A/N: The Mocks are over! No more nights with two hours sleep and hours of revision! And no more falling asleep in freezing cold exam halls! Ookami Tsubasawa is happy :D and you now what else? I might be going to a Nightwish concert with two of my best friends!! I shower my hapiness on those kind reviewers that are my inspiration and motivation :D

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto again because of how amazingly awesome Naruto's skills have become!

Claimer: All things associated with Kari and Kita belong to me.

I need to put up 200 review fanart :O! I'm so flipping late!! GOMENASAI MINNA!

Note: Nigero = 'run'. Nan de = 'what the?' Nande = 'why?' Ashite = 'Tomorrow'. Atsui = 'Hot'.

Anata Gai Nakute Shabisiidesu

I miss you

And after being without her, he realised how much she really meant to him,

and how much he truely needed her.

Shikamaru strategically moved the Shogi piece before pausing and looking back at the sleeping shinobi. The nice guy he was, he came to visit Chouji, but when he found Naruto was in hospital too decided to come see him as well.

"This guy sleeps a lot" Shikamaru said "Maybe he's dead." The lazy ninja heaved a sigh and turned back to his game. How troublesome… Kita sat opposite him, watching curiously as he played against himself. She had been watching over Naruto while he slept.

She looked round and jumped on the bed walking across it and jumping down again, she lifted herself onto her hind legs and pawed at the table. Shikamaru looked around and was surprised to see that the green sand in his hourglass timer had stopped flowing. "What's this? Damn it's stuck. How troublesome." There was a groan from Naruto as a blue eye cracked open.

"Yo! Finally awake?" Shikamaru greeted.

"Doko ka?" Naruto mumbled, looking around sleepily.

"The hospital" Shikamaru replied. "I heard you were asleep for three days straight."

"Three days?" Naruto repeated. Then it sunk in. "THREE DAYS?!" He jumped into a standing position on his bed, while Kita stared at him in surprise.

"N-nani?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru! When are the final matches?!" Naruto shrieked.

"Ashita" Shikamaru said confused.

"EEEHHH?!" Naruto screamed grabbing the front of Shikamaru's shirt. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP EARLIER DATTEBAYOU?!!" He pulled Shikamaru closer to him showering the lazy ninja in spit. "I don't have time to be lying around here sleeping! Where is Ero-sennin?! WHERE IS HE?! I need him to supervise my training!!"

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru choked out. "I have no clue what you're talking about!"

"My clothes are gone!" Naruto shrieked, diving back on the bed and throwing his pillows in the air. "DOKO?! DOKO?! DOKO?!"

"Geez… he's sleeping one minute and causing a ruckus the next…" Shikamaru sighed. "Calm down!" Naruto froze. "There's no point in panicking the day before, resting can be considered a part of your training." Naruto slumped silently. "Oi Naruto? Doushita?" Shikamaru said worriedly. A loud growl was his reply and Naruto looked round with tears down his face.

"I'm hungry…" Kita giggled and jumped onto the bed again. Naruto picked her up and set her in his lap.

"Come on… don't scare me like that…" Shikamaru sighed. "Oh yeah" Shikamaru bent down to pick something up by the side of the bed. After a moment he placed a basket of fruit in front of Naruto.

"This is troublesome, but I brought these fruits for Chouji" Shikamaru explained. "The doctor said he can't eat them so let's eat them together."

"Chouji? He's hurt that badly?" Naruto asked.

"Don't get the wrong idea" Shikamaru said smirking. "He ate too much barbeque and his stomach isn't feeling well." Naruto burst into laughter, startling Kita who walked off his lap and sat opposite Shikamaru instead.

"That sounds like Chouji alright dattebayou!"

"Girls don't come to visit guys like you…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Oi! Kita-chan is a girl! If Kari-chan knew I was here she'd be by my side in an instant" Naruto said confidently. "In fact she's watching through Kita so in a way she is here. She's just really busy training."

"So you've seen her since she ran away from hospital?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hai! She's fine, just a little pale." Naruto said grinning. Suddenly he remembered the last time he saw her.

He could remember falling, screaming at the top of his lungs as he fell faster and faster the wind rushing in his ears. His heart was pounding, trying to escape through his mouth and his eyes stung from the cold air. He felt his falling slow slightly; at least, he thought he did. And his eyes closed for a split second.

He was in a place made of stone that was bathed in an eerie gold light. It was silent apart from the sound of dripping water. There was a rustling and snarling sound and Naruto looked around confused. He felt something brush his hand and squeaked in alarm.

"Shh it's me" Kari said softly, lacing her fingers with his. "Stay close to me okay?" Before he could answer she gently led him down a corridor, before turning left down another corridor. This corridor was a lot darker and their footsteps disturbed the shallow water coating the floor.

That feeling… the red chakra…

Naruto gripped Kari's hand tighter, feeling a little apprehensive. She looked back and smiled encouragingly. She was there; there was nothing to be afraid of. The noise was getting louder and the light brightened, blinding Naruto's eyes for a moment.

He gasped realising they were in front of a gate.

"What's this?" Naruto asked looking at the seal holding the gate closed. Red eyes and a set of sharp teeth came into view, bathed in a fierce red chakra.

A frightening snarl erupted down a corridor to their right as well as a thunderous din of banging and crashing of metal. Naruto shuddered slightly and moved closer to Kari who squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"They won't hurt you Naruto. Those are my demons" Kari whispered to him.

"Come closer…" the red chakra growled at him. Naruto obeyed, slowly walking closer. Kari stayed where she was, letting his hand go. Naruto shouted in alarm when claws grinded against the gate and rushed back to Kari's side. A blast of white chakra forced his claws back inside his cage. "I want to devour you, but this gate will not open. It is a detestable seal."

"You're…" Naruto whispered in shock.

"Kyuubi" Kari finished, regarding the large beast with interest.

"You… You are the Torai-Kenshi jinchuuriki…" the Kyuubi said.

"The red chakra was his" Naruto said finally understanding.

"You came to me this time" the Kyuubi said in surprise. "Why did you come here?" Naruto faltered slightly but laced his hand with Kari's and immediately his fear was thrown aside.

"Oi you dumb kitsune!" Naruto said angrily. "Since you're staying in my body, give me your chakra as rent!" The Kyuubi chuckled evilly.

"So you're saying that if you die I die as well? You have guts blackmailing me like that" red chakra began to pool out through the bars of the gate. "As an ally of the holder of my mate I suppose I cannot refuse. As a reward of coming all the way here I'll give it to you!" the red chakra was almost at Naruto's feet now. Roars erupted from the right and Kari's hand slipped through his.

"I'm proud of you Naruto, but I have to go now" Kari whispered. She placed a kiss on his cheek before disappearing down the dark corridor as chakra swirled around his body. As the golden tips of her hair melted into shadow his eyes were shrouded in darkness.

Of course, only seconds had passed but he was full of the red chakra and managed to summon Gamabunta the chief toad. He struggled to win the toads respect by holding on all day but as the sun began to set he supposed he fainted. But he remembered a warm feeling around his middle and the soft sound of beating wings…

He was brought out of his thoughts when Shikamaru handed him an apple. Kita was chomping on an apple (she loved fruit even though she was a wolf) liking the juice of her nose and muzzle with her long pink tongue. Naruto was about to take a bite out of his apple when he gasped his eyes widening.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked, noticing Naruto's pause.

"Let's eat these in front of Chouji!" Naruto said, chuckling mischievously.

"Naughty Naruto-kun!" Kita scolded as she threw her apple core in the air and with careful precision and a swift move of her paw, got the core in the bin. Shiruba-chan, Obaasama and Okaasan were very good teachers!

"What a troublesome guy…" Shikamaru said shaking his head with a lopsided smile.

As they walked out the door to visit Chouji, Kita yipped in alarm and took off down the hall. Dropping the basket, Shikamaru and Naruto chased after her and burst into Lee's room only to see Lee covered in sand with Gaara hovering beside him. Shikamaru immediately grabbed his shadow and Naruto ran over and punched the redhead in the face.

"Temee! What the hell are you doing here?!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Oi Naruto" Shikamaru said. "When I'm using the Kage Mane technique I'm moving along with him. Got it?"

"Eh…Gomen Shikamaru" Naruto apologised sheepishly while Kita shook her head from her position on Lee's stomach. There was a ring of sand around her and she was prepared to jump if it so much as twitched. "Temee what are you trying to do gejimayu?!"

"I tried to kill him" Gaara said, his face and voice devoid of emotion.

"Why do you need to do that? You won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?" Shikamaru demanded.

"No. I'm going to kill him because I want him dead" Gaara stated.

"That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard!" Naruto shouted.

"You grew up in a bad environment didn't you? You're really ego-centric." Shikamaru said, trying to keep calm.

"If you bother me I will kill you too, regardless if you are important to her." Gaara said.

"What?! Just try it then!" Naruto threatened energetically.

"Hey! Cut it out Naruto!" Shikamaru hissed. "We know that you're strong because we saw your match with him. But this guy here and I are pretty strong. We didn't show our strongest moves at the preliminaries."

"And Kari-chan's strong too!" Naruto threatened ignoring Shikamaru irritated glare. He knew Kari was extremely important to Naruto, but she didn't need to be brought into this. What if that guy went after her next?

"And it's two versus one too" Shikamaru continued. "You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us we'll let you go."

"I'm only going to say this once more. If you bother me I will kill you!" Gaara seemed to be getting angry.

"You can't kill me!" Naruto shrieked pointing an accusing finger at Gaara.

"Naruto-kun!" Kita scolded.

"I told you to stop doing that!" Shikamaru cried. "He's strong as a monster, you know that right?"

"I and Kari-chan have real monsters inside us!" Naruto said smirking. That horrifying roar echoed in his thoughts again and he shuddered slightly. Kari-chan… "I won't lose to you!" Shikamaru elbowed him.

"Don't piss him off ahou!" Shikamaru hissed.

"Bakemono ka?" Gaara asked, closing his black rimmed eyes. "Then I am the same. As you said I did not grow up in a nice environment. I took the life of the woman who was my mother when I was born. To become the ultimate ninja, my father used a technique to bind an incarnate of sand to me." His eyes opened as he remembered telling the same story not too long ago to her. The one that holds the devil. "I was a monster at birth." The leaf nin's eyes widened. "It is called Shukaku and was sealed within a teakettle. It is the living soul of an elder priest from the village of sand."

"Must be one of the soul binding techniques to bind a soul before birth" Shikamaru said. "To think that you guys would resort to such a thing… you guys are crazy."

She said it was horrible, that they were the monsters to have hurt me before I was even born.

"That's not what a parent should do, what a twisted way to show love" Shikamaru said.

"Love?" Gaara repeated. "Don't measure me by your values. Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just lumps of meet linked by hatred and murderous intent. I stole my mother's life and was created to be the village's masterpiece. And as Kazekage's son, my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques. I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled and then left alone. I thought that was love. Until that incident happened…"

"That incident?" Shikamaru repeated.

"What happened, dattebayou?" Naruto asked. When he got no answer, Naruto shouted a bit louder. "What happened, dattebayou?!" Gaara smirked maniacally his eyes opening wide.

"In these past six years starting from when I was six, my father tried to assassinate me numerous times!" Gaara replied.

That look on her face… shock, sympathy and anger… anger at my father for even attempting to hurt me. Yet I can't understand her feelings. Why would she feel resentment towards them?

"But you said that he spoiled you" Shikamaru said. "So what do you mean?"

"A being that is too strong eventually becomes an embodiment of fear" Gaara said simply.

He remembered how she was quiet for a moment before smiling sadly and turning back to him. He could remember her words so clearly, and that lost look in her eyes, that fear and sorrow that was eating at her "And that's what awaits me. It's only a matter of time."

"Since I was born from the usage of a technique my mind was unstable. The idiots in my village finally realised that my emotions were unpredictable. To Kazekage, my father, I was the village's trump card."

He paused remembering that red glint that sparked her eyes at that point. "That man is simply the one that fertilised your mother's egg, he was cruel to you in your childhood, and he caused you pain, he shouldn't be considered your father." He still couldn't understand how she could hate his father just from what he told her. It was… odd. She was odd.

"But at the same time I was a threat. After I turned six, it seems that they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but still handled with care. I am only a relic of the past that they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? I asked myself that question and could not find an answer. But I need those reasons while I am still alive. Or it would be the same as being dead." Gaara said, his eyes narrowing.

"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru whispered in shock. Kita abandoned Lee's side and jumped into Naruto's trembling arms. His eyes were wide with understanding.

"And this is what I concluded. I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief in the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins I was able to recognise my reason to live. I fight only for myself and love only myself. As long as I think that other people exist to make me feel that, the world is wonderful. As long as there are people to kill in this world, to make me experience the joy of living, my existence will remain." Gaara said.

"I can see how you would think that, and you had every right to kill those who those who tried to kill you" she said softly. He was surprised that she agreed, but remained blank. She was simply someone to listen to his story, nothing more. "But… I hope someday you'll be able to find a new conclusion, because that path seems very sad and lonely, with no one ever being able to understand you." She paused and looked round at him, her eyes genuine and true.

No one had ever looked at him like that.

That's why she's still alive. She's different. Interesting… "I hope someday, that you can find someone to love, and someone to love you. Even if it's only one person so that you're not alone anymore." He disagreed with her opinion but listened to her anyway. "Solitude will never bring happiness. If anyone deserves to be happy it's you." He found that rather idiotic, a murderous demon deserves to be happy? "You've suffered too long Gaara."

Naruto's eyes were fixed on Gaara, his brain forgetting to tell his body to breathe. He held Kita tightly. His thoughts whirled around his head;

He's the same as me. I didn't know the reason for my existence and suffered, but Iruka-sensei acknowledged my existence, so I was finally able to feel like I was alive. Until Kari-chan came and breathed life and joy like I had never known into me and relied on me and needed me as much as I needed her. She… She's my everything.

But this guy… he had no one. He has always been alone and felt alive… by killing others? Such a guy exists? Our worlds are completely different! There's no way I can beat a guy like him!

Naruto took a step back, shaking in fear. Kari wasn't with him now. But she was always there when he needed her. He needed her now! Where was she?!

"Naruto-kun doushita?" Shikamaru cried.

She's unconscious… He could feel it. And she was in pain, she wasn't well. He could feel her spirit yearning and screaming to come to him, but she wasn't able to. She'd been exhausted after being in that chamber with Kyuubi.

There was the sound of rushing sand and Kita yelped in alarm. Sand rushed around Gaara who was once again emotionless.

"Naruto! Naruto oi! Wake up!" Shikamaru cried as a rush of sand raised up in front of Naruto.

She isn't here… She's my source of strength and she can't come to me…! Kari-chan! Kari-chan!!

The sand was rushing towards them so fast. And Naruto couldn't move, he was frozen.

"Let me feel…" Gaara whispered excitedly. Naruto's eyes widened with fear but gasped when the sand was thrown away from him and Shikamaru in a blast of white chakra. He felt a dull thud of pain in his chest and realised that Kari had defended him whilst she'd been lying unconscious.

Even when she can't wake up she forces herself to protect me. And I doubted her. She's always there when I need her even when she's not physically here she watches through Kita. How could I have doubted her?!

Naruto was distracted from his crushing guilt when someone entered the room.

"Stop right there! The main matches are tomorrow. There is no need to get hasty" Gai said in his booming voice. "Or do you want to get hospitalised today?" Gaara's eyes widened and he clutched his head. The sand retracted from around Lee and rushed back into the gourd. Gaara walked out of the room with one hand still holding his head.

"I will kill you guys for sure" Gaara said coldly. "You just wait."

Naruto was still shaken and stroked Kita to calm her. He hoped he'd see Kari soon. He doubted he'd calm down until he did. That overwhelming fear had shown him how much he needed her. Even though he wasn't a coward, he needed her reassurance if he was ever uncertain.

Gomenasai Kari-chan. Never will I doubt you again.

Naruto stood outside of the empty arena, looking up at the sign. 'Chuunin exam main match stage'. The moon cast shadows across his tan face and darkened the colour of his vibrant sky blue eyes. Kita looked up and whined softly, Naruto stroked her head. It was soothing, and at the same time reassuring. Kita was a part of Kari, in a way; he was holding Kari in his arms too.

"Ashita eh?" he whispered glancing at Kita.

Tomorrow… Tomorrow he would fulfil his promise and win his match for Kari-chan. He'd beat Neji for hurting Kari and Hinata. Then he'd go on to win it all for his Ookami-nee.

He went to Ichiraku and ordered a glass of water, wishing Kari could be there to eat with him. Celebrate their possibly last day as genin. Ayame giggled happily as she fed Kita a small bowl of ramen, Kita wagging her tail in delight whenever the chopsticks came close to her.

"What's wrong? I haven't seen you in a while" Teuchi said, preparing a fresh batch of ramen.

"I was in the hospital" Naruto chuckled.

"Hospital?" Ayame asked.

"But I'm fine now; I'm as good as new!" Naruto reassured.

"Sou ka" Teuchi said. "Ayame!" he said handing a bowl to his daughter. She handed the bowl to Naruto smiling widely at him.

"Ojiichan?" Naruto asked.

"Just eat up" Teuchi said waving his hand. "The main matches are tomorrow right?"

"Then… Ittadakimasu!" Naruto cried gratefully as Kita wagged her tail, her mouth full of noodles.

Naruto walked through the crowd of the people enjoying the festival before the main exam. He brought Kita some sweet dumplings on a stick and was feeding her as they walked towards his apartment. He would have loved to join in some of the games if his friends were about, but didn't really feel in the mood.

"Kari-chan has never been to a festival has she?" Naruto asked Kita, remembering Kari telling him that on the way back from Nami. "I'll throw one just for her when I become Hokage, what do you think Kita-chan?" Naruto asked grinning at the cub who was chomping on the last of the dumplings.

"Hai!" Kita cried in delight.

At 2:40am Naruto was still awake and restless. Kita was fast asleep, her soft breaths the only thing distracting him from the ticking clock. He was tired, but couldn't sleep.

"Kari-chan… are you still awake?" Naruto murmured thoughtfully. He glanced at his calendar.

11th August – Main matches.

He hadn't seen Kari since mid July. He missed her.

"Ashita... I'll see her tomorrow" Naruto whispered closing his eyes.

"You don't even have a scratch on you!" TenTen said in awe as she panted in exhaustion. "You're good to go Neji!"

"I guess I will stop the light exercises here and get going" Neji said. TenTen bit her lip. He still wasn't the same. They hadn't seen Kari in a month and had heard from the hospital she had run away. She was sure that Kari had been to see Neji before she ran off again. He was too keen to train, too desperate to prove himself. If he hadn't seen her he'd still be in depression.

"Kari-chan should be there shouldn't she? I hope she's okay" TenTen said knowing she was treading on thin ice. Neji gave her a hard stare that unnerved her slightly. "Her wounds should be healed now."

"She'll be fine. She always is" Neji said turning away.

"Neji!" TenTen cried. He stopped but didn't look back. "Don't be too hard on her. Something happened in that forest… I've never seen her like that before" TenTen paused as Neji closed his eyes trying to drive out those images of her covered in blood, her eyes… horrified, terrified. The way she begged him not to leave her.

Was that it? Because he left her when she needed him most?

No, she was fine in the hall, greeted him cheerfully enough. It was when he lost his temper and went to kill Hinata. She didn't trust him, was anxious and tense before the fight. She told him not to hurt her. If he hadn't lost his temper… She'd have been training with them this last month. She wouldn't despise him. He wouldn't have almost killed her.

"Neji just… don't expect too much of her okay?" TenTen said timidly. "She just needs some time."

Naruto sat up tiredly as his alarm went off. Dark shadows were under his eyes and he looked pale.

"I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous…" he mumbled. "First I have to fight Neji in the first round.

"Even my Sharingan cannot see those Tenketsu"

"The most strongest genin in Konoha is probably on my team. He is Hyuuga Neji."

Neji…

Neji…

Neji…

The gates of Konoha opened to allow the feudal lords to enter. There were crowds on either side to welcome them.

"You should be sitting in one of those you know" Kaizo said to his wife with a grin. Kitome smiled at him and shrugged.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Kari-chan's fight" she said softly.

"She'll make us proud" Kaizo said his grin widening with pride. "She's our daughter after all."

"And Naruto-kun's fight is first. We'll have to cheer for him too" Kitome said happily as they began to walk to the arena.

"Definitely. That kids a future legend I tell you. I'm just glad we aren't on ANBU duty today" Kaizo said happily.

"Ah sumimasen are you going to the arena?"

"Of course, please follow us" Kitome said kindly to the foreign shinobi.

Naruto walked slowly towards the arena feeling tired and queasy. Kita was laying on his shoulder looking amazed at all the people.

"The first fight features Hyuuga Neji right?"

"Aa he was last years number one rookie ne? I can't miss the matches now!"

Naruto sighed sadly feeling depressed.

"Ne, Naruto-kun they're right! To see Hyuuga Neji beaten by the future Hokage will be a sight to see!" Kita whispered to him. He smiled at the wolf cub before continuing to walk, feeling a little better.

"Hyuuga Neji… I'm able to summon a frog now so I should be fine dattebayou! And I have Kita-chan and Kari-chan's support!" Naruto grit his teeth remembering the cold look in Neji's and Gaara's eyes. Sighing he trudged towards a nearby training ground. But someone was already there.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked causing the shy girl to jump. Kita jumped out of Naruto's arms and rushed over to her.

"Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan! Ohayou gozaimasu!" Kita cried in delight jumping into her arms.

"N-Naruto-kun! Kita-chan!" Hinata cried half-hiding behind one of the three wooden posts. "Why did you come here?" Hinata asked shyly. "Isn't today the main matches?"

"Ore wa… you know…" Naruto said awkwardly. "I just came to see this training area. Since this is where I became a genin."

"Really?" Hinata asked. "But why?"

"No reason! Who cares about the reason?!" Naruto cried, not wanting to seem soft.

"Yeah… gomen" Hinata said softly.

"Oi Hinata? Neji is your relative, ne?" Naruto asked.

"Yes" Hinata replied.

"Is he strong?" Naruto asked seriously.

"Yes…" Hinata said sadly.

"Sou ka…" Naruto said.

"Demo… you might be able to defeat him Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried. Naruto laughed.

"Yeah I am strong!" he laughed, but he gave up and sighed. Kita lightly giggled at his expression, her tail gently wagging.

"I'm sure you can beat him Naruto-kun…" Hinata said timidly, pressing her fingers together nervously, Kita relocating to her shoulder. "When you cheered me on… I felt like I had become stronger than before. After the preliminaries… I was able to like myself a little more. If a stranger looked at me, it might have seemed like I hadn't changed… But I think I was able to change… And I think it was thanks to you Naruto-kun. Kari-oneechan helped me very much, but I think it was you who gave me that extra little push…" Hinata smiled shyly, a stubborn blush on her rosy cheeks.

"Oi Hinata… Did you really think that?" Naruto asked.

"Eh?"

"I may look strong from your point of view… but I always screw up… and I just act strong because I'm mad dattebayou" Naruto said, frustrated with himself.

"That's not true!" Hinata cried, Kita yipping in agreement. "Even if you did make a mistake you always… from my point of view… a proud man who makes a lot of mistakes is very strong. When I looked at you there was this impact on my heart. You're not perfect… no one is… You make mistakes and you become stronger from them. I believe that is true strength. Kari-oneechan says that we learn from our mistakes. She is always defeated in training by Neji-niisan, but she never gave up. She says that she can't let you down and she wants to be able to keep up with you" Hinata blushed fiddling with her fingers as Naruto stared at her in shock. "Naruto-kun… I and Kari-oneechan agree that you are a strong person…" she gave Kita a gentle embrace before inching shyly behind the post, a smile on her face.

"Arigatou… Hinata" Naruto said with a grin. "Now I know why Kari-chan adores you." Hinata blushed.

"Oneechan…" she said softly with a smile, Kita's tail swinging lazily.

"I've always been last place in everything. I was nervous over nothing" Naruto chuckled "I just need to see Kari-chan and there'll be no way I can lose! I was a bit depressed but I feel better now dattebayou!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried joyously, her hands clasped together in delight.

"Come on Kita-chan!" Naruto cried and Kita immediately bounded over and jumped on his shoulder. "Ja! We'll be going to the matches now."

"Ja ne Hinata-chan!" Kita cried as they began to walk off.

"Hinata…" Naruto said stopping and looking round with a smile. Hinata looked up with a blush "I always thought of you as…" Hinata's heart pounded and her blush intensified. Could he…?! "…a dark, timid and weird person." Naruto finished bluntly.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata murmured depressed.

"But you know what?" Naruto continued as he began walking away. Hinata looked up curiously. "I like people like you, dattebayou!"

The wind ran through Hinata's short midnight locks as she watched his retreating figure with bright lavender eyes. Her lips were parted and her blush made her feel warm and dizzy. She would cherish those words in her heart forevermore.

You were wrong Naruto-kun, you don't come last in my heart… And not in Kari-oneechan's heart either. You are my idol. You are her courage. You are our strength.

"Oh! Be sure to come watch me beat Neji! And don't miss Kari-chan's fight either, if she's trying to keep up with me she'll be super strong dattebayou!" Naruto cried over his shoulder.

She smiled as she nodded, the both of them startled by the sudden explosions above the arena.

"KUSO! It's that time already?!" Naruto shrieked, realising that the exams were soon to start. "I'm late! I'm late! Kari-chan'll kill me!! Ja Hinata!!" Naruto shrieked as he ran full pelt towards the arena. She watched him leave, the blush still warm on her face.

"Sorry I'm late Hinata!" Kiba said walking up to her with Akamaru on his shoulder. "Shino's match is later on so… Oi Hinata?" Kiba asked. He was wearing a jacket reasonably alike to the black one he gave Kari. His hood was down for once revealing his messy brown hair without his hitai-ate. Hinata was wearing a blue blouse and her ninja capris. The Hyuuga girl wasn't listening, still staring at the place Naruto disappeared. Kiba looked back and forth confused. "Nan de? Oi Hinata, Kari-chan will scold me if we're late."

"Ara? Kiba-kun? Right we should go" Hinata said snapping out of her reverie.

"It's going to start!" A Konoha citizen cried.

"Get out of the way dattebayou!" Naruto shouted rushing through the crowd as Kita held on tightly to his shoulder. "Damn it's pretty far away dattebayou I have to make it!"

"Naruto-kun dattebayou's a lot when he's stressed…" Kita sighed, shaking her head as Naruto rushed along.

"Naruto-niichan!" Naruto paused and looked down an alley.

"Konohamaru?" the younger boy grinned.

"I've come to save the day!" Konohamaru cried striking a thumbs up.

"Konohamaru why are you here?" Naruto asked nonplussed.

"We'll talk later, come over here! I know a secret way to get to the stage directly!" Konohamaru cried rushing down the alley.

"Nani? YOSH! Well done Konohamaru!" Naruto cried excitedly rushing after him.

"Kita-chan has a bad feeling about this…" Kita sighed watching Konohamaru's scarf fly behind him.

"Those who conquer the secret passageway conquer time!" Konohamaru cried, searching through a patch of grass.

"Sou ka! You're great Konohamaru!"

"There should be a hole in the fence somewhere" Konohamaru said, crawling through the grass… only to find the hole covered up.

"Doushita Konohamaru?" Naruto asked, noticing Konohamaru had frozen.

"The… passageway has been fixed…" Konohamaru said sheepishly.

"NAN DE?!" Naruto shrieked. "I don't have time dattebayou!" Naruto turned to continue running but Konohamaru grabbed his ankle.

Naruto-kun is a shinobi… Naruto-kun could jump over the fence… Kita thought to herself.

"Oniichan! On to the next plan!" Konohamaru cried.

"I seriously don't have any time left dattebayou!!" Naruto cried at the young boy clinging to his foot. Konohamaru grinned.

"This is a secret, but there's an amazing passageway that will allow you to arrive at the stage in a flash!" the younger boy cried, while Kita mumbled about a 'bad feeling'.

"Nani?! Yosha! Well done Konohamaru!" Naruto cried.

"This hole is a shortcut?" Naruto asked as Konohamaru pulled a manhole cover aside to reveal a deep hole. Kita huffed to herself. She was not going down into that dark smelly hole and ruining her recently washed fur. She couldn't fight alongside her Okaasan if she was covered in muck!

"It leads directly to the stage, I'm sure of it!" Konohamaru cried as Kita jumped down beside the young boy and peered into the hole. Yuck. She is definitely not going in there. A mission would be different, she could quite easily teleport to the arena (she could almost land on the ground now) but her loyalty to Naruto-kun kept her at his side.

But Kita-chan's do not go into smelly, dirty, dark holes without need to.

"Directly eh? Yosh, lets hurry dattebayou!" Naruto cried grabbing Kita and jumping into the hole, Konohamaru jumping in immediately afterwards. Naruto screamed as he slid at full speed down the mucky, grimy, sewer, Kita on his stomach and Konohamaru sliding behind him.

"Konohamaru what is this?!" Naruto shrieked.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get to the stage in no time!" Konohamaru cried. Kita noticed a small dot of light that was rapidly growing larger. "See! We're near the exit now!" Naruto smiled; finally as he shot out of the tube, he was so sure he was going to be late and…

NAN DE?! THE CHUUNIN EXAMS ARE NOT HELD AT THE BATH HOUSE!!

Naruto shrieked as he fell face first into the hot water with a splash, Kita landing unsteadily on the surface, trying to stay steady on the rippling water.

"ATSUI! ATSUI! ATSUI! ATSUI! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!!!"

"This must be a mistake of some sort…" Konohamaru said sheepishly to an angry Naruto.

"KO-NO-HA-MA-RU!!" Naruto growled cracking his knuckles while Kita sighed at his behaviour. With a shriek Naruto pointed at the hole in the trunk of a tree at the top of the waterfall of the hot spring. The hole they had all shot out of. "How the hell did that thing bring us here!?!"

"Naruto-kun that thing is a tree!" Kita cried, pointing to the object with her paw.

"And we've got farther away from the place!!" Naruto howled.

"Well! Before it led to the stage…" Konohamaru cried, trying to defend himself. Kita tilted her head to the side, unable to imagine it. "Let me prepare the next plan!" he paused noticing some bulls. "This is it!"

"Kita-chan has a not so bad feeling about this one" Kita said wagging her tail.

"If we ride this we'll get to the stage in no time!" Konohamaru cried pointing at the bull.

"A bull?" Naruto said sighing hopelessly.

"Don't underestimate it Naruto-niichan! A feudal lord's bull is different to normal bulls. One it starts running racing horses look like a joke. They cannot beat a serious feudal lord bull!" Naruto looked thoughtful but then climbed on, placing Kita in front of him on the bulls neck. "Oniichan just leave the rest to this bull and you'll be at the stage in no time."

"Yosh I'm counting on this! Let's go!" And with that Naruto gave the bull a huge kick. The unimpressed bull threw him off, Kita staying on and watching with interest. She settled herself on the bulls back. The bull scraped its front hoof, glaring at Naruto, or more glaring at the red swirl on the back of Naruto's jumpsuit. With an evil moo it charged at Naruto, Kita happily riding on its back as Naruto screamed and scrambled away.

"YAAAA!! NIGERO DATTEBAYOU!!"

The bulls they passed looked up in confusion and noticed the dash of red and immediately joined the chase, Kita leading the bull army with the bull in front.

Shikamaru sighed as he looked around inside the area. Oi, we're missing quite a lot of people here… Sakura and Ino sat together in the stands, looking down at the scene.

"What are the others doing? The main matches are going to begin soon" Ino said anxiously.

What's going on Sasuke-kun, Kari-chan? Naruto's not here with Kita either… Sakura thought solemnly.

Meanwhile, Kita was still leading her army of bulls after Naruto, who was screaming and running for his life.

"NANDE DATTEBAYOU!?!" Naruto shrieked as he ran full speed, the bulls persistently gaining on him. Konoha citizen screamed and ran away before they were trampled, not thinking to help the poor future Hokage in their retreat. "I'm going to die at this rate dattebayou!" Naruto whined while Kita glanced at the sun to check the time. "I know! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!!" Naruto shrieked creating clones of himself. "Minna! Try and lose the bulls dattebayou!"

They split into three groups, but somehow the bulls managed to cut them off and heard the clones back together again.

"Minna doushita dattebayou!" Naruto cried, noticing his clones back together. "Why did you come back?!"

"New ones appeared and our path was blocked dattebayou!!" a clone cried in reply as Kita noticed her army had increased.

"Why the hell did you make the problem worse?!" Naruto shrieked as he increased his speed. Looking ahead Kita saw their destination. With a big leap she landed in front of the bulls and charged around the Naruto's in her way.

Naruto tried to run into the arena, but so did his clones which resulted in everyone getting stuck in the entrance. The bulls bellowed and charged into the clones, propelling Naruto forward and sending him flying into the arena until he fell flat on his face and skidded until he was in front of Shikamaru.

"What kind of entrance was that…?" Shikamaru mumbled.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried in relief.

"He's totally late…" Ino said, folding her arms.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru complained, pulling Naruto's arm over his shoulder and helping up. Naruto seemed to regain consciousness.

"Minna, nigero! The bulls! The entire village's bulls are going to go after everyone and Kita-chan is sitting on the leader dattebayou!!" Naruto cried.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked perplexed.

"I'm serious dattebayou! There's so many of them!" Naruto cried.

"The same Kita that's with Shino now?" Shikamaru said.

Kita had rushed over to Shino, tail wagging in delight, but had then noticed Neji. She hadn't forgotten what she had seen and her ears shot back, her tail curling underneath her. Shino had lifted her up silently, and she had curled up close to him, staring at Neji with wide fearful eyes. The Hyuuga hadn't missed this, but chose to ignore it, though was unsuccessful.

Naruto paused in his desperate explanation and looked around; Shino and Kita, a proctor, Neji, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari.

"Are? Kari-chan wa? Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking around for his team-mates.

"The Dosu guy who was supposed to fight me isn't here either" Shikamaru said.

"Oi you two" the proctor said looking around at them. "Stop walking around. Stand up straight and show your faces to the crowd." Naruto looked up to see a cheering crowd, the stands too high up to make out anyone's faces. "You guys are the main players in the upcoming matches."

"Kari-chan…" Naruto murmured.

Where are you Ookami-nee?