AN: Okay, this has to be some sort of record for me! I wasn't planning on writing this so soon after the last chapter but once I started it just kind of happened. Maybe it's due to the different writing perspective making this a new sort of beast to tackle. I don't know. Either way I wrote this super quickly.

As stated in the last chapter, this chapter is from the perspective of characters other than Rōzu. Four of them in fact!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this newest chapter!

Interlude I: I'm With You In The Dark…

Temari

If you had asked Temari of the Sand how she'd expected her first Chunin Exams to go, she could honestly say that she didn't see this coming.

It had all seemed so simple to her, all things considered anyway. Advance through the exam to the finals where the Alliance of Sound and Sand would finally stick it to the Leaf after so many years of them taking advantage of her home. Prosperity would finally come back to the Hidden Sand, her people would no longer have to scrape by while the Leaf grew fat on their good will. She could see the logic in her father's decision and would have made a similar call in his position.

The only fault she found in the scheme was the use of her brother, Gaara.

She would openly admit that a good part of her feared her younger sibling, scared of just what would happen if he one day decided he didn't want her around anymore. It wasn't like she could hope to stop him. Her uncle couldn't when he'd tried to assassinate him and he had been a Jonin. All it would take is an unfortunate choice of words and it was entirely possible that Gaara would snuff her out.

But there was a part of her that felt sorrow for him too. From the moment he'd been born, his entire life had been taken from him, all in service of the village. Being the container for a Tailed Beast was already a terrible fate; Gaara just so happened to have the singular worst version of that fate. To be denied even the basic need of sleep, lest he be dragged under the control of his tenant, was a truly horrible fate. The cost had been his very sanity, barely held on by his psychopathic need to prove his existence.

Gaara did not have a good life.

Temari wished she could free him of his pain, in a deep part of her heart she tried not to acknowledge. She knew her brother Kankuro felt the same and they both secretly hoped to change things when one of them ascended to their fathers position of Kazekage. But that would not come for years, at the least.

So, she followed her father's command and travelled to the Village Hidden in the Leaves with her team and a few others from their village.

She'd never seen so much green. It was like a never-ending oasis, so full of life that it made her grit her teeth at the unfairness. That didn't mean she wasn't curious to explore, get her bearings for when the assault finally occurred. Her sensei had ordered Kankuro to accompany her, claiming some swill about a lady not being alone in a foreign environment. At least it gave them some time away from Gaara.

Apparently, she'd chosen the wrong brother to travel with, as Kankuro decided that a little kid running into him was an affront to his pride. The fact they'd learned the kid was actually the grandson of the Third Hokage after the fact just made it all the luckier he hadn't had a chance to follow through on his threats against the kid.

That's where she'd run into her newest point of interest and source of frustration. Rōzu Haruno-Hatake-Uchiha-Uzumaki, a pink haired Leaf Genin that had seemingly decided to take every mind altering drug they could get their hands on. It was honestly a little amusing to watch as he proceeded to ramble nonsense.

Then Gaara had shown up and the world had turned upside-down and sideways.

No one in her village would dare engage Gaara unless strictly necessary, whether through fear, hatred or both. Her brother had pretty much never had a positive interaction with anyone in her village and any who remotely tried didn't last long from Gaara's paranoia.

So when Rōzu had made the baffling decision to flirt with Gaara, drugged state notwithstanding, she'd almost expected they'd be fighting their way back home.

Only… that hadn't happened.

No.

Gaara… Had blushed.

Not only that, his voice had cracked when he'd ordered their departure, moving quicker than she'd ever seen him do so outside of travel on missions.

It was honestly a little cute.

What wasn't cute was what Gaara began to do next. After that day, he'd not left his room, door closed and barely a word spoken. Temari wasn't even sure he was eating and had taken it upon herself to bring him something. They needed to be ready, after all.

She quickly regretted her choice when she walked in to see Gaara had formed his sand into a perfect model of the Leaf shinobi. He'd been so transfixed by his sand copy that he'd practically jumped when she set a plate next to him, blushing once more and ordering her out of the room. Squeaking as he did so.

Gaara had a new obsession and Temari wasn't sure if this was worse than usual, all she knew was that it was bound to end badly in some way. Her brother having a crush of all things, that was completely new territory.

When the Exams had finally begun, Gaara hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of the subject of his attention, sneaking glances every chance he had. The amount of self control she had to employ not to tease him about it was astronomical, fighting every instinct she had as an elder sister. She'd almost broke when she saw the wonder in his eyes when Rōzu conducted their strategy in the first task.

She shouldn't have been surprised when Gaara had decided to seek the other boy out once they'd entered the Forest of Death. She certainly shouldn't have indulged him in the endeavour.

Maybe if she'd put her foot down, Gaara wouldn't have tried to kill the leader of the Village they were conspiring with.

The moment Gaara had realised what was happening, he'd gone berserk, throwing everything he had at the Missing Nin in an attempt to kill him. Temari wasn't sure how successful he would have been, the Sannin making a hasty retreat soon after, leaving them along with Team 7.

Now, they were camped out in the roots of a large tree, watching the Uchiha try his best to keep Rōzu alive. Whatever Orochimaru had done to the subject of Gaara's affections, it had left them on the brink of death. Already, his teammate had been forced to restart their heart once.

Temari hoped they pulled through, if only to have the opportunity to throttle them. The potential reaction her brother would have if they died was a close second.

Sasuke

Sasuke Uchiha did not scare easily.

Not anymore, at least. His brother had made sure of that.

So as he looked down at the body of his teammate, barely clinging onto life as he tried to keep them alive, he could admit he was scared. Scared beyond his wits. It was that fear that spurred him on, kept him going despite how his body protested and his chakra slowly trickled away.

He refused to lose.

He refused to give up on his best friend.

It wasn't something he'd planned, after the destruction of his clan Sasuke had only considered one goal, to avenge his family. That left little time for such trivial things as friendship and bonds. He needed power.

So when Rōzu had begun invading his space, causing disruption at every turn, he'd tried to push him away. But the stubborn freeloader hadn't budged, popping up everywhere and never giving him a moments peace. Never stopping, never giving up.

Never giving up… on him.

After a while, Sasuke had simply had to accept that Rōzu was just a part of his life. An annoying, taxing and expensive part of his life. He'd never be rid of Isōrō.

Before he'd even realised it, they had slipped into a routine and their presence became second nature.

And Sasuke had started to care. As much as he didn't want to, he cared about Haruno and actually missed them on the odd occasion they weren't there. Hell, even the Dobe had somehow become tolerable due to Rōzu's presence.

They were a unit.

They were a team.

They were family.

Maybe not of blood, but of bonds of strong friendship. Rōzu and Naruto… they were his brothers now…

And he loved them both.

So he would be damned if he let his brother die now.

"Any change?" Naruto murmured from his side, sliding in to sit beside him, his voice subdued. It sounded so wrong, for the never-ending ball of positivity that was his teammate sounding so fucking lost.

Sasuke had to suppress a growl. "He's not having fits anymore…" He finally murmured.

"That's… That's good, right?" The blonde pressed.

"It's not bad." The Sand kunoichi spoke up. Why they hadn't left already, Sasuke wasn't really sure, it wasn't like they had a scroll to give them. If he had to guess, it had something to do with the red head who'd been staring at his teammate since they'd set up camp.

Letting out a grunt of agreement, Sasuke continued his work. It was an improvement, at least, though not as much as he would have liked. There was still a very real chance that if he stopped, his pink haired friend would lose their fight and drift away.

"Okay…" Naruto finally replied, obviously still worried beyond belief.

"Dobe…" He began in a soft tone. "You won't do Isōrō any good just sitting there fretting. Go… Go see if you can find anything for us to eat." Turning to look at the blonde, he gave the best smile he could manage. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it when he wakes up."

Naruto looked ready to protest before he pulled back, frowning in thought, nodding his head. "Yeah, sure. I'll get a banquet, believe it!" He declared, even if it lacked the usual enthusiasm, it helped to lighten Sasuke's spirit a bit.

"I'm sure." Sasuke huffed, watching the blonde exit their makeshift base, grabbing ahold of the third member of the Sand team to help as he did.

Once they were away from the clearing, Sasuke pulled out a soldier pill and quickly swallowed it. The rush of extra chakra would keep him going. He just hoped it would be enough.

"You're not allowed to die, Isōrō. You hear me." He whispered underneath his breath. "Don't even think about it."

Anko

Pain lanced through her body as the Cursed Seal on her shoulder activated, sapping Anko of all her strength, her legs giving out from beneath her. Even opening her eyes to glare at Him took far more effort than it should have, every part of her wanting to scrunch her eyes shut in a vain attempt to fight the pain. The fact He simply chuckled at her defiance infuriated her to no end.

"You've grown, little Anko-chan." His smug voice trickled into her ear like poison. "It makes a sensei proud to see."

"Like you were ever a good example of the word!" She spat defiantly, trying to stand, only to fall back into the harsh surface of the branch on which they stood.

"Such harsh words for the man who brought you up from nothing. You're breaking my heart." Orochimaru chastised, like he had all those years ago, as he crouched in front of her.

"What do you want? Here to assassinate the Hokage?" Anko asked, eyes drifting down as another wave of pain raced through her.

"No, no. I have wider goals than killing that old ape, as much as it would please me to do so." He giggled, cupping her chin to meet his eyes. "No, my objective is someone you know personally. I'm sure you can guess, he's certainly one of a kind… or one of a pair."

Anko's eyes widened, terror filling her as the dots connected. "Sasuke…" She breathed.

"Very good!" The Sannin praised mockingly. "Quite the talented young man, him and his teammates. Just the sort of person to take my mark."

"You didn't!"

"I didn't." For once, his tone wasn't amused, a small flicker of irritation coming through. "No, your little protégé scuppered that little plan. A shame they won't make it through the night, you certainly found an interesting diamond in the filth."

No…

Not Rōzu! He had to be lying!

"I tell you no lies, Anko-chan, just inconvenient truths. But they are unimportant right now. I have a message for you to deliver my old sensei…" Orochimaru brought himself close to her face, their noses nearly touching as he peered into her brown eyes. "I care not for what parameters you have set in place, if Sasuke Uchiha does not make it to the finals of the Chunin Exams… Well, I'm sure you can guess."

With his warning given, he drew back and turned away. Anko feebly envisioned throwing a kunai into the man's back, only to find her body topple over as the last of her energy faded, leaving her prone on the bark of the large branch.

"Farewell, Anko-chan…" His voice drifted through the wind as he disappeared, leaving her alone to scream in anguish.

Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of her students. Of Sasuke. Of Naruto. Of… Rōzu. Those three little weaklings, who she'd agreed to help train on a favour, who'd had to face a monster. Her monster.

Those three, who didn't look upon her with suspicion and scorn, without the judgement others had for her tainted past. They were some in the Forest, no doubt wounded and scared and…

No, Rōzu wouldn't die. He was made of stronger stuff than that, he was greater than that fucking seal and he'd make it his bitch. Anko had to believe that, couldn't face the idea of not seeing the way their eyes lit up when they had lessons together.

It felt like an age before she felt a presence draw nearer, her call for back-up finally reaching her, for all the good it did.

"Anko." She felt herself being rolled over as they called her name. Seeing the single eye of Kakashi shouldn't have surprised her all that much. "What happened?"

"Orochimaru!" Anko strained out, gripping onto Kakshi's arm with what strength she had left. "He attacked the kids. Got Rōzu!"

With that, she felt herself slip away into darkness. Hopefully, she'd not have to wake up to a funeral.

Naruto

"I still think we should have left her." The makeup clad ninja from the Sand Village complained for what felt like the tenth time, once again causing his passenger to tense.

"And I told you, Kanky, that's not how I roll!" Naruto snapped back, continuing to bound through the trees back towards where they'd set camp.

"It's Kankuro!"

Oh, Naruto was aware. But the guy had made a point of bitching and moaning from the moment they'd left camp and he felt justified in annoying the puppet user. It was pretty clear to Naruto that Kankuro was from a pretty well off background, his act showing how little he knew how to rough it like he did. Taking him down a peg was a great way to keep his mind away from… hard topics.

Ignoring the outburst of his companion, he glanced back towards the redheaded girl on his back. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe, believe it!" She gave a shy smile at his words, gripping onto him just a little tighter.

He'd not expected to find someone out here alone when he'd left to find food, let alone facing down one of the giant bears of the forest. It took barely a second for him to decide to help, taking down the bear and saving the girl. That would make a good story to tell Rōzu when he finally woke up. Saving a damsel was what heroes did, right?

Too bad he wasn't able to save the quiet girl's teammates. Though by the way she'd looked at them once the battle had ended, maybe it was. Especially with the fresh, definitely human bite marks that littered her arms. Who goes around biting peoples arms like that? Vampires?

Well, the Grass Kunoichi had given up her team's scroll right after. Bringing her with them felt like a good trade for a chance to beat this stupid test.

"Nearly there now." Naruto informed the girl as they got closer to their camp. "Then you can meet Rōzu and the Teme. You'll like them, even if Teme can be a bit of a prick sometimes."

That got a giggle, bringing a smile to his own face.

Landing in the clearing by the base they'd made, he slowly lowered the girl from his back and made his way over to the tree his teammates were inside. "I'm back." He spoke just loud enough for them to hear, giving a rhythmic knock on the wood before slipping inside.

Rōzu was still out, though it didn't look like they were in so much pain anymore, looking more like they were having a bad dream. Still, Sasuke still had his hands over their chest, the green glow of the healing jutsu still filling the chamber. "Any change?"

"His heartbeat is still a little off but… I think they might be okay if the fever goes down." Sasuke said, voice hoarse from exhaustion as he glanced up at the blonde. "Who's the tag-along?"

"Oh, I saved her from a bear."

"And you brought her back here?" The blonde Sand Kunoichi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wasn't going to leave her alone, her teammates were gone and she looked exhausted." Naruto defended, before pulling out a scroll from within his shirt. "Plus she gave me her team's scroll."

"Dobe." Sasuke grumbled fondly, rolling his eyes as a smile twitched at the sides of his lips. Naruto gave a grin in return. "She got a name?"

"Ka-something. She was kind of stuttering at the time." He rubbed the back of his head bashfully. Hopefully, the redheaded girl would be able to tell them once everything calmed down.

"Uh… Guys!" Kankuro called out from the clearing. "We've got company."

Eyes widening, Naruto turned and rushed back out into the clearing, cursing at what he saw.

Nine shinobi surrounded the clearing, all sporting a musical note symbol on their forehead protectors.

"Shit."

AN: And in come the Sound Team, with some back-up they didn't have in Canon. Chalk that up to Orochimaru meddling after Gaara showed up at the end of their encounter in the last chapter. So that should be fun for our heroes, right?

Also, this chapter will push us close to 40k words (past it on FF)! Considering this is my first fic to go past 10k, I think that counts as some sort of achievement. A silver trophy at least!

Any comments/kudos/reviews are greatly appreciated!

MurderousLord!