Chapter Twenty Three: Heaven Scrolls Bare no Angels
A/N: The Forest of Death isn't a friendly place Sachiko-chan… be careful!
Sachiko: I'll do my best! –Salute-
Each team sped off into the Forest of Death the moment Anko opened the fenced gate. Every team was dying to get their hands on another in hopes they had the scroll that was needed. Shrill cries rang throughout the forest to alert all the other genin that one team was down but there were many else to go.
"Sounds like the fun is beginning," purred Anko with a grin as she looked to her beloved Forest of Death.
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Team 7 was fending off a Rain village ninja. Naruto had gone to use the restroom and when he came back Sasuke had attacked him. Sakura, misunderstanding Sasuke's actions, began to yell at him to stop. Sasuke turned around to tell her to take a good look and that the Naruto before them was just someone using a transformation jutsu. The new Naruto had been missing the scratch on his left cheek and he had his shuriken holder misplaces on his left leg instead of his right. The guy untransformed and became another ninja with a strange mouthpiece. Naruto finally managed to escape from his ropes and just came in right on time to throw a kunai at the threatening shinobi. Team 7 scared the other shinobi off.
"We need a password," Sasuke suggested to his team.
"What kind of password," asked Naruto with concern.
"A secret one… Something only for the three of us… Now listen closely I'm going to only say this once. The question will be, 'When does a ninja strike?' And the answer will be, 'A ninja strikes when the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike."
"You got one a little shorter," whined Naruto.
"No Naruto, that's it."
"Come on Naruto I already memorized it! It's easy!" Sakura gave him a disgusted look as if he didn't have any brains whatsoever.
"I got it! I got it! I just thought it was going to be a password… not a pass-speech," complained Naruto as he folded his arms rebelliously.
"I'll take the scroll," said Sasuke as he stood up.
"Wait a minute Sasuke," Naruto said but stopped mid-sentence. Someone had cut his right cheek with something. The same creepy grass ninja from before had appeared and with vengeance.
Team 7 had gotten separated for the moment. Sasuke and Sakura found each other and regrouped but not before Sasuke demanded the password from her. Sakura answered back word for word. A stumbling Naruto came onto the scene and this time Sakura demanded the password. Surprisingly Naruto got the password word for word as well. This was the problem.
Sasuke launched a kunai at the imposter. Sakura freaked out again, thinking Sasuke was doing something wrong. "I gotta hand it to you, you're quicker than the last one," Sasuke commented.
"What do you mean he got the password word for word," Sakura screeched.
"You think the real Naruto would get that word for word? Not in a million years," said Sasuke, waiting for the fake Naruto to transform.
It turned out to be the creepy Grass ninja. Sasuke and the Grass ninja engaged in some banter and then engaged in a battle. Things weren't looking good for Team 7, especially on Naruto's end. He had been distanced from his team greatly. He came face to face with a giant snake. It coiled around him like a little devil and then swallowed him whole.
"When this is over," said the Grass ninja to Sasuke and Sakura, "One of us will have both scrolls and the other will be dead."
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Sachiko and her teammates had received an Earth scroll and were in search of a Heaven Scroll. They had no luck so far because every team they had stumbled upon only had another Earth scroll. Sachiko could tell Katsura and Kentaro were incredibly frustrated. She frowned at the two. They wanted to do everything themselves and wouldn't let her do anything. Sachiko knew that if she could speed up with kekkai genkai she could just whiz through the forest, find a Heaven scroll, snatch it, and return back to her team, all in ten minutes tops. She knew they wouldn't go for the plan but she had to try anyway. Things were looking to hopeless.
"I can use my kekkai genkai… I can get us the Heaven scroll in no time… you guys would just have to wait here for me," Sachiko offered to the two Suna ANBU black ops in disguise.
"That's no good… Say you get caught or killed… Then its game over," Kentaro said softly. Sachiko frowned again. Kentaro was completely close minded.
"What's your kekkai genkai," asked Katsura. Sachiko knew she would spark his interests more than Kentaro. Katsura was a thinker. He often stayed quiet but that's because he was always thinking of a plan.
"Inazuma… I can move as fast as lightning," Sachiko breathed out, almost proudly.
"Is there any way you can take one of us with you?" Katsura began to bite on his thumb, this was a good sign, he was thinking hard.
"I can try to take the both of you… but you'd have to hold on tightly… If you formed a train behind me and held on I could move through the forest with you two… I wouldn't be as fast but we still wouldn't be easily detected," Sachiko explained to them.
"Let's try it," Katsura suggested to Kentaro, "Is there any chance that this won't work?"
"If you guys let go of me… you'll be scattered somewhere in the forest… there's no telling where you'll end up… I won't be able to find you guys if that happens," Sachiko told them. She was a bit scared that something like that would happen. Things weren't going too well for them.
"If that happens," said Katsura with a bite of the thumb, "We will meet back at this spot… Agreed?" Katsura threw a kunai in the ground to mark the spot.
"Agreed," said Kentaro and Sachiko in unison.
"Well okay then," said Kentaro with a smirk, "Let's get this plan in action."
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"Looks like I came just in time," said Naruto atop a safe tree branch. His friends had been cornered by the grass village ninja. "By the way… what was that password again?" He grinned widely as he stared down to the others. "Okay, so anyway, what's the password again?"
"Forget it," Sakura said angrily, "We know it's you!"
"Naruto get out of here," Sasuke cried out, "You don't know what you're up against! Go now! While you can!"
"Well Naruto," said the grass village ninja, "You managed to get away from my friend."
"He doesn't get it… he doesn't know what he's dealing with," thought Sasuke, his eyes bulged out. "That little idiot is just going to get all three of us killed… I've got to do something!"
"The scroll right… That's what you want. Take it and leave us in peace," Sasuke told the Grass ninja, shocking both his teammates.
"What's wrong with you," Naruto cried out, "We can't just hand over the scroll to the enemy!"
"Very wise… very sensible," cooed the Grass ninja with a smirk.
Just as Sasuke threw the scroll to the Grass ninja, Naruto intercepted it and stole it. "Stop being the hero Naruto," cried Sasuke. Naruto threw a heavy and unexpected punch on his teammate. "Stupid fool, you don't know what you're doing!"
Naruto was panting heavily like a beast. "I may not know the password but I know who I am. You, I'm not so sure about. How do we know you are who you say you are?"
"It's me you loser," Sasuke shouted.
"Liar," Naruto accused in a hoarse growl, "You may look just like him… you may sound just like him… But there's no way you're the Sasuke I know! I don't care how tough a fight you've been through! Surrendering? Giving up the scroll? When did Sasuke become a coward?! You keep saying I don't understand what's going on but I do! You've choked… That's what it is!"
"Sad but true," cooed the Grass ninja again, "It doesn't matter… As far as the scroll goes… I'll just kill you and take it."
"Let's see you try it," cried Naruto, attacking the grass ninja full force with a kunai.
The Grass ninja quickly summoned another snake to attack Naruto. Naruto barely avoided the snake as it tried to smash him against a tree. Naruto began to pant as he was crouched on the tree branch. The snake was slithering his tongue around, smelling his prey's scent.
"Careful he likes to play with his food," the Grass ninja warned as the snake gave a swing of the tail and knocked Naruto down.
Naruto awakened just in time as the snake was about to take him in his mouth. "Eat this," Naruto cried, landing a blow to the snake. His eyes glowed an eerie red as he sent many flying punches to the snake's snout.
"Look at him," Sakura said in awe, "He's gone nuts… Where did he get that power all of a sudden?"
The snake dealt a blow to Naruto. It caused him to smash directly into a tree branch. He lay there motionless as his teammates could only gawk.
"That fire in his eyes," said the Grass ninja, "There's no mistaking it! Now then… let's see how well you do Sasuke." The Grass ninja and her snake turned their direction toward the Uchiha boy at full throttle. They were about to give him a good shaking up when Naruto leapt in the path of the snake. Naruto had stuck a kunai into the snake and smashed its snout into the tree branch. His power had been overwhelming. Sasuke and Sakura could only stare and try to understand just what was taking place. Naruto began his heavy pant again, his head bowed low.
"Hey kid," Naruto said to Sasuke without looking up, "You're not heard are ya?" He looked up at Sasuke to see his expression and said in a low growl, "Scaredy cat." Sasuke looked back into Naruto's eyes. They were no longer blue but a bright red color. His pupil had turned into a small slit like that of a feral creature. "Standing there frozen like a frightened rabbit… No way, you're not the Sasuke I know," said Naruto as the Grass ninja's tongue unknowingly wrapped around Naruto's abdomen.
"I see some of the Nine Tail's chakra is released," hissed the grass ninja as she used the five pronged seal against Naruto's stomach, sealing the Nine Tail's power.
"Sasuke," Sakura cried out, "Hurry! Do something!"
The Nine Tail Fox's powers slowly faded away from Naruto and his eyes returned to blue. The grass ninja removed the scroll from Naruto's backpack and carelessly throw Naruto to the side. Sakura used a kunai to catch Naruto by the jacket. Sasuke still was frozen by his fear. "Okay, say what you want about Naruto… Say he's a pest… but at least his doing something! At least he's no coward," cried Sakura to her raven haired teammate.
Sasuke's eyes were closed tightly as he envisioned his brother talking to him. Telling him he wasn't good enough and to live with the shame. "NO!" Sasuke grasped his kunai, hands turning pale. Sasuke had gotten over his fear and was ready to fight the Grass ninja.
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Sachiko and her teammates were racing through the forest. To a regular person it would seem they were a strong wind. To a lower ranked ninja, it seemed like an enemy wind based attack. They ran past several teams, all bearing Earth scrolls. Sachiko took in deep breaths as her feet carried her and her teammates faster and faster through the forest. There was a point when they didn't come across a team for a long time. They found a team below, hurt and some dead. Their scrolls had to have been stolen from them.
Sachiko stopped for a moment with a click of the heels. She turned to her teammates and said, "We're not having any luck. Every team we've come across either has an Earth scroll like we do or they don't have any. It's like all the teams have already gotten their Heaven scrolls. This isn't looking good at all!"
"Don't give up," Kentaro said, giving her a nudge, "We'll find one."
"It would help if we even found the Sand Siblings," said Katsura, "Knowing the Kazekage's son… He's bound to have a nice helping of both scrolls."
"What do you mean," asked Sachiko, unsure of what Katsura was thinking.
He nibbled on his thumb a bit before speaking, "He has uncontrollable bloodlust. I'm sure they had no problem obtaining the scroll they needed… but that doesn't mean he will stop. He will kill every ninja team he comes across… That means he'll have extra scrolls…"
"Good thinking," Kentaro chimed in, "But I doubt he'll willingly give one up."
"True," said Katsura to his teammate, "But his brother or sister will… Besides, Gaara doesn't want us to fail this mission either. It'll count as a mission failed for him. His record is flawless and I'm sure he's going to keep it that way. Are you in or out?"
Kentaro and Sachiko looked at each other. Both were sure of their decision. They said it together like true teammates, "We're in."
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The Grass ninja had revealed herself not only as a formidable opponent but as something else entirely. Anko's fears and suspicions had come true. Unfortunately she wasn't close enough to save anyone from the grass ninja. The Grass ninja was really that devil of a Sanin, Orochimaru. He was a snake summoner and had a disturbing sense of humor to go along with his long tongue and snake eyes. He was a sight for sore eyes and h had given Sasuke a lovely little vampiric bite called the Curse Mark.
"I just gave him a parting gift," said the Grass ninja that was really Orochimaru. "He'll seek me out and desire my power." Then he left them there; Sasuke in pain, Sakura crying, and Naruto unconscious.
"Naruto," cried Sakura desperately, "I need you! Sasuke's hurt!"
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When Sachiko finally spotted the Sand Siblings, they weren't the only ones she spotted. Gaara had wanted to fight against some Rain village ninja. They all were tough looking but Sachiko knew that looks could be deceiving. Sachiko guessed that Gaara would take care of them in zero time flat.
"Hey kid," said the leader of the Rain village team, "You should be more careful about picking your opponents. You're all going to die."
"They should heed their own advice," thought Sachiko. Kentaro and Katsura had suggested that they shouldn't interrupt the Sand Siblings before the fight. Gaara might be hungry for seconds.
"Cut the chatter. Let's fight… Old man from the Hidden village of Rain," said Gaara, amusement playing about his lips.
"Hey Gaara… Shouldn't we follow them and gather information before we pick a fight?" Kankuro saw this as a wiser decision. "We already have both scrolls, there's no need for us to fight. Unnecessary fights are—"
"—It doesn't matter," interrupted Gaara, "I'll kill everyone we encounter."
"That's why I don't like to be with him…" thought Kankuro secretly to himself.
"Then let's do this," said the Rain village ninja as he unsheathed his weaponry.
Dozens of umbrellas were launched into the air. The Rain Village ninja used a sprinkling needles attack. The umbrellas began to spin erratically in the air and shoot out millions of needles. The needles were all aimed to hit Gaara. Sachiko gasped from her hiding place in the bushes but she knew Gaara would come out unscathed as the needles created a puff of dusty smoke. After the smoke cleared up, Gaara stood in a protective sand bubble. Needles were sticking out from the sand and Gaara stood there looking like a menace.
"Is that it?"
The Rain Village ninja was in complete shock and so he ordered more needles to fly at Gaara only for them to be blocked by his sand barricade. "A rain of needles, eh? Then I'll make a rain of blood fall."
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"His chakra is so huge," said Kiba from his hiding spot. He and his team were desperately hiding behind some bushes. It had been Kiba's idea to go see what was going on. He had hoped his decision wouldn't be the downfall of his team. "Also that sand has a strong smell to it."
"Smell?" Asked Shino, who was hiding next to Kiba.
"It smells like blood," murmured Kiba.
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Kankuro began to explain the mystery of Gaara's power. He told the Rain Village ninja about Gaara's sand based attacks and how they worked. The Rain Village ninja had been in awe, to say the least.
"He controls the sand inside the gourd and hardens it with enormous amounts of chakra. It is a technique only permissible by Gaara, and is used to protect his body. And regardless of Gaara's will, this is all done automatically. In other words, all attacks against Gaara are nullified." The Rain Village cursed aloud as Kankuro said his speech. "You guys cannot defeat our Gaara," Kankuro said, adding the finishing touch.
Both Temari and Kankuro smirked as they watched their brother begin his deadly attack on the Rain Village ninja. First, Gaara placed his hands together and formed a triangle with them. Then one hand formed an open palmed fist, the other close to his face.
"Desert Coffin!"
Sand surrounded the Rain Village ninja's bodied like a slithering snake. It engulfed the man and rendered him immobile. "I can cover your loud mouth and kill you," Gaara said to the man as he pulled up an umbrella. He opened the umbrella and positioned it over himself. "But that would be too miserable on your side." The desert coffin rose into the air. "Desert funeral," Gaara growled as he closed his fist and killed the man, blood raining on his own teammates. "Because there was no time to even feel it. The tears and blood of the dead mixes with an endless quicksand… And further fuels the war." The remaining Rain Village ninja begged but not loud enough to reach Gaara's ears as he killed them as well.
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"This isn't good," Kiba said, "Run! He'll kill us if he finds us!"
Sachiko saw Kiba's team running as fast as they could to a new hiding place. In fact, they didn't realize it but their hiding place was directly next to hers. If she had to, she would protect them against Gaara and that's all there was to it.
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"It's the scroll of Heaven… How convenient," Kankuro said, "We have an extra one. Okay, head for the tower now."
"Shut up," Gaara said suddenly, "I still haven't had enough."
Gaara looked directly at where Sachiko's team and Kiba's team were hiding. Sachiko knew it probably wasn't the best time to ask Gaara for the Heaven scroll but she couldn't let him find Kiba's team. Sachiko was pretty sure Gaara wouldn't fight her. Pretty sure wasn't the best thing to count on though. Sachiko was relieved when she heard Kankuro speak again.
"Let's go Gaara." Kankuro didn't hide his nervousness well.
"Are you afraid, coward?"
"Gaara," Kankuro said taking charge, "You might be okay… But it's too dangerous for us! We just needed one set of scrolls and now we have an extra! We don't need anymore."
"You slacker," Gaara hissed to his brother, "Don't order me around."
Kankuro grabbed Gaara by his gourd strap and lifted his feet slightly above the ground. "Why don't you listen to what your older brother says once in a while?!"
"I have never thought of you two as siblings. If you get in my way, I'll kill you." Gaara slapped Kankuro's hand away from him and stuck his arm straight out, ready to kill the hiding ninja he sensed.
Temari grew nervous and tried to reason with him. "Gaara, stop. Don't be so cold. This is your big sister asking you. Okay?"
Gaara pointed his hand toward Kankuro maliciously and then back toward the bushes. Sand began to fly from his gourd in the same direction. Sachiko knew it was now or never. She stood up from the bushes and revealed herself, "Gaara-sama!" He instantly closed his fist. His sand didn't have a chance to wrap itself around anyone so no one had been affected.
He looked her over with his teal eyes. "Fine then… no blood bath… Kankuro give them the extra scroll," he said in his low threatening voice. Kankuro tossed the scroll to Sachiko and gave her a look as if to say, 'Boy did you guys get lucky.' She nodded in agreement. "Let's go," said Gaara as he turned to walk away.
After the Sand Siblings left to head to the tower Sachiko was more at ease. She plopped on the ground and looked up to her teammates. "Close one, huh boys?"
"It's odd," said Katsura thoughtfully with his thumb in his mouth, "It seems the boy has a soft spot…"
"A soft spot," Sachiko repeated, unsure of what they meant.
Kentaro nodded in agreement. "That's right. You."
"Me? Why would his soft spot be me," Sachiko asked with a worried look. She thought Katsura and Kentaro were talking major crazy talk. "Are you guys sure?"
"Let me put it this way… If it were me or Katsura that had interrupted him…He would have tried to kill us… But not you," Kentaro explained to her, "He's protecting you."
"Protecting me," Sachiko repeated, "I don't understand."
"Forget it," said Katsura, finally removing his thumb from his mouth, "Don't think too hard on it… Just be happy he's not out to kill you anymore…"
Sachiko nodded. "I guess you guys are right."
"Let's get going then," grunted Kentaro.
"We can let the Sand Siblings set the new record for the Forest of Death," Katsura said with a small half smile, "But we can at least come in second."
"But you know what second is right," asked Sachiko with a grin.
"What," asked Katsura.
Kentaro knew the answer and so Sachiko let him go on right ahead. "First loser."
A/N: This chapter was a bit difficult for me. I had to actually watch some Forest of Death episodes to write it. That's why a lot of the dialogue probably sounds familiar or right with it. But like I said, I had a hard time with this chapter. I didn't really know if I wanted to just focus it on Sachiko or not. I ended up focusing on Team 7 mainly because of the Orochimaru thing. I think it was important for me to incorporate the changes going on between Naruto and Sasuke to help the story in the long run. So yeah.
Sachiko: Author-sama, I loved it! But why wasn't I so sleepy once I got in.
Author-sama: Because Sachiko-san… that person wasn't near you to use the jutsu. You were too fast with Inazuma.
Sachiko: What person.
Author-sama: -gasp- I've said too much! REVIEW!
PS. You guys are REALLY going to have to REVIEW because I'm not really sure if you guys like this fanfic or not. I'm getting little feedback here so help me out. And if you do review, make it long to compensate for my lack of reviews please! Thanks!