"I-I know...I mean, they challenged us! T-They started the whole thing, really! See, here's what happened-" "Shut up." Gaara kept his eyes on me. "Or I'll kill you." Kankuro gulped, shaking slightly. "A-Ah, right! I was totally out of line! I'm-I'm sorry, Gaara." Kankuro stuttered. Gaara turned his body more towards me. "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused." He said calmly, hanging upside down from the tree, Sasuke was glaring at him. This guy has an evil look in his eye. Sasuke thought, a bit put off. Them...Gaara's eyes were burning into my brain. He bursted into sand, reappearing in front of Kankuro, I un-clenched my fists. "Hold on. I can tell from your headband that you come from the Village Hidden In the Sand. Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So," Sakura walked in front of me, her pink hair swaying in the wind. "So, state your purpose, and it better be good." Sakura touched her pouch, the hilt of a kunai sticking out. "Really? Have you guys been living under a rock or what? We have permission." Temari held up a slip, Sasuke watched Gaara intently. "Of course, you're right. We are Hidden Sand genin, we're here for the chunin exams. Get the picture?" She put her hand on her hip sassily. "The chunin exams? What's that?" Naruto asked, completely confused. "Well, I've never heard of any chunin exams, believe it." Naruto nodded. "I believe it all right, that you're totally clueless." Temari grinned. "Hey, boss. Those are the exams that every genin's got to take in order to graduate to being a full-on chunin." Konohamaru explained to Naruto, "Oh, why didn't you just say so? I'm so there!" Naruto grinned. "Hey, you." Sasuke jumped down between me and Gaara, his black hair shifted in the wind. "Identify your self." Sasuke clenched his fists. "My name is Gaara of the desert." His eyes slowly drifted towards Sasuke. "I'm curious about you, too. Who are you?" Gaara said slowly, I peered over Sasuke's shoulder. "I am Sasuke Uchiha." He said bluntly. "Hey! I'm (Y/N)!" I grinned, stepping to Sasuke's side, waving towards Gaara. "(Y/N)..." He said slowly, turning his back. "Goodbye." Gaara said simply, Kankuro and Temari at his sides. "Ugh, where in the world could Mikio be? I swear, if he-" "Mikio?!" I asked, she jumped. "Huh? Uh, yeah. Mikio (L/N), you know him or something?" She asked, turning around with a surprised face, I gritted my teeth. "Forget about it." I turned my head away from her, Sasuke looked at me, surprised. "Whatever." Temari turned back around, the three of them were gone in a moments notice. I kept my head down. Hm, things are about to get interesting. Sasuke stood still. "Hey, Konohamaru, do I seem uncool, or something?" Naruto asked him, bent down on his knee. "Well, compared to Sasuke, yeah, you're pretty lame." Konohamaru nodded. "Gah! You're not going to show me up, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, flailing his fists in the air. "Back off, loser." Sasuke grunted, his arms crossed.

"What do you think, Dosu?" Zaku asked, leaning against a tree as he glared down at us. "Hm. Your usual weaklings, nothing special. But that (L/N) rat, the Uchiha, and the one from the desert, we should watch them carefully.

"Alright, it is time we chose out candidates for the chunin examinations. To begin, those in charge of the rookie genin step forward?" Lord Hokage asked, the three of them walked out, side by side. "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. What do you say? Are there any in your squads you'd recommend who are ready for the exams despite their inexperience?" Lord Hokage asked, looking at each of their faces. "As you know, and genin who has carried out eight or more missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that, only you can decide when they are ready. Of course, most genin require a much longer training period, at least twice that many missions." Lord Hokage explained, Iruka nodded. There's no reason to say all of this, it's way too soon for their squads. Iruka thought, watching them calmly from the crowd. "So, Kakashi, you begin." Lord Hokage nodded, Kakashi kept his hands in his pockets. "I lead squad seven, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, (Y/N) (L/N), and Sakura Haruno. I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all four of these genin for the chunin selection exams." Kakashi nodded, Iruka gasped, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. "And my squad is number eight. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. And now I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend all three." She nodded. "And my squad is number ten. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. And now I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all three." "Hold on, just a minute!" Iruka shouted, stepping out from the crowd of jonin. "Yes? What is it, Iruka?" Lord Hokage asked, rubbing his chin. "Lord Hokage, with all respect, the ten names that were just given were all my students at the academy. I know their skills and their abilities, every one of them has great promise, but it's too soon! They need more experience before they are tested, if they try now, they're sure to fail the exam!" Iruka explained, worry etched onto his features. Kakashi turned around. "When I became a chunin, I was six years younger than (Y/N) is now." "(Y/N) is nothing like you!" Iruka shouted, "Are you trying to destroy them?!" Iruka shook his head. "Well, they're always complaining about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping out on the exams will teach them a lesson. A little pain is good." Kakashi rested his hands in his pockets calmly. "What-what did you just say?!" Iruka took a step closer. "Oh, nothing fatal, of course. But seriously, Iruka, relax." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, Iruka gritted his teeth. "Listen, I understand how you feel. It's very personal for you and it upsets you, but-" "Alright, Kakashi, you've said enough." Kurenai looked at him. "On the contrary, Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this. He doesn't realize that they're not his student anymore. They're mine." Kakashi looked at Iruka, "Gnnnnn!" Iruka was furious. Ugh, enough already. Asuma looked away, Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. "But these exams could destroy them, you know that!" Iruka stomped his foot, "Iruka, you've made your point, I understand." Lord Hokage called out. "Accordingly, I have decided the best thing to do is to hold a special preliminary test." He took a puff from his pipe. "Pre-preliminary test?"

"Why, why, why?! It's always the same! He sets the times and then we have to wait hours for him!" Sakura growled, stomping her foot into the floor. "It's not fair!" I shouted in agreeance. "What about my feelings? I rushed here so fast, I didn't even have time to blow-dry my hair!" Sakura shouted. "Yeah! And I didn't even have time to brush my teeth or change my under wear!" Naruto shouted, nodding. "You, uh, didn't? That's pretty disgusting, Naruto." Sakura shivered. First thing in the morning, and they're already driving me nuts. Sasuke pouted. "Hey. Good morning, everyone. Sorry I'm late. Afraid I got lost on the path of life." Kakashi waved. "You liar!" Me and Sakura shouted at him, pointing accusing fingers. Kakashi walked over to us, Sasuke stood by my side. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the chunin exams, all four of you. These are the application forms." Kakashi held out four slits of brown paper. "Application forms?" Sakura asked, "You're repeating me, Sakura. This is all voluntary, it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready, you can wait until next year." Kakashi explained, "All right!" Naruto jumped up, "Kakashi-sensei, you rock!" I laughed, he smiled down at me, a light shade of pink of his face. Naruto eagerly grabbed a slip from his hand. "Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application and come to room 301 at the academy. It's at three pm, five days from now. That's it." Kakashi explained, I looked down at the brown paper with a large smile.

The four of us, Sakura, Sasuke, me, and Naruto were calmly walking across the bridge. "Chunin exams, chunin exams!" Naruto laughed, staring at the paper with bright eyes. "I bet we'll be up against a bunch of really wicked ninja!" Naruto grinned, like the guy with the mummy on his back! Naruto thought back on Kankuro, and, of course, Mr. Attitude. Naruto frowned, glaring over at Sasuke, Sasuke squinted his eyes at him. All right! Who's the grand champion? That would be me! Naruto grinned, looking up at the sky. If I come out on top, becoming Hokage will be easy after that! And...Naruto looked over at me, I was reading the paper closely. There's no way (Y/N) could say 'no' to going out with me! "Hm?" I looked over at Naruto, catching him staring at me. "What's up?" I asked him, taking a step closer. "Huh? Oh...uh, nothing!" Naruto giggled, his face pink. I hope I get a chance to fight that guy. Sasuke looked down at the ground, Gaara popping into his head. I hate the way he looked at (Y/N). Sasuke clenched his fists. This is awesome! There's no way I could pass up a chance like this...but...I thought, looking around at my friends. So, Mikio, you have returned to the village...I looked down at the ground. Look's like we might have to fight again, brother. Sakura breathed out a heavy sigh, it broke my thought. This is hopeless! I can't keep up with Sasuke, I can't even beat Naruto! I'll never pass these exams...Sakura looked down, I wondered why.

I yawned, rubbing my eyes as I walked down a small dirt path. It was late into the after noon and I was super tired, even though I slept all of last night. It's surprisingly quiet, even though this is a under known short cut, with all the outsiders roaming around for the chunin exams, it feels...off. I rested my hands in my pockets, calmly ambling down the path, kicking a rock along with me. Something's not right here...I can feel it. I kept calm, listening, waiting. There's some one watching me...but who is it? Sasuke? No, he's not this stealthy. Kakashi-sensei? No, he would of made himself known by now. Naruto? Ha, is that even really a possibility? I snickered, passing a large tree that loomed over head. Here! I opened my eyes, "Hey! Kid!" I heard a husky voice call out, some one jumped out from behind the tree, I took a step back. "Who the heck are you?" I called out, he held a kunai tightly in his hand. His face was covered by a light blue mask, black robes shifted in the breeze. "A rain ninja, huh?" I looked up at his head band.

"Hey! Naruto! Come and play ninja with us, please!" Konohamaru smiled, jumping up as he saw Naruto walk by. "Sure! I don't have any dangerous ninja missions today, so no problem!" Naruto grinned, his hands in his pockets. "Awesome!" The three of them cheered, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw smoke rise up behind the kids. "Huh?!" He gasped, a rain ninja appeared, chuckling at he grabbed Moegi, "AHHH!" She screamed, the rain ninja jumped back up on a tree. "Naruto! Konohamaru! Help!" Moegi cried out. "What are you doing with Moegi, you big slug!" Konohamaru shouted at him from the ground, raising his fist in the air. "Let her go! Right now!" Naruto shouted, running over to the tree. "Ha ha!" The rain ninja chucked, running away. Naruto chased after him, jumping from tree to tree. "Come on, Konohamaru!" Naruto shouted behind him, the kid tried his best to keep up. "Hold on! I'm with you, boss!" Konohamaru shouted, following Naruto, Udon followed Konohamaru. -

"Ugh, Chunin exams..." Sakura sighed, reclining on a bench. Sasuke walked over to her. "Hey." Sasuke called out to her, she turned her head quickly over to him, "Sasuke! What's up?" She asked with a gasp. "Let's take a walk, just you and me." Sasuke smiled over at her. "No way! You mean it?" Sakura giggled, her blue eyes glistened with excitement. -

"Those are some interesting eyes you've got there," The rain ninja called out, I shivered. "W-What do you mean by that?" I clenched my fists. The rain ninja pointed his kunai at me, "I know some people who'd pay good money for a kekkei genkai like that." The rain ninja grinned, I gritted my teeth. "Yeah? Well, tell them I'm not for sale!" Anger bubbled up inside me, I pulled a sharpened kunai out of my pocket, the soles of my shoes padded against the dirt road as I ran towards him, the rain ninja stood his ground. -

Moegi screamed, tears running down her face as the rain ninja jumped from tree branch to tree branch. Well, well. He can keep up with me at this speed. The rain ninja looked at Naruto behind him. "I'll get this creep! Moegi!" Naruto shouted. Konohamaru was gasping for air, far behind with Udon. "Oh, man. This is bad! Where's the boss? We've got to find the boss!" Konohamaru looked around the trees, "Are we lost, or is he?" Udon asked, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his jacket.
"No! Let me go!" Moegi shouted as the rain ninja tied her to a tree. "I thought that the Hidden Leaf Village had powerful ninja, but now I see you're nothing, just a bunch of weaklings!" The rain ninja chuckled, Naruto landed on the grass behind him. "Hm? Well, that's was quick." The rain ninja turned around towards him. "Hey! You! Yeah, you! The fat old guy! What do you think you're doing with Moegi?!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What I'm doing? Is that your question? You really want to know?" The rain ninja grinned, holding a kunai up to Moegi's throat. Naruto gasped, clenching his fists angrily. "If you move, the brat's finished!" The rain ninja grinned down at him. Naruto stood still. "Hey! Why are you doing this?! She's just a kid, let her go!" Naruto shouted at him. "I want the first Hokage's Scroll of Sealing, bring it to me and I'll let the girl go!" The rain ninja commanded, "The Scroll of Sealing?" Naruto gulped.

"Hey, um, Sasuke, how come all of the sudden you, you know, want to walk with me?" Sakura asked, stopping. Sasuke kept his back turned, his hands in his pockets. "Because I need to tell you to give up on the chunin exams. There's no way you can pass them, Sakura." Sasuke looked up at the sky. "I was afraid of that, you're right." Sakura sighed, looking down at the ground. "These ninja are very advanced and the have no mercy," Sasuke turned around to face her. "If you try to fight them, you could loose your life." Sakura smiled, "But Sasuke, you're telling me this because you care about me!" Sakura's face was pink, she was smiling ear to ear. "I, uh, guess that's true." Sasuke nodded, a light blush on his face. "Ha, ha! Two sweethearts. How touching." The rain ninja chucked from behind, "Get lost, unless you want to die." Sasuke kept his back turned to him. "Talk is cheap, ha!" The rain ninja jumped up, throwing down shuriken at Sasuke. He quickly turned around, batting them all away with his kunai. Sasuke ran towards him, "Now I'm really mad!" He shouted, "Careful, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, watching him intently. The rain ninja threw down a large paper parcel, "No way!" Sasuke shouted, throwing his kunai up at it. The parcel exploded into sharp wooden spikes, they rained down on him. "Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, he was on the ground, unmoving. "Sasuke? Sasuke!" She screamed, running over to him, covering .

I sent a flying kick to the side of his face, the ninja went tumbling on the ground. "You picked a fight with the wrong kid!" I grinned, looking down at him on the floor. In a puff of smoke, the rain ninja turned into a log, I gasped as I felt the cold blade of his kunai press up against my throat. "Oh, did I?" His voice called out from behind me, I grinned. "Yeah, you did." My clone slowly broke down back into dirt, as I held my own kunai against his throat, he gritted his teeth.

"Don't just stand there like a fool! Hurry up and get the scroll!" The rain ninja shouted at Naruto, "Oh, yeah right. And what happens if I say no?" Naruto huffed. "Then I guess you don't care what happens to this girl!" The rain ninja called out, "What girl? All I see are two dummies, you, and the one next to you made of straw!" Naruto grinned, the rain ninja quickly turned his head back to the tree. "What? Where'd she go?!" The rain ninja gasped, "Huh?!" He looked up in the tree, Naruto stood there, Moegi by his side. "She's right here with the greatest ninja in the world!" Naruto grinned down at him from a high branch. "Yeah! That's you, boss! You're my hero!" Moegi giggled, the rain ninja raised his fist at him angrily. "A close jutsu?! I'll waste you, punk!" The rain ninja shouted up at him, about to jump up to get him. "You just don't know when you're out classed!" Naruto's clone shouted at him from behind, throwing a large fishing net over him. "Huh?!" The rain ninja gasped, struggling to get out of it. Naruto jumped on top of him, keeping the rain ninja down on the ground.
"Hey, boss, we're here!" Konohamaru shouted, running towards Naruto with Udon by his side. "Yeah? Well, it's about time, you guys!" Naruto grinned, looking back at them. "Konohamaru! I was really scared!" Moegi sniffled, running towards him, she threw her short arms around him. "Okay, it's alright." Konohamaru smiled, she was sniffling. "Did you catch him, boss? Can we see him?" Udon asked, looking over at Naruto with wide eyes. "Sure, he's right here-huh?!" Naruto gasped, looking down at the net, a large rock was inside of it instead of him. "Hey, he used the substitution jutsu on you!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "Copy cat! I used the same jutsu on him!" Naruto shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "You let him get away, boss!" Konohamaru said angrily.

Sakura was on her knees, pretending to cry. She was whimpering. "Ha, he's finished!" The rain ninja chuckled, walking closer to her. "And that's how you'll end up if you take the chunin exams!" The rain ninja clenched his fists. "Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura mocked, looking over at him with a grin. "What?" The rain ninja looked down at her, confusion written on his face. "Ha! I'm no idiot! I saw right through that cheap genjutsu from the first moment!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at him. "Sasuke inviting me out then suddenly acting like he's all worried about me? Yeah, like he's ever. That was a foolish mistake, you thought I'd fall for that?" Sakura put her hands on her hips, "Are you calling me a fool?" The rain ninja grunted angrily. "I would if you were actually here, but you're just an illusion! The real ninja ran away, like a coward, so you're just the illusion of a coward!" Sakura shouted at him, he chuckled. "Are you sure I'm not real?" He laughed, throwing another paper parcel. Sakura sighed, easily waking through the image. "Yeah, I'm sure." Sakura grinned. "Ha. Just what I expect from a kunoichi trained by Kakashi, but the chunin exams will be more that just illusions!" The rain ninja disappeared, "You don't scare me! Illusion's or not, bring em on! The chunin exams!" Sakura shouted, shooting his fist up in the air with a sigh. "Oh, actually, I am really worried about them." Sakura slumped her shoulders down.

"(Y/N)," A voice called out from behind me, I snapped my head around, keeping the kunai steady. "Sasuke? What are you doing here? It's not safe!" I shouted at him, he raised his brow. "What do you mean? And why are you holding that kunai in the air like that?" He asked, walking closer to me. "Huh?!" I looked back where the rain ninja should be but...he disappeared! "What?! Where'd he go?!" I jumped, looking around wildly. "Where did who go?" Sasuke asked, shaking his head. "I came here to see if you were okay, I got attacked by some rain ninja earlier, but they vanished before I could finish them." Sasuke looked over to me, I sighed. "I think we were both attacked by the same person, but why?" I shook my head, puffing out my cheeks as I turned to him.

It was late into the night, Kakashi was sitting alone on the rooftop of Iruka's house. The rain ninja appeared behind him. "So, how did it go?" Kakashi asked, looking out at the night sky. "They all made it. Your squad and the others. All the ten genin proved themselves ready for the exam." The rain ninja sighed, in a puff of smoke he turned back into his original self, Iruka. "You we're right, Kakashi, they're good. They've all developed impressive skills." Iruka looked down at the tiled room. But the chunin exams could break any one, we'll see if they can tough it out.

The five days seemed to pass by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for the exams. I stood waiting, Naruto and Sasuke by my side. Sakura was slowly walking over to the three of us. "Sakura! Hey, you're late." I waved at her, walking over with a smile. "Uh, right. Sorry guys." Sakura looked over at Sasuke. "Good morning, Sasuke." She said quietly, he ignored her. What's up with Sakura? She seems...different. I wondered

"Gah!" A boy gasped, falling back onto the wooden floors. "You're taking the chunin exams, but you can't even get past us?" Kotetsu grinned, looking down at the boy on the floor. "Why don't you just give up now before you get hurt?" Izumo asked, putting his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I think I hear your mommy calling you." Kotetsu chuckled. "Please let us through, we're supposed to go in there!" A short girl with two small buns on her head called out, worry etched onto her face. She ran over to him, Kotetsu slapped her down. "Man, that's harsh..." Some one called out from the crowd. "Did you say harsh? Don't kid yourself. We're being nice in comparison. The exams are going to make this look like a picnic." Kotetsu crossed his arms, his high pitched voice echoed around the room. "Some of you won't survive the exams, others will be wreaked for life, and some of you may go crazy. For chunin, it's always life or death." Izumo called out to the crowd, the four of us walked in. "You think it's a joke? Chunin are qualified to lead missions. The lives of your squad members are in your hands, so you better be tough enough to take the heat. Delicate little girls don't belong here." Kotetsu looked down at the girl on the floor. "We're just thinning out the herd. You won't pass anyway, so go home and play with your dolls." Izumo grinned.

"Nice speech. Now, both of you step aside and let us through." Sasuke stepped towards them, I nodded. "And while you're at it, reverse the genjutsu. We can see through your illusion anyway. We're going to the third floor." I called out from behind Sasuke, my arms crossed. "What do they mean? We're on the third floor." Hushed mumbled erupted from the crowd. "Well, well." Kotetsu leaned closer to me. "So, you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" Izumo rubbed his chin. "Go ahead, tell these punks Sakura, I'm sure you saw it before any one else did." I smiled, looking back at her. "Huh?" She looked over at me, her pink hair moved. "You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on the squad, you must of seen this coming from a mile away!" I grinned. "I must have?" Sakura blinked. "Well, sure! Of course. I spotted it right away! This is only the second floor." Sakura smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "Right!" Naruto nodded, a goofy grin painted on his face. "Ha, well, aren't you the smart ones? So, you noticed and illusion, tch, now lets see you deal with this!" Kotetsu shouted, sending a kick flying towards Sasuke, Sasuke threw his own kick around. I jumped. In a flash, the boy before was in between them, holding their legs in the air. H-How did he do that?! I thought he was some weakling, getting knocked around like that. But he's as fast as Sasuke! My eyes widened. Kotetsu jumped away, the boy let out a sigh of relief. He stopped my kick, that's some chakra he's got in his arm. Sasuke stared at him cautiously. "Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile!" Another boy stomped out to him, but they looked nothing alike. He must be a part of the Hyuga clan, I thought, looking at his milky white eyes. "I know, but-" The boy looked at me, pink on his face. My eyes widened as I looked at him. Shiny black hair in a bowl cut, a large green jump suit with bandages covering his arms and...those eyebrows. "Never mind. It's over, forget it." The girl with the buns sighed, shaking her head. The boy walked over to me, Sasuke squinted his eyes. "My name is Rock Lee, what is yours?" Lee asked, I looked up at him, rubbing the back of my neck. "O-Oh, my name's (Y/N)!" I stuttered, get ahold of yourself! I gulped. "Please be mine!" He smiled, his face pink as he gave me the thumbs up. "I vow to protect you with my life!" He smiled from ear to ear. Yuck! There's no way (Y/N) would fall for a weirdo like that-Sakura thought with her arms crossed, looking over at me, "What?!" She exclaimed. My entire face was red, my heart pounding in my chest. H-He's so h-handsome! "Y-Y-!" Sasuke jumped in between us, his eyes beaming down at Lee. "Don't even think about it." Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Huh?" Lee clenched his fists, looking at Sasuke angrily. "(Y/N) want's nothing to do with you, end of story." Sasuke's voice changed to a harsh, bitter tone, a shiver ran down my spine. "H-Hey, that's-" I put my arm on Sasuke's shoulder, he turned his head around to me, staring directly in my eyes. "What the heck's your problem, Sasuke?" Naruto stomped towards us, his fists clenched. "Step out of this, loser." Sasuke looked over at Naruto, Naruto growled. "H-Hey! Naruto, Sasuke, (Y/N), come on." Sakura walked closer to us, breaking Naruto and Sasuke's stare. I looked down at the floor, what had gotten into Sasuke? I sighed.

"Heh, so that's the bunch of misfits that Kakashi and Guy have been going on about." Izumo watched as the four of us waked away, I whispered a quick bye to Lee as I passed him. "I guess they passed their first test, getting their applications through." Izumo nodded. "Right." Kotetsu agreed, in a puff of smoke the changed back into their regular adult selves. "It looks like the exams are going to be fun this year." Kotetsu grinned, looking through a crack in the supply room door. "Yeah, for us. But maybe not for them." Izumo chuckled.