Previously:

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the way Sasuke kept glancing in his direction. "What are you looking at?" he asked, getting annoyed.

"Not your stupid face," Sasuke retorted coolly.

"Why, you…!!" Naruto growled, losing his balance when he tried to lean closer to the jerk to get in his even stupider face. "Wah!" he gasped as he stumbled into Sasuke, taking him down with him.

"You moron!!" Sasuke scolded him with a scowl, especially irritated since he was tried, and his whole body was already sore.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sakura demanded angrily, giving Naruto a wack on the head for making the still unconscious April fall, too. "You have to be gentler with her!!!"

"Oww!!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing his sore noggin to protect it in case another blow was coming. He felt guilty about dropping her, but he was amazed April had slept through it. "It's not my fault!! Damn it, Sasuke!!!"

Chapter 55: Race To The Finish…!!

Because of extraordinary circumstances, Kakashi had obtained permission to leave the Jōnin Standby Station early to start setting up for the fūinjutsu ritual, so he could be ready to perform it as soon as possible. He was in the middle of carving the first in a set of two concentric circles into the floor of the room that the Hokage had set aside for the event, when a very familiar Anbu agent appeared before him. Kakashi steeled his nerve and glanced up at the other man. "What is it, Tenzō?"

"Your team has been located, Sempai…" the male ninja in the cat mask with intricate green and red markings reported. Kakashi's expression remained even, but Tenzō noticed how his grip tightened almost imperceptibly on the kunai in this hand. He knew how much Kakashi valued his comrades, and these kids were clearly important to him. It would be best to cut to the chase. "Every single one of them, is alive."

Kakashi's eye widened slightly, and he exhaled the breath he was holding, relieved beyond words. They were alive, all of them. It was more than anyone could have hoped for. "Their condition?"

"All of them were conscious and able to walk on their own, with exception of April Starr… But she appeared to be under the effects of the exam's seal," Tenzō replied. "They should wear off in time."

"!" Kakashi's eye went wide. He was surprised to hear that Sasuke was already coping so well, but it was a relief. Because of Orochimaru's threat, they couldn't afford to interrupt the exam or appear to be interfering, so they couldn't treat him until he and the rest of the team reached the tower on their own. He frowned and furrowed his brow when he thought about what kind of effect the seal must be having on April. 'So, she accepted it after all...' he thought, closing his eye. Of course she did. It was easy to guess what must have happened. Against an opponent like that, with the others' lives threatened right in front of her, she must have been desperate. Especially after what happened to her parents. He could understand that. The pain of watching someone you cared about die right in front of you, that was something that never went away, no matter how many years passed. You would do anything to avoid feeling it again. That worried him, but for now, it was enough to know that she would survive. They would all survive. The test wasn't over yet, but he knew they could make it. 'You guys did well...' he thought, picturing their tired, smiling faces. 'Thank you.'

Two days later, Sakura was rudely awakened at the crack of dawn by Naruto's attempts to make Sasuke get up and go with him to pee, because they weren't nearly quiet as he thought they were being. Given everything that had happened since the start of the second test, they had decided it was safer to move in pairs. After the boys left, Sakura was about to go back to sleep, when she heard a quiet moan, and she looked over and saw April stirring.

"Mm..." April groaned and slowly opened her eyes, feeling sore all over.

"April-chan!" Sakura gasped, scrambling closer. "You're awake!"

"?" April blinked and stared up at her. She could tell the others had found the bruise cream she kept in her pouch, because all of her and Sakura's bruises were completely gone. "Looks like it… How is everyone? What happened?"

"Everyone is alright!" Sakura reassured her. "Even Sasuke-kun. Naruto's just as noisy as ever, too," she added, earning a small smile.

"Sakura…I'm sorry…" April said, frowning a little when she looked at her younger teammate's short hair and the faint cuts on her face. From the little April saw during their fight with the sound ninjas, it was obvious that Sakura had been fighting alone to protect them before the others arrived. The angle of the way her hair had been cut before indicated that she had done it to herself. She had fought until she was black and blue to protect them. "And, thank you..." April said, giving her a grateful smile.

"Eh? Ah! You don't have to..." Sakura started to say, waving her hands to stop her. She knew April would have done the same. In fact, she did!

"Of course, I do," April said, cutting her off with another smile. "It's important, after all."

Sakura stopped fidgeting and looked at her.

"I'm sorry we left you alone, Sakura. Thank you for protecting us," April told her warmly. "It might not mean much from someone who keeps passing out, but… I'm really proud of you."

Sakura lowered her head slightly, so her bangs would hide her face and misty eyes. "Yeah…" She reached up and touched the ends of her short hair. "… Thank you, April!" she said, looking back up at her with a smile. It mean a lot.

"Ah!!!" Naruto gasped, alerting to them to his return."Sasuke!! Sasuke!! April's awake!!!" he exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement, as he rushed over to sit next to her. "You slept for so long…!!" he told her, so relieved that he was starting to tear up a little.

"Yeah… I'm sorry I scared you… but I'm alright, now," April reassured him with a smile, pushing herself up into a sitting position, so she could place her hand on his head and ruffle his hair.

"No!! I wasn't scared!" he argued. "I knew you wouldn't let some stupid seal take you out! Anyway, have you seen Sakura's hair!? She said it's an image change!"

"Yep, I saw it," April replied with a wry smile, wondering how he thought she could miss it. "I think Sakura's become a lot cuter… don't you?" she added, sharing a knowing smile with the other girl.

"Yeah!!" Naruto agreed with a grin.

While he made a fuss over her, Sasuke kept his distance and avoided eye contact in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

"Sasuke..." April said sternly, dropping her smile as she turned her head to look at him. "Take off your forehead protector."

"!!" The request surprised Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke, too, but he knew he shouldn't have been after what he did. It was unforgivable, after all. He assumed she was asking because she didn't think he deserved to wear it anymore. Very reluctantly, he reached up and removed it.

"Sasuke-kun… April-chan..." Sakura said, glancing anxiously between them. She didn't want Sasuke to be hated, but… she could also see why it might be hard for April to forgive him.

Naruto gulped nervously, wondering what would happen. He was definitely on April's side, but… she could be scary when she was angry.

WHAPP!!

"?!!" Sasuke said, taken aback when she suddenly thrust her hand out and flicked his forehead as hard as she could. It hurt so much that he instinctively reached up to cover it with his hands. He stared at her with wide eyes.

"You..." April said irritably, with the corner of her mouth twitching and her face cast partially in shadow, while a vein throbbed on her own forehead. "Before, when we were fighting that grass ninja… You called me a 'bitch' then, didn't you?"

"!?" Sasuke said, frowning and furrowing his brow in confusion. With everything else he had done, that was what she was mad about? "I'm…sorry…?" he said, so bewildered that he actually let a real apology slip out.

"You'd better be," April said with a nod of approval, crossing her arms. "Also, listen to me next time before you start jumping to conclusions," she added firmly, fixing him with a steady gaze. "There's always someone better, Sasuke. When that happens, it's important that we work together. I know you were scared, but freaking out like that isn't helpful. Don't let it happen again."

Sasuke looked down and frowned. He clenched his fist. "It won't," he promised seriously, looking her in the eye again.

Her expression softened slightly. "Apology accepted, then," she said, giving him a small smile that spread into a radiant fish-eating grin. "… But, if you ever slip, it won't end with just a forehead flick!"

'A…Amazing…!!' Sakura thought, stunned, but immensely relieved. That was probably the first time she had ever heard Sasuke apologize to someone before. She was so glad that April had decided to forgive him!

"Gyahahaha!!! You look so lame, Sasuke!!!" Naruto laughed, holding his stomach with one hand, while he pointed at the red bump that was forming right in the middle of Sasuke's forehead with the other.

"!!" Sasuke scowled and quickly put his forehead protector back onto hide it.

"So… What have I missed?" April asked brightly, ready to be filled in on everything that had happened while she was unconscious, from the first time she passed out during their fight with the grass ninja, to the parts she missed of the fight with the sound ninjas and the Orochimaru person Sakura mentioned, to what they did after the second time she passed out.

Naruto and his shadow clones, stripped down to their colorful boxers, shielded their eyes from the afternoon sun while they peered down from their spot on a stone outcrop that overlooked the river, and smirked when they spotted some tasty-looking fish. "Special Technique: Shadow Clone Jutsu, fishing version!" they cheered, throwing themselves into the water. "Yaaaaaa!!"

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

"Sounds like they're having fun over there," April remarked with a wry smile when she heard the lively commotion. It was good to hear them enjoying themselves after everything they had been through, but she hoped it wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. She added more sticks to the fire circle she and Sakura were making.

Sakura smiled, too, glad to see her up and about after being out for so long. Everyone had become a lot more lively now that April was awake.

The struggle to catch the fish was a lot more real for Naruto than he had thought it would be. "Buh gah babi buh!" he gurgled at his clones, directing them to help him herd the fish right where they wanted them.

Sasuke waited on the rocky riverbank with his kunais at the ready to spear the fish the moment they appeared.

SPSH!! THNK! THNK! THNK!

Sasuke threw his kunais the instant they jumped, pinning all three of them against a tree.

"!!" Naruto gasped as he broke the surface of the water, panting heavily from the effort. Chasing fish was harder than it looked.

"Do it again!" Sasuke ordered him. "We need one more for now, and we also need to have food for later. Three fish isn't enough."

"!" Naruto twitched. He could see his point, but he didn't like the bossy way he had said it.

"Do it four more times, you moron," Sasuke insisted sternly when he didn't move. They were out of food pills, so it was important for them to use this chance to cure some fish to replenish their rations, especially now that April was awake again. "Hmph," he smirked ruefully at the memory of how she had confronted him about attacking her over their scroll. He couldn't believe she had let him off with only a forehead flick. A really painful forehead flick, but still… he probably wouldn't have been so forgiving. She got him good. He really owed her now.

"What are you smirking at?!" Naruto yelled incredulously, thrashing his arms in the water, ticked off by the smug expression he thought was being aimed at him. "This is really tiring!!!! You do it!!!!"

"Tch," Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Ahh!!! Did you just click your tongue at me!!?" Naruto demanded, getting even more riled up.

"Sasuke-kun!!!!" Sakura called. "It's all set up for a fire!! We just need a fireball, please!!!"

"Hold on, we don't have enough for everyone yet," Sasuke answered.

"How many are we missing?" April asked, walking over to stand on the bank. She spotted the three fish they already caught. "Just one? I think I can handle that..." she said. She squatted down at the edge of water, watching it, while she waited with one hand raised at the ready.

"Look, April-chan…" Naruto said a little patronizingly, annoyed by how easy she seemed to think it would be. "It's not that—"

FWSSH!

In one swift and fluid motion, April's hand dove into the water, scooped up a fish, and tossed it over her shoulder onto the rocks behind her.

'—What are you, part bear?!!!" Naruto shouted in disbelief, shocked by how simple she made it look.

"No, but I've seen them in action before..." April replied with a bright smile.

"Whoa!! Amazing, April-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping.

"I guess four fish is enough..." Sasuke decided.

"Wait a second!!! Hey!!!!" Naruto yelled indignantly. That was completely different from what he said before!!!

"?" the girls said, wondering what the problem was.

They cleaned the fish and skewered them on sticks to roast them over the fire.

Naruto grinned while he watched them cook. With April awake, real food in front of him, and the knowledge that they already had both of the scrolls needed to pass this test, he couldn't be happier! Things had been pretty tense between him and Sasuke after he remembered what the jerk did to her while they were fighting that creepy snake guy, but April told him it was okay to forgive him, and that Sasuke had made up for it by saving her and Sakura while he was out. He still thought Sasuke was a jerk, but he had decided to let it go since that was what April wanted. Now his sole worry was how fast the they could get the fish cooked.

"This is the fourth afternoon since the start of the second test..." Sasuke said while they sat around the fire.

"Yeah..." Sakura agreed.

"Exactly how many hours do you think we have left?" April asked. Her own sense of time had become a little skewed after losing so much of it.

"The second test started around 2:30 P.M…. Meaning we only have about 25-26 hours left," Sasuke replied grimly. They couldn't afford to screw around from here on out.

"Many teams have passed already..." Sakura said seriously. "That means..."

"Ahh!!! I wish it would cook faster!!!!" Naruto exclaimed, drooling.

April smiled wryly at him and sweat-dropped, then turned her attention back to the others. It was clear Naruto was too hungry to focus. "That means, the likelihood of us being confronted by an enemy team has increased..."

'The biggest fish is… That one!!! Ok!!!' Naruto thought eagerly, picking out the one he wanted. His smile suddenly fell, and he blinked. "Eh!? Why would it increase?!!" he exclaimed when April's last sentence penetrated his daydreams about eating. "The test is almost over!! Shouldn't it be less!?"

"Well, it's true that there are probably fewer people running around the testing ground in general now, since most of the teams with two scrolls will have already made their way to the tower..." April replied. "But, on the other hand, it also means that most of the teams that are left… are the ones who desperately need to find their second scroll… as well as those who are looking to snatch both after having their original scroll taken from them… And their desperation makes them dangerous."

"Right," Sakura agreed. "Because the fact that it's the fourth day of this five-day second test means… that 80% of the test is over… Plus, there are 80 entrants… 26 teams… and only 13 of each scroll… So the highest that can pass is 13 teams, right?"

"?" Naruto said, collecting his cooked fish to eat it.

"Also… you guys remember, right?" Sakura continued, picking up her own fish. "That Orochimaru guy ate the Earth Scroll he had..."

"?" Naruto paused mid-bite and furrowed his brow, while Sasuke and April each grabbed one of the remaining fish.

"Yeah… and from what you've told me, it doesn't sound like he's interested in actually participating… So, chances are, he's already left and taken it with him," April concluded. He could have discarded the scroll before that, but it was most likely ruined from being submerged in his stomach acid. "From that point on… the number of teams that could pass went down by one."

"I think so, too..." Sakura agreed. "And we can't be sure that the rest of the scrolls are still intact. If one of the scrolls is destroyed, that makes the other half meaningless."

"Assuming other scrolls have been damaged, too… either deliberately, or accidentally during fights… That means it's possible we possess one of the very few complete sets left on the playing field," April added. "That is why… I think we have a higher chance of being targeted. No one else aside from Team 10 and Lee's team should know we have them, but… the remaining teams will be searching desperately for the ones they need, and if we run into a team that's looking for both… it could get very ugly. After four days, they will have had time to move around and set up traps and ambushes. We could lose everything if we aren't careful."

"..." Sasuke furrowed his brow. "Since parting with our leaf comrades… we needed two days to heal our injuries… but we have to be more active now..." he said. "Either way… from here on out… It's a race against the deadline!!" Having said that, he took his bamboo water carrier and stood up. "I'm going to get some water..."

"I'll go with you..." April said, noticing hers was empty, too. "Anyone else need a refill?"

"Naw, ahm gwood," Naruto answered with his mouth full.

"Me, too..." Sakura replied. Watching them walk away to collect water from upriver, she couldn't help but be concerned. Not because she was jealous, but because she was still worried about that strange mark Orochimaru had put on Sasuke's neck and the effect it was having on him. She wanted to tell April about it, but Sasuke had made her promise to keep it a secret. However, from the way April would look at him sometimes… Sakura was pretty sure that she already knew something was wrong after seeing those black marks on his body the other day.

Naruto looked at Sakura and stopped chewing. He was concerned about her, too. He didn't like seeing her look so down. He noticed that Sasuke had left behind the Earth Scroll he was supposed to be holding, and a dangerous idea entered his head. "Hey!! Hey!!" he said to get her attention, picking it up.

"!" Sakura looked at him, wondering what he was up to.

"You know… something just occurred to me…" he told her, lowering his voice so the other two wouldn't hear, because he knew they wouldn't like what he was about to suggest. "How do we know for sure those sound ninjas… didn't just give us a fake?"

"Huh!?" Sakura said, startled by the idea. Her first instinct was to tell him he was being stupid, but then, it actually made sense. She thought they had handed it over too easily. And it seemed like just the kind of nasty, underhanded thing they would do, too. "But, then… how would we be able to tell either way? We don't know what's written inside!!"

"Those sound guys left in a hurry, right? That means… they probably used one of their spare scrolls and only had time to change the outside..." Naruto reasoned. "Which means, the inside of a fake will be blank or something like a random manual… So the quickest way to tell..."

"You… No way..." Sakura said, furrowing her brow, while her eyes widened when she realized what he intended to do.

"Is for me to open this scroll!" Naruto concluded seriously, holding it up.

"NO!!!" Sakura shouted sternly, immediately clobbering him over the head.

"Aww!!" Naruto cried in pain. What was her problem!?

"Did you forget the rules!! Idiot!!" she snapped at him. "We were told never to look inside the scrolls until we reach the tower!!! If it's the real deal, we'll be disqualified!!!!"

"But..." Naruto said, holding his aching head. "At this rate… we might end up turning in a fake…"

"!!" Sakura gasped. If that happened, then they really would fail. After everything they had been through… Sakura glanced at the dubious scroll, feeling troubled.

Sweat rolled down Naruto's furrowed brow as he looked down at the scroll in his hand nervously. "..." He glanced back at Sakura.

Sakura nodded, deciding he was right. They needed to be sure.

With trembling hands, Naruto very carefully began to peel the scroll open.

CLAP!

"!!" Naruto and Sakura gasped, startled when another ninja suddenly appeared beside him and clamped their hand over his to hold it in place around the scroll before he could get any further.

"You shouldn't do that… Did you forget the rules?" Kabuto asked them, raising his head slightly to glance at them out the corner of his eyes.

"!!!" Naruto and Sakura gasped when they recognized him.

"!!" April and Sasuke had just turned the corner of the stone outcrop, when they spotted an extra person by their teammates. 'An enemy?!!!' they thought, immediately rushing to Naruto and Sakura's aid, assuming the worst when their eyes instinctively focused in on the part of the scene where the stranger's hand was grabbing the hand Naruto was holding the scroll in.

"!!" Kabuto was surprised by the speed they reached him with. Before he honestly had a chance to react, April was already on top of him and pulling him back into a double shoulder lock, allowing Sasuke, who arrived only a step behind her, to press a kunai to his throat without resistance.

"!?" April's eyes widened slightly in surprise when she realized they already knew each other. "What are you doing, Kabuto-san…?" she asked, maintaining her firm grip on him.

"!!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes threateningly at the older genin. Even if they had met before under friendlier circumstances, it didn't change the fact that he could be an enemy now.

"About that… I think you should direct that same question at your own teammates first..." Kabuto replied carefully, glancing at a very nervous Naruto and Sakura.

Their small fire had died down by the time Sakura and Naruto finished explaining the whole fiasco and how Kabuto had actually come to help them.

"Geez…what were you thinking?" Sasuke asked them sternly.

"In case you haven't noticed, everything in this test is geared toward making as many of us fail as possible… Knowing that kind of examiner is behind it, I wouldn't be surprised if it exploded!" April added with a frown, staring at them in disappointment with her arms crossed over her chest. The possibility that it could be a fake had crossed her mind as well, but she had already taken a moment to compare the Earth Scroll against their Heaven Scroll. She had judged it to be genuine based on the fact that the kanji on both scrolls were written by the same hand, with the same ink, and the ends of both scrolls showed that the quality, weight, texture, and aging of the paper they were made with was the same. Which meant both scrolls were made around the same time and came from the same source. Even if the sound ninjas could copy the handwriting, she doubted they could copy the rest under these conditions and with such limited resources. But she didn't want to bring up the Heaven Scroll in front of Kabuto. 'I'm glad he stopped Naruto, but… if he isn't tempted by our Earth Scroll, then he might be after a Heaven Scroll… He probably approached them because he felt safe after seeing they had the same scroll, but who knows. His type can be hard to read…' They needed to confirm which of the scrolls he had before they could let their guard down.

"!!" Naruto and Sakura flinched, cringing a little as they remembered Anko's rough and bloodthirsty personality. Yeah, they really wouldn't put it past her…

"That was close..." Kabuto agreed. "April-kun's prediction isn't far from the truth."

"So… Sorry..." Sakura apologized timidly, feeling extremely remorseful after seeing the disappointed looks on Sasuke and April's faces.

"..." Naruto was also very sorry that he had ever brought it up now.

"You said that like you know what will happen..." April remarked, glancing questioningly at the exam veteran.

"Those who ignore the rules… are put in a condition that forces retirement," Kabuto explained. "In a previous exam, within the scroll… was embedded a hypnotism type jutsu… Those who saw it would be knocked out and remain here until the end of the exam."

"By the way, what are you doing all alone out here?" Sasuke asked him.

"It's not like I'm after your scroll..." Kabuto answered a bit cryptically.

"Yeah…If you were, you could have taken it from Naruto just now," Sasuke agreed. "So you're also after the Heaven Scroll?" he asked, coming to the same decision as April to keep theirs a secret until they knew more about his motives for approaching them.

"No… I already have both," Kabuto replied with the hint of a smile, removing them from his pouch to show them. His set appeared to be identical to their own.

"..." April furrowed her brow and frowned slightly. "I see… You showed yourself to us because you overheard us talking about our scrolls, and decided we were safe to approach because none of us have a reason to fight you… Is that it?" she asked, surprising the others. She was only able to guess that much from the tiny hints she picked up in his attitude towards them. And it would have been foolish of him to reveal that he had a complete set otherwise. 'This guy is scary… I didn't sense his presence at all!' she thought warily, disturbed. Was he that good, or were her senses still dulled? Judging by the looks on their faces, none of the others had detected him either.

"As expected of April-kun… You saw through me right away," Kabuto said calmly, confirming her suspicions. He took her deduction as confirmation that the sharpness she showed in reading the sound ninja's attack on him wasn't simply a fluke. 'Not only that, she managed to get a step ahead of Sasuke-kun earlier, even though I can tell by her complexion and the subtle way she's holding herself that she still hasn't fully recovered from something…' he thought. 'She's probably the one wearing the seal in her group.' Intelligence and speed. He was going to have to add these stats to her ninja info card.

"!!" Naruto and Sakura said, while Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the older genin. None of them liked the idea that someone had been eavesdropping on them without their knowledge.

"Some things happened, and I'm on my way to the tower to meet up with my teammates..." Kabuto explained, returning his scrolls to his pouch.

'What…? Does that mean he collected those scrolls on his own!?' April wondered, taking care not to let her expression give too much away this time. 'It's probably more likely that his team collected their second scroll together before they were split up, but… I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling about this guy… Is he really a normal genin…?' She didn't dislike Kabuto, but she couldn't help the niggling feeling that there was something off about him.

At that moment, they were all being watched by yet another person lurking in the shadows.

"Lucky…!!" the hidden rain ninja they encountered on their first day said, narrowing his eyes at the group of leaf ninjas. It was time for some sweet payback.