Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or His Dark Materials…but I wish I did…

So here's my Crossover, a bit AU…

Naruto: The Lightning Chronicles
Chapter One
Sasuke and Arnesia

"Sasuke." The swan on Sasuke's shoulder whispered to him, bowing her white head to speak to him, "You're agitated about something, aren't you? Don't try to hide it, I can tell."

"Arnesia," replied Sasuke in a whisper, not turning his head to look and keeping his eyes focused on the person in front. "Arnesia, it's really nothing."

"If it was nothing then I wouldn't feel it would I?" retorted Arnesia quietly, hopping down on the desk in front of Sasuke so she could look him in the eyes to speak to him, "any business of yours is business of mine."

"The Chuunin exams…" replied Sasuke, "I'm worried about them. Happy?"

"No, Sasuke, I'm not happy." Arnesia whispered, "But that's only because you
aren't."

"Fine then." Replied Sasuke. "Let's just sit and hope that Naruto and Kaedra can get some answers on their paper before the time's up."

"I wouldn't expect it." Sighed Arnesia, turning her head to look over at Naruto and Kaedra up front, both clutching their heads, Kaedra changing into a dog and leaping onto the floor to run in circles, "That Kaedra's a dope, you haven't met her."

"But I've met Naruto, and know well enough that he may not be smart enough to figure out what to do." Sasuke whispered, picking up Arnesia and putting her in his lap, Arnesia sighing and putting her head on the desk between Sasuke's arms.

A small whizzing noise made Sasuke look up from the bird he had set down in his lap. A kunai knife had gone flying past Naruto and stuck in the paper of the Shinobi behind him.

"What was that for?!" said the boy, sanding up, his parrot daemon squawking angrily.

"You messed up five times." Said one of the ninja watching for cheaters, "You fail."

"No, no way." Said the kid, looking nervous and upset.

"The two on his team, get out of here." Said the ninja, "Right now."

Two other ninja in the room stood up and all three made their slow way toward the door, a dog, a parrot, and a kiwi following them. "Damn it." Said one.



Sasuke turned his attention back to his teammate, who was looking at Hinata, who was sitting next to him, probably in a pathetic and obvious attempt at cheating. Sasuke sighed.

"This is working well." Said Arnesia, holding up Sasuke's paper to look at it.

"I was going to copy a few more people, but…" Sasuke whispered in Arnesia's ear so no one could hear, "I hit the jackpot with him." He gestured to the ninja in front of him. Arnesia nodded and dropped Sasuke's paper back onto the desk.

"No. 102, stand up." Said one of the watching Ninja, "You fail."

"No. 23, you fail."

"43 and 27, you fail."

"That's 13 teams that have failed." Said Arnesia, looking up at the clock then at Sasuke as another team of Ninja that walked out the door."

"Do you have proof that I cheated 5 times?!" said one of the failed ninja, "Are you watching all-"

Suddenly, one of the watching Ninja leapt up and pinned the ninja against the wall, saying "Listen, among Chuunins we are the elite that were assembled to watch over this exam. We haven't missed anything you've done, you could say that this strength is out proof."

A couple of minutes passed before the proctor looked up and said, "OK, we will now start the tenth question."

"Pfft, about time." Said Arnesia, a scowl on her face from having to wait.

"Now before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question." Said the proctor coldly, half the room looking up in surprise.

"I'll now explain, these are the rules of desperation." The proctor explained, "For this tenth question, you must decide whether you'll take it or not."

Choose whether to take it? Thought Sasuke.

"Choose?!" Sasuke and Arnesia looked over to see a blonde kunouchi with a snarling leopard sitting near to her on the desk, "What if we choose not to?!"

"if you choose not to," said the proctor, "your points will be reduced to zero and you fail! Along with your two teammates."

"What does that mean?!" Sasuke heard someone yell.

"Of course we'll decide to take the question!!" someone else shouted.


Sasuke heard not only murmuring, but screeching, barking, snarling daemons from several places in the room.

"If you choose to take it," the proctor started back up again, "and answer incorrectly, you will never be able to take the Chuunin selection exams again."

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!" Sasuke turned to see the dog kid, Kiba, yelling. His daemon and Akamaru both barking, "There are guys here who have taken the exam before!"

"You guys were unlucky, this year it's my rules." said the proctor, Sasuke just noticing the fox sitting at his feet. Maybe he wasn't telling them the whole truth…

"But I'm giving you a way out." Said the proctor, "Those who aren't confident can choose not to take it and try again next year. Now let's begin, the tenth question."

"Those who wish no to take it," piped up a female voice, the fox trotting up from behind the proctor, "raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

Several numbers were confirmed and failed for the next couple minutes, luckily not Sasuke's team. Arnesia was looking Kaedra in the eye, hoping that her human wouldn't be stupid enough to raise his hand, but he did.

Suddenly, Naruto slapped his hand down on the desk. "Don't underestimate me!" he said, "I will not run! I'll take it, even if I' a genin forever, I'll will myself to becoming Hokage anyway, so I don't care! I am not afraid!"

He wasn't thinking about us at all. Thought Sasuke.

"What guts." Said Arnesia, finishing the thought he had had.

"I'll ask you again, your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit." Said the proctor, his daemon nodding patiently.

"I follow my unbending words." Said Naruto, Kaedra, cat formed, purring at his side, "That's my ninja way."

"Good decisions." Said the proctor, "To everyone still remaining…"

"What could it be?" Arnesia whispered. The entire room seemed to hold it's breath waiting for an answer.

"I congratulate you on passing the first test!" the proctor announced, smiling.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Sasuke turned to see his kunouchi teammate, Sakura and her daemon Arakion speaking this time, "We already pass? What about the tenth question?"

"There never was one." Said the proctor's daemon, smiling, "or you could say that the two choices were 

the tenth question."

"Hey!" said the girl with the leopard daemon from before, "Then what were the first nine questions for! They were pointless!"

"They were not pointless." Said the proctor, "They had already served their intended purpose. To test you individual information gathering ability. That was their purpose. First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. That puts stress on each member not to mess it up for their teammates. Of course the questions on this test were not the types that a mere genin could answer. I'm sure most people came to the conclusion that to score points they'd have to cheat."

"Basically the premise of this test was to cheat." Sasuke said to Arnesia.

"as cheating targets we had two or so of the Chuunin stationed." Said the proctor, "To help you guys out."

"HAHAH!" Sasuke and Arnesia heard Naruto pipe up, "I saw right through that! You'd have to be a moron not to see that!"

He hadn't noticed it himself, either. Thought Sasuke, slightly embarrassed at his teammate's stupidity.

"But those that cheat poorly," said the proctor, "Fail of course."

At this, the proctor removed his headband, the kind that covered your head, to reveal a mess of scars and holes. "Because at times information is more important than life." He said, "and on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it."

"horrible burns, screw holes, scars…" said Arnesia, whispering to Sasuke from her position on his lap with her willowy, graceful voice, "The after effects of torture."