Thats it, the prelims get wrapped up in this chapter. I tried to skim over the fights that are the same here as in canon, but I'd like to think I did a good job with the other ones.

Anway, we're starting to get things moving here. As always there will be some inner-character conflict, and then setting up the matches for the final exam. Kind of an odd set up will occur, but hey, at least I've got the invasion to keep me from needing to go beyond the first round of matches, right? hahah; if i had to do that it's be a drag.

Still I hope you enjoy the chapter. Just wait for the conversation at the end!

oh, and please remember to review, hmm?

notice-ff style, disclaimer no jutsu!

Hinata…likes…me? But, when did that happen? I never saw anything that would have indicated she liked me. Is that what Naruto's shout was about? But if she liked me, why didn't she just say it? I mean, she is a great girl and all, and pretty, but so is Naruto. Agh! This is so confusing!

Kiba had been mentally battling with himself ever since Naruto had approached him after the match, trying to figure out some incident that might have given him a clue that Hinata liked him. He felt like there was something, but he never could figure it out, like a curve in the road where you know it'll straighten out, but you can't see the straight path until you're there.

"I know figuring out your feelings concerning Hinata are important, but you really should get down there for your match."

"Huh?" Shino gestured with his shoulder at the board, showing his name.

"Oh; thanks Shino. Come on Akamaru." He jumped up on the railing, pausing before jumping down. "Hey Shino…did you know at all?"

"I trusted in Hinata to tell you herself."

"Well you could've clued a guy in a little faster!" He shrugged.

"It isn't my duty to cure you of your obliviousness."

"Oh yeah! Well I-"

"Kiba! Get your butt down there. You'll have time enough to talk about this later; the sooner you get your fight over with the sooner you can go visit her." The dog boy cringed.

"Alright, sensei. Geeze." He jumped down, taking stock of his opponent. "A Hyuuga, huh? This should be interesting." The boy in front of him gave an annoyed sound.

"I doubt it. I am not like that weakling Hinata on your team." A previously unknown rage began to swell within the boy as this stranger down talked his teammate.

"SAY WHAT! I'LL KICK YOUR BUTT!"

"I doubt it," Neji replied, almost lazily as he shrugged with his spread out arms. "I skill, Hinata-sama and I are worlds apart. I am a genius from the Hyuuga clan, even though born into the branch family, and Hinata was born with no skill. She has no talent for fighting. Destiny decreed our paths long ago. I am a winner…and she is a looser. I suggest you give up now, or you'll be joining her in the emergency room."

"Where the heck do you get off talking about Hinata like that! She's a great person, and a great ninja, and I'm gonna beat you to prove it! Start the match proctor!" Hayate sighed. So many charged and emotional matches this year. There's gonna be a lot of bad blood between these people, he thought as he declared the beginning of the match.

"I'm going all out! Nobody insults Hinata like that and gets away with it," Kiba yelled, tossing a pill to his dog. "Get ready for the man/beast clone!" Neji's eye's narrowed as he activated his byakugan. He should have known better than to try and reason with the idiot. He was on the same team as his weakling cousin, and he had the idiocy to have a crush on the weakest member of his class. Naruto had been hard pressed to win, he'd noticed, so that spoke on her talent. This boy seemed attracted to weakness. It was most likely a testament to his own level of skill.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he declared. "I hope you like hospital food."

"Up yours, Neji," Naruto called out, clutching the rail tightly. She'd been around Hinata long enough to know the story of the Hyuuga clan, and what had happened to Neji's father. "Kiba, beat him into tomorrow for Hinata!"

"Roger that, Naruto-chan," he said, not taking his eyes off the Hyuuga in front of him as he charged his chakra for the tunneling fang.

His eyes are so intense, not at all like Hinata. She's so much kinder and sweeter than this guy it's hard to believe they're from the same family, and he has the guts to disrespect her?

"Tunneling fang!" He and Akamaru, now looking like him, launched themselves at the Hyuuga with their most powerful attack. If he's as fast as Hinata, he might dodge, and the smoke that'll come up from the attack won't slow him down like it would most shinobi. I'll just have to keep on the attack, keep the pressure on, and keep moving fast enough that he can't hit him with the gentle fist. The rotation should be enough to keep him from being able to hit me.

Much to his surprise, Neji actually didn't manage to dodge the first strike. Not completely, at least. Akamaru managed to score a hit on his left arm, but it was only a glancing hit.

"Hah! And you call yourself better than Hinata? She wouldn't have gotten hit at all with that! Again!" The Inuzuka team launched themselves at their opponent once again, honing in on his scent. A snarl from Akamaru keyed him in that they missed. How does that work? It should have been easier to hit him again, now that he's injured. "Again!" This time it was not a snarl that let him know they had missed again, but rather Akamaru's whimper and de-transformation, landing heavily outside the smoke. "What the heck? Akamaru!" He rushed over to his side only to jump back as he sensed the incoming attack.

"Hn. I admit I expected less of you just then. Your reflexes are better than I thought." Kiba glared at the Hyuuga.

"What did you do to Akamaru!"

"Didn't you notice? His attack was slower the second time, and even more so the third. Each time he passed, I hit a chakra point." Kiba's face went white.

"What?"

"This is another mark in the difference between the skill between Hinata and myself. She can only use the most basic form of the gentle fist, that is, causing damage to the body. My byakugan is so much more advanced that I can see the chakra points of my opponents and attack them directly." Kiba spat.

"It doesn't matter. We still managed to hit you." Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And the fact that I took the hit in order to take down your dog means nothing?" Kiba laughed, shocking everyone.

"It proves a point, actually. You might be better than Hinata in the gentle fist, I'll give you that, but the speed of Akamaru's spin didn't change. I did notice he was slower, and I over looked it, but the thing that would have made it hard to hit him is speed of the spin." He smirked. "If you managed to hit him each time so well, without needing to take a hit the second and third times, the only explanation is that we hit you fair and square the first time. You might think you took a hit to hurt us, but the fact is, you're just slower than Hinata!"

"Pheh; stop trying to compare me to that pathetic excuse of a Hyuuga," he replied, even as his face turned red in anger. His pride refused to acknowledge Kiba's accusation, but every other experience shinobi in the room realized the truth of his words.

Skill in one art doesn't do any good if you still have to get hit in the process, Kakashi thought. In a one on one fight, I wager Neji would still win, but if they were both to go up against a faster opponent, like Gai, I may put my money on that Hinata girl. He looked over at his 'eternal rival.' I would have thought a man like Gai would have made him faster than this, but the difference in their speeds in noticeable, and she's a whole year behind this boy.

"I tire of this game. Let's finish this. I'll make you understand the difference between us. Like Hinata, destiny has declared your defeat today." Kiba spat.

"We'll see about that, chump. Let's go!" As Kiba moved in for the attack, Sasuke noted the difference between the visual prowess of the byakugan vs his sharingan. While it was true that Naruto's tunneling maneuver would have a higher chance to work on him since he couldn't see attacks coming from any direction, his sharingan did help him keep up with a faster opponent. Neji didn't have the same luxury, and Kiba took full advantage of it.

He moved more like a wolf than a dog, jumping in and then back, not caring what direction he attacked from. He attacked from the back several times, but it was obvious he wasn't actively trying to attack from behind. Neji could see all around him, but his reaction speed was the same regardless. The important thing was to use his superior speed, which was even faster than Hinata's, to attack and back off before he could be hit. Granted, most of his own hits were light, and it took a lot of energy to attack like this, but Neji's face was worth it as he tried to keep up, and he was wasting energy as he tried to score another hit to Kiba.

Still, if he even hits me one, it'll be just like it was with Akamaru, and he won't give me a chance to get the poor guy another pill. Before it even has a chance to take affect he'll be on him and put him out of commission again. I just wish I'd figured out sooner that we needed speed, and not brute force to beat this punk. If I can just keep this up a little longer…

Unfortunately, Neji did train under Gai, who may have been the fastest shinobi in all of the hidden leaf village. He sparred with Rock Lee often, and his stamina was nothing to be laughed at. Even more so, Kiba had allowed himself to begin attacking in a pattern. Neji was not a genius for nothing. He noted the pattern quickly. Fool, he thought, as he waited patiently for the opening he sought. Didn't I tell you? You were destined…to loose! With that thought, he struck out, hitting Kiba square in the chest. The boy's eyes widened in shock as he flew back several feet only to be immediately set upon before he could adjust to the pain.

"You are within my divination. Gentle fist technique, 64 palms!" Strike after strike Neji hit Kiba's chakra points flawlessly, causing the boy to gasp with each hit. It was over in a matter of seconds, and Kiba, standing up for a moment by sheer force of will, felt his knees give in and fell.

"Darn it…I was so close."

"Don't flatter yourself. You never stood a chance of winning."

"Oh yeah? Then how come you're out of breath, and I'm not?" Neji growled at him. "Heh; now you're even starting to sound like a dog. Admit it, I did good, punk." Neji raised his hand, charging to attack the fallen boy when Gai appeared, frown on his face as he clutched his student's hand.

"The proctor already declared you the winner, Neji-san. To attack a defeated opponent is not youthful." Neji whipped his hand away from his sensei and began walking back to the balcony. Gai sighed in frustration.

"You are right in each point, and coming from another opponent, my unyouthful student might have learned something, but you are too close the Hyuuga Hinata for him to see."

"Hah; 360 degree vision and he's still blind, huh?" Kiba coughed as the medics came over to lift him onto a stretcher. "Not that's ironic. I just wish I could have beaten him…for Hinata." Gai smiled at him, flashing him a thumbs up.

"A most youthful attitude! You must hone your skills for your next battle with Neji. Embrace the power of youth, and you shall be victorious. Yosh!" The Inuzuka sweat-dropped.

"Yeah…sure. Hey, don't forget Akamaru, too!" Amaru walked over, already holding the dog users puppy.

"Don't worry, we know how important he must be to you," he said before turning to the green-clad jounin. "However, I think it would be better if you vacated the arena and went back to the balcony for the next match."

"Ah yes, of course." He gave Kiba one last look. "Good luck on your swift recovery Inuzuka." The boy shook his head as the man shushined back to his team.

"What a weird guy. But hey, you're fine, right boy?" Akamaru barked weakly, but in more of an apologetic manner than a pained one. "Ah don't worry about it. I should have noticed sooner." He leaned his head back, scanning the balcony and managed to raise his arm before they lifted him and took him out.

"Hey, Naruto; kick his butt for us in the finals; for me, and for Hinata!" Naruto pumped her fist in the air.

"You betcha! Neji's going down; I sweat it!"

Good, he thought. Now I can accept my defeat in peace. Naruto doesn't go back on her word. That idiot doesn't stand a chance. Some time later he had recovered enough to stand on his own, thanks to a weaker version of the energy pill giving his system enough of a rush of chakra to reopen his chakra pathways and he was released. He debated a moment on what to do.

"Hey, can you tell me where my teammate is? Hyuuga Hinata."

"Of course, but she's resting at the moment, so you'll have to wait outside." He nodded, carrying Akamaru until he was able to sit down outside Hinata's room, wait for her to wake up.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice you sooner," he said quietly to himself. "I'm not sure how this is gonna work. I still like Naruto so much but…" he looked towards the Hyuuga girl's door. "Man, this is gonna be confusing." Akamaru yipped comfortingly and they continued to wait in silence.

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Neji sneered the medics took Kiba to be treated. That looser, kick his butt? He wasn't sure if he should be annoyed or amused.

"You realize that you'll suffer the same fate as him, don't you," he said. "You should know better than him the difference between mine and Hinata's skills." Naruto flipped her hair.

"Yeah, so I know Kiba's right. You may want to believe you're superior in every way, but Hinata-chan's faster than you, and as her friend I'm gonna prove to you that this destiny crap you always spout is just that: crap." The Hyuuga shook his head.

"Fool."

"Hey, if being a fool means I don't claim some grand destiny determines each and every aspect of my life, and I'm happier for it, I prefer to live life as a fool." Neji sniffed, turning his attention back to the matches. The girl wasn't worth his time. Naruto also turned her attention back to the arena, noticing that it was now Shino's turn. Privately she hoped he would win, just because Kiba and Hinata had lost. They had both worked so hard they deserved to have at least one of them make it to the finals. Besides, after her and Sasuke made chuunin Sakura would need new teammates when the exams rolled around again, and she knew they would be great teammates.

Proving that, though creepy, he was actually very smart, much like Kiba had said back in the academy before they got their teams, Shino did win. He had allowed Zaku to keep shooting his air scythes at hit while he simply dodged and seemed to be attacking with his bugs. What he did he did subtly enough that many of the observers couldn't even tell until the small groups of bugs he'd been sending behind Zaku began to merge and make themselves known. It was over, and though she cringed at the pain that must have come when he tried to use his arms the last time, she was happy he won. Before going back up to the stands Shino spared a look for Neji. The older boy looked away, but the message had been clearly received. Naruto isn't the only one looking to beat you in the finals.

After him, the last of the rain ninja took his turn against Tenten, Neji's female teammate. Naruto noticed that she had remained quite as Neji down talked Hinata, though she looked guilty doing so, while the other boy, Lee, had vehemently decried Neji's 'unyouthfulness.' She shivered at the thought of being on his team. Tenten paused as she passed Naruto.

"He really isn't that bad, once you get to know him," she said. "He's just a bit…put off." Naruto snorted.

"Is that what you call it? Because this is almost the best he's treated Hinata in the years that I've known her. He's a jerk, and nothing you say will change that."

"I know he can be harsh, but-"

"Save it. You want to know how 'harsh' he can be, ask me later. You have a match to fight," she said, ending the conversation by looking away.

"Wasn't that a little harsh on your own part," Sakura asked softly.

"If you'd seen how he treated Hinata, for something she can't even control…I don't know why she doesn't hate him. She's even more forgiving than I am, and people tell me I'm stupid with how easily I forgive people." Sasuke shrugged.

"We'll see. He sure isn't making himself any friends for the final exam."

"No; but let's see how his teammate does." They nodded and watched as the match unfolded.

"Well, I guess I can assume from the start that your main attack has something to do with umbrellas and senbon, huh? I like a good weapon user." Midare, the last of the Ame gennin smiled almost mockingly.

"A good weapon user? Please. Those guys only use that sort of fighting. Me? I just use it to complement my own skills. You'll find I'm better at handling myself. Now that I'll need to worry." Tenten shrugged.

"Just trying to make friendly conversation," she said, palming a scroll. "Ready to start when you are." Hayate looked back and forth. Amazingly, it seemed they were already done talking.

"Begin." Midare immediately threw up his umbrellas, but he also grabbed a kunai and a handful of shuriken, the latter of which he threw at the now air-born kunouchi. She had opened her scroll and was spinning it around herself. What seemed like a hundred weapons shot out from all angles, easily stopping the kunai. Midare was forced to jump back and pull out a second kunai to black with. It was lucky he didn't rely on the umbrella attack like his teammates, or he would have been finished already. He had noted that his teammates had all been defeated by opponents much younger than themselves, and he was determined to not loose. He wasn't going to underestimate his opponent.

"Not bad, but even scrolls run out eventually, and then you'll have nothing to protect you!"

"Who said anything about trying to protect myself? That's just a bonus of my attack," Tenten called out as she landed. "You're ability to attack, how ever, has been evenly cut in half." Midare stared at her in confusion before glancing up at the umbrellas, wondering what sort of minor damage she had inflicted that she thought would stop his attack. His eyes widened as he say kunai with explosive tags sticking to each of his umbrella, just before they went off.

"Crap!" He covered his eyes, but it was too late. He'd been blinded by the flash. He jumped back, trying to keep in mind the size of the arena so he could avoid her attacks until his vision cleared. A moment later he made out a shape standing still several feet in from of him.

"I think I'd surrender know, if I was you."

"What?" His vision cleared enough to see Tenten was about ten feet from him, a scroll stretched open in front of her, the seal side facing him.

"In my last attack my weapons shot everywhere because I spun. It's made to be hard to dodge, and also misdirect, as you can tell now since I destroyed your umbrellas without you realizing till it was too late. If I had wanted, I could have shot them all straight at you. I have about a hundred kunai stored in this stretch of scroll, and when I release the seal, they'll shoot out at you in too wide an area for you to jump out of the way, or for you to block them all. You will, at the least, be injured, and you'll have no chance to keep up. I'm not only talented in shooting kunai from a distance. I love all weapons, and I have several stored on me for close combat as well. You won't stand a chance. Just be glad I'm giving you the chance to surrender, unlike that girl from the sand village." Midare's eyes narrowed as he considered his options. He did not want to loose, and he'd already taken the exam twice. He'd made it to the finals last time, but hadn't performed well there. This could be his chance to finally advance…but this girl wasn't bluffing, and he wasn't fast enough. He looked over towards Shigure. His pride had been severely hurt by the other leaf brat, and Baiu was, as this girl noted, injured pretty good by the suna girl. Neither would take well to him loosing, but perhaps it was better to loose today, and not have to heal before starting training tomorrow. He would have to work on his speed if he was going to keep up in the future. He hung his head.

"Fine. I forfeit." Tenten rolled her scroll up.

"Good idea. Nice match, by the way. If I hadn't already seen your teammates fight, I doubt I would have gone for your umbrellas so fast, and senbon are a lot harder to block than shuriken." He grunted.

"Maybe. Good luck in the finals," he said, heading back to the balcony Tenten retrieved her tools as the next match, Kankuro vs Misumi, Kabuto's other teammate, was announced and the two headed down. Naruto had to look away as Kankuro did a switch with his puppet and, much like Temari had done, decimated his opponent, only in his case he broke most of the bones in Misumi's body with his puppet.

They had seemed so much nicer, back in the forest. Was she seeing the real them now? Where they really just as bad as Gaara? She didn't think she wanted to even consider that they could be right anymore. She missed the quick apologetic look Kankuro tried to flash her as he set his puppet on his back.

The next fight proved to be even harder to watch as Rock Lee fought against Gaara. Naruto was shocked by the boys speed and how he even managed a hit on Gaara. He was truly fast. If Kiba had had that speed, he would have won for sure, but, she considered, this guys moves require so much contact that even Neji would still be able to take advantage and hit his chakra system. There's that slight pause whenever he lands a hit, and Neji would pick up on that in an instant. To beat Neji, it'll take more than brute force, but it's looking like that's exactly what it takes to beat Gaara. Well, that and speed. She was silently cheering for the odd green clad boy, the only one on Neji's team that seemed to have an issue with his behavior, but the fight took a turn for the worst.

"Stop it!" Gaara paused, Lee's arm and leg covered in sand. "You won, alright? Just stop it!" Gaara growled.

"I'm getting tired of you getting in my way, and keeping me from what I want." He clenched his fist, causing the boy to scream in pain, even the sand fell around him. "Let this be a lesson to you," he said, walking away as Gai jumped down support his student. Kakashi had gone done to comfort the other jounin as they realized that Lee, though standing in a fighting stance, was unconscious. Naruto clenched the rail. None of them…I can't trust any of them. None of them know pity. Kakashi's face was grim when he returned, but he said it wasn't his place to talk, though he suggested that his team go visit the boy in the hospital. He'd be there for a while, and "I think he'll enjoy some company," he said.

The final match ended up being Dosu vs Choji. Naruto, though distracted, noted that that meant Kin would have no one to fight. Would someone have to fight again, or would she just be unlucky and not able to go the finals because she was the odd one out?

Dosu soon managed to defeat Choji as the boy got stuck in a wall and he hit him with his sound technique before he could get out. Since he was simply dazed, like Sakura and Ino had been, he was carried up to the balcony again to rest and Hayate stepped forward. What no one else knew was Dosu's inner battle. His team was safe, bit he was no longer going to be loyal to Orochimaru. If it wasn't for Naruto, the path would be clear; he would kill Sasuke, since he was the one Orochimaru-sama wanted. However, Kin, he teammate, was now friends with the boy's girlfriend. Any act on his part to kill the boy would only result in her being hurt. He was annoyed that Kin had decided to try out a friendship with the other girl. It had made things more complicated than they needed to be, but he had time to consider that later. Right now, the proctor was speaking to them.

"Alright, now that we've got our finalists, would all the *couch* winners of their matches please step here in a line? Tsuchi Kin, you too." Naruto sighed in relief as Sakura patted her and Sasuke on the back.

"Good luck you guys. I know you'll do great."

"Hey, it's not like we won't see each other. We'll go out for ramen later." Sakura laughed.

"Right. It's always ramen this and ramen that with you, isn't it." Naruto grinned, her reply making Sasuke stumble.

"Nah, sometimes 'Sasuke get me ramen." The girls shared a laugh at his expense as he grumbled, even though he still let Naruto take his hand as they walked down.

"Well, that completes the prelims. Congratulations everyone on passing and moving on the third and final exam. Hokage-sama will fill you in." He gestured toward the old man, sitting in his chair with a smile on his face.

"Again, congratulations to you all. As we stated before the final exam will take place in front of a huge audience. Now that we know who will fighting we'll inform the villages and make preparations. You will have a one month break to prepare yourselves for your matches."

"Ah, come one jii-san! Can't we start sooner than that?" The Hokage chuckled.

"No, we can't, Naruto. Besides, even the month break is a part of the exam."

"How is that," asked Neji.

"Up to this point, your skills have largely been tested on your quicker reactions to unexpected circumstance. That is an important part of being a shinobi; the ability to improvise and still succeed is one of the great assets you will have. However, as you advance in rank you will receive missions of higher risk, and they will also have more information. You will need to be able to plan ahead and prepare for these encounters. The third exam will test you on this, as well as giving your bodies a rest." He raised his arms.

"Well, that's all I have to tell you. One more thing and you'll be dismissed. Anko?" The woman nodded, stepping forward with a small box.

"Alright brats, you'll all be taking a number from this box, so line up and get ready." Stopping for a moment in front of Naruto she looked pointedly at how she was holding Sasuke's hand in public. Naruto grinned, giving her a wink and she smiled before moving on.

Soon everyone had a number and the hokage had them reveal what they had drawn. Each gennin's name was written on a board in accordance with their number.

Naruto vs Neji

Gaara vs Sasuke

Temari vs Shikamaru

Shino vs Kin

Kankuro vs Tenten

Dosu-free pass

"Alright, as you may have surmised, the final exam will be executed in a tournament style set of fights. Each of you will get the chance to fight and advance to the next round, or you will stop where you are. Good luck to each of you. Your month begins now." He began to stand up by Shikamaru raised his hand, asking a question about the tournament style to determine how many people actually stood a chance at becoming chuunin. Everyone was relieved to hear that you didn't have to win to advance, but it still bothered them that there remained the prospect of them all failing. With no further questions the Hokage stood up once more and walked out of the room as the gennin began to disperse with their teams to head out of the forest. Naruto stared at the board. The very first match… She grinned. Don't worry Hinata, Kiba. I'll beat his arse for what he said.

"This is going to be interesting," Sasuke said beside her. "I've got your stalker in my match." Naruto perked up.

"That's right; you do, don't you." She grinned. "You better show him up, 'cause I want to fight you in the next round."

"Of course." He released her hand. "Kakashi sensei said for me to meet him just outside. He said you should ask Ebisu to train you. Do you know him?" Naruto made a face.

"That closet perv teaches Konohamaru-san. I guess Kakashi sensei's training you, then?" Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah. My sharingan advanced another tomoe when we fought Orochimaru, and he's the only one that can teach me how to use it. That and he said that he might be able to teach me an original technique of his if I had to fight Gaara." He sighed. "He's so lazy, but sometimes it seems like he knows what's coming." Naruto shrugged.

"Well, I disagree with Neji on fate controlling you, but sometimes I sweat there is someone out there that just likes to mess with us." She gave him a quick kiss.

"Be careful, okay? I won't want you hurt like he hurt that Lee kids." Sasuke nodded.
"Sure. You be safe, too. I think Kakashi sensei wants us to train away from the village, so I don't think I'll be able to see you until the exam. Don't be too proud to ask for help dealing with those sand people." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be too proud? Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black."

"Meh, who cares." He gave her one last hug, relishing in the last contact he knew he'd have for a while. "I love you," he whispered, walking away, leaving a stunned Naruto standing there in shock. By the time it registered what he'd said it was too late, and he was gone.

"You teme…you didn't even me time to respond," she said, shaking her head. "Next I see you, oh I'm gonna make you hurt, but right now, I need to talk to jii-san."

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An hour or so later, Naruto and he grandfather were in his office, sound seals on all the doors. The wizened man sat at his desk, waiting for Naruto to begin, but in her silence he decided to help her along.

"When Anko told me about what happened in the forest, that you had something to ask me…and she also told me about what the sand gennin have been claiming." Naruto winced. "I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me about this, Naruto."

"…sorry, jii-san, but I wanted to take care of it on my own." The man sighed.

"I know you like to do things on your own, but this is important. I don't want my granddaughter being confused, and I sure don't want her to be a target of some secret plan without knowing everything that it's possible to know." He paused. "I'm guessing that this is what you wanted to talk with me about, as well."

"Yeah, yeah it is. Its just, they seemed so convinced that we're related, that they saw me as a child using some jutsu of Gaara's that lets him view things at a distance. They said they saw their mom here in Konoha, and that she gave birth to me." Sarutobi shook his head.

"It is true that their mother, pregnant with child, disappeared around the time you were born. However, your father would have told me if he was hiding her or anything like that."

"About that…Kankuro did say that…I looked a lot like…like the yondaime, and his wife." Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes, you do." Naruto looked at him expectantly.

"Please…I know you think I'm not ready to know who my parents are, but jii-san, I need to know!" Sarutobi closed his eyes a moment to fight back tears at his granddaughter's plight.

"Alright…I guess you do. Come over here," he motioned with his hand as he reached into a secret compartment of his desk and pulled out a scroll. "You were only with your parents for a day, but we did manage to take of few pictures of you when your parents were still alive." Naruto nodded, waiting in anticipation as the hokage pricked Naruto's finger and used the blood to unseal the scroll. "Naruto…these are your parents," he said, handing her the photos. The very first one showed a young man and woman standing together, holding a bundle in their arms, smiling happily. The woman was beautiful, with long flowing red hair, and the main wore a well known cloak, and had short, spiky yellow hair.

"Yondaime…he, he is my father…." Sarutobi nodded.

"Yes, the forth hokage. He was my successor, and my friend. I was there the day you were born, though not for your birth as that occurred in the middle of the night. During the last few days Minato stayed home as much as he could to take care of your mother. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, by the way, and she was the love of his life, and a very powerful kunouchi. They were so happy to have you in their lives, and they already loved you with all their hearts.

"As you know, they were very talented shinobi, and so they both had many enemies. That, along with you being the jinchuuriki to the kyuubi, made me decide that it was better if no one knew your parentage. In time you'll be as strong as they were, I'm sure, and then you won't have to worry about people trying to take revenge on you. You may even manage to figure out some of their jutsu," he said. "The kunai from your mothers pouch is actually one that Minato gave her, in case she was ever in trouble and he wasn't around. It was one of several with the seals for his flying thunder god technique, which allowed for instant transportation from one spot to another, as long as the seal was there. If there would ever be a hint to recreating that jutsu, it would with that kunai, and possibly with Minato's own sensei."

Naruto was silent for several minutes as she looked through the photos. There were several people she didn't know in there, smiling with her parents as they held her…or waving in the case of the anbu. It was hard to know how to feel as she even saw a picture of jii-san holding her so delicately, as if she would break. Then her eyes widened.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The hokage nodded.

"Yes. He was still young at the time, and that girl there, his girlfriend, was still alive. She was the one who delivered you, and they were both trained by your father."

"So, so was Kakashi sensei there when I was born."

"Yes. In fact, he's the only person still alive who witnessed your birth." Naruto nodded. Jii-san did say that the yondaime…that tou-san was at home a lot the last few days. That, that could have been when…if it's true…but why…

"Why did Kakashi-sensei never say anything?"

"Because he lost everything that day," he sighed. "Like I said, that girl was alive when that picture was taken, but she died in the kyuubi attack, along with your father and mother. He had lost his father not too long before that, and they were his life lines, along with Rin. Loosing all three of them in one night was hard on him. I almost took him off of active duty, but with the shortage of shinobi we had after the attack, I had to keep him active. I know he has a habit of being late, but if you ever manage to get up early enough, you'll find him at the memorial stone when your team took your test. He never did fully recover from that night, even if he does act like he's fine. I had hoped that training you would help him come out of his shell again, and I think it has helped some. He is training his sensei's child, and paying back a debt, in his mind. He is earning his right to have survived that night."

"I…I didn't know sensei had so much…he was dealing with."

"Why do you think he wears his mask?"

"But he was wearing it here, too, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but remember, he'd already lost his father."

"Oh, right."

"Don't make this your problem, Naruto-chan. Kakashi is working himself out of it, and he's succeeding, finally. Don't bring it up if you can avoid it."

Naruto continued to stare at the picture, the words of the hokage echoing in her ears, that he was the only person still alive who witnessed her birth. I, I'd like to do what you said, jii-san, but there's still a chance, and I have to know for sure. Why did he have to leave with Sasuke-kun already?

"Okay," she said, getting up and handing him back the photos. "Thank-you, jii-san. That makes me feel…a lot better," she said with a smile, and she was happy. Know she knew exactly who to ask, even if it would take a month, and Kakashi sensei wasn't going to lie to her.

"Good. Now you better meet up with your trainer. Beating Hyuuga Neji won't be easy. They call him a genius for a reason, you know." The girl grinned.

"Yeah, but then again, I'm known for pulling off the unexpected."

"Very true, very true."

Okay, so that's a wrap for chuunin exam 2, and now has a promise to keep, and an answer to find. As you can see, thanks to Kakashi being prompt (for oncem heheheh) Naruto will not get the full answer just yet, but don't expect her to be terribly shy next time she gets the chance to ask him. Oh, that will be SO much fun to write...and NO ONE is going to see it coming, either...mwahahahah!

So, your opinions: did i do good on the fights? And did you Tenten actually WINNING for once? I'm tired of the poor girl always getting shafted, and in the one filler where she actually makes an important differnce, it's one of the top 10 most rediculous fillers of all time (the one where the go to the weapon inventors). Tenten in my story will have a little more luck.

On that note, as I was deciding who got which number in the draw for the matches (i was originally going to show you all what each person drew before putting it on the board) Tenten, through now planning of my own, just happenstance, drew the number '10'. How's THAT for irony. In fact...i think I might take page out of another's authors book on here and write a mini-omake for it to include at the end of next chapter...

Okay, I've rambled long enough. This is my last day of tests and then I start heading home tomorrow. The next update will be very uncertain since I'll no longer have access to a computer. Mine broke down a while ago and I've been using my roommates spare computer to get things like this and school work done, and since my parents don't like their computer used for things like FF, I'm going to respect their wishes on that. If I'm lucky my little brother will be nice enough to give me his password for his new laptop and I can work on the story and post it using his computer. Should be able to do that, since he likes the story, too, but he's working at Philmont till the end of August, so it will still be awhile. Just apologizing now if i can't get in an update soon. At least I got this one out in less than a week, right? :D

Well, wish me safe travels. Have a great weekend everyone!

~CaptainFlye

-ps

Love you Himeflye!