Edited 16/06/2015

Kakashi's POV

I stare at Ashley incredulously, frozen in place. I can't believe what she's just told me. How could she possibly be a Jinchuuriki?! I never expected her to tell me that.....That means I have two Jinchuuriki on my team. Did the Hokage know about this? Did he purposely assign Ashley to my team because of this?

'No.....' I think, watching Ashley's expression fall into one of clear nervousness. 'Lord Third wouldn't have hidden information like this from me. It's too important. He mustn't know yet....'

"So, you're a Jinchuuriki?" I ask rhetorically, to which Ashley gives me a lop sided grin, hand scratching the back of her head.

"Yeah" the blonde confirms anyway. ".......Just like Naruto."

"How did you know Naruto had a Demon sealed inside of him?" I question, tilting my head. "I remember you recognised the Nine Tails when some of its chakra took over him back in the Land of Waves."

"I didn't recognise it" Ashley corrects, shaking her head. "When its chakra was released, Hakuba was the one who told me it was the Nine Tails. I was pretty surprised to learn that Naruto is a Jinchuuriki as well. He doesn't really seem like the type who has a powerful Demon sealed inside of them....."

I give Ashley a quizzical look as she trails off, her brows furrowing and her brightly coloured eyes flicking away from me in though. After a few seconds the girl visibly winces and shakes her head, before heaving an exasperated sigh.

Seeming to notice that I'm still staring, Ashley looks back over at me, a flat, somewhat annoyed look on her face.

"Sorry about that" the girl apologises dryly, rolling her eyes skyward. "Hakuba is throwing a bit of a fit because I've told you about him. He's not happy that I've trusted you with the knowledge of his existence.......And he's ranting about how much stronger he is than the Nine Tails. He uh, kinda hates Naruto and the Kyuubi..."

".......Are you going to be alright?" I ask uncertainly, feeling a bit worried. "Your Demon can't.....hurt you can he?"

"Not if I stay awake" Ashley replies casually, shrugging one shoulder. "I'm pretty susceptible to Hakuba overpowering me while I'm asleep, because the seal holding him inside me isn't really strong enough to hold back his power. His strength is too great. If I'm ever emotionally or physically weakened, it makes it so much easier for Hakuba's chakra to overwhelm my body."

"So you just never sleep then" I state, not overly happy to hear this news.

"Well......" Ashley trails off, tilting her head in thought. "I can sort of sleep I guess. I can doze off, which I do sometimes, but I try to avoid it coz I can't let myself fall into a deep sleep. That's when Hakuba can try to overpower me."

"Light sleep like that isn't enough" I inform my Genin. "Being sleep deprived so much can't be good for you."

Ashley shrugs again, as though she doesn't care, but I see an anxious look pass through her eyes as she drops them to the floor.

"It's either I don't sleep or the Ten Tails is released" she responds quietly. "You tell me which option sounds better....."

My eyes widen a small amount at Ashley's answer, feeling a little impressed with her selflessness. Maybe she only stays awake out of pride and stubbornness, or maybe she does it because she really doesn't want the Ten Tails to be released......Either way, it's an impressive feat.

"Out of curiosity" I begin, "What would happen if the Ten Tails did take over your body?"

"I'd die" Ashley tells me flatly, a deadpan look on her face that makes me sigh.

"No" I mutter, shaking my head, "I mean, what would it do? Why does it want to take over?"

"Hakuba wants to reclaim his power and go on a vengeful rampage against the human race" Ashley explains boredly, waving one hand in a dismissive fashion, as if she's not at all concerned. "I don't really know why and I don't care. All I know is, he's not gonna beat me."

"What do you mean by reclaim his power?" I inquire, fascinated and concerned at the same time. "I thought you said he was already very powerful."

"Well......" Ashley pauses, tilting her head to the side as her eyes study my face in thought, "Technically I only have half of Hakuba's chakra sealed inside of me. The other half was split into nine parts, which created the nine Tailed Beasts that everyone knows about today."

"What?" I ask in a hushed tone, amazed by this new information. "What are you talking about?"

Ashley frowns at me here and crosses her arms, before looking away and biting her lip. I can't help feeling confused when she glances back over at me, her face revealing a somewhat distressed expression.

It's almost uncomfortable to see Ashley like this, because I'm already so used to seeing her with either a frown or a completely blank look on her face. Seeing her so helpless and conflicted is unsettling.

It really does make me realise that despite whatever she's been through in the past, and how tough she pretends to be, Ashley really is only a twelve year old kid. She has her fears, she has her weaknesses and while I don't know what all of them are yet, she's just as human as the rest of us.

"To explain what I mean" Ashley suddenly speaks up, breaking me out of my thoughts, "I'm going to have to tell you a bit of a story."

"Okay then" I respond, nodding slowly. "I'm all ears."

I watch as the blonde girl releases another sigh, momentarily closing her eyes. She turns her head and reopens them, though they remain hooded, focusing on the stone wall.

"I may not know all of the exact details" Ashley murmurs, that uneasy look crossing her pale face again, "But I'll try my best to remember the story my Clan passed down......"

"The Ten Tails is rumoured to have existed since the beginning of time, living as a peaceful being away from human knowledge for centuries. Nobody knows why, but one day the Ten Tails began to attack Villages, completely destroying them and slaughtering people with an unimaginable and matchless power. He wreaked havoc across the world, and even though many people tried to kill him, Hakuba was too strong."

"There was one person who stood as a match for the Ten Tails however" Ashley continues, turning her head to glance at me from the corner of her eye, one eyebrow raised. "Maybe you've heard of him before? He was known as the Sage of Six Paths. Apparently he's quite famous among Shinobi, but I really don't know anything about him except for this story."

"Sage of Six Paths....." I say under my breath, brows creasing in thought. "He sounds vaguely familiar....."

"Well, whoever he was" Ashley informs me, "He knew he wouldn't be able to kill the Ten Tails, so he decided to seal it away inside of himself. So this Sage guy became the very first Jinchuuriki, but he figured it would only be a temporary fix and that when he died, the Ten Tails would be released again."

Ashley scowls up at the roof here, shrugging a shoulder.

"I don't know about that though" she declares. "As far as I'm aware, if I die, so does Hakuba. Maybe it was different for the Sage though, seeing as he had the complete Ten Tails sealed inside of him...."

"Anyway" Ashley says loudly, peering over at me, "I don't know anything about the fight, but somehow the Sage released the Ten Tails and fought against him, before separating it from its chakra. He split that chakra into nine different parts to keep it away from the Juubi."

"Due to the sheer amount of chakra the Ten Tails possessed, the Sage was unable to steal any more from it. The Juubi's physical form had been drastically reduced in size though, and it was now weak enough for the Sage to seal it away again. This time though, the Sage created a huge stone prison for Hakuba and once he was sealed within it, the Sage sent him up into the sky..........Which created the Moon."

My jaw theoretically drops to the floor at this information, amazed that someone could possess the power to do such a thing.

"The Moon?" I repeat in wonder. "So you're telling me that the Sage created the Moon.....as a prison for the Ten Tails?......That's incredible......"

"Yeah" Ashley smirks, "I would've loved to learn a thing or two from someone as strong as him."

"If he was sealed away in the Moon" I muse, sending Ashley a suspicious look, "I do wonder how the Juubi came to be sealed inside of you."

"Ah, that's another long story" Ashley informs me, not even bothering to conceal her pained look. "It sort of delves a bit into my Clan's history a bit............And I can tell that you wanna hear about it, huh Kakashi?"

"If you would be so obliged" I say pleasantly, sending the girl a closed eye smile, to which she merely rolls her eyes. "I don't know anything about the Ten Tails or your Clan, so I'm interested to learn.

"I bet" Ashley scoffs, before inhaling deeply and releasing a low breath. "Okay well, if I remember what I was told correctly, generations after the Sage had died, a meteor crashed into my home, the Land of Ambience. It killed a lot of people and due to a strange aura that radiated from it, everyone was ordered to stay away until Allies from the Leaf arrived to inspect it."

"Why were we involved?" I query, intrigued already. Ashley purses her lips in though and narrows her eyes, seemingly trying to remember.

"I don't remember" the blonde says apologetically. "I can't even remember if I was told that or not to be honest. I haven't heard the story since I was a little kid..."

"It's fine" I assure my student, not wanting to discourage her from continuing. "So what happened after the meteor was branded as off limits?"

"Well, there was this one Villager who didn't listen to orders" Ashley recalls slowly, "And when he went and touched the meteor, an overwhelming force absorbed itself into his body. It was Hakuba, and he immediately took over the man's body and began attacking my homeland. From the stories that have been passed down, it doesn't sound like the Land of Ambience had a very nice time.......I mean, you know what it looks like when Hakuba takes over......."

Ashley turns her head away from me here and rubs her upper arm self consciously, looking somewhat ashamed. I can't help pulling a face at the memory of Ashley's Demon attacking my friends, though I quickly recover as the girl sighs and looks back over at me.

"About a week or two later" Ashley starts up again, sounding less enthusiastic than before, "A team of Leaf Ninja showed up. I don't know who he is really, but a guy called Madara Uchiha was on that team. Apparently he's pretty infamous?"

"....Yes, I know who he is" I reply, my gaze turning a little steely. "He doesn't exactly have a great reputation here in the Leaf Village. He's long dead now though."

"I see....." Ashley says with a nod of her head. "Well anyway, the Ten Tails went on a rampage while the Leaf Ninja were there and they engaged it in battle. After fighting it, they managed to force it away with a Sealing Jutsu. They sealed the Juubi inside the man he had taken over, and then remained in the Village to teach a few of my fellow Minami how to use the Sealing Jutsu, should the Ten Tails ever be released."

"Do you know how the Leaf Ninja managed to defeat the Ten Tails?" I ask, noticing the way Ashley straightens up a little, her visible eye widening the slightest amount. Hmm.......

"W-Well......." Ashley stutters uncomfortably, the corner of her mouth turning down. After a few moments, the girl's shoulders sag and she releases a low sigh, looking up at me from under her lashes. "Apparently he tried to use his Sharingan on Hakuba, and was able to control him with it......"

I stare at Ashley, unblinking, as she flinches and raises a hand to her head, like she suddenly has a bad headache.

Madara Uchiha was able to control a powerful being like the Juubi with his Sharingan? I remember showing my own Sharingan to the Beast during our meeting, and it had grown angry at the sight of it. It even withdrew when I commanded it to.

It suddenly makes sense. All this time, I had no clue why the Demon had just suddenly vanished like that.......It must have been angry because it remembered being controlled by Madara's Sharingan many years ago!

"Ungh....." Ashley groans, dropping her hand. "Hakuba's mad again, because I told you about his weakness......"

"That explains why your Demon chakra receded when we fought" I state, making Ashley blink. "It was mad when it saw my Sharingan, and then when I shouted for it to go away, it did....."

"Really?" Ashley asks, surprised by this news. "Huh.......I don't remember that at all."

"Why does the Sharingan control your Demon?" I inquire, unable to come up with any logical answers on my own. To my disappointment, Ashley shrugs both shoulders and shakes her head, looking as confused as I feel.

"I have no clue" she admits. "I've wondered that myself at times. I guess everyone had a weakness of some kind."

I nod slowly, watching Ashley as she silently ponders this question, amazed by the tale she's recounted to me. It all just sounds like some extravagant fairytale, but I know it's all true. As difficult as she can be, Ashley's not really one for making up stories and telling lies. She'd be more likely to just flat out tell me that it's none of my business....

I wonder if Ashley's really alright though. I mean, she's retelling stories that have been passed down through her Clan and while she doesn't want to speak about them, I already learned from the Hokage that they were all mysteriously slaughtered. Thinking about them must be causing her some amount of pain at least...

I look down as something suddenly grabs onto my arm, only to see Ashley looking at me with large eyes and an imploring expression on her face. She looks......worried.

"Kakashi, I've just entrusted you with my biggest secret" the girl informs me, sounding unusually panicked. "You can't tell anyone! I don't even know how to express how important it is that no one else knows about the Ten Tails, okay? My Clan has kept its existence a secret for many years, and I need you to promise me that you won't tell! Promise?"

"Of course I'm not going to tell anyone" I reply kindly, gently placing my hand down on Ashley's head and making her freeze. "Why would I want to break your trust Ashley? I'm a man of my word after all."

Quickly ducking away from my hand, Ashley fixes her hair and crosses her arms, frowning and glaring at me from the corner of her eyes like a stubborn child.

"Yeah well" she responds, covering her panic with her usual flat tone, "Promises are cheap, and I'm not used to trusting people.......But I guess I have no choice now anyway...."

I merely shake my head at Ashley's attitude, though I'm not annoyed at her. I'm now well aware that her cold demeanour is an act, and that far, far underneath that unfriendly exterior is a frightened girl who doesn't know how to trust or be herself around people any more. While I don't know much about Ashley's past, I'm pretty sure she's had a lot of dealings with Orochimaru, and that certainly would have messed up her mind a lot.

It's amazing she can even function as a human now that I think about it. Orochimaru doesn't exactly treat his prisoners kindly, and Ashley would have been exposed to a very dark, twisted way of life with him. I'm surprised Orochimaru hadn't extracted the Ten Tails from Ashley or used it to do his bidding.

"So why didn't Orochimaru use the Ten Tails' power for himself?" I can't resist asking. "He'd love to get his hands on that kind of raw strength."

I see a fire flare up in Ashley's visible eye at my question, her teeth flashing in a proud and devious grin.

"He never knew about it" she boasts, throwing her hands on her hips. "I kept it a secret from him the entire time! My Mother always said never to tell strangers about Hakuba, and I never did!"

I eye Ashley quietly, impressed that she'd managed to hide such a vast power from Orochimaru, when something comes to mind and re sparks my earlier suspicions. When I was shielding Ashley from Orochimaru, he'd said something.....It was subtle, but I heard it and I caught Ashley's reaction to it as well....

"There's something that's been bugging me...." I state carefully, not wanting to agitate my blonde student. "Something that Orochimaru said earlier sparked my curiosity about you...."

Ashley visibly stiffens, her wide eyes staring at me fearfully. I almost feel bad, seeing her react in such an uncharacteristic way, but this could be important.

"Orochimaru said that he specifically wanted the male Uchiha behind me" I say pointedly, seeing the way Ashley swallows a lump in her throat. "He also said that he'd have to get the Sharingan from Sasuke, seeing as he couldn't get it from her.......What did he mean by all of that?"

Ashley shuts her eyes and lets out the breath that she was holding.

"I was hoping you wouldn't catch onto what he said Kakashi" Ashley admits with a defeated chuckle, reopening her eyes to regard me seriously. "You're too observant for your own good sometimes."

"Thanks" I say brightly, hoping to make the blonde feel a little more comfortable. I want Ashley to know that she can talk to me if she needs to. I am her Sensei after all, whether she calls me that or not.

"Alright......" Ashley says quietly, face softening as she glances over her shoulder at the unconscious Sasuke. "I'll tell you what he meant......My Mother's name was Aeri Minami, and she was the daughter of our homeland's Chief at the time. I got my hair and eye colour from her."

Here, Ashley jokingly flutters her lashes at me, before turning serious again and smiling up at me nervously.

"I often get told that I have my Father's pale skin and his smile" the blonde continues, sighing sadly, "Though, he didn't have the signature Minami sharp teeth. "You may know him Sensei, seeing as you were a member of the ANBU Black Ops and he was a Captain. My Father was Shigeshi Uchiha."

"Shigeshi Uchiha?!" I can't help exclaiming, completely shocked. Shigeshi Uchiha had been one of the greatest ANBU Black Ops Captains to ever exist in the Leaf Village! I'd only worked with him a few times, but I'd certainly been in awe of his great strength and leadership.

He was the older brother of the Police Force's Fugaku Uchiha and everyone in the ANBU looked up to Shigeshi, myself included. I can't believe that he was Ashley's Father......But wait, that means...

"That means you're Sasuke's cousin" I comment, realisation dawning on me. Ashley smiles at me wryly, nodding her head in confirmation. "I thought you may have liked him or something...."

"Gross" Ashley states sharply, pulling an unimpressed face. A wave of sadness suddenly seems to wash over the young Minami however, her eyes wavering.

"Both of my parents were killed in Clan massacres" Ashley tells me softly, her voice catching in her throat as she reaches for the Wolf mask attached to her belt. "I....I don't know why it had to happen to them, but.........I miss them........"

"........I'm sorry Ashley" I say sincerely, feeling bad that there's nothing I can do to make her feel any better. It's just like I thought, behind that tough facade, there's a lot of pain and suffering.

Not that my other students haven't experienced their own woes as well, this is just the first time I'm really hearing about Ashley's. It really seems as though my team carries a lot of emotional baggage.......I can't complain about them though, seeing as I'm not much better off myself.

"Is that why you were so upset about Orochimaru getting to Sasuke?" I ask gently. "Because Sasuke is the only family you have left?"

"....I didn't want Orochimaru to hurt him....." Ashley trails off and sighs, shaking her head. "Sasuke clearly doesn't remember me, but that's okay I guess. We haven't seen each other since we were five or six, and a lot has happened in both of our lives since then....."

I blink as Ashley holds out her Wolf mask to me with one hand, her eyes focused on the intricate black and white swirls painted on it's surface.

"This is a mask that my Father made for me" she explains lowly, looking subtly pleased as I inspect the object. "It's kind of a replica of his ANBU mask, and he made one for my sister too."

"You had a sister?" I question, unable to hide my surprise.

"Yeah" Ashley responds, hooding her eyes and smiling faintly to herself. "Her name was Kiyumi, and we were twins. She was a few minutes younger than me........I keep a picture of my family inside the mask if you want to have a look."

I flip the mask over and immediately spot an image stuck to the inside, gingerly pulling it out to have a look.

I recognise Shigeshi straight away, his lithe frame towering over the three females in the picture. Tall, strong and clearly an Uchiha, Shigeshi's dark eyes are focused down on the woman beside him, a teasing smile on his lips.

The blonde woman, beautiful and tan skinned, a stark comparison to her pale husband, smiles at the camera, her cheeks tinted a faint pink colour. She holds some of her long hair back with one hand, her eyes the exact same fuchsia colour as Ashley's.

In fact, looking at this picture of Aeri and comparing her to Ashley, I can see that they look very similar indeed. If Ashley pulled her long fringe back from her face and had the same tanned skin as her Mother, they could almost be mistaken for mirror images of each other.

Standing between her parents, a very young and adorable Ashley has her arms wrapped tightly around the neck of a navy coloured Wolf pup. While she grins broadly, Ace stares into the camera through hooded eyes, no eye patch in sight.

Also perched between Aeri and Shigeshi, another young blonde girl stands, her smile a little more self conscious than Ashley's. The girl has one hand placed on the head of a lean, grey furred Wolf, it's eyes also hooded and lips pulled back in a lazy grin.

My brows furrow at the sight of the second blonde girl, before I point at her and tilt the picture down towards Ashley.

"If you're twins" I begin, "Why do you and your sister have different coloured eyes?"

"Ever heard of fraternal?" Ashley retorts, grinning smartly as she swipes the picture and mask away from me. "I got my Mother's eyes and Kiyu-chan got my Dad's eyes. That was pretty much the only physical difference between us."

"So, if your Dad is an Uchiha" I muse, slowly piecing things together, "Then does that mean you also have the Sharingan? Is that what Orochimaru meant earlier?"

Ashley pauses in the midst of reattaching the Wolf mask to her belt, blinking a few times, before straightening up and crossing her arms, scowling.

"".....I can use it" the blonde eventually replies lowly, averting her eyes, "But I don't."

"Why not?" I ask curiously.

"..............Personal reasons" Ashley states firmly, sending me a pointed look that signals the end of the conversation. I catch on and withdraw from asking the girl any more questions. I've probably already asked too many anyway.

While I can't understand why Ashley wouldn't want to use her Sharingan, and I'm curious to know the answer, I'm both impressed and happy that she'd opened up to me so much. I know she doesn't trust me fully yet, but the fact that she's just willingly shared so much information about herself with me is certainly a good start.

"Well, I'd better get Sasuke to the hospital to recover" I decide, walking over to the young Uchiha and kneeling down. "Seeing as we have no idea where Orochimaru is, I'll ask to have Sasuke put under ANBU supervision until he's released."

".....I might come with you Kakashi" Ashley says, almost sounding a little shy. "I don't want to go back and have to answer all of Sakura and Naruto's questions."

"No doubt they'll be worried" I chuckle softly, scooping Sasuke up into my arms. "Alright, let's get going."

Ashley's POV

I lean my elbows on the edge of the hospital bed and sigh lightly, watching Sasuke through half lidded eyes. His chest rises up and down slowly, a calm look on his face. While he may be unconscious, it looks as though he's sleeping a little more peacefully than he was earlier.

I hear Kakashi walk up behind me, the two of us not having spoken since we left the Chunin Exams earlier. I'm not mad or anything, I just don't have anything else to say and in all honesty, I'm a little worried that the Jonin knows so much about me now.

I've never sat and told someone the things I'd told Kakashi, and I can only hope he won't make me regret telling him. I'm not even overly sure why I shared so much about myself, but for some reason I just believe that Kakashi is trustworthy.

He seems so genuine in his care for his students, which does admittedly confuse me, but I believe he does care about me as well, in his own way. I don't think he's just putting on an act, but it will take me awhile to get used to having another person caring about my well being.

I'm not really used to having that anymore.

"Sasuke is in good care now" Kakashi tells me, looking down and placing his hands in his pockets, "So we can head back to the Chunin Exams now. The ANBU Black Ops have just arrived and are standing guard at the door."

"......Alright then" I agree quietly, pushing back the uncomfortable plastic chair I'm sitting in.

"Hey" Kakashi says kindly, his visible eye crinkling a little as he smiles at me under his mask, "Thank you for sharing your story with me. I never really knew how to take you before, and it's nice to know there's more to you than meets the eye......I'm glad you decided to tell me."

I see the shock wash over Kakashi's face as I smile back at him. Not a smirk and not a devious grin, but the first genuine smile I've had in a long time.

"It was nice to tell someone" I reply honestly, dropping my eyes to the floor in embarrassment. "I'm happy I told you but.......Just keep it on the down low, okay?"

"Of course" Kakashi responds with a nod, before a cheeky look crosses his face, visible eye shining. "Now then, I'll see you back at the Exams!"

"Huh?" I ask, my head snapping up. I feel my eyes widen as Kakashi brings one hand up and performs a sign, before abruptly disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

I blink a few times as the cloud begins to disperse, before deadpanning and turning back to face Sasuke, an anime vein now throbbing on the side of my head.

I eventually arrive back at the building the Preliminary Rounds are being held in, trudging up the stairs of the balcony and making my way over to my team, deadpan expression still in place.

"Don't think for even one second that I'm gonna give up and let you have Sasuke!" Ino screeches in Sakura's face, the sound of her loud voice making me briefly close my eyes and sigh heavily.

"Oh yeah?!" my pink haired teammate retorts, smirking meanly. "Well that goes double for you Ino, you ugly pig!"

"Seems I made it back just in time" I mutter wryly, catching my team's attention.

"Ashley!" Naruto and Sakura cry happily, their faces lighting up at the sight of me. I can't help the way my lips turn up into a tiny smile at their reactions, not used to people being so glad to have me around.

"What took you so long?" Naruto asks, bounding over to me. "Kakashi Sensei got back like twenty minutes ago!"

My shoulders sag at that and I glare accusingly at the silver haired Jonin, who merely sends me a closed eye smile and raises one hand in an innocent wave.

"He ditched me at the hospital" I pout, crossing my arms. "I don't know how to do that teleporting Jutsu or whatever it is. I had to walk back."

"Well, you survived the walk" Kakashi responds pleasantly, knowing full well how cheeky he's being. I roll my eyes back at the Jonin, deciding to let him have his fun, just this once.

"Angel!" a familiar voice barks, to which my shoulders slump dramatically, the movement making Sakura giggle. "You're back!"

Kiba jogs over to us with a big grin on his face, Akamaru bounding towards me and barking a greeting. The small Ninken stands on his hind legs and rests his paws on my knees, as I pull a face at Kiba's presence and crouch down to pat Akamaru's head.

"It was getting pretty boring around here without you" Kiba says teasingly, before sending Sakura a sideways look and deadpanning. "Ugly too........Literally."

"What's that meant to mean?" Sakura asks sharply, an anime vein appearing on the side of her head. Kiba just shrugs and places his hands in the pockets of his jackets, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"So, how's Sasuke?" Naruto inquires seriously, Sakura's head whipping around at the mention of my cousin's name.

"He's fine" I assure them both. "Kakashi and I took him to the hospital and he was still sleeping when I left, but he'll be fine."

"Thank you for looking after him Ashley" Sakura says softly, giving me a closed eye smile as Naruto lets out a loud sigh of relief. I wave my hand dismissively at the pinkette's thanks.

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything" I advise, before smirking cheekily and elbowing an unsuspecting Naruto in the ribs. "Besides, I would have helped out you or this knucklehead here as well if need be."

Sakura laughs quietly at this as Naruto, rubbing his sore ribs, smiles at me sunnily. Glancing at Kakashi from the corner of my eye, I see him smiling as well, the curve of his mouth visible under his mask.

It's hard to admit and I still don't fully understand how, but these weirdos have begun to grow on me......Not that I'll tell them that. I can barely tell myself that......

"So, what did I miss while I was gone?" I ask, leaning forwards and crossing my arms over the balcony railing. "Any good fights?"

"Well, you missed the fight between Sakura and Ino" Lee answers, stepping over to stand beside Naruto and sending me a closed eye smile over the blonde's head..

"It was ugly" Kiba adds, referring to his earlier statement.

"What?" I ask incredulously, whirling around to regard Sakura with wide eyes. "I missed your fight? Against Ino?"

Turning her irritated glare away from Kiba, Sakura pokes her tongue out cutely and rubs the back of her neck, nodding.

"Awwww....." I complain, pouting a little. "Can't believe I missed it.....Did you beat her at least?"

"Well......." Sakura trails off, sweat dropping, only for Naruto to jump forwards.

"I think Sakura-chan won that fight!" he announces, pumping one fist into the air.

"Yeah, I reckon she beat Ino too" Kiba agrees, smirking over his shoulder at the blonde girl.

"I can hear you guys you know?!" Ino snaps, eyes blazing as she pushes away from the wall she'd been leaning against. "And I didn't lose! It was a draw!"

"Didn't look like a draw from where I was standing" Kiba taunts, purposely aggravating Ino further to amuse himself.

Naruto freezes as Ino takes a step forwards, hands balled into fists. He swallows thickly and scurries backwards, hiding behind Sakura, while Kiba merely raises one eyebrow at Ino, the blonde now right in his face.

"You want me to show you just what I can do then Kiba?!" Ino threatens, to which the Inuzuka tilts his head to the side and pulls a face.

"Ew" he states dryly, "No thanks."

I have to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing when Ino lets out an enraged yell, Choji and Shikamaru quickly darting forwards to keep their teammate from attacking Kiba, who is smirking once again.

That's got to be the first time Kiba has entertained me rather than just annoyed me.

"Temari and Tenten are about to have their fight" Lee sighs in disappointment, a dark cloud appearing over his head. I sweat drop as a bolt of lightning flashes, almost zapping Lee's hair.

"Don't worry Lee" I comfort the older Genin in a flat tone, "You'll get your turn to impress everyone soon enough."

Lee immediately lifts his head at this, his eyes shining and a determined look on his face.

"Yes!" he cries out, almost hitting me in the face as he throws his fists into the air. "And when the time comes, I shall make you proud my love!"

I blanch at that declaration, as do the other members of my team, Kakashi included. My love? Lee's lucky I don't punch him right in the gut for that.

I can't help sort of liking Lee though, I guess. He seems pretty genuine and harmless. He doesn't annoy me like a lot of the others, I just find him odd.

"Hey!" Kiba barks indignantly, storming towards us with a scowl on his face. He freezes in place when I hold up one hand however, blinking a few times.

"Come any closer to me" I warn, "And you will get hurt. Understand?"

His brows knitting back together, Kiba sidesteps around me and stalks over to Lee, grabbing the starry eyed boy by his collar. I don't think Lee is paying any attention though, too busy dreaming about who he is going to be fighting later on.

"My love?!" Kiba exclaims, shaking Lee back and forth like a limp doll. "What the hell man?!"

"Leave him alone" I order, stepping between Kiba and Lee, only to shove the Inuzuka backwards. He stumbles backwards a few steps, still frowning, as Lee slumps to the floor, a giddy smile pasted onto his face.

Weirdo....

"Why don't you be a good little dog and listen to me okay?" I suggest, waving my hands in an over dramatic shooing motion. "Scram!"

"What's he got that I don't?" Kiba demands to know, crossing his arms and pouting. How manly.

"Oh boy" I laugh meanly, rolling my eyes. "Where do I start?"

My attention is suddenly dragged away from Kiba however, as I hear Hayate announce the beginning of the next round, Tenten and Temari already facing each other down in the arena.

I dismiss the Inuzuka with an uncaring wave and dart over to the edge of the balcony, resting my elbows on the railing and leaning my chin in my hands, Sakura poised beside me.

Tenten leaps high into the air and produces two large scrolls. As she begins to spin mid jump, the parchments unravel and swirl around her, an assortment of weapons raining down from them.

"Wow" Sakura breathes, eyes widening at the sheer volume of weapons shooting towards Temari. "She can summon so many at once!"

Temari just smirks and quickly reaches up, pulling a weapon down from her back. She throws her arm out to the side, the weapon unfolding enough to reveal itself as a gigantic fan.

She pulls the fan backwards and heaves it forwards again with a powerful swing, sending a chakra fuelled blast of wind up towards Tenten. It counters the girl's weapons, sending them ricocheting in all different directions, before it slams into Tenten.

As she is blown backwards, Tenten flips around in mid air and curls her fingers inwards, tugging on cleverly concealed wires. I blink as all of the weapons spring back up into the air, as if they were alive.

Temari only laughs when the weapons are once again thrown towards her, countering with a second wave of her fan. With a painful cry, Tenten crashes into the wall below us, before crumpling to the ground in a heap.

"Come on Tenten!" Lee cheers for his teammate, raising his fist in determination. "Do not give up! You can do this!"

Ignoring Lee's voice, Temari smirks nastily, hooding her eyes as Tenten slowly pushes herself up into a sitting position.

"My turn" the blonde Sand Ninja states lowly, dashing forwards. "Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Using both hands to wave her giant fan towards Tenten, Temari focuses a large amount of chakra into the blast of wind. The Leaf Ninja is blown high up into the air, sharp arcs of chakra hidden in the wind blast slicing at Tenten's skin.

"Tenten!" Lee cries worriedly, leaning over the railing.

"Temari's chakra is controlling that vortex" Neji informs us all from his spot beside Guy, Byakugan activated. "Tenten fought well, but she'll never escape that Jutsu.........This match is over."

After a few more seconds, the wind of Temari's Jutsu finally dies down, causing a bloodied and unconscious Tenten to fall towards the ground. The girl's weapons all disappear in puffs of smoke as her body descends, with Temari snapping her fan closed and looking up.

We all wince as Tenten's back slams into the hard, metal casing of Temari's fan, the awful cracking sound echoing through the room.

"Woah" Naruto gulps, looking troubled. "That girl's pretty ruthless huh? She didn't need to do that...."

I give Naruto a sideways glance, ever curious about that caring personality of his. As far as I'm aware, he and Tenten barely even know each other, so it does pique my interest that he's concerned for her well-being.

Beside the blonde, I see Lee's grip on the railing tighten, concern and anger clear on his face.

"Pfft, that wasn't much of a match at all" Temari sniffs arrogantly, as Hayate declares her the winner. "Pretty boring actually."

Smirking, Temari swipes her closed fan forwards only for Tenten's unconscious body to be thrown forwards as well. Lee is quick to leap over the balcony and catch his teammate however, looking as though he is struggling to control his temper.

"Heh, nice catch" Temari says sarcastically, regaining her cool.

"What is wrong with you?!" Lee demands to know. "Tenten may have lost to you, but that is no reason to treat her like this!"

"Get lost loser" Temari sneers in reply, rolling her eyes as she nods her head at Tenten, "And take that garbage with you!"

Unable to control his anger and frustration with Temari's disrespect any more, Lee carefully places Tenten down on the ground and swiftly leaps for the Sand Ninja, swinging his leg out in a ferocious kick.

"No!" Neji shouts from the balcony, watching on as Lee aims for the blonde's head. "Stop it Lee!"

"You're as dumb as you look" Temari mutters rudely, raising her folded up fan and blocking Lee's kick with it. His shin connects with a painful sounding crack, before he drops to the ground in a crouched position, seemingly unharmed.

"What did you just say?......" Lee growls lowly, only for Guy to suddenly appear behind the boy and place a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough Lee" Guy announces firmly, making the boy hang his head in shame and nod.

"Temari, your match is over" Gaara speaks up, his icy cold tone making the blonde girl pause, her eyes widening a little, "So get back up here! Stop wasting your time with that ridiculous loser and his idiotic mentor."

Temari immediately stops smirking at the sound of Gaara's voice, her eyes widening for a second, before the blonde manages to regain her cool. She spins around on her heels and begins marching back towards the staircase of the balcony without another word.

Even from up here, I can see the fury burning in Lee's eyes, the boy angry that Temari had treated his teammate so coldly. As medics rush into the room, Lee turns away from the Sand Ninja and hands the injured Tenten over, carefully loading her onto a stretcher.

Not far from me, Shikamaru heaves a deep sigh, looking troubled.

"Great" he drawls sarcastically. "All of these fights are ending with badly injured Genin.....It's such a drag, I don't even wanna compete anymore."

Flicking my eyes over to the screen that chooses the contestants, I begin smirking and look back towards Shikamaru.

"Looks like now is your chance to decide" I chuckle meanly, pointing at the screen with my thumb. "You're up next."

"Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi!" Hayate announces from the ground, oblivious to the exasperated look on Shikamaru's face. "Please make your way down here so that the next round can begin!"

Ino shoves an unwilling Shikamaru towards the stairs, already throwing her arms in the air and cheering loudly, her voice irritating me straight away. I see the strange looks Choji and Asuma exchange with each other, before the both of them deadpan, eyes looking to their screeching blonde teammate.

They both choose to say nothing however, probably knowing that Ino will just start shouting at the two of them instead.