Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.
Napoleon Hill

Chapter 17: Think Twice

They had checked the time schedule and had made their "first appointment". The genin team from Sunagakure was set to be training later that day from 1pm to 4pm. It would seem too perfect if they had arrived just when the other team started, so Team Tsume planned to arrive around 3pm. They would pretend that they had the training field from 3pm to 5pm and that the training fields worked in two hour shifts. The plan seemed simple enough. If they tried to sneak up on the Suna team then it would be practically impossible to explain why they were hiding if they happened to get caught. The only way to avoid something like that would be to walk right up to them and act casual. Luckily for Team Tsume, Kei had a natural poker face; Shikamaru would be casual even if he was caught in a stampede, and Naruto was as easy to scare as a chunk of stone.

Kei sat at the cafe where they had all decided to meet. They didn't have much time left before the chuunin exams, so they had decided to begin to check out the other countries. Even if they only got the slightest hint of innocence, it would help. Right now, they were starting out at ground zero. There were a few things they could assume about the other teams, but nothing was solid. They had to remedy that before the games started.

Anything could happen in the middle of the games. Teams could be sabotaged, kunai might "accidentally" kill people, or alliances could be made to give advantages to some teams. They still didn't know if the council would be receiving help from an outside nation. But if they were, they would probably be helping that nation's teams get through the exams as well. It was the law of reciprocity after all. And Kei found that only very rarely did the law hold false.

Kei laid her hands carefully on her notebook and looked around for her teammates. She had arrived fifteen minutes early to scout out the area. One could never be too careful after all. After she had checked the booth for bugs and the nearby booths for suspicious persons, she had gone back to sitting on the red fabric. Normally she would have been scribbling notes about all the things people in the cafe were saying. Like about how Chizuru Himeko had adopted a ginger tabby from the commercial district two days ago or how Omoida Hanatarou had just come back from a mission in Amegakure. But now it just didn't seem important.

She leaned forward on the table and rested her head down on the wood. The maroon haired girl sighed. She was too young to be feeling old like this. She had known that becoming a ninja would require her to grow up faster than most, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Oi! Kei-chan! You've already booked a table for us, eh?" Her eyes flicked over to see Naruto standing in the doorway.

The blonde attracted a lot of hateful stares as he ambled over towards the booth where Kei was. He slide into the side across from Kei and smiled cheerily. "Are you ready for today?" He asked merrily. He, of course, was not worried about today at all. The worst thing that could happen would be that they would have to go on defensive if the Suna team decided that they were trying to spy on them. Naruto was confident that if it came down to a fight, his team would come out on top. They hadn't been training for nothing after all.

"Not at all; I'm still not an offensive fighter, you know. I've been visiting the library, but I doubt I could put up a good fight. The chuunin exams are going to be a massacre for me," Kei lamented as she shook her head on the table. "Kakashi-sensei has been busy with his own team since they are entering as well, so he's only been able to send me advice by hawk. And that advice always comes a few hours late because of the transit time. If we get in trouble with the other team, I'm going to be the first to get hurt."

"Awww, don't be like that, Kei-chan! I'm sure you'll come up with something! You're the bookie out of all of us! If there is a jutsu anywhere, then I know you'll find it. I believe in you!" Naruto flashed a thumbs-up at the downcast girl and grinned. "In any case, we'll be there to help you on the way! We're all there to help each other after all!"

Kei smiled weakly. "Thanks, Naruto-san." The sentiment was nice, but it honestly didn't make her feel much better. She would have to one on one it later on in the exams, and that was when she'd get slaughtered.

"I see we're the last ones here." The duo looked over towards the door where Inoichi and Shikamaru were standing. Inoichi had a smile on his face as he headed over to his two genin and took the spot by Naruto. Shikamaru slid in the booth beside Kei and looked at the rest of Team Tsume questioningly.

"So, now what do we do? We have another hour before we have to leave for the training grounds," Shikamaru said simply. He picked up on of the menus that was piled on the edge of the table and gave it a once over before putting it doing. He looked at the rest of his teammates to pick up on how they were feeling. He wasn't particularly worried about how everything would turn out today. It would be more troublesome than anything. In fact, the entire business was too troublesome for his tastes.

Talking with his family at the dinner table had become increasingly difficult as he parried with his father about what had gone on during the day. So far, Shikamaru had found nothing that would prove his father's innocence. He couldn't just suspect him to be innocent; he needed definite proof and that was what worried him. Not many things could prove innocence. It was easier to prove guilt, so until a prime chance arose, Shikamaru couldn't even pretend that Shikaku could be on the side of the Hokage. The Nara clan leader would have to meet with another confirmed member of the opposition and act negatively to his presence for there to be anything resembling proof of innocence. However, they didn't even know a single enemy so far. Things were turning out badly in that regard.

"Well, I suppose we could go over what has been going on over the past few days. I've given you the past four days to rest up, but we have to get ready for the chuunin exams and your supplementary trial." Supplementary trial - that was what they had come to call it now. They couldn't very well call it a mission or civil war prevention plan after all. Inoichi waved down one of the waitresses and ordered a cup of green tea before looking back to his students.

"I've been talking with some of the clan leaders. I missed a meeting while we were out on our previous mission, so I had to catch up with some of them." What Inoichi really meant was that he had snuck around the clan offices in the Council Building to see if there was anything suspicious. "I had the chance to talk with Chouza-san while I was there." Meaning that he had been intercepted on his way to investigate. "We had a pleasant conversation." In other words, they talked kindly to one another, but weren't warm to each other. Something seemed off, but he can't confirm it.

Inoichi's blue eyes drifted from each of his students until finally he had stared them all in the eyes. It was a silent way to make sure they had gotten his message. "Sounds like you were busy then," said Shikamaru calmly. "I've been at home for the past few days, studying with my father." He looked over to Inoichi as he spoke. "It has been pretty relaxed as usual. Dad has been brooding for a while though. He says it's something to do with one of his business meetings, would you know about it?"

Inoichi absorbed the information for a moment. They had told him that the meeting had been about the clan budgets and the subsidies that would be offered by the council. Was there something going on that they weren't letting him know about? "No, I don't believe I know anything, Shikamaru-kun. But, if I do hear anything, I'll tell you. All right?"

The scratching of a pencil against paper was heard as Kei messily scribbled into her notebook. Shikamaru couldn't help himself and looked over her shoulder to try and see what she was reading. Unfortunately, he found a series of gibberish, and he leaned back in his seat with a dejected sigh. It was another bloody cipher. "It's called swagman," Kei said as she continued writing the letters onto the paper. "But continue."

Naruto chortled behind his hand and looked from studious Kei to the annoyed Shikamaru. Shikamaru hated being outsmarted, but it seemed to happen quite frequently nowadays. "I've been eating at Ichiraku's a lot recently. The old man's really awesome there. I've been able to meet some of the genin from Amegakure and Kusagakure there. They're pretty intimidating, you know? The Ame team ignored me whenever I tried to talk to them, and I think they insulted me. It was so cold!" Naruto's eyes conveyed a different message though. The Ame team was uncooperative, probably not looking for an alliance with another group. Ame should be cleared as an enemy. "Kusa on the other hand was pretty chill. They actually wouldn't keep quiet about how they were going to crush Konoha in their own turf."

Inoichi rapped his fingers on the table absent mindedly. He doubted that the Kusa nin could be their enemies even if they had acted so obviously anti-Konoha. No secret agent would risk sending blabbermouths into the heart of the storm like that. The genin would have been told to keep their mouths shut and to remain civil. Unless Kusa had decided to try a reverse psychology theory, but Inoichi doubted that they would risk it. It would have been much safer to try and act neutral.

The waitress came back with Inoichi's green tea, and he took a sip from the hot beverage. "Sounds like you have been busy, Naruto-kun," he said absently. It gave the appearance that they were carrying on an actual conversation though they were actually just relaying information to one another. "What about you, Kei-chan?"

Kei's pencil halted in its movement before being placed daintily on the notebook. Kei looked across the table to Inoichi and said, "I've been with your daughter." Kei frowned. "Had she not told you? We have been visiting each other every day since I got back."

Inoichi frowned as well. Ino had told him that she was at the library studying on some jutsu, and that she was doing it alone. But why would she lie about something as simple as that? He'd have to go home and ask his daughter about that later. "No, I hadn't heard. Thank you for letting me know, Kei-chan." Ino had always had an infatuation with boys. He hoped that she hadn't gotten herself caught up with some rabble since he hadn't had as much time to keep an eye out for her.

Kei leaned her head on her fist in thought. She wondered if she should mention Ino's apparent personality disorder, but if she did, who knew what could happen? If Ino was on the other side, it could spark a change in plans and a coup could be accelerated if they thought that someone was on to them. But she knew that if she told Inoichi then nothing would stop him from doing what was best for Ino. She had to stay silent for now and hope that everything would be all right.

Silence reigned around the table for a few moments before Inoichi put his cup down with a clatter. "We can leave for the grounds now. We can take our time getting there to make up for our leaving early." Inoichi waved over one of the waitresses to pay his bill.

Soon enough, all of Team Tsume was walking down the dirt road. The cafe that they had decided to meet at was placed in the residential district, and was thus closer to the training grounds. It was also less used, allowing them easy entrance and exit. The group walked down the lifeless street, keeping an eye out for all that walked by. Even the lady sweeping her doorstep was subject to speculation by the wary genin. Was she watching them as they walked past because she was curious or because she was keeping tabs on all the genin?

Paranoia seemed to come easily now that they had returned to the village. All the harmless things that wouldn't have bothered them earlier now had dual purposes. They all knew it was silly and that it was probably nothing, but sometimes they couldn't talk themselves out of their worry. So far, it had all come to be nothing, but they couldn't help but worry.

They stalked across the streets in silence. The houses grew few and far between as they headed to the outskirts of Konoha, where the training grounds were. Kei slipped her notebook out from under her shoulder and leafed towards the latter half where she had drawn a map of the training grounds. There were enough plots that sometimes one could get lost trying to find the correct training section. "We should only be about a half mile away now," she said before snapping the book shut.

Inoichi hummed his acknowledgement as he slowed his walk. They still had another ten minutes before they needed to be there. They would preferably arrive just on time and not before as to not arouse suspicions. "You all know what to do, correct?" The genin nodded. They were all supposed to try and talk one of the other genin individually while Inoichi talked to the sensei. Kei would take the girl while Naruto and Shikamaru figured out which guy they would talk to.

"Woah! What is that?" Naruto stopped and stared at a rising cloud of brown. The weird creature twisted up into the air before flattening out on the top. Naruto scrunched his eyes before pointing and saying, "Someone's up there!" A tuft of red hair stuck up from upon the pillar as a form walked across the plateau. The sand ripped under the man's feet before dispersing, sending particles scattering in all directions.

Naruto's eyes widened and he sped up towards the training grounds as the boy made no sign of catching himself. Instead, he limply fell towards the ground, quickly picking up speed. He ignored his sensei as he skittered on towards the training clearing. He was too late. Naruto skidded to a stop right outside of the field as the cloud of sand swirled up to catch the falling boy.

Naruto's teammates ran to catch up to him before stopping to look at the spectacle. "How did he do that? There wasn't even a handsign!" Kei exclaimed as she stopped the urge to whip out her notebook. If they caught her taking notes, then the Suna nin would obviously react badly. It would be impossible to say that they weren't spying.

"I don't know..." Naruto murmured. Something felt familiar about the boy, but Naruto knew there was no way he could have ever met him before. Stupid brat, he's like you. Isn't it obvious by the aura he's giving off? Naruto twitched as the Kyuubi's voice made its way back into his head. They hadn't been talking unless absolutely necessary or unless Naruto called out to the Kyuubi. But now it seemed that the Kyuubi was going out of its way to talk to him again.

But what did the Kyuubi mean by it was like him? Wait, that meant the boy had to be a container! "I'm talking to that one," Naruto said quickly, gesturing at the red headed boy. Shikamaru tilted his head in confusion before nodding. He didn't particularly want to talk with the boy in any case.

"Hey, you four! What do you think you're doing?" A loud voice called out and they looked to see a man walking towards them. A cloth shielded half of his face, leaving a solitary eye to stare them down. None of the genin backed down as the jounin neared.

Inoichi stepped forward and said, "We should we asking you that. It's 3pm already. We have this training ground book for the next two hour shift."

"Oh really now? I heard that we had this space booked from 1pm to 4pm," said the jounin with a mocking eye.

"It must have been an accident because I received a notice stating that we had it from 3pm to 5pm," Inoichi said simply. His calming smile seemed to relax the man because his posture slumped slightly from its uptight position. "I'm sorry that this has happened though. My name is Yamanaka Inoichi by the way. I am of Konohagakure. These are my three students: Shimizu Kei, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru. And you are?"

"I am Baki of Sunagakure. These are Sabaku Temari, Sabaku Gaara, and Sabaku Kankuro. Your apology is accepted." Baki nodded after gesturing to all three of his genin. The three had gathered around behind him and were standing silently as if waiting for an order.

"It would be a pity if we had to have a standoff to figure out who is allowed to use the grounds. Even if we communicated to the director, it would take up most of the hour. Shall we just spar with one another for the rest of the hour? I'm sure Suna would like to check out the competition, no?" Inoichi said smoothly. His tone was light and his face was cheerful, but not needlessly so. If Naruto hadn't known better, he would have thought that this was all spontaneous.

"Humph. That is all right with us. Gaara-san, you go first." Baki and Inoichi shared a look. Obviously, Baki was trying to make a strong impression in the beginning. Considering the fact that they had already seen Gaara in action, this would just compound the fact. This was going to be a race out of the gate to show who had the upper hand.

"Naruto-kun, would you like to go first?" Inoichi had overhead their little conversation and was smiling kindly at his student. Secretly, he was worried. Gaara obviously had a lot of talent and he had probably had at least twice as much training. He would have chosen Naruto to go against the boy in any case because Naruto was their strongest offensive type. Kei and Shikamaru wouldn't have stood a chance with someone would could control sand so easily. Inoichi could only hope that Naruto would be able to hold him off.

"Ten minute battle. Don't kill each other or break any bones. Bruises and sprains are fair game. Drawing blood is also within boundaries. Does this work for you, Yamanaka-san?" Baki said as he began to walk off to the side of the field, leaving Naruto and Gaara staring at each other.

"Yes, it works well." This meant that Naruto only had to survive for ten minutes for it to be a draw. It wasn't that Inoichi didn't have faith in Naruto, but he doubted that Shirakumo had managed to teach Naruto enough of his affinity yet.

Naruto looked at Gaara carefully. He didn't seem physically strong, so that meant he had a high chakra base and relied heavily on his tailed beast. If he could trust what the Kyuubi said, that is. Somehow, he didn't get the feeling that the Kyuubi was lying. The kinship he felt was Gaara was too abnormal for it to be anything else.

He took in a deep breath before sighing. "Looks like you've warmed up ahead of me! But let's have a good match, eh?" He said cheerily. He repeated in the back of his mind: don't use kage bunshin, don't use kage bunshin. Inoichi would recognize the forbidden jutsu almost instantly, and Naruto couldn't let that happen. He just hoped that he wouldn't lose control in battle.

He had talked to Shirakumo two days ago to ask about his affinity, but it wasn't as if he had learned any jutsu. He might be able to augment his kunai to make them fly faster, but that was about it. Naruto swallowed. Hopefully this would work out.

"A good match? Good is in the eye of the beholder. The only thing that will be good for me is if I crush you into dust," Gaara said cruelly as he uncrossed his arms. He rotated his head from side to side, making a loud crack. "I have ten minutes to make your life living hell. So we had better get started, now hadn't we?"

Naruto blanched. Gaara was just as scary as he appeared.

Author's Notes: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (: Though it does seem that I have contracted a cold. Bear with me until I get better. I may be a bit of a klutz for the next week or so. So if I write something that doesn't make sense, tell me. I accidentally wrote Inoichi as Kurenai until I realized my mistake. /facepalm/.

Thank you so much for continuing to beta me, Pokepikachu1! And thanks to you for reading this story! I really appreciate all the support. :D Review to give me suggestions, comments, or questions?