Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its component characters. trademarks, etc. Nor do I own any of the other works that are crossed or referenced in this story, either explicitly or implicitly stated to be such works. This includes, but is not limited to, Avatar, X-men, and Magic the Gathering. This story is the first part in a three story arc involving a multiverse. The entire three part story is hereby known as "The Phoenix".

Chapter 2 - Trials and Tribulations, Part 1

As Iruka and Mizuki moved throughout the room collecting the exams at the end of the test Naruto stretched. He was so used to sitting in a tree or spread out on the grass of the Namikaze compound while studying that spending three hours sitting in place in a chair had been torture for him. A deep rumbling chuckle in the back of his mind told him his partner in pranks was amused by his host's discomfort.

Hey, you try sitting in one place for three hours after sixteen years of running around.

I have kit, or have you forgotten that I'm stuck inside you.

Naruto chuckled, earning him a puzzled look from Hinata. He just winked at her.

Of course not, baka-kitsune. But you at least get to move around a bit. I've been sitting literally in one place. On a very uncomfortable chair I might add.

Bah. Whatever kit. Besides, from what that pineapple haired teacher said, the rest of the exam is all practical. That should be right up your alley.

Naruto suppressed a snicker as he wondered what his new classmates would think when they saw him during the rest of the exam.

"Um, Naruto-kun, why do you have that look on your face?"

Naruto blinked and looked at Hinata, confusion on his face.

"You looked like you were a cat playing with a mouse."

Naruto's face remained blank for a few moments before he chuckled.

"Oh. Haha. It's nothing. I was just contemplating which pra-er, technique I'm going to demonstrate for the ninjutsu portion of the practical, that's all."

Naruto chuckled a little more, scratching the back of his head with one hand.

Hinata just shook her head, blushing imperceptibly. This new boy Naruto was confusing her all up. She decided that she found him a pleasant enigma.

"Now, quiet down everyone. We've got all your exam papers, so Mizuki will take them to be graded while I lead you out to the obstacle course for the second part of the exam."

Most of the chattering around the room settled down as soon as Iruka began talking, but Naruto took stock of those whose attention was elsewhere. He noticed that the pink haired and blond haired kunoichi that had passed him on his way into the building were still glaring at one another, and he noticed that the duckbutt haired emo-teme they had been fighting over was glaring at him. Naruto decided he'd better keep his guard up around him. The Kyuubi agreed.

"Now, if you'll all gather your stuff and follow me, I'll show you to the obstacle course you will be competing on."

With that Iruka gathered a few papers and headed for the exit from the room. As Naruto pushed back his chair and stood up stretching, he watched out the corner of his eye and could see that the emo-teme flashed him a glare before he turned and walked out the room, a posse of kunoichi squeeing and following him out. When the dust cleared Naruto found that Hinata was the only girl left in the room.

"Hmm, well, I'm impressed."

"What?" Hinata asked, confused.

Naruto chuckled and faced her as he turned to head down the stairs and out of the room.

"With you. Unlike every other kunoichi in this class you seem to be more interested in the exam than some emo-teme with a duckbutt hairstyle."

Hinata blanched, turning white as Kiba, who had walked over to join them chuckled and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"What's his deal anyway? He kept glaring at me through the entire exam."

Kiba chuckled as the three headed down the stairs, following Chouji out of the classroom.

"You mean Sasuke Uchiha? His older brother killed his entire clan, slew his parents, but left him alive so he could be tormented by the knowledge."

Kiba snorted loudly.

"But frankly, his tirades about gaining power to defeat his brother have grown tiresome. Any respectable student here just ignores him unless we don't have a choice. He doesn't socialize, and even with that huge mass of girls that follows him everywhere he hasn't shown the slightest interest in any female. I swear, if it weren't for the fact that he hasn't shown any interest in any guy either I'd almost think the emo-teme was gay. Instead, I just think he's an idiot."

The puppy on his head barked.

"Hehe, yeah Akamaru, I think your right. I bet his brother probably-"

"Kiba! How could you say something like that about a fellow student?"

Hinata interjected, her complexion recovered. Kiba blinked at the white eyes suddenly staring him down. Before anyone had a chance to continue Iruka stuck his head around a corner and yelled for the three to hurry up.

As the three hurried down the corridor Naruto turned to his new companion.

"So your name's Kiba huh? I think I met a relative of yours last year. Her name was Hana I think."

Kiba grinned back and Akamaru woofed happily from atop his head.

"Haha, yeah, she's my older sister. She mentioned meeting you as well. Something about you having good taste in women's underclothes I think she said."

THUD

Both boys stopped and looked behind them to see Hinata passed out on the floor of the hallway, blood dribbling from her nose.

Konoha Ninja Academy Obstacle Course

Naruto waited with the other prospective genin as each in turn ran the obstacle course. Some showings were impressive. As much as he hated to admit it the emo-teme had done quite a good job of it. Others, not so much. The pink haired girl from earlier slipped on one of the swinging ropes and landed in a puddle of water, and the blond got tangled in a rope net for a while before she managed to extricate herself and finish the course. When it was finally his turn he crouched at the entrance to the course like some sprinters he had watched compete in one of the cities in the Land of Water during a trip. He had spoken with a few and they had given him some pointers on starting off during races.

Just remember kid, don't show anything you don't want possible enemies to know about. We both know how dangerous this city can be for you, and I don't particularly feel like being returned to the Summon Realm in spirit chains kid.

Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a twist. I'll stick to simple acrobatics, none of the fancy stuff Anko and mom taught me.

Kyuubi just chuckled in his head.

When Iruka called start Naruto launched forward with a burst of speed, bounding down the obstacle course. He quickly sprinted through it, dodging obstacles with a fluid ease and grace, scrambling past others with vulpine speed and grace, not that many of those watching would understand. When he reached the finish line he grinned brightly as Iruka announced he had made the fastest time so far. Again he noticed the emo-teme Sasuke glaring at him, and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him before leaping down from the finish platform

"Oh man Naruto that was wicked. Where'd you learn to move like that? It reminded me of a fox my sister showed me once while we were outside the city on a family trip."

Hinata, standing nearby, noticed Naruto's sudden nervousness and filed it away for future investigation. As she approached the two boys she saw Naruto pet Akamaru and saw the little pup bark happily. She smiled, remembering the first time she had met the little dog too.

Flashback

"Hey everybody, guess what!"

A fifteen year old Kiba burst into the classroom, drawing annoyed looks from a few of the inhabitants, including Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, who were in the middle of one of their frequent heated debates over who would win Sasuke.

Kiba proudly held up his arms, revealing the inquisitive white puppy in them.

"Akamaru is finally old enough for me to take him with me. Isn't that awesome?"

Shikamaru Nara muttered. "Troublesome."

Chouji smiled as he munched on his customary twelve bags of chips.

Hinata stood up and walked over to pet the new puppy, who eagerly sniffed and licked at her hand. Hinata giggled.

"Your so lucky your family is so close to their animals Kiba. My father won't even let me keep a hamster. He feels that keeping animals as pets or companions is beneath us Hyuuga. Sometimes I wish I could just shut him up for once and leave."

Hinata eeped and turned white as she realized what she had just said.

Kiba chuckled.

"Well that's a first from you Hinata. Glad to see you are finally gaining some confidence in yourself."

Hinata's color returned as she smiled.

"Yeah, well, some stuff happened recently at home that made me finally realize I'm not worthless, not that any of my relatives can see otherwise. So I guess I'll just have to make myself the best ninja I can be."

Hinata snickered at the bickering girls as she returned to her seat.

End Flashback

"Hinata. Hey Hinata, you ok?"

Hinata blinked as she found herself face to face with Naruto.

"Whah!?"

Hinata stumbled backward as Naruto and Kiba bent over laughing, slapping each others' backs.

"Man Kiba, Hinata-chan must have been zoned out something bad."

Hinata blinked before getting an annoyed look on her face and stomping towards the two laughing boys.

"That wasn't funny."

Naruto and Kiba laughed as they ran away from the angry kunoichi chasing after them. Iruka just watched and shook his head. Mizuki however was watching the three with a thoughtful look on his face.

Konoha Ninja Academy Target Practice Field

An hour later all the students were lined up at the practice field as Iruka explained the rules of the third part of the exam.

"Ok, now listen up. The next part of the exam is the accuracy exam. You will each be given three kunai, three shurikens, and three senbon. You will attack the target, aiming for the three critical points. Your goal is to be as accurate as possible with your strikes, striking each point with a kunai, shuriken, and a senbon. With that said, Ino Yamanaka, you're up first."

Hinata, Naruto, and Kiba stood near the back of the line and watched as Ino stepped up to the line and paused for a second. Suddenly she shifted position, her hands moving rapidly. Looking at the target all watching could see that she had hit almost perfectly, only one senbon off slightly.

Ino smirked at Sakura. "Try to beat that forehead."

Ino walked out of the way as the next student stepped up and Mizuki reset the target.

As each student stepped up in turn to take their shot Kiba and Naruto chatted.

"So you mean to tell me you actually dared to paint the Hokage Monument? Man Kiba, you've got balls."

Kiba laughed.

"Well when you're raised by two women, you end up needing to do something to get outside attention. Even if it's the wrong sort."

Naruto laughed.

"You don't know the half of it. I may not have painted baka on the Sandaime's forehead, but I've certainly performed my share of pranks. Just ask my mom about it and she'll probably tell you about the time I replaced all the toilet paper in the Namikaze compound with her collection of ninjutsu scrolls."

Hinata just shook her head smiling. She had become good friends with Kiba over the past year, and she was pleased to see that this new guy was getting along so well with him.

Especially since he's so damn cute.

Hinata blushed as Naruto stepped up to the line, taking hold of the proffered weapons. Then, without seeming to move, he launched the weapons at his target. When everyone finished blinking they realized he had hit every spot perfectly. Sasuke glared at him, as did Sakura. Hinata smiled at his continued good showing as Kiba stepped up for his turn, and noticed that Ino was now looking at Naruto with a look of confusion.

Naruto, catching her look, chuckled.

"What is it Ino-chan? Did you think the reason I haven't been in normal classes meant I was remedial or something?"

He chuckled again as Kiba joined him. Hinata missed what was said next as she focused on throwing her own weapons, but when she turned back Ino was watching stunned as Naruto and Kiba walked off laughing.

Huh? I've never seen that particular look on Ino's face before. I wonder what they said to confuse her so.

Hinata chuckled to herself as she passed the stunned kunoichi on her way to follow Kiba and Naruto, who had begun following Iruka towards the practice ring for the fourth part of the exam.

Konoha Ninja Academy Taijutsu Practice Field

Once everyone was gathered in the practice field Iruka split everyone into two groups.

When the students wouldn't quit yapping to each other about how they had done on the previous two portions of the exam he performed a few quick handseals.

"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN AND LISTEN!"

Naruto and Kiba both rubbed at their ears as Iruka's jutsu was dispelled, returning his head and voice to normal.

"Now, as I was trying to say, the fourth part of the exam will involve a one on one taijutsu fight between each of you and Mizuki. The matches will be three minutes each. You may use any taijutsu style or techniques that you know. Kiba Inuzuka, your up first."

Kiba grinned at his companions.

"Well, wish me luck. Mizuki may not be the coolest instructor, but I've seen him practice spar with Iruka, and he knows his stuff."

Kiba turned back to the ring as he and Akamaru entered. Crouching, he awaited Iruka's command to begin.

When it came he lunged forward to assault Mizuki with his family's trademark style.

Naruto turned to Hinata as Kiba and Mizuki went at it.

"So, Kiba tells me that you have some of the best taijutsu of the entire class."

Hinata blushed and smiled faintly.

"Kiba really said that? Well, um, my family's personal style, Jūken, disables the opponent's tenketsu. For years, actually, I felt I was a failure, because I was apparently too nice. But, about a year ago something happened that changed my mind. See, the Hyuuga clan is split into two groups, the main family and the branch Family. My cousin Neji was born to the branch family, but he taught himself the powerful techniques normally taught only to the main family. My father, who never seemed to be proud of me, berated me for allowing a branch member to surpass me before taking Neji under his wing for special instruction. He decreed that I was no longer his heir and began training my younger sister in my place. I'm not sure why, but that jolted me out of my self-doubt. I took a look at my life, and at life outside the Hyuuga compound, and realized that my kindness is only a weakness if I let it interfere with my duties as a ninja, and I realized that I'm not worthless like my father said. So I decided that I would change myself and become the best I could be. A year later, well, I don't even care anymore if my father is proud of me or not. When I grow up I intend to denounce my clan name."

Naruto stared at Hinata, at the determination on her face. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice spoke up.

Damn kit, this girl has fire. Not like those silly civilian girls at that concert last month. I'd keep an eye on her kit.

Whatever baka-kitsune.

But Naruto silently agreed with the fox. Hinata was something else. He smiled and held out his hand to her.

"Well Hinata, that's an admirable goal. I'll be cheering you on."

Naruto winked at her and was rewarded by Hinata blushing.

"Graw, get off me Mizuki!"

Naruto and Hinata both turned back to the ring to see one of their classmates pinned by Mizuki.

"Twelve seconds Ichigo, not very impressive at all. I hate to say it, but you'll probably need to spend another year at the academy."

Ichigo grumbled as he stood up and walked off muttering to himself.

"Ok, next up is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke humphed and stepped into the ring, taking a basic fighting stance. When Iruka called start he remained in place, waiting for Mizuki to make the first move.

Mizuki stepped forward and struck, starting a back and forth match between him and Sasuke.

Naruto grinned, admitting to himself that the emo-teme had some skill.

Sasuke lasted the entire three minutes, only taking one or two good hits from Mizuki. As he walked out of the ring he smirked at Naruto with an arrogant grin as he was surrounded by a crowd of raving fangirls. Hinata was surprised to note that Ino wasn't among them. When she looked around she found her standing on the other side of the ring talking to Chouji.

Huh? I'd have normally expected her to be fighting Sakura or fawning over Sasuke, so what's she doing talking to Chouji?

"Naruto! Your up next."

Hinata blinked and turned to see her new friend step into the ring with Mizuki.

Grinning Naruto took a stance that had him balanced back, his hands held open and in a defensive posture.

"Begin."

End Chapter

AN: So, here's chapter 2. I can't guarantee a daily update rate, but I will update as often as possible. The only time the release of an update will be intentionally delayed is if I'm just not satisfied with the version I've written, or if I've decide to write multiple chapters and complete them all first before uploading. At the start of this project I was unsure of who I was going to team Naruto up with, but as I've been writing I've been thinking about it, and I think I know who the team setups are going to be. Also, to scione, who suggested Anko as love interest for Naruto, that's a good suggestion, but Anko is actually one of the few characters I actually have a relationship planned for.

Next time on "Rising Phoenix", Mizuki cheats, Naruto loses some clothes, and someone loses a gallon of blood from their face.