Chapter Six-
He should have known there was something wrong with the girl. The second he noticed she didn't react to his killing intent, he should have known. But he had ignored it, thinking that she was just stupid and didn't realize what was happening. Instead, it was Orochimaru who had been stupid. That was no ordinary move she had done back there. No ordinary Genin could have been fast enough to get in front of Orochimaru without him noticing. In fact, he was sure that there were only a few shinobi in the entire Leaf Country who could do that. It also bothered him that she had actually been able to wound him before he could get away. His injuries weren't that bad, in fact he had almost completely repaired them, but it was the fact that a mere Genin was able to injure one of the legendary Sannin that bothered him. Who was that girl? Suddenly, he sensed a presence that he had not sensed since he had left Konoha all those years ago.
"Anko, huh?"
He decided to go off and visit her, making up his mind that he would ask Kabuto about the red-haired girl later.
Sasuke stared Sasumi's immobile form, unsure if he was dreaming or not. He lifted her up and saw that she appeared to be unconscious. This was not good, both his teammates were unconscious and probably injured. He lifted the Kunoichi and jumped toward where Naruto hung. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed at her lack of weight. He pulled the kunai pining Naruto's jacket to the tree branch out and dropped to the ground, catching Naruto on the way down.
Sasumi didn't appear to be injured, but the way she had shook right after that Orochimaru had bitten her… Naruto, on the other hand, had splinters lodged in his back and his blood had all but dyed the back of his jacket red. He turned his blond teammate over and winced at the sight of his back. There were only four or five splinters, but they were huge and had imbedded themselves deeply in his back. Sasuke carefully pulled off Naruto jacket as best he could without ripping it and started to slowly pull out each piece of wood one by one. Even though Naruto was unconscious Sasuke could feel him tense every time he removed a splinter. Half an hour later, he finished and was about to wrap his teammate's torso in bandages when he noticed something strange. The huge cuts on his back seemed to have gotten smaller. No, that was impossible. He knew Naruto had an unusual amount of stamina, but he couldn't heal that fast…could he? He looked at them closer and realized that they had also gotten shallower. For cuts to heal this fast…it was almost inhuman!
InhumanFor no apparent reason, he was reminded of what the villagers had said that day.
"…does he think he is? What is the Sandaime think…"
"…monster…"
"…thrown out of here, that little monster…"
"Let's get out of here before he goes berserk. Why is he…"
"…won't he leave us alone?"
"Monster…"
"shouldn't be here…not normal."
"…freak…"
"…should just die…"
"That demon…"
"…be killed, he shouldn't be…"
Then the image of Naruto attacking Orochimaru , his eyes red instead of blue, invaded his mind. Who exactly was Naruto?
He shook his head, as if to clear his confused thoughts. He was imagining things, that was the only explanation. He was tired and his brain was making stuff up. It was the only logical solution. Now if only he could get himself to believe that.
He wrapped bandages around the blond, intentionally not looking at the previously grotesque wounds. After he was done, he turned towards Sasumi. He would have inspected the bite on her right arm, but her left hand was tightly attached to it and he gave up trying after a while. What bothered him was that the area around him was quiet. Too quiet. Suddenly , he had that annoying feeling that something bad was going to happen. By nature, Sasuke was not the kind of person that would run from a fight. But with two injured teammates to take care of, the odds of them surviving were very slim. Deciding it would be better if they didn't stay in one place, he pulled the blond on to his back and grabbed Sasumi around the middle. He found a good place hidden under a tree's root. As Sasuke put them down, he noticed that Sasumi's breathing was uneven. Her face, however, was completely blank, which unnerved him. It was obvious that she was in extreme pain by her breathing and by the sweat that was dripping down her face. How her face remained blank even while she was unconscious seemed strange. For Sasuke, keeping an emotionless façade was a chore, especially with a moron of a teammate. But it seemed to him that it came naturally to Sasumi. He then wondered, along with the countless people who had met the red-haired girl, if she actually felt anything at all. He looked up at the sky found that it was night. Hadn't it only been noon when they had entered to forest? Looking toward his teammates he realized that he wasn't going to be getting much sleep that night.
"Not that I need it anyway."
Naruto opened his eyes and blearily stared at surroundings.
"Not home," he thought incoherently, "Where the hell? Oh, yeah, Chuunin Exam."
His eyes widened as he remembered the night before. He tried to move, but his back hurt like hell.
"Moron, don't overexert yourself."
He looked up to see a very annoyed and tired looking Sasuke. He inwardly sighed in relief that his dark-haired teammate was alive. Outwardly, however, he was less kind.
"Bastard," he growled, trying to ignore his back, "What happened? Where's Sasumi? Where's that crazy snake lady?"
"Stop moving. You're going to kill yourself."
Naruto stared at him. Sasuke sounded concerned. Was he dreaming?
"And if you die, our team will be disqualified."
Naruto refrained from rolling his eyes, remembering the fact that Sasuke was not a morning person. Typical bastard.
"Answer the questions, bastard!"
Naruto wanted answers, couldn't the bastard see that? Yes, Naruto liked the word 'bastard' very much, thank you.
"The 'crazy snake lady,' as you put it, is gone," Sasuke said.
"No, really!"
Sasuke whacked him on the head.
"Listen, will you!"
"Oww! You can't do that, I'm injured!"
"Watch me."
"Bastard."
Naruto glared at him, rubbing his head. Hitting an injured person? Had Sasuke no shame? Evidently not.
"Why did she leave?" he asked, after all wasn't she trying to kill them?
"Sasumi made him."
" Him? That was a guy?" then it hit him, "Wait, did you say Sasumi?"
Sasuke nodded. Naruto just stared.
"How-" he started, "Wait, where is she anyway?"
Sasuke pointed somewhere behind his shoulder.
"She's unconscious," the dark-haired Genin explained, "That Orochimaru guy tried to do some jutsu on me and she…uh…stopped him."
"Orochimaru? Was that that crazy snake la-uh-man?" he paused. "Are you sure it was a guy, cause I was pretty sure that was a girl."
"He was wearing a disguise, moron."
"Oh."
That made sense. No, wait, no it didn't.
"Why would he wear a disguise?" he asked, now honestly confused.
And then it came to him, "Wait, is he one of those guys who like to dress up as girls? Weird. He totally had me fooled!"
"Naruto?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
Naruto glared up at him but decided not yell at him. He concentrated on pulling himself up. Once he got into a seated position he turned his head slightly and saw Sasumi lying a couple meters away. Her clothes were dirty, probably from lying in the dirt, but he could see no blood on her.
"Oi, Sasuke, what happened to her anyway, she doesn't look hurt."
"That Orochimaru guy bit her and then she collapsed."
Oh, well, that would explain why he didn't see any blood as Sasumi wore thick bandages on both arms and legs. He stopped and thought over what Sasuke had just said.
"Wait, did you say sh…he bit her?"
"Yes."
Naruto gave up. There was no way he could understand it way.
"So, where's our scroll?"
Sasuke scowled, "That bastard burned it."
"WHAT! So, it's gone? That fu-"
"Shut up, you moron! Do you want to attract attention?!"
Naruto was too distracted to hear him. They had four days left to get two scrolls, before entering the forest he would have thought it was enough time, but now…
His thoughts were distracted by a shuffling noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the red-haired girl pulling herself into a sitting position.
"Oi, Sasumi, you're awake!"
"Sasumi, what happened?"
She shrugged, looking more tired than Naruto had ever seen her, "I don't know."
Her voice was monotone as usual. She sounded normal, well, as normal as she usually did. Which didn't make sense. Naruto turned toward Sasuke, intent on asking him what they should do now, but stopped when he saw the look on his face. Sasuke was looking at Sasumi warily, as if he suspected she was going to attack him. Confused, he looked back at Sasumi who was avoiding both their gazes.
"Okay…is it just me or am I completely missing something?"
"So," he said, breaking the awkward silence, "What are we going to do?"
Sasuke blinked and turn toward him, "We should keep moving. It might take us a few days to recover, though…"
"We don't have a few days, bastard!"
"I know that!" hissed his dark-haired teammate.
"If we don't keep moving, we'll get attacked."
"What's wrong with getting attacked? We'll just kick their asses and steal their scroll!"
Sasuke stared at him, "Okay moron, I'll make it simpler." Inwardly, Naruto seethed. " You are injured. Sasumi is recovering from a jutsu of some sort and I have not slept for more than twenty-four hours. Understand? If we get attacked, the chances of surviving are practically none. So let's move."
He pulled Naruto onto his back, to his displeasure, which did not go unheard.
"Put me down, bastard! Who the hell made you in charge?"
"Uzumaki-san, unless we want to get killed, moving is probably the only option we have right now."
Sasumi was talking? Amazing!
"Exactly," said Sasuke, grumpily, "Now stop struggling."
Sasumi and Sasuke may have teamed up against him, but if they thought they could make him shut up, they were in for a big surprise.
A day and a half later
"Naruto, if you don't shut up, I swear I'm going to-"
Naruto had recovered beautifully since the Orochimaru incident and now they were stalking a group a particularly unobservant nins from the Water Country. I mean, if they hadn't noticed them yet, a little talking wouldn't hurt, right?
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Bastard."
Sasuke glared at him, "Remember the plan, moron?" he whispered.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Sasumi?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then let's go!"
"Not yet, moron."
"Then when?"
"Now."
"What! You-"
Half an hour later they had gained a scroll (heaven) and Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the face of those poor Water nins once they realized they were in way over their heads. His snickering, however, seemed to bother his black-haired teammate, because he kept glaring at him.
Their luck ran out, unfortunately, when they couldn't seem to find any teams. They were resting by a stream and eating fish when Naruto came up with an ingenious plan. Yes, he was truly a genius. While he was looking at the scroll it came to him that if he had a scroll of approximately the same size he could make a copy of it. Now the only problem was the inside. When he explained this to Sasumi, however, she didn't agree with his thinking.
"Uzumaki-san, they told us to not open it for a reason. If we do we'll be disqualified."
"They won't even know, though. C'mon, Sasumi, loosen up!"
The red-haired girl blinked at him and then suddenly tensed. She stood up her hand gripping her kunai holder.
"Sasumi? What-"
"Don't move," she said, cutting him off.
"What-"
Suddenly she whirled around and then stopped, relaxing.
"Sasumi, what-" he started, but was cut off by someone else this time.
"You should listen to her, Naruto-kun. I wouldn't open that scroll if I were you."
"Huh?"
Yakushi Kabuto stood before the surprised blond and his red-haired teammate who was apparently named 'Sasumi.' Strange name. Fitting though, she certainly was a strange sight.
"Kabuto-san! What are you doing here?"
"Making sure your team passes the exam, otherwise Orochimaru-sama would have my head," he thought.
He was spared having to answer by the third member of their team rushing forward, looking warily at him.
"What do you want?" the Uchiha asked.
"Well, Sasuke-kun certainly knows how to make friends."
"I got separated from my team," he said, " I see you haven't come up with another scroll yet."
Immediately the boy scowled darkly.
"Touchy, touchy."
"You trying to steal our scroll?" He asked suspiciously
Kabuto sighed, "I don't need to. After all, I already have the two I need."
As he pulled out his two scrolls, the boy's eyes widened and he knew he had got him.
"Well, I'll be off now, nice seeing you."
He turned and walked away from them.
"Wait for it…"
"Wait!"
He turned around, looking at the black-haired boy expectantly.
"How about…you fight me."
He blinked for affect and put on a faintly surprised face, "A fight?"
"What the hell are you talking about, bastard! Kabuto-san helped us!"
The red-haired girl looked unperturbed.
"Shut up, this probably our last chance to get a scroll."
He smirked slightly; sometimes he was amazed at the stupidity of people.
"That's not true."
Both boys looked up at him in surprise and the girl's expression didn't change. Seriously, something about her annoyed him.
"Huh?" said the blond-haired boy intelligently.
After he explained to them that they could find teams easily if they moved toward the center of the forest, they followed him without a fight. Sasuke-kun was still suspicious of him and he was resigned to the fact that that would probably never change. By nightfall they could see the tower. It was when they began to move towards the tower that he sensed the genjutsu. He had thought that they had a long night ahead of them until the red-haired girl spoke up.
"Where are you going?" she asked as they started off toward the tower.
"That tower place, Sasumi, haven't you been listening."
"The towers over there," she pointed to the left.
"What? She saw through the genjutsu? But she didn't reject it!"
"What are you talking about, Sasumi?" said Sasuke-kun, "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
He saw something flicker in her eyes and then she looked towards him.
"Interesting."
"Genjutsu," he muttered, moving his hand in a hand seal, "Kai!"
The entire scenery changed and the tower appeared to have moved from where it had stood before them seconds ago to the left where Sasumi had pointed.
"What the heck did you do, Kabuto-san? Now it's over there!"
"It was an illusion," he said calmly, "Which means we are being watched."
As if on cue, three nins dropped from the trees. Before preparing himself to fight, Kabuto felt a huge amount of killing intent, but only for a second. The only thing that worried him slightly was the fact that it hadn't emanated from the nins before him, but from behind him, where a certain red-haired girl stood.
Sasumi ignored the stabbing pains that were crawling up her arm. She was surprised that she had survived at all and was determined not to break her cover now. If only that Yakushi Kabuto hadn't shown up. She couldn't relax for a second with him around. She knew he had no intent of killing them, but after seeing his memories it made her uneasy being around him.
And then there were the nins from the Village of the Hidden Rain. Thankfully all of them were older than her and hadn't recognized her, if they had it would have been disastrous. In fact, there were a lot of nins from that village, but she doubted any would recognize her. Or even look at her. As she had sifted through their memories she had actually found images of herself as a child that they had gained from passing her on the street. It scared her how much she hated them, just because of the symbol they wore on their headbands. For a second she had let those feelings out and she was sure that the Sound nin noticed. Great. Another thing, he would tell Orochimaru about her. And of course, as soon as they gained their second scroll, Yakushi's teammates had shown up.
Now she stood in a room of the tower being lectured by the Sandaime Hokage, trying not to show any indication that she was in pain.
He explained that there needed to be a preliminary match, because of the high amount of Genin that had made it to the third part of the exam. Then some Jounin who looked like he would fall over any second took over and then Yakushi left because supposedly he lost his hearing in one of his ears. Naruto was devastated. Sasuke was slightly suspicious and relieved. She had mixed feelings. She was glad he was out of the way, for now, but also now that he was out of the Chuunin Exam he would have a chance to talk to Orochimaru, who just happened to be standing in the corner.
"Someone notice!" Sasumi inwardly begged.
If he attacked her teammate again her cover surely would be broken. Another wave of pain came over her and she dug her nails into her palms. Orochimaru would definitely pay for this. She noticed Kakashi looking over at them and she forced herself to appear to be paying attention. This was not how she imagined the Exam to be like at all. It couldn't get much worse than this, she thought as she watched Sasuke and one of Yakushi's teammates face off. How wrong she was.
Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I would mention your names but…yeah, I'm lazy. I know this chapter was mostly a recap of the manga, but next chapter will be fun. Lots of violence and curse seal action! Kukuku! Points for anyone who knows what that means! Anyway, next chapter will have what seems like Ino bashing, but I'll have an explanation at the end. So don't hate me. Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Sleeping Soundly. Please review!