Heya guys! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOO sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth (╥_╥)

You can probably already guess, but school is such a meanie! I have practically no time to write, and the quality of my chapters is getting worse too! I'm so sorry, hang in there sweethearts ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚

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A shadow was sitting in the middle of a beautiful golden cage, the shine of the golden bars the only thing illuminating the dark.

The shadow slowly moved, a long and thick curtain of ink-black hair gliding slightly back with the movement, exposing a flawless, pale chin. The figure was shrouded in darkness, the distinct silhouette complimented by shadows the shape of horns and wings twice the figure's size. The beautiful hair cast a shadow over its features. Nothing was visible, except for a strikingly pale chin and the beautiful crimson lips that gently tilted up into a twisted smile.

The figure tilted its head as if looking at something, and the smile slowly widened. An enchanting voice filled with frightening expectation quietly floated through the dark space.

"And even with my intervention the story continues, never-changing... it remains the same."

Pale fingers slowly drummed against a knee covered by black cloth.

"Is it the plot... or fate?"

The crimson lips quirked further, the smile turning into an insane grin.

"Challenge accepted"

The three genin were squatting together in a circle, discussing their countermeasures for situations with impostors. Even though he would never admit it, Naruto was beginning to feel slightly worried. Sakura had been behaving even more jumpy than usual, while Sasuke was just plain absentminded.

What actually happened while I was gone?

The blond scratched his head in confused frustration.

"We can't trust appearances, so we need to figure out a way to know its us and not just some creep using a transformation jutsu."

Sasuke absentmindedly inputted, his thoughts obviously somewhere else.

"Well, how about we come up with a password or something?"

After a long time of thinking, Sakura timidly gave the suggestion. Naruto was relieved that someone finally said something smart and instantly grinned, happily agreeing. Sasuke finally snapped out of his thought and his face took on a contemplating expression.

"Yes, you're right. That way, it will be easier to rule out impostors."

The Uchiha's cold onyx eyes swept over his teammates, the seriousness in their cold depths making Naruto swallow nervously.

"W-what kind of password?"

The blond stuttered, a bad feeling growing in his gut. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Okay, listen closely. I'm only going to say this once; So, the question will be 'when does the ninja strike?', and the response is 'a ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike. Got it?"

Sakura gave a confident smile and nodded enthusiastically, Naruto's face on the other hand looked dead. Expressionless, the life in his eyes simply gone. Like a real corpse.

"...you got one a little shorter?"

Sasuke and Sakura both turned on the blond with disdainful eyes.

"No, Naruto, that's it."

Sasuke stated.

"How could you not get it?? I memorized it easy!"

Sakura exasperatedly exclaimed.

"No, I got it, I got it!!! I just thought it was going to be a passWORD, not a pasSPEACH"

The blond whined, the heartbroken voice contrasting to the dead face in a hilarious way.

"I wish Cei was here, she would come up with a short and sensational password no problem!"

Sasuke and Sakura gave Naruto the looks. Though both of them missed Cei as well, they couldn't help but see this particular moment as fortunate. Because they absolutely didn't doubt that Cei would come up with a short password... and very safe one, because few enemies would have a thick enough face to say it out loud!

Yeah boi, that's right! Sasuke's password is so basic, it's BASIC. Mine would be so much better!

Ehem, for example;

The question would be; "who are we?"

And the responde (child-friendly version);

Either "Icha-icha fanclub! YOSH!!!!"

Or "THE OOMPA-LOOMPAS!!!! Bow before us peasants!"

I'm so amazing, right?!

Choosing to completely ignore Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura went back to discuss RELEVANT issues, when a suddenly a sound of rustling leaves reached them. The three became alert but it was too late. A violent wind came from the distance, instantly blowing them off their feet.

Tumbling through the air, Sasuke finally managed to grab onto the branches of a bush, dragging himself into it in hopes of escaping the raging winds by hiding behind the branches and leaves. When the wind finally died down, he quietly got up, onyx eyes looking around full of suspicion and caution.

The sound of a branch snapping behind him made him whip his head to the other side. Only to startle a nervous Sakura. Sasuke looked at her and frowned.

"Sasuke, there you are. Are you alrigh-"

"Don't come any closer."

Not even letting Sakura finish, Sasuke whipped out his kunai, subtly shifting into a battle-ready stance. His onyx orbs seemed to bore into Sakura as he regarded her carefully.

"Stay there. Now, answer the question; when does the ninja strike?"

Sakura froze for a moment before jolting, her eyes widening in understanding. Steeling herself, she straightened her back and looked back at Sasuke, trying to seem as solemn and genuine as possible.

"Oh, yes. Ehem... A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike!"

Sakura looked at Sasuke, her shining eyes simply begging for praise. If she had a tail, it would be wagging.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, and after a moment of hesitation, lowered his kunai. His eyes seemed to hold a deep melancholy, and some regret. Shaking his head, he cast Sakura a glance over his shoulder.

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer him, but before she could even make a sound, they heard very familiar, very loud and very obnoxious voice.

"HEEEEEY! What's up? Are you guys okay?!"

Before the blond could reach them, Sakura put up one of her hands, palm turned towards Naruto (total police stance) and loudly proclaimed in a snarky voice.

"Stop right there!"

The dashing Naruto skidded to a halt right before her palm, almost falling over from the momentum. Shaking his head slightly to clear himself of the dizziness caused by the sudden movement, the blond looked at his teammates with confused eyes.

"What? What's wrong?"

Sasuke only gave him a glance, already having come to terms with his fate. Sakura spread her feet further apart and lifted her chin, looking all high and mighty (her inner macho coming through, making her aura shine like Dwayne Johnson's), and told Naruto the obvious.

"Dummy, the password, remember?!"

It took Naruto a moment before he broke into a grin, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"O-oh, sure, no problem! Let's see... A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike!"

Sakura lowered her palm and sighed in relief, a small relieved smile on her face. Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment as the corner of his lips tugged upwards, his eyes blazing. Not a second later, a kunai was flying straight for Naruto's head. Naruto quickly shifted to the side, barely evading the kunai zipping past. The blond gave Sasuke an incredulous look before exploding into curses.

"WHAT WAS THAT! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!!!!"

Sakura also gaze Sasuke a bit of a septic glance.

"Sasuke, what are you doing? He got it right, word for word!"

She seemed to be a bit exasperated. Sasuke seemed to be throwing kunais at Naruto's a lot lately...

Sasuke didn't move his gaze from Naruto as his smirk widened even more, the ego in them shining like some lighthouse. Really.

"Exactly, that's what's wrong."

Sakura and Naruto both looked at him, their expressions almost screaming "you lost me there".

""Huh?""

Sasuke just continued looking at Naruto, the smugness on his face becoming all the more obvious.

"Seriously, Sakura. You really think Naruto could memorize all that? And get it right word for word? Not the Naruto I know, not in a million years! We have a better chance, teaching it to a hamster..."

Sasuke trailed off, a distant look in his eyes. His expression had completely fallen, leaving him with a pure dead fish face.

Sakura froze for a moment, considering, before slowly turning to face Naruto, her face bearing the exact same as Sasukes, only seeming much more done with life.

"Yeah... you've got a point there..."

For a moment, both just gazed at Naruto, their eyes containing endless pity as well as doubt in the universe. For such a dumb person to be born... what was God doing while the poor boy was being born?!

Something must have come up...

Their pitying looks just continued. No one moved, and Naruto just continued watching the dead-fish-faces as they gazed at him with dead, stick-narrow eyes. Truly, he was confused.

After about ten minutes, Sasuke started getting back to normal. He cleared his throat and resumed his hostile stance, throwing Naruto one of his threatening "I'm a freakin' Uchiha u can't fight me bish" looks. Don't hope to ever learn it, it's a blood trait.

"Okay party's over, show yourself!"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, and suddenly his eyes narrowed as his lips twisted into a completely uncharacteristic smirk. The tip of a thin tongue slowly flicked over his lips as a smooth voice with slight feminine tones sounded from his lips.

"Well, aren't we the clever one."

A puff of smoke powerful enough to send a few shockwaves and make the ground crack ever so slightly went off.

Ahh, a puff of smoke. Again. This one is impressive though... Orochi really is gifted.

But still, it's really a tough job, being a ninja. The requirements for dramatic effects are absolute...

so harsh....

Sasuke and Sakura watched the smoke avidly, their eyes obsessively scanning the smoke looking for the slightest movement. They didn't want their enemy to catch them off-guard.

When the smoke cleared, there was only a woman (?) standing there. She was wearing what seemed like a dark green jumpsuit (must be a total Guy fan) and a potato sack styled like a kimono over it. A thick, purple rope was wound around her waist, and she was wearing a Japanese straw hat, casting a shadow over her face. The long, black hair was cast about by the wind as the creepy and somewhat feminine voice sounded again.