~Scroll 15~
Dawn was fast approaching, and Team Gai were having a light breakfast while their team leader, Neji, laid out their next course of action.
"It'll probably start to get light in the next hour or so." Neji stated while fiddling with a kunai, "We were able to use our first day to secure food and water. Most of the teams will be resting now… making this the best time to act. Let's split up… and reconnoiter for the next half hour. But whatever you find, when the time is up…" The long haired brunette threw his kunai into the ground, marking their rally point, "… be sure you're back here. Got it?!"
TenTen smiled while Rock Lee gave his team leader a determined salute.
"Good…!" All three suddenly disappeared at Neji's command, "Let's go!"
Hidden beneath an old tree's massive roots, Sakura watched helplessly as her two teammates lay before her. One in the throws of a fever, and the other in an unnatural stillness that if it were not for the subtle rise and fall of her otouto's chest, she would have thought Naruto was dead. The pinkette reached for the wash-clothe on Sasuke's forehead. She removed the clothe and felt his feverish flesh. His breathing is improving, but… She thought, his fever's still so high!
She then looked at the blonde and watched with held breath as Naruto's chest continued to rise and fall. While it scared her to see her petite teammate so still, she found some comfort in watching and counting each breath the little blonde took. I've… I've got to protect them both! The pinkette vowed…
As Sakura made her vow, in a short distance, three sets of cold eyes watched her in cruel anticipation.
"Heh heh…" The hunched Oto-nin quietly crowed, "There they are! As Lord Orochimaru commanded, we'll strike at dawn! And our target is Uchiha Sasuke!"
"If the other two get in our way, we can take 'em out, right?" The other Oto-shinobi asked.
"Of course!"
Sakura pulled the clothe from Sasuke's forehead and poured the rest of the water from her canteen over it. Twisting the clothe, the pinkette wrung the excess water out and placed the cool clothe back on his brow. She looked over her teammates, seeing but not seeing.
Her eyes drift.
Her head heavy.
A moment of oblivion held her.
Immediately she sat straighter and felt the warmth from the sun. It's already dawn?! Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. Instinctively she grab hold of a kunai. Her body trembled from exhaustion and fear. Her heart seemed to thunder in her chest and ears.
The kunai flew through the air, landing before a little squirrel eating a nut.
The tiny creature immediately fled.
Sakura felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment of being scared by the little thing.
"She's pretty tightly wound." The Oto-ninja murmured, "I wonder if she noticed the letter bomb we stuck on the squirrel!"
"No…" Dosu answered, "That's not it…"
"What then, Dosu? What's going on?"
"… we'll have to get closer to find out. So… what are we waiting for?"
Zipping from tree branch to tree branch, using the natural chaos of Nature's design as an impromptu obstacle course, Rock Lee landed on a branch which rattled twenty leaves free. Watching the floating foliage, a sudden and yet childish inspiration struck him. If I can catch all 20 of these leaves before any of them hit's the ground… The Genin thought, … then Sakura will fall in love with me! But if I miss even one… then my love for her will never be requited! And she'll probably make fun of my hair! He mentally whined; however, his determination fired up as he leapt down from his branch and began catching the drifting leaves.
He had caught all but one. As he reached for the last leaf, Lee heard the pitiful squeaks of an animal crying for help. Immediately he saw a tiny squirrel twitching as something on the squirrel's back began to smoke.
Within moments, the area thundered while a cloud of dust and dirt surrounded the area.
"Just in the nick of time!" The brunette murmured while laying on his back with the letter bomb in one hand and the squirrel in the other.
The young man felt the tiny creature's heart beat feverishly before settling down. He gave the little thing a soft smile. From the corner of his eye, he saw his last leaf on the ground not far from him. The Genin sighed at the thought of his love for his pink-haired Goddess being unrequited. Out of reflex, the brunette crushed the letter bomb in his hand, not bothered by the slight burn he barely felt.
"A letter bomb…" Lee frowned, "On a very short time. Who would do something so cruel?!"
Casually walking through the forest without care and fear, despite knowing that there were stronger shinobi than himself out there, Neji took the moment to enjoy the calm and peace that Nature provided. He knew he should be looking for potential targets, but he also knew that he would not have another opportunity to just simply be. So much was riding on this Chuunin Exam; his plans, his goals and his dark desire.
Suddenly his twitched as a small headache began to form behind his pales eyes. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts. His eyes snapped opened when he sensed three faint chakra signatures. A frown marred his pale face in annoyance with himself. Why had he not sensed them earlier? Disgusted at his lapse of awareness to his surroundings, the young Hyuga took a moment to exam his would-be-attackers before confronting them.
Neji had to bite back a sigh when he noticed that only one of the three was worth of his attention. This mysterious one had great potential, but there was something about his chakra that indicating that this mysterious shinobi did not want to be here. And it was not here in this particular situation but here in general. How curious… The long haired brunette's curiosity finally won.
"Come out of hiding…"The teen sighed, "Unless you're a coward."
Hiding in the brush, Team Asuma stilled in surprised. Ino and Choji were surprised that they were spotted so quickly after hiding; however, Shikamaru was surprised that the Hyuga would even bother to call them out. The Nara genius knew if push-came-to-shove that the long haired brunette could easily beat all three of them.
Suddenly Shikamaru heard Ino muttering about her 'Plan A' not working. While she was not looking, the brunette rolled his eyes and mentally groaned when she continued on a 'Plan B'. The dark haired Genin knew that Ino's plan was not going to work, but he also knew that she would not listen to him.
"Oh!" Ino shrilled out as she stepped out of the brushes.
Choji looked at his friend with an apologetic shrug and followed their teammate. Muttering under his breath, Shikamaru stood up and hoped that Ino did not make this encounter worse.
"What an honor!" She dreamily gushed, "Lord Hyuga Neji, last year's Rookie of the Year… fancy meeting you here!"
Neji's eyes immediately landed on the lanky brunette, who had his hands in his pockets and stood in a slight slouch. Suddenly the feeling of 'not wanting to be here' made sense.
"Oh. It's you…" The Hyuga teen replied.
Shikamaru arched a brow, knowing that the older teen was referring to him. But why? The Nara frowned.
Suddenly from the corner of his eye, the young genius scoffed at his teammate as she let her high ponytail down and attempted to seduce the other brunette.
"I can't tell you how long…" Ino's voice took on a lustful quality, "…I've dreamt of meeting you!"
With one last look at the Nara heir, Neji turned around and coldly told the blonde, "Get lost."
"Come on." Shika finally spoke, but Ino was not listening.
"Why? Why didn't he find me sexy? What's wrong with him?!" She growled while shaking her fist at the retreating Hyuga.
Neji stopped when he sensed the blonde's anger and humiliation at being ignored by him.
"Hey…" He called out, "Does that fist you're shaking in my direction… mean you want to fight me?"
"O-of course not!" The girl squeaked while she moved closer to Choji.
"Then get lost!" The Hyuga ordered as he glared over his shoulder, "I wouldn't demean myself by taking a scroll from losers like you. It would make me a laughing stock."
"O-okay!" The blonde squeaked out again as she dragged Choji back into the bushes.
Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and waved goodbye at the older teen, who smirked and nodded before going on his way.
"Let's go see if we can pick off some weaklings!" Ino suddenly exclaimed while Shikamaru quietly muttered, 'How troublesome.'