Here it is... Chapter 4! One more chapter and an epilogue to go!! Woohoo!! Anyway, enjoy (if possible) and remember--

1) Never tickle a sleeping dragon

2) I wrote most of this story very late at night, so don't criticize too harshly...

3) More on the RP won't come until Need Arrms posts the rest of her part...

Sound Ninja Aren't All Bad… Are They?

Chapter 4

Toshi did not stay asleep for long. She finished her errand to the mission office and patiently waited for ninja to receive assignments so she could talk with Tsunade. The first thing out of her mouth was, "You need to get better security in the hospital. Getting out of there was a piece of cake."

"But I knew that you wouldn't leave without these," Tsunade said, opening a small package on her desk.

Toshi gasped when she saw the contents. Her flute, bells, and Sound hitae-ate were all inside. "Actually," she began, "I didn't come to ask for my things, although I would like to have them back, if you didn't mind. I came because of something I noticed between Sakura and Naruto. They are so close, as if they have been friends since before genin level. In the Sound, my teammates and I never even noticed each other until we were assigned to the same team. It was just by some freak chance that one of them and I ended up so close. There's something in Konoha that I want but don't have. I would like to serve as a jounin of the Leaf, so that I can hopefully find what's missing." Toshi averted her gaze to the floor, nervously drawing her right hand through her short hair.

Tsunade was shocked at Toshi's request. A Sound ninja wanting to work for Konoha? It was unheard of. Then again, this Sound ninja seemed to be alright. She didn't kill for pleasure, at least according to her alibi. "And what do you want for return, of I allow you to serve in Konoha?" she asked.

"Only the same treatment as a regular ninja of Konoha," Toshi replied honestly, examining the artificial digits on her right hand with a great deal of interest. That is, until she noticed Tsunade staring at them. "I—I suppose you might want to know what happened to my hand," she stammered, quickly hiding it behind her back.

Tsunade nodded.

"I was on a mission, and I hadn't been training my taijutsu and ninjutsu enough and had focused on my genjutsu a little too much. I exposed myself to an open attack and barely dodged in time. I lost these two fingers." Toshi pointed to the artificial digits. "I received several other injuries as well, and one of my teammates blocked a potentially fatal blow that was meant for me. He died almost instantly. My last mission in the Sound, and I lost a teammate. The other I left heartbroken when he hears of my supposed death." Toshi's deep blue eyes filled with sorrow. "My genjutsu is next to useless without my flute. The ones that I don't need my flute for are painful for the person on the receiving end, so I don't use those very often, though I will use them if necessity calls for it. From now on, I will use mainly ninjutsu and taijutsu and use genjutsu only as a last resort. Please allow me to wear the Leaf hitae-ate and say that I am a ninja of Konoha."

Tsunade weighed the odds in her head. Was this person a mentally unstable Sound Ninja who still needed research to see what her actual state of mind was, or a kindhearted, willing jounin with exceptional genjutsu abilities? The risk was great, but so was the gain. Finally, she made a decision. "You can wear the Leaf forehead protector as a sign that you are a Konoha jounin on two conditions."

"I'm willing to pay any price for this. I need to know what it is that I'm missing," Toshi said determinedly.

"Condition one: you have to come in daily, except when you're on a mission, so we can make sure that you won't kill anyone any time soon. If we find a relapse coming, or anything of the sort, we keep you at the hospital until it's past." Tsunade looked up at the Sound ninja, who was nervously looking down at the floor. "Condition two: you must prove your abilities against three ninja that well represent each mode of combat." She nodded at Shizune, who opened a door. "For taijutsu, you will fight Maito Gai."

A man in a green jumpsuit sprang into the room. Toshi couldn't help but notice his enormous eyebrows and ridiculous bowl cut.

"For ninjutsu, Hatake Kakashi."

A man with tired eyes, grey hair, a mask covering half hi face, and his hitae-ate covering his left eye shuffled in, his nose buried in a book.

"And for genjutsu, Kurenai."

A young woman with long black hair and red eyes walked in.

You will fight each one at a time. Gai will show you to a training ground where you will begin your trial." Tsunade nodded at Gai, who dashed off with Toshi hot on his heels.

When the two ninja reached the training grounds, Gai suddenly disappeared. In response to this, Toshi froze. She stood in the center of the clearing, doing nothing. At least, that's what it looked like she was doing. She was listening. She breathed almost silently, trying to pinpoint any sound that was out of place. There! Gai was approaching stealthily, almost noiselessly. His footfalls were so quiet that they would have escaped the notice of and ordinary ninja. But Toshi heard every step; years of musical training had given her a highly refined sense of hearing.

Gai leaped at Toshi, hoping to catch her off guard. His opponent spun around much too quickly for if she had just noticed him. Gai received a foot in his gut for his efforts.

Toshi looked down at her fallen opponent. "Your approach was quiet, but not silent. I heard every footfall, and I was ready." She helped Gai to his feet. "Try a more frontal attack. I'm not as good at predicting those."

Gai and Toshi were locked in combat, evenly matched. At least for a while they were. Both moved faster that the human eye could follow.

But someone's eyes could follow. Hatake Kakashi was watching the battle with interest. His forehead protector was in the right position, revealing that his left eye had the famous Uchiha Sharingan

Gai was beginning to tire, and Toshi landed more and more blows, making it more painful to continue. Toshi was beginning to win this battle.

Kakashi watched as his rival faced defeat at the hands of a girl not much older than Naruto. "When she wins, he'll say that it was all because of the power of her youth, I'll bet," he said to himself. "I'd better intervene before Gai gets hurt." He left the tree silently.

Toshi was finally beginning to tire, but she kept going as she had trained her body to do. Keep fighting until your chakra runs out or your opponent surrenders, dies, or passes out was her motto. She froze when she felt a kunai pressed against her neck. She smiled. These shinobi didn't trust her. Good. "You know, Kakashi," she said, "I honestly thought that this was a taijutsu trial, not one of ninjutsu." She knew by the sound of his breathing that the man holding the kunai was none other than Hatake Kakashi.

"It was," Kakashi said, "but now I'm your opponent."

Toshi's smile broadened as she quickly replaced herself with a log and ran off into the trees, moving silently and concealing herself instantly.

Kakashi saw the transformation take place and also saw the path that Toshi pursued through the forest. He followed.

The battle of ninjutsu lasted far longer than that of taijutsu. The two fighting were evenly matched, both having a greater sense of awareness than your average Joe. They fought until it grew dark and then light again. Both competitors were tiring now, and they were both breathing hard.

Toshi held up a hand as a signal to stop. She sat down almost instantly, trying to catch her breath.

Kakashi realized that his opponent was about to surrender, and spoke. "I'll call this a draw. I don't want this battle to go 'til one of us passes out, because then you wouldn't be able to continue this."

Toshi stared at Kakashi in surprise for a moment. "I—I've never been so evenly matched before," she stammered. "I thank you for allowing this to turn out all right." Her eyes betrayed for the briefest instant that she could not have fought for much longer before collapsing.

"Very well," Kakashi said, "you opponent is now Kurenai." He darted off to his previous hiding place.

Toshi felt Kurenai's genjutsu wrap around her. Just as she was about to release the genjutsu to start her own, memory played a cruel trick on her. She was back in the Sound, under the fiery grip of Tayuya's genjutsu. Back in Konoha, Toshi screamed and fell to the ground, clutching at her head in agony.

Kurenai released the genjutsu, but her opponent did not get up.

Toshi was at the whim of her memories, trembling in fear and pain on the ground. Gradually her mind sank into the abyss of unconsciousness…

End Chapter 4

YAY!! Chapter 4 is gone!! Now I just need to put the other chapters on my jump drive...