Hello dear readers! This story is set in the Chunin exams and as you probably know is based on Gaara and one of my own characters. It will most likely follow through the Chunin exams arc and then skip to a later time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else in this story. Well...unless you count Amaya. I do own her. ;P

All that could be heard at the gates of Konoha were the the soft clack of someone approaching. A girl no older than twelve was walking towards the two guards. Her soft gray eyes analyzed them with a coldness far beyond her years. Black waves swayed softly around her shoulders in the slight wind, contrasting greatly with her snow white porcelain skin. She was adorned in a black shirt that clung to her sides and stopped a few inches above her belly button. Underneath it was black fish net fabric that covered her arms and midriff. A blank ninja headband was wrapped around the upper part of her left arm. Her legs were covered with black knee-length shorts with a small intricate silver design coming up the sides. The lower half of her legs were left bare. A small silver chain holding several random charms was placed around her neck. Her eyes never strayed from the gates and she never faltered in her steps. She came to a halt a few feet away from the guards and reached into the large black bag she wore slung over one shoulder. The guards that stood in front of her visibly tensed, as if expecting her to pull out a weapon. In stead, she pulled out her papers and handed them to the men.

"State your business." The girl looked him in the eye and responded.

"I'm here for the Chunin exams." The guard looked her over before nodding and allowing her to pass in to Konoha.

Unlike the silent outside world, Konoha was busy with people and filled with sound. Her sensei had left her to find Konoha by herself, saying that he had some things to take care of before meeting her there. She scowled. After her sensei left her, she had gotten hopelessly lost and had arrived a day later than she had planned to. She wanted to get settled and become familiar with the village to before the exams started, but now she had wasted her day get comfortable. Knowing her sensei, he was probably already here. If he was, then he had already gotten the apartment that they were to stay in ready, so she didn't have to do that. Now all that was left was getting to know the village and finding her sensei. She looked around and shrugged. Her sensei would find her sooner or later so she might as well have a look around. She entered the main street that ran all the way though the village and was swamped with hundreds of people. She looked up at them from her unusually short stature. The people didn't seem to notice the small black haired ninja. She cursed and tried to maneuver out of peoples' ways. It was proving quite difficult so she took to the trees that surrounded the village. She found it much easier to travel this way.

She continued her trip around Konoha before stopping in the shadows of the large tree she was standing on. Two Suna ninja and a few Leaf ninja had caught her attention. They seemed to be arguing about something. The male Suna ninja with the face paint was holding up a child who, from what she could tell, was training to become a ninja. She frowned and stepped forward, about to intervene when a hand came down on her shoulder. She turned and looked into the eyes of her sensei. He held up a finger to his lips and motioned for her to watch. She turned back around to watch the ninja converse. Suddenly, a dark haired Leaf shinobi interrupted and helped the young trainee. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Save the fighting for the exams, shrimp," her sensei whispered in her ear. She scowled at his nickname for her, and didn't respond.

"I'd watch them. I have a feeling that you will be seeing them again soon" She nodded to him.

"I have to go report your arrival to the Hokage. Catch ya later." He handed her a set of keys and a slip of paper before disappearing. She turned her head back towards the other ninja. She apparently had missed quite a bit during her brief chat with her teacher. Someone new had joined the party. A red haired Suna ninja. She felt chills run up her spine. Killer intent was all she could feel from him. She saw his lips move, but heard no sound. She was overwhelmed with his intense aura. Fear crept into her heart. As the Suna shinobi turned to leave, his mint green eyes met her gray ones. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She saw his eyes narrow at her before the three of them left. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. He looked straight at her. There was no way he heard her sensei speak to her. They were too quiet and her chakra was perfectly hidden. How did he notice her? It took a few moments for her to recover from the red head's glare. One thing stayed in her mind as she turned to leave the area. "Sabaku no Gaara." The name would haunt her.

Her feet made only slight noise as she jumped through the trees. She studied the sheet of paper her sensei had given her. Street directions? I guess that meant that he wanted her to head to the apartment. She read over the instructions once more before putting up the paper. She headed west to her destination.

Her feet slowed to a stop in front of a tall building. She looked at it for a moment and then continued inside. She walked up a set of stairs to get to the correct floor. She was in apartment 41 if she was correct. She walked up to her door and inserted the key before entering. It was a spacious two bed apartment with a living room and kitchen. The bedrooms were located on the second floor of the room. Her sensei had already moved into one of the rooms and she was expected to take the other. It was plenty big enough for the two of them. After all, she didn't have any team mates. Nor did she have a village she belonged to. It had always been just her and her sensei. No one else to back them up. Just them. Who knows, maybe she would make some friends here. She shook her head at the thought. No. She would stick to the shadows as per usual. She sighed and set her bag down on the cream colored bed. A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Her soft voice echoed slightly in the silent room. Her sensei came in with a somewhat guilty look on his face.

"I spoke with the Hokage."

"How did it go? Any complications?" she asked with her eyebrow risen.

"No, not really at least," he looked at her again with that same expressions.

"Out with it already, Mamoru-sensei."

"As you know, it is only because I am a friend of the Hokage that you are able to compete in the Chunin exams. You aren't actually from any village after all." She nodded for him to continue.

"You need a team," he spoke quickly, "It is a requirement that I can't work around. Since most of the missions you take on are from the Leaf, the Hokage has recommended a team that needs another member. You only have to join them for this and you won't have to stay with them after wards. This temporary arrangement is only so everyone is able to participate in the exams." He slowed to a stop and gauged her reaction. She opened her mouth, but then closed it once more, seeming unable to find the words she was looking for. She hesitated a moment longer before speaking.

"...I suppose, if I must." A grin spread across his face.

"Then meet your new team mates!" He gestured to the door. She watched as two tall males walked through the door. One had bright spiky orange hair and mischievous blue eyes. A Cheshire grin was spread across his face. His skin was lightly tanned and he had lean muscles. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves cut off and black knee-length baggy pants. He wore a dark blue jacket that matched his eye color perfectly over his shirt. His arms were back behind his head in a lazy manor.

The other seemed like the opposite of the first. He had smoothed down black hair that hung over one eye and striking green eyes. His skin was pale and she imagined it to be cold to the touch. Part of his face was covered by his high-collared black coat. His pants were also black. His face was impassive if not a little cold , though his eyes were softened. Both men seemed to be at least a year or so older than herself and quite a bit taller too.

"Well introduce yourselves!" her sensei spoke. The orange haired male spoke first.

"I'm Hikaru, at your service!" He offered her a large grin. She frowned at him in return.

"Yuki." The other nodded. She looked them over critically, and didn't respond.

"Well? Introduce yourself, shrimp!" her sensei barked. She sent a glare at him for the nickname.

"Amaya Kiroko." she said stiffly.

"Well Amaya, I'm glad that you have decided to join our team! Even if you are a little young." She glared at her spiky headed teammate. He continued to smile at her, unperturbed.

"Whatever," was her annoyed retort.

"I think it's about time for you guys to go get registered," Mamoru said. Amaya nodded to him and proceeded to leave the apartment with her teammates in tow. As soon as her feet touched the pavement outside, she took off. She wasn't in a hurry but she did want to test her teammates' skills. She started at an average pace and the boys easily kept up with her. She smirked slightly. 'Well, lets see how they do.' She sped up at an alarming rate as she jumped through the trees. Her dark haired partner had no trouble matching her speed, but the same could not be said for the other. He was sweating and panting slightly. So speed was not his strong suit. She glanced at Yuki who was looking at her with his eyebrows pulled together. He was trying to figure out what she was doing. She avoided his intense gaze by speeding up again. Once again, he caught up, though this time it was with slight difficulty. She saw their destination quickly approaching and slowed to a stop. The other two came to a stop as well. Hikaru was panting and sweating. Yuki seemed fine. She glanced back at the two boys before continuing on towards the building.

"Hey! Pipsqueak, what the hell was that?" the orange haired male growled at her. Her eyebrow twitched, and even though she knew he was talking to her, she refused to answer to that ridiculous name. She stiffened when he grabbed her arm.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" She turned to glare at the man and found a glare of his own trained on her.

"I have a name." He ignored her.

"What was that? You can't just leave your teammates in the dust! Are we a team or aren't we? We have to stick together!" he growled at her. She lifted her head in defiance and glared at him. She turned and tried to walk away, but he yanked her back.

"I asked you a question! Are we a team or not?"

"Hikaru," Yuki let out the warning sharply.

"No, she needs to answer this question or registering is pointless!" Yuki went to remove Hikaru's hand, but Amaya's cold voice made him hesitate.

"Isn't a team supposed to know everyone's weaknesses and strengths?" her voice was sharp, "I was checking your ability to run. I was curious. Now, release me."

"You didn't answer my question."

"That question depends entirely on you. I need a team to participate in this exam. Whether or not you agree to help me is up to you. I don't have much of a choice," she spoke with an annoyed frown. This wasn't working well at all. Hikaru scoffed and let the girl's arm go. Her cold gray eyes glared into his sapphire ones and sparks passed between them. Yuki sighed at their childish behavior.

"Let's go," Yuki said grabbing Hikaru's ear and dragging him away from the short girl.

"Ow! Oi! Yuki, lemme go!" Amaya sighed and followed after them.

They stopped and watched the large crowd of ninja yelling at the two men blocking the door they supposedly needed to enter.

"What's going on?" Hikaru asked her in a whisper. She shrugged and continued watching. The entire team tensed as one of the men punched a female ninja who had tried to get through. Mumbled words and shouts went through out the group at how harsh they were being. One of the men was responding, but Amaya got distracted by the tingle of breathe that tickled her ear.

"Tell me, what floor are we on?" Yuki whispered.

"Three..?"she responded hesitantly, looking at the sign above the door that read '301'.

"Really? How many flights of stairs did we go up?" She thought back to their trip and realized that they had only gone up to the second floor.

"Genjutsu?" she whispered. He smirked and tugged she and Hikaru away from the crowd.

"Shouldn't we help the rest of them?" Hikaru asked.

"I think those three will save us the trouble," Yuki said nodding to the group known as team 7. Amaya became rigid as she spotted the team. 'They're participating? Does that mean he's here too?' Her eyes scanned the crowd looking for a splash of red, but she found nothing even similar to the crimson color she was looking for. A tug came from her arm and she jumped. Yuki looked down at her with a worried frown.

"You alright?" She nodded her eyes still focused on the crowd. A hand landed softly on her head.

"Let's go." Hikaru smiled lightly at her, and she nodded at him with her own small smile. They left to go to the next floor.

Amaya and company sat amongst the crowd with blank looks on their faces. Their eyes shifted to the door as another group entered the room. Amaya's body went rigid once more as team 7 came through. She felt a warm hand sit on her head as Hikaru had noticed her tense form. She looked up at him, but found his eyes trained on the nine rookies who happened to be making quite the scene. She watched the group with analytical eyes, addressing their possible strengths and weaknesses. It was always good to have some information on your enemies. She was snapped back into focus when suddenly everyone's eyes turned to her. As her ears finally decided to start working again, she heard the last bits of one of the rookies' sentences.

"-are you doing, Akamaru?" A small bark made her turn towards the ground in front of her. There, a small cream- colored dog sat. 'So much for not drawing attention to myself.' She sighed and bent down to pet the dog. It wagged it's tail happily anda small smile made it's way onto her face. She picked up the strange animal and cradled it in her arms. Slowly she walked her way towards the ninja with his hood up, and held out the dog for him.

"I believe he is yours," she gestured to the dog, "Sorry, I seem to have a habit of attracting certain animals." She graced him with a nervous smile and bowed apologeticly. She turned to leave, but the male's voice rang out.

"Who are you?" She frowned at his rudeness, but turned back towards him anyway.

"Amaya Kiroko." She rose an eyebrow at him.

"Kiba Inuzuka." He grinned wolfishly at her, and she gave a polite smile back before returning to her team. She felt the eyes leave her form, and let out a sigh of relief.

"So behind those dark clothes and cold face, you're really just an adorable animal-lover. Who woulda thought?" Amaya huffed and elbowed Hikaru in the side.

"Shut up, I am not!" Hikaru laughed and she smiled slightly at her teammate.

"So much for lying low," Yuki stated.

"Yeah, but at least the rookies are making more of a show than us, besides, Amaya's cuteness probably made everyone underestimate us. We can use that to our advantage." Hikaru said with a smirk.

"I'm not cute!" she protested with a pout.

"Uh-huh, sure." She went to comment again, but a voice made her blood run cold.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Her head swiveled to the Uchiha who had stated the name. She listened intently to the conversation that was going on. What information did this man have on that killer-intent filled man? She watched as the gray haired man pulled out a card.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Mission experience: eight C ranks and get this, one B rank as a genin! There's not a lot on this guy, but rumor has it, that he came back from all his missions without even a scratch!" She took a sharp intake of breath. She knew this was someone to look out for. Call it instinct, but she knew that something was weird about him.

She tuned the conversation out as soon as it shifted topics. She turned her attention back to her teammates. They stared at her with worry clear in their eyes.

"What was that about?" Hikaru asked. She shook her head lightly and explained the confrontation between team 7 and the Suna ninja that she witnessed.

"What do you mean 'killer-intent'?" Yuki asked lightly. She blushed.

"Just trust me. I...I know these things." Her teammates exchanged a glance and looked at her with confused gazes. They didn't like her vague answer, but didn't press the small girl either. She sighed in relief. They would find out her secret sooner or later, but for now they didn't need to know.

She glanced up just in time to see a sound ninja attack the man known as Kabuto. Her tensed body relaxed as he dodged the attack, but gasped as his glasses broke and he fell to his knees.

"What? But, I watched him dodge the attack?" The ending of her sentence became an unintentional question.

"There was more to that attack than just the punch," Yuki supplied. She nodded and watched as multiple ninja appeared in a puff of smoke. She looked the over and smirked. So, the exams have finally begun.

Well, how was it? I know I'm terrible at beginning stories, but it will get better I promise! For those of you who are following my other stories and going 'But you haven't updated the other story!' Thank my overactive brain. The idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave. -.- So, I wrote, and wrote, and wrote until this thing came up. Sorry! ^_^; Thanks for reading!

~Wolflover