Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will...I only own my OC.
By the way, I'm sorry! I have no other excuse other than writer's block and finals! I'm still working on the next chapter, but it's almost done. Thank you for sticking around!
"Speaking" Thoughts Flashback Summon/Demon talking
Asami's House
Asami woke up to her alarm bleeping and slowly got up as she yawned. She stretched a bit before getting out and stumbled to the bathroom across the hallway. No one was awake yet since civilian school was closed for the day and the Academy started at eight. Her father was sleeping in for the day from his job.
As she washed up and got dressed in her usual outfit, she glanced at the calendar hanging on her white walls. She felt nervous and excited all at the same time. She looked in the mirror and saw her mother's earrings. They were absolutely precious to her and she loved it because it reminded her if her mother. When she gave her necklace away, she felt bare but over time, she had gotten used to it. Today was the Chuunin Exams and she was worried that she would lose them or someone would try to steal them. Should I leave them on or should I take them off? She fingered them and felt warmth from them and decided to leave them on. She loved her mother and trusted her words that these would protect her. From what, she didn't know but she would keep then on for today as a good luck charm. She had a strange feeling about the day ahead of her. I hope it's a good feeling okaa-san. She grabbed and strapped her kunai and shuriken bag on and went to get a quick breakfast along with some extra supplies. Can't be too sure about what might happen today. Best to be prepared. Once finished, she glanced once more at the clock in her kitchen and walked out with a silent good-bye. She didn't want anyone to wake up after all. As she headed to the Academy with her paper, she looked around at Konoha. It was a great village and she truly loved it despite how it treated Naruto at times. She approached her teammates and waved. "Ohayo minna!"
"Ohayo Asami-chan!" Sakura replied to her friend. She was in a great mood. Last night, she confronted her parents about their attitude towards Naruto and quickly got them to apologize and see things her way. She was ready for the exams and had faith in all of her teammates.
Sasuke nodded his greeting as Naruto rushed over to them. "Sorry I'm late! I kinda overslept...again hehehe," Naruto apologized and rubbed the back of his head with a small smile. "Whatever you say dobe, let's just get going," Sasuke interrupted with a smirk. Naruto grinned and the four walked inside of the building with confidence. Inside, they stopped as they saw a large group of genins waiting in front of doors on the second floor. Sakura raised an eyebrow as she whispered to her teammates, "There's a genjutsu on this floor that makes it seem like you're on the third floor, but we're only on the second." Sasuke nodded, "Let's go to the real room then," he grabbed Naruto who was about to yell out the truth, "And shut it dobe. Let them weed out those that don't deserve to take the exam since they fell to a simple genjutsu." Naruto looked defiantly at his friend. It was wrong to him, not telling everyone the truth. He saw the logic behind Sasuke's words, but it still felt wrong to him. Asami saw her friend battle with himself and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know it doesn't seem right Naruto, but remember, we're not samurai. We don't have a code of morals like them. We are shinobi. We work in the shadows. We lie, kill, and deceive to succeed in our missions. Let this be a reminder for them to look at their surroundings and notice that they were in a genjutsu. I know you know that some people learn best from experience, so let them learn it." Naruto looked at his friends and sighed in defeat before nodding and heading up to the next floor. Sorry guys, but I guess this will just have to be a lesson for you.
They passed another genin group and immediately, the atmosphere became tense. "Hakumei. Uzumaki." The blonde and red head looked at the boy with coldness, "Neji-san," Asami greeted similarly. The Hyuuga's white eyes narrowed at the girl but stopped when he saw the Uchiha. "Uchiha." Sasuke heard the contempt in the Hyuuga's voice and at his greeting towards his friends. Yes, he had decided that his teammates were now his friends after the Ichiraku Speech. "Hyuuga," he replied in the same tone. Neji was about to comment how the last girl wasn't worth his time when he felt his teammates catch up from behind. "Neji-san! There you are! TenTen-san and I have been-" the boy paused as he saw what he considered to be a goddess. A goddess?! That beautiful pink hair like the youthful sakura trees in spring and those youthful green eyes that remind me of Gai-sensei's youthful clothing! She is like a youthful lotus blossom in spring! Little did he know, what he had been thinking had came out of his mouth and Sakura immediately blushed at the first sentence before she noticed how he was dressed and as the boy continued, she started to pale as she noticed his large, bushy eyebrows and green spandex suit. Asami and Naruto sweatdropped at the boys proclaimstion of love that quickly followed.
"Um, I-I," Sakura began as she internally panicked. What do I do?! Unfortunately, she looked at Sasuke and the boy called Rock Lee had the wrong idea as he soon challenged Sasuke to a battle of love. Sasuke raised his eyebrows and accepted despite Assmi's protest. Naruto was confused at why Bushy-Brows was challenging Sasuke, but he was currently engaged in a staring contest with Hinata's cousin. They had met once and both he and Asami disliked the way he treated Hinata. Asami didn't want them to fight for one reason. Lee was older and had more experience than Sasuke. Sure Sasuke was skilled, but she noticed the bandages wrapped around his arms and knew that he was a taijutsu specialist. Sasuke only engaged in taijutsu spars with Naruto or Kakashi-sensei and both weren't taijutsu specialists. She sighed and hoped that everything would be okay and decided to comfort Sakura who was still in shock.
Asami winced every time Sasuke was hit by Lee and hoped that nothing was to seriously hurt that Sakura couldn't fix. She gasped as Lee kicked her teammate into the air and shouted out, "Kage Buyō!" and was about to kick him the the stomach when a loud shout of "Dynamic Entry!" was heard and a flash of green was hurled at Lee and a loud smack was heard. The members of Team Seven caught their falling teammate and Sakura went into what they called "medic mode" where she took no nonsense from anyone and threatened to pummel the injured if they didn't listen or the people that interrupted her. "You alright Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked as Sakura quickly healed any damage she found. Sasuke rolled his eyes which turned back from its Sharingan state as he replied, "I'm fine. I just didn't see that coming-"
"Save it you Baka!" Sakura interrupted as she worked and glared at him, "Fine?! As if! Damn it Sasuke-kun you could've gotten critically injured! And if that happened, we wouldn't be able to take the Chuunin Exams!" Despite their initial shock at their polite teammate calling her crush a name and swearing, Sasuke recovered first, "You don't need the entire team to enter, so even if I was critically injured, you could all-"
"No we wouldn't Sasuke," Asami interrupted, "We're a team so if you don't go, none of us go." Naruto smiled, "She's right teme. Whether you like it or not, we're going to stay by your side. Plus how can I show off my awesome skills if you're not there?" He added as his smile turned into a smirk. Sasuke scoffed and smiled at his teammates. "Fine, you guys win, happy?" He took Naruto's offered hand and grinned, "You know it dattebayo!"
As they approached the classroom, they met Kakashi who eye-smiled at them. "Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"What? I can't wish you all good luck?" The genin smiled and rolled their eyes as their jounin sensei pretended to be hurt. A chuckle left the jounin's mouth as he patted all of their heads. "I knew you four could do it, good luck on this. Don't worry if you fail to become a Chuunin. Not everyone becomes one on their first try."
A grin was his reply from all four genin. "Well then," Asami started.
Sakura interrupted, "I guess we'll just-"
"Prove to everyone that," Sasuke continued with a smirk.
"We'll all pass together!" Naruto finished with the largest grin. Kakashi stood in shock before chuckling and leaving them with one last pat on their heads. The four looked at each other and nodded as they entered. They were met with genins all over the room and greeted the familiar faces with smiles. Kiba was the first to approach them with Akamaru in his coat. "Hey Naruto! What are you doing here? This isn't a place for dead lasts!"
Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled, "Hey Kiba! You know I could say the same for you right?" The boy grinned and grabbed his Academy friend in a one-arm hug. "Meh, details, details! So how have you've been! We haven't seen you any of you since the genin mock battle!" Naruto shrugged, "We've been here and there." The blonde paused and grinned, "Hi Hinata-chan! How have you been? Sorry I haven't talked to you for a long time!" The girl blushed a deep red as her crush paid attention to her. Of course they were friends, but she still had a hard time not blushing or fainting in his vicinity. "I-I'm doing great N-Naruto-kun a-and it's o-okay. I-I know you've b-been busy t-training." Naruto grinned, oblivious of what it was doing to the poor girl's heart that suddenly decided to best faster. "Hehehe, thanks Hinata-chan! You've always been understanding! That's what I like about you the most!" The blonde paused when he noticed the girl's red face and walked forward, putting his hand on her face, "Hey! Are you alright Hinata-chan?! You're really hot!" The poor girl fainted right then and there after the last statement. "Eh?! Oi?! Hinata-chan?" Asami bit her lips to stop herself from laughing out loud at her friends and walked towards the two. Shino and Kiba were both fanning Hinata and Asami quickly apologized as Sakura dragged the confused boy away as she shook her head at her teammate. Sasuke would've helped but he was stuck when Ino decided to let him know about her presence by launching herself at him. Luckily he moved away in time but flinched when the girl started complaining about how he was playing hard to get and how he was ignoring her. Shikamaru interrupted her and Sasuke quickly shot a glance of thanks to the lazy boy as he backed away to where the rest of his team was. Crazy fan girls...damn it, why can't they just leave me alone?! He fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead smirked at his blonde teammate who was absolutely confused and being lectured by Sakura with Asami apologizing to Team Eight. His smirk faltered when he felt someone looking at him similar to how his fan girls looked at him but somehow, he felt it was different. It feels more like a prey stalking its victim, he realized.
"Everything alright?" Sasuke looked over at Asami who asked him. He decided not to tell her but didn't expect for her to comment about something similar. "I have a bad feeling Sasuke, be on guard. It feels as if someone's stalking us like a predator."
"Hn, I noticed it too." Both skimmed the room and Asami felt chills when she looked at a Kusa genin with long black hair wearing a straw hat. She turned to Sasuke,"I think it's coming from that Kusa lady, we should be careful around her." He nodded and agreed, he didn't like the way she was looking at him. Both looked at their other two teammates and whispered to them what they thought. Both nodded but didn't look where and pretended that they were saying something funny instead so that their peers wouldn't notice. It wouldn't do any good if the rest of the Rookie Nine noticed and panicked. However, they didn't notice Shikamaru observing their interaction and that he could read lips. Hmm, guess I'll have to watch out for that lady from Kusa, how troublesome...A voice stopped the conversation and the nine rookies saw a silver haired teen wearing circular glasses approaching them with cards containing information. Before any of them could ask, Asami quickly spoke out, "Thanks Kabuto-san but I think it's best if we try and find out ourselves. After all, we're shinobi, we're suppose to find out information ourselves and how do we know that you're not just trying to scam us by giving us false information?" The teen chuckled and tried defending himself, "Well I wouldn't try something like that, after all I'm from Konoha too and this is my sixth time taking this exam. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, I just wanted to help you guys with some advice."
Asami smiled and blushed, "Oh, well thanks but I want to try passing this exam with my own strength, Kabuto-san. Maybe I'll ask if we meet again!" Kabuto opened his mouth to reply but was cut off with the entrance of Morino Ibiki commanding them to sit next to someone who wasn't on the same team. The Rookie Nine hurried off and each found a seat. Asami herself, sat next to Gaara with a polite smile. She got chills from him too, but it wasn't as much as Kabuto or the Kusa lady. As soon as Kabuto had approached, she felt danger signals going off in her head and despite the confusion as to why, she trusted her instincts and as politely as she could, tried to tell him to go away. For some reason, she just didn't trust the teen, she felt danger and deceit coming from him. As she turned the paper over, she found that the questions weren't genin or Chuunin level. They were closer to jounin level which confused her until she analyzed the rules Ibiki had given them. Hmm, I think we're suppose to cheat off of each other without getting caught. She flinched as teams were sent out of the room once they lost all of their points. Asami took a deep breath and quickly started using everything she knew to answer the questions without cheating.
She sighed in relief as she finished and laid her head down. She hated math and thought it wasn't very useful since no one was really going to use math formulas to find out the trajectory path of kunai. There wouldn't be enough time to process all the information needed before you were killed because you were using equations instead of focusing on the chakra signal or using your sense of smell or hearing to pinpoint their locations. Oh well, I'm sure that this might actually be useful for someone someday. She shifted her gaze at her blonde friend who she could see was mentally panicking and at Hinara who seemed to be offering him her test answers. A happy smile appeared on her face at the sight of the two. Her plan was still in motion and she was sure that she was getting the two closer together every time they met. She noticed Gaara's gaze on her and not knowing what to do, she looked over and smiled.
Gaara was annoyed. Mother was calling for the blonde boy's and auburn haired girl's blood. However, he couldn't because if he did, then the plan would be ruined. He calmed Mother down by imagining their deaths by his hands. To anyone else, it would've been disgusting and gory, but it pleased his mother immensely. The test was annoying to him too. He quickly used a sand eye to gather information and gave it to Kankuro and Temari. He did not call them his siblings even though they were. They feared him just like everyone else in Suna. He didn't mind though, Mother was happy. She loved fear and hatred. It was up there on her favorite list of what she liked along with blood and killing. His green eyes looked over at the girl sitting next to him. She was strange. Mother didn't like it her and wanted her blood. She had red hair similar to his but looked darker. Her outfit consisted of a sweater over a dress and he was pretty sure that she wore either shorts or mesh leggings underneath. She had a small pouch where she most likely kept her kunai and shuriken and from his point of view, he could that she wore earrings. Gaara was about to look away when his eyes met her violet orbs and he blinked in suprise when he saw the curiosity behind them coupled with some sort of...happiness? Then, out of everything she could've done, she smiled at him and he noticed soft pink spots showing on her cheeks. If he had eyebrows and was more expressive, he would have raised them. However, since he didn't, he did the only thing he could do other than killing her, he stared back. If he was more empathetic, he would've sensed the atmosphere becoming very awkward. But since he wasn't, he continued staring at her, unaware of the thoughts rushing through Asami's head.
When his green eyes met Asami's, she felt her a small blush creeping onto her face. She silently admited that he was quite handsome and maybe would've been even more if he smiled. She had decided to smile at him to see if he would smile back, and thus Gaara was presented with Asami's smiling face accompanied with a small blush. It was strange when she looked into his light green eyes. She saw madness but if she looked deeper, she also saw something similar to Naruto's, loneliness and pain. Why do they look like how Naruto's use to? That deep pain that Naruto showed to me, why is it on his face? He seemed to be related to the blonde haired teen and the puppeteer. Then she realized that perhaps her family wasn't the only one that was slightly broken. She had only seen families that smiled and laughed with each other while experiencing a cold family life with the only comfort being her younger brother and sometimes her younger sister. Asami lifted her head and tilted it slightly as she and the other red head looked at each other. She didn't pity him, she'd seen what Naruto had to go through and knew that pity wasn't welcomed. What she felt, was understanding. Sure she didn't know him, but there was some kind of understanding. Family life between the two wasn't all sugar and rainbows. The scars of her childhood when her father left her behind and continued to ignore her were only starting to heal. It had taken a total of four years for him to acknowledge her existence and friendship with Naruto. It was strange for Asami, understanding a total stranger, but somehow, it felt like it was just meant to be. What could've happened to him? Why isn't he like Naruto? Why doesn't he smile?
Gaara didn't know what to do when he read the emotions in the violet orbs. There was surprise at first, of what-he wasn't sure. Then it changed into...into something like understanding. Mother wanted her blood and he was about to give it to her, plans be damned, when he saw no pity. Nothing showed but empathy and understanding. There was fear in her eyes, but he had the feeling it was more like she was afraid of what happened to him and...and deep concern for him. Why is she worried about me, Mother?
She...she is, Shukaku paused. He didn't know what to do. He wanted her blood for revenge ever since Uzumaki Mito sealed him away. He could sense her strong blood relations to an Uzumaki along with the blonde. Shukaku decided that he would continue his act as a "mother", She is only trying to trick you my child. Similar to what He did to you. Gaara could feel his blood boiling as let a small bit of killer intent wash over Asami. He hated that man. He had betrayed Gaara and lied to him. He felt joy when he saw her recoil in shock, but somehow, he also felt as if he was hurt when he saw the sadness in the violet eyes. It was as if his heart was hurting, however, it disappeared as he felt Mother's happiness.
Asami stopped herself from crying as she bit her lower lip and slowly looked away. She felt hurt and somehow, she also felt betrayed. She thought that the two could become friends, but that notion quickly went down the drain when she felt his killer intent directed at her. It was worse than Zabuza's and she could feel his thinly veiled bloodlust at her.
When Ibiki had asked the tenth question, she looked at her teammates and her resolve to pass the exams strengthend. She would not be the weak link in Team Seven. As she shoved her hurt feelings aside, she watched as teams left one after another. She had expected Naruto to slam his hand on the table and proclaim that he wouldn't back down, but as seconds passed by, he sat and watched the teams leave. Maybe he's thinking about what we said earlier and is letting them leave so that they could learn themselves. She could, however, feel his internal battle and inner distress. He wanted to help everyone and just sitting still without saying anything was against what he believed. A smile appeared on her face as she watched him turn around and met her smile with a growing grin. Sasuke sighed and nodded slightly and Sakura also nodded, giving their consent to him speaking out. Naruto grinned, and slammed his hand on his table, "Don't underestimate me! I don't care if I remain a genin forever! I'll still become Hokage with my teammates right beside me! Bring on the tenth question! I"m not afraid!"
Those that were debating with themselves quickly resolved their determinations as Naruto shouted. Asami herself, felt her own resolve to try and befriend the boy next to her strengthen. He probably needs a friend too! I won't let him be alone just like how Naruto used to be!
Ibiki looked at the blonde calmly, "I'll ask you all again. This is your last chance to quit."
"I don't go back on my word!" Naruto replied as he met Ibiki's stare. Ibiki paused as he looked at the remaining genin. They all sported looks of determination and had small grins. It seems like he has a way with his words. "Well then, good decisions to everyone that stayed. I congratulate you on passing the first test!"
Shouts of confusion rang out from the remaining twenty teams. "W-what? How did we pass? What's the tenth question?"
Ibiki grinned at the question, "There never was a tenth question, or rather, that was your tenth question."
"Then what was the point of the first nine questions?" Temari yelled out. "Were they pointless?"
"They weren't pointless. Their purpose was to see all of your abilities to gather information. The point of this test was to cheat since these questions were not genin leveled questions." Genins smirked as they looked around and whispered how they knew the true purpose. Asami smiled weakly as she thought about her earlier actions. She had known a majority of the questions and could guess the concepts behind the ones she didn't know, so she had no need to try and cheat for information. Although, if she didn't know any, it would've been much harder to get information. She had no abilities to help her other than trying to read people's body language and using whatever she already knew. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips but quickly turned into a sharp intake of breath when she saw Ibiki's tortured head with scars, burns, and even screw marks.
"There will be times when information is more important than your own life, and there will be people who will want that information. The purpose of the tenth question, was basically a "take it or leave it" choice. There will be times when you must choose a dangerous mission as a chuunin. Will you take it despite the risk of dying or your teammates getting hurt?" He paused and looked at the genins in the room. "The answer is yes! As a chuunin, you will need to have courage and the ability to survive and lead. No matter the danger, there will be missions where you can't avoid. Those who can't put their lives on the line, they don't deserve to be chuunins!" He paused again and looked at the genin who all sat straighter before he continued, "I wish you all the best luck in the next exam." You'll need it, he added mentally as he felt the chakra presence of the next examener approaching from the window.
Asami watched as a lady with dark purple hair broke through the window with confusion. She had felt happy at passing and felt her teammates' happiness as well. Sasuke was brimming with confidence and Sakura was overjoyed while Naruto had a large grin on his face as he leaned back and relaxed. He quickly sat back up when the window broke and a lady wearing a tan treanch coat with mesh body armour appeared along with a large banner. A wild grin broke out as she looked around the room. "Mitarashi Anko! I'll be your next examener for the next test! No time for celebrating, follow me!" An eyebrow rose as she counted the remaining teams. "Twenty teams left?! You're getting soft, Ibiki!"
"They were an outstanding bunch this time," he replied, looking over to the violet haired woman. She grinned, "Hmph, there'll be half by the time I'm done with them!"
Omake Ending
As seconds pass and he did nothing more than stare at her, she felt confusion make its way into her mind. Why isn't he doing anything? Wait! Is...is this a staring contest? Another second passed and he still didn't move from his position, confirming her previous thoughts. Oh! So it is?! Hmm, I'm not very good but I guess he's probably bored. With those thoughts in mind, Asami continued staring at him even though she could feel her eyes burning from the air. She bit her lower lips in concentration and fought against the natural instinct to blink. Her concentration on him however, made her forget her surroundings and the staring contest between the two was the only thing she was paying attention to. This led to her missing Ibiki's tenth question and his speech along with the entrance of Anko through the window. When Asami felt as though she could no longer keep her eyes open, Gaara stood up and followed his siblings, ignorant of what just conspired. Asami lept up into the air with a victory cry and an arm pump, gathering looks from everyone.
"What are you doing Asami-chan?" Naruto asked as he raised his eyebrow. The Suna team also stopped, curious of her reason. Asami wiped her eyes and blinked as she smiled and explained herself, "I just won a staring contest!"
"With who?" Sasuke asked.
"With him," Asami pointed towards Gaara, leading to looks of shock from everyone, including Gaara himself who had no idea. Kankuro and Temari turned to their younger sibling with shock and surprise. "Gaara?" He looked at his sister and back at the red haired girl who was now sporting a grin before turning and walking out confused. What just happened Mother?
Nothing important, my child. Just focus on killing those two and getting me blood.
Gaara walked out of the room with his siblings behind him while a comment from Asami which caused Kankuro to mentally laugh.
"Hmm, I think he's a sore loser," Asami commented as she tilted her head and followed the rest of the Rookie Nine who were still giving her weird looks.
Jounin Lounge
"...Did you're student seriously think she was having a staring contest Kakashi?" Asuma asked he looked over to his fellow jounin. The copy ninja shrugged in reply and giggled as he read his orange book. Asuma sighed and looked over at Kurenai who also looked at him hopelessly. She had thought that the two were giving each other the lover's gaze, especially with how long they stared at each other and the awkward atmosphere she could feel from the screen was them being both unsure if the other liked them the same way. Baki...well he was wondering if the girl was looking at Gaara because she had caught onto their plans and was trying to see if she could find anything by looking at Gaara. He felt immense relief that the girl had thought it was just a staring contest. She had seemed weary of Orochimaru who was in disguise. "Everything alright Baki-san?" Baki looked to the voice belonging to the copy ninja and answered, "Everything is alright Kakashi-san." Kakashi hummed and his gaze went back to his book. He doesn't know anything does he?
Hehe, was that humor in the omake okay?...No? Well I tried my best! Asami's just that kind of girl who's smart at times, but blissfully ignorant in situations she's never been in. I based the concept of the two having a staring contest as something to show that when you grow up with Naruto as a friend, you'll never know what to expect if he decides to engage in a staring contest with you. Yeah, I know it's not very romantic but they're twelve year olds! What do you expect? I can't have them stare at each other and suddenly make out!...Or can I? Dun dun dun!
I was going to actually use it as canon in the story, but it just didn't seem right, so I added a new, more realistic ending. Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you liked my Panda-chan. It was kind of easier for me to right him as a socially awkward guy who looked to the voice inside his head for advice...Hmm is that good or bad for me?
See ya in the next part where action, drama, deceit, hidden plans, and maybe my horrible attempts at humor and romance all come together!...Bye!
