The next day, Kimiko was ready to go to the Chuunin exams, but she couldn't find Kakashi anywhere. 'I guess he's still training Sasuke…' she checked a pocket of her Jounin vest, sighing with relief before heading out. She was already in the arena when Naruto was chased in by a herd of bull. "Naruto…how in the WORLD do you manage to get chased by a herd of bull into the arena…" she had an anime sweat drop, but she smacked her forehead, sighing, before she lifted Naruto off the ground. "Are you okay? Or did you ask Konohamaru to show you a short cut?" "The last one…" "Here's some advice…don't follow Konohamaru's shortcuts…" Naruto nodded, when the proctor said, you all go onto the viewing platform except Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga." Michiko stepped back from the two, and looked into the stands, finding Sakura, Ino, and Chouji sitting together, with Kiba and Hinata further off. 'The only one NOT here is Sasuke…if he's disqualified, it'll be on dad's head…'
As the fight between Neji and Naruto raged almost unceasingly, Michiko tried to look away, avert her eyes to something else, when Naruto's impressive victory brought a smile to her face. She checked Neji before he was taken by the Medics, and a happy Naruto glomped her, knocking her over. "I know it's great you won, Naru-kun, but maybe you shouldn't act like this in an arena full of people…" Naruto immediately jumped off her, blushing and smiling sheepishly. Michiko gave him a confused look, wondering why he was blushing, when it was Shikamaru and Temari's turn. She was impressed at how Shikamaru handled the situation, but a vein pulsed in her forehead when he forfeited.
Temari went back to the viewing platform, and both Naruto walked up to Shikamaru, hitting him upside the head, though, thanks to Michiko's immense strength, he fell forward onto his face. "What's wrong with you?! Lazy baka!!" Michiko berated, lifting Shikamaru up by the scruff of his shirt. "Yeah!! What were you thinking?!" Naruto questioned angrily. When Michiko realized that Sasuke hadn't arrived and that he was going to be disqualified if he didn't make it in time, dropped Shikamaru, who landed on his face. "Where's my dad?" "Why?" Naruto questioned. "So I can beat him up for making Sasuke late and worrying me to death!!" She stomped the ground, creating a huge crater. "How much time does Sasuke Uchiha have left?" she questioned the other proctor. "Ten minutes…"
Michiko snarled, and the proctor was careful to stay a safe distance. When Sasuke almost ran out of time, him and Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves and wind. Naruto was happy, Michiko wasn't amused, though… "Are you TRYING to scare me?!" she hit her father upside the head, seemingly immune to the hurt puppy-dog look he gave her. "What were you THINKING when you decided to come late?!" Kakashi was well aware that Michiko's development was abnormally rapid, and that she might very well be strong enough to defeat him…or an S-ranked criminal… "I lost track of time…and I saw a little old la-." "I don't want to hear your excuses, dad!! And you ALWAYS lose track of time!!" She breathed deeply a moment, trying to calm herself, before saying, "You can go up to the viewing platform. Sasuke's match is next anyway…" Kakashi nodded, poofing to the audience, and she mumbled something irritably before Gaara came down. 'I guess Naruto and Shikamaru went up already…' she was nervous about this fight, though, and took up Hinata's nervous habit of poking her index fingers together.
She was surprised when Gaara made a ball of sand, and Sasuke used Chidori. 'Dad taught him, too…but dad decided to wait till I was going to Jounin to teach me, while Sasuke is going to Chuunin…he's playing favorites again…' But Gaara's bloodcurdling scream made her heart clench in pain and she couldn't help but want to run in and stop this match now. When a strange sand arm pushed Sasuke away, and the sand fell, revealing a bleeding Gaara, Michiko couldn't help the pain in her heart from nearly taking over. An explosion shook her to the core, and she looked at where the Hokage had been sitting. "Hokage-sama!!" she saw Temari and Kankurou jump down to Gaara and leave with him, but not before casting her guilty looks. "Wait!! Tema-chan!! Kan-kun!!"
Without waiting for orders, she said, to the proctor, "You hold off the Sand Jounin, Sasuke!!" she turned to her friend. "You're coming with me!" She started running after the Sand Siblings, Sasuke pretty close behind. "Keep up, Sasuke. And don't use your chakra to fight Temari or Kankurou. Save it for Gaara." "You seem to know a lot about them." "When I went to Suna that one time with my Genin squad…they were the friends I made over there…I trained with them, so I learned their tactics and strength." She was silent after that, catching up with them when Temari stopped. 'She's trying to get time for Gaara to recover…' "Sasuke, you fight Temari! I'll keep going!"
Temari tried to stop her, but Michiko was too fast for her. She was soon on Kankurou and Gaara's trail, and caught up with them fairly quickly. "Kan-kun!! Gaara-kun!!" Kankurou faltered slightly, stopping on a branch, and Michiko said, trying to keep her voice cold, "I can't let you destroy Konoha!! It's my home!!" "And we're doing this to protect OUR home!!" She pumped chakra to her fist. "Don't make me fight you…" Apparently, Sasuke and Temari's fight was over, and they both appeared. Kankurou stayed behind this time, but before Michiko could move, Shino appeared. "Shino-kun…" "I'll fight him…you two go after Gaara…" Michiko hesitantly nodded, saying, "Be careful…" before following after Gaara, Sasuke trying to keep up with her speed.
'I won't let them make Gaara destroy Konoha!' her eyes turned hard. 'I have too much to protect…Hokage-sama, Naru-kun, Saku-chan, Ino-chan, Hina-chan, Shika-kun, Chouji-kun, Shino-kun, Ten-chan, Kiba-kun, Neji-kun, Lee-kun, Sasu-kun…dad…' She caught up to them, and threw a kunai, stopping Temari. "Stop running! I don't want to hurt you!!" "Michiko!! Stay back!!" Michiko gave Temari a confused look, wondering what she meant, when Gaara's evil side started taking over. "The monster…the monster in you…she's awake…" Michiko froze, and Sasuke looked at her, confused. 'The monster in her? Does he mean the Bijuu?' "Gaara-kun, don't let him take over…I know you don't want to do this…"
Temari was pushed aside as Gaara started his transformation, and Michiko tensed. "Gaara-kun…" she said in a warning tone, readying herself to move or perform hand signs, when a sand arm tried to strike her. She pumped chakra into her fist before punching it, shattering it like glass. A sand arm went after Sasuke, who used Chidori. 'He can't use Chidori anymore or he'll activate the cursed seal!' She saw him try again, but he fell down in pain, the cursed seal starting to spread across his skin. 'Damn it, Sasuke!!' she defended him as well as she could, but sand is hard to keep away. When Naruto and Sakura arrived, Michiko smiled, relieved, before an arm made of sand grabbed her, holding her in the air, squeezing the air from her body.
She gasped in pain, but refused to give up. She said, her voice strained, "Gaara-kun…I know you don't want to do this…please…don't let the Bijuu control you…" the sand arm tightened around her. "Gaara-kun!" "Stop encouraging him!" she could hear Shukaku's voice layered over Gaara's own, and smirked. "You're more scared of my words than my power…" her eyes swirled to emerald green, pupils narrowed to slits. "Too bad it's my power you should be worrying about…" Her chakra came out in a small, intense burst, and the sand arm was destroyed. She landed on a branch in an animalistic pose, the lightning-blue markings on her face becoming visible as her fangs and claws grew in.
"Prepare to see Chiaki's power…Shukaku…" She was in front of him in a moment, finishing a sequence of hand signs. "Lightning Release: Lightning Swords jutsu!!" "Sand Shuriken!!" She gave no notice to the weapons striking her, and slashed at him with the blades of electricity she was wielding. He flew back, and smirked. "I knew she was in you…I've been waiting for her…" she hissed, claws outstretched as she gripped the swords tighter. "I take it she still resents me…even after her love was sealed into a Jinchuuriki as well…" Michiko felt Chiaki's words force their way out of her mouth in an angry hiss. "Don't you dare insult the Kyuubi!!" She saw Gaara jump at Sasuke, arm raised, and her own nature asserted itself. 'Sasu-kun!!' when Sakura tried to defend Sasuke, Michiko moved, desperate to save them, when Sakura was slammed into a tree by his hand, and held there. "Saku-chan!!" she punched Gaara in the face, but Naruto was just as surprised. Michiko jumped up to Sakura, trying to rip the sand off, but it refused to budge. 'Damn it!!' her claws dug into sand as she bit her lower lip, drawing blood.
"Saku-chan, everything will be fine! I promise!" Sakura, nearly unconscious, nodded slowly before her eyes closed. "Saku-chan!!" She glared at Gaara, her eyes shining like green stars, and jumped at him in a moment, ready to defeat him, when her gripped her in a tight sand arm, and said, "You can't escape…" Michiko's temper flared as she hissed, "Let me go, Gaara!! I won't let you hurt my friends!!" "That's what makes you weak…fighting for others…fight only for yourself…that's what makes you truly strong…" Michiko tried to calm herself, saying, "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who betray their teammates…their friends…are worse than trash!!" she struggled violently, when the lightning-blue markings on her face began to glow. 'Chiaki…help me…protect them…' 'Of course…' A large, intense burst of chakra escaped her body, flinging Gaara away. But she cried out in sudden pain, and fell onto a tree branch, her bangs covering her eyes as she lay motionless for a moment.
She slowly got onto her hands and knees, breathing deeply, before smiling softly at Naruto, saying, "I can't keep fighting, Naru-kun…please…protect them…" she nearly fell off the branch as she fell unconscious, and Naruto's anger asserted itself. When Michiko DID wake up, she wondered where Naruto was. She panicked slightly before setting out to find him, and jumps to his side, wondering why he's on the ground. She notices Gaara not too far off, and is about to go check on him when Temari and Kankurou arrive.
'Tema-chan…Kan-kun…why?' she sighed when they left, and she lifted Naruto onto her back before searching for Sasuke and Sakura. She smiled softly at them before saying, "We need to head back…" Sasuke nodded, carrying Sakura on the way back. Once there, Michiko started looking around for her father, when she saw him in the arena, on a roof. "Hey! Dad! What's up?" he was surprised to see her, and seemed to be hiding something from her view. "Dad…what's wrong?" She looked around him, but what she saw seemed to rip her heart out of her chest and throw it, still beating, onto the tiles. "Hokage-sama…" tears filled her eyes, and Kakashi felt his own heart ache at the look of utter sadness on his daughter's face. "No…no…no, he can't be dead!" She tried to get closer, but Kakashi held her back. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she soon stopped struggling, crying into his vest.
The other Jounin she'd known for so long look at the scene with sad eyes. They'd never seen her cry. She was always smiling, happy, and if not that, she was angry. But they'd never seen her cry…never…and they never knew of what she'd been through, or of the beast now raging in her angrily…and they wouldn't know about it for a long time…