Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time since I last updated this fanfic and for that I'm really sorry. I just never really got around to it. Why I do not know. I guess I just didn't really feel like it. Lol. Anyway, I'm assuming that there are going to be a few more chapters left after this before this fic is done. I really don't feel like going all through the stuff that Suzu, Hinata, and Tenten are gunna do while Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji go out looking for Sasuke and all that junk after that until they come back. So yeah. Lol. That shortens this one up a bit. Thank you all to those who have read and reviewed so far, you all make me really happy and I hope that everyone enjoys this new chapter. :3:3 :D Enjoy!

Competition

Training had been insane. I had gone from Kakashi Sensei early in the mornings and Kurenai in the afternoons. I was dead by nightfall. On the side were the odd missions; walking dogs for people, pulling weeds in a garden, pushing someone in the river. It was fun. At one point Kiba had let me try his food pills… they were nasty. I couldn't understand how he could eat them all the time. Kurenai had taken the time to point out to me that a summoning could be done with hand signs. So I spent my time at night trying to summon the easy way. Unfortunately it hardly ever worked. I still had some training to do.

Tenten, Hinata, and I had spent some nights at each other's homes. Sometimes it was a little more complicated than others. I had been properly introduced to Neji and always glared back when he decided to glare. Everything was going great until the news of the Chunnin exams came.

A day or so before Chunnin exams started…

I lay on my back in the training area. Kakashi sensei had wanted a sparing session before things started with the exams. We had gotten a little carried away and he was once again late for his training for team 7.

"Hey Kakashi Sensei," I called him as he got ready to leave, "What do you tell your other team when you're late?"

I heard a chuckle before I heard his voice.

"That I was enjoying the road of life," he mused.

"You're too laid back for your own good, you know that right?" I asked with a small smirk.

I had grown a bond with my sensei over the few months that we had been training together. He was a very interesting person to get to understand. In a few ways… we were a lot alike. We both had no one to share things with. There was no on for either of us to listen to our stories everyday when we got home. I enjoyed knowing that I wasn't the only one alone in the world.

"I know, but sometimes you need to be," Kakashi Sensei said pleasantly, "I'll be seeing you around."

"Bye Kakashi Sensei," I said with a grin.

He disappeared and I stretched when I was left alone.

Kakashi Sensei and I had sparred, and of course I had lost. He was too quick – too strong – for me to keep up with. I had been thrown to the side many times and had been grateful that he never used a Thousand Years of Death on me. I had watching him do it to Naruto on the second day of training. It looked too painful, yet funny at the same time. The annoying child deserved it.

"I'm so tired," I laughed slightly before relaxing.

This was a nice place to rest. It was too peaceful for is own good. 'What to do now? I always get bored after training…' I made a face at the thought and closed my eyes as the sun shone into them. My golden orbs were bright in the sunlight.

"Tomorrow…" I murmured thoughtfully.

The Chunnin exams were the next day and everyone would have to go through the test. 'At least I don't have to count on anyone else.' Being alone had at least one bright side; you didn't have to count on anyone else to help you go on. Everything that happened was your own fault, no blame needed.

"No one to take your problems away," I quietly mused.

I could live with working on my own now. When training first started, I had a problem with being on my own because I had tasted the bond of friendship. As long as there were no partners, there was no bond; no one to lose. I didn't need to know anymore feeling of loss. Kakashi sensei showed me that it was better for me to do things on my own by having a training session for me to protect a log. I threw a fit when he cut the bark with his kunai. 'He only laughed at me…' I smiled at the thought before sitting up and looking around.

"I have to go meet them," I murmured before getting to my feet.

Kiba, Hinata, Tenten, and I met up before their training in the afternoon. Neji came along once in a while, but no when Hinata was there. He never really said much, but he could be sarcastic when he wanted to be. I'd have preferred Kiba and Hinata over Kiba and Neji any day. The two just didn't seem to mix half the time. They were a little more sarcastic towards each other than they should have been… and for some reason I didn't really like seeing that side of Kiba. It was like he was angry… but there could have been pressures I haven't been able to see.

"Maybe I should ask him," I mumbled to myself as I walked unsteadily along the path for our favorite restaurant.

Chouji was usually there with Shikamaru dragged along by Asuma. They always had meat and got mad when Chouji ate everything. A sensei's bribery was evil because if you wanted something, your sensei got it for you.

'They're always having a good laugh… even when Ino's there. It's fun to laugh at them sometimes too.' I smiled at the thought. We had our fun together and our bond of friendship was becoming stronger. I was glad to know that there wasn't really anything to break us all apart right now. The only thing that seemed like a threat to that friendship was the Chunnin exams.

"We'll stay friends no matter what… won't we?" I wondered quietly.

It was a fear of mine; to lose everything all over again… though I was willing to give up that friendship if they didn't want it anymore. Whatever made them happy.

"Hey Suzu!" Tenten's voice snapped me out of thought.

I hadn't realized that I had made it there already.

"Hey Tenten!" I called with a wave and a smile.

Hinata, Tenten, and Kiba were already waiting. Kiba had Akamaru resting on his head. 'They must be saving their energy for later today.' I ran up to meet them and tackle hugged Hinata, though she didn't fall down.

"W-why are you so happy?" Hinata laughed slightly.

"I have no idea," I mused as I let her go.

"Do we really have to eat today?" Tenten wondered with a cocked eyebrow, "I'm not really hungry today."

"Whatever you guys want," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm not that hungry either," Kiba admitted sheepishly.

"Alright," I laughed, "I'll just eat when I get home."

'It's only food… I can wait I guess.' Hinata smiled pleasantly in my direction and I grinned back. There was no hiding the fact that I was excited for the day to come.

The four of us were all excited for the Chunnin exams, though we were anxious as well. None of us wanted to become enemies through this, and we were hoping that we wouldn't. Even Hinata was excited… and she was the shy one.

"Tomorrow's going to be so amazing," Tenten said happily.

"You're just happy because you get to be with Neji again," Kiba mocked with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up Kiba!" she snapped back with a smile on her face.

"Neji and Tenten, Neji and Tenten," I cheered with amusement.

We were only joking, Tenten knew that. Mine and Kiba's personality were too much the same for us to resist teasing someone together; in this case it was Tenten.

"Aw, not you too Suzu," Tenten play whined

"Yeah, me too" I laughed with a wide grin.

"Ah, I hope I meet up with you in the Chunnin exams," Tenten mused, "Then I'll have a good reason to hit you."

"You'll have to catch me first."

I teleported to behind Hinata, picked her up and ran on ahead.

"S-Suzu, put me d-down," the small Hyuga laughed as I ran with her.

I put her down suddenly and quickly pulled out a kunai to knock a shuriken away. 'Was that Tenten? Why would she throw a shuriken?'

As my golden eyes followed the shuriken, I saw it land with an edge stabbing into the ground.

"What was that Suzu?" Hinata asked with confusion.

'No… That was Tenten, and Kiba wouldn't do that either… Then who?'

"Well would you look at that," a guy's voice mused from the side as he made an appearance, "Two little Hidden Leaf Village kunoichi."

"The golden eyed one is not so small," a female's voice mused.

The tone of her voice made me stiffen and stand in front of Hinata protectively. 'They're not from here… They're from another village but from where?'

"I guess you're right, she's not so small," the guy mused.

"She won't be standing so defiantly during the Chunnin exams," the girl continued with dark amusement, "I'll break her spirit."

"That's funny," I laughed with a smirk, "I don't think you'll be breaking anyone's spirit. Especially not mine."

I couldn't see their head protectors on them, but I knew they were going for Chunnin.

"What would a kunoichi be able to do against a team of three?" the guy asked cockily, glancing at Hinata behind me.

'I'll protect Hinata from both of them… if not then I hope she will be able to fend for herself for a little while.' My grip on my kunai tightened with agitation. I didn't understand why people were so cowardly.

"I'm not a kunoichi you bastard," I growled hatefully at him.

Two familiar voices snapped me out of my glare by simply calling my name.

"Suzu!" Tenten called as both she and Kiba caught up.

"S-Suzu… we have to go register for the e-exams," Hinata whispered to me.

I glared at both the strange boy and girl. They wouldn't stay that cocky tomorrow.

"We'll be seeing you around, little golden eyes," they both laughed before they disappeared.

I grunted and turned my head to glare at the ground. 'What the hell is their problem? They're too cocky for their own good…'

"Who were they?" Tenten asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just some people being stupid," I said rather coldly before turning to leave, "Come on, we have to go register for the exams."

Everyone and everything fell silent before Hinata's hand grabbed my shoulder gently.

"Suzu, what the matter?" she asked quietly.

"They just piss me off," I told her, "They have no right to talk like everyone else is dirt. And that guy…"

I had trailed off. I didn't even want to finish that sentence. 'The way he looked at Hinata really pissed me off… It was like he was judging her.' I gritted my teeth together as we walked and no one really said anything. Tenten had said something about meeting up with her team. She left with hardly a word. Hinata and Kiba had planned to meet with Shino at the registration. 'They have a teammate to meet up with… They shouldn't have to wait for me here…'

I looked back at Hinata and Kiba and forced a smile to my face. I was sure that it wasn't very convincing.

"You guys can go ahead to meet Shino. You don't have to wait here for me."

"You're not waiting," Kiba stated, "We're following. There is a difference between the two."

He was amused, I could tell by the sound of his voice. 'Good old Kiba.' I smiled to myself at the thought and turned back around.

"I-it's alright Suzu. We're in no hurry," Hinata said with a gentle smile on her face.

"All right," I said in agreement.

'Those two genin… their tone sent chills down my spine. I remember that other villages are supposed to join us here… like the Sand village…' My eyes narrowed slightly at the thought. Other villages wouldn't be as easy going in this as the Leaf Village would have been. 'More danger…'

"S-Suzu?" Hinata's voice snapped me out of though.

"Yeah?"

"You just went by the registration," she laughed nervously.

I stopped and looked back to see that Hinata was right. I walked right past the door to get in. 'Oops…'

"Okay, we have to go meet Shino, so we'll see you later Suzu," Kiba said with a wave before both him and Hinata went inside.

After a few minutes, I followed after them. 'This place… someone's using a genjutsu… The proctors are using chakra to create an illusion… whoever can't see that must already be kicked out.' The thought amused me slightly as I went up the stairs. There were so many people in the one hallway, trying to get passed into this one room. 'They're not even on the right floor…' I shook my head and continued on until I got upstairs. I was glad to see that Kiba, Hinata, and Shino weren't down there.

"Shino notices everything," I mused to myself.

It was true; Shino really did notice everything. He was quiet and strange in his own way; him and his… bugs.

I opened the door and walked into the room, looking around to see who was in there. There were a few shinobi that were sitting at a desk, waiting for the genin to arrive. 'I can't wait to get this over with.' There were tons of other genin – all mostly older – sitting and waiting for everything to begin. I had to admit that it was too crowded for my liking.

"Well isn't this a surprise," an amused voice asked from the side.

My golden eyes darted to the left only to see that silver haired boy that I hated with a passion. 'He hasn't made an appearance in a long time… I almost thought that he went away.'

"I thought you were dead," I stated coldly, wishing that he actually had died.

"Don't be so cold Suzu," he laughed slightly.

"Shut up and get away from me," I growled with a hateful glare, "You don't know me and you never will, understand? There's nothing to know, so get lost."

The silver haired boy pushed his glasses up on his face and shook his head slightly.

"It's such a shame about your hair. I believed you looked better with all of it long," he mused slightly, "but I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way."

"Hard way is the only way," I growled before walking away from him.

If there was one thing I knew, it was that I did not trust that guy. There was something too fishy about him and his attitude pissed me off. I didn't like him at all.

I sat down against a wall before watching everyone come in. Naruto was being as stupid as ever as his team came in. He shouted something about he was going to become Hokage with his famous 'Believe it' at the end. Before the shinobi at the desk got to speak, three strangers made their appearance. One guy looked a little like a turtle without arms. The other guy looked a little insane and sadistic. The girl looked like she was too cocky for her own good and all three of them had a strange vibe. 'Sound ninja…' They all had a thing about the rookies. And when things started to get a little out of hand, the silver haired boy had been attacked by something invisible. He fell to the ground in pain and this caused my eyes to widen with surprise. What did they do to him?

I never got an answer because the shinobi interrupted and began to explain things about what was to come. I had a feeling that by the time we were to be done, there would have been no mercy. The next day would be when things would really get started… when the real exams began.

Someone grabbed my arms and I turned to see that it was Tenten. I had been sitting on the Hokage faced, watching the sun set. I didn't really want to be with anyone at the time. Things wouldn't be the same tomorrow.

"Come on Suzu, it's getting dark… Don't you think that you should rest up for tomorrow?" Tenten asked me with worry.

"I guess so," I murmured with a sigh as I got to my feet.

Hinata was there as well, standing a little ways back. I didn't blame her. The top of the faces was really high up from the earth below.

"How did you know where I was?" I asked.

I hadn't told anyone where I was going to be because everyone else was busy training together. I didn't want company.

"Neji said he saw you sitting up here," Tenten explained with a small smile, "So Hinata and I decided to come find you."

"W-we were worried that something was wrong," Hinata explained.

Both Hinata and Tenten were changing – becoming stronger – since when I first met them. Hinata even began stuttering less.

"I'm fine, just thinking about tomorrow," I explained with a slight laugh, "I think that we're not in over our heads about this… even though some of us really are. I'm more concerned about you guys going on further or not."

"Ouch," Tenten laughed, "You don't think we're strong enough?"

"No, you are strong enough. That doesn't stop you from getting hurt though."

"We'll just do our best," Hinata stated happily.

As we walked, I drifted in and out of Tenten and Hinata's discussion. They were talking and playing teasingly. I could hear their laughter from behind me and turned to see what they were laughing at.

"Suzu, remember that time when Kiba got you to try a food pill?" Hinata asked, laughter in her voice.

"Yeah, those things are so nasty," I complained, making a scrunched up face.

Tenten laughed at my face and Hinata tried to resist but it didn't work too well. We all started to laugh at the stupid moment and it lightened the mood.

"I can't believe you actually ate one of those," Tenten laughed at me, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah really," I laughed with a grin, "I guess I'll try anything once.

"Even cannibalism?"

"Yeah. I like eating other people," I said with a smirk.

"Vampire!" Tenten cried before running up ahead.

I laughed and Hinata shook her head with amusement. Tenten never failed to shout that whenever I teased about the tacos… Cannibalism.

"Yeah, I know, I know," I laughed pleasantly.

"O-okay, I have to get home," Hinata said with a laugh and a small wave as she ran up ahead.

"Bye guys. I'll see you tomorrow!" I called after them before turning around the corner to go home.

After a few moments, Tenten and Hinata split at a road and went home in the difference directions. Tomorrow would be a big day… Tomorrow was the Chunnin exams.

All the teams that had made it through registration were taken to a classroom with many shinobi in chairs with pens and paper around the room. The proctor was in the front, waiting patients with a look on his face that I didn't understand. Hinata ended up sitting beside Naruto, and I felt a little elated and sad for her at the same time. She really liked Naruto… but I thought he wasn't good enough for her. All he cared about was Sakura.

"All right!" the proctor began with a smirk on his face.

He explained to us that on our desk was a test that we needed to write. The shinobi around the room were there to catch us cheating. One someone in our team got three strikes, they would be kicked out and that team would have to leave. So if we wanted to cheat, then we had to do it secretly.

"At the end, there will be a bonus question. If you can't answer it then your team fails," the proctor with the scar continued to explain.

'Even better… I don't have to worry about any teammates getting kicked out.'

"Begin."

I grabbed my pencil and flipped the test over. 'This is mostly mathematics… What the hell?' I made a confused face at just the sight of the first question and got stumped halfway through. The same happened to the second… and the third. Thankfully I understood the fourth one. Whether or not it was right I didn't know or care. You could get marks for trying, couldn't you?

"Number 125, your team is dismissed," a shinobi called through the classroom.

Other voices started calling out numbers of people and their teams were forced to leave because they had been caught cheating. I was hoping that those two ninja's team from yesterday would have been called out, but they were still present. During the number calling, the numbers started to get a little too close to Naruto and Hinata. That made me worry slightly… though it worried me more when he pushed her test a little towards Naruto. 'She's going to let him cheat? Why Hinata? Why would you do that?! If you get caught you get kicked out!' I bit my lip in frustration as I watched before Naruto shook his head. I was thankful for once… Naruto wouldn't have been discrete about hiding his cheating. 'Thank you for not being stupid Naruto.' I thought with a sigh. Things were disrupted when a boy wearing a black hate that made him look like horns put up his hand.

"Are we allowed to go to the washroom?"

I shook my head with some shame; how could he have to go to the washroom at a time like this?

A shinobi went outside with him to the washroom. My golden eyes followed them as they left the room. There wasn't many teams left as I turned my attention back to my paper. There definitely wasn't a lot of us going to the next round… not as many that came in. After a few minutes, the boy came back with the shinobi and took his seat. Then the proctor decided to spring the last, bonus question. The last number was called before he deiced to speak.

"The last question does not exist," the proctor explained, "The bonus question was to see how many of you were brave enough to stay in the room under that pressure."

'You have got to be kidding me!' I laughed inwardly. I put my head on the desk to hide my laughter. That was one of the funniest things I had ever heard. My laughter was disrupter though, when a girl – Anko – broke through the window. She was ecstatic and loud… excited for the second round.

"Alright, I'll be your proctor for the second part of the exams!"

'Isn't she a little early for that?'

"I want you all to meet me at the Forest of Death first thing tomorrow," she explained with a smirk, "That's where your skills will be tested."

I looked at Anko with a raised brow. She really was crazy… this was proving it because she was excited as ever over this.

We were allowed to leave, so when we did leave, the first thing I did was stretch because I felt cramped up. When I saw Hinata, I put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Why were you going to let Naruto cheat off you?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow, "You could have been caught Hinata."

"H-he didn't have anything written down," she explained nervously, "He could have failed Suzu."

'She's too nice… I appreciate her for it, but sometimes she's too nice…'

"I know he could have failed Hinata, but you could have too."

Hinata looked to the side for a second as she seemed to be thinking about something.

"I-if you liked someone… I-if I was the one who didn't have any answers… w-would you have passed up the chance to help?" she asked quietly.

My eyes widened at her words. She was right.

"Of course I wouldn't pass that up," I told her seriously.

"Then there's my point," she said with a slight bob of her head.

'She's got a point… I wouldn't pass up the chance to help her out if I could… even if it would mean I would fail.' As we walked down the hallway, we met up with the teams. Tenten, Neji, Kiba, and Shino were waiting outside.

"I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow," I pondered with a yawn.

"We become enemies," Neji stated, "Fate had made it team against team. Don't expect any mercy if our paths cross."

'I don't really plan on accepting any mercy.'

End of Chapter 13

Hey again! So how was it? Was it all good for everyone? We're getting back into the action again which I really like. I don't like those chapters where nothing really happens. They're so boring! Lol. Anyway, I had that chapter in waiting and the next one is sitting in waiting as well. I'm still working on chapter 15… so that might take me a little while to get done. xD So there will be more, no worries. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, even if it was late. Please R&R and I'll update whenever I get the chance to.