Nothing Is Easy In Konohagakure

A/N: Sorry, for the first time in my life, I actually HAVE to put up a disclaimer (I usually don't because, hell, the entirety of has a disclaimer on it). The tests in this chapter came from a book called Ogre, Ogre, which is by Piers Anthony, and part of a series called Xanth. I altered them slightly to fit the plot of Naruto, but yeah, otherwise, it's about the same. Sorry for my lack of originality, but I really liked the tests in this book, so I took them myself. Enjoy the chapter.

"I'm going to put you under a sort of trance and genjutsu," the ANBU member began. "You may stop it at any time by yelling out 'Stop!' or something along those lines. Each genjutsu will have different rules, and you can't use any sort of jutsu in the visions; you must purely rely on your own strength. You also must determine the objectives for each genjutsu yourself."

"I don't like the idea of this test…" Naruto muttered nervously as the ANBU member sat down in front of him. They were in a barely lit room, and the only pieces of furniture in the room were two chairs—one occupied by Naruto, the other by the ANBU member.

"You'll get used to it," the ANBU member said, his voice devoid of emotion and sympathy. "Now, stare at this," he commanded gently, and Naruto stared at the pendulum that the ANBU member was holding up.

Naruto attempted to resist falling asleep, but once the ANBU member calmly told him that that was supposed to happen, Naruto allowed his eyes to slowly close. He thought he had been falling asleep, but really, he had just been put into a genjutsu.

Naruto was standing on a group of rocks, surrounded by a vast sea. The water kept splashing up at him, and rocks were crumbling from a cliff above. There was a massive thunderstorm raging around him, the lightning hitting around him on the large pinnacle he was standing upon. In the distance, he could see a tower, and from atop said tower, Naruto could hear the screams and cries of women. Naruto glanced around, not sure what to do. He could feel the ground shifting beneath him, and he knew that, if he continued to stay shocked and afraid, eh would most definitely die.

Jumping into the water was a long shot, but it was worth a try. He dove into the water, though rocks still fell around him. He did his best to dodge the rocks while swimming, but eventually, a boulder too big to dodge fell upon him, pushing him underneath the currents…

Naruto jolted awake, surprised to find him in the room once again. Naruto knew he had failed, and that was grating upon his nerves—how were you supposed to win something like that? But, then again, that could very well be the exact purpose—maybe you weren't supposed to 'beat' it, but prove something…

The ANBU member jotted down a few notes before allowing Naruto to take a gulp of ice water (for Naruto was somewhat shaky and had a thin layer of sweat on his face), and then commanding him to lean back, once again, into the chair and stare at the pendulum. This time, without any resistance whatsoever, Naruto allowed himself to be put under the genjutsu…

Naruto was standing amid lions and lionesses, along with a cub. They were all snarling threateningly, their teeth bared in disapproval and hunger. Naruto reached for a shuriken or a kunai, but to his chagrin, there were none at all on his person. There were no rocks or sharp objects of any sort in the cave, and he had no manner of protecting himself.

Even knowing that it would do no good, Naruto put his arms in front of his face defensively. The lions pounced upon him, the older male lions feeding first. He could feel his skin being agonizingly ripped apart, being eaten alive by these beasts… They were chewing huge holes in his midsection, taking bites out of his face—but never enough, or in the right spot, to kill him. Or, rather, he didn't die, even though it was definitely enough to normally kill a person—it was a part of the genjutsu.

Once even the cubs had had their fill, they stopped, leaving Naruto just barely alive. He was blinded, having had his eyes chewed out, leaving empty sockets. He could not move, nor could he scream or speak. He could only lie there.

It was still in the afternoon out, and Naruto was dazedly attempting to think of how to get out of his predicament. He refused to call out and cancel the test—there had to be a way out of this, after all. Then, the flies came. They were crawling in various orifices, some natural, some having had been chewed out by the lions and lionesses, looking for new places to lay their maggots as well as searching for food…

Naruto was even more shaken up from this test. He felt somewhat weaker, from having mentally and emotionally gone through such excruciating pain. He thought that he was seriously dead! Near the end, he had even forgotten that it was only a genjutsu, that it was not really reality.

The ANBU allowed him to take just as long as he did before, and let him take hue gulps of the icy cold water. Once Naruto's breathing wasn't as erratic, he began once again.

Naruto was standing before a mountain of rocks. He could hear the very faint voice of Hinata calling for help from beneath the rocks, and he knew, even without having to think or ponder it, that he had to get her out. He began throwing rocks to the side carelessly, pulling rock after rock, shoving boulder after boulder to the side, and dodging the fall of the resulting rocks. He felt like he had been working for hours on end, and he was beginning to feel extremely tired.

However, each time he heard Hinata's voice, he felt more and more empowered to help her. He continued pulling away the boulders and rocks, slowly able to work his way towards the voice. He continued pulling the rocks out, even after he felt like he was going to die from the strain. As he pulled away a particularly large boulder, he fell forward, his world going pitch dark from the strain…

Naruto jolted violently in the chair, his hands still making the movements as if he were pulling the rocks out of the pile. "Hinata!" he called out, his voice desperate.

"She's fine. Have some water to clear your head," the ANBU reassured. Naruto nodded anxiously, gripping the cup in both hands and emptying the contents. The ANBU member frowned—that was about the largest cup he could get, and Naruto had already finished it all by himself. And the next test, which was the most elaborate, and the most gruesome, was still yet to come.

The ANBU member quickly sent a Chuunin (who was there to be his assistant and lackey, anyways), to get another glass of the ice water, and he started the last test. To Naruto, that last test would seem, to Naruto, as if it took months.

Naruto was standing in line, a tray in his hands. He was in line behind many, many other people, all waiting in line for disgusting-looking slop. Naruto was starving, though he wished desperately for ramen—but anything would do.

He was nearly at the front of the line, when he noticed something peculiar—no one was able to leave with the food on his or her trays. He gladly accepted the food from the lunch server, and with a quick whoosh, he saw a bird-woman fly away with his food.

"Damn harpies, eh?" a man commented as he threw his empty tray down to the ground.

"Harpies? How are we going to get food?" Naruto asked, shocked and worried. This did not bode well.

"We don't—unless you are willing to trade your soul for it. Then they can't touch you," the man said with a sigh. As if to confirm what he had said, a short woman walked up to one of the wardens and agreed to give up her soul. He took his hand and pushed it deep into the woman's chest, and pulled out a slivery light. The woman fell limp to the ground, now devoid of emotion, personality, hopes, dreams, and will. She quickly and greedily ate the slop that the warden gave her, driven by pure need.

"See?" the man asked, running a hair through his thinning hair. "That'll be me, soon. I can't stand this," he said dejectedly, before walking away from a dumb-folded Naruto. Your soul for food? It didn't seem like a fair trade at all! But, when Naruto's stomach let out a loud protest, Naruto begrudgingly acknowledged why these people would give up their souls for food. A soul isn't worth much if it can't occupy a living body, after all.

Naruto spent day after day, starving himself, yet trying to escape, resisting the urge to give up his soul in return for food. He spent months in that containment center, simply laying their and attempting to break out. He never got close to anyone, because honestly, he knew he would be the only one who would not eventually give up his soul for food. He watched in agony as the harpies continued to steal the food of others, including his own.

Naruto felt so light that it was unhealthy. He felt like he had no weight at all on himself, and it felt as if he was wasting away—which was exactly what he was doing. One day—many months later, for like the text with the lions, it was prolonged, he finally felt himself black out forever…

Naruto jumped, knocking over the chair and the ANBU member. He did not like thinking he was dead, and then awaking, only to find out his was alive and to remember that it all was a test.

"Damn, looks like I don't get any points at all, ne?" Naruto asked, after gulping down the entire 42-ounce cup of water.

"No, no… You get a very high amount of points. Perhaps you missed the reasons?" the ANBU member suggested.

"Huh?" Naruto asked back eloquently, his genius showing definitively throughout each word.

"Well, you always continued to stay steadfast and never gave up—you never showed any weakening will, and you always kept to what you believed was the right course of action. You didn't show any fear in the first trial; you did not given in to the pain, or call out for the test to be stopped; you never stopped when your friend was in danger; and you didn't give your soul up for food," the ANBU member explained.

"In fact, you got a perfect score—you got the highest amounts of points we were willing to award!" the ANBU member exclaimed. "Congratulations, you have been awarded twenty-five points for completely overcoming all of the tests perfectly. You can go home now," the ANBU member said, waving his hand at the blond. Naruto gave him a bright smile before running out of the room, elated that he had passed each tests so well.

----

Naruto was sitting across from Hinata, eating dinner at a barbeque. She had said that it wasn't healthy for him to constantly eat ramen, but barbeque was still really good. They had been talking about training and other aimless things that really, they could always talk about, and they didn't amount to much, anyways.

A silent part in the conversation came, though they had been around each other for long enough to know that it was a comfortable silence. Naruto was picking at his food, thinking about the test he had heard Hinata's voice crying for help. He had yet to describe the tests, and Hinata had yet to ask.

"You were in one of my tests," Naruto suddenly blurted out, still picking at his food.

"Hmm?" Hinata asked, looking up from her own food, intrigued.

"Yeah… I could hear your voice from beneath the pile of rocks, and I had to get you out…" Naruto explained.

"Were you able to get to me?" Hinata asked gently, knowing enough about Naruto to be able to read when he was worried about something. Pressing him would be the only comfortable way for him to get things off of his chest.

"No… I'm sorry… I… couldn't…" he whimpered, his head falling down in shame. Hinata smiled softly and climbed out of her side of the booth and slid in next to Naruto, placing her head against his shoulder.

"Why?" she asked gently.

"Because… I… passed out before I could…"

"Ano, it seems to me that… You weren't meant to save me… Because, if it's Naruto, he would have saved the person… Even if it meant he would have to die…" Hinata explained. "So, I… think that that test was meant to determine something else," Hinata muttered, finishing off her comforting less secure than she had been when she started it.

"… Arigatou, Hinata," Naruto mumbled, turning to Hinata with a bright smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around her neck and back softly, pulling her closer towards his chest. He gently kissed her lips, pressing hard against the soft anatomy. Hinata leaned forward, not wanting the kiss to end just yet. The actions Naruto took were immediate, and simply… happened.

He slid his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue gently with his own. She let out a small moan of pleasure as Naruto continued to explore the orifice that he had never taken much notice of before. After all, the idea of making out was completely and utterly revolting—spit mixing with spit, tongue against tongue—but, really, it felt nicer than it sounded.

They broke apart for air, gasping lightly. Hinata's lips were red, puffy, and sore, as were Naruto's. Hinata slowly, as if unsure, pulled Naruto into a kiss, for once, though reluctantly, seemingly taking the dominative position. She slid her tongue into Naruto's mouth slowly, scooting even closer to Naruto. Naruto was now leaning against the window of the store, and Hinata was basically copying Naruto's moves from a few seconds ago, enjoying the feeling of doing it, as opposed to having it done to her.

"Ahem," Shino coughed out, standing next to a broadly smirking Kiba.

"Well, I suppose the two of them forgot we said we were going to meet up with them, eh?" Kiba asked with a laugh, though obviously enjoying both their embarrassment and their progress. Akamaru let out an approving yip.

"It would seem so," Shino commented gently. Though they couldn't see it, Shino was hiding a smile behind his overly large collar. Hinata was a deep red, and for once, Naruto's color could actually rival Hinata's. It wasn't just that Shino and Kiba had caught them, if you could call it being caught, but it was that a dozen of other barbeque patrons were now staring at them.

A/N: Well, it came, I suppose—in public. Lolol Well, review, pretty please!