"Never make a deal with the devil…"

(...)

"Do you intend to speak or are you just going to stand there glaring?"

She didn't respond, but the frigid indignation in her eyes only intensified at its taunting. Even an inept fool couldn't miss the undercurrent of smug satisfaction that practically dripped from the beast's words, a gratified amusement mixed amongst the usual contempt. A wolfish grin split its giant maw, the closest she'd ever come to seeing what could be a smile from it.

Unbothered by her silence the fox carried on. "Don't be shy now… Tell me, how did it feel? Was it everything you imagined it would be, maybe even more?"

"I never asked for your help." She cut curtly, the blood in her veins rising to a near boil as it looked down on her like she was some petulant child throwing a tantrum. "The things you made me do-"

"I made you do?" The fox interrupted her with a derivative chortle, its rumbling sending ripples through the murky water beneath their feet. "Do not be so presumptuous, girl. What you experienced was hardly a fraction of a fraction of what my chakra is capable of, not nearly enough for me to influence you so severely let alone command you. No… Your actions were your own. I merely provided the push you needed to act on your base desires." That damnable grin stretched all the wider. "Though I must admit… I was mildly impressed by the brutality you displayed, a shame it ended so abruptly."

Backhanded compliments, how typical.

"Regardless of your petty grievances we both know that this conversation would not be happening if it were not for my intervention." The Nine-Tails snorted, a blast of hot air lashed at her face. "So long as this infernal seal binds us our fates are intertwined… for better or worse. If you prove incapable of keeping us alive then I will be forced to intervene, with or without your consent."

Natsumi swallowed her temper, measuring her response before speaking. "That doesn't sound like what you told me before. You were very adamant that you didn't want me using your power, but now you are saying that you will lend it to me regardless?"

"Surely you of all people understand self-interest? Make no mistake, I do not care what happens to you, if anything it would bring me great pleasure to watch the last bit of life squeezed from your puny body." Those scarlet eyes burned with such malice that she could tell there was nothing but truth in that statement. "However, at the moment your untimely death would prove extremely unpleasant for me. If not for that, I would have gladly let you perish."

Her jaw audibly creaked as she fought to hold back the venomous retort just waiting on the tip of her tongue to be let loose.

…

"...I understand." The beast was goading her, prodding at her pride and her ego to provoke her, and it was working. She could feel her nails digging into the skin of her palms, teeth clenching. Her temper was rising and she knew that if she stayed here any longer she might very well snap. "I see your true nature now… I won't let my guard down again."

"Your need for survival is far stronger than whatever petty morals you think you possess." The fox rumbled bemusedly, practically basking in the negativity that radiated from his host. "You thought yourself untouchable, one without equal… until you were faced with a challenge you couldn't overcome. Do you think this will be the only time? That those mongrels you faced were anything special? They were but guppies swimming in a pond far larger than any of you realize, and eventually larger fish are going to take notice of your flailing. "

"I guess we'll see about that." She scowled before vanishing from the seal without another word.

"Hmph... Insolent whelp."

.

(…)

"This is too much…" She groaned and buried her face against the inside of her palms.

Exhausted didn't even come close to describing how she felt at the moment. Honestly, she wasn't sure there was a word in her lexicon that could properly surmise just how tired and over this whole affair she truly was. Whatever excitement she'd felt at the prospect graduating to chunin had withered and died a repugnant death inside of that damn forest. All she felt now was the bitter sting of her own failures and suffocating unease at what lay ahead…

To say nothing of the powder keg that was her team.

The trip to the central tower had been one made in uncomfortable silence… and even as socially stunted as she was she could tell that their dynamic as a team had been thoroughly shaken by the events that had transpired. She'd done what she could to tend to her teammates' physical injuries, but there was little she could do to soothe their mental states. Not that she herself was in any position to do so as shaken as she was in the hours following her loss of control.

Kiba, normally the voice of humor and levity, had been sullen… his defeat served as a harsh blow to his pride. In her mind he had nothing to feel shame for, they had all been blindsided and the situation just spiraled out of control but that was not his fault. Truth or not, she could tell he did not share her opinions on the matter. Even as she worked on his wounds she'd caught shame in his eyes when he looked at them. Shame that gave way to anger, not towards them but himself. Self-loathing was rarely productive but she just couldn't find the words to alleviate his doubts.

Meanwhile Hinata had all but retreated into the deepest parts of her shell, months of steady progress seemingly undone with only a few words. It stung at her more than she cared to admit, watching the heiress practically flinch whenever their eyes so much as crossed for even a few fleeting seconds, a feeling made worse because she knew that it was her fault. Part of her was loath to accept her own role in the matter of out of childish pettiness. Was she not allowed to be a bit on edge after an attempt on her life? Was she not allowed to express her own feelings? Was she always going to have to dance around their insecurities?

Really, what were a few ill-tempered words in the grand scheme of survival?

The old her would have left the matter behind and written them off as overly sensitive, she would have focused on herself… But she wasn't that person anymore. Not with them at least. Relationships made everything so… so complicated, it was all so much easier when she only cared about herself…

"Was this all just a mistake?" She muttered to herself as she rose to her feet, shivering at the chill of the stone floor beneath her bare soles. There was only about a day left until the second portion of the exam would come to a close, thankfully having arrived a day early they were given a bit of time to rest and regain their strength. Unsurprisingly, her teammates had each decided to take this time for themselves, leaving her to her own devices. Ironic really, normally she would readily accept a bit of privacy… Yet at the moment she craved nothing more than the noise of Kiba's incessant boasting or Hinata's timid yet reassuring presence.

Anything would be better than this godforsaken silence.

In the meantime, she had to settle for roaming about the tower looking in search of anything that could serve as distraction from her thoughts. Naturally the other teams that had made it ahead of time were scattered about but she steered clear of them. To her quiet relief she'd also caught a glimpse of team ten among the groups waiting.

While she had been thankful for their help, the two teams had split after regrouping. To see them arrive looking a little roughed up but in good health had raised her spirits somewhat. Still, like the rest she maintained her distance, not exactly keen on mingling at the moment.

Though it appeared that she hadn't kept far enough.

"Uzumaki."

Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she came face to face with a pair of emotionless seafoam eyes.

"Sabaku-san…" In all the chaos of the past few days she admittedly hadn't had much time to concern herself with her fellow beast container. Honestly, she wanted nothing to do with any of the Biju right now but fate was cruel and fickle mistress. She was the one that had wanted this to begin with and now she was getting her wish granted. A shame it couldn't be at a worse time. "I see you made it here as well. Did you just arrive?"

The stoic redhead seemed to appraise her for a moment before finally speaking. "We arrived only a few hours after the test began. We were the first to make it here."

…

"The first day?" She failed to mask the crack in her voice that accompanied her disbelief. How was that even possible? She couldn't see a scratch on him, no ruffled clothes, no bruising, not even a hint of dirt…

"He's never suffered a single scratch in the line of duty"

"Y-You," She forced herself to relax, as best she could anyway. "You must be quite strong."

"It was not difficult." The redhead took a step closer making the hair on her neck stand on end. "I thought I would be entertained, but I was only disappointed. We ran into no one of any real worth, just weaklings."

"The teams you faced… what happened to them?" She didn't know what prompted her to ask, why she needed to know. Only when she did that she saw the first hint of life bleed into that stoic glare of his. It was the same one she'd only had a second to glimpse the first time they spoke. The words left his mouth with neither pause nor hesitation.

"I killed them."

Madness

"I see." She nodded, not out of approval but because she didn't know what else to say. There was no remorse in his tone. No regret for the lives he'd taken. Nakamura-sensei would have labeled such callous disregard for life nothing less than monstrous...

Could she even find it in her to fault him thinking that?

He looked at her. Looked through her, then spoke.

"You're nervous… afraid." Gaara's words drew her from her thoughts, his less than listless gaze pinning her where she stood. "Are you weak? Is that why you are trembling?"

Was she?

Sure enough, her hands were shaking at her sides. She could feel the sweat running down her neck and along her back. A weight settled itself atop her shoulders and she swore the air became heavy in her lungs… Sudden visions flashed before her eyes; visions of herself… Her face twisted into an expression of agony, blood leaking flowing freely from what might as well have been a mangled corpse slowly buried under writhing sand…

And though it all, he stood over her. A manic smile accompanied by an unnatural skull splitting laughter booming between her ears.

It was too much!

She felt her stomach churn and bile slowly clawing its way up her throat. She was going to wretch, she was going to faint-

"Natsumi!"

A handle settled over her shoulder and the sensations faded, replaced by a soothing coolness that she'd recognize anywhere. Her eyes strayed upward and a sense of relief she wasn't quite sure she'd ever felt before flooded through her. "Y-Yakushi-senpai?…"

Kabuto looked down on her with a reassuring smile. "I thought I saw you skulking somewhere around here." He chuckled, as if completely unaware of the tension in the room. His gaze wandered towards the redhead silently observing them and a sheepish expression wormed its way across his face. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting? Please forgive me."

Gaara said nothing for a long while, then shook his head and turned away. "No, we were done speaking. Goodbye, Uzumaki."

The pair watched the boy leave in silence, not turning their backs until the sound of his footsteps could no longer be heard.

"He's certainly intense… I certainly don't envy anyone who crosses him." Kabuto shivered, dropping the aloof act before turning again to face her. "He wasn't giving you any trouble, was he?"

"...No, not at all." Natsumi shook her head, though her hands were still shaking. She looked up at him and smiled softly. "It is good to see you, senpai. Truly."

She wasn't sure what might have happened had he not intervened. It seemed like nothing had changed, here he was still looking out for her even when they were ostensibly enemies. By all rights he should have left her to the proverbial sharks… and yet he had come to her aid all the same.

He was truly too kind… but she was quietly grateful for that.

Kabuto seemed taken aback at the sincerity in her voice but laughed after a moment. "Eh? Hearing that from you is a rare treat, you must be in a good mood. Usually you're scolding me, you know?"

"I'm not that bad." She retorted, her shoulders relaxing in the face of his attempt at humor. It fell flat but she appreciated the attempt all the same. "A junior is allowed to support their seniors, nothing strange about that."

He laughed. "I don't think I've had a junior quite like you but I'll accept it." His expression then softened. "By the way… I don't mean to pry but are you feeling alright? You look exhausted."

She blinked, then frowned again. "I… The last test was just more difficult than I anticipated. Our team ran into some unexpected trouble but it was nothing we couldn't handle. I suppose I've run myself thinner than I thought if its so obvious."

It was actually quite a bit more than they could handle but she didn't feel like reliving those details at the moment. Not to mention It would be rather unfair of her to dump all her doubts and feelings onto him, not when he certainly had his own issues to worry about.

Kabuto meanwhile considered the young girl in silence. His master had naturally informed him of his plans to test the jinchuriki and seeing as she was still alive and kicking, that meant their little pawns had failed in their mission. Regrettably he'd not been there to witness the events for himself but the outcome did not surprise him. However, for all her strength it seemed that someone like Gaara was a little too much for her at present, or something had shaken the blonds confidence enough that Nine feared One. Curious…

"How about we get some lunch, yeah?" He offered, catching her attention. "They don't have much here but I'm sure we can cobble something together. Sometimes all you really need is some food and company."

Natsumi frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose and I'm sure you have other matters on your mind."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, come on just for a little bit. Good company might help?"

She thought to decline but she couldn't find it in her to do so. "I suppose food would be nice."

Her stomach chose that moment to let out a loud grumble of agreement.

Heat seared her cheeks, even more so as her ears caught wind of his poorly concealed snickering. Could nothing just go her way right now? Still, despite her embarrassment the levity was quite a welcome change and soon enough she found herself giggling along, the weight of the past few days lifting ever so slightly.

He was right.

She did feel a little better.

.

(...)

The time had come and five days had passed marking the end of the second stage of the Chunin Exams. As expected there were only a few handful of contenders left, and of those, a substantial amount looked to be on their last legs. Those teams that had crawled though by the skin of their teeth looked especially worse for wear but still managed to stand tall at having made it past the competition.

Still, they had been gathered for a reason and it appeared that they were to be faced with the next phase of these exams.

"Before we begin I would like to congratulate all of you for making it this far." The aged visage of the Third stood before them, still garbed in his usual red and white robes as he nodded in a gesture of approval "You have shown fierce resolve and commendable skill to make it here… However, there are still trials to come, I suggest you do not allow your past success to cloud your visions of the dangers ahead."

He took a pause, allowing his words of wisdom to settle over the silent youths before continuing.

"I am sure you all are quite exhausted after everything you've been through but you must persevere. A true shinobi is one who endures all hardships, and so it falls to you to gather what strength you can to weather the coming storms and see your mission through to the end."

Those teams who had just barely made it seemed to deflate at the elderly Kage's speech, some slumping at the knowledge that respite was still beyond their reach. Others however grew emboldened, doing their best to pull themselves together with remaining energy they had to spare.

Meanwhile, she took the lull in action to scope out the remaining competition. To her surprise Team Seven had also managed to pass the second stage, although they looked to be quite worn down. She could only speculate what dangers they must have encountered to leave them in such a state. Still, for all the graduating teams from their year to have made it this far was impressive all things considered. whether that spoke of talent or just blind luck would remain to be seen.

There was of course the Suna trio, none of which looked even slightly winded which made sense given how they'd spent almost no time in the forest. Another few teams from Konoha and… the team from Sound.

They barely seemed fit to compete with the state they were in, the state she had left them in. How they even made it out of the forest was beyond her, but seeing them only a few feet away was enough to drag a sneer across her face. She may have regretted the lapse in her control but she had not forgiven them for attempting to take her life. Even now she could feel a small part of herself that wanted nothing more than to finish what she'd started.

It took a great deal of self-control to reign in her emotions. There was a proper time and place for those feelings and right now was neither.

"Now, I believe I should explain the true purpose behind these exams." The Third's voice cut through the silence once more. "In no uncertain terms you all must understand that there is far more to these trials than a simple means to promotion… The harsh reality is that these exams serve a secondary function…" He paused, his kindly smile hardening into a small frown. One that set all of them on edge. "In essence, they are a replacement for war."

The revelation drew a few sharp breaths from the crowd, with many flinching at the sudden shift from the almost grandfatherly man. "Violence is a staple of our profession, it is only through this tentative peace that practices like these exams can exist. You are all here as a show of strength from your respective villages." The Third's expression was grim as if he found the whole thing barbaric but he pressed on. "Each of you represents an extension of your village's power and pitting you against one another is a contest not just between individuals, but between the villages as well. That is why the next portion of these exams will be one on one matches between you all."

A tense hush fell over the room as the contestants slowly digested the truth of why they were here. At the Third's side a pale, sickly-looking jounin stepped forward, coughing into his fist as he did so.

"Lord Hokage, if I may?" He asked and the Third nodded, stepping back and making his way towards the back towards a flight of stairs leaving the assembled chunin hopefuls with the sickly man.

"Greetings all of you, my name is Hayate, but that is not important at the moment." He said coughing ever so often during his introduction that left many wondering how such a frail man had risen to such a station. "I will be the proctor for this next stage, however, before we bring these exams to close… you all will have to pass through a preliminary round of matches." He explained.

Naturally such news was not received with applause.

"Troublesome… Why do we need to have preliminaries? What difference does it make?" Shikamaru groaned, clearly annoyed by this turn of events.

"Unlike the previous tests, The final stage of the exams is open to the public. That includes important figures such as Daimyo, nobles, and even other world leaders all looking to see what the participating villages have to offer." He explained calmly, not at all bothered by the annoyed mumbling. "For this reason, it falls to us to bring forward only the best contenders and if you look around there are still quite a few of you remaining."

"Separating the wheat from the chaff." She muttered. They were nothing more than prize fighters in reality, a spectacle for elites to gawk and throw money at for their dirty work.

Kiba and Hinata frowned, neither completely sure how to feel about what they were hearing.

"I will make it clear now, If it wasn't obvious already, but from here on out you won't be able to rely on your teammates to carry you. These matches will be one-on-one, and none of you will be held accountable for the success or failures of your teammates." Hayate continued. "The fighters will be chosen at random. Just like before, if you feel like you can not continue for any reason then you may back out now and make your way out the same way you came in. There will be a team waiting to escort you safely back out of the forest." He said pointing towards the large door they had all entered through.

No longer bound by obligation, a few individuals quietly made their way out. She nearly paid them no mind, not until she noticed a flash of white hair among the forlorn contestants and her brow immediately furrowed with tangible confusion.

Why had he quit!?

She would certainly be seeking out answers when all was said and done.

Once all those who had quit left the area Hayate nodded and moved to proceed.

"Very well, the rest of you can make your way up to the spectator section and we will call the first pair of fighters down when ready." He ordered, prompting all the teams to quickly make their way up the opposing stairways, each falling in line with their respective senseis' who had been watching the proceedings from above.

And so the stage was set. The preliminary matches were about to begin!-

AN. Chapter Complete

I feel like I apologize at the end of almost everything I write so I'm not even going to bother with that. You all know how it goes so let's just leave it at that and talk about other things, namely the chapter.

I'm sure there are those clawing their eyes out that Orochimaru has yet to interact with Natsumi given the subject matter of the story but rest assured I haven't just sat on my butt this whole time. Storyboarding old ideas and revising them has been a constant process and I have finally settled on a concrete series of main events that I am happy with. It is my hope that with this plan in mind, the next chapters will come a little easier and I'll finally be able to claim I have a story that made it past this arc haha. You still have Jiraiya to look forward to so don't get too down in the dumps.

I tried to blend my old ideas with some of the breadcrumbs I had been leaving before my long absences so I do hope everything flows alright. I wanted to showcase some of the aftermath of Natsumi's first delve into Kurama's chakra and how that might affect her going forward. She is nowhere near done with the emotional turmoils however but I won't say more than that.

I'm gonna keep this short since it's been so long, I will say that future chapters are probably going to remain around this length going forward. Mainly due to time with my new job and personal responsibilities but also because I think the shorter length encourages me to only cover what I really NEED to cover. Of course you are welcome to let me know and I'll see what I can do if needed.

My plan is to cover all the prelims in one go just to get them out the way but we'll see. I already have the matches planned so all that's really left is to write them out. Anyway that's all from me, hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!