Okay, so I know it's been forever since I've updated, and I'm sooo far behind on acknowledging my reveiwers, but thank you, XxDarkSarcasm1010xX, ColdCurl, Midnighter67, and Silimaira for reviewing the last one. It really helped to know that there are people still reading this.

I've literally had the beginning of this started for months… Sorry it took so long to finally get it up.

Chapter Fifteen

It was weird to think that the Chunin Exams were officially starting today. Recently, the village had seemed to settle into their excitement over this upcoming event, but now there was a new rush in the citizens' mood.

"I don't get it," said Luke, looking around as we walked through the village. The simplest of tasks- like grocery shopping- turned into adventures when everything was this busy. "The part they actually get to see is still more than a month away, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's more than that," I replied, caught up in the excitement myself. "It's not hosted in this village every year, and it's not just entertainment. It's a big deal. A lot of people probably have siblings or cousins entering. It's a matter of pride."

"What a wonderfully youthful way of explaining it!" We turned to see Gai wading through the crowd toward us. It was strange how my respect for him had grown since I'd arrived here. Maybe it took becoming friends with Lee. He was no longer just a goofy comic relief character. I'd come to appreciate how passionate he was about everything, and even if he was a little guilty about playing favorites, but he did genuinely care about his team's success and personal goals.

"Good morning, Sensei," we greeted politely. The other people milling about moved easily around us. Gai had a way of parting a crowd. Something about the very aura he projected. He seemed to take up about twice as much space as he actually did.

"And what a splendid morning it is!" he exclaimed, speaking as loudly as ever, even though he was now right next to us. In fact, I'm sure pride had a lot to do with it, because Gai seemed to have a bit of an extra glow today.

"Are Lee, Neji, and Tenten entering?" Luke asked, just to be polite. And I knew he was only being polite because I'd already given him the run-down on all the entrants this year. But it was the right question.

I could've sworn I saw literal fireworks exploding in Gai's eyes. "Yes! And it shall be a momentous occasion for all! But my students especially are sure to shine!"

This outburst attracted so much attention from the passerby that Luke and I were both starting to back away slowly. But to some extent, he was right. This arc surely would be big for Team Gai.

"Well, it was good to see you again," I said with an awkward, timid laugh. "But we have places to be, so…"

"Ah! Yes, carry on with your day! I am expected elsewhere as well!" And then he was gone as suddenly as he'd appeared, though his cheerful proclamations could still be heard from a few streets away.

"He certainly is an interesting one," Luke commented mildly as I pulled him through the crowd. And I didn't stop, for I had thought of somewhere to be.

"Where are we going?" my brother asked as we emerged from the marketplace, not having stopped anywhere for groceries. I had already put that adventure temporarily on hold.

"There's something I want to check out," I told him, pushing forward. You are a glutton for punishment, I scolded myself mentally. You know how this is going to end.

But I continued on, and, now familiar with the landscape, it wasn't long before we arrived in front of the Academy. Like usual, there was a crowd of people hovering outside. Today, however, everyone in this crowd already graduated, long ago for some of them. A few gave us odd looks as my twin and I wound our way through the crowd, but they soon returned to their own little huddles. Many of them looked anxious, and they clearly had bigger things to worry about than the reason behind two civilians 'invading' ninja territory.

"Carly," my twin hissed as I started to walk inside. "What are you doing?"

"There's something I want to see," I whispered back, though there was really no reason to be so quiet. Not that I told myself anyway, but I did feel a little out of place. I wasn't going to show it, though.

He looked around, a little nervous as he always seemed to be when I was doing something impulsively stupid. "We shouldn't be here," he murmured, almost to himself. But he followed me inside anyway, never one to let me get into trouble by myself, even if it was all my fault.

The inside of the Academy was almost as crowded as the outside. Even though I'd never been inside before, I had a vague idea of where I was going. And if their classrooms were numbered anything like the ones at my old school, it shouldn't be too hard to navigate.

We climbed the first set of stairs, Luke's worry fading as his curiosity took over. I have to say, it was a bit of a boost to my own confidence as well. As we reached the second floor, we spotted a smaller crowd of genin surrounding the door to one of the rooms. Bingo.

As we inched closer, I could see Tenten and Lee already on the ground. So we were right on cue when Team 7 arrived a few minutes later from the other direction, having come from the staircase at the opposite end of the floor.

We were too far away to hear the beginning of their conversation, but as we made our way through the crowd, I noticed the genjutsu being reversed on the sign for the door, and before I knew it, one of the disguised upper ninja and Sasuke were both in motion, aiming a kick at each other.

They weren't kidding when they emphasized Lee's speed in the show. I didn't even see him move before he was between the two of them, preventing the scene from getting any worse. After a moment, he released the two of them, and Sasuke and the other ninja backed away. I watched Tenten get to her feet, and the two remaining members of Team Gai approached their team mate.

"Hey, what happened to the plan?" Neji demanded, not seeming to care that there were so many others in hearing distance. "I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level."

"I know, but-"

"Never mind," said Tenten with a sigh. "It's over; forget it."

I had to smile; this was definitely the Lee I'd come to grow so fond of: honest to a fault, hardworking… the kind of person who can't stand unfairness of any kind, but just as impulsive as I was, if possible...

He stopped, stood up a little straighter, and my gut clenched. This was what I'd been dreading. He walked a little closer and said to the members of Team 7, "My name is Rock Lee." He surveyed each of them carefully before saying, "You three are the rookies from Kakashi Hatake's team, correct?"

Wait, what? I stood with suspended breath before Sasuke's eyes hardened. "And what if we are?" he replied in a hard, somewhat combative voice.

"Hey you," Neji called out to him before another conflict could break loose. "Over here. What's your name?"

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's," the young Uchiha answered coolly, a little smugly. Neji and Sasuke stared each other down for a moment before Sakura interrupted.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke, let's go." Her tone was unusually bright, and she grabbed each one by the hand, practically pulling them away. I tried to catch Naruto's eye as they strode past, but he seemed a little too focused on the way Sakura was holding his hand. I'm sure I'm not the first fan to notice that Sasuke didn't pull away immediately either…

As soon as they were gone, Neji and Tenten seemed ready to leave as well, but Lee had spotted me in the crowd. And considering I was practically standing there, gaping at him, it probably wasn't too hard.

"Carly," he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," I said a little too cheerily in response, snapping my mouth shut. "We just wanted to see the beginning of the Chunin Exams up close…" I was smiling a little too widely, and my hands were clasped behind my back as they usually were when I was lying. Out of the corner of my eye, I was glaringly aware of Neji watching me closely, the smirk already forming on his face.

"We?" Lee asked, blinking in a way that made him look almost ridiculously innocent. I looked around to find that Luke had disappeared. I didn't even give myself the time to wonder where he'd gone before I turned back to Lee.

"Uh… Never mind. There seems to be a lot of competition this year." The excuse I rushed to wasn't very tactful, as I had no way of knowing what the other years could have been like, but Lee didn't seem to pick up on this, as I'm sure Neji did. (Block him out, block him out…) His eyes lit up with that familiar determination.

"Yes, it is sure to be a wonderful challenge." I guess it shouldn't have come as such a surprise that he sounded so much like Gai, but it struck me then. "I'm particularly interested in that one," he continued, a little distracted as he turned to stare in the direction that Naruto's team had just gone.

"Yeah," I muttered quietly, looking down. "The pink-haired girl… her name is Sakura Haruno, right?"

He turned his attention back to me. "I believe so."

"She's awfully pretty," I muttered sullenly, still addressing the floor. Shut up! I screamed at myself in my head. Something's obviously changed; do you want him to notice?

I could swear I heard a giggle, which was probably from Tenten, and a scoff, which was definitely from Neji, but Lee just looked at me blankly, oblivious to his team mates' reactions.

"I suppose so," he said slowly, seeming to take an awful lot of time to consider my statement. "But so are you. And besides, there are more important things in life than beauty." Someone behind us cleared their throat, and Lee turned with a smile. "Well, I should be off! Have a good day, Carly."

The crowd slowly dispersed, and I made my way back down the stairs. My mind was so jumbled that I didn't even notice that Luke had reappeared and was walking by my side until he cleared his throat, a mini bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips in hand. (Did they even have vending machines in this world?) I started, but he pretended not to notice. But I wasn't about to let it go so quickly.

"Where have you been?" I demanded.

"Bathroom," he lied smoothly. And I knew it was a lie, but I didn't push further. For at that moment, I'd spotted Koda, standing across the room, scowling at us. Or, more accurately, scowling at me.

"Come on," said my brother, effectively redirecting my attention. "Let's go home."

And when I looked again, Koda was gone.

…

The Third Hokage sighed. He hated having to call any of the jonin teachers together at such a time, distracting them from the Exams, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. There were certain things that could only be overlooked for so long.

"Well?" he asked. "Any news regarding our… guests?" He honestly wasn't sure what to call them, but for the time being 'guests' would do.

"They're definitely Zion's children," answered Kakashi. Yes, the Hokage had determined that for himself.

"In my opinion, I don't think they're a threat," said Gai, oddly serious. "I do believe I see them the most often, and I've never seen anything that might lead me to think otherwise. However, there is something off about them, and my students seem to have noticed."

"Have they?" This came from Kakashi, and though it was mild enough, it got his point acrosss.

"Well, Lee may not have picked up on anything unusual," Gai mended, "but Neji and Tenten have both raised their concerns."

The Hokage intertwined his fingers and closed his eyes, deep in thought. After a good minute or so he opened them and directed his attention to the two standing in front of him.

"For now, just keep up the watch on them," he ordered. "I'm not sure what exactly their purpose for being here is, but I want someone's eyes on them at all times until I find out."

Review please!

Okay, so I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up, but I plan on revising the previous 14 chapters as needed. Not to worry though! This simply means that I'll be touching up the grammar and adding/fixing a few things. It will most likely take less time to do than an actual update would. In fact, the revised form of chapter one is already up.

I don't own Naruto!

Revised June 4, 2016.