I know I promised this on Friday but, I was working till 11 at night all week so not a lot of time to write, speaking of please note the majority of this was written at 2 or 3 in the morning okay

Yeah so enjoy also I'll point out this is the longest chapter to date WOOT! (also please excuse the excessive use of the word 'fuck' in this chapter)

The Second Exam: The Outer Ring

The girls started in to the maze slowly, Monoki took charge of the map because with all the travel she did she knew her way around a map. As they travelled Monoki kept a record of the turns they made. It was just as Monoki pictured, stone walls that extended into the blackness of an unseeable roof with the occasional vine and vegetation, sandy ground and touches in brackets on the walls, but apart from them it was dark. Sakura and Matsuri kept their eyes and ears open while Monoki counted quietly to herself. After a while they came to a large open chamber, it was wide with a few openings to other corridors and a few pillars the ground was covered in a springy moss because a small stream of spring water was trickling down one of the pillars and sunlight was pouring in through a high skylight in the roof, which was covered with a fine mesh of bars, it must have been a chimney that led above ground and allowed fresh air to change out the old stuff and by the looks of it, the chimney was off limits for the exam as there where two proctors sitting on the edge playing cards.

"Think this water is fresh?" Asked Sakura, taking a close look at the stream.

"Normally desert springs are fresh, let me check." Matsuri set down her bag and went to check the water, Monoki sat down and looked over the map and the chart she scribbled, she shuffled over to the light and compared the maps with a pencil between her teeth, which was really comical since her Kakashi mask was on. Sakura and Matzuri talked to each other and topped up the canteens while Monoki poured over the map.

"HA!" she shouted and jumped up.

"What?" Sakura asked holding her chest, Monoki had scared her.

"I found our gate, I know where we are. Here look." The other two girls looked over her shoulder as she pointed to the map. There where a few pencil marks on the map, most rubbed out but one definite line was drawn to a large room in which they must be in. "No other passage has the same pattern of turns we took, and it looks like the map is in scale, but still look here these are the scroll rooms." She pointed to 22 rooms that where evenly spaced around the outer ring with the kenji for scroll in tiny print on the map.

"There is no direct path to these rooms on the outer ring, you need both parts of the map to get anywhere near one of these rooms."

"Yeah, If we're here, this one is the closest, but like you said we need to get the other part of the map."

"Right I'm gonna suggest we work our way to another gate to try and encounter another team and see what we can get but sine we know where we are I wanna keep to the outer ring we can't risk getting lost in the blank region." Monoki said.

"I agree so which way will we go?" Asked Matsuri,

"Ano, that's why I called you guys" the three planned a route through the maze towards another gate and started off.

The Maze terrain changed often from the dull desert like corridors to lavish vegetated open areas, over each open area was a skylight allowing sunlight to enter, even in some open areas was large trees drawing water from ponds. There were lots of fruit vines and fish so the girls gathered what they could while they had the chance. What was worst was there where animals in the shadows and they came across numerous dens and lairs and large paw and hoof prints on the ground and the occasional growl from the shadows.

"Bet this makes you two feel a bit more at home." Joked Matsuri as the three paused for dinner in a large chamber filled with a couple of trees each reaching for the skylight.

"Much more." Said Sakura munching an energy bar. "Well if Monoki's directions where right then we should be close to another gate so we gotta stay alert in case that other team is near here, right Monoki, HEY!" Sakura shouted.

"Huh? What?" Monoki hadn't been paying attention, she had been watching the chuunin proctors on the edge of the sky light that was well beyond reach.

"Where you even listening to me!?" Sakura moaned.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to annoy you." Monoki grinned, Matsuri chuckled and Sakura scowled. "Aw come on Sakura lighten up a bit" Sakura's scowl cracked and she laughed along with the other two.

"Wait! Shh, be quiet!" said Matsuri she held up her hand and froze trying to listen. The sound of arguing echoed down the hall on their right, and it sounded pretty heated. The three girls nodded sharply to each other and started towards the noise down the hall. Monoki was careful to note the halls they took.

"I told you to aim for the big one! Now it's gone and all we got was this little runt, this'll never feed the three of us! You BAKA!"

The girls where crouched in the shadows at the entrance to the chamber, it was a rain ninja team, a short fat one was shouting at a tall guy with a bow, a third guy was staying well out of reach of both of them.

"Sorry boss" the tall guy muttered, "I'll get the big cat next time"

"There won't be a next time you scared it off with your dam bellowing, still at least you didn't completely mess up." The short guy held up a small sack who's contents was whining loudly and thrashing about. Sakura started to sneak closer but Monoki grabbed her shoulder, when Sakura looked back Monoki pointed in front of her. There was a trip wire on the ground these guys had laid traps, so the girls crouched behind a boulder that was jutting from the ground, and crept closer.

"And you where's that dam fire!" the bossy short guy shouted at the third rain.

"I'm getting there boss, I'm getting there!!" he shouted back, he was terrified of this guy. The three girls had taken up positions in the shadowed corners of the room they had the rain surrounded.

"At least kill the damn thing it's starting to annoy me!" he shouted at the tall guy. Monoki leapt from her hiding spot and threw a kunai at the boss, he jumped back and the kunai stuck the ground at the same time Monoki landed she quickly charged forward and engaged the boss with her twin blades. The guy with the bow drew an arrow from his quiver and cocked his bow aiming for Monoki but Matsuri's jouhyou rope shot from the shadows behind him and wrapped around his upper body trapping his arms to his side, with a strong yank, the tall guy was pulled into the shadows as he kicked and screamed. The third guy had dropped his flints when Monoki had first appeared and lifted two metal plated tonfas, his attention quickly turned to the shadows in which the tall guy had just been pulled. He turned swiftly as Sakura charged towards him from behind, he brought up his tonfas to protect himself but with her super strength Sakura shattered them in one punch and sent the guy flying against a rock as Sakura charged again he dropped to his knees and with his arms over his head and ass in the air he shouted through sobs,

"Please don't hurt me! I didn't even want to take this exam!! PLEASE!!" Sakura skidded to a stop and stared at him she shook her head at the pitiful scene. Monoki had quickly out maneuvered the fat guy and he was lying on the ground knocked out and Matsuri stepped from the shadows dragging the tall guy also out cold.

"That was way too easy…" said Matsuri, dumping her guy on the ground.

"Yeah…"said Monoki a little disappointed and gave her guy a gentle kick, she wasn't going to attempt to move the fat ass. Sakura had returned to the centre of the room gripping the sobbing coward by his collar. The others sweat dropped when they saw him.

"At least your guys put up a fight…" she said as she pushed him down next to the knocked out others. Monoki sniggered.

"Alright weepy, which one has the map?" she asked, the boy couldn't answer through sobs but just pointed to the fat boss. Sakura tied the weepy guy to the others while Monoki searched the fat guys bags and Matsuri got curious about the squirming sack. She opened it to find a small desert big cat cub, the thing was hissing and fluffing up its fur and the poor thing was hog tied, its front leg was hurt.

"This things just a baby how could you?" she said and wrestled the thing out of the sack so she could look at its little leg.

"Hey Sakura, you're a medic can you help this little one?" she asked.

"I think so let me see him." Sakura helped Matzuri heal the cubs paw when that was done it just huddled in Matsuri's arms shivering and whimpering.

"I don't think its mother is coming back…" Sakura said.

"Well we can't leave the poor thing look at him he's all fur and bones." Matsuri got some fish that they had caught earlier and pushed a little towards the little cat, it sniffed carefully and nibbled at the fish to test it, then once it decided it was safe devoured the rest of it and purred loudly in Matsuri's lap. Both Sakura and Matsuri got big amine eyes.

"AWWWWWW!!!!"

"That's so cute!" said Monoki, "First you'll find that he is a she and I got bad news, these baka's have the red scroll too."

"Kuso!!" Sakura swore.

"Now what?" asked Matsuri as she continued to stroke the kitten which was the size of a full grown house cat.

"Well, I say we keep the second one just in case and move on it will reduce the competition for the scrolls, plus if we get in a tight spot we can buy our way out with an extra scroll." Monoki said tossing the extra map to Sakura.

"Well you have a point, so shall we move on? I'm getting sick of this guy's crying." She looked over at the guy, tied to his team mates and still blubbering like a baby.

"Yeah, so map mistress which way?" Matsuri asked Monoki as she pulled out the map they had their pencil scribbles and course plotted on, she scowled at the nickname, looking over the map and quickly adding on the corridors they traveled to get here she pointed and said,

"This way will lead us to a chamber where a lot of paths cross over and its near the edge of the outer ring so we got a better chance there."

"Alright then" Matsuri got up with the kitten's rear legs dangling from her arms, it was still purring. "What!? Well we can't leave her here, she's just a baby, plus I think she likes us."

"Yeah that's true. Well?" Sakura added.

"What are you asking me for? I'm not against it, she's cute" Monoki said and stroked the cub, increasing the volume of the purr.

They continued on down the corridor that Monoki had pointed out, the kitten was hitching a ride in Matsuri's backpack, her head and front paws where poking out of the top of the bag she was enjoying this. They reached the next chamber, it was huge, several trees where dotted around the room each one was under a skylight and in the centre of the room was a large pond. Couching in the entrance they determined that no one was there. They darted to the nearest tree and jumped up into its branches to survey the room properly.

"Hey look, over there!" Matsuri hissed to the others. Monoki followed her eye line to a group at the edge of the water.

"Are they asleep?" Monoki asked.

"I don't think so… lets check it out." Sakura said and dropped down from the tree after giving the room a quick look around, there was no one else around.

They made their way around the shore to the fallen three, it was the cocky smoke ninjas team, each had a cup clutched in their hands. Monoki kept watch while Sakura checked them out, Matsuri couched by the water the cub stayed putt in her bag.

"GET AWAY FROM THE WATER!!" Sakura suddenly shouted, the shout startled Matsuri and she lost her balance, Monoki darted forward and grabbed her shoulders pulling her away from the water before she fell in, the cub was shaken loose from her pack and tumbled over her head towards the water. Monoki had over balanced and both she and Matsuri had fallen back on their butts, She shot out the leg that wasn't trapped under Matsuri and managed to get under the cub. The cat did the rest and dug all four sets of claws into her leg to stop from getting wet.

"AAAGGGHHHHH" she quickly retracted her leg, cat and all from over the water. "GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!!!" she hissed rapidly. Matsuri pried off the cat and returned her to the back pack. Monoki clutched her bleeding leg.

"What was that about!?" she demanded from the medic. Sakura held up one of the cups

"Poison" she said simply. "the waters bad here"

"Are they dead?" asked Matsuri

"No, asleep, I'll hazard a guess and say it will leave them like that for a few days" Sakura let the cup drop and went to close up the small cuts on Monoki's leg.

"Hey Matsuri, check and see if they have a map." Monoki said and let Sakura sort out her leg.

"Okay" After a minute of rummaging she came up empty. "Nope, sorry guys, looks like these three where cleared out already, even most of their kunai and food is gone, their canteens are gone and look at all these tracks we aren't the first group to find these three."

"Yeah… guess it was asking a bit much to get a map offa them…" Monoki sighed and stood up, "this is a different trap than the odd wire traps we have come across so far. This means that the closer we get to the centre the more complex and dangerous the traps become. This may not be as easy as we thought."

"I never thought this would be easy." Matsuri piped.

"My point exactly."

"I'll never get how you two can find this comfortable!" Matsuri complained. They had traveled deeper into the maze and it was now night fall, so they got into a chamber with a tree and jumped up into its branches. The two leaf ninja were nice and comfortable but the sand nin was finding it difficult.

"Well sleep on the ground if you want and be exposed." Sakura prodded Matsuri muttered curses under her breath but soon quieted down even the cub got comfortable lying on Matsuri's stomach.

"What you think we could name her?" Matsuri asked the darkness.

"Dunno, not something stupid like whiskers or fluffy." Answered Monoki.

"I can't think of anything." pouted Sakura from her perch in the dark tree.

"How about 'Cat' for now? We can think of a name for her after the exam." Suggested Monoki through a yawn.

"Yeah okay" answered Matsuri yawning herself, Sakura yawned as well and completed the mexican yawn. They each took turns keeping watch throughout the night. They woke the next morning and decided to get an early start. They where heading down a corridor from the chamber they slept in chosen by spinning a kunai on the ground and after they checked the path on the map started off. It was too quiet so they started talking and Monoki and Sakura got into a bit of a heated discussion.

"Aw come on think about it! Neji and Tenten, they would make a great couple!" Sakura said.

"Well yeah but even IF Tenten did like Neji THAT way I really can't see that guy returning any affection to her. Besides didn't I hear Ino say you two tried to get them together and failed?"

"Well yeah but… Watch it!" Monoki and Matsuri paused mid-step.

"Me or her?" Matsuri said hovering on one foot.

"All of us, look" they stepped back a few steps the ground in front was different.

"Pressure pads" Matsuri said, "Hidden in the sand, lets walk along the wall."

"Yeah okay" focusing chakra to their feet they mounted the wall and walked along it, Matsuri held Cat in her arms because she had to close the zip on her bag.

'KLUNK, cerrrzzzzzuuuuuuu'

"HEADS UP!!" just as they were making progress across the wall two huge buzzsaw blades came from with in the walls and came flying lengthwise along the wall as if who ever set this trap knew they would walk along the wall. The girls jumped off the wall and twisted to land on the ground. Monoki and Sakura sank into the soft sand while Matsuri who was used to such terrain back flipped away. The floor under the two leaf fell away and they fell into a pit.

"Hey you two okay!?" Matsuri shouted down the hole which was a good 20 feet deep as the buzzsaw grinded to a stop next to her.

"Yeah I think so, Monoki?" Sakura said more to herself.

"Ow…" Sakura looked up the heads of Matsuri and Cat and shouted up

"Yeah we're okay, looks like those walls responded to our chakra, I don't wanna risk that again you got a rope?"

"Hang on!" one head disappeared from the edge, Cat continued to stare down at the trapped girls "okay I got a rope but wait there till I find something to secure it to!" she called back.

"Yeah okay we'll just stay here then!" Monoki shouted back.

"You can be a right sarcastic bitch you know that?" Sakura said to Monoki.

"I know, great isn't it?" Monoki grinned. A dull rumble sounded around them, the two girls looked at each other.

"Please tell me that was your stomach…" Monoki almost pleaded to Sakura. Sakura gulped and shook her head. The rumble started again this time it continued.

"Sakura…"

"What?"

"The room is getting SMALLER!" Sakura looked at the walls to her right and left, they were slowly moving in, they looked at each other again then up to the top.

"MATSURI!!!" they both screamed, but she didn't appear.

"Aw FUCK THIS! Sakura we either run up the wall or be crushed I don't think it can get much worse even if these walls do respond to chakra."

"SHIT! Right okay! Lets go!" they both bolted up the wall but just as they neared the top a metal grate slammed across the opening, both girls ran into it and ended up back at the bottom of the hole.

"YOU JUST HAD TO SAY 'THINGS COULDN'T GET WORSE' DIDN'T YOU!!!" Sakura shouted at Monoki over the rumble which was getting louder.

"SHOUTING AT ME WON'T GET US OUT OF HERE!!! Wait wasn't this hole deeper?"

"AW JUST FUCKING GREAT THE FLOOR IS RISING!!!!" Sakura was nearly panicking.

"MATSURI!!!!" they both shirked again.

"I'm trying!!! The grates not moving!!" Matzuri had been knocked back by the grate and had hit her head on the wall, dizzy and a little confused she was trying her best to unhinge the grate but the head wound made it hard.

"Kuso!!!" (A/n I am aware that kuso means fuck so …yeah… don't complain) Monoki shouted "Right you get that wall I'll get this one"

"Right" Sakura dug in her feet and pushed against the wall, Monoki jammed kunai into the small gap between the moving wall and the immobile one, their efforts slowed the walls down but the floor kept rising.

"How is that even possible!!" Sakura shouted.

"It doesn't matter how all that matters it that it is!" Monoki shot back. The gears pushing the walls groaned and the walls where still trying to close in and they gave small lurches inward. The two girls where slowly being pushed back to back.

"SHIIITTTTTT!" Monoki shouted she gave up pushing the wall and stood in the middle of the rapidly shrinking room and carried out a series of complex hand signs, ending in the dragon sign.

"Elemental Dragon! Earth!" A solid rock spike shot up from the ground split in two and took the form of two dragons. Each rock dragon slammed against the moving walls and slowed or even stopped their progress.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Shouted Sakura jumping away from the rock dragon that was straining against the wall next to her.

"I CAN'T DO THIS FOR LONG GET THE FUCK UP THERE AND PUNCH OUT THAT FUCKING GRATE!" Monoki shouted at her over the groaning of the gears and the cracking of the rock dragons.

"ANY TIME THAT SUITS YOU SAKURA!!!" she shouted a little more urgently, the sweat was beginning to form on her brow.

"RIGHT!" She sprinted half crouching half standing up the wall because there was no room. She threw a punch at the grate which Matsuri had almost completely unhinged and because of her super human strength it flew up into the air. Sakura turned and panting shouted down the hole.

"Right get up here now!"

"Okay I'm comiSAKURA LOOK OUT!" Monoki screamed. The metal grate was coming back down but Matsuri had tackled Sakura out of the way and it crashed down missing both the girls.

'CRUNCH'

The two walls finally came together with the sound of Monoki's stone dragons being crushed, the grate's impact kicked up a lot of dust and blinded the two girls and even Cat covered her little eyes.

"MONOKI!" squealed Matsuri while Sakura choked on dust. The dust settled enough so they could see there at the top of where the two walls met was the head and forearms of one of Monoki's stone dragons. On its head was Monoki her hand still clasped in the dragon hand sign and she was panting heavily. She released her hands and jumped down from the decapitated dragon as she landed the dragon crumbled behind her.

"Well… that was fun" she grinned then collapsed.

She woke a little later, they where in one of the large chambers this one had no skylight and was lit only by a few torches on the pillars that lined the room, Sakura was seeing to Matsuri's head, her back to Monoki. Cat was pawing at Monoki's glasses which where on the floor beside her. Monoki moved swiftly plucking the glasses from Cat and pushed them on, she quickly regretted the sudden movement. She gritted her teeth against the pain that flared in leg.

"Meow" Cat prodded closer and got Sakura's attention.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah fine, what's wrong with my leg?" she asked pulling herself over to lean against a pillar.

"You landed on it pretty hard when we fell down the pit. But it's just a bruise it'll throb for a few days but it will be fine, no breaks." Sakura smiled.

"What happened to Matsuri? She okay?"

"Yeah just a bump on the head she'll be fine after a sleep. What's wrong?" Once Monoki heard Matsuri was okay her eyebrows knitted together.

"Did you take off my glasses?" she asked.

"Yeah I just set them aside, why?"

"Did you see my eyes?" she asked almost glaring at Sakura.

"No" Sakura answered and leant back a bit, Monoki was very protective of her real identity and Sakura decided that maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell her that she knew. Once she said this Monoki seemed to relax then looked around.

"Where are we?"

"Just in the next chamber, the one we where heading to when we fell into that trap. It would be best if we rested until you regain your chakra and Matsuri can walk in a straight line. I'll get something together to eat." Monoki let out a hallow laugh and nodded. Monoki rested against the pillar and stroked Cat on her knee while Sakura got the food ready, Matsuri came round not long after. The apprentice team and their little mascot ate the meal quickly and moved on. They headed down another corridor towards and open chamber near the edge of their map. Their logic was that a number of passages joined there so if they where patient another team would come to them. Cat who was trotting slightly ahead of the group stopped, sniffed and cocked her furry head.

"What is it girl?" asked Matsuri, Cat turned and meowed quietly.

"Hear that?" Sakura said, from down the hall drifted,

"this is all YOUR fault!"

"How it is my fault, you tripped the trap"

"You had the map!!"

"The map doesn't pin point the dam traps."

"Will you two shut up and help me get outta this!" Sakura slapped her hand to her head.

"Its those three idiots…"

"Who?" asked Matsuri.

"Their leaf genin team, they do nothing but argue and fight. They did that the whole way to Suna" Sakura led the way down the halls to the room. Across the hall was the genin team squished together in awkward positions in a net hanging from a tree.

"Sakura-san!!" the lone boy shouted,

"eh?" the two girls twisted their heads to look.

"Hey! little help?" the guy asked or rather pleaded the girls consent arguing was hurting his head.

"Well that would depend…" Sakura said evilly.

"On what!?" demanded a red headed girl who was stuck upside down, the blood had rushed to her head making her face as red as her hair.

"You got a map?"

"Two" piped the dark haired girl earning a sharp nudge from the red head.

"shutup!"

"Oh you got both maps?" Matsuri asked. The two girls started fighting again and it was the henpecked boy that answered.

"Well we have two but their both the same."

"Doubles? Which you got blue or red?" Monoki asked.

"blue" he answered.

"will you shut up!" the red head shouted and kicked the boy. The apprentice team looked at each other in disbelief.

"It can't be this easy..." muttered Matsuri.

"Well even if we get both maps we still gotta get the scroll." Monoki replied.

"Well yeah, so what will we help them out or just take the scroll?" Sakura said

"HEY" shouted the dark haired girl, she was ignored.

"We may as well help them, they are from our village…" Monoki pointed out.

"Speak for yourself" Matsuri shot in. the three girls shrugged.

"All right heres the deal, we let you down and you give us one of your blue maps." Sakura said to the three in the net.

"What's in it for us!?" demanded the red head.

"Will you shut up! In case you haven't noticed we're not really in a position to made demands!" the boy shouted, the girls where taken aback, he never talked back.

"Oh I like him" said Matsuri. "That earned you points kid."

"Anyway, we happen to have two red maps I say we have a straight trade. Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" the boy agreed. Monoki found the anchor rope for the net and cut it, the boy landed on his feet only for the two girls to land on top of him.

"Ow" They swapped maps and crouched in their own teams to plan their next move. Monoki pulled out their pencil marked map and then opened the blue map, in the third roll of the scroll the paper changed to clear plastic on which the centre of the maze was printed. She laid the clear map on top of the outer ring so they had a complete map.

"KUSO!" Monoki cursed.

"What?"

"There's no over lap, no point of reference, there is a single long corridor the whole way around the intersection between both maps, this could go any way up." She twisted the map around to show that there was definite way for it to go.

"Crap, well we'll just have to do the same as when we came it then." Sakura pointed out

"Yeah" Monoki said sadly, she knew it was two easy.

"Well look on the bright side was can use this corridor to get to a scroll room." Matsuri pointed out.

"Yeah, we'll worry about the centre later for now we gotta pick out a room and get moving it's a race now." They packed up their gear, Monoki took charge of both maps.

"So ano, you guys know where you're going?" asked the red head.

"Yup, do you?" Sakura replied,

"Well, yeah, of course, but if you could just tell us where you're going…"

"Do you even know where you are on the map?" Matsuri asked them picking up Cat and setting her in her pack.

"…no…" the red head replied quietly.

"Yeah well okay we could just NOW" Sakura shouted and all three sprinted down a corridor to their right, they helped them enough and in all fairness they where still racing against each other.

They stopped running once they reached the place where the maps intersected, it was a large corridor lit with torches hanging from the roof the whole way around.

"This ring must completely encircle the centre of the maze it means you can still get confused or lost even if you have both maps." Monoki pointed out. "But at least they do offer a little help," She pointed to painted signs above the proper doorways, it was either 'outer ring' in red paint or 'centre' in blue,

"why do you think the ground is grooved like this?" Sakura asked. The floor sloped into the center of the hall way making a dip in the corridor.

"dunno water run off maybe?"

"in the desert? Yeah right, well I don't like it. Lets just get outta this corridor, which way?" Matsuri said, even Cat echoed her insecurity in a meow.

"This way third path way to our right, we need to double back into the outer ring." Monoki lead the way at a quick pace, almost at a jog all three of them where very iffy about this open corridor. A rumble almost like thunder echoed up the corridor and got louder. Stone spikes shot up and blocked the door ways as the rumble reached its peak.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" Monoki shouted at the maze as if it was planning this.

"RUN" Matsuri shouted and again they where caught in a trap.

End Chapter 26

Here's the deal people when you're tired annoyed and at three in the morning its hard to think of a name for a desert lion cub so…

Here's where you lot come it, you get to NAME Cat the coolest sounding name will be selected from your suggestions for the cat and entered into the next chapter.

Also thanks to dragonman 80 for the idea of the cat did it work out how you pictured? Lol

So give us your suggestions and read and review please and thankyou!!