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.

9. Strange Power

As Narumi slowly regained consciousness, she was aware of a sharp, aching pain spreading throughout her entire body from her abdomen, and the sensation of movement. Groggily, she wondered what was going on, and why she hurt so badly. The last thing she remembered was... her eyes shot wide open as the kusa-nin's face leapt into her mind, and she surged up from her semi-reclined position. "E-easy, Narumi-chan! Just...just hold still." Narumi blinked, and looked up, her body relaxing as she recognized Saburo's face looming above her. He was trying to smile at her, but his eyes were strained, and he looked exhausted. As he started slowly walking again, she realized that he was carrying her, bridal style, through the forest. She shifted again, and then hissed in pain as the movement jarred her torso. "Saburo-kun...what...what happened? Where are we going?" The rosette kept his eyes straight ahead, and Narumi realized that his gait was uneven and stumbling. "I'm taking you to where I hid Sasuke. Didn't expect you to wake up so soon." The blonde swallowed hard. "The enemy?" Saburo shrugged painfully, and then heaved a sigh as his eyes fixed on a large tree with a barely visible cave tucked beneath its roots. "Sasuke...Sasuke fought him. I tried to help where I could but...well. Sasuke used the Sharingan with a Katon technique that should have killed him. He wasn't moving anymore, and we thought he was down. I left Sasuke and went to get you but..." Saburo swallowed, and stopped to lean his shoulder against a tree, his breath shallow and uneven. "We were wrong. His neck...stretched. Like a snake. He bit Sasuke's neck." Narumi's eyes widened. "Bit...?" Saburo nodded, gritting his teeth and shoving off the tree towards the little cave. "Un. Some sort of weird mark appeared on his neck, and he collapsed. I'm not sure what's wrong, but he seems to be in a lot of pain, and he's running a high fever. Anyway, the kusa-nin told us her name. Apparently it's Orochimaru. Spewed a lot of crap about Sasuke coming to her for power because of the mark."

They reached the cave entrance, and Saburo stooped, ducking into the enclosed space. Narumi glanced down, and saw an unconscious Sasuke laid out on his back near the rear wall. Saburo carefully laid her down beside Sasuke, doing his best not to jostle her. Narumi squinted up at him suspiciously. Her teammates voice and face were tight and withdrawn, and he seemed anxious about something. She lifted a hand and weakly punched his arm. "Oi, Saburo-kun. What's wrong?" He blinked sluggishly down at her. "What do you mean?" She sighed, allowing one eye to slide closed. "Something else is bothering you. You're jumpy, and I saw all the traps you set up outside." The boy shrugged and looked away. "We're still in the middle of the exams. Orochimaru isn't the only one we have to worry about you know. It's just a precaution." Narumi snorted. "Saburo-kun. Spit it out." He remained stubbornly silent for a moment more, and she glared at him. "Look, if it's as bad as all that, you definitely have to tell me. We can't afford to be caught by surprise if we can avoid it." Saburo's shoulders slumped. "It's Orochimaru. She said that she had three subordinates, oto-nin, that would be coming after us."

Narumi stared at him. Then she nodded sharply. "Alright." With a grunt, she braced one hand on the ground, wrapped the other arm protectively around her torso, and started to lever herself up into a sitting position. Saburo immediately seized her shoulders and pressed her back against the ground. "Idiot, don't try to get up! We still don't know what that creep did to you! You need to rest!" Narumi glared up at him, gritting her teeth. "You just said we're being hunted by another team. Sasuke's unconscious and running a fever, and we still have all the other teams to worry about. Not to mention finding a good supply of food and water. We can't afford for me to rest right now!" Saburo glared down at her, shifting forward so that more of his weight was resting on her shoulders. "You've only just woken up!" Narumi frowned up at him. "I won't just lie here and put everything on your shoulders. For one thing, you're my teammate, for another, doing so is likely to get us all killed." Saburo didn't look happy, but he didn't reply either. Narumi sighed and lifted her hand to loosely grasp his wrist. "I won't push it. I'll just help you keep an eye out, alright? I know I'm not in the best shape right now, and I do need some recovery time. But I can get that just as easily keeping watch as I can lying in here." Saburo's expression darkened slightly. "I'm not gonna be able to convince you, am I?" Wordlessly, the blonde shook her head. He let out a long breath, and then shifted back, scooping her back up against his chest. "Fine. But you stay in the cave opening. If there's fighting you leave it to me, and if you start to feel worse, you lie down right away. Got it?" Unwilling to expend any more energy arguing, Narumi just nodded as he set her gently in the opening of the cave, with her back against a root. "I'm going to check on Sasuke. Keep an eye on the forest, and I'll be back soon." Turning, he receded into the cave. Narumi sighed, and turned her eyes out to the forest, scenting the air as she did so. She could smell the scents of a couple of teams, but they were far enough away that they shouldn't bother team seven. Mostly what she could smell was the blood and sweat of her teammates.

Narumi frowned and sniffed again. That was odd. There was a strong scent of...the best word she could think of to describe it was muffled. Muffled blood. Blood that was lying too close to the skin, like a bruise. But for the scent to be strong enough for her to catch, it would have to be turning back to her teammates, she called out casually. "Saburo. Did you get injured in the fight?" There was a pause, then Saburo replied in a neutral voice. "A bit. A few cuts and scrapes, maybe a wrenched muscle. Nothing major." Narumi hummed an acknowledgment, keeping her eyes on the trees. After a moment, Saburo came out, advancing just past her so that he was positioned defensively between her and the forest. The blonde turned her eyes to him. He'd fought Orochimaru with Sasuke after she'd passed out, and now he smelled like one massive bruise. She could tell by his pale, drawn face that he was both exhausted, and in pain, which only confirmed that he was likely wounded. But where? Her mind wandered, picturing the now-identified enemy, the way she'd seemed so like her serpent summons. An image of an unnatural pink muscle wrapped around her chest and shoulders sent a sudden shiver down her spine, and she shuddered, smoothing a hand over her shoulder. Then she blinked. 'Maybe...' Turning sharp eyes on her teammate, she beckoned to him. "Oi, Saburo-kun. Take off your shirt." Green eyes shot to her, and Saburo looked guilty. "I..." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed, moving a bit closer to her and stripping off his shirt. Narumi's eyes widened, and she hissed in sympathy. A long, thick bruise that was a red-purple so deep in color as to be nearly black wound three times around his torso. It wasn't difficult for her to imagine how he'd gotten it. After all, Orochimaru had already shown his fondness for constricting helpless prey when she'd been caught. She knew that similar, if less spectacular, bruises probably adorned her own skin beneath her shirt and jacket. But it looked like the enemy shinobi had tried to crush Saburo. Alarmed at the thought, she shifted forward and reached out to him. "This might hurt a bit." With those half-apologetic words of warning, she ran her fingers lightly over his chest, pressing gently against his ribs and trying desperately to remember the first aid lessons they'd been given in the Academy. She was working her way down his right side when Saburo hissed, his lips compressing as his jaw locked. She froze, knowing by the reaction and the slight grating give beneath her touch that one of his ribs was at least cracked. Wordlessly, she pulled out a roll of bandages, carefully beginning to wrap his chest. "So? You gonna tell me why I keep having to drag the important stuff out of you?" Saburo sucked in a sharp breath as she pulled a bit at the bandages, making sure they were tight. When he spoke, his voice was rough. "I'm sorry, Narumi." She looked up at him in surprise. "What?" He wouldn't meet her eyes, resolutely looking back out towards the forest. "Back then, when you were fighting, I didn't do anything. You tried so hard to stop that woman, to fight her. You were amazing." He broke off for a minute, then resumed talking, his shoulders rigid. "You know, after you passed out, I shouted at Sasuke. Called him a coward for just standing there and watching. But I didn't help you either. I just stood there and shook like...like a damn civilian!" His voice was bitter with self-reproach, and Narumi glanced up at him in concern. Silently, she finished securing the bandages. When she sat back against the tree, she swept her eyes over the forest, and then glanced back at Sasuke.

"Saburo-kun...what's done is done. We survived it, and we'll learn from our mistakes." She glanced sideways at the boy who was silently pulling on his shirt. "You didn't leave Sasuke to fight on his own, did you?" Saburo's head snapped around and he glared indignantly at her. "Of course no!" She smiled slightly. "See? You've already gotten stronger than you were. I'd still trust both of you with my life." Slowly, she stretched one leg out in front of her, drawing the other up and lacing her hands together to loop her arms over her bent knee. She was silent for a moment, then tentatively she voiced her thoughts. "You said Sasuke collapsed after he got...bitten. Did he pass out?" Saburo grunted an affirmative, still not sounding quite pleased with himself. "Yeah, he did." She frowned slightly. "What happened after that?" Saburo shrugged, moving back to lean against a root that protruded a bit further than the one Narumi was reclining against. "Like I said, he spouted off a load of threats and predictions, and then ran off." Narumi nodded once. "So then what?" Saburo shrugged. "I couldn't carry you both, and we couldn't stay there with all the commotion we'd made. It'd draw teams down on us like sharks. I hid you both, and scouted out this place for us to recover in. Since Sasuke was heavier, I brought him back first. Then I went back for you. We were nearly here when you woke up, and you know the rest." Narumi snorted. "So, you helped Sasuke fight Orochimaru, then faced him alone after Sasuke collapsed, and then carried the both of us to safety with a cracked rib?" She kicked the boy's hip gently, leaning her head back against the trunk and letting her eyes slide closed. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You did plenty." She shrugged slightly, wincing as the movement sent a streak of pain from her navel to her lungs. "A-anyway. You are strong, Saburo-kun. Your chakra control is better than either mine or Sasuke's. You know it is." Saburo's voice didn't sound convinced, but he let the subject drop. "Go ahead and sleep, Narumi. I'll wake you up if anything happens." She huffed indignantly at him without opening her eyes. "Liar." A warm chuckle reached her ears, and she smiled again before slipping into a deep, natural sleep.

---

It was dawn when Narumi next woke. She squinted, muttering under her breath as the morning light slanted across her face. Across from her, Saburo smiled, though he kept his eyes on the forest. "Good morning, Narumi-chan." She yawned, scrubbing the back of her hand blearily across her eyes, flinching when she jostled her abdomen. It was still painful, and the seal felt like it was burning against her skin, but she was determined not to let on to Saburo. "Ah, morning Saburo-kun. How's Sasuke?" The rosette shrugged, his voice concerned. "Better. His fever's broken, but he doesn't seem to be any closer to waking up." The bushes across from them suddenly rustled. In a flash, Saburo was on his feet, a kunai in hand as he stepped forward. Narumi reached for her own holster, preparing to shove her body to a standing position wether it liked it or not. Just then, a squirrel scampered out of the trembling leaves. She blinked at it, and there was a moment of silence. Then Saburo laughed in relief. "What the-? Just a squirrel." He relaxed, lowering his kunai, and Narumi leaned her shoulders back against the tree. Then the squirrel darted towards them, and Saburo frowned. "Ah!" Quickly, he threw his kunai, burying it in the ground in front of the animal, and frightening it into running away from them.

Narumi frowned, then realized that the creature must have been about to set off a trap. Saburo crouched, eyes scanning the tree-line, and she took a close look at him. Dark circles under his eyes told her he hadn't slept. She nudged him gently with her foot. "Ne, Saburo-kun? Why don't you go ahead and catch some sleep? I'm pretty well rested now, I can keep watch." Saburo shifted his gaze to her and opened his mouth to speak. He was interrupted by an unfamiliar gravely voice. "Keeping watch the whole time without sleeping, boy? How foolish. There's no need to do that." Narumi's head whipped around, and she stared wide-eyed at the three oto-nin that had appeared on the opposite side of the clearing. She cursed mentally. 'Kuso! These must be Orochimaru's subordinates. But when did they get there? I didn't even scent them coming!' Saburo was back on his feet, his entire body tense, his hands tightly fisted at his side. Narumi went to push herself up, and Saburo stepped in front of her, voice sharp. "Narumi-chan, you promised!" She blinked stupidly up at him, and then scowled. "Saburo-kun-" The oto-nin ignored her, addressing Saburo in a deceptively mild voice. "It's alright, we're not going to bother with you. We just want you to wake the Uchiha for us. We want to fight him, you see." Saburo straightened, one hand hovering near his holster as he answered them. "We already know that Orochimaru is behind all of this." The three enemy shinobi startled as Saburo continued. "You're his subordinates, right? What's that strange mark on Sasuke's neck? And what the hell is the Gogyo Fuuin?" Saburo's voice hardened. "Anyway, how do you expect to be able to fight Sasuke after putting him in such a state?"

The bow-legged oto-nin with the large fur covering his back seemed to be the leader, and he answered in a careless, mocking voice. "I wonder too. What could that person be thinking?" The other male shinobi on the enemy team spoke up, smirking coldly at them. "But now that we've found out you know about Orochimaru-sama, we can't ignore it." He half turned towards the leader, though his eyes remained on Narumi and Saburo. "I'll kill this kid. The girl too. I'll even kill this Sasuke guy." Saburo's shoulders tightened, and Narumi snarled defiantly, moving into a crouch, though she remained in the entrance of the cave. The leader called out in a too-relaxed voice. "Wait, Zaku." Zaku glanced at the other man in annoyance. "What?" The man shuffled forward, squatting to lift a patch of false grass contemptuously. "This...so unoriginal." His head twisted to the side until it was almost horizontal to the ground. "There's no point to a trap if it's this obvious." Narumi's hand went to her holster, and she glanced up at Saburo, torn between her desire to fight with him, and the need to keep her promise. Saburo murmured quietly to her, not taking his eyes from the enemy. "Narumi, I need you to guard Sasuke, alright?" She glanced at the enemy, clenched her jaw, and nodded once. "Got it." Zaku snorted. "Still trying to act cool? How pathetic." The leader fixed his eyes on Saburo, voice cold. "Let's kill him right away." With those words, the three enemy shinobi sprang towards Saburo. Narumi pushed herself up into a defensive stance, ignoring the screaming of her body, and the wave of dizziness that hit her. She had promised Saburo that she would guard their unconscious teammate, and guard him she would.

Saburo gave a satisfied smirk, pulled a kunai, and cut a near invisible wire. A log suddenly swung out of the cover of the tree canopy above their cave, hurtling towards the oto-nin. Narumi grinned, thinking they'd caught them, but the lead shinobi somehow blasted through the thing, practically disintegrating it as they continued to arc through the air towards Saburo. Saburo's eyes widened, and he darted a bit further out, intentionally moving away from his teammates so they wouldn't get caught up in the battle. As the three oto-nin surrounded him, Saburo held up his hands in a simple hand sign. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly four Saburo's stood where only one had been, and they each dodged in a different direction, ducking and weaving with the exact same movements. The oto-nin looked around, and then the leader narrowed his eyes, shooting after one of the figures shooting off towards the trees. "Trying to run, are you? It's no use, I can easily tell which one is the real you!" He'd nearly reached Saburo-kun's back when an explosion erupted from beneath his feet. Narumi's eyes widened. 'I see...Saburo-kun lured him into another trap!' The other two oto-nin stopped short of the billowing smoke cloud, eyeing it warily. Saburo suddenly leapt through it, smoke wreathing him as he streaked towards the oto-kunoichi. With a swift movement, he struck out at the older shinobi with a kunai. The woman deflected it with her own weapon, knocking the blade out of the Konoha shinobi's hands. As she did, Saburo brought his free fist around, and punched her hard in the shoulder, letting out a low cry. The woman stiffened, crying out in pain and leaping away from Saburo, clutching at her shoulder. Zaku whirled with a vehement curse, and drove his kunai into Saburo's chest. For a moment, Saburo appeared stunned. Then with a blast of white smoke that vanished quickly, he was replaced with a mossy log, and the boy himself reappeared on the far side of the clearing, poised in an instinctive combat stance. The smoke cloud lingering from the trap suddenly blasted apart, dissipating instantly to reveal the lead oto-nin, apparently unharmed, if slightly singed. "You damn brat!" The woman was staring at him accusingly, her arm twitching oddly as she clenched and unclenched her fist, carefully testing the limb out. "What did you do?" Saburo shrugged, eyes slitting as he panted. "I attacked you with my chakra. And I can do it any time I touch you." The woman's eyes widened, and the leader cocked his head, twisting it in that uncanny way of his. "Well, that's unfortunate. We'll have to end this quickly." Glancing over Saburo's head, he nodded to Zaku. He smirked and dipped his head once, yanking his blade from where it had bit deeply into the wood of the log. Then he dashed towards Narumi. "First things first, we'll get rid of your ally!"

Narumi's eyes widened, and she lifted her own kunai, locking her jaw and blinking hard to clear her vision of spots as she prepared to defend against the blow. Saburo let out a horrified cry, and he moved, using Shunshin to appear between Narumi and the oncoming enemy. Zaku smirked, lashing out at Saburo with his weapon. The rosette planted his feet and threw up his arm in a solid side block, using it as an improvised strike, and slamming the side of his forearm into the inside of Zaku's elbow hard. Zaku lost his grip on his kunai, his arm temporarily numb from the power of Saburo's strike. Narrowing his eyes, the older shinobi leaned back, lifting his leg and pivoting to slam it into Saburo's temporarily unguarded chest. Narumi paled as Saburo's face went white. The boy let out an agonized cry, flying backwards to slam hard against the tree. Narumi heard a sickening crack, and bit her lip as Saburo fell to the ground, doubling over to wrap his arms around his torso. After a moment, he tried to struggle to his feet. The leader scoffed. "Zaku. Finish it." Zaku cackled, letting a couple of kunai fly. "Ah, loosen up a little. Let me have a bit of fun!" Saburo threw himself to the side, managing to avoid one of the kunai. The other struck him awkwardly across the collarbone, not catching him squarely enough to break it, but leaving a deep gash. The leaders voice became tense, his tone warning. "Zaku..." The other oto-nin laughed, striding forward towards Saburo. With a savage movement, he kicked the younger boy hard in the side, slamming him onto his back. Saburo grunted, one arm wrapping around his ribs as he glared up at the oto-shinobi. "I know, I know. Don't worry, I'll finish the job." So saying, Zaku slammed his foot down on the fresh wound his kunai had left, grinding cruelly down on it. Saburo's eyes widened, and he cried out hoarsely, both hands shooting to warp around Zaku's ankle, straining to push it away as he writhed.

Narumi yelled at the oto-nin, body shaking with anger and pain. "Hey! Don't you touch Saburo-kun!" Three pairs of eyes fastened on her, and Zaku's eyes narrowed, though his smirk remained. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Your time's coming." Removing his foot, he leaned down and grabbed a fistful of Saburo's hair, dragging the other boy to his feet. Saburo hissed, and grabbed Zaku's arm, forcing another pulse of chakra into the limb. Zaku yelled, voice angry. "Shimatta! That hurts you damn brat!" With a savage twist of his body, he slammed his fist into the side of Saburo's head. Jade eyes widened as the skin of Saburo's temple split, sending blood spilling down the side of his face, Zaku's grip preventing his head from moving away from the blow. For a moment, Saburo stared up at Zaku, eyes wide and unseeing. Then they slowly slid out of focus, and closed, his entire body going limp. Zaku dropped him carelessly, delivering a powerful kick to his stomach, and sending the genins body rolling away from him. Narumi roared at them, stepping angrily forward. "I said don't touch him!" A sudden spike of pain knifed into her stomach, and she instinctively doubled over, leaning hard against one of the tall roots and squinting at the enemy. The three oto-nin moved towards her in a predatory fashion, and Zaku hissed a laugh, though his eyes were angry as he rubbed the place where Saburo had grabbed him. "You don't have to beg. We're all yours, Sweetheart." Narumi sucked in a shuddering breath. 'Kuso, this is bad! Why won't my body just listen to me?'

Just as they were drawing near her, a voice cried out sharply. "Konoha whirlwind!" A green blur suddenly shot from the nearby trees, and in an instant struck the oto-nin away. The three of them were thrown back across the clearing, rolling and skidding as they attempted to remain on their feet. The leader cursed, sounding confused and angry. "What-?" Narumi blinked, confused. Suddenly, a green-clad back appeared in front of her. She sucked in a breath, her grip tightening on her kunai as her raw instincts screamed at her that some new danger was before her. Then she recognized the boy in front of her, and lowered her kunai. "...Lee-san?" The oto-nin had recovered from their tumble, and the leader sounded rough and irate. "Who are you?" The boy lifted a hand and settled back into his taijutsu stance, the same one he'd used against Sasuke. "Konoha's beautiful blue beast, Rock Lee." There was a silence, and Narumi shifted, pushing herself away from the tree root as the pain faded to a dull ache. "Why are you here?" Lee remained focused on the enemy, but a smile entered his voice. "I promised you, Narumi-san. Whenever you need me, I will definitely come to help you." The oto-nin were eyeing Lee warily, and Narumi definitely didn't think she could defend against all three of them alone. But she felt honor-bound to remind the other boy of their position. "You know, we're your enemies too right now." Lee didn't seem at all bothered by her words. "I told you before, Narumi-san. I will protect you with my life. Besides, you and your teammates are Konoha-nin. How could I abandon my comrades at a time like this?" A soft smile curled its way across her face, and she sighed. "Thanks, Lee-kun." Keeping an eye on the oto-nin, she slipped to where Saburo lay against the tree roots, and dragged him back to the cave entrance, crouching protectively in front of him, though she stayed behind Lee.

The oto-nin seemed to have calmed back down, and the leaders voice was bored again. "We seem to have no choice." Rummaging in his fur, he pulled out a scroll. Narumi's gaze fixed on it, and she drew in a quick breath. A scroll of earth! The leader tossed it back to the lanky shinobi behind him. "Zaku. Since you did so well with the other brat, I'll leave Sasuke-kun to you." The other shinobi caught the scroll easily, not even bothering to assume a battle stance as the man completed his statement. "I'll kill these two." With that, he raced towards them, pulling up a sleeve to bare a strange metal contraption strapped to his arm. Narumi pulled a shuriken from her weapons pouch, and hurled it at the oncoming enemy. The man dodged it easily, and leapt towards Lee. The black-haired boy dropped to the ground, shoving his arm into the dirt. Narumi's eyes widened as he pulled a root at least five times as thick as he was from the ground, using it as a shield against the enemy's attack. As the oto-nin struck it, chips of bark and wood flew through the air. Narrowing his lone visible eye, the other shinobi pushed off the root, flipping backwards through the air as Lee calmly addressed him. "There's some sort of trick to your attack, right? I won't dodge it in a normal way." Lee stepped out from behind the maimed root, eyes flicking over the opponents. "Looks like I'm at a disadvantage." Lowering his brows, he stepped forward. "Well, if the numbers are against me, I'll just have to change them. I'll defeat you one at a time!" Carefully, he began unwrapping the ends of the bandages around his arms. The oto-nin charged them, and Narumi's eyes widened. "Lee, watch out!" The boy lifted his gaze to the enemy, and crouched. Then he...vanished. When he reappeared in front of the oto-nin, he kicked straight upwards, his foot connecting hard with the older shinobi's chin, and lifting him into the air. Narumi blinked in shock. 'There was no chakra discharge. Not even a puff of smoke. That wasn't shunshin!' The Konoha genin shot into the air behind the flying oto-nin, much as he had with Sasuke. With a hard flick of his wrist, and a twist of his arms, he wrapped the other man tightly in his bandages, pinning his arms to his side, and then grabbing him in a tight bear-hug. As they fell back towards the ground, Lee spun the enemy so that he was falling headfirst with Lee's arms locked around his chest to prevent his escape. As they drew nearer to the ground, he set them to spinning, crying out as he did so. "Secondary lotus!"

Zaku eyed the two of them, muttering agitatedly. "Not good, he can't break the fall like that!" Quickly the other oto-nin began flashing through hand signs. Narumi wasn't sure what he was doing, but if he wanted to do it, then she didn't want to let him. With a quick movement, she sent another shuriken arching towards him. The woman slipped in front of her teammate, pulling a senbon and using it to deflect Narumi's shuriken. The blonde cursed. "Damn, I hate senbon!" Just as Lee and his captive were about to strike the ground, Zaku shoved his hands into the dirt with a cry. Two raised furrows of earth raced towards the impact point, reaching it just as the two shinobi connected with the earth. Lee had leapt away just before impact, leaving the enemy's head half embedded in the dirt. However, he was looking over his shoulder know with gritted teeth. Narumi frowned, eyeing the twitching corpse. Zaku scoffed, smirking. "Oh boy...looks like I made it in time." Lee landed in front of Narumi, glaring across the clearing at the three oto-nin, as the leader pulled himself out of the raised pile of earth, shaking his head once, apparently unharmed. Lee cried out in shock and alarm. "That's not possible!" The man shifted, cracking his neck as he turned back to the two of them. "What a terrifying move. Even though I was dropped onto sponge ground, it still hurt like hell." With a swift movement, he yanked his overlong sleeve back up to his elbow, revealing the same metal contraption as before, holding his arm straight out to the side as he stared the panting Lee down. "Now, it's my turn." When he surged forward and swung his fist, Lee dodged backwards, avoiding the blow. But despite the fact that it didn't strike him, he coughed, pupils contracting as he stumbled. Narumi pressed her fists to her ears, squinting one eye closed and hissing in pain as a tone rang out, so high and keening that it was nearly unbearable. "Lee-san!" The green-clad ninja was wavering, obviously trying to maintain his stance even as he swayed. The Oto-nin stood up, calmly allowing his sleeve to fall back over the metal device on his arm. "Your movement is indeed fast. But we are Oto-nin. Our moves are at the speed of sound, and surpass yours."

Narumi frowned at the enemy, shaking her head to clear the residual ringing from her ears. That was nonsense. She'd just seen them fight, and Lee was definitely swifter than the Oto shinobi. Then Lee dropped to one knee, bracing a hand against the ground and breathing hard. He stared up at the three shinobi menacing them, eyes flickerign from side to side as if he were trying to track some sort of movement. Then he surged forward and threw up, much as Sasuke had when they encountered Orochimaru's Sakki. Narumi instantly moved up to crouch by Lee, keeping her eyes on the enemy, and laying a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Lee? What's wrong?" Lee stiffened under her hand, staring at the ground as blood began leaking from his left ear. Slowly, he glanced at her. When he spoke, his voice was a little sluggish. "Narumi-san, you should move back. I will be...fine." She eyed him and shook her head. "No way. These guys fight tricky. Besides, you're bleeding from your ear! That can't be good 'ttebayo!" Lee shook his head, steadying himself. "No. You are injured, are you not?" Narumi frowned, resting the palm of one hand uneasily against her stomach. If she got another spike of pain like before, she would just get in Lee's way. But she didn't know what was wrong with her that she was hurting so much...then her eyes narrowed. Now that she thought of it, those spikes of pain hadn't started until the Oto-shinobi had come. She had hurt before, but it had been getting better. Certainly nothing like the incapacitating agony she'd felt when she'd tried to help Saburo. What was different there? The answer struck her suddenly. 'My chakra. I tried to draw on my chakra to strengthen my taijutsu, like we were taught in the Academy.' She took a deep breath, and answered Lee's question. "I think I should be fine as long as I don't draw on my chakra." Lee's head snapped around, and he wavered, nearly falling over. "Narumi-san, if it's damage to your chakra coils, that is even more serious! Please, let me handle this." The Oto-nin chuckled. "You know brat, you were right. There is a trick to my attack. Just dodging it won't help you." Lifting his arm, he tapped the other hand against the metal, tilting his head back to stare down at Lee, who was glaring back up at him, one hand clutching his ear. Narumi narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip on her kunai. "What did you do to him?" The man lowered his arm slightly, eyes viciously amused. "It's sound. Even if you dodge my attack, the sound attacks you." Narumi stiffened, remembering that high, keening pitch she'd heard. If that had been aimed at Lee, he would have taken the brunt of it, which would have been much worse. She swallowed hard. 'His ear...at the very least, the eardrum must have ruptured!' The Oto-nin chuckled. "Maa. Suffice it to say that you won't be able to move for a while, brat."

Zaku chuckled, pulling his hands from the ground, and opening them palms outward to reveal two holes in his hands. Air was blasting out from them so hard that Narumi could hear it rushing. "And even if you get past Zaku, there's me. I can control super-sonic sound-waves, and air pressure. Those outdated taijutsu moves of yours won't have any effect on me." Narumi bared her teeth, tightening her hand on Lee's shoulder, then standing and moving forward. She crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to the side provocatively. "Funny, I seem to remember that those outdated taijutsu moves had you eating dirt just a minute ago, 'ttebayo!" Zaku narrowed his eyes, rising to his feet. "What did you say?" The leader interrupted, voice lifting a bit. "Yosh...you're next." So saying, he held out his arm, and darted towards her. Narumi hissed and turned, shoving down the protests of her body, and lifting her kunai, mind racing. 'I can't use my chakra, so Kage Bunshin, shunshin, and kawarimi are out of the question. But I can't let myself get hit by that attack...I'll have to jump for it!' Before she could, Lee shot in front of her, attempting to attack the oncoming Oto-nin. With a cry, he swung his leg towards the enemy. "Konoha whirlwind!" Just as his foot was approaching his target, he flinched, wobbling in place, attack losing it's power. The enemy scoffed and caught his ankle, vaulting over the attack. "Seems like my attack was effective. You're not nearly as dangerous now." Quickly, he swung his arm at Lee, like a club. Lee widened his eyes, and threw up a quick side block, straining against the other shinobi. His opponent scoffed, and Narumi had to cover her ears again as that same horrible sound rang out, even stronger than before. "Lee, watch out!" The bandaged man narrowed his eye. "You probably think you're safe like this, but the sound isn't limited to the direction of my speaker. I can direct it with my chakra!" Suddenly Lee's eyes widened, and he faltered, letting out a choked cry as the dribble of blood from his ear increased. The boy swayed, and then collapsed to the ground as the ringing faded away. The Oto-nin lifted his fist, staring down at the sprawled out form of the Konoha genin. "Now then, it's time to finish you off."

Narumi snarled, darting forward and leaping over Lee's body. "Not while I'm here!" As she brought her kunai down in a swift slash, it clashed against the metal device covering the older Shinobi's arm as he brought it up to guard himself. Sighing, he eyed her malevolently, voice menacingly soft. "Geez..." She bared her teeth at him, desperately wishing she could use a little chakra to strengthen her arm as she bore tried to match strengths with her enemy, spreading her legs into a broader stance to give her more leverage. The leaders eyes shifted to the side, and suddenly he leapt back. "Zaku, I'm tired of dealing with these brats. You handle it." Zaku grinned, moving forward and bringing his hands up. "It'd be my pleasure, boss!" Reaching back into her weapons pouch, Narumi snatched a couple of shuriken, and hurled them at the other man, moving moving quickly to the side so that Lee was in no danger of getting caught by a stray enemy attack. With a blast of wind, Zaku deflected the projectiles, chasing after her, calling after her in a cruelly amused voice. "Come on, now Sweetheart! Don't you wanna dance with me?" Gritting her teeth, Narumi turned to meet him, lifting her kunai. That was when she saw the woman moving towards the cave entrance. 'Saburo-kun! Sasuke!' Instinctively, she pulled back, disengaging Zaku, and lifting her hands into the sign for kage bunshin. She froze just before releasing the justu, remembering that she couldn't use chakra during this fight. The stumble cost her greatly. Zaku reached out and grabbed her wrist. Spinning her around, he jerked her arm up behind her at a painful angle, and slammed her up against a tree. She only just managed to turn her face away in time to avoid breaking her nose. Gritting her teeth against the cries of her abused muscles, Narumi released her kunai, catching it in her free hand, and swinging it back towards Zaku. The man cursed, jerking back as she felt the kunai impact, driving through his upper arm in the same place Saburo had injured him. "Shit! What the hell?" The leaders voice rang out sharply. "Kin, get the Uchiha. Zaku, kill her." Narumi growled under her breath, and threw herself hard to the side. Her arm screamed with pain as she dragged against Zaku's hold, but she ignored it, digging her elbow into the wound she'd just given him. Zaku roared, and released her wrist. She struck the ground hard, rolling to her feet, and shooting towards the newly identified woman. Kin glanced over her shoulder, hissing. "Zaku!" Narumi shuddered as she sensed the man looming up behind her, and when he gritted out his answer, his fuming voice was practically in her ear. "I know!"

Reaching for her holster, Narumi started to turn. She was halfway there when Zaku backhanded her savagely across the face, throwing her off her balance and sending her crashing to the ground. She rolled, coming to her hands and knees, and instinctively sending chakra to her legs, intending to use the extra strength to reach the cave entrance before Kin. Instead, she paled, crumpling to the ground and doubling over as white-hot pain shot through her abdomen. "Ah!" Zaku snorted above her, and kicked her hard in the stomach. Her arms guarded against some of the blow, but it still sent her rolling across the ground. Clenching her teeth, she tried to lever herself up with one hand, glaring at Zaku. The other two enemies had stopped to watch, and she had the sickening sense that she wasn't going to like whatever happened next. Zaku's eyes glinted with rage as he stalked towards her. Reaching down, he caught the front of her shirt and dragged her up, hissing furiously at her. "Bitch!" His fist crashed hard into her face, and her head snapped to the side. Again and again his fist rose and fell, and Narumi's struggles became less and less pronounced as the beating continued, blows raining down on her head, shoulders, and stomach. Dimly, she wondered if the man was planning to beat her to death, and noted with a foggy sense of scorn that it was very unskilled of him. As she tried to blink the blood out of her eyes, she wondered if she was imagining the new scents wafting through the air. Zaku finally threw her away from him, and she let out a gasp of pain as she crashed into the ground. She sucked in a few deep breaths, and slowly levered herself up onto her hands, glaring at the enemy as she struggled to force her body into a crouch. Zaku lifted his hands towards her, palm outward, his face twisted in anger. "I'll kill you!" A tight stream of air left his palms and roared towards her. Narumi gritted her teeth, and threw herself to the side, rolling towards the root cave, and trying to spring to her feet. However, her body was too unsteady to carry her any further, and she stumbled, going hard to one knee. Zaku hissed angrily, turning towards her. "You can't keep dodging forever." Then the older shinobi's eyes slid past her, and he froze, he and his teammates taking a wary step back.

Narumi furrowed her brow in confusion, glancing over her shoulder, into the cave. Her eyes widened, and her body tensed. Purple chakra was rising steadily from Sasuke's body, strong enough to be visible to the naked eye. Just as she turned to look, the strange chakra blasted upwards, roiling toward the sky in a spiral formation that temporarily blocked her view of Sasuke. When the chakra thinned back out to a reasonable level her, she was shocked to see her dark-haired teammate on his feet. His eyes were half open, and fixed on the scene in front of him. Strange marks like flames were crawling across half of his body, and his sharingan was active, the tomoe whirling lazily around his pupils. He looked angry, and dangerous. Narumi shivered, instincts murmuring alarms in her head as the hair on the back of her neck slowly rose. Slowly, Sasuke walked forward until he was standing about even with her, a few feet to her right. When he spoke, his voice was low and dark. "Narumi. Who did that to you?" The blonde blinked, lifting a hand to touch the blood drying on her bruised face in surprise. Then she shook her head, swallowing back her uneasiness, and turning a little towards him. "Never mind that! Teme, your body...your chakra, it's..." Slowly, the boy lifted his left arm, staring down at the undulating black markings writhing across his skin without any change in his expression. A change in wind brought new scents to Narumi's nose, and she realized that Shika's team, as well as Lee's were both watching from the foliage around the edge of the clearing. Their scents were spiked with fear, and wariness. Sasuke's voice brought her attention back to him sharply. "Don't worry about it. More importantly, I can feel it." Narumi stared up at him, her mind feeling sluggish, as he continued. "Power. Power rushing through my body." Dropping his arm, he shifted his gaze to the three Oto-nin across the clearing, frighteningly red eyes flickering over the blood spattered lightly across Zaku's face and hitae-ate from the beating he'd given Narumi. "I'm feeling good right now." Narumi shivered at the dark pleasure in those words. She frowned up at him, becoming increasingly concerned about her teammates strange behavior. "Teme..." Sasuke didn't even look at her. "That person gave it to me. This power." Narumi's head jerked up in alarm. "What?" Sasuke's voice stayed soft, never changing or acknowledging her reaction. "I understand now. I finally understand." Then his brows snapped down, and his voice roughened with anger. "Narumi, tell me! Who the hell injured you?"

Before Narumi could respond, Zaku cocked his head and smirked at the younger shinobi. "That'd be me, brat. Mind letting me finish the job?" Sasuke's eyes instantly shot to the enemy shinobi, and he turned fully to face him. Zaku chuckled. "Well, it works out for me either way, since you were the one I was supposed to kill in the first place." Sasuke's lips curled back from his teeth, and the strange black markings briefly glowed a sick, fiery orange-red, writhing across his skin to cover his entire body, before returning to black. Narumi hunched her shoulders, staring wide-eyed at her teammate. She had no idea what to do. For some reason, Sasuke was setting off all her instincts for danger...but that couldn't be right! He was her teammate, he'd never hurt her. The leader jerked back, looking alarmed. Zaku lifted his hands, calling back over his shoulder in a tight voice. "Dosu! Don't be afraid of this half-dead guy!" Dosu whipped around and shouted. "No, don't Zaku! Don't you understand?" Zaku ignored him. "I'll kill them all with this!" Narumi sucked in a sharp breath, intending to shout a warning to Sasuke. She didn't have enough time, as Zaku released a roaring steam of air as strong as the one that had separated her from her team just before they ran into Orochimaru.

Narumi threw up her hands, instinctively trying to shield her face as her eyes flicked desperately towards Saburo's still form lying in the entrance of their hideaway. In that instant, a strong arm clamped around her midsection, yanking her up off the ground as the world blurred around her and wind rushed past her face. For a moment she thought she might have passed out, but then the world stilled again, and she found herself crouched on the ground just behind Zaku. Saburo's body was stretched out beside her, lying on his stomach with his face turned towards her. Sasuke was standing just in front of them, still looking frightening. Zaku hadn't had time yet to notice their presence, and was chuckling breathlessly as he eyed an enormous furrow that had been plowed into the ground and taken a sizable chunk out of the root cave. "Would you look at that? They got blasted into pieces!" Sasuke's voice was hard and flat when he answered. "Who did?" Zaku's eyes widened, but he had no time to react, as Sasuke backhanded him. The blow was so relaxed looking that Narumi almost didn't expect it to do any damage. But Zaku shouted in pain, and was thrown into the air, smashing into the ground and rolling to Dosu's feet. Coughing, the Oto-nin got to his hands and knees, glaring venomously at the Uchiha. Turning towards them, Sasuke flashed through a series of hand signs, and fired off a Katon. Narumi's eyes widened as Zaku surged to his feet. She knew Sasuke's signing speed, and this was far above it. "Don't get cocky! I'll blow that attack away!" Lifting his hands, he blasted the fireballs hurtling towards him. The fire went out, but a multitude of oncoming shuriken appeared out of the flames. Zaku jerked, eyes widening. "What?" He had no time to deflect the weapons, and threw up his arms in an attempt to protect himself. As the shuriken shot past, slicing through him as they went, Sasuke suddenly appeared before him. Reaching out, the Uchiha grabbed his wrist, and yanked the Oto-nin down, past his body. As Zaku stumbled to his knees, Sasuke caught his other wrist in his free hand, turning smoothly with Zaku's momentum, and planting his foot squarely on the older shinobi's back, pulling his arms straight back until Zaku was completely immobilized. The entire attack took less than an instant, so fast that Narumi nearly couldn't follow the movement. Sasuke's lips curved up into a scornful smirk, and Narumi shivered. The scent of fear permeated the clearing, and she instinctively moved between Saburo's unconscious form and Sasuke.

Zaku's eyes widened in horror, his pupils contracting. Sasuke lifted his foot slightly, and then stamped back down on his back, harder than before. The Oto-nin's mouth slid open, his face terrified. Sasuke continued to smirk darkly at the back of his captives head. "You seem quite proud of these arms of yours." The Uchiha pressed a little harder, and Narumi could practically hear the man's bones and joints grinding together. Zaku looked over his shoulder at Sasuke. "S-stop it!" Sasuke's eyes widened, and his smirk shifted into something twisted. Narumi shivered as his scent was touched with that same bitter tang that troubled her so in Gaara's scent. With a deliberate shove, Sasuke broke both Zaku's arms. There was a sickening crunching, snapping sound, and Zaku let out a choked scream of agony. Narumi paled, wanting to cover her ears and shut the sound out. Sasuke dropped the man, letting his body collapse to the ground, where he lay shivering. Kin swallowed hard, and darted past Narumi, trying to run for it. Sasuke appeared next to her, slamming his hand into the side of her neck. Her eyes widened, and she gasped once before collapsing to the ground. Then Sasuke half turned to look over his shoulder at Dosu, that same twisted smirk still on his face. "That just leaves you." Dosu was shaking slightly, eye wide as he stared at Sasuke. The Uchiha turned fully to face Dosu, so that Narumi was treated to a full view of his slightly crazed face as he spoke, his voice sounded gloatingly amused. Too much like Orochimaru's.

"You better entertain me better than they did." Then he started walking, calmly, measuredly stalking forward, approaching the place where Narumi crouched beside Saburo as he headed for the enemy. She stared at him, confused and frightened. Kami, she hadn't even been this frightened when they were facing Orochimaru. 'That isn't...that isn't Sasuke.' As he drew even with her, she surged clumsily to her feet, stumbling into his path with a cry. "Teme, stop!" Turning her back to Dosu, she seized his shoulders, halting his advance as she stared into his face. His sharingan eyes fixed on her, and she swallowed hard, shaking her head. "Listen to me, Teme! Just...just stop. Please?" There was a long moment of tense silence, as red eyes bored into blue. Stubbornly, she refused to lower her gaze. Slowly, the black markings turned that same, unnatural shade of orange-red, and receded, leaving the Uchiha's pale skin unmarked. Sasuke's eyes faded back to black, and his expression and scent lost the bitter, foreign edge. As the smirk left his face, his legs buckled, and only Narumi's grip kept him from crumbling to the ground. As it was, she had to help him sit down a bit more swiftly than was generally considered comfortable. Frowning at the panting boy, she tentatively questioned him. "Teme? You okay?" He nodded once, not answering verbally. Dosu's voice interrupted them, drawing both their attention. "You're strong." As Narumi looked up, Dosu extended his teams earth scroll. "Sasuke-san, we cannot defeat you." Going to one knee, he placed the dark scroll on the ground in front of him. "Let's make a deal. In exchange for this, please let us go." Narumi stared at the man, a sickening memory of Sasuke saying almost the same thing to Orochimaru flashing through her mind. Dosu stood, backing away from the scroll, and circling warily around them to scoop up his teammates, grunting as at the effort of lifting them both. "It might be asking too much for you to leave us this time, just for a scroll. So I promise that next time we meet, we will not run or hide." Turning, the Oto-nin started to walk off into the forest.

Narumi glanced back and forth between Sasuke's silent form, and the increasingly distant back of the enemy shinobi. "Wait!" Dosu glanced over his shoulder warily, and she glared at him, more agitated than ever. "Who is Orochimaru? What exactly has he done to Sasuke?" The man replied warily, but steadily. "I don't know. We were merely ordered to kill Sasuke-san." With that, he vanished away into the forest. Narumi stared after him, more confused than ever. There was a moment of silence, and then with a rustle, Shika's team stood up warily from their place in the bushes. Choji and Inori were flanking Shika, and Inori's hand was resting lightly on the top of her head, as though he'd been trying to shield her. As they slowly relaxed, Chouji called out to them. "Oi, are you guys alright?" Inori leapt out of the bushes, glancing warily at the place Dosu had vanished as he headed towards them with a wave. "Narumi-chan! Not to fear, I'll look after you now!" Shika scoffed slightly. "Inori-kun, you're being troublesome. You help Saburo-kun." Inori scowled, glancing over at Saburo's still form. When he saw his friend sprawled bonelessly across the ground, he faltered, face becoming serious, and then nodded once, changing direction and running to his best friend. Shika turned to her other teammate, voice urgent. "Chouji, see to that Lee guy, will you?" The Akimichi nodded, and rushed over to the limp boy still sprawled across the ground. Narumi looked over at Sasuke to say something, and found him staring down at his own hands in frightened confusion. "What was I...?" She blinked at him, shifting uncertainly. Then with a frown, she whacked him over the back of his head. Startling, Sasuke glared at her. "Oi, Dobe! What was that for?" She snorted and crossed her arms, looking away and ignoring him to shout at Shika's teammate. "Inori-baka! Be careful with Saburo-kun!"

Inori, who had just turned Saburo over, looked up at her with wide eyes. "You gave me a nickname, Naru-chan!" Narumi snorted and rolled her eyes. "Just be gentle, will you? He had a cracked rib before the fight with those Oto-nin, and Zaku smashed him up pretty badly. It's probably worse by now." Inori's eyes narrowed, and he nodded sharply. Shika appeared behind Narumi, looking her over. After a moment, she passed judgment in a lazy drawl. "You look terrible, Uzumaki." Narumi snorted. "Thanks, Shika. I'm fine." The Nara snorted, moving to tuck her hands into her pockets, and then frowning in irritation as she realized her new clothing had none. Shifting, she settled for bracing a hand on her hip. "Troublesome." Chouji was walking towards them with Lee slung over one of his shoulders when Inori suddenly spoke sharply. "Oi! Idiot, don't try to move!" Narumi's head whipped back around, and she saw Saburo sitting up, looking somewhat groggy. "Saburo-kun!" Instantly, she shoved herself to her feet, and staggered over to where he was. Sasuke blinked, and then quietly stood and followed her, catching her shoulder to steady her as she stumbled in his direction. She shot him a grateful look, and then knelt beside a confused looking Saburo. The rosette's eyes flickered over the shinobi in the clearing in bewilderment before focusing on Narumi. "What happened? Narumi-chan, your face...!" Narumi grinned at him, rubbing the back of her head absently. "Don't worry about it, the swelling'll go down in no time!" Shika and Chouji joined the rest of them around Saburo, and Shika snorted at her statement. "At least wash the blood off." Narumi stuck out her tongue cheekily at her friend before accepting a bamboo container of water. Sasuke had already secreted away the earth scroll from Dosu's team, and he stood quietly over his teammates as Narumi splashed water on her face, gingerly wiping most of the blood away with her jacket sleeve. "More importantly, Saburo, we probably need to do something about your ribs." Inori nodded. "If you'd just let me look at 'em, idiot..."

Chouji shrugged, and coughed a bit. "Ano...what exactly should we do with this guy?" Just as he said that, the Chinese boy from Lee's team dropped to the ground behind the Akimichi. Everyone in the clearing started, hands moving automatically to weapon pouches. The boy looked calmly up at the Akimichi. "Excuse me. I'm Tenma, Lee's teammate. I'll take him, now." Chouji blinked, glancing over at Shika as the older genin straightened. The Nara eyed the newcomer for a minute, and then nodded at Chouji. The Akimichi inclined his head to the older boy, handing over Lee carefully. "Sure..."

Tenma smiled his thanks at Chouji, as he took his teammate from him. Suddenly he grabbed Lee by the shoulders and began violently shaking him back and forth, eyebrows snapping down as he roared at the other boy. "Wake up, Lee!" After a moment, Lee seemed to snap out of his half-conscious daze. When he did, Tenma dropped him, shoving a hand in one of his pockets and frowning down at the boy in exasperation. Lee blinked his eyes open, focusing on his teammate blearily as the other boy crouched in front of him. "Tenma...why are you here?" The chinese boy sighed. "We came to help you, moron. What else?" Lee blinked and looked around the clearing, still seeming a bit out of it. "Huh? Where did the Oto shinobi go?" Tenma jerked his head back towards where Sasuke, apparently ignoring the fact that he and his teammate were currently the center of attention. "That Sasuke kid drove 'em off. Why'd you have to go and get yourself so badly hurt anyway?" Lee dropped his gaze sheepishly. "Well... Narumi-san was in trouble, so as a man, I had to..." Tenma eyed him as he trailed off, and then sighed, raising a hand to massage his temple gently. "Maa maa. I get it already. Just be more careful, ne?" Reaching out, he ruffled Lee's hair in a roughly affectionate manner, and Lee grinned brightly up at him. "Tenma, where is the beautiful Nobuye?" Tenma smiled slightly, and half turned. "Up there. She was worried about you, ya know? But it's Nobuye so..." With that, he shrugged, and Lee chuckled a little, leaping to his feet to wave energetically up at where the Hyuuga girl was standing on a tree branch. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree, crossing her arms across her kimono and apparently dismissing them all from her mind.

Lee laughed good-naturedly, and then turned his eyes towards Narumi. She shifted as his expression became solemn. "Narumi-san. I'm sorry. Next time we meet, I will be a stronger man!" Narumi flushed a little, but grinned at him, understanding what the older boy was trying to say. "I know." Inori broke the silence, smacking Saburo hard over the head. "Idiot, I said take it off!" Saburo rubbed his head indignantly, glaring at his friend. "I know, I know! But..." Sasuke and Shika sighed heavily, and Inori raised his fist threateningly. "Saburo..." The rosette paled at the frighteningly soft voice, and instantly began wriggling out of his shirt. "Alright, alright! Look, I'm taking it off!" As he pulled his arms into his shirt, Tenma chuckled and shook his head. Standing, he pulled Lee to his feet, and nodded to the other genin. "Jaa, we'll be off now." Lee grinned brightly at Narumi, striking a nice guy pose. "I wish you and your team luck, Narumi-san!" With that, team ten vanished, leaping away into the forest. Inori looked after them for a moment with a forlorn sigh. "Ah, what a waste! To have been in the presence of such a beauty, and not gotten to talk to her!" Shaking his head, he turned back to Saburo. His eyes narrowed slightly as he caught sight of the extensive bruising on his friends torso, but he didn't comment on it. The two of them bantered back and forth as Inori re-wrapped Saburo's ribs, perhaps a bit too snugly for comfort. The Yamanaka seemed to take a certain wicked delight in tugging the bandages tighter as Saburo yelped and growled at him.

Once he was done, Inori turned away from the other boy and beamed at Narumi, bouncing over to her. "Naru-chan! Your turn!" Narumi blinked at him, holding up her hands palm out in a defensive gesture. "Oi, oi! I already washed the blood off Inori-baka! It'll heal fine on it's own." Inori pouted at her, eyes going wide and watery. "Aw, but it'll heal up so much faster if you'll just let me help you out. Besides, Naru-chan, Naru-chan! I want to tend to your wounds! After all, if I have to help this lout, I definitely have to nurse such a brave and lovely kunoichi as yourself!" Narumi made to protest, but stopped speaking as Sasuke's hand descended on her head, sitting quietly on her hair. "Dobe. It can't hurt." Narumi scowled up at him, but sighed dejectedly. "Fine." Inori whooped and wetted down a cloth, kneeling in front of her and leaning forward to gently bathe her swollen, scraped face. Quickly, he cleaned out the dirt that had been ground into her abrasions, and rubbed some herb leaves over the broken skin. Narumi flinched away as it stung, but then held still for him. A sly grin crept across Inori's face as he wrapped up his ministrations. "And now for the finishing touch!" Reaching out, he caught her chin in his hand, and his grin turned devilish and charming. "A kiss for the princess..." Leaning over, he placed a quick peck on her forehead with much exaggerated smacking of lips. The kiss itself though, was more of brotherly than anything else. Narumi squeaked, jerking away to glare at him, and Sasuke planted a hand on the other genins forehead, shoving him back and away from Narumi so that he rocked on his heels. Saburo, who had only seen the back of Inori's head as he leaned in for the kiss, and heard the loud smacking of lips, started yelling, and launched a kunai at the back of Inori's head. Tthe Yamanaka used the momentum from Sasuke's shove to roll backwards beneath the kunai, rolled to his feet, and leapt up into the trees, bounding off into the forest chortling. His teammates followed him quickly. Shika paused on a branch above the clearing, and looked down at Narumi. "You guys gonna be okay?" Narumi shook her head a little, clearing away her irritation with Inori, and grinned brightly up at her friend. "You kidding? We're so beating you to the tower!" Shika snorted, rolled her eyes, and then jumped away, vanishing after her teammates.

Saburo was still spluttering and fuming after Inori, and Sasuke's face was stoic. With a sigh, the Uchiha shook his head and spoke. "Come on you guys. We'd better get moving." Narumi turned to look up at her teammate, already getting to her feet even as she questioned him. "Wouldn't it be better to let you and Saburo rest a bit more before we move?" Sasuke shook his head. "There's been too much commotion here. The fighting and the presence of so many shinobi will draw in other teams, and endanger our position. We need to get away from here while we can." Narumi thought about, and nodded once. She knew that they were still in no shape to be taking on any more opponents than they had to. Saburo got slowly to his feet, and staggered as he tried to straighten. Narumi instantly moved to catch him, holding him steady as the boy shook his head. Sasuke eyed the two of them, and his voice was slightly concerned when he spoke to Saburo. "You gonna be alright?" Saburo took a deep breath, and gently shrugged out of Narumi's grasp, stepping away from her and squaring his shoulders. He nodded tightly to Sasuke. "I'll be fine." Sasuke looked him over carefully, and then nodded back. "Alright. Our best bet is probably to head to the river. It'll be a ready source of food and water, and most teams will avoid it in case of traps." Narumi frowned. "You mean in case a more dangerous team is waiting for them to show up, right?" Sasuke nodded silently, and she scowled. "Teme, that's a terrible plan!" Sasuke shook his head. "No, because almost everyone will have the same idea to avoid it. So the cunning hunters won't set their traps there, where they'll be expected and avoided. They'll be spread throughout the forest, and most likely concentrated around the tower itself." Saburo and Narumi exchanged glances. Then Saburo shrugged. "Well then, let's get going."

The three of them sprang into the trees, heading for the river, whose position they had all marked as a matter of course when they were shown the map of the training ground. Sasuke took the lead, and Narumi became rear-guard, the two of them silently covering for Saburo, whose face was still pale and drawn with pain, no matter what he said. It was nightfall by the time they reached the river, but when Narumi tasted the air, she could catch no current scents. It seemed Sasuke was right. There were a few stale smells of other teams, but they had obviously already moved on. The river was as good as deserted. With a relieved sigh, she followed the boys along the bank as Sasuke scouted for a good place to spend the night. Eventually, they came to a large boulder, with a smooth hollow beneath it forming a shallow cave. It was difficult to see, and too small for any of the older teams to be able to use it, which made it ideal for the three of them. Sasuke quickly set up some traps around it as a precaution, and then sighed. He gestured at Saburo. "You go in first, okay?" Saburo nodded, drawing a kunai in case he ran into any animal trying to use the hollow beneath the stone as a den. Then he dropped carefully to his hands and knees, and crawled through the small opening. There was a moment of silence as he peered around, and re-arranged himself so that his head was pointing towards the opening. "It'll be a bit of a tight fit, but other than that we're good." Narumi sighed, and crawled in eagerly after him. She was exhausted, and the idea of sleeping was so wonderful that the bare stone cave might as well have been a feather bed. Once inside, she carefully turned her head towards the entrance, and lay down on her side, facing Saburo, who was laying flat on his back. Sasuke crawled in after her, and she heard a faint rustling before he settled down on her other side. She relaxed as his back came to rest against hers, and she could feel the tension leave his muscles as well. Her forehead was resting against Saburo's shoulder, and when she pulled her feet up to curl up slightly, her knees brushed his leg. The three of them were snuggled quite closely together, and their body heat soon warmed the small hollow where they lay. Narumi yawned widely, her eyes fluttering closed as she fell asleep.

---

Narumi whooped and splashed noisily into the clear water of the river. As the water closed over her, she was enveloped in the soft stillness of muffled sound and lack of scent that went with the world beneath the surface. Energetically, she turned a quick flip, glancing eagerly around the glittering riverbed. Not far off, she could see a small school of freshwater fish gliding lazily through the gentle current. With a fiendish grin, she twisted around, and shot after them as smoothly as if she were born in the water. The fish moved away from her, and she angled herself up so that she was chasing them to the surface. a few of them leaped out of the water, while the rest merely darted off downstream. The fish who had leapt out, didn't splash back into their aquatic home. Breaking the surface, Narumi looked around, treading water gently as her loose golden locks floated around her in a glittering swirl. The fish were pinned to a tree with Kunai on the opposite bank from Sasuke. Narumi thrust a fist excitedly into the air. "Alright!" Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. "I told you it would work, Dobe." Narumi glared indignantly at him, moving towards the riverbank with a swift kick of her legs. "Lucky guess!" Climbing out of the water, she shook herself off, slicking her hair back with one hand, and wringing the water from it gently. She wore only the bandages wrapped around her chest and a pair of black shorts, as getting her heavy outer clothing wet would mean being damp for the rest of the exam. Things did not dry quickly in a place with as little indirect sunlight as the forest of death.

Sasuke had leapt over to the other bank to collect the fish when Saburo called out. "Fire's ready. Got any food yet?" Narumi snatched her clothes off the ground, pulling them back on hurriedly and braiding her hair up quickly. "Coming Saburo-kun!" She and Sasuke headed back to their campsite, where Saburo was squatting easily next to a fire, carefully whittling at some long, straight sticks with a kunai. Glancing up, he waved at them. "How many did you get?" Sasuke shrugged, holding up a string of fish on a piece of chakra wire. "Just three." Saburo nodded, and put away his kunai, handing out the sticks. Each of them carefully took a stick and a fish, and Narumi carefully skewered hers. Then they dug the sticks base into the ground so that they were leaning over the fire, allowing the fish to bake. The three of them sat around the fire, and Narumi drew her braid over her shoulder, so that it would dry more quickly in the heat of the fire. She was eyeing the fish hungrily when Saburo suddenly scrubbed a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. "Ah, mou! I can't believe this!" Narumi and Sasuke stared at the rosette. He noticed them, and shifted, shrugging a little. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the exam." Sasuke's stare hardened, and he tilted his head inquisitively. "What is it?" Saburo shrugged morosely. "Well, we have the scroll of earth now, but we lost our scroll of heaven. And its already the third day of the exam. This isn't going to be easy." Shifting, Saburo's eyes narrowed. "Especially since Orochimaru burned our old heaven scroll. The total number of teams that can pass has gone down by one. That lowers our chances." Sasuke grunted, hand unconsciously twitching towards his weapon pouch were he had concealed Dosu's earth scroll.

Narumi blinked, and then chortled. "Oh, is that all? We don't need to worry about that, we can just head straight for the tower." Sasuke and Saburo both stared at her blankly, and she chortled again, reaching back to fish around in her weapon pouch. With a quick movement, she held up none other than their original heaven scroll. Both boys stared, and Saburo jumped to his feet with a hiss of indrawn breath that could have been either surprise, or pain from his injured ribs. "Narumi-chan! How...?" She shrugged, easily replacing the scroll, though her face was smugly pleased with the success of her tactic. "I carry extra scrolls around with me. One on first aid, one on survival techniques, and a few blank ones. All colors. When I was fighting Orochimaru, I used henge on one of my light colored scrolls to make it look like the scroll of heaven, and made the scroll of heaven look like the blank scroll." She grinned widely, showing all her teeth. "The snake bastard never checked the scroll before he burned it, did he?" There was a long moment of silence, and then Saburo snatched her up with a whoop, and whirled around the clearing. "Narumi-chan, you're brilliant!" Narumi choked and flushed with embarrassed pleasure. "Saburo-kun! Your ribs!" Sasuke snorted at both of them. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner, Dobe?" As Saburo set her down, she swayed dizzily. "You never asked." The Uchiha sighed heavily. "Fine. We'll head for the tower after we eat."

As they waded out of the bushes and into the small area of clear space around the tower, Narumi sighed in relief, rubbing her neck. It hadn't been easy getting there, whatever they'd said by the river. There had been a couple of traps set up by other teams around the tower that they'd had to be careful of, and when Sasuke had activated his sharingan to scout them out, he'd snatched at his neck as though the strange mark was paining him. But when asked about it, he insisted that it was nothing. It took them all night to make their way here. Saburo's body had finally given out on him sometime in the wee hours of the morning, and he was now leaning heavily against Sasuke, who had dragged the other boys arm across his shoulders, and was supporting him as they walked up to the tower. Large double doors were set into it's base, and a wide stone engawa circled it. Narumi trotted forward, blinking hard to clear the sleep from her eyes, and stepped up onto the engawa, glancing behind her to make sure the boys were following her. Saburo's head hung heavily forward, messy bangs flopping into his eyes and his movements hesitating as they moved. Sasuke didn't look much better, but he wouldn't let her help, insisting that the most able-bodied member of the team remain free to act if they should be attacked. Once she was assured that they were limping along behind her, she moved up to the doors. A paper slip was plastered across them, with the kanji for gate painted on it. Reaching out, she grabbed the handles of the two doors, and wrenched them open. She was ready to get her team under cover, somewhere safe to rest and recuperate.

Moving forward into the tower, she looked around in confusion. The doors swung shut behind the boys as they followed her into the center of the room more slowly. It was a large, bare room, oddly like the indoor training floors used for taijutsu spars, with two long balconies running down the long walls to overlook the floor, and a large poster hanging on the far wall across from the doors. "No one's here." Saburo grunted, and then pulled away from Sasuke, wincing as he stood on his own, and then smiling slightly at his teammate, though his brows were furrowed in pain and exhaustion. "Thanks, Sasuke. I'm alright now." Sasuke eyed the other boy for a long minute, and then nodded. The two of them moved up to flank Narumi, and Saburo cocked his head back to stare at the calligraphy hanging on the wall. Murmuring under his breath, he read out the message. "If you do not possess heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open both heaven and earth scrolls, dangerous paths become safe paths. This is the secret of...I don't recognize the last kanji." Narumi blinked at the rosette, tilting her head uncertainly and idly stroking her braid. "I don't get it, Saburo-kun." Saburo looked over at her, a determined expression on his face. "I think it's probably referring to the scrolls. We're probably supposed to open the both of them." Reaching back, Narumi pulled the two scrolls from her weapons pouch, releasing the henge she'd placed on both of them. Saburo stretched out a hand, and took the scroll of heaven, staring warily down at it. The three of them formed a rough half circle, with Sasuke standing just behind Saburo and Narumi, his body tense and ready to spring. Narumi and Saburo glanced at each other, and the rosette nodded. Narumi locked her jaw in apprehension, and then mirrored the movement. "Well then, let's open 'em!" Sliding a thumb under the loose end of the parchment, she peeled it up at the same moment Saburo did the same with the heaven scroll.

The two of them pulled the scrolls out, and Narumi blinked down at the spidery, intricate brushwork of some sort of fuuin. Frowning, she stared down at it in surprise, wondering why it looked vaguely familiar. "What?" The scrolling spiral of the fuuin surrounded a single character, the kanji for person. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what they were supposed to do now, the circle of paper inside the fuuin's circle swelled up into a dome. The top of the dome seemed to puncture, and smoke billowed up from it. Sasuke swore tightly. "Kuso! This is an inscription for kuchiyose no jutsu!" Narumi's eyes widened. That was it, a kuchiyose! Starting violently, she flung it away from her. At the same moment, Sasuke snapped out. "Saburo, let go of that!" Shocked, Saburo half turned and threw it after the scroll of earth. The two scrolls flew through the air towards the far side of the room, trailing smoke as they went. As they landed there was the familiar chakra explosion of something appearing or being summoned. Falling back into a defensive position, Narumi moved back beside Sasuke, the two of them standing just in front of Saburo, covering for the injured member of their team. But before Narumi could pull her weapon, a familiar figure appeared out of the slowly clearing smoke. Eyes widening in delight, she straightened. "Ikuye-sensei!"

The chuunin in front of them was as familiar as the sandaime himself. Her thick brown hair was still pulled back in the same pony tail, and her dark eyes were as kind as ever. She even wore the same thick blue dress under her chuunin vest. Her eyes fixed on Narumi as she smiled at the three of them with gentle pride. "Hello, Narumi-chan. It's been a long time." Lighting up, Narumi dashed forward and flung her arms around Ikuye-sensei's slender waist in a tight hug, closing her eyes in contentment as Ikuye-sensei's warm scent washed over her, bringing a sense of comfort and safety. A slender hand came to rest gently on her back, quietly rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. "Are you glad to see me?" Narumi nodded vigorously, loosening her arms to lean back and grin up at the academy teacher. Saburo's voice came from behind them, hoarse and strained. "Hold on, what is this?" Ikuye-sensei looked up, and ran her eyes carefully over the two boys. "Sorry, Saburo-kun, Sasuke-kun. It seems like the three of you have gone through a lot of trouble." Sasuke shook his head slightly. "Never mind that, how did you come out of a kuchiyose scroll?" Ikuye-sensei's face became serious. "We chuunin are responsible for welcoming the examinees after the end of the second exam. " Narumi dropped her arms, stepping back a bit as Ikuye-sensei slipped into her professional-mode. Ikuye-sensei's eyes softened as she looked down at the girl, and a hint of pride entered her voice. " Congratulations on passing. And it's only the beginning of the fourth day. You've done well." Narumi flushed with pride, tilting her chin up and shooting a grin over her shoulder at her teammates.

Ikuye-sensei opened her mouth as if to say something, hesitated, and closed it again with a shake of her head and a fond smile. "Since you got here early, you'll have today and tomorrow to rest. There are rooms higher up in the tower for you to use, I'll show you there." Sasuke grunted. "Is it possible to have an iryou-nin look at Saburo? He's cracked a rib or something." Instantly Ikuye-sensei went to the boy, resting her hands on his shoulders, her expression becoming fiercely protective. "What? What happened? Are you in pain?" Saburo's expression turned bewildered and meek. "Uh...well a little..." Ikuye-sensei narrowed her eyes and looked at the other two. "Now that I look at you, you could probably all use a quick trip to an iryou-nin. There's one stationed upstairs to take care of any major injuries. I'll take you up there right now." Turning, she leapt up to one of the balconies, and headed for a door at the far end of it. Narumi and her teammates followed her obediently as she strode through the door, down a hall, and up a winding stair to the fourth floor. When Ikuye-sensei led them into a clean, white room with a white table, they weren't surprised to see the iryou-nin in his white robes jump and stare. "I have three examinees that need to be seen. One with a possible cracked rib." The iryou-nin cleared his throat and shifted his attention to the three battered genin behind her. "Very well. Which of you has the injured ribs?" Saburo raised a hand, and the iryou-nin gestured briskly towards the table. "You first then. Sit here please." Saburo moved forward and braced his hands on the table, wincing as he levered himself up to sit on the surface. The iryou-nin stepped up in front of the boy, lifting hands surrounded by the soft green light of healing chakra. "Shirt off please."

Saburo nodded, pulling his shirt over his head. The iryou-nin raised an eyebrow at the extensive bandages wrapping around his chest, but didn't say anything as he laid his hands gently on the boys chest, running them slowly down his ribs. The mans other brow shot up, and he murmured under his breath. "Well. You're quite lucky. You've managed to fracture three ribs, and break a floating rib. Luckily, it's a clean break, and there are no loose shards of bone. That, plus the fact that your chest was wrapped means that you are still fairly uninjured all things considered. I'll mend the bones for you, but you'll be quite tender in this area for the next week or so. Try to take it easy if possible." So saying, he brought his hands together low on Saburo's right side. "This might hurt a bit." Saburo's face suddenly paled, and his jaw clenched as the man set to work. But he made no sound. Narumi winced in sympathy as she watched him. After a while, the iryou-nin pulled away, glancing at the other two. "Alright, let's have a look at you two." He gave them both a quick examination, and shook his head. "Well, you all seem to have taken quite the beating." Reaching out, he laid a hand on Narumi's head, eyes severe. "Young lady, you're lucky not to have a concussion. Seems like someone certainly did their damnedest to give you one." Carefully, he touched glowing green fingertips to her right eyelid. "This will take care of that bruise. Normally I'd leave it alone, but a black-eye as spectacular as this could affect your field of vision, and would severely disadvantage you in the exams." After a moment, he pulled back, voice wry. "Other than that, all of you seem to be approaching a state of chakra exhaustion, the boys more so than the girl. On top of that, you're physically exhausted as well. My advice is to go eat a good meal, preferably with red meat included, clean up, and get a good nights rest. Other than that, I'm afraid you just need time to heal."

Narumi and the boys mumbled their assent, and exchanged a glance. Narumi was wondering if they should mention the odd mark on Sasuke's neck, or her temporary inability to call on her chakra, though that had faded away sometime during the night they'd spent by the river. Sasuke shook his head slightly, and the three of them thanked the iryou-nin without mentioning either. Ikuye-sensei led them out of the make-shift examination room, sighing. "Well, I guess that means a meal's in order. I'll show you where you'll be sleeping, and then take you down to where you can eat." Narumi nodded, grinning up at her first teacher. "Right. Thanks, Ikuye-sensei!" The older kunoichi ruffled her hair with a fond, sisterly smile. "Come on you three." Taking them back down to the third floor, and out into the circular corridor. Doors were spaced along both sides, set fairly far apart from each other. She led them around to a door set on the outside wall, and reached into her pocket. Pulling out a key, she unlocked the door, and opened it, showing them a small entry way, with two sliding doors set across from each other, and another door at the far end. "There's two rooms and a bathroom. The temporary arrangements are set up so that teams don't need to split up at night." Pulling the door closed again, she gave the key to Sasuke, who slipped into his pocket. Then she took them back around to the stairs, and down to the second floor. This floor appeared to be all one room, with a few tables, each with three seats, were spaced around the floor, and a long counter set with food was built along one wall. "They'll bring food here regularly, come and get it whenever you need it." Laying a hand on Narumi's shoulder, she looked over the three of them. "I have to go now. Listen to me, you three look after each other, and don't pick fights with the other teams. Got it?" Narumi rolled her eyes. "Mou, Ikuye-sensei! We're not kids anymore, we're shinobi. We can handle ourselves." Ikuye-sensei smiled a little, and shook her head. "Yes, I know." Leaning down, she kissed Narumi's forehead gently. "Rest while you can." Looking up, she fixed the two boys with a serious gaze. "All of you." With that, she vanished in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

The three of them stood there for a minute, just looking at each other. Then Narumi shook her head, and bounded towards the food. "Come on, let's get some food!" She was mildly disappointed at the lack of ramen, but hungry enough not to fuss about it. Snatching up a bowl and some chopsticks, she scooped herself some hot rice, and wandered down the table to a plate of beef strips. Reaching out, she snagged five pieces, laying them carefully on top of her rice. A bowl of eggs was placed next to the beef, and she grabbed one, cracking it and dropping the raw egg over her beef. Throwing out the shell, she grabbed a glass of tea in her free hand, and went for a table near a window. Setting down her bowl and cup, she pulled out her chair, looking up. The boys were getting their food a bit more slowly than she was. Flopping down into her chair, she grabbed her chopsticks, and stirred up her food, mixing the egg into the rice, and dashing some soy sauce over the whole thing. By the time she set the bottle back down on the table, Sasuke and Saburo were on their way to join her. As she started to shovel beef into her mouth, the boys sat down. They both had similar dishes to her own, though Sasuke had replaced the egg with shrimp, and Saburo had more beef than she did in his. The three of them were so hungry that they didn't really talk much, silently gulping down their food and peering over each others shoulders, warily guarding each others backs. Narumi went back to the counter to refill her bowl three times, surpassing both the boys in the amount of food she consumed. Normally they would have commented on her bottomless stomach, but today they merely sat quietly, waiting for her to finish. When she finally cleaned the last few grains of rice from her fourth bowl, she sighed in contentment, and nodded to them. In unison, the three of them stood up and headed for the door.

Narumi was just reaching to open it when a familiar scent, hot, spicy, and masculine hit her nose. She bristled, backing up a step as the door slid open. Sasuke and Saburo shifted a bit, hands hovering hear holsters as the three of them stared. Teruyoshi of Sunagakure stood in the doorway, regarding the three of them with mild surprise. He was uninjured, and clean, looking completely at ease. Crossing his arms across his chest, he leaned against the doorway. "Yo. So you guys made it through?" Sasuke lowered his chin, glaring at the older genin. "Aa, we did." Teruyoshi hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm. That makes four teams that have already passed, and it's only the third day. How surprising." Narumi cocked her head at him, confused. "Who else has passed so far?" Teruyoshi leaned his head back a little. "Let's see. There was my brothers and I, and you. Then two other teams from Konohagakure, one with two girls and the Hyuuga heir, and the other with three unknowns. I think one of them introduced himself to you guys at the start of the first exam. Grey ponytail, glasses, bit of an oddball." Saburo sighed. "That would be Kabuto-san." Teruyoshi shrugged carelessly, pushing away from the wall. "Well, I don't really care." Stepping forward, he caught Narumi's chin, tilting her head back and to the side, frowning slightly. "More importantly, what happened to your face, Beautiful?" Before she could answer, his eyes rose to focus on the far wall, voice mild and amused. "Oi, oi! Relax a little, boys." Saburo had grabbed his wrist, green eyes hard. Sasuke hadn't bothered to be so subtle. His kunai rested at the base of the Suna-nin's throat. Still Teruyoshi didn't tense or release his hold on Narumi's face. "You kids gonna tell me what happened to the girl?" All three of their scents were spiked with subtle aggression, and it was making the hair on the back of Narumi's neck stand up. She remembered Ikuye-sensei's warning not to fight with other teams, and felt like smacking something. Instead she spoke up.

"I'm fine. We ran into the oto-nin is all." Her slightly irritated voice brought the attention of all the boys back to her. Her teammates seemed to relax a little when her eyes flicked between them, and they both backed off, releasing the foreign shinobi. Teruyoshi's scent lost most of its aggression, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he tipped her face to the other side, eyes flicking from scrapes to cuts to bruises. His voice remained light and teasing despite his oddly serious expression. "Looks like you took quite a beating." Narumi shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess. But I managed to get the guy before that, so it wasn't all bad." Teruyoshi shook his head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "So, who won the battle?" Indignantly she jerked her chin out of his hold, crossing her arms over her chest. "We did of course! It's how we got our scroll!" Teruyoshi's smirk blossomed into an all out grin, and he threw his head back in a laugh. "You're quite the spitfire, aren't you Beautiful?" Narumi opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Saburo grabbed her hand and pulled her around the Suna-nin, glaring at the other boy out of the corner of his eye. "Come on, Narumi. We're already finished eating aren't we?" Sasuke grunted, glaring at the older boy as he followed the two of them out. Narumi looked back over her shoulder at him as her teammates pulled her down the hall. Teruyoshi watched them go for a minute, a smile still hovering about his mouth, before he turned to saunter casually into the dining hall. Then she turned back to look at the stiff shoulders of her teammates. They didn't seem too happy. She sighed, quickening her pace, and grabbing their hands, so that she was leading them back towards the stairs. "Come on then. I call first dibs on the shower." Sasuke snorted at her, though his usual jab lacked its bite. "Dobe." She stuck out her tongue at him, pulling the two of them up the stairs and back down the hall to their door. Then she stopped and looked at Sasuke expectantly. He rolled his eyes at her, pulling out the key and unlocking the door.

Dropping their hands, Narumi moved into the entrance way, tugging off her combat sandals with a sigh. The air felt cool and refreshing against her sweaty feet, now free of the close confines of her sandals for the first time in days. Leaving her shoes near the entrance, she looked at the boys as the door closed behind them. When the door clicked shut, both boys relaxed, tension that had become so customary she hadn't even noticed it leaving their bodies, and she could feel herself doing the same. "Which room do you guys want?" Saburo moved forward and peered into both the bedrooms, before swinging the door of the room on the right wide open. "This one has two beds. Sasuke and I can stay here." Sasuke nodded agreement, and Narumi grinned, scampering down the hall and into the bathroom. "Well then, later!" Closing the door behind her, she flicked on the light. The bathroom was well outfitted, a small washing machine situated in the corner opposite the sink, toothbrushes and toothpaste on the side of the sink itself, and a set of shelves on one wall, with three yukata neatly folded and laid in individual baskets along with thick towels. One of the baskets also contained a small hairbrush, and she eyed it appreciatively. Moving quickly, she slipped out of her clothes, and undid her braid, shaking her tangled locks out and looking herself over in the mirror. Plainly speaking, she looked awful. Her face was no longer swollen or discolored, but it was still scuffed, scraped and cut. As she had feared, large purple-red bruises like Saburo's wrapped around her shoulders and across her chest. Frowning, she turned around, craning her neck to look over her shoulder, and pulling her hair out of the way. Sure enough, a matching band of bruising was visible across her shoulder blades. Shaking her head, she silently thanked the kami that her heavy jacket was long enough to hide all of it. Ikuye-sensei would have freaked out if she'd seen this. Absently, she made to shove a hand through her hair, and winced when her fingers caught and yanked at the tangled mass. Beyond being tangled, her hair was matted with blood, dirt, and sweat. She frowned at it, and then shrugged, scooping up her clothing, and shoving it into the small washer. Carefully she set aside her weapons pouch and holster on the top of the shelves, starting the small washer before going through the door to the shower and bath.

She turned on the bathwater, filling the tub with hot water. Once that was done, she turned aside to the stool sitting in front of the shower head. A shelf under the shower head held bottles of shampoo and conditioner, along with a bar of soap. Sitting heavily, she wet herself down, watching in exhausted mesmerization as streams of water that ran brown and black with dried blood and dirt washed down her body, swirling away down the drain at her feet. Shaking her head after a minute, she turned off the water, reaching for the soap, and scrubbing hard at her body. After she'd made sure that she'd lathered up all over, she rinsed again. The water was cleaner this time, and she repeated the process until only soap suds were being washed from her skin. Then she started grimly in on the mess of her hair, scrubbing shampoo into it mercilessly. This also took some repeating, but eventually it was only tangles that knotted her hair. She eyed the bottle of conditioner, and then snorted. It wasn't like either of the boys would be using much of that, if any. So she unscrewed the top, and poured a good half the bottle out on her hair. Carefully, she worked her fingers through the now slick hair from the bottom up, until it hung in clean, tangle free strands against her shoulders and back. Sighing in relief, she rinsed herself off one last time, and stumbled into the bath, laying back and soaking. She sat there for a while, staring at the ceiling, thinking hard about the events in the forest of death. Honestly, Orochimaru scared her. Scared her badly. The only single being she'd ever been more afraid of was the Kyuubi itself. And when Sasuke had first woken up, when those strange marks had crawled across his body, leaking tainted chakra as they went, he had felt far too similar to Orochimaru. Uneasily, she shook those thoughts away, sitting up in the water. That couldn't be right. Shoving her unease about that strange mark away, she stood up, and left the shower room, grabbing a towel and drying herself off quickly. Wrapping the Yukata around her body, she noticed that her clothes were also done washing. Taking the hairbrush, her weapons pouch and holster, and her wet clothing, she left the bathroom.

She went to her own room first, looking around. A bed was pushed against one wall, and a drying rack was against the other. The outside wall had a window that overlooked the forest of death, and the mid-morning light was streaming through it. The forest looked almost benign like this. She snorted, shaking her head and dropping her weapons pouches on the bed, before draping her clothes across the clothes rack to dry. Then she wandered across the hall, slowly brushing her hair as she went. She didn't bother to knock when she came to the boys room, just opened the door and went in. Their room was identical to her own, except the drying rack was larger, and set across from the window, as there were two beds pushed against the walls. Saburo and Sasuke had sat on the floor and were leaning back against their beds talking in low voices when she came in. They both looked up at her, and she blinked sleepily at them. "The baths open." They exchanged looks, and Saburo waved a hand at the Uchiha. "You go ahead, Sasuke. I don't mind." Sasuke nodded once, and then stood. Narumi moved out of his way as he left the room, heading for the bathroom she'd just vacated. Sighing, she moved over to sit on his bed so that she was across from Saburo. "What were you and the teme talking about?" Saburo shrugged, tone casual. "Nothing much. What took you so long in the bath?" She mirrored his gesture, though her voice was laced with annoyance. "Took forever to get clean." Saburo murmured acknowledgment, and for a moment they lapsed into silence, broken only by the soothingly rhythmic sounds of Narumi brushing through her wet hair. After a while, she put down the brush, tossing her hair over shoulders, and fixing her eyes on Saburo as she lifted her hands to begin parting it. "I've been thinking about that mark on Sasuke's neck."

Saburo looked up sharply. "What about it?" Narumi shrugged uneasily, fingers deftly braiding her hair as she absently allowed her muscle memory to take over the chore. "Well, you said that Orochimaru gave it to him right?" Saburo nodded, and she shifted uneasily, the movement of her hands slowing. "After you passed out...when Sasuke woke up, he was acting strange." Saburo furrowed his brow at her, and she bit her lip, tying off her braid and letting her hands fall to her lap to fiddle with the hairbrush. "He was leaking scary chakra, and there were these black marks moving under his skin, all over his body. I think they came from the mark. He was really scary Saburo-kun. He broke Zaku's arms, and he laughed while he did it." Saburo's jaw was tight, and his eyes were somewhat incredulous. Narumi took a shuddering breath. "That's not all either. He said...he told me that 'that person' gave him power. I think he was talking about Orochimaru." Gritting her teeth, she met her teammates gaze. "I think we should tell Kakashi-sensei about this Saburo-kun. I have a bad feeling about that mark." Saburo frowned, looking down. Finally he nodded. "Next time we see him then. But...let's not tell anyone else, okay?" Narumi blinked at him, cocking her head questioningly, and the rosette sighed, scratching his cheek idly with his finger. "You said he was acting strange right? Narumi, you and I may know Sasuke's alright, but if we're not careful, he could get pulled out of the exams for this. He wouldn't want that." Narumi hesitated, and then nodded. "Yeah, you're right." There was a moment of silence, broken by Narumi's wide yawn. Rubbing at her eyes, she stood, hairbrush clasped loosely in her free hand. "Alright then, I'm going to go get some sleep. I'm dead tired." Saburo rolled his eyes and snorted. "You better not snore, Narumi-chan." Huffing indignantly at him she stuck out her tongue. "'Course I don't snore!" Slipping across the hall, she closed her own door behind her, pulled thick curtains over the window, and flopped onto her bed. She was asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.

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A/N: Hello all.

To Zandamh, it's good to hear you're still enjoying the story! I was excited to hear from you, and am very grateful you've taken the time to give me another review. It's always fun to hear from someone again! To jayley, yes, it was somewhat hypocritical of Saburo ridicule Sasuke like that. However, I did this on purpose. I wondered if I should explain it last time, but I didn't want to spoil the developments I was planning for this chapter, as this is where things are really beginning to diverge from Cannon. However, now that those are out in the open, I'll be explaining below. I hope the reasoning will be satisfactory (^-^'). To Aya-Mikage2002, it was lovely to hear from you. I'm happy that you like the story so much, and I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear that you would try to post more reviews for me on future chapters. Truthfully, I may have squealed...just a tiny bit. Ahem. (^/^). I will definitely be continuing the story beyond the chuunin exams, as I really enjoy writing this story. It's quite relaxing for me, and I look forward to working on it every day, which is why the chapters keep turning out so long. To all three of you, again, many thanks for your time spent giving me the lovely reviews. They always brighten my day.

Alright, this chapter wraps up the important events in the Forest of Death. So then, I suppose I'd better start with addressing the issue of Saburo. As jayley pointed out, he was somewhat hypocritical during the previous chapter. There were a couple of reasons for this. One, he is still young, and as the weakest member of his team, he is used to the others taking care of situations like this. Two, he was feeling helpless, terrified, and angry at himself, and he lashed out at someone else in the heat of the moment to relieve the stress of those emotions. Granted, he is a shinobi, and should know better, but he's also a kid who's still in the process of growing up. Anyway, I had him react like this for a very important reason. As I'm sure you've all noticed, Sakura is pretty useless in the cannon until Shippuuden. I wanted to kickstart Saburo's growth much earlier than that. So I put him into a situation that would force that. After Narumi passed out, he did pull himself together enough to fight with Sasuke against Orochimaru. But he wasn't much help, as he is still pretty weak. In the end, even though Orochimaru severely injured him, he didn't consider him enough of a threat to even knock out after he gave Sasuke the curse seal. The frustration over his own helplessness, anger at his weakness, and guilt both over not being able to protect his teammates, and yelling at Sasuke are a potent mix of powerful emotions that have no outlet, which is important. Anyway, while he is carrying his teammates to the hideout he's found them, Narumi wakes up. Her interaction with him gives him a direction for those emotions, and effectively turns them into an incredibly strong drive to get stronger and protect his comrades that equals the drive original Sakura had to get stronger in cannon after Sasuke's betrayal. She also unknowingly points him towards the correct path to become stronger by reminding him of his chakra control. This is what causes him to try and use his precise control of chakra as a weapon during his fight with Zaku. Admittedly, he lost, but in his defense, he had a fractured rib at the time.

Because I would wonder about this if I were reading the story instead of writing it, there's a reason that Narumi's own eardrums didn't burst from the sound attacks, even though Lee's did. Simply put, it wasn't aimed at her. I put her senses about on level with Kiba's, maybe a little higher, and in the anime, he watches matches with sound-nin where sound attacks are used, but comes to no harm. So even though it was painful for her to hear it, it didn't harm her.

Regarding Narumi's battle with Zaku, I realize it may seem a bit off that she was capable of fighting with Orochimaru as well as she did, but lost so miserably to Zaku. However, remember that she is already exhausted. Add to that, the gogyo fuuin (five element/point/direction seal) has been placed on her. I looked into this, and apparently the original use of the thing is to restrain the opponents chakra, and knock them out for a certain period of time, say a day. However, when placed on top of the seal of the Kyuubi, the odd numbered points of the seal on top of the even numbered points of the original seal screw around with Narumi's body, and her control of both her own and the Kyuubi's chakra. So, even though she woke up early due to the healing powers of Kyuubi, she was still under chakra restriction, which caused spikes of pain when she tried to draw on her chakra. Also, her body was trying to adjust to the strain of the two competing seals, causing more dulled, constant pain, disorientation, and heavy stress on her body. So all in all, she was doing good.

I cut out the scene where Inori's team would have come to the rescue, because no matter how I tried it, it came out awkward. Besides, unlike Sakura, Narumi is not the kind of girl who would calmly accept multiple rescues with her rescuers repeatedly becoming casualties, no matter how desperately she might actually need the rescue. However, I did keep them present for Sasuke's awakening. What happened is that they showed up just an instant or two before Sasuke came out of his curse-seal coma. They probably would have tried coming to her rescue if Sasuke hadn't turned into 'mad-purple-chakra-shinobi-of-glowy-curse-mark-doom' on them (Don't laugh. You know you were thinking it). Lee's team was present at that time too. The reason for this, is that I want the Konoha twelve to be aware of Sasuke's...less than stellar side. Saburo and Narumi may trust him either way, but the other five who saw that certainly will have some amount of doubt or unease towards him.

Lastly, the reason that they were able to get to the tower so quickly. Narumi has a bit more field-wisdom than Naruto did at her age. Remember, she knew she was no match for Orochimaru when she went up against him. So when she put the scroll in her weapons pouch, she henged it while it was out of sight, hoping that when he did defeat her and try to take the scroll, he wouldn't notice what she'd done. She even goes so far as to try to stop him when he starts to take the wrong scroll, trying to ensure he believes its the real thing. And Orochimaru, being an arrogant, blood-line focused and overly confident brand of stupid, never thinks that 'children', particularly dead-last 'children' would think to trick him, and burns the thing before he can ever realize he has the wrong scroll. Thus, victory is achieved.

And of course, any odd reactions of team seven in the tower? They may be out of danger for the moment, but the exams are still ongoing, and they've had to be hyper-alert for a good while, just to stay alive. Their danger senses are all still in overdrive, and the people they would fully relax around are very few in number even at this point. For now, they probably are only going to feel safe in their own little suite, where they can watch each others backs quietly, and rest up.

Hope the explanations helped, and weren't too long. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! Please do read and review!