The sun peeked out from the horizon, its rays shining through an open window in the room. Meyu sighed and continued to unwrap the bandages that she had previously kept on her arms and legs; bundles of them were already on the floor, and she was now unraveling the left arm which would be the last.

Her right arm and legs were now uncovered, and her skin was exposed to the crisp morning air. With a content sigh, she finally let the last of the bandages fall to the ground, moving her left arm around in a wide circle; the tight bandages had cut off some circulation.

She had changed her clothes, again, for the last time; she had kept the shorts, but had traded the black shirt for another one. This shirt was also black, but much shorter; it stopped two inches above her navel, exposing her lean stomach. The shirt was sleeveless, like the last one, but the collar was normal and rounded.

The only real difference was the white 'X' in the left-hand corner of the shirt.

"Yo, are you decent?

"Yeah," Meyu replied as she smoothed down her violet hair, which cascaded an inch past her shoulders; she would cut it afterwards. The adjoining door's doorknob jiggled before it opened, revealing Azi, who had also changed his attire.

He wore a simple fishnet shirt over his torso that had long sleeves, unlike his other one which had short. His legs were covered in black running pants; unlike the white shirts he had worn before.

His Suna head protector now acted as a type of belt; he had attached the metal part to a longer fabric and had tied it around his waist.

"You sure you want to wear that?" Azi motioned to Meyu's shirt, and she shrugged, pulling it down a little.

"Why not? It's close to the end, right?"

"Not necessarily." The two looked over to the open doorway to see Jiko, who had also changed, if only slightly. He wore a long-sleeved fishnet shirt with his previous jacket thrown over it, open instead of closed. Instead of his normal shorts, he was also wearing running pants. Instead of being black like Azi's, though, they were a dark green to match his jacket.

His Suna head protector remained over his eyes.

"It's only seven...We have time to find a stable environment," Jiko said lowly, glancing out the open window, hands in his jacket pockets. Meyu scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No. I'll be drained for the Second Exam; we can wait a day."

Jiko frowned, but sighed, "...Fine."

"Is anyone else hungry?"

//+//

In Konoha, the wind rustled the leaves of various trees that surrounded the current area.

The Genin were in a secluded field, all in front of a large, wire gate. Behind the gates laid a large and exotic forest, with large trees and intertwining branches and such.

"W-What is this place?" Naruto stared at the gate in awe, as well as most of the other Genin. A sign on the gate read "Forbidden Area" in kanji, and some swallowed nervously.

"This place is where the Second Exam will take place," Anko, the examiner for the Second Exam, explained, "The 44th training area." She smirked coyly, "Also known as the Forest of Death."

In the midst of the Genin crowd, Azi sneered, "Scary." The rest of the Genin, however, were transfixed by this information.

"The Forest of Death?" Naruto repeated as his eyes widened. Anko grinned.

"You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death."

Meyu blinked, not at Anko's statement, but rather at what Naruto's response was.

He stuck his rear out, had put his hands on his hips, and began to swing his rear back in forth, "'You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death'," He mocked, and Meyu gave a sigh; this guy really was a character.

"There's no point in trying to scare us like that!" Naruto exclaimed, after he had stopped embarrassing himself. He then pointed a finger at Anko and grinned, "I'm not scared at all!"

Anko, however, smiled and tilted her head, "Really? You sure are energetic." Then, still smiling, she quickly swiped out a kunai and expertly threw it at Naruto, just cutting his cheek and having the knife land behind a Genin with a wide cone-shaped hat.

She then appeared right behind Naruto, who hadn't had any time to react whatsoever, "Boys like you die the fastest," She commented before touching his face, still smiling, "After spilling out that red blood I love all over the place..."

She then wiped at Naruto's cut, which was bleeding. Then, even quicker than before, she had a new kunai in her hand and moved to block a person behind her.

However, it was just the Genin with the cone hat; the only thing was, his tongue was stretched out of his mouth and was intertwined with the kunai that Anko had first thrown.

'...Wait.' Meyu narrowed her eyes at the Genin, who explained to Anko that he had only wanted to return her knife, who then thanked him.

"...." Meyu looked back to see that Jiko was frowning deeply; she just smiled.

"Don't worry about it."

"It looks like there are a lot of hot-headed people here today," Anko announced with a sneer, "This is going to be interesting."

'She's counting herself, right?' Azi thought weakly; she was eccentric, to say the least.

"Before we begin the Second Exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone," Anko then announced, as if nothing had happened, before pulling out a stack of papers from the inside of her jacket.

Confusion commenced throughout the Genin group.

"These are consent forms," Anko explained, "Those taking this exam must sign these."

"Why?" Of course, Naruto was asking the question. Anko smirked.

"From here on, people will die. Therefore we need people's consent to continue," She then laughed, "Otherwise, I'd be held responsible."

No one else seemed to be laughing along with her.

"Now, I will begin the explanation for the Second Exam," Anko continued after her laughing had stopped, "To be concise, you will all go through an extreme survival match." As she was talking, she handed the consent forms to Naruto, who looked at them before passing them on.

"First," Anko said, still not through, as she rolled a scroll down, "I'll explain the training area's geographical features." The scroll seemed to be a map of the area. Meyu lightly nudged Jiko, who nodded and proceeded to make a few hand seals.

"The 44th training area is a circular region surrounded by 44 locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 kilometers away from the gates. Inside this limited space you will have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of," Anko paused to roll the scroll back up and stuff it back into the inside of her jacket, "A competition where anything goes...Over these scrolls." She then held up two new scrolls in her hand.

"Scrolls?" Someone asked, and Anko nodded, "Yes. The Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth," She elaborated, showing that the white scroll was the Heaven and that the darker one was the Earth. "You will fight over these scrolls."

Jiko bent down and put his hand in the grass; soon pieces of grass formed a square with writing on it and he stuffed it inside the inside of his jacket.

"28 teams in total passed the First Exam. Half of these teams will get the Scroll of Heaven. The other half will get the Scroll of Earth. Each team will get one of these two scrolls," Anko continued, holding up the two scrolls again, "Simply, you have to fight over these."

"...And? What's needed to pass?" Uchiha asked coolly.

"Bring the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates," Anko explained.

"In other words, the 14 teams, or half the people here, that get their scroll stolen will fail," Haruno Sakura restated, just to make sure she had it right.

Anko replied, "But it needs to be done within the time limit."

Immediately, Azi had to lean on Meyu for support, "Time limit?!"

In the front, Anko smirked, "Yes, a time limit. This second exam has a limit of 120 hours," She then stuffed the scrolls back into her jacket, "Or exactly five days."

"Five days?!" Yamanaka exclaimed, while her teammate Chouji looked light-headed.

"What about food?!"

"Scrounge it up yourselves. The forest is a treasure box of nature. There should be plenty of food," Anko replied. But, someone intervened.

"However, there are a lot of man-eating beasts, poison bugs, and poisonous plants." It was Kabuto.

At this, Chouji looked positively sick, "Oh no..." Ino frowned and looked at her upset teammate.

"Stupid, that's why it's called survival."

"Also, it is not possible for 14 teams, or 42 people, to pass," Hyuuga Neji commented.

"As time passes, you will be required to move more. So, the time to rest your body will become shorter," Rock Lee stated before smirking, "This seems quite rough."

"...And we're surrounded by enemies," Sasuke also commented, "We won't be able to sleep in peace."

"Then you don't sleep; you don't rest," Meyu said, her voice moderately loud, "You keep moving."

"People will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll," Anko pushed on, ignoring the Genin's comments, "and those who cannot bear this program's strictness will emerge, as well."

Suddenly, Nara Shikamaru raised his hand, "Excuse me, can we quit in between?"

'What a lazy guy.' Azi thought shrewdly, while Anko replied.

"As a rule, you are not allowed to give up during the exam." She grinned, "You will spend the five days in the forest."

Shikamaru frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, "Just as I thought...How troublesome."

"While we're on this topic, here are the conditions that will fail you," Anko announced, who seemed to be getting bored, "First, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with the three teammates will fail. Second, the team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note...You are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower."

"What happens if you look?" Naruto asked curiously and Anko grinned slyly.

"That's a surprise you'll see when you look at it," She then looked back around at the group of Genin, "If you become a Chuunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It's to determine your reliability. That is it for the explanation."

'Finally.' Meyu thought in relief, pushing Azi off of her; he had fallen asleep during the explanation.

"We will exchange three consent forms for one scroll at that hut," Anko announced, pointing over to a hut where three men were sitting, "And after picking your gate entrance, everyone will begin at the same time." Suddenly, she sighed, "Here's a last piece of advice."

She looked up and announced clearly, "Don't die."

//+//

Teams were huddled together in various places, all spread out as they discussed their game plans.

"Wow. These consent forms are to the point," Azi mumbled as he sat against a tree trunk; Jiko was on the left side of the tree while Meyu was on the right, both leaning against it rather than sitting.

"...Where do I sign?" Jiko asked coolly, refusing to take his head protector off to read the form. Meyu sighed and reached over the tree and placed his hand on the right spot. He mumbled thanks before signing.

"I'll be back in a second," Meyu suddenly said, handing her consent form to Azi, who blinked at it before looking up at her.

"Where are you going?"

"No where," She replied, her eyes traveling across the area; she spotted Murabashi Kaya and her team in the far distance. Jiko noticed her stare and frowned.

"Hey…"

"I know..." She mumbled before walking off in the opposite direction that Kaya was in. She just wanted to get some air before the Second Exam; it was a five day survival test, after all.

//+//

Gaara was standing next to a tree, the branches providing shade from the noon sun. His consent form was held carelessly in his right hand as he scanned it. He had already signed upon receiving it.

"Nen nen kororiyo okororiyo..."

Gaara blinked before looking over his shoulder, on the other side of the tree trunk.

"Boyawa yoikoda nenneshina..."

He was surprised to see Meyu sitting against the side of tree, obviously not noticing that he was on the other side. She was idly staring up at the sky as she somewhat sang a melody.

"Boyano komoriwa dokoe it ta, anoyama koete satoe it ta..."

He idly watched as she looked back down at her legs, touching the fabric of her shorts. He gave a short grunt before looking away; her song was unknown to him.

"It's time to trade your forms for a scroll," One of the men at the hut announced, pulling back part of the red curtain that concealed it so he could be heard. Gaara blinked and glanced back over his shoulder; Meyu had sighed and walked back to her team.

He himself frowned before coolly walking back to Temari and Kankuro, that melody now stuck in his head.

//+//

One by one, concealed by a curtain, teams of three traded in their consent forms for either a Heaven or Earth scroll; no one could possibly know which team had which scroll, or which person would be carrying it.

Meyu, Jiko, and Azi worked their way into the hut after Team 28; Murabashi Kaya's team.

Coolly, Jiko handed the man the forms, and he received an Earth scroll in return. Azi looked at before plucking it out of Jiko's hands, "I'll hold on to it."

Meyu then stole it from Azi before stuffing it behind the metal plate that was strapped onto her thigh, "Thanks for volunteering, but no."

//+//

Anko checked her watch; it was a minute to two. "If you have received a scroll, follow the person in charge and move to your designated gates. We will begin in 30 minutes!"

//+//

At Gate 12, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba waited patiently. "Yeah! Survival is our specialty," Kiba exclaimed, punching at the air in excitement, "Hinata, you better not go easy on anyone."

Hinata blinked before lowering her head slightly, "Okay..."

//+//

Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji stood in front of Gate 27. "We have to put our life on the line for this. It's troublesome, but we have to do it," Shikamaru said, arms crossed over his chest, "We'll go after Naruto."

Oblivious, Chouji began to rummage through his bag, "Let's see what snacks I have...Potato chips, cake..."

Ino's eye twitched, "You two..."

//+//

"All right! I'm not going to lose," Naruto said, punching at the air in front of Gate 12, "We'll beat those who get near us first!"

//+//

The three Sound-nins stood in front of Gate 20. "The chance has finally arrived...to accomplish our task," The boy with the bad posture mumbled, smirking behind the bandages that covered most of his face.

//+//

Azi glanced over at Jiko as he stood lazily in front of Gate 10, "Yo, you got it?" Jiko nodded and reached into the inside of his jacket, producing a thin rectangle of grass. On it was an easy-to-read imprint of a map; the same map that was on the scroll Anko had shown everyone, to be exact.

Meyu smirked, "Good."

//+//

Temari frowned over at Gaara in front of Gate 6. 'I bet the other teams are, too, but I'm scared of spending five days with him.'

//+//

At Gate 41, Rock Lee's eyes burned with fire and determination while Neji and Tenten both smirked.

//+//

The man that was at the Suna-nins' gate went up and unlocked it, the lock falling to the ground. However, he stood in front of it, blocking their path; they wouldn't go just yet.

//+//

"Usaka, sing us a song."

"I'm busy, Yukio; you are seven years old, surely you don't want a bedtime song?"

"Yume wants to hear you sing, too!"

Usaka sighed before looking down at his younger brother and smiling weakly, "All right; go to your room and I'll come tuck you two in." Yukio grinned childishly before sprinting to the room that he and his five-year-old half-sister shared, his bare feet slapping against the earthen ground.

"Yume, Usaka's going to sing for us tonight," He said cheerfully as he crawled into his futon; Yume was already in her own, the covers up to her waist as she sat up.

"Yay! Usaka-Niisan, sing Edo Komoriuta!" She exclaimed when a fifteen-year-old Usaka entered the room. He gave an even weaker smile that went unnoticed by the two children before doing a few hand seals. Instantly, wires extended from his fingertips and palms to intertwine to make a spacious armchair. Sighing, he sat down in it and motioned the two to come over.

The two eagerly did so, Yukio climbing up on Usaka's right while Yume climbed onto his left. Usaka chuckled and picked Yume up so that she was on his lap and placed a warm arm around Yukio. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"Nen nen kororiyo okororiyo
Boyawa yoikoda nenneshina

Boyano komoriwa dokoe it ta
Anoyama koete satoe it ta

Sato no miyage ni nani morata
Denden taikoni sho no fue
Sho no fue..."

Usaka blinked and looked down, only to smile gently; Yume and Yukio had fallen asleep, both of their heads snuggled into his chest. Suddenly, a yawn emitted from Usaka's mouth and his eyes dropped before he leaned back into the wire armchair, which was actually much more comfortable than the hard futon he would be sleeping in.

Protectively, he wrapped his left arm around Yume, bringing her closer to his chest; he then wrapped his right arm around Yukio, also bringing him closer. Usaka looked down at the two children's heads before smiling faintly and closing his eyes; soon, the world seemed to melt away.

//+//

"We will now begin the Chuunin Selection Second Exam!"

Anko's sudden announcement made Meyu blink rapidly before straightening herself up. The gate in front of them was opened, and the Suna-nin exchanged glances before sprinting.

The Second Exam had officially begun.

//+//

"So, who has one?"

"...A Rain team. They seemed to be the weakest; we should go after them." Jiko, Meyu, and Azi were all on a large branch on one of the multiple trees in the forest. They were all squatted in a type of circle, the grass map in the middle of them.

"Not-"

"No, not them. Another team; their gate was around here," Jiko pointed to the northern part of the map, at the thin line that resembled the wire gates. He then pointed to the western side, "This is where our gate was. We should eventually cross paths with them if they continue to travel south and us east."

Unknown to the three Suna-nin, the three Rain-nins that they were planning on attacking had already been defeated.

//+//

"Gaara?"

"...What?"

"What are you humming?"

Gaara glared over at Kankuro, but continued to speed through the tree branches swiftly. Kankuro's face paled before looking forward, "Sorry..."

Temari glanced over at her two brothers before sighing; some family this was...