Kieri sauntered through the darkness of late night Konoha, her whiskers twitching slightly. Sakura had been careful to explain her goal, and while it was slightly repugnant, it was also a very good idea for a shinobi to have, and Kieri, above all, wanted to be a shinobi companion. Not that she would ever admit to that level of desire to Sakura. To show that amount of interest would be the same as declaring oneself a dog.

She arrived at her location, the food shop they often went to, the one that smelled of cooked wheat and the delicious fish and beef water she sometimes got out of Sakura's bowl. A few moments spent in stillness, focusing her ears carefully, proved that she had arrived first, so she climbed carefully onto the roof above the closed eatery and curled up to wait.

She has barely comfortable by the time she heard her contact come jogging up the road at a full trot. The fool passed the stand, not just once, but twice, looping around the block a few times as if confused, at one point even lifting his leg to urinate on the building below her. Kieri was a cat, and an intelligent cat, which is precisely why she chose that moment to jump on her contact's back.

To his credit, Akamaru did not make a sound, even as he jumped and turned to bite at the thing that landed on him. He stopped when he saw Kieri sitting patiently behind him, as if she had nothing to do with what had happened, and bit off a growl. When their owners trained, they often trained with their companions at the same time, and in that time the two had found a wary peace between them. Akamaru knew that Kieri could not compare to his strength and endurance, but he also knew that she was smarter than he was, even though it burned him to admit it to himself.

Having noticed the two getting along, Kiba and Sakura had figured out a basic code, a language the two could share to communicate with each other and them, as Kieri did not vocalize like a dog would. The code followed movements that both animals could make, scratches, sniffs, tail wags, anything they could do naturally could translate into a message, as long as they knew it was one, which was always signaled by three taps with a paw.

Kieri tapped three times for attention, then began to scratch herself in a few specific places, her tail moving in long, languid arcs. The message was rough, with only basic verbs and nouns to work with, but it functioned well enough for their needs.

enter tomorrow. wait for orange. victory allies. victory self.

tell you pack. tell kunai white eye green skin pack. tell lazy fat pretty pack.

Akamaru resisted the urge to bark, instead nodding to indicate he received the message. Kieri shook her head and patted Akamaru on the head with a paw before taking off.

Sakura smiled to herself the next day, after the exam proctor, a creepy woman named Anko with purple hair and a loud personality, announced the contest. Each team would enter training ground forty four, the "Forest of Death", carrying one scroll saying either "Heaven" or "Earth." Sakura assumed they would need both scrolls to pass.

Piece of cake, she thought, scratching Kieri's head and glancing at Kiba, who nodded once, as if agreeing to something the examiner was saying, his eyes happening to pass by Sakura at the time.

"You sure about this," whispered Naruto, who was picking at the scratch on his face. The examiner had tossed a kunai at him when he continued his boastful antics from the previous day, carving a tiny cut into his cheek in doing so. She had leaned in to speak intimidating words at him… and Naruto had smirked, having just seen Sasuke palm something from his pocket when she moved in. "We all need scrolls, means we have fewer options to get them."

Sasuke, on the other side of her, snorted, then leaned in himself. "Fewer options, much better odds, Naruto." Sasuke, for one, had stopped watching the proctor, and started watching the tall, thin person who had given Anko back her kunai, holding it in their foot long tongue. Something felt off, as if the person's face was a mask, although he could clearly see the face moving properly when the person talked, and the voice was feminine even as the body shape and facial structure was clearly masculine. It was an unknown, and Sasuke was enough of a shinobi to dislike anything he could not readily recognize.

Sakura nodded, her eyes casually passing over the other examinees. Ino refused to meet her gaze, but Shikamaru noticed her glance and raised one eyebrow and gave a slight nod. Her eyes kept moving, crossing over Lee, who… struck a manly posed and gave her a thumbs up. Sakura frowned at him, then realized she had broken character, stopping her supposed casual glance around and starting at the green clad genin. If you break character, give observers a reason. She flinched away from Lee, clutching at Sasuke's arm. She felt him stiffen slightly at the contact, so she leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Sorry, Sasuke, explain later." He relaxed slightly in her grip, and nodded, not taking his eyes off the proctor.

"The exam will last for five days," the proctor was saying, hands on hips, her smile carefree, as if discussing a holiday. "To pass, you must have two scrolls, one of each type. You must bring them to the tower. You must have a full team, a teammate who cannot recover will fail you. You are forbidden from opening the scrolls until you reach the tower." She grinned. "And boy, will it surprise you if you do open them, because the full rules for this challenge are in each scroll, even the secret rules."

Schmuck bait, Sakura thought with a grin, and both Naruto and Sasuke snorted at the same moment.

"Each of you will be given a consent form, waiving all liability for your possible maiming or death in this part of the exam. You have a half hour to read the paper. At that time, you may turn in three signed waivers for one of the two scrolls, given at random. Dismissed!"

"Oh, it's you, shiny forehead girl!"

"Hello, Ino," said Sakura, walking over to Ino's team.

"I thought you had quit," said Ino, smirking.

Sakura rolled her eyes and breezed right past the platinum blond girl, raising a hand in greeting to Shikamaru and Choji. The fa… the chubby boy waved and offered a chip from the bag he had opened. Sakura took it gladly and ate it. The Akimichi family were all rather rotund by design, something to do with their clan jutsu, and they gained that weight by eating the best food in the village. Anyone who did not gain weight just by being in their presence could not be appreciating the food they made. Sakura frowned as she realized that Ino had not gained so much as an ounce of weight, even as Sakura's body had begun to tone up.

Shikamaru smirked at her as she ate. "Never thought I'd see one of the fashionable kunoichi of our class eating snack food."

"Things change, you lazy bastard," Sakura said casually, a smile on her face.

Shikamaru did not deny the accusation. Everything about him spoke of his laze. His hair was pulled up into a knot, making his head look like a black pineapple, simply because it was the easiest way to care for it. His cloths were all dark colored, nothing brighter than a washed out gray, because it made them easier to wash. His lack of effort was famous amongst his former classmates, as was his intellect. Shikamaru was smart enough to become an incredible shinobi, if only he would be willing to make the effort.

"You ready for the exam," Sakura asked casually.

Shikamaru nodded. "Should not take too long to find others, even in such a large area."

"Yeah, maybe a half hour at most, if they are not moving too fast. Even Naruto could find someone in that time."

Shikamaru nodded carefully, and Sakura gave them one last wave before wandering off to finish reading her forms, message given and received.

Sasuke walked up to Lee, Tenten, and Neji. Lee looked at Tenten, who nodded to him, then turned to Sasuke. "I hope that this challenge goes well for you, Sasuke-san! I would greatly like to face you, should we meet!"

"I am sure we will," said Sasuke, passing by them without slowing. "I doubt it'll take more than a half hour."

"YOSH! I am already filled with the power of youth!"

Tenten rolled her eyes and clapped a hand over Lee's mouth. "Try not to get him wound up, Sasuke-kun," she said, her tone of voice horrified as Lee shook within her grasp. "This is going to be a long five days as it is."

Sasuke paused, and looked at Neji. The brown haired boy stared back, feigning indifference. He looked… tired. Ancient. Like an young man, pushed into an early old age by suffering, his face unwrinkled but his eyes tired from all they had seen. After a short pause, Neji gave a short, stiff nod. "Maybe we will see each other," he said.

"With your eyes, I bet you'll see Naruto well before the rest of us."

Neji nodded again, still stiff.

Sasuke turned to go, then stopped himself. After a moment, he awkwardly gave Neji a pat on the shoulder, which was received without comment. He then walked away, thoughtful, while Neji continued to stare ahead, unmoved.

"Hey, Hinata! What are you doing here?"

Hinata started when he spoke, he face reddening a little. "I… I just needed time… to think."

Naruto nodded cheerfully. "Makes sense. Scary, right?"

Hinata nodded. "It's a lot to consider. It... will be dangerous."

Naruto laughed, and Hinata turned away for a moment, worried she'd said something embarrassing, that he was laughing at her. "It'll be dangerous for them," Naruto said, smiling. "I bet most of them have never fought a Hyuga before. Give them an extra tap for me when they do!"

Hinata smiled at him, her face glowing slightly with the strength of her blush.

"Hey, I don't know how to say this," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head. Hinata froze. "I mean, Sakura told me what to say when this happened, but I'm no good at this sort of thing." Her face turned a deeper shade of red, her eyes wide, her heart beating fast in her chest. "Anyhow, I need to know…"

"Yes," she whispered, barely daring to breath.

"... Did you guys get the message last night?"

Hinata sighed and dropped her head. "Yes, Naruto-kun."

"Good, good. Sakura says half an hour. I'll find you." He started to walk away, and Hinata turned to hide her dismay, but she turned back to him when he called to her. "Hey, we probably won't fight in there… but if we do, don't hold back, okay?" He turned and gave her a big smile. "I already know you'll kick some ass, but I'll know if you hold back if we end up fighting. So let's both go all out, if it happens. And anyone else, beat the hell out of them." He held his arm out, thumb up, and grinned at her over his shoulder.

He stood there, back to her, his two swords crossed over his shoulders. A cool breeze kicked up, making the trees sway slightly and his hair ruffle. She looked at him, eyes shining, and took his encouragement to heart. I'll prove myself in this exam, and then he'll see me! It's worth fighting for, right?

"Yes," she said, and her smile was genuine.

Naruto walked away, slightly weirded out. Every time he talked to Hinata-chan, she got all red and started stuttering. He knew she did the same thing with everyone else, but it was much worse with him. He sniffed at his jumpsuit, curious if she was allergic to his detergent, then shrugged. He still had his consent form to read.

The moment they entered the forest and lost view of their entry gate, Sasuke called for a pause. He dug into his hip pouch, pulled out the Heaven scroll he'd taken, then tossing it casually to Naruto. Naruto caught it and looked at Sasuke, confused.

"You're more likely to escape if we're cornered," Sasuke said with a shrug, "and I took it from the proctor. If they were spying on us when we did it…" Sasuke had resisted the urge to laugh when he got the scroll. They had come from a test that forced them to cheat the previous day, then had them claim their scrolls with no more security than a sheet across a wooden booth? Ludicrous.

Naruto nodded and stuffed the scroll in his own belt pouch, then stretched. "The plan is still on, right?" When Sakura and Sasuke both nodded, Naruto scratched a circle into the dirt around him, then put his hands together and began summoning clones, in batches of five.

Each clone would pause, make a mark on the dirt aiming in a specific direction, and then take off in that direction. Naruto did not bother to count how many clones he made in total, but he did not stop until the circle had so many lines coming from it that it simply looked like churned dirt. When he was done, he sat in the circle and waited while Sakura and Sasuke got into position to ambush any attackers, just in case someone thought to venture this close to the starting gates.

After a few minutes, Naruto began to speak up, pointing in a direction and saying what they had found and how far away. Sasuke wrote down the information in code while Sakura and Kieri kept watch, their fine tuned sense of hearing making them the best choice in the cover rich environment. "That way, five hundred meters, team from Konoha, not one of our contacts, moving away, did not see me. That way, four hundred and thirty meters, team from Suna, not the creepy guy with the sand, moving away, did not see me." He smiled, then pointed almost at the fence to his right. "That way, two hundred fifty meters, Shikamaru's team, approaching, contact made."

Within a half hour, all twelve of them had gathered, each shinobi watching the forest carefully for threats, even as they discussed the situation. Sakura had also copied out information on another twelve teams, and was sorting through them trying to find likely targets, Kieri perched on her shoulders and acting as her scout.

Neji walked up to her, waiting patiently for her to acknowledge him, then said without preamble, "Can Naruto give details on each of these teams? Visual details?" Sakura nodded, and he flashed a small, self satisfied smile. "Then I can identify who has what scrolls. Security was a joke in the booth where they issued them." Sakura smiled back, and waved Naruto over to start dealing with the list.

"So, we're really doing this," said Kiba from one side of the temporary meeting ground. "We're gonna team up and hunt down the scrolls as a pack?"

Sakura nodded, reaching up to pet her companion. "We might be fine alone, but as a group, we hold all the advantages of our members, plus sheer numbers. We'll rest during the day, with one group dedicated to defense, and each evening, Naruto will send out a search party to find us a target, or two if we can handle it. Show up as a group, take them down, retreat to base."

Shikamaru grunted from where he lay, staring at the sun through the trees. "Faced with twelve of us, almost every team will probably capitulate immediately. Those that do not will either be too dangerous to face in smaller teams, or too arrogant to yield. Either way, we're in the best position." He sat up and rubbed his neck, a little sheepishly. "But there is one troublesome thing. We need to henge Naruto when we go after folks."

"Like hell," said Ino, huffing. "I'm not giving him all of the credit for our effort!"

Sasuke shook his head, and his eyes went cold. "Stop being a child, Ino. Only nuke-nin and dead shinobi want credit for their work, one for more work, and one to tell others how they got themselves killed."

Ino flinched at his cold tone, and Sakura spoke up in that moment of quiet. "It's not credit, its tactics. Naruto will be throwing out a lot of clones when we fight. If we're changed to look like him, it'll be immediate camouflage. When we fight, we'll be using our own abilities, but the foe will not be able to identify which attack can do what. And should the worst happen, his clones can cover for us while we escape."

Naruto looked up where he was sitting, his eyes sharp and his jaw jutting out. "It also means that if any of them get ideas about coming after us to get their scroll back, they'll go for me first." He reached into his pouch and pulled out their scroll, tossing it to Sakura. "That way, if I have none, they can't steal them back, and they'll spend a lot of effort and chakra trying to get to me before they figure it out."

Ino stomped her foot and glowered at every person in the clearing. "I am not fighting as Naruto, and you can't make me!"

Shikamaru shrugged and laid back down in the grass. "You can be on guard duty then."

"Only if Sasuke-kun guards with me!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to shout a rejection, then stopped with a sigh. He did not want to send this team out into the wilds on their own. He highly suspected that they'd get a scroll, but lose after the fact due to Ino becoming incapacitated, if not dead. He bit his lip until it bled, then grunted a sharp agreement to the two of them on guard.

Sakura reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered to him, almost inaudible, with how much Ino was shouting in glee over her assignment. The whole team knew how badly Sasuke wanted to run loose during this exam, picking up as much technique with his sharingan as he could. He had just sacrificed his own goal for the safety of someone who he cared little for, and they knew it.

And in the forest, someone else smiled from their place under the dirt and quietly said to themselves, "Yes, thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Author's Note: Took a while, but I eventually figured out where I wanted to go with this portion of the exams. As I recall, there were no rules against teaming up in the survival part of the exam, so why not do so… IF you thought you could trust the others?

AntiCreator: Thank you for the comment on Dan's OC-ness. When I reread the chapter for editing, I felt happy at how that came out. And I do agree, massive over-reaction to the Sunset of Youth always bothered me, as it feels like people are trying to compete for the title of "bestest reaction to that moment."

depressedchildren: The "cold opening" for Chapter 19 was deliberate, much like the opening to the "Capture Tora" quest in canon. It is meant to give the impression of a much more serious circumstance, and only eventually to reveal its true purpose as a low key training exercise. If it helps, I will probably not do so again, as they are unlikely to have quite that amount of spare time in the future.