Author's Note: I'm really really sorry about the delay guys! I'm going on vacation and haven't had time to update! I won't be posting for a week or two. I apologize for that too; however since I won't have my story/internet I can't help it. I hope you all will still be with me when I come back...Sorry again for the delay and I'll see you all soon. Oh, and regarding this chapter: you guys finally get to meet the rest of the cast :) Hope you find someone that you like...

Hiroshi, Aya, and Haru had been standing in the examination room for quite some time before most of the teams arrived. One of the teams was a group from Konoha that the sand kids instantly recognized. Glancing over at them, the girl in the group stared emotionlessly before sighing and walking over with her teammates in tow. "Hiroshi, Aya, Haru." Rai nodded her head. "It's nice to see you well."

Tatsuya gave them an odd look. "Hey Rai, who are these guys again? I've never seen them before." Tatsuya was a blocky boy. His eyes were black and his hair, which was so short that it could almost be called shaved, was a bright vibrant pink.

Riku rolled his white eyes. "They're the Kazekage's kids and the little boy is their cousin."

Aya giggled. "I think boy is a bit of an insult don't you think?"

"Uh, no, look at the size of him. He's only like what? 10?"

Haru blushed and looked down hard at the floor. Aya gave Riku an oddly sweet smile. "Actually, asshole, he's 15. But thank you for your completely incorrect insult."

Riku tossed back his brown hair and scoffed. "Listen girl, he's tiny, what did you expect? He's never going to make it through this exam."

Rai cuffed him on the side of the head. "I'm sorry about my teammate's behavior. He speaks before he thinks."

Tatsuya shook his head and sighed dramatically. "Of course he does. All that hot gas has to go somewhere. Besides, he called her a girl, and, may I add, by the size of her chest, she is most definitely not."

Riku glared. "I am not full of hot air you dipshit. However, you are correct. Her chest is fairly large to be that of a 12 year old."

Hiroshi growled at them, while Rai glared. A voice suddenly appeared from nowhere. "Riku, Tatsuya, you say something like that again around my cousin and he's going to beat you so bad they won't be able to identify your corpses."

Tatsuya looked over. "Nanami, why do you always have to butt in and ruin all the fun? I was enjoying the view."

"Tatsuya." A boy said, appearing beside Nanami. "Brother. I think you should be a little bit more considerate. Hiroshi and Aya are 16 and have much more experience then we do."

Tatsuya rolled his eyes. "Shun, you're way too nice for your own good. You're going to get your ass kicked." Shun gave an embarrassed smile before letting his sandy mane cover his wide blue eyes.

"It's not that. It's just that you should show a bit more respect."

"Oh, don't start that up with me again, Shun. Dad's been riding my back about that already. I don't need you too."

Riku smiled evilly. "I think it would do you well to listen to your brother Tatsuya. After all, you've lost to me how many times in practice? You should start showing me more respect."

Tatsuya growled and leaped at him. The two started fighting for only mere seconds before a pair of hands lifted them and pulled them apart. "Now, now gentlemen, this isn't the time to be fighting ourselves." Yuu said, looking down on them with a happy grin. "Sister, you might want to consider getting these two muzzles. They can't seem to help insulting each other. Rai?" Yuu looked over at Rai who had seemed to have lost all sense of reality. She was staring at the door which caused all the others to glance over as well. Aya, however, was the only one to notice the slight widening of Rai's eyes, eyes that held fear, apprehension, and desire all in one look.

Walking in through the door was a boy of strange ethereal beauty, causing every girl in the room to gasp in open delight. His sleek, dark blue hair was tied back in a low ponytail. His face was chiseled to perfection, with a firm, unyielding jaw that was set in a frown. His eyes were masked by a pair of tight goggles, which allowed only those brave enough to get right in his face to see the color or the expression of his eyes. His hands were hidden in the pockets of his dark cloak that hid nearly all of his body. The boys in the room didn't quite understand why in the world all the girls were starting to swoon.

Nanami, being very perceptive of these things, smirked. "He's mysterious and powerful. Almost no one ever sees him and no one knows what type of training he goes through. He doesn't have a genin team, yet he is still able to participate in the exams as if he is one. To top it off, he has absolutely gorgeous hair and a perfect face. Does that answer all of your unasked questions?" The guys looked at her with insane shock before nodding their heads.

Yuu chuckled. "It's almost as surprising to see him here as it is to see the sand team here."

Hiroshi glared at Yuu. "What do you mean by that?"

Yuu raised an eyebrow. "Aw, come now. You three have been off training for three years! You guys are already 16! That's pretty old to still be taking the chunnin exam."

Tatsuya, knocked out of his strange daze started laughing. "You are so right. Man, you old fogies. Why again haven't you become chunnin yet?"

Hiroshi turned a bit pale. "W-we uh, failed the first time we took it."

Aya grinned at them. "You see, daddy was a bit miffed when we didn't pass."

Hiroshi stared at her in pure horror. "M-miffed? He was furious. God, the sand! All the sand, everywhere!"

Aya butt in again. "Daddy secluded us from the rest of society until he believed we were ready. He occasionally let us go on missions for experience, but that was about it. We got to practice with Haru a bit too, but that wasn't very often. We had three years of fun, vigorous, training!" Aya raised her thumb in a papa imitation, while Hiroshi continued to stare at her as if she'd grown a new head. "That doesn't matter now. I am in the here and now and I need to size up my opponents. Now tell me, who is that yummy young boy who all the girls are infatuated with?"

Haru spoke up for the first time since their arrival. "He's aunt Hinata's and uncle Shino's son. He's-"

Rai spoke. "The Hyuuga and Aburame heir."

Aya whistled. "A.k.a. one hell of a kid. I sure hope I get to fight him!"

Hiroshi looked at her worriedly. "I hope you don't; not without me at least."

Aya chortled. "Hiro, just because our powers are about triple when we work together doesn't mean I can't take him by myself."

Nanami glanced over at them. "What do you mean triple?"

"That's right. When we work alone we can kick just about anybody's butt. However, when we work as one, our jutsus are near impossible to stop."

Riku snorted. "Sure, sure, keep saying that kind of shit when you're in the ring."

A bunch of squeals were heard and the others stopped to glance over. A group of about six girls had surrounded the new boy and were asking him various questions, none of which he seemed too excited to answer. "How old are you?" "Where do you live?" "Can I have your phone number?" "Where do you train?" "Will you show us your eyes?" "Why do you wear those goggles?" "Can I get a pair?" "Will you give me your autograph?"

His eyebrows fell down into a glare. Aya, gazing in his direction when this happened, noticed from the corner of her eye, yet again, something strange about Rai; Rai flinching at the sight of his repulsed stare. Aya heaved a sigh. That was something she would have to check out later. Standing, Aya strode over to the group and tapped one of them on the shoulder. "Excuse me ladies, but I believe you crowding him is making him feel a bit uncomfortable."

The girl turned and snarled. "Back off whore! We saw him first!"

Aya continued to smile. "That was quite uncalled for. I will ask you again to please leave him alone."

By this time, the other girls had turned to stare at the intruder. "Go away!" "He's ours!" "Bitch!" "Slut!"

Aya sighed. "Fine, if you want to be like that, then I will be happy to sever your youthful ambitions." Aya then grabbed the first girl by the hair and pulled her back into an arch. Simultaneously, Aya kicked her in the small of her back and let go. The girl flew across the room and into the crowd of people. "Would anyone else like to try?" They all converged on Aya like a swarm. However, they found themselves attacking air. Aya let out a chuckle from behind them before sweeping out their feet from beneath them. "You want to take me on? That's fine with me. But I'm going to kick your ass if you do." Aya then turned from the group to stand face to face with the boy who was now staring at her with a raised brow. "Nice to meet you." Aya held out her hand. "I'm Aya, daughter of Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."

The boy clasped her hand in a firm hold. "Aburame Ryuu, son of Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata."

Aya could feel the power surging from his grip, which made her smile widen. "I see that I have found a worthy opponent. May we find ourselves battling in the arena! I am sure you will be a true challenge!"

Ryuu gave a slight tilt of the lips. "Likewise. You prove that one can't be judged by their size in this competition."

"You bet!" Aya lifted her thumb up before turning and walking away.

All conversation was cut off when an examiner stepped up to the front. "Hello everyone and welcome to the chunnin exam! I will first explain the exam and then you all will be moved to a new location so we can commence with the actual test. The first trial will take place in a forest of our choosing. There are three starting points for the exam. Your team will be separated and each member will start at a different marker.

"Starting from each marker, for about three miles, there is a pathway that leads through the woods. At the end of the path there is a supplies pack that you will need for the second part of the test; however, it will not be quite so easy for you to make it to the end as you might think. Each path is strung with numerous traps and bombs."

A kid from the crowd yelled out, "That's easy! What a dumb test! All of us are going to make it!"

The examiner chuckled. "You didn't let me finish. There will also be a jounin or advanced chunnin on each path experienced in genjutsu. To make it through this test, you must be able to fight off not only the traps, but also the illusions at the same time.

"Now for the rules, they are as followed…One: You mustn't stray from the path at any time. If you do so, the chunnin or jounin assigned to your pathway will have to assume you're trying to cheat and will knock you out, or just take you back to the beginning. In either case, you fail. Two: You cannot engage the ninja on your path in battle. To be a good chunnin, you must be able to identify an enemy's position without alerting them to the fact that you are aware of their presence. You are allowed to defend yourself, but nothing more. Three: All three teammates must make it to the end. If any teammate doesn't make it within the allotted time, then you all fail."

"What do you mean allotted time?!" One boy cried out.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to talk about that didn't I? You have a half an hour to make it to the end. It may seem like a long stretch, but you could be caught in a jutsu for hours before you break it! Now, if that's all the questions I'm going to get, then let us move to the appropriate location shall we? Everyone, follow me!"