A/N: Alright, so I've had this chapter sitting around waiting to be checked over for mistakes and small changes...etc...for about two to three days now, figured I should get off my ass and get it ready. I don't know what spurred me to finished this chapter so quickly...but I did it, though I doubt you guys have any complaints over a quicker posting, heh...

Again, thanks to all of you who reviewed. They made previous chapters that much better by pointing out a small mistake here and there.

I'm going to include the larger A/N at the end of this chapter, since I want to address some points in this one. So, here's chapter 3.

Similarities in Opposites

Chapter 3

Uzumaki Naruto felt a wave of nostalgia pass over him as he and his red headed roommate walked the halls of the academy for what might be the last time. The two of them had come a long way in their training to be ninja since their first meeting, and today it would finally pay off. They'd be shinobi of the leaf.

A small smile came to the boy's face at the thoughts of what his future might hold, the excitement it may bring. Naruto knew, though her scowl may not show it, that Tayuya was thinking along the same line of thought he was.

Moments later, the pair could be found in the back corner of the classroom that their year was told to meet in for the testing. Both the red head and the blond took a moment to observe their classmates and possible competition for the first time in what seemed like years.

Uchiha Sasuke was quietly sitting at a desk about half way towards the front, hands folded in front of him, apparently trying as hard as he could to ignore the mass of female students trying to get his attention. This was nothing new, the blue haired boy had always been skilled, but at the same time plagued by a horde of fan girls no matter where he went.

Naruto felt a frown come to his face as he focused his attention on said fan girls currently crowded around the Uchiha. Most of them weren't even able to hold a kunai properly, much less react in a life threatening situation. The blond felt no sympathy for them, as it was their own fault for wasting their time trying to attract Sasuke's attention when they should have been focusing on what they signed up for.

He turned his head away from the mob, towards another quiet character, one Nara Shikamaru. To be honest, Naruto really had no idea what kind of skill the lazy boy possessed, which could mean one of two things. That he was either a very talented ninja, successfully hiding his skills everywhere he went, or that he was just plain lazy. Sighing, Naruto hoped for the boy's sake it was the first one.

Next to the pineapple headed boy was Akimichi Chouji. The blond jinchuuriki didn't really know much about him either, realizing with a start that his outcast-like approach to life might not always be the best way to approach things. He only knew that the boy liked to eat, and got quite mad when someone called him fat.

Shaking his head, Naruto turned next towards Aburame Shino. He could truthfully say that he'd never even heard Shino speak before, much less give away anything that might hint towards his abilities. The blond knew of his bugs of course, as they were the Aburame Clan's specialty, but other than that, he knew next to nothing.

Inuzuka Kiba was one ninja-hopeful that Naruto knew all about, due to his naturally boastful nature. The brown haired boy's taijutsu was something you wouldn't want to face in a fight, and when combined with his partner, Akamaru, it would become all the more fierce. His Gatsuuga was a technique that the jinchuuriki had no intention of facing anytime soon, after seeing what was left of a wooden training post that the dog ninja had used to show off.

The whiskered boy then turned his attention towards one of the of last his classmates, Hyuuga Hinata. From what Naruto knew, she was one of the only two competent kunoichi in the class, Tayuya being the other, while the rest of the girls were just about as good as mindless idiots. Hinata though, un-like most Hyuuga, seemed to lack a massive amount of confidence and arrogance. Naruto had seen her second guess her decisions and movements in the training exercises he actually attended over the years, concluding that if she gained some confidence, she'd be a tough opponent to beat. The Hyuuga's taijutsu style was not to be underestimated, after all.

Naruto nodded to himself, sharing a glance with Tayuya, both coming to an understanding that they had come to nearly the same conclusions about the rest of the class.

Their lack of participation in the class made it hard to accurately guess where everyone's skill level was. Nonetheless, they knew Sasuke and possibly Kiba were not to be taken lightly. If Hinata gained confidence, she would go far. The pair knew too little of Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji to say much, and the rest of the class basically consisted of idiot fan girls, only there to pursue their "precious" Sasuke.

Naruto sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him in his chair, content to relax until Iruka arrived to explain their test. Tayuya silently moved her chair next to his and laid her head down on his shoulder, the boy's arm wrapping lightly around her waist, it was something both had become accustomed to, and even comforted by over the years they lived together.

The two of them didn't have to wait long though, as their chuunin teacher soon entered the room minutes later, causing the pair to return to their previous positions at their table. He laid a pile of papers down on his desk and turned to face his class, which had grown quiet in anticipation.

"Alright everyone, today is the day you've all been waiting for. Konoha'll see some new genin by the end of the day, huh?"

A chorus of answers in the affirmative was all the reply Iruka needed, nodding to himself.

The scarred man held up a hand to quiet the children, and spoke again. "Well, I suppose it's about time I told you what you need to do to pass then, isn't it?" After a brief pause and a look around the class, he continued. "The genin exams are usually decided using a combination of a written test's score and a practical test's score, but this year, that's changing slightly."

Iruka's face took on a solemn look. "I'm not going to lie to you. The amount of genin we've had die on recently underestimated missions has risen to a startling number, so the academy tests have been made more difficult as of this year."

The expected groans that came from the majority of the class did nothing to surprise Iruka, he knew it would be for their own good in the end anyway. Only those that were ready to face becoming a ninja should truly be able to pass the exams.

The chuunin held up his hands for silence again. "Now, this year, we'll put you through a written test again, though it's slightly harder. Any of you who don't pass it, will have to repeat the last year here until you do, or drop out." Iruka felt being blunt was a good approach here...he hoped...

"For those of you that pass the written portion, you'll then be put through a practical exam like the years before, though this one will require you to think on your feet and use your abilities well." The sensei made sure to make eye contact with every one of his pupils here in an attempt to convey the actual seriousness of the situation.

"If you pass both of those tests, you'll be put into a three man squad with a jounin sensei as your instructor. That jounin sensei will give you your final test, and if you pass that, you'll become an official genin of the Leaf." Iruka ended his explaination with a friendly smile, hoping to rid the some of the frowns that his students had on their faces. He knew it wasn't exactly fair to just spring this on them so suddenly, but it was needed. The life of a ninja was not a walk in the park, this was being done to save lives.

Sighing, Iruka continued on. "Well, let's get started then, alright?" He went back to his desk and gathered up the stack of papers he had placed there earlier. "This is the written exam you'll have to pass, I wish you all luck."

With that, he began passing out the papers to the hopeful genin.

Tayuya leaned back in her chair, a content smile on her face. Not only had the instructors finally toughed up around this shit hole of a school, but the test itself was still below the level she and Naruto were at.

The red head chuckled as she looked around the class, it seemed some of the little ass holes in the room were even more stupid than she thought. Tayuya noticed the Nara lazily looking around the room, his test completed, as well as the stoic Aburame. The Akimichi looked a bit nervous, as well as the Inuzuka, but both had finished their tests. The last Uchiha was looking as bored as ever with his test done, while the self-confident Hyuuga kept her eyes glued onto her overturned, completed test.

The girl let out a puff of air after having taken a deep breath, before continuing throughout the class. As she expected, most of Sasuke's fan club was still staring blankly at the papers in front of them, except the pink haired one...she actually seemed to be able to complete it. The red head then turned to the loud mouthed blond that was the pinkie's top rival for "#1 most annoying Sasuke fan girl©", as she and Naruto had dubbed it. The Yamanaka girl was looking just as panicked as the rest of the majority of the Uchiha's fan club.

Tayuya sighed, better to eliminate the idiots now anyway.

The red head finally turned her attention to the blond sitting next to her, who was, as she expected, done with his test and currently looking out a window.

She nodded to herself, happy that her roommate wasn't a complete idiot.

Iruka looked up from his desk, seeing that it was time to collect the tests from the hopeful genin. He stood up and walked to the front of the room, drawing a much larger amount of panicked glances from the class than he did last year.

"Alright everyone, time's up. If you'd head up to the front and turn in your tests, you can take your lunch break. I'll have the tests graded by the time you get back in, and we can continue from there."

The students obeyed, and soon, Iruka was left in the classroom with a fresh stack of tests to grade.

Naruto allowed his dangling leg to swing slightly from his perch on a tree branch outside the academy. He had long since finished his lunch, and Tayuya, who was currently seated on a branch just underneath his, had finished hers as well. Now they were both merely waiting for Iruka to call them back in for their pass or fail grade.

It wasn't Iruka that first disturbed the pair's silence though, rather, it was the lone Uchiha who addressed them from the ground.

"Oi. You two."

The red head and the blond both looked down at him silently acknowledging him to continue.

Sasuke nodded to himself. "You two are more competent that you let on, you've been skipping these pathetic excuses for lessons to train on your own, haven't you?"

Tayuya smirked while Naruto responded for the two of them. "Yeah, though I think you've been doing the same thing eh?"

The blue haired boy nodded. "Our class is the one that gets the worst end of this harder version of the academy tests, the instructors must have made the decision to make them harder sometime in the middle of the year. Meaning that our class got the same lessons as the one before ours, but a much harder test at the end of the year." He paused for a slight breath. "If people like us hadn't trained outside of class, everyone would be failing right now, with what the academy taught this year."

This time, the red head spoke up for the pair in the tree. "So it looks like you're not just some pretty gay ass prodigy with a fan club. You actually have some worth huh?"

Sasuke's stare hardened. "Don't judge me based on those idiots that follow me around all day, if you haven't noticed, they're finally starting to see what being a ninja really means with that test. The hard work it requires. Why do you think all of them are so sullen now...too much to even beg for my attention." The boy finished with a somewhat vindicative smirk, as if finding his fan girls' realizations funny.

Both Naruto and Tayuya nodded, this time the blond speaking for the two. "It's better that they learn the world isn't all fun and games now, rather than a couple seconds before they die."

The Uchiha merely grunted out a reply before silently walking away.

Umino Iruka stood in front of the portion of his class who had passed the written exam, which was admittedly less than he had hoped for.

The man sighed and looked down at the list in front of him. As much as he hated to admit it, the only students that he saw as having even a chance at passing the next exam were Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. The rest of them may have the book smarts, but having the knowledge and using it are two completely different concepts.

The chuunin shook himself of his thoughts. "First off, congratulations for making it through the first exam, I'm extremely proud of all of you." He took a moment to smile at his remaining students. "Now, all of you have to pass a physical exam in order to get an official chance at becoming a genin of Konohagakure. So, I won't keep you waiting, let's head outside."

The brown haired chuunin led his class outdoors to the academy's training field. Numerous weathered training dummies and wooden posts stood around the clearing. Iruka nodded to himself after having walked out into the field a good distance, before turning around.

"Alright, there's actually two parts to this test. One being basic abilities with kunai, shuriken, and the academy jutsu, the other being a basic simulation of something you might face on a mission. We'll be doing the portion with kunai and shuriken first."

He paused for a moment. "First, all of you will be required to throw ten shuriken and ten kunai at targets ranging from ten to twenty yards away, you will have five seconds for the shuriken, and seven seconds for the kunai. Any questions?"

After the chuunin saw no hands being raised, he started the tests. "Right then, Aburame Shino, you'll be first."

Said boy walked to the front of the remaining group of eight students, taking the required amount of throwing weapons in hand.

Just over twelve seconds later, including the short break between the two tests, the boy returned to his place in line, having earned a prefect score.

The process repeated as such, Chouji passed with an above average grade, Sakura failed, being unable to hit the minimum amount of targets required under the pressure of time. The Hyuuga heiress scored a prefect through seemingly practiced ease, Shikamaru passed, though he barely made it under the time limit. Sasuke passed the test easily as well, drawing a collective sigh when he did so from the crowd of females he had drawn by merely stepping outside.

Naruto, after sneering at the idiot girls off to the side, completed the test by actually showing some of the skills he and Tayuya had practiced on their own. Many suggestions that the dead last had cheated were promptly shut down by Iruka, who moved onto Tayuya without even blinking at the protests.

The red head passed just as easily as Naruto did, both of them finding the academy tests far too easy.

Iruka then had the remaining students preform the kawarimi and Bunshin no Jutsu. Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, and Tayuya all passed easily.

The former dolphin anbu sighed after his red haired student finished, mentally adding up the scores of the written and throwing exams for each of his hopeful genin.

Seconds later he had finished. "Alright, congratulations on passing part of the test, you've all done very well. Now there's only one more step to go before you'll be assigned a jounin instructor." The man nodded and smiled at the seven remaining children. "Please follow me to complete the last test."

Without warning, the man dashed out of the training field, heading towards central Konoha.

Naruto and Tayuya barely spared a second glance at their fellow classmates before sprinting after the chuunin, using chakra to enhance their movements beyond the limits an average genin could achieve.

The rest of class seemed to snap out of their stupor at that point, Sasuke, Shino, and Hinata moving after their instructor barely a moment later, followed by a sighing Shikamaru and a somewhat startled Chouji.

Several yards ahead, Naruto and Tayuya were just hitting the tree line that Iruka had disappeared into. The pair could faintly make out his figure jumping through the trees in front of them, realizing that they'd lose him at the pace they were currently traveling at.

Both sped up, pushing more chakra into their movements and taking risks in traveling that they never would have otherwise. Both of them had trained with weights over the years, and were suddenly glad they had decided to leave them at their apartment for the genin test.

At this point they could keep up with Iruka, if only just barely, and the man wasn't actually trying to stay far ahead of his class. They jumped through the trees at a speed most genin would find amazing, but in doing so, created easily recognizable signs of travel on the trees. If the two had paid more attention, they would find that, strangely, Iruka was doing the same thing.

Said chuunin was finally reaching the edge of the small forest they were traveling through, coming upon the actual city that was Konoha. He immediately jumped from a tree onto a nearby building, heading in the general direction of the massive dome that was the Hokage tower.

The man fought back a smile as he jumped across an alley way, onto another building's roof, his students wouldn't have such an easy time following him now that he was out of easily track able territory.

With that thought in mind the man left a tiny, barely noticeable kunai mark on the edge of the roof he was currently traveling on, barely losing any speed with practiced ease before continuing on.

The Sandaime Hokage and the jounin that could possibly become instructors, depending on the students that passed the genin exam, stood around a glowing crystal ball. All of them were currently observing the potential genin go through the last part of their practical test.

Sarutobi nodded, his eyes alight with happiness. "Naruto and Tayuya continue to surprise us. They've both come a long way, considering their pasts." A moment later the old man spoke up again, humor evident in his voice. "Though I had hoped they would actually grasp the meaning of the test...instead of just...keeping up with Iruka."

The jounin in the room let out a few chuckles and nodded as one, all of them somewhat impressed that two academy students had managed to keep Iruka in their sight.

Hatake Kakashi spoke up as the crystal ball changed views, this time showing Sasuke jumping across buildings, Hinata and Shino just a few yards behind. "It seems these three have grasped the meaning behind the test, they're doing well in tracking Iruka, even using the signs Naruto and Tayuya left behind."

There were murmurs of acceptance around the room before the crystal ball trailed back to Chouji and Shikamaru. The former was taking time in tracking down his instructor, causing him to fall behind the rest of his class, while the latter was actually walking on the ground, merely following his childhood friend up in the trees.

A collective grin spread across the room, a scattered amount of chuckling as well. Sarutobi Asuma spoke amidst the mirth. "Doesn't surprise me, those two probably already got together and discussed the meaning behind the test...and I'd bet my next paycheck Shikamaru managed to convince Chouji to take it slowly."

The Hokage smiled. "I believe you're right, but unfortunately, speed still counts in the exam...I'm afraid the two of them will have to wait till next year..."

The mood immediately turned somber at the statement, all of its occupants silently watching the globe.

It was now showing Iruka closing in on the Hokage Tower, within fifty yards of it.

They didn't have to wait long, for seconds later, a slightly winded Iruka came in through an open window, landing neatly in front of the Hokage's desk.

Sarutobi nodded at the chuunin, giving him a small smile in thanks for his efforts, before turning back to the glowing ball. Naruto and Tayuya were now closing in on the tower, both had drawn a kunai and slowed to a more manageable pace.

They watched as the two children made eye contact, slightly nodding, before the red head fell in step behind Naruto.

Not a moment later, said blond darted through the open window, throwing himself into a somersault across the floor. He came to his feet, bracing himself with a foot forward, just as Tayuya came through the window. The girl twisted in midair, repeating Naruto's somersault across the floor, only backwards. She came out of it off balanced, and showed the room why the blond had braced himself.

The red head's back hit the whiskered boy's behind her with a small thud, before they both readied themselves for an attack, only then observing what was in the room.

Once the pair came across their Hokage's amused smile, they relaxed, stowing their weapons back in the pouchs on their thighs.

Iruka, un-noticed by the two students until now, spoke up. "Well done you two, we've got to wait for your classmates before we go any further though, so please make yourselves comfortable."

After the Sandaime nodded his acceptance, the pair sat next to each other against a wall, Tayuya sighing and placing her head on Naruto's shoulder, while the adults turned as one back to the globe on the desk.

Sasuke had steadily been putting some distance between himself and the Hyuuga heiress and Aburame boy, so he was around a second or two ahead of them and within thirty yards of the tower.

The blue haired boy ended up taking a different entrance into the room, lacking the support that Naruto and Tayuya had. He jumped to the window and dropped to the floor immediately in front of it, sliding a foot or two along the wall as to have a solid surface against his back. Like the two before him though, he dropped his guard and stored his weapon when he saw the room's occupants, but before anything else could be said, Shino and Hinata made it through the window.

The two of them landed around a yard or two into the room, nearly yard between them as well. It was at this time that Iruka got a chance to speak again.

"Well done, the three of you. We still have to wait for your remaining two classmates before we continue though, so please make yourselves comfortable."

The newest trio in the room then noticed Naruto and Tayuya sitting slightly off to the side against the wall, the three of them joined their fellow classmates in silence and began to wait.

Nearly five minutes later, Shikamaru climbed up to the window, lazily lowering himself into the room with Chouji landed quietly behind him.

Iruka gave them a comforting smile. "Good job you two, you've managed to track me to this room, however, you were both failed to do so with the necessary speed required for a genin. I'm sorry to say you'll have to take another year at the academy."

Chouji looked down, depressed, while Shikamaru merely sighed out a "troublesome...". The Akamichi looked up moments later though.

"Oi! Shikamaru, you said if the slow approach failed us, you'd buy lunch!" The boy cracked a grin. "I want barbecue."

The Nara sighed again, glaring at the room's occupants like it was their fault he was in this predicament. "Alright alright, let's go...troublesome."

With that, the two left through the window they came in, leaving the room's mood noticeably lighter than what it had been when Iruka informed them of their failure.

After a moment of silence, the Hokage cleared his throat, effectively turning all attention towards him.

"Well then, it is my pleasure to congratulate the five of you on passing Konoha's genin exams! I will discuss the make-up of your teams with Iruka and the other jounin instructors, during that time you are free to do as you wish." He paused briefly before continuing with a nod towards the new genin. "You are dismissed."

A/N: Well, there you have it, chapter 3. Hope it was up to standards...now, before you go off and do whatever it is you're going to do next...read this next part, I want to get everything clear before people get mad that their favorite character didn't pass.

First off, Kiba was a toss up for me, and I ended up having him fail the written exam merely because it fit easier into the plot. Don't worry though, he, Chouji, and Shikamaru will all still play a part in the story, though it's likely not until around the Chuunin Exams.

As for Sakura and Ino, the former was able to pass the written exam easily for obvious reasons...for all her faults, Sakura wasn't stupid when it came to academics. I couldn't see her passing the practical exams though, obviously, so she has to wait. As for Ino, I was thinking along the same lines as Sakura. Both of them were fan girls in the real Naruto-verse, and that hasn't changed here, so she didn't pass either.

Now then, I also want to mention that I'm going to write this in as un-biased as I can, bashing characters is funny to an extent, but it doesn't fit in with the story here.

Finally, the lunch scene in the tree is there for a reason. Usually I wouldn't be writing about this, but I want to get this across now. Sasuke isn't the usually arrogant idiot he is in other stories...which also make him out to be considerably weak. He wasn't top of the class for nothing, the Sasuke in my story still seeks power, but he's not as obsessed with it as I've seen in other stories. Truthfully, I liked his character before Orochimaru got to him with his seal, it was only then that he became truly obsessed with power.

I've droned on long enough, see ya next time.

(Oh, and if I get in trouble for the Copyright symbol in the middle of the chapter for any reasonat all...I'll take out, though I doubt anyone really gives a shit)