Sakura entered the bathroom after her fight with the loud Yamanaka. She had easily won, using only kenjutsu to defeat Ino. It was wise that I did not show off my techniques then, she thought as she washed her hands. Unwillingly, her mind turned over to her fight.

"Are you ready to lose, Forehead?" Ino stood in front of Sakura, a confident smirk on her face.

"This is not a game where you either win or lose," Sakura replied. "This is reality. You do not comprehend the consequences of making that incorrect assumption about life."

Ino's grin fell from her face. "Why are you always so weird? This is a fight, so you'll either win or lose, Ghost!"

Sakura inwardly sighed, then composed herself. "I am sure the audience is growing bored with our talking. Perhaps we should begin."

"I'm not going to take orders from you!" With that, Ino rushed forward towards Sakura, who only stood there calmly. "What the hell are you doing? Fight me!" The blonde growled and pulled out three shuriken, then threw them towards her.

Immediately, she sensed something was off when the door opened, and she calmly turned to see Kabuto, the one that had quit the preliminaries and was a slave to Orochimaru. He nodded to her, and after the door was closed, spoke. "I suppose Lord Orochimaru has told you of me, yes?" The young grey-haired teenager pushed his glasses up, the light reflecting off them.

Sakura nodded. "Hn."

"Your direct orders were to not act at all in the upcoming invasion, which will take place in a month, when the official third exam starts. Otogakure will invade Konoha."

Sakura blinked, nodded once, then turned away from him to continue washing her hands. Suddenly, she felt the edge of a kunai being pressed into her neck, right where her jugular would be. "Don't think that just because you're Lord Orochimaru's favorite," Kabuto hissed, "means you're better than the rest of us."

The young pinkette did not react as she finished washing her hands and turned off the faucet, then looked into his eyes through the reflection on the mirror. "It seems you do not like me," she said, using her bored tone. "But that does not concern me. It is not my decision to whom Orochimaru decides to use. But, if you get in the way of my mission, I will make sure to dispose of you."

She watched the genin beside her shake, then make a noise she was always disgusted with—laughter—as he took the weapon away from her neck. "Well said." Kabuto grinned, but then his face turned serious once again. "You will not do anything but train for your fight. Lord Orochimaru has allowed you to use your...gift against Temari. Stay undercover. He will find a way to contact you again when you are to act." While Kabuto spoke, Sakura listened absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere.

Ino was huffing and puffing from her running around the arena, and she was growing angrier and more frustrated that her opponent was still calm and rested. The blonde closed her eyes, since she decided Sakura was going to play a defensive role, and breathed in out and out slowly, calming herself down. Slowly, more resolve and composure filled her. Rational thoughts flows again. Ino felt even more confident that she had an actual plan, now that she had the time to think about it.

"Get ready, Ghost," Ino snarled, "because you're going to lose!" Suddenly, she pulled up her hands into a single sign, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. They snapped open, her blue eyes gleaming dangerously. "This is my clan's special jutsu exclusive to us!" Confusion flared up as she watched Sakura continue standing there, then went down as her confidence pushed her confusion aside. "Heh. Good luck winning now, Forehead."

"I will not need luck to win," Sakura replied quietly, before Ino lost consciousness.

Above them, Shikamaru turned away and put his hand in his forehead. "What's wrong?" He looked over to Asuma, who already knew that Shikamaru had determined who would win.

The lazy boy turned around again to lean forward on the rail. "Ino's going to lose." He nodded pointedly towards the girls below them. His teammate's body was slumped on the floor, while Sakura was extremely still.

'Perhaps Ino will discover my voices,' Sakura mused, then cleared that thought. 'I will take care of her.'

Sakura only took paper towels and wetted them, attempting to wipe her face free of dirt and grime. When Kabuto did not make a move to leave, she looked up again and said, "It is not socially appropriate for a male to be in a female-only restroom, according to a book I read. Are you a female?"

The medic clucked his tongue in annoyance before opening the door and leaving Sakura to herself, who continued to wash her face and tend to her wounds.

The entire arena was silent, while teams watched anxiously for who would win. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream rang out, causing Naruto to cover his ears, along with the others watching. "What the heck, —dattebayo?!"

Sasuke leaned over the railing to watch intently, Kakashi behind him. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. "Sasuke," came the voice of his sensei, "why don't we seal that curse mark before you run rampant, ne?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke insisted, irritated. He shrugged the hand off his shoulder and scowled. "I can watch the fight, Kakashi." Suddenly, he felt the hand once again on his shoulder and tighten. "What the—!"

Naruto turned around when he felt a gust of wind. "Where's my team, dattebayo?" He bent down and picked up a leaf.

Sakura finished cleaning herself with the best of her abilities. She looked into the mirror, and at her reflection. The pink-haired girl stared very intently, trying to figure out what had happened during the fight.

"Get away from me, you freak!" Ino, now back in her own body, scrambled backwards, trying to create distance between her and her opponent. Tears were streaming down her face, and she cursed herself for crying in the middle of a match.

The proctor took this time to step in between them. "Because of Ino Yamanaka's inability to fight, Sakura wins this match."

"I am not sure what happened," Sakura muttered, confused.

"What happened—!" Ino stood up and pointed her finger at Sakura. "She's a freak!" Whispers all along the arena echoed.

"Miss Yamanaka, stop. The match is over," the proctor said, trying to move into the next match. He signaled for the medic-nin to take the crazed girl away, and perhaps treat her for the trauma the Forest of Death had caused. It wasn't abnormal for that to happen, so no one suspected that there really was something wrong with the girl that had remained still the entire time.

:::

"Hiya, Sakura-chan! You ran off before I could tell you how well you did, —ttebayo!" He scratched his cheek. "Although I'm not sure what happened."

"Hn." Sakura nodded to Naruto, who had more scratches than her and Sasuke put together. Speaking of Sasuke... "Ramen-boy, where did Sasuke go?"

"Teme? He and Kakashi left, —ttebayo! I dunno where, though." He placed both arms behind his head.

"N-Naruto..." Sakura caught the small voice belonging to Hinata Hyūga, about ten feet away from her and her teammate, and turned, along with Naruto.

"Go on, Hinata," she heard the red-eyed woman named Kurenai encourage her student.

"Huh?" Naruto squinted at the small container being offered, which was snatched by Sakura, who eyed it cryptically, not caring about Hinata's small squawk of indignation.

She twisted the container open and sniffed its contents, then sealed it once again and gave it to the blonde. "It seems Quiet Girl is insistent on giving it to you, Ramen-boy. It is a simple healing balm she most likely made herself. Perhaps she is attempting to catch your eye." Sakura's thinking out loud caused the Hyūga heiress to blush even more heavily underneath the stares of Naruto and his teammate.

Naruto broke into a sunny smile, one hand accepting the ointment and the other scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Really, —ttebayo? Thanks, Hinata! I always thought you were kinda weird, but it's the good kind!" He kept smiling, but stop when Hinata began wobbling. "Wh-what's happening to her, dattebayo?" He shouted at her approaching sensei.

"Perhaps Quiet Girl is exhausted," Sakura suggested, looking at the shy girl's weary appearance. She then turned away and stilled when she made eye contact with Otogakure's sensei. He smiled at her, almost knowingly. She nodded slightly to him and then turned back it the conversation at hand.

"Maybe," Kurenai agreed, then lead her student away, smirking. Hinata did a good job.

:::

Sasuke lied in the bed of the confidential patient area of the hospital, unconscious. Beside him was the rest of Team 7, excluding Kakashi, since they were the closest to the last Uchiha. Two ANBU stood next to his bed.

"When will Teme wake up, —ttebayo?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Patience is a virtue, Ramen-boy." Sakura didn't take her eyes off of the sleeping boy's form. Orochimaru wants Sasuke for some reason, but I am not sure why. However, I must keep him from harm. Not because I care for him, but because Orochimaru values him.

"Uh...I might leave, —ttebayo. I have to start training to beat Neji! Kakashi-sensei promised me he'd found a sensei for me, since he was gonna train Teme himself, —ttebayo!"

Sakura watched the blonde leave, and then turned back to Sasuke. "I am conflicted if I should also train by myself since Kakashi has not given me a sensei, or if I should continue to watch you sleep." She paused for a moment. "Temari of Sunagakure is seemingly a strong opponent. Perhaps I should leave."

She grabbed a pen from the desk and wrote a barely-legible letter on the notepad, then left to go eat and sleep.

Sasuke lied there, not moving at all, then suddenly muttered, "Sakura..." before turning and settling down once again.

:::

Sasuke cursed as he dodged another fleet of weapons being hurtled towards him.

"You're still not fast enough," Kakashi called from his hiding spot. "How would Naruto and Sakura be doing right now? Better than you."

The Uchiha's eye twitched as he began sprinting around his training grounds, his feet barely touching the ground. He was moving so quickly that it was like he was in a tunnel. Don't talk about Sakura like you actually care about her! And Naruto...don't compare me to that idiot.

Suddenly, his sensei poofed in front of him, arms crossed. "Very good, Sasuke. Now, I'm going to teach you a technique I made myself, Raiton:Chidori. You should use it in ultimate self-defense or in assassination."

Sasuke didn't notice his sensei smirk evilly when he said the last word, nor did he realize who he was intending to use it on.

Who is it Kakashi wants Sasuke to unknowingly kill?

Why does Sakura not remember the fight?

What did Ino see in Sakura's mind?