*DISCLAIMER* I don't own Naruto or any of the original characters or the story this all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, I only own my own character. Is rated will be fixed the deeper I get into the story.
"I see you all made it." Kakashi calls to them from the other side of the room. "Huh? Why?" Masumi asks. "You can now formally register for the exam." Naruto looks at him confused. "Is there a reason we couldn't?" Kakashi smiles. "I didn't want to say before to not pressure you all, but the chunin exam is only available in 3 man groups, if one of you were to not apply then all of you couldn't participate." He answers. "I'm glad you all came. Sasuke, Masumi, and Naruto. You are a team I am proud of, now, go on." Kakashi steps away from the door and they walk in.
"Woah oh," Masumi says with startled eyes as they come inside. "They look strong." Masumi whispers to the boys. That's when Sasuke, who at first was startled too, turns to her and feels he must ease her mind. He grabs her hand and holds it tight giving her a comforting look to which she softly smiles to. "Sasuke, you're here!" Masumi blinks over to see Ino who dares tackle Sasuke with a hug from behind. She just stares at her knowing that the one who's hand is being held lovingly was hers and not Ino's. "This is the first time I see you in a while! I was waiting in excitement!" She says much too Masumi's annoyance, he grips her hand even tighter as if signaling just how much he dislikes Ino doing this as well. "Oh you all are taking this bothersome exam too?" Shikamaru asks, he's part of Team Asuma, with Ino and Choji. "Oh everyone's here!" A rather rabid looking boy says when they approach them, Its Kiba who is in Team Kurenai with Hinata and Shino. "Lets see how far it is all you can get!" Kiba declares and Masumi then notices the excitement come back to Sasuke who just shrugs. "We've trained a great deal so prepare yourselves!" Kiba continues, he seems to be the most arrogant of everyone. "Shut up! I don't know about Sasuke but I definitely wont lose to you." Naruto announces. "I'm sorry. Naruto-kun Kiba didn't mean it like that!" Hinata says in the most adorable, shy voice. Masumi looks at Sasuke who is trying to make Ino move away from him, at least he's trying… She looks over at Hinata. "I think he's the only one who took it that way. I hope the best for you." She gives Hinata a warm smile making the girl blush even more. "You all should keep your voices down." a rather nerdy looking boy says approaching the 3 groups. "You are all in fact the rookie 9, all of these people look down on people like you." He gloats. "And you are?" Ino asks. "Kabuto Yakushi. Take a look around you." They do so and notice all the heavy looks they failed to notice. "Kabuto…You said… is this your first time too?" Masumi asks. "Nope its my 7th, this test is only done twice a year, so its my 4th year." Naruto smiles. "So you must be an expert, you're really awesome!" Naruto says making Shikamaru rub his head. "It's his 7th time so he can't possibly be that better." They are all sharing information with Kabuto but Masumi is in the usual too 'in her on mind' to take notice of anything. Like she usually does, making a list in her head and writing it out in her palm. No one really takes notice since out of no where Naruto makes a scene and announces himself to all the angry looking people. "What is with him!" Ino yells at Masumi.
"Why are you yelling and asking me!" Masumi growls back at Ino.
"He's your team mate!"
"But I'm not his mind! Ask him yourself!"
"Ugh, how bothersome!"
"You're bothersome. Let the kid be!"
Not now… Masumi thinks when she notices the 3 chakra bodies coming the way of the 9 kids. She knows they are planning to attack but Masumi's care isn't anyone but Sasuke and Naruto who she quickly pulls by their upper arm and a close safe distance. Kabuto strikes at one but another appears before him and tries to land a blow to his face that misses and only shatters his glasses. "He dodged it though." Sasuke says then the other two teams turn to Team 7 and notice how they moved away quite fast. "Masumi, such a bother. Are you trying to show off now?" Ino whispers knowing full well it could've only been Masumi. Though Ino hates to admit it, Masumi is the advantage the group has over the rest of them, but she doesn't neglect to give credit to Sasuke as well since they are both from clans that are perceived as the best shinobi. "He's not strong just a regular shinobi." The guy who shattered Kabuto's glasses says. "Write it in your information that the sound village team will win." The other says. That's when the exam teacher appears in the classroom with Konoha jonin behind him. "Sorry for the wait. I'm Ibiki Morino. Proctor for the first test of the chunin exams. Everyone turn in your applications, we will give you a number and you will sit in your assigned seat. This is a paper test." Masumi and Sasuke look at each other for a few seconds as people start to turn in their forms as if trusting in each other. They then look at Naruto who is completely confused by all this. If there is anyone they need to worry about it's him. Masumi ends up with the number 73, far behind Sasuke and Naruto. "These are the rules important for this test: First you are given 10 points each at the start of the test, the written test has 10 problems in all, each problem is one point and the test is a point deduction system. You are deducted one point for each problem you get wrong. Example you get 3 wrong, you'll have 7 points. Second pass or failure will be decided by the amount of points the 3 man groups have in total. This is the most important rule of them all those who are deemed by us to have committed cheating or anything similar to that are will have 2 points deducted for each act, so then there may be those will be dismissed during the test. Note that whose who create awkward cheating will bring ruin upon yourselves. If you are to become chunin, know that shinobi must act like exemplary shinobi. And, in the case of even one person getting 0 points, everyone in that team will fail." Masumi looks wide eyed at the two boys in front of her. I'll just cry to myself later… she thinks. "You have one hour to finish the test. You may start now."
Masumi looks down at her paper yelling internally. These are not common questions… I'd have to have a photographic memory like Mayumi in order to get these answered very fast. Being that I am not a genius like her this will take some time...She doesn't want to look up at Sasuke or Naruto to not be mistaken for cheating. But she knows that all she can do is give this test her best so she gets on to answering the questions.
At first Masumi thought of answering these questions without cheats, but she started another problem in her head over how she can't fail what so ever but although it might be only in her best interest. She had already found a way to signal the answers to Sasuke. Something no one would ever expect due to her special element. She was able to create a crystal clone that could change the angles on the crystal to make it seem transparent depending on how the light hit the surface. Doing so she was able to have the clone grab Sasuke's hand and write down the answer. At first he was startled but must've figured out what was happening when the clone wrote down Masumi's name. Masumi tried to do the same with Naruto but he was too tense for the clone to grab his hand and there was no way she could figure out any way to give him information. She just hoped that he would get at least 1 answer right and Sasuke and her could just make up the rest in order to not get disqualified.
As the test went on people were getting disqualified left and right. Masumi could tell that Hinata, who was seated next to Naruto, wanted to help him but she could also sense the worry Naruto got for Hinata's sake. He really is a good kid… even if we get disqualified, I'll defend him knowing that he did the right thing. Masumi thought as she finished her test, her clone was still finishing the answers on Sasuke's paper making sure to copy his handwriting on other answers he was able to write down before she made the clone. Masumi then felt some type of chill come up her back, she used a crystal mirror to see who was seated behind her. That's when she saw Ino using a special hand sign and then Ino's body went limp and it was as if someone else was in Masumi's body. Already done with Sasuke's paper, the clone sensed the change in Masumi's chakra and quickly went over to asses her. The clone found the mirror and saw the angle of it being in the direction of Ino, she quickly used medical nin to fix the change in her chakra in doing so the chakra that Ino kneaded in order to do her jutsu was eliminated from Masumi's body and then continued to use Masumi's chakra again. It was almost like if the clone had stopped and restarted Masumi's heart but instead of the heart it was where her chakra is stored.
"45 minutes have passed, now you will know the 10th question. But before that I will add the final question's rules, first you will all have to choose if you want to take this 10th question. If you choose not to all your points go down to zero which makes you fail and your team mates along with you. And the last rule, if you choose to take it but answer wrong, you will have to lose your right to ever take the chunin exam ever again." Ibiki announces much to Masumi's dismay. She knows that this last question can mean everything to them but also acknowledges that Sasuke and Naruto may not know the answer. She wasn't even too sure of herself. "Now then those who choose not to take this question, raise your hand and we will let you go after confirming your number.
Masumi sunk her face in her hands and then looked up and over at Naruto. Mayumi taught me so much I'd shame her in asking to be let go now, I know I can answer what comes my way but Naruto…I'd be okay if he chose not to take the question. We can try again next year. She bites her lip waiting for Naruto to raise his hand. I know how much he wishes to become Hokage. If anything, I'd rather put a pause to his dreams than a total stop. Sorry, to both of you. Masumi thinks starting to raise her hand when his goes up right away but he slams it on the desk. "Don't underestimate me! I won't run! I'll take it but even if I'm stuck being a genin forever, I will become Hokage no matter what it takes! I'm not scared!" Naruto shouts. Which brings a smile to Masumi's face realizing she worried for nothing. "I'll ask once more, it's a question that will alter your life. If you want to quit nows your chance." Ibiki tries to corner them more, but as expected. Naruto's words reached everyone who sat in that classroom today. "I'm not taking back my words." Naruto says with pride on his face. Ibiki nods. "For those of you still here, The first exam, You passed!" Ibiki answers. Masumi looks over to Sasuke who stares at her with content and over to Naruto who just looks content in himself. "Then those 9 questions were nothing." Temari stood up and asked, Masumi forgot she was even a participant. "They weren't, they were to gauge your ability to gather information." Ibiki laughs. "First it was based on a pass or fail system made up of points based on the 3 person groups that was proposed in the first rule. You all had to confide in each other to distribute the answers without being caught, all I did was continue to add pressure to you all. Also to be frank, the questions were all something a normal genin couldn't answer, So I suppose you all came to that conclusion and thought you needed to cheat. Keep this in mind, you have to distribute the right data, being if you don't can cause the downfall to those with you. So we filtered out those of you who couldn't live up to expectation. People who have no determination because of fear have no place being chunin." Ibiki answers. "The first exam of the chunin exam is complete." There then appeared someone who darted in through the window next to Ibiki. "What's going on?!" Naruto shouts. "This isn't time for you all to relax! I'm the proctor for the second exam, Anko Mitarashi." The spontaneous kunoichi shouted. "Lets move to the 2nd stage! Follow me!" They all just stare at her in shock. "28 teams… Ibiki you let them slide, I suppose the first test was too easy this time." Anko scolds. "There seems to be a lot of good ninja this time around." Ibiki answers. "Oh well I'll drop more than half in my exam." She says with a grin. "More than half?" Masumi squints. "We'll have a change of location tomorrow. So get your location and time from your sensei. You're all dismissed."
"I don't know what I thought. Seriously, I think Naruto was thinking only about himself." Sasuke says eating dinner in Masumi's house. "You're not too far off, But I feel he was thinking of us being that he was too tense, I don't think he wanted to let us down either when he was presented with all this." She serves some more tea. "You should've just payed more attention to how he took everyone's worries away with just a random outburst." She chuckles. "That I acknowledge. What I don't understand is this next exam. Have you ever been there before?" Sasuke asks showing the directions on a paper, all it really showed was 'take a right here, take a left here' and so on. "I can't say I recall that location being that some of the directions just have us spin in a circle." She says examining the paper. "But I can say I haven't explored all of the village. It's too big and keeps expanding. Also there are locations too dark or too confusing to be explored. This is the village hidden In the leaves… constructed in a place that has way too many trees." She explains. "It's good for the fact that you can find any medicinal plant here." Sasuke says making her nod. "My family, several healers in the making sure knew how to pick a place." She laughed taking her cup with her to the living room, she patted on the empty seat next to her on the couch. "You should get a tv." Sasuke says. "Why? I'm either studying something, making lists, or out training. I wouldn't have time for it. Besides, I feel it would ruin my sleep." He laughs at her. "You keep your health too in check to not sleep well, as well as mine. Before when you would just visit the village with your sisters, Tsunade would get to making so many things with my mom in the kitchen leaving us with so many healthy things to have to finish every month being that you all came here twice a month after you all started to travel." She smiles at him. "The first thing I could ever remember about our little lives was sneaking to Itachi's room to play with his toys." She beamed but remembered Itachi was a sore subject for him. "I'm sorry I didn't mean—" He cut her off and held her hand. "Its always going to be a part of our past, we can't just avoid the subject forever. Though I would like to." Sasuke sighed. "Your sister, Mayumi, she was really obsessed with him." Sasuke reminded her making her nod. "I'm surprised, she never saw the bad in him. When she found out what he did she was shocked but always answered saying that he must've had a reason… do you believe that?" Masumi tries to press Sasuke, knowing that being on the subject of Itachi was a rare thing so she thought she would. "That man… he always had his secrets, I'd be lucky if we ever got to do anything together being that he always said 'next time'. Until there was no more next times." She got closer to Sasuke and he wrapped his arm around her. "I can't say I regret ever getting close to your family… being around you all made me feel like I knew what a mother and father were like being that your parents always took Mayumi and I in as if we were blood." He laughed. "Don't you remember when Mom wanted to set up a baby wedding?" Sasuke asked. "You mean with the crafty rings she would crochet?" Masumi asked. "Yes those, When you and Mayumi started to travel with Tsunade, she would make a ton saying that it made her look forward to our next play dates. I don't know what happened to it, but I never told you out of not wanting to make you sad…" he trailed off and she turned his face to hers. "Tell me." She said with a serious look on her face. "Mom spent months at fabric stores trying to find some special fabrics and they would only have a few at the stores being that they were so hard to come by and hard to sell. She was making you a wedding veil that had a brooch attached to it that dad forged himself using fire release. Mom and dad loved you… I knew they wanted to give it to you at some point being that our little crush turned into their obsession." Masumi sits up and looks at him curiously. "How so?" She asks. "Mom would talk about how gorgeous you and Mayumi were. She thought that even though Mayumi might not marry Itachi because of his age, that I would marry one of you. They talked about how perfect our children would be with the lineage of Senju and Uchiha. Mostly dad thought that it would be me and you who got married. Now its as if we are just living in a future they dreamed of but without them." Masumi puts her hand on his shoulder. "Even if we don't know where that may be with the destruction the village did to that part of the village in order to erase the past, I still know deep in my heart that we are now living the future for them." She leans in to kiss him and then he kisses her forehead and she lays her head on his chest. "Mom would be proud of us remembering them when they were alive and all the things they wished for us." Sasuke said holding her tight. "You have to know, I think your father thought of you with a higher regard than Itachi. I could always sense it, from the first time I ever realized I had the gift of sensory, I always felt it. His emotions read as you were his pride and joy." Masumi noticed a tear drip on her face from where she had her head on his chest. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I felt it too the last few months, I noticed a change in his demeanor, I just chose not to give into it in fear of being rejected." Sasuke said. "If he did so it was to make you strong…" He nodded. Kissing the top of her head. "I'm thankful you told me this today. It doesn't change the past but at least I know I wasn't wrong when I felt my fathers approval." Her smile beamed up at him when she looked at him to wipe his tears away, this was the first time in years that they had talked about his parents and she was glad they both had this discussion, since now they brought to light how Sasuke and Itachi's parents truly felt.
I feel with each new chapter I have to look in depth in order not to make mistakes for example with Ino's ability. The notes said it can be hindered by the user running out of chakra or not using enough chakra to keep themselves in the person's body. My option was to caster her out by the latter. It makes me glad I waited for the manga to be over to get started on this. I feel like Masumi when she's in her head making notes all the time. Anyways, enjoy. Any constructive criticism is accepted if it means the story will be told right.
