Chapter 5 — Uchiha

Just inside of six hours saw Team 3 lazily tromping through the forest, enjoying the "wildlife," and looking for good supplies. Every once in a while Yoh would appear next to Hakumei with some bug or another, sending her into fits of fright that had her trying to beat him within an inch of his life once the critter was gone.

Fuhennori smiled indulgently as she watched them, Yoh finally tiring of his game and Hakumei's nerves worn down to a nub from his antics; the young man crouched down a little so he could look up into her face, smiling gently and currying favor so she would forgive him and calm down.

Their team had always been like this. Fuhennori knew they thought of her as a sister or something even closer—they were the closest thing to family one could be without being blood related—but to each other… She smirked, watching as Hakumei pouted and Yoh smiled, tapping his forehead against hers, thumb wiping at her cheekbone. Honestly, she wondered if the only reason those two weren't 'official' yet was because they worried about her feeling left out or some such nonsense.

They're so obviously in love with each other; it's a shame they haven't done anything about it yet. She knew they hadn't for a fact, and...now that she thought about it, after the Chuunin exams were done and over with, she would fix the problem. She would plot and scheme and enlist the help of their parents if she had to (here's hoping she wouldn't have to), but she would get them to finally confess! You'll be thanking me by the time I'm done with you! Hahaha!

She was just beginning to plot their imminent...she wanted to say 'demise' or 'debauchery' but the first was only cliche and the second was…hopefully not how far it would go just yet. They were only 15, after all. However, all thoughts crept to a halt as she felt something off. Yoh was already ahead of her, his eyes darting off this way and that as he pretended to still be engrossed in his girl. Hakumei had gone quiet with her hand over his, and was likely trying to sense for chakra signatures in the surrounding woods.

Wind rustled the tops of the trees; a quiet, rhythmic passing. The shadows were deep this late in the afternoon, leaving pockets of black in the wake of wide trunks and gnarled branches. The cries of birds had ceased, and wildlife had disappeared. Murderous intent filtered through the air like a fog, and she could feel in it the joy of the hunt, the thirst for blood, the sadistic glee of anticipation.

In a split second, she sensed blood. It was away from them; the scent of someone young, the scent of someone afraid. That split second of distraction was like a signal, and with it came a rain of shuriken filled with deadly intentions.

Yoh split away from Hakumei, weapons immediately set loose in the direction of the attacker, his feet following quickly after as he took to the trees to track them. Hakumei fell back to defense, casting a chakra net around herself filled with a snakes-and-ladders defense system of illusions as she waited for her partners to either take care of the problem, or drop them into her care for other purposes.

Fuhennori watched critically as her substituted clone disappeared in a small puff of smoke before quietly relaying instructions to a second one via hand signals.

Find the enemy.

Bring them within a half inch of their lives.

Take their scroll and, if it's the other half of the set, get our team to the tower.

With that, she took off toward the other fight she knew was taking place. A bad feeling was creeping up between her shoulders, a warning that she couldn't really understand. There was danger all around her; the fight behind her, the fight in front of her, the bloodlust still crawling against her skin and…and a sense of anticipation that hung in the air, as if every leaf in this monstrous garden were holding its breath. This wasn't the time to analyze it though; she zipped through the trees with a sense of urgency chasing her, feet barely touching the branches before she was off again, quietly as possible. The chakra bursts behind her were lessening already, and it didn't surprise her. Between her clone and her teammates, there was very little they wouldn't handle easily. Ahead of her, the result was the same as a result of the opposite problem; the opponents, those so consumed with fear and whose blood was spilled, were outmatched by much too far. The fight was about to end, and it wasn't in their favor.

When she burst through the trees, half a second was all it took to assess the situation. Konohamaru was fighting a Grass ninja; Udon was protecting an injured Moegi, and the opposing two were taking their time with intimidation and cheap bullying. Posturing aside, they weren't exactly weak...but they certainly weren't anything impressive either. Fu might normally have bestowed a little mercy...but at the moment, she didn't feel like it. These bastards were about to get the brunt of her growing frustration.

Four seconds and two kunai later, a mess of blood was on the forest floor. She looked at the team pitiably. This didn't help them at all, but she couldn't let them die; it would break Naruto's heart, and it would disrespect the Third. Konohamaru had a little recognition showing on his face; he knew her, but at this point he didn't know what to expect. Tired as he was, as injured, as outmatched, he took a fighting stance and prepared to defend his team.

He'll be a good shinobi one day.

She didn't make a comment; Fuhennori just did what she needed to. Searching the cadavers rendered a scroll; it was a Heaven scroll, just like the one hiding in her obi. Faster than the younger shinobi could even see, the scroll was in shreds and covered in blood. It wasn't until she left that they realized Moegi's wounds were just as healed as the scroll was tattered.

"Damn, I wish their sensei had kept them out just a little longer," she muttered, swinging a large bottle from her left hand as she went. The red contents inside barely moved at the inertia; it was thick, and it was warm, and there were ugly little pieces floating around. The glass was etched with a symbol not unlike the one on the Grass-nin's headbands. Hakumei was going to turn green when she saw it…

"Care to lend me a bit of your time?"

The kunai at her throat, the heat at her back...the shinobi now menacing her with his toy was no pushover.

No Uchiha ever was.

She could feel the Seal, so much like her teacher's, oozing it's ugly chakra into his system; there was an answering, roiling feel in her stomach, not unlike paws digging at her insides.

No stranger to close-quarter combat, she made a swipe for his wrist with a shuriken, tumbling away as he dodged and getting her feet in a split second. His dark eyes were completely impassive, black hair a stark and unnerving frame for his pale face. She could smell the blood running in his veins, sickeningly familiar from the training grounds. Uchiha Sasuke's face was burned in her memories from photographs that surfaced around important documents that, true, she had only seen when sneaking peeks…but also from a near-forgotten winter party at Haruno Sakura's flat. Their team picture, featuring a face that was grumpy but still so very expressive compared to this ominous, expressionless man before her, hung before her eyes like an afterimage.

"What brings a traitor to our gates?" Fu asked, straining to keep her voice steady. Despite his blank face, she felt as if he were looking down his nose at her in distain.

"Business. You're not at your best though...pity," he responded, head canting to the right as he observed her. "I'll come again when you've recouped. Keep this meeting…under your hat. So long as you live and tell no one, the village will continue with its pseudo-peace for a little longer."

He turned and walked away with a languorous pace, not even worried about her following him. He didn't have reason to worry, because at this stage she didn't have the confidence to do so. Fuhennori did not lack belief in her abilities; however, she knew what class she stood in…and it wasn't his. Not quite.

Not now.

There was half a kilometer between herself and the site of her teammates' battle, and her arrival found that the two of them were unconscious and guarded by her slightly worn-out clone. It stood as she approached, and she recognized a fragile weakness in the hazy ruby eyes that were mirrors of her own. The silence disappearance into smoke was accompanied with the sudden awareness of memories that both were and weren't her own; a brisk fight involving little effort, followed by the Uchiha putting her teammates out of commission. Nothing she hadn't suspected. The clone was left unharmed because he didn't want to alert her to his presence.

She grit her teeth, and acknowledged silently that despite her best efforts, she could feel this exam getting under her skin. She felt gooseflesh rising on her neck and arms, and the beginnings of a constant, soon to be ravenous bloodthirst that was much too familiar to ignore.

It left her throat dry in a way that her canteen could not remedy.

As her teammates slept off the jutsu that left them in a dreamworld, Fuhennori wrapped their campsite in deadly traps before settling beside their figures, arms clinging to her knees. Straining to calm down even a little, she reminded herself that Gaara would be coming soon. In a month, they would have the official Chuunin Exam matches...and he would be there. He would be watching her.

That had to be enough.

With the Chuunin Exam coming up soon, Gaara decided he would travel with them back to Konohagakure. His entourage would come along at a more proper pace, but the Kazekage himself would accompany his brother and the three-man cell back to the city in secret. Temari stood at the gates in the frigid pre-dawn light, smirking dryly at her little brothers as they checked their gear one last time.

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Gaara asked, eyes turning to her with a small measure of muted worry.

"Oh please. Just because it's my first time house-sitting for both of you you're going to freak? Just go already. Your girl is waiting, isn't she?" she teased, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. Gaara's eyes cooled on her, a muted pouting, as she continued, "Look, I know it's going to be bad. You're going there to provide support, not just as a spectator. Konoha's where the trouble is, so go kick some ass. You'll come home and find everything right where you left it. I promise."

His serious face showed how much he worried, and despite the rest of the group's readiness he couldn't quite bring himself to go yet. It had been over four years since the attack by Akatsuki, and every year the only time he left the village was for the Chuunin exams…with Temari at his side. He would leave Kankuro here and in charge…but this time, his brother was dead set on going. He could intuit the reason easily enough; the scene with Sakura in his office had made it pretty damn obvious after all. Still…

Temari smiled, and finally wrapped her arms around his neck in a solid hug. "C'mon Sunshine; the bad guys aren't going to beat themselves. I'm a big girl, and Baki-sensei is here to help me keep these bastards in line. They probably won't like me as much as your bright and bubbly personality, but we'll deal."

As she pulled away, he offered a thin smile. Kankuro came up beside them, first tugging teasingly at Temari's ear, and then landing a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. One deep breath later, they were in the far distance heading into the blindingly blood-red desert sunrise.

AN: Um... been a while. Yeah. /shot/ I'm so sorry! I can only work on projects when I've a little time and some good inspiration these days, and inspiration always proves to be in short supply. ;v; On top of that, Misty Sunsets is a very old fanfiction, and I'm basically re-writing and reworking nearly 14 chapters of story that had already been written... it's both easier and harder at the same time. My characters are more round this time I think... at least, I'm trying to round them out more. I'm also enjoying exploring relationships more this time; I'm adding quite a lot of KanSaku compared to the previous version, and also addressing more of my original character relationships... (especially YohHaku, because I ship them so hard. ;v; They are beautiful babs, okay? )

So... sorry for lack of updates. Still trying. I go back to school on Monday again, but maybe I'll get some writing done anyway.