Chapter 19

(With Lee)

Lee could not stop thinking about Sakura. Even though she had rejected him he still wanted a chance with her. Noticing the falling leaves before him he began to jump and try to catch them all. If I can catch all twenty leaves before they hit the ground Sakura will begin to like me. He jumped from branch to branch using his speed to catch as many as he could. Just as he moved to catch the last one a squirrel jumped into view with a flaming explosive tag on its back. He dove for it and managed to remove the tag before it exploded. Who would do such a thing?

(With Sakura)

She had been awake all night and none of the three were nearing alertness. Exhausted she knelt by Kagome. The other girl was resting better now but she was trembling. Sakura knew that compared to them she was weak. Why had Kagome left her to protect them? Her eyes began to slowly slide closed. Just a few minutes of rest wouldn't hurt anyone would it? Just as her eyes fell shut she heard a branch snap behind her. She was instantly wide awake and facing the direction of the noise.

"Up all night" A pompous voice asked.

No! Sakura's eyes widened in shock. The sound ninja's from the writing exam. Now alone they were even more frightening. They had waited all night to attack so that she would be completely exhausted. She glanced at the others. They were all unconscious and both Kagome and Sasuke were looking worse. There was no way they could help her now.

"But it's no longer necessary. Wake up Sasuke, we want to fight him." The masked one said.

Sakura was shaking with fear. She needed to put up a front. Holding their gaze she reached for a kunai and steadied her trembling hand with her other. "What are you talking about? I know that someone named Orochimaru is pulling the strings from the shadows. What is his purpose?" Their over confident faces dropped in shock. "What is that weird mark on Sasuke's neck? What did it do to Kagome? You did this to him!"

Lord Orochimaru revealed himself to them? Why? He wanted us to take the down why show up and parade his identity in front of them? And the girl. He said to leave her alive and unharmed. Why put her in some form of danger? The team's leader thought.

"I wonder what that guy was thinking…." He said coming back to the situation.

"Oh well, hearing that we can't let you go. We'll have to kill you all." The other guy said.

She tensed. Kagome had put her faith in her and she wouldn't let her teammates down. If they tried to get any closer they would get caught in her trap. Come on, just try me. Try and kill us you bastards. If anyone was going to die here it was those three. Just before the other guy could attack the masked one stopped him. He pointed out the trap before it could do any damage. It didn't matter though. There was still one more trap waiting for them. She had laid the first one poorly so their confidence would be boosted and they would forget their caution.

"Kill her," the masked one ordered.

As they jumped forward she pulled out her kunai and cut a wire beside her. She smirked. They fell for it. A giant log swung down from the canopy catching them off guard. But her pleasure didn't last long. The mask ninja blew a hole in the center of the long calling her weak and telling her that if she should work harder. Tears stung in her eyes. She had failed. She had let them all down. She looked over to Sasuke and Kagome suffering from what Orochimaru had done. Now his thugs were going to kill them all and it was her fault. She couldn't even pull herself up to try and fight back. The wind picked up slightly and then began to spin out of control.

"Leaf spinning wind!" Lee's voice shouted. Her heart skipped a beat. All three ninjas were thrown aside. "Then you should also work harder." He had placed himself between them and her.

"Who are you?" the masked one asked.

"The beautiful green beast of the Hidden Leaf, Rock Lee."

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"I will always appear when you are in trouble, Sakura." Lee said with a small smile. "I will protect you until I die."

Maybe not such a weirdo after all. Sakura thought watching Lee's back. She wasn't sure how he had found them but she was thankful that he had. He looked so strong standing between them. Before, when he had challenged Sasuke he had looked like another Naruto to her, someone with a constant need to prove himself but now she realized he had nothing to prove. His words struck a chord within her. He was willing to protect her even if it took his life. Kakashi and her teammates had expressed the same idea but not specifically for her. They were willing to die for their comrades, Lee was willing to die for her. Could he have been serious about liking her? Of course as soon as she thought it he started muttering under his breath about being awesome. She smiled softly. She needed all the help she could get now.

Lee took a fighting stance. Their enemies were currently discussing who would fight whom. Behind him Sakura was still on her knees. Just by looking at her he could tell that she was in no condition to fight. The masked one began to move forward. He reached in to the ground as Sakura threw a kunai from behind him, missing the enemy completely. The masked one continued his advance. Lee lunged forward, digging his arm into the ground. As soon as the Sound Ninja attacked he heaved up, pulling the massive root out to block the attack. The others stared at the scene in awe. His strength was truly impressive.

"There's a trick right? I've seen your attacks before and I won't just doge it this time." Lee said.

(With Team Guy)

"Lee sure is late and he's always been strangely punctual. Do you think he ran into an enemy?" Tenten asked nervously.

"It seems unlikely." Neji said with a smirk. "Let's go find him."

"Right."

(With Lee and Sakura)

The fight was getting worse. Lee knew that neither he nor Sakura was a match for the sound ninjas. There was a chance if he used another of Guy's forbidden techniques that he would be able to protect Sakura and the rest of her team. With a deep breath he silently apologized to Guy and pushed back into the fight. His first kick landed squarely on the enemy's jaw. As he went flying Lee used his speed to get behind him as he wrapped him in the bandages on his arms. The rest of the sound team could only watch in horror as Lee began to spin their partner head first at the ground. Zaku pushed his palms against the ground which went unnoticed by the rest of the fighters. As the smoke cleared from the impact Dosu pushed himself up relatively unharmed. A tremor of fear and shock rushed through Lee and Sakura. It was completely impossible.

"What a terrifying technique, this much damage even on a sponge of dirt…" Dosu said shaking himself off. "Now it's my turn."

Lee watched as Dosu advanced on him. The attack he'd used had done a number on him and he still wasn't ready for another attack just yet. Dosu swiped and, like Kabuto had, Lee tried to dodge. Just like it had before Dosu's attack brought its opponent down.

"If your moves are at high speed then ours are at the speed of sound. I'll show you a wall that no amount of hard work can surpass."

From behind Sakura watched as Lee collapsed in pain. She called out to him but he didn't hear her. Dosu restated his boast about his technique. The moment was tense as they all stood still in the clearing. In the cave Kagome whimpered and Sakura tensed. They were all counting on her now. Her teammates, Lee, they all needed her and she could barely move. Luckily Dosu was continuing to boast. He explained that his technique relied on sound and vibrations to deal a blow when his opponent would dodge. The sound he used was strong enough to rupture the eardrum. Lee's taijutsu wouldn't be any use against Dosu. Lee probably wouldn't be able to move or fight. If that wasn't all Zaku jumped in and explained how he had saved Dosu from Lee. He controlled sound as well but it was different.

"Now you!" Dosu yelled going for Sakura. It seemed the time for explanations was now over but before he could attack her Lee jumped in the way. His attack was sloppy. Dosu laughed. "So that attack is effecting you after all. You sacred me there for a moment. You've lost the ability to do repeated taijutsu in a flash."

Lee blocked the next attack. He was still weak and he could barely keep the offending arm out of his face in order to keep the sound attack away. Unfortunately for Lee the attack could be directed using Dosu's chakra. Lee collapsed again. As Dosu moved to finish Lee off Sakura jumped in to save him. All of her attacks were dodged and brushed away but she kept fighting. This time, she vowed, she would protect her friends, not be the one being protected.

(With InoShikaCho)

Ino watched from the bushes in shock. Both Lee and Sakura were giving the fight their all. Frozen al she could think about was how much Sakura had changed. When they had first met Sakura had been so shy and self-conscious that she had been all by herself. Ino had tried to help her and in some way she took credit for Sakura's strength. Their friendship had brought Sakura out of her shell. It had been Ino's advice that had helped Sakura through classes and social issues but it had been one boy that had broken them apart. The moment Sakura had announced she too had a crush on Sasuke they had become rivals and that action had driven them apart.

The female sound ninja had Sakura by her hair and Lee was down. Ino wanted to help but was froze to the spot. Finally, Sakura pulled out a kunai in order to save herself. In a surprise move she sliced through her hair breaking the enemy's hold on her. Pride and sadness rippled through Ino. She thought back to telling Sakura about Sasuke liking girls with long hair. The meaning of the move wasn't lost on Ino. Sakura was proving that she was willing to do anything to survive and if her love for Sasuke was in the way it would be thrown out. That was when Ino made her move. She and her team jumped into the fight.

A/N: Sorry about how long it took for me to update. I should be quicker from now on. Also I didn't feel like retelling the fight as I kept it the same so I switched over to Ino and finally acknowledged that they were watching. Yes, they have seen the entire fight. Feel free to review. If you are an artist and you are on Tumblr feel free to do some fanart for this or any of my stories and tag LabyrinthineTwilight in it so I can see.