How do you get past something like that?

Easy.

You don't.

None of us have said a word in the twenty minutes since we've left the blood-soaked clearing. Currently, I'm trying not to blink, as every time I close my eyes, I see the petrified face of the first Rain Village Ninja to die by Gaara's hand.

Shino, Kiba and Hinata are as traumatized by the experience as I am, but at least I can accept it. I felt Gaara'a raw power, his bloodlust, the first time I laid eyes on him. But these guys... they can't seem to believe that a boy our age, possibly younger, was able to do such horrible things to people who had already surrendered to him.

If they hadn't seen it for themselves, I'm sure none of them would have believed it.

I pull ahead of the others, wanting to distance myself from the silence for as long as possible. We've never stayed silent this long, well, maybe when the Rain Ninja were infiltrating our Village. Maybe. But we weren't experiencing this kind of fear last time, no where near as crippling.

My heartbeat won't calm down, no matter how many deep breaths I take. It is perpetually on hyper-mode, determined to burst before giving me any rest.

Oh, God. Don't let me die of fear. Please, that would be so humiliating.

I need something to distract me from the massacre I've just witnessed. We all do. But there could be someone out here as... well, no one could even come close to being as monstrous as Gaara, but there could be others out here with the same killing-intent as him. I don't want to come across people who show no mercy even when they're only partaking in a test.

I've known all my life that sometimes, people don't come home. I know that death at a young age is a very common thing for Ninja. But somehow, I never pictured myself dying at the age of twelve. And never at the hands of a Sand Shinobi. The Village Hidden in the Sand is our ally at the moment; what grudge could they have against the Hidden Leaf? I mean they must have, to send such terrifying Genin to our Village for this Exam. They must know what a danger Gaara is, to everyone, and not just his enemies. I've now seen him threaten the life of his very own brother. I could never do that seriously with Masaki. There's just no way. But he did it so easily, and without any emotion at all. He's the first cold-blooded killer I've ever had the misfortune to meet.

Despite my fear of him, he intrigues me as well. How could a boy that young end up so twisted? Was he born a monster, or made into one? If the latter's the case, then what a horrible childhood he must have endured. Of course, there is no excuse for how he acts, the way he so mercilessly kills people. Naruto was shunned his entire life, hated by the Village. And yet he's as bright and cheerful as Kiba usually is. If he didn't turn out that way, why would Gaara?

I'd ask Temari, but I doubt she'd tell me.

And... she scares me as well now. The way she carelessly said "Bye bye" to those Ninja... It makes my blood boil just at the thought. Do these people have no respect for human life, that they'd just mock them even as the life drains out of them?

I'm not sure being her friend is as good an idea as I'd originally thought.

A sharp pain in my arm makes me jump back in alarm, barreling into Kiba, who wraps his arms around me to steady me.

"Akari!" he says breathlessly, removing his hand from my arm. It comes away covered in blood. I blink, and look behind me. There's a shuriken lodged in a tree about three meters away, shining with my blood.

Kiba releases me and turns to Hinata, who's already activated her Byakugan. Her eyes widen as she inhales a sharp breath. "Two teams," she says, her voice quavering. "On either side, surrounding us."

Wincing, I hold my bloody arm and slowly turn in a circle, trying to spot our attackers. The flash of sunlight on metal makes me whirl around, barely dodging a kunai aimed at my face. I jump back onto another branch, standing now beside a serious Shino. He's got his bugs out, swarming around his arms. But before he can command them to do anything, another kunai hits the tree to our right. A red-rimmed tag is attatched to the kunai, slowly burning down.

"Paper bomb!" I shout, diving away. Shino dives also, but most of his bugs aren't as lucky, getting caught in the explosion.

Shino makes a choking sound as he drops to the ground, too upset to even grab onto a branch. I grit my teeth and shoot after him, grabbing him around the waist and flipping over so that it's my back that crashes into the ground, skidding over rocks and sticks and other sharp woodsy objects.

He's too heavy for me to have pulled him to safety, and he's the better fighter out of the two of us. We need him unharmed to keep going.

But he doesn't look to be in the fighting mood right now. He's almost incapacitated, crouching over the ashes of his bugs and sobbing quietly. I fling out a kunai, deflecting two shuriken that almost connected with Shino's back.

"SHINO!" I shout, dodging more attacks. "Get the hell up, you loser!"

He doesn't move, too saddened by the loss of his bugs to be much use. "That was most of my bugs," he whines.

Ugh. I know him, and his bugs. He'll have more within a few days. Right now, though, we need him. We need rational Shino who can think calmly even in the heat of battle. But it seems that Shino is long gone.

"Hinata!" I call. She blocks a flying kunai with her own, her head turning as she hears me. Her Byakugan still activated, she appears next to me, fear in her eyes, but determination in the set of her mouth.

"Protect Shino until he's recovered from the shock," I order quietly. "I'm going to find Kiba." She nods as I leap onto a thick branch, scanning everywhere for the sight of my friend with the furry jacket. I can hear him and Akamaru, as they howl in unison, performing their Fang over Fang. But I've got no time to find them.

I spot a set of yellow eyes in the shadows, and the flash of more metal. Thinking quickly, I gather my chakra, performing the necessary handsigns. "Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" I shout, aiming them at the vicious eyes. They widen for a moment, before disappearing behind a tree. My attack sails harmlessly through the foliage, doing nothing but frightening some poor animal.

God, I'm so stupid. He obviously saw me performing a jutsu. Who would stick around to get hit by it?

The eyes reappear as the body they're attatched to shoots out from the trees, so fast I can't move to avoid it. I bring up my arms in a weak defense as the Ninja collides with me, brandishing a kunai. I whip out my own, skidding backwards from the force of his attack.

We leap at each other, metal slashing metal, before springing apart. We continue this, each trying to gain the upperhand. Then, suddenly, the Ninja swings a leg at my head. I duck, attempting to sweep his one leg out from under him; he swiftly and nimbly jumps up, avoiding me and slashing his kunai at my face. I only just manage to move out of the way, just as he thows a heavy punch to my gut, sending me forcefully into the tree trunk.

He comes at me again, and the best I can do is block his next kick with my forearm. My head is groggy from slamming into the trunk. I can't think, or see, properly. The Ninja takes the opportunity to land a spinning kick to my head, hands pressed against the branch.

I'm sent shooting towards the ground, blood leaking from my mouth and temple. I hit the dirt so hard, I bounce back up before crashing down again.

The Ninja lands a few yards from me, pulling another kunai from his weapons pouch. I shakily get to my feet, feeling like I'm going to drop any second. He rushes me as I attempt to create another handsign. Too late, I realize, I'm not fast enough.

Suddenly, Kiba comes shooting from the trees, slamming his shoulder hard into the Ninja's back and knocking him flat. Kiba follows up with a heavy kick to the head, knocking the Ninja into unconsciousness.

Kiba's breathing hard, bleeding from multiple cuts. Bruises cover most of his visible skin, one of his eyes swelling shut quickly. He's already used his All Fours Jutsu and, as I can tell from Akamaru, who jumps down onto the ground after his partner, his Man Beast Clone technique.

Kiba has a lot of chakra, but this fight must be draining even him.

"That's three," he says, his eyes flicking over my injuries. "Three more to go. Have you seen Hinata and Shino?"

I nod, blinking in an attempt to see straight again. "I-I left Hinata in charge of protecting Shino. Back there," I add, pointing. "He was devastated after losing so many of his bugs to that paper bomb, and he wouldn't fight."

Kiba nods, rubbing his shoulder painfully. "You know, I can't help thinking of that story we told the Ninja we caught earlier," he says, his voice ragged. "We said we'd already been ambushed. Who knew it would really happen, and so soon after seeing Gaara, too. Midget's bad luck."

A cry of pain causes both of us to jerk our heads toward the spot where I'd left Hinata and Shino.

Without another word, we rush to find them. Jumping onto a sturdy branch, I peer down to the ground, where I can spot the remaining three Ninja, surrounding an unconscious Hinata. Shino bends over her, the few bugs he has left flying pitifully around his head. There aren't enough left to do any real damage, and Shino is mostly a long-distance fighter. This isn't good.

Hinata is what worries me though. I can't see her breathing from here, and she looks like she's taken a kunai to the stomach, and a few shuriken to the legs. Blood dribbles from her mouth.

"Hinata," I whisper brokenly, tears pricking the back of my eyes. I can tell she did everything she could to uphold my wishes and protect Shino.

My eyes flick to the three enemy Ninja, and widen when I spot them already moving. Not thinking, I shout, "Move, Shino!" I dive down to the ground, scoop Hinata into my arms, and jump to another branch, just as the three Ninja, blow three fireballs at the spot where she'd been lying.

Shino crouches next to me, having escaped the inferno as well. Kiba is still across from us, Akamaru at his side, still Transformed into Kiba. Identical snarls mar their faces, as they stare daggers at the three Ninja below. The Ninja quickly scan the canopy, searching for us. One of them disappears.

Feeling his presence behind me, I strike out with a kunai, but clumsily. I'm still clutching Hinata, afraid to let her go lest she fall victim to these Ninja again. My attack is easily outmaneuvered and the Ninja cuts large gash into my side, making me gasp in pain.

Shino flies at the Ninja, using his own Taijutsu to keep him occupied, while I fall to the ground without even a bit of grace. I lay Hinata down carefully, frowning at her many injuries. I press my ear to her chest, a relieved sigh escaping my lips when I make out her heartbeat. It's soft and spaced out, but it's there. If we can get her to the tower, maybe they'll help her. But we have to survive this first.

Before I can move, Shino thumps to the ground next to me, out cold.

I can't even begin to wonder what happened to him, as Kiba drops as well on the far side of the clearing. Even from here, I can see the two kunai sticking out of his chest and the blood on Akamaru.

The three Ninja adavance on me, seeing as how I'm the only one left. With a flick of his wrist, one of them throws a kunai at me. I'm too dazed to dodge, and it impales my shoulder, going all the way through and piercing the tree behind me, pinning me. I groan in pain, as another kunai catches my shin.

"You won't be going anywhere," one of the Ninja hisses. I can't tell which one, though; I see about nine of them in front of me and they all look fuzzy, without distinctive features.

"Give up your scroll," another says giddily, licking the blood from his kunai.

I can feel I'm losing consciousness, both from blood loss and from my many knocks to the head. But I've got to do something. Even if they just take our scrolls and go, I'm sure they'll make sure I'm out for the count before leaving. And I need to be awake if I'm going to save my friends. Which means I need to win this fight.

"Screw you," I growl at the Ninja, making them freeze. They obviously weren't expecting me to talk back. Then one steps forward, bloody kunai in his outstretched hand. "What was that, brat?" he asks coldly.

I try to pull out the kunai in my shoulder, to no avail. The most I do is make a scream bubble up in my throat, which I quickly swallow down. They won't have the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

I spit out the blood in my mouth, catching the edge of the Ninja's sandal, as though this was the reason they couldn't understand me. "Screw. You," I say slowly, baring my bloody teeth at him. He scowls at me, leaping forward.

"Arrogant punk!" he screams.

Time seems to freeze as I watch the Ninja lunge for me, ready to kill me with his kunai and take the scrolls my team has. It's like an out of body experience, except I'm still in the same position as before, and someone else is controlling me. My hands form a Sign I don't recognize, and my lips form words that make no sense, words I shouldn't know.

"Ice Style: Crystal Mirror Trap!"

I feel a decent amount of chakra being released as an icy mirror suddenly forms in front of me. The Ninja collides with it, disappearing inside with a yelp of surprise. Whoever has control of my body lets the mirror crash to the ground, shattering into a million pieces and taking the Ninja with it.

Before the others can react, my hands unconsciously form another Sign. "Ice Style: Iceberg Smasher!"

Spears of ice shoot from the ground, impaling both Ninja through the heart, killing them instantly.

It's over.

I regain control over my body, gasping with realization.

Ice Style.

What the hell is Ice Style?!

No, I'm not very upset about the fact that I killed three Ninja. It was in self-denfense, since they were plenty willing to kill me just for insulting them. I'm more concerned that I used two jutsu I've never heard of, using signs I've never seen, that are apparently linked to a style of jutsu that makes no sense.

But that can wait.

Hoping there's no one around, I grab hold of the kunai in my shoulder, and with a quick jerk, pull it free from my flesh. An ear-splitting scream is ripped from my mouth, nearly shattering my own ear drums. Thank God Kiba is out of it, or else he'd probably kill me for being so loud and shrill.

I leave the knife in my shin for the moment; the pain isn't as bad, and I think I can move despite it.

I get to my feet, nearly dropping the second I'm up. But I remain standing and shuffle over to Hinata, who happens to be the closest to me. I, with great difficulty, drag her under the cover of a large bush, before doing the same with Kiba and Shino. They're much heavier than Hinata, and take nearly twice as long to get under the bush.

I collapse beside them, most of my chakra gone, as well as my strength. We need help, and if we don't get it soon, we may all die.

If only I knew somebody friendly was nearby, like Shikamaru and his team. I know Choji well enough, and he seems to like me. Ino would be a problem, but I think the other two could convince her to help us. Then again, they might not be able to.

I sigh in defeat, drawing my legs up to my chest and dropping my forehead against my knees. I'm done. I can't move anymore. I couldn't find help if I wanted to. I'm too afraid to cry out, in case there are any more enemies around us. Well, if they didn't come here after my screech, maybe we're safe for the moment.

I hear a slight rustling in the undergrowth, making me snap my head up. Indistinct voices reach my ears. They might be enemies, they might be friendly. But I don't have a choice, now do I? Not if I want my team and I to survive.

Now, I can't get up and greet them myself, but I've got something that just might do the trick.

Gathering a sliver of my remaining chakra, I make a handsign. "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu," I say weakly, uncorking the water jug on my hip. The water flies from the jug, swiftly turning into a bedraggled-looking Water Clone of yours truly. I groan as I feel that most of my chakra is now gone. This is my last jutsu. It needs to count.

"Go," I tell the clone, who looks almost as weak as I feel. "Find whoever that is, and try to get their help." The clone nods and takes off, leaving me with my three unconscious teammates. You know, I'm really close to joining them.

"Hey! It's the weakling!"

Oh God. What have I done?

"Akari?"

That's Temari's voice, and the other's is Kankuro's. Meaning Gaara is somewhere nearby.

I can't hear what my clone is saying, but I do hear what he says in response.

"If this is how her clone looks, the real her must be almost dead."

I gulp. He can tell it's only a clone?

My water clone can't move very far from my body, because it relies on my strength. It's not like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which lets its clones wander as from from the creator as possible. Kurenai Sensei used a scroll we got from the Village Hidden in the Mist to teach me the tecnique, saying I should take the opportunity to strengthen my Water Chakra Nature with more jutsus. I didn't argue, since I'd been pestering her to teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and I thought this was even cooler, since, in my team anyway, it would be unique to me.

"A clone?" Temari asks.

The sound of water splashing on the ground tells me someone destroyed my clone.

"Oh, I see."

She pauses, then gasps, "Wait! She'll be almost dead?"

"Most likely," comes the uncaring reply.

I don't hear anymore. Too exhausted to fight the thick black of unconsciousness any longer, I let my head drop to the ground, my body slowly relaxing into a form that must resemble me when I'm asleep. My eyes close, and I pass out.

***

TEMARI

I find Akari, along with the rest of her team, knocked out beneath a large bush. They've all clearly been in a fight, each bearing their own harsh injuries.

I crouch in front of Akari, checking to make sure she's still alive. She is, and so are the others, but only barely.

I don't know this girl very well, but I like her already. I'm not sure what it is about her, but she's special enough that I'd been considering warning her to get out of the Village, before our stupid plan goes into action...

But none of that will matter if she dies out here.

"We've got to help them," I plead with Kankuro, knowing Gaara won't care either way. He only likes to kill live prey, people he's beaten by himself. He won't enjoy killing another's victims.

At least, not right now.

Kankuro flashes me an annoyed look. "Just let the brats die, Temari," he says, making me scowl at him. "It's not like they'll survive for that much longer anyway."

"I know this girl!" I say, gesturing towards Akari. "She doesn't deserve to die out here!"

"So what?" Kankuro says. "You've got a friend. Doesn't mean it's our job to help her and her sniveling teammates."

He leans forward and glares at me. "And I know what you did during the first Exam. You should've let her sweat, Temari," he says lowly, before straightening up. He turns away, starting off down another pathless direction.

"Is this really how our father wants us to be?" I demand, making Kankuro freeze mid-step. "To be heartless, emotionless killing machines?"

I'm careful not to look at Gaara. He's been described this way many times, and while he usually doesn't react to it, I've seen him kill because of it.

Kankuro turns back around angrily. "How am I supposed to know?" he shouts, hands in the air. "He barely speaks to us anymore! And isn't this how most of the Village is trained? We're different from these Leaf losers!"

"Why do we have to be?" I shout back.

"Temari."

Gaara's voice makes me jump. Mostly because he's suddenly so close to me, and I didn't notice him move, but also because his voice sounds different. It isn't as distant as usual.

I turn to look at Gaara, who's now crouched beside Akari as well. He has a hand wrapped around her wrist, which I raise an eyebrow at. Without looking at me, he says, "Feel how cold she is."

Panicking, I frantically feel for a pulse on Akari's neck. I find one, after a moment of nothingness. She's still alive. But Gaara is right; she is very cold.

"What happened to her?" I ask, mostly to myself.

"Temari," Gaara says. "If you know anything about treating wounds, help them."

I sit up straighter, excited by my youngest brother's words, but also confused by them. "Why would you want to help them, Gaara?" I ask cautiously. He stands, releasing Akari's wrist. It flops onto her stomach lifelessly. I wince in sympathy.

"I don't like my interesting prey to die because of anyone but me."

I blanch at that, startled that he's so adamant about eventually killing Akari. But why the change of heart? When these two met before, he told Akari that she wasn't worthy of his power. What's changed, exactly? And why's he so interested in the fact that she feels cold?

I can answer these questions later. Right now, I need to help Akari and her teammates. I don't know any Medical Ninjutsu, but I know about wrapping up wounds and helping with blood loss. It should be enough to help them before we get to the tower.

I get to work, beginning with the Hyuga girl who seems to be the worst out of the four of them.