Chapter 2 The First Exam

I stared up at the Konoha main gate. It was so huge, like two nurikabe reaching for the heavens.

"Konohagakure…." I mumbled slowly.

It had been a while since I had stepped through these gates. Yes, I haven't been here since…….

"Come, as nobles we must always be a good example and never be late!"

"Hai!"

"Imoto-chan, don't wander off! You could get lost!"

"Karasu, he want's you to wait outside. Please don't go wondering off. I swore to okaa-san that I would take care of you."

"-su, Karasu!!"

I snapped out of my thoughts.

"What? What is it?" I responded quickly.

"You were zoning out." Kyoya said.

Kyoya was a boy about my age. His hair was a deep silver, his eyes were the color of the fresh healthy leaves that surrounded us. He wore a simple dark violet shirt with dark brown pants. Like me, he wore black arm warmers that reached up just barely above his elbow. Like me, Kyoya (which isn't his real name, it was changed for the chunnin exams) was an Akatsuki spy. I had known him for a while, we weren't friends but more like acquaintances.

My other companion was a silent boy who used the name Mikami. He was tall, perhaps about 5' 10''. His hair was a dark, dark brown that made his eyes stand out. Mikami had eyes that were soft and gentle looking but they were a pircing ice blue color that told others not to be fooled by his gentle demeanor. He wore a dark grey sweatshirt and black pants. A scarf that matched his eyes constricted around his neck and hung over his shoulders. I didn't know Mikami all that well but he mostly kept to himself and the few times he did speak, it was always something simple and relaxing.

As for me, I went by the name Izayoi. Like my companions I wore simple clothing so that we would not attract attention to ourselves. I just wore a simple pale green hanten, a while obi, and black pants. I wore my hair back in a low ponytail even though I usually just let it hang free.

The Akatsuki had carefully crafted us each a fake I.D. and travel papers. The three of us were all disguised as amegakure shinobi, the headbands displayed on our foreheads. We were obviously head and shoulders above most (probably all) of the people here, so we were instructed to tone down our usual abilities and try to appear the same level as everyone else. A feat easier said than done.

"Izayoi-san," Mikami mumbled.

Kyoya and I turned our attention to him.

"Shall we continued forward? We don't want to be late."

I smiled. "Sure, sure. Of course! Let's go."

"…we must always be a good example and never be late!"

I didn't let my teammates see but I took a deep breath before I stepped onto the other side of that gate that reminded me of two nurikabe.

--

I slumped down at a desk.

"What kind of test was that?!" I complained. "Even a idiot could tell that it was a genjutsu and we were still on the second floor."

Kyoya sat on the desk top. "I hope this exam isn't full of retards."

My eyes scanned the shinobi in the room. The people here all looked different. I even noticed a man who looked in his fifties. When I was sure no one was looking, I activated my sharingan and looked around a second time.

"What do you see?" Mikami asked.

I shook my head and deactivated my sharingan. "From the looks of it no one here is much of a challenge."

The room was huge and I was still surprised by the amount of people here. This room had obviously been used time and time again. The wood of the desks and chairs were worn and old. The paint on the walls was chipped to the point it looked like it was shedding. To be honest, I liked the old worn out feel of the room, it put me a ease for some strange reason.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!!"

My head snapped up and I stood to get a better view over the crowd.

"And none of you are going to beat me!!"

I stared at the short blonde boy. He had a huge, satisfied smile across his face. That's the nine-tails?! He was totally different from what I had anticipated.

Kyoya smirked "Well, he spared us the time of sorting through the trash."

My eyes wandered over to the raven haired boy at Naruto's side. I did a double take.

"No way!" I whispered.

"What is it?" Kyoya asked.

"Look at that boy right there!" I pointed at the raven head.

Kyoya's eyes widened and Mikami stared.

"That boy looks just like Itachi-san!" I said trying to keep my voice at a low volume.

Then, as if on cue, the boy turned and I saw the symbol on his back.

"The Uchiha crest! That means," I paused. "that's Uchiha Sasuke."

"Itachi's little brother?" Kyoya looked back at Sasuke. "Really now…"

"Interesting that he's paired up with the nine-tails." Mikami pointed out.

Suddenly, Kyoya stood up a little straighter. "That….that's…..you gotta be shitting me."

"What? What is it?" I asked, Kyoya wasn't the type to be easily surprised.

He nodded his head towards the front of the room. "Check out who's talking to the rookies."

I stared across the room at a nineteen year old boy with silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. Round glasses sat unmoving on his nose as he lectured the kids. It took me awhile but it finally registered in my mind who I was starring at.

"That's….impossible!"

"Who is that?" Mikami asked.

"You probably don't know him but he's one of Sasori's men." Kyoya explained.

"That's Kabuto-san." I said slowly.

--

Proctors appeared at the other end of the wall shortly after Kabuto was attacked by some Otonin. A guy named Ibiki seemed to be in charge. He talked confidently and with authority in his voice. He began to explain the first exam after he chewed out the Otonin.

"A paper test?" Mikami said.

This would be a breeze for him, Mikami was smart.

"Their going to separate us." Kyoya said as he began to stand. "How stupid."

I stared down at my seat number. Thirty-eight. I began to walk over to my seat when a flash of red hair caught me eye. I looked over slowly as the red haired boy sat down in his seat.

"…..Gaara-sama." I whispered.

I doubt he heard me, but Gaara looked over in my direction. We made eye contact. Everything seemed to go in slow motion then. How long had it been? When was the last time I saw him? Did he even remember me? It's not like I could just run up and start talking to him. Besides, he was different from when I had last seen him.

I turned away, my face red with embarrassment and who know what else. I continued towards my seat. Gaara was a jinchuuriki too. Does that mean I would be sent out to help in his capture as well?

I found my seat only to realize that I was, unfortunately, seated by Uchiha Sasuke. Maybe this was my karma for acting like a child in front of pain, I thought to myself. It would be hard to use my sharingan around him, he would obviously notice. It was pretty obvious that they wanted us to cheat on this test. This Sasuke kid must not be very bright if he hasn't figured out that much.

The test wasn't all that hard, I barely needed to cheat. I sure my teammates and myself had finished our test long before the others. I stared at the tenth question.

"Childish." I mumbled and I noticed Sasuke glance at me.

Out of boredom I began to doodle randomly until Ibiki announced that it was time for the tenth question. I sighed.

"Finally."

Once Ibiki began to explain I nearly laughed out loud. Was all of the chunnin exams this predictable?! I noticed most of the other students were nervous. Being raised by Akatsuki and personally trained by Itachi, I was probably smarter and more skilled than my peers. The same was with Kyoya and Mikami.

I watched, shocked, as the nine-tails raised his hand. No way! He can't quit! I have a mission!! Then he slammed his hand down on the table.

"Never underestimate me!!" He yelled. "I don't quit and I won't run!!"

I was floored.

"I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I risk ending up a rookie for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage, even if I can only make by pure stubbornness! I don't care!! I'm not afraid of you!!"

What was up with this jinchuuriki, he was so…..so…

"I'll ask you one last time," Ibiki said. "This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now while you still have a chance."

"I never go back on my word!" Naruto said. "That's my nindo!"

"How….how cool." I whispered.

I had seen many jinchuuriki going in and out of the Akatsuki base but not once had I ever seen one like him. He was so….so…outgoing. It didn't make sense to me.

As I expected, we passed the test but what I didn't expect was the second exam officer to come crashing through the window. Shortly after the two exam officers began to argue I tuned out.

"I'll cut down the number by half before the next test is done."

Those words caught my attention.