Chapter Sixteen
"The Forest of Death," Sakura whispered, awestruck, as she pressed her fingers against the fence separating the genin teams from the forest. "Do you think it's as bad as everyone says?
It didn't get its name by accident. "No." Sasuke said. She blinked at him. "It's far worse."
His reply, while hackneyed, had an immediate effect. Sakura instantly moved away from the fence, suddenly even more fearful and uncertain. Sasuke knew he was supposed to feel remorseful for playing on his teammate's worries, but he couldn't. It was too much fun.
"Don't listen to teme, Sakura-chan," Naruto interjected, automatically trying to reassure Sakura. "We're gonna kick everybody's butt out there! Believe it!"
They didn't have time to further discuss exactly how hazardous the forest was; the proctor was already releasing the teams into the forest.
The white "heaven" scroll was heavy in Sasuke's pouch as Team 7 ran through the forest, jumping from tree to tree. There hadn't been much question over who on their team would protect the scroll; Sakura wasn't strong enough to protect it, and Naruto hadn't wanted the burden of the scroll. For appearances' sake Naruto had put up a fight, but one hit from Sakura and the white scroll was safely in Sasuke's possession.
The rules of stage two were simple: get one heaven and one earth scroll and get to the temple at the center of the Forest. All team members had to survive for the team to progress.
Sasuke had heard the rumors; he knew how many teams failed to advance through the Forest, how few intact teams ever completed it alive. Surviving the second stage was challenging enough; ensuring your teammates' survival as well as your own made it nigh impossible.
It didn't deter anyone from entering, although it had led to some creative strategies on the part of certain people. One year at the chunin exams three teams had made an alliance shortly before the exams had started. Sasuke was fairly certain that alliances were forbidden, but the teams had been ballsy enough to try it, and it had worked far beyond their expectations. They had set up traps to catch the other teams, who had been unaware of the alliance. It was nine versus three; the allied team won every time. The three allied teams had completed their objectives quickly and had headed for the rendezvous point, primed to finish stage two in record time.
And then they massacred each other moments before reaching it. Sasuke had been seven at the time and, inquisitive as any young child, he had been fascinated by the chunin exams. Shortly after that year's advent he had eavesdropped on a conversation between his uncle, mother, and brother and learned far too many details about the event. Only one kid survived…that girl they thought was dead. Although physically she recovered quickly, she lost her mind and killed herself two months later. Her fate wasn't uncommon among applicants to the exams.
Sasuke forced himself to focus. Stage two is definitely not a time to concentrating on the deaths of careless people. They had a job to do.
"We need to get some distance between us and the other teams," he told his teammates quietly. If the mad charge at the beginning was any indication, there was a bloodbath going on between many of the teams as they fought for the scrolls. There was no use getting involved in predetermined conflicts.
Sakura and Naruto nodded and quickened their paces accordingly. Sasuke couldn't help but wince at Naruto; he was crashing through the forest in the most conspicuous, noisy manner possible. Are you trying to attract everyone's attention? Judging by Naruto's determined look, he wasn't even aware that he was making more noise than a herd of prepubescent Academy children.
Finally, Sasuke deemed that they momentarily alone. The team broke their sprints, settling beside a large, gnarled tree and a moss covered rock. Sakura slid off the tree to ground; she was breathing heavily from the exertion, although Naruto showed absolutely no signs of exhaustion.
"How-" Sakura started to ask him as she regained her breath. Sasuke had just turned to listen to her when he heard it. What was that?
"Stop." He held a hand up to her mouth, listening carefully.
"What is it, Sasuke-kun?"
"Listen," he hissed softly. Even Naruto compiled. The three listened intently.
A soft moan carried across the forest, just barely reaching them. "That sounds like a person," Naruto said, unnerved.
Sakura scowled. "Of course it's not a person! It's probably just some animal or something."
"No. He's right. It's a person." Sasuke stood hesitantly. Should we interfere? It could be a trap. "An injured person," he added, "probably a genin team that got in a fight already."
Sakura straightened, biting her lower lip. "Shouldn't we go in the other direction? We don't want to fight yet, right? I mean, they might not even have the right scroll, and if that person's hurt, then there's probably another team here somewhere."
"Yeah, but Sakura-chan, we might be able to get the other scroll!" Naruto answered.
"Naruto, it's not going to help us to have two scrolls if we're hurt or…it won't help!" Sakrua turned to Sasuke for help.
She was looking at the wrong person. We should at least see and know what we're dealing with. "We'll go," Sasuke said decisively.
"But," Sakura protested weakly, unused to having to face the unified front of Sasuke and Naruto.
"We'll keep our distance." Curiosity was too much for him. Naruto pounded off towards the source of the groaning, Sasuke slightly behind him. Sakura hesitated for the barest of moments before following the boys, although she was reticent in protest.
The groaning grew a bit louder as they approached it. Definitely human, Sasuke concluded. And whoever it is isn't doing too much to contain their pain. If the team with whoever it is does have the other scroll, we'll be able to take it easily.
Sasuke didn't wrestle with the ethics of leaving an injured genin behind, not yet. In his perfect fantasy, the genin would merely be disabled long enough for them to retrieve the scroll and escape. He purposefully decided not to conceive a back up plan.
Naruto stopped first. He'd been pulling ahead, slowly falling into a "groove" of sorts; he was quieter but faster, two improvements that Sasuke appreciated immensely; and consequently Naruto was marginally ahead of his teammates. Not much; just enough to see the genin before they did.
What he saw brought him to an abrupt halt. He stood on the branch of the tree, as frozen as he had been the day he first fought the ninja in the Land of Waves.
"Naruto!" Sakura whispered. He didn't react.
Sasuke had no time for Naruto's antics. Brusquely he jumped past the boy, landing on a lower branch.
Kami. The genin they had heard moaning lay motionless on the forest floor, his two teammates beside him, still emitting soft cries. Kami.
A long slash ran from the genin's ear to the corner of his lip, as though someone had stuck a kunai in his mouth and dragged it through his cheek. His long, baggy clothes were torn, and Sasuke could see the marks underneath; his right arm and left leg were bent at odd angles, tell-tale signs of extreme fractures. The boy, his clothes, and the grass were soaked with blood, and Sasuke could tell, even from his vantage point several meters above and away from the genin, that he had lost far too much blood to live. It's amazing he's still breathing at all.
The boy's two squad mates, two girls, were face down beside him, a precise stab wound in each one's back. Unthinkingly Sasuke dropped out of the tree, landing beside one girl, a short, thin little wench with bright yellow hair. Her face was calm and contemplative, as though she was considering something weighty. She never saw it coming. Hopefully she never felt it. He touched her cold arm. That other team must have trapped them somehow.
A soft thud behind him. Sakura sank to her knees beside him, unmistakably horrified. She reached a trembling hand out towards the girl and just as quickly recoiled.
Another thud, this one louder. Naruto crouched at the dying boy's feet. He was silent now, accepting of fate. His chest was barely rising, the effort of inhaling and exhaling too much for his broken body. He had blonde hair, just like the girl. He looks like her, too. Were they related? Brother and sister?
Sasuke let his eyes slid shut as the full weight of the horror sunk in. He couldn't imagine it: watching your sister and your friend die without time to even say goodbye and then being ambushed, tortured, and killed.
"Why'd they do this?" Sasuke could barely hear Sakura. She cleared her throat, suddenly impassioned. "Why'd they do this?"
"Because they want to be chunin," Sasuke said, his voice deadened by the scene around them. "Chunin kill."
"They didn't have to do that!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the boy. "They didn't have to slice him apart like he was an animal or something!"
"Shut up!" Sasuke barked furiously. "It doesn't matter!"
"You don't think this is right?" If it was at all possible, Sakura seemed even more horrified by this idea.
"I didn't say that." He sounded dark, darker than he had ever sounded before. Menacing. Maybe even malicious. "But there's nothing to be done. The team that did this is gone. They have both scrolls."
Sakura looked back at the bodies. Trembling she pushed the blonde haired girl's hair out of her face. Her hand touched the boy next; Sasuke suddenly realized that he wasn't breathing anymore. Sakura tenderly touched the boy's face. "It doesn't seem right to leave them," Sakura whispered. "It doesn't seem right."
"We can't take them with us, or help them." In any other situation, Sasuke would have ignored her, but this was…different. Ludicrous and impossible suggestions were to be expected. He half felt like doing something insane himself, like stopping to bury them or chasing down the other team.
"Alright, alright, enough already!" Naruto inserted abruptly, jumping to his feet. Sasuke could see the glint of tears in his eyes. "We just gotta get the other scroll, right? So why're we sitting here instead of going to get it?" He was shaking from the effort of suppressing himself. The bodies were disturbing him. Hell, they were disturbing Sasuke.
"We need a plan, Naruto! We can't just randomly attack teams!" Sakura yelled back, fear and pain finding a sudden outlet in rage. "We'll end up like them!" She waved her hand in the general direction of the bodies without actually looking at them.
"You're already gonna end up like them!" In unison the three genin jerked to the side, bodies answering the yell.
Not you again. Sasuke scowled at the three cloud ninja standing before them.
"We're here to finish the job," the leader, the one Sasuke remembered as Susamajii, said with a sneer. "Satori, take the little girl. Kotaro, handle the loudmouth for-"
Sasuke didn't wait for him to finish. He flung four kunai as hard as he possibly could at the ninja.
"Split!" The girl hit the ground while the two boys diverged quickly. Sasuke charged at Kotaro. As much as he wanted to kick the impudent boy's ass, he was closer to Kotaro, and he wasn't about to leave his side open to attack just to quell his irritation.
Kotaro whipped his weapon towards Sasuke. Sasuke waited until the last possible second to dodge the tiniest bit to the side, narrowly evading the whip's lash. Time to end this quickly. "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as the flames shot out from his hands towards the boy.
Kotaro leapt to escape the flame, withdrawing his charged whip as he did so. Sasuke repeated the jutsu, setting the branch Kotaro was perched on aflame. Kotaro fell to the ground with a satisfactory thump.
Susamajii slammed into his side, and Sasuke skidded backwards, the loose dirt of the forest doing nothing to slow him down. Damn it! He pulled out a kunai and threw it in Susamajii's general direction as he finally slowed. You're going to pay for that. Now to-
The thought went unfinished as a giant wind suddenly whipped Sasuke's body backwards. The wave of air was like nothing Sasuke had ever felt. He was absolutely powerless as the gust threw him backwards as effortlessly as a piece of paper.
I've got to stop this! His teammates and his enemies disappeared before him as he swept through the forest. His sense of direction was utterly obliterated as he was thrown into a completely unfamiliar section of the forest. Frantic, he tried to summon chakra, but he couldn't focus enough to draw any significant amounts. Branches scraped his arms and legs, and their leaves plagued his face as he fought to see where he was headed.
As quickly as it began the ride ended. Sasuke slammed into a nearby tree trunk and fell to the ground. Wincing, he slowly rose, grabbing onto the tree for support, trying to catch his breath. What the hell was that? Some kind of jutsu? Had one of the cloud nin done it? No, Sasuke dismissed that possibility immediately. It was too strong. Whoever did that had to be at least a jonin.
Then he felt it: a chakra signature, very powerful and very…polluted. Its mere presence was almost entirely overwhelming, and Sasuke wondered how he could ever have overlooked it.
He stepped away from the tree, eyes methodically scanning the surrounding area. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where the person who possessed the signature was. Nearby was all he knew.
A twig snapped, followed by a soft rustling of leaves. Behind me!
Sasuke spun around, hands poised to form the hand seals for a fireball jutsu. There was no one to hit. He's playing with me! "Who are you?" Sasuke demanded angrily.
There was a soft cackle. Sasuke's skin crawled at its sinister tenor. Another snap. Sasuke jerked his head to the side, trying to find its source.
The world disappeared. The bright forest vanished, replaced by a pitch black veil. It was like he'd closed his eyes, except no matter how hard he blinked the darkness wouldn't lift. There was no sign of light. Sasuke waved his arms around, hoping to connect with something solid. He couldn't feel anything at all. He stepped forward, arms waving wildly like a newly blinded person.
Suddenly he felt his foot sinking. Glancing down, he couldn't hold back a gasp. The soft, mottled grass was gone. This new ground was blood red and gooey, thick and clotted and messy, lumps of what look like human tissue intermixed with large quantities of what appeared to be blood.
Sasuke valiantly fought the urge to vomit. The ground looked like thousands of people's flayed organs, spread out into a giant carpet to cover the floor. Sasuke squished something that resembled a human heart, and it split open under his heavy tread. Kami! He stepped backwards frantically, sinking a little farther in the ground as the blood splattered on his feet and shins.
It's a genjutsu. It's just a genjutsu! Sasuke desperately tried to calm himself. I just have to dispel it! He squinted his eyes shut and slammed his fingers together, forming the seal for dispelling genjutsu. Dispel!
Cautiously he opened his eyes. The blood red floor and glaring darkness assailed his senses, crushing his hope. Dispel! Dispel! He repeated the sign over and over. The morbid scene hung defiantly before him, refusing to disappear.
"Hello, Sasuke." The soft, trilling voice came from everywhere, from behind him and in front of him, from his right side and his left, from above him and below him. The chakra signature he had felt earlier enveloped him now.
"What do you want?" How the hell do you know my name? Who are you? Sasuke didn't expect an answer, just as he hadn't expected one earlier.
His enemy decided to indulge him. "Why, Sasuke, I thought the answer to that would be obvious." The eerie voice chuckled. "I want you."
The bloody floor around him cracked. A bloodied, rocky wall pushed through the cracks and latched on to him, surrounding him and pinning his arms to his sides before he could so much as protest. He was being pulled down into the floor, the rocky crust climbing up his body towards his face.
Frantic, Sasuke yelled and tried vainly to free himself. He couldn't even form a coherent thought, much less a plan. The chakra signature he had sensed earlier was even more prevalent now, and he could feel even foul part of it. Sasuke couldn't think. He tried to remember, tried to bring back memories, to give himself one last chance or even one last happy thought, but everything he'd ever learned or heard or experienced slipped away. All he could see was the darkness and the blood, and all he could feel was the filthy chakra signature. He couldn't even access his own chakra anymore. He couldn't even feel it. It was as though his very essence was being extinguished.
Help me! He couldn't scream. His body was halfway into the floor, and the rocky crust had covered him to his chin. He could feel it inching its way up his cheekbones. Claustrophobia set in, and his wild struggle intensified. He whipped his head around and attempted to thrash his body, bucking as much as he could.
It was useless. The ground wouldn't give. Sasuke's body went slack from exhaustion. He couldn't summon the will to move anymore.
I'm going to die. Sasuke swallowed hard as he focused on the darkness. I'm going to-
No! I can't give up! From somewhere within his exhausted body Sasuke summoned the power to move again.
A crack split the darkness, and light starting pouring it. It's breaking! Sasuke felt his rock prison loosen almost imperceptibly. He forced his arms away from his body and grabbed onto the floor. Desperately he wrenched himself up and out and collapse, exhausted, on the floor.
Suddenly the crack starting closing, the new light being choked out. NO! Sasuke ran blindly at the light, and retrieving a kunai from his bloody clothes he barreled his aching body through the crack.
The genjutsu was gone. The sunlight hit his face as he opened his eyes. He shut them just as quickly as his ribcage compressed.
What is this? A humanoid snake was wrapped around him. Its pale, angular face, complete with ragged, long black hair, looked like that of a human, but his body was fluid and wound around Sasuke, trapping him as securely as the rock structure had in the genjutsu. Two kunai were stuck in his side, and blood was streaming profusely from the deep wounds. Currently, the thing was hissing loudly, not even looking at him.
Sakura. Sakura was standing nearby and yelling his name at the top of her lungs. She was holding a few more kunai, and without hesitation she flung them at the snake like creature entangling him.
The snake flattened, knocking him down with it. One of the kunai found its mark, adding to the two around piercing its scaly skin. "Let him go, monster!" Sakura screamed louder, absolutely furious in a way Sasuke had never seen before. She was angry enough to overcome her fear.
Roaring, the snake-man creature started to shake. A smaller snake appeared and slithered towards Sakura, fangs bared.
No! Sasuke clutched his hand around the kunai he had somehow retrieved while in the depths of the genjutsu and stabbed it into the creature's side. Its body contracted violently from the unexpected hit, and Sasuke lunged forward, breaking free of its hold. He stepped forward and stabbed the smaller snake with the same kunai. Die, you wretched animal.
"Sasuke, watch out!" Sakura screamed, pointing behind him. He only had time to turn around before the creature, now transformed into a gigantic snake with no signs of humanity, and at least a few dozen smaller snakes, reared back to hit him.
The snake's enormous body knocked him to the side like a rag doll being tossed by its angry owner. Sakura charged at it again, but the snake easily pushed her away and turned to continue its assault on Sasuke.
Sasuke splintered into a thousand fragments. At least I can still perform a decent substitution, Sasuke thought from his perch on the tree. He leapt from branch to branch until he was above Sakura, and then he slid down quickly.
"Come on," he ordered, jerking her up. He was too drained to fight the snake off, and Sakura wasn't strong enough to handle it.
She immediately understood what he was asking. He slid his arm around her back, and she slid hers around his waist, offering mutual support to each other. Charging his feet with chakra, Sasuke jumped back up into the tree.
The two ran, pure lust for survival pushing them onwards. Sakura provided most of their momentum; it was all Sasuke could do to keep up with her. His chakra levels were abysmally low, and mustering even the smallest amount was painful.
His mind went back a few years, back to Shisui.
"So, you ran away," Sasuke said with all the imperiousness of an eight year old. Itachi swallowed a smile.
"I did not run away!" Shisui retorted.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What would you call it, then?"
Shisui took a huge swig of the sake in front of him."I merely engaged in the time honored tradition of strategic withdrawal."
"What?"
"He means he ran away," Etsuko confirmed.
"Shut up, Etsuko."
Sasuke scowled as he tripped on a knob on a branch, pulling Sakura down with him. She managed to catch herself and right them both. There's nothing funny about retreat, whether you call it that or strategic withdrawal or running away.
He could the snake slithering after them, making absolutely no attempt to disguise its presence. It didn't need to.
"We need to move faster!" Sasuke yelled.
Sakura just nodded, refusing to defend herself even though they both knew that Sasuke was the one holding them back.
Then she made a fatal miscalculation. Sakura jumped towards a higher branch, hoping to pull them farther away from the monster chasing them. Sasuke, preoccupied with how quickly the snake was closing the distance between them, didn't notice until too late.
"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled. "It's rotted!"
The branch cracked underneath their combined weight. Sakura screeched as they tumbled helplessly down. Sasuke swung his arms about wildly, trying to grab a branch to slow their rapid descent. The rough bark of the trees scraped his hands as the branches broke beneath his grip; none were strong enough to support them.
They hit the ground hard. Sasuke felt all the air rush out of his lungs, and he remained motionless for several seconds trying to breath. Sakura was moaning softly beside him; he could see a lump already starting to form on the back of her head.
The snake slithered in front of them, and Sasuke could have sworn it looked triumphant. "You're mine now," it hissed.
Sakura whimpered and pressed into his side. "Run," Sasuke ordered. You might as well save yourself.
Sakura shook her head. "No."
"Don't be an idiot!" Sasuke whispered tersely. Sasuke forced himself to stand, ignoring the instant dizziness and nausea.
Sakura rose beside him, hand slipping into his. "I'm not leaving," she said. You annoying, ditzy, half-brained idiot, Sasuke though wearily. He didn't protest verbally; he knew it would do no good, and there was something comforting about her presence. At least he wouldn't die alone.
Resigned, he gripped her left hand tightly with his right. Turning back towards the snake, he pulled one of his last kunai out of his pocket.
This kunai isn't going to do anything at all. Sasuke exchanged glances with Sakura. She was terrified, but more than that, she was aware. Her fear was not some blind terror; it was an understanding of her fate, and an understanding of the horror of her fate.
Sakura's fingers tightened around Sasuke's; she was too afraid to let go, and frankly Sasuke didn't want her to. He tightened his hand in response, in some half-hearted attempt to reassure her.
Sasuke watched his foe wordlessly, an indescribable horror slowly building in his chest as the snake prepared to strike. He brought the kunai in front of them, one worthless last act of defiance.
An army of Narutos collided with the snake seconds before it descended. The clones yelled obscenities as they pummeled the weakened snake, somehow managing to knock it down.
Sasuke sank to the ground, his entire body trembling. He felt as though every once of energy had been drained from his body. The adrenaline rush that had rejuvenated him briefly was gone, and it was a miracle that he hadn't passed out. The world was spinning ever so slightly, and Sasuke felt the nauseous feeling return as he fought to maintain consciousness.
Sakura was beside him, holding him. "I need to get up," he muttered breathlessly. He hated asking for her help, but he was out of options.
"Sasuke, I don't think that's-"
"We need to help Naruto," he said as firmly as he could. She raised her eyes to meet his and quickly dropped them. She looked insanely worried; it showed in her body, her face, her eyes, her silence. Too damn worried. He touched her chin, lifting her face to see him again. The little touch was gentle; he didn't want to scare or intimidate her. Damn, her skin's soft. "We have to help him," Sasuke repeated.
Sakura bit her lip, closed her eyes, and nodded. Sasuke let his hand fall, unconsciously mourning the loss of the contact. She tightened her grip on his torso, helping him stand. Sasuke winced involuntarily as he rose, body protesting every movement. "Are you okay?" Sakura questioned reflexively.
Sasuke nodded. Concentrating his chakra, Sasuke clasped his hands together in the first hand seal for the Dragon Flame Jutsu.
The snake struck the Naruto clones, easily wiping out a dozen in one strike. "Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The fire shot forward in one continuous stream. The snake had obviously discounted Sasuke in its haste to destroy Naruto. Sasuke grinned satisfactorily as it groaned from the hit.
"Yeah, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered.
The snake moved backwards and started compressing slowly. All the little snakes were absorbed back into the whole, and the giant snake was becoming more fluid, turning into a grayish blob before their eyes. A face distinguished itself from the mass, and shapeless light tan and black clothes formed around the body.
It's, it's human? Was that just a genjutsu? Sasuke discarded that possibility immediately. The blood on Sakura's kunai was real, wasn't it? But then what kind of freaking jutsu is it?
The metamorphosis stopped. The snake had finished its transformation in a human male with some of the palest skin Sasuke had ever seen. The man looked almost haggard. Those jutsus must take a lot out of him. Cautiously, Sasuke stretched out to feel his opponent's chakra levels; they were decreased, though not as deeply as his were. In any case, aside from his haggard look, their enemy did not seem to be that damaged by his extensive chakra use. He wore a Sound headband like the genin they had met at the Academy, but Sasuke was approximately one hundred percent sure that the person, if it could be called that, was a jonin. He certainly looked solidly human now, nearly no trace of the snake he had been a few minutes before. The only feature reminiscent of the snake was the pair of slitted, yellow eyes.
Those yellow eyes were no longer focused on them; they were looking far beyond Team 7. "Well, Anko-chan," it said calmly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Automatically the three genin turned around to see who he was addressing. It's that crazy proctor! She stood only a few meters behind them face grim and determined. There was pure, unadulterated hate in her eyes. They have a history, Sasuke realized suddenly. And she's here to kill him.
Anko ignored his direct address. "Kids, Orochimaru belongs to me, so you better leave now. I don't want you brats underfoot." Sasuke could just barely read the concern underlying those words.
"Anko-chan, don't you think that's rather rude?" Orochimaru said, that trilling tenor ubiquitous in his eerie voice. Anko ignored him again as she charged at him, hands poised to deliver a lethal jutsu.
That was the last thing Sasuke saw. Blackness clouded his vision, and he felt his body go slack as he lost the fight to stay awake.
Sasuke heard the voices first.
"You think he's going to wake up, right, Naruto?"
"Of course he's gonna wake up, Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme's fine; he's probably just taking the chance to slack off."
"Naruto," Sakura warned him.
"Sorry, Sakura-chan."
Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, giving them time to become accustomed to the new light.
"Sasuke-kun!" With that he was swallowed in a huge, tight hug. His ribs screamed in protest.
"Sakura, my ribs are bruised," he choked out. "You're hurting me."
"Sorry!" Sakura released him, but she kept the same close proximity, face right besides his, body seated only a centimeter away.
Sasuke breathed slowly, allowing the precious air to permeate his lungs. Kami, that feels good. Sasuke sighed, relieved.
Sasuke pushed himself into a sitting position, facing both his teammates. He cursorily observed the area. It was a miniscule clearing; there was barely enough room for the three of them. Trees with thick trunks surrounded them, and Sasuke could feel a large rock behind him. The ground was slightly soggy, probably because of its extensive cover provided by the trees.
Finally he looked at his teammates. Naruto was dirty, and his orange jumpsuit was not quite as bright as it had been that morning, but he was unharmed. Sakura had a bandage wrapped around her lower right arm and another on her right leg; Sasuke could tell from the discomfort evident on her face that her ribs were bruised as badly as his; but otherwise, she seemed whole and hearty.
"What happened?" That seemed to be the most obvious question.
"We left," Sakura answered. "I mean, we couldn't really stay," she paused, looking to Naruto for support, "and so we ran like she told us to."
"Yeah, we had to drag your fat body all the way back, teme," Naruto added. Sasuke scowled at him.
"Be quiet, Naruto. Anyway, we found this little clearing, and we figured it was safe, so we decided to wait here until you woke up."
Sasuke nodded. He looked up at the sky; it was getting darker, probably close to evening. "We'll have to find somewhere safe to spend the night." He stood slowly, giving his body time to adjust. Somewhere close, he amended silently. He couldn't travel far; his body was still recuperating.
"Couldn't we stay here?" Sakura pleaded. Sasuke saw for the first time how exhausted she looked. He wondered briefly who exactly had shouldered the burden of his unconscious body. He wasn't apt to ask.
"There's not enough room, Sakura-chan," Naruto pointed out. "I think I saw a bigger clearing over that way." He gestured vaguely to the right.
"Well, why didn't you bring us there?" Sakura asked distrustfully.
"'Cause I didn't want to have to drag Sasuke-teme all the way over there."
Sasuke pushed past Naruto. "Fine. Let's go." He led them off into the rapidly darkening woods.
To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto was right; there was a larger clearing nearby. They stretched out quickly and ate a small dinner. Sasuke hadn't realized just how hungry he was beforehand, and he had to stop himself from gobbling all the food.
As usual, Naruto fell asleep immediately, and Sakura quickly followed suit.
Sasuke, however, remained awake. He stared up at the heavens, the bright stars hanging overhead that dispelled the heavy darkness around them. Today has been so screwed up. Sasuke ran his fingers through his messy hair, remembering the fight. His name was Orochimaru…that sounds familiar. Sasuke frowned. He couldn't quite remember where he had heard the name before, but he was almost certain he had heard it before. What did he want with me?
That question concerned him the most. What had Orochimaru wanted with him? And what was he trying to accomplish with the genjutsu?
He was almost as dazed as I was when Sakura shocked us both out of it; it couldn't have been a normal genjutsu; and it felt different from a normal genjutsu.
Sasuke had been trapped in genjutsu before. One of his classes in the Academy had been solely focused on genjutsu. Shisui and Itachi (although it was Shisui far more than it was Itachi) had both trapped him in genjutsu as a part of training, teaching him to both recognize and dispel genjutsu. Kakashi had worked with him as well, both before and after he had manifested his sharingan.
It had felt different from anything Sasuke had ever had felt as though his very soul was being extinguished, as grandiose as it sounded.
What was he doing?
Sasuke rolled onto his side, ignoring his aching ribs. Shutting his eyes, he tried to force himself to sleep. Staying awake wasn't helping anything; even after his long minutes contemplation the answers to his questions were just as unattainable as they had been earlier. He curled his body slightly, letting the cool wind play with his air. The soft sounds of the forest, of leaves rustling and animals burrowing and crickets chirping, and the sounds of his teammates' breathing, lulled him into a calm, easing the tension that had been readily accumulating since the genjutsu. Sasuke's body relaxed as he let himself be absolved into the rhythm.
"I thought the answer to that would be obvious. I want you."
Sasuke shot straight up. The grass had disappeared beneath his feet, replaced with the blood red carpet.
No! Sasuke tried to stand, but two hands emerged from amid the gore and grabbed his ankles, pulling him down into the bloody organs.
"NO!" Sasuke screamed aloud. He clutched at the ground, desperately searching for something to give him enough leverage to escape. His hands kept sliding, far too slick from the blood to gain any kind of traction. His body started to sink below the carpet. The metallic taste of blood invaded his mouth, and Sasuke could feel the fluid creep into his ears.
Sasuke dug his fingers into a large clump of something and tried to hold on, fighting the hands that were still pulling him down. The eerie laugh that had haunted him in the afternoon echoed around him.
Sasuke began to scream again as his fingers slipped and he was buried. He thrashed wildly, trying to fight his way out, but it was all around him, choking him, swallowing him.
"You're mine now."
"Sasuke!"
Sakura was leaning over him, hands on his shoulders, face directly over his. Panting, Sasuke stared straight ahead, avoiding her eyes, as he slowed his racing heart. Just a dream.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Sasuke barked rudely, sliding out from under her. He was sweating profusely, and he futilely wiped at his forehead. He was thankful for the cover of the clouds; there was a full moon, and without them she would have seen him all too clearly.
"Sasuke-kun-"
"Sakura, shut," Sasuke cut himself off. He did owe her; she had broken the genjutsu. She had helped him free. "Just go back to sleep."
Sakura settled back into her old position, but she refused to lie down. Instead, she sat up, facing him, quietly daring him.
Sasuke sighed. Why do you have to be so freaking annoying sometimes? "It was a dream," he said gruffly.
"Of that jutsu?"
"Genjutsu," Sasuke corrected swiftly. He eyed her carefully. "You couldn't sense that it was a genjutsu?"
"The chakra patterns, the way he was concentrating and using his chakra, the way the chakra was," she hesitated, "almost changing your chakra; Sasuke, it wasn't like any genjutsu or jutsu I've ever seen."
Sasuke sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It had to be a genjutsu. Or a genjutsu on top of another jutsu."
"What did you see?" Sakura didn't give him time to answer. "Never mind. You don't have to say. I mean, I really shouldn't -"
"Blood." Sakura jerked upright, back suddenly ramrod straight. "And darkness. And it," Sasuke searched for the words, for a way to explain exactly how the genjutsu had felt. "All I could see, think, feel, was him, his polluted foul self and his chakra signature." Sasuke decided to blame the lapse in his habitually laconic nature to his tiredness and the events of the day.
"At the end, before you hit him, I couldn't even remember anything anymore. It was like I was being melded into him."
Sakura was appropriately disturbed, but she hadn't fainted or resorted to any other drastic tactic. "What was it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know."
They were both quiet for a moment. "Maybe she knows," Sakura suggested. "The proctor, I mean. Anko."
"Hn," Sasuke pondered the possibility. "It doesn't matter. It's gone."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it is."
As he watched his teammate yawn sleepily, Sasuke weighed his options. He did not want to surrender to sleep again, at least not for a few hours, but he knew that if he stopped interacting, even at a minimal level, he would sleep. He wasn't a idle chatterer by nature, but out in the woods talk was just about the only thing he could rely on to maintain consciousness, and the only two people he could talk to were Naruto and Sakura. He trusted Sakura enough to rely on her.
"Did the wind hit you too?"
Startled, Sakura didn't answer his question immediately. "What?"
"Did the wind hit you too?"
"Um, yeah, it caught all of us." The clouds had lifted a bit, and Sasuke could see Sakura fold her legs in front her and plucked the grass at her feet. "I don't know where those stupid cloud nin went; they were blown in the opposite direction. Naruto and I were blown north, like you, but you kept going straight and we kind of veered off. I only saw Naruto for a second before he disappeared."
"How'd you get there so quickly?"
"I caught myself on one of the trees and hung on somehow." She shrugged. "I almost let go, but I just as I was about to the wind stopped. I searched for your chakra signature and I ran. I could feel it – him – too."
Naruto snored a little louder, almost as if in response to what Sakura had said. She giggled, and Sasuke smiled involuntarily. The conversation they were having was almost prosaic. At least for them, anyway.
Sakura was quiet again. "Thank you," Sasuke murmured.
Those two innocuous words got her immediate attention. "For what?"
For what? If Sasuke didn't know better, he would have assumed she was joking. She had cracked the genjutsu; there was no way he could have escaped without her help. "For attacking him. It distracted him, cracked the genjutsu."
"Oh," Sakura said softly. "It was nothing. You would have done the same thing, right?"
"It's different." I'm stronger; I would have had a better chance with him if our positions had been reversed.
Sakura smiled. "Not really."
He kept his equanimity and allowed her one small victory. The clouds had completely lifted, and he could see her very clearly. They had unconsciously slid closer to each other; their knees were touching each other, their feet just as close. Sakura was drawing small swirling patterns on her upper thigh, and Sasuke's eyes were drawn to the motion. A comfortable silence stretched between them, a silence Sasuke's used to watch her hand on her thigh as it swirled higher and higher and-
Sasuke jerked his head up. He was not looking at Sakura's thighs.
Sakura titled her head to the side. "Is something wrong?"
He shook his head energetically. "Nothing."
She nodded. Her hand stopped moving and settled on her knee. "Thank you."
Sasuke arched his eyebrow. "For what?"
She just smiled at him. Sasuke shook his head ruefully. Maybe it was the lateness of the hour, maybe it was Sakura's sudden know-it-all manner, but he did something reckless. He leaned closer until his face was right beside her ear, his cheek brushing hers. He felt her sudden intake of breath as he spoke. "You're so annoying," he whispered, but it sounded more like endearment than derision.
"Uh, um," Sakura stuttered. "Yeah." She was breathing heavily now; he could feel her little gasps against his cheek.
He pulled back slightly, but for some reason he didn't move away. He stopped with his face right in front of Sakura's, noses touching gently. The forest sounds were silenced, and the world was still. Sakura gently slanted her head, leaning closer as she did so. Their lips were a hair's breadth away, and suddenly Sasuke wasn't playing with her mind anymore. His hand came up to touch her chin, and he felt that same, smooth skin he'd felt earlier. Sakura's hand skimmed the back of his neck with a confidence Sasuke had never seen before. He wasn't conflicted; every part of his body, mind, and soul urged him forward, forward to kiss her.
"SNORE!" The two sprung apart, retreating to their respective sleeping areas. Sasuke watched Naruto in terror, waiting for the blonde boy to start jeering and threatening to tell to the world.
Nothing happened. Naruto flipped over and settled into an even deeper sleep. Sasuke sighed quietly and lay down, avoiding eye contact with Sakura.
A few meters away, Sakura copied him. "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered as she curled up on the grass.
Sasuke waited several beats before whispering "good night" back.
"So, how're we gonna get the other scroll?" Naruto asked, remarkably focused, especially for him.
Sasuke shouldered his pack, considering the question. The team had taken a day and half to recover from their injuries. Although Sasuke wasn't at optimum capacity, he hadn't wanted to rest any longer. It was too hazardous.
Of course, the decision to re-engage in the competition had brought its own little set of problems. "We'll move towards the rendezvous point," he decided definitively. "We'll have the greatest chance of finding a team that has our scroll."
"Huh?"
"Because most of the teams heading to the end point already have both scrolls," Sakura clarified for Naruto.
"I knew that, Sakura-chan." Sakura rolled her eyes but didn't opine.
Team 7 sped into the forest. Sasuke fell into the familiar groove of running; his ribs had recovered sufficiently, and the motion was not causing any serious pain.
Sakura ran beside him, Naruto on her other side. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura had spoken of the night they had talked. Sakura was unsure of how to broach the issue of the almost-kiss, and Sasuke was content to pretend that it hadn't happened. There would plenty of time for untangling the mess they'd created of their relationship as friends; it could wait until the chunin exams finished.
It was a lapse in judgment brought on by pain and insomnia. It had been a rather enjoyable lapse. But it was a lapse all the same, though. Right?
Sasuke forcibly squelched any uncertain thoughts. I don't need to worry about this right now. Concentrate on the exams.
The next hour passed fairly quickly. They did not approach the only other team they found; that team had the heaven scroll, which was worthless to them, and there was no sense in provoking an unnecessary conflict.
The second hour, however, dragged unmercifully. The air was humid, and even with the protective cover of the trees the sun beat down ruthlessly. Sakura and Naruto started a half dozen asinine squabbles, the first three of which Sasuke ignored and the last three of which Sasuke participated in, albeit unwillingly.
They were coming off the tail end of one such argument when he felt another three chakra signatures. "We're near another team," he announced, stopping.
"Where?"
"Not far over-" An ear piercing cry told Naruto and Sakura for Sasuke.
"Let's go!" Naruto yelled, springing into action.
"Naruto, wait!"
Like he's going to listen. Sasuke ran after his teammate, Sakura tagging along behind them both.
Without warning one of chakra signatures was extinguished. They're not fighting another team; we would have felt it if they were; so what are they fighting? The screaming increased in volume and intensity, pure anguish coloring the shrieking in a painful way.
"They're over there, right up ahead!" Naruto yelled, just as Sasuke got his first clear glimpse of the fight.
A boy was dead on the ground, gruesomely mauled. A huge bear, far larger than Sasuke could have imagined a bear could be, was ripping apart another genin who was too disfigured for Sasuke to determine its gender. A third genin, a girl with bright red hair, was limp on the forest ground, holding the side of her face.
The bear tossed the now dead genin aside and poised itself in front of the red-headed girl. Three long slashes marred the creamy skin on her face, but aside from that she seemed unhurt, although she was screaming loud enough to wake the dead.
Sasuke didn't hesitate. "Fireball jutsu!" The fireball nailed the bear directly, knocking him into a nearby tree.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto declared. Naruto and two dozen clones attacked the bear. Half held the bear down while the others pummeled it.
"That's enough, Naruto!" Sasuke ordered.
"But teme-"
"Just do it," Sasuke repeated imposingly. Naruto scowled, but he complied. The bear lay stunned on the ground.
The girl, who had crumpled into a ball during the attack, slowly uncurled and sat up. "You, you saved me," she said in an awestruck voice. "Thank you."
"Don't thank us yet," Sasuke retorted. Sakura seemed shocked by his abrupt and harsh tone, but she didn't interrupt. Sasuke let the statement fully impact the girl before he continued. "What scroll do you have?"
"Earth," she answered quickly, nerve too shattered to bother with any pretense. "We have, I mean, I have earth." She held the scroll out as proof, hands shaking slightly.
"Good," Sasuke replied. "In that case, I have a proposition." His conscience cringed at the "we"; after all, the plan was solely his brainchild, and Sakura and Naruto weren't even wholly aware of it; but it seemed important to present a unified front, however fictitious that front was. "Give us the scroll, and we'll make sure you get to the rendezvous point alive."
The girl wrung her hands nervously, eyes darting from her dead teammates back to Team 7. "What, um, what if I don't?"
"Then we'll take the scroll by force." Sasuke's tone left no doubt that he would do so.
"You have nothing to lose," Sakura added. "I mean, you can't continue in the exams anyway, and we can help you."
The bespectacled girl looked at Sakura cautiously, eyes brightening a little. She trusts her more than us. Sasuke had to admit; he would probably trust Sakura more than him or Naruto as well.
The bear started to stir. "I'll do it!" The girl decided hastily, passing the scroll to Sasuke. "Please, let's just go before he wakes up."
Sasuke tucked the scroll securely in his pocket and nodded. "Let's get out of here." Wordlessly Naruto and the two girls followed him, Naruto daring to kick the bear as he passed it.
"You won't leave me, right?" The girl questioned as they left.
"Of course not," Sakura replied reassuringly, eliciting a small smile from the girl. At least they're getting along.
"We have a deal," Sasuke affirmed. "We won't break it, so don't try anything.
"I won't!" She threw her hands up to emphasize the point.
"What's your name?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Karin. It's Karin."
"So, you're leaf ninja?" Karin asked with a mouth full of food.
Sasuke chewed his bite carefully and painfully slowly. They had traveled hard for hours before stopping for the night before stopping for the night, and Sasuke wanted to relish every minute of relaxation.
"Isn't that obvious?" Sakura answered brusquely. The camaraderie Sasuke had thought he had seen earlier had disappeared as Karin had become more and more attached to Sasuke. In a literal sense of the word, Sasuke thought. It was extraordinarily annoying, but Sasuke couldn't very well break the deal. Besides, she's been useful. Karin could sense where the other teams were and had directed them through the forest; because of her, they had avoided what could have been nasty entanglements.
"I was just making conversation," Karin replied with a small shake of her head and an overdose of attitude in her voice. Sakura scoffed loudly, turning her face away.
Karin slid closer to Sasuke, moving until her hips were brushing his. "Thank you for saving me from the bear."
"Hey! I helped too!" Naruto protested.
"Well, thanks, I guess," Karin added dolefully. She placed her hand on Sasuke's thigh, smiling seductively. Or at least Sasuke assumed it was supposed to be seductively. He glared at her until she withdrew her hand and then moved away.
However, even Sasuke's purposeful rejection did not deter her. She prattled endlessly, filling her speech with double entendres and suggestive phrases. Sasuke ignored her; he had had plenty of experience; but it was clearly bothering Sakura.
Finally, Sakura stood. "Come on, let's go to bed already," she said. "It's late, and I don't want to be dragging anyone along because they can't keep up."
Karin rose. "Well, I guess you better sleep soundly, then." Sakura stepped even closer, narrowing her eyes angrily.
"Uh, guys?" Naruto started to say, but furious glares from both girls silenced him effectively.
Oh, stop the catfight already. Sasuke pushed in between the two of them, his intent clear. Sakura sighed loudly, but she obediently curled up on the grass. Sasuke lay down less than half a meter away, facing away from Karin and towards Sakura, making the loudest statement possible.
"There it is!" Sakura pointed gleefully at the plain building marking the rendezvous point, the reward for their days of struggle. "We made it!"
Sakura's announcement drew everyone's attention. Naruto started cheering loudly while Karin sank to her knees in relief. Sasuke grinned, more assured than ever.
Stage Two of the exams: completed successfully, he thought to himself as they approached the building. Congratulations.
A/N: Okay, so I'm a little late :P On a positive note, I aced my exams! (Cheers happily) Good luck to all those who are taking/will soon take their exams. I'm rooting for you :)
And on to the chapter: I told you there would be changes :0) So, anyway, drop me a review, let me know what you think :) Comments, criticism, predictions, questions, and suggestions are all appreciated! Thanks!