And here's the second part of the chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Same disclaimer as before.

What you need to know is this: I have a new review incentive. For every five reviews on a chapter, I will pick one of my reviewers and draw them a picture of any character from the story... their choice. They'll get a signed copy of it and they'll get to see it two weeks before any of the other readers. So if there are five reviews = 1 drawing (which will eventually show up in the character sketch album); 10 reviews = 2 drawings... ect. So... REVIEW! Of course I'll still respond to any and all comments or questions. Also, don't forget that TABS got a chapter update this week... go read!

Review and I'll reply! Much Love!

~Sarai

Naruto: Kurashio
Chapter 13 – Glass Sheen p. 2

Where does history begin? When does one story stop and another come into existence?

It is impossible to completely delegate an occurrence to one specific facet of history, because no matter how heavily it is scrutinized, no matter how it is studied, it is impossible to understand all of the repercussions from a single event.

And history? Well… it is made up of thousands of events, all of them interwoven through one another, correlation upon correlation—paralleled by consequence, motive, and justifications. The act of a single individual can affect the thousands…

And the act of thousand can have catastrophic significance for the individual.

History is in a state of continual alteration… every event adds graduations upon the complexities of the past, and it is these events, these ever changing circumstances and their unseen consequences that form heroes, villains, and the stuff legends are made of.

Sadly, the reality of the world is no where near as grand as fairy tales make it out to be. No, the truth of the world is this: the events of history create men and monsters… and monsters, once created, are very difficult to contain.

[…]

Time was an odd concept. It was measured empirically, but Cala sometimes wondered how something measured by hard numbers could feel so… varied.

The seconds ticked by like hours, droning on and on while she had to listen to the incessant whispering and plotting of the inept. It didn't matter to her how it happened, because they were going to fail. Sometimes she wished that she could just hang the rules and slaughter them all. That would be nice… it would be efficient as well.

No dice though, because she not only had the rules of the exam to follow… but she had to play nice with the rules of politics. Slaughtering a crowd of genin wouldn't serve Darunōgakure very well politically… in fact it would probably start a war. Not that it would be a bad thing in Cala's opinion, but if all of the Ninja villages were to attack… Cala wasn't so certain their small village would fair very well, even with their exceptional skill.

…and the Majokage wasn't a woman who enjoyed cleaning up other people's messes. She would probably allow the slate to be wiped clean and start fresh.

Cala wondered if she had ever done that before. Yes, she surmised… the Majokage was pragmatic. She had probably wiped the slate many times. The thought was both troubling and comforting at the same time.

The Majokage did not allow for error. She trained her ninja until they were ready, and then they were put to the test. If you failed the test, you paid with your life. Such was the way of the Shadow Witch: live or die by your own merit. Cala had proven herself time and time again, which is why she had been given this assignment over the other apprentices… although there were some who had disagreed.

Shaking such thoughts from her mind, Cala turned her focus back on the task at hand. The genin were beginning to separate, clinging in packs of three… obviously preparing to make a break for it or take their chances, but Cala could tell which ones were going to attack first: There were three genin teams on the step with her. They were close to the sash she had discarded and they probably wanted to take advantage of their proximity.

Cala was right. In an instant, they lunged at her. The teams split into separate groups, three headed for the sash and six headed directly at her—obviously mean to be a distraction. How quaint.

Before they had even closed half of the distance, Cala threw both of her hands up and clasped them together in a jutsu sigil. It almost looked as if she were casting a hex on them… the oddity of the sign stopped them in their tracks, some of them even started backing up—however it was too late. Cala could see the other teams off in the distance begin to abandon their own plans… all except one team from Konohagakure. They were getting closer to the stet, obviously planning something, but she would take them into account.

"Technique of the Shadow Witch," she smirked as her chakra flared, "Salient Shadow."

[…]

Kit didn't blink. He watched the step like a hawk, trying to see through the jutsu but he couldn't.

In the blink of an eye, Cala had vanished. There was a rush of wind, and all the genin began to look around frantically. Several cries were emanated from the combatants and from the crowd:

"Where is she?"
"Get back to back!"
"Cover yourselves!"
"Get the hell out of there!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Calm down!"

There was a soft "swish" like a rush of air made by a passing blade… it was followed by a series of similar sounds, and as Kit watched he could see the faint blur of black striking through the genin gathered on the steps. The sound picked up in intensity, like a flurry of blades, as the blur turned into solid black lines, much like the after-image left behind by a blade or a substitution jutsu.

…and then Cala appeared dead center amid the group of genin, crouched low with her hands held out wide, like an ominous predator having landed before its kill.

Several things happened at once:

The nine genin who had made an attempt for the orbs all collapsed on the stone floor—dead. The rest of the genin crowd shambled backwards, rushing past Kit and his team… except for Ame, Kit, and Gemma… who lunged at Cala. It looked like a futile attack, and Kit shouted out a warning, but it was too late.

Cala threw up the hand sign and again, vanishing just as Fuma and Ame struck. Their attacks hit nothing but thin air. There was another rush of air, a blur of darkness, and Cala appeared with her back turned to the three Leaf genin, reaching down to pick up her sash as Ame, Gemma, and Fuma fell to the ground.

Kit cried out in horror at the lifeless expression on their faces… and was rewarded a second later with an explosion of smoke.

[…]

Cala knew that sound better than anything: it was the sound of a defeated shadow clone.

Whirling around, she could barely see three figures through the fading smoke as they were dashing up the steps. Gripping the cloth of her sash tightly, Cala cursed herself inwardly. She'd been caught by such a simple ruse… mainly because she hadn't given them enough credit. Obviously these Leaf Village genin weren't as incompetent as the rest, but they were foolish to show their backs to her.

Forming a hand sign with her right hand, Cala threw out her hand and hurled a roaring bolt of white lightning after the fleeing trio of genin. Her aim was true and it headed directly for the tall one with the long hair, but, just as it was about to strike, the boy spun around and deflected it with his sword, knocking the electric energy wide where it exploded into the cliff side.

Rock and debris came crashing down on the steps, blocking her from launching any further retaliation upon the ones her had tricked her. Cala stood there, glaring at the fading dust and smoke which rose from the pile of rubble, and watched several of the smaller rocks as they bounced down the large steps with a "plick"... "plick"... "plick"... until one of them came to rest mere inches from her feet.

Cold blue eyes turned down to regard the small stone, shortly before she brought her foot down atop it, grinding it into a fine powder. She wouldn't allow this to happen again. Cala decided to set things to rites, finishing this pathetic exam and moving on with her assignment. Rounding upon the remaining genin, she saw the small redhead yet again… he'd be a perfect example.

With a smirk, Cala fastened her sash around her waist once more and leapt from the step. She landed several yards away from the boy, impressed that he hadn't turned and fled yet… he was indignant and glared at her with a ferocious intensity. It held his fear and doubt, but it also held resolution—he wasn't running. Something in the gaze caused Cala to genuinely smile. She liked it when they genuinely stood up to her. It made it more fun.

Cala took a step forward, when she was suddenly stopped, a figure appearing directly in her path. It took only a second to identify who it was—the jonin exam proctor with the silver hair, Kakashi Hatake. So one jonin was going to stop her? Cala decided that she would enjoy him as an exercise.

Suddenly twenty other dark fighters dropped out of the sky and encircled her. They were all jonin, and Cala noted that some of them weren't among the faces she remembered from the beginning of the exam… the proctor had brought more moderators with him. This was definitely a more dangerous situation. She was outnumbered, and even with her companions and her techniques, Cala had to wonder if she could take down all twenty of them as well as the proctor. It would be a gamble...

"Now…" the proctor said with a chuckle, but there was a heavy weight to his voice as well, "I don't think these genin were up for a fight, do you?"

Cala had to fight a frown; this was becoming all too much trouble. Forcing a smirk, she nodded in assent, "I suppose you are right… the heat of the battle and all, causes one to think everyone is a potential threat."

The silver haired man nodded, but it was apparent that he wasn't buying her excuse, "Well… I see no reason to prolong this anymore. I suggest that you carry on into the tower, Miss Warukuto."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Cala countered.

"Oh?" the man's only visible eye was not as shocked as his words. He had obviously expected resistance, hence the entourage.

"The rules you clearly set… state that any battle is allowed so long as it has strategic importance to the exam," Cala replied.

"And slaughtering your fellow examinees has strategic value?"

"The choice to engage in combat has been left up to them," Cala shrugged, "I have not initiated any of these encounters. I'm merely removing the competition…" as her voice trailed off, she gestured to the bodies as if they were evidence of some philosophical point. It really didn't matter to her. What mattered was whether or not this jonin was going to try to detain her.

[…]

"I see," the silver haired jonin nodded, turning to look at the rest of the gather genin. He appeared to be counting them and then turned to one of his jonin and whispered a silent exchange. The man nodded and then turned back to the genin crowd. "It seems that all of our remaining teams are gathered in one place…" Kakashi stroked his chin as he decided how to best proceed, "…are there any of you who intend to fight the team from Darunōgakure? Show of hands."

Not a single person raised their hands. Some of them even took a step back to show that they had no intention of even appearing hostile.

"I believe that this exam is over then," Kakashi said with finality, "Miss Warukuto may take her team into the tower to wait for orientation for the final exam. The rest of you… please follow one of the moderators to the exit where you can join your team supervisors."

There were a few groans, but the bulk of the genin group gave a collective sigh of relief, turning and following ten of the moderators who broke off from guarding Cala.

Kakashi turned to the ebony haired girl and smiled, a bit of triumph in his voice, "I believe that settles everything, no?"

"Very well played," Cala nodded. She reached down to her sash and removed a red and blue orb tossing one to Mavrí and the other to Eira, "But I intend to remove all possibility of competition. You may remove the genin now, but if I relinquish the orbs… other teams might appear by the end of the day and that just wouldn't be fair."

"Are you insinuating that I'm not a man of my word?" Kakashi acted hurt.

"Of course not," Cala matched him in his false sincerity, "I only mean to illustrate that ninja are, by definition, cunning and prone to falsehood… I like to cover myself."

"By all means," Kakashi nodded, "What do you have in mind?"

With a swift gesture Cala whipped her sash off, slinging the remaining orbs to the ground. The red and blue spheres shattered into tiny, glittering splinters of glass which showered over the rocky terrain at her feet. In the high noon sun, the tiny, broken filaments seemed to glisten almost as if on fire, and Cala stood at the center of the blazing light with her own triumphant smirk in place.

"I believe that that settles everything, no?" she countered.

Kakashi was just about to respond when a voice shouted out from behind Cala.

"Not everything!"

Both Kakashi and Cala turned from one another to look up at the stone steps. There, standing with and orb in each hand, stood Kitaka. He had his own look of triumph about him, as did his teammates who stood beside him. Before either Cala or Kakashi could recover from the shock of seeing the redhead there, Kit and his team were dashing up the stairs and into the tower.

"How…?" Cala looked down at her feet, searching the glass shards, "…how insidious."

Kakashi looked down as well, where he noticed a few, faint lines of sand snaking their way through the glass shards and up the steps. Kakashi couldn't repress the chuckle that came with his sudden realization, "That little brat never raised his hand…"

"He never intended to fight," Cala muttered. Her voice was harsh and bitter as she glared darkly at the steps.

Kakashi nodded, "A good ninja knows when to avoid confrontation…"

"So does a coward…"

"Somehow... I don't think that is the case here," the old jonin chuckled again.

Cala spent a long moment looking at the entrance to the tower before she nodded, "Perhaps not… time will definitely reveal that answer."

"That it will," Kakashi agreed, "Now, if you would be so kind as to take your team into the tower, I think we're ready to begin the final exam."

[…]

Kit entered the large doors of the tower, breathing heavily and followed closely by his teammates. Both Kira and Sainō looked completely out of breath, but, as they looked at one another and realized that they had indeed made it safely to the end, the three of them broke out into cries of relief and refrains of comforting laughter.

"We made it! I can't believe it!" Kira exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Sainō and hugging him so hard that his feet left the floor.

"Hahaha! Ow! Ow! Kira you're crushing me!" Sainō cried.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Kira dropped the boy. Sainō landed on his butt, shouting his protests, but Kira's response was to kick him while he was down.

"I can't believe you hugged me!" Kira snarled.

Kit couldn't contain his laughter, leaning against the wall for support as he watched his two companions, all three of them completely unaware that they had an audience.

"Nice to see you made it safe," Ame said, striding elegantly up to the trio quickly followed by Fuma and the other genin from Konoha.

"Dude! Kit! You look like a devil was chasing you," Chino chuckled, "Run into some trouble?"

"That's exactly what it felt like," Kit sighed, trying to shake the image of that vengeful look in Cala's eyes after she'd realized he'd tricked her.

"It's about time the rest of you showed up." All heads turned as Jira walked up, smirking at Ame, "I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

Ame looked as if he were about to make some sort of intelligent retort, but instead shocked everyone gathered—including Jira. The pale boy walked up to Jira and gracefully wrapped his arms around the blonde boy, pulling him into a gentle hug, "I'm just glad your body wasn't on the steps outside… I was worried I wouldn't get to kick your ass for making me freak out."

"Freak out? Body?" Jira looked about in a panic, obviously confused and little uncomfortable… and everyone gathered was getting a nice, silent laugh at his exspense—point to Ame.

"Yeah," Fuma pointed to the doors, "The Shadow Village genin were blocking the entrance."

"That's a nice way to say that they were killing anyone who was trying to completely the exam," Kit said bitterly.

"And taking their orbs," Kira added.

"What?" Jira ducked out of Ame's arms, rushing over to Kit and making a fuss over whether or not he was alright.

"Geeze! Stop! Get off, Jira!" Kit chucked, "I'm fine!" The redhead struggled, escaping his other brother's clutches and glared at him and Ame, "Sheesh, you two are worse than dad!"

"It's just cause we love you so much," Ame said cheerfully, looping an arm around Jira's neck, apparently enjoying how he could make the older Uzumaki blush—another point to Ame.

"He was freaking awesome!" Sainō butted in, "He totally stole these orbs from that scary-awesome chick!" The lithe brunette waved the red and blue spheres at all the onlookers.

Ame looked at Kit with wide eyes, quite impressed, "How did you manage that?"

"Well… it was actually because of Kakashi," Kit said sheepishly, "The moderators stepped in to protect the rest of the genin when you guys made it through. I didn't do much… just, I knew that Cala wasn't going to give up the orbs… and Kakashi wasn't going to let her fight anymore, so I figured she was going to break them."

"And did she?" Jira asked.

"Yep," Kira smirked, "All except these two and another pair she kept for her team." She crossed her arms and looked at Kit proudly, "They didn't even suspect Kit to use his sand."

"I kinda sent it around her feet, just in case," Kit shuffled in place, not really enjoying the sudden attention, "I was able to catch the orbs when she threw them and covered them completely in sand so they were hidden… thanks to Kakashi, she was distracted long enough for me to bring them back, and then we were lucky enough to make it here."

"Well color me impressed!" Jira laughed, "Who would have thought you were so sneaky?"

"You're one to speak," Ame poked the blonde in the side, "How the heck did you finish so quickly?"

"Please!" Jira elbowed the taller boy, "Finding orbs is nothing for me and Hana, right?"

Hana smirked and looked at them cockily, "You bet! We found our set within the first few hours… would have been quicker if a giant cat hadn't thought I looked so lovely and tasty!" She did her best attempt at acting helpless and demure, but no one bought it and everyone laughed.

"It probably thought you were trying to steal its territory, Squirrely," Kira shot back.

"Gaki!" Hana snapped, "At least I killed it!"
"She did," Chino laughed, "Just before it almost ate her!"
"Probably knocked it unconscious with that fashion taste of hers," Kira smirked.
Hana growled, "At least my hair doesn't look like I was struck by lightning!"

"Hey, hey! Come on…" Jira stepped between the two of them, "At least we all made it right?"

Neither of the girls looked like they were willing to stop arguing, both of them lunging for one another. Jira's eyes widened in shock, but thankfully someone pulled him out of the way.

"Seriously, Jira… you're so unobservant some times," Ame chided, "Don't you know better than to get in the middle of a cat fight?"

"I was just trying to help," Jira muttered, crossing his arms as he watched his story friends bicker and try to pull the other's hair out.

"You don't bring help to a cat fight," Ame chuckled, "You bring popcorn. Want some?" The pale boy held out a bag of kettle corn.

Jira eyed the bag with suspicion, "Where the hell were you keeping that?"

"Don't ask questions when you know the answers will scare you," Ame winked.

"You always scare me," Jira sighed, taking a handful of popcorn and resigning himself to the role of spectator. The fight didn't last long because the attention of everyone in the room was drawn as the large, golden doors swung open for the third time.

[…]

Their journey up the steps was silent and uneventful. Cala refused to speak to the silver-haired proctor anymore. She found him talkative and annoying; she also had no desire to speak with Mavrí or Eira, though the gothic child was more than happy to speak to no one in particular—so naturally she and the proctor had conversed the entire walk.

Thankfully, Cala had long ago learned to drown people out so she heard none of their conversation.

"She's angry," Eira giggled, "Mistress Cala doesn't like it when her plans go wrong."

"Do they go wrong often?" Kakashi asked with a glint of playfulness in his words, obviously egging the girl on.

"No, not really," Eira was suddenly very serious, "You don't survive long by failing the Majokage."

"Oh…" Kakashi frowned at the dark tone in the girl's voice, "I see."

"Yes," Eira grinned, her eyes quite staid… an even darker glee coated her next words, "There are such intricate punishments for failure."

"Eira!" Mavri cautioned, "Those are things you do not speak of…"

"Stupid, Mavri," the Lolita cursed under her breath, "Always killing the fun… fun murderer."

Cala let out a derisive noise, letting them know that she had started listening and wasn't amused with the conversation topic. Fate seemed to be on her side, because they had reached the large archway at this point. Cala walked up to the large, golden doors and pushed them hard. The huge monoliths swung in on their hinges, allowing her passage into the atrium beyond. The entire room went oddly silent and every eye turned to look at them, which caused Cala to smirk victoriously. Apparently those two Konoha teams had been spreading rumors.

A few other genin teams were waiting inside. Cala recognized the redheaded boy in an instant, and also the other Leaf Village team which had caught her off-guard on the steps. She made a mental note to keep a special eye on them for the next exam.

Aside from those two there were six other genin teams: another team from Konohagakure, this one looked to have older genin in it… one boy with long, blonde hair looked particularly capable. The other teams were from Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure.

Cala took a quick look at the other teams and noticed that several genin also stood out. In particular a sandy blond boy from the Suna team who wore a gourd similar to the one patented by the Kazekage, a girl from Iwa had impressive chakra readings even while she was standing completely relaxed, and a tall, tanned boy with black hair from the Lightning team looked particularly fit… the others didn't really register as much of a concern, but those four: the blond from Leaf, the boy from Sand, the kunoichi from Earth, and the tall teen from Lightning… she predicted they actually had the skills to be at this point in the exam.

Perhaps the Majokage would be interested in them.

However, her interests were invested in a completely different entity. Cala took sharp turn, leaving the silver-haired jonin behind, and she walked directly up to the small redhead. Instantly the blonde she had noticed, and the tall boy who had blocked her lightning, stepped up to block her path. Their protective stances were amusing, but she had no intention of fighting in a room full of genin she hadn't observed, "Easy boys... I'm just here to talk."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "To whom?"

"You," Cala pointed a sharp finger at the redhead.

"What business do you have speaking to Kitaka?" the blonde asked.

"Kitaka..." Cala practically whispered the word, "Red fox... how fitting for a cunning creature such as yourself."

The redhead looked at her warily, his eyes were apprehensive which was good. He didn't trust her, and he shoulding

"I am Cala," she said nodding politely, "In the tongue of shadows it means 'beautiful darkness' ...I'll admit that you surprised me out there, midget."

"Hey!" Kit protested, but he was held back by the older blonde.

Cala watched their interaction with interest, they apparently knew one another quite well... they could even be related for all she knew. "Take no offense," she smirked, "I just wanted to let you know that I was impressed..." With that she turned to leave, pausing only to say one more thing, "...and that you've signed your own death warrant by making a fool out of me." Cala didn't waste another second on the Konoha genin, taking Eira and Mavri to a corner at the far end of the atrium.

[…]

Tsunade looked at the gathered genin teams from the balcony. Standing with her were Naruto, Gaara, Ibiki, Sasuke, Shikamaru and a handful of Anbu who were there by her bequest. The Hokage wanted to keep everything in this next exam as civil as possible.

"Eight teams?" Shikamaru asked, "That's quite a few…"

"Same amount as in our year," Naruto grinned, "This is gonna be good!"

"Shh!" Tsunade growled. She wasn't ready for the genin to know they were there.

"It's actually a bad turn out if you think about it," Ibiki whispered, "We had nearly double the entries this year as we had when Uzumaki's group competed… by those numbers we should have twice as many groups in this exam."

"If the display outside is any indication," Tsunade sighed, "The Shadow team is to blame… though I don't know if blame is the proper word."

"They murder a few dozen people," Sasuke growled, "And they just get a pass?"

"Casualties of war," Shikamaru yawned, "It's not pretty… but you can't fault them. Death is a quick solution."

"It's a dirty business," Ibiki agreed.

"Eh… this is boring," Naruto groaned, "I'm starting the exam now."

"Naruto! Don't you—" Tsunade started to yell, but the blonde had already vanished.

"You should know better than to ask him to wait," Gaara chuckled, "He's never been good at that."

"You'd know firsthand, wouldn't you?" Sasuke chuckled.

Gaara's eyes thinned, but then he smirked, "It was always a problem in the bedroom… but, then again, I always attributed it to him just enjoying himself. You don't have the same problem, Uchiha?"

It was Sasuke's turn to glare murderously.

Seeing the potential for something even more lethal to take place around her, Tsunade spoke up, "Well seeing as how the proctor for the next portion of the exams has just vanished… I suggest we get down there to keep this under control, before Uzumaki turns it into a free-for-all."

The gathered ninja nodded, and they all vanished in a cloud of smoke.

[…]

Naruto's entrance couldn't have been better if he'd planned, which he had sort-of. He appeared in a wild roar of laughter and an explosion of smoke, quickly followed by the appearances of the Hokage and the other high-ranked ninja, all who filled out the area behind him… it caused all of the genin to stop mid-conversation and stare in awe—except for the three Shadow Ninja. They just looked slightly less-bored than before… well the little doll-like girl actually giggle like a maniac, so Naruto took it that he had their attention.

"Well, well," the blonde chuckled, "Looks like we have quite a few survivors… you either managed to make it here on your own merits or you got lucky… or your rode in on the backs of your teammates. Well guess what…?" Naruto gave each genin gathered a long look, "Now you have to survive on your own."

"The next exam pits you against your opponents and even your friends," Naruto continued, "No one makes it to Chunin unless they can prove themselves worthy. And what better way to show off than a tournament!" the blond laughed and pumped his fist into the air, "No better way! Believe it!"

He saw Tsunade and Sasuke give him a stern looked and he motioned placatingly, whispering behind his hand, "I swear… just joking… won't happen again."

He motioned to a large black screen which was mounted on the wall over his and the other adult ninja's heads. As he did so the screen lit up with a tournament roster which showed twelve spaces, "As you can see… this is the final tournament roster. It's based up on the participating number of genin."

"There are twenty-four of us," the girl from Iwagakure pointed out.

"Yep," Naruto nodded, "Not everyone makes it to the final tournament. It's only for the best… you'll be competing before rich people, lords, rulers, and the Kages from all the villages and nations who sent in exam participants. You're performing not only for your own benefit but for the benefit of your village… how well you do will affect your future as well as the future of your people."

"What!" Kira shouted, "Why would our exams affect the village?"

"I thought the same thing when I was participating… as did many other genin," Naruto chuckled, "But here's the deal: the ninja villages make money off of missions and people go to the best villages with their problems. How do you know which village is the best?" Naruto watched the genin as they suddenly realized what was going on, "You watch and see which village has the best up-and-coming ninja… you not only get to see who are going to be taking care of the majority of the missions in the future, but you get to see which village has trained the best ninja. Normally good ninja are trained by even better ninja… and that's where people are going to spend their money."

"So we're basically auctioning ourselves off to the highest bidder…" The kunoichi from Earth Village spoke up, obviously not amused.

"Yep… it's how you pay the village back for getting this far," Naruto shrugged, "We've all done it. Now it's your turn."

"So how do you decide which ones are going to compete in the tournament?" Jira asked, smirking up at his dad.

"I don't," Naruto returned the smirk, "You do… you're all going to fight. Right now. Single elimination preliminaries. Twenty-four genin means twelve matches… if you win your match; you're in the tournament."

There was a collective roar of shock and outrage and several looks of pleasure, as if they couldn't have asked for a better solution—among these looks Naruto noticed that the black haired Shadow ninja looked particularly pleased at this announcement, which made the blonde very uneasy. He'd have to keep a close eye on her match.

"Hey! Hey! Be quiet!" Naruto shouted over them, "I don't make the rules… well, actually I do, but I don't make the exam. This is how the final has always worked… and it works for a reason. Yes, you're tired and exhausted and some of you have had to fight more than others, but let me tell you this: these preliminaries will show which ones of you have what it takes to be a ninja and who can pull through no matter what."

"This separates ninja from children playing pretend…" Naruto fixed them all with a serious look, "Every person is faced with a choice in life, that one choice that will define them for the rest of their lives, and until they make that choice… every decision, every action, and every moment leading up to that point is defining what kind of person they are going to be."

"For a ninja… this is your defining moment. Do you stand up and fight for yourself, proving to no one else but your own doubt—that you are ninja. If you can't make that decision, then you aren't ready," Naruto pointed to the door, "And that's where you should be headed. There's always the next exam…"

Several genin looked toward the door, and for a moment Naruto was afraid that Kitaka might actually walk. The boy looked at the door with such longing, as if just going over to it would make his entire life easier… but the boy then closed his eyes and turned to face the front of the room. When Kitaka opened his eyes, he looked right at Naruto with a resolve that the blonde knew all too well.

After a few minutes went by and it looked as if no one was going to budge, Naruto nodded, "Alright then… here are the rules."

"Each match is no hold barred. You fight until the other competitor either gives up, is knocked unconscious… or dead," Naruto looked directly at the Shady Trio, "As proctor I will be judging each match and I reserve the right to end any match if I see a disparity in skill level. If you continue to fight after a person had given up, or after I have cancelled a match, the Anbu behind me will detain you and you will be disqualified from the exam. Does everyone understand?"

There were muttered of agreement and all the genin nodded.

"Alright!" Naruto chuckled, "Let's get the preliminaries underway!"

He turned to look at the large screen just as it put up the big "VS" which was framed on top and bottom by a series of cycling, yellow names. The words blurred so quickly that you couldn't even make out a single character in the names that were shuffling by, and Naruto could feel that same rush of excitement he had felt as a genin… that wonder of who was going to have to fight… would you face a friend now—or later? Would you still be in the tournament after the next match, or would you watch a friend be defeated? It was a feeling of helpless urgency…

And it was exhilarating.

The screen came to a halt, suddenly chiming its decision:

"Cala Warukuto VS. Omoi Terumi"

~A/N~

And that's a wrap! It took me forever, but I'm glad with how everything wrapped up. I was happy with the results of the second exam, and hopefully you were all enjoying yourselves just as much while you read it... as I was when I wrote it. I aimed for suspense... hopefully some of you actually thought Kit was in danger, but if you didn't? Let me know. I want any and all opinions on the second exam, the story in general, characters you like or dislike... talk to me people, cause I really do enjoy hearing your thoughts! ;)

As this chapter closes, the preliminaries are underway. I'm thinking that I will writing them all at once and then do another two chapter update like this one, so stay tuned! TABS is set to update later this week, and I also have another Studio 69 one-shot coming out for Christmas... I've been busy. Wishing you all happy holidays in case this doesn't update again before they are over. Much love!

Please review!

~Sarai