Hiya peoples! I'm back! After a long…tiring….something….

Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Thanx 2:

Naoko-Miharu: Thanks for the encouragement! Glomp

Camp 9:00 AM

"Takane…Damn it." Chaud muttered. He was taking his leisurely walk around camp again, Sasuke spying on him. "The curse mark on her…"

"Chaud-san?" Protoman was worried. His creator had been like this ever since he noticed the bandage on Takane's hand.

/What curse mark?/ Sasuke thought as he hid in the foliage. /I noticed the Earth curse seal, but no other one. Was it the one that I saw yesterday in the fight?/Flashback (Sasuke's POV)

"Takane! STOP!" Chaud yelled. I looked over at Takane as she stood up from her hand in the ground, the stained white cloth unwinding and fluttering around her left arm.

/What is that?/ The purplish mark had swirled up her arm, past the sleeve of her tee, with fringes of murderous gold lining the edge. /It looks like poison./

"Crap." Takane cursed.

Reality (Normal POV)

/I want to help her in this. I thought Orochimaru was after me, wasn't he?/ Sasuke thought. Sasuke stepped out in front of the pondering Chaud, a yard away.

"Hey."

"Hm? Oh, it's you, Sasuke."

"What was that mark on her left arm yesterday?"

"Mark?" Chaud tried posing that he didn't know anything.

"You know what I'm talking about." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "The one on Takane's arm. What is it?"

"Something she got from Orochimaru." Sasuke grabbed his vest and shook him.

"Tell me." Sasuke looked Chaud straight in the eye. "Why did Orochimaru put it on her?"

"Nago." Sasuke released him.

"Na-go?" He repeated the strange word and released Chaud.

"He was the leader of the Boar Clan, until he was shot by Eboshi, was consumed by hatred, and when it reached Ashitaka's village, he killed it, receiving the same thing. Nago was revived from the dead—of course using forbidden jutsus." Chaud looked at Sasuke right back in the eye. "So why do you care?" Sasuke hid a blush.

"Because I am a target of Orochimaru, aren't I?" Chaud shrugged and turned back to the camp, but stopped and tilted his head sideways to look at Sasuke.

"You like her, don't you?" Sasuke didn't reply. Chaud turned back to the camp. "Don't worry, you're not all alone. I do too." The two boys both blushed although they couldn't see each other. Competition for Takane. Oh boy.

/So…Competition for Takane, eh, Sasuke?/ Chaud put up a triumphant fist. /I got her first!/

(A/N It's a bit of humor…I actually might do a love triangle. Ohhhh wonder what's going to happen….)

/Haha….SASUKE hotshot. You've already got your fangirls, anyway./ Chaud did a evil but good smile, becoming his 'evil' self.

/Chaud-san…./ Protoman sweatdropped. /You don't have to kill Sasuke for Takane…/ Sasuke thought basically the same thing.

/So…Competition for Takane, huh, Chaud?/ Sasuke popped a vein and held up a fist. /Grr…Me first, smart doofus boy./ Now it was his turn to do the 'evil but good' smile. /Heh heh heh…/ Kakashi was watching nearby.

/Oh god…/ Kakashi sweatdropped and smiled with a carefree grin under his mask. /Competition for Takane already? Just two days, and two boys are in love with her./ He sighed. /I guess this is the negative side of this. Wonder if in three days, there'll be three boys./ The recent ANBU left the scene and went back to camp.

Camp 9:05 AM

"Nausicaa." The orange-haired girl looked over her shoulder and noticed Master Yupa.

"Hm?"

"When Takane comes back from the forest, save her."

"From Orochimaru, right?" Teto came bounding onto her shoulder. "Why does he exactly want her for anyway? Wasn't he aiming for Sasuke?"

"She's Morro's daughter, the one she sent to the other side of the gate."

"Oh." Nausicaa looked away. "She's an orphan again now, right?" Yupa nodded unfortunately.

Forest of Shishi Gami 9:10

What Morro had said to Okkoto was true. The tree spirits appeared in the treetops, and the sound of rustling was heard, but nothing was to be seen. Five minutes passed and only the gods could have seen the faint outline of Shishi Gami as he approached Takane. The plant that was stuck into the ground as an offering was accepted and the leaves dwindled away, dropping and fluttering to the ground. Shishi Gami's face looked at her face then its attention snapped to her left arm. His body moved closer to Takane's arm. Its mouth touched the wound and the curse mark drew back to the original starting point, saving Takane for the meantime. His face looked to where the gods were waiting and slightly shook his head. Shishi Gami turned up to the sky and bit by bit, disappeared bringing along with him Takane to take back to the camp.

Orochimaru 9:15 AM

"Pity I didn't get to possess her at the time." Orochimaru remarked to Kabuto.

"Orochimaru-sama, you have already killed two of the renowned kages, made a new country, and possessed another body from your old one. It is sincerely—"

"Kabuto. Don't tell me what I have achieved. I want Kiko as my container." Kabuto fell silent at his master's request.

Camp 9:20 AM

The Shishi Gami put Takane in her home. When the rest of the clan reached back to their home, Takane was already out of bed. Chaud ran into her meanwhile.

"Hey Takane. You shouldn't be already up."

"From loss of chakra? Really."

"Of course. I mean…isn't it fundamental that ninja should sempiternally have a quantum of chakra?"

(A/N I'm not really that smart, okay? I got it from the dictionary. XD)

Chaud heard a muffled gigle. Then an outburst of laughter.

"Hahahaha…Speak in English." Takane giggled at Chaud's high level of intelligence and use of words. "Cause…Haha…I can't understand you!" She was basically rolling on the ground from laughter. "Ow ow ow…" Takane clutched her stomach as she laughed. "Cramp!" Chaud slightly laughed at Takane's antics. The wolf girl soon calmed down from her laughter and composed herself.

"That was quite a fit." Chaud said while smirking.

"Because of you." Takane would have burst into laughter if Chaud hadn't put on a rather serious face.

"Oh…uh…Takane?"

"Yeah?" The dual-haired boy quickly went up to her and planted his lips on hers, saying 'Aishite-iru' afterwards. Chaud disappeared after that, obviously embarrassed. Takane blushed at his action and hoped no one had seen that. But…yes, Sasuke had been watching. Guess why.

'Grr…CHAUD YOU ARE GOING DOWN!' A super vein appeared on the top of his head and on his fist that he held up. Unfortunately for him, Takane noticed the fake anger (XD haha) and faced to where Sasuke was hiding.

"Sasuke, come out."

'Damn.'

"You do know it's no use of you hiding now, right?" A short while later, Takane felt the aura dissipate slowly. Takane giggled. 'So he saw that…'

Ok…that was a short-ish chapter…sorry about that….I had writer's block….same with "Survivor"….