Tempered in Water

by HitokiriOTD

The difference of a second can mean life or death to a shinobi. How would Uzumaki Naruto's life change if such a difference had occurred? Above the red waves, Naruto's path is forever altered.

8. Snakes in the Grass

Tempered in Water

Chapter 8 / Snakes in the Grass

By HitokiriOTD

A mild gust of wind blew through the fence-enclosed street, sending Sakura's hair aflutter and nearly tearing the small, thin paper application from her hand. Abruptly, she considered letting it go.

The wind quickly passed, but the impulse did not.

The Chuunin Exam was dangerous; Sakura knew that much. People died during the course of the elaborate tests. It made some sense, given that the carrot dangling at the end was a promotion to chuunin. To Sakura, that carrot had never looked less appetizing. Becoming a chuunin meant a lot of things, and few of them seemed pleasant to Sakura. Was she prepared for the increased responsibility, the more rigorous demands that would be placed upon her? Was she skilled enough to take on C and B-ranked missions on a regular basis?

Was she ready to have her hands stained red?

No, Sakura thought, I'm not.

There did not seem to be much of a point to her taking the exam. She didn't even want a promotion. That was assuming that she even got far enough to be considered, which was unlikely no matter how motivated she was.

But… If I don't take it, what would Sasuke-kun think?

The answer came to her depressingly quickly. He would think that she was weak—which she was. Sakura had no illusions left about her own strength. Even so, she didn't want Sasuke to think of her like that. She didn't want him to…

"Sakura."

Sakura started as her teacher's voice suddenly intruded upon her thoughts. Her head whipped to the right and she stared, wide-eyed, at Kakashi, who was crouching casually atop a nearby fence. He raised his hand casually in greeting, "Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura sighed with something approaching resignation as her heart rate calmed down. "What do you want?" She was in no mood for her teacher's teasing.

He hopped down from the fence to stand in front of her. "I wanted to talk about that," he nodded at the exam application still clutched in her right hand.

Sakura's lips turned down. "What about it?"

"You don't have to take it, you know."

"What…?"

"The exam," he said seriously. "If you don't think you're ready, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to."

"I know that," she forced herself to smile, to hide the uneasy feeling boiling within her. Had he seen right through her worries so easily? "Is that all, sensei? I need to…"

"Sasuke," Kakashi cut in, "is not a good enough reason to aim for chuunin."

Sakura's eyes widened and then narrowed as an instinctive spark of anger flared to life. "Sensei…" she growled tightly.

"Becoming a chuunin is serious," he continued, ignoring her angry reaction. Kakashi's single visible eye held her gaze, regarding her with unusual gravity. "You'll have to risk your life for the chance to be promoted. If you do get promoted, you'll end up in a position where lives will depend on you. If you don't want to become a chuunin, if you don't want it for yourself, then don't take the exam."

He turned and began to stroll away, his lecture apparently finished. "And if I do?" Sakura asked defiantly, her pride unable to let him walk away with the last word after being unilaterally lectured.

Kakashi-sensei stopped and turned his head, "You'll be killed."

---

"Sakura!"

She blinked.

That catty tone… Ino?

Sure enough, when she looked up she was greeted by a pair of brilliant blue eyes. For the first time in a while, Sakura didn't feel a twinge of disgust at the sight of blue eyes or blond hair. "Ino," Sakura murmured neutrally. It had been several months since she'd spoken with the other girl—the last time had been before they had left for the Wave—and she was uncertain as to why Ino had actually sought her out. They had not parted on good terms after their last exchange of verbal barbs.

"Geeze," her rival sniffed, imperiously placing her hands on her hips, "I know you're slow, but that's no excuse to be that empty headed. I've called your name four times, you know!"

Sakura couldn't muster the energy to respond to that the way it deserved. Kakashi-sensei's grim words still echoed in her ears. "What do you want?" she asked dully.

Ino frowned at Sakura's uncharacteristic lack of spirit for an instant. The moment passed quickly, and a second later her condescending smirk was firmly fixed back in place. "I'm looking for Sasuke-kun," she practically purred the boy's name.

Sakura reflexively scowled, "Why?"

Ino's smirk broadened at Sakura's irritated demand. "No reason," she murmured, absently toying with the end of her long blond ponytail. Sakura stared at Ino, nonplussed. "I just thought I'd invite him out to a party," Ino elaborated after Sakura's silence had stretched too long for her comfort.

"A party," Sakura parroted flatly.

Ino nodded cheerfully, "One of my cousins is having her birthday party tonight. I thought that Sasuke-kun might like to come with me. You know, be around a real girl for a change." Her brief, disdainful glance at Sakura's chest underscored her meaning well enough.

Fury threatened to take hold of Sakura. You don't have much there either, she thought spitefully. Sakura forced her anger down and stepped around Ino. "I don't know where Sasuke-kun is," Sakura murmured quietly as she passed the other girl. "Sorry, but you'll have to keep looking."

She had barely gotten five steps away from Ino before her former friend's voice called out from behind her. "Forehead girl!"

Sakura stopped, her fists convulsing. "What?"

Ino folded her arms and looked to the side, intently studying a mannequin display on the side of the street. "It starts at seven," she said nonchalantly. "We're having it at my house."

Sakura half-turned, "Ino…"

"Don't get me wrong," Ino smirked. "I'm only inviting you so that you can see how well I can show Sasuke-kun a good time." She flourished her hair, turned, and began walking away from Sakura.

Sakura stared incredulously at Ino's retreating back, an angry retort rising within her throat. She whirled around, turning her back on Ino, and began to stalk away. Moments later she leapt, taking to the rooftops to begin her search. Sakura moved determinedly, her earlier depression forgotten.

We'll see about that.

---

It didn't take her long to find Sasuke. That was the easy part. The hard part was yet to come.

Sakura took a deep breath, fought down the butterflies going mad in her stomach, and leapt lightly down to street level to join her crush. "Sasuke-kun!" she called out, jogging to catch up to the boy.

He ignored her presence, his pace unflagging as he continued to walk towards his destination. Sakura reached his side and slowed her pace to match his. "Are you going home?" she asked curiously, leaning slightly towards him, her hands clasped demurely behind her back.

"No."

"Oh," she murmured, deflating once she realized he had nothing more to say. Sakura quickly perked up again. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, there's a party going on tonight, and I was wondering if you would go… with me…" she trailed off, pink-faced, abruptly feeling too shy to continue.

Sasuke stopped. Sakura came to a halt as well, turning to face him as she did so. She glanced at his bland expression uncertainly before putting on her cutest smile as she waited expectantly.

For a long moment, Sasuke regarded her. She felt a flush creeping across her cheeks as she weathered his scrutiny. Before long, her smile began to falter. Finally, she could only stand and look back apprehensively. What is he thinking? Sakura wondered nervously. Why isn't he saying anything?

"Sakura."

She nearly jumped. "Yes!" she squeaked embarrassingly.

"The Chuunin Exam starts tomorrow."

Sakura blinked uncertainly, "I know."

Sasuke nodded slowly, as if coming to an inner conclusion. He walked forward, coming to stop once their shoulders were abreast. Sakura turned her head to glance at him, meeting his sideways glance tentatively.

His dark eyes held hers and then flicked away dismissively.

"A real shinobi would not waste time on such frivolous pursuits."

Sasuke once again walked away from Sakura, leaving her standing there, her numb gaze resting blankly on his retreating back.

---

Light fled from the room gradually, its scope narrowing, the darkness deepening, as the door swung to a close. The door clicked shut, throwing the room entirely into shadow. Dim light filtered through the window, peeking around the edges of her curtains. Sakura slumped back slightly against her bedroom door. Her lower lip quivered.

I… I won't…

Sakura sniffled. Tears forged damp trails down her cheeks. She reached up, angrily wiping her eyes.

I won't cry. Not again…

Her bottom lip continued to quiver despite her determination. Her eyes watered, creating surreal shapes from the gloom.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered hoarsely, wrapping her arms around herself.

It wasn't the first time Sasuke had rejected her. It wasn't even the most hurtful thing he had ever said to her. Yet… Sakura felt as if the ground she had been standing on had been glass all along, and Sasuke had shattered that glass.

"A real shinobi would not waste time on such frivolous pursuits."

The look in his eyes had been… dismissive. Sasuke-kun had judged her, and found her to be irrelevant.

Unworthy.

After all she had done to win his affection, his respect… Was that it? That was all her efforts amounted to? Sasuke had finally looked at her, and he felt nothing but contempt for what he had seen.

Sakura fell, face first, on top of her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She whimpered quietly, her chest stuttering with sobs she couldn't stop.

A shinobi must not show any emotion in any situation. A ninja must put the mission first and have a heart that does not allow tears.

She was worthless.

Sasuke had seen that. What hurt the most was that it was true. Sakura couldn't help but acknowledge it. All of her training, all of the things Team 7 had accomplished, and she still couldn't even master her own emotions. She still couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her, couldn't quiet the jagged pain Sasuke's words had caused in her chest.

She knew that she wasn't a very good shinobi. The Wave mission had disabused her of any notions she might have had about it. But Sasuke had all but said that she wasn't a real shinobi at all.

Half of her childhood had been given to the Academy. She had trained and studied—especially studied—more than most of the other girls in her class. She had earnestly listened to her teachers and absorbed the lessons they had to offer.

Sasuke had been her guiding motivation for nearly half of the years she had spent learning to become a ninja. Sakura was smart; she knew that, and was proud of that fact. But she wouldn't have spent nearly as much time studying if she hadn't been driven to impress her crush. Maybe she would still be friends with Ino.

Instead, she had become a genin. Instead, she had quivered under the smothering weight of Zabuza's killing intent and wept helplessly over Sasuke's still, cold form. Instead, she had trained with Naruto, laughed with him, helped him, and watched him wash the blood off of his hands after murdering an unconscious boy.

Instead, Sasuke had disregarded all of her efforts, all of the trials she had gone through, and told her that she was not a shinobi.

It was all… for nothing?

It was such a strange, alien thought that Sakura couldn't help but giggle. She hiccupped, but continued to giggle into her pillow. If her tears continued to flow, if her sobs increased in intensity, if there was an edge of hysteria to her giggles… there was no one around to comment.

---

Crimson and orange dimly painted the ground as the slowly sinking sun set the horizon ablaze. The trees in training ground three cast long shadows eastward over the brook that cut the clearing in half. The dry summer air cooled as the sun sank lethargically into the ground. Naruto shivered slightly, not altogether pleased by the dropping temperatures.

The day had been unusually hot and he had been all too glad to shuck off his jacket and shirt and dive into the stream to cool… that is, to train. Haku had joined him there soon after, and her subtle disapproval at his slacking had quickly motivated him to begin training in earnest despite the energy-sapping heat. Of course, that had led to a spar with Haku. Predictably, he had lost—again—much to his mounting frustration. She'd left an hour ago. Haku had been so apologetic for accepting a double shift without asking him that he'd ended up stammering nervous reassurances and completely forgot to mention the Chuunin Exam until after she had left.

Chuunin Exam, Chuunin Exam! Naruto thought gleefully. The exams were less than a day away, and Naruto could hardly sit still. He had no idea what the exams entailed. But Kakashi-sensei had said that if he completed the whole thing, he would have a shot at being promoted. That thought alone was enough to fire Naruto's imagination and set his heart racing with anticipation.

But once the sun had begun to set, the water had begun to grow cold. Naruto had quickly gotten out and begun to slowly move through the few kata that he had learned from Haku, but he had soon become aware of his damp skin and soggy pants as increasingly cold air passed over him. Then goose bumps had broken out along Naruto's arms and his jaw had started quivering, which had forced him to clench his teeth together to keep them from chattering.

After a while, he could no longer maintain the slow, controlled pace he had been running through the kata with. Naruto abandoned his solo practice and formed a seal. Several Kage Bunshin appeared, and Naruto launched himself at his clones without delay. Within minutes, Naruto was sweating, his heart pumping furiously, as he battled with himself. Eventually, as his clones dwindled to merely a handful in number, Naruto called a halt to his impromptu melee.

Sparring with himself with no holds barred was good training, but it also tended to bring out his bad habits. Instinctively reacting with his old "techniques" rather than applying the training he had gone through in the Suisetsuken was frustrating, especially when his head knew better. Naruto still hadn't practiced enough to reach the point where he could instinctively react using any of the Suisetsuken's basic techniques, and his body still remembered the old way better than the new one. It had only been a month—less than a month, really—since he had started, but the way Haku could still slide through his defenses like they weren't even there was frustrating. During those times, Naruto felt like he hadn't improved at all.

He was starting to get the hang of certain things though—occasionally, he would see a clone's punch heading his way and try to react to it in two distinctly different ways at once. It was incredibly dangerous, since it put him off balance, confused him, and left him momentarily defenseless, but it also meant that he was starting to become accustomed to the basics of the Suisetsuken.

Once he realized that, Naruto's determination to train had redoubled. After weeks of what seemed like no progress, he finally had some indication that he was in fact learning. He just had to work out the kinks and practice and practice until the basics he had learned were as firmly stamped into his muscles as they were in his brain.

Naruto ordered his clones to line up. "Punch me," he said, gesturing to the first one in line. "Slowly," Naruto added after the Kage Bunshin started grinning. As the shadow clone slowly sent his fist towards Naruto's face, Naruto carefully stepped aside to move in at an angle while guiding and catching the clone's fist with his own hands as he worked through one of the few basic defensive moves Haku had taught him. The key, according to Haku, wasn't fast or ferocious training, despite those qualities being the style's strength.

"Practice slowly, Naruto-sama," she had advised. "Focus on proper form, on doing things correctly. Speed will come later."

He had reluctantly accepted the wisdom in her advice. Naruto had no desire to learn a new taijutsu style only for it to end up as shaky as his first. What he had done before hadn't worked; that much was clear to Naruto. He would go slow and practice carefully and with patience, despite how impatient he often felt with practicing slowly. That way he would be able to build a solid foundation for his close-combat skills instead of a base of quicksand… at least, he hoped so.

For nearly a half an hour, Naruto slowly worked through several basic strikes and counters with his clones, doing his best to perform every technique correctly. The Kage Bunshin were helpful for that as well, since they could see any flaws in his execution better than he could and had no problems criticizing him about them.

Naruto sometimes thought that he didn't like himself very much.

"You're doing that wrong," a voice pointed out cheerfully.

Naruto's slow, exaggerated attack against one of his clones dissolved into a stumble. He whirled around, trying to find the source of the unfamiliar voice, "Who…?" His eyes found a tall man leaning against a tree less than five meters away.

"Hello!" the big man waved, smiling cheerfully at Naruto. "I'm Takai Kouta. It's nice to meet you!"

The Mist-nin, Naruto recalled. He hesitated, remembering all of the things he had heard—and experienced—about shinobi from Kirigakure. Still, the man seemed friendly enough. "I'm…"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the jounin from Kirigakure interrupted, still smiling.

Suspicion flooded through Naruto. "You know my name?"

Kouta nodded enthusiastically, "I heard all about you in the Wave Country. You're quite a famous person there!"

Glee clubbed suspicion over the head and buried its body. "Famous?!" Naruto echoed eagerly, his eyes wide.

"Oh yes," the tall Mist-nin agreed. "I don't think there's a person in the Country of Wave that hasn't heard your name. They even named that massive bridge after you!"

Naruto sighed, feeling something akin to bliss settling over his mind.Famous.It was a heady thought. "What's it called?" he asked, nearly breathless with anticipation.

"The Great Naruto Bridge!" Kouta exclaimed dramatically.

The Great Naruto Bridge, Naruto considered the name methodically, as if savoring its flavor. It was delicious. He grinned goofily at nothing in particular.

Kouta's smile broadened, and the two of them stood grinning at each other for several moments.

Abruptly, Naruto frowned. "What do you mean, 'You're doing that wrong?'" Naruto demanded.

"Ah, that?" Kouta adopted a serious expression as he walked closer to Naruto. "Show me your arm," he gestured.

Naruto stared at him for a moment. "Why?"

"So I can show you how to do that move properly."

Naruto guardedly offered his arm. Kouta promptly rapped his knuckles sharply against the side of Naruto's upper right arm. "Hey!" Naruto protested.

"Did it hurt?" Kouta asked, silencing Naruto.

"Not… really," Naruto answered cautiously. It had hurt a bit, and would have hurt a lot more had there been more power behind the blow, but it hadn't produced the instant, piercing pain that some of Haku's demonstrations did.

"It didn't hurt because I didn't hit you in the right place. Close, but not quite. But close isn't good enough for some spots—you have to hit the nerves dead on or else your enemy can just shrug it off."

"…I know that," Naruto muttered.

"Hmm…?" Kouta drawled skeptically. "It didn't look like it."

"I do know!" Naruto insisted. "I just haven't practiced enough to get it down yet!"

"Ah," Kouta nodded, smiling. "Then I'll help you practice!"

"Really?!" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Sure!"

"Then let's get started!"

"All right," Kouta's expression became serious. "Punch me."

Naruto didn't hesitate. He had learned—the hard way—not to underestimate his teachers, especially those of the jounin variety. His fist was intercepted with a deceptively lazy movement on Kouta's part, and Naruto's right arm was pushed across to the left of his body. Naruto watched as Kouta's other hand came up from beneath his left arm. Abruptly, the arm blurred and Naruto gritted his teeth as pain lit the nerves of his upper arm on fire.

"See?" Kouta asked, releasing Naruto, who immediately began rubbing his tender right arm soothingly. "I could hurt you even if I miss, with enough power. I might even be able to break the bone. But it requires a lot less effort and power on my part to hit the right spot, the vulnerable spot, and it has a much greater effect for the amount of power I put into it."

"I get it," Naruto groused.

Kouta nodded agreeably, perhaps picking up on Naruto's exasperation. "Now try it on me, okay?"

Naruto grunted in surprise, his hands only just getting up in time to turn aside his impromptu teacher's punch.

"Good reflexes," Kouta complimented. "Now the next part…?"

Naruto moved, doing his best to mimic the deceptive smoothness of Kouta's earlier demonstration. He struck and looked up at the Mist-nin hopefully, but Kouta's face showed no reaction. "How was that?" Naruto asked eagerly. He was sure he had gotten it right.

"Hmm… Not quite right. Let's try again."

They settled into a slow, studied rhythm of attack and counterattack as Naruto attempted to perform the technique properly and Kouta, in turn, demonstrated it on him with painful precision.

"So, are you going to be in the Chuunin Exam?" Kouta asked conversationally as his knuckles jarringly rapped Naruto's upper arm.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned brightly, mentions of the exam driving away thoughts of his aching arms. "I'm going to kick ass!"

"No doubt," Kouta grinned in return before shaking his head as Naruto's strike connected sloppily. "Go easy on my students, will you?"

"You have students?" Naruto asked, grunting as Kouta's counterattack seemed to bite into bone.

"For a year and a half now," the Mist jounin replied. "This is their second time taking the exam."

"A year and a half and it's only their second time?" Naruto echoed somewhat incredulously. "I've only been a genin for about six months and I'm taking the exam!"

"Your sensei must have a lot of faith in you," Kouta replied, his smile unwavering even as Naruto's fist connected with his target for the first time. Naruto's chest puffed up proudly in response to the compliment. "That must be why he's teaching you the Suisetsuken, right?"

Naruto blinked, "Huh?"

"The Copy Ninja's reputation is well-earned. Still, I was surprised to see someone from Konoha practicing the Suisetsuken. There's hardly anyone in Kiri that practices it anymore, so seeing it in Konoha startled me."

"But he's not…" Naruto trailed off.

"He's not what?" Kouta asked curiously. The silence stretched, broken intermittently by Naruto's grunts of pain and the other sounds of their practice. Naruto kept his lips sealed. He didn't want to bring Haku into the conversation, not with a Mist-nin. "Your sensei isn't the one teaching you the Suisetsuken?"

The question, "Who is?" hung unsaid in the air between them despite Kouta's innocuous tone.

Naruto's lips tightened as he contemplated the corner he had backed himself into.

"Ah! It's already that time?" Kouta exclaimed, abruptly disengaging.

"What…?"

"I've got to go," Kouta explained apologetically. "I have to meet my team to go over some things before the exam starts tomorrow." Kouta began walking away at a brisk pace.

Naruto stared at the foreign jounin's retreating back, bemused. "Hey!"

Kouta waved without looking back, "It was fun talking with you! See you later!"

Naruto continued to stare, nonplussed. Moments later, it occurred to him that he had sidestepped the trap his own words had set for him and he sighed slightly in relief.

"Naruto-sama?"

It took all he had to restrain himself from starting as Haku's voice sounded from behind him. Naruto turned to see Haku standing only a few feet away, still dressed in her white work clothes, her head tilted slightly in curiosity.

"Haku," Naruto offered a smile in greeting. "You're done with work for today?"

She nodded, her brown eyes moving from the now empty path to Naruto's face. "Who was that?"

Naruto hesitated. He wasn't sure if telling her that he had been speaking with a ninja from Kirigakure was a good idea. "Some foreign ninja looking for a spot to train," Naruto shrugged.

"A foreign ninja?" she asked, concerned. "Why is a foreign shinobi even in Konoha?"

"He said he was here for the Chuunin Exam."

"Ah," she blinked and nodded. "I heard it's starting tomorrow. Everyone seems to be talking about it."

"Really?"And we just heard about it today? Naruto wondered. His eyes narrowed. Stupid Kakashi-sensei.

"Naruto-sama?" Haku murmured questioningly, breaking him out of his angry contemplations.

He couldn't stay mad for long anyway, not today. The Chuunin Exam starts tomorrow! "Guess what?" Naruto blurted excitedly.

"…What is it?" her head tilted again.

"Kakashi-sensei nominated us to take the Chuunin Exam!"

Haku became still. "Will you take them?"

He looked at her incredulously, "Of course!"

Haku bit her lower lip anxiously. "I see," she murmured, looking down.

As the silence stretched, Naruto began to frown. While he hadn't been expecting her to jump up and cheer at the news, he had hoped for a more enthusiastic response. It's like I just kicked her puppy or something, Naruto thought unhappily, folding his arms. "What's wrong?" he finally demanded.

"The exams are dangerous," Haku said quietly. Her eyes held his earnestly, as if she were trying to convey a hidden message.

"Don't worry about that." Naruto grinned confidently, "I'll beat up anyone that comes after me!"

Haku was silent in response to his bold claim, her eyes never leaving his.

"…Haku?"

She mustered a faint smile, "Don't lose." Haku looked away, suddenly more interested in the nearby trees than him. There was an undercurrent of emotion in her voice that he couldn't name; whatever it was, it stole his grin from his lips.

Naruto nodded. "I won't," he promised solemnly. I won't let you down. How could he do otherwise? More than his promotion was on the line. Haku had spent so much time and effort in training him. He could not allow himself to fail and render her teachings meaningless. No one had ever invested so much in training him before, and he had to respond to that effort in the only way that meant anything.

I'll make you proud.

"Are you hungry, Naruto-sama?"

"Yeah!" he folded his arms behind his head, grinning again. "What's for dinner?" Naruto asked eagerly as they began the long walk home.

"Stew."

"What? Again?" he whined.

"Yes," she sighed, "again." Making stew was cheap, as long as she didn't spring for beef and was careful about proportions. A pot of stew could be stretched for several meals, which made it even more economical and easy on their strained budget. There were many perfectly logical reasons for cooking stew instead of going out to eat or even cooking a more traditional dinner… that didn't prevent her from being just as sick of eating it as Naruto was.

Naruto fell silent. He knew the reasons why they had been eating stews so often just as well as Haku did. It's my fault. If he hadn't sent the rest of the bonus pay away… He couldn't allow himself to regret that. It was yet another reason he couldn't afford to fail the exams. As he was now, he couldn't even support himself reliably, much less Haku. But with a chuunin's pay grade he would have no problems.

Becoming a chuunin was no longer just for his own sake, even though his own dreams demanded it.

I'll definitely win.

---

Sakura woke to the quiet, steady sound of a clock ticking away the seconds. The sun had set, and the faint hint of sunlight from outside had dimmed to the artificial glow of streetlamps. Slowly, Sakura sat up, feeling strangely exhausted. She put a hand to her forehead.

Why am I…?

Sasuke's words rang through her head once again. Sakura's hand dropped over her face for a moment, and she forced herself to take several deep breaths.

"I can't do this anymore," she sighed.

How many times had her feelings been disregarded?

Too many, Sakura thought bitterly.

How much pain did she have to go through because of Sasuke… because of being a shinobi of Konoha?

Too much.

It was too much. She couldn't take it anymore. Her shoulders weren't wide enough to bear the burden. She wasn't strong enough to endure it all and keep stepping forward.

It just… wasn't worth it anymore.

The realization hurt, threatened to drown her with its implications… but Sakura felt strangely lighter, as if a yoke had been slipped from her neck.

Sasuke, Naruto, her own doubts about her profession, none of it mattered anymore. She was done with it all.

She smiled at that thought even though her eyes were watering, threatening to overflow once more.

"Tomorrow," Sakura murmured softly. Tomorrow, I'll go and see the Hokage… and then, I won't have to worry about any of it ever again.

She looked at her clock. It was nearly six. Sakura stood abruptly, her decision solidifying in her mind. A few quick steps took her to her closet. The lights flickered on, and Sakura carefully, almost reverently, removed her new dress from the rack.

It took her forty minutes to get ready, and that was rushing things. Sakura sped back into her room, her hair still slightly damp, looking frantically for a pair of shoes that would match her dress. When she finally found a pair she was satisfied with, another five minutes had passed.

I'm going to be late, she thought unhappily, grabbing her kunai holster and equipment pouch.

Sakura froze, looking down at the objects she had instinctively picked up.

A whirlwind of feelings and memories threatened to surge over the barriers she had firmly fixed in place. The moment passed, and Sakura slowly set her equipment back down. "I won't need these anymore," she whispered.

She turned to find Team 7 staring at her accusingly. Sakura padded over to her desk and lightly traced a finger over the top of the picture frame. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip for a moment before her eyes tightened and her mouth firmed into a determined line.

"Goodbye," she told the picture, told the last half of her life.

Sakura turned the picture over, laying it face down on her desk.

Moments later, the lights in the room went dark and the door shut with a quiet click.

---

It was a sign from heaven.

Sakura hadn't thought that she would get the opportunity to wear her new dress anytime soon, but she had been proven wrong. Whether that was a good thing or not… well, only time would tell. But she had needed something to do, someone to talk to, or she would have gone crazy in her room, with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. Ino's surprising invitation had hung in the back of her head, and Sakura had eventually swallowed her pride—what little she had left—and decided to go.

She almost hadn't gone… it was Ino, after all. Weren't they great rivals for Sasuke-kun's heart?

But no, that wasn't right. Not anymore. Hadn't they been rivals for Sasuke-kun's heart?

One look at the shimmering silk of her new dress, hanging temptingly on a hanger in her closet, had convinced her… or so Sakura reasoned to herself. She couldn't admit that she was merely running from the silence of being alone, from the inevitable inward bent her thoughts would take without anyone or anything distracting her.

To her surprise, she had actually had fun.

Sure, Ino-pig had been as annoying and snippy as always and she barely knew any of Ino's cousins, much less their gaggle of friends, but even so… Sakura smiled wistfully as nostalgia stretched light, gentle fingers through her mind. Once upon a time, she had spent nearly every day with Ino. Even in the heat of their rivalry, she had interacted with the girl often. That era had ended the day Team 7 had been formed, and since then Sakura had hardly seen her blond rival at all.

A part of her—a tiny, tiny part of her—had missed Ino. Ino was the closest thing to a female friend that Sakura had left since she had graduated and passed the real genin exam, even though they weren't really friends anymore. She felt just a bit lonely without Ino around to bicker and compete with.

Sakura sighed, abruptly feeling utterly depressed. That's… kind of pathetic, isn't it?

Her subconscious was apparently in complete agreement with her conscious mind, since Sakura only felt more depressed after the thought crossed her mind. Sakura's shoulders drooped as she continued to trudge home. Cool mist brushed across her face and the street lights cast eerie shadows as Sakura moved through the nearly abandoned side-streets that led to a short-cut to her home.

Sakura's eyes studied the dusty street dully and her thoughts were focused inwards, which was perhaps the reason why she walked right into someone. She blinked, startled as the person she had bumped into grunted, and stepped back quickly after recovering her bearings.

"I'm sorry," she apologized softly before stepping around the boy she had bumped into.

A strong hand clamped on her shoulder. "Oi, oi," a male voice drawled, "that's it? You're 'sorry?' That hurt, you know."

Sakura tensed, alarm and a surge of adrenaline blasting away her gloomy contemplations. Instinctively, her right hand reached for a kunai. She felt a moment of confusion and panic when her hand only met silk. I didn't bring any equipment, Sakura remembered. Earlier in the night, she had felt strangely free without the weight of a kunai holster on her thigh or an equipment pouch on her hip. Now, though… Sakura grimaced.

"I apologized," Sakura said levelly as she turned to face the potential threat, struggling to keep her voice diplomatic. Who is this asshole? Purple paint formed odd patterns on his face, and his eyes were narrow slits that reminded her vaguely of Naruto's own occasionally squinty expressions. The baggy black body suit he wore covered him from head to toe, and the hood he wore seemed to have odd triangular points on each side of his head.

Sakura's eyes were drawn to the older boy's forehead protector. Suna, she recognized the symbol stamped into the steel plate.

"Little girls should pay attention to where they're going," the foreign nin sneered and shoved her away. Sakura stumbled back.

"Kankurou, cut it out," a blond girl that Sakura hadn't noticed before hissed. "Just because Gaara…"

"Shut up, Temari," the boy, Kankurou, snapped heatedly. For an instant, he seemed to glance around nervously, as if waiting for something terrible to happen. When it didn't, the black-clothed Suna-nin turned his attention back to Sakura.

She shivered despite herself at the sight of his cruel smirk. "…What?" she asked defensively.

"You bumped into me."

"I said I was sorry," Sakura retorted uneasily, not liking the dark look in his eyes. What was the big deal? She had unintentionally bumped into him and apologized for it. Why was the foreigner intent on escalating the matter?

"And I said it hurt, you stupid little bitch!" Kankurou snarled, stepping forward aggressively. Sakura forced herself to hold her ground. "How are you going to make up for that, huh?" She recoiled as his hot, foul breath brushed across her face. "Huh?" Kankurou demanded.

"Kankurou!" Temari barked.

"I said I was sorry," Sakura repeated, moving hurriedly to step around him. It took all her will-power to keep her voice from trembling. She was in the dark, alone and without her weapons. Her dress was not only delicate and expensive; it was also restrictive, and it would interfere with her range of motion. The shoes on her feet weren't any better. If it came to a fight, she would be at a severe disadvantage.

And… aside from all of that…

The feeling that she had been repressing welled up within her chest. Sasuke's words echoed in her ears once more.

She wasn't a kunoichi, not anymore. Maybe she never had been. Even if she tried to fight, what was the use? Had she ever fought and won when it truly mattered?

Suddenly, the Suna boy seemed far more intimidating than she had thought.

Kankurou moved to block her, "Who would be satisfied by such a half-assed 'sorry?'" His eyelids relaxed from their squint for the first time during their encounter. He glanced down, scrutinizing her dress, and his smirk broadened. "Get down on your knees and apologize, and then I might accept it."

A nest of sleeping birds took flight, startled by the sharp report of her openhanded slap. Kankurou reeled, barely able to keep his balance as he stumbled away from Sakura. He wiped away the thin trail of blood dripping from his nose and looked at his hand. When he looked up again, Sakura took an unconscious step back at the malevolent fury in his eyes.

Sakura stared at her hand. Why did I do that? It had been like an instinctive reaction. She had lashed out before her brain could even finish processing his words. Fear surged within her as she contemplated the raw anger on Kankurou's face. I have to get away! Sakura thought frantically. She turned quickly to flee.

If he caught her, it was over. There was no way she could win. He was a shinobi, and she was a…

She was a…

"You… bitch!" he hissed.

His fingers jerked, and Sakura's world became a blur as her feet were swept out from under her. The impact forcefully expelled the air from her lungs, and for an instant she stared up at the dark sky, stunned and uncomprehending. Then a dark shape loomed above her. A foot came down, driving into her stomach.

Air left Sakura in an explosive rush. She coughed and spluttered, bile rushing into her mouth as she frantically tried to take in air and feed her empty lungs. Kankurou ground his foot against her, sending agonizing waves of pain through her. More of her dinner welled up in her throat.

He lifted his foot. Sakura turned on her side, still gasping for air like a fish on land, and vomited. Black spots danced in front of her eyes. Her arms were trembling, strangely weak as she tried to push herself up off of the ground.

A lazy kick to her ribs sent her sprawling again. "Get up," Kankurou ordered.

Her breath was coming in quick, wheezing gasps and her limbs quivered of their own volition as Sakura struggled to comply. Blood tasted heavy on her tongue. Eventually, she was able to push herself up to her knees.

"Are you sorry yet?"

"Yes," Sakura whimpered. She was completely beaten. It was an obvious outcome, though. Kankurou was a genuine shinobi, while she was just… a worthless pretender.

"Bow, and say 'I'm very sorry, Kankurou-sama.'"

"Kankurou," the Suna kunoichi said tersely, "don't go too far. We still have business, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her away, his eyes never leaving Sakura's shaking form. "Well?" he asked expectantly.

Sakura placed her hands in front of her and slowly, painfully, began to bow to him.

What am I doing?

She didn't know what she was doing.

Why am I bowing to this guy?

She didn't know why, except that she was weak and he was strong. He was a shinobi and she was nothing. What else could she do?

Her hair began to pool in the dirt. Moments later, Sakura's forehead touched the cold, hard ground.

"I'm very sorry," Sakura whispered. She swallowed, "…Kankurou-sama."

A few moments passed, punctuated only by the loud thumping of her heart in her chest. Sakura risked a look up. Her eyes met Kankurou's for a moment before flinching away at the utter contempt in his eyes. Unwittingly, she caught Temari's gaze. The older girl was looking at her with revulsion in her eyes. After a second, the blond Suna-nin's eyes flicked away dismissively and her expression smoothed.

Sakura's breath caught.

Temari turned away, "Let's go, Kankurou."

He grunted and turned to follow his sister.

What…?

Had she been judged again? Had she been found wanting… again?

Her eyes stung with tears, not of pain but of frustration and humiliation.

Why am I so pathetic?

It didn't make any sense. How could she be so weak, so useless, so helpless, time and time again? She had spent years in the Academy along with all of her peers. How had she fallen so far behind? Had she wasted all of those years?

Why was she so worthless?

Why was her forehead pressed to the ground?

Her hands tightened, her nails digging furrows into the packed dirt.

Why was she watching someone else's back again?

Because I'm weak.

She had been bullied again. The realization left a sour taste in her mouth. It had been years since she had been cowed by bullies. Sakura was no longer that girl.

So why didn't I fight back?

Terror had blanked her mind of everything except the desire to flee, to do whatever it took to survive, to stop the pain. Thoughts of fighting back had fled before things had become violent. Her own doubts had crippled her.

She was weak.

It wasn't just weakness of the body. She could acknowledge that now. Her mind was weak. Her spirit was weak. She wasn't capable of standing and enduring like Nar… like her teammates. She couldn't control her own mind and reign in her fear. It didn't matter how skilled she was or wasn't… without the ability to overcome her fear, without the resolve to fight, there was no way she could win anything.

I don't like this.

Sakura began to push herself off of the ground. She spat the dirt and blood out of her mouth, but the gritty taste remained.

I don't like being weak.

There was no happiness to be found in kowtowing. There was no satisfaction in being at the mercy of whims of those stronger than her.

I don't want to cry anymore.

Tears of humiliation, tears of frustration, tears of sadness and anguish and pain… she was tired of crying. She was tired of being helpless and weak, of being incapable of anything but weeping in the face of danger.

I don't like myself.

She wasn't a good person. She wasn't even a strong one. Her forehead was too big, her hair too strange, her chest and hips too flat… her hands were too weak, her legs were too slow, her brain too dull. Sakura felt pathetic.

Trembling legs pushed her unsteadily upright again. Sakura began to brush the dirt off of her dress, but only succeeded in smearing it further. She stared down at herself. The deep green silk that she had fallen in love with was marred by dirt and small splotches of blood and vomit. It was torn in several places and badly scuffed in others.

Her dress had been ruined.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She bit down, harshly halting the quivering of her bottom lip. Her hands reached down and she bent slightly, gathering the hem of her dress in her hands. For several seconds she stood still, running tender fingers over the silk.

I want to change.

A moment later, a tearing sound rent the air.

Roughly, Sakura tore the bottom of her dress, freeing her legs. She took the ragged strip of silk and turned it around, using the clean side to wipe the dirt and filth off of her face.

When she was done, she reached up and wound the dirty piece of her dress and wound it through her hair in an impromptu headband, tying her soiled hair back away from her face.

It fits, she nodded to herself.

Sakura looked down the road into the gloom in the direction the Suna genin had disappeared in. Finally, she turned around and once again began making her way home. Her footsteps quickened. She had to hurry home.

There were a lot of things to be done before the exam started.

---

Day had dawned in a gentle wave of pink and orange. All too soon, dawn's gentle colors yielded to blue and white as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The birdsong from the nearby trees began to pick up in both intensity and quantity. Foliage whispered as the chill morning air passed through the open window, raising goose bumps along Haku's arms. She hardly noticed.

All her attention was focused on Naruto, who stood still in front of the kitchen table, an expression of deep thought on his face as he contemplated whether he should cram in extra shuriken or explosive seals in his equipment pouch.

A lead ball had settled in Haku's stomach. She desperately wanted to say something, do something that would make him stay. But whenever she opened her mouth words fled from her mind. What could she say to convince him?

Naruto snapped his fingers, his eyes shining with revelation. "I must have them both," he muttered to himself. Seconds later, he began his struggle to jam more ninja tools into his already overstuffed pouch.

How could she say anything? He had hardly slept all night due to his excitement over the upcoming exam. His dream was to become Hokage and to do so he would need to be promoted. How could she try to keep him from that? Haku bit her lower lip softly, her eyes lowering to study the floor.

She couldn't.

I must be strong. Her eyes went up again to rest on Naruto's back. I must support him, no matter what.

She had made a promise to him and to herself as well. She would be his strength, his pillar, and his sword. She would see his dreams fulfilled.

There could be no room in her heart for her own weak, selfish desires.

The sound of the refrigerator opening brought Haku's awareness back to Naruto. Naruto, finished dealing with his equipment, had moved on to the next and most important item on his agenda… breakfast.

"Naruto-sama," Haku called, quickly standing and moving into the small kitchen. "I will make your breakfast."

The answering look he gave her was half relived, half put out. No doubt he had been hoping sneak in a meal of cup ramen for breakfast under her nose.

Breakfast came and went faster than Haku would have liked, and it seemed like before she knew it they were both out the door and on their way to their training ground.

Damp, chill morning fog sat heavily over Konoha. Beads of moisture dripped from the leaves of trees, and the grass beneath their feet was slick and crisp. The sun, obscured by trees and the heavy shroud of fog, touched only lightly upon the small, out of the way glade where they finally stopped.

They began as they usually did; stretching and warming up their muscles. Haku desperately sought for advice she could give Naruto about the Chuunin Exam, but her mind drew nothing but blanks. She knew little enough about the exams taking place, nor had she ever taken one herself. What could she tell him that would help?

Her mind was still blank by the time they finished their warm-ups.

She could offer no advice about the exams, but she could still help him.

"Naruto-sama, today…" she hesitated. Her eyes closed as she crushed the selfish words that leapt to the forefront of her mind. "Today," she continued steadily, "would you mind if we did something a little different?"

Naruto stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet, though he still fairly vibrated with nervous energy, and looked at her quizzically. "Like what?"

"A new training exercise…"

Nothing more needed to be said for Naruto. He nodded eagerly, "Okay!"

"It is a simple exercise," she explained. "I will attack you. You will defend yourself."

Naruto nodded some more. When it became apparent that she wasn't about to say anything else, he blinked. "And…?"

"That is all, Naruto-sama."

"How is that different from any other time?" he protested.

"I will attack you," she repeated, "and you will defend yourself. That is all there is to it. You will try to defend yourself, and I will break your defenses. But this is not a spar. We will not use ninjutsu. You will not counterattack. You will defend, I will attack, and that is all we will do."

He scratched his head. "So… We're honing my defenses?"

"Not quite," she answered tersely before lunging forward. Naruto frantically crossed his arms in front of him, blocking her punch, which sent him sliding backwards.

"Hey!" he yelled. "What're you doing?"

"We have begun," she replied flatly. "Defend yourself!" Haku launched herself at him, her body coiling to strike once more.

It was as she had said. She attacked him and he defended himself. Haku didn't follow through once she had broken through his guard, and every one of her strikes past that landed as a light tap or it didn't land at all. In the best of times she abhorred causing him pain, even though she did it with the best intentions. But today was the day he faced a dangerous trial; she would not risk injuring him.

In any case, landing her hits was beside the point. The point was to break through, and for the two hours available to her that was what she did. Naruto tried to defend himself, while she crushed, broke, overwhelmed, or outright bypassed his defenses. Every light tap, every time her fist stopped short of his nose, every time he found himself frozen with Haku well within his guard and poised to kill was a lesson in the fundamental nature of the Suisetsuken.

The essence of the Water Cutting Fist was buried in its name. The Suisetsuken was the fist that cut that which could not be cut. It was a fist that was designed to cut—to cut at the enemy's mind, to cut away their will to fight, to slash the enemy's defenses to ribbons, shred their body's ability to fight, and cut their life away. It cut the enemy, and every technique was developed around that core principle.

Naruto knew it in his mind. She had gone over it enough to insure that, at least. He was even starting to learn it with his muscles. But she wanted him to feel the Suisetsuken's undiluted essence, to know it until the knowledge was stamped into his bones.

Two hours was not enough time, but it was all she had.

It was all she had, and in the blink of an eye it had slipped through her fingers like sand.

He was gone.

The morning dew had mostly evaporated by the time Naruto had abruptly declared their training to be at an end. Unbalanced, all Haku had been able to do was nod as he grinned at her and said his goodbyes.

He was gone in the blink of an eye, off to face the Chuunin Exam.

She had been left behind again.

It had not been very hard for her to discover that it would be at least five days before she saw him again, unless something went wrong. Konoha was not very secretive about the length of the exams… only the tests themselves were considered to be something of a secret. It would be five long, miserable days. Worse was that he was so close… if she wanted to, she could go and watch over him, be by his side…

No, she thought firmly. If she was discovered with him during the exams, he would probably be disqualified. She could not allow herself to ruin his chances for promotion just because of her own weak, selfish whims. All she could do was have faith in Naruto and wait, no matter how hard that was.

Besides, she had things she had to do as well.

Haku focused her chakra, flipping through a short series of seals, and watched intently as water flowed skyward from the stream that cut through her now de facto training ground. Once free from the flowing water beneath it, the writing glob of water morphed, taking on a human shape. A crackling noise echoed throughout the clearing as the humanoid mass of water abruptly froze over.

Her brow furrowed slightly, the only outward sign of her intense concentration. Only a few moments passed before she was staring at herself. Haku inspected her clone critically, noting the slight flaws that still had to be ironed out. The appearance of her ice clones, if she could truly call them that yet, were slowly starting to reach the acceptable range. In other areas, however…

She focused again. There was a loud creaking, grinding noise as the clone began to move, causing Haku to wince. It was a struggle to get the clone to move much, and even when it moved she still could not figure out how to get it to move without making so much noise.

A frustrated sigh burst free. She had started working on creating a workable ice clone not long before Zabuza had first met the slimy slug named Gatou, but her progress had been—and still was—slow. Haku had not had any problems learning Bunshin or Mizu Bunshin; she didn't understand why she was having so much trouble creating her own unique variation of those techniques.

It took her too long to form them even after months of practice. When they were formed, she had to struggle and concentrate to get them to move properly. Then there was the horrible noise they made when they did move, as if a block of ice had just been dumped into boiling water… Sometimes she just wanted to pull her hair out in frustration.

But she couldn't give up. Naruto-sama wouldn't give up, nor would her own pride allow her to back down from the challenge. Zabuza-san had called her a genius and Naruto-sama needed her to be strong. She would master the technique she had set out to create. She would become stronger.

Naruto-sama would be gone for at least five days, and by the time he returned she would be able to show him her new technique.

Haku took a deep breath as her hands wove together to form seals. A watery form rose from the stream. It was joined by another, and then another. Water hissed and cracked in protest as it swiftly froze over. Soon, Haku stood alone amidst a forest of figures clothed in ice.

Ice crackled as her sculptures stirred to life.

Haku's eyes narrowed in determination.

Five days.

---

"Good morning!" Naruto greeted, sounding as cheerful as the birds chirruping in the trees that dotted the Academy's grounds.

Sasuke grunted in return while Sakura ignored him, as usual. Naruto's bright grin didn't even twitch at the less than warm reception… not today. The sun was shining, the morning fog had lifted, the day had warmed, and a gentle breeze caressed the village. It was a beautiful day! More importantly, it was time for the Chuunin Exam! Just thinking about it made his smile widen.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed eagerly, walking quickly towards the Academy's front doors. He reached them quickly, only to find himself alone. Naruto frowned and looked back to see his teammates walking towards him with an entirely too casual pace. His foot tapped the ground rapidly as he waited impatiently for Sakura and Sasuke to catch up.

Naruto's frown deepened as he looked closer at Sakura's appearance. The traditional dark blue cloth that served as the mount for her hitai-ate had been replaced by a dark green fabric. He opened his mouth as she drew closer, curiosity urging him to willingly broach the mutual silence that had developed between them. The dark look in her eyes and the grim set of her mouth convinced him otherwise. His teeth clicked as he quickly shut his mouth, the urge to speak to Sakura diminishing. Whatever had caused the dark circles beneath her eyes or the fury lurking within her green gaze, he wanted no part of it.

Sakura passed by without a second glance, leaving Naruto behind to sigh in relief. At least she's not angry with me, he thought ruefully. She was, he knew, but at least he wasn't the immediate target of her rage. That was better than the alternative.

Naruto fell into step with Sasuke. "Sasuke," he whispered.

"…What?"

"What's with that ribbon?" As she had passed, he had been close enough to identify it as silk, which meant it had to be a ribbon or something like it. No one used silk just to mount a hitai-ate; it was too valuable to waste on something that would be stained and torn on a frequent basis, at least to anyone with a measure of common sense and a solid ceiling to their bank account.

Sasuke didn't need to ask what he was talking about. No doubt he had wondered the same thing. He shrugged. "She said it was a reminder."

Naruto's face scrunched. "A reminder?" he asked. "Of what?"

Sasuke shrugged again, saying nothing.

Naruto sighed, letting the matter drop. It was clear that Sasuke didn't know any more than that.

The crowd began to thicken as they passed through the Academy's hallways on their way to the main stairwell. By the time they had reached the stairwell, they were surrounded by other chuunin hopefuls. They spent several minutes shuffling forward towards the stairs before Sakura impatiently pushed her way through to the other side of the mass of genin and headed down the hallway. Naruto and Sasuke followed quickly.

None of them had the patience to wait for the crowd to clear and the other stairwells were clogged as well. By the time they had finished looking for a clear way up, all three members of Team 7 were feeling frustrated. Naruto took the initiative, fed up with conventional routes, and headed outside.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded as Naruto opened a nearby hallway window and jumped out.

Naruto grinned and pointed a finger skyward, "Up, of course!"

Climbing on the outside of the Academy building was nothing new for Naruto, but he hadn't done it since before graduation. His new chakra control abilities made it a far easier and quicker endeavor than it had ever been before. It only took him a few seconds to scale up to the third floor. It took him several more to discretely peek and check that the coast was clear and slip a window open.

The classroom was silent and empty. Naruto clambered through the window he had opened, landing lightly on the wooden floor so that he didn't make much noise. It wasn't long before Sasuke hopped through the opening Naruto had created, and he was soon followed by Sakura. Naruto slid the window shut after his two teammates had joined him up in the empty classroom on the third floor. His fingers came away slightly smudged by dirt and grime. He smirked at them, "See? That was quick, wasn't it?"

They ignored him and moved towards the exit. Naruto huffed indignantly, put out by their continued lack of response, before following his teammates into the hall. The hallways on the third floor were far less crowded than those on the first had been. They only saw a handful of genin teams, though there were a few chuunin bustling about and several jounin waiting for their teams to arrive. Without the crowds of genin hopefuls clogging the hallways, Team 7 made quick progress towards room 301.

As they drew close to the double doors of the examination room, Naruto spotted Kakashi-sensei leaning against the windows, his hands shoved in his pockets. He's not late today, Naruto thought, relieved.

Kakashi-sensei looked up, his uncovered eye scanning his team for a moment. "I see," Kakashi-sensei said. "Sakura came too, huh?"

Naruto blinked in confusion. What's he talking about?

"Now you can properly take the exam," Kakashi continued after a brief pause.

Sakura made a surprised noise. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"The truth is that this exam can only be taken by teams of three," he answered.

"But you said taking the test was an individual choice!" Sakura protested.

"Yeah, I said that."

Sakura frowned, "You lied to us?"

Kakashi turned his head to the right to look out the windows. "That's right," he sighed. Naruto scowled, irritated by the ease his teacher admitted to lying to them. "If I had told the truth, Sasuke or Naruto would have pressured you to take the exam, right?"

Naruto gave a short nod, ignoring the guilty spark Kakashi-sensei's words had caused. Even if it was Sakura-chan… he wouldn't let her stand in his way, not with a chance to become a chuunin on the line. Sasuke said nothing in response, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Kakashi-sensei's words applied to him as well.

"Even if you didn't want to take the exam… if Sasuke asked you to, you would, even if your heart wasn't in it. For Sasuke's sake… well…" Kakashi trailed off. In a better world, he could have truthfully said for Naruto's sake as well, but he wasn't certain about that. Before Team 7's mission to Waterfall that would have been true, but... He shook his head. What had happened had happened; there was no point dwelling on it.

Sakura's expression had gone flat at his words, and she made a noise in the back of her throat as if in protest. He eyed her curiously. Did I say something wrong? Kakashi wondered. "Sakura?"

The kunoichi blinked and shook her head slightly. "It's nothing, sensei," she waved off her team's curious gazes. "So what would have happened if only Sasuke-kun and Naruto showed up?"

"The exam would have ended here, and they would have been prohibited from going any further," he paused, allowing the statement to sink in. Kakashi smiled, "But you guys came here by your own will. I'm proud of you all."

That statement was enough to bring Naruto's grin back in full force. Sakura smiled faintly, and even Sasuke's lips twitched up, however unwillingly.

Kakashi moved aside from his spot in front of the doors, "Now, go!"

"All right!" Naruto erupted, unable to contain himself. On the other side of that door was the beginning of the Chuunin Exam, the next step on his road to Hokage. "Let's go!"

---

The road to Hokage, Naruto decided, was a dark and hellish road. It had to be. Otherwise, how could he be faced by such a… monstrosity?

The first exam of the Chuunin Exam was a paper test, and not just any paper test… it was a fiendishly difficult paper test. Naruto stared nervously at the nine long questions and the blank answer boxes. He reached up and wiped the sweat that dotted his brow.

What am I going to do? Naruto wondered uneasily. Forty minutes had passed seemingly in the blink of an eye. The tenth question was coming up soon. He had decided to bet everything on it, but… what if he couldn't answer it? If he couldn't answer the previous nine questions, how could he possibly answer the tenth?

Naruto clenched his jaw tightly. Calm down. I've got to stay calm. He would take the tenth question and pass the test. He had no other options. Cheating was out of the question. There was no way he could cheat without getting caught. What skill he possessed laid in combat, in facing a tangible enemy, not in academics or stealth. He knew next to nothing about information gathering beyond the basics, and his ability to do so stealthily was not equal to the abilities of the chuunin watching his every move.

Normally, given the stakes involved, he would have tried anyway. But he couldn't do that, not with the way the rules were set up. If he tried and got caught, it wouldn't just be his problem. Sakura and Sasuke would be disqualified as well. No matter what they felt for him, they were still his team. There was no way he could allow himself to drag them down with him.

"All right," the scarred examiner called out loudly, drawing every eye in the room towards him. "I will now give out the tenth question," Ibiki announced.

Naruto's fists tightened convulsively. Here it comes. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. Stay calm, he told himself. This is my only chance.

"But before we get to it, there's one thing I need to say. There will be a special rule for this last question."

Naruto took a deep, shuddering breath. His heart thumped wildly, its beat loud in his ears. Distantly, he heard the classroom door open. The examiner said something, but Naruto paid no attention. Instead, he concentrated on slowing his breathing. He couldn't afford to get so wound up that he screwed up on the last question. He had to stay focused.

Ibiki turned and took a few steps towards the windows on the left side of the room. "I will now explain," the examiner said. Dark eyes glanced left, taking in the rows of nervous genin hanging upon his words. "These are," he continued grimly, "the rules of desperation."

Naruto swallowed. Desperation?

"First, you all are going to decide whether or not you will take this tenth question."

"Choose?!" some girl behind him protested loudly. "What happens if we choose not to?"

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero." Ibiki smirked, macabre amusement coloring his voice, "In other words, you fail! Of course, your two teammates will fail with you."

The room erupted with protests.

Ibiki closed his eyes, seemingly deaf to the many complaints being hurled at him. After a moment, he continued, "And now, one more rule. If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly… that person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin Exam again."

It felt like someone had just punched him in gut. Naruto struggled to control his breathing. That's why it's a desperate rule, he thought bleakly. The gamble was an utterly desperate one. If he failed… the road to Hokage would be closed forever. But if he didn't take it, he would never advance.

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!" Kiba's voice erupted. "There are guys here who have taken the exam before!"

Ibiki's lips curled up. He began to laugh softly, strangely amused by Kiba's words. After a few moments, his laughter stopped. "You guys had bad luck," he replied. "This year… it's my rules. But…" his smirk widened, "that's why I'm giving you a way out."

Naruto leaned forward in anticipation.

"Those who aren't confident can choose not to take it… and try again next year." Ibiki chuckled again as the examinees stirred uneasily. He let his words sink in for a bit. "Now, let's begin," he continued quietly, his words nonetheless carrying throughout the room. "Those who do not want to take the question, raise your hands. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

Utter silence answered him as the genin struggled to make their decisions.

Naruto ground his teeth together in agitation. What kind of question is it going to be? His right leg began to tap the ground restlessly. Damn it… If I get it wrong, I'll be a genin forever. I don't want that! But if I choose not to take it, Sasuke and Sakura-chan will fail as well, and I don't want that either!

His fists tightened again and his nails dug painful furrows into his palms.

If I fail… I'll never become Hokage. That alone was nearly enough for him to decide. Hokage was his dream. Could he really gamble on it and risk it dying here?

If I don't take it… Sasuke and Sakura-chan will fail. Sasuke was an asshole, and Sakura-chan… Sakura-chan had called him a monster and hadn't willingly spoken to him in weeks. But, even so… they were his teammates.

"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum," Naruto muttered softly under his breath. Those words were a part of Kakashi's first lesson for Team 7, and Naruto had taken them to heart. To a boy who had never had a family or even friends, they had provided a solid direction and they had shaped his view of what being part of a team really meant.

He would not fail them here.

Yet… it was his future and his dreams that were at stake.

What do I do?

It was the hardest decision he had ever grappled with. He didn't know what to do. Nothing had ever prepared him to make the choice between his own dreams and his comrades. Should he—could he—give up on becoming Hokage for the sake of Sakura and Sasuke? Could he give up on Sakura and Sasuke for the sake of becoming Hokage?

It was simple, once he asked himself that.

No true Hokage would give up on his comrades. His own words to Haku came back to him.

"A Hokage is a sacrifice."

Even if he had to sacrifice himself, he could not leave his teammates behind.

Besides, he had promised to Haku that he would make her proud. If he failed here, if he gave up, he would be going back on his word. More than that, he would be going back to stew and the silent frustration and humiliation of being unable to properly provide for the two of them. He couldn't afford to stay a genin anymore. He wanted to be able to provide for the little family he had finally found.

If he ran away now… he would regret it forever, whether he became Hokage or not. He couldn't run, not if he wanted to stay true to his nindo.

Naruto had to pass. That was that. For the sake of his comrades, for the sake of his dreams, and, of course, for Haku's sake, he had to pass.

He would not run. He would not quiver in fear anymore.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in grim determination as he waited, his arms folded in defiance, for the tenth question to be announced. His eyes remained steadily focused on Ibiki even as genin gave up in droves all around him.

Sakura stared at Naruto's back. Why isn't he raising his hand? He…

Naruto grinned brightly at Tazuna, "I'm the super elite ninja who will one day become Hokage! The name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi-sensei. "I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage!"

"I'll surpass all of the Hokage," Naruto declared, his hands reaching up to adjust his new hitai-ate, "and then… I'll make the villagers acknowledge my existence!"

Sakura glanced down, unable to look at Naruto's steady back any longer. You always say "Hokage! Hokage!" like an idiot who only knows one thing… So why are you…? Why aren't you raising your hand? Even though you…

"Why did you kill the guard?"

"You told me that if anyone discovered us, we needed to silence them."

Sakura shook her head, biting her lip. Her hands curled in her lap, clutching fistfuls of fabric. I don't need to worry about him, she told herself fiercely, pushing down the uneasy feelings building up in her chest.

She was confident in her own ability to answer the question—if there was one field she excelled at, it was academics—and even if Naruto screwed up, she would still be able to take the exam again. The question was her two teammates' ability to pass. Naruto being able to answer the question seemed like a long shot, and if he failed then his dream would be extinguished… Sakura shook her head again, dismissing her musings about Naruto.

Sasuke-kun might have trouble as well, she thought instead, unsure of whether or not she should be worried about that anymore. Practically speaking, his abilities in this kind of test weren't exceptional. She could admit to herself that Sasuke was not the most intelligent of genin, his natural talent aside. If he couldn't use the Sharingan to glean the answer for the tenth question, he would probably be in as much trouble as Naruto. But there would no doubt be some sort of trick involved to the tenth question, given the nature of the previous nine, so perhaps he still had a chance.

Even so, Sakura looked around the room, a lot of people have quit. The room had emptied out to the point where there were few genin still sitting next to each other, whereas when the exam started the room had been filled to the point of bursting with eager examinees. But the flow of genin raising their hands had slowed dramatically, and it wasn't long before it trickled off altogether.

A minute, then two, passed in utter silence. Ibiki finally nodded to himself. "I'll ask one more time," he said. "Your lives are riding on this decision. Is there anyone else that wants to quit?"

No one raised their hands. Ibiki glanced at his subordinates, who universally nodded as he looked over them. He turned his attention back on the genin. "Nice determination," he said. "Then, to everyone still remaining… I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

Naruto dropped his pencil. "Ha…?"

Sakura stood quickly. "Wait!" she protested. "What do you mean by that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki chuckled in amusement, "There never was such a thing. Or you could say that those two choices were the tenth question."

"Eh?" Sakura breathed, blinking in surprise.

"Hey!" a familiar voice complained loudly. Sakura suppressed a shiver as she remembered where she had heard that voice before. Temari, she thought grimly, her fists clenching. "Then what were those nine questions for?" Temari demanded. "They were pointless!"

"They weren't pointless," Ibiki countered, his voice still light with amusement. "They served their purpose."

Purpose? Sakura wondered.

"To test your individual information gathering ability," he explained, as if in answer to her thoughts.

"Information gathering ability…?" Temari asked.

"First, as explained in the rules, success in this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their teammates. But these test problems weren't ones that mere genin could answer. Because of that, I'm sure that most people here came to the same conclusion… 'To score points, I'll have to cheat.' In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. For that reason, we had two chuunin who knew the answers mixed into the crowd as targets for cheating to help you guys out."

Naruto shifted uneasily. I had no idea, he thought unhappily, disgusted with himself. It was yet another thing he would have to improve on.

"But," Ibiki continued, his hands reaching up to undo his bandana-like hitai-ate, "those that cheated poorly failed, of course." The knot that tied his hitai-ate in place came undone and he pulled it off. "Why…?" Ibiki asked quietly.

Sakura shivered at the sight of Ibiki's bare scalp. Those are… scars from torture…? It was a hideous, nauseating sight.

"Because…" Ibiki continued, his voice gaining in strength and passion, "at times, information is more important than life. On missions and battlefields, people risk their lives to get their hands on it!"

A chill went down Sakura's spine. Once again, she was staring at the reality of being ninja. Blood and torture, the value of life weighed against the value of information… that was what was waiting for her.

Why am I here? Sakura asked herself. She had decided to take the exam because she wanted to change herself. She wanted to become strong so that no one would ever look upon her with such contempt again. Being happy as a civilian was nothing but a dream for her; last night had shown her that. There was no happiness in being weak and helpless, not for her. If she stepped aside, if she cast away her identity as a kunoichi, she would regret it forever.

And yet no matter how much she knew she would regret it, after seeing Ibiki's scars and listening to his words, she couldn't help but wonder… Is it really worth that

"If an enemy or a third party notices you, there is no guarantee that the information you get will be accurate," Ibiki said, putting his hitai-ate back on. "I want you to remember this," he continued grimly. "Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and your village. But information in your hands can also be a powerful weapon for your comrades and your village."

Naruto swallowed, completely captivated by Ibiki's words. If we had correct information, how would the mission to the Wave have turned out? If we had better information, what would have happened in Taki no Kuni? After a moment, Naruto thrust those thoughts from his mind. He couldn't allow himself to think about 'what-ifs.' He had to pay attention to Ibiki's words; he had no doubt the examiner was providing a critical lesson to him.

"So we had you gather information through cheating, and we kicked out those that were lacking in that field."

"But… I still don't agree with that last question," Temari said.

Ibiki spread his arms out slightly, palms facing his audience, "But the tenth question is the true purpose of the first exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Let me explain then," Ibiki replied, putting his hands back into the pockets of his black trench coat. "The tenth question… the 'take it' or 'don't take it' decision… Needless to say, these were painful choices. Those who choose the latter fail along with their teams, while those who choose the former could lose the chance to ever take the exam again… a true leap of faith."

He turned and took several steps towards the windows, "Then how about these two choices. Let's assume you all become chuunin. Your mission is to steal a secret document. The number of enemy ninja, their abilities, and their armaments are unknown. There may also be traps set all around you. Now, will you accept this mission or not? Because you don't want to die… because you don't want your comrades to be hurt… can you avoid this dangerous mission?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Of course not... right?

"The answer is…" Ibiki growled, "no."

Naruto smiled faintly, both pleased and slightly uneasy at being right.

"No matter what the danger, there are missions you cannot avoid. The ability to be courageous and survive any hardship… that is the ability needed to become a chuunin. Those who can't bet their fate in a critical situation, who cling to the uncertain future of 'there's always next year' and walk away from their chance… Pieces of trash who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a chuunin."

Naruto leaned back in his chair, nodding proudly.

Ibiki smiled, "Those who chose to take it answered the tenth question correctly. You will be able to deal with the difficulties you will face in the future." He raised his voice, "You've broken through the entrance. The first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam is now over." His smile broadened, "I wish you all luck."

A noisy sigh of relief burst from Naruto. He had made it. He had passed the first exam. A giddy grin made its way onto his face. He felt happy enough to get up and start dancing.

Glass shattered and a large brown ball hurtled into the exam room. Naruto tensed, his hand darting down to his thigh, and then watched in bemusement as the ball unfurled.

Two kunai thudded into the ceiling, pinning a dark brown banner into place. The kunoichi standing in front of it, dressed in a khaki trench coat, mini-skirt, fishnet, and ANBU shin-guards, was among the strangest Naruto had ever seen.

"Everybody!" the woman barked loudly. "There's no time to celebrate," she declared. "I'm the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Now let's go!" She thrust a fist into the air, "Follow me!"

---

Naruto stared up at the dark, distant canopy. These trees are huge, Naruto thought in awe, not for the first time. Massive trees loomed throughout the forest of death, some towering towards the sky, high enough to make Naruto dizzy, others twisting and deformed. Combined, their thick canopy blotted out all but a token amount of direct sunlight, which only served to augment the forest's creepiness.

Everything in the Forest of Death was big, from the titanic trees, which were by far the largest Naruto had ever seen, to the insects. The perpetual gloom gave the forest an eerie, chilling atmosphere. The occasional screams of mortal agony and terror didn't do anything to calm Naruto's nerves, either.

He sighed in relief, pulling his zipper up. All done. Finally, the pressure in his bladder was gone, and no giant killer leeches had appeared while he was relieving himself. Now to get back to his team and…

Naruto forced himself to relax and move naturally. The insects are quiet. He pondered the implications grimly, his mind kicking into gear as adrenaline surged through his veins. Someone's here.

It was a little sign that Haku had indirectly taught him. They hadn't always restricted their spars to hand to hand combat, and Haku was far, far sneakier than he was. It was fortunate that she wasn't trying to kill him—at least, not anymore—since she had gotten the drop on him far too many times for comfort. Sneak attacks were dangerous; if Zabuza's creepy silent killing speech and subsequent demonstration hadn't taught him that, Haku certainly had.

It had taken him a great deal of pain and bruises before he began to pick out the subtle signs of a stealthy presence nearby. They were far from foolproof signs, but they were more than Naruto had had before. When birds went silent, he had learned to be cautious. The same applied to other noisy wildlife, including certain insects like crickets and cicadas. Essentially, he had learned that he had to pay close attention to his surroundings. Doing so had let him pick out clues that had spared him the pain and humiliation of being taken by surprise by Haku… some of the time, at any rate.

Those same lessons flooded into his mind when his ears heard only silence in his little slice of the Forest of Death. He remembered the crazy examiner lady's words and the waiver she had made them all sign, absolving her of responsibility should any of the genin taking the second test die. Anyone sneaking around in the forest was unlikely to be as gentle as Haku was if they were able to catch him flat footed.

Naruto began to walk back to the small clearing where his team was waiting for him. If his unknown guest had any ill intentions, they would probably strike while he was separated from Sakura and Sasuke. They would have to reveal themselves when they struck. That would be his chance. He just had to make sure he reacted quickly enough.

His ears, straining to pick out any out of place noises, picked up the faint whisper of grass giving way to feet. They were quiet, but they weren't as quiet as Haku. Naruto began to form the seals for Kawarimi with as much speed and subtlety as he could muster. He finished the seals a bare handful of seconds before his attacker tried to club him in the back of his head with the blunt end of a kunai.

Not trying to kill me then, Naruto realized. He would have to try and return the favor.

By the time the ninja dressed in a strange yellow suit realized he had smacked a log rather than a human skull, Naruto was closing in fast on the other genin's back. His opponent pivoted, whirling to face Naruto. He caught a glimpse of a very familiar looking device on his enemy's face as his fist hurtled towards it. A water respirator? Naruto wondered, surprised, even as his knuckles shattered the device. A Kiri-nin? No, he amended his thoughts as he noted his foe's hitai-ate. He's from the Rain.

Bone crunched. Naruto winced at the gruesome sound, though thankfully it wasn't any of his bones that had been broken. The Rain-nin dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Naruto stared suspiciously at the prone form crumpled at his feet. That's it? Naruto wondered incredulously. He nudged the seemingly unconscious foreign ninja with his foot. After he was satisfied that his enemy really was knocked out, Naruto shook his head in bemusement. He's weak… Somehow, he felt almost disappointed. He had been expecting more from someone who had made it to the second round of the exams.

Still, Naruto wasn't one to question good fortune too much. He knelt, quickly searching the Ame-nin for scrolls. Disappointingly, he had none. Naruto did pilfer what he could out of his enemy's equipment pouch before taking it and chucking it off into the distance. He would have taken the whole thing with him if he could have fit it onto his belt, but he had no time to figure out the strange attachment the Rain ninja used. Besides, his teammates were probably becoming impatient waiting for him and he still had to tie the guy up.

Naruto jogged back into the clearing where his teammates waited. "Sorry for the wait," he apologized sheepishly when he was met by twin glares.

Sasuke's gaze sharpened. "What happened to your hand?" he demanded suspiciously.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. He looked at his hand, for the first time spotting the traces of blood trailing from his knuckles. Several small slivers of plastic had pierced his flesh. Abruptly, he became aware of the dull, throbbing pain in his right hand. "This?" Naruto asked, shaking his injured hand lightly. "I got into a fight," he said casually.

Sakura stood. "A fight?" she asked sharply.

He nodded carefully, eyeing her. "A fight," he repeated cautiously. It was the first time she had spoken directly to him in quite a while.

"Show me," Sasuke said, still watching him warily. Naruto frowned and then nodded. There was no point in picking a fight, not when they were surrounded by enemies. He led them around to his impromptu battle site, careful not to make any sudden moves that would provoke his teammates' suspicion any further.

Sasuke relaxed noticeably as he took in the incapacitated Ame-nin. Nonetheless, he took the time to inspect the prone body carefully to make sure it was legitimate. "What happened?" he asked once his suspicions had been satisfied.

"He tried to sneak up on me," Naruto shrugged. "I noticed him in time." He forced himself to stop there, suppressing the urge to brag. Sakura was staring at the Rain-nin with a strange look on her face and he didn't want to risk his mouth getting him into trouble with her, not when she had spoken to him for the first time in what felt like forever.

After a moment's consideration, Sasuke grunted and nodded in acceptance of his story. "We'll need to decide on a password. This probably won't be the last time enemies try to attack us while we're separated."

Naruto stared, confused. "How's a password going to help?"

Sasuke snorted condescendingly. "Henge," he replied succinctly.

Oh, Naruto realized what Sasuke was getting at. That's why. Even so, he scowled at Sasuke. How was he supposed to know what that bastard was thinking? There was no reason for him to sneer at Naruto about it.

They retreated back to the nearby clearing and sat down, huddling together to decide on what the password was going to be. Sasuke, as usual, spoke without letting anyone else get a word in edgewise.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully," Sasuke announced abruptly. "The question is 'What does the ninja song 'Ninki' say?' The answer is, 'A large amount of loud enemies are the friends of the shinobi; hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time. That time is when the enemy is tired and has his guard down.' That's all."

Naruto frowned at Sasuke. What the hell kind of password is that? Was the bastard mocking him or something? There was no way he could remember all that after only hearing it once. "Hey," Naruto said uneasily, "this password…"

Sasuke stood, ignoring Naruto's half-hearted protest. "I'll carry the scroll," he declared

Naruto leapt to his feet, ready to protest Sasuke's unilateral decision. His words died in his throat as a sharp pain erupted along his right cheek. Ouch! "What…?" he asked, bewildered. When he reached up to touch his cheek, his fingertips came away red with blood.

The wind stirred, its distant howls reaching Naruto's ears. Team 7 went still as they glanced around nervously, foreboding filling them. The howling grew louder and then, suddenly, Naruto found himself fighting to stay on his feet as the wind screamed violently. He crossed his arms protectively in front of him and hunched down, doing his best to protect his face from stray missiles of wood and rock even as he furiously sent chakra to his feet to anchor himself to the ground.

A pebble hammered into his shin, sending a sharp lance of pain through his right leg. Naruto cried out involuntarily, his concentration wavering. The furious gust of wind buffeted him, pushing him back, and then finally forcing him off balance. Unable to keep himself anchored any longer, Naruto was helpless to do anything but cry out in protest as the wind tore him from the ground and threw him away from his team.

---

The kunai violently punched through her forehead, cold steel thrusting into her brain.

She was dead.

Blood sprayed in wide arcs, splattering across the ground, across the nearby trees, across Sasuke's mauled corpse. Wounds bloomed like flowers in spring over her body. Pain was her world, pain and cold and the growing darkness.

She was dead.

Sakura choked on a kunai, its tip buried in the back of her throat. Blood well up in her mouth, oozed from the hole in her throat. She couldn't make a sound, couldn't do anything but drown in her own blood.

She was dead.

She was dead… and yet she wasn't.

Sakura could only stare blankly, her eyes unable to focus on anything. Tears leaked uncontrollably from her eyes. Distantly, she was aware that she was sobbing. Deep shudders wracked her body. Her limbs quivered of their own accord, terror robbing them of their strength.

A hundred deaths played through her mind. Her future as a shinobi unfolded before her eyes. She would die violently, painfully, alone and in terror. That was what happened when little girls played the monster's game.

She would become strong?

She would change herself?

What a joke.

There was nothing waiting for Sakura along the road called 'ninja.' There would be no glory, no pride or recognition, no dreams fulfilled. There would be no gain at all. There was only death. Violence, pain, terror, and death were the fate of humans who named themselves shinobi. No matter how skilled they were, they were only human. Monsters clothed in human flesh waited in the shadows for them… for her.

Monsters like the… thing… in front of her. If only she could get her eyes to focus or her limbs to move, she could…

She could… what?

Run?

Sakura thought, in the depths of her mind, that she might have snorted at that while she had still been alive. Instead, all her fragmented consciousness managed was a senseless gibbering wail.

How could she run when she was dead? Her body may have still been alive, but that wouldn't last for long. The monster had already killed her spirit. It had sliced her will to shreds and showed her just how pathetic she really was. Her dreams of changing herself, her resolve to stop watching the backs of others, to stop groveling… all of it was nothing more than a delusion.

Her resolve had amounted to nothing. It was like the first examiner had said. Her resolve had been too light to become a chuunin, much less anything else. In the face of death, all of her determination and righteous fury had crumbled like a house of cards.

Sakura was only vaguely aware of the kunai coming at her, looming ever larger by the moment. She sobbed one last time before death, before a cold kunai hammered into her skull one final time.

I don't want to die!

---

Naruto groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. He looked around, dazed. Where's Sakura-chan and Sasuke?

His wits returned to him in a rush as something hissed sinisterly. Naruto gaped, dumbstruck, as he gazed at the largest snake—the largest animal period—he had ever seen. The titanic serpent was a mottled brown with a pale underside. A huge forked tongue flickered out, tasting the air. Alien yellow eyes the size of the round throwing targets they used at the Academy stared back at Naruto.

Naruto shivered involuntarily, his hackles rising. Fear coiled uneasily in his gut. It was one thing to face other human beings, no matter how much stronger they were. Facing enormous predators was an entirely different matter.

The snake uncoiled explosively, lunging at Naruto with massive jaws spread wide. Naruto leapt backwards, only to be halted by the flexible tail-end of the giant snake. The tail curled around him, binding his limbs tightly. Glistening fangs dripped with an ominous liquid as the snake's head approached, jaw once again open wide.

That was close, he sighed in relief as he observed the snake swallow the log. All that was left to do was wait for it to go away. When it finally did slither away, Naruto heaved an even bigger sigh of relief. But he couldn't relax for long. He had to find Sakura-chan and Sasuke.

Naruto leapt down to the ground and paused, warily eyeing the direction the snake had gone. He had no desire to become snake food because he was too careless.

Leaves rustled as a grey-clothed shape emerged from a large, wild tangle of bushes within leaping distance of Naruto. Naruto whirled, bringing a kunai up defensively as he glared at the stranger.

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?" the stranger asked, his tone making it clear that it was a rhetorical question. He was older than Naruto, or at least taller and less round-cheeked, but he had to be a genin. Naruto vaguely remembered bumping into him when he had been trying to find his assigned seat at the beginning of the first exam. He squinted, trying to make out the other boy's hitai-ate, but the lighting kept his allegiances a mystery.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled, fed up with being accosted.

The genin spread his empty hands out. "Don't worry," the older boy said, "we just want to have a little talk with you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "We…?"

That drew a smile from the older genin. "We," he nodded.

Naruto whirled, his kunai whistling through the air. A dark shape manifested in his peripheral vision. Then came the pain as white hot sparks exploded inside his skull. Naruto staggered blindly, pain and vertigo overwhelming his sense of balance. White spots filled his vision.

"Shit," a rough voice muttered. "He's a tough little shrimp."

"Idiot," a girlish voice snorted contemptuously. "Watch carefully. This is how you do it."

Naruto tried to move, to get away, but all he managed was to stumble, barely keeping his feet under him.

Darkness swallowed the white spots dancing across his eyes. There was a distant sensation, as if he were falling, and then nothing.

---

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto is the creator, and owns the rights to Naruto and all the characters and situations contained therein. This is a non-profit work of fiction.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it.

Those of you who've been concerned about the lack of action in recent chapters can rest assured that the next few chapters will be full of it. Those of you still concerned about Naruto's legal issues from the last chapter will note that I didn't broach it here, but it will be addressed in the future. Chapter 8 just wasn't the place for it.

As always, comments and/or criticism are welcome. However, if you're going to criticize, please do it in a constructive manner (in other words, don't just tell me that I fail as a writer, tell me why I fail). I'm still very much an amateur writer, so any help is appreciated.

Check out this story's forum at www . fanfiction . net/f/51642/ (remove the spaces), or follow the links in my profile. You'll find my review responses there, as well as more detailed progress updates than the one you can see in my profile. If you want to discuss anything about this story, that's the place to do it.

I'd like to extend many thanks to Illjwamh for his help as an editor for this chapter. He caught many problems I would have likely missed, and helped me polish this chapter a great deal. I'd also like to thank Duke Bonez for once again assisting me as a sounding board and helping me as this chapter took shape.

I'd like to thank everyone that took the time to read this story, and especially those who took the time to review. I appreciate it.

Thank you for reading Tempered in Water!