Chapter 10! I don't own the name of the title. I do not own Naruto, or any of the ninja, exams, places or ninjutsu mentioned here. I only own my three characters, their power and my laptop. So if anyone claims those, I get to sue them... Woah, that sounded mean. I'm really random. I like cookies. But I like Gaara even more. So... Gaara with cookies would be simply awesome... Now, that just sounded creepy.
Since the computer I'm using doesn't have any compatible word processors, I uploaded a few lines of it from a Note processor and wrote the entire chapter directly into the document manager. It was weird at first, but I got used to it. And... yay! I'm not taking a whole lot of time to update anymore!
Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Last Chapter:

"Listen up. Because I'm gonna tell you who these fans think is the hottest here! And, why they love all of you."
Now, that caught their attention alright.

…

"I'm the hottest!" shrieked both Sakura and Ino. I groaned and covered my ears.
"Please. I'm only a meter away from you! We can all hear your screaming just fine!"
They both stared sheepishly around them and apologized to those who gave them death glares.
After a few moments of relishing their discomfort, I coughed to get their attention.

"I'm not going to rank all of you, because that won't be fair for those who don't win. So I will tell you all the awesome things about you in no order, but the last five people I mention will be from fifth to first. And for the girls it will be from third to first, since there are less of you. OK let's start with the girls! Ladies first!"

Kankuro and Kiba huffed at that, but then where all ears.
Hinata shuffled nervously, Tenten and Temari were determined and Sakura and Ino… were obviously glaring each other down. Yuuki and Ryo looked over my shoulder and at my laptop, and both laughed. I put my finger to my lips. They couldn't spill this big secret now. It would ruin everything!
And that secret was that the word document was totally and completely blank. But the genins didn't have to know that.

"OK then. Sakura-chan, the fans love you because you are beautiful, strong and when you aren't being a bitch to Naruto and drooling over Sasuke, you make one talented kunoichi."

The pink haired girl looked disappointed for not being first. Then she grinned.
"They think I'm beautiful and talented! Ha! In your face Ino-pig!"
I wasn't surprised that she ignored the part about 'being a bitch'. This was our good-old, narcissistic Sakura. Ino was about to bash her in the head. So I motioned to Yuuki to do the honors for me. And she gladly did.

"Ino-chan! You are super pretty and are totally unique! But, when you are all 'Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!' you lose the bit of dignity that you have. Do you know the term 'unrequited love'? It suits him. Or else, you are talented as well."

And she reacted the same way as Sakura. She completely ignored the comments about Sasuke and boasted about the positive things that we said. I held back the need to yell at her. Even Yuuki seemed totally frustrated. I sighed and moved on.

"Third on the female hot-list is Tenten! You are a true feminist and can seriously kick ass! Your moves are so incredible and your strength and techniques are just… wow. Not to mention you are absolutely gorgeous and kind!"

"Really? Thanks! And I am a feminist! I want to become a better kunoichi that the legendary sanin, Lady Tsunade!"
I could practically see stars shining in her eyes. Neji smiled at Tenten's enthusiasm. That was so sweet. Those two were truly fated.

"Second is Hinata-chan! You are just so cute and adorable. It's impossible to dislike you and so easy to adore you! Even your clothes make you look cute! Especially that jacket! Suits you well. I know that under your nice, shy façade is a powerful, determined and strong-willed girl! And the guy fans absolutely adore you. Ask Ryo."

The little Hyuga looked at a smiling Ryo and blushed three shades of red darker that Gaara's hair. That I just I realized that I was staring at. I shook my head and tried to focus.

"First place and the hottest kunoichi here is Temari-san! If you just take one look at her, you would see why. She's so hot and gorgeous. She's intelligent, peaceful, tough but caring, powerful but loving. She will protect her loved ones while crushing her enemies under her bad-ass fan. Boy and girl fans adore you! And I'm one of them!"

Everybody turned to stare at the kunoichi (except Shikamaru, who was already ogling at her in the first place). Kankuro grinned and patted his sister's shoulder.
"Congrats Temari! But you boys had better stay away from my sis OK? I don't care how hot she is... no one is touching her. Especially not you." he pointed to Shikamaru. I saw Gaara roll his eyes when he thought no one was looking. But I was always looking anyway.
I turned back to Temari and gasped.

This was something that I had never expected to see in my entire life.
Temari was blushing.

It wasn't a full on, red face, near faint Hinata blush. Her cheeks were just a little rosy. But I had never seen her like this before. With her grin, she looked so cute.
All the girls here are so pretty. And most of the boys aren't so bad either.

"Hey! Hey! Himeko-chan! Can you do the guys now? Am I hot? I remembered that you said that I was hot! Right? Right?" I chuckled at Naruto. He was so... innocently dumb. But he was right.

"Yep. It's the guys' turn now! Now... Who should I start with..." I looked around our group. Most people were now staring expectantly at me. Except for one certain genin that was still ogling Temari. Up next.

"OK. So what do the fans say about Shikamaru-kun... The girls think that you are a handsome genius. Apparently, your laziness is part of your charm. You are kind hearted and have a natural leading instinct. They all hope that you will find a beautiful, smart kunoichi to end up with."

"A... what...A ... a kunoichi? Urg, that's too troublesome." I blinked. I blinked again. I wasn't dreaming. I grinned and glomped the genin.
"Welcome back to the real world of being alive Shikamaru-kun! And remember... a hot, intelligent kunoichi... Now where have I heard that before?" The genin just shrugged, but I saw him glance at Temari for a fraction of a second. Bingo. Step one of ShikaTema plan: get Shika to like Tema... completed!

"Who's next?" asked Tenten. I looked around the circle. Who should I talk about now... Maybe the guy standing there... That apparently had never been hugged before.

"Shino-kun! Did you know that you have a lot of fan girls? And this is what they think of you!" I made a show of reading something not written on my computer. "Shino, you are the hot, silent brooding type. And you are smokin'... the parts we can see anyway! Your jutsus are so cool and I'm pretty sure that your eyes are too." I grinned and hugged the bug-nin. He didn't freeze up this time. He patted my shoulder.

"Thank you." I smiled as so did he.
"Hey. Just saying the truth!"

I stare around. Who's left? Let's see...

"Choji-san! Your turn!" To my surprise, the ninja flinched and shook his head.
"No! I know what you are going to say! You are going to say that I don't have any girl fans because I'm too chubby..." My jaw popped open. I didn't know that anyone would react like this. Poor Choji.
"Well, actually... I was going to say that girls adore you because you are so strong and brave. And that you are awesome, just the way you are." His eyes widened. Then his pained look turned cheerful.
"Really? Oh, that's cool! Thanks!" I grinned nervously at the boy. He just switched personalities just like that. I thought only I could do that. I felt someone tap on my shoulder. It was Yuuki.

"Himeko-chan? Can I say the next one?"
"Be my guest." My cousin skipped over to Rock Lee.

"Oh my god... Lee... You are, like, the physically strongest ninja in the entire room. And girls love 'em fit guys! Your fans adore you because you are loyal, spirited and never give up... no matter much you really should, in some cases. But that is what makes you amazing right? Your youth and your... uh... dynamic energy... fits... moments..." she tilted her head to the side and smiled and Lee.

The next thing I know, I was crushed up next to Ryo and Yuuki with very little oxygen.
"YES! People appreciate my youth! And I'm physically strong and girls love me? Thank you! I will do my best to never let those fans down! If I do, I will do five thousand push-ups, three thousand sit-ups, four thousand squats followed by-..."
"Hey. Lee, I trust that you will never, ever let anyone down. So, please, don't pre-punish yourself mentally OK? And please let me, Ryo and Yuuki go. Your hugs are a little to... to strong for us..." he gave us an apologetic look before letting us out of his bone crushing hug. Yuuki gasped dramatically for air and coughed her guts out. Ryo and I rolled my eyes. Drama queen.

"OK... Moving on." I walked back to the Sand Sibs' table. Gaara looked expectant, probably thinking that I was going to 'eliminate' him from the top five. Like hell I was.
"Kankuro-kun. Your pervertedness is so hilarious. When you aren't trying to beat up innocent kids, you are really nice. In battle, you are brave and would do anything to protect what is dear to you. You know, your fans know what you look like without your kabuki paint. And that is one word. Hot. And not just because you live in a desert and wear black. I even know a girl who really likes you, but I can't tell you her name, because fans like to remain anonymous. I think." The puppet-nin grinned like the perverted guy he was.
"A girl huh? I'd like to meet her."
"Oh... I said a girl? I meant a guy." Kankuro's eyes widened in horror.
"WHAT? BUT! BUT-"
"Just kidding." I burst out laughing at his expression. I couldn't help saying what I had said. It was so hilarious.

Temari, Yuuki, Ryo, Kiba and Naruto all joined me in my laughing fit. Everyone else chuckled or, in Shino's case, hid his huge, goofy smile behind his jacket's collar (of course, it didn't slip past me).
Except for Gaara. I knew what he was doing. His face was completely blank. In a fake way. As if he was trying really, really hard to not show any emotion. He couldn't stop the edges of his lips from curling upwards, though. Wow. That's the first real smile I've ever seen on his face. It was so... cute, in a Gaara way. I leaned towards him so that only people that were listening really hard could hear me.

"You should smile more often, Gaara-kun. It suits you." The jinchuuriki looked shocked. Then he glared defensively at me.
"I was not smiling." Oh, great denial.
"Yes you were. You can't hide that from me."
"I wasn't.
"You were."
"You can't prove it."
"I saw you.
"That's not proof."
"God, Gaara, it's just a smile. I'm not filing a law suit or anything. I'm just glad that you have a sense of humor."

"... Who has a sense of humor?" Gaara and I froze as Kankuro leaned over the table. He looked at the both of us, and when his eyes settled on Gaara, they bugged out in amazement. "Wait... Himeko-chan... Are you talking about Gaara?"
"No! We were talking about... uh... you." Gaara and I said at the same time. The puppet-nin looked between us suspiciously, ignoring the glare that his little brother sent him. Then, he grinned.
"Yeah... I guess I am pretty funny am I?" I giggled at that. I could swear that I saw Gaara smile again.
"Yeah. You sure are." I glanced at the red head. His gaze met mine and he locked eyes with me (making my heart do a triple flip before diving into a pool of melting cookie dough ice-cream) and gave me a look that I could describe as... thankful. For what? For not telling his brother that he smiled? That was ridiculous. But I liked that little smile on his lips, so I didn't comment. It had nothing to do with the fact that my voice was stuck in the pit of my stomach with a billion butterflies.

"Himeko-chan! ... Himeko-chan!... Himeko! Snap OUT OF IT!" I yelped when Yuuki screamed into my ear. Trust her to ruin my Gaara moment.
"What?"
"What do you mean what? The fan comments! Now it's the top five right?" Everyone turned to stare intensely/impatiently at me. I sweat dropped and grabbed my laptop. I breathed in, put on my poker face and turned towards my audience.

"OK! Right here, I have the results! So in fifth place, on the guys' top-hot list is... Kiba-kun!" The dog-nin made a goofy smile and so did Akamaru.
"Kiba-kun. You have so many fans because you are loyal, brave and have a attractive, wild side to you. You are super strong and super good looking. And having that adorable bundle of fluff with you makes you seem even more adorable. Congrats! The fans love you!" And his reaction was as anticipated.
"OH YEAH! See that Akamaru? We've got fans! I am attractive and wild! And you are fluffy!" Akamaru wined when his master called him 'fluffy'. That was too kawaii. But, really, so was Kiba. Those two made one adorable duo.

"In fourth place on the hot list, is Naruto-kun! Your fans love you because..."
"YEAAAAAAAH! I'm hot, believe it!" hollered the knuckle head. I chuckled at his hyper-ness.
"... Your fans love you because you are brave, selfless, strong, determined, funny and absolutely adorable. Your knucklehead innocence is so sweet. But, you are a hero. You... are... so amazing... and cool, Naruto. Remember that! And, without the orange jumpsuit, you are very, very hot"
The ninja grinned like an idiot. He was simply shimmering of happiness. The jinchuurki probably never had someone say that they were 'very, very hot' before, let alone list his qualities. Suddenly, Naruto's face turned serious. Everybody tensed and looked at each other. I watched as the orange clad ninja slowly... unzipped his jacket and tied it around his wait, exposing his form hugging black shirt underneath. His years of physical ninja training were very visible, even for a twelve year old. I can say that this was the definition of hot. He smiled broadly at everyone's gaping mouthes. I sighed, this guy was definitely something. Then, my mental light bulb just lit up. I walked over to Naruto and removed his forehead protector, tied it around his neck and ruffled his hair down so that it framed his face perfectly. Now, he is the definition of hotter.

Sakura, Ino and Temari gawked at Naruto. Tenten and Yuuki smiled, impressed. Hinata... Hinata fainted into Kiba's arms. And Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, glanced at Naruto then at me. I mouthed 'what?'. He just shrugged and stared intensely at a spot on the floor. I have no idea why I included Sasuke in the list of 'girls' reactions' (though it might have something to do with my SasuNaru adoration), and why he kept glancing at me then staring at the floor. My first guess was that he didn't meet many people... girls... who outright said that they thought that Naruto was hot. Second guess, he was pissed because I called the orange clad ninja 'cool', which was normally his title. Third guess... I didn't have anything else. It could be a combination of the first two.

Ryo, who was previously helping Kiba wake up Hinata, poked me and pointed at the screen, reminding me that I still had three names to go.
"Oh, right. Third place is Neji-kun!" Tenten smiled and hugged him possessively, then stuck her tongue out at anyone staring at her boyfriend. "Your fans love your compulsive need to use the words 'destiny', 'faith' and 'byakugan'. You are brave, strong and very talented! And your... uh... serious attitude adds to the whole hotness. I'm pretty sure that Tenten could add a lot more things to that list, since she knows you better than your fans. And your hair is... oh my god! It looks so soft!" Neji's lips tighten uncomfortably at my comment. But this expression turned to a little grin when Tenten ran her hands through his brown locks.
"Oooh... It is soft. Heh. My boyfriend's hair is so much nicer than mine..." The Hyuga's shook his head, circled his arms around her waist and caressed the top of her head.
"You are beautiful Tenten. I... I like your hair. It's... cute." Everyone was staring wide, shiny eyed at the adorable couple. They were looking into each other's eyes. I mentally sighed. This was so adorable. I, of course, had to glance at Gaara to see his reaction, like the red headed ninja's obsessive fan I was. He was observing the couple, with his usual, cold eyes. But his crossed arms were more tense than before. Well... he is an emotional sociopath after all. But I'm surprised at how he's been acting lately. It was 'surprised' in a good way. I mentally smiled at that.
Then, Tenten and Neji snapped out of their moments and blushed at the attention they were receiving. Tenten smiled nervously and swayed slightly from side to side. Neji starting to turn very red, which was more than uncommon for him. I tried to give them a hand.

"OK... We are at the top two now!" Just like that, everyone spun their heads around to give me full attention. I sweat dropped at the intensity of their looks. These ninjas... these teenagers... are really into this whole 'what people that like me say' thing. It made me sad to think about it. This world... had no time to make all of their people feel loved. I was glad that, somehow, I tried to make them feel special by highlighting their qualities in front of others, so that they could be given approving looks and admiring smiles. Well... I should continue.

"The runner up is... drum roll..." Yuuki repeatedly tapped the table. "...Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Yay! Sasuke-kun! Your the hottest!" screamed Ino and Sakura, who were both standing googley-eyed at the boy. Sasuke shrugged and pretended that this whole 'fan' thing was of no importance for him. But I saw the smug look that he sent Naruto. Life would always be a competition for those two.
"Your fans adore you because you are powerful, brave, talented, cool and smoking hot. Your fans seem to think that your horrible, snobbish attitude is attractive and one of your many nicknames is Ice Prince, because of your looks and your personality. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha, you are incredible good looking and deserve your many fans. Even if your attitude is emo and annoying."
I grinned when Sasuke glared murderously at me. He wasn't dumb or deaf. He did notice that more than half of the things that I said were insulting. Then, he straightened up, smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Che. As if I needed any more... fans." he tilted his head from side, indicating his two fangirls. I laughed at that. He grinned. Wow, he has a sense of humor. And he smiled.
"You know what Sasuke-kun? I think I'm liking you more by the minute." he responded by staring intensely at me. It was creeping me out.

Who knew that I would have to thank Sakura and Ino for saving me from the awkwardness.
"Wait a second... If Sasuke-kun is the runner up... Then he is second. Who could possibly be hotter than Sasuke-kun? And there is only one guy left..."

All eyes fixed onto Gaara. He tensed slightly and nervously scanned the crowd that was staring at him. His eyes rested on me (making my heart flip, again) and they narrowed in confusion. Aw.
"Yes. The winner of the hotness contest is non other than Gaara of the Desert." Everyone continued fixating him. The first person to break the silence was Kankuro.
"So... why do the fans like him already?" I blushed and pretended to read something off my computer screen.

"Gaara-kun is amazing. He is really, really, really hot. He is so strong and powerful. And when he doesn't hate you, you cannot imagine how... how kind and sweet he is. But, really, all of his fans absolutely adore him just the way he is now. Silent, calm, dark. Did you ever see him smile? Because he is adorable. But his psycho attitude is so... so..." I gulped nervously. Gaara was staring at me, waiting. With his eyes on me like that, no sound wanted to come out of my mouth. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"I believe that the word that you are looking for is totally and utterly... sexy. Gaara had so much... appeal." We all gawked at Yuuki. She grinned and winked at me. "Hey, just because I don't like like him doesn't mean that I'm blind. He is an incredibly hot red head. I can't blame you for continuously staring at his ass Himeko-chan, 'cause it's something to look at." My mouth popped open, and so did Gaara's. He looked from Yuuki to me.
"Why? Why me?" his cold, emotionless face was long gone. It was replaced by an expression of pure shock, confusion and amazement. I felt a sudden urge to glomp him. I think that my cousin noticed, because she grabbed my arm. I answered his question.
"What do you mean 'why'? Everything about you screams cool, amazing and unique. And if you own a mirror, you will understand how cute and hot you are. I know this is hard for you to believe but... Gaara... you have so many, many fans that love you for who you are. Just the way you are. When they see the real you. Not the you that people think you are."

Gaara's lips parted in astonishment. Then, he blinked and gazed down at the table. He looked deep in thought. And his cheeks were slightly more colored, if you looked well. Temari saw it too. She smiled at him, even if he couldn't see. She looked as if she was debating whether to give him a hug or not. In the end she, she decided against it, he was still Gaara after all.

"Hey, everybody... Guess what?" Everyone faced Yuuki. She grinned evilly at me. Oh no. "All those fans' comments... Where actually our own opinions! Because, you know what? Each and everyone one of you have so many fans, but we are probably your biggest ones, Himeko-chan, Ryo-kun and I." All the ninjas gasped and looked at me. Some of them were surprised. I thought that they would get pissed, but they all grinned or smiled... or hid their smiles in a few cases. Kankuro sighed.
"Hey, Himeko-chan, don't make that face, we aren't mad. You probably know this already, but I don't think any of us get showered in compliments... ever. So, a million fans or none... Every single one of us feel hot thanks to you and Yuuki-chan."

Now, everyone turned to gawk at the puppet-nin. Temari looked extremely panicked. She ran over to Kankuro and hugged him tight.
"YOU! Who ever you are, you aren't my idiotic brother! So... please! Stay this way! I'd rather have you than the dumb ass I have to deal with everyday!"
"Geez... Can't I say something mature without you doing that Temari? It's kind of offensive..." Everyone laughed at that.

I realized how nice this was. All the genins, here, not trying to kill each other... I don't know when this happened but... wow. Life sure is full of surprises.

Suddenly, and explosion shook the room. A huge puff of smoke formed in the front of the room. When is cleared, I saw a tall, strict looking ninja. Oh. I almost forgot about that. He looked at all of us, ready to make us suffer.
"Thank you for waiting! I'm the examiner for the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki. Settle down. I will say this now. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if this permission is granted, there will be no killing of your opponent. Those who do so will be disqualified immediately. Now, the first exam will start. So, bring us your application, pick one of these numbers and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out the exam problems."

The room went silent as the scary looking proctor announced our impending doom. I glanced at my team. I knew that they were thinking the same, important, crucial thing as me.
I wonder which seat I'm getting?

...

I hope that you enjoyed that! Yes, I do adore Kankuro, so I like giving him mature moments. Like in my other fanfic, if you want to look at it. Its SandSibCentric. And I've put up a few polls that could help me get ideas for the rest of this story, so you guys should check those out.
I don't hate any character (apart Kabuto), so I only, mostly think good things about them.
Please review! Then it would make my holiday much brighter, and if I'm bright in the head, I write better. So, thank you to my readers and my reviewers, who are: Totally CRAZY and Hyper, leogirl321, Xx-im-da-lonely-emo-girl-xX, Suezanne, Drakloverxpsycho, pink-pajamas12, kitsuneXXnoXXkyuubi102, ProfilingXCSIXMyXCareer, Dawnstep, forever-sweet, piixmiin and dreamingofmagic. If you want me to carefully type your name there, it's as easy as pressing that little button with 'review' written on it!
Happy holidays!
~~~XOXO HimekoUchia