HOLY PANCAKES. Ono This took forever… :'D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES. I also do not own any other OCs introduced, except the following:

Tsukuyomi Clan

Nero

Daiki

Botan

Miyuki

Hajin

Ayano

Zoki

A/N: This is still in Nero's POV~

Chapter Five: Talent-less Fool and Big Groups

"I said I didn't want to do this." I muttered, walking behind Ruriko and Akira as we made our way to the exams. Akira rolled his eyes, smirking a little and his folded his arms over his chest.

"Just because of a silly nightmare? Nero, you can't let that ruin our chances in the exams!" He protested, although, I knew he was nervous by the way he looked away, nibbling on his lip. Ruriko was frowning and seemed to be trying to ignore me, but I wouldn't let her.

"Ruriko, I'm not joking. You have to believe me. That nightmare was way too real to be just a nightmare." I insisted. She flicked her eyes in the opposite direction and seemed slightly annoyed with me, but I could tell she was still pondering my warning. Even so, they didn't make any attempts to stop and turn around, the academy building coming into sight.

Just the look of it gave me the creeps as Ruriko led us in through the front doors. The sound of our shoes hitting the wooden floor was all I could hear, echoing up and down the halls. I got the weirdest feeling as we headed to the main room where we were told to meet.

"Ruriko-" I started, but this time she whipped around and grabbed the front of my cloak, surprising me as she jerked me down to eye level with her lavender eyes that were blazing angrily.

"All right," She snapped at me, "So you're scared cuz of some nightmare? Who gives a shit? Nero, we're here to become Chuunin! I don't care if our lives are in danger! That's what being a shinobi is about! Didn't you consider that before you entered the academy?" I stared at her, studying her angry expression. Normally I would have commented how cute she was when she was mad… I mean, don't get me wrong, cuz she was cute, but that wasn't the point.

It was what she said.

She was right. About joining the academy, to become a shinobi… Risking my life was part of the job. Even so, the thought of Akira and Ruriko in danger, of letting Botan get his paws on me was making me uncomfortable, like I knew we didn't stand a chance. Ruriko let go of my jacket, stepping back to fold her arms over her chest, glaring up at me.

"I know it's tough competition. I'll admit that Daisuke's team is probably pretty tough. So is Lee's team and all the others… But we're strong too. You've both been training like hell to get here and I won't let you give up!" She announced, then whipped around and went for the doors.

I smiled a little and came up behind her, giving her a hug. Ruriko stiffened and I could see a very amusing, hot blush cross her face.

"You're always acting so tough… You're starting to make the boys look bad." I told her quietly, hearing Akira harrumph behind me. Ruriko huffed and reached up to clamp her hands over my arms, holding for a second before throwing them off her.

"Whatever." She snorted and pushed the door open to reveal a room full of impatient Genin. I winced and the confidence that I had felt for that split second vanished. Way too many people in one cramped room. Akira was at my side in an instant, probably a little freaked out by the annoyed expressions on almost everyone's faces.

I could easily pick out the Rain village team, the little snot leader of the trio smirking smugly in our direction. It really made me want to punch him, but I didn't want to make a scene and held back. Immediately as the doors closed behind us, we were met with Daisuke and his teammates, Sora and Mai.

"Hey, guys! We were waiting for you! Glad you didn't back out because I heard several teams did." He added with a dissatisfied little pout. Sora sweat dropped, brushing her long scarlet red hair out of her matching eyes.

"Daisuke, this round of exams is supposed to be one of the hardest." She pointed out dryly, but Daisuke only huffed confidently, folding his arms over his chest.

"I say we're gonna kick ass big time!" He announced. They're quieter, white-haired and icy-eyed member, Mai, only shook her head, hiding her face behind her hand as if to show that Daisuke was an embarrassing fool… Which he kind of was, but that was why I liked him. It was like Kazuya said…

Sometimes you need those kind of people around to lighten the mood.

"What's your issue, Daisuke? You're such a moron." A voice stated. I looked up to see a pair of auburn-haired twins with green eyes, the cockier one having spoken the insult to which Daisuke replied with an eye twitch. The twin with her hair in buns smiled a bit meekly, patting her sister on the shoulder.

"Ayaka, let's not start a fight now. The exams haven't even started." She pointed out. Behind her, came their third member. A boy about Ruriko's age with deep blue hair that touched his shoulders and stormy eyes, his right eye sclera black. He had such a flat expression on, as if he found nothing funny, which was kind of weird if you compared him to Daisuke, the obnoxious loud-mouth.

"Yea, Ayaka. Listen to Honoka." Daisuke taunted. Ayaka's eye twitched angrily and she clenched a fist in his face.

"Keep talking." She challenged. Daisuke grinned, but Sora covered his mouth quickly as he opened it, laughing nervously.

"He forgot to take his medication." She lied smoothly. Daisuke flailed comically, his curses muffled as he shook his fist.

"Who're you guys?" Ruriko butted in, not used to so much conversation around her as she stared at the quieter boy. I felt a small pang in the back of my mind and I wondered for a split second if it was jealousy, but then I smiled with relief when I remembered that Ruriko cared more about food than she did dating.

"Name's Tachibana Ayaka," Ayaka introduced proudly, putting a hand on her twin's shoulder, "This here is my sister, Honoka. And that guy is Kawaguchi Ryuuko. You must be Tsukuyomi Ruriko and Akira. And Nero… Mayu-sensei mentioned you." Mayu. She was one of the pretty Jounin that Kazuya introduced me to yesterday.

"Cool! Someone actually remembered us!" Akira blurted. I flung my hand back on instinct, smacking him in the face, making him yelp and clasp his hands over his nose as it grew red. Ruriko sweat dropped as I looked away innocently.

"Have you met any of the other competition?" Honoka asked, giving a warm smile. She was cute, like her sister, but her personality made her a bit cuter. I wanted to smack myself. Why was I paying attention to that at a time like this?

"Definitely," Ruriko answered since I didn't want to talk and Akira was busy tending to his red nose, "We made some 'friends' with one of the Rain Village squads… Real jerks, especially the shrimp." Ayaka's eyes lit up.

"Him? He's taken the exams three times already and has failed all three times!" She exclaimed.

"They say he ends up killing all his teammates." Sora muttered, folding her arms over her chest and giving a look of disapproval.

"Dude, that's low!" Akira protested, recovered from the smashed nose. Daisuke huffed.

"Some teammate… I feel sorry for whoever he's hanging out with." He pointed out, putting a hand on his hip and thrusting a finger in the team's direction. Mai rolled her eyes, looking the other way and I could tell what she was thinking.

Dumbass. Point at them and they'll know we're talking about them.

"You know, we can hear you from across the room." A guy's voice called. There were just way too many teams in one room. So long as the Rain team didn't approach us, I was fine with that!

The guy approaching us dark haired, dark-eyed Genin about two years younger than me dressed in a dark green jacket, shorts to his knees, and his headband on his right arm. Daisuke smacked his forehead as if he was annoyed with amount of attention that was flowing. I was going to say it was his fault, but I had almost forgotten that it wasn't just us two in the room.

The new Genin was accompanied by a girl with the same hair and brown eyes, wearing a green coat with no sleeves and dark green pants that seemed to flare at her ankles, her headband on her forehead. Their third member was a blue-eyed blondie with glasses with bandages around his arms and legs.

"I thought you said teams were dropping out." Ruriko said, glancing at Daisuke, who sweat dropped.

"You ever been to these exams?" He asked.

"Normally," The first Genin guy spoke up, "There's more teams. Last time, there was enough to plan a preliminary round… They may have to do it again if this is the amount of people they have planned."

"Unless there are people like that Rain Village team, who kills all their teammates." Ayaka snorted, folding her arms over her chest. I flinched.

"You're talking about Hajin?" The first Genin asked.

"Yea, what'd you know about him, Osamu?" Daisuke asked. The Genin known as Osamu smirked at him a bit cockily and I got the feeling these two were almost the same…

"Everything Kotori-sensei told us. She dug up some dirt on the guy." He responded tauntingly.

"Kotori-sensei?" I blurted and got some funny stares, but probably because they hadn't heard me talk yet.

"You know our sensei?" The second girl on their team asked with curious eyes. I stiffened and bit into my lip, only answering with a slight nod. I got elbowed by Akira, but I elbowed him back as Ruriko spoke up.

"Wait, wait. What kind of dirt? It's good if we can get as much info on this guy as possible." Ruriko said. Osamu paused, seeming to think it over before shrugging.

"The rumors about him killing off his teammates are true, but there's no real proof… People just assume that his teammates are reckless and worthless." He pointed out.

"Not worthless," The girl jumped in, "Just not ready for the Chuunin rank… You don't have to put it so flatly."

"Sorry, Kishi." Osamu said under his breath. I frowned. Ruriko sighed, then smirked.

"Great. This'll be fun. I call kicking his ass first!" She yelled. I sweat dropped and Akira grabbed Ruriko around the neck, covering her mouth.

"You don't yell that in a room full of impatient Genin!" He hissed at her. Daisuke laughed, ignoring the random stares we were getting from the other Genin.

"Let's see you try it! I bet you we'll get to him first!" He challenged. I smacked my forehead.

"No way! Get off your high horse, Daisuke! My team will definitely kick his ass as well as yours!" Ayaka smirked, earning a sweat drop from Honoka. It seemed like each team had it's own cocky brat.

"To Hell," Osamu retorted, "He'll have you all pinned down and we'll have to be the ones to rescue you."

"Oh please! Who do you think you are?" Ruriko rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest after shoving Akira off her. Osamu smirked.

"The guy who's gonna save your life." He responded. Ruriko opened her mouth to make another comment, but this time I took the chance and covered her mouth with both my hands, averting my eyes the other way in annoyance. Seriously? What is wrong with over-confident shinobi nowadays?

"What about you? What makes your team so special?" Ayaka asked, looking right at me. I flicked my eyes the other way now and uncovered Ruriko's mouth. Ruriko huffed, wiping off her mouth before speaking for us.

"Good question. I was about to ask you that. You guys keep popping like bunnies. Our village hardly has any current Genin! Most of them fail our exams to become Genin…" She muttered.

"Whaaat? What exactly do your exams consist of?" Honoka asked, perplexed.

"Nothing much… We just have to defend ourselves in a fight is all." Ruriko replied.

"First one down loses." Akira announced confidently.

"For real? But you're graduating from the academy… Shouldn't they be a bit more lenient?" Sora asked with a frown.

"You'd think so, right?" Ruriko sighed. I frowned again. They acted like it was a hard exam for academy students, but it really wasn't. We were up against a Chuunin and it was just a defense test. Of course, some people -cough- Ruriko -cough- got carried away and actually jumped the Chuunin, but otherwise, if you could defend yourself, you passed.

She was right, though, that there were a lot more Konoha Genin than there were Suna Genin. So far we had met Daisuke's team, Ayaka's team, and Osamu's team. Each team, even though I hadn't seen them fight, were probably just as strong as our team. Of course, they each had their own cocky bastard just like ours, but they still showed to be formidable opponents. I was going to have a hard time during these exams…

Not just trying to stay alive, but keeping an eye out for that freak Botan and making sure my teammates stayed alive.

"What is the first exam anyway?" Ruriko asked at last.

"Some kind of written exam… This year's is supposed to be shorter than last year's, though." Honoka explained with a sigh.

"Wait, what?" Ruriko asked, frowning. I paled. Written exam? Akira flinched and glanced at me, but I looked in the other direction to avoid his stare. I knew he was probably worried, but I didn't want to see him feel sorry for me.

"What's on the exam exactly?" Akira questioned.

"Just a couple questions. The last one is usually the most important, but he actually speaks that one." Osamu replied with a slight yawn.

"Why, what's wrong with a written exam?" Ayaka demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"… It's not our thing." Ruriko replied dryly, folding her arms over her chest. I bit my lip.

Maybe these exams were going to be harder than I thought… I grimaced and really prayed that it would all fall on the last question this time. In a matter of minutes, a man dressed in a black trench coat with his headband worn like a bandana came in, yelling for everyone to shut the hell up.

He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't put my finger on it. For some reason, Ruriko kept popping into my head, but maybe that's just because he shouted the entire time he talked to us, ordering us to pick numbers and sit at the appropriate seat.

I found myself sitting by Daisuke and another girl with black hair in a ponytail matching her onyx eyes. She wore a familiar crest on the back of her jacket, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Good thing I'm sittin' next to you," Daisuke laughed beside me, "I don't think I could put up with Ruriko's nagging." I smiled a little and nodded, but glanced down at my paper. All the symbols looked like random slashes on the paper, nothing like words or anything. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. Great… Just what I needed the first time around.

"You can't read, can you?" A girl's voice asked and I jumped in my seat, looking at the girl to my left. She was giving me a little smile, but it seemed more suspicious than anything… Then again, I was suspicious of everyone. I just gave her a curious stare before she spoke.

"I'm Koyuki… I can tell by the way you looked at your paper." She pointed out. I sweated a little, shifting uneasily in my seat. Usually people wouldn't guess it out loud like that.

"I hope you know that if you don't pass the first part of the exam, you fail all together and you bring your teammates down with you." She said.

"What?" I cried. She smirked at my reaction.

"Calm down… Before big-mouth over there starts ranting, I'll let you in on a little secret… The point of the exam is to cheat. Most of these answers don't even make sense to people without a sky-rocket IQ. Just copy what another person is doing… But don't get caught by the people who're going to be coming into the room in a bit. Sounds easy, right?" She asked, studying my flat expression.

"You've taken these before?" I asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow. Koyuki sweat dropped, her eye twitching before she poked me in the chest.

"Just because I've failed doesn't mean I sucked. It just means the exams were tough. Don't give me that look." She retorted. I smirked. At least she wasn't cocky or obnoxious like several people who came to mind.

"ALL RIGHT," Morino Ibiki's voice practically shook the room and put everyone in their seats correctly, "Welcome to the first portion of the Chuunin Exams! I see some familiar faces… WHICH MEANS YOU FAILED MISERABLY IN THE LAST EXAM!" Whoa, harsh. This guy definitely wasn't someone I wanted to be friends with. I frowned and leaned on my elbows, glancing down the table to the other side of the room. Ruriko and Akira were sitting together, giving each other annoyed looks. I just hoped Ruriko kept her mouth shut.

"This is the written portion of the exams," Ibiki continued, "There are five questions, but the last one will be verbal. The first four questions will be story problems, each about three paragraphs long and you must read them carefully! They're based on real life situations. Fail this, and you fail the entire exam and you will be forced to exit and never return… Not so bad, now is it? So long as you know how to read carefully." I flinched. It was like someone was out to get me. He babbled some more, mostly insulting us if we failed the exams. Most everyone seemed confident until they looked down at their papers. Even Daisuke flinched a little before he plucked up his pencil. I didn't even bother picking mine up. Those 'people' that were watching us were really watching us, their eyes locked on every move we made. I couldn't even blink without one of them narrowing their eyes. I winced, watching the symbols practically shift on the page. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to think.

Koyuki said that the point of the test was to cheat, but how can I? I could already see her eyes glowing an odd red. I knew she had a Kekkei Genkai, but for some reason, I couldn't place my finger on it. I knew Ruriko and Akira would know since Kazuya is always making them read up on things.

I felt pretty stupid compared to everyone in this room. I couldn't read, I couldn't write, I had no real special talents. Sometimes I wondered why my aunt even made me join this stupid thing… Becoming a ninja. Maybe I only joined thinking I could do something with my life… I thoughtlessly picked up the pencil, frowning.

I could remember Osamu saying that the last question was usually the most important… It was a stupid plan, but I might as well try it. I started copying down the questions over again in the answer boxes. Yea, it was stupid, but at least I would have something written down in the blank spaces. I could get away scot-free for a bit.

I didn't even know what I was copying down and my handwriting was terrible. Ruriko used to tell me that a lot. So did my aunt, but she was a lot harsher about it. She would snap my pencils in half and crush them up. I remember telling her that if she was so mad at me, why didn't she break me instead of the pencils. She said she could never do that to my mother.

Yea, right. She was just coming up with excuses.

I finished copying with a few more minutes to spare. I dropped the pencil and rested my forehead on the desk, sighing. My hand was cramped like hell and I'd have rather stopped earlier to take a break, but my mind was off on copying. I could hear some kids getting caught cheating. They tried to defend their case, but the sentinels didn't even let them get a word out, forcing them to leave the room. This Ibiki guy was a real jerk from my point of view. He was scanning the classroom just as hawkish-like as the sentinels.

I felt like I was falling asleep by the time Ibiki slammed his fist on the chalkboard, making some people jump.

"All right, your time is up! You will now receive the final and most important question! Of course, I'm warning you before hand… If you want to risk being kicked out of here for the rest of your miserable lives, you have permission to leave now!"

As if. Some of the Genin here are probably confident in their answers, whether they cheated or actually tried to work the problems out.

"… The final question… Is whether or not you deserve to become a Chuunin!" Ibiki announced, folding his arms over his chest and giving one of those tough guy huffs. I sweat dropped. Seriously? He worked our asses off on hard questions only to work up to this one? A lot of other people seemed confused too and were giving 'duh' expressions. Ibiki glared.

"Do not take this question lightly! Your answer on this will depend on everything you've done so far! Answer this one wrong and you're eternally barred from ever taking the exams again!" He yelled, making some of the Genin protest. I glanced down the table at Ruriko and Akira, who were rolling their eyes. I wonder if they were thinking the same thing I was thinking…

Couldn't we just totally change our identities and appearance to get in the next time they have the exams? This guy definitely didn't think like a ninja.

"Now, write your answer on the back of your exam before flipping it back over." Ibiki announced. I flinched. Well, jeez, that ruined my mood quickly. I grimaced and looked down at the page. It was supposed to be a personal answer, so no amount of copying was going to help me here… Nor was copying down the question since it was verbal. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, closing my eyes to think.

If I leave it blank, not only am I screwed, but so are Ruriko and Akira. It may sound easy to sneak back into the exams next time, but it probably wasn't and Kazuya probably wouldn't go for it since he's one of those noble Jounin. Ugh, maybe Botan and the rest of those freaks were the least of my problems… I bit into my lip, tapping the pencil eraser on the back of the paper.

I could hear some people already flipping their papers back over, probably confident in their answers. Ibiki was looking for some kind of answer, but what? A lot of people were probably going to put something along the lines of Because I want to be a great ninja! Or something stupid like that… Was he looking for something about our villages? Some worthless crap about peace?

No way… Everyone knows there's never really peace in the ninja world… So what the hell? There didn't seem to be anything else to put down… Wait a minute.

I stared down at the paper, dropping my pencil. I winced. I am such an idiot… I slammed my head into the desk again, ignoring how Koyuki and Daisuke both jumped in surprise. Why didn't I see it before? Maybe I wasn't totally useless after all… Although, it'd make me feel a whole lot less worthless if I was the first one to notice this…

Ibiki finally had the sentinels pick up our papers after about fifteen minutes when everyone was done. People started muttering amongst themselves.

"Nero, why did you copy down all the questions in the answer places?" Daisuke questioned me as soon as Ibiki left. I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. Why did I have the feeling that he was thinking of copying off my paper?

"Uhm… Because…." I muttered. I heard Koyuki smirk behind me and give my seat a little kick. I sweat dropped and leaned on the desk again.

"I can't answer the questions, that's why." I told Daisuke at last. Daisuke shrugged.

"Well, neither could I. I don't think half the kids in here could!" He replied. I sighed, taking off my headband to rub my forehead.

"Daisuke, I can't read or write. That's why I copied the questions in the answers spaces." I mumbled. Daisuke blinked and looked at me curiously.

"If you couldn't read or write, why didn't you tell someone? They can't make you take a test if you don't-"

"No," I insisted, "I don't like telling people… Because I used to get made fun of for it back at the academy… And shinobi don't tell other shinobi they're weaknesses unless they trust them." Daisuke paused, then beamed at me.

"So you trust me?" He asked. I twitched, feeling that same hot feeling in my face again. For crying out loud… This is one of those times I wish my aunt was here to smack me upside the head and tell me I'm stupid… Then again, maybe I did trust Daisuke. It's not like he'd start making fun of me or try and trick me or anything…

"Yea." I said at last. Daisuke grinned proudly.

"About time! Ruriko mentioned something about you not liking or trusting anyone when you first meet 'em!"

"Did she now?" I muttered, glancing down the table at said little brat, who was busy babbling to Akira.

"So that's how you did it?" Koyuki asked me. I twitched, then sighed, leaning on my knuckles.

"Yea…"

"Probably better than giving yourself a migraine trying to figure the answers out." Koyuki pointed out as she fixed her ponytail. I frowned, pausing before deciding to ask:

"I have a question… Uh, it's just that… I haven't been able to read up on history or anything of the sort, but… The crest on the back of your jacket…" My voice trailed. Koyuki blinked and glanced at her jacket, then gave me a faint smile.

"Uchiha Clan." She responded. I stared at her. Uchiha. That's the name of the clan that was supposedly completely wiped from the planet. I take it there was more than one survivor…

"Don't look so surprised," She replied, waving a hand in my face, "It's not like… Ah, never mind… It's best you find things out on your own."

"Eh? What-" I was cut off when Ibiki came back into the room, almost throwing the doors off its hinges and making every person in the room leap into the air, then back in their seats. This guy sure loved getting attention, whether it be negative or positive, apparently.

"More than half of you failed!" He shouted right away. I winced. Was I wrong about the last question? Well, looks like this was a complete and total failure…

"What's all this worthless writings about courage? The correct answer should be something like this!" He thrust up a blank sheet of paper and the pencil that I had picked up to bend nervously broke in half as I stared.

I was right!

"There are no words to describe why you should be a Chuunin! The sensation is already inside you. To defend your village and your friends and family! Those of you who put something down are required to exit the room. All others are to remain and be informed of the next part of the exam." Ibiki announced, throwing the papers behind him. There goes half the class's hard work… A lot of people got up, but nobody I really knew. To my surprise, Hajin and his team were still sitting in the room, looking as smug as ever.

How does a jerk like that even…? Seriously. Either the test was a rip off or that team is just sneaky… Or something…

Later…

"This is where our next exam is going to be held?" Akira asked with a grimace, staring up at the tall, barbed wire fencing around a pretty spooky looking forest. I grimaced.

"Looks like it." I muttered, then felt a twitch beside me and looked down at Ruriko, who staring up at the forest with wide lavender eyes. I waited a second… And then it happened.

"EW! There's bugs in there! I don't want to go in there!" She cried. I was too pleased with the fact that she had grabbed onto my arm to care that Akira was tugging on my other arm.

"All right, listen up, brats!" A female's voice yelled, making my ears ring. She sounded a lot worse than Ibiki by far. She hopped off the top of the fence, her coat fluttering as she landed on her feet like a cat. I felt Ruriko dig her nails into my arm.

"I hate ladies like her." Ruriko deadpanned.

"You're cutting off my circulation." I muttered.

"She's hot." Ruriko and I stared at Akira, who was busy watching the new exam instructor yell at us.

"Welcome to the second part of the Chuunin Exams! I am your instructor Mitarashi Anko!"

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A/N: Again, I shriek HOLY PANCAKES. :D I got so many OC entries and I think introduced most of the characters. The others will be introduced in the next few chapters as well. The next few chapters are gonna be super totally terrifically dramatic! Or at least, that's what I'm aiming for… I'm debating on the POVs for the chapters, but I think I have some ideas in mind. C: So, thanks for reading, I hope your OCs are all in character, and your reviews are super helpful and appreciated!