Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters; only the OCs that appear in the story.

A.N: I'm in the process of finding a Beta Reader, so be patient. If you are a beta reader and you'd like to help me improve my writing i'd be so grateful! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than I wanted, but once I get the hang of writing again i'll be sure to do longer chapters.

"Arisa. Hey, wake up." the brunette stirred in her sleep, trying not to let the girl wake her up. She knew that her sister was the one trying to wake her for the daily squad meeting, but she didn't want to wake up just yet. She managed to drift soundly off into a comfortable sleep once again, however, it didn't last too long.

She felt a firm hand smack her across the face and immediately opened her eyes, meeting Saeko's same brown-eyed gaze. "Hey, what the-?" Arisa stopped in the middle of her sentence when the her sibling made her way to the door.

"We need to leave. Hurry up and get ready." the door closed behind her, leaving the brunette alone again. Knowing she'd get a lot more than a slap in the face for not getting up now, the girl climbed out of bed and stretched her tense arm muscles.

It only took the girl about ten minutes before she was ready to go, which was record time for her. She stepped into the kitchen and made herself a breakfast bagel, waiting for her sister to come out so they could leave.

She looked around the house, seeing that it was unsually quiet. 'Mother and Father must have left to run errands or something.' the brunette through to herself, shrugging. She didn't mind them being gone for a few hours.

Her mother was always babbling nervously about something, which gave Arisa a headache sometimes. Her Father, Kane, was an entirely different from her, in all respects. The man raised his family in a strict enviroment. He didn't like mediocraty one bit; he liked promise and progress in all fields. To him, failure was never an option.

'What's taking Saeko so long? She was the one rushing me a few minutes ago!' she said to herself, letting her thoughts drift back to her twin sister.

As if on cue, the brown-haired girl stepped out of her room and glaced over at her. "So, are you ready to get going now?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's get going." she replied after finishing her breakfast, making sure she had everything she needed. With that, the two girls left their house and started walking through the village and to the training grounds.

Somewhere else in the village, two members of Team 7 were standing at the usual meeting spot, patiently awaiting their third member and squad leader.

"Naruto'd better hurry or he's gonna be late!" Sakura thought silently to herself, only a bit irritated. She heard footsteps thudding quickly on the wooden bridge, and looked up in time to find Naruto running in her direction.

"Heya, good morning Sakura!" he chirped, but his cheerful expression was replaced by one of annoyance when he noticed his other teammate. The two boys made eye contact for a moment before they both huffed and looked away, causing the young girl in between them to sigh in defeat.

She knew that the two boys acted foul toward each other, but she had noticed that it was getting worse. Ever since they completed their mission of guarding Tazuna, the bridge builder in the land of waves, their attitudes toward each other had only gotten worse.

They lazed around on that bridge for a good two hours before their teacher had shown up. He perched on one of the bridge arches and smiled underneath his mask. "Sorry I'm late guys, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life." he greeted, causing Sakura and Naruto to yell out in annoyance.

He made his way down to meet his students, and the hyperactive blonde wasted no time. "Sensei, I'm ready for the next mission! And hey, no more of this dumb beginner stuff, okay!? I want a chance to prove myself, a mission where I can show what I'm made of!" he exclaimed loudly, and Kakashi stepped back a bit.

"Um, I get it Naruto, that's great. Now, why don't you take it easy?" the blonde didn't answer, but turned around to look at the young Uchiha boy again. His calm onyx gaze only fueled the fire within, making him even more irate.

"Just let us know when you've stopped fantasizing, so we can get to the mission." Kakashi reminded him, snapping him out of his thought process.

"Gosh Naruto, can you not be so annoying for once?!" Sakura complained, irritated with her teammates behavior. The young blonde just scratched the back of his head with a dumb grin on his face. Then, they were briefed about their missions.

Their first mission was simple weed pulling, but Naruto managed so screw something up, just as he always did. He received a savage beating from the client, walking away pretty bruised. Next mission was cleaning up garbage in a stream, which featured another one of Naruto's famous screw-ups.

The third and final mission was dog walking, which seemed simple enough for even the blonde to manage. However, Naruto decided that he could handle the largest dog. Unfortunately for him, the dog had pulled him straight through a minefield.

They finished their work for the day and made it back to the village dragging Naruto with them. He was bruised and scratched up pretty badly from the poor choices he made during the missions.

"You're hopeless, Naruto!" the pink haired kunoichi scolded as she used her weight to support him.

"Geez, you really are just one big problem." this comment from the Uchiha fired Naruto up once again. He cocked his fist, but stopped when Sakura threatened him.

"I guess we aren't making a lot of progress on the teamwork thing, are we?" Kakashi muttered with a sigh.

"You're damn right! Our teamwork is all messed up and it's all because of you, Sasuke! You think you're better than everyone else?!" he screamed, and the raven haired boy didn't bother to turn around.

"Not everyone, just you. Face it," he turned to face the blonde boy, glaring. "I'm better and stronger than you are. It's a fact, unless you have a way to disprove it." there were a few moments of silence and hostile glares before the Jounin sighed and stopped his team.

"Alright guys, let's call it a day, shall we? You can beat each other to a pulp some other time." Kakashi suggested, closing his book. "Anyways, I have to file my report on this mission."

"Fine by me, I'm going home." and with that, Sasuke turned and started walking away again. Sakura, as boy-crazy as ever, chased after him until she finally caught up.

"So, Sasuke, I was thinking we'd do something more personal. You know, to work on our team work and all." the Uchiha let out an irritated sigh.

"I swear, you're just like Naruto. Instead of flirting why don't you practice so you can help the team." he started to walk away, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Let's face it, you're actually worse than Naruto."

Those words reverberated in Sakura's mind, and she felt as if a huge weight had been dropped onto her shoulders. 'I'm... worse than Naruto?' she thought to herself sadly.

The training session that Arisa's squad endured for the day was rigorous, starting with weapons and jutsu use, and ending with an intense sparring match between the three Genin. "Good work today, you three." their squad leader, _, commented.

"I think i'm gonna die." Kyo wheezed, sitting down under the shade of a nearby tree.

"Quit being dramatic, kid. You'll live." Arisa said, earning a glare from the younger boy. She always liked to remind the boy that he was younger than the sisters, and he always hated it.

"Don't call me kid!" he complained, crossing his arms and huffing.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings," she started, using his head as a rest for her arm. "Squirt?"

"Alright, that's enough. Before I dismiss you guys for the day, there's something i'd like to tell you." the squad leader informed them.

"What is it?" Arisa asked, curious about what their teacher had in store for them. He pulled out three application forms and passed them out.

"I've reccomended all three of you for the Chunin exams. They start five days from today." he explained.

"Didn't we take those last year?" Arisa asked, and the black haired man nodded.

"Yeah, but this year you may have a better chance of becoming Chunin." he answered, looking over at all three of his Genin. He told them when and where to turn in the application forms before dismissing the three for the day.

The three teens got back to the village and took their time walking around. It was still mid afternoon, so they had time to kill. "So, are you going to do the exams this year?" Saeko asked her blonde teammate, and he nodded confidently.

"I know you guys are, right?"

"Gonna need a lot of last minute training, but yeah."

"We should get home and rest. We can meet tomorrow and get some training in." Saeko suggested, and both of her teammates nodded in agreement. The twins said goodbye to their blonde teammate, before walking back in the direction of their house.

~Exam Day~

"It's a tough crowd this year, huh?" Arisa asked her teammates quietly, and Kyo nodded.

"You've got that right!" he agreed, leaning against the wall.

"It's definitely not going to be anything like last year." she observed, then shot a serious look at her teammates. "Don't screw this up." the brunette warned, and her twin sister sighed. She was always on edge during these exams, and Arisa knew exactly why.

It was their father and how hard he was on them. 'Failure is not an option' seemed to be his favorite phrase, because the two girls heard it all the time. They couldn't afford to fail the exams a second time, God only knows what their father would do if they did. She felt bad for her sister, because she knew exactly how it feels to have all that pressure on her.

Arisa's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a commotion to her left. She glanced over to see a group of Genin standing in front of the door. She recognized the two rookie squads right away, and sighed. Sakura from Team 7 and Ino from Team 10 were at it again, fighting over Sasuke Uchiha.

"Leave Sasuke alone, Ino-Pig!" the pink haired Genin screamed, and Ino just smirked, keeping her grip on the Uchiha. They threw insults at each other for a good minute or so, before Shikamaru came along.

:Oh, it's you guys. Lame." He complained, and Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sleepy looking boy.

"Oh look, the Idiot Trio's all together." the blonde mocked.

"Hey you know what-" he looked like he was about to hit the boy, but crossed his arms instead. "Forget it, you're a waste of my time."

All of Arisa's group were just standing there, watching the Rookie Genin stand off against each other. By this time, the third and final rookie team had joined the others. Her team found it much more entertaining to watch all nine rookie Genin going at it than socializing.

"Hey, you guys! You should probably keep it down a little." a new voice called, and the group of rookies watched a boy dressed in purple making his way to them. "You guys are the nine rookies that just got out of the Academy, aren't you? You really shouldn't be drawing attention to yourselves." he informed the group, and Ino glared at him.

"Well who asked you?! We don't even know who you are." she demanded, and he pushed his glasses back into their proper place.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really, take a look around you. You've made quite the impression." he guestured to his right, and all of the rookies looked over to see hundreds of tough looking Genin glaring at them from across the room. Some look geniunely pissed off and some just looked irritated by the commotion.

"The Exams make everyone tense. It'd be best to not get on their bad sides." he continued, then smiled. "Of course, it's your first year so you couldnt have known." He explained.

"Wait, Kabuto?" Sakura spoke up and he nodded, signalling for her to continue. "It isn't your first time taking these exams, is it?" he looked a bit embarassed, scratching the back of his head.

"No, it's... my seventh." He muttered, almost hoping that no one would hear him. Knowing that the kid was an expert on the Exam, they started asking him all sort of questions. He started showing off cards that apparently held all of the competition's information. Arisa's team was definitely interested, but they decided to stay out of the spotlight for now.

A few minutes passed and Naruto stood up in front of everybody and started yelling things. "My name is Naruto Uuzumaki! I'm going to beat every one of you, remember that!" I facepalmed as he finished his sentence. She may be friends with the rookie, but he could definitely be an idiot sometimes.

"They're gonna kill the kid." Kyo muttered, and the sister had to agree with him. The brunette girl's pet kitten sat perched on her shoulder, meowing to get her owner's attention. She smiled a bit and reached up to scratch behind her ear. The team looked over at the competition. Everyone looked even angrier than they were before. If things continue like this he won't survive even the first exam.

Arisa sat at her assigned seat nervously tapping the eraser of her pencil on the table. Sure she's taken this exam once before so she knows what to expect, but she still gets stressed out by written exams. They never were something she was very good at.

She glanced over at the seventh year Genin, Kabuto. He looked pretty sick, but that was to be expected after what'd just gone down. He offended the Sound Village ninja somehow when he was showing off his Ninja Info Cards, and they attacked him.

"Everyone, eyes front! I'm not repeating these rules again or answering questions, so pay attention!" his deep voice boomed, echoing off the walls of the dead silent classroom. He started scribbling rules down and explaining them so everyone in the room had a clear understanding of what was expected.

Once the rules were explained, Ibiki, the proctor, declared that the test had started. Saeko glanced around her, seeing that only a handful of people knew what they were doing. Sakura seemed to be having no problem with a few of the problem, which was surprising to her.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't doing nearly as well as his pink-haired teammate. He'd been frozen up since the test had started, just reading the problems over and over with a confused look on his face. She didn't think that the young blonde had a chance in hell at passing this exam.

Done observing the competition, she read through the problems on her paper and tapped her fingernails rhythmically on the wooden table.

"I'm almost certain these are the same tests as last year's.'' she observed, a smirk appearing on her lips. She could remember the answers to one or two of them, which was fortunate for her. She scribbled in the answers to the first two questions with no problem. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

Arisa scratched the back of her head nervously as she read through the questions one more time. This was definitely last year's test, but that didn't really help her considering she couldn't remember a single answer. ''Damn, guess I need to find my answers elsewhere...' she thought. She looked around subtly, searching for someone who might have trustworthy answers.

Bingo. The man to her right was obviously a worthy candidate, she just knew it. Before she had the chance to get the answers, she heard one of the sentinels speak. "Number 23, fail!" Turns out it was a boy two rows in front of her who'd gotten caught the five times. He and his team were escorted out of the test room, but more were following.

"Number 53 and 9, fail!"

"Number 35 and 62, fail!" this went on until more than thirteen teams were escorted out of the classroom. "Is every person here an idiot? Jeez." Arisa facepalmed.

"Excuse me!" the sentinel closest to him glanced over at Kankuro, the boy who raised his hand. "Can I use the bathroom?" he asked. grinning innocently.

Next thing he knew, the sentinel had slapped a pair of cuffs onto his wrists that were attached by a rope. "We go with you. To make sure you aren't up to no good."

"That's completely understandable." he said smugly, following the man out of the room. Something seemed strange about that sentinel, though Arisa couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"Before I give you the tenth question, there are some more rules you need to be aware of." Ibiki started, but paused when Kankuro and the sentinel finally returned to the room. "Ah, just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom to be... enlightening." he commented, a knowledgable smirk on his face.

The Sand ninja hesitated a moment before walking to his seat, dropping something onto his older sister's desk as he passed by.

"These rules are unique to question ten, so listen up. But try not to let them frighten you." he kept his serious composure and surveyed the Genin in the room. "Each of you is free to chose whether or not you want to take the tenth question. It's your decision."

"Woah, hold on! So what's the catch? What if we decide we don't want to take the final question?!" Temari spoke up, asking exactly what was on everyone's minds.

"If you choose to not take the tenth question, you'll get a 0 on all nine questions. In other words, you fail!" the Genin immediately started chattering amonst themselves about the new rule. "You didn't let me finish." Ibiki stated, and Sakura let out an irritated sigh.

"Just get to it already!" she thought, anxious to get this test over with.

"If you choose to take it and answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, but you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exams ever again."