key:

"talking"

'jutsu'

thinking

"flashback"

nonhuman

Start of the Final Exam

It was once again it time for the final event of the Chunin Exams, the main difference this time being that Sakura got to watch the fighting with the rest of the genin still participating. She looked over the railing at the tree filled arena and then she looked to her right, Neji was silently waiting in a corner for the first match to start. Then there was Gaara, who seemed to be staring off into space with his usual serious expression, and avoiding eye contact at all costs. Kankuro and Temari were next to him, whispering secretive things to each other, probably something about their true mission in the leaf village, though Kankuro would sometimes glance over to her and give her flirtatious looks that made her uncomfortable. Then Shino was just to the right of her, silently creepy as per usual. Finally, she turned her head, there was Naruto who seemed to be a little nervous, yet also very excited to get started, and Shikamaru who looked as bored as ever.

Yep, this is clearly the fun group. Sakura sighed, almost wishing she had tied with Ino so she wouldn't have to spend all day with antisocials and killers with hidden agendas.

"Alright, all of you come done here!" Genma called from the center of the arena, and the genin just did as they were told. Lining up together so the crowd and officials could see them, probably decide who they wanted to bet on or something like that. Sakura looked over the crowd, and easily found Ino sitting next to Chouji cheering them on in the bleachers, she grinned and waved at them, but then when she felt everyone staring at her she put her hand down and glanced at the other ninja on either side on her. Jeez, everyone's so serious…

"We will now start the main tournament matches between the nine participants who made it through the preliminaries!" The Hokage's voice boomed over the crowd and brought everyone's attention to him. "Please stay and watch until the very end!"

"Alright, first thing's first. I'd like you all to look at this." Genma stepped forward and held up a tournament paper with the listed matches on them. Not much had changed, the listing went as follows; Naruto vs Neji, Sakura vs Who ever won out of Naruto and Neji, Sasuke vs Gaara, Kankuro vs Shino, and Shikamaru vs Temari. Sakura relaxed at this cause it meant she was sitting the first round out.

"But Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you gonna do?" Naruto blurted out, wondering where the hell the Uchiha boy was at a time like this.

"If he doesn't appear by the time of his match, he will be disqualified." Genma shrugged as he chewed on his signature senbon needle. In that moment, Sakura wondered that if Genma had become a farmer instead of a ninja if he would always have strand of hay or wheat sticking out of his mouth instead of a metal needle.

Genma sighed and continued,"Alright, guys. This is the final test. The arena is different but the rules are the same as the preliminaries, so basically there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat, but if I determine that the fight is over I'll step in a stop it, you got that?"

"Now the first fight is Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji. You guys stay here, the rest of you go back to the waiting stands." Genma looked from the blonde over to Neji and then waited of the rest of the participates to exit the arena.

"Hey, Naruto" Sakura started, and glanced over to Neji before looking back over to her blonde teammate, "Kick his ass!" She winked at the boy, and could help but giggle when she saw the fire of determination burst forth in Naruto's eyes.

"You better believe it!" Naruto grinned and gave the girl a thumbs up before Sakura left the arena to stand in the waiting room with the others.

"Idiots." Neji mumbled, knowing full well that he would never be be defeated by a loser like Naruto.

"Alright! Begin!" Genma shout and backed away from the battle.

"So, you really think Naruto is going to win?" A voice to Sakura's left asked.

Sakura looked up from the fight to see Shikamaru's calculating eyes staring at her. She glanced back to the scene and then back to the apathetic boy, a wide grin spreading on her face, "Oh, I know he's gonna win."

And Naruto did just that. He was able to pull out the nine-tail's chakra and actually control it and use it to defeat the stoic Hyuga who made his first big mistake by ever underestimating Naruto Uzumaki. By the end of the match, Neji was out for the count and Naruto still had enough energy to jump up and down like a hyperactive child.

"Sakura! Did ya see me!? I won!" Naruto shouted and waved at the pink haired girl who had been cheering him on.

Sakura laughed and gave the boy a thumbs up before shouting, "You better believe it!" She was so happy for Naruto that she didn't even notice that all eyes in the waiting room were on her. Even the cold blues eyes of a certain sand ninja.

Naruto soaked up the applause and cheers, and then leaped back up into the waiting room and didn't hesitate to wrap Sakura up in a big hug. He was already crying overdramatic tears of joy, cause this just meant he was one step closer to his dream of being Hokage.

"You were amazing, Naruto." Sakura smiled and patted the boy's back.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto grinned at the girl before letting her pull away, he was so overjoyed that he was oblivious to the stares and glares he was getting from the other genin in the stands.

However, the next match was Gaara and Sasuke's, but Sasuke was still nowhere to be found. The crowd was getting rowdy and impatient, and Sakura could see in the official's box that the Hokage and Kazekage were discussing what to do about the dilemma. In end, just like before, it was decided that the match be pushed back till the end. Then at the start of the next match, Kankuro quickly forfeited victory to Shino without even setting foot inside the arena and before he knew it, Shikamaru was up.

"Damn, you've gotta be kidding me." Shikamaru groaned, unable to believe his rotten luck and Sakura just giggled at his horrified expression.

"Good luck with those shadows, Shikamaru." Sakura teased and winked at him, and Shikamaru felt a strange heat rise up to his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end wasn't able to because in that moment Naruto proceeded to push Shikamaru over the railing and into the arena.

"Yeah! Go for it, Shikamaru!" The blonde shouted.

Man, did Shikamaru really want to punch that fox boy in face. Aw man, this sucks.

"Fine, if you won't attack than I will!" Temari shouted already rushing up to the boy with her large fan ready to strike.

"H-hey! I didn't even start the match yet!" Genma called out, but it was too late to stop the girl who was eager to get that fight over with.

"Go, Shika-ma-ru!" Sakura and Naruto cheer in unison.

The lazy boy just chuckled and rolled his eyes at the pair of idiots cheering in the stands. "Well, might as well try to win." He got up and with that the match truly began.

Of course in the end, the match ended with Temari as the winner yet again, but Sakura and the other adult shinobi knew it was Shikamaru who truly won the battle even if he hadn't won the fight.

"That idiot! How dare he give up like that!" Naruto yelled and Sakura sighed, You're still so childish, Naruto. She watched as the blonde jumped down into the arena to give Shikamaru a piece of his mind and she happily followed after him.

"Shikamaru, you idiot-" Naruto started yelling as he ran over to the boy, Sakura however finished his sentence, following close behind, "You did good!"

"What?" Naruto turned to the girl with a shocked expression plastered on his face. "But he lost!"

"You'll make a great Chunin one day, Shikamaru." She grinned at the apathetic boy, ignoring Naruto who was protesting loudly.

Shikamaru smiled at the girl and blushed slightly, "Thanks, I guess. Well, I think we should get ready to enjoy the next fight."

Naruto calmed down at the lazy genuine words, when he realized Shikamaru was referring to Sasuke, "Is he here yet?"

"He's here." Sakura gave the blonde a teasing smile and pulled him backwards by the back of his collar so he could witness Kakashi and Sasuke's dramatic appearance in a whirlwind of leaves. "You're late!" She shouted before Kakashi could even think about opening his mouth to say something cool. And the two boys just looked at their pink haired teammate with guilty expressions. Sakura sighed, "Well, better late than never, I guess."

"Alright, Gaara get down here!" Genma called, ready to get the final match of round one over and done with. He turned to Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sakura and motioned to the stairs with his chin. "You guys, get back in the waiting room."

The three of them were halfway through trekking up the steps to get back to the room with all of the other genin when they froze at the sight of Gaara, but it wasn't just the sight of a sand genin that laid before them. It was a killer stepping past the bodies of two of his latest victims approaching them, that made them still with fear. Naruto and Shikamaru quickly moved out of the dangerous boy's path, and so did Sakura, but while the two male leaf genin avoided looking at Gaara, Sakura was staring right at him.

When the red head reached the steps where the three leaf genin had froze he stop, an action that made the there of them hold their breathes. Then Gaara turned his head to look at Sakura, when his eyes met her's he was mildly surprised that she didn't flinch or look away, then he let his gaze slip down to her left leg, the one he broke not too long ago. A moment later, he looked away and kept walking, ready to finally fight and destroy Sasuke Uchiha.

When he was gone, everyone exhaled a breath they didn't know they had been holding and the two boys shared a glance with one another before turning their attention to Sakura who was just staring down at her own leg.