A Lion's Blood (Book 1, Naruto)

by Ayame.Takahashi15

Alexis Knight is a normal Narutard with a lot of hurt & hatred in her heart. When she unexpectedly turns up in the Naruto world & horrifying things start happening to her, her whole world changes. But is it for the better or the worse? She befriends the whole Naruto cast, even the famous Sasuke Uchiha who is hell-bent on revenge. Furthermore she finds out more unbelievable things f

1. Character Bio

Character Bio:

Name: Ayame Korokawa/Takahashi *(Real name: Alexis Knight)* {You'll find out why it's Ayame Korokawa/Takahashi}

Looks:

Ayame Korokawa/Takahashi has Black hair, Red eyes and a pale peach coloured skin.

blog/alexisbloodycoffin (To go and look at the pic of Ayame. P.S I drew it myself, so I hope it looks OK)

Clothes:

Part 1: Ayame wears a black qipao dress that stops above her knees – it has a red Tsubaki on the left hip – with fishnets underneath. She wears white bandages as leggings and white fingerless gloves. She wears black leaf shinobi shoes and her headband on her arm.

Part 2: She wears a dress similar to Ino, but without the collar – instead a red chocker. She wears a red belt instead and black leaf shoes. She wears white fingerless gloves with thorn-like patterns on. Bandages as leggings.

Special Jutsu:

Ayame is good with long, medium and short range fighting.

LONG: 5 Element style – Demon Wind Shuriken. *Looks like Naruto's Rasenshuriken, only this one cuts you up from the inside out, follows the target and can slice through anything, even Temari's wind*

MEDIUM: She turns into a shadow that can stretch its long claws and even throw its nails toward the enemy. She kills people's shadows, which ends up killing them.

SHORT: She can elongate her teeth, make her ears pointy, let golden brown fur sprout and let her nails turn into claws. *It makes her look like a Cougar and her senses are sharper this way* (Uses Minimum Chakra)

How she got to the Naruto world:

She was watching the very first episode of Naruto for the 3de time, when lightning struck the computer as she was kissing Naruto's cheek on the screen. She blacks out from the electric currents running through her and when she wakes up, she's lying in a tree.

She climbs out of the tree as the place looks vaguely familiar. She walks for miles and when she sees big gates she finally passes out again. She wakes up again and sees she's in an oddly familiar hospital

Personality: Bubbly, temperamental, funny, wise, stubborn, rebel, determined, brave, calm and fierce. So to sum it up, she's totally BIPOLAR

Random Facts:

1: She loves training

2: She's super strong

3: She has hate sealed up tight in her body, hardly anyone ever notices it.

4. She believes rules are meant to be broken

5: She's almost as good as Shikamaru when it comes to strategies.

6: She wants to kill Orochimaru

7: Her favourite colours are red, black and white

8: Her biological parents used her as an experiment. They cut her open and experimented on her. She survived all of the experiments that were done on her. They gave her up for adoption and she was adopted by a sweet and loving family, although she still has the scars on her.

Chap 1: What did you do!?

I sat in my desk chair and twirled around in a circle. Wow, I love these chairs with wheels. I turned back to my laptop and put my earphones on. I was currently watching the very first episode of Naruto for the 3de time. All my friends call me a Naruto fanatic or a Narutard, I don't mind though because I couldn't agree more!

Naruto was currently running away from all the jounin, because of his silly prank on the Hokage faces. I giggled; I would've helped him with his pranks if I was there.

"Alex, Katherine's on the phone for you!" My mom called from downstairs.

"Thanks mum!" I called back.

I quickly paused Naruto, so that I wouldn't miss a single detail and picked up the phone.

"Alexis Knight, where have you been!? Why were you not at school!?" I quickly pulled my ear away from the phone to make sure she wouldn't burst my eardrum.

I sighed. "Relax, Kat. I've only been suspended from school for three days; it's nothing to worry about."

I could hear her sharp intake of breath. "You were suspended…?" it was silent for a while before… "ALEXIS, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW!?"

I winced as her voice travelled to my ear even when the ear piece was half a meter away.

"Geez woman, you're going to burst my eardrum if you keep on screaming at me like that" I said. "All I did was key the queen bitch's – oops I mean bee's – pretty little sports car. Oh and turned it into a paintball target, not to mention a litter box for dog shit..."

There was silence on the other end, before my best friend burst out laughing. "Oh. My. Gosh." She bit out between laughter. "I so missed the greatest prank of all time. How come you didn't tell me to come along?"

I chuckled at her quick change in mood. "I did, remember. But you had to study so I left you to do your work."

I thought back at my awesome prank.

*************Flashback**************

I glared as Briana got out of her pretty little Bugatti Veyron and walked to her awaiting crew. I've always hated popular people who are fake.

Briana Williams is one of the most wealthiest and fakest people at school. She puts on too much makeup and too little clothes.

She's probably slept with all the guys in school already and it's only the 2de year of highs school for us. We're currently in Gr 9 and one of the things I hate the most is that we have something in common. We were both born on the 15th of September and that we were put in school a year too early. So we were both 13 now.

She always picks on me and because of that she always gets a blue eye which ends up getting me a detention, but it's nothing new. I've been to detention more than 12 times this year and it's only April.

I waited for her and her crew to walk into school. They were the only ones in the parking lot, because they were an hour and a half late for school. They were the only ones who dared being that late for class, with me as an exception of course. I smirked. If they knew what I was planning I would probably be suspended for more than a month.

They walked into school with a very fake swing of their hips. I guess they were probably trying to look sexy, only problem was: it looked like they were trying to dislocate their hips – if that's even possible.

I snickered. Payback time Biatches!

For what? Well, they made a rumour that I liked sleeping around with nerds.

So I felt no guilt for this, they had it coming. Well, I never actually felt guilt, so never mind that then.

I got the plastic bag out of my backpack, along with the paintball gun I had packed and my car keys.

First I took the paintball gun and loaded it. I was in the mood to go all out, so that's just what I did. I shot the car with all the paintball balls I had packed, silently hoping there would be one or two dents in the car.

I put the gun back in my bag and then took out the dog crap. I took aim and threw it at Briana's car. "Bull's eye!" I yelled, praising my handy work so far.

Then an idea came to me. A sneaky smile made its way up to my face as I took my keys and tried keying a 'special' word for her on the car, although I tried not to touch the parts where there's dog shit. The 'special' word started with an 's'. Yes you got it right. I wrote slut on her car.

I thought no one was there to catch me, but one of Briana's henchmen – I think her name was Kelsey or something like that – was taking a smoke break when she heard the paintball gun. She was curious and wanted to see what made that sound, so she did. When she saw me thrashing Briana's car, she immediately went to report this to Briana and without me noticing too. And let me tell you, I am one observant chick. Nothing goes unnoticed by me.

I was done with her car by lunch time, so I walked into school. I went by unnoticed by everyone, except Briana. "You little Bitch! I can't believe you vandalised my car like that!"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Karma's a bitch, hey?" I smirked at her outraged face. And before she could lung at me I punched her, sending her sprawling on the ground. "You can't seem to learn that you'll never be able to touch me, do you?" I said, still smirking and shaking my head at her with mock sadness.

"Is that right?" The principal's voice said from behind me.

*********End of Flashback***********

"Hey, Alex I have to go. See you tomorrow, OK?"

I nodded my head before realising she can't see it. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." With that I put the phone down.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My light brown wavy hair was loose and resting on my shoulders and my skin practically glowed. My dark blue eyes were shining with excitement and my full lips were pulled into a grin. NARUTO TIME! I am really obsessed with him, aren't I? I giggled. Sure am. I looked outside my window. I saw thunderclouds rolling in. It looked like a storm was coming.

I played the episode. Before I knew it I was at the part where he beat Mizuki up pretty badly and Iruka gave him his headband. I kissed the stunned Naruto's cheek to make it look as if he was shocked that I kissed his cheek. I giggled.

Then suddenly I heard a loud roar and felt electricity run through my body. Did my computer just get hit by lightning?

It felt like I was being sucked into the screen, but not just like getting more and more interested.

Suddenly I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, so I closed them and my body slumped as I let the darkness take over.

Chap 2: What? I'm in the leaf village?

I slowly opened my eyes. Where the heck am I? I wiggled around and suddenly I started falling. I raised my arm to catch something to stop my fall. I caught a branch from the tree I was sitting in.

Wait, what? Why was I sitting in a tree? How did I even get here?

I shook my head and looked down. Might as well let go of the branch, as I was only a foot or 2 from the ground.

I let go of the branch and landed in a crouching form. It wasn't needed to land that way, but it was instinct.

I looked around; I couldn't see a path so I just started walking in a random direction. This place looks vaguely familiar.

It felt like I have been walking for hours and I didn't eat yesterday, which is becoming a major problem for me. My vision became blurry for lack of food and water. Damn it! If I had known this was going to happen, I would've packed a bag with all the necessary items in it.

All the trees and bushes looked the same, I might have been walking in circles and I wouldn't have known any better.

I finally came onto a path and I couldn't contain my relief. Finally I could find some kind of civilisation.

My vision became more and more dark around the edges and what's more is I developed a massive head ache.

I could see the shape of a familiar big gate and 2 male figures, but my eyes wouldn't let me see the detail.

I heard shouting as I tumbled to the ground in what felt like slow motion. The voices sounded like… Kotetsu and Izoumo?

I sighed. I must be going crazy, I thought. And with that I sunk into the darkness once again.

I heard people whispering. What were they whispering about? I strained my ears to hear and suddenly I could hear perfectly.

"Hokage-sama, I found her walking towards the village in an almost zombie-like manner before she passed out."

I heard fabric ruffle. I guess the other person nodded. "Leave me; I would like to talk to her when she wakes up."

"Hai!" I heard a door open and close.

"You can open your eyes now, child."

I was shocked. Did this person know I was awake the whole time? I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. I look toward the side where the voice had come from. My eyes widened. It was the 3de Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Old man, Hogake!" I quickly slapped my hand on my mouth, instantly realising my mistake. "I mean, Hokage-sama!" What the…? I'm in Konoha, the leaf village? How did I get here!?

"That is the question I wanted to ask you. What is your name?" Wait, did I say that out loud? Guess I did.

"Ayame Korokawa." I said without hesitation. I've always liked that name.

The Hogake nodded. "My dear, do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

I thought about it for a while. What should I tell him if he asks where I'm from? "Just a little. I remember waking up in a tree with no recollection of how I got there and then I searched for civilisation. That's about it."

He gave me a funny look. "I see…" he chose his words wisely. "Do you know where you're from?"

I shook my head. "All I remember is my name and who you are Hokage-sama."

He slowly nodded his head. "I see. Well, you can stay in the village. I will provide you with money and a place to stay, but you have to get a job and pay back everything you spent." I nodded so he continued. "There is not a lot of work to choose from. You can either work in a shop or you can be a ninja."

I grinned. "I supposed I'll be a ninja, I've always wanted to be a ninja. Maybe that's why I came here." I shrugged. "Hokage-sama, would you mind if I explore the village on my own today and do some shopping, before I start being a ninja?"

The Hokage gave me a gentle smile. "Yes, of course. You were supposed to be signed out today anyway. Get dressed and come by my office later so I can give you the keys of an apartment, and the directions to it of course, and your money. It's the big red building right over there." He pointed towards the Academy and his office.

I smiled. "Hai! Arigato Gozaimasu" I inwardly smirked. I learned that from this very same people. I've learned a lot of new words, especially 'thank you very much' which is just what I said.

The Hogake got up and walked out of the room, but before he closed the door he turned back to me. "The clothes you were wearing is in the cupboard. Oh and I have to warn you, if you do anything that makes me or my ninja think you may be a threat to the village I will have to get Ibiki to interrogate you." He said sternly and then he closed the door.

I instantly jumped up from the bed and fist pumped the air. Yes! I get to meet Naruto! I grinned and practically ran to the cupboard where my clothes were. I took the bundle of clothes out and went to the bathroom.

Apparently I had worn a tight black qipao dress that reaches above the knees – it has a red Tsubaki printed on the left hip – with fishnets underneath. I took the awesome white fingerless gloves, put them on and found that there were still bandages and ninja shoes left to put on. I decided I was going to wrap the bandages around my legs and wear them as leggings, then I put the black leaf shinobi shoes on.

I looked into the mirror and gasped in shock. I thought I would still have my plain brown hair and blue eyes, but instead I had raven black hair, red eyes and a pale peach coloured skin. Why do they call it raven black? I mean it could be crow black, what's the difference? I grinned. I looked smokin' hot and cool, of course. What? I've got to give my ego a boost sometimes and besides, this time I actually DO look hot.

I poked my head out the window and looked down. I was on the second floor of the hospital. I looked up and climbed onto the window sill. Might as well try all those ninja moves while I'm at it. I grabbed onto the window above me and pulled myself up. It wasn't too hard to get up on the roof, good thing I've always been good at sports, oh and let's not forget Taijutsu. I grinned. Since the first time I watched Naruto I've wanted to be able to do Taijutsu and now I'm a black belt in it. I guess I've always been preparing myself for when this happens even if I didn't know it at the time.

I looked out over the village. Man, this is fun so far. I looked at the nearest roof. My shoulders slumped. Man, it's just my luck that the closest roof to jump on is 10 feet – if not more – away. I squared my shoulders and started running. At least I'll get a running start, I thought. Suddenly the end of the roof was in front of me and I was forced to jump and when I did, I didn't land on the roof. No, I landed on the roof that was two houses away. Geez, I didn't know ninja could do this. It's AWESOME! A full blown grin made its way to my lips.

I'm going to have some fun with this, but for now I have to get to the Hokage's office.

I jumped from roof to roof until I was finally outside the Hokage's window. I tapped on the window.

A shocked Hokage looked up and I burst out laughing at his face. He quickly came and opened the window for me. "Ayame-chan, how did you get here?" he asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly as I sat in the chair opposite his. "I jumped from roof to roof, to try this ninja thing." I held up a dismissive wave as he was about to scold me for my recklessness. "Don't worry; I began with roofs that were close to each other." It was a complete lie, though.

He sighed. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. You were surprisingly quick, no matter. Let me give you the address, keys and your money." He did just that. I thanked him and jumped out the window again.

Shopping time! I never really liked shopping, but I'm getting ninja gear so this will be fun.

In the end I ended up buying a Katana, 10 kunai knives, 15 smoke bombs, food pills, shuriken and 2 Demon wind shuriken.

Maybe I should've bought more kunai, but it's too late now; I'll buy more some other time.

I also bought some more bandages, a first aid kit – and yes I am familiar with using it correctly -, 2 of those miniature weapon holsters and a backpack to put the clothes I bought and other stuff in.

I also got some Instant Ramen – what? I want to know what it tastes like – some fruit, some bread, milk and other food.

I took out the paper the Hokage had given me, with the address written on it. I was surprised to see that I could read what he wrote. I mean I'm not exactly from Japan so I shouldn't be able to understand the writing at all

I walked until I saw the building I would be living in. This is… OMG! Naruto lives in one of these apartments too! I was so excited. I can't wait to actually meet him. I wonder what he's doing now…

I ran as fast as I could – which was surprisingly fast - to my apartment number, took the key and unlocked my apartment.

I stepped inside and gasped. It's exactly the same as Naruto's! This is so worth leaving my own stuff at home. I grinned and jumped on the bed. Ah… this is the life. I could definitely get used to this.

Hold up. I can't rest now. I have to go to the training grounds and train. I want to try the transformation Jutsu and the shadow clone Jutsu. With that thought I quickly put away all the things I bought except for my weapons. I'll have to practice fighting with weapons and throwing them.

I hurried out of my apartment and went to the training grounds.

Chap 3: The new girl can do something no one has ever been able to do?

I was walking to the academy when I heard Naruto's familiar laughter and voice. "Give it up. You're just bent because you don't have the guts to do what I do, do ya!? Losers! Wannabees! You'll never catch me!" He laughed again. I saw him running away from a couple of jounin and suddenly his disguise was up, making them run past him. I knew Iruka would show up soon. "Psst! Naruto! Come here, quick!"

He looked my way and made his way to me. "How do you know my name?" He asked sceptically.

I took him by the shoulders and pushed him into an alley, making him flinch. It broke my heart to see it. How many times did he get beat for something he didn't do?

He looked at me with steady eyes. "How do you know my name?" he repeated. He looked at me for a minute "Wow, you're kinda pretty. Who are you?"

I shook my head. "Thanks and I'm Ayame Korokawa. Everyone knows your name, Naruto. Everyone hates you." I looked at him, his eyes looked broken. "I didn't mean me Naruto, If anything I want to help you with your pranks." I softly smiled at him. "I want to be your friend."

He looked shocked. "Y-you…want to be my friend?"

I nodded my head. "I know how the villagers treat you, but you should know: Soon you'll make them acknowledge you."

He grinned. "You really think so?"

I grinned back. "OF COURSE! You want to become Hokage, don't you? Then we have to make them see you, but for now you have to go to the Academy, because a Hokage has to graduate from the academy."

I pushed him back out the alley towards Iruka. "Sorry for keeping him away, Iruka-sensei." He looked shock. How did I know his name? I bet that's what he's thinking. "Uhm... Iruka I'm supposed to enrol into the academy today, am I in your class?"

It looks like he finally snapped out of the trance he was in, because he nodded his head. "Yes, you must be Ayame Korokawa, right?" in return I nodded. "Yes, you're in my class then. How old are you by the way?"

Maybe I should tell him my real age? Or at least the age closest to it. "I'm 14"

He nodded his head. "Right, let's get back to class. Naruto, where do you think you're going!?" oops, I forgot to mention Naruto had tried to sneak away. I chuckled. Silly boy.

We were in the class; all eyes were on me as Iruka-sensei scolded Naruto. "I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time AND the time before that. Tomorrow, you've got another chance and you're messing up again!"

Naruto just turned his head with a stubborn "Hn!"

A vain was visible when Iruka heard it. "Fine! Because you missed it, Naruto, EVERYONE will review the transformation Jutsu!"

Almost the whole class groaned and "aw'd"

I cleared my throat. "Iruka-sensei, don't even try to make me sit this one out. I'll have it in the bag." I smirked at Iruka's shocked face as he realised I was still here.

We all formed a line with Sakura in front. I was between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright, Sakura here. Let's do it. Transform!" I rolled my eyes as she did her little 'pep talk'.

She turned into the perfect Iruka-sensei clone, much to Iruka-sensei's shock and delight. Woop-dee-doo. Good for you Ms Uchiha fan girl. I don't actually have anything against her, but just the fact that she's a fan-girl irks me. No, I'm not jealous. Why would I be? Sasuke's an ass.

"Yes! I did it! Sasuke, did you see that?" She's so clueless. Sasuke didn't even glance at her.

"Next!" Iruka-sensei called. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke strolled forward and transformed into Iruka too. "Uh, good." Iruka said.

Mr Emo Uchiha transformed back with his hands in his pockets and an indifferent expression on his face.

Up next is me. I smirked. Wait till they see my transformation. It's not something they can transform into, I can tell you that. I stepped forward just as Iruka said "Ayame Korokawa."

I made the hand signs and whispered "Transform."

As soon as I said it, the smoke cloud covered my transformation. I transformed into a perfect light caramel coloured Cougar with a white dipped tail and white paws. What? I like Cougars (Puma's or Mountain lions, whatever you want to call them). When the smoke cleared everyone gasped and started whispering. "No one can do that. How come she can transform into an animal and no one else can?"

I answered the question with a snide remark and a smirk. "Because I know how to do my Jutsu's." Then I transformed back. Even Iruka-sensei was shell shocked. I walked past him. "What's wrong Iruka-sensei? Wolf got your tongue?" I chuckled.

I turned around as Iruka called Naruto to step forward. "Shikamaru, don't even say it." I smirked at their shocked faces. "Or you, Ino." I gave Naruto a closed – eye smile. "Go for it Naruto." I said as I went to sit in the seat next to where Naruto usually sits.

I saw Ino and Sakura make their way towards me. I snorted when they stood in front of me, about to ask a question. "Don't even bother asking. I don't like Uchiha, so I won't 'steal' him away from you. Just keep in mind, Sasuke doesn't care about either of you girls. So stop acting like you own him." They were so shocked their jaws literally almost hit the ground. "CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" And that queues Naruto's sexy Jutsu's end. I glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me with curiosity. I fully looked at him and said "Don't even ask Uchiha." His curiosity was quickly replaced with a scowl to which I just rolled my eyes.

I looked in front of me to see Sakura and Ino still standing there. "Oh, you're still here? Go sit and close your mouths, a bug might fly in and choke you. Oh and you're standing in Naruto's way."

They glared at me and went to sit. "For two enemies, they sure do act like friends." I murmured.

Naruto came and sat down next to me. "That was amazing Ayame-chan. How'd you do it?"

I smiled at him. "If I told you Naruto, it wouldn't be a secret."

"Ok, class dismissed." Iruka said, tired. "Practise your Jutsu's for tomorrow's test."

Huh, what a short day it was at the academy, I thought sarcastically. "Hey, Naruto, I would ask you to come eat some Ramen with me, but you have to clean the Hokage's faces." I chuckled as Iruka said just the same thing as me.

I quietly walked out of the class when I felt a presence following me. I disappeared and reappeared behind the guy – Shikamaru – with a kunai pressed to his neck. "You shouldn't sneak up on a ninja, Shikamaru." I whispered in his ear. I saw him sweat when I moved to stand in front of him. I chuckled at his frightened expression. "Relax; it was just out of reflex."

He let out a breath in a whoosh. "How did you know my name?"

I shrugged and smirked. "I just did. 'Don't even ask' that's what I told the Uchiha and that's what I'm telling you now, but I have a feeling we'll be great friends." I smiled and vanished again.

Chap 4: Graduation Day

Today's the day, I thought. The day I'll graduate the Academy and so will Naruto. I smiled at the thought.

And then soon we will go on a mission to fight Zabuza and Haku. I frowned. I think I need to buy myself some Senbon and ask some medical ninja to train me in the human body so that I'll be able to make that temporary death seem real.

I shook my head and looked down at the streets. You probably guessed it already, but I'm currently sitting on the roof of my apartment waiting for Naruto to come out so we can walk to school together.

I saw Naruto run out of his apartment so I followed him from the roof and quietly dropped down beside him. "BOO!"

"AHH! Oh, it's you Ayame-chan. YOU SCARED THE LIFE OUT OF ME!" I giggled behind my hands. So worth waking up early in the morning.

"That was the plan, Naruto." I chuckled. "So are you nervous for today?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he blushed a little. "A little and you?"

I shook my head while we continued running. As we passed some of the villagers I saw the looks they were giving us. Yes, I mean us. They were looking at me with distrust, scorn and fear. This village doesn't trust easily, I understand why they look at me like that – I mean I could be a spy for all they know –, but Naruto never did anything to any of them. I mean Naruto had nothing to do with the fox's attack on the village and yet they still treat him like some sort of freak.

We soon arrived at the Academy. "We will now start the final exam. When your name is called proceed to testing room. The final test will be on… the clone Jutsu" Iruka said. "Sasuke Uchiha, you're first." Sasuke didn't say anything and just strolled through the door. I knew Naruto was going to be last, so I just relaxed in the seat I was sitting in.

"Ayame Korokawa, you're up next." I almost fell out of my seat. I'm up next? What the hell?

I turned to Naruto who was biting his fingernails. "Don't worry, Naruto. You'll be fine." I gave him a closed eye smile and walking into the other room.

"Make three clones of yourself." I nodded and made 4 clones. It wasn't to impress them, believe me, because I went to stand behind one of the clones.

I quickly vanished and stood behind Mizuki. I leaned closer to his ear. "Be careful what you do, Mizuki. You might just regret it." He gasped and looked behind him just as I vanished.

Iruka was shocked. "They're solid clones! You pass."

I made the clones disappear and nodded. "Iruka-sensei, is there a black headband? I don't think blue goes well with my outfit and besides, blue isn't my colour." He nodded and pointed to the box underneath the table.

I took one, tied it around my arm and almost walked to the door, but stopped. I turned around. "Iruka-sensei, are you sure Mizuki is qualified for this job? I mean his chakra is weak and no offence, but Naruto can beat up someone like him." Mizuki glared at me – which I ignored of course –, but before Iruka could say anything about me disrespecting Mizuki I walked off.

I jumped on the Academy's roof and waited. Finally Naruto emerged, sulking. I waited for those two girls to start talking. I'm going to give them a piece of my mind.

Finally they began talking. "There, you see him?" the one said looking at the sad Naruto who was sitting on the swing.

"It's that boy. I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Hmf. Well it serves him right."

"Just imagine what would happen if he became a ninja. I mean he's the boy who…"

"Shh… we're not allowed to talk about it!"

I jumped off the roof and landed in between them. "Oh? You mean because he has the 9 tailed fox in him, he'd be a disastrous ninja? Is that right?" I whispered in their ears. I could feel some of my facial features changing. "If I ever hear you talk about him that way again, I'll kill you. You got that? And believe me; I never go back on my word." I said with so much venom in my voice that they cowered in fear and nodded their heads.

I walked toward Naruto. "Hey, Naruto!"

He looked up. "You got your head band Ayame-chan. I'm happy for you." He gave a lightly forced smile.

I crouched by him. "Don't worry Naruto. You'll get your headband soon, I promise." I smiled at him. "You know, I actually think the thing inside you is a blessing in disguise."

He looked confused. "What are you talking about Aya-chan?"

I smiled. "You'll understand soon. Kick his butt, Naruto." With that I left a confused Naruto behind.

I walked to the hospital and soon saw a medical ninja. I walked toward him. "Hey, can you help me? I need to learn about the human body and all the vital spots. I also want to learn how to throw a Senbon that'll cause a temporary death."

He looked at me weirdly. "Sure… I can help you with that. Hold on. I'll get some training gear for you."

I grinned and nodded in response. Soon I was training with the medical ninja. He taught me how to throw Senbon and just the right spot to temporarily stop the heart. He also taught me where all the vitals that are important are.

I'm a fast learner, so by the time Naruto was supposed to be in the forest I was done. "Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it greatly." With that I ran out of the hospital – I know, weird place for training with Senbon – and headed toward the forest where Naruto was.

It was about the time where Iruka was supposed to have tricked Mizuki into making him think that he was Naruto.

I hurried as fast as my feet could carry me. I didn't want to miss the part where Naruto beat Mizuki up.

Damn that Mizuki. At least I know that he'll regret it. I smirked. If he only knew. I guess I need to speed things up a bit. I did my vanishing trick and landed in the tree above Naruto.

"You're a fool! Why are protecting that freak? He's the one who wiped out your family." I clenched my teeth. No one talks about Naruto like that while I'm around! Although I can't interfere, I have to let Naruto beat him up. Or else he won't become a ninja.

"I don't care what you say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll." Iruka said.

"As if YOU could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto's just like me."

Iruka looked determined, but why? "How's that?"

"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are…" IDIOT! BAKA! I wanted so badly to shout it, but I couldn't give myself away just yet. "He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy EVERYTHING."

"You're right..." Poor Naruto, now he thinks Iruka thinks he's a beast. "That is how beasts are…but that's not who Naruto is." I smiled softly. Such a sweet bond they have. "He's nothing like that. Naruto's one of a kind. Works hard, puts his heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the nine tailed fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki… of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

I watched mesmerised as Naruto stopped the shuriken from hitting Iruka and said how he'll kill him if Mizuki lays his hands on his sensei.

"Such big words. I can destroy you with a single move!"

Naruto glared at him as he got his hand sign ready. "Take your best shot, fool. 'Cause I'll give it back to you a thousand full!"

"Let's see ya try!" Baka Mizuki yelled. "Show me what you can do, Nine Tailed fox!"

And with that Naruto brought his shadow clones into the fight and pummelled Mizuki into the ground.

I grinned. That's my Naruto.

I jumped down from my spot in the tree and slowly moved toward Mizuki. I crouched down beside him and whispered. "I warned you, didn't I? Enjoy spending life in a prison." I stood up and watched Naruto hug his sensei when he realised he graduated.

I walked toward Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. "I told you, you'd pass, didn't I?" I smiled at his shocked face and continued on to a shop.

Before I went home I wanted to buy some poison and Senbon, so I did.

I hope I'll be in team 7…

Chap 5: Having a little fun with Shikamaru

Yesterday me and Naruto had the day off, so I decided I would spend my day training and try to find out what I can do and stuff. I even tried getting a few water balloons so I can try and pop it. I want to be able to do the rasengan, but I want to turn it into something else. Not like Naruto's Rasenshuriken though, maybe similar but not the same. I didn't get to pop the balloon yet, though. But that's to be expected. I'll just have to practice more and more.

I walked next to Naruto towards the Academy where we would find our teachers. I really hope I'm in team 7. It would be so great.

I glanced at the wall where Konohamaru was standing with the wall disguise the wrong side up… Baka… He needs to work on his stealth. I rolled my eyes as Konohamaru tripped on the 'disguise'.

I tuned out their talking, until he turned toward me. "Who's this girl? She's pretty. Is she your girlfriends, Boss?" I giggled.

"No, Konohamaru. I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just his friend, but we need to go now Konohamaru. Bye!" I said as I walked to the academy.

I went to sit in an empty chair, which just happens to be next to Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto sat next to me. Shikamaru saw him and stopped beside him "What are you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for drop-outs, so you can't be here unless you graduate."

I turned to him. "He did graduate, Shikamaru. Look, he's got a head band on." I smiled at him, but I could see I still freaked him out a bit.

"YEAH, BELIEVE IT!"

Suddenly Sakura and Ino rushed into class. "I'm first!" they said together as they panted.

I tuned them out again. They were so annoying some times.

Sakura was suddenly next to me, because she made Naruto fall face first on the ground. "Good morning Sasuke. Mind if I sit next to you?" She probably didn't see me, because I was lying on my arms.

"Back-off forehead! I'M sitting next to Sasuke." I sighed. Here we go again.

"I was here first!"
"I walked into the classroom before you did! And everybody saw it!"

************Hokage's POV *******************

"Most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha… Is that him? And the girl next to him, Ayame Korokawa was it? The one who could transform into a mountain lion?" Asuma asked

"Yes… He's the Uchiha. And that girl is Korokawa."

"He's the only survivor from the Uchiha clan left, but I have never heard of the Korokawa clan." Kurenai said confused.

"That's right. The girl has amnesia, she can't remember a lot of things, but I haven't heard of the Korokawa clan either. It is strange and it seems she can predict the future." I heard a few gasps around the room.

Kakashi frowned. "How do you figure that?"

"What is it she said to you the day of the Graduation test, Iruka?"

All eyes turned to Iruka. "She said 'Iruka-sensei, are you sure Mizuki is qualified for this job? I mean his chakra is weak and no offence, but Naruto can beat up someone like him' and a few hours later that's what happened. She watched the whole thing too."

Kakashi had a thoughtful look in his eye. "Hmm…"

I looked at the crystal ball again. Seems she is unfazed by all the glares she is receiving from the other girls. "Seems she stopped Sakura from beating the living daylights out of Naruto with just a glare…"

**********Ayame's POV**************

I sighed again. "Hey, Haruno, Yamanaka. Look who's already sitting here." I pointed to myself. "Looks like both of you lose, sorry." I said with a shrug of my shoulders. I really wasn't sorry.

They glared at me to which I just rolled my eyes. "Get out of my seat!" they said simultaneously.

I turned to Sasuke. "I completely agree with you, Uchiha. They are clueless."

Sasuke was struggling to hold onto the emotionless mask on his face, but I saw his shock as clear as daylight.

Suddenly Naruto got onto the desk and glared at Sasuke. Sakura, like the fan girl she is yelled at him for it. "Naruto, don't glare at Sasuke!"

I waved her away. "Oh shush and just watch." I was not going to let her ruin the best part of the day.

The guy in front of Sasuke bumped Naruto and then they were kissing. I burst out laughing. "Best. Part. Ever!" I bit out between laughter as Sasuke and Naruto coughed and fake gagged.

Sakura screamed. "Naruto, you are so dead… You're finished!" She said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Sakura…" I called in a sing-song voice. She looked at me. "Are you going to punch Naruto? Because you'll regret it." I said with a sickly sweet smile. She started sweating when I glared at her. I've been told my glares can turn the dead over in their graves, so yeah. I bet even the adults that were looking at us were a tiny bit frightened. She gulped. "I didn't think so." I smirked.

Iruka-sensei came in. He smiled proudly. "As of today you are all ninjas. To get here you face difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only gennin, first level ninjas. All the gennin will be put into 3 man squads, but we have an extra student so one team will consist out of four. Each squad will be led by a jounin, an elite ninja. We want each squad to have a balance of strength and abilities, so that's how we set them up… I will now announce the squads. Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto and Sakura did that 'Yay!' and 'I'm doomed' thing. Quite amusing if you ask me. "Next Squad 8: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. Now Squad 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikumaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. Those are all the squads."

I lifted my hand. "Iruka-sensei, what about me?"

He looked shocked. "Oh, Ayame I almost forgot. You're also in squad 7" I grinned.

As soon as Iruka had finished talking Naruto stood up. "Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me, have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?"

I sighed. "Naruto sit down, I'm in your group too, aren't I?" He looked at me, nodded his head and sat down.

"Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students, Naruto you had the worst scores." Everybody laughed.

"Iruka-sensei cut the guy some slack. At least he graduated." Iruka looked at me, but continued anyway.

"To create a balanced group we put the best student with the worst student."

Sasuke was about to talk when I cut him off. "Shut it, Uchiha. We all know you prefer to work alone; we won't get in your way." Keeping the two of them from bickering is such a drag, but now that I'm in their squad I guess I'll have to be the one to stop the fights.

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat and told us that we will meet our jounin teachers after lunch.

I walked off. I wanted to see how Naruto tied Sasuke up in person. I went and stood behind Shikamaru on the roof. No one noticed me. Good. I'll have fun scaring the crap out of them. It's finally time, I thought when I saw Naruto snuck up behind Sasuke.

He jumped into the window, pushing Sasuke away at the same time. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji all gasped. 1… 2… 3… "Hiya all!" I said in a hyper voice. They all gasped again, but when they turned around I was already beneath them. I didn't want to let them see me go in after Naruto, but I heard Shikamaru. "Damn Ayame. You need to stop doing that."

I chuckled. Nah… it's way too fun. I jumped into the window just like Naruto, to see Sasuke struggling with the rope. I chuckled and startled him. "Seems you need help, hey?" I went to him and pulled the tape off his mouth and let me tell you I did not do it gently. He grunted in pain and I smirked.

"You know, you shouldn't underestimate Naruto, or me. We might just surprise you." I cut loose the ropes. Sasuke instantly jumped me and put a kunai to my neck. "Where is Naruto?" I rolled my eyes.

"Relax would you? He transformed into you and went to sakura, but I guess right now he's running for the bathroom." I giggled.

He put the kunai away and stalked out the room. I jumped out the window after him and then looked up. Shikamaru and his team were still there. "Hey, Shikamaru! Were you looking for me?" I called up to him. He and his team looked down and when I disappeared he turned around. "Aww you're no fun, Shikamaru. I wanted to scare you again." I pouted. Then I heard Ino and Choji gasp. I turned around. "Well, at least I got to shock you guys. We should all get going to our teachers I guess, bye team Ino-Shika-Cho" I winked at them and disappeared again.

Chap 6: The survival test

I sat in class with the rest of my team as we waited for Kakashi. Correction, I was pretending to sleep. I want to see what Kakashi will do.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I heard Naruto put the eraser up in the door. "Naruto!"

"That's what he gets for coming late!" I heard Naruto jump of the thing he had been standing on. "Surprise!"

I pictured Sakura standing with her hands on her hips. "You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that." I so wanted to tell her to shut up, because we all know she loves stuff like that.

"Hm. Our teacher's a jounin, an elite ninja. You'd think he'd fall for that?" Shut up smart arse. He may be a jounin, but he's too lazy to care about the eraser.

"Yeah, Sasuke's right. You're so clueless Naruto." Sure…

"I have no idea how she can keep sleeping with the two of you making so much noise." Sasuke commented, looking at me.

I heard the door open and the eraser fall on Kakashi's head. Naruto started laughing. "I got him. He totally fell for it."

"I'm sorry sensei. I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen. I'd never do anything like that." Shut up cotton candy head, your voice is so squeaky and irritating.

"Hmm… How can I put this? First impression of this group… you're a bunch of idiots." I hope he didn't mean me, because I will tear him a new one.

I could basically feel the air shifting as all their moods dropped. I heard footsteps come near me and sensed his hand come close to me. "Kakashi Hatake, if you touch me I'll tear you a new one." I said with a lot of venom. His hand stopped and I heard all the intake of breaths "You baka's, did you honestly think I was asleep?" I said as I lifted my head to glare at my team.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's go to the roof." And with a 'poof' of smoke he was gone.

I smirked at my team. "See you there." And then I vanished and reappeared on the roof in front of Kakashi.

He looked shocked to see me there. "So you know my name, huh?" I just nodded so he stayed silent as we waited for my team to get here.

When they finally arrived I said. "Geez you guys are slow."

"Well, excuse us for not being as fast as you." Sakura snapped at me

I chuckled. "You're excused." Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time." Kakashi said in his lazy voice.

"Introduce ourselves? Well, what are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."

"Kakashi-sensei, it would be better if you introduced yourself first. You know, so they can see how it's supposed to work." I said.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake – like she said. Things I like, things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future: Never really thought about it. As for my Hobbies: I have lots of hobbies."

"Allow me to give you an example of one of his hobbies." I looked at Kakashi for his approval, he nodded his head. "He loves reading make-out paradise. Right, Kakashi?" I gave him a closed eye smile. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Ok, your turn. You" He pointed to me. "Begin."

"I'm Ayame Korokawa. I have lots of things I hate and lots of things I like, but I don't really want to give you an example. My hobbies are… hmm I guess training would be my hobby. Dreams for the future… can't say I've thought about it, although there is someone I really want to kill…" I said in a dark tone. I want to kill Orochimaru with all my heart.

Kakashi nodded. "Next, you."

Naruto proceeded to tell us about how he likes ramen and so on… Then it was Sakura with her all Sasuke fan club answers. Then it was Sasuke's turn. I couldn't really care less whether he wanted to kill his brother or not.

"Good. You're each unique and have your own idea's. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto saluted Kakashi, "What kind of mission are we going to have?"

"It's a task the four of us will do together." Kakashi said with his arms crossed.

I stood up. "Well, looks like it's time for me to get going. Don't worry Kakashi, I won't eat my breakfast." As if. Then I went to the training grounds and started to train again.

I slowly made my way to the training grounds. It was 8:30 am, only half an hour left before Kakashi should come.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura pointed their accusing fingers to me.

"Sorry a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around" I sat down and soaked up the sun. I didn't even blink when Kakashi appeared and said the same thing I did.

"Hey that's what she said a half hour ago!" they pointed to me.

I just shrugged "He's here now. Does it matter why he's later?"

Kakashi lifted his eyebrow. "Well," he cleared his throat. "Let's get started." He walked over to the stump and put down a clock. "Here we go. It's set for noon… Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me." He held up 3 bells. "That's all there is to it."

"Simple, my ass." I mumbled under my breath. He jiggled the bells.

"If you can't get 'em by noon, you go without lunch." Naruto yelled in outrage. "You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you" Naruto looked like he was about to pass out for some reason. Maybe food affected him a lot. I giggled.

"To think you guys are ninjas. You're not scared to go on a mission, but when it comes to puking you won't eat breakfast. Baka. Good thing I ate my breakfast." I said just to tease them.

"You what!?" they all yelled at me. I just smirked.

Sakura finally realised Kakashi only had 3 bells in his hand. "Wait a minute, there's four of us. How come there are only 3 bells?"

I rolled my eyes and they say she has the sharpest mind. "It's obvious, Sakura. He wants one of us to be tied to a post. The one who doesn't get a bell goes back to the academy, right Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked at me a second before he responded. "Correct." Naruto growled at this "Then again, all 4 of you can flunk out too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei." Sakura complained.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser."

"No, Sakura they're teddies. We're ninjas now, why else would we use weapons!?" I said sarcastically. She glared at me. Like I said, I don't really have anything against her, but she can really be dumb.

Kakashi gave Naruto a bored look. "Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores. Losers." Kakashi said to provoke him. "When I say start you can begin."

Naruto growled. He got out a kunai and charged at Kakashi-sensei with a war cry.

I knew what would happen next. Kakashi moved so fast my team mates couldn't see him, but I could. My eyes seem to working a lot better here.

Kakashi held Naruto's hand – the one with the kunai – behind his head, making the kunai press into Naruto's neck.

"Don't be in such a hurry, I didn't say start yet. But you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so…" he chuckled. "How can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Me and Naruto smiled. Kakashi looked bored. "Get ready. And… Start."

Everyone except Naruto of course went to hide. I hid in a tree on a high branch.

I knew Kakashi knew where Sasuke and Sakura hiding, but his frantic looking around proved that he couldn't sense my chakra. I grinned. My chakra shrouding was a success.

Naruto tried getting the bells by himself which ended up getting him hit in the butt by Kakashi. I giggled quietly. This was always the funniest part. I snuck up behind Sakura. "Hey Sakura, do you want to work together? It'll work much better this way."

She almost shrieked, but then glared at me. "No way would I want to be working with you." I shrugged and disappeared to my branch again. Well, I tried.

I made a clone and told it to wait by the tree Naruto would fall into the trap. It nodded and vanished to the tree. "Naruto you idiot. The bait was too obvious…" Kakashi took the bell and stood up. He talked to Naruto for a while before Sasuke threw the Shuriken.

My clone quickly cut Naruto down. "Want to work together, Naruto? That way we can get the bells much faster." My clone asked. Don't ask me how I heard it from here, I just did.

Naruto shook his head and then my clone poofed away in a puff of smoke, leaving a shocked Naruto behind

I watched as Sakura fell for the genjutsu. She screamed. Ah… Such a calming sound…

I quietly jumped from tree to tree to where Sasuke was. I can't miss this. I made a clone and told it my plan. It nodded and moved closer.

I watched as Sasuke blew a fireball at Kakashi, but sadly for him Kakashi wasn't there. He looked behind him, above him, left and right, but was caught by Kakashi where he least expected him to be. Under him. I smirked. Sasuke, Sasuke when will you learn that Kakashi isn't someone you can predict?

Then Sasuke was under the ground with just his head poking out of the ground and Kakashi stood in front of him. "Can't move, huh? That was Ninjutsu. The 3de shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right. You are… different from the others, but different isn't always better. They say the nail that sticks up is the one who gets hammered down." He said as he walked away. Then my clone copied Sasuke's hand signs, but I saw it was a little different and instead of fire, wind came out of her mouth. I smiled. So I have wind element chakra, huh? Cool. It's supposed to be rare. Kakashi didn't see it coming so he was blown right off his feet. Next my clone did another hand sign and put her hand to the ground, but this time quicksand formed under his feet. So I'm wind and earth styled? Well, that's awesome.

Kakashi looked up, shocked. But then he spotted my clone and so did Sasuke. Kakashi threw a kunai at her which she didn't bother to dodge. My clone did her disappearing in smoke act which shocked both of them. "She was a clone?" they both asked in unison.

I felt the after math of using the chakra, but it wasn't that bad I could do a few more of those. "Where's the real one? I can't sense her chakra at all." Kakashi said and frowned.

"Wow. I made you frown, first real emotion today. It's a record." I said from behind him with a smirk.

He twirled around. Both he and Sasuke were shocked. I mean, how did I get behind him without him noticing? I chuckled. And they say Naruto's the knucklehead.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh? Well, let's get started then." He nodded and stood ready.

I smirked. I think I'll toy with him for a while. I quickly vanished and appeared behind him. I vanished and appeared next to him. I did that over and over as Kakashi tried to keep track of my movements, but I wasn't running, I was actually disappearing – or should I say teleporting? – and every time I appeared somewhere else he was shocked. "It's pointless to try and track my movements, Kakashi. I'm not that fast. I just appear and disappear, but this is getting boring. Let's get on with the Taijutsu." He looked surprised, but nodded. I bet the Hokage is watching this.

I appeared in front of him and tried to kick him. He blocked of course. He tried punching to which I grabbed his arm and punched him in his stomach. Well this was easier than expected. I guess he wasn't expecting this from me.

He kicked me, but I didn't really feel anything only a little sting. I skidded backwards and disappeared again. This time when he was expecting me to appear behind him and I did just that. I got hit a few times and felt the pain, but it wasn't that bad. Kakashi had it worse than me, because my punches and kicks were filled with chakra. We fought for a while before I stopped and chuckled. "Well this was fun. Thanks for the work out Kakashi, but we better go to the posts now." As if on que the bell rang. I started walking toward the posts. "Oh and here are your bells back." I said and threw the bells back at him. I heard Sasuke's intake of breath and I heard Kakashi catch them. I know you're all wondering when I took the bells from him, well I'll tell you. It was in the beginning when I kicked him. My foot had hooked the bells and I took them when he wasn't looking. He didn't realise it at the time, because he was too focused on the fight.

When I got to the posts Naruto was tied to the post again and Sakura was waiting for everyone. Then Kakashi showed up with Sasuke. "Sasuke, you're alright!" She squealed. He looked at me and glared viciously. I shrugged. Not my fault I'm better than him

Sakura instantly noticed and yelled at me. "What did you do to Sasuke!?"

I shrugged. "I didn't do anything to him. It's what I could do and he couldn't that upset him"

Sakura looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough." I merely stated.

Chap 7: Fail or Pass? Probably the latter

************Kakashi's POV*************

I was shocked. Ayame was a wind and earth user? That combination is scarce, but even though she's only a gennin, she's really talented. I wonder how much she spends on training.

I threw a kunai at her and she didn't even try to dodge. I wonder why that is. A poof was heard and then she was gone in a puff of smoke. What? "She was a clone?" Me and Sasuke asked simultaneously. So that's why…

I frowned. "Where's the real one? I can't sense her chakra at all." How can I not sense her chakra?

"Wow. I made you frown, first real emotion today. It's a record." Her voice came from behind me.

I swiftly turned around. How did she get behind me without me noticing? And how did I not sense her chakra? Wait, I still don't sense it.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh? Well, let's get started then." I nodded and stood ready. She smirked. Why was she smirking?

Suddenly she disappeared and reappeared behind me. She did it again, but this time she appeared beside me. How is she moving so fast? I can't even see her move! It's like she's there and then she's gone.

"It's pointless to try and track my movements, Kakashi. I'm not that fast. I just appear and disappear, but this is getting boring. Let's get on with the Taijutsu." Well that explains it.

I was surprised, but nodded anyway. I hope the Hokage is watching this. He needs to see how skilled she is.

She appeared in front of me and tried to kick me. I blocked of course. I tried punching her to which she grabbed my arm and punched me in my stomach. I let out a whoosh of breath. I wasn't expecting this from her. She's highly skilled, maybe even more than me.

I kicked her, but she didn't show any sign of pain. She skidded backwards and disappeared again. This time when I was expecting her to appear behind me, she did just that. We fought for a while before Ayame suddenly stopped and chuckled. "Well this was fun. Thanks for the work out Kakashi, but we better go to the posts now." Amazing, she didn't even break a sweat and I was quietly panting. As if on que the bell rang. She started walking toward the posts. "Oh and here are your bells back." She said and threw the bells back at me. I heard Sasuke's intake of breath as I caught them.

How the hell did she do that? Was she toying with me the whole time!? It can't be! She's even more skilled than I am.

************Ayame's POV***********

Naruto's stomach growled as I lounged against the post he was tied to. "Uh oh. Stomach's growling, huh? That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise… well, I've finally decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy."

Naruto yelled in happiness.

Sakura sat there in confusion. "What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"

I waved at her. "Oh of course Sakura, the enemy will drop dead when you faint." I said sarcastically just to tick her off. She didn't even glance at me as she began jumping and screaming in joy.

"Then, then, then that means all four, I mean all four of us…"

Kakashi smiled a fake closed eye smile. "Yes… all 3 of you are being dropped from the program…" Sakura stopped jumping and screaming. "Permanently!"

My team mates' faces dropped like stones. They thought he was being serious. "Wait sensei, you said all 3 of us, but we're four…" She trailed off glancing at me

"Yes, you are four, but Ayame passes with flying colours."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "What? Why her?"

"Because she somehow got the bells from me without breaking a sweat. That and she knew what the meaning of the exercise was."

Naruto and Sakura turned to me with wide-eyed shocked faces. "You did what!?" I just shrugged. I could see it finally clicked in Sakura's head why Sasuke had glared at me.

Naruto turned back to Kakashi. "Drop us from the program!? That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't get the bells, we'd be sent back to the academy! YOU CAN'T JUST CHANGE YOUR MIND AND KICK US OUT, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" Naruto yelled at Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at him. "Because you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids, like brats." Sasuke clenched his teeth and growled. He jumped up and ran at Kakashi. I sighed. Here we go again.

Kakashi had Sasuke lying on the ground with his arms pinned. "You think it's all about you."

Before Sakura could scream at Kakashi-sensei for stepping on Sasuke's head I shushed her and told her to listen. "You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, huh?" they all gasped at what he said. "Why do you think we put you in squads, did you consider that question for one moment?"

"Uh, I don't know what you mean!" Sakura said confused.

"I mean… you never realised what this exercise was all about. Not even close."

"What it's about?" Naruto…

"Yes, that's what determines whether you pass or fail."

Sakura looked a little ashamed. "But that's… I mean I wanted to ask you that from the beginning…" Sure Sakura…

"Use your head. Three people on a squad, four in this case… Why do you think we would do that?"

"Ah! How are we supposed to know why you picked three people! We didn't make the rules!" Naruto you really need to use your head sometimes.

I sighed. "It's so basic. He's talking about teamwork. I offered most of you my help, but you still refused." They looked down ashamed, except for Sasuke.

"Just working together, is that what you mean?" Sakura asked in her whiny voice.

"Yes sakura, if you guys worked together you might've been able to take the bells, but it's too late now."

"Wait a minute." Sakura addressed Kakashi. "You set it up with 4 people, but only 3 bells! If we worked together and got the bells, only 3 of us could keep them. And that would lead to group conflict and the squad would break-up."

"Exactly." Kakashi sounded exasperated. "I purposely pitted you against each other… I wanted to see if you can overcome that and put the squad ahead yourselves. A gennin should have a natural feel for team work, but you… it never even crossed your mind." Kakashi proceeded to tell them about the situations we could be in. "Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own, everything. You, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless. Arrogance! And you Ayame, you were almost as bad as the others. You were gone the whole time your team mates needed help."

I shrugged. "I did offer to help them, but they didn't want my help and I did cut Naruto loose from your trap. So don't act like you know everything Kakashi, and besides I beat you at your own game." "Well, anyway Ninja missions are carried out in squads, of course you need individual skills, but team work is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this." Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. He talks way too much. He walked toward the K.I.A. stone. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it were honoured as heroes in our village."

"Naruto, before you say anything, this is a K.I.A stone. K.I.A. means Killed in Action. They died for our village."

Naruto looked sad. "Oh…"

"This is memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here…. Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up your strength, BUT Naruto doesn't get any. It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself. And if anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them, got it?"

Sasuke and Sakura started eating lunch. Since I ate this morning I wasn't all that hungry. I took a bit of food with the chopstick and held it out for Naruto. "Here eat." Sakura wanted to object, but I beat her to it. "Hush, Sakura. We're a team and Naruto needs to build his strength up, besides I ate this morning I'm not hungry." She stayed quiet while I fed Naruto. "When Kakashi comes, leave me to do the talking. I know what to say." They nodded.

Suddenly there was a big explosion and smoke erupted. Kakashi's head came out of the smoke. "You!" Naruto screamed and so did Sakura. "You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment." He started making hand signs and thunder clouds started coming this way. Lightning struck. "Any last words?"

"Kakashi, isn't this going a little over board? I mean we are a team and if we want to work as a team Naruto needs his strength. That's why I fed him. In the ninja world people who break the rules are scum, but people who abandon their friends are even worse than scum, isn't that right?" I smiled a closed eye smile.

He let his hands fall next to his hips. His eyes wide. "You can't stop shocking me, can you kid? You're completely right. Took the words right out of my mouth, literally. You all pass."

I smiled and turned to the others. "See, I told you, you should let me talk to him. We passed because we worked as a team even when we weren't actually working."

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. And like Ayame said, in the ninja world those who break the rules are scum – that's true –, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum. Squad 7 starts its first mission tomorrow."

I sweat dropped when Kakashi did Gai's pose. "Did you just do the Mighto Gai pose? Never mind…"

I cut Naruto loose and with that we all walked off.

Chap 8: Finally! Trip to the Land of Waves

"Sasuke, I'm at point B" you can probably guess what we're doing right now.

"Sakura, I'm at point C"

"Ayame, I'm at point A" I'm at point A because I insisted on it. I didn't want to let Naruto get scratched…

Waiting…waiting… "Naruto, I'm at point D. Believe it!"

"You're too slow Naruto. Ok, squad 7… Hm? Target has moved!" a black shape jumped from the trees down. It looked kinda creepy… well that is if you didn't know what 'it' was. "Follow it!"

We all peaked out from our spots. "Over there." Naruto whispered.

"What's your distance from the target?"

"5 meters. I'm ready, just give the signal." There was a series of 'I'm ready too'.

"Ok… Now!" We all jumped from our hiding spots.

I grabbed Tora, the cat. At first he scratched me, but then he relaxed in my arms. "Sorry I scared you Tora, I guess I have big-cat blood in my veins. It must've frightened you." I spoke into the speaker. "I got him. He has a red ribbon on his ear, so I'm positive that it's him."

"Right. Lost pet, Tora found. Mission accomplished."

I sighed. This is kid's stuff. Now I understand how Naruto felt. "CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAT THIS!? I HATE CATS!" Naruto, you didn't even touch the cat.

"Aww… my poor little Tora. Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzykins. Yes…" The lady was squashing poor Tora. At least I know he'll want to escape again.

Naruto laughed. "Stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed." I hit Naruto on the head. Hard.

"No cat deserves to be treated like that Naruto." I scolded him.

"Now then, for squad 7's next mission, we have several available tasks. Huh? Among them babysitting the chief counsellor's baby 3 year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes an-" The Hokage was interrupted and thank goodness. I don't want to do anything like that.

"NO!" Naruto yelled. "I want to go on a real mission. Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid's stuff. Come on old man."

"Hokage-same, I agree with Naruto, besides we're not little kids anymore and no one wants to prove that to you more than Naruto. Kakashi don't you dare hit me on my head." I stopped Kakashi just before he was going to, because he had his hand in the air already.

Iruka started yelling at Naruto again. It was quite funny really.

"Are you serious!? Babysitting is not a mission, it's just a stupid –" Kakashi hit him on the head.

"Chore." I finished for him. I glared at Kakashi as he raised his hand again, it stopped him alright. It also made him sweat like a pig.

"Naruto, Ayame it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Listen many different request come into our village…" and then I stopped listening to him and started listening to Naruto talk about his Miso Ramen.

"Silence!" Geez, the old man can be scary if he wants to be. I turned back to him

"You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!"

"I have to agree with him." I said scratching the back of my neck.

The Hokage chuckled. "Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat; that he's a former brat and he wants a mission… So be it. Since you are so determined I'm going to give you a C ranked mission. You'll be bodyguard on a journey."

Naruto turned to the Hokage. "Really? Yes! Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess… or some counsellor?"

"Calm down, Naruto. We're guarding a master Bridge Builder. His name is Tazuna and he's from the land of waves."

The Hokage smiled. "You are correct. Send in our visitor."

The door behind us opened and I appeared beside the door as the drunken Tazuna stepped out.

"What the…? A bunch of little snot nose kids?" he took a swig of his alcohol.

"Who are you calling little snot nose kids, Tazuna?" Tazuna jumped and looked at me. I was lounging against the wall with my eyes closed, my arms crossed and my one foot on the wall. It was my personal 'cool' pose.

I disappeared and appeared with my friends. "Where'd she go?"

"Right over here, Tazuna" I waved my hand lazily at him. "I'd advise you not to call Naruto an idiot or little."

Tazuna's drunken red eyes widened. "How'd you know I was going to?"

I shrugged. "What!? He was going to call me idiotic and little!?" I shrugged again.

"Naruto, don't try to pulverise the client. Our job is to protect him."

Tazuna nodded. "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it costs you your life."

I shook my head. "No need to be so dramatic Tazuna."

We stood at the main gate. "Yeah! Alright!"

"Hey, what are you getting so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"It's his first time traveling, right Naruto?" Naruto nodded his head furiously.

"Believe it!" I chuckled. He's so cute sometimes.

"Hey! Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke.''

Oh, that reminds me. I need to get some weights so I can start training myself to become faster. "Kakashi-sensei, before you answer his question, can you tell me where Gai-sensei trains his students? I need a favour from him and I'll only be a minute."

He nodded. "He trains them at the training ground close to the memorial stone." He looked at Tazuna. "He's with me and I'm a jounin, and he's with this girl who just asked me a question. She can probably defeat me if she has all her energy reserved."

"Hey-" and that's all I heard before I disappeared and reappeared before team Gai.

They gasped when they saw me. "Who are you?"

I waved Neji off and headed towards Gai-sensei. "Gai-sensei, can I ask you a favour? I'm one of Kakashi-sensei's students and I would like to borrow some of your weights for training."

He posed in front of me and I sweat dropped. "Anything for a student of Kakashi's. You know, we are meant to be rivals forever." I nodded. "So how much weight were you planning on taking?"

Suddenly I was unsure. "Um, maybe three 5 kg weights?"

He nodded. "Yes, that will be a good start. Here, take these." He took the 3 weights out of the bag on his back and gave it to me. I sweat dropped. He has weights in that bag? I put one on around my middle and the other 2 around my ankles. Good thing I had black leg warmers, otherwise it would've looked weird. "Thank you Gai-sensei. I appreciate it."

He smiled and threw his thumb up. "Let the spirit of youth be within you!" I saluted him and disappeared again.

Then I was next to Naruto again. "Ah! Aya-chan you scared me."

I chuckled, "Sorry Naruto."

We all walked in silence. Geez these weights are weighting me down. No pun intended.

We've been walking for a while and I've seriously become tired, but thankfully no one noticed.

"Say, Mr Tazuna…?" Sakura started
"What is it?"

"Your country is the land of waves, right?" She stretched out every word.

"Yeah… What of it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" I zoned out for a while until I heard Kakashi say: "Hey, you all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking?"

"Huh? Oh, no I was thinking about when we'll get to the boat." I said.

They all gave me a funny look. "Well anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C ranked mission." Kakashi said. "So you can relax."

"Right, Tazuna?"

He looked at me like he was going to panic. "What –"

"Oh, nothing." I gave him a pointed look.

We all kept walking, I was slowly getting used to these weights and for that I'm glad, because if it kept making me tired I won't be able to fight Zabuza.

Finally we walked by a puddle. I walked slower than the rest and then crouched by the puddle. "You know, for a puddle you sure are stupid." I emphasised the word puddle.

We walked on a little more before… Boom!

Their chains wrapped around Kakashi-sensei and sliced into him. Only it wasn't him, it was a substitute.

Everyone except me called Kakashi's name. I was the only one who knew he was a substitute.

The 2 mist assassins ran behind Naruto. "Now it's your turn." I will not let him feel useless. Not today. I appeared behind them and kick the one's head. His head thumped against the other one's head and they went down instantly, but they quickly got up again.

They tried getting me with their chains, but Sasuke pinned them to a tree. They both let go of the chains. Sasuke jumped on their arms, grabbed them and kicked their heads. I have to admit, that was a good move. They retaliated and ran to where Tazuna and Sakura were. I appeared in front of them and punched the one while kicking the other.

Yet, they still managed to scratch Naruto. Damn it. Well, on the bright side I stole Sasuke's thunder. I quickly got their chains from the tree and tied it around the two before they could get up again. Sasuke looked annoyed, but I ignored him as Kakashi poofed and stood in front of me.

"Sorry that I stole your thunder Naruto." I gave him a quick smile before turning my attention back to the two ninjas.

"Hi." Kakashi said. "Nice work Sasuke, Ayame. Sorry I didn't help you right away, Naruto. I didn't think you'd freeze like that."

"He didn't freeze Kakashi." I said in a warning tone. I won't let Naruto feel bad. "He just didn't have time to react because me and Sasuke were already busy at it."

Tazuna gave out a relieved sigh. "Shut up, Sasuke. Naruto isn't a scaredy cat so don't even try to insult him like that." I said. Sasuke just turned around with an 'Hm'.

"Naruto, stand still. These Ninja have poison in their claws, we need to take it out of you quickly. You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood, so don't move around. That spreads the poison. By the way Mr Tazuna,"

Tazuna looked shocked. "Yeah, what?"

"We need to talk…. They're chunnin from the Village in the mist, their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

They looked at us. "How did you know about our ambush?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks? Like a said before. For a puddle you sure are stupid." I smirked at them.

"Why'd you leave it for the gennin to do the fighting?" Mr Tazuna asked.

"He wanted to know who their target was and what they were after. You can drop the act now Tazuna. This isn't you normal C rank mission, this is supposed to be a B or A rank mission. It's too dangerous for the team members who are unwilling to go further." I gave Sakura a pointed look. "But I guess your country is poor and that's why you were building the bridge, right? So you can change that?" Tazuna looked ashamed, but nodded. "Tazuna, lying to ninja is never acceptable. Just remember that, ok?" he nodded again.

"Kakashi-sensei, I suppose we should finish the mission? I mean it is for the greater good that Tazuna is building the bridge, don't you agree?" Kakashi sighed and nodded.

"But sensei, I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible." Sakura said.

"Naruto's hand could become a problem… I guess we should go back to the village." He was hinting to Naruto that if he wanted to continue he'd have to make it bleed again.

Naruto glared at his hand. He took a kunai out and stabbed his hand with it. I cringed. Couldn't he have done it some other way?

Everyone gasped. Naruto turned around. "Why am I so different? Why am I always…" He growled.

Before Sakura could say anything I held my hand out. "Sakura let him do this."

Naruto continued. "I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself 'till it hurt, training alone for hours… Anything to get stronger, to reach my dream." Blood dropped from his wound. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound I make this pledge. Believe it. Bridge builder I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife." He turned around again, holding his wound and kunai knife in the air for all to see. "Don't worry I'll be fine."

"That was really cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood, you'll die." Kakashi said making Naruto freak out.

I chuckled as I took a bandage out and walked to Naruto. "Kakashi you exaggerate too much." I took Naruto's hand and looked at the wound while bandaging it. "You'll be more than fine Naruto, so don't you worry." I said as it closed.

Chap 9: Finally meeting the Demon of the mist.

We were in the boat now.

"This fog's so thick, you can't see anything." Sakura whispered.

I looked into the fog, my eye sight was apparently better than theirs. I could see the bridge from here, which I guess is a very good advantage since the bridge is about a 10 meters away.

"The bridge isn't far now." See? Told you. "Our destination is just ahead. The land of waves. " The boat ferry said.

Finally the bridge came into view for the others. "Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto shouted.

"Quiet!" the boat ferry whisper-yelled at Naruto. "I told you no noise. Why do you think we're traveling like this, huh? Cutting off the engine and rowing… Moving through the dam's fog so they don't see us."

Naruto kept his mouth shut. Kakashi started asking the bridge builder who the men are that is after him. He told Kakashi and then did his little guilt trip act, but I zoned out. Gato that little dwarf of a gangster will get what's coming to him. I smiled a sly, sadistic smile. "Ayame-chan, what's going on in that messed up mind of yours?" Kakashi asked, looking at me like I might kill his dogs if he doesn't keep an eye on me.

I smiled my sweetest smile. "Oh nothing important." I could tell that he knew it was fake, but he said nothing.

"We're approaching the shore… Tazuna, we've been very fortunate. No one has noticed us so far."

Tazuna looked at the boat ferry. "Nice going."

We went through a tunnel and arrived on the other side. The place was actually kind of pretty. You can hear the sea gulls and the ocean. There were trees sticking out of the water as well as houses.

It's a miracle that the wood underneath the houses haven't rotten to such an extent that a house starts sinking.

Even Naruto thought it was pretty.

"That's as far as I go. Good luck." The ferry said as we stopped at the docks.

"Right, thank you for taking such a risk." Tazuna said to the man.

"Just be careful." The boat ferry started the boats engine and rode off.

"Alright, take me to my home and I mean get me there in one piece." We nodded and started walking.

Naruto threw a kunai knife at a bush. Naruto… there's no one here. Yet. Everyone looked shocked when they saw him throw the knife at a random bush. They probably think there's someone here because of him. I sighed. This going to take a while.

When no one came out Tazuna and Sakura started getting angry. Suddenly I felt a presence, no two. It's time…

Naruto threw the kunai knife at the bush beside me. Finally I get to meet the Demon of the mist. I grinned. "Nice one Naruto."

They all walked to the bush to see the bunny there with anime tears flowing from its eyes. Sakura gasped. "Naruto, look what you did!"

Naruto quickly went to the little guy and said sorry over and over.

"Sakura, Naruto didn't do anything wrong. That's a snow rabbit. They only have white fur in the winter unless they're bred inside. Someone used that rabbit as a substitution." I said pointing to the rabbit.

I suppose I can call him out now… "Zabuza Momochi, you can come out now…" I said in a sing-song voice. Suddenly a big sword was hurtled where Tazuna stood. "Get down!" I shouted. The word hit a tree and stayed there.

Then Zabuza was standing on it. "So you knew I was there, huh? Smart kid. I might have some use for you."

"I think not." I appeared in front of him and threw 2 Senbon, but they were stopped by another pair of senbon. "Already have your little tool watching, huh? Not surprising." I whispered in Zabuza's ear. He whipped his head to look at me, only to find I wasn't there. I was back with my team. "Yoohoo! You looking for me Zabuza?" I asked, standing casually against a tree.

"Well, well if it isn't Zabuza Momochi. Rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Naruto charged forward, but was stopped by Kakashi's hand. "You're in the way. Get back."

"But why!?"

"He's not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, I'll need this." Kakashi said putting his hand on his headband.

"You're finally going to use your sharingan, hey Kakashi? I've been waiting for this." I said nonchalantly.

"Sharingan?" Sasuke said at the same time as Kakashi said "You knew about my eye?" I merely nodded my head.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right? It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man." Kakashi glared at him.

"Now quick, Manji formation. Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight. I taught you teamwork and now you need to use it." Kakashi lifted his headband and displayed his red eye. "I'm ready"

"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honour." Zabuza said in his husky voice.

As they began to talk about the sharingan I zoned out as I tried figuring out where Haku was hiding. No one can actually shroud their chakra completely except me, so I'm bound to find him. I roamed my eyes around the forest as I searched for chakra. Finally I found it. I looked straight at the source. He may look invisible, but really he's just using genjutsu.

I saw a movement although it was small and any other ninja would think it was just a trick of the eye, but I knew it wasn't my imagination. I disappeared and reappeared behind him. "If you want to save him, save him now otherwise he'll die." I appeared beside Sakura again as the two boys – meaning Zabuza and Kakashi – were busy with their water Jutsu's. I suppose I've been looking for Haku for longer than I thought. I should help Kakashi then. I don't know how, but somehow I made a cyclone of water. I sent it Zabuza's way, but he jumped out of the way just in time to not be smashed by the water.

"Water style: Giant Vortex Jutsu." Kakashi I hope you're glad I distracted him for you, but you would've been able to do it without my help anyway.

A giant water vortex started to form and then Zabuza was in it, getting smashed by trees. He tried swimming out of the vortex, but failed miserably. He smashed against a tree and Kakashi used kunai knives to pin him against the tree.

Then Haku's senbon hit Zabuza's neck and his heart stopped. "You were right. It was his last battle." Kakashi jumped down from the tree and felt for Zabuza's pulse. "No vital signs…"

"Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him out." Haku bowed

"By your mask I see you're a tracker from the village hidden in the mist"

"Impressive, you're well informed." Haku said standing up straight again.

Suddenly Sakura started explaining what a tracker ninja is. Boring…

Naruto ran closer to Haku. "What is this? Who do you think you are?" Haku stood quiet. "Did you hear me?"

"Easy Naruto. He's not the enemy." I gave Haku a pointed look. "As far as I know there are kids younger than us that are even stronger than Kakashi-sensei, whether you like it or not Naruto. Don't go beating yourself up about it. Just train harder." I gave him a gentle smile.

Kakashi nodded. "She's right Naruto."

Haku made himself appear beside Zabuza. He picked Zabuza up "Your struggle is over for now." Key words being: 'for now'. "I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, it must not be allowed into the wrong hands." With that he disappeared to their hideout.

"We haven't completed out mission yet, we still have to take the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi took a few steps before he suddenly started falling. I appeared in front of him and took him in my arms. What? I'm not a weak girl. I can carry a grown man.

"What happened!?" Sakura sounded really worried.

"Relax Sakura. He's just tired from over using his Sharingan." I stood up from my crouching position and started walking. "Come on bridge builder. I don't know where your house is, you should lead the way." I gave him a special closed eye smile. I think I need to start wearing a mask like Kakashi, because some time or another people will start seeing through my fake smiles.

Chap 10: Tree Training

I heard Kakashi groan. "Look, the sensei's coming around." Naruto said.

"Listen sensei, your sharingan is really amazing and everything, but if it puts that much strain on you maybe it's not worth it." Sakura, you don't know what you're talking about.

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei will be alright and you really shouldn't say those types of things. You have no idea what he went through to get it."

She raised an eyebrow. "And you do?"

I just nodded my head. "Huh, well you did take down the most powerful ninja assassin, so we'll be fine for a while." Tazuna said.

I shook my head. "You're wrong Tazuna, about 2 things to be exact. First of all he's not the most powerful, the Akatsuki are and second of all he's not dead."

Everyone gasped. "How do you know?" Sakura questioned me.

"That boy we saw… he was watching the fight the whole time and if he was a real tracker he would've taken care of Zabuza's body right there on the spot."

Kakashi nodded his head. "You're right Ayame. You know for a girl who has amnesia you sure know a lot."

My team mates gasped. "You have amnesia!?" I just shrugged, not really in the mood to really explain. I shrug a lot these days.

"You've all grown. Naruto, you've grown the most." Kakashi gave him a closed eye smile.

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smirked. "Now things are going to get better, believe it."

"I don't believe it!" a small voice said from behind us. "And nothing's gonna be good!"

We all turned around to find out where the voice was coming from. Inari stood there with his fists at his sides.

"Who are you!?" Naruto yelled at him.

"Ah… Inari! Where've you been?" Tazuna said to his grandson.

Inari ran to Tazuna "Welcome back, grandpa!"

His mother, Tsunami, stood in front of Tazuna with her hands on her hips. "Inari, that was very rude." She scolded him. "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

"It's ok, it's ok. I'm rude to them too." Tazuna said and laughed.

I felt an irk mark on my head. I glared at Tazuna. "Not to me you're not."

He shrunk back and shook his head furiously. "No, no of course not."

Everyone was silent for a while before Inari turned to his mother and told her we're gonna die. "Not if I have anything to say about it kid. Don't assume something that isn't true, because you WILL be wrong." I said harshly to him.

"Listen up; do you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better. I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!"

"Huh, there's no such thing as a hero. You're just full stupid ideas!"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!?"

I glared at Inari. "Listen up kid, I don't want to be rude, but if you insult my friends I will make you cry. You got that?" I have never had any patients with little kids, let alone brats.

"If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from." Was Inari's reply as he started walking out.

"That's it." I was furious and my team mates were stunned. They've never see me mad, actually mad before. I got up and calmly walked to Inari. Each step I took was like a silent warning, it even scared my team. I went and stood in front of Inari. My blood was boiling and all I could see was red. I took him by the shirt and lifted him up. "Listen here, Brat. You might think that there's no such thing as heroes, but what was your dad to you, Inari?" Tazuna and Tsunami gasped. "Was he a hero to you, or was he an idiot? Because I sure as hell don't think he was an idiot. He died protecting the things he loved; do you think he'd be happy with the way you act? I don't think so Inari, I really don't." I had calmed down more and more with each word I said and at the end I put him down. He ran out of the room with tears streaming down his face.

"Ayame-" I held up a hand, stopping Kakashi from saying anything more and walked out the door.

I guess I'm going to go train. I'll have to take out the rest of my anger out on a tree or something.

I walked to a tree. It was huge and just right for my training. I imagined a thin blanket under my feet and then I started walking up the tree. I was about half way up, before I put in too much chakra and made a dent in the wood. I took out a kunai and quickly slashed where I stopped. I started falling, but in mid-air I did a backflip and landed on my feet, cat style.

I tried again, but this time I got a running start. I got a few feet higher before I put in too little chakra. Geez, it's harder than it looks. Good thing I've got a lot of Chakra otherwise I wouldn't last very long.

I tried it a few more times, but I still didn't get to the top. I stopped and decided I was going to start running. I still had the weights on, so I didn't have to go back and get them. I ran and ran until it was night time and even then I continued running. I was sweating buckets with all the hard work, but no pain no gain. I pushed myself until I couldn't move anymore, so I decided I would have to sleep in a tree tonight. I trudged to the tree I marked with my kunai and walked up to the highest branch I could get to without falling off. I laid down and soon sleep overtook me.

Poke

Poke

Poke

"What!?" What a great way to wake up, hey? Getting poked in the face – with crutches might I add – is the best way to wake up. The person who was poking me almost fell off of the branch. I looked up to see Kakashi standing upside down on the branch above me. "What do you want Kakashi?" My mood was already bad because of my bad wakeup call.

"It's time to train." He said with a fake smile just to piss me off more.

"Do you WANT to get your ass handed on a platter for you, Kakashi? Can't you see I've trained the whole night!?"

He looked confused. "You don't have any scratches on you, you're just filthy. I thought that was because you slept outside, so no, I didn't know."

"Yeah, well too bad. Good night." I turned around again, wanting to sleep.

"So how'd you get up here anyway?" Silence… "Ayame?" Again, silence. "Ayame…?" Nothing. "AYAME!?"

I shot upright and directed a furious glare at Kakashi. "WHAT DO YOU WANT KAKASHI!?" The glare I gave him had so much venom in it that it made Kakashi sweat buckets and cower.

"Never mind. It was nothing." Now I was REALLY mad.

"YOU WOKE ME UP FOR NOTHING!? YOU PIECE OF DOG MEAT, I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" I got up and ran to him, unfortunately for him he had crutches and he couldn't move properly. I kicked him, sending him flying against a tree. "Just be happy you're in crutches or I would've really kicked your ass!" He doesn't know it, but when we get back to Konoha I will kick his butt.

I saw my team mates standing on the ground. I jumped down and made a front flip while landing safely on my feet. They were all sweating when they looked at my calm demeanour.

I guess I scared them a little. I smiled making them sweat drop. "So what were we learning?"

"Uhm… w-we were watching h-how Kakashi-sensei was w-walking u-up a tree without using h-his hands and then he s-saw you…" Sakura was stuttering like an idiot. I guess I really DID scare them. Oops, oh well not my fault Kakashi wanted to mess with my sleep.

"Well I guess you guys should get out your kunai and mark the tree every time you start falling down. It's the only way to remember where you were. By the way, that's my tree from now on. Touch it and I'll kill you." I said in a completely calm, but deadly voice, narrowing my eyes. Why am I so protective of a tree? I mean it's just a stupid tree.

They started sweating again. I guess I should stop scaring them.

I made a run for the tree, but this time I made it to the top. "Woohoo! I'm finally at the top!"

My team sweat dropped. Is it just me or am I bipolar? It's probably not just me.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all tried climbing the trees. Naruto put too little chakra in his feet and Sasuke used too much. Sakura however did it just right, so she went all the way to the top.

"I'm impressed Sakura, nice work. Naruto, didn't we say you were going to be Hokage one day? Looks like Sakura will be a better Hokage and the great Uchiha clan… Maybe it's not so great after all." The two boys glared at each other and ran at the trees again. That motivated them. "Oh and Sakura I was motivating them, Sasuke won't hate you."

The two kept at it until it was dark. Sakura stayed with them while Kakashi recovered from my kick and I was training and running again. I pushed myself again until it actually hurt. I was running, but I fell from exhaustion. I guess I'm sleeping here tonight again. Good thing I packed food this time, otherwise I might've starved.

I walked up my tree and sat down. I took out some dumplings and onigiri and started eating. I suppose they're talking about Kaiza now. Good thing I'm not there right now, because I really hate that sad story.

Tomorrow morning I will wake up early and go search for Naruto. I want to talk to Haku anyway, so there's no reason not to.

I woke up early this morning. Time to go search for Naruto. I looked for his chakra and found a light trail of it. I followed the trail and finally came across Naruto and the boy, Haku.

He wore a pink kimono with black swirls printed on it and his hair was loose. All in all he actually looked like a beautiful girl.

He and Naruto were picking herbs and talking. He stood up and walked towards me before stopping again. "Oh and by the way, I'm a boy." Then he started walking again.

I came out from behind the trees and walked by him while whispering "See you later on the bridge Haku, just don't kill anyone." We made eye contact but only for a minute.

I walked towards Naruto. "Hey Naruto, how's the training going?" I asked sitting next to him.

"Great Aya-chan! But I'm still having trouble with it." I nodded in understanding.

"Ok, I'll help you a little. What I do is imagine a thin blanket covering the soles of my feet – that's the chakra – I focus on keeping it neat and not wrinkled, get it?" he nodded his head in excitement.

"Thanks Aya-chan!" I gave him a gentle smile.

"Come on, they'll be looking for us." I stood up and held out my hands for him to take. He took my hands and I pulled him up.

We walked back and bumped into Sasuke. Literally. I was sitting on the floor rubbing my forehead. We literally bumped our foreheads, and it hurt. "Damn it, Sasuke that hurt." I whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Get up." He just stood there with his hands in his pocket. Jerk. He could at least help me up.

I stood up and walked in front. Stupid Sasuke and his I'm-better-than-you attitude. It's seriously getting on my nerves.

We finally found Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto had climbed the tree and pretended to slip, but then he hung upside down. He really fell after and Sasuke had to catch him, problem was, Sasuke's hand was slipping and Sakura wasn't strong enough to save both of them. Now it was up to me to save them. I appeared on the branch Sasuke was hanging on and grabbed his hand just as it slipped. I purposely disappeared and reappeared high above the ground – not that high though – and let go of Sasuke's hand, but I caught Naruto. I gently put him down and walked to Sasuke who was rubbing the back of his head, because this time he hit his head on the ground. "Isn't payback just the best?" I asked with a smirk. He in return scowled at me.

Chap 11: Meeting Zabuza again.

We were eating at the dinner table when the door opened to reveal two tired gennin, namely Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto was hanging onto Sasuke's shoulders.

He looked up and grinned his signature grin. "We both made it. We climbed all the way to the top."

Kakashi nodded. "Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow you're both body guards for Tazuna."

"Alright!" Naruto put his hand up, making both of them fall to the floor. I chuckled.

"You're such a loser!" Sasuke said. I bet he thinks Naruto is a funny loser though. Everyone laughed.

When we finished eating Tazuna said "In a few more days the bridge will be finished. I have you to thank for that."

"You've all done great, but you've still got to be careful." Tsunami said.

I nodded. "You got that right."

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me even after you found out I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna was completely serious now.

"Those who stray from the path of Justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader cowardice cannot survive. That was a quote from the first Hokage."

Inari looked at Naruto. Here we go. "But why?" Naruto looked up. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a whole army. They'll beat you down and they'll destroy you. These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose."

"Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me, you got that?"

"Why don't you be quiet!? Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country, your just budding in. Always laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt."

"Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a coward!"

"Kid, you can't just say things like that to people you don't even know! Naruto's had it worse than you. I consider you one of the lucky ones. At least you had parents!" I yelled at him.

"Naruto, Ayame you went too far!" Sakura scolded.

"Shut up Sakura. Naruto is telling the truth whether you or Inari like it or not. Naruto had it worse, so don't you try and tell him what is too far and what not, you got that!?" I snapped at Sakura. She always bosses him around like she's his mother or something. Who gave her the right?

Naruto stood up and walked out the room.

Inari sat there snivelling and crying. "I'm sorry, kid. But you deserve what he said." I stood up and walked out the door again.

"Naruto, Ayame!" Sakura called, but both of us ignored her. I walked the opposite way of Naruto.

I walked to my tree and went and sat on the highest branch, looking at the full moon.

At least the kid had parents… At least they didn't experiment on him like some rat and then gave him up to be adopted. At least his parents didn't hate him enough to abuse him like mine did. I felt wetness on my cheeks. I won't cry for those bastards, not now. Not ever, I thought wiping the tears away. At least the people who adopted me loved me.

I lied down and went to sleep.

I was waiting at the bridge for my teammates already when the mist rolled in. Time to get the workers out of her. I appeared and disappeared with all the bridge builders so no one could end up hurt. I put all of them on the docks.

"So you knew we were coming, huh?" Zabuza said.

I shrugged, not even looking up. "Well I did tell Haku, didn't I?"

"You did." Haku said, "Though I still wonder how you knew."

"I know lots of things I'm not supposed to know." I shrugged nonchalantly. Kakashi was late, and this time he's going to get a piece of my mind about it.

Suddenly Kakashi and the rest of my team arrived in a poof of smoke, "Kakashi you're late!" I yelled at him. Then he noticed the mist. Really? You are so slow Kakashi.

"Sensei, it's Zabuza again, isn't it? This is his hidden mist Jutsu." Sakura asked.

"Way to state the obvious Sakura! This is not the time to be slow, so shut it and protect Tazuna."

"Sorry I've kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see you've still got these brats with you. That one's still trembling. Pitiful." Zabuza said.

Sasuke's eyes widened when 6 Zabuza's appeared around us, but then it turned into a smirk. "I'm trembling with… excitement"

"Go on Sasuke." Kakashi smiled at him.

Zabuza tried cutting him in half, but before he got even half his sword beside him, Sasuke had already sliced all the water clones in half.

"Ooh, so you could see they were water clones, huh? The brat's are improving." I smirked. Zabuza, Zabuza you need to learn not to underestimate us gennin. I shook my head. "Looks like you've got a rival, Haku."

"Hey, Zabuza you forgot I'm here too. Am I not good enough to be Haku's rival?" I held my hand to my heart in mock hurt, and then smirked.

"Oh no, you are definitely good enough. I guess Haku's got two rivals now." I grinned. Finally I get to fight.

"So it seems." Haku said.

"Well, well so I had it right. It was all an act." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please, Kakashi. If I hadn't told you, you wouldn't even have known Zabuza was still alive."

He waved his hands in front of him "Hey, that's not true. I would've figured it out eventually."

I grinned. "I know!"

Kakashi said something about hiding behind a mask like a clown and then Sasuke copied his words.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please Sasuke, as if you can take him out by yourself. Unlike you, I know what he's capable of." I shrugged my shoulders when Sasuke glared at me. Haku moved our way with his quick speed, but I blocked his blow with my own kunai. The training with the weights really helped, but I knew I still wasn't fast enough to match Haku's speed. "Wait, Haku I want to fight you first. Don't hold back. I want to test my strength against you." He nodded and then we began fighting. He used his speed when he thought he had an advantage, but he was wrong. The little speed I acquired really helped me fight him. He made a tornado using his speed and turning in a circle. He held senbon in his hands, ready to strike me with them. I held my kunai ready and blocked his blow – although he did give me a deep gash before I blocked – while kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying. Haku landed on his feet. Once again he used his senbon and I blocked him. "I've gained two key advantages." I grinned and nodded. "I know. The first being we're surrounded by water and you've blocked one of my hands, meaning I can't defend myself, right?" Haku nodded and made a hand sign with one hand. Suddenly the water on the ground around the two of us turned into ice senbon. I grinned. "I've been waiting for this."

The needles rained down on me and I vanished, leaving a confused Haku behind. "Haku, you shouldn't let your opponent get behind you." I smirked and kicked him before he could turn around.

Sasuke appeared before him and kicked him again. "Thought you were quicker, huh? Now what else are you wrong about?" I rolled my eyes. He apparently knows nothing, well he'll find out soon.

Kakashi started talking. "You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats. That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. He's the best young fighter of the hidden leaf village… among others." He quickly glanced at me. "Sakura here, is our sharpest mind, Ayame is our most unpredictable fighter and wisest gennin in the group" Zabuza's eyes widened. I suppose he thought I was a chunin. "And last but not least our number 1 hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki."

Zabuza laughed. "Haku, if we keep going like this we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it!"

Haku stood up. "Right."

I scowled. "I hate it when you use this technique." Now I really need to be careful.

The water turned to solid ice and turned into a shape of a mirror. "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors." More and more mirrors took shape. I got cold chills as the air turned colder. The mirrors started to glow and then Haku climbed into one, making his image appear in all the mirrors.

Haku started throwing senbon in every direction. I used my sharpened eyes to see them, but I wasn't fast enough to get away. The senbon hit me and let me tell you it hurt. I groaned in pain and chuckled. "You're brutal Haku." I yelled out in pain as another few senbon hit me square in the stomach. Sasuke was holding his head as I stood up. I appeared before him and took him in my arms. "Get up, Sasuke." He stood up and let me take a hold of him. "We're supposed to fight, aren't we? So activate your Sharingan quickly so I can get rid of these mirrors. Oh and just for the record, fire won't melt these mirrors. I'll make clones you just keep your eyes focused, alright?" He nodded and looked at Haku while I made some clones. I made them jump at the mirrors over and over again, but Haku – as expected – demolished them.

"Hey guys, I snuck in here to save you guys." Naruto whispered from beside me.

I sweat dropped. "Naruto… Never mind. Help me. Make clones to help Sasuke." He nodded and made a lot of clones. I made about the same as Naruto. We let the clones try and attack the mirrors, another fail.

"These mirrors only reflect my image, allowing myself to transport at light speed. Through my eyes you appear to be moving in slow motion."

I shrugged. It's not as if I didn't know it, so it's not really surprising. "I'm only fighting to help Sasuke with something, then I'll break your mirrors." I wasn't acting like it, but I was really tired. I wasn't exactly used to making a lot of clones. It's so much easier for me to do my other Jutsu's.

Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on the ground while I stood. "I couldn't break through, so what. He's not going to stop me. I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here, cuz I have a dream and no one is going to take it away from me." Naruto, you really are admirable. "Someday I'll be respected in my village, that's my dream – to be the greatest Hokage!" He glared at Haku.

Haku babbled on about not wanting to kill us, but he would if we advanced. He'd have to kill the kindness in his heart and embrace the shinobi way. I feel sorry for the guy; he has such a kind heart even if he is a shinobi.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled. I felt an irk mark appear on my head. "What are you smiling about!? Can't you see Haku is suffering because of what he must do?" I felt miserable for the guy, but they just ignored me.

Alright, looks like I have to make more clones and dodge as many senbon as I can. I made more Shadow clones and they instantly attacked the mirrors, sending up a spray of water. Naruto – like the idiot he is – was sent flying back while yelling out in pain because he went to attack with the clones. I looked over to Sasuke. "Anytime soon would be great, Sasuke."

"I'm working on it. You're such a loser." I'm the loser? He's the one who's not fighting. Oh wait, I told him not to. My mistake.

Haku was coming my way so I acted quickly and disappeared, quickly reappearing standing on the top mirror. "Where did she go?"

I waved. "Yoohoo! Haku, over here." I grinned and just before he could each me, I appeared behind one of the bottom mirrors. I feel like a cat playing with a mouse. This is so fun, no wonder cats play with mice. I walked into the room of mirrors again and kicked up a spray of water, before disappearing and reappearing in the air between the mirrors.

Senbon instantly hit me, making me cry out in pain and fall on the ground. Damn that hurt.

Naruto was passed out and Sasuke was struggling to stand up again. I tried standing up, but failed as there were senbon stuck in my legs, making my legs weak and inefficient.

"Ayame, can you make another batch of clones?"

I nodded. If I can't stand, maybe they can. I did the hand signs and in front of me appeared 10 Shadow clones. They were all standing to which I was grateful. I tried standing up again, but I still failed as a searing pain came from my legs where the senbon was.

My clones attacked and Sasuke saw every move Haku made. He got Naruto out of the way just before Haku could hit him with the senbon.

Sasuke looked up showing his Sharingan. Finally. Now I can get rid of Haku. I strained my eyes and felt them change. I looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke get Naruto out of here."

He looked at me and nodded, but then shock crossed his features. "Ayame, your eyes… they look like an animal's eyes." I nodded. Should've known, I am just that strange. I shook my head. Get your head in the Game, Ayame.

I looked at Haku to hear him gasp. "Your eyes…" But he was talking about Sasuke, because he was looking in Sasuke's direction.

My eyes never left Haku. I too could see his movements clearly. I looked to see Sasuke rushing towards Naruto. No! I've got to stop him! I appeared in front of him right as the senbon was supposed to hit him. Instead, they hit me. I felt needles pierce through my skin. I grabbed Haku and threw him against one of the mirrors.

I looked back to see Sasuke and Naruto staring at me. "But why…?" Naruto was in shock. I chuckled humourlessly. "You two look like losers… that actually care." I gave a faint smile. "I don't want your dreams to die… Naruto… Sasuke…" I gasped as the pain hit me. "There is always a light to lead the way in darkness…" I fell over and Naruto caught me. "Don't let your dreams die…" The light dimmed. I felt Naruto's anger. He was getting angrier and angrier by the minute and he was focusing it on Haku. Sasuke surprisingly also became angrier and then I slipped into the hands of darkness.

Chap 12: Anger to the extreme.

***********Naruto's POV*************

I looked at her as her head fell down. NO! I can't lose her! She was my very first friend, the first one who was kind to me! I felt the tears in my eyes roll down my cheeks. I hugged her close to me. I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM!

"She found… She found her strength she didn't realise she had. Why? Because of certain persons who were precious to her. To save those persons she rushed in knowing it was a trap. She was a true ninja, worthy of honour. Is this the first time you have seen a friend die in battle? This is part of what it means to be a ninja. "

"Shut up." I ground out. I'll kill him for what he did! "I… I'll become stronger, so I can protect you… next time… You'll pay for this." I said, lying Ayame down on the ground.

Steam came from all around me. I was so angry. I felt another presence in myself, a stronger one fuelling my hate. Sasuke was passed out on the ground next to Ayame.

Red chakra enveloped me. It cut through the ground and moved like twisting tails.

I was trembling as I sat there crouching. I looked up with pure hate in my eyes. "I'm gonna kill you." There was so much venom in my voice, I didn't even recognise it.

The chakra flared along with my hatred.

The senbon shot out of body and my hands healed. My nails grew sharper and my teeth grew more animalistic.

I turned around as I growled and glared at him. He seemed to be shaken up. Good. Now I'm going to kill him.

The change hurt, but if it helped to kill him I don't care. He'll pay for what he did to her. In his own blood.

I started running on all fours as he threw senbon at me. I roared and the senbon were sent flying in the opposite direction.

I stopped when Haku disappeared from the mirror and I looked around, searching for him. He appeared in all the mirrors and prepared to throw the senbon. He threw and it landed in the skin of my back. I crouched down a little more and then stood up, throwing my arms to the side and sending the senbon flying out of my skin. Good, he can't hurt me.

I ran and jumped at the mirror he was in, punching it. It shattered in pieces.

I felt Haku come at me from above, so I spinned away just as he was about to poke the needles in me again. He landed with a crash. He tried retreating to another mirror, but I grabbed his wrist, making him stop. He tried getting out of my hold, but he couldn't. I pulled my fist back and threw it forward, making sure there was enough chakra in my hand before punching him in the face. He was sent flying threw his mirror, breaking it in pieces. He fell with a thud on the floor, rolling a few times before finally coming to a halt. The mirrors started cracking, but I knew he wasn't dead. Haku slowly got up on his hands and knees and then he fully stood up, facing me. I ran at him with amazing speed. His mask was slowly falling off of his face. I was about to punch him when I recognised his face. My hand stopped short. I panted. "So that guy in the woods, that was you!?" That boy who was even prettier that Sakura who said I would become stronger, it was him?

"Why do you not strike?" huh? "Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me? Or was that vow just empty words?" He sounded so broken.

I looked back at Ayame and grunted, then I punched him. Hard.

He stumbled a few feet before falling down and spitting out blood. "No, that won't do. You're still holding back, if that is all the strength you can put into it, you can never keep your vow. Perhaps she didn't mean so much to you as you pretend. To show mercy to those who oppose the one you serve, to allow her enemies to live when you could strike them down, this is not compassion. It is a betrayal of your life's very purpose. For what reason do you exist then? You're of use to no one, your life has no meaning and it is mere existence. Day after day of pain and struggle signifying nothing."

"Yeah, well speak for yourself."

"Are you really that blind, little one? I am speaking of myself. This day has shown that I am no longer of any use to Zabuza."

"Zabuza… Why that guy anyway!?" I don't understand how Zabuza can be precious to Haku. "To devote your life to a rotten skunk who doesn't know the meaning of the word honour. If he's really the one person who matters to you… Man that's the sorriest thing I've ever heard!?"

"There were once others who mattered to me… Long ago." What? Did he have parents? He continued talking about his parents and about what happened to him.

Haku walked closer to me. I gasped and took a step back. "Naruto… Kill me." What!? "Go on. Strike, Kill me. Why do you hesitate?"

I growled and stepped back. "That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard. I mean he treats you like a slave. You're a human-being, not a weapon or a tool. How can you care about someone like that!?"

"For that very reason."

"Huh?" What does he mean?

"Does that seem so strange to you?"

"Well, yeah. A little." I said uncertainly.

"When he found me I was without a purpose or reason for living. Zabuza gave me both, but now my usefulness is over, the only thing that gave my life meaning. It's gone. I am a broken tool, a blunted weapon of no use to anyone. Go on, Naruto, do it. For both of our sake's. Do it, quickly." He looked so broken, so worn out and lost. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away. How can he ask me that?

I ran at him, with my kunai knife in my hand. At the last minute he stopped me, why? I thought he wanted to die. "Sorry Naruto, change of plans. I'm not ready to die quite yet." He made a one hand hand-sign and disappeared.

I looked up to see Kakashi-sensei's hand on Haku's chest and Haku was holding on to his hand while coughing up blood. Everyone's eyes were wide. NO! Why did he do it!? I ran toward them, but stopped in my tracks when I could see more clearly.

Blood was dripping off of Haku.

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack." Kakashi-sensei said. "He saved your worthless life at the cost of his own."

Zabuza closed his eyes and chuckled. "Well done, Haku." Zabuza grabbed his sword and would've sliced through Haku if Kakashi-sensei hadn't grabbed him and moved to another place. "I knew I found a treasure when I found you, boy." Why that worthless… how can he treat Haku like that!? "You've not only given me my life but Kakashi's as well!"

"You'll pay for that!" I yelled at him.

"Naruto, stay out of this!" Kakashi said to me. "This is my battle. Zabuza's mine."

Sakura looked at me. "Naruto? Naruto! Over here! Naruto! So you and Sasuke are alright?"

I nodded "Yeah! He's just passed out."

"What about Ayame?" I looked down with tears stinging my eyes.

"What's wrong? Where is Ayame anyway?" Sakura asked. I looked away closing my eyes and clenching my teeth.

"No…" She looked like she was about to cry…

"Sakura, go." She ran to where Ayame lay.

***********Ayame's POV********

I opened my eyes and wheezed. Something heavy was cutting off my air and it was extremely irritating. I heard sobbing and looked down to what was cutting off my air. Sakura…? What? She's crying for me? Did I miss something?

"Sakura…? I can't breathe…" Sakura quickly sat up with eyes wide.

"Ayame, you're ok?" Tears of happiness began rolling down her cheeks. Suddenly she jumped on me. "Ayame-chan, you're ok! I thought we lost you!"

I winced. "Sakura, that hurts!" Did she really care about me? That's just really…weird.

She quickly got off of me. "Naruto said you were dead!"

I shook my head. "Temporary death. Haku was too kind to really kill." I slowly got up and looked toward Naruto and the others. Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting right now. I needed to stop them, I can't let Kakashi… I couldn't finish the thought, because I fell to my knees again. I groaned in pain. "This is such a drag. I'll be right back Sakura, stay put." I vanished and reappeared in front of Zabuza and Kakashi. "Stop." My voice was filled with authority, so they stopped instantly.

I looked at Zabuza. There were two kunai out of his left arm, severing the muscles and making it impossible to use it.

He looked glared at me before looking at Kakashi. "I'll split you in half, even if I have to cut the child to get to you."

"Kakashi, stay out of this. I want to fight him."

"But Ayame-" I glared at him, making him shut up.

"Fine. You want a fight? You've got it." Zabuza charged at me. I stood still with an emotionless mask my face, before I punched him. I turned in a circle and kicked him. He stumbled back a few feet before running at me and swinging his sword recklessly. I dodged and he swung again, but this this time I appeared behind him and held onto his neck. "Look at you, you're falling apart. You're letting your emotions blind you and it's making you reckless. Do you want to die?"

His eyes widened just a fraction. "What did you say?"

"You have no idea what real strength is, Zabuza. You're lucky I'm the one you're fighting. If it had been Kakashi both your arms would've been useless. But we're no longer opponents as Gato is here with the thugs he hired to kill you." I took a step back and looked in Gato' direction.

"So this is how it turns out, huh? Did quite a number on you, didn't they Zabuza? You look like yesterday's Sashimi. I must say I'm… disappointed."

Zabuza glared at Gato. "What is all this? Why are you here? And who are all these thugs you hired?" I rolled my eyes. Didn't I just tell him that?

Gato proceeded to tell him that he's too expensive and that the thugs were hired to kill him. He told him that he'd appreciate it if he could kill a few of them.

Gato walked forward to Haku. "That reminds me… You little punk, you grabbed me and nearly broke my arm! I've been meaning to repay you for that…" He pulled back his foot. My eyes widened. Crap I forgot about that! I watched in horror as his foot came rushing forward. I can't let him do that to Haku. I vanished and appeared crouching in front of Haku as I received a painful kick to the stomach. I coughed blood and stood up. I took Gato by his neck and lifted him up. "You little dwarf! You do not disrespect the dead, and especially not Haku, in front of me!" I spit ever word out in venom, even my comrades cowered back in fear. I tightened my grip on his neck making him wheeze.

"Ayame that's enough." I growled and threw him back towards his thugs. I appeared beside Naruto and hugged him. I mean he must need comfort right now since he thought his friend died and I also need the comfort of a friend right now.

Gato stood up and kicked Haku anyways. I felt my anger flare up and I felt my eyes change. He did not just do that. Naruto ran forward and yelled at Gato. "Get away! Get away from him you scum!" Kakashi grabbed Naruto before he could run anymore. "Hey, use your head."

"Well what about you, Zabuza? You gonna let him do that?"

Zabuza didn't even look at Naruto. "Be quiet you fool. Haku's dead, what does it matter?"

"That's exactly WHY it matters." I whispered quietly, looking down while trying to suppress my anger.

"What!? You mean, you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years, doesn't that mean anything?"

"You don't understand the way of shinobi. I merely used him, just as Gato used me." Naruto gasped. "Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill – yes – that means something to me, but the boy, nothing."

"If you mean that, you're an even bigger rat than I thought." Kakashi tried to stop him to tell him that he's not the enemy. "Shut up! Far as I'm concerned, he's enemy nr 1! Why you… you ungrateful… After everything he did for you! Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him! And he meant nothing to you!? Nothing at all!? While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never felt anything at all for him!? And if I become stronger, does that mean I'll become as cold-hearted as you are? He threw his life away and for what? For you and your dream! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care and you just toss him aside like he was nothing! A broken tool! Man, that's so wrong. So wrong!" With each word he said my anger grew. Why was the ninja world like this? Why are we used as tools and then thrown away like trash? It's not fair. At all. I was useless. I couldn't stop Haku from dying… What good am I if I can't even help a sweet young boy?

"You talk too much. Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade. While he fought you, his heart was breaking in two. You see, Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow and now – curse him – I feel them too! And something else… I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza was crying. Finally I couldn't hold it anymore and I appeared behind the last thugs. I killed some of the thugs and I didn't feel any regret. Silent tears were falling down my cheeks as I killed them one by one. Finally I heard Gato scream as he fell into the water. I killed the thugs that wanted to put more swords into Zabuza's back. My hands were literally tainted by blood. The thugs ran away after that. I guess they got scared. I fell to my knees.

I heard someone crouch beside me. "Ayame are you ok?" It was Kakashi-sensei. I looked up and shook my head. "No, I'm not ok, I'm sick in my head." I spat disgusted. "I killed them all and you know what the sickest part is? I don't feel any regret. At all. Nothing." I shook my head in disgust at myself. You see, I felt guilty, but not guilty for killing them. I felt guilty because I didn't feel guilty about killing.

My legs were numb, so Kakashi picked me up and started walking toward my team. Sasuke looked surprised when he saw me. "Ayame, you're ok?"

I looked away. I was ashamed of what I did, how could I not be. "I guess you can say that."

Kakashi gave me to Sasuke to carry so that he and Naruto could take the two shinobi's bodies and bury them.

I heard Sasuke gasp. I felt a little bit faint… "Ayame, you're bleeding. You have a huge gash on your stomach. You're losing too much blood." My mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"That explains it…" Suddenly I fainted. I heard my name being yelled, but by then I was already unconscious.

Chap 13: The Chunnin exams are close.

It was about a week since the fight with Zabuza and since I passed out because of blood loss. We were finally going to go back to Konoha.

My stomach was wrapped in bandages under my qipao dress, but at least it was less painful now.

We were standing on the bridge and I was watching Inari and Naruto's crying contest with amusement. Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore so he turned around and cried while Inari started crying when Naruto was turned around. I chuckled. Those two… I shook my head and chuckled again.

We started walking back to Konoha as Tazuna name the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge'.

I smiled. I'm pretty sure this bridge will be famous one day.

"Hey Sasuke, when we get back do you want to go do something together?" Sakura asked a little too hopeful.

"I don't think so, thanks." Sasuke, you can be so cruel sometimes. At least he was polite about it, though. I shook my head at Sakura's disappointed expression.

"Sakura, I'd do something with you if you want." Naruto said.

Sakura nearly exploded in anger. "What!? Hey, that was a private conversation!" She practically yelled and bonked him on the head.

"Sakura… if you wanted a private conversation, maybe you should've done it where there were no people? I mean we are here too." I laughed as she started blushing in embarrassment. We were getting along better since the bridge incident.

Finally we made it to the Leaf Village. We went to the Hokage's office and got some missions for tomorrow. I wasn't surprised to see it was kids' stuff again. I swear that old man underestimates us too much.

"You guys go rest for a while; I need to discuss something with Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. We nodded and left.

Sasuke walked over to me and did what I never expected him to do. He asked me to train him.

"Uh, Sasuke I can't train you, but I can help you out a bit." He nodded in understanding and waited for me to continue. I kneeled down and took off the weights on my legs and then the one around my middle. I gave it to him. "Put two around your legs and the other one around your waist – like I did – and run. What I mean by that is very simple. Run with those weights to increase your speed. When you're done return them to me so that I can return them to their rightful owner." He nodded and left. Gee, a thank you would've been nice. I shrugged. Oh well, I knew he wouldn't thank me. I walked away.

************Kakashi's POV************

"Hokage-sama, I need to speak with you about Ayame Korokawa."
The Hokage nodded. "Yes, I knew you would come to me at some point. What is it you want to tell me?"

I thought back at her fight with me and her fight with Zabuza. "She's extremely strong, Hokage-sama. She fought Zabuza Momochi without any trouble – although he was already worn out -, but I know even if he was up to his full strength she could've defeated him easily. That day I tested them on their teamwork, she fought me without breaking a sweat even after she did two Jutsu's that use up a lot of Chakra. She was able to shroud her chakra completely so that I couldn't pin her location and she got the bells from me without letting me notice and still toyed with me even after that. That girl is extremely talented and strong, not to mention smart. You said she might be able to predict the future and it seems like you were right. She knew Zabuza was coming." I shook my head. "And there's another thing that's troubling me…" I started warily. He nodded for me to continue so I did. "She has three typed of Chakra. Wind, Earth and water. Not even highly skilled Jounin have 3 styles of Chakra. That girl is something else entirely."

The Hokage's eyes were wide for a second, but then he looked thoughtful. "Bring the girl here. I think we should make her a chunnin, but only if she agrees to become one."

I nodded and did my vanishing trick.

I appeared in front of Ayame and caught the kunai that was aimed at the tree behind me. I looked at her, has she been training all this time? She's supposed to rest, not train. Her eyes were wide, but when she realised the kunai did hit me she sighed in relief. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

I threw her kunai back at her and she caught it. "The Hokage wants to see you."

************Ayame's POV************

"The Hokage wants to see you." Kakashi said. I nodded and then he poofed away. I should've known they would be talking about me. I put my Katana – which I had forgotten I had bought – and kunai away. I guess I'll have to continue training later. I can't afford to not train. I was useless in the fight with Haku and I need to get stronger.

I did my handy vanishing trick and appeared outside the Hokage's office. I tapped on the window with my nails.

The Hokage looked up calmly and stood up to open the window. I jumped inside and sat on the chair opposite his. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" I so wanted to call him 'Old man Hokage' but I wasn't in the mood to get bonked on the head right now.

He nodded his head. "Yes, Kakashi informed me of you skill, strength and intelligence. So I have a question for you…" I nodded for him to continue. "I would like to make you a chunnin, if that's alright with you."

Crap! That can't happen! I need to stop Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the curse mark, and to do that I need to be in the Chunnin exams. I need to be calm about this and give him a believable answer. Finally I had an idea. I shook my head. "No Hokage-sama. If there is a Chunnin exam this year I would like to take it. It wouldn't be fair if I got to be a chunnin without taking the exams and my teammates have to take it."

He nodded in understanding "I suppose you're right. You're dismissed."

I jumped out the window and went home. Time to rest up.

We were taking out all the weeds for some random woman when Naruto decided he wouldn't lose to Sasuke. He ended up taking out all the weeds and all the plants. The woman was furious, so she beat Naruto up.

I groaned as we moved on to the next mission. I can't believe Old man Hokage is making us do all these chores for missions.

It's just so irritating. I picked up some of the trash that was in the river. This place is so slippery, no wonder Naruto slipped.

As if on que Naruto slipped and Sasuke had to save him.

I suppose the missions weren't that boring since we had Naruto to entertain us.

We moved on to the next mission: Dog walking. When we went to pick up some dogs to walk, they all growled at me. I growled back of course, but it sounded more animalistic than it should've been.

Naruto, of course, took the biggest dog, Sasuke and Sakura took dogs about the same size and I took a beautiful husky.

We walked them for a while but then Sakura and Sasuke wanted to relax under a tree.

I sat down next to them as I watched the dog drag Naruto into the danger zone. There was a series of "Booms" and "ow's".

When he finally came out I laughed, he looked like a piece of black coal. Thank goodness the dog was alright, though.

We took the dogs back to their owners and walked around a bit.

Naruto was extremely tired as we walked back, but he and Sasuke were still bickering about random stuff. "Alright guys, let's call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other day. Anyway I have to file my report on this mission." Suddenly Kakashi disappeared. I sighed.

"Whatever. I'm out of here." Sasuke started walking away.

"Wait Sasuke, I'll come with you!" Sakura called running after him.

Where does he live anyway? I mean they never showed me on the series, they only showed the Uchiha part of the village. Maybe he still lives there.

Sakura turned around looking really depressed. Wait did I miss the part where Sasuke said she was worse than Naruto? I guess I did.

Suddenly a square rock tried to sneak up on Naruto. He turned around and the rock stopped moving.

Naruto walked forward and then ran back. It went on for a while before he finally stopped, making the rock bump into him. It was quite amusing. "That's the worst disguise of all time and there's no such thing as square rocks!" oh I beg to differ Naruto. "It's completely obvious."

"You saw through my camouflage again! You're slick boss, just what I'd expect from my greatest rival." Suddenly there was a bright light and smoke erupted. "I think we use a little too much gun powder you guys." Konohamaru said, coughing.

They sprang up when they saw Naruto looking. "I'm Moegi, the sassiest konoichi in preschool."

"I love algebra, call me Udon." Who likes algebra, I mean really. "And I'm the Nr 1 ninja in the village Konohamaru. When we're all together, we're the Konohamaru ninja squad."

Naruto and the 3 started talking so I zoned out again. I wonder…

"A ninja playing ninja? That is so twisted." Sakura said, still looking really depressed.

"Oh, hey Sakura." Naruto said.

"Hey boss, who's that girl anyway? Oh I get it; you're a smooth operator boss. Come on, I know that she's your… girlfriend"

Naruto talked to Konohamaru and then Sakura punched him. Konohamaru said Sakura wasn't a nice girlfriend and called her ugly so she punched him too. She walked away as Konohamaru and Naruto stood up. "I don't even think she's human. Did you see how wide her forehead is?" Oh no, now you did it. Sakura turned around with a deadly look on her face. Even I was scared. Then she came running at us.

Wait a minute, I know what's going to happen next, I thought as we ran. I looked up just in time to see Konohamaru heading towards Kankuro. I quickly appeared in front of Konohamaru to stop him, but he bumped me making me bump into Kankuro.

"Do you need something?" Kankuro asked lifting me up. He didn't lift very far, since I was almost as tall as him.

"Put her down, Kankuro or you know you'll pay for it later." Temari said.

I smirked. "Yeah, Kankuro. Put me down or Gaara might kill you."

He looked shocked, but then he glared at me. "Why you little-"

"Oh come now, I'm not that little." I said taunting him some more. "But you better put me down before I do it myself."

He brought me closer to his face. "Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do?"

I smirked. "This." With that I appeared beside Naruto.

Kankuro and Temari gasped. Kankuro smirked then. "Nice move, kid. Teach it to me sometime, will you?" I shrugged but said nothing.

Suddenly a rock hit Kankuro's hand, drawing blood. What? It still happened? Oh well. I turned. "Oh, hey Sasuke. You know they weren't doing any harm, right?" I asked him raising my eyebrow.

He just shrugged. "You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league." Kankuro glared at him as he crushed the rock in his hand. "Get lost."

I looked toward the left when I felt another set of chakra. "Oh. Hey Gaara, glad you finally showed up."

Sasuke looked to his right – yes right, our lefts and rights aren't the same right now – in shock. Mostly everyone looked shock to see Gaara, except me of course.

Gaara looked toward Sasuke and then his eyes passed over me. "Kankuro, you're an embarrassment to our village." He said in his sexy husky voice. Kankuro stuttered a bit, but in the end he kept quiet. "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused."

I grinned. "No, he didn't cause any trouble at all Gaara." Gaara looked at me again but kept quiet.

Gaara turned into sand and made his way toward Kankuro and Temari, then he reformed and stood up. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games."

"Hold on!" Sakura said running forward. "I can tell from your headband that you come from the village Hidden in the Sand. Of course the land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So-"

I sighed. "Give it a rest, Sakura. They have permission. They're here for the Chunnin exams."

"The Chunnin exams? What's that? Well I've never heard of any Chunnin exams, believe it."

They went on talking so I just zoned out and stared at the sky, but then I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked to see it was Gaara who was staring at me. He must be thinking how I knew he was even there. I shrugged it off.

They started walking away, when Sasuke jumped out of the tree. "Hey, you! Identify yourself."

Temari turned around "Hmm? You mean me?"

Gosh, I swear she's just as bad as Sakura and Ino. "No, Temari he's talking about the red head."

Gaara turned around. "My name is Gaara – like she said – of the Desert, I'm curious about you and the girl too. Who are you?"

Sasuke smirked. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

I was silent for a second. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I smirked cockily. Kankuro and Temari looked horrified by my answer. They probably think he'll kill me now.

Sasuke and Gaara had a stare-off while I just stood there enjoying the breeze. And then Naruto broke the silence. "Hi there! I bet you're dying to know who I am!"

Gaara didn't even glance at him. "I couldn't care less." With that he and his team left. OK, so the Chunnin Exams were closer than I thought.

Chap 14: The Chunnin Exams begin!

My team were waiting on the bridge when I strolled up to them casually. "Why are you so late, Aya-chan!?" Naruto yelled.

I just shrugged. "Because I knew Kakashi was going to be late." Naruto sighed in defeat.

We waited another half hour before Sakura finally burst. "Why, why, why!? It's always the same! He sets the time then we have to wait HOURS for him!"

Naruto put his fist in the air. "It's not fair." He agreed.

Blah, blah, blah, complain, complain and complain. They need to realise he will never be on time.

I looked to my left at the same time Sasuke did, to see Kakashi appearing on the pillar. "Hey, good morning everyone. Sorry I'm late, a-"

I waved my hand at him. "Yeah, yeah, you got lost on the path of life. Get on with it."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. He jumped down. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunnin Exams. All 4 of you."

I grinned. "Finally. I've been waiting for these Exams."

He held out 4 forms. "These are the application forms."

"Application forms?" Sakura asked with a bewildered expression.

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntary; it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready you can wait till next year. Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application forms…" He told us when to come to the Academy and which room it would be in. It was five days from now, so I would need to begin training straight away. "Only teams of 3 are allowed, but the Hokage made an exception with you 4." We nodded.

We all walked along the path as Naruto and Sasuke thought about who they would fight. "Oh, uh Uchiha… Are you done with those weights? I want to return them sometime soon." He nodded and gave them back to me. Huh, well that's convenient. You know, carrying weights in your weapon holster. "Thanks, now if you guys will excuse me for a while I would like to go train." They all nodded and walked on as I disappeared to my flat. Guess I'll have to go to Gai-sensei then. I grabbed my weapons and some food and put them in my backpack. With that I was off, rushing to Gai-sensei. I didn't use my vanishing trick, because I wanted to see how fast I was now.

Apparently not fast enough, because it took me more than 5 minutes to get there and it was on the other side of the village, even Naruto could beat that. Ok, maybe not Naruto, but Sakura can… I stood in front of Gai sensei, panting. I gave him a bright smile. "Hello Gai-sensei, here's your weights back." I gave him his weights. "May I lend heavier weights today?" I sound so formal.

He nodded and gave me his signature pose. Thumb up; hand on hip and smiling while showing his teeth. "How heavy weights do you want for your youthful spirit?" I mentally sweat dropped.

"Uhm, maybe three 10 kg's and three 15 kg weights?" I mean that would be the best choice, right?

He nodded, grinned and gave them to me while putting the others in his backpack. Oh My Gosh, how many weights are in there, anyway? I thanked him and quickly walked away, trying to get away from him as fast as possible.

I finally came to the perfect spot for me to train. I put my things down and began training with the 10 kg weights on my legs and waist. And let me tell you, I wasn't just running I was trying to train with them while fighting too, I mean it would be useless if I can't fight with them on.

I trained for 5 days straight, sleeping in trees and eating the food I packed for myself. It was actually kind of fun; because I found out I could do very unique Jutsu's. I practised day in and day out. Every time I went to sleep my body was so tired I could barely move. During those 5 days I trained, Iruka-sensei paid me a visit in his unknown ninja costume.

~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~

I threw the shuriken toward a tree and they landed exactly where I wanted them to, when I felt another presence moving closer to me. I closed my eyes and listened carefully. I took out my kunai and threw it behind me. I have been training with closed eyes for a while now and it was really helping.

I heard a swoosh as the ninja dodged, but I heard the fabric being torn which meant he didn't see it coming. My back was still turned toward the enemy, so I guess he was really shocked when I almost caught him. "What do you want, Iruka-sensei? Can't you see I'm training?" I was slightly annoyed, I mean I still had 3 days to train, but I wanted to be stronger, so much stronger.

"Who is this Iruka you are talking about?" He said in that sly voice.

"Ugh, nevermind. Warn me to drop out of the Chunnin exams so that I can train already."

"What? You knew I was going to tell you to stay out of it?" He sounded slightly shocked. I just nodded my head and turned around. He was wasting my time right now. "Alright, then let me show you a little of what will happen if you participate in the Chunnin Exams." I just shrugged and waited for him to start.

Suddenly he was behind me getting ready for a punch, but I grabbed his hand before turning around. "Is that all you got? I mean if you think I'm scared of that, you're really foolish sensei." I smirked. "Or maybe you're just getting rusty from teaching at the Academy."

That angered him somewhat. Good, he fell for it. Suddenly the fight became serious. He even used Genjutsu on me, but it didn't work because he had no idea what I was scared of. The way he used his Genjutsu wasn't surprising since he made it look like me and my team mates were fighting and then they get killed. I kept an emotionless face, but inwardly I was kind of afraid of that even though I knew it wouldn't happen. I didn't even falter when I saw it; I think he thought I didn't care about my teammates when he saw that. His attempt at Ninjutsu was also a fail, since he has water styled Chakra and that helped earth – one of my chakra styles. I suppose he was shocked when he saw me doing two kinds of styles. I did my wind and earth style, but ever since I saw I could do Earth, Water and Wind styled Jutsu's I also found out that I could do Lightning Jutsu's. It was really awesome though, because I like lightning Jutsu's. It's so much more effective that the others. Good thing I didn't show Iruka-sensei that I could do lightning style too, otherwise he would have had to report it to the Hokage and I don't wish for him to do that.

We fought for a while until he became tired and I didn't even break a sweat yet. I guess those weights really do help with stamina too. I pouted. "Aw, sensei that wasn't even a good workout."

He chuckled at my comment and let his Transformation Jutsu go. "You did really good Ayame. How did you know it was me?"

I just shrugged. "I sensed your chakra." He smiled, put his disguise on again and left. Now he was going to tell Kakashi that we were ready.

Darn, what a waste of time. At least I sparred a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK OVER~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally the last day of training came into view. I wasn't going to train too hard today because I needed to save some strength for tomorrow, but I needed to be able to complete my Jutsu without any flaws.

I practised and practised until the sun went down and finally I was done. I grabbed my backpack and disappeared to my apartment. Tonight I will sleep blissfully in a soft and warm bed.

********Neji's POV*********

"Did you hear?" Lee started. "We are going to have Rookies at the Exams – first year Gennin. That has not happened in five years."

"No way… I bet it's just some Jounin trying to boost their egos" Tenten said flipping the Kunai in her hand.

"No there is more to the story than that. 4 of them are from Kakashi's squad."

"Huh, interesting…" I said thinking it over.

"But not very..." Tenten sighed and threw the kunai toward me. It hit the dummy above my head and I was calm all the while.

"Although, that girl who borrows weights from Gai-sensei is in Kakashi's squad too. She interests me. Either way, it's too bad for them." I got a smug look on my face. There's no way they'll get to the 3de exam, I mean they are just rookies after all.

Tenten chuckled.

*********Ayame's POV**********

Me and the two boys were waiting for Sakura. She was actually late for once. When she finally came, Naruto stated the same thing.

I walked over to her. "Don't worry so much Sakura, you'll be fine. I promise." I gave her a closed eye smile and walked into the building.

We finally arrived at room '301' I rolled my eyes. Yeah right, if that's room 301, then I'm a flying pig. I snorted at the thought.

I shoved my way through toward Kotetsu and Izoumo, just in time to see Lee get punched. "Please let us through we're supposed to go in there." Tenten stood up and walked forward, but before she could get punched I flashed in front of her and caught one of the boys' hands. I'm not sure which one, because my eyes were closed as I smiled at them. "Hey Izoumo, Kotetsu. Thanks for taking me to the hospital that day." They looked shocked to see me. "Oh and you can lift the Genjutsu now."

Kotetsu smirked. "So you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" I shrugged. They smirked at me and then released the Genjutsu. Kotetsu opened one eye. "Well aren't we the smart one?"

I chuckled. "Sure, you can say that." I want to see them as grown-ups, they're much cuter that way, anyway.

"So you noticed the illusion, now let's see you deal with this!" Izoumo went to kick Sasuke – who was behind me -, but he lifted his leg to block the kick. Then I looked toward Lee and he moved fast to get to them. He grabbed their legs and let go after a while. Neji and Tenten walked over to him. "Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level."

"I know, but…" Lee looked toward Sakura and had a look of determination on his face.

Tenten shook her head and sighed. "Nevermind, it's over. Forget it."

Lee walked over to Sakura. I watched amused as Sakura turned him down when he asked her out. This part is always so funny.

"Hey, you. Over here. What's your name?" Neji asked Sasuke. I looked toward Naruto who was glaring at Sasuke with fire in his eyes. "It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking for someone else's"

"Hypocrite." I said, not even bothering to lower my voice.

He glared at me. "What was that?"

"You heard me. You asked Gaara for his name without telling him yours first. You're a hypocrite."

Neji looked at us both. "Hey, you're rookies aren't you? How old are you anyway?"

"I'm not obliged to answer."

Neji glared at him. I guess Sasuke's irritating him now. "What's that?" Tenten giggled.

Sasuke turned around and walked toward Sakura. I turned toward Neji. "Don't mind him. He's always like that. That's Sasuke Uchiha and he's 13 and I'm Ayame Korokawa, 14." He nodded and turned around.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Ayame let's go." I nodded and we walked to room 301.

We walked up the stairs toward the room. We walked into a room with wooden floors and pillars. Hey, aren't Sasuke and Lee going to fight here? Huh, I get to see some action. I smirked. I saw Sasuke glancing my way. "What are you smirking about?"

I shook my head. "Just something that's going to happen in 3… 2… 1… Now." I turned around just when Lee called. "Hey, you, with the attitude. Hold on."

They all stopped and turned around to see Rock Lee standing on the upper floor. "Huh?"

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"I want to fight. Right here and right now, with both you and the girl." Wait, what? He wants to fight me too? Well I guess we can do that.

"You want to fight me here and now, huh?" I rolled my eyes. It's just like him to ignore me.

"Yes! You and the girl." He jumped off and landed with a crouch before he stood up. "My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right?" He pointed a finger at a glaring Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hmm, so you know me." Yet he still doesn't know my name.

Lee pointed at me. "But you, who are you?"

I shrugged. "Ayame Korokawa."

Lee stood in fighting stance. "I will fight you both. I challenge you."

I shrugged again. "Sounds good to me." I really didn't care about this fight.

Lee started talking to Sakura and she squealed in disgust and started freaking out about his looks. He started blowing hearts at her and she tried desperately to avoid them and ended up hitting her head on the floor. She started yelling at him about it and his shoulders slumped.

I looked at Naruto's angry face and sighed. I'll let him get knocked out this once, but only once.

"You want to know more about my clan? Then I'll teach you, the hard way."

Lee smirked and stood ready. "Bring it on."

"Hold it!" Everyone looked at Naruto astonished, except me of course. "I get him first. This weirdo is mine." He said with an irk mark visible. Sasuke gave him the go ahead.

I ignored their mini fight and stood there with a bored expression on my face. Naruto was knocked out quickly and before Lee could say anything I butted in. "Looks like it's time for our fight, hey Lee?" I said in a bored tone. He looked irritated. Whether it was because of my bored tone or because I cut him off, I don't know.

I let Sasuke fight him for a while so that he could see he would lose and then I appeared behind Lee and tapped on his shoulder. "I'm still here, Lee." I gave him a closed eye smile. He tried to kick me while I wasn't looking but I dodged him.

He tried again, but this time I let him. Unlike in the fight with Kakashi, I felt the pain as I skidded back, still standing. It didn't bruise me, but it did hurt. Sasuke already had his Sharingan out. Stupid Uchiha, he won't be able to copy Lee's moves, but he doesn't know that.

Sasuke rushed at Lee thinking he'll see through Lee's attacks. Lee kicked Sasuke, sending him flying upward. I appeared behind Lee and kicked him. I was getting irritated with him. "You keep forgetting about me, Lee. You shouldn't do that, it'll be your biggest mistake." I looked toward Sasuke. "Uchiha you're so stupid. He doesn't use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu. He only uses Taijutsu and you can't copy it. Not fully, anyway." I heard Lee preparing for a punch, but like Kotetsu I grabbed his hand. He was definitely shocked that I could catch his hand, but he quickly retaliated by trying to kick me. I jumped up and dodged. "Lee you're making this too easy and I'm not even using Ninjutsu yet."

Sasuke ran to Lee again, but got hit in the stomach when I released Lee's hand.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke winced from getting the air knocked out of him.

I let them fight for a while. "She is correct. My technique is Taijutsu; that means no tricks Sasuke." Lee used his speed to get behind Sasuke. "It is just straight Martial arts. Nothing more."

Sasuke looked angry. "Why you…!" He turned around to hit Lee, but Lee jumped out of the way.

I zoned out as they talked and fought. Suddenly that turtle appeared and once again I zoned out.

Then Gai-sensei was in front me. "Hello young… uhm, I don't know your name… young spirit of youth."

"Oh, hi Gai-sensei," I scratched the back of my neck. "It's Ayame Korokawa."

"Ayame… What a youthful name!" I sweat dropped. It's just a normal name and not even my real name.

I stayed silent as Gai-sensei apologized for Lee.

"Hey Sasuke, actually I have not been completely honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skills and that is true enough, but you are not really the one I wanted to test them against. I lied to you when we were fighting before. I told you I am the best gennin here, but there is another top Ninja, someone on my own team." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I came here to defeat him, you were just practise. Now you are a target. I will crush you! There you have it, consider yourself warned." He ran and jumped onto the upper landing before turning to me. "And you girl, are strong to be able to fight me without having a scratch on you. Good luck in the Chunnin exams."

Finally we could go to the first stage of the Chunnin Exams.

Chap 15: The first Exam.

We were all standing in a room full of Gennin. Hmm… they all look older than us. Did they fail the Exams a few times or did they just wait to be stronger? Well doesn't matter.

"Oh, it's you guys. I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't know it was going to be this lame." Shikamaru said.

"So, all three stooges are here." Naruto said.

"Hey you know what, pipsqueak? Ah forget it; it's just a waste of time." Ooh… Looks like Shikamaru's a bit nervous. I mean he wouldn't even be riled up by Naruto if he wasn't stressed.

I walked over to him and hung my arm around his shoulders. "What's up Shikamaru?" I smiled at him and he sweat dropped. I silently chuckled and let go of him again before he had the chance to even answer. I walked toward my team and stood with my hands on my hips.

"Well, well what do you know? It looks like the whole gang's back together again." Kiba and his team walked toward us

"You guys too, huh? Man, everyone's here for this stupid thing."

"Yup, here we are. The 9 rookies." Kiba started laughing. "This is gonna be fun. At least for those good enough to make the cut, right Sasuke?" He said, smirking.

I looked at him. "Kiba I think you meant 10. I'm here too you know and I don't appreciate being ignored." I glowered at him and he visibly gulped.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, Kiba don't count her out. For a troublesome woman she's definitely dangerous."

I smiled. "Thanks Shikamaru." All the rookies sweat dropped and shuffled away from me. What? What did I do? Oh, right. I basically admitted to being dangerous and appreciated it when Shikamaru called me dangerous. I smirked.

"Hey you guys." I looked to my left and glared. I even almost stopped Kabuto in his tracks with it, unfortunately I wasn't that lucky. "You might try keeping it down a little. I mean, no offence, but you're the nine –" I gave him a vicious glare. "I-I mean ten rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy? I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it. This isn't a class fieldtrip." And he would know, wouldn't he? Oh and is it just me or is it that every time someone says 'no offence' they go on and offend? I mean, hello? If you're going to say no offence, don't offend people.

"Well who asked you? Who are you?"

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really look around you." All the rookies did except me, because I already knew everyone was glaring at us. While the rookies looked at the other people, Kabuto analysed me but I just ignored him as I looked at the roof. "You've made quite an impression. See those guys? They're from the Rain village, very touchy, they all are. This makes everyone tense."

I butted in and smiled a fake smile. "Really? I don't feel tense at all."

Kabuto glared at me while the others weren't looking. "As I was saying, you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now. You can't help it; I mean how could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."

I ignored what they were talking about while thinking about Orochimaru. Was he using that ninja's face already? Or is he going to use it just before the 2de Exam?

Kabuto took his ninja info cards out and explained how they work. He's such a nerd.

Sasuke stepped forward. "Do those cards of yours have any info of the other Candidates individually?"

"They might. You have someone special in mind?"

"I might."

"Well I can't promise my information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys, of course. So which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them. A description, where they're from, whatever. Anything at all." Kabuto said.

"He's Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee of the Leaf village and there's Ayame Korokawa while you're at it." Sasuke said with a serious expression.

"You could've just asked me, I could've told you more than those cards will." I said under my breath.

"Man, that's no fun, you even know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto said in a whiny voice. He took out three cards. "Here they are. First up is Rock Lee." He put some Chakra in it and a picture of Lee and his info appeared. He talked about Lee, but I didn't really pay attention because I felt eyes on me and I knew exactly whose eyes they were. Gaara was staring at me again. I wonder why…

"Ok, now for Gaara of the Desert." He twirled the card around and put some chakra in it. "Mission experience is 8 C ranks and… get this, 1 B rank as a gennin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally, but there is this. He survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

I shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me."

Shikamaru looked at me, freaked. "The dude's done a B rank as a gennin without being scratched and you're not surprised?"

I shrugged again. "I could've told you a lot more than those cards can, but I'm not going to."

They all looked at me shocked, even Kabuto, but then he continued. "Ok, so lastly is Ayame Korokawa."

"You're not going to find a lot on me."

He didn't even glance at me as he continued. "Age is 14, Mission experience is 30 D ranks, 10 C ranks and… Impressive. 21 B ranks. Skills… There's not a lot on you either, except you're good at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. It doesn't state how good, though. That's about it."

"I told you, didn't I?"

"What!? Ayame you've been on 21 B rank missions!?" All the rookies exclaimed.

I shrugged. "Yeah. Every time I wasn't on a mission with you guys I was on a mission with some Chunnin." They stared at me wide eyed. "And, you know, because only teams of three are actually allowed I had to be put on different teams when their other teammates either got hurt or died. I wasn't going to be on your team in the first place, but I had to be put on a team and Kakashi's the only one who can handle 4 gennin."
Then Kabuto started talking about the villages and said that the Sound village is small.

Yes, my favourite part. Naruto started yelling at the other Gennin about how they're going to lose to him and all that. Every one of the rookies were either angry at him or amused. "Can you say that a little louder? I didn't quite catch that." Kiba said. Shikamaru told him to keep his trap shut.

I grinned and turned to Kabuto "Hold still now Kabuto, I want you to get hit by this." The other rookies gave me a confused look which I ignored.

Suddenly the Sound ninja rushed forward and Dosu aimed to punch Kabuto, but he dodged it and narrowly avoided it. Kabuto smirked, but then his smirk turned into shock when his glasses broke.

"Oh, I see." He said while taking his glasses off.

I shook my head. "No you don't, you're not wearing you glasses." I said just to piss him off as I smirked. "Wait for it… Now." I said snapping my fingers and when I did he fell to his knees and puked. "I told you, you didn't see it and now you're paying for calling their village small." I said and shook my head in fake disappointment. Then I grinned. Everyone was shocked, so I explained. "Don't you guys get it? They're from the village hidden in the Sound." I said emphasising the word 'sound' "They use sound to attack."

The sound ninjas nodded. "You got that right, girl."

"Alright, you baby-faced degenerates, pipe down and listen up!" and that queues Ibiki's entrance. "It's time to begin. I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor and from this moment your worst enemy." He said smirking. "First, you candidates from the village hidden in the sound, knock it off. Who told you, you could fight? You wanna fail before we've even begun?" Ibiki's even cooler in person.

"Sorry, it's our first time." Dosu said, but you could hear he wasn't really sorry. "Guess we're a little jumpy, sir."

"I'll say this once, so listen up." And then I zoned out. I mean I've heard this twice already, I don't need to hear it a third time. We all stood in line to get our numbers so we could go sit. I got my number and grinned at Ibiki. He looked taken aback by it though. I went to sit next to a random ninja. I think he might've been one of the Chunnin. I wonder if they put me here for a reason. I shrugged the thought off. Who cares?

"Begin!" I turned my paper around and looked at the questions.

Oh My Gosh, I'm so not getting any of these answers without cheating. Then I realised I had no Jutsu to help me cheat. I sighed. Wait, I do have a Jutsu to cheat without anyone noticing. I guess I'll have to do it. I did my hand signs under the table and then my Secret Jutsu was used. My eyes turned into shadows. I looked at the Sentinel beside me's paper without moving my head. I could read shadowed numbers of paper. I know, it's really weird. I wrote down the answers as quick as I could and then relaxed. I think Sasuke and Sakura saw I was finished, because I heard their relieve sighs. I smirked; it's good to have accurate hearing.

I heard a lot of people getting failed. Those losers are so stupid. I bet they didn't even know they were supposed to cheat. Kankuro went to the bathroom. I smirked, such a cheater. Well, I'm a hypocrite. I mean I cheated too and so did the others. I sat up and smirked at Ibiki. I think he got what I meant with the smirk, because he smirked right back. I chuckled softly. I just basically told him I wasn't scared of a little test, as well as I'm done. I think I was done before all the other candidates, because he also looked shocked when I smirked at him.

"Alright, listen up. Here's the tenth and final question." I didn't really listen, because there was no way I would quit this Exam. I smirked when I saw Naruto lifting his hand up and then he slammed it down and just about told everyone who was still here that if you don't go through with a mission, you're a coward. That's my Naruto.

"This decision is one that could change your life. If for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance."

"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the ninja."

Ibiki looked at the sentinels and the sentinels all nodded. "Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do and that's for me to tell you… That you've all passed the first exam." He smiled proudly.

Everyone was shell shocked and there were a few outbursts of questions. Personally I think they should just be happy that they passed. Ibiki explained to them what the first Exam was all about.

"The first 9 questions on the test were difficult, in fact as you may have realised too difficult for any Gennin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion that you'd have to cheat if you had any chance of passing" His eyes landed on me for a second. "The fact is, the test was designed to encourage cheating, it almost demanded it. Of course, it would've done you little good unless you had someone to cheat from. So I disguised two Chunnin that already knew the answers and had them sit in with you." The guy next to me waved his hand. Yeah, I knew he was a sentinel. "Those who were caught at it, failed. Better not to cheat than to cheat clumsily." He started taking off his head band, so I looked away. I hated seeing all the scars. He continued talking for a while. "As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate, I hear by this part of the Chunnin selection Exam completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck." He was barely finished when Naruto yelled out in happiness.

Suddenly the glass shattered as Anko made her grand entrance. "Heads up, boys and girls. This is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitorashi. You ready for the second test? Good, then let's go! Follow me!" Everyone just sat there looking at her in shock. I sighed.

Ibiki walked out from behind the cloth she had hung on the roof. "You're early, again."

I ignored them as Anko pestered Ibiki about all the candidates that passed.

"Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you should meet me. Dismissed." Well she's even creepier in real life when she says that.

Chap 16: Meeting Orochimaru face-to-face.

We were walking in the forest of death. We had already gotten our scrolls and signed the paper that said that Anko couldn't be sued if we died; I guess everyone signed their names, but I wrote 'Sorry Anko, but I won't die THAT easily ^_^. Ayame Korokawa.' I wonder what she'll do when she sees that. I chuckled at the thought. It would be a funny sight to see indeed. This forest was actually creepier in real life. If I had to live in a creepy place like this I would… totally love it. I know, I'm weird.

I didn't stop Orochimaru from picking up the kunai Anko threw at Naruto, but I did get Naruto out of Anko's hands before he did. I guess they were quite shocked when they saw me get Naruto out of her arms without any trouble.

We had ended up at Gate 12 and soon Anko said "The test has begun." And that's we ran in. that's how we got here.

I suppose Shino's friend leeches had already gotten their pray, because I heard the screams of the team that got caught. "That sounded like someone screaming." I rolled my eyes at Sakura. I mean she's stating the obvious. "I do not like this place."

"Oh, come on. It's nothing to be scared of; it is gonna be a piece of cake. Uh, excuse me a second." He ran to a bush. "I really got to… you know."

"Yeah right! Get out of here, not in front of me you don't! Find a bush or something!" Sakura said hitting him on the head.

I waited a few second before I got a kunai out and held it ready. "Ah man, that was a lot. I-" I threw the kunai at him and went to hit him in the face, but Sasuke beat me to it. "Sakura, that's not Naruto. First of all, where's the cut on his cheek? And the Naruto we know carries his shuriken holster on his right leg, not his left." I said while Sasuke fought the ninja. I jumped in and kicked the rain ninja in the face and cut his arm. Then Sasuke used his Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but the guy dodged, so Sasuke resulted in cutting the ninja's chest. "Don't just stand there, Sakura. Chances are this guy's not alone, the others could strike any minute." He yelled at her.

The ninja pushed Sasuke away. "I wish. I came alone so it wouldn't sprout suspicion. Big mistake." With that he ran away. Coward.

We sat in a circle as Sasuke told us we need a secret password. "OK, listen closely, because I only want to say this once. The question will be: When does a ninja strike? And the response is: A ninja waits until 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." Naruto complained about the length of the password, but complied anyway. "Alright then, I'll take the scroll."

I shook my head. "No you won't. I will take the scroll and don't even think about arguing Uchiha." He nodded curtly and threw it at me. I caught it easily and put it in my left legwarmer with the weights I still had in there.

Suddenly wind blew toward us, that big wind that Orochimaru created. I would have to stay with Sasuke if I wanted to kill Orochimaru. I tried to brace myself, but it was futile. I flew backwards along with Sasuke and Sakura and kept myself at Sasuke's side so he'd know it was me.

Sasuke hid under a bush and I hid next to him. "Damn it. I hope Naruto's not hurt." I whispered to him.

He turned to me and asked for the password. I rolled my eyes. "I was beside you the whole time Uchiha, but I'll tell you anyway. A ninja waits until the time is right. When his 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." He nodded his head again

I felt Sakura's chakra so I calmly got out from under the bush. "Relax Sasuke, it is Sakura. There's no one else's chakra that feels like hers." He nodded and relaxed a little.

"Hey! What's up? You guys ok?" I rolled my eyes. Naruto would never say 'what's up' in a situation like this.

"Don't come any closer, what's the password?" Sakura asked.

'Naruto' said it perfectly and I narrowed my eyes. "You lying snake, Naruto wouldn't be able to remember a password like that. You fell into Sasuke's trap." I threw my Kunai at a shocked Orochimaru.

"Alright, come on out whoever you are! Party's over." Sasuke called to him.

Orochimaru gave his sly smile and licked his lips with his disgusting tongue. "Aren't we the clever one?" and with a 'poof' he transformed back into the grass ninja. "Tell me, if your team mate is really that dim-witted, why would you come up with a password he'd never remember?"

I glared at him and stuck my finger in the air. "1ste, don't call Naruto dim-witted." I intensified my glare and held up another finger. "2de, Naruto is easier to transform into and an easier target." I held up another finger. "And last, that password was a trap for those who were eavesdropping on us."

Sasuke nodded, agreeing with me. "And you stumbled right into it." He said.

"I'm impressed. You certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you? This promises to be very entertaining." He brought out his earth scroll and as stupid as Sakura was, she gasped. "Ah, you'd love to get your hands on our earth scroll, wouldn't you? It would go so nicely with your heaven scroll." Then Orochimaru, like the disgusting freak he was, ate it. "Well, when this is all over one of us will have both scrolls and the other will be dead." Orochimaru opened his eye and paralysed my two teammates. I went along with it, falling on my knees and staring at the ground while shaking. Predators can't strike fear into other predators, so that's why it didn't work on me.

I heard Sasuke puke on the ground beside me. Eew, that's so disgusting. I kept the fear on my face as I stared at the ground. I heard Sasuke fall on the ground. "S-sakura?" He asked her, but she didn't respond. Then he turned to me. "A-ayame?"

I kept the fear in my eyes and face. "Shut it Uchiha, I'll get us out of this, but shut it." I whispered without moving my mouth. He was shocked, that much I knew.

He tried moving and was a little successful, but then he looked into Orochimaru's eyes again. "Now what happens?" He moved forward. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick. But I don't have to tell you that, do I?" he said as he took out three Kunai. "You've seen it with your own eyes." Finally he stood still and got ready to throw the Kunai. I was going to let Sasuke get away by himself; I wasn't going to help him. He had to do this by himself. "I expected you to be more of a challenge." And then he threw the kunai knives. Sasuke pierced his own flesh with his kunai and got Sakura out of the way, but I sat still and waited for the right moment. When the moment came I grabbed the kunai before it touched me and stood up. "Sorry Orochimaru, I don't think you'll be killing any of my teammates today." I said before going after Sasuke. Damn it.

Sasuke sat in the tree and pulled the kunai out of his leg. "That wound's deep, Will you be alright?"

Sasuke covered her mouth and looked toward where Orochimaru was. I grabbed them both and got out of the way. "You got careless and didn't watch your surroundings, Sasuke. You would've been dead if it hadn't been for me." I said as the snake bit down on the branch. It slithered around the tree and finally came to a stop on a branch. Its skin started cracking and out came Orochimaru. "I sense your fear and desperation. It's only natural. The pray must never let down its guard, not even for a moment in the presence of its predator." He jumped forward, moving like a snake, stretching his body around the tree and made his way toward Sasuke.

Naruto finally arrived and threw shuriken and kunai at the place Orochimaru would've been. "Looks like I came just in time!" Naruto called giving his signature determined smile. "Oh and by the way, what was that password again?"

I smiled at him. "Glad you finally came, Naruto."

Orochimaru glared at Naruto. Hmm... He seems a little ticked off. I smirked. "Naruto, get out of here!" I glared at Sasuke. "What are you thinking!? You don't know what you're up against! Hurry. Go now, while you still can."
"So Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend? Well done."

"Ok, Ok, I don't know what's going on here, but you've been picking on my friends and I don't like that. So you just better slither on back to your hole, Snake lady, before I make a pair of shoes out of ya."

"You can have it." Sasuke took the scroll out of his weapon holster. Wait, what? Didn't I have the scroll? I looked in my legwarmer to see a frikken mini stump. I growled. He gave me a fake! "The scroll, right? That's what you want." You are so very wrong, you stupid Uchiha. "Alright then, take it and leave us in piece."

Orochimaru went on about the offer of the pray and then Sasuke threw the scroll to him. Luckily Naruto caught it. He started talking to Sasuke and telling him that he's a coward.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Sad, but true." He said standing up. "It doesn't matter. As far as the scroll goes I could simply kill you and take it." He said and then summoned a snake. The snake slammed Naruto – who had rushed toward Orochimaru – down and Naruto landed on a branch. "What a tasty little meal you'll make for him. Careful, he likes to play with his food." He said with humour in his eyes as if he was telling a joke. The snake's tail slammed down on the branch Naruto sat on, sending him flying upwards. He coughed up blood and fell down. On the way down, Naruto turned right side up again and punched the snake continuously. His eyes were red again. You could tell he was really ticked off by the way he was yelling. Suddenly a ball of flame was sent towards him. "Now then, let's see how well you do, Sasuke." He and the snake rushed towards him, but before they could crush him, Naruto stopped them. He stopped that giant snake, standing there panting from the effort. He looked up. "Hey kid, you're not hurt are you? You scaredy cat." Sasuke just stood there staring into Naruto's red eyes. "Standing there, frozen like a frightened rabbit, no way! You're not the Sasuke I know." Naruto said in a harsh tone.

Suddenly Orochimaru's tongue wrapped around Naruto's body, lifting him up. I narrowed my eyes when I saw Orochimaru's glowing fingers. "I don't think so." I whispered as Orochimaru said. "Five proned seal." I appeared in front of Naruto, getting hit in my right shoulder. I cried out in pain. Damn it! That hurt! We were hurtled back into the air, but I turned right side up and grabbed Naruto who had passed out when my head had bumped on his – and might I add that it was very hard. Or that's what I think happened. I think I might've been bleeding. I gently laid Naruto down and held my burning arm. Damn it, it feels as if I don't have Chakra in my left arm. I guess that's what that seal does. Damn it. He still burned the scroll.

"Hmm… you knew I was going to put that seal on the boy, so you protected him by letting you get hit. Am I right?" I said nothing and glared my most ferocious glare at him. He almost shrunk back. Almost. "That's quite a glare you've got there." Damn him. Damn that snake to the deepest pits of hell.

I heard Sakura call out Sasuke's name and tell him that he was a coward unlike Naruto, but I didn't listen because I was focused solely on Orochimaru who had moved his eyes toward Sasuke again.

"No!" Sasuke yelled. I guess he had his sharingan on him now. Orochimaru released his summoning Jutsu. Sasuke took out a kunai and put it in his mouth. Well, that's actually really weird, but oh well. He ran toward Orochimaru. Idiot. He threw all his kunai at Orochimaru who dodged them easily. They fought for a while and Sasuke used his Fireball Jutsu's. Orochimaru played with him for a while until Sasuke took Rock Lee's move and fell down with Orochimaru's mud clone. Sasuke made sure his head hit the ground hard, too bad it was futile. The clone turned to mud again.

Sasuke jumped down when he realised it was a substitution and it ended up getting him hit in the face, the stomach and his face again. He laid there for a while as Orochimaru moved closer. "What a disappointment you turned out to be. Your ancestors weep; the Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Silly little worm." I guess he hasn't figured it out yet. Suddenly a boom was heard and Orochimaru fell down. I smirked. Serves him right. Sasuke was up and fighting again with even more energy this time. I guess Orochimaru ticked him off. Orochimaru was pulled to the tree and pinned with the wires. I guess those things do come in handy sometimes.

The Sasuke made hand signs. Wait, was he going to do a fire-style? Because I distinctly remember seeing the tiger seal. Suddenly a flame erupted out of Sasuke's mouth and continued down the string, straight toward Orochimaru. He screamed a bone chilling scream of pain. I cringed. Ow, that hurt my ears. What? You didn't think I was going to pity the guy, did you?

The tree was burnt to a crisp, but Orochimaru wasn't. The only thing wrong with him was that the skin he had worn was peeling off and revealing his true face, or a part of it. It was quite disgusting though. I stood up from my crouching form. Damn, now I can't do any of my Jutsu's. Luckily that disappearing trick of mine doesn't take Chakra and neither does Taijutsu. "Sasuke, you did it! Are you ok? Don't worry, it's all over." Not quite yet, Sakura.

The sound of the wires breaking startled the two. Once again the two froze out of fear. I sighed, Orochimaru that is getting old. "Such mastery of the Sharingan and so young in age." His voice turned to his own while he was speaking. "You're a true Uchiha after all. Yes, you'll do nicely. You are definitely his brother. If anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's."

"Who are you, what do you want!?" Sasuke yelled at him.

"My name is Orochimaru, but as to what I want… That'll have to wait until we meet again, which won't happen after you finish the test with the best scores of all. First, you'll have to defeat the hidden sound ninja who serve me." Suddenly Orochimaru did a hand sign and his neck stretched. My eyes widened. Shit!

I appeared in front of Sasuke right as Orochimaru was going to bite him, so instead he bit me. At first I was frozen in place and thinking about how reckless that was and then I tried screaming in pain, but it sounded like I was chocking. Orochimaru's teeth left my shoulder as he went back to his body. Then a snake came coiling itself around me and it bit Sasuke. I fell to my knees in pain. No! Damn it! I looked at Orochimaru in shock. "As soon as I saw you weren't affected by my eyes I knew you'd interfere, so I had a back-up plan." I felt tears of hopelessness run down my cheeks. No, how could I have been so foolish? Now I have the curse mark as well and I might not even make it. "I just gave them a little parting gift." He said looking at Sakura. "Very soon Sasuke and the girl will seek me out and desire my power."

"Like hell I will!" I shouted at him through my pain, but he ignored me.

"In the mean time I enjoyed the demonstration of the powers you already possess." He chuckled sinisterly and descended into the tree.

Me and Sasuke screamed in pain at the same time and then he passed out. I panted, trying to keep myself from blacking out so that I could help Sakura take the boys and myself to a safer place. Sakura yelled for Naruto to come and help her. "Sakura… Naruto's passed out… I'll help you for as long as… I can." I bit out between the burning pains.

She looked at me shocked. "Ayame, you… you're still conscience?"

I nodded and stood up shakily. It hurt so damn badly I just wanted to curl in a ball and die, but I refused to do so or even black out. "You carry Sasuke, I'll carry Naruto. We need to get to a safe place." She nodded and picked Sasuke up as I went and got Naruto. I screamed in pain and fell to my knees with Naruto on my shoulder. "Damn it! I will not black out now!" I said and stood up again. "Sakura, we need to hurry. I'm going to pass out soon and I don't want to drop Naruto while at it." She nodded again and off we were searching for a safe place with me occasionally screaming, crying out or groaning in pain.

Finally we got to the hollowed out tree. We put the boys down gently and Sakura stayed with them, but she turned to me. "Ayame, sleep. You're tired." I shook my head, but it ended up making me woozy and I fell on my butt. Suddenly I felt a more fierce pain than I have yet felt so far. My eyes widened and I let out an ear splitting shriek in absolute pain. I'm sure it sounded more like some big, vicious animal dying, but I wasn't sure as my hearing was as bad as my sight right now and then I passed out.

Chap 17: The curse

I heard Sakura gasp. I suppose she woke up from a nightmare. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head. I sat up and rubbed my head. Damn, what happened? I feel like I have a massive hangover. The memories came rushing back to me, making me gasp. I looked at my shoulder in disgust when I saw the curse mark. Sakura's head whipped toward me. "Ayame, you're awake!" She came over and hugged me.

I groaned. "Sakura, that hurts. Again." She quickly got off of me and apologised. "It's all right. You can rest up now. You look terrible." I gave her a soft smile for comfort. "He'll be alright, Sakura. When am I ever wrong about stuff like this?" She shook her head. "Now go to sleep, would you?" She nodded her head and lied to sleep.

I tried doing that 5 proned seal thing with my left hand, since my right was basically useless. My fingers glowed purple and I grinned. Success! How the heck I did it is a mystery, but who cares? I can make my arm work again. "5 Proned seal release!" I whispered and brought my hand down on my arm – hard.

I heard the bushes rustle and turned around. I quickly threw my shuriken at the squirrel; I mean the thing had a bomb on it for Pete's sake. I narrowed my eyes at the little thing as it ran away. I can't believe someone would put a bomb on the poor thing, luckily Lee will save it. I looked up and glared at the place where the Sound ninja were. I knew where they were not only because I've watched this episode a lot, but because I could feel their chakras.

I watched the progress of my teammates for a while before I just sat there and thought over yesterday's events. I can't believe I was bitten by Orochimaru. How could I have been so reckless?

"Some lookout, you're half asleep." Dosu said.

I didn't even turn around. "Am I? Are you quite sure about that?" I asked him sarcastically. I stood up. "Actually I've been waiting for you guys to show yourselves, Dosu, Saku and girl. I don't really care enough to remember your name. The name's Ayame Korokawa." I shrugged and slowly turned around so they could see the arrogant smirk on my face. I saw the girl growl at me. Meh, she's not important enough for me.

"So you knew we were there the whole time, huh?" I nodded with the smirk still present. "At least you don't have to keep watch anymore. Now wake Sasuke up, we want to fight him."

I shook my head. "Sorry no can do, but I can tell you what you want to know. He will be stronger than all of you compared and he will survive, just like I did…" I trailed off as an unpleasant feeling of hate came over me.

They looked at me shocked. "You have the curse mark?" I showed them my left shoulder. "Well then, we want to fight you too." I shrugged.

"Guess I'll just have to grant your wish then, hmm?" Suddenly I was behind Saku. I kicked his head, sending him sprawling into the trap. A log came falling down on top of him, but he dodged sadly. I pouted. "Aw, I wanted to see you squashed." Then a sadistic smile came to my lips. "Well, I'll just have to make it happen myself then."

Saku actually looked freaked for a moment, but then he smirked. "You're all talk and no play; I bet you won't even be able to touch me again."

I smirked right back and folded my arms. "You wanna bet on that?" my eyes left his for a moment, but rested on them again. Before he could turn around Lee was there and shouting as he kicked Saku. "Leaf hurricane."

I left it for him to do the fighting for a while until I saw Dosu rushing at him with his arm after lee had strained his muscles with the primary lotus. I appeared beside Dosu and kicked him away before he could do any real damage to Lee. I did a backflip and skidded away from the sound ninja. "Lee, let me fill you in." I said coming to a stop beside him. "They use sound for their attacks and sometimes wind. Dosu, the guy who I just kicked, he uses sound to make your balance go all wrong – he attacks your inner ear. That is what made that Kabuto" I spit his name out like it tasted fowl. "Puke and fall to his knees. I will fight this guy, besides I am the one he wants to fight and there is no way to dodge an attack from him if you only have Taijutsu and speed at your side. You have to get your strength back anyway" He nodded and stepped back.

Sakura had just woken up from the commotion and was taking care of Lee right now, because despite me efforts he still got hit by the sound.

I fought Dosu and vanished every time he wanted to hit me with his sound. It bewildered him to see I was able to dodge it. I smirked. "Hey Dosu, just to let you know, I'm not even getting a workout out of this and for that you suck. I thought you'd be a much stronger opponent, plus I haven't even used any Ninjutsu yet, only Taijutsu." I said as I kicked and punched him.

He grunted in irritation and used more force this time. I smiled. Finally I can become serious. I stood still and did my hand signs. "Water style: Crystal senbon!" I said and threw my hands outward as if I had any weapons in them and ice senbon flew at the sound ninja. As he dodged I did another hand sign. "Water style: Water Cyclone Jutsu." A water cyclone was sent his way, but this time he didn't dodge it, he used his sound to return it to me. I just held out my hand and when the water touched me, it disappeared. I smirked and did a last hand sign. "Wind style: Silent wind shuriken." I whispered.

Saku smirked. "What kind of Jutsu is that? I doesn't even work." He laughed.

I smirked back at him with my arms folded. "Just wait for it."

Suddenly all three sound ninja winced and blood flowed from the cuts they got. They got so many cuts that they fell to the ground. I walked over to Saku and crouched. "You see, this is one of my special attacks – well not really. It is a soundless wind natured Jutsu that cuts you up without you even seeing it coming. You see, I designed this Jutsu specifically for you sound ninja, because I know you can hear just about any movement when other people can't." I stood up and walked back to Lee and Sakura. I saw Lee wanted to say something, but before he could, I fell to my knees coughing up blood. My eyes widened. How the hell did this happen? I glanced to my left to see Dosu standing there. How did I not notice him coming up from behind me? Suddenly I felt a pain in my ribs and I was sent flying. That bastard just kicked me. I glared at him from where I lay as he came closer. At least he didn't break my ribs, but I'll have a bruise there tomorrow – if not sooner.

"We're going to show you something called 'The Wall.'" They continued talking about what they could do, but I ignored them. They didn't really seem to notice. I felt my ear start to bleed. Damn that sound, it actually hurt. I stood up and Dosu noticed instantly. He rushed to me, but I couldn't use my vanishing trick so I just blocked his blow. Though, it didn't do any good. The device on his arm made a high pitched sound and because of my more accurate hearing – which was a total disadvantage – my ear started bleeding more and I winced. I knew Dosu was talking, but I couldn't hear him.

I felt the sound move toward me and then it entered my ear. I screamed in pain and held my head as the pain started. Is it just me or am I screaming a lot more these days? I fell to my hands and knees. "Damn you." I said and then I passed out.

I heard yelling and I opened my eyes. I turned my head to see Saku beating Sakura to try and get her off of him. I felt my anger flare ten times more than usual. There was no way I was going to let that bastard beat up my friend. I stood up clumsily and walked toward Saku. I felt my chakra grow stronger and I felt it taking on a more sinister feeling. I looked up at Saku and glared with hatred. I looked at my skin to see the curse mark spreading over my skin. It looked like rose thorn patterns. I smiled a cruel smile. He will regret touching her with his filthy blood soaked hands. I watched and it looked as if everyone was moving in slow motion. Dosu looked scared out of his wits when he saw me. I launched myself at Saku and grabbed his fist as he was about the punch her again. I glared at him so ferociously that he shrunk as far back as he could. "No one, and I mean NO ONE beats my friends to a bloody pulp!" I growled in a loud animalistic voice. "Sakura move. You'll get in my way and get hurt if you don't move right now." She did as I said. I pulled Saku up and growled in his face. "You wanted to fight me, so fight." He just stood still. "Fine, if you don't want to fight, I will." I launched myself at him and punched him in the face, sending him smashing against the tree. In a second I was beside him and then I punched and kicked him repeatedly. I did hand signs. "Wind style: Wind blades Jutsu." Multiple swords of wind were cutting Saku up for me. I did another hand sign and put my hand on the ground. "Earth style: Spiralling quicksand." Quicksand formed under Saku and it spinned him around while sinking him until all that was still visible were his elbows and the rest of his upper body.

I went over to him and punched him repeatedly again.

I felt Sakura's eyes on me and I felt her fear. She was afraid… of me. I felt my anger draining and I made the curse mark recede. I don't want Sakura to be scared of me. I stepped a few feet back and panted. Damn that curse mark and its owner. It took so much energy out of me that I collapsed. I couldn't move; my body was too tired. I turned my head to the side. "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji! Come out and help us, you fools!" They all jumped out of the bush and started helping. Lee's teem had just arrived as well.

I felt Sasuke's chakra become more evil. I turned my head towards him. I saw him up on his feet and the curse mark was spreading over him. His mark looked like flames "Sakura, Ayame who did this to you? Who was it? Tell me, which one of these people did this to you?"

And like the fool Saku is, he answered. "That'd be me." Sasuke turned to glare at him with a frightening glare. Even I was shaken up a little. Good thing I was finally regaining my strength. I heard Shikamaru yell at his team mates to get out of here.

Saku used his supersonic slicing sound wave and I quickly stood up and appeared in a tree. That was a close one. My strength was coming back quicker than before because of that mark. I sighed as I realised something. When Dosu saw that I had the curse mark he was more scared than he was now, but he is still scared. Maybe it's because I'm stronger than Sasuke by far, maybe my chakra was more sinister and stronger. I get the feeling that I was spot on with my guess, but I let it slide because I had to help fight. At least Sasuke got our team mates away. "Where's Ayame?" Sakura asked while looking around franticly. I called out to them and waved, smiling sheepishly. I swear I'm bipolar, because 1ste I'm angry as hell, then I'm tired and now I'm feeling all hyped up and ready to fight. I sighed. It's such a drag to be me.

I jumped down from the tree and landed next to Sasuke. He formed hand signs quickly and did his Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Saku didn't realise there were shuriken in the flames before it was too late and he got a few more cuts. In truth he looked awful.

Suddenly Sasuke moved and was standing on Saku, holding his arms. Sasuke smiled cruelly. "You seem to be very proud of these arms of yours; you must be very… attached to them." He pulled harder on Saku's arms. Saku cried out in pain as Sasuke broke his arms. Unlike all the other gennin around I wasn't looking at the scene horrified, I was looking at it as if things like that happened every day. I unconsciously smiled as I saw the pain Saku was in. When I realised I was smiling I felt horrified. What the hell was that!? I'm not supposed to enjoy the pain of others.

Sasuke turned his head to look at Dosu. "It looks like you're the only one left." Dosu was visibly shaking. "I hope you make things more interesting than your friend did."

He started walking forward, but I appeared behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, enough." I said in a commanding voice. He stopped and looked at me. When recognition crossed his eyes, the curse mark receded. I sighed in relief. Good, now I don't have to see more bloodshed. He fell down and I caught him, sitting him gently on the ground. "Man, it took more out of you than it did me." I chuckled as he looked at me with shock while panting.

"You're strong Ayame, Sasuke." He held out his earth scroll. "Too strong. We can't hope to defeat you the way you are now." He put the scroll down. "We'll strike a deal. I give you the scroll and you let us go." He walked towards his teammates and picked them up. He turned back and looked at me. "It would seem we underestimated you, but at least we found out what we needed to know. For the moment we're even, but if it should happen that we ever again meet in combat I promise you we won't run or hide. Girl, you can handle the mark and your anger well. You will be stronger than even Orochimaru himself if you master the curse mark." I ignored him and turned away. That really wasn't something I wanted to hear. I actually felt like crying because of it. I never wanted this thing in the first place. My anger rose, but then I felt Sakura's hand on my shoulder and I relaxed again. I looked toward Sasuke and glared. "This time I keep the scroll, got it?" He merely nodded and I went to pick it up.

"Hey, you guys ok?" Choji asked.

"Ino, you look after Lee, we'll check out the kid." Shikamaru called.

I stepped forward. "Shikamaru if you kick Naruto I will kick you, got it?" he nodded but continued onward. I looked up to Neji. "Neji come down here for a second would you?" He nodded and landed in front of me. "You saw the colour of Sasuke's Chakra and how strong it was, but that was not his normal chakra. I had the same Chakra for a while." I said spitting out the words 'same chakra' with venom. "I'm just letting you know this, because I need you to keep this a secret please. It's important that you keep it a secret." He nodded and went to Lee. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I would have to worry about that getting out right now. I walked over to Naruto and took out some water I had with me. I threw it over him and he freaked out about danger. I sighed. Same old Naruto.

I walked to Sasuke who was looking at his shaking hand. "It's not what you are that makes you, you. It's who you are that makes you special, so don't worry about it right now, alright?" Sasuke's head swivelled up to meet my eyes. "I have the same curse mark. I tried stopping it from happening, but I guess it was inevitable." He nodded. I could see he was really shaken up about it, poor boy.

I heard Naruto making a fool of himself and I laughed as I walked over to him. "Thanks for lifting my spirits, Naruto-kun." I said helping him up. He scratched the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment. I hugged him. "Glad you're finally awake." I felt like crying so I let a few tears leak out of my eyes while hugging Naruto. I didn't think he'd notice, but he did. "Hey, what's wrong Aya-kun?"

I shook my head and gave a shaky laugh. "I'm just shaken up because of the events that had taken place." I lied smoothly, but almost immediately I felt guilty which never happens. I don't like lying to Naruto. He nodded his head and pulled me into the hug again. I held on tightly to my only source of comfort and sobbed into him. I cried for the pain I felt, I cried for what will happen in the future and I cried because I was changing for the worse.

Chap 18: Getting to the tower

We were sitting on the river bank watching as Naruto and Sasuke were fishing. "Well, come one. Is that it? I only got 3. Now go and do it again." I stood up and walked toward the riverbank as the two started bickering. I sighed. "Ok, I guess I'll have to carry on for you Naruto."

He looked at me. "What!? But you're a girl! You can't undress!" he said turning away as I had started to undress.

I shrugged. "Sure I can, I'm already doing it and besides I do have clothes underneath. I packed them just in case we were going to catch fish." I was wearing short black shorts with a tight thin-strapped top now. "You can look now." I said a bit irritated. They turned back to me and let out relieved sighs. "Geez, you guys doubt me too much."

I dived into the water and caught fish with my hands and threw them out of the lake so Sasuke could pin them to trees. I got out of the water and went and dressed behind a bush. Hey, I can't dress in front of the boys again, because then I'd have to walk around with a wet dress. I had to get out of these wet clothes first. I walked out from behind the bush with dry clothes on. "So how many fish did we get?"

"About 10." Was Sasuke's curt answer. Ever since the Sound ninja attacked he wasn't exactly talking to me. I guess he was angry at me for some reason.

I nodded. "Well then I guess you guys have enough to satisfy yourselves with. I'll be eating my onigiri that I packed."

I smirked at their shocked faces. "You packed food!?"

I shook my head "Only enough for me and besides I don't have a big apatite so it's not even enough to fill you, Sakura." After I said that they left it alone.

As the others cooked their fish I searched for any other team's Chakra that was close by. Sakura was talking about how little time we still have for the exam with Sasuke when Sasuke said that he was going to get water. I turned to Naruto. "Don't even think about it, knucklehead." I said giving him a mocking smirk. "Don't try opening the scroll."

"What!? I wasn't going to try and open it"

"Whatever." I said dismissing him. I need Kabuto to appear, so I let him. He and Sakura argued for a while about opening the scroll or not. They finally came to the conclusion that they would be opening it. Naruto started to sweat as he took the scroll in his hands.

He was just about to open it when Kabuto appeared and stopped his hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I glance at him. "Oh hi Kabuto."

He looked at me. "Why didn't you stop them?" I just shrugged. I glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke spotting him. He started running and almost dropped the water on the ground, but I flashed over to it and caught it. "Troublesome Uchiha." I muttered under my breath. I calmly walked back over to them just as Sasuke said. "Where's Ayame?"

Naruto looked around, clearly not seeing me. "I don't know. She was just here."

I sighed, startling everyone. "You troublesome, Uchiha. You almost dropped the water and I had to go and catch it." I said glaring at him.

"So you're looking for a heaven scroll too, huh?" Sasuke said smirking.

"Not really, you see I have them both already." He said showing them. "I had a run of luck; I was just on my way to the tower to wait for my teammates to show up. So if you'll excuse me."

"What's the point of having them if you're not even going to go through with the exams?" I mumbled under my breath.

Kabuto stopped next to me. "Sorry, what was that?" I glared, but said nothing. I saw his eyes land on my curse mark so I snarled at him. "What are you looking at?"

Naruto looked at me, shocked. "Ayame, what was that?" I suppose he doesn't understand why I snarled at Kabuto.

I cleared the disgust of my face and shrugged. "I guess I just smelled a snake in the grass. It was probably just my imagination." I said once again glaring at Kabuto, but my team didn't seem to catch it.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at me. "Hold it." Sasuke said and Kabuto turned back. "I'll fight you for it." And you'll lose. Suddenly I felt another chakra close by. I whirled around, searching for it. I finally found it. The ninja was sitting in a tree close by. I kept my eye on him, to see if he had his heaven scroll with him. He did. I smirked and appeared beside him, grabbing the scroll out of his hands and kicking him off his branch. I glided over to my team and grinned. "No need to fight, I just got one for us." I said holding it up in the air. That ninja was really stupid to take it out in plain sight. Or well, my plain sight. Kabuto once again narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion and my team gaped at me.

"Where the heck did you get it?" Naruto shouted at me.

I just pointed to the ninja who was still lying on the ground. Everyone looked at me and Naruto yelled that that ninja was the same one who fought us the first day. I just shrugged.

Kabuto was looking at me the whole time on the way to the tower. I turned to him and glared. I really don't like the guy, but who would? I mean he's on Orochimaru's side. I've been silent the whole way and it seems Naruto noticed. "Hey Ayame-chan, you're acting weird. You haven't talked at all since we started moving. Is something wrong?" he said coming to a stop. The others also came to a stop. "Yeah, come to think of it, you've not been acting like yourself at all." Sakura said pointing at me.

I shrugged and started moving again. I think everyone could see how tense I was. Maybe they think it's because I'm nervous. But in truth that's not even close at all. I've been thinking about the events that happened lately, especially everything with Orochimaru. Since he gave me the curse mark it only made me hate him more and right now it was burning slightly.

Since I stole those ninjas' scroll, I don't think we'll be walking into the Genjutsu anymore which is a bonus.

I was right about that. We never went through the Genjutsu, which was awesome because it would've tired us all out. We still went through the traps though and Naruto tripped on a trip wire which led Kabuto to jump over him. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing when kunai pierced his back. Serves him right, that and he looked like a kunai porcupine. Everyone including Kabuto and Naruto glared at me. I shrugged. "I can't help it. He looks like a kunai porcupine." I said pointing at Kabuto. And then Naruto burst out laughing as well. Sasuke quickly covered his mouth to keep himself from chuckling at my comment. Unfortunately it was only a substitution. I sighed, sad that it wasn't really him.

"Well, that was close." He said, glaring at me. "Like I told you, it only gets worse from here on in."

We sped up and quickened our pace. Soon we were in front of the tower. Kabuto's team came to get him and Naruto thanked him for being with us. Kabuto sucked up to him and told him that he was really impressed with him. My team said goodbye and good luck and walked in, but I stayed behind. Kabuto's team also went inside with him staying outside. I glared at Kabuto. "Why don't you wear that purple belt thing, Kabuto? I mean it IS a sign of being his follower, is it not?" I spit out the words in disgust.

He glared at me. "How did you know?"

"I'm not some stupid brat you can underestimate, you filthy snake!" I snarled at him. "Just remember that and you won't die." I said and walked inside. Yeah, right, he'd die by my hand anyway.

********Kabuto's POV********

The way she glared even gave ME chills. That girl is something else. I walked inside.

"A good harvest?"

"Yes." I said. "Even better than expected. I learned a lot about him during the second exam." I said smiling slyly. "And I recorded all the data, on this." I said holding up a ninja info card. "You want it?"

"Of course." I held it out to him. "So tell me, what did you think?"

I chuckled. "Your curiosity is truly insatiable, Lord Orochimaru. I saw that you gave that other girl the mark too, I couldn't get a lot of information about her. Although she is an acceptable shinobi, she was gone without me noticing her ever leaving and you know how rare that is. She's something else and she knew I was working with you, but no matter."

"Ah… yes. I'm glad she survived it. She'll be a good edition to my collection. As a sound village spy, you see things others don't. Your opinion is of interest to me." Orochimaru smiled in interest at the card.

"Oh it doesn't really matter, does it? Whatever I think you're the one who decides, isn't that always the way?"

He nodded in interest. "You're a cagy one, aren't you Kabuto? I like that. Good work." Then he disappeared.

Chap 19: The preliminary test.

Iruka-sensei had explained to the others what the scrolls had represented and what the banner on the wall meant. When he was done he told us to wait in the next room, which happened to be the preliminary testing room.

We all stood in our groups. Anko congratulated us on passing the second Exam and then proceeded to tell us that we would have a preliminary round right away. The waves of pain hit me along with Sasuke, but I just didn't show it as much. Except this time it was really bad so I did gasp along with him and grabbed the mark. Sakura tried to get Sasuke and me to quit because of the marks, but I shut her up quickly with a glare and a snarky remark. Naruto didn't know what we were talking about. Anko asked if anyone would like to quit now and everyone who was supposed to quit, did. Thank goodness Kabuto's gone, he's been staring at me the whole time. I looked to the side to see the Hokage, Anko and Kakashi discussing the problem. I stared at the 'Chunnin' who was Orochimaru in disguise. He had stared at me head on as well and not one of us had broken eye contact yet. Finally Anko said we should move away so that the first contestants would be able to fight. "Because there is one more candidate, someone here will be given a free ticket to the 3de round." Anko stepped back and Hayate Gekko made his way to the fighting arena. What the hell? What if someone who isn't supposed to go through gets the ticket? Well, I'll just have to wait and see. I made my way to the stairs closest to Orochimaru. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be anywhere near him, but I needed to tell him something. As I walked past him I whispered. "You will regret giving me and Sasuke this mark." I said it with so much venom that it even surprised me.

I walked to my team and waited for Sasuke's match to end. It actually bored me, so I didn't bother to watch it. "I'm declaring this match over. As the winner of this preliminary round Sasuke Uchiha advances to the finals."

Kakashi walked with Sasuke out of the room, but I stopped him just before he was gone. "Kakashi-sensei, I need to ask you a favour." He nodded. "When my match is done, will you please seal mine too?" He looked shocked. Maybe he didn't know I had a mark, so I showed it to him. His eye widened a fraction before he nodded again and walked out.

I went and stood at my place again. I looked at Orochimaru who poofed away to go get Sasuke. He better not be coming back today.

Next were Shino and Saku. Once again I didn't watch the match. When the match ended Kakashi appeared again. I didn't even look at him. Next up was Sakura and Ino. Wait a minute; wasn't Kankuro supposed to go next? I shrugged. Maybe he's just going a little later this time.

I watched as the two fought and Ino slapped instead of punched Sakura. Naruto cheered the whole time. Ino used her mind transfer Jutsu and Sakura slumped. As Naruto cheered, Sakura's soul kept fighting Ino that was inside her. Finally Ino had to release her Jutsu. They each threw in another punch and bam, they were out.

Next were Tenten and Temari. I never really thought Tenten was strong, I mean she only uses weapons for Pete's sake. She doesn't even have a decent Ninjutsu. Temari won. I got to say this match was easy to predict. I mean there's no way weapons can beat wind. The wind would just have blown the weapons away.

Shikamaru's turn, I guess. I've always like this fight, I mean it's an easy win for him. The girl from the sound village used her senbon and Shikamaru was a little shaky. I mean that's what the bells are made for. It makes you lose your balance and your vision gets blurry. First comes paralysis and then comes the hallucinations. Shikamaru was at least using his head, unlike her. He used her wires against her with his shadow possession Jutsu. He got out a shuriken and threw it at her. She did the same and when Shikamaru bowed backward so did she, but she didn't see the wall behind her so she hit her head. I smirked as he probably gave her a concussion.

Finally it was my boy Naruto's turn. I watched as he kicked Kiba's overconfident butt. Kiba kicked him around a lot. I turned to Kurenai. "You shouldn't underestimate my teammate, Kurenai because you WILL be wrong." She was definitely shocked. Everyone thought Naruto was going to lose, but that changed when Naruto did the 'Naruto Uzumaki barrage' I grinned as he won and gave him a big bear hug. "That was great Naruto!" he thanked me and I went to sit against the wall. I wasn't going to watch the Byakugan battle. I hate watching it. I hate watching the next one with Gaara and Lee even more. I waited and waited until I thought it was safe to look. Gai-sensei was standing between Gaara and Lee. I just really hated this part. I jumped off as Hayate determined the winner was Gaara. I walked over to a now crying Gai. I guess the medical ninja already told him. "Gai-sensei, don't worry. Lee will be healthy again, it might just take a while, but he will be up and running again I guarantee it." He hugged and thanked me.

Then the last battle before me was here. It was Choji and Dosu. Dosu won easily.

Now it's me or Kankuro fighting that guy that can bend his bones to his will. I wonder who will get the free ticket.

My name and the guy Kankuro fought – Misumi Tsurugi – was called. Seems Kankuro will get the free ticket then. Ah well, no matter. He was supposed to be in the 3de Exam anyway. I stepped onto the battlefield and smirked. The Misumi's eyes narrowed at me suspiciously. I guess he thought I was underestimating him. He didn't know how wrong he was. You NEVER underestimate your opponent; it might just be the last mistake you ever make. "Now let the tenth round, begin."

We circled each other. I supposed I'll just have to have a little fun with him. "I'll do you a favour and end this battle quickly." I said smirking.

"You can't end it, if I end it first." He ran at me and tried hitting me with his arm. I blocked and quickly made a shadow clone. I did it so fast that the human eye wouldn't have been able to see it. I stood behind my clone. I kept disappearing and appearing in such a manner that you can't see I'm there. Misumi narrowed his eyes and then his arm wrapped around my clones arm. It was quite interesting to watch. My clone stood there, struggling to get out of his grip. Misumi explained how his Jutsu worked. "The more you struggle, the tighter I'll squeeze. I don't know what your Jutsu's are, but as long as I have a hold on you, it makes no difference. I could break your neck if I wanted to and I will unless you give up."

My clone smirked. "You wanna bet on that? You fool; you're the one who's going to die here."

Misumi broke my clone's neck. For a while it just stood there, but then it disappeared in a puff of smoke. I tapped him on his shoulder. As he turned around I readied myself for a punch. "What!?" I punched him. "Sorry buddy, but I don't lose that easily. That and no enemy gets to touch me when I'm on the battlefield without me noticing them moving." I smirked as he stood up.

I calmly walked over to him and kicked him. "Oh My Gosh; you people are so weak. I haven't even gotten to use my Ninjutsu yet. All I'm using is Taijutsu and I'm already beating you. Loser." I shook my head.

"What'd you say?" he rushed towards me and aimed for a punch, but I dodged with grace. I sighed. Such a waste of time, but since I'm going to play with him I'll just have to use my Ninjutsu. He rushed at me again and I jumped in the air, doing a copy of Lee's leaf hurricane. I tried doing on of my special Jutsu's while I was in the air, but then the stabbing pain came and I gasped, holding my shoulder where the curse mark was. I felt the curse mark spreading, but I refused to give into it. I made it recede even before it got anywhere close to my eyes. I made a hand sign and held my hand to my mouth. "Water style: Water Dragon." My water dragon hit Misumi head on and made him fly all the way to the other side of the arena. I appeared behind him and kicked him back. I made a quick clone and made it stay by Misumi's side. I appeared by my clone as it kicked Misumi off the ground and into the air. It appeared next to him and punched him multiple times, sending him down again. I did a quick hand sign and felt my body charge with electricity. I used my foot that was covered in lighting and kicked him up again. The clone disappeared and I appeared above Misumi. I did an axe-kick, sending him flying toward the ground while yelling. "Lighting style: Striking Cobra." The reason I gave the Jutsu that name, is because when I stand on the ground with the Lighting covering my body, it looks like a cobra curling itself around me. Since I did a water-styled Jutsu before I kicked him and he was wet, the lighting affected him much more than normal. It made him shake with the electricity running through him. Finally he collapsed.

Misumi was passed out and lying on the floor. "Because her opponent is unable to continue, the winner is Ayame Korokawa. And with that match, the 3de Exam preliminaries are now finished." I scowled and turned to the Hokage and other Jounin. "How come you put me up against him?" I asked pointing to a passed out Misumi. "I mean he didn't even give me a decent workout and I'm not even tired yet." I heard a few gasps from the jounin. I shrugged and calmly walked to Kakashi-sensei. I wasn't even a little out of breath yet, that sucks. I didn't even get a decent workout.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei, time to go do that other… thing." He nodded and led the way to wherever.

************Dosu's POV***********

My eyes widened. What!? She can do Lightning style too!? That's not possible! No one can do more than 2 styles of Jutsu. What is she? I started shaking in fear.

She cannot be a normal human being with the amount of chakra she has and when her curse mark was activated she looked… She looked monstrous and I could feel her bloodlust, but she controlled it somehow. Her bloodlust was… it was the most frightening thing I have ever felt. I was scared out of my wits by it. Is it normal to have such a strong blood lust?

She's not like any of the other people Orochimaru gave the curse mark. They either died or used the power without hesitation. This girl… She survived it and was able to control it even with her fierce bloodlust that I sensed. She has anger in her that no one has noticed yet.

How can she control the mark when she has that fierce hatred?

I have never been afraid in my life, but when her curse mark activated… it was like she demanded to be feared. Whether you wanted to or not.

Chap 20: The toad Sage

I woke up and sat up groggily. Hmm? I'm in a hospital? Oh! Right, Kakashi sealed the curse mark and it hurt like a bitch. Damn that thing already. I suppose Kabuto would be at Sasuke's room by now. I looked around. No one was here. Good. I snuck out of my room and saw that there were no ANBU Black Ops stationed by my door. What? Did they not think I was important enough to guard? Hmph, idiots. I heard talking, so I walked to Sasuke's room quietly and looked through the glass in the door. I saw Kabuto's knife skid toward the door and a random ANBU stand up and run for the door, Kakashi was pinning Kabuto to the floor. I quickly appeared on top of another ANBU. Not the ANBU that ran to the door, because that one wasn't even alive anymore. Stupid Kabuto. "Sorry Kabuto, but you won't escape that easily." I smirked at his clearly stunned face, or well mask. I took the mask in my hand and lifted it up, only to see Kabuto smirking. Huh, why was he smirking? "So you knew I was impersonating a dead ANBU agent, huh? You're quite something, kid. You'd be a great asset to have for me and him. Soon you'll want his power and come searching for him."

I scoffed. "Yeah right, like I'd ever work for him. I'd rather kill him myself and you too."

His smirk widened. "Maybe, maybe not. We'll see, but for now I have to go… report something." I saw a gleam in his eyes as he disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving me on the floor. I sighed in relief. Good grief, that guy gives me the creeps and his aura stinks of snakes. I shuddered. I saw Kakashi standing with his hand held out to me. I took it and he pulled me up. "Come on, you need to be resting." I nodded and he led the way to my room. I didn't notice before, but Sasuke's room was right next to mine. I supposed that meant ANBU did stand outside my door for a while.

When we got to my room I sat down on the bed and Kakashi pulled out a chair to sit in. "I need to discuss something with you, Ayame." I nodded my head. "I have never met anyone that can do all 5 styles of Jutsu without the Sharingan, but you Ayame, you can do 4. Earth, water, wind and lighting. Those are all your styles, but I am almost certain that you will be able to do the 5th style as well. I am sure you will be able to do fire style as well, but I could be wrong."

I nodded. I have thought about that too and was going to ask someone to show me the hand signs for the fire Jutsu so that I could see if I was able to do it. "I know Kakashi-sensei; I had that suspicion too. I was going to ask you if you could show me the hand signs for a fire styled Jutsu so that I might find out if I can do it." I explained.

Kakashi slowly nodded in understanding "I understand where you're coming from, but I suggest you ask Sasuke to show you. He is better at the Fire style Jutsu's than I am because of his Uchiha blood."
I shook my head. "No Kakashi-sensei, I don't want to ask Sasuke because I don't want my teammates to find out about it just yet. That's why I asked you, because you have the Sharingan as well and can do all 5 styles of Jutsu because of it."

Kakashi nodded his head again. "Alright, I'll show you. Ayame you are something entirely different. You woke up just 45 min after I put the seal on you." I nodded. I found out that I have a tendency of waking up before I'm actually supposed to in situations like these. "You are one big mystery, but I need to ask you this, can you see the future?"

I pondered on the thought for a bit. Should I tell him I can? Finally I made a decision. "Kakashi-sensei, I can see some parts of the future, but the future can change so I'm never sure which parts will happen and which won't. I'm always guessing. I can't always see everything that's going to happen. You should know that I won't always be right about the future, but I will tell you when something important will happen." He nodded. "For now I have to get back to the preliminaries, don't want to miss anything important." I grinned. He wanted to protest, but before he could I disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto just as the Hokage was saying that we all will have to take a slip of paper. Anko walked over to us and we all took out a piece of paper. They said we should tell them the numbers we have on our papers. Dosu got number 9, Naruto got nr 1, Temari got nr 7, Kankuro 5, Gaara got 3, Shikamaru got 8, Neji got nr 2, Shino got 6 and I got 10. So Sasuke had the number 4. Looks like Naruto's still fighting Neji and the rest are still fighting their rightful opponents. Everyone would be fighting who they're supposed to fight, so all I had to do is keep Gaara from killing Dosu. What a drag. What if he killed me instead? I sighed. Well, I'll just have to make do. I mean if he got killed I'd have to fight someone else and that would screw things up. Like, what if I had to fight Gaara? That would so mess me up. I sighed. This was going to be a long month. "Hey, Ayame-chan, when did you get back?" I heard Naruto ask me.

I heard a few gasps and sighed. I should've seen that coming, I mean I am supposedly the most unpredictable shinobi here. "Oh just before we needed to take the slips of paper. I kept silent because I didn't want you people to make up a fuss about me coming here, late." They nodded in understanding.

The Hokage dismissed us and I caught his eye. Oh great, now he wants to talk to me too. I would have to talk to him some time or another, but right now is not the time. I appeared in my hospital room just as Kakashi was about to leave. "Leaving so soon, Kakashi-sensei? I didn't even get a goodbye." I said in a fake sad voice and then I jumped on his back. He almost let us both fall on the floor, but at the last moment he got his balance back. I heard him sigh. "What are you doing, Ayame?"

I grinned. "I'm letting you give me a piggyback ride. You should be honoured; I never let anyone give me a piggyback ride. And besides, you're supposed to sign me out so that I can continue training." I heard him sigh, but he carried me out anyway. I grinned in triumph. Kakashi was so lazy he didn't even bother to put me down. He was like a big lazy-ass brother to me, now. Kakashi was actually fun to hang out with even if he was extremely lazy. I chuckled and grinned as I heard Naruto's voice. "Hey, where's Sasuke's room?" I heard the nurse's muffled reply. "What!? No visitors, are you kidding me? Come one lady!"

I called to him. "Naruto!" He turned towards us. I giggled at his shocked face. He was probably more shocked to see me on Kakashi's back than to actually see me here.

"Ayame, what are you doing on Kakashi-sensei's back?"

I grinned. "Getting a piggyback ride, of course." He grinned back at me, but when he caught Kakashi's eye he was serious again.

"Kakashi-sensei, I got to ask you a favour."

"Stop right there, I already know what you're going to ask. So I've been looking for someone who could oversee your training for the final rounds."

"Hold on! Why can't you train me sensei?" I chuckled at Kakashi's expression. To anyone else it would've looked like he was really bored, but in actuality he was amused by Naruto's actions.

"I have other matters to handle. I don't have time to deal with you, Naruto."

"Hey! Aha!" He shouted pointing at Kakashi. "You're going to train Sasuke, aren't you Kakashi-sensei!?"

"Now, now, don't complain. Listen, I've found you an even better teacher than me." Kakashi said.

'Liar.' I grumbled under my breath. Kakashi only glanced at me.

"Well, who is it?"

Ebisu stepped forward. "It is I." Naruto turned around and started shouting at Ebisu about being a closet pervert. I chuckled. Oh Naruto, if you think this guy's a pervert, you won't believe the pervert old Jeraiya is. "Such insolence."

Naruto yelled at Kakashi for thinking Ebisu is a good sensei. He even yelled that he was weaker than Naruto himself and Kakashi wondered why that was. Naruto instantly told Kakashi why he said so. I couldn't contain my laughter. I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach and pointing at Ebisu. Ebisu clamped a hand down on Naruto's mouth and told Kakashi that it was just a joke. I just kept on laughing. "You… Liar… He completely… Got you with… that Jutsu." I bit out between laughter. Ebisu turned to me in confusion. I bet he's thinking how I knew that, because I wasn't even there. Kakashi talked to Naruto and finally the 2 bickering boys left. I walked with Kakashi. "Kakashi will you show me the hand signs real quick? Besides, I'm going to train on my own anyway."

He nodded. "Let's go to the training grounds." I grinned and flashed over to the training grounds.

Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared and out stepped Kakashi. He showed me how to do the hand sign of the tiger. I copied him and breathed in. I heard this was a really complex Jutsu because it takes a lot of Chakra. I breathed in deeply and blew out my breath. Instead of air coming out of my mouth, fire came out. I grinned. So I CAN do all styles of Jutsu's. I looked over to Kakashi. His eyes were wide. I think he didn't really think it was possible. He gave me 5 pieces of paper. "Run your chakra through each of these papers. If you have wind element chakra the paper will tear in half. If you have water element chakra the paper will get soggy. If you have fire element chakra the paper will burn. If you have earth element chakra the paper will crumble. If you have lighting element chakra the paper will wrinkle." I took each paper and every time I ran my chakra through the paper, it did exactly what Kakashi said. He nodded. "So I was right. You have all 5 elements of Chakra."

He showed me a lot more wind, water, earth and fire styles, but I stopped him when he wanted to show me Chidori. He asked me why I didn't want to learn it, so I just said that it will be Sasuke's special Jutsu. He shrugged and then left me to do some training. I had gone to Gai-sensei again for heavier weights this time and he gave it to me, happily commenting on my 'youthful' training. He was happier now that he knew Lee was going to be alright. I postponed my training for a while. I want to go watch Naruto for a while before he meets Jeraiya.

I saw him running away from Ebisu with multiple clones of himself. I smirked. It's never going to work, but I think I'll help him a bit anyway. I focused on finding the real Naruto's chakra. Finally I found it. I grabbed him and shushed him as he was about to yell. "Shush, Naruto. I'm helping you a bit." He relaxed and stayed quiet as Ebisu ran past us. Yes, you guessed right. I shrouded our chakra. I giggled. Naruto's going to be angry at me for what I'm going to do now. I grabbed a hold on him and appeared on the bridge. I put him down and disappeared again. Naruto was panting with exhaustion because all his clones had been doing the running for him and he was feeling all the after effects.

I giggled as I watched him from my place in a tree. Ebisu wouldn't be able to find me, because I shrouded my chakra again, but he did find Naruto. Naruto shouted at Ebisu to leave him alone, but Ebisu gave a smart ass retort. Naruto shouted that either Kakashi trains him or no one does and then jumped up from the river and went straight for Ebisu. He aimed to punch, but Ebisu dodged and Naruto tackled the water again. Ebisu took Naruto out for some Ramen and then talked about Chakra control. He compared Naruto's chakra control to Sakura and Sasuke's.

Finally they began Naruto's training. I sat in a tree as I watched Naruto fail at walking on water. I laughed every time he fell in the water and burned. Oh, that's right. Orochimaru still gave him that 5 proned seal after I caught him. I almost forgot about that. It was so quick I almost didn't see it. Almost. It was at the same time I jumped in front of him, that he moved his other arm to my left and stretched it to get to Naruto's stomach. That's why Naruto really passed out, although we DID bump heads. I scowled at the memory. I watched and watched until I almost fell asleep. Finally I saw Ebisu storming to the old perv.

I watched as the old sage knocked Ebisu out. It was quite amusing. Naruto then demanded that the man be his sensei, because he knocked Ebisu out. Jeraiya told Naruto to stop bothering him.

I jumped off of the tree and landed on the roof. I then jumped off the roof and landed in front of the old perv. He looked up from my legs and went up to my chest, stopping there. Oh, did I forget to mention that I actually have a nice chest. Well if I didn't, now you know. I shivered. Ok, that's disgusting. Being observed by the sage is just plain wrong. I crossed my arms over my chest, making him stare more. I felt an irk mark appear on my forehead as I cleared my throat and he STILL didn't look up. Finally my reserve left and I bonked him on the head. "You old pervert. If someone clears their throat you look up, not continue to stare." I said in a completely calm manner. "And don't even try to tell me that I'm a perfect specimen for your books, because I will kick your pervy ass, got it?" He actually gulped as he looked at my calm face, but then he realised what I said. "Wait, you know about my books?"

I shook my head. "My sensei reads them. Now, what were you saying to my friend over here?" I asked pointing to Naruto.

He shrugged while still staring at me. Creepy perv. "I was saying he should stop bothering me and that I won't train him."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correct. Did you say you were NOT going to train him? Because I distinctly saw you knocking out Ebisu and that means YOU are supposed to train him now, got that Jeraiya?" I said glaring at him.

He quickly held up his hands in surrender. I think I might remind him of Tsunade. "Alright, I'll train him. If…" I raised my eyebrow at him. If he's going to ask me what I think he is… "If you spend a day with me in your bathing suit, for my research of course." I immediately bonked him on the head.

I looked at Naruto. "Naruto, if you want this old perv of a Sannin to train you, do your sexy Jutsu." He nodded and transformed into the girl while I turned away. I heard that perv's jaw hit the ground and giggled. He was practically going crazy with perviness. Then he literally said 'Hubba, hubba, hubba'
"If you keep staring like that, I'm going to blush." Naruto said and giggled. I swear the boy's as much of a perv as Jeraiya is.

"S-so lovely… We got a winner!" Jeraiya yelled. "A perfect ten. She's just… my type. I really, really like her. How did you do it? Where on earth did she come from?" I rolled my eyes. Pathetic.

"Oh, it's no biggy. I call it my sexy Jutsu."

Jeraiya was literally drooling. "Yeah, I love it. You're a genius, kid. This is one amazing technique."

"So you'll help me with my training now?"

"You bet! But only on one condition…" Naruto acted innocent and asked what condition. "I'll do it if you promise to stay like that the whole time." I bonked him on the head- hard.

"You old perv! You wanted a lady and now you saw one! Train Naruto or I will kick your butt to the Hidden Sand village and back, got it? And when I threaten, I don't bluff." I threatened him while he was still lying on the floor. He nodded his head and stood up.

"Alright, kid. I'll train you." Naruto grinned and I smiled at his happy face. I love it when he's happy, it makes me happy.

Jeraiya looked between me and Naruto. "Can I talk with you for a second?" I nodded and walked away with him. "You look like you know more about Naruto than you're supposed to, and how did you know my name?"

I shrugged. "I know lots of things I'm not supposed to. Like where Naruto's name came from, who his father was, who you are, who your friends were and I also know about the prophecy you received." He looked utterly shocked. "Relax, it's not like I'll tell anyone. Though, I must tell you that I know who the apprentice is of which the prophesy spoke of." He nodded for me to continue. "It's that boy, right over there." I said pointing at a confused Naruto. "He will change the world and it will be for the better. I can guarantee it."

Jeraiya nodded. "Alright, I'll train him. You seem to have a strong affection for the boy."

I nodded. "Yeah, he's my best friend. If I ever lost him, I'd kill myself." I felt tears come to my eyes at the thought. If I ever lost Naruto I really would kill myself. He nodded in understanding and walked back to Naruto.

"Alright, I'll train you, kid. But you better listen up or I won't train you anymore." Naruto nodded, determined. I walked off and went to the training grounds to train. I needed to push myself to the limit. I need to become stronger. Much stronger if I'm going to kill Orochimaru. I warned Dosu to not try and kill Gaara before I left to go train, because he would get killed himself. I said it in such a serious voice that he had listened to me, though it was obvious he didn't know why I warned him.

Chap 21: Coming back from training.

I've been training with the weights for almost a month now and every day I was getting faster and faster. I had gotten heavier weights every time I thought I was done with the others. Nobody has seen me since I got the Sage to train Naruto, because I had found a cave outside the village to sleep in when I trained. Yes, I trained just outside the village walls. I've been developing more muscles and I've become faster than Rock Lee by now. Tomorrow was the final Exam and I was ready. There's nothing stopping me from winning my match. I don't even think Jeraiya could take me on right now. Alright, I'm exaggerating now. I've trained myself to be able to not get caught in a Genjutsu, especially an Uchiha one. I glowered at the floor. I still haven't talked to the Hokage yet and I think it's about time I do. Then a smile came to my face as a thought reached me. The good thing about the 3de Exam preliminaries was that nobody really saw my techniques and I only used 2 styles in the preliminaries. That and my Taijutsu which had improved tenfold. During my training I had also trained with the perv and Naruto so that I could do a summoning. I wanted to be able to summon something for in case I needed serious help.

~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about 2 weeks before the final Exam would be and I had decided that I was going to go train with Naruto and Jeraiya so that I could also do the summoning. I had gotten new clothes a few days ago so they won't expect to see me in these. I had trained so hard that my old clothes got ripped and I had to replace them. I walked to the river where the sage was most likely to be perving and looking at those girls. When I got there he was doing just that while laughing pervily. Yeah, I just made that word up, got a problem with it? I didn't think so. I saw Naruto standing there with his arms crossed. "Knock it off."

The old sage ignored him and grinned widely. I rolled my eyes at him as I sat in a tree, watching them with amusement. He's such a perv. "You are so creepy." You said it, Naruto. I looked away as Naruto did the sexy Jutsu. Jeraiya turned around and told him that he's been waiting for him, only to see it was Naruto again. "No fair. Hey, are you just making fun of me, Naruto?" Jeraiya said in a whiney voice. I jumped out of the tree and landed in front of the two. "Geez Jeraiya, you're supposed to train the boy, not be a perv and watch those girls." I said standing with my hands on my hips. I watched amusedly as Jeraiya stared with no shame at my new outfit. I wore a dress similar to Ino's, but mine is black and mine does not have a collar on it. I do – however – wear a choker now instead of the collar. The dress leaves my shoulders bear and I have learned to live with the curse mark so I have no desire to try and hide it. The dress also has a red Tsubaki on it and its belt is – unlike Ino's headband – red. I still wear the bandages as leggings with my weapons pouch on my right leg. I wear my normal black traditional Leaf sandals and instead of my normal white fingerless gloves I bought new ones that are still white, but they have black and red thorn-like patterns on it and it reaches my elbow. My hair is still loose, but I had cut it a bit shorter. In the beginning it reached my waist, but now it only reached below my chest. I know – it's sad, but it started to get in the way. Before they gave us time to train I had always worn my headband around my arm like Shikamaru, but now I wore it on my forehead where it's supposed to be – though my bangs hid it well.

"Wow, you look great Ayame-chan." I smiled in thanks to my little knucklehead of a friend.

"Thanks Naruto." I turned to the sage. "Hey perv, knock it off, would ya? I've come to ask a favour."

Jeraiya snapped out of the trance he had been in. "Well, what is it?"

"Since you're going to train Naruto how to summon, I thought that maybe you can show me how to do it too." I said with my eyebrow raised, silently challenging him to say no.

He nodded. "Alright, but stop calling me pervy would you?"

"Well you are a perv, why not come to terms with it? But I'll call you Jeraiya then anyway." He nodded.

"Wait, you're going to teach me how to summon? Awesome!" Jeraiya nodded and crouched by him and started talking about the two types of chakra Naruto possessed. He told Naruto to try and build up the fox's chakra and Naruto tried to, but he failed. He told Naruto to keep trying, so he did. Jeraiya stood up and turned to me. "So you want me to teach you too, huh?" I nodded. "Well, you don't seem like a girl who specifically likes toads, so maybe you should try to summon something else then. But I'll show the two of you the hand signs together, alright?" Once again I nodded. He turned back to Naruto. Naruto groaned in frustration and turned to the sage. He asked what the chakra had to do with the technique Jeraiya was going to teach him. Jeraiya sighed and began explaining to Naruto why the fox's chakra was necessary. Naruto asked how he knew if he actually had the chakra inside of him and Jeraiya replied with "Actually, it's because I am a sage."

I sweat dropped and walked to Naruto. "It's because it's the foxes Chakra Naruto. Don't listen to the perv, he's just goofing off."

Jeraiya tried to protest, but I stopped him with a look. "Oh, I see."

Jeraiya told Naruto that it would become his greatest weapon and talked about some random stuff that I didn't really care about. Jeraiya looked over to a rock in the river and saw a frog sitting on it. He explained to Naruto what summoning was and Naruto was pretty excited about it if I do say so myself. He told Naruto to get rid of his normal chakra. I jumped back in a tree and then relaxed. This was going to take a while. I mean the kid made about 30 shadow clones if I'm not mistaken. I saw the sage sit down. A few minutes – or maybe – an hour later there was only 4 Naruto's left and they were all tired. I grinned and jumped down from the tree just as Jeraiya said. "Well, it looks like finale of this battle is finally close at hand."

I stood next to him with one hand on my hip. "Yup, it certainly is. Which one do you bet is the strongest one?" I smirked when Jeraiya jumped.

He let out a breath. "You scared me for a second there." He chuckled. "You know, you seem like a really strong girl, you know that?" He chuckled again. "Why am I asking? Of course you know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to scare even me. But you're really pretty too; it wouldn't surprise me if the kid had a crush on you."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Yes, I wonder what the other people would say if they knew you were scared of a 14 year old. Just imagine the great toad sage Sannin is scared of a little girl." We chuckled at the thought. "But there's no way Naruto would have a crush on me. He likes Sakura and I like a certain gennin who is feared in his village. And before you ask: no you wouldn't know him. He's not from the leaf village."

He nodded. "I suppose, but there is still a slight possibility that he likes you." I shrugged and looked over to Naruto. It looks like he's finally done. Naruto laughed tiredly and gave us a peace sign. He fell to his knees in exhaustion and fell over. We walked over to him. "It seems that at long last you finally used up your usual chakra. Now I can teach you the technique." Naruto sat up quickly and yelled that he's been waiting for this all day. "First I'm going to show you how it's done. Now watch carefully." He said to us both. He bit his thumb and brought his hand down toward the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." A smoke cloud appeared and when it was gone, the sage was standing on a toad. The toad had a scroll rolled in his tongue; it rolled it toward Naruto who took it gladly. Jeraiya explained to Naruto what to do. "That seal is Ino, Ee, Tori, Saru, Hitsuchi."

Naruto did as he was told to do and summoned a tadpole. I bit my thumb as well and brought it down without using the seal, I mean what if I summoned a toad? "No! You haven't signed a contract yet, there's no telling what could happen." Jeraiya yelled, but it was too late because my hand was pressed to the ground and I had already yelled 'Summoning Jutsu'

A smoke cloud enveloped me and then it disappeared. I looked down to where I had put my hand and smiled. I summoned a cute cougar cub. "Aww, you're adorable." I cooed.

"Thank you, but who are you?" It asked in a cute voice. The cub was a male.

"Oh, I summoned you here. Is that ok?" He nodded. "What's your name?"

"Our summoners – meaning you – are supposed to name us."

I was shocked. "Really?"

He nodded again. "Well, only some animals have names before being summoned. So what will you name me and what is your name?"

I put my finger to my lip. I usually did that when I was thinking. "Hmm… What about… Oh! I've got it! Your name will be Isamu, meaning courage. And my name is Ayame"

He nodded and purred in approval. "I like it. Thank you, Ayame." I smiled.

"What!? You were able to summon without signing a blood contract or using the seal? That's impossible!" Jeraiya said with his jaw hanging on the floor.

I shrugged. "I tend to surprise people a lot, so maybe it's not." I looked toward Isamu. "You can go now, I'll be practising the summoning so if I summon you again, sorry." He nodded and disappeared.

I felt my Chakra slightly drain from the summoning but I continued to summon. I summoned the whole week long with Naruto and finally it was a week before the final Exam. Today Naruto was going to summon the chief toad. I feel for him. I had managed to summon a Cougar that stood high over the tree tops and I think Naruto was a little jealous.

The two guys were bickering again. I sighed. At least we were going to make progress. The sage told us to follow him, so that's what we did. We went to a bath house and I –naturally – had to go to the girls' tub. I sat in the hot spring. Ah, this is the life. I sank lower into the water. I heard the sage talk about the bath as if it was heaven. I giggled. Silly sage. I climbed out of the hot spring and put my clothes back on. I headed toward the door and waited for the two numbskulls. Finally they came out and then we started walking again. "Hey, pervy-sage..."

"I'm the toad sage." Jeraiya said in an irritated voice.

"Yeah, well whatever ya are... What does taking a bath have to do with the summoning Jutsu anyway?" The sage stayed quiet. "Hey! Hello! I'm talking to you!" Naruto ran toward the sage, but bumped into him when the sage suddenly stopped. "What!? What is it!? Why'd you stop?"

"Hey Naruto, tell me. Is there something you like to eat?" We all went to Ichiraku's ramen shop and Naruto ate about 8 bowls while I only ate 1 bowl of ramen. When Naruto turned to the sage to thank him a stuffed toad was sitting there. I sighed. "Come on Naruto, I'll pay for half of it." He thanked me and then we left. At least his Froggy was still half full.

When we found the sage Naruto still ran to him crying that he was supposed to treat us to that meal. The sage just laughed and said he never said he was going to pay for it. "Say Naruto, do you happen to have a girl that you like?" Naruto looked confused. "I asked if you have a special girl, you know someone close to you."

Naruto looked down and blushed. I giggled. That's cuter in real life. "Well, I don't know. I mean kinda, sorta. I guess you could say I like her."

The sage leaned forward. "So who is it?"

I watched Naruto with amusement. "No one, just Sakura!" Jeraiya declared that Naruto would have to go and tell her how he feels, or at least give her a hug.

I laughed as I watched Sakura pummel Naruto to the ground as he attempted to catch her when she was going to fall. "Sakura he was just going to hug you." I called to her as she stomped off. She turned around. "Ayame?" She looked around confused and trying to see me, but I was already gone with my fellow guys.

"Hey, if I do this, can I really summon a frog?" Naruto asked sceptically.

"You bet, of course, absolutely, without a doubt." Stupid lying pervert.

"Are you sure?"

"Is there anything you've always wanted to do? Anything?"

"What, what are you-" He gasped as Jeraiya punched him in the gut. Did I mention he punched me in the gut too? I was knocked out instantly. I woke up after a while, still hanging from the sage's shoulders.

I hung limply as he walked to that place. Hmm… this is kinda comfy, maybe I should sleep again. Nah, I wouldn't do that. I hung there and waited. And waited and waited. Finally we got there. How I knew that… Well, he threw us on the ground. I sat up. "Geez, you didn't have to be so rough."

Jeraiya's eyes widened. "You were awake?"

"Well, yeah, for a while. That punch couldn't knock me out for too long." I shrugged.

Naruto sat up. "Where-where are we? Tell me."

Jeraiya stepped in front of him. "Stand up." He commanded and we obliged. "Your training ends right here."

"Huh? BUT I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING YET!"

"Naruto! Starting now, you must stare death in the face. That's right, to stave off the horror…" And then I wasn't listening anymore. "If you don't wish to die, do something about it. Now." With that he pushed us both off the cliff with one finger.

What the hell? I already mastered the summoning technique, why'd he have to push me off too? "Damn you, Jeraiya!" I yelled at him as we fell.

Naruto screamed on the way down. Suddenly Naruto was silent. I see he's talking to the fox now, then. Finally he snapped out of the trance and bit his thumb. He held out his hand and yelled. "Summoning Jutsu!" I could see his chakra. No one is supposed to be able to see chakra except the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans, so why can I see it? I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Well, whatever I can figure it out some other time, right now I have to focus on not landing on my head. I landed on Gamabunta perfectly on all fours like a cat. From there on it went like it was supposed to. The chief toad jumped out of the crater or whatever it's called and Naruto stayed on him almost the whole day. When Gamabunta had taken Naruto to the hospital I had thanked him and disappeared to my training area.

~~~~~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~

I took my backpack with everything in it and appeared inside my apartment. I took off my new clothes and put on some others. I just put on some black shorts and a red shirt. I looked into the mirror. I still looked pretty damn good. I chuckled and disappeared from my apartment, appearing in the Hokage's office. It was night time, but I knew he would still be there.

"Old man Hokage." I simply said and he looked up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled at me. "Ayame, you've finally come back to the village, I see and you've become so much stronger. I can tell just by looking at you." I smiled at his compliments. "What is it you want, child?"

"Hokage, I know you've wanted to talk to me for a while now and I've decided tonight will have to be the night, because I have something to tell you too."

He nodded at me. "Yes, you are correct. I wanted to talk to you about your choice to stay in the Chunnin Exams among other things. Is the reason you chose to stay in the Chunnin Exams because you knew Orochimaru was there?"

I nodded my head. "Hai. I knew he was going to be there and I knew he was going to try and give the curse mark to Sasuke. I tried stopping him, but instead I got one as well." I said looking at my now covered shoulder.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, I saw during the preliminaries that the curse mark tried to take you – as well as Sasuke – over. But you were much quicker to make it recede than Sasuke. I am glad you can control the mark, because that makes your will STRONG. It makes it easier on you, because you can then go on with the fight without it really bothering you."

I nodded and smiled at him. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"And there is another thing. Kakashi has told me about your very peculiar Chakra types. There is no one in the world that can use all 5 types of Chakra. The only one that could also use it, was the Sage of 6 paths, I'm sure you know who that is."

I nodded. "Yes Hokage. The sage of 6 paths held the Rinnegan in his possession. He was the one who separated the 10 tails into 9 different tailed beasts - two being the Shukaku and the Kiyuubi." He nodded at my knowledge. "Also, he was the father of both the Senju and the Uchiha clans. The Senju clan inherited his body from him, being able to use wood as an element like the 1st Hokage and the Uchiha clan inherited his eyes, the Sharingan. I also know that the Uchiha's that also have Senju blood in their veins can acquire the Rinnegan, although I am not quite sure how."

The Hokage looked shocked to hear this. "Child, where did you learn this information?"

I shrugged. "It's one of the many things I know." I looked at him serious. "Old man Hokage, he is coming. You must prepare yourself to battle to the death tomorrow. He will be dressed as a very important man. This is all I can tell you, but you must be ready for anything." He nodded. With that I stood up and left.

I sat on the roof, looking at the moon. Suddenly I felt a blood lust that even wanted to take a hold of me. I wanted to kill. What the…? I've never even felt bloodlust and now I want to kill because of Gaara's lust? That's just… that's not right. I was really confused. I'm not even someone who likes killing – not that I've done it before or have I? "Don't you ever sleep, Gaara?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"How did you know I was here?" His voice sounded like the normal Gaara. I just shrugged. "When the moon is full…" He started. This time his voice sounded a bit different. Seems the Shukaku came out.

"When the moon is full, its blood boils. And tomorrow is a full moon again." I finished for him. "The bloodlust in Shukaku takes form and it uses your body to kill. It longs for blood and chaos. It is the 1 tailed beast that feasts on destruction." I said in an emotionless voice while looking at the moon.

"How did you know…about me?" The Shukaku asked in Gaara's voice.

"I know too much sometimes. If you want blood, go ahead. Take mine. I'll just warn you now. You won't spill any of my blood and it will tire you out. You will be too tired and Gaara will have control back." I said, still looking at the moon, but standing up nonetheless.

The Shukaku took on its true form and tried squashing me with its tail, but nothing can kill shadows. Shikamaru can manipulate them, and maybe even hurt them one day, but no one can kill a shadow. Yes, it is what you think. I used one of my special Jutsu's to turn into a shadow. He tried killing me again and again, but I had somehow fallen asleep and stayed in my shadowed form. I woke up to see Gaara lying on the roof exhausted and asleep. He looked so cute when he slept. I turned back into my own form and picked Gaara up. Somehow his sand knew I wasn't going to hurt him so they let me pick him up. I searched for Temari and Kankuro's apartment and finally found it. It was still night time, so I still had time to sleep. I knocked on the door twice and hard. A groggy Kankuro opened the door. "What do you want?" He snapped, but then he saw it was me. "Oh, hi Ayame, why are you here this early?" I looked down to the sleeping Gaara in my arms and Kankuro followed my eyes. He gasped. "How are you not dead?"

I shrugged. "He can't kill a shadow." Kankuro was confused. I wasn't going to explain it to him. "Let me put him in his bed, I don't think his sand will like it if anyone else does it." He nodded and led me toward Gaara's bed.

I put Gaara in his bed and put a blanket on him. I was going to stand up, but Gaara's sleeping form pulled me down again and he whimpered. I looked at him with sad eyes and chuckled humourless. "Oh Gaara, what you must've endured because of what's in you. You two are so much alike." I whispered. I gently pried his fingers of my arms and stood up. He was so lonely and Naruto was like that too once. Kankuro was staring at me. "Kankuro your brother is not a monster. Not really." I sighed as he gave me a funny look. Of course he wouldn't understand. "Good night." I said and walked out of their apartment.

I walked to my apartment enjoying the night air. Suddenly I saw Kabuto and Baki staring at me with wide eyes. I waved my hand at them and smiled. Those baka's are scare of what I might've done to Gaara, either that or they're wondering how I'm not dead. I appeared behind them. "Just make sure Orochimaru doesn't come near me, because I will kill him." They whirled around and I smiled at them before disappearing onto the roof again. I looked at the damage. Wow he went all out. I chuckled. Oh well, now I know that I can't be killed if I'm in my shadow form. I chuckled again.

I walked on the roof with my hands behind head while looking at the moon. I've always liked looking at the moon, especially the full moon. I feel that I can relate to what Gaara said about the moon's blood boiling. I frowned. Am I supposed to be able to relate to that? I don't think I'm supposed to. I wiped the thought away and continued walking home. I thought back to my adoptive parents. They were always so nice and kind to me and yet… I don't miss them at all. I sighed and walked into my apartment. I climbed in bed and went to sleep.

Chap 22: Dosu vs. Ayame

I appeared next to Naruto who was rushing – late – to the battle arena. "Hey Naruto, give me your hand and stand still." I said. He yelped when he heard me spoke and I took his hand. We came to a stop and I used my transporting power to get us at the Arena quickly. The guards stopped us as we stood in front of the Arena. "Who are you?" they asked.

I pointed to Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki" Then I pointed to myself. "Ayame Korokawa." They nodded and let us in. I calmly walked inside while Naruto ran in and skid to a stop in front of Shikamaru. "Sorry we're late. I had to get Naruto before Konohamaru made him even more late." I said to the proctor. He nodded his head. I heard the people cheer and scoffed. They're only here to see Sasuke. I quickly appeared in front of the Hokage. Unfortunately the 'Kazekage' also just arrived. "Lord Hokage, Sasuke is going to be late. He's with Kakashi-sensei on some mountain and naturally Kakashi's going to be late, so you might have to postpone his match." He nodded and told me to go down again. I glared at the 'Kazekage' and appeared in the arena just when the proctor spoke. "Alright, listen up. The terrain's different, but the rules are the same as before. That is that there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies. That being said, if I determine that a match is over I can step in and stop it at any time and no arguments permitted. Understood?" He called Naruto and Neji's name. "Those two stay, the rest of you can go to the waiting area." Everyone turned around and I gave Naruto a quick hug. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

I walked towards Gaara and touched his shoulder, because he was shaking again. He instantly tensed up. "You should really calm down Gaara." I let go of his shoulder and walked on. I felt Temari and Kankuro's eyes on me, but I ignored them.

I appeared next to Izoumo and Kotetsu who sat next to Hinata and Kiba. I looked at the two Jounin. "Look, I know you two don't think Naruto will win this fight, but you're doing exactly what Neji is doing, underestimating him. You people are supposed to know that you NEVER underestimate your opponent. He will win, just you watch." I gave them a pointed look and then turned to Kiba and Hinata. "Hey guys. Hinata, how are you? Kiba, is your over confident nose better?" Hinata looked away shy and Kiba scowled. I giggled at the pair. They're so funny. I walked up to the 'ANBU' "Hey, can I ask you a little favour please?" he nodded. "My friend over there is still hurting from her match and I know some of you ANBU guys can do medical Ninjutsu, would you mind healing her completely, please?" He nodded and walked over to her. I walked with him. "Hinata he's going to heal you. I know you think the medical ninja fixed you, but they didn't." She nodded and he healed her completely. I walked with him for a little while before whispering. "Just remember what I said, won't you?" I smiled a sickly sweet smile and saw him shudder.

I walked back to Kiba and Hinata. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be down there?" Kiba asked. I nodded and disappeared.

I stood next to Shikamaru and watched as Naruto's fight progressed. Naruto was shaking with anger. I guess he was still angry at Neji. "Alright, now let the first match begin!" Everyone on the stadiums cheered.

Naruto was calmer this time, more sure of himself. Neji moved a step or two forward and then Naruto threw kunai and charged at him. Neji blocked every one of Naruto's punches, then he used his palm and struck Naruto once. He struck Naruto again on the shoulder, but he missed. Naruto stood back up, he looked so much more confidant. He did the shadow Jutsu. Everyone in the stadium must've been shocked because of the shadow clone Jutsu. "Don't ever count me out." He said and all the Naruto's rushed at Neji with kunai. Neji just pushed their hands away. One of the Naruto's kicked Neji, or that's what it looked like. In actuality Neji just jumped up and did a backflip. Naruto rushed at him again, but this time Neji spinned in the air and kicked 2 Naruto's.

This fight seemed hopeless, I know that, but we all know Naruto doesn't ever give up. I felt like shouting at all the people on the stadium to close their mouths, because they were silent and that just had to mean they were shocked.

Neji told Naruto that his dream was pointless, because he will never be Hokage. Neji just ticked Naruto off big time with that. They spoke about destiny and then Naruto did his multy Shadow clone Jutsu. Naruto was hit with Neji's gentle fist on his chest. He coughed up blood and laughed. I heard Kiba cheer for Naruto as he attacked again, but Neji used his Rotation. Again Naruto made clones. I appeared in front of Tenten with an irritated expression. "Would you stop underestimating Naruto? Neji might've been the top rookie, but Naruto will win him whether you think so or not so shut up." With that I was down the waiting area again. Neji had used Rotation again.

"Gentle fist art: 8 trigrams, 64 palms" it looked like Neji was only poking Naruto, but he was actually closing his chakra points. Naruto flew backward and hit the ground, but naturally he stood up again just as the proctor was going to stop the match. "I told you, I just don't know when to give up." Naruto smirked. They talked about the Hyuuga clan for a while. Neji rushed towards Naruto again and struck him in his chest.

Neji told the proctor to stop the match because it was over, but Naruto proved him wrong by standing up again. "You don't know what it's like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart, a mark that can never be wiped away!" Neji shouted pointing at Naruto. Oh how wrong you are.

Naruto looked up. "Oh yeah, I know what that's like. Well, big deal. Who cares? Man, you think you've got troubles? I've got news for you Neji; you're not the only special one around here. Did you ever think that Hinata might be suffering as much as you are? It's not her fault that her father was born ahead of yours, but you resent her for it. You disrespect her even when she's trying so hard to improve herself. All she wanted was your respect, that's what she was fighting for even though it almost killed her. And what was that all about anyway? I thought it was your destiny to serve the main household, not to beat it to a bloody pulp. After all you said about how you can't fight your own destiny, you don't really believe in it either, do you?"

Naruto coughed. "You think that Byakugan of yours sees everything, you know everyone's weakness, right!?"

"That's right." Wrong. "But if you think you're the one who can prove me wrong, well, be my guest."

"You got it. I'm gonna show you that you're wrong about a lot of things, starting right now." Naruto focused his chakra and forced it through the Chakra points. He growled at the effort, but didn't give up. Neji shook his head. The fox's chakra was forced through the chakra points and Naruto began to heal. I felt the strength and cruelness of the chakra itself. I shuddered… in delight? No that can't be right; everyone was shocked at Naruto's power, even the Hokage. I could actually see the chakra and it looked like swirling tails – 9 of them. The chakra enveloped him. Naruto moved and was quicker than before by much, He threw shuriken and Neji did Rotation. Neji threw them back and Naruto moved out of the way. They both held shuriken in their hands and Naruto ran at him. They both held their weapons ready, Neji did Rotation and their weapons clashed, making a small explosion erupt. Again, everyone was shocked. When the smoke cleared there were 2 mini craters. Neji stood up and Naruto's clone just lied there. The proctor was about to say that the match was over when I interrupted. "Proctor, don't stop the match just yet! Naruto isn't quite done." I said pointing to Neji who had shakily stepped to Naruto's clone. Naruto popped out of the ground and punched Neji in his face. Poof and the clone was gone. Naruto told Neji about his failed graduation and the Jutsu that he always failed. He said that he just couldn't master the clone Jutsu. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." Everyone applauded.

Next up was Sasuke and Gaara's match, but they postponed the match so it was now Shino and Kankuro's match. Kankuro's withdrawal from the match was still as disappointing. So we moved on to Shikamaru and Temari's match. Temari was also a strategist, but not as good as Shikamaru though. Shikamaru had to hide for a while because Temari used her wind scythe Jutsu and cut up some trees. In the end Shikamaru used the shadows under the ground to trap Temari. He lost this time, but only because he forfeited. And he forfeited because had used up too much of his chakra even though he did have the next 200 moves planned out in his head.

Ah, crap. It's my turn. I heard everyone whispers about me. Where they curious about me too? Well that's weird. I sighed. I might as well get on with it. I jumped down from the waiting area. "Kick his butt, Ayame-chan!" I heard Naruto yell.

I turned to him and smirked. "Don't worry. I'll have him beat before the fight even begun." I said loud enough for him to hear. If all goes to plan, I will have won this match easily. Didn't I tell you? I'm a great strategist too. I even picked up Shikamaru's habit. You know the one where he puts his fingers together when he's thinking.

Dosu glared at me. I chuckled. I probably shouldn't have said that, but I already did.

I walked toward the proctor and waited for Dosu. When he arrived the proctor spoke. "Now remember, I can step in at any time if the fight seems hopeless." We nodded. "Ok, Begin." He jumped away as he said it. I rolled my eyes. Did he really think we'd be so reckless as to rush at our opponent immediately?

I looked over to Dosu, only to see him running at me. Apparently he was right. I appeared behind him and kicked. Dosu saw it coming so he spun around and blocked. Unfortunately for him I had put a lot of chakra into that kick so he went flying anyway. I waited for him to stand up again as I examined my nails. They were chipped because of my training, maybe I can lend Sakura's nail file.

Dosu – like the idiot he was – rushed toward me, thinking I was distracted, but before he could strike I punched him in his face.

I yawned. Man, this fight was boring. Suddenly I fell to my knees, puking like Kabuto did on the first exam. Damn, I should've seen that coming. He had hit me with his Jutsu. I stood up. To the crowd it seemed like I stood up on shaky legs, but it was just an act. I wiped my mouth. "I see you already forgot about my Jutsu."

"Yeah, I did. It wasn't really worth it to remember it." I said, aiming to tick him off a bit.

It worked. He narrowed his eyes. "You should do well to remember it, because now I will kill you." This time he was serious. I grinned and cracked my knuckles. Finally I get to fight seriously.

I dodged Dosu's punch, but let the sound hit me. I stood still, trying to gain my balance back. Yes, I was still affected by the Jutsu, but I ignored it as Dosu went to strike me again. He feigned punching me in the face, but instead he punched my stomach, making the sound vibrate through my body. I fell to my knees and coughed up blood. Damn I feel like the victim now. Dosu hit me with his sound again, but this time he also punched me in the face. I fell on my back and lay still. I heard him walk over to me. "Well, you're just a weak little girl after all. Proctor the match is over."

I heard the proctor walk over. "Because his opponent is una-"

"Proctor, don't finish that sentence. I have barely begun." I said with clenched teeth, aiming a glare at the proctor. He nodded and disappeared. I stood up on shaky legs. What? I know I said it was all an act, but the last one really affected me. "You think you've won?" I chuckled darkly stepping closer to Dosu. "I've got you right where I want you." I glared at him. "You and Orochimaru did this to me and because of that you will die here." I said softly so that no one else but me and Dosu could hear it. I punched him with my fist that was enveloped with chakra. He was sent flying to the other end of the arena. I heard people gasp at my strength. "She can still move after all the times he hit her with his Jutsu?" I heard Shikamaru ask. Are you underestimating me, Shikamaru? I sure hope not. I guess I should all my cards on the table. I took my leg warmers off as well as the weights. I dropped them on the ground and a mini explosion erupted, making a huge dust cloud. Those weights were about 120 kg's, so of course that would happen. Hmm, now I have the advantage. I've been training with my eyes closed so that I could use my other senses in battle too. I closed my eyes and listened. I heard Dosu stand up and take a step forward. I bet he was listening for a sound too. Too bad when I attack it's much like Zabuza's attacks were – silent. I attacked with absolutely no sound. I used my real speed to move behind him. I held my kunai knife against his throat. "Game over." I whispered in his ear. His body jolted, making it easy for me to see he didn't sense me.

"What's happening? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!" Naruto yelled. As if on cue the smoke – or well, dust – cloud disappeared. Everyone gasped. "What? I didn't even hear her or see her shadow move!" Shikamaru yelled out in disbelief. I smirked.

"Sorry little girl, but it's not over. Remember, I can use my chakra to manipulate the sound wherever I want it to go." Dosu stated. He used his sound to attack my inner ear, which I was counting on by the way. My ear started bleeding. I had to admit, it did hurt like Hell, but I've had worse. I glared at my left shoulder where the curse mark was. I shook my head. Focus on the battle. I appeared in front of him with a sadistic smirk. I held up one hand in surrender, but then my smirk grew and I did one handed hand signs. "Secret Jutsu: Leaf style – Mountain Lion Reincarnation" I said loudly and then crouched on all fours. I felt my skin prickled and my gums ache. I felt my hands and feet change and my senses turned sharper. The crowd gasped and I smirked at Dosu's shocked expression. "Cat got your tongue?" Excuse the pun. I knew what I looked like. When I was out training, I had discovered this Jutsu. I had looked into the river, but my reflection wasn't the one I saw. No, I saw the reflection of a cougar-like girl. So my Jutsu enables me to grow fur, claws and fangs like a cougar (or puma. Whatever you want to call it). "So that's why she smelled like a cat!" I heard Kiba exclaim and Akamaru barked in agreement.

*******The Hokage's POV*******

I gasped along with the crowd. What? How can she do that? That's impossible! The only way she can do that is if she's a… No, that's impossible. But then again… That girl is so talented, she has so much potential. What if it's true? I'll have to keep an eye out for her in the future… That is if I have a future ahead of me. I glanced at the Kazekage. I just have to be careful from now on.

*******Ayame's POV*******

I chuckled at Kiba's comment before looking at Dosu again. It doesn't look like he's going to be functioning again anytime soon, so I'll have to make my move. It's now or never. "You thought you saw all my moves, huh? Guess you were wrong." I said as I rushed to him. I jumped in the air and made a front flip, holding my claws out to scratch him. I scratched his face and landed on all fours, then I ran at him again and scratched and scratched until he looked like a bloody piece of meat, which is just what he was to me. I saw the proctor was hesitant, but he wanted to step in. I growled warningly at him and he stayed back. I turned back to my human form and stood up. "Look at you; you look like a sorry piece of meat. I thought you sound ninjas were supposed to be strong." I said mockingly. "Seems you overestimated yourselves." I walked around him, like a cat circling it's pray. What a fitting description, don't you think? I made some hand signs and held my one hand in front of my mouth. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu." I said and blew a fireball towards Dosu, unfortunately he dodged. I made another pair of hand signs. "Wind style: Silent wind shuriken." I didn't even bother saying it quietly this time. He knew what was coming. The wind shuriken cut him up even more than he already was. I smiled at the sight. I did another pair of hand signs. "Earth style: Spiralling quicksand." He spun in a circle while sinking and it made it even easier for me to hit him now. "Water style: Crystal senbon." The senbon hit him, but it didn't really do much damage because the day was too hot, so the senbon had melted by the time it hit Dosu. So all in all it only splashed him. I grumbled under my breath about the 'stupid heat of the day'.

"Lightning style: Thunder struck." A lightning bolt struck Dosu, but it wasn't as strong as my other lighting styled Jutsu so he didn't pass out. Besides I was aiming to kill the bastard and I knew Orochimaru and Kabuto were watching.

********Orochimaru's POV********

My eyes widened. Remarkable, she can do all 5 styled Jutsu's without the Sharingan. Who is that girl? She would make such a nice addition to the collection.

I just have to have her. That Jutsu that she performed a few minutes earlier was also impressive. Why do I feel like I know the girl? She seems so familiar, though I can't put a name to her pretty little face. I glanced at my old sensei. He seems to be quite taken with the girl as well. It looks like he knew she could do all those Jutsu, but he just couldn't believe it.

I smiled slyly under the cloth. I will definitely be in need of this girl's powers. I almost want her more than Sasuke Uchiha. Almost.

I'm glad I gave her the curse mark. I can see she has hidden anger in her and she will also want to acquire power soon. Soon she will come to me as well and when that happens, I will cherish her gifts as if they were my own – which it will be as soon as she's mine.

I licked my lips. Yesss, this will be interesting match. That sound ninja of mine was overconfident and didn't see her real strength. No matter, a life lost can always be replaced and who better than the same person who took his life. What a pleasant gift this is. Soon she will be mine and no one in the village will be able to stop her. I almost laughed in delight. She has a strong chakra. What an interesting girl she is. Yes, she will do just fine.

*******Ayame's POV******

Dosu had somehow gotten out of the quicksand. I shrugged. No matter, I still have the advantage. I am stronger and faster than him.

I ran at him with my kunai ready, but he dodged and used the chakra he had left to try and attack me with his sound. Before he could I had vanished. I did not use my normal vanishing trick this time, no.

I saw him look around frantically. I think I made him panic, because he probably doesn't want to lose his life. Too bad for him, but he won't find me because I had shrouded my chakra. I moved from my hiding place and stretched out my hand towards his neck. He didn't seem to notice a change in the atmosphere until Naruto yelled out. "Hey, why does he have two shadows!?" You numbskull, I was trying to sneak up on him.

Dosu quickly looked at the ground. "You're too late Dosu and now you're going to die because of that." I said and grabbed a hold of his neck. My nails grew and I tightened my grip on his neck. He tried to pry my fingers off of his neck, but it was futile because I was still in my shadowed form. As I tightened my grip, my long nails pierced his skin. He groaned in pain as blood soaked the bandages around his neck. "Hey, his neck is bleeding!" Oh my gosh, Naruto, stop shouting out the obvious.

I turned back to my normal human form with my hand still on his neck and my nails were claws. I let go and quickly used my nails to slice open his neck, splattering my face and hands with blood. "I promised you I would kill you and now I did." I whispered in his ear and let him fall to the ground. I heard the crowd gasp as they saw him fall with blood pouring out of his neck. "She killed him." I heard Shikamaru say in shock. Is it so hard to believe that I killed a man and didn't feel an ounce of remorse? I suppose it should, but this guy deserved it. I looked up and glared right at the 'Kazekage' and mouthed 'Next time it'll be you'. I knew he could see it so I didn't bother actually speaking. I stood there panting from the chakra use. "Because her opponent is unable to continue" living, I added silently. "Ayame Korokawa is the winner."

I just stood there and waited for Sasuke and Kakashi to show up as the Medical Ninja's took Dosu's body away. I looked up and stared right at Gai-sensei and Rock Lee. I could see they were shocked that I could see them from this far off. I looked to see Naruto running toward me. "Hey Ayame-chan, are you alright?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, why do you ask?"

"You seem kinda… tense. Is it because you killed that guy?"

I shook my head. "No Naruto, that actually doesn't bother me as disgusting as that is… it's because I can feel Gaara's bloodlust from here." I lied smoothly. Actually it was because I felt Orochimaru's stare as well as Gaara's on me. It was quite unnerving. Naruto nodded and I looked down. I don't have a scratch on me. I'm just dirty and blood-soaked and I know should have a bruise on my jaw because of Dosu's punch, but other than that I'm clean.

"You were awesome, Ayame-chan. Teach me how to fight like that, will you?"

I smiled and hugged him. "Sure, why not?"

The crowd was quite unpleased by Sasuke's tardiness. Naruto started pacing. "What's he thinking? I bet he's planning some big entrance or something. Well, I'm not gonna be impressed."

I chuckled. "Relax, he'll be here in 3… 2… 1… Now." I said and just when I said that, the wind started blowing and the leaves floated with them. I looked at the two who were standing there posing. I broke their cool pose with my comment. "Uchiha your hair makes you look like a girl now that it's grown." Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke threw a quick glare at me, but I disappeared when he took in my appearance. I mean yeah, I was filthy, blood-soaked and probably had a bruise but other than that I was fine and still standing. I could see he was curious and worried, which is weird. I think he thought the blood was mine.

"Sorry we're late. You wouldn't believe the traffic." Naruto grinned at them.

"And you are?" The proctor asked Sasuke.

Sasuke looked toward him. "I'm Sasuke, Uchiha." Everyone cheered. Show off.

"Huh, so you finally decided to show up after all. I was betting you wouldn't come, 'cause sooner or later you'd have to face me." I chuckled at Naruto's silliness.

Sasuke smirked. "So what about you guys? Did you win?"

"You know it." Naruto replied.

I shrugged. "I killed that Sound Ninja guy I was going to fight." Kakashi and Sasuke's eyes widened. "Huh, well don't get too full of yourself, you're still a loser." I could see Sasuke was actually proud of Naruto. I smiled. Well, they're coming along quite good.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Sorry if we kept you waiting, but uhm… how late are we? I mean, it's not like Sasuke's well disqualified or anything, right?"

We all turned to the proctor. "Like master, like pupil even down to your lousy sense of time."

"Well, what about it?" Kakashi asked, still scratching the back of his head. Does he have fleas or something?

"You know, you were so late that we extended the deadline for you. Twice in fact and it's lucky for you we did, because you just made it. No he's not disqualified."

"Oh, that's a relief. You had me worried there for a minute, so we're ok."

I rolled my eyes. "Just barely, you were about to be disqualified."

"Just make sure you don't lose to this guy." Naruto said.

"Got it." Sasuke was still looking at Gaara as if he was some sort of puzzle.

"Hey Sasuke! Don't lose, 'cause I want to fight you myself."

And once again Sasuke replied with 'Got it.'

I started walking toward the waiting area again as Gaara was called to come down and Naruto turned to walk with me.

Chap 23: Shukaku vs. Naruto

I walked up the stairs and sighed when I saw Gaara kill those two men. I continued up the stairs to Gaara. "Gaara, didn't I tell you to calm down?" I asked a bit exasperated. He lifted his hand toward me, to which I raised my eyebrow. "Your sand won't hurt me." The sand wrapped around me tightly. "Oh, well it seems I was mistaken, but it knows I won't hurt you." I quickly appeared a little bit away. I don't want to get squashed just yet. The sand fell when there was nothing to wrap itself around. "You should go. You don't want to keep the Uchiha waiting, do you?" He ignored my comment and went down the stairs where Naruto stood frozen in fear. "Come on, Naruto. You don't want to miss Sasuke's fight. It'll be quite an interesting battle." We started walking to Kakashi and the others. "If we had come a minute sooner that could've been us." I shook my head, but stayed silent. When Kakashi was in view, Naruto ran to him. I watched Sasuke fight Gaara as Naruto tried to make Kakashi stop the fight. Sasuke had used Lee's speed and broke Gaara's sand armour a bit. Poor Gaara, he was being kicked around like a dog. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"W-what is it Naruto?"

"Sensei, please, you just have to stop this match right away. The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us, he's about as far from normal as you can get!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto slow down. What are you trying to say?" Ino asked a bit confused.

"He thinks his point in life is to kill people. Don't you see!? If this continues, Sasuke will die! You've got to believe me!"

I appeared next to Kakashi-sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, as much as I hate to admit it, Naruto's right. He thinks his purpose is to kill and whether you trained Sasuke for a reason or not, he still won't be a decent match for Gaara." Sakura, Ino and Choji looked freaked out by my sudden appearance. Good thing I washed off the blood. "Of course, I'm not saying you should stop the match because that would be a waste of time." I gave them all a fake reassuring smile, which they bought.

Kakashi looked at me sceptically before turning back to the match. Ok, so maybe he saw through it. "Well ok then and Naruto, Sasuke and I weren't just goofing off. There's a reason we were so late getting here. Just watch. By the way, Ayame, how did you do it? You fought that guy and used tons of chakra – as I heard from Gai and Lee – and yet you're still standing."

I shrugged. "I have almost as much chakra as Naruto and I've learned to use my chakra at a minimum when I do my Jutsu's." Ok, I lied. I might seem only a little tired, but I felt like I'd fall over any minute now. He nodded and even though he tried to look bored I could see he was impressed. I wasn't sure if it was aimed at me or Sasuke though, because his face was still facing forward, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.

Suddenly Gaara's bone chilling, pained scream was heard. "Blood! It's my blood!" I cringed, poor Gaara. It's almost time… I looked over to Sasuke. His arm was stuck and he was trying to pull it out. I giggled. It actually looks funny.

Sasuke got his arm out as well as the Shukaku's. It slammed down onto the ground and receded back into the ball of sand. The sand cracked and flowed down Gaara's body. He was in pain and breathing shallower. Sasuke looked completely shocked. I looked to my left to see the 'ANBU' touch someone's shoulder and he instantly fell asleep. I saw the feathers fall down, but it didn't affect me. Like I said, I trained myself against these things. I saw Naruto fall down, asleep and Shikamaru pretend to be asleep.

There was an explosion at the Hokage and Kazekage's seats. I growled. I – unfortunately – cannot stop Orochimaru now even if I wanted to. I have to help Naruto and the rest stop Gaara even if I just watch from a distance and fight the others. The ANBU ran to help the Hokage and the siblings ran to get their brother. I watched as the sound ninja made the barrier and one ANBU was set on fire. "Why are you here? Lord Hokage's in danger." Gai asked the 'ANBU'. Other sound ninja jumped up from their disguises and stood next to him.

I appeared beside Gai-sensei. "Don't waste your breath on this snake, Gai-sensei. He's a spy from the sound village. Right, Kabuto?" I emphasised his name.

He chuckled. "You're too smart for your own good, aren't you Ayame?"

I growled in annoyance. "Kabuto, when this is all over, tell Orochimaru that I hope he enjoys the 3de's present." I watched as Gaara held his head in pain. Kankuro and Temari took him away from the arena. Sasuke followed them. I looked up and saw Orochimaru tear off the Kazekage's fake skin off of himself. I wrinkled my nose. Eew, that's disgusting. I got over my disgust and glared with a fierce hatred.

Gai looked over to me and even flinched before he looked to where I was glaring. "Kakashi, look there, inside the barrier."
My glare intensified. "That's right. Orochimaru is here."

Sakura sprang up. "Orochimaru!" Two sound ninjas sprang at her with kunai at the ready, but I intercepted them. I threw my own kunai at them and hit them straight on. They fell to the floor, not standing up again. I had thrown it with so much strength that they couldn't block it and it hit them straight in the stomach.

Kakashi and Gai stood fighting them while I glared at Kabuto and protected Sakura when needed. "Sakura, Ayame it was worth teaching you Genjutsu during survival training for the gennin exam. You truly do have a talent for it. Release the Genjutsu and wake Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto will be delighted. He'll be getting a mission after such a long time. You'll have to be careful on this one. It's the first A-rank assignment since the land of the waves." Sakura gasped. Kakashi explained that Sasuke was chasing Gaara and the sand ninja, he told us to follow Sasuke. Then he summoned Pakkun and told us to take him with us.

"Come on Sakura, you wake Naruto and I'll wake Shikamaru." I said. I walked toward Shikamaru and stood above him. "Wake up, you lazy-ass or I'll kick you."

"Alright, alright, man women are such a drag." He said sitting up. "Just give me a break; I couldn't care less about Sasuke." Pakkun bit him and Shikamaru was frantic to get him off. I couldn't help but laugh. Shikamaru picked Pakkun up and stretched his skin.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Shikamaru." Pakkun bit his hand and Shikamaru yelled out.

Naruto sat up and asked what was going on. I quickly explained to them what the plan was and told them that Shino was probably going to join us too, because he was still in the waiting area. That and he still haven't fought yet. They nodded and we headed out of the whole Gai had created when he saved Naruto from being cut up.

Sakura explained on the way to Naruto what happened while he was asleep. Pakkun led the way with his nifty nose, although I could've used my nose instead.

"Come on you guys, hurry it up!" Pakkun shouted at us.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Did you see Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"No. We're being followed by 9 sound ninjas." I said.

"What?"

"Ah come on already, give me a break here." Shikamaru said exasperated. I suppose I can't blame him. He is – after all – almost completely chakra depraved.

We stopped and Pakkun told us to go back over our footprints. I looked back. "Uhm, Pakkun I don't have footprints." I said uncertainly.

"What? Then you must be really light on your feet." He said surprised.

I shrugged. "I supposed. I mean I am part cat after all." He nodded in understanding. "So I'll go ahead, if that's ok with you guys? I'll hold them off until you get there." They all nodded and so I went on ahead.

Soon I caught up with Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, mind if I help?" I gave him a cocky smirk.

He looked at me and nodded. "Come on, we're close." I nodded and we picked up the pace.

"Temari will know you're following her by now." I said to him.

He gave me a confused look. "Won't they know you're here too?"

I shook my head. "No. My steps are too light for them to hear through the trees and I shrouded my chakra." He nodded and we continued. My ears picked up a sound far off. It sounded like wire. Yes, it had to be. "Temari's setting traps on the trees now. We need to continue pursuing them on the ground." He jumped down and continued running. I huffed. Leave me here, why don't ya? I jumped off the ground and landed softly before continuing. As we ran I saw the wires. I took my kunai and tripped them all. "What was that!?" Sasuke asked.

I glanced at him. "If you want them to think that you're not following them anymore then that was necessary."

Sasuke threw a kunai at the tree near Temari's head and I quickly jumped higher into the tree before they could see me. "I've finally caught you." He said. "Did you really think that I'd let you get away?"

"If it isn't Sasuke Uchiha." Temari said.

Sasuke smirked. "This is as far as you guys go." I think he's feeling good about himself today.

"So what are you gonna do, huh?" Kankuro asked. He kinda sounded like he was mildly freaking out. I smirked. "Go Kankuro, get Gaara away from here." Temari said and threw kunai at his head. "I'll take care of this one."

"Don't be a fool, Temari. This kid's too much to handle all by yourself."

"Don't argue. Our mission is to make sure Gaara is safe. He's our first and only priority. Don't worry about me. This is what I've been waiting for." She smirked. Sasuke scowled at her. "Get going Kankuro." He nodded and left with Gaara.

"No you don't!" Sasuke threw shuriken at him, but missed. "Damn." He jumped from tree to tree, trying to get higher, but Temari stopped him and used her wind Jutsu.

I jumped down. "Go Sasuke. I'll handle her." I said standing with my hand on my hip. "Temari, you're way too cocky for someone who's low on chakra." Sasuke nodded and went on ahead.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." I held my hand to my mouth and blew out several fire flowers. She jumped back and landed on the ground with the flames encircling her. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu" I sent a fireball right at her and there's nothing she could do about it.

"Wind scythe Jutsu" Well except that. I jumped off the tree and fell down. She threw shuriken right at me, but I did the substitution Jutsu and put a bomb on the log. I quickly went on ahead and not long after a big 'BOOM' was heard as the paper bomb went off.

I arrived just in time to see Sasuke heading after Temari as Shino took over his fight with Kankuro. Yes, Temari had caught up to her brother again. "Good luck Shino." Shino and Kankuro looked at me surprised as I jumped past them. He nodded anyway.

I moved as quickly as my legs could carry me. I quickly caught up with Temari, leaving Sasuke a little behind. I saw Gaara wake up. Temari put him down on a branch and Gaara grabbed his head, groaning in pain again. "Hey, Gaara are you alright?" I asked my voice laced with concern. I mean, yeah he was a ruthless killer, but later on he'll be a better person because of Naruto. Temari's head shot up and she gasped. "You, what are you doing here?"

"Following you of course, but to more important matters… Temari you need to get away from Gaara right now. The Shukaku is surfacing." She nodded and Gaara stood up, telling her to leave him alone because he doesn't need her and then he threw her against a tree. "Gaara, you have to calm down. You need to calm down."

He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breath. Then he opened his eyes and looked directly behind me at Sasuke. "I have no idea what scheme you Sand Village clowns have got going, but I'll stop it – no matter what it is." Sasuke was actually determined for once. I jumped back to stand beside him. What? The look Gaara was giving Sasuke gave me chills. "Besides I'm dying to see what you really are."

"Not such a great plan, Uchiha. In fact it's the dumbest one you've had yet." I murmured, but by the glare he threw me it seems he had heard.

Gaara yelled out in pain and clutched his head. "Gaara, no!" Temari shouted.

Gaara's sand armour cracked. Crap. I was hoping Naruto would be coming soon, but it looks like I'll have to fight him as well. Gaara began sprouting crap about how he and Sasuke were alike in their purpose. Gaara fell to his knees and cried out in pain. Oh Gaara… "You are my pray!" He was in so much pain as the Shukaku started taking over. His arm transformed. When I looked again, half his body was transformed. I winced. I really don't like seeing him in pain. I heard Sasuke gasp in horror. "Now, let me feel it." Gaara rushed toward Sasuke and I took a hold of him and appeared behind Gaara again.

"What are you doing!?" Sasuke yelled at me over the roar of the falling tree branch.

"Saving your skin!" I yelled back. I appeared high in the tree tops.

"Why do you hide, Sasuke Uchiha? Do I frighten you?" I appeared next to Temari who was shaking and whimpering in fear of her brother. "Are you shocked by my true form? Come out, come out Sasuke Uchiha. To live, I must kill and you are my pray!"

I crouched down beside Temari and grabbed her in a comforting hug. "Don't worry Temari. It will all be over soon, I promise. Just keep quiet and don't make a sound."

She looked shocked by what I did. "Why are you comforting me? I'm the enemy."

I shook my head. "No you're not, not really. You've all been tricked. You'll find out what I mean soon enough, now keep quiet and don't move." She nodded and kept quiet.

Sasuke jumped out of his hiding place and threw shuriken at Gaara, but he blocked with his transformed arm. They sunk into his arm and he threw them back at him. I appeared next to Sasuke just as he whispered. "This guy's a freak."

I shook my head. "No he's not. He's misunderstood. The fear the villagers felt for him created this because he never had a purpose."

"What's wrong, Sasuke Uchiha? Why do you run and hide? Why don't you attack?" Gaara grabbed his head as he relived another set of his memories. "Why do you always run away?"

He sounded so miserable, I just couldn't resist but to appear in front of him. "Gaara I wouldn't run away, I'm not frightened of you like your village's people. I would even be your friend."

He glared at me. "Liar!" He lashed out with his arm and almost squashed me. Good thing I had disappeared away from him. "Yes, that's it. You live in fear every day I'm alive!" Wait I think I missed some of his speech. Oh well, it's nothing that I won't miss out on. "What's wrong!? Are you really so afraid of me?" Gaara kept on talking about his and Sasuke's existence. Don't fall for his trap Sasuke. Not now.

Sasuke stood up and started to make the Chidori's hand signs. The Chidori took form in his hand. "With one blow I'll finish this." He said. How wrong you are Sasuke, how wrong you are…

They rushed at each other and the Chidori made contact with Gaara's transformed arm. Gaara screamed in pain and fell on his back on a branch. He began laughing as he sat up. "I see, so that's what it is." His arm grew bigger and a tail started to form. Crap.

Gaara slung himself towards Sasuke. He barely had time to get away, but luckily he did. Gaara did it again and this time Sasuke used his fireball Jutsu. Sasuke blocked Gaara's blow, but still got thrown way back. His back hit a tree and made a huge dent in it. Gaara started talking again. Sasuke stood up once again and started performing the hand signs. He jumped off the branch and went to hit Gaara when the Chidori failed. He was about to use the curse mark, but I appeared beside him and grabbed his arm, tugging him away from the Shukaku. "Sasuke don't use it. I will continue the fight for now. He's only trying to lure you out so that he can kill you and what good is being dead when it won't enable you to avenge your clan's death?" I asked him. He just nodded mutely.

I made a hand sign. "Lightning style: Lighting bolt." I looked at my hand where a lightning bolt had formed. I threw it at Gaara and it cut the sand off.

Gaara groaned in pain and the sand created the arm again. Gaara jumped toward us as I got distracted with Sasuke who fell to his knees grabbing a hold of the mark. I hissed in pain as well. Damn it. That Orochimaru will get what's coming to him if I get my hands on him.

I heard a foot collide with Gaara's face. Good Naruto's here. The curse mark was sending waves of pain to me again. I clenched my teeth and moaned in pain. Damn it, damn it, damn it! How long will this last?

Sakura and Pakkun landed next to me. I was holding myself up with the one hand while the other was clutching the curse mark. My back was hunched over and my head was pressed to the ground.

"Sasuke, Ayame!" Sakura gasped. I hissed out in pain. What the hell!? He's not even close now and yet it's still burning!

"W-what are you doing here?" Sasuke ground out between clenched teeth. I looked toward him. His curse mark had spread. "Damn it, Sasuke. I told you not to use it." I panted.

Sasuke ignored me as another wave of pain hit us. My eyes widened and I coughed up blood. W-why am I coughing up blood? I almost screamed as the pain hit me, but all that came out was a startled gasp. Sasuke on the other hand was obviously in more pain than I was, because he was screaming although his mouth was closed so it sounded more like groaning.

I gasped in pain. My skin felt like someone was ripping it off as well as setting it on fire. I looked down. The curse mark was spreading on my skin. What? No, I won't let it go any further. I bit on my lip and concentrated on making it recede. Instead of making it recede it spread more and faster. I whimpered as the pain hit me again. Recede you damn curse mark, recede! I mentally yelled. I tasted blood on my lips. I had bit my lip too hard and now it was bleeding. I heard Sakura gasp. "Not you too, Ayame."

"S-sakura, I t-tried making it go away but i-it just wouldn't recede." I stuttered trying to explain as the pain hit me. Soon it was too much for my body handle and I collapsed next to Sasuke and Sakura.

I heard my team talk, but I couldn't concentrate on it. Sasuke tried to get up. I saw blood on his lips. It seems like he coughed up blood too. "Die, Sasuke Uchiha!" I saw Gaara jump toward us, aiming to kill but Sakura got in his way. "Sakura, no!" I heard Naruto yell. Gaara pinned Sakura to a tree and nearly crushed her, but while she was being thrown back her leg had hit my head and sent me crashing against a tree. Hitting my head hard I blacked out.

My body feels like led. What happened? My head was pounding and I felt wetness at the back of my head. I tried moving, but I only managed to stir slightly. I tried again.

It took a while, but I could finally open my eyes and lift my body. I stood up on trembling legs. I almost fell down, but arms wrapped around my waist, steadying me. I looked up to see Temari was the one who was steadying me. I looked at her in appreciation. "Thanks."

She nodded. I looked up just in time to see the chief toad turn into the nine tailed fox. Gamabunta lunged at the Shukaku. I quickly used this to my advantage. I made the hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" I brought my hand down to the ground. The tree Sakura and Sasuke were on broke and I quickly jumped off of Masami – my summoning Cougar - and caught Sakura and Sasuke. Her name means elegant beauty, which is what she is. "Sasuke, hold Sakura and keep her safe while me and Masami fight." I left no room for argument. Good thing the sand around Sakura had collapsed, so now Sakura was free. I grabbed them both and jumped on Masami's back. "Child, why have you summoned me?" She was a bit taller than Gamabunta.

I ignored her and called out to Chief toad. "Hey Chief toad! I'll hold the Shikaku for you; you guys can wake Gaara up!" He nodded. "Come on, Masami. We need to hold the Shukaku. Can you do that for me?" She nodded in understanding.

She gave a mighty roar. Before the Shukaku could turn around she stepped onto his tail and dug her claws into his back.

Gamabunta ran at the Shukaku. Suddenly they transformed into themselves again and Naruto jumped up from Gamabunta's head, onto the Shukaku. He effectively punched Gaara in the face.

"Ah, that's just GREAT!" The Shukaku roared in outrage. "Give me a break, I just got here." His irritating voice sounded whiney. Geez, you'd think he was younger than me. The Jutsu wore off and when Gaara woke up, Naruto ran at him again.

Gaara growled in anger and almost enclosed Naruto with his sand. Good thing Gamabunta had shielded him with his tongue. "You think I'm a fool!?" Gaara yelled.

I rolled my eyes. Ok, so I have to be in the spotlight. Oh joy. I appeared behind Gaara, my hand on his neck. "Let him go Gaara or the only person who you love will die by my hand." I said. Of course it was a lie, but he didn't know that. I could never really hurt Gaara. He's been through way too much. He ignored me and spoke to Naruto. "I'll wipe you from the face of the earth. I will not cease to exist."

I sighed. This is going to take a while. I watched as Naruto summoned the fox's chakra. He was engulfed in the red chakra. It actually looked… kinda cool. He jumped forward, but the sand caught him and his extended fist. He struggled but after a little while he slammed his forehead against Gaara's. I smiled proudly at my friend. The Shukaku's whole body turned back into sand and both Naruto and Gaara fell down. I jumped back onto Masami's back. "Lord Gamabunta, you can go now. Go rest and heal your body." The old toad nodded and thanked me before he disappeared.

Both the boys landed on trees as Gamabunta disappeared. "Masami you can go now too. Thank you for your help." The mountain lion nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke, making me fall straight down and landing on another tree. It was a good thing Sasuke had found his strength and jumped off of Masami with Sakura in his arms.

Both boys sat up, panting. They stood up and had a stare off. Both of them stood in fighting stance and as soon as Gamabunta's sword disappeared as well they jumped at each other, fists at the ready.

As Gaara wasn't very good at close combat, Naruto punched him and both fell down.

I zoned out as I sat in the tree, my soul filling with sorrow. The old man was probably gone by now… My tears silently leaked out from my eyes. I wiped them away as I made my way to a terrified Gaara and Naruto who was moving toward him just by using his chin. They were talking. I held up my hand to Sasuke who was about to interfere, showing him not to do anything.

I crouched by Gaara when Naruto was done talking. I gently picked Gaara up. "You know, the thing that makes him so strong is his feelings toward his friends – his love. Maybe you can be like him some day." I gave a shocked Gaara a soft smile and handed him to his siblings.

Sasuke told Naruto that Sakura would be alright and he finally passed out. I walked over to him. "Sasuke take Sakura, I'll take Naruto." He nodded and went to get Sakura, but I stopped him. "Naruto and Gaara are the same, that's why him and only him could've stopped Gaara." He nodded again and walked off.

I walked with Naruto in my arms to his apartment. I took his keys out of his pockets and opened the door. I gently put him in his bed and wrote a quick note. The note said:

"Naruto,

Tomorrow you must wear funeral clothes.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the 3de Hokage died.

We will all attend his funeral and I will pick you up in the morning.

Ayame"

I walked out of his apartment and went to my own. I sighed. Tomorrow will be a heart breaking, sorrow filled day.

Chap 1: What did you do!?

I sat in my desk chair and twirled around in a circle. Wow, I love these chairs with wheels. I turned back to my laptop and put my earphones on. I was currently watching the very first episode of Naruto for the 3de time. All my friends call me a Naruto fanatic or a Narutard, I don't mind though because I couldn't agree more!

Naruto was currently running away from all the jounin, because of his silly prank on the Hokage faces. I giggled; I would've helped him with his pranks if I was there.

"Alex, Katherine's on the phone for you!" My mom called from downstairs.

"Thanks mum!" I called back.

I quickly paused Naruto, so that I wouldn't miss a single detail and picked up the phone.

"Alexis Knight, where have you been!? Why were you not at school!?" I quickly pulled my ear away from the phone to make sure she wouldn't burst my eardrum.

I sighed. "Relax, Kat. I've only been suspended from school for three days; it's nothing to worry about."

I could hear her sharp intake of breath. "You were suspended…?" it was silent for a while before… "ALEXIS, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW!?"

I winced as her voice travelled to my ear even when the ear piece was half a meter away.

"Geez woman, you're going to burst my eardrum if you keep on screaming at me like that" I said. "All I did was key the queen bitch's – oops I mean bee's – pretty little sports car. Oh and turned it into a paintball target, not to mention a litter box for dog shit..."

There was silence on the other end, before my best friend burst out laughing. "Oh. My. Gosh." She bit out between laughter. "I so missed the greatest prank of all time. How come you didn't tell me to come along?"

I chuckled at her quick change in mood. "I did, remember. But you had to study so I left you to do your work."

I thought back at my awesome prank.

*************Flashback**************

I glared as Briana got out of her pretty little Bugatti Veyron and walked to her awaiting crew. I've always hated popular people who are fake.

Briana Williams is one of the most wealthiest and fakest people at school. She puts on too much makeup and too little clothes.

She's probably slept with all the guys in school already and it's only the 2de year of highs school for us. We're currently in Gr 9 and one of the things I hate the most is that we have something in common. We were both born on the 15th of September and that we were put in school a year too early. So we were both 13 now.

She always picks on me and because of that she always gets a blue eye which ends up getting me a detention, but it's nothing new. I've been to detention more than 12 times this year and it's only April.

I waited for her and her crew to walk into school. They were the only ones in the parking lot, because they were an hour and a half late for school. They were the only ones who dared being that late for class, with me as an exception of course. I smirked. If they knew what I was planning I would probably be suspended for more than a month.

They walked into school with a very fake swing of their hips. I guess they were probably trying to look sexy, only problem was: it looked like they were trying to dislocate their hips – if that's even possible.

I snickered. Payback time Biatches!

For what? Well, they made a rumour that I liked sleeping around with nerds.

So I felt no guilt for this, they had it coming. Well, I never actually felt guilt, so never mind that then.

I got the plastic bag out of my backpack, along with the paintball gun I had packed and my car keys.

First I took the paintball gun and loaded it. I was in the mood to go all out, so that's just what I did. I shot the car with all the paintball balls I had packed, silently hoping there would be one or two dents in the car.

I put the gun back in my bag and then took out the dog crap. I took aim and threw it at Briana's car. "Bull's eye!" I yelled, praising my handy work so far.

Then an idea came to me. A sneaky smile made its way up to my face as I took my keys and tried keying a 'special' word for her on the car, although I tried not to touch the parts where there's dog shit. The 'special' word started with an 's'. Yes you got it right. I wrote slut on her car.

I thought no one was there to catch me, but one of Briana's henchmen – I think her name was Kelsey or something like that – was taking a smoke break when she heard the paintball gun. She was curious and wanted to see what made that sound, so she did. When she saw me thrashing Briana's car, she immediately went to report this to Briana and without me noticing too. And let me tell you, I am one observant chick. Nothing goes unnoticed by me.

I was done with her car by lunch time, so I walked into school. I went by unnoticed by everyone, except Briana. "You little Bitch! I can't believe you vandalised my car like that!"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Karma's a bitch, hey?" I smirked at her outraged face. And before she could lung at me I punched her, sending her sprawling on the ground. "You can't seem to learn that you'll never be able to touch me, do you?" I said, still smirking and shaking my head at her with mock sadness.

"Is that right?" The principal's voice said from behind me.

*********End of Flashback***********

"Hey, Alex I have to go. See you tomorrow, OK?"

I nodded my head before realising she can't see it. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." With that I put the phone down.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My light brown wavy hair was loose and resting on my shoulders and my skin practically glowed. My dark blue eyes were shining with excitement and my full lips were pulled into a grin. NARUTO TIME! I am really obsessed with him, aren't I? I giggled. Sure am. I looked outside my window. I saw thunderclouds rolling in. It looked like a storm was coming.

I played the episode. Before I knew it I was at the part where he beat Mizuki up pretty badly and Iruka gave him his headband. I kissed the stunned Naruto's cheek to make it look as if he was shocked that I kissed his cheek. I giggled.

Then suddenly I heard a loud roar and felt electricity run through my body. Did my computer just get hit by lightning?

It felt like I was being sucked into the screen, but not just like getting more and more interested.

Suddenly I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, so I closed them and my body slumped as I let the darkness take over.

Chap 2: What? I'm in the leaf village?

I slowly opened my eyes. Where the heck am I? I wiggled around and suddenly I started falling. I raised my arm to catch something to stop my fall. I caught a branch from the tree I was sitting in.

Wait, what? Why was I sitting in a tree? How did I even get here?

I shook my head and looked down. Might as well let go of the branch, as I was only a foot or 2 from the ground.

I let go of the branch and landed in a crouching form. It wasn't needed to land that way, but it was instinct.

I looked around; I couldn't see a path so I just started walking in a random direction. This place looks vaguely familiar.

It felt like I have been walking for hours and I didn't eat yesterday, which is becoming a major problem for me. My vision became blurry for lack of food and water. Damn it! If I had known this was going to happen, I would've packed a bag with all the necessary items in it.

All the trees and bushes looked the same, I might have been walking in circles and I wouldn't have known any better.

I finally came onto a path and I couldn't contain my relief. Finally I could find some kind of civilisation.

My vision became more and more dark around the edges and what's more is I developed a massive head ache.

I could see the shape of a familiar big gate and 2 male figures, but my eyes wouldn't let me see the detail.

I heard shouting as I tumbled to the ground in what felt like slow motion. The voices sounded like… Kotetsu and Izoumo?

I sighed. I must be going crazy, I thought. And with that I sunk into the darkness once again.

I heard people whispering. What were they whispering about? I strained my ears to hear and suddenly I could hear perfectly.

"Hokage-sama, I found her walking towards the village in an almost zombie-like manner before she passed out."

I heard fabric ruffle. I guess the other person nodded. "Leave me; I would like to talk to her when she wakes up."

"Hai!" I heard a door open and close.

"You can open your eyes now, child."

I was shocked. Did this person know I was awake the whole time? I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. I look toward the side where the voice had come from. My eyes widened. It was the 3de Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Old man, Hogake!" I quickly slapped my hand on my mouth, instantly realising my mistake. "I mean, Hokage-sama!" What the…? I'm in Konoha, the leaf village? How did I get here!?

"That is the question I wanted to ask you. What is your name?" Wait, did I say that out loud? Guess I did.

"Ayame Korokawa." I said without hesitation. I've always liked that name.

The Hogake nodded. "My dear, do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

I thought about it for a while. What should I tell him if he asks where I'm from? "Just a little. I remember waking up in a tree with no recollection of how I got there and then I searched for civilisation. That's about it."

He gave me a funny look. "I see…" he chose his words wisely. "Do you know where you're from?"

I shook my head. "All I remember is my name and who you are Hokage-sama."

He slowly nodded his head. "I see. Well, you can stay in the village. I will provide you with money and a place to stay, but you have to get a job and pay back everything you spent." I nodded so he continued. "There is not a lot of work to choose from. You can either work in a shop or you can be a ninja."

I grinned. "I supposed I'll be a ninja, I've always wanted to be a ninja. Maybe that's why I came here." I shrugged. "Hokage-sama, would you mind if I explore the village on my own today and do some shopping, before I start being a ninja?"

The Hokage gave me a gentle smile. "Yes, of course. You were supposed to be signed out today anyway. Get dressed and come by my office later so I can give you the keys of an apartment, and the directions to it of course, and your money. It's the big red building right over there." He pointed towards the Academy and his office.

I smiled. "Hai! Arigato Gozaimasu" I inwardly smirked. I learned that from this very same people. I've learned a lot of new words, especially 'thank you very much' which is just what I said.

The Hogake got up and walked out of the room, but before he closed the door he turned back to me. "The clothes you were wearing is in the cupboard. Oh and I have to warn you, if you do anything that makes me or my ninja think you may be a threat to the village I will have to get Ibiki to interrogate you." He said sternly and then he closed the door.

I instantly jumped up from the bed and fist pumped the air. Yes! I get to meet Naruto! I grinned and practically ran to the cupboard where my clothes were. I took the bundle of clothes out and went to the bathroom.

Apparently I had worn a tight black qipao dress that reaches above the knees – it has a red Tsubaki printed on the left hip – with fishnets underneath. I took the awesome white fingerless gloves, put them on and found that there were still bandages and ninja shoes left to put on. I decided I was going to wrap the bandages around my legs and wear them as leggings, then I put the black leaf shinobi shoes on.

I looked into the mirror and gasped in shock. I thought I would still have my plain brown hair and blue eyes, but instead I had raven black hair, red eyes and a pale peach coloured skin. Why do they call it raven black? I mean it could be crow black, what's the difference? I grinned. I looked smokin' hot and cool, of course. What? I've got to give my ego a boost sometimes and besides, this time I actually DO look hot.

I poked my head out the window and looked down. I was on the second floor of the hospital. I looked up and climbed onto the window sill. Might as well try all those ninja moves while I'm at it. I grabbed onto the window above me and pulled myself up. It wasn't too hard to get up on the roof, good thing I've always been good at sports, oh and let's not forget Taijutsu. I grinned. Since the first time I watched Naruto I've wanted to be able to do Taijutsu and now I'm a black belt in it. I guess I've always been preparing myself for when this happens even if I didn't know it at the time.

I looked out over the village. Man, this is fun so far. I looked at the nearest roof. My shoulders slumped. Man, it's just my luck that the closest roof to jump on is 10 feet – if not more – away. I squared my shoulders and started running. At least I'll get a running start, I thought. Suddenly the end of the roof was in front of me and I was forced to jump and when I did, I didn't land on the roof. No, I landed on the roof that was two houses away. Geez, I didn't know ninja could do this. It's AWESOME! A full blown grin made its way to my lips.

I'm going to have some fun with this, but for now I have to get to the Hokage's office.

I jumped from roof to roof until I was finally outside the Hokage's window. I tapped on the window.

A shocked Hokage looked up and I burst out laughing at his face. He quickly came and opened the window for me. "Ayame-chan, how did you get here?" he asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly as I sat in the chair opposite his. "I jumped from roof to roof, to try this ninja thing." I held up a dismissive wave as he was about to scold me for my recklessness. "Don't worry; I began with roofs that were close to each other." It was a complete lie, though.

He sighed. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. You were surprisingly quick, no matter. Let me give you the address, keys and your money." He did just that. I thanked him and jumped out the window again.

Shopping time! I never really liked shopping, but I'm getting ninja gear so this will be fun.

In the end I ended up buying a Katana, 10 kunai knives, 15 smoke bombs, food pills, shuriken and 2 Demon wind shuriken.

Maybe I should've bought more kunai, but it's too late now; I'll buy more some other time.

I also bought some more bandages, a first aid kit – and yes I am familiar with using it correctly -, 2 of those miniature weapon holsters and a backpack to put the clothes I bought and other stuff in.

I also got some Instant Ramen – what? I want to know what it tastes like – some fruit, some bread, milk and other food.

I took out the paper the Hokage had given me, with the address written on it. I was surprised to see that I could read what he wrote. I mean I'm not exactly from Japan so I shouldn't be able to understand the writing at all

I walked until I saw the building I would be living in. This is… OMG! Naruto lives in one of these apartments too! I was so excited. I can't wait to actually meet him. I wonder what he's doing now…

I ran as fast as I could – which was surprisingly fast - to my apartment number, took the key and unlocked my apartment.

I stepped inside and gasped. It's exactly the same as Naruto's! This is so worth leaving my own stuff at home. I grinned and jumped on the bed. Ah… this is the life. I could definitely get used to this.

Hold up. I can't rest now. I have to go to the training grounds and train. I want to try the transformation Jutsu and the shadow clone Jutsu. With that thought I quickly put away all the things I bought except for my weapons. I'll have to practice fighting with weapons and throwing them.

I hurried out of my apartment and went to the training grounds.

Chap 3: The new girl can do something no one has ever been able to do?

I was walking to the academy when I heard Naruto's familiar laughter and voice. "Give it up. You're just bent because you don't have the guts to do what I do, do ya!? Losers! Wannabees! You'll never catch me!" He laughed again. I saw him running away from a couple of jounin and suddenly his disguise was up, making them run past him. I knew Iruka would show up soon. "Psst! Naruto! Come here, quick!"

He looked my way and made his way to me. "How do you know my name?" He asked sceptically.

I took him by the shoulders and pushed him into an alley, making him flinch. It broke my heart to see it. How many times did he get beat for something he didn't do?

He looked at me with steady eyes. "How do you know my name?" he repeated. He looked at me for a minute "Wow, you're kinda pretty. Who are you?"

I shook my head. "Thanks and I'm Ayame Korokawa. Everyone knows your name, Naruto. Everyone hates you." I looked at him, his eyes looked broken. "I didn't mean me Naruto, If anything I want to help you with your pranks." I softly smiled at him. "I want to be your friend."

He looked shocked. "Y-you…want to be my friend?"

I nodded my head. "I know how the villagers treat you, but you should know: Soon you'll make them acknowledge you."

He grinned. "You really think so?"

I grinned back. "OF COURSE! You want to become Hokage, don't you? Then we have to make them see you, but for now you have to go to the Academy, because a Hokage has to graduate from the academy."

I pushed him back out the alley towards Iruka. "Sorry for keeping him away, Iruka-sensei." He looked shock. How did I know his name? I bet that's what he's thinking. "Uhm... Iruka I'm supposed to enrol into the academy today, am I in your class?"

It looks like he finally snapped out of the trance he was in, because he nodded his head. "Yes, you must be Ayame Korokawa, right?" in return I nodded. "Yes, you're in my class then. How old are you by the way?"

Maybe I should tell him my real age? Or at least the age closest to it. "I'm 14"

He nodded his head. "Right, let's get back to class. Naruto, where do you think you're going!?" oops, I forgot to mention Naruto had tried to sneak away. I chuckled. Silly boy.

We were in the class; all eyes were on me as Iruka-sensei scolded Naruto. "I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time AND the time before that. Tomorrow, you've got another chance and you're messing up again!"

Naruto just turned his head with a stubborn "Hn!"

A vain was visible when Iruka heard it. "Fine! Because you missed it, Naruto, EVERYONE will review the transformation Jutsu!"

Almost the whole class groaned and "aw'd"

I cleared my throat. "Iruka-sensei, don't even try to make me sit this one out. I'll have it in the bag." I smirked at Iruka's shocked face as he realised I was still here.

We all formed a line with Sakura in front. I was between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright, Sakura here. Let's do it. Transform!" I rolled my eyes as she did her little 'pep talk'.

She turned into the perfect Iruka-sensei clone, much to Iruka-sensei's shock and delight. Woop-dee-doo. Good for you Ms Uchiha fan girl. I don't actually have anything against her, but just the fact that she's a fan-girl irks me. No, I'm not jealous. Why would I be? Sasuke's an ass.

"Yes! I did it! Sasuke, did you see that?" She's so clueless. Sasuke didn't even glance at her.

"Next!" Iruka-sensei called. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke strolled forward and transformed into Iruka too. "Uh, good." Iruka said.

Mr Emo Uchiha transformed back with his hands in his pockets and an indifferent expression on his face.

Up next is me. I smirked. Wait till they see my transformation. It's not something they can transform into, I can tell you that. I stepped forward just as Iruka said "Ayame Korokawa."

I made the hand signs and whispered "Transform."

As soon as I said it, the smoke cloud covered my transformation. I transformed into a perfect light caramel coloured Cougar with a white dipped tail and white paws. What? I like Cougars (Puma's or Mountain lions, whatever you want to call them). When the smoke cleared everyone gasped and started whispering. "No one can do that. How come she can transform into an animal and no one else can?"

I answered the question with a snide remark and a smirk. "Because I know how to do my Jutsu's." Then I transformed back. Even Iruka-sensei was shell shocked. I walked past him. "What's wrong Iruka-sensei? Wolf got your tongue?" I chuckled.

I turned around as Iruka called Naruto to step forward. "Shikamaru, don't even say it." I smirked at their shocked faces. "Or you, Ino." I gave Naruto a closed – eye smile. "Go for it Naruto." I said as I went to sit in the seat next to where Naruto usually sits.

I saw Ino and Sakura make their way towards me. I snorted when they stood in front of me, about to ask a question. "Don't even bother asking. I don't like Uchiha, so I won't 'steal' him away from you. Just keep in mind, Sasuke doesn't care about either of you girls. So stop acting like you own him." They were so shocked their jaws literally almost hit the ground. "CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" And that queues Naruto's sexy Jutsu's end. I glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me with curiosity. I fully looked at him and said "Don't even ask Uchiha." His curiosity was quickly replaced with a scowl to which I just rolled my eyes.

I looked in front of me to see Sakura and Ino still standing there. "Oh, you're still here? Go sit and close your mouths, a bug might fly in and choke you. Oh and you're standing in Naruto's way."

They glared at me and went to sit. "For two enemies, they sure do act like friends." I murmured.

Naruto came and sat down next to me. "That was amazing Ayame-chan. How'd you do it?"

I smiled at him. "If I told you Naruto, it wouldn't be a secret."

"Ok, class dismissed." Iruka said, tired. "Practise your Jutsu's for tomorrow's test."

Huh, what a short day it was at the academy, I thought sarcastically. "Hey, Naruto, I would ask you to come eat some Ramen with me, but you have to clean the Hokage's faces." I chuckled as Iruka said just the same thing as me.

I quietly walked out of the class when I felt a presence following me. I disappeared and reappeared behind the guy – Shikamaru – with a kunai pressed to his neck. "You shouldn't sneak up on a ninja, Shikamaru." I whispered in his ear. I saw him sweat when I moved to stand in front of him. I chuckled at his frightened expression. "Relax; it was just out of reflex."

He let out a breath in a whoosh. "How did you know my name?"

I shrugged and smirked. "I just did. 'Don't even ask' that's what I told the Uchiha and that's what I'm telling you now, but I have a feeling we'll be great friends." I smiled and vanished again.

Chap 4: Graduation Day

Today's the day, I thought. The day I'll graduate the Academy and so will Naruto. I smiled at the thought.

And then soon we will go on a mission to fight Zabuza and Haku. I frowned. I think I need to buy myself some Senbon and ask some medical ninja to train me in the human body so that I'll be able to make that temporary death seem real.

I shook my head and looked down at the streets. You probably guessed it already, but I'm currently sitting on the roof of my apartment waiting for Naruto to come out so we can walk to school together.

I saw Naruto run out of his apartment so I followed him from the roof and quietly dropped down beside him. "BOO!"

"AHH! Oh, it's you Ayame-chan. YOU SCARED THE LIFE OUT OF ME!" I giggled behind my hands. So worth waking up early in the morning.

"That was the plan, Naruto." I chuckled. "So are you nervous for today?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he blushed a little. "A little and you?"

I shook my head while we continued running. As we passed some of the villagers I saw the looks they were giving us. Yes, I mean us. They were looking at me with distrust, scorn and fear. This village doesn't trust easily, I understand why they look at me like that – I mean I could be a spy for all they know –, but Naruto never did anything to any of them. I mean Naruto had nothing to do with the fox's attack on the village and yet they still treat him like some sort of freak.

We soon arrived at the Academy. "We will now start the final exam. When your name is called proceed to testing room. The final test will be on… the clone Jutsu" Iruka said. "Sasuke Uchiha, you're first." Sasuke didn't say anything and just strolled through the door. I knew Naruto was going to be last, so I just relaxed in the seat I was sitting in.

"Ayame Korokawa, you're up next." I almost fell out of my seat. I'm up next? What the hell?

I turned to Naruto who was biting his fingernails. "Don't worry, Naruto. You'll be fine." I gave him a closed eye smile and walking into the other room.

"Make three clones of yourself." I nodded and made 4 clones. It wasn't to impress them, believe me, because I went to stand behind one of the clones.

I quickly vanished and stood behind Mizuki. I leaned closer to his ear. "Be careful what you do, Mizuki. You might just regret it." He gasped and looked behind him just as I vanished.

Iruka was shocked. "They're solid clones! You pass."

I made the clones disappear and nodded. "Iruka-sensei, is there a black headband? I don't think blue goes well with my outfit and besides, blue isn't my colour." He nodded and pointed to the box underneath the table.

I took one, tied it around my arm and almost walked to the door, but stopped. I turned around. "Iruka-sensei, are you sure Mizuki is qualified for this job? I mean his chakra is weak and no offence, but Naruto can beat up someone like him." Mizuki glared at me – which I ignored of course –, but before Iruka could say anything about me disrespecting Mizuki I walked off.

I jumped on the Academy's roof and waited. Finally Naruto emerged, sulking. I waited for those two girls to start talking. I'm going to give them a piece of my mind.

Finally they began talking. "There, you see him?" the one said looking at the sad Naruto who was sitting on the swing.

"It's that boy. I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Hmf. Well it serves him right."

"Just imagine what would happen if he became a ninja. I mean he's the boy who…"

"Shh… we're not allowed to talk about it!"

I jumped off the roof and landed in between them. "Oh? You mean because he has the 9 tailed fox in him, he'd be a disastrous ninja? Is that right?" I whispered in their ears. I could feel some of my facial features changing. "If I ever hear you talk about him that way again, I'll kill you. You got that? And believe me; I never go back on my word." I said with so much venom in my voice that they cowered in fear and nodded their heads.

I walked toward Naruto. "Hey, Naruto!"

He looked up. "You got your head band Ayame-chan. I'm happy for you." He gave a lightly forced smile.

I crouched by him. "Don't worry Naruto. You'll get your headband soon, I promise." I smiled at him. "You know, I actually think the thing inside you is a blessing in disguise."

He looked confused. "What are you talking about Aya-chan?"

I smiled. "You'll understand soon. Kick his butt, Naruto." With that I left a confused Naruto behind.

I walked to the hospital and soon saw a medical ninja. I walked toward him. "Hey, can you help me? I need to learn about the human body and all the vital spots. I also want to learn how to throw a Senbon that'll cause a temporary death."

He looked at me weirdly. "Sure… I can help you with that. Hold on. I'll get some training gear for you."

I grinned and nodded in response. Soon I was training with the medical ninja. He taught me how to throw Senbon and just the right spot to temporarily stop the heart. He also taught me where all the vitals that are important are.

I'm a fast learner, so by the time Naruto was supposed to be in the forest I was done. "Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it greatly." With that I ran out of the hospital – I know, weird place for training with Senbon – and headed toward the forest where Naruto was.

It was about the time where Iruka was supposed to have tricked Mizuki into making him think that he was Naruto.

I hurried as fast as my feet could carry me. I didn't want to miss the part where Naruto beat Mizuki up.

Damn that Mizuki. At least I know that he'll regret it. I smirked. If he only knew. I guess I need to speed things up a bit. I did my vanishing trick and landed in the tree above Naruto.

"You're a fool! Why are protecting that freak? He's the one who wiped out your family." I clenched my teeth. No one talks about Naruto like that while I'm around! Although I can't interfere, I have to let Naruto beat him up. Or else he won't become a ninja.

"I don't care what you say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll." Iruka said.

"As if YOU could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto's just like me."

Iruka looked determined, but why? "How's that?"

"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are…" IDIOT! BAKA! I wanted so badly to shout it, but I couldn't give myself away just yet. "He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy EVERYTHING."

"You're right..." Poor Naruto, now he thinks Iruka thinks he's a beast. "That is how beasts are…but that's not who Naruto is." I smiled softly. Such a sweet bond they have. "He's nothing like that. Naruto's one of a kind. Works hard, puts his heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the nine tailed fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki… of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

I watched mesmerised as Naruto stopped the shuriken from hitting Iruka and said how he'll kill him if Mizuki lays his hands on his sensei.

"Such big words. I can destroy you with a single move!"

Naruto glared at him as he got his hand sign ready. "Take your best shot, fool. 'Cause I'll give it back to you a thousand full!"

"Let's see ya try!" Baka Mizuki yelled. "Show me what you can do, Nine Tailed fox!"

And with that Naruto brought his shadow clones into the fight and pummelled Mizuki into the ground.

I grinned. That's my Naruto.

I jumped down from my spot in the tree and slowly moved toward Mizuki. I crouched down beside him and whispered. "I warned you, didn't I? Enjoy spending life in a prison." I stood up and watched Naruto hug his sensei when he realised he graduated.

I walked toward Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. "I told you, you'd pass, didn't I?" I smiled at his shocked face and continued on to a shop.

Before I went home I wanted to buy some poison and Senbon, so I did.

I hope I'll be in team 7…

Chap 5: Having a little fun with Shikamaru

Yesterday me and Naruto had the day off, so I decided I would spend my day training and try to find out what I can do and stuff. I even tried getting a few water balloons so I can try and pop it. I want to be able to do the rasengan, but I want to turn it into something else. Not like Naruto's Rasenshuriken though, maybe similar but not the same. I didn't get to pop the balloon yet, though. But that's to be expected. I'll just have to practice more and more.

I walked next to Naruto towards the Academy where we would find our teachers. I really hope I'm in team 7. It would be so great.

I glanced at the wall where Konohamaru was standing with the wall disguise the wrong side up… Baka… He needs to work on his stealth. I rolled my eyes as Konohamaru tripped on the 'disguise'.

I tuned out their talking, until he turned toward me. "Who's this girl? She's pretty. Is she your girlfriends, Boss?" I giggled.

"No, Konohamaru. I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just his friend, but we need to go now Konohamaru. Bye!" I said as I walked to the academy.

I went to sit in an empty chair, which just happens to be next to Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto sat next to me. Shikamaru saw him and stopped beside him "What are you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for drop-outs, so you can't be here unless you graduate."

I turned to him. "He did graduate, Shikamaru. Look, he's got a head band on." I smiled at him, but I could see I still freaked him out a bit.

"YEAH, BELIEVE IT!"

Suddenly Sakura and Ino rushed into class. "I'm first!" they said together as they panted.

I tuned them out again. They were so annoying some times.

Sakura was suddenly next to me, because she made Naruto fall face first on the ground. "Good morning Sasuke. Mind if I sit next to you?" She probably didn't see me, because I was lying on my arms.

"Back-off forehead! I'M sitting next to Sasuke." I sighed. Here we go again.

"I was here first!"
"I walked into the classroom before you did! And everybody saw it!"

************Hokage's POV *******************

"Most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha… Is that him? And the girl next to him, Ayame Korokawa was it? The one who could transform into a mountain lion?" Asuma asked

"Yes… He's the Uchiha. And that girl is Korokawa."

"He's the only survivor from the Uchiha clan left, but I have never heard of the Korokawa clan." Kurenai said confused.

"That's right. The girl has amnesia, she can't remember a lot of things, but I haven't heard of the Korokawa clan either. It is strange and it seems she can predict the future." I heard a few gasps around the room.

Kakashi frowned. "How do you figure that?"

"What is it she said to you the day of the Graduation test, Iruka?"

All eyes turned to Iruka. "She said 'Iruka-sensei, are you sure Mizuki is qualified for this job? I mean his chakra is weak and no offence, but Naruto can beat up someone like him' and a few hours later that's what happened. She watched the whole thing too."

Kakashi had a thoughtful look in his eye. "Hmm…"

I looked at the crystal ball again. Seems she is unfazed by all the glares she is receiving from the other girls. "Seems she stopped Sakura from beating the living daylights out of Naruto with just a glare…"

**********Ayame's POV**************

I sighed again. "Hey, Haruno, Yamanaka. Look who's already sitting here." I pointed to myself. "Looks like both of you lose, sorry." I said with a shrug of my shoulders. I really wasn't sorry.

They glared at me to which I just rolled my eyes. "Get out of my seat!" they said simultaneously.

I turned to Sasuke. "I completely agree with you, Uchiha. They are clueless."

Sasuke was struggling to hold onto the emotionless mask on his face, but I saw his shock as clear as daylight.

Suddenly Naruto got onto the desk and glared at Sasuke. Sakura, like the fan girl she is yelled at him for it. "Naruto, don't glare at Sasuke!"

I waved her away. "Oh shush and just watch." I was not going to let her ruin the best part of the day.

The guy in front of Sasuke bumped Naruto and then they were kissing. I burst out laughing. "Best. Part. Ever!" I bit out between laughter as Sasuke and Naruto coughed and fake gagged.

Sakura screamed. "Naruto, you are so dead… You're finished!" She said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Sakura…" I called in a sing-song voice. She looked at me. "Are you going to punch Naruto? Because you'll regret it." I said with a sickly sweet smile. She started sweating when I glared at her. I've been told my glares can turn the dead over in their graves, so yeah. I bet even the adults that were looking at us were a tiny bit frightened. She gulped. "I didn't think so." I smirked.

Iruka-sensei came in. He smiled proudly. "As of today you are all ninjas. To get here you face difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only gennin, first level ninjas. All the gennin will be put into 3 man squads, but we have an extra student so one team will consist out of four. Each squad will be led by a jounin, an elite ninja. We want each squad to have a balance of strength and abilities, so that's how we set them up… I will now announce the squads. Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto and Sakura did that 'Yay!' and 'I'm doomed' thing. Quite amusing if you ask me. "Next Squad 8: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. Now Squad 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikumaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. Those are all the squads."

I lifted my hand. "Iruka-sensei, what about me?"

He looked shocked. "Oh, Ayame I almost forgot. You're also in squad 7" I grinned.

As soon as Iruka had finished talking Naruto stood up. "Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me, have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?"

I sighed. "Naruto sit down, I'm in your group too, aren't I?" He looked at me, nodded his head and sat down.

"Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students, Naruto you had the worst scores." Everybody laughed.

"Iruka-sensei cut the guy some slack. At least he graduated." Iruka looked at me, but continued anyway.

"To create a balanced group we put the best student with the worst student."

Sasuke was about to talk when I cut him off. "Shut it, Uchiha. We all know you prefer to work alone; we won't get in your way." Keeping the two of them from bickering is such a drag, but now that I'm in their squad I guess I'll have to be the one to stop the fights.

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat and told us that we will meet our jounin teachers after lunch.

I walked off. I wanted to see how Naruto tied Sasuke up in person. I went and stood behind Shikamaru on the roof. No one noticed me. Good. I'll have fun scaring the crap out of them. It's finally time, I thought when I saw Naruto snuck up behind Sasuke.

He jumped into the window, pushing Sasuke away at the same time. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji all gasped. 1… 2… 3… "Hiya all!" I said in a hyper voice. They all gasped again, but when they turned around I was already beneath them. I didn't want to let them see me go in after Naruto, but I heard Shikamaru. "Damn Ayame. You need to stop doing that."

I chuckled. Nah… it's way too fun. I jumped into the window just like Naruto, to see Sasuke struggling with the rope. I chuckled and startled him. "Seems you need help, hey?" I went to him and pulled the tape off his mouth and let me tell you I did not do it gently. He grunted in pain and I smirked.

"You know, you shouldn't underestimate Naruto, or me. We might just surprise you." I cut loose the ropes. Sasuke instantly jumped me and put a kunai to my neck. "Where is Naruto?" I rolled my eyes.

"Relax would you? He transformed into you and went to sakura, but I guess right now he's running for the bathroom." I giggled.

He put the kunai away and stalked out the room. I jumped out the window after him and then looked up. Shikamaru and his team were still there. "Hey, Shikamaru! Were you looking for me?" I called up to him. He and his team looked down and when I disappeared he turned around. "Aww you're no fun, Shikamaru. I wanted to scare you again." I pouted. Then I heard Ino and Choji gasp. I turned around. "Well, at least I got to shock you guys. We should all get going to our teachers I guess, bye team Ino-Shika-Cho" I winked at them and disappeared again.

Chap 6: The survival test

I sat in class with the rest of my team as we waited for Kakashi. Correction, I was pretending to sleep. I want to see what Kakashi will do.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I heard Naruto put the eraser up in the door. "Naruto!"

"That's what he gets for coming late!" I heard Naruto jump of the thing he had been standing on. "Surprise!"

I pictured Sakura standing with her hands on her hips. "You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that." I so wanted to tell her to shut up, because we all know she loves stuff like that.

"Hm. Our teacher's a jounin, an elite ninja. You'd think he'd fall for that?" Shut up smart arse. He may be a jounin, but he's too lazy to care about the eraser.

"Yeah, Sasuke's right. You're so clueless Naruto." Sure…

"I have no idea how she can keep sleeping with the two of you making so much noise." Sasuke commented, looking at me.

I heard the door open and the eraser fall on Kakashi's head. Naruto started laughing. "I got him. He totally fell for it."

"I'm sorry sensei. I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen. I'd never do anything like that." Shut up cotton candy head, your voice is so squeaky and irritating.

"Hmm… How can I put this? First impression of this group… you're a bunch of idiots." I hope he didn't mean me, because I will tear him a new one.

I could basically feel the air shifting as all their moods dropped. I heard footsteps come near me and sensed his hand come close to me. "Kakashi Hatake, if you touch me I'll tear you a new one." I said with a lot of venom. His hand stopped and I heard all the intake of breaths "You baka's, did you honestly think I was asleep?" I said as I lifted my head to glare at my team.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's go to the roof." And with a 'poof' of smoke he was gone.

I smirked at my team. "See you there." And then I vanished and reappeared on the roof in front of Kakashi.

He looked shocked to see me there. "So you know my name, huh?" I just nodded so he stayed silent as we waited for my team to get here.

When they finally arrived I said. "Geez you guys are slow."

"Well, excuse us for not being as fast as you." Sakura snapped at me

I chuckled. "You're excused." Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time." Kakashi said in his lazy voice.

"Introduce ourselves? Well, what are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."

"Kakashi-sensei, it would be better if you introduced yourself first. You know, so they can see how it's supposed to work." I said.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake – like she said. Things I like, things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future: Never really thought about it. As for my Hobbies: I have lots of hobbies."

"Allow me to give you an example of one of his hobbies." I looked at Kakashi for his approval, he nodded his head. "He loves reading make-out paradise. Right, Kakashi?" I gave him a closed eye smile. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Ok, your turn. You" He pointed to me. "Begin."

"I'm Ayame Korokawa. I have lots of things I hate and lots of things I like, but I don't really want to give you an example. My hobbies are… hmm I guess training would be my hobby. Dreams for the future… can't say I've thought about it, although there is someone I really want to kill…" I said in a dark tone. I want to kill Orochimaru with all my heart.

Kakashi nodded. "Next, you."

Naruto proceeded to tell us about how he likes ramen and so on… Then it was Sakura with her all Sasuke fan club answers. Then it was Sasuke's turn. I couldn't really care less whether he wanted to kill his brother or not.

"Good. You're each unique and have your own idea's. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto saluted Kakashi, "What kind of mission are we going to have?"

"It's a task the four of us will do together." Kakashi said with his arms crossed.

I stood up. "Well, looks like it's time for me to get going. Don't worry Kakashi, I won't eat my breakfast." As if. Then I went to the training grounds and started to train again.

I slowly made my way to the training grounds. It was 8:30 am, only half an hour left before Kakashi should come.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura pointed their accusing fingers to me.

"Sorry a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around" I sat down and soaked up the sun. I didn't even blink when Kakashi appeared and said the same thing I did.

"Hey that's what she said a half hour ago!" they pointed to me.

I just shrugged "He's here now. Does it matter why he's later?"

Kakashi lifted his eyebrow. "Well," he cleared his throat. "Let's get started." He walked over to the stump and put down a clock. "Here we go. It's set for noon… Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me." He held up 3 bells. "That's all there is to it."

"Simple, my ass." I mumbled under my breath. He jiggled the bells.

"If you can't get 'em by noon, you go without lunch." Naruto yelled in outrage. "You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you" Naruto looked like he was about to pass out for some reason. Maybe food affected him a lot. I giggled.

"To think you guys are ninjas. You're not scared to go on a mission, but when it comes to puking you won't eat breakfast. Baka. Good thing I ate my breakfast." I said just to tease them.

"You what!?" they all yelled at me. I just smirked.

Sakura finally realised Kakashi only had 3 bells in his hand. "Wait a minute, there's four of us. How come there are only 3 bells?"

I rolled my eyes and they say she has the sharpest mind. "It's obvious, Sakura. He wants one of us to be tied to a post. The one who doesn't get a bell goes back to the academy, right Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked at me a second before he responded. "Correct." Naruto growled at this "Then again, all 4 of you can flunk out too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei." Sakura complained.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser."

"No, Sakura they're teddies. We're ninjas now, why else would we use weapons!?" I said sarcastically. She glared at me. Like I said, I don't really have anything against her, but she can really be dumb.

Kakashi gave Naruto a bored look. "Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores. Losers." Kakashi said to provoke him. "When I say start you can begin."

Naruto growled. He got out a kunai and charged at Kakashi-sensei with a war cry.

I knew what would happen next. Kakashi moved so fast my team mates couldn't see him, but I could. My eyes seem to working a lot better here.

Kakashi held Naruto's hand – the one with the kunai – behind his head, making the kunai press into Naruto's neck.

"Don't be in such a hurry, I didn't say start yet. But you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so…" he chuckled. "How can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Me and Naruto smiled. Kakashi looked bored. "Get ready. And… Start."

Everyone except Naruto of course went to hide. I hid in a tree on a high branch.

I knew Kakashi knew where Sasuke and Sakura hiding, but his frantic looking around proved that he couldn't sense my chakra. I grinned. My chakra shrouding was a success.

Naruto tried getting the bells by himself which ended up getting him hit in the butt by Kakashi. I giggled quietly. This was always the funniest part. I snuck up behind Sakura. "Hey Sakura, do you want to work together? It'll work much better this way."

She almost shrieked, but then glared at me. "No way would I want to be working with you." I shrugged and disappeared to my branch again. Well, I tried.

I made a clone and told it to wait by the tree Naruto would fall into the trap. It nodded and vanished to the tree. "Naruto you idiot. The bait was too obvious…" Kakashi took the bell and stood up. He talked to Naruto for a while before Sasuke threw the Shuriken.

My clone quickly cut Naruto down. "Want to work together, Naruto? That way we can get the bells much faster." My clone asked. Don't ask me how I heard it from here, I just did.

Naruto shook his head and then my clone poofed away in a puff of smoke, leaving a shocked Naruto behind

I watched as Sakura fell for the genjutsu. She screamed. Ah… Such a calming sound…

I quietly jumped from tree to tree to where Sasuke was. I can't miss this. I made a clone and told it my plan. It nodded and moved closer.

I watched as Sasuke blew a fireball at Kakashi, but sadly for him Kakashi wasn't there. He looked behind him, above him, left and right, but was caught by Kakashi where he least expected him to be. Under him. I smirked. Sasuke, Sasuke when will you learn that Kakashi isn't someone you can predict?

Then Sasuke was under the ground with just his head poking out of the ground and Kakashi stood in front of him. "Can't move, huh? That was Ninjutsu. The 3de shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right. You are… different from the others, but different isn't always better. They say the nail that sticks up is the one who gets hammered down." He said as he walked away. Then my clone copied Sasuke's hand signs, but I saw it was a little different and instead of fire, wind came out of her mouth. I smiled. So I have wind element chakra, huh? Cool. It's supposed to be rare. Kakashi didn't see it coming so he was blown right off his feet. Next my clone did another hand sign and put her hand to the ground, but this time quicksand formed under his feet. So I'm wind and earth styled? Well, that's awesome.

Kakashi looked up, shocked. But then he spotted my clone and so did Sasuke. Kakashi threw a kunai at her which she didn't bother to dodge. My clone did her disappearing in smoke act which shocked both of them. "She was a clone?" they both asked in unison.

I felt the after math of using the chakra, but it wasn't that bad I could do a few more of those. "Where's the real one? I can't sense her chakra at all." Kakashi said and frowned.

"Wow. I made you frown, first real emotion today. It's a record." I said from behind him with a smirk.

He twirled around. Both he and Sasuke were shocked. I mean, how did I get behind him without him noticing? I chuckled. And they say Naruto's the knucklehead.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh? Well, let's get started then." He nodded and stood ready.

I smirked. I think I'll toy with him for a while. I quickly vanished and appeared behind him. I vanished and appeared next to him. I did that over and over as Kakashi tried to keep track of my movements, but I wasn't running, I was actually disappearing – or should I say teleporting? – and every time I appeared somewhere else he was shocked. "It's pointless to try and track my movements, Kakashi. I'm not that fast. I just appear and disappear, but this is getting boring. Let's get on with the Taijutsu." He looked surprised, but nodded. I bet the Hokage is watching this.

I appeared in front of him and tried to kick him. He blocked of course. He tried punching to which I grabbed his arm and punched him in his stomach. Well this was easier than expected. I guess he wasn't expecting this from me.

He kicked me, but I didn't really feel anything only a little sting. I skidded backwards and disappeared again. This time when he was expecting me to appear behind him and I did just that. I got hit a few times and felt the pain, but it wasn't that bad. Kakashi had it worse than me, because my punches and kicks were filled with chakra. We fought for a while before I stopped and chuckled. "Well this was fun. Thanks for the work out Kakashi, but we better go to the posts now." As if on que the bell rang. I started walking toward the posts. "Oh and here are your bells back." I said and threw the bells back at him. I heard Sasuke's intake of breath and I heard Kakashi catch them. I know you're all wondering when I took the bells from him, well I'll tell you. It was in the beginning when I kicked him. My foot had hooked the bells and I took them when he wasn't looking. He didn't realise it at the time, because he was too focused on the fight.

When I got to the posts Naruto was tied to the post again and Sakura was waiting for everyone. Then Kakashi showed up with Sasuke. "Sasuke, you're alright!" She squealed. He looked at me and glared viciously. I shrugged. Not my fault I'm better than him

Sakura instantly noticed and yelled at me. "What did you do to Sasuke!?"

I shrugged. "I didn't do anything to him. It's what I could do and he couldn't that upset him"

Sakura looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough." I merely stated.

Chap 7: Fail or Pass? Probably the latter

************Kakashi's POV*************

I was shocked. Ayame was a wind and earth user? That combination is scarce, but even though she's only a gennin, she's really talented. I wonder how much she spends on training.

I threw a kunai at her and she didn't even try to dodge. I wonder why that is. A poof was heard and then she was gone in a puff of smoke. What? "She was a clone?" Me and Sasuke asked simultaneously. So that's why…

I frowned. "Where's the real one? I can't sense her chakra at all." How can I not sense her chakra?

"Wow. I made you frown, first real emotion today. It's a record." Her voice came from behind me.

I swiftly turned around. How did she get behind me without me noticing? And how did I not sense her chakra? Wait, I still don't sense it.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh? Well, let's get started then." I nodded and stood ready. She smirked. Why was she smirking?

Suddenly she disappeared and reappeared behind me. She did it again, but this time she appeared beside me. How is she moving so fast? I can't even see her move! It's like she's there and then she's gone.

"It's pointless to try and track my movements, Kakashi. I'm not that fast. I just appear and disappear, but this is getting boring. Let's get on with the Taijutsu." Well that explains it.

I was surprised, but nodded anyway. I hope the Hokage is watching this. He needs to see how skilled she is.

She appeared in front of me and tried to kick me. I blocked of course. I tried punching her to which she grabbed my arm and punched me in my stomach. I let out a whoosh of breath. I wasn't expecting this from her. She's highly skilled, maybe even more than me.

I kicked her, but she didn't show any sign of pain. She skidded backwards and disappeared again. This time when I was expecting her to appear behind me, she did just that. We fought for a while before Ayame suddenly stopped and chuckled. "Well this was fun. Thanks for the work out Kakashi, but we better go to the posts now." Amazing, she didn't even break a sweat and I was quietly panting. As if on que the bell rang. She started walking toward the posts. "Oh and here are your bells back." She said and threw the bells back at me. I heard Sasuke's intake of breath as I caught them.

How the hell did she do that? Was she toying with me the whole time!? It can't be! She's even more skilled than I am.

************Ayame's POV***********

Naruto's stomach growled as I lounged against the post he was tied to. "Uh oh. Stomach's growling, huh? That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise… well, I've finally decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy."

Naruto yelled in happiness.

Sakura sat there in confusion. "What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"

I waved at her. "Oh of course Sakura, the enemy will drop dead when you faint." I said sarcastically just to tick her off. She didn't even glance at me as she began jumping and screaming in joy.

"Then, then, then that means all four, I mean all four of us…"

Kakashi smiled a fake closed eye smile. "Yes… all 3 of you are being dropped from the program…" Sakura stopped jumping and screaming. "Permanently!"

My team mates' faces dropped like stones. They thought he was being serious. "Wait sensei, you said all 3 of us, but we're four…" She trailed off glancing at me

"Yes, you are four, but Ayame passes with flying colours."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "What? Why her?"

"Because she somehow got the bells from me without breaking a sweat. That and she knew what the meaning of the exercise was."

Naruto and Sakura turned to me with wide-eyed shocked faces. "You did what!?" I just shrugged. I could see it finally clicked in Sakura's head why Sasuke had glared at me.

Naruto turned back to Kakashi. "Drop us from the program!? That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't get the bells, we'd be sent back to the academy! YOU CAN'T JUST CHANGE YOUR MIND AND KICK US OUT, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" Naruto yelled at Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at him. "Because you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids, like brats." Sasuke clenched his teeth and growled. He jumped up and ran at Kakashi. I sighed. Here we go again.

Kakashi had Sasuke lying on the ground with his arms pinned. "You think it's all about you."

Before Sakura could scream at Kakashi-sensei for stepping on Sasuke's head I shushed her and told her to listen. "You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, huh?" they all gasped at what he said. "Why do you think we put you in squads, did you consider that question for one moment?"

"Uh, I don't know what you mean!" Sakura said confused.

"I mean… you never realised what this exercise was all about. Not even close."

"What it's about?" Naruto…

"Yes, that's what determines whether you pass or fail."

Sakura looked a little ashamed. "But that's… I mean I wanted to ask you that from the beginning…" Sure Sakura…

"Use your head. Three people on a squad, four in this case… Why do you think we would do that?"

"Ah! How are we supposed to know why you picked three people! We didn't make the rules!" Naruto you really need to use your head sometimes.

I sighed. "It's so basic. He's talking about teamwork. I offered most of you my help, but you still refused." They looked down ashamed, except for Sasuke.

"Just working together, is that what you mean?" Sakura asked in her whiny voice.

"Yes sakura, if you guys worked together you might've been able to take the bells, but it's too late now."

"Wait a minute." Sakura addressed Kakashi. "You set it up with 4 people, but only 3 bells! If we worked together and got the bells, only 3 of us could keep them. And that would lead to group conflict and the squad would break-up."

"Exactly." Kakashi sounded exasperated. "I purposely pitted you against each other… I wanted to see if you can overcome that and put the squad ahead yourselves. A gennin should have a natural feel for team work, but you… it never even crossed your mind." Kakashi proceeded to tell them about the situations we could be in. "Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own, everything. You, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless. Arrogance! And you Ayame, you were almost as bad as the others. You were gone the whole time your team mates needed help."

I shrugged. "I did offer to help them, but they didn't want my help and I did cut Naruto loose from your trap. So don't act like you know everything Kakashi, and besides I beat you at your own game." "Well, anyway Ninja missions are carried out in squads, of course you need individual skills, but team work is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this." Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. He talks way too much. He walked toward the K.I.A. stone. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it were honoured as heroes in our village."

"Naruto, before you say anything, this is a K.I.A stone. K.I.A. means Killed in Action. They died for our village."

Naruto looked sad. "Oh…"

"This is memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here…. Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up your strength, BUT Naruto doesn't get any. It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself. And if anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them, got it?"

Sasuke and Sakura started eating lunch. Since I ate this morning I wasn't all that hungry. I took a bit of food with the chopstick and held it out for Naruto. "Here eat." Sakura wanted to object, but I beat her to it. "Hush, Sakura. We're a team and Naruto needs to build his strength up, besides I ate this morning I'm not hungry." She stayed quiet while I fed Naruto. "When Kakashi comes, leave me to do the talking. I know what to say." They nodded.

Suddenly there was a big explosion and smoke erupted. Kakashi's head came out of the smoke. "You!" Naruto screamed and so did Sakura. "You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment." He started making hand signs and thunder clouds started coming this way. Lightning struck. "Any last words?"

"Kakashi, isn't this going a little over board? I mean we are a team and if we want to work as a team Naruto needs his strength. That's why I fed him. In the ninja world people who break the rules are scum, but people who abandon their friends are even worse than scum, isn't that right?" I smiled a closed eye smile.

He let his hands fall next to his hips. His eyes wide. "You can't stop shocking me, can you kid? You're completely right. Took the words right out of my mouth, literally. You all pass."

I smiled and turned to the others. "See, I told you, you should let me talk to him. We passed because we worked as a team even when we weren't actually working."

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. And like Ayame said, in the ninja world those who break the rules are scum – that's true –, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum. Squad 7 starts its first mission tomorrow."

I sweat dropped when Kakashi did Gai's pose. "Did you just do the Mighto Gai pose? Never mind…"

I cut Naruto loose and with that we all walked off.

Chap 8: Finally! Trip to the Land of Waves

"Sasuke, I'm at point B" you can probably guess what we're doing right now.

"Sakura, I'm at point C"

"Ayame, I'm at point A" I'm at point A because I insisted on it. I didn't want to let Naruto get scratched…

Waiting…waiting… "Naruto, I'm at point D. Believe it!"

"You're too slow Naruto. Ok, squad 7… Hm? Target has moved!" a black shape jumped from the trees down. It looked kinda creepy… well that is if you didn't know what 'it' was. "Follow it!"

We all peaked out from our spots. "Over there." Naruto whispered.

"What's your distance from the target?"

"5 meters. I'm ready, just give the signal." There was a series of 'I'm ready too'.

"Ok… Now!" We all jumped from our hiding spots.

I grabbed Tora, the cat. At first he scratched me, but then he relaxed in my arms. "Sorry I scared you Tora, I guess I have big-cat blood in my veins. It must've frightened you." I spoke into the speaker. "I got him. He has a red ribbon on his ear, so I'm positive that it's him."

"Right. Lost pet, Tora found. Mission accomplished."

I sighed. This is kid's stuff. Now I understand how Naruto felt. "CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAT THIS!? I HATE CATS!" Naruto, you didn't even touch the cat.

"Aww… my poor little Tora. Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzykins. Yes…" The lady was squashing poor Tora. At least I know he'll want to escape again.

Naruto laughed. "Stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed." I hit Naruto on the head. Hard.

"No cat deserves to be treated like that Naruto." I scolded him.

"Now then, for squad 7's next mission, we have several available tasks. Huh? Among them babysitting the chief counsellor's baby 3 year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes an-" The Hokage was interrupted and thank goodness. I don't want to do anything like that.

"NO!" Naruto yelled. "I want to go on a real mission. Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid's stuff. Come on old man."

"Hokage-same, I agree with Naruto, besides we're not little kids anymore and no one wants to prove that to you more than Naruto. Kakashi don't you dare hit me on my head." I stopped Kakashi just before he was going to, because he had his hand in the air already.

Iruka started yelling at Naruto again. It was quite funny really.

"Are you serious!? Babysitting is not a mission, it's just a stupid –" Kakashi hit him on the head.

"Chore." I finished for him. I glared at Kakashi as he raised his hand again, it stopped him alright. It also made him sweat like a pig.

"Naruto, Ayame it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Listen many different request come into our village…" and then I stopped listening to him and started listening to Naruto talk about his Miso Ramen.

"Silence!" Geez, the old man can be scary if he wants to be. I turned back to him

"You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!"

"I have to agree with him." I said scratching the back of my neck.

The Hokage chuckled. "Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat; that he's a former brat and he wants a mission… So be it. Since you are so determined I'm going to give you a C ranked mission. You'll be bodyguard on a journey."

Naruto turned to the Hokage. "Really? Yes! Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess… or some counsellor?"

"Calm down, Naruto. We're guarding a master Bridge Builder. His name is Tazuna and he's from the land of waves."

The Hokage smiled. "You are correct. Send in our visitor."

The door behind us opened and I appeared beside the door as the drunken Tazuna stepped out.

"What the…? A bunch of little snot nose kids?" he took a swig of his alcohol.

"Who are you calling little snot nose kids, Tazuna?" Tazuna jumped and looked at me. I was lounging against the wall with my eyes closed, my arms crossed and my one foot on the wall. It was my personal 'cool' pose.

I disappeared and appeared with my friends. "Where'd she go?"

"Right over here, Tazuna" I waved my hand lazily at him. "I'd advise you not to call Naruto an idiot or little."

Tazuna's drunken red eyes widened. "How'd you know I was going to?"

I shrugged. "What!? He was going to call me idiotic and little!?" I shrugged again.

"Naruto, don't try to pulverise the client. Our job is to protect him."

Tazuna nodded. "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it costs you your life."

I shook my head. "No need to be so dramatic Tazuna."

We stood at the main gate. "Yeah! Alright!"

"Hey, what are you getting so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"It's his first time traveling, right Naruto?" Naruto nodded his head furiously.

"Believe it!" I chuckled. He's so cute sometimes.

"Hey! Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke.''

Oh, that reminds me. I need to get some weights so I can start training myself to become faster. "Kakashi-sensei, before you answer his question, can you tell me where Gai-sensei trains his students? I need a favour from him and I'll only be a minute."

He nodded. "He trains them at the training ground close to the memorial stone." He looked at Tazuna. "He's with me and I'm a jounin, and he's with this girl who just asked me a question. She can probably defeat me if she has all her energy reserved."

"Hey-" and that's all I heard before I disappeared and reappeared before team Gai.

They gasped when they saw me. "Who are you?"

I waved Neji off and headed towards Gai-sensei. "Gai-sensei, can I ask you a favour? I'm one of Kakashi-sensei's students and I would like to borrow some of your weights for training."

He posed in front of me and I sweat dropped. "Anything for a student of Kakashi's. You know, we are meant to be rivals forever." I nodded. "So how much weight were you planning on taking?"

Suddenly I was unsure. "Um, maybe three 5 kg weights?"

He nodded. "Yes, that will be a good start. Here, take these." He took the 3 weights out of the bag on his back and gave it to me. I sweat dropped. He has weights in that bag? I put one on around my middle and the other 2 around my ankles. Good thing I had black leg warmers, otherwise it would've looked weird. "Thank you Gai-sensei. I appreciate it."

He smiled and threw his thumb up. "Let the spirit of youth be within you!" I saluted him and disappeared again.

Then I was next to Naruto again. "Ah! Aya-chan you scared me."

I chuckled, "Sorry Naruto."

We all walked in silence. Geez these weights are weighting me down. No pun intended.

We've been walking for a while and I've seriously become tired, but thankfully no one noticed.

"Say, Mr Tazuna…?" Sakura started
"What is it?"

"Your country is the land of waves, right?" She stretched out every word.

"Yeah… What of it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" I zoned out for a while until I heard Kakashi say: "Hey, you all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking?"

"Huh? Oh, no I was thinking about when we'll get to the boat." I said.

They all gave me a funny look. "Well anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C ranked mission." Kakashi said. "So you can relax."

"Right, Tazuna?"

He looked at me like he was going to panic. "What –"

"Oh, nothing." I gave him a pointed look.

We all kept walking, I was slowly getting used to these weights and for that I'm glad, because if it kept making me tired I won't be able to fight Zabuza.

Finally we walked by a puddle. I walked slower than the rest and then crouched by the puddle. "You know, for a puddle you sure are stupid." I emphasised the word puddle.

We walked on a little more before… Boom!

Their chains wrapped around Kakashi-sensei and sliced into him. Only it wasn't him, it was a substitute.

Everyone except me called Kakashi's name. I was the only one who knew he was a substitute.

The 2 mist assassins ran behind Naruto. "Now it's your turn." I will not let him feel useless. Not today. I appeared behind them and kick the one's head. His head thumped against the other one's head and they went down instantly, but they quickly got up again.

They tried getting me with their chains, but Sasuke pinned them to a tree. They both let go of the chains. Sasuke jumped on their arms, grabbed them and kicked their heads. I have to admit, that was a good move. They retaliated and ran to where Tazuna and Sakura were. I appeared in front of them and punched the one while kicking the other.

Yet, they still managed to scratch Naruto. Damn it. Well, on the bright side I stole Sasuke's thunder. I quickly got their chains from the tree and tied it around the two before they could get up again. Sasuke looked annoyed, but I ignored him as Kakashi poofed and stood in front of me.

"Sorry that I stole your thunder Naruto." I gave him a quick smile before turning my attention back to the two ninjas.

"Hi." Kakashi said. "Nice work Sasuke, Ayame. Sorry I didn't help you right away, Naruto. I didn't think you'd freeze like that."

"He didn't freeze Kakashi." I said in a warning tone. I won't let Naruto feel bad. "He just didn't have time to react because me and Sasuke were already busy at it."

Tazuna gave out a relieved sigh. "Shut up, Sasuke. Naruto isn't a scaredy cat so don't even try to insult him like that." I said. Sasuke just turned around with an 'Hm'.

"Naruto, stand still. These Ninja have poison in their claws, we need to take it out of you quickly. You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood, so don't move around. That spreads the poison. By the way Mr Tazuna,"

Tazuna looked shocked. "Yeah, what?"

"We need to talk…. They're chunnin from the Village in the mist, their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

They looked at us. "How did you know about our ambush?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks? Like a said before. For a puddle you sure are stupid." I smirked at them.

"Why'd you leave it for the gennin to do the fighting?" Mr Tazuna asked.

"He wanted to know who their target was and what they were after. You can drop the act now Tazuna. This isn't you normal C rank mission, this is supposed to be a B or A rank mission. It's too dangerous for the team members who are unwilling to go further." I gave Sakura a pointed look. "But I guess your country is poor and that's why you were building the bridge, right? So you can change that?" Tazuna looked ashamed, but nodded. "Tazuna, lying to ninja is never acceptable. Just remember that, ok?" he nodded again.

"Kakashi-sensei, I suppose we should finish the mission? I mean it is for the greater good that Tazuna is building the bridge, don't you agree?" Kakashi sighed and nodded.

"But sensei, I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible." Sakura said.

"Naruto's hand could become a problem… I guess we should go back to the village." He was hinting to Naruto that if he wanted to continue he'd have to make it bleed again.

Naruto glared at his hand. He took a kunai out and stabbed his hand with it. I cringed. Couldn't he have done it some other way?

Everyone gasped. Naruto turned around. "Why am I so different? Why am I always…" He growled.

Before Sakura could say anything I held my hand out. "Sakura let him do this."

Naruto continued. "I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself 'till it hurt, training alone for hours… Anything to get stronger, to reach my dream." Blood dropped from his wound. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound I make this pledge. Believe it. Bridge builder I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife." He turned around again, holding his wound and kunai knife in the air for all to see. "Don't worry I'll be fine."

"That was really cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood, you'll die." Kakashi said making Naruto freak out.

I chuckled as I took a bandage out and walked to Naruto. "Kakashi you exaggerate too much." I took Naruto's hand and looked at the wound while bandaging it. "You'll be more than fine Naruto, so don't you worry." I said as it closed.

Chap 9: Finally meeting the Demon of the mist.

We were in the boat now.

"This fog's so thick, you can't see anything." Sakura whispered.

I looked into the fog, my eye sight was apparently better than theirs. I could see the bridge from here, which I guess is a very good advantage since the bridge is about a 10 meters away.

"The bridge isn't far now." See? Told you. "Our destination is just ahead. The land of waves. " The boat ferry said.

Finally the bridge came into view for the others. "Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto shouted.

"Quiet!" the boat ferry whisper-yelled at Naruto. "I told you no noise. Why do you think we're traveling like this, huh? Cutting off the engine and rowing… Moving through the dam's fog so they don't see us."

Naruto kept his mouth shut. Kakashi started asking the bridge builder who the men are that is after him. He told Kakashi and then did his little guilt trip act, but I zoned out. Gato that little dwarf of a gangster will get what's coming to him. I smiled a sly, sadistic smile. "Ayame-chan, what's going on in that messed up mind of yours?" Kakashi asked, looking at me like I might kill his dogs if he doesn't keep an eye on me.

I smiled my sweetest smile. "Oh nothing important." I could tell that he knew it was fake, but he said nothing.

"We're approaching the shore… Tazuna, we've been very fortunate. No one has noticed us so far."

Tazuna looked at the boat ferry. "Nice going."

We went through a tunnel and arrived on the other side. The place was actually kind of pretty. You can hear the sea gulls and the ocean. There were trees sticking out of the water as well as houses.

It's a miracle that the wood underneath the houses haven't rotten to such an extent that a house starts sinking.

Even Naruto thought it was pretty.

"That's as far as I go. Good luck." The ferry said as we stopped at the docks.

"Right, thank you for taking such a risk." Tazuna said to the man.

"Just be careful." The boat ferry started the boats engine and rode off.

"Alright, take me to my home and I mean get me there in one piece." We nodded and started walking.

Naruto threw a kunai knife at a bush. Naruto… there's no one here. Yet. Everyone looked shocked when they saw him throw the knife at a random bush. They probably think there's someone here because of him. I sighed. This going to take a while.

When no one came out Tazuna and Sakura started getting angry. Suddenly I felt a presence, no two. It's time…

Naruto threw the kunai knife at the bush beside me. Finally I get to meet the Demon of the mist. I grinned. "Nice one Naruto."

They all walked to the bush to see the bunny there with anime tears flowing from its eyes. Sakura gasped. "Naruto, look what you did!"

Naruto quickly went to the little guy and said sorry over and over.

"Sakura, Naruto didn't do anything wrong. That's a snow rabbit. They only have white fur in the winter unless they're bred inside. Someone used that rabbit as a substitution." I said pointing to the rabbit.

I suppose I can call him out now… "Zabuza Momochi, you can come out now…" I said in a sing-song voice. Suddenly a big sword was hurtled where Tazuna stood. "Get down!" I shouted. The word hit a tree and stayed there.

Then Zabuza was standing on it. "So you knew I was there, huh? Smart kid. I might have some use for you."

"I think not." I appeared in front of him and threw 2 Senbon, but they were stopped by another pair of senbon. "Already have your little tool watching, huh? Not surprising." I whispered in Zabuza's ear. He whipped his head to look at me, only to find I wasn't there. I was back with my team. "Yoohoo! You looking for me Zabuza?" I asked, standing casually against a tree.

"Well, well if it isn't Zabuza Momochi. Rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Naruto charged forward, but was stopped by Kakashi's hand. "You're in the way. Get back."

"But why!?"

"He's not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, I'll need this." Kakashi said putting his hand on his headband.

"You're finally going to use your sharingan, hey Kakashi? I've been waiting for this." I said nonchalantly.

"Sharingan?" Sasuke said at the same time as Kakashi said "You knew about my eye?" I merely nodded my head.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right? It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man." Kakashi glared at him.

"Now quick, Manji formation. Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight. I taught you teamwork and now you need to use it." Kakashi lifted his headband and displayed his red eye. "I'm ready"

"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honour." Zabuza said in his husky voice.

As they began to talk about the sharingan I zoned out as I tried figuring out where Haku was hiding. No one can actually shroud their chakra completely except me, so I'm bound to find him. I roamed my eyes around the forest as I searched for chakra. Finally I found it. I looked straight at the source. He may look invisible, but really he's just using genjutsu.

I saw a movement although it was small and any other ninja would think it was just a trick of the eye, but I knew it wasn't my imagination. I disappeared and reappeared behind him. "If you want to save him, save him now otherwise he'll die." I appeared beside Sakura again as the two boys – meaning Zabuza and Kakashi – were busy with their water Jutsu's. I suppose I've been looking for Haku for longer than I thought. I should help Kakashi then. I don't know how, but somehow I made a cyclone of water. I sent it Zabuza's way, but he jumped out of the way just in time to not be smashed by the water.

"Water style: Giant Vortex Jutsu." Kakashi I hope you're glad I distracted him for you, but you would've been able to do it without my help anyway.

A giant water vortex started to form and then Zabuza was in it, getting smashed by trees. He tried swimming out of the vortex, but failed miserably. He smashed against a tree and Kakashi used kunai knives to pin him against the tree.

Then Haku's senbon hit Zabuza's neck and his heart stopped. "You were right. It was his last battle." Kakashi jumped down from the tree and felt for Zabuza's pulse. "No vital signs…"

"Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him out." Haku bowed

"By your mask I see you're a tracker from the village hidden in the mist"

"Impressive, you're well informed." Haku said standing up straight again.

Suddenly Sakura started explaining what a tracker ninja is. Boring…

Naruto ran closer to Haku. "What is this? Who do you think you are?" Haku stood quiet. "Did you hear me?"

"Easy Naruto. He's not the enemy." I gave Haku a pointed look. "As far as I know there are kids younger than us that are even stronger than Kakashi-sensei, whether you like it or not Naruto. Don't go beating yourself up about it. Just train harder." I gave him a gentle smile.

Kakashi nodded. "She's right Naruto."

Haku made himself appear beside Zabuza. He picked Zabuza up "Your struggle is over for now." Key words being: 'for now'. "I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, it must not be allowed into the wrong hands." With that he disappeared to their hideout.

"We haven't completed out mission yet, we still have to take the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi took a few steps before he suddenly started falling. I appeared in front of him and took him in my arms. What? I'm not a weak girl. I can carry a grown man.

"What happened!?" Sakura sounded really worried.

"Relax Sakura. He's just tired from over using his Sharingan." I stood up from my crouching position and started walking. "Come on bridge builder. I don't know where your house is, you should lead the way." I gave him a special closed eye smile. I think I need to start wearing a mask like Kakashi, because some time or another people will start seeing through my fake smiles.

Chap 10: Tree Training

I heard Kakashi groan. "Look, the sensei's coming around." Naruto said.

"Listen sensei, your sharingan is really amazing and everything, but if it puts that much strain on you maybe it's not worth it." Sakura, you don't know what you're talking about.

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei will be alright and you really shouldn't say those types of things. You have no idea what he went through to get it."

She raised an eyebrow. "And you do?"

I just nodded my head. "Huh, well you did take down the most powerful ninja assassin, so we'll be fine for a while." Tazuna said.

I shook my head. "You're wrong Tazuna, about 2 things to be exact. First of all he's not the most powerful, the Akatsuki are and second of all he's not dead."

Everyone gasped. "How do you know?" Sakura questioned me.

"That boy we saw… he was watching the fight the whole time and if he was a real tracker he would've taken care of Zabuza's body right there on the spot."

Kakashi nodded his head. "You're right Ayame. You know for a girl who has amnesia you sure know a lot."

My team mates gasped. "You have amnesia!?" I just shrugged, not really in the mood to really explain. I shrug a lot these days.

"You've all grown. Naruto, you've grown the most." Kakashi gave him a closed eye smile.

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smirked. "Now things are going to get better, believe it."

"I don't believe it!" a small voice said from behind us. "And nothing's gonna be good!"

We all turned around to find out where the voice was coming from. Inari stood there with his fists at his sides.

"Who are you!?" Naruto yelled at him.

"Ah… Inari! Where've you been?" Tazuna said to his grandson.

Inari ran to Tazuna "Welcome back, grandpa!"

His mother, Tsunami, stood in front of Tazuna with her hands on her hips. "Inari, that was very rude." She scolded him. "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

"It's ok, it's ok. I'm rude to them too." Tazuna said and laughed.

I felt an irk mark on my head. I glared at Tazuna. "Not to me you're not."

He shrunk back and shook his head furiously. "No, no of course not."

Everyone was silent for a while before Inari turned to his mother and told her we're gonna die. "Not if I have anything to say about it kid. Don't assume something that isn't true, because you WILL be wrong." I said harshly to him.

"Listen up; do you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better. I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!"

"Huh, there's no such thing as a hero. You're just full stupid ideas!"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!?"

I glared at Inari. "Listen up kid, I don't want to be rude, but if you insult my friends I will make you cry. You got that?" I have never had any patients with little kids, let alone brats.

"If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from." Was Inari's reply as he started walking out.

"That's it." I was furious and my team mates were stunned. They've never see me mad, actually mad before. I got up and calmly walked to Inari. Each step I took was like a silent warning, it even scared my team. I went and stood in front of Inari. My blood was boiling and all I could see was red. I took him by the shirt and lifted him up. "Listen here, Brat. You might think that there's no such thing as heroes, but what was your dad to you, Inari?" Tazuna and Tsunami gasped. "Was he a hero to you, or was he an idiot? Because I sure as hell don't think he was an idiot. He died protecting the things he loved; do you think he'd be happy with the way you act? I don't think so Inari, I really don't." I had calmed down more and more with each word I said and at the end I put him down. He ran out of the room with tears streaming down his face.

"Ayame-" I held up a hand, stopping Kakashi from saying anything more and walked out the door.

I guess I'm going to go train. I'll have to take out the rest of my anger out on a tree or something.

I walked to a tree. It was huge and just right for my training. I imagined a thin blanket under my feet and then I started walking up the tree. I was about half way up, before I put in too much chakra and made a dent in the wood. I took out a kunai and quickly slashed where I stopped. I started falling, but in mid-air I did a backflip and landed on my feet, cat style.

I tried again, but this time I got a running start. I got a few feet higher before I put in too little chakra. Geez, it's harder than it looks. Good thing I've got a lot of Chakra otherwise I wouldn't last very long.

I tried it a few more times, but I still didn't get to the top. I stopped and decided I was going to start running. I still had the weights on, so I didn't have to go back and get them. I ran and ran until it was night time and even then I continued running. I was sweating buckets with all the hard work, but no pain no gain. I pushed myself until I couldn't move anymore, so I decided I would have to sleep in a tree tonight. I trudged to the tree I marked with my kunai and walked up to the highest branch I could get to without falling off. I laid down and soon sleep overtook me.

Poke

Poke

Poke

"What!?" What a great way to wake up, hey? Getting poked in the face – with crutches might I add – is the best way to wake up. The person who was poking me almost fell off of the branch. I looked up to see Kakashi standing upside down on the branch above me. "What do you want Kakashi?" My mood was already bad because of my bad wakeup call.

"It's time to train." He said with a fake smile just to piss me off more.

"Do you WANT to get your ass handed on a platter for you, Kakashi? Can't you see I've trained the whole night!?"

He looked confused. "You don't have any scratches on you, you're just filthy. I thought that was because you slept outside, so no, I didn't know."

"Yeah, well too bad. Good night." I turned around again, wanting to sleep.

"So how'd you get up here anyway?" Silence… "Ayame?" Again, silence. "Ayame…?" Nothing. "AYAME!?"

I shot upright and directed a furious glare at Kakashi. "WHAT DO YOU WANT KAKASHI!?" The glare I gave him had so much venom in it that it made Kakashi sweat buckets and cower.

"Never mind. It was nothing." Now I was REALLY mad.

"YOU WOKE ME UP FOR NOTHING!? YOU PIECE OF DOG MEAT, I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" I got up and ran to him, unfortunately for him he had crutches and he couldn't move properly. I kicked him, sending him flying against a tree. "Just be happy you're in crutches or I would've really kicked your ass!" He doesn't know it, but when we get back to Konoha I will kick his butt.

I saw my team mates standing on the ground. I jumped down and made a front flip while landing safely on my feet. They were all sweating when they looked at my calm demeanour.

I guess I scared them a little. I smiled making them sweat drop. "So what were we learning?"

"Uhm… w-we were watching h-how Kakashi-sensei was w-walking u-up a tree without using h-his hands and then he s-saw you…" Sakura was stuttering like an idiot. I guess I really DID scare them. Oops, oh well not my fault Kakashi wanted to mess with my sleep.

"Well I guess you guys should get out your kunai and mark the tree every time you start falling down. It's the only way to remember where you were. By the way, that's my tree from now on. Touch it and I'll kill you." I said in a completely calm, but deadly voice, narrowing my eyes. Why am I so protective of a tree? I mean it's just a stupid tree.

They started sweating again. I guess I should stop scaring them.

I made a run for the tree, but this time I made it to the top. "Woohoo! I'm finally at the top!"

My team sweat dropped. Is it just me or am I bipolar? It's probably not just me.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all tried climbing the trees. Naruto put too little chakra in his feet and Sasuke used too much. Sakura however did it just right, so she went all the way to the top.

"I'm impressed Sakura, nice work. Naruto, didn't we say you were going to be Hokage one day? Looks like Sakura will be a better Hokage and the great Uchiha clan… Maybe it's not so great after all." The two boys glared at each other and ran at the trees again. That motivated them. "Oh and Sakura I was motivating them, Sasuke won't hate you."

The two kept at it until it was dark. Sakura stayed with them while Kakashi recovered from my kick and I was training and running again. I pushed myself again until it actually hurt. I was running, but I fell from exhaustion. I guess I'm sleeping here tonight again. Good thing I packed food this time, otherwise I might've starved.

I walked up my tree and sat down. I took out some dumplings and onigiri and started eating. I suppose they're talking about Kaiza now. Good thing I'm not there right now, because I really hate that sad story.

Tomorrow morning I will wake up early and go search for Naruto. I want to talk to Haku anyway, so there's no reason not to.

I woke up early this morning. Time to go search for Naruto. I looked for his chakra and found a light trail of it. I followed the trail and finally came across Naruto and the boy, Haku.

He wore a pink kimono with black swirls printed on it and his hair was loose. All in all he actually looked like a beautiful girl.

He and Naruto were picking herbs and talking. He stood up and walked towards me before stopping again. "Oh and by the way, I'm a boy." Then he started walking again.

I came out from behind the trees and walked by him while whispering "See you later on the bridge Haku, just don't kill anyone." We made eye contact but only for a minute.

I walked towards Naruto. "Hey Naruto, how's the training going?" I asked sitting next to him.

"Great Aya-chan! But I'm still having trouble with it." I nodded in understanding.

"Ok, I'll help you a little. What I do is imagine a thin blanket covering the soles of my feet – that's the chakra – I focus on keeping it neat and not wrinkled, get it?" he nodded his head in excitement.

"Thanks Aya-chan!" I gave him a gentle smile.

"Come on, they'll be looking for us." I stood up and held out my hands for him to take. He took my hands and I pulled him up.

We walked back and bumped into Sasuke. Literally. I was sitting on the floor rubbing my forehead. We literally bumped our foreheads, and it hurt. "Damn it, Sasuke that hurt." I whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Get up." He just stood there with his hands in his pocket. Jerk. He could at least help me up.

I stood up and walked in front. Stupid Sasuke and his I'm-better-than-you attitude. It's seriously getting on my nerves.

We finally found Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto had climbed the tree and pretended to slip, but then he hung upside down. He really fell after and Sasuke had to catch him, problem was, Sasuke's hand was slipping and Sakura wasn't strong enough to save both of them. Now it was up to me to save them. I appeared on the branch Sasuke was hanging on and grabbed his hand just as it slipped. I purposely disappeared and reappeared high above the ground – not that high though – and let go of Sasuke's hand, but I caught Naruto. I gently put him down and walked to Sasuke who was rubbing the back of his head, because this time he hit his head on the ground. "Isn't payback just the best?" I asked with a smirk. He in return scowled at me.

Chap 11: Meeting Zabuza again.

We were eating at the dinner table when the door opened to reveal two tired gennin, namely Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto was hanging onto Sasuke's shoulders.

He looked up and grinned his signature grin. "We both made it. We climbed all the way to the top."

Kakashi nodded. "Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow you're both body guards for Tazuna."

"Alright!" Naruto put his hand up, making both of them fall to the floor. I chuckled.

"You're such a loser!" Sasuke said. I bet he thinks Naruto is a funny loser though. Everyone laughed.

When we finished eating Tazuna said "In a few more days the bridge will be finished. I have you to thank for that."

"You've all done great, but you've still got to be careful." Tsunami said.

I nodded. "You got that right."

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me even after you found out I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna was completely serious now.

"Those who stray from the path of Justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader cowardice cannot survive. That was a quote from the first Hokage."

Inari looked at Naruto. Here we go. "But why?" Naruto looked up. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a whole army. They'll beat you down and they'll destroy you. These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose."

"Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me, you got that?"

"Why don't you be quiet!? Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country, your just budding in. Always laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt."

"Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a coward!"

"Kid, you can't just say things like that to people you don't even know! Naruto's had it worse than you. I consider you one of the lucky ones. At least you had parents!" I yelled at him.

"Naruto, Ayame you went too far!" Sakura scolded.

"Shut up Sakura. Naruto is telling the truth whether you or Inari like it or not. Naruto had it worse, so don't you try and tell him what is too far and what not, you got that!?" I snapped at Sakura. She always bosses him around like she's his mother or something. Who gave her the right?

Naruto stood up and walked out the room.

Inari sat there snivelling and crying. "I'm sorry, kid. But you deserve what he said." I stood up and walked out the door again.

"Naruto, Ayame!" Sakura called, but both of us ignored her. I walked the opposite way of Naruto.

I walked to my tree and went and sat on the highest branch, looking at the full moon.

At least the kid had parents… At least they didn't experiment on him like some rat and then gave him up to be adopted. At least his parents didn't hate him enough to abuse him like mine did. I felt wetness on my cheeks. I won't cry for those bastards, not now. Not ever, I thought wiping the tears away. At least the people who adopted me loved me.

I lied down and went to sleep.

I was waiting at the bridge for my teammates already when the mist rolled in. Time to get the workers out of her. I appeared and disappeared with all the bridge builders so no one could end up hurt. I put all of them on the docks.

"So you knew we were coming, huh?" Zabuza said.

I shrugged, not even looking up. "Well I did tell Haku, didn't I?"

"You did." Haku said, "Though I still wonder how you knew."

"I know lots of things I'm not supposed to know." I shrugged nonchalantly. Kakashi was late, and this time he's going to get a piece of my mind about it.

Suddenly Kakashi and the rest of my team arrived in a poof of smoke, "Kakashi you're late!" I yelled at him. Then he noticed the mist. Really? You are so slow Kakashi.

"Sensei, it's Zabuza again, isn't it? This is his hidden mist Jutsu." Sakura asked.

"Way to state the obvious Sakura! This is not the time to be slow, so shut it and protect Tazuna."

"Sorry I've kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see you've still got these brats with you. That one's still trembling. Pitiful." Zabuza said.

Sasuke's eyes widened when 6 Zabuza's appeared around us, but then it turned into a smirk. "I'm trembling with… excitement"

"Go on Sasuke." Kakashi smiled at him.

Zabuza tried cutting him in half, but before he got even half his sword beside him, Sasuke had already sliced all the water clones in half.

"Ooh, so you could see they were water clones, huh? The brat's are improving." I smirked. Zabuza, Zabuza you need to learn not to underestimate us gennin. I shook my head. "Looks like you've got a rival, Haku."

"Hey, Zabuza you forgot I'm here too. Am I not good enough to be Haku's rival?" I held my hand to my heart in mock hurt, and then smirked.

"Oh no, you are definitely good enough. I guess Haku's got two rivals now." I grinned. Finally I get to fight.

"So it seems." Haku said.

"Well, well so I had it right. It was all an act." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please, Kakashi. If I hadn't told you, you wouldn't even have known Zabuza was still alive."

He waved his hands in front of him "Hey, that's not true. I would've figured it out eventually."

I grinned. "I know!"

Kakashi said something about hiding behind a mask like a clown and then Sasuke copied his words.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please Sasuke, as if you can take him out by yourself. Unlike you, I know what he's capable of." I shrugged my shoulders when Sasuke glared at me. Haku moved our way with his quick speed, but I blocked his blow with my own kunai. The training with the weights really helped, but I knew I still wasn't fast enough to match Haku's speed. "Wait, Haku I want to fight you first. Don't hold back. I want to test my strength against you." He nodded and then we began fighting. He used his speed when he thought he had an advantage, but he was wrong. The little speed I acquired really helped me fight him. He made a tornado using his speed and turning in a circle. He held senbon in his hands, ready to strike me with them. I held my kunai ready and blocked his blow – although he did give me a deep gash before I blocked – while kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying. Haku landed on his feet. Once again he used his senbon and I blocked him. "I've gained two key advantages." I grinned and nodded. "I know. The first being we're surrounded by water and you've blocked one of my hands, meaning I can't defend myself, right?" Haku nodded and made a hand sign with one hand. Suddenly the water on the ground around the two of us turned into ice senbon. I grinned. "I've been waiting for this."

The needles rained down on me and I vanished, leaving a confused Haku behind. "Haku, you shouldn't let your opponent get behind you." I smirked and kicked him before he could turn around.

Sasuke appeared before him and kicked him again. "Thought you were quicker, huh? Now what else are you wrong about?" I rolled my eyes. He apparently knows nothing, well he'll find out soon.

Kakashi started talking. "You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats. That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. He's the best young fighter of the hidden leaf village… among others." He quickly glanced at me. "Sakura here, is our sharpest mind, Ayame is our most unpredictable fighter and wisest gennin in the group" Zabuza's eyes widened. I suppose he thought I was a chunin. "And last but not least our number 1 hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki."

Zabuza laughed. "Haku, if we keep going like this we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it!"

Haku stood up. "Right."

I scowled. "I hate it when you use this technique." Now I really need to be careful.

The water turned to solid ice and turned into a shape of a mirror. "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors." More and more mirrors took shape. I got cold chills as the air turned colder. The mirrors started to glow and then Haku climbed into one, making his image appear in all the mirrors.

Haku started throwing senbon in every direction. I used my sharpened eyes to see them, but I wasn't fast enough to get away. The senbon hit me and let me tell you it hurt. I groaned in pain and chuckled. "You're brutal Haku." I yelled out in pain as another few senbon hit me square in the stomach. Sasuke was holding his head as I stood up. I appeared before him and took him in my arms. "Get up, Sasuke." He stood up and let me take a hold of him. "We're supposed to fight, aren't we? So activate your Sharingan quickly so I can get rid of these mirrors. Oh and just for the record, fire won't melt these mirrors. I'll make clones you just keep your eyes focused, alright?" He nodded and looked at Haku while I made some clones. I made them jump at the mirrors over and over again, but Haku – as expected – demolished them.

"Hey guys, I snuck in here to save you guys." Naruto whispered from beside me.

I sweat dropped. "Naruto… Never mind. Help me. Make clones to help Sasuke." He nodded and made a lot of clones. I made about the same as Naruto. We let the clones try and attack the mirrors, another fail.

"These mirrors only reflect my image, allowing myself to transport at light speed. Through my eyes you appear to be moving in slow motion."

I shrugged. It's not as if I didn't know it, so it's not really surprising. "I'm only fighting to help Sasuke with something, then I'll break your mirrors." I wasn't acting like it, but I was really tired. I wasn't exactly used to making a lot of clones. It's so much easier for me to do my other Jutsu's.

Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on the ground while I stood. "I couldn't break through, so what. He's not going to stop me. I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here, cuz I have a dream and no one is going to take it away from me." Naruto, you really are admirable. "Someday I'll be respected in my village, that's my dream – to be the greatest Hokage!" He glared at Haku.

Haku babbled on about not wanting to kill us, but he would if we advanced. He'd have to kill the kindness in his heart and embrace the shinobi way. I feel sorry for the guy; he has such a kind heart even if he is a shinobi.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled. I felt an irk mark appear on my head. "What are you smiling about!? Can't you see Haku is suffering because of what he must do?" I felt miserable for the guy, but they just ignored me.

Alright, looks like I have to make more clones and dodge as many senbon as I can. I made more Shadow clones and they instantly attacked the mirrors, sending up a spray of water. Naruto – like the idiot he is – was sent flying back while yelling out in pain because he went to attack with the clones. I looked over to Sasuke. "Anytime soon would be great, Sasuke."

"I'm working on it. You're such a loser." I'm the loser? He's the one who's not fighting. Oh wait, I told him not to. My mistake.

Haku was coming my way so I acted quickly and disappeared, quickly reappearing standing on the top mirror. "Where did she go?"

I waved. "Yoohoo! Haku, over here." I grinned and just before he could each me, I appeared behind one of the bottom mirrors. I feel like a cat playing with a mouse. This is so fun, no wonder cats play with mice. I walked into the room of mirrors again and kicked up a spray of water, before disappearing and reappearing in the air between the mirrors.

Senbon instantly hit me, making me cry out in pain and fall on the ground. Damn that hurt.

Naruto was passed out and Sasuke was struggling to stand up again. I tried standing up, but failed as there were senbon stuck in my legs, making my legs weak and inefficient.

"Ayame, can you make another batch of clones?"

I nodded. If I can't stand, maybe they can. I did the hand signs and in front of me appeared 10 Shadow clones. They were all standing to which I was grateful. I tried standing up again, but I still failed as a searing pain came from my legs where the senbon was.

My clones attacked and Sasuke saw every move Haku made. He got Naruto out of the way just before Haku could hit him with the senbon.

Sasuke looked up showing his Sharingan. Finally. Now I can get rid of Haku. I strained my eyes and felt them change. I looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke get Naruto out of here."

He looked at me and nodded, but then shock crossed his features. "Ayame, your eyes… they look like an animal's eyes." I nodded. Should've known, I am just that strange. I shook my head. Get your head in the Game, Ayame.

I looked at Haku to hear him gasp. "Your eyes…" But he was talking about Sasuke, because he was looking in Sasuke's direction.

My eyes never left Haku. I too could see his movements clearly. I looked to see Sasuke rushing towards Naruto. No! I've got to stop him! I appeared in front of him right as the senbon was supposed to hit him. Instead, they hit me. I felt needles pierce through my skin. I grabbed Haku and threw him against one of the mirrors.

I looked back to see Sasuke and Naruto staring at me. "But why…?" Naruto was in shock. I chuckled humourlessly. "You two look like losers… that actually care." I gave a faint smile. "I don't want your dreams to die… Naruto… Sasuke…" I gasped as the pain hit me. "There is always a light to lead the way in darkness…" I fell over and Naruto caught me. "Don't let your dreams die…" The light dimmed. I felt Naruto's anger. He was getting angrier and angrier by the minute and he was focusing it on Haku. Sasuke surprisingly also became angrier and then I slipped into the hands of darkness.

Chap 12: Anger to the extreme.

***********Naruto's POV*************

I looked at her as her head fell down. NO! I can't lose her! She was my very first friend, the first one who was kind to me! I felt the tears in my eyes roll down my cheeks. I hugged her close to me. I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM!

"She found… She found her strength she didn't realise she had. Why? Because of certain persons who were precious to her. To save those persons she rushed in knowing it was a trap. She was a true ninja, worthy of honour. Is this the first time you have seen a friend die in battle? This is part of what it means to be a ninja. "

"Shut up." I ground out. I'll kill him for what he did! "I… I'll become stronger, so I can protect you… next time… You'll pay for this." I said, lying Ayame down on the ground.

Steam came from all around me. I was so angry. I felt another presence in myself, a stronger one fuelling my hate. Sasuke was passed out on the ground next to Ayame.

Red chakra enveloped me. It cut through the ground and moved like twisting tails.

I was trembling as I sat there crouching. I looked up with pure hate in my eyes. "I'm gonna kill you." There was so much venom in my voice, I didn't even recognise it.

The chakra flared along with my hatred.

The senbon shot out of body and my hands healed. My nails grew sharper and my teeth grew more animalistic.

I turned around as I growled and glared at him. He seemed to be shaken up. Good. Now I'm going to kill him.

The change hurt, but if it helped to kill him I don't care. He'll pay for what he did to her. In his own blood.

I started running on all fours as he threw senbon at me. I roared and the senbon were sent flying in the opposite direction.

I stopped when Haku disappeared from the mirror and I looked around, searching for him. He appeared in all the mirrors and prepared to throw the senbon. He threw and it landed in the skin of my back. I crouched down a little more and then stood up, throwing my arms to the side and sending the senbon flying out of my skin. Good, he can't hurt me.

I ran and jumped at the mirror he was in, punching it. It shattered in pieces.

I felt Haku come at me from above, so I spinned away just as he was about to poke the needles in me again. He landed with a crash. He tried retreating to another mirror, but I grabbed his wrist, making him stop. He tried getting out of my hold, but he couldn't. I pulled my fist back and threw it forward, making sure there was enough chakra in my hand before punching him in the face. He was sent flying threw his mirror, breaking it in pieces. He fell with a thud on the floor, rolling a few times before finally coming to a halt. The mirrors started cracking, but I knew he wasn't dead. Haku slowly got up on his hands and knees and then he fully stood up, facing me. I ran at him with amazing speed. His mask was slowly falling off of his face. I was about to punch him when I recognised his face. My hand stopped short. I panted. "So that guy in the woods, that was you!?" That boy who was even prettier that Sakura who said I would become stronger, it was him?

"Why do you not strike?" huh? "Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me? Or was that vow just empty words?" He sounded so broken.

I looked back at Ayame and grunted, then I punched him. Hard.

He stumbled a few feet before falling down and spitting out blood. "No, that won't do. You're still holding back, if that is all the strength you can put into it, you can never keep your vow. Perhaps she didn't mean so much to you as you pretend. To show mercy to those who oppose the one you serve, to allow her enemies to live when you could strike them down, this is not compassion. It is a betrayal of your life's very purpose. For what reason do you exist then? You're of use to no one, your life has no meaning and it is mere existence. Day after day of pain and struggle signifying nothing."

"Yeah, well speak for yourself."

"Are you really that blind, little one? I am speaking of myself. This day has shown that I am no longer of any use to Zabuza."

"Zabuza… Why that guy anyway!?" I don't understand how Zabuza can be precious to Haku. "To devote your life to a rotten skunk who doesn't know the meaning of the word honour. If he's really the one person who matters to you… Man that's the sorriest thing I've ever heard!?"

"There were once others who mattered to me… Long ago." What? Did he have parents? He continued talking about his parents and about what happened to him.

Haku walked closer to me. I gasped and took a step back. "Naruto… Kill me." What!? "Go on. Strike, Kill me. Why do you hesitate?"

I growled and stepped back. "That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard. I mean he treats you like a slave. You're a human-being, not a weapon or a tool. How can you care about someone like that!?"

"For that very reason."

"Huh?" What does he mean?

"Does that seem so strange to you?"

"Well, yeah. A little." I said uncertainly.

"When he found me I was without a purpose or reason for living. Zabuza gave me both, but now my usefulness is over, the only thing that gave my life meaning. It's gone. I am a broken tool, a blunted weapon of no use to anyone. Go on, Naruto, do it. For both of our sake's. Do it, quickly." He looked so broken, so worn out and lost. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away. How can he ask me that?

I ran at him, with my kunai knife in my hand. At the last minute he stopped me, why? I thought he wanted to die. "Sorry Naruto, change of plans. I'm not ready to die quite yet." He made a one hand hand-sign and disappeared.

I looked up to see Kakashi-sensei's hand on Haku's chest and Haku was holding on to his hand while coughing up blood. Everyone's eyes were wide. NO! Why did he do it!? I ran toward them, but stopped in my tracks when I could see more clearly.

Blood was dripping off of Haku.

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack." Kakashi-sensei said. "He saved your worthless life at the cost of his own."

Zabuza closed his eyes and chuckled. "Well done, Haku." Zabuza grabbed his sword and would've sliced through Haku if Kakashi-sensei hadn't grabbed him and moved to another place. "I knew I found a treasure when I found you, boy." Why that worthless… how can he treat Haku like that!? "You've not only given me my life but Kakashi's as well!"

"You'll pay for that!" I yelled at him.

"Naruto, stay out of this!" Kakashi said to me. "This is my battle. Zabuza's mine."

Sakura looked at me. "Naruto? Naruto! Over here! Naruto! So you and Sasuke are alright?"

I nodded "Yeah! He's just passed out."

"What about Ayame?" I looked down with tears stinging my eyes.

"What's wrong? Where is Ayame anyway?" Sakura asked. I looked away closing my eyes and clenching my teeth.

"No…" She looked like she was about to cry…

"Sakura, go." She ran to where Ayame lay.

***********Ayame's POV********

I opened my eyes and wheezed. Something heavy was cutting off my air and it was extremely irritating. I heard sobbing and looked down to what was cutting off my air. Sakura…? What? She's crying for me? Did I miss something?

"Sakura…? I can't breathe…" Sakura quickly sat up with eyes wide.

"Ayame, you're ok?" Tears of happiness began rolling down her cheeks. Suddenly she jumped on me. "Ayame-chan, you're ok! I thought we lost you!"

I winced. "Sakura, that hurts!" Did she really care about me? That's just really…weird.

She quickly got off of me. "Naruto said you were dead!"

I shook my head. "Temporary death. Haku was too kind to really kill." I slowly got up and looked toward Naruto and the others. Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting right now. I needed to stop them, I can't let Kakashi… I couldn't finish the thought, because I fell to my knees again. I groaned in pain. "This is such a drag. I'll be right back Sakura, stay put." I vanished and reappeared in front of Zabuza and Kakashi. "Stop." My voice was filled with authority, so they stopped instantly.

I looked at Zabuza. There were two kunai out of his left arm, severing the muscles and making it impossible to use it.

He looked glared at me before looking at Kakashi. "I'll split you in half, even if I have to cut the child to get to you."

"Kakashi, stay out of this. I want to fight him."

"But Ayame-" I glared at him, making him shut up.

"Fine. You want a fight? You've got it." Zabuza charged at me. I stood still with an emotionless mask my face, before I punched him. I turned in a circle and kicked him. He stumbled back a few feet before running at me and swinging his sword recklessly. I dodged and he swung again, but this this time I appeared behind him and held onto his neck. "Look at you, you're falling apart. You're letting your emotions blind you and it's making you reckless. Do you want to die?"

His eyes widened just a fraction. "What did you say?"

"You have no idea what real strength is, Zabuza. You're lucky I'm the one you're fighting. If it had been Kakashi both your arms would've been useless. But we're no longer opponents as Gato is here with the thugs he hired to kill you." I took a step back and looked in Gato' direction.

"So this is how it turns out, huh? Did quite a number on you, didn't they Zabuza? You look like yesterday's Sashimi. I must say I'm… disappointed."

Zabuza glared at Gato. "What is all this? Why are you here? And who are all these thugs you hired?" I rolled my eyes. Didn't I just tell him that?

Gato proceeded to tell him that he's too expensive and that the thugs were hired to kill him. He told him that he'd appreciate it if he could kill a few of them.

Gato walked forward to Haku. "That reminds me… You little punk, you grabbed me and nearly broke my arm! I've been meaning to repay you for that…" He pulled back his foot. My eyes widened. Crap I forgot about that! I watched in horror as his foot came rushing forward. I can't let him do that to Haku. I vanished and appeared crouching in front of Haku as I received a painful kick to the stomach. I coughed blood and stood up. I took Gato by his neck and lifted him up. "You little dwarf! You do not disrespect the dead, and especially not Haku, in front of me!" I spit ever word out in venom, even my comrades cowered back in fear. I tightened my grip on his neck making him wheeze.

"Ayame that's enough." I growled and threw him back towards his thugs. I appeared beside Naruto and hugged him. I mean he must need comfort right now since he thought his friend died and I also need the comfort of a friend right now.

Gato stood up and kicked Haku anyways. I felt my anger flare up and I felt my eyes change. He did not just do that. Naruto ran forward and yelled at Gato. "Get away! Get away from him you scum!" Kakashi grabbed Naruto before he could run anymore. "Hey, use your head."

"Well what about you, Zabuza? You gonna let him do that?"

Zabuza didn't even look at Naruto. "Be quiet you fool. Haku's dead, what does it matter?"

"That's exactly WHY it matters." I whispered quietly, looking down while trying to suppress my anger.

"What!? You mean, you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years, doesn't that mean anything?"

"You don't understand the way of shinobi. I merely used him, just as Gato used me." Naruto gasped. "Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill – yes – that means something to me, but the boy, nothing."

"If you mean that, you're an even bigger rat than I thought." Kakashi tried to stop him to tell him that he's not the enemy. "Shut up! Far as I'm concerned, he's enemy nr 1! Why you… you ungrateful… After everything he did for you! Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him! And he meant nothing to you!? Nothing at all!? While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never felt anything at all for him!? And if I become stronger, does that mean I'll become as cold-hearted as you are? He threw his life away and for what? For you and your dream! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care and you just toss him aside like he was nothing! A broken tool! Man, that's so wrong. So wrong!" With each word he said my anger grew. Why was the ninja world like this? Why are we used as tools and then thrown away like trash? It's not fair. At all. I was useless. I couldn't stop Haku from dying… What good am I if I can't even help a sweet young boy?

"You talk too much. Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade. While he fought you, his heart was breaking in two. You see, Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow and now – curse him – I feel them too! And something else… I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza was crying. Finally I couldn't hold it anymore and I appeared behind the last thugs. I killed some of the thugs and I didn't feel any regret. Silent tears were falling down my cheeks as I killed them one by one. Finally I heard Gato scream as he fell into the water. I killed the thugs that wanted to put more swords into Zabuza's back. My hands were literally tainted by blood. The thugs ran away after that. I guess they got scared. I fell to my knees.

I heard someone crouch beside me. "Ayame are you ok?" It was Kakashi-sensei. I looked up and shook my head. "No, I'm not ok, I'm sick in my head." I spat disgusted. "I killed them all and you know what the sickest part is? I don't feel any regret. At all. Nothing." I shook my head in disgust at myself. You see, I felt guilty, but not guilty for killing them. I felt guilty because I didn't feel guilty about killing.

My legs were numb, so Kakashi picked me up and started walking toward my team. Sasuke looked surprised when he saw me. "Ayame, you're ok?"

I looked away. I was ashamed of what I did, how could I not be. "I guess you can say that."

Kakashi gave me to Sasuke to carry so that he and Naruto could take the two shinobi's bodies and bury them.

I heard Sasuke gasp. I felt a little bit faint… "Ayame, you're bleeding. You have a huge gash on your stomach. You're losing too much blood." My mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"That explains it…" Suddenly I fainted. I heard my name being yelled, but by then I was already unconscious.

Chap 13: The Chunnin exams are close.

It was about a week since the fight with Zabuza and since I passed out because of blood loss. We were finally going to go back to Konoha.

My stomach was wrapped in bandages under my qipao dress, but at least it was less painful now.

We were standing on the bridge and I was watching Inari and Naruto's crying contest with amusement. Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore so he turned around and cried while Inari started crying when Naruto was turned around. I chuckled. Those two… I shook my head and chuckled again.

We started walking back to Konoha as Tazuna name the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge'.

I smiled. I'm pretty sure this bridge will be famous one day.

"Hey Sasuke, when we get back do you want to go do something together?" Sakura asked a little too hopeful.

"I don't think so, thanks." Sasuke, you can be so cruel sometimes. At least he was polite about it, though. I shook my head at Sakura's disappointed expression.

"Sakura, I'd do something with you if you want." Naruto said.

Sakura nearly exploded in anger. "What!? Hey, that was a private conversation!" She practically yelled and bonked him on the head.

"Sakura… if you wanted a private conversation, maybe you should've done it where there were no people? I mean we are here too." I laughed as she started blushing in embarrassment. We were getting along better since the bridge incident.

Finally we made it to the Leaf Village. We went to the Hokage's office and got some missions for tomorrow. I wasn't surprised to see it was kids' stuff again. I swear that old man underestimates us too much.

"You guys go rest for a while; I need to discuss something with Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. We nodded and left.

Sasuke walked over to me and did what I never expected him to do. He asked me to train him.

"Uh, Sasuke I can't train you, but I can help you out a bit." He nodded in understanding and waited for me to continue. I kneeled down and took off the weights on my legs and then the one around my middle. I gave it to him. "Put two around your legs and the other one around your waist – like I did – and run. What I mean by that is very simple. Run with those weights to increase your speed. When you're done return them to me so that I can return them to their rightful owner." He nodded and left. Gee, a thank you would've been nice. I shrugged. Oh well, I knew he wouldn't thank me. I walked away.

************Kakashi's POV************

"Hokage-sama, I need to speak with you about Ayame Korokawa."
The Hokage nodded. "Yes, I knew you would come to me at some point. What is it you want to tell me?"

I thought back at her fight with me and her fight with Zabuza. "She's extremely strong, Hokage-sama. She fought Zabuza Momochi without any trouble – although he was already worn out -, but I know even if he was up to his full strength she could've defeated him easily. That day I tested them on their teamwork, she fought me without breaking a sweat even after she did two Jutsu's that use up a lot of Chakra. She was able to shroud her chakra completely so that I couldn't pin her location and she got the bells from me without letting me notice and still toyed with me even after that. That girl is extremely talented and strong, not to mention smart. You said she might be able to predict the future and it seems like you were right. She knew Zabuza was coming." I shook my head. "And there's another thing that's troubling me…" I started warily. He nodded for me to continue so I did. "She has three typed of Chakra. Wind, Earth and water. Not even highly skilled Jounin have 3 styles of Chakra. That girl is something else entirely."

The Hokage's eyes were wide for a second, but then he looked thoughtful. "Bring the girl here. I think we should make her a chunnin, but only if she agrees to become one."

I nodded and did my vanishing trick.

I appeared in front of Ayame and caught the kunai that was aimed at the tree behind me. I looked at her, has she been training all this time? She's supposed to rest, not train. Her eyes were wide, but when she realised the kunai did hit me she sighed in relief. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

I threw her kunai back at her and she caught it. "The Hokage wants to see you."

************Ayame's POV************

"The Hokage wants to see you." Kakashi said. I nodded and then he poofed away. I should've known they would be talking about me. I put my Katana – which I had forgotten I had bought – and kunai away. I guess I'll have to continue training later. I can't afford to not train. I was useless in the fight with Haku and I need to get stronger.

I did my handy vanishing trick and appeared outside the Hokage's office. I tapped on the window with my nails.

The Hokage looked up calmly and stood up to open the window. I jumped inside and sat on the chair opposite his. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" I so wanted to call him 'Old man Hokage' but I wasn't in the mood to get bonked on the head right now.

He nodded his head. "Yes, Kakashi informed me of you skill, strength and intelligence. So I have a question for you…" I nodded for him to continue. "I would like to make you a chunnin, if that's alright with you."

Crap! That can't happen! I need to stop Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the curse mark, and to do that I need to be in the Chunnin exams. I need to be calm about this and give him a believable answer. Finally I had an idea. I shook my head. "No Hokage-sama. If there is a Chunnin exam this year I would like to take it. It wouldn't be fair if I got to be a chunnin without taking the exams and my teammates have to take it."

He nodded in understanding "I suppose you're right. You're dismissed."

I jumped out the window and went home. Time to rest up.

We were taking out all the weeds for some random woman when Naruto decided he wouldn't lose to Sasuke. He ended up taking out all the weeds and all the plants. The woman was furious, so she beat Naruto up.

I groaned as we moved on to the next mission. I can't believe Old man Hokage is making us do all these chores for missions.

It's just so irritating. I picked up some of the trash that was in the river. This place is so slippery, no wonder Naruto slipped.

As if on que Naruto slipped and Sasuke had to save him.

I suppose the missions weren't that boring since we had Naruto to entertain us.

We moved on to the next mission: Dog walking. When we went to pick up some dogs to walk, they all growled at me. I growled back of course, but it sounded more animalistic than it should've been.

Naruto, of course, took the biggest dog, Sasuke and Sakura took dogs about the same size and I took a beautiful husky.

We walked them for a while but then Sakura and Sasuke wanted to relax under a tree.

I sat down next to them as I watched the dog drag Naruto into the danger zone. There was a series of "Booms" and "ow's".

When he finally came out I laughed, he looked like a piece of black coal. Thank goodness the dog was alright, though.

We took the dogs back to their owners and walked around a bit.

Naruto was extremely tired as we walked back, but he and Sasuke were still bickering about random stuff. "Alright guys, let's call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other day. Anyway I have to file my report on this mission." Suddenly Kakashi disappeared. I sighed.

"Whatever. I'm out of here." Sasuke started walking away.

"Wait Sasuke, I'll come with you!" Sakura called running after him.

Where does he live anyway? I mean they never showed me on the series, they only showed the Uchiha part of the village. Maybe he still lives there.

Sakura turned around looking really depressed. Wait did I miss the part where Sasuke said she was worse than Naruto? I guess I did.

Suddenly a square rock tried to sneak up on Naruto. He turned around and the rock stopped moving.

Naruto walked forward and then ran back. It went on for a while before he finally stopped, making the rock bump into him. It was quite amusing. "That's the worst disguise of all time and there's no such thing as square rocks!" oh I beg to differ Naruto. "It's completely obvious."

"You saw through my camouflage again! You're slick boss, just what I'd expect from my greatest rival." Suddenly there was a bright light and smoke erupted. "I think we use a little too much gun powder you guys." Konohamaru said, coughing.

They sprang up when they saw Naruto looking. "I'm Moegi, the sassiest konoichi in preschool."

"I love algebra, call me Udon." Who likes algebra, I mean really. "And I'm the Nr 1 ninja in the village Konohamaru. When we're all together, we're the Konohamaru ninja squad."

Naruto and the 3 started talking so I zoned out again. I wonder…

"A ninja playing ninja? That is so twisted." Sakura said, still looking really depressed.

"Oh, hey Sakura." Naruto said.

"Hey boss, who's that girl anyway? Oh I get it; you're a smooth operator boss. Come on, I know that she's your… girlfriend"

Naruto talked to Konohamaru and then Sakura punched him. Konohamaru said Sakura wasn't a nice girlfriend and called her ugly so she punched him too. She walked away as Konohamaru and Naruto stood up. "I don't even think she's human. Did you see how wide her forehead is?" Oh no, now you did it. Sakura turned around with a deadly look on her face. Even I was scared. Then she came running at us.

Wait a minute, I know what's going to happen next, I thought as we ran. I looked up just in time to see Konohamaru heading towards Kankuro. I quickly appeared in front of Konohamaru to stop him, but he bumped me making me bump into Kankuro.

"Do you need something?" Kankuro asked lifting me up. He didn't lift very far, since I was almost as tall as him.

"Put her down, Kankuro or you know you'll pay for it later." Temari said.

I smirked. "Yeah, Kankuro. Put me down or Gaara might kill you."

He looked shocked, but then he glared at me. "Why you little-"

"Oh come now, I'm not that little." I said taunting him some more. "But you better put me down before I do it myself."

He brought me closer to his face. "Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do?"

I smirked. "This." With that I appeared beside Naruto.

Kankuro and Temari gasped. Kankuro smirked then. "Nice move, kid. Teach it to me sometime, will you?" I shrugged but said nothing.

Suddenly a rock hit Kankuro's hand, drawing blood. What? It still happened? Oh well. I turned. "Oh, hey Sasuke. You know they weren't doing any harm, right?" I asked him raising my eyebrow.

He just shrugged. "You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league." Kankuro glared at him as he crushed the rock in his hand. "Get lost."

I looked toward the left when I felt another set of chakra. "Oh. Hey Gaara, glad you finally showed up."

Sasuke looked to his right – yes right, our lefts and rights aren't the same right now – in shock. Mostly everyone looked shock to see Gaara, except me of course.

Gaara looked toward Sasuke and then his eyes passed over me. "Kankuro, you're an embarrassment to our village." He said in his sexy husky voice. Kankuro stuttered a bit, but in the end he kept quiet. "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused."

I grinned. "No, he didn't cause any trouble at all Gaara." Gaara looked at me again but kept quiet.

Gaara turned into sand and made his way toward Kankuro and Temari, then he reformed and stood up. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games."

"Hold on!" Sakura said running forward. "I can tell from your headband that you come from the village Hidden in the Sand. Of course the land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So-"

I sighed. "Give it a rest, Sakura. They have permission. They're here for the Chunnin exams."

"The Chunnin exams? What's that? Well I've never heard of any Chunnin exams, believe it."

They went on talking so I just zoned out and stared at the sky, but then I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked to see it was Gaara who was staring at me. He must be thinking how I knew he was even there. I shrugged it off.

They started walking away, when Sasuke jumped out of the tree. "Hey, you! Identify yourself."

Temari turned around "Hmm? You mean me?"

Gosh, I swear she's just as bad as Sakura and Ino. "No, Temari he's talking about the red head."

Gaara turned around. "My name is Gaara – like she said – of the Desert, I'm curious about you and the girl too. Who are you?"

Sasuke smirked. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha."

I was silent for a second. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I smirked cockily. Kankuro and Temari looked horrified by my answer. They probably think he'll kill me now.

Sasuke and Gaara had a stare-off while I just stood there enjoying the breeze. And then Naruto broke the silence. "Hi there! I bet you're dying to know who I am!"

Gaara didn't even glance at him. "I couldn't care less." With that he and his team left. OK, so the Chunnin Exams were closer than I thought.

Chap 14: The Chunnin Exams begin!

My team were waiting on the bridge when I strolled up to them casually. "Why are you so late, Aya-chan!?" Naruto yelled.

I just shrugged. "Because I knew Kakashi was going to be late." Naruto sighed in defeat.

We waited another half hour before Sakura finally burst. "Why, why, why!? It's always the same! He sets the time then we have to wait HOURS for him!"

Naruto put his fist in the air. "It's not fair." He agreed.

Blah, blah, blah, complain, complain and complain. They need to realise he will never be on time.

I looked to my left at the same time Sasuke did, to see Kakashi appearing on the pillar. "Hey, good morning everyone. Sorry I'm late, a-"

I waved my hand at him. "Yeah, yeah, you got lost on the path of life. Get on with it."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. He jumped down. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunnin Exams. All 4 of you."

I grinned. "Finally. I've been waiting for these Exams."

He held out 4 forms. "These are the application forms."

"Application forms?" Sakura asked with a bewildered expression.

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntary; it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready you can wait till next year. Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application forms…" He told us when to come to the Academy and which room it would be in. It was five days from now, so I would need to begin training straight away. "Only teams of 3 are allowed, but the Hokage made an exception with you 4." We nodded.

We all walked along the path as Naruto and Sasuke thought about who they would fight. "Oh, uh Uchiha… Are you done with those weights? I want to return them sometime soon." He nodded and gave them back to me. Huh, well that's convenient. You know, carrying weights in your weapon holster. "Thanks, now if you guys will excuse me for a while I would like to go train." They all nodded and walked on as I disappeared to my flat. Guess I'll have to go to Gai-sensei then. I grabbed my weapons and some food and put them in my backpack. With that I was off, rushing to Gai-sensei. I didn't use my vanishing trick, because I wanted to see how fast I was now.

Apparently not fast enough, because it took me more than 5 minutes to get there and it was on the other side of the village, even Naruto could beat that. Ok, maybe not Naruto, but Sakura can… I stood in front of Gai sensei, panting. I gave him a bright smile. "Hello Gai-sensei, here's your weights back." I gave him his weights. "May I lend heavier weights today?" I sound so formal.

He nodded and gave me his signature pose. Thumb up; hand on hip and smiling while showing his teeth. "How heavy weights do you want for your youthful spirit?" I mentally sweat dropped.

"Uhm, maybe three 10 kg's and three 15 kg weights?" I mean that would be the best choice, right?

He nodded, grinned and gave them to me while putting the others in his backpack. Oh My Gosh, how many weights are in there, anyway? I thanked him and quickly walked away, trying to get away from him as fast as possible.

I finally came to the perfect spot for me to train. I put my things down and began training with the 10 kg weights on my legs and waist. And let me tell you, I wasn't just running I was trying to train with them while fighting too, I mean it would be useless if I can't fight with them on.

I trained for 5 days straight, sleeping in trees and eating the food I packed for myself. It was actually kind of fun; because I found out I could do very unique Jutsu's. I practised day in and day out. Every time I went to sleep my body was so tired I could barely move. During those 5 days I trained, Iruka-sensei paid me a visit in his unknown ninja costume.

~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~

I threw the shuriken toward a tree and they landed exactly where I wanted them to, when I felt another presence moving closer to me. I closed my eyes and listened carefully. I took out my kunai and threw it behind me. I have been training with closed eyes for a while now and it was really helping.

I heard a swoosh as the ninja dodged, but I heard the fabric being torn which meant he didn't see it coming. My back was still turned toward the enemy, so I guess he was really shocked when I almost caught him. "What do you want, Iruka-sensei? Can't you see I'm training?" I was slightly annoyed, I mean I still had 3 days to train, but I wanted to be stronger, so much stronger.

"Who is this Iruka you are talking about?" He said in that sly voice.

"Ugh, nevermind. Warn me to drop out of the Chunnin exams so that I can train already."

"What? You knew I was going to tell you to stay out of it?" He sounded slightly shocked. I just nodded my head and turned around. He was wasting my time right now. "Alright, then let me show you a little of what will happen if you participate in the Chunnin Exams." I just shrugged and waited for him to start.

Suddenly he was behind me getting ready for a punch, but I grabbed his hand before turning around. "Is that all you got? I mean if you think I'm scared of that, you're really foolish sensei." I smirked. "Or maybe you're just getting rusty from teaching at the Academy."

That angered him somewhat. Good, he fell for it. Suddenly the fight became serious. He even used Genjutsu on me, but it didn't work because he had no idea what I was scared of. The way he used his Genjutsu wasn't surprising since he made it look like me and my team mates were fighting and then they get killed. I kept an emotionless face, but inwardly I was kind of afraid of that even though I knew it wouldn't happen. I didn't even falter when I saw it; I think he thought I didn't care about my teammates when he saw that. His attempt at Ninjutsu was also a fail, since he has water styled Chakra and that helped earth – one of my chakra styles. I suppose he was shocked when he saw me doing two kinds of styles. I did my wind and earth style, but ever since I saw I could do Earth, Water and Wind styled Jutsu's I also found out that I could do Lightning Jutsu's. It was really awesome though, because I like lightning Jutsu's. It's so much more effective that the others. Good thing I didn't show Iruka-sensei that I could do lightning style too, otherwise he would have had to report it to the Hokage and I don't wish for him to do that.

We fought for a while until he became tired and I didn't even break a sweat yet. I guess those weights really do help with stamina too. I pouted. "Aw, sensei that wasn't even a good workout."

He chuckled at my comment and let his Transformation Jutsu go. "You did really good Ayame. How did you know it was me?"

I just shrugged. "I sensed your chakra." He smiled, put his disguise on again and left. Now he was going to tell Kakashi that we were ready.

Darn, what a waste of time. At least I sparred a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK OVER~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally the last day of training came into view. I wasn't going to train too hard today because I needed to save some strength for tomorrow, but I needed to be able to complete my Jutsu without any flaws.

I practised and practised until the sun went down and finally I was done. I grabbed my backpack and disappeared to my apartment. Tonight I will sleep blissfully in a soft and warm bed.

********Neji's POV*********

"Did you hear?" Lee started. "We are going to have Rookies at the Exams – first year Gennin. That has not happened in five years."

"No way… I bet it's just some Jounin trying to boost their egos" Tenten said flipping the Kunai in her hand.

"No there is more to the story than that. 4 of them are from Kakashi's squad."

"Huh, interesting…" I said thinking it over.

"But not very..." Tenten sighed and threw the kunai toward me. It hit the dummy above my head and I was calm all the while.

"Although, that girl who borrows weights from Gai-sensei is in Kakashi's squad too. She interests me. Either way, it's too bad for them." I got a smug look on my face. There's no way they'll get to the 3de exam, I mean they are just rookies after all.

Tenten chuckled.

*********Ayame's POV**********

Me and the two boys were waiting for Sakura. She was actually late for once. When she finally came, Naruto stated the same thing.

I walked over to her. "Don't worry so much Sakura, you'll be fine. I promise." I gave her a closed eye smile and walked into the building.

We finally arrived at room '301' I rolled my eyes. Yeah right, if that's room 301, then I'm a flying pig. I snorted at the thought.

I shoved my way through toward Kotetsu and Izoumo, just in time to see Lee get punched. "Please let us through we're supposed to go in there." Tenten stood up and walked forward, but before she could get punched I flashed in front of her and caught one of the boys' hands. I'm not sure which one, because my eyes were closed as I smiled at them. "Hey Izoumo, Kotetsu. Thanks for taking me to the hospital that day." They looked shocked to see me. "Oh and you can lift the Genjutsu now."

Kotetsu smirked. "So you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" I shrugged. They smirked at me and then released the Genjutsu. Kotetsu opened one eye. "Well aren't we the smart one?"

I chuckled. "Sure, you can say that." I want to see them as grown-ups, they're much cuter that way, anyway.

"So you noticed the illusion, now let's see you deal with this!" Izoumo went to kick Sasuke – who was behind me -, but he lifted his leg to block the kick. Then I looked toward Lee and he moved fast to get to them. He grabbed their legs and let go after a while. Neji and Tenten walked over to him. "Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level."

"I know, but…" Lee looked toward Sakura and had a look of determination on his face.

Tenten shook her head and sighed. "Nevermind, it's over. Forget it."

Lee walked over to Sakura. I watched amused as Sakura turned him down when he asked her out. This part is always so funny.

"Hey, you. Over here. What's your name?" Neji asked Sasuke. I looked toward Naruto who was glaring at Sasuke with fire in his eyes. "It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking for someone else's"

"Hypocrite." I said, not even bothering to lower my voice.

He glared at me. "What was that?"

"You heard me. You asked Gaara for his name without telling him yours first. You're a hypocrite."

Neji looked at us both. "Hey, you're rookies aren't you? How old are you anyway?"

"I'm not obliged to answer."

Neji glared at him. I guess Sasuke's irritating him now. "What's that?" Tenten giggled.

Sasuke turned around and walked toward Sakura. I turned toward Neji. "Don't mind him. He's always like that. That's Sasuke Uchiha and he's 13 and I'm Ayame Korokawa, 14." He nodded and turned around.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Ayame let's go." I nodded and we walked to room 301.

We walked up the stairs toward the room. We walked into a room with wooden floors and pillars. Hey, aren't Sasuke and Lee going to fight here? Huh, I get to see some action. I smirked. I saw Sasuke glancing my way. "What are you smirking about?"

I shook my head. "Just something that's going to happen in 3… 2… 1… Now." I turned around just when Lee called. "Hey, you, with the attitude. Hold on."

They all stopped and turned around to see Rock Lee standing on the upper floor. "Huh?"

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"I want to fight. Right here and right now, with both you and the girl." Wait, what? He wants to fight me too? Well I guess we can do that.

"You want to fight me here and now, huh?" I rolled my eyes. It's just like him to ignore me.

"Yes! You and the girl." He jumped off and landed with a crouch before he stood up. "My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right?" He pointed a finger at a glaring Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hmm, so you know me." Yet he still doesn't know my name.

Lee pointed at me. "But you, who are you?"

I shrugged. "Ayame Korokawa."

Lee stood in fighting stance. "I will fight you both. I challenge you."

I shrugged again. "Sounds good to me." I really didn't care about this fight.

Lee started talking to Sakura and she squealed in disgust and started freaking out about his looks. He started blowing hearts at her and she tried desperately to avoid them and ended up hitting her head on the floor. She started yelling at him about it and his shoulders slumped.

I looked at Naruto's angry face and sighed. I'll let him get knocked out this once, but only once.

"You want to know more about my clan? Then I'll teach you, the hard way."

Lee smirked and stood ready. "Bring it on."

"Hold it!" Everyone looked at Naruto astonished, except me of course. "I get him first. This weirdo is mine." He said with an irk mark visible. Sasuke gave him the go ahead.

I ignored their mini fight and stood there with a bored expression on my face. Naruto was knocked out quickly and before Lee could say anything I butted in. "Looks like it's time for our fight, hey Lee?" I said in a bored tone. He looked irritated. Whether it was because of my bored tone or because I cut him off, I don't know.

I let Sasuke fight him for a while so that he could see he would lose and then I appeared behind Lee and tapped on his shoulder. "I'm still here, Lee." I gave him a closed eye smile. He tried to kick me while I wasn't looking but I dodged him.

He tried again, but this time I let him. Unlike in the fight with Kakashi, I felt the pain as I skidded back, still standing. It didn't bruise me, but it did hurt. Sasuke already had his Sharingan out. Stupid Uchiha, he won't be able to copy Lee's moves, but he doesn't know that.

Sasuke rushed at Lee thinking he'll see through Lee's attacks. Lee kicked Sasuke, sending him flying upward. I appeared behind Lee and kicked him. I was getting irritated with him. "You keep forgetting about me, Lee. You shouldn't do that, it'll be your biggest mistake." I looked toward Sasuke. "Uchiha you're so stupid. He doesn't use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu. He only uses Taijutsu and you can't copy it. Not fully, anyway." I heard Lee preparing for a punch, but like Kotetsu I grabbed his hand. He was definitely shocked that I could catch his hand, but he quickly retaliated by trying to kick me. I jumped up and dodged. "Lee you're making this too easy and I'm not even using Ninjutsu yet."

Sasuke ran to Lee again, but got hit in the stomach when I released Lee's hand.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke winced from getting the air knocked out of him.

I let them fight for a while. "She is correct. My technique is Taijutsu; that means no tricks Sasuke." Lee used his speed to get behind Sasuke. "It is just straight Martial arts. Nothing more."

Sasuke looked angry. "Why you…!" He turned around to hit Lee, but Lee jumped out of the way.

I zoned out as they talked and fought. Suddenly that turtle appeared and once again I zoned out.

Then Gai-sensei was in front me. "Hello young… uhm, I don't know your name… young spirit of youth."

"Oh, hi Gai-sensei," I scratched the back of my neck. "It's Ayame Korokawa."

"Ayame… What a youthful name!" I sweat dropped. It's just a normal name and not even my real name.

I stayed silent as Gai-sensei apologized for Lee.

"Hey Sasuke, actually I have not been completely honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skills and that is true enough, but you are not really the one I wanted to test them against. I lied to you when we were fighting before. I told you I am the best gennin here, but there is another top Ninja, someone on my own team." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I came here to defeat him, you were just practise. Now you are a target. I will crush you! There you have it, consider yourself warned." He ran and jumped onto the upper landing before turning to me. "And you girl, are strong to be able to fight me without having a scratch on you. Good luck in the Chunnin exams."

Finally we could go to the first stage of the Chunnin Exams.

Chap 15: The first Exam.

We were all standing in a room full of Gennin. Hmm… they all look older than us. Did they fail the Exams a few times or did they just wait to be stronger? Well doesn't matter.

"Oh, it's you guys. I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't know it was going to be this lame." Shikamaru said.

"So, all three stooges are here." Naruto said.

"Hey you know what, pipsqueak? Ah forget it; it's just a waste of time." Ooh… Looks like Shikamaru's a bit nervous. I mean he wouldn't even be riled up by Naruto if he wasn't stressed.

I walked over to him and hung my arm around his shoulders. "What's up Shikamaru?" I smiled at him and he sweat dropped. I silently chuckled and let go of him again before he had the chance to even answer. I walked toward my team and stood with my hands on my hips.

"Well, well what do you know? It looks like the whole gang's back together again." Kiba and his team walked toward us

"You guys too, huh? Man, everyone's here for this stupid thing."

"Yup, here we are. The 9 rookies." Kiba started laughing. "This is gonna be fun. At least for those good enough to make the cut, right Sasuke?" He said, smirking.

I looked at him. "Kiba I think you meant 10. I'm here too you know and I don't appreciate being ignored." I glowered at him and he visibly gulped.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, Kiba don't count her out. For a troublesome woman she's definitely dangerous."

I smiled. "Thanks Shikamaru." All the rookies sweat dropped and shuffled away from me. What? What did I do? Oh, right. I basically admitted to being dangerous and appreciated it when Shikamaru called me dangerous. I smirked.

"Hey you guys." I looked to my left and glared. I even almost stopped Kabuto in his tracks with it, unfortunately I wasn't that lucky. "You might try keeping it down a little. I mean, no offence, but you're the nine –" I gave him a vicious glare. "I-I mean ten rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy? I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it. This isn't a class fieldtrip." And he would know, wouldn't he? Oh and is it just me or is it that every time someone says 'no offence' they go on and offend? I mean, hello? If you're going to say no offence, don't offend people.

"Well who asked you? Who are you?"

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really look around you." All the rookies did except me, because I already knew everyone was glaring at us. While the rookies looked at the other people, Kabuto analysed me but I just ignored him as I looked at the roof. "You've made quite an impression. See those guys? They're from the Rain village, very touchy, they all are. This makes everyone tense."

I butted in and smiled a fake smile. "Really? I don't feel tense at all."

Kabuto glared at me while the others weren't looking. "As I was saying, you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now. You can't help it; I mean how could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."

I ignored what they were talking about while thinking about Orochimaru. Was he using that ninja's face already? Or is he going to use it just before the 2de Exam?

Kabuto took his ninja info cards out and explained how they work. He's such a nerd.

Sasuke stepped forward. "Do those cards of yours have any info of the other Candidates individually?"

"They might. You have someone special in mind?"

"I might."

"Well I can't promise my information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys, of course. So which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them. A description, where they're from, whatever. Anything at all." Kabuto said.

"He's Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee of the Leaf village and there's Ayame Korokawa while you're at it." Sasuke said with a serious expression.

"You could've just asked me, I could've told you more than those cards will." I said under my breath.

"Man, that's no fun, you even know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto said in a whiny voice. He took out three cards. "Here they are. First up is Rock Lee." He put some Chakra in it and a picture of Lee and his info appeared. He talked about Lee, but I didn't really pay attention because I felt eyes on me and I knew exactly whose eyes they were. Gaara was staring at me again. I wonder why…

"Ok, now for Gaara of the Desert." He twirled the card around and put some chakra in it. "Mission experience is 8 C ranks and… get this, 1 B rank as a gennin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally, but there is this. He survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

I shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me."

Shikamaru looked at me, freaked. "The dude's done a B rank as a gennin without being scratched and you're not surprised?"

I shrugged again. "I could've told you a lot more than those cards can, but I'm not going to."

They all looked at me shocked, even Kabuto, but then he continued. "Ok, so lastly is Ayame Korokawa."

"You're not going to find a lot on me."

He didn't even glance at me as he continued. "Age is 14, Mission experience is 30 D ranks, 10 C ranks and… Impressive. 21 B ranks. Skills… There's not a lot on you either, except you're good at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. It doesn't state how good, though. That's about it."

"I told you, didn't I?"

"What!? Ayame you've been on 21 B rank missions!?" All the rookies exclaimed.

I shrugged. "Yeah. Every time I wasn't on a mission with you guys I was on a mission with some Chunnin." They stared at me wide eyed. "And, you know, because only teams of three are actually allowed I had to be put on different teams when their other teammates either got hurt or died. I wasn't going to be on your team in the first place, but I had to be put on a team and Kakashi's the only one who can handle 4 gennin."
Then Kabuto started talking about the villages and said that the Sound village is small.

Yes, my favourite part. Naruto started yelling at the other Gennin about how they're going to lose to him and all that. Every one of the rookies were either angry at him or amused. "Can you say that a little louder? I didn't quite catch that." Kiba said. Shikamaru told him to keep his trap shut.

I grinned and turned to Kabuto "Hold still now Kabuto, I want you to get hit by this." The other rookies gave me a confused look which I ignored.

Suddenly the Sound ninja rushed forward and Dosu aimed to punch Kabuto, but he dodged it and narrowly avoided it. Kabuto smirked, but then his smirk turned into shock when his glasses broke.

"Oh, I see." He said while taking his glasses off.

I shook my head. "No you don't, you're not wearing you glasses." I said just to piss him off as I smirked. "Wait for it… Now." I said snapping my fingers and when I did he fell to his knees and puked. "I told you, you didn't see it and now you're paying for calling their village small." I said and shook my head in fake disappointment. Then I grinned. Everyone was shocked, so I explained. "Don't you guys get it? They're from the village hidden in the Sound." I said emphasising the word 'sound' "They use sound to attack."

The sound ninjas nodded. "You got that right, girl."

"Alright, you baby-faced degenerates, pipe down and listen up!" and that queues Ibiki's entrance. "It's time to begin. I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor and from this moment your worst enemy." He said smirking. "First, you candidates from the village hidden in the sound, knock it off. Who told you, you could fight? You wanna fail before we've even begun?" Ibiki's even cooler in person.

"Sorry, it's our first time." Dosu said, but you could hear he wasn't really sorry. "Guess we're a little jumpy, sir."

"I'll say this once, so listen up." And then I zoned out. I mean I've heard this twice already, I don't need to hear it a third time. We all stood in line to get our numbers so we could go sit. I got my number and grinned at Ibiki. He looked taken aback by it though. I went to sit next to a random ninja. I think he might've been one of the Chunnin. I wonder if they put me here for a reason. I shrugged the thought off. Who cares?

"Begin!" I turned my paper around and looked at the questions.

Oh My Gosh, I'm so not getting any of these answers without cheating. Then I realised I had no Jutsu to help me cheat. I sighed. Wait, I do have a Jutsu to cheat without anyone noticing. I guess I'll have to do it. I did my hand signs under the table and then my Secret Jutsu was used. My eyes turned into shadows. I looked at the Sentinel beside me's paper without moving my head. I could read shadowed numbers of paper. I know, it's really weird. I wrote down the answers as quick as I could and then relaxed. I think Sasuke and Sakura saw I was finished, because I heard their relieve sighs. I smirked; it's good to have accurate hearing.

I heard a lot of people getting failed. Those losers are so stupid. I bet they didn't even know they were supposed to cheat. Kankuro went to the bathroom. I smirked, such a cheater. Well, I'm a hypocrite. I mean I cheated too and so did the others. I sat up and smirked at Ibiki. I think he got what I meant with the smirk, because he smirked right back. I chuckled softly. I just basically told him I wasn't scared of a little test, as well as I'm done. I think I was done before all the other candidates, because he also looked shocked when I smirked at him.

"Alright, listen up. Here's the tenth and final question." I didn't really listen, because there was no way I would quit this Exam. I smirked when I saw Naruto lifting his hand up and then he slammed it down and just about told everyone who was still here that if you don't go through with a mission, you're a coward. That's my Naruto.

"This decision is one that could change your life. If for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance."

"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the ninja."

Ibiki looked at the sentinels and the sentinels all nodded. "Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else. For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do and that's for me to tell you… That you've all passed the first exam." He smiled proudly.

Everyone was shell shocked and there were a few outbursts of questions. Personally I think they should just be happy that they passed. Ibiki explained to them what the first Exam was all about.

"The first 9 questions on the test were difficult, in fact as you may have realised too difficult for any Gennin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion that you'd have to cheat if you had any chance of passing" His eyes landed on me for a second. "The fact is, the test was designed to encourage cheating, it almost demanded it. Of course, it would've done you little good unless you had someone to cheat from. So I disguised two Chunnin that already knew the answers and had them sit in with you." The guy next to me waved his hand. Yeah, I knew he was a sentinel. "Those who were caught at it, failed. Better not to cheat than to cheat clumsily." He started taking off his head band, so I looked away. I hated seeing all the scars. He continued talking for a while. "As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate, I hear by this part of the Chunnin selection Exam completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck." He was barely finished when Naruto yelled out in happiness.

Suddenly the glass shattered as Anko made her grand entrance. "Heads up, boys and girls. This is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitorashi. You ready for the second test? Good, then let's go! Follow me!" Everyone just sat there looking at her in shock. I sighed.

Ibiki walked out from behind the cloth she had hung on the roof. "You're early, again."

I ignored them as Anko pestered Ibiki about all the candidates that passed.

"Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you should meet me. Dismissed." Well she's even creepier in real life when she says that.

Chap 16: Meeting Orochimaru face-to-face.

We were walking in the forest of death. We had already gotten our scrolls and signed the paper that said that Anko couldn't be sued if we died; I guess everyone signed their names, but I wrote 'Sorry Anko, but I won't die THAT easily ^_^. Ayame Korokawa.' I wonder what she'll do when she sees that. I chuckled at the thought. It would be a funny sight to see indeed. This forest was actually creepier in real life. If I had to live in a creepy place like this I would… totally love it. I know, I'm weird.

I didn't stop Orochimaru from picking up the kunai Anko threw at Naruto, but I did get Naruto out of Anko's hands before he did. I guess they were quite shocked when they saw me get Naruto out of her arms without any trouble.

We had ended up at Gate 12 and soon Anko said "The test has begun." And that's we ran in. that's how we got here.

I suppose Shino's friend leeches had already gotten their pray, because I heard the screams of the team that got caught. "That sounded like someone screaming." I rolled my eyes at Sakura. I mean she's stating the obvious. "I do not like this place."

"Oh, come on. It's nothing to be scared of; it is gonna be a piece of cake. Uh, excuse me a second." He ran to a bush. "I really got to… you know."

"Yeah right! Get out of here, not in front of me you don't! Find a bush or something!" Sakura said hitting him on the head.

I waited a few second before I got a kunai out and held it ready. "Ah man, that was a lot. I-" I threw the kunai at him and went to hit him in the face, but Sasuke beat me to it. "Sakura, that's not Naruto. First of all, where's the cut on his cheek? And the Naruto we know carries his shuriken holster on his right leg, not his left." I said while Sasuke fought the ninja. I jumped in and kicked the rain ninja in the face and cut his arm. Then Sasuke used his Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but the guy dodged, so Sasuke resulted in cutting the ninja's chest. "Don't just stand there, Sakura. Chances are this guy's not alone, the others could strike any minute." He yelled at her.

The ninja pushed Sasuke away. "I wish. I came alone so it wouldn't sprout suspicion. Big mistake." With that he ran away. Coward.

We sat in a circle as Sasuke told us we need a secret password. "OK, listen closely, because I only want to say this once. The question will be: When does a ninja strike? And the response is: A ninja waits until 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." Naruto complained about the length of the password, but complied anyway. "Alright then, I'll take the scroll."

I shook my head. "No you won't. I will take the scroll and don't even think about arguing Uchiha." He nodded curtly and threw it at me. I caught it easily and put it in my left legwarmer with the weights I still had in there.

Suddenly wind blew toward us, that big wind that Orochimaru created. I would have to stay with Sasuke if I wanted to kill Orochimaru. I tried to brace myself, but it was futile. I flew backwards along with Sasuke and Sakura and kept myself at Sasuke's side so he'd know it was me.

Sasuke hid under a bush and I hid next to him. "Damn it. I hope Naruto's not hurt." I whispered to him.

He turned to me and asked for the password. I rolled my eyes. "I was beside you the whole time Uchiha, but I'll tell you anyway. A ninja waits until the time is right. When his 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." He nodded his head again

I felt Sakura's chakra so I calmly got out from under the bush. "Relax Sasuke, it is Sakura. There's no one else's chakra that feels like hers." He nodded and relaxed a little.

"Hey! What's up? You guys ok?" I rolled my eyes. Naruto would never say 'what's up' in a situation like this.

"Don't come any closer, what's the password?" Sakura asked.

'Naruto' said it perfectly and I narrowed my eyes. "You lying snake, Naruto wouldn't be able to remember a password like that. You fell into Sasuke's trap." I threw my Kunai at a shocked Orochimaru.

"Alright, come on out whoever you are! Party's over." Sasuke called to him.

Orochimaru gave his sly smile and licked his lips with his disgusting tongue. "Aren't we the clever one?" and with a 'poof' he transformed back into the grass ninja. "Tell me, if your team mate is really that dim-witted, why would you come up with a password he'd never remember?"

I glared at him and stuck my finger in the air. "1ste, don't call Naruto dim-witted." I intensified my glare and held up another finger. "2de, Naruto is easier to transform into and an easier target." I held up another finger. "And last, that password was a trap for those who were eavesdropping on us."

Sasuke nodded, agreeing with me. "And you stumbled right into it." He said.

"I'm impressed. You certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you? This promises to be very entertaining." He brought out his earth scroll and as stupid as Sakura was, she gasped. "Ah, you'd love to get your hands on our earth scroll, wouldn't you? It would go so nicely with your heaven scroll." Then Orochimaru, like the disgusting freak he was, ate it. "Well, when this is all over one of us will have both scrolls and the other will be dead." Orochimaru opened his eye and paralysed my two teammates. I went along with it, falling on my knees and staring at the ground while shaking. Predators can't strike fear into other predators, so that's why it didn't work on me.

I heard Sasuke puke on the ground beside me. Eew, that's so disgusting. I kept the fear on my face as I stared at the ground. I heard Sasuke fall on the ground. "S-sakura?" He asked her, but she didn't respond. Then he turned to me. "A-ayame?"

I kept the fear in my eyes and face. "Shut it Uchiha, I'll get us out of this, but shut it." I whispered without moving my mouth. He was shocked, that much I knew.

He tried moving and was a little successful, but then he looked into Orochimaru's eyes again. "Now what happens?" He moved forward. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick. But I don't have to tell you that, do I?" he said as he took out three Kunai. "You've seen it with your own eyes." Finally he stood still and got ready to throw the Kunai. I was going to let Sasuke get away by himself; I wasn't going to help him. He had to do this by himself. "I expected you to be more of a challenge." And then he threw the kunai knives. Sasuke pierced his own flesh with his kunai and got Sakura out of the way, but I sat still and waited for the right moment. When the moment came I grabbed the kunai before it touched me and stood up. "Sorry Orochimaru, I don't think you'll be killing any of my teammates today." I said before going after Sasuke. Damn it.

Sasuke sat in the tree and pulled the kunai out of his leg. "That wound's deep, Will you be alright?"

Sasuke covered her mouth and looked toward where Orochimaru was. I grabbed them both and got out of the way. "You got careless and didn't watch your surroundings, Sasuke. You would've been dead if it hadn't been for me." I said as the snake bit down on the branch. It slithered around the tree and finally came to a stop on a branch. Its skin started cracking and out came Orochimaru. "I sense your fear and desperation. It's only natural. The pray must never let down its guard, not even for a moment in the presence of its predator." He jumped forward, moving like a snake, stretching his body around the tree and made his way toward Sasuke.

Naruto finally arrived and threw shuriken and kunai at the place Orochimaru would've been. "Looks like I came just in time!" Naruto called giving his signature determined smile. "Oh and by the way, what was that password again?"

I smiled at him. "Glad you finally came, Naruto."

Orochimaru glared at Naruto. Hmm... He seems a little ticked off. I smirked. "Naruto, get out of here!" I glared at Sasuke. "What are you thinking!? You don't know what you're up against! Hurry. Go now, while you still can."
"So Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend? Well done."

"Ok, Ok, I don't know what's going on here, but you've been picking on my friends and I don't like that. So you just better slither on back to your hole, Snake lady, before I make a pair of shoes out of ya."

"You can have it." Sasuke took the scroll out of his weapon holster. Wait, what? Didn't I have the scroll? I looked in my legwarmer to see a frikken mini stump. I growled. He gave me a fake! "The scroll, right? That's what you want." You are so very wrong, you stupid Uchiha. "Alright then, take it and leave us in piece."

Orochimaru went on about the offer of the pray and then Sasuke threw the scroll to him. Luckily Naruto caught it. He started talking to Sasuke and telling him that he's a coward.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Sad, but true." He said standing up. "It doesn't matter. As far as the scroll goes I could simply kill you and take it." He said and then summoned a snake. The snake slammed Naruto – who had rushed toward Orochimaru – down and Naruto landed on a branch. "What a tasty little meal you'll make for him. Careful, he likes to play with his food." He said with humour in his eyes as if he was telling a joke. The snake's tail slammed down on the branch Naruto sat on, sending him flying upwards. He coughed up blood and fell down. On the way down, Naruto turned right side up again and punched the snake continuously. His eyes were red again. You could tell he was really ticked off by the way he was yelling. Suddenly a ball of flame was sent towards him. "Now then, let's see how well you do, Sasuke." He and the snake rushed towards him, but before they could crush him, Naruto stopped them. He stopped that giant snake, standing there panting from the effort. He looked up. "Hey kid, you're not hurt are you? You scaredy cat." Sasuke just stood there staring into Naruto's red eyes. "Standing there, frozen like a frightened rabbit, no way! You're not the Sasuke I know." Naruto said in a harsh tone.

Suddenly Orochimaru's tongue wrapped around Naruto's body, lifting him up. I narrowed my eyes when I saw Orochimaru's glowing fingers. "I don't think so." I whispered as Orochimaru said. "Five proned seal." I appeared in front of Naruto, getting hit in my right shoulder. I cried out in pain. Damn it! That hurt! We were hurtled back into the air, but I turned right side up and grabbed Naruto who had passed out when my head had bumped on his – and might I add that it was very hard. Or that's what I think happened. I think I might've been bleeding. I gently laid Naruto down and held my burning arm. Damn it, it feels as if I don't have Chakra in my left arm. I guess that's what that seal does. Damn it. He still burned the scroll.

"Hmm… you knew I was going to put that seal on the boy, so you protected him by letting you get hit. Am I right?" I said nothing and glared my most ferocious glare at him. He almost shrunk back. Almost. "That's quite a glare you've got there." Damn him. Damn that snake to the deepest pits of hell.

I heard Sakura call out Sasuke's name and tell him that he was a coward unlike Naruto, but I didn't listen because I was focused solely on Orochimaru who had moved his eyes toward Sasuke again.

"No!" Sasuke yelled. I guess he had his sharingan on him now. Orochimaru released his summoning Jutsu. Sasuke took out a kunai and put it in his mouth. Well, that's actually really weird, but oh well. He ran toward Orochimaru. Idiot. He threw all his kunai at Orochimaru who dodged them easily. They fought for a while and Sasuke used his Fireball Jutsu's. Orochimaru played with him for a while until Sasuke took Rock Lee's move and fell down with Orochimaru's mud clone. Sasuke made sure his head hit the ground hard, too bad it was futile. The clone turned to mud again.

Sasuke jumped down when he realised it was a substitution and it ended up getting him hit in the face, the stomach and his face again. He laid there for a while as Orochimaru moved closer. "What a disappointment you turned out to be. Your ancestors weep; the Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Silly little worm." I guess he hasn't figured it out yet. Suddenly a boom was heard and Orochimaru fell down. I smirked. Serves him right. Sasuke was up and fighting again with even more energy this time. I guess Orochimaru ticked him off. Orochimaru was pulled to the tree and pinned with the wires. I guess those things do come in handy sometimes.

The Sasuke made hand signs. Wait, was he going to do a fire-style? Because I distinctly remember seeing the tiger seal. Suddenly a flame erupted out of Sasuke's mouth and continued down the string, straight toward Orochimaru. He screamed a bone chilling scream of pain. I cringed. Ow, that hurt my ears. What? You didn't think I was going to pity the guy, did you?

The tree was burnt to a crisp, but Orochimaru wasn't. The only thing wrong with him was that the skin he had worn was peeling off and revealing his true face, or a part of it. It was quite disgusting though. I stood up from my crouching form. Damn, now I can't do any of my Jutsu's. Luckily that disappearing trick of mine doesn't take Chakra and neither does Taijutsu. "Sasuke, you did it! Are you ok? Don't worry, it's all over." Not quite yet, Sakura.

The sound of the wires breaking startled the two. Once again the two froze out of fear. I sighed, Orochimaru that is getting old. "Such mastery of the Sharingan and so young in age." His voice turned to his own while he was speaking. "You're a true Uchiha after all. Yes, you'll do nicely. You are definitely his brother. If anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's."

"Who are you, what do you want!?" Sasuke yelled at him.

"My name is Orochimaru, but as to what I want… That'll have to wait until we meet again, which won't happen after you finish the test with the best scores of all. First, you'll have to defeat the hidden sound ninja who serve me." Suddenly Orochimaru did a hand sign and his neck stretched. My eyes widened. Shit!

I appeared in front of Sasuke right as Orochimaru was going to bite him, so instead he bit me. At first I was frozen in place and thinking about how reckless that was and then I tried screaming in pain, but it sounded like I was chocking. Orochimaru's teeth left my shoulder as he went back to his body. Then a snake came coiling itself around me and it bit Sasuke. I fell to my knees in pain. No! Damn it! I looked at Orochimaru in shock. "As soon as I saw you weren't affected by my eyes I knew you'd interfere, so I had a back-up plan." I felt tears of hopelessness run down my cheeks. No, how could I have been so foolish? Now I have the curse mark as well and I might not even make it. "I just gave them a little parting gift." He said looking at Sakura. "Very soon Sasuke and the girl will seek me out and desire my power."

"Like hell I will!" I shouted at him through my pain, but he ignored me.

"In the mean time I enjoyed the demonstration of the powers you already possess." He chuckled sinisterly and descended into the tree.

Me and Sasuke screamed in pain at the same time and then he passed out. I panted, trying to keep myself from blacking out so that I could help Sakura take the boys and myself to a safer place. Sakura yelled for Naruto to come and help her. "Sakura… Naruto's passed out… I'll help you for as long as… I can." I bit out between the burning pains.

She looked at me shocked. "Ayame, you… you're still conscience?"

I nodded and stood up shakily. It hurt so damn badly I just wanted to curl in a ball and die, but I refused to do so or even black out. "You carry Sasuke, I'll carry Naruto. We need to get to a safe place." She nodded and picked Sasuke up as I went and got Naruto. I screamed in pain and fell to my knees with Naruto on my shoulder. "Damn it! I will not black out now!" I said and stood up again. "Sakura, we need to hurry. I'm going to pass out soon and I don't want to drop Naruto while at it." She nodded again and off we were searching for a safe place with me occasionally screaming, crying out or groaning in pain.

Finally we got to the hollowed out tree. We put the boys down gently and Sakura stayed with them, but she turned to me. "Ayame, sleep. You're tired." I shook my head, but it ended up making me woozy and I fell on my butt. Suddenly I felt a more fierce pain than I have yet felt so far. My eyes widened and I let out an ear splitting shriek in absolute pain. I'm sure it sounded more like some big, vicious animal dying, but I wasn't sure as my hearing was as bad as my sight right now and then I passed out.

Chap 17: The curse

I heard Sakura gasp. I suppose she woke up from a nightmare. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head. I sat up and rubbed my head. Damn, what happened? I feel like I have a massive hangover. The memories came rushing back to me, making me gasp. I looked at my shoulder in disgust when I saw the curse mark. Sakura's head whipped toward me. "Ayame, you're awake!" She came over and hugged me.

I groaned. "Sakura, that hurts. Again." She quickly got off of me and apologised. "It's all right. You can rest up now. You look terrible." I gave her a soft smile for comfort. "He'll be alright, Sakura. When am I ever wrong about stuff like this?" She shook her head. "Now go to sleep, would you?" She nodded her head and lied to sleep.

I tried doing that 5 proned seal thing with my left hand, since my right was basically useless. My fingers glowed purple and I grinned. Success! How the heck I did it is a mystery, but who cares? I can make my arm work again. "5 Proned seal release!" I whispered and brought my hand down on my arm – hard.

I heard the bushes rustle and turned around. I quickly threw my shuriken at the squirrel; I mean the thing had a bomb on it for Pete's sake. I narrowed my eyes at the little thing as it ran away. I can't believe someone would put a bomb on the poor thing, luckily Lee will save it. I looked up and glared at the place where the Sound ninja were. I knew where they were not only because I've watched this episode a lot, but because I could feel their chakras.

I watched the progress of my teammates for a while before I just sat there and thought over yesterday's events. I can't believe I was bitten by Orochimaru. How could I have been so reckless?

"Some lookout, you're half asleep." Dosu said.

I didn't even turn around. "Am I? Are you quite sure about that?" I asked him sarcastically. I stood up. "Actually I've been waiting for you guys to show yourselves, Dosu, Saku and girl. I don't really care enough to remember your name. The name's Ayame Korokawa." I shrugged and slowly turned around so they could see the arrogant smirk on my face. I saw the girl growl at me. Meh, she's not important enough for me.

"So you knew we were there the whole time, huh?" I nodded with the smirk still present. "At least you don't have to keep watch anymore. Now wake Sasuke up, we want to fight him."

I shook my head. "Sorry no can do, but I can tell you what you want to know. He will be stronger than all of you compared and he will survive, just like I did…" I trailed off as an unpleasant feeling of hate came over me.

They looked at me shocked. "You have the curse mark?" I showed them my left shoulder. "Well then, we want to fight you too." I shrugged.

"Guess I'll just have to grant your wish then, hmm?" Suddenly I was behind Saku. I kicked his head, sending him sprawling into the trap. A log came falling down on top of him, but he dodged sadly. I pouted. "Aw, I wanted to see you squashed." Then a sadistic smile came to my lips. "Well, I'll just have to make it happen myself then."

Saku actually looked freaked for a moment, but then he smirked. "You're all talk and no play; I bet you won't even be able to touch me again."

I smirked right back and folded my arms. "You wanna bet on that?" my eyes left his for a moment, but rested on them again. Before he could turn around Lee was there and shouting as he kicked Saku. "Leaf hurricane."

I left it for him to do the fighting for a while until I saw Dosu rushing at him with his arm after lee had strained his muscles with the primary lotus. I appeared beside Dosu and kicked him away before he could do any real damage to Lee. I did a backflip and skidded away from the sound ninja. "Lee, let me fill you in." I said coming to a stop beside him. "They use sound for their attacks and sometimes wind. Dosu, the guy who I just kicked, he uses sound to make your balance go all wrong – he attacks your inner ear. That is what made that Kabuto" I spit his name out like it tasted fowl. "Puke and fall to his knees. I will fight this guy, besides I am the one he wants to fight and there is no way to dodge an attack from him if you only have Taijutsu and speed at your side. You have to get your strength back anyway" He nodded and stepped back.

Sakura had just woken up from the commotion and was taking care of Lee right now, because despite me efforts he still got hit by the sound.

I fought Dosu and vanished every time he wanted to hit me with his sound. It bewildered him to see I was able to dodge it. I smirked. "Hey Dosu, just to let you know, I'm not even getting a workout out of this and for that you suck. I thought you'd be a much stronger opponent, plus I haven't even used any Ninjutsu yet, only Taijutsu." I said as I kicked and punched him.

He grunted in irritation and used more force this time. I smiled. Finally I can become serious. I stood still and did my hand signs. "Water style: Crystal senbon!" I said and threw my hands outward as if I had any weapons in them and ice senbon flew at the sound ninja. As he dodged I did another hand sign. "Water style: Water Cyclone Jutsu." A water cyclone was sent his way, but this time he didn't dodge it, he used his sound to return it to me. I just held out my hand and when the water touched me, it disappeared. I smirked and did a last hand sign. "Wind style: Silent wind shuriken." I whispered.

Saku smirked. "What kind of Jutsu is that? I doesn't even work." He laughed.

I smirked back at him with my arms folded. "Just wait for it."

Suddenly all three sound ninja winced and blood flowed from the cuts they got. They got so many cuts that they fell to the ground. I walked over to Saku and crouched. "You see, this is one of my special attacks – well not really. It is a soundless wind natured Jutsu that cuts you up without you even seeing it coming. You see, I designed this Jutsu specifically for you sound ninja, because I know you can hear just about any movement when other people can't." I stood up and walked back to Lee and Sakura. I saw Lee wanted to say something, but before he could, I fell to my knees coughing up blood. My eyes widened. How the hell did this happen? I glanced to my left to see Dosu standing there. How did I not notice him coming up from behind me? Suddenly I felt a pain in my ribs and I was sent flying. That bastard just kicked me. I glared at him from where I lay as he came closer. At least he didn't break my ribs, but I'll have a bruise there tomorrow – if not sooner.

"We're going to show you something called 'The Wall.'" They continued talking about what they could do, but I ignored them. They didn't really seem to notice. I felt my ear start to bleed. Damn that sound, it actually hurt. I stood up and Dosu noticed instantly. He rushed to me, but I couldn't use my vanishing trick so I just blocked his blow. Though, it didn't do any good. The device on his arm made a high pitched sound and because of my more accurate hearing – which was a total disadvantage – my ear started bleeding more and I winced. I knew Dosu was talking, but I couldn't hear him.

I felt the sound move toward me and then it entered my ear. I screamed in pain and held my head as the pain started. Is it just me or am I screaming a lot more these days? I fell to my hands and knees. "Damn you." I said and then I passed out.

I heard yelling and I opened my eyes. I turned my head to see Saku beating Sakura to try and get her off of him. I felt my anger flare ten times more than usual. There was no way I was going to let that bastard beat up my friend. I stood up clumsily and walked toward Saku. I felt my chakra grow stronger and I felt it taking on a more sinister feeling. I looked up at Saku and glared with hatred. I looked at my skin to see the curse mark spreading over my skin. It looked like rose thorn patterns. I smiled a cruel smile. He will regret touching her with his filthy blood soaked hands. I watched and it looked as if everyone was moving in slow motion. Dosu looked scared out of his wits when he saw me. I launched myself at Saku and grabbed his fist as he was about the punch her again. I glared at him so ferociously that he shrunk as far back as he could. "No one, and I mean NO ONE beats my friends to a bloody pulp!" I growled in a loud animalistic voice. "Sakura move. You'll get in my way and get hurt if you don't move right now." She did as I said. I pulled Saku up and growled in his face. "You wanted to fight me, so fight." He just stood still. "Fine, if you don't want to fight, I will." I launched myself at him and punched him in the face, sending him smashing against the tree. In a second I was beside him and then I punched and kicked him repeatedly. I did hand signs. "Wind style: Wind blades Jutsu." Multiple swords of wind were cutting Saku up for me. I did another hand sign and put my hand on the ground. "Earth style: Spiralling quicksand." Quicksand formed under Saku and it spinned him around while sinking him until all that was still visible were his elbows and the rest of his upper body.

I went over to him and punched him repeatedly again.

I felt Sakura's eyes on me and I felt her fear. She was afraid… of me. I felt my anger draining and I made the curse mark recede. I don't want Sakura to be scared of me. I stepped a few feet back and panted. Damn that curse mark and its owner. It took so much energy out of me that I collapsed. I couldn't move; my body was too tired. I turned my head to the side. "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji! Come out and help us, you fools!" They all jumped out of the bush and started helping. Lee's teem had just arrived as well.

I felt Sasuke's chakra become more evil. I turned my head towards him. I saw him up on his feet and the curse mark was spreading over him. His mark looked like flames "Sakura, Ayame who did this to you? Who was it? Tell me, which one of these people did this to you?"

And like the fool Saku is, he answered. "That'd be me." Sasuke turned to glare at him with a frightening glare. Even I was shaken up a little. Good thing I was finally regaining my strength. I heard Shikamaru yell at his team mates to get out of here.

Saku used his supersonic slicing sound wave and I quickly stood up and appeared in a tree. That was a close one. My strength was coming back quicker than before because of that mark. I sighed as I realised something. When Dosu saw that I had the curse mark he was more scared than he was now, but he is still scared. Maybe it's because I'm stronger than Sasuke by far, maybe my chakra was more sinister and stronger. I get the feeling that I was spot on with my guess, but I let it slide because I had to help fight. At least Sasuke got our team mates away. "Where's Ayame?" Sakura asked while looking around franticly. I called out to them and waved, smiling sheepishly. I swear I'm bipolar, because 1ste I'm angry as hell, then I'm tired and now I'm feeling all hyped up and ready to fight. I sighed. It's such a drag to be me.

I jumped down from the tree and landed next to Sasuke. He formed hand signs quickly and did his Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Saku didn't realise there were shuriken in the flames before it was too late and he got a few more cuts. In truth he looked awful.

Suddenly Sasuke moved and was standing on Saku, holding his arms. Sasuke smiled cruelly. "You seem to be very proud of these arms of yours; you must be very… attached to them." He pulled harder on Saku's arms. Saku cried out in pain as Sasuke broke his arms. Unlike all the other gennin around I wasn't looking at the scene horrified, I was looking at it as if things like that happened every day. I unconsciously smiled as I saw the pain Saku was in. When I realised I was smiling I felt horrified. What the hell was that!? I'm not supposed to enjoy the pain of others.

Sasuke turned his head to look at Dosu. "It looks like you're the only one left." Dosu was visibly shaking. "I hope you make things more interesting than your friend did."

He started walking forward, but I appeared behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, enough." I said in a commanding voice. He stopped and looked at me. When recognition crossed his eyes, the curse mark receded. I sighed in relief. Good, now I don't have to see more bloodshed. He fell down and I caught him, sitting him gently on the ground. "Man, it took more out of you than it did me." I chuckled as he looked at me with shock while panting.

"You're strong Ayame, Sasuke." He held out his earth scroll. "Too strong. We can't hope to defeat you the way you are now." He put the scroll down. "We'll strike a deal. I give you the scroll and you let us go." He walked towards his teammates and picked them up. He turned back and looked at me. "It would seem we underestimated you, but at least we found out what we needed to know. For the moment we're even, but if it should happen that we ever again meet in combat I promise you we won't run or hide. Girl, you can handle the mark and your anger well. You will be stronger than even Orochimaru himself if you master the curse mark." I ignored him and turned away. That really wasn't something I wanted to hear. I actually felt like crying because of it. I never wanted this thing in the first place. My anger rose, but then I felt Sakura's hand on my shoulder and I relaxed again. I looked toward Sasuke and glared. "This time I keep the scroll, got it?" He merely nodded and I went to pick it up.

"Hey, you guys ok?" Choji asked.

"Ino, you look after Lee, we'll check out the kid." Shikamaru called.

I stepped forward. "Shikamaru if you kick Naruto I will kick you, got it?" he nodded but continued onward. I looked up to Neji. "Neji come down here for a second would you?" He nodded and landed in front of me. "You saw the colour of Sasuke's Chakra and how strong it was, but that was not his normal chakra. I had the same Chakra for a while." I said spitting out the words 'same chakra' with venom. "I'm just letting you know this, because I need you to keep this a secret please. It's important that you keep it a secret." He nodded and went to Lee. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I would have to worry about that getting out right now. I walked over to Naruto and took out some water I had with me. I threw it over him and he freaked out about danger. I sighed. Same old Naruto.

I walked to Sasuke who was looking at his shaking hand. "It's not what you are that makes you, you. It's who you are that makes you special, so don't worry about it right now, alright?" Sasuke's head swivelled up to meet my eyes. "I have the same curse mark. I tried stopping it from happening, but I guess it was inevitable." He nodded. I could see he was really shaken up about it, poor boy.

I heard Naruto making a fool of himself and I laughed as I walked over to him. "Thanks for lifting my spirits, Naruto-kun." I said helping him up. He scratched the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment. I hugged him. "Glad you're finally awake." I felt like crying so I let a few tears leak out of my eyes while hugging Naruto. I didn't think he'd notice, but he did. "Hey, what's wrong Aya-kun?"

I shook my head and gave a shaky laugh. "I'm just shaken up because of the events that had taken place." I lied smoothly, but almost immediately I felt guilty which never happens. I don't like lying to Naruto. He nodded his head and pulled me into the hug again. I held on tightly to my only source of comfort and sobbed into him. I cried for the pain I felt, I cried for what will happen in the future and I cried because I was changing for the worse.

Chap 18: Getting to the tower

We were sitting on the river bank watching as Naruto and Sasuke were fishing. "Well, come one. Is that it? I only got 3. Now go and do it again." I stood up and walked toward the riverbank as the two started bickering. I sighed. "Ok, I guess I'll have to carry on for you Naruto."

He looked at me. "What!? But you're a girl! You can't undress!" he said turning away as I had started to undress.

I shrugged. "Sure I can, I'm already doing it and besides I do have clothes underneath. I packed them just in case we were going to catch fish." I was wearing short black shorts with a tight thin-strapped top now. "You can look now." I said a bit irritated. They turned back to me and let out relieved sighs. "Geez, you guys doubt me too much."

I dived into the water and caught fish with my hands and threw them out of the lake so Sasuke could pin them to trees. I got out of the water and went and dressed behind a bush. Hey, I can't dress in front of the boys again, because then I'd have to walk around with a wet dress. I had to get out of these wet clothes first. I walked out from behind the bush with dry clothes on. "So how many fish did we get?"

"About 10." Was Sasuke's curt answer. Ever since the Sound ninja attacked he wasn't exactly talking to me. I guess he was angry at me for some reason.

I nodded. "Well then I guess you guys have enough to satisfy yourselves with. I'll be eating my onigiri that I packed."

I smirked at their shocked faces. "You packed food!?"

I shook my head "Only enough for me and besides I don't have a big apatite so it's not even enough to fill you, Sakura." After I said that they left it alone.

As the others cooked their fish I searched for any other team's Chakra that was close by. Sakura was talking about how little time we still have for the exam with Sasuke when Sasuke said that he was going to get water. I turned to Naruto. "Don't even think about it, knucklehead." I said giving him a mocking smirk. "Don't try opening the scroll."

"What!? I wasn't going to try and open it"

"Whatever." I said dismissing him. I need Kabuto to appear, so I let him. He and Sakura argued for a while about opening the scroll or not. They finally came to the conclusion that they would be opening it. Naruto started to sweat as he took the scroll in his hands.

He was just about to open it when Kabuto appeared and stopped his hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I glance at him. "Oh hi Kabuto."

He looked at me. "Why didn't you stop them?" I just shrugged. I glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke spotting him. He started running and almost dropped the water on the ground, but I flashed over to it and caught it. "Troublesome Uchiha." I muttered under my breath. I calmly walked back over to them just as Sasuke said. "Where's Ayame?"

Naruto looked around, clearly not seeing me. "I don't know. She was just here."

I sighed, startling everyone. "You troublesome, Uchiha. You almost dropped the water and I had to go and catch it." I said glaring at him.

"So you're looking for a heaven scroll too, huh?" Sasuke said smirking.

"Not really, you see I have them both already." He said showing them. "I had a run of luck; I was just on my way to the tower to wait for my teammates to show up. So if you'll excuse me."

"What's the point of having them if you're not even going to go through with the exams?" I mumbled under my breath.

Kabuto stopped next to me. "Sorry, what was that?" I glared, but said nothing. I saw his eyes land on my curse mark so I snarled at him. "What are you looking at?"

Naruto looked at me, shocked. "Ayame, what was that?" I suppose he doesn't understand why I snarled at Kabuto.

I cleared the disgust of my face and shrugged. "I guess I just smelled a snake in the grass. It was probably just my imagination." I said once again glaring at Kabuto, but my team didn't seem to catch it.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at me. "Hold it." Sasuke said and Kabuto turned back. "I'll fight you for it." And you'll lose. Suddenly I felt another chakra close by. I whirled around, searching for it. I finally found it. The ninja was sitting in a tree close by. I kept my eye on him, to see if he had his heaven scroll with him. He did. I smirked and appeared beside him, grabbing the scroll out of his hands and kicking him off his branch. I glided over to my team and grinned. "No need to fight, I just got one for us." I said holding it up in the air. That ninja was really stupid to take it out in plain sight. Or well, my plain sight. Kabuto once again narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion and my team gaped at me.

"Where the heck did you get it?" Naruto shouted at me.

I just pointed to the ninja who was still lying on the ground. Everyone looked at me and Naruto yelled that that ninja was the same one who fought us the first day. I just shrugged.

Kabuto was looking at me the whole time on the way to the tower. I turned to him and glared. I really don't like the guy, but who would? I mean he's on Orochimaru's side. I've been silent the whole way and it seems Naruto noticed. "Hey Ayame-chan, you're acting weird. You haven't talked at all since we started moving. Is something wrong?" he said coming to a stop. The others also came to a stop. "Yeah, come to think of it, you've not been acting like yourself at all." Sakura said pointing at me.

I shrugged and started moving again. I think everyone could see how tense I was. Maybe they think it's because I'm nervous. But in truth that's not even close at all. I've been thinking about the events that happened lately, especially everything with Orochimaru. Since he gave me the curse mark it only made me hate him more and right now it was burning slightly.

Since I stole those ninjas' scroll, I don't think we'll be walking into the Genjutsu anymore which is a bonus.

I was right about that. We never went through the Genjutsu, which was awesome because it would've tired us all out. We still went through the traps though and Naruto tripped on a trip wire which led Kabuto to jump over him. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing when kunai pierced his back. Serves him right, that and he looked like a kunai porcupine. Everyone including Kabuto and Naruto glared at me. I shrugged. "I can't help it. He looks like a kunai porcupine." I said pointing at Kabuto. And then Naruto burst out laughing as well. Sasuke quickly covered his mouth to keep himself from chuckling at my comment. Unfortunately it was only a substitution. I sighed, sad that it wasn't really him.

"Well, that was close." He said, glaring at me. "Like I told you, it only gets worse from here on in."

We sped up and quickened our pace. Soon we were in front of the tower. Kabuto's team came to get him and Naruto thanked him for being with us. Kabuto sucked up to him and told him that he was really impressed with him. My team said goodbye and good luck and walked in, but I stayed behind. Kabuto's team also went inside with him staying outside. I glared at Kabuto. "Why don't you wear that purple belt thing, Kabuto? I mean it IS a sign of being his follower, is it not?" I spit out the words in disgust.

He glared at me. "How did you know?"

"I'm not some stupid brat you can underestimate, you filthy snake!" I snarled at him. "Just remember that and you won't die." I said and walked inside. Yeah, right, he'd die by my hand anyway.

********Kabuto's POV********

The way she glared even gave ME chills. That girl is something else. I walked inside.

"A good harvest?"

"Yes." I said. "Even better than expected. I learned a lot about him during the second exam." I said smiling slyly. "And I recorded all the data, on this." I said holding up a ninja info card. "You want it?"

"Of course." I held it out to him. "So tell me, what did you think?"

I chuckled. "Your curiosity is truly insatiable, Lord Orochimaru. I saw that you gave that other girl the mark too, I couldn't get a lot of information about her. Although she is an acceptable shinobi, she was gone without me noticing her ever leaving and you know how rare that is. She's something else and she knew I was working with you, but no matter."

"Ah… yes. I'm glad she survived it. She'll be a good edition to my collection. As a sound village spy, you see things others don't. Your opinion is of interest to me." Orochimaru smiled in interest at the card.

"Oh it doesn't really matter, does it? Whatever I think you're the one who decides, isn't that always the way?"

He nodded in interest. "You're a cagy one, aren't you Kabuto? I like that. Good work." Then he disappeared.

Chap 19: The preliminary test.

Iruka-sensei had explained to the others what the scrolls had represented and what the banner on the wall meant. When he was done he told us to wait in the next room, which happened to be the preliminary testing room.

We all stood in our groups. Anko congratulated us on passing the second Exam and then proceeded to tell us that we would have a preliminary round right away. The waves of pain hit me along with Sasuke, but I just didn't show it as much. Except this time it was really bad so I did gasp along with him and grabbed the mark. Sakura tried to get Sasuke and me to quit because of the marks, but I shut her up quickly with a glare and a snarky remark. Naruto didn't know what we were talking about. Anko asked if anyone would like to quit now and everyone who was supposed to quit, did. Thank goodness Kabuto's gone, he's been staring at me the whole time. I looked to the side to see the Hokage, Anko and Kakashi discussing the problem. I stared at the 'Chunnin' who was Orochimaru in disguise. He had stared at me head on as well and not one of us had broken eye contact yet. Finally Anko said we should move away so that the first contestants would be able to fight. "Because there is one more candidate, someone here will be given a free ticket to the 3de round." Anko stepped back and Hayate Gekko made his way to the fighting arena. What the hell? What if someone who isn't supposed to go through gets the ticket? Well, I'll just have to wait and see. I made my way to the stairs closest to Orochimaru. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be anywhere near him, but I needed to tell him something. As I walked past him I whispered. "You will regret giving me and Sasuke this mark." I said it with so much venom that it even surprised me.

I walked to my team and waited for Sasuke's match to end. It actually bored me, so I didn't bother to watch it. "I'm declaring this match over. As the winner of this preliminary round Sasuke Uchiha advances to the finals."

Kakashi walked with Sasuke out of the room, but I stopped him just before he was gone. "Kakashi-sensei, I need to ask you a favour." He nodded. "When my match is done, will you please seal mine too?" He looked shocked. Maybe he didn't know I had a mark, so I showed it to him. His eye widened a fraction before he nodded again and walked out.

I went and stood at my place again. I looked at Orochimaru who poofed away to go get Sasuke. He better not be coming back today.

Next were Shino and Saku. Once again I didn't watch the match. When the match ended Kakashi appeared again. I didn't even look at him. Next up was Sakura and Ino. Wait a minute; wasn't Kankuro supposed to go next? I shrugged. Maybe he's just going a little later this time.

I watched as the two fought and Ino slapped instead of punched Sakura. Naruto cheered the whole time. Ino used her mind transfer Jutsu and Sakura slumped. As Naruto cheered, Sakura's soul kept fighting Ino that was inside her. Finally Ino had to release her Jutsu. They each threw in another punch and bam, they were out.

Next were Tenten and Temari. I never really thought Tenten was strong, I mean she only uses weapons for Pete's sake. She doesn't even have a decent Ninjutsu. Temari won. I got to say this match was easy to predict. I mean there's no way weapons can beat wind. The wind would just have blown the weapons away.

Shikamaru's turn, I guess. I've always like this fight, I mean it's an easy win for him. The girl from the sound village used her senbon and Shikamaru was a little shaky. I mean that's what the bells are made for. It makes you lose your balance and your vision gets blurry. First comes paralysis and then comes the hallucinations. Shikamaru was at least using his head, unlike her. He used her wires against her with his shadow possession Jutsu. He got out a shuriken and threw it at her. She did the same and when Shikamaru bowed backward so did she, but she didn't see the wall behind her so she hit her head. I smirked as he probably gave her a concussion.

Finally it was my boy Naruto's turn. I watched as he kicked Kiba's overconfident butt. Kiba kicked him around a lot. I turned to Kurenai. "You shouldn't underestimate my teammate, Kurenai because you WILL be wrong." She was definitely shocked. Everyone thought Naruto was going to lose, but that changed when Naruto did the 'Naruto Uzumaki barrage' I grinned as he won and gave him a big bear hug. "That was great Naruto!" he thanked me and I went to sit against the wall. I wasn't going to watch the Byakugan battle. I hate watching it. I hate watching the next one with Gaara and Lee even more. I waited and waited until I thought it was safe to look. Gai-sensei was standing between Gaara and Lee. I just really hated this part. I jumped off as Hayate determined the winner was Gaara. I walked over to a now crying Gai. I guess the medical ninja already told him. "Gai-sensei, don't worry. Lee will be healthy again, it might just take a while, but he will be up and running again I guarantee it." He hugged and thanked me.

Then the last battle before me was here. It was Choji and Dosu. Dosu won easily.

Now it's me or Kankuro fighting that guy that can bend his bones to his will. I wonder who will get the free ticket.

My name and the guy Kankuro fought – Misumi Tsurugi – was called. Seems Kankuro will get the free ticket then. Ah well, no matter. He was supposed to be in the 3de Exam anyway. I stepped onto the battlefield and smirked. The Misumi's eyes narrowed at me suspiciously. I guess he thought I was underestimating him. He didn't know how wrong he was. You NEVER underestimate your opponent; it might just be the last mistake you ever make. "Now let the tenth round, begin."

We circled each other. I supposed I'll just have to have a little fun with him. "I'll do you a favour and end this battle quickly." I said smirking.

"You can't end it, if I end it first." He ran at me and tried hitting me with his arm. I blocked and quickly made a shadow clone. I did it so fast that the human eye wouldn't have been able to see it. I stood behind my clone. I kept disappearing and appearing in such a manner that you can't see I'm there. Misumi narrowed his eyes and then his arm wrapped around my clones arm. It was quite interesting to watch. My clone stood there, struggling to get out of his grip. Misumi explained how his Jutsu worked. "The more you struggle, the tighter I'll squeeze. I don't know what your Jutsu's are, but as long as I have a hold on you, it makes no difference. I could break your neck if I wanted to and I will unless you give up."

My clone smirked. "You wanna bet on that? You fool; you're the one who's going to die here."

Misumi broke my clone's neck. For a while it just stood there, but then it disappeared in a puff of smoke. I tapped him on his shoulder. As he turned around I readied myself for a punch. "What!?" I punched him. "Sorry buddy, but I don't lose that easily. That and no enemy gets to touch me when I'm on the battlefield without me noticing them moving." I smirked as he stood up.

I calmly walked over to him and kicked him. "Oh My Gosh; you people are so weak. I haven't even gotten to use my Ninjutsu yet. All I'm using is Taijutsu and I'm already beating you. Loser." I shook my head.

"What'd you say?" he rushed towards me and aimed for a punch, but I dodged with grace. I sighed. Such a waste of time, but since I'm going to play with him I'll just have to use my Ninjutsu. He rushed at me again and I jumped in the air, doing a copy of Lee's leaf hurricane. I tried doing on of my special Jutsu's while I was in the air, but then the stabbing pain came and I gasped, holding my shoulder where the curse mark was. I felt the curse mark spreading, but I refused to give into it. I made it recede even before it got anywhere close to my eyes. I made a hand sign and held my hand to my mouth. "Water style: Water Dragon." My water dragon hit Misumi head on and made him fly all the way to the other side of the arena. I appeared behind him and kicked him back. I made a quick clone and made it stay by Misumi's side. I appeared by my clone as it kicked Misumi off the ground and into the air. It appeared next to him and punched him multiple times, sending him down again. I did a quick hand sign and felt my body charge with electricity. I used my foot that was covered in lighting and kicked him up again. The clone disappeared and I appeared above Misumi. I did an axe-kick, sending him flying toward the ground while yelling. "Lighting style: Striking Cobra." The reason I gave the Jutsu that name, is because when I stand on the ground with the Lighting covering my body, it looks like a cobra curling itself around me. Since I did a water-styled Jutsu before I kicked him and he was wet, the lighting affected him much more than normal. It made him shake with the electricity running through him. Finally he collapsed.

Misumi was passed out and lying on the floor. "Because her opponent is unable to continue, the winner is Ayame Korokawa. And with that match, the 3de Exam preliminaries are now finished." I scowled and turned to the Hokage and other Jounin. "How come you put me up against him?" I asked pointing to a passed out Misumi. "I mean he didn't even give me a decent workout and I'm not even tired yet." I heard a few gasps from the jounin. I shrugged and calmly walked to Kakashi-sensei. I wasn't even a little out of breath yet, that sucks. I didn't even get a decent workout.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei, time to go do that other… thing." He nodded and led the way to wherever.

************Dosu's POV***********

My eyes widened. What!? She can do Lightning style too!? That's not possible! No one can do more than 2 styles of Jutsu. What is she? I started shaking in fear.

She cannot be a normal human being with the amount of chakra she has and when her curse mark was activated she looked… She looked monstrous and I could feel her bloodlust, but she controlled it somehow. Her bloodlust was… it was the most frightening thing I have ever felt. I was scared out of my wits by it. Is it normal to have such a strong blood lust?

She's not like any of the other people Orochimaru gave the curse mark. They either died or used the power without hesitation. This girl… She survived it and was able to control it even with her fierce bloodlust that I sensed. She has anger in her that no one has noticed yet.

How can she control the mark when she has that fierce hatred?

I have never been afraid in my life, but when her curse mark activated… it was like she demanded to be feared. Whether you wanted to or not.

Chap 20: The toad Sage

I woke up and sat up groggily. Hmm? I'm in a hospital? Oh! Right, Kakashi sealed the curse mark and it hurt like a bitch. Damn that thing already. I suppose Kabuto would be at Sasuke's room by now. I looked around. No one was here. Good. I snuck out of my room and saw that there were no ANBU Black Ops stationed by my door. What? Did they not think I was important enough to guard? Hmph, idiots. I heard talking, so I walked to Sasuke's room quietly and looked through the glass in the door. I saw Kabuto's knife skid toward the door and a random ANBU stand up and run for the door, Kakashi was pinning Kabuto to the floor. I quickly appeared on top of another ANBU. Not the ANBU that ran to the door, because that one wasn't even alive anymore. Stupid Kabuto. "Sorry Kabuto, but you won't escape that easily." I smirked at his clearly stunned face, or well mask. I took the mask in my hand and lifted it up, only to see Kabuto smirking. Huh, why was he smirking? "So you knew I was impersonating a dead ANBU agent, huh? You're quite something, kid. You'd be a great asset to have for me and him. Soon you'll want his power and come searching for him."

I scoffed. "Yeah right, like I'd ever work for him. I'd rather kill him myself and you too."

His smirk widened. "Maybe, maybe not. We'll see, but for now I have to go… report something." I saw a gleam in his eyes as he disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving me on the floor. I sighed in relief. Good grief, that guy gives me the creeps and his aura stinks of snakes. I shuddered. I saw Kakashi standing with his hand held out to me. I took it and he pulled me up. "Come on, you need to be resting." I nodded and he led the way to my room. I didn't notice before, but Sasuke's room was right next to mine. I supposed that meant ANBU did stand outside my door for a while.

When we got to my room I sat down on the bed and Kakashi pulled out a chair to sit in. "I need to discuss something with you, Ayame." I nodded my head. "I have never met anyone that can do all 5 styles of Jutsu without the Sharingan, but you Ayame, you can do 4. Earth, water, wind and lighting. Those are all your styles, but I am almost certain that you will be able to do the 5th style as well. I am sure you will be able to do fire style as well, but I could be wrong."

I nodded. I have thought about that too and was going to ask someone to show me the hand signs for the fire Jutsu so that I could see if I was able to do it. "I know Kakashi-sensei; I had that suspicion too. I was going to ask you if you could show me the hand signs for a fire styled Jutsu so that I might find out if I can do it." I explained.

Kakashi slowly nodded in understanding "I understand where you're coming from, but I suggest you ask Sasuke to show you. He is better at the Fire style Jutsu's than I am because of his Uchiha blood."
I shook my head. "No Kakashi-sensei, I don't want to ask Sasuke because I don't want my teammates to find out about it just yet. That's why I asked you, because you have the Sharingan as well and can do all 5 styles of Jutsu because of it."

Kakashi nodded his head again. "Alright, I'll show you. Ayame you are something entirely different. You woke up just 45 min after I put the seal on you." I nodded. I found out that I have a tendency of waking up before I'm actually supposed to in situations like these. "You are one big mystery, but I need to ask you this, can you see the future?"

I pondered on the thought for a bit. Should I tell him I can? Finally I made a decision. "Kakashi-sensei, I can see some parts of the future, but the future can change so I'm never sure which parts will happen and which won't. I'm always guessing. I can't always see everything that's going to happen. You should know that I won't always be right about the future, but I will tell you when something important will happen." He nodded. "For now I have to get back to the preliminaries, don't want to miss anything important." I grinned. He wanted to protest, but before he could I disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto just as the Hokage was saying that we all will have to take a slip of paper. Anko walked over to us and we all took out a piece of paper. They said we should tell them the numbers we have on our papers. Dosu got number 9, Naruto got nr 1, Temari got nr 7, Kankuro 5, Gaara got 3, Shikamaru got 8, Neji got nr 2, Shino got 6 and I got 10. So Sasuke had the number 4. Looks like Naruto's still fighting Neji and the rest are still fighting their rightful opponents. Everyone would be fighting who they're supposed to fight, so all I had to do is keep Gaara from killing Dosu. What a drag. What if he killed me instead? I sighed. Well, I'll just have to make do. I mean if he got killed I'd have to fight someone else and that would screw things up. Like, what if I had to fight Gaara? That would so mess me up. I sighed. This was going to be a long month. "Hey, Ayame-chan, when did you get back?" I heard Naruto ask me.

I heard a few gasps and sighed. I should've seen that coming, I mean I am supposedly the most unpredictable shinobi here. "Oh just before we needed to take the slips of paper. I kept silent because I didn't want you people to make up a fuss about me coming here, late." They nodded in understanding.

The Hokage dismissed us and I caught his eye. Oh great, now he wants to talk to me too. I would have to talk to him some time or another, but right now is not the time. I appeared in my hospital room just as Kakashi was about to leave. "Leaving so soon, Kakashi-sensei? I didn't even get a goodbye." I said in a fake sad voice and then I jumped on his back. He almost let us both fall on the floor, but at the last moment he got his balance back. I heard him sigh. "What are you doing, Ayame?"

I grinned. "I'm letting you give me a piggyback ride. You should be honoured; I never let anyone give me a piggyback ride. And besides, you're supposed to sign me out so that I can continue training." I heard him sigh, but he carried me out anyway. I grinned in triumph. Kakashi was so lazy he didn't even bother to put me down. He was like a big lazy-ass brother to me, now. Kakashi was actually fun to hang out with even if he was extremely lazy. I chuckled and grinned as I heard Naruto's voice. "Hey, where's Sasuke's room?" I heard the nurse's muffled reply. "What!? No visitors, are you kidding me? Come one lady!"

I called to him. "Naruto!" He turned towards us. I giggled at his shocked face. He was probably more shocked to see me on Kakashi's back than to actually see me here.

"Ayame, what are you doing on Kakashi-sensei's back?"

I grinned. "Getting a piggyback ride, of course." He grinned back at me, but when he caught Kakashi's eye he was serious again.

"Kakashi-sensei, I got to ask you a favour."

"Stop right there, I already know what you're going to ask. So I've been looking for someone who could oversee your training for the final rounds."

"Hold on! Why can't you train me sensei?" I chuckled at Kakashi's expression. To anyone else it would've looked like he was really bored, but in actuality he was amused by Naruto's actions.

"I have other matters to handle. I don't have time to deal with you, Naruto."

"Hey! Aha!" He shouted pointing at Kakashi. "You're going to train Sasuke, aren't you Kakashi-sensei!?"

"Now, now, don't complain. Listen, I've found you an even better teacher than me." Kakashi said.

'Liar.' I grumbled under my breath. Kakashi only glanced at me.

"Well, who is it?"

Ebisu stepped forward. "It is I." Naruto turned around and started shouting at Ebisu about being a closet pervert. I chuckled. Oh Naruto, if you think this guy's a pervert, you won't believe the pervert old Jeraiya is. "Such insolence."

Naruto yelled at Kakashi for thinking Ebisu is a good sensei. He even yelled that he was weaker than Naruto himself and Kakashi wondered why that was. Naruto instantly told Kakashi why he said so. I couldn't contain my laughter. I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach and pointing at Ebisu. Ebisu clamped a hand down on Naruto's mouth and told Kakashi that it was just a joke. I just kept on laughing. "You… Liar… He completely… Got you with… that Jutsu." I bit out between laughter. Ebisu turned to me in confusion. I bet he's thinking how I knew that, because I wasn't even there. Kakashi talked to Naruto and finally the 2 bickering boys left. I walked with Kakashi. "Kakashi will you show me the hand signs real quick? Besides, I'm going to train on my own anyway."

He nodded. "Let's go to the training grounds." I grinned and flashed over to the training grounds.

Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared and out stepped Kakashi. He showed me how to do the hand sign of the tiger. I copied him and breathed in. I heard this was a really complex Jutsu because it takes a lot of Chakra. I breathed in deeply and blew out my breath. Instead of air coming out of my mouth, fire came out. I grinned. So I CAN do all styles of Jutsu's. I looked over to Kakashi. His eyes were wide. I think he didn't really think it was possible. He gave me 5 pieces of paper. "Run your chakra through each of these papers. If you have wind element chakra the paper will tear in half. If you have water element chakra the paper will get soggy. If you have fire element chakra the paper will burn. If you have earth element chakra the paper will crumble. If you have lighting element chakra the paper will wrinkle." I took each paper and every time I ran my chakra through the paper, it did exactly what Kakashi said. He nodded. "So I was right. You have all 5 elements of Chakra."

He showed me a lot more wind, water, earth and fire styles, but I stopped him when he wanted to show me Chidori. He asked me why I didn't want to learn it, so I just said that it will be Sasuke's special Jutsu. He shrugged and then left me to do some training. I had gone to Gai-sensei again for heavier weights this time and he gave it to me, happily commenting on my 'youthful' training. He was happier now that he knew Lee was going to be alright. I postponed my training for a while. I want to go watch Naruto for a while before he meets Jeraiya.

I saw him running away from Ebisu with multiple clones of himself. I smirked. It's never going to work, but I think I'll help him a bit anyway. I focused on finding the real Naruto's chakra. Finally I found it. I grabbed him and shushed him as he was about to yell. "Shush, Naruto. I'm helping you a bit." He relaxed and stayed quiet as Ebisu ran past us. Yes, you guessed right. I shrouded our chakra. I giggled. Naruto's going to be angry at me for what I'm going to do now. I grabbed a hold on him and appeared on the bridge. I put him down and disappeared again. Naruto was panting with exhaustion because all his clones had been doing the running for him and he was feeling all the after effects.

I giggled as I watched him from my place in a tree. Ebisu wouldn't be able to find me, because I shrouded my chakra again, but he did find Naruto. Naruto shouted at Ebisu to leave him alone, but Ebisu gave a smart ass retort. Naruto shouted that either Kakashi trains him or no one does and then jumped up from the river and went straight for Ebisu. He aimed to punch, but Ebisu dodged and Naruto tackled the water again. Ebisu took Naruto out for some Ramen and then talked about Chakra control. He compared Naruto's chakra control to Sakura and Sasuke's.

Finally they began Naruto's training. I sat in a tree as I watched Naruto fail at walking on water. I laughed every time he fell in the water and burned. Oh, that's right. Orochimaru still gave him that 5 proned seal after I caught him. I almost forgot about that. It was so quick I almost didn't see it. Almost. It was at the same time I jumped in front of him, that he moved his other arm to my left and stretched it to get to Naruto's stomach. That's why Naruto really passed out, although we DID bump heads. I scowled at the memory. I watched and watched until I almost fell asleep. Finally I saw Ebisu storming to the old perv.

I watched as the old sage knocked Ebisu out. It was quite amusing. Naruto then demanded that the man be his sensei, because he knocked Ebisu out. Jeraiya told Naruto to stop bothering him.

I jumped off of the tree and landed on the roof. I then jumped off the roof and landed in front of the old perv. He looked up from my legs and went up to my chest, stopping there. Oh, did I forget to mention that I actually have a nice chest. Well if I didn't, now you know. I shivered. Ok, that's disgusting. Being observed by the sage is just plain wrong. I crossed my arms over my chest, making him stare more. I felt an irk mark appear on my forehead as I cleared my throat and he STILL didn't look up. Finally my reserve left and I bonked him on the head. "You old pervert. If someone clears their throat you look up, not continue to stare." I said in a completely calm manner. "And don't even try to tell me that I'm a perfect specimen for your books, because I will kick your pervy ass, got it?" He actually gulped as he looked at my calm face, but then he realised what I said. "Wait, you know about my books?"

I shook my head. "My sensei reads them. Now, what were you saying to my friend over here?" I asked pointing to Naruto.

He shrugged while still staring at me. Creepy perv. "I was saying he should stop bothering me and that I won't train him."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correct. Did you say you were NOT going to train him? Because I distinctly saw you knocking out Ebisu and that means YOU are supposed to train him now, got that Jeraiya?" I said glaring at him.

He quickly held up his hands in surrender. I think I might remind him of Tsunade. "Alright, I'll train him. If…" I raised my eyebrow at him. If he's going to ask me what I think he is… "If you spend a day with me in your bathing suit, for my research of course." I immediately bonked him on the head.

I looked at Naruto. "Naruto, if you want this old perv of a Sannin to train you, do your sexy Jutsu." He nodded and transformed into the girl while I turned away. I heard that perv's jaw hit the ground and giggled. He was practically going crazy with perviness. Then he literally said 'Hubba, hubba, hubba'
"If you keep staring like that, I'm going to blush." Naruto said and giggled. I swear the boy's as much of a perv as Jeraiya is.

"S-so lovely… We got a winner!" Jeraiya yelled. "A perfect ten. She's just… my type. I really, really like her. How did you do it? Where on earth did she come from?" I rolled my eyes. Pathetic.

"Oh, it's no biggy. I call it my sexy Jutsu."

Jeraiya was literally drooling. "Yeah, I love it. You're a genius, kid. This is one amazing technique."

"So you'll help me with my training now?"

"You bet! But only on one condition…" Naruto acted innocent and asked what condition. "I'll do it if you promise to stay like that the whole time." I bonked him on the head- hard.

"You old perv! You wanted a lady and now you saw one! Train Naruto or I will kick your butt to the Hidden Sand village and back, got it? And when I threaten, I don't bluff." I threatened him while he was still lying on the floor. He nodded his head and stood up.

"Alright, kid. I'll train you." Naruto grinned and I smiled at his happy face. I love it when he's happy, it makes me happy.

Jeraiya looked between me and Naruto. "Can I talk with you for a second?" I nodded and walked away with him. "You look like you know more about Naruto than you're supposed to, and how did you know my name?"

I shrugged. "I know lots of things I'm not supposed to. Like where Naruto's name came from, who his father was, who you are, who your friends were and I also know about the prophecy you received." He looked utterly shocked. "Relax, it's not like I'll tell anyone. Though, I must tell you that I know who the apprentice is of which the prophesy spoke of." He nodded for me to continue. "It's that boy, right over there." I said pointing at a confused Naruto. "He will change the world and it will be for the better. I can guarantee it."

Jeraiya nodded. "Alright, I'll train him. You seem to have a strong affection for the boy."

I nodded. "Yeah, he's my best friend. If I ever lost him, I'd kill myself." I felt tears come to my eyes at the thought. If I ever lost Naruto I really would kill myself. He nodded in understanding and walked back to Naruto.

"Alright, I'll train you, kid. But you better listen up or I won't train you anymore." Naruto nodded, determined. I walked off and went to the training grounds to train. I needed to push myself to the limit. I need to become stronger. Much stronger if I'm going to kill Orochimaru. I warned Dosu to not try and kill Gaara before I left to go train, because he would get killed himself. I said it in such a serious voice that he had listened to me, though it was obvious he didn't know why I warned him.

Chap 21: Coming back from training.

I've been training with the weights for almost a month now and every day I was getting faster and faster. I had gotten heavier weights every time I thought I was done with the others. Nobody has seen me since I got the Sage to train Naruto, because I had found a cave outside the village to sleep in when I trained. Yes, I trained just outside the village walls. I've been developing more muscles and I've become faster than Rock Lee by now. Tomorrow was the final Exam and I was ready. There's nothing stopping me from winning my match. I don't even think Jeraiya could take me on right now. Alright, I'm exaggerating now. I've trained myself to be able to not get caught in a Genjutsu, especially an Uchiha one. I glowered at the floor. I still haven't talked to the Hokage yet and I think it's about time I do. Then a smile came to my face as a thought reached me. The good thing about the 3de Exam preliminaries was that nobody really saw my techniques and I only used 2 styles in the preliminaries. That and my Taijutsu which had improved tenfold. During my training I had also trained with the perv and Naruto so that I could do a summoning. I wanted to be able to summon something for in case I needed serious help.

~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about 2 weeks before the final Exam would be and I had decided that I was going to go train with Naruto and Jeraiya so that I could also do the summoning. I had gotten new clothes a few days ago so they won't expect to see me in these. I had trained so hard that my old clothes got ripped and I had to replace them. I walked to the river where the sage was most likely to be perving and looking at those girls. When I got there he was doing just that while laughing pervily. Yeah, I just made that word up, got a problem with it? I didn't think so. I saw Naruto standing there with his arms crossed. "Knock it off."

The old sage ignored him and grinned widely. I rolled my eyes at him as I sat in a tree, watching them with amusement. He's such a perv. "You are so creepy." You said it, Naruto. I looked away as Naruto did the sexy Jutsu. Jeraiya turned around and told him that he's been waiting for him, only to see it was Naruto again. "No fair. Hey, are you just making fun of me, Naruto?" Jeraiya said in a whiney voice. I jumped out of the tree and landed in front of the two. "Geez Jeraiya, you're supposed to train the boy, not be a perv and watch those girls." I said standing with my hands on my hips. I watched amusedly as Jeraiya stared with no shame at my new outfit. I wore a dress similar to Ino's, but mine is black and mine does not have a collar on it. I do – however – wear a choker now instead of the collar. The dress leaves my shoulders bear and I have learned to live with the curse mark so I have no desire to try and hide it. The dress also has a red Tsubaki on it and its belt is – unlike Ino's headband – red. I still wear the bandages as leggings with my weapons pouch on my right leg. I wear my normal black traditional Leaf sandals and instead of my normal white fingerless gloves I bought new ones that are still white, but they have black and red thorn-like patterns on it and it reaches my elbow. My hair is still loose, but I had cut it a bit shorter. In the beginning it reached my waist, but now it only reached below my chest. I know – it's sad, but it started to get in the way. Before they gave us time to train I had always worn my headband around my arm like Shikamaru, but now I wore it on my forehead where it's supposed to be – though my bangs hid it well.

"Wow, you look great Ayame-chan." I smiled in thanks to my little knucklehead of a friend.

"Thanks Naruto." I turned to the sage. "Hey perv, knock it off, would ya? I've come to ask a favour."

Jeraiya snapped out of the trance he had been in. "Well, what is it?"

"Since you're going to train Naruto how to summon, I thought that maybe you can show me how to do it too." I said with my eyebrow raised, silently challenging him to say no.

He nodded. "Alright, but stop calling me pervy would you?"

"Well you are a perv, why not come to terms with it? But I'll call you Jeraiya then anyway." He nodded.

"Wait, you're going to teach me how to summon? Awesome!" Jeraiya nodded and crouched by him and started talking about the two types of chakra Naruto possessed. He told Naruto to try and build up the fox's chakra and Naruto tried to, but he failed. He told Naruto to keep trying, so he did. Jeraiya stood up and turned to me. "So you want me to teach you too, huh?" I nodded. "Well, you don't seem like a girl who specifically likes toads, so maybe you should try to summon something else then. But I'll show the two of you the hand signs together, alright?" Once again I nodded. He turned back to Naruto. Naruto groaned in frustration and turned to the sage. He asked what the chakra had to do with the technique Jeraiya was going to teach him. Jeraiya sighed and began explaining to Naruto why the fox's chakra was necessary. Naruto asked how he knew if he actually had the chakra inside of him and Jeraiya replied with "Actually, it's because I am a sage."

I sweat dropped and walked to Naruto. "It's because it's the foxes Chakra Naruto. Don't listen to the perv, he's just goofing off."

Jeraiya tried to protest, but I stopped him with a look. "Oh, I see."

Jeraiya told Naruto that it would become his greatest weapon and talked about some random stuff that I didn't really care about. Jeraiya looked over to a rock in the river and saw a frog sitting on it. He explained to Naruto what summoning was and Naruto was pretty excited about it if I do say so myself. He told Naruto to get rid of his normal chakra. I jumped back in a tree and then relaxed. This was going to take a while. I mean the kid made about 30 shadow clones if I'm not mistaken. I saw the sage sit down. A few minutes – or maybe – an hour later there was only 4 Naruto's left and they were all tired. I grinned and jumped down from the tree just as Jeraiya said. "Well, it looks like finale of this battle is finally close at hand."

I stood next to him with one hand on my hip. "Yup, it certainly is. Which one do you bet is the strongest one?" I smirked when Jeraiya jumped.

He let out a breath. "You scared me for a second there." He chuckled. "You know, you seem like a really strong girl, you know that?" He chuckled again. "Why am I asking? Of course you know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to scare even me. But you're really pretty too; it wouldn't surprise me if the kid had a crush on you."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Yes, I wonder what the other people would say if they knew you were scared of a 14 year old. Just imagine the great toad sage Sannin is scared of a little girl." We chuckled at the thought. "But there's no way Naruto would have a crush on me. He likes Sakura and I like a certain gennin who is feared in his village. And before you ask: no you wouldn't know him. He's not from the leaf village."

He nodded. "I suppose, but there is still a slight possibility that he likes you." I shrugged and looked over to Naruto. It looks like he's finally done. Naruto laughed tiredly and gave us a peace sign. He fell to his knees in exhaustion and fell over. We walked over to him. "It seems that at long last you finally used up your usual chakra. Now I can teach you the technique." Naruto sat up quickly and yelled that he's been waiting for this all day. "First I'm going to show you how it's done. Now watch carefully." He said to us both. He bit his thumb and brought his hand down toward the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." A smoke cloud appeared and when it was gone, the sage was standing on a toad. The toad had a scroll rolled in his tongue; it rolled it toward Naruto who took it gladly. Jeraiya explained to Naruto what to do. "That seal is Ino, Ee, Tori, Saru, Hitsuchi."

Naruto did as he was told to do and summoned a tadpole. I bit my thumb as well and brought it down without using the seal, I mean what if I summoned a toad? "No! You haven't signed a contract yet, there's no telling what could happen." Jeraiya yelled, but it was too late because my hand was pressed to the ground and I had already yelled 'Summoning Jutsu'

A smoke cloud enveloped me and then it disappeared. I looked down to where I had put my hand and smiled. I summoned a cute cougar cub. "Aww, you're adorable." I cooed.

"Thank you, but who are you?" It asked in a cute voice. The cub was a male.

"Oh, I summoned you here. Is that ok?" He nodded. "What's your name?"

"Our summoners – meaning you – are supposed to name us."

I was shocked. "Really?"

He nodded again. "Well, only some animals have names before being summoned. So what will you name me and what is your name?"

I put my finger to my lip. I usually did that when I was thinking. "Hmm… What about… Oh! I've got it! Your name will be Isamu, meaning courage. And my name is Ayame"

He nodded and purred in approval. "I like it. Thank you, Ayame." I smiled.

"What!? You were able to summon without signing a blood contract or using the seal? That's impossible!" Jeraiya said with his jaw hanging on the floor.

I shrugged. "I tend to surprise people a lot, so maybe it's not." I looked toward Isamu. "You can go now, I'll be practising the summoning so if I summon you again, sorry." He nodded and disappeared.

I felt my Chakra slightly drain from the summoning but I continued to summon. I summoned the whole week long with Naruto and finally it was a week before the final Exam. Today Naruto was going to summon the chief toad. I feel for him. I had managed to summon a Cougar that stood high over the tree tops and I think Naruto was a little jealous.

The two guys were bickering again. I sighed. At least we were going to make progress. The sage told us to follow him, so that's what we did. We went to a bath house and I –naturally – had to go to the girls' tub. I sat in the hot spring. Ah, this is the life. I sank lower into the water. I heard the sage talk about the bath as if it was heaven. I giggled. Silly sage. I climbed out of the hot spring and put my clothes back on. I headed toward the door and waited for the two numbskulls. Finally they came out and then we started walking again. "Hey, pervy-sage..."

"I'm the toad sage." Jeraiya said in an irritated voice.

"Yeah, well whatever ya are... What does taking a bath have to do with the summoning Jutsu anyway?" The sage stayed quiet. "Hey! Hello! I'm talking to you!" Naruto ran toward the sage, but bumped into him when the sage suddenly stopped. "What!? What is it!? Why'd you stop?"

"Hey Naruto, tell me. Is there something you like to eat?" We all went to Ichiraku's ramen shop and Naruto ate about 8 bowls while I only ate 1 bowl of ramen. When Naruto turned to the sage to thank him a stuffed toad was sitting there. I sighed. "Come on Naruto, I'll pay for half of it." He thanked me and then we left. At least his Froggy was still half full.

When we found the sage Naruto still ran to him crying that he was supposed to treat us to that meal. The sage just laughed and said he never said he was going to pay for it. "Say Naruto, do you happen to have a girl that you like?" Naruto looked confused. "I asked if you have a special girl, you know someone close to you."

Naruto looked down and blushed. I giggled. That's cuter in real life. "Well, I don't know. I mean kinda, sorta. I guess you could say I like her."

The sage leaned forward. "So who is it?"

I watched Naruto with amusement. "No one, just Sakura!" Jeraiya declared that Naruto would have to go and tell her how he feels, or at least give her a hug.

I laughed as I watched Sakura pummel Naruto to the ground as he attempted to catch her when she was going to fall. "Sakura he was just going to hug you." I called to her as she stomped off. She turned around. "Ayame?" She looked around confused and trying to see me, but I was already gone with my fellow guys.

"Hey, if I do this, can I really summon a frog?" Naruto asked sceptically.

"You bet, of course, absolutely, without a doubt." Stupid lying pervert.

"Are you sure?"

"Is there anything you've always wanted to do? Anything?"

"What, what are you-" He gasped as Jeraiya punched him in the gut. Did I mention he punched me in the gut too? I was knocked out instantly. I woke up after a while, still hanging from the sage's shoulders.

I hung limply as he walked to that place. Hmm… this is kinda comfy, maybe I should sleep again. Nah, I wouldn't do that. I hung there and waited. And waited and waited. Finally we got there. How I knew that… Well, he threw us on the ground. I sat up. "Geez, you didn't have to be so rough."

Jeraiya's eyes widened. "You were awake?"

"Well, yeah, for a while. That punch couldn't knock me out for too long." I shrugged.

Naruto sat up. "Where-where are we? Tell me."

Jeraiya stepped in front of him. "Stand up." He commanded and we obliged. "Your training ends right here."

"Huh? BUT I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING YET!"

"Naruto! Starting now, you must stare death in the face. That's right, to stave off the horror…" And then I wasn't listening anymore. "If you don't wish to die, do something about it. Now." With that he pushed us both off the cliff with one finger.

What the hell? I already mastered the summoning technique, why'd he have to push me off too? "Damn you, Jeraiya!" I yelled at him as we fell.

Naruto screamed on the way down. Suddenly Naruto was silent. I see he's talking to the fox now, then. Finally he snapped out of the trance and bit his thumb. He held out his hand and yelled. "Summoning Jutsu!" I could see his chakra. No one is supposed to be able to see chakra except the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans, so why can I see it? I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Well, whatever I can figure it out some other time, right now I have to focus on not landing on my head. I landed on Gamabunta perfectly on all fours like a cat. From there on it went like it was supposed to. The chief toad jumped out of the crater or whatever it's called and Naruto stayed on him almost the whole day. When Gamabunta had taken Naruto to the hospital I had thanked him and disappeared to my training area.

~~~~~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~

I took my backpack with everything in it and appeared inside my apartment. I took off my new clothes and put on some others. I just put on some black shorts and a red shirt. I looked into the mirror. I still looked pretty damn good. I chuckled and disappeared from my apartment, appearing in the Hokage's office. It was night time, but I knew he would still be there.

"Old man Hokage." I simply said and he looked up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled at me. "Ayame, you've finally come back to the village, I see and you've become so much stronger. I can tell just by looking at you." I smiled at his compliments. "What is it you want, child?"

"Hokage, I know you've wanted to talk to me for a while now and I've decided tonight will have to be the night, because I have something to tell you too."

He nodded at me. "Yes, you are correct. I wanted to talk to you about your choice to stay in the Chunnin Exams among other things. Is the reason you chose to stay in the Chunnin Exams because you knew Orochimaru was there?"

I nodded my head. "Hai. I knew he was going to be there and I knew he was going to try and give the curse mark to Sasuke. I tried stopping him, but instead I got one as well." I said looking at my now covered shoulder.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, I saw during the preliminaries that the curse mark tried to take you – as well as Sasuke – over. But you were much quicker to make it recede than Sasuke. I am glad you can control the mark, because that makes your will STRONG. It makes it easier on you, because you can then go on with the fight without it really bothering you."

I nodded and smiled at him. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"And there is another thing. Kakashi has told me about your very peculiar Chakra types. There is no one in the world that can use all 5 types of Chakra. The only one that could also use it, was the Sage of 6 paths, I'm sure you know who that is."

I nodded. "Yes Hokage. The sage of 6 paths held the Rinnegan in his possession. He was the one who separated the 10 tails into 9 different tailed beasts - two being the Shukaku and the Kiyuubi." He nodded at my knowledge. "Also, he was the father of both the Senju and the Uchiha clans. The Senju clan inherited his body from him, being able to use wood as an element like the 1st Hokage and the Uchiha clan inherited his eyes, the Sharingan. I also know that the Uchiha's that also have Senju blood in their veins can acquire the Rinnegan, although I am not quite sure how."

The Hokage looked shocked to hear this. "Child, where did you learn this information?"

I shrugged. "It's one of the many things I know." I looked at him serious. "Old man Hokage, he is coming. You must prepare yourself to battle to the death tomorrow. He will be dressed as a very important man. This is all I can tell you, but you must be ready for anything." He nodded. With that I stood up and left.

I sat on the roof, looking at the moon. Suddenly I felt a blood lust that even wanted to take a hold of me. I wanted to kill. What the…? I've never even felt bloodlust and now I want to kill because of Gaara's lust? That's just… that's not right. I was really confused. I'm not even someone who likes killing – not that I've done it before or have I? "Don't you ever sleep, Gaara?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"How did you know I was here?" His voice sounded like the normal Gaara. I just shrugged. "When the moon is full…" He started. This time his voice sounded a bit different. Seems the Shukaku came out.

"When the moon is full, its blood boils. And tomorrow is a full moon again." I finished for him. "The bloodlust in Shukaku takes form and it uses your body to kill. It longs for blood and chaos. It is the 1 tailed beast that feasts on destruction." I said in an emotionless voice while looking at the moon.

"How did you know…about me?" The Shukaku asked in Gaara's voice.

"I know too much sometimes. If you want blood, go ahead. Take mine. I'll just warn you now. You won't spill any of my blood and it will tire you out. You will be too tired and Gaara will have control back." I said, still looking at the moon, but standing up nonetheless.

The Shukaku took on its true form and tried squashing me with its tail, but nothing can kill shadows. Shikamaru can manipulate them, and maybe even hurt them one day, but no one can kill a shadow. Yes, it is what you think. I used one of my special Jutsu's to turn into a shadow. He tried killing me again and again, but I had somehow fallen asleep and stayed in my shadowed form. I woke up to see Gaara lying on the roof exhausted and asleep. He looked so cute when he slept. I turned back into my own form and picked Gaara up. Somehow his sand knew I wasn't going to hurt him so they let me pick him up. I searched for Temari and Kankuro's apartment and finally found it. It was still night time, so I still had time to sleep. I knocked on the door twice and hard. A groggy Kankuro opened the door. "What do you want?" He snapped, but then he saw it was me. "Oh, hi Ayame, why are you here this early?" I looked down to the sleeping Gaara in my arms and Kankuro followed my eyes. He gasped. "How are you not dead?"

I shrugged. "He can't kill a shadow." Kankuro was confused. I wasn't going to explain it to him. "Let me put him in his bed, I don't think his sand will like it if anyone else does it." He nodded and led me toward Gaara's bed.

I put Gaara in his bed and put a blanket on him. I was going to stand up, but Gaara's sleeping form pulled me down again and he whimpered. I looked at him with sad eyes and chuckled humourless. "Oh Gaara, what you must've endured because of what's in you. You two are so much alike." I whispered. I gently pried his fingers of my arms and stood up. He was so lonely and Naruto was like that too once. Kankuro was staring at me. "Kankuro your brother is not a monster. Not really." I sighed as he gave me a funny look. Of course he wouldn't understand. "Good night." I said and walked out of their apartment.

I walked to my apartment enjoying the night air. Suddenly I saw Kabuto and Baki staring at me with wide eyes. I waved my hand at them and smiled. Those baka's are scare of what I might've done to Gaara, either that or they're wondering how I'm not dead. I appeared behind them. "Just make sure Orochimaru doesn't come near me, because I will kill him." They whirled around and I smiled at them before disappearing onto the roof again. I looked at the damage. Wow he went all out. I chuckled. Oh well, now I know that I can't be killed if I'm in my shadow form. I chuckled again.

I walked on the roof with my hands behind head while looking at the moon. I've always liked looking at the moon, especially the full moon. I feel that I can relate to what Gaara said about the moon's blood boiling. I frowned. Am I supposed to be able to relate to that? I don't think I'm supposed to. I wiped the thought away and continued walking home. I thought back to my adoptive parents. They were always so nice and kind to me and yet… I don't miss them at all. I sighed and walked into my apartment. I climbed in bed and went to sleep.

Chap 22: Dosu vs. Ayame

I appeared next to Naruto who was rushing – late – to the battle arena. "Hey Naruto, give me your hand and stand still." I said. He yelped when he heard me spoke and I took his hand. We came to a stop and I used my transporting power to get us at the Arena quickly. The guards stopped us as we stood in front of the Arena. "Who are you?" they asked.

I pointed to Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki" Then I pointed to myself. "Ayame Korokawa." They nodded and let us in. I calmly walked inside while Naruto ran in and skid to a stop in front of Shikamaru. "Sorry we're late. I had to get Naruto before Konohamaru made him even more late." I said to the proctor. He nodded his head. I heard the people cheer and scoffed. They're only here to see Sasuke. I quickly appeared in front of the Hokage. Unfortunately the 'Kazekage' also just arrived. "Lord Hokage, Sasuke is going to be late. He's with Kakashi-sensei on some mountain and naturally Kakashi's going to be late, so you might have to postpone his match." He nodded and told me to go down again. I glared at the 'Kazekage' and appeared in the arena just when the proctor spoke. "Alright, listen up. The terrain's different, but the rules are the same as before. That is that there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies. That being said, if I determine that a match is over I can step in and stop it at any time and no arguments permitted. Understood?" He called Naruto and Neji's name. "Those two stay, the rest of you can go to the waiting area." Everyone turned around and I gave Naruto a quick hug. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

I walked towards Gaara and touched his shoulder, because he was shaking again. He instantly tensed up. "You should really calm down Gaara." I let go of his shoulder and walked on. I felt Temari and Kankuro's eyes on me, but I ignored them.

I appeared next to Izoumo and Kotetsu who sat next to Hinata and Kiba. I looked at the two Jounin. "Look, I know you two don't think Naruto will win this fight, but you're doing exactly what Neji is doing, underestimating him. You people are supposed to know that you NEVER underestimate your opponent. He will win, just you watch." I gave them a pointed look and then turned to Kiba and Hinata. "Hey guys. Hinata, how are you? Kiba, is your over confident nose better?" Hinata looked away shy and Kiba scowled. I giggled at the pair. They're so funny. I walked up to the 'ANBU' "Hey, can I ask you a little favour please?" he nodded. "My friend over there is still hurting from her match and I know some of you ANBU guys can do medical Ninjutsu, would you mind healing her completely, please?" He nodded and walked over to her. I walked with him. "Hinata he's going to heal you. I know you think the medical ninja fixed you, but they didn't." She nodded and he healed her completely. I walked with him for a little while before whispering. "Just remember what I said, won't you?" I smiled a sickly sweet smile and saw him shudder.

I walked back to Kiba and Hinata. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be down there?" Kiba asked. I nodded and disappeared.

I stood next to Shikamaru and watched as Naruto's fight progressed. Naruto was shaking with anger. I guess he was still angry at Neji. "Alright, now let the first match begin!" Everyone on the stadiums cheered.

Naruto was calmer this time, more sure of himself. Neji moved a step or two forward and then Naruto threw kunai and charged at him. Neji blocked every one of Naruto's punches, then he used his palm and struck Naruto once. He struck Naruto again on the shoulder, but he missed. Naruto stood back up, he looked so much more confidant. He did the shadow Jutsu. Everyone in the stadium must've been shocked because of the shadow clone Jutsu. "Don't ever count me out." He said and all the Naruto's rushed at Neji with kunai. Neji just pushed their hands away. One of the Naruto's kicked Neji, or that's what it looked like. In actuality Neji just jumped up and did a backflip. Naruto rushed at him again, but this time Neji spinned in the air and kicked 2 Naruto's.

This fight seemed hopeless, I know that, but we all know Naruto doesn't ever give up. I felt like shouting at all the people on the stadium to close their mouths, because they were silent and that just had to mean they were shocked.

Neji told Naruto that his dream was pointless, because he will never be Hokage. Neji just ticked Naruto off big time with that. They spoke about destiny and then Naruto did his multy Shadow clone Jutsu. Naruto was hit with Neji's gentle fist on his chest. He coughed up blood and laughed. I heard Kiba cheer for Naruto as he attacked again, but Neji used his Rotation. Again Naruto made clones. I appeared in front of Tenten with an irritated expression. "Would you stop underestimating Naruto? Neji might've been the top rookie, but Naruto will win him whether you think so or not so shut up." With that I was down the waiting area again. Neji had used Rotation again.

"Gentle fist art: 8 trigrams, 64 palms" it looked like Neji was only poking Naruto, but he was actually closing his chakra points. Naruto flew backward and hit the ground, but naturally he stood up again just as the proctor was going to stop the match. "I told you, I just don't know when to give up." Naruto smirked. They talked about the Hyuuga clan for a while. Neji rushed towards Naruto again and struck him in his chest.

Neji told the proctor to stop the match because it was over, but Naruto proved him wrong by standing up again. "You don't know what it's like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart, a mark that can never be wiped away!" Neji shouted pointing at Naruto. Oh how wrong you are.

Naruto looked up. "Oh yeah, I know what that's like. Well, big deal. Who cares? Man, you think you've got troubles? I've got news for you Neji; you're not the only special one around here. Did you ever think that Hinata might be suffering as much as you are? It's not her fault that her father was born ahead of yours, but you resent her for it. You disrespect her even when she's trying so hard to improve herself. All she wanted was your respect, that's what she was fighting for even though it almost killed her. And what was that all about anyway? I thought it was your destiny to serve the main household, not to beat it to a bloody pulp. After all you said about how you can't fight your own destiny, you don't really believe in it either, do you?"

Naruto coughed. "You think that Byakugan of yours sees everything, you know everyone's weakness, right!?"

"That's right." Wrong. "But if you think you're the one who can prove me wrong, well, be my guest."

"You got it. I'm gonna show you that you're wrong about a lot of things, starting right now." Naruto focused his chakra and forced it through the Chakra points. He growled at the effort, but didn't give up. Neji shook his head. The fox's chakra was forced through the chakra points and Naruto began to heal. I felt the strength and cruelness of the chakra itself. I shuddered… in delight? No that can't be right; everyone was shocked at Naruto's power, even the Hokage. I could actually see the chakra and it looked like swirling tails – 9 of them. The chakra enveloped him. Naruto moved and was quicker than before by much, He threw shuriken and Neji did Rotation. Neji threw them back and Naruto moved out of the way. They both held shuriken in their hands and Naruto ran at him. They both held their weapons ready, Neji did Rotation and their weapons clashed, making a small explosion erupt. Again, everyone was shocked. When the smoke cleared there were 2 mini craters. Neji stood up and Naruto's clone just lied there. The proctor was about to say that the match was over when I interrupted. "Proctor, don't stop the match just yet! Naruto isn't quite done." I said pointing to Neji who had shakily stepped to Naruto's clone. Naruto popped out of the ground and punched Neji in his face. Poof and the clone was gone. Naruto told Neji about his failed graduation and the Jutsu that he always failed. He said that he just couldn't master the clone Jutsu. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." Everyone applauded.

Next up was Sasuke and Gaara's match, but they postponed the match so it was now Shino and Kankuro's match. Kankuro's withdrawal from the match was still as disappointing. So we moved on to Shikamaru and Temari's match. Temari was also a strategist, but not as good as Shikamaru though. Shikamaru had to hide for a while because Temari used her wind scythe Jutsu and cut up some trees. In the end Shikamaru used the shadows under the ground to trap Temari. He lost this time, but only because he forfeited. And he forfeited because had used up too much of his chakra even though he did have the next 200 moves planned out in his head.

Ah, crap. It's my turn. I heard everyone whispers about me. Where they curious about me too? Well that's weird. I sighed. I might as well get on with it. I jumped down from the waiting area. "Kick his butt, Ayame-chan!" I heard Naruto yell.

I turned to him and smirked. "Don't worry. I'll have him beat before the fight even begun." I said loud enough for him to hear. If all goes to plan, I will have won this match easily. Didn't I tell you? I'm a great strategist too. I even picked up Shikamaru's habit. You know the one where he puts his fingers together when he's thinking.

Dosu glared at me. I chuckled. I probably shouldn't have said that, but I already did.

I walked toward the proctor and waited for Dosu. When he arrived the proctor spoke. "Now remember, I can step in at any time if the fight seems hopeless." We nodded. "Ok, Begin." He jumped away as he said it. I rolled my eyes. Did he really think we'd be so reckless as to rush at our opponent immediately?

I looked over to Dosu, only to see him running at me. Apparently he was right. I appeared behind him and kicked. Dosu saw it coming so he spun around and blocked. Unfortunately for him I had put a lot of chakra into that kick so he went flying anyway. I waited for him to stand up again as I examined my nails. They were chipped because of my training, maybe I can lend Sakura's nail file.

Dosu – like the idiot he was – rushed toward me, thinking I was distracted, but before he could strike I punched him in his face.

I yawned. Man, this fight was boring. Suddenly I fell to my knees, puking like Kabuto did on the first exam. Damn, I should've seen that coming. He had hit me with his Jutsu. I stood up. To the crowd it seemed like I stood up on shaky legs, but it was just an act. I wiped my mouth. "I see you already forgot about my Jutsu."

"Yeah, I did. It wasn't really worth it to remember it." I said, aiming to tick him off a bit.

It worked. He narrowed his eyes. "You should do well to remember it, because now I will kill you." This time he was serious. I grinned and cracked my knuckles. Finally I get to fight seriously.

I dodged Dosu's punch, but let the sound hit me. I stood still, trying to gain my balance back. Yes, I was still affected by the Jutsu, but I ignored it as Dosu went to strike me again. He feigned punching me in the face, but instead he punched my stomach, making the sound vibrate through my body. I fell to my knees and coughed up blood. Damn I feel like the victim now. Dosu hit me with his sound again, but this time he also punched me in the face. I fell on my back and lay still. I heard him walk over to me. "Well, you're just a weak little girl after all. Proctor the match is over."

I heard the proctor walk over. "Because his opponent is una-"

"Proctor, don't finish that sentence. I have barely begun." I said with clenched teeth, aiming a glare at the proctor. He nodded and disappeared. I stood up on shaky legs. What? I know I said it was all an act, but the last one really affected me. "You think you've won?" I chuckled darkly stepping closer to Dosu. "I've got you right where I want you." I glared at him. "You and Orochimaru did this to me and because of that you will die here." I said softly so that no one else but me and Dosu could hear it. I punched him with my fist that was enveloped with chakra. He was sent flying to the other end of the arena. I heard people gasp at my strength. "She can still move after all the times he hit her with his Jutsu?" I heard Shikamaru ask. Are you underestimating me, Shikamaru? I sure hope not. I guess I should all my cards on the table. I took my leg warmers off as well as the weights. I dropped them on the ground and a mini explosion erupted, making a huge dust cloud. Those weights were about 120 kg's, so of course that would happen. Hmm, now I have the advantage. I've been training with my eyes closed so that I could use my other senses in battle too. I closed my eyes and listened. I heard Dosu stand up and take a step forward. I bet he was listening for a sound too. Too bad when I attack it's much like Zabuza's attacks were – silent. I attacked with absolutely no sound. I used my real speed to move behind him. I held my kunai knife against his throat. "Game over." I whispered in his ear. His body jolted, making it easy for me to see he didn't sense me.

"What's happening? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!" Naruto yelled. As if on cue the smoke – or well, dust – cloud disappeared. Everyone gasped. "What? I didn't even hear her or see her shadow move!" Shikamaru yelled out in disbelief. I smirked.

"Sorry little girl, but it's not over. Remember, I can use my chakra to manipulate the sound wherever I want it to go." Dosu stated. He used his sound to attack my inner ear, which I was counting on by the way. My ear started bleeding. I had to admit, it did hurt like Hell, but I've had worse. I glared at my left shoulder where the curse mark was. I shook my head. Focus on the battle. I appeared in front of him with a sadistic smirk. I held up one hand in surrender, but then my smirk grew and I did one handed hand signs. "Secret Jutsu: Leaf style – Mountain Lion Reincarnation" I said loudly and then crouched on all fours. I felt my skin prickled and my gums ache. I felt my hands and feet change and my senses turned sharper. The crowd gasped and I smirked at Dosu's shocked expression. "Cat got your tongue?" Excuse the pun. I knew what I looked like. When I was out training, I had discovered this Jutsu. I had looked into the river, but my reflection wasn't the one I saw. No, I saw the reflection of a cougar-like girl. So my Jutsu enables me to grow fur, claws and fangs like a cougar (or puma. Whatever you want to call it). "So that's why she smelled like a cat!" I heard Kiba exclaim and Akamaru barked in agreement.

*******The Hokage's POV*******

I gasped along with the crowd. What? How can she do that? That's impossible! The only way she can do that is if she's a… No, that's impossible. But then again… That girl is so talented, she has so much potential. What if it's true? I'll have to keep an eye out for her in the future… That is if I have a future ahead of me. I glanced at the Kazekage. I just have to be careful from now on.

*******Ayame's POV*******

I chuckled at Kiba's comment before looking at Dosu again. It doesn't look like he's going to be functioning again anytime soon, so I'll have to make my move. It's now or never. "You thought you saw all my moves, huh? Guess you were wrong." I said as I rushed to him. I jumped in the air and made a front flip, holding my claws out to scratch him. I scratched his face and landed on all fours, then I ran at him again and scratched and scratched until he looked like a bloody piece of meat, which is just what he was to me. I saw the proctor was hesitant, but he wanted to step in. I growled warningly at him and he stayed back. I turned back to my human form and stood up. "Look at you; you look like a sorry piece of meat. I thought you sound ninjas were supposed to be strong." I said mockingly. "Seems you overestimated yourselves." I walked around him, like a cat circling it's pray. What a fitting description, don't you think? I made some hand signs and held my one hand in front of my mouth. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu." I said and blew a fireball towards Dosu, unfortunately he dodged. I made another pair of hand signs. "Wind style: Silent wind shuriken." I didn't even bother saying it quietly this time. He knew what was coming. The wind shuriken cut him up even more than he already was. I smiled at the sight. I did another pair of hand signs. "Earth style: Spiralling quicksand." He spun in a circle while sinking and it made it even easier for me to hit him now. "Water style: Crystal senbon." The senbon hit him, but it didn't really do much damage because the day was too hot, so the senbon had melted by the time it hit Dosu. So all in all it only splashed him. I grumbled under my breath about the 'stupid heat of the day'.

"Lightning style: Thunder struck." A lightning bolt struck Dosu, but it wasn't as strong as my other lighting styled Jutsu so he didn't pass out. Besides I was aiming to kill the bastard and I knew Orochimaru and Kabuto were watching.

********Orochimaru's POV********

My eyes widened. Remarkable, she can do all 5 styled Jutsu's without the Sharingan. Who is that girl? She would make such a nice addition to the collection.

I just have to have her. That Jutsu that she performed a few minutes earlier was also impressive. Why do I feel like I know the girl? She seems so familiar, though I can't put a name to her pretty little face. I glanced at my old sensei. He seems to be quite taken with the girl as well. It looks like he knew she could do all those Jutsu, but he just couldn't believe it.

I smiled slyly under the cloth. I will definitely be in need of this girl's powers. I almost want her more than Sasuke Uchiha. Almost.

I'm glad I gave her the curse mark. I can see she has hidden anger in her and she will also want to acquire power soon. Soon she will come to me as well and when that happens, I will cherish her gifts as if they were my own – which it will be as soon as she's mine.

I licked my lips. Yesss, this will be interesting match. That sound ninja of mine was overconfident and didn't see her real strength. No matter, a life lost can always be replaced and who better than the same person who took his life. What a pleasant gift this is. Soon she will be mine and no one in the village will be able to stop her. I almost laughed in delight. She has a strong chakra. What an interesting girl she is. Yes, she will do just fine.

*******Ayame's POV******

Dosu had somehow gotten out of the quicksand. I shrugged. No matter, I still have the advantage. I am stronger and faster than him.

I ran at him with my kunai ready, but he dodged and used the chakra he had left to try and attack me with his sound. Before he could I had vanished. I did not use my normal vanishing trick this time, no.

I saw him look around frantically. I think I made him panic, because he probably doesn't want to lose his life. Too bad for him, but he won't find me because I had shrouded my chakra. I moved from my hiding place and stretched out my hand towards his neck. He didn't seem to notice a change in the atmosphere until Naruto yelled out. "Hey, why does he have two shadows!?" You numbskull, I was trying to sneak up on him.

Dosu quickly looked at the ground. "You're too late Dosu and now you're going to die because of that." I said and grabbed a hold of his neck. My nails grew and I tightened my grip on his neck. He tried to pry my fingers off of his neck, but it was futile because I was still in my shadowed form. As I tightened my grip, my long nails pierced his skin. He groaned in pain as blood soaked the bandages around his neck. "Hey, his neck is bleeding!" Oh my gosh, Naruto, stop shouting out the obvious.

I turned back to my normal human form with my hand still on his neck and my nails were claws. I let go and quickly used my nails to slice open his neck, splattering my face and hands with blood. "I promised you I would kill you and now I did." I whispered in his ear and let him fall to the ground. I heard the crowd gasp as they saw him fall with blood pouring out of his neck. "She killed him." I heard Shikamaru say in shock. Is it so hard to believe that I killed a man and didn't feel an ounce of remorse? I suppose it should, but this guy deserved it. I looked up and glared right at the 'Kazekage' and mouthed 'Next time it'll be you'. I knew he could see it so I didn't bother actually speaking. I stood there panting from the chakra use. "Because her opponent is unable to continue" living, I added silently. "Ayame Korokawa is the winner."

I just stood there and waited for Sasuke and Kakashi to show up as the Medical Ninja's took Dosu's body away. I looked up and stared right at Gai-sensei and Rock Lee. I could see they were shocked that I could see them from this far off. I looked to see Naruto running toward me. "Hey Ayame-chan, are you alright?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, why do you ask?"

"You seem kinda… tense. Is it because you killed that guy?"

I shook my head. "No Naruto, that actually doesn't bother me as disgusting as that is… it's because I can feel Gaara's bloodlust from here." I lied smoothly. Actually it was because I felt Orochimaru's stare as well as Gaara's on me. It was quite unnerving. Naruto nodded and I looked down. I don't have a scratch on me. I'm just dirty and blood-soaked and I know should have a bruise on my jaw because of Dosu's punch, but other than that I'm clean.

"You were awesome, Ayame-chan. Teach me how to fight like that, will you?"

I smiled and hugged him. "Sure, why not?"

The crowd was quite unpleased by Sasuke's tardiness. Naruto started pacing. "What's he thinking? I bet he's planning some big entrance or something. Well, I'm not gonna be impressed."

I chuckled. "Relax, he'll be here in 3… 2… 1… Now." I said and just when I said that, the wind started blowing and the leaves floated with them. I looked at the two who were standing there posing. I broke their cool pose with my comment. "Uchiha your hair makes you look like a girl now that it's grown." Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke threw a quick glare at me, but I disappeared when he took in my appearance. I mean yeah, I was filthy, blood-soaked and probably had a bruise but other than that I was fine and still standing. I could see he was curious and worried, which is weird. I think he thought the blood was mine.

"Sorry we're late. You wouldn't believe the traffic." Naruto grinned at them.

"And you are?" The proctor asked Sasuke.

Sasuke looked toward him. "I'm Sasuke, Uchiha." Everyone cheered. Show off.

"Huh, so you finally decided to show up after all. I was betting you wouldn't come, 'cause sooner or later you'd have to face me." I chuckled at Naruto's silliness.

Sasuke smirked. "So what about you guys? Did you win?"

"You know it." Naruto replied.

I shrugged. "I killed that Sound Ninja guy I was going to fight." Kakashi and Sasuke's eyes widened. "Huh, well don't get too full of yourself, you're still a loser." I could see Sasuke was actually proud of Naruto. I smiled. Well, they're coming along quite good.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Sorry if we kept you waiting, but uhm… how late are we? I mean, it's not like Sasuke's well disqualified or anything, right?"

We all turned to the proctor. "Like master, like pupil even down to your lousy sense of time."

"Well, what about it?" Kakashi asked, still scratching the back of his head. Does he have fleas or something?

"You know, you were so late that we extended the deadline for you. Twice in fact and it's lucky for you we did, because you just made it. No he's not disqualified."

"Oh, that's a relief. You had me worried there for a minute, so we're ok."

I rolled my eyes. "Just barely, you were about to be disqualified."

"Just make sure you don't lose to this guy." Naruto said.

"Got it." Sasuke was still looking at Gaara as if he was some sort of puzzle.

"Hey Sasuke! Don't lose, 'cause I want to fight you myself."

And once again Sasuke replied with 'Got it.'

I started walking toward the waiting area again as Gaara was called to come down and Naruto turned to walk with me.

Chap 23: Shukaku vs. Naruto

I walked up the stairs and sighed when I saw Gaara kill those two men. I continued up the stairs to Gaara. "Gaara, didn't I tell you to calm down?" I asked a bit exasperated. He lifted his hand toward me, to which I raised my eyebrow. "Your sand won't hurt me." The sand wrapped around me tightly. "Oh, well it seems I was mistaken, but it knows I won't hurt you." I quickly appeared a little bit away. I don't want to get squashed just yet. The sand fell when there was nothing to wrap itself around. "You should go. You don't want to keep the Uchiha waiting, do you?" He ignored my comment and went down the stairs where Naruto stood frozen in fear. "Come on, Naruto. You don't want to miss Sasuke's fight. It'll be quite an interesting battle." We started walking to Kakashi and the others. "If we had come a minute sooner that could've been us." I shook my head, but stayed silent. When Kakashi was in view, Naruto ran to him. I watched Sasuke fight Gaara as Naruto tried to make Kakashi stop the fight. Sasuke had used Lee's speed and broke Gaara's sand armour a bit. Poor Gaara, he was being kicked around like a dog. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"W-what is it Naruto?"

"Sensei, please, you just have to stop this match right away. The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us, he's about as far from normal as you can get!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto slow down. What are you trying to say?" Ino asked a bit confused.

"He thinks his point in life is to kill people. Don't you see!? If this continues, Sasuke will die! You've got to believe me!"

I appeared next to Kakashi-sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, as much as I hate to admit it, Naruto's right. He thinks his purpose is to kill and whether you trained Sasuke for a reason or not, he still won't be a decent match for Gaara." Sakura, Ino and Choji looked freaked out by my sudden appearance. Good thing I washed off the blood. "Of course, I'm not saying you should stop the match because that would be a waste of time." I gave them all a fake reassuring smile, which they bought.

Kakashi looked at me sceptically before turning back to the match. Ok, so maybe he saw through it. "Well ok then and Naruto, Sasuke and I weren't just goofing off. There's a reason we were so late getting here. Just watch. By the way, Ayame, how did you do it? You fought that guy and used tons of chakra – as I heard from Gai and Lee – and yet you're still standing."

I shrugged. "I have almost as much chakra as Naruto and I've learned to use my chakra at a minimum when I do my Jutsu's." Ok, I lied. I might seem only a little tired, but I felt like I'd fall over any minute now. He nodded and even though he tried to look bored I could see he was impressed. I wasn't sure if it was aimed at me or Sasuke though, because his face was still facing forward, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.

Suddenly Gaara's bone chilling, pained scream was heard. "Blood! It's my blood!" I cringed, poor Gaara. It's almost time… I looked over to Sasuke. His arm was stuck and he was trying to pull it out. I giggled. It actually looks funny.

Sasuke got his arm out as well as the Shukaku's. It slammed down onto the ground and receded back into the ball of sand. The sand cracked and flowed down Gaara's body. He was in pain and breathing shallower. Sasuke looked completely shocked. I looked to my left to see the 'ANBU' touch someone's shoulder and he instantly fell asleep. I saw the feathers fall down, but it didn't affect me. Like I said, I trained myself against these things. I saw Naruto fall down, asleep and Shikamaru pretend to be asleep.

There was an explosion at the Hokage and Kazekage's seats. I growled. I – unfortunately – cannot stop Orochimaru now even if I wanted to. I have to help Naruto and the rest stop Gaara even if I just watch from a distance and fight the others. The ANBU ran to help the Hokage and the siblings ran to get their brother. I watched as the sound ninja made the barrier and one ANBU was set on fire. "Why are you here? Lord Hokage's in danger." Gai asked the 'ANBU'. Other sound ninja jumped up from their disguises and stood next to him.

I appeared beside Gai-sensei. "Don't waste your breath on this snake, Gai-sensei. He's a spy from the sound village. Right, Kabuto?" I emphasised his name.

He chuckled. "You're too smart for your own good, aren't you Ayame?"

I growled in annoyance. "Kabuto, when this is all over, tell Orochimaru that I hope he enjoys the 3de's present." I watched as Gaara held his head in pain. Kankuro and Temari took him away from the arena. Sasuke followed them. I looked up and saw Orochimaru tear off the Kazekage's fake skin off of himself. I wrinkled my nose. Eew, that's disgusting. I got over my disgust and glared with a fierce hatred.

Gai looked over to me and even flinched before he looked to where I was glaring. "Kakashi, look there, inside the barrier."
My glare intensified. "That's right. Orochimaru is here."

Sakura sprang up. "Orochimaru!" Two sound ninjas sprang at her with kunai at the ready, but I intercepted them. I threw my own kunai at them and hit them straight on. They fell to the floor, not standing up again. I had thrown it with so much strength that they couldn't block it and it hit them straight in the stomach.

Kakashi and Gai stood fighting them while I glared at Kabuto and protected Sakura when needed. "Sakura, Ayame it was worth teaching you Genjutsu during survival training for the gennin exam. You truly do have a talent for it. Release the Genjutsu and wake Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto will be delighted. He'll be getting a mission after such a long time. You'll have to be careful on this one. It's the first A-rank assignment since the land of the waves." Sakura gasped. Kakashi explained that Sasuke was chasing Gaara and the sand ninja, he told us to follow Sasuke. Then he summoned Pakkun and told us to take him with us.

"Come on Sakura, you wake Naruto and I'll wake Shikamaru." I said. I walked toward Shikamaru and stood above him. "Wake up, you lazy-ass or I'll kick you."

"Alright, alright, man women are such a drag." He said sitting up. "Just give me a break; I couldn't care less about Sasuke." Pakkun bit him and Shikamaru was frantic to get him off. I couldn't help but laugh. Shikamaru picked Pakkun up and stretched his skin.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Shikamaru." Pakkun bit his hand and Shikamaru yelled out.

Naruto sat up and asked what was going on. I quickly explained to them what the plan was and told them that Shino was probably going to join us too, because he was still in the waiting area. That and he still haven't fought yet. They nodded and we headed out of the whole Gai had created when he saved Naruto from being cut up.

Sakura explained on the way to Naruto what happened while he was asleep. Pakkun led the way with his nifty nose, although I could've used my nose instead.

"Come on you guys, hurry it up!" Pakkun shouted at us.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Did you see Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"No. We're being followed by 9 sound ninjas." I said.

"What?"

"Ah come on already, give me a break here." Shikamaru said exasperated. I suppose I can't blame him. He is – after all – almost completely chakra depraved.

We stopped and Pakkun told us to go back over our footprints. I looked back. "Uhm, Pakkun I don't have footprints." I said uncertainly.

"What? Then you must be really light on your feet." He said surprised.

I shrugged. "I supposed. I mean I am part cat after all." He nodded in understanding. "So I'll go ahead, if that's ok with you guys? I'll hold them off until you get there." They all nodded and so I went on ahead.

Soon I caught up with Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, mind if I help?" I gave him a cocky smirk.

He looked at me and nodded. "Come on, we're close." I nodded and we picked up the pace.

"Temari will know you're following her by now." I said to him.

He gave me a confused look. "Won't they know you're here too?"

I shook my head. "No. My steps are too light for them to hear through the trees and I shrouded my chakra." He nodded and we continued. My ears picked up a sound far off. It sounded like wire. Yes, it had to be. "Temari's setting traps on the trees now. We need to continue pursuing them on the ground." He jumped down and continued running. I huffed. Leave me here, why don't ya? I jumped off the ground and landed softly before continuing. As we ran I saw the wires. I took my kunai and tripped them all. "What was that!?" Sasuke asked.

I glanced at him. "If you want them to think that you're not following them anymore then that was necessary."

Sasuke threw a kunai at the tree near Temari's head and I quickly jumped higher into the tree before they could see me. "I've finally caught you." He said. "Did you really think that I'd let you get away?"

"If it isn't Sasuke Uchiha." Temari said.

Sasuke smirked. "This is as far as you guys go." I think he's feeling good about himself today.

"So what are you gonna do, huh?" Kankuro asked. He kinda sounded like he was mildly freaking out. I smirked. "Go Kankuro, get Gaara away from here." Temari said and threw kunai at his head. "I'll take care of this one."

"Don't be a fool, Temari. This kid's too much to handle all by yourself."

"Don't argue. Our mission is to make sure Gaara is safe. He's our first and only priority. Don't worry about me. This is what I've been waiting for." She smirked. Sasuke scowled at her. "Get going Kankuro." He nodded and left with Gaara.

"No you don't!" Sasuke threw shuriken at him, but missed. "Damn." He jumped from tree to tree, trying to get higher, but Temari stopped him and used her wind Jutsu.

I jumped down. "Go Sasuke. I'll handle her." I said standing with my hand on my hip. "Temari, you're way too cocky for someone who's low on chakra." Sasuke nodded and went on ahead.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." I held my hand to my mouth and blew out several fire flowers. She jumped back and landed on the ground with the flames encircling her. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu" I sent a fireball right at her and there's nothing she could do about it.

"Wind scythe Jutsu" Well except that. I jumped off the tree and fell down. She threw shuriken right at me, but I did the substitution Jutsu and put a bomb on the log. I quickly went on ahead and not long after a big 'BOOM' was heard as the paper bomb went off.

I arrived just in time to see Sasuke heading after Temari as Shino took over his fight with Kankuro. Yes, Temari had caught up to her brother again. "Good luck Shino." Shino and Kankuro looked at me surprised as I jumped past them. He nodded anyway.

I moved as quickly as my legs could carry me. I quickly caught up with Temari, leaving Sasuke a little behind. I saw Gaara wake up. Temari put him down on a branch and Gaara grabbed his head, groaning in pain again. "Hey, Gaara are you alright?" I asked my voice laced with concern. I mean, yeah he was a ruthless killer, but later on he'll be a better person because of Naruto. Temari's head shot up and she gasped. "You, what are you doing here?"

"Following you of course, but to more important matters… Temari you need to get away from Gaara right now. The Shukaku is surfacing." She nodded and Gaara stood up, telling her to leave him alone because he doesn't need her and then he threw her against a tree. "Gaara, you have to calm down. You need to calm down."

He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breath. Then he opened his eyes and looked directly behind me at Sasuke. "I have no idea what scheme you Sand Village clowns have got going, but I'll stop it – no matter what it is." Sasuke was actually determined for once. I jumped back to stand beside him. What? The look Gaara was giving Sasuke gave me chills. "Besides I'm dying to see what you really are."

"Not such a great plan, Uchiha. In fact it's the dumbest one you've had yet." I murmured, but by the glare he threw me it seems he had heard.

Gaara yelled out in pain and clutched his head. "Gaara, no!" Temari shouted.

Gaara's sand armour cracked. Crap. I was hoping Naruto would be coming soon, but it looks like I'll have to fight him as well. Gaara began sprouting crap about how he and Sasuke were alike in their purpose. Gaara fell to his knees and cried out in pain. Oh Gaara… "You are my pray!" He was in so much pain as the Shukaku started taking over. His arm transformed. When I looked again, half his body was transformed. I winced. I really don't like seeing him in pain. I heard Sasuke gasp in horror. "Now, let me feel it." Gaara rushed toward Sasuke and I took a hold of him and appeared behind Gaara again.

"What are you doing!?" Sasuke yelled at me over the roar of the falling tree branch.

"Saving your skin!" I yelled back. I appeared high in the tree tops.

"Why do you hide, Sasuke Uchiha? Do I frighten you?" I appeared next to Temari who was shaking and whimpering in fear of her brother. "Are you shocked by my true form? Come out, come out Sasuke Uchiha. To live, I must kill and you are my pray!"

I crouched down beside Temari and grabbed her in a comforting hug. "Don't worry Temari. It will all be over soon, I promise. Just keep quiet and don't make a sound."

She looked shocked by what I did. "Why are you comforting me? I'm the enemy."

I shook my head. "No you're not, not really. You've all been tricked. You'll find out what I mean soon enough, now keep quiet and don't move." She nodded and kept quiet.

Sasuke jumped out of his hiding place and threw shuriken at Gaara, but he blocked with his transformed arm. They sunk into his arm and he threw them back at him. I appeared next to Sasuke just as he whispered. "This guy's a freak."

I shook my head. "No he's not. He's misunderstood. The fear the villagers felt for him created this because he never had a purpose."

"What's wrong, Sasuke Uchiha? Why do you run and hide? Why don't you attack?" Gaara grabbed his head as he relived another set of his memories. "Why do you always run away?"

He sounded so miserable, I just couldn't resist but to appear in front of him. "Gaara I wouldn't run away, I'm not frightened of you like your village's people. I would even be your friend."

He glared at me. "Liar!" He lashed out with his arm and almost squashed me. Good thing I had disappeared away from him. "Yes, that's it. You live in fear every day I'm alive!" Wait I think I missed some of his speech. Oh well, it's nothing that I won't miss out on. "What's wrong!? Are you really so afraid of me?" Gaara kept on talking about his and Sasuke's existence. Don't fall for his trap Sasuke. Not now.

Sasuke stood up and started to make the Chidori's hand signs. The Chidori took form in his hand. "With one blow I'll finish this." He said. How wrong you are Sasuke, how wrong you are…

They rushed at each other and the Chidori made contact with Gaara's transformed arm. Gaara screamed in pain and fell on his back on a branch. He began laughing as he sat up. "I see, so that's what it is." His arm grew bigger and a tail started to form. Crap.

Gaara slung himself towards Sasuke. He barely had time to get away, but luckily he did. Gaara did it again and this time Sasuke used his fireball Jutsu. Sasuke blocked Gaara's blow, but still got thrown way back. His back hit a tree and made a huge dent in it. Gaara started talking again. Sasuke stood up once again and started performing the hand signs. He jumped off the branch and went to hit Gaara when the Chidori failed. He was about to use the curse mark, but I appeared beside him and grabbed his arm, tugging him away from the Shukaku. "Sasuke don't use it. I will continue the fight for now. He's only trying to lure you out so that he can kill you and what good is being dead when it won't enable you to avenge your clan's death?" I asked him. He just nodded mutely.

I made a hand sign. "Lightning style: Lighting bolt." I looked at my hand where a lightning bolt had formed. I threw it at Gaara and it cut the sand off.

Gaara groaned in pain and the sand created the arm again. Gaara jumped toward us as I got distracted with Sasuke who fell to his knees grabbing a hold of the mark. I hissed in pain as well. Damn it. That Orochimaru will get what's coming to him if I get my hands on him.

I heard a foot collide with Gaara's face. Good Naruto's here. The curse mark was sending waves of pain to me again. I clenched my teeth and moaned in pain. Damn it, damn it, damn it! How long will this last?

Sakura and Pakkun landed next to me. I was holding myself up with the one hand while the other was clutching the curse mark. My back was hunched over and my head was pressed to the ground.

"Sasuke, Ayame!" Sakura gasped. I hissed out in pain. What the hell!? He's not even close now and yet it's still burning!

"W-what are you doing here?" Sasuke ground out between clenched teeth. I looked toward him. His curse mark had spread. "Damn it, Sasuke. I told you not to use it." I panted.

Sasuke ignored me as another wave of pain hit us. My eyes widened and I coughed up blood. W-why am I coughing up blood? I almost screamed as the pain hit me, but all that came out was a startled gasp. Sasuke on the other hand was obviously in more pain than I was, because he was screaming although his mouth was closed so it sounded more like groaning.

I gasped in pain. My skin felt like someone was ripping it off as well as setting it on fire. I looked down. The curse mark was spreading on my skin. What? No, I won't let it go any further. I bit on my lip and concentrated on making it recede. Instead of making it recede it spread more and faster. I whimpered as the pain hit me again. Recede you damn curse mark, recede! I mentally yelled. I tasted blood on my lips. I had bit my lip too hard and now it was bleeding. I heard Sakura gasp. "Not you too, Ayame."

"S-sakura, I t-tried making it go away but i-it just wouldn't recede." I stuttered trying to explain as the pain hit me. Soon it was too much for my body handle and I collapsed next to Sasuke and Sakura.

I heard my team talk, but I couldn't concentrate on it. Sasuke tried to get up. I saw blood on his lips. It seems like he coughed up blood too. "Die, Sasuke Uchiha!" I saw Gaara jump toward us, aiming to kill but Sakura got in his way. "Sakura, no!" I heard Naruto yell. Gaara pinned Sakura to a tree and nearly crushed her, but while she was being thrown back her leg had hit my head and sent me crashing against a tree. Hitting my head hard I blacked out.

My body feels like led. What happened? My head was pounding and I felt wetness at the back of my head. I tried moving, but I only managed to stir slightly. I tried again.

It took a while, but I could finally open my eyes and lift my body. I stood up on trembling legs. I almost fell down, but arms wrapped around my waist, steadying me. I looked up to see Temari was the one who was steadying me. I looked at her in appreciation. "Thanks."

She nodded. I looked up just in time to see the chief toad turn into the nine tailed fox. Gamabunta lunged at the Shukaku. I quickly used this to my advantage. I made the hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" I brought my hand down to the ground. The tree Sakura and Sasuke were on broke and I quickly jumped off of Masami – my summoning Cougar - and caught Sakura and Sasuke. Her name means elegant beauty, which is what she is. "Sasuke, hold Sakura and keep her safe while me and Masami fight." I left no room for argument. Good thing the sand around Sakura had collapsed, so now Sakura was free. I grabbed them both and jumped on Masami's back. "Child, why have you summoned me?" She was a bit taller than Gamabunta.

I ignored her and called out to Chief toad. "Hey Chief toad! I'll hold the Shikaku for you; you guys can wake Gaara up!" He nodded. "Come on, Masami. We need to hold the Shukaku. Can you do that for me?" She nodded in understanding.

She gave a mighty roar. Before the Shukaku could turn around she stepped onto his tail and dug her claws into his back.

Gamabunta ran at the Shukaku. Suddenly they transformed into themselves again and Naruto jumped up from Gamabunta's head, onto the Shukaku. He effectively punched Gaara in the face.

"Ah, that's just GREAT!" The Shukaku roared in outrage. "Give me a break, I just got here." His irritating voice sounded whiney. Geez, you'd think he was younger than me. The Jutsu wore off and when Gaara woke up, Naruto ran at him again.

Gaara growled in anger and almost enclosed Naruto with his sand. Good thing Gamabunta had shielded him with his tongue. "You think I'm a fool!?" Gaara yelled.

I rolled my eyes. Ok, so I have to be in the spotlight. Oh joy. I appeared behind Gaara, my hand on his neck. "Let him go Gaara or the only person who you love will die by my hand." I said. Of course it was a lie, but he didn't know that. I could never really hurt Gaara. He's been through way too much. He ignored me and spoke to Naruto. "I'll wipe you from the face of the earth. I will not cease to exist."

I sighed. This is going to take a while. I watched as Naruto summoned the fox's chakra. He was engulfed in the red chakra. It actually looked… kinda cool. He jumped forward, but the sand caught him and his extended fist. He struggled but after a little while he slammed his forehead against Gaara's. I smiled proudly at my friend. The Shukaku's whole body turned back into sand and both Naruto and Gaara fell down. I jumped back onto Masami's back. "Lord Gamabunta, you can go now. Go rest and heal your body." The old toad nodded and thanked me before he disappeared.

Both the boys landed on trees as Gamabunta disappeared. "Masami you can go now too. Thank you for your help." The mountain lion nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke, making me fall straight down and landing on another tree. It was a good thing Sasuke had found his strength and jumped off of Masami with Sakura in his arms.

Both boys sat up, panting. They stood up and had a stare off. Both of them stood in fighting stance and as soon as Gamabunta's sword disappeared as well they jumped at each other, fists at the ready.

As Gaara wasn't very good at close combat, Naruto punched him and both fell down.

I zoned out as I sat in the tree, my soul filling with sorrow. The old man was probably gone by now… My tears silently leaked out from my eyes. I wiped them away as I made my way to a terrified Gaara and Naruto who was moving toward him just by using his chin. They were talking. I held up my hand to Sasuke who was about to interfere, showing him not to do anything.

I crouched by Gaara when Naruto was done talking. I gently picked Gaara up. "You know, the thing that makes him so strong is his feelings toward his friends – his love. Maybe you can be like him some day." I gave a shocked Gaara a soft smile and handed him to his siblings.

Sasuke told Naruto that Sakura would be alright and he finally passed out. I walked over to him. "Sasuke take Sakura, I'll take Naruto." He nodded and went to get Sakura, but I stopped him. "Naruto and Gaara are the same, that's why him and only him could've stopped Gaara." He nodded again and walked off.

I walked with Naruto in my arms to his apartment. I took his keys out of his pockets and opened the door. I gently put him in his bed and wrote a quick note. The note said:

"Naruto,

Tomorrow you must wear funeral clothes.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the 3de Hokage died.

We will all attend his funeral and I will pick you up in the morning.

Ayame"

I walked out of his apartment and went to my own. I sighed. Tomorrow will be a heart breaking, sorrow filled day.