Third Person P.O.V.
"Ready to die?"
The chilling words coming out of Satomi's mouth sends shivers up everyone's spines. From beside her, Sasuke scowls, looking at Sakura once again.
"I asked, who did this to you?" he demands. Zaku chuckles, raising his hand in the air.
"I did," he reveals. Sasuke turns his glare to him, while Satomi continues glowering at Dosu. Dosu, in turn, gives Satomi a wary look, trying to find an escape.
Neji frowns at the scene below him from his place on the branch. Though he's only known her a short amount of time, Neji can tell that this definitely wasn't who Satomi was. Something major must have happened in their last battle, that she said was with someone who wasn't a genin.
"I'm not scared of you, you half dead bastard!" Zaku calls, pressing his hands together in preparation for a powerful jutsu. The twins smirk, their sharingans blazing crimson in their eyes.
"Super Sonic Slicing Wave!"
Within the blink of an eye, the whole clearing in front of Zaku was demolished. Smirking in triumph, Zaku puts his hands down.
"Must've blown them to bits."
"Who?" Sasuke asks darkly, appearing behind Zaku. He had grabbed Sakura and moved out of the way, while Satomi had grabbed Naruto and body flickered beside Neji and Tenten.
"I trust you to take care of Naruto. This will only take a minute," Satomi muses, laying Naruto down next to them.
"Satomi. This isn't you," Neji says, stopping Satomi from jumping down. She scowls and glares at him, a dangerous aura surrounding her.
"What?"
"This isn't who you are. This power... it's evil, and it's not yours," Neji tries, gauging Satomi's reaction. Her face seems to quiver, as if she were having an internal battle.
"N-Neji... help... me..." Satomi mutters out, her curse mark receding for a few moments before reaching across her limbs once again. Neji narrows his eyes, now certain. This power was somehow controlling her against her will.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had performed his Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu, to which Zaku blew the fire away, only to reveal shuriken which cut his limbs. Flashing behind him, Sasuke grabs a hold of his arms and places a foot surely on his back, a sick smirk quirking his lips.
Within an instant, Sasuke snaps Zaku's arms, the sickening crack resonating throughout the clearing. The crack seemed to have snapped Satomi out of her daze, the curse mark receding back into her shoulder.
"Satomi? Are you alright?" Neji asks, slowly approaching Satomi. She glances around in a daze before making eye contact with Neji, moving her lips to say something although no words come out.
Deactivating her sharingan, Satomi closes her eyes and falls down, out of the tree. Neji curses and jumps after her, cradling her to his chest before she can hit the ground. She was knocked out cold, her breathing labored and sweat dripping down her face.
The fresh bruises on her neck and stab wound in her shoulder, as well as the exhaustion overwhelmed her to a point where she couldn't function anymore.
"Neji! Is she alright?" Tenten asks, jumping down beside them. She gazes at Satomi's pale and dirty face, as well as Neji's seemingly troubled one.
"I don't know."
Sasuke, not having seen Satomi collapse, turns his attention to Dosu. He was prepared to finish off the team once in for all. As he takes a step, however, a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, causing him to stop in his tracks.
"Stop this, Sasuke-kun! Please!" Sakura pleads, tears streaming down her face. Sasuke stares down at her for a few more seconds, before the curse mark recedes and he falls to the ground.
"I see... your team is too strong for us. Please, take this scroll and spare our lives. However, the next time we face each other in battle... we will not run, and we will not hide," Dosu concedes, rolling the earth scroll over to Sasuke and Sakura.
Picking up his two incapacitated teammates, Dosu makes his way back into the forest, a troubled look on his face.
"Hold on! Who is Orochimaru... and what does he want with Sasuke and Satomi?!" Sakura demands angrily. Dosu sighs and shakes his head, his eyes cast downward.
"I'm not sure... our mission was to find and kill Sasuke and Satomi. That's all I know," Dosu says, retreating for good. With the danger gone, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji run back onto the field to tend to their severely injured friends.
Ino rushes over to Sakura and Sasuke first, fussing over Sakura's hair and offering to fix it up with her kunai. Shikamaru and Choji take a more leisurely pace over to Naruto, staring down at him with unimpressed expressions.
"Can I kick him awake?" Choji asks. Shikamaru shrugs, turning away uncaringly. Taking that as a yes, Choji slams his foot into Naruto's side, causing him to wake up with a start.
"What the hell? Where did that guy go?! Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?! And why is Satomi-chan out cold in that guy's arms?!" Naruto exclaims. Sasuke, not having thought of his twin, whips his head around to find Neji holding her in his arms.
"Put my sister down," Sasuke demands, struggling to his feet while Naruto goes over to Sakura and Ino. Tenten, deciding not to get involved in the situation, goes over to check on Lee, leaving Sasuke, Neji, and Satomi alone.
"Take her, I don't care. But answer me this... what happened to her to make her that way?" Neji asks suspiciously. Sasuke scowls and looks to the side, a hard edge in his eyes.
"We fought some guy before... he was way too advanced to be a genin. He used a strange jutsu on us... it gives us so much power, but it was forced on us. They activated without us knowing," Sasuke explains, gazing down at his beaten and bloody twin, who was now in his arms.
He was so used to her taking care of him, it was unnerving seeing her in such a state. From what he gathered, on top of fighting Orochimaru beforehand, she had also taken part in the battle against the Oto ninja, and they did not show her any mercy.
"Fine. My team and I will be off now," Neji states, waving over Lee and Tenten before disappearing. Sasuke frowns whilst walking over to his team, a thought lingering in his mind.
Was that power worth it?
::
Satomi P.O.V.
"We don't have any time left... we have to open the scroll."
Peeling my eyes open, I'm laying down in the dirt with a damp cloth over my forehead. Naruto and Sakura were beside a fire where a few fish were cooking, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. I could only assume that he was okay, though, since neither Naruto or Sakura seemed to be concerned.
Naruto pulls back a small flap of the scroll, preparing to open it all the way. Before I can react, Kabuto appears out of nowhere and stops Naruto from continuing.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Gritting my teeth, I sit up and fling a few shuriken towards Kabuto, panting painfully from moving so suddenly. He deflects them all, peering at me from the corners of his eyes.
"Satomi-chan! You're awake!" Naruto exclaims, crawling over to my side. I groan and place a hand on my head, a slight throbbing in it. Scowling, I stumble to my feet, pointing a kunai at Kabuto.
"I suggest you put our scroll down and leave, before I make you," I threaten, glaring harshly towards him. He smirks but ends up putting the scroll down, making me sigh in relief. There was no way I would be able to beat him right now, I just woke up.
"Sorry, I was just trying to help," he states. Glimpsing behind him, I see Sasuke running up to us, a hard look in his eyes. His curse mark was back to its normal state, thankfully. All I can remember before losing consciousness is an intense power coursing through me, but I couldn't control it.
I was terrified.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Sasuke demands, pulling out a weapon and pointing towards Kabuto. He, in turn, smirks, adjusting his glasses on his face. Why is he so... nonchalant?
"Your two teammates over here were about to open the scroll, which is against the rules. I remember a few years ago, anyone who opened the scroll before they got to the tower was placed under a hypnosis jutsu so that they were unconscious for the rest of the exam."
Sasuke scowls at Sakura and Naruto, assuming that they were the ones who had come up with the idea since I was out cold. The two drop their heads in shame, muttering apologies pitifully.
"Satomi, you're awake. Are you alright?" Sasuke asks, seeming uncharacteristically concerned. I place a hand against my curse mark, pain still throbbing in it, albeit not as intense as before.
"I've been better... but I'm holding up. How long was I out?" I ask softly. I notice Naruto bite his lip and Sakura look away, making me narrow my eyes suspiciously. I wasn't out for that long... right?
"We're on the fourth day of the exams," Sasuke concedes, gauging my reaction. I suck in a breath, my eyes widening suddenly. I was out for 2 days?! That means... there is one day left. Our chances of passing were exponentially low, and even lower since Orochimaru burned our first heaven scroll.
"We only have an earth scroll? How are we... going to pass?" I deflate, my hope lowering to rock bottom. Sasuke purses his lips, glancing off into the tree line.
"The next enemy we face is our last chance. Speaking of which... Kabuto, you could have taken our earth scroll easily. Does that mean you're also searching for a heaven scroll?" Sasuke asks with a raised eyebrow. Kabuto chuckles and pulls out two scrolls. A heaven and an earth.
"I actually have both scrolls. I was heading towards the tower when I saw your teammates about to open your earth scroll, so I decided to help out. Now that I helped out, I'll be off. Good luck," Kabuto calls, beginning his trek to the tower.
"Wait."
I bite my lip, knowing what as about to happen. Sasuke was going to ask to battle Kabuto for his scroll. We're desperate.
"Fight me, and if I win, give me your heaven scroll," Sasuke demands. Naruto and Sakura look apprehensive, especially since he just saved them from possibly ruining our chances of completing the exam. Despite the fact that he helped us, I too wanted to get his scroll.
"What you say... you don't actually want to fight me, do you? The way of a ninja is deception... if you had really wanted to, you would have attacked me for my scroll rather than asking for it," Kabuto muses. Sasuke grunts, knowing that he was right, turning away from him.
"Either way... I like that about you guys. I'll help you out, but we're gonna have to get going. The smell of fish is sure to attract animals... and enemies," Kabuto explains. At the word enemies, he glances off into a bush, which nobody but me sees. There was a slight rustle, making me narrow my eyes.
There were other people here... and Kabuto could sense them.
::
"From this point on is where things get really tough," Kabuto declares as we jump through the trees at our top speeds. I was well enough to move around freely now, the two days of rest giving me the energy I needed. Waking up so startled sure didn't make me feel good earlier, though.
"There will be others around everywhere... those who don't have scrolls. What better way to get them than by ambushing those who already have the scrolls? Not only that, but there will now be collectors around, those who will take more than one set of scrolls for whatever reason. It could be to reduce the competition, it could be to help another team from their village, the options are endless. Those people are dangerous."
"I'm ready to take them all on, dattebayo!" Naruto chants excitedly, causing all of us to give him a disapproving look.
"It would be better to stay as silent as possible so that we don't alert any enemies nearby, would it not?" Kabuto hints, giving Naruto a pointed look. He chuckles shamefully, scratching the back of his head apologetically.
A slight rustle catches everyone's attention, but Naruto is the one to act first, throwing a kunai behind him at the trunk of a tree. It hits with a 'thunk', slight screeching emanating from the victim.
A centipede is pinned to the tree, the kunai Naruto had thrown pointing out of its head with blood dripping off of it. I cringe and step away from it, bugs not really being my thing. Sakura shivers, hiding behind Sasuke in disdain.
"Not an enemy... good. Now that the tower is in view, we're in for a lot of trouble," Kabuto says, heading towards the tower once more. We all follow suit, me being in the back of the squad. Glancing down, I see a slight reflection hovering above the ground. A trap, which Naruto was about to step on.
"Naruto, stop!" I warn, although I'm too late. The wire is tripped, and a cluster of kunai is flung out of the tree, straight towards Naruto.
"Naruto!"
::