Naruto: Lost in the Dark
Mission 5: we want war

The next day, just like Sakura said, I felt well enough to move around. I just couldn't fight using kunai or shuriken or move myself too fast, or I'd reopen my wounds. Not that I minded, I could always just use my jutsus to fight and protect myself.

Of course, things seemed to be back to normal. Over the next three days, Naruto and Sasuke were at it again, fighting and bickering. Sakura and I were breaking them up, with not much actually getting done.

But there were a few things that changed.

Sakura and I were actually becoming closer. We were more like best friends now than anything. We'd both kept what we said to each other hidden from the boys, and we were now closer than ever. She and I mostly did the chores, like cooking and cleaning and bandaging up the boys.

We talked about stupid things when they weren't around. She told me about her and Ino, I told her about my friendship with Neji. We talked about boys, hair, makeup, and other things. For once, I felt like a girl, not just a ninja or a child.

Of course, all that came crashing down when the fourth day of the second part of the Exam came around. My teammates still hadn't found me, and I couldn't get back to them yet in risk of being injured even further than I had been.

So it wasn't looking too good for either of our teams.

I stayed silent as Sasuke held up their Earth scroll. I frowned a little when I realized that they'd received that scroll from the Sound Nin. Didn't that mean that they could move on?

"Sasuke." He looked up to me. "Don't you guys have two scrolls now? You could've already gone to the tower."

He sighed a little and shook his head. "Actually, something happened during the first hour of this trial, and our Heaven scroll ended up getting burned."

My eyes widened a bit. "But… is that even allowed?"

He pursed his lips. "That's one way from keeping the enemy from retrieving a piece of information is to destroy it."

"… that is a good point…" I frowned a little and focused again. "Well… if you're worried, I can help a little longer. I won't be able to get back to Kabuto and Yoroi just yet… so…"

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. Just don't get yourself killed," he ordered quietly.

As Sasuke left to get more water, things went from bad to worse. Naruto decided to try to fake a Heaven scroll so they wouldn't have to fight anyone else. But since they didn't have a Heaven scroll to fake the inside of, he would have to open the one Earth scroll they had.

Which would get their team eliminated by default.

But it might have been the only hope that Team 7 had in passing part two of the Chunin Exams.

Just as Naruto was about to open the scroll, I closed my eyes in fear. This was way too much for me. I wondered if fighting for a Heaven scroll would really be so bad. But of course, it seemed like there was no other choice.

I could feel Naruto shaking as he prepared to open the scroll.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I looked up, slowly opening my eyes to see Kabuto Yakushi, my teammate, standing beside us, one hand over Naruto's hands and the Earth scroll, keeping the blond from opening it.

I almost cried in relief. "Kabuto!"

He looked to me and smiled for a moment, before his expression turned to a frown. "What happened to you?!" he demanded, suddenly looking worried. I just shuffled my feet as he grabbed my injured arm and examined it. "If you weren't already hurt, I'd beat some sense into you," my teammate grumbled, taking out his needle and thread again. "Okay, let me see your wounds."

Not wanting to make him even angrier than he appeared to be, I sighed and unzipped my jacket and lifted up my shirt. "The worst ones are on my stomach and back," I muttered, turning to face him.

Minutes passed until, finally, I heard the thread snap. "You're done," Kabuto said.

"Thanks." I stood, zipping my jacket back up. "Sorry for worrying you… I just…" I trailed off as Kabuto quickly pulled me into a hug.

His arms were wrapped around me as he growled, "Idiot. If anything happened to you…" Quickly pulling away, he adjusted his glasses. "Just… just don't do that to me again, okay?" I nodded weakly. He held out his pinky to me, just like I had to him only a few days before. "You promise?"

I latched my pinky with his, no hesitation in my movements. "Promise, Kabuto!"

When Sasuke finally decided to join us, his disdain and astonishment at what the three of us had almost done was radiating off of him in waves. A sheepish apology came from the three of us.

Then, Kabuto explained to us just what would have happened if we'd had continued on with our rule breaking. Although those who opened the scrolls were protected by a hypnosis jutsu, those who were unlucky enough would only wake up once the Exam was over, but only then.

"Kabuto, right?" Sasuke drawled slowly. "Why are you out here all by yourself? Where are your teammates?"

Kabuto turned to face him, a smile on his face slightly. "I came looking for this one over here." He gestured to me. "She was with me during the first day, but she snuck off to find you guys. I guess she thought that we could take care of ourselves without her. I've been looking for her for a few days now."

My heart sunk. "So… you and Yoroi found another scroll…?" I asked meekly. He nodded, pulling out the two scrolls that he'd gotten. I frowned and hung my head in shame. "I'm sorry, Kabuto… I shouldn't have worried you like that."

He leaned down and poked my forehead a little. "Stupid. I'd have worried more if I didn't know where you were going. I knew that you were safe, I just didn't think you'd get this badly hurt… who did you fight? The ANBU?"

I shook my head again. "No. Not exactly. We got ambushed by a few Sound Nin and I… I wasn't strong enough to protect my friends."

"I'm sure you did fine. Even I wouldn't be able to get up with these wounds," Kabuto replied, gesturing to the cuts all over my body. He looked up with a slight smile, putting the scrolls back in his bag. "C'mon, Kayu. Yoroi is already waiting at the tower." I nodded. "Thank you for taking good care of her. I'll take care of things from here."

The two of us started to walk away, but Sasuke's voice stopped us. "Hold on." Kabuto turned slightly. "I'll fight you for it… I'll fight you for that Heaven scroll." I blinked a little. That was a stupid decision, even from a desperate Sasuke.

In seeming astonishment, Kabuto echoed, "You'll fight me for it? Are you… serious?"

"As a heart attack," Sasuke retorted, his eyes narrowed in sheer determination. "I don't care that you just saved us from being knocked into next Tuesday. It's not like we have time to play nice." Protests from both Naruto and Sakura went unheard. "Shut up!" he snapped. "It's either him or us. It's about survival and winning, nothing else!"

Kabuto frowned. "Stop lying. If you were serious about winning being all you cared about, why would you challenge me out in the open? You could have just stolen the scroll when my back was turned. Besides…" he paused, "if you were serious about stealing a scroll from me, you realize that you'd be stealing Kayuki's chances of becoming a Chunin away, too."

At this, Sasuke frowned a little, his eyes darting from Kabuto to me. He growled a little bit. "Tch," he spat.

"Well… why don't we do this? You helped Kayuki out, so it seems that I should repay you. I'll help you out to find the scroll you're looking for." He grinned a little. "But we shouldn't do this here. After all, that cooking fire will draw predators here… both beast… and man."

Some rustling in the bushes behind me made me frown. "Kabuto…"

His grin grew darker and wider. "I know. That's what I was warning you and your teammates about, Kayuki. So we need to be careful."

I nodded slightly. "Let's go."

=Uchiha Sasuke=

As the group of five flew through the trees, Sasuke openly had to question Kabuto's knowledge. "What makes you think that there are still other candidates out here? I mean, it's been four days."

"Of course!" the older Genin replied cheerily. "After all, the easiest way to find one of those scrolls isn't by running blindly through this huge forest. It's to lay in wait, set a trap for the opponent… which means that the easiest place to set that trap is a place that everyone has to get to."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed again. "You're talking about the goal."

Nodding, Kabuto's gaze was still fixed straight ahead. "Yes. The tower at the center of the forest will be teeming with candidates with their scrolls."

Kayuki nodded in agreement. "But that isn't the only problem, right, Kabuto?" Her temporary teammate nodded. "Yeah… since there's sure to be other teams that don't have their scrolls yet, they'll be trying the same thing."

Looking at her, Sasuke noticed the sudden difference in the aura that the girl gave off. She was much more serious. Even with her wounds, she appeared to be deadly serious, flying through the air like she was on a mission and she had somewhere important to be.

"Yes, but then there's the last part of the puzzle. Those collectors I told you about," Kabuto said to her. She frowned deeply. "Right, they'll be hidden at the tower so that they can pass the Exam easier, help out teams from their fellow village, or they steal just to keep too many from passing the Exam."

Frowning as well, Sasuke took in all this information. "I get it… and I get why you took the three of us with you. You're afraid of them, aren't you?" he taunted.

Of course, Kabuto didn't fall for the childish jab that Sasuke threw at him. "Of course I'm scared, wouldn't you be?" he replied, a cheerful edge still in his voice.

The five continued on to the tower in silence, Kabuto and Kayuki still in front. She only faltered once, which astonished Sasuke. Her legs had also been injured, and she couldn't exert herself too much. Yet there she was, running through the forest and keeping up with Sasuke and Kabuto.

He wondered just how much this Exam had pushed her.

He also had to wonder what happened to her while he was out cold.

=Yakushi Kabuto=

Night fell slowly, and eventually, the forest went completely dark. Kabuto stood with Team 7 and Kayuki. She was worn out from the run, but she tried her best not to show it. Hopefully she hadn't ripped her stitches… again.

The group of five quickly formulated a plan and split up to execute that plan. Kabuto was hidden amongst the trees. Sakura was place in the tall grass. Sasuke was underwater. Naruto was stuck hiding out in several vines. Kayuki was place in the tops of the trees, using her Shadow Raccoon to communicate.

As they slowly got closer and closer to the tower, more and more horrific traps popped up.

One Naruto triggered caused Kabuto to fly into action.

He sprung forward, taking several kunai in the back. He heard Naruto's cry of shock. But in a puff of smoke, Kabuto was gone, standing in the tree. "That was way too close for comfort," he complained.

Kayuki huffed angrily. "You idiot, and you're mad at me for scaring you."

"At least I used the substitution jutsu," he shot back.

And so, the group continued on towards the tower.

But it seemed like the tower never got any closer.

Kabuto suddenly came to a realization and a grimace came over his face. "Looks like someone spotted us… and caught us. They're playing games with our minds. Take a look over there."

He pointed to a tree were Naruto had pinned a giant centipede with his kunai. But that'd happened a while ago, and they'd walked away since then.

Sasuke seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Genjutsu."

"Yeah. They got us good. I only suspected a few moments ago," Kabuto admitted bitterly. "I can see their aim now. They're wearing us down and then, when we're exhausted, both physically and mentally, they'll attack."

Biting her lip, Kayuki muttered, "But that's what we are right now."

The silver-haired shinobi nodded again. "Yeah. Looks like they'll be coming soon. We should be prepared."

As if in response, several clones came morphing out from the trees. Kabuto and Kayuki were immediately on guard, Kayuki beginning to make several hand signs in order to use a jutsu quicker than she could imagine.

"Snow Dog Jutsu!"

Almost immediately, the temperature dropped a few degrees. A whirl of snow appeared at Kayuki's feet, quickly turning into the shape of a large, white dog. The dog's ears perked up a little.

Kabuto paused for a second as he watched Naruto's poor attempts to take down one of the clones. From the injury of one clone came another clone. He saw the wheels turning in Sasuke's head, but also noticed that he couldn't move as a kunai flew towards him.

Throwing Sasuke to the ground, Kabuto ran off a little, Kayuki right behind him. "It's a Genjutsu again?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "We're fighting illusions again. But that weapon was real… so I'm sure that the real enemy is close by, firing off weapons from behind their illusions. Don't let them fool you."

Kayuki nodded. "Right." She pulled a kunai from the pouch strapped to her leg. "So what do we need to do to survive?" she wondered, lowering herself into a defensive position.

"We have to hold our ground. If we go blindly looking for them in the woods, we'll just get taken out one by one. It'll be easy for them. But they're weak in Taijutsu, so this is what they'll attack with. We have to stay here and fend off whatever they throw at us."

Once again nodding, Kayuki stood her ground, just like Kabuto had ordered. The small group continued to dodge their attacks. As time went on, the group grew more and more tired.

It was irritating, to say the least.

=Akane Kayuki=

Well, things all worked out in the end.

For once, Naruto had the brilliant idea that saved us all. He disguised four of his Shadow Clones as Kabuto, Sakura, Sasuke, and me, while he attacked the Genjutsu illusions nonstop. The four of us then proceeded to corner the casters of the said Genjutsu.

In the end, we won the physical battle and we got the Heaven scroll that Team 7 needed to pass the second part of the Exam.

But Kabuto was badly injured, and he wasn't okay. He'd gotten a nasty slash across his face. As I helped him to the tower, leaving my teammates behind with their two scrolls, he muttered, "Did I scare you back there?"

I shook my head a little. "Nope. You didn't scare me one bit, you jerk."

He chuckled a little. "Let's just get through this door and finish off the exam."

=Yakushi Kabuto=

She never found out.

The stupid girl didn't even have a clue about what he truly was. She thought he was her friend, someone that she could rely on. She didn't know he was lying to her that entire time.

But as that card with her information sealed into it passed from Kabuto's hand into Orochimaru's, Kabuto knew that he'd betrayed her trust. She didn't know it yet, but he'd just sold her information, everything he'd learned about her, to someone who was after her for his own selfish purposes.

Not that Kabuto would regret what he'd done.

"So this card is for the girl?" his master hissed quietly.

Kabuto nodded. "Yes. Her powers, her relationships, everything that I managed to find out."

Orochimaru nodded as well, taking a peek at the card. "And… this girl trusts you?"

With a smirk, Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Yes, sir. She trusts me unreservedly." Orochimaru looked pleased by this revelation. "Sir. If you don't mind me asking, what do you want with Kayuki Akane?"

He grinned widely, his snake-like features more prominent than ever. "That girl possesses an interesting power. I was after that power for years. It's just a lucky coincidence that the Akane girl is the one who is in possession of those powers."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed slightly. "A… lucky coincidence?"

"Oh, I've been looking after Kayuki Akane for years, Kabuto. And not just because she has these powers I'm after," he revealed. But that was the last thing that the Snake Lord said before disappearing completely. Kabuto stood there, his eyes still narrowed at the spot where Orochimaru once was.

But his farewell only gave Kabuto more questions about this girl.

This girl named Kayuki Akane.

=Akane Kayuki=

We passed, and just on time, too.

Kabuto and me stood with the rest of the teams who had passed the second part of the Chunin Exams. There was Team 7, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. There was Team 8, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. There was Team 10, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru.

My eyes landed on Neji, who stood with Tenten and Lee. He waved a little to me, a small, satisfied smile on his face. They'd all passed the second part of the exams.

Although I wasn't surprised that Gaara and the other two Sand Nin made it through alive, I was shocked to see the Sound Nin who Sasuke had almost murdered in cold blood were there too. And although they looked beaten up, they also looked as if they were ready to go.

So there would be preliminary rounds held… to narrow the playing field. There were twenty-one Genin who had completed the second part of the exam. Far too many for the third part of the Exam.

But the choice to fight in the preliminary rounds would be up to the candidates. Our proctor, Hayate Gekko, assured us that if we wanted to drop out after being pushed so hard during the second exam, we could. If we didn't want to fight in the preliminaries right after we got out of the Forest of Death, we didn't have to. But why would anyone quit after getting this far?

To my surprise, Kabuto was the one who raised his hand from in front of me. "Fine, fine, you guys win, I'm out." There was silence for a moment. He backed out?

"Kabuto, why are you quitting like this?" I asked, my voice wavering. "You and I went through so much, and now you're just going to back out like this? Please, you can't do this to me!"

He frowned a little. "Kayuki. Hey, c'mere. Don't you dare cry on me." He pulled me into a hug once more. "I'm just too beat up. I can't risk my life like this again. I'm just scared, I guess." He let go, kneeling in front of me. "Sorry, I know I'm letting you down. But I think going for five days nonstop was too much."

I almost started to cry. "But-but! Please, Kabuto, if this is because of me, I'm sorry! You can't give up now, you made it so far!"

He shook his head. "It's not because of you, Kayuki. I promise. Just be careful in this third round, okay? Just take care of yourself. I'll stay to help you out, if you need me to. Promise."

With a broad smile, I hugged him before backing away. "You'd better keep your promise this time."

Almost right after I let go of him, Kabuto backed away, walking from the room and quitting the Exam. I watched him go, slightly upset about his sudden departure. But he promised that he'd stay if I needed him. And after this sudden death match, I knew that I'd need him.

After Kabuto, no one else quit.

Thus, the matches started. First up was Yoroi Akado versus Sasuke Uchiha.

Frowning a bit, I looked from my teammate behind me, who nodded to me reassuringly, and to Sasuke, who looked as determined as ever.

As the fight started, the two shinobi immediately began to duke it out. They wasted no time in attempting to rip each other to shreds. Sasuke's speed was beyond belief. He and Yoroi were attacking each other swiftly and surely. The two of them were strong, that was certain. But something was wrong with Sasuke. He looked like he was in pain.

And he didn't use any of his signature fire jutsus, either. The fight went on, Sasuke's chakra being stolen from him by Yoroi. I flinched. That meant that Sasuke's only choice at this point was to use Taijutsu.

I had to look away, angered and disgusted at how Yoroi was fighting. But somehow, Sasuke pulled through and won. It was one of Lee's moves that allowed Sasuke to win. I looked over to Lee, who was watching in shock.

But even so, no matter what, Sasuke had won.

=Uchiha Sasuke=

It wasn't him that defeated the curse mark. It wasn't his own strength that pushed it back. Sure, it was, in a way. But something else entirely fueled his will to rely only on his power.

There were his memories. There was Naruto… there was Sakura… and there was Kayuki.

When Kayuki had stopped him in the forest, had fallen into his arms like that, she'd told him something that didn't need words to be conveyed. She trusted him and knew that he was strong without having to rely on some old man for his power. He could defeat his own weakness.

There was nothing else to it.

He won because he was strong enough. He won because he didn't want to lose to a mark on his neck. He wanted that win from his own strength.

Although it took a lot out of him, he won, and he looked up at Kayuki as he did. She was smiling. As she saw his gaze on her face, she gave him a soft smile and a thumbs up before looking away, slightly tinged pink in the face.

He was proud of himself for mastering his Taijutsu, even though he'd stolen one technique from Rock Lee.

That Sharingan was definitely going to be helpful in the future.

=Akane Kayuki=

The next matches ended easily. Shino Aburame defeated Zaku Abumi. The Sound Nin, Dosu Kinuta, took on the Sand Nin, Kankuro, and lost. Ino and Sakura tangled once more, both of them being eliminated after a tie. Temari and Tenten battled it out, Temari coming out on top. Kin Tsuchi and Shikamaru Nara went head to head, ending in Kin knocking herself out.

Finally, Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka were chosen for their battle, attempting to kill each other. Naruto's win was created from pure dumb luck. But that dumb luck gave him the chance that he'd needed to create his win. He used a simple Transformation Technique and knocked out Kiba's partner.

Naruto won, moving on to the next round.

Next up were the cousins. Hinata Hyuuga… and Neji Hyuuga, and Hinata refused to back down. The two Hyuuga both walked down to the field. Poor Hinata. I frowned a little as Neji passed me. My hand caught his.

"Neji…" He looked at me, my gaze boring into his pearly eyes. "Don't kill her. She's still your family. Be strong enough to fight your hatred," I said, still staring at him. His stare was unwavering, but he nodded. "Good. Now fight, and win. Just don't use fatal force."

Even so, as the battle began, Neji showed no mercy. I knew his techniques. I'd had them used against me. But even so, Neji hadn't used fatal force like this with me. I'd only ever seen him use that much force once.

It was his hatred for the Main Branch of the Hyuuga clan that fueled his killing intent that was aimed towards Hinata.

If Neji decided to kill her, I knew that Hinata wouldn't be leaving this building with a pulse. He was angry, very angry, with what the Main Branch had done to his father, and he was prepared to take it out on Hinata.

To Neji, it didn't matter that Hinata was just a victim of circumstance. She'd die if Neji found that he wanted her dead.

The two, with their Byakugan, began to aim hits and other blows at each other. They weren't aiming to break each other's bones or crush each other to bits. They were aiming to stop each other's chakra from flowing, to stop their hearts from beating.

Neji was far more experienced, however. He only had to touch Hinata lightly in several different places on her arm. While it seemed that he was only deflecting her blows, he was actually managing to attack the chakra network engrained in her body.

He was preparing for the final strike. And I… couldn't let him do that.

=Hyuuga Neji=

"Stop it, Neji!" The tall, long-haired Hyuuga stopped in his tracks as he watched Hinata in front of him. "You said you wouldn't kill her."

He could hear Kayuki's disappointment. "Tch," he muttered, standing up straight. "Fine, you win, Kayuki. I won't kill her…" He moved his hand back into a fighting position. "But that doesn't mean that I won't stop her chakra."

He knocked Hinata back easily, preparing to end the match. But the match didn't end with Hinata's death like he'd planned. It ended with the Jounin preventing him from ending her life.

A hand on his shoulder also stopped him.

"Hey. This match was over as soon as you hit that chakra point on her body. You should stop, Neji," Kayuki muttered to him. Neji pulled away from the Jounin, suddenly angry with himself. "You… I can't believe you, Neji."

Neji turned on Kayuki next. "Shut up! I could've finished this once and for all! I could've taken her out!"

With a frown on Kayuki's face, she growled, "You could have killed her. It's a good thing that the Jounin stopped you, or I would've killed you myself."

His eyes went wide; never before had Kayuki been so aggressive, especially not with him. "Kayuki…"

Something in her had changed. It was like she'd become a different person during these Exams. She wasn't at all like she had been only months before. She'd become stronger, more sure of herself. She was finally being heard.

He growled a little. She, like Hinata, had defied her fate.

"Step out of the way, Kayuki."

She shook her head fiercely. "I won't. Hinata is the only person who ever treated me with even a bit of respect in the Academy! It's time I repay the favor!"

Behind her, Hinata collapsed, Kurenai quickly rushing to her broken and beaten up figure. Naruto, Sakura, and Lee quickly joined her.

He was finished playing games.

It was over.

=Akane Kayuki=

Hinata was dying. Neji was definitely aiming to kill her. The medical nin had to work quickly if they wanted a chance to save Hinata's life.

But still, the matches went on.

Next up was Rock Lee versus Gaara of the Desert.

I clapped Lee on the shoulder once. "I'm… good luck, Lee," I muttered. He nodded, finally serious about his match. He knew what this could mean for him. "I guess… I'm facing Chouji in the final match. I… I have to go."

Quickly fleeing the ring to "prepare for my match," I walked to the medical wing and sat down next to Sasuke's bed.

"Sasuke… you should know… that Naruto won. He beat Kiba, even when the odds were stacked against him. But Ino and Sakura beat each other up a little too much. Neither of them are moving on. Shino is moving on, Kankuro is moving on, Temari is moving on, and Shikamaru is moving on. I… Lee is fighting Gaara. I'm worried about him." I frowned. "He's ready to kill himself to win."

Sasuke didn't reply. He was still unconscious. I almost started crying.

"I'm so scared… I don't know what to do…"

Even from the medical wing, I could hear the crash of the battle between sand and strength. I quickly stood, my eyes wide. Without another word to Sasuke's sleeping form, I ran out of the room, back towards the battle, where I was sure Lee was struggling against Gaara.

When I reached the battle room, I could only see one thing. Gaara was preparing to kill Lee, to squash him and squeeze him to death with his sand. Gaara's sand encased Lee's arm and leg, crushing the bone.

It was over. Rock Lee was finished.

But it was Might Guy who intervened. He looked much more serious than I'd ever seen him, looking angry at both Gaara and himself. He seemed angry because Gaara had threatened to kill Lee.

But somehow, Lee was still able to move after having his arm and leg crushed.

If I was right, he'd torn his muscles apart after using a technique that would have killed Gaara if it'd been anyone else. But Lee stood. He couldn't fight after that. It was like Lee was dead, but he was still able to keep standing up.

I gaped at the horrific sight in front of me and sank to my knees, tears streaming down my face for a reason I couldn't place either. Sakura was jumping down, yelling Lee's name.

Guy laid his student down on the ground, his own tears dropping to the floor. Naruto also ran to Lee's side, passing an angry Gaara on the way. There was Lee, unconscious and covered in blood, but still, he wanted to keep going.

Then came the worst news of all.

Lee was so badly injured that he might never have been able to continue being a ninja.

He would never be able to continue fighting. He'd be put into rehabilitation, but even after the rehabilitation, Rock Lee wouldn't ever become a ninja again. There was nothing that even the best medical nin could do for him.

I had to look away. I wasn't sure if I could go on and fight.

It was me versus Chouji Akimichi.

I reluctantly stepped down to the destroyed field, standing there with nothing but pure will being my reason to keep going. Then, the match started.

I moved first, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. I jumped back, using hand signs to summon one of my animals. "Shadow Claw Jutsu!" The raccoon jumped from the shadows, holding up its claws.

=Hyuuga Neji=

Neji's eyes widened. He knew what she was planning to do with the raccoon she'd summoned from the shadows. But she'd never been able to do it before. Had she really grown that strong?

She made a few more hand signs. "Snow Flower Jutsu!"

The jutsu had a deceiving name. It was a beautiful jutsu, in its own way, but it was named for Kayuki. It was the last jutsu her mother created, twelve years ago, right before the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Fusion!"

Neji frowned. She really was going to try the jutsu. Last time that she tried that, she was with him. It'd hurt her really badly, and he'd made her promise that she'd only try that jutsu if she really needed it. He couldn't watch, but he had to.

Shadows were slowly creeping over her body, engulfing her small form in darkness. She was being swallowed by the raccoon's shadows. That small raccoon was being split apart, spreading itself over her.

When the shadows broke apart, Neji's eyes widened. The jutsu had been successful. She'd done it.

The shadows had turned themselves into claws, five on each hand, a pair of bat-like wings, which sprouted from her back, and she also had shadows underneath her eyes. It looked like she was the raccoon.

Even as Chouji began to use his own jutsu, his Expansion Jutsu, and rolled around, trying to hit her, she jumped back, continuously jumping back to dodge his attacks, eventually leading him into a wall, where he got stuck. She leapt back again and the shadows began to swirl out from where they were on her body. The shadows began to form an orb of darkness.

As she shot it and hit Chouji, he let out a cry of pain and was forced to let up on his Expansion Jutsu. Neji frowned; she was being merciless.

Before Chouji could move, Kayuki was on top of him, holding a kunai to his neck. She looked up to Hayate Gekko, who nodded.

"The winner of this match is Kayuki Akane."

And then, it was over.

=Orochimaru=

So, finally, the preliminaries were finished. Kabuto and the Snake Sannin had finally decided what it was that they were going to do. Now, they moved on to a different part of conversation.

"As for the girl."

Kabuto's head snapped up at this. "You mean… Kayuki." Orochimaru nodded. His follower's eyes narrowed a little. "What about her?"

Raising one eyebrow, Orochimaru chuckled dryly. "So, I suppose that you, like many before her, have developed a soft side for the girl?" Kabuto huffed a little and looked away. "Well, that means that I'm right." He chuckled once more. "I want you to look after her before the final matches. Then, after she wins or she loses, convince her that she can get even stronger… and bring her to me."

His gaze still trained on the wooden floor, the silver-haired missing-nin frowned a little. "So, you plan to use her as well… In the same manner that you're planning to use Sasuke?"

Orochimaru took note of the blatant, yet subtle worry in his junior's voice.

"No. Not just like Sasuke. But I need that girl," he replied. "She is important. And it seems like she is attached to Sasuke. If you can just get them closer together, when you take Sasuke, she will come as well."

It was infallible.

Make Sasuke and Kayuki fall for one another… then tear Sasuke away and force Kayuki to follow.

Girls were so impressionable when they were young and in love.

=Akane Kayuki=

With nine of us left, I was unsure of how these matches would play out. The matches would have to be two on two, but there were nine. There were six from the Leaf village and three from the Sand village.

I frowned a little and continued to listen to the Hokage. We had one month to prepare ourselves, to train for the matches. I knew that I would have to train hard. Everyone around me was much stronger than I was. I'd gotten lucky. I had to make sure that I could improve on my mother's old jutsus.

Maybe, just maybe, I could create my own, as well.

We were given a slip of paper, one each. On it was a number. Mine said "8" on it. Although I was a little confused, we got our pairings immediately. It was Neji and Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke, Kankuro and Shino, and Shikamaru and me. Temari would face Shikamaru or me, depending on who won.

The only thing that would ever make a difference would be the training what we got done within the next month. We had to get everything done.

I walked out of the building, towards the training grounds. There was something I needed to do. I had to find someone who would train me for the next month so I could become strong enough to beat Shikamaru in the first round of the Chunin Exam finals.

"Hey!"

As I exited the building, I looked over to see Kabuto standing there, one hand in the air in a waving motion. A smile took over my face as I ran up to him. "Kabuto!" I threw my arms around him in excitement. "I did it, Kabuto, I won my preliminary match!"

He smiled a little. "Way to go, Kayuki."

I smiled back at him. "Now I just need to find someone to train me a little more. I have a month to get as strong as I can."

I didn't notice the dark look in Kabuto's eyes as he replied, "Why don't I keep my promise to you and start training you now? I'll teach you what you need to know. Some small medical Ninjutsu, which will be useful in battle, and I'll train you a little further in Taijutsu. That sound good?"

Those words made me spin around to face him happily. "Of course! That's more than good, I'd love to have you as my teacher!" I exclaimed happily.

Kabuto smiled a bit, without me noticing that dark twinge in his smile, and extended his hand to me. "Then, let's go."

/cheers

Almost done with the Chunin Exams! Then we'll get to my favorite part, the Konoha Invasion! But in the next chapter, things start to get a little... er... sketchy, I guess. /shifty eyes

Yes, I took Dozu out for purposes that I needed to do myself. Dozu died pretty early on, and it's more than possible that his death would still happen. So it will. Keep reading!

Also, yes, I'm trying to establish a deep connection between Kabuto and Kayuki. They're actually one of my favorite interactions to write. /looks down ... I'm sorry. /sob

Don't blame me, I'm just trying to work my way into the plot and put Kayuki's roots even deeper than they are. Anyways, I've been working on several chapters now, since I've been sick. I think my grammar suffered from it, though. Ugh, I feel dead. I caught the flu, which sucks. Anyways, you don't want to hear about my ranting, haha.

Review please!