We ran like Orochimaru was on our tail again. Except this time there was a lot more laughing involved. Naruto's victory crows rang throughout the forest, and I didn't stop him.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Sasuke repeated, almost smiling. "That was so stupid! What if they had just attacked?"

"Yeah, they could have, but they didn't, and that's what happened, so there's no need to worry about it!" I tossed my bangs out of my face and grinned. We had both scrolls now, and plenty of time to get to the tower.

I don't think our luck is bad enough to run into Gaara or Kabuto, I thought as we set up a small camp for the night. I touched my shoulder. And I don't think Orochimaru will come back for us.

I took the first watch as usual, letting the boys rest. It had been. A very long two days. I was so done with these exams. I wanted to get out of this forest, get the stupid curse mark taken care of, then sleep for a week. Maybe two weeks. With a break in between to gorge myself on Setsuko-ba's home cooking.

Don't drool all over the tree, Inoko.

Sasuke woke us both up once the sun began to peek over the horizon. I began to help Sasuke rebandage his leg before he swatted me away. "I'm not a baby, I don't need your help," he grumbled.

I scowled and threw the roll down. "Fine, do it yourself, then."

"Is Sasuke being constipated again?" Naruto whispered as I joined him in taking down the traps we'd set up.

"Yeah." I sighed. I wasn't exactly being fair to him, was I? "Not really, actually; I think everything that's happening is stressing him out, and you remember how he was in the Academy."

Naruto nodded sagely. "Super constipated, then."

Once we were all ready, Naruto sent a clone up further into the tree to get our bearings, and then we were off.

It took most of the day to get to the tower, with only a quick stop to eat, drink, and relieve ourselves. Oh, to be a boy. The trip might have been faster if we had gone as the crow flew, but we all agreed - well, Sasuke and I agreed, Naruto was trusting our judgement - to take a more roundabout path to avoid other teams.

Once the tower was within sight, we took another break, this time to strategize in further detail. I was grateful for the rest, my energy still drained from the curse mark and the fight leading up to the application of said mark.

"Run," I said. "Run like hell if anyone sees us."

"What? No, we should stand and fight!" Naruto demanded.

"Absolutely not. We've already got what we need, we don't have a reason to fight."

"But that's the cowardly way to do it!"

"We're shinobi," Sasuke said quietly. "We don't have honor. Not like samurai do."

Naruto scowled at us both. "Why are you guys constantly taking each other's sides?! It's like you're one of his dumb fangirls!"

I bristled at the accusation. "I am not. We're trying to be mature shinobi here. You know, like chūnin are supposed to be! I just want to get out of this stupid forest as fast as possible so I can get this stupid curse thing off my shoulder! It freaking hurts, Naruto, all the freaking time! I can't use my chakra because it'll start eating at me again if I so much as make a clone!"

My shoulder hurt. My chest hurt. My head hurt. I wanted to hit Naruto, hit him until he took it back, until he said sorry, until he begged for mercy-

Sasuke pried my fingers off my shoulder. "Cut it out," he said quietly but firmly, glancing at Naruto. "Both of you. Let's just… let's just talk about it when these exams are over."

"Hmph." Naruto folded his arms and turned his back on us.

I stared at the ground. What is wrong with me? How could I have thought that about him?

I wanted to go home.

We all stood in front of the door to the tower. I was vaguely surprised that we hadn't run into anyone. Right now, though, I was too tired to care. I was done with these exams. I was done with this curse mark, and I was done with myself.

"Hey, Naruto?" I said. He looked away from me, still sulking. I sighed, and barreled on anyway. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. That… that's not the kind of person I want to be. I want to be a good teammate and a better friend to you, and Sasuke. And that wasn't the way to do it. So… sorry."

We stood in the silence for a handful of heartbeats before I heard a loud sniff come from him. "Whatever," he mumbled, clearly doing his manful best to not let us see him cry. I grabbed his hand, nearly stumbling as I pulled him forward.

"Let's go inside."

The room was empty except for a single poster on the wall. I didn't trust it. Is this a trap? A last minute ambush? My hand drifted up to my shoulder. I'm functioning blind.

"... Now what?" Naruto asked no one in particular, looking around suspiciously. I flopped down onto the ground, too tired to even stand at this point. My thoughts felt slow and sluggish. It took me a moment to read the writing on the wall. Heaven… and earth? Like… the scrolls?

"Take a few clones and scout out the area," Sasuke said quietly. "Just in case."

"Think we're fine," I mumbled, slouching against the real Naruto's leg. "Pretty sure Biki-san said we'd be safe here…"

I wanted to be done with this forest. It had been an eternity since we'd walked through the gates, since we stepped into the classroom where the first test was held. I missed my parents. I missed my garden. I just wanted to… exist amongst my flowers. Feel the gentle beat of their life that only I could hear.

"Clear!" the clones began to call, echoing each other from varying distances. Real Naruto hrmed and patted my head. I sighed. "This thing doesn't make any sense! 'If heaven is your desire'? What kind of dumb thing is that?"

I was honestly half asleep at this point. Turned out that impromptu naps caused by hickeys weren't very restful at all. "Scrolls," I mumbled. "Gotta… open 'em now…"

The next several minutes passed in a haze, interspersed with bursts of activity that broke through the sludge that was my mind. It might have been Iruka-sensei who materialized out of the scrolls, it might have been Kakashi-sensei. Something in his tone was alarmed upon seeing me, practically unconscious against Naruto, who had somewhere along the line sat down on the floor to support me better. His jacket stank and his shoulder was bony, but they might as well have been a perfumed feather bed. I sank into blissful oblivion as I was lifted into the air, free of pain and worries.

I floated in the darkness.

Rest now, lovely girl.

"What," Kakashi said, barely keeping his anger out of his voice - it wasn't the man's fault; in fact he should probably be thanking him for his quick thinking in bringing Inoko to the infirmary, "the hell happened in there?"

Umino rubbed his face, not looking up at him. Kakashi stood in front of the teacher, glaring down with crossed arms. One of his students was passed out on the other side of the wall and not showing any signs of waking up soon, and he wanted answers. The chūnin exams were rough, he knew this, but he also knew his students.

"I have no idea. Naruto was garbling something about a hickey, and Sasuke was being his usual self."

"A what."

Well. Hatake Kakashi was going to be murdering someone today. Probably starting the Fourth Shinobi War in the process.

"The medics say she's just sleeping," Umino continued, oblivious to Kakashi's rising bloodlust. "And her sister's team arrived about an hour ago. Evidently she was rather sleep deprived to begin with, and…"

"And what?"

Umino shifted uncomfortably. "You'd have to confirm it with the boys, but Ino said they'd mentioned something about Orochimaru."

Kakashi's blood ran cold. Why is Orochimaru back? What does he want this time?

"Have you reported this to the Hokage?" he asked, trying to remain pleasant sounding. He didn't think it was working very well. He wasn't a pleasant person at the best of times.

"Yes, of course. He just nodded and dismissed me." Umino tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Mitarashi-san probably already told him; she was acting strange yesterday."

Definitely Orochimaru, then. No one else could shake Anko up like that.

"Maa, thanks, Umino-san," he said with fake cheer, shoving his hands in his pockets before walking away.

Kakashi's agenda: track down and kill Orochimaru, and then be finished off by Yamanaka Noriko. She had made it clear what would befall him should a hair on her daughter's head be harmed, and somehow he fully believed she would be able to carry out that threat.

Kakashi thought it was high time he had a word with the Hokage. There was just one thing he had to do first.

Sasuke wasn't sulking. Uchiha did not sulk. Uchiha were not jealous of blond idiots cuddling together on the bed. Uchiha were not jealous of cuddle piles on the soft bed while he was stuck on the hard plastic chair, definitely not sulking and definitely not wanting to join in.

Naruto snored, anyway.

He still side eyed the bed.

The medic on staff said Inoko was fine, just chakra drained and exhausted. He'd dozed off in the chair while Naruto scrounged out some food, and when he woke up, the other boy was draped all over Inoko and snoring fit to wake the dead.

Sasuke slid further into the chair and glared at the snuggle pile. An Uchiha had his pride.

There was a faint scratching at the door, and he stiffened.

"I know you're in there, kid," a deep unfamiliar voice called. "Let me in."

He unsheathed a kunai and crept towards the door. Slowly, carefully, he opened the door, and -

There was no one there.

"Down here, kid," the voice said. Sasuke looked down.

"You're a dog," he said, unable to come up with any other comment.

"Not just any dog," the pug said. "One of Kakashi's personal summons. He sent us over here to keep an eye on you pups."

"Pups," Sasuke said. He crouched down closer to the dog.

"Kids, pups, all the same to me. I'm Pakkun. Feel my paw; it's very soft and supple."

Sasuke almost laughed. The whole situation was just too ridiculous. Pedophilic Sannin. Talking dogs.

"Did Sensei only send you, or…?" Sasuke asked, trailing off. Pakkun was right; his paws were very soft.

"Nah, the whole pack is here. I was just testing the waters, see." A giant head peeked around the corner, with smaller heads peeking above and below it. Helpless to do anything else, Sasuke opened the door the rest of the way.

Pakkun introduced the dogs as they came in - "That's Akino with the glasses, and the one with the mohawk is Shiba. The big one there is Bull, and the little one on him is Bisuke. Uhei is the one with the bandages - it's a fashion statement, he says - and this one is Bisuke's sister, Guruko."

One by one they settled into the room, herding Sasuke back to the chair. Bisuke jumped into his lap and shoved his muzzle into his hand until he began stroking the surprisingly soft fur. Guruko and Akino jumped onto the bed, the latter giving Naruto a lick on the face before lying down with a sigh. Bull lay down heavily at Sasuke's feet, pinning him in place more than he already was. Uhei and Shiba stretched out at the foot of the bed, and finally Pakkun wriggled his way under Inoko's arm.

Inoko sighed, and something in her face relaxed a bit more.

"Get some rest, pup. We'll keep watch."

Sasuke's eyes drifted closed. He did feel better, knowing that they were there. Sensei's still watching out for us, even in the middle of the exams...

I didn't do a full crash from exhaustion very often. It wasn't a fun experience, plus I ended up sleeping for ages. Not that that was in of itself a bad thing, it was just that I usually had other things to be doing that were being postponed by crashing.

The first thought I had when I woke up this time was somewhere along the lines of, It's really hot right now. My second thought was a bit more coherent. Are these dogs? Where did they come from?

"Puppo," I mumbled into the dog's fur, closing my eyes again. "Fresh young puppo."

It gave a throaty laugh, wriggling under my arm. "It's been a long time since I was a puppy, kid. But thanks anyway."

"... talking doggo…"

Naruto groaned somewhere behind me, and an arm and a leg was thrown over my side. Naruto sighed, the warm air of his breath tickling the back of my neck. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes once more.

Sasuke had been properly patched up by someone, though he was still pretty filthy. He was fast asleep, head bobbing every now and then. There was the faint sound of what could have been a snore. He also had a dog in his lap and a truly massive dog at his feet. Like seriously, I could probably ride that thing into battle. What a great dog.

Though I couldn't see the other dogs very well, the ones I could see all had vests on them, each carefully embroidered with a heno-heno-moheji.

"Are you Sensei's dogs?" I mumbled into the small dog's fur. "Nice of him…"

"Yeah, we're Kakashi's summons, all seven of us. Go back to sleep, pup. We'll keep watch."

"Good doggo," I murmured, letting my eyes drift closed.

The pain had receded. I floated in an ocean of warmth.

When I woke up again, the boys were gone. Three of the dogs were still with me, including the massive battle-dog. I felt much more rested now. More rested than I'd been since before the exams started. How… long have I been asleep?

I slowly sat up. A dog with a mohawk stirred and yawned. "Hey, kid," he said. "Have a nice nap?"

"Mh." I yawned, rubbing at my eyes until I saw stars. "How long have I been out?"

Mohawk dog stretched deeply. "Not sure; you were out of it since the boss sent us here to keep an eye on you guys. Since then it's been about… hey Guruko, how long has it been since Boss sent us here?"

Guruko rolled over. "Fourteen hours, Shiba," she said. "It's now day three out of five of the exams. Naruto and Sasuke are getting food with Pakkun, Bisuke, Akino, and Urushi."

"Oh." I side eyed Guruko's fluffy looking belly. She cracked open an eye and seemed to grin at me.

"Go for it, Inoko-chan. We're dogs, after all."

It didn't take long to get one of her back legs kicking.

"Where's Sensei?" I asked, sparing a hand to scratch Shiba's ears. The battle-dog looked so sad to be left out of the action. I never wanted a third arm more.

"Lurking somewhere in the tower," Guruko sighed. "A little lower please - ah, that's the spot. The jōnin sensei aren't allowed to interact with the genin until the second phase has passed, but he's always been a bit of a mother hen, so he's sent us to keep you pups company."

I nearly laughed at the thought of Sensei trying to mother hen us.

"You should see it whenever Uhei gets another upper respiratory infection," the battle-dog rumbled in an amused fashion. "Boss fusses so much."

The mental image of Sensei fussing over a dog with an upper respiratory infection actually did make me laugh. My shoulder twinged, but not too painfully.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Naruto demanded, barging into the room. His arms were laden with all sorts of tasty smelling things, and my stomach grumbled. "Pakkun said you were probably awake by now, so Sasuke and me swung by the mess hall and got you some stuff," he continued, laying them out on the bed. "And there's showers here too! I finally got all those gross snake guts off me!"

He instantly flopped onto the battle-dog and began cooing over him, accompanied by aggressive belly scratches. "Bull! Are you a good dog? Yes you are, you're the best dog, way better than Akamaru!"

"You should take a shower too," Sasuke said flatly, settling down next to me, careful not to disturb the dogs. "You stink."

"Wow, thanks," I replied dryly. "It's totally not like I just spent the last fourteen hours unconscious or anything."

He jabbed me in the ribs. "Shower. Now. Before I let Naruto eat all the food."

"You are without a doubt the worst teammate ever," I grumbled, easing myself out of bed. Crap, I was sore.

But daaammmnn did the hot water feel good.

When I finally got around to getting out, Team Ten was also in the room, chilling on and around the bed. Ino flew across the room the moment she saw me, grabbing me tightly enough that I couldn't breathe properly.

"Inoko! You're awake! We wanted to come by earlier, but the pug said you were still sleeping and wouldn't let us in." She pouted, but I could see the relief in her eyes. "Have you talked to your sensei yet?" she whispered.

I shook my head. "They're not allowed to interact with us until the second exam is over."

"Well that sucks."

In the background, all of my boys were getting swarmed by dogs, tails wagging and open mouths eager for treats. It was almost disconcerting to hear them begging verbally too.

"Yeah, but hey, whatcha gonna do," I muttered, rubbing my shoulder. Ino's eyes flickered to my hand, just for a moment.

"Inoko, come eat, you must be hungry," Chōji said in his usual friendly tone, patting the bed next to him. He smiled warmly at me as my stomach growled. I am hungry.

I snuggled into Chōji's side and began to slurp up some instant ramen. Hot food had never tasted so good. Then I moved on to some dorayaki. And anpan. And bakauke. So much delicious food. I fed bits and pieces to the dogs, feeling content for the first time in a few days.

"We have time now," Shikamaru said at last. I paused in my chewing and tried not to scowl. He's not going to stop pushing this, is he?

"I'm not dealing with this right now," I grumbled, turning away from him.

"You don't get to decide that!"

"And you do?"

He glared at me. Naruto and Sasuke glared back.

"You mentioned Orochimaru in the forest," Shikamaru snapped, beginning to raise his voice. "What does he have to do with anything? What does he want with you?!"

"Keep your voice down," Ino pleaded, grabbing his sleeve. She was pale as a sheet, nervously glancing around as if she was afraid he'd overhear us talking about him.

My shoulder hurt and burned. The dogs collectively stiffened, and Pakkun vanished in a burst of smoke.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Naruto shouted before Bull flopped down onto him.

"One of the Sannin attacked you guys and you want to just… let it go?! Are you insane?!" He jerked his arm away from Ino. She looked like she was about to cry.

I pulled free of Chōji. "Oh, shut up, Shikamaru," I snarled. "It's none of your damn business. I'm not some helpless female, you know; I know how to report to my superiors of dangerous situations. I'm taking care of it."

"Hey, pups, calm down," Guruko said, jumping off the bed. She looked back and forth between us. "No need to let tempers run high."

I took a deep, shaking breath. I wanted to hit him. Why wouldn't he let me handle this by myself? "I'm leaving. I'm not dealing with this right now."

I was halfway to the door when Shikamaru grabbed my wrist. "Why won't you talk to me?" he demanded, half angry, half pleading.

Fire burned on my skin as I spun around. "I said I'm not dealing with this right now. Leave. Me. Alone."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke bolting to his feet. I didn't care; I was alive as the fire burned me away. "Inoko," he said firmly, grabbing my face and forcing me to look into his eyes.

Black on red spin in dizzying arrays. The fire is doused in black, icy water. "Go back to sleep," he says, and I'm helpless to resist.

I fall, and vaguely I feel proud of him.

Sasuke caught Inoko as she fell limply to the ground. The curse mark had flared up again, and he knew she'd regret hurting Shikamaru, no matter how much of a butt he was being. He glared at the other boy, who looked shocked.

"Get out," he ordered. "Now."

The other boy glanced at Ino, as if waiting for her to tell him to stay.

"Just go, Shika," she murmured wearily. She scrubbed at her eyes and sniffed. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Shikamaru clenched his jaw, eyes flickering back and forth between Sasuke and Inoko. "I didn't mean to… do that," he finally said. "Whatever that thing is, it can't be good for her, especially if Orochimaru is the one behind it."

"You think we don't know that?" he growled. "Get out before I make you."

He left. Chōji followed after giving Ino a hug. "Take care of her, please," he said softly.

"Hey, teme, what did you do to her?" Naruto demanded once he finally got out from underneath Bull.

"Put her to sleep, I think," Sasuke said, trying to position her into a carry. "Sharingan stuff."

"You think?" Ino squawked.

"Maa, you really should be careful with that, Sasuke-kun," Sensei drawled from the doorway with Pakkun flopped over his shoulder. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin.

"You're late!" he shouted on instinct.

Sensei pat him on the head before crouching down in front of Sasuke. "Sorry about that, Naruto. Let me take a look at her."

"I thought you weren't allowed to see us until this was over!" Naruto continued to protest, lightly smacking his shoulder. "I don't wanna get disqualified just because you were cheating!"

"Extenuating circumstances," he said lightly, scooping Inoko up as if she was no heavier than a baby. "Plus it's always better to ask forgiveness than permission~"

"Iruka-sensei says that's bad!"

Sensei gently set her down on the bed, raising one of her eyelids and checking her pulse and breathing. "Hm. Well, it looks like her little tantrum didn't do any damage. You overdid it, Sasuke; she's going to be out for a while." He gently set Pakkun down on her belly before turning around to eye smile at the boys and Ino. "Don't worry about Orochimaru. The adults have it taken care of. Just focus on relaxing here until the exam is over."

He jabbed Sasuke in the forehead, not unlike how Ita-

"Especially you, duckling. Stay in the tower and let the adults handle it," Sensei stressed. "As for you, young lady, you should be getting back to your team. It's not safe to wander around alone~"

Ino looked back at them as Sensei guided her out, and her eyes were trying to convey so much. He didn't understand half of it, but he still saw the plea in her eyes to keep her sister safe.

I won't let anyone hurt you, Inoko. I won't let anyone hurt my team ever again.

I had this finished over a week ago, but I was trying to finish a side story to post alongside it. It's being incredibly stubborn though, so it'll have to wait. I'm not the biggest fan of how most of the chapter came out, I do like bits of it. Including the dogs was a good idea.

I have a discord! The invite code is KbhWqdc. Feel free to join and talk!