Hey~ guys. I'm going to tell you something amazing.

I did it again. I typed up a whole chapter in a few hours. Whoo. The muse is flowing, motherfuckers.

Anyways, thank you guys for the reviews! I got like nine in a span of a few hours, which made me so incredibly amazingly happy. Welcome new followers. Now, I'm telling you now. I hope I did alright, considering. I mean, this is a new side of Kuroki that we haven't really seen yet, have we? Have we? Damn. Can't remember.

BUT OROCHIMARU IS IN THIS CHAPTER! AHAHAHAHA! Shit's going down. I honestly hope I did okay with Mr. Shadow lovely blood lust thing. Maaan.

Anyways, I really hope you enjoy. Don't mind the mistakes. Again, it's rushed.

I leant on Sasuke as we sat somewhere near the tent where the teams were receiving their scrolls. He had his hand wrapped over mine protectively as he was deep in thought about the exams.

I stared at Naruto who sat in front of me, his head downcast as most of the genins around here were. The incident of me releasing killing intent, twice, impacted more people than I would've liked. Everyone was more nervous than they were before, more paranoid. I for one was incredibly worried about if people were able to tell who the one releasing the killing intent was.

If they knew...if Orochimaru knew...what would he do? Would he keep an eye out for me? I shouldn't be gathering attention to myself. That's bad. I have some distinctive physical features, sure, but most of the people here did too. I wouldn't stand out in a crowd that much.

Dammit. I didn't think I would lack control over my emotions like that. I squeezed Sasuke's hand as I felt my frustration increase. He glanced to me, worried for me. I smiled slightly at him, and closed my eyes. He hadn't spoken about it, but he had become a lot more wary. I wonder what was going through his head.

He's really snagged a large portion of my heart, hasn't he? The thought...the thought of losing him, it's something I can't picture. Won't picture. As much as it seemed like I could've handled without him, I couldn't. I needed him just as he needed me. We were the lifeline to each other. If one were to go, the other would lose all sense.

I knew that if he lost me, he'd probably lose it.

I knew that if I lost him, I wouldn't be able to hold back that incredible amount of murderous intent surging through my veins.

I ended up standing in the familiar darkness that enveloped me whenever I closed my eyes. He stood in front of me, and my eyes widened.

"You-where's your inhuman large-ass grin?!" I demanded in horror, so unused to seeing him without the one thing that defined him most.

Instead, there was the shadow of his face. He leisurely, slowly walked up to me before leaning close to my face.

'Do you not like it...?' He asked softly in a tone that mocked sadness. I reached up and touched his face, the same tingly feeling I always got from touching him running through my hands, but it was stronger. I could see it, the outline of his nose, the darker spots where his eyes were meant to be, his lips that had shifted to be more human.

I ran my thumb over the foreign lips. They were soft, and I was a little surprised when they stretched into an amused smile.

"You're becoming more corporeal?" I asked in disbelief. I could see the bangs of his hair fall over his forehead. They were long and messy, and I could even grab a lock. I looked down at his body, seeing the finer details of his clothes. He was starting to become less like the shadow I first met.

But why?

He slid his hand under my hair and cupped my face. I instinctively leaned into it. This felt more real than before. It wasn't a ghost of a touch. I was literally touching him, actually feeling him. I watched as he brought up his other hand, and saw how his clawed outlines for hands now actually became claws.

"You're pretty damn attractive for a shadow-turning-corporeal." I blurted without thought, knowing he'd hear it anyways. He gave the same wispy laugh that he always had, but I watched as his mouth had formed into a smile and his chest moved with his laugh.

'So you do like it...?' He asked, and I shrugged.

"I want to know why this is happening." I stated, not bothering to answer his question. He didn't seem to mind, as I watched with fascination as his mouth moved. It should be normal, seeing someone's mouth move as they spoke, but when you have a shadow who had a giant inhuman grin that never moved even when he spoke, it was pretty damn not normal.

'You felt it...didn't you? My eternal blood lust...that I can never satisfy...'

I looked down. "I felt it. It was overwhelming, but something tells me that's no where near as close to the full extent." I looked back up at him, mostly his lips, to see him smile.

'No...for a long time...I'd not interacted with any being for such a long time...but I watched...I watched this world and yours...never being able to do anything...'

"You've built up a lot of rage and anger, then?" I tilted my head at him, suddenly remembering his hand was still cupping my cheek. He noticed me noticing, but refused to move it as I continued to play with his spiky hair.

'I then met you...you intrigued me...being reincarnated to another world...I watched you for a long time...when I was suddenly able to speak with you...'

"You realised I could be your vessel in relieving the endless blood lust." I nodded, understanding. I didn't mind that I was simply a tool to him. I bonded with him and well, can't change it now. I'd use the next person who spoke to me if I was in the same circumstance.

'Indeed...you forgive me, Kuroki...?' He tilted his head to the side as I usually did. I smiled at him.

"Always. We're one now. Now and forever." I told him, then looked down. "Even if I turn into a monster again...we'll always be as one."

I opened my eyes as I felt Sasuke shifting. He moved to stand up, and looked back at me, our hands still connected.

"Our turn to get the scrolls." He stated. I nodded as he pulled me up, lightly nudging the Uzumaki and making our way to the tent.

I breathed in as I knew that this exam would show the darker aspects of myself. I didn't want to show that to Naruto or Sasuke, but to protect them, I'll probably have to.

We stood at gate twelve. Naruto finally bouncing back from his moment of depression and now fully excited.

"Okay, I won't lose! I'll kick anyone's ass who gets near me!" He exclaimed, bringing up the finger. I grinned in amusement.

My eyes shifted around, he's near this gate, isn't he? Dammit.

I had to suppress a growl from escaping my throat as I watched the man undo the chains from the gate.

I couldn't remember which day Orochimaru attacks us. Fuck! I'll have to on extra guard now. God, I'm getting anxious. Jesus.

While I was busy contemplating my plans, I hadn't noticed half an hour had past until I heard Anko's voice.

"The second test of the Chuunin Exams...begins now!"

Instead of sprinting forward, we stepped forward, entering the forest rather leisurely.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto announced before we all suddenly took off and into the trees.

After a few minutes of tree-jumping, we landed on the ground together. No sooner, we heard the sound of screams echo throughout the area.

For some reason, I started laughing.

"Uh, Kuroki-chan?"

I couldn't stop just yet.

"Hey, Teme? You think she's broken?"

"She's probably just excited."

"I..got to take a piss..."

I finally calmed down after a bit, seeing Naruto saunter off into the bushes.

Sasuke and I exchanged eye contact when we felt something was up after a few minutes. Naruto never took this long.

"Man! So much came out! I feel great now!" The voice of Naruto exclaimed. Both our eyes turned to see 'Naruto' walk out of the bushes.

I tilted my head as he came closer, just as Sasuke swiftly kicked him in the face and sent him smashing against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"What the hell are you doing?" 'Naruto' demanded, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke asked stoically.

"What...are you saying all of a sudden?" Oh, wow. This person is shit at impersonating Naruto. Everyone knows that the moment Sasuke kicked him, he would've gone off and alerted every team within the area.

"Your shuriken holster is on your left side, Naruto's right handed." Sasuke informed the impersonator.

"Also, you're lacking the scratch Anko gave him on his cheek." I added, feeling surprisingly calm now.

A cloud of smoke formed and out came a ridiculous-looking unfamiliar ninja who had a blindfold with holes cut out so he could see wrapped around his head and a mask of some sorts. I had to force back the snickers.

"Unlucky! You figured it out, oh well. Which one of you has the scroll?!" His voice sounds like he gargled nails.

"I'll just take it by force then!" He came sprinting towards us, but Sasuke jumped up and did handsigns in midair before releasing his jutsu.

"Mythical fire flower no jutsu!"

I jumped forward, knowing that Sasuke missed and was now following after him. I found Naruto tied up nearby.

"Kuroki-chan!" I jumped down to where Naruto was as Sasuke appeared above us, chasing the ninja.

"Kuroki!" I heard Sasuke just as I cut Naruto loose of the ropes.

"Yes, there's an opening! Lucky!" The ninja cackled. How old is he?

Sasuke blocked the kunai the ninja threw by moving behind the large tree branch he was on. Shit!

I jumped up in a blur, grabbing Sasuke and running up the tree just as the explosion note attached to the kunai went off below.

In the instance Sasuke and I exchanged eye contact, I turned and threw him towards the other ninja that had appeared before Naruto.

I followed closely behind, using Sasuke's shadow as slight cover as I ran down the tree. Sasuke threw kunai at the ninja, who noticed in time and jumped back, dodging. I used this moment to jump from the tree, right towards the ninja who threatened us.

Quickly unsheathing my katana, I raised it over my head as I quickly narrowed in on him. He noticed me a second too late before I brought down my katana, cutting through his shoulder and dismembering him. The blood splattered across my face and on my chest as he yelled out in pain, giving me that split second to swing my weapon across his neck.

I landed on the ground quietly, before hearing the multiple thuds of body parts landing on the ground. I stared at the ground for a second, feeling the blood slide down my face and taint the dirt below me.

Not even an hour of being in this place and I've killed already. Sighing, I flicked the blood off my katana and sheathed it, turning to see Sasuke and Naruto blur in. My eyes turned to the bloody body parts scattered around.

This time. I couldn't deny it. I couldn't deny the dark smile tugging at my lips upon seeing the sight.

"K-Kuroki-chan..." I glanced to Naruto, who seemed be in slight shock as he stared at the head of the ninja I just killed.

"We had to kill him, Naruto." Sasuke stated seriously, actually using the monkey's name. Naruto's face scrunched up.

"But-!"

"Naruto." I called his name, and he turned, obviously distraught.

"We're ninjas. Ninjas aren't all about protecting people and gaining recognition. Ninjas kill. Ninjas torture, ninjas do dark things. You're going to have to accept that sooner or later." I told him, no amusement in my voice and I noticed that I sounded like my actual age.

Apparently sapped of energy, Naruto's shoulders slumped as he stared dejectedly at the ground.

I walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked up at me to see me smiling.

"But you don't have to do that now, of course. Anyways." I looked to Sasuke, who stared at me.

"We should leave this area. Who knows if his teammates were around here." Sasuke nodded, I looked back to Naruto who had a look of determination on his face.

"Ready?" I asked him. He looked up at me and I could see the fire in his blue eyes.

"Yeah, let's go."

We all glanced at each other before jumping into the trees and away from the corpse.

We sat in a circle with our legs crossed whilst Sasuke explained strategy.

At the moment I was staring intently at the bamboo stick sticking up from the dirt behind Sasuke.

Before we sat here, Sasuke and I conversed about how other ninjas are going to overhear us when we were jumping from tree to tree. So Naruto would be in on it, we jumped together in a row, Naruto in the middle as Sasuke and I conversed.

If we were separated again, we would use a codeword. Because I know that that fucker Orochimaru would be listening in on us when we're sitting down, we would use a fake one now while he's listening so he thinks this is the real codeword when in actuality it was the other one we agreed upon when we were finding this location.

"We'll make a codeword just in case." Sasuke said. "Listen...if they get the codeword wrong, assume they are the enemy no matter what."

"Listen carefully, I'll only say it once." I turned my eyes towards the Uchiha. I probably shouldn't have been staring so intently at it. He might be able to see through that thing.

"The nin song; 'Nin Machine.' When this is asked, answer with 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'" Sasuke informed us. Naruto had a blank face as I snorted.

"Wait...that's impossible to remember..."

I grinned. "Hey, is this code word really...?" My eyes darted to Naruto as he flinched and I saw a new cut on his cheek.

"Shit!" We braced ourselves as a terrifyingly strong wind suddenly occurred.

No! It was the first day! We get attacked the first day! No! No! No!

I'm a fucking idiot! I'm not prepared! Dammit! No! Sasuke!

I found myself leaning against a nearby tree, breathing harshly as my fingers dug themselves into the ground. Heartbeats. They were everywhere. Quick heart beats, slow heart beats, more than one. I could tell where they were exactly. All of them thumping away and bombarding my ears. I could hear my own heart thumping at an impossible rate. It felt as if with each thump, more and more of my restraint was being washed away and building up. The sound of bushes rustling was incredibly loud to me now, and I snapped my head in that direction so fast I could've broken my own neck.

"Kuroki!" Naruto. He's not Naruto. Heartbeat is too slow. Too calm. Not him.

With a tremendous amount of effort, I could only mutter one thing. "Code..." Shit. Shit. Shit. Could he sense it? Was I releasing killing intent? I couldn't know. I want to kill him. Kill.

"Ah! 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'" 'Naruto' recited. "Whoa!" I watched as he dodged a kunai, then saw Sasuke appear in front of me in a defensive position.

"Who are you?!" He demanded. His heart beat was erratic. But looking at him, I had this feeling...I don't have the urge to kill him.

Why!?

'Because he's the one you fear for...if you killed him...what would you fear then...?'

Made sense...I felt myself calm slightly, I kept my eyes on his back, my ears focused on his heart beat. It was hard, considering I could hear so many different heart beats.

"Impressive that you knew..." A voice that was Naruto's, but wasn't Naruto spoke. It was...slimy, despite how snakes aren't slimy.

My eyes shifted to the cloud of smoke that formed and faded, revealing the one man I didn't want to meet. God! This isn't the time to have to hold back urges!

Not yet!

I couldn't hear the conversation between Sasuke and that fucker, no. I could only hear heartbeats. I curled up, fighting the urges. They were tearing me apart, I couldn't hold it in much longer. When that happens, I'll kill. I will kill and I won't be able to stop.

Suddenly, I felt something foreign. I glanced up to see Sasuke frozen. Killing intent. But I felt only a slight tingle. My eyes shifted to the body of Orochimaru, who had been staring at Sasuke in amusement. I was shaking, breathing harshly and on the verge of tears since holding in this horrible urge to kill was frustrating and fucking annoying. He probably thought I was being affected by his killing intent as well.

I saw kunai flying toward me, but what surprised me was how slow it was. I glanced to Sasuke, who I saw was moving even slower. What the fuck?!

'There are perks to me being with you...'

Will I be able to fucking control your fucking blood lust!?

'With time...yes...'

I promise you, I'll go on a fucking massacre, but I need to move. NOW!

'As you wish...Kuroki...' I heard him chuckle before I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders. Heartbeats were still thrumming in my ears and everything was incredibly slow, but I didn't have to fight the urges to slaughter the nearest thing.

Not a moment later, I suddenly grabbed Sasuke and sprinted further into the forest faster than I could comprehend. I stopped soon enough, having to skid across the floor before placing Sasuke down.

He dropped onto his knees, shaking and obviously panicked. I dropped down to my knees too, instantly cupping his face and lifting it. His eyes were wide with fear and something else.

He's alive.

He's alright.

He's here with me.

We stared only a second longer before we smashed our lips together in relief. He's still alive. I felt him grabbing the back of my head and pushing roughly to deepen the kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity, we separated, both of us panting. We stared deeply into each other's eyes, and I could see that he had a determined glint, no longer full of panic, but I could see. He was still afraid.

"I'm here." I whispered, before we both nodded and jumped back as the giant ass snake brought its fangs down to where we previously were.

Sasuke was in the air as I landed on a nearby branch. The snake curled around the branch near him, and I sprinted forward in an instant unsheathing my katana and landed on the snake's head just as it launched itself towards Sasuke. I grabbed my katana with two hands and snarled as I brought it down, the blade piercing the snake's brain.

The snake began to fall as I removed my weapon and jumped off it, landing next to Sasuke who had thrown kunai and shuriken at the creature just as I landed on it. It fell, obviously dead, but I knew that Orochimaru was under there.

Soon enough, the skin of the snake began to move and I reached into my kunai pouch, grabbing three and throwing them at the spot I knew he was coming out from. I growled as I saw slimy hands reach out of the snake and catch my kunai with ease.

Fucking fucker!

"You guys shouldn't be relaxing for even a moment. Prey should always be trying their best to run away..." The sound of heartbeats became louder as I crouched down defensively, snarling at the form of Orochimaru was covered in slime.

"In the presence of a predator, that is..." He moved quickly, curling around the branch as the snake did, only a lot faster. He wasn't trying though, was he?

The sound of a kunai clinging gained my attention, and I snapped my head back to see Naruto standing behind us, his heart thumping loudly. I watched as the kunai embedded themselves in the tree Orochimaru was climbing up, stopping his advanced as Naruto made a grand entrance.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke!" I heard the monkey call, causing the Uchiha to snap his head back.

"I forgot...the codeword!"

"Naruto, I know you think you're cool and you're here to save us...forget it! This guy's on a whole other level!" Sasuke warned the blonde. I turned to see Orochimaru casually lazing on the branch, his eyes on Naruto.

Kill him now? Kill him later? Is that stupid?

"Hmhm, looks like you successfully defeated that giant snake...Naruto-kun."

My hand twitched uncontrollably as I felt the blood lust rising again. His heartbeat. His heartbeat was so calm. We were little shits compared to him. Fuck. It pissed me off. It scared me. I felt his eyes on me, so I looked at him. Our eyes connected.

He smiled maliciously.

I found myself grinning darkly. My resolve was breaking, fast.

"Hm...how interesting. You seem so dark, Kuroki-chan." He stated, his inhuman tongue flicked. "Such powerful killing intent, yet it's only directed at me."

"Yeah...it's really hard trying not to go on a killing spree..." I snickered. I felt like I was transcending slowly into madness. "Unfortunately for us, you're a sannin. Hell will know if I'm capable of doing any damage to the likes of you." I muttered bitterly, curling my lip in annoyance.

"A sannin?" Naruto asked, confused. Sasuke looked at me in confusion.

Something glinted in the snake's eyes as he chuckled. "Aren't you an interesting one..." He stated. Shit, the summoning seal!

"Leave Kuroki-chan alone!" Naruto called, dropping down and running up the branch Orochimaru was on.

"No! Naruto! Run away!" Sasuke called. Naruto ignored him and kept going.

Wind began to swirl around the fucking snake. "Summoning No jutsu."

Fuck!

A giant ass fucking snake head appeared!

Are you fucking kidding me?! It's huge!

"Naruto!" Sasuke and I called just as the giant snake smashed Naruto away, his body breaking a few rows of branches before finally smashing against the base of a tree. Blood escaped his mouth as he began to fall.

"Go ahead and eat him."

"EAT SHIT!" Naruto punched the giant snake's head, and I could already feel the change in him.

Lazily, Orochimaru blew some kind of wind jutsu at Naruto, sending him flying into a tree. Again.

"Sasuke!" The snake turned towards Sasuke. "Now it's your turn! What will you do?!"

NO!

Before I knew what happened, I was holding back a giant fucking snake head. Before Orochimaru reacted, Naruto dashed towards the fucker, but his tongue darted out and wrapped around the blonde.

"Naruto!" I called, snarling as I pushed back against the snake head that was continuing to push forward.

"Heh, so the nine-tails brat is still alive..." I heard the sannin mutter, his hands forming signs.

Shit! I can't move, dammit!

"When your emotions are heightened...the power of the nine-tails overflows...very interesting." Dammit! Dammit!

"Oh, my...the seal is visible.."

I growled as he slammed his hand into Naruto stomach, the latter screaming in pain.

"Sasuke! What the fuck are you doing!?" I snarled, my voice sounding a lot more animalistic than I remember.

The Sannin threw Naruto to the side, and I struggled to grab a kunai to pin him to the tree.

The sound of Sasuke's heartbeat changed suddenly. The giant snake disappeared in a cloud of dust, and I was left standing.

'He's going to take him away soon...you know this...embrace the lust of blood...I'll protect you...as you'll protect him...'

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A scream pierced my ears as I dropped to the ground. I realised, it was my own.

I screamed again as I felt my whole body burn. If felt like I was burning in fire. I could feel as my chakra morphed into something more malicious. I was in pain.

I was afraid.

The urges to kill.

I couldn't hold them back anymore.

Even if I die, I'm not letting the snake fucker take Sasuke.

'Shh...let me handle the rest...'

I didn't want to.

But I did.

I let the darkness embrace me.

Well, shit. MORE DRAMA. I had been thinking of this chapter for a long time, but I still had trouble going about it because of many variables. I hope I did alright for you guys. I like strong characters, so Kuroki is strong, but she has her weaknesses as anybody does. Sasuke is a major one. They're perfect. One loses the other, they go insane. That's really volatile actually. Dangerous.

Anyways! I hope you enjoyed. I really do. Please, please, please, please. Review. I want to know what you thought of the development in this chapter. It'll help me in the long run of future chapters. Did you like the shadow guy? Did you think Sasuke could've done more?

Please tell me. I'll see you in the next chapter. Whenever it is.