Editing 10k chapters hurts my soul.
He watched the red-haired jinchuuriki disappear into the brush with his siblings trailing reluctantly behind and let out a silent sigh.
Well, that could have gone better.
In the beginning, it was going quite well. He had lured the sacrificial Ame team to the Suna siblings in order to get the unstable jinchuuriki out of the forest as quickly as possible so that Orochimaru's plan would be able to proceed as smoothly as possible. It also had the added bonus of getting rid of any potential headaches during their invasion later.
There was always a chance that the teams sent to the chunin exam would die, so there was an agreement between all the village participating not to use the death of one of their genin as an incitement of war towards the host village.
However, should the host village suffer from an invasion mid exam which resulted in the death of a genin not involved in the conflict? Well, Oto could very well face a declaration of war from one of the participating villages for inciting the violence. Regardless of whether they destroyed or took over Konoha or not, they could not take on another village at the size and strength they were now. The only reason they had a chance with Konoha was because they knew the strengths and weakness of the village's infrastructure and were employing subterfuge instead of going through the official channels for war.
So, between his other missions from his master he made it his goal to weed out the other village's teams in preparation for Orochimaru's invasion. Ibiki's first exam made it easy for him. A few off-handed comments here, some subtle genjutsus there, and even a touch of poison to induce severe stomach cramping for the more stubborn ones, was all that it took to have most of them giving up or being caught during the exam. They probably thought that their nerves got the best of them and would return to their village in shame.
All he had to do was focus on making sure the remaining teams had some accidents during this portion of the exam and they wouldn't have to worry about a declaration of war.
He aimed for the big fish first.
Within the first hour, the Sand team had both Heaven and Earth scrolls thanks to his meddling.
He had hidden high within the branches and watched as the jinchuuriki tore through the Ame team and very nearly killed a Konoha team that had been spying on them.
However, things only went downhill from there.
Kabuto sighed and started off towards the meeting site.
He wasn't a natural born chakra sensor, but he had trained enough to recognize the surge in chakra where Orochimaru was supposed to be testing the Uchiha. However, it didn't seem as though the test went as originally planned if the surge of Kyuubi chakra was any indicator. Kabuto hadn't been worried, his master was strong after all. He would not lose to genin even if two of them were jinchuuriki. But then the Shukaku's container had reacted strangely, freezing and staring off into the distance until the chakra slowly faded away.
And now the boy was charging through the forest towards their general direction instead of heading towards the tower.
Kabuto shook his head. This was troublesome but manageable. As long as the Uchiha was taken care of, everything would be fine.
Nearly half an hour later he landed lightly on the branch and raised an eyebrow.
"Did Anko give you that much trouble?" He asked softly, though he knew that it wasn't the case.
Anko wasn't known for fire jutsus after all.
However, there were at least two other's that he knew were based on his research into the Konoha's genin. Orochimaru chuckled as he slowly peeled away the last of the damaged skin revealing untouched ivory behind.
(Like a snake shedding.)
"No, little Anko likes to act tough, but she wasn't much trouble at all. I made sure of that years ago."
Kabuto nodded. "So, I take it your mission with the Uchiha didn't exactly go as planned?"
Orochimaru hummed, his eyes distant.
"Yes, there were some unexpected factors I didn't consider. I suppose it's my own fault though I hadn't given much stock in the Uzumaki's strength despite your reports. The younger one was…fascinating."
Kabuto felt a smirk touch his lips as he shook his head. He had been keeping an eye on both the Uzumaki's throughout the first part of the exam to judge whether there was a need to corral them like he had to with the Suna jinchuuriki. He may have played his hand a little too much when teasing him, but it had been amusing to watch the emotions dance through his odd eyes that flickered between colors and gave away much more than the boy probably intended or wanted.
Of course, his master's interest was likely less benign than Kabuto's fleeting amusement. He had that look on his face again. A look that tended to spell trouble for the recipient of his interest. He almost felt bad for the little Uzumaki.
"Well you got your mark on Uchiha, right? So we can proceed as planned. I'll inform the other's to attack the group to test how well he's taken to it…" He paused when he saw Orochimaru's eyes sharpen tellingly. "You…did mark him, didn't you?"
"No."
"Well…that is…" He wasn't sure what to say.
However, his master seemed to understand what he meant even without words.
"Yes, it is rather troublesome, isn't it?"
He frowned. Orochimaru didn't look as upset as Kabuto would have thought him to be considering the man had been planning for months to use the younger Uchiha as his next body. In fact, Kabuto privately thought that this whole invasion was just one of his master's dramatic antics to call attention away from his true target. Though most of the Oto shinobi believed unquestionably in the cause, Kabuto wouldn't have lived this long without learning to recognize a losing battle.
He took a breath.
"So, what would you like me to do now that the plans have changed?" Better play it safe and not pry.
Orochimaru hummed and stared off into the forest for a moment. "Send Team Dosu after them as planned. If the Uchiha can't handle them then I won't bother preparing a new seal. However, if Sasuke manages to drive them off…well, I suppose I'll have to pay Team Seven another visit before this part of the exam finishes…of course, now that Anko found me I'll have to be more careful…but there isn't a lot of security inside the forest…"
Kabuto nodded, but hesitate to leave even with his master's idle wave of dismissal. Orochimaru turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"There was another complication on my end." He paused trying to find the best way to word it. "The Sand team took care of the Ame team I led to them and gained their second scroll. However, it appears as though your battle with the jinchuuriki caught his attention. He is now moving in their direction, though I highly doubt he'll be able to find them now that the chakra has died down."
"I see." His master sighed, annoyance flashing across his face. "Well, we can't have our bomb going off at the wrong time. If he can't be convinced to go to the tower then make sure he doesn't interfere."
"Of course sir. I'll seek out Baki tonight to inform him of the situation and learn what they do to prevent casualties."
Orochimaru made a derisive noise in the back of his throat. Kabuto held back a smirk. His master had made his opinion very clear on the subject of Suna's handling of their jinchuuriki. Or lack thereof. If they weren't necessary for bolstering their numbers he highly doubted the man would have involved them.
"You do that. I trust that you'll find some way to corral the boy even if Baki proves to be useless."
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama." He gave a little mock bow and spun on his heel to inform Team Dosu of their mission.
"Kabuto…" He froze and glanced back. Orochimaru was staring into the distance, eyes clouded in thought. "Tell me, what is the point of a cage?"
He paused.
What brought this up?
"A cage? As in a physical cage or a psychological one?"
Orochimaru smirked. "Both."
(So this had to do with the jinchuuriki…what exactly had the boy done to warrant such interest? Unless…)
"Did…did you place the seal on him instead of the Uchiha?"
Orochimaru merely hummed in response, still waiting for the answer to his questions. Kabuto grimaced. Well, this was an odd turn of events. He dug around for a suitable answer.
"I suppose a cage would be used to keep something inside. Something dangerous, or at least something that is deemed dangerous by the cage's creator."
He had never shown much interest in the biju. The only reason his master had joined that organization was to get in contact with the older Uchiha.
Did Orochimaru come in contact with the Kyuubi?
When he initiated the seal, perhaps? His master had never fully explained the mechanics of the curse seals to him, but it was possible considering its nature that he got a peek into the mind of his victim.
"So, tell me Kabuto…" Orochimaru tilted his head up to look at the slowly darkening sky. "What is the point of an empty cage?"
Sasuke sighed as he finished dragging his teammates to the bushes just outside of the clearing they fought in. He'd have to move them further soon, but for now, he took a small break to assess possible injuries that might be irritation by a longer journey.
Naruto was scrapped up with some lazily bleeding cuts, but nothing seemed to be too deep. He had a nasty bump on his head from where he hit the ground when that shinobi did…well, whatever he did to Naruto. He wasn't sure since most of his focus was on Natsuki at the time, but he thought that he had seen a hint of red in Naruto's eyes when he went berserk on the shinobi.
If he had to hazard a guess, whatever happened to him had to do with the demon fox sealed inside.
He pulled open his jacket and pushed up his shirt to see how bad the damage was, but only found some bruising that would likely hurt when the blond moved later, but it didn't look like anything was broken.
He almost sighed in relief before his eyes drifted over to his other teammate.
Natsuki…
He glanced over his other teammate with a grimace.
That damn fool.
He dug through Naruto's pockets till he found a scroll labeled Med-Supplies and sorted through its contents. It was surprisingly well stocked he noted distantly as he tore open a packet of antiseptic. He removed the rough bandage he had made out of his own sleeve to at least cover the nasty bite mark on Natsuki's arm and winced as the wound was revealed once more. Taking a breath he forced himself to dab it thoroughly with the antiseptic pad after wiping away the excess blood. He wrapped it tightly with crisp white bandages grimacing at the way they sagged slightly instead of remaining taunt to stim the blood flow. He excelled in every lesson at the academy including their lessons on basic medical aid, but here when he was actually trying to use those lessons he failed miserably.
He blamed his shaking hands.
(He resolutely ignored the reason why they were shaking. Damn fool. Is that what he felt like when Sasuke had jumped in front of him during their battle at the bridge? If so, then he'd never do that sort of thing again. His heart was still racing and he felt like throwing up as the image of Natsuki leaping in front of him then screaming in sheer agony replayed on a loop in his mind.)
With the bite mark taken care of he went on to examine the bump on his head. Like Naruto, he had hit the ground pretty hard, but it didn't look like either had actually cracked their skulls. Though judging by the size of the bumps on both of them, they'd have a serious headache when they woke up.
(If they woke up.)
He grimaced and pushed that thought away.
Finally, he turned his gaze to the wound he had been avoiding. Just seeing a glimpse of it through Natsuki's torn pant leg made him nauseous. He hesitated over it for a few seconds before shaking his head in disgusted with himself at the hesitation and pulled the fabric away.
Shit.
Shit.
What the hell Natsuki!?
He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it. His thoughts raced. Why would he take such drastic measures? Natsuki himself had told him that both he and his brother healed faster due to the Kyuubi's power within them. So, why…why would he do this to himself?
Unless…
He frowned as he looked over the mess, his mind flashing through memories of anatomy lessons.
Sasuke sighed.
Well, that answered that he supposed. He wasn't sure how well their healing factor worked, but it stood to reason it didn't cover immediately fatal wounds. He rocked back on his heels, trying to recall what he should do for burns. The sharp crack of a branch made him freeze. He flattened himself on the ground and focused on the noise.
Sure enough, after a minute breathing as shallowly as possible, he heard the soft mutter of bickering voices.
"No one's here…"
"Damn, I thought for sure that we'd be able to slip in and snatch a scroll."
"Well, we should probably get out of here…is that…oh, Kami is that a body?"
That voice sounded familiar. He lifted his head and peered through the foliage. Sure enough, he recognized the pink hair of his number one stalker. He grimaced. Judging by the way the group was looking horrified at the sight of the dead Ame shinobi they'd leave soon. He could simply wait for them to go or…
He glanced at his unconscious teammates.
Before they were attacked by that…that monster he was been confident in his ability to defend them, but that thing had skills way beyond what genin were supposed to have. And if there was one coach roach, there was likely a nest of them.
"What is Konoha's greatest strength?"
How many times had he heard that question throughout the academy? It was Iruka-sensei's favorite and was met with sighs and groans as the years progressed. Sasuke himself had always rolled his eyes, thinking he'd do just fine without other people holding him back.
He glanced back at the Uzumaki twins and sighed.
(He would prefer any other team than them…but he supposed beggars can't be choosers.)
He eased his way out of the bush, hands up and free of weapons.
"Hey."
He immediately had to dodge a poorly thrown barrage of weapons to his annoyance before the group recognized him.
"Sasuke-kun!"
While the pink haired girl looked ecstatic her teammates frowned and slid into fight positions. He held back a scoff, reminding himself that he was the one asking for help.
"Were you the one that fought here?" The blond one asked suspiciously, eyes drifting to the corpse briefly.
"My team and I were ambushed while we were trying to get information on the Ame shinobi's scroll. The person who ambushed us killed the Ame nin and then attacked us. He…was too powerful to be a genin. Both Naruto and Natsuki are injured because of him." He took a breath. "I…need your help protecting them till they wake up."
"Of course-"
The blond slapped a hand over Sakura's mouth with a scowl.
"Why should we? You heard the proctor, we're all enemies here. Where are your teammates? You could be trying to trick us."
He bit back a retort and answered as calmly as he could.
"My teammates are in the bushes over there. Both of them are unconscious. If you're really so suspicious then go look yourselves."
The team exchanged glances. Sakura looked livid at her teammate's intervention but didn't protest further than a sharp glare. Sasuke was both relieved and annoyed. He was banking on her fangirling even if he wasn't looking forward to it. He didn't really take into account how her teammates might react.
It was annoying, but understandable considering the situation. In light of this, he pretended to not hear their hushed conversation and tried not to glare when the shorter blond one insulted him relentlessly. He didn't set out to make friends in the academy, but he was fairly certain he didn't do anything to warrant such an attitude. He just ignored people. Maybe he beat him in sparing or something.
"Sasuke-kun is not a liar!" Sakura whisper-shouted and he held back a wince.
"Oh shut up," The dirty blond one huffed. His voice just as loud despite the frantic hand-waving of their other teammate. "He's a shinobi and shinobi are liars. He probably saw you and thought we were easy pickings."
"Well, he hasn't attacked us yet…" Murmured the taller brunette. The only one in the group that Sasuke had to strain to hear.
"He said his teammates are injured." Sakura glanced at the dead body nervously. "Regardless of what that lady said, we can't just let other Konoha shinobi die because we were too suspicious. What would sensei say?"
That seemed to sway the blond slightly and he scowled at the ground.
"Are you done deciding?" He kept his face blank and his voice calm, but apparently that still irritated the blond who turn his scowl towards him.
The boy glanced at his teammates. "What's in it for us?"
"Hasegawa!" Sakura snapped.
But, the boy looked determined.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to do this but….
(His mind flashed unwillingly to the burn wound on Natsuki's leg. The bite on his arm, a wound that he only got because of Sasuke. Because Sasuke was too slow. Too weak. So pathetic that his teammate had to jump in and take a blow for him.)
"Our scroll." He sighed. Three pairs of surprised eyes jerked towards him, the beginning of another bickering match falling silent on slack lips. "We have the Heaven scroll. I'll give it to you."
"We have the Earth scroll." The taller one muttered softly. A hand unconsciously going to the pouch on his belt.
Did they even bother to put protections on it? Sasuke tried to ignore how easy it would be to just take theirs and be done with the test. He could take out all three of them, but he'd be left where he started and his teammates might suffer for it.
The blond sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine. Where are your teammates again?"
Sasuke felt his shoulders slump slightly.
"They're over here."
He pushed passed the bushes and knelt by Natsuki again.
"Well shit." He heard the blond mutter as Sakura gasped loudly.
He ignored them and reacted for another packet of antiseptic cream. It shouldn't hurt to put that on the burn wound before he wrapped it. He felt one of the three lean over his shoulder and winced when they choked in his ear at the sight.
"Kenta!" Sakura exclaimed when the tallest in their group pulled away looking sick.
Sasuke just rolled his eyes and continued treating the wound. He winced with every whimper Natsuki let out and tried to ignore the way his face twisted in pain as Sasuke wrapped the wound.
He turned to the three pale shinobi behind him.
"Ok, I think they're ok to move now. Can you help me get them to a safer place to bunk down for the night?"
He turned to meet bright green eyes more serious than he had ever seen before. Sakura nodded resolutely and turned to her teammates.
"Kenta get Naruto and Hasegawa get Natsuki! Come on, we should hurry up and get out of here. I'm sure other teams will have the same idea as us and start heading over."
Sasuke watched as the taller one, Kenta, heaved Naruto over his should easily, but the blond, on the other hand, had to maneuver Natsuki around to find the best way to hold him. He raised an eyebrow. Natsuki and this…Hasegawi were the same height. They looked ridiculous.
He took a step forward. "I can help carry Natsuki."
But, Sakura shook her head and wave him off. He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed but stayed resolute.
"You're the best fighter here, Sasuke-kun. If we get into trouble you're going to need your hands-free to defend."
He sighed and nodded. "Alright, lets-"
"Oboro?"
They froze.
"Oh shit…Kagari…shit. Kagari I think I f-found him."
Sasuke's eyes darted to the field. Two more Ame shinobi had entered it and were hesitantly making their way towards their fallen comrade. He curses silently. He had grown so used to Natsuki's freaky sensory ability that he didn't even realize he had relaxed his guard. He shook his head and turned to the frozen team beside him. They stared wide-eyed at him.
He sighed and gestured for them to go in the opposite directions. Quietly. They nodded and began to move. He winced at the sound of rustling leaves and broken twigs. Even Naruto was quieter than that, and Natsuki was practically a ghost when he wanted to be. He kept his eyes on the two in the field, but neither seemed to notice the noise.
"Oboro! Oboro, dammit. Dammit!"
One of them was cradling the body gently, seemingly unable to say a word, while the other paced and cursed.
He grimaced and turned away to follow the other team.
Despite telling himself that he should be paying more attention to their surroundings, his eyes still lingered on his limp teammates for longer than they should have.
It took them the better part of two hours to find a safe nook. By the time they managed to tuck Naruto and Natsuki in the dark corner of a small cave the sun was almost set and the four of them were exhausted from avoiding other teams and carrying the unconscious. At one point, Sasuke and Sakura had to take a turn carrying his teammates, which was probably the most nerve-racking part of their journey.
He wasn't fond of relying on others. He could push his doubts to the back of his mind with his teammates because they were decent shinobi in their own right. But, Sakura's teammates? Well, Naruto might have ended up with a few more bruises from his tense hold on the blond. However, despite a few close calls, they found a safe place away from that horrid clearing and hopefully away from any other teams as well. He hoped that Natsuki woke up soon. Freaky or not, his ability was useful in this type of situation.
His hand hovered over his disguised scroll for a brief moment before he sighed and reached into Naruto's pockets to get the real scroll.
He handed them the scroll with a scowl. "Here. We put it in a storage scroll to hide it better. You can take it out or keep it in to protect it."
Hasegawa took it looking oddly thoughtful.
"Thanks… I guess you're not such a bad guy after all, even though you're a clan kid." He glanced back at his teammates and then up at the quickly fading light.
In the distance, they could hear the sound of fighting. The clang of weapons and the roar of jutsus. If he squinted he could see the flashes of some sort-of fire jutsu. He glanced back at the team, noting their uneasy faces. He sighed.
"Help me set up traps and take care of my team and you guys can stay here tonight."
(He'd rather them leave, but he supposed it was extra protection just in case an enemy team decided he was easy prey.)
The way Sakura face lit up was slightly disconcerting, but Hasegawa's not so subtle gagging noises were slightly amusing. Surprisingly enough Sakura proved fairly useful in setting up traps. Using some of Naruto's huge arsenal they set up several around the entrance along with others further out in the forest to alert them of anyone's approach.
He cast one last look at his teammates as he sat down at the entrance of the cave. He turned back towards the moonlit forest and sighed.
(He hoped they woke up soon so that they could finish this stupid test and get out of this horrid forest.)
He turned his gaze to the moon briefly to gauge its position in the sky.
It was going to be a long night.
Kankuro looked away from the bodies his stomach rolling. He glanced at Tamari wishing, not for the first time, that he had her ability to remain mostly stoic during their brother's rampages. He knew his face was always twisted in disgust and he had to fight back nausea for hours afterward. However, this situation was a little different than most and he could tell by Tamari's clenched fists she's was struggling to keep a hold of her expression.
His eyes drifted over to the only non-mutilated body in the clearing. The one that had already been dead upon their arrival. The shinobi's teammates didn't even know what hit them when Gaara entered with his swirling sands and twisted smile. They had been mourning, barely able to react to their appearance and completely unable to fight back against Gaara's single-minded bloodlust.
"Gaara…" Tamari started slowly. Though her face was still blank, her voice had a faint tremble to it as it always did when talking to their psychotic little brother. "Can we go to the tower now? It's almost midnight…and-"
Gaara stood abruptly from where he had been looking at a splatter of blood on the ground. They both flinched back as he looked at them silently. Without a word he turned and walked back into the forest. Decidedly not in the direction of the tower.
"I guess that answers that question," Kankuro muttered.
"We don't even know what he's after." Tamari sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This isn't in his usual pattern of behavior."
They shrugged at one another helplessly before starting off after him.
He sighed.
It looked like they wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
A picture frame fell from the nightstand with a thump.
Yūgao woke with a start hand automatically reaching under the pillow for her katana. She relaxed slowly when no one attacked her and slowly blinked her eyes open. Her hand moved from the hilt of her katana to the cold sheets beside her. She frowned and sat up.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and she moved to stand, but pain laced up her right heel when she tried.
"Shit!"
She sat back down and flicked on the lamp.
For a long moment, she stared uncomprehendingly at the broken picture frame and glass now embedded in her foot. Her blood dripped over the picture, obscuring her and Hayate's faces.
"Hayate?" She called out.
No one answered.
He glanced at the sky.
Just past midnight, he should probably turn in for the night. Yūgao would worry if she woke up only to find him gone. He glanced over the area one last time. The rooftops were speckled with wavering moonlight as clouds drifted by slowly.
A movement caught his eye.
An anbu dashed silently across the rooftops towards the hotel the Sand shinobi were staying.
He didn't move immediately, mind running through the scheduled routes in this area. His hands flashed through the signs for the Transparent Escape jutsu before he stood slowly and moved after the shinobi, a kunai in hand. When the shinobi slipped into a window he flattened himself against the wall to listen.
"Baki-san, it seems as though your student is acting out in the forest." A soft voice began almost patronizingly.
"What set him off?" Hayate recognized the gruff voice of Baki. He didn't sound particularly pleased at the news, but he wasn't shocked either. "He hasn't gone completely berserk, has he?"
Hayate frown. Were his suspicions over the young redhead true? If so...and he was losing control in the forest with the rest of the genin…
His grip tightens on the kunai.
"I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions. There are, after all, two others in the forest like him. One was in a particularly difficult fight today, throwing around its chakra everywhere."
"I see." Baki paused. "Well, there's nothing you can do, if that's what you came here for. No one can control him. If he wants to hunt, then he will stop at nothing to get his prey."
"This could ruin all our plans." There was an edge to the other man's voice now. A warning.
"I believe I expressed my own worries over this before the plan went into motion. I made it very clear that using him in such a way was risky at best, catastrophic at worst." There was no smugness to the man's voice, just a tired explanation that had the tonal inflection of repeated use.
Although Hayate couldn't see him from his position, he could image him rubbing his forehead in the way the Hokage did when forced into a situation he wanted no part of. He narrowed his eyes. So this went straight up to the Kazekage then. From what Hayate understood, Baki was a higher up in Suna. He was on the council and was in charge of training Kazekage's own children. Hayate doubted anyone, but the Kazekage himself could order him to do something against his will.
"I see." The warning was gone. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to figure out how to corral him on my own then. Who knows, perhaps we can make this work for our plan."
"Suna will not act until the last minute. We have a plausible deniability with Gaara's unstable seal if things go south. Don't expect us to continue with your plan."
He tuned out the conversation. He had heard just about enough. He needed to tell the Hokage so that they could pull the genin out of the forest, deal with what was undoubtedly an unstable jinchuuriki and possibly prevent what sounded like a mutiny.
He shifted, ready to push himself off of the wall.
"Oh, and since I'm already in an awful mood, why don't I take care of the little mouse outside the window?"
Hayate didn't even hear Baki's response, he was moving within half a second. Up over the edge of the roof then leaping to the next one, racing as fast as he could toward the Hokage tower. He glanced at the sky. If he was lucky he could run into some patrols that-
He dove into a roll to avoid a barrage of kunai.
Hayate glanced back and sucked in a sharp breath.
He recognized that face.
Hayate had memorized the face of every genin taking the exam. Kabuto Yakushi. A genin who had failed the test seven times. He leaped over a kick and flipped away. He glanced at the young man one last time before turning tail and running.
He nearly ran straight into Baki.
He leaped to the left and paused eyes darting for an escape route.
In the distance, he saw a patrol.
He put his fingers to his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle.
Danger. Help.
Baki dove towards him with what looked like some kind of wind jutsu in hand. He whipped out his katana and redirect the blow, sliding back from the impact. He grimaced and glanced back at the patrol.
His eyes widened.
"What's the matter?" Kabuto laughed pushing his glasses up. They reflected the moonlight ominously. "Did you expect them to help you? Too bad for you, those aren't the kind of backup you want. I used to work with them, you know. Very…stoic. In any case, they've been ordered to ignore any odd activity and divert other patrols that try to interfere with my master's plan. Dunno what the old warbird is planning, but lucky us. Right?"
Hayate's eyes winded as he tried to fit together the pieces to no avail. His distraction cost him.
He choked as a kunai drove into his left shoulder.
He jumped back to put some distance between him and the Suna shinobi.
Hayate glanced between the too. Baki was grimly determined, while Kabuto was still grinning. He grimaced and shifted his grip.
"Dance of the Crescent Moon."
Transparent Escape.
As his three shadow clones attack Baki, he took off again towards the Hokage tower. This was important. He couldn't fool around fighting. He had to get this information to the Hokage at all cost. The genin were in danger. His genin were in danger.
He didn't even feel where the senbon hit.
He went down with a choked gasp as his right leg was suddenly unable to hold his weight. He glanced down wincing at the sight of five senbon embedded in his leg. He couldn't even feel the blood running down his leg. There must have been some kind of numbing agent. Or poison. Though he had been in enough spars with Genma that he was mostly immune to many of the more lethal concoctions.
"That was a good trick." Kabuto landed on the roof with his grin still firmly in place. "Baki fell for it. Even I almost fell for it."
"You talk big for a genin." Hayate growled digging his katana into the ground to leverage himself to his feet.
Kabuto laughed. "Genin, Chunin, Jounin. Anbu. They're such arbitrary titles. We're shinobi, aren't we? Why even bother using them? Why give our enemies more information about our own skill level?"
"Why are you doing this? Why betray your own village?"
He laughed. "It's not really betrayal if you were never loyal? Is it?"
The numbness was spreading across his leg and down to his toes, but he could put some weight on it now. He lifted his katana.
"Finally attacking? Or are you going to run away again?"
"Hazy Moon Night."
The blade spun in his hand, leaving afterimages behind. Kabuto tensed, but he wasn't quite prepared for the speed of his attack. No one really was. The blast dug into his shoulder, leaving the kunai he had raised in defense useless as he lost all movement in his right arm.
"Chakra Scalpel." The grey-haired man growled. His other hand coming up and grazing Hayate's side as he pulled back.
He yanked his blade out roughly, hoping to cause even more damage and fled again as he caught sight of Baki heading their way.
He weaved through the rooftops. Taking sharp turns and risky jumps to try and throw his attackers off.
He didn't make it far.
He nearly slid off of a building when his vision blurred suddenly. He caught himself on the ledge but had to bite back a howl as the wound in his side tore open even more. He panted harshly, trying to ignore the pain. He glanced in the window to his left.
An apartment.
He was in one of the civilian sectors if his memories were correct. If he woke someone, then he'd only be putting untrained citizens at risk.
He gritted his teeth and slowly started to pull himself back onto the roof. Blood dripped off of him as steady as a soft rain onto the street below. When he got back to the roof he grimaced as his leg no longer responded at all. He was sweating, dizzy and shaking. Poison probably. Or severe blood loss. Or both.
He crawled away from the slanted ledge and onto the flat rooftop to prop himself up against the stairwell wall. He could see the tower in the distance, but his vision was too blurry to focus on it completely. He turned his attention to his wounded side briefly, then his katana hilt. His shoulder burned from the wound Baki delivered. His chunin vest was ripped through, leaving the sleeve underneath hanging loosely down his arm, so he tore it off. The numbness from the senbon needles was spreading up into his hips and moving continuously upward, but he finished the seal even as his hands shook.
Just in time, it seemed.
"Found you."
He sighed and leaned back, staring blankly up at the grey-haired traitor.
Kabuto was talking. He could see his lips moving and hear the faint buzz of his voice, but he couldn't focus on the words. He couldn't think about his failed self-assigned mission or even his genin. No. All he could think about was the bottom drawer of his nightstand.
There was a sharp pain in his chest.
That's too bad. He closed his eyes. He had just bought the ring last week.
Sakura was awake before dawn with a lingering feeling of dread from a rather detailed nightmare. She shook her head clear and glanced towards the entrance of the cave. The boys were supposed to have changed watch through the night, but it looked like Sasuke never moved. Hasegawa was yawning on the other side of the entrance. As far away from Sasuke as he could be while still keeping an eye on the forest beyond the cave. She shook her head with a smile.
Apparently his acknowledgment last night didn't extend very far.
She rolled to her feet and tried to dust off all of the dirt and grass off of her dress. She grimaced and glanced at Sasuke, hoping he hadn't glanced at her. She probably looked like a mess! She sighed and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. While she didn't really want to look like she was copying Ino's look, she also didn't want Sakura to notice how tangled her hair had become after a day trudging through the forest and then sleeping in the dirt.
"We should probably get going," Kenta said behind her as he pulled himself to his feet.
Hasegawa looked back at them and nodded with a grin. "Yeah, we can beat the crowd and probably even be one of the first teams to make it!"
He glanced at Sasuke. "No offense Uchiha."
Sakura nearly started lecturing him on being so callous when Sasuke was the only reason they got a scroll so fast, but Sasuke shifted into a half crouch suddenly. His eyes trained on the forest in a glare.
"Company."
Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat for a second as her eyes immediately ghosted over the two unconscious Uzumaki's. Did the shinobi that did this come back to finish the job? They had to be skilled to get past the traps in the forest without causing them to go off.
"Oh, so you noticed us." A team slowly stepped out of the bushes across from the cave. "That was quick. We only just arrived."
Sakura held her breath as they walked towards the first trap and slowly let it out when they stopped right in front of it. She tried not to look too disappointed. She forced herself to not even glance down at the displaced dirt. Their sensei had lectured them about this. If they gave it away through their own expressions or actions then there was no point in working on a trap in the first place.
She focused instead on the shinobi themselves. They were from Oto. Two boys, one girl. She narrowed her eyes slightly when she finally recognized the group. The one in the middle had attacked the grey-haired man, named Kabuto, for no reason before the first part of the exam. He didn't even hit him, but Kabuto's glasses had shattered and he had been knocked to the ground.
"What scroll do you have?" Sasuke demanded as he slowly got to his feet, the kunai still clutched in his right hand.
The grouped looked taken back.
"Don't tell me you plan on taking them on all by yourselves…" Hasegawa trailed off as Sasuke glared at him briefly before turning back to the Oto team. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"
Sakura pushed down the immediate rush of admiration for Sasuke's bravery as pragmatism took its place.
"Sasuke-kun, its three against one and you don't know their abilities. Let us help you." Her hands curled into fists, her new gloves crinkled easily with the movement.
Her sensei made sure she had worn them in before the exams started. She was grateful now, that they weren't as stiff as when she first got them and that she had time to train in them. It was obvious to her that Sasuke hadn't thought much of them during their trip last night. If she could get the chance here to show her crush just how much she had grown. Then maybe…
"No way!" Hasegawa snapped. "We already helped him enough. If he wants to be reckless than...geh-"
Sakura's arm closed around his neck and pulled him back slightly in a partial choke hold. She smiled brightly at her teammate, ignoring his struggles.
"We're helping."
Hasegawa gave her the stink eye but relented when she tightened her hold slightly.
"Fine, whatever." He backed off with a mutter about girls being crazy that Sakura happily ignored.
Sasuke glanced back at them.
"Don't get in my way."
Sakura nodded resolutely. "We won't."
He grimaced but turned back to the Oto shinobi.
Sakura took that as the closest thing to a yes she'd get and smiled more genuinely turning her own gaze back to the other group.
The Oto team had watched silently, not moving an inch during their little spat. The middle one chuckled when he noticed their attention turn back to them and tilted his head to the side. Sakura tensed. He was the one who shattered the glasses.
"Are you done fooling around children?"
"I can't believe they even let you brats into the exam." The girl sneered.
"Oi…." Hasegawa growled. "We're not weak kids. We earned our genin rank."
The boy with the spiky hair scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, is that why your little trap sucks?"
He gestured to the ground in front of him.
"It's totally obvious that you stuck something here. Who are you trying to fool? Huh?"
"You only know that because Dosu told you." The girl muttered.
"Shut up!"
Sakura forced back a laugh. This was a serious situation. She looked towards Sasuke, but he was gone. A quick glance up found him leaping from above towards the ground, hands flashing rapidly through a jutsu Sakura didn't recognize with his eyes spinning with the sharingan.
If he's charging from above, she thought. I'll attack from below.
She darted out of the cave towards the group, her hand clenching into a fist.
I'll show Sasuke just how much I've grown!
Her breath caught slightly when the spiking haired one looked at her but didn't stop. He raised his hands and suddenly Sakura felt herself flying through the air. She hit something midair which slowly her fall slightly, but not enough to completely prevent the pain of hitting the ground. She gasped for breath and panicked when air didn't come immediately. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry.
What happened?
The thing she hit midair shifted beneath her. A face came into view.
"Sasuke-kun!" She gasped.
She flinched back as he glared fiercely at her, sharingan eyes still burning.
"I told you not to get in my way!"
"I…" She closed her mouth her eyes burning traitorously.
I just wanted to show you what I could do now.
He glanced up.
"Shit. Move."
She looked up to see the one that's had sent her flying backward heading towards them. She tried to move, but she found that her limbs were shaking too much.
"Useless." Sasuke snapped and tugged her back by the ponytail. She bit her lip to prevent a noise of pain.
He barely had enough time to pull himself into a crouching position slightly over her with a kunai in hand. The other shinobi raised his hand and Sakura knew that a regular kunai wouldn't help at all.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"You will not harm the pretty Sakura-chan nor my youthful friend Sasuke Uchiha!"
The shinobi was kicked across the field by the weird genin that had confessed to her before the first part of the chunin exam. She glanced at Sasuke. They were friends? She felt a little bad for rejecting him so harshly now that he had come in to help when he didn't have to. She flinched back when Sasuke met her glanced with a glare.
"If you're going to be useless, then go guard my team." He stood. "I'll make sure none of them get close to you."
She felt like she'd been slapped.
"Sasuke! That was mean!" The green glad genin frowned at the Uchiha, but Sasuke ignored him in favor of attacking.
The new arrival looked back at her and smiled. "Don't worry Sakura-chan! I'll protect you!"
He dove back into battle as well. His movements were barely visible as he darted around the spiky-haired Oto shinobi who was looking more and more irritated. Sasuke had dove towards the leader of their group that the girl had called Dosu, but it looked like he wasn't making any headway. He kept jumping back as far as he could when the shinobi attacked. Probably to avoid whatever happened to the grey-haired shinobi before the first exam. It made fighting difficult though since Dosu simple countered any jutsu thrown his way by dodging or using his own to negate them.
It was a battle of stamina at this point and Sasuke had already fought a superior opponent yesterday and probably hadn't slept at all last night, while the Oto team looked like they were just strolling through a park rather than a deadly forest.
She dug her hands in the dirt.
(Why was she just sitting there? Didn't she want to prove to Sasuke that she had gotten stronger?)
Her eyes were burning again.
(But she failed. She got in Sasuke's way and nearly got them both killed because she wasn't fast enough to avoid an obvious attack. No. The problem wasn't speed, really. The problem was that she recognized the attack, but kept charging anyway. All because she wanted to show Sasuke that she was strong.)
(But, in the end, I'm just being protected.)
"You know, I hate little girls like you. So focused on your image and boys that you don't take training seriously."
She jerked her head, eyes widening as the last shinobi came charging towards her.
"Idiot!" Hasegawa countered her senbon needles with his kunai. "What are you just sitting there for!? This isn't the time for you stupid girly emotional shit!"
She flinched when she heard Sasuke scream in pain.
The female shinobi smirked nastily. "Looks like Dosu finally got your little boyfriend. If you ask nicely he might let you say your goodbyes before he kills him."
"Shut up you stupid-" She overpowered him briefly, her hands darting forward to stab the senbon into his neck, before Kenta slammed into her with the force of a fully loaded cart, bringing her to the ground and knocking her weapons out of her hands.
"Shit." Hasegawa shivered. "What the hell Kenta, you weren't supposed to wait that long."
"Sorry," Kenta said in a strained voice as he tried to pin the girls flailing limbs down. "It took a bit longer to disarm the traps in the field and set them up around the Uzumaki brothers. And I thought you said you could handle one girl."
"Get off me you bastard!" The girl growled kicking him in the stomach. He winced but didn't let go.
Hasegawa rubbed his neck. "She's, uh, tougher than I thought."
He glanced at Sakura.
"We can handle her though, so go help Uchiha. And this time don't fail."
"Chou!"
"Shut-up." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, just, well punch 'em or something. That's what you've been training for right?"
(What I've been training for…right…it wasn't just to show off Sasuke was it? I wanted to…)
She nodded.
The boy, Lee, was struggling to his feet with blood dripping out of his ears and nose, while Sasuke was taking on both of the other boys in the Oto team. She could see blood pouring out of his own ears and nose and could tell by the way his eyes were narrowed he was in pain. But he fought anyway. Even Sakura would admit he wasn't doing very well. With Lee on the ground, it was two against one.
"Ok."
She pushed herself to her feet and darted into the fray, tossing a dozen kunai as she charged. The Oto shinobi dodged them easily. She could see the smirk tugging at the spiky-haired shinobi, but she ignored it. He wasn't her target.
Out of the three of them, it was obvious who the biggest threat was.
Dosu raised his arm.
She heard Sasuke shouting something, but his words didn't register as she raised her own fist.
He drove his hand towards her face. The palm of his hand slammed into her, breaking her nose immediately, but the physical pain was outshined by a high pitched ringing that seemed to reverberate through her. Her eardrums felt like they were exploding and her whole body shook.
(Ah, so that's how he hurts people. Sound waves.)
Her fist lashed out in an uppercut.
He leaned back to avoid it, but she wasn't aiming for his face.
Her fist met metal and the metal gave out.
She couldn't hear the crack of the metal and bone breaking, but she knew she succeeded when the ringing abruptly cut off. She watched dizzily and he jerked back, his mouth moving behind the mask of bandages in an obvious scream.
"Heh." It hurt to grin with a broken nose, but she managed a small smirk.
It was hard to make her limbs move properly, but she could still channel the chakra she needed. She shifted her stance and brought her arm up against to deliver a sluggish punch to the jaw. It wasn't hard enough to fully break it, but with the chakra she managed to funnel she felt it crack under her fist.
Something came flying at her from her peripheral, but she couldn't move quick enough to dodge it. A hand tugged at the collar of her dress and she was pulled out of the way of way of the spiky-haired Oto shinobi, who looked completely enraged.
He was shouting something, but Sakura still didn't have her hearing back. She glanced up at her savior. Sasuke glanced down at her. He didn't say anything, but he nodded slightly before he dove at the shinobi.
If she wasn't in so much pain right, she probably would have squealed.
As it was, she just slowly allowed herself to slide to her knees as her hearing slowly came back.
The fight didn't last long after that. Sasuke took a page from her book and went ahead and broke the spiky-haired shinobi's arms to prevent him from using his ability. It was crude and harsh, but her sensei had made it very clear to them that you did what you could to win.
'And I definitely won.' A smile tugged at her lips despite the pain. 'Sensei is going to be so proud of me.'
(Sensei was…)
Her mind stuttered to a halt. There on a high tree branch.
(How long had he been there?)
Green met gold for a brief moment before Sakura's entire being exploded with pain as she was kicked across the clearing. She choked, unable force her body to twist herself into a better landing position.
"Sakura!"
A familiar voice and familiar arms plucked her out of the air and prevented her from probably slamming against a tree or something equally painful. They tumbled to the ground from the force of Sakura's body. She blinked up at Ino, mind still scrambled from pain and shock, not quite understanding what exactly happened or when her former friend had arrived.
(All she could focus on was golden eyes and pain, pain, pain.)
"WHO ARE YOU?!" She heard Sasuke shout, a hint of desperation in his tone.
Ino's teammates were standing protectively in from of them, making it difficult for her to see what was going on.
(She had to confirm though. She had to, because she remembered a small photo, torn at the edges, shoved into the pages of a book she had been researching.)
She gasped softly when she finally managed to push herself out of Ino's arms to get a better look at the new arrival. Her hands trembled as she slowly pushed herself onto her knees. Her stomach felt like it was on fire and it was hard to breathe. It was frustrating to know that just one kick left her like this, but knowing the person who did it…well she was surprised she wasn't dead.
"Orochimaru." She managed to get out between pants. She saw Sasuke's shoulders twitch and felt a brief spike of joy over surprising him by answering his question.
Her eyes drifted towards the man himself. He wasn't moving. Instead, he watched Sasuke with his head tilted to the side and a small smile on his face. That smile spelled trouble for Sasuke. His eyes flickered to her briefly before apparently losing interest despite her knowing his name.
If she could distract him…
She gritted her teeth and drew in a deep breath to try and regulate her breathing.
After all, in her quest to learn more about Tsunade Senju, she had also run into information on the legendary woman's legendary teammates.
"He was the Hokages former student along with Jiraiya and Tsunade Senju. They were known as the Three Sages and were considered Konoha's strongest team." She took a ragged breath trying not flinch when cold gold eyes lingered on her. "He's a traitor. The Hokage found him experimenting on children. He should have received the death sentence, but he got away and has been evading Konoha ever since."
"What a well-read genin." His voice was soft and sibilant. It didn't carry the outright malice she expected from his history, but it made her shiver in fear all the same. "I suppose it makes sense you would recognize me, though. You must have been researching my teammate thoroughly to copy her style so exactly. Congratulations should be in order that was quite the little show you put on. I wasn't expecting such a thing from a genin like you"
He cut his eyes over to where the Uzumaki twins still slept.
"It seems I've been receiving a lot of surprises lately."
Sasuke bristled minutely.
"You stay away from them." He growled lowly.
"Hey," Shikamaru started calmly. "Fight him is probably not a good idea."
Do we have a choice?
The question remained unasked, but it was obvious what the answer was. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her teammate's edge closer to her, having apparently knocked out their own opponent.
Sakura pushed herself, painfully to her feet. Ino hovered beside her.
"Hey, don't you think you've done enough?" A hand hesitated briefly, before grabbing her elbow to support her as she swayed. "Sakura, you're really injured you need to sit out."
She ignored her.
(If she could just distract him. Maybe help will come. Surely, the adults realized what happened. Surely they were going to stop the test and save them.)
"What are you doing here?!" He voice was nasally and cracked halfway through, but she persisted. "You're a traitor. You're not welcome in Konoha. If you're caught, you'll be killed immediately."
Gold eyes seemed to cut through her, reading her intentions easily and laughed at her for her efforts. She flinched, but didn't take her eyes off of him.
"What am I doing here, you ask?" He seemed to debate over the answer, though the mocking expression he wore revealed that he was just playing with them. His eyes cut to Sasuke and her stomach dropped. "Why I'm here for a Uchiha."
The killing intent slammed into her like a brick. She could only watch with wide, horrified eyes as Sasuke jumped back, his own eyes wide and Sharingan spinning.
Her knees hit the ground before she knew what was happening as another aura washed over the clearing. Her eyes widened as a flame encased Natsuki Uzumaki slammed into Orochimaru and sent them both flying into the trees.
(Her mind flashed back to a distant memory. A rabid blond child hovering over a smaller orange haired boy as blood seeped into the dirt.)
They were back in the clearing again, trading blows almost too fast for her to follow.
"Is that really Natsuki?" She heard Choji ask softly from his own position on his knees.
"This isn't good," Shikamaru muttered. "So, troublesome."
"What is going on?" A voice called from the tree behind them.
Sakura turned, to find the rest of Lee's team looking confused. The girl who spoke laid eyes on Lee unconscious body and gasped, while the boy's eyes were on the fight happening in the air above them.
"Damnit. Damnit." She turned to Sasuke who was also watching the fight his hands curled into fists. "Why can't I do anything myself? I'm useless. Weak without them."
She opened her mouth to disagree, but the look on his face held her back. It was twisted with dark anger and frustration.
Laughter brought her attention back to the fight. Orochimaru had landed along with Natsuki. The orange haired genin was facing away from them. The flames still lingered in the air, but the oppressive force that had first driven her to her knees seemed to have lightened somewhat. He seemed distracted. Kept twitching and turning to looking into the forest.
"You're very interesting," Orochimaru smirked. He didn't look like he had been fighting, while Natsuki was panting heavily. "You wield the Kyuubi's power so easily."
Kyuubi? The Nine-Tailed Fox?
Sakura didn't really understand what he said, but it was obvious others did. Shikamaru tensed, his face twisted in worry. Sasuke's face, on the other hand, went completely blank. His eyes were narrowed and dark.
She grimaced.
She didn't understand anything and her stomach and face were throbbing horribly now.
(Why weren't any adults showing up to help?)
A crashing in the brush got her hopes up and she turned her head, hoping to catch sight of her sensei or anbu or someone.
But, it was just more genin.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she took in a familiar face covered in face paint, but they tensed again when she registered the expression on his face.
It was terror.
Pure terror.
That was when the redheaded boy who had charged in first starting screaming.
And everything seemed to go to hell from there.
It's been a while. There's been a hurricane ( I live in Houston btw. Got a little wet) and my semester started in between (Help me its a nightmare! I'm student teaching and my superior is a cranky old woman who constantly insults me!). Cough. Anyway, I'm giving you another 10k chapter, but it ends on a cliffhanger because I'm a horrible person. Sorry.
I think the thing I struggled with the most this chapter was Sakura's pov at the end. She doesn't notice as much as Natsuki or Sasuke or even Naruto, so I struggled with framing the fight while not actually writing it as much as I would have with anyone else. I also may have screwed myself over with a number of people in one area for the next chapter, but it was in the plans so we'll see how that goes.
P.s. Sorry about Hayate, that was also tough to write.
Preview- Naruto woke up in a dark, wet hallway. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before slowly pushing himself to his feet. He didn't really understand how he got here or even where here was. He blinked at the dreary world around him in confusion.
"Am I dreaming?"
A warm red light beckoned him from down the corridor. He looked around one more time before walking towards it.