(Whew this is winding down. Only two more parts to come after this one. Buckle up ladies and gent's and everyone! It's gunna get intense!)

A few days had passed and guilt was gnawing at you. The Hokage had been able to help you with your favour and he had registered you and Kakashi as officially married. Everywhere the two of you went, your friends greeted you with congratulations, but with firm reprimands about having gotten married in secret and that they wanted to through a wedding reception after the chuunin exams. You did your best to smile and feel the happiness that you should be feeling, but with everything you had going on in the back of your mind, your mood got dragged down. You even had something new on your mind. The day after you had spoken to the Hokage, you had come home to find that your brother's old mask was missing from its place on the wall. You had questioned Kakashi, but he hadn't touched it at all. You ended up ripping your apartment apart, but never found it, eventually giving up on it.

The second stage of the chuunin exams had begun and your job as security had begun. You were assigned to patrol the edges of the forest, pulling out teams that had cheated or dropped out. That was exactly what you were doing when a shock of pain shot through your neck. You straightened up and looked around, running your hand over your neck. No injury, so a student hadn't mistaken you for a fellow exam taker and attacked. You slipped your fingers under your forehead protector, which was wrapped around your neck. You touched your sealed curse mark, Anko's warning popping into your head. You swore and grabbed the three unconscious students, hoisting them onto your shoulders, panic making you stronger. You quickly moved them to the edge of the forest and left the students with another overseer, quickly leaving to try to find Anko. But no matter where you looked you couldn't find her, so you finally asked another of the security detail.

"Anko? She took off into the woods a few minutes ago. We found some students bodies at the edge of the test area. Their faces were removed...then she took off to check something." You bit your lip, "I'm going in after her. Please notify the Hokage... We have some unwanted guests here." He nodded and the two of you took off in opposite directions, him towards town and you into the trees.

You weren't sure where to start, but if Orochimaru was here...he was in the arena.

And the only people close to Kakashi that were in there were his students. Fortunately Iruka had been keeping you informed of their general location. You tried to think who Orochimaru would after of those three. Sakura wasn't likely. She had potential, but not the raw power that Orochimaru would want. So that left Naruto or Sasuke. Either would be dangerous for the village. Naruto with the fox spirit...but he wasn't the type to be tempted into betraying the village. And Orochimaru would've done some research before coming here, so he would know that, so Naruto wasn't the likely target. So it must be Sasuke. The unstable boy with a thirst for power and vengeance. Two things that Orochimaru could easily offer him. But what you couldn't understand was why. Sasuke was still just a boy. His powers hadn't developed much yet. After all, he'd only just activated his sharingan...The sharingan! That is what Orochimaru was after!

You focussed more chakra into your feet and pushed yourself to go faster. Odds were that Orochimaru had already been here for the first few days, so who knows what he could've accomplished already. You got to the area that Iruka had told you that team seven had last been in. You looked around and saw nothing. Every section of the forest was huge, it could take you the entire day to search this one area alone. Everything was really quiet. A feeling of dread settled on you. With Naruto being here, you should be able to hear him for miles. The fact that you heard nothing...

You whipped your head around as you felt a massive surge of chakra from nearby. It was dark chakra. You sprinted towards it, coming to a stop near a clearing. You hid partially behind a tree and took in the sight before you. Three young sound ninja were near one end of the clearing, one looking like he was carrying the other two. Team 10 were clustered on the other side, all looking a little worse for wear. And Sakura and Sasuke in the middle, Sakura with her arm around Sasuke's torso. It looked like she was holding him back and you could see her trembling. Something bad had just gone down. You glanced around, checking to see if anyone else was around. You couldn't sense Orochimaru at all, and your mark wasn't even hurting right now. But where had the chakra come from? Someone with that much power wouldn't just vanish...unless... You leapt up onto a high branch. Once there you circled around and peered down, staring at Sasuke's neck. You bit back a curse when you saw a black mark clear as day on his neck. What do you do now? The mark was already on him. You doubted that you could perform the sealing ritual with having your own mark, and even if you could, Sasuke didn't look like he could take it right now. Also...they were still in the exam, and shinobi law stated that no one could interfere with students that were willing to continue on with exam and there was no immediate threats to their lives. The three sound ninja left the clearing. Everything seemed to calm now. You made a tch sound and turned away, heading back to the forest edge. There was literally nothing you could do about this right now, other than report things. You were only about 3 meters from the edge of the forest before your sensed a presence. You skidded to a stop and threw a kunai in the direction of the presence.

Your eyes widened then narrowed as you saw who it was catch your kunai, "Usa..." You 'brother was leaning against a tree and idly holding your kunai and examining it, an ANBU mask loosely tied to his belt. "That was aimed to kill Uta...it's even coated in poison. You weren't trying to hurt me were you?" You straightened up, best to not look defensive if you wanted things to go smoothly. "If I'd known it was you I wouldn't have thrown it." He tilted his head and looked at you, his dull grey eyes assessing you, "Who were you expecting it to be?" You chewed the inside of your cheek. You couldn't tell him that you had been hoping that it was Orochimaru so that you could kill him. You had to make him think that your loyalty to whatever Orochimaru was planning was absolute. "Unless it missed your attention, I just walked away from Sasuke Uchiha, who has just been marked by ...Lord Orochimaru. As a leaf ninja, I should be removing him from the exam and bringing him to the Hokage. I was worried that you might be one of the other overseers. I was going to kill a potential witness." Usa smiled, "Ah I see. I'm glad to see that you're fully committed. To think that Uta, the most loyal and trusted member of the Yoshe family, would betray everything she's ever known, all for little old me." You crossed your arms, "Don't go acting like a brat or I may change my mind." He burst out laughing and for a second you could see his old self and you couldn't help but give a smile, but you quickly reminded yourself that this wasn't real.

After a moment Usa stopped laughing and he smirked at you, "I heard that you and Kakashi are married." You rubbed the back of your neck, "Yeah... It was a spur of the moment thing, we'd had a few drinks...and it is easier to explain the constant togetherness if we are newly-weds." Usa nodded, "Do you intend to tell him about Sasuke's mark, like you did yours?" You tensed.

How did he know about that? You'd been careful to keep your neck covered. "It was...making it hard to focus...so I had to do something about it..." In a flash Usa had you backed against a tree, his hands resting on your shoulders. You felt your headband slip away from your neck, and his finger press to your mark, "I suppose it would be nearly unbearable, since it remains extremely painful until Lord Orochimaru completes it. Most people don't even survive receiving it. That's why Lord Orochimaru hasn't blessed me with one yet. He wants me at my best, just for you." You shivered and felt thoroughly creeped out as his arms slid around you and he whispered into your ear, "He knows how important we are to each other." You felt his lips kiss the mark on your neck and you tensed. All resemblance that this person had had to your brother was gone. Usa would never do anything like this. He rested his head on your shoulder and chuckled, "You're even choosing me over the man you've loved for years. Sacrificing any chance at happiness you ever had...but then again, the pair of us were never meant to find happiness were we? Shinobi twins never do..." He began to pull away, tugging a piece of hair in his fingers before he turned away, "You can tell Sarutobi and Kakashi about this if you want. It's best that they continue trusting you. But don't do anything to make the exams stop. Make sure the exams continue no matter what." You didn't answer as you watched him walk away. Once he was out of sight you frantically wiped at where he'd kissed your neck and shuttered.

"What the actual fuck was that?! If Orochimaru was hoping to make that thing seem like my brother he missed the mark!" You turned and punched the tree hard enough to leave a dent in the bark.

You made your way to the edge of the forest and went to the Hokage tower. Since you'd been given permission to report this, you fully intended to do just that. After arriving you were met with the sight of Anko, looking weak. One look at her face and you knew. "You saw Orochimaru." She shook her head while glaring at the floor, "I just saw his clone." She glanced up at your face then mouthed words at you, "And you saw Usa." You sighed and shook your head, "No, I just saw a puppet that looks like him." Anko nodded. You turned your attention to the Hokage, ignoring the confused looks that some of the others in the office were giving you at your comment, "I have information to report, but I will wait until the two of you are finished." The Hokage raised an eyebrow, "Anko's given her report. I'm surprised that you...saw anything worth reporting..." He glanced around and you could tell that he was referring to spies. "I saw something that I can report on." He nodded for you to continue. "In the test zone, I saw Sasuke Uchiha with a strange mark on his neck and he was exhibiting odd behavior." Anko quickly stepped forward and pulled her collar aside, "Did it look like this?" You glanced at the mark. "I was at a distance and I only got a glance at it, but from what I saw, they are similar. They could be the same, but I'm not certain." The Hokage sighed, "So Orochimaru is here, and he has targeted Sasuke. Why would he target such a young shinobi?" "I believe he's after the Sharingan, not Sasuke. I fear he aims to lure Sasuke away from the village." The Hokage tented his fingers, "What shall we do? It's been made clear that we can't cancel the exams." You glanced at Anko and she nodded. Orochimaru must've told her the same thing that Usa had told you.

He leaned back in his chair and pulled out his pipe. He lit it and took a long drag off of it. After a moment he released his breath, "We'll have to seal the mark on Sasuke as soon as possible, but other than that...I think we had best allow things to play out. That's our best chance at getting Orochimaru to expose himself to us and give us an opening to attack him. We will prepare for war just in case. I doubt that he's working alone. He probably has his people in this village already, and who knows who else he will have pulled into this madness." You tensed when he said this, since technically, you were officially being considered one of his people. "Well for now, the two of you need to return to the test grounds. You have duties to complete. Students have already begun to arrive at the tower. Someone needs to be there to keep them from fighting before the next part begins." You bowed and turned to leave with Anko. "Uta." You turned back to your name being called. "You be careful and let me know if you need my help in this. I'll be informing Kakashi of these developments." You looked down and nodded again. "Uta, stop feeling guilty. You are protecting him and everyone else with your actions. Now...You're a newly-wed. Let this old man see you smile." You looked up and could see the concern in his eyes. You pushed a smile onto your face. "Sorry sir. I'm ok, I promise. Thank you for your concern though. I better get going though. Duty calls." He frowned more, but let out another sigh. "When this is all over, you owe me a real smile." You bowed again, "Yes sir." You then left the office.

~~~Time Skip~~~

"If you insist on taking Sasuke, then one of us will die here and now."

The blue-white light of chidori lit up the small cavern. You stood just behind a stone column and stared at Kakashi who stood between Orochimaru and a now unconscious Sasuke. Usa stood very close to where you were hidden. You couldn't move to help Kakashi like this. Usa was so close that if you so much as twitched, he'd have you contained instantly and with the energy that you had expended in helping Kakashi place the seal just moments ago, you wouldn't be able to do anything. Orochimaru scoffed at Kakashi's threat. "I won't be taking him with me. Soon enough he will come to me willingly, craving the power that only I can grant him." With that Orochimaru turned and left, Usa following close behind. You let out a breath that you hadn't realized that you'd been holding.

"One of us will die here and now? What was I thinking?" You stepped back around the column, "Yeah, what were you thinking Kakashi. With the energy you used up you wouldn't have stood a chance, and with this stupid mark, I can't move against Orochimaru directly." You came forward and laced your fingers with his. He leaned forward until his forehead rested against yours, "We can't let him take Sasuke. I swore that I would protect my students." You nodded slightly, "And you will protect them. As long as we live, nothing will happen to them. Besides, those students of yours are stubborn. They will live long lives simply because they'll refuse to die, if nothing else." Kakashi sighed. You glanced over at Sasuke. "You'll have to train him directly. He needs to be watched. And he'll need to see improvement in himself. That's the only way he won't be tempted by Orochimaru. I'll train Naruto and Sakura." Kakashi shook his head, "No, Naruto would drive you insane, and you need to keep your focus on your real mission. I'll find someone to train him if he passes. You can train Sakura if she passes." You wanted to argue, knowing that Naruto wouldn't like that he wasn't getting trained by one of the two of you, but Kakashi was right. Kakashi bent and picked Sasuke up, "Speaking of, you should get back up there. One of us should be watching the other fights to see what our team is up against. I'll take Sasuke to the hospital and come back, but you should return now."

You nodded and headed back to the fight area. Orochimaru wouldn't make a move with all the guards that were now around.

You were heading upstairs when a wave of white hair hit you in the face. "I finally found you Uta!" You pulled back and looked at who had grabbed you. Suddenly you remembered something that had completely slipped from your mind since everything had started. The deadline for the book.

Staring at you was the face a Jiraiya. "Uhh...hi Toad Sennin."