Okay, number six. Last one finned. Pretty close with seven, though. So here goes.

I don't own Naruto

Three weeks later

Etsuya was starting to wonder whether this was really a good idea. Sure, he would love the day off, but there were probably better ways then this. His team may have improved, but they still had no chance of actually passing. Not to mention that they may die. Still, there was no turning back now. His squad walked in and sat in their respective seats.

"Alright, I have a special announcement. All of you have been officially registered to take the Chunin Exams. You will report to the academy in one week. Try not to wear yourself out or anything beforehand. So… Good luck and all that." He could see the excitement on their faces.

"Do we need some kind of pass then, or do we just walk in?" Asked Hideko.

"Of course. I have the application forms with me. Just hand them in when you get there."

The group was walking back through the forest. Etsuya had told them several times that he had removed the traps, but they still never felt completely safe unless they were in a group. Shiori turned to her teammates.

"I can't wait. Imagine if we actually made Chunin. I mean, I wonder if that would be some kind of record." Shinsuke looked at her; Hideko kept walking, wrapped in her own thoughts.

"I don't think we'll actually pass, but its still an honor to be nominated our first time around."

"Wow, way to have confidence. But yeah, probably not. At least we know Etsuya has some confidence in us."

"Hey Hinata!" The girl whipped around, startled. "You'll never guess what just happened. I'm going to be in the chunin exams." She just stared at him.

"Uh, Shinsuke, you know that everyone from our year is going to be competing, right?" He looked at her. Something wasn't right. He wasn't sure what, but he could feel it.

"Wow, so you're going to be there too? Looks like we're competitors, then. Good luck. Oh, by the way, when I kick Neji's ass, I'll be sure to think of you." She smiled.

"Thank you." Now he was positive something was wrong. He turned around, as if to walk away, so he could give her an opening. That was when he heard it. He ducked, dodging the attempt by 'Hinata' to stab him. He pulled out his weapon scroll and summoned his naginata.

"Mind telling me who you are, since you're obviously not Hinata."

"Mind explaining where I went wrong." She poofed, turning into ninja. He couldn't see his face well, but he could see his hitai-ite.

'So, he's from Amegakure.' "The real Hinata wouldn't have thanked me for threatening her cousin. Not only that, she wouldn't have been so open. She might seem like she's nervous to people, but that's just her normal attitude. You, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. I guess you just figured that she was more 'normal' around people she knew." He readied himself. 'Why on earth am I getting attacked. It's not like I've done anything. In fact, the only missions I've ever done were D-rank. If he just wanted to kill someone to take their place in the exam, he would have come with a squad. Otherwise, it's just stupid. Which means that the others are probably fighting, too.' He charged towards his attacker and slashed sideways, but the ninja jumped back, and then ran off. He could have chased after, but decided against it. He figured he should check on the rest of his squad, just in case he wasn't alone.

Hideko couldn't wait. This was her chance to prove herself to Sasuke. The best genin from all the villages would be there. And she would be ready. This wouldn't be like that fight with Neji, or the spars with her teammates, or the matches back at the academy. This time, she would show just how much she had improved, how powerful she really was. She ran straight up the tree in front of her, and then jumped backward on to a nearby branch. Then, she back flipped off, landing safely on the ground. She had to keep practicing her chakra control. She went to repeat the steps, but this time, she felt someone watching her. Instead of just jumping off of the tree, she kept running up it until she reached a branch. She sat there, looking around. She felt something coming from behind her. Instead of looking, she dropped off, avoiding a blow from someone. She couldn't make out any details before she flipped around to land. She took off running towards the river in the back of her team's training ground. She knew that her assailant was following her, but she didn't look. It wasn't necessary. He was pretty sloppy, and she could hear him behind her. She got to the river and turned around. He ran out right behind her. She finally got a good look at him. He wore a headband like hers, but with vertical lines going down it. His eyes were dead white.

"It appears you have chosen a spot then." She could have talked to him, but she didn't really think she could gain anything from it. She formed a hand seal, and the water from the river diverted around her, putting her on safe ground in the center. The attacker pulled an umbrella out from his back and threw it into the air. A mass of senbon fell down towards her, but instead of dodging, she used another jutsu. The water behind her came up, going directly above her. The needles hit the water and sank a few inches before completely stopping. Then, with a new seal, small spheres of water from in front of her came up, before hurtling towards the enemy ninja. He dodged most, but a few hit him in the chest, hurtling him into a nearby tree. He fell down before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

'A clone. Then where's the real one?' She stood there, ready to be attacked again. However after several minutes, nothing happened. She couldn't sense anyone, so she assumed that he had left the area. She ran off, looking for someone to tell this to. If someone was trying to attack her, they might attack someone else, too.

Walking around Konoha, Shiori realized just how many people were going to be competing in the exam. She wondered whether they had just gotten there, or if they had been there for a while and she just never noticed. Almost every village was being represented, including a few she had never even known about. 'Well, I guess that they aren't hidden for nothing. They look strong, but their still genin like me.' She wandered for a little longer, but she could hear someone coming from behind her. She turned and saw Shinsuke running up. She started to greet him, but he cut her off.

"Have you been attacked recently by a rain-nin? He disguised himself as Hinata, then tried to kill me." She just stared at him.

"Why would he do that? It's not like you did anything." He shrugged.

"I'm not sure. He might be trying to infiltrate the exam. Where's Hideko?""I haven't seen her since our meeting." He turned around.

"C'mon then. We should try to find her. Then we'll look for Etsuya." He ran off. She trailed behind him.

They ran through the village, but couldn't find her. When they got away from the center, Shinsuke stopped.

"Alright, I think we're far enough away now." She stopped, staring at him.

"Far enough for what?" He laughed. She stepped back, afraid.

"Isn't it obvious. You won't leave here." He pulled out a kunai and threw it straight at her. She jumped to the side and pulled out a kunai of her own.

'This isn't right. Shinsuke isn't that accurate. This is someone else.' "Mind telling me who you really are?" He stepped towards her.

"It doesn't really matter. You don't need to see me." He ran straight towards her. She ducked his punch and tried to counter with a leg sweep, but he jumped and avoided it. Then, coming down, he pulled out another kunai and stabbed, only for it to hit the ground where she used to be. She slashed at his arm with her own, but he stepped back. She quickly performed a seal, and then pressed it against the ground. A wall of rock formed behind him. Then, she pulled out an explosive note and threw it at him, sticking it to the wall. He jumped to the side, but the rubble hit him on the way down. He rolled, then ran off toward a random alley. She ran after him. She couldn't see him, but she knew that he was nearby somewhere. The alley broke into a nearby street. It amazed her that noone had heard anything. Then, farther down the street, walking away, she saw Shinsuke. 'You are not getting away!!!' She ran towards him, punching straight at the back of his head. He noticed at the last minute and managed to dodge.

"What the HELL are you doing!!! Are you insane!!! Besides, I have to tell you something." He shouted this, but she kept attacking.

'I'm not going to fall for it again!!!' "Why did you attack me back there!!!" He looked at her, confused.

"I didn't!!!" 'What is wrong with her? I don't think she can even hear me right now. The least I can do is get her away from all these people.' He took off in a sprint away from her; she followed right behind him.

"Get back here!" He kept running. He tried to think of somewhere away from people, where noone would get injured. Eventually, he came up with it; the training ground.

He kept running. Behind him, he could hear her shouting. He didn't like what she was saying, either. However, despite his speed, he made sure that he went slow enough for her to keep up. He could see the gate. As he got closer, Hideko sprinted out. The two collided into each other, sending both down onto the ground.

"Watch where you're going! Oh, I have to tell you something!" Shiori caught up with them and threw a kunai towards Shinsuke, who rolled out of the way and scrambled to his feet. Hideko got up quickly and stood off to the side, unsure of what was going on.

"Let me guess. You got attacked. Hideko, this isn't Shinsuke. He tried to kill me a few minutes ago." Shinsuke looked at her.

"No I didn't! That was someone else! They went after me too!" Hideko looked back and forth at them, unsure of who to trust.

"Alright you three, this has carried on longer than I thought it would." They looked up. On top of a nearby rooftop was their sensei, Etsuya. "I think I should probably stop you now before anyone gets injured." He dropped down, landing Between Shiori and Shinsuke. "Normally, rookies like yourselves aren't entered into the chunin exams, so you guys were tested to see if you were ready or not. All of you passed, by the way."

Hideko looked at him. "And you never told us this because…"

"If I told you, you wouldn't have reacted the same. We needed to make it seem real." Much to Shinsuke's relief, Shiori put away the kunai in her hand.

"Your actually Shinsuke, aren't you?" He nodded. "Umm, I guess I should apologize, then. Sorry I tried to kill you."

"I think you forgot something."

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure you threatened to kill my entire family at one point. Among other things."

"You know what, screw you. Last I heard, you hated your family."

"Somehow, that doesn't sound like a valid excuse." She glared at him. "Alright, I give. Accepted." Etsuya looked over toward his pupils.

"Well, now that this is done with, I have better things to do." And with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hideko sighed. "I really hate it when he does that." Shiori and Shinsuke looked at her.

"Why?" Said Shiori. "I mean, when I learn that technique, I'll use it." Hideko shrugged.

"I don't know. I just think it's creepy."

"Your bloodline makes the color of your eyes change. Trust me, it's much creepier than that."

"…That makes me feel much better. Thanks." Hideko started to walk off. Her teammates just stared. After a minute, Shinsuke ran over after her, wondering what he had missed.

"Hey, what was that? You can't expect me to just leave you on your own after that, can you?" She kept walking, staring at the ground.

"Do you think that my bloodline is creepy?"

"What?"

"Is it creepy? Do you think that Sasuke would think that, too?" He looked straight ahead. He wasn't sure if he could keep looking at her while she was like that.

"No, of course not. Hideko, you need to stop thinking about what Sasuke thinks. If something is going to happen between the two of you, then your eyes aren't going to stop it, okay?" She looked up at him.

"Do you think that I'm weird for caring about what he thinks? I mean, I know that Shiori does. But I never really talked to you like this. Just the two of us, I mean."

"I think you're about as weird as every other shinobi in this village. Seriously, have you even payed attention to these people? Sometimes I'm afraid to go to sleep at night." She laughed.

"But seriously, is there something seriously wrong with me?" She looked at Shinsuke, but he wasn't the one who answered.

"Of course there is. You have way to much dedication towards training to be a fangirl." They turned toward the voice. Shiori had caught up with them. "Seriously, I don't think they would even be ninja if Sasuke wasn't here."

"Thank you, Shiori. It's getting late, I should probably get home now." She took off running. Her teammates just stood there, surprised at the sudden reaction. Shiori started to walk off, but Shinsuke stopped her.

"What exactly did Hideko mean when she said that you thought she was weird?" Shiori turned around.

"Oh yeah. Back after our second day as a team, I told her Sasuke was a lost cause. She was pretty much pissed afterwards." And with that, she walked off. Shinsuke stared as she turned the corner.

See what i mean by sorta chunin exams. This is the part that a lot of authors just skip over. Well, anyway, the actual exam starts next chapter. Read and review.