Saying Kakashi was worried would be a surprise to anyone around to hear it. However, it was true. He was a bit worried about Sasuke and how he would handle the curse mark, but he was more worried about Shi. From what Anko had reported to the Hokage, who then passed it on to him, Shi had something sleeping within her for a long time. Something no one expected because she had somehow managed to hide it from everyone without giving away even a hint that it was there. Not only that, but she was one of his experiments. The way she acts, it should have been obvious, however, it seemed she's significantly better at hiding things than anyone expected. She's just lucky that the Hokage is willing to overlook this for now.

He sighed, relaxing in Shi's hospital room to get back some of his strength from using the Evil Sealing Method twice; once on her and once on Sasuke. He glanced over at her though and frowned under his mask. Her scarf had been removed and he had it folded up on his lap for the moment, as an oxygen mask rested over her mouth. Bandages were covering her neck where she had—according to Anko—been bitten by a snake while transformed into a beast.

Kakashi and the Hokage didn't know what to make of that when Anko first described it to them, but it wasn't as though she was lying. Judging by the amount of chakra in the room where Shi was being kept when they arrived to seal her though, it was obvious that Anko hadn't been kidding when she said that she couldn't move. It was enormous. Rivaled the Hokage's chakra I would think. Maybe even jinchuriki level… But how would she have been able to hide that, let alone control it for so long? They said she'd only be able to last five hours but she'd ended up lasting seven. Not to mention how long she's been holding it back since she came here.

The Hokage had told Kakashi about her past as best he could once they had finished sealing away the powerful chakra. He couldn't say he wasn't surprised. From what he had been told, she was subjected to numerous experiments by Orochimaru and had high chakra reserves from the start. Not once though, did the Hokage think there was this much power residing in her. Even when Kakashi told him about the rampages she had when fighting Zabuza, something this enormous wasn't expected.

What's more, it's almost as though it's eating away at her. Not so much physically, but mentally. She's losing herself to this thing and without a proper seal, it won't be long before she's gone completely. The seal the Hokage had done was only able to hold back some of the chakra and therefore, he had Kakashi do his seal over it to try and keep the first seal from breaking under the strain. Anko also said that the tattoo on her arm was growing. I've noticed that as well and Shi had told me once before that it's a chakra seal. For it to go all the way down her arm and up her face though, she's been pushing herself to the breaking point.

Just then, he heard her groan and sighed in relief. She had been out for a while and the chunin exams were nearly over. There was just the final rounds and he had been getting worried seeing as Sasuke had already woken up and she hadn't. She wearily opened her eyes and turned to him.

"Good morning, Shi. I was worried you weren't going to wake up for a while there."

"I'm… sorry."

Kakashi raised a brow. "Hm?"

"I couldn't… stop him… Naruto… Sasuke…"

Kakashi smiled softly. She really cares about those kids, doesn't she? "They're alright, Shi. Sasuke's curse mark has been sealed and Naruto's as hyper as ever."

She nodded and turned to look up at the ceiling. Silence fell over them for a moment before Kakashi grabbed the pitcher of water next to her and poured her a glass.

"Drink, Shi."

She sat up a bit with a wince, removing the breathing mask from her face with shaking hands, and allowing Kakashi to help her drink the water.

"Better?" He smiled and she nodded, face a bit sad. "Hey now. What's with that face, hm? You don't want Naruto to see you looking like that, do you?"

She looked over at him before turning her gaze back up at the ceiling as she leaned back onto the bed.

"I don't remember."

Kakashi was confused. "Remember what?"

She looked down at her stomach as she placed a hand there. "This. Or then."

"Then?"

"When I changed. I just remember him throwing Naruto and then… Nothing."

Kakashi nodded, understanding what she was talking about. When she changed into the beast, most likely. "Well, they're okay now and you did your best—"

"You don't understand."

Now he was confused. "What's there to understand? They—"

"I could've killed them."

Kakashi went silent for a moment as Shi bit her bottom lip.

"But you didn't."

Shi turned to him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "But I could've! I could've killed them and then where would I be?! They're all I have!"

For the first time, Kakashi saw just how broken Shi was as tears finally broke through her barriers. Shi looked down at her hands as the tears fell into her palm, looking confused. She frantically began wiping at her eyes, but the tears kept coming.

"W-What is this? I-I-It won't stop."

Kakashi looked at her shocked. "You've never cried before?"

She shook her head. "Only back then. I-It was so much pain and then… nothing. I-I—"

"You grew numb to it." Kakashi finished for her, and she nodded.

"I-I haven't felt a-anything until I came here."

Kakashi smiled and ruffled her short hair playfully. "That's a good thing, Shi. It means you're changing."

Shi frowned slightly, the tears finally slowing to a stop. "I don't like changing."

Kakashi chuckled. "Heheh. Well, it's a long and hard process."

Shi sighed and looked over to see her scarf in Kakashi's lap. Kakashi noticed this and handed the scarf over, laying it down in her lap and she nodded her thanks.

"What makes that scarf so important to you, if I may ask?"

She gave a small smile, surprising Kakashi. "It was a gift and the only thing Orochimaru let me keep unharmed."

"A gift? From your family?"

Shi shook her head. "No. Kami gave it to me."

Kakashi raised a brow, confused. "Uh, okay."

Shi looked up at him, suddenly. "I don't pass, do I?"

"Pass?"

"The chunin exams. They're over, right?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Not quite. You missed the second round and the preliminaries. The final round will be in about a month, but I don't exactly know about whether or not you passed. Only the Hokage can decide that."

Shi nodded. "Did Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pass?"

"Hm. Naruto and Sasuke are in the final rounds, but Sakura lost to the Yamanaka girl in the preliminaries."

"What about the others?"

"You mean the other Konoha genin?"

Shi nodded.

"Well, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, and Neiji Hyuga are the only other ones fighting along with three sand ninja."

"I see…"

Shi felt someone coming and put her scarf on, making Kakashi raise a brow. Suddenly, the door burst open and none other than Might Guy stood in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers.

"My youthful student! I have been informed that you are awake and I have brought flowers to speed your recovery!"

Shi sweat dropped, but nodded, allowing Guy to place the flowers to the side until he noticed Kakashi.

"Ah! What is my sworn rival doing here?!"

Kakashi sweat dropped also, giving a small wave. "Just visiting."

Shi frowned then, unnoticed. "What's wrong?"

Guy and Kakashi turned to her. "Hm?"

She looked him over, before meeting his eyes. "You're forcing yourself to be happy and you smell like the hospital which only happens if you've been here a while… Where's Lee?"

Kakashi looked at Guy, who dropped his grin as a serious look came across his face.

"Lee is here. He fought one of the sand ninja who crushed his legs. It is unknown whether he will be able to continue being a ninja."

Shi suddenly began moving, shifting her legs to the side of the bed and alerting Kakashi and Guy, who tried to stop her.

"What are you doing? You just woke up!" Kakashi said.

"I need to see him." Shi said, forcing herself to stand shakily, using the bed post to hold herself up.

"My youthful student! I assure you Lee is in good hands!"

Shi started walking, but her legs gave out from under her and Kakashi caught her a she breathed heavily.

"Shi, please. You need rest. I'm sure Lee is fine."

"No!" Shi snapped, eyes turning grey for a brief moment before they went back to their usual blue and she groaned. "Please." She muttered. "Please let me go."

Kakashi looked up at Guy, before sighing. "Alright, but only for a bit and then back to bed."

Shi nodded and Guy brought over a wheelchair, before Kakashi wheeled her over to Lee's room. Lee was asleep, so she didn't disturb him. She just sat there and watched him for a while before turning to Kakashi.

"That's it?"

Shi nodded. "He's sleeping. I will visit him again when we are both well."

Kakashi smiled a bit as Guy cried quiet crocodile tears, before the two led her out and back towards her room, but there was a commotion over by the front desk.

"Where's Sasuke's room?!"

"Sasuke is not being allowed any visitors."

"What the hell?!"

"It's hard to explain but—"

"Then Shi! Let me see Shi!"

"But—"

Kakashi rolled Shi around the corner, after having bid Guy goodbye.

"Naruto, be quiet inside the hospital."

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei! Shi! Where've you been? I didn't see you after the first chunin exam."

Shi gave him a deadpan look. "I've been here."

Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hehe, that's right." He then remembered what he was going to say before and glanced at Kakashi. "Hey! Hey! I have a request!"

"No need to tell me, well, I already know what you're going to ask. I found someone who will look after your training."

"Why?! I want you, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted and Shi gave Kakashi a confused look.

"Training?"

Kakashi nodded. "With the final round of the chunin exams in a month, the ones participating need to start training in order to beat their opponents. Anyway, Naruto, I've got some business to take care of, so I don't have time to look after you."

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. "I know you're planning to train Sasuke!"

"Now, now! Don't say that, because I've found a teacher for you who's much more reliable than me!"

"Who is it?"

"It's me!"

They turned to see a shinobi wearing dark sunglasses, who Naruto recognized.

"Oh! You're the closet pervert!"

Shi raised a brow. "Closet pervert?"

"Why the hell does my training teacher have to be him?! I mean, this guy is weaker than me in the first place! Because, because before this guy, with my harem no jutsu—"

The man, who Kakashi called Ebisu, grabbed Naruto in a choke hold, covering his mouth to silence him.

"Harem no jutsu?" Kakashi questioned.

"Oh, well, it's nothing, really. Haha." Ebisu nervously chuckled, before whispering to Naruto.

Shi ignored them and spotted some crutches over by the wall. Sneaking away from Kakashi who was busy talking to Naruto and Ebisu, Shi wheeled herself over to them and lifted herself out of the chair with only minor difficulty. Once she had them, she started walking up and down the area they were in, just as Kakashi finished with Naruto and Ebisu.

"Shi? What are you doing?"

Shi turned to look at him with a blank expression. "Walking."

Kakashi sighed. "You need to rest, Shi. You shouldn't be moving around anyway."

Shi frowned under her scarf. "I can't."

"Why not?" Kakashi challenged.

Shi looked away, staring out the hospital's front doors as Naruto and Ebisu walked off. "He's back." She turned back to Kakashi. "I can't sit and do nothing."

It was Kakashi's turn to frown and in an instant, he poofed behind Shi and knocked her out with a swift hit to the base of her neck.

"Sorry, Shi, but we'll need you later on. So it's best if you rest up now."

A week passed and they finally released me from the hospital. I had been fighting to get out of here since I had woken up from Kakashi knocking me out. The jerk. But as soon as I was out, I was sent to the Hokage's office to get scolded for acting on my own against Orochimaru. He had demanded a full explanation about what had happened and I told him what I could from what I remembered and he then gave me a lecture about what I could and couldn't do now that I had a seal.

He gave me another chakra repressor bracelet and demanded that, while I could still train, I was not to push the limits of the seals. I was also informed that Kakashi's seal was only as strong as my will power and that, should I ever feel doubt or the need to release this power, it will be let out. The Hokage said that he had people out searching for Jiraiya, but until then, those were the rules. I wasn't pleased, but I understood and since then, I had been training as best I could by myself since most of my teachers were off training others for the final round in the chunin exams.

I visited Lee as often as I could though, at least once a day, and I was pleased to see that his fighting spirit wasn't effected at all by his limited capability. I could see though, that he still felt doubt and uselessness, and I did my best to reassure him. The nurses didn't appreciate my bringing him ice cream however.

Today though. Today was the day of the final rounds of the chunin exams and I was following Guy and Lee to get there. I knew I'd probably miss most of the matches, but I didn't mind. I knew Naruto would be fine and Shikamaru would probably forfeit half way through, so there wasn't much to worry about.

"Thank you, Shi for coming with us." Lee said, a grin on his face.

I nodded as Guy shouted to the world. "My youthful students are getting along so well!"

I sighed quietly, just as we arrived at the gates to the stadium. Two jounin were guarding them, and smiled the moment they saw us.

"Oh! You are… We're glad you three are here. Now please, hurry into the arena."

Guy struck some stupid pose as Lee saluted. "Yes!"

"Ok! Let's go, Lee! Shi!"

"Osu." I muttered, lazily walking in without all the crazy that Guy was doing.

"The first round has been mostly completed. Only the Gaara vs. Sasuke match remains to be fought."

I paused, glancing back at Lee, who understood me somehow.

"The Naruto and Neji match was…"

"That was a very interesting match. It seems that the Hyuga actually lost."

I smiled a bit under my scarf and reached my hand out to Guy. He cried big crocodile tears and reluctantly reached into his jounin jacket and pulled out his wallet, handing me a good amount of cash. He'd lost a bet, after all. Once we had walked in and went to go find some seats, a whirlwind of leaves appeared in the middle of the arena. I sighed, knowing exactly who it was. Showoff.

"It's Sasuke." Lee said, a smile on his face as we walked over to where Sakura, Ino, and Chouji were sitting.

"Lee! Shi!"

I looked down to see Kakashi talking with the coordinator and Sasuke talking with Naruto, as I began taking off my right shoe, ignoring the looks I was getting from Sakura and the screaming coming from Ino. The moment Kakashi started rubbing the back of his neck in what I could only assume was an apology, I chucked my shoe and it hit him on the back of his head. He turned towards me, as did Sakura—who was in shock—and I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. He didn't have to ask what I was angry about and I didn't have to say anything, before he was picking up my shoe and disappeared in a poof; reappearing in front of me.

"Heh, I see you're a bit angry about before."

I glared at him, my expression saying 'no shit' as he chuckled nervously. He handed my shoe over and I took it, putting it back on as he peaked around me and greeted Guy and Lee.

"Hey, Guy and Lee too. Your body is alright now?"

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, looking upset.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. You must have been worried. Sorry for not contacting you at all."

After having put my shoe back on, I came over to Kakashi and just stood there next to him with a frown on my face. He turned to me, still chuckling nervously as my murderous intent rose.

"Hehe, really sorry, Shi. But you needed to rest."

I continued to say nothing, giving him the silent treatment. It was working.

"Uh… I'll, uh, make it up to you?"

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye to let him know that I was going to hold him to that, but I was still pissed.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said, barely heard over the noise of the crowd. "On Sasuke's neck, there was a mark, right? Is that—"

"Don't worry." He gave her a reassuring smile, before looking around, spotting the several Anbu scattered about. "Eight Anbu for this huge arena. Only two small teams, what's the Hokage thinking?"

"No." Guy said. "Until we figure out the enemy's plans, they are probably needed on the outside gathering information."

I frowned, looking around as well, until Kakashi caught my attention.

"Are the seals holding up?"

I touched my stomach gently, nodding. I still wasn't going to talk to him. It may be childish, but I forgot all of my childhood, so… I'm still angry. Just then, the match started and I watched as Gaara talked to himself for a moment, the sand from his gourd rising up around him. Something was off though, and it had my stomach churning as the fight went on. This murderous intent of his, its stirring up this beast. I best control it or we're going to have a problem on our hands. Sasuke was fast though and was able to manage to get past Gaara's defenses and hit him from behind. The moment he did though, I frowned. Did his face just crack? I was correct and Gaara's face seemed to be covered in a thin layer of sand.

It's the ultimate defense. You get past the first barrier and there's a second only for you to hit a thin third. It will be difficult to actually hurt him enough to win the match. Sasuke had gotten faster though, since the last time I'd seen him battle. He was on par with Lee and managed to land two more solid hits to Gaara.

"What kind of training did you do? To come this far in just a month." Guy asked, and even I was curious.

"Sasuke had copied Lee's taijutsu with the sharingan before. That's why during his training, I had him use Lee's taijutsu. Because he knew Lee and had seen him in action before, he was able to master the style. It was a lot of work, of course."

I furrowed my brows slightly. Is that really fair though? Using someone else's jutsu? If anything I would rather use my own skills to fight like this. Just then Gaara started making a ball of sand and Sasuke punched it, but hit solid rock as spikes shot out and cut him. I expected something like this and silently questioned why he didn't just use an exploding tag. Just then, a shout came from behind us.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

I turned and looked to see Naruto and Shikamaru huffing and puffing at the top of the stairs.

"Hm? What's up?" Kakashi questioned.

"Sensei! Stop this fight right now! He's totally different from us! He's not normal!"

I felt my heart clench at those words as he went on.

"He lives to kill others! Anyway, at this rate, Sasuke will die!"

I swallowed thickly, stuffing my shaking fists into my pocket to hide them from the others, but I noticed Kakashi had seen them. Luckily, he said nothing about it and just spoke to Naruto.

"Well, don't worry. He and I weren't late for nothing."

I noticed the stance Sasuke was taking and frowned as Sakura questioned what Kakashi had said.

"What do you mean you weren't late for nothing?"

"Hm? You want to know?"

"Look," Naruto shouted. "We don't have time for this!"

"Be quiet and watch him." Kakashi ordered, silencing them. "You'll be surprised."

I turned to Kakashi with a stern glare, just as Guy figured it out too.

"No way… Is that…"

Kakashi grinned. "The reason I trained Sasuke is because he is the same type as me."

"I see. So that's why you only trained him in taijutsu and had him greatly raise his speed." Guy said.

"Yup."

I ignored their useless chatter then as I smelled something off. I turned to the side where the wind was coming and took a deep breath, brows furrowed in concentration. No way… It can't be… If he's here, then that means—I quickly hurried off, heading towards the Hokage to warn him, knowing I couldn't just poof to his side without being possibly killed. Just as I was nearly there though, a menacing feeling crawled into my chest and I stopped, falling to my knees as I tried to control myself. One glance at the arena told me that Gaara was no ordinary genin, but I quickly went to focus back on what I was doing.

Nearly there! Just as I reached the edge of the Kage's box, I was stopped by a couple of Anbu and feathers started floating down from the sky. I sensed that it was a genjutsu and dispelled it. I went to go around the Anbu and even shouted to the Hokage as I had figured out that the Kazekage was a fake.

"It's the Kazekage! He's Orochimaru!"

The two Anbu went to attack me, but then the area was covered in smoke as three giant snakes were summoned. The Anbu, deciding that I wasn't worth it at the moment headed up to help the Hokage, but were stopped when Orochimaru held a kunai to the man's neck and jumped onto a roof with four others. I followed as did the Anbu, but a huge barrier was set up and we could go no further. I growled, feeling my chakra pressing against the seals as I started prowling back and forth outside the barrier. Once Orochimaru revealed himself, I swung a chakra-laden fist against the barrier, watching as it shook dangerously.

"Hey!" Someone from inside shouted. "Beef up the barrier! This guy might take it down!"

Even the Anbu were shocked as the four inside added a second and third layer onto the barrier, before protecting themselves from the Hokage inside with yet another.

"Orochimaru!" I shouted, eyes already changing grey as lightening sparked and fizzled; getting close, but not touching the Hokage's chakra repressor.

"Oh, so nice to see you again, mutt~"

I growled at him, before shifting to gaze at the Hokage, who calmly stared back.

"Shi. Go stop the snakes. Protect the village and don't worry about me or him. I'll take care of it."

He gave me a smug grin and I placed a hand onto the barrier, silently asking permission to remove the chakra repressor. He nodded.

"Only if you can control it, Shi. If so… let it loose."

I smirked, before jumping off towards the village where the three snakes were. I smelled a familiar scent and made my way over, landing next to none other than Ibiki. He took a few steps back as my chakra spiked suddenly and I smirked at him.

"I got this."

He gave me a shocked disbelieving look as the chakra repressor on my wrist burned itself into ashes, letting even more chakra out.

"How much chakra do you have?!"

I laughed manically. "Plenty more where that came from. Just get everyone out of here!"

He hurried off and I closed my eyes, focusing on the power that was struggling to take me over. I hadn't just been doing chakra exercises for a month, after all. My main focus was being able to control this raging beast inside me and I had only lost control a few times—thank Kami for the Hokage standing by.

I opened my eyes to a dark room where a rampaging beast howled and snarled. Doing a single hand sign, I focused my energy on wrapping chains around it and tethering it down enough that I could still harness its power without losing control or it escaping, but loose enough that once it noticed me, it could do as it pleased. Sure enough, it spotted me and attacked, swallowing me whole, but that was what I wanted and power coursed through me, burning through the seals on my stomach. The smoke began to rise up and once I was fully grown, I opened my eyes to stare down the three snakes.

"I hate snakes." I growled, before hurrying forward, grabbing one snake in my jaws as the others snapped out of the trance and began attacking me as best they could.

They swung their tails and thrashed, but I was proving difficult for them to handle. One had managed to get a good bite to my right shoulder, but their poison was no problem for me now. Being in the hospital for a week gave me the advantage of learning where they keep the poison antidotes, which I copied and used to build up my strength against their poison. I could handle it in average amounts, but should I get more than a few bites, I knew it would start effecting me more. Just as a snake went to sneak up behind me though, I heard a loud shout.

"Ninpou Summoning! Watchtower Demolisher Jutsu!"

A huge frog came out of nowhere, landing on top of the snake behind me and crushing it. There were only two snakes left, but I was curious as to who summoned this frog that was the same size as I was at the moment. The summoner wasn't talking to me at the moment though and was instead speaking to Ibiki.

"Long time no see, eh, Ibiki. Geeze, is your body the only thing that grew up?! I just can't stand to watch you!"

I growled at the man, gaining his attention. "Friend or foe?"

He tilted his head, before jumping up and holding his hand out. "Little chikadees! Open them small eyes of yours and take a really, really good look! Blessed be! It's the twilight zone flight of rampage! By Jiraiya, the Alien Sage Ninja!"

I gave him a bored look. This is the Jiraiya that was supposed to seal this in me? What the hell were you thinking, Hokage?

"All you snakes, frozen in your tracks by the glare of a frog!"

I huffed out a smoky breath, unamused as Ibiki showed up alongside him and he turned his sights to me.

"And who are you, beast?!"

"Shi." I muttered, turning back to the snakes.

"Oh, not much for talking, I see."

I scoffed and went after one of the snakes with a snarl. Jiraiya talked for a bit, before joining and attacking the other snake with his frog, talking to me the whole time.

"So! Shi! I can't tell in this form, are you a man or a scrumptious woman? Hm?"

My eye twitched and I threw a snake over in his direction, forcing him to duck as I glared. He just laughed.

"Ahaha! I see! A woman it is, and a fiery one at that… How long did it take you to control this beast then?"

"A month." I said bluntly and his eyes widened before narrowing.

"Is it completely under control?"

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "I have ten minutes left."

He nodded, a serious expression on his face for a moment before a grin started to form. "Then I guess we better finish this up!"

I nodded and we both charged. Maybe five minutes later, we had the snakes defeated, but something else caught my attention off into the forest. Well, more like on top of the forest. Even from where I was, I could see another large frog facing off who I could only assume was Gaara. Or the beast that resided within him. Suddenly, it changed and an immense killing intent hit me coming from Gaara.

I could feel the murderous sensation riling up the beast I was controlling and I struggled to keep it back. Jiraiya noticed this and hurried over towards me.

"Hey, Shi! You better change back, kid! You chakra's fluctuating!"

"I know! But Orochimaru—"

I suddenly spun around to face where the barrier was and rushed over, ignoring the calls behind me. Something's wrong! I can feel it! Once I was there, I climbed on top of one of the walls as the barrier fell, snarling and gnashing my teeth.

"You damn snake! I'll kill you!"

What I had felt earlier, I now knew was the fading life of the Hokage and I would die before I let Orochimaru get away unharmed. There were four with him, I noticed in a split second. Two carrying him and one took out a couple of Anbu, just as I grabbed a hold of one in my jaws.

"Gah! You trash! Let me go!"

Whoever I had caught, punched me hard in the side of the mouth, but I refused to let go until it put something else on me. A scrap of paper. Before I could realize what this paper was though, it had begun to spark and pain radiated from that point, causing me to howl in pain and release the—now injured—Sound ninja. As they got away, I continued to whimper in pain as I tried to use my paws and get the paper off. As I swung my head and put my nose between my paws to try and get it off, Jiraiya had caught up and Kakashi was now over by me as well, eyes wide in shock.

"Hey, kid! Let me see!"

Jiraiya tried to get close with his frog, but I lashed out, already having run out of time to control myself and was hanging on by only a thin thread of hope.

"Don't come near me, frog!"

Jiraiya frowned and begun doing hand signs before shouting. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground beneath my feet began to turn into thick mud and as I sank, I snarled and snapped at anything near me before Jiraiya jumped onto my muzzle and pulled the paper off, burning it in his hands before jumping back to his frog. Weakened significantly, I breathed heavily as I returned to myself. Jiraiya's frog grabbed me in its tongue and pulled me out of the muck, lying me down on solid ground before disappearing and Jiraiya came over, lifting the bottom of my shirt to see the seals.

He glanced over at me, seriously. "I need to get rid of these seals first. It'll be painful, do you understand?"

I nodded, still gasping for air, when he took my scarf off and wrapped it up, shoving it towards my mouth.

"Bite onto this for now."

I did so and tried not to cry out as he undid the first of two seals. He then did the second and I was hardly conscious at that point as my chakra tried to suffocate me. Even he seemed to be having a problem, but quickly slammed his hand into my stomach to seal it all back within me. Almost immediately, everything went black and I silently worried about what I was going to do when I woke up. After all, the Hokage was now dead and I was a monster.

It had been a few days since what happened at the chunin exams and the Hokage's funeral had already concluded. However, a number of people were not pleased. After Shi had the beast contained and after the funeral, the council decided that it was in their best interest to move her to a more secured facility and sealed away until the next Hokage was found and able to deal with her. Needless to say, Kakashi was not the only one displeased about this and even some of the other jounin tried to argue with the council to no avail. They had all seen her lose control and lash out at Jiraiya, a fellow Konoha ninja, and none could deny that—although she didn't mean them any harm—she was still a danger to those around her.

No one knew what kind of conditions Shi was in nor whether she had even awoken from her sealing before they removed her from the hospital and certain people—such as a small excitable blonde—were beginning to get restless without knowing her whereabouts. Kakashi though, had other things to worry about and when he met with Jiraiya, his worries only seemed to increase.

"Kakashi, I am going to be keeping Naruto in custody."

Kakashi looked at him, surprised as he went on.

"It was the role of the third generation to watch over Naruto. It was a decision that the Hokage made you watch over him. I guess someone is trying to get you involved as well."

"What is it you want to tell me?" Kakashi asked.

"I have been following Orochimaru's movements since he left the village. That person will return to the village someday. Since it's already clear… that it's the beginning of something. At first, it was just about Orochimaru."

"What about him? Does it have something to do with Shi?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not from what I can see. At least… not yet. Although, I suppose I should've known she was one of his. The signs pointed to it."

Kakashi frowned, waiting for him to finish.

"But that guy joined a certain organization." Jiraiya said.

"An organization? And the details of this organization?"

Jiraiya put a hand to his chin. "Although we do not know the full details… from what we know, it's called 'Akatsuki'. A small organization that consists of nine shinobi. Up until recently, there has been little activity and only some espionage was done. There haven't been any major problems so far. Most of those people have appeared on the bingo book. A single S-class criminal is already hard to deal with and Itachi is among them."

Kakashi's gaze sharpened.

"The nine have also gathered, all of them volunteers. The Akatsuki must be up to something. You'll probably understand this soon. Recently, an important member, Orochimaru escaped from the organization. The members move in teams of two at all times, assembling jutsus and what not along the way…"

"And that person is the 'nine-tails' isn't it? Are you sure of this?"

"It's very likely. Its chakra is one of the strongest. After all, it's one of the tailed-beasts. Kakashi, Naruto's destiny is to live always watching his back. It is the fate he was given. I want you to look out for Sasuke. It will be important for him to learn how to use the sharingan. Because Itachi is also in that organization. I will take Naruto to the shinobi training center and take care of him."

Kakashi reluctantly gave in and nodded. "Alright."

Jiraiya then scratched his chin. "I should probably take Shi in as well."

That made Kakashi snap his head up in shock. "What? Why?"

Jiraiya tilted his head to the side, as though Kakashi should have already known the answer. "If the Akatsuki are after the nine-tails for its chakra, then I wouldn't be surprised if they were after her as well. Especially if she has connections to Orochimaru."

"How are you going to take her with you? The council has had her locked up after what happened during the chunin exams."

Jiraiya smiled, giving Kakashi a thumbs up. "The council owes me. I can get her out in no time."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "What are you going to do with her? She has all four chakra natures and I've been training her for the most part along with Guy. She has already reached jounin strength at this point."

Jiraiya grew serious once more, sighing. "Unfortunately, because I sealed that thing inside her completely, she'll probably have to learn other jutsus to get used to her chakra flow."

Kakashi chuckled lightly at that, causing Jiraiya to give him a confused look. "No need to worry about that. She's been able to get used to limits on her chakra a good number of times. The Hokage forced her to wear a chakra suppressor just before the chunin exams and she was training around that by herself half the time, without me helping. Not to mention training with the seals we both put on her. Only lost control twice from what the Hokage told me. I wouldn't be surprised if she was somehow practicing with her chakra right now despite whatever situation she's in."

Jiraiya chuckled as well, getting his point. "Then is should be fun. Between her and Naruto, teaching them should be entertaining."

Kakashi sighed just remembering Jiraiya's zealous attitude to taking care of two very difficult students. With Shi's silence and blunt nature and Naruto's excited idiotic nature… he's going to have his hands full. He chuckled quietly to himself. I actually should be feeling worse for Shi. She's going to be the one having to deal with them and keep them in line. Kakashi glanced behind him for a moment, and silently hoped Shi was doing okay, when he suddenly felt a burst of chakra not far from him. Immediately, sensing something was wrong with a battle going on just within Konoha's borders, he hurried off and headed towards the area, surprised to find Itachi and Kisame fighting Kurenai and Asuma. Quickly, before they could sense his presence, Kakashi cloned himself and pulled up his headband, copying Kisame's attack just in time to stop it.

"Oh, it's just you." Asuma said in his usual laid back tone. "You just got here huh."

"No… I got here just a bit ago." Kakashi replied, not amused by Asuma's response to his arrival. "Well, let's put an end to this."

I sighed quietly, frustrated beyond measure. When I had first woken up in this cell, I had panicked, believing to have been captured by Orochimaru once more, but upon seeing some Konoha ninja pass by on occasion, I calmed down and focused on trying to understand why I was in here. It was then I remembered that the third Hokage had died at the hands of Orochimaru, and I spent what I believed to be a few days after that in mourning. As the days went on though, I realized that it was possible that no one knew I was in here and that I was most likely placed in here due to the orders of the council and the fact that I was deemed too dangerous to be allowed outside for the time being. That, and the fact that there's no one who can lead the people right now has probably put them in a pinch. Thanks to this rather depressing line of thoughts, I spent a majority of my time in this cell discovering the strengths and weaknesses of my imprisonment.

Thing was, there were virtually no weaknesses other than me keeping my ability to store excess chakra in my tattoo seal. Problem was, that seal was filled to the brim with excess chakra anyway due to my previous sealing. Well that, and the fact that I had hardly been fed since I was put in here, being given mostly water. Upon inquiring about food, I was ignored, so I decided to waste my energy doing other things. Namely research on seals. The only seals I could look at though, were the ones around the outside of the cell, and the one Jiraiya had just placed on my stomach. They were convenient though, in the way that they were of similar design and had similar function, so I was actually getting somewhere with them and recorded my proceedings by focusing chakra into my finger and burning what I knew on the walls of my cell.

I don't know how long had passed or how long I went without sleep—due to both nightmares and a lack of knowing how much time has passed—but I found it odd when things seemed to change suddenly. The hall became noisy and the creaking of the door up the hall had me slightly curious as it was only opened upon the switching of guards and it wasn't scheduled to open for a while. (It was the only thing I could use to measure time in this place, but it was often changed as to when it happened so it wasn't very accurate.) Ignoring the clamor for now, I returned to overlooking my work from before my brief nap but was interrupted by the surprised murmur from behind me as well as the clattering of keys.

"Whoa. Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said you'd be doing something down here."

I turned, eyes tired and half-lidded, not really wanting to deal with the eccentric sealer Jiraiya right now. But I should probably thank him for sealing this thing…

"While I appreciate you helping me before, Jiraiya…" I cleared my throat, me not being used to using my voice after staying silent for so long down here. "What is it you are doing down here? I'm busy."

"I am glad you asked!" He said, rather loudly, making me wince. "I am here to spring you from your prison, my lovely flower!"

I gave him a dull look, before turning to the guard at his side who sighed as he opened the cell door.

"He's right, believe it or not."

I sighed and looked at the walls of information with slight sorrow.

The guard looked at it and sighed. "I'll get someone to copy it and have it sent to your apartment."

I nodded and stood, cringing as my limbs ached from sitting so long and my vision blurred slightly. As I walked out of the cell, I was slightly surprised the guard didn't hand me back my weapons and other things, and frowned before being forced to stroll past Jiraiya, who had his arms open as though he wanted some form of affection or something. I just ducked under the arms and walked on, ignoring his whining follow me down the hall.

"There's no particular order." I told the guard, tuning out Jiraiya for the moment. "And… you could have sent food every once in a while."

The guard rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, I was on strict orders to just give you water and give you minimum amounts of food. The council believed that keeping you malnourished would prevent you from attempting escape."

I scoffed, exiting the building with a few mocking words sent over my shoulder to him. "I could have escaped days ago, idiots."

Once the door closed and the final door opened, I was forced to close my eyes against the brightness that was the sun. I kept them closed and groaned, placing a hand to my head as a headache began to form. Even the minimal amount of light shining through my eyelids hurt and I shrunk back a bit, when Jiraiya spoke.

"I'm sorry, Shi."

He placed something over my eyes and I frowned at the sudden change of treatment as he bound my hands behind me and blindfolded me. Figures… I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I felt a tugging sensation, familiar with—as Naruto says—poofing somewhere and I was pushed down into a chair by Jiraiya. Wherever I was, I could smell a few people and the scent of paper and ink, but I wasn't too surprised by what was going on.

"Shi, the council has decided that you may or may not be a threat to Konoha the way you are now."

I stayed silent, not moving other than the slow rise and fall of my chest.

"A number of shinobi have expressed their trust in you nonetheless, and after reviewing information that the Hokage himself has left behind about you, we believe that you could now be released from your imprisonment."

I lifted my head in surprise, but showed none of it on my face. I had once again built a wall between myself and others during my time in prison and, while I was on decent terms with the guard and Jiraiya, it would be a while more before I could express myself as much as I had before.

"However, there are certain points we are in need of discussing. You, Shi, are a human who was experimented on by none other than Orochimaru, are you not?"

I nodded.

"The Hokage left us a great deal of information about what power you have, but our main concern is the safety of our village and the people within it. Thus, you will undergo extensive training that Jiraiya has offered to be the master of in order to control this… beast that you are now holding. In return, you are to become a full-fledged ninja of Konoha and should you ever show any doubt in your loyalty, you will be executed."

I nodded once more, understanding what the council was demanding, when a new voice spoke up.

"Shi, was it?"

I glanced towards the new voice and inhaled quietly. Sake, lots of it, and the stench of money with a hint of… pork? Ignoring the odd scent, I listened as the woman spoke.

"I'll have you know that as the replacement Hokage, I will be sure that these conditions are followed and to make things go smoother, you will now be ranked at a chunin level and will be expected to follow those rules as well."

I felt my lip twitch upwards, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Yes, Hokage." I muttered, voice hoarse.

"Your things are being returned to your household presently." The representative from the council said. "Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's hand was placed on my shoulder and I stood, before being poofed somewhere else and unbound. Once that was done, I cringed at the light and Jiraiya chuckled, handing me a set of dark sunglasses, which I gratefully put on.

"Good job, Shi." He said, giving me a thumbs up. "It's not every day one gets out of prison and gets a promotion."

I stared back at him, blank faced and turned away, walking into the crowded Konoha streets.

"Oi! Hey! What's with the cold shoulder?" He shouted, chasing after me.

"I want my scarf back and I don't need you knowing where I live."

He tripped, landing flat on his face, but then bounced back up, standing before me. "N-Now, Shi. I should know where you live, or else how am I supposed to get in contact with you about training?"

I walked around him, trying to stay as inconspicuous as I could with a white haired pervert following me around through the market streets. I continued to ignore him before finally just 'poofing' off, ending up just outside of my apartment; the opposite direction I had been leading Jiraiya. Once I landed though, I felt significantly more drained than I expected and stumbled through the door. Looks like that seal works extra well. That, and my chakra reserves are nearly depleted, plus the lack of nutrition… I soon found my scarf and ditched Jiraiya's sunglasses for a black blindfold; the same one I had used time and time again for training my senses. Once I had those on, I decided against using chakra for now, and started to leave when I remembered noticing a green flak jacket hung over one of my chairs. I didn't really want to wear it, but I knew I had to and put it on over my black shirt, adjusting my scarf to cover the collar. It was then that I left and began my walk to find somewhere to eat. And maybe I'll visit Lee tomorrow, since it's already getting late. I soon found myself sitting at Ichiraku's Ramen, downing bowl after bowl of noodles and broth.

"Whoa! Slow down there! You're acting like you're half starved!" The man chuckled, setting down another extra-large bowl before me.

I slurped up the noodles under my scarf quickly, but nearly choked when someone shouted and tackled me around the waist; forcing me to grab my bowl and hold it above my head to protect it from my attacker.

"Shi! I missed you so much! I've been stuck traveling with this really weird guy looking for some old hag who's the next Hokage and fighting bad guys and you missed it, Shi! It was so cool and—Hey! What's with the blindfold? And is that a chunin vest?! Shi!"

I leaned back from Naruto's prying hand, one arm holding me up on a nearby stool as the other held the ramen bowl.

"Naruto. I've been… promoted. I'm a chunin and leave my blindfold alone. It's for… training." I can't just tell him I've been locked up for two months, though the Hokage didn't say it was classified.

"Whoa, cool! But it's not nearly as awesome as this technique that pervy sennin taught me while we were traveling." He said smugly, and I sat up, deeming my ramen safe and also curious as to what he meant earlier in his ramblings.

"Naruto."

"Yup?"

"How long have I… not been around."

"Hm…" Naruto hummed. "I think it's been about two months, Shi. Wait, how do you not know?"

I ignored his spark of intelligence and instead focused on my thoughts for a moment. Two months? Thinking three days for the Hokage's funeral, and maybe a month to find a replacement Hokage, but… how much has happened that I've actually missed? I turned my head to Naruto, almost hating what I was about to do.

"Naruto, could you tell me what happened while I was gone?"

"Sure! Well, first, you see we…."

Naruto went on and on about his adventures and how Sasuke collapsed trying to defeat a member of—what sounded like—a terrorist organization; Kakashi also being hospitalized due to the same man who may, or may not, have some sort of eye abilities; Naruto and Jiraiya going out to find the next Hokage who was a medic and one of the three legendary sennin; and their battle against Orochimaru. The last part had me greatly frustrated, wishing that if the village council had moved faster in my release, I could have assisted in helping defeat Orochimaru or possibly even kill him and his bespectacled companion. Hell, I could have been there and stopped Kakashi from being hurt. I grit my teeth, but forced myself to relax, cutting Naruto off mid rant about his newest jutsu.

"Naruto, now that the new Hokage is here, is everyone…" I trailed off, knowing that he was understand what I was asking him.

"Uh-huh! Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke woke up yesterday! But, uh, I don't know about Lee. They wouldn't let me see him."

I nodded, paid for my meal, and stood.

"O-Oi! Where are you going, Shi?"

I gave him a glance over my shoulder, hidden by the blindfold, but said nothing before hurrying off. The trek to Kakashi's house took far longer than I had planned, after getting lost a few times, and while I had had a good first meal upon exiting prison, I could already feel it bubbling to the surface. Two months… I'm not only out of shape, but definitely malnourished and I over ate just now… not good… Gagging, I ducked into an alleyway and reintroduced myself to my last meal, feeling even worse than before. I needed to check on Kakashi though. I had no idea why, but he was my top priority, my mind and body were telling me so, and I wasn't one to ignore my gut instinct.

I picked myself up and hurried on, this time, trying to pay a bit more attention to my surroundings; blindfold in my pocket now that the light was dimmer. Alright, tea shop on the left… approaching a vegetable stand… and now a bar… should be right around the corner… I landed in a heap on Kakashi's porch, legs weak and breathing hard, even having to pull down my scarf just to be able to feel like I was actually getting air in my lungs. I forced myself to stand and pounded a fist on the door, leaning heavily against the door frame and listening as best I could over my own pounding heart that seemed out of control. I heard soft footsteps heading towards the door and struggled to keep from passing out, already feeling the familiar darkness creeping in my mind. Finally, the door opened and Kakashi stood there looking surprised.

"Shi?"

"K-Kakashi…" Was all I managed to get out, before feeling my body slowly shut down and I fell forward into inky blackness.