Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Fire ❯ Rude Awakening ( Chapter 15 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Glimpses of Fire
Author: shattered-words

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it'd be called `Gaara'. So, isn't it a shame that I don't own it?

Summary: There were many things that shaped the plans of a certain Nukenin, and one was a shinobi that was as destructive as fire. AU/Mentions of Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Yuri

AN: There was a lot of blood shed, sweat and tears spilled in order to get to where I could post this...some of that is true but I won't expound. Let's just say that I've had an eventful week that should best be forgotten. Either way, on with the story and I hope you enjoy it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Fifteen: Rude Awakening~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eizan turned her head and lifted her small hands to grope around in the darkness but there was nothing there as she continuedto walk on. The air was freezing as she shuddered, her breath coming out white. She could hear the sound of cruel laughter start faintly and then it became louder as she kept moving. Her legs ached but she compelled herself to keep moving since she was frightened of what might happen if she were to stop.

She finally came to a stop when a structure came out of nowhere ahead of her and she was surprised when it was familiar to her. The young girl smiled and turned back toward the direction the laughter was coming from and shuddered, and moved forward quickly. Soon she'd be in the comfort and safety of her home and nothing would be able to harm her.

Her hand reached out to the door knob when she arrived in front of it, but before she could turn it there was a pulse of heat and the structure caught fire. She gasped and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Her small fists banged against the wooden surface as she screamed.

“Oka-san! Tou-san!”She was hitting the surface so hard that the skin had broken and blood ran from the self-inflicted wounds, but she didn't even feel them. “Eizan-nii-san!”

The fire roared as if in a rage and ravaged a section of the roof and it fell toward her. She cried out and stumbled back and landed on her rear. Her eyes lifted and she watched her home continue to burn.

Her tiny hands clamped over her ears as she heard the screams of agony coming from the house. She shuddered with the effort to hold in her sobs. Meanwhile, the laughter continued on around her, and it taunted and tore at her sanity.

“Stop it,”she whispered, scrambling to her feet and moving back. On and on the screams and laughter continued as tears slipped past her eyes and streaked down her soot covered face. “Just...stop it!”

The sounds suddenly changed and now she only heard them as distant echoes. A pair of strong arms wrapped around the girl and pulled her against a larger body. Her body stiffened as her eyes snapped open, and her breath caught in her throat. Something slimy slid across her cheek and left a sticky trail along her skin before she realized that it was grotesquely long tongue, and she tried to cry out but her voice dried up within her throat.

Someone shushed her gently and she shivered in horror as their lips brushed against her ear. “Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you.”Thearms and hands wrapped around her were pale and looked to belong to a corpse.

The arms tightened around her but she couldn't see the person, only heartheir voice. “Yes, I'll take good care of you, my dear.”The tongue wrapped around her throat as her mouth parted in a silent scream and she hadn't noticed that the laughter had turned into an alarmed screech.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eizan had been slumped against the tree trunk and now she straightened as a gasp left her mouth and her eyes snapped open. One trembling hand pressed against the seal that Orochimaru had marked her with and immediately afterwards a surge of pain passed over her.

She felt tears sting her eyes but refused to let them fall or to cry out. Over the course of her life she had experienced many types of pain, but nothing like this before. Her very soul felt like it was being torn apart and she tried to hold it off as she shuddered. She took in quick breaths as her chest rose with intake of air as she tried to calm her racing pulse.

Her gaze shot up at the sound of approaching footsteps and she saw the figure looming over her. She was still caught somewhere between the nightmare and she almost cried out until she heard them speak.

“Eizan-sama?” she heard Iwane's familiar voice and felt relief flood through her. When her vision cleared at last, she was able to see her teammate's concerned face as the older girl crouched in front of her.

The other girl's features twisted into a frown as she saw the pallor of Eizan's skin and the perspiration that covered her face. Her sharp eyes caught the shaking of her body a moment before she had woken up. Iwane saw when she awoke and moved toward her as her eyes shifted fearfully toward her.

Her reaction had been so confusion but she'd seen the recognition register in her eyes as she'd kneeled in front of her. She was in time to catch her as she pitched forward and she felt the trembling turn into uncontrollable shudders. The Erizawa turned quickly toward Amane whom was sleeping no more than a foot away and she fixed to call out to her.

“Onegai, don't,” she whispered pleadingly as her hands clutched tightly at her shirt. Iwane hesitated before sighing and nodding, but cursed all the same. She didn't need Amane's ears to hear the pain under lying Eizan's tone. Her arms wrapped around the smaller girl, and while she didn't know what was wrong, she'd offer as much comfort as she needed. More than likely, it had to do with the bruise on her neck that she had seen.

Another sigh escaped her lips after several moments when she felt the fire user go limp in her hold. She had passed out once more, and as she eased her away slightly, she caught sight of the three black tomoe again. Her brows furrowed into a frown and she wondered if it was a seal of some kind. If that was the case, then maybe it would explain her pain and fear.

Iwane eased the shorter girl against the tree in what she hoped was a comfortable position and knew she would not wake her for the next shift as they had agreed. Her slender fingers pushed back her bangs as her eyes flicked to Amane as her chest changed the slightest bit from its previous rhythm. The earth user knew that she had just woken up, and as Amane stirred, her gaze moved back to the third member of their team.

The Itagaki's eyes opened and her hand immediately moved to her kunai holster but paused when she realized that it was Iwane who was crouching in front of Eizan. “What's wrong?” she muttered with a yawn as she sat up, since she had seen the frown on her face. As she stretched she winced slightly, since sleeping on the ground wasn't exactly comfortable. She popped her sore neck with a groan.

Iwane sighed and plopped down where she had been crouching, and rubbed at her tired eyes. It had been almost a full twenty-four hours since she had gotten sleep, since she had been woken up the other night by a feeling of dread. When she sat up, her emerald gaze had instinctively gone to Amane. The other had been sleeping soundly and so had Eizan. It was four hours before dawn, but the shadow of foreboding had invaded her mind so thoroughly that she was unable to regain the comfort of sleep anymore.

She rubbed a hand against her features and knew that there were bags starting to show under her eyes and gave the other a weak smile. It was not the same as her usual grins and it caused the Amane to realize just how tired the other was. “She had a nightmare, I think,” she replied quietly so as not to wake up the other.

Before Iwane's shift had started two hours ago, they had bandaged the short girls' wounds before she had settled into an uneasy slumber. She hadn't even been able to ask her about the seal, and she had failed to mention it to her other teammate.

Amane nodded and also turned her dark orbs on the still girl, a frown creasing the contours of her delicate features. “They're both a bit unstable, huh?” she asked. Her eyes turned toward her other teammate and she had to fight off a weary sigh.

A scowl appeared on Iwane's face as she shook her head. “No, he is becoming more unstable and dragging her down with him,” she growled, hands clenching tightly. When the wind user turned to look at her, she met her gaze with the scowl still on her features. “She'd be better off far away from him.”

Amane couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her mouth, but it lacked mirth. She shook her head and finally let the sigh leave her. “You know as well as I do that she'd never willingly leave Gaara-san's side.” Despite her words, she couldn't help but clench her hands in anger as well. “She'd die for him if he asked her to.” Her words were suddenly tinted with venom, black eyes hardening considerably.

Iwane sighed when she felt her weariness start to catch up with her and she hung her head. “She would,” she muttered quietly before closing her eyes and felt the exhaustion more profound. “I need sleep. Your turn.” Before the other could speak the earth user fell over onto her side, and drifted off before her head even met the hard ground beneath her. She had obviously passed out and Amane sighed, stood and straightened her friend's body next to Eizan's unconscious figure.

She wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek that had more than likely been acquired sometime during her nap. “Yeah,” she commented under her breath. The wind user rubbed her eyes to wake up and extracted a small canteen-like object from her pouch and drank from it before splashing some of the water onto her face. Her ebony orbs glanced at the sky after she replaced the canteen and knew that they had to move before dawn and that was at the most, four hours away.

At day break they were bound to be more prone to get attacked since most of the teams were sure to move at day break. She didn't want to be caught with both of her teammates currently unable to attack and so she slipped her hand into her pouch.

There was no time to waste and she got to work setting up traps that would alert them of anyone's' presence. The Itagaki had wanted to put exploding notes, but that might draw more attention and that's exactly what she wanted to prevent. She wanted all three of them to get out of the Forest of Death alive.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anko felt four kunai slip easily into her hand from the sheath concealed inside her sleeve, and moments later his tongue snapped out of his mouth to encircle her left wrist. She cursed as his grip forced her to release the weapons and landed on the tree branch he was on, since she had jumped into the air for a better aim. Her hand curled around the grotesque appendage.

`Sen'eijashu!' As she did the jutsu, snakes came out of her sleeve. They wrapped around the slimy tongue before clamping their fangs into it so she'd have a better hold. Anko twisted in place and pulled with all her might as she flung him over her head. He landed hard on the other side of the wide tree branch they were on.

As she straightened and lifted her gaze, she saw Orochimaru's smirk too late and she felt the resistance on his end slacken. He came at her, a scream leaving her lips when she was slammed between his larger body and the unforgiving tree trunk, yet she refused to let him get the upper hand.

She grabbed him and twisted their bodies, and she managed to roughly pin him against the tree that had previously been at her back. Flipping out a kunai in her right hand, she impaled it through the back of her left hand. Even as she gasped in pain, she smirked since the blade had also gone completely through his hand as well and embedded into the wood underneath.

Now that he was closer, she caught the scent of his familiar musk, and could easily see almost every detail of the shriveled and charred face he had stolen. His only visible yellow, serpent orb shifted to meet hers as a grin twisted her lips. “Orochimaru-sensei,” she spat the title out like it was poison. “Could you lend me your left hand?” Without waiting for a response, she took hold of it and formed a seal.

It was a Kinjutsu he had taught her so long ago, and his expression, or what was seen of it, indicated that he recognized it as his left eye widened. “That's right. We're going to die together. Here.” If her sadistic grin could get wider, it would have. `Sojasosai no Jutsu!' But before she could finish, a voice stopped her.

“You mean to commit suicide?” asked a voice behind her. “How precious!” Anko turned sharply as her wide eyes fastened on Orochimaru, sitting calmly on a tree branch several feet away. “That's a Bunshin,” he replied, though it was obvious. Especially, when the body she had captured vanished. The cloud of smoke dissipated, and she was left with her hands against the tree bark, left one still impaled with the kunai.

“Since for the time being, it appears you have become one of this village's Jonin elite, you mustn't squander every secret I taught you.” His injured hand grabbed what remained of the mask and tore it off, as he formed a seal with the other.

Anko had already yanked out the kunai and had been about to move toward him, but was stopped as he formed the hand seal. A cold shudder passed over her at the agony that gripped her entire body. She moaned as she was brought down to her knees, a hand clutching her neck. The Ten no Juin he had placed on her so many years ago, throbbed and threatened to drive her mad with the pain. “Why?” she managed to ask between clenched teeth. “Why are you here? Why now?!”

Even as the pain seized her, hatred more powerful took hold that was almost enough to make her move again. For so long, she had vowed to kill this man that was now before her. Her only wish for many years was to stain her hands with his blood so she could at last have her vengeance on him for using her and then throwing her away like she was disposable, but another vicious throb brought her crashing to her knees once more, and left her completely at his mercy. How ironic.

Her whole body was slicked with perspiration and her clothes clung uncomfortably and as she withered in pain, she heard him chuckle. She lifted her sweaty face and her dark brown eyes finally landed on his face. “For old time's sake, of course, Anko-chan,” he said and his voice a cross between a seductive purr and a dangerous hiss.

His alabaster face was a contrast in their ever darkening surroundings, and his defined cheekbones and smug grin caused Anko to become more angered. He knew the affectionate use of her name would cause her to become even more angered. “But from your cold reaction, one might almost suspect you're not glad to see me!” He continued to taunt her, knowing full well that she'd be anything but happy to see him.

However, Anko was also surprised as she fastened her eyes on him, since he looked just like she remembered him. Hell, it looked like he hadn't even aged a day. He still had his striking good looks, despite the paleness of his skin. Those viper eyes were still the same and could cause her to shudder from more than just the pain.

“Why are you here?” she asked again, ignoring his statement. She refused to allow him to play her for a fool again. “Is it an assassination attempt? Are you after Hokage-sama?” If that was his plan, she knew that she had to try and stop him at all costs. She was a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato and she'd be damned if she let him go. However, she found that her body wouldn't respond to her commands, and she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out as a new wave of agony went through her.

“Heavens, no,” he said with a chuckle. He continued to hold the hand seal before him as he lounged against the tree truck. His long black hair flowed around his white features and down his back as he flicked a loose strand from his face with his right, injured hand. “I lack the hubris and the proper number of subordinates to attempt anything of that magnitude.” He sighed and leaned his head back, but there was a look that spoke of a hunger for power. “My targets are any ninja in this exam who display extraordinary abilities.”

Her eyes lifted to meet his over the distance and Orochimaru was able to see her eyes alit with ferocious hatred. “In fact, I just left the Ten no Juin on a very promising candidate,” he replied nonchalantly but there was a smirk on his features.

Anko growled, wondering which boy had been unfortunate enough to have caught Orochimaru's interest. When she attempted to stand, she once again collapsed on her knees. “You monster! The boy is sure to be dead in no time,” she snarled, clutching her neck just below the seal, but not daring to touch it. She never wanted to touch it again, and would have gladly cut it out if she didn't run the risk of killing herself in the process.

He chuckled as he gave a shrug as if it were no concern of his. “Perhaps you're right,” he allowed. “The odds of surviving are one out of ten. Of course, there's still a chance. She may survive...as you did.” The smirk hadn't left his face and he watched her reaction from where he sat.

`A girl?' She frowned as she tried to calm her wild heartbeat as her breathing became harsher. “A girl, huh?” she muttered. “And the thought of her gives you a charge?” Her words were delivered with a nasty retort, remembering that he had once wanted her as his student. She now wondered what his motives were, since she could not remember a lot. He had apparently eradicated certain memories before he had abandoned her and left Konoha. At times, she wished he had wiped her mind clean, and then she wouldn't have had to suffer his torment all this time.

“Oh dear Anko, are you jealous?” he asked. Then he sent more chakra into the hand sign and into the curse seal. He laughed softly again as she moaned. “After all this time, are you still bitter that I used you and left you to rot in this pitiful village?” Anko had collapsed onto her hands and knees, and now clenched her hand beside her, knowing he had hit the nail on the head. “This child seems quite exceptional, unlike you. She possesses a beautiful face and strong body, and even a Kekkei Genkai.” He grinned then. “A boy has also caught my eye. His bloodline is that of the Uchiha Clan and he could be the perfect vessel to succeed me. They are the ideal pair for my plans.”

Anko groaned as she fell over once he released his hold on her cursed seal. “I foresee interesting times,” he continued before shrugging. “Assuming the girl survives.” Anko found that she couldn't move even now that he had released her, the torment of the seal having sapped her strength dry. He stood and turned to look at her. “It's sure to be an interesting exam, none the less. And don't get any clever ideas about ending the exam.” She lifted her head to meet his gaze before he moved on. “Three of my subordinates have taken the places of three of your own.” He vanished in a puff of smoke before she could respond. “If something should happen to deprive me of my fun, it will spell the end of Konohagakure,” his voice floated out after he had already faded within the smoke, and when it cleared he was gone.

Her body continued to heave and it was several minutes before she mustered the strength to move. After another moment taken to catch her breath she jumped from one branch to another in the direction of the tower. She had to warn the Hokage of this danger but for a few moments wondered which female Genin had received the Ten no Juin.

Anko also wondered if he planned to mark the Uchiha boy as well, and what his plans were for the two of them. She shook her head to clear it, since she knew there would be time to think of that later, but for now, she had to move.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura yawned as she sat up after Naruto had shaken her awake. Her teal eyes shifted to the blonde that was moving to lie against the ground between the tree roots that she and Sasuke had been laying. They had to stay close together since an enemy could attack at any moment. She saw the advantage of the position, since there would only be one way to attack but that also meant that if they were trapped, there'd be no escape for them.

The pink haired kunoichi splashed her face with water to wake up and sat in seiza style, but realized that this would be a mistake and instead leaned against the tree trunk with her legs spread. That way, her legs wouldn't go numb and thus slow her reaction in case she had to jump up quickly.

She had tied her long locks into a manageable ponytail but reached out to push a rouge strand behind her ear. Over the last few weeks she had started to realize how annoying long hair could be and had considered cutting it but couldn't make up her mind about. Before now she had let it grow because during the Academy she'd heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Now she wondered how anyone could have figured that out since the raven haired boy hardly ever spoke to anyone and had no friends. So divulging that kind of information to anyone seemed odd.

The Haruno girl chuckled and toyed with the end of her ponytail as she shook her head. Haku, whose name had been changed to Take, had made her see that trying to get Sasuke to like her shouldn't be her only reason for being a shinobi. It was childish and could put her teammates in danger if she didn't start to take being a ninja more seriously. Anyway, she had noticed that there was a dark part within the Uchiha that seemed out of reach.

Lately, her thoughts had been turning more and more toward her once best friend Yamanaka Ino. The prospect of being Sasuke's girlfriend had torn their friendship apart and wondered if the crush on the dark haired boy had ever been worth it.

She remembered that when they had been young, Ino had been the one that had given her the courage to stop hiding behind her mane of hair. If it hadn't been for the blonde haired girl, she might have turned out much differently, and then her silly crush on Sasuke had caused them to become rivals, enemies. Sakura frowned and fastened her eyes on the surrounding darkness before her as her thoughts continued to lead her back to the past.

Ino had been kind to her when she was teased, had defended her from bullies and had snubbed Sasuke as being arrogant. Then the pink haired girl had expressed interest in him and had later found out that she also liked in Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura paused and her features twisted in concentration as she remembered that Ino had never said she liked him, but had started to fight with her for him at every turn. For a second she wondered if the girl had ever really fancied the Uchiha prodigy since she had never shown that she liked him and only did so when Sakura had expressed interest in him. The kunoichi went over the encounters that she had had with the girl that she had once considered her best friend.

There were three figures watching from the cover of the trees as she seemed to space out with her thoughts. They had been watching ever since she'd switched with the blonde and she looked distracted instead of paying attention to her surroundings. A grin split the features of the spiky haired boy and he held back a chuckle at the girl's stupidity that was sure to cost the others' their lives. “Go now,” he said quietly from their position in the bushes.

The kunoichi was distracted from her thoughts as she heard a rustling noise coming from the bushes. She turned slowly to face that direction as she shook slightly and was met with the sight of the three sound ninja. They had been the ones that had tried to attack Kabuto, but had been thoroughly defeated by that cell from Suna. “Well, it looks like you have been working hard to guard these two for nothing,” hissed the short haired boy. “Now why don't you wake up Sasuke-kun so you we can fight him?”

Sakura stood and lifted a kunai as she shook her head. “You won't hurt either of my teammates,” she said with a determined voice. The Oto-nin smirked and the bandaged one stepped forward.

“I beg to differ,” he muttered as he lifted his sleeve to reveal the strange device on his arm. All three ninja jumped toward them as the pink haired girl grinned and cut a length of nin-wire beside her. The three enemy ninja were shocked as a log came toward them but they easily avoided it and lunged at the shocked kunoichi and attacked all three of them.

`Zankuha!' The jutsu tore through the ground and slammed into all three Konoha-nin. Their bodies quickly burst into smoke much to the Sound shinobi's shock.

Zaku cried out as he was knocked to the side by a blonde blur and his teammates were slammed by black and crimson figures. When they landed it was to see that it was the Uchiha team.

Naruto folded his arms behind his head wit a grin. “Didn't think we'd sense you?” he asked them, and it was obvious that he'd used Kage Bunshin to replicate their entire team. “You're not so tough.”

Dosu stood with a frowned that was covered by his bandages as he observed the Genin team. The Uchiha was wearing his white shorts and dark blue shirt with the fan on the back. Naruto had opted to change his attire a bit for the Chunin exam, although he could have sworn that he'd entered the forest with his usual orange. The kunoichi had on black pants with a crimson shirt with that ended half way to touching her elbows.

“You weren't exactly subtle,” the girl commented as a squirrel ran around her shoulder and down her arm before sprinting off. She held up an exploding note in her gloved hand which she promptly extinguished before it went off.

“Well, it seems we might have underestimated you,” Zaku commented as he straightened. His teammates lined besides him as they stared the other team down. “Why not see what your team is capable of?”

The Uchiha smirked and shifted into a fighting stance. Naruto grinned beside him and did the same, and Sakura flicked a strand of her pink hair before spreading her feet. “Sounds like fun.”

Sakura was watching the kunoichi from the enemy team and knew that she would face her as her male teammates eyed the other boys from the Sound team. When they had first became a team their teamwork had been terrible, but after the mission to the country of waves had changed them all.

She knew that they mostly did the fighting while she assessed the situation, but she didn't want to be left behind anymore. More and more, she had started to realize that in the world of shinobi, kunoichi weren't as strong as male ninja. The thought made Sakura's frown deepen but through her previous experiences, this theory had been proven correct in all instances.

“Naruto, there's something strange about the device on that guy's arm,” Sasuke muttered to the blonde at his side. The other didn't turn around but gave a slight nod to indicate that he was listening. The black haired boy knew that before Naruto hadn't been the best ninja to have at his side, but he had realized that he'd started to rely more on him. The Uzumaki had become an even better shinobi than anyone would have thought possible and he was only improving.

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed on the said shinobi they were discussing, appearing to be a mummy by all appearances. His gaze centered on the device that he had on his arm, and wondered what its function was. It was best to listen to Sasuke's advice since he'd been closer to Kabuto when the Oto-nin had attacked.

“Don't worry, we can take these guys,” Naruto whispered with a grin plastered on his face, although this one looked slightly maniacal. He went to do Kage Bunshin but felt something strange with his Chakra flow and instead of making the intended ten, he only made five. `What the hell?'

The fight started and he was distracted from his train of thought as he blocked an attack from his opponent. “So, what do they call you?” he asked with a cheeky grin as he pushed against their interlocked weapons. The other four Naruto clones hovered around them for the moment.

“The names' Zaku,” he responded as he jumped back and unleashed the decapitating jutsu once again. It slammed into two Naruto clones and they disappeared with a puff of smoke. The real blonde cursed as he jumped away with his remaining bunshin and frowned as he landed. It would be hard to fight him short range with that attack of his, so he knew his best option was long range.

`Thank Kami for Haku's training,' he thought with a grin. He extracted a shuriken in each hand and jumped out of the way of the jutsu and then flung them at his opponent.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had immediately taken on the bandaged Sound-nin and had soon realized just how strong and dangerous the device on his arm was. He'd been hit twice with it and knew why Kabuto had thrown up in the classroom, and had almost hurled himself.

A wince crossed his face when he felt a sting and blood ran from his left ear. He wiped it away and frowned. This was bad. His attacks were getting past his defenses and affecting his senses. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and noticed that he was having the same difficulty with the boy's jutsu. He turned back around and lifted the kunai in front of him and slipped into a defensive stance, but knew it would be difficult defending against that strange device.

Sakura blocked the kunai with hers and quickly twisted her weapon free and jumped back. She formed seals and performed Bunshin no Jutsu and three lunged at her. Kin flung several senbon and the clones were dispelled and the real one faltered. The Oto kunoichi took this opportunity and Sakura would feel cruel fingers grasp her long strands of hair.

There was a malicious grin spreading over the sound ninja's features as she looked down at her. “Your hair is so much softer and bouncier than mine,” she commented. “You're a disgrace to shinobi by fussing with your looks when you should be training.” A snort left her as the hold tightened painfully on Sakura's hair. “Zaku, Dosu,” she called out. “Kill one of her little heart throbs in front of this little love sick pig.”

Zaku grinned as he dispelled a few clones with his jutsu. He lifted his hands and the technique came from the holes that were on his palms. The devices implanted within his hands and arms made the jutsu, which had a devastating effect if you were hit by it. “With pleasure,” he commented as he withdrew a kunai and threw it at the real Naruto.

The blonde was distracted as he glimpsed Sakura at the other kunoichi's mercy and he winced as the weapon hit its mark. It embedded itself within his shoulder as he hissed in pain. Upon stumbling back, he heard Sakura's warning and he dodged wildly to the side to avoid the slicing air. He landed on his side with a painful thud and rolled out of the way as the Oto-nin came down with a kunai in hand.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had activated his Sharingan and avoided the other as much as possible but he got hit a couple times. Even when he avoided the hit, the amplified sound still got him. The only thing he was grateful for was that his eyes helped him avoid the other as best as he could. Using shuriken, he threw them at Dosu, and when he blocked as he knew the other would, he took advantage of his blind spot.

His kick counted as he flew to the side and he followed, a kunai gripped in his hand. He intended to break or at least crack that device. However, he was hit with his sound attack as he darted to the side to avoid most of it. Sasuke clenched his teeth as he felt his ears pulse painfully and knew he had to come up with something as he stumbled a bit. The attacks were starting to affect his equilibrium.

Sakura gripped the dirt around one of her hands and closed her eyes at the painful hold the other kunoichi had on her hair. She had to do something! But she was sure that she'd be no match against this stronger opponent. Even then, she knew that she couldn't sit here and do nothing. She was tired of sitting on the side lines while the others fought. When she moved, the fingers increased their hold as she winced. “Don't move,” the other girl growled. First things first, though.

The hold on the kunai in her hand tightened and the other laughed at her attempts. “Your tricks won't work.” Her fingers pulled harshly on her mane of hair.

The Haruno female almost grinned as she tilted her head to the side to look at her. “You think so?” she asked. Then she lifted her hand and the edge of the kunai sliced through the long strands of her hair, and thus releasing her.

She heard the Oto girl exclaim in shock as she rose up, a new defiance within her suddenly. Since the beginning she had thought herself a full fledged ninja, proud to be an equal as she trailed after her teammates, crushing on Sasuke and scolding Naruto. Then Haku had seen the error of her ways. She had stood back and let her teammates risk their lives to protect her, when she should have been watching their backs.

Her eyes narrowed on her two teammates as she brought her hands to form seals. “No more,” she muttered, blinking back tears. `Now it's my turn to fight.'

Tsuchi Kin gasped in surprise, so she froze for several seconds as the girl in front of her made seals. When she moved to slam into her, the shorter girl's body turned into a log. `Kawarimi no Jutsu,' she pondered quietly, as her eyes darted back and forth. Her teammates were busy with the two boys and so she knew that she'd have to deal with the girl. `There!' Coming around, she deflected the two shuriken shot at her, sending them back to the girl. They impaled into her but she changed into another log as Kin smirked. `Kawarimi again. She's a one trick pony.'

Sasuke coughed up blood, knowing that the sound waves were affecting him from the inside. He had to do something and soon, but he was still a bit winded from Orochimaru's attack. As he jumped back, narrowly being hit by the attack, he formed seals. `Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' The fire shot at the other and Dosu burst into flames before he could move. His eyes narrowed as he saw that it was a log, meaning he used a substitution jutsu and then he was jumping back to avoid the boy. The sound waves ripped through the ground where he had just been standing and he frowned. It seemed that he had increased his level of attacks.

Naruto cursed as he formed a seal, `Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' making five more clones to appear that promptly launched themselves at the older boy. `I have to think of something to get within range to take this guy out!'Naruto mused, and anyone would have been surprised to know that the boy was actually pretty smart despite his more than idiotic appearance. He was just a bit passionate about things at times. It wasn't his fault if people took that to mean he was a fool. When Sasuke had told him to run, he had been confused since he had never known the Uchiha to run away from a fight. Even knowing that the Kusa-nin had been stronger than him, he had rushed at him all those times because he was trying to protect Sasuke and Sakura, and then Eizan. He knew the risks, but he couldn't help but be brash when people he cared about were in danger.

However, Naruto knew this was one of those times that he had to think of some sort of strategy. The guy wasn't that fast, but it wouldn't be a good idea to get hit by the technique that appeared to be his main point of attack. If he was able to disable his arms, then he would have a pretty fair shot at beating him.

He distracted Zaku with a clone and devised a plan similar to the one that he'd used against Zabuza when they had been trying to free Kakashi-sensei from the water prison. Naruto knew that he had to do it at a precise moment where he dodged it. If Zaku used the jutsu then the henge would take off and he wouldn't have another chance.

The blonde took the demon wind shuriken in his hand and his clone twirled it to extend the weapon. There seemed to be a three second leeway between the times he used the Zankuha. When Zaku did his attack on two more clones, Naruto threw the massive shuriken and pulled the wire taunt that was attached to it.

Zaku turned, saw the incoming projectile and dodged to the left as he had expected. The bunshin pulled the wire to bring the weapon around. The real Naruto transformed back to normal and landed behind him. He kicked the other ninja against the back as he stumbled forward, the blonde took that moment to grab hold of the startled boy's arms and pull them back.

A smug grin was seen on his features as he brought the other to his knees. Naruto knew that it was harsh what he was about to do, but he had take this guy out and besides, he was a ninja. “Looky what I caught,” he muttered almost viciously and placed his foot against his back and snapped his arms back. The sickening sound of his arms breaking could be heard as the boy yelled before falling forward. Then he promptly knocked the sound ninja out.

Sasuke heard the scream but resigned himself to concentrate on his opponent. He had to beat him and hope that the blonde hadn't fallen against the Oto-nin. `Thatbonehead better not get himself killed... or we won't be able to pass this exam,' he growled as he kicked Dosu on his side, causing the Oto shinobi to stumble forward. He wasted no time to impale a kunai against the back of his shoulder and he felt the blood hit his face. The older boy jumped away and turned to face the Uchiha with an expression of pain. He pulled out the kunai and threw it aside. Things were drawing to a close.

Sakura felt he kunai impale her right shoulder and left thigh as she came down with kunai in hand on the other girl and aimed one knee at her throat. They both fell heavily to the ground and Kin blocked with her own weapon as the kunoichi landed on top. Her knee hit the ground besides the other's head since she'd moved to avoid it or it would have crushed her windpipe.

Kin had underestimated this girl. Her chakra control was well beyond the Genin level. Their weapons were locked in place but the Sound-nin's strength won out and she flicked her wrist, making both kunai fly to the side to embed in the trunk of a nearby tree. She punched the pink haired ninja, and when it connected, she fell off. When the weight was removed from her, she flipped back onto her feet as she faced the other who had already straightened.

The dark haired kunoichi glanced quickly at her teammates and cursed when she saw that Zaku had fallen and Dosu was having a hard time defeating the Uchiha. She knew that she'd gotten stuck fighting the weakest of the team but she was still better than she'd anticipated. Kin extracted senbon and threw them at Sakura, and used bells to distract her while utilizing others to hit their target.

The Haruno winced when a needle embedded into her shoulder and leg as she stumbled back. She winced as she removed the senbon and lifted her teal gaze to meet ebony eyes. Sakura knew that she couldn't beat her, but she only had to stall her long enough for Sasuke to defeat the kunoichi's other teammate. She'd been more than a bit pleased to realize that Naruto had defeated his opponent before the Uchiha. The blonde had turned in her direction, but she'd shaken her head. This was her fight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eizan felt agony grip her entire body as her eyes fluttered open and her mind went blank as her lips parted with a scream. Her body curled in on itself and her hands clutched her head as the seal enveloped her. The two girls were immediately at her side but she couldn't hear their voices calling to her.

She'd held on for a long time and now her body gave way under the strength of the Ten no Juin. Her very blood seemed to boil within her veins but she couldn't move, only scream as horrific images dominated her sight.

Amane held the other girl down as she convulsed uncontrollably, calling her name urgently but she didn't respond and continued to scream in pain. “What's wrong with her?” she shouted over the cries at Iwane. The other was completely pale as she stared grimly at Eizan, shaking her head.

“He bit her,” she muttered and the wind user almost didn't hear her. Amane's face twisted into a frown since the earth user hadn't told her this, and her frown turned into an angered glare but she said nothing. It took the both of them to hold the smaller girl down as she continued to scream and trash around. “Her skin is so hot.”

The taller girl moved to shift her hold to get a better grip on her shorter companion. “We can't take her to the tower like this,” she growled. That was the farthest thing from her mind right now though and she couldn't hide the worried tone in her voice. Iwane had told her what Eizan had said about needing to reach the third part of the exam, and knew that they had to wait until she recovered. “Hold her!”

After almost half an hour the other girl's screaming had died down to groans, and then whimpers before she had finally passed out again. They had dragged her away from their previous location since staying there would only result in more problems. Someone could have heard all the commotion and might come looking.

“She has a fever,” Iwane commented as her other teammate returned to the clearing. Amane had been covering up their trail as the Erizawa had laid out the fire user in a comfortable position, although it was hard to do while on the ground. They had to make sure they weren't followed while one of their members was unconscious.

Amane threw a canteen filled with water from the river at her side and brought out a few bandages to use as a makeshift compress. “Here,” she muttered and held them out to her. She was still upset that Iwane hadn't told her that the man had bitten Eizan, but she also knew that it was unimportant at the moment. They had to be alert in case they were attacked.

The girl took the bandages and soaked them with the water from the canteen. She placed them on their fallen comrade's forehead and glanced quickly at her. “I'm sorry,” Iwane finally replied. The other grunted a response and she sighed in relief. At times, few words were required for them to understand one another. Amane knew that the earth user wasn't one to give out apologies so easily and knew her words to be sincere. “What now?”

The Itagaki leaned against the tree trunk that was shielding them from view to the east and shrugged. “I don't know,” she admitted, running a hand through her dark brown hair. Her fingers combed the strands and the already loose braid unraveled completely, and the long tresses came to frame her face and now one wasn't able to confuse her for a boy. “We have to wait until she recovers.” She glanced away as she frowned. “I've placed traps that will alert us if anyone comes too close, but we will be at a disadvantage if anyone decides to attack Eizan and us at the same time.”

A dark frown creased Iwane's features at the other girl's words. Before she could respond, however, she noticed the other girl tense and place a finger to her lips. She silently signaled her and the other nodded. Someone had tripped the wire that alerted Amane of someone approaching. They straightened and moved in front of the unconscious girl, and respectively withdrew kunai. Suddenly, dozens of black figures started to rise out of the ground and they saw the Ame symbol on their headbands. “Kuso,” Iwane cursed as she lifted the weapon and fell into a defensive stance. “They're Bunshin, but there's something strange about them.”

Amane was right beside her, protecting the girl stretched out behind them. “They're probably not real, since that trap was a few feet away.” The kunai was lifted in front of her as she shifted into a defensive stance as well. “Most likely an illusion so it'll be no use attacking them with jutsu.”

One of the black figures threw a kunai and Iwane deflected it instinctively as she gasped. It was real. “Those bastards must be attacking from a safe distance.” A smirk that was neither humorous, nor cocky spread over her face. “One of them is holding up the illusion while another attacks accordingly to the clone's movements.”

The wind specialist blocked a few more kunai and frowned. “We need to come up with a plan.” She quickly jumped to the side and blocked a projectile that had been aimed at the girl behind them. Her anger flared fiercely but forcefully calmed herself down. “Now.”

Iwane nodded and concentrated as her brain worked out a plan. While she might have been considered to be on the lesser scale of intelligence, she could be quite good at strategy when she set her mind to it. She frowned as she was forced to block another round of kunai. To make this work, they would have to thoroughly distract the enemy. Her hands moved rapidly to convey her plan to her teammate.

A smirk formed on her face as she prepared to make seals. “Cover me,” Amane muttered and moved to form the seal for Bunshin no Jutsu just as three kunai shot toward her. They slammed into her chest before she could finish. Her body fell back, a cry leaving her lips.

Iwane gasped as she turned toward her fallen comrade, emerald eyes wide with horror. “Amane-kun!” she screamed, and winced as a kunai nicked her arm. She turned back around and cursed loudly, and formed seals before slamming her open palms against the ground. There was a barrage of kunai coming at them that she'd never be able to block.

`Doton, Doroku Gaeshi!' The large wall of earth rose before her, Eizan's still unconscious figure and Amane's crumpled form. It was effective as the many kunai impaled into the solid structure, but she knew that it wouldn't hold against a hard or drilling puncture. She doubted that those cowards would show themselves long enough to do that type of attack.

`Sons of bitches are waiting until I become too tired or injured to defend while they wait patiently at a safe distance,' she mentally growled. If it continued like this she knew that she'd soon be overwhelmed and there was no way she could flee. She'd stay and fight, upholding the vow they had made to each other, even if it cost her life.

`Might be some fun to see what's after death,' she thought sarcastically. She knew that Amane would have glared at her and told her that was a stupid thing to say. Eizan on the other hand wouldn't have hesitated to knock her into the ground with a chakra infused punch. Iwane grinned to herself, despite the situation. So far, she was the only one hard-headed enough to take those hits.

She took a moment to crouch down and lean heavily against the solid wall to contemplate her next move. The Erizawa knew that soon it would be all over, but she had to fight them off for as long as possible. Taking a moment to form seals, she remembered that Enoki had refused to teach them this jutsu at first. It was only in the last month of their training that they had been able to acquire the seals to perform it and she planned on this being her first use of it.

Iwane took in a deep breath and jumped on top of the wall of earth as she formed the last seal. `Kaze no Yaiba!' The wind jutsu tore through the center of the clones and eliminated a few of them. She withdrew a few kunai and threw them forward so they hit the three shuriken that were sent in her direction. As they cancelled one another out the kunoichi flipped into the fray.

She knew that it was safe for her to leave her spot since the wall blocked their frontal attacks. So, she started to tear into a few, and cursed when they exploded like water only to reform again. The others hadn't reformed since the blade of wind had destroyed too much of the body.

Even then, she continued to fight and her eyes allowed her to see most of the projectiles in time to avoid or block them. There was simply too many, however, and she winced as a shuriken slammed into her shoulder. She stumbled back and turned a glare on the black figures. `Now what?' she wondered as she was surrounded.

The three Genin from Amegakure watched the battle unfold beneath them a few feet away. It had been easy enough to take out one of them and now the other was becoming tired and wouldn't be able to hold of their attacks for too long. Luck had been on their side when they happened to come upon this Suna team that already had an injured member. Now all they had to do was continue the assault until they wore the last member down and they'd be able to seize their scroll.

All three were wearing beige body suits that resembled straight jackets and breathing masks for each member in case they had to tread water, since they were from Amegakure. Their rain headbands were displayed on their heads and most of their faces were hidden with bindings.

Kagari had both eyes covered and he had his hands up to hold the Genjutsu of the clones up, while Oboro and Mubi concentrated on a specified area of clones to synchronize their attacks.

Oboro's both eyes were visible and were locked on the single Suna ninja jumping into the crowd of bunshin. He threw a few kunai and winced as he placed a hand against his shoulder. The leaf-nin had wounded his shoulder earlier and he was still suffering from the wound. After taking this team out he'd make sure to track the younger boy down and make him pay for the embarrassment and pain he suffered.

“Soon, we'll move in to attack,” he said to them quietly. “Then we take out the Konoha team.”

“I'm afraid that won't be possible,” a voice hissed behind them. The tone was like ice as the three involuntarily shuddered. Before either could move Kagari gasped as his hands undid and moved to his neck as he felt something impale through the back of his neck and break through his throat. A gurgling sound that might have been an attempt to scream came from him as blood trailed from around the gas mask he wore. He was dead before he fell from the tree branch they had been in.

The other two jumped to the side wildly to avoid kunai, and didn't notice when the illusion fell so the clones disappeared. As he moved, Oboro realized that it was the teammate that they believed had been killed. He knew now that it had been a trick to distract them, but now it was too late seeing as one of their members was dead. That meant that they wouldn't be able to continue with the exam.

`To hell with this exam,' he thought fiercely, stopping a good distance away. The only thought on his mind at the moment was killing at least one of these three, and that way they wouldn't be able to pass the exam either. He knew that his best bet would be the unconscious teammate they had been trying to protect. `He won't even know he's died. The poor chump will just continue sleeping.'

He turned to his Mubi and motioned for him to keep the others busy while he went in for the kill. He nodded before jumping out from his hiding place. It was unclear whether he would survive against the Suna-nin, but Oboro didn't care since he was merely a decoy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura panted hard as she locked stares with her adversary, but knew it was no use. The girl was stronger than her and she didn't have anything else up her sleeve, but she still refused to lower her guard. She stood her ground with a kunai in hand and still in a defensive stance.

She'd known from the start that she had spent too much time chasing after Sasuke and wouldn't be able to pass this exam, but she had come either way. It had been easy for her to figure out that only three man teams could participate in the Chunin exam and had thus known that her other two teammates wouldn't have been able to participate. A frown twisted her features when she remembered Kakashi's words. They weren't true, not anymore. She had joined not only for Sasuke's sake, but for Naruto's as well. The blonde, more than anyone, had wanted to take the exam.

A sigh almost left her lips but instead she straightened her body and met her opponent's stare. It was the same thing now. She couldn't fail or they wouldn't be able to advance to the third part of the exam. Sakura refused to concede to the Oto-nin.

“What's the matter, getting tired?” the kunoichi from sound asked in a mocking tone. It caused a fresh wave of anger to wash over her as she clenched her hands tighter around the kunai. She was playing with her, Sakura knew this yet there was no way out of this situation.

“Urusei,” she growled as a strand of her uneven pink hair fell into her eyes. Her hand hastily pushed it away and at that moment the other girl lunged toward her. Sakura steeled herself for what was too come, and only hoped that she wouldn't die out here in the Forest of Death. As the dark haired kunoichi lifted the kunai to attack, she took in a deep breath and lifted her own weapon to defend.-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Translations:

1.Onegai: please (pleading)
2. Sen'eijashu: lit. “Hidden Shadow Snake Hand”
3. Sojasosai no Jutsu: lit. “Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique”
4. Zankuha: lit. “Decapitating Air Wave”
5.Kawarimi no Jutsu: lit. “Body Replacement Technique”
6.Demon wind shuriken: is a large shuriken nearly a meter in diameter and is collapsible for easy storage
7.Doton, Doroku Gaeshi: lit. “Earth Release: Earth Shore Return”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End Chapter Fifteen