Alright, on the bright side, my reviews gave me two reasons to update quickly, and fortunatly I had the time to do so. I got more reviews on this last chapter than other other previous to it! YAY!
As things stand, I have, at this moment, 120 total reviews (review #100 goes to lilanimefan247), 167 faves and 175 alerts. Thank-you all for reading this story, but I would like to hear from a few more of you than reviews. If every person who read this story left ONE review next chapter, I would more than double my reviews, and that just feels kinda weird to be able to say that.
Okay, now the other reason. I want to start off by saying that I appreciate and consider every review that I get, from the shortest, 'cool' to the longest critique. That said, I did toy around with pairings for a while, but I have decided, as I based the premise for my story on another persons, I'm going to honor their decision on the Naruto pairing which, though I know several of you will not be happy to hear it, is Sasuke. I'd rather this didn't keep you from continuing to read, but I guess I'll kind of understand. After all, if I was reading a story and it turned out to be SasuHina (my most hated pairing) I would probably stop as well. That said, new chapter is here, and I hope you all enjoy it!
notice-ff style, disclaimer no jutsu!
"Ah, come on Anko-chan! Just a little hint?" Anko shook her head firmly.
"Nahuh Naruto, nope. I'm not allowed to give you hints about the exam. If you're not ready, then you're not ready and deserve to stay a genin." Naruto pouted at her sister figure, turning to face her old sensei.
"Iruka sensei, surly you'll tell me, right? Your favorite student?" She gave him the best look he could. Unfortunately for her, he was dating Anko, and somehow you just become immune to such cuteness next to the snake mistress. Instead he chuckled and ruffled the hair on the top of her head.
"Sorry Naruto, but Anko chan's right. Besides, I'm sure you'll do fine." Naruto crossed her arms, trying to intensify the pout, but that didn't last as Iruka slid his unfinished bowl of miso ramen in front of her.
"Oh, ramen!" She exclaimed, digging into it for several seconds before pausing, chopsticks halfway to her mouth. She turned and pointed them at Iruka accusingly.
"That's not fair," she said. All she got was a chuckle as Iruka handed Anko another stick of dango they'd bought before heading to Ichiraku's.
"There's another three bowls waiting for you if you get through the exams without trying to sneak information out of the instructors or anyone else you think could give you 'hints.'" Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Well heck yeah! Besides, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm gonna be hokage someday, so why should I need any help like that! Bring it!" The three laughed and chatted for the next half hour before Iruka walked them back to Naruto's home, each of them giving her a hug before heading home themselves. For the dango, Iruka got a very loooog goodnight kiss.
Saying good night to everyone Naruto got through the business of brushing her long hair and brushing her teeth, also tucking in an exhausted Konohamaru. Jii-san was finishing up some paperwork before he headed to bed himself, but he'd already gotten out Naruto's gear and set it out for the coming day.
"Night Jii-san," she said, hugging him from behind as he sat in his chair. He patted her arms that were wrapped around him, wishing her a good night as well, content smile on his face. As Naruto head to bed, however, she paused in the doorway.
"Jii-san?"
"Yes Naruto?"
"…Nothing. Good-night."
"Sleep well, and good luck tomorrow."
"Thanks." It was silly anyways. There was no way that creepy red head was telling the truth.
.
.
.
The next morning Naruto skipped along to her meeting place for the chuunin exams. To say she was excited as an understatement. She was ecstatic! Granted, it was rare that she wasn't excited by anything involving shinobi besides lectures and written exams, but this was a real ninja exam, like what Kakashi sensei had given them, so there was no way she'd have to worry about a written exam!
So caught up was she in her thoughts, she never noticed the multiple shadows that followed her path. She probably wouldn't have overly cared, either, since she was getting used to that Gaara kid trailing her. She knew how to get rid of him if she really wanted to, so she didn't think it was a problem. She wouldn't have expected the new shadow, and neither did they expect the other shadow, until they found themselves with a kunai held to their throat.
"Alright Gaara, why are you following Naruto-chan?" The man held up his hands as a peace sign.
"You must have mistaken me, madam. My name is Amaru and I don't know any Gaara." Haku scoffed.
"Please; Naruto told me about the red haired shinobi from Suna that was following her. Red isn't a common color here, and you expect me to believe you're following her for some other reason?" 'Amaru' mentally sweat dropped.
"Actually, I thought she'd looked very much like my sister's daughter; I lost them years ago, and it was nice to relive the memories for a moment. Besides, I don't think I really look like someone from…it was Suna, right? Too hot there for me. I am new, but I was going to start looking for the hospital in a little bit. I've had some medic training, you see, and Konoha seems a very beautiful and peaceful place to set up shop, but I need to know Konoha's laws on the matter. This Naruko-"
"Naruto."
"Yes, Naruto, as I said, only made my think of my sister and niece." He breather carefully. "I don't suppose you'd be willingly to let go of me now?" Haku huffed, slowly pulling away her kunai.
"Fine; I'll admit you sure don't dress like you're from Suna, and you don't have a headband, either. You'd be wearing one if you were here for the exams like this Gaara is." She sighed. "I guess he's not following her this morning. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital." Amaru bowed in gratitude to the young girl.
"Arigato, shinobi-san." Haku reddened slightly.
"I'm no shinobi; I sell flowers." Amaru cocked his head to the side in confusion."
"But then why are you acting like one?" She glared at him. For a girl who couldn't be more than 16, tops, she sure knew how to glare at one.
"That's my business, not let's get you about yours." Hmm…seems my niece has some very interesting friends. Well, I may not be able to tail her now, but if the chuunin exams are anything like what I remember joining up with the medics may be a good way to still get close to her. Lots of people get hurt in these exams…I hope she'll be okay.
.
.
.
Naruto and the rest of team 7 strolled along to the academy building where the chuunin exams were starting. Sakura leaned closer, talking quietly to ask her teammate a question.
"Do you think that Gaara boy will try anything during the exams?" Naruto looked down darkly and shrugged.
"If he's stalked me every day he's been in the so far, it only makes sense he'll do something. I just don't know what." She looked at her teammate, confusion evident.
"Why though? Why is he doing this?"
"I, I don't know, Naruto." The team continued walking in silence. There was a little incident on the second floor, and a weird guy in a green jumpsuit tried to challenge Sasuke to a fight for the honor of dating Sakura. Naruto winced and Sasuke held in a chuckle, both missing Sakura's sad face, but the conflict was quickly resolved as Sakura just said she would date who should wanted, and if anyone was stupid enough to fight over it, she didn't think she'd care to date either of them. The boy, Lee, immediately began crying, shouting at how youthful an opinion Sakura had before his Sensei, Gai, he said his name was, appeared, cheering to the same. Team 7 slowly backed away around a corner before the two spandex clad ninja noticed them leaving.
"Between Gaara and Lee, and think I'd pick Gaara," Sakura said.
"I don't know. He wasn't the one stalking you, after all."
"Hnn. We'll beat them all soon enough," Sasuke replied, "so why worry about either?"
"Heck yeah! We'll kick butt!"
Things were fine then until they reached the testing room. There Kiba was waiting to greet Naruto. Sasuke pivoted slightly to put himself between the two. Kiba began to open his mouth before Hinata grabbed his arm.
"Kiba-kun, shouldn't we plan out what we're going to do?"
"Eh? We don't even know what's going on though! Anything we plan now could be a waste of time," he said.
"Perhaps you should better consider that," Shino said. "After all, we know it's a competition with all the other teams and villages, so we at least know to study out opponents, including Naruto's team." Once again Kiba prepared an angry retort, but that was when a white haired teen walked.
"You might want to listen to your buddy there, Inuzuka. The more Intel you can get, the better your chance of winning."
"Oh, and I suppose you're some kind of expert, eh?"
"Hahah, well, of a sort." He held up a deck of cards. "Name's Kabuto; I've taken the exam 7 times and everything I've learned about every shinobi here is on these cards. Want to know anything in particular?"
"Neji Hyuuga and Gaara of the Sand," Sasuke said.
"Um, I, I'd rather not, Sasuke." Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion.
"Hn? Why not, dobe? This could give us a good advantage on our strongest opponents." Naruto shuffled her feet.
"I, I kinda promised Anko one-chan and Iruka-sensei that I'd do the test without that kind of thing." Everyone stared at her for a second before face faulting.
"What! But they know how important that type of thing is for fighting enemy shinobi."
"Well, well they promised me ramen!" Who would have thought a whole room full of hardened shinobi could all face fault together…besides the one Akimichi in the room. The floor barely survived as it was, and adding Choji to the mix could have ended in disaster. Though Sakura and Sasuke both tried to sway her, Naruto would not budge on the point, and before it was resolved the test instructor came in.
"Ah well, too late now," Kabuto said. "Well, good luck guys."
"Hn."
"Yeah, thanks!"
"You too, Kabuto-san." They were given numbers as they approached the desks in the room and moved to sit in their own places. Naruto's insides shifted as she found herself next to Hinata. Maybe fate was playing nice?
"H, hi, Hinata-chan. How've you been?" Hinata, never one to be hostile, gave her a nod and tried to turn away politely.
"Ah, hey now, come on, can't we, can't we still be friends." Hinata turned slowly back to the blonde.
"I, I wish we could be, Naruto-chan, but you were the one who taught me to fight for what I w, want, and that's what I have to, to do. I, I won't lose to you in this. I'm sorry," she finished, looking away, a small tear in her eye.
"Me too," Naruto said quietly. "Me too." They turned their attention back to the proctor and Naruto began to panic realizing that it was a written test after all. That just wasn't fair! How could any kind of written test apply to being a ninja for real? Even worse, the problems were so hard she had no idea how to do a single one, and there was no way Hinata would help her here, not anymore. They used to have a system when they were in the academy. No that Hinata helped her cheat, she just helped point her in the right direction. Naruto mostly just needed to get started in order to get the work done right. Too bad the test was half over.
It was then that Naruto began to notice the dust on her desk moving rather oddly, as if it was deliberate. Her eyes widened as she perceived the writing that was appearing before her, giving a list of the question numbers and their answers. Her eyes narrowed. Wait a second; that's not dust; it's sand! She turned in her chair to glare at the red headed Gaara. Sure enough he was staring back at her, one hand hovering over the desk, the fingers flicking slightly. He was controlling the sand on her desk! Why was he doing that? Did he think that she trusted him or something just because he said she was his sister? Fat chance!
As if she wasn't distracted enough, she felt something furry brush up against her leg. She looked down just in time to see Akamaru jump up into her lap, then up onto the desk before her. He wagged his tail and stared at her expectantly. She grumbled and started giving him an ear rub. He quietly yipped contentedly, puffing out his chest. Naruto squinted at him, pushing the fur on his chest up, revealing, in ink, the answers to the test, again along with their numbers. She turned the other way and saw Kiba smiling at her, and he gave her a thumbs up.
Naruto sniffed at him, then turned around and looked back and forth between Akamaru and the sand on her desk. This was definitely cheating, no other way to look at it. Other people had already gotten kicked out so the proctors were being serious when they said they were checking for it. With Hinata she was sure they could have helped each other without being detected, but on Akamaru and the sand, it was there for anyone to see. She wasn't sure if it had been seen or not, but more than likely it had been. She thought that perhaps the only reason she hadn't been kicked out yet was because she obviously had written down any answers. Besides, this may not have been exactly what Iruka and Anko meant, but it followed the same principle. No, she couldn't cheat to get through.
Shaking her head, almost wondering if she was insane, she picked up Akamaru, giving him a final pat before setting him on the floor, then she picked up her paper and moved it to cover the sand. There was still almost half the test left before the tenth question, and now that she had in her mind a couple of the answers, she could work backwards and figure out some of this.
Sure enough, when Ibiki, the proctor, called for pencils to be laid down she'd completed two based on the answers she'd remembered matching from Kiba and Gaara (why was he helping her?) and used that math to solve two more. She was feeling fairly confident, a small smirk on her face, hands behind her head.
"If you miss the tenth question, you can never become a chuunin!" That got Naruto's attention. Surely they wouldn't? It had been hard enough on the other nine…but she was a shinobi, wasn't she? Should she really be scared of a little risk? She looked around as several others backed out, afraid of losing their chance at advancing. Did she really need to make it this time? Was it important enough to risk always been a genin? And what about her dream to become hokage?
She looked at Hinata next to her. She had even more to lose than Naruto. Her father always pushed her too hard, always expected more of her. What would he say if Hinata became a genin forever? And yet she wasn't backing down, was she. Naruto smiled. Even as a rival Hinata had so much still to teach her. She stood up and slammed her hand down on her desk.
"You think a little thing like that is going to scare us?" Several leaf genin sweat dropped. What is she doing? "So what if I'm a genin forever, I'm still gonna become hokage." She turned around. "And you guys! What are you, chicken? I know someone taking this exam right now, and she has more to lose than any of us by missing this question, and she's still takin' it, so I'm gonna take it too, even if it means I'm a genin forever!" Ibiki smiled, giving one last call for drop outs before continuing. Naruto smiled at Hinata as she sat down. The other girl had a small blush. She knew Naruto had been talking about her.
"Thank-you," she said out of the side of her mouth, still not looking at her once friend.
"Heheh, well, it's true; it's why I decided to keep going." Hinata blushed again.
"I'm…glad I was able to help, but, but it doesn't change anything."
"Yeah…I know…"
"Alright then, since no one else is leaving…you all pass!"
"NANI!"
.
.
.
Naruto wanted to laugh as Ibiki explained the two portions of the test, and she wanted to slap Iruka and Anko for making her promise to not cheat…sort of. Okay, so she knew it was her fault for that part, but still! She really wanted to laugh, though, when Ibiki went over the reason for the tenth question. It was eerily similar to what she'd been saying, about being willingly to give up everything. That was what being a ninja was about, being able to put it all on the line for the sake of the mission. Not that Naruto ever planned on dying, of course, but it was good to keep in mind. That was when Anko came flying through the window, throwing out kunai to support a banner with her name, and the words 'Second Tests Proctor.' Then what did she do? Just what she taught Naruto; struck a pose.
"Alright you maggots, this is no time for celebrating! I'm Mitarashi Anko, proctor for the second portion of the chuunin exam!" Everyone stared at her oddly before Naruto shrieked out.
"Ahh! Nee-chan! What are you doing here?" Anko smirked.
"Oh, did I forget to mention this? Heheh, oops." She grinned evilly. "Pranks on you, Naruto-chan." Naruto glared at her for a few seconds before rolling her eyes.
"Great; this next parts gonna hurt."
"Hahaha! You betcha it will! Hey…wait a second…" She turned to the scarred proctor for the first exam. "Ibiki, why are there so many still here? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." He smiled slightly.
"Or, maybe we have a batch of candidates this year."
"Eh, they don't look it. [Anko nee-chaaaaan….] Well, by the time I'm done with them, I'll cut their numbers into less than half!"
"Less, less than half? Naruto, are you sure this is your sister?" Naruto had her head on the desk bemoaning their misfortune."
"Yeah…well, sorta. She's been helping jii-san look after me since I was a kid."
"Hey wait a second…isn't she one that you, um, you know, back in the academy before graduation?" Anko blushed, as she overheard the conversation and chose not to give Naruto the chance to respond.
"ALRIGHT! You maggots have had it easy long enough, but now that you're under my jurisdiction that changes, effective immediately! Go to your squad leaders to see where we're meeting first thing in the morning."
"We're doomed," Naruto cried, and some of the other genin found themselves wishing they had quit when they had the chance."
.
.
.
"Well, that was unexpected, but imoutu doesn't seem like she's liking the idea for the second exam. She seems pretty tough, so why is she scared of that other lady?" Kankurō laughed.
"Temari, did you hear what she called her?"
"Eh?"
"Nee-chan, nee-chan. Whoever she is, Naruto thinks a lot of her, so much so that she's like a sister." Temari waited a few seconds.
"Aaaand?"
"Huh?"
"You sounded like you were going to make a point, so what's the point?"
"That was the point."
"What was?"
"Being a sister."
"What does that have to do with it?"
"…that's right, you are the sister." A tick appeared on Temari's forehead.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah, nothing," Kankurō said, holding up his hands defensively as he backed away, "except this does kind of prove my point." Temari paused, taking stock of the huge metal fan in her hands and its being in the ready to swing position, then Kankurō's somewhat frightened face. She grunted, putting her fan away again.
"Whatever; let's just get back to Baki-sensei. Come on, Gaara." She turned to look back at their brother who was walking very slowly and with one hand over his eye. "Gaara, what are you doing?"
"So difficult to keep it straight," he muttered,
"Keep what straight." He glared at his siblings with his spare eye.
"Keeping track of our sister and walking at the same time. She…moves so fast."
"Gaara…are you stalking her?" He grunted.
"If I don't, that Uchiha will put his hands on her again."
"Whoa, wait, she's dating the Uchiha? Man, that's crazy!" Gaara growled.
"She's too trusting; it will kill her, and he will be the first to abuse her trust, foolish girl." Temari stepped toward him cautiously.
"Gaara, it's not always bad to trust." He laughed.
"Hahaha! You taught me better than that years ago, dear sister. I tolerate you, I use you, but I do not trust you. You use me just as I use you, and one day my usefulness will end, or yours will, and I shall make good on my promise." Temari turned away before Gaara could see the tear fall down her eye. If only he could understand…"
.
.
.
"Yeah, now I'm gonna kick nee-san's butt," Naruto was saying. "That was dirty; she knew I'd think like that, and now I almost lost us the first exam!" Sakura shook her head wearily.
"Naruto…maybe they thought you'd actually take it like they meant it, and not try to pry. Prying is different than what was going on in that exam."
"Well, I don't care! That was still low and-"
"Ah, you there, you're genin right? Would you mind a quick d-rank? I promise I'll pay." The three genin paused as a red haired man holding a large sign was stepping out of a doorway. "It might not be much, but once business gets going I should be able to provide a discount on my services to you three."
"Huh? What kind of services? Who are you? And what the heck mission are you talking about?" The man sweat dropped.
"Ah, yes of course, how rude of me. My name is Amaru, and I'm setting up a new medical clinic here. I'd appreciate it if you three would help me move around a couple of things, and maybe help me get this sign up. I just finished drying it, but it's very heavy and I can't find a ladder."
"Oh, of course sir, we'll get right on it; come on Naruto!" Sakura grabbed the blond by the shoulder and the two balanced the sign between them before walking up the side of the building to place to sign in position. "There; how's that sir?" He smiled kindly.
"Perfect, thank-you. Now I just a few things taken care of inside, if that's okay?" Sasuke grunted.
"Might as well. We need to do something to stay limber for tomorrow. Two whole days of nothing can't be good for us keeping in shape."
"Thank-you," Amaru said, smiling broadly. "If you three ever need anything, come straight here. I'll take care of you as best I can, and at a discount, like I said." So an hour later team 7 finished moving the last of the benches around on the inside, the floor swept and mopped, walls clean, lights working. All in all, it looked very nice. Amaru even set aside a few spots to hold plants.
"I find that happy plants make for happy people," he said. Naruto scratched her head.
"Okay, whatever. Need anything else?" He chuckled and shook his head.
"No, not really." He paused. "Actually, now that I think about, you know a girl named Haku, yes?"
"What? How do you know Haku?" Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Was he from mist, come to kill her friend for being associated with Zabuza? Did she need to report him to jii-san?"
"Ah, well, I actually saw you three earlier today. I was on my way to the hospital and saw Naruto here. You…reminded me of my sister her daughter. I, lost them many years ago, so when I saw you, I ended up following you for a few blocks." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sorry about that, but your friend Haku mistook me for someone from Suna she said was following you. I just wanted to extend that discount to her as an apology for bothering you this morning."
"Oh, uh, I, I guess I can tell her." She stared at him hard. "You look kinda familiar; you been to the leaf before?" He chuckled.
"Oh no, I've never been here before, but a friend told me what a nice place it was, so I took a chance." He bowed deeply. "Thank-you again, but if I understand correctly you have chuunin exams going on. As a doctor I advise a good night's rest and good meal with a lot of carbohydrates. They're good for your energy after all, and I understand that the second portion of the chuunin exam tends to be the most intensive."
"Thank-you, Amaru-san," Sakura replied, bowing to him herself. "We'll be sure to let our friends know you're new and just set up. Hopefully your business will do well."
"Thank-you. Good luck you three," he said as the left, waving good-bye. "Good luck…Naruto-chan. Be careful." He closed the door and locked it, turning off the lights as well. He needed to think for a little while, and prepare for the coming week.
.
.
.
"Yeah, and he seemed to mean it, too, so I thought I'd let you know, even though you don't much about being a shinobi anymore." Naruto paused. "Why were you following me, Haku-chan?" Haku looked down a little guilty.
"Zabuza-sama allowed me to have a new purpose, and a friend. I, don't like the idea of someone hurting you, so I wanted to, I wanted to keep that other boy from possibly hurting you." Naruto grunted.
"I guess, but still, you don't need to worry about me. I've got enough skill on my own, and jii-san mad sure he always had a way to know if I actually in danger in the village." She tapped her mother's headband. "He put a seal on the inside that activates whenever my chakra output goes below a certain level. I have enough that it isn't hard to broadcast a decent amount while I'm still in the village. Anko-chan and Kakashi-sensei managed to convince him that it would be worse to have me broadcasting chakra outside the village than to have the seal turned off when I'm outside the village." Haku nodded, surprised.
"I…guess that makes sense. It seems same enough."
"Yeah, but it's annoying how over protective he can be," Anko said as she grudgingly slurped noodles. Iruka grunted slight disapproval, but he was eating dango, so he wasn't being very talkative. They had agreed to eat whatever the other told them two for a week, and both were regretting it so far. Neither had thought to let the other eat their own favorite food yet. "I mean, for Naruto it's only a little chakra, but for some of us it's like having a whistle blow in our ears all day, if you're close to her for very long."
"Yeah, I know, but I'm trying to keep it down Anko nee-chan. You know how hard that is for me!" Anko waved a hand disinterestedly.
"I know, I know. I'm just saying. It's pretty weird to have all these people following you all of a sudden, though. I think I prefer Haku keeping an eye on you. I would too, but we're not allowed to get involved during the exams unless it's absolutely called for." The genin nodded.
"Yeah, we know. Don't worry, I'll be careful. If something bad happens I'll go ahead and activate the seal, okay?" Iruka nodded as he eyed Anko's ramen longingly.
"Sounds good," he said. Anko noticed his gaze, looked at the dango box next to him, back to her ramen, then over to his dango again.
"Yeah, good idea," she said as she lightly grabbed the two dishes and switched them. Iruka's face immediately lit up and he kissed her right there, much to her surprise.
"Ahh! Iruka-ku…uummmmm…"
"Eh, gross!"
First off, I wanted to thank Codenamed-Bolt for providing me with that list of family honorifics several months ago. As you can tell, I had to use it in this chapter. Does anyone know the honorific for neice, though? That would be useful.
So, I thought this was a pretty decent chapter. I manged to squeeze in from Anko-Iruka fluff. I just imagined them trying to find ways to make the other see the 'evils' of the other's fave food. I think they've come to an understanding now, though, don't you? :D
Hope ya'll liked it, please remember to review and all that. Let me know what you liked/disliked about the chapter. Take care all!