I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
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Sasuke was scowling. Why was the dobe so happy to see that redheaded, sand-controlling boy? It didn't make sense. Well, not to the Uchiha anyway. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he was starting to care for the blonde more than he would like to admit. It was frustrating, trying to think of what had changed. Because apart from that kiss in the Forest of Death, had anything really changed? Had Naruko just been trying to distract him, or was it something more? The boy was on the verge of tearing his hair out; why were girls so complicated? Times like these, he did genuinely wish the clan were still alive so he could ask his mother, or even Izumi. She had been one of Shisui and Itachi's close friends... no. He couldn't think about them — about him — right now. He had to focus. So why was that kiss still on the forefront of his mind? This was ridiculous; they were teammates and close friends. Nothing more, and nothing less. Sasuke couldn't afford to have it become something more... but the Uchiha also knew he would undoubtedly fall apart if ever it became something less.
Sakura noticed Sasuke's expression and couldn't stop a slight smirk from gracing her face. She found it laughably obvious that the Uchiha was slowly but surely falling for the blonde fox, and while she had once held feelings for the raven, she let them go after realizing Sasuke would never love her the way she wanted him to. If a brotherly love was all he was willing to give her, she would accept what she could get.
Their attention was turned to a male Jonin who now stood in front of the crowd; "Nice to meet you, everyone." He spoke calmly, quietly. "There's something I'd like you to do—" a few coughs broke into his sentence, "—before the third exam." He broke into another coughing fit, hiding his mouth with his fist.
Naruko touched the bridge of her nose lightly, sighing in exasperation before pushing her way to the front and making her way over to the Jonin. "Do me a favour, Hayate-nii, and please recite to me what Yugao-nee and I have been repeatedly telling you," the Genin growled under her breath as she pressed a chakra-cloaked hand to his chest. The chakra was a rustic orange colour instead of the usual green, but it seemed to soothe his cough.
Hayate cleared this throat, looking sheepish. "Um... to not strain myself?"
Naruko scowled up at him. "You know you have to adhere to the specific resting period between healing sessions if you want to get rid of this chronic cough. I swear, boys these days..."
Hayate looked thoroughly chastised and faintly relieved when she didn't say another word until the chakra faded from her hand.
Naruko stepped back with her hands on her hips, fierce cerulean eyes blazing with a protective fury. "Hayate Gekkō," she started, causing said Jonin to blanch at the use of his full name, "if you continue straining yourself like this before your resting period is over, I will not hesitate to slap two hundred of my original Paralysis seals on you and dump you on a hospital bed until the rest of your healing sessions are over and done with."
Hayate's jaw fell ajar at the threat that he knew Naruko would no doubt carry out, while the Hokage tilted his hat to hide his grin. Naruko didn't look at all fazed by the aghast expression on the Jonin's face. "And I'm sure Yugao-nee would be more than happy to cooperate with me," the blonde added pointedly, causing Hayate's face to drop.
"Fine," the Jonin muttered almost sourly under his breath. He cleared his throat and faced the crowd of Genin once more as Naruko returned to her place between her teammates. "As I was saying: we will be carrying out a preliminary round leading to the third exam."
"P-Preliminary?" Sakura echoed, blinking blankly at the Jonin.
"What do you mean "preliminary"?" Shikamaru exclaimed. "Why aren't we doing the next exam as the remaining test-takers?"
Hayate sighed. "This time around, perhaps the first and second exams were easy, so there are too many people left. In accordance with the rules of the Chuunin Exams, a preliminary will be held in order to reduce the number of people advancing."
"N-No way!" Ino squeaked, eyes wide.
"As Lord Hokage said before, many guests will be coming to the third exam, most notably the Fourth Kazekage—"
Naruko and Fuu noted that Gaara looked particularly displeased, while his siblings were merely indifferent.
"—the Fourth Mizukage—"
Fuu's face was a mix of hope and excitement while Naruko and Gaara exchanged smirks; they forgot Fuu had no idea that Yagura was the Mizukage, so she was probably hoping for either him or Utakata to be in the platoon of shinobi that always accompanied a Kage. They would have to remember to bring a camera to take a shot of her face when she found out what exactly their beloved older brothers were now.
"—and the Fourth Raikage."
Naruko's eyebrows flew to her hairline; Kumo was coming? From what she knew, Konoha had a strained relationship with that particular Hidden Village, especially since they had attempted to kidnap the three-year-old Hyuuga heiress. She idly wondered if either Bee or her mother could possibly one of be the Raikage's bodyguards, unless he was like Yagura and only had one. From what she heard about the Fourth, he was young but powerful. Naruko suppressed a smile at the thought of Killer Bee being Raikage while his solitary bodyguard was Yugito. She sweatdropped at the mental image; 'On second thought, Kumo would almost definitely deteriorate within less than a week under Killer Bee's reign...'
"So we can't have pointless matches, and our time is limited as well," Hayate continued to explain. "Therefore, those of you not in top physical condition and who wish to drop out now, please speak up. The preliminary will begin immediately, so—"
"Immediately?" Kiba repeated incredulously. Naruko reached over and slapped his head upside down, successfully quieting the rowdy Inuzuka.
"But we finally made it through the second exam..." Sakura sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was feeling a headache coming on.
"This is a pain..." Shikamaru grumbled from behind Ino.
"Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but it will be individual battles from now on," Hayate added. "It is your decision, so feel free to raise your hands and drop out."
'Who in their right mind would quit?' Sasuke questioned almost incredulously. He hadn't come this far, to only come this far. He winced and grabbed his shoulder.
"Sasuke?" Sakura whispered worriedly. Naruko glanced back at her teammate's whisper, her brow furrowing in concern as Sasuke's face screwed up in pain, clenching his shoulder so tight his knuckles turned white.
'The waves of pain are coming faster,' Sasuke noted through gritted teeth.
"Sasuke, you should quit these preliminaries," Sakura whispered quickly. She sensed more than saw Sasuke's eyes widen incredulously. Naruko remained calm as she observed her seemingly-volatile teammate. "L-Look, you haven't been yourself ever since you got bit by that Orochimaru guy. That bruise hurts even now, right? At this rate..." Her mind unwillingly flashed back to back in the Forest of Death, from the moment Orochimaru bit Sasuke's neck to when he had, for lack of better terminology, transformed. "Please... please quit."
Hiruzen observed their exchange. "I knew it," he murmured through the pipe in his mouth.
"What should we do?" Ibiki asked, his eyes trained on that particular Genin team. He noted that Naruko appeared to be rather calm about the situation, though the subtle furrowing of her brow and narrowed eyes indicated her mind gears were already whirring.
"We should remove him from the exams and isolate him with ANBU bodyguards on him," Anko answered at once, knowing all too well the effects of the Snake Sannin's Curse Mark. "We should recommend that he retire immediately."
"He's not the kind of type to obey just like that..."
Anko narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, who didn't appear all that fazed at the discovery.
"After all, he's of the Uchiha Clan," the one-eyed Jonin reminded.
"What're you talking nonsense about?" Anko's voice rose as she started to lose her temper. "I'll make him stop by force if needed!" She forced herself to lower her voice. "The Curse Mark responds even when one is just building up chakra and attempts to forcibly extract his strength." She reached up to cover her own mark. "It's a prohibited jutsu that eats into the body of the one who uses the jutsu." She turned back to look at the Uchiha, who appeared to be considering his pink-haired teammate's request; even Hinata Hyuuga was looking at him in clear concern. "It's a wonder the kid is even enduring it. He should really already be dead."
Naruko resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately; sensitive hearing had its ups and downs. But really, would it kill Kakashi to not antagonize Anko for at least one day? But then again, it wasn't like said kunoichi was doing much to keep a keep that temper of hers in check. Although... Naruko chewed her lower lip. She did understand why this was a sensitive topic for Anko. The blonde hadn't even wanted to tell Anko that she was attempting to develop a seal that would remove or, at the very least, neutralize the Curse Mark. It would've been cruel to get her hopes up, only to let her down, as Naruko knew so many other seal masters had done.
She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard Hiruzen let out an, "Oh?" and turned to see Kabuto's hand in the air. All eyes turned to Kabuto, who was smiling sheepishly. "Excuse me... I'll quit."
Hayate blinked at him for a moment before flipping pages on his clipboard. "Let's see... Kabuto Yakushi of Konoha, correct? Then, you may step back."
"Hai."
Naruko narrowed her eyes at him, but her ears twitched so her eyes zeroed in on Ibiki, Anko and the Third Hokage.
"Kit, listen to them carefully. Something's up with him."
'No need to tell me twice.'
"Shukaku and Chomei have also told Gaara and Fuu to do the same."
"I've seen that face a few times," Hiruzen mused aloud, face uncharacteristically serious. "As I recall, he dropped out of the main battle before, as well. What in the world is he thinking?"
Ibiki shifted to look at his T&I colleague. "Anko."
The purple-haired kunoichi quickly brought up her own clipboard. "Kabuto Yakushi — according to the data, he failed six times in a row."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. "What about his background?"
"From his time in the Academy, he was a student who didn't really stand out and his grades were ordinary. He finally passed the graduation exam on his third try. After that, as for the missions he carried out, two C-ranks and fourteen D-ranks." She paused before adding her own opinion, "It's not a battle record to write home about." Her eyes hesitantly shifted from the paper to the Third Hokage. "However..."
"However?" Hiruzen prodded patiently.
"It's about before the Academy."
The Third's eyes widened imperceptibly. "Hmm?"
"Do you remember the story about the one boy brought back from the Kikyo Pass battle?"
The Hokage dipped his head slightly in a nod. "I remember. As I recall, I heard an enemy boy survivor at the battlefield was taken back by a Jonin from the medical unit." His eyes focused on the silver-haired boy. "So he's that boy?"
'Kikyo Pass battle?' Naruko repeated. 'What's that? I've never heard of it.'
"The Kikyo Pass battle was during the Third Shinobi War," Kurama answered. "However... call me a cliché or whatever, but I sense something's not right about this story. It seems fabricated. It's too convenient. A boy from the enemy's side is the only survivor and so was taken in by medics to be raised as a Konoha shinobi?" The Bijuu snorted. "Who in their right minds would think of such a thing, let alone agree to the idea?"
Naruko silently agreed.
Hayate cleared his throat. "Now, then, are there no others who will quit?"
Naruko's eye twitched as she noticed rather significant bags under the Jonin's eyes. 'As soon as this whole preliminary thing is over, you can be sure I'm going to throttle him.'
"Yugao won't be happy about you throttling her boyfriend," Kurama commented dryly; he was endlessly amused by his host's current life. Out of all three hosts — Mito, Kushina and now Naruko — the third was definitely his favourite.
'Oh, I'm sure she won't mind once I tell her what he's been doing,' the blonde assured him.
Sakura made to raise her hand at Hayate's question, but it was slapped down by Sasuke. He was gripping her wrist in a vice-like hold, staring unflinchingly into her eyes as he ordered, "Be quiet about the bruise."
Sakura glared back with just as much conviction. "Why are you acting so tough?" she demanded quietly. "You don't have to keep this up. We—"
"This is none of your business," Sasuke hissed. Sakura's eyes widened, visibly taken aback at the harsh tone. Sasuke didn't notice. "I've told you before — I'm an avenger. This is not just a mere exam to me. The Chuunin business has nothing to do with me." Sasuke paused, closing his eyes briefly. "'Am I strong?' All I want is the answer to that. By fighting with those who are strong. And the strong are here. I will not allow even you to take that path away from me."
Naruko rolled her eyes and casually took a half-step backwards... and stomped her foot hard on Sasuke's. The Uchiha bit back a shout of pain, whirling around to glare at his other teammate. As per usual, it had no effect on her; Naruko simply met his gaze boredly. "You're a bloody massive idiot, you know that?"
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"If you recall, I told you before: Itachi is your blood; your family." Naruko shook her head, sighing through her nose in dismay. "I thought I already got it through your thick skull—" she accented this point with a light slap to his temple, "—that more often than not, true intentions are hidden beneath outward appearances. It is an older sibling's instinct to be borderline overprotective to the younger, and they would do anything — even play the role of a villain — if it meant ensuring their survival." Her eyes softened. "So why bother keeping up that front, teme? Sakura and I are both worried about you. So for once in your life, suck it up and accept that there are people out there who care for you, and want you to have something better than vengeance on your mind."
"Naruko," Sasuke said slowly, closing his eyes for a brief moment before giving her a small quirk of the lip. "Thank you." Naruko nodded once, and the Uchiha added, "But I want to fight you too, one day."
Naruko narrowed her eyes playfully. "As long as it's not to the death."
Hiruzen breathed out a puff of smoke, watching Team 7's interactions. "What Orochimaru said is weighing on my mind. I will let Sasuke do the test, and see how things go."
"Wha—?" Anko sputtered in disbelief. "L-Lord Hokage!"
"However," Hiruzen continued, "if the Curse Mark opens and the power gets even a little bit out of control, get in there and stop it."
"Alright," Ibiki agreed.
"But—!" Anko stopped when she felt someone's gaze on her back, and turned to see a familiar pair of blue eyes trained on her. Naruko dipped her head slightly in reassurance or assent — Anko wasn't really sure — and the kunoichi sighed as she turned back to the Third Hokage and her superior. "I understand," she conceded begrudgingly.
Hayate glanced back at them, and then at the Genin. "Now then, we will begin the preliminaries. The preliminaries to come will be one-on-one individual battles. In other words — actual battle format. There are now exactly twenty people, so we will conduct ten battles. The winners will be able to advance to the third exam. There are no rules at all." At the inquiring gazes, he clarified, "You will fight until someone dies, collapses, or admits defeat." He paused. "And... please admit defeat right away if you don't want to die."
Naruko's eye twitched; 'No sugar honey iced tea, Sherlock.'
"However, in case I judge that a match is over... er, I don't particularly want to needlessly increase dead bodies, so I will intervene and stop the match, or something to that effect." Hayate and Anko both sweatdropped as soon as the words left the Tokubetsu Jonin's mouth, feeling irritation practically rolling off their favourite blonde Leaf gremlin; it was identical to the same irritation as when Anko was taunting the Genin outside the Forest of Death. Hayate quickly continued, "What holds the key to your destinies is..." He turned to look at Anko, who nodded.
She spoke into her mic, "Open it."
A panel in the wall slowly retracted, revealing a black screen. It was rather anti-climactic, if you asked any of the Rookie 9.
"...this. The names of the two foes will be randomly selected and displayed on this electronic signboard." Hayate turned back to the candidates with a stern expression. "Now then, let's get right down to it and announce the first two names for the first battle."
Anticipation and stress levels rose high in the air as the screen lit up yellow for a moment before returning to black, and names started to flash by at blinding speed.
Yoroi Akado
VS
Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. 'To think it'd be so soon...' His eye momentarily closed as his hand shot up to cover the bruise that was still throbbing. He quickly recovered, smirking cockily at the signboard.
Naruko's eye twitched as she glanced back at her stubborn teammate. 'If that idiot so much as thinks of using the Curse Mark, so help me—'
"You'll tear him limb from limb?" Kurama yawned. "Well that settles it — my dear Kit, you have definitely been spending way too much time with me."
'It's not like I have a choice,' Naruko retorted in amusement. 'We do share residence of my body.'
"Yes," Kurama rolled his eyes, "no need to remind me of that."
'Oh, don't be like that,' Naruko teased, 'you and I both know you love me.'
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Kit."
"I couldn't ask for more," a shinobi that was on Kabuto's team murmured from behind the cloth that hid the lower half of his face.
Gaara, having heard the man, shot a suspicious look his way before it switched to concern as he saw Sasuke grasping at his shoulder. Naruko appeared to have a well-hidden murderous intent in her eyes; one that he and Fuu knew all too well.
"Now then," Hayate said loudly, "the two displayed on the signboard, come forward."
Sasuke made to move forward, but was halted by circulation-preventing grips on both his wrists.
"You so much as think about using that lanta-damned chakra that mark gives you and I promise, you will find it impossible to move even a finger for at least five months," Sakura muttered lowly into Sasuke's ear.
"And if you actually use it, even Kami won't be able to help you once I'm done with you," Naruko added just as quietly.
"Capsiche?" both girls growled together.
"C-Capische," the Uchiha quickly agreed, doing a mix between a wince and a gulp. He knew that, since the threat came from Naruko Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, it was anything but empty.
"Good luck~" the pinkette smiled sweetly as she let go of his wrist.
"Go kick some ass," the blonde gave him her typical Uzumaki Grin, pushing him slightly towards Hayate.
"For the first battle, Yoroi Akado and Sasuke Uchiha have been selected." For some reason, Hayate found it necessary to announce the opponents even though everyone in the room was literate. "No objections?"
"No," both candidates answered without hesitation.
'I have an objection,' Sakura thought sourly. She reached forward to grasp Naruko's hand; the blonde squeezed back reassuringly.
"Now then, we will begin the first match." Hayate raised his voice, "Everyone other than the two foes, please move to the upper area."
The Genin obeyed; Naruko shot Hayate a look that she hoped conveyed everything she wanted him to know. Hayate nodded once at her, his eyes flickering between Anko and Naruko. The girl narrowed her eyes in understanding, and resisted Sakura's faint attempts to tug her towards the stairs when she saw Kakashi approaching. The pinkette raised an eyebrow at her inquisitively, but stayed behind patiently.
"Sasuke," Kakashi lowered his voice as he paused, "don't use the Sharingan."
Sasuke's eyes widened, before his features slipped back into their typical smirk. "So, you knew?"
"If that Curse Mark on your neck gets out of control, it could endanger your life," Team 7's sensei informed him sternly.
"I believe it," Sasuke agreed.
"Well, the match will be called off at that time. I'll be coming in to stop it, so good luck." Kakashi started walking again, and Naruko allowed Sakura to pull her towards the upper area to join the rest of their friends.
Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief as his obsidian gaze followed his sensei's back. 'Called off?' He tentatively touched the "bruise". 'It seems this Curse Mark thing is responding to my chakra.' His mind flashed back to how an intense pain had blossomed at the bruise's location when he attempted to use the Sharingan in the Forest of Death. 'If I carelessly build up chakra, it would extract my spiritual energy, and bring out the chakra in my body to no end.' He looked up at his opponent. 'In other words, in this match, I can hardly use even my regular jutsu, not to mention the Sharingan. Now then... how will I go?'
All of the teams with their respective sensei were watching from the upper area, with varying levels of anticipation all the way to boredom.
Kakashi observed his student carefully. 'Don't act rashly, Sasuke.'
Hayate looked first at Sasuke, and then at Yoroi. Seeing that both shinobi were both ready, he announced, "Now then, please begin."
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"Hinata!"
Naruko, Sasuke, Sakura and Lee dropped down from the upper area and ran over to the Hyuuga heiress, who was being laid down on the ground by her Jonin sensei.
"Hinata," Naruko crouched by her side, blue eyes full of concern, "what's wrong?"
"N-Naruko... I—"
Sakura touched Naruko's shoulder, and she quickly moved out of the way so Sakura could do a basic medical diagnosis. "Cardiac arrest," the pinkette muttered as her hands instantly lit up in a cloak of green chakra, hovering over Hinata's chest.
"Will she be okay?" Naruko murmured, trying not to break Sakura's concentration.
"It's serious," Sakura answered grimly, "but she'll be fine." She flashed a reassuring smile at her teammate. "Especially if I have anything to do about it." Despite her words, the pinkette fought to keep from glaring daggers at the older Hyuuga, 'Was he trying to kill her?'
Naruko bit the inner flesh of her cheek, hard. She stood up, and Sasuke appeared by her side in his usual, silent fashion. Lee was over with his sensei and teammate. The blonde tried not to glare at the older Hyuuga; the match had been called, and Neji Hyuuga still continued to attack Hinata. It had taken Gai, Kakashi, Hayate and Kurenai to stop him. But try as she might, Naruko couldn't quite extinguish that rebellious spark of rage that flared when she recalled how often Hinata would speak highly of her "Neji-nii-san".
She felt Sasuke press a hand to the small of her back, both as a gesture of comfort and a warning to not do anything rash. Despite his actions, Naruko could feel a similar rage simmering beneath his indifferent exterior. And she understood him, just as he did her; ever since that day where the three of them had been early to the Academy, the Uchiha, Uzumaki and Hyuuga steadily became closer, until the day of their team assignments. And even then, they remained close friends, and Sakura ended up befriending Hinata as well. It made sense, seeing as Hinata was with two-thirds of Team 7 already.
And the state that Neji had reduced Hinata to filled Team 7 with a burning, righteous fury.
Kurenai had called for the medics, and once Sakura had done what she could, Hinata was lifted onto a stretcher and carried away.
Sakura rubbed her hands on her dress, frowning in distaste. "I did as much as I could," she said quietly as she came to stand beside her teammates. "Her condition has stabilized." The pinkette winced. "I may have used up more chakra than necessary, but that's alright," she smiled tightly. "It was well worth it."
"You're shivering," Sasuke frowned, and reached over to sandwich Sakura's hands between his as he started to rub his hands in an effort to warm them up.
Naruko glanced down and noticed blood — Hinata's blood — by her feet. Her usually bright blue eyes hardened. "Neji."
The Hyuuga prodigy looked over at her.
"When we fight in the third exam... a match of a failure against a gifted genius..." Naruko knelt down and dipped her fingers in the red liquid, turning to face Neji with her hand held out in a fist as Hinata's blood coated her palm. "I will win no matter what."
Neji's expression didn't move, but Naruko caught the flicker of something she couldn't identify in his eyes. The Hyuuga and Uzumaki remained in a staring match for a few moments before Gai moved.
The Taijutsu Master gently covered Naruko's outstretched fist with his own, larger hand while his other one dropped onto her head. "I am proud of you for your dedication to your friend, Naru," he said quietly with an affectionate smile, using her pet name from so long ago. "I apologize for my inability to stop Neji before he went too far. Rest assured, I will talk to him." Gai glanced over his shoulder at the younger shinobi. "Neji has some... he holds resentment towards the Hyuuga main family for what they have done to him. And to his father. I cannot ask you to not be angry with him, but I do ask that you at least try to understand where he comes from. He holds a seal, a burden, similar to that of your own."
Naruko frowned, but nodded. A quiet and serious Gai was a little disconcerting, but surprisingly, it had always been him who was the best at calming her down.
Gai released her, and Naruko walked back over to her teammates. Sakura wordlessly took her hand and used her dress to wipe the blood from her hands. At the questioning look, the pinkette shrugged, "It was red to begin with." Naruko nodded, and allowed them to practically guide her to the stairs.
"Hey, Choji," Shikamaru muttered, "you're in trouble. Only the strong ones are left." His sharp gaze shifted around at the remaining candidates who had yet to fight, starting with Dosu. "That guy's probably the strongest of the Hidden Sound. And Lee is apparently strong enough to take on Sasuke." He glanced over at the redheaded Suna shinobi, "And particularly that Sand guy. He's probably the most dangerous one—"
"Really?" Ino raised a brow. "Did you not see how he was acting around Naruko and that green-haired girl?"
"And haven't you noticed that he only acts like that around those two?" Shikamaru shot right back. "Otherwise, even his own teammates appear afraid of him. And he has that manipulation of sand that even I have never heard of."
Choji's knees started shaking and he slid down the railing until he was crouched with his hands gripping the bars. "I-I don't care!" He was on the verge of tears. "I plan to forfeit right away if that happens..."
"So that means," an amused voice made the Ino-Shika-Cho look up, "you plan to forego all-you-can-eat-BBQ too, then."
"What?" Choji cried in alarm, before falling into a pout. "Come on..."
Asuma Sarutobi, Team 10's Jonin sensei, let out a yelp when a hand reached up to slap the back of his head. At the same time he turned around to see who had assaulted him, a quick hand had the opportunity to snatch the cigarette that had previously been between his teeth.
As Asuma turned to face her, Naruko noted in amusement that he resembled Choji with a pout on his face. "No smoking," she quipped as she dropped the cigarette to crush beneath her foot. "And bribing an Akimichi with an all-you-can-eat-BBQ is all-time new low for you, Asu."
"Naru," Asuma all but whined. "That was my last cigarette!"
"Good," the blonde folded her arms, "you should quit anyway."
"Do I want to know what your relationship is?" Shikamaru drawled with a sigh, though there was slight curiosity in his eyes.
Naruko tossed a grin over her shoulder, "The same as my relationship with a few ANBU and the two Jonin from the T&I Department."
"A simple "no" would've sufficed," the Nara deadpanned.
"But then where would be the fun in that answer?" Naruko asked as she leaned against Asuma. The man held a steadying hand on her shoulder, and grinned like a child on Christmas Day when the blonde begrudgingly handed him a brand-new pack of cigarettes. "No smoking until you're out of this building," she smacked his hand as he made to pull one out. Asuma pouted again, but obeyed; one simply did not mess with an Uzumaki.
"Don't worry, Choji," Asuma smiled reassuringly as he came to kneel down by the Akimichi. "If things start getting ugly, I'll step in and stop the fight like how I did for Hinata. Okay?" He grinned again before reciting quickly, "Prime beef tongue, short ribs, you can eat what you want—"
'Don't dangle food in front of him!' Ino thought with a frown, crossing her arms.
'Besides, he didn't step in and stop the fight for Hinata,' Shikamaru recalled, watching his sensei and teammate with an unimpressed raised eyebrow.
But Choji's eyes were already on fire and he shot up, chanting loudly, "BBQ! Alright, BBQ! All you can eat!"
From across the area, Kankuro warily eyed Gaara, who was wide-eyed and shaking. 'He doesn't look good.'
Baki was also observing Suna's jinchuuriki with a wary air, however Temari was watching her youngest brother with nothing but concern in her teal eyes. 'Watching the last fight... did it get stirred up?'
Hayate coughed deliberately, and all attention was immediately returned to him. "We will now resume the preliminary matches."
"Okay!" Gai's voice boomed across the otherwise-silent area. "You'll be up this time for sure. Go for it, Lee!" He stuck his "good guy pose", teeth shining as he shot a thumbs up at his pupil who looked uncannily similar to himself.
Naruko's forehead fell to the railing. 'Good lanta, I want to hit him so badly... but I already used up my quota of how many sibling-figures I'm allowed to abuse in one day.' She mentally shook her fist, 'Curse you for creating that rule, Kakashi Hatake! It's not my fault I observe things like an actual shinobi and have a slight tendency to overuse sarcasm.'
"No!"
"Huh?" Sakura, Naruko and Gai stared at the taijutsu-user in surprise.
"Seeing as I've come this far, I'd rather be the last!"
'Is Lee sulking?' Sakura thought in surprise, resisting the urge to actually ask the question aloud. While he did seem rather fond of her — perhaps due to their shared history — she wasn't exactly sure how to approach him as of yet, but hoped they could somehow rebuild their friendship. But that wouldn't happen if the first question she asked him was, "Are you sulking?"
The signboard suddenly chimed with the new match.
Gaara sighed — 'I'm too tired for this crap.' — and formed a Ram sign. In a rather unnecessary dramatic move, he appeared in the area in a whirlwind of sand.
Fuu's eye twitched as she started to comb through her hair to rid it of sand grains. 'I'm going to kill that stupid panda once this is over,' she griped. 'Stupid sand grains. You'd think he could be at least a little considerate of those who don't get to manipulate sand and stay dirty when it gets in their hair.'
"Hurry up and get down here—"
Choji let out a shriek, and almost everyone in the Rookie 9 who remained in the area started to freak out. "Safe!" he declared loudly.
"Hey!"
"Don't do anything misleading, idiot!"
Sakura sweatdropped; 'Both of his teammates just punched him in the head... and in the same place, too.' She looked up at the signboard, and then instantly whirled around. "Rock!"
But he was grinning as he stretched his right leg with a few kicks. "It worked! If you say you want to go last, then you won't be last. It's an application of the same law that says a stone thrown to hit a telephone pole will miss, and a stone thrown to miss will be a direct hit!" He switched to his arms with deliberate punches.
"Right! That's my student!" Gai exclaimed joyfully.
"I absolutely did not want to go last!" Lee proclaimed. "I threw them a beauty of a curve!"
'Threw whom a curve?' Sasuke was seriously questioning the mentality of both teacher and student.
"Okay, so let me give you a little piece of "nice" advice." Gai leaned down to Lee's ear. "Probably no one has noticed yet, but... that gourd is suspicious!"
Naruko peered at her sensei, her eyes conveying everything; 'Please let me hit him. Just once.' Kakashi, while annoyed at his "rival's" antics, shook his head in amusement. The blonde let her head bang onto the railing again, however her eyes found Gaara's and she couldn't stop a smile from stretching across her face.
"I see!"
"Quit with the notes!" Neji snapped, obviously irritated at how long his teammate was taking to get down to the arena. "You're not going to have time to read them during the match, fool."
"Alright! Go, Lee!" Gai hollered, and Lee vaulted over the railing to land opposite Gaara.
Naruko could read the faint disgust mixed with amusement and skepticism, though he put up his guard nonetheless. To most people, Gaara's expression was the same. But as his siblings, she and Fuu had learned to read his stoic expressions and were able to discern the emotions there, plain as day. It was one of the reasons why she was able to somewhat read Sasuke so quickly in the beginning, despite how little time they initially spent together at first.
Lee had a determined smile on his face as he assumed his signature taijutsu stance. "I am very happy to be squaring off with you so early in the match."
Gaara didn't respond at all; Naruko was fairly sure it was because he simply didn't know how to appropriately do so.
Lee's hand flashed in front of his face, and a moment later, Gaara's cork dropped to his feet. He hadn't even flinched. "Please do not be in such a hurry."
Naruko could tell Gaara was secretly impressed at his reflexes. Naruko herself wasn't surprised, seeing how she had trained with Gai before. But what she was more surprised about was that Gaara actually had some sort of trick to test the reflexes of one who specialized in taijutsu. She had to admit, it was a smart move on his part. Not that she was sure how much good that little bit of information would do Gaara.
Her eyes flickered to Sakura, who was looking rather concerned, jade eyes trained on the green-clad miniature version of Might Gai. Her eyebrow raised, 'Oh? Could there be something there?' Deciding it really wasn't the best time to ask, Naruko filed it away and kept silent.
Hayate raised his hand. "Now then, the ninth match..." His hand fell. "Begin!"
Lee rushed at Gaara; "Leaf Hurricane!" His leg smashed into a wave of sand that had come up to protect the redhead, who had barely moved, let alone look fazed by the attack. The sand rose up and dove at Lee, as if to bury him alive, but the Leaf Genin quickly backflipped away. He paused to catch his breath, watching as the sand slowly receded back into the redhead's gourd.
"Is that sand?" Ino's eyes were wide.
'What an unusual jutsu,' Kakashi noted. He glanced over at his team; while somewhat impressed at the display, they weren't all that surprised at the shinobi's manipulation of sand. If they had known about this beforehand, why did none of them see fit to mention it to him? Or even to Lee, for that matter?
Sakura slumped. "I forgot to mention that to him..."
Naruko patted her shoulder. "Well if it's any consolation, Gaara won't seriously injure him." She paused. "Unless..."
The pinkette looked at her in concern. "Unless?"
Naruko pursed her lips. "I want to say it won't happen, but Suna's sealing masters are terrible." She abruptly turned to her teammate, "Listen: I can't promise nothing will happen. He's riled up enough as it is, through no fault of his own. But if something does happen, I need you trust that I can take care of it. Don't try to jump in like you did with Hinata. Gaara's different.. it'll take more than four Jonin to stop him."
"But it only takes you?" Sasuke retorted from her other side.
Naruko turned to him. "Only because he will recognize me. Even subconsciously, he will never hurt me." A faint smile, albeit tinged with bitterness, graced her face. "We go too far back for that to ever happen."
Sasuke bit his tongue, and returned to observing the match. So far, none of Lee's taijutsu attacks had managed to penetrate or circumvent the redhead's automatic sand protection. And he just barely managed to avoid another wave of sand that threatened to crush him with its intensity. It wasn't looking good for Lee, no matter how fast he was.
"Lee, take them off!"
"B-But Gai-sensei—!" Lee cried in surprise. "You told me to do that only to protect a large group of very important people!"
Gai grinned. "It's quite all right! I give you permission!" He stuck out his classic thumbs-up pose. Obeying, Lee pulled down his orange leg-warmers, revealing—
"You did not!" Naruko screeched, vaulting over to smash her fist into Gai's bowl-cut. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, baka!" She continued pounding at him with a flurry of attacks. "Do you know how much easier it would've been if you just came to me in the first place? I have weight seals of my own design that are outrageously more effective than that old, out-of-date thing! To even call that... that atrocious monstrosity any kind of seal is pure blasphemy!"
As Gai tried to fend off her attacks, the surrounding Jonin and two jinchuuriki sweatdropped as the same thought ran through their minds; 'I forgot how intense she can be about fūinjutsu...'
When Lee finally stood up, he looked a bit happier. "Alright, now I can move easier!" He dropped the weights, and the sheer amount smashed into the ground with enough force to create twin craters. Everyone was visibly shocked — except Gaara; he remained typically unfazed — but the proctor's left eye gave a slight twitch; he was so going to hear about that later.
Naruko rounded on Gai, who instantly fled behind Kakashi. The one-eyed Jonin had a hand to his masked mouth, "That's a bit extreme, Gai, wouldn't you say?" the Hatake questioned with a nonchalant air, despite the somewhat wrong image of having a trembling man that was clad in green spandex hiding behind him.
Gaara's eyes widened as Lee appeared to teleport around the area due to his boost of speed. His sand only barely blocked Lee's taijutsu moves. As it was, the automatic sand protection was thin and Lee's fists and feet managed to pierce the sand protection, though they never hit its mark. It was amazing to watch, despite how Gaara remained uninjured.
Fuu tried to smother a giggle. 'Poor Panda-chan, he looks so confused.'
"I'd like to see you try and go up against that, Fuu," Chomei commented dryly.
'No thanks,' Fuu chuckled, 'I'm good staying as a spectator.'
Lee was somersaulting at breakneck speed above Gaara, spinning so fast he was nothing but a green blur. And then he dropped, his leg outstretched and slamming into Gaara's head.
Temari and Kankuro looked veritably horrified and shocked, while Naruko and Fuu were both stunned. The only two people who had ever gotten past Gaara's Sand Shield in combat had been Yugito Nii and Yagura Karatachi. Even Roshi, the most experienced of them all, had slight trouble getting past the ultimate defense. Yugito, as Matatabi's jinchuuriki, had her own unique aspect of the Fire element, similar to Naruko's and yet different. Her blue flame could melt Gaara's sand into glass, rendering it useless. Before she had figured that out, however, Yugito had relied on her advantage of being fast — just like Lee — again due to being the jinchuuriki of the Two-Tailed Cat. Similarly, Yagura basically teleported around Gaara using a varied version of Water Release: Aqua Mirror Technique in order to confuse the younger boy until he was able to land a knockout strike with his staff. As for Naruko, it was only through years of having lived with both Ritsu and Gaara that enabled her to have a chance at getting through the ultimate defense, as she had ten years to discover the ins and outs of it. But for Lee, who had only just met Gaara, to have landed a direct hit him already...
"Looks like speed is the ultimate weakness of his sand," Fuu murmured, leaning so far forward Naruko had to hold her shirt in order to ensure she didn't fall into the arena.
"This isn't good," the blonde grimaced at the bleeding cut on Gaara's cheek. "Shukaku won't like that... he's fiercely protective of Gaara. Maybe even more so than Kurama is of me."
"Doubt it," Fuu snorted, "Shukaku just has less control than Kurama."
"Oh, I'm not denying that," Naruko agreed, letting her eyes fall back to the two boys below.
"Youth is an explosion!" Gai practically bellowed, rejoicing in his student's victory, no matter how minor it was.
And Lee was moving again, fast enough that Gaara couldn't even see him. He was sent flying back from a punch to the cheek. Gaara slowly stood up, sand pooling around him as it steadily poured from the gourd on his back.
"Uh-oh..." Kankuro muttered, eyes wide.
Naruko winced as she heard the shouts of disbelief from her fellow candidates. 'Kurama, I'm worried,' she told her tenant as she registered the almost-maniacal grin on her brother's face. This particular scene was looking uncomfortably familiar. 'How's Shukaku?'
"...let's just say you have a right to be worried," Kurama answered in a guarded tone.
'Shit.' Naruko closed her eyes. 'How long?'
"Don't know. As you saw, Gaara doesn't have a full-on injury since he's using his Sand Armour to keep Lee's attacks from directly hitting him for the time being."
The sand was slowly drawing itself back onto Gaara, filling in the gaps of the armour-like sand that covered his body.
'But the mere fact that he has to use the Sand Armour shows that he's under pressure,' Naruko rebutted. 'At this rate, Shukaku may snap.'
"...ugh, I hate insane brothers. Stupid raccoon, always causing unnecessary drama."
Naruko rolled her eyes, 'I'm sure any normal being would hate having insane brothers, too.'
Realizing that his normal attacks will no longer work, Lee proceeded to use an attack recognized as Front Lotus on Gaara. For a brief moment, everyone was silent with shock before a few cheers rang out, believing Lee had won. However, Gaara's body turned a dull tawny-brown and cracked to disintegrate into sand.
Naruko's eyebrow twitched, 'Stop stealing my moves, you son of Hermes! Granted it's a sand clone and not a shadow clone... but still!'
Gaara suddenly reappeared behind Lee, sand pouring off him like a waterfall. His Sand Armour was visibly cracked, and he was glaring at the Konoha Genin. He hunched over slightly as his lips pulled back into a menacing grin, his hands slamming together into a Ram sign. Sand started flying up and out at Lee, striking him twice. The taijutsu-specialist-in-training barely blocked in time, and was knocked off his feet. He was visibly struggling to stand back up, but Gaara moved to attack before he was back on his feet.
'Holy chalupas!' Naruko swore before shouting, "Lee, move!"
It was useless, as the sand of wave tossed Lee up and smashed him into the roof before letting him slump down to the ground. The sand was acting almost as if it was a living thing, acting on its own accord; it didn't allow Lee time to recover before crashing down on him again.
"Gaa-chan... he's toying with him," Fuu's eyes were wide. She had only seen Gaara like this a few times, and always Yugito and the rest of their jinchuuriki family had been around to contain him and bring him back. Otherwise Naruko was use the wild sand as her test subject for various seals while Kurama scolded Shukaku into reverting back.
"Why doesn't Lee dodge?" Sakura questioned, almost desperately. "With his speed, he should be able to dodge those attacks."
"It's not that he doesn't dodge," Gai answered solemnly, eyes narrowed in concern, "it's that he can't dodge."
Naruko narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips, and released a loud, piercing four-note whistle.
Both Gaara and his sand froze, inches from Lee's battered body. The Sand shinobi looked up at his sister, and his head inclined as gratitude flickered in his eyes, his volatile chakra noticeably calming as Shukaku's increasing presence began to fade. Naruko nodded back at him, her tense shoulders relaxing as the sand swirled back to surround Gaara, and the redhead waited for Lee to collect himself before continuing.
Fuu smiled slightly, reaching out to grab Naruko's hand, who squeezed back reassuringly. That whistle had been the first warning that Gaara had whenever Shukaku's presence started to grow to alarming levels — it told the redhead to either calm down if he was agitated, or it brought him back to reality if he was too caught up in combat. In this particular case, it was the latter. Having a cracking seal probably didn't help in filtering Shukaku's influence on Gaara's perceptions, but they had worked out this system long ago, and most of the time it did the trick. However if Gaara continued to exhibit symptoms of losing control, the two girls would whistle in a sort of echoing, overlapping euphony until the other jinchuuriki came out to see what was wrong.
The Taki jinchuuriki was drawn out of the past by Naruko's teammate, Sakura, asking the sensei in green spandex, "What do you mean?" She was probably referring to the man's — Gai? — earlier admittance that their fellow Genin didn't dodge the sand simply because he couldn't. Fuu was somewhat relieved to see that the pinkette seemed more curious than nervous, now that the sand attacking Lee was visibly less ruthless than before.
"The Lotus is a double-edged sword," Kakashi answered his student in Gai's place, referring to the move Lee had used on Gaara's sand clone. "It's not a ninjutsu or genjutsu. It's a taijutsu, with high-speed movement. The load it puts on a person's body is beyond imagination. So right now, Lee's entire body is in so much pain that even moving is out of the question." His coal eye shifted to his longtime friend and rival. "Isn't that right, Gai?"
"But that's..." Sakura's eyes were wide as she jerked back to the railing, worry renewed. Despite his obvious fatigue, Lee managed to flip out the sand's reach, landing in a low crouch. Unable to take it anymore, Sakura cried, "Stop, Rock!" She ignored the surprised looks at her use of his other name, "If you fight any more, you'll die!" Her shoulders was trembling. 'Please don't make me lose you again, Rock. I can't. Not after I just found you.'
Lee glanced up at his cherry blossom, and smiled. When the wave of sand crashed on him, his body practically flickered out of the way, moving lithely around the area and avoiding the sand that was, once more, picking up speed. 'Sensei is smiling and watching me... Sakura is watching me... and because of that, I can come back stronger! Stronger — stronger still!'
Naruko bit down on the soft inner flesh of her cheek. 'At this rate—' Her eyes widened. 'Lee's... smiling... even though he's getting driven into a corner.'
"Now who does that remind me of, I wonder," Kurama mused aloud. Naruko rolled her eyes at him but didn't grace him with a response, knowing exactly who he was referring to.
"Now he's the one doing the driving," Gai's voice was tinged with pride as he watched his pupil nimbly leap to the side to avoid the sand strikes. At Sakura's inquisitive sound, Gai turned with a smile, "The Lotus of the Leaf Village blossoms twice."
Sakura's eyes widened, recalling how, in the Forest of Death, Lee had said a similar thing; "The Lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice. When we meet again, I will have become a stronger man. I pledge it."
"No, Gai!" Kakashi exclaimed in protest. "You haven't!"
Naruko jerked around, a similar train of thought running through her mind. She knew Might Gai. She knew his moves, all his secret aces up his sleeves. But she also knew the repercussions. So surely he couldn't have...?
Gai merely closed his eyes and nodded. "It is exactly as you imagine."
Kakashi's eye narrowed dangerously at him. "So that Genin... that boy can open the Eight Inner Gates in his body and use the Hidden Lotus."
Team 9's sensei didn't appear affected by Kakashi's blatant disapproval, but he was noticeably subdued as he confirmed, "That's right."
"This is incredible," Kakashi murmured before saying a little louder, "Gai, how many of the Eight Inner Gates can that boy open now?"
Gai closed his eyes. "Five gates."
Sakura glanced sharply over at her sensei. "What exactly is it? These Eight Inner Gates and that Hidden Lotus?"
Gai answered her; "The Eight Inner Gates are "Limiter Releases" used in preparation for reaching the Hidden Lotus."
"A Limiter Release?" Sakura repeated.
Kakashi turned back to the match with a new agenda, raising his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan. "That's right... in the chakra network where chakra flows, there are eight places where the chakra points are concentrated in each area of the body from the head area down — the Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Closing, Gate of Joy, Gate of Shock and Gate of Death. These are called the Eight Inner Gates. These eight gates continually "limit" the amount of chakra flowing through the body. However, the Lotus' essence is to force the boundaries of these "limits" to open and bring out several tens of times the strength of the user's body."
"The Front Lotus opens only the first gate — the Gate of Opening," Naruko recited, "releasing the brains restraints to bring forth a person's muscles strength to its fullest. Right, Gai-sensei?"
"Correct, my young Padawan," Gai patted her head happily. "That's exactly the kind of technique it is. However, the Hidden Lotus... after forcing the stamina to increase at the second gate — the Gate of Rest — from the third gate, the Gate of Life, one enters the Hidden Lotus."
"But after using the Front Lotus, his body was in shambles," Sakura said in slight confusion and fear. "So if he uses a technique beyond that..."
"That's right," Kakashi said quietly. He didn't look at his students; his Sharingan was focused only on Lee. "By opening all eight gates, one attains strength exceeding even the Hokage, but in return... one dies."
A soft gasp slipped through Sakura's lips. Naruko glanced sharply at Sasuke, who moved closer to Sakura for silent support. They didn't know the exact story behind Sakura and Lee, but their interactions were familiar enough that Naruko and Sasuke were able to deduce that they had, at one point, been very close.
Kakashi turned to Gai with a disapproving look in his eyes. "I don't intend to pry into what that boy means to you, or to tell you not to bring your personal feelings into play, but there is a limit. I've misjudged you, Gai."
Gai stared back just as stonily. "And what do you know about that boy? There is something important which that boy wants to prove and protect, even if it costs him his life. That's why I wanted to make him a man that could protect that thing. That's all there is."
Down below, an enormous burst of chakra flared from Lee, snatching everyone's attention.
"I don't know what you plan to do, but this is the end for you," Gaara growled quietly.
"That's true," Lee answered calmly. "In any case, it will be the end with the next." He closed his eyes. 'Neji... Sasuke... Naruko... and...' Smiling jade eyes paired with a curtain of bubblegum-pink hair. "There is no way I alone can lose in a place like this!" His bowl-cut hair was starting to lift. 'Gai-sensei... please allow this! It is now!' Blue chakra started to leak and coat his being, his skin turning darker as veins bulged around his face, not unlike the activated Byakugan. 'The time to carry through and protect one's Way of the Ninja! The Third Gate of Life — open!'
To the spectators, there was only awe, shock, disbelief and pride to their respective individuals. Naruko was torn between awe and the need to bash both teacher and pupil's heads in. If Lee did survive and win this match, she'd tone down the talking-to. If he didn't... Gai was in for one hell of a beating, Taijutsu Master or not.
"He changed colour!" Sakura exclaimed softly. Even Neji had abandoned his stoic facade as he came forward to take a closer look at his teammate's match, a hint of curiosity flickering in his pale lavender eyes.
Naruko blinked. "He's red...?"
Kakashi's eyes were wide. 'He opened the third gate... he's going to make his move.'
As if reading his mind, Gai answered, "No, not yet."
Lee was almost doubled over, chakra whipping furiously around him and piling more damage to the area in addition to the damage Gaara's sand had previously. 'And also... the fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain — open!'
The candidates and proctor watched as Lee's strength was multiplied immensely; he proceeded to launch a powerful kick to Gaara's jaw, sending him flying into the air. Debris and dust flew in people's eyes, causing them to shy away from the match. Shikamaru spotted the Sand shinobi in the air; his Sand Armour was cracked. Lee didn't waste any time as he continuously beat Gaara with his Reverse Lotus.
Kakashi squinted at the boy; 'His muscles have torn...'
Neji's eyes were wide, his Byakugan active as he attempted to follow his teammate's movements which were unbelievably fast. 'Is that really Lee? When did he become like this?'
"This is the end!" Lee roared as he descended upon Gaara. His body was already trembling with the strain put upon it from opening four gates, but nevertheless he continued, 'The Fifth Gate of Closing... open!' He disappeared from right in front of Gaara to reappear a little lower, crashing his fist into the Sand Genin's solar plexus.
Gai was watching almost expressionlessly. 'The Hidden Lotus... in other words, it's a high-speed continuous taijutsu that can't even be touched. The answer to take Neji down is that high-speed combination. There is no way that sand can keep up!' Gai narrowed his eyes. 'This technique will be the last.'
Lee yanked on the bandage that was wrapped around Gaara's torso and, with what could only be described as a war cry, smashed his right fist and foot into Gaara's body. "Hidden Lotus!"
However, as Gaara fell to the ground, he dispersed his sand gourd as a cushion to break his fall.
'That's impossible...' Gai's mouth was a ajar.
'The gourd has turned to sand?' Kakashi stared in incredulity.
Naruko's eyebrows rose, though her face remained impassive. 'Well that's a new trick. When did that become part of his arsenal?'
"Gaara!"
Naruko glanced over at the Suna shinobi clad in black, who was gripping the railing tightly as his eyes searched the dust cloud. There was an emotion on his painted face that wasn't quite worry, but very similar. She narrowed her eyes slightly. Something didn't add up. Clearly they cared for Gaara, despite their somewhat obvious fear of him. But Gaara wasn't someone to be feared, and if they did care for him, they would've known that. Unless... Naruko's eyes flickered from the arena and back to the Sand Siblings as understanding dawned on her. Unless he was hiding how much he cared for them.
"Rock..." Sakura murmured, her jade eyes fixed on the green-clad figure who rolled until he was sprawled on his back. Even from here, she knew he was in a lot of pain.
As the dust finally cleared, they could see Gaara lying on a cushion of sand. And then he did the impossible — he staggered to his feet, and stretched a slightly-spasming arm out towards Lee.
'Impossible!' Gai thought in alarm. 'He can still stand after being hit with the Hidden Lotus?'
The Konoha Genin attempted to crawl away from the sand that was slithering towards him, but his body wouldn't allow any more movement. The sand formed a rather large hand, and Naruko felt a wave of alarm and recognition from Shino Aburame.
The blonde frowned, 'So Team 8 ran into the Suna team during the second phase... but why the strong reaction?' Naruko's eyes widened. 'No!' Her cerulean blue orbs widened even further when she saw sand coiling around an injured Lee, and before she knew what she was doing, she had jumped over the railing and was rushing straight towards the jinchuuriki, nothing but a flash of yellow.
Gaara's growl stopped in his throat and his sand froze as he felt something barrel into his back, pushing him forward slightly because of the force. He stiffened when a hand rested on his head and another two on each of his shoulders.
Everyone, Genin and Jonin alike, almost stopped breathing. It was in less than a blink of an eye, but suddenly the Fourth Mizukage had his hand on the boy's head as he stood in front of Gaara to interrupt the flow of sand, which skirted around him as if the younger boy instinctively knew not to hurt him. Meanwhile, two shinobi who were distinctly from Kiri and Kumo — bodyguards of the Mizukage and Fourth Raikage, respectively — had a hand on each of Gaara's shoulders from their places on either side of him. The blonde whiskered Leaf Genin was slowly emitting a translucent burnt-orange chakra cloak that, despite the ominous colour, seemed to soothe the Kazekage's youngest son.
Gaara froze as the familiar touch of his family members registered in his mind — the hands of his brothers, the hug of his sister. He faintly registered Kurama's demonic chakra as it enveloped all of them, pushing back on Shukaku's chakra and soothing the killing intent. He felt his sand lift and swerve to avoid hitting Yagura, who was directly in the path to reaching Lee before dropping to the ground, grain by grain.
Gaara's heart was beating erratically, Shukaku's influence over him still going strong. He feared for the lives of his family members, as they were all within very close range.
"Shouldn't you be down there too?" Sakura asked Fuu curiously, in an effort to ignore the frantic pounding in her chest; her heart appeared to be doing its best to break her ribcage.
The green-haired Taki kunoichi was watching her family intently, but a small, sad smile came over her face as she heard the pinkette's question. "Actually," she said quietly, "I'm not sure how much Naruko's told you about our family... but I came a lot later than Gaara and Naruko. A lot of our family were teenagers or young adults, and back then the only children were Naruko, Gaara and myself. They've been raising Naruko ever since she was born, and Gaara came when he was around six, I think. By the time I came, Gaara already had a handle on his Bijuu, and so he wasn't really prone to outbursts like these. I... wouldn't know how to help," she admitted.
Sakura blinked. They had been raising Naruko ever since she was born? The kunoichi turned her gaze back down; the family dynamic was indeed smooth and well-practiced. Even those who didn't know of their past bonds would realize there was a sort of system that only they knew in order to help the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.
She turned back to Fuu and smiled, "I'm sure you help in your own way."
Fuu gave her a tight smile. "I know. I don't feel left out," she reassured Sakura, "it's just that the dynamic that they have, the first half, I'm not a part of it." A wicked grin stole across her tan face, "But you can bet, as sure as Naruko is a prankster, that I'm definitely part of the second half."
Sakura smiled, and the two girls returned their attention to below.
Naruko frowned slightly, arms firmly clasped around her brother's chest. She slightly increased the flowing of Kurama's chakra with a bit more urgency while simultaneously maintaining the soothing feel. Sensing his fear and overridden will, Naruko instinctively did the only thing that calmed Gaara down. It was something they had accidentally discovered when the redhead had first started training with them.
"I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said I'll never let you go.
When all those shadows almost killed your light.
I remember you said: "don't leave me here alone".
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight."
Naruko smiled to herself as she heard Gaara's heartbeat slow down. The redhead was taking deep breaths to calm himself, and the firm, reassuring holds that his family members had on him helped, as well as Naruko's familiar melody.
"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."
Naruko proceeded to hum the tune as Shukaku's demonic chakra completely receded, and his control over the sand dropped from a frozen Lee, thankfully leaving him to a point where he was severely harmed, but repairable.
"Sorry, Cub..." Gaara heard Shukaku mutter as he completely disappeared.
Gaara let loose a shuddering breath, and felt his knees buckle underneath its weight. Yagura quickly took his hand off the head of crimson and helped lower him to the ground. Gaara let out a soft groan and opened his eyes to find his "brothers" and "sister" kneeling by his sides, staring down at him with worry. He cracked a smile. "I'm okay," he managed.
Utakata frowned, a bubble hovering in his palm as he gently ran it over the younger boy's body. "You have chakra exhaustion. You should rest."
"It's fine," Gaara grunted as he tried to sit up. "I'm an insomniac. I'm used to lack of rest."
This time, it was Naruko who frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've fixed your seal for you. You know I've been studying seals."
"I didn't want to trouble you," Gaara mumbled sheepishly, earning an annoyed "tsk" from the blonde Uzumaki.
"If your seal is weak, then Shukaku wouldn't be able to stop some of the chakra that influences you badly from filtering into your chakra," Naruko scolded. "It would also be uncomfortable for him in your mindscape."
"She's right, Cub. I can't stop the "bad" chakra," Shukaku said from within Gaara's mind. "Sorry for taking over you like that. But you know I can get... a little protective, and a little excited—"
'A little?' Gaara snorted. 'I almost killed that Genin. I thought we were over that phase, Shukaku.'
Naruko sighed heavily. "You made me worry a lot when I sensed Shukaku's chakra seeping in, you know," she scolded in a softer tone.
"Us too," Bee added. "We were all worried. That's kind of the reason we came, y'know... man, we left an amazing buffet just because we felt your chakra spike. By the time we were in a mile radius, your chakra mixed with Shukaku's was flaring like a damn beacon. You were practically screaming for help."
Gaara smiled faintly. "Thanks for coming... and I'm sorry for worrying you all."
"It's fine, it's what family does," Yagura smiled.
"Naru... that was dangerous," Gaara said in an attempt to scold the girl but she was looking at him with an eyebrow raised, her expression reading, 'And?'
Gaara sighed. "And, you could've gotten hurt."
Naruko cocked her other eyebrow, unimpressed. "And what did you think I was going to do — just stand there and wait for Shukaku to recede and possibly injure Lee to the point where his shinobi career would've been forced to an even earlier end? I think not."
Gaara sighed and his other family members chuckled. You would think that by now Gaara would be used to Naruko's recklessness and "logic", but no. Not even with the time spent apart did the blonde fox seem like she would think things through a bit more. But then again, that was what made Naruko... well, Naruko.
"Gaa-chan, Kurama's chakra should've made Shukaku drowsy, so he might be sleeping for a bit. I suggest you take advantage of the situation and get some much-needed rest," the girl informed the One-Tails' jinchuuriki, absent-mindedly brushing some hair out of his face. "I think it's safe to say Shukaku won't try to take over while you sleep, but even if he does then it doesn't matter, because we'll be there to help you get back in control."
Gaara smiled gratefully and gave her nod before dutifully closing his eyes to get some, quote Naruko, "much-needed rest".
"Naruko, you should go back to the rest of the candidates. Bee, you can go back to the Raikage and Hokage to cover for us, if you can. Uta and I will take Gaara to the infirmary," Yagura said as he looped an arm underneath Gaara's knees, ensuring his little brother was comfortably situated with the mop of red Gaara called "hair" resting on Yagura's chest before standing up.
Naruko raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know the way?"
"There are medics taking Lee to the infirmary. We'll just follow them," Utakata said, pointing to the medics who were already attending to Lee. Gai was standing with them.
Naruko nodded. "If you need anything, you know how to contact me."
The jinchuuriki nodded to each other and Killer Bee pulled Naruko into a brief, one-armed hug to ruffle her hair and shifted to playfully salute at Fuu before all of them — with the exception of Naruko — left the building, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Fuu quickly embraced Naruko, and the two exchanged words before returning to their positions at the railing.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde fox. Just what was she thinking, rushing into it like that? She could've gotten hurt. And then what would he have done? Sasuke stopped. What would... he have done? It wasn't as if he would be affected if Naruko was injured. He only cared because she was his teammate, and as such, they were closer than most. It would obviously make sense for him to be concerned about a close friend, but surely there was nothing more to it. After all... the racing pace that his heart was currently going at had nothing to do with how terrified he had been for her safety, and more to do with the pain and adrenaline that was still pumping through his body after the accidental-near-usage of the mark. He should get Naruko to look at that later; she seemed to know a lot about it. More than anyone on Team 7 did, anyway. And he was more than sure the Third Hokage wouldn't be willing to tell him anything, even if he did know.
Sakura bit her lip; she was intensely worried about Lee. She was, however, thankful that Naruko had managed to stop Gaara's sand. At that thought, she frowned at her teammate who was now leaning against the railing, an emotionless look on her face. Just how much had Naruko been hiding from them? They were a team. How did she know the Raikage's bodyguard? No matter how much Sakura thought about it, she couldn't think up of a logical reason as to how Naruko knew them. It was a mystery. She was a mystery.
Kakashi narrowed his one eye at his blonde student, who was looking peaceful and unaware of the glares Sasuke was throwing at her and the curious gaze of her pinkette teammate. The Copy-Nin was fairly suspicious himself. After all, it wasn't every day your student interacted familiarly with the Raikage's younger brother. Fourth Mizukage and his bodyguard, he wasn't so worried — there was that mission to Wave.
It didn't add up, and Team 7 was determined to solve the mystery of one Naruko Uzumaki.
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OMAKE: Yoroi vs Sasuke
A dark aura flared, and everyone in the upper area instantly stiffened. Gaara slowly turned to see Naruko's blonde hair was floating upwards in nine snakes, the metal of the railing bending under her relentless grip. The redhead let out an involuntary squeak as his hand reached backwards to grasp at his sister's sleeve.
Temari blinked when a small, pale hand latched onto her sleeve, and when she turned, she had the fright of her life when she saw the hand belonged to her youngest brother. "Um, Gaara?" the eldest Sand Sibling asked cautiously, noting his tense stance indicating that his body was coiled for fight or flight; he appeared inclined towards the latter. "Is... something wrong?"
'Of course something is wrong! Are you blind, woman?' Gaara yelled in his mind as he practically dove behind the female. Screw image and reputation; he liked his life and his body just the way it was, thank you very much. And that, to Gaara at least, was more important than the facade he had hidden behind for the past two years.
Temari's eyes widened as she turned to look at the boy who had taken refuge behind her. 'He's actually trembling... but why?' Her teal eyes were drawn to the blonde Leaf Genin who always appeared to be in the middle of some drama or other. She involuntarily shivered at the dark and menacing aura radiating off the blonde.
"Oh, she won't hurt you," Gaara reassured. "But she might hurt me. She has that I'm-going-to-kill-a-certain-male-for-being-an-idiot vibe. So you'll have to forgive me if I'd rather not take any chances."
"Wouldn't your sand protect you?" Kankuro asked, having noticed his sister's predicament.
Gaara snorted. "Not from her."
Sakura's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline when she saw the railing bend into some distorted shape under her teammate's hands. "N-Naruko?" she asked a little warily.
"Ah, here we go again," Fuu commented airily from Sakura's left side. "She's got that I'm-going-to-kill-a-certain-male-for-being-an-idiot vibe."
Sakura looked at her in bewilderment. "There's a vibe?"
Fuu smiled and shrugged. "You can't miss it."
Sakura glanced at the redheaded Suna shinobi, and then back at the Taki kunoichi. "So why is Gaara hiding?"
Fuu grinned, leaning back until the only thing that was stopping her from falling flat on her back completely was her hold on the railing. "Ah — that's because Gaa-chan has been on the receiving end of her wrath many times. He has a right to be frightened. See, if Naruko had that I'm-going-to-kill-someone-close-to-me vibe, quite frankly I would be running for the hills. As should you, if you knew what was good for you." Fuu's face then lit up with an impish grin as she chirped, "But it looks like it was an idiotic male who pissed her off this time round, so we can stay without any fear for our survival."
Sakura giggled. "So who pissed her off then?"
"My guess," Fuu nodded down at the match between the two Leaf Genin below them, "would be that teammate of yours down there."
"Sasuke?" Sakura wasn't all that surprised, and Fuu's guess was only confirmed when the railing finally snapped into pieces.
"Sas-uke U-chi-HA!" Naruko ground out each syllable with an ominous amount of malice before roaring the last syllable. There was a visible dark aura surrounding her body as she glared down at her teammate, killing intent flaring from every pore of her body.
How dare that arrogant, incompetent prat use that damn mark? And after both she and Sakura had warned him, too. Kurama was cackling like a madman within the recesses of her mind, but she blocked him out.
Sasuke glanced up irritably at the sound of his name, and all but screeched when he saw one of his teammates in her terrifying state. The blonde held his gaze before leaping over the railing. He froze in fear, but Naruko was caught in a bubble before she reached him.
There was a flash of blue, and Yagura Karatachi appeared beside him. "Run, kid," he ordered as he whirled his staff in front of him in a defensive position while Naruko started to attempt to blast her way out of the bubble Utakata had trapped her in. "I don't know how long we can hold her back."
Sasuke didn't question; he fled.
And no one saw an Uchiha ever again.
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Yeah so... sorry this was so boring and lacking jinchuuriki family fluff (until the end). I was procrastinating my homework. Online classes = zero motivation (-_-")
I'll try to have the next chapter up quickly to make up for this particular chapter; I wanted to write more but I figured that'd be way too long of a chapter because it's already 13,080 words. Sincere apologies to anyone who I have disappointed with this very lacking update.
Also, I do hope you all realize that omakes are basically like deleted scenes, bloopers or could-have-beens; they have nothing to do with the story and are just there for a laugh.