Disclaimer: I've got nothing crazy to say here; just remember that I don't own Naruto.
Iruka was currently standing over a cooking pot of soup in his kitchen trying desperately to follow the instructions in the cookbook that was on the counter. Over the past few weeks Iruka had found that he had developed a taste for a particular soup that was served at one of the better off restaurants in town. Not wanting the pay the outrageous prices that the restaurant charged for its meals Iruka had bought a cookbook containing several of the meals that were served at the restaurant. As Iruka, who was a fairly decent cook, struggled with preparing the soup he started to realize just why the restaurant charged such high prices. However Iruka wasn't about to let the difficulty of the task get to him as he really wanted this meal to be enjoyable because tonight was his and Naruto's semi-weekly dinner get-together.
After half an hour of hard work over the stove Iruka managed to finish cooking the soup. Iruka carried the soup pot into his dinning room and put the pot on the center of the dinner table that Naruto had already set for dinner. Naruto was currently sitting on the floor of Iruka's dinning room playing a game of go fish with Gamakichi when Iruka walked in with dinner. Saying goodbye to Gamakichi, Naruto got up off the floor and picked up the playing cards as his orange amphibian friend puffed away in a small cloud of smoke. Sniffing the air like a dog or a fox Naruto said with a bright smile, "Wow Iruka. That soup sure smells delicious!"
The sight of Naruto being so care free put a smile on Iruka's face and caused him to chuckle a bit as he removed his hands from the soup pot. Motioning for Naruto to come to the table as he sat down himself Iruka said, "dinner time Naruto." On hearing that dinner was served Naruto quickly walked over to his chair and sat down. After thanks for the meal was said Naruto and Iruka mostly ate in silence. The surrogate brothers always enjoyed the comfortable silence as they ate the main portion of their meal; it gave them a sense of family that they both longed for and had found in each other. About 10 minutes after grace was said Iruka started the conversation, "So Naruto, what happened to you today?"
Naruto took a second to organize his thoughts by drinking from his glass of water. He then set his half-empty glass down on the table and said, "Today went fairly well. My team didn't have a mission today because Chouza had to attend a meeting. Instead Iori, Rei, and I did our group training exercises while we waited for Chouza to get out of his meeting. Around 3 o'clock Chouza showed up and told us to take the rest of the day off so I went and played with Konohamaru in the park with his friends."
Naruto then paused for a moment as if he was struggling with something. Before Iruka could as Naruto what was wrong Naruto said, "There's something else brother. When Chouza showed up today at three he gave me and my teammates these permission forms for the Chunin exams. Apparently Chouza believes that Iori, Rei, and I are ready to take the exams. I want to go and take the exam but I also want your opinion. Do you think that I am ready Iruka or do you think that I should wait until the next opportunity to try out for the exams?"
Iruka's very first instinct when he heard Naruto's question was to say that Naruto should wait. However Iruka just closed his eyes and thought about what he knew about Naruto's skills along with Team Chouza's skills. Opening his eyes, Iruka gave Naruto a soft and caring look before saying, "That's a tough call Naruto. Personally I think that the minimum requirement for the Chunin exam, which is only completing 8 missions regardless of rank, is far too lax. The Chunin exams are strenuous and deadly; testing every aspect of being a ninja in a variety of underhanded and direct ways over a series of tasks. A person is never completely the same after taking the Chunin exam for the first time as they were before; no matter what is done a person will be changed by the experience. Because Konoha is currently hosting the exams it is to be expected that the ninja teams from the other villages will be the best ninja that can be sent."
Iruka then reached across the table and firmly grasped Naruto's hand. Looking directly into Naruto's eyes Iruka said, "The Chunin exams are an extremely serious matter Naruto. That seriousness is something that I wish Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi would meditate more on before they had nominated their teams to take the exam. Despite what those three jonin believe, I don't believe that rookies have any place at the Chunin exams. However, when it comes to the idea of your team entering the exams Naruto I find myself conflicted by emotions. Team Chouza has managed in six months to successfully complete 4 C rank missions and 52 D rank missions; a record that seems more appropriate for a seasoned genin team like Team Gai then for a rookie team. Also Naruto, your team has displayed a level of professionalism that definitely is more then what a good portion of the new Chunin teams show. I believe Naruto that you and your team have a fair shot at becoming Chunins if you decide to take the exam. But promise me Naruto that you won't take the exam unless you yourself are absolutely sure that you have what it takes to pass the exam."
In the morning Naruto, Rei, and Iori all met together in their usual training field because they had all decided beforehand that none of them would try to take the exams if one of them felt they shouldn't take the exam. After all, as teammates they each could see the failings in each other that they themselves might not be able to see. Since they all showed up by the appointed time, the trio headed off to the Ninja Academy where the tests were to be held. When Team Chouza arrived at the Academy they quietly headed up the stairs completely bypassing the second floor altogether.
As Team Chouza was walking up the stairs they noted that another team was walking behind them about five steeps on the stairs but Team Chouza didn't give the other team too much thought. After all, with the number of teams that would be participating in the Chunin Exams it would be egotistical to think that they could walk all the way to the exam area without encountering another team. Besides, as a casual glance while they were rounding a corner proved, the team behind them was a team of leaf ninjas so Team Chouza didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back. At least, in this stage of the game they didn't have to worry about someone stabbing them in the back.
When the trio and the team behind them reached the room that the exam was to be held in, the two teams were greeted by Chouza and Guy. Before Guy could say something Chouza hurriedly said, "Hello my students and Team Guy to the Chunin Exams. It is a good thing for your teammates that you all showed up because the Chunin Exams can only be taken by complete teams of three. If one member of your team had not shown up then it would have been up to me and Guy here keep that team from entering. Since both of the teams hear have all of their members you all may enter the waiting room. Just remember that you all represent Konoha in this exam; make sure that you do your best and don't let us down." Team Guy then very quickly hurried into the waiting room in order to avoid hearing Guy speak. Chouza, not wanting to subject his students to Guy's unique personality just yet, motioned for the trio to head in as he desperately tried to keep Guy from talking.
Naruto just barely managed to close the door behind him in time to muffle the sound of Guy's voice. Team Chouza then glanced about the room looking for a place that they could stand and wait out of the eyes of the other ninjas. After a few seconds of searching Rei subtly pointed out a spot along one of the walls that would be a good spot for them to wait at. Once the trio got to the spot that Rei had found they calmly stood there and waited. Silently Naruto, Iori, and Rei watched the goings on of their fellow genin without drawing attention to themselves from any of the other teams.
Since Naruto, due to the Ranseigan, was the most suited member of the trio for quietly gaining information on their competitors he was currently taking a careful look at the various genin assembled. Each time Naruto shifted his point of view he made sure that his new viewpoint allowed him to get an unblocked and detailed view of each individual genin. After he was able to get a detailed view of all of the genin in the room Naruto disengaged the Ranseigan and leaned back against the wall. His old classmates were something of a sentimental note to Naruto but he didn't show any outward sign that he had paid any extra attention to them. Besides, most of his old classmates were way too lax with how they were treating the exam and that made Naruto want to smack his head. One thing that Iruka had drilled into Naruto's head was that there was a time for fun and a time to work. The Chunin exam, for example, was definitely a time to work in Naruto's book.
Closing his eyelids behind his sunglasses for a moment Naruto softly said, "There are close to 100 different genin teams in this room. About one third of all the genin teams are from Konoha which is to be expected since the village is currently hosting the exams. Most of the teams are comprised of ninjas that are about 1-3 years older then us with a sizable majority being even older then that. About 70 percent of the genin in this room bare the crest of a noted ninja clan with about a third of those clans being medium to big name clans. For bloodline limits we had two Hyugas, one Uchiha who's over confident attitude suggests the activation of the Sharingan, one member of the Rokubungi clan and three members of the Aino clan. Both the Aino and the Rokubungi clans are from other villages. The Rokubungi bloodline limit grants the clan the ability to control their killing intent and focus it in on a select group of people. Some of the most infamous of the Rokubungi clan have been noted to have actually paralyzed an enemy's lungs with their killing intent. With the Aino clan, a person has to watch out because they are able to manipulate the harmonics of their voices and their pheromone production making them experts in seduction tactics."
Iori and Rei both firmly nodded their heads once showing that they understood what Naruto had just told them. Neither of them had heard of those two clans but they trusted that Naruto, being a bit of an expert on bloodlines and clans with bloodlines, had told them the truth. Rei, who was standing on Naruto's right, gently and discreetly moved her hand so that she was holding Naruto's hand. A few minutes after Rei grabbed Naruto's hand the trio watched as the other rookie teams and an unknown Konoha genin had a confrontation with the Sound team. Naruto felt Rei gently but firmly squeeze his hand causing Naruto to turn his head to look at Rei. It was quite obvious to Naruto that Rei was worried about how he would take is old classmates being attacked. However Naruto simply gave Rei a soft smile which showed that he wouldn't do anything stupid. After all, there were several examiners around to make sure that nothing too dangerous happened at this point in the exam. Furthermore, if their fellow rookies weren't able to handle a minor scuffle how could they be ready to be chunin?
Just as Naruto expected, a chunin very quickly body flickered over the sound incident and nipped the problem before a full fledge fight broke out. Then when that little incident was settled a man wearing a bandana and a Jonin vest walked into the room and yelled out. "Alright you punks my name is Ibiki and I will say this now; any fighting on your parts that is not a sanctioned part of the Chunin Exams will get you kicked out of the exam no if, ands, or buts. Now you will all come in the room behind me and sit at the seats that you are assigned by my assistant in that room. You will then pay attention in your seats while I explain how the first part of the Chunin Exam will be given. If someone interrupts me they and their team will be immediately disqualified." Ibiki then turned around and went in the other room followed closely by the various genin in the waiting room.
Once all the genin seated Ibiki went over the rules of the first exam. Team Chouza instantly picked up on the fact that the test wasn't exactly what it seemed to be when Ibiki mentioned that anyone caught cheating would lose 2 points. Their suspicions were confirmed when they received their tests and were confronted by questions that no one except a genius or a bookworm could possibly answer. Naruto, who was praising himself for adding sunglasses to his look, activated his Ranseigan and got the answers off of a disguised chunin. Iori and Rei had both simply waited for the chunin near them to finish writing the answers on the test and then they switched tests with the chunin.
Forty-five minutes after the exam started Ibiki said, "It seems that we have a lot of very intelligent ninjas here; or some very good cheaters." At the mention of the word 'cheat' about half the genin in the room nervously gulped. Pleased that he had created such a fearful atmosphere Ibiki gave a small sadistic smirk and said, "Before I give you this last question I'm going to give you all a choice. You can either choose to get up now and walk out that door or you can stay here and take the last question. HOWEVER, if even ONE member of your team fails to get the question correct all the team members will be permanently band from taking the Chunin exams. For those of you who think that I can't possibly have that kind of power think again. On my desk is a decree that all the Kages have signed giving me the power to permanently ban those who fail; no Kage wants a weak ninja under their command."
There were almost 180 genin who had made it through the first 9 questions; five minutes after Ibiki spoke there were only 60 genin left in the room. Most of the remaining genin were heavily sweating as the tension started to build up but they were all by this point willing to see everything through. Only those genin who had already taken the Chunin Exams once before and Team Chouza remained completely calm. Rei and Iori weren't worried at all because Naruto had, using coded sign language, relayed the fact that no such document was on Ibiki's desk. Soon enough Ibiki was satisfied with the genin's resolve and he said, "Congratulations on passing the first part of the exam everybody."
Instantly a loud deafening 'WHAT' was uttered by almost all of the genin and then the room dissolved into almost mindless chatter. This mindless chatter really started to bug Naruto and, seeing that the Chunin overseers were all trying to regain their hearing, Naruto decided to do something about the situation. Calmly getting up on his desk Naruto put his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle. All the genin and most of the chunin in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Naruto. His face not showing any sign of the nervousness he was feeling Naruto firmly said, "Are you all Shinobi or civilians? Look underneath the underneath and realize what's going on here: we're testing to become chunins. This test was never about if we knew the ridiculous answers on the paper; it was about us showing that we could gain the information. Ibiki Morino didn't have the power to keep us from taking the exam as no Kage would ever honor or even sign such a document. His question was merely to see who was willing to face uncertainty for if a person doesn't have the courage to do what they need to do then they will never succeed even if they are the most skilled and gifted person in the world."
Naruto then got down off of his chair and sat back down. Ibiki gave Naruto a small nod of recognition before Ibiki said, "The runt is right. I would say more but everything that I had to say you have already heard. Just remember to keep your wits about you and you will all have a reasonable chance at becoming Chunin." Everyone's attention was however was immediately diverted to the side window where Anko was making her entrance.
Naruto, Rei, and Iori were all patiently waiting by their assigned gate for the second test to start. The second test was rather simple: collect a complete pair of scrolls by any means necessary and then get to the tower in center of the area within 5 days. Rei was given the team's Earth Scroll and she was hiding it in one of her seal scrolls. Just like Anko had told everyone at the group briefing, the gate in front of the trio opened up exactly on the hour. The trio then got up off ground and calmly walked into the Forest of Death.
Once all three of them were about 30 feet into the Forest Rei stopped walking and said, "Should we start on the plan now?" Both of Rei's teammates turned around and after a moment to think nodded their heads. After Rei got Naruto and Iori's okay she brought her thumb to her mouth and bit down till she drew blood. Rei then brought her hands together, quickly made the necessary handsigns, and then placed her hand with the bleeding thumb on the ground saying, "Summoning Jutsu." A small raven appeared as the smoke from Rei's jutsu dissipated. Getting down on her haunches Rei then said to her summon, "Hello Lenore the boys' and I need your help. We're in the middle of an important test where we have to collect a pair of scrolls from an opposing team within 5 days. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you please be so kind as to be our eyes and locate a team; preferably a team with a Heaven Scroll?"
Lenore brought her wing to her beak and then said in a mischievous tone, "I don't know Rei. After all, you could always just have Naruto use his Ranseigan to look for another team. Are you really sure you need my help or is it that you just want your boyfriend to spend more time looking at you?" Iori let out a chuckle as Rei's face showed her shock and Lenore's comment while Naruto looked at the ground. Removing her wing from her beak Lenore then fluttered up to Rei's shoulder and said, "You can be too easy at times Rei. Don't worry though, I'll find a team that has what you three are looking for so you all should just find a spot to wait for now." Before Lenore flew off into the forest she turned her head to Naruto and said, "Oh Naruto, can you remind Gamakichi the next time that you summon him that he still owes me 1000 ryo?"
Naruto waited until Lenore had disappeared in the surrounding forest and then he said, "I have an idea of where we should go. If I remember correctly from when Chouza was reviewing maps of the terrain around Konoha with us a month ago there should be several small caves about three miles northeast of here. From what I remember those caves are supposed to be very small and damp but they are almost impossible to find. We'll be able to find those caves because there was a note on that map Chouza showed us about how the caves are among the roots of a very old dead oak. Does this sound like a plan to you two?" Rei and Iori both nodded their heads and asked Naruto to lead them to the caves.
It took the trio about an hour to go and find the caves that Naruto was leading them towards. While they could have traveled a lot faster, the trio was unwilling to move any faster while traveling through such thick growth in hostile territory. The Forest of Death had a far greater concentration of vines, bushes, and moss then the rest of the forest around Konoha put together. Naruto had used the Ranseigan to look about 5 seconds into the future so he could have an early warning. Luckily for Naruto, Rei, and Iori they were able to make it to the caves without incident. Once they were at the caves the trio promptly set about turning the caves into a camp.
Naruto currently was at a small clearing in the forest by the river about 600 ft from the camp. Rei and Iori were at the cave getting it prepared to be a camp and standing watch respectively. This had left Naruto with the duty of getting water and dinner for the trio. Given his surroundings Naruto had decided that fish was on the menu tonight. Since he did not want to get his clothes and equipment all wet Naruto was in the river with just his boxers and a kunai. Swimming up to a fish Naruto grabbed the fish, stabbed it, and threw it towards the surface. Naruto quickly surfaced from the lake and gave his head a shake. Just as Naruto was about to head over to hide the fish his eyes caught a flash of movement.
Turning his head Naruto was completely shocked to see a nude Rei walking slowly towards him in the river like a Siren. Gently brushing a few strains of loose hair back into place as she walked Rei said in a sensuous voice, "Hello there. Sorry for dropping in like this on you but I finished my tasks back at the base and I decided to come and help you." Rei then looked down a bit, walked close enough to Naruto so that she was within arms length of him, and then said, "Yes I think that I can 'help' you right now don't you think?"
Naruto gently embraced Rei with his hand and slowly started to bring her closer to him. When Rei was only inches away from him Naruto rapidly twisted Rei's wrist around yanking her back to his chest so that her hand that wasn't being held was immobilized between their bodies. Naruto brought his other hand that was holding the kunai to the girl's throat. His tongue practically dripping with venom Naruto whispered into the bound girl's left ear, "Where are you teammates Aino? You will drop your illusion and tell me what I asked for or I will slit your throat and leave your carcass for the beasts."
Fearing for her life, the girl in Naruto's grasp dropped her illusion revealing her long blond hair. In a scared and desperate attempt to escape the girl said, "Y-you w-wouldn't real-"
Her question was cut off by Naruto pressing the edge of his kunai hard enough to just faintly draw blood. "Don't," Naruto said in a hardened and furious voice, "don't you dare try your witch's voice again on me Aino. Oh yes, I know all about the Aino bloodline so don't think your tricks will work. 'Of Love' indeed, like any of your cheep kind could ever know anything about love." Naruto then heard the sounds of more movement among the trees and so he activated his Ranseigan ready to fight if the movement he had heard was from his captive's teammates.
Although Naruto couldn't see it, the girl he was holding captive was very much afraid. It supposed to be a simple seduction; something that she had done hundreds of times in her village. All she needed to do was get close to the lone genin using a family jutsu that made her look like the woman that he desired, bed the fool, and then sit back and watch as he spilt the information that she needed to complete this exam. How could it be that out of all the males she could have encountered it had to be the one male who knew about her family's bloodline?
Rei and Iori emerged from the tree line to see Naruto standing in the shallow part of the river with a naked girl as his captive. As the two got closer to Naruto and his captive Rei said, "What's going on Naruto? We just got a report from Lenore about ten minutes ago that there are two genin about half a mile upstream from here."
Naruto then said "I was fishing for trout but instead I caught this tramp. Iori, will you please be a friend and go over by that granite rock where my clothes are and get out my ninja wire? Judging by how my captive suddenly became so tense it's likely that those two genin Lenore spotted are the Aino's teammates. We can offer a strait trade to her teammates; her for their scroll. The wire that I want you to get Iori is flammable so we can use that as insurance that our demands are met." Just as Naruto finished talking Iori walked over with the spool of wire in his hands. Both boys then quickly bound Naruto's captive. After Naruto's would be seductress was firmly bound, Naruto went over and got dressed. Rei had assumed lookout duty while the captive was being bound and made sure that she didn't look at where Naruto was until he was fully dressed.
In the evening the trio, now having a complete set of scrolls, was settling down in their cave/camp for the night. They had all unanimously agreed that it would be safer for them to bunker down for the night instead of trying to push ahead and make it to the tower. Iori currently had the first watch and he had hidden himself in the branches of a tree opposite of the hidden cave entrance. Naruto and Rei were currently lying side by side in the snug cave preparing to get some sleep.
Rei turned to her left so that she was facing Naruto and she said, "What happened back there at the river Naruto? It's not like you to be so vicious to someone, even an enemy, like you were behaving back there."
Naruto turned to meet Rei's eyes and he replied, "You're right Rei I usually don't act like that at all. It's just that when she appeared, she had made herself look like you. Please don't take offense or think any less of me, but at the time there was a part of me that was wishing it was actually you there. True the Aino's bloodline had a part of it however there really was a part of me that wanted that scenario to be true. If it wasn't for the fact that I know that you're not that kind of girl I would have been caught."
As she looked into Naruto's eyes Rei could see the pain and humiliation that Naruto was feeling reflected into his eyes. Bringing her right hand gently to Naruto cheek Rei said, "It's all right Naruto you don't have to be ashamed of how you acted. Have you ever encountered a member of the Aino clan before? Never before this incident you haven't encountered a member of that clan at all so how could you know how you would act? Naruto you may have read about that clan in your clan books but as you know reading about something and experiencing it are two totally different things."
Rei then paused for a minute so she could lean in a little closer to Naruto before she continued to speak. "The important think Naruto is that you were able to recognize what was happening and escape the situation. Let go of your anger towards yourself over the situation as it could happen to anybody. I don't think any less of you because of this incident and in a way I'm flattered. If you remember our captive did unintentionally reveal that her illusion made her look like the woman that a man wanted." Rei stopped for a moment as the faint light in the cave allowed her to see Naruto's reddening cheeks.
Moving even closer to Naruto Rei gave him a small peck on the cheek and then said in a nervous but firm tone, "I don't mind that you wanted me Naruto. There is nothing wrong with having thoughts of that nature as long as a person keeps them in check and you did. As you know in the academy I was given the name of 'the ice maiden' by my classmates because I kept my emotions in check most of the time. However, just because I kept my emotions in check it never meant that my emotions weren't there. When I joined you and Iori on this team I was very satisfied and relieved to be with you two. At first it was just because I was away from my annoying admirers but I slowly began to enjoy being on the team just to be with you. What I'm trying to get at Naruto is that, considering what we know about that jutsu, I prefer that it was my image you saw rather then some other girl."
Naruto was completely shocked but what he had heard Rei admit. He had honestly expecting Rei to be angry and upset at him, not embarrassed and content. Thinking over what Rei had said and what he knew for a moment Naruto said, "What do we do Rei? How does this affect us as friends and teammates? I can't see how things can be exactly the same between us after what we've both just said."
Rei lowered her head so that it was resting on Naruto's shoulder and then she said softly, "Your right Naruto this does change things between us; how I don't know as well. The only solution that I can think of is that we table this discussion for now and concentrate on completing the exam. Once we complete the exam we can worry about our situation but for now we need to focus. Now let's get some sleep before the watch change." Naruto agreed with Rei and gently laid back down on the floor with Rei resting her head on his shoulder undisturbed.