(A/N) Chuunin exams! We're getting close to the end, gosh.

"I'm recommending you three for the Chuunin exams!" Kakashi chirped, eye smiling at his students.

Sakura grinned, taking one of the forms. "So you can get rid of us?"

"No," Kakashi denied, shaking his head.

"Yes," Naruto and Sakura chorused, nodding their heads. Sasuke just grunted, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Okay, maybe," Kakashi admitted, pushing the forms into Sasuke and Naruto's hands.

Sasuke, still mostly asleep, handed it to Sakura, then wandered back off towards his house.

Sakura giggled. "I'll make sure he signs it, Sensei."

"Right, well then, I'm off!" Kakashi said, shunshining away.

Sakura sighed. "Alright then. Naruto, Sasuke is clearly sleep deprived, make sure he gets home fine and without running into any foreign genin."

Naruto saluted, and ran off, following his friend.

Unfortunately for the very sleepy Uchiha, he ran into the Sand Siblings bullying Konohamaru.

Naruto ran up a moment later, luckily. "Oi! Put Konohamaru down!"

"Hokage's grandson," Sasuke recited.

Naruto held in snickers. Sasuke always did that whenever he was sleep deprived and therefore mostly asleep.

The suna nin with purple makeup on looked slightly frightened, and quickly dropped Konohamaru, who scurried behind Naruto to stick his tongue out at the nin.

"Who're you?" the female suna nin asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto shouted. "Explosion specialist! The sleep deprived zombie is Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Temari, Kankuro," a raspy voice said. "You're embarrassing Suna. Stop, or I'll kill you."

"Try it and we'll blow you up, no matter if you're a foreign genin here for the exams!" Naruto shouted, pointing at the red-head who'd spoken.

"That would be inadvisable," Rumi noted, almost appearing at Naruto's side. She nodded to zombie Sasuke, then turned back to the three Suna nin. "I would advise you to be on your way, fights are not encouraged outside of the chuunin exams themselves."

Temari sniffed, turning to walk away. "Will I be seeing you in the chuunin exams?"

Rumi adjusted her glasses. "I will not be partaking this year, but the boys will."

Kankuro just snorted, turning away and walking off.

Gaara disappeared in a sand shunshin, and reappeared in front of his sister, walking away.

Rumi turned to the two. "Perhaps you should be getting home. The chuunin exams begin in less than a week. I would advise being rested, and not sleep-deprived zombies."

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Thanks, Rumi! We'll remember that! See you around sometime!"

Rumi pushed up her glasses again, walking in the opposite direction as the boys, who were headed for Sasuke's apartment on the edge of the Uchiha compound.

After Naruto left, Sakura headed for the hospital. Akiko had walked in three days after them, four children following her. She was soaking wet for reasons yet to be discovered, and the children were malnourished.

"Hey," Sakura said, coming into Akiko's hospital room.

"Hello!" Akiko chirped, stopping her fiddling with the IV. "Kakashi sign you guys up for the chuunin exams?"

"As you predicted," Sakura said, giggling.

"Figures," Akiko said, an amused sparkle in her eyes.

"Feeling better?" Sakura asked.

Akiko nodded. "Yeah. I was feeling fine anyway, but they're keeping me here for observation."

"Any particular reason?" Sakura asked, plopping down in the chair next to the bed.

Akiko nodded. "Just promise you won't compare me to Kisame?"

Sakura looked confused at the odd request but nodded. "Alright, I can do that."

Akiko pulled down the bandages at her neck. "You know a diagnostic jutsu, right? Do it."

Sakura shrugged, made two hand signs, and placed her now glowing hand on the side of Akiko's neck. "Huh? What are those odd structures?"

"Gills," Akiko replied easily. "No, you can't ask how it happened, it's classified."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Everything's classified with you lot."

"Comes with being a jounin," Akiko said ruefully.

Sakura rolled her eyes again. "I'll come again some other time, maybe after the first or second parts of the chuunin exams. See you then."

Akiko grinned good-naturedly. "See you then, perhaps. Visit the kids for me, would'cha?"

"Why not," Sakura said, getting up and walking out of the door.

The kids were all placed in one room, luckily for Sakura.

"Hello," Sakura said cautiously as she entered.

"Hello," one of the two older children said. "Who're you?"

"I'm Sakura. I'm a student of one of Akiko's friends."

They blinked at her in unison.

"What are your names?" Sakura asked, breaking a couple second long awkward silence.

"I'm Rezun," the older one who'd spoken before said. Sakura internally giggled at how his darker skin would probably heavily resemble a raisin when he was old.

"I'm Koshoko," the second older one. Sapphire blue eyes and purple hair made quite the striking combination. Sakura had little doubt she'd have plenty of boys tossing themselves at her feet when she was interested in that sort of thing. And aged up a bit as well. The two older ones were perhaps only a year or two younger then she was.

"Anchobi," one of the younger two. She bore a very close resemblance to the pictures Sakura had found of Naruto's mother, with stunning red hair and purple eyes. Perhaps she was of the same clan, Sakura made a mental note to see if the nurses did genetic tests.

"Otomiru," the smallest one said. Sakura internally squeed over his adorable squeaky voice. His dark brown hair had been cut into a cute crew cut, light brown eyes looking much brighter then they had when she saw him at the gate.

Sakura decided she'd do what she could to make sure they got into good homes. Where ever they had been, they were in Konoha now, and they deserved to be happy.

(A/N) So, Ministry of Magic, Meet your Downfall's update spot has opened, go see the poll to decide what takes its place.