Sasuke held on to his injured left hand. He stared wide-eyed at the sand barrier surrounding his opponent. The hole he made in Gaara's supposedly perfect defense with his Chidori was pitch black, but something had grabbed and nearly torn his arm right off. Something not human.
He reactivated his Sharingan, sensing a harrowing presence coming from within the darkness. A gleaming yellow eye met Sasuke's cautious gaze. The young Uchiha shuddered. What the hell was that thing?
Suddenly, the armor around the hole cracked. The fissures multiplied rapidly, disintegrating right before Sasuke's eyes. Sand melted off Gaara like snow in the sun. The red-haired thirteen-year-old with the symbol for love tattooed on his forehead panted heavily as he clutched his bleeding shoulder.
Those weren't his eyes, thought Sasuke, as Gaara's regular light-green orbs peered up at him. But then... what did I see before? Never mind, I struck him with my Chidori, so I have to finish —
A thundering explosion drew Sasuke's attention. He looked up, gasping in horror at the smoke around the main dais where the Hokage was. His heart lurched when he recalled seeing Katana there earlier. Sasuke rose to his feet, forgetting all about the pain in his arm, but the match proctor — a shinobi by the name of Genma — leaped in front of him before he could sprint off to find her.
"Stay where you are," warned Genma.
"But I have to —" Sasuke then noticed a heaviness descending on his body, trying to overtake him. Was this...? Genjutsu! He quickly clasped his hands together to sign and yelled, "Release!"
Air filled his lungs as he took a deep breath. The sudden fatigue instantly went away. Sasuke's Sharingan roved over the stands. All spectators, but a few Jōnin, were fast asleep. He looked toward the dais again as the smoke cleared, catching a great see-through purplish blockade on top of the roof.
The Hokage and Kazekage are trapped together. Is it for their protection or...?
Sasuke turned back to his opponent, finding Gaara's sensei and siblings had jumped into the arena. They didn't seem at all perturbed about what was going on around them and focused solely on the red-headed teen. Gaara whimpered and grabbed his head. It was like something was trying to possess him.
"He's suffering a reaction," said the blonde sister. "He can't do it anymore!"
"Sensei, what are we supposed to do?" asked the black-hooded brother in alarm. "You want us to go ahead without Gaara?"
Go ahead? What's he talking about? What is going on here?
Their sensei's jaw clenched as he looked back at the team. "I'm calling it off. You two take Gaara and withdraw. I'm going to help fight. Now go!"
"Y-Yes, sir."
The girl handed Gaara over to her older brother, and they sped off, up and over the arena wall. Sasuke remained in place, uncertain of what to do. The arena was in utter chaos. Sounds of steel clanging against steel and of Jutsu being cast resonated in a eerily harmonious orchestra. Though he knew he should find Kakashi to see what he could do to help, his heart overpowered his mind. Katana was trapped somewhere in the middle of it all, possibly right where the Hokage was. If anything happened to her...
No, I can't think like that. She's a skillful and clever maiko. None of these clowns could even get close to her.
"Uchiha," said Genma then, breaking Sasuke's chain of thought, "sorry, but the Chunin Exam is over. Go after Gaara and the others, right now. You're already at Chunin level, so if you consider yourself a Leaf-shinobi, do something useful and stop them."
Sasuke tsk-ed at the order. He didn't feel like abandoning his best friend, but no way was he going to let those Sand-shinobi get away either. Especially since he and Gaara still had a score to settle. He went in pursuit, hoping Katana was safe and far from harm.
***
The explosion stopped Katana in her tracks as she raced through the streets of the Leaf. She turned around, eyes widening when she saw the smoke above the arena. Human-shaped shadows flickered over her. She tore her sight away from the scene before her and looked up to find people jumping over the rooftops, armed to the teeth and in full fighting gear — Hidden Sand gear.
Katana didn't hesitate. She ran into a nearby alley, drew her sword, and scaled the walls to intercept the second group of ninja on their way to the arena. Her blade decisively cut through the air in a few swishes the moment she found herself in their midst. Four shinobi halted, astonished at the sudden attack from below, and stared at the teenage girl in the white firebird kimono who had incapacitated two of their troop so quickly.
"What the—dammit, I thought the geisha was trapped with the Hokage?" exclaimed the only woman among them.
"She is," said the one Katana believed to be the captain, based on the armband he wore. "This must be the maiko."
"Tch, and after all the trouble we went through to delay the other one so she wouldn't be here for the invasion."
Wait, they delayed Kitiara? How? And what's this about Mameha being trapped with Lord Hokage? What the hell happened after I chased that stupid crow out?
"Sir, what do we do?" asked the shinobi left of his leader.
"We have our orders. Let's finish this quickly so we can help the others."
Yet before any of them could even move a finger, Katana had already lunged forward. The captain cursed, forced to block her attack with both hands around the hilt of a single kunai. A soft thud disturbed the echo of the encounter when the shinobi who spoke earlier slumped onto the roof, a poisoned needle stuck in the middle of his eye.
Taking advantage of the distraction and the captain's height, Katana swept her leg against his. He buckled to his knee at the impact, losing his grip on his weapon. The razor-sharp tip of Katana's sword cut through his cheek like melted butter.
"Ninja art, Wind Blade!"
The maiko pushed off with a foot against the captain's chest when he only other male shinobi left standing attacked her from the side. She whirled backwards into the air, deftly evading his blow. As Katana prepared to strike back at the man, heat suddenly rushed toward her from behind, and she bolted from the roof to avoid getting hit by a flaming whip.
Katana landed onto a protruding metal bar in the wall and glimpsed over her shoulder; the kunoichi came after her. She narrowed her eyes at the woman's hand signs. A Sand-shinobi who knew Fire-style? Interesting. And really unfortunate... for them.
Katana avoided the fireball by going up again. The kunoichi's comrade signed for another Wind-style attack, exactly as Katana had expected him to do. She threw the little vial hidden on the inside of her red obi up at the exact time the enemy-ninja blew out their respective attacks, dove into an open window, and flattened herself against the floor.
The glass vial shattered between the two devastating forces of wind and fire. The oil inside combusted. A raging inferno erupted through the alley, exploding upward. Two horrified screams broke off as the blaze devoured the kunoichi and shinobi alive.
Katana waited until the flames that had penetrated the room died above her. Until she smelled the acrid and nauseating scent of human flesh burning. The fingers of her dominant hand closed around her sword. Though she couldn't usually fight left-handed, as Mameha insisted on the use of her right hand, Katana didn't want to leave anything to chance with the captain.
She burst out the window and launched herself toward the roof, her body and blade cutting through the lingering fire. The remaining Sand-shinobi's eyes widened in panic when he saw her. He snatched another kunai from his leg holster, getting ready to throw it at Katana.
Just then, a black, lithe figure with wings flew in front of the captain. He froze in place, mouth agape in a silent cry. One fell swoop was all it took. The captain's head thumped onto the roof, quickly followed by his body. The fast-spreading pool stained the brown tiles crimson. Katana, having landed gracefully aside his remains, wiped her weapon clean and sheathed it.
Six clean kills. Six lives delivered to the afterlife. Not a drop of blood on the pure white of her kimono. Not a single tear or scorch-mark. There wasn't even a single blemish on her skin. Just like in the Forest of Death, Katana had killed without hesitation. Without question. And a quaint desire coming up from deep within her urged the maiko to spill more blood.
Katana's cold blue eyes searched her surroundings. There was fighting all over the Leaf. Giant snakes had already destroyed the East Gate, but were prevented from continuing on by an entire force of Leaf-ninja. Their blue and dark-green uniforms blended in a clashing symphony against the Sand's brown and beige and the Sound's purple and black.
She should help. Even if she didn't have nin- or genjutsu, she could still do considerable damage to the enemy and save the villagers. Yet instead of hunting for another group to eliminate, Katana searched for the animal that came to her aid. The crow's caw drew her attention. It flapped its wings to remain hovering in the air a few rooftops away. The one red eye glistened dangerously in the sun.
Though her body pressed Katana to throw caution to the wind and go after the bird, her mind and heart warned her against such rash action. It was obvious the creature was waiting for her. Why, though? Did it want to take her to its master? To Itachi?
Suddenly, the edges of the bird evaporated. Katana rushed toward it, but came too late. Smoke slipped through her fingers as she tried to snatch the crow from the air. When it cleared, she saw a familiar figure in the distance making his way to the wall around the village. Fear gripped her heart. If Itachi was near...
With a newfound purpose to protect her best friend, Katana jumped over the buildings of the village, ignoring the sounds of weapons striking each other and the distressing cries of the injured and dying. She couldn't lose Sasuke to the monster of their past. She wouldn't.
***
Upon their sensei's orders, Naruto and Sakura followed Kakashi's little ninken through the forest, leaping from tree to tree. Naruto wished they could go faster, but they had to conserve energy. The memory of that kid, Gaara, standing in Rock Lee's hospital room to finish him off after already crushing half his body in the preliminaries replayed way too vividly in his mind.
"Pakkun, do you still have Sasuke's scent?" asked Naruto.
"Yup, straight ahead," answered the dog. "We're gaining on him."
Good. Sasuke, you're a royal pain in the ass, but there's no way I'm letting you face that monster on your own. Just hang in there. We'll be right with you.
"I hope everything's okay," said Sakura, concerned.
"Don't worry," said Naruto. "Sasuke's a tough guy. He can handle those Sand-siblings until we get to him, no sweat. You saw how he used that lightning attack to break through that creep's barrier, right?"
"Yeah, but —"
"Hey slackers," interrupted Pakkun, "quit yappin' and hustle."
Naruto huffed in annoyance. He glanced over his shoulder, keeping an eye out for anyone tailing them. With some luck, Shikamaru had staved off the nine shinobi chasing them. Yet the fact he hadn't shown up yet worried Naruto. The Nara-clan's Shadow Jutsu was ideal in an ambush, but Shikamaru was still facing nine foes on his own, all to give him and Sakura time to get to Sasuke. Then again, there was a very high possibility he'd won and just couldn't be bothered to join them anymore. Lazy bum.
"Sasuke stopped moving," said Pakkun then. "He's still too far away, so let's pick up the pace."
"All right, let's go!" yelled Naruto.
He amassed more chakra to his feet to increase his speed. Sakura did the same beside him. As they continued in silence, Naruto dared to glimpse at the young kunoichi from the corner of his eye. The pink-haired girl did her best to maintain her composure, but he could tell by the slight quiver of her lip and the pinching of her brow she was anxious. Frightened, even.
It broke Naruto's heart when he realized she would never show the same concern for him as she did for Sasuke. His crush was silly, yet he didn't want to give up on having Sakura as his girlfriend. If not her, then who? There was no one else who even spoke or looked at him. No one available, that is.
I wish I could've stayed at the arena to make sure Katana was safe, but Kakashi-sensei gave me a mission, and I can't fail now. She was with Mameha and the Hokage, and they're strong as hell. So is Katana. Anyone messes with her, they'll regret it.
"Huh, odd."
"What? More shampoo?" Naruto really didn't want to hear how Kakashi's dog used the same shampoo Sakura did again.
"No, it's Sasuke. I'm smelling several scents near him. He caught up to them. I think they're about to fight, but," the ninken sniffed the air, "we're not the only ones after him."
"What? Are they friend or foe?" asked Sakura.
"I can't tell, just that..."
"Just that, what?" Naruto's heart clenched.
"They aren't human."
***
Sasuke eyed his classmate warily. The youngest member of the insect-using Aburame-clan stood with his hands in his pockets on a branch between him and Gaara's brother, Kankuro. With the high collar of his coat up and those round-spectacled sunglasses on, Sasuke had a hard time reading Shino's facial expression. Yet his body language spoke volumes. Still, if he believed he could interfere in Sasuke's fight, he had another thing coming.
"What are you doing here, Shino?" demanded Sasuke.
Shino pointed at him and said, "Before you left the arena, I had my beetles mark you with a female scent. Even though it's almost odorless, the male of the same species can detect it."
That sneaky son of a bitch, thought Sasuke, only now noticing the two little bugs crawling over his clothes.
"Sasuke Uchiha," he looked back up when Shino called his name, "chase after Gaara. You haven't completed your match against him. I'll fight this one, since I was supposed to have been his opponent in the first place."
"You sound pretty confident," said Sasuke. "Are you sure about this?"
"I don't need your concern. Give me ten minutes and I'll come help you and the maiko."
"The—Katana?"
"She's been chasing you this entire time through a parallel forest path. Best get going and meet up with her. I'll join you shortly."
"Hn, we'll be done by then, too."
Sasuke didn't bother wishing Shino good luck, remembering from class that the silent boy was one of the fiercest fighters in his year. The puppeteer from the Sand would have his work cut out for him. And he had far more important matters to attend to, anyway. First things first, though — he had to find his friend.
With the agility of a hawk about to set upon its prey, Sasuke leaped off the tree branch and dove to the ground. Though Katana was just as quick in scaling houses and trees as he was thanks to her training with the Jōnin, she moved a lot faster on an even surface. He kneeled down, closed his eyes, and touched the broken medallion hidden underneath his one-piece. Even if she wasn't a shinobi, Katana held a distinct chakra flow. If he focused hard enough, he would —
"Gotcha."
Sasuke darted off to the left, channeling the extra chakra he'd summoned for his fight against Kankuro to his legs and feet. He activated his Sharingan and spotted a golden firebird between the vast forest canopy... and a kunai flying right toward him.
Swiftly, Sasuke veered right and vaulted out of the thicket. A cloud of dust welled up as he slid over the earth path, coming to a stop. The shimmering edge of a sword was but an inch away from his throat. His calm, carmine gaze settled on the one holding the weapon against him.
"Sasuke!"
The blade fell to the ground as Katana jumped into Sasuke's arms. Hearing the relief in her voice, feeling her body and the rapid tempo of her heart against his chest, and sensing the tension and thrill of the hunt fade simply because she was with him now almost made Sasuke forget about his mission. He would allow himself and Katana a moment. Just a single moment.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, fine," she replied. "You?"
"Better now. I'm sorry I didn't look for you when they attacked the arena."
"It's okay, I wasn't there anymore."
Sasuke nudged her back, his brow furrowed. "What? Where did you go?"
"I'll explain later," said Katana. "Why are you chasing the Sand-siblings?"
"I didn't get to finish my match with Gaara. And they're involved in the attack on the village. It's my duty to stop them."
"Our duty."
Sasuke harrumphed and grinned back at his friend. There was no way he'd talk her out of joining him. She might as well tag along to keep Gaara's sister busy, so he could fight the creep himself without interference. Besides, it'd been a while since he'd sparred with Katana. He was curious to see what she could do now.
The raven-haired Uchiha kicked up Katana's sword. His grin widened when she caught it nimbly with her left hand. She wouldn't play around in this fight. Good. Neither would he. Whatever Gaara was hiding, he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He would win and officially become a Chunin. He'd be one step closer to his goal.
One step closer to avenging his clan.