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Memories: Lolx. I updated faster this time. BUt just to let you know, i refuse to update without at least 5 reviews. I don't think that's much to ask for. I really believe that you guys have time to at least write a review. Its not much to ask for since i'm spending a lot of time in my stories. :(
Plez, at least 5 reviews? They make happy and update sooner! lolx
The man smiled twistedly, enjoying the sight of her struggling for her survival. Keiko wheezed and soon her eye lids drooped and her hands limps the sides. He shook her a bit, watching her body limply swing with his movement. He checked her pulse then smirked. "Boys, it looks like this one is of no use. Maybe her team really haves it after all."
He dropped Keiko's unmoving body onto the thick branch they were standing on. He sneered and kicked her, "What a useless weakling. Didn't even put up fight." He turned and motioned for them to move down to the campsite. They nodded, dispelling the jutsu.
The skinny one sighed "Aw, too bad you killed her Grey. She was kind of cute. We could've had some fun!"
"It's not my fault. She died too easy. I wasn't expecting it to be that easy. I thought Kohona ninjas were stronger. She's just another weakling. She's worthless." Grey gnarled at Vinct.
"Whoa, calm down Grey! Sean, help me out man!" Vinct waved his hands in front of him defensively. Sean just grunted, walking towards them. "Grey's right. Just shut up. You're so annoying." "Hey! I am not! You're just jealous because the ladies love me more than both of you." Vinct exclaimed. The other two just rolled their eyes.
"Alright now let's just grab the scroll and finish of her team. If she's this weak then it'll be a piece of cake. Come on." Grey smirked, lifting a foot to jump down. But then a hand snatched out and grabbed him. Two more hands held onto Vinct and Sean.
"What the-?" They looked down to see Keiko standing up as three clones held them down.
"But you didn't have any pulse! You were dead! You didn't breathe for over 5 minutes!" Grey exclaimed, not believing his eyes. Keiko smirked, her face totally emotionless. It seemed to scare the shit out of them. Not to mention she didn't look very happy. She looked a bit mad. Keiko wiped the blood off her face with her finger; the fluid glinted under the sunlight with some silvery and multi-colored array. They looked puzzled to see such strange color of blood.
"You see…I don't really need to breathe to live." Keiko coldly explained, observing their movements.
"That's impossible! Everyone needs to breathe-" Sean was cut off by one of Keiko's icy glare.
"Everyone but me." She snapped and then she turned to Grey, looking more murderous than ever. "Unless…you're not human," Grey gasped, realizing it.
"And how dare you ever call me weak, useless, and worthless! How dare you even try to attack my teammates! How dare you even think they're weak! How dare you even think of trying to kill them! How dare you!" Keiko growled, her black orbs turning blood red as she unsheathed one of her swords.
They whimpered, struggling to free from the clones grip but the clones' strength were too strong for them. "No! Please!" They screamed, helplessly staring in her eyes.
"No!" They howled and withered in pain. They stood frozen, petrified and paralyzed in place. Keiko sheathed her sword back, and grabbed the water scroll out from Grey's back pocket. She had only pulled a genjutsu on them and they did the worse mistake of looking into her eyes. She smirked, as the clones disappeared. Now she had both scrolls.
"Thank-you Itachi." She smiled. He had taught her many useful things like the genjutsu. After all she did posses the sharingun also. She looked back at the frozen bodies then jumped down, heading back to the campsite. She will only put them in that state for a day. She wasn't that cruel to make them stay like that forever.
"Sasuke! Haku! I've got a water scroll!" Keiko yelled, running to them. They frowned, jumping up from their spot.
"Where did you get one? How did you get it? You're injured!" They exclaimed. Keiko had to bite her tongue to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. They always acted like she could really die and get hurt any moment. Then again…she acted the same way about them.
"I bumped…into someone." Keiko said, trying to choose the right words. Sasuke growled, "So someone attacked you?"
Keiko gave a nervous laugh, "Don't worry I'm fine. At least we have both the scrolls. Right?"
"….But no dinner." Haku said, reminding her of the fish she had caught. "Oh! But I caught a fish…" Keiko trailed off when she remembered she had dropped the fish in the river. "Oh." She said softly, sweat dropping.
-
"Wow, this fish is good! I wonder why someone just left it." Naruto asked as he chewed with a mouthful, roasting the fish.
"Naruto! It could've been poisoned!" Sakura yelled, hitting him on the head. He winced, "But Sakura-chaaan! I didn't smell any poison on it! It tastes really good too!" He whined. Sai and Sakura just sweat dropped. "Naruto…"
-
"Chouji did you find food yet?" Ino asked tiredly as she made a fire. "Yup! Some berries and nuts!" He said, showing the armful in his hands. Ino sighed, "Stupid Shikamaru had to be a chuunin already. So now we're only a two man team for the exam. Huh?" Chouji shrugged, "Yeah but then after this exam both me and you will be chuunins this time. And Shikamaru won't be the only one." Ino grinned, "Yeah you're right! All we have to do is find an earth scroll! We'll do it!"
-
"Neji, do you see anyone?" TenTen asked attentively as they perched on the branch. He searched the air and gave a short shake. "No. We can camp here." Lee grinned, "Alright! Let me do all the work for my youth needs the extra work to keep me in check! Hiyah!" He jumped down excitedly, already setting up the camp. TenTen and Neji sweat dropped, "If you insist…"
-
"Argh! Shino! Get your bugs out of my sleeping bag!" Kiba yelled angrily as he shook the insects out of bag. Shino simply stared at him then looked away, his bugs crawling back to him. Kiba huffed, stomping out of the tent. "What did you do that for?!"
"I'm just scouting bugs out to see if anyone is out there." Shino replied blankly. Kiba's face softened. "Oh…That used to be Hinata's job wasn't it?" Shino just simply nodded. Kiba sighed, "Hinata…" Akamaru whined softly, nudging his master in an attempt to comfort him.
-
"We can take turns…," Keiko slowly trailed off as her ear lightly twitched. Did someone just say Hinata? Keiko shook her head, clearing the thought away."Uh. We could each take turns guarding the scrolls so we would each have enough sleep."
Sasuke had on a bored look, staring at the scrolls sitting in the middle of the circle they were sitting in. "Haku, they're all yours." Haku blinked, glaring at him.
"Why me!" He shouted.
-
Keiko's POV
-
I sighed, but I couldn't help but giggle when one of them would say something stupid. "Let's do rock, paper, scissors then." I suggested, feeling kind of stupid at the idea. Although it was the only thing I could think about that wouldn't give the two a chance to kill each other.
"Or I can just make some clones to guard the night."I added, thinking that was a better idea. They nodded.
Haku yawned, rubbing his eye, "We should get some rest now. It's getting a bit late." I nodded, my eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. When I looked over to Sasuke, he was already sleeping in the tent. I sweat dropped, a small smile resting on my lips. That's Sasuke alright. I made a hand sign and 5 copies of me appeared, looking at me expectantly.
"Keep watch tonight. Alert me if anything seems suspicious." They nodded, jumping into the branches and blending in perfectly. I grabbed the scrolls and crawled in the tent. Haku was already out. I smiled, crawling into my sleeping bag and hiding the scrolls under my pillow.
I sighed and snuggled in the warm covers, exhaustion consuming me. I just wondered what would happen tomorrow. All I could do was smile like an idiot as I closed my eyes. I immediately fell asleep after that.
-
"H-Hai." I grinned as I nodded feverishly. I grabbed the delicious looking frosted cake with ice-cream filling and cookie crumbs. "Yummy!"I haven't seen food that delicious for such a long time! I opened my mouth and chomped onto it greedily. I was in heaven!
"Uh…Keiko?" That voice sounded so familiar. "Keiko-chan!" All the delicious treats around me disappeared and I felt myself getting pulled away slowly. I panicked, "Noooo!" I sobbed as everything vanished in thin air.
-
Normal POV
"No come back! Wah!!" Keiko bolted up, well as much as she could while draped over Sasuke's shoulder. She blinked, finding herself staring at the moving ground. "Ano…" She blushed when her stomach growled.
Sasuke looked over his shoulder, and laughed. "You wouldn't wake up so we packed up everything and kept on moving. You kept talking about food in your sleep."Haku slapped the younger boy on the head.
"She's just hungry! We all are!" He snapped. Sasuke glared at him, grumbling under his breath. "Yeah, whatever."
"W-Well can you put me down?" Keiko blushed, wondering how on earth she managed to sleep through all of this. He reluctantly put her down, watching her yawn sleepily.
"Well, all we have to do is go to the tower and finish the battles there then we can have wonderful food." Haku drooled as stars glinted in his eyes. Keiko sighed dreamily along while Sasuke stared at them with a bored expression.
"Yeah. Sure. All I want is some real action." He smirked, wondering who might be his next opponent. "That's right. We haven't really thought much about the matches coming up. Last time, the matches were very…" Keiko trailed off, unable to think of a word to describe it. She kept on remembering her match with Neji. She couldn't get it out of her head.
"Well, we're here anyway." Sasuke changed the subject before she would start thinking even more about the matches. They stared up at the familiar dusty building and took a breath in before entering. It looked the same as ever. And perched upstairs were some people she never seen before. Keiko felt a wave of relief flood her when she spotted Hinabi and her team looking down at her. They smiled at each other as a sign of greeting.
Keiko's eyes brightened when she spotted the Hokage sitting at a table with Shizune. "Tsunade! Shizune!" She laughed running towards them. They looked up with surprise in their eyes.
"Keiko! You made it! Not that I didn't expect you to." Tsunade chuckled, patting the girl's head. Shizune hugged her "I'm so proud of you!" Keiko blushed, fidgeting uncomfortably in people's gazes.
"Shizune…Tsunade!" She whined softly and they laughed, letting go of her. "Go wait up there. We'll start soon enough." Tsunade ordered. She blushed, nodding reluctantly. The
two will always treat her like a child. She was like their moms but… It was kind of embarrassing sometimes…but she still missed it when she was gone. She was just glad to be with them again.
"Who do you think you're going up against?" Haku asked, almost eagerly. Sasuke rolled his eyes while Keiko nervously shrugged, bubbling with anxiety. "Hin-Keiko!" They looked up to see Kakashi waving at them, standing with the other sensais. Keiko waved back, smiling.
"Oh! Kurenai-sensai!" She jumped up happily then froze, 'Wait! I'm Keiko not Hinata!' She immediately stopped before Kurenai figured out who called her, feeling a bit frustrated.
"Just how long can this last?" Keiko sighed.
"Well, it certainly can't go on forever! You have to be yourself one day." Hitomi answered. "You're not helping the Hime-chan," Nozomi sighed."Don't worry. We can talk about this with your moms after this match. You'll do fine anyway." Yuki said softly.
'I'm worried about that! W-What if I fail again?' Keiko asked them. "Nonsense. You'll do fine. Don't you remember all the training you had? Last time you fought you almost won! If it wasn't for that bast-" Yuki was cut off by Hitomi. "Watch your words Yuki!" "Will you guys stop it?! You're making the hime feel worse!" Nozomi growled.
Keiko sighed, sulking even more. She looked down at the arena and felt determination flow through her. That's right. She'll do fine. She'll just have to believe it!
"…Are you worried?" She looked up to find Sasuke standing next to her. She smiled softly, "Not anymore. I'm just nervous. You?" He smirked.
"No, but I'm hoping for some good opponents." Keiko repressed the urge to rolled her eyes, "You're always so competitive. " She turned around to see Haku quieter than usual.
"Haku-kun, are you ok?" He looked up, startled.
"O-Oh. I'm just nervous. I mean…I never thought I would get the chance to be here. I don't know what it's like so…yeah." Haku smiled, hoping to cheer her up.
"Oh." Keiko's eyes fell. "But…what if we have to fight each other?" That caught her up surprise. She looked up at him, a bit unsure.
"Well, I don't think that really happened before…we'll just have to do our best kay?" Keiko smiled and held his hand, trying to ease him. Haku smiled, a pink tinge in his cheeks as he nodded. "Yeah."
Sasuke gave an irritated grunt as he pulled Keiko over to his side. Haku glared at him, taking her back. Keiko sighed; some things never change, although she couldn't help but smile.
"Hey teme!" Naruto grinned when he spotted the raven haired teen. Sasuke looked down at them and gave a cocky grin. "You're late."
"W-What? Am not!!" Naruto fumed stalking his way up with Sakura and Sai behind him. "Konnichiwa, Haku-san, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura beamed, waving at them. "We all made it!"
"Hello Sakura, Sai-san Naruto-kun." Keiko greeted somewhat distantly. Sai nodded while Sakura gave her a weak smile. Naruto blinked, staring at her as if he just saw her.
"Keiko-chan! You made it too!" He grinned, abruptly pulling her in a friendly hug. Keiko's face turned 10 shades redder when he let go, wobbling on her legs. Haku caught her just as her legs gave out under her. In her head, Keiko was swirling around like crazy.
"Keiko-chan? Keiko-chan!" Haku yelled, shaking her. Sasuke gave an irritated grunt as he bent down to her eye level and flicked her on the nose. "Wake up. We're not here for you to turn back to a 10 year old." Keiko blinked, waking up but blushing even redder.
"Sasuke-kun!" She pouted, rubbing her aching nose. Haku sighed, ruffling her hair. "So are you ok, Keiko-chan?" Naruto asked worriedly. "Just stay at least 4 feet away from her and she'll be fine." Haku sweat dropped. Keiko blushed, looking away from everyone.
"Alright, it looks like everyone is here!" Tsunade announced. "Only a few teams didn't make it. But now we're here for the next step of the exams. But let me tell you something, the matches coming up won't be like last time. This will be like the chuunin exams. If you proved to be useful, clever, and strong in the battle than you pass. You won't have to win to pass. And the final exams after this…are for the ones looking to be a jounin. I'm sure you know already."
"Hai." They nodded. The tension in the room seemed to have grow heavier as they looked around the rooms. Sound nins are here too. Keiko frowned. So are the three guys that tried to kill me.
"Let it begin!" The judge shouted and the names on the screen started to rotate. Keiko held her breath, waiting anxiously.
Haku X Neji
Haku's eyes widened then he slowly grinned, relieved that it wasn't Sasuke or Keiko. "It's my turn."
"Good luck." Keiko smiled softly, her heart was pounding like crazy. Her cousin and Haku was going against each other. Why wouldn't she be nervous?
"Yeah…good luck." Sasuke smirked. Haku smirked and jumped down the arena. HE looked up to see white emotionless orbs.
"START!"
"Do you know how hard it is to control your animal instincts? How about both of them?"
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