A/N I just thought I'd say how grateful I am for every single review I've gotten. It makes me especially happy when people review more than once, so I know that they are still interested in the story. So this chapter is dedicated to all that have reviewed (I won't mention names in case you don't want me to. You know who you are.) Thank you. You're basically the reason I'm still putting more chapters out there.

On with the story!

!

"Well," said Hisa "That was… eventful."

Half an hour had passed since Oki's fight with Inori. Shikamaru had declared the match a tie, seeing as both competitors were unconscious. The next match was currently being fought; Ning from Konoha was facing off against Karura of Suna. Both of them were weapons specialists, so it was boiling down to the simple question: which village had the best weapons?

Hisa watched the match idly from the competitor's balcony. She wasn't really too focused on it. She was worrying more about her own match. She didn't particularly want to face Naruko in the first round. She did want to fight Nawaki or Obito, as she secretly respected both of them as fighters. (Not that she would ever tell them that!) Most of all, she desperately hoped that she would not be paired off with Hizashi. She had no idea how to handle that situation, so she just hoped that Obito would get the chance to talk to him first.

The match below was reaching the final stage, and the crowd were soaking up the atmosphere as the two girls battled it out. To Hisa, the most interesting thing about the match was the spirit of both the competitors. Karura had smiled and shaken Ning's hand politely. She had even wished her luck! The proctors were all keeping watch uninterestedly, as neither girl seemed to want the other dead. It was one of the nicest matches Hisa had ever seen. She laughed dryly. What kind of world did she live in, where two opponents respecting each other was such a rarity?

She was drawn out of her musings as Nawaki joined her.

"She's awake." he said.

She turned around, and sure enough, Oki was stirring sleepily. Hisa walked over to her, Nawaki by her side. Oki stared up at them blearly. It took her a few seconds to realize who they were. Hisa saw her eyes widen as the memory of her match came rushing back. Oki shook her head a few times, before looking up sadly at them.

"I lost." she said.

Hisa saw Nawaki open his mouth, to try and make another motivational speech. But Oki didn't need wishy-washy encouragement. She needed logic, and that was Hisa's area. So she stepped in before Nawaki could talk.

"You didn't lose, you drew. There's a very big difference." she kept her voice even and calm.

Oki refused to take her eyes off the ground.

"I didn't beat Inori, I failed."

"That's stupid Oki." Hisa said, she saw Nawaki glare at her but continued anyways. "To you, you failed to beat your bully of a sister. I can understand where you're coming from. But what the crowd saw was a small seven-year-old girl take down another girl almost twice her age. With a Rasengan. In their eyes, you won."

Oki looked a bit happier, but her eyes were still worried.

"I don't care about the crowd, what about Inori? What will she think of me, now that I tried to beat her and failed?"

"For the last time, you didn't fail!" Hisa yelled "Think about this from Inori's point of view. You didn't beat her, but she didn't beat you. It's humiliating for her, not to be able to beat her little sister. Especially when she used the torture jutsu on you, and you still got up. To her, she lost badly today."

Oki took a minute to process Hisa's speech, but then a huge smile came onto her face. Hisa turned and looked at Nawaki smugly. See? I'm not completely terrible at being nice. Nawaki just grinned at her.

The two of them helped Oki get to her feet, and then the three of them made their way over to the balcony to watch the end of the match. It was a close call, but Ning ran out of weapons before Karura. Karura was able to hold a kunai to her throat, but there was no danger of Ning dying. It was obvious that Karura didn't want to hurt her. Hisa guessed that it was a side-affect to growing up with Naruko. If her sister liked murdering people for fun, Hisa would probably become a pacifist. She felt a wave of sympathy for Karura, she must have seen far too much gore for a ten-year-old girl.

She watched as Ning congratulated Karura, and Karura announced that Ning was the most difficult opponent she had ever fought. That made Hisa smile. Yashamaru was a thick headed bully with an ego, and Naruko was… Naruko, but it was clear that the Kazekage had one good egg amongst his children.

The chunin and jonin made their way onto the field to clear up the huge pile of weapons strewn across the place. As they watched, Oki looked around the balcony. Most of the other genin were standing near them, discussing the most recent match.

"Where's Inori?" Oki asked.

Nawaki was staring distantly at the area reserved for the Kage, so Hisa explained what had happened.

"Once she woke up Ino and Choji dragged her away to have a 'talk'. Once they find out that you're awake they'll probably come to get you too."

Oki sighed.

"That's one awkward family talk I can do without. I mean, what can they do? What can anyone do? Ino and Choji messed Inori up and Inori messed me up. Sai was already messed up. My whole family is just really dysfunctional."

"You did the right thing Oki." Hisa said gently "No one has the right to make your life hell, not even your family."

Oki closed her eyes and sighed.

"I know that, it's just… she's still my sister and I still love her. I'm going to feel horrible telling Mom and Dad everything that's being going on. They've been lied to by their own kids, what are we supposed to do in this situation?"

Hisa didn't have a good answer for that, but luckily Nawaki spoke up.

"Counselling." he said.

Hisa wasn't sure if he was talking to Oki or to himself. She scowled. Now wasn't the time for another of Nawaki's 'how to stop Konoha from turning their people crazy' ideas.

"Not now Nawaki." she snapped.

He ignored her as usual.

"I'm serious. If Konoha had hired shinobi to act as counsellors or therapists, we'd probably have half the number of missing-nin as we do today. Think about it, wouldn't Iruka-sensei make a great counsellor?"

"We're shinobi, we've been trained to handle our emotions." Hisa protested.

"True, but that's not exactly healthy for you, is it? I'm pretty sure most of the ANBU would get great benefit from a couple of therapy sessions."

"My Dad's in the ANBU." Oki pointed out.

"Exactly."

Hisa had to admit, he had a point. She was distracted when Shikamaru stepped onto the field again. Her gut twisted as the giant computer scrolled through the remaining names. She wondered why the Hokage had decided on the giant computer, instead of names from a hat. Naruto did like to show off a bit. Was her dad watching her now? Was he as worried as she was?

!

Sasuke sighed as Naruto sank further into his seat. Gaara was beside him, with a slightly smug expression on his face.

"Thank you for that donation Naruto. I assure you that the money will be put towards good use."

"Konoha's still better." Naruto mumbled. "One of your kids lost, the other one won. I guess it's all down to your third one."

Both Gaara and Sasuke heard the taunting edge in Naruto's voice. Gaara understood instantly.

"Care to make another bet?"

Naruto sat up straighter, grinning like a loon.

"You're on! I bet that your kid gets knocked out before mine! Whoever wins the bet gets all the money they lost today back!"

Gaara considered this carefully.

"Very well, but since I have only one child left then you must also pick one child. That will make it fair."

Sasuke could almost see the gears turning in Naruto's brain.

"Fine, I pick Hisa. She's the fairest option since she's the same age as Naruko."

Gaara nodded.

"Very well. It's a bet."

Sasuke closed his eyes against a headache that was threating to bloom. Babysitting Naruto was bad enough, babysitting Naruto and Gaara? There was no amount of money in the world that would convince him to spend the day with them. Stupid job.

He opened his eyes again to see the names that were shining out of the screen.

"Hey dobe, Hisa's up. But it's not against Naruko."

!

Hisa watched as her name appeared on the screen. As the second name appeared alongside her's she let out a breath that she hadn't even realised she'd been holding.

Hisa Uzumaki vs Kawa Inuzuka.

Hisa relaxed and let the tension leave her body. She couldn't have asked for anyone better for her first round. The boy in question appeared behind her, cocky grin on his face as usual.

"Ready for this, Your Highness?"

Hisa scowled at him. On second thought, perhapsthere were better people to fight.

She reached into her pocket and fingered the specially crafted kunai. Should she use them in this fight at all? It was only Kawa. She pulled them out of her pocket and left them on the balcony, but at the last minute, she slipped one back into her pocket. Just one. Just in case.

"Let's just get this over with." she muttered, jumping off the balcony.

She landed in a crouch, and a few seconds later, Kawa landed next to her. His landing was a bit heavier than hers, and he winced slightly in pain. Hisa smirked, serves him right.

They stood on opposite sides of the field, facing off. Hisa analysed Kawa as best she could. To her surprise, Kiiromaru was nowhere to be seen. It was rare for an Inuzuka to fight without his hound. It would make this fight a lot easier for Hisa now. She smiled, already certain that she would win.

Kawa noticed the smile. His grin never changed, but his eyes got slightly more serious.

"I've known you for a long time, you know." he said casually. "I'm pretty sure I can read you like an open book. All your emotions are clear to me."

Hisa glared at him, daring him to try and continue. He ignored her and kept talking.

"At first, you were really nervous, but when you saw my name you relaxed. I'm pretty sure you were thinking 'Phew, it's only Kawa.' To me, I couldn't ask for a better opponent. I know I'm going to lose, and you know I'm going to lose. I saw the look in your eyes when you saw that I was alone. You think this will be easy."

Hisa gritted her teeth, annoyed at just how much he had nailed her thoughts.

"What do you want Kawa?" she snarled.

His face got even more serious.

"I know you think I'm not as good as you, and maybe I'm not, but I still want you to treat me like a real opponent. Don't hold back. I want you to hit me with everything, including your Rinnegan."

For a few seconds, Hisa considered lying and denying his request. But one look in his eyes, and she knew she would comply. He may not be talented as a shinobi, but he was not stupid.

"Look Kawa, I just want this to be over quickly. How do you expect me not to hold back when you don't even have your dog?"

She was looking for excuses and he knew it.

"This isn't about Kiiromaru. To be honest, I fight better without him. I respect you, and I know you're nothing like Naruko. I know you respect Obito and Nawaki, even if you try and deny it. I'm asking you to respect me like that. I saw you take those kunai out, and that's how I know you're a decent person. You don't consider me a challenge, but you still took a kunai with you."

She sighed and gave in.

"Fine." she said. "Let's fight, and no holding back."

Shikamaru sighed from the middle of the field.

"If both of you are finished your troublesome dramatic speeches, begin!"

As soon as the words left Shikamaru's mouth, Kawa was halfway across the field.

He's fast was the only thing Hisa had time to think before an elbow slammed into her stomach, knocking her backwards. As she hit the floor, she felt blood welling up inside her mouth, and quickly spat it out. She jumped to her feet, expecting another attack.

Kawa was just standing there, staring at her in terror.

"Hisa! Are you ok? I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I thought you were going to block!"

Hisa scowled at him.

"Have you not heard yourself over the past five minutes? I'm fine, give me some credit. Don't hold back just because I'm a girl."

Kawa relaxed, and the cocky smirk came back onto his face.

"It's more to do with the fact that you barely reach my shoulder. It's not going to look great whether I win or lose."

Hisa glared at him and suddenly it was just the two of them, trading insults and fighting just for the fun of it. Kawa was one of the few people who she actually enjoyed spending time with, even though he was more irritating than Obito and Nawaki combined. Right now, the Chunin Exams didn't matter, all that mattered was beating Kawa.

"You're not going to win. You got lucky there, but that's not happening a second time. And it's not my fault I'm small!"

He grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out two small purple balls.

"I'm going to get serious now." he warned.

She smirked.

"You couldn't be serious if you tried."

He threw the balls, and purple smoke exploded around Hisa. She panicked and tried to see through the smoke, but whatever was in those balls was strong enough to block her Rinnegan. She moved cautiously through the fog, eyes scanning as best she could for Kawa.

The punch to her face caught her completely off guard. Her head reeled back and bright lights exploded behind her eyes. Another punch found her stomach and winded her, while the third punch to her back knocked her onto the ground.

Being her brother's teammate, Hisa knew things about Kawa. She knew that he had difficulty with shinobi techniques, especially his clan's secret jutsu. Even after living side by side with Kiiromaru, Kawa still had trouble working as a team with the dog. But despite his disabilities in the ninjutsu area, Kawa had still graduated a year earlier than most people and there was a reason for that.

Kawa was strong. Very, very strong. He could beat most chunin and some jonin at arm wrestling, and fighting a taijutsu battle against him was dangerous. He had his weaknesses, such as his insecurities about being an Inuzuka, but Hisa didn't feel like exploiting them today.

She was running out of options, except for the one that was yelling Do it! Do it! over and over again in her head. She didn't want to use this technique, but the smoke was making her nervous. She extended her arms until they were horizontal, extending out on either side of her.

"Almighty Push!" she yelled.

The effect was instantaneous. The smoke was blown away from her in a perfect circle, like there was some invisible force-field stopping it from getting any closer to her. Kawa was also caught in the blast, and was sent crashing into the wall. The entire stadium shook as the walls were battered by the wave of pure chakra. Hisa heard the spectators whispering amongst themselves. Some looked at her in awe, others in fear.

Oh how she hated the whispers. The ones that would follow her until the day she died. Joking with Kawa had lowered her guard, and now she felt her face heat up. She wasn't sure if she was blushing from anger or embarrassment, but it was enough to make her feel like breaking down. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. It wouldn't do to make a scene in the middle of such a big event. She was the Hokage's daughter. She could do this.

She focused on Kawa, who was stumbling to his feet. Hisa was relieved to see that he was still wearing his cocky grin, as if she hadn't just smashed him into a brick wall.

"That's a pretty good jutsu." he said, as if he was commenting on her hairstyle "I'm glad you thought I was worth it Your Highness."

She gritted her teeth. He couldn't call her that now! Not when everyone was watching. She glared at him, hoping her Rinnegan would suddenly develop the power to zap him into ashes. Sadly, nothing happened.

Kawa stood up straight, before reaching into his pocket again. This time, he brought out a food pill. He popped it into his mouth, and grinned at her.

"Ready for Round Two?"

She smirked and got into a fighting stance.

"Bring it on."