I do not own Naruto! Or any of the music in this fanfic! I will do my best to cite my music sources in the end of the chapters in the A/N! I do, however, own the OC's.
"Are you ready?" Orochimaru asked as he watched Tayuya spoon a bite of baby food into Akuma's mouth.
"It's too damn early for this!" I groaned loudly. It was seven in the morning – far too early to be awake. I churned the cereal in my bowl, having already yelled at Kabuto for putting milk in it. Hinata had stayed the night for some last minute training, and Kabuto suddenly handed the bowl off to her before getting me a new bowl.
"I'm sorry you're not a morning person," Kabuto said before finally getting his own breakfast.
"Kabuto, do us both a favor and watch over Akuma during the Chunin exams," Orochimaru said suddenly.
"Ah, sir, I wanted to watch the exams with you so I could watch Sarah-sama's progress!" Kabuto objected, and Orochimaru glared.
"No," Orochimaru snapped angrily.
"Ah, Orochimaru-sama, let us watch Akuma-sama!" Jirobo volunteered quickly. "Some of the Jonin will recognize us if we go to the exams and they might try to kill us. Besides, four of us protecting Akuma-sama will be much safer if someone tries to kidnap him again or worse! Or, better yet, let Akuma-sama come with you! Tayuya could act as his mother!"
"They already know Sarah-sama's his mother, you idiotic fatass," Tayuya yelled in protest.
"Perhaps," I supplied thoughtfully. "It could work under an impression of you being his nanny. I did tell some of the Jonin that we had a babysitter. Besides that, we could easily say that we acquired a second one after he was kidnapped by a ninja in the midst of traveling to the Chunin exams."
"That might just work," Orochimaru commended. "But that brings a problem – Jirobo already mentioned that the Jonin would recognize them. My point is, what are you going to do to remedy this fact? The exams are in a few hours, I hope you have a plan ready."
"I do," I grinned. I may have been lazy and tired still, but now that I was up, I was up. I'd been plotting my strategies for each enemy*.
I stood in the arena, and watched, looking around for the Kumogakure ninja.
"Stop fidgeting! Face forward, towards the guests," Genma scolded, and I glared at him with bloodlust. "Welcome to the Third and Final Task in the Chunin Exams!" he shouted suddenly before the crowd began applauding and I saw a small dot at the top of a roof in a watching location approach another. Orochimaru had arrived for my match.
"Take a look at the line-up, there have been a few changes made," Genma said, showing us the layout graph from the preliminaries.
I stared at the piece of paper in front of me:
Ino vs. Choji Neji vs. Kiba Shino vs. Kirari me vs. TenTen/Hinata (victor) Hinata vs. TenTen**
"Nice tournament matchups," I grinned – I was last, I had the advantage against everyone since I was the student of a Sannin. Orochimaru had given the Kirigakure boy a curse mark, and the genin had gone to Genma in order to withdraw, knowing what had happened to Sasuke had scared him. "When can we start?"
"Ino and Choji, stay here," Genma instructed. "The rest of you, head to the balcony in the waiting area."
"Joy," I muttered. "Hey, Ino-pig, you'd better not lose until I fight you. You're one of the few I want to fight."
"I'll be happy to give you a mind reeling issue," she grinned. Ah, if only she knew what I'd done to her old man!
I headed up to the balcony with the others. This was so boring! My match was one of the later ones, and aside from analyzing their jutsu (which would be a waste of time), there was nothing to do! I sighed, bored. I could tell the crowd was getting extremely excited, just waiting for a good fight. I would be sure to give them one to keep them on the edge of their seats – when the time came.
"Ready to go, Fatso?" Ino teased, and Choji performed his expansion jutsu. Idiot.
"Ninja art: mind transfer jutsu!" she yelled, and immediately collapsed.
"I, Akimichi Choji, withdraw from this exam," he said, raising his right hand.
"And our winner is Ino Yamanaka!" he announced, and Ino released her jutsu.
"Sorry, Choji! Better luck next time," she sneered. Some teammate she was, I scoffed.
"I suggest you forfeit," Neji said simply, and Kiba glared at him in response.
"I've been training with Otonin all month – no way I'm losing to you!" Kiba yelled out, and Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Fine," Neji said sternly, activating his Byakugan. "Feel free to stop the exam when you feel the need."
"Ninja art: All Fours Technique!" Kiba growled, and Neji performed a rotation to stop him.
"It's useless!" Neji yelled, pressing Kiba's tenketsu in his arms and legs. "If you can't send chakra to your arms and legs, you can't attack."
"Akamaru, go!" Kiba yelled, and Akamaru pissed on Neji and right in Neji's eyes. Ouch – that would hurt later.
"Aagh!" Neji said, grasping at his eyes in pain, while Akamaru bit him where it hurt. "OOWW!"
"Ease off, Kiba! Give him a chance to recover!" I yelled down, and he nodded. "I want to see some action, not some crying, Hyuga! Get up!"
"Easier said than done," Neji murmured, his eyes watering. Akamaru charged again, and Neji immediately performed the rotation once more, knocking the ninken off his feet. I sighed again – this battle wasn't going to take long at all, and I wanted action!
"Akamaru, come on!" Kiba yelled, and began trying to channel chakra.
"Give up already!" Neji warned, pushing his liver chakra tenketsu. "Rotation!"
"Uaah!" Kiba yelled, and Akamaru was about to race over when Neji performed a well maneuvered kick and sent him flying.
"Inuzuka is unable to continue. Hyuga Neji wins!" Genma announced, and I sighed in exasperation.
"My my, your ninja are quick to finish their fights, Tsunade," Orochimaru chuckled from behind the two kage's. The Mizukage was there as well, Orochimaru leaning up against the back wall behind them. All three leaders had two bodyguards – Tsunade had two Jonin, Orochimaru had Guren and Sakon & Ukon (who were posing as one person), and the Mizukage also had two Jonin. The two Kages were in the chairs, and Orochimaru would have been scowling at the fact that the two were both women if not for the fact that Sarah would now be advancing to Chunin and he could see how much she'd grown in a year's time.
"It's in their nature," she replied. "They're fighting their comrades – they want to end it quickly without doing too much harm."
"That's very considerate of them," the Mizukage said quietly.
"This is why they're weak. Let's say that two rival clans both hire Konoha ninja to fight their battles for them against each other. Let's say that said fight had to be to the death. Would your ninja do so, or would one of them surrender and not get paid for the mission?" Orochimaru countered.
"I see your point," Tsunade commended. "Point made. Now shut up so I can watch the show. I want to see what the legendary Kaguya clan can do."
"Even I haven't seen her in action," the Mizukage admitted sheepishly.
"I have a Kaguya in Otogakure, but he said he was the only one in his clan with their kekke genkai," Orochimaru taunted, and the two kage's wheeled around to face him. "He came to me as an orphan, and I took him in. he's rightfully mine."
"Fine," the Mizukage grumbled. "But his cousin, sister – however they're related – is mine."
"Quit now while you still can," Shino warned, and Kirari grinned.
"I'd like to see you make me," she mocked.
"Begin!" Genma said, and Kirari's bones immediately began protruding from her arm from inside her sleeve.
"It won't work," Shino said.
"We'll see," she taunted, and threw her fingertip bones at him like Kimimaro had Gaara.
"What the-?" Shino gasped in shock as they made impact with his shoulders. "Shrapnel?"
"Bone," she corrected, and pulled up her sleeves. "You like? This is my kekke genkai, special to the Kaguya clan, consisting of my cousin and me."
"Bone," Shino muttered, and I could tell he was trying to plot a strategy.
"Tired? Woozy? Bored?" she taunted further, and Shino backed off. "Not going to work! Ninja Art: Corpse summoning Jutsu!" she yelled, weaving hand signs, and bones and skeletons flocked to her once more.
"One trick pony," Shino replied, fending the skeletons off with his bugs as best he could.
"Fool," she yelled, causing the spikes to come out of the ground once more, creating a bone forest.
"An ace in the hole is good," he said simply. "But two is better!"
"What?" she asked shocked. She was now faced with an army of beetles on one side, and Shino on the other. "Over my skeleton!"
"Suit yourself," he murmured, and the beetles covered Kirari's body. I grinned, knowing he'd been playing exactly how she planned him to. "Impossible!"
"Die," she said firmly, sticking her bone into the inside of Shino, in a vital location that was dangerous, but not deadly. Shino fell to the ground, trying to use his bugs to stop the bleeding.
"It's no use – I've distracted them with a smoke bomb made of pure chakra," she grinned, "You're finished!"
She put a bone to Shino's throat, and he was unable to defend himself for the bones protruding from her ribs, legs, and arms.
"Aburame Shino can't continue. Kaguya Kirari wins the third match!" Genma announced, and I grinned in mirth, biting down on my lip in excitement. I knew Orochimaru was pleased with Kirari's progress. "TenTen and Hyuga Hinata, please come forward!"
"I'll do my best," Hinata said firmly, all trace of fear gone. "Sarah-san and her husband were kind enough to help me all month. I can't let them down!"
I was suddenly aware of the ground rushing up to meet me, and was quite glad that Kabuto and Kakashi had volunteered to keep an eye on us genin up here. I heard them muttering, and Kabuto was saying something about "low blood sugar". Oops – I hadn't really thought of that until now since it had never been a problem for me since I was a sugar food addict until I came to this world. Come to think of it, I hadn't had a single piece of candy since I'd started the Chunin Exams!
"Sarah, get up, your match," Kabuto said shaking me. I shook my head to relieve the blurriness. "Hurry – eat it! It's chocolate!"
"Thanks," I breathed as I began chomping down on it. Right as I finished the last bite, the crowd applauded loudly. "Huh?"
"Let me sum up," Kakashi said quickly. "Ino, Neji, Kirari, and Hinata won their fights. Your fight with Hinata will begin as soon as they clear up all of the weapons."
"Thanks," I breathed as I got back up. "Do they know?"
"Yeah, but they also know the cause. You're still in," Kabuto soothed, and I fist pumped.
"Denina, Sarah, please come down!" Genma shouted, and I leapt off the railing, using my chakra to cushion my fall by sliding down the wall.
"Any complaints?" I asked, and Hinata shook her head. "Fast, or Slow?"
"I-I-I don't care," she said simply. "I won't run away. Not after your husband and you spent so much time helping me so much."
"I'm going to perform a jutsu and let you reconsider," I said gently, weaving the hand signs for a summoning after putting a dab of my blood on my summoning "contract". "Kuchiyose! Orochi!"
Beeaaaaaaaiiiiiiiii! Orochi, my Serperior, now at level fifty-six, was boiling mad. He liked to be summoned most, but was summoned the least in public. He was still mad at me, I guessed.
Hinata shuddered as Orochi glared at her angrily.
"Still no? Orochi, Leer, Leaf Tornado, Leaf Blade, and Vine Whip!"
He performed the requested barrage, and Hinata stumbled backwards into the tree. Her arms were bleeding, and her legs were bruised from the whippings.
"I-I can't," she repeated, and began dodging Orochi's attacks. I sighed, then dodged backwards as she used a gentle fist to send Orochi back.
"Not bad," I admitted. "But how do you like this? Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" I weaved more hand signs, and suddenly the air was filled with a large amount of fireballs with poisoned Kunai in them.
Hinata dodged them all, but the fireball burnt the tree and the kunai proceeded to hit Hinata in the shoulder. She countered with the gentle fist, beginning to hit a few tenketsu.
"Nice try!" I laughed as my doppelganger vanished. I grinned, invisible, and rammed the back of her head with my fists balled together in a knot. I was rewarded with her crumpling to the ground unconscious as I dropped the invisibility jutsu.
"Denina Sarah wins," Genma announced. "And thus concludes the first rounds! Ino and Neji, step forward!" I leapt back into the stands, and sat back to watch the show.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino yelled, and Neji dodged calmly. He walked up to her, pressed a few tenketsu calmly, and walked away. When Ino got back up, she charged towards Neji angrily.
She was thrown backwards into the wall by his rotation, and didn't get back up.
"Hyuga Neji is the victor! Kaguya Kirari, and Denina Sarah, please step forward."
Neji headed back to the stands while we left once more. That battle had been so quick that I'd barely been able to finish three sticks of Pocky!
"Scared, Denina?" she taunted.
"You wish," I grinned, knowing that her weakness was Genjutsu, the art of illusion. As soon as Genma said to begin, I began casting. I pictured Orochimaru and Kimimaro in my mind, and locked eyes with her.
"It won't work," she said shuddering.
"It will," I assured her as I put my palm to her forehead, making my genjutsu stronger.
I began imagining Kimimaro in all sorts of unholy pain, and Orochimaru laughing his head off in the meantime. He probably was up in the stands. I then began imagining Kirari herself in a world of pain.
"No! Please, not Kimimaro! Anyone but him! No! Stop, please! I'll do anything!" she began pleading after about five minutes.
"What the hell…?" Genma muttered.
"Genjutsu," I told him with a grin. "Beg, Kirari. Beg for his pain."
"I'll do anything, just stop hurting him! Give me his pain!" she begged, and I laughed maniacally. I began recasting the genjutsu, altering it so that she was the one in pain, and probably in as much pain as Harry Potter had been when Voldemort had been using the Cruciatus curse on him. She began screaming and writhing, my chakra sending waves of pain through her. Her one weak point and I had practiced it every day with one hundred doppelgangers unless Orochimaru had forbidden it. Sadly, he wouldn't let me train at all during the last half of my pregnancy with Akuma.
"Beg," I purred. "Beg for freedom."
"KILL ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "KILL ME, PLEASE!"
"Withdraw," I ordered, and she began sobbing more.
"I withdraw! I want out! Get me away from here!" Kirari began screaming frantically, and I smiled. I looked at the position of the sun – she'd lasted twenty whole minutes, and that was a record for anyone other than Orochimaru. Even Sasuke hadn't lasted that long, and it was my genjutsu versus his Sharingan.
"Nice try," the medics said as they carried her shaking frame, which was in the fetal position, off of the field.
"The final match between Hyuga Neji and Denina Sarah will now commence!" Genma shouted, and I gaped in shock.
"You're joking, right?" I asked, and he shook his head. "Okay, let's get this over with."
"Begin!" Genma shouted, and Neji and I stared at each other.
"Why not call this a draw?" I asked, and Neji assumed the Gentle Fist stance, his Byakugan coming out. "I'll take that as a no. Damn. Well, you leave me no choice. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A hundred or so doppelgangers appeared from nowhere and began trying different strategies to beat him. After about five minutes, they were all gone, and the real me was below him with an earth style. I leapt out, intent on hitting his chin, but hit a doppelganger instead. Damn, he'd seen through it!
"There!" he yelled, trying to hit my tenketsu. I disappeared in a spray of mud, and used it to my advantage. I still had that bottle of pepper spray in my pocket – I didn't see why not to use it now.
"Take this!" I smirked, spraying his eyes suddenly. He clutched his eyes once more, and I threw the bottle to the ground, pounding his gut with my knee. I felt him begin a rotation, and dodged backwards before he could finish.
"You-You!" he growled, his anger rising though he was calm.
"Bitch? I know," I smirked, performing doppelgangers to perform multiple jutsu. "Kuchiyose! Lucifer!"
Seven jutsu went off immediately at once, and I grinned at my luck. I'd learned how to combine fire and lightning jutsu to create plasma jutsu once they mingled together. Neji was hit with a barrage of plasma jutsus from all directions, and his blind spot was infiltrated like it had been with Kidomaru.
A doppelganger threw a kunai at the blind spot – a poisoned kunai that blocked off the kerekurai, the chakra network. He lost control of his kerekurai, and I began maneuvering to confuse him. While he was busy trying to dodge all my doppelgangers, I puked up an army of snakes.
He was bitten by some, but it didn't change his speed or pace. He came at me to perform the gentle fist, and my worst fear gave me the courage and power I needed to continue once Neji pressed 64 of my tenketsu. I smirked and began opening the eight inner gates.
"Gate One, Kaimon, Release!" I yelled – it was the only way for me to open them since I'd learned by watching the episodes in the Anime where Lee fought Gaara. I lunged forward and performed the Forward Lotus once more.
Neji got back up and remained firm. I grimaced, and thought about how Lee had done it. Kaimon was used to break Gaara's sand shield, Kyumon to recover, then Seimon and Shomon to make his move, and Tomon to finish it off. Well, if Lee could do it, then so could I! My eight inner gates were now more prime than his after a year of training in taijutsu with doppelgangers.
"Gate Two, Kyumon, Release!" I gasped, and winced as my body began healing. "Got to end this! But – ah!" I weaved hand signs, calling on Renate this time.
"What the hell?" Neji yelled in shock as he jumped back shocked. Well, there went all my chakra.
"Get out of our way, vermin!" Renate shouted at Neji as she used the move Earthquake. Her ability of Sandstorm, which brought out Sandstorms with her, was probably blinding him as well.
"Renate-san, I need a Dark Pulse," I gasped, and her mouth began glowing black, her entire body following. She unleashed it, focusing it in on keeping it in the arena so no civilians got hurt.
"No way," he growled as he went flying backwards losing consciousness.
"Denina Sarah is our winner!" Genma announced, and I waved my right hand to salute to the crowd, leaning on my legs with my left arm. "Would you like to fight a Chunin?"
"Are you out of your mind? Eh, I don't see why not as long as I get to pick them," I gasped as I evened out my breathing. Now I knew why they called the eight inner gates double edged swords. "I can pick from the Sound, right?"
"Uh, sure, go ahead," he said, looking up to Tsunade for the answer as I grinned.
Kabuto wasn't yet a Jonin, although he was on a par with Kakashi, so he was out. I swallowed nervously, wondering which one to choose. It occurred to me then – I was bloodthirsty and Kidomaru liked to turn his fights into games. What would happen if I put the two together?
"Kidomaru!" I called up, and he handed Akuma over to Tayuya.
"Another fight? I don't think it wise," he fretted, still smiling, and I glared at him.
"Do I need to alert a certain…" I began, and he shook his head quickly. "Good. Then let's begin, and…"
"May the odds be ever in your favor!" we yelled, and leapt back away from each other.
He prepared an arrow to shoot at me, but I quickly and agilely dodged using doppelgangers to maneuver. I weaved hand signs for what I now christened the Rabbit Jutsu, the one I'd created, since it ended in rabbit. I ran, tired and happy the jutsu didn't take up much chakra any more. Kidomaru just barely missed me with his arrow, and I grabbed the cord to send an electric current of chakra into it.
He crumpled into the ground temporarily in a heap. I quickly began casting genjutsu and preparing a Chidori. I would tell the ninja of Konoha that I'd learned it from Sasuke if they accused me of thievery, even though I had stolen it from Kakashi. I performed the Chidori perfectly as Sasuke and Kakashi had done before – but missed my target by Kidomaru's web steering me off course. I ended up hitting him in the upper gut area, just missing his stomach and diaphragm.
"Nice shot," he gasped, holding his wound in pain as I removed the weights as I had before. I needed all the chakra I could get for this next set of moves that he would likely be pulling out of his sleeves.
The idea hit me suddenly – I was a Sound shinobi, sound was known for their music as attacks, and I loved singing. I knew just the song that I could play while opening another inner gate that would help me fight. A number of songs to help get me riled up to fight – Mirror B's or a Cipher Peon battle theme; Devil Take the Hindmost Reprise or Beauty Underneath; or, if I felt crazy, Welcome to the Club Furry Remix or I just can't wait to be king. I was personally vouching for the latter.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.
Kidomaru summoned a large spider that produced an army of spider hatchlings, and I suddenly felt nauseated. Looks like I wasn't fully over my arachnophobia. I began gagging, and weaved the hand signs to turn my vomit into snakes.
If you can imagine two armies clashing, that's what his spiders and my snakes looked like. I kept vomiting snakes by the dozen, my body not stopping the jutsu until I was done vomiting – which was going to take a while. The two armies clashed, and poured over the entire battlefield. I was soon covered in spiders and Kidomaru in snakes. He began yelling, I began screaming, both in full panic mode. His curse mark was activated to second state, and I was reaching the end of my rope. I began to hear "To Die For" from the Lion King Soundtrack, and began looking for a place of refuge to escape. Kidomaru had tried climbing the walls, until the snakes created walls of their own to reach him.
I could vaguely hear some of the Jonin and Chunin of the Leaf trying to break up our fight, but to no avail since they were either covered in snakes or spiders, depending on which one they wanted to help. I could hear some of them panicking, Shikamaru among them, about trying to knock us both out.
"Enough!" the Mizukage yelled as she, Tsunade, and Orochimaru leapt down onto the battlefield.
"Konoha ninja, full retreat! Now!" she yelled out, and her Jonin and Chunin escaped as best they could.
"Get to the walls if you can't get out!" the Mizukage encouraged. "And get ready to swim!"
"No! You'll kill the ones we're trying to save!" Tsunade argued, and Orochimaru nodded his idea. "Mizukage-sama, get to the edges as well – Orochimaru and I are going to try a combination together from the wars."
"Right," she said before dodging past me.
"Sarah, if you can hear me, get to the west side! Kidomaru, the east!" Orochimaru ordered, and Tsunade began making her way towards the East side.
I was going to die here. I may as well crawl into the fetal position or the army squat to make it official.
"Summoning!" I heard Orochimaru and Tsunade yell in unison, and suddenly the spiders flooded off of me. I was atop a giant snake with Orochimaru, and Kidomaru atop a giant slug with Tsunade. "Are you alright?"
I coughed a couple times in reply, choking on my own saliva in shock. Everything hurt a lot, my throat and gut more so than the rest of me, and I was almost completely out of chakra. He should be taking that as a no.
"I would take that as a no," Tsunade called over. "Alright, Mizukage-sama, your turn! Konoha ninja that are still inside the arena, get on top of the slug or the snake if you don't want to drown!"
The ninja raced for a spot on the slug's head. Anko, Ibiki, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy came to the snake. I was lying down still, wanting nothing more than to stay there and cry until I vanished from embarrassment. My own jutsu getting out of control – how could I have been so stupid?
"She did well," Kurenai said gently. "Her jutsu was powerful when repeated, and matched up to that Kidomaru's spider jutsu."
"Pity it got out of hand," Asuma muttered. "I would've liked to see the end of it."
"Tsunade, is Kidomaru still conscious?" Orochimaru called over, and Tsunade stared at him.
"No – he's out like a light. Why?" she called back.
"Sarah's conscious," he reported loudly. He then muttered, "Crying like a baby, but conscious. I don't blame her – arachnophobia – she should have told me…"
"You didn't know?" the six Jonin asked in disbelief.
"How could I? She hasn't run in with any spiders except for Kidomaru's in training," he said shaking his head. "Even then, she made sure that he kept them away from her. I should have known from the few signs that she'd given…"
"You're such a jerk wad, Sensei," Anko accused.
"Thank you," he smirked. "Get some rest, Sarah. I daresay you've almost killed yourself with these jutsus…"
"Hai," I murmured before bursting into a coughing fit. As soon as it was over, I felt his chakra invade my kerekurai, and I was soon fast asleep.
And dreaming of becoming Chunin.
.
*Neji – same tactic as Naruto, only I would use my invisibility jutsu to hide while my doppelgangers fought him.; Hinata – she'd seen me training, and had seen me beat up Sakura, so I'd warned her to withdraw. She'd more than complied.; Kirari – motion for her to withdraw, or pop her arms and legs out of her sockets. She knew to let me win.; Ino – not to get caught in her mind jutsu and confuse and scare her; Kiba – he would withdraw, same as Hinata, but only once things got to where I was bloodthirsty like with Sakura or if he was too badly ; Shino – call forth Reshi, Korosu, or Lucifer. If I got too desperate I would summon Orochi, Phantasm or Renate; TenTen – vomit enough snakes to block all of her weapons, and definitely summon Phantasm; Choji – use a new Sound amplifying jutsu to take him down like Dosu had; Cloud Ninja – kill him without mercy using invisibility
**Think of the Chunin Exams chart in volume 10. It's the same match-up; Ino got 1; Choji, 2; Neji, 3; Kiba, 4; Shino, 5; Kirari, 6; Sarah, 7; Hinata, 8; TenTen, 9; Kumonin, well, whatever, who cares?
Like I said before, I own no music in this fanfic! The songs I listed in order are: Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Nintendo GameCube; "Welcome to the Club" is done by… idk, really – I just got it off of YouTube randomly. "Caramelldancen" is done by Caramell. You should listen to it – totally awesome! "Beauty Underneath" & "Devil Take the Hindmost" are off of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Love Never Dies", sequel to Phantom of the Opera. Epic movie, btw.