Author Note: Thank you for all the encouragement and comments! They mean a lot and I am so happy to see people are enjoying my story. I hope everyone continues to enjoy!


Naruto sat on a bench in the locker room, trying to calm himself with the breathing techniques Gaara had shown him. It wasn't working very well. He closed his eyes and bounced his knee in anxiety, waiting for them to be called in. He heard the chatter of a few of the nominees and their mentors in the next aisle, they seemed so nonchalant and confident. He hung his head in his hands and tried to focus on not freaking out as a familiar figure sat beside him in silence.

"So if I die, the only thing you get to keep of mine is my xmen lunchbox." the blonde joked and turned to see Wrath unamused.

"You'll be fine, just stay focused." He reassured before handing him a matte black pocket knife. Naruto took it and examined the item, letting it spring open to reveal a sharp blade. He turned it and saw the handle was engraved, 'Nostra nobilis ira'

"I originally wanted to have it say, 'Don't do anything stupid,'" Gaara mused.

Naruto gave a genuine laugh. " I've practically come to hell in a handbasket. I doubt I could do anything to make it worse."

"Let's not test that theory." the redhead spoke unamused.

Naruto let his fingers trace the smooth metal of the weapon before mumbling a soft thank you. His eyes met Gaara's and they found themselves in an embrace.

"You'll do just fine." Wrath whispered before letting go and standing.

"Don't worry, I'll make it out alive." the blond smiled as his mentor left the room.

It was a few minutes before a voice came over the intercom calling the challengers. He found himself shoulder to shoulder with Saskue in the hallway as they walked over to a room located just beneath the arena floor.

"You ready?" Naruto asked turning to his friend.

"No." Saskue scoffed but offered a slight smile as they entered the dark room. A small spotlight from above illuminated the seven nominees but nothing else. They jumped as a slightly muffled voice finally spoke from a dark corner of the room.

"Challengers, this is your first task. Good luck." The figure walked into the light revealing a gas mask in place over his face.

The seven panicked as a white gas dispersed into the room eventually rendering everyone unconscious.

X_X_X

Naruto woke up at the sensation of water touching his face. He blinked his eyes and stared at his reflection, confused at the sight. A mirror? The water continued to trickle down and pool at the lower end of his reflection on the floor, soaking into his clothes. He willed himself to sit up but found his arms and feet were bound. He rolled onto his side and caught movement on the ceiling. Mirrored ceiling? The endless echo of infinite mirroring images was disorienting. He tried to focus on the reflective surface to take note of the other competitors, everyone was in a similar state as him, bound with rope and lined up against the mirrored wall. Naruto's brain finally made the connection that it was a mirrored room. He arched his back and stretched his fingers to locate the pocket knife Gaara had gifted him, in his boot. He flipped it open and began cutting at the thick rope. His peripheral vision caught something and he turned his head to see the Sloth nominee stand up and toss his ropes aside as he made a mad dash to the other side of the room and grabbed one of the odd looking masks that sat in a row along a wooden table at the far end.

"Naruto" Saskue had woken up.

"Saskue!" Naruto had freed his feet and was able to kneel now and work at the ties on his wrist behind his back.

"The room is filling up with water fast, we only have about five minutes. We have to get to the other side." The Pride nominee had pulled out his own knife.

Naruto noticed two more nominees free themselves and dash over to grab one of the items left on the table for them. The Envy nominee, Sakura, broke the ties with just her strength and tied her pink hair up as she ran. Sai, the greed challenger had used a lighter to burn through his ropes before the water got too high. The water seemed to have no direct source, it only flowed down the walls from the edge where wall and ceiling meet steadily becoming more rapid as the level began rising faster every minute. It was at knee level by the time Naruto and Saskue had finished cutting through and stood up.

"What are we supposed to do with those mask things?" Naruto quickly waded through the water behind the Uchiha towards the table.

"They allow us to breathe underwater for a limited amount of time." Saskue grabbed at the item on the table and inspected it. "These are pre set for five minutes. That means we still have to find a way out of here or we'll all run out of air."

Naruto followed and snatched a device noticing only one left. He turned around and saw two more nominees struggling to to fight through the now almost waist level water.

"There's only six masks..." the Wrath competitor turned to Saskue at the realization.

"Welcome to the trials." The Uchiha had no emotion in his comment.

The lavender eyed girl reached the table first and grabbed the last remaining air mask. The Gluttony nominee, Karin was right behind and reached out taking a fist full of Hinata's long black hair tugging her down into the water, the device slipping from her hands.

"Nothing personal sweetie, just taking out the weakest link." Karin sneered and barreled a few punches into the girl's face for good measure as the water raised above chest level and everyone began utilizing the air masks.

"Don't even think about it." Saskue warned the blonde, already seeing the wheels in his head turning as he stared at Hinata, dazed from the blows to the face and struggling to stay afloat. Sasuke knew his ex had an inability to ignore his moral compass.

"I have to." Naruto took a deep breath and dove into the water that had well passed everyone's neck level by now. Ever since he was a put into foster care, he carried this unrepentant need for integrity. Even to the point of helping shield others around him from pain, his selfless acts often made him the target for more trouble but his impulse never faded despite the outcome. This situation was no different, as he followed his gut feeling he swam to his co-competitor and helped her get to the surface.

"What are you doing?" She shot him a surprised look as she gasped for air.

"Here" He handed her the mask, noting how low the ceiling was as he treaded water.

"Why?" she stared at him in shock.

"It feels like the right thing to do." he smiled and watched her accept it and submerge with it now on her head.

Naruto took a deep breath and sunk down again trying to figure out a way for him to survive. He saw all the other nominees watching him intently. Some gave him pitying looks, others shook their heads in annoyance. Saskue's face was the only one livid with anger. He ignored the Uchiha for the moment and continued to observe the room. There were no windows, no cameras, or air vents in the sealed space, only the mirrored walls and ceilings that confined them. Naruto racked his brain for some solution, the others had to find a way out as well. Their air wouldn't last forever. It was hard to focus, his mind was full of panic. He shook his head and decided, if he couldn't use his head he may as well use his fists. He resurfaced and took in the last bit of air before the room became completely filled. He could only hold his breath for about a minute, he had to act quickly. Once he was back at the mirror he pulled his arm back and let it collide with the glass.

"I wonder if he actually thought this out or is just frustrated and panicked" Itachi contemplated outlout.

"Doesn't matter, this glass is impenetrable and there's also my special guest nobody has noticed yet." Yamato walked up to the tank and mused. His own mentee, who boasted a ridiculous strength couldn't break the glass.

"He'll die before he can get out." Anko frowned, stating the obvious.

The current figureheads watched from the other side of the mirror, analyzing the competition. Gaara didn't acknowledge as his colleagues gave him side glances knowing it was his nominee, High Lord Wrath's son that would be the first to die in these trials. He shut out the various gasps from the audience as they watched on the giant screens and kept his focus on the glass, willing it to give in under the blonde's fist. Silently screaming on the inside at the stupidity of this half breed.

Movement cause Naruto to turn his head as he noticed a pair of black soulless eyes open, watching him intently. He stared pointedly at her, doubting if his own eyes were playing tricks on him as the camouflaged creature smirked at the buffet of bodies before it. Naruto watched it slowly peeled herself away from the corner she was hiding in, letting her black scales show and licking her spindly fingers as her tail flicked back and forth. Finally the rest of the competitors noticed their next pressing issue and chaos quickly ensued. Half the challengers were charging at it with whatever weapons they had on hand. The other half were using the table as a shield, huddling behind it, probably half hoping they wouldn't need to take on the stuff of their nightmares. The blond took advantage that everyone seemed to be preoccupied at the moment and continued to assault the glass.

Naruto was running out of air. He continued to frantically punch the mirror wall. He had to make it. He tried to collect his thoughts, he couldn't let it end here. He absolutely had to see it through. He promised himself he'd see Tenten, Lee and Kiba again. He promised Gaara he'd give it his all and make it out alive. He had to find a way, he couldn't let this be the end. He shut his eyes and felt his body giving out, his lungs began to burn for air and the involuntary gasp he couldn't help but make as he felt himself still. It sealed his fate. This had been his grand finale. Drowning in hell, what an oxymoronic way to die. His mind faded, softly dimming as his thoughts felt muted and he surrendered to this feeling of death, a force he could not command.

Odd. It was warm. Nothing like what he expected. A possessive heat stirred in him, growing uncomfortably hotter by the second. He felt himself move out of his control, out of his body. All his emotion was being pulled, channelled, filtered into his punch, striking again. A crack appeared under his fist and spidered out, growing across the glass. Naruto felt a power radiate and continue to take over within him. His eyes flashed red as he opened them and struck again with more force than he ever felt in his life. Glass shattered and the Wrath nominee found himself spilling out onto the arena floor as the water gushed out from the room.

"Naruto, can you hear me? Naruto, wake up." a pair of recognized hands held the blonds face.

"Told you I'd make it out alive." He joked groggily before rolling over and coughed up an obscene amount of water. He was alive, back in his body. Living, breathing, anything but dead.

"Reckless idiot" Gaara helped Naruto to his feet.

The sound of a crowd cheering as the nominee rose caused the half mortal to become disoriented. He looked over to see the room he had been in was set in the middle of the arena, broken glass and water still puddling around where the sins stood talking excitedly as their mentees ran out of the mirrored room.

"Congratulations" a voice echoed over the loudspeaker. "You've all passed the first task. Next task is two weeks from today. Be prepared, they only get harder from here on out."

The giant screens showed the task that just played out again on replay as the announcer spoke. Naruto watched as Hinata took several hits to the face again and Naruto swimming over to give her his mask. It fast forwarded to Naruto punching at the glass as the other nominees were busy fending off the bloodsucking siren. The horror as his air began to run out and he went still, then came back to life with a hit that cracked the glass. The figureheads moved away from the mirror at that point, knowing they'd get caught in the stream of gushing water when it broke. It went into slow motion as the blonde opened his eyes and they flashed an unnatural red before shattering the glass and being sucked out with the force of the water and tumbling onto the glass strewn arena floor. It resumed to normal speed as Gaara ran out to him and knelt over grabbing his face in his hands telling him to wake up, and eventually rising to his feet.

"Come." Gaara tossed the half breed a towel once the replay was over and the crowd began throwing roses out onto the field. Naruto obeyed his mentors order in silence as they headed for the changing room.

"On a scale of one to stab me in my sleep, how mad are you?" Naruto finally asked as he dripped on the cold tile floor in front of his locker, clinging to the towel wrapped around him.

"Smother you with a pillow." the demon responded curtly as he rummaged through a backpack. He handed his mentee a fresh towel and a change of clothes and sent him off to get cleaned up.

"I can't tell if you're actually a genius or out of your mind." A voice came from behind Naruto as he exited the showers. He turned to find the Sloth challenger watching him.

"Definitely an idiot" a familiar voice appeared from behind a curtain.

"Shut it, Uchiha." the blonde rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Idiot or not, that was hella awesome." The girl with pink hair praised as she walked by giving him a wink.

Naruto blushed and headed back to get his backpack from his locker. He found a familiar woman with long dark hair standing in front of it, arms crossed and a scowl in her face.

"Hi. Can I get my stuff?" Naruto mentioned when she didn't move as he approached.

"I appreciate what you did, but don't think that I now owe you something because of it." She stared him down.

"Ok." He responded casually when he opened his locker after she let him pass and watched him take out the his backpack and stuff his damp clothes inside.

"I'm s- serious." She let a small stutter slip.

"I'm not looking for favors, so don't worry about it." He addressed her statement and zipped up his bag.

"Why did you do it if you weren't looking for favors then?" She asked, in disbelief that he didn't hold it over her head.

"I told you, it felt like the right thing to do." He shut his locker and smiled.

She had no clue how to respond to that.

"See you later." He shrugged into his backpack and exited the locker room, leaving behind a very confused Hinata.

X_X_X

"What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry but I couldn't just let her die" Naruto argued back. He didn't understand why they were arguing in the first place.

"So you put your life at risk instead for someone who would probably cut you in two if given the chance?" Gaara chided, obviously displeased.

"Well excuse me for having a conscience and valuing the lives of others!" the halfbreed exclaimed.

"Your life is important too. You matter Naruto."

Naruto stared back at that declaration from Gaara. Ever since his mother had past, nobody else had ever really regarded him as worth anything. He had become just another burden, an extra mouth to feed, another number in the foster system. Years of scrambling for some form of validation from anybody during his foster years had been fruitless. He had remained void inside, worthless and broken. The very words the blonde longed for growing up and had lost all hope of ever hearing had just spilled from the mouth of the demon before him. He was definitely not used to hearing it.

"Oh"

"You need to think before you act, you can't just be willing to throw your life away at every dangerous turn by trying to play the hero." Gaara continued to scold, not looking back at the half blood.

"I'm sorry. You're right, I wasn't thinking." Naruto apologized calmly, all anger lost. He hung his head slightly in shame, he hadn't taken the time in the situation to realize Gaara had thought of him as important. He hadn't taken into account there was someone who would miss him if he died, someone who would hurt if he didn't survive.

The redhead turned around noting the change in tone and finally looked his lover in the eye. He carefully observed the figure before him, noting the sudden change in the tone of the argument. He closed the space between them, a hand now on Naruto's tan cheek. Green eyes now soft as they took in every feature, every curve, every freckle and blemish of his lovers face, etching it into his memory.

"Naruto, I know death is an ultimate risk in these trials. I understand your actions and part of me is glad you are willing to help others but you need to remember at what cost. There were other ways you could have helped her that wouldn't have been anywhere near as dangerous as what you did. You are important to me. Please promise me you'll be more cautious from now on." It escaped the sins lips, barely a whisper.

A nod, followed by an "I promise" as Naruto brought his forehead to the demon's lips and snaked his arms around his mentors torso. They stood for a moment in silence before Naruto spoke again.

"So, do I get a reward for passing the first trial?" A sly smile spread across the half demon's face as he eyed his mentor.

"Reward? I hardly think passing by the skin of your teeth is deserving of any sort of praise." Gaara quickly dismissed the notion with a quirk of his brow.

"Oh, c'mon! That was a tough task. I think I did really good!" The blond pouted.

"I should make you run an extra mile in the morning for your insolence out there."

"You're relentless." Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes.

A warm melodic chuckle sounded before Gaara led an assault of kisses onto Naruto and pinned him up against the bedroom wall. Naruto gasped, briefly surprised at the sudden onslaught but welcomed it with a laugh before catching the demon's mouth with his.

"All right, Tell me what you want Naruto. Anything you want." Gaara continued to trail kisses down the blond's jaw as he spoke.

Naruto's breath hitched as the demon had began to nip the flesh at the base of his neck. "Gaara.."

He rested his head back against the wall he was pinned against. Feeling their arousals grind together as the half breed pushed his hips forward into the demons. He hummed in approval as pale fingers found the tanned skin of his torso, lifting his shirt as they continued to trail up following the slight curve of his muscles. The smooth metal of the piercings in the demon's mouth gave the blonde shivers of pleasure every time they passed over his skin.

"Right now, I want your cock in my mouth." Naruto spun them around so Gaara was against the wall before the other could even process what the blonde had just said.

The half breed swiftly dropped to his knees as his hands worked at the button and zipper of Gaara's jeans. A slight hiss from the demon as Naruto slid the pants down a bit, freeing Gaara's erection. Blue eyes flitted up to watch the redhead's expressions as the blond teased him a bit through the fabric of his underwear. He licked his lips at the thought of the thick length filling his mouth. Naruto used his teeth to drag down the waistband, watching the demons shaft begin to throb at its growing arousal. A tan hand gently gripped its base following smooth strokes as the other hand worked to free his own cock from the confines of his sweatpants.

"Naruto.." Wrath moaned, pressing his weight back into the wall.

"Please Gaara. I need it." Naruto pleaded, looking up with the burning desire to please in his eyes.

The demon finally nodded and with that the half breed swirled his tongue over the pre cum that gathered on the tip and lightly sucked the head into his mouth. He let his hand and tongue work, listening to the pleasured moaning from his lover above. For Naruto, there was nothing that could compare to the rush he got from giving a blow job. The feeling of a hard cock in his mouth drove him insane with arousal and the sensation of accomplishment when it was all said and done. The half breed had been craving to get his mouth on his mentor ever since they first showered together and Naruto saw it in all of its erect glory. The blond slowed his tongue and grabbed Gaara's hips in order to gain some control and began to gently push him further into his mouth.

"Fuck"

Naruto took that as encouragement as he slowly bobbed his head feeling the tip begin to lightly graze the back of his throat as he loosened his jaw accommodate it to fit comfortably. His free hand wandered, trailing the pale flesh of thighs and ass, in a form of worship at the strength hidden just beneath his fingers. The blond pulled back slowly off Gaara's length briefly to catch his breath and looked up at his lover. He gave a coy smile, wearing the drool that dripped down his chin proudly.

That smile, fuck. Gaara pulled whatever small sense of self control he had left to not cum on the spot. He watched the half breed wink before taking the demon's whole again, letting it fully hit against the back of his throat. Wrath laced his fingers through golden hair as Naruto showed off his skill by letting his mouth linger at the base a little longer, nuzzling the soft hair with his nose each time the tip hit the back. He pulled off again, messily this time, leaving Gaara's arousal covered in slick drool. Strands of spit stretched between Naruto's lips and the thick length, the collar of the half breeds t shirt was soaked in saliva and Naruto was an absolute wreck with his intense lust filled eyes, desperately reaching back to stroke his own erection as he kneeled on the floor.

"Please... " Naruto begged flicking his thumb across the sensitive head before returning his mouth to take the demon again.

Gaara understood what Naruto was asking of him and slowly thrust forward feeling a moan escaped the very mouth he was ramming himself into. It vibrated through him causing a pickup in the rhythm his hips had found. Wrath could feel every groan and reflex Naruto made in pleasure as he grabbed at the back of Naruto's head and forced it to meet with each of his swift thrusts.

"Naruto. I- I'm gonna cum" Gaara managed to warn between uncontrolled breaths and the violent bucking of his hips.

The half breed pulled his mouth off in time as the milky fluid sprayed across Naruto's mouth and cheek. The tan hand stayed on Gaara's length gently stroking out every last bit of cum. The demon moaned and watched a heavy lidded Naruto continue to work at his own cock, steadily leaking as he pumped it. A pale hand move from blonde locks to the half breeds smooth cum free cheek. He let his thumb gently trail the skin as he watched the man's chest rapidly rise and fall with his shallow breathing. Gaara eyed the creamy liquid that still painted Naruto's face.

"Naruto" he let his thumb linger close to where it splashed across his lovers mouth.

Naruto locked his gaze on the demon's glass green eyes. He slowly parted his lips and dragged his tongue across them, gathering the substance on its tip and bringing it back into his perfect pink mouth.

"Fuck, you're so amazing. Such a good boy." The redhead growled.

Naruto lost it at those last four words and messily came in ragged breaths across the floor before collapsing.

X_X_X

"This whole knocking us out and waking up in random places is getting old real fast…" Naruto grumbled as he pushed himself up off the ground.

At least this time he wasn't tied up and he was supplied with a larger weapon for this task. He brushed the dirt off his long sleeved, general issued shirt and took in his surroundings. Trees, vines, humidity, mosquitoes…. Fuck. Why did it have to be a jungle? He rubbed at his head recalling the instructions for their second task given to them by the Greed Sin before they were all rendered unconscious. Basically he just had to make it to the other side of the jungle and cross into the base line by sunrise. Sounded easy enough, if you forgot to factor in the whole surviving a night in a fucking jungle and figuring out which way was the right way to go in the first place like Naruto did. Shit.

He picked up the tomahawk that lay on the ground next to him and pulled the head out if its sheath to inspect it. It was sharp, plenty enough to deal some serious damage. He patted his pockets and found he was also left with his pocketknife Gaara had gifted him, a lighter and the protection charm Shizune had given him a year ago. He smiled to himself knowing Gaara had to be the one who had put it there.

"Ok then, first things first…." He shoved the items back in his pocket and held the handle of the tomahawk between his teeth as he began to climb the tallest tree he could find.

It wasn't much help. He was smack in the middle of the fucking greenery and the tree wasn't tall enough to really give him the best sense of what direction to head in. He sighed inwardly, he wasn't a goddamn boy scout. How the hell was he going to get through this one? He descended the tree and finally just decided by this point that walking in literally any direction was probably better than staying in the middle of the jungle all night. He set off in what he hoped was north but fuck if he knew. The half breed hoped to Satan that he wouldn't almost die this time.

The last task had been a catastrophe. His near death experience gave him vigor to fight through, although he wasn't sure that it would really help get him anywhere. He'd be dead if it wasn't for that weird out of body experience he had. It was still kind of a blurry memory for him, but when he mentioned it to Gaara he found himself being interrogated by his mentor. Wrath saw the shift of eye color when Naruto broke the glass and said he would look into it, but for now unless some miracle dropped from the sky he only had his frail half mortal self to rely on. Piece of cake.

Naruto was unsure how much time passed since he began walking but he thought it was a good idea to periodically check where he was from the canopy just on the off chance he was headed the right direction, but more to try and make sure he wasn't going around in circles. That was until it got dark and everything became significantly harder. The blond also tried to move quietly, remembering the creepy monster from the last task, he hoped there were no more of those kinds of surprises. That hope was of course short lived as he heard the most terrifying inhuman shriek of his life from somewhere up ahead. Against his better judgement he ran ahead as the noises became louder and a familiar voice yelled out in pain.

"What the hell is that?!" Naruto charged in swinging his weapon violently as the beast held down the Uchiha with its claw.

"A fucking wyvern! Get it off me!" Sasuke had sunk his sword into its side but the creature proved to be fast as it now pinned the Uchiha to the ground

The blond wedged his tomahawk into the scaly leg of the monster causing it to retract its claw in pain. "What did you do to piss it off so badly?"

"It attacked me first!" the raven haired man quickly retrieved his sword, barely missing the beasts swinging tail by an inch.

"That's hard to believe. You have a tendency to just piss people off, teme." Naruto joked as he dodged the wyverns talons and sliced at it again.

A rushing wind knocked them both over as the creature extended its long leathery wings, and began to flap them, rising into the air.

"It can fly?!" Naruto shouted in surprise.

"Do you not know what a wyvern is? What is Gaara teaching you?" Sasuke grabbed the blond by his collar and dragged him away from the monster as fast as possible before it tried to attack again.

They both ran until Naruto tripped over a patch of vines and face planted into what he swears must have been a strategically placed puddle of mud. He rolled onto his back, wiping the grit off with his shirt sleeve as best he could.

"How the hell did you survive the first trial again?" The Uchihas mocking came after the fit of laughter.

"Shut it, asshole." Naruto accepted the outstretched hand that helped him back to his feet.

"We need to come up with something. What supplies do you have?"

"Just this tomahawk, a lighter, my pocket knife and an enchanted dragon scale." Naruto pulled the items out of his pocket for his friend to see.

"Wow, the fates must hate you."

Naruto glared as Sasuke slipped off the small pack he had been carrying. "I've got my sword, a GPS with two way radio capability and about eighty feet of rope."

"How the fuck did they let you have a GPS?" The blond fumed.

"Itachi must have threatened someone. I'm surprised you weren't allowed more, Gaara went at it with the reapers when they wouldn't approve you more than two items for this task and they were two useless items at that. It was pretty scary when he started shouting and that's cause I was outside the meeting room when it happened."

Naruto laughed. "Of course"

"Be grateful he sticks up for you, you'd be in a lot of trouble if he wasn't your mentor."

"Yeah, I know."

They stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do. Naruto stared up at the canopy that obstructed much of the view of the night sky.

"So that GPS of yours can tell us where we are going then?"

"Direction wise yes. The problem is we don't know where the gate is located. It doesn't do us much good to know where we are if we don't even know where we are supposed to go." The raven haired figure pulled up the digital map on the screen showing where they currently were amidst a massive sea of trees and misery.

If only they could find a tree tall enough to see the direction of the gate, they'd have a better chance. A faint screeching off in the distance caught his attention.

"I've got an idea that you're not going to like." The blond said with a sly smile.

Naruto was correct, Sasuke hated the plan. It was a sure fire way to get them killed but it was all they could come up with and dawn was soon approaching. Naruto stood in position atop a tree, large dry branch wrapped in his torn off shirt sleeves and lighter in hand.

"You ready?" The half breed spoke into the small bluetooth ear piece.

"All set. Light it up." Sasuke voice came over the radio.

Naruto took a deep breath and lit the makeshift torch he had made. He let it catch before shoving the lighter into his pocket and rose it up into the air.

"Nothing is happening."

"Give it a moment, it'll come. Make sure you wave it around." The Uchiha gave direction over the radio.

Naruto sighed and flailed his arm, feeling like an outright idiot. Apparently wyverns had a poor sense of hearing and rely heavily on sight. So there he was, standing on a tree waving a torch, acting as bait. A minute passed before he heard the tell tale screech that the plan was working. The thought was short lived and all of it fell to shit when he heard two more resounding calls headed his way.

"Change of plans" Naruto dropped down from the tree as they monsters moved in on him.

Sasuke responded in obvious irritation. "What now?"

"There's more than one wyvern" the halfbreed tried to keep the panic out of his voice. It didn't work too well.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Abort mission. Abort, abort, abort!" the blond began running, hearing the beat of several sets of wings above him.

"We can't just drop the plan!" The Uchiha barked out.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have three monsters chasing you through a fucking jungle!" Naruto barely dodged an underlying branch as he booked it to the meeting point. He heard the wyverns following him while the flame of his torch continued to burn bright in the jungle.

"You're the one with the protection charm." There was that mocking tone Sasuke liked to use with him.

"I don't even know if it works!" He mentally reminded himself to watch out for the tree roots coming up.

"Shizune would be so offended if she could hear you right now."

Naruto groaned in distress. "I'm gonna fucking die."

"Trust me will you?"

"Ha. Trust a demon, sounds smart." Worst advice ever.

"Half demon" Sasuke corrected, now sounding unbothered by the whole situation.

"Right, how could I forget." The blond dead panned. "Get ready, I'm rounding the corner."

Naruto dashed into the small clearing by a dried up river bank they had found thanks to the GPS. He tossed the torch away from him into the mud and made sure to stay perfectly still. One of the beasts landed, stalking the bright light a few meters from him.

"Any day now." The blond spoke in a low voice. He didn't are move from his spot as he waited for Sasuke to continue with their plan.

Carefully and calculated, Sasuke moved swiftly dropping the rope around the creature's neck as he jumped onto its back. He rapidly moved under the Wyvern, weaving between its thrashing talons to tie the makeshift harness in place. The other two monsters hovered slightly above making attempts to swoop down at the half breed attacking the one in the ground.

"Good to go. Come on!" Dark eyes locked onto blue as Naruto burst into movement, hauling ass to close the space between him and the Wyvern writhing about. They clamored on its back while the monster was still confused, gripping the ropes tightly as it began to rise into the sky. The other two beasts kept their distance, obviously unsure if attacking their larger sibling was a good idea. Naruto let out a yelp as the beast bolted through the sky, twisting and turning in an attempt to get them off its back.

"This is so much worse than Gaara's motorcycle. I am never complaining about his driving ever again!" The blond held the rope around his hands so tight he was sure the circulation had been cut off from his fingers.

"Over there!" Sasuke pointed to the left.

Just at the horizon line about four miles away was the gate. So far it looked like only one of the competitors had crossed it but they were running out of time. The sky was turning lighter shades of pink indicating the sun would rise shortly.

"Can we make it?" Naruto was grateful that the wyvern had stopped doing barrel rolls and was now just thrashing its head around.

Sasuke gave a snide laugh. "I really hope that lucky charm of yours works."

The Uchiha gave a hard tug on the improvised reins and the flying reptile unwilling moved in the direction they needed. He then proceeded to use the heels of his feet to deliver a hard kick to the monster which sent them bolting through the air once more.

"Sas, how are we gonna stop? This thing doesn't have breaks!" They were quickly approaching their destination and the wyvern was veering off course, trying to return back to the heart of the jungle.

"Jump you idiot!" Sasuke grabbed the blond hastily as they plummeted back down into the lush greenery that managed to break their fall just enough.

Naruto groaned as he slowly moved around taking account if he had broken anything. Thankfully just his sense of total faith in his friend was the only thing hurt. "You have no idea how much I hate you right now."

"Noted"

The two half breeds noticed that three figures now stood just past the gate. Somewhere between them racing through the air and falling from their begrudging ride two more nominees had crossed. They trudged their way the last few feet towards the gate only for Naruto to be stopped by a knife to his throat.

To his surprise he was more annoyed than anything else. "Seriously?"

"I really don't like these odds. We are already in the second trial and I haven't had my fill of bloodshed." She laughed darkly as she stood behind him and pressed her blade against his flesh.

"You may want to rethink that." Sasuke had reached for his katana and was narrowing his eyes at the woman behind Naruto.

The rest of three nominees that had already crossed the gate watched in interest, leaning casually against the chain link fence. None of them making any moves to jump in. They still didn't fully trust each other, not in the life or death sense anyway. It was understandable.

The blond was working his mind to remember how to get out of that type of back choke hold. He knew it, Gaara had constantly done it during their hand to hand sparring. There was the added element of the knife but fuck if he let all those months getting kicked in the ass during sparring be for nothing. He inhaled waiting for the right moment to try and subdue her.

A gurgling sound at his ear threw him off focus. He looked over at Sasuke who had a mildly surprised look on his face. The woman's arms around him became limp and the weapon fell to the dirt. The half breed turned back to face his attacker only to find her choking on her own blood as it spilled from her mouth in dark crimson drops.

"Nothing personal of course, but I'm afraid the weakest link is you." Long dark hair and lilac eyes appeared and whispered to the dying women, soft and taunting. She pulled her axe out of the dead body once the life had left its eyes and watched her limply crash to the ground with a smirk.

"Holy shit" Naruto froze absolutely certain he was going to experience death by psycho axe murder.

Hinata marched forward glaring at the blue eyed half demon as she passed him. "We're even."

All Naruto could manage was a deeply confused look as Sasuke shook his head in annoyance and yanked the blond along by his collar across the gate just before the sun broke over the horizon.