A pair of green orbs looked on in delight as she continued to watch the monitor with her teammates and several of the other proctors, including Anko. "Wow!" She said, giggling after as she pointed to the screen of the Genin teams that were fighting, "They're pretty good."

Ken rolled his eyes, but had to admit, "Yeah, those guys do know how to collaborate, but so does our own team from the Leaf."

"Still, they're doing a lot better than when we had first taken the exams," Akira also admitted, backing up Suzume who nodded.

"Yeah, but we were younger than they were."

Ken scoffed, "By what? A few months? Please." He grinned. "Those brats have got nothing on us."
"Stop with your girly attitude, Ken and just watch the fight." Anko firmly tapped the boy's head with her clipboard.

"Gyah! Anko!" Ken scowled as he nursed his head, "I do not have a girly attitude."

Anko smirked. "Still doesn't change the impression of jealousy I'm getting from you."

"I'm not jealous!" Ken defended with red cheeks of embarrassment.

"Ooo, Anko, can we get a closer look?" Suzume interrupted, having not paid any attention to the conversation between the two, "you're just as interested as we are about them, right?"

"Speak for yourself," Ken mumbled, gaining small snicker from Akira.

"I'll bring back a good report for you," Suzume finished with a sweet smile.

Anko shrugged. "Do whatever you want, just don't interfere with the fighting. Besides, it looks like it's about over anyway, see?"

Everyone looked back to the screen and a collective sounds of interest, concern, and even some sadistic comments were heard as they saw the three boys from Sand, surrounded by a jungle of explosive tags that were lighting up.

Suzume quickly grabbed Akira and Ken by their sleeves, both of which proceeded to give
small protests, but the red-head simply chose to ignore them. "Right, we're still going anyway, Anko. Bye!"

Ken shook her hold off with a grumble the second they reached the outside. "I don't
wanna go looking for them."

"Aw, please, Ken?" Suzume put on the most saddened puppy face she could and for a moment, it looked like it wasn't going to work, but Ken gave in with a sigh.

"Alright, I'll look for them for you."

"Yes!" Suzume gave a victory jump and then pointed ahead, "alright, now get to work,
Chakra Hound!"

Akira couldn't help but laugh. "Haha, she's got you whipped and she doesn't even know
it," he whispered as soon as Suzume was ahead and out of ear shot.

Ken frowned. "Shut up, Akira."

***

"Kera! Fly up high!" Daro shouted at Hiro's summon.
Kera immediately obeyed, being used to teaming up with any other from the Suna team than Hiro.
"Kuro, Hiro, to me!" Daro said. He dropped the jutsu he'd been using earlier and landed on the ground between his teammates. "Earth Style: Cage Barrier!" A large wall of earth appeared and surrounded the three boys. "Collapse!" Daro shouted and the wall closed in on them from above as well, shielding them from the blast of explosive tags.
Daro gasped when his barrier shook on the impact of flying debris.

"Hold on," Kuro encouraged him.

Daro fell to his knees, trying to  uphold the jutsu.

"Come on out,"  they vaguely heard Kera's voice, "it's over."

Daro sighed and dropped the jutsu.

"On your left," Kera warned.

Kuro swirled around and whipped his chain at the sudden attacker.

Mori's kunai met the metal of the chain and he spun around, throwing one of them past Kuro, it's intended target being Hiro. It was suddenly plucked out of the air by Kera.

Meanwhile, Masaki and Ayame teamed up, with Masaki using their size different to their advantage and catapulting Ayame over the trio of Sand. She then proceeded to cast more wire-laced kunai down in an attempt to limit their movements once more.

"No you don't," Hiro said. "Water Style: Steel Blades!" Sharp blades of water cut through the wire and Kuro used that moment to spin his chain again and pull down Ayame. She let out a small scream of surprise and grunted as she hit the dirt hard.

Daro took a deep breath and focused his chakra. These opponents were tough, but they had to win. They needed a scroll. He sighed. 'I just hope they have the right one.'
They had to end this fight fast and even though he knew this next jutsu was risky, and he had preferred saving it for later, it was also the only way to end this fight here and now.
"Earth Style: Rock Stampede!" The earth started to rumble as the ground opened and formed a huge ox out of rock. It breathed heavily through his nose and stomped its large hoof.

Masaki's eyes went wide as the beast set its sights on him and began its wild rampage, letting out a loud cry. The rock ox shook its head from side to side, taking out anything in its path. The shockwaves of its stomping hooves made everything shake. Its tail whipped around, giving off the sound of a cracking whip.
Masaki leapt back, throwing handfuls of kunai at the wild jutsu, but it showed no signs of slowing. In fact, it seemed to grow in speed and rage. It then met the Leaf shinobi, hitting him straight on in the abdomen and sending him flying through the canopy of the trees as it had lifted its mighty head with another roar.

"Masaki!" Mori exclaimed just as the ox turned its head, making eye contact with him. It
them shook his head with a snort and ran to meet him.

Mori let out a cry as he called upon a wall to block the raging bull. The jutsus both collided, earth
shaking, and flying in all directions. Mori continued to let out a long cry as he struggled to hold his ground. The wall began to crack suddenly, before it completely broke down with the roaring bull following behind it. A loud explosion of earth made the world shake, as the bull slammed its head into the shinobi, pinning him to the ground, kicking and flailing as it did its best to make mincemeat out of its enemy.

"Stop!" Ayame cried out, "make it stop! You're killing him!"

Daro panted. He knew he couldn't keep up the jutsu much longer and he didn't really want to either. He wasn't a killer. He glanced at the girl that was begging for her teammates life. "Give us the scroll we need and we'll let you go."

His two teammates had stopped fighting and were watching Daro carefully. They knew he could collapse at any moment. The outcome of this fight depended on Ayame's decisions.

Ayame fished around in her pack and tossed out an Earth scroll and a Heaven scroll, much to the surprise of the boys. "There, take whatever one you need and go, but stop that jutsu first."

"We only need one,"  Hiro muttered.

"Idiot," Ayame growled, "I said to take the one you need! Hey! Cut it out already with that cow! Leave Mori alone now, jerks!"

"If you can't take a fight like this, you'll never become a good Chuunin," Kuro told her. He turned to Hiro, "Just take them both."

Hiro nodded and did as Kuro suggested. He put the scrolls securely in his pouch and Daro dropped the jutsu.

Ayame shoved past the trio, making haste to her teammate, to check on him; looking up to see her other teammate in the same unconscious state as Mori, though he was dangling from several smaller tree branches.

"Let's go," Daro said, "we're done here." He stalked off into the trees.

His teammates exchanged glances before following after him. They knew Daro was almost out of chakra after using that jutsu. He had to rest and they should be far away from the Konoha team when that happened.

***

Suzume let out a sigh as she and the boys watched the Suna Genin disappear into the shadows of the forest.

Akira let out a sigh as well, glancing over to Suzume. "What is it, Suzume," being very familiar with what that particular sigh meant.

"Wasn't that just so romantic? The way she cried out, desperate to save her teammate? She must be head over heels for that guy—I mean, she didn't do anything when the other one got beaten up. It's gotta be love. I wonder if he loves her too? Or maybe the other one loves her? Or maybe they both love her!? Yes, the classic love triangle!"

Ken groaned. "You just had to get her going, Akira."

Akira sweat-dropped. "Sorry, I was only trying to humor her," he said as Suzume continued on about the different case scenarios of the team from their village.

"...but maybe he already has someone else he loves..."

"Once she gets going..." Ken frowned,

"...or maybe she is keeping a promise to a dear departed lover about watching over his brother, being that Mori guy..."
|

"It's hard to get her to stop," Akira ended with a sheepish chuckle.

"But wait! In her promise to her dearly departed lover, she falls in love with said brother!"

"Stop already, Suzume," both boys complained with a groan.

...

"Are you okay?" Hiro asked concerned while eyeing his teammate.

Daro swallowed and leaned against a tree. "I think I need to sit for a moment." The next second he was on the ground, his head between his knees.

Kuro sat down next to him and sighed. "We should think about what to do with the scrolls. We have a spare one now." He looked puzzled for a moment. "What if we give one to Kera? That way, when we are attacked again, we can afford to lose one of the scrolls and we'll still have a complete set."

Hiro nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"How far till we reach the tower?" Daro groaned while leaning back.

"Don't worry about that now," Kuro told him, "we still have time. You need to rest, Daro. You know that jutsu isn't completely developed yet. Didn't sensei tell you only to use it as a last resort?"

"That was a last resort," Daro groaned, "they were good."

"I know," Kuro said softly. There was no knowing who else they would encounter, but it wasn't going to be easy. 'We underestimated this. Despite what sensei told us, we thought we could just get through it without a scratch. People die here she said.'

"I'll go find something to eat," Hiro said, "I'm taking Kera with me. Keep the other scrolls with you." He turned to Daro. "You should sleep while you can. It's quiet for now, but we're not there yet."

Daro nodded weakly, his eyes already closed.

They weren't there yet by a long shot.

...

"Alright, Suzume, what've you got for me?" Anko addressed the kunoichi who grinned from
ear to ear.

"They were great, Anko! Our own put up a good fight and all, but those Sand Genin had
some pretty awesome power behind them. Especially that Daro guy. His jutsu really packs a wallop. I'd say that the two who were hit by it won't be able to do much for more than a week."

"Yeah," Akira said, "wouldn't be surprised if that jutsu had broken every bone in their bodies."

"They're interesting for sure. They'll give everyone a good show if they can make it past this round."

Ken was scowling now. "You guys are praising them way too much."

"Aw, are you getting jealous again?" Anko smirked.

"I think he is, especially since," Akira leaned over to whisper to Anko, "he likes Suzume," he then leaned back, "and since she's been paying a lot of attention to them, it's making him a bit grouchy."

"Hey! I'm not grouchy! And I'm not jealous either!" Ken still insisted.

"Aw, don't worry so much, Ken. I'm sure she only sees you, though I have to admit, those three are pretty cute, but I prefer the older and covered in blood type," Anko grinned, being completely serious.

Ken and Akira paled. "Anko has never looked so creepy."

Akira shivered. "Yeah."

Ken gulped. "I'm so glad we didn't get her as a sensei."

Suzume had seemed completely oblivious to what had been said. "I can't wait to see them in the final round," she chirped with closed eyes and a smile of anticipation.

Ken only let out a sigh of defeat, Suzume was just so set on watching the Genin from Sand.

***

Hisayo's brows furrowed in frustration as she continued to try and think of the connection. Her fur had bristled the moment she had heard his name slip through Taryn's lips. Itachi never was someone that she had been particularly fond of. Though Itachi had aided Akio in the end by teaching him basic principle of fire jutsu, going as far as teaching him the Uchiha clan's signature fire jutsu, he had still used the knowledge he had of her demon blood to force them to travel to Konoha. It kind of annoyed her  that Akio was his usual self, trying to get her to lighten up—even seeing it as the perfect new start to their lives—but she had given in, in the end, and agreed. She had continued to hold a grudge on the Uchiha for his use of blackmail over them, though she had a feeling that Akio had already had plans to travel to Konoha anyway.

"What are you thinking so hard over there about?" Akio's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"It's nothing."

Akio let out a small sigh, "I'm sure it has to do with a certain kunoichi from Sand, right?"

Hisayo's head shot up and she gave a light glare, but her expression was otherwise serious. "It's more than just her now."

"What do you mean?"

"She knows Itachi."

Akio lifted a brow. "Hm...interesting. And how do you know that? Did you finally decide to be civil and speak to her?"

He could see one of Hisayo's brows twitch. "I didn't talk to her. I merely heard her say his name."

"Ah, so you were spying on her, were you?" Akio gave an amused smirk, recounting the earlier events of the day. He had rushed the rest of the way back home once he had been sure she wouldn't cause any trouble, and had since played oblivious.

Hisayo whipped her head away. "N-no. I was not," she denied with her red cheeks hidden from view. Realizing that it was nearing dark, and knowing that Kakashi would be more or less at home by now, she rose to her feet, heading to the door.

"Where are you going now?"

"Out," was Hisayo's simple reply.

Akio let out a sigh. "Please, be civil with people while you're out Hisayo. Best not to take out any anger out on your friends."

All he heard in reply was small "Hmph" and light slam of the door.

******

Kakashi was reaching the top of the stairs to his level where his apartment was, fumbling for his key as he went. Stopping in front of his door, he inserted the key, but halted in his actions to unlock the door when he heard a very light thump from behind him. He knew who it was instantly, what with the sound of four pads of feet being heard. He turned around with a calm smile on his face, though inside he was slightly on edge, hoping for a positive outcome to his visitor's visit.

"A little random showing up in the fur coat, don't you think, Hisayo?"

The wolf seemed to roll its eyes, before she glanced up at Kakashi. "It's none of your business really, Kakashi. I came to talk."

Kakashi gave a small nervous gulp, but remained smiling none the less. "Sure. Wanna come inside then?"

She shook her head. "No, it's only a quick question involving your...friend." The way she had spoken the last word seemed as if it were difficult for her to say really.

There was a knowing sigh. "I already told you about Taryn and we really are just friends."

"It's not about that."

Kakashi rose a curious brow.

"How does she know Itachi?" She saw Kakashi stiffen at the question a moment, before he knelt down to her level, and looked her in the eye.

"That isn't something I have any business explaining to you, Hisayo. If you really want to know, then you should ask Taryn yourself. There's no guarantee that she'll answer you, but you have to understand that the topic is a sensitive one. If she says she doesn't want to answer, then don't push it. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you didn't."

Hisayo let out a sigh. "Fine."

The smile returned to Kakashi and he placed a hand on the wolf's head and gave a gentle rub. "Good. So you sure you don't want to come in for a bit?"

Before Hisayo could answer, a third person came into view from the staircase, and Hisayo couldn't help but flatten her ears back slightly in her annoyance. She just couldn't have her time alone with Kakashi.

"Oh, so that wolf is your summon, Kakashi?" Taryn came to a stop a few feet away and looked down at said wolf and Kakashi who was still knelt down by the animal. "Expanding to summon wolves now, huh?"

Kakashi stood up and gave a nervous chuckle as he scratched at the back of his head. "Well, actually, this is—Ow!"

Hisayo had given Kakashi's a good bite around his ankle to keep his mouth shut. She didn't need Taryn to know about her ability. 

Taryn's eyes went wide in surprise before she glared down at the wolf, "Hey, stop that, dog."

"Oh no." Kakashi paled a bit, nervous as to what would ensue. Hisayo and her wolf summons were very sensitive to that word. They hated being referred to as dogs.

Hisayo dropped her hold over Kakashi's leg and showed her teeth in a menacing snarl. Her eyes even seemed to be shooting sparks of electricity in Taryn's direction.

Taryn didn't seem one bit deterred by the threat and actually seemed to challenge the wolf. "You got a problem with me, you do—!"

Kakashi chose that moment to intervene, covering Taryn's mouth before she could say the word "dog" again, understanding that Hisayo hadn't wanted him to address her in front of Taryn.

"Okay," he gave a very sheepish chuckle, "why don't you both try to cool down. Taryn, for future reference, wolves are pretty particular about the way they are addressed, and that word is very offensive to them. And you," he looked down at the wolf that was still with its fur bristled and teeth exposed, "why don't you go see Hisayo? She hasn't seen you around in so long after all."

The next few moments were tense as neither parties said anything, only stare at one another, before Taryn and Kakashi witnessed the wolf turn away with a snort and leapt over the railing and down onto the streets, sprinting away.

Kakashi dropped his hand with a super relieved sigh, 'These two are really chipping away at my life expectancy.'

"Seriously Kakashi, you need to control your summons more. That one's been following me around all day." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what's that look for?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kakashi waved her away sheepishly.

Taryn sighed. "Nevermind."

"Where were you headed anyway?" Kakashi asked, "did you come to see me?"

Taryn rolled her eyes. "No. I was on my way to meet up with Neji and Hinata. You're not the center of my life you know."

Kakashi didn't react. He was used to receiving these kind of remarks from her. He didn't feel offended in the slightest. "So you do get along now huh. Neji mentioned something like that."

Taryn scrunched her nose. "Just because we had issues in the past doesn't mean we can't get along. I just don't know them that well."

Kakashi smiled at her defensive answer. "Have fun then. It will get your mind of your students. It's the second day in the Forest, isn't that so?"

Taryn nodded. "Yeah."

"Don't worry. They'll be fine. If they're anything like you, and I'm guessing they are since you trained them, they'll get through. You'll see."

Taryn smiled and her thoughts drifted to her three Genin. "Thank you." She waved and continued her journey. 'Yes, they'll be fine. Just three more days until the end of this round. They can manage that.'

***

"Night again," Hiro sighed as he looked at the sky. It sure was dark here.

"I know," Kuro nodded. He packed a few more roots and berries in his pack so they wouldn't have to search for food along the way. They had decided to travel by night, now that Daro had rested. Since they had all the scrolls already, there was no need to draw out another fight and they had figured most participants would be sleeping at night. This way they could avoid running into other teams and they might even reach the tower.

Daro stretched his arm and shook his shoulder. "We should go," he told his teammates while glancing at the sky. He wanted to get as close to the tower as possible before dawn. He was ready for this test to be over with.

"Kera," Hiro called to his hawk, "fly up ahead, but keep us in sight. You can warn us if we run into any opponents. Then we can decide if we want to avoid them or not."

Kera nodded and flew of, the spare scroll securely tugged into her gear.

"Are you sure you're fit to travel yet?" Kuro glanced at Daro.

His teammate nodded. "There's no use in waiting any longer. We'll be as inconspicuous as possible." He took a deep breath and led his comrades deeper into the forest.

...

Pupilless eyes looked up to the sky, trying to calculate the time of night.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Hanabi-sama?" Tengai was heard, "what if there are other teams with the same idea?"

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Tell me, Tengai, do you know any of the others to have Byakugan?"

"Well, no..."

"Then we'll be alright."

Itsuki chuckled. "Yeah, chill Tengai. Hanabi practically has night vision like a cat. She'll steer us away from any trouble...uh, right, Hanabi-sama?" He gave a nervous gulp and sheepish chuckle, hoping that really would be the case.

"Only if they don't seem interesting."

Tengai sighed. "Why am I not surprised," he mumbled.

"Stop complaining and let's continue onward."

"Yes, Hanabi-sama" came two bland replies.

 ...

"What is it Kera?" Hiro asked when his summon came soaring back to them.

"There's another team just up ahead. You'll run into them if you continue going that way."

"What team? Where are they from?" Daro asked.

"Konoha," Kera told the boy, "and one of them is a Hyuuga."

"Awww man," Hiro complained, "of all the teams we could run across it had to be hers. We're toast now."

"Don't be so sure of that," Kuro told him, "sensei has Byakugan too and she trained us with it. We know how to avoid being hit by Gentle Fists."

Daro ignored his teammates and turned to the hawk again. "How far ahead are they?" 

"Maybe half a mile. They're headed this way."

 ...

"That bird just had to catch your interest." Tengai groaned soon after his teammate had pointed out the hawk, revealing to them that it was a summon. "Do you really intend to confront them, Hanabi-sama?"

"Quiet Tengai. I'll do as I please."

Itsuki swallowed. "That's great that you feel so independent, Hanabi-sama, but once again, Tengai and I aren't like you. We could get seriously hurt and besides, we already have our scrolls."

"That's right," Tengai added, "there is no point and it's better we avoid confrontation, especially at night when our vision is limited."

"I'm only going to check the team out, not fight." Hanabi assured, though her voice sounded quite annoyed by this point at her two cowardly teammates. They hated confrontation, but if and when it would come down to it, they sure knew how to fight.

"Which team is it?" Itsuki ventured to ask.

"My cousin's students, now be quiet now, we're getting closer. Only eight hundred meters before we reach them."

"Seven hundred meters," Kera provided, "six hundred."

"Get ready," Daro said, "Hanabi-chan's teammates won't have the advantages she does with her Byakugan, but we can't underestimate them. We don't know what they're capable of. Kera, you can see at night. You will be our eyes. Kuro if needs be, use you genjutsu. We can't risk hitting each other in the dark."

His friends nodded seriously and got ready to fight.

"They're here," Kera said.

 ...

Hanabi casually appeared from the shadows, with her teammates following. She eyed each
one of the boys in front of her, taking in their tattered appearances before glancing over her shoulder to compare the appearances of her two teammates, both of which didn't look nearly as bad as Taryn's students. She gave a smug smirk, "I guess this was such a waste of time, coming all the way here to see how you three. I was hoping you wouldn't look so...beaten. Heh, my cousin must have really been exaggerating about you three."

Daro narrowed his eyes at his sensei's cousin. "We've actually been fighting," he said at her. 'Wow sensei's cousin is an arrogant brat. I can't believe they're related.'

"Oh, we've been fighting alright." Hanabi's smirk remained on her face. "The different between us is that my team and I know how. We're that much better than you all, but I suppose it really is to be expected seeing as it's my cousin that's been teaching you this whole time."

"Don't you dare insult Taryn-sensei," Daro growled in a low voice, "get over here and I'll show you just what she taught us."

"Daro, cool it," Kuro whispered, placing a hand on his arm, "she's just trying to get to you. We have three scrolls, let's just go. You can teach her a lesson later. Sensei wouldn't like it much if you murdered her cousin."

Hanabi cocked an eyebrow in deep interest after having heard the dark-haired boy. "Three scrolls you say?" A sharp glint became present in her eyes, putting the boys on edge, before she decidedly turned to leave. "Well what do you know...I guess you three are interesting after all."

'She's just leaving?' Hiro blinked confused and looked at Hanabi's teammates who looked equally confused.

Hanabi looked over her shoulder, her Byakugan active, having seen the confused looks. "There's
no reason for us to fight, at least, not right now anyway; we have our scrolls. I had simply been curious about you three is all...Tengai, Itsuki, we're leaving now."

Both boys let out small sighs as they rolled their eyes, turning to follow their leader.

"Well, that was... weird," Hiro said.

Daro gritted his teeth. "I don't like her."

Hiro stifled a laugh. "Yeah and we all know why."

"Shut it," Daro growled at him, "besides, you're one to talk. Flirting with that red head Chuunin girl."

"I did not!" Hiro snapped with red cheeks.

"Oh... so I imagined that little intermezzo during the written test huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hiro hissed and stalked away.

"Uhm... Hiro," Kera said, "the tower is that way."

Without a word, Hiro turned and stomped in the opposite direction. The other two boys eyed it amused before walking after him.

"Touché," Daro muttered under his breath.

***

Hisayo scowled into her tea the next day during lunch with Kurenai. Yugao had been on duty since the just before the exams had started, so it was just her and Yuuhi. "If there is one thing I absolutely hate, it's being called a dog," she glared.

"Woah, okay, calm down before you burn a hole into the bottom of your cup." Kurenai stifled a small chuckle, knowing it would only cause more irritation on Hisayo's part.

"I might not really be a wolf..."

"A demon canine of some kind in reality..." Kurenai muttered into her cup as she took a sip;

"...but address us in the proper way and with some respect too. I mean, wolves are the top in ancestry of dogs, so don't insult us."

Kurenai frowned with a sweat-drop. "I'm sure if she knew that you had been the wolf, then she wouldn't have made that mistake, Hisayo."

"No, I refuse to reveal the truth to her. I don't trust her one bit." Hisayo's eyes then narrowed as she seemed to lose herself in thought, "I don't trust her one bit with Kakashi..."

Kurenai couldn't help it, she burst into a fit of chuckling, "So that's what all of this has been about."

Hisayo's head shot up, her face red as a tomato, "I...did I say that out loud, just now?" she then paled upon seeing Kurenai give a small nod as she wiped away at the tears on her face for her fit.

"I'm afraid that comment wasn't hard to miss."

"Don't tell Akio!" Was her first reaction and worry. He had been making little playful jabs at her over the topic, and it would be even worse if he began teasing her further, telling her he knew she was—no, she wouldn't admit it to him—but it was true. 'Kami-sama, I am jealous.' She put her head on the table with a small groan.

"Hey, don't freak out on me, Hisayo. I promise I'll keep all of this to myself."

"I can't wait for all of this to be over and for that woman to go back to Suna."

Kurenai shook her head. "Look, you'll just have to deal with it. Besides, they're only friends, and if there is one thing I know for certain about Kakashi, it's that he isn't the player type. Sure, he cares about Taryn too, but his feelings for you are on a whole different level. So try not to let all of this get you down, and please, refrain from turning Konoha into a battlefield."

Hisayo let out a sigh, but smiled, comforted by her friends words. "Thanks Kurenai."

***

"Alright everyone!" Anko called through the speakers in the hallways of the upper tower, "today is a rotation day! Those of you who worked starting with the first exam, all the way up to now, are being given a small break so you're ready to get back to normal duty in the next couple of days!"

Ken and Akira were holding their hands over their ears, wincing. "Seriously, Anko needs to be given some kind of sedative. She's ways too chirpy and hyper."

"Like a squirrel that fell into a barrel of coffee," Akira added.

"Aw, come on guys, Anko isn't that bad," Suzume defended the strange Jounin, "she's just..." she couldn't really find an appropriate word without sounding offending herself.

"Exactly," Ken said.

"Let's just forget about it and get ready to rotate out," Suzume smiled, her face slightly tinted red in her embarrassment, "I've been dying for a nice soak in the hot springs."

"Are you serious?" Akira gawked, "it's nearly ninety degrees out!"

"Hey, I care about the health of my skin, not to mention general hygiene, unlike you two." Suzume leaned over, her nose twitched. "You two probably haven't even bathed properly this entire time. Gross!"

"Hey, I took a shower...the day before yesterday," Ken muttered.

"The day before yesterday," Suzume rolled her eyes, scrunching her nose further, "you boys...don't you understand the importance of daily bathing? Ugh, no girl is going to want to go out with you, much less be around you if you smell."

Akira looked off to the side. "Well, don't you?" he mumbled.

Suzume whipped around on her heels faster than a thrown kunai. "That's 'cause we're teammates you dummy! So I have no choice! Ugh! That's it, when we get back to the village, I'm making you two get a proper bath! I'll lock you two up in a private hot spring room and I'm not letting either of you out until you at least smell presentable—no—until you both smell like flowers."

"O-okay, Suzume," Akira cowered, afraid of the little kunoichi at that moment.

"Y-yeah, whatever you say," Ken trembled.

A chuckle caught all threes attention just then, and they turned, with Suzume greeting the man first. "Hi Hatake-san," she smiled, "so I guess you're here for rotation?"

The masked man nodded, a sheepish smile behind his mask. "I'm afraid I was drafted in at the last second. One of the others came down with a bad cold, so I'm filling in for them."

Akira snickered. "I bet they did that on purpose."

"Yeah, didn't want to have to deal with Anko," Ken smirked.

Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Well, Anko can be a bit over bearing."

"You're putting it way too nicely, Hatake-san," Akira said.

"Aha, ha, maybe."

Suzume let out a small chuckle, grabbing the two boys by their sleeves. "We'll I guess we'll be off in a little bit. We have to go by Anko to sign out."

"Alright, see you three around later."

***

Taryn stared at the shelves of food in front of her. Now that her students were in the Forest of Death she had the apartment to herself. She knew she shouldn't be eating out every day, so she had decided on doing groceries, since she wasn't too fond of cooking, especially if it was a one person meal. But now that she was actually in the store, she had no taste for anything. 'It's only two more days. I can eat out two more days.' The bars in Konoha weren't that expensive and she could always try to get a seat at the Hyuuga Compound.

Nodding to herself, Taryn turned to leave and almost bumped into someone. "Oh pardon," Taryn apologized, but the man didn't even react to her. His eyes were solely fixed on a scene outside.
Taryn took in his tense stance and wide eyes and noticed his uncontrollable shaking. Curiously she followed his gaze and her eyes hardened.

On the street outside the shop, Hisayo strolled by the store with Akio at her side. 'Uch, I just keep crossing paths with her, am I?'

A soft whimper however made her return her attention to the man again. He looked terrified. 'What is that all about?' she wondered confused. True, the woman had a short fuse, but to be that spooked by her...  "Excuse me, sir?" she tried to draw the man's attention, "are you alright?"

"M-monster," the man breathed out and he trembled even more.

Taryn narrowed her eyes. Ever since Gaara had been born she had hated that word, no matter who it was directed at.
Still... this was not a normal reaction to have to someone. And she had felt a strange chakra coming from Hisayo before... "What did you say?" she asked the man.

Jiro trembled when his eyes caught the white-haired kunoichi outside the shop. The memories of long ago retuned to him. How she had first come to Konoha and had been added to his team, the discovery of what the monster really was. It was because of her that he was now unable to perform his duties as a shinobi. And that was not all of it. She had also claimed his students for herself. His students. What was even worse was that they seemed to adore her. They couldn't see the monster she really was, even now that they knew of it. Why that was, he would never understand.

He usually managed to stay clear of her, but every now and then he would catch a glimpse of her somewhere in town and he would turn to stone. He hated it. He was a shinobi. He shouldn't be frightened so easily. "M-monster." The word escaped his lips without giving it much thought. He didn't think anyone had heard him, so he jumped when a cool voice responded to it.

"What did you say?"

Trying to cover the fact that someone had caught him off guard, he turned to the voice.
A kunoichi from Sand stared at him with a mix of curiosity and coldness. He stared at her for a second. What would a kunoichi from Sand be doing in Konoha? And then he remembered. 'The Chuunin exams.' He had forgotten about that. Life just passed him by these days.
Shaking off his confusion, he nodded at Hisayo outside. "That one, you'd be wise to stay away from her. She's not normal."

The kunoichi blinked. "Not normal? What do you mean?"

Jiro started trembling again. He had to leave before she would noticed it too. That really would be an embarrassment. "Just trust me," he said, "it's for your own good." He hurried out of the shop in hopes that the monster wouldn't notice him.

***

Kakashi sighed as he seated himself behind one of the monitors. He had not been particularly thrilled when he heard he had to take this job. Staring at a screen all day was not his idea of having a good time, but he could hardly refuse. Perhaps he could get back on track with his reading. He hadn't had much time for Icha Icha since Taryn and Hisayo had decided to start a war campaign.
On the other hand, he had to make sure Anko didn't catch him slacking. He'd rather face another  round of battle with Taryn and Hisayo than Anko's wrath.
Nervously he glanced around the room to search for said kunoichi.

Anko couldn't help but grin mischievously the moment she saw the masked man as she entered the room to check in on the proctors for the remainder of the second exam. She was not oblivious over the strain he must have been feeling since just before the start of the exams. Taryn and Hisayo after all, were both in the same area and if she had heard correctly, those two did not like one another, especially since Kakashi was basically the center of their worlds. Oh, she was going to have fun with this.

"So I hear you're having yourself a bit of trouble with the ladies, huh, Kakashi? You must be feeling thrilled though to have two kunoichi battling it out over you. I'd pick the one that spills the most blood, but that's just me." Anko put in her own thoughts, her grin never leaving her face.

Kakashi stiffened at the sound of Anko's voice. 'Oh no.' He could handle a lot of Anko, but not Anko in teasing mode. He cleared his throat, determined not to let Anko get to him. "I'm not so sure which one of the two that would be," he said as serious as possible.

"If you ask me, I'd say it'd be the demon. She did wreak a lot of havoc during the last Chunin exams we hosted. But then, Taryn has caused her own share of trouble too." Anko's grin became much more mischievous, and very eerie, "I bet if I were to put out a life-size doll of you between them, they'd go nuts."

Kakashi felt the hairs in his neck rise at Anko's last words and he coughed.

"Don't deny you haven't thought about it, I know what material you read," Anko crossed her arms and grinned at him amused. It was more fun than she had thought to torture him.

This time Kakashi felt the heat crawl to his neck. 

"Though I am curious, does your choice of reading extend out to the world of furries? Hisayo does fit that category."

Kakashi gritted his teeth. "And you can stay curious for that matter." He stared at the monitor intensely in hopes that Anko would take the hint and leave. Of course he had no such luck.

"Aw, hey, no need to be a sour sport, Kakashi. It's okay if you do read that kind of stuff. No need to be ashamed and deny it. Haha, I bet Taryn would put on some cat ears and a tail for you to keep up the competition between her and your other girl."

'I bet she would scratch your eyes out when she hears you say that,' Kakashi thought. "Look," he said to try and distract her, "an intense fight is going on in the Forest of Death." 

That did seem to create the distraction he was hoping for, especially when Anko saw who it was that was fighting. "It's that team from Caves again, huh?" her eyes narrowed, but held a interested gleam, "They were the ones that took out that team from Mist."

Kakashi rose his brow. "Interesting. Hisayo had a run in with a couple of them during a mission a while back. Not sure how new or old Caves is, but they do seem like they'd be a handful to deal with."

"Well with the way they've been handling the exams, I'd say we can expect to see them in the final round." Anko then glanced back to Kakashi with her mischievous grin back on her face.

'I suppose I can't be surprised that she wouldn't stay distracted for long.' Kakashi sighed, not wishing to endure more of the crazy woman.

"So...have you passed the idea by them about maybe 'sharing' you?"

Kakashi groaned. It was going to be a hellish two days proctoring the remainder of the second exam.

***

"Man, glad that's all over with...for now at least. I was getting so bored just having to sit and watch." Akira said as he, Ken and Suzume, began to walk to the training fields for a little exercise;
with both Ken and Akira having convinced Suzume to let them do just that since they were already dirty to begin with. She had reluctantly agreed to postpone their trip to the springs.

Ken rolled his eyes. "Sure, you say that, but I bet you were having fun."

"Was not! I've told you hundreds of times that I hate baby-sitting work cause—"

"It isn't any fun at all." Ken finished in a mocking tone as he smirked.

"Don't mock me, Ken!"

"Make me."

"Guys..."

"Just you wait until we get to the field. I'm gonna—"

"Wipe my face all over the place."

Akira growled. "I said not to do that!"

"Guys!"

"What?!" Both boys turned their faces to Suzume who was pointing down the road a little ways in front of them,

"We have some company."

Akira and Ken followed the kunoichi's finger down the road ahead and saw three nins from Cloud. "Oh," they both mumbled.

They were the ones Akira had caught cheating multiple times in the first round of the exams; two boys and one girl.

The one Akira had caught was the boy standing in the middle with the other boy on his left, and the girl on his right.

The girl was of a dark complexion with violet colored eyes and dark purple hair pulled up in a puffy bun. She wore a sword diagonally across her back with a sheath that matched her cream colored attire of a tank top, and pants that had the right leg cropped off at the knee with a holster strapped just above it. Under her tank she wore a long-sleeved, netted undergarment that was ripped purposefully in different areas along her arms. Her village headband was worn around her left bicep, and she sported purple bangles around both of her wrists and at her ankles just over the dark purple sandals she had on.

The boys both of a slightly lighter complexion and both wore half-netted, half-beige colored cotton tops with the netting running over the left side of their shoulders and spreading downward at a diagonal to the right until it met the cotton material. They both wore dark grey pants and they sported their headbands over their foreheads. The boy in the middle had short, spiked up hair that was a mixed color of grey and lavender.

He looked at the trio of Leaf-nins with a sadistic smirk before his onyx eyes glanced over to the other boy who had amber eyes and black curly locks. "See, I told you I wasn't wasting our time. I found them, Z"

Z sighed. "Alright, fine. You win, now can we just fight them and go on our way already?"

"Stop your whining already, Z," the Cloud kunoichi scolded, "show a bit of enthusiasm. They were the ones that got us kicked out before we could even show anyone what we can do."

"I'm not going to say that I'm not enthused, but I'm not going to say that I'm over the moon about this either."

The kunoichi rolled her eyes. "Whatever, just don't wimp out."

Z narrowed his eyes. "I could say the same to you, K. You aren't exactly the type to stay once a fight does break out."

"That's not true!"

"Shut up already!"

Ken and Akira blinked in bewilderment as they saw the nin's fighting with the one in the middle having to stop his bickering teammates. "Wow," Ken said, "and I thought we were bad."

Akira nodded. "Yeah, it's a good thing we aren't."

Suzume couldn't help but roll her eyes as she continued to watch the Cloud-nins with an unimpressed expression. "Right, you two aren't bad in the least," she gave the flat reply.

"Now you three!" Akira, Ken, and Suzume drew to attention, curious as to what in fact the Cloud-nins wanted. "I didn't appreciate the humiliation you placed on me back in those exams."

Akria snorted. "Hey, you did it to yourself."

"I would have eventually left on my own accord, but that red-head had to blow things way out of proportion!"

"I'm a proctor," Suzume explained with crossed arms, "I'm supposed to keep the peace and if I think a situation looks threatening then I'll handle it accordingly."

"Shut up, red-head trash!"

Ken's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, with Akira doing the same. "Hey! You insult her then you insult us!"

"That's right," Akira backed up, "you better watch what you say or we'll have grind your face in the dirt!"

"Heh, so you need these two to watch your back, huh? I bet you wouldn't be so tough if you didn't have them to watch your back."

Suzume smirked, her hand reaching down to her whip. "Wanna test out that theory of yours?" She was pissed and ready to teach the Cloud punk a lesson. She had gone easy on him before because they were in a room filled with other genin and proctors, but with no one around to interfere, she was jumping at the chance to make the genin eat his words.

Akira smirked. "Show him whose boss Suzume."

"Yeah, we're dying to see this," Ken added, confident in Suzume's ability to take down the hot-shot genin.

"Don't think we'll let you two get to relax and enjoy the show!" K barked as she drew on her sword, leaping forward to meet Ken.

Z followed suit and ran forward as well, drawing on his sword from his back and meeting two kunai that Akira had quickly pulled out.

Suzume cracked her whip, causing the ring-leader to back up out of range as he drew on his sword.

***

Taryn sighed as she strolled through the town of Konoha. Several sensei's had already received word of their students demise and had been called into retrieve the bodies. So far she hadn't heard anything yet, so that meant hers were still alive. She bit her lip. She knew her boys were skilled, she hadn't made them wait a whole year for no reason, but she was still concerned. She knew from experience how cruel the exams could be and some participants had taken them before. They would be ruthless. Other than that, there was Hanabi too. She sighed again. She had tried to find things to distract her, but nothing could keep her attention for long. Her mind constantly wandered back to Daro, Hiro and Kuro. 'It's day three. They have two more days.' One team had already reached the tower yesterday. It being the team from Mist. Taryn growled. She hated Mist shinobi.

The sound of weapons clashing made her stop. 'Who's fighting at a time like this?' The Chuunin Exams weren't even over yet.
Curiosity got the better of her and she headed towards the source of the sound, making sure she stayed out of sight. She wasn't about to get caught in a battle that wasn't hers.

It shouldn't have surprised her to see who the culprits were. 'Those are that Hisayo's students. Is that... a team from Cloud?' Did these brats make a habit of attacking Genin? Though she wouldn't pass it by Cloud to cause an uproar either. 'This could get interesting.' She leaned against a tree and decided to watch the fight.

***

"So today is day three of the second exam," Akio made light conversation as both he and Hisayo walked down the market streets.

Hisayo nodded. "So far the exams have gone by at a smooth pace. I promised to meet later with my students and catch up."

Akio smirked as he glanced down at his daughter. "To 'catch-up' you say?"

Hisayo heard the teasing in her father's voice. "Sensei, don't start now."

"I wasn't starting anything, Hisayo," Akio casually shrugged, though kept his playful smirk, "it was just pleasing to my ears to hear you speak so easily of that kind of thing. Socializing has never been your strong point."

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment, sensei?"

Akio let out a small nervous chuckle as soon as he heard the dangerous tone of voice. "Ah, yes, but no harm meant, Hisayo."

A breeze began to pick up as they continued down the street, Hisayo's skeptically narrowed gaze softening somewhat before she froze in her place. Akio was quick to notice and his eyes narrowed in concern. "What's the matter?"

Hisayo turned to look behind her, in the direction of the training fields. "Blood."

Akio tilted his head up slightly in the air to have a sniff, and he brought it back down. "Yes, I smell it too—very familiar."

"It's Suzume."

***

Taryn's eyes widened when she saw the young kunoichi. 'That attack... it's... Kekkei Genkai?' And a rather horrid one at that. 'She's using her own blood as a weapon? I wonder if it works the other way around too. Is she able to control the opponent's blood as well?' Taryn shuddered at the thought of that possibility and was for a moment reminded of Hidan who was with Akatsuki. She watched the battle with more interest now.

Suzume had been forced, much to her surprise, to use the Kekkei Genkai of hers. Ken and Akira had also been surprised, but could understand as they too were having a bit of a rough time with the supposed Genin of Cloud. They sure fought as if they weren't genin, with two of the three Cloud-nin's showing an affinity for lightning, while the other was more accustom to the earth.

"Akira, switch with me!" Ken called out, a plan formulating in his mind once he understood the three nins' abilities somewhat.

Akira was quick to do as he was told, and took on the kunoichi who threw several electrical knives.
Ken threw forth four tags that met and blocked the knives, giving Akira the change to engage with her. His sights turned to Z, who was attempting to follow Akira. Ken pulled out a scroll from his pocket and threw it open, forming the necessary signs. It landed in front of the nin and Lightning sprang forth from the scroll surrounding the earth user. Z had to bring his sword up to save his body from meeting the lighting barrier. He skid back with a small grunt and examined his confines.

Meanwhile, Suzume's blood whip wrapped around the blade of her opponent's sword, which had slashed her previous whip. 'I really need to invest in a whip with stronger material.' She inwardly sighed. She was forced to drop the length of the whip when the Cloud-nin sent a shock down its length.

"Better be careful there," he said with a dangerous smirk, "The human body is a great conductor for lighting."

Suzume reformed her whip, but held it coiled up by her side as she tried to come up with a plan. 'He's a lightning type...Wind would be the best counter for that, but I'm not suited for wind based techniques—I'm more of a water-type, but that can be used against lightning if I time it right...hmm...'

"What's wrong? Thinking you're way in over your head? I knew you were just all bark—you and your two grunts."

Suzume drew in three kunai between her fingers, not letting the comments get to her. She needed to focus.

Ken rushed back to Akira who was holding off the kunoichi with a wall of earth, but her sword was easily slicing through it like a hot knife to butter. The blade pierced him dead on, but his body crumbled away, leaving the kunoichi's eyes widened in surprise. She was still going with the momentum of her attack her eyes widening further when she saw that both Akira and Ken were coming at her with fists raised. And explosion sounded from where Z had been held in a barrier of lighting; the ground breaking away from Z as he had used it to shield himself while he had set off the many explosion tags from within his confinement. It was enough of a distraction for K to swing her sword around to strike.

"Akira!" Ken grabbed the back of Akira's shirt and pulled him back away from the attack, but Akira was still clipped by the weapon.

Akira grabbed at his shoulder and leapt further back with Ken who was now with his back to him; both of them eyeing their opponents who had been able to regain their second air.

Suzume had darted forward, throwing her kunai and dodging the blade that both blocked and tried to lay a blow to her. A spinning electric kick met her upper torso, and her eyes went wide, before her body turned to blood, splattering across the genin's body. The moment he had realized it had been a clone, he stopped the electrical current , but his leg had been zapped by his own attack due to the conducting liquid.
An elbow then connected with his spine and he shot forward, sliding across the ground on his stomach, with a grunt.

"Gouzen!" Both K and Z called out, rushing to his side.

The genin was helped to his feet as he growled in anger. Suzume was a bit out of breath, but she smirked. "Without your use over lightning, you're prone to taijutsu attacks."

Gouzen growled, furious by the kunoichi's words and he snapped, "K! We're doing that Jutsu!"

K's eyes went wide. "But Gouzen, sensei said we shouldn't use that here!"

"I don't care! Z, you keep the others busy."

Taryn narrowed her eyes. She didn't trust this for one minute. She watched as the Cloud kunoichi leaped over the girl Suzume, trapping the girl between her and her teammate. 'What are they planning?' A sudden electric energy filled the air and Taryn's eyes went wide. 'If she's hit by that attack, she will surely die! Chuunin or not.'

Ken's eyes went wide as soon as he felt the combining chakra signatures of the two lighting using genin. "Akira, we need to get Suzume out of there!"

"What are they doing?" Akira urgently asked, concern all over his face as he began to see sparks of electricity emitting from K and Gouzen.

"Forget that, just help me get her out of there!" 'And why is that Kunoichi from Sand just watching?! I guess it really doesn't matter that Leaf and Sand are allies—it's nothing but a piece of paper any way you look at it.' But he was put on edge when he felt the Sand kunoichi's chakra swirling with power suddenly. 'What is she about to do? And to whom?'

Z placed himself between his teammates and the two Chunin from the Leaf, bombarding them with small earth attacks and flying kunai.

Suzume urgently looked to her left, then to her right as she saw the two charging up with a lightning attack that she knew she might not be able to defend against. The sound of thunder grew over
head and she looked up to see a dark cloud forming above her. 'This isn't looking good!' She gritted
her teeth and began to move; at that same time, both Gouzen and K shot their hands up an toward each other in an arching position. Lighting shot up from both of their palms, and into the cloud before it struck downwards in once giant flash.

Just when Taryn decided to jump in and stop the fight, another presence made her freeze in place. 'That chakra...'

"Suzume!"

The light blinded Suzume the moment she set her eyes on it, and she brought up a hand to shield them. She was suddenly pushed down to the ground just then as someone towered over her, arms held up high with lighting encircling her saviour.

To be continued...

 Picture of Hisayo's team to the side, made by Amaterasu.