Quote The Speechless: "Well I have finally returned. All the begging of my readers has finally reached me in my lofty palace on the slopes of Olympia."
Ghost Wolf: "And what does Quote the Speechless have for us today?"
Quote The Speechless: "Another Chapter of course. It's not like I'm going to rain gold from the skies."
Ghost Wolf: "Not that you could anyway. so will we get to see what you do to Sakura and the note now?"
Quote The Speechless: "Read and find out. How will the events of the last chapter affect the relationship of the team? Will all that they've worked for break apart? All those questions and more will be raised, will they be answered here? HELL NO!"
Ghost Wolf: "Okay then... you're starting to scare even me... are you still upset about those pairing reviews?"
Quote The Speechless: "Have I listed Romance anywhere Here? No, this isn't about Romance. It's about how people Interact, it's about action and adventure and having a fun time along the way. NOT sappy romances and Drama.
Quote The Speechless: "There are NO PAIRINGS."
Ghost Wolf: "Jeez dude... I'm sorry I brought it up then."
Quote The Speechless: "Sorry Man, all this stuff is getting to me." Sighs and settles down.
Ghost Wolf: "That's alright. Things could be worse though."
Quote The Speechless: Rolls my eyes. "Don't even joke."
Ghost Wolf: "Well... I think the people have listened to us enough and want to read the new chapter so Avant'e."
Quote The Speechless: "Indeed, Avant'e away." Waves a hand towards the chapter.
Legal - I do not own the Naruto Series. Gods I wish I did, but oh well.
Chapter 13 - Confusion.
Naruto watched from under the exposed roots of a tree as the three kitsune bounded off into the shadows. They had been taken to a spot not very far from the hidden entrance to the lair of the demons. The memory jutsu had been put on Sakura while she slept, so she couldn't fight it, and a follow up spell had been added to keep her asleep during transport. A high-powered sleeping spell had been put on Sasuke so the kitsune could make their escape without being seen by them.
Sakura would wake up in a minute, but there was no telling when Sasuke would wake up. Kasei was huddled back into the corner, his head on top of Naruto's bag. Naruto stepped out from under the roots and brought his armor that he had taken out of his bag earlier. He sat and put the armor on, making sure that when that freak had undone it that he had not damaged it. It turned out he would have to replace one of the straps, but it would work until the end of the second test.
"Uh," Sakura started to wake up. She put her hand on her head. A side effect of the memory jutsu was a headache. "Where am I?"
"Under a tree in the Forest of Death, with two days left in the exam." Naruto's tone was distant to her as he clipped his forearm guards on.
"WHAT?" Sakura couldn't believe it. She had been asleep for two days?
"Quiet, we're being watched," Naruto calmly tied his headband on. "They're behind me, in the trees." Sakura tried to stand but she was too shaky, she took one wobbling step before falling to her knees. She looked over at Sasuke and started to worry, there was no way they would be able to fight them off if they attacked.
"I can't fight in this condition," she started to shake. "And without Sasuke how are we supposed to fight anyone?" A small growl from the shadowed corner made her freeze. A small fox with an odd tail slipped out of the darkness and over to Naruto's side by the entrance.
"We'll take care of it," Naruto walked out, the fox by his side. Sakura could only watch and wonder. Why was he acting so cold? What was a fox doing there? Something was nagging at the back of her mind, like someone screaming from a soundproof room. She shook herself and worked her way over to Sasuke, trying to wake him up.
The Sound team watched from the branches of a nearby tree across the small clearing. They had found the team just a minute ago. Now they could fulfill their mission and kill Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto stepped out into the clearing. He didn't have time to set up traps to guard their position, and wished he had. He felt better with Kasei at his side, but he didn't know if he would be able to take on the three Sound Ninja. He would rely on his human chakra. He had a very limited amount of demon chakra, so he decided to wait for a time when he really needed it. Naruto pulled out his kunai and readied himself.
Without a sound, Kasei seemed to disappear from view, sinking into the ground. Naruto dropped into the first stance of the lightning style and channeled chakra into his arms and legs. It was at that point that the Sound team decided to show itself. They dropped from the branches to a spot on the other side of the clearing.
"Give us the Uchiha and we might let you live," one spoke. His face was mostly covered in bandages, a feathery cloak out behind him.
"Sorry," Naruto didn't move, giving Kasei time to get into position, "but I won't give him up. I need him to pass the test. Why do you want him? Did that Snake summoning bastard send you after him?"
"Orochimaru?" the other male on the Sound team asked. He had spiky black hair with face guards coming down from the side of his forehead protector. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't know what his name is, but he left some kind of seal on my teammate." That was it; Kasei had poked his head up from underground just behind the woman of the Sound team and quietly scrambled up into a tree. "Your time is up, give us your scroll and I'll let you go."
"You'll let us go?" the woman questioned. "You're outnumbered three to one. You don't stand a chance."
Naruto smiled as Kasei started to rain down razor sharp leaves onto the Sound. Naruto made a mental note to ask the small fox to teach him that skill. The woman on the sound team whipped out some needles and started to block the leaves. The male with the face guards lifted his arms and gathered chakra into them.
"ZANKUUHA," he shouted. The Air Slicing Blast ripped up into the Leaf Shuriken, because of their light weight the blast knocked them astray and roared up into the trees, but there didn't seem to be any other reaction. "HA, a weak trap," the Nin said as he turned back to Naruto. "I'll take this one, Dosu. You and Kin go and kill the others."
"As you can see," the one called Dosu spoke up. "We are not to be trifled with." He lifted the guard on his right arm, ready to attack. "You had your chance, now you will all die. Kill him, Zaku." But Naruto was already doing hand seals.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," six clones popped into existence beside Naruto. "You shouldn't underestimate me, either," they said in unison. They formed teams of two and faced off with the three attackers. After only an instant there was the sounds of pops from above, and four foxes fell from the trees above. The three Kasei clones dropped down and joined the three teams of Narutos while the original dropped next to the real Naruto. Together, they charged the Sound team.
Instead of working as a group, the Sound broke apart, attempting to take on Naruto, Kasei, and the clones separately. The girl, Kin, attacked with needles and other weapons, but only managed to hit one of the clones before the small fox rushed by her and tripped her. The other clone twisted her arm and held it behind her back as it forced her to the ground.
Dosu used sound waves to blast the eardrums of the clones that attacked him. He managed to take out one of the Naruto clones and the kitsune clone. The last Naruto clone that attacked him came with a high kick. The ninja defended with the device on his arm, but not before the clone could land a devastating blow on it. The shockwave from the device blew the clone apart and the sound Nin was thrown back against a tree.
The last team of clones took on the remaining sound Ninja, Zaku. He took an offensive stance and fired off two Air Slicing Blasts, one from each hand, in an attempt to get rid of the clones. He did manage to get the fox clone that acted as a distraction, but the two Naruto clones dodged and grasped his arms, twisting them behind his back.
Naruto thought that was the end of the fight, but Zaku wasn't finished. Even with his arms held behind his back, he fired the Air Slicing Blasts from either hand, blasting apart the clones that held him.
"You can't defeat us like that," Dosu said as he got up. Though he tried to hide it, his arm device had several long cracks coming from a fist imprint where he had blocked the clone's punch.
"I didn't need to defeat you," Naruto said as he stepped to the side. Purple, tainted, chakra could be seen swirling around a figure under the roots. "I just needed to stall you till he woke up."
"Who woke me up?" Sasuke asked. Sakura had huddled back against the roots, terrified of the feeling that washed off of Sasuke. Black shapes grew out from the mark that Orochimaru had put on his neck. They covered his left arm and that side of his face as well. He had his Sharingan activated as he walked out from under the roots and looked around the small clearing.
"We did," Zaku said, grinning, indicating him and his team mates. "And now you die," he concentrated chakra into his arms and aimed them at Sasuke. "ZANKUUHA!" he shouted, firing a double blast at Sasuke. When the smoke and dust cleared from the attack there was nothing where Sasuke had been. "HA, I killed him," Zaku chuckled at how easy it was.
"Killed who?" said a voice from beside him. Naruto, Sakura and Kasei watched from a tree branch as Sasuke backhanded the Sound Nin across the clearing. As Zaku staggered up, Sasuke slid up behind him. Before Dosu could warn him, both Zaku's arms were twisted behind him and Sasuke's foot was planted in the middle of his back. Sasuke didn't give time for Zaku to power up another attack before there was a sickening 'crack' sound from both of Zaku's shoulders. Both had just been dislocated by Sasuke, who only grinned.
Sakura couldn't just watch any more. This was not her Sasuke, there was no way this terrifying feeling was coming from him. She had to stop him, before her Sasuke disappeared in those terrible black shapes that were appearing across him, consuming him slowly.
"STOP!" Sakura cried as she ran up behind Sasuke and wrapped her arms around him. Sasuke paused mid step. He turned his head to the left and watched her over his shoulder for a moment. "Please… Stop…" Not another word was spoken. All held their breath wondering what would happen next. After a long moment, the black marks that had appeared on Sasuke slowly started to fade back, retreating back to the original mark on his neck.
When the mark had fully retreated, Sasuke was cut off from the power that had flooded through him and he collapsed, exhausted from trying to both maintain and hold back that much power. Luckily for him, Sakura was there to catch him. She gently lowered him into a sitting position on the ground. Naruto and Kasei dropped down from the branches between the sound ninjas and the rest of his team.
"We underestimated you today," Dosu said as he reached into his pouch. He removed the Earth Scroll they had been given at the start of the test. "We'll give you our scroll if you let us go." Naruto looked at the scroll and nodded. The clone that was holding the girl down disappeared in a puff of smoke. Together, Kin and Dosu picked up Zaku and carried him off, leaving the earth scroll for Naruto to pick up.
Naruto looked over the scroll and saw that it was indeed the Earth scroll they needed. He smiled and put it in his bag with the Heaven scroll. Kasei jumped up and draped himself over Naruto's shoulders. Though talented, he was still drained by the techniques that he used. Naruto walked over towards his teammates.
"Are you two alright?" he asked. "We've got both the scrolls now. We should go to the tower as soon as we can. You don't look so good, Sasuke." Naruto walked over next to them and kneeled down by Sasuke, who was still breathing hard and sweating a lot. Sakura was watching Naruto and the fox on his shoulders. Naruto noticed and smiled as he reached up and scratched the fox behind its ears. "This is Kasei, I found him while scouting for a spot for us all to hide. From what I can tell his family or den or whatever was crushed by a falling tree some time ago, and he's been surviving on his own. And, well, he showed me this place and I like him so I'm letting him tag along with us."
Sakura didn't quite believe him. The message in the note to herself still worried her. Don't let Naruto know, it had said, it could be dangerous. And anyone could tell that the fox wasn't natural, she had seen it use jutsu, right? No, she hadn't seen it, she had only seen the effects, and the clones could have been made by Naruto and transformed to look like the fox. Even the Leaf Shuriken might have done it, it could have been set up beforehand. But she knew that she was only trying to fool herself. She smiled and nodded at Naruto, but was afraid of what she didn't know. What had happened?
They rested for a little while, so Sasuke could regain some of his strength before they made their move towards the tower. Sasuke pointed out that there would probably be ambushes and obstacles as they got closer to the tower. Naruto said that he would take point and thus warn them of any ambushes. Sakura agreed, but for another reason, she wanted to tell Sasuke about the note in private. So Naruto started ahead with Kasei on his shoulders, Sakura and Sasuke followed behind by a few hundred feet.
"Sasuke…" Sakura started. He looked back at her, for she was trailing a little as they made their way. "Something is going on… something wrong… maybe something bad." Sasuke didn't understand, not fully. He reached up to the mark on his neck and rubbed it a little before lowering his hand and continuing, his face betraying none of his thoughts.
"I'm fine," he said, his thoughts always so self centered. "Stay focused on the test, it can wait till later."
"No, Sasuke, I don't think it can," she sounded quite adamant. "It's Naruto, he's hiding something, something big," she took out the letter to herself and showed it to him. He read it over slowly.
"Is this your handwriting?" he asked. He had apparently ignored the fact about the scrapbook. When she nodded, he read over the note again. He glanced up and towards Naruto. "I believe you."
"You do?" Sakura was startled. "Why? Do you also have a note to yourself?" She hoped, but he shook his head.
"No, but there are other things." His eyes watched Naruto and the companion on his shoulders. "I might not have believed them except for your letter and that fox."
"What do you mean?"
"After the attack from the guy, I fell… asleep, but not asleep, it's hard to explain," he shook his head as he tried to get back onto track. "I can recall trying to wake up again and again, but I could not. But on two occasions I almost managed, I heard voices, trying to put me back to sleep. I managed to open my eyes for a brief second. I saw a fox, a demon fox." Sakura stopped. She had just found a piece of the puzzle.
"Naruto knows," she said as she started again, her eyes watching Naruto ahead of them. "I am sure that he knows."
"You're saying that Naruto already broke through the memory jutsu?" Sasuke asked, he was feeling a lot better now, but his suspicions and distrust of Naruto were growing.
"No," she shook her head. "I think that he was never under a memory jutsu, and he's not telling us."
"Why wouldn't he tell us? We're supposed to be teammates." Sasuke was getting a bit pissed at Naruto now, and more than a little curious as to what had happened while he was out of it.
"We can't confront him," Sakura said, now a little worried about what Sasuke might do. "The note said it would be dangerous. We know you weren't awake, you said yourself that you were 'asleep' or something. What we should do is get this memory jutsu off me so I can remember, and then we decide what to do.
"Agreed," he said after a minute. "But I will be watching him. Something big is going on, and he is at the middle of it." Sakura nodded in agreement, she would watch him, too. They didn't talk any more, they followed Naruto and kept an eye out for any traps or ambushes.
After a while of trekking through the woods, Naruto stopped by a stream. He started gathering firewood. After a few moments, Sakura and Sasuke arrived at the stream as well.
"It's getting late," Naruto said as he stacked the wood for a fire, also collecting some stones to surround it so the fire didn't escape. "I say we rest here tonight and start early tomorrow. We'll still get there in time and we'll be safer than trying to push on through in our condition." He was right of course, but Sasuke didn't acknowledge him as he sat down by the fire and lit it with a small jutsu. Sakura sat close to Sasuke as she always did, but tonight she was silent, not even talking with the object of her affection.
"I'll see if I can get some fish," Naruto got up and headed for the stream. Kasei trotted after Naruto, eager to see what he would do next. They both missed the looks that Sasuke and Sakura gave each other as they watched the fox following at his heals. They then glanced at each other before they each got up and gathered some more wood.
Naruto came back a few minutes later with three fish. Kasei trotted after him with another fish between his sharp teeth. Naruto took some long sticks and used them as skewers. As the fish were cooking, Naruto noticed the lack of communication between his teammates.
"Alright," Naruto said, looking from one to the other. "What is going on?" Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances and Sakura was about to say something when Sasuke put a hand up to stop her and spoke.
"Nothing is wrong," Sasuke sounded a bit colder than usual as he looked from Naruto and into the fire. "But we were defeated utterly, and it wasn't by a team, it was by one man."
"Yea," Naruto nodded. "What's your point?" Sasuke and Sakura looked at him in confusion. "Think about it, you really think that we can never be defeated? Be realistic. We are Genin, the lowest level of ninja. We've each got a long way to go. And don't you dare think that one defeat, from a guy so insanely high above our level is going to stop me. I'll bet… I KNOW there are beings out there far stronger even than him." He took a breath and looked at them both, "what about you? Are you giving up?"
"No," Sakura said after he had finished. "I'm not giving up," she reached for a skewer and started to eat one of the fish. "But he did something to both of you, I saw that." Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, as Naruto put a hand over his belly.
"This seal, it did something to me, boosted my power back there, but I almost lost control," Sasuke said as he reached for a fish. "What happened to you, Naruto?" Both he and Sakura watched eagerly for Naruto's answer.
"He just knocked me out with one punch to the gut," he lied. "That bastard hit me hard."
"But," Sakura stuttered. "I thought I saw him doing a jutsu." Naruto shook his head.
"You are mistaken," he started to each the fish, refusing to answer any more questions.
Reluctantly Sasuke and Sakura let Naruto take the first watch. They were still wary of him, but he insisted and they were both still tired, so they went to sleep while Naruto put the fire out and watched over them. He worried that they might suspect something, but he didn't have any proof. Just the looks they gave him worried him. Kasei had finished his own fish long ago and was curled up by Naruto, sleeping peacefully. Naruto reached down and scratched the little fox behind the ears. He had set up several traps and was sure that they would be alright, or have enough warning to be alright.
After a few hours, he woke Sasuke to take his place on guard. Naruto informed him where the traps were set and then curled up near the fox. Sasuke waited until he was sure Naruto was asleep before he examined the fox close up. This was his first opportunity and he intended to make the most of it. He noticed that while it was the size of a normal fox, its appearance suggested that it was still young. What interested him the most, however, was the tail. He could tell that the tail split at the end, but he had no idea what this meant for a demon fox, for he was sure that's what it was.
When it was time for him to wake Sakura, Sasuke took a little time to explain his suspicions to her, and she agreed with him, telling him about the fight with the Sound Nin that happened before he woke up. They both looked over at the little fox that had shifted in its sleep and was now curled up right against Naruto, who was snoring lightly.
"You think he's dangerous?" Sakura's tone indicated that she hoped he wasn't.
"Definitely," he frowned at the fox. "If it can use jutsu then it is dangerous. But it seems to be on Naruto's side, or at least willing to fight along side him. "We should watch them both." Sakura nodded as she took her turn on guard.
Nothing more happened that night, though in other parts of the forest there were the sounds of battle. Several teams had already made it to the tower, and it was going to be the last day, possibly the hardest. Luckily for Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, all they had to do was get to the tower, they had their scrolls. They ate a little food that they could find for breakfast, not using a fire as that could alert other teams to their location. Then they made there way towards the tower, favoring stealth over speed, but not by much. They only changed course a few times, to avoid battles and traps mostly, but once Naruto made them stop at a place where a lot of blood had soaked into the ground.
It didn't look like much of a fight had happened. There was one location where hundreds of senbon needles lay, as if they had all been targeted at one person. Naruto knelt down and ran his fingers through the blood. Then, bringing it to his nose, he smelled it. Kasei along side him smelled the blood, but was a lot more subdued, shivering, frightened of something.
"What is it Naruto?" Sasuke asked impatiently. "Why have we stopped?" Sakura stood close to the black haired boy, quite uncomfortable around that much blood.
"It's nothing," Naruto said as he stood up, brushing the blood off his fingers. Sasuke and Sakura knew it was a lie. He made them stop for a reason. But they didn't ask him anything as they headed off, Naruto taking a bit more of a lead over the other two, Kasei by his side the entire time.
Naruto felt something in the blood, the texture was different. He wondered who it was that had made the scene of carnage, and why he had been drawn to it. Who among the genin was strong enough to do something like that? But he didn't voice his concerns to his teammates.
In truth the term 'teammate' had been stretched near to its limits. Sasuke and Sakura didn't trust Naruto any more because of the letter and it was becoming more obvious that he was hiding some big things from them. Naruto didn't trust Sasuke because of the 'taint' that had been placed on him by Orochimaru, and he didn't trust Sakura after what she said in the fox den.
Because they favored stealth, they made it to the tower without much trouble, though there were some close calls. At one point, they snuck through the branches as two teams fought desperately below. Other times, they had to watch out for traps and teams waiting in ambush. It was then that Kasei's knowledge of the forest and Naruto's advanced senses were of the greatest use.
They arrived at the tower after an hour and were only mildly exhausted. They stepped through the doors. Naruto turned and looked out at the forest. He felt like they were being watched, and wondered who was doing it, but he closed the doors and walked into the middle of the room.
"Alright," Sasuke said once they gathered in the middle of the room, looking around. "What happens now?"
Naruto looked around at the higher levels the room appeared to be empty. "It looks like no one is here. Did we pass?" His tone indicated that he wasn't sure at all.
"I don't think so," Sakura said, she was now examining the writing that was on one of the walls. "'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages. These Rules will guide a …………'s extremes.' I wonder what that means." Naruto sighed and pulled the scrolls out from his bag.
"It means we're not done yet," he tossed one of the scrolls to Sakura. "I think we have to open them. I'll bet anything that the missing word is in the scrolls." Together they held out the scrolls, and then they pulled the scrolls open at the same time, looking at what was written inside them. Sasuke was the only one that recognized the type of jutsu that had been written inside the scroll.
"THROW THEM AWAY!" Sasuke Yelled. Sakura and Naruto threw both the scrolls that had started to smoke. Kasei, startled by the yell and the smoke, darted behind Naruto's legs. As one, Team Seven got into fighting positions, ready for whatever was going to come out of the smoke. But when it cleared, they all relaxed when Iruka stepped out.
"Hey, been a while, hasn't it?" Iruka took out a large pocket watch and looked at it. "Made it, with a few hours to spare."
Ghost Wolf: " WHAT THE HELL?"
Quote The Speechless: Does a little dance. "Paranoia, Suspicion and Worry."
Ghost Wolf: "You ended with Iruka appearing from the scrolls!"
Quote The Speechless: "Yea, You remember he doesn't like Naruto? How will he treat the boy now? A lot of stuff has happened. Things have changed a Great Deal."
Ghost Wolf: "You are an evil bastard you know that?"
Quote The Speechless: "No, no, no. I'm the Asshole. You're the Bastard."
Ghost Wolf: "Oh yeah... but I'm not taking responsibility for your evil. I think whatever the fans want to do to you now, I'm going to get out of their way and let them do it as long as it's R-rated and below."
Quote The Speechless: "While I hope for NC-17 and above." Laughs a bit. "Whatever happens I'm the Cliff Hanger God."
Ghost Wolf: "..." Mumbles under his breath. "Crazy writer is what you are. well folks, see you again next chapter. and I look forward to what devious tortures you come up wit for this asshole."
Quote The Speechless: "As do I. See you around people."