Chapter 5:

"They don't know about the Chunin Exams." I said.

"Tch." Kyoske said as he did chin-ups on the door frame. "Figures."

"Kakashi announced today that he will be allowing them to take part in the exams." Megumi-sensei said.

"They bought our vacation idea." Hideki said from his spot near his hacking station. "It won't be along until they put two and two together."

"Specifically Sasuke." I pointed out.

"I'm sure that was the news that Kakashi was going to give them today." Kyoske grunted.

"He caused quite a scene. So much so that their old teacher, Iruka spoke up. The Rookie 9 just graduated and all of them were allowed entry. Everyone else feels like the brats will be easy pickings." Megumi-sensei said.

"With that Naruto brats big mouth he might get them killed if they make it to the forest." Kyoske said.

"Now we have to watch them in there too." I groaned.

"I'm sure they can handle themselves and if they die by other ninja hands…well then that's one less thing to worry about." Megumi-sensei said.

I looked at her and she met my look with one that put mine to shame.

"We're here to watch for Orochimaru. If Sasuke dies in the forest and it's not Orochimaru's doing, we no longer need to protect him. It's as simple as that. We don't need to protect them in the forest." She said.

"Right." Hideki said.

"Fine but what about the other Rookies? They all graduated together, right? What if they have information on the group too?" I asked.

"We can handle them." Hideki said. "You have enough on your plate with Sasuke."

"One of them is a boy crazy girl. Ino Yamanaka. I can handle her. I bet she has a crush on that Uchiha brat and she's way prettier than Sakura so who knows maybe the two have history." Kyoske said before releasing the door frame and landing on the ground. He was sweating all over, his shirt drenched and he reached for the towel he had thrown on the floor, wiping his brow with it.

"I'll handle the other group as well. There's an Aburame in that group and last I remember reading he's a bug user." Hideki said. "If we raise his suspicions that will make this whole mission that much harder."

"There's still no word yet on who the other village's are sending to the exam but I'm still trying to dig. I have a meeting now with an old friend." Megumi-sensei said.

"White Fang?" Kyoske asked, earning another dark look.

"He's not my friend." She said, venom in her voice.

"They Leaf shinobi don't know about him either. They didn't even know his history." I said as she headed for the door. "After everything that happened in the Land of Waves when they tried getting more information out of him he wouldn't say."

"Of course not." Megumi-sensei said as she opened the door. "He knows better."

She left then, slamming the door to make a point, and it was the sound of the door reverberating through our room.

"Ouch." Kyoske said.

"We need to find more information on those two." Hideki said. "There's something there."

Kyoske nodded and stretched. "I'm sure there is. I'm gonna take a shower."

"I'm gonna get us some snacks." I offered with a smile.

"Bring me dango." Kyoske called. "And I'll take the green tea too."

"Bring some rice balls too." Hideki said.

"And chips." Kyoske added.

I glared at both of them. "This sounds like a lot."

"Well this is what happens when you offer things." Kyoske called as he went into the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and headed out of our hotel, closing the door behind me. I left the building, inhaling the sweet night air and looked around. Konoha was still just as lively, with people scurrying around and it looked almost magical with the paper lanterns lit. I decided to get the dango first since a shop I had seen them in had been close to the entrance of the village.

I was walking through a crowded street when I saw a shortcut through a side street that seemed to lead to a less crowded walk way. I smiled to myself and turned down that path until I felt someone watching me. I didn't need to look around to confirm because whoever it was seemed ready for a fight of some kind. I waited until it really got under my skin, until it made sweat gather at the back of my neck before I swung around, my hand on my weapons pouch, my eyes scanning the side street for any sign of life. But I was alone and standing under a streetlight, feeling the full force of my paranoia. Suddenly I couldn't sense anything anymore. I sensed nothing but peace and quiet. No other body following me, no eyes watching my every move.

I was turning around when I felt it again and I pulled out a kunai ready to strike until a hand reached out to stop me. The body slammed against the wooden street wall and I gasped, struggling to release my hand while getting ready to kick the person off until I recognized them.

"S-Sasuke?" I breathed.

He was holding me in place, his free hand raised in defense in case I struck him.

"Wha-what are you doing?" I asked.

He pushed off of me, releasing me from his hold and my kunai clattered to the ground. I glared at him and he glared right back at me, except his of course won out.

"I know." He said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, hoping his words hadn't forced a reaction on my face the way it forced a reaction inside of me. My stomach dropped and I feared the worst. Did he know about Orochimaru? Had he known all this time?

"I know you're not here on vacation." Sasuke said.

"Then what else am I here for?" I asked.

His eyes narrowed. My heart dropped, fear clenching my stomach and at the back of my mind, I began fearing the worst.

"I'm not sure yet." Sasuke said.

My eyes widened. They had been entered in the exams and the White Fang hadn't told them. So exactly what had been said during their meeting?

"But I'm going to find out."

"Good luck." I said.

We stared each other down before I reached down to pick up my kunai. He stepped back, seeming ready for something until I shot him a look.

"What you looking to fight me?" I asked. "You've proven your point, you're onto us for whatever reason."

I slipped my kunai back in my pouch. "Now if you're not going to fight me, move out of my way."

I started to move past him and was only a few feet away when he called out to me.

"I was fading in out of consciousness that day." He called. I froze in my tracks. "I didn't understand it all until Sakura told me everything but one thing stuck out to me and the more I look at you three the more believable it becomes."

I glanced back at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Zabuza said he had heard of you and your squad. Ninja from a village forgotten in in the fog. He didn't want your hands getting any dirtier than they already were." Sasuke continued, a confident smirk on his lips.

My eyes widened. I doubted he had anything else but information like that could set Kyoske off and put our mission in jeopardy. I doubted Sasuke could hack anything too plus I couldn't imagine him having a mole anywhere either. But there was a promise in his words, an interest in us that ran so deep, it proved that if he wanted information, he wasn't afraid to find it through any means necessary. Which meant he wasn't afraid to ask Orochimaru who could easily twist that into getting him to help him.

"Sasuke…" I swallowed. "Don't be ridiculous."

He folded his arms. "I'm onto all of you and I don't trust you. I'm not a fool like Sakura and Naruto."

"I never said you were."

"I don't know what kind of game you three are playing but it's getting real old." Sasuke said. "And that says a lot since you all just got here."

"Even if we had an ulterior motive, it has nothing to do with you and your team."

"Saying that doesn't help you." Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing and smirk fading. "If anything it makes you more suspicious in my eyes.

I threw up my hands. "Well sorry if you're paranoid."

"Just watch yourselves." Sasuke said. "And tell your buddies I've got my eyes on them too." He disappeared then, leaving me alone in the side street as crows with beady black eyes took off from the tree branches in a nearby tree. I was trembling despite myself, angry that I had been the opposite of smooth. He was going to be a problem for sure.

One week later the the Genin from other villages had begun to arrive. The village was buzzing with excitement for the exam but to the best of my knowledge Kakashi still had not spilled the beans to his young Genin. We had hung out with Sakura and her squad only once the week before and Sasuke had been tearing us apart with his eyes. I hadn't told my team about the run-in with him, already imaging Hideki tearing my words apart.

"Any word yet on the Sound Village?" Kyoske asked as we were walking around one day.

Hideki shook his head. "No. Well, we know they're coming that much is up but their information isn't up yet, it just shows a bunch of numbers."

"That's crazy." I said. "And frustrating."

"How's it going with the Uchiha?" Kyoske asked.

I looked straight away, feeling a bead of sweat form at my temple. I hadn't had a chance to hunt Sasuke down all week. I had been so shaken by his words, shaken by his suspicions, I had focused more on hanging out with Sakura than anyone else. I had even hung out with Naruto once and a group of kids but I had steered clear of Sasuke completely. We kept it cordial but that was it.

"Sakura and I braided each other's hair." I said.

"Failing." Kyoske said.

"Shut up." I snapped.

"She hasn't spilled the beans about him or anything?" Hideki asked.

I shook my head. Sakura had proven that she barely knew Sasuke. Her crush on him was based on an idea. She was in love with the idea of him, this good-looking bad boy who was epically cool no matter what he was doing. She thought she knew him, which was the biggest problem.

"She just keeps apologizing for him." I said.

"Figures." Kyoske grumbled.

"How's it going with you and that Ino chick? What about the blackmail?" I asked.

Kyoske scoffed. "She's annoying. So blinded by her crush on Sasuke and her hatred for Sakura getting placed on the same team. It's literally all she talks about. Well, that and how boring her team is."

"The other squad is nothing to worry about. They're strong but not…not really there. They're further outside than the Yamanaka squad." Hideki said.

"As for the blackmail, it's a waste of time." Kyoske said. "No one knows anything about the Sound."

"It's so new all that's out there is stuff that talks about it's newness." Hideki sighed.

I nodded. "So, we have nothing."

"Any word on Megumi-sensei?" Kyoske asked. We hadn't seen much of her in the past week. She was always rushing off to meet a friend or intel and she'd be tight-lipped when she came back.

"Still asking Jonin what they know I guess." I offered.

"So really nothing." Kyoske groaned.

My fear came whenever Priestess Akane asked for an update. We had nothing and I was afraid she'd think we were just wasting time. I let out a small sigh when something caught my eye on top of a hill. It looked like a group of kids a second away from brawling. I recognized the orange jumpsuit and pink hair. I also recognized the black body suit and metal fan.

"Wait a second." I breathed. We stopped walking and the boy's followed my gaze.

"Is that Naruto?" Kyoske asked. "Who are they talking to?"

"Wait…is that…is that?" Hideki squinted his eyes.

"Temari and Kankuro." I said.

"Don't tell me their entering the exams too." Kyoske groaned.

"Things look serious." I said. And looked back at the boys. "We have to help them."

They nodded and raced up the hill, making it just time to see Kankuro holding his wrist, his teeth clenched. All eyes were looking up at the tree where Sasuke stood upside down with a fistful of pebbles on one side and Gaara stood matching his stance on the other.

"Naruto!" I called.

Eyes shifted to us and Naruto smiled.

"Miyuki." He greeted.

"Well, well, well look who we have here." Kankuro snickered.

"I could say the same about you fools." Kyoske grinned.

"Wait, you know each other?" Sakura asked.

"We go way back." Temari said, stepping forward. "Miyuki darling, you seem on edge."

"What were you doing to them?" I asked, which made Kankuro snicker again.

"What did we do? We were teaching these fools a lesson until—"

"They ended up making fools of themselves." Gaara called from above, making Kankuro flinch.

"Why do I believe that?" Kyoske laughed.

"Shut up Kyoske." Temari said.

"Ga—" I began but was cut off when he burst into a sand and reappeared a few feet away from us.

"We were just leaving." He said before turning to face the startled Leaf shinobi, well all except for Sasuke who was still in the tree, his eyes narrowed not only at Gaara but us.

"I'm sorry for any harm that Kankuro caused." Gaara said, his eyes dead, his voice numb.

"Hey wait! Hold on! I can tell by your headbands that you're from the sand Village. I know that we're allies but we're also not allowed into each other's village without permission. So…" Sakura's back straightened, her shoulder squared as she attempted to look unintimidated. "State your purpose."

Temari burst out laughing and Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"These losers are hopeless." He sighed.

"Score for you, pinky." Temari laughed.

"Why are you asking us and not these fools over here too?" Kankuro asked, pointing a finger over at us.

"What about us?" Kyoske snapped.

"They're here on vacation!" Naruto said.

"Vacation?!" Kankuro laughed.

"Oh man that's good." Temari laughed before turning to face me. "Is that the best you three could come up with? Were you in a rush or something?"

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Sakura asked, her eyes darting between us.

"Better yet, what kind of a rock do you live under?" Temari asked fixing a look on the Naruto and Sakura.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"We have permission." Temari said and held up her stamped passport. "Yes, we are Genin from the Village Hidden by Sand and unlike these fools, we're not here for vacation."

"We're here for the Chunin Exams." Kankuro laughed.

"Chew what?" Naruto repeated, looking lost.

Temari laughed again. "You guys really are stupid."

"Boss, The Chunin Exams are what every Genin needs to take in order to become a Chunin, a whole new level of ninja." Konohomoru, one of Naruto's little Academy friends.

"Huh? Oh I knew that." Naruto said with a sigh.

"Sure you did kid." Kankuro said with a wave of his hand. Then he fixed a spiteful look on us. "But on a better note, vacation? Really?"

"What are they talking about? Sakura demanded, looking straight at me.

"We're not here on vacation, big deal." Hideki said.

"And you come up with a weak excuse like that?" Temari tsked. "So unlike you, Miyu."

I smirked. "Yeah well it's unlike you two to resort to bullying innocent kids."

"Touché." Temari said with a wink. With that, they started walking again until Sasuke jumped down from the tree, landing soundlessly in front of all of us.

"Hey you! Identify yourself." Sasuke called.

Temari stopped walking and turned around first. "Me?" she asked, seeming impressed.

"No. You, the one with the gourd on his back."

Temari's playful smirk faded and Kankuro stopped walking right before Gaara did. Slowly, he turned back around, his arms folded his eyes just as dead as I had always remembered.

"I am Gaara. Gaara of the Desert." His jaw tightened. "I'm curious about you too. What's your name?"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said with a ghost of a dark smile on his lips.

"Great." Kyoske whispered.

"Hey I bet you're dying to know my name too, huh?" Naruto called, waving a hand in the air.

Gaara turned around. "I couldn't care less."

"Grr! Everyone always wants to know Sasuke." Naruto said, dropping to his knees.

"It's okay boss." Konohomaru said, patting a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder.

The Sand Genin walked away when Sasuke turned to glare at us.

"How do you three know them?" he demanded.

Kyoske sighed.

"We've gone on missions with them in the past." Hideki said, barely touching the surface. Our ties with Gaara and his squad went far deeper than that, but it was a nice overview.

"You're not here for vacation? So that was a lie?" Sakura asked, confused and still hung up on that. She seemed hurt and I offered her a small smile.

"We only lied because it was clear you didn't know about the exams." I said.

"Is this another way of keeping us away from things we can't handle?" Sasuke asked.

I glared at him.

"It's about minding your own business." Kyoske said. "We tell you about the Chunin Exams and we're doing your sensei's job for you. If you don't know about it, that means you're not in the exams, enough said."

"How did you get tangled with the Sand ninja?" Hideki asked.

"Huh? They were picking on my friends." Naruto said.

"Sounds just like them." Kyoske said. "I can see Kankuro getting all bothered."

"You were smart not to engage with them." Hideki said. "They are strong shinobi, one of the strongest that the Sand has to offer."

"They're not as strong as us though." Kyoske said with a wink.

"We almost did." Naruto said. "No one picks on my friend and gets away with it. Believe it!"

"I believe that if you kept talking like that you would've gotten you and your little friends killed." Kyoske said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Gaara doesn't play games." I said. "Neither does his team. If you angered any of them enough they would fight you and you would lose because you're not used to the power they can ditch out."

"You mean I'm supposed to be scared of that freak with no eyebrows, clown face and clover-head girl?" Naruto scoffed. "They didn't look so tough."

"Naruto!" Sakura growled.

"Trust the people that have seen it kid." Kyoske said.

"What else do you know about him?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?" Kyoske asked.

"Gaara." Sasuke glowered.

I could see it then, the spark of interest flaring in his eyes. I had expected something to click between them and I was sure that Gaara felt the same way. They both had that same look in their eyes, that same deadly stare that could melt ice and heat through steel. They were quiet and resentful and capable of anything. Other than Naruto, Gaara was the sand's Jinchūriki, the holder of the one-tailed demon beast and the things he could do with that power, that power coursing through his veins…I had seen it and it was always enough to make my stomach turn, but when compared to all that we had done…

I looked away from Sasuke, forcing away the thoughts of what we were capable of from my mind.

"We'll tell you everything we know." Hideki said. "But it won't do you three any good."

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"You're not taking the exams and they start in a few days." Hideki said.

"Well how do we sign up for them?" Naruto asked. "I want to take the Chunin Exams."

"You can't sign-up for them, Naruto." I said. "Your sensei has to be the one to do that."

"Which only happens if he feels you're ready for it." Kyoske said. "Which…considering that he hasn't told you, you're not."

Naruto looked at his hands, Sakura frowned and Sasuke balled his hands into tight fists at his sides.

"Don't worry though." Kyoske said. "There's always next time."

"In another three years."

"Wha-what?!" Naruto screeched. "We have to wait three years to get another chance?!"

I nodded. "Until then you can watch us fight. Everything will be live when the finals roll around."

"That's so unfair!" Naruto protested.

"Hey, blame your sensei." Hideki said.

"Is it too late to convince Kakashi-sensei to sign us up?" Sakura asked.

"There's still time." I assured them.

"Then we'll convince him to sign us up!" Naruto said. "We'll take that exam and become Chunin!"

"You make it sound so easy." Kyoske said.

"We should go." Hideki said.

"You said you were going to tell me more about Gaara." Sasuke snapped. "Now you're running away."

"We have other things to do, like prepare for the exam." Hideki said. "We can talk to you after the first round is done. For now, just focus on staying out of trouble."

Hideki started walking back down the hill and after exchanging a look, Kyoske and I followed after him until Sasuke grabbed my arm.

"Hey what the—" I said and was cut off by the look in his eye, a dark one that made my words get caught in my throat. He had been subtle about it, turning his body so that he blocked his hold in me while everyone else was oblivious behind us, Sakura scolding Naruto on being an idiot and Naruto insisting he wasn't.

"You lied again." He growled.

"What's your problem?" I growled right back. "We lied, so what? Big deal. Sue us."

"Tell me about Gaara."

"Not with that attitude." I pulled at my arm. "Now let me go."

He released me, but never freed me from his hard glare.

"What?" I snapped.

"You owe me an explanation." He said. I glared at him, feeling his words and glare getting the better of me. There was only so much of this kid that I could take and already he was pushing me to my limit. I had expected him to be easier to stand, not filled with so much attitude. Any other guy would be softer with me, any other guy would've began eating out of my palms, but no this Uchiha just had to be different.

"I don't owe you anything, Uchiha. Get that through your head." I said.

His eyes grew even darker, as hard as it was to believe.

"But, I'll humor you. You want to know more about Gaara? We'll meet up tonight and talk about it but not on your terms, on mine."

Before he could say another word, I stepped away from him in case he grabbed me again and flipped the stray piece of my hair that had broken away from my braid and shot him a look that I prayed came off as confident.

"We'll be in touch." I said and started after my teammates who had noticed my absence and were turning just in time to see me running away from Sasuke.

"What was that about?" Kyoske asked when I was close.

"We have better things to worry about." I said. "Where are they?"

"Not sure but if they're here it can't be for the exams." Hideki said. "They're a lot like us that way."

"Now I know where we get it from." I said. "Let's go and get this over with."