An: Ok lately I've been getting a lot of very rude messages saying how bad my story is. I have one thing to say to anyone who doesn't like it….QUIT READING IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT! DON'T COMPLAIN TO ME!!! Ok now that I got that out of my system, another issue is people are complaining that I made Naruto really weak, please people I know this and I didn't do it on purpose! It's going to work out soon so please just drop it! The very last thing I would like to say is that I've gotten some people who want something to happen between Kasaki and Kyuubi, FOR THE LAST TIME DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! IT WILL BE DONE! Maybe not in this chapter or the next but hold your pants on! Jeez I can only to so much at a time. Alright now that that's settled ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: Kishimoto –sensei is letting be borrow these characters and bits of the story so give him the credit not me.

Old Friends and New Aquaintences

"Kyuubi! I challenge you to a fight! Winner gets the title of strongest demon; the loser has to become the tool of a human."

A feral grin spread across the Fox's muzzle, "Alright Kasaki I accept your challenge, but let's make it a little more interesting, this shall be a fight to the death!"

Kasaki smirked, "I agree to your terms, TO THE DEATH!"

"TO THE DEATH!" Kyuubi sprang forward, teeth bared in a vicious smile.

Blue and white fingers of electricity burst from Kasaki's mouth, the demon fox side stepped neatly.

"You missed…My turn!" Claws caught the dragon in his blind spot sending him sprawling in the dirt.

"You're going to have to try better than that little dragon." Kyuubi mocked.

Shaking his head to clear the mist, Kasaki inhaled; blaze orange flames singed the Foxes coat, but nothing more.

"Is that all you got?" the orange Fox tilted his head, "Let me show you what true power is!" flicking one of his nine tails, a boulder the size of a jet, slammed into the black dragon's side.

Blood dripped to the ground like a warm rain, Kasaki lay on his side, his breathing labored.

"I win Kasaki-teme; your death shall be long and painful." Kyuubi dragged a clawed paw across Kasaki's fragile wings, tearing them to shreds.

The dragon roared in agony, the pain was like nothing he had felt before.

The Fox withdrew his paw; Kasaki's blood dripped off his claws "How disappointing I thought you would serve more of a challenge, no matter. SAY GOOD-BYE TO EVERYTHING YOU ONCE HELD DEAR!" The claws came again, breaking the hollow bones in the black demon's wings; flight would now be impossible.

Kasaki felt cold teeth close around his neck, he struggled but it was no use, the more he resisted the longer his death would take.

With a quick jerk of his head, Kyuubi let his victim's neck fall to the sand, torn and bleeding.

"You caught me on a good day Kasaki, had it been different I would have killed you on the spot; but today I'll leave the elements to do the work for me." Kicking sand into Kasaki's eyes, the demon Fox left the black dragon to rot in the blazing afternoon sun.

The demon closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He lay there lost in his thoughts, why had he been so stupid! Challenging the nine-tailed demon Fox, when he himself was only a seven-tail.

"I guess…wisdom…comes with age…" Kasaki's breathing became shallower. After three days of non-stop hell, the dragon felt a cool hand on his torn neck.

"I have been searching for you demon; I have a proposition that you can't refuse."

The voice was smooth and oily, the dragon opened one eye, his vision was failing but he could just make out the figure of a man with long hair.

"What…sort…of…proposition?" he gasped.

"Take shelter inside my daughter, you can live and heal; but in return you must make her strong, teach her to wield the elements, as you can. What do you say?

Kasaki thought, if the prospect of living was there he would take it, then maybe one day he could fight the Fox again.

"I…accept." A black head hit the sand.

"Excellent. You won't be sorry." The man smiled and stood up, his mission had been successful.

Present Day Kahona…

"And that's what happened, the whole story…"

But why would you want to challenge that stupid fox anyway? Inara asked in her mind.

"I was young at the time and wanted to prove myself… turns out fighting a stronger demon wasn't the best idea.

I'll say… so that's when my father…well you know… and when my village was destroyed?

"Unfortunately yes, that's when your destiny started to unfold hatchling."

Why me? Why did it have to be my village that was destroyed? Why am I the only one left alive?

Inara felt the dragon wrap his battle scarred wings around her consciousness.

"I don't know little one, our paths sometimes are chosen for us, but it's what we make of them that decides the future."

Later That Day…

SLAM! A boy with black hair dressed in green hit the wall.

"You honestly think you can enter the Chunin exams?" another boy with bandages across his nose, picked up the greed clad Nin by the collar of his shirt.

"Come on you jerks let us in!" a brown haired girl in a Chinese style shirt protested. The other boy blocking the door to the classroom slapped her across the face knocking her to the floor.

"HEY YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" yelled another genin.

The boy with the bandages looked the offending kid in the eye.

"You misinterpret our actions; we're simply trying to weed out the weaklings now, so they won't have to suffer."

The other boy nodded his head, "These exams aren't for that faint hearted, we should know; we've failed it three times."

"Well this certainly looks fun." Heads turned in the direction the voice had come; Sasuke and the others had arrived.

Inara folded her arms across her chest, "Can someone explain to me just what the hell we're all doing on the second floor?"

Murmurs filled the hall.

"So you saw through the Jutsu huh?" asked the bandaged Nin.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Of course, an Academy student probably set it up; it's so poorly done, and you two can drop the illusion as well; you're not really genin."

The boys dropped the Gen Jutsu, returning to their normal form.

Everyone but Squad Seven's jaws dropped to the ground. Two Chunin now blocked their path to the classroom.

"Not bad, you guys can go through." The Gen Jutsu users left the small hallway.

So their Kakashi's? He's trained them well, but will they pass the exam proctor's standards?

Inara let her hands fall to her sides, "Well now that that's over, where's the fricken staircase?"

Her teammates sweat dropped.

"What? It's been awhile since we've been here."

Kakashi's squad made to leave when an older boy with white eyes stepped in their way.

"What are your names?" his voice was cold and harsh, it sent chills down Inara's neck.

All the introductions were beginning to wear the Uchiha's patience thin, "Isn't it proper manners to give your own name first?"

"You got some nerve talking to your seniors like that. You're all first years aren't you?"

Naruto glared at the white eyed boy, "We don't have to tell you a damn thing, you freak show."

The white eyed genin growled, a hand rested on his shoulder, "Neji don't, their just a bunch of snot-nosed kids." Said the brown haired girl.

Inara spun around, "What did you just call us?" her voice was lowered; it sounded more like a snarl than actual words. The older girl's ears picked it up nevertheless.

"I said you're nothing but a bunch of snot-nosed, assholes."

Inara's hands balled up in to fists, Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders; he knew what the Kunoichi was capable of when provoked.

"Inara calm down. You're letting your emotions control you again."

The Ayanomi broke free of her boyfriend's grip, no one other than her teammates, insulted her and lived to tell about it.

"THAT'S IT!" Inara brought her leg up to hopefully break the other girl's jaw. If she succeeded, death would be slow and painful. (Broken jaws meant you can't eat, can't eat, you die…very slowly)

A flash of green darted between the opposing females. When the blur was still, a black haired boy had hold of both Inara's leg and the other girl's hand, in it was a freshly sharpened kunai that Inara had failed to see.

"Hatchling that child blocked your attack!"

Thank you for pointing that out Captain obvious. Hold on, there's something weird about this guy's chakra.

"What is it?"

I can't put my finger on it just yet, but something is defiantly abnormal about him.

"Tenten I thought we agree that we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves?"

The girls wrenched their limbs free of the green clad boy's hands.

"Sorry Lee just got carried away."

Team Seven rolled their eyes; this exam was turning into a freak show. They turned to leave when the one called Lee grabbed Sasuke's shoulder.

"You're Sasuke Uchiha aren't you?"

Sasuke brushed Lee's hand off his shoulder, "Yeah, what's it to you?"

The green spandex clad genin smiled, "My name is Rock Lee and I challenge you to a fight!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "You know who I am and you still want to fight me?"

"I am confident in my abilities, you cannot defeat me."

"Ok then, it's your funeral."

Entrance Hall…Same Day…

"I still can't believe you're going to do this Sasuke. I know he doesn't look like much, but there's something really weird about that guy, I can sense it."

"Inara relax, no freak with a bowl cut is going to beat me, got it?"

The Ayanomi sighed, once Sasuke's mind had been made up, there was no swaying it. She quickly gave up on the argument.

A flash of green brought the Team Seven's attention to the balcony above their heads.

Lee was standing on the rail with his hands on his hips, he jumped down. It was quite the fall, however the spandex wearing genin landed on his feet.

Inara turned to Sasuke, "Okay you can't possible think that's normal."

The Uchiha glared at her.

Putting up her hands, the Ayanomi signaled she didn't want any trouble.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Sasuke walked towards the center of the room to meet Lee.

Naruto acted as referee, "Alright you two, I want a clean fight! No cheap shots! Begin!" the blonde brought his arm down, starting the match and quickly dashed away.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan; no freaky kid was going to make a fool of him.

He looked towards Lee, but the green Nin had vanished.

Quick movement caused the black haired boy to look behind him, big mistake.

"Kanoha Daisenpu!" (Leaf Hurricane) Lee's attack knocked Sasuke off his feet.

What the hell was that? Did he? That's impossible!

The blur of green stopped moving, "Your eyes may able to keep up with me…but your body can't, for example." The older boy took off again, running around a dumfounded Uchiha.

I can see him but I can't move fast enough!

"Kanoha Senpu!" (Leaf Whirlwind) A leg crashed into Sasuke's chest, throwing him against a wall.

Lee took a Tai Jutsu stance, "I'll say it again, you cannot defeat me."

Panting heavily, the Sharingan wielder struggled to his feet.

The Tai Jutsu master raised an eyebrow, "Haven't you had enough? You've got courage, I'll give you that."

Sasuke smirked, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Jutsu) five Sasuke's surrounded the green clad Nin.

Naruto's jaw dropped, "When did he learn that?"

"He must have copied it when you were fighting Haku." said Inara.

Lee looked from one clone to the next, which one was the real Sasuke?

"Kanton: Gokakyo no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) Flames burst forth from every direction.

HA there's no way he could have escaped that! Thought the Uchiha.

"Kanoha Sofue!" (Leaf Rising Wind) Lee had dodged the fire attack at the last second. With a powerful kick under the jaw, he sent his opponent skyward.

"Kage Buyo!" (Dancing Leaf Shadow)

Using his speed to his advantage, the green genin flashed underneath Sasuke's airborne figure; with a series of punishing kicks and punches, sent the other boy smashing onto the concrete floor.

Lee landed neatly on his feet, "Now to finish this!"

"LEE THAT'S ENOUGH!" a purple tortoise entered the hall.

"Sensei? What're you doing here? You were watching the whole time?"

Naruto looked at Inara, "Did I miss something here?"

"I'm as lost as you are…" said the Kunoichi.

Their attention was drawn back to the student and "teacher."

"What did I tell you about using that Jutsu?" scolded the reptile.

"But…but I… I'm sorry sensei." Lee hung his head in shame.

"You should be, now I have to punish you." In a cloud of smoke the tortoise disappeared and a green spandex dressed man emerged.

Oh my god, he's even creepier than the kid! Thought Inara.

Teacher and student looked exact copies of each other, black bushy eyebrows, bowl cut hair style, and really, really white teeth, it was some what unnerving.

"Are you ready for your punishment Lee?" Asked the Jonin.

"YES SIR!" the boy saluted.

WHAM!

Naruto and Inara sweat dropped, as the green Jonin punched his student so hard, he flew across the room.

The Kunoichi leaned toward her teammate, "Maybe that's why he's so messed up."

The blonde fought the urge to laugh but his expression turned to disgust when his attention was brought back to the sensei and pupil.

In a display of affection that two males, not to mention teacher and student should ever partake in, Lee and the Jonin hugged each other as an awkward background of a beach blazed behind them.

The blonde and white haired genin heard a groan of discomfort; Sasuke had recovered from his black out.

The Uchiha's teammates helped him to his feet.

"Nice work with the shadow clones, I wouldn't have thought of trying that." the girl complemented.

"Shut up." Sasuke was in a sour mood.

"You three must be Kakashi's squad." Said the spandexed Jonin.

"And if we are?" Naruto folded his arms across his chest in a display of defiance.

The Jonin laughed, "Yep you're the ones alright, I've heard a lot about you kids."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Sasuke growled.

"Kakashi and I go way back," the man vanished, "You could say we're rivals." He reappeared again behind Team seven.

His speed, he's even faster than Busy Brow! Thought Naruto.

"The name's Might Guy…Guy for short."

Inara covered he mouth to prevent herself from laughing, her face was disfigured with the effort; Guy didn't notice, but Lee did.

"Don't you dare laugh at Sensei!" he warned turning a bright shade of red.

Guy put is arm around his students shoulder, "It's alright Lee, we need to be going anyway. You can't ignore your training."

Lee beamed, "YES SIR!" he shouted saluting the Jonin again.

They left the hall.

Inara blinked a few times to try and make sense of the whole ordeal.

If Kakashi was like that, I'd kill him just to put him out of his misery.

"Inara you coming?"

"Huh?"

Naruto and Sasuke were headed out the door, "Come on it's time's almost up and we still have to get to the third floor."

"Coming!" she ran after them.

Third Floor...

Kakashi stood outside of the designated classroom. He sighed and looked at the clock on the wall.

They have five more minutes. What the heck could possibly be taking them so long?

Leaning up against the door, the former ANBU sighed and looked at the clock again… three more minutes.

Were Izumo and Kotetsu too much for them?

Running footsteps reverberated down the hall.

I'm rubbing off on those three.

Kakashi's students skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Sorry…we're late…Sensei." Naruto gasped.

The Jonin smiled, "It's alright. I'm glad the three of you came. Go on in."

The teammates stepped toward the door.

"A word of caution before you do… don't draw attention to yourselves."

"Why not?" asked Sasuke.

"Not many people are too happy about first year genin entering the Chunin exams, so watch your backs okay?"

Inara rolled her eyes, "Sure Sensei."

Kakashi slid open the door, the three genin walked in. The din coming from the room was so loud Inara couldn't hear Kasaki muttering something about the exams no longer being an invitation only event.

"Well well well look who finally showed up." A boy wearing a grey jacket with a white dog on his head sauntered up to them. Following not far behind was a black haired girl with white eyes, and a brow haired boy in a trench coat and sunglasses.

"Hey Kiba, long time no see!" Naruto held up his hand.

The boy with the dog on his head mimicked Naruto's movements; they gave each other a high five.

Hinata blushed a deep pink, her eyes fixed on the two boys. Inara noticed and laughed.

The white-eyed girl pushed her fingers together, "Um…hi guys…it's been awhile."

The Ayanomi jumped at the chance to talk, "Yeah it has! So what have you guys been up to?"

"Nothing much," said the boy with sunglasses, "Everything's been unusually quiet."

Kiba smacked they boy on the back of the head, "Ignore Shino you guys, he's just a stick in the mud. So was up with you guys?"

"Ah same old, almost dying kind of thing, nothing important." Said Naruto.

The other team's jaws dropped.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ALMOST DIED?" shouted Kiba.

Naruto slapped his hand over the other boy's mouth, "Shut up do you want the whole village to know?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly, "I think it's a little late for that."

Naruto looked around the room; everyone was staring at them, most with narrowed eyes.

Inara placed her hands on her hips, "So much for not drawing attention to ourselves. Thanks Kiba."

"Forry." Muttered the boy through Naruto's hand.

The blonde released his grip.

Kiba's dog started growling and barking angrily.

"What is it Akumaru?" Kiba asked the canine. Akumaru yipped and growled.

"No way… Are you sure?"

The dog glared at his master.

"Okay, okay. He wants to know if you guys know that guy behind you." He pointed to an older boy with cropped white hair that reached to the bottom of his ears; the rest was tied back with a piece of string. A pair of circular glasses framed his face.

Team Seven looked behind them, "Nope never seen him." said Naruto

Inara stole another look over her shoulder, the boy's teammates glared at her. The Kunoichi quickly averted her gaze.

Sasuke took her hand.

She smiled at him, he nodded back.

"OH MY GOD SASUKE IS THAT YOU?" said a shrill voice that the black haired boy recognized immediately.

The Uchiha dropped Inara's hand and gave his teammates a just-shoot-me look. Too late, Ino Yamanaka threw her thin arms around Sasuke's neck, ginning happily.

An angry pink haired girl followed.

Oh this is just great, what're they doing here? Inara thought narrowing her eyes.

"INO PIG JUST WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" yelled Sakura.

"I was here first Billboard Brow!" Ino complained.

Inara bared her teeth, "Do we have to go through this every time I see you two?"

The two girls stopped fighting and glared at Inara.

"Well I see someone hasn't changed much." Ino sneered.

"I can see you're still not fully developed yet Inara." Sakura teased.

Inara smirked, "That's funny coming from someone who's as flat as a boy."

Sakrua's mouth dropped disgusted, Ino burst out laughing, still clinging to the back of Sasuke's neck.

The Ayanomi turned her fury to her next victim, "What're you laughing at Ino? You better let go of Sasuke before you break his back with your weight."

The blonde girl stopped laughing, Inara continued her attack.

"Don't you think it's about time to lay off the sweets? Looks like you've gained ten pounds since I've last seen you."

The girl's face dropped; did she really look that big? Ino let go of the Uchiha's neck.

Sasuke stepped over to Inara's side and slipped his arm around her waist. If this didn't stop the argument, nothing would.

Sakura and Ino's eyes widened with horror.

"Sasuke…you can't be…I mean…you not…are you?" Sakura stammered.

"You're kidding right?" Ino was almost beside herself with sorrow.

Inara slid her arms around her boyfriend's torso and rested her head against his shoulder.

A loud bang of a door being slammed open caused everyone to jump violently. A tall man in a black trench coat, wearing a black bandana around his head entered the room.

Several other adults followed him inside and sat in the vacant chairs that lined the outer edges of the room. They all wore similar grey clothing along with their headbands, which identified them as Kahona ninja.

"EVERYONE FIND A SEAT!" yelled the man. His voice bounced off the wall of the small room.

The exam participants scrambled every which way to find a spot to sit before they evoked the anger of the tall man.

A few seconds later everybody was seated, most of the teams had been separated in the scramble, including Squad seven.

Naruto had found a seat next to a blushing Hinata, Inara sat among some unknown genin, and Sasuke was next to Shikamaru.

The tall man turned to face all the genin, revealing thick, jagged scars running diagonally across the side of his face.

Some of the students began gasped. The exam proctor glared at them.

"My name is Ibiki Morino and I will be your proctor for the first part of the Chunin exams. If there are any of you who do not wish to be here I suggest that you leave now." Ibiki's face remained emotionless as a few students left their seats.

"I see… will the teammates of the individuals please stand up."

Eight more genin rose to their feet.

"Get out." hissed the proctor.

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" shouted an enraged boy.

A kunai imbedded itself near the boy's hand.

One of the proctors dressed in grey, grinned slyly.

"Oh didn't we mention that this is a team effort? If one of you quits, you all quit. If one of you fails the written test, you all fail. Get the picture?"

The eight genin were herded out of the room, they had failed the Chunin exams before it had even started.

Ibiki gave an irritated sigh, "Thank you Izumo for clearing that up. Now the rules for the test are quite simple-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN "WRITTEN TEST"?" shouted Naruto raising his hand.

"If you would allow me to explain, this whole thing would go much smoother!" growled the scarred man.

Naruto put his hand down.

"Good, now this list of rules will explain everything, so no more questions understood?"

Another proctor passed out a sheet of paper to every exam participant.

1.Each team starts out with 30 points, 10 points per member. These points will be removed if any of the rules are broken. If one teammate loses all 10 points that member will be disqualified along with the other members of the team.

2.Do not under any circumstances let any of the proctors catch you cheating; if you are caught two points will be deducted from your total amount of points.

3.Answer all nine questions to the best of your abilities. For every answer you get wrong a point will be taken away.

4.There will be a tenth question at the end of the main exam; this question will be the tie breaker of any teams that produce an equal score. Your score will decide your positions for the next phase of the Chunin exams.

5.You will be given exactly one hour to answer the problems, and remember DO NOT TEMPT YOURSELF TO CHEAT! IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!

Inara set the paper down, my god can they possibly think of any more rules?

"It's probably just so they can cut the weaklings out…like those two boys you encountered earlier."

Yeah I guess…but they didn't mention anything about using your inner demon to give you the answers.

"Oh no hatchling! Don't even think about it."

Come on Kasaki! You've been around for like 2,000 year now! You've gotta know something about this test.

"Just because I'm a few centuries old doesn't mean that I pay attention to what you humans are doing. It's no concern of mine."

Inara smirked to herself, Gee that's too bad, what would my father think if he knew that you refused to help his daughter to get stronger, after he so generously donated her to be forever at your mercy?

"Touché, alright you got me. But I'm not just going to give you the answers; you'll have to come up with most of them on your own."

I knew you'd see it my way.

"I hate you, you do know that right?"

Duh, but you can't live without me… so what're you going to do?

"Something I haven't done in a very long time."

And that would be?

"Throw a bit of a fit and complain."

Kasaki a few hours isn't a long time.

"Remember you only have one hour. The tenth question will be revealed then. Are there any other questions?" Ibiki scanned the room, no one dared to raise their hand.

Inara looked down, in front of her lay a large sealed envelope.

"Alright BEGIN!"

Everyone in the room jumped. The sound of paper seals being broken filled the room.

Pulling out the test packets, the Chunin exams began.

AN: AW MAN I had to cut this one off, it was just getting too long.

I FINALLY HIT MY 1000 MARK!! (Skips around room happily) In honor of this grand event I will be answering any questions that you have about the story, any that you're little brains can think of as long as they have to do with the story. Please treat this opportunity with great care because I won't be doing this again for quite some time. Until next time JA NE!