Hi again.

First of all, thanks to all of those who followed, favorited, and reviewed this fanfic. I am happy that some of you are readers of my previous version of this fanfic. Just to let you know, the ItaSaku will be moving a bit slower this time, as I felt the previous attempt I made at the story, made it feel forced. So I hope you will still like it when the story starts to change.

Anyways, on the to second chapter.

Also: Does anyone have a better idea for my summary of the story? I don't know what else to write…

Disclaimer: I would love to own Naruto, but sadly I never will.

Word count: 5.581

Chapter 2

...

Water.

It was the one thing now flooding everyone's mind. The large group of shinobi had now been making their way through the desert for over six hours, and many of them were already slightly dehydrated.

The water was rationed, it was to ensure that none drank too much, although Sakura knew that they should have all been drinking way more than they were. Each person had their own water supply and was in charge of making it last the entire way through the travel.

Two Suna shinobi had met the Konoha delegation on the border to the desert, they had done so because of the dangers of wandering through the vast sand lands without knowing the exact way to Sunagakure. Sakura had e feeling that her Sensei had proclaimed to be unsure of the exact location, just so that he could read his book without having to take responsibility.

The look she had shared with Sasuke, told her that he was well aware of this fact too. Their other teammate, Naruto, had not been aware of anything else than his ability to complain.

"How can I kick ass and become a chunin if I melt before the exams!" he had exclaimed only two hours into their migration through the golden sand. Sakura had hit him over the head, however, not as hard as she usually did. They were all worn out after several days of travel.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, how do you think these exams are going to be? Anything like what we got last time?" Sakura looked towards her slightly shorter teammate only to stop in her track and look properly at Naruto. He was no longer a few inches shorter than her, no, he was taller than her now, and he also looked to have lost a little of the childish features Sakura had become so used to.

She wondered if this had something to do with him getting more nutritious food from Mikoto, and not eating ramen as much. It would make a lot of sense that his change in diet and training would change him. Sakura had been silent for more than a minute and opened her mouth to finally answer when Sasuke cut in.

"Hn. Nothing like the last one. No Itachi here" Sasuke replied instead, and Sakura knew her brooding teammate still held a grudge towards his older brother, for how he had stepped in, in the last Chunin exam.

Sakura focused her green eyes on her teammate, not commenting on how Itachi had saved their lives, choosing instead just to nod and say nothing. She wanted to keep her mouth closed as much as possible, sand was everywhere, in her shoes, leggings, and in her hair, and keeping it out of her mouth was a priority.

The sun was low on the sky, almost melting into the sand when the group could finally see the village far away in the distance. An agreement to run the last of the way was passed among the Shinobi, many of them wanting to reach the destination before nightfall and before the cold set in. Both of the Sunagakure shinobi had also suggested that it would be for the best, plus it would give them a more comfortable night in a proper bed.

While the city slowly drew closer, Sakura sent a thought of appreciation out to Shizune. If she had not asked Sakura to enhance her stamina, she would not have been able to do the entire run. Sasuke, Naruto, and herself were not even all that winded when they slowed their pace.

Otherwise could be said for three out of the four other genin teams. Of course, the team led by Maito Gai, who had from the very start said that they should all 'enjoy a youthful run to Suna', were not even close to tired.

Sakura knew them a little better now, especially Lee, who she had visited in the hospital more than a few times. He had saved her life and she knew she could never repay him. Looking at the genin in the green spandex suit, Sakura narrowed her eyes. Lee should not be participating in this event. He was fresh out of the hospital and was only midway in his rehabilitation. Shifting her calculating gaze to his two teammates, she felt intimidated but willed herself not to show any conflicting emotions on her face. Sasuke had once told her she was too expressive with her emotions, it made her too easy to read.

Team eight was another story, Hinata was catching her breath, Shino was bent over and supporting himself with his hands on his knees, Kiba looked to be the least winded in his team, but he was naturally more fit than his teammates.

Sakura had not yet learned much about the two other teams, one was a year above her, and the last, and fifth genin team had graduated two years before her. She had, however, heard enough to know that one from the older team had made chunin. One from their team was from the year before them even. He had to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, Sakura estimated. He was clearly very strong and his tan skin fit well with his shortly cropped brown hair.

"Lee!" the outburst from the sensei in green spandex made Sakura shift her focus again. "I did not see you in front! We shall take twenty laps around Sunagakure as to make up for the lacking youthfulness!" Her brows twitched in irritation, only to become even more irritated when Lee ran to his sensei and bowed deeply.

"Yes, Gai-Sensei! And if I am unable to show the power of youth in this exam, I'll run all the way back to Konoha!" Sakura turned away, already having seen enough.

Nearing the gate, Lee and Gai broke off from to group to complete their run, leaving Neji and an irritated-looking Tenten, with the rest.

…

"What are you reading?" the question was so unexpected that her pale hands lost their grip on the book she had been holding. Sakura had been so surprised by her usually quiet teammate, asking her a question that she had ended up embarrassing herself.

"Uhh, Tsunade-shishou gave it to me. I have to memorize it all before we get back to Konoha," she had answered him before she had even registered what she was actually saying. Seeing the fine black eyebrow change its position on his forehead, she knew she had to tell Sasuke some of the truth.

"I've decided to learn medical ninjutsu. You and Naruto already have enough power for the three of us, I thought I could be the one who helped you be able to fight." Sakura did not want to reveal how much she wanted to be able to fight alongside them if she did that he would only scoff at her like he had done so many times before. For now, it seemed more plausible for her to tell him that her wish was to simply assist.

Sasuke did not answer, not even giving a sound. It made her nervous and she fiddled with her fingers on top of the book, which was now on her lap again. "I'm still just only able to heal small cuts and bruises," she said in a low voice, not looking at him anymore. Sakura saw his feet move away from her and looked up when she heard the familiar "Hn."

Sakura looked out of her window, it was the beginning of the third day in Suna, meaning the exams would start in two hours. She had not gone out for a run today, wanting to save her energy for what was to come in the near future. Yesterday morning when she had awoken at five thirty, she had gone out for a run. Even with the run from the evening before, she had not felt any need to stop during her ten laps.

The only thing that had been a problem for her was running in the sand. It had been slow at first, until Sakura almost smacked herself for not thinking about it earlier, and then applied a layer of chakra underneath her feet. She had smiled at the idea. It was not as good as training her chakra by running on water, but the difference gave her a challenge, which was its own reward.

Sakura tied her shoulder-length pink hair back, keeping it out of her face while looking at herself in the mirror. She had forgone the usual dress and had chosen to wear sand-colored loose pants and a dark brown shirt, she had wanted her outfit to be as bland as possible.

Chuckling, Sakura imagined how Ino would have reacted if she saw her friend in this. It was practical and comforting, plus her hair drew enough attention as it was. Sakura had no intentions of trying to become a target. Plain was the way to go unnoticed most of the time.

Shortly after, Sakura joined her teammates for breakfast, already aware that she probably had to ignore Naruto a little.

The blonde had indeed asked many questions about her choice of clothes, and in the end, she just hit him in the back of the head and said, "Shut up, Naruto!" letting her temper get the better of her. It had felt nice, Sakura had kept her opinions and thoughts to herself for months, and doing something like this brought a small smile to her rosy lips. Plus, it reminded her of how they were when they first became a team.

…

Three Konoha genin moved through Suna, all of them looking at the different architecture and culture that surrounded them. Leading, was their Sensei, Kakashi Hatake. As an accomplished jonin of Konohagakure, he strode through the city with his masked face hidden by a familiar orange book. The book was indeed very interesting, but years of training made Kakashi unable to ignore the fidgeting of one of his small genin.

One of his genin had clearly become overly nervous. Kakashi put a hand on the young girl's shoulder for a brief moment to get her attention. Her eyes met his and he saw the worry in them, etched deep into those green eyes.

"Naruto, Sasuke" Kakashi addressed the other two "why don't you go and wait in the hall, I think Sakura needs some last-minute advice" his visible eye twinkled at the boys, but they could feel his intensity, and chose to listen. Naruto was about to speak up, but Sasuke dragged him along by his collar forcibly.

"So what is bothering you this lovely, sand-filled morning?" Kakashi said to her, taking a few steps back to sit down comfortably while hiding his book away and motioning for Sakura to take a seat.

"Sensei, I don't want to fail," she whispered when she sat down, unsure of where to look, she stared off into the distance. A small pat on her shoulder almost made her flinch. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan. You almost disappoint me" his words cut like a knife, making it hard for Sakura to keep the tears at bay. About to stand up, she was stopped by his following words, "I know you've been practicing it every night. Can you show it to me?" the words made the genin freeze up.

Sakura had her own little idea of becoming stronger and had been trying to master something way out of her league. But she had come far within the six weeks she had been attempting it. Reading about the technique was different and more difficult than actually doing it.

Not wanting to fail her Sensei's request, Sakura got up from the bench, closed her eyes, and focused. She felt like she was liquefying her chakra and making it slide down into her hands. Focusing on her index fingers, she felt something happen and designed the shape as a picture inside her mind.

Kakashi lifted his student's right hand to examine closely while using his free hand to undercover his left eye. The chakra that emanated from Sakura's hand was taking a familiar form and he was visibly surprised by her progress.

It had been a long time since Kakashi had heard of a thirteen-year-old having this much control over their chakra. He knew that at thirteen, he had not been able to do the same as her without his Sharingan. And maybe not even with it.

"Sakura, this is more than I expected and also why I am disappointed" he let go of her hand while he spoke, covered his eye again, and used his right eye to study her face. "I'm not disappointed because you lack skill or that you fear the exam. Fear is healthy and necessary. I am disappointed because you cannot see how far you have grown. No other genin in this exam is able to do a chakra scalpel"

Kakashi stood up and placed a large hand on her small head "I know it is not nearly sharp enough for the purpose it was created to do. But if you find yourself in a bad spot, remember that this can still cut with enough power in the movement. You know the human body, remember that" his words left Sakura frozen in place. He was not disappointed in her in the way she had thought. Her Sensei had known how much she had been trying to accomplish and thought she did not believe in herself.

"I…" Sakura trailed off, not completely sure of what to say till she looked him in the eye and mumbled, "thank you, Kakashi-Sensei."

...

Sasuke gave her a strange look when she joined them again, although he chose not to comment on the situation. He just gave a polite nod in her direction and then led them towards the meeting room.

"What did Kakashi-Sensei want, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her as they walked, "Oh, he just knew I was a little nervous and wanted to calm me down" Sakura responded, wishing for her teammate to stop asking questions. "You have no reason to be scared! You have the future Hokage on your team!" Naruto exclaimed this in his normally bold and loud tone. Sakura hit him lightly over the head "remember, this time you promised not to put a target on our backs" she hissed at him.

Images of her last exam came to mind, where Naruto had shouted right at the beginning and made everyone in the room take note of their existence. It had led to Orochimaru finding them rather quickly and Sakura was in no mood for taking chances this time.

Entering the room, Sakura took note of all the people in there, taking her time to think about their villages and possible skills. Not many villages sent their genin to Sunagakure, however, there was still a number of strong opponents, who she thought to be cautious towards.

"Who is the strongest?" The question, spoken in a very low voice by her older teammate broke through her analytic stare, but it did not surprise her as it would have a few months prior.

"I think the team from Kiri, the one with the big guy, is the one to look out for. The two women in the team seem to be in a whole different league," Sakura answered, looking to Sasuke to see if he agreed with her answer. Receiving a nod, she knew she had been spot on, meaning that he had the same thoughts as her.

It was nice to be acknowledged like this, the fact that Sasuke asked her opinion would have made her scream a year ago, however, now it made her feel warm for a whole other reason. He had seen how she had looked at their opponents and actually valued her opinion.

The first test was nearly always a written exam. Nevertheless, this was nothing like Ibiki's test.

Every genin team had been handed out papers, and were allowed to help each other and talk. There were no seats, and they were also allowed to ask other teams for answers. It made Sakura uneasy when the information they got was lacking. It felt wrong that this part of the exam was allowed to be so… unrestrained.

Most teams kept to themselves, although some from the same villages interacted with each other. Others went as far as to threaten for the information, although the guards observing the test quickly stopped the team before the altercation escalated.

Sakura sat with all three test papers, writing the answers quickly and making sure everything was correct. After she had finished, Sakura looked over to Hinata and nodded to her. Both she and Neji had activated their Byukugan and were copying the answers from her papers. Sakura was sure that Neji and Tenten could have worked out most of the answers, but this was quicker.

When two hours had passed, the examiner, a young Suna jonin who had introduced herself as Tetsumi, spoke, "Deliver the answers to your nearest chunin guard, remember that your village, name, and examinee number should be written clearly on the front" her voice was icy, it left no room for questions and all genin in the room soon followed her request.

There was a lot of pushing and many teams started arguing again, but this time, there was no danger of a fight breaking out, none of the guards had to step in. Sakura waited patiently and delivered the tests to the guard who had been watching the Konoha teams.

"Some of you may question the motives of this test, although it is very simple. Over half of you failed" the words spoken by the jonin in charge made all the genin in the room start talking. How had they failed if they had found all the answers? Sakura thought over the last two hours in quick succession and sighed, realizing how and why some had failed.

Tetsumi then proceeded to explain, "as a shinobi, you cannot always trust the information given to you by someone who is not in your team or from your village. False information could lead to failing the mission and death. Threatening to get the information is a way, but when in a secure environment such as this, it would not have led to answers."

Sakura understood what the jonin was trying to tell them, she herself had been fooled on her very first mission out of Konoha. After having fought Zabuza, Haku had taken his body away. She had chosen to blindly trust the ninja just because of his mask and the insinuation that he was from another hidden village. It had led to another brutal fight and almost to the death of her two teammates and Sensei.

Her eyes flew to Sasuke and Naruto when the jonin started to call out the teams that had failed. The only team from Konoha that had failed was the team who was from Lee's year. One of the boys had tried to get the information from a Suna genin, clearly not thinking about the chance of receiving false information. In a test like this, it is natural to try and sabotage your enemy, making it even more likely that he had received false facts from the other genin.

What they had all been unaware of, was the fact that the chunin guards had been checking if they trusted the information blindly or sought out other answers to the same question.

…

"Good thing that Sakura knows this stuff. Or else we could have been in trouble" Naruto mumbled when they walked out of the room, after having passed the first test of the chunin exam. They were going to meet Kakashi for lunch and then he would lead them to the second exam.

"Idiot, are you forgetting Sasuke has the Sharingan? He could have copied the hand movements of people in the room. And then after filling his own out, we could copy his" Sakura spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but clearly not impressed with the blonde who forgot his own teammate's ability. Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head "forgot about that. Wait, so did Neji and Hinata do the same?"

He quickly turned his head to look at the two Hyuga clan members, who were walking further behind them in the line of genin teams. "Yes, Naruto. Both copied my answers," She answered, shaking her head slightly. He had missed what was happening in the room. Naruto was a powerhouse without a brain, in a way it was dangerous.

…

"Sensei, why are you here?" Sakura's question would seem out of place to any onlookers, as almost all the other teams gathered with their Sensei. But of course, those who were not from Konoha would not know about his reputation for being late.

"Mah, mah. Lunch and I just came back from a meeting with the Kazekage" All three genin now focused intently on their sensei. "Who is it?!" Naruto almost shouted his question, he had gotten letters from the Suna team who had been involved in the war at the last chunin exam. Sakura knew that they had received field promotions and were all chunin. Naruto had been extremely jealous and had pouted for a whole day after getting the news.

"Well, he is actually only temporary, interim Kazekage. He is the captain of the intelligence squad, Suna is in great need of properly thought-through plans at the moment. If they make any riskier decisions, it could lead to war." His reply, even though it held a great deal of information compared to many of his normal answers, was vague about the one thing all three genin wanted to know about.

"Temporary? Why is it only temporary, if they need this man he should take the position, shouldn't he?" Sakura was smart, but it still confused her. Someone would almost never act as an interim leader for such a long time, and it had been over half a year since Orochimaru murdered the third Kazekage. She bit her lower lip as she thought. Maybe the position was held for someone on a long-term mission. Then again, most would have returned home for the job, just like Tsunade had done. There were not a lot of reasons why a Shinobi would be held back.

Like how it was years ago in the academy before the law was passed. If you got parental acceptance, a child much younger than Sakura could take the genin exam. It had happened with both her Sensei and Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha.

The thought irked her as if something kept nagging in the back of her mind. They had passed a law in Konoha to stop children from entering the world of violence too early. But the position of Kazekage could not be given to a child, it would be frowned upon. Even if he or she were a little older than her, the shinobi would be asked to wai-

"No!" she fiercely said to her Sensei, realizing how the puzzle in her head fit together.

"I know Naruto said he has changed, but how could he take the job so young? He's only a chunin and the people here fear him!" Sakura was angry because as soon as she spoke, she knew she was right.

The look Kakashi gave her was enough. Sasuke caught on quickly and his normal emotionless face drew into a mix between a smirk and a grimace. "Wait? Did Kakashi-Sensei say something? Who is going to be the Kazekage after this temporary man?" Naruto had taken a hold of Sakura's shoulder and shook her a little to try and get her attention. It was impossible. Her fiery eyes kept contact with her sensei's one visible. But the man closed his eye and said, "I think we should go to lunch now. I have found a place I think we should visit. There are only two hours before the next test, so move along"

Kakashi was already moving, leaving both Sasuke and Sakura to stand alone. Naruto had followed their Sensei, complaining, and demanding to get answers. "Naruto is going to be impossible when he finds out," Sakura said, giving up on her own stubbornness and started to follow her Sensei and blonde teammate, who was now a bit away but still visible. Sasuke fell into step with her, and she expected him to give the usual 'hn' but instead, he softly said, "I agree." A small smile played on her lips at his reply, but Sakura made sure he did not see it.

…

Kakashi had reserved a room for them in a restaurant. He let them order what they wanted, saying "well my hope is that enough food will get you through this exam and make you all chunin" the implied 'and then I am no longer your Sensei' was not lost on either Sasuke or Sakura, but Naruto oblivious and was stuffing his face while had not following the conversation.

When they were full, Kakashi shut his book and this action alone made them all more alert. He was serious now. "I am your Sensei, this means I'll be there to help you if you should need it. I am proud to be your Sensei. Now you are no longer my cute little genin, but shinobi. Even without the chunin title, you three have still done more than many chunin."

Kakashi's words were followed by a long silence. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they looked at their masked Sensei. Sasuke did not really show is as much as the two others, but he had still reacted enough to notice. "Did you guys see if Kakashi-Sensei had anything poisonous on his plate?" Naruto tried to whisper while looking worried. "I am in perfect health" Kakashi commented, not bothering to explain his reason for being kind towards his genin.

No one spoke for minutes; the silence was only broken by Naruto repeatedly turning his head to look from his teammates to his Sensei.

"Kakashi-Sensei… Do not do that again," Sasuke suddenly said, completely breaking the tension. "Do what?" he answered, picking up his book and slowly flicking through the pages to find the spot where he left off.

Kakashi walked in front of his students, who had still not completely recovered from the situation at the restaurant earlier. "The second test is as always, going to test you in battle and in tactics. Just remember that you are a team and two cannot continue without the third." When he said this, they came to a stop in front of a large tent, right beside a small space in the mountains that were a part of the wall around Sunagakure.

"I cannot go any further, on the other side of the tent, many other genin will be waiting. Good luck." And then he became a cloud of smoke. Sakura wondered if it had been a shadow clone the entire time or if their Sensei had actually been present. Choosing not to think about it, she followed her two male teammates toward the tent.

The jonin, Tetsumi, stood by a table with two chunin, all looking very serious. "Good, you're on time. I heard about Kakashi Hatake from another jonin. You would have been disqualified if you came five minutes later" her harsh words made Sakura nervous, but also angry, Her Sensei had such a reputation for being late that it affected how other jonin viewed them.

"Please write all the necessary information down here and sign it" they were handed papers that stated that Suna would not hold any responsibility if they would be permanently damaged or killed.

Sakura knew that they had signed similar papers in Konoha and that some genin had been killed, but the reality of her possibly dying was setting in. A hand was on her shoulder and Sakura's eyes med shining blue ones. Naruto just nodded and turned to sign his own paper in very sloppy handwriting.

"Good," Tetsumi said as she took their now-signed papers and put them into a folder. "This is the second test and as you know, we decide how it is going to be played out. This test will last precisely twenty-four hours. No more, no less. If you have not completed the mission, you are all disqualified." Looking at them with her gray eyes, Sakura noticed that Tetsumi was actually a beautiful woman, it was just hard to see with her serious face.

The jonin, now sure that they were listening, continued, "You will get this coin" she handed Sasuke a big golden coin, assuming that he was the leader. "You will need three to pass the exam, each member of your team must have one in their possession when time runs out. There are a few hidden within the maze but do not count on finding them easily. Remember that each team has one coin to start with. Good luck."

They all nodded at the explanation and followed a chunin, who led them to a door within the city wall. He led them in through the door and into a hallway, which had almost no light. "In this part of the wall, the thickest part, we had someone create a maze for this purpose. There are three floors and when the time is up, a Suna jonin or your own sensei will find you. The coins have trackers, so do not worry about this." While he had spoken, they had been led down the hallway and now came to a door that held the number 19. "The door will open and close automatically" he did not say anything else, he just gave them a swift nod and walked back the way they had come from.

"How dark do you think it is in the maze?" Sakura said, not bothering to direct her question toward one of the boys. "Very" Sasuke answered, holding up the coin in front of his eyes, activating his Sharingan.

"A tracker usually holds a small portion of chakra, right?" He asked her in return "Yes. That is why it is hard to place it on most shinobi, there could be a chance they would sense it," she said while looking at his actions, her eyes widening a fraction when she saw what he was doing.

"Can you see it?" Sakura asked, taking a step towards the coin and stared at it. It was not very big, but larger than the average coin and thicker. "There are already two other pairs of eyes that can see them. Mine, as it seems, can too. It is weak, but if it's nearby, I'll see it" His long sentence made Naruto whistle, "Man you can talk. Something must be in the water, what happened to you and Kakashi-sensei?" both Sakura and Sasuke ignored him.

"How many teams do you think will go after us because of your eyes?" she asked nervously, but the reassuring smile from Naruto somehow helped calm her. "Not many. The two Hyuga clan members are the targets for now" "I hope Hinata is going to be okay, also Lee. I still owe him for the last exam," Sakura said and Naruto looked sheepish, it had been his and Sasuke's fault that she had been left totally alone against a three-man genin team.

The two had been arguing after having seen Itachi, dressed as the Anbu Captain. Sasuke was livid, he had been about to fight someone, and his brother had stepped in. Even if the bastard was a Sannin, it was the whole situation that made Sasuke angry.

Naruto had in return, gotten angry with Sasuke for being angry. Their fight led them to run through the forest, Sakura being left alone with their backpacks tried to set up camp for their first night, when three Sound genin found her. They had wanted to take her hostage and make her teammates give them the scroll. Sakura had been frightened but had chosen to fight.

Lee had stepped in as she had cut her hair to get free from the girl called Kin. Her left eye was bruised, and Sakura could hardly put any of her weight on her right foot. When Lee had gotten beat up, the rest of his team found him at the same time as Sasuke and Naruto returned. Sasuke had moved so quickly in his rage and had almost killed one of the boys on the opposing team.

It had ended with team Gai taking Lee away, as Naruto hoisted Sakura up on his back, while Sasuke took their belongings. The sound team had gone with the peace offering of their scroll.

Sakura looked to Sasuke, it was clear that all three of them had just remembered the entire scene. "That will not happen again," Sasuke said while meeting her eyes. His Sharingan was still on and his red eyes frightened her, but she knew that he meant every word. He had never said it to either her or Naruto, but Sakura knew he felt responsible for what happened that day. It was also one of the events that really made them into a team. Sasuke and Naruto had fought for her that day, even though they had been late. They had protected her.

"Sasuke, I-"

Sakura was cut off when the door suddenly swung open, revealing only darkness.

...

Sooo… this was a bit later than planned, I'll try to post the third chapter soon. I hope my work schedule will not leave me totally exhausted. :)

I also hope you enjoyed the chapter and want to follow my story as it develops.

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