The Will of Fire: Kindling the Flame

by Star of the West

Narumi Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Saburo Haruno have just graduated from the academy. They have now taken the first step on the path that will lead them into the adventure of a lifetime. The journey of team seven and their comrades has begun.

8. The Forest of Death

Narumi stood to the far left of her two teammates, cocking her head in slight confusion. The three of them were standing in the hall just in front of room 301, and Kakashi-sensei stood between them and the wide double doors. His lone onyx eye was fixed on them, and his face was calmly serious. But Narumi could clearly smell a combination of anxiety, relief, and pride infusing his scent. Absently she reflected that Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme would both probably throw fits if they had any idea how much their scents told her about them. "I see. So Saburo came as well." Narumi furrowed her brows, and cut her eyes towards her green eyed teammate. Kakashi continued in a grave voice. "You can now officially register for and enter the Chuunin exams." Saburo spoke up suddenly, his voice taking on a slight edge. "What do you mean?" Kakashi tilted his head back slightly, voice calm. "To tell you the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three." Narumi wrinkled her nose, confusion deepening as Saburo's scent suddenly spiked with guilt. "B-but Sensei! You said that we could decide if we wanted to take it or not..." The jounin shrugged unrepentantly. "Yeah, I did." Saburo shifted uncertainly. "You lied?" Kakashi shifted his gaze slowly away from them. "That's right. If I had told you the truth, you would have been pressured into taking the exams for Sasuke and Narumi. Even if you didn't want to do it, Saburo-kun, you would have still felt obligated to do so for the sake of your teammates." Kakashi's dark gaze shifted back to the three of them, serious and heavy. Narumi scowled at him, not at all pleased by the deception, whatever the reason.

Saburo lifted his face, and voiced a question. "So...what would have happened if Sasuke and Narumi-chan came here alone?" Kakashi straightened a bit from his usual slouch. "I would have prohibited them from taking the exams, and turned them away from the door." Then he shrugged, his voice lightening. "But, the three of you came here of your own free will. So it's not an issue." His eye fixed on each of them individually as he called their names. "Saburo. Narumi. Sasuke." Narumi pulled her shoulders back, tossing her braid over her shoulder, a determined grin splitting her face. Kakashi looked at them for a long moment, and then his eye curved up in a warm smile. "Well done. I'm proud of the three of you." Stepping to the side, he left the path to the doors clear. "Now get going."

Sasuke and Saburo moved first, striding up to the doors, the Uchiha more eagerly than the rosette. Each of them reached out to grab a door handle, and exchanged glances, before looking back at her. Narumi whooped, and stepped up between them. "Alright, lets go!" With that they pushed the doors open, and the three of them walked in, shoulder to shoulder. As they moved into the room, the doors swung closed behind them. To one side of her, Saburo set his shoulders slightly, the tension in him noticeable only to someone who knew him as well as his teammates. On the other side, Sasuke's eyes narrowed further, and his smirk morphed into a tight-lipped scowl. The room in front of them was packed with shinobi, fully half of them having twisted around to take a good look at the newcomers. Most were a good bit older than he and his team, and they practically oozed hostility to the younger genin. Absently, Narumi wondered if there might be something wrong with her, as the tense atmosphere only made her feel excited. Beside her, Saburo sucked in a sharp breath, murmuring softly to the two of them. "There's so many. Are they all taking the exams?"

The older shinobi turned away disinterestedly after a moment, and Narumi glanced at her teammates, restless. Sasuke returned her look, and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, an amused voice beat him to it. "Oi, you guys are late!" Inori Yamanaka slipped by the Uchiha, and threw an arm around Narumi's shoulders, grinning fiendishly at the three of them. Narumi yelped and stiffened, reaching up to catch his wrist in one hand, and half twisting to glare at him indignantly. This guy was annoying, a flirt who was both Saburo's best friend and rival from the Academy. The Yamanaka turned his gaze on Saburo, and winked at his friend. "Yo, Saburo! I've been looking forward to seeing you again ever since I heard you were entering the exams! So have you gotten any stronger?" Saburo glared at his rival furiously. "Of course I have, Inori-baka! And stop hanging on Narumi-chan, you're making her uncomfortable!" The golden blonde suddenly found herself the center of attention for all three boys, and narrowed her eyes, flushing slightly in embarrassment as she glared at the other genin. Inori blinked and looked back and forth between Narumi and Saburo. Then a wicked glint appeared in his eye, and his grin widened, turning sly. "But Saburo, Narumi-chan is just so adorable! How could I resist her?" Tightening his grip on her shoulders, the Yamanaka pulled the slender girl in closer to his chest, turning his head to rest his forehead against her hair, eyes sliding closed as a patented charming smile slid across his face. "Ah...you're so lucky Saburo, to be on a team with such a cute girl."

Narumi's eyes widened, and she released the Yamanka's wrist to brace her forearm crosswise against his chest, doing her best to maintain distance between their bodies. Behind her she could hear Saburo spluttering indignantly. "Wha...that tomboy?" Before he could say more, a vein in Narumi's temple started to pulse with anger. Enough was enough, and she was quite tired of Inori's more flowery attentions. Narrowing her eyes, she growled slightly in warning. When the boys made as if to continue talking over her head, she moved. Without warning, she delivered a punishing uppercut directly to the Yamanaka's stomach, driving her fist into his abdomen with a faint sense of satisfaction. Inori's eyes promptly shot open with a pained "Oomph!" and he released her, staggering back a pace and flinching as his arm instinctively wrapped around his lower torso. Narumi shook her fist at him irately, determined to prove her point. "Oi, stay away from me, weirdo!" A voice that was cool almost to the point of boredom suddenly rang out. "Don't mind it, Narumi. Inori-kun is always troublesome like that." Narumi brightened and turned towards the voice, and the two accompanying scents. "Shika!" Then she blinked in surprise. It was Shika Nara alright, but she looked different than she had in the Academy, when the two of them had often skipped flower-arranging class together. Now the other kunoichi wore a dark olive-green turtle-necked dress that was form fitting, and stopped mid-thigh. It was slit up the sides of her legs, and beneath it she wore a short-sleeved, skin tight shirt of light gray, and bandages wrapped around both legs that reached a bit further down her leg than her dress. Her hair was still pulled back in the same shaggy ponytail, and her hitae-ate was still tied around her arm, but otherwise, her appearance had become much more feminine. Narumi cocked her head in confusion, a wide grin spreading across her face as she chortled. "Shika, you're wearing a dress?" The Nara shrugged, looking vaguely disgruntled. "Ma. Inori-kun wouldn't stop nagging me until I let him get me new clothes. It was troublesome." Inori had recovered his breath at this point, and sauntered over to drape his arm around Shika's shoulders, apparently not bothered by Narumi's punch as he winked cheekily at her before turning to his teammate with an injured look. "Mou, there's no need to be so cruel, Shika-chan! I just wanted you to look beautiful and sexy like a proper kunoichi!" Shika gave him a long look, before letting her eyes slide closed with a sigh. "Troublesome." Narumi threw back her head and laughed out loud, vastly amused by the whole situation. "Ah, poor Shika-chan." The other girl slid one eye open to stare at Narumi with a vaguely irate look as her second teammate, Choji Akimichi, walked up next to her munching on a bag of potato chips. With a smooth movement, she shrugged off Inori's arm, and moved to the other side of Choji. "Ch. Whatever. So, are you three taking the exams as well?" Narumi bounced on her heels, her excitement returning at the reminder of their purpose here. "Yep, sure are!"

Another excited whoop rang out, and yet another team walked up to them. Kira Inuzuka was in the lead, closely followed by her teammates Shinako Aburame, and Hirohito Hyuuga. Shinkao was the tallest of the three, but she seemed content to walk slightly behind Kira as second in command. Hirohito quietly followed after his female teammates, eyes flickering between Kira and Narumi as he flushed slightly. Narumi ignored him. Hirohito was a bit odd, always turning red and mumbling under his breath around girls. Kira grinned at the other genin, her fangs flashing subtly as she tilted her head to brush her cheek against the top of her companion pups head as he lay across her shoulder. "Yo! Everybody's here!" Shinako inclined her head silently, and Hirohito murmured a polite hello. Shika eyed the three of them, brows drawing down into a half-annoyed frown. "What? So you three made it too? Geez..." Kira chuckled, husky voiced with excitement. "Looks like all nine rookie genin are going to take the exams this year!" Narumi grinned at the others, bracing her hands on her hips as she and the Inuzuka exchanged pleased chortles. The other girl was the only one among their age group whose senses were on par with Narumi's own, and she was always fun to rough-house with. Then Kira turned her gaze to Sasuke, her slit pupiled eyes narrowing, voice taking on a challenging edge. "Ne, how far do you think we can make it, Sasuke-kun?" Narumi had to stifle her amusement at the slightly mocking tone the other girl had placed on the suffix. Sasuke frowned at the bold girl, and Narumi wasn't surprised to note the aggression in his scent. He and Kira had never gotten along. He smirked at the Kira, replying smoothly. "You certainly seem confident, so why ask?"

The girl braced a hand on her hip cockily. "We trained like hell. We'll beat anyone who stands in our way!" Narumi bristled beside her teammate, glaring at Kira. Academy friends or not, she wasn't about to take that lying down. "Oi, dog-breath! We are definitely not losing to you!" Hirohito stepped forward, his hands coming up placatingly as he looked back and forth between the two hot-tempered girls, his voice soft and calming. "Maa, Narumi-chan, I'm sure Kira-chan didn't mean it that way..." Choji suddenly fixed his eyes on Akamaru, Kira's companion pup, and started forward. Before Narumi could wonder what he was up to, Shinako suddenly glided forward to stand in front of him, halting his progress. Choji frowned up at the tall girl. "What is it?" She tilted her head down silently, and both Choji and Sasuke followed her gaze. Scuttling away from Choji's foot was a tiny black inset. Suddenly the girl went to one knee, holding out her finger and letting the bug crawl up onto it. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and melodic. "Don't step on it." Choji stared at her, his face twisting into an expression of confusion as she stood. "Wha-?" She looked back up at the other genin. "I said don't step on it." Choji blinked at her, looking vaguely disgusted and shocked. "You're going to eat it?" There was a long silence, and Narumi stared blankly at the short, plump boy. She was pretty sure that Shinako didn't eat bugs. After all, the list of foods Ikuye-sensei said made you grow taller definitely did NOT include bugs, and Shinako was the tallest girl from their class back at the Academy.

Before anything else could be said, an older shinobi approached them. "Hey, you guys." The nine of them looked up in surprise. The speaker had soft gray hair pulled back at the base of his skull, large round glasses, and wore a high necked purple tunic and pants over a white shirt. His hitae-ate marked him as a genin of Konoha. Narumi stared at him hard, vaguely disturbed. For some reason, this guy gave her a bad feeling. As the older genin approached them with a serious face, she shook herself, shoving the feeling away, scolding herself for being foolish. The subject of her fleeting unease spoke up as he approached, voice stern. "You should quiet down a bit. You're the rookie nine, right?" He frowned down at them. "Goofing around when you're fresh out of the Academy...geez, this isn't a field trip." Inori stepped forward, glaring at the pale shinobi. "Who are you to tell us that?" He straightened, a small smile quirking at one corner of his mouth. "I am Yakushi Kabuto. Look around you." Narumi cocked her head, and looked around the room, taking a deep breath in through her nose as she did. While they were no longer being openly stared at, they were being covertly observed by quite a few shinobi, and most all of them smelled strongly of hostility. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Kabuto's voice was grave when he spoke again. "The ones just behind you are from Amegakure. They have a short temper." Shrugging he, regarded them seriously. "Everyone here is very tense, since it's right before the exam. Do you want to be singled out?" The others grunted, and turned back to Kabuto. He shrugged slightly, and smiled down at them. "I guess it can't be helped. After all, you can't be expected to know anything when you're just rookies." Saburo eyed him uncertainly. "Kabuto-san, wasn't it?" Kabuto nodded. "That's right." The rosette fixed him with an inquisitive stare. "Is this your second time then?" Kabuto's smile broadened slightly, voice amused. "No. It's my seventh time." Kabuto shrugged. "The exams are only held about twice every year. This is my fourth year, and my first time this year. Seven times." Saburo shook himself slightly, staring hard at Kabuto. "Then that means you know a lot about the exam, right?" Kabuto inclined his head. Saburo grinned broadly. Shika seemed less impressed, eyeing the older genin with an expression that was something like pity. "But he hasn't passed." Narumi stifled a snort. Awkwardly, the older genin adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, that's right." Shika fixed a stare on him, her brows drawing together. "Are the chuunin exams really all that hard? Mou, this is going to be so troublesome."

Kabuto shrugged. "Well, in that case maybe I should give my cute kouhai some information." With a smooth motion, he brought a deck of cards from his pocket. "These cards have information burned into them using my chakra. Kneeling down, he placed the deck on the floor in front of him. "I've been gathering information about the exams for the past four years. I have about two hundred cards total." Reaching out, he flipped the top card over, and placed his index finger on it, spinning it as he channeled chakra into it. "By channeling my chakra into the card, I can make the information appear. Without me, the deck looks entirely blank." With a sudden soft explosion of smoke, a map appeared on the card, with three dimensional columns coming out of each country. "This shows the total number of examinees from each country." Kabuto adjusted his glasses, and Narumi shifted, her discomfort coming forcefully back to the surface for a moment. "I have both general information such as this, and also information cards on each individual examinee." Narumi was surprised when Sasuke stepped forward, his jaw set. "How good is that information?" Kabuto shifted his gaze to the younger boy. "Very. Is there someone that interests you?" Sasuke nodded once, voice firm. "Gaara of Sunagakure, and Rock Lee of Konohagakure."

Kabuto didn't even twitch, pulling two cards from his deck and laying them out in front of the nine rookies. Narumi looked back and forth between Sasuke and the older genin, furrowing her brow. She didn't like this. Didn't like it at all. But Sasuke-teme looked a bit odd, so she decided not to bother him, folding her arms across her chest and glaring down at the cards. "Rock Lee, member of team ten along with Nobuye Hyuuga, and Tenma Xiao under Maito Gai. A strong taijutsu user a year older than you, his ninjutsu and genjutsu are atrocious. This will be his first time taking the exams." With a quick movement, Kabuto flipped the card back into the pile, and turned to the other. "Saabaku no Gaara. He's had eight c-rank missions, and one b-rank. However, he is a foreign shinobi and this is his first time in the exams as well. So I have no further information on him." With a shrug, he reshuffled his pile, looking up at them as Narumi scowled back. This guy might not have anything further to say on the subject of the redhead, but Narumi remembered him quite well. And what she most clearly remembered about him, was the strong scent of a predator. A predator even more dangerous than Zabuza. And there had been something else, a sharp, bitter tang that tinted his scent. She didn't recognize whatever it was, but she didn't like it. Glancing around the room, she took a deep breath to steady herself, and grinned tightly. Seemed like this was going to be fun.

An explosion of smoke suddenly burst into being at the front of the room, and a gravelly voice roared. "Quiet down, you damn punks!" Every eye swung around to focus on the smoke, and Narumi took half a step forward, narrowing her eyes as she tried to peer through the smoke. As it dispersed, a group of Chuunin in strange uniforms came into view, headed by a tall, scarred man in a trench coat who wore his Hitae-ate on a handkerchief that covered his head. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm the first examiner, Morino Ibiki." A menacing smile slunk across the mans harsh features. "I'll say this right off the bat, you are not allowed to fight with each other during the exams unless the examiners give you permission. Even then, you are not allowed to kill each other. Those who break these rules will fail immediately, got it?" One guy, whose Hitae-ate bore the musical note proclaiming him as a shinobi of Otogakure, scoffed. "Huh. This exam sounds soft and easy." Narumi was a bit unnerved by the way a few of the chuunin standing behind the examiner smirked back at the oto-nin, but Morino himself showed no reaction. "We will now begin the first exam." He gestured to a box beside him. "Come up here and take a number tag from the box. Sit where the number tells you to. This will be a written examination, so once you're all seated, we'll pass out the papers." Narumi's eyes widened in alarm. 'Kuso, not a written test! I'm so dead!'

She followed Saburo-kun into line blankly, still somewhat shocked. How could this happen? They were supposed to have left tortures like this behind in the Academy. Numbly, she realized that she had reached the box, and snatched a number from it quickly. Glancing down at it, she mumbled under her breath. Four. Just her luck. Queasily, she moved back among the benches, finding seat number four, and plunking herself down. As she glanced around, she realized that she and the other eight genin she knew had somehow gotten separated from each other. She groaned and dropped her forehead onto her desk glumly. What was she going to do? The chuunin group came along passing out papers, and she lifted her head to accept hers with all the enthusiasm of a condemned criminal. After everyone had a paper, Morino struck a piece of chalk against the blackboard to get their attention. "Alright, this test in particular has a few important rules. So listen up. The exam has ten questions, each of which is worth one point. The pass-fail decision will be determined after looking at the teams total points. Of course, there is to be no cheating. Every time an examiner catches you cheating, we will deduct two points from your score. Five instances of cheating will result in your dismissal from the exam. Also, if anyone gets a zero, everyone on that persons team will fail." Narumi's eyes shot open, and she shivered. She could practically feel her teammates eyeballs burning into her spine. 'They'll kill me! Oh kami, they'll kill me!' Morino continued, ignoring the reaction he was getting. "The last problem is oral, and will be posed exactly forty-five minutes after the beginning of the test. Begin!"

Heads bent intently over desks, and there was a rustle of papers being flipped over. Narumi gingerly turned hers, and eyed it. The first question was a cipher. She eyed it tentatively. She wasn't always good at cracking codes, but she wasn't necessarily bad at it either. Maybe, if she gave it her best, she'd be able to manage this. Picking up her pencil, she frowned hard at the paper, slowly working through the statement, decoding it and recording the answer in the blank box next to it. It took her a full fifteen minutes to work through it, but when she was done she was fairly confident of her answer. With a quick grin, she moved on, thinking perhaps this wouldn't be so hard after all. Until she saw the next question. She paled, and swallowed hard, before moving on to the third question, hoping for something a bit easier. By the time she'd read through to the end of the paper, she was absolutely certain that the cipher had been a freak accident, and she had no chance with the rest of the questions. The sense of her teammates eyes returned, heavy on her back. She grimaced. 'No, I absolutely can't fail. I can't! Sasuke-teme would never let me live it down, and neither of them would ever forgive me!' Swallowing hard, she narrowed her eyes. 'I suppose...I'll just have to cheat. It's all I can do like this.' Looking up, she glanced sideways at the chuunin proctors lining the walls. 'But I'll have to be careful. I can't be caught.' Slowly, she drew in a deep breath, and tossed her braid over her shoulder. She could do this. First, she'd have to find someone who knew the correct answers, preferably someone in front of her. She took another deep breath, but this time she drew it in slowly, through her nose. The individual scents flooded over her, each rich with complex messages, some of which were too subtle or unfamiliar for her to decipher. But it wasn't difficult to identify one of the few scents that was not at all tense. She narrowed her eyes, concentrating, and pinpointed the scent to a messy haired teen from Konoha a few rows in front of her. The other genin had carefully angled his body so as to block the view of his paper from the row behind him, but from her higher position, Narumi could clearly see it. Of course, at this distance, most people wouldn't be able to read what he was writing. But Narumi had long ago realized that her senses and instincts were much sharper than her counterparts, with the single exception of the Inuzuka. While her vision was nothing like the miraculous and acclaimed dojutsu of Konoha, such as the sharingan and the byakugan, but she could easily read the test in front of her. With a foxy grin, she started to record the answers, careful to only glance up now and again, as casually as possible.

She was just moving on to the last few questions when a kunai flashed by her. She froze, instinctively tracking it's path as it buried itself in the desk of a genin behind her, piercing his test. One of the proctors smirked as the boy jerked back. "You. That's five times. You and your teammates, get out." The boy surged to his feet, mouth working in horror. His teammates hissed sharply, then gritted their teeth, and stood, glaring at their teammate as they left. Slowly, the dazed Kusa genin turned to follow them out. Narumi set her shoulders grimly. Over the next ten minutes, thirteen teams were failed. Narumi heaved a sigh of relief as she flipped her paper over without having her number called. A few of the teams who were called out tried to make trouble, but were invariably beaten into submission and dragged protesting from the exam room. Another seven teams failed after she had finished her own test, though she didn't recognize any of them. Just as the clock hit the forty five minute marker, Morino boomed at them. "I will now give the tenth question!" Narumi tightened her grip on her pencil. 'Here it comes!' Morino eyed them grimly, his voice deceptively calm. "However, there's a special rule for this question. First, you must all choose wether or not you wish to take the tenth question." Narumi started, sitting up straighter and staring hard at the man. All around her, the other genin were having similar reactions. Behind her a familiar voice called out sharply, and she glanced back over her shoulder in surprise. It was Teruyoshi, the dirty-blonde genin from Sunagakure. His eyes were narrowed, and he'd braced one fist on his desk as he leaned forward in his seat. "What do you mean, choose? What happens if we don't take the question?" Morino shrugged. "In that case, your points wil automatically drop to zero, and you'll be dismissed from the exams. Your teammates as well, of course. However, you'll be able to take the exams at a later date. If you take the tenth question, and fail to answer it correctly, you will lose the privilege of ever taking the chuunin exams, and remain a genin for the rest of your career. However, your teammates will be able to retake it in six months time, as usual."

Kira surged up out of her seat, thrusting a finger accusingly at the examiner. "What kind of dumb rule is that? There are already people here who have taken the exam before!" Morino chuckled. "Yes. That is why I'm giving you the choice to quit now. Those who do can always take the exams later." Narumi swallowed hard, eyes widening. Morino tilted his head down. "Well then. Those who will not be taking the tenth question, raise your hands now." Narumi shivered, mind racing as thoughts flashed swiftly through her head. 'What kind of a question will it be? If it's like the cipher, I should be fine but...if it's not I'll...but I can't just give up! I couldn't do that to Sasuke and Saburo-kun!' As her mental gears spun in place, the sound of a pencil dropping to the floor caught her attention. The man beside her was already middle aged, and must have been a genin for a while. He lifted his hand and stood, clenching his eyes closed. "I-I quit! I can't take this!" Turning sharply, he headed for the doors. One of the proctors waved a hand carelessly at two other examinees. "Oi, go on. You just failed with him." The two genin rose, stone faced, and followed their comrade out. As they left, an ame-nin raised his hand. "Me too! I'm not gonna stay a genin forever!" Before Narumi's eyes, more and more hands rose, and teams filed out the doors, murmuring under their breath. "Better to quit now, and have a chance next year." Narumi looked down at her paper. The guy she'd gotten her answers from had been among those who'd withdrawn. Now she had no recourse left to her to answer the tenth question aside from her own mind. She took a deep breath, and shuddered. Suddenly, she hissed and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms. She had knew both Sasuke and Saburo would be able to answer the damned thing, and she certainly wasn't going to lose to Sasuke-teme. Like hell she'd give up here. Locking eyes with Morino, she grinned, baring her teeth challengingly at him as she lifted her chin.

Morino cocked an eyebrow at her, and then swept the room. The desks were nearly empty now, but Narumi was pleased to not that none of the rookies had taken themselves out of the running. She narrowed her eyes as Morino called out. "I will ask one last time. This choice will impact the rest of your lives as shinobi, so think carefully. If you wanna quit, now's the time." Looking around, he walked forward, and tapped the desk in front of Narumi. "How about you, blondie? You really think you can handle this?" Narumi growled, and glared hotly up at the man. "You nuts? There's no way I'll ever give up! That's my nindo!" There was a long silence, and then Morino chuckled once, before sweeping the classroom again. "Nice determination, kid. Listen up! Everyone here... has just passed the first exam." Narumi stared at him blankly. Saburo surged up in his seat, somewhere in the back of the room. "Wait just a minute! What is that supposed to mean? What's the tenth question?" Morino broke out laughing, and his expression softened for the first time during the exam. "You've already answered it by choosing to stay. As a chuunin, you may have to make hard decisions like this someday. Those who left proved that they don't have the ability to make those choices. That is the tenth question." Narumi whooped, punching the air in excitement. Behind her, she could hear Inori laughing and bombarding Saburo with delighted comments and questions. Shaking his head, Morino smiled and murmured "I wish you luck."

---

Narumi swallowed hard from her place between Sasuke and Saburo. "Waa. Do you see that?" In front of them was a forbidden area, carefully fenced off and contained by a twelve foot fence. The forest loomed intimidatingly above them, it's huge, twisted trees casting ominous shadows on the ground below. Before the fence stood the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko. She was a rough, wild woman, with dull purple hair, a long sandy coat slightly lighter in color than her swamp-colored eyes, and a form fitting mesh body suit under a short skirt that left nothing of her generous figure to the imagination. She smirked menacingly at them. "So, Ibiki passed twenty-six teams, did he? Hah, the first exam must have been soft. But don't worry, I'll be failing at least half of you." Narumi glared indignantly at the woman. Like she'd let herself be failed this early. The woman ignored the nervous, and indignant looks she was getting as she gestured at the tall chain-link fence behind her. "This is where the second exam will take place. Konohagakure's training ground number forty-four, more commonly known as the forest of death." Narumi swallowed hard, staring wide-eyed at the predatory grin on the Jounin's face. "Before we start, we'll be passing out waivers." She waved her hand nonchalantly at three chuunin, each of whom held a thick stack of paper slips. "Those who wish to continue with the exams must first sign the waiver."

Narumi frowned, and cocked her head, puzzled. "Why do we have to do that?" Anko's smile relaxed a tad, and her voice became serious. "From here on out, people will die in these exams. Therefore, we need written consent from everyone taking them before we can continue with the second exam. Otherwise I might get in trouble." Throwing her head back, she laughed, apparently not at all disturbed at the idea of some of them dying. Narumi stared at her uncertainly. This woman was weird. Beside her Saburo murmured nervously. "She's creepy." Anko's laughter trailed off, and she cocked one hip, resting her hand on it easily and smirking at them. "Well then, shall I explain the second exam? You'd better know what you're getting yourselves in for after all. Basically, this is an extreme survival match." As she spoke, the chuunin started handing out the forms. Narumi took hers and peered down at it, still listening as Anko continued with her explanation. "Training ground forty four is a circular area with forty four gates evenly spaced around the perimeter. Inside there is, of course, the forest. A river cuts through the forest, and a tower is located in the center of the training ground. The tower is exactly ten kilometers away from each gate." Anko reached inside her coat, and Narumi looked up at the rustling, just in time to see her hold up two scrolls. One was light, and one was dark. "Once you enter the gate, anything goes. All that matters is that you get your hands on these. The scroll of heaven, and the scroll of earth. Each team will be given one scroll. Half of the twenty six teams here will have a scroll of heaven, and the other half a scroll of earth. However, you must have one of each." Sasuke spoke up from beside Narumi, frowning slightly. "What exactly is needed to pass?" Anko jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Once you have both scrolls, bring them to the tower along with your teammates."

Saburo suddenly spoke up, frowning slightly. "In other words, the thirteen teams that get their scroll stolen will fail the exams." Anko nodded. "But the task needs to be completed before the deadline. The second exam has a time limit of one hundred and twenty hours. Exactly five days." Inori yelped indignantly. "Five days? Are you serious?" Choji looked horrified. "What about food?" Anko snorted, unimpressed. "You'll be in a forest, scrounge it up yourselves." Narumi grumbled under her breath. "So in other words, its not that thirteen teams will definitely fail. It's that thirteen teams is the absolute max amount that will be able to pass." Shika raised her hand, looking somewhat bored. "Oi, can we give up halfway?" Inori threw an arm around her with a bright grin. "Ah, come on Shika-chan! Don't be like that! I'll look after you!" Shooting a glance at Choji, the charming smile slipped from his face. "Besides, you're the shining light of our team! You can't leave me alone with just Choji." Shika snorted. "Troublesome." Anko stared at them for a moment. "No, you can't withdraw from the exams partway through. Once you sign the waiver and pass through the gates, you will spend the entire five days in the forest." Shrugging, she turned back to the group at large. "Also, these are the conditions that will result in failure. First, if a team comes to the tower lacking a scroll, or members, they will fail. Second, if a team member is killed, maimed, or otherwise permanently ruined as a shinobi, that team will also fail. Also, opening the scrolls before reaching the tower will result in immediate disqualification."

Anko pointed over to a long desk that had been set up off to the side. The three chuunin who had passed out the waivers were now sitting quietly behind it. "You can exchange your teams three waivers over there for a scroll. Then you will draw a number from the box at the far end of the table. Your team will go to the gate with the corresponding number, and wait for the gates to be opened. Everyone will be starting at the same time. We'll let you know when it's time to exchange the forms for your scrolls. Dismissed." The crowd of genin dispersed, spreading out as they read over the waivers. Some teams wandered off together, but others split up. Narumi turned to her teammates in time to see Saburo walking off one way, and Sasuke going another. Narumi looked back and forth between them, then rolled her eyes and walked up the nearest tree. She perched herself on a branch, and started to read over the form. Halfway through, she got bored, and dashed off her name on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper. Once that was taken care of, she kicked her feet, enjoying the warm day. Absently, she glanced over the open ground in front of her. The chuunin were setting up a curtain in front of the desk. She supposed that must be so that no one knew who had what scroll. It certainly seemed like they wanted to fail as many genin as possible, and having to fight pointless battles for a scroll you already had would do that. Most of the other genin were still reading over their forms. Narumi snorted. She didn't see why they were being so careful. They'd just been told what the thing was for, hadn't they? Her eyes lit on the three brothers from Sunagakure, and she watched them curiously. They must have also already signed their forms, because they were holding them loosely, without bothering to look at them. The red haired one with the strange scent had his back to her, and the other two appeared to be murmuring to him in low voices. Every now and then, he would tilt his head slightly, so she supposed he must be talking back. As she watched them, the eldest glanced up, and spotted her. A half smile quirked at his lips, and he winked at her. She started, and glared back at him. Leaning over, the dirty-blonde whispered in Kankuro's ear, and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Kankuro glanced over at him with a blank stare, and then rolled his eyes and shrugged off the hand. The blonde turned towards the red-head, said something with a brisk nod, and vanished in a swirl of sand.

Narumi yelped and whipped her head around as the soft hiss of sand, and a wash of scent alerted her to the presence beside her. Teruyoshi was crouched on the branch next to her, a bit closer in to the trunk than she was, with his arms draped easily over his bent knees. He tilted his chin down a bit, and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey there. Where're Pinky and Broody?" Narumi blinked, then squinted at him suspiciously, half turning towards him. "What?" He gestured vaguely. "You know, the Uchiha and the other one. They're your teammates, aren't they?" She stiffened indignantly. "Oi! Don't call Saburo-kun and Sasuke names!" He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, though his eyes were laughing, and his tone teasing. "I didn't. All I did was identify them by their traits." Narumi sputtered, and glared at him, unable to reply to that. After all, she'd be the first to accuse Sasuke of brooding, and Saburo-kun DID have pink hair...but still! Teruyoshi coughed slightly. "So, you've already signed your waiver?" She narrowed her eyes at him, then looked sharply away and tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" The Suna-nin cocked his head to the side and eyed her for a moment. Sternly she repressed the urge to shift uncomfortably under his scrutiny. This guy was her enemy for the rest of the exam, and she wasn't going to show him any weakness if she could help it. "Well, wouldn't most kunoichi at least hesitate? This is going to be pretty dangerous." Narumi snorted, and looked back at him, doing her best to imitate Sasuke's patented scornful death glare. "Like hell. I'm going to be Hokage someday. Something like this won't scare me." Teruyoshi stared at her blankly for a moment. "Hokage?" She nodded sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah! Got a problem with that?" He held up his hands, and smirked. "Easy. I was just a bit surprised is all." Narumi eyed him for a minute, then looked away with a snort. "Anyway, it's none of your business in the first place." Teruyoshi chuckled. "You know, you're fun to mess with." She jumped and squeaked indignantly, spinning so that one of her legs was still swinging, and the other was crossed across the branch in front of her as she faced him. "What the- Am not!" The boys chuckles morphed into all out laughter. "Sure you are. It's not even hard to rile you up in the first place." Narumi lifted one tightly clenched fist in front of her, staring at him hard. "You-!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Sasuke's voice interrupted her, cool and sharp. "Narumi, what are you doing? Get down here. We need to trade our waivers for the scroll." She looked down and was surprised to see both her teammates standing below her, heads tilted back as they looked up into the tree. Saburo-kun's face was tight, and his scent was indignant and suspicious. Sasuke looked as cool and relaxed as ever, but his scent was also sharper than usual. She waved at them sheepishly. "A-aa! Sorry!" Quickly, she swung around and tensed to jump down to her teammates. As she moved,Teruyoshi touched two fingers to his forehead and flicked them casually towards her. "Good luck, Beautiful." Narumi's momentum was already carrying her off the branch and down to the ground, but she shot one last scowl at him over her shoulder. Then he was gone in a swirl of sand, and she was landing lightly in front of her teammates. "I'm ready, let's go." Saburo opened his mouth as if to say something, brows furrowed, but Sasuke beat him to it. "What did the suna-nin want?" She shrugged, still irritated. "How the heck should I know? He was just asked me if I'd signed my waiver." Sasuke eyed her intently. "You didn't tell him anything about us did you? About our team or our abilities?" Narumi bristled. "'Course not, teme! I'm not stupid!" Sasuke nodded once, then turned and led the way towards the curtained off table. "Alright then, let's get a move on." Saburo still looked mutinous, but he fell into step beside her as the two of them followed after Sasuke. As they headed to the table, Narumi narrowed her eyes. 'Jerk. I bet he get's eaten by the first day.' Snorting, she shook her head and cleared away the distracting thoughts. Time to focus on the exams, not annoying suna-nin.

The three of them ducked behind the heavy curtain, and walked up to the desk. Sasuke turned to the two of them, and Narumi handed her waiver over with a grin. Saburo handed his over as well, and Sasuke exchanged the three of them for a heaven scroll. Narumi eyed it excitedly. Alright, now things were getting interesting! She scampered down the table to the box, and thrust her arm inside, rummaging around and grabbing a tag. She looked down at it, and then showed it to the others. "Twelve." Saburo sighed. "At least it's not four." Sasuke tucked the heaven scroll away, and the three of them emerged from behind the curtain. A few more teams, including the three brothers from Suna went after them, but most of the other teams were ready to go at this point. Five minutes later, Anko glanced at her watch, and then looked up at them. "Alright! If you have received a scroll, follow the chuunin over there." She indicated a uniformed man with bandages wrapped around his nose, mouth, and throat. "He'll lead you to your designated gates. The exam will start in thirty minutes." Narumi exchanged glances with her team, and they moved over to the man, following him along the fence as he started out.

They were the first of the shinobi they knew to reach their designated gate. The others continued on after the bandaged chuunin, while the three of them stopped beside the new chuunin who was standing guard in front of gate twelve. As the others moved on out of sight around the curve of the fence, Narumi whooped, throwing a few rapid punches and bouncing on her heels. "Yosh! We're definitely not gonna lose to anyone!" Saburo nodded once, eyes hard. "Right." Sasuke simply looked up at the forest beyond the gate, his expression tightening slightly. Narumi could tell that the others were working hard to keep themselves loose and relaxed. She herself had no such problem, and merely bounced impatiently, occasionally throwing punches in an effort to release her excess of nervous energy. Soon enough, the chuunin in front of them stepped forward, pulled out a key, and unlocked the padlock fastened tightly around the gate, pulling the chain away from it's previous place wrapped around the edge of the gate and the gatepost. Narumi sucked in a breath, dropping into a ready crouch. Beside her the others tensed as well. With a quick shove, the chuunin opened the gate, and dodged away. The three of them blasted forward into the forest, racing for the trees. Narumi whooped her excitement as they dashed in. "Let's go!" After they broke through the edge of the forest, they slowed down, taking stock of their surroundings. Narumi sniffed at the air, and noted that the scents of other humans were still a fair distance from them. As they cautiously headed deeper into the forest, they fell into a loose formation, with Narumi leading the way, Saburo just behind her and to the right, and Sasuke bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on the left flank. It wasn't long before horrified screams rang out through the forest. Instinctively, they stopped and glanced in the direction of the screams. Narumi took a deep breath, and caught a faint whiff of the coppery scent that was blood. However, she wasn't smelling enough for someone to have died of blood loss, and the screams didn't sound familiar, so she allowed her shoulders to relax. Saburo was not so easy. His jade eyes flashed across the trees, and his hands clenched into fists. "That...that was someone screaming." Sasuke grunted. Saburo glanced over at the Uchiha, before looking down at his feet. Narumi glanced between them, and then laced her fingers behind her head, grinning a bit nervously. "I-I don't think we need to worry Saburo-kun. It sounded pretty far away. And anyway, if anyone comes, we'll just beat their scroll out of them." Saburo looked up and smiled quickly. "Aa. You're right Narumi-chan."

Just then, there was a rustling in the bushes off to their right. Three heads whipped around, and fixed on the bush. There was a moment of tension, and then they all relaxed as a rabbit sprang from the bushes and dashed away. Saburo sighed, then smiled. "Oi, I'll be right back!" With that he dashed after the rabbit. Sasuke called after him suddenly, voice sharp. "Where do you think you're going?" Saburo waved. "Catching dinner! Back soon!" And then he vanished into the bushes on the other side of the clearing. Narumi pouted indignantly. "I wanted to go hunting too!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and smacked her gently on the back of her head. "Hn. Dobe." She half glared back at him, rubbing the back of her head indignantly. "Teme!" After a while, Saburo came back. He was a bit scratched up, and leaves were caught in his pink hair. He smiled sheepishly at them, scratching his cheek with one finger. "Eh heh heh. Sorry. I lost it." Narumi turned to her pink haired teammate, eyes widening in delight. "Ah! Does this mean I get to go hunting later?" The next thing she knew, Sasuke had appeared behind Saburo, and slammed his foot into the other boys cheek, sending him tumbling across the clearing to crash into a tree. Narumi let out a startled cry, instinctively moving forward to place herself between the two boys. "Teme! What the hell?" Saburo sat up, bracing himself against the trunk and scrubbing one hand grimly across his mouth. He glared in confusion at Sasuke. "Why did you-?" Sasuke dodged around Narumi, and shot across the clearing, kicking out at the rosettes head again. Saburo's eyes widened, and he ducked, rolling away to smash into a tree. Narumi yelled, taking a half step forward, uncertain how to react to this. "Teme! Stop it! Both of you quit right now, 'ttebayo!" The boys ignored her. Saburo struggled back to his feet. "What are you doing all of the sudden, Sasuke?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What? That's my line." Reaching for his holster, the Uchiha drew a kunai, and shot towards the other boy. Saburo drew a kunai of his own, expression grim. "Fine." Narumi snapped. As both boys were about to meet, she used shunshin to reach them first. With a quick movement, she slammed a fist down on each boys head with a sharp cry of frustration. Sasuke managed to dodge well enough that the blow only grazed his head, but it was enough to stop him. Saburo, however, took the full blow, and slammed hard into the ground, rolling away from the two of them and springing to his feet. Sasuke glared at her, but then turned his attention to Saburo. "Dobe! Take a good look at him." She huffed, but did as Sasuke said. She didn't see anything odd, but she trusted her teammate. So she drew in a deep, slow breath threw her nose, subtly taking in Saburo's scent. Then her eyes widened, and she reached for her holster.

Saburo exclaimed loudly when he saw the movement. "Not you too, Narumi-chan! What's wrong with you two?" Sasuke snorted. "Moron. Saburo's not so pathetic as to get all scratched up from chasing a rabbit in the woods. And he's left-handed. Your holster is on your right leg." The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "Even the Dobe here can perform Henge better than this." Narumi hissed angrily as she glared at the newly revealed impostor. "Where's Saburo-kun?" With a quick explosion of the white smoke caused by sudden dissipation of chakra, an ame-nin with a strange breathing apparatus and a bulky body suit of pale yellow appeared in Saburo's place. His mask was hissing weirdly, and Narumi could tell by the way his eyes curved that he was smirking at them. She ground her teeth irately. She hated it when people smirked at her. The ame-nin spoke, his voice distorted by his strange mask. "This is really too unlucky. I guess I have no choice though, since you found me out. Now spill it, which one of you brats has the scroll? Give it up quietly, and I'll spare your lives." With a swift movement, Narumi drew her kunai and dropped into a defensive crouch slightly behind Sasuke, guarding their flank and making sure to keep her sense open to possible danger at her back. When neither of them answered, he dropped his chin a bit. "I see. Then I have to use force!"

As the ame-nin charged them, Sasuke sprang into the air, flashing through hand signs. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" With a single breath, the Uchiha sent a burst of small fireballs flying towards the enemy nin. As he dodged, Narumi sprinted forward, dodging around the last few fireballs as she headed in for an attack. As she struck with her Kunai, the ame-nin grunted, and brought his own weapon up to lock with hers. The enemy was older and stronger than her, and began to bear down with his weight. Narumi narrowed her eyes and growled, suddenly dropping back and down, catching herself on her free hand and scything her legs towards the enemy's ankles. The man chuckled and leapt up into the air. "An attack like that won't work on me!" As Narumi rolled to her feet, Sasuke shot towards the man, clashing with him high above the ground. "Narumi! I can see Saburo, go get him!" The blonde narrowed her eyes, but nodded tightly. Sasuke's eyes flashed over to a group of bushes a bit away, and Narumi caught the message, dashing towards them quickly.

Bursting through the bushes, she caught sight of Saburo, writhing furiously against his bonds. Glancing up, he gasped in relief. "Narumi-chan!" Quickly she went to him, and sliced through the ropes, wincing slightly as the tip of her kunai left a long, shallow cut along Saburo's wrist. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, an explosion rang out behind her. She spun as she stood, shooting up into the trees, and heading back towards the clearing where she'd last seen Sasuke. When she got there, the ame-nin was standing just behind Sasuke with a kunai to his neck. Cursing, the blonde sent her own kunai hurtling towards the exposed yellow back. The enemy sensed her weapon incoming, and shot up into the air to avoid it. Sasuke spun around and leapt after the ame-nin, his eyes the brilliant black and red of sharingan. The younger genin easily caught the older in midair, and didn't hesitate to drive his own kunai deep into the mans chest. Below her, Narumi heard Saburo draw in a sharp breath. She wanted to look down and see what was wrong, but her senses were on high alert for the enemy's other teammates, and she couldn't spare the glance. Sasuke, apparently, knew what was wrong. "Saburo! Don't freeze up! Do you want to die?" The ame-nin grunted and shoved away from Sasuke, pressing a hand to his wound and shooting back through the trees, running away. Sasuke dropped to the ground, staring after the man with a whirling sharingan, but not giving chase. Blood was spattered across his face from when he'd stabbed the other genin, and he was gritting his teeth. Narumi swept the area around them one last time, and then relaxed slightly. The strangers scent was receding quickly, and no other unfamiliar human scents were in their immediate vicinity. Straightening from her combat ready crouch, she dropped to the forest floor beside her black haired teammate. "Teme, you've got blood on your face." Sasuke snorted, and wiped his arm warmer across his face, leaving a smear of darkening red on the white of the cloth. The two of them glanced back at the slightly green Saburo. Narumi waved cheerfully. "Hey Saburo-kun! Wasn't that awesome?" Sasuke let out a breath, and beckoned their teammate over. "Come on. We have to move." Standing, he led the way out of the clearing. Narumi assumed Saburo's former position in the middle, and allowed the rosette to take up the flank.

After they'd been walking for a bit, Sasuke sat down next to the trunk of a recently fallen tree, it's trunk still sound. Ideal cover for a short rest. "Sit down you two." Narumi shrugged, and dropped cross legged to the ground. Saburo sat with a bit more dignity, folding one leg beneath him, while the other remained bent as he slung his arm around it. Sasuke eyed them, keeping his voice low as he spoke. "The incident just now is important, we should learn from it. From now on, if we get separated, we don't trust anyone, even if they look like one of us. The next time, they might not make obvious mistakes." Saburo leaned forward a bit, eyes worried. "So what do we do?" Sasuke lowered his voice a bit more. "We have a password. If anyone gives us a different password, we assume that they're an enemy, even if we're sure it's one of us. Got it?" Narumi furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure she liked this plan, but she couldn't actually find anything wrong with it. Sasuke continued, ignoring her hesitation. "If there are lots of enemies swarming about, it's a good chance you will not be able to find a quiet hideout. Therefore, it is important for Shinobi to know the proper time to strike. When the enemy is tired and has his guard down, that is the time to move." Narumi blinked owlishly at her dark-haired teammate. How did he even manage to say that once? Beside her, Saburo smiled and nodded tightly. Narumi frowned uneasily, but didn't want to appear foolish. So she just nodded. Sasuke stood up, hand going lightly to his weapons pouch. "Anyway, I'll keep the scroll." Narumi frowned up at him, not sure he should be saying that aloud. But as she stood and opened her mouth to tell him so, she heard a strange noise. Half turning, she furrowed her brow, staring into the forest towards the dull roaring. "What?" Sasuke and Saburo both turned with her, frowning between the blonde and the forest.

Suddenly, a gale of wind came roaring through the trees, and blasted into them. Narumi threw up her arms to shield her head with a sharp cry. Sasuke slitted his eyes and leaned into the wind, voice rough. "Is it another enemy?" Narumi felt the wind picking up further, and a stick carried through the air struck her across the shoulder, tearing through her jacket and gouging a bloody furrow into her flesh. She flinched and gritted her teeth, springing up and away, hoping to get out of the narrow channel of wind that was undoubtedly jutsu-born. The wind caught hold of her as she leapt, making her jacket and braid snap in the wind, and tumbling her head over heels as it carried her lighter frame further back through the forest. Eventually, her momentum broke her out of the thunderous wind stream, and she found herself somersaulting off into the trees. Muttering a curse, she twisted around, and caught hold of a thick branch, carefully using her momentum to swing around it and land on top of the thing, channeling chakra into the soles of her feet to cling to it. Breathing hard, she wiped her the back of her wrist across her mouth, and took quick stock of her injuries. With the exception of her shoulder where the twig had grazed her, she was relatively unharmed. While she was covered in numerous scrapes, bruises and smaller lacerations, only a few drops of blood had welled up onto her skin. Even the gouge had stopped bleeding. Grateful for the increased healing rate she had as Jinchuriki, she tugged at her shirt and jacket sleeve, rearranging the cloth covering her shoulder so that the wound was mostly hidden. If she wasn't careful, she'd worry Saburo-kun.

Once she was satisfied with her handy-work, she headed back along the furrow of bare earth that had been dug through the forest by the wind. Soon enough, the others came into view, and she allowed herself a sigh of relief. Both boys were scratched up, as she was, but otherwise seemed fine. She leapt down to the forest floor behind them with a wave. "Oi, guys! You okay?" The boys turned sharp eyes on her. She blinked in surprise at the guarded expression, and opened her mouth to question them. Just then, someone came crashing through the bushes on the opposite side of the clearing. Narumi stared as her own reflection, right down to the scrapes and cuts, came bursting into the clearing. "Itai... Hey guys..." The other blondes voice trailed away, and Narumi locked gazes with herself. Horrified, they both pointed at each other and shouted in chorus. "Oi, who the hell are you!" The other Narumi turned pleadingly to the boys. "Teme, Saburo-kun, what's going on?" Narumi snorted. "That's what I'd like to know." Saburo shifted closer to Sasuke, jade eyes flashing back and forth warily. "The password?" Narumi hesitated, mind blanking as her eyes widened. "I...uh...I..." Reaching up, she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, though she felt nearly sick with horror at the situation. "Sorry, I...guess I forgot." The other Narumi brightened. "Ah, I know the password!" Cheerfully she recited the longwinded password. The boys looked at Narumi, and she flushed, throat working furiously as she desperately tried to think of a way to prove it was really her. Just how the heck did this person know their password anyway?

Saburo sighed in relief, and then glared at Narumi, reaching for his holster. Panicked she started waving her arms. "W-wait just a second here...!" Sasuke also reached for his holster, but when the Kunai came, he flung it at the impostor. Narumi felt practically giddy with relief. The other Narumi flung herself to the side, and hit the ground, glaring indignantly up at Sasuke as Saburo froze, green eyes locked on Sasuke. The Uchiha fell back into a combat stance, fully turning his back to Saburo, and consequentially, Narumi. Saburo grabbed the Uchiha's shoulder urgently, still remaining half turned toward Narumi. "Oi, Sasuke! What is wrong with you? Narumi gave us the password, so what-?" Sasuke's voice was grim. "That's what the problem is. Do you really think Narumi could memorize such a long password so quickly? If it were really Narumi, what do you think she'd say?" Saburo blinked, and then glanced back at Narumi. Sasuke didn't even turn. "Plus, the movement she used when she dodged my attack was different from Narumi's. It can't be her." Sasuke sounded both confident and annoyed when he called out. "Just show yourself, faker." Narumi let out a quiet breath, and moved forward to stand on Sasuke's other side, resuming her place in their instinctive formation.

The impostor tipped her head down, eyes narrowing, and a too-long tongue flicking out across her lips as she chuckled softly. "I see." For the second time that day, team seven was faced with the dispersal of an impostors henge. This time, it was a tall woman from Kusagakure with a lined face and thin lips. She wore a pale, sickly yellow short-sleeved dress that fell past her knees over a dark green wrist-to-ankle body suit. It was tied around her waist with a thick purple rope, and she wore a wide brimmed straw hat on her long dark hair. The woman tilted her head, smirking at them, and Narumi shivered, bristling instinctively as her nose wrinkled. She didn't like this woman. She gave her the shivers, and her scent... Gaara of Sunagakure might smell a bit too metallically sharp, but this woman smelled of snakes, and dankness, and chemicals. She didn't like that scent at all. The woman spoke in an almost mocking tone of amusement. "If you knew the girl would forget the password, why not use a shorter one?" Sasuke smirked right back. "Because I knew you were eavesdropping." The woman removed her hat, peering intently at Sasuke. "I see. You don't let your guard down." With a sly expression, the woman flicked that same, too-long tongue over her lips again, and Narumi narrowed her eyes, ignoring the chill that swept over her skin as her hand twitched towards her weapon pouch. 'What a creepy woman...' Gritting her teeth, Narumi allowed Sasuke to take the lead, waiting for the chance to strike. The woman dropped her hat, and reached back into her robes, pulling out an earth scroll. Narumi's eyes widened slightly, and the others sucked in sharp breaths. The woman laughed at them, her amusement cold and mocking. "You want this earth scroll, right?" Slowly, she lifted the scroll to her lips, and opened her mouth, tongue snaking out to wrap around the thing. With sickening steadiness, she pulled it into her mouth, her jaw spreading impossibly wide open as the foreign object slid past her lips, and used the heel of her hand to shove it down her throat. Narumi's instincts were ringing with alarm, and she had to fight to hold her ground and not step backwards, feeling her own gag reflex work furiously as she watched the thick earth scroll slide down the kusa-nin's throat. Saburo gasped, and made a small retching noise, and Sasuke's shoulders tensed. They all stared at the woman in shock as she swallowed it down.

The woman murmured under her breath as the obstruction in her throat disappeared into her gullet. "Now then, shall we begin?" When she looked up and transfixed them with her sharp gaze, Narumi froze. The air became thick with malice, and sakki flooded her senses, clogging her throat and constricting her chest so that she couldn't breathe properly. In her minds eye, she could clearly see the image of herself and her teammates dying, blood spurting as kunai buried themselves in their foreheads. She could practically feel the sharp agony of the kunai buying itself in her brain. Narumi's vision shifted as her pupils dilated and contracted too swiftly, her hearing becoming incredibly sensitive as her senses kicked into overdrive, adrenaline flooding her system and making her thought process become sluggish. Her body jerked and convulsed, tremors racing along her skin as the muscles beneath it spasmed, roiling and rippling unnaturally and violently. Distantly she thanked kami that she hadn't yet drawn a weapon as her body seemed intent on betraying her. Never before had she felt such intense fear because of a human.

Beside her, Saburo sagged to the ground, eyes impossibly wide. Sasuke staggered back a step, before crashing to his knees slightly behind the rosette. Both of them were breathing erratically, and trembling, pupils contracted in eyes that were impossibly wide and fixed on the kusa-nin. Sasuke suddenly surged forward onto his hands, and threw up. Saburo seemed incapable of doing anything but staring and trembling, expression frozen as tears rolled slowly down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes, numbing fear dominating his entire posture. Narumi remained on her feet as she looked at her teammates. Despite her bodies attempted rebellion, her mind felt sharp and battle ready. The blonde swallowed hard, and grimly wondered if this was something else she could thank the demon for. She was the only one in any sort of shape to defend them. Taking a shuddering breath, she reacted the way she always did to the terrible rage and blood-thirst she felt from the Kyuubi in her dreams. Gritting her teeth, she snarled, and shoved her terror aside, stepping forward to stand in front of her two teammates protectively. As she drew a kunai, and held it out in front of her, she vaguely noted that her sense of smell was being smothered by the scent of Sasuke being sick behind her. The Uchiha tried to shove himself to his feet, but only fell back to the ground, supporting his weight on shuddering arms. The kusa-nin eyed the three of them. "Ho. So you're still standing after that, little girl? I'm impressed." Narumi met the woman's eyes, and swallowed hard. In that instant, she knew she was no match for this one. But her teammates were behind her, and she could not afford to back down. There was no way she'd be able to get both the boys to safety, so flight was out of the question. Which left only fighting. Narumi squeezed her kunai so tightly that her skin squeaked softly against the wrappings of the handle, and snarled a feral, almost animalistic challenge at the other kunoichi.

Behind her she heard a slight, rattling clink, and knew that one of the boys must have managed to grab a kunai. She also knew that it was unlikely that either of them would be able to actually wield the weapon, given their current state. The kusa-nin had turned her attention almost exclusively to Narumi now. "Well, it certainly is admirable that you can still move. But what do you think you can do? Look at you, your comrade can barely stand. You are entirely on your own." Narumi strained her peripheral vision, shifting slightly to catch sight of the others without turning her eyes away from the enemy. Sasuke had managed to get to his feet, but he was trembling as badly as Saburo. The woman started walking towards them, slowly drawing three kunai. "Relax, little one. I'll end this quickly. You won't feel a thing." Narumi snarled again, voicing her defiance. "I won't let you touch my comrades!" The woman laughed again. "Too late." With a quick flick of her wrist, she flung the kunai. Behind her, Narumi heard the wet sound of a blade sinking into flesh, and suddenly Sasuke shouted at her. "Run, Narumi!" With a quick movement, the blonde deflected two of the kunai. The third slipped past her, but Sasuke had already dragged Saburo's arm over his shoulders and leapt away. He was bleeding from a wound in his thigh, but was able to move again. Narumi instantly leapt after them, guarding their flank as the three of them raced away into the forest. Her heart was pounding furiously, and her throat felt far too dry. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, and her entire body was hyper alert to her surroundings. Drawing a shuddering breath, she firmed her jaw. 'That's alright. I'm afraid, but I can use that. Fear will sharpen my senses and reactions. I won't allow it to get in my way.'

It wasn't long before Sasuke dropped onto a branch on the far side of a tree, released Saburo, and stumbled back against the trunk. As his back struck the tree, he slid down it to sit against the bark, breathing hard. Saburo had collapsed, his legs giving out on him, still trembling and wide eyed from the encounter. Narumi landed just beyond Saburo, turning back to eye her teammates with concern. Sasuke's kunai was still partly buried in his thigh, and blood stained his white shorts. He stared down at his hand wrapped around the weapons handle, chest heaving. Saburo sucked in a deep breath, apparently beginning to push past the paralyzing fear. Narumi frowned at them, and then went to one knee, eyes on Sasuke, though every other sense was still tuned to the surrounding forest. "We'd better pull that out." Sasuke gritted his teeth, still trembling, and yanked the blade from his leg, discarding the kunai. Saburo stared, leaning forward slightly as Narumi turned to scan the trees around them. "Sasuke...are you oka-?" Sasuke cut the rosette off, covering his mouth with one hand and peering back around the tree in agitation. Narumi's eyes shot wide open as the strong smell of snake hit her nose, and she whipped around. Saburo was trying to warn Sasuke, his cries muffled by the Uchiha's hand. The rosette was struggling to yank his teammates arm away, staring up at the giant snake looming above them with terrified eyes. Narumi surged forward, lifting her kunai. "Sasuke, a snake!" Sasuke whipped around, releasing Saburo, eyes spinning furiously with the sharingan as the snake lunged towards them. As the thing struck, mouth wide open, the three shinobi sprang away in different directions. Narumi found herself separated from her teammates. She and Saburo landed safely, but the snake continued winding itself around the tree, shooting after Sasuke, who had leapt straight up. Sasuke let out a terrified scream, voice breaking as he shouted. "Don't-don't get near me!" With a quick motion, the Uchiha released an almost wild barrage of weapons at the animal, killing it instantly. Sasuke landed on a higher branch, breathing hard, sharingan still active. His eyes were still fixed on the snake, as were Narumi's. Her eyes widened, and she shifted her grip on her kunai as a section of the things body began to shift and ripple, straining and bulging. Then its neck...cracked, scaled skin splitting open. Something was pushing it's way out from inside it's body.

An oily, calm voice rang out as the Kusa-nin rose from inside the corpse, covered in the fluids of the snake. "You can't let your guard down, even for a second. Prey should desperately run and struggle to live when in the presence of a predator." The woman's long tongue flicked out, lolling about as she laughed softly. Narumi stared, shocked, muscles tensing as her mind raced. Then the woman shot forward, and suddenly her legs had transformed into an incredibly long serpentine tail that she used to coil around the tree, shooting up it towards Sasuke's perch much as the dead snake had. Sasuke cried out, standing and stumbling back a step in horror, pupils contracting even as his eyes stretched wide open. Narumi's eyes narrowed, her hand shot back to her weapons pouch, and she hooked a finger through the center holes of three shuriken. With all the speed she could muster, she sent the weapons flying across the space between them at the kusa-nin. The older woman stopped instantly, allowing the weapons to bury themselves in the trunk above her, rather than pinning her body to it as they would have had she continued to advance. Narumi felt three pairs of eyes turn to her, Saburo cheered, and the kusa-nin eyed her calculatingly. Narumi growled, baring her teeth and feeling her nails lengthen slightly into claws, like in the nightmares where her body transformed into a monster. "Sorry, but I'm not going to let you do that. My teammates are not your prey."

The Kusa-nin rolled her eyes around and tilted her head back at an unnatural angle to stare at Narumi, who was crouched several branches above her head. Sasuke started, the tomoe of his sharingan whirling around his pupils so fast that they blurred, and yelled at the blonde. "Narumi! Don't get involved! She's way above our level, you have to run!" The kusa-nin ignored Sasuke's command, still eyeing Narumi. "Looks like you aren't a normal prey, Narumi-chan." Narumi gritted her teeth, feeling a little sickened both at the way the older shinobi used the suffix, and at the way her half serpent, half human body was wound around the tree so casually. Drawing another kunai, Narumi snarled at the other woman, sinking back into an instinctive battle stance. "I'll crush you!" Sasuke's eyes were shuttling wildly back and forth between her and the kusa-nin, but both he and Saburo were still too panicked to think of anything but running. And while that was probably the wisest option, Narumi's instincts told her that the shinobi in front of them was indeed a ruthless predator. She did not think that the woman would simply let them run. Especially given the way she was smirking up at Narumi.

Suddenly Sasuke let his sharingan fade, and called out to the kusa-nin. "Wait!" Narumi's eyes jerked to him, and she watched as he reached slowly into his weapons pouch to pull out their scroll. Her mind, which had been calculatingly tactics and speeding over possible battle plans, suddenly ground to a halt as her eyes fixed on the object in her teammates hand. "I'll give you the heaven scroll. Please, take this and leave us in peace." Narumi's eyes shot wide open, and her hands fisted so tightly that her claws dug into her palms and broke the skin, blood rolling sluggishly across her palms and down her fingers. Saburo cried out in horrified protest. "Sasuke! Why are you giving the enemy our scroll?" Sasuke cut his eyes to the still frightened rosette, and shook his head, dark eyes wild. "Shut up, Saburo!" The kusa-nin slithered to her feet as her snake tail faded away, propping a hand on her hip. "Hm. I see, you're a smart one, Sasuke-kun. After all, prey must always sacrifice something else to the predator if they don't wish to be eaten." Narumi looked back and forth between the two of them, the smug smirk on the kusa-nin, the wary tightness of Sasuke's expression. Her jaw tightened and she trembled slightly. She knew full well that this was an opponent beyond her skill. Her whole body screamed it to her with every moment they stayed in the enemy's presence. But this...she couldn't stomach this. It was nothing more than surrender. Iruka-sensei's voice echoed in her mind, his voice full of pride as he quoted the fourth Hokage. "To abandon ones mission is not courageous. Beneath the courageous there is nothing." Breathlessly, she stared down at the scene in front of her, kunai dangling loosely from her fingers as she murmured. "No. No, you can't." Sasuke's voice was soft as he tossed the scroll towards the kusa-nin. "Take it."

Before she realized what she was doing, Narumi had pushed off her branch. Tucking her kunai back into her holster, she shot through the air, and snatched the scroll, pushing off a tree to return to the original branch and land back in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha turned to her, eyes wide with panicked anger as he shouted. "Fool, don't butt in! Do you understand the situation we're in?" As he spoke, Narumi gritted her teeth and stood. With one smooth motion, she pivoted and punched him hard across the face, throwing her entire weight into the strike. Sasuke's head snapped to the side, and his body jerked into the air, flying sideways before he twisted to land on a neighboring tree limb. The Uchiha shot to his feet, glaring at her. "What the- why did you do that?" Narumi shook, fists clenched at her sides, the heaven scroll a firm weight in her hand. As she noted the weight, she distantly wondered 'Is this why you did it? Was this weight to heavy for you to carry, Sasuke?' She was very aware that she was now directly in the path of the enemy, and carrying the thing that enemy desired strongly. She knew that she should be focused on the shinobi in front of her. But right now, she felt disappointment and anger roaring through her chest, and her attention was divided between the stationary enemy and the black haired boy opposite her. When she spoke, her voice was steady and accusing. "I...forgot the password. So I can't make sure. But you're a fake Sasuke, aren't you?" Saburo let out a shocked noise, and Sasuke glared at her, voice still angry. "Dobe! I'm the real one!" Narumi shook her head vigorously, becoming more angry by the second. "No...you can't be. The real Sasuke isn't some stupid coward who would give in to the enemy!" Sasuke spluttered, black eyes still wild, voice still slightly too unsteady. "Dobe! Don't you understand how strong she is? Do you want us all to die?" Narumi's head came up, and she looked at her teammate, her expression fierce and grim. "I know how strong she is! But there is no guarantee that she'll let us go even if we do hand over our scroll!" Sasuke's pupils constricted further as he stared blankly at her. The blonde straightened, eyes narrowing as she turned back to the enemy. She didn't take her eyes of the woman again, but she still spoke to Sasuke as she reached back and tucked the scroll securely into her weapon pouch, pushing it carefully beneath her shuriken, exploding tags, a coil of chakra wire, and a thick pad of chakra paper. Her voice took on a slightly scornful, reproachful note as she addressed her teammate. "You're the one who's scared, who doesn't understand the situation."

The kusa-nin chuckled slightly. "Narumi-chan." Narumi dropped back into her combat stance, pulling a kunai from her holster. The woman's tongue slid out, waving wildly as she laughed insanely, and Narumi realized that there was a strong metallic undertone to the woman's scent, even stronger than the tinge in Gaara's. "You're correct!" Narumi could smell the shock and fear permeating Sasuke and Saburo's scents. She gritted her teeth, pushing her awareness of the two of them to the back of her mind, and focusing her senses on the enemy as the woman pushed one of her sleeves up to reveal a tattoo winding around her arm. "I just have to kill all of you to take the scroll." The kusa-nin brought her thumb up to her mouth, and bit down hard on the pad, reaching down to smear the blood across her tattoo. Narumi's heart rate jumped, and she shot forward with a savage cry. "Don't mess with us!" Behind her Sasuke cried out in alarm. "Don't! Run, Narumi!" The kunoichi ignored him, the bitter taste of disappointment a foul counterpoint to the hot recklessness of her anger at this shinobi who dared to threaten and toy with her comrades. 'Damn it...I've lost faith in you Sasuke.' The kusa-nin flashed through a series of hand seals, her voice cool. "Kushiyose no jutsu." A gale of wind suddenly surrounded Narumi as she leapt into the air above the enemy, and looked down. The branch they'd been standing on shattered, leaving the woman standing on the head of a giant snake that was slowly looming up towards her. Below her she heard Saburo scream. "Narumi-chan!" Narumi watched the beast come grimly, and as it lashed out at her, twisted her body, barely avoiding it as it slammed into the tree behind her, smashing it into many smaller pieces that were caught up in the unnatural gale around her. Quickly, she threw up her arms to shield her face from the dust and and pieces of wood that flew threw the air towards her, slitting her eyes so as to keep a visual of her enemy. She resisted the urge to flinch as one particularly large piece of wood struck her arms, breaking into two smaller shards to whip past her, and leaving several splinters embedded in her forearms. After a moment, the gale faded, and she found herself landing on another branch, further away from her teammates.

She crouched there, panting as the kusa-nin and her snake slithered up to loom over her. 'I've got to draw her away from Sasuke and Saburo, and I can't let her get the scroll of heaven. If I can just manage that...' The woman laughed, her voice mocking. "How cute. Really, such a cute prey." The snake suddenly lashed out with it's tail, whipping down underneath her, before snapping back up to splinter the branch she was perched on. Some distance away, she heard her teammates cry out her name, but couldn't spare any time to listen. She gritted her teeth as the snakes tail connected hard with her body, throwing her into the air to fly upwards, crashing through multiple weaker branches. Then her back slammed into the hard underside of a sturdier limb, and her eyes clenched shut in pain, her head smashing back against the mossy surface of the bark as the breath was driven from her. For a moment, all she was aware of was the burning pain in her back, the scent of her own blood, and the agony of striving to scream and finding she had no air left in her with which to do so. Her body seemed to cling for that moment to the surface she had struck, before gravity slowly peeled her away from it. She slitted her eyes open, and saw that she was plummeting towards the enemy and her summons. Her sharp ears clearly brought her the sound of the woman's mocking voice. "Go ahead and eat her." Vaguely, Narumi realized she would be unable to avoid the snake. The world seemed to slow down before her, each of her own heartbeats thunderous as they pulsed throughout her body, and her vision was suddenly sharper than it had ever been. She felt her canines lengthen and sharpen, until they were fangs that pricked at her bottom lip, and her aggression towards the kusa-nin seemed to spike. Easily, gracefully, she flipped around in the air, her lips peeling back in an enraged snarl as she cracked the knuckles of one hand. "Damn it!" Angrily, she slammed a foot into the snakes nose, jarring the thing backwards, and regaining her momentum as she moved up and away. The kusa-nin's cocky smirk suddenly dropped away, and she furrowed her brow in confusion as the snake reared back.

Narumi twisted her body around, landed on the side of a tree, clinging to it with chakra, before launching herself back at the snake. One of her hands clenched into a fist, while the fingers of her other hand extended and curled inwards repeatedly, almost like a big cat retracting and extending their claws. She snarled at the enemy as she flew towards her, her entire body vibrating with the desire to attack. The kusa-nin murmured quietly. "Could this kid be...?" Narumi ignored her. The first thing she must do, was get rid of the damn giant snake. 'Yes! Kill it, crush it, destroy it!' Inwardly her instincts screamed, flavoring her own thoughts as she attacked viciously, slashing and clawing at the delicate sensor pits on its nose, forcing it back, away from her vulnerable teammates. The snake reared back and flicked its tongue at her, cracking it across her torso like a whip, and sending her back to smash against a tree. With a flip and a twist, the kunoichi managed to get her hands and feet beneath her, crouching against the bark, and then pushing directly off, shooting back towards her enemy with the determination and recklessness of a berserker. The kusa-nin smirked, and lifter her hand, blowing out an enormous katon jutsu at Narumi. The blonde tensed, realizing that she wouldn't be able to change her direction. Desperately, she threw up her arms to shield her face as roaring heat and pain surrounded her, searing her cuts and scrapes, biting at the gouge in her shoulder, and charring the splinters embedded in her skin. The force of the attack threw her back to land hard on a branch, gasping for air. The contact with the fire had been brief enough that only the edges of her coat were singed, and her hair wasn't even curled from the heat. Her thoughts were grim as she fought to force her own body back up, back into battle. 'I was lucky that time. Next time I might not be. Have to be more careful...' The hateful snake-like woman was staring down at her as the younger kunoichi braced a hand against the branch beneath her, and tried to lever herself up. "Those eyes...now I'm sure." Narumi growled up at her, chest still heaving as she dragged in air. The enemy chuckled scornfully, and then looked away, the snake turning away from Narumi. She blinked up in confusion, and then horrified realization as the woman spoke. "Now it's your turn. Sasuke-kun, how will you fight?" With one swift undulation of it's powerful body, the great serpent flew back across the painstakingly gained ground Narumi had lured it across, back towards her dark haired teammate.

Narumi saw the attack coming. Saw that Sasuke was too paralyzed by his fear to do anything but watch it come. She heard Saburo cry out in horror as the horrible pair advanced on Sasuke, faster and faster. Saw the rosette try to shove himself to his feet and stumble forward. Saw him fall as his legs refused to support him. She felt her heartbeat climb, thundering in her ears as anger filled her and with a wrench of her body, forced herself into motion. Rolling half off the branch, she threw all her strength into her legs, gathered her chakra there, and pushed off so fast that she distantly wondered if she might not tear through her muscles. She reached the branch at almost the same time as the snake. Drawing a kunai and landing in front of Sasuke, she threw her arms out facing him. The thing crashed into her back, but she sent chakra surging to her feet, holding it back with her outspread arms as she dug the blade into it's nose, just barely missing one of it's heat sensor pits. She dropped her head for a moment, trying to force her battered body to take in air, listening to the unhealthy sounding rasp of her own breath. There was a long moment of silence, and she choked out at her teammate "H-hey...you're not...hurt are ya?" She sucked in another breath, and lifted her head to glare at her wide-eyed teammate as sweat rolled down his temples. "Scaredy-cat." Sasuke's pupils dilated, and he stared at her. "Narumi..." Narumi glared at him, lifting her chin, voice sharp and unsteady as her muscles strained against the summon. "This coward I see right now isn't the Sasuke I know."

For a moment, the two of them locked gazes. And then Narumi was aware of a slick, hot, pink thing winding swiftly around her, twice around one shoulder, before slipping behind her back to catch the other in the same manner, and winding around her chest and torso. Her own pupils contracted, her expression shifting in shock and apprehension, and at that moment, her strength faltered, the chakra holding her to the branch flickering and fading. Suddenly she was being lifted up into the air, and she found herself unable to do anything about it. She cried out in alarm, instinctively trying to fight the sinuous bonds that held her tight as she was lifted high into the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that she was being held at eye level by the kusa-nin. The woman's mouth was open, and her tongue...oh kami, her tongue! Narumi felt sick as she realized what it was that restrained her. She had already spent her strength trying to lure the woman away from her comrades, and then shielding Sasuke. All she could do was thrash helplessly, and shout at the woman. "Kuso! Let go! Let go of me! Damned snake bitch!" Slowly, the woman reeled her tongue in, watching calmly as the thrashing Narumi was drawn closer to her, dangling in the air above the summons head. The tongue wrapped around her tightened, constricting her painfully, until she thought her ribs might crack. Narumi held rigidly still, fighting the restrictive coils as she tried to drag in something deeper than a shallow breath, and glaring furiously at the enemy now so close to her. The woman smirked at her around the thick muscle protruding from her mouth, leaning forward, so that their faces were mere inches apart. Narumi felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple, and bared her fangs at the enemy. The kusa-nin chuckled soullessly, and lifted her hands into a complicated hand sign that Narumi didn't recognize. Then she released the sign, and gripped the wrist of her right hand with her left. A purple flame sprung up around each of the fingertips of her right hand, and Narumi sucked in a sharp breath, refusing to give in or show fear, her senses overwhelmed with the scent of snake. Inwardly, she shuddered as the end of the woman's tongue slid over her shoulder, and down her torso, to worm its way under the edge of her t-shirt. Then it retreated slowly upwards, drawing her shirt up with it and leaving a hot, slimy trail of viscous saliva along her skin. Narumi locked her jaw as the disgusting thing stopped moving, knowing that her entire midsection, and the very edge of the bandages she wrapped around her chest for decency were exposed. The kusa-nin's eyes fastened on her abdomen, and Narumi glanced briefly down, seeing that the spiral seal around her navel was clearly and boldly visible.

Narumi looked back up at her enemy, gritting her teeth in helpless frustration. The woman smirked up at her one last time. Then her arm drew back as her voice rang out, cold and harsh. "Gogyo Fuuin!" The enemy's fingers slammed hard into her exposed stomach, and Narumi's spine curved as her body tried to draw away. The five purple flames burned into her skin, growing hotter and hotter, leaving her skin rippling beneath them as steam billowed away from the contact point. Her gut was full of fire, and her skin felt like it was melting off. Pain roared through her, greater than any before, and she tried to scream. But even though her jaw stretched and her throat worked, all that came out was a choked sound. Vaguely, the blonde was aware that her enemy had withdrawn her fingers from her torso. But the pain remained, overwhelming her senses. Dimly she heard Saburo yelling at their dark haired teammate standing on the branch below her. "Sasuke! Help Narumi!" But no help came. Narumi's incredibly sharp vision faded back to normal, and then her normal vision blurred, shapes becoming indistinct and foggy before her. Darkness wreathed the edges of her vision, and she struggled to remain conscious. The woman reached forward around Narumi's back, hand moving towards the helpless blondes weapon pouch where she'd stuffed the scroll of heaven. Narumi groaned, and twisted, grabbing the kusa-nin's wrist in a futile attempt to stop her. The woman raised an eyebrow, and contemptuously shook off her weak grip, retrieving the scroll, and tucking it into her robes without a glance. Then Narumi felt the tongue constrict again, and suddenly she was being thrown through the air. She had time to feel relief when the slimy hotness left her body, and then she was falling, falling, falling. Saburo-kun cried her name, his voice hard. There was the sound of a kunai burying itself in a tree, and suddenly she jerked to a stop, her t-shirt and jacket holding her up. she slumped forward, vision blurring to the point where all she could see were vague smears of color. She heard Saburo yelling at Sasuke angrily. Scolding him. "Sasuke, why don't you do something? Narumi-chan...she's different from you! She may be a dobe, but at least she's not a coward!" Narumi tried to move as she heard more yelling, and the sounds of someone fighting. Laughter, horrible laughter filled her ears and reminded her of the smell of snakes, with their dry skin and their hissing, fetid breath. The last thing she heard before the roaring in her ears drowned out everything else was a pained scream, though she was no longer sure which of the boys it might belong to. And then Narumi lost herself in darkness.

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A/N: First off, thanks to jayley, ikcjjt, Mirajane Ryuu-Hitsugaya, and Zandamh for their reviews. All four of you have my thanks for taking the time to write those for me. Most eloquent and helpful, they were, and I truly do appreciate it. Both jayley and ikcjjt raised very valid points about the story, so I wanted to address those concerns right of. First, ikcjjt, I know that the story has followed cannon pretty closely so far. The reason is that I wanted to keep a certain base present in the story. But not to worry, we're getting to the part where we start to diverge from cannon. I will keep your warning in mind though, as you gave me very sound advice. Second, jayley, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! While it's true I don't have many reviews, I treasure the ones I get from you guys all the more for that. Also, in regards to your point about Narumi's viewpoint being neglected, I am afraid to say that you are right. She is my main character, but after reading your review, I realized that I'd hardly written anything from her perspective. I am most heartily ashamed of myself, and shall attempt to rectify the mistake from now on. Thank you very much for pointing out this flaw, as I'm quite sure I wouldn't have caught it myself. To Mirajane Ryuu-Hitsugaya, I'm pleased to hear that you liked Haku, as I wasn't entirely sure if I conveyed his feelings well. Thanks for letting me know! Lastly, to Zandamh, it was so nice to hear from you. As always, I love to hear that people are enjoying the story, and it is very encouraging to get reviews that express a desire to see more updates. Also, I have to say it would take an enormous amount of very bad talent to write a Lee who was not cute in some fashion. I mean really, everyone loves that boy! To everyone who has reviewed for me so far, you rock \(^0^)/ !

Alright, as to this chapter. I had originally intended to separate the sections of the exam out into their own chapters. However, like Narumi, I am not fond of written tests...so I just smashed that in quickly to start off the first half of the second exam. As I'm sure you have noticed by now, Narumi's senses are quite a bit sharper than they are in the manga/anime. It's a side effect of her carrying the Kyuubi. While she's aware that her senses are quite good, being around Inuzuka and people with dojutsu bloodline limits has given her reason to believe that this is not unusual. She doesn't mention it to anyone simply because she thinks that it will give her an edge. This is a practice she picked up from observing the Inuzuka, who while they also have enhanced senses, don't mention it often in an effort to keep some element of surprise.

When team seven encounters Orochimaru under his creepy steal-your-face disguise jutsu, and he releases his Sakki, Narumi remains fairly unaffected. The reason for this is that she is, after all Jinchuriki. The girl walks around with a malevolent nine tailed fox in the back of her mind that wants nothing more than to destroy everything she holds dear. I think that might make her just a teensy bit more accustomed to such things than her more sheltered teammates. However, it still affects her because she has never felt such intense sakki during an actual battle. This is why she becomes a bit more animalistic during the fight. She knows she's cornered and outclassed, and it brings her instincts to the surface. Those have also been somewhat influenced by the kyuubi, so they're somewhat more ferocious than a normal shinobis. Also, when aspects of her body transform during the fight, she is not alarmed because she does not recognize what is happening. If she were not caught up in the heat of battle, she'd probably be all kinds of alarmed, seeing as this is her first transformation, but since she is, she only notes it as giving her slightly more of a chance of defending herself and her team successfully.

Lastly, she is angry and disappointed with Sasuke not because he is afraid, but because he has allowed his fear to rule him, and was willing to give up. The two of them are still rival/best friends, despite the different genders, and it makes her angry that he was willing to go belly up so easily. Being very much devoted to the ideals of Konohagakure, she is upset by what she sees as Sasuke throwing those values away in the face of his own terror. This is also why she does not rebuke Saburo, even though he doesn't really do much either. While Saburo is also practically immobilized by his sakki induced terror, he still holds on to those ideals, and tries to stop Sasuke from handing over their scroll. In this action, Narumi sees strength of character in spite of the weakness of body or mind.

Hope that wasn't too difficult to follow. Read and review please!