Hey! Yes I know it's been a while but please….I'm not a miracle worker, nor am I an angel sent from heaven to update every day (whose saying I'm not? ;) ) but I am doing my best…AND THAT'S WHAT COUNTS! Anyways

Also another reason why I have not updated….im working on another thing…a novel actually, and im spending most of my time on that instead of this….

Anyways….onwards with the typing!

(Sniff)…I…(sniff)…do not…(sniff)(sniff)..Do not own Naruto…(sob, sniff, sob)

Innocence

Chapter 19

The scratching pencils filled their ears in the large room. The multitude of genins silently and frantically tried to complete their exam. One blonde stood out however, she sat, legs swinging over the chair edge, tilting her head side to side, chewing on the eraser at the end of her pencil, and fiddling with a tip of hair.

Her large blue eyes were fixed on the man in front, Ibiki. The dark trench coat wearing man had become unsettled, for the girl had been staring since the exam had started, which was…30 minutes ago. Now, Ibiki would never admit it but he was worried since the small blonde had not once put that pencil on the paper, and also with only 15 minutes left in the test.

Suddenly, Narue's face changed, she smiled widely, and stooped over her paper scribbling. She was moving at an insane rate, and in about 9.56 minutes, she was finished. Ibiki suddenly thought of something and looked down to her chair legs, catching sight of the darker shadow flitting away from her. Ibiki smiled mentally, Shikamaru's family jutsu was almost perfect, and he could meld his own shadow to all the shadows nearby, and lengthen it to reach Narue, a genius.

"DROP YOUR PENCILS! ITS TIME FOR THE 10TH QUESTION!" his bellow actually echoed in the now deathly silent room. Taking a moment to revel in the quiet, Ibiki got down to business.

"The tenth question is the most important; it counts for about….75 of your overall grade in the first exam." The murmurs and gasps interrupted him and he glared, letting slip some K.I. for good measure. It was silent once more and he continued, "However, there is a choice you must make. Will you or will you not take this question?"

Many of the genin were confused and it showed, "If you choose NOT to take the question…..you will not be able to participate in any chuunin exams." One brave genin at the front raised his hand and asked a question, "You mean, not participate until the next one? In 6 months?" He sat back down sweating under Ibiki's gaze.

Ibiki smirked mirthlessly and cold, saying lowly, "No, for your entire life." This caused uproar, to give up the chance to ever move past the rank of genin, just to pass one silly exam? Ibiki's voice rose over the others, continuing in his hard monotone.

"However, you have the choice to quit this exam and wait for the next one…but….your teammates will be disqualified also." The tension was high in the air, and stifling in the room. Finally, one genin stood up, head hung and sad, "I quit…sorry Gin, Niami." The defeated team trooped out, and others soon followed.

Team after team left and little Narue was scrunched up in her seat, worrying over her nails, troubled. If she quit, Sasu and Shika would be mad at her, but if she continued, she would lose the chance to ever pass the chuunin exam. She didn't want either of those, and in her distress, her eyes started to flicker from Shikamaru to Sasuke and back again.

At one such flicker, Shikamaru glanced over and somehow sensed her distress, smiling lightly. A Quick glance to Sasuke showed that he was staring at her, although not smiling, but a lifting of the corner of his eyes and the slight softness in his dark eyes were enough for her to deduce that he was. Feeling at ease again, she returned to looking at Ibiki…certain that her teammates will not be angry.

Ibiki noticed the girl's shining eyes soften and become secure…he smiled, (something he rarely did)…although it was more scary than any other person, as the whole room shivered in anticipation and fear.

When there was silence once again, and genin's stopped standing up, Ibiki gravely said, "Is that it? You all are willing to lose your chance of ever being higher than a genin, all for this one question?" with no sound, only tension and high stress levels Ibiki said, "Okay then, you all pass!"

"WHAT?!" it was the sand female, she stood up ad slammed her palm on the desk.

"That's right, this exam was created to test your information gathering as well as how well you deal with stressful situations. You chose to be a ninja, not a gardener, you have to deal with risky choices and have to have the balls to go through with them. So basically congratulations, this part of the exam is over." He stopped, as if waiting for something to happen, and after about 5 minutes of nothing he sighed.

"CRASH!" a purple ball smashed through the left side window, four kunais sprang out and pinned a large sheet of fabric across Ibiki's face. Anko stood up in front of the genins and hollered, "TIME FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE EXAM! NOW FOLLOW ME!" nobody moved. Ibiki sighed, moving out from behind the sheet he said, "Your late Anko….again."

Anko looked hurt, "too bad, usually I'm early but whatever." She turned back to the still-sitting genins, "well? GET MOVING!" still they did not move.

Well not all of them. Narue giggled and sprung up from her seat, standing on her desk, "HAI!" but instead of going to the door, she turned around and launched herself into Shikamaru's open arms, smiling lightly.

"Shika-chan! Carry me there!" and nestled her face into his neck. He only sighed, and kept moving towards the door, with the blank Sasuke following him. About a foot out the door, a holler echoed back to the other genin and proctors.

"BYE-BYE IBIKI-CHAN!" Ibiki smashed his hand to his face, turning around swiftly to hide from the amused stares of the examiners lining the walls.

"-chan?" one dared to say, and consequently was helped out the window by Ibiki. (SPLAT!)

"This brats, is your next playground, otherwise known as the Forest of Death." A slight tremor went through the crowd of genins, at Anko's words. Most of the teams clustered together, trying to not piss themselves at the sight of the humongous and quite terrifying forest before them. Anko grinned sadistically, trying to ignore the fact that Narue, Shikamaru and Sasuke were participating in a game of "Eye-Spy"

"You teams will be locked in that forest for five whole days, each of them will be given a heaven or earth scroll" she held up each mentioned scroll "you will have the whole time-period to find and capture the counterpart scroll from another team and them get to the tower in the centre of the forest….with me so far?"

After a few seconds she smiled cheerily while holding up a white sheet of paper, "Of course, you will have to sign your name at the bottom of this form before you enter, just so I wont be sued if you never come out again." One insignificant genin from Ame raised his hand.

"What are we signing to again?" Anko glared at the boy for making her talk more, and he quailed under her gaze.

"This form basically says you entered this forest at your own risk, and if you die, your village and families can't say we tricked you or anything…so basically you're signing your own death." She smiled again.

Several audible gulps were heard, along with a quiet, "Eye-spy with my little eye something that is…purple!" "Anko-sensei's hair!" "Awwwe." Anko sighed loudly, and just gave out the forms, silently promising to upgrade Team seven's training regime. Her bloodlust and killing intent scared the poor cloud-girl in front of her shitless.

And Team Seven blatantly ignored it, choosing to simply continue their exciting game.

Branches went by so fast she couldn't even see a clear picture, Narue bounced along behind the two boys ahead of her, jumping from tree to tree.

The team had ambushed a poor little Rain team and had taken their scroll, just as the gates had opened, and were now on their way to the tower. In the back of Narue's mind there was restlessness, and it was making her slightly less aware. Narue kept up with the boys and looked around.

It was until a great wind cut them apart. Sasuke and Shikamaru stuck kunai's into the threee wood, but Narue was in the air and was blown into the bushes.

A laugh sounded around them.

"Kukukuku, Sasuke-kun. I've come for you."

God im exhausted.

Anyways update.