Me: I do not own Naruto! ^_^

Preliminary

"First off, for the Second Test, congratulations! You all passed!" Anko yelled through her microphone. "Hokage-sama will now explain the Third Test. Listen carefully."

Kasumi took a look around the large room they had been bought on to. The teams were all lined up in rows and there were six in total. Facing them were their jounin sensei, the proctors, some chunin, and, of course, the Hokage himself.

A beep colored yellow flashed in her mind. There was danger here. Not danger that could or wanted to reach her, but there was danger here.

"Yes. For the Third Test... but before I explain that, there is something I'd like you to know." The Sandaime said, talking through a pipe in his mouth. "It concerns the true reason for this Exam. Why do we have all the allianced countries taking the Exam together?" He asked rhetorically, one hand reaching up to grab his Hokage's hat.

"'To promote friendship among the countries to raise the level of shinobi.' I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. This Exam is a replacement of war along the allied countries." He said, dark eyes stern.

"What does that mean...?" A kunoichi with two buns on the side of her head asked. Tenten, Kasumi identified through the teammates standing in front of her: Lee and Neji.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that those countries chose for battle, that is the origin of these Chunin Selection Exams." The Sandaime explained evenly.

"What does that have to do with us?! I thought this was an Exam to decide who was going to become chunin!" Naruto yelled, held back only by the hand Kasumi had touched to his inner wrist and Sasuke's steady presence.

"It is a fact that this Exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a chunin." The Hokage agreed. "But, on the other hand, this Exam has another side. Where each country's shinobi risk their own lives to protect their land's prestige."

... Bullshit. Kasumi thought it but wasn't in any way foolish enough to say it out loud. She would wager a good amount of money that none of the genin here were fighting for that purpose. Maybe Naruto had it lingering in the back of his mind, but that was it.

They fought for strength to complete their goals, for a promotion that would increase their standing. They fought to protect themselves and their precious people, to reach the standards set for them, to avoid disappointing their sensei.

They didn't fight "to protect their land's prestige." It had probably never even crossed the minds of several people here before the Hokage had bought it up.

"Prestige?" Ino questioned.

"Watching this Exam will be leaders and influential individuals. From many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the Leaders of the Countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And conversely if seen as weak, that country will lose clients."

Ah, advertisement. The Hokage made it sound so glorified, Kasumi thought with a mildly amused smile. But, then again, wasn't that his job? There were few civilians willing to send their children to the Academy if they heard it described as Murderer School.

"And this will signify to potential enemy countries that 'our village has this much power'. So it will send a political messenger to outsiders." The Sandaime removed his pipe, the smoke coming from it swirling in the air almost hypnotically.

"Yeah, but why?!" Kiba shouted out. "Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?!"

She knew why. There was no other way. The shinobi life was battle.

Blood staining the air, painting the ground, on her skin, copper and iron in her mouth. Her Okaa-san's blood, her Otou-san's blood, everywhere and nowhere... because they were gone.

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is born only through life-risking battle. This Exam is a place to see each country's strength and to show off your own strength."

In other words, the Chunin Exams only occurred so the Five Great Shinobi Countries could gather around and see who was weak. And if one of them was weak, it would be taken advantage of without hesitation. So long as a country was deemed relatively strong, peace was kept.

"It only has meaning because lives are at risk. And that's why those who have come before you have fought in the Chunin Exams for this dream that is meaningful." The Sandaime said, and Kasumi couldn't tell whether or not he truly believed this.

Perhaps. Perhaps he did, because she knew he had witnessed more than one Shinobi World War.

"But then why did you say stuff about it being for 'friendship'?" Tenten asked.

"I said it in the beginning, I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the life of shinobi."

It was the most horrifying description of friendship Kasumi had ever heard.

"Before we begin the Third Test, I will tell you one more thing." The Hokage continued. "This is not just a Test. This is a life-risking battle with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

Naruto folded his arms, grinning idiotically. "I get it..."

Sasuke and Kasumi exchanged an exasperated look about the moron's head. Had the blind fool listened to any of what they had said about propaganda?

Apparently not.

"I don't care what it is..." The genin named Gaara said in dead tone laced with undertones of bloodlust. A shiver ran down Kasumi's back. "Just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails."

"Yes, I'd like to explain the Third Test now, but..." The Sandaime was abruptly cut off by a Shunshin in front of him, a sickly-looking jounin appearing.

"Actually..." He coughed. "I apologize, Hokage-sama. From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate..."

"By all means." The Hokage replied.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hayate." He got to his feet, turning around to look at them with dark, dark circles under his eyes. "Umm... before the Third Test, there's something I'd like you to do..."

'He looks sick.' Was the general thought of the Rookie Nine.

"Umm... it's a preliminary for the Third Test..." He mumbled. "To decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" Shikamaru called out, sounding annoyed. "What do you mean?"

"Umm... because the First and Second Test may have been too easy this year, we have a bit too many people remaining. According to Chunin Exam Rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the Third Test." He explained weakly. "As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the Third Test, so the fights could take too long and we are limited in time."

Well. Wasn't this wonderful? Kasumi wasted a heartbeat to feel grateful they had already gotten three days of rest. She was at full strength. Naruto was, too, although his chakra was still affected by whatever Orochimaru had done to him.

As for Sasuke... he was doing better than before, even though the majority of his chakra was being used up fighting against the Mark Orochimaru had placed on him.

"Um... so anyway... those who are not feeling well" - he was totally one to talk - "or those who feel like quitting after these explanations, please come forward now. Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately..."

There was a beat of silence. Two.

"Umm..." A hand raised. Kabuto smiled sheepishly at the proctor. "I'm going to quit."

A practically visible wave of tension rippled over the Rookie Nine. Naruto glanced uncertainly at Kasumi who shook her head minutely. Kiba suppressed a growl, hand clenching. Ino looked slightly alarmed.

"Umm..." Hayate coughed, glancing down at his clipboard. "You're Yakushi Kabuto from the Leaf, right? You may leave now." Kabuto left without further fanfare. "Does anyone else want to retire? Oh... umm... I forgot tell you that from now on it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgement."

Sasuke stiffened in front of Kasumi with a cut off gasp, a hand rising to clutch at his neck. Kasumi narrowed her eyes, inwardly cursing Orochimaru. She knew better than to think he would give up, but...

Her hand wandered out and gripped his free one. Sasuke shot her a look quickly tainted by pain, face going pale. Remaining silent, Kasumi simply held his hand, providing an anchor. If she had been the one marked, her Tentaiora would have probably been able to neutralize the foreign chakra, but using it on Sasuke would most likely only hurt him.

She couldn't help him... beyond this.

"Umm... now... there are no more retiring, right?" Hayate asked.

Silence was his answer.

"Okay... let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary will consist of one on one fighting. You will basically fight as if in a real life confrontation." He said. "Since we now have exactly seventeen entrants, we will conduct eight matches and one will get a free pass. The winners advance to the Third Exam."

"There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies or is knocked out or admits your defeat. Um... if you don't want to die, then quickly acknowledge your defeat." Hayate advised. "But when I decide that the winner has clearly been established... since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things."

Weren't they nice? My, it was essentially a free for all until someone was dead or had forfeited. Not violent at all.

"And the object that controls your destiny..." A whirling sound echoed through the room and a curtain was rolled up to reveal a board embedded in the wall, "... is this... this electric scoreboard will show the match-ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden but let's announce the two names of the first fight."

Kasumi frowned. Already?

The board buzzed and then showed two names. Her heart dropped.

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.

Their luck was terrible.

"End it." She said, turning to whisper in Sasuke's ear. "End it quickly and forcefully. Don't let this draw out."

He nodded, dark eyes steady and calm. "I'll be fine, Kasumi."

She rather thought it would be best not to jinx it for them.

Sasuke/ Yoroi

"Kakashi-sensei." Kasumi greeted from the upper level as he walked up to them.

"Kasumi, Naruto." He eye-smiled, hands casually placed in his pockets. "You two look well."

"No thanks to that creepy snake bastard." Naruto muttered under his breath.

She saw no surprise on Kakashi's face. Which meant... "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?"

"What'll happen if that mark becomes active again?" Despite everything Hinata had done.

"Don't worry about it." He assured her, copying her low volume. "If that happens, I'll jump in and stop the match."

"Ah. Okay." It would have to be enough.

The match started out with a near obligatory wave of kunai and shuriken, Sasuke keeping a wary distance. Not that it mattered, seeing as the pain was distracting Sasuke so much, he almost didn't notice with Yoroi leapt across that distance with a burst of chakra.

They engaged each other in a bout of taijutsu, complete with kunai in hands and multiple attempts to stab the other. It was only when Sasuke managed to bring both of them to the ground that Kasumi realized Yoroi was using some jutsu or another.

Kasumi narrowed her eyes as Sasuke visibly began to weaken, blows becoming flimsy and trembling all over. Naruto saw it, too. "What's he doing?!" He hissed in frustration.

Dodging under a kick, Yoroi gripped Sasuke's face with his hand and the Uchiha fell back, panting. "Ugh... my chakra..."

There. "He's absorbing Sasuke-san's chakra." Kasumi frowned deeply, not at all happy with this genin's ability. It was like the worst match-up in history. And at a time like now...?!

Kicking out with his feet, Sasuke finally got Yoroi off of him and got to one knee, gasping heavily. His entire body was shaking; he was at his limit.

Naruto obviously didn't agree. "Sasuke! Are you really Uchiha Sasuke?! Is that the best you can do?!" He yelled loudly at his teammate, frustration mixed with worry to create anger.

Somehow, Kasumi wasn't surprised in the least to see Sasuke win after that, using a move he had copied off of Lee with his Sharingan way back before the First Exam. Konoha itself might fall and the moon above might disappear, but never would Sasuke Uchiha resist a taunt by Uzuamki Naruto.

She rolled her eyes, sighing softly in relief as Hayate declared, "I'm stopping the fight here... and thus, the winner of the first match, Uchiha Sasuke, has passed the prelims." What with Yoroi in a crater on the ground, there really was no other option.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

Kasumi leaned her elbows on the railing, chin in her palm, and smiled gently. On the ground, Sasuke wavered... would have fallen backwards if Kakashi's knee wasn't suddenly there to stabilize him.

"Good job." He commented idly, nose in his porn.

"Pft." Sasuke glanced back at their perverted sensei, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Naruto continued to cheer. "But, really, what a lame way to win, Sasuke! You're all beat up!"

"That damn total moron..." Sasuke muttered, but it was fond.

"Uchiha Sasuke." A medic said, walking forward as another two carried Yoroi off in a stretcher. "Let the medical team treat your injuries now."

"You guys aren't needed." Kakashi said flippantly, kneeing to place a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I'll take care of him."

"Neh, Kasumi-chan, see? Sasuke's fine!" Naruto turned to grin at her as Kakashi disappeared with Sasuke and she smiled back.

"So he is."

The scoreboard buzzed and two new names showed up.

Aburame Shino vs. Akimichi Choji.

Shino/Choji

"You should forfeit, Choji." Shino recommended as soon as they were both in the arena, adjusting to his glasses coolly. "This is not an ideal match for you."

"Nah." Choji grinned, shrugging. "If I quit now, Ino'll be really mad."

"You got that right!" Ino yelled down from the stands. "Kick his ass, Choji!"

"See?" Choji nodded wisely.

"I see." Shino nodded back, eyebrow twitching slightly at the reminder of the sheer amount of noise that one day Ino had utterly lost her temper. "In that case, prepare yourself."

The match before Shino and Choji went about as well as she expected it to go, Kasumi thought. As soon as it started, Choji tried to crush Shino with his Multi-Size Technique and Human Bullet Tank. He didn't really succeed; that technique was devastating when the target was immobilized, which was why the Ino-Shika-Cho combination worked so well.

But, as it turned out, Shino was quick and agile and avoided all of the attempts to roll him into pancakes. Despite that, the Aburame's insects turned out to be rather inconsequential against a heavy ball of meat. All they could do was hover helplessly around Choji as he rolled this way and that.

They couldn't even frighten him, considering his head was tucked in as well.

Eventually, Shino won, purely because he had outlasted the other genin. It had taken him near to five minutes to drain away enough of Choji's chakra to slow him down and then deal him a decisive blow, but he had done it. Hayate knelt down next to Choji, who was splayed out on the floor, eyes closed, and nodded.

"Akimichi Choji is unconscious. Winner: Aburame Shino!"

"..." Shino said nothing more, but stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way up the stairs.

"Dammit, Choji! You were so close!" Ino sulked, flames roaring in her eyes.

Shikamaru just sighed. "Troublesome. At least he's not too hurt."

"Oh. Shi-Shino-kun, congratulations." Hinata stuttered as he rejoined his team.

"Hey, good job." Kiba added.

"Yeah. I'm counting on you guys, too." Shino replied calmly.

"Umm... I think we should go to the next match..." Hayate said.

A brush of air behind them had Kasumi and Naruto automatically glancing behind them to see Kakashi appear.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hey." He greeted nonchalantly.

"How's Sasuke-san?" Kasumi inquired softly. She thought that if her teammates were in danger, she would know, but that was a theory.

"Well, he's fine. Sleeping in a hospital bed." Kakashi eye-smiled.

"... Was there any trouble?"

Kakashi peered at his female student, dark eye shrewd. "Why do you think so, Kasumi-chan?"

"Just a feeling." She shrugged carelessly. It wasn't a lie; there had been a brief moment during the match she felt as if someone had walked over her grave, but it had been brief.

"Maa, maa, like I said, don't worry about it. Sasuke's fine." By that, she gathered that, yes, something had happened. But Kakashi-sensei said Sasuke was okay, so she let it go reluctantly, aware of the eavesdroppers that surrounded them.

The scoreboard buzzed.

Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro.

Misumi/Kankuro

To be brutally honest, Kausmi found the next fight terribly boring. It ended in less than two minutes. Misumi might have the power to bend his body in strange and disturbing ways, but it meant nothing if the one you were threatening was a puppet.

Really, the only thing she found useful was that the match officially confirmed her suspicions of Kankuro being a puppet user. And that he liked to hide in bandages while making his puppet act as his 'real' self.

Ah, and then Misumi was dead.

"The battle cannot be continued." Hayate proclaimed. "Winner: Kankuro!"

"That's allowed, Kakashi-sensei? It's 2 on 1." Naruto pointed at the scene abrasively.

"That's just a doll." Kakashi said, arms crossed. "It's allowed."

"Puppet no Jutsu." Kasumi defined for him. "Controlling a doll and using it as a weapon. No different from kunai or shuriken, really."

"We will now begin the fourth match." Hayate said.

"Geez, geez, there's a bunch of weirdos here." Naruto commented.

"Like you're one to talk..." Kakashi said.

Kasumi said nothing, her attention focused on the scoreboard that had spit out two more names.

Kasumi vs. Yamanaka Ino.

Kasumi/Ino

"No hard feelings, okay?" Ino held out a hand, smile friendly.

"No hard feelings." Kasumi agreed with a matching smile, taking her hand.

They shook, making it a deal.

"Begin!" Hayate yelled, jumping back.

Kasumi copied his movement, though not his direction, fingers already spinning through seals. She knew what the Yamanaka Techniques detailed. Ino was never getting inside her mind, thank you very much.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Neither of her teammates were here to help her, so Kasumi poured a liberal amount of chakra into this jutsu, much more than usual. As a result, the breeze was more of a massive gust.

A violent one.

Ino, having jumped back as well with a kunai in her hand, could only gasp, eyes widening as the wind hit her head on, sending her crashing into the wall. The gale whirled around the room, pulling at clothes, tugging at hair, blowing away everything that wasn't safely secure.

"Damn." Shikamaru hissed, throwing up his arms to ward against the sheer force of the jutsu.

"She's good." Temari commented, a small smile on her lips.

"You go, Kasumi-chan!" Naruto shouted happily, gripping hard on to the railing. He, along with teme, had been the ones to help her achieve this level of pressure, after all.

Kicking up a good amount of dust, even after the jutsu died down, the lower level of room remained firmly enclosed in dust for a minute or two. When it dissipated at last, Kasumi stood in the same position she had been in before the wind jutsu, blinking rapidly.

Ino, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight.

Kasumi shifted her weight restlessly, brown eyes combing the area. Where was she?!

"Gotcha!"

Gasping, she spun around to see a flood of kunai and shuriken heading straight towards her. Snatching a kunai into her hands, she narrowed her eyes and concentrated. Dodge left, deflect two, duck low, send a shuriken to the left, step to the right...

They kept coming, the thrower running in circles around her and hurling projectile after projectile at her. Kasumi briefly wondered why Ino wasn't taking the chance to attack her straight on, but lost that train of thought when a kunai flew an inch away from her cheek.

The only good thing about this was that because of her constant movement, Ino's aim really wasn't very good. Unlike Naruto, who she had the misfortune of sparring with regularly. After she and Sasuke had corrected his stance, his aim had improved substantially and combined with his shadows clones...

Well. Kasumi was able to dodge and deflect all of the weapons Ino threw at her with ease. Practice makes perfect.

Soon enough, she let her hand fall back to her side, standing in a rough ring of kunai and shuriken. "What now, Ino-san?" She asked the blonde who stood, panting, a few feet away.

Ino didn't look too good. The impact against the wall must have caused quite a few bruises and the merciless wind had produced several shallow wounds on her body. But she was smiling triumphantly. "Why don't you look around yourself, Kasumi?"

She stilled, brown eyes widening. Taking a meticulous look around her surroundings, Kasumi had no idea what she was talking about... until she saw the glint of light on wire. "Ninja wire." Intermixed with the regular weapons, some of the kunai had loops of ninja wire looped into their hilts, resulting in a intricate web of razor-sharp strands surrounding her.

Kasumi couldn't possibly move unless she wanted missing body parts. Unbidden, her mind showed her just how cleanly Mummy-man's feet have been cut off.

Ino's smile widened. "You were so distracted with not getting hit that you didn't notice." She said, bringing her hands up in a hand-seal. "Don't panic. This'll only take a second. Mind Body Switch Techn - ack!" A senbon darted through the air, buried itself in the back of her neck.

Ino blinked, swaying. In front of her, 'Kasumi' tilted her head and smiled sweetly, right before she melted into water. Mouth forming an 'O', Ino's eyes fluttered closed and she slumped forward.

Genjutsu breaking, Kasumi pushed off from where she had been leaning on the wall behind Ino and, in a flare of chakra, landed beside Ino. Catching her limp body before she could lean forward and hurt herself on her own ninja wire, Kasumi set the Yamanaka gently on the ground.

"I believe this match goes to me." She said, glancing up at Hayate.

He nodded. "Yamanaka Ino is unfit to continue! Winner: Kasumi!"