Recap:

Everyone quickly took the forms, filled them out, and then returned them. Each team was assigned a gate in which to enter the "Forest of Death." My team got gate 12, Naruto's team got gate 39, and Gaara's team got gate 24.

There was a Chunnin at the gate, who was unlocking the gate and taking off the chains from the metal doors. The Chunnin checked his pocket watch, and put it away. "Listen up, you maggots," Anko's voice yelled. "The second part of the exams begins…NOW!"

When Anko yelled, "NOW," the gates flung open, and every single team sprinted into the forest.

I sighed, running a hand through my brown hair. I was deep inside the Forest of Death, trying to find a Heaven scroll to complete my team's set, since we had received an Earth scroll. Neji had suggested that we split up a half an hour ago, giving me the scroll to protect, and ever since, I had been moving through the trees, looking for a team to fight. So far, no such luck.

I took another swig of water and put my water canteen away, proceeding along. In a minute or so, I felt nine chakras to my right, and I decided to check it out. When I reached the place, I saw Gaara's team and three Rain nins standing in a clearing, obviously about to fight. Scanning the area for the three remaining chakras, I spotted Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino below me, hiding behind a bush.

Soundlessly, I landed in front of them, startling the four of them. I motioned for them to be quiet, and the five of us listened to the battle between Gaara and the Rain team's leader.

In a few moments, I heard a sickening crunch of a person's body being crushed, which I assumed was the Rain team's leader. I looked out of the bush just in time to see sand wrap around the two remaining Rain shinobi and crush them as well. Looking back at the four people next to me, I wasn't surprised to see them shaking; with fear, no doubt.

"Guys, did you get the two scroll already?" I whispered to them. Hinata nodded her head slowly. "Well, go to the tower right now. It'll take a long time to get there. It's in that direction." I pointed back to the direction I had come from.

The four of them hurried off into the trees, but not before smiling at me gratefully and mouthing the words, "Thank you." I nodded, and the four figures disappeared into the trees.

Looking back at the three Sand ninjas, I chuckled to see the paint-wearing guy— Kankuro, I think— arguing with Gaara. Unfortunately, I think Gaara heard me, and he looked in my direction, his eyes locking onto mine.

Caught, I stepped out of the bushes, surprising the two other nins on Gaara's team.

"Hey!" Kankuro exclaimed. "You're that kid who threw that icicle at my head!"

I rolled my eyes. "Great observation, you paint-wearing idiot," I replied nonchalantly. I smirked as Kankuro started fuming, and I looked at the blonde-haired girl.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"It's Temari," she replied. Then she looked suspicious. "Why ask?"

I shrugged. "Just wanted to know. That's a nice name, by the way."

She looked surprised. "Oh… um, well, thanks."

I smiled at her, and said, "Well, I'll just be on my way, now," and I began to walk back into the forest, but was stopped by sand wrapped around my wrists.

Smirking at the pathetic attempt to stop me, I used my super strength to break free of the sand, and resumed walking. I sensed a wave of sand coming at me, and I turned abruptly, with my Tsukiki activated and my hand raised to fend off the attack. To my satisfaction, a wall of ice had formed, blocking the sand completely, so I jumped into the trees and disappeared from view.

As soon as I had left, the wall of ice melted, and the dry dirt greedily soaked it up. Gaara just stared at the place that the wall of ice had been, while Temari and Kankuro were quiet, unsure of what to do.

"Let's go," Gaara commanded, and he walked off into the trees. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other and shrugged, following Gaara into the forest.

A FEW HOURS LATER…

So far, I had met and killed three teams, getting two Heaven scrolls and an extra Earth scroll, making two complete sets. Leaping silently through the trees, I heard a yell and someone who shouted, "Lee!"

I narrowed my eyes, as I recognized the yell from Lee and the shout from Sakura. Both outbursts had come from up ahead, so I sprinted through the trees, trying to reach the origin of the voices. As I came nearer, I heard a dull, repeating thud, and an occasional, "Get off!" Accelerating through the trees, I came to a clearing. I saw three Sound ninjas, a beat-up Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and an unconscious Lee, Naruto, and Sasuke. I landed in front of Ino's team, glaring at the three Sound ninjas. Looking over my shoulder at Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, I said, "Don't worry, I'll deal with them. Take care of Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."

Ino nodded, and she and Shikamaru began to help up Sakura. I turned my gaze back to the Sound ninjas, and began to swiftly perform hand signs. 'Rooster… Snake… Dragon… Ox… Tiger… Monkey… Hare!' "Elemental Fire Jutsu: Tangled Fireball Flames!" I shouted, and some strings I held that were attached to kunai knives burst into flames, and surrounded the three Sound nins, who were standing back to back to back (three-way). As they tried to get free, the shinobis just got more tangled in the ignited strings, and they screamed in pain as the flames caught their clothes on fire, and they quickly burned up, leaving a pile of ashes and my strings that were tied to my kunais. Retrieving my kunai knives and strings, I went back to Sakura, who was having Ino fix her hair, which had been cut short during the fight. Doing the hand seals for the same healing jutsu I used on Neji when I first battled him, Ino watched in amazement as Sakura's wounds began to heal and her clothes began to mend themselves.

When I finished, I stood up and walked over to Lee, and did the same to him. Then I went over to where Naruto and Sasuke were, and Shikamaru and Chouji were debating whether to kick Naruto in the face or throw him into a tree. I rolled my eyes, and began to heal Naruto and Sasuke as well. When I finished, I went over to Lee and slung one of his arms over my shoulders, and was about to leave when Sakura called out to me.

"Thank you, Mina," she said softly. I nodded, and fished a Heaven scroll out of my pocket, and then tossing it at her. Sakura caught it with a confused look on her face.

"It's the Heaven scroll from the Sound ninjas. When I looked through your stuff for medical supplies, I saw you guys didn't have any scrolls at all. I certainly don't need it, so you can have it," I told her. Sakura shakily smiled and said, "Arigatou."

I heard a loud moan, and turned to see Naruto and Sasuke groggily getting up. Ino immediately attached herself onto Sasuke, saying things like, "Oh, Sasuke-kun, I was so worried!" or something along those lines. Sakura started to fume, and in a few seconds, the two of them were bickering again.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Agreed," I replied, and for a moment, he looked surprised. I could see from his expression what he was thinking. "What?" I asked irritated. "Just because I'm a good fighter doesn't mean that I'm never lazy."

Shikamaru muttered something like "troublesome woman" and I hit him on the head. Ignoring his complaints, I laid Lee on the ground and walked over to where Sasuke and Naruto were.

"Eh? Mina-chan? What happened?" Naruto asked me groggily, as he got up.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said, but I could tell he wanted to know what happened, too.

"Well, you two blacked out, leaving Sakura to protect you two. Three Sound ninjas came along and attacked your team. Lee, my teammate, came to help Sakura, but he became unconscious to. Sakura fought them, cutting her hair in the process, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji came to help. By that time, I came along and defeated the three Sound ninjas, and healed you guys, Sakura, and Lee," I summarized quickly. Naruto just stared at me. Me, getting annoyed, bonked him lightly on the head, calling him a baka.

"Hey," Sasuke said. "What about those Sound ninjas? What happened to them?"

"Oh, them," I replied, tapping my chin thoughtfully. "Well, I burned them to a crisp and now all that's left of them are ashes which are blowing in the wind."

Sasuke chuckled a bit at my response and then became emotionless once again.

"Well, I have to get going. See you guys at the tower if you make it!" I said, while putting Lee's arm over my shoulder once more. Waving, I disappeared into the trees, and Sasuke stared after me.

'Hmmm… this girl is intriguing…' Sasuke thought.

Sooner or later, Lee (who woke up a few minutes after we left Naruto's and Ino's teams) and I met up with Neji and Tenten, who had together found another set of scrolls.

"We have three sets of scrolls. I guess that's a good thing," Tenten said, scratching her head.

"Of course it is, Tenten. There are probably only going to be seven teams at most at the final portion of the exams. Considering that we took out five teams, our chances at becoming Chunnin are higher," I informed her.

"We should get going. We don't know how far away the tower is or how long it will take for us to get there," Neji said. "Does anyone know where the tower is?"

"Not me," Lee and Tenten said simultaneously. Everyone looked at me.

"I don't know either," I admitted. "But I know a way so that we can find the tower quickly and get there faster."

"How?" Tenten asked curiously.

I didn't answer her. Performing a few handseals, I said, "Summoning Jutsu!" There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a beautiful phoenix about two times my size appeared.

The phoenix was a golden color, with orange-red wing and tail feathers. Its beak was a sharp point, and its eyes were sky blue.

"Hi Tara," I greeted the phoenix. "Do you mind giving me and my friends a lift?"

Tara's eyes looked over to where Neji, Tenten, and Lee were standing. After a minute or so, she nodded her head, and lowered down so that we could climb onto her back.

Motioning for Neji, Tenten, and Lee to get on, they quickly sat behind me, who was already sitting on Tara's back. Neji sat behind me, and then Tenten, and then Lee. When everyone was seated, I patted Tara's head, and she took off into the air.

I had forgotten to warn my other teammates about the fact that they had to hold onto something tightly, and when we took off, Neji, Tenten, and Lee almost fell off. Neji's arms, which were resting loosely around my waist, quickly tightened, and I felt my back pressing against his chest. Tenten was clutching the back of Neji's jacket while Lee was shouting something about how wonderful it was to be youthful and free.

"Tara, please circle around above the forest, and when you see a tower, land right by it, please," I requested, leaning back against Neji. It surprised me when he pulled me in closer, and soon, Tara landed next to an old tower, which I immediately knew was the tower that we had bee looking for. Tenten and Lee jumped off, and looked back to Neji and me. Needless to say, they were quite surprised when they found us in our current position.

"Well, I see someone was getting cozy," Tenten joked. Both Neji and I blushed lightly as we both pulled away from each other and jumped off of Tara.

"Thanks Tara," I said gratefully, and Tara nodded, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

The four of us were on the opposite side of the entrance, so we ran to the other side of the tower. When we arrived, I saw three very familiar faces that I wanted to forget.

"Well, well, well. It seems that Mina has finally learned the ways of a Genin," the girl mocked. I glared at her and the other two boys who were standing there, just staring at me with perverted looks.

"Kari, Hamashi, and Fuumi," I growled. "I would say it's nice to see you again, but that's not the case."

(Let me introduce you.

Ryuu Hamashi: A stuck-up boy who thinks so highly of himself. Although he's handsome, he's a total idiot who gambles and dates random girls just for the fun of it. I hated him because he always tried to get a date with me, just so he could 'have fun' with me.

Kenchi Fuumi: A smart one, but also a total jerk. He's handsome, but a playboy, with a huge club of fan girls in Kira. Personally, I hated his guts.

Kari Mikura: My cousin who was part of the main branch, and the weakest shinobi I had ever met. She cares more about boys and dating than being a ninja, and has three new boyfriends each week. She was jealous of me, because I was a much better ninja than she was, and the fact that I had a fan club, and she didn't. She also hated the fact that I was the prodigy of the clan and an ANBU, and although she was the same age as me, she was only a simple genin.

Well, there you go. The most annoying team you can find in the ninja world.)

"Hn. You shouldn't talk to me like that, Mina. Especially since Daddy's going to torture you when I bring you back to Kira," Kari sneered, examining her nails.

I clenched my fists and bit my tongue, holding back the long stream of curse words I was going to unleash onto Kari. I felt a hand on my shoulder, which calmed me down considerably. I knew by the person's touch that it was Neji.

It was then that Kari caught sight of Neji. She started to smile at him sweetly. "Mina, aren't you going to introduce me to your hot friend there?" Kari asked in a syrupy voice. I almost gagged.

"He's not interested in you, Kari," I said coldly. "I know him long enough that I know what his likes and dislikes are, and weak fan girls are definitely on his hate list." Neji sent me a grateful look.

"Humph," Kari said, flipping her hair. "At least tell me his name."

"You're not even worth it," I shot back. "By the way, how did you get a scroll? Oh wait; let me guess: you found a scroll that somebody dropped, or you stole it from someone when they were sleeping."

The three of their faces turned red. I smirked. "I knew it," I said. "Well, I think we've wasted enough time here. Let's go guys." Neji, Tenten, Lee, and I quickly entered the tower, blocking out the angry shouts of Kari.

We walked into a room where there was a single poster on the wall. Reading it quickly and understanding what we were supposed to do, I took out a set of scrolls.

"Guys, we need to open these scrolls at the same time," I said, handing one to Tenten.

Tenten looked confused, but shrugged. Together, we opened the scrolls, and the room was suddenly filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared, a Chunnin appeared out of the smoke.

"Congratulations," the Chunnin said. "You have successfully passed the second part of the Chunnin exams."

After thanking him, the Chunnin disappeared again, and the four of us went into the tower to rest. After all, we still had a whole day left to sleep.