Thanks to the reviews from Fruity Smell and Ichigo-chan, you guys really made my day!

"You may enter."

Exactly seven students filed into Principal Tsunade's lavishly decorated office with elated grins on their faces, forming a horizontal line opposite to two of Konoha's Legendary Sannin. Golden-brown eyes scrutinised every person who entered, mentally ticking off those she did know and those she didn't. For the most part, they were the prodigal students who'd achieved the highest grades in their respective fields, or made their presence annoyingly obvious to the school's population. Jiraiya beamed directly at his godson, not bothering to hide his obvious favouritism. Naruto gave him a thumbs up and a loud 'whoop' as a reply. She really needed another drink.

"Congratulations, you seven have been selected to compete in this years Gensho Alliance Tournament." She looked at them expectantly, and they delivered her expectations with several loud choruses of the national anthem and whooping. Her ears felt like exploding when Jiraiya joined in. When they settled down, she continued her speech. "The Academy in Suna has kindly allowed us to stall this Alliance competition for us to rebuild our school." She paused momentarily, letting the message sink in. Everyone knew about the explosion; it'd been all over the news two years ago. "Having delayed the competition for this long has certainly weakened our bonds with The Academy of the Sand, despite the efforts of our own Sandaime Hokage. This time round, everyone, I expect the best performances from everyone - meaning, from general courtesies to combat skills. You must all be on your best behaviour." She shot a glare at Naruto, who pouted indignantly. "This year, the Gensho Tournament is situated in Konoha and as the host country we must provide excellent hospitality as well as competition for them. Every body, this is crucial to both the welfare of our country and to prevent any wars from breaking out. Am I understood?"

A fresh-faced, pink-haired girl was the only one to speak up.

"Shishou, what exactly happens in this competition?"

Tsunade smiled in approval at her favourite student. Sakura was a star pupil who demonstrated the same abilities as she did, and possessed the same steady control. "A good question. As you know, the school's left wing, which is strictly prohibited for all students, is where all fourteen of you will be staying whilst training for the Tournament itself, held in the Forest of Death. Each of you will be staying in a room with a member from the opposing team to form relationships with them, obviously to build up bonds between citizens and thus between coun-"

"We're sharing rooms with those Sand-rats?!"

"-tries. And Naruto, this is exactly the kind of behaviour I do not want to see or hear about from anyone on this team, especially you, you prankster."

"Naruto," Jiraiya said with a stern expression, "don't sulk about it, she's right. The people in Suna aren't like us. Both the Hidden Village and Country levels with us in terms of prosperity, but living in harsh climatic conditions means you have to be tougher to survive; meaning, if you so much as insult them at any degree, they'll rip you to shreds. Be on your best behaviour, or a war will break out between the two countries. Eventually."

Naruto's previously slouched shoulders straightened as a look of agreement settle across his features. "Alright, I understand, dattebayo."

Tsunade stood up, strode quickly over to a dark drown closet beside her desk and unlocked it before taking out a large brown box and setting it down on her desk. She turned towards the teenagers and pointed towards the box.

"You are all required to wear a uniform during the physical components of this competition, mainly for your training and the...tasks given to you at the final venue, the events of which will be revealed to you in due time," she called out as she handed each of the students a pile consisting of a sleek, black pair of pants, a red tank top, a long-sleeved mesh shirt and a black jacket - all wrapped up in clear plastic packets and in their sizes. "You are all required to wear shinobi footwear. Make sure you keep these safe. The tank tops are red for the Fire Country, and you will soon notice that the competitors in Suna have yellow ones. Don't think too much about it. Any questions?" She briskly barked out orders at them, already growing tired of being around people other than...well, herself. She thought it was amazing that she was still this Academy's Principal.

"Am I allowed to bring in my dog Akamaru?" asked a spiky-haired brunette.

"If, Inuzuka Kiba, animals are a necessary tool, then yes." He grinned and turned to hi-five Naruto, who was examining every inch of his uniform.

A shy, long-haired girl raised her hand and abruptly asked, "When will the other team arrive, Tsunade-sama?"

"Three hours."

Jiraiya, who was still proudly beaming at his godson and making his favouritism blatantly obvious, turned to face Tsunade with a shocked expression.

"Honestly, Tsunade, you couldn't have given me a warning? Tonight? You said it'd be a few days!"

She rolled her eyes and fired back, "All arrangements have been made and confirmed, Shizune and I have gone through everything, from the bedsheets to the security. Everything. Will. Be. Fine. Oh, speaking of which, kids, best behaviour, best clothes, prepare your supplies for the next few weeks, an information booklet is in that uniform packet, buy the shoes, leave."

They bustled out of the room, curious expressions evident on their faces as they watched the two Sannin continue to argue. Naruto ran down the hallway excitedly, already challenging Lee to a fight in the gym. Neji hovered just outside of the door, revelling in the opportunity that was randomly thrusted upon him. He held back a smile while nodding at the lazy-looking Nara boy who looked like he was seconds away from sleeping. Hinata had excused herself to run to Kurenai's office the moment they exited Tsunade's, throwing a glare in his direction. He brushed it off nonchalantly.

Petty antics never bothered him, anyway.

Meanwhile, Temari no Sabaku strode down the corridors of Sunagakure's Academy of the Sand, smiling politely at every compliment thrown at her as she drew nearer and nearer to the bus waiting outside the school gates. She paused a step away from the bus entrance and looked back, waving at all the people standing behind the gates expectantly. They cheered loudly. She took a breath and climbed into the vehicle, grinning from ear to ear as she greeted her teammates.

"Sis! Took you long enough. We've been waiting for ages." She laughed, thwacking Kankuro over the head with her fan before plonking down next to Tenten.

"Kankuro, I had real matters to deal with. Like dad. At least I don't pack on a whole heap of make-up like you and Gaara do. I'm supposed to be the female in the family." Kankuro scoffed in indignation, knowing that hey, that wasn't exactly false, but still..., and cranked up the volume on his device. He winced when the music was loud enough to blare out of his earphones clearly, tuning it down a notch. With a triumphant smile, and a playful ruffling of his hair, Temari settled down in her seat just as the driver started to close the doors. "Hang on a sec, where's Ino? STOP THE BUS! STOP! Head count time!" She sang loudly, causing the driver to stomp on the brakes frantically.

Tenten rolled her eyes at the red-headed boy in the opposite row while Temari listed out the present members. "Okay, so we have: Tenten, Kankurou, Gaara, Me, Sai, Sasuke?"

"Here."

"Thanks. Does anyone know where Ino is? I swear to Kami she's always late for something."

"Seriously," replied Tenten spoke up from behind her, "she's probably lathering on a year's worth of make-up. We should just ditch her and bring like, Kin, with us." Temari pursed her lips and shook her head firmly, citing conflict of interest with the other girl - namely, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Relax, Tenten," he called out, leaning over Tenten's seat to speak to her, "If she wants make-up, give her make-up. Trust me, you don't know what she's like when she's all riled up and all..."

"Okay, first of all, that is a very non-feminist statement and even though I don't like Ino, every woman deserves to be treated and talked about with respect." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, while nodding in slight agreement. "That being said, yeah, I'm a bit of a hypocrite but that was too much information." He smirked and leaned back into his seat, resting an arm up on his armrest contentedly. Temari was seconds away from panicking, ranting to her youngest brother about the importance of punctuality while he stared back uninterestedly.

"I'M HERE!" A platinum blonde girl rushed into the bus, doors closing behind her as she slumped down in the seat next to Sai. Breathing heavily, she put down her bag and turned towards Team Suna's leader. "Sorry I'm late, there was this massive crowd outside and it was really hard to get through."

Temari smiled. "Yea, shit happens. But if you left earlier, there wouldn't have been any problems with maneuvering through the crowds. Make sure it doesn't happen next time, got it?"

"So now you're calm and collected?" Gaara fired at her, which was promptly ignored in favour of sleeping on Tenten's shoulder.

Ino smiled brightly at her and nodded, then attempted to start a conversation with the boy situated next to her, albeit unsuccessfully. Sasuke sat down behind her and muttered in her ear,

"Ignore him, Ino. Sai doesn't socialise. Why don't you sit next to me instead? You haven't done that in a long time." Tenten glared at him for the sake of upholding her values, and he backed down.

Ino glowered and pushed Sasuke out of the way and moved to sit next to the silent redhead, who sent her an acknowledging glance. She grimaced and closed her eyes. Might as well catch up on lost sleep.

The bus engine revved up and set off down the road, leaving a trail of people cheering noisily behind it as it headed towards the Hidden Village of the Leaf.

Hope you enjoyed it, please review! :)

~misspandalily