were Beki, I would dash as far and as fast as my legs could carry me," Lee called over his shoulder to Tenten and Neji. "We should look for her in the deep woods."

"That…actually makes sense for once," Tenten blinked in surprise. She turned to Neji. "Are you seeing anything?"

Neji looked around, his Byakugan activated, then shook his head. There were broken branches, twigs that had been stepped on, and partial tracks everywhere. None of them seemed to directly indicate Beki was near.

The team passed fallen, hollowed out logs, tall grass, and were approaching a stream when Neji stopped them.

"There's been human activity around here," He gestured to a recently felled tree. "Look, they cut it down and dragged it off into the woods."

"But it's too old," Tenten examined the tracks and stump more closely. "The stump is all dried out and the drag marks look at least a day old. This was someone else's work."

Neji didn't like it. Even if Beki had not come through here, someone else had recently. It could be the work of a local in need of some firewood, or it could have been ronin.

"Alright, we'll keep going, but stay alert," Neji ordered. "There's no telling who we'll run into out here."

They pressed on towards the stream. Trees grew closely on either side; there was no break in the canopy. River rocks projected up over the surface, creating a sporadic but natural bridge. Lee smiled at Tenten and Neji.

"I'm going to clear the stream in one leap!"

"Lee, now probably isn't the best time-" Tenten protested, but Lee took a running start. She ran forward to stop him, and felt something dig into her shin and snap. She looked down to see a trip wire, then up at Lee. Before she even had time to cry out, a log hidden up in the canopy swung down on a set of vines, sweeping into Lee in midair and knocking him ten feet away into the stream.

"Lee!" Neji and Tenten cried together.

"Wait!" Neji yelled as Tenten began to race to Lee. "Let me check for more traps."

He scanned the immediate area and found no other threats. It was bizarre. Who would do such a thing, and why? They were in the middle of nowhere, and the rig was complicated.

"Neji, he's out cold!" Tenten's eyes were full of tears. "We have to get him back to Gai sensei."

Neji looked around. Their teammate was hurt. Team Gai had clearly chosen the wrong path to pursue Beki with. By the time they got Lee back to their sensei, another team would surely have found her. It would be best to cut their losses and help Lee. He picked him up and carried him on his back.

"You're right. Let's go Tenten."

Team Gai reached the sensei's about fifteen minutes later. The senseis all seemed surprised to see them.

"What happened?" Ebisu asked as they emerged from the trees.

"We sprung a trap out there," Neji explained, lowering Lee gently to the ground. "Lee took the hit. He's unconscious but otherwise unharmed."

"Sorry we're so late," Tenten apologized. "So who found Beki?"

"No one has yet," Ebisu shook his head. "You're the first team we've heard from since you all went in."

"Lee would want you two to keep up the chase," Gai's eyes were filled with manly tears. "Catch her for him! Fill your hearts with youthful passion, and there's nothing that can evade you!"

"Yes Gai sensei!" Neji and Tenten cried out in unison. They would catch Beki, for Lee. They turned around and took off back into the woods.

"Well that was…peculiar," Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses. "I wonder if she had enough time to set up a trap?"

"With a thirty-minute start?" Asuma laughed. "Doubtful. That would have taken a lot of prep work, and she is just a genin with a limited tool kit."

"And her ninjutsu aren't wood based, so…." Ebisu shook his head. "It must have been left over from some training exercise long ago."

That's what Ebisu said, but it was eating at him. This portion of the woods was seldom used for training. He hoped it was a fluke, but at the same time he worried there might be other dangers in the woods he hadn't taken into consideration for his student.

…

Team Ino-Shika-Cho took a more strategic route.

"Beki isn't familiar with these woods," Shikamaru mused. "More likely than not she subconsciously stuck to trails and areas with more light to avoid accidental injury."

"Which trail do we follow?" Chouji asked.

"She's right handed, so she'll tend to go to the right," Shikamaru reasoned as the three followed the trail. "I hope we find her soon; this is such a drag."

"I do to. I'm hungry," Chouji held his belly. "I only packed enough snacks for about an hour out here."

"We have to find her first," Ino glared out into the woods. "I'm going to find Bitchi if it's the last thing I do."

"If we find her Ino, are you really going to make her run down the street in her underwear?" Chouji's voice was full of concern. Ino frequently got angry, but Beki's comments earlier had made her look like she could combust at any moment.

"In broad damn daylight," Ino's voice was full of conviction and rage. The boys fell silent, knowing it was better not to say anything that might turn that rage on them.

After about ten minutes, they heard Chouji gasp desperately.

"What is it?" Shikamaru followed his gaze.

Peeking out of the grass was the corner of a snack bag. Before they could stop him, Chouji ran over to his prize.

"No Chouji, it's obviously a trap!" Shikamaru ran over to try to stop him, but as soon as Chouji took the bag off the ground, there was a snap, and a log dropped out of the trees and took them out. Ino watched in horror as the log swung at them with incredible speed and knocked them away like ragdolls.

"Shikamaru! Chouji!" Ino ran over to her friends and checked their breathing. They were both okay; the impact seemed to have only knocked them out. She heard rattling in the bushes and pulled a knife, ready to face her opponent.

"Sorry, you missed me!" She cried.

"Missed what?"

Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata emerged from the trees.

"What happened to them?!" Kiba cried in disbelief.

Ino did her best to explain the pathetic trap and how it had claimed both of her teammates.

"We should get them back to the senseis," Hinata suggested.

"We'll do it," Kiba hopped off of Akamaru and Shino helped Kiba load Chouji and Shikamaru on the dog's back. "You guys wait here. We'll be right back."

Kiba and his dog bounded off towards the forest entrance, leaving Ino, Hinata, and Shino wondering what the hell they were facing out here.