"Uh..." Hayate cleared his throat. "We have to have a preliminary exam before we move onto...to the real one." Hayate explained to the crowd. "What? What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru shouted out, "Preliminary means before you dummy." I waved my finger at him, "I know that, I'm not-tch, whatever." Shikamaru scoffed, turning his head away, I grinned. "I'm sorry, excuse me, but I really don't see the point. What's this preliminary all about? Why can't we just move onto the third exam?" Sakura asked, Hayate cleared his throat. "Uh...well, you see. The first and second exams might of been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the chunin exams, a preliminary round can be held at any stage, in order to reduce that number of candidates remaining." Hayate explained, slightly slouched over. "Uh, but! Is that fair?" Sakura called out, worry painted on her face. "It's just, a this stage, we have to speed things up a bit. As Lord Hokage said, a lot of important guests will be watching. We can't afford to waste their time, they've come to see only the best. So, if there are any of you who feel you're not in top physical condition, now's your chance to-" Hayate stopped, turning his head away from the crowd as he continued to cough into his sleeve. Talk about not being in top physical condition, I thought with a sigh. "Sorry about that." He cleared his throat once again, "As I was saying, any of you who don't feel up to this, now is the time for you to say it." Hayate looked into the crowd. "The preliminaries will be starting immediately."

"Come on! You mean right now?!" Kiba shouted, clenching his fists. "Yeah, we just finished barely surviving the last exam! Don't we get a break?" Ino whined, "Man, what a drag." Shikamaru sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Heeeey, when do we eat?" Choji grumbled, I looked down at the floor. "Great, we have to go through this before we get to go to Ichiraku's. Why didn't you explain before, Iruka-sensei?" I sighed, closing my eyes. "I could really go for a bowl." Naruto agreed.

"Oh...yeah, uh...the winners will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death. So, like I said, if there's any one who doesn't feel up to it, now's the chance." Hayate shrugged, doe's he really think any one is going to quit-"Gnnnn!" Sasuke's thoughts were cut short by a sting in his neck, he clasped his hand over the curse mark. "Sasuke?" I looked over to him, the waves of pain...they're coming sooner and sooner! Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking over to me. Oh no, I knew it. Sakura shook her head, "You two have got to quit. Sasuke, (Y/N), listen to me. You've been like this ever since you've tangled with Orochimaru, and it's getting worse!" Sakura clenched her fists, Sasuke turned his head away from her. "It's the mark...isn't it?" She asked, looking at us worriedly. Mark? Naruto wondered, "You guys can't deny it," Sakura clasped her hands together, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please...please, quit now before..." She sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "I-I don't k-know what...I-I'm scared." Sakura whispered, I turned to her, holding her hand. "It's okay...it's okay." I whispered to her, she was shaking.

"It's just as I feared." Lord Hokage whispered, "What do we do with them?" Ibiki asked, looking over at him. "We take the both of them out of the exam and hand them over to black ops and keep them locked up. We have to keep those seals under control-" Anko was interrupted. "Oh, and you think they're going to quietly go along with this, huh? I know for a fact (Y/N) wont." Kakashi chimed in, Anko turned her head over to him. "You're forgetting, they're from the (L/N) clan." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. "I don't care what the heck they are! If they stay, they're a danger to everyone! Don't you see, as they get stronger, so does the curse mark! That thing is feeding off their chakra! It's a forbidden jutsu that devours the one who bears it." Anko snapped back, gritting her teeth as she looked back at the crowd. "It's incredible those kids are still standing. By now...they should be dead." Anko sighed, "Lord Hokage." She turned to him.

"Come on, you know just as well as I do that you are in no condition to keep on fighting-!" "Shut up." Sasuke glared at her, "Do you think I'm blind or something?!" Tears streaked down her face. "Will you just be quiet?" Sasuke gritted his teeth, "You think I don't see the suffering you're going through?!" Sakura shook her head, "That's enough, Sakura." I whispered, putting my hand on her shoulder, she grabbed onto it. "I'm sorry, I can't let you do it to yourselves. I-I'm going to tell them about that mark, then maybe you'll-"

"Huh?" I turned my head around, his hand was in the air. "Okay, you got me. I'm out." Kabuto said with a small smile, my eyes widened. "But...Kabuto." Naruto breathed out, I shook my head. "Kabuto, no way." I said in shock.
"Uh...hmmm." Hayate held onto a clip board, flipping through the pages with a cough. "Kabuto Yakushi of the hidden leaf, right? Okay, you can go on and step back." Hayate said with a sigh. "Gotcha." Kabuto noddle, breaking free from the crowd.

"Kabuto! Hold on a second, you creep! You can't quit! I don't get this, what's going on?!" I shouted, taking a step closer to him. Pathetic. Gaara thought, eyeing Kabuto as he walked past him. Kabuto stopped midway through the crowd, he looked back at me with a small smile. "Oh, (Y/N). I'm sorry," He said with a small shrug, "My body's just too beat up, I cant hack it. The fact is, ever since orientation, that dust up with the sound ninja team, I've had no hearing at all in my left ear. And now to have to put my life on the line, to fight again, right away with out a break, I can't do it." He said with a small sigh, I looked down at the ground, my hands in my pockets.

"Seems to me that I've seen that one before. If memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle." Lord Hokage rubbed his chin, "What kind of game is he playing?" He wondered. Ibiki turned his head around, "Anko," He called her back. "Oh, right." She sighed, flipping through a small stack of papers. "Kabuto Yakushi...he's failed six times in a row?" Anko scratched her head, "What do you have on his background?" Lord Hokage asked, squinting his eyes at the paper. "His time at the academy was not what you'd call impressive. Average grades, took him a full three tries before he passed the graduation exam. As far as the missions he's carried out since then, there's been two C ranks and four D ranks. It's not exactly a battle record to write home about, however..." Anko paused, looking up from the papers. "Go on." Lord Hokage said with a nod, "There's something before his time in the academy." Anko looked over at him. "Do you remember the child? The one who was found after the battle of Kikyo Pass? The only survivor?" Anko's voice was hushed, "I remember the story, it was said that a small boy was found among the enemy, dead on the battlefield. He was found buried alive and brought back by a jonin from the medical unit. You're saying this is that boy?" Lord Hokage looked back at him.

"Kabuto, what do you think you're doing?" Yoroi called out to him in a stern tone, turning his head around. "Have you forgotten his orders?" Yoroi whispered, "I'm leaving all of that to you. What's the problem? For someone with your abilities, it should be no trouble." Kabuto said in a hushed tone, "This is your chance to prove yourself, Yoroi. After all, you've always wanted to take my place, haven't you? Go for it." Kabuto shrugged, "Hm, you may be Orochimaru's favorite, but be careful you don't push me too far." Yoroi eyed him angrily, "Thanks, I'll keep that piece of advice in mind." Kabuto looked back over at me, "Huh?" I raised my head, he waved before he continued to walk away. Sorry (Y/N), wish I could've stayed and played with you a little longer, but if I did that, the old me might get stirred up. Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, can't have that. I might blow my cover, wouldn't be as much use as a spy after that. Besides, I've already done my job. Kabuto shrugged, they called me a creep. A creep, huh, (Y/N)? Kabuto tapped the side of his glasses. Guess I'll just have to save my fun for later, till we meet again, (Y/N). Hopefully, it will be soon. Kabuto smiled.

"Ahem, now then, does anybody else want to quit?" Hayate's voice trailed off, he coughed into his sleeve. Sakura gulped, I can't let this go on, I've got to tell them! Sakura started to raise her hand, my eyes widened. Sasuke slapped her hand down, "Don't you even dare think about telling them about the mark." Sasuke glared at her, she shook her head. "I don't get what you're trying to prove! Am I just supposed to stand by and watch you tear yourself apart? I can't bear watching..." Sakura looked down at the ground, "Then don't watch, but stay out of it. This has nothing to do with you. I told you before. What I am is an avenger. For me, this is something far more than just an exam. Whether I become a chunin or not means less than nothing to me." Sasuke looked down at the ground. "Huh?" Naruto turned his head around, I looked to my side. "Am I as strong as I can be? All I want is the answer to that. I can only find that out by fighting the strongest, the best. And the best of the beat are all here." Sasuke looked around at the crowd. "This is the path I walk, and you can't change that." Sasuke glared at her, "Oh, Sasuke." Sakura whispered, tears running down her face. "Man, you don't know when to quit! What are you biting her head off for you idiot?! It's just because she care about you!" Naruto shouted, clenching his fists. "Naruto." Sasuke turned around to him. "Huh?" He put his hands on his hips. "You're one of the ones I want to fight the most." Sasuke looked at him with a small grin. Naruto's electric blue eyes widened.

Lord Hokage slowly breathed out a puff of smoke. "I'm still concerned about what Orochimaru said. Allow them to continue with the exam for now," Lord Hokage watched the crowd, Anko turned to him. "What?!" She breathed out. "We'll see what happens." Lord Hokage shrugged, "But! Lord Hokage!" Anko gritted her teeth, "However, at the first sign of a curse mark on either of them, or their power getting out of control, we'll step in and stop it." Lord Hokage explained, pipe in hand. "Right." Ibiki nodded. "B-But! I-I..." Anko sighed, looking down at the ground, defeated. "As you wish." She sighed. Kakashi turned back to the crowd.

"Alright then." Hayate cleared his throat, "We'll now begin the preliminary round. This round will consist of one on one individual combat, a full battle. This is not an exercise. There are twenty two of you remaining, so that means there will be eleven matches. The surviving candidates from these matches will advance to the third exam. As for the rules, there are none. You will fight until one dies or concedes defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Naturally, those who are loosing are urged to concede defeat promptly, to avoid a fatal outcome. Furthermore, as a proctor, I am given a certain amount of leeway in judgement the matches-" He was interrupted by a loud, wet sounding, cough. He hid his mouth in his sleeve, turning a bit away from the crowd as he coughed. "Err, uh, hm." Hayate turned back to us. "I'll occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless, to save as many lives as possible. Now, it is time to reveal the fate that has been chosen for you." He said, slightly sarcastically, as he turned his head to his side. Anko nodded from behind, turning back as she looked at the high wall. "Open the panel." She commanded, a large metallic clank sounded from the wall. I turned my head up to see what was going on. The wall was opening to reveal a large screen behind it, my eyes widened. "Woah, technology."

"The names of each pair of opponents are chosen at random. Before each match, these names will be here on the display behind me. As there's nothing more to say, lets begin. In a moment, the names of the first two opponents will appear." Hayate nodded to the crowd, all eyes were on the screen.

Hm. I tilted my head, I wonder who it's gonna be. I hope it's me! I've been waiting for a real good battle! Come on, come on! I smiled up at the screen, jumping up and down as if it was a lottery. The screen flashed, Naruto gulped. Our names appeared on the screen, if quickly cycle through them, shuffling them like a deck of cards, I watched the screen eagerly. "Huh?" I sighed, the two names appearing on the screen.

YOROI AKADO VS. SASUKE UCHIHA

Hm, didn't waste any time, did they. Sasuke thought, glaring up at the screen. "Aw man." I pouted, slumping my shoulders down. Sasuke smiled as he watched my head sink down. I couldn't ask for anything more. Yoroi grinned behind his mask. No! Why did it have to be Sasuke? Sakura gritted her teeth, her eyes sinking with worry.

"Alright now. Those of you whose names have been drawn, come forward." Hayate called out, I watched as Sasuke walking out from the crowd, Yoroi not too far behind him. "Alright, let's get this over with." Hayate mumbled to himself. "Yoroi Akado and Sasuke Uchiha, you've been chosen for the first battle. Any rejections?" He asked, "I'm all here." Sasuke stared at Yoroi, "No." Yoroi answered back.

Well, that's it. All I can do now is watch. Sakura sniffled. "Come on Sasuke! You can take this loser down!" I shouted from the crowd, punching my fists up in the air. "Yeah, he better win if he ever hopes to take me on." Naruto shrugged, his hands in his pockets. Something's wrong, he's been acting so strange lately. Ino thought, crossing her arms. Good luck, Sasuke. I smiled with a nod.

"Gnn..." Sasuke gritted his teeth, another wave of pain hitting his body. The pain wont go away. Sasuke clenched his fists. That curse mark could be trouble. Yoroi watched Sasuke intently. "Uh...alright then. Let's begin the first match. Okay, everyone other than the two opposing candidates, clear the area and move to the upper level." Hayate motioned his hand to the side, two matching rows faced each other, a rust looking stair case leading up to them.

The crowd quickly dispersed, footsteps treading up the stair cases. "Hm?" I looked back at the front, Kakashi made his way over. "Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" I shouted, waving to him.
"Sasuke." He whispered, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at him. "Don't use your sharingan." Kakashi moved his head over to him, "So you know about it." Sasuke glared back at him. "If that mark on your neck gets out of control, I'll step in and stop the match. Good luck." With that Kakashi left, walking closer to the three of us. Naruto continued to wave, I smiled as he walked over to us.

Stop the fight?! Sasuke gritted his teeth, watching him leave. Sasuke touched his neck, this thing...it seems to be responding to my chakra. Every time I use my chakra, this thing gets a little stronger. It gets a little more control over me. Sasuke looked back at Yoroi. I've got to fight him without using my sharingan, and even my own jutsu is off limits. Maybe I can make him laugh himself to death. Sasuke rolled his eyes with a small shrug.

Heh. Yoroi's unique skills are going to be disastrous for you. Orochimaru glared down at him, his arms crossed, disguised as a sound village jonin. Whatever, let's get on with this. Sasuke glared at Yoroi intensely.

I hung my arm off the side railing, leaning forward on it. Kakashi patted me on my head, "Huh?" I looked up at him, puffing out my cheeks. "I've got something important to tell you." Kakashi said, looking down at me with a small smile. "Uh, okay." I shrugged.

"Now, if you're ready. Let the match begin." Hayate sighed, taking a step back from them. "Well, I'm ready." Yoroi grunted, I turned my attention back to the match. "So am I." Sasuke glared at him. Yoroi clasped his hands together, building up chakra in his arms.

In a flash, Yoroi flung a couple shuriken towards Sasuke, Sasuke easily batted them out of the way with a kunai. "Gah!" Sasuke gasped, a large pain ricketing through his body, his legs wobbled as he fell down to the floor. Yoroi was on him quicker than I could blink, punching his fist down into the ground. Sasuke quickly dashed away, turning in the air by his arm. "Huh?!" Yoroi gasped as a leg kicked him down onto the ground, Sasuke held onto Yoroi's arm, pulling it close to his chest, holding him down onto the ground.

"Hey! He got em!" I shouted with a smile, Kakashi sighed. "You weren't listening at all, were you?" Kakashi shook his head, "Oh, uh, sorry!" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Really?" Yoroi sighed, grabbing onto Sasuke with the arm he caught a hold of, Sasuke's strength quickly started to go. "W-What's happening?!" Sasuke grunted, laying on the ground, shaking. Yoroi picked his hand up, dirt collected in his hair. He slammed his arm back down into Sasuke chest, "Gah!" Sasuke grunted, watching as Yoroi stood back up.

All my strength! Suddenly, it's gone! Sasuke gritted his teeth, slowly starting to sit up. Yoroi dashed towards him, holding his hand to Sasuke's head. Sasuke fell back down onto the ground, "Sasuke?" My eyes widened, "Sasuke, no!" Sakura cried out, Yoroi started to laugh, his chuckled echoing around the room.

Sasuke held onto Yoroi's arm, "My chakra! What are you doing?!" Sasuke called out. "Haha! You're just noticing it now?" Yorori grinned.