A/N: I feel like i'e been gone a while, sorry for the wait. But I did the last update quickly so i guess I'm allowed ne? Seems like you like Neji x Kari fluff, but I quite like to write it too, so there may be more in future chapters. Thank you as always for your reviews, I put some fanart of Akira up if you're curious to what he looks like :) He's kawaii!

Disclaimer: Naruto-kun's rights and all regarding him have yet to be handed over to me.

Claimer: Kari, Kita, Akira, Kitome, Kaizo, the 'Meiken fighting style', and Kari's relationships are mine.

Doku

毒

Poison

His hair a vivid violet, his eyes a warm gold, a silent warning

Bright colours suggest lethal poison after all.

"Nande?! Why don't I ever pay attention to the time?!" Kari whined as she ran full speed back the way she came. After twenty seconds or so, she skidded to a stop in front of Sasuke and Naruto who were having that 'you'd better win because I want to fight you' and 'I know, I'll win loser' stares at each other in the waiting area.

"Ne? Kari-chan! Where've you been?" Naruto cried, noticing her still pink cheeks. "It doesn't take that long to pee dattebayou!"

"Aa… Kari-chan got lost…" Kari said smiling sheepishly.

"Why are you blushing baka? Did you walk into the men's room?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"No I did not!!" Kari cried mortified. That little hentai! "At least I don't look like I've changed my sexuality Sasu-kun!"

"Kakashi got our clothes, as you've been reminding me" Sasuke said, glancing at her clothes, which were a fair amount tighter than what she usually wore, much to her displeasure.

"Che! 'It'll improve your speed' 'Sasuke won't wear his unless you wear yours' 'Your clothes are all scruffy and torn, all those boys in the audience won't be impressed Kari-chan!' Baka-Kaka-nii-hentai-sensei!!" Kari grumbled.

"Sasuke-teme… you do look kinda different" Naruto said, pulling a thinking face.

"His hair's longer so he looks like a girl, he's wearing tighter, shorter clothes in hopes he'll get raped and he's doing the 'I'm emotionless and therefore soooo cool' look" Kari said.

"And Kari's PMSing" Sasuke huffed, Kakashi deciding to continue their little chat when the Uchiha questioned Kari's (violent) mood swings.

"Stop going on about it!!" Kari hissed, glaring daggers at the stupid Uchiha.

"Ne, Kari-chan where were you though?" Naruto asked again.

"I—"

"It's obvious. She went to see Hyuuga Neji" Shino said, deciding to enter the conversation.

"E-eh…!" Kari blushed and looked at him in shock. "Sh-Shino-kun!"

"Why did you go see him" Sasuke and Naruto asked together while Kari waved her hands in front of her trying to stop herself getting flustered.

"I-I…! I just wanted to see if he was ok!" Kari said awkwardly.

"Che…" Sasuke scoffed, turning his face away from her.

"Kari-chan! You're too kind! Neji is an ass dattebayou!" Naruto said stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest as he pouted.

"Nice to know you both care" Kari said with a weak laugh, trying to ignore the blush still painted on her cheeks. Naruto grinned and Sasuke slightly sighed.

"Minna-sama, we will now resume the matches." Genma announced. Kari's ears pricked and she looked out at the arena.

'Looks like it's time…'

"Knock him dead Kari-chan! I won for you, you've got to keep up dattebayou!" Naruto said grinning and embracing her tightly. Akira glanced at her and then exited and headed for the stairs.

"Hai! I won't let you down!" Kari said happily.

"Kari" Shino said, looking around at her, his sunglasses gleaming. "The bugs most brightly coloured are those most dangerous. Watch out for the poison."

"I'll remember Shino-kun" Kari said with a nod.

"Ganbatte" Shikamaru offered lazily. Kari smiled, appreciating the support from them all.

"Kita-ko, it's time" Kari said. Kita yipped and darted to Kari's side, her hitai-ate plate catching the light. They headed towards the exit, but Kari was stopped when she felt a tug at her wrist. Looking back, her eyes locked with Gaara's, his face emotionless, yet his eyes piercing.

"Murasaki Akira is stronger than his brother, don't take him lightly" Gaara stated. Kari blinked, surprised at the redhead's sudden words, but not half as shocked as his siblings.

"Ehh??" Kankurou mumbled, glancing at Temari who just shrugged, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Wakatta" Kari replied, holding his gaze. After a moment that seemed far too long, his grip loosened and set her free. "Sasuke. He's improved" she said repaying him for his advice. She didn't tell him anything else, knowing any advice would be found insulting and would be disregarded.

"He had better be strong" Gaara said, expecting nothing less.

"He is." With that Kari headed towards the stairs, a small smirk on her face.

'I just hope he's strong enough…'

"You were going to go without getting any encouragement from me hm?"

Kari stopped and glanced back as Kita trotted down the stairs.

"I was wondering where you got to" Kari said smiling and looking around. Sasuke leant against the wall, she walked over to him.

"You know what I'm going to say" Sasuke said, looking her in the eye.

"I'll be careful, and I won't take it too far" Kari said at once, he smirked slightly before pushing off the wall and pushing her up against the wall instead. His hands were either side of her blocking any escape. A blush immediately stained her face. "I told you to stop that" she grumbled glancing away from him. He lifted her chin, and forced her to look at him.

"Promise me."

"I said I'd be careful didn't I?" Kari said, trying to glance away again, but he just leant his forehead against hers.

"I guess so." He sighed, stirring her bangs. "You might be fighting me, so you should conserve your energy." He smirked when she gave him a slight glare for invading her personal space.

"Point taken" Kari said, giving him a slight nudge in hopes he'd back up so she could breathe, sadly, he liked to tease her and stayed firmly where he was.

"Good." He moved closer to her, his breath mingling with hers.

"I'm m-meant to be fighting!" Kari squeaked, immediately tensing and blushing furiously at the intimacy. He lightly but firmly captured her lips in a kiss. There was a muffled protest which he ignored. After another second or two he moved back a little and smirking at her beat red face and huffy expression. She folded her arms in frustration. "I'm going now."

"Hn." She rolled her eyes and went to walk past him, but was caught in a sudden embrace. "Be careful" he murmured, mushing their bodies together. She remained silent, knowing he wasn't expecting an answer. "It's odd, after having you to myself for a month, to see you with other guys…"

"Possessive much…? Geez, heaven help the girl you fall in love with…" Kari said with a smirk. Sasuke scoffed slightly before letting her go.

"Whatever."

"I'll be there to watch your match Sasu, I promise" Kari said, heading towards the stairs and hurrying down them at a jog. Sasuke watched her go, until she turned and disappeared, the crowd giving a cheer.

"Good luck Kari…" Sasuke murmured, turning and walking back into the waiting room, prepared for a good fight. "Show them what you can do…"

"Are you ready?" the proctor asked, the pick in his mouth moving as he talked. Kari had thought it was a pocky stick for a moment and was slightly disappointed but forced herself to focus and took in the appearance of her opponent.

His violet hair was slightly longer, but still in the same spiky and slightly static looking style. His golden eyes gleamed, but were calmer than his brothers. He wore a form fitting black vest and navy capris. His elbows down to his wrists were bandaged. Two black leather belts hung around his hips, holding two sheathed kodachi, or possibly wakizashi. Kari had learnt a fair bit about swords from Kaizo, who was surprisingly an extremely good teacher.

A wattou is a long battle katana, usually greater than 30 inches in length. A katana (which Kari uses) is generally 25-30 inches long. A wakizashi is a short sword. A kodachi is a short sword between a wakizashi and katana in length. A tanto is a long dagger. Then there are the typical kunai, the short throwing knives. A sakabatou is a reverse-bladed sword. A zanbatou is a giant sword which is usually used against mounted opponents to cut down both horse and rider (Kari always thought of Zabuza's sword when imagining these). Then there's a bokken which is a wooden sword, and a shinai which is a bamboo practice sword. The sheath of a sword is called a saya, but Kari still thinks of it as a sheath.

Kari decided to go with the swords being kodachi, they looked about the length of his elbow to his fingertips or maybe an inch or so longer. He had a kunai and shuriken holster tied to his leg, and that was all visible weapons. He had a strange aura about him, a quiet confidence that was slightly intimidating.

"Hai." Both answered simultaneously. Kita stood at her side, legs bent slightly, prepared to sprint. She knew her Okaasan's battle plan and was determined to perform flawlessly. Kari and Akira locked eyes, ambery gold against a bright mix of blue green and grey. Kari's ears twitched slightly as a light breeze tickled her face.

'There's a dangerous scent in the air…'

"Kari-chan'll win easy" Naruto said confidently.

"Don't get overconfident usuratonkashi, she's recovering from a bad fever" Sasuke stated, leaning against the wall while Naruto leaned over the rail excitedly.

"Pfft! Kari-chan could beat him blindfolded with both hands behind her back!" Naruto said, dismissing any negativity against his beloved best friend.

'If only… The attacks with Akio's kekkei genkai had a huge effect on her even afterwards; she'd wheeze and cough up blood if she was struck hard in the chest. It took her two weeks before she was healed…'

He couldn't suppress a smirk remembering the little incident in the corridor before she went to fight. Kakashi had been encouraging him to tease her, and surprisingly, he found it entertaining and enjoyable and continued to tease her now and then. It was amusing how drastically she would change when put in a situation of possible romance.

Of course it was only teasing; there was nothing more behind it. He looked down at her, knowing they were soon to begin and couldn't help but feel slightly anxious. It takes a lot for her to be knocked out, but she's quite sensitive and can be hurt pretty easily, especially with her poor defence. Hopefully it would end quickly.

"Yo Gai. And Lee-kun how's your body? Kari-chan was very concerned." Kakashi said as he joined Gai, Lee, Sakura, Ino and Chouji.

"Kakashi!" Gai said with a grin.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried, she stared at him with a concerned look, not wanting to say her worries out loud.

"Oh! Sumimasen, sumimasen. You must have been worried. I'm sorry I didn't let you know about this. I'd thought Kita might have contacted you but she must have been too busy with her training" Kakashi said awkwardly.

'Ahh Sakura's going to get angry now…' Ino thought to herself.

"I don't care about that anymore" Sakura said turning away. She looked down at Kari, unable to see her neck because of her long hair and her hitai-ate. She wasn't able to see if… if that mark was still there. "Kakashi-sensei."

"Mm?"

"There was a strange bruise on Sasuke-kun and Kari-chan's neck right? That thing…"

"Don't worry about it anymore" Kakashi said, also looking down at Kari. Sakura stared at him and then smiled in relief. "That's how it is." The silver haired Jounin didn't want to worry her. 'I just hope Kari's fit to fight. As long as she sticks to the rules I gave her, she should be able to avoid disaster…' He sighed softly and looked round discreetly. "Ichi… ni… san… shi… go… roku… shichi… hachi… Eight. Eight ANBU members in this huge stadium. Two platoons aren't enough to cover this area. What is Hokage-sama thinking?" Kakashi murmured.

"Well, as long as we don't know how the enemy will move he is forced to distribute ANBU members around the most critical areas in this village. It's about to start…" Gai said in a low voice. "We can't let our guard down, but we should pay attention to the next two matches."

"Aa." Kakashi agreed, watching as the wind slightly stirred Kari's hair. She'd been extremely on edge. She hadn't confided in him, but he had seen her change in behaviour since yesterday. She wasn't just nervous or worried; she was highly on guard as though anticipating something bad to happen.

"Kakashi… I'm going to take a look at what kind of training you've given them. Seeing as Kari-chan is my squad's apprentice and I am your eternal rival" Gai grinned at him, his teeth sparkling.

"Mm? Did you say something?" Kakashi asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

"AAAH!! THAT WAS COOL KAKASHI! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS PURSUE REVOLUTIONARY REACTIONS??!" Gai cried clutching his head and belting out his displeasure at being beaten by his rival.

"Begin."

Kari rose her hands up and grasped the handles of her katana, her left hand going to the right sheath and vice-versa. She gripped them tightly and slowly pulled them out, the soft grinding of the blade soothing and exhilarating. She swung the left above her head, adjusting her grip and the right by her side, before holding one blade horizontally in front of her, and the other katana parallel behind her. A defensive move, should he charge in without warning.

She watched Akira's movements and seeing as he was reaching into his pouch and not charging in directly with Taijutsu, with a light flick of her wrists, her katana were pointing towards the ground at her sides at a slight angle so not to cut her leg. Her arms were relaxed, but adrenaline was starting to pump through her, her heartbeat beginning to drum inside her chest.

Akira flung a kunai at her and she simply moved her head to the side, her cheek was grazed, but it wasn't deep and only lightly trickled a drop or two of blood. The audience was quiet with tension, watching as Kari and Akira observed each others actions, seeing how the other would react.

Unable to withstand the anticipation any longer, Kari swung her katana so they were at a forty five degree angle behind her and charged, music pumping through her mind, driving her movements and giving her rhythm and focus. Akira quickly whipped out his kodachi and just had time to bring them into a defensive position before she swung her katana right and slammed them towards his left side.

There was a bang of metal hitting metal and the dust and wind were thrown around by the impact. There were soft gasps from some of the audience and Naruto's jaw dropped in awe. Sasuke pushed off the wall and almost ran to the railing, his Sharingan activating.

He had caught her practicing once or twice, but it was more like a dance. He had only caught a minute or two of her swinging her katana before she would hear him and fling the swords at him and yell at him for spying on her. Most other times, he was unable to find her and she disappeared for an hour or two to practice on her own.

Kari span right, releasing the pressure on his blades and swung them over her head before bringing them down in an X shape ready to cut Akira into pieces. The boy managed to quickly block and they both threw their weight forwards, adding chakra and struggling to push the other back. The wind picked up around them again but they hardly noticed, eyes locked on each others. The proctor shielded his eyes from the dust being stirred.

'Those two have a hell of a lot of power…' he thought as he watched their arms and legs shake with strain. With Akira being heavier he managed to throw her backwards.

She landed lightly then speedily charged and swiftly swung her blades at him, twisting and slashing at him at high speed. Akira was skilled and managed to avoid serious damage, but sustained many gashes and cuts before he noticed an opening and slammed his leg into her, sending her a fair distance away from him. In mid-air she managed to sheath her katana in time to put her hands town to catch herself and flip herself back onto her feet.

'This guy… He's strong… And so calm… and sexy—GAH! Kari! Bad! Bad, bad, bad Kari-chan! Do not think such things about the enemy!! But he was able to keep up with my speed and katana… and those were my strengths… and he defended easily. This isn't going to be easy…'

She charged, deciding to go into hand to hand combat and noticed Akira run directly at her. She clenched her fist preparing to strike when she was distracted.

'Purple chakra, bright purple chakra! Fakku!!'

Kari yelped as he rammed his hand into her sternum and knocked her flat on her back. Pinning her with his weight and sitting on her abdomen to prevent a repeat of his brothers injury. He grabbed hold of her wrist with his spare hand, her other hand gripping the wrist of the hand alight with chakra.

"Kari-chan!!" Naruto cried in alarm as blood began to flood through her lips.

'Not good!' Kakashi and Sasuke thought worriedly.

"Unn!!" Kari groaned as she choked and struggled to breathe through her nose, only making blood bubbles in her mouth. If she thought Akio had been painful, this was on a whole new level. Her body was alight with fire, burning feeling as thought it was being blackened to ash. Her bones were all twisting, trying to dislocate and fracture. Her organs went into overdrive, trying to expand and contract all at once, feeling as though they were being squeezed and swollen. Her energy was sucked out of her, white dots appearing in front of her eyes.

'Is this it…? I thought it would last longer. I've heard from some of the Jounin that Kari was showing a lot of potential. But can she really beat this guy?' the proctor thought, debating whether to intervene. He didn't want any deaths.

"Hold still…" Akira murmured as she struggled weakly underneath him, unable to lift her limbs, let alone do any damage with them.

'Kari move, MOVE! He'll kill you!!' Sasuke shouted in his head, praying she would be able to hear him. She had heard him in the exam, surely… 'Kari!!'

She coughed harshly and gave Akira a feeble shove. Then she slammed her hand down, pointing at something. Immediately, Kita hurtled out of the bushes and flung herself into Akira, the sudden attack knocking him off Kari. Kita's jaws closed around his shoulder, her teeth scraping his collarbone.

Kari quickly scrambled to her feet and Kita flipped, avoiding Akira's punch. She darted into the trees disappearing. Sasuke managed a small smirk. 'She told Kita to hide and then when necessary calls for assistance… She was expecting another attack like at the preliminaries.' He frowned in concern as she stumbled slightly, her legs shaking underneath her. 'But she still sustained a lot of damage'.

Kari shot at Akira, who was clutching his shoulder, Kita had given him a slightly dead arm, she had probably caught some nerves with her teeth. He was punished for his lack of attention when a small iron fist slammed into his gut. He quickly let go of his shoulder but wasn't quick enough to dodge the hard kick to his exposed side. She twisted and flung her fist at him again but this time he dodged and countered by ramming his knee into her stomach.

Luckily, training with Sasuke had built up Kari's endurance and she and Akira became locked in speedy Taijutsu, Kari using her fluid 'Meiken' style, while Akira used normal Gouken, landing a lot more hits than Kari would like.

"Kari-hime… her Taijutsu's improved" Gai said, not daring to tear his eyes away should he miss something. Though Kakashi felt absolutely nauseous with worry, he couldn't help but feel bloated with pride.

"She's my favourite student after all" Kakashi whispered with a smile.

With a hard hit to her stomach, Kari coughed up a mixture of blood and saliva, falling hard onto her back, but doing a backwards somersault to get her back on her feet. She was panting, her breathing slightly raspy. 'Stupid kekkei genkai…'

With a slight cry of frustration she ran at him, she was steadier now, a slight glow of chakra around her legs. She wasn't using it for speed; she had been going at a steady comfortable run throughout the fight. No it was to support her. Sasuke bit his tongue and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. 'She's trying to ignore her pain. She'll be at her limit soon. His kekkei genkai took most of her strength.'

"You can do it Kari-chan!!" Naruto cried. Sasuke almost spoke up to stop him. She didn't need encouragement to overwork herself.

"Kari-chan has really become strong" Sakura said in amazement and slight envy. It was hard to accept someone with years less of experience could surpass you.

"She's strong willed" Kakashi agreed, starting to become anxious. 'She's still hurt from the other day. I should have tried to persuade her to pull out. If only she wasn't so stubborn…' Kakashi smiled, yet felt an ache of sadness. 'So stupidly stubborn… Just like Naruto.'

Kari quickly performed hand signs and finishing in the sign of the tiger she blew a jet of flame at Akira. He tried to dodge but his arm and side were slightly burned. Kari inwardly grinned that his awesome hair had not been singed but then resisted the urge to run and smack her head into the wall of the stadium.

They charged at each other and Akira grabbed both his kodachi, Kari quickly pulling out a kunai. Kari went to swing at him but was cut off by an explosion of pain in her torso. The world seemed to freeze and then there were gasps and screams from the audience, and a few even covered their eyes.

"Kari-chan!"

"Kari!"

"KARI-CHAN!!"

Kari barely heard, seeming to have become deaf to all but her own sounds, her raspy breathing, her heartbeat, blood pounding in her ears… she looked down to see Akira's kodachi buried in the indent under her ribs, tilted upwards and coming out of her back. It was off centre so luckily looked like it missed her spine. Her shirt began to stick to her, the bandages torn, unable to protect her wound. He yanked his blade out of her and with a pained expression drove his other kodachi into her lower left side.

'I have a mission for you Akira-kun. I want you to attempt to kill Kari-chan in the finals. If you fail, I will kill your brother and you will never know the truth of your parents.'

He had to. He had no choice. If he doesn't follow Orochimaru's orders… If he doesn't win then… Then everything will be lost.

"I think that's enou—" Genma began, but to everyone's surprise he was cut off.

"I'm fine thank you very much" Kari huffed weakly, and she slammed her fist into Akira's jaw (he was looking at Genma) throwing him away from her and ripping his kodachi out.

"Kari you baka! That's enough!" Sasuke hissed, clutching the rail tightly.

Wings sprouted from her back and with a huge thrust, the dust was kicked up, hiding her from sight. The wings caused a buzz of whispered conversation through the stands, but it was quietened when the dust turned into a ring, amongst that ring a white blur as Kita rapidly circled Akira.

Kari hid behind the thicker part of the trees, panting as quietly as she could. Her wings disappeared and she clumsily tried to wrap her wounds as quickly as she could. Kita's distraction wouldn't buy her much time. 'I just need to slow the bleeding - ite-e!'

Kita yelped and skidded to a stop, narrowly dodging the kunai thrown in front of her. She went to run in the opposite direction, but was stopped by another kunai. She looked round to see two more coming at her fast, but before she could worry about escaping, she was lifted off the ground and pulled out of harms way. Kari grabbed the kunai and with a swift turn, flung them back at their owner. One grazed Akira's thigh and he threw his last kunai at her.

Kari dodged and pulled out her own kunai and gave it to Kita, the wolf jumping off and disappearing. With his Sharingan, Sasuke had seen her do some speedy hand signals to Kita, without uttering a word or taking her eyes off Akira.

She flew at him at her full speed, and Akira was unable to keep up. He blocked shielding his face with his arms, unable to move because of the speed her attacks came from all directions. Sasuke watched as Kita darted around them, a white blur.

"Kita!" Kari cried and Kita immediately rushed to her, dropping the kunai in Kari's hand before darting into the bushes again. Kari leapt backward and pulled her kunai. Akira's eyes widened in alarm when wires wrapped around him tightly, binding his arms to his body and his legs together.

Kita had weaved the wire around him as Kari attacked him, keeping him in one place.

He was trapped.

Kari shot at him and with a hard kick to his chest he landed on his back. She sat on his stomach and in a swift motion pulled out her kunai and crossed them over his neck, trapping him. Her hands gripping his wrists and holding them down. If he tried to move his throat would be cut and he'd die.

The air was thick with tension and it was silent for a moment, until a smirk crept onto Kari's face.

"Game over."

"Winner: Kari" Genma said, seemingly surprised, but Kari was shocked by the sudden eruption of cheers from the stands. She blushed and then smiled, her keen ears picking out Naruto and Kaizo's cheers. Looking up in the direction of the sound, Kari could see Kitome clapping happily while blushing at the jumping, ecstatic Kaizo. But something caught her attention. And that something was sitting next to Kitome.

'No…'

"I don't suppose you're going to let me go?" Akira said from underneath her with a slight smirk. Kari immediately blushed remembering she was sitting on him and pulled her katana out the ground and sheathed them. "Congratulations, you're very strong" Akira said sitting up gingerly.

Kari's heart seemed to thump louder and louder as he came closer. But she was paralysed by some unknown force.

"Forgive me Kari-chan" Akira whispered before grabbing the sides of her head and pressing his lips against hers.

Naruto paused in his cheering to yell and point in confusion.

"Nani?!"

"Something's wrong…" Sasuke whispered, seeing how she had gone completely rigid. 'She should have run away blushing like an idiot by now…'

Akira pulled away from her, his tongue sliding back into his own mouth.

"Gomenasai…"

Blood spurted out of Kari's mouth and she fell backwards, her body twitching slightly. Sasuke jumped over the railings and rushed to her side. Kneeling beside her he lifted her limp body up slightly, supporting her head and shoulders in his lap. Kakashi was immediately at her other side.

"Well… that stung like a bitch…" Kari mumbled, blinking her foggy eyes.

"You baka! How could you let him do that to you?!" Sasuke cried.

"Shut up! Do you know how much my head hurts??!" Kari hissed. "OW!! What was that for?!" Kari cried as Kakashi lifted up her shirt slightly and gently prodded her wound.

"The blades weren't poisoned, but those injuries don't look too good. Didn't we tell you to be careful?" Kakashi said sternly, Kari pulled her shirt down and watched as Akira was lifted onto a stretcher.

"Four guys in one day… boo Kari you whore" Kari whined to herself. "But a winning whore! Kita-ko!" The wolf had finally made her way over and could not look any happier.

"Okaasan!"

"Oh my baby! Okaasan is so proud of youuuu!" Kari cooed, hugging Kita and rubbing her face against the giggling cub. Sasuke grimaced still holding her, and resisted the urge to drop her.

"Kari, we'll get a stretcher ready at once—" a medic nin said taking notice of the kunoichi.

"No." she said sternly.

"Kari!"

"Baka!"

"Kari-chan!!" Naruto had rushed over, the proctor having been holding him back as he threatened to pummel Akira. "Kari-chan you were amazing dattebayou! Seriously it was so cool!" Naruto cried, bursting into the conversation and flinging his arms around her. She giggled and hugged him back while Sasuke gave them both a look of repulsion. Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as the medic-nin just stared confused.

"Naruto-kun! Ite-e!" Kari said, slightly pushing him away, but was caught off guard when his lips pressed against hers. Kari's eyes widened as Sasuke looked like he was about to be sick. Kakashi looked mildly surprised. Kari's face was an immediate flame of red and Naruto broke away from her with a huge grin.

"That's for winning dattebayou! Like when I won and you kissed me!" Naruto cried in delight while Kari buried her face in Sasuke's shirt complaining that it was in front of so many people.

"Kari you need medical attention" the medic-nin piped up again.

"Didn't I tell you no? I'm watching Sasuke's fight!" Kari said sternly, coughing when she tried to raise her voice. She grimaced at the red tinted saliva and wiped it on Sasuke's sleeve.

"But—"

"Don't waste your breath…" Kakashi sighed. "No one argues with Kari when she's on her period."

"I'll wrap myself in the waiting area" Kari said nodding.

"They'll just come and get you when you pass out" Sasuke said, prodding the wound in her side and making her wince and shudder. Kakashi nodded to the medic-nin, knowing that was the only way, and that if Kari was dragged kicking and screaming she'd only hurt herself more and then break out of the room and come back.

"Yosh! Sasuke!" Kari said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and waiting to be lifted. Grumbling, the Uchiha lifted her up, Naruto picking up Kita and going on ahead, talking excitedly to the happy little cub.

"Lift your shirt up" Sasuke said, setting her down in the room where the stairs were. "I'm taking it you don't want to be wrapped in the waiting area."

"Meh…" Kari huffed and gave a weak cough. Sasuke sighed slightly and pulled her shirt up himself. His hand ran over the ripped bandages, his fingertips coated in thick blood. Pulling out the bandages in his pouch he started to wrap her, starting from her lower stomach and working his way up.

"Didn't I tell you not to go overboard?" he said as she winced at the contact of the wound in her side. "You should have quit when you were hit with his kekkei genkai."

"Pfft. Then I would've lost – ite-e!" Kari grumbled as he pulled it tight.

"Or when you were stabbed" Sasuke said, going to pull her shirt up more to get to the second wound but she shrank away with a glare.

"I'll do it!" she mumbled, but he ignored her and went behind her instead. "I wrapped myself in the trees!"

"You rushed and they didn't help very much. If you'd been more careful you wouldn't have to suffer through this would you?" Sasuke said as he rewrapped her ribs. "Baka."

"Alright I get it!" Kari mumbled blushing in embarrassment as wrapped her chest and upper back. "Shino-kun was right about the poison though…" Kari sighed. Sasuke grunted to show he was listening and she tensed as he pulled it tight. "That kiss had a slight intent to kill and it spread a burning pain across my throat and lungs…"

'Kari-chan! The Murasaki clan carry poison in their salivary glands! Don't worry though, we were able to neutralise it!' Kitai cried through her thoughts making her jump slightly.

"But you're all right now?" Sasuke asked, finishing wrapping her.

"Yeah" Kari sighed, leaning back on him and slouching. "I'm just worried about your fight." She heard him scoff and he laid his head on the top of hers.

"I'll be fine" he said simply. She spun around and stared at him worried beyond belief. He could see the concern in her eyes and rolled his own, placing a hand on the top of her head. "Baka, you worry too much. I'm not as careless as you."

"But… you'll be okay ne?" she said grabbing his other hand in hers.

"No, I'm going to die Kari."

"NANIII!?! No! No! NO!" she cried hysterically, dropping his hand and grabbing the front of his shirt to shake him slightly. Sasuke smirked slightly and pressed his lips against hers. "Mphh! S-ske!" she mumbled but he ignored her and instead cupped her breast. "UWAAH!?!" He avoided the violent swing at his head and smirked widely at her. Unable to hit him she pinched his cheeks and stretched them, cursing at him angrily. Sasuke pulled away and stood up, letting her fall slightly into the wall. He rubbed his slightly red cheeks as she glared at him enraged.

"In the slightest chance I do die, at least I'll know that was my last memory of you" he said with a wide smirk as he went towards the stairs. "Wish me luck hm?"

"No you baka hentai!!" Kari shrieked. "When I get a hold of Kakashi I'm burning those freaking books!"

"I know, I'll try my best" Sasuke said, still smirking at her. "Make sure you watch me, I'll have to work a little to top your fight."

"You arrogant, cocky temee!!" Kari shouted. "You better win! And if your injuries aren't too bad I swear when I'm going to run over and give you the Akio treatment!!"

"You wish" Sasuke said, descending down the stairs. It was quiet on his way down, but as he stepped onto the last stair he got what he'd been waiting for.

"GANBATTE! GO SASUKE-CHAN!"

And his smirk turned into a slight smile.

"Boo… Kari is a nasty whore…" Kari cursed, smacking the back of her head into the wall behind her. "And Sasuke is a stupid hentai!" she smacked her head on the wall again. "Am I just being left here?!"

"You're talking to yourself."

"YAA?!" Kari jumped out of her skin and fell onto her injured side. Looking up, blushing in embarrassment she saw a flash of red. "Oh Gaara!"

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

"Anou…" she answered. He simply stared at her expressionless.

"You really are odd…" he said bluntly. Kari smiled sheepishly and blushed darker. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"No. I don't like hospitals" Kari replied as she tried to get up, but she failed miserably and just laid with her face against the cold floor. "…I don't suppose you want any encouragement?"

"No."

"Then… Have a good fight" Kari said, her ear twitching at the sound of footsteps.

"Kari-chan! It's going to start soon!" Naruto cried crouching down in front of her. "Why are you lying on the floor?"

"Because it's comfortable" Kari replied as Naruto pulled her arm over his shoulder.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, doing the same with her other arm. She suddenly tensed and covered their mouths with her hands. Naruto was about to question her, but she was glaring fixedly ahead, at something behind Gaara. The redhead turned to see two men were looking at him.

"Low level tournaments like this Chuunin exam are good for betting" Kari took notice that the men wore hitai-ate, but fount it difficult to determine the symbol declaring which village they were from. "Quite a few feudal lords come here just for that reason."

"So… can you lose this match?" Kari flinched visibly seeing the wavy line and finally recognising the symbol. 'Kusa; Grass village.' She didn't miss Naruto's worried glance, but she, like Shikamaru, was more preoccupied with the two adult shinobi.

Gaara's eyes were closed and Naruto wondered if he was ignoring the men, Kari's eyes were on his gourd, her ears picking up the sound of movement within it. The cork on the gourd was slightly twisting.

"Hey now, at least say something."

"Are you too scared to say anything?"

Naruto made a soft mumble to show confusion but Kari slightly tightened her hold on him and slightly shook her head, silently stressing that he mustn't talk. Gaara's eyes shot open with a crazed smirk on his face. Kari's stomach churned violently and she shuddered at the burning feeling through her gut.

One of the shinobi pulled out a kunai just as the cork flew off and sand flew out almost excitedly. The shinobi gasped as the lights all shattered, bathing the corridor in darkness. Gaara's breathing was heavy and raspy in excitement and Kari felt Naruto shudder next to her. Instinctively, she brought him closer to her, so that his body was pressed against her side. She could feel his heart drumming against her ribs and fought to stay still.

Sand swamped one man, dragging him onto his back and crushed him while he screamed. The other man tried to run and make an escape but was tripped and caught being dragged back towards Gaara. Their eyes widened as they watched the man try desperately to crawl to them, clawing at the floor and screaming in terror.

"Help! Yamete! Yamete!" the man cried desperately. There was a piercing scream a few seconds afterwards.

After a moment Gaara stepped out of the corridor and started walking past them, pausing at the top of the stairs. Naruto and Shikamaru were rigid, frozen, sweat trickling down their brows and their hearts hammering in their chests. Kari could feel her own heart beating relatively fast and she too was tense, but she could almost taste the fear from Shikamaru and Naruto.

With echoing footsteps, Gaara walked down the stairs towards his much anticipated fight, leaving hints of bloodlust still in the air.

"Guys… Naruto-kun, Shika" Kari murmured. Their eyes turned to her, but their bodies were still tense from fright. "I'm going to go into the waiting room now okay? I want to see Sasuke fight."

After a moment, Shikamaru managed a slight nod while Naruto turned his head slightly to look at her. She could tell he was still disturbed and smiled softly, placing a hand on the top of his head.

"You didn't think I'd let anything bad happen to you did you?" she said gently before brushing her lips across his temple. "You're precious to me; I'll always protect you silly."

With that she stood and left, desperate to watch another precious person and make sure he would be alright.

'Gomen Naruto-kun, but your safe now, and he's in danger… his life is in danger…'

"If those two weren't there, and Kari wasn't there… he probably would've killed us instead" Shikamaru said shakily. "I've never seen someone kill like that without any hesitation."

"Kari-chan… She kept us quiet and close to her to protect us…" Naruto whispered, just as shaken.

"She had such a strong protective aura… Like a mother protecting her cub…" Shikamaru said wiping the sweat off his forehead. "If he'd turned on us she would've attacked him instantly."

"And then she'd have…" Naruto swallowed and ignored the painful lurch of his insides.

"Sasuke might have trouble with him" Shikamaru said, referring to Gaara.

Sasuke watched as Gaara appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He walked until he stood opposite the Uchiha, a tense atmosphere immediately created.

"Be careful Sasu…" Kari murmured standing beside Shino, whom Kita had been sitting beside. The crowd was ecstatic and Kari sighed leaning on the railings. Her eye twitched when she noticed Sasuke was being emotionless. It always irked her when he did that.

"So it finally begins…" Genma said. After that last fight and all the drama that came with it, the crowd were all riled up and expecting something equally as impressive. Genma breathed heavily through his nose. 'That Kari girl sure was something… impressive kenjutsu, her own version of Taijutsu, a fire technique, flawless teamwork…'Genma smiled to himself. 'With such care for her squad and such awareness of whether they were in danger, she'd make an excellent chuunin. It's just a case of whether they'll take that bad defence into account, but I suppose her stamina helps. Hopefully she'll live to see whether she's promoted. Those were terrible stab wounds.' Bringing himself out of his thoughts Genma turned to the two genin before him. "The rules are the same as in the preliminaries. The match will go on until one of you dies or gives up. If I determine that there is a clear winner I may stop the match. But I will make that decision."

Gaara smirked and an evil chuckle rumbled through his throat. Sasuke was unfazed, and kept his expression reasonably blank except for his brows slightly furrowing.

"Fighters, to the centre." Genma requested. Sasuke rolled his shoulders before walking forward. Gaara did the same, still with that evil smirk. Sasuke broke out of his blank demeanour and scowled slightly, becoming impatient. "Begin!"

The proctor jumped out the way and Sasuke readied himself for movement. Sand blasted out of Gaara's gourd and Sasuke immediately jumped back. 'This must be the sand that Kakashi was warning me about… Kari mentioned something about it, but stressed I stay away from it.' Gaara's eye widened before he groaned in pain grasping his head.

Kari shuddered as a piercing pain shot between her temples. She clenched her teeth and forced her eyes to keep open.

"Don't get so mad at me…" Gaara whined and Kari shivered as she suddenly felt cold, goosebumps spreading across her arms. "Okaasan…"

"O-okaasan?" Kari murmured in shock while Kita looked at her anxiously, noticing her distress.

'What is this guy talking about?' Sasuke thought in confusion.

"Back there… back there… I made you absorb foul blood…" Gaara continued muttering to himself, his open eye glued to Sasuke while a smirk remained present on his face. "Gomen…Demo… this time… It'll taste better…"

"Sasuke…" Kari murmured fearfully while Kita whined. The cub was distracted however, by Temari and Kankurou's conversation.

"He's begun to converse now… This looks bad" Kankurou said.

"I've never seen Gaara become like that before a battle…" Temari said, shock slightly showing in her face. "It must mean the opponent is strong."

Kari flinched as Gaara groaned in pain again, a splitting headache coursing through her skull. The sand that had been floating protectively above Gaara fell in a circle around him.

"Looks like it has settled" Gaara's sensei said to himself.

Kari breathed deeply as the throbbing in her head seemed to ease. 'Stupid fever… Stupid Sasuke for causing fever…' Kari thought to herself grumpily.

Gaara panted before slouching slightly, seemingly exhausted. He looked up, much calmer, but his eyes still flashed with danger.

"Koi."

And the fight began.