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The sounds of lightning crackled wildly across the area of battle. Ken's and Akira's eyes went wide as soon as their eyes adjusted to the intense light.

"Sensei!"

Taryn let go of her chakra and stepped behind the tree again. Now that their sensei was here, there was no need for her to get involved. Still, she was curious to see where this would lead. 'Hn Hisayo is rather good with lightning.' She turned her attention to the Cloud Genin again. It didn't look like they were going to give up soon. 'Perhaps I should linger for a moment longer. You never know.'

Hisayo gritted her teeth as she continued to hold the lighting  attack at bay with her own. 'Why is a Genin level attack as strong as this? Suzume...hold on...'

Suzume looked up, her eyes adjusted to the strong light, but she still had to squint. "Hisayo-sensei!"

"Don't move, Suzume," Hisayo grunted, the attack becoming oddly stronger now.

"Gouzen, we have to stop!" K frantically warned, "It's becoming too strong!"

"No! We can handle this!"

"No, we can't! We've never held it this long before! Our chakra control isn't refined enough for this level of attack!"

"Shut up, K! I can't stop it now even if I wanted to! The thundercloud is too big to keep control of!"

"K! Gouzen!" Z had long forgotten about his fight with Akira and Ken who were just as worried for their teammates as he was.

The sounds of lighting grew to a roaring level, and Hisayo was being forced down to a knee now. 'Dammit, I don't have a choice...If I don't then Suzume...' There was no doubt in her mind that her body, being what she was, could handle a lighting strike, but Suzume wouldn't be as fortunate and could actually die. While keeping one arm outstretched, her other lowered slightly to allow for her hand to remove a cuff; the power of the lightning strike becoming even stronger now. 'I need to protect them!'

'Foolish Genin!' 

Taryn growled to herself. Who would start an attack they couldn't handle? She saw how Hisayo was forced down to one knee. 'She's not going to last much longer. I have to help her out.' Despite of the negative energy between the two women, Taryn knew she would never forgive herself if she just stood by doing nothing.
She took her fan and stepped out of hiding while gathering her chakra for a wind attack, ready to counter the lightning storm. She had a feeling even that one boy's barriers wouldn't be able to stop this attack.

The cuff of Hisayo's fells to the ground, with Suzume reaching quickly over to grab hold of it and keep it safe for her sensei. It wasn't but a short moment after the cuff had been removed, that Hisayo's ears, tail, claws, canines, and red marking became visible for all to see. The added demonic power surged through her entire body and she forced an even stronger surge of lightning from her palms as she stood back up with a demonic cry.

Taryn stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at Hisayo's altered appearance. The woman's chakra had increased massively. 'So that was what I felt back then?' She narrowed her eyes at it. She had seen this before... but where? 

The Genin too stared at Hisayo's transformation, but their eyes were filled with fear, making the jutsu spin even wilder. 

Taryn jumped out of the way and a lightning strike dug into the ground where she had been standing a mere second ago. She glared at the Genin and kept a firm grip on her weapon. This wasn't over yet.

Ken and Akira stood within a barrier Ken had created to protect them against the lighting that struck in their surrounding area; both certain that with Hisayo standing protectively over Suzume, that she would be alright. They just needed to bide their time until their sensei could negate the out of control attack that the genin had foolishly created. Ken had felt the kunoichi from Sand finally make her appearance on the battle field, and he grew nervous. 'I have a feeling this isn't going to end well.' He soon felt another presence make itself known and he looked ahead, just behind the Cloud
kunoichi to see a man baring the insignia of Cloud, drop down from the trees. 

'Okay, this definitely isn't going to end well.'

'There are way too many onlookers now. I need to end this quickly and put my cuff back
on...and what is SHE doing here?! Of all the times for her to show up.' Hisayo lowered herself slightly before pushing back up once for in one final heave of demonic lightning against the enemy attack.  

Both K and Gouzen were thrown back by the force as the lighting shoot back up into the cloud and exploded; lighting crackling all across the area as it died down.

A smirk tugged on the corner of Taryn's mouth as she saw the Genin fly. But her smirk soon turned into a scowl when her eyes landed on the man that had appeared behind the Genin. She recognized him for the instruction meeting two days before the exams had started. This was the Genins' sensei. 'What does he want? Is he here to scold his students for picking fights or does he want to fight?' She was well aware of Hisayo's discontent with her presence, but she chose to ignore it for now. This could get ugly.

The moment the Cloud genins' eyes landed on Hisayo's form, they shied away with sounds of fear escaping them, "Gyah! W-what is that!?" K crawled backwards, bumping her back into her sensei's leg. She slowly glanced up to see that her sensei was staring intently at Hisayo, a look of anger across his scared face. "Z-Zurui-sensei."

"K, Z, Gouzen, enough of this fighting."

Gouzen sneered, "But Zurui-sensei I though you said that we could—"

"I said enough!" The Cloud sensei roared, "Look around you, boy! Look at what it is you are facing now!" He pointed at the woman that was clearly not human. "She is beyond your level."

'He told them they could start a fight?' 

Taryn thought upon hearing Gouzen's cut off comment. She narrowed her eyes. Something was going on here. Obviously these Genin hadn't made it into the second round or they wouldn't be here. 'Is that what this is all about? Petty revenge? That's pretty pathetic.'

Zurui turned to Hisayo with a forced smile. "I apologize for my students' behaviour. Trust me when I say they will be disciplined." He glared at his students. 'I allow them to take their revenge and this is what happens. Lousy excuses for shinobi. Now I can clean up the mess and fix things. And I can't start anything with that Taryn standing there as a witness to the scene. I wouldn't want to cross daggers with her.' His eyes took in Hisayo's form. 'That one is also no joke. I don't know what she is, but I don't want to take my chances.' He suppressed a shiver. "We will be leaving now," he told the group in front of him. He smacked Z's head, grabbed K's arm and dragged Gouzen away by the ear. 

"Owowowowo sensei! That hurts!"

'I think I'll take my leave now too,' Taryn decided to herself. She gave one last glance in Hisayo's direction and flitted away from the scene.

"Hisayo-sensei, here." 

Hisayo calmly took the cuff offered to her by her student and placed it back on her wrist, closing her eyes a moment to allow herself to take in all of what had just happened. Konoha, now Cloud, and Sand. She was sure news would spread, but hoped that not everyone would believe a story of that degree. They may simply brush it off as a possible tailed-beast sighting and nothing more. Once she felt that her features had disappeared, she glanced down at Suzume, "Are you alright, Suzume?"

The little kunoichi nodded, "Yes, I'm alright. Are...are you okay though sensei?"

"Yeah," Akira entered in, "I know they were Genin, but that attack sure didn't look like Genin level work."

"It wasn't," Hisayo agreed, "it must have been a Jounin level technique taught to them by their sensei. Hmph, irresponsible...Let's go."

"Hey, wait..."Suzume glanced around, the person she was searching for not anywhere to been found, "Where's Ken?"

***

Ken watched carefully from his hiding spot. He figured though that as careful and hidden as he was, that he would be easily seen. The kunoichi had the Byakugan after all. For now, she seemed to either not notice or even care really. He kept on his toes though, ready to defend himself if the woman suddenly decided she didn't want him there and tried attacking him to get her point across. 

Taryn closed her eyes and focused her chakra, making sure to stay aware of the position of the single onlooker so he wouldn't get caught in the attack. Ryoki was not a joke. She didn't mind his presence, at least he didn't bother her, but if the attack would hit him by accident he could get seriously injured.
She swung her fan back and released the jutsu, leaving only ashes where the fence had once been. She smirked before opening her eyes, knowing it had been a perfect hit. She had chosen this secluded place to train, to keep her mind off her students who where caught up in the Forest of Death at the moment. 

Ken's eyes were wide in amazement of the attack. The woman before him was no joke. He was inwardly thankful that she hadn't decided to use that kind of attack before when she and his sensei were fighting. The chakra signature he had continued to read on the kunoichi had suggested that she had been holding back quite a bit, so it unnerved him to think of what might have happened had she used that particular attack, and with full force. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to contain or even reflect an attack of that magnitude. He knew he'd be of no match if she decided to use that attack to kick him out of hiding and away from the area. It put him even more on edge than he had already been.

"Hey you, kid," the woman suddenly called out, "why don't you stop cowering behind that tree and come up here. I want to test something out."

Ken flinched slightly, but otherwise kept his cool, stopping himself from calling out to her that one: He wasn't cowering, and two: That he wasn't a 'kid'. He wasn't sure what she was up to, but decided that perhaps it was a good change to find out about her more, especially since she might turn out to be an enemy. Just because Sand and Konoha were back on good terms, didn't mean that the actually people and shinobi of the village and land were.
He quietly flickered from his hiding spot, standing a safe distance away from the kunoichi as a swirl of leaves fell at his feet. "I'm no coward," he finally spoke up, "and I'm not a kid either."

Taryn smirked. This boy reminded her of Hiro. "You're younger than me. No need to get all worked up. You don't have to act so insulted. I didn't mean anything by it. So, what is your name then? So I won't have to call you 'kid' anymore." 

"Ken. And you're Taryn-san, right? That's what that one student of yours introduced you as before, right?" 

"That's right," Taryn nodded, "but Taryn will do fine. I'm not big for formalities." 

Ken eyed her suspiciously, "You won't throw a knife past my face if I accidentally do, will you?" Flashes of Anko doing that made him shiver. That jounin was probably one of the most sadistic ones he knew in Konoha, next to Ibiki.

Taryn eyed him strangely. "Of course not. Who would.... oh nevermind."

"So," she started on a casual note, "why were you spying on me? Did your sensei send you? Cause you can tell her I'm not going to fight over Kakashi with her. He and I figured out a long time ago that we don't work as a couple. We're best of just being friends."

'So Suzu-chan was right after all,' Ken thought to himself a bit shocked by his teammate's intuition. Maybe he and Akira shouldn't brush her off as easily as they had done before. "Just making sure that you're not doing anything you're not supposed to," he answered her question in the same casual tone.

"Heh," Taryn scoffed. "You're a loyal student," she told him, "very protective over your sensei, but with what I saw, she hardly needs protection."

Ken narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean by that?" His hand hovered over his weapon pouch, ready to strike if she proved to be a threat after all.

"I've been wondering about that strange chakra of hers for a while now," Taryn said, "I knew I recognized it from somewhere, but now that I saw her in that form, I remember." 

"Remember what?" Ken demanded while pointing his dagger at her. His tone had taken on a dangerous edge.

Taryn narrowed her eyes too. "You shouldn't point weapons at someone unless you intend to use them," she warned him.

"You said you remembered," Ken continued without lowering his knife, "that means you've seen it before." 

Taryn nodded. "It was a while back when I was on a mission. They were in a small village at the border of the Land of Fire." She narrowed her eyes as she remembered the company they kept. 'Is Orochimaru after Hisayo for some reason?' "Though I must say, your sensei's chakra is different from theirs. However there was that one that was so similar to your sensei's—as if they were related. Family almost."

Ken blinked for a moment. This sand kunoichi didn't seem to be bothered by his sensei's... other form... "You don't... seem troubled by it." Disgusted is what he really meant.

Taryn shrugged. "It doesn't bother me if that's what you're asking." She let out a soft laugh. "I babysat Shukaku after all. Now that is a grumpy beast."

"You saw how those shinobi from Cloud reacted around her. I could even feel how afraid their own teacher felt the moment his eyes landed on her. It's always been that way for her..." Ken's eyes grew sad as he glanced to the ground in remembrance of all the people who ever reacted negatively towards his sensei, "The fear and hatred I've felt from others, the ugly comments, the frightened stares she receives as if they expect her to go on some kind of killing spree...That's probably why she acts the way she does around new people—why she's always so careful..." Ken looked back up, staring Taryn in the eyes, "But why wouldn't you be feeling the same as all those other people? Why are you so different from everyone else?"

Taryn's eyes saddened. "Because that is how people looked at my brother. I wasn't joking when I said I babysat Shukaku. Even our own father hated him, wanted him dead, when it was his fault in the first place. But the moment I looked at him, just after he was born, I knew I would protect him forever. Even if it would cost me my own life."

Ken's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the revelation. He then gave a saddened chuckle, "I guess we're both the same then, when it comes to protecting the people we care about, even if they aren't exactly normal. I may not have known Hisayo-sensei that long, but she's someone I'd die protecting too. I don't care that she's different—she's still my teacher, still my friend. She's just Hisayo-sensei." He smiled, "Suzu-chan, Akira, and I...we all love her."

Taryn smiled at the boy. "Good," she said and thought of her own team, a strange lump forming in her throat.

"So you said you wanted to try something out...What exactly?" Ken continued to keep his distance, still unsure of the woman.

"Ah right. I was curious to see how strong your barriers really are. Care to try it out against my Ryoki? You just saw what it can do, right?" She tilted her head when she saw his still suspicious expression. "Don't worry. I won't aim it at you. You can create barriers at distance too, yes? Or am I wrong?"

Ken was truly baffled by the woman. Sure they had seen each other's jutsu, but to ask to openly test them out on one another when there might be a possibility of them meeting on a battle field as opponents in the future was strange to him. But then perhaps her asking him to do so was an act of good faith, and he wasn't sensing any malice on her behalf, even though he had been the one to stop her before from fighting his sensei.

"Are you sure you really want that?" he finally asked, "what if I learn something that you don't want found out about your jutsu and I use it against you in the future? Or the same for me? What if you use what knowledge you have of me against me in the future?"

"Isn't that the whole point of training? To strengthen your jutsu and improving your technique? Besides, what if you meet someone else on the battlefield with a similar attack and you're not able to defend yourself? And I need something to distract me from thinking about my students." She tilted her head to the other side. "How about it?" 

Ken gave a small side-way frown as he thought about it and saw her point. "Okay, fine, I guess." He finally agreed, "But we'll both start out small. I don't accidentally want a barrier to be so strong that you get engulfed by your own attack." 

Taryn gave a serious nod. "Ready?" She asked, "I'll make sure to keep it small. Wind and fire, yes?" 

'Wind...just like the last time.' Ken thought, "I can make a barrier to form against fire, but..." he grew hesitant. He didn't want to give away that he still couldn't deflect against wind properly. 

Taryn eyed him carefully for a moment. She knew he was hesitant to trust her, which she could completely understand. She thought back on how she and Kakashi had met and recollected how he had managed to win her over. She had been far more hostile than Ken was now. "Well then, we'll go with fire first," she said, "we can do separate elements first and then work on combinations, okay?" 

Ken nodded as he drew on four tags, "I'll place these tags around you. A red barrier will form afterwards, so don't be alarmed. You can create a fire jutsu afterwards. I'll give you enough space within the barrier to move back if the heat gets too intense."

Taryn nodded, but still grew a tad nervous when the barrier confined her. She didn't like being cramped up. 'Why did I even suggest this? What if he leaves me stuck in here?'  She examined the barrier for a second, took a deep breath and centred some chakra to her mouth. A fire ball jutsu should do the trick, though she made sure not to aim it at eye level.
Just like before, the jutsu was nullified, but it didn't quite disappear. She could feel the heat on her face and hurriedly took a step back.

"Are you okay still?" Ken asked after noticing the kunoichi's sudden movement.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Taryn said, "let's continue." 

Ken stepped forward taking out four more tags and placing them around on the current barrier, then stepped back, "Uh," He gave a bit of a sheepish smile, "I'm trying something new here, so hope that's alright..." he waited, to see if Taryn would be willing before he'd continue what it was exactly he was trying.

'Something...new? As in he hasn't even tested whatever it is he's about to do, out before?'  Taryn really was starting to wonder if this was such a good idea anymore, especially since she was confined and unable to move out of harms way if what he did backfired. "Alright," She let out a nervous breath of air, "just don't let me get baked to a crisp in here." 'Please don't let me get backed to a crisp.'

 

"Don't worry," Ken assured, "if it looks like something is wrong, I'll stop the chakra circulation through my tags and the barrier will disappear and you can jump to a safe distance." 

Taryn nodded her consent, and waited for Ken to then explain.

"These new tags aren't exactly to be used against wind, but I figure that since you are combining it with fire, that this fire barrier along with this melee barrier should do the trick to contain the jutsu to some degree. Go ahead and try it now."

Taryn took a deep breath. "You... might want to take a step back in case this goes wrong and my wind will cut through it." Ken nodded at her seriously and did as she had suggested. 'Okay, here goes,' Taryn thought and took her fan. She had to keep her Ryoki small this time, not something she was used to.

***

Kakashi's eyes were trimmed on the monitor, first in an attempt to block out Anko, who had made it her new favourite pastime to get a reaction out of him regarding 'two certain kunoichi', and secondly because for the first time he might get to see what Taryn's students were really capable of. From what he had heard so far from the other proctors, they were quite popular with some of the young proctors. It made him curious. He didn't doubt their capability, he knew how Taryn fought and some of it she would have past on to her students, but he was on good terms with the kunoichi. If even other Konoha shinobi showed interest in them, they had to have a certain skill. He switched cameras in order to try and find them and was surprised to see a large hawk pass the monitor, wearing the Suna symbol. 'A summon?' 

"Looks like the brats are still kickin'." Anko chuckled, "Suzume will be happy to hear that I'm sure. Ken not so much though." Anko's chuckle turned into a full out laugh, "jealous kid."

Kakashi rose a brow in interest, though he went about asking in a usual, calm and somewhat, uninterested sounding voice. "Ken, jealous? I wonder what about..."

"It's so funny really. According to Akira, Ken has a thing for Suzume, who seems to fancy Taryn's students." She grinned at Kakashi. "Now that would be something eh? If one of Hisayo's students would marry one of Taryn's. Do you think those two will fly at each other on the wedding? Now that would be something I'd like to see." She winked at Kakashi in hopes to get under his skin once again.

"Don't be ridiculous, Anko." Kakashi played off suave, his expression falling into a very lazy one, "You're starting to sound like Suzume."

Anko grinned fondly, "Yeah, so what if the kid's rubbed off on me? At least I'm not afraid to talk about stuff like that. In fact, I told the brats about my preferences in men."

Kakashi seemed to pale, "And I'm sure you have mentally scarred them for life."

Anko smirked and slapped Kakashi's shoulder. "Don't be silly, Kakashi. Kids can take a lot these days." She leaned on his shoulder. "But why are you so interested in Taryn's students? Hn?" 

"Anko," A Chunin proctor came in through the door, much to Kakashi's relief, "Another team has made it to the tower."

"Which team was it?"

"The team from Suna. Should I send someone to inform their sensei, now?"

Kakashi stood up from his chair in a single, smooth, cool, motion and sauntered casually past the Chunin. "I'll see to it their teacher is informed. Why don't you cover for me while I do that." 

The Chunin was more than happy to do a favor for the great Copy Ninja. "Of course, Hatake-san."

His eyes seemed to beam in happiness when Kakashi smiled—apparently the young chunin was a big fan.

"Thanks...Guess I'll catch you later, Anko." 'Though hopefully not too soon.'  He let out a mental sigh of exasperation. He knew he wouldn't be hearing the last from Anko regarding Hisayo and Taryn. 'Now, where to start searching for her...hopefully she's managed to steer clear of Hisayo and avoid trouble...'

***

Ryoki hit the first barrier and was partially reflected, just as she had expected. The fire barrier had stopped her earlier attack too. But some of the attack managed to get through and cracked the second barrier, casting the jutsu back at her. 

Taryn gasped when her the wind came flying back at her. Just when she was about to get hit, the barrier disappeared and she landed on the ground. She let out a stifled yelp when she felt the attack slightly scorch her skin, but all in all she was alright. She breathed heavily for a moment and worked herself in a sitting position.

"Are you okay?!" Ken rushed over to her, shocked by the effect of his barrier, "I didn't mean for that to happen. I swear."

Taryn sat crossed-legged and inspected her upper arm. It burned like hell, but she would live. She'd go over to the hospital later and have it looked after. "I'll live," she told Ken, "I've been in far worse shape. You said it was new to you too, so maybe I should have toned it down even more." She glanced at him. "Your barriers are pretty strong. If you adjust them just a bit, I think this one would have actually worked." She hissed. "Ow, that hurts."

Ken eyed her strangely for a moment. This woman was weird. How could she be so casual after what had just happened? Especially after their last encounter. "You should probably have that looked after though," he told her.

"Yeah I will," Taryn assured him, "later."

Ken didn't seem convinced yet, but they were interrupted by the arrival of a certain masked shinobi.

"What's going on here?" Kakashi asked carefully when he saw Taryn on the ground and Ken towering over her. 'Please not again.' 

Taryn tilted her head back to be able to look at him. "Nothing," she said, "we were just getting to know each other better."

"Right," Kakashi said and he glanced at Ken.

"What did you want?" Taryn asked her friend.

"It's about your students," Kakashi told her carefully.

Immediately Taryn crawled to her feet. "What happened?!" She looked at Kakashi fearfully.

"I thought you'd like to know," he answered her, "they made it out. They passed the second round. They're waiting for you at the tower."

Taryn's eyes lit up and a breath of relief left her. "Well, I'll be heading that way now then...It was nice talking with you, Ken, and thanks for taking the time to help me out." She was gone in a quick swirl of wind before Ken could even respond. 

'Wow, guess her students really were on her mind and bothering her.' Ken then glanced to the side to see Kakashi looking at him expectantly. "What?" 

"What exactly were you two doing? I'd hate to think Hisayo had an influence over the way you treat Taryn."

Ken couldn't help but laugh, earning a curious expression from the mask man, "No way. Taryn-san is okay by me. Nothing to worry about, Hatake-san."

***

Her three Genin grinned at her when they saw her enter the tower. They looked a little worse for wear, but they had made it out in one piece.

Daro was supporting Hiro who was limping and Kuro sat on a bench against the wall, trying to regulate his breath. They were covered in cuts and bruises, but they were alive and Taryn let out a sigh of relief.

Of course she had known they were alive, Kakashi had brought her the news himself, but only now that she had seen them with her own eyes could she feel her body relax. She strode over and enveloped all three of her students in a hug. "I'm so proud of you." 

Hiro winced and Daro gasped fro breath. "Ow." 

"Sorry," Taryn said and she took a step back.

Daro was holding his ribcage and gave her a one-eyed smile, trying to hide his pain. "It's fine." 

Taryn sighed. Her first instinct told her to send them to the medical team at once, but they would have to wait for further instructions. There were still teams out in the forest. She looked around the room and smiled when she noticed Hanabi's team had made it too.

"Have you lost weight, sensei?" Daro's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. He eyed her concerned.

"Don't be silly," she told him, "what makes you think that?" 

He crossed his arms. "You don't look like you've taken proper care of yourself." 

"What are you? My mother?" Taryn growled, but she wasn't angry.

Hiro grinned at her. "Were you worried about us sensei?" 

Taryn rolled her eyes. "You three are impossible. What did I do to get stuck with brats like you?"

Daro and Hiro grinned at her while Kuro let a soft smile cross his face.

"When we're done here we're taking you out for a proper meal," Hiro stated.

"Is that so?" Taryn said, "well, I'm perfectly fine, thank you."

"But I'm not," Hiro sighed, "I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Daro pointed out.

"So?" Hiro said, "I'm still growing."

"Expanding you mean." 

"Are you calling me fat?!"

Taryn sighed and rubbed her temple. "I forgot how much more peaceful it is without the three of you around." 

The two arguers turned their head to her an abruptly stopped talking.

Then Daro's eyes focused on something else. "You're injured sensei."

"Huh?" Taryn said and followed Daro's gaze to her arm, "oh that. Training accident. Don't worry about it. It hardly even hurts." 

"Right," Daro said, not buying it for one second.

Taryn sighed. "Alright, I'll have it looked at okay? But first it's your turn." She motioned for one of the proctors to come over. "Do we need to stay here or can we go see a medical team?" 

The proctor eyed the three Genin for a moment. "The second round of the Exam will last for two more days, we are still expecting teams to come in. If you come back here the day after tomorrow you should be fine. The medical team is on the first floor. I'll sent someone down to check up your students." 

Taryn nodded. "Thank you." 

It didn't take long before a medical ninja walked up to them. 

Taryn took a seat on a bench near the wall while her students were being checked up. As it turned out, they looked worse than they were. Only Hiro's shoulder needed a little more fixing and Daro's ribcage was wrapped in bandages. 

"Your turn sensei," Daro said.

Taryn stared to him. "My turn for what?" 

"Your arm. You said you would have it looked at." 

"And I will. Just not now. These medics are here for the Genin. Not to heal silly little training accidents." 

"It's not a problem, really," the female medic assured her. Taryn sighed and gave in. The medic smiled at her. "Your students are really attached to you, aren't they?" 

"Yeah," Taryn sighed, "sometimes I wish they weren't."

The medic looked at her questioningly, but Taryn didn't elaborate. "There," the medic said, "all done. It was just a minor burn." 

Taryn nodded. "I know. Thank you." She turned to her students. "Happy now? Let's get some food into Hiro then. Or he might just collapse." 

Hiro glared at her. "Funny sensei."

"So, why do we have to come back here in two days?" Daro asked.

"Because when all the teams are at the tower, you will receive instruction about the next round," Taryn said. She was allowed to tell them that much now.

All three boys stared at her. "There's a third round?" Hiro whined, "oh man."

***

"Alright," Akira happily exclaimed as he, Suzume, and Ken walked into the restaurant of their favorite BBQ place. "Some real food!"

Suzume laughed. "Come on Akira, it wasn't so bad eating at the tower's cafeteria."

"I hate cafeteria food though." He frowned. "It starts to taste like cardboard after the first three bites."

Ken smirked. "If it isn't about baby-sitting, then it's about how crappy food tastes. You can never be satisfied."

"Hey, you can't fault me for wanting to have a good meal every once in a while."

"You're description for that is for every meal time."

"Is not!"

"Spicy Pork Ribs, Teuchi's Pork special, Fried Pork Cutlets...I'm beginning to see a pattern and you know what is is?" Akira glared, and Ken smirked, "P-I-G, Pig. You're going to turn into a porker like that Choji guy on Sarutobi-san's team."

Suzume rolled her eyes with a sigh as she reached over with both hands and grabbed the boys by the ears before an all out war would ensue. Akira let out a cry of pain as Suzume had grabbed his ear the roughest to keep him from exploding.

"Ow! Suzume, let go!" Suzume glared up at the boy for his disrespectful tone and Akira was quick to adjust his tone. "Suzume-chan, please? Please let go, that hurts."

"Oh, alright, but no bickering from either of you." She warned as she dropped her hands and began to take the lead to a table. "And we are not sitting at the bar, it's way too uncomfortable. And only Hojicha tea for you two."

"Aw, man." Both boys frowned as they submissively followed the little sparrow in charge.

"Man, she sure is grouchy." Ken whispered.

"Yeah, I think it's because we aren't at the tower anymore so she can't watch those guys from Suna anymore."

Ken's mood sunk and glared over at Akira, "You just had to bring them up again."

"Eheh,heh," Akira gave a sheepish smile as he scratched at his cheek, "sorry..."

...

"This place is awesome!" Hiro said while studying his menu. "You really should try the food here sensei." 

"I did eat here before you know," Taryn said while leaning back in her chair. Her mind was with the exams. She wondered which teams had made it and which teams would come in still before the deadline. She was particularly curious what team had made it first. They were a force to be reckoned with. She hoped there wouldn't be any prelims.

...

Suzume looked at Ken who sat to her left in their booth. He seemed to be looking passed Akira every so often, but would go back to staring at the table.

Akira, sitting across from him, seemed to notice as well. He smirked, "What're you looking at? A girl catch your eye or something?" It had been meant to see what kind of reaction he might get out of Suzume from the comment made, but upon looking to where Ken had been discretely looking, he lit up, "Hey, look, it's them again. I guess they made it to the tower." He grinned.

Suzume sharply turned in her seat with a big smile on her face, "Really?! That's great! Hey!"

"No, don't get their—" Ken began to protest.

"Suna boys! Come over here and eat with us!" She smiled sweetly.

"attention..." Ken let out a sigh. It was too late for that; the boys and their sensei looked up from their menus, immediately finding them.

...

"It's them again," Daro said. He turned to Hiro and smirked. "Seems she likes you after all." 

"Does not!" Hiro growled, but his face was turning red.

Taryn eyed them confused. "What do you mean?" 

Kuro sniggered as Daro explained the situation. "They were proctors during the written exam and Hiro has a crush on that girl." 

"I do not have a crush!" Hiro screamed loud enough to be heard all over the restaurant.

Kuro bit his lip to keep from laughing. His teammate sure knew how to draw attention.

"Stop laughing," Hiro hissed.

Daro smirked. "Well in any case, she sure seems to like you. She invited you over after all." 

"She invited all of us over," Kuro said calmly, deciding to help Hiro out of his awkward position. He should have known better though.

Daro's smirk grew wider. "Well, we shouldn't let her wait then." He stood up and strolled to the other side of the restaurant.

 "Where are you... hey!" Hiro called after him. He stood up to drag his friend back, but Daro grabbed his sleeve and dragged him with instead.

Taryn turned to Kuro who shrugged. "We better follow them," the boy said, "before they do something stupid."

Suzume turned around with a small squeal. "They're really coming over," she said in delight. "Now, you two be nice and no fighting with each other okay? I mean it." She ended with a small glare.

Ken rolled his eyes. "No promises," He said under his breath, "if any one of them tries anything..."

Akira gave a pat over Ken's shoulder. "Hey, don't be so tense. And don't worry, Suzume might be a bit crazy over those guys, but it isn't something to get paranoid over."

"What are you two whispering about now?"

"Nothing!" Both were quick to look innocent.

"Hi," Daro grinned when they had reached the table. He was keeping a firm grip on Hiro who, still bright red, was trying to make an escape.

"Hi," Suzume smiled brightly, "I see you three made it out. Come join us." She turned to her teammates. "Move over," she demanded.

Ken growled, but did as she said, even if it was under protest. 

Daro pushed Hiro in the seat next to Suzume and sat down at the other end of the table with a big grin on his face. "I'm Daro Kamori. That's my friend Hiroshi Tomoda." 

Before anyone could reply, someone else cleared their throat. "Ahem, I hope my students aren't causing you trouble again." 

All of them looked up to find Taryn standing there with her arms crossed. Kuro was standing at her side, looking a bit sheepish. Taryn nodded at Ken with a small smile. "Hello again Ken." 

Ken seemed to look less irritated at the sight of Taryn and her greeting. "Hi, Taryn-san." He noticed her bandaged arm, "Ah, sorry, about before. Are you sure it wasn't a bad burn?"

Taryn smiled. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. And what did I say about the 'san' part?" 

Ken flinched and he gave a sheepish chuckle as his cheeks went a slightly red, "R-right, Taryn." 

Suzume and Akira looked at one another with questioning expressions before they turned again to look between Ken and Taryn.

Suzume seemed a bit agitated. 'Why are Ken and Taryn on such friendly terms? Is...is he blushing?!'

Daro turned to Ken as if bee struck. "You were the one that injured her?!"

"It was an accident. We were training together."

"Woah, you were training? With her?!" Akira gawked between the two with a pointed finger before a giant grin was plastered on his face, "so cool! Wow, training with the Desertstorm—I am so jealous! Hey, will you train with me?!" He asked, hopeful.

"Calm down Daro," Taryn sighed, "I told you it was nothing." She looked at Akira. "I'm... not so sure your sensei would like it if I steal her students away from her." 

Taryn's students exchanged glances. What had happened in the time they'd been away? How was she suddenly so friendly with this Ken guy? He had trapped her in a barrier last time they met. And that other guy looked at her like she was his biggest idol now.

Akira didn't seem to be that disappointed. He remained in good spirits though. "Hey, that's okay. At least I can say I got to have lunch with you!" he grinned. "So sit down and let's all just have fun."

Taryn motioned at Kuro and the boy went to get two chairs.

"So, Taryn, these are my teammates, Suzume and Akira." Ken gestured to his teammates with a friendly smile just as Kuro was returning with the two chairs. "So who are you?" He asked the blue-eyed boy.

Kuro bit his lip hesitantly. He was still a bit weirded out by the sudden turn of events. And both Ken and Akira were quite intimidating. Not to mention he had witnessed first hand what Suzume could do.

"Kuro," he said after a pause. He sat down on one of the chairs hesitantly.

Suzume giggled. "Aw, are you shy or something?"

"Just like Ken when it comes to the girl he likes," Akira chuckled.

"Shut it, Akira." Ken growled with his face beat red.

Kuro looked down at the table.

"Kuro knows a lot of stuff," Hiro helped his friend out, "he's great when it comes to info on different nations."

Kuro glanced at him. "You would know those things too if you paid more attention in class and during briefings."

Ken chuckled. "That about sums up Akira too."

Akira glared. "I do too pay attention, I just don't openly show it like you, bookworm."

"Exactly," Hiro muttered. He sighed. "Can we order now? I'm starving. I haven't eaten a decent meal in three days." 

"Amen!" Akira agreed, "I want the spicy pork ribs! How about the rest of you guys?"

"I want the BBQ special," Hiro said, "and a large portion." 

"Cough...expanding...cough," Daro said under his breath.

Hiro leaned over to whack him over the head. 

"Play nicely," Taryn scolded them amused, "or you're paying."

Hiro gulped and sunk back in his chair. He crossed his arms and glared at Daro who was chuckling softly.

Taryn studied the menu. "I think I'll have a plate of teriyaki. And some dango. And herbal tea." 

Ken couldn't help but laugh. "I keep telling Akira the same things. The glutton."

Akira's cheeks went red and he reached over to grab Ken. "Why you—mphmph!"

Suzume turned her head to the group of wide-eyed Suna-nins as she kept her hold over Akira's lower face. "Ahaha, no worries," she sweat-dropped with a sheepish smile, "this is normal. Sorry. Say sorry and be quiet now." She growled under her breath for her two teammates to hear.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kuro said to her.

"We are nothing like that," Hiro said. 

"Right," Taryn smirked, "you are sweet little angels." 

"I think I'll have the pork cutlets," Daro said. He turned to Kuro. "How about you?" 

"Sure why not?" Kuro nodded.

"So Taryn-san, do you know anyone here in Konoha?" Suzume smiled sweetly as she rested her chin on her hands.

Taryn eyed her for a moment. There was a strange tone to the girl's voice that she couldn't quite understand, but she decided to ignore it for now. "Yes actually I know quite a few people here in Konoha. I have family here after all." 

"That's nice," Suzume more or less brushed off, "do you know Hatake-san?"

Taryn tilted her head. A faint suspicion came over her. "Yes," she said slowly, "I do. We're close friends." 

"Ah, and how exactly do you know him? Were you training with him, like you were with Ken when you met him, hm?" 

"Ahaha, what do you think you're doing, Suzu-chan?" Akira let out a nervous chuckle, looking to Ken for help.

Taryn leaned towards her and gave her a sweet smile. "That's a bit personal, don't you think?"

Suzume mirrored the older kunoichi's actions. "Not as personal as training with my teammate, don't you think? And most definitely not near as personal as trying to nab my sensei's guy."

"Okay!" Ken cut in, "who's ready to order?" He gave a nervous chuckle.

"I am!" All the boys were fast to agree and try to move away from the sensitive topics of discussion.

"Is it really Kakashi you're worried about?" Taryn asked amused.

Suzume went beat red, shrinking back a bit, gaining Ken's interest for Suzume's sudden break in confidence. What Taryn had said must have dug underneath her skin.

"Suzu, you okay?"

Suzume froze, her face growing even redder when Ken leaned around to see her face. She quickly leaned back to get away, bumping into Hiro now.

Hiro flinched and felt his cheeks heat up when Suzume bumped into him. "Are you alright? You're all red." 

"So are you," Daro chuckled.

"Shut up Daro," Hiro threatened, "before I start with you." He glanced at Taryn shortly and then grinned at Daro who glared at him.

"Don't you dare," Daro warned him in a low voice.

"Haha, just like Ken's reaction." Akira laughed.

"Like you don't get all red in the face either, Akira," Ken glared.

"At least I don't get jealous when she squeals over other guys."

"I don't get jealous!"

"Over who?" Suzume seemed to have recovered, her attention drawn away from Taryn at the moment, jealousy flaring.

Hiro looked back and forth between Suzume and her teammates and then to his own teammates. "What are we talking about exactly?"

"Yeah, Ken," Akira grinned, "who?"

"Shut up Akira." 

"Yes Hiro, who?" Daro smirked.

Taryn cleared her throat. "The food is here," she said casually, nodding toward the approaching waitress in hopes of distracting them.

"Food! Finally!" both Hiro and Akira cried out in joy. The two boys looked at one another with blank stares before they grinned and held up a thumbs up. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Aw, how cute!" Suzume chirped.

Ken frowned as Akira, meanwhile, was too absorbed in plating his food...as was Hiro. "You never say that about Akira when he gets like that...Or me," he muttered, "it's always a roll of your eyes and something like 'Gee, calm down you two or you're gonna choke."

Suzume slowly turned her head to face Ken, an unimpressed expression on her face. "What was that, Ken?"

The Chunin shrank back, "N-nothing. I said nothing at all."

"Hiro, chew will you. No one is going to steal it from you," Taryn commented dryly, "you still need to participate in the Third Round and I'm not gonna roll you home."

Hiro swallowed a large peace of meat and turned to her sheepishly. "Sorry sensei." 

Daro shook his head. "Where do you leave it all?"

Suzume giggled, "So you three excited to have made it to the next round?"

"We know Suzume is," Both Akira and Ken muttered, though Akira's tone of voice was more playful as he spoke with a mouth-full.

"What exactly is the next round?" Kuro asked tentatively. 

"Yeah," Daro said, "sensei won't tell us anything," 

"And we can't either." Ken replied.

"Yeah," Akira swallowed, reaching over for another of his spicy ribs, "but no worries, you three did great, so the next round is nothing to be afraid of."

"And how would you know how we did?" Daro asked while Hiro hurried to take another piece of meat, oblivious for the topic of conversation for the moment.

"Did you forget that we're proctors?" Ken said.

Suzume rolled her eyes, but was smiling nonetheless. "We took it upon ourselves, with Anko's okay..."

"Suzume took it upon herself," Ken mumbled.

"...to observe you during your last fight before you reached the tower. It was pretty impressive by the way, especially what you did there in the end Daro," Suzume smiled, her cheeks turning a bit rosy in color.

Daro swallowed and looked at the table.

Taryn glanced at him. "You used that jutsu?" There was a tense tone to her voice.

Daro sighed. "Yeah," he muttered, "I didn't plan to, but it was the only way. They were strong. I.... I almost lost control." 

Ken could feel Taryn's chakra rolling around with worry and concern over the current subject. His thoughts drifted then to Hisayo when they had taken their exams. Both Taryn and Hisayo, he was finding, were a lot more alike than either were probably willing to stop and discover about the other. "Your student did well. His chakra control with that technique is still a bit shaky, sure, but he kept control until the very end."
If anything, Ken wanted to try and get along with the others, even though Suzume's interest in them made him jealous. This was probably what was going on between Taryn and Hisayo in regards to Kakashi.

Suzume blinked, surprised by the positive feedback Ken was giving when she secretly knew he was jealous of the boys, though she was still unsure why he would be jealous of them.

Taryn eyed him for a moment, surprised about his perceptiveness. She had suspected him to be a sensor for a while now, but he seemed to be more advanced than simple chakra sensing. She nodded a thanks at him and looked at Daro again. "Chakra training for you it is then. Be patient Daro. It takes time to perfect a jutsu. My Ryoki isn't perfect yet and I've been performing it since I was younger than you. You'll get it right." 

"Wow, so you've been able to perform Ryoki for that long? You're pretty good." Ken then went red, "I mean, not that I don't think you haven't or weren't ever before. I mean, I've only known you for a few days...You're Ryoki is still very impressive." Ken ended his rambling with that muttered compliment to try and save himself from further embarrassment.

Suzume meanwhile had been looking at him with an unimpressed and slightly irritated expression. 'Well that doesn't look like a guy with a crush or anything...but to crush on her?!'  Suzume cleared her throat. "I didn't realize you were into older women, Ken." 

Akira nearly choked on his food. He knew what Suzume was getting at and he knew it spelled trouble for him and the other boys. Having two females battling it out while they were all there was not good!

A silence fell over the table and even Hiro forgot his meat for a moment. He looked at Suzume's annoyed face, then to Ken and then his eyes rested on Daro who he could tell was curling his hands into fists under the table.

Kuro bit his lip. He figured Suzume liked Ken a bit more than she let on. He glanced at Taryn who was trying to keep a straight face and sighed. His sensei seemed to attract trouble wherever she went. This time it wasn't even her fault. Ken seemed to be quite impressed with her. What had happened while they were in the Forest of Death?

Taryn wasn't sure whether she found this situation amusing or awkward. Why were these two boys so intrigued by her. Did they not know her reputation? Or was that what interested them so much? She took a deep breath and turned to Ken. "Thank you. Your barriers are quite impressive too. I don't think anything has ever blocked Ryoki before. Even if it was just a little." 

Ken's face was still red and he even seemed to sink down in his seat as he said, "Thanks" before deciding to occupy himself with eating.

Suzume was still staring at him, as was Daro, and it was really making him feel uncomfortable.

Akira snickered. "Well look at that, for once Ken has nothing to say. Losing your touch there, Ken?"

Ken's head shot up. "Shut it, Akira!"

"Why don't you make me? Or are you going to just keep sitting there with a beat red face?"

Ken glared, hitting the table with the end of his chopsticks. "Do you want these chopstick stabbed into your empty head?!"

Suzume sighed with a smile. "Guys..."

"I do too have a brain, Mr. Bookworm! But if you were so smart, then you'd know that."

"Right! Who was it that graduated in the top five of their class?"

Akira smirked. "...Neji." 

"Guys..."

Ken's eyebrow twitched. "Don't act so smart. It doesn't suit you."

"Hey, I am smart and don't you forget it."

"Then why am I always the one that comes up with the plans...idiot."

"GUYS!" 

Everyone froze, with the Suna group surprised the most by the little red-head's sudden outburst. Suzume smiled as Ken and Akira looked to her expectantly. "Remember, we have company? You're probably scaring them you know."

"Whose scaring who?" Daro muttered as he eyed the kunoichi. 

"You were in class with Neji?" Taryn asked surprised.

"Yeah, we graduated together." Akira then cringed, "I feel sorry for him—he has Guy-sensei as his instructor."

"Tell me about it," Taryn muttered. She didn't like Guy much. He was almost as bad as....

"Ahahaha! Now that's some great dango!"

Taryn winced as the loud voice of a woman exclaimed from next to her. Everyone turned, with either confused or deadpanned expressions as they saw Anko helping herself to Taryn's plate of dango with a big grin on her face.

"What's up everyone?" she casual said as she plucked another stick off of the plate and proceeded to eat it.

Taryn took a dagger and pressed it against Anko's throat. "Put. It. Back. Now," she said in an icy voice.

"Uh-oh," Hiro muttered.

"Uwah! What are you doing?!" Nervous beads of sweat were on Akira's face, "do you know who that is!?" He had seen how Anko was when it came to dango. She was a like a dog with a bone and anyone who tried to take it would not be received nicely, though it seemed that Taryn was similar to that description.

Taryn ignored the boy and narrowed her eyes at Anko. "I mean it Anko." 

"Okay, guess she does know." Ken sighed, "either way, this isn't going to end well."

Taryn's dagger pushed harder on Anko's throat.

"Taryn-sensei, please don't use violence... again...," Hiro said nervously.

"What can I say, Taryn; you snooze you lose. And you lost, so don't be a sore loser...like you are with every other thing you lose at, which by the way..." Anko's eyes grew sharp and mischievous. "How goes the battle between you and Hisayo? Kakashi make a choice yet between you two?"

Taryn gritted her teeth. She couldn't stand the woman. "How many times do I have to tell you there is nothing going on with me and Kakashi?" she growled, "not that it is any of your business. Go annoy someone else." 

"Then why do you get so worked up?" Anko laughed, turning her attention to the group of younger shinobi with a grin. "Ah, Hisayo's students are with you? Haha, better watch out or you'll be facing Hisayo's wrath."

"I don't care," Taryn hissed, "now Go. Away." 

Daro carefully slid from his chair. "I'll.... go get another plate of dango." 

"Sit down!" Taryn snapped at him, making Daro gulp and shrink back in his chair.

Suzume, Akira, and Ken all shrank back with eyes wide in shock and surprise of the sudden outburst. Akira leaned over to Daro, "Wow, you're sensei is pretty scary."

Daro swallowed difficulty. He didn't take it well when people were angry with him, even though he knew his sensei's anger wasn't directed at him.

"She must really not like that woman," Hiro whispered to Akira, "she is never this angry. That's that Anko something, right? From the Exam. Who is she exactly?"

Suzume replied. "Anko Mitarashi. She's a bit..."

"Creepy," both Akira and Ken finished.

Suzume rolled her eyes, but nodded her head. "She's different. A mix of scary, hyper, creepy, and obnoxious, to name a few."

"Yeah, and this isn't anything new. Hisayo-sensei and Anko don't get along very well either," Ken informed, "we were just surprised to see how your sensei reacted. Hisayo-sensei is usually more... reserved when she deals with Anko...sometimes..."

"Heh," Hiro said, "Taryn-sensei is usually more reserved too. I wonder how they know each other."

"Probably from when she lived in Konoha," Kuro mused. He looked at Daro who was still staring at the table. "Lighten up okay? She wasn't angry with you."

Daro's eyes flickered, but he didn't respond. 

...

Hisayo casually walked down the street, looking for her brats. They were late to meet her after lunch as they said they would, and she decided to hunt them down and see what the holdup had been. They had most probably gone to a place that was busy, so had to wait longer to be served. Her first deduction of where they might be was the BBQ place they often frequented. Akira was always a sucker for BBQ, especially if it was spicy. Her predictions were correct as she caught fresh scents of them among the mixture of food. She paused in her steps however when she caught four other scents... the Genin from Sand and... Taryn. She let out a sigh. Hopefully no trouble would come of her entrance to meet with her students. She would just have to be quick. In and out with no interaction between her and Taryn, if they so happened to cross paths in there.

 ...

Taryn put her kunai back in her pouch and turned to her students. She'd had enough of Anko. "We're leaving," she told them.

"Awwww," Hiro whined, "can't we stay a little longer?" 

"No," Taryn said firmly. She glared at Anko and turned to leave when her eyes crossed a pair of yellow ones, not far from their table.

Hisayo stood, staring at the scene, her eyes shifting from her students, the Suna Genin, then to Anko and finally, Taryn. With Anko being among the group, she knew that whatever was about to further commence, would not be good. 'Dealing with both of them is going to be a pain.'

 Anko looked between Hisayo and Taryn with a smirk on her face. 'Boy is this going to be good.' 

"Great," Taryn growled annoyed. 

"Hisayo-sensei!" Akira called when he caught eye of the white-haired kunoichi.

Despite the earlier tense atmosphere that Anko was causing Suzume lit up. "Sensei, come sit with us!"

"Uh, Suzume..." Ken could feel the chakra's of the older shinobi dripping with tension, irritation, anger, and a bit of malice. "Don't really think that is the best of ideas."

"Oh, come on," Suzume pushed, "they need to learn to tolerate being around each other."

Akira snickered. "Practice what you preach."

"Hello, Suzu, sensor shinobi who knows what people are feeling from their chakra...This is bad right now."

"I have to agree with that," Daro said nervously when he eyed Taryn' stiff back. This Anko woman had already gotten under her skin. If Anko knew these two hated each other, it was going to get a lot worse. He leaned towards Kuro. "Perhaps we should get some help. That Kakashi dude broke them up last time, remember?" 

"Yeah," Kuro said, "and he was also the cause of their fight in the first place. How about Neji-san? He's sensei's cousin. And he was in class with them, right?" 

Daro sighed. "Do you want to go knocking on that big mansion's door then?"

Kuro shivered. "Not... really..." He remembered Taryn's uncle all too well and what if Hanabi opened the door? They would never hear the end of it. That girl would mock them for the rest of their lives. 

Hisayo's eyes narrowed as she witnessed Anko smirk. That woman was up to something, and she didn't want to be around when she put her plan into—

"But I keep telling you Taryn, Kakashi does like you..." 

One of Hisayo's eyes twitched. So that's how Anko was going to make the rest of her day hell. She decided to play it off as cool as possible, with a small 'hn'. "Nice try Anko. Do everyone a favor and stop harassing them."

Anko smirked, walking right up to Hisayo with a challenging gaze. "Fine, you got me, but did you know that Kakashi is secretly into furries?" Everyone practically choked on their own spit when Anko had said that.

Hisayo only stared at her, unknowing of what Anko meant. Anko rolled her eyes and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. When she drew back, Hisayo's eyes were uncharacteristically wide, before she turned red.

"So you see?" Anko grinned as she then pointed behind her at Taryn, "he's all yours if that's the case, unless Taryn decides to whip out some cat ears." She laughed.

Taryn glared at Anko and pulled out a dagger again.

Daro stood up and grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Don't give her the satisfaction, sensei," he said softly, but he too now glared at Anko.

Taryn gritted her teeth, but knew Daro was right. "We're leaving," she told her students and she stalked past Hisayo and Anko out the door.

Her three students sighed and picked themselves up. "It was nice talking to you," Kuro said to Hisayo's students, "see you around." 

"Yeah," Hiro said, "bye." They followed their sensei out the door. 

Daro walked up to Anko with angry steps. "Just grow up will you?" he growled at her and he stalked after his teammates, leaving a confused Anko behind. 

The woman looked at Hisayo's students and shrugged. "Did I say something wrong?" She smirked, slapped Hisayo's shoulder and turned to the exit. "My work here is done." 

Suzume frowned, seeing everyone leaving, and she sighed. "Anko sure knew how to ruin things. I was having fun with those guys."

"Sensei, you going to be alright?" Ken asked, feeling the anger and irritation radiated off of Hisayo.

Hisayo seemed not to hear a moment, as she was standing frozen in place, looking at the door, before she let out a small sigh to calm herself. "I'm okay." She turned to face her trio, "are you three done? We have things to do after all."

Akira nodded. "Yeah. I'm not hungry anymore anyway." He too was feeling dismal over Anko's interference. Things had been going good between them and the Sand, he thought. He then blinked, "Hey, wait a minute...Did they just....They did!" Akira shot up from his seat, looking around the table, but didn't see any money from Taryn or her brats. "They left us with the bill!"

Suzume giggled. "I guess they were in such a hurry to leave, they forgot what it was we were all doing before."

"What were you all doing, and why with Taryn?" Hisayo calmly demanded.

"They were about to have lunch, we were about to have lunch, and we all were in the same place," Ken explained, "so we all decided to just sit together and have lunch together."

"You mean Suzu decided." Akira snickered, gaining a small glare from Ken, but he smiled, "well, I guess they aren't that bad. Taryn too."

Suzume frowned, her face going red, before she smirked, flicking her hair. "Yeah, Hiro's even cuter in person than I first thought. The other two aren't bad either."

Hisayo shook her head as she saw Suzume picking at Ken for a response, and decided to step in before all three started to argue. "Let's just go already. I'll help pay for what you can't." 

Akira let out a relieved sigh, "Thanks sensei."

...

"Ugh that woman," Taryn growled annoyed, "one day I swear..." 

Her students followed closely behind her, eyeing her concerned and exchanging glances. Whoever this Anko was, she sure knew how to get on their sensei's nerves. 

"You okay, sensei?" Daro asked carefully.

"No," Taryn growled and she headed towards the training grounds. She needed to vent her anger before she would kill someone.

"Err... guys," Kuro said slowly, "did we.... pay for lunch?" 

Taryn stopped dead in her tracks and clenched her fists. "Great. Now I owe that woman money." Now she really needed to take it out on something.

***

"Akio! There you are!" Anko grinned from ear to ear, putting the Ookami man a bit on edge by her sudden arrival.

"Oh, Anko." He leaned away from her a bit with a sweat-drop. "Hello. What do I owe your sudden visit?" He had just finished locking up the apartment and when he turned around, there she was.

"I needed someone to find Taryn and her brats for me and inform them about this round's end. Hisayo looked to be friendly with her, so thought I'd ask her to put her nose to work and find her."

Akio could tell from Anko's smirk alone, that the woman only meant to cause havoc and he wouldn't have that. Things were already tense between the two women and he wouldn't have Anko causing even more tension between the two. He then simply smiled. "Aw, I have a nose that works just as well. You know that, Anko, so how about I help you. Hisayo isn't in at the moment anyway."

Anko's smirk faltered somewhat. "That's alright; I'll just go get Kakashi on the job. He always seems to know about Taryn's hiding spots."

Poor Kakashi, he definitely didn't need to be put between the two women again. He figured that was Anko's next plan—to have Kakashi be found with Taryn by Hisayo and thus igniting a world war. He only smiled further, irritating Anko with his lack of cooperation. "I believe he's out at the moment too and I doubt you'll find him in time. You know how he is after all. So don't worry, Anko, I'll take care of things for you. Now run along. I'm sure Ibiki is expecting you back to be ready for the next round announcements."

"Yeah, yeah." Anko frowned as she turned to leave, but put on a mischievous smirk, "Good luck dealing with that woman." Oh, she hoped Akio would get his for having thwarted her attempts to pit the two women against each other, if only for her own sadistic entertainment.

...

Taryn's students sighed and leaned against a wooden fence as their sensei kept throwing kunai daggers at the targets around her. They knew it was best not to interfere when she was like this.

"Why did that woman have to ruin things?" Daro said annoyed, "we were having fun before she came in. Those three aren't as bad as I first thought. I hope we're not back on bad terms with them. Especially their sensei. This was the opportunity for them to get to know each other better." 

"Yeah," Hiro sighed, "but they can't blame this on us. It was that Anko woman." 

"Yeah, but we did leave them with the bill, even if it was unintentional." 

The three sighed. They sure hoped the next part of the exams wouldn't be awkward.

"Hey," Kuro suddenly nodded his head, "who is that?" 

It was a man, clad in kimono wear, with dark hair falling just over the tops of his shoulders, and with green eyes. "Hello," he said as he drew closer, giving a friendly smile.

Taryn whipped around and recognized him immediately. "Whatever she's upset about, I didn't cause it this time," she told him.

The man blinked a moment before he erupted in laughter. "No, no, though she did seem upset the other day," he sobered up, gaining a few questioning looks from the Genin. "I'm here to summon you and your Genin to the tower. The second round is over now."

"Already?" Hiro gasped, "I thought we had two more days." 

Taryn eyed the man for a moment. "Are you a proctor too?" 

Akio scratched at his head with a sheepish smile. "Ah, no. I just thought I'd save you from any... unfavorable encounters with anyone else."

Taryn was dumfounded for a moment. "How... considered of you." 

Her Genin looked from one to another with confused expressions. They seemed to know each other. But none of them dared to ask after what happened in the restaurant. 

"Yes, well, I didn't think you'd like any repeat of that first encounter with Hisayo. Oh, I guess I did forget to apologize for that." He gave an apologetic smile, "sorry. Kakashi and I have been trying to get her to be more well-behaved. She's a bit...jealous, I suppose."

"Really?" Taryn said sarcastically, "I hadn't noticed." She put her kunai daggers away. "In any case, I blame Kakashi for the whole ordeal. He can be such an idiot." She rolled her eyes. "It's his mess though. He can fix it. I have nothing against her." She paused and looked at him hesitantly. "Thanks. Anko was up to something again, wasn't she? I swear I'm gonna kill that woman some day." 

Kuro gasped. "Now I remember," he told his teammates, "that guy was with Kakashi when we first came here. He knows Hisayo-san."

Akio turned his sights to the Genin, "Ah, sorry again. The name is Akio Nakamura. I'm Hisayo's sensei. And Taryn, why don't you cut Kakashi a bit of slack there? Things have been pretty stressful around here even before the exams, so there hasn't really been time to delve into every single detail of our lives before we all had met and known each other."

Taryn felt her cheeks turn red. He was right of course, but she didn't like being scolded as if she were a child.

"That doesn't mean she deserves being yelled at by your student for no reason," Daro muttered.

"Daro!" Taryn hissed, "mind your manners." 

Daro turned red. "Sorry sensei. Gomen nasai, Nakamura-san."

Akio chuckled, patting the young Genin on the head and causing him to turn even more red. "It's alright...Taryn, I think I like this one. He seems pretty protective of you. That's good. Sometimes we teachers need a little looking after by our students." He chuckled some more.

A small smile formed around Taryn's lips. "I suppose that's true." She sighed. "I guess we should head for the tower then." She turned to leave, but then turned back to Akio. "Tell Hisayo not to worry so much, alright? Kakashi is a good guy. Just a bit... dense sometimes." She let a smile escape and slapped the back of Daro's head playfully. "Come on brat." 

Still a bit red, Daro rubbed his head where she had hit and followed after her with his two teammates, who were softly chuckling, on their heels.

Akio gave a soft chuckle and smiled as he watched the group leave. "Yes," he said to himself, "Kakashi can be that way at times." He turned to leave himself, feeling refreshed and hopeful. Taryn wasn't bad at all. If Hisayo could somehow be friendly with her, then he was sure that they could work out their differences, as silly as they were.

***

Not many teams had made it into the final round. Taryn counted only three other teams. 'Mine, Hanabi's, a team from Mist and Caves.'  She narrowed her eyes at the last one. 'I need to find out more about them.'

"Good," one of the proctors spoke when he saw them enter the tower, "now that we're all here, we can begin. You will now receive the instructions for the next and final round of the exams." He looked at the Genin and their sensei. "The final round will consist of a melee and it will take place at the Konoha Stadium one month form now."

"A month?!" Hiro gasped. 

The proctor looked at him annoyed. "That's what I said." 

Kuro elbowed him. "Be quiet and listen," he whispered.

The proctor cleared his throat and continued. "At the finals, we will have a large audience that will consist of the various Kages of the great shinobi villages and the lords and ladies that rule the nations. They will be potential future contractors, so it will give you the opportunity to show them what you and your village can do. I advise you all to train hard in the time that is given to you." He paused again. "In the tournament everything is permitted, but a proctor will step in and declare the match over if there is an obvious winner or if one of the contestants is no longer able to fight. Treat your opponent with respect."
He looked at each of the contestants and nodded. "We will now decide who will be matched up against who. Please watch the score board behind me. It will show the pairs of the first round of matches. The winner will then move up to the next round until there are only two left. They will face each other in the final round. Any questions?"

A ninja from Mist raised his hand.

"Yes?" 

"So the winner of the tournament will become Chuunin?" 

"A good question," the proctor said, "the answer is, not necessarily. You will be judges on various things, of which I can not inform you. Those that have the qualities of a Chuunin will be promoted, so even if you lose you might still become Chuunin. All of you could become Chuunin. Or none at all. Now please pay attention to the board." He turned around as the screen behind him started rolling.

Everyone looked at the screen expectantly.

"Match one. Daro Kamori from Suna vs Touji from Caves." 

Daro gulped and looked at the shinobi from Caves nervously. 'Great. I get stuck with the ninja no one knows a thing about.'

Touji looked over to his opponent from Suna with a smirk. 'Sand huh? Hehe, it'll be a breeze.'

"Sorry man," Hiro said comforting, silently hoping he wouldn't get matched against Caves as well. They looked fierce. 

"Err Hiro," Kuro said while pointing at the screen.

Hiro turned and paled.

Match two. Hiro Tomoda from Suna vs Hanabi Hyuuga from Konoha.

The young Hyuuga's face looked school, indifferent almost, but inside she was excited. 'The final round. Father, I will not fail you. You'll see that I'm the best for our house.'

Kuro bit his lip, anxious to find out who he was supposed to fight, but other names flashed on the screen first.

Match three. Terasu from Caves vs Harou from Mist.

Terasu smirked. "I hope you're better than those other Mist shinobi. Heh, weaklings."

Harou glared. So they were the ones that took out the others. Caves...they were by no means a group to be underestimated. He gritted his serrated teeth. "I'll make you pay for that."

"Ooo, I'm trembling," the kunoichi mocked.

"Save it for the ring." Ibiki's voice drew back the attention, making everyone grow quiet as they waited for the other match-ups.

Match four. Umi from Mist vs Itsuki from Konoha.

Itsuki sighed as he inspected the kunoichi from Mist. 'Man, she looks as solemn and intimidating as Hanabi-sama.' 

Match five. Kuro Shiraki from Suna vs Kai from Mist.

Kuro looked at the Mist shinobi. 'Could have been worse, I suppose.' 

Tengai swallowed. There was just him and the other Genin from Caves, meaning, 'I get stuck fighting an unknown.' He swallowed nervously, 'I just hope she isn't a lightning type.'

"And match six. Tengai from Konoha vs Zarigani from Caves." Ibiki looked around. "That concludes it. We will see you again in a month. Use your time well." After those words he left and the Genin were alone with their sensei.

"Come," Taryn said softly to her students. "We have strategies to plan."