Okay, not too long, but still getting back up to normal chapter length. I had trouble deciding how to do this fight, and wether I wanted to write Tenten vs Kankuro first, or the talk with kakashi first, and even DOING the conversation the way I wanted was hard to do. I've known what I want the result of this conversation to be for a LONG time, but that also made it difficult to do RIGHT. So, after being inspired by my hime I finally got the chapter written over the course of a couple hours last night and this morning to fit my needs. It should be a unique read, as far as chapteres in NotS go. Hope you enjoy it.

disclaimer me-I DON'T own Naruto.

PLEASE REVEW!


"She seems…eager," Tenten said, pointing down at the blonde girl who had just tackled her boyfriend.

"Yeah, she gets like that," Kankuro said. "Heck, we've barely talked with her at all and we all know how lively she is, don't we Gaara?" The red head slowly rolled his head over till it rested on his shoulder as he stared at his brother.

"Shut or I'll kill you." The others in the balconey started at the sharp killing intent. Temari and Kankuro shared a quick glance or sorrow before the older boy spoke again.

"Well, in any case Naruto's leaving the arena so its our turn to get down there, right?" Tenten shook off her shock.

"Right, of course," she said, heading to the stairs.

"Hey! Where you going?"

"This is the way down, isn't it," she said, pointing.

"Well, yeah, but who's coming up?"

"Huh? Oh, I suppose Shino, Kin, Naruto and Sasuke. So?" Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

"So? Tell you what, let's make a bet. You go that way and I'll bet Naruto and Sasuke are the last two up…and you won't find them talking." The girl sweat dropped.

"I see your point," she said, following him to the railing. "Well, good luck. "Let's get this party started!"

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Her heart was pounding. This could be the most important moment of her young life, and there he was, only a few yards from her. She concentrated on him, wondering what he would do next, how he would respond. He was her opponent, the last one…

"The last one…"

"Hmmm? Oh, hello Naruto. I thought you'd be with Sasuke in the contestant's box. Good work in beating Neji, by the way. I know you could do it."

"You're the last one, sensei." The copy nin looked at her in confusion as she stood there in an uncharacteristically serious countenance, arms straight down and fists gripped tightly as she looked down.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"You're the last one alive who can tell me the truth, Sensei," she said, raising her eyes, "about who my parents really are."

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"Begin!"

Not even a second from the word before Kankuro and Tenten both threw a pair of kunai at each other. The only difference was that Kankuro dodged; Tenten merely deflected the pair of kunai he threw at her.

"Sorry, puppet boy, but that won't work on me. I'm a weapons expert, remember? Close range, mid range, far range, I can do it all."

"Of course," he said. "I know that. What you've foregotten," he said as they exchanged kunai throws again and he grabbed the parcel from his back, "is that my range, is as far or as short as the reach of my puppets!"

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Kakashi lowered the book he'd been reading. He had been a little interested in the fight. After all, it was one of Gai's students. This, however, was an unexpected development. He sighed. He should have known that her siblings would push the issue, especially Gaara, after they had had their confrontations.

"Haven't you asked the Hokage? He really should be the one to tell you," he said as she shook her head.

"No, he isn't. He did, but I can't know for sure, not without you, sensei."

"Why is that?"

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Tenten smirked. She didn't like playing dirty, but she was a good shot so she was pretty sure she wouldn't have to worry. She quickly threw her kunai and blocked his again, grinning as her kunai found there mark.

"Sorry puppet boy, but that little trick won't work on me like it did that guy during the prelims."

"That's why I didn't use it," he said, picking himself up off the ground and grabbing one of the bindings on his puppet.

"What? But, but you should have substituted with it already!" He shrugged.

"You learn from your opponents. You're smart enough that you wouldn't fall for that trick again, but now, of course, everyone else in this exam will know to attack both me and my puppet so I'll have to do something else. Meantime," he said, pulling the bandages off to release his weapon, "It's time to get this fight started."

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"Why is that? How could I have a better answer than hokage-sama?"

"Because," she said, "he wasn't there when I was born…you were."

"Hmmm…I guess hokage-sama told you then," he commented, scratching his chin. "Still don't see what this has to do with me. The hokage wouldn't lie to you, you know."

"Yeah, well, neither would Temari-chan." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Temari-chan; the one who believes she's my sister, and I need to know if she's right."

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Crap! Tenten had to dodge for the first time since the match started as another puppet trick was revealed: Kankuro's tool could shoot dozens of senbon from its mouth!

"Like it? That's one of my favorite features. I should warn you that those senbon are coated in poison. Don't worry, though; for the chuunin exams I switched my usual poison out for some of the non-lethal stuff. Still, a single nick and you'll be paralyzed for the next half hour." Tenten grumbled.

"Poison, he says. Bah, that's not a real weapon but whatever. We're shinobi after all, and I have the perfect weapon to counter that." She opened a scroll and a large wind shuriken was revealed. It seemed standard, except that there was a handle in the middle where the hole usually was. "Now, just try that again!" Kankuro shrugged and motioned with his fingers.

"As you wish," he said, firing a barrage of senbon. Tenten grinned, gripping one of the blades on her shuriken and giving it a great twist to send it spinning, holding it in-front of her. To Kankuro's surprise she blocked every single needle sent her way.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm a weapons master, so I have a counter to every kind of weapons attack. You'll have to send that thing in close to take care of me, and I've got weapons that will smash that thing to bits ready for use, too!" Kankuro sighed.

"Man, she's good at this. I'm not sure any of the jounin, even, back in sand village, know as much about weapons as she claims to. Well, nothing for it, I guess. Guess I better keep her distracted till I come up with a better plan," he said, raising his hands again as Tenten grinned, kunai in hand.

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"Naruto, back up; what do you mean Temari wouldn't lie to you?" Naruto glared.

"Sensei, people tell me that I trust to easy all the time. Well, there's a couple reasons for that, but one of them is that, sometimes, I can just tell that I should trust someone; I can tell that they're being honest. In the same way that anyone could tell that that snake Orochimaru is evil, I can tell when someone is good, but only sometimes. Haku-chan was one of them, and so is pervy sage and jii-san." He glared at him. "But you, sensei, you've been hiding something from me the moment we met, and I want to know what it is!" Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto, you still didn't…wait…who's 'pervy sage?" Naruto's face softened from surprise and embarrassment.

"Oh, that's right, you were way. Well, I didn't train with Ebisu; I got trained by Jiriaya of the sannin." Kakashi's eye widened.

"Jiriaya? Wow…now that is a surprise."

"No more than you're being trained by my dad."

"… Ah…"

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For several minutes it was an exchange of senbon and kunai between the two, Tenten blocking and Kankuro dodging, neither one gaining an advantage.

This is taking too long, Tenten thought. I need to find a way to make this end! But he dodges everything I throw and then counter attacks, and his puppet will guard him from anything he can't dodge. I'm just lucky he hasn't tried to get around me and attack from two sides…That's it! Moving quickly Tenten knelt down, pulling out a staff and attaching it to the shuriken while she quickly worked.

What is she doing there? I can see another scroll and a couple kunai, but with that shukiren going like that it's to see… Still, I've almost got her…what? Kankuro's eyes widened as Tenten threw another kunai, but this one was going well past him…and it was attached to one of the girl's scrolls with ninja wire.

Not good, he thought right before his eyes caught a second kunai, also attached to the scroll, turning it into a triangle with himself seeming to be the focal point. Aw crap…Maybe my new plan should be run like heck!

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"…Ah."

"Ah? That's all you can say." Kakashi scratched his head.

"Well, Sasuke told me about what they told you. I wasn't sure you were actually taking it seriously."

"I told you why."

"Yes, of course. Still seems to me you already know who your parents are, so why talk to me?"

"I know who jii-san said my parents are, and that I really look a lot like your sensei, my dad. But," she said, "Temari and them, they say they saw things, from when I was born, that they saw their mother, and they think it was here. They said she was running away, hiding. The fourth hokage, he was a great man," she said. "That's what everyone says, and I believe it's true. That's why he's always been my hero," she proclaimed, eyes moist as she continued. "If she was running, and there dad was as bad as they say, he would have hid her, and not told anyone. But sensei, jii-san said you were there when I was born. You know! Only you know. Everyone else is dead, jii-san said." She clenched her fists harder than ever to keep the tears back as she went on.

"All my life, sensei, all my life I've been treated like trash because of this stupid thing that's in me, and I've never been sure who I was because of that. I've never known who my real parents were, or why they died. This answer is more to me than just knowing who my parents are; I need to know who I am! Please! Stop dancing around and tell me!"

Kakashi looked on at the young girl for a few moments, the fighting continuing in the arena. It would be over soon, he thought, and then it would be Gaara and Sasuke, then the winner against Naruto. But was she ready to hear the full story? Was she ready to know the truth and comprehend the miraculous circumstances surrounding her birth? He sighed.

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Kankuro's eye's moved swiftly, trying to find a weak point in the weapon users attack. He hadn't actually seen her attack like this before since she gave her opponent to surrender in the prelims, but she had explained her attack quite well.

"Just in case you're looking for a way out, I control the weapon release. I could send them all out at once, or one at a time," the girl called out. "Otherwise, in a situation like this, there'd be too much cross fire and my own weapons would get in the way of each other."

Ah, so that's out. Still if she has to release them like that, then that means there might be just enough of a delay… He firmed up his stance and positioned his puppet.

"Alright, let's see how this goes. After all, I'm not going to go down without a fight!" Tenten knitted her eyebrow as she prepared to release her weapons in response to his next movement.

"Alright, but remember, this was your choice."

"Understood," he said, and he moved.

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"Alright, let's move up to the walkway. We don't need anyone to over here. After all, it'll be easier to tell this story with names," he told her, and wasted no time continuing her interrogation when they reached the walkway.

"Well, sensei? There must be something or else you wouldn't be pulling me back here; you'd just say yes or no." Kakashi eye smiled.

"You really are cleverer than you let on, Naruto. Yes, there is some truth involved in what you've been told, by both parties, and I am the only person alive who was present at your birth…and at the birth of Karura's child." Naruto blinked.

"Who?"

"Well, I suppose you could say that this story begins with me. Back when I was a young jounin, before the nine tails attacked Konoha, I was on a mission on the borders of fire country, and I met a woman, fleeing sand country, and she was very pregnant…"

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Kankuro ran straight at the one-thirds point of Tenten's scroll, not too far from where she was, and the girl began to release her weapons, calculated when they would reach him to determine which ones she let go of first. He wasn't as fast as Lee, or possessed the skills of a Hyuuga like Neji did. It should be too hard… Tenten groaned. That jerk…how could I forget about those stupid needles! Well, we'll just adjust…

Kankuro had begun firing senbon from his puppet again, shooting them out at his exposed side. He could repair his puppet later, he'd decided, and the wood was pretty sturdy anyway so the damage wouldn't be too bad. Still, the timing would need to be perfect, even if the whole thing only lasted a few seconds. He adjusted his course slightly as the rate of fire was altered, preparing a hand sign.

Tenten realized quickly how tough the puppet was and focused her chakra, increasing the velocity of her missiles. She had to hit him quickly, or at least separate him from his puppet long enough to get a throw in…there! The puppet had run out of senbon. Everything had it's limit, and both of them were reaching theirs, so this was it. She flared her chakra into the scroll, firing everything she had left at the exposed boy, impaling him from every direction…only for the puppet to keep running forward. The problem was, that puppet looked a lot more like Kankuro than it had a mere second ago, and vice versa, and he had his hand extended towards her, and it looked like he was pulling something…

What is he…!

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"Of course sensei took her in. That was how he was, but in the end she had kept one thing a secret…she would not live through her labor."

"What? Why didn't she tell him? What happened to her child? Was she just going to abandon it? … abandon…me?"

"Now Naruto," Kakashi said, resting a hand on her shoulder, "don't go jumping to conclusions. She knew that Minato sensei would take care of her child, but even though both Kushina-san and Karura-san were pregnant, only one of their children lived past child birth, and though there is more to the story, I can tell you know that it wasn't the child of the kazekage." Naruto looked at her sensei for a moment with wide eyes as she took in what she'd heard.

"So…even with all that…even though she ran…her child still…"

"Naruto, she got what she wanted in the end, trust me. Her child was safe from her husband." Naruto nodded.

"So I, I really am…the daughter of the…"

"…Yes, Minato-sensei, the yondaime, was your true father." Naruto's grin split wide across her face.

"So that's who I am…but then why did they seem convinced? Temari and them, why are they so sure were siblings?" Kakashi pondered his response for a moment. Was she really ready for the whole story? Could she handle the final truth?

"Naruto…"

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Tenten's eye's widened as Kankuro spread his hand towards her and pulled.

What is he…ah! From behind her she felt the cold steel of four kunai pressing against her skin before she could react. There were two in the cloth above her shoulders, and to more on either side of her ribcage. She began to move, but was surprised when, once again, Kankuro made a motion with his hand, bringing it up quickly, and then slamming it down, and she felt the kunai to the same, pinning her to the ground. She never had time to react as she found herself pinned by the weapons, and temporarily stunned by the hard blow to the ground. Before her head stopped swimming, she felt another bit of cold steel pressing against her neck.

"Sorry, but this fight is over. I have enough poison on the tip of this senbon to end it, but I'd rather you got to see the rest of the exam rather than have to wait and recover from it." Tenten grunted as she tried to get up, but he was resting his shins on her elbows. He was right; she was beaten.

"Fine…I surrender." As Genma announced her surrend and Kankuro's win he got up and offered her a hand.

"That was quite the fight," he told her. "I don't think I've ever met anyone as impressive as you when it comes to weapons."

"Yeah, well, I really like them. Next time, though, I'll have to do something different." Kankuro grinned.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. I don't want a next time!" She chuckled and the two of them began to collect her weapons again while the next match, Sasuke vs Gaara, was announced.

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"Naruto, sometimes thing are not what they seem to be. Remember one of my first lessons to you three?"

"Umm…..teamwork, right?" Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Well, yes, that's important too, but I was talking about something for individual shinobi…"

"Ah! Taijutsu!"

"No."

"Oh, then it must be nin-genjutsu!"

"…no."

"Aha! The last lesson was ninjutsu then, right!" He sweat dropped again.

"Ah, no, Naruto, I meant when you were hanging from the tree, what I said then."

"Hanging from the tree…hanging from the tree…" Her face got read. "Perv…if I hadn't been wearing my shorts, Sasuke-kun would have seen-"

"Naruto! I wouldn't have done that if there was that kind of danger!" He rubbed his face with his hand.

"No, I mean the lesson I said about deception. A shinobi must see beneath the beneath. Remember?"

"Ah, that's right! Like looking between the noodles!"

"…I think you mean reading between the lines…"

"No, that's what Anko-chan said that was like. She explained it with noodles."

"…of course." He took a deep breath. "Still, the point it, there is always more going on than we realize sometimes, and other times…people may not see what they think they see…"

"Sasuke vs Gaara will now begin!" Both of them snapped back to attention at those words.

"Here we go," Kakashi said under his breath. "I hope you don't mind if we finish this later, Naruto," he said, "but I think this is a match neither of us want to miss." Naruto nodded.

"No kidding…I think I've got my answer, though. I just need to know why Temari and them think what they do now."

"…right."

I'm sorry…Karura-san…I just don't know if she's ready yet.

Meanwhile, done in the combatant's box, the two up coming contenders stared at each other.

"Uchiha."

"Hn." Gaara turned away and began to walk down the stairs.

"Hey, Sasuke…" The dark haired boy turned to look at Gaara's sister.

"Hn?"

"Be careful. Gaara may think he can get away with things Naruto wouldn't like because it's in the exam and…and I don't think any of us want to see her cry if she does," she said, motioning to Kin who was leaning on the railing, shoulders tense. He smirked.

"Don't worry; I've been training real hard for this fight," he said, and with that he jimped up on the railing and hopped into the arena below, not wanting to bare the other boy's presence in the stair well and hallway.

Sasuke…you don't know what you've gotten yourself into, she thought, nervously biting her lip. Still, it's almost time, and we'll do everything we can to make sure it'll be alright!


Mwahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Didn't I keep telling you guys that that conversation wasn't going to go like you thought! DIDN'T I! MWHAAHAHAHA!

Okay, sorry, I'm calm now. *ahem*

Anyway, yes, this is REALLY what he tells her, and this is it. Naruto still needs to find out the whole truth, but it isn't going to be from Kakashi. It'll be someone else. I've given the challenge to a coupld people to try and guess who and how with the reward of getting a write in character before the end of the story, or a request for an occurance. I'll leave that up as a general challenge with ONE chance, though we are very close to the end of the story now. You've only got a couple chapters to guess before I end the challenge (i think about still to go before the story ends, though) Good luck everyoen!

Oh, and how did you like how I did this chapter? Too confusing, or did it flow okay? How was the fight in general?