Okay, my sleeping habits are back to normal now! Sort of...And thanks for the reviews, everyone! Thanks for all the help too!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
On another note, good news! Nami just got an FF account yesterday and I'm her official beta-reader! Of course, there's the three-day wait until she can put anything up, but I hope you'll all read her stories when she posts them! (I'll give you guys more info when the time comes.)
Enjoy!
Nami leapt through the thick trees speedily, wind rushing through her hair. She was determined to get to the tower before her two teammates with ten scrolls if she had to. There was no way her teammates would beat her. And once again, she, Kawa Nami, would express her extreme superiority over the other two lesser kunoichi again. She'd show her teammates that she totally knew what she was doing.
"I can finish this exam all on my own," Nami declared. "No help from Midori and especially Kyoko is needed!"
---
Midori ran through the forest, her feet moving over the woodland floor silently. Many thoughts raced through her mind, and she had instantly regretted leaving her team to figure out a better strategy themselves if they did.
Marieke-sensei said that teamwork is the key to victory, she thought. But it looks like our team will have to find a skeleton key…Kyoko and Nami are just impossible.
Feeling a bit guilty about herself, she decided that if she ran into her teammates, she wouldn't just leave again. That wasn't her style, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was a bit afraid to be traveling through the forest alone. After all, the place was called the 'Forest of Death' for a reason.
---
Kyoko hopped onto a branch and stopped to listen to the sounds of her current area. It was only the first day, but that didn't mean she couldn't get a scroll quickly, right? Right.
Suddenly, she spotted something strange on the ground. Dropping down, she picked it up and let it fall through her fingers. It was sand.
"Sand!" Kyoko exclaimed. Then she covered her mouth, realizing her apparent noisiness. If there was sand, then that could only mean… "Gaara…" With a smile on her face, she continued with a new, quickened pace.
A few minutes later, she decided to check if she was getting any closer. Using Shino's technique, she lowered her head and listened with her ear near the ground. After a while, she gave up. "How the heck does Shino do that?" she wondered.
Then she heard a loud scream. She didn't need any technique to hear that. Following the scream, she stopped on a tree branch and gazed down just in time to see a group of people, nine to be exact. Three of those people were Team Eight who were watching the same scene unfold terrifyingly. Then there were Temari and Kankuro who were watching their little brother encase two Rain nin with sand. Said brother, Gaara, was closing his hand into a fist. The last two were assured to be dead in a matter of seconds.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Well what do you know, they had the scroll we needed," Kankuro said, wiping some blood off of the scroll that belonged to one of the formally live Rain nin. "Let's head on to the tower then."
"Not yet," Gaara growled. "We have some spectators I'd like to take care of."
"Haven't you had enough?" Kankuro questioned, obviously annoyed.
"Yeah, Gaara, we got the scroll," Temari reasoned nervously. "There's no need to continue eliminating the other teams."
"Yeah, so cork up that gourd of yours and let's go," Kankuro said.
"Shut up," Gaara said.
"Listen up you little brat," Kankuro said angrily, grabbing hold of the younger brother's tan strap. "I'm your older brother, so do as I say! Listen to your brother for once!"
"I never thought of you as a brother," Gaara said as his sand started to move towards the bushes.
Behind their not-so-secret hiding spot, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino tensed as sand started to fly restlessly around them.
"We gotta get out of here!" Kiba shouted.
"I-I can't move!" Hinata cried.
"The sand is encasing us…" Shino said urgently. "We can't escape!"
"Gaara!" Temari exclaimed.
"STOP GAARA!"
Suddenly a figure dropped down and grabbed Gaara by the shoulders, pushing their own body against his. A girl. "Don't kill them!"
"Who the…what are you?!" Kankuro demanded perplexedly.
Gaara, who was stunned, lost control of the sand. His eyes were wide.
She's…she's hugging Gaara?! Temari stared at the girl.
"You guys get out of here!" Kyoko ordered, turning her head towards the three clan members.
Team Eight, who were extremely confused obeyed and disappeared out of sight.
Gaara had gotten over his shock and now sand was rushing around Kyoko. The sand pulled the girl off with some difficulty and Gaara glared at her. "What do you think you're doing?"
Kyoko was silent. She stared hard at Gaara as if she was trying to penetrate through his thick outer shell.
Gaara glowered back. More sand started to run against the ground quickly, swirling around Kyoko.
"Is that girl crazy?" Kankuro whispered to Temari anxiously. "This'll be one of his pointless kills."
"Yeah…wait a minute…" Temari said. "This girl…we've seen her before! She's...she's everywhere!"
Flashback
Temari was walking through the Konoha market. Since she was the only one who cooked (not very well, I might add) she had to get the groceries as well. As she shifted through some green vegetables, she heard a voice.
"Hey!"
Temari looked up to see a black-haired girl with a cheerful smile.
"Uh…do I know you?"
"No," the girl said.
"What do you want?"
"I'm Kyoko," the girl said, still smiling and thrusting her hand out.
"Yeah…" Temari said, staring at Kyoko's hand. "I'm gonna go now."
End Flashback
Flashback
Hmph. That noisy little blond from before is at it again, Temari thought. Her eyes trailed around the room. Looks like there are a lot of participants here.
Then she saw...her.
Kyoko noticed Temari stare at her for a second. She smiled and waved.
Temari twitched.
End Flashback
Flashback
Temari sat in her designated seat, wondering when this old guy would finish talking. Resting her chin on her palm, she sighed.
"Hi, Temari!"
Temari almost fell out of her chair. That voice! "It's you!"
"You remember?" Kyoko smiled.
What are the odds? Temari thought helplessly.
End Flashback
Her visions were interrupted by a painful scream, but oddly...it did not belong to Kyoko.
"Gaara!" Kyoko exclaimed.
Gaara had collapsed to his knees, a hand clutching his head, his sand receding. A flashback of Yashamaru sped through his mind. Only for a second, but it was enough.
"Get away from me!" Gaara ordered, shakily holding out his fist.
The sand pushed Kyoko away roughly, and when Gaara gave her an intense glare, she disappeared.
"Gaara, are you all right?" Temari asked with sisterly concern. "What happened?"
"...Nothing," Gaara mumbled, regaining his composure. "Let's go to the tower now."
He started walking away, and with slightly confused looks, his siblings followed.
As Kyoko stopped at a good distance from the Sand Siblings, she looked back as though she wanted to see them again. What was wrong with Gaara? And why did he let me go? There were so many questions the kunoichi wanted to ask, but she knew there was no one who would know the answers.
She realized that if her friends would probably have encounters similar to hers, their lives were on the line. Knowing that, she knew that she had to find them again. There was no way they would get off as easily as she had.
---
Walking through the forest nonchalantly with her hands entwined behind her head, Nami had not a care in the world. Man, this forest sure is boring. I haven't met anyone around here yet. It's like there are no ninja in the area…
Suddenly, she stopped. She closed her eyes and tried to sense who was near.
Two…no, three people…one was inhuman…
That could only mean one thing, she thought with a smirk. She darted up into the trees and continued on.
The courageous girl stopped when she saw the three figures. Two, Sasuke and Sakura, were standing at a ready position and a grass nin was a few meters away, holding up a scroll.
"I bet you'd like to get your hands on my Earth Scroll," the grass nin a.k.a. Orochimaru smiled widely. Then, he opened his mouth and pushed the scroll down his throat, licking his lips.
Ew… Nami thought with disgust.
The grass nin made a hand seal and Nami saw Sasuke and Sakura freeze in total terror. She watched as sweat ran down Sasuke's face, his eyes widening. Tears were running down Sakura's cheeks as a look of despair cursed her features. Both were shaking madly as they were brought down to their knees. They sat there, powerless and fearful of the enemy standing a short distance away. They needed help.
Dang it, where's my camera when I need it? Nami thought irritably.
"Now to finish you off," she heard the grass nin say.
The ninja in disguise let loose two kunai heading straight for Sasuke and Sakura.
Sasuke was inching to move his hand which was wrapped around his own kunai knife. Move, Sasuke! MOVE!
TOK! TOK!
The grass nin frowned.
Before the two kunai could hit the teammates, Sasuke had stabbed himself in the leg, breaking the genjutsu he had placed on the younger ninja. The Uchiha boy also grabbed Sakura and ran off without a trace.
Well done, the grass nin thought. Inflicting pain on himself to dispel the genjutsu…very good…
Sasuke was panting terribly as he pulled the kunai out of his leg with a grunt.
"Sasuke-kun, are you all right?" Sakura asked immediately, eyes hilled with concern.
Sasuke didn't answer her. He sensed someone coming. Standing up with a bit of difficulty, he grasped the now bloodied kunai in a battle position.
"Sup, Sasgay!"
Sasuke sweat dropped as Nami dropped down from the sky. Sasuke flopped down into a sitting position, still breathing hard. "Oh. It's just you."
"Just me?" Nami said, with false offense. Then she looked at his wound. "What's up with you? Trying to win the emo award? I'd go for the wrists."
"I don't have time for this," Sasuke said. "A grass ninja is after us."
"Too much for the great Uchiha to handle alone?" Nami smirked.
"Shut up and leave," Sasuke said. "I don't need you here screwing around."
"Yeah, Nami! If you want to help then you can just leave. There's no reason for you to be here. Can't you see that Sasuke-kun's hurt? If you're just going sit around bugging us, then—"
Sasuke, who had had enough of Sakura's constant lip-flapping, covered her mouth.
Nami crossed her arms.
"Both of you shut up," Sasuke ordered as he glanced around. This was the reason he didn't like girls.
Hmph. Sasgay's totally out of it, Nami thought. He's getting paranoid.
It was a second late that she felt the presence of—
"Sasuke-kun, look out!" Sakura screamed as she pulled his hand off of her mouth.
Sasuke turned around and his eyes widened as he saw the giant snake coming straight at the three.
The Konoha nins separated as the snake smashed into the tree branch.
"Get away!" Sasuke hollered as he let loose several projectiles into the mouth of the cobra, instantly killing it.
As the snake fell across the branch, lifeless, something seemed to rise out of its head, tearing the skin. It was the grass ninja.
Orochimaru! Nami thought.
Orochimaru looked towards Nami with a frown. "Another one? My, my. You are quite the ladies' man, aren't you Sasuke-kun? Have you come to help your friends?" He licked his lips eerily. "No matter. You only added to the amount…of prey…"
Nami narrowed her eyes. "You wanna say that to my face?!" She reached into her holster and aimed several kunai and shuriken at the disguised snake.
Orochimaru dodged the weapons with ease. "You'll have to do better than that, my dear."
"RAH!" Nami shouted as she shot off of her branch and towards the enemy, kunai in hand.
Orochimaru pulled out his own kunai and the two weapons clashed.
Nami, who was still in midair, flipped over the snake's head and spun, aiming a kick towards his head.
Orochimaru dodged to the side swiftly and threw a well-endeavored punch at the genin.
Nami suddenly felt herself fly back at a frightening speed. Her heart raced, her vision blurred, and her stomach felt like a hole was blown right through. Suddenly, she felt the presence of Orochimaru appearing behind her and felt another powerful slam to the back. She coughed as blood forced itself out of her mouth.
With an amused sneer, Orochimaru sent a few kunai flying, sufficiently pinning Nami face-forward into one of the trees. Dropping down behind her, he said, "Now that wasn't as entertaining as I thought it was. And for a second I thought you may be a little less than a threat."
"You…you bas—"
"Now, now, watch your language, my dear," Orochimaru hissed, smiling. "Now, if you don't make a fuss, I might let you go alive."
Nami struggled to break free, but from her position it was a futile attempt. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Sakura staring up seemingly at Sasuke worriedly.
"Hey! Sakura!" she called, gaining her attention. "Don't be useless and take out these kunai!"
Sakura looked annoyed for a split second, but appeared next to her, immediately taking out the weapons. "What will you be able to do?"
"More than you think," Nami answered. With that, she accelerated forward, running up the sides of the branches and hopping from one to the other. She caught sight of Orochimaru slinking along a particularly large branch like a reptile towards the paralyzed Sasuke. With a great leap, she landed her fist against Orochimaru's extended back, causing him to snap back into a normal shape.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Orochimaru turned his head and hissed. "You!"
Nami smirked. "Normally I wouldn't be the one to save Uchiha. But you offended me, so I had no choice."
DUN DUN DUN. CLIFFIE! (dodges tomatoes)
I feel like my number of reviews per chapter is pretty sufficient and I'm content with it, but I'd like to thank RebelFlame for reviewing since day one because I don't think I've ever thanked you! (You'd think I would have...) Anyway, just wanted you to know I appreciate that! And of course, I love ALL my loyal reviewers, so keep R&R-ing and I'll keep updating! Until next time!
-HM