Chapter 23

"Well Well, what do ya know. It looks like the whole gang's back together again." A boy in a grey coat walks up with a white dog sitting on top of his head. I wonder if he ever just -goes- up there. That would be pretty funny.

"Oh, hey Naruto." The shy girl's voice pipes up and I look at her with a smile. Yeah, I hate pretty much everyone but don't you remember who else is on this squad? Looking around them I nudge Kiba out of the way thinking she would be behind him. Causing him to utter sounds of confusion until I guess my reasons finally clicked in his head.

"Kiba? Where is Aphro?" I ask glaring at him when I didn't see her. She left training early because she had been called to the Hokage building. I figured it was due to reports about the ninja we had beat up. But… I watch as Kiba's eyes soften when he looks down at me.

This can't be good, Kiba usually always keeps up a light air about him. Which is probably why Aphro likes him so much. Unlike the others in the class, Kiba was almost constantly around from him being friends with my cousin. There were quite often times I would wake up to find him sleeping on our couch or surprising Aphrodite with a visit and a bag of dangos in his hands. Out of everyone beyond my cousin, he is the one who I've interacted with the most.

So he knew that people could and probably do see me as cold, unfeeling, and quite psychotic. That there is a softer side to me, he said so himself when he told me, that once he got to know me I wasn't that bad. So him looking down at me with soft eyes filled with... Pity. Is not a good sign. "We are only a team of three now." He mutters gently causing my eyes to widen as I almost take in a sudden gasp.

"What?! What are you saying Kiba?" Narrowing my eyes again as I gain control of myself from my initial shock, I pin him with a glare. "If something has happened to her and you don't tell me. I'll kill you in the worst possible way I can imagine and trust me, that's pretty bad." He raises his hands and takes a step back away from me looking nervous.

"Woah, calm down. Ice Queen. She got promoted this morning. She's no longer a genin." He tries to calm me down. Clenching my hands into fists I feel my anger growing.

"If that is true, I would have been the first one she told numbnuts!" An inhuman growl escapes from me causing him to back away again before diverting his eyes away from me.

"We heard from Kurenai when we were on our way here. Maybe Aphrodite hasn't had time to tell you." hmm... That's probable.

"Fine. I accept your argument." I cave turning away from him inwardly still seething. We had planned to meet up here and she... Is not here!

"You guys too huh, man everyone's here for this stupid thing."

"Yup, here we all are. The 10 rookies. Hehe! This is gonna be fun! At least for those of us good enough to make the cut. Right Sasuke?"

"Kiba, careful you don't get overconfident. Also, you forgot someone." Sasuke looks at me with a smirk. I see, so he's trying to cheer me up?

"Huh? Anyway, Just wait, we are going to blow you guys away. We've been training like crazy."

"What do you think we've been doing? Setting around picking daisies? You don't know what training means!" Naruto comments as he points at Kiba.

"Uh, don't mind Kiba. I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it." The shy one, Hinata, says as she pushes her two pointer fingers together.

"Huh?" Naruto questions causing her to gasp. Her cheeks going red as she averts her eyes again. Taking note the fat one begins to walk towards Kiba but the taller brunette wearing a grey trench coat and sunglasses steps in front of him.

"What do you want?" Choji asks arrogantly. "What's wrong?" He questions as Shino looks to the floor.

"Thought maybe you hadn't seen it."

"Huh?"

"Didn't want you stepping on it." He says now looking at the short fat boy. Honestly. How do you become a ninja and look like a beach ball?

"Why? You saving it for lunch?" That... is just gross.

"Hey, you guys." Another voice calls out. Looking over I see a silver-haired boy with circular rimmed glasses wearing a light blue outfit. Tilting my head slightly I couldn't help but be reminded of Kakashi as he walks this way. "You might want to try keeping it down a little. I mean no offense but, you're the ten rookies. Right? Fresh out of the academy. I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves… Just cool it. This isn't a class field trip."

"Well, who asked you?!" Ino questions rather loudly. Seriously, what was it with the leaf academy spouting out such annoying girls? "Who are you?!"

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really, look around you." The others take his advice looking to see what I already knew. The whole room was glaring at the group. Seriously they didn't notice this? "You've made quite an impression… See those guys, they're from the rain village. Very touchy, they all are. This exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now." They all look back to him and he smiles rather charmingly. "You can't help it. I mean how could you know how things work. You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."

"Kabuto, is that your name?" Sakura asks giving him a cynical stare.

"Yeah.."

"Then this isn't the first time you've taken the exam?"

"No, it's... my seventh…. Well, they're held twice a year so this will be my fourth year."

"Wow a veteran, you must really be an expert by now."

"Yeah, sort of."

"Cool, you can give us all the inside tips!" Naruto mentions as I roll my eyes.

"Some expert. He's never past." The lazy and rude Shikamaru points out.

"Well, the seventh time's the charm. That's what they say huh." Kabuto says while rubbing the back of his head smiling awkwardly.

"No actually, the saying is. The third time's the charm. Anything after that is just plain impudence and would prove that you shouldn't be attempting to go above your own abilities anymore." I mutter causing him to look at me as if I had just smacked him across the face.

"So I guess all those rumors about the exam being tuff are true. Oh man I knew this was gonna be a drag."

"Hang on, don't give up hope yet. Maybe I can help you kids out a little." He says as he reaches into his pouch and pulls out some cards spreading them like a true card player. "With my... Ninja info cards."

"What the heck are those?"

"It's hard to explain but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years." Kabuto kneels and sets the deck of cards in front of him on the floor. "I've gotten more than two hundred of them. So you see I haven't been completely wasting my time." Walking to a wall away from the group so I was now positioned behind Kabuto I lean against it and close my eyes boredly. Tuning out what is going on. I hate too much talking and this guy seems long-winded. "You see I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets. Like this for example." Kabuto says almost quietly with a smug tone. There was a popping sound in front of me. "Awesome a map! Of what?" Sakura both comments and questions. I wonder if this was just being used as a way to pass the time until the exam starts. It's weird though, that someone from a different team is showing a bunch of rookies information he's collected as if he's willing to help us. No, from what I've noticed I doubt just anyone would want to do that. It would mean giving others a chance to take the spot you yourself want to get. Kind of like being super hungry after training and all you can think about is food. But there is only one seat left at the restaurant you really want to eat at. Just as you're about to set down someone else comes into the restaurant and you give the seat to them instead of eating yourself. I don't know anyone that would be willing to do that.

"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation could wind up with many more shinobi than its neighbors and it might be tempted to attack them. So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense. I suppose." Kabuto's voice breaks through my thoughts as I come back to reality. I really don't like him. His eyes had looked gentle and full of innocence when I had met his gaze. Yet, they were completely empty. I've seen eyes like his before. Nothing good can come from a guy like that. "Hn. Do those cards of yours have info on any of the other candidates, individually?" Sasuke questions as I hear him take a step forward. "They might, you have someone special in mind?" Kabuto questions his voice lacing with arrogance. "I might." Sasuke snaps nearly drawing my gaze as I hear Kabuto pick up his card and puts it on the deck. "I can't promise my information is complete or perfect but I've got something on... just about everyone." Silence follows Kabuto's words as I hear him shuffle his cards. "Including you guys of course. So which one is it? Give me anything you know about them, a description, where they're from, whatever." He smirks pulling a card and holding it up. "Anything at all."

"He's Gaara of the desert, and there's rock lee of the leaf while you're at it." Sasuke practically orders him. "Man that's no fun, you even know their names, that makes it easy." Kabuto speaks lightly. I could feel myself almost frown. His tone of voice is light but it's far from alright. Something about it just puts me on edge. Choji burps causing it to echo in the sudden silence. Now holding up two cards as Kabuto sets his deck down he peers through his round glasses at Sasuke. "Here they are."

"Show them to me." Kabuto first brings up Rock lee though I couldn't help but open my eyes and look towards Sasuke. The feeling in his eyes troubling me almost as much as the silver-haired genin in front of them. He is calm just.. almost cold. Until Kabuto mentions something about Gaara completing a B-rank mission without getting a scratch on him. Then beads of sweat build on Sasuke's face as he looks almost nervous. The dark look is still in his gaze but even I can see a lump growing in his throat from that information. "Well, you get the point. The competition is going to be intense this year." His eyes right now... reminds me of someone who is on the verge of snapping. Teetering on the edge between dipping his hands in blood and remaining on the side of the bloody river to remain clean and dry.

"It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence." Hinata speaks up nervously. "It's a fine time to start talking like that!" Ino snaps her voice wavering with her own growing nerves. "Do you... really think the exams are going to be tougher this year?" Sakura asks. "Oh yeah, in the four years I've been coming to these exams. I've never seen a crop of candidates with this much potential."

"AAAHHHH!" Wincing I finally move my gaze from Sasuke and look towards Naruto who is now pointing at everyone in the room. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm going to beat every one of ya! Believe it!"

"Hey! What is that idiot trying to do, get us killed?!" Ino shouts at Sakura yet my eyes drift off back to Sasuke who glances at me with a smirk. Nodding to him I look back to Naruto. Who needs a knife when we have this kid to cut the tension with.

"Yeah! I feel a lot better now!" Naruto says as he puts his hands behind his head.

Moving from the wall I stand next to Kabuto with my eyes closed. "You know, you should be more careful who you upset. Someone is looking at you with a killer intent." I smirk my right hand still resting around the hilt of my blade even though my left is on my hip.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Of course you didn't. You let yourself become sucked in with the annoying pests. Though, now you know." Feeling these guys make their move I look over in that direction from the corner of my eye before simply moving forward out of the way. I did my part in warning him. Turning the moment I was standing next to Sasuke as some ninja become visible. One with metal surrounding his arm lunging at Kabuto throwing a punch. Yet I watch him leap back so that the blow didn't land. Well, that's not what I was hoping for.

Kabuto gives them a triumphant smirk before his glasses shatter. "Oh, I get it so it was that kind of attack." He says as he takes off the rims to his glasses.

"Hang on I saw it all, he dodged the attack how did that happen?" Sasuke asks rather upset that he couldn't figure it out. Glancing at him before looking back to Kabuto I remain silent to see what happens next.

"It must have come closer than it looked. Tch.. Look at him acting like it was nothing. Real tuff guy."

"No, he isn't acting.." I watch as he looks at the sound guy in front of him his eyes dilating as he takes in a shaky breath before falling to his knees. And puking right there on the floor. "Definitely more to the attack than what meets the eye." It's clear that these guys. Are trouble.

"What... Did he just.." Naruto starts to ask and Sakura cuts in.

"Kabuto what's wrong what is it?"

"Write this on your little card punk, the genin from the sound will be chunin before this is over. Guaranteed." The tall one says as the shorter hunchback looks at me probably because I had noticed them before anyone else had and managed to get out of the way of their attack. Practically scoffing at the tall one's words I roll my eyes. Talk about arrogant I doubt he'll last long at all let alone make it to chunin.

Looking away from him as a loud sound happens, a large smokescreen covers the front of the room. "Alright, you baby-faced degenerates. Pipe down and listen up!" the voice pauses as the smokescreen fully dissipates. "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor and from this moment your worst enemy. First, you candidates from the village hidden in the sound. Knock it off! Who told you, you could fight? You want to be failed before we've even begun?"

"Sorry, it's our first time." The hunched over one says as he looks towards the proctor "Guess we're a little jumpy, sir."

"Jumpy my butt, that was clearly a planned assault provoked by your ego's being damaged." I mutter causing them to glare at me. Who cares, they can glare all they want. I pretty well have that attack already figured out. He attacks by sound, targeting the vibrations caused by the weapon on his arm. Brought from the holes on the top of it so it would work more like an instrument or dog whistle. Only the pitch has clearly been refined enough that not even a dog like Akamaru can pick it up. Either way, he targets the vibrations with his weapon causing damage to the inner ear. Which is why Kabuto's ear is bleeding and why he had fallen to his knees vomiting. A tricky attack and powerful when wielded properly but there is a flaw. If you can keep your distance his arsenal is completely useless. Officially making him weaker than even Sakura, as long as you keep your distance.

"I'll say this once so listen up!" Ibiki says looking around the room making sure he has the eyes of everyone. "There will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other without the permission of your proctor, and even then the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

"Hmm, no fatal force? That's no fun." The tall sound boy says. Causing the others behind Ibiki to laugh.

"Now, if we're ready we will proceed to the first stage of the chunin exam. Hand over your paperwork in return you'll each be given a number. This number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you are all seated."

"The what… Did he say written…" Naruto chokes. Nervously before one of the chunin behind Ibiki picks up the test pile and shakes it causing Naruto to completely freak. "NOOOOOO! Not a written test! No way!"