A/N: I'M BACK. Gosh, I've been dying to finish and post this chapter. Your reviews and messages have been so encouraging. Hope you like this one. :)

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fan fiction using characters from the NarutoTM world, which is trademarked by Masashi Kishimoto. The story I tell here is created for entertainment only and is not part of the official NarutoTM storyline. I do not profit financially from this story.

Chapter 21: Unveiled

Sakura slept through her alarm the following morning.

After a moment of staring at her ceiling in a daze, Sakura whipped her head up off the pillow because it struck her that she only had ten minutes to be at the Hokage Tower. And from there, race back to the Academy for the First Exam.

Damn it. Of all mornings to sleep in…

In a frenzy, she pulled on her training gear (including her black heeled boots, gloves, and waist band), gathered her things, wolfed down some fruit and toast, and booked it out of Sasuke's flat without a word to its owner, whose chakra signature she could detect somewhere within the depths of his bedroom.

Sakura hadn't spoken to Sasuke about the pill incident yet. She honestly never had the chance. After Sakura read Ibiki's letter the previous night, in fact, she'd spent the evening packing her things, bidding her parents farewell, ensuring her bedroom's booby traps were in working order, and officially parting with the time travel scroll (which caused her a tinge of dread, as it always did before she departed for lengthy missions). By the time she stumbled into Sasuke's flat to sleep, it was late at night, Sasuke was nowhere in sight, and she was far too exhausted to wait up for him. And so she succumbed to the allure of his plush couch and fell into a deep sleep instantly.

So deep that her cumbersome alarm clock didn't stand a chance.

When Sakura stepped outside, fully clad in her training gear and filled with adrenaline after the sleeping-through-the-alarm scare, she was greeted by a cool morning summer breeze and blinding sunbeams. She was feeling energized after the long and much-needed sleep, but with that energy came a whirlwind of nerves. Her previous worries resurfaced as she hurried down the winding village roads to the Hokage Tower. Was participating in the Chūnin Exams with the others really going to help her with the time travel mission? What if Sound was plotting to infiltrate the exams anyways and Sand turned on them again?

And if any of that happens again, what can I do about it?

What Sakura needed now more than ever was an influential reputation. And the only way she could think of gaining one was by becoming a Chūnin and obtaining that hospital promotion the council members promised her. Then, and only then, did she have a chance of getting people to take her seriously when she started making radical claims about Orochimaru wanting to attack the village, the Akatsuki's whereabouts, and the danger Sasuke was in.

Whatever problems waited on the horizon were too big for her to face alone. And if Sakura had learned anything from being on a team with Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake for so many years, it was that the bond between comrades was one of the greatest strengths in the world. Sakura would never let herself be a lonely, cold-hearted avenger like Sasuke, who tried to shoulder all the pain himself and shut everyone out. In her old life, she'd watched him crumble beneath its weight and lose his way entirely.

No, she could not afford for that to happen to her, not when she had the weight of the entire ninja world on her shoulders. If she tried to carry it all alone, it would destroy her.

Sakura's strides grew bigger and more confident as she neared the tower. She was doing the right thing. It was a beautiful morning, she was about to show off her skills in the exams, and nothing could bring her down.

Not even whatever the Hokage had to tell her in his office.

"Good morning, Sakura," Sarutobi greeted from his desk when she stepped through the grand front doors. "I promise I won't keep you long – I understand that the First Exam starts in an hour. But please, do have a seat." He beckoned towards the chair facing him.

"Yes sir," Sakura answered with a polite bow and doing just as she was told. There were two Jōnin attendants who Sakura didn't recognize standing on either side of the Hokage, and aside from that, the room looked the same as it always did, albeit significantly more tidy than when Tsunade held office here. The floors weren't littered with piles of paper and wine bottles. Instead, the walls were lined with neatly organized bookshelves and filing cabinets. The picture frames of the previous Hokage were as shiny as she'd ever seen them. It was weird.

After instructing one of his attendees to shut the doors, Sarutobi rested his elbows on the desk and cleared his throat. "I called you here, Miss Haruno, to extend my thanks for your brave allocations against the Sound Village last week. It triggered the launch of an investigation. As you may have guessed, the results shed light on a few… misgivings that gave me cause to revoke the Sound Village's invitation to the Chūnin Selection Exams."

She bowed her head respectfully and waited for him to elaborate. But he simply stared at her over his clasped fingers, the smile lines etched deep in his aged face. "Um…," Sakura started slowly and intertwining her own fingers on her lap. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Much to her dismay, the Hokage nodded.

Oh no he doesn't. I spent the morning freaking out about missing my alarm for this?

There was no way in hell.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what exactly were these misgivings you found? Why were they kicked out of the exams?" And boy, did she ever want to know. Did they find one of Orochimaru's secret bases? Did they catch Orochimaru performing one of his twisted medical experiments? Or save any of his hostages?

To her surprise, the Jōnin on Sarutobi's left barked out a laugh that he proceeded to try masking as a cough. Everyone turned their attention towards him and when he caught the Hokage's questioning stare, he abandoned his cover and faced Sakura. "You're a kid," he snarled with a patronizing smirk. "In what universe would you have the right to know the results of an A-Ranked investigation?" He laughed again and the other Jōnin's mouth twitched into a smile.

Sakura's temper flared but she somehow managed to bite her tongue. He has no idea…

"Now, now," Sarutobi dismissed. "Sakura is a very bright, young girl. Although, Sakura, I'm afraid they are right. Given your age–erm– status, I cannot disclose precisely what was discovered, but since you are so insistent, you deserve to know that it was a matter of trade relations."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "Trade relations?" she repeated, her anger fading into shock. "That's it?"

But before Sarutobi could answer her, and before Sakura realized that she probably should have kept her mouth shut, the office doors were slammed open.

"Hokage-sama," a deep, masculine voice rumbled through the room. "A word." Sakura spun around to find Ibiki, Konoha's lead interrogator and the proctor of the First Chūnin Exam, standing in the entrance with a scowl on his face. His hands were folded under his long, black cloak and his sturdy, scarred jaw was clenched.

The Jōnin attendees flocked to the door and Sarutobi rose to his feet. "Now, Ibiki? Don't you have an exam to oversee in only half an hour?" he asked.

Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "I realize that," he snapped, clearly in no mood to beat around the bush.

Sarutobi and the Jōnin exchanged looks before the Hokage turned his attention to a very confused Sakura. "Well, Sakura, I'm afraid we'll have to cut our conversation short for today. I believe we covered everything I wanted to – hold on a moment!" he added as Ibiki turned away and stalked out of the office with both Jōnin on his heels, leaving Sakura and the Hokage behind. "Always so impatient," the old man sighed while gathering a small stack of papers from his desk and turning to the tall filing cabinet against the wall on his right. He unlocked the cabinet with a jutsu and shoved the papers inside. "Now, Sakura, I gather that you know your way out from here? Or must I ask one of my assistants to lead the way?"

But Sakura's attention was locked on the filing cabinet, which was currently ajar with all of its contents in plain sight.

It wasn't the cabinet itself, per se, that held her attention, but the rows of files inside. The files she immediately recognized as medical files. She could spot that pale green shade anywhere.

But why on earth were there medical files in the Hokage's office? They were property of the hospital, unless they were being used for a dire criminal investigation. But that didn't explain why there were so many of them in there… There had to be hundreds…

"Sakura?"

She snapped her head up and caught the gentle gaze of the village hero. "Oh! I, um… no escort. I'll be fine, thank you," she said hurriedly with a small bow.

"Good," Sarutobi said with a brisk nod before closing the cabinet door and performing a quick hand seal to secure it. He strode over to the office entrance. "Good luck in the exams, Sakura," he added over his shoulder before rounding the corner and disappearing from sight.

Now Sakura was left in a pickle. Did she do as she was told and race back to the Academy for the start of the First Exam? Or did she do some snooping in the Hokage's cabinets filled with suspicious medical files?

You'd think that Sakura would have learned her lesson. For instance, she was recently nearly caught perusing Sasuke's secret medication drawer and breaking into the hospital. This was the Hokage's office of all places, and being caught snooping in here would surely have terrible consequences.

But that wasn't stopping her.

Sakura's raw curiosity held her in place. This was probably the only time she'd ever wind up alone in the Hokage's office without anyone watching over her shoulder, after all. Sakura needed to know why those files were here instead of in the hospital where they belonged.

And… perhaps the most intriguing matter of all was whether this discovery would provide some indication of where the Uchiha clan's missing medical files were.

Are they here? And if they are… why?

She couldn't wait a second longer. In a heartbeat, Sakura was across the room where the Hokage had been standing moments prior. Right, he sealed the cabinet with a jutsu. Sakura was familiar with this very cabinet in her old life. Tsunade had made good use of it by cramming in sweaters, important files, and emergency wine bottles. As her apprentice, Sakura had often retrieved items from various places in this office. Could it be that the Third Hokage used the very same jutsus to seal his files away?

Well, there was one way to find out.

Sakura proceeded to work through her mental list of hand seal combinations until, on her fourth try, she heard a soft click behind the door. Her pulse rate skyrocketed. It worked! She wrenched the cabinet open, not without a fervent glance over her shoulder, and snatched a random medical file.

She froze. Mikoto Uchiha, it read.

So the Uchiha clan files were in here after all. In the top corner of the file in Sakura's hand, there was a tiny photo of a stunning woman with long black hair and familiar striking features. There was no doubt about it: this file belonged to Sasuke's mother.

And if Sasuke's mother's file was in here, surely his file was too. Without further delay, Sakura grabbed a handful of files to leaf through. She suspected she didn't have much time until she would be caught in here, so she vowed to get the hell out as soon as she found Sasuke's file.

But in the process of pulling out the files, a scroll tumbled off the shelf and rolled across the floor, unraveling in the process. Sakura cursed her misfortune and chased after the scroll, snatching at it with her free hand. She set the files down on the floor beside her and crouched down to roll up the scroll, but she was distracted by a familiar name that practically leapt out from the paper.

Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke's brother.

Curiosity piqued, Sakura continued scanning the scroll's inky text. It didn't take her long to discern that it was a formal letter. It was filled with political jargon, official stamps, and signatures. What the hell was this thing? She unrolled the scroll a little further so that the document title was in plain view.

Operation: Elimination of the Uchiha Clan

Sakura's trek from the tower to the Academy was a shell-shocked, emotionless trance. She didn't want to believe what she had just learned. But she'd read the letter through seven times and there was no mistaking the cold, hard truth it revealed.

The Uchiha clan massacre was planned. Planned by the Leaf Village.

But… how? How could this have happened? How on earth did the village so convincingly manage to fool everyone into thinking that Sasuke's brother was solely responsible for the massacre? Was Itachi really the psychopath the village made him out to be. Did he even have a say in committing this crime? Why would the village elders want to eliminate its own citizens in the first place?

And how was Sakura supposed to accept that her village, her people, her heart and soul, were responsible for the murder of so many innocent people?

Did Sasuke ever find out about this? Could that be why he left the village in her previous life? Her heart was thumping painfully against her chest now. Or was she overreacting? What did it matter that Itachi killed them of his own accord or that he killed them on orders?

But it did matter and Sakura knew it. And the weight of this knowledge was clouding her thoughts and tipping the world out of focus. Because one thing was for certain:

My world took Sasuke's away.

Without weighing the implications of her actions, Sakura slammed open the enormous double-doors leading to the examination hall in the Academy.

It hadn't occurred to her that the loud entrance might make a scene, that she might be the last person to arrive, and that hundreds of anxious, high-strung Genin would not be impressed by her disturbance. And that's exactly what happened.

"Haruno," boomed Ibiki from the front of the room. He had apparently finished his chat with the Hokage. "You are just in time. Take your seat in row fourteen and we can all begin."

"Yes sir," she answered, noticing that her voice sounded much smaller than usual. And as she walked down the aisle between the desks, her heels clicking against the wood floor boards, she became acutely aware of how every shred of blood lust in the room was now being directed at her.

Great. I've just become the target of all my competitors, she thought with a silent groan while trying not to look like a nervous wreck. And as she usually did in times of stress, her eyes instinctively sought out Naruto through the throng. He wasn't hard to spot up near the front, his blonde head bobbing up and down and his arms stretched up in attempt to catch her attention. "Sakura-chan!" his voice sounded across the room in a failed effort to whisper.

A small smirk graced her lips. That guy always found a way to calm her down no matter how stressed she was.

But then she passed Sasuke's desk and was hurled back to square one. She caught his eye for a fleeting moment, got a taste of his ice cold where the hell have you been glare, and immediately averted her eyes to the empty desk three rows ahead, which she presumed was her destination.

She had to tell him. It was her duty, as Sasuke's friend and comrade, to make sure he knew the truth about his family members' deaths. But how on earth was she going to bring it up? And when?

As soon as Sakura took her seat, Ibiki made an introductory speech about the First Exam while putting particular emphasis on the no cheating policy. Sakura rolled her eyes at how painstakingly obvious it was that they were expected to cheat (and wondered how her former self hadn't caught onto that sooner), and pulled out her pencil. Within minutes, the written exams were distributed and Ibiki shouted: "Begin!"

The examination hall was immediately silenced, aside from the sounds of flipping papers and scratching pencils. Sakura knew she could pass this test without writing a single word down on the page. She distinctly recalled Ibiki's twisted tenth question that simply required that the three-man squad decided to stay in the exam room, despite the threat of being banned from all future Chūnin Exams, and they would pass. But she wrote anyways because the questions were simple. And the test taking might distract her from the thoughts that were growing louder and louder with each pencil stroke.

She had to tell Sasuke about the letter immediately after the First Exam. It wasn't fair for her to keep this information bottled up – it would drive her insane! But how could she face him?

A terrible thought crossed her mind then. If Sakura told Sasuke that the village was responsible for murdering his family, would he be driven out of the village sooner? She knew that Sasuke was normally reasonably level-headed, but also that he tended to act impulsively and sometimes irrationally in emotionally-charged moments. Was it fair to drop this information on him immediately before he took the most important test of his life (so far)?

But who was she to decide what information he could or couldn't handle? This was about his family and he deserved to know the truth. It would be selfish of her to withhold it from him, really. Sakura would have to suck it up and be the bearer of bad news. The messenger. He could take it and act on it in whatever way he pleased. Why should that concern her anyways?

Because you're in love with him, idiot.

When the exam ended, Sakura made a bee-line for the washroom. She needed to be alone for a minute and gather her thoughts. Now that her emotional state was upside-down, she was starting to get bad feelings about everything.

To her relief, the washroom was empty. All the stall doors were slightly ajar and no detectable chakra signatures were in range. She went over to the sink and gazed at her reflection. Somehow, she appeared calm and collected – her green eyes bright, her hair neatly cascading to just above her shoulders, and her jaw set. But her mind was a mess.

Something felt wrong but Sakura couldn't put her finger on it. Yes, she was terrified to face Sasuke about her discovery in the Hokage's office, but there was something else nagging at her subconscious. Would she get caught for rummaging through the Hokage's cabinets? Well, no, that was highly improbable. Sakura knew there weren't any security cameras in there, and her gloves prevented her from leaving fingerprints behind.

Well, in the rush of it all, I forgot to find Sasuke's medical file. Is that why I'm panicking? But that couldn't be it. Maybe it had to do with the exams? Although she had been wrapped in her thoughts during the written test, she'd caught a whiff of some unpleasant and distinctly familiar chakra signatures while she was writing. Maybe, to be on the safe side, she ought to warn someone in an authoritative position of potential dangers that awaited the competitors in the Second Exam. Even if there were none, it couldn't hurt if someone kept a careful watch for suspicious activity.

The bathroom door flung open and someone walked in. Sakura noticed blonde hair in the mirror's reflection before she spun around to find herself face-to-face with Ino. Her heart clenched at Ino's hard, emotionless glare. How she wished their friendship could go back to how it used to be – where they had each other's backs through thick and thin – especially at a time like this.

"You passed," Ino said flatly before turning away and strutting towards the stalls.

It took Sakura a moment to process that Ino was talking about the exam. "Yeah," she said and before she could stop herself, added, "Good luck, Pig."

Ino paused and tilted her head to look at Sakura, who was trying to communicate her desperation with her eyes. I miss you. I need you, Ino. Let's forget our stupid differences and have each other's backs again! Please!

Ino's expression remained emotionless. "You too, Forehead," she murmured before turning away again.

When Sakura emerged from the bathroom, the examination hall was empty. She figured everyone had been ushered outside to the entrance of the enormous Forest of Death arena where the Second Exam would be held. Sakura pursed her lips, pumped chakra to her feet, and set out for the arena.

It took her about ten minutes to arrive at the arena, which was located deep in the forest on the village's outskirts. The vast clearing outside the area was packed with ninjas scrambling to find their teammates and their gates. It was a chaotic mess of bodies, voices, and chakra flares. How was she supposed to find Anko through all this?

Sakura reasoned that alerting Anko, the proctor of the Second Exam, of the potential ensuing danger would be the most logical course of action. If anything terrible did happen in the exam, Anko would be far more likely to staunch it if she was already on the lookout.

Sakura shouldered her way through crowd, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for someone familiar through the hum of chatter and chakra. And, much to her relief, not two minutes later, she did find someone she knew.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she called and approaching her sensei at a brisk jog. He wasn't Anko, but he was probably the second best option.

Kakashi had been standing on the outskirts of the throng, his silver hair glinting in the sunlight and his free hand resting in his pocket. He lazily glanced up from his book. "There you are," he said. "You'd better go find the boys. They were looking for you."

"I know," she gasped and skidding to a halt as she neared him, her boots sliding along the slick dirt ground. "I just need to talk to you for a second."

"You'd better make it quick," he answered and snapping his book shut. "I'll be out of the village in ten minutes."

Sakura blanched, her heart sinking. "What, why?"

"A mission," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "I can't tell you the details, but I expect I'll be gone for up to two weeks." Sakura felt her jaw hang open. Seriously? Why the hell was he being sent on a mission now of all times? She certainly didn't remember this happening in her old life. Now there was no way he could look out for them during the exams.

Kakashi seemed to sense her surprise and he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I know you three will do just fine. I gave you all invitations for a reason."

"Th-that's not it," Sakura stammered, but she never got a chance to elaborate because that was when a pair of orange-clad arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice trumpeted in her ear, nearly causing her to jump right out of her skin. Sakura twisted herself loose of Naruto's grip and shoved him face-first into the dirt.

"Don't do that!" she shrieked, her fist raised threateningly as Naruto spat out a mouthful of dirt. That was when Sakura realized that Sasuke was standing there with his hands in his pockets, observing his teammates with his eyebrows raised. Sakura swallowed and turned back to her sensei, who was chuckling.

"Well, I'm glad you've all found each other," he said. "Now get to your gate and do me proud, all right?"

"Wait!" Sakura cried through Naruto's excited whoops. She approached Kakashi and lowered her voice, though she knew the boys could hear her. "Sensei, I… Can you please tell Anko to keep a close watch things? You know, in case something goes wrong…" She stared up at him with what she hoped was a pleading look, and prayed he wouldn't ask for details.

Kakashi met her gaze. Does he get how serious this is? "I'm sure Anko will do a fine job keeping things under control," he said calmly. "Now hurry up, kids."

"But-!" Sakura started, only to be interrupted by Naruto grabbing her arm and tugging her through the crowd.

"Yeah, let's go! You don't want to be late two times in a row!" Naruto cackled over his shoulder as he led the way.

Sakura shot a nervous glance back at her sensei and caught his eye once more. Much to her relief, his expression had hardened and he gave a small, curt nod.

He gets it. He will talk to Anko.

"Why were you late?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura jumped. She hadn't noticed him walking beside her. "I was held up in a meeting," she lied while keeping her eyes trained on the ground. She was not prepared to provide a proper explanation and was thankful he didn't probe further.

"Well it was pretty badass," Naruto said while spinning around to face his teammates. He placed his palms on the back of his head and continued to lead the way, walking backwards. "You know, slamming those doors open and marching in like you owned the place." He grinned, blue eyes twinkling.

Sakura shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure everyone in that room hates me for it."

"Probably," Sasuke agreed in a rather flat tone.

Sakura shot him a sideways glance to find Sasuke frowning into space. Was he upset with her? Being sarcastic?

God, this guy is frustrating.

He was impossible to read, made Sakura feel uncharacteristically self-conscious, and worst of all: I've got to tell him.

That was when Naruto, who was still walking backwards, collided with someone.

"Oops!" he said while spinning around, grinning sheepishly. "Watch where you're – oh! Hinata-chan!"

Naruto stepped back to reveal a petrified-looking Hinata, who was standing there with her fur-lined jacket, black bob-cut, hands clasped together, and an enormous blush on her cheeks. "N-Naruto-kun!" she gasped. "Sorry for getting in your way!"

She attempted to scurry along her path, but Naruto stretched an arm out around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. "Sasuke! Sakura-chan! I want to formerly introduce you to my new training partner," he announced, like he was showing off a shiny, new toy.

Sasuke, who still had his hands in his pockets, appeared utterly disinterested, and Sakura, who was familiar with Hinata's dangerously low blood-pressure (and her tendency to faint in Naruto's presence), kept a sharp watch on said girl, who was growing redder and redder and looked about ready to collapse.

"Just wait until you see some of the moves she taught me! Hinata-chan showed me how to find all her chakra points and now I'm a pro at fisting gently!" Naruto bellowed while giving Hinata's shoulder a firm pat.

Hinata's hands flew up to her mouth and Sakura bit back a laugh. "I don't think that's what it's called, Naruto," she chided while pumping medical chakra to her hands and approaching Hinata, whose eyes were rolling back into her head. "Come on. Stay with me."

"Ah! Hinata-chan!" Naruto gasped, finally cluing in that she was losing consciousness in his arms.

"Hey! Dumbass! What are you doing to my teammate?" called a new voice. Kiba emerged from the crowd on all fours, and made to lunge at Naruto and reclaim his teammate, but an enormous swarm of black insects blocked his path. "Arugh! Shino, not now!" Kiba wailed, and swatting at the buzzing cloud of bugs. "I'm trying to save Hinata!"

Shino, clad in his grey coat and black shades, appeared beside Kiba. "Now is not the time for fighting," he hummed monotonously. "We need to go to our gate."

"Yeah, that's right!" Naruto yelled, and rounding on Hinata's teammates. "Why fight now when we can kick your asses in the exams?"

Sakura shrunk back once Hinata was conscious again, not wanting to take part in the fiasco. She caught eyes with Sasuke, who was standing to her right, and who appeared to share her sentiments. "Idiots," he muttered and nodding towards their rowdy classmates.

"I'll say," Sakura said with a nervous laugh and folding her arms. But as much as the others were driving her nuts, they were a great distraction from a certain plaguing thought.

Now is my chance to tell him. No one else was in ear shot. It was now or never. "Sasuke-," she said, taking a big gulp of air, and preparing for the worst.

"I need to talk to you about something," he interrupted.

Sakura froze, completely shocked as he stole the words out of her mouth. She willed herself to look at him, only to find that he was staring determinedly ahead with an unreadable expression. "I-I do too," she breathed, feeling a confusing mixture of relief and anxiety.

"What's going on over here?" came a new voice from behind them.

What now?! Sakura frowned and glared over her shoulder. But she sprang into a defensive stance when she realized who it was. Neji Hyūga with Tenten at his side.

Sasuke seemed to decide the newcomers were worth his attention, so he also turned around, hands still in his pockets. Neji was the mysterious, elite prodigy of the year ahead of them, and shared many characteristics with Sasuke. He too carried an infamous bloodline, came off as extremely intimidating, was one of Konoha's most formidable Genin, and was quite popular with the ladies. Neji had sharp, handsome features, stood a couple of inches taller than Sasuke, and had long, sleek brown hair fastened with a tie between his shoulder blades. His most noticeable trait, however, were his gleaming silver eyes which marked his possession of the all-seeing Byakūgan.

"You're Sasuke Uchiha," Neji drawled, while crossing his arms and scanning Sasuke intensely.

Sasuke smirked. "I am," he replied and lifting one of his dark eyebrows. "And you are?"

"Neji Hyūga. I was hoping I'd run into you at some point, Uchiha," he said, also smirking.

The air was thick with tension as the two famous rookies squared each other off. Sakura felt yet another mixture of feelings – this time relief and annoyance – because her opportunity to finally talk to Sasuke alone had been cast aside for this heated staring match. Tenten approached her then. "Boys, huh?" she said while rolling her chestnut brown eyes, and standing at Sakura's side to watch the stand-off.

Sakura chuckled. "I know," she huffed. It was quite nice to see Tenten, the tall, level-headed brunette from Rock Lee and Neji's team. She was wearing a sleeveless, pink shirt and her hair tied up in two buns.

Tenten giggled. "Besides all this, I must say… Your teammate sure is easy on the eyes," she said, nodding approvingly.

"I could say the same about yours," Sakura answered with a sly grin. She shot a glance at Tenten to find that her face was now flaming red.

"Yeah, it's a goddamn nightmare," she groaned, but her smile never faltered. "I'm Tenten, by the way. It's great to meet you." She stuck out her hand and Sakura stared at it dumbly. Tenten didn't know who she was?! Well, that was an unexpected surprise. Sakura felt like she knew this girl inside and out, after the years they'd spent fighting on missions, drunk in bars, and naked in bathhouses together. It was pretty unnerving that all of those memories were completely gone.

"Sakura," she answered awkwardly and giving Tenten's hand a firm shake.

"Neji! Tenten!" yet another new voice cried out. "We must hurry to our gate!"

The group of rookies spun back around to find none other than Rock Lee sprinting over in his trademark, green jumpsuit. "Did you hear me? I- … Sakura-san!" Lee skidded to a halt when he was immediately before Sakura with a wild grin plastered on his face, beady eyes glistening. "I didn't realize my beautiful cherry blossom was here!"

A stunned silence fell over the group. "Your what?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows raised.

Lee whirled around to face Sasuke. "Oh! My sincerest apologies. You must be Sakura-san's teammate. My name is Rock Lee. I am Sakura-san's personal training partner and I promise to protect her with my life!" Then he shot Sasuke what he probably presumed was a winning smile and a double thumbs-up.

Sasuke looked positively appalled, but before he could say anything, Naruto, Kiba, and the others joined in on the conversation. "Who's this punk with the bushy eyebrows?" Naruto growled and pushing his way into the middle of the crowd.

Lee didn't seem to appreciate Naruto's remark. "I just happen to be an embodiment of youthful energy! None of you stand a chance against me!" And, naturally, both Naruto and Kiba didn't respond well to that claim. An explosive exchange of insults ensued between the three, while Tenten, Shino, and Hinata made every attempt to break it up. Neji put his head in his hands and Sasuke approached Sakura.

"Come on," he hissed when he was within earshot, leading her away from the group. Sakura obliged without hesitation.

The clearing wasn't as crowded now that most exam participants had made it to their designated gates. But even when they were quite far from the throng, Sasuke didn't stop. It seemed he was leading them to the foresty patch on the opposite side of the clearing. Sakura's throat clenched. This was it. This was when she told Sasuke about his clan. And she had no idea how she was going to go about it.

"It's no surprise you have stalkers," Sasuke commented as they neared the trees.

"Huh?" Sakura glanced up at him only to receive a disbelieving glare.

"Why are you training with a creep like that?" Sasuke questioned calmly, though there was underlying resentment in his tone.

Sakura felt defensive. Sure, Lee was… odd (especially at this age), but he was a good person and a skilled ninja. Also, Sakura's emotions were out of whack and she desperately needed somewhere to channel them. "Lee is an excellent training partner," she snapped. "He might not look strong, and he might be a bit forward, but he's talented. And his heart is in the right place."

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously. "Right," he seethed.

Sakura frowned. "So is that all you want to talk to me about then? My choice of training partners?"

"No," he answered as they arrived in the forest. Sasuke paused and glanced over his shoulder before grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her behind a tree so that they were shielded from view. "That's not it. You have something to tell me too, right?"

Sakura really couldn't have asked for a more private location. Her back was now pressed against a tree trunk, and besides Sasuke, no other ninjas were within detectable range, except for the crowd hovering around the arena.

Sakura would be an idiot not to bring up his clan now, especially because as soon as they entered that arena, their chances of having a private moment like this was very slim.

She stared up at his face, because she had nowhere else to look really, and noted how he was watching her expectantly. "You first," she said quickly in hope that she could buy herself just a little more time.

Sasuke shrugged. "All right," he said, before lowering his gaze to the ground. And then, he fell silent.

Sakura watched him, perplexed. What did he want to tell her, anyways? Because whatever it was, it appeared to be eating him up. His eyebrows were furrowed and he wasn't looking anywhere near her.

Sakura opened her mouth to prompt him to talk, but he beat her to it. "Look," he said, and nodding towards the ground.

But Sakura didn't even have to look to realize what this was about. A familiar chirping and hum of electricity signaled that Sasuke's eyes weren't fixed on the ground at all, but on his hand.

Sakura followed his stare to his open palm, which was supporting a tiny, electric-blue Chidori.

Sakura's body seized instinctively. After all the times his future self had nearly murdered her with this very technique, seeing him wield it again was terribly unnerving. In spite of this, she was so impressed. Sasuke had only been training with Kakashi for about two weeks and he managed to draw out his affinity for Lightning-type techniques? "Wow," she breathed.

Sasuke looked up at her, his face illuminated by the pale, blue light. "It uses up a lot of chakra so I'll save it for desperate circumstances. It's not complete either, but after the exams, Kakashi said he'd help me perfect it." The Chidori fizzled away and their surroundings darkened again. "I've already showed Naruto. I thought you should both know about this attack in our team's arsenal."

Sakura nodded, met his gaze and found that his dark eyes were shimmering with pride. It might have been a trick of the shadows, but his lips were quirked into a small, reserved smile.

He's so happy.

"So what did you want to tell me?" he asked seriously.

Shit. She couldn't do it. Not now. Sakura intertwined her fingers and felt her lips tremble. "I…," she started, and averting her stare. "I… missed you yesterday," she lied in the direction of her feet.

Sasuke didn't say anything for a moment. And Sakura prayed that he would interpret her behaviour as shyness and not deception. But then he said "Did you," in the flattest, most disbelieving tone she'd ever heard.

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but then Sasuke placed his hand on her chin and tilted it up so that she was forced to look directly at his face. "Bullshit," he growled, his dark eyes narrowing. Sakura's mouth grew very dry as he scanned her face and the depths of her soul. "What is this really about?"

She was cornered. There was no way out. But she wasn't ready. He didn't realize what he was asking of her. This information could not only ruin his day, but ruin his performance in the exams. He might even quit the exams, depending on how he took the news. And Sakura couldn't afford to have her entire team thrown out now, not when her promotion was on the line, when the fate of the ninja world was one the line…

"Guys!"

A familiar voice sounded through forest and seconds later, Naruto's head popped around the tree trunk. "Where have you… What are you doing?!" he yelled with disgust, probably when he took notice of their proximity against the tree.

Sakura released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She was saved. For now.

Sasuke pulled his hand away from Sakura's face and immediately shoved it in his pocket. "I showed it to her," he said, and shooting a glare at his blonde teammate. But he would soon regret saying anything at all, because then Naruto's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and he burst out laughing.

"You showed what to her? You showed IT to her?" Naruto choked out while trying and failing to stifle his laughing with his hands.

Sakura had to use every ounce of her willpower to stop herself from laughing too. She was feeling rather euphoric about Naruto's timely interruption. And now that Naruto was here, telling Sasuke about the letter was totally out of the question. She would have to save it for a better time, perhaps once the Second Exam was over.

Sasuke didn't seem terribly amused by Naruto's comment. "Idiot," he groaned and rolling his eyes. "Let's go to our gate."

"Hey! That's what I was trying to get you guys to do!" Naruto shouted as the three of them emerged from the trees. "How are we going to kick everybody's ass if we get disqualified, huh? Let's go!"

Naruto spun on his heel and made for the clearing, but not before Sasuke stuck out his foot and tripped him, causing Naruto to stumble around aimlessly while Sasuke sprinted ahead.

"Bastard!" Naruto cried before tearing after him.

Sakura smiled at the familiarity of the scene before her.

Here we go…