It's here! The chapter I was slaving over, the hardest one ever. It's relatively short compared to the previous ones, but it's pure action. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter – I was so happy you guys liked it!

Without further ado, here we go;

For a few seconds, there was only silence. Then, a wild cheer of "YOSH!" startled everyone, bringing all eyes to a green-clad, bushy-browed jounin, and his smaller, carbon-copy of a student who seemed to have fire dancing in his eyes. "Go show them what you're made of, Lee!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" the genin replied and jumped down to the arena.

"Well, Sakura-chan, seems like you'll be facing Konoha's Green Clown." Akane snorted, turning to the rosette.

Only she wasn't there.

Alarmed, the redhead looked around the arena, trying to spot his pink-haired teammate, panic rising. "Akane, relax." Kaoru's voice cut through his anxiety. "She's there." And as he turned to face the direction the taller teen pointed to, he saw Sakura descending down the stairs, her eyes closed and a cool smirk playing on her lips.

Finally, when the two genin faced each other, awaiting Hayate's go-ahead, Lee spoke. "Although I do not know how you're here, given your obvious youth, I will do my best! May the spirit of youth guide me to victory! Yosh!"

"Mmhm." Sakura mused, unimpressed, eyes half-lidded as the cool smirk changed into a cat-like, lazy smile. "In a way, this is a perfect match for me as well." She spoke, surprising Lee. "I wish to see how my taijutsu fares against that of a self-proclaimed specialist."

Lee masked his surprise by a face-splitting grin. "Taijutsu user as well? Splendid!" he cheered.

"Indeed." Sakura's smile morphed into an unpleasant grin, one that was all teeth and reeked of bitterness. It didn't suit her face, and Akane shuddered almost imperceptibly. Almost.

Hayate coughed, breaking the silence that descended over the audience after the rosette's words. "You may begin."

Immediately, Lee sprung forward and jumped. "Konoha Whirlwind!" he called as he brought his foot down on Sakura, in, what would've been, a lethal kick.

But then, if it was that simple, his opponent wouldn't have been Sakura.

As it was, the rosette merely raised her left forearm and blocked the kick, the momentum and the chakra sending Lee back a few metres. Sakura didn't have to have a Byakugan to know that half the audience was gaping at her with their eyes wide. But she was far from finished.

This was only the beginning.

Lee regained his balance and glanced at the rosette. She had not moved, apart from the miniscule movement she performed with her arm, which was once again by her side. The others might not have seen it, but he had felt the chakra that enforced her arm as she blocked his kick. A certain long-haired, pearl-eyed brunette sprung to mind, and Lee gritted his teeth. While it was true that he couldn't mould chakra into even the simplest ninjutsu, he had spent the last year learning how to fight chakra.

And so he jumped again, starting an explosive flurry of kicks, jabs and punches at a speed that made the spectators dizzy.

Yet every move was countered with a perfectly executed block or dodge, and Sakura had yet to move her feet. Then suddenly, she disappeared and there was a kunai coming at his side at an alarming speed. Acting quickly, he pulled out his own knife and blocked it, jumping away as more followed. The rosette reappeared in the exactly same place, and Lee saw his chance; while in mid-air, he grabbed as many kunai as he could and threw them at Sakura, Tenten's help with his aim paying off as all six sailed directly towards the girl's head.

But they were blocked, yet again, and Lee could hear the disbelieving murmurs from Naruto, and Hikari's incredulous "Lee-san's attacks aren't working at all!"

Lee frowned. She's right.

However, Lee wasn't one to give up. He did not get to where he was, handicapped as he was with his inability to use nin or genjutsu, by giving up. So he charged again, stepping up his speed, circling the rosette and changing angles, finally making her move. But Lee didn't realise that it would've been better if she'd stayed still; now, when he made her move, Sakura grew irritated and fought back, hands flying in all directions until one hit its mark and sent Lee skidding back, his lip bleeding.

"Was that it?" she asked scathingly. Then, she smirked. "You better step up your game, bushy-brows. This is nowhere near over."

And just like that, she was gone.

Everybody looked around, surprised and anxious, trying to locate the rosette, but their eyes snapped back to the arena seconds before she reappeared behind Lee and aimed a kick to his back, her foot glowing blue.

It was almost comical, really, how Lee's body seemed to fold in on itself as he flew into the wall, pieces of stone and debris falling with him. But Sakura wouldn't let him off that easily. She flew after him, giving him just enough time to hear Hikari's panicked "Lee-san, look out!" before she was onto him once again.

He was good, she had to give it to him. Definitely more persistent and determined than she would've expected him to, but that didn't change anything. His skill was impressive, but his speed was not. He was faster than most, but still too slow for her.

So it was no surprise when she easily manoeuvred him exactly where she wanted him, and pulled back for the final hit, which, when connected, would make his head implode just like her father's clones had, so many years ago.

But her hand only met air.

It seemed that in her small moment of reminiscing, he had disappeared. It took her the grand total of five seconds to locate him, and when she did, she frowned.

It seemed as if Lee was unwrapping something from his ankles… were they weights? Sakura was slightly sceptical, but knew better than to judge the weights by their appearance. Her own ones were rather discreet, but in reality were a lot heavier than one would've expected.

She was proven right when the weights not only dented, but broke the floor. Sakura chuckled.

But her mirth was not to last, as soon after, Lee disappeared. And this time, Sakura struggled to sense him. Only years of training and finely-honed reflexes helped her block the punch coming at her head, and the flurry of kicks and jabs that followed. She could see it in his eyes this time. Playtime was over. Now it was business.

And Sakura was never one to disappoint.

Ducking out of the way and letting his momentum carry him forward before he had a chance to stop himself, she grabbed his ankle. Sakura swung him around and flung him at the wall, then sped after him as he slid down. Feeling pity, she helped him up, allowing him at least some dignity, but as he tried to regain his balance, she sprung forward, mimicking the style she had seen so many times before, and struck his chest with the palm of her hand.

Thank you, Neji.

Up in the stands, the teen in question was torn between angry and amused, which seemed to be the typical range of emotions he grew to associate with Sakura.

He was angry, because she had managed to copy his move without a doujutsu, Byakugan, or thorough knowledge of tenketsu; and amused, because of Lee's reaction; the green clad teen was wide-eyed and shaking, gasping and coughing out blood in between the incredulous looks he sent at the rosette.

Suddenly, he shook and coughed out more blood, and Neji was beginning to suspect that Sakura was fully aware of where she aimed, which would mean that she had known of the damage that could be done by a simple, accurate strike of the main tenketsu. The heart.

As he looked at the frowning rosette, her gaze almost disappointed, Neji realised that he wouldn't put it past her to have memorized the diagram of the location of all 361 points. Out of curiosity, he activated his Byakugan and realised that while she'd missed the heart by less than an inch, the foreign chakra she inserted into Lee's body was enough to disturb his heart and make him bleed internally. And suddenly, it clicked, and Neji glared down at Sakura in amazed disbelief. She was frowning because the strike had missed. Because it meant her aim had been off, even if it was by the slightest of margins. He didn't know how he knew, but it was the only reason he could think of that would make her look as disappointed with herself as she did – her frightening desire to always be the best.

Suddenly, Neji felt eyes on him, and he turned towards the source, his face twisting back into its typical, aloof mask. Gai-sensei and the Copy Nin were staring at him suspiciously, and he realised that they had not missed the similarities between the Hyuuga style and the move Sakura had used. He bit his tongue to stop the snappy remark that threatened to come out. If Gai wouldn't ask, he wouldn't say anything.

With that in mind, he turned to watch the match taking place between his friend and his teammate.

And what a match it was…

Sakura regarded the panting teen with a cool once-over. But beneath the mask of stoic detachment, she was recovering from a near-panic attack. Nobody had ever gotten as close as he did to hurting her. Nobody had made her stumble, had made her step up her game to avoid getting hurt.

Nobody apart from him.

But it was meant to be, she thought, as she watched the teen struggling to catch his balance after a strike which would've left most others laying on the floor in a crumpled heap.

But not him.

Lee stood up, wiped the blood from his chin and fell back into his stance, a smile on his face, and Sakura was suddenly overtaken with the desire to win, just to see him crumble and prove to herself that she was still strong, still unbeatable in her field.

Yet she was torn from her thoughts as Lee began unwrapping the bandages from his arms and she felt his chakra flare dramatically. Then, he was running around her, and she had no idea what to do.

Smack!

A harsh kick connected with her chin and sent her flying up, towards the ceiling. A barrage of twenty or so kicks kept her going, up, up, up, higher and higher. Through the pain, she managed to crack her eyes open, but he was nowhere to be found, until, seconds later, she felt bandages wrapping around her body. Shocked, Sakura craned her head back and saw Lee behind her, a pained, but confident expression on his face.

Up in the stands, Gai closed his eyes and prayed, just as Sakura felt Lee wince behind her, and his body spasmed from the pain. The rosette saw her chance, and took it, the only conscious thought running through her mind being ensure survival. Screw the result. I wanna live.

Acting on pure impulse, she yanked the bandages covering her hands up, freeing her hands even as the rest of her body was still trapped, pulled tightly against Lee. With adrenaline pumping through her, she called on her chakra, ready to use it if need be.

Then, when they were mere inches away from the ceiling, Lee turned them around, and the spinning started.

Sakura shut her eyes, nausea creeping up on her, her heart beating a hundred miles per minute as she felt the drop, felt the impending doom growing closer and closer.

But she would not yield. She never had, and never will.

Forcing her eyes open, she had less than a second to react, to thrust her chakra in front of her and solidify it. The arms and bandages around her disappeared and just as she felt the familiar sizzle of chakra around her.

Then there was only darkness.

Shocked silence filled the arena.

Kaoru and Akane were stunned, speechless. Too shaken up to worry.

Sakura.

Their Sakura.

They could only stare at the human-sized crater in the floor, too deep for them to see inside it.

"Oh, God." Akane sobbed. "Please tell me she's alright."

Kaoru didn't know. But he sincerely hoped that the tiny flash of blue he saw, seconds before the rosette pummelled into the ground like it was soft cheese, meant that she was okay. But all he could really do was hope.

Kakashi had seen it too.

The small flash of blue moments before Sakura disappeared underground. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was. He swerved his Sharingan to the left, assessing Lee. The teen was panting, and Kakashi could see that he was pretty much immobile. He glared at Gai. The Secondary Lotus was not a technique which should be taught to children. The stress on the body was too great to-

A gasp from Naruto.

A relieved sob from the redhead.

Disbelieving, wide eyes from Gai.

From the rubble, the crater, a single arm stuck out. The arm groped around, chakra sizzling at the fingertips, trying to grasp something for purchase. Slim fingers wrapped around one of the heavier tiles, and the muscles tensed. Soon, a head of matted pink hair broke through. Then the shoulders. Then the chest.

Finally, the whole body was out, and Kakashi watched as the rosette lifted her head. He stifled a shudder.

She was unaffected.

"How?!" Gai wailed, too shocked to stop himself.

And Kakashi wondered about that too, because such an impact would damage even him.

"She used a chakra shield." Everybody who heard the voice turned to face its source; one proud, calm Neji Hyuuga, with his arms crossed over his chest and Byakugan activated. When all the brunette got were blank looks, he sighed. "She gathered chakra around her body and solidified it." He turned to watch as the rosette swayed slightly but caught her balance, eyes locked with Lee's shocked ones. "But it wasn't perfect. She still received some damage." The teen jerked his head at Sakura's midsection, and Kakashi's eyes followed.

Indeed, he realised as he regarded her closer, the rosette had sustained some damage; her left arm was hanging limply by her side, the forearm, from elbow to wrist, no longer hung in a straight line. It was twisted into an angle like a grotesque, flattened 'V', and rotated so that her palm faced up, the jagged edges of broken bones threatening to poke through her flesh.

He heard Naruto gag, shocked at the injury and the fact that the rosette didn't seem affected by it in the slightest.

"How can she still move with her arm looking like that?" the blonde finally burst. To his surprise, it was the redhead who answered him, calm and grinning once again.

"She blocked a chakra point."

Hikari scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. "Soo… now she's a medical ninja?"

Akane chuckled as he shook his head, no. "No, no. I'm the medic of the team, Sakura is just… a very fast learner."

Hikari's look of confusion didn't disappear. In fact, it only grew. The wordless question of why? was clear on her face, and just as Akane opened his mouth to reply, another, smoother voice interrupted.

"Because her body rejects medical chakra." Neji said simply, drawing their gazes to him, yet he did not take his eyes of the battle below. "While she can be healed with medical chakra, she cannot heal others. She has the power, the patience, and the control, but any attempts merely end in chakra burns and exhaustion."

Akane glared at the brunette suspiciously. "And how do you know that, oh great Hyuuga-sama?" he asked sarcastically, though curiosity and just a hint jealousy was clear in his tone.

Neji smirked. "I was with her longer than you, never forget that. I know things about her you can only dream of."

The redhead growled. "You know nothing about her." He snarled, shrugging off the calming hand Kaoru placed on his shoulder.

In response, the Hyuuga merely arched a brow. "Have you been to her house?" Akane sputtered, paused, and frowned. He seemed to think about the question for a few seconds, before a look of defeat appeared on his face. "I thought so." Neji's tone was condescending and seemed to be just what Akane needed to snap out of it and fight back.

"And how do I know you're not lying, huh?" he questioned, smirking.

Neji smirked, as if expecting the question. Wordlessly, he dug his hand into his pocket, and, after a bit of searching, pulled out a silver key. "That's the spare key to her house." He stated simply.

Akane's eyes grew, but his expression was still that of doubt. Neji sighed and turned the key over, pointing at something on the handle. Just below the thinner part of the key was a small engraving of a blooming cherry blossom flower. Akane gave up.

"Fine. You win." He relented. "But she is still our teammate. Nothing will change that."

The battle that had started out as a test to see whose taijutsu was stronger had now turned into a sheer battle of wills. The battle of wills which tested the unwavering determination the two combatants possessed. All that was left now was to see which one would cave first, which one would submit to the pain and forfeit, or lose the match. And Neji had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't going to be Sakura. In the three years that he'd known her, and the two years that she'd been genin, the rosette had developed an almost frightening tolerance for pain. And the brunette knew that that tolerance would show itself very soon.

He turned his eyes back on the battle and watched as Sakura got closer and closer to Lee, who was rooted to the ground.

"Now, that wasn't very nice." The rosette commented as she wiped a trickle of blood from her chin with her good hand. "I'm afraid I've grown tired of your games. This ends. Now."

Before Lee could as much as attempt to stagger to his feet, Sakura was onto him, kicking, slashing, punching, and Kakashi was shocked by the fact that all her attacks were spot on, even with the undeniable agony that must've been coursing through her arm.

"Lee-san! Move!" Hikari called out when one of the rosette's kicks sent the teen crashing into a wall. "Why isn't he moving? She'll kill him!"

Gai frowned. "It's not that he isn't moving." He replied, eyes never leaving Lee. "It's that he can't move." He said, watching with sadness in his eyes as his student was tossed around by the pink-haired genin, memories flashing through his mind. Lee…

"Ah, Sakura-chan's back to normal, thank Kami!" Akane sighed, relieved, temporarily forgetting about his argument with Neji as he slumped against Kaoru. "I was almost worried that she would… you know, with the broken arm and all…"

"Yeah." Kaoru agreed, oblivious to the looks they were attracting. "We shouldn't have doubted Sakura. Lee-san is good, but he's got a long way to go to get to Sakura's level. He doesn't stand much of a chance now. It's only a matter of whether he'll gain some sense and give up, or get reduced to mush if Sakura uses that forbidden style."

"Lee is not a guy who will surrender to something like this." Gai's indignant tone rang with certainty, startling Kaoru, but only serving to irritate Akane.

"Then I suggest you invest in a matchbox to collect him in." the redhead replied scathingly. "'Cause if you and your student have too much pride to forfeit, you can be sure Sakura will make him feel pain."

Gai didn't reply, so everybody turned their eyes back to the match; it was clear Lee was on the losing side – he was slower, and his attempts at dodging Sakura's attacks didn't work. But suddenly, when Sakura pulled away to take out some kunai, he changed. His back straightened, a smile blossomed on his face, and, when Sakura threw the kunai in her hand, he dodged. He disappeared out of the way, his usual speed back.

"How-?!"

"Why-?!"

"When-?!"

"He's back to normal!"

Now it was Gai's turn to smile. "Lee will win this. There is one thing he has yet to show us." Suddenly, Kakashi snapped his head towards Gai, eye widening at the implication. Most genin ignored the argument that took place between the men, and settled for watching the battle.

Lee stood alone, and suddenly, a blast of air and chakra erupted around him, sending a gust of wind, chakra and debris at the audience. Everybody shielded their eyes, and when they looked down, the rosette seemed frantic, throwing kunai and shuriken at the cylinder of chakra that suddenly surrounded Lee, only to have them bounce back at her.

"Stop it!" she screamed.

Kakashi sighed. So, she realised what he is planning to do…

And then it was over. Lee's skin was red, his eyes wide, veins throbbing on his forehead, his temple. But a small hue of chakra still surrounded his body. And then he moved.

When he moved, he ripped up the ground completely, the tile breaking under his feet. There was no indication of where he was, or where he was going to hit. And suddenly, Sakura was gone too.

Everybody looked around, trying desperately to locate the duelling teens, and it was only thanks to Shikamaru that they finally found them.

Neji closed his eyes, and he could feel the redhead beside him do the same.

They could not stand to watch as the green-clad genin played football with their teammate and friend respectively as the ball.

Sakura… they thought. Please be okay…

Why… am… I… not… moving?!

The rosette struggled to come to terms with the sudden realisation. She had never felt so helpless. All she could do was stick out her arm in hopes of blocking the kick aimed at her face, but otherwise, she was defenceless. In mid-air, with one arm shattered, and an opponent whose movements she could not predict, she could do nought but wait and hope that it would all be over soon.

And then it was; a hard kick connected with the arm she stuck out as the one final defence, and sent her spiralling towards the ground. Then she was suddenly jerked to a stop and as she forced her eyes open - when had they closed? – and realised that Lee had caught her by her obi.

"This… ends… here!" Sakura could see as his muscles strained and ripped, but he managed to pull her towards him nonetheless, and deliver the strongest punch Sakura ever had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of.

That was it.

"No… no…" Akane murmured while gazing, unblinking, at the hole in the ground in which Sakura was once again buried in. But this time he knew it would be a miracle if she got out of it. "No… no no no no no!"

"A-Akane, calm down!" Kaoru chastised, but he too had his hand over his mouth in shock, and tears glistened in his eyes. The brunette cast a curious glance towards the Hyuuga to judge his reaction:

Neji's eyes were wide in fear, his mask of calmness broken. The stiff lines around his mouth had vanished, and his lips were parted in a small, shocked 'o'.

Only silence could be heard.

One minute, Sakura lay in the darkness, still and cold, with a pool of something warm and sticky pooling around her body. She was in agony. Her body burned with every small, shallow breath she took. She could feel the blood gushing out of her stomach in fast flowing rivers, leaking her life-force away. The rosette took one last, shuddering breath, and accepted the inevitable. She closed her eyes.

Then suddenly she was on her feet again, the pain pushed to the back of her mind as a blue glow surrounded her, totally out of her control, and she felt more like a marionette than a master as her own chakra seemed to move her body, make her climb out of the hole and squint her eyes at the blinding lights of the arena. The shocked faces of the audience were like a distant memory, hazy and easy to ignore, and all she focused on was the crumpled body of the boy who led her to this state.

She was seized with the sudden urge to destroy.

The chakra around her settled and sizzled around her body and grew, becoming twice the width and height of a normal human, encasing her in its protective baby-blue glow.

Amazed, she stretched her arm out in the direction of Lee and watched, fascinated, as the chakra followed, settling centimetres above Lee, almost as if awaiting further instructions. Curious, Sakura opened her palm, and moved her arm down; the chakra mirrored the movement, settling around Lee like a blanket. Satisfied, the rosette smirked, and clenched her fist.

She relished in the pained scream that followed the movement.

When Sakura climbed out of the hole and raised her head, the audience held their breath; as the light shone into her eyes, it made the emerald pools look like liquid silver – cold, empty, and dangerous.

Kaoru shuddered. "This fight is over." He stated, looking dejected. Just as the words left his mouth, they were further proven by the rosette below them as her chakra sparkled one last time; the chakra surrounding her sizzled and in a grotesque impression of an arm, surged towards Rock Lee, and roughly grabbed him. For a few seconds, everything was silent, until the pained scream ripped through the silence as Lee was literally crushed.

Then the arm snapped back like a whip, pulling Rock Lee with it and slammed him against the wall.

Everyone waited with bated breath for the taijutsu specialist to move, to get up like he had so many times before.

But he didn't.

The spandex-clad teen lay on the floor, bloodied and motionless. He didn't move. Couldn't move.

"I declare Sakura Haruno the winner of this match."

Sakura smirked, then swayed. Suddenly, her legs folded beneath her and she collapsed, the chakra around her simmered out of existence, and the unforgiving crimson flowing from her body spread in a pool around her.

"Somebody get the medics!"

There it is.

I slaved over this chapter for over two weeks.

I'm still not completely satisfied, but I wanted to get it out for you guys before my exam start next week.

Exams… *groan*

Well, I hope it's OK, and if you guys have any questions or opinions, please leave them in your review or a PM.
(P.S. the mystery of how Sakura managed to get up after Primary Lotus will be explained next chapter!)

Hope you liked it!