The Feral World of Shinobi

The Days That Remained

The days seemed to slow to a crawl while other teams started coming in. You'd decided that Gaara wasn't as much of a threat as you originally thought, at least not to you. He was still a cold blooded murderer, that you knew, but you felt safe compared to the others. That made you a little bold. "Hey Sandman, can't wait to beat you at the Chunin Exams." You told him as you made eye contact. It had thrown all parties off, Gaara included if his widening eyes were anything to go by. He recovered quickly though. "I don't think so." He replied monotonously and that was that. His siblings, you had recognized that their scents were somewhat similar leaving you to believe that they were related, were utterly shocked that you weren't dead. So were your boys. "What the hell was that, I thought you were scared of the guy?" Kasai asked as you looked out the window, frowning. "There's more to that ninja then I originally thought." You decided to reply quietly. Something else currently had your attention, but you couldn't quite understand. "... what is it, what are you sensing?" Yoru asked. "Trouble.."

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What you couldn't understand was how they got so injured. You could feel something off about both Naruto and Sasuke as Sakura defended the unconscious males against the Sound ninja. That's what you could tell as you left the tower and ran in there direction anyway. You would need something to plug your ears with so you wouldn't be so affected by their sound. Geez, the things you did for Naruto's safety. You faltered your step a moment when someone came to help Sakura. You recognized Rock Lee as the scent that was within the area and that InoShikaCho team as well. You waited to see if you would actually be needed or not, collecting and shaping some moss in case you were. You cut off your hearing upon deciding that you should be there anyway. Just in case. By the time you'd jumped down, you summoned your blasters and aimed them at the enemy. "One wrong move and they will shoot." You growled. You don't know what was said next and everything seemed to happen in a blur. The Chakra certainly didn't feel like Sasuke's though as he broke one of the sound's arms.

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"That was unsettling." The battle ended quickly after that. Sakura stopped Sasuke and the enemy had retreated. You'd pulled out you makeshift earplugs and woke up Naruto. Naturally you hadn't left the tower alone, Yoru and Kasai had been waiting in the trees for your signal. "Definitely something to talk about after I get Sakura healed up." You chided as Sakura's bruises faded at the touch of your power. "Oh wow, I didn't know you could heal!" Naruto gaped. "Heh, I'm not very good at it yet, but I can heal minor injuries." You responded. He seemed normal, but you could tell something was still off about his Chakra. "Are you ok, Naruto?" The blonde waved it off. "Yeah, I'm fine! Believe it!"
"Is nobody else freaked out by those giant animal skulls?!" Ino squeaked. "Kinda." Shikamaru shrugged. "What were those anyway?" Kasai crossed his arms behind his head. "What, [Y/N]'s Blasters? That's one of her abilities." They all looked to you as you finished up. "There you go. Anyone else need healing before we head back to the tower?"
"What, no way, you passed already?!" Naruto yelled out, making you chuckle. "We passed early the second day." Yoru informed.

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You knew that team ten would no longer treat you lightly as you headed back. "Naruto's Chakra was off and for a good minute, the Chakra Sasuke was using didn't feel like his at all. Something happened while we were busy, something that I failed to catch." You grumbled in disappointment. "You're not his mother, [Y/N], you can't be there for every step. Besides, you're only a Genin, just like him, whatever happened, I'm sure they can handle it themselves." Yoru replied to you. "Yeah, but I am his best friend. I should be there to help him through his problems." Kasai gave you a light grin. "If he's your best friend, shouldn't you believe in him? He can handle whatever they are going through and you will be there to help him if he needs it." You sighed lowly. "I... suppose you both have a point.." You did believe in Naruto, you just couldn't help but worry about what happened. You felt a pull as you approached the tower and your head followed it up to a window where Gaara looked down at you. You locked gazes for a moment yet again, his calm cold gaze settled the turmoil within you a bit.

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The fifth day finally came and you were all lined up in your teams as you faced the Hokage and the Kazekage. Some teams were dropping out last minute. Preliminaries. That was what was next. Too many of you passed, you supposed, so now they were doing single one on one matches that didn't affect your team in any way. A test of your individual skills. You were a bit excited, but nervous too. You didn't want to go against the likes of Gaara. You were trying to see why he was the way he was, and you felt that you were getting there. You didn't want to ruin that progress. Likewise you didn't want to fight the sound unprepared. The first match was Sasuke versus Yoroi Akado. With that in place, the rest of you headed up to watch the fight take place. Yours and Naruto's teams were on the same balcony, with your father talking with your Sensei. The rest of you watched and cheered Sasuke on. While he did win the match... it left you feeling uneasy. That Chakra was almost as ominous as the Tailed Beasts. Kakashi disappearing with the Uchiha didn't help any and only seemed to confirm that Sasuke was in trouble.