A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the 'kind of' late update. Here's another chapter for you, enjoy!

07. Exam

It's bright yellow.

The kind that leaves spots in your vision if you stare at it too long.

Sasuke blinks his eyes now against said spots. He had been staring at the flower in consternation for the last minute or so, unable to figure out why he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

In fact, what had he been thinking when he brought it with him for training? Actually, he knew why he had stuffed it in his pack, together with his lunch and supplies earlier that morning. For reference, of course. He had meant to go to the library and research about it while he waited out Kakashi's customary three hours.

He had been meaning to throw it away afterwards but had ended up stuffing it again in his pack and bringing it along with him to Team 7's meeting place.

He must be coming down with something. That's the only explanation he could think of for his unusually sentimental thoughts.

Thoughts that are quickly interrupted when Naruto comes barging in on the clearing, as loudly obnoxious as usual. Sasuke quickly shoves the thing in his pack's pocket.

Sakura arrives shortly after Naruto, griping about Kakashi's tardiness.

"How could that guy ask to meet us, then have the nerve to make us wait?" She complains, screeching. "I didn't even have time to blow dry my hair!"

"Yeah, and I didn't have time to wash my face and brush my teeth!" Naruto shouts, always quick to agree to everything Sakura says (however trivial).

All this shouting is giving him a headache. Seriously, is shouting really necessary? Why does everything have to be so intense with them? And the Dobe not brushing and washing his face…that's really revolting.

Thankfully, Kakashi pops up soon after (making some excuse about being lost in the road of life or some such nonsense), saving Sasuke's eardrums from further abuse (and his skin from bursting out with disgusted goose bumps).

The two then proceed to shout, demanding apologies.

"Honestly, just get used to it." Sasuke mumbled under his breath.

Kakashi sends him an eye crease, having heard his mumbling. "It's a bit sudden, but I've nominated you guys for the chuunin examination." He announces. He produces three slips of paper, "Here are your application forms."

They accept it with not a little excitement (Sasuke admits that the Dobe's enthusiasm is contagious). With a few more instructions, Kakashi vanishes in a swirl of smoke. The three of them proceed towards the training grounds, and Naruto's goes on to proclaim that he'd be the number one genin in the exam.

Sasuke doesn't really mind these random outbursts of Naruto's, well not anymore anyway (although it used to irritate the hell out of him at first). On most days, the Dobe stays far away from Sasuke's business, so he doesn't really give a damn what nonsense comes out of Naruto's mouth.

"Hey hey, what's that Teme?" Naruto's voice comes obnoxiously close (Sasuke could smell his ramen breath).

It seems this isn't one of those days then.

Sasuke directs a bored glare at Naruto. And promptly freezes.

The blonde is holding a yellow flower in a hand and squinting at it. Sasuke tried to stop it, he really did, but heat suffuses his cheeks and creeps to his ears.

Now both Sakura and Naruto are staring at him in interest.

And he, in an effort to cover up the flush on his face (and ears), sneers at them and snatches the flower from Naruto's slack grip. The action makes the blonde screech in protest.

"Sasuke, you bastard, I was holding that!"

Sasuke glares severely at Naruto as he stuffs the stupid flower in his short pocket, "And now you're not."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, do you have an injury? Is that why you have a sakurasou, to make a balm?" Sakura asks curiously.

Sasuke stares at her blandly. Trust Sakura to know about flowers. But she has unknowingly given him an out and he'd be blind not to take it. "Something like that," he mumbles.

The resulting squeal makes him cringe. "Sasuke-kun, you're so great! You even know how to make a balm!" Sakura gushes, clinging to his arm like a barnacle.

"Hmph! I bet he just wants to put it in his hair!" Naruto blows him a raspberry. "You're just a sweet girl in the inside, aren't you, Teme?"

Sakura should be punching Naruto right about this time. But her usual explosion after a particularly knuckleheaded comment from the Dobe never came.

Sasuke shoots her a curious look. But Sakura is unmoving, clinging still to his arm.

Hmm…

Sasuke sighs. "Let's go." He turns to leave, with Sakura's grip on him growing slack and eventually releasing.

"Ne, what's wrong Sakura-chan?" Naruto, for all his obliviousness, is amazingly attuned to Sakura's moods.

However, Sasuke's sure that Sakura wouldn't be receptive to any comfort that Naruto would give. "What are you two waiting for? We still have to train for that exam." Then addressing Sakura, he says "You still have to teach us how to better control our chakra."

Sakura perks up and smiles at him, "Okay."

Naruto squints at him, clearly not appreciating Sakura's once again chipper mood because of him, "Hey Teme! Stop showing off!"

Sasuke scoffs. "I don't have to."

"What does that mean?"

"It means what it means, stupid."

"Don't call me that! You're the one who have secret fetishes for flowers."

A tick starts on Sasuke's eye. "Let's spar." He has every intention to pulverize the Dobe during said spar.

"You're on Teme!"

"I hope you like sakurasou Dobe, you're going to need it."

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A/N:

Again, thanks so much to those who reviewed the last chapter, FallenRaindrops, MissLuppi, ProjXPsyClone -psyiNoheart, Mitternacht, and Saphira113. There's a lull in the story for this chapter, but hopefully, the next ones would be more smooth. And as you've probably figured out, all chapters would be from Sasuke's point of view. Everything written would be how I think he'd see things, not necessarily what is fact.

Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. To my shadow readers, I hope to hear from you too!