Chapter 21 Chunin Exams Part 5

I stood up on the balcony next to Kakashi and Naruto who were to the right of me. We were watching down at Sakura's match. I can't believe that her opponent was Ino, but maybe the match will be good for Sakura. Her and Ino went hard against each other going head-to-head with great speed and agility. Sakura was amazing with her chakra reserve and being able to spread it out evenly throughout her body. It gave her an edge in the match, but then Ino used her mind transfer jutsu and caught Sakura in the middle of it all.

I shook my head, was it over already? I really wanted to see them go at it more…but oh well…I know the mind transfer jutsu is strong and basically impossible to break. I looked over while Naruto was yelling down to Sakura. He was yelling for her not to give up and how hard she worked to get here. I looked back down and saw Sakura hesitating to forfeit the match. I gasped as I saw it…Sakura was fighting ino inside herself. Her spirit was fighting and expelling Ino's and at that moment Ino released her jutsu. They were both out of chakra so it came down to brute force. They started darting towards each other and when they threw their punch they hit each other at the same time. They both hit the ground unconscious. I saw Kakashi and Asuma teleport down to the arena and teleported the two girls up to the balcony. Hayate already called the match as a tie which means neither of them would move on to the finals.

I went over and bent down next to Kakashi looking at the two girls leaning against the wall still unconscious.

"She put up a good fight…she has really grown hasn't she."

I looked down and smiled softly, she really did…I know she probably didn't do as well as she wanted but she'll have plenty of time to get better. I turned my head to the side and saw Kakashi, he had turned his gaze to me and smiled as he nodded in agreement to Sakura's performance.

"Yes, she did…she did good…and her determination is just as strong as Naruto's."

I sat next to the girls until they came to, once they did I made sure they were both okay and they were able to return to watching the matches. I returned to the railing to continue watching as well. The next match was up, and it was Tenten and the girl from the sand village. These sand village genin are really something else. I just did not get a good feeling from any of them. As the matches continued, I would steal glances at Kakashi. He was focused on the matches and would stare intently. He never spoke to me or Sakura, I felt the tension in the air and it made me uncomfortable. As the match with Tenten and the sand village girl ended and they were waiting for the next match to be announced, I got a weird feeling. I got a feeling like someone was watching me. I looked around the balconys and didn't see anyone out of place. They were all watching the screen to see who would be next, but I locked eyes with the sound village jonin. Him and his two genin were directly across from me on the opposite side's balcony. I couldn't see him super well, but from what I could see he was staring intently at me. I kept my eyes locked with his for a moment until I felt a massive pain in my head. It hurt so bad I had to hold my hand up to my head and I shut my eyes tight. I groaned in pain and took a step back. I felt someone on each side of me and they were holding my arms. I couldn't open my eyes to see who they were though. I ended up falling and sat in place holding my head. What…what happened? Did that sound jonin do something to me? This isn't right…this doesn't feel right at all. I sat there for a moment and felt the pain starting to ease up. When it got bearable, I lower my hand and slowly opened my eyes again. I looked to my right and then to my left, Kakashi and Sakura were by my side and holding on to my shoulders. I heard Kakashi and he was staring at me with a worried eye.

"Isamu! Are you alright? What's wrong? What happened?"

Sakura looked at me with worried eyes and Naruto ran over and dropped to his knees. He began asking if I was alright, I shook my head.

"I'm…I'm fine now…can you help me up?"

Kakashi and Sakura nodded at each other as they both grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet. When I was able to stand, and the pain was fully gone I looked over at Kakashi.

"I have no idea what just happened…one moment I was looking across the way at that sound jonin and the next…I'm falling over in massive pain…I'm so confused."

Kakashi tilted his head in confusion as he looked across the balcony to the other side. He stood there for a moment and looked back at me.

"What sound jonin Isamu…I only see the two-remaining sound genin over there…"

My eyes went wide and I jerked my head so I could look back to where I saw him standing. Kakashi was right, he was gone….he was nowhere to be found. To my surprise the next match was already announced with Shikamaru and the girl from the sound village. They were down in the middle of the arena facing each other. I felt a hand on my back and I looked over slightly to see Kakashi was still next to me staring at me with a worried eye.

I shook my head and laughed nervously,

"Don't worry about it…I must have just been seeing things…"

Kakashi nodded slowly but I could still see the uneasiness. I ignored him though and turned my attention back to the arena. We sat through this match in silence and saw Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu in action. The match was quick, and he defeated the sound genin quickly. As the next match was getting ready to be revealed I got a sudden heat flash. I felt like I was burning up and became lightheaded. Sakura noticed and came to my side.

"Isamu sensei! Are you okay? You don't look well!"

She said it a little louder than I wish she had because Kakashi came running over as well as Naruto. Kakashi put his hand on my shoulder trying to get a good look at my face.

"Isamu…are you okay?"

I shook my head, I couldn't speak and all I knew was I had to get away. I jerked his hand away and started running towards the opening to the top balcony. I ran down the stairs and found my way to the exit. When I exited the tower I stopped and closed my eyes as I tried to calm my breathing. I felt some wind across my face that cooled me down some. I kept my eyes closed and sighed, what was going on with me today? I thought I was going crazy…until I opened my eyes.

I saw him standing not too far in front of me. He had on a jonin uniform but not one from the leaf. He smirked and his eyes…those snake eyes…they could have killed. I gasped a little as I crouched down a in a defensive stance. I had my hand over my kunai holster ready to attack if needed. I stood there with an angered expression on my face.

"Orochimaru…what are you doing here?"

He laughed and shook his head,

"Oh, my dear…I am here just like any of these other jonin....to witness the chunin exams…"

I scoffed and spit at his feet. He disgusted me with his non cholent attitude and playing games. I saw him frown as he sneered at me.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners? oh that's right they wouldn't have…since they died when you were young…"

My eyes went wide as I started shaking. I tried to keep myself calm. How did he know about my parents…and their deaths? This was getting me to a breaking point. I felt myself start to grow with rage and I felt the burning in my chest and throat. I knew Oni was getting ready to come out but, I don't think he would be getting blood with this one. Orochimaru looked at me and his eyes went bright as he formed a sinister smile. I knew he was seeing my eyes glow and the starting process of my transformation with Oni.

"How dare you!...how would you even know about them or what happened to them!"

I felt my claws starting to grow longer. The smoke began to rise from my mouth and nose. I started seeing everything in red, and I was ready to attack Orochimaru. I saw him smile and he began to laugh, what was so funny?

"Oh, my dear…in all due time…"

I shook my head and crouched oo the ground…I jumped with incredible speed and landed where Orochimaru was standing. He was able to dodge me with ease and ended up behind me. I turned to face him and snarled, he smiled and kept staring intently at me. I saw him turn his head, and in a blink of an eye he was gone. I turned to where he was looking and I saw Kakashi running out of the tower towards me. I looked back and realized that Orochimaru was gone…and he wasn't coming back.

Damn it! Kakashi is going to pay for making an opening for him to escape. I wasn't finished with him! I still needed answers. Kakashi got a few feet in front of me and stopped as his eyes went wide. He pulled his headband up and revealed his sharingan before making it over to me. He looked at me with worry and fear in his eyes.

"Isamu! What's going on!"

I snarled and jumped with enough speed to get past Kakashi's sharingan and forced him to the ground. I stood back up and held my fists tight, tight enough to where my claws were digging in and blood began dripping to the ground.

"You made him get away! I wasn't finished with him! Not even close! And now he is gone because of you!"

Kakashi jumped to his feet and stood in a defensive stance against me. I could see that he was ready for me to attack him. His sharingan was no match for me…my speed and power are too great for it to be able to follow.

"What do you mean he got away? Who are you talking about Isamu!"

I heard the shakiness in his voice, the fear was starting to pour through. I ran over to a tree that was not too far from us and threw a punch at it in anger. The tree split right in half and the top part fell to the ground. The force was powerful enough to transfer to the two trees behind it and cut them in half. I watched as they all fell to the ground. When they landed I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself before I got too out of hand. When I opened my eyes I turned back to Kakashi who was still in his defensive stance, he didn't move a muscle. He knew better, there was no way he was going to get me to calm down right now so it was best for him to keep his distance.

"Orochimaru!...he was right here…he…he knew about my parents and their deaths!...I needed to get more information out of him…but he's gone!"

I fell to my knees and pounded the ground which made a huge indent underneath my fist. I saw Kakashi stand straight slowly making his way over to me. He crouched down to get closer to my level and sighed. He put his headband back down to cover his left eye and shook his head.

"Isamu…"

I shook my head and shot an angered look at him. If he knew about my parents that must mean he knows about my clan…about me…and the dragon spirit. He knows about everything! I needed to find out how…I needed to find out what he wanted...and he just disappeared.

I put my face down in my hands and I screamed in anger and pain. I felt Kakashi put his hand on my shoulder, and moved it down my back. He wrapped his arms around me pulling me into his chest. I felt the right side of my face rest against his chest with my face still in my hands. I felt tears start to form. I didn't want to show any weakness or vulnerability right now. I wanted to tear that Orochimaru to pieces…that's all I could think about. I could feel the anger and rage radiating from Oni as well. I could hear his voice faintly inside of my head. I kept hearing him whispering "blood…blood…" over and over again.

He wasn't getting any today…and he needed to be put in his place. I screamed, "Shut the hell up!" In my head continuously until I could hear Oni no more. Once my head became clear and quiet, I lifted my face from my hands. I looked up to Kakashi with my fear filled eyes. I just stared for a moment; I was trying to gather my voice, but it was hard.

"How did…how did he know Kakashi?"

This came out more of a whisper but when I asked, Kakashi squeezed me tight against him. He never answered me, but his embrace was calming me down. When I got to a normal calmed state I began to stand up as Kakashi helped me. I held my hands out in front of me and looked down. My hands were dripping blood from the cuts my claws created. I stared at them and Kakashi grabbed some bandages from his side pouch. He held my hands in his gently, he began to wrap each one delicately until all the open wounds were covered. He dropped his hands and grabbed my chin softly forcing me to look directly into his eye.

"Come back in with me…continue to watch the matches and let's leave this be for now…let's try to forget about it…just for now…Naruto is up next…he will need your support."

My eyes went wide, Naruto was up next! I couldn't mis his match…I wanted to see how much he has grown and how strong he has gotten. I wanted to be there to support and cheer him on no matter what. This gave me some encouragement, so I looked up a Kakashi and nodded.

"Yes…let's go I don't want to miss his match."

Kakashi nodded and gave me a saddened smile. I turned and we made our way back to the upper balcony. Sakura saw us and waved her hand up. I looked at her and gave a faint smile. I put my hands behind my back so she wouldn't see they were bandaged.

"Isamu Sensei! Are you okay? I was worried when you ran out of here…"

I nodded and smiled at her.

"Yes Sakura, I'm okay I just needed some…fresh air."

She nodded but I could tell she didn't quite believe me. She turned to the arena and pointed down.

"Isamu Sensei! Naruto is up next…he is going against Kiba!"

I looked down and saw Naruto and Kiba facing each other in the middle of the arena. Kiba is Kurenai's student, I looked over and saw Kurenai looking down in the arena intently. I saw the tension in her hands as she held onto the railing. She was nervous for this battle; I was too actually. I was really hoping Naruto would win but I know Kiba is going to be a tough one to beat.

Hayate gave them the go and they began. There was a point in the middle of the fight that I gasped and had to lean over the railing a little more. It looked like Naruto was knocked out on the ground but suddenly, Akamaru attacked Kiba! He was biting Kiba's arm. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen! Well…maybe not the strangest, but still. Akamaru transformed into Naruto! He was able to use a transformation jutsu to get the slip on Kiba. I cheered on the sideline, as I did I winced in pain. My body was still trying to recover from earlier. I never feel the pain in the moment but after, it all comes rushing to my body. Kiba got to a point where he used food pills and Akamaru transformed into another Kiba. They went after Naruto and it didn't look good. Then when Kiba was about to get to Naruto's legs he stopped in his tracks. I covered my mouth with my hand, oh my god... Naruto did not...he did not just fart in Kiba's face. When I looked back down, I saw Kiba holding his nose…yup Naruto did it. That kid is something else! I couldn't help but laugh, he did grow though that was apparent during the battle. He also listened to me and was able to study his opponent and chose the best strategy. I smiled as I crossed my arms on the rail, at least someone listened.

I saw Kiba fall to the ground unconscious. I knew it was over with the fart because Kiba's sense of smell is 10 times more sensitive than the average person. So that smell knocked him out cold. Hayate went over and deemed Kiba incapable to continue with the match and Naruto was announced the winner and that he would go to the finals. I smiled and cheered! I was so happy that two of our students were moving on to the finals. I was also happy that neither of them had to go against that sand village boy…I'm not sure if the end results would have been the same if that happened.

Naruto came up to the stands after his match to join us in watching the last few matches. There were only a couple left, and the one that really made me nervous was the following match. This match was set for Garra and Lee. I saw Guy standing not too far from us staring intently down into the arena. I saw Sakura and Naruto follow suit, Kakashi even got tense. This was going to be a very hard match. I was getting anxious just looking at the two below. When the match began Lee removed his ankle weights with guy's approval and his speed became incredible! His speed was so fast you couldn't see him at all. He was able to get hits on Garra because Garra was not able to keep up. I thought this was going to be an easy win for Lee, but I was mistaken. He was able to get hits on Garra, but this kid almost seemed invincible. The sand on his back wasn't only used for attacks but it was used for armor. So, all the hits Lee got were against his armor and not him. Lee used his dancing leaf shadow jutsu and it only ended up breaking Garra's armor more. He looked spent after that jutsu…and Garra looked more pissed off. He began attacking Lee with his sand and Lee kept trying to dodge. Lee began slowing down and was getting hit by Garra's sand. I couldn't watch anymore, the screams of pain coming from Lee were too much to bare. I looked over and saw that this was the same case for Guy. He looked like he was getting disturbed by this match. He then called out to Lee; he told Lee to use the forbidden lotus jutsu. When he yelled that out Kakashi and I looked at him with shocked expressions.

Guy taught Lee the forbidden lotus jutsu? Why would he do such a thing! This Jutsu is forbidden for a reason…the reason being if all 8 gates are open it would mean death for the user. If lee were to open all 8 gates…he would die before the match was over. I looked over at Guy and shot him a 'ARE YOU FLIPPING CRAZY" look.

"Guy you seriously taught Lee this jutsu!"

He nodded and smiled a bit, of course he would have…but why? Why would he do such a thing and to tell him to use it? He was insane! Kakashi then looked over at him with his headband lifted and his sharingan exposed.

"Guy…how many gates does Lee know how to open?"

Guy scoffed and looked down at Lee as he was getting prepared to release the gates for his jutsu.

"He only knows how to open 5 gates…"

Sakura was confused and Kakashi and Guy were able to explain the jutsu to her. I knew all too well what this jutsu was about and how dangerous it was. Lee began releasing his gates. He was surrounded in a forcefield of chakra and he began turning red. It took a few moments to get all 5 gates open. When he did he started charging at Garra. With this jutsu he was able to get Garra and slam him into the ground. It really looked like Lee got Garra this time. Once this happened Lee fell to the ground in exhaustion of the release. We all stared intently in the area that Garra had fallen. When the dust cleared, he was still standing! How is this boy still standing after all of that! It looked like he didn't even get a scratch on him!

Garra was now preparing a large sand attack to hit Lee while he was down and out. When the sand started heading towards Lee, Guy quickly went down and shielded the attack. Garra was shocked and so was Hayate. Guy had to intervene to save Lee's life. If that sand attacked him Lee could have been as good as dead. I then saw Lee struggle to stand to his feet. I was in pure awe at this kid's stamina and strength. I shook my head in utter disbelief. I understood now why Guy taught him that forbidden jutsu. It all made sense to me, and I respected both of them deeply. I always knew Guy cared for Lee. Even if no one else thought so…I did. He always was overseeing Lee and his progress, pushing him to his limits only to help him grow stronger. I think he put more time and effort into Lee then his other two students.

I looked back down and saw Lee fall to the ground. The medical shinobi were running over to put him on the stretcher. One of the medical shinobi asked for Guy to follow them so I watched them all walk away until they disappeared out of one of the side doors. Hayate then deemed Garra the winner of this round and that he would move on to the finals.

The final round was against Choji and the last of the sound genin. I wasn't too sure about this sound genin. I actually got really bad feelings about the whole sound village group. The match started, and unfortunately ended just as quickly. Choji tried but the sound genin's sound jutsu was just too strong and evaded all Choji's attacks. Choji ended up passing out and the sound genin was deemed winner of the match.

Once this was done and all matches were completed, Hayate announced for all of the genin finalists to meet in front of Hayate and the Hokage. I watched as they all lined up in front of the Hokage. The Hokage advised he would be announcing the next steps in the chunin exams for the final rounds. Kakashi then caught me and Sakura off guard,

"Alright you two…let me know what they announce about the finals I have to go somewhere."

I rolled my eyes, of course he did. He was being so evasive. Sakura just nodded her head, and we turned our attention back to the Hokage once Kakashi teleported away. The Hokage began speaking to the finalists.

"Thank you everyone for your participation in the preliminary's. Now, moving on to the finals…the finals will be held one month from now. This will give time for everyone to train and get well prepared. This also gives time for the invitations for the finals to be sent out and have all of the Kage's from the other lands make their way here. I will now turn this over to Ibiki…Ibiki if you would."

Ibiki nodded and faced the finalists.

"Okay everyone…I will be coming around and you will pull one piece of paper from the box. Once everyone has drawn I will advise what the papers mean."

Ibiki went to each finalist until everyone had a piece of paper. Ibiki then returned to the front of the finalists.

"Okay now everyone open your piece of paper and read me off the number you have."

I watched as each one read off their number and Ibiki continued to write on his clipboard. Just as they were finishing Sakura pulled on my arm. I turned towards her, and I saw a very worried look on her face.

"Isamu Sensei…where do you think Kakashi went?"

I looked back down in the arena and thought for a moment. The only place I could think of him going would be to see Sasuke at the hospital. I really couldn't think of any other place he would need to go instead of hearing how the final rounds are being structured.

"I think he might have gone to see Sasuke at the hospital…probably making sure everything is okay."

I smiled faintly at her, and she nodded as she turned her head back towards the arena. The Hokage was now explaining the reasoning for the papers and their numbers.

"So now that everyone has read off their numbers Ibiki has completed the layout for the tournament. This will be how the finals are structured. There will be brackets of matches between the winners of each round until there is one victor."

I shook my head and felt puzzled. If this is tournament style then…does that mean only one person will be able to move on to chunin? No there is no way…they have never just allowed one genin to advance on during the chunin exams. I've heard of no genin moving on but never just one being chosen to become chunin. I was happy to hear that I was not the only one who thought this, the girl from the sand village questioned the tournament.

"The tournament will go as shown, however there will be many judges named during the finals. They will consist of the Kage's, Jonin, and Proctors who will deem if a genin should advance to chunin or not. So there is a chance that all of you could pass and become chunin, but in retrospect that also means that none of you could move on."

The genin became quiet, once this was said and the bracket names were provided the Hokage dismissed everyone and disappeared into a door in the arena. I looked over at Sakura and held her shoulder as we walked down the balcony to the front of the tower. That is where we met Naruto and the other genin and jonin. Naruto spotted us and came running over with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey Isamu Sensei! Did you see did you see I won! I'm going to the finals! I am going to become chunin no matter what! Now I am going to work super hard to make sure that happens!"

I smiled and nodded; I loved his attitude towards things. He had such a bubbly positive attitude it was hard not to be positive around him. I then ruffled his hair and he gave me a groan.

"Yes, Naruto I did see! You did amazing and good job on moving on to the finals!"

I looked over at Sakura and pulled her in for a half hug. Naruto then joined in the hug which made Sakura start yelling at him like always.

"Sakura…you did great as well…you both did so good and you listened to what I told you and used our training strategies…I couldn't be more proud then I am of you two right now!...now who wants something to eat?"

Their eyes went wide with excitement and happiness. They jumped up and down continuing to say yes.

"How does Ichiraku ramen sound?...I know you two haven't had actual food in quiet some time…so let's go eat some of the good stuff what do you guys say?"

They nodded and gave me a big smile. They began speed walking towards the inner parts of the leaf village. I had to speed up just to catch up with them. I shook my head and laughed as I watched the two bicker until we got to the ramen shop. I did have a sort of sadness come over me though. I thought of Sasuke and hoping he was okay…and Kakashi since he wasn't here to join in on the celebration. I knew once Sasuke was better, I would treat him as well. He deserved just as much as these two.

Kakashi POV

I made my way into the hospital where Sasuke was transported to. I needed to ensure he was safe and guarded like I had left him after his match. When I got closer to his room I felt an uneasy disturbance. I crouched down a little and put my back against the wall next to the door to Sasuke's room. I slowly inched towards the door opening and peeked in. I saw a young man standing next to Sasuke his back turned to me. He was dressed in purple and had white hair that was tied back. I caught a glimpse of a scalpel that he was holding. He was inching it towards Sasuke's neck. Before he got too close I was able to pull the scalpel away out of his hand. I stood in a defensive stance when he turned around to face me. He had glasses on and a hidden leaf headband. He looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on who he was.

"What are you doing here? Did Orochimaru send you to do his dirty work?"

He smirked and pushed his glasses up to see me better. He didn't answer and that pissed me off.

"I asked you a question so you answer me…"

He scoffed and held his arms to his side totally vulnerable.

"What if I said no? I'm not going to answer any of your questions…and about Orochimaru well you'll see soon enough…you may want to keep a close eye on that dragon of yours…Orochimaru has his eye on her...he gets what he wants no matter what…"

I held my headband and pushed it up to reveal my sharingan. He lunged at me with great speed, but I was faster. I got behind him and forced him on the ground. I hand one of his hands behind his back and one being held by my other hand. Suddenly this ninja fell to the ground lifeless…my eyes went wide…oh no. I turned around and saw one of the dead anbu stood up and was getting ready to flee. Thankfully I was quicker and produced a clone to meet him at the door to corner him preventing him from escaping. Suddenly the anbu broke the window next to Sasuke and jumped out. I rushed to the opening and looked down, I saw him falling and he was facing me. He took his mask off and revealed his face…it was the ninja…it was Kabuto.

I pounded my fist on the window ledge and turned around to release my clone. I looked down at the other fallen anbu that were scattered on the floor of Sasuke's room. He was able to take down all these anbu by himself? He also used the forbidden Dead Soul transfer jutsu? Well, he was the son of the medical commander of the hidden leaf, so he had that in his pocket.

I shook my head as I lowered my headband and stared at Sasuke. I then looked out the window and got lost in a trance watching the birds on the outside tree sing.

He knew about Isamu too…and Orochimaru does want the dragon spirit…I shouldn't have left her alone like that. I turned to the wall closest to me and threw a punch indenting the wall. How could I be so stupid…they are trying to isolate her so they can get her just like they are trying to get Sasuke! I can't allow this to happen…I must tell Isamu…what happened and for her to be on her guard. I was also going to go to the Hokage with this…he must have something to help protect them both.

I ran out of Sasuke's room and advised the medical shinobi watching over him about the anbu agents that were lying dead in his room. I told them to take care of it and ensure there were even more stationed to protect Sasuke. I ran out of the hospital and made my way back to the tower. I hoped from roof top to roof top until I hit the tree line. I began hopping from tree to tree with great speed trying to get back to the tower in hopes I didn't miss them leaving.

I arrived at the tower and walked up to the entrance. I saw that no one was in side anymore. There wasn't anyone around outside the tower either. They had already taken down the infirmary and main tent, so nothing was left. I sighed and closed my eye; I lifted my head up towards the sky.

Okay, think Kakashi where would they have gone…it took me a moment to really think then my eye went wide in realization. I knew the past week they had nothing really to eat other then what was available in the forest of death and what the main tent was serving, which was nothing to write home about.

They probably went into town to get some actual food…and knowing Naruto they would be at Ichiraku ramen. I nodded and dashed away, hoping from tree to tree then roof to roof until I reached the middle of the village market. I made my way on foot to the ramen stand; my heart began racing. I was taking slower steps now. How am I going to tell Isamu without her becoming angry and full of rage. I shook my head and stood in place for a moment looking down to the ground. No, I can't tell her…if I did and she decided to go after Orochimaru herself, there would be nothing I could do. There was no way to stop her once she put her mind to something. This something would mean her demise if she went about it alone and reckless. I tried thinking of what I was going to do about the situation and then I heard Naruto call out.

"Kakashi Sensei! There you are! Where have you been?"

I looked up and saw Naruto, Sakura, and Isamu standing behind them. She looked at me with lifeless eyes. I stared at her for a few moments. I hated to see her like this, and I felt even worse being secretive with her. This was just something I couldn't share with her, and the things happening with Sasuke, that's something I have to do alone. I needed to train him and prepare him so he can protect himself if Orochimaru or any of his servants were to come after him. I knew Isamu could hold her own, especially if he is going to continue to send anonymous shinobi to try and capture her. The only issue is, now that he knows where she is, what she is doing, and what she is capable of will he send stronger shinobi to capture her? This filled me with worry, how was I going to keep them both safe. I didn't want to have to chose between the two…and then it hit me! I know exactly who would be able to protect her while I am away with Sasuke.

End of Kakashi POV

We left the ramen shop and ran into Kakashi. He was standing right outside the entrance waiting for us. I was kind of surprised that he knew where we were…but with Naruto there are only a couple of places he would be. I looked at him for a moment and then I saw Naruto and Sakura run up to him.

"Kakashi Sensei! Is Sasuke alright?"

Sakura spoke first, her voice was filled with worry. I felt bad for them, they had to go through all of this and not even be able to see Sasuke. It was hard not knowing how he was doing. With how Kakashi has been lately I don't know if what he says is true or not. I hate that I am doubting him right now, but there is something off and he won't say a thing.

Kakashi nodded and gave his one-eyed smile.

"Well hello to you too Sakura…and yes Sasuke is alright. He is resting and is being watched while he recovers."

Sakura closed her eyes while she held her chest and sighed. I saw her tension completely disappear from her body. I even saw some leave Naruto, I knew Naruto was just as worried as Sakura he just wouldn't say it. Even though those two are at each other's throats consistently and are rivals….I think they still care for each other. I smiled, it made me think of Kakashi and Guy when we were younger. They were the same way; Guy was always challenging Kakashi and Kakashi…. well, he was like Sasuke. He would just ignore Guy most of the time or he would end up beating him and Guy would sulk for the rest of the day.

I looked over to where the hospital was and turned back to Kakashi. I had been worried about Guy and Lee…that match with Garra was brutal and Lee did not look well at all.

"Kakashi…do you know how Lee and Guy are doing? Were you able to figure out what happened to Lee?"

Kakashi looked up and his smile faded as his eye went soft. He nodded slightly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Yes…I met with Guy before leaving the hospital. He said that Lee took a lot of external and internal damage…his left arm and leg were completely crushed…he has a long road of recovery ahead of him…"

I could tell Kakashi was holding back, I heard it in his voice. His voice went low and soft as he spoke and I knew that meant it got to him too.

"What else Kakashi…there is more you aren't telling us…"

He sighed and closed his eye. He looked back in the direction of the hospital.

"Yes…the last thing Guy told me was the medical shinobi that were looking after Lee said because of how much damage his body took he may never be able to fight again."

My heart dropped and I felt an overwhelming sadness take over. I covered my mouth with my hand and looked down to Naruto and Sakura who both looked completely shocked like me. I don't know what I would do if that happened to any of our three…that would be the most heart breaking thing. I lowered my hand and pulling Naruto and Sakura into side hugs, one on each side. They smiled and hugged me back. Kakashi looked at me with a soft smile and nodded.

"That's really too bad…I think I am going to visit Lee and Guy in the hospital soon…it's the least I could do…"

I felt like I needed to do more…Lee wasn't my student but..Guy was my friend and with that Lee was too…we had to look out for our friends. I saw Sakura and Naruto look up at me with determined eyes.

"Can we come with you Isamu?...I'd like to be able to visit Sasuke as well."

I nodded and put my hands on their shoulders as I gestured towards the market.

"Yes you can…but first things first…why don't you both go home relax and take tonight to recover…We can visit them tomorrow."

They both nodded and with that they were off. They really did deserve a night of rest and recovery. They have been through so much physically and mentally, it's amazing how strong they are. I think Kakashi and I made the right decision putting them in the exams.

Kakashi was still standing in the same position, I don't think he moved at all this entire time. Once the two were out of site I turned my gaze to him.

"Kakashi…"

He looked over at me and nodded,

"Hmm?"

I sighed and came closer so we were maybe a foot apart, I hated being so far from him. Lately it seemed like we were very distant, it was hard and It hurt me to think that with whatever he is hiding from me that…he couldn't share it. When we were younger, we would share everything with each other. Don't get me wrong it did not start that way…and it took time but it eventually got there. I just wanted him to talk to me…I wanted to know what was bothering him so much that he had to distance himself from the rest of the team…and me.

"Are you okay?...truly…it's been very hard lately. I feel like you have been distant and hiding things from me…I just want to make sure everything is okay."

I looked away back to the Hokage memorial so that I could hide my eyes since they were starting to tear up. I didn't want him to see me cry because of something so…silly. I heard him sigh as he came in closer. He wrapped his arm around my right shoulder and when I looked up, he was looking at the memorial with me. He was quiet for some time and then he finally answered me.

"I'm okay…everything is alright…please try not to worry. The chunin exams and what has happened to Sasuke has just taken a toll on me and I need to ensure that he is safe and taken care of."

I nodded; he was right Sasuke needed to be taken care of. He was damaged so much during these exams and that damn curse mark. He went through a lot and now he was lying in a hospital bed unconscious.

"I understand…is he going to be, okay? Will he recover fully?"

Kakashi nodded and squeezed me closer.

"Yes…he is recovering well the doctors have said and should be back to his normal self in no time…"

His voice was distant, almost like he didn't fully believe what he just said. I wasn't going to push the subject anymore though. I do know everyone has been through a lot and we all just need time to recover.

"Well, that's good to hear…I think we should head back…I want to go home shower and relax. I would like to try to recover a little with all of the recent events and the lovely tent we all had to share…I need to stretch my legs."

He laughed a bit and as I started to head towards my apartment, when he grabbed my arm. I stopped in my tracks shocked as I looked back at him.

"What's wrong Kakashi?"

His eye went wide as he let me go. He rubbed the back of his neck, it looked like he was trying to find the right words to say.

"I would feel…I would feel more comfortable if you would come home with me. I don't think you should be alone right now…not until we can figure out what Orochimaru is up to."

I could hear the shakiness in his voice, he was nervous asking me this. My eyes went wide because honestly that was not what I was expecting him to say. I felt my face get hot as I contemplated what I was going to do. Being able to be close to him after the past week of distance would be really nice…but I also don't want to be a burden. I looked up and gave a half smile as I felt my heart begin to race a little.

"Okay…I'll come home with you…but I get the shower first."

We walked side by side and Kakashi laughed. If he thinks he's going to get the shower first, he has another thing coming. I did see his face go pink as we started walking, it made me feel better that I could still get the mystery man to blush every once in a while.