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Bonds of Blood
By: Animeroxsmyworld
Chapter 31: Phase Two (1)
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Everyone rose from their desks to follow after the purple haired kunoichi, meeting up with their teammates once again as they did so. Team 7 started slightly as Kyoko pushed herself in the middle of their triangle, ducking and hiding behind Naruto.
"Hide me." She pleaded as she tried to shrink behind her twin.
"Huh, why?" Sakura asked from where she flanked the female's right side, Sasuke flanking her left, coincidentally giving her the hiding space she needed.
"Anko's our Jounin instructor and we…uh…we sort of came here without her permission." She admitted as she carefully peaked over Naruto's shoulder, the group still walking towards the exit of the room.
"What? Can you do that? I don't think you can do that." Sakura cried out, remembering to keep her voice down the minute the words came out of her mouth. She didn't get to hear Kyoko's response though. Kyoko was suddenly spotted by her teammates who were quick to come over, hunching their shoulders while ducking.
"I told you it was a bad idea coming here." Roku informed as he neared.
"Yes, we get it, you never wanted to come." Kyoko sighed before her gaze found Itsuya's. "Should we just run for the exit and hope she doesn't see us?"
"Are you nuts? We still have to follow her to the site so even if we did get out of the room without her seeing us, we still have to trail after her. No, we have to stay hidden and hope she doesn't see us." He concluded, Kyoko nodding in consent.
It felt a little odd conversing like this with Itsuya, it almost seemed like he was their leader, which was really strange considering he was the younger one.
"Stop crowding around us." Sasuke hissed in irritation as his shoulder bumped against Roku's arm, team 1 trying to hide within the confines of their group and failing for the most part. Roku was too tall that he really couldn't hide behind anyone and although Itsuya was short, he was out to the side because Kyoko had taken the space in the middle.
"Fine. It'll be less suspicious if we're spread out around the room anyways." Itsuya conceded before he left the group and blended in seamlessly with a passing group of ninjas who didn't even notice he had mingled with them.
Roku grudgingly left as well, finding his own people to hide with, Kyoko relaxing as her chances for being caught slimmed. She didn't even want to think about what Anko would do if she caught them here.
"Thanks you guys. Anko's kind of…scary is the only word really."
"No problem." Naruto chirped back, his mood lifted drastically now that phase one of the test was over. They walked in silence as they followed Anko outside, winding through streets and around corners until they began heading towards the training grounds. Kyoko's brow began to furrow in slight recognition.
When the tops of the trees came into sight, guarded by an unmistakable chain link fence, Kyoko staggered back.
"No…please no…"
Anko turned to the group of shinobis as they spilled out in front of the fence, murmuring to each other as they tried to look at the insane foliage that was encompassing the space behind the fence. Anko grinned brightly at the few scared faces that she could glimpse in the crowd.
"Welcome to the forest of death!" She declared happily, as if she had bestowed the greatest gift of the world upon them.
And knowing her, that might just be the case.
"This place looks creepy." Sakura whispered, cringing as the sound of a dying animal howled through the air, the noise it was making echoing through the trees.
"You have no idea." Kyoko muttered, all the energy in her body now gone. She wished she could see Itsuya and Roku to gauge their reactions right now at coming back to this horrid place. It must be driving Itsuya insane, not being able to blow their cover by shouting out all the problems he had with coming back here.
"Unfortunatley, before we can start with phase two, you all have to sign these agreement forms." Anko said loudly, holding up big stacks of paper up over her head for everyone to see. "Because people will die in this test so if you don't sign this, I'll get blamed and we can't have that."
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Kabuto was barely listening as the purple haired instructor explained the rules to them, a heaven and earth scroll displayed in her hands. It really wasn't any concern to him if he actually completed this phase of the exam or not, he had only been instructed by Orochimaru to get this far.
He knew what he was doing.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as the people around him began dispersing, getting agreement forms and getting together in their own groups to talk. He figured the explanation was over.
"Yoroi, go get our slips." He instructed, the tall man sighing in annoyance before leaving to follow orders.
"Haku." Kabuto called out to the brunette who stood beside him, the 15-year-old's face an emotionless mask. Or at least it was whenever he was around Kabuto. But that was fine with him, he didn't care much for the boy either.
"Yes?" Haku replied, eyes sliding over to look at him. There was hostility buried in those brown orbs, but it was controlled for the most part.
"You know what it is you have to do once we get in the forest?" Kabuto questioned, keeping his tone light in case passer-by's were listening to them. Haku blinked, sifting through his memories, before he nodded.
"I came along to fight with this Uchiha Sasuke person. You want me to test his strength." Haku muttered back. "Though I don't even know what he looks like."
Kabuto smirked then. He had researched everyone who would be taken part in this exam, and since this Sasuke kid seemed to have caught Orochimaru's eye, he had taken extra time to look at his file. Not to mention that he had ran into him in the waiting room before phase one started.
"He's the brunette in the blue shirt over there." Kabuto pointed out, jerking his head purposefully behind the fake hunter nin. Haku turned, eyes raking through the crowd before he found his target.
He was young, younger than himself. But then again, that didn't always mean much when it came to skill.
He could still be a threat.
As if the raven haired preteen could tell someone was staring at him, he turned and their eyes locked for not even a second, before he turned away, diverted by whatever it was the blond female by him was saying.
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Anko watched as people began to scribble away on the agreement forms, a few teams already heading towards the booth to get their appointed scroll. She wondered how many teams would reach the tower in the center of the training ground before the five days were up. Would any of these people die, fighting for the honour to become a Chuunin?
Probably.
She tried to assess the teams with only her eyes. Well trained ninjas knew how to hide their flaws from prying eyes, but all these people before her were merely Genins, their weakness on display for her and her ever careful eyes.
That's when a trio of people huddled close together caught her attention. Or rather, the short one's camo jacket did.
She straightened, blinking as recognition flared inside of her.
Stealthy as a cat, she manoeuvred through the crowd towards her oblivious team, her lips breaking out into a vicious grin as her eyes gleamed. Her jacket swirled after her before she was only a stride away from them.
She closed that distance without so much as a sound, a kunai coming into her right hand.
Itsuya stiffened as a hand fisted in his hair, yanking his head back while a kunai pressed dangerously into his throat. Kyoko made a surprised noise that she quickly muffled with her hand and Roku visibly jumped.
"I don't remember letting you guys come here." Anko started, her tone falsely bright and casual. If it was this easy for her to sneak up on them, they would seriously die in there.
Though that really wasn't any of her concern.
"A-Anko-sensei!" Kyoko squeaked before she cleared her throat, making her voice even. "We uh…"
"How did you guys enter? You need to be registered to take the test and I never did it. I skipped the day they held the meeting." Anko continued as if Kyoko had never spoke. She actually remembered specifically skipping that day because if she had never skipped that day, she never would've been stuck being an examiner for this exam.
"We are registered." Roku said quickly before anyone could stop him. The words just flew out of his mouth like bullets. "We handed in the registration slips you threw in the trash, forging your signature so that we could enter." He continued, ignoring the fierce glare Itsuya was giving him.
"You wouldn't survive under torture." Itsuya hissed before grimacing as Anko tightened her hold on his hair.
Then…she laughed.
It was terrifying and the last thing they expected.
She let go of Itsuya, the child staggering forward before wedging himself safely between Kyoko and Roku for safety, and lowered her kunai. People around them glanced at the woman momentarily before resuming what they were doing. Her laughter subsided after a moment and she looked them over, eyes bright.
"So, you think you're ready to be Chuunins huh? You'll just go around my back and do things anyways. Fine then, take the damn exam." She said before her voice lowered to a frightening tone, her smile stretching to a horrific size.
"Consider this your punishment."
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People began to head towards their designated gates, their scrolls hidden safely within their group. Each group was accompanied by an examiner who lumbered with them to unlock the monstrous gates when Anko gave the command.
The males of team 7 were shifting about restlessly in front of their gate while Sakura made sure the scroll was hidden safely on her person. Team 1 was staring at the gate with a grudging look as they hesitantly dragged their feet up to the entrance, once again emitting themselves to the horrors of the forest.
Kabuto was making his way to his designated gate where Haku and Yoroi were already waiting when a tall grass nin female brushed by his shoulder. If he were in town, he would've just dismissed it as an accident, but here, in the middle of the Chuunin exams, there weren't any.
His eyes slid to hers, his hostility and suspicion apparent in his black eyes, when he blinked, caught off guard.
"Forgive me." She replied, touching the wide brimmed straw hat that was situated on her head. But even the way she spoke, hissing her words like a reptile, made the silver haired male pause momentarily before he grinned back disarmingly.
"Of course. No harm done" He spoke before he let his eyes take over the grass nin's body. "I'm just a little…surprised to run into someone like you." He continued lightly. He had to be careful with his words so as not to blow his masters cover.
For a moment, the woman's pupils slitted as she grinned, a grin that only Orochimaru could master. "I just thought I would come watch for myself. It was too tempting to pass up."
Kabuto considered those words carefully. Watch the Chuunin exams, or watch Haku fight Sasuke?
Either way, Orochimaru was going to be lingering in the forest with them. Watching them.
"Of course, I understand." He nodded back.
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"GO!"
The gates all lurched open and the teams disappeared into the forest with breakneck speed and a flash of color.
All but one.
Team 1 lagged their feet as they entered the forest in a depressed and angry walk, the people holding the gate open giving them questioning looks but saying nothing as they eventually went through their designated gate.
The dangerous aura of the forest only seemed to increase as the very real possibility of enemies at all sides sunk into everyone residing in it's confines. Some teams were heading straight towards the tower, hoping to place traps there for whoever finished and began to head there, seeing how the tower was the final destination.
Others began to hunt down offending teams in search for the scroll that would complete their set, using what skills they could to try and track down the other participants.
Some were slightly derailed by the wildlife that lived in the forest.
And some weren't even playing the game.
The male gurgled pitifully, blood bubbling up in his throat and coating his teeth as it pooled in his mouth. His bones were crushing together, his ribs grinding together before a loud crack permitted through the air, snapping the bones in his torso.
"Gaara!" Temari called out, her voice trying to be scolding, but failing as it trembled. She hated the Sabaku Kyuu (Desert Coffin) because she always knew what came next.
The sand that encased all but the man's head crept up like bugs around his neck before enveloping his head, hiding his bulging eyes and gaping face from their sight.
Gaara was unchanging as the open hand he held out in front of him suddenly fisted. "Sabaku Sousou (Desert Funeral)!" He announced, watching as the sand constricted before crushing in the same motion his hand had.
Blood sprayed out from between the grains, dotting the ground before Gaara let his sand return to his gourd strapped to his back. The disfigured body was dropped to the ground where it joined it's comrades.
Temari wanted to gag.
The smell of blood was nauseating. It polluted the air…she could taste it in her mouth. It made her stomach roll and her nostrils flare, her grip on her fan tightening to keep her focused.
She glanced at Kankuro, standing by her side. The puppet master looked as pleased as she did, but like her, did nothing. They always did nothing when it came to Gaara. What could they do? He would just crush them like he did them.
Then Kankuro started forward, surprising the blond 15-year-old.
"Kankuro, what are you doing?"
He only continued to walk towards the bodies, still moving when even Gaara's eyes settled on him. He then knelt down and fumbled through their clothes, making quick work of the process. After a second, he held up the other team's scroll.
"It's the same as ours. It's a dud." He announced with a frown. Temari inwardly marvelled at the man who was her brother. Here he was, still focused on the Chuunin exams when she couldn't even get past the stench of blood sifting through the air.
Then Gaara spoke, for once not threatening to kill them. "Good."
And they just stared at him. At times Temari wished she could look into her youngest brothers head, just to be able to understand him and all the weird, maniacal stuff he did. But then, once those rare fleeting occasions left, she realized she would be too scared to.
The red head turned and began walking leaving them among the blood spattered forest floor.
The Ichibi still howled for blood and Gaara had no intention of diverging from his path for some stupid scroll. He would get blood. Those pathetic ninjas weren't enough to calm the beast inside of him.
No.
He knew who he needed to hunt.
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So far no one had attacked them. Sakura wasn't sure whether she was reassured or nervous by this. Who knew whether they were being watched at this very moment by a team of enemy ninjas waiting for the perfect time to strike. Waiting for them to sleep so that they could come and slit their throats.
Or pick them off one by one like some horror book that she had read once upon a time.
…or maybe there really was no one near them right now.
There was just to many chances and if's to really put one's mind at eases, forcing Sakura's senses to be on full alert, jumping at every single sound that reached her ears. She checked once again, out of paranoia, to make sure the scroll was safely situated on her person before following Sasuke and Naruto through the woods.
High in the branches of the trees, hidden against the leaves, stood a Grass nin. Her eyes were fixated on the group as they continued to walk on, oblivious to her presence. Her gaze then shifted to the Uchiha fan stitched into the back of Sasuke's shirt and she grinned.
Touching her hat, she fell back into the shadows of the trees, following after them like a ghost.
Watching.
Waiting.
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Kabuto was ignoring the test taking place all around him, instead leaping through the trees at an incredible pace, heading towards the direction Sasuke's team would be coming from. He had seen what gate they would be entering in before he had joined his own team at their own gate.
If his calculations were correct, they really shouldn't be that far off.
If they kept up the pace they were going and avoided any conflict of their own.
They had to change course several times to avoid being caught up in a battle that really wasn't of any interest to them. Or to him anyways. Who knows what Haku or Yoroi wanted.
"Do you know the strategy?" He inquired, not even bothering to look back. He knew they were following him. The sounds of the branches bending under their weight and the leaves rustling were all the indications he needed to reassure himself.
Haku's voice answered back. "Yes. I fight Sasuke while you two deal with his teammates, making sure they don't interrupt the fight."
"Right."
Haku didn't want to begin to question what would happen to him if he failed against this boy. It was for his fight against Sasuke that Kabuto decided not to send Dosu's team into the Chuunin exams this year.
Or so he had heard.
He missed the days where he just wandered the streets with Zabuza.
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Sasuke straightened up with a snap, eyes flickering around the tree tops wildly.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura questioned in concern, the brunette's sudden action having caused her to jump from the abruptness. Naruto was oblivious and continuing the ascension forward, not realizing they had stopped.
"Shh." Sasuke insisted, waving a hand towards her as he pivoted, his eyes still roaming through the trees. If it was anyone but Sasuke, and if it was any other situation, Sakura would've been irritated at being shushed, but since it was Sasuke, and they were in the forest of death, she let it go. Slowly, she tried to copy him, peering into the trees herself.
She saw nothing. Only leaves and branches.
"SAKURA! GET BACK!"
Her body moved on reflex at his shout, jerking back an missing the shurinkens that landed in the ground, nicking her toes. But she didn't have much time to process the fact that they were being ambushed as a body sprang out of the trees towards her, arm drawn back with a kunai glaring brightly in the sunlight, each running step he took pounding in her head as she froze in fear.
Sasuke would've intercepted if a smaller frame hadn't launched towards him, Sasuke's eyes changing to bright red as he whirled around and met the enemies kunai with his own, the sound of metal clashing against metal sounding clearly through the air.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out as he ran over to protect her, his sudden presence jarring her from her frozen state. Before she could say anything, his hands flew up into well practiced seals as he continued to charge the man who had been charging her.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
Four Naruto's poofed into existence, already speeding alongside the original and all grabbing kunais of their own as they did so. Although Naruto couldn't see it, a smile tugged at Yoroi's face…a rare occurrence.
"Maybe I'll have some fun here after all." He murmured as he leapt up, descending down on the blond males who slashed at him, the Oto nin only able to parry most of the strikes as he ducked under the others, his free hand grabbing a clone's arm and twisting it in the way of an oncoming strike. The kunai sunk in with a wet sound and the Naruto clone cried out in pain before disappearing.
Sakura just watched, backing up. Her eyes strayed from Naruto to Sasuke and his attacker, the two brunette's skidding in the dirt as they tried to overpower the other. With a grunt, Sasuke broke the connection, sending the other boy flipping backwards, but Haku darted back in with speed unlike any other.
His kunai slashed up and cut Sasuke's cheek, up from the jaw, Sasuke grunting in pain before he used the palm of his free hand to knock Haku's hand aside, spinning away as his foot swung up in an arc towards the head.
They were moving so fast!
She could hardly keep up with them.
"Sakura, what's the matter with you!" She thought harshly as the sound of fighting filled her head, her hands clutched together in front of her chest. "This is just like last time! You're just watching while they fight. They're going to get hurt while you do nothing! What's wrong with you!"
She needed to help out. She wasn't going to be useless again. Not like last time. She was as much a part of this team as Naruto and Sasuke were!
Determination burning in her eyes, adrenaline pumping in her veins, she started towards the fights before her, her foot raising from the ground.
"Well I guess that means you're mine."
And it stayed suspended in mid-air.
She turned her head to face the voice that had spoken. It seemed like she was trying to move through molasses with the speed it took her. Wide frightened eyes locked with blank black ones that stared at her from behind thick round glasses.
"K-Kabuto?" She squeaked, jerking away from him with such a viciousness it almost hurt. Her mind began working in overdrive, thoughts blurring together so fast in her head it actually hurt, a pounding resonating at the front of her cranium.
Hadn't he been there friend just a few hours ago? Well he could just be following the rules of the second test. It was practically your team against everyone else's out here. But something was off, something just didn't seem…friend-like.
He smiled and chills ran down her spine, her body shuddering.
He didn't look like their friend in that moment. Not for one second.
And he truly wasn't.
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Chapter notes: Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Authoress Note: I couldn't remember if the Grass Nin that Orochimaru impersonated was a girl or a guy so I just went with girl. Oh well, whatever works I guess.
Man, I got this one out faster than normal! The writing juices must really be flowing!
Enjoy!