Chapter 10

Chunin Exams?

Crazy here! Hello hello!

So... tired!

Anyway! Sakura–chaaannn!

Sakura: o.o What now?

Disclaimer pleasee? :D

Sakura: 'sigh' Crazy does not own Naruto, no matter what her imagination may say.

Sad but true. ON TO THE STORY!

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Sakura was only just getting into her regular outfit. She wondered why father asked her to wear her headband around her neck from now on. She was in the village, shouldn't her crystal be safe? She shrugged. He had his reasons, best to just go with it. She had agreed to meet her teammates at the bridge Kakashi always specified. Well. Where she was supposed to be an hour ago.

No point being early or on time if her sensei wouldn't. She attached her gold–blue cape to her shoulder, brushed her long locks quickly, and made her way downstairs. Her trusty swords were in their sheaths at her hips, of course. She remembered how worried her family had been when she returned from her first real mission. She had come back to Konoha with two bloodied, shredded outfits. Anna had been furious and demanded .DETAIL.

Kratos decided his little girl needed to start carrying around more medical supplies. Or get a personal medic. Or become a medic herself. She was too accident prone for her own good. She and her teammates.

Lloyd was just jealous (after his initial worry) his little sister got such a big mission so quickly. He only just got an A rank mission a month ago, and he just had to protect some snooty princess from a bunch of weak thugs. It was way overrated.

Sakura hugged her mother, and promised Lloyd to meet up with him for a training session after her team's meeting.

She opened the door, feeling the sun's rays warm her pale skin. She smiled, taking the familiar trail to where she knew her teammates were waiting for her. Speaking of teammates... their teamwork was really suffering lately. Naruto and Sasuke were constantly trying to outdo the other. This led to more trouble than good. Naruto ended up being dragged through active bombs. Naruto and Sasuke were almost swept away and over a waterfall. She ended up tieing her leg to a tree, grabbing the two by their ankles before they could be swept to their deaths. Naruto destroyed a woman's garden. Sasuke was training constantly, often getting hurt. Ever since the mission in the Land of the Waves Sasuke had seemed... different. He was quieter, but his advances on her didn't decrease. (Inner finally convinced her Sasuke and Naruto weren't dating, that they were in fact crushing on her) If anything, he seemed clingier. He pestered Itachi for training all the time. Even Lloyd, in some of his more desperate times. One time he asked Sakura, who had to come up with an excuse. Sakura never trained with her teammates. She didn't want to hurt them.

She could see the distinct colors of their hair. Bright blonde, blue–black. She wasn't surprised to see Kakashi wasn't there yet. The blond caught sight of her, grinned, waves, and yelled "Sakuraaa–chaaann!"

She rose her hand, waving slightly, walking calmly to the hyperactive blond. She smiled belligerently at his rapid fire talk. She hardly understood a word out of his mouth. She believed it had something to do with ramen. She looked over his shoulder, meeting Sasuke's gaze. She smiled lightly, nodding in greeting. His eyes were warm, when they met hers. What caught her off guard was when he turned his back to her.

Was he feeling okay...?

She turned around just as she felt Kakashi's chakra signature, and looked up. Kakashi chuckled, he never could catch her off guard. She crossed her arms, leaning against the bridge. Naruto started complaining about his ever consistent tardiness. Sasuke brooded silently next to Sakura, staring into the water below. Sakura decided he was probably just having a bad day, if he was feeling normal enough to slide so much closer to her.

Kakashi clapped his gloved hands, rubbing them together in mock excitement "So, kiddies! I have to go to a meeting soon, so you all are free to go! Try working on your teamwork today. It's really been suffering." He promptly disappeared, leaving an annoyed team.

Naruto turned on Sasuke, pointing an accusing finger "It's all your fault, Sasuke! YOU are the reason our teamwork sucks lately!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

Sasuke turned an uniterested face towards the finger. He snapped "Hey, idiot. Get that thing out of my face. I don't know where it's been!"

Sakura sighed, turning on the heel of her foot, hearing Naruto say "See, you jerk?! You are running Sakura off!"

Just as Sasuke was going to retort Sakura interrupted, voice annoyed "For the record, it's not anyone's fault in particular. It's ALL of OUR faults. Sasuke, you have asked me for training, Kakashi for training, even Lloyd. How about sparring with Naruto? That way you could both get a feel on one another's styles. Naruto, you are constantly trying to put the blame on others, or I should say Sasuke. It creates uneccesary tension. A little competition and rivalry doesn't hurt, but lately you two are taking it to extremes. I haven't exactly helped either. I am constantly saying no to any 'bonding time' as Kakashi so eloquently puts it. That, and I usually let you two get away with this behavior. Kakashi at least attempts to get us to come to terms, but we always seem to mess it up. The one thing we know we can have team work on just so happens to be that we can fight in a group effort!"

The two froze, then they looked down. It wasn't often that Sakura snapped at anyone. It was always a humbling experience when it happened.

Naruto started twiddling his fingers "Then, uh, should we all... go for ramen... or something?"

Sakura turned to them, and they could see she looked upset. They started to worry she was upset at them. "Damn it, here I go again. Sorry guys, I can't. I promised that I would train with Lloyd after I heard whatever it was Kakashi wanted to tell us."

Sasuke perked up the moment she said training "I'm coming with."

Sakura didn't bother trying to talk him out of it. She knew better. He would just follow her anyway. She turned to Naruto, who suddenly seemed to get antsy "Sorry, I think i'll pass on that. Uhhh.., see you guys later!"

Sakura watched his retreating orange–clad back, head tilted. Well, that was odd. Why was there a square rock–thing chasing him?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––Naruto POV––––––––––––––––––––––––––

He stared straight at this rock–thing. It wasn't possible it was a real rock. It isn't possible for them to form that way. Right? That and it was following him. Rock's can't move on their own. ...right?

Deciding to test this, he turned his back to the rock–like–thing. He walked forward. He heard the shuffling behind him and turned quickly. The rock was right behind him, still. He turned and ran. He heard loud shuffling, and turned. It was still right behind him, and still not jiggling or anything.

Sick of this game he pointed his finger at the rock–thing and yelled "I KNOW that that is not a rock! STOP FOLLOWING ME!"

The ...rock spoke "That's exactly what I would expect from my greatest rival!" Then there was a lot of colored smoke. When it finally cleared away enough for him to see there before him stood Konohamaru and his friends, chocking from all the smoke.

The boy with glasses coughed, then chocked out "I think we used too much of that powder..."

After a while the smoke finally cleared, and Naruto stared blankly at the kids. Konohamaru jumped up. "Hey, boss! Let's play ninja!"

Naruto froze, considering. Until he thought about what Sakura would think. Or what Sasuke would SAY. He quickly turned his back to them, coughing awkwardly "N–no way! I'm a ninja. A REAL ninja. I have better stuff to do than to play a silly game with you guys!"

Konohamaru stomped his foot, frowning, and whined "Boss! Don't be so cold!"

"Guys look. I need to catch up with my teammates!"

Konohamaru was having none of that, and stole Naruto's kunai pouch. He ran, laughing as Naruto ran after him screaming profanities. That is until he ran into someone. He fell back, grunting at the pain. He opened his eyes, looking up. He met the eyes of a very pissed off male, who was glaring down at him.

"Watch where you're going brat!"

The guy bent over, clutching Konohamaru's scarf and shirt, pulling him up into the air. All Konohamaru could do was clutch the guy's wrist, and dangle helplessly. A blond girl stood behind the jerk watching with disdain.

"You're going to start this now?"

"The little punk ran right into me. That hurt, so he needs to pay."

Naruto finally caught up, catching sight of Konohamaru, and glared at the guy "Hey! Let him go!"

The guy merely scoffed "Yeah? What are you going to do to make me?"

Naruto froze, staring over the shoulders of the two assailants.

The guy scoffed again, "Look at him! He's even more of a wimp than thi–" He was cut off when a stone hit his hand, enough force behind the throw to make him drop Konohamaru. Naruto lunged forward, grabbing the boy, and getting away as fast as possible. He set him down, his friends coddling him, and Naruto looked up into the tree.

There was Sasuke, sitting in the tree, throwing a stone up and down in his hand, eyes fixed on the weird–guy with the makeup. The blond behind makeup guy immediately started blushing when she saw Sasuke, making Naruto's blood boil. Even more so when Konohamaru said that Naruto was lame compared to Sasuke. What was so great about that pretty boy?!

Though he remembered seeing someone behind those two... he turned his eyes back over their shoulders. There was Sakura, walking towards the group with that silent, leisurely grace of hers. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, and her hair was billowing out behind her. Despite her calm appearance though, her eyes were focused with deadly intensity on the two in front of him.

She was already only a few steps behind the two. She stopped, clearing her throat. All eyes immediately focused on her, and he couldn't help but be proud that she startled everyone but him so much. Well, Sasuke too, but that's not the point.

She opened her mouth, her soft, sweet voice a gentle volume. "Is there a problem?"

The stupid makeup guy immediately noticed how pretty she was, and sidled up to her. "No, not now that you're here. What's your name?"

She slowly shook her head, eyes still fixed on both of them. Her body was tense. "Sorry. I don't know if it would be wise to tell you. You seemed to have been causing trouble for my friends over there."

The blond girl was looking at the pinkete with a strange gleam in her eyes. "Well, I wasn't causing trouble. I'm Temari."

Sakura observed her, seeming to have an internal conflict before she outstretched her hand. The girl, Temari, shook Sakura's much smaller one. "I am Sakura, genin of this village. Nice to meet you, Temari."

She took back her hand, walking past makeup guy and Temari. She flicked her eyes up to Sasuke, uninterested. "How about you come down, Sasuke."

He grunted, nodding, and jumped down. He stood on her other side, Naruto being on her right. Konohamaru and his two friends were huddled behind the three, and they were looking up at them with admiring stares.

Kankuro walked towards the pinkete, taking firm hold of the girl's wrist. Sasuke tensed, and Naruto growled. Naruto pushed him away, yelling "Back off! She doesn't want you around, girly–man!"

The guy was pissed, pulling something from his back. Temari looked shocked "You aren't going to use crow!"

"I will if this blond brat keeps getting in my way!"

"...Kankuro. Stop this, you are an embarrassment to our village."

The two, Kankuro and Temari, froze, eyes widening with fear. They all turned their eyes to the tree that Sasuke had vacated not long ago. A red–head stood on one of the branches, upside down.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––Sakura POV–––––––––––––––––––––––––

She had felt the boy's presence before he had arrived, and he had been watching since Sasuke threw the stone. She met his eyes, straight on. The pale green almost matched her own eyes, though his were a few shades darker. He seemed to become surprised when she didn't look away.

He continued "Put it away, Kankuro. Continue this idiocy and I will kill you."

Kankuro seemed genuinely fearful. She wondered why, though the boy did have a powerful chakra signature, like Naruto's, that shouldn't instigate such instant fear. Or at least as far as she was concerned.

Kankuro opened his mouth, voice shaky "G–aara... I–it it was their fault, I swear!"

"I don't care." There was a swirl of sand and the boy appeared before Temari and Kankuro. He turned to them, his eyes focusing on Sakura's own. She met them with a calm gaze.

"I am sorry for any trouble Kankuro caused."

Naruto stepped forward, slightly in front of Sakura. He hated that all these guys had their eyes on HIS pink haired teammate. He watched as the three started to walk away, annoyed.

Sasuke barked "Hey you, what's your name?" The three paused.

Temari turned around quickly, blushing, her hand on her chest "Who, me?"

"No. The guy with the gourd on his back."

The red head turned, eyes flashing to Sakura again, then finding Sasuke. "I am Gaara of the Sand. I am curious about you as well. What is your name?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara nodded his head, eyes going straight back to Sakura. "And you?"

"I am Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you."

He nodded again, turned his back to them. The trio started leaving again. Naruto interrupted them this time, indignant. "I bet your just dying to know who I am! I'm Na–"

Gaara glanced over his shoulder, still walking "I couldn't care less."

Naruto face–planted.

––––––––––––––––––––––––Gaara POV––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Shukaku was restless. He hated this village, he wanted to see it demolished. He wanted all these people covered in their own blood. Gaara ignored the Tanuki's thoughts, having had far too many years of practice. Though, he could never keep the blood lust at bay. Not that he wanted to. It was all that assured him he was alive.

He knew his brother was stirring up trouble again. Brother... what a stupid term. It's not like he held a bond to the fool. Siblings dont matter to him, they were a means to an end. They had never treated him like family. Just like a monster. Only ever like a monster.

He hid in the shadows of the trees. The blond was annoying. Too loud. Shukaku's voice alone already gave him a constant headache. The blond's voice only made it worse.

Kill him!

Gaara ignored the tanuki again. He watched as the black-haired boy threw a stone at Kankuro, making him let go of the kid. The blond grabbed the boy and took him to his equally annoying friends. If a stone was all it took this black-haired boy to get Kankuro to drop that brat, he might be worth killing. He heard a soft noise, catching everyone's attention. He turned his head, eyes meeting the form of a small girl with pink hair. Her eyes were pale green. They flashed to where he was hidden in the tree, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Interesting girl. For once the Shukaku agreed with him.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Sasuke–––––––––––––––– –––––––––––

Every glance, every clash of eyes, every look. It reminded him that he had been so close to losing Sakura. That he had been weak. That he had to leave the work to NARUTO. His family wasn't much help, every time he asked for help, for training, they all couldn't rush away fast enough. Father was as usual far too consumed by his older sibling, looking down on Sasuke as menial in comparison. Mother wanted to help, but she always ended up having to do something for another person in the clan. Itachi? Not that his requests to his elder sibling for training ever worked anyway. Uncles and aunties skittered around his requests. He wouldn't bother asking cousins, he wasn't as strong as Itachi, but he was still an Uchiha prodigy. They wouldn't be able to teach him anything he hadn't known in advance. Grandparents couldn't help him. His FAMILY wasn't helping him. Early development of sharingan or not he was still of lower priority than Itachi.

He was eventually so desperate he had asked Lloyd Haruno. Lloyd who was in some ways too much like Naruto. But desperation brings even an Uchiha to such levels. Besides, he is Sakura's older brother. Sakura who is FAR more advanced than Sasuke. He had just hoped all the power hadn't skipped Lloyd.

And, Lloyd was strong. He was so much like Sakura in his prowess with the swords that Sasuke had felt like maybe he could finally get stronger. Could finally protect the pinkete. But, when Lloyd handed him the dual swords that is when everything went wrong. Sasuke didn't like the weight he felt in his hands. They were too light, and when he swung his arms they made for quick attacks, but he always put too much force behind it and he would end up throwing swords everywhere. He remembered a more recent occurence.

––––––flashback.

He was slashing the swords, imagining himself facing off powerful enemies. He imagined that one was running towards him, intending to kill as all ninjas do. He rose the wooden sword, slashing it with force. Only for it to go flying out of his hand. He no longer saw enemies, but now he saw Lloyd with a shocked look on his face. Lloyd had originally been leaning against a tree, watching Sasuke with bored cherry-wood eyes. Now he stood stock still before the same tree, the wooden sword lodged above his head into the bark. His eyes were far from bored now, and his spiky brown hair looked even more misshapen than usual thanks to the sword that had given the older male something of a trim.

Lloyd looked up at the sword thoughtfully, getting over his surprise. He looked down, eyes on Sasuke but not really seeing him. His mouth formed a slight frown, and his eyes finally focused. He met Sasuke's eyes.

"You are going to HATE this kid. But, you need to ask me 'n Saku's dad for training."

Sasuke froze, "What? Why? I can't ask Kratos for training! My father can't stand him!"

"Yeah well, that's their problem isn't it. Look, if you really wanna be stronger and all that, you are going to need to go to dad. You are not made for light swords, you would have far more potential with a broadsword. Saku knows how to use both, but heres the thing about that. Saku is so small that swinging a huge sword, no matter how strong that girl may be, is extremely hard. Some things just dont work for people. Like dual swords are not for you. They could be someday, with years of training, but you want a quick fix right? Then dad's your man."

–––––––end of flashback.

Sasuke had already resolved to do exactly that. He had always been trying to get more attention from father anyway, so maybe he could hit two birds with one stone, get stronger, get his attention. This last training session they had gone to so briefly was just to inform Lloyd that his advice was heard and to be acted upon.

As for those three ninja he couldn't understand what they were doing here, they were far from familiar. But the red head... he would be the perfect test subject. He had come off as powerful, and his companions had been fearful of him.

He smirked. He wanted to be like that. So strong that others feared him.

Not Sakura of course...

But Naruto he definitely wants scared of him.

––––––––––––––––––––––Kakashi P.O.V––––––––––––––––––––––––––

He had gathered his munchkins together again. Sakura seemed a bit more distant than normal, her peridot eyes locked on the water beneath the bridge. They were far away. Sasuke had this strange excitement about him, like he was jumping out of his skin on the inside. Naruto was sulking next to Sakura, his finger twirling shapes on the bridge's wood railing. He only noticed Kakashi was there when he got a splinter and started to flail around like a fish out of water. He pointed the red, accusatory,throbbing finger at Kakashi. He exclaimed the regular "You're LATE!"

Sakura seemed to come out of her stupor and gave Naruto an amused look. She gently reached out and lowered his hand. "Pointing isn't polite. Besides, you were pointing back at yourself three times." While she said this she soundly pulled the splinter from where it had been making its home. With how quickly he heals she had been worried the skin would heal over the splinter if she didn't get it out quickly.

Naruto froze, looking down at his hand. He giggled idiotically when he realized that she was right. So, just to prove himself a smart ass he flattened his hand, all fingers directed at Kakashi now. Sasuke watched Naruto's actions with annoyed boredom. Sakura found his antics slightly endearing. Kakashi merely waited for them to all focus back on him. When that didn't happen he sighed, and he cleared his throat so that their eyes were on him again.

"Soooo! My kiddies, since you are so good at attracting trouble, have you seen any unfamiliar ninja around lately?"

Sakura frowned "You know about that huh? Yeah. We met three ninja not long ago. Headbands dictated they were from the village of Sand."

Kakashi nodded "Well, those three were here for a purpose."

They all paused, the three younger waiting for him to continue. He didn't. Sasuke sighed and muttered "Being?"

"The chunin exams!"

Naruto gave him a blank 'huh?' stare.

Sakura took one look at Naruto and shook her head in disappointment. "Naru, the exams bring us higher in level. Remember how you had to beg to get a good mission? You won't have to beg so much if you pass these exams. It brings you closer to your dream of the hokage title."

Naruto's mouth formed an 'o'. He stayed quite all for three seconds, Sasuke adding a quick quip on that 'being a new record.' Naruto, ignoring Sasuke, got his famous grin, where his teeth showed and his eyes sparkled. He threw himself at Kakashi, screaming "THANK YOU KAKASHI! YOU'RE THE BEST!"

Kakashi was less than pleased. Naruto was not only wrinkling his vest... he was DROOLING on it. Oh the horror...!

He finally dislodged Naruto, finding his male students looked pleased with the prospect of the Chunin exams. Sakura however looked worried.

He decided not to add that all three of them would need to attend and agree to do the exams.

It came down to their feelings about it, and if they pass Iruka's test.

He knew they would.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––two days later–––––––––––––––––––––

Sakura walked at a slightly slower pace than that of her two teammates. She knew that she had to do this for them. She wished that they had gone through training like she had. Well, in any case she would protect them, as she always has since they befriended her.

The academy doors were right there, and Sasuke and Naruto threw them open in an almost theatrical manner. They strut their way up the stairs, Sakura gracefully following.

They find a commotion on the next few floors, and Sakura was fully aware of the genjutsu on the room. She had no interest in involving herself quite yet, she knew her teammates would make a stir on their own. She would only interfere if need be.

One of the men at the door kicked a young woman, sending her to the ground. The others around whispered about these men that would hurt a girl with such ease. The two males taunted all around, and Sakura was far from impressed with this situation. How did they not know what flight they were on? She hoped that her teammates would notice without her help.

Sasuke stood forward "Hey, what the hell are you blocking this room for? It's not even the right floor."

Naruto nodded, arms crossed "Yeah, there's no reason to be bullying people."

Sakura remained in the shadows near the stairs. She smiled, proud of her two idiots.

Until one of the men said something Sasuke didn't like, and he aimed a powerful kick just as the other man did. Sakura felt he could handle this on his own. She wouldn't have had to interfere anyway, one of the boys that had been being bullied suddenly stopped their kicks, seemingly unhurt.

"There is no need for more violence."

The brown-haired girl stood up, frowning "Hey, what happened? I thought you said we should keep our skill under low key!"

The black-haired boy nodded, his hair strangely shiney, "I know...but..."

His eyes turned to where she remained leaning against the wall. When she realized he had found her she pushed herself from the wall, walking to where her two teammates stood. People were shocked that such a small, exotic looking girl had been able to hide herself with such ease. It was almost like a cat, slinking in and out of shadows with silent grace.

The boy walked toward her, in an all green jumpsuit, and smiled, teeth flashing. "You are quite the interesting kunoichi. Your name is Sakura Haruno, correct? I am Rock Lee, and I wish to ask you to be my girlfriend! I shall protect you with my life!"

This got a glare from almost every male in the vicinity. Most notably from her male teammates.

Sakura tilted her head, ignoring inner's repulsed exclaims "Thank you for the interest, but dating is the last thing on my mind at this point in time."

Lee deflated, but just said "Ah, then I shall try again at another date, lovely cherry blossom!"

The brown-haired girl that had adressed Lee earlier walked forward, accompanied by a male with long brown hair and eyes of pearl. The girl smiled at Sakura, smoothing her twin buns "Hey, nice to meet you. Im Tenten."

"Yes, same to you, Tenten–san." The pinkete inclined her head.

The brown haired male was staring at Sasuke with intense eyes, "Hey, what's your name?"

Sasuke snorted, throwing an egotistical glance at the male. "It's rude to ask before you state your own name."

The guy grunted, annoyed "Neji Hyuuga, now name."

Sasuke remained silent, Neji boiling with anger. Sakura rolled her eyes "His name is Sasuke Uchiha. This is Naruto Uzumaki. I am Sakura Haruno. This is us leaving."

She promptly made her way to the stairs, oblivious to the stares on her back, and to her teammates who were trying to catch up but remain looking cool. Not an easy feat.

Sakura was already tired of this whole thing.

Where was a good old pocky when she needed one?

––––––––––––––––––––––––––Fin... for now–––––––––––––––––––––

Crazy: Yay! It's done! 'pumps fist'

R&R and all that jazz, please.