~*****~

I sat by Sakura, watching out of our little cove. Sakura's head nodded downwards a couple of times, but she remained as vigilant as ever. I was exhausted. I had used up most of my chakra trying to stay awake, but we've all got our limits. The night wore on with nothing but the sound of insects echoing through the air. I flinched gently as Sakura nodded off, her head leaning against my shoulder. I smiled gently and laid her down as thought of a way to be useful. I got to work, setting a few traps to lessen the blow of any ninja approaching. The sun started to break over the horizon as I started nodding off. In the distance, a small squirrel ran towards one of the traps I made, so I threw a kunai to change its path. It veered off to the side and into the bushes. I sighed and tried to keep myself awake. I occasionally pinched my legs and arms in an attempt to awaken myself. I even splashed my face with cold water every now and again. Sakura sat up with a slight gasp, breathing out a breath of relief when she saw me sitting there, staring at the open area before us. "Ren..." She mumbled, coming to my side.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful...." I immediately say, looking downwards. "I wasn't strong enough."

"No, Ren. You snapped Sasuke out of the slump he was in. After Naruto and you risked your lives, he stopped shaking." Sakura placed her hand on my shoulder, flinching when they started to shake. "What's wrong?"

"I was.... so scared...." I whimpered, rubbing at my eyes. My stomach tightened in frustration. I pulled out my kunai and dug it into my palm, slicing it and heaving out a sigh. "Sakura... Be a witness. If I ever let myself be consumed by fear again... I'll just reopen this wound until I get the picture." I clench my fist tightly, lifting my head up. Sakura chuckled and called me a moron before wrapping my hand. We returned to silence once again.

"Some lookout! You're half asleep!" My stomach sunk as I slowly turned to gaze at three Sound ninja. The exhaustion just faded as I straightened my back. "At least you don't have to keep watch anymore. What's the point when we've already found you? Now, wake up Sasuke, we want to fight him."

Sakura tensed up besides me, gritting her teeth at the idea of anyone hurting us. "What do you want?! I mean, what do you really want?! I know Orochimaru's calling the shots from the shadows!"

The three ninja seemed a little shocked, but that didn't fool me for a second. And Sakura went off on them, asking about the mark on Sasuke's shoulder, and just berating them. They didn't answer. Then, a sinister voice called out. "I can't stay quiet after hearing you talk to us like that!" One of them smiled wickedly. "First, I'm gonna kill these girls, and then, I'm gonna kill Sasuke!"

The ninja stood up to attack, but his friend stopped him. "It's so obvious. This is the color of dirt that's been recently dug up. And this kind of grass doesn't grow in this place." I started gritting my teeth. "If you're going to lay a trap, there's no point if it isn't actually hidden."

"You're just a joke. You threw a kunai at the squirrel earlier so it wouldn't spring your trap!" The other sound ninja jeered.

"Now, we kill her." The cocky one snapped.

As the ninja prepared to attack, a delicate smirk lifted onto my lips as I cut at the wire I had placed in front of me. A huge log trap swung in from above, flying straight towards the ninja, who had just managed to escape it. "Nice try, little girl! Clearly, you have no talent as a ninja. Someone like you needs to use a little more effort, don't you think?!"

"Leaf Hurricane!" I jumped in surprise as Lee came out from nowhere, kicking the ninja away.

"Lee!" I yelped, staring wide eye'd at the spandex'd boy. He turned his head, giving me a thumbs up.

"Looks like you also need to make more of an effort!" Lee chimed to the enemy ninja. "I am the handsome devil of the Leaf Village! And my name is, Rock Lee!" He declared, answering their question.

"L-Lee, what are you doing here?" I yelp.

"I will always appear, anytime and anywhere you may be in trouble, Ren." He smirked, stroking the squirrel on his shoulder and placing it on the ground. "This was really all thanks to you, little one. But now it is time for you to run along!"

"But right now, we're enemies!"

"But Ren, I already told you," He started kindly. "I will protect you till I die."

My stomach tightened up and I felt myself smiling unconsciously at him. Suddenly, he became someone I could rely on through thick and thin. I shook my head and tugged at the hair tie keeping my tangled braid up. "Yes... Thank you, Rock Lee."

Lee's cheeks dusted pink, but he got his composure back in a moments notice. The sound ninja ran at him. Lee pushed his hand into the dirt, trying to stop him from getting near. "I am positive that there is some sort of trick to your attack. Therefore, I will not waste time trying to dodge it! After all, I have seen your jutsu before!" He began to unravel his bandages and looked up as the Sound Ninja ran at him. "To protect the life of someone precious!" He kicked the ninja upwards and leaped up, wrapping his bandages around him, restricting the movements. It seemed like Lee was actually going to pull off the technique, but at the last moment, the other sound ninja pushed his hands into the ground and used his jutsu to soften the blow. Unfortunately, the ninja Lee had tied up escaped without a scratch. Lee landed, his movements halting due to the stress of the forbidden jutsu.

Just like earlier, the man swung a punch at Lee, missing intently as a shock wave of sound threw off his balance and vision. "Your jutsu is fast. But ours is faster because it travels at the speed of sound." Lee fell to his knees, blood trickling out of his ears. "Effort by itself does nothing. But watch. We're going to show you something called, the wall."

Lee started to vomit. "Lee!" I yelped, trying to assist him. Sakura grabbed me.

"No, Ren, you're in no condition!" She whispered. I was about to shout. "Lee would only feel bad if you got hurt..." I grit my teeth, then she smiled. "We can fight. Together. It's time we worked on our team work." I smiled gratefully as we turned back to the battle.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this gadget I wear," The Sound Ninja taunted. "You might be able to dodge my blows, but you can't get away from it." He chuckled evilly. "I don't need to strike you with my fists, I can hit you with the power of sound. What makes it possible for the ear to hear things? What is sound really?"

"Vibrations." I answered with a snap.

"Give the little lady a prize. Yes, the vibration of molecules in the air creates a sound wave. These vibrations are collected by the ear and directed to your eardrum." He went onto the explain that it would not only burst your ear drums, but it could also cause havoc with the fluids in the canals, throwing your sense of balance off, and taking away sound and movement. "Feeling a little dizzy? Nauseous? That's right, best if you don't even try to stand up for a while."

"You see, buddy, that old fashioned Taijutsu stuff won't work against us," Lee growled a little from the ground. "Not that you're not pretty good at it, it's just what's the point when compared to our jutsu, that stuff's yesterday's news." The other man jeered, pulling his hands out of the dirt. "See, I can manipulate ultrasonic waves and air pressure. I can do things you've never even dreamed of. I can obliterate boulders or make the ground itself as soft as a feather cushion. Face it, little man. You're up against the jutsu of the future."

"Now then, little girls, it's your turn!" Dosu, the ninja with the device on his arm yelled as he ran at Sakura and I. Lee screamed for him not to. Sakura and I both held up our kunai, ready to defend ourselves. Lee jumped in, trying to use the Leaf Hurricane, but was stopped before he could. "Not as effective now, is it?" Dosu snickered. "Still, it's impressive that you can move at all! We'll have to do something about that!" He swung at Lee, who blocked the hit. The device on Dosu's arm made a deadening screech as Lee did his best to fight back. "Do you hear that?! This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound!"

"Lee... no..." I called out to him, feeling my heart wrench painfully at his torture.

"A sound wave I can channel with my chakra and direct onto whomever I want," Lee screamed in agony. I didn't know how much more I could take.

"Stop it!" Sakura and I screamed.

Lee dropped to the ground, unconscious as Dosu leered over him. "Alright, little man. Time to end it."

I threw my kunai at Dosu. He deflected it. His eyebrows twitched a little as I glared at him, fury seething within me. I ignored Sakura's gasp of surprise as I launched forward with another kunai, snarling in anger. I fought back, hard. Sakura and I fought tooth and nail against these ninja, we backed up against each other, holding up our kunai in defense. "My, that look in your eye is frightening! Too bad you don't have the drive to kill." The girl commented. Zaku blasted us back with the air tunnels in his hands. I shrieked in shock as I hit the ground hard, my head throbbing. I yelp again as the girl wraps her hand into my hair, holding all of it atop my head and in a tight fist. I hiss and try to tug away, but she holds fast. "My, my! What soft and shiny hair you two have!" Kin commented. "But you know what? If you'd spent a little less time shampooing and a little more time praticing your jutsu, you might not be in this fix!" She taunted us. "Hey, Zaku! I know what would be fun! Let's make the Beauty Queens watch as you finish off that Sasuke guy!"

"Why not? Sounds like fun!" Zaku smirks.

I tried pulling away again, shouting out in pain when she kicks at my back. My stomach started to burn again, and it felt as if something snapped within me. I shot a look to Sakura and she nodded to me. We both pulled out our kunai. "Come on!" Kin growled in annoyance. "That won't work on me!"

"News flash, it's not for you." I snapped. We both both pulled our kunai up, slicing through our hair. I braced my hand against the ground and kicked upwards, sending her into the air. I leaped upwards and threw my leg down, slamming her into the ground. She was quick to get up as Sakura went after Zaku. "If you ever, lay a hand on any of my friends again, I'll kill you." I growled, cracking my knuckles as Kin pulled out senbon. She sliced at me, ripping holes in my kimono and skin. She aimed a punch at me, and I opened my palm, grasping her fist as the senbon pierced straight through it. She gasped aloud. I reared my fist back and slammed it against her face, shouting in anger. I kept my hold against her as I just kept hitting and hitting her. Dosu came to Kin's rescue, kicking at my face and sending me flying. I landed awkwardly besides Sakura, and pulling her behind me as Zaku appeared before us.

"Now you're gonna pay!" Zaku growled. I clenched my eyes shut as I prepared for the attack, but it never came. I slowly opened my eyes to three familiar friends. Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru.

"Surprised? I thought I told you I'd never let you show me up!" Ino jeered.