A/N: The Chunin Exams are beginning! I surprised myself. Yesterday, I post the next chapter of Sound and then had nothing, and about 24 hours later, I finished and have this. Anyway, remember to review. Your opinions and feedback are important to me!

Chapter 14: The Exams Start

"Yes! Thank you Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata shouted as her sensei handed her the application for the Chunin Exams. They were at their normal training grounds, but it seemed Kiba was running late.

Next to Kurenai was her best friend Anko. Anko had violet hair tied in a spiky ponytail and light brown eyes. She wore mesh armor that cover from her neck to her thighs, a tan overcoat that was purple inside, an orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, grey shin guards, and a pendant around her neck that looked similar to a snake fang. Kurenai had dragged her over so she could meet her team. At the moment, Anko was not impressed. She wasn't a big fan of the Hyūga since they believed they were superior to everyone, the boy was really shy, and one of them was running incredibly late.

Naruto, with Yuki in his jacket, took his application, but was hesitant. 'Sasuke's gonna be in it. And so will Gaara. I'm not sure I can do this. I'll probably drag Hinata and Kiba down.'

Hinata noticed her friend's downcast face and wrapped her arm around him. "Don't worry, the two of us are gonna rock this exam!"

"W-what if I h-have to face S-Sasuke?"

"Then you kick his arrogant ass into the ground!"

Anko looked at the girl in shock, then smirked. 'Huh, so this one's not like the rest of her clan? I heard the rumors, but never believed them. Glad she takes after her mother instead of her father.'

"Just remember," Kurenai started, "the purpose of the exam is to see if you have the necessary qualities of a chunin, not to beat everyone. I don't recommend any unnecessary fighting."

"Hey!" Kiba shouted as he arrived, Akamaru close behind. "Sorry, alarm didn't go off. Overslept. What'd I miss?" Kurenai handed him his application and explained that she recommended them for the Chunin Exams. "Yeah, hear that Akamaru? We're gonna be chunin!" Akamaru barked happily.

"Hold it!" Kurenai said, raising her hand. "While I believe the three of you are truly skilled, you're competition will be genin with a lot more experience and training from the different hidden villages, so there's a good chance none of you will be chunin. But this will be good experience for the three of you. And even if you don't make chunin, there's no doubt all of you will come out stronger than before and you'll have a better idea of what it means to be a shinobi."

"She's right brats." Anko added. "Each test is designed to separate the weak from the strong, both in body and mind. If you takes these exams easy, it'll chew you up, and you might not get spit out, depending on how tasty you are."

"An… interesting way of putting it, but she's right. Genin deaths are not uncommon." Naruto gulped. "But if you aren't prepared to risk your life, you have no right to be a chunin. But if you feel you aren't ready, you can always back out, the choice is yours."

Kurenai started to leave with Anko when Naruto called out, "U-um, s-sensei?" She turned toward him. "Um, c-can we have a m-mission?"

"Need the money?" Kurenai asked.

"Dude, we finished a C-rank mission yesterday. Why are you in need of money now? Did you go on one of your ramen binges?" Kiba asked.

"Actually, he paid for my lunch as punishment for his jutsu. Speaking which…" Hinata grabbed Kiba in a headlock. "Why'd you have Naruto make that kind of jutsu as a prank?" Kurenai and Anko looked puzzled, wondering what was going on. What jutsu?

"Hey! You wanted me to help him, I did! You should have told me it couldn't be something like that!" Kiba defended as he struggled to get out of the headlock.

"Hinata, release him!" Kurenai ordered. She did. "Good, now explain. What's this jutsu that's got you bothered?"

"Naruto, show her." Hinata said. While she was not happy with the nature of the jutsu, she was curious what a female Naruto looked like.

Naruto shook his head, but Kurenai said she wanted to see. Red with embarrassment, he formed the handsign and softly muttered, "Sexy Jutsu."

A puff of smoke covered him. Most of it dispersed to reveal a blond girl with pigtails and whisker marks on her cheeks. Kurenai, Hinata, and Anko looked in shock as they noticed she wasn't wearing anything. The lingering smoke barely cover her in all the necessary places. Naruko quickly ended the jutsu, turning back to a fully dressed and completely red with embarrassment Naruto. "Wow, the end result was better than I expected," Kiba commented, wiping a small trickle of blood from his nose.

Anko started laughing, grabbing her sides. Kurenai turned to Hinata. "Ok, I understand why that bothers you."

"Already punished Naruto. Broke my cinnamon bun record too." Hinata said proudly.

'That explains his lack of money,' Kurenai thought. 'She definitely inherited that from her mother.'

"Then I dragged him to his place." Hinata finished, glad she didn't find what she was looking for.

Anko heard her and a wicked smile formed on her face. "Really? How kinky. Kurenai told me you two were close, but…"

Hinata blushed red at what Anko was insinuating. Kurenai looked at her student in shock, Kiba and Anko started laughing, and Naruto fainted. "Wha… No! I-it's not like that! I was just checking for anything perverted! We haven't done anything like that!"

"I hope not!" Kurenai said. "You two are much too young to be doing anything like that!" (Agreed)

"I gotta say Kurenai," Anko said, "you're team is a barrel of laughs!" She continued laughing as she left. 'See you three at the exams,'

As Akamaru and Yuki revived Naruto, Hinata turned to her other teammate. "You know what, Kiba? I think it's time me and your mom and sis paid a visit to your room." she said as she left for the Inuzuka compound.

"Wonder what she meant?" Kiba asked aloud.

"Y-you don't h-have anything t-to worry about, a-as long as y-you d-don't have anything, well, y-you know."

"Yeah, I guess not." Kiba said. "On a totally unrelated note, I just remembered I have something to do back home." Kiba turned and made a mad dash for his place hoping he gets there before Hinata did.

"Well, this certainly has been the most interesting team meeting we've had," Kurenai commented. Naruto nodded in agreement. "I was gonna give you guys the day off, but I suppose I could take you on a few D-rank missions. And since you're doing them alone, I'll let you use your clones." Naruto nodded and they head for the Hokage's office.
-

Sasuke was in a good mood. His sensei had recommended him to be in the Chunin Exams. Which meant he could face that Sand shinobi Gaara. The very thought of facing him in combat sent shivers down his spine. 'A worthy opponent to face. He'll be a great test of my skills for the day I kill Itachi!' He thought his day couldn't get any better. Arriving at his place, he check his mail and saw something interesting amongst all the love letters and junk mail. And when he read it, his day got a whole lot better.
-

Naruto was spending time on his favorite swing in the academy, Yuki in his lap. Before he met Hinata, when everyone was gone, he liked play on the lone swing on the tree. It wasn't a school day, so Naruto was alone. He didn't know where everyone was and figured they were all busy, and he didn't want to impose. Looking around, he notice edges of the planks on the wooden fence didn't line up properly in three spots. "Oh, h-hey guys."

"Damn it! He caught us!" Konohamaru complained as he, Moegi and Udon threw off their disguises. "We were practicing on you so we can sneak up on big sis Hinata later. Speaking of which, do you know where she is?" Naruto shook his head. Konohamaru was about to speak when smoke covered them. They heard Mougi scream and when the smoke cleared, a ninja from the Hidden Rain was holding her. He had on a black cloak with no markings, a black mask that covered his face, and a round hat on his head. But his headband was clear on his forehead. "Let her go!" Konohamaru shouted.

He said nothing but ran off. Naruto handed Yuki to Udon and took off after the shinobi, Konohamaru and Udon right behind him. 'Why'd he take her?' Naruto thought 'It doesn't make sense. What would he hope to gain?'

The Rain ninja made it to the woods. He looked behind to see Naruto on his tail. 'He can keep up with me at this speed. Not bad.' Konohamaru and Udon got left behind, unable to keep up. The kidnapper stopped and tied Mougi to a tree, then covered her mouth with a cloth. He turned just as Naruto emerged from the woods. "That was fast, but not fast enough!" he said with a sinister laugh. (Well, more like a corny villain laugh.) "Let me explain the situation. This brat is my hostage and if you want her back unharmed, bring me the Scroll of Sealing!" Naruto looked him right in the eye and shook his head. "What? Don't you care what happens to… What the...?" He turned to Mougi, only to find a straw dummy. "When did…" He didn't finish as Naruto sent a roundhouse kick to his side. He managed to block the attack, but barely managed to lean his head back to dodge a punch from another Naruto. He jumped back, only to find himself surrounded by a dozen Narutos, all of which charged at him. For a few minutes, the Rain ninja had to dodge, block, and counter Naruto's moves, which was easier said than done, as he took a few hits. Finally, one Naruto got behind him and threw shurikens at him. They hit his back, only to find the kidnapper used a substitution to escape.

The real Naruto leaped down from the trees with Mougi and dispelled the clones. "Thank you Naruto. You saved me!"

"Mougi!" Konohamaru shouted as he burst from the treeline with Udon and the two hugged her. "You're alright!" he said relieved. "Thanks big brother Naruto!"

"B-big brother Naruto?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah! Your like big sis Hinata to us," Konohamaru explained, with his friends nodding in agreement. Naruto smiled, knowing these guys accepted him too. "And I know the two of you will do great in the exams!"
-

It was nighttime and Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were eating dangos when Iruka came to their table and collapsed in an empty seat. "Rough day?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka looked at them. "I got pummeled by Sasuke, nearly flattened by Choji, took some hard hits from Naruto, struck by Hinata, nearly drained of my chakra by Shino, and I took a direct hit from Kiba's tunneling fang, afterwhich Akamaru peed on me."

"Well you did insist on testing them yourself. So, are you satisfied?" Kurenai asked.

"No," Iruka answered, then sighed. "But everyone passed my test, so they can all take the exams," he mumbled.

"Iruka, I know you're worried about their safety. We all are too. But they can't say our students forever."

"I know that, I do. It's just hard seeing my students grow up. It feels like just yesterday, they just a couple of little kids behind a desk. And now they're grown, taking on the world." Iruka chuckled. "I bet this is similar to what parenthood feels like."

"My guess is, the feeling's a lot worse," Kurenai said. Iruka nodded, figuring she was right.
-

The week passed by. All the rookie team spent that time training for the exams. Finally, the day came. Team 8 walk inside the academy. They found a bunch of applicants in front of a room labeled 301. Two other genin are preventing the other genin from enter. One pushed a genin with black bowl-shaped hair and bushy eyebrows, wearing green spandex, orange leg warmers, and his protector on a red cloth worn as a belt. "Just stop," one of the genin blocking the way said. "We're doing you all a favor. The exams are no joke!"

"Some of you won't survive and even if you do, you may end up too injured to ever be a shinobi or even go crazy. As chunin, you'll have the lives of your comrades in your hands. Can you really deal with the pressure of knowing if you screw up, it may cost you not only the mission, but the lives of your friends? It not don't waste your time!"

People started whispering to each other. Then, Sasuke and the rest of Team 7 walked up to them. "Cute speech, now if you'll excuse us. We're headed to the third floor." Some of the applicants looked confused.

'Knew it. We only went up one flight of stairs,' Hinata though, her teammates thinking the same.

"And take off that pathetic genjutsu," Sasuke added. "I don't need my Sharingan to see through it." Suddenly, the sign swirled, then it said 201.

"Not bad, lets see how you handle this." One of the genin guards kick at Sasuke, the Uchiha doing the same, when a green blur moved between them and caught both kicks. It was the one who was knocked down earlier.

'He managed to stop my kick.' Sasuke thought.

'Wow, that guy's fast.' Naruto thought.

The two put down their legs as another genin approached the green one. Hinata recognized him as her cousin, Neji. He had long, dark brown hair tied in a loose ponytail near the end, and eye like Hinata's. He wore a tan khaki shirt, dark brown shorts, bandages on his right arm and leg, and his forehead protector on his head, two long straps dangling from the sides of his head. "Lee, have you forgotten the plan already?"

"Oh, I am sorry Neji."

He sighed. "We're suppose to be hiding our skills."

"Forget it. It's too late for him," a kunoichi said. She had brown hair in two chinese-style bun and brown eyes. She wore a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons and dark green pants. She had a pouch on her thigh and wore her protector on her forehead. She notice Lee looking at Sakura and sighed. "Oh boy."

Lee walked over to the pink-haired kunoichi. "You are Sakura Haruno, correct?"

"Um, yeah?" Sakura said, confused.

He got down on one knee and held her hand. "Oh beautiful Sakura, my name is Rock Lee. Please be my girlfriend. I will protect you with my life! This I swear!"

Sakura pulled her hand away. "No way! You're a weirdo!"

"Weirdo?" Lee said, downcast. His teammates sighed at the interaction.

"Don't let her get you down," Hinata said, making her presense known. "She's just in her fangirl phase. Who knows, maybe one day she'll like you." Neji sent his cousin a glare, which she ignored. "I'm Hinata Hyūga! Nice to meet ya Lee!"

"Oh hey, I'm Tenten," the kunoichi said. "So your Neji's cousin? I heard you graduated this year. Who are your teammates?"

"Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my partner, Akamaru." Akamaru barked.

"Um, N-Naruto Uzumaki," he said meekly.

Neji walk past them toward Sasuke. "Your name."

"Hmm, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Ah so you the one," Neji said. Sasuke nodded as he walked off, his team following.

Tenten noticed Lee was following them. "Hey Lee, where are you going?"

"There is something I must do. Do not wait for me. Head up to the examination room."

"Geez, what's that about?" Tenten wondered aloud.

"I have no idea," Neji answered.

"I'm curious too," Hinata said. "What do you say guys? Wanna check it out?"

"S-sure."

"I got no problems as long as we make it in time for the exams," Kiba answered. They walked over to where Lee and Team 7 left. They found themselves in a big room, with Lee in front of Sasuke. It appeared he was challenging him to a fight. "Hey, maybe we can find out how strong Sasuke's gotten, and learn more about how that Lee guy fights," Kiba whispered. Hinata nodded in agreement and they snuck upstairs to watch from the platform above.

Shino walked up to his teammate. "Sasuke, to fight now would be illogical. Why, because we are running out of time. If we get there late, we'll fail before we even start."

"Which is why I'll finish this quick," Sasuke said, brushing him aside before turning to Lee. "You're a fool. If you want to see the power of the Uchiha, I'll show you the hard way!" Sasuke charged at him and threw a punch, but Lee disappeared before he could hit him.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee appeared next to him and kicked high. Sasuke ducked, only to find a low kick headed toward him. Unable to dodge, he put his guard up in order to block, but somehow, Lee bypassed it and sent him flying back.

'How'd he do that? Was that ninjutsu or genjutsu?' Sasuke thought, "Heh, I've been waiting to use this in a fight," He closed his eyes for a sec, then opened them to reveal his Sharingan eyes.

"Crap, he has those eyes," Kiba commented softly. Hinata couldn't help but agree. She knew what the Sharingan was capable of from her studies. After all, her clan and the Uchiha were rivals after the formation of the Hidden Leaf. Naruto was curious. He didn't get a good look at Kakashi's back in the Wave, but now that he saw Sasuke's, the eyes looked very familiar.

'So the Uchiha brat unlocked his eyes?'

"Whatever ninjutsu or genjutsu you were using before won't get past these eyes," Sasuke boasted.

'Sasuke, you're so awesome!' "Cha! No one can be my Sasuke!" Inner Sakura shouted.

Sasuke charged, but before he knew what hit him, he was flying back again. "I-impossible!"

Hinata had her Byakugan activated. 'I didn't see him mold any chakra. In fact, his chakra network looks rather weak.'

"My technique is not ninjutsu or genjutsu. Only taijutsu," Lee said as he charged. Sasuke block a punch to the face only for Lee to put one in his gut. Sasuke swung at his head, but Lee dodged and elbowed his head. Everyone looked in awe as they saw the rookie of the year get beaten effortlessly. "My fighting style is straight, no tricks, no chakra, just speed, strength, and technique. Your Sharingan may be able to read my move my movements, but your body is still too slow to respond. And because of that, your eyes are useless." Sasuke growled, but Lee kept speaking. "There are two kinds of geniuses. Your kind are born with talent. You do not need to work as hard in order to become strong. And then there are one's like me. People who have to train everyday to keep up with your kind. This match was over before it started because your Sharingan is a bad match for my taijutsu."

"Should have brought some popcorn for this Sasuke beatdown," Hinata commented.

Lee kicked Sasuke up, then appeared right behind him in mid air. The bandages on his left arm started to unravel. "Hard work beats natural talent. This is the end, Uchiha."

Suddenly, a something hit the loose bandages and pinned it to the wall. It was a pinwheel. "Enough Lee!" Everyone looked to see a talking red and yellow turtle with a Leaf headband around his neck. Lee and Sasuke fell to the ground. Lee landed on his feet and Sakura caught Sasuke.

"You fool," the turtle said. "That last technique is forbidden! You know that!"

"Um, w-why's he talking to a t-turtle?" Naruto asked. His teammates shrugged their shoulders.

"A shinobi never reveals his tricks needlessly!" the turtle lectured. "It's a basic rule you should know. Are ready for your punishment?" Lee nodded. "Come on out Guy-sensei."

There was a puff of smoke on top the turtle's shell. And when the smoke cleared, Team 7 and Team had one thought. 'There's two of them!'

Indeed. Guy wore the same attire as Lee except he had a flak jacket, the same haircut, and if anything, his eyebrows were even bushier than Lee's. "Hey everyone! How's it hanging. So Lee, are you ready?"

"Yes Guy-sensei," Lee answered as he braced himself.

"Then here comes…" he pulled his arm back, "your punishment!" He punch his face. "You fool!" Lee when flying back while the other genin were shocked by his actions. Guy walked over to Lee. "I'm sorry, but…" his voice started cracking, "it was for your own good."

"Guy-sensei," Lee said with tears in his eyes.

"Lee," Guy said, also with tears.

"I am s-so sorry,"

"You don't need to say anymore, my student." Lee rushed and embraced his sensei, who hugged him right back. Suddenly they were on the coast in front of the setting sun. Everyone tried to dispel the genjutsu, but to no avail. The two continued to hug.

'How the hell did I lose to a freak like him?'

Naruto looked at them. 'That's really weird. But it's nice that they care about each other so much.' He looked at the Hyūga heiress and blushed. 'And I wouldn't mind doing that with you Hinata.' His thought turned to him and Hinata embracing in the sunset at the coast. Their heads got closer, the lips inching toward each other until…

"Hey Naruto? You there?" Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts by Hinata, who noticed his dazed expression. "What are ya thinking about?"

"N-nothing!" Naruto quickly said, his face completely red. Hinata shrugged and looked down.

"Alright Lee, I want you to give me 100 laps around the practice field!"

"Yes Guy-sensei!"

"Wait!" Sakura shouted. "What about the exams?"

"Oh, right. Forgot about that," Guy admitted, causing everyone to sweatdrop. "Lee, you broke the rule of no fighting. Let's make it 500 laps!" Everyone facefaulted, as Lee quickly agreed. He looked over at Team 7. 'So, this is Kakashi's team.' "Hey, you're Team 7 right?" They nodded. "How is my eternal rival?"

"Should we know him?" Sakura asked.

Guy looked downcast. "Kakashi… my eternal rival… didn't tell his students about me." He recovered. "Very well. Let me tell you that your sensei, Kakashi Hatake, is my eternal rival!"

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed.

"If Guy-sensei says it's true…"

"Don't worry about it Lee. Action speaks louder than words." Everyone blinked and Guy was gone. "My record is fifty wins to his forty-nine," he said from behind Team 7 before disappearing in a blink. "You see, I'm stronger and faster than him." Team 8 jumped when they heard Guy from behind them. "You must be Kurenai's team. Nice to meet cha. You enjoy the match?"

"You guys were spying on us?" Sakura said in disbelief.

"Um, a-aren't ninja s-suppose to spy?" Naruto countered, though he sounded unsure of himself.

"Right you are young one! Shinobi are not only fighters, but infiltrators and intelligence gatherers!" Guy gave him a thumbs up while Lee wrote in a notebook he pulled out of nowhere. Guy jumped down and turned to Team 7. "I apologise for the trouble my student caused. Please let him go with you to the classroom to register. Good luck!" He said with a thumbs up and a glint from his white teeth as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The turtle did the same.

"Sasuke, I must confess something. Earlier I told you I am the strongest genin here, but I lied. Actually, it is my teammate Neji who is the strongest. He is my goal, you were just practice. If we meet in the exams, I will take you down." With that, Lee lepted to the third floor near Team 8 and ran off.

Sasuke seethed in anger. "Next time I see that freak, I'll crush him!"
-

"Good, you're all here," Kakashi said, Kurenai next to him. They were next to the door to the real room 301. "Glad you decided to come Sakura. Now you and your team can enter the exams."

"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Only groups of three can take the exams," Kakashi explain. "If the you hadn't come, your teammates wouldn't have been able to enter."

"That little information was left out so you and Naruto wouldn't be pressured by your teammates, and we didn't want any of you with doubts to feel obligated to," Kurenai added.

"The exams are a big step in your ninja careers. If you enter half-heartedly, it can only led to disaster. You need to choose to be here of your own free will," Kakashi said. Sakura nodded in understanding, as well as Naruto. "Now that that's out of the way, Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, I'm proud of you three. You're all here and for the right reasons. Good luck." He gave them a smile that was just visible from behind his mask.

"The same goes to you guys," Kurenai said beaming with pride. "Hinata, you may not have noticed, but your actually less impulsive that you were in the beginning." Hinata smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Kiba, you and Akamaru have gotten faster and stronger as a deadly duo." Akamaru barked happily while Kiba grinned. "And finally you Naruto. You've come a long way, breaking out of your shell bit by bit." Naruto blushed from her praise. "As a team you face trials and managed to come out on top. Good luck, all of you."

"Yes, senseis!" All the genin said. Their teachers moved aside and both teams entered the room, mentally preparing for what awaited.
-

Alpha: And with that, the Chunin Exams… BEGIN!

Tenten: You love being dramatic, don't you.

Alpha: Well, sometimes.

Guy: Ah, I remember the exams. You were great Lee. You showed them the power of hard work and youth!

Lee: Thank you Guy-sensei!

Guy: Lee!

Lee: Guy-sensei! (Both embrace with sunset genjutsu in backround.)

Alpha: They really have to keep doing that?

Neji: No, but try telling them that.

Lee: Guy-sensei, I just realised our actions are bothering our comrades.

Tenten: He just realised that.

Guy: You're right Lee, and I think I know why.

Neji: Perhaps now they'll act more mature.

Guy: They are envious and want to join in! We must oblige!

Alpha, Tenten, Neji: Huh?

Lee: You are right Guy-sensei! Everyone, group hug!

Alpha: Um, no thanks, I'm good. (Backs away along with Tenten and Neji)

Guy: Don't be shy. Let us all embrace and fan our flames of youth!

Neji: That's really not necessary sensei.

Tenten: Agreed.

Guy: Lee, let us help them by embracing them as comrades.

Lee: Aye, Guy-sensei! (Lee and Guy chase Alpha, Tenten, and Neji)