A Naruto FanFiction

Chapter 1 – Exams

The air was crisp and the sunrise was beautiful, I gazed at it while I strode down the track to the forest, but despite all that all I could think about was the annoying birds. That infernal bird song I can't zone out. The birds sound happy. I wondered why exactly they would be happy. I mean, what have they to fell happy about? They just poop and fly all day long. That is just so pointless.

I stopped as I came across a puddle in the road. In the puddle I saw a girl with long Cyan coloured hair that fell down to my waist and baggy boy's clothes.

The only thing I really loved about myself was my hair. No one had cyan coloured hair except me. I was a unique individual even without the hair. I carried on walking but when my ear twitched at the sound of something whizzing through the air toward me and I stopped. My hand flew to my ear and curled around the projectile.

I brought the object around to my face and saw that it was a small, round pebble.

Interesting, I thought, someone is throwing things at me. I looked up to the branch of a tree nearby to see a pretty looking girl sitting on it delicately. I turned my whole body to face her. She smiled brilliantly and jumped down onto the track in front of me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Cyan Shingaruah the mystery of our village." She mocked crossing her arms lightly and spacing her legs apart slightly.

"Er, I suppose." I replied in a somewhat bored tone. I really didn't have time to be wasting on this girl; I was supposed to be meditating. "Did you want something?"

The girl looked annoyed. "Aren't you going to ask for my name?" She huffed.

"I don't want to know it." I answered honestly. I shoved my hands into my pockets and glanced toward the sky. I saw a bird dart across my line of sight and vanish into a tree. I wished, briefly, that I could be a bird. It would be lovely to fly among the clouds. I'd even put up with the singing if I could.

I heard the girl huff in irritation. "You really are as blunt as they all say."

"I prefer to think of it as being honest." I replied turning away to carry on with my walk.

I felt a rush of air; I heard a whoosh and I reached behind me and grabbed the girl by the wrist as she tried to punch me in the back.

She stared at me wide eyed. "How did you see me?"

I shrugged and squeezed her wrist hard. "I didn't." The girl winced in pain.

Suddenly I heard a clapping sound to the left of us and glanced to see a boy in purple and black staring intently at the scene before him. Cam.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events. I bet you didn't expect this Seiko."

My jaw tightened in frustration. I hated that guy. He was a vision of pure evil. I dropped Seiko's wrist and made to walk away.

In an instant Cam was directly in front of me, blocking my path. "Don't be leaving so soon, Cyan." He whispered pulling me closer to him by the neck of my tunic.

As quick as lightning my hand struck his. "Don't touch me, dickhead." I snarled.

I pushed his shoulder as I moved forward taking care never to look back. I stopped abruptly as around nine men emerged from the trees and onto the road. What was he thinking of doing? I thought when I noticed the others that had now encircled Seiko, Cam, and me.

"What do you want, Cam?" I deadpanned.

The teenage boy laughed at me and the girl, Seiko, just glared as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around one of his. "Nothing's more fun then harassing you, Cyan. You should know me by now. I can see right through you even if no one else can."

The thing I hated most about what he just said was that he was right. As much as it pained me to admit it to myself he saw right through my mask of indifference.

I hated him so much.

I sighed in feigned boredom. "If you all choose to leave now things won't get messy, but…" I shrugged, "If you stay, don't say I didn't warn you." I was scared shitless.

The men around me exchanged smirks as if to say, 'this is getting interesting', but Cam and Seiko didn't. Seiko was still glaring daggers at me, and Cam just stood there watching my every breath, my every movement. Bloody hell, he was more attentive than Sensei!

I heard another zip but I was too slow to catch it. I leaned back as the projectile zipped past my face. I turned to the right to see the men parting ways for another man. People really did love throwing thing at me, I thought in irritation.

"Isn't this lovely." The man said in a deep, rough voice. He was staring at me intently. The man was tall and intimidating, he wore a patch over one eye and his hair was bleached white. He was shirtless and his trousers were the colour of autumn leaves. He also wore a large samurai sword on his back. A Ninja.

I felt uncomfortable at the scrutiny, but rolled my eyes anyway. "It's just like you, Cam, to get other people to do your dirty work. I'm disappointed." I hoped to god that this man was being paid by Cam. If he wasn't studying me for a battle I really didn't know what I would do next.

"He's not mine." Cam muttered from behind me. He sounded cold and annoyed.

I cursed under my breath. If he wasn't Cam's then who the hell was he?

The man took his penetrating gaze from me long enough to study the men in a ring around the four of us. "This doesn't seem very fair. All these men against one girl?" He shook his head and smiled.

"This is a private matter, sir." Cam said shaking off Seiko and walking toward us. "Please leave."

I sighed in frustration. All this was cutting into my meditation time. Sensei would be angry if I missed too much. This is just pointless. "Listen, I really have to go. I don't have time for any of you." I said and turned off toward the group of men in my path.

The men smirked and crouched slightly in a battle stance. Now it was my turn to smirk. If they thought they were getting a fight they were sorely mistaken.

This should be quick.

The first man ran at me and I ducked low and, leaning back on my hands, jammed both my feet into his. The thug flew over my head and I was up before anyone really registered what was happening. The other men just stared at their comrade in shock. Some whispered things like, 'How did she do that?' 'What did she do?' 'That was so fast I didn't see…'

I continued walking toward the men and they all ran at me with determination. These men weren't ninja so I didn't need to worry too much, it was just the vast number of them that had scared me. I struck one man in the jaw and another in the stomach sending them to the floor in a second.

Only four men remained and they were looking doubtful. They all ran at me from different angles. I ducked low as the first came at me, and I kicked at his ankle making him buckle and crash to the floor. The second thug was right on top of me and if I wasn't so quick I might not have made it, but luckily I am. I flipped my legs around using my hands and arms as a support, and kicked up at the thugs' tender area. He collapsed onto the floor clutching at his crotch. The other two were fairly easy. One ran away screaming bloody murder, while the other got on his knees about 200 yards of me and begged me not to hurt him. I picked up a pebble, threw it at his temple, and he slumped forward. Unconscious, of course.

I vanished in a shower of dust as I raced down the path and into the forest at the end. I needed to meditate or my schedule would be all messed up.

I came to a sudden stop in a small clearing. It was only about the size of a small hut but it was sufficient. I sat down on a large boulder, which occupied the top-centre part of the clearing, and concentrated on slowing my ragged breathing.

The clearing was quite pretty really. The grass was bright and green; the trees that lined the glade rustled in the light breeze; the small blue and purple flowers in the grass were bright and cheerful; and a beam of sunlight broke through the canopy of leaves to light a small patch of golden flowers that blossomed and flourished. It was the perfect place to meditate.

I closed my eyes and concentrated my breathing, slowing it down and taking large, deep, deliberate breaths. I concentrated on the feel of the boulder I was perched on; the feel of the breeze through my hair; the feel of random leaves falling from the trees and caressing my bare arms. I heard everything; the distant voices of hunters looking for game; the sound of small insects marching across the ground to deliver food to their families; the sound of birds chirping high in the trees; and the sound of the rustling leaves.

I would have loved to just sit there for hours and listen and feel and sense things but I had to get a few more things done before class. I sighed in resignation and slowly trudged out of the clearing.

The market was really quite busy. It always is. There were women at all the scam stalls that claim to sell special potions that make you look ten years younger and there were children trying to steal apples from the fruit stands to prove themselves to their friends. The men on all the food stalls called out to people as they passed asking them if they wanted some apples or grapes.

I trudged back toward my apartment with a brown paper bag full to the brim with fruits, vegetables, and rice. I placed the paper bag carefully at my feet as I rummaged in my pockets for the door key. I found it, thrust it into the lock, and turned. The door came open with a jolt and I stepped inside.

Takahashi-sensei stood from the sofa and followed me out to the kitchen chanting, "Your such a wonderful girl, Cyan!" and "Food!"

"Honestly," I said unloading the bag, "You'd be dead if it weren't for me."

I saw his eye dart to my face and then back to the food I was unpacking without speaking. Haruka Takahashi was my adopted parent, though I didn't think of him much as my father. He was more like a big brother. He was a high level ninja. He was a Jonin ninja who taught the young, lower level Genin after they graduate from the Academy. I will be joining them soon enough. I will pass the graduation exam. I will.

Haruka wouldn't let me call him by his first name when we're in public. I had to call him Sensei or Takahashi because it seemed more or less okay to normal people for me to be so formal. I didn't understand the need to be formal though, I've been living with him ever since I was five or six which is more or less six or seven years. He was quite intimidating if you didn't know that he was a big kid at heart. He wears a strip of navy blue cloth covering one eye and an assortment of white and cream coloured vests. He wears navy blue cargo pants and dog tags that say his name in the proper Japanese style. His hair is a deep burgundy colour and it is thick and his bangs cover his eye patch quite well.

His smile turned into a sour pout when he saw what I had bought. "But it's all…." He trailed off searching for the right word. "Healthy!" He decided.

I shrugged. "You can't live off," I opened the fridge, glanced at its contents and grimaced. "Stale cheese, a few eggs, and some lumpy milk, you need a staple diet."

He sighed and straddled one of the kitchen chairs. "And vegetables, fruit, and rice is a staple diet? There's no meat!" He cried.

"I'm a vegetarian. I'm not going to the butchers even if you paid me. If you want some meat, buy it yourself." I shuddered as I remembered the reason I became a vegetarian. The man that owned the butchers was an evil murderer.

I began to boil some carrots and cabbage, while another pot on the stove held some boiling rice. I didn't need to buy any sauces because I stocked up on cans and tins earlier in the month.

"Haruka, get me some sauce." I said absently gesturing toward the pantry.

He got up reluctantly and searched through the pantry. "What kind of sauce would go well?" He asked but his voice was somewhat muffled.

Would a tomato sauce go well? No. It has to be salty. Hmmm. "Soya." I finally decided.

Haruka emerged from the pantry with a bottle of Soya Sauce and placed it on the counter by my side. "I'm going to check the mail." He said yawning. "Call me when it's done."

"Sure." I called out to him as he left the kitchen. I poured the Soya into the water that the rice was boiling in and waited while the water evaporated and the rice and vegetables cooked.

I served up the rise in Soya Sauce with carrots and cabbage and called Haruka to the table. We ate mostly in silence until Haruka decided to break that, "What were you doing out so early?" He asked around a mouthful of rice and cabbage.

"We had no food." I pointed out.

He nodded but still looked thoughtful as he shovelled mouthful after mouthful.

I watched him as I chewed and laughed when he got it on his shirt or chin. I rolled my eyes when he dabbed his messy face with the napkin and leaned back on his chair patting his stomach. "That was good." He complimented.

"Honestly, no one would guess that you were a ninja. You act like a slob."

He shrugged. "That's because I am a slob. Lucky I've got you here or I'd be living in a pig's sty!" He ruffled my hair playfully.

I smoothed down my already messy hair and continued with my half eaten breakfast.

Haruka Takahashi-sensei left the apartment before I left that morning. He was called on by the 3rd Hokage for an errand and wouldn't be back that evening. I had the apartment all to myself, which was nice once in a while.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and left the apartment, locking the door securely behind me.

There were always children messing around and playing in the street, knocking over stalls and things like that. I always thought that doing that was a complete waste of time. Why would they knock over a persons stall for fun? Don't they feel any sympathy to these poor farmers? I felt sympathy for them. Their very existence depended on the weather. If it was good weather then they would get a good crop and would be able to sell easily, if the weather was bad they wouldn't even bother to take the crop to the stalls, it costs to keep a horse and renting one is even worse!

The Academy garden was filled with students. As I strode toward the entrance to the building I heard something small whipping through the air towards me. I grabbed the object and snarled, "Will people just stop throwing things at me?"

I turned on the person who had thrown it and was shell shocked by what I saw; the pretty boy of our generation. Oh, how annoying!

"What do you want?" I ground out.

"A date." He said smirking arrogantly. I saw his 'friends' smirking and exchanging amazed looks as he elegantly strode toward me. This boy was probably the fakest person I had ever met.

There was no way I was going to waste any more of my time on this fool. "In your dreams, Lee." I spat.

"Oh, lighten up a bit, Cyan." He said chuckling slightly. This was all an act, it was so painfully obvious I couldn't help but laugh a little. He frowned in annoyance. Ah, his true colours shine threw! "What are you laughing at?"

"You, prick." I said between laughs. The boys waiting on the wall behind Yuki looked worried and pissed. Good. "You really expect me to buy this? To be perfectly honest, I can't see how anyone can't see through this shit." I laughed as I walked away leaving a shocked and slightly hurt looking Yuki behind me.

I chuckled again to myself as I walked through the doors of the Academy. Rejection is clearly new to him. It was obvious that his 'friends' – if you can call them that – dared him to asked me out on a date. Probably because all who have tried, have failed miserably. It's not really their fault. It's mine. I tell them that; they say they've heard it all before and give up.

I got to the corridor to our class room. Just as I placed my hand on the door knob I heard someone call out to me from across the hall, "Shingaruah!"

I turned to the girl. She had her delicate hands on her delicate hips and she practically radiated authority. I recognised her thin face and golden hair. "Seiko." He replied nodding politely.

She lost her composure for a moment and stared at me in shock. "Just because you remembered my name won't win you any points with me. It doesn't change anything."

I shrugged. "I know. I wasn't trying to win points with you."

She huffed and crossed her arms glaring daggers at me. "Aren't you going to ask what I want?" She demanded.

I blinked twice. "Should I?"

She let out an irritated sigh. "I'm your rival. You should hate me. Ask me what I want in a really spiteful way."

I blinked again. "But I don't feel any spite toward you."

Her eyes narrowed and she growled in a very feral way making my eyes widen slightly. Perhaps she is related to a cat, I mused.

"What? Don't you find me worthy to be your rival? Am I not good enough to challenge you?" Her lip curled upward in an evil looking snarl. "It's obviously just because you know deep down that I could beat you so easily."

She's insecure. "I think we proved who the better ninja was when I almost broke your wrist this morning, or did you conveniently forget that small detail?" I straightened my back and turned slightly to face her.

Seiko stepped forward and pointed her delicate pale finger at me, a large, ugly smirk on her face. "I challenge you, Cyan Shingaruah."

I sighed in bored annoyance. "I suppose I have to accept then, don't I?" I muttered.

She nodded enthusiastically at me and put her hands on her hips again. "Yes." She answered my rhetorical question. "If you have any honour left in you, you will accept."

I saw red. Was she implying I lacked in honour? "I would watch what you say, girl." I said dangerously quiet. "You might think you have the right to challenge me but don't think – after that little comment – I will let you off easily. You have no chance of beating me and after that disrespectful comment I will beat you into the ground."

Seiko's wide, frightened eyes stared at me from a pale, terrified face. She regained her composure when she realised I had finished threatening her. "You think you're so above everyone, don't you? That you can chose who lives and dies! Well I've got something to tell you!" She pointed her finger at me. "You can't silence Seiko Yukiko! I will never be defeated by you!"

I cocked my head to one side in amusement. This girl might have just offended me beyond forgiveness but I was softening a bit to her guts and determination. She was kind of funny in a strange demented way. "Alright, perhaps I won't beat you too badly. I, at least, won't break your legs or anything that will prevent you from coming to the Academy for a long time. You know," I added as her eyes became quite a lot wider. "That determination of yours could get you places." I complimented.

Opening the class room door I strode into the noisy, child filled class room.

I trudged into the room and slumped down in my seat. The only thing I liked about the Academy was the practical experiments that they let us do.

I glanced out of the window, put my chin in the palm of my hand, and let my mind wander. I have the best practical skills in the class. I have invented a few new Jutsu in the past year and I am developing them, I thought almost happily… although… my skills in the more theoretical aspect of things is lacking severely. If I was going to become a Jonin I needed to perfect my skill in all the different aspects of training. I felt my face fall at the thought. I could never reach Seiko's level of tactical ability and theoretical knowledge, those things she was better than me at. Not that I would ever admit that. I would be a better Ninja a thousand times over.

I heard something wiz through the air toward the side of my head. I let the small paper ball hit my temple with a quiet thump and land on the floor at my feet.

I didn't care who had thrown it, I just really wanted people to stop throwing things at me and I figured that if I ignored it when they did – as long as I wasn't attempting to intimidate people with my speed – they would eventually stop finding it so damn funny.

A woman, our Jonin visitor walked into the room and surveyed the class. The brunette's breasts were practically bursting from her red boob-tube and every guy's eyes were trained on her torso and exposed legs.

I snickered to myself. She isn't fit to be a ninja let alone a Jonin.

"Good morning children." She drawled in a sickly sweet voice. I almost gagged. "Your teacher has kindly said I can take this lesson." She bowed to Iruka-sensei in the corner of the room and every eye went to her chest which looked as though it was ready to burst. For a moment I thought it would, but then she straightened herself.

"I'm here to explain what will happen to you in the next day or two." She straightened and wrote one word on the black board in large capital letters, exams.

I frowned. Graduation already? I thought we had another year left.

"You are the most advanced class the academy has seen in a long time and we want to exploit your full potential." She said in a very... girly, happy type tone. How annoying. "We are trying a new approach to the exams. We thought it would be an interesting exam to try on your class seeing as you are so skilled. We are starting it a year early because if these exams fail you can still do the graduation exam next year and won't have to repeat a year here at the academy."

I nodded internally. That made sense, to me at least.

"The exams will start tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock sharp. Anyone late will be immediately disqualified. You kids got that?" She added, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

Everyone in the class nodded and she looked to the only person who hadn't acknowledged her, me. I stared at her blankly. "I understand." I said calmly.

She nodded and smiled. Bitch. She really was a complete joke. No wonder she got to Jonin level at such a young age, she slept her way to the top.

I didn't even know you could do that.

She turned to us all again a huge smirk on her face. "Tomorrow, kids, the fun begins."


Xiah-sensei: I love Cyan and Naruto. Don't worry, I'm not pairing them... if I pair it will be NaruSasu/SasuNaru

Naruto: Ew! No yaoi! Sasuke and I aren't like that...

Sasuke: ...

Xiah-sensei: ...

Naruto: Oh, right, we are. Sorry Sasuke!

Sasuke: Hn.

Sakura: Xiah-sensei said that she won't humiliate me if you review!

Ino: But no one wants that billboard-brow, they want to see you get humiliated. So... REVIEW ANYWAY!

Xiah-sensei XD