A/N: First, I'd like to apologize for those waiting on my Runaways stories. I've been having writer's block in those and on a roll here. Anyway, remember to review and recommend this to any Naruto fans you know.
Chapter 16: Second Test. Into the Forest of Death
The area in front of them was fenced off, with signs saying 'Danger!' and 'No Trespassing!' Large trees were all that could be seen from where they were. "Welcome all, to Training Ground 44, also know as," Anko paused for dramatic effect, "the Forest… of DEATH!"
Naruto sighed. "Why'd they have to name it that?" he muttered softly to himself.
However, next thing he knew, a kunai cut his cheek and Anko was right behind him. She knew what he said from reading his lips. "Well, we considered naming it the Forest of Cuddly Things, just to throw people off, but everyone kept laughing at us," she joked as she licked his wound, tasting his blood and causing the boy to shiver in discomfort. "Ooh, bad news. Your blood is tasty. No way anything in there's spitting you out." She jumped back to dodge a palm strike from Hinata. "Save your strength little girl. You'll need it. You all will." She went to retrieve her kunai, which was in held by the tongue of a Grass kunoichi. "I'll take that."
"Of course," she replied, her voice unhindered despite her tongue being used to hold the ninja tool. Relinquishing the weapon, the Grass nin returned to her teammates, as Anko moved back to the front of the group of genin. Meanwhile, Hinata took out her cream, while Naruto protested about not needing it for a small cut that will heal fast.
"Anyway, here how it's gonna be. Each team will be given one of two types of scrolls. Half of you will get the Heaven Scroll, and the other half will get the Earth Scroll. You all have five days to get to the tower at the center of the forest with at least one of each scroll."
'So that's why she said half of us would fail yesterday,' Sakura concluded. 'Because it's only possible for half of us at max to pass.'
"How you obtain the scroll is up to you. You can steal it through stealth or simply kill your opponents and take it." She watched as the some of the newcomers' eyes widened. "That's right, killing is allowed. It an anything goes survival challenge!"
"What about food?" Choji asked. He didn't have enough food with him for five days in the forest.
"There's plenty of edible plants in the forest," Anko explained. "As well as poisonous ones. And animals to hunt. Just makes sure they are on the menu instead of you. So you have no real reason to starve, or turn to cannibalism. Now see that red booth over there." She pointed to it. It was cover in the front by a sheet. "Each team must go over there and sign these consent forms," she held up some papers, "in order to get their scrolls."
"What consent forms?" a random Sand genin asked.
"The ones that say I'm not responsible for your untimely death of course," she said, as if it was no big deal, something that bothered quite a few genin. She handed Naruto the documents, who grabbed one and passed the pile on. "Anyway, let me tell you about the landscape. There are 44 locked gates, each 10 kilometers from the central tower. In addition to the forest you see, there are rivers that run through it."
"Hey, what if, at some point later, we decide to quit?" Shikamaru asked.
Anko laughed at him. "Then sucks to be you. In a battle, you can't just say, 'Oh, I quit.' Well, you could, but you'd probably end up killed or tortured. There are, however, ways to get disqualified. First, your full team failed to get to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit. Second, if a member of your team dies or is too injured to continue. And the third, and most important rule..."
"More important than death?" Choji whispered to his teammates.
"Do not, under any circumstances, read the contents of your scrolls! Not until you reach the tower!"
"W-what if i-it happens to open b-by it's s-self b-before we g-get there? " Naruto asked.
"You don't want to know, trust me. There will be times when you have to carry sensitive information. Information you don't need to know. So this is not only a survival test, but a test of your integrity. Now, head over to the booth, hand in your form, and get your scroll and gate number. Oh, and a word of advice, don't die."
The teams headed toward the booth. Team 8 got an Earth Scroll. "So what's the plan?" Kiba whispered.
Hinata turn to him her Byakugan activated. "Right now, I'm seeing who has what scroll and the gate they are assigned to. Looks like Shino's team has the Heaven scroll. So do Shikamaru's team. Not that I plan on taking it. I'd rather we didn't take from our comrades." Hinata continued to watch. 'The Sound team that attacked Kabuto earlier have an Earth Scroll, so they're out. Same with this Grass Team. You know, the one with that kunoichi that held Anko's kunai with her tongue." Hinata continued to see which team had what scroll. "Ooh, there's another Grass team with a heaven scroll. We could go after them."
"Good idea. Akamaru, go get their scent." Akamaru nodded and the puppy ran to the Sand team. "Once the exams start, we should head to the area near their gate, then follow their scent. You got their gate number?" Hinata nodded.
"W-we should p-probably keep a d-distance, m-maybe wait for them to f-fight. We can l-learn what they c-can do and find a w-way to avoid or c-counter it."
"But what if they have a sensor and detect us?" Kiba asked.
"We'll have to think on our feet as we kick their asses!" Hinata answered.
-
The exams started. Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto were head toward the Grass team's gate. "Hey, Hinata, how long till we get there?" Kiba asked.
"Not much longer now. We're making good time. We have any unwanted visitors?"
Kiba shook his head. "Akamaru doesn't smell anyone else. Check with your eyes though, just in case."
Hinata nodded. "Byakugan!" The veins bulged around her eyes. "Nope, no one is… Wait, I see Team 7! They're fighting that Grass nin with the weird tongue!"
"How are they doing?" Kiba asked.
"Not good. I don't see Shino or his insects, and Sasuke and Sakura are being chased by a giant snake. We should help them." Sasuke may be a pain to her, but he was still a Leaf shinobi. She would not let him die. Kiba and Naruto felt the same and quickly agreed.
They rushed over to the battlefield. When they arrived, the snake was dead, but the Grass kunoichi was slithering up the trees toward Sasuke, her lower body turned into that similar of a snake. Hinata wasted no time in throwing kunai with a paper bomb on it near the threat. The explosion caught the Grass nin off guard, but she still dodged it. "What is this? Reinforcements?"
"What are you fools doing here?" Sasuke yelled. Things have not been going well. When the Grass nin appeared, she blasted Shino away with a wind jutsu, and he hadn't returned since. Whether it was because he was a coward and ran or something else happened to him didn't matter to the young Uchiha. Things got worse as Sasuke and Sakura felt the most intense killer intent ever from her, leaving them paralyzed. Even with all his willpower, he barely managed to move enough to hurt himself, using pain to overcome fear. They thought they had escaped, only for a giant snake to try and eat them. Sasuke panicked and threw a number of shuriken into the serpent's mouth, killing it. But the Grass nin popped out of the snake and went after him when Team 8 appeared.
"We're here to help, duh," Kiba said. "Right Akamaru?" To his surprise, Akamaru hid behind Kiba. "What's wrong Akamaru?" The pup whimpered.
"What's up?" Hinata asked.
"As you know, Akamaru can sense an opponent's strength. And right now, he's saying this guy is off the charts!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, but it's still nice to hear," the Grass nin said, looking toward her new prey with interest and sending shivers down their spines.
'Damn it! This can't happen!' Sasuke thought. 'I can't die before Itachi! Plus, Hinata's still a valuable part of my future, so she can't die now either. There's only one thing to do.' "You can have it!" Everyone looked at him as he pulled out a Heaven Scroll. "This is what you want right? Take it! It's yours! Now leave us alone!"
Everyone was shock. 'Sasuke's… giving up?' Sakura thought.
"A wise move. After all, sometimes the only way for the prey to escape the predator is to hand over something precious."
Sasuke tossed the scroll toward the enemy, only for Naruto to jump forward and grab the scroll first. "You stupid fool! What do you think you're doing?!" Sasuke yell, outraged.
"He's doing what I told him to do." Sasuke and Sakura turned to Hinata. "If you don't want your scroll, fine. We need a Heaven Scroll anyway. But there's no way we're letting her get it. By the way, where's Shino?"
Sakura got up. "He… he was blown away by her wind jutsu," Sakura explained. "I don't... I don't know what happened to him," She was really worried about her teammate.
Naruto grew more worried as well as Hinata glared at the Grass kunoichi. "There's no way we're letting her get away with hurting our friend!"
"Oh, then do something about," she taunted.
"Byakugan!" Hinata leaped in front of her got into the Gentle Fist stance.
"Akamaru, snap out of it! Our friends need us!" But Akamaru remain frightened and unwilling to fight. "Alright, stay here then. I'll be back. All-Fours Jutsu!" Kiba changed like he did in the Wave.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five Narutos appeared near the original.
"Idiots! Give her the scroll and leave!" Sasuke ordered.
"Geez, I'm starting to doubt you're really Sasuke," Kiba said as he landed behind the Grass nin.
"Of course I'm me!"
"No, I'm not so sure," Hinata commented. "Sasuke Uchiha is many things. Arrogant, annoying, a self-centered jerk… But one thing he is not is a coward! I'm not leaving just because you choked."
"A sad, but true fact," The Grass nin said, nodding. "Well, then, show me what you've got, little girl." Hinata dashed toward her, a palm strike ready. Now that she was closer, her Byakugan notice something weird about her face, but it wasn't some kind of weakness as far as she could tell, so she ignored it. She thrust her palm and the Grass nin jumped to dodge. Kiba used Tunneling Fang to strike the nin mid-air, but she twisted her body in an unusual manner, allowing her to narrowly dodge the attack. She landed just as six Narutos, armed with kunai attacked. The Grass nin skillfully dodged the attacks then grabbed one and broke his arm with a twist. He puffed, revealing he was a clone. One clone got close, but was kicked into another, both disappearing. "Boring." The remaining three Narutos jumped back and threw kunai, which were deflected easily with her kunai. But then she heard a hiss and jumped away in time as a paper bomb exploded. "Not bad, but nowhere near good enough."
However, the moment, she landed, Hinata was ready with her attack. "8 Trigrams: 2 palms," she attacked but the nin dodged, "4 palms," her attacks still weren't hitting, "8 palms, 16 palms," the Grass nin just kept avoiding the attack by moving her body like it was that of a snake, frustrating Hinata, "8 Trigra…" She was interrupted when the Grass kunoichi caught her arms and threw her into Kiba.
She bit her thumb and performed a few handsigns. "Summoning Jutsu!" Suddenly, she was atop the head of another giant snake. Naruto ran to his friends, but the snake knocked him and his clones away with it's tail, dispelling the fakes.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted. But before she could run to him, the snaked slammed its head on the branch where she and Kiba were. The jumped to avoid it, but smaller snakes came out of the Grass nin's sleeves and were used to grab them and the two Leaf genin were slammed together before being dropped.
Once they recovered, Kiba and Hinata jumped on another branch and were backed against the trunk of the tree, the snake and it's rider closing in on them. The snake was about to slam its head on them again, but before they could dodge, an orange and red blur moved in front of them and caught the large serpent. It was Naruto, but he was different. He was using the Nine-Tails chakra. Hinata was surprised to see him like this, and while Kiba had caught a glimpse of him back in the Wave, seeing it up close was another experience, one that frightened him. Naruto was facing them, the snake he was holding back behind him. He looked at them with his red slitted eyes. "I… won't let anyone… hurt my friends!" He turned and uppercutted the snake.
The Grass nin jumped off the snake and onto a branch, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She noticed the red aura around Naruto, as well as the physical changes. 'So that's where the Fourth put it.'
Naruto jumped on the snake's head and started pounding on it viciously, much to everyone's surprise. The snake wailed (do snakes wail?) in pain as it tried to shake Naruto off. But the jinchūriki dug his claws into the snake's scaly skin and refused to let go, until the snake shaked upward. He released and was sent up toward a branch. Naruto flipped a bit so his feet hit the branch, then kicked off it, launch himself back at the snake and delivering the final blow. The snake laid on the ground, head bleeding and dead. But Naruto wasn't done. He turned to the Grass nin.
"She tried to kill your friends. She wants you to be alone again."
'Never again! Never again!'
"Kill her then." Naruto moved to oblige. He dashed up a tree.
'Is that really Naruto?' Sakura wondered. He was nothing like she remember. Then again, most if not all of her memories with him involved her making fun of him. She wasn't sure if she did it to fit in or because she wanted to know what it felt like to be the victimizer instead of the victim. 'Maybe I should have been nicer. Hope he doesn't hold a grudge.'
The Grass kunoichi waited eagerly for him to get to her. 'Let's see what you can do.' Naruto punched at her, which she dodge. He went for a leg sweep, but she jumped over it and kick Naruto's head. "Is that really all you've got? How disappointing."
Naruto growled before attacking again. The Grass nin threw shurikens, but Naruto didn't change course to dodge. He just kept running toward her, taking cuts and having shuriken imbedded in his arms and shoulders. He removed two from his left arm and threw them back. The nin dodged easily and caught Naruto's fist before throwing him away.
'No way! Haku once told me Naruto dominated him in that form, yet this guy is toying with him!' Kiba thought. Now he truly understood why Akamaru was so scared.
'Moron! Doesn't he know it's hopeless? She's too strong!'
Naruto was back and tried to punch her again. 'The same move? Pathetic.' However, she saw Naruto smirk and another Naruto punch her in the face. 'Oh, so he trick me with a clone. He may not be a completely lost cause.'
Naruto didn't notice the bit of skin on his knuckles until he saw her face again. Where the skin was taken off around her left eye was another layer, this one pale white. Her eye was different too. Before it was black but now it was yellow with a slitted pupil, similar to Naruto's and Kiba's, but more snake-like. Around the eye was purple markings. "Well, that hit had some force to it, but it's not enough to beat me." Her voice was different, a bit more masculine. Normally, Naruto would ponder this. But right now he was full of Nine-Tails chakra and aching to spill her blood for hurting his friends. So he dashed toward her, along with his clone. They kicked, but the Grass nin dodged the original and grabbed the clone's leg and slammed on it with his elbow. There was an audible crack and a shout of pain before the clone dispelled. And before the real Naruto could react, her tongue shot out and grabbed both wrists before bringing the boy to him.
Hinata snapped out of the stupor she had been in the whole time and rushed to him. 'Ok, this Naruto is a lot more violent, but he's still Naruto! I know it! He's doing this to protect his friends and now he's in trouble.'.
"I gotta say, with that fox, you're not that bad," the Grass nin said, his voice to low for Sakura to hear. Again, her voice was unhindered despite the use of her tongue. "But take it away," she lifted his jacket and shirt with her left hand, revealing the seal, "and you're nothing." On her right hand, purple flames on each finger, with a different kanji. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. "Five Pronged Seal!" He thrust this fingers on Naruto seal. Naruto cried in pain before the Nine-Tails chakra left him, returning him to normal. His blue eyes were dazed as he started losing consciousness.
The Grass nin threw him to the side, but luckily he was caught by Hinata. Jump landed on a nearby branch. "Naruto! Are you alright?" Naruto didn't respond, but the rise and fall of his chest told her he was still breathing. She released the breath she was holding. At least he was still alive. Still,.. "What did you do to him?" she demanded, Byakugan activated. The Grass nin was not intimidated. "And who the hell are you?"
"Oh, just took care of a little fox problem. Temporarily anyway. And as for who I am…" she ripped off the rest of her face, revealing another face, a whiter one that was more masculine, "you may know me as Orochimaru."
Hinata's eyes widened upon hearing the name and her blood froze. She had learned about him. Orochimaru, the rogue sannin and one of the strongest shinobi alive! And they pick a fight with him! 'Why do we attract them now? First Zabuza, now him? Who's next?' She looked at the rogue sannin and gulped. 'If we survive this.'
Sasuke was seething. 'He's nothing! A nobody! He's not even from a clan! I am an Uchiha! An elite! I won't be one-upped by him because of a little fear!' He jumped into the air, blazing through hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He blew a large fireball at Orochimaru, who dodged, jumping back. Sasuke landed on the branch Orochimaru once occupied, Sharingan active, but it was a bit different. Now it had two tomoes on both eyes. "You fought a nobody, now you face an elite! I'll show you the power of the Uchiha!"
'So, his Uchiha blood is finally coming to a boil? Good. Time to have a little fun and see what he can do.'
"First you, then Itachi!" Sasuke threw kunai, which Orochimaru dodged with little effort. Sasuke jumped forward and kicked at Orochimaru's head, only to be blocked. He jumped back and the two dashed at each other, engaged in a taijutsu fight. Although Sasuke had yet to land a blow, Orochimaru was impressed as he didn't make it too easy. 'He lacks the speed and power behind his blows like the jinchūriki did using the fox's power, but Sasuke's eyes and better form more than make up for it. He can anticipate my attacks.' "Why don't we test those eyes of yours." Orochimaru backed away and moved around at high speed.
It took a few seconds, but Sasuke's eye managed to track Orochimaru's movements. 'I can see you,' he thought as he launched a fireball that hit so close Orochimaru felt the heat. Sasuke wasted no time and rushed, stabbing Orochimaru with his kunai. Unfortunately, he turned to mud. 'Substitution.'
Meanwhile, Kiba jumped to where Hinata and Naruto were. "He alright?"
"I think so. Go find Shino." Kiba started argue but Hinata spoke again. "We don't know what shape he's in, and this forest is full of predators." Kiba realised she was right and rushed to find the insect user.
'He's not bad. Nowhere near my level at the moment, but given time, he may actually surpass that brother of his,' Orochimaru thought as he left his hiding spot. 'The power of the Uchiha. I want it!' Orochimaru charged at Sasuke, who was caught unprepared as he was punched in the face. Or so it looked as a flash bomb went off, stunning the sannin enough for Sasuke to recover and throw shurikens with ninja wire attached all around and tying the sannin to a tree. 'This is… the Sharingan Windmill Triple Attack! I didn't think he knew this jutsu!' The sannin could help but smirk. 'You're just full of surprises aren't you Sasuke.'
'Well, the good news is Orochimaru is being pushed back,' Hinata thought as she held Naruto close. 'But the bad news is his ego will inflate even more later.'
'Sasuke, you're so awesome!' "Yeah! Finish him Sasuke!"
"Looking at you right now, I'm embarrassed that I was afraid of you. Goodbye, Orochimaru. Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Flames traveled down one of the ninja wire and lit Orochimaru like a Christmas tree. The flames died and all that was left was a burnt corpse.
"Sasuke you did it!" Sakura shouted as she rushed to his side. The young Uchiha crouched, panting heavily. "Sasuke? Are you alright?" his teammate asked in concern.
He had used up most of his remaining chakra to increase the effectiveness of his last jutsu. He was exhausted, but he smiled triumphantly. 'I did it! I killed him, and Itachi is next!' However, Orochimaru mouth opened and he crawled out, as if shedding his skin, no sign of any injuries either. Sakura and Hinata were grossed out, but Sasuke just looked wide eyed. 'What, no!'
"Such mastery of the Sharingan at such a young age. You do the Uchiha name good. Yes, you'll do nicely." His head suddenly shot out, his neck becoming longer. Sasuke and Sakura tried to move, but found themselves paralysed. Orochimaru then bit Sasuke neck. Sasuke screamed in agony. His body felt like it was on fire, and it burned the most where he was being bitten. Orochimaru released Sasuke and his neck returned to normal. Near the bit mark, three black tomoes arranged in a circle appeared. Sasuke glared "Don't look at me like that. This is a gift. And one day soon, you will come to me seeking more power. Power to destroy the one who hurt you long ago. The one you seek."
'Power… to destroy Itachi?' These were his last thought before he lost consciousness. Sakura supported him.
Had this been any other situation, she would be thrilled to be holding him. But Sasuke was fatigued and in pain. There was no enjoyment. "Sasuke would never join the likes of you!" she shouted.
Orochimaru smirked before turning away. "We shall see." He jumped over to where Hinata and Naruto were, as she had told Kiba to find Shino. "Your turn."
"N-no!" She found herself paralysed in the same manner as Sasuke was earlier. Orochimaru's neck become elongated and he was about to bite Hinata like he did Sasuke.
But his neck was bitten instead, by Akamaru. "Grrr, annoying mongrel." He moved his neck back so he could grab the dog and throw him off. Akamaru hit a tree and fell, but Hinata, who was holding Naruto in her arms, got under him, so he landed on Naruto's stomach. Orochimaru got on the ground and looked at the Hyūga heiress, who set Naruto and Akamaru aside and dropped into the Gentle Fist stance. "You know who I am, better than the others. In fact, I'm sure you're aware of my fearsome reputation. So why do you still wish to fight?"
"I'll protect my friends, no matter the cost!" Hinata said with conviction.
"I suppose that's admirable. Foolhardy, but admirable nonetheless. You'd make a nice bonus," Hinata tensed, ready for his attack. "But I've spent enough time here and I've already got what I want. So consider yourself lucky. You're free to go." Orochimaru sunk into the ground. "Farewell. I'm a little curious about yours and the boy's progress too, and how they match up to Sasuke's." With that, he was gone.
Hinata walked over to Naruto and Akamaru collapsed. Akamaru was hurt, but not seriously. Kiba walked into the area, carrying Shino on his back. "Found him a little ways from here. Looks hit his head hard and I don't know when he'll wake." Kiba look and saw Akamaru laying next to Naruto. "What happened?" he asked, panicked.
"He stopped Orochimaru from giving me the same hickey he Sasuke." Hinata shivered at the thought while Kiba looked confused, but still worried. "I don't think he's hurt too bad though." Then she yelled, "Sakura! We found Shino!"
Kiba laid Shino next to Naruto and rushed to his partner's side. A moment later, Sakura came down carrying Sasuke on her back. "Is he alright?"
"Took a hit to the noggin, but I'm sure he'll recover soon," Kiba assured her.
Sakura sighed with relief. "And you guys? I brought a first-aid kit with me. I… I'm no medic, but…"
"Thanks, but I think we're fine." 'Though I am worried about Naruto. I still don't know what Orochimaru did to him,' Hinata thought.
"Akamaru's a little banged up, but he just needs some rest," Kiba informed the pink-haired kunoichi before turning back to his partner. "You did good buddy."
"Let's get your teammates somewhere safe," Hinata suggested as she activated her bloodline. "There's a tree not far from here with large roots positioned in a way that can be used for shelter. By the way," Hinata reached into Naruto's pouch and pulled the Heaven Scroll, "this is yours I believe."
Sakura looked at her in shock. "You're… give us back our scroll?"
Hinata nodded. "I'd rather not steal from my comrades. And I want all us rookies to make it past this test. Now, let's go!" Sakura and Kiba nodded and they carried their comrades to safety.
-
Anko rushed through the Forest of Death. 'I don't' know why he's here or what he wants, but I don't care! That bastard's gonna pay!' She landed on a branch, trying to figure out where he could be.
"It been a while Anko." She turned and threw shurikens toward the voice, and Orochimaru dodged them. "Come now, is that anyway to treat your sensei?"
"It's because you were once my sensei that I have to be the one to end you. Striking Shadow Snakes!" Anko launched snakes from her left sleeve, launching them at the rogue sannin.
He just chuckled and launched the same jutsu, the snakes intertwining between them. "You still have much to learn. Why don't you use that parting gift I gave you? Perhaps then, you might stand a chance."
"I don't need it," Anko said as she retracted her snakes, pulling the sannin as well. She grabbed his hands then formed a sign with her right hand and Orochimaru's left hand. The sannin recognized it. "Ninja Art: Twin Snake Sacrifice Jutsu!"
"You would die to kill me?" he asked, knowing that jutsu killed both the victim and the user.
"In a heartbeat!" Anko responded.
"Pity that won't happen," the sannin said from behind her as the one in front turned to mud, shocking Anko and interrupting the jutsu. She moved to attack, but Orochimaru made a hand sign and pain erupted from the back of her neck.
"What do you want?" she growled with venom in her voice as she gripped her neck where the pain originated from. There was a mark, three black tomoes in a circle. "Are you here to kill Lord Third?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Not yet, though that day will come. No, I was just visiting one of the village's promising genin, and leaving him a gift."
Anko instantly knew what 'gift' he was talking about. She tried to move forward, but the pain was too much and she dropped to her knees. "Who?" she demanded.
"Why so mad? I'm only helping him avenge his clan."
'Sasuke Uchiha!' she realized. "He'll die."
"True, the odds are 1 in 10 against him, but who knows. After all, you survived those same odds. And if lives, things will definitely be interesting." He began to walk away. "Don't cancel the exams and ruin my fun. If you and Sarutobi-sensei do…" He let the threat linger as he disappeared, knowing any threat he made would not to be taken lightly.
-
"Alright, we should be safe here," Hinata said as she sat down next to Naruto's unconscious form. They were under the roots of a tree that would shelter them from the elements and hide them from other contestants.
Sakura was tending to Sasuke, who looked like he was in pain and sweating. Sakura felt his forehead. 'Sasuke's burning up! Whatever that Orochimaru guy did not only left him in pain, but with a fever.' "I need someone to get me a cold, damp cloth."
"We got cold water to wet one, but no cloth," Kiba told her, pulling out a large metal water bottle.
"Hand me that please." Kiba obliged. Sakura torn off part of her red dress from the bottom, then poured some water on it and laid it on Sasuke's forehead.
Hinata finished applying her medical balm on Naruto's injuries as well as her own. "Hey!" Sakura turned to the Hyūga and caught the balm. "Apply that to your wounds and his, then pass it to Kiba."
"Thanks." Sakura smiled at her before treating Sasuke's wounds first.
"I'm fine. Don't worry," Kiba assured them. "Shino's fine too, except for the big bump on the back of his head, and Akamaru just needs to rest. I'll keep watch."
"You sure?" Hinata asked him. He nodded to her and made his way out.
Sakura quickly added, "Make sure you don't stay out too long. Wake me to take your place. You need rest too."
"Alright, alright." Kiba walked out and jumped into one of the trees, hiding and looking out for any predators, human or otherwise.
"Thanks for your help," Sakura told Hinata. "Both during the fight, and afterwards."
"Hey, we're both shinobi of the Leaf, aren't we? And we're part of the same graduating class. Of course we'd help."
"I think we both know there are people who don't care about that at all."
"True. Lucky for you, we aren't like that at all," Hinata said. "You should finish applying that balm then head to sleep. We both have a long day ahead of us."
"Yeah, that Orochimaru guy mentioned his Sound genin were coming after Sasuke."
'And with our luck, they'll be chunin level at the very least,' she thought. But she kept this to herself and said. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Beside, you won't be alone. We'll stay and help you out until Sasuke and Shino are up and alright." Sakura thanked her and after looking at Sasuke with concern once more, when to sleep. Hinata looked at the blond next to her and moved him so his head was on her lap. "We certainly attract some strong foes, don't we Naruto?" she whispered, so as not to wake Sakura. She found herself running her fingers through the locks of his hair, but didn't stop. "I mean, we fought Zabuza and Haku on our first real mission, and now, in our first Chunin Exam just over a month later, we encounter a sannin! And I doubt the coming Sound shinobi will be pushovers. So wake up soon, cause we'll need your help." Naruto showed no signs of hearing her, causing her to sigh. 'I'm sorry Naruto. Not only were you hurt under my watch, but you had to use the fox's chakra.' Her eyes started to droop, and sleep began to take over. 'If only I were stronger.'
-
Alpha: Zzzzz
Guy: Aw, he looks so peaceful.
Kakashi: Yeah he does. (Pulls out bugle and somehow plays it next to his head through his mask, probably genjutsu. Wakes up Alpha who falls out of bed.)
Alpha: What the hell?!
Guy: Rise and shine! You can't sleep your youth away. You need get out there and show the world your hot-blooded passion!
Alpha: It's too early.
Kakashi: It's 3 in the afternoon.
Alpha: Exactly. (Gets back in bed and pulls on the covers. Kakashi plays the bugle again, but Alpha takes it away and throws it out the window.)
Shikamaru: (Enters) It's too loud. I'm trying to nap.
Alpha: Blame these two. They won't let me sleep.
Shikamaru: Troublesome.
Guy: You two need to get outta the bed. Let's go for a hundred laps around the neighborhood!
Alpha: How about you get a head start and we'll join you later?
Guy: Very well! I shall grab Lee and start! (Runs out of the room.)
Kakashi: You know that won't work on me right?
Alpha: Come on! I was up all night working on this chapter!
Kakashi: sigh Fine.
Alpha: Besides, maybe I'll dream up an idea for the next chapter. Now, good night!
Kakashi: It's afternoon.
Alpha: I said goodnight!
Shikamaru: yawns Night.
