First of all, my gratitude to you patient, patient readers. I apologise immensely for leaving you in the dark all this time. I know I'm not the fastest updater, but even I have to admit, I took way too much time with this one. My sincerest apologies to you all.

Which brings me onto my second request. I really need a Beta reader for my work. Part of what took me so long was trying to structure everything right for the plot I'm going for. That's why I need someone else to help point out what sounds right and what doesn't, as well as giving me a kick if I don't update for too long. Anyone is welcome to help, as long as they don't try to take-over the story completely.

After all that- Please enjoy.

"Get the hell away from him!" The trio looked up in shock as Shuriken peppered the ground around their feet, and they hastily scrambled out of the way as an angry figure brandishing a kunai landed next to Lee.

"What did you do to him?!" The girl demanded, glowering at them all. Her hair was pulled back into two tight buns on top of her head, and her dark pink vest was stained by dirt in places. For looking so innocent, it was amazing how well she resembled a sabre-tooth tiger.

"Wha-? Tenten?" Sakura gasped as she recognised the girl. "What are you taking about-?"

"Lee." Another voice said from above them, and they looked up to see a boy stood on a thick branch high above, his arms folded and eyes narrowed as he sneered down at them. Like the girl, he also wore a Leaf Village forehead protector, but his hair streamed down between his shoulder blades, tied in a loose ponytail. "What did you do to him?" Sasuke, still reeling from the after-effects, could only narrow his eyes at them in irritation.

"(Those two…)" Sasuke breathed. "(What do they want…?)"

"Cowardly hyenas; ambushing a superior opponent is bad enough," He sneered, shaking his head. "But to callously attack a fellow Leaf Shinobi is a new low, especially for your team."

"What are you talking about-?" Sora asked. "Sakura, who are these guys?"

"Neji and Tenten." Sakura explained. "Lee's team-mates."

"You bet we are." Tenten growled, crouching down next to Lee's unconscious form. "How dare you attack Lee!"

"Hey- don't make assumptions!" Donald snapped angrily. "We didn't attack him!"

"It's true!" Goofy added.

"Yeah, it was those Sound guys!" Sora backed up. Neji switched his pale gaze to Sora.

"A likely story. I don't even know who you three are, and you expect me to trust your word? Sasuke seems exhausted." He added, looking between him and Lee. "As far as I know, he's the only one of your group even remotely capable of taking him down. Lee said so himself after he challenged you. There's overwhelming proof of your guilt." He looked accusingly at Sakura.

"But it's the truth!" Sakura protested, getting to her feet. "Some Sound-nin ambushed our camp, and Lee came to help us. Only, we weren't strong enough to hold them back…"

"Really? So just how did you fend them off then?" Tenten asked sceptically.

"Well-!" Sakura started, but fell silent as she struggled to summarise it. How was she going to explain what happened, especially when she didn't understand herself…?

"Hmph." Neji frowned, misinterpreting her silence. "I see…"

"(Nngh…)" Lee suddenly groaned, drawing Tenten's attention. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head in her direction, gaze unfocused. "(Wha-? Tenten…? When did you learn Genjutsu…? You're all fuzzy…)" A bemused smile crossed his face and he lifted his hand towards her, batting at mid-air. "(Heh, fuzzy Tenten…)"

"(Oh, good grief…)" She sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation as Neji 'tch'ed his behaviour. "Look, there's only one way we're going to get a straight answer here." She glanced up at Neji. "D'you wanna do it or…?"

"You're closer."

"Alright, alright…" She twisted on the spot and gently lifted Lee's body into a sitting position. Kneeling in front of him, she gently placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his face. "Lee…?" He slowly looked up and squinted at her.

"…Fuzzy?" She gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Wake up, Lee!" She suddenly shouted, roughly shaking him back and forwards. "What happened to that power-of-youth Gai-sensei's always going on about?" That seemed to do the trick, as Lee shook his head and looked up at her, his eyes focused.

"Eh? Tenten? Neji? What are you doing here?" He looked round at the others in confusion. "What happened?"

"We came to help you." Tenten said. Lee frowned.

"Help me?"

"They attacked you." Neji said, glaring at Sasuke.

"What? Sasuke and Sakura?" Lee looked over to the pair in shock before he remembered, shaking his head as he turned back to Tenten. "Wait- No, they didn't." This time it was Tenten and Neji's turn to be surprised.

"They didn't?"

"No, three Sound-nins attacked them, and that guy," He pointed at Sora. "He sent some summons to get help, and they found me."

"(Hey, who's he calling Summons?)" Donald hissed indignantly to Goofy.

"See? We told you!" Sora grinned. After a long stare, Neji turned his head away and closed his eyes as he let out a snort.

"You shouldn't look so guilty."

"(Neji…You and your stupid pride…) He means 'Thank you'," Tenten said apologetically. "And you!" She rounded on Lee. "What the hell were you thinking? Why did you take action on your own?" Lee squirmed under her glare, and he hugged his knees against his chest.

"Sakura-san was in danger, so as a man, I had to…"

"(Ghh… You really are an idiot…)"

"Heh, I can't argue with that…" He admitted, giving a sheepish grin. Sora, Donald and Goofy shared a quiet chuckle as Neji and Tenten rolled their eyes exasperatedly. Their laughter stirred Naruto, and he opened his eyes in confusion before sitting up sharply, glancing around in fright.

"What the- Where is he? Everybody, hide!" He yelled, springing to his feet and running for cover. "No, get down!" He corrected, skidding to a stop and throwing himself on the floor, scrabbling across the ground in a panic towards Sasuke and Sakura. "Where is he, damn it-? That snake-freak's still around, and I've got to protect them, and-! And…" He fell silent, as he looked around again, blinking at the surprised faces staring at him. "Eh? What're you guys doing here? Where are we? What-?"

"Whoa, whoa, Naruto!" Sora leapt up and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's alright, he's gone!" Naruto blinked and looked disbelievingly at him.

"What? Gone? As in- not here? We fought him off?"

"Yeah, sure we did, don't you remember?"

"Um… N-no, not really… Last thing I knew, I got smacked into the air by that big black snake…" He cocked his head. "Why?"

Sora didn't answer immediately, staring at him with concerned confusion. He- He didn't remember? Any of it? Sora recalled the ferocious creature that had shared a branch with him earlier, the way his enraged eyes had bored into his. Had that been the same Naruto sat before him, the one he'd gotten to know? Thinking back on it, it was as if something else had taken control of him… What was going on with him…?

"Eh? Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously, peering at Sakura below her eye-line. "What happened to your dress?"

"What?" She glanced down at the tears Sas- …the creature had sliced in her dress. She looked up again and shrugged her shoulders, giving him a slightly forced smile. "Oh, it's… It's nothing… One of those Sound guys must have done it… I didn't even notice until you-" She suddenly stopped, eyes widening in flash of realisation.

Wait a second.

Waaaaaaaait a second…

There was a hole in her dress.

She knew that there was nothing under the dress- she had decided before she'd entered the Forest it would have been too warm during the Exam to layer her clothes.

So that meant Naruto could see her skin.

And that meant Naruto could see the skin over her heart.

And if he could see the skin over her heart…

Then that meant Naruto could see-!

She suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek as she crossed her arms across her chest, her face flushing bright red as she twisted away from the startled boy.

"S-Sakura?!?" He stammered in naive confusion. She snapped her head round, proverbial thunderclouds rising up and rumbling ominously behind her as Naruto paled in fright at the sight of her tightly clenched fist.

"Naaaaa-RUUUUUU-TOOOOOO!!!!" She yelled furiously, slamming her fist heavily into his cheek and sending him careening over the clearing straight at the Kingdom Trio. Yelping, they threw themselves out the way, and they turned in time to see the unfortunate boy plough straight into the side of a tree, leaving a Naruto-shaped imprint in the bark.

"NARUTO, YOU PERVERT!" She snarled loudly at him, holding up her smoking fist. "DON'T YOU EVER OGGLE AT A LADY LIKE THAT!"

"…now that's what I call 'Girl-Power'…" A white-faced Lee muttered weakly. Even Sasuke felt the need to lean away slightly. Sighing, Tenten walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder as Neji jumped down to help Lee.

"C'mon- I'll help you out with that." She nodded at her dress. "Then are we square for not believing you?"

"Deal…" Sakura muttered angrily, glaring at Naruto as the others attempted to pry him free. She turned her nose up and walked away in disgust. "Baka…"

"Are things always like this here?" Goofy grunted as he helped pry Naruto's body from the tree by the arm.

"No, noh reawwy…" He muttered thickly, sticking his tongue out as he pulled a splinter from its tip. "Ow! Usually she hits a lot harder…"

Tuning out the idle chatter (and pointedly ignoring the occasional glares from Neji), Sasuke stared out into the forest, an emotionless expression on his face, but his mind whirling within.

'…What… What the hell happened to me…? That… That wasn't natural… That wasn't me, that wasn't my power… But…' He slowly looked down at his hand again, staring at his fingertips. 'It's just like before; I can't remember a damn thing! Why can't I remember it?!?' He glanced over his shoulder at the others. He studied them in silence before shaking his head. '…Something weird's happening here… I don't know what that Snake-Freak did to me, or what those… "Heart-less" things are…'

He clenched his fist.

'But I felt strong…'

"Damnit! These things are relentless!" The Rock-nin gasped, hands held up in front of him as he concentrated on the jutsu. "Are you alright, Kouta?" He added, glancing over his shoulder at his partner slumped inside the water-shield.

"I- I- I think so…" He mumbled, his hands clasped together tightly above his heart. "A- A few of them managed to cut me… I- I- I don't know how deep…" He trailed off, staring into the ground with glazed eyes.

"Kouta?"

"…"

"Damnit! There's more of them!" He growled angrily, lowering his right arm slightly to alter the direction of the water-shield he'd hastily summoned around them. The black creatures seemed to appear from nowhere, and they were steadily surrounding them, their paws twitching spasmodically as they stared at the trapped men. His eyes darted round, desperately trying to think of a way out.

"Kouta- Kouta, I can't move from here. If I do, those things will swarm us. You've got to use that Earth-jutsu of yours to move some of those black thorns in their way-" A sickening gurgle from behind him made him freeze in place. He snapped his head round in time for his partner to collapse in place, black smoke erupting from the wound over his heart as he foamed at the mouth.

"K-K-KOUTA!?!"

He stared with frightened eyes as Kouta's body quickly crumbled into wisps of smoke that bloomed apart to reveal the strangest thing he had ever seen: a red, glowing, crystalline heart that floated a few inches over the smoke. But before he had a chance to even gasp, the smoke twisted up and smothered it, blotting out its light as it formed into a new shape. A terrifyingly familiar shape.

"DAMNIT!!!" He screamed, whipping his hands through seals and thrusting them at the ground as the shield collapsed. "SUITON: TSUNAMI SHOU!!"A jet of water exploded from his palms, blasting him into the air and away from his former partner. But using the Jutsu in a way it wasn't designed for, he had little control, and careened wildly in the air away from the Heartless. The tree trunk knocked the wind out of him as he slammed into it, cancelling the Justu and sending him crashing to the floor.

He pushed his face out of the dirt with a groan, and checked his surroundings. He'd only made it as far as the other side of the dark clearing, and those foul creatures were already half-way to him, crawling in the floor and over the tree trunks, seemingly undeterred by his water-jet. He flipped onto his back and scrambled backwards, trying to put as much distance away from them as he could. They were gaining fast. He threw handfuls of shuriken at them, but they passed harmlessly though them. His back hit something solid, and he knew he was done for. His mind whirring, coming up with feebler and feebler plans, he simply braced himself for the inevitable cold rush.

He was surprised when it did not come.

Hesitantly, he opened an eye and looked at the creatures. They had simply stopped, most standing, some frozen halfway from emerging from the ground, and stared above his head, their spindly black antennae folded flat against their heads in what would mockingly be called submission. Not one of them moved. Not an eye blinked, not a claw twitched. The stillness was worse than the movement, as they simply stared above his head with dead, glowing eyes.

Confused, but immensely relieved, he sat up-

"My, my…" The sheer iciness, the overwhelming venom of the voice shocked him to the core, and he froze with wide eyes as dark, almost tangible killing intent radiated from behind him. "It seems I have an… Infestation in my house…" A cold shiver, a hundred times worse that the feeling from the creatures, snaked its way down his spine as a bead of cold sweat snaked its way down his face. Hardly daring to breathe, he slowly, ever-so-slowly, turned his head to look behind him. Far, far above his head, an orb of green fire burned coldly in the claws of a long, golden sceptre, illuminating the malevolent stare of the darkly clothed figure. The eyes, reflecting the fire in their depths, stared deeply into his, stirring terror in his very soul as the mouth widened into a fanged smile.

The lung-scorching screams that echoed around the forest died long after he did.

"No one's here…" Hinata wondered quietly, glancing over to the other two. Had they come to the wrong place? Kiba let out a gruff laugh of pride.

"So, are we the first one's here?"

"No." Shino stated. "I felt someone's presence." He looked round the darkened hall once again and fell silent, as if listening to the crickets now chirruping outside in the still night. Standing in silence made her feel uneasy, so Hinata asked:

"Is Akamaru okay…?" She moved forward and stroked the pup's head peering from the inside of Kiba's jacket. "He's been shivering ever since…" Akamaru whimpered quietly, nuzzling his head into her hands.

"Yeah, he'll be fine…" He took him out and laid him on his head, stroking his nose. "It was just a big shock, that's all… We've never met anyone with that level of killing intent before…"

"Ah, yes… Incidentally, what did Akamaru say back then?" Shino asked Kiba.

"Oh. Akamaru said that the big guy was going to get killed by the kid from the Sand. The one that smelt like- …blood."

"…we were lucky to get away alive…" said Hinata.

"Not really…" Kiba said grimly. "He knew we were there. In the wild, the only reason Alpha wolves allow other males in the pack is because they know they aren't a threat. That if they tried to fight back, they would always loose to him…"

They suddenly fell silent as they heard the light tapping of footsteps in the corridor, along with an eerie atmosphere that sent Akamaru whimpering again.

"(It's them…)" Kiba whispered, proverbial hackles raised. The footsteps echoed all around the empty room as they got closer, and Hinata felt the chill she usually felt when visiting the town graveyard…

The first one in view was a tall, muscle toned girl with a giant black fan attached to her back. She was dressed in a long short-sleeved shirt fringed with fishnet, and her short blonde hair, still pristine despite her forest trek, was tied up in four small points. She glanced around before spying Team 8 lined near the wall, and a sardonic grin crossed her face.

"Heh- Looks like the Leaf's got a few tough nuts, eh Kankuro?" She said over her shoulder to a boy with purple lines criss-crossing over his face. He was dressed in traditional black puppeteer-garb with, what they assumed, a large, bandaged-wrapped puppet tied to his back. He also sneered, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Naw, they just got lucky." The remark struck a nerve on the already stressed Inuzuka, and he narrowed his eyes in a loud growl. He stopped, however, when the third person entered, and the source of the sinister atmosphere was revealed.

The boy was comparatively short compared to his two teammates, only just reaching the puppeteer's shoulder, but by the dark rings round his eyes, and the kanji-shaped scar carved into his forehead under his dark red hair- he was the most dangerous. The large gourd strapped to his back didn't seem to hinder his movement at all, even though it looked like it weighed a lot. He gave no sign of seeing the silent Team 8; instead, he slowly walked forward toward the other end of the hall, his arms folded.

Kiba, Shino and Hinata watched with unease as he passed by them; Kiba, with his eyes narrowed, Akamaru whimpering softly on his head; Shino, dark glasses hiding his emotions as an agitated buzzing came from the depths of his body; Hinata, her hands shaking slightly as she pressed her fingertips together.

He suddenly stopped walking and stood in front of Hinata, staring down the empty room. His eyes flicked over and locked gazes with her. She stifled a squeak of terror as she stared back, wide-eyed, suppressing a shudder at the memory of his bloodthirstiness…

"There was no pain. Because there was no time to even feel it."

"Jumpy, aren't they?" Kankuro laughed as he and the girl walked past the staring boy. They continued down the hall for a short way before they realised Gaara hadn't moved. He continued to stare unblinkingly at Hinata. The continuous eye contact made her wary, and she shuffled her feet nervously.

"Gaara?" Temari asked. He didn't reply. Instead, he turned on the spot to face her and slowly began walking towards her. Hinata stiffened and dropped her gaze, clasping her hands together to stop them from shaking in fear. She could feel the boy's killer intent increase with every step he took, and it was focused solely on her. What was he doing? Why her? What could she have possibly done to upset him? She held her breath as he came within striking distance-

"You got a problem with our team-mate?" Kiba spoke up, appearing at Hinata's side and raising his arm protectively in front of her as he stared at Gaara. Hinata looked up at him, grateful, but concerned for his safety. Garra stopped in his tracks and shot him a stoic glare, and the taller boy repressed a shiver at the amount of killing intent directed at him.

"What's it to you?" Kankuro sneered, folding his arms as he stared at him.

"It would be unwise to engage in combat when we have only just passed the second stage of this exam." Shino pointed out as the buzzing from within him rose a few decibels. "While outside the tower we may do whatever we please to gain entry here, it would be prudent to refrain from hostilities whilst waiting for new instructions, lest we incur the anger of the instructors and jeopardise our chances of becoming Chuunin. I suggest we all back off." He looked pointedly at Kankuro. "For now at least…"

Throughout Shino's speech, Gaara hadn't taken his narrowed eyes off Hinata, who refused to look him in the face over Kiba's arm. Now he lifted a hand free and pointed a finger at her face. "You." He snapped, making her look up in surprise, shoulders shivering. His glare intensified, and he narrowed his eyes to slits as she pressed her back against the wall.

He sneered.

"Are Lucky."

…

She blinked in shock at the confusing statement.

"(I- I'm- I'm wh-what?)"

"Lucky." He repeated through gritted teeth, his lip curling.

"(…L- L- Lucky…?)"

"What?!" Kiba snapped. "What're you talking about, 'Lucky'? Why? Huh? Because we're here? Too cowardly to attack a girl when she's got friends, is that it?"

Gaara blinked slowly before folding his arms again and turning his head to stare directly into his eyes, making Akamaru whimper again.

"No."

He looked over his shoulder at the other two.

"Let's go." He turned away and walked towards the door. Temari frowned in disappointment- it was fun scaring the little mice- but she followed nonetheless. Kankouro sent a mocking sneer at Hinata before following his siblings. Halfway across the hall, he paused.

"Oh, by the way…" He smirked, glancing back at Shino. "Gaara found something of yours…" He took something tiny out of his pocket and flicked it at him. Shino caught it before it hit his face. He examined it and instantly stiffened. It was one of the tracking beetles he'd sent out- but the wings, the legs and the eyes had been viciously plucked out…

"Next time, don't bother. If you want to find us, we'll hunt you down ourselves…"

"I think I am beginning to dislike him…" Shino said, the faintest trace of irritation in his voice as he stared at Kankuro's fading shadow.

"K-Kiba! You shouldn't have pushed your l-luck like that!"

"Tsch." He sneered, putting up bravado despite the slight quiver in his voice. "We don't have to put up with that, no matter who he is! Number One rule: You can't let them see you afraid."

"Yes. But there's being brave and there's being suicidal."

"…just shut up, bug boy."

Hinata tuned them out, staring at the open doorway in wonder… First a mysterious (dare she say) handsome admirer from the Sound gives her a scroll, then the most dangerous person in the entire exam singles her out and tells her she's lucky, of all things- Could this get any stranger…?

"This had damn well better be important, boys…" Anko snorted, sat on the corner of a table, her arms folded in impatience. "I'm due to see the Hokage himself in fifteen minutes."

"We're sorry ma'am," The Chuunin said apologetically, crouching next to the television. "But we thought you should see this." He glanced at the two motionless ANBU members flanking the television. He re-inserted the tape and played the footage. It was taken from one of the security cameras in the Tower in the centre of Training Area 44, showing a wide, empty room. Three figures walked in from the bottom right of the picture- Two boys and a girl from the Sand Village, according to the Headband around the girl's neck.

"Yeah, they made it in. So…?"

"Anko-san, look at the time…"

"What abou-? Ah. …now that's damn impressive…" Anko stared nonchalantly at the footage, her brow slightly furrowed as she chewed her Dango stick. Something flashed on the screen. She quirked an eyebrow.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on- rewind it a sec." The video whirred, and the footage replayed. The kid from the Sand looked at the camera, and his image flickered. "Did you see that?" She asked the two ANBU. One of them nodded, earning a glance from the other and the Chuunin. "Oh, you were bound to get it, weren't ya', Eagle-Eye?" Anko smirked at the Bird-masked Anbu. She rolled her eyes at the lack of reaction and crouched next to the Chuunin, scrutinising it. She twitched her fingers for the remote, then rewound it again. It only lasted a split-second, but… Once again, the Sand Shinobi walked across the hall. Gaara looked upwards. The flicker appeared. The screen froze. She stared for a few second, studying it, and then cracked a smirk.

"Heh. Thought there was something…" The ANBU behind her hid their surprise, but the Chuunin could only stare at the shape with a look of disgust.

"What… is that?"

"You tell me." She said grimly. Whilst the resolution wasn't the greatest, there was definitely something wrong with the picture. It showed Gaara of the Sand staring down the barrel of the camera, his face inscrutable and malevolent. Overlaying his image was a translucent, dark purple mass that contoured to the shape of his body and gourd. There was a faint yellow aura surrounding his eyes that glowed in the purple darkness, and the kanji on his forehead seemed to shine out with a red light.

"Boys…" She grinned, straightening up. "I think we need to inform the Hokage about this…"