Hello to my readers!

For more information about why chapter 8 is being split into three parts check my profile section underneath "current projects". I'm not going to waste your time with it here. Just know that chapter 8 is going to be in three parts. Yes.

As always I want to say thank you to the readers who keep inspiring me, urging me, and pestering me to update. Galbert and Kreatyve, I wouldn't be updating near as much without the two of you, so Mwah! Much love in your direction, for your support and reviews and help. I also want to thank my other reviewers who have given me points on where I can fix things. Much appreciated. And without wasting any more of your time: Let the Chunin Exams begin!

~Sarai

Naruto: Kurashio
Chapter 8 – Cold Currents p. 1

Five in the morning…

Nothing is supposed to be awake at five in the morning, or at least Kit was fairly certain of that fact. He couldn't remember the last time anyone in his family had been awake at five in the morning, much less dressed, completely geared up, and standing in a large, rocky field while the morning mists did their best to make everything damp.

They were in the large clearing before entrance to the Mountain Training Area, waiting for further instructions on the process of the second exam. Having missed the first exam portion, Kit had no idea what had happened or how the exams were conducted. Several of the genin teams were currently discussing it; so Kit was trying his best to eavesdrop… but the kids weren't talking about specifics.

One particular genin from Kirigakure was bragging about how easily he had thought the first exam to be, claiming that he would easily be making it through this exam… and once it was finished he would be on his own turf for the finals. Kit found him to be extremely loud and doubted if he was really strong. In many cases the small redhead thought people like him to be better at talking than following up with actions.

"Gah…" Sainō let out a groaning yawn before he plopped onto the ground, "How can anyone function like this?"

There was a snort of derision from Kira, "If you'd gone to sleep early, this wouldn't be an issue. Ninja are supposed to be prepared."

Kit was prone to siding with the brown haired boy, but, seeing as how the other genin teams were all congregated and ready, he didn't want to show any weakness. He also was trying his best to keep an eye out for those three, female kunoichi, the ones he'd run into yesterday evening. The last thing his team needed was a confrontation with those three…

As luck would have it, the three genin from his thoughts chose that exact moment to come strolling up the path from the village. Cala, the girl who'd threatened him yesterday, was walking at the front, flanked by the tall girl and the doll girl. She made no effort to divert her course around the standing grounds, and the other genin teams were more than willing to sidle out of the way, giving her a wide berth. Thankfully the shuffling of bodies hid Kitaka and his team from view.

"Kit!" Kira hissed in his ear, "Isn't that…?"
"I don't know," the redhead replied.
"It's so strange… it can't be coincidence."
"Hey! That girl looks like the creepy lady from Ishitohi," Sainō chose to butt in.
"Yes, we've covered that," Kira growled, "Thanks for coming to the party late, as usual."

"Those three know how to make an entrance…"

Kit and his teammates spun around to see Fumato and his team standing behind them.

Konoha's Team 7 looked ready to do battle. Gemma was wearing a coat similar to his father's. It had a high collar and thick, black material which was smart considering the temperatures up in the mountains; the dark fabric would absorb heat from the sun. This was why Fuma was wearing a black jumpsuit and one of Naruto's old jackets, which was a bit too big for him but it was held in place by the short sword strapped to his back. Meanwhile, Ame, who had spoken to Kit's team, was dressed in a dark blue kimono and black hakama; he looked as lethal as much as he looked ready to dance at the Spring Festival.

"You know who they are?" Kira asked.

"I did a little digging around last evening," Ame nodded, "I wanted to get an idea which teams stood out from the first exam… those three finished in about ten minutes."

"What!" Ame's statement seemed to draw in other listeners other than the Konoha genin gathered.

"Yes, I was surprised myself, but apparently they gave the protector their exams within minutes of starting, including an answer to the question which wouldn't be asked until fifteen minutes before the close of the exam…"

"But how?" Kit asked, looking nervously over his shoulder as if Cala would appear there any moment.
"They cheated, obviously," Ame stated with a yawn, "But since none of the exam monitors could catch how they did it… they passed."
"That's so cool!" Sainō grinned, "I wish we could have taken a test where cheating was allowed!"
Kira rolled her eyes as the boy, "It's not that simple..."

"It doesn't' matter," Kit cut them off before either of them could bicker. He turned back to Ame, "Which village are they representing?"

"A new entry to the exams…" Ame said matter-of-factly, "They are from the Village Hidden in the Shadows."

"I don't like them," Fuma said quietly.

For once, Kitaka was inclined to agree with his younger brother. Even if Cala wasn't the same ninja he had seen in Ishitohi, she and her companions gave off that same eerie sense of discomfort that he'd felt from the woman in the alleyway; then there was the way Cala had to be convinced not to kill anyone outside of the exams… almost as if she would have killed him if it were possible. Cala didn't even appear to hesitate on the prospect.

Kit hadn't realized how much he'd been brooding about these frightening prospects, but he was brought back to the conversation by Ame's next statement.

"They won't be the only team to watch out for," he muttered, "From what I've gathered, Sound Village also sent a trio of genin who performed well in the exam… and Suna has two teams this year, one of their genin was personally trained by the Kazekage himself."

"Dad?" Kit frowned, "He was training someone?"

"It's not unheard of," Gemma interjected, "Lady Tsunade was trained by the Third Hokage, and most of the Kages take exceptionally promising students… like your mom, Sakura-sama."

"She's not our mom," Fuma and Kit said at the same time. They looked at each other and then quickly looked away. Agreeing two times in less than an hour, today was getting worse by the minute.

"Well, parentage aside," Ame said, obviously changing the topic, "Many of the teams have genin trained by the Kages. It's a fairly common practice."

"Ok," Kira said pointedly, "Then why hasn't the Hokage trained any of us?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ame smirked.
"No," she shot back.

"Anyone can be trained by a Kage if they are good enough…" the pale boy pointed at Kit, "But you are the only ones being trained by Sasuke Uchiha. Think about that unfair advantage."

"Are you trying to sound smart again, Ame?"

The pale boy turned, "Ah! Jira, so nice of you to get out of bed… I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to come and get you."
"Heh," the older Uzumaki sibling chuckled, "I was here waiting before you'd even finished brushing you hair."
"You have no idea how much time this takes," Ame shrugged, feigning exhaustion, "I was up before dawn getting ready."

"Enough you two," Hana hopped in between them, "We all get it… you're both fighting to see who's better… none of us really care."
"Actually," Sainō chimed in, "I was really wondering…"
"Shut up," Kira smacked him over the head.

"Attention… all annoying children!" Kakashi's voice suddenly boomed over the area, "Especially my three, listen up!"

In a swirl of smoke and leaves, the silver haired jonin appeared standing above the archway for the Mountain Area Entrance. Several of the genin gather muttered under their breath, impressed with Kakashi's entrance, while others turned halfway to regard the unknown speaker. As for Teams 3, 5, and 7, they all rolled their eyes and let out a groan.

[…]

"I heard that," Kakashi muttered. Taking a look at his exam scroll, he cleared his throat and began, "Alright, kids. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I'm your proctor for the second exam. If you'll look to my right and my left, you can see several other jonin. These are the exam moderators. They are there for your protection, but they will only act if you ask for assistance or if you life is in unexpected peril. They will not interfer in any fights you start amonst yourselves. First rule of the exam: ask for assistance from a jonin officer, and you fail."

With a graceful leap, Kakashi landed in front of the amassed genin, "Second rule: if anyone is caught attempting to leave the exam area, which is contained within the boundaries of Mountain Training Area, you will be disqualified from the exams. Are there any questions?"

Several hands shot up.

"Are there any questions not pertaining to the content of the exam?"

All hands went down.

Kakashi chuckled, "So… everyone wants to know what they have to do, well… let's take a look shall we?"

"You mean you haven't even read the scroll?" Naruto shouted from somewhere down the line of jonin officers.

"Quiet in the ranks!" Kakashi snapped.

He opened the scroll and perused it quickly. "Fairly standard," he thought, "Lets see… yeah, I can understand… wait a moment. Orb of Heavenly Fire? Orb of Underworld Ice? Who the hell writes this nonsense?"

With a heavy sigh, Kakashi tossed the scroll over his shoulder, ignoring the protests from Naruto and several other jonin officers. "Ok, listen up," the elder jonin crossed his arms and stared the genin down with his one eye, which was quite intimidating when it came from Kakashi. "I've never believed in beating around the bush, and I don't like calling things other than what they are. The lot of you are ninja, so I'm going to brief you on this exam as if you are ninja. Pay attention."

With a quick reach into his vest Kakashi pulled out two items, one with each hand, and presented them to the gathered crowd. "Your goal is to gather these… a red orb and a blue orb. The scroll wants me to give them some lofty name, but it doesn't mean a damn thing. Here are the important facts: there are forty-three genin teams and fifteen of pair of orbs. If any of you have trouble with math… that means less than half of you have a chance to pass. The orbs are located inside individual shrines spaced across the mountain terrain. Each shrine will contain either a blue or red orb… thirty shrines total."

With dexterous ease, the silver-haired jonin began to juggle the two orbs with one hand, "You will not only have to locate a pair of orbs for your team to pass, but you must navigate the terrain, and your opponents, and the natural hazards to bring the orbs to the temple spire on top of Mount Hinokage. In case you think this might be a little easy…"

With a chuckle Kakashi dropped both of his orbs to the ground. The glass fixtures shattered instantly, showering the ground before him with ruby and sapphire filaments so small there would be no chance of repairing them.

"Broken orbs are not accepted…" Kakashi turned to leave, but paused, "Oh… and there are now fourteen sets of orbs remaining. Report to the registration table to receive your entry number. Teams will be let in on three minute increments… starting now."

[…]

"What number did we get?" Hana jittered with excitement. Jira gave her a look which clearly told her to calm down, but it did very little to ease her excitement.

"Sixteen," the blonde said, offering Hana the slip of paper as a means of preoccupying her.
"That's not too bad. We're still close to the front."
"Closer than we are," Kitaka muttered walking up with his own slip of paper.

Hana bounced over to the little redhead, Ying jumping from her shoulder onto Kit's. "What number didja get, Kit? Haha… get—Kit… it rhymes."

Kit looked at her like she was mildly insane, to which Hana merely shrugged and snatched his piece of paper. "Oh… wow," her eye's widened, "You're number thirty-eight. Tough luck."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Kit muttered.

"It's not as bad as you think, hothead," Ame said strolling up and ruffling Kit's unruly hair, "You get to see where a majority of your opponents have gone. It gives you a better chance to pick your destination without a chance of being overrun."

"Pretty boy here has a point, Kit," Jira walked up to the little gathering, "Must mean he's planning to do the same thing."

"On the contrary," Ame said, offering the blonde Uzumaki brother his team's paper.
"Fifteen?" Jira asked, looking over the top of the paper at the long haired boy.
"Fifteen," Ame's eyes sparkled, "Looks like you'll be chasing after me yet again… and you're one to be talking about pretty."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jira bristled.
"Only that pretty people are good judges of… well… other pretty people."

Hana leapt into the fray before Jira could shout back a response, "Both of you shouldn't be worrying about it! Half the girls in Konoha think you're pretty… while the other half thinks Ame is to die for. That's why you have fan clubs… yeesh!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Kit groaned, miming sickness and nausea before brushing Ying off his shoulder.

"And which fan club are you member of?" Ame asked wickedly.
"Who ever said I was a girl?" Hana grinned, sticking her tongue out at the taller boy.
"No one," Ame and Jira said simultaneously.

"Good boys," Hana's grin was both wicked and gleeful. Training men was just like training any other animal… they react to stimuli, and if anyone was foolish enough to judge her as a girl… well, Hana wasn't against giving them a little bit of pain.

"On that note, I'm going to leave before crazy here has an opportunity to give me rabies… or squirrel disease… or whatever it is that makes her look like that," Ame waved a farewell, and dashed off before Hana even had a chance to retaliate.

"Why that stuck-up…"
"Hana," Jira interrupted her, "Focus, please! Ame was going to join his team, which means we're up soon."

"Right!" she declared with a vigorous nod. Hana clenched her fist and turned to face the entrance for the mountain training area. On each of her shoulders Ying and Yang mimicked the pose, chattering energetically.

They reached the gate just in time to see Fumato, Ame, and Gemma dash through the opening at the clang of a bell. The gate shut behind them, and they were approached by a jonin officer. He checked each of their names against a list, as well as their registration number, before he cleared them to go, "You'll be entering in less than a minute. Good luck!"

"That was odd…" Hana frowned looking back to where the jonin was checking the next group of genin, "Why would we need to be checked in twice?"

"Don't you remember what happened when…" Jira stopped himself, "No, of course you wouldn't know. They have higher security here because of what happened when Dad took the Chunin exams."

"You're referring to the war with Otagakure?" Chino spoke for the first time, obviously glad to have something take his mind off the coming exam. He'd been nervous, which kept him from worrying about food—something very unlike a member of the Akimichi clan.

"Oh, yeah," Hana blanched, embarrassed that she had for gotten something so integral to their village's history.

Jira merely shrugged it off, "They check everyone multiple times. That jonin probably had seals on him. If he had suspected that we were using a henge jutsu; then he would have used one to reveal the ruse."

At that, the bell sounded, and the gates whooshed open. Without hesitation Jira dashed through the entrance, with Hana and Chino quick on his heels. They had practiced numerous exercises moving as a team, and, thanks to Naruto's persistence in their training, it had become second nature to the three of them. When Jira moved, they moved. Hana didn't mind following, because she would be the first one to admit that she didn't see enough or pay enough attention to lead the team.

On the other hand, Jira saw everything much more clearly than any genin Hana knew, so, despite their differences, she was more than happy to follow his lead… which was currently taking them up the side of a rock formation.

As they reached the top, Hana heard the familiar shout of "Byakugan!", and she instantly knew that Jira had expanded his sight further than she could ever see, even when using the same technique.

"So what's the plan?" she smiled, looking around sheepishly, "This area is much larger than the forest training area, where the exam was held last time Konoha hosted."

For several moments Jira was silent; then he abruptly pointed to the southwest. "There is a shrine about two thousand yards that way… no one has touched it yet. Chino and I will go to collect the orb. I need you, Ying, and Yang to take south, southeast, and east… see if you can find another, and then we will meet back up. You'll be able to find us?"

"Of course… I have eyes," Hana said, rolling them.

With a smirk Jira nodded, "Thirty minutes then… and be careful."

"Never am," she laughed, leaping from the precipice and flinging both of her squirrels in opposite directions.

[…]

Kakashi had been surveying the start of the exam quietly from the sidelines. Thus far there was very little for him to be concerned with, but the elder jonin couldn't shake a feeling in his stomach. Normally one to pass off such things as indigestion, Kakashi had ignored it for the better part of the morning; however, when the feeling persisted well into near afternoon, he couldn't help but become slightly anxious.

He'd been watching each group of genin enter the training area with a chary eye, along with adding extra precautions to the screening process that would admit genin into the exam. Kakashi wasn't going to take any chances.

"Number twenty-two!" the jonin covering the gate called out.

Three genin from Sunagakure strolled up to the starting point and began the screening process, while the gates opened to let the group ahead of them enter the mountainous terrain. Kakashi made a visual check of the Suna team, comparing the genin to the list he had in his possession.

"Hmm… the Kazekage's protégé," he mused, "Hopefully he will be less trouble than Gaara was."

Kakashi watched the trio of sand-nin as they waited for the gates to open. If he was being honest, they looked nothing like Gaara and his siblings; where Gaara had been confident in his posture, and almost murderous with his glare, his pupil looked… nervous. It was a relief to see. Hopefully the Suna ninjas would actually act human this year, but, despite their nervous appearance, Kakashi couldn't ignore the fact that the three had offered a good performance in the first exam.

"Number twenty-three!"

As the team moved on, Kakashi's attention was drawn to the next set of genin; the trio from Darunōgakure was up next. He had no idea what he could refer to them as. None of the Shadow Village ninja had shown an particular traits, their village name was nearly impossible to shorten into anything complementary, and the words which kept popping up around Konoha all rhymed with "itch"… and being the exam proctor, Kakashi felt such nicknames would be inappropriate—for the time being.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called through his communicator.
Within seconds, the Uchiha appeared in a clould of smoke, "Hn?"
"Whatever happened to the days when you used to respect me?" Kakashi whined.
"They ended when you became a whining pervert," Sasuke retorted.
"Mah," Kakashi waved dismissively, "I've always been a whining… wait, ignore that I was about to confirm that."

"What do you want Kakashi?"
"I want you to follow genin group number twenty-three."
Sasuke took a moment to look down at the starting gate "The shady trio?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "What for?"

"Shady trio?" Kakashi asked rather than answer Sasuke's question.

"Naruto's name for them," Sasuke sighed, "He felt bad calling a group of kids… bitches, but from what I've heard about that isn't nearly rude enough."
"Well, I've heard other people call them witches, but I don't know if they were spooked…"
"Or just trying to use a polite rhyme?" Sasuke offered.
"Exactly."
"Naruto has a way with nicknames…" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"That why you let him call you a teme?" Kakashi goaded, and he was rewarded with Sasuke's fist upside his head.

"Only Naruto gets away with calling me that."
Kakashi whined again, "Always playing favorites, Sasuke-kun."
"Shut up and act like an adult for once," the Uchiha growled, "Why do you want me to follow them."
"Ah…" Kakashi nodded, looking back down at the three genin.

He had a good view of the tall, tribal girl and the gothic Lolita, but the third member of their team had her back facing Kakashi. Something about the lead genin from Darunōgakure gave the silver haired jonin the creeps, like something from the darkest part of his mind was trying to warn him to be wary.

"I don't trust them," Kakashi said finally, "That Warukuto girl puts a strange feeling in my gut."

"And that couldn't possibly be attributed to the fact that you and Naruto had ramen at midnight?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm not following around a group of genin just to ease your indigestion."

"It's more than that," Kakashi said sternly. "She and Kitaka had an altercation last evening. Witnesses say threats were made. I want you to make certain she doesn't go out of her way to harm one of the genin in the exam. We can prevent injuries that take place because of legitimate battles, but we can prevent someone from using the exams as an excuse to commit violent.

Sasuke was glaring at Kakashi, but he nodded, "You had my cooperation when you said Kitaka."

[…]

"Duck!"

Fuma dropped to the ground as a barrage of kunai clattered against an outcropping of rock behind him. Rolling quickly to the side, he barely managed to avoid another flurry of weaponry. He was on his feet in seconds, jumping out of the way when a foot came hurtling towards his face.

"Fuma, take flank!" Ame yelled, his sword drawn as he engaged two of the attacking genin.

It didn't take very long for the command to register, and Fuma leapt over his attacker and came barreling towards one of Ame's opponents, delivering a sharp kick to the boy's head. Fuma went back to back with Ame as they quickly became surrounded by four other genin.

"Where's Gemma?" Ame hissed.
Fuma didn't turn to respond; rather he kept his eyes carefully trained upon their assailants, "He's setting up our trump card."
"How long?"
"Fifteen seconds, thirty at the most," the smaller Uchiha said with a smirk.
"I say we make him unnecessary," Ame grinned wickedly.

Fate had placed them in this rather unfortunate predicament. They'd stumbled across a shrine in their scouting, but so had two other genin teams in quick succession. It was relatively close to the entrance, so they should have expected some form of encounter, but the fact that the other two teams were both from Kirigakure… that had not been expected.

The six Water Village ninja had decided to team up to remove the "Konoha threat" as they had called it, which confused Fumato, but he and Ame had been able to create a big enough distraction for Gemma to put some space between himself and the battle.

Ame had disabled one of the water genin with his sword, and the one Fuma had kicked in the head appeared to be unconscious… but they were still outnumbered two-to-one.

"Take right?" Fuma asked.
"Go left," Ame nodded.

At the nod, Fuma dashed left, cutting between two opposing genin and catching them by surprise. Once on the other side, Fuma drew his sword and leapt backwards. He managed to catch one of the genin, striking a long gash down his thigh; the other, a tall, brown haired girl, responded with better speed and threw a kunai toward Fuma, obviously hoping to drive him off. Using the girl's panic to his advantage, Fuma leapt over the projectile and heard the confirming scream as it struck her companion. Three down, three to go.

He hit the ground, skidding to a halt and turning to face his opponent just in time to witness her finish a series of hand signs. The ground underneath Fuma began to rumble, and he barely had time to stagger back before the earth ripped open with an explosive geyser of water.

Fuma was knocked one to his back from the force of it, drenched in cold spray, and, before he could get back onto his feet, the girl had drawn several kunai. She raised her hands, preparing to release the weapons, when she suddenly froze. She turned to look at the back of her hand, seeing something Fuma could not, and a horrified look came over her face before she let out a scream.

The girl dropped her weapons and began shaking her hand as if it were on fire. As she spun, trying to rid herself of the unseen nuisance, Fuma got a look at her back which was covered with small, black insects. Getting to his feet, the smaller Uchiha looked to where Ame was. The pale boy had sheathed his weapon and was standing over two fallen genin—both covered in bugs as well.

"Glad you were able to hold them off." Fuma looked up to see Gemma standing on a jut of rock, his hands held out over the battlefield.

"Good timing," Ame nodded, "I was beginning to wonder if you had any uses."
"Ha ha," Gemma sneered, "You and Fuma always think that a direct approach works best… doesn't give me much time to work."

"What… are… you doing to me?" the girl Fuma had been fighting had fallen to her knees, shivering slightly. She looked horrified but was unable to struggle any longer.

"Kikaichū," Gemma said quietly, "Chakra draining parasites of the Aburame clan… I've been breeding mine for years to consume chakra rapidly. You won't be able to move for some time, so don't bother."

"Vicious little friends you have there," Ame said completely ignoring their former opponents, "Almost makes fighting pointless."
"That is the point," Gemma said blandly. He dropped his hands and the insects began to recede. Fuma had no desire to watch them return to their "home".

He'd learned early on what Gemma could do with bugs, and how he did it. The Aburame clan gained their insects shortly after child birth, which meant the bugs were put inside of them. Gemma could call upon the Kikaichū and control them at will, but once he had finished, they returned to living inside him. The first time Fuma had witnessed this he'd almost thrown up; it took some getting used to, and even used to it he preferred not to watch.

"I feel it is safe to say that the orb is ours," Ame smirked, "Gemma… would you like to do the honors?"

The brown haired boy nodded and walked up to the stone shrine, removing the blue orb and wrapping it several times in his scarf. Once he had done that, Gemma opened a pocket in his jacket and stored the scarf inside, "There… safe as I can make it."

"Just don't let anyone knock you down and it should be fine," Fuma smiled genuinely, turning to be friendly.

"You want to carry it?" Gemma snapped.
"No," Fuma said, clearly recalling how he had just fallen. If that were to happen again, the orb might break.
"Then don't state the obvious," the other boy sighed.

"I suggested we move on," Ame turned to leave, "We'll only get caught in another confrontation if we stay in one place for too long."

[…]

"Number thirty-seven!"

Kit wanted to groan in frustration. They'd been waiting out here forever, at least it seemed that way. He knew one thing for certain: the longer they waited, the more time the other teams would have to complete the task and make it to the tower. They were starting off with a severe handicap.

"Why does fate conspire against me?" he whined inwardly.

"You need to breathe, Kit," Kira said quietly, "Otherwise you'll pass out… and blinking would help too, cause your starting to scare me."

"Sorry," Kit frowned. He blinked several times, surprised by how dry his eyes felt. Not blinking was another trait he seemed to pick up from Gaara, and most of the time Kit didn't even realize when he did it. Whenever he was engrossed in something or giving someone his full attention, Kit would stare either off into the distance or at the object of itself. This had a tendency to make people very nervous around him; so he was thankful it didn't happen too often.

"I'm bored!" Sainō groaned, "This is soooo unfair!"

The moron was always the first person to voice his inner complaints, and Kit often wondered if the only different between them was their difference in etiquette—or Sainō's lack of. They were too similar for comfort, and at times Kit found himself very upset that he allowed himself to think the same things.

"I should have better discipline," he criticized himself.

"Stop whining!" Kira smacked the boy.
"Stop hitting me, Gaki!"
"I told you to stop calling me that!" she hit him again.

This time Sainō tackled her, and the two of them went rolling across the dusty field, yelling and shouting insults. Kit felt a headache coming. He was just about to separate the two of them when the jonin moderator called out their team number.

"Number thirty-eight!"

"Stop fighting and let's go!" Kit snarled, tightening his belt and zipping up his jacket.

"Name?" the jonin asked, not looking up from his list.
"Kitaka Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki?" the jonin looked up, "You're the fox's boy?"
"One of them," Kit smiled sheepishly.
"You're kinda late getting through… you're brothers were in the top twenty."
Kit didn't know how to answer; thankfully his teammates arrived to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"You're telling us," Sainō grumbled, walking up with several scratches on his face and trying to straighten his clothes.
Kira on the other hand looked as if nothing had happened, "Gakira Nara, sir."
"Oh, right," Sainō reddened, "Sainō Kodoko."

"Alright, step up to the gate. When the bell sounds… enter the exam. You know the rules?"
"Yes, sir," the three of them nodded, taking their place at the starting gate. The jonin didn't spare then a second glance.
"You ready for this?" Sainō chuckled with glee, so giddy that it could have been taken as a giggle.

"More than ready…" Kit whispered, mostly for his own benefit. His eyes narrowed, and, once the bell sounded, he was off in a blur of orange and red.

Kit ran full tilt, making certain to notice traces and hints of where other ninja teams had travelled; he avoided them as best he could. His main guiding instinct was to make it to one of the larger mountain outcroppings and then survey the area. If he could see a shrine, they would go from there. Kit was traveling so fast, his focus so narrowed; he failed to notice that he'd left his team behind him. In fact he might not have noticed this at all if Kira hadn't shouted after him.

"Kit, wait up!"

The redhead ground to a stop and spun around, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," Kira snapped, putting her hands on her hips and looking very much like her mother, "What's your plan?"
"Make it to that rock formation and see what I can find."
"With your eyes?" Kira sighed exasperatedly, "You're not Jira. You don't have the Byakugan; so the chances of seeing anything are slim. This training area covers several dozen kilometers!"
"We have to start somewhere…" Kira muttered.

"You're right," she smirked, "Which is why you have me… thankfully my father has had me playing strategy games since before I could speak."
"Ok?" Kit asked, not too impressed.
"Grr! I swear you two are so… male!" Kira threw her hands up in the air, "Use your brains, what are our chances of finding a shrine that none of the other teams have found?"
"Slim," Kit stated, "But we have to try."

"No," Kira countered, "We don't. Why should we do so much work… when there are plenty of other teams who have already done it for us?"
"What are you two talking about?" Sainō shouted.
"Shhh!" Kira rounded, placing a hand over his mouth. "We don't know who could be in the area!" she whispered harshly.
"Sorry…"

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Kit grinned slightly.

"I'm suggesting that we make our way to the tower," Kira crossed her arms, obviously pleased with herself. "The other teams have to make their way there once they have the orbs in hand. If we establish a hiding spot, we can survey the teams and ambush one of them. One fight… two orbs… and we make it to the next exam. We actually ended up with a better position than you'd think."

"But… only one fight?" Sainō looked as if he were about to cry.
"A good ninja avoids conflict," Kit nodded, "It's a good plan."
"Of course it is!" Kira hissed.

"Then let's move." Without another word Kit dashed off, leaving the other to hurry after him.

[…]

"Hey! Old man," Naruto shouted from behind Kakashi, watching with mischievous glee as the silver-haired man jumped. Well it wasn't so much a jump, as it was a slight tremor, but it was a visible reaction that Naruto had gotten the jump on his former sensei.

"Naruto, what a pleasant surprise… shouldn't you be inside the training area monitoring the exam?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"I'm the proctor," Kakashi's eye squinted with his hidden grin, "I point. You do. That's how this lovely arrangement works. I don't have to go in unless something dreadful happens, which you are supposed to be in there preventing."

"I was trying to find Sasuke, but he's not anywhere around here."
"That's because he's monitoring genin groups," Kakashi said with simplicity, as if he were speaking to a child, "Like you are supposed to be doing."
"Yarō," Naruto muttered.
"Watch yourself, Naruto, that's no way to speak to a superior.'

"Gloat all you want pervy pants…" Naruto frowned, turning to make his way into the training area, "I get to proctor the next part." He gave Kakashi his most mischievous grin and then darted off, overjoyed at the obvious look of discomfort in the perverted jonin's eye.

[…]

"Sir, wait! You can't just go in there! I have to…. Wait, sir!"

Tsunade heard her aide's distress from inside the office and raised an irritated eyebrow at the door, especially when it swung open. Her irritation was replaced quickly by surprise when she saw who her uninvited guest was "Kazekage Sabaku," the Hokage inclined her head, "This is unexpected."

"I come every month, Tsunade," the redheaded man said with obvious annoyance, "You can drop the civility. It gets old."

"Very well… Gaara," she said. The Hokage could feel the vein in her forehead pulse threateningly; she hated dealing with young people. "You're a little early this month, no?"

"Only by two days," he glared, "I'd have been here sooner, but I only received the list for the second exam last night. Imagine my surprise when I see my own son's name on said list… when he wasn't among the genin admitted into the first exam."

Tsunade's face paled just a little bit. It was going to be one of those conversations.

"It was taken out of my hands. Kakashi and Sasuke managed to out maneuver me… with Naruto's help unknowingly and Ibiki's help unexpectedly. There was nothing I could do."

"You're the damned Hokage!" Gaara snarled; the sand in gourd strapped to his back shuddered menacingly, "You tell them that it's not an option and that's where it ends!"

"Excuse me!" Tsunade roared in response, "Who in hell gave you the right to tell me how to run my village?"

"We had a deal Tsunade! Kit was to be kept out of the exams this year… in return I have been giving Konoha my undivided loyalty!"

"There was nothing I could do! If you want to blame someone blame yourself for not being here!"

Gaara bristled, "What's that supposed to mean."

"I mean for being a father you're a pretty crappy one," Tsunade sneered, "And seeing as how Naruto has custody of Kit, the choice remained up to him. Once Kakashi managed to wriggle a loophole, only Naruto could have stopped the boy from entering."

"If anything happens to my son, Tsunade… so help me."

"Don't!" she stood up, throwing her desk out of the way. They heavy wooden monstrocity lodged into the wall, where it stuck—much to Gaara's shock. Very many people have underestimated Tsunade's strength, but she wasn't about to be bullied in her own office, "Don't you dare, threaten me Sabaku no Gaara! After all this village has done for you, you should be willing to drop to your knees to help us!"

"You're making enemies left and right, Tsunade," Gaara's voice was venomous, "I've done everything you've asked of me… I have cowed to Konoha at every turn, so long as it is not a detriment to my village, but you're making it very hard to understand why."

"These are politics, Gaara," she said flatly, "People don't like power when they don't possess it. Konoha has always been near the top, but never on the top, and now that the power is shifting towards us, people are covering their assets. You think I don't know what Kumogakure and Iwagakure are plotting? You don't think I haven't seen the dangers?"

"I think you are too confident in your infallibility," Gaara responded coldly.

"Konoha has done nothing wrong."

"Your village has been taking quite a bit, Tsunade," Gaara's lips turned into a thin frown, "Even Suna is beginning to feel the economic downturn. These exams were to supposed to even the balance of job assignments, yet now there are three more Konoha genin teams. How could you expect this to not have repercussions?"

"My kids should not be punished for their talent!" Tsunade snapped, "Talent which you are responsible for, in part! How could you even think of doing something like that to your own son?"

"He's not ready, and that's not the point."
"It is the point! They deserve the same chance as every other genin."
"Sometimes sacrifice is necessary."
"Who are we to determine who gets sacrificed?"

"Everyone sacrifices something to make peace," Gaara's voice got even colder, if such a thing was possible.
Tsunade raised her eyebrow, "Are we even talking politics at this point?"

"It doesn't matter."
"Somehow I think it does."
"Drop it," Gaara warned her.

Tsunade nodded, having no desire to shout with the Kazekage again. "I promise you that all precautions have been taken, Gaara. What happened during your genin exams will not happen again."

"You had better hope so," Gaara whispered, "If something were to happen to Kit… there will be no end to the amount of hell I will rain down upon you, and I promise that Naruto will be far less forgiving than I."

Tsunade knew all too well how angry Naruto would be if one of his children was hurt, or heaven forbid killed. While the Kazekage was powerful, Gaara was no longer a Jinchūriki, but Naruto was—one of the last remaining vessels of a tailed beast. If he got angry enough, Naruto could cause unspeakable damage now that he had the Kyuubi under control.

"That is why I have Naruto proctoring one of the exams," the Hokage said thoughtfully, "He is also moderating the current exam, as are Sasuke and many others."

"Uchiha is full of himself," Gaara spat.
"Your personal bias aside," Tsunade said sternly, "Sasuke is a good jonin, and he'll keep an eye out where others may not."
"I still cannot believe you let him train my son. He should have come to Suna and trained with me."

"The Council of Elders for both Suna and Konoha gave custody to Naruto," Tsunade couldn't repress her sigh of frustration, "Naruto can't train two genin teams… Kit therefore went to the next best candidate. At least Naruto is keeping a constant eye on Sasuke… among other parts of his body."

"I don't need to hear about it," Gaara blanched, obviously sick at the images of Naruto and Sasuke.

Tsunade smirked, barely containing her self-satisfaction. It wasn't easy to make Gaara of the Sand unsettled, but at least she knew how to do it. "I won't let you forget what you lost by running away, Gaara, and you shouldn't try to forget."

"I lost the moment he returned."
"You'll never know that," Tsunade shrugged, "You gave up." Her word had an apparent effect on the Kazekage, who suddenly looked very old.
Gaara's shoulders sagged, "I am... going to retire for the night."

"You're apartment should be sparkling; it was just cleaned yesterday," Tsunade bowed politely.

"Thank you," Gaara bowed in response, "Good evening, Hokage-sama."

Once the easily irate redhead had left, Tsunade walked over to the wall and pried her desk from it. She easily carried it back to its place in the center of the office, taking her seat once again. Releasing a deep sigh, she opened a draw and was saddened to see that her bottle of sake had shattered from her outburst.

"This day just gets better and better," she muttered, picking up the broken bottom and downing what liquid managed to stay in the container. It was nowhere near enough to easy the headache she'd just received.

~Notes~

Yaro - means asshole in Japanese
Kodoko - a mixture of the kanji for boy and child, basically Saino's name mean "talented boy-child", I just wanted to share that. :)