Pictures - The Prolouge


Information:

Name: Sahori Uchiha
Family: No Mother, no Father, and no Siblings. Sahori's Mother and Father are dead, but they are not related to the masscre done by Itachi Uchiha. They were merely killed in battle, trying to save their teammates.
Eyes: Onyx - Colored
Hair: Black hair that goes down to the waist and is curled at the bottom part.
Outfit: Tight short - sleeved light blue T - shirt with a black - colored jacket that fits just right and shows off Sahori's curves, and it's half - way zipped, showing part of her light blue T - shirt. She also wears black shorts that goes to her knees.

Fighting Style:
Sahori is able to make lightning appear and control it. She can also make shoots of electricity appear. When she fights, it mainly revolves around her lightning and the electricity that comes from it, shocking people. Currently, she has not learned about all the secrets about her special ability, but she is learning. Right now, she can make a powerful punch that is mixed with her chakra and lightning, and she can form a lightning spear, but it takes time and a lot of energy, so it is not often used, considering she is only still 13.
Basicly, Sahori is able to control lightning and make it appear whenever she wants. It is similar to Gaara's ability, but Gaara has to carry sand in order to use his powers.

Other Useful Information:
Sahori Uchiha is not related to Sasuke Uchiha. In fact, Sahori does not even live with the Uchiha clan. She knows nothing about the Uchiha Masscre or anyone from the Uchiha clan. She was born in the Lightning Village, a hidden village that no one knows about. It does not have anything to do with other villages, and it is hidden were expertly. No one knows about it except the people that live there, and if any residents of the village leave, a jutsu is put on them to prevent them to reveal any secrets or information about the Lightning Village.

Sahori's parents had received a strange letter when Sahori was first in her mother's stomach, only two months old. The letter fortold them about the daughter that the two parents would soon have - Sahori. It was apparently from the Lightning Village, which had existed for over hundreds of years. They knew that Sahori would be the one special child that would have the powers to control lightning and make it appear whenever she wanted. A child with these powers were rare to find, and it had only happened once before Sahori, but, unfortunately, the person before Sahori had died at a very young age. No real information chould be found about that person.
So, when Sahori's parents found out about the news, they had moved to the Lightning Villages, and 7 months later, they had their first child, and Sahori Uchiha was finally born.

The Lightning Village consists of a small amount of people. There were only about 80 people that lived in the small village. These people were selected to be able to live in the Lightning Village because the special - ness they had were their incredible speed; they could disappear and appear yards away from their spot a moment age in a mere second. This is how the village got its name, but it was also because of Sahori's ability.

Kekki Genkei?: Of course, Sahori's kekki genkei is the Sharigan, but can she use it and does she even use it? This is what you will find out in the story. [:

Pairing: It is currently Sahori x Sasuke, but she will have different small relationships with other guys along the way, and it might change to Sahori x DifferentGuy, but it's Sahori and Sasuke for now. You never know. [;


Prolouge:

Pictures.

Why do people take pictures?

My reason is because pictures can store many memories, but, of course, a lot of pictures are just for their beauty.
But for me, it's because of both.

Besides being a ninja, I love to take pictures. My mom used to tell me to live my life to its fullest like it'll be my last day and to try and remember every single detail. I tried to take her advice every single day, even when she and my dad passed away.

I saved every single picture of us three together. Me, my mom, and my dad. I always have a camera in my hand or somewhere beside me because you never know when something funny or interesting or important is going to happen, and you just want to take a picture of it. I have tons of photographs, each filled with a different memory or just a cute kitty in it.

This may never happen, but I want to remember every single detail of my life. And the camera is there to help me.

A picture is for preserving a memory, whether it's just a simple one to a very, very important one or you just want one of the object you're taking the picture of.

That's my definition of a picture. Sahori Uchiha's definition of a photograph.

Pictures - 1 - Ramen With Naruto ?


I lightly touched the Konoha Headband wrapped around my forehead as I smiled. I had moved from the Lightning Village to become a shinobi at the Hidden Leaf Village. I received my headband yesterday, after I finished a private test with Iruka-sensei, who I had also met yesterday. He had ordered me to make two shadow clones of myself, and I did it perfectly - well, not perfectly, but I still passed! That's what counts.

Leaves crunched under my feet as I walked to the Academy. Iruka-sensei had informed me that everybody would be assigned to teams todays, including me. I'd be like an extra since I had just moved to Konoha at such a short notice. Only a few days ago was I still at the Lightning Village, which was also called Lunahighe - I don't know how it really got that name. The jounins and senseis there thought I could advance more if I came to Konoha and fought in teams and went on missions, so that's what the Leader of Lunahighe did: send me to Konoha to become a shinobi.

I had finally arrived at the classroom I was told to go to. I pushed open the wooden door, but the first thing I saw, was not the usual scene a person would see.

Two guys, kissing. One blonde, and the other had navy - colored hair. Did I enter the right classroom?

However, I did what I usually did. I took out my camera and quickly got a shot of the two boys "kissing". Sure, the situation seemed kind of gross, but it sure was funny. This could be one of the pictures that represents my first day of being a ninja on team. I let out a giggle as the two boys wrenched each others face away from each other.

The flash from my camera and the giggle caught someone's attention as a boy with a short, spiky ponytail turned his head towards me. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I've never seen you before. Who are you?" He questioned.

I grinned mysteriously, "You'll find out soon ~ !"

I pocketed my camera as I sat down on the empty seat to the left of him, smiling up at him. He glanced at me lazily.

"Troublesome . . ." He muttered. That caused me to raise an eyebrow.

"So . . . mind telling me your name?" I asked.

"Shikamaru Nara," He simply stated, laying back on his seat lazily - like, and at that moment, Iruka-sensei came into the room.

"Alright, everybody, quiet down. I know you're all very excited, so here it is. Listen up, I'm going to tell you your teams now," He explained.

I immediatly looked up, waiting for my name to show up. However, it took a while so I zoned it out as I could only hear the names of people I had no clue of who they were. I turned towards Shikamaru and poked him, getting his attention once again. He looked at me with confusion.

"So do you want to be on a team with any certain people?" I asked curiously. He shrugged.

"I don't really care . . . . What about you?" He replied. I, too, shrugged.

"As you've said, you've never seen me before, so I've obviously just moved here, which probably means I know no one," I paused to think for a moment. "I guess I'd want to be on a team with you, seeing as you're kind of the only person I know, even if it is only your name."

He seemed surprised that I would want to be on a team with him, but it did make sense seeing as he is the only person I know.

"Squad Seven . . . Uchiha Sahori - " Whispers arose as people looked around. Shikamaru turned towards me with a raised eyebrow as I gave him a big smile. " - Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

The one named 'Sakura Haruno' - the one with the pink hair - quickly raised her hand, "Iruka-sensei! I thought you said it was only three to a team . . ?"

She did make a point. I turned towards Iruke-sensei, waiting for an answer.

"You're right, Sakura, but seeing as we have an extra member this year, one team had to have an extra person," He explained. Sakura nodded silently as she slumped back down onto her seat.

I silently examined my teammates. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were the two boys who had been kissing earlier, to which I had taken a picture of, and Sakura Haruno seemed quite attatched to Sasuke.

I sighed as I slumped back on my seat. I do hope that no one would question me about my last name. I've heard about a missing - nin who had killed the entire Uchiha clan, and they probably wouldn't have known about me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke looking at me intensely. Maybe avoiding being questioned would be harder than I thought . . .

". . . because I'm not a girl," I suddenly heard Shikamaru say. I turned my head towards the right curiously to see what he was talking about. He was, apparently, talking to a blond girl. She scoffed.

"You are so full of yourself. Jealously's a terrible thing. I'd hate to be on your team," She explained, smirking. Shikamaru looked a little ticked off.

"Now, Squad Ten . . . Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi."

Ino suddenly gasped out as it was Shikamaru's turn to smirk.

"Hah! Did you say something about hating to be on my squad?" He said, causing me to giggle slightly, catching his attention once again. He smirked slightly at me.

Iruka-sensei spoke up again, "Ah hem . . . after lunch, you will meet your new jounin teachers. Until then, class dismissed."

I stood up, stretching a little as everyone left the room. I turned towards Shikamaru, smiling a little.

"Guess I'm not in your team after all. I'll catch you around some other time. I'm going to go try to find my teammates," I explained, smiling a little bigger. "Bye, Shikamaru."

I walked over to him and gave him a short hug, but it still caused him to blush slightly. I exited the room shrugging. Back in Lunahighe, we all were considered one big family, and hugs were mainly to say 'hi' or just to say 'bye'. It was a friendly thing.

I finally reached outside as I saw different people walking around. I looked around to see if I could find Naruto anywhere; he seemed like the most friendly out of the other three, so I figured I'd try to find him first. I walked further down the streets, slowly getting farther away from the academy and seeing lesser people as well. Suddenly, a hand grasped my wrist, pulling me to an arupt stop. I let out a small squeak of surprise as I quickly turned around to see . . . Sasuke.

I quickly calmed down, "A reason to why you stopped me?"

"What's your real last name?" He quickly said. I looked at him, confused.

"What?"

"You're lying. You can't be a Uchiha. I'm the only one left . . . and another one . . ." He explained, pausing at one moment.

I tried tugging my hand away from his grasp, failing, "I'm not lying. I am a Uchiha."

He wore the same look on his face, telling me he didn't believe a single word I said. I gave a frustrated sigh.

"I am a Uchiha! The reason you don't know me is because I was born and raised somewhere else," I tried persuading as I once again tugged my hand, failing yet again.

"Where?" He raised an eyebrow.

I paused, "I can't tell you that."

And there went any hope of Sasuke believing me because he wore that same emotionless expression again. This is why I didn't want anyone to question me about my last name. It always got so frustrating because I was always bad at wording stuff.

I sighed, "Look, you'll understand soon or if I can ever tell you."

And a second later, I was gone, and all he could see was a cloud of smoke as I used a jutsu to poof away. I appeared back in front of the academy. This time, I was lucky. Because about yards away was Naruto, who seemed to be depressed.

"Naruto?" I questioned as I walked nearer to him. He immediatly piped up.

"Sahori?!" He asked excitedly as a huge grin spread across his face.

"That's me!" I replied cheerily. "Wanna go eat lunch together, seeing as we're on the same team?"

"You want to eat lunch . . . with me . . ?" He asked, unsure. I moved my head slightly to the side in confusion.

"Um . . . yea . . . that's why I asked you . . . . Why? You don't want to? - "

"No, No, No!" He waved his heads around wildly, cutting me off as he smiled nervously. "It's just . . . not a lot of people want to eat with me or be around me, but sure! Let's go eat! I know this great place that sells ramen. Let's go get some before we have to come back here to meet our new senseis!"

I nodded, "Show the way, blondie!"

He grinned as he grabbed my hand, running off towards to the place that sells this oh - so - great ramen he was talking about.

A few minutes passed until we finally stopped in front of a small restaurant. It was called Ichiraku. I turned towards Naruto to see him grinning as he walked in.

"This is the best ramen place ever!" He exclaimed as I followed him in. "One miso ramen, old man!"

The 'old man' smiled as he nodded towards Naruto, "Coming up. What about you?"

I paused for a moment, "I'll have the same as Naruto."

He nodded once more and left to go make it. I turned towards Naruto again as a question popped into my head.

"Hey, Naruto. What'd you mean earlier when you said not a lot of people want to be around you?" I asked curiously, cocking my head to the side.

He grew quiet for a second before he replied, "Well . . . a lot of people think of me as a disaster, and they think I'm just going to ruin everything if I did become a ninja . . . which I did. I wasn't really good in school, especially on tests and that stuff, but I'm going to be a great ninja! That's why I'm going to be future Hokage one day! I'm going to prove it to everyone that I'm worth something, and I can actually acomplish my goals!"

I grinned at the look in his as I let you a laugh, "Naruto, you're awesome. I think you'll be a great Hokage one day."

His grin grew larger, "Really? You think so, Sahori?!"

I scoffed, "Uh, duh! If you think you can accomplish it, then of course you can, and, besides! Don't feel so down if you aren't good on tests or written exams or that, uh, crap. To tell the truth, I'm not good at that stuff either. If it wasn't for me being an 'excellent ninja' - as people have told me before I moved here - I probably wouldn't have graduated either."

I gave a nervous laugh as I scratched my head after my 'confession,' but this only caused Naruto to smile more.

"Really, Sahori? Man, I always thought you were the smart type - not that you aren't smart!" He quickly added in the last part as he saw the look in my eye. Then, our orders of miso ramen finally came.

I picked up my chopsticks, "Well, let's just finish up our food right now and get back to the academy."

He grinned, "Dig in!"

Pictures - 2 - I Live Next To Him?!


"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves?" stated Kakashi, who was our new sensei. "One at a time."

"Introduce ourselves?" asked Sakura. "What are we suppose to say?"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged, "Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that."

Naruto held a look on his face, "Why don't you tell us first? I mean before we talk, tell us about you, so we know how it's suppose to work."

Kakashi pointed at himself, "Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate . . . eh, I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future . . . never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura sighed and whispered to us, "That was totally useless. All he really told us was his name."

I shrugged. If he didn't want to tell about himself, then fine.

"Okay, your turn. You on the right," said Kakashi, looking at Naruto. "You first."

Naruto started talking. Most of his likes and dislikes, including his hobbies, were mainly about ramen. Figures. No wonder he took me to ramen for lunch, but I couldn't blame him. Ramen was good. Especially Ichiraku's. It was the best I've ever tasted. Then Naruto told us about his dream: to become the greatest Hokage so that everyone in the whole village would stop disrespecting him and start treating him like he was somebody important. I grinned when he said that; I knew it would come true one day. Believe It.

It was Sakura's turn now. Everytime she said something she would blush and turn towards Sasuke.

"Gee, something tells me that she likes Sasuke," I whispered sarcastedly to Naruto, which caused him to crack a smile, though he did look a little disappointed - especially when Sakura yelled out that she hated Naruto.

"Alright then . . . you. On the right of Naruto," Kakashi then said. I looked up curiously as I held up two hands. One represented the letter 'L' while the other was a backwards 'L'.

"Your right or my right?" I asked, cocking my head to the side in confusion. He looked slightly amused.

"My right."

"Oh, okay!" I gave a goofy smile. "Weeeell. The name's Sahori Uchiha, which means I am a Uchiha - " I shot Sasuke a look, who seemed to noticed and grunted in response. I bet he still didn't believe me.

" - the things I like. I like lightning for sure, ramen's good, too, hugging people is a friendly gesture that I do often, and I like watching people trip and fall. Yea, that's fun." I gave a smile as Sakura gave me a weird look; I ignored it. "The things I hate are now. Well, I don't have a particular liking for taking tests, but that's probably because I never study or anything, and it makes me think. I also hate bunnies - they're just evil. I think that's it - oh! I don't like Sasuke either. Nope, don't like him."

Sakura looked at me wide - eyed, and inside her head, I knew she was cursing at me. Sasuke, at first, looked a little startled but he quickly went back to being emotionless in less than a second.

"And then my hobbies. I love to take pictures. I believe it's a good way for storing a memory, but other than that, I don't have that much hobbies. I remember someone telling me that one of my hobbies should be annoying people because they think I'm annoying sometimes, but I'm not. At least, I don't think so." I stopped for a moment and turned towards Naruto.

"Do I really seem annoying?" I asked him wide - eyed.

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused. "You're not annoying Sahori-chan!" I grinned, especially at the new suffix added to my name.

"Okay, thanks, Naruto-kun." I smiled warmly at him, causing him to slightly blush. "For my dreams, I've never really thought about it either. I guess I just wanna become one of the best shinobis out there, and master more new techniques."

Kakashi - sensei nodded as he stared at me a second longer, looking thoughtful, "Alright, last one."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." Sakura gasped at this, but Sasuke just continued. "What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone."

Sakura and Naruto both looked at him shocked, but for some reason, I had a feeling that "someone" meant the person who has massacred the whole Uchiha clan. I never did find out who it was that actually killed everyone. Maybe I'd ask Sasuke one day. Maybe. I just had this odd feeling that told me that I didn't really like that guy though. Maybe I'd like him one day. Maybe.

"Good. You're each unique, and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow," Kakashi explained. "It's a task that the five of us will do together."

"What, what, what, WHAAAT?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"A survival exercise, kind of like a test, you see," He continued. I cocked my head to the side once again - this was beginning to be like a habit of mines.

"A test? I'm not good at tests," I muttered.

"Huh? Survival exercise?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"I thought we suppose to have a real mission. Not more practice. We already did that stuff at the Academy, that's how we got here!" pointed out Sakura.

Kakashi sighed, "This is not like your previous training."

"So, uhh . . . so uh, what kind of training is it?" questioned Naruto once more. Kakashi started laughing.

"Hey, hold on. That's a normal question. What's so funny?" Sakura asked.

The grey-headed jounin smirked, "Well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it ~"

"Huh?"

"Of the twenty-seven graduates that came here, only nine will be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy," He then explained. "In other words, this is a make it or break it pass - fail test, and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty-six percent."

I gulped. The jounins and Leader back at Lunahighe wouldn't be happy if they found out that they sent me here only to have me go back to the Academy not become a genin.

"See? Didn't I tell you you wouldn't like it?" The smirk was back on Kakashi's face, visible through the mask.

Naruto looked angered, "That's crazy! We worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyways?!"

"Oh, that. That was just to select candidates who might become genin, or not," Kakashi said, saying it like it was no big thing. For Naruto, however, it was a big thing.

"WHAAAT?!"

"That's how it is. I decided whether you pass or fail," shrugged Kakashi. "Be at the desinated training spot at 5 A.M. and bring your ninja gear."

It was silent after that, everyone was consumed in their own thoughts, especially me. I had to pass. It wasn't only because I didn't want to disappoint the others back in Lunahighe, but it was for me, too. I did want to be one of the best shinobis out there, and I needed to unlock every single secret to my abilities in controlling lightning. One more year back at the Academy was not acceptable.

I had to pass.

"Alright. You're dismissed," Kakashi suddenly said. "Oh, yea. Tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke."

I sighed. We couldn't eat either? Gosh, that would be hard to do. Without food, I thought I'd die. I guess I would just have to resist. Kakashi soon jumped off of the roof and disappeared out of sight. We soon followed, going on our own different pathes.

Once again, I let out an exasperated sigh. Then for some reason, Kakashi's words made me remember something my father used to say to me. He once told me that I shouldn't let anyone tell me what I become. Kakashi had said that he decided if I passed or not, right? What if I really don't pass? Would I really go with it and go back to the Academy? Inside, I knew I probably wouldn't do that, not even if I was paid a million bucks. No way. I'd train myself if I have to. Get myself my own sensei. I'd probably go back to Lunahighe. This sounded crazy, but I knew I probably would've ended up doing just that.

I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the sky. There was always a little bump in the road in life, and you had to find a way to get across it. Suddenly, I saw someone yards away from me, and he looked familiar.

"Shika-kun?" I asked out loud as the figure turned around. Yup, I was right.

"'Skika-kun'?" He said, questioning the new name as I neared him.

"Mmhmm! I made it up while my team and I were waiting for our sensei. It's cute for you, don't you like it?" I giggled as I smiled at him. A small blush appeared over his face.

I quickly took out my camera and in a flash, I had a picture of Shikamaru, blushing. Quite cute actually. He looked at me, startled.

"What was that?!" He exclaimed.

I shrugged and smiled, "I took a picture of you. Wanna see it?"

Without waiting for an answer I held out the digital camera for him to see. It was him with a small blush on his face, but he wasn't looking exactly at the camera, so it was a pretty cool picture. This only caused Shikamaru's blush to deepen as I giggled.

"It's cute! Now I have a picture to always remember you!" I grinned as he looked confused now.

"Why?" He asked. "Why do you - " He trailed off.

"Why do I take pictures?" I finished for him. He nodded in response. I shrugged.

"I always believe pictures are used for storing memories so that you wouldn ever forget that day and reason why you took that photograph," I explained.

Shikamaru nodded as he took the information in, "Oh."

"Alright! Well, I gotta get home, so I'll see you some other time, Shika-kun!" I grinned as I gave him a short hug once again and walked away hurriedly. I never did notice the blush appearing on his face, again.

It was silent on my walk home, which was a rented suite, but then a groan from my stomach broke it. The waiting for Kakashi-sensei and the introductions took some time, and now I was hungry again. The place I was staying at probably had a restaurant, too, because I was too lazy to cook - not that I couldn't. I was pretty mediocre when it came to cooking; at least it's edible.

I suddenly stopped as I accidently bumped into someone.

"Sorry - oh, hey, it's you!" I looked into onyx - colored eyes, which were glaring at me. It was Sasuke.

"Hn. Watch were you go," He stated. I pouted.

"Hey! It was partly your fault, too! You shouldn't just stand in the middle of the road!" I pointed out accusedly. He didn't even glance at me as he continued walking . . . to the same hotel I was staying at. I followed him.

"I wasn't standing. I was walking. If you had used your eyes, you would've known." I scowled as I put my hands on my hips. His tone sounded like he felt that he was better than anyone else.

"For your information, I was using my eyes, and why the hell are you going this way?!" I retorted, but once again I bumped into his backside as he stopped. "What the - ?! Why the hell did you stop?"

He gave an aggrivated sigh, but didn't say anything at first, "You are annoying."

I huffed, a tick mark appearing on my head, "Why you - ! You're nothing but an ugly jerkwad! I can just tell by your tone that you think you're better than everyone else! Well. You. Are. Not!"

I pushed him away as I stormed into the hotel, leaving an astonished Uchiha behind me. Serves him right. He was a jerkwad.

I continued to walk into the elevator as I waited silently for it to take me to the floor of my room. I hoped the Uchiha didn't have a room that was near me, if he even lived in this place. I definately hoped he didn't, but he was walking towards this hotel.

I sighed as the elevator finally opened, revealing different doors to different rooms. I dragged myself out of the elevator before it closed again and headed towards my room. I fumbled through my pants pocket, looking for my keys until I finally found them. I entered the apartment, closing and locking the door behind me. I slumped against the door. Forget the restaurant. I'd just make my own food and then get to sleep. For some reason I was really tired.

I shrugged, "Whatever."


The Next Day [:


Despite what Kakashi had said, I ate. I couldn't help it. I was hungry! Whatever he had planned for us couldn't be that bad, could it? All well, I already ate; it's not like I could just puke it all out right now . . . ew.

I checked my pouches to see if I had everything. I had enough weapons to last; it's not like we were going on a really hard mission. Like Kakashi-sensei had said, it was a Survival Exercise done by the five of us.

I straightened my black jackets and pants and continued to exit the aparment, being sure to lock the door, but the first thing I saw was those familiar pair of onyx - colored eyes. I groaned. This could not be happening.

"My room is right next to yours?!" I screamed. "You have got to move out!" Did I tell you I had quite the temper sometimes?

Sasuke glared, "I was here first, you know. If anyone should be moving out, it should be you, annoying."

I growled - yes, growled, "I am not annoying! You're still such a jerkwad!"

"Hn," was his only response as he turned away, walking towards the elevator. I scowled and followed him; we were going the same place anyways, I was stuck with him.

The rest of the wait was silent, until we got outside. And this was probably my fault, but when we first got outside and he walked a few feet in front of me, I couldn't help but notice the weird hairstyle he had in the back. It kind of resembled a porcupine - well, at least it reminded me of one.

Out of curiousity, my hand reached forward and touched the spikes of his hair, which got his attention, and, pretty obviously, angered him.

"What the hell are you doing?" He muttered, ticked off.

"How'd you get your hair like that?" I asked curiously, all anger I had from him earlier disappearing. "It looks like a porcupine, and you're not using any gel."

Sasuke looked a little confused now, "What - ? Get your hand off of my hair." He slapped my hand away, causing me to pout. Then a thought popped into my head.

"You know, you look kind of cute now that you think about it. It's probably only because of your porcupine hair." Did I tell you I could be blunt sometimes? I guess Lunahighe being so small, it makes you just feel free with anything and speak freely. Or maybe I just was born that way.

Now Sasuke was really confused - was he actually blushing a little bit? A second later, though, it was gone. I could've just been imagining it. I might never know. His eyes went back to glaring at me.

"You really are an annoying girl," He spat as he turned back around, walking away. I huffed, but then I calmed down. For some reason, I felt like he didn't really mean it.

I shrugged as I started following him again. Some people are weird.

A while later the both of us arrived at the same time as Sakura and Naruto. I let out a yawn. Damn, 5 A.M. was a much too early time to even be up. I lazily walked over to Naruto who looked like he was barely awake. He kept yawning repeatedly.

"Hi, Naruto-kun," I said groggily. My tiredness was coming back to me. I gave him a short hug, but it only ended in him falling on top of me as I tried hard to steady myself.

"Naruto!" I whined. "Get off of me!"

He peered up at me with only one eye half - opened, "Wah - ? Oh, sorry, Sahori-chan." He got off of me, but a second later he fell down on the floor, snoring.

I sighed and looked at my watch; it was already half - passed 5. When was Kakashi-sensei going to get here?! A yawn escaped from my lips again as I slumped down next to Naruto.

Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt.

Pictures - 3 - We Passed !


We were all hidden in our own places, except for one person. Yup, you guessed it. Naruto. He could really be an idiot sometimes, but he was still my friend.

I let out a groan - not too loud though - when Kakashi pulled out a book named 'Make Out Paradise'. Really. Our sensei was, apparently, a pervert. Great. As long as he doesnt stalk people and rape them - both men and woman - I'm fine.

I waited as Naruto started attacking Kakashi, but he was failing. I couldn't help but giggle slightly when Naruto got himself poked in the butt, landing in the water. That must've hurted.

I patiently waited as I suddenly saw more Naruto's. Shadow clones, of course. I was surprised when I found out they weren't just images, but they were solid clones. Pretty nice, Naruto.

At first, it seemed like Naruto had really got Kakashi stuck, but it turned out that Kakashi turned into one of Naruto's shadow clones at last minute and escaped. Props to the pervert as well. This continued with Naruto thinking that Kakashi had dropped a bell when it was really a trip for him to fall for. The grey - haired jounin proceeded to lecture Naruto about the dangers of taking an easy bait. It was soon interrupted when Sasuke shot tons of shurikens at Kakashi, hitting him dead - on, but it turned out he used a replacement jutsu to get out of the attack.

Sasuke hurriedly ran away to a new location, seeing as Kakashi knew where he was now. I saw Sakura rush out after him as well, but since my hiding place was nowhere near there's, I was safe for now. I quickly climbed out in time to see Naruto cut himself free, only to be caught in another trap. I sighed as I took out a kunai.

"Don't move, Naruto-kun. I'll help you get out," I offered as I got ready to aim. The kunai hit the rope as Naruto fell down in a mess.

"Heh, thanks, Sahori-chan!" Naruto said, rubbing his head nervously. An idea soon popped into my head.

"Hey, Naruto . . . seeing as the other two are gone, I think the both of us should start working togeth - Naruto . . ?" I looked around in confusion. What the - ! Naruto just disappeared from my sight. I was very close to face - planting into the floor as I saw Naruto run towards the boxed foods. I shook my head; guess I was alone here seeing as Sakura probably only worried about Sasuke, and I had no clue where that Uchiha went anyways.

I soon heard a scream from far away, and it sounded like Sakura's, so I headed towards the direction. It took a while to get there since they were so far away, but when I actually got there, all I could see was . . . Sasuke's head? I figured Kakashi used a jutsu on him and now he was stuck there. Sahori to the rescue again, I guess? I hopped down.

"Need help?" I asked, grinning like a chesire cat. He glared.

"I don't need your help," He replied stubbornly. "You're in my way."

My temper rose again, "In your way?! I was only trying to help you, but you know what? You can stay there for who - knows - how - long because I don't give a crap about you anymore! And you know what?"

I quickly took out my camera, getting a shot of him. I would've been laughing if I wasn't so angry, though. It was quite hilarious to see only his head sticking out of the ground.

"This would be a fantastic present for your fangirls!" I glowered with Sasuke still glaring darkly at me. I returned the glare and walked off, pocketing my camera. Serves him right. Now to find Kakashi.

It didn't take long until I found the weird - haired jounin. He was standing there reading his perverted book, and I figured he knew I was there but didn't do anything about it. I figured to just get his attention by throwing a simple shuriken at him. This ended with him catching it with one finger like he did with Naruto's earlier.

"You know simple attacks won't work on me Sahori," Kakashi said. I smirked.

"I know. I only wanted to get your attention, but the question is, will this work?" I appeared right behind him. Hey, Lunahighe was known for the people's speed. He looked behind, startled, to see a fist come crashing towards him, but he managed to dodge at the last second.

'She's stronger than I thought' thought Kakashi.

I went to kick him, but Kakashi blocked that too, but, quickly, I got my free hand and slammed it into his chest with lightning coming off of it, blasting him yards away as he fell too the ground. I ran at my fullest speed towards him, and just as my hand was a millimeter away from the bell, the timer rang, signaling it was noon. I cursed in my head. If only I was a second earlier.

Kakashi spared me one more glance before he poofed away. I sighed. He wouldn't really fail us, could he? I really hoped not.

I stood up again and stretched. Guess I had to head back down now. No reason to stay here.

I arrived moments later to see Naruto tied to a post. I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything; I just seat myself next to him as Sakura and Sasuke came into view as well.

"Well, I've decided," Kakashi started as soon as we were all seated, "I'm not sending any of you back to the Academy."

Naruto gasped in excitement.

"What?" asked Sakura cluelessly."I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"

I remained the same. The look in Kakashi's eyes just told you that there was more to it and that we shouldn't celebrate just yet.

Kakashi smiled, "Yes, all three of you are being dropped from the program . . . permanately."

Everyone's eyes widened, including Sasuke. That couldn't be true. No. It couldn't. Sakura stopped cheering and gaped at Kakashi-sensei. All of us were wondering if he was really serious or not. Please be not.

"Drop us from the program?!" screamed Naruto. "That means we can never be ninjas! You said if we couldn't take the bells, we'd be sent back to the Academy. You can't just change your mind! You can't do that!" He was in a frenzy.

Kakashi put his hands on his hips, "Because you don't think like ninjas. You think like little kids, like brats."

That got Sasuke fired up, because in less than a second he was up and charging at Kakashi.

"Sasuke!" yelled Sakura.

Kakashi held him down by sitting on him with one foot on his head, "You think it's all about you."

"LET GO OF SASUKE! YOU CAN'T STEP ON HIM LIKE HE'S A BUG!" yelled Sakura. I gave her an annoyed glance. This was not the time to obsess over Sasuke. Sparks of lightning came out of my hand uncontrollably as I clenched them tightly. Kakashi saw this and glanced at me for a moment before turning back, lecturing us again.

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, huh?" Kakashi said. "Why did you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment."

"What do you mean?!" Sakura asked.

"I mean, you never realized what this exercise is about, not even close. That's what determines whether you pass or fail."

Sakura frowned, "But thats - that's what I wanted to ask you earlier."

"Tch . . . Use your heads. Three people on a squad, or four in this case. Why do you think we would do that?" Kakashi continued.

"Ahh! How are we suppose to know?!" Naruto exclaimed frustratedly.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "It's so basic.Teamwork!"

I looked up in surprise. I did try that ealier, but I guess I didn't try hard enough.

"Just working together. Is that what you mean?" questioned Sakura.

"That's what I mean," Kakashi concluded. "It's too late now, but if all four of you had come at me, then you might have been able to take them.

"Well, anyway, it's over."

Sakura than proceeded to point out that there were only two bells, so if we even had worked together, there would only be two who passed anyways, but Kakashi then said that he had purposely pitted us against each other to see if we could've overcome it and worked together. I thought this over. It made a lot of sense. If only we really could've figured this out earlier. I should've thought about it more.

"Sakura! You obsessed over Sasuke being gone while Naruto was right in front of you, and you didn't lift a finger to help him. Only Sahori did," pointed out Kakashi, sparing a glance at me again.

"Naruto! You do everything on your own. Everything! Sahori tried to talk you into working with her, but you too distracted with the food to even pay attention to her.

"And you Sasuke. You thought all the others were so far beneath you that they were worthless. Arrogance! Sahori tried to help you, but you only pushed her away," Kakashi pushed his foot harder against Sasuke's skull as he finally turned towards me.

"Sahori. You did fairly better than the others, but you still should've pushed more into getting the others to help you. Instead of arguing with Sasuke when he insulted you, you should've calmed down instead of letting your temper rise. In real missions, you can't get distracted with others insulting you. You have to be calm at all times or else you wouldn't be able to concentrate; this will lead to the enemies having an advantage over you," Kakashi lectured. I sighed and nodded slightly; he was completely right.

"Teamwork is the most essential element," He stated. Then he sighed as well and paused for a moment. "I'll give you guys a second chance, but let me warn you, it will be much harder than the first. Eat lunch first. You will need to build up the strength, except for Naruto, though. If any of you try to feed him, you will be disqualified and kicked out of the program. Got it?"

All of us nodded, but I was hesitant to agree. Naruto looked really hungry, and if he was weak, we couldn't really fight together if one couldn't do their job. I grabbed at my box of food as I stared at it. The noises coming from Naruto's stomach didn't really help.

A few moments after Kakashi left us, I sighed as I looked at the food one more time before pushing it towards Naruto, "Take it."

The others stared at me increduously.

"Really, Sahori-chan?! But, but, you could get caught!" Naruto protested.

I shook my head, "Kakashi-sensei's not here right now, and I already ate this morning, despite what Kakashi-sensei said. Besides, if Naruto's hungry and weak when we try to get the bells again, he wouldn't really be much use, would he? Just eat, Naruto."

Naruto squirmed in his ropes, "Umm, I can't really. My hands are tied down."

I smiled lightly as I picked up the chopsticks and inched closer towards him, "Whatever Naruto. Just eat. Hurry." I picked up some of the rice and fed it to him.

"YOU!" Kakashi suddenly appeared, scaring the crap out of me as I nearly dropped the food. "You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment." He did a justsu to make the sky cloudy and dark, making the whole scene ever scarier than it should be.

"Any last words?"

"B-but y-you s-s-said - " Naruto whimpered out.

"Yes?" Kakashi responded.

"You said that there were four of us! That's what you said! And thats why Sahori-chan and - " Naruto trailed off looking towards Sasuke, who continued for him.

"We're all on this squad, and we're in it together!"

Sakura was the next to talk, "Yea that's right!"

I nodded as well, "Yea! We gave Naruto-kun lunch! So what! He's part of the team, and we have to care for him too! That's what teamwork's all about! We can't just leave him!"

"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" Kakashi inched closer. Then -

"Heh. You pass." I nearly choked on my own spit. We passed?!

"Huh?" We all said.

"You. Pass," Kakashi smiled.

"You're the first team to ever pass. The other teams just listening to what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception," explained the Jounin. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. That's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Naruto was close to crying, and Sasuke even smiled a little! I giggled as I quickly took my camera out and stood up, next to Kakashi.

"Picture time!" I exclaimed as I took a shot of the three, causing everyone to laugh. Sasuke's smile just grew a little bigger, but that was still good.

"Survival exercise over," smiled Kakashi. "Tomorrow, Squad 7 starts their first mission together!"

He gave a thumbs - up as Naruto, Sakura, and I cheered.

"I did it, I did it, I did it! Believe it! I'm a Ninja!" cried Naruto, shkaing his head from one side to the ther, tears at the corner of his eye. I giggled. We really did do it, didn't we?!

Kakashi smiled and turned around, "Let's go home."

Sakura and Sasuke followed, but me feeling a little pity towards the blondie, I took out a kunai and stripped Naruto free of his ropes. He let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, god! I thought I'd be stuck there! Thanks Sahori-chan!" Naruto stretched as he looked at me gratefully.

"Heh, no problem, Naruto-kun! Now let's go catch up to the others!" I laughed as we both ran after the three.


Later


The sun was going down now as I walked home with Sasuke. Yup, with him all right. I decided to take Kakashi's advice and not let go of my temper so easily, and besides, I was happy right now. Nothing could really destroy my good mood.

After we found out that we wouldn't be sent back to the Academy or taken out of the program, Kakashi took us out to eat since we didn't really eat a lot. At first we had a hard time finding a place since Naruto insisted on us going to Ichiraku for ramen. This caused a big arguement between Sakura and Naruto, but then we all ended going to eat BBQ, which turned out fine in the end.

I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face, and I think that was beginning to bug Sasuke. Yup, I was right.

"Why won't you stop smiling?" He muttered.

I gave him a look but ignored his tone, "Well, I'm happy. You have a problem about that?"

"Hn."

I rolled my eyes, "Aren't you happy? I mean at first we thought we were going to never be ninjas, and then Kakashi-sensei tells us we passed! You are such a party - pooper, Sasuke."

"Party - pooper? Can't you be any less childish?" He grunted. I sighed.

"Don't be such a jerkwad again, Sasuke. Even you can't kill my mood right now," I grinned at him. "Oh, I have an idea!"

He glanced at me for a second, then I suddenly grabbed his hand with mines, startling him as he stopped.

"Let's go get some dango!" I said.

He rolled his eyes, "Annoying, we just ate."

I frowned, "Think of it as dessert! You can never say no to dessert!" I tugged at his hand.

He turned his head away as he muttered, "I don't have much of a sweetooth."

This made me frown again, "Do you really not like sweets, or are you just saying that because you don't eat them often?"

"Hn."

I pouted, "C'mon, Sasuke! Like I said, don't be such a jerkwad or party - pooper! Get some dango! For me? I'm cute and adorable. You know you can't resist me ~ !" I blinked and held back a giggle. My joke actually got him to blush as he tried to hide it from me.

". . . fine, whatever, let's just go," He snarled as he started walking, pulling me with him since our hands were still connected.

I grinned and followed him as we slowed down to a steady pace. After a while we begun to see more people walking down the streets. The sun was down by now, and people had turned on the lights, making it much more prettier than usual.

"Oh! Over there!" I grinned, leadering Sasuke towards a tea shop. Truthfully, I had no idea where dango was sold since I had just moved here, and I never really did get the time to explore. But since there was sign on the tea shop, saying it sold dango, then yay! I found a place. (:

I pulled Sasuke in the sea the shop half - filled. There was no line so the both of us just headed towards the counter where an old lady stood.

"What can I do for you two," She asked warmly. I smiled.

"Two dangos please," I responded.


Sasuke's Point Of View


"Two dangos please," Sahori told the old woman. Sahori's hand was still holding onto mines, and for some reason, I didn't want to let go.

"Here or to go?" asked the woman.

"Here," responded Sahori. I was about to protest until she squeezed my hand, signalling for me to shut up. I sighed. She was annoying, taking me to go eat dango at night.

"Alright, here you go!" The old hag handed us our dangos as Sahori gave her the money. I raised an eyebrow.

"I could've paid for myself."

Sahori shrugged as she took a small bite out of her food, "I'm the one who wanted to come here, wasn't I?" She let go of my hand, and immediatly, I felt a sweep of coldness go through me. I shivered slightly, but it went unnoticed.

"Hn," was all I said. That's all I usually said, anyways. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her frown.

"Don't be such a jerkward." I scowled. She kept saying that over and over again.

"I'm not," I replied gruffly. Sahori rolled her eyes. This got me annoyed.

"Yes you are," She protested. "Can't you loosen up a bit more?" That got me slightly surprised. Loosen up? I turned and glared at her as I heard her sigh. Then, that familiar grin popped onto her face.

"I have an idea! Let's take a picture," She exclaimed, taking out the turquoise camera. I scowled. I was never one for taking pictures.

"No," I said as I watched her set a timer on the camera. "I'm not taking - "

"Oh come on!" She pouted. "You know you can't resist cute and adorable me ~ !" I could practically feel my cheets burning, which caused me to scowl again. I hated the way she could made me blush so easily. What made her so different out of all those annoying other girls that like me so much?

Sahori grinned as she put the camera on the table, facing towards us. She then turned towards me, smiling.

"Smile, Sasuke!" I didn't.

A second later, I felt warm fingers at the corners of my lips, tugging my mouth upwards. I was sure this made me look stupid. My hands reached up to slap her hands away, but a flash had suddenly stopped me; the camera had taken the picture.

Sahori giggled as she snatched the camera from the table as she looked over the picture.

"Aw! Isn't this so cute? You look funny, Sasuke!" She giggled some more as I glared at the stupid device in her hands. I didn't even want to see the picture. However, Sahori thought different as the camera was soon thrusted in front of my face, forcing me to look at it. I stared at it as I couldfeel myself blush again. God damn Sahori for making me feel like this.

Sahori was right next to me in the photograph, and her hands were pushed my mouth upwards, causing me to smile slightly, and the whole picture did look kind of cute . . . but I would never admit that to her. Instead, I made a face and pushed her away from me.

"I don't like it. It's ugly," I snarled as I took a bite out of my dango. The taste stayed in my mouth for a while; it had been a while since I had eaten dango.

Sahori frowned, "And there you go being a jerkwad and a party - pooper again." It grew quiet as we both silently ate.

For some reason, I felt guilty. Really guilty. Sighing, I turned towards her.

"Sorry." It was barely audbile. I would've hit myself if it wouldn't have made me look like an idiot. I never apologized. Never. What made her so special that I had to feel guilty and suddenly say sorry? She was just an annoying girl, wasn't she? Yea. Just an annoying girl. One that shouldn't even mean anything to me. She was nothing.

Sahori looked up, suprised, "W-What - ?"

I looked away as I threw away the stick that once held my dango, which I had finished already, "I said 'sorry'. Do you have hearing problems now, too?"

I waited for her to suddenly start insulting me or yelling, but, however, I felt two pairs of arms wrap around me, causing me to stumble around for a few seconds before regaining my composure.

Familiar giggling entered my ears, "Apology accepted."

I hid any source of surprise as I grunted and push her away from me, "Whatever. We're going home now."

Sahori nodded eagerly, "Okay!" She threw her stick away as I exited the shop, not bothering to wait for me, but she still ended up catching up to me.

The familiar warm feeling entered me as her hand slipped into mines again. I fought back a shiver. For some reason, just this small action from her made me feel slightly happier.

Maybe she wasn't that annoying . . .

And at the same time, a different thought crossed through Sahori's mind: 'Maybe he isn't such a jerkwad after all . . .'

Pictures - 4 - Chunin Exams!


I sighed - I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. It's been a day since we got back from our mission, and by 'we,' I meant Kakashi - sensei, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and I, or, as some can call - Squad 7.

What was suppose to be an easy mission turned out to be an A - ranked mission. At first, it was just suppose to be us escorting a bridgebuilder, Tazuna, back to his homeland so that he could finish building a bride, but it turns out Gato, a famous - yet cruel and greedy - man, had hired a few assassins to kill Tazuna. Then we were forced to protect Tazuna from any harm and face the dangers of the hired missing - nins, attempting to kill us all. Zabuza, the main assassin, came after the first attempts at assassinating Tazuna had failed and decided to take matters into his own hand. Turns out Kakashi had known Zabuza, and thus, began a fight between the two. This led to Squad 7 learning and experiencing the awesome powers of Kakashi - sensei, that was one of the good things we achieved from this dangerous mission.

The other achievements was that we all learned how to climb trees by storing chakra into our feet, but we had to put in just the right amount. The second was that we managed to finish the mission without letting Tazuna harmed at all, and of course, not letting any of our teammates seriously harmed, or worse, die. And, third, was that Gato had died in the process due to Zabuza killing him. Finally - I guess this wasn't really an achievement but a good thing - was that the others finally found out about my powers of controlling and making lightning appear.

There were also downsides to the mission though. Even though Zabuza was a missing - nin and had killed many of people, I still felt a little sorry for him, especially when he had died alongside his partner, Haku - who strangely resembled a girl, but that wasn't important at the moment. Sasuke had almost died as well; we had really thought he died when I saw him lying on the ground with tons of needles sticking out of him. This was caused by Haku. I was ready to jump on Sasuke and cry on top of him, but Sakura had beat me to the punch. Luckily, Sasuke had, in the end, not died, and we were all greatly relieved by this news. Sasuke could definately be a jerkwad and a party - pooper at times, but that didn't me I wanted him dead; I would've missed him . . . a lot.

But now it was all okay. We were all back in Konoha, all safe and sound, resting before any new mission came up again.

I was currently walking through the bustling streets of Konoha as I watched little kids run around and people coming and going. I didn't really know where I was going since I had nothing to do at the moment. I was hoping to bump into Naruto on the way since I had no idea where he really lived or where he was at the moment. I already checked at Ichiraku's and no Naruto there.

I turned pass a corner as an interesting sight caught my eye. There were two strangers that didn't seem to be from our village, one of them holding a kid up. I also saw Naruto and Sakura with two other kids.

I walked towards them, "What's going on?" Naruto looked at me surprised.

"Sahori!"

One of the strangers scoffed, "Great. Another weak genin."

I 'tched' at him, "'Scuse me, weak? I'm sorry, I can't really take you seriously with that gunk of make-up on your face." The guy's face switched to anger as I heard Naruto laugh at him.

A small line of lightning came out from my hand as it traveled through the ground and up the mysterious stranger, wrapping around the hand that was holding the kid as it shocked him. This caused him to yelp and let go, and a second later I saw a rock whiz past me. I looked up to see Sasuke up on the tree, glaring at me. I smirked and mouthed 'Beat Ya . . . Jerkwad,' which only caused him to glare at me more intensely and crush a rock in his hands.

"Why you brats - !" The stranger suddenly yelled out as he pulled a strange package from his back. The girl next to him finally spoke up.

"What?! Are you going to use the Crow for this?!"

"Kankuro, back off." A new voice joined the conversation. 'Kankuro' immediatly stopped and froze. Everyone gasped at the new intruder, especially Sasuke. He just . . . appeared, and he was right next to Sasuke up on the tree, except he was hanging off a branch upside down. He had shaggy red hair and a kanji symble for 'love' on his forehead.

"You're an embarassment to our village," The guy said a in a monotone.

"Uh, hey, Gaara," said Kankuro in a nervous tone.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" It was in the same voice again, no emotion.

Kankuro began stuttering lame ecuses, saying that we had started it.

"Shut up." He said it so quickly and deadly. "Or else I'll kill you."

My eyes widened as did everyone else's when this 'Gaara' said this. Kankuro looked beyond scared as he held up his hands in defense.

"Ah, right. Sorry, Gaara. I was totally out of line," He said nervously.

Gaara then turned towards us, "I'm sorry. For any trouble he caused." Part of me felt like he didn't really mean it. Suddenly, sand appeared around him and seemed to transport him to the ground.

"Let's go."

The three was about go until Sakura stopped them, "Hold on! Wait!"

The blonde one replied, "What?"

"I can tell from your headband that you're from the Village Hidden in the Sand." Sakura pointed out. "Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Winds are allies, but no shinobis can enter another's village without permission. So state your purpose, and it better be good!"

"Really. Have you guys been living under a rock or what" The blonde insulted. "You don't know what's going on, do you? We have permission." She held up a paper, stating that she really did.

"Of course you're correct. We are Hidden Sand Genin. Our home is the Land of the Wind, and we're here for the Chunin Exams. Get the picture?"

"The Chunin Exams?" asked Naruto. "What's that? I've never heard of any Chunin Exams. Believe it."

The blond smirked, "I believe it all right - that you're totally clueless."

One of he kids piped up and turned towards Naruto, "Hey, Boss. Those are the exams that every genins' gotta take in order to graduate to being a full-on chunin."

"Oh," grinned Naruto, "why didn't you say so? Then I'm so there!"

The three sand ninjas started walking away now, until Sasuke dropped down from the tree. I almost forgot he was there for a moment.

"Hey, you. Identify yourself!" Sasuke shouted out.

The blonde one turned around and grinned, "Hm? You mean me?"

"No," Sasuke scowled. "Him. The guy with the gourd on his back." He pointed at Gaara.

Gaara slowly turned around, "My name is Gaara . . . of the Desert. I'm curious about you too. Who are you?"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

There was silence between the two as they stared at each other until Naruto broke it.

"Hi there! I bet you're dying to know my name, right?!"

"I couldn't care less," stated Gaara, then turning his eyes toward me. "I am also curious to who you are as well."

I raised an eyebrow, "Sahori Uchiha."

He didn't give me a second glance as he and his team turned around and started walking again, this time with no interruptions. I cocked my head to this side; If I really did enter this 'Chunin Exams,' it was undoubtedly going to be very interesting.


The Next Day[:


I hate waking up early.

I hate waking up to the alarm ringing loudly.

I hate Kakashi - sensei for making us wake up early yet he comes so late.

And I especially hate it when I fall out of the bed. It just makes too much of a loud crash, and then you're stuck with a headache afterwards.

But, yup, that's what happened this morning. I laid my head on the kitchen table as I stuck a piece of toasted bread with butter in my mouth., groaning. Oh, how I wanted to go back to sleep so badly. A few minutes later, I sat back up as I finished the last bite of my toast. Time to go, I guess.

I locked the door behind me as I pocketed my keys, turning around, only to bump into someone. I sighed. Sasuke. I swear, it was way too early in the morning to have to see him.

"Watch where you're going." Those familiar, annoying words.

"Don't annoy me. It's too early in the morning for someone to have to deal with the likes of you," I mumbled as I pushed him away, walking past him.

"Hn." I sighed. Throughout the short amount of time I've known the guy, I've learned that his most popular word was 'hn'.

"Don't 'hn' me, Sasuke!"


15 minutes later . . . we arrived at the meeting spot to see Sakura and Naruto already.

The four slumped across the side of the bridge as silence grew among us. That is, until Sakura started sceaming again.

"Ugh! WHY, WHY, WHY?! It's always the same! He sets the time, and we always have to wait hours for him!"

"It's not fair!" agreed Naruto.

"What about my feelings?! I rushed here so fast that I didn't have time to blow - dry my hair!" Sakura continued.

"And I didn't have time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Naruto then said. I looked up at this.

"You didn't change your underwear . . ?" I blinked at him. Sakura blinked as well.

"You, uh, didn't? That's really disgusting, Naruto."

Sasuke made a face next to me, "First thing in the morning and they're driving me nuts." I sighed and gave a mocking smile, turning towards him.

"Don't be such a party - pooper ~ !" He pushed me away as he glared.

"Don't be so childish."

I huffed, "I am not childish. You are such a meanie."

He sighed and made a look, indicating that he really didn't believe me. A second later, Kakashi appeared.

"I'm sorry. I was late because I was on the path of life - "

"LIAR!" was the shout that came from Naruto and Sakura.

He jumped down, "I know this is a little sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunin Exams, all four of you. It's usually only three to a group, but there's an exception this time. Here are your application forms."

"Application forms?" asked Sakura.

"You're repeating me, Sakura," stated Kakashi. "This is all voluntary. If you don't feel up to it, you can wait until next year."

"All right!" shouted Naruto, jumping on him. "Kakashi - sensei, you rock!"

"Don't slobber on my face!" complained Kakashi as he put Naruto down, an annoyed and amused look on his face.

I picked up an application form as I looked it over. Turns out this was going to be interesting, but I had to make sure I was up for this. Who knows what was in store for these Exams? It definately won't be like the Academy ones - no way.

I looked up to see Kakashi already gone, probably 'poofed' away again. I pocketed the form as I turned towards the others.

"Well, I'm going to go now. See ya," I waved my hand as I walked away. A little training wouldn't hurt, right? And I had nothing else to do anyways.

"Bye, Sahori-chan!" I heard Naruto yell out to me. I waved again for him to see.

Minutes later I ended up in a forest in a small area perfect for me to train. I stood there for a while until I noticed a strange feeling around me. I wasn't alone here. Suddenly a kunai whizzed past me as I quickly got into a fighting stance; another kunai came towards, but this time I caught it skillfully. I looked around, trying to sense any chakra. Whoever it was, it was running around me in circles, trying to make me confused. A second later I threw the kunai to the right of me, with a little lightning infused in it, ready to shock whoever I was able to hit.

"Arg!" I heard someone shout in pain. I quickly looked to my rightto see a strange - looking man fall from the tree, the kunai I threw stuck in his shoulder, small bits of electricity crackling from it. But then, a second later, he was gone. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

What the hell . . ? I stood up. Now that was weird. A man suddenly appears, tries to attack me, I hit him, and then poof. He goes away. A prank gone wrong, maybe? Nah. I shook my head as I stood up fully. I didn't feel like training anymore; instead, my stomach rumbled. Yup, I was hungry. That piece of toast from earlier definately wasn't enough.

There were a lot of people out and walking around the streets today. Too crowded for my liking. I jumped up onto the roofs as I felt the wind rush past my face; yup, this was way better than walking on the ground and bumping into people every few seconds. I jump around for a few minutes until I saw a familiar person. He had red hair and that kanji symbol. It was Gaara. Apparently, he was just standing on the roof as he looked down on the people.

I decided to go over towards him. It wouldn't hurt to go talk to him, right? Right.

As soon as I behind him, I reached out and tapped his shoulder, but the second I touched him, he turned around quickly and grabbed onto my wrist. I winced at the tightness of his grip. His eyes seemed to stare at me shocked. Maybe I surprised him?

"Um, Gaara - "

"What are you doing here?" The tone of his voice was deadly, and if looks could kill, I'd probably be dead on the floor by now. I gulped and winced again as he grip on my wrist seemed to tighten even more.

"Answer me." The statement was short and simple, yet it came out in a deadly hiss. I gathered my senses as I decided that answering him would be a good option.

"Uh . . . well, I was, um, walking by, and I saw you, so I decided to come to you . . . yea," I explained. His expression didn't change, but luckily, he didn't tighten his grip. Though, my wrist felt like it could snap at any moment. I mentally groaned; no doubt there would be a bruise there soon, a bad one at that.

He just stood there staring at me as I gulped once again before deciding to talk again.

"Well - uh, do you wanna, um, come get some ramen with me? I'm kind of hungry . . . and yea, if you don't mind," I blushed; I felt like an idiot right now, and with him just staring, it really doesn't make me feel any better.

"Why?" It was my turn to be surprised. I looked up at him before answering his question.

"Um, I guess I just wanted some company . . ? But I guess if you don't want to - "

"Fine." Again, I was surprised at his one - word sentences, but I quickly nodded and pulled back my hand as he let go. I rubbed it softly as I saw a bruise already forming - that was gonna hurt soon.

"Uh, let's go then," I turned around and started heading off towards Ichiraku's, with Gaara behind me. Minutes later we arrived in front of Ichiraku's as we both entered the small shop.

"Hi, Ayame," I gave a small wave at the girl as she smiled.

"Hi, Sahori. What'll you have today?" She asked. I sat down on one of the stools with Gaara sitting next to me, hesitantly at first.

"I'll have miso ramen again, thanks," I grinned at her. "What about you, Gaara?"

"I'll have nothing," was his only response. I looked at him confused as I opened my mouth to ask, but he beat me to it.

"You said you wanted company, didn't you?" His eyes looked into mines as I held back a shiver. I nodded slightly.

"Yea, you're right. Are you sure you don't want any food though - "

"No." His answer was short and simple as he turned away again. I looked at him for a moment, and I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy around him. But it wasn't the kind of uneasy that you felt like if you think someone's dangerous or something, it was just a good kind, I guess. I don't why though.

Maybe because he's cute. I blushed as my 'Inner Sahori' thought this. Damn my conscience. I sighed. Gaara seemed to notice this as he turned towards me as he stared at me weirdly. I couldn't help but blush and quickly turn away. Come to think of it, he was kind of cute.

Awkward silence filled the air now as I tried to think of something to say.

"So - um, who are your teammates? They seem . . . interesting," I pointed out. He grunted as he turned away.

"Their names are Temari and Kankuro. They're related to me. I don't like them," He plainly said. I looked surprised. He didn't like them? I had to refrain myself from asking him why; it seemed kind of rude to just ask him about his family when I barely knew him.

My ramen finally came as the delicious smell entered the air. I mumbled a 'thanks' to Ayame as she smiled back and disappeared through a set of doors. Silence filled the air between Gaara and I again as I silently ate the noodles.

"I still don't get it." I looked up surprised yet again as he suddenly asked the question.

"Huh?" I cocked my head to the side as I looked at him. He scowled.

"Why? Why did you invite me to come with you here when you don't even know me," Gaara stated as he stared into my eyes. I shivered slightly this time as I quickly turned away from his seafoam eyes as I had kept getting lost in them. They just seemed captivating.

"Well, um, I don't really see why you're so interested in knowing why, but I guess it's just because you were standing there, and you kind of seemed alone, and it never hurts to make a new friend, right?" I smiled softly up at him as I met his eyes again, which seemed to open a liitle more in surprise again before narrowing sligtly.

"Friend?" He snarled. "There's no such thing as that." And with a flash, he disappeared behind the curtains and out of the ramen shop, which left me stupefied for a few seconds until I regained my senses and quickly dug through my pockets for some money. Slamming the money on the table, I quickly left to try and find Gaara, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

I ran towards the left as I looked everywhere, even up on the roofs. I'll tell ya this, I was never one to just leave without finding out what's wrong with something or someone; it just doesn't feel right when you don't know what happened or what got the person down. And this is exactly what was happening right now.

About five minutes, I finally spotted the red - head, and he was walking pass the hotel Sasuke and I were staying at.

"Gaara!" I yelled out as I quickly ran towards him as I held onto his arm. I could faintly hear him mutter 'Why won't my sand stop her from touching me?'.

"Leave me alone," Gaara hissed.

"But - "

"There's no such thing as friends." He spat the word 'friends' like it was some kind of disgusting object.

"Yes there is!" I protested, yelling it out, which surprised him a little, but Gaara chose to ignore these words as he had started to walk away again. That is, until I jumped in front of him and wrapped my arms around him - sort of like a hug. I blushed, but this was the only way to keep him from leaving. I felt his body stiffen as I clutched onto him. but then I felt something crawl up my leg as I looked down to see sand pooling around me. I gulped and decided to ignore it before I began talking again.

"I'm sorry, Gaara - if I'm annoying you or anything since I do barely know you, but I'm not the kind of person to just leave someone without knowing what's really or if they're mad because then I can't sleep at night, and I don't feel right," I quickly explained, taking a deep breath. "And I believe there is such thing as a friend because friends care for each other, and if you don't mind, Gaara, I'd like to be your friend."

I could tell this startled him - boy, this day was full of surprises wasn't it? The sand stopped moving as I could feep it dropping down and leaving me. Suddenly, I felt two hands press against my arms as they pushed me away. I stumbled back in surprise as I looked up to meet Gaara's eyes. I stared into his eyes nervously as his seemed to be searching for something in mines, probably to see if I was telling the truth or not.

"Hn." That was all I heard before the red - head disappeared in a flash, with sand surrounding him until he disappeared with the sand, and there was nothing left in front of me.

He disappeared . . . I dumbly thought as I stood there for a moment, staring at nothing until I finally regained my senses yet again and turned towards my left. I was right in front of the building where I currently resided in. Sighing, I shook my head as I walked towards the hotel and entered, unknown that two pairs of eyes were watching my every step . . .


Four Days Later


The four of us - Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and I - walked towards the building where the Chunin Exams were to be held. It ws quiet as everyone was consumed in their own thoughts. Naruto was probably fantasizing about beating everyone, especially Sasuke, and Sakura was probably worried if she would even pass or not. I could see it on her face. Sasuke, though, I have no idea what that guy was thinking; it was always hard with his expressionless face. But, speaking of Sasuke, it made me remember one interesting memory that had happened about four days ago, right after Gaara left me and I entered the hotel.

Flashback ~

My foot was tapping against the floor as I waited impatiently for the elevator to take me to the floor. Oh, let me tell you I was not a patient person, nope. I cheered mentally when the door finally opened, showing the floor I currently I resided. I stepped out of the elevator, but the first thing I saw in front of the door to my apartment was a certain emo boy - I mean, Sasuke. Though, he looked even more moodily than ever.

"What are you doing in front of my door?" I asked suspiciously as I neared him. His head snapped up as his onyx eyes met mines.

"What were you doing hanging out with him?" Sheesh, talk about being blunt and to the point.

"What do you mean?" I asked dumbly, cocking my head to the side like I usually did, it really was becoming a habit.

Sasuke glared at me, "What were you doing hanging out with that Sand Ninja?"

This time I was really confused, "What's so wrong about hanging out with Gaara?"

His mouth twitched in anger, "Just don't go near him anymore, and you shouldn't go around hugging random people."

My mouth slipped into a smirk as an idea popped into my head, "Someone's jealous ~ !"

A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head, "Don't be stupid! I'm not jealous. Who would even want to hug you anyway?"

This time, a tick mark appeared on my head, "Forget you! You're always such a jerkwad! And I don't even want to know why you don't like Gaara! It's probably just some stupid reason because he's way better than you!"

And, being how childish I am, I stuck my tongue out at him and wrenched open the door to my apartment, slamming it in his face, but then I opened it again and made a face at him.

"Jealous!" I grinned at the stupefied face he held as I once again slammed the door in his face.

I could faintly hear him mutter 'Annoying girl' and 'I am not jealous' as I could hear a door slam as well. I still held the grin on my face; sometimes it was just so fun to mess around with the guy. It was definately easy to do, I'll tell ya that.

End Flashback ~

I smiled slightly at the memory, but due to me being caught up in my thoughts, I didn't realize the four of us had stopped as I accidently slammed into someone's back.

"What where you're walking," I heard Sasuke sneer. I glared back until I grinned.

"Jealous!" I whispered tauntingly into his ear so that only he could hear. It surprised me a little to see him shiver slightly as he turned his head angerly towards me.

"Shut up, Sahori," He hissed back in a whisper. I looked up at him in surprise before of two things: one because I had never heard him say my name before and the other was because of his warm breath on my skin due to him whispering those three words to me.

"Um, guys . . ?" My head snapped up when I heard Naruto say that, and that's when I realized the closeness between Sasuke and I. Both of us jumped away from each as I felt a blush spread across my face.

I turned my head to the left, only to have a pair of glaring eyes meet mines, Sakura's to be exact. I shivered; man, the look in her eyes were deadly. I quickly turned around and decided to walk next to Naruto, who looked at me weirdly.

I poked him. This caused him to squeal as I giggled at his funny reaction.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He exclaimed, pouting.

I grinned, "Don't give me that weird look anymore then."

He grew quiet for a second before lowering his voice into a whisper as the four of us continued walking inside the building, "What's up with you and Sasuke?"

I gave a confused look, "What do you mean? Nothing's going on. He's still being a jerkwad, no surprise."

Naruto grinned at me, "Yea, no surprise there! Sasuke's a real jerkwad." He said the last part real loudly. Big mistake, Naruto, because a second later, he flew into the wall as Sakura had punched him. I rolled my eyes and giggled slightly at Naruto's antics; I wondered if Sakura would try to punch me if I had called Sasuke a jerkwad out loud.

I decided to go on walking forward as I entered the second floor, with Sasuke behind me, and soon, Naruto and Sakura. That's when I saw a crowd of people with two ninjas guarding a door, whichread 301.

Wait, 301? We're on the second floor, though. This must be a jutsu. I thought. Making a few familiar handsigns I had learned a while ago, I released whatever jutsu they had made to make people believe that this wsa the room that they were suppose to go to.

"Can't you guys see those two tricked you? This is second floor, so they obviously put a jutsu on the sign to make you guys believe it was actually the third floor," I explained to the crowd, as they finally realized the numbers had turned back to 201.

One of the guys sneered, "Well, aren't we the smart one. So you noticed an illusion. Tch. Now let's see you deal with this." He flipped over, aiming to kick me. I got into a battle stance and was about to block his attack until I was pushed away and Sasuke stepped in front of me, leg up ready to hit the ninja back, surprising me.

That is, until a green blur passed by. Suddenly, a boy with a bowl-cut for a hair was in between Sasuke and the guard as he stopped both of them with his hands.

"Damn, he's fast, and at first he was getting pushed around by those two," I muttered to myself.

Then another boy and a girl walked up to the boy dressed in green. He had long brown hair, which was tied together at the bottom, and the girl had two buns on top of her head.

"Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one that said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level," The guy with the long hair said.

"I know, but - " The one with the bushy eyebrows said as his face contorted into frustration as he held up a fist.

The girl sighed and shook her head, "Never mind. It's over, forget it."

Then, 'eyebrows' walked up to Sakura, "My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura, right?"

"Huh?" asked Sakura.

Lee held up a thumbs - up as he grinned and winked at her, "Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!"

The look on Sakura's face was priceless. I bursted out laughing then and there as Naruto's jaw dropped down to the ground. Sasuke was just looking at Lee like he was some kind of idiot or something. Either way, it was still hilarious.

"Definately, not," Sakura said. It only made me laugh more when Lee's world seemed to turn upside down.

"Why?" He cried.

"Because you're a weirdo!" Sakura pointed out. I rolled my eyes. Sure he may have a weird look, but didn't it seem kind of harsh to say that out loud.

I turned towards Sakura and said, "Hey, isn't that kind of rude to say that out loud to him?"

She turned towards me with an incredulous look, "Then why don't you date him?!"

Lee turned towards me with hearts in his eyes, "Yes, fair maiden! Will you please go out with me?!"

I laughed nervously, Oh great going, Sakura!.

I patted him nicely on the shoulder, "Sorry, Lee, but I'm currently with - " I quickly looked around and pulled Naruto to me. " - Naruto! Yup, I'm with this knucklehead."

"Hey!" protested Naruto at the word 'knuckledhead', but then he realized the situation. " . . What?"

"Really?" asked Lee as Sakura stared at me, stupefied. I paused.

"Nah, not really actually, but sorry, Lee. Not interested!" I grinned up at him as his world was, yet again, turned upside down.

"Okay," He said rejectedly.

Then the boy with the long brown hair spoke up again, "Hey, you. Over here. What's your name?" He directed his question towards Sasuke.

Naruto looked up and his face turned to anger as he held up a fist, "Arg! Again?! It's always about Sasuke!" I chuckled, patting him on the back.

"It's alright, Naruto. You'll be Hokage one day, right? It's better than having people ask who you are. People will already know who you are!" I grinned, causing him to grin as well.

"That's right! Thanks, Sahori - chan!" His confidence was back up again!

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets, "It's common courtesy to say your own name before asking someone else's."

"Hey, you're a rookie aren't you? How old are you anyway?" He continued to ask.

Sasuke replied in a monotone, "I'm not obliged to answer."

The guy's face turned into slight anger, "What's that?" The girl next to him giggled.

I rolled my eyes, smiling, "Whatever. C'mon guys. Let's go."

I was about to turn around until I was stopped by the brown - haired guy as well.

"You, with the long black hair, what's your name?" I turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. Heck, I'm not Sasuke, so I'd just answer him.

"Sahori Uchiha. I said mines, now tell me yours," I smirked.

"Hn. Neji Hyuga." His pupil - less eyes stared into my onyx ones until I finally turned back around as I followed Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke up a set of stairs.

Well, this was certianly going to be interesting. I'd have to train very hard if I wanted to suceed in the exams.

Pictures - 5 - Let It Begin!


First Lee battles Sasuke, who gets his butt kicked.

Then a talking turtle appears.

Then a man, who strangely is an older version of Lee, appears on top of the turtle.

After that, the man scolds Lee, but they end up crying with each other.

And then I somehow get the information that Lee is dedicated to his sensei, which is the man, whose name is Gai. Gai is Lee, Neji, and that girl Tenten's sensei.

Yea. This was so not weird. Notice the sarcasm.

The four of us - Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and I - looked at the two in utter confusion, and let me tell ya, we were all definately weirded out. I mean, it's not everyday we see a student and a sensei - two who practically loook alike - hug each other while crying. Seriously.

"Hey, I think it's kind of sweet. Them hugging and all," Naruto snickered and pointed. My eye twitched.

"I'd think it was sweet if it were other people, but this is just creepy," I retorted. No, this was definately not going into my picture collection.

Then the two parted as Gai started talking to Lee again, putting a hand on his shoulder. He started talking about taking a hundered laps around the training field, and they were about to head off until Sakura stopped them.

"Hey! What about the Chunin Exams?" She pointed.

Gai laughed, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that. For disrupting the process of the Chunin Exams, don't you think you deserve a bigger punishment, Lee?"

"Hai, Gai - sensei! Outstanding!" agreed Lee, eagerly.

"Five hundred laps around the field then!" Gai concluded. I was so close to face - planting myself on the floor again. I bet all four of us were.

Sakura made a face, "They're insane."

Then Gai looked at us as Sakura screamed, "Ah! He's looking at us!"

"So tell me, how is Kakashi?" He smiled and closed his eyes.

"You know him?" Sasuke asked.

The smile turned into a smirk, "Do I know him? People say, he and I are arch - rivals for all eternity."

"That's just no way!" Sakura and Naruto screamed together. I looked at him like he was crazy, and Sasuke still continued to wear that 'What-The-Fuck?!' look.

Lee started getting defensive as he held up his right fist," How dare you! If Gai - sensei says it's true - "

Gai grinned as he held up his right hand at Lee, "Let it slide, Lee. A ninja's actions always speak louder than words." I gaped at him. His teeth seemed to sparkle as he continued to grin. Ugh, what was going on here?!

But then he disappeared! And a second later he appeared right behind Sasuke, making him gasp.

"Just one win better than Kakashi," smirked Gai. Naruto made the 'What-The-Heck?!' face again as we all turned around.

"Huh? How'd he beat Kakashi?!" exclaimed Naruto.

And the grin appeared on Gai's face again, "The fact is I'm better then Kakashi and faster." And the sparkle, again. Gosh, was this going to happen everytime I see the guy?! What if it's the same with Lee?! I almost screamed at my own thoughts.

Lee suddenly spoke up again, "You see! Gai - sensei is the best there is!"

"I'm sorry for all the trouble Lee has caused you. Look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology," said Gai. I shivered. Look into his eyes? What if they sparkled, too?!

Well, maybe I am overeacting a little bit . . .

"Also notice my handsome manly features." I clutched onto Naruto's right arm as he turned his head towards me.

"Handsome manly features?! You have got to be kidding me!" I hissed to him in a whisper. He sweatdropped.

"Heh. I know, but this guy's better than Kakashi! Can you believe that?!" He whispered back.

"He's certainly faster than him," I mumbled back as I witnessed his speed from earlier when he had disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke.

Speaking of that spiky - haired Uchiha, I looked over at him to see his face filled with frustration. He must be thinking about Gai being stronger than Kakashi as well. It was a pretty big surprise - Kakashi's a really strong jounin.

"Lee, you should accompany these fine young ninja to the classroom, right now." Gai then threw a kunai, freeing Lee's bandages.

That's when I noticed the marks on Lee's hands.

Damn . . . he must train really hard. He wasn't kidding when he said that he was one of those people where they have to work really hard and aren't like those others where they're born with their special abilities. I thought.

"Remember give it your best. Lee, farewell!" And then Gai disappeared, in a puff of smoke as Lee continued to rebandage his arm.

As Lee finished bandaging his arm, he turned to Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke." Sasuke turned towards him as did Naruto, Sakura and I. "I have not been totally honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skills, and that is true enough, but you are not really the one I wanted to test them against. I lied to you when we were fighting before. I told you I was the best genin here but there is another top ninja, somene on my own team."

Neji appeared in my mind. Could it be him? It couldn't Tenten - at least, I think not, but I've heard about the Hyuga clan before, and they were quite skillfull, especially with Byakugan.

"I came here to defeat him. You were just practice. Now you are our target. I will crush you! There you have it! Consider yourself warned!" conclused Lee as he jumped up and ran away. Yea, right, accompany us to the classroom? He just ditched us!

I noticed Sasuke's hands clenched; he must be pissed off by Lee's speech. I mean, if Neji was even stronger than Lee, Sasuke probably wouldn't stand a chance against them right now. He would really have to train hard if he wanted to surpass them.

Naruto gave a bored look as he turned to the right, "Ehh, how about that? Looks like the Uchihas aren't as great as they think they are."

That knocked me out of my thoughts as I elbowed Naruto in the side and whined, "Heeey!"

Sakura gave an annoyed looked as she shouted, "Naruto!" I noticed Sasuke look at me for a second before turned away again, his hands still clenched together, and they were even tighter now considering Naruto just made that comment.

But I rethought about Naruto's comment as I got sucked into my own thoughts, ignoring Sakura's and Naruto's words. If I was a Uchiha, too, why didn't Lee want to fight me. Was it because he just randomly picked and decided to go against Sasuke? I didn't know.

"Fine," Sasuke started to smirk as I pulled myself away from my thoughts. Naruto and Sakura turned to him in curiousity. "This day's starting to get interesting. The Chunin Exams, can't wait to see what's next."

The three of us smiled.

"Right," agreed Naruto.

"Yeah," I said.

"Let's get started," Sasuke's mood from before disappeared as it was replaced by confidence and a grin. "Naruto. Sakura. Sahori!"

"YEAH!" Naruto punched the air in excitement as his grin grew larger.


Ten minutes later, we all found ourselves standing in front of Kakashi - sensei and room 301.

"Glad you came, Sakura," Kakashi said as he glanced at each of us. "For your sake and the others."

"Hm?" Naruto asked as I looked up in confusion. What'd he mean by that?

"Now you can all formally register for the Chunin Exams."

Sakura piped up, "Why? What do ya mean?"

"You see . . . only groups of three, or in this case four, are allowed to apply for and take the exam. That's the way it's always been," explained the jounin.

"But sensei, you said the decision to take the exam was up to the individual," Sakura pointed out, frowning.

"That's right. I did," retorted Kakashi.

"Was that a lie?" asked Sakura.

He looked away towards the window, "Sort of. It is up to the individual, but it effects all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want any of the guys to pressure you. At the same time, I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate because of any feelings you might have for Sasuke or Naruto. I wanted you to come to a decision of your own free will."

I nodded slightly. It made sense alright. Now I was grateful Sakura decided to come, but I knew she was still unsure if she would even be able to pass or not. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I could. I didn't even know what the exams had in store for all of us.

"But now you're all here, so let's forget about that," Kakashi smiled slightly under his mask. "Sakura. Naruto. Sasuke. And Sahori."

Then he grinned, "I'm proud of you. Couldn't ask for a better team." He moved away from the door.

"Good luck."

"We won't let you down, Sensei!" Naruto said. "Believe it!"

The four of us continued to enter through the door as I met a surprising scene. The room was filled. I slightly gulped. Damn, I didn't know we had that much competition, but then I grinned slightly. Hey, I just had to defeat them all then, right? Nothing's going to stop me from doing my best in this exam.

A sudden squeal broke my thoughts as the girl I remembered as Ino suddenly jumped on Sasuke's back as I blinked in surprise. Talk about obsession for Sasuke!

"Oh you have no idea how much I was hoping you'd show up here!" She giggled, holding onto him tighter. Right now, I bet Sasuke would really love to switch places with anyone at the moment. "I've missed those good looks of yours!"

I could hear Sakura growl as she glared daggers at the blonde, "Hey you porker! Stay off! He's MINE!"

Ino huffed as she got off Sasuke, though with still one arm around him, "Miss Forehead. They let you in? You still got those frown lines on those billboard brows, I see."

This got Sakura even angrier, "Leave my forehead out of this!"

"Nehh ~ !" Ino stuck her tongue out at her as she smirked.

"Oh, it's you guys," I heard a familiar voice say, "I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't know it was going to be this lame."

I grinned, "Shika - kun!" I practically glomped the guy, but, no, I just gave him a hug as I clinged on to him. I felt him stiffen under my touch as I looked up to meet his dark eyes as I saw him blush.

"Sahori," I could practically hear him whine slightly, probably because of the embarassment of me just hugging him, but hey! This was the way I greeted people, except for those that I didn't like as much. I felt Shikamaru lightly pat me on the back awkwardly as he hands fell back down to his sides.

Ino raised an eyebrow, "Hey, Shikamaru. I didn't know you were going out with Sahori. I'm surprised you even have a girlfriend."

The blush deepened on Shikamaru's face as he sighed, "This is so troublesome. We're not going out."

I pulled away and raised an eyebrow at Ino, "Yea, just ignore us and continue your fight with Sakura over the ugly jerkwad."

Ino could not possible get angrier than she was now. She waved her fist furiously as she growled, "DID YOU JUST CALL SASUKE AN UGLY JERKWAD?!"

I squeaked and quickly hid behind Shikamaru, "Save me! She's gonna kill me!"

"Hey, you guys. You might want to keep it down a little," a new voice suddenly said. We all looked to our rights to see a grey - haired genin with glasses on.

"I mean, no offense, but you're the ten rookies, right? Fresh out of the academy. I wouldn't go making a spectacle out of yourself. Just cool it," He adviced. "This isn't a class field trip."

Ino scowled, "Well who asked you?! Who are you?!"

The genin grinned, "I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really, look around you." We all turned around.

"You've made quite an impression." He was definately right on that. Almost everybody was staring at us "ten rookies". Some of them even had these cold looks on their faces - scratch that. All of them did.

"See those guys?" Kabuto pointed out at a group of ninjas. "They're from the Rain Village, very touchy - they all are. This exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way now."

Sakura made a noice, indicating that she definately did not want that to happen. No way.

Kabuto smirked and closed his eyes, "You can't help it. I mean how you know how things were? You're just rookies." He looked up.

"You remind me of myself a while back."

Sakura made a face and looked up at the grey - haired guy, "Kabuto. Is that your name?"

"Yeah," was his reply.

"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" asked Sakura.

"No . . ." He paused as he gave a sheepish look. ". . . this is my seventh."

"Huh?" I heard Shikamaru mutter beside me.

"Well, they're held twice an year, so this is my fourth year," Kabuto explained.

"Wow. You must really be an expert by now," said Sakura. I chewed on my bottom lip. Fourth year? Dang. Was this exam really that hard? However, though, something just didn't seem right about Kabuto to me, but I let it slide for now.

"Yeah, sort of."

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "You can give us all the inside tips!"

Shikamaru 'tch-ed', "Yea, some expert. He's never passed!"

Kabuto gave a nervous smiles as he rubbed the back on his head, "Well, seventh time's the charm, that's what they say!"

The bored look continued to stay on the Nara's face, "So I guess those rumors about the exam being tough were true. Oh man, I knew this was going to be a drag." I had to agree on that - well, not the 'drag' part. Heh.

"Hang on, don't give up hope yet." A smile appeared on Kabuto's face as he reached to his waist and pulled out some cards. "Maybe I can you kids out a little . . . with my Ninja Info Cards."

"What the heck are those?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It's hard to explain, but these cards have been chakra - encoded with everything I learned over the past four years," He explained as he knelt down onto the floor, putting the cards down. "I've got more than two hundred of them."

"So, you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time. They may not look like much to the naked eye. In fact, they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." Kabuto began spinning the card around with his finger as Sakura asked what he was doing.

He then continued to explain about how he was adding his chakra to it, to reveal its secrets. Then, suddenly, a map appeared on the once - blank card. Kabuto explained how it showed the geographical distribution of the sudents who had come to take the exam. It was about what villages the students had come from and how many from each; this was because of the international relation between the nations - at least, that's what he said.

Kabuto continued to explain more about the concept until he finally finished.

Sasuke looked at him, "Do those cards of yours have any info on the other candidates? Individually?"

"They might," smirked Kabuto. "You have someone special in mind?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, "I might."

Kabuto shuffled the cards, "Well, I can't promise my information is complete or perfect, but I have something about just about everyone, including you guys of course. So which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them: a description, where they're from, whatever. Anything at all."

"He's Gaara of the Desert, and there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village while you're at it," explained Sasuke. I looked at him in interest at the names he said. He anted to know more about Gaara?

"Man, that's no fun. You even know their names," pouted Kabuto playfully. "That makes it easy."

He swiped two cards of the stack as we all stared at him patiently, silently.

"Here they are," He suddenly said as he held the two cards in frotn of his face.

"Show them to me," ordered Sasuke.

Rock Lee was the first card we saw. Kabuto explained about how he was an year older than us, and that his mission experience was 11 C - Ranks and 20 D - Ranks. His squad leader was Gai, and his two teammates were Tenten and Neji. I already knew that.

Soon, I also found out Lee was extremely good at Taijutsu, but his other skills were a bit shaky. This was also his first time in the Chunin Exams.

After that, it was Gaara's turn. I had to admit, I was a bit more curious about his. I hoped I hadn't scared him off the other day. I admit, I was overeacting a bit, but I just didn't like it when he said there were no such things as friends.

I looked at the card, amazed as Kabuto explained that he had been on 1 B - Rank mission and 8 C - Ranks, but he never got a scratch on him. Not a single one! Curiosity and admiration began to grow inside me for the red - haired sand ninja. He had to be pretty strong.

Shikamaru looked shocked, "The guy's done a B - Rank, and he hasn't got a scratch on him?"

"Wha - ?" gasped Naruto. "What's the deal with this guy?"

"Gaara's pretty amazing then . . ." I added in as an afterthought. In the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke look at me as he grunted slightly.

"Well, you get the point then. This year's competition is going to be intense this year by the looks of it. It seems like each village sent exceptionally skilled ninjas," Kabuto said.

"So it would seem," Hinated added. "It almost makes you lose your confidence."

Ino glared, "It's a fine time to start talking like that!"

Sakura looked nervous as she turned towards Kabuto again, "D - Do you really think it's going to be tougher this year?"

He smirked in reply, "Oh yeah. In the four years I've been coming, I've never seen a crop of candidates as much potential as this bunch."

"Hmm," muttered Naruto.

"Yup. We've got our work cut out for us."

Then, as I turned my head to the side, I caught a surprising sight. Naruto's head was bent down and he was shaking all over. I looked at him with sympathy. I didn't blame him for being scared or whatnot. I was a bit nervous myself, but I knew I had to continue on with it. In the ninja world, there were always going to be little bumps in the road, and you just had to get past it.

But, then, Naruto bounded up, fist in the air as he screamed out to the whole crowd, grinning like a madman.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to beat every one of you! BEEELIEVE IT!"

I smiled and giggled slightly. Now that's the Naruto I knew. Not the one that was head bent down and shaking.

"HEY!" Ino yelled as she ran over to Sakura. "What's that idiot doing?! Trying to get us killed?!

"Tell your boyfriend to keep his big fat trap shut!"

"Whose boyfriend?!" yelled Sakura.

"Oh, I forgot! You can't get one!" Ino yelled back.

"What'd you say?!"

Naruto grinned putting his hands behind his head, "Yeaaa! I feel a lot better now!"

Kiba snickered, putting his hand on top of his mouth, "Uhh, could you say that a little bit longer? Didn't quite catch it."

Shikamaru scowled, "You moron. Are you trying to get everybody in the place to hate our guts or what?"

Suddenly, I could only see a blur, a ninja ran by - three to be exact - as one threw two kunais and hit the ground, causing Kabuto to skid back, but then another ninja appeared in front of him, fist flying in towards his face.

Kabuto quickly dodged it, but for some reason, the attack had still landed, causing his glasses to break. Everyone stood in their spots, shocked, until Naruto and Sakura ran towards the guy and asked if he was okay, helping him up.

I still didn't get it though; Kabuto evaded the attack, didn't he? Unless . . . there could be a reason why they're called Sound Ninjas. There was definately more to it than just speed.

My thoughts were ended as a huge cloud of smoke suddenly appeared.

"Alright, you baby - faced genins. Pipe down and listen up!" A voice yelled out. The smoke soon appeared, showing a group of ninjas and the leader standing in front of them. Said leader had two scars going through his face as he smirked.

"It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki, your Proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy."

I walked over towards Naruto as Ibiki started talking.

"Let's proceed to the first round. Hand in all your paperwork, and in return you'll all receive a number. This will tell you where you will be sitting," He explained. "We'll start the written test once we're all seated."

I froze.

"Oh, shit," I muttered as I could hear Naruto mumbling as well. I can't believe what I had just heard.

"Written?" We said in unision.

One of the examiners ruffled the papers in a way that seemed like he was mocking us.

"No way!" Naruto screamed. "Not WRITTEN!" Oh, this was not a good start to the Chunin Exams for me. Definately not. I barely passed the written tests back before I graduated! How do you expect me to pass these?!

Twenty Minutes Later . . ., I found myself looking for my seat as I walked through the crowd of people. In my hand was the little scrap of paper that had my number written on it.

Then I found it.

And it was right next to a certan somebody. Gaara, to be exact. For some reason, I felt my cheek's redden slightly. So what? I was just going to be sitting next to him. Why the hell was I blushing?

"Hi, Gaara," I smiled innocently at the Sand Ninja as his head turned towards me, seafoam eyes meeting my onyx ones. Surprise flashed into his eyes and disappeared in less than a second. He didn't respond, though. He just turned his head back around as he glared staright ahead.

I shrugged as I sat down on the seat. A sheet of paper with different questions and a pencil lay in frotn of me as I scanned through. Oh my god, why were they so hard?!

I looked around, trying to find any of my teammates to see how they were doing. Sakura. She looked like she was just sitting there, doing the same thing as I were. Looking for - well, I bet she was looking for Sasuke. Naruto was a few rows in front of her, and boy, did he look helpless! Hinata sat right next to him, though. Soon, my eyes met another pair of onyx eyes as they stared right back at me. I held back a shiver as Sasuke's eyes seemed to bore into mines.

I quickly turned back as I looked down onto the paper. Now, that was creepy. I didn't know why, but his eyes just seemed different at that time, like it had a new looked into them. Right now, however, I could still feel someone staring at the back of me, and I somehow knew that it was Sasuke.

"Everyone. Eye's front," I heard Ibiki say. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around!" He slammed the chalk against the board.

"Alright, rule number one. The written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. You will all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong, so if you miss three, your final score will be seven.

"Rule number two! Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all members."

Oh, damn.

I looked around the room as I caught Naruto's eyes. We both gulped, mentally telling each other to do their best, but I don't know if we could really do that.

I heard Sakura growl from across the room, "What?! Wait a second! You're saying we all get scored as a team?!"

"Silence!" shouted Ibiki. "I have my reasons, so shut up and listen."

Reasons? I thought.

"Rule number three. The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs on cheating, and for every incident they spy, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned. Their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times, you will be dismissed before the test is even scored.

"Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be," He explained. "One more thing. If any candidate shall get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

This time I really did bang my head on the table. It'd take a miracle to get out of here with a passing grade! I mean, I guess Sakura and Sasuke are pretty good at this stuff, but come on! I know for a fact I can't, and I'm pretty sure by Naruto's actions, he can't either.

"The final question won't be given out until fifthteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have one hour total," said Ibiki. "Begin!"

I gripped onto my pencil as I stared nervously down at the paper. Now how was I going to do this? I looked down at the questions again as I thought about Ibiki's words.

It was strange how they made a bigger fuss about cheating then they do about the test itself, and what's with the 2 - point takeoff? Usually, if someone's caught cheating, they immediatly get kicked out of the room. It's like they're trying to get you to cheat!

Unless . . .

That's when everything hit me. They want you to cheat. Just not in a way that someone coudl easily tell. You have to be sneaky about it, and it wasn't just about the exam. It was about our abilities to gather information. That's what Ibiki had said: 'Show us what exceptional shinobi you can be'. It all seemed clear to me now. And I was worrying my butt off before! Let's just hope Naruto figures this out as well.

Now I just had to find out how I was going to do this. How was I going to cheat without getting caught? Then I remembered something that one of the senseis had taught me back before I came to Konoha.

I took a deep breath as I focused onto my lightning. I still needed more training on how to control it. A few seconds later, a sincle strand of electricity shot out of my index finger as it traveled across the desk, down it, and then to the person in front of me. The strand was barely visible and I controlled it's every move. It moved past the person's paper, collecting all of its data and storing it. Soon, I figured it was long enough as I let the connection to the little strand of electricity die as the information began rushing into my head. That was one handy skill I would never forget.

I began writing down all the answers I had collected, and luckily, I had gotten all of the questions. I set down the pencil as I finished writing as I looked over to my side. I watched, fascinated, as I saw sand forming around Gaara's hands, and soon, a small eye appeared right in front of him. This brought me back to Kabuto's words. 1 B - Rank and 8 C - Ranks. Didn't even get a single scratch on him.

"That's amazing," I felt myself whisper out loud to him. His head turned towards me for a few seconds before he turned back front agian, focusing on his 'eye'. It disappeared and reappear somewhere else, in front of another person. Moments later, it came back, and I assumed that Gaara had received his information that he needed as he began writing down all the answers.

I stayed silent for the rest of time as I waited for the tenth question, laying my head on the cool, wooden table.

Pictures - 6 - Here We Go !


My hair lightly swished around in the air as I walked towards the second exam, Naruto on my other side, talking about . . . something. I wasn't really listening, but I could bet you that it was about ramen, again. It was either that or the second exams, but I'm still betting on the ramen. He was hungry, I knew, but I was too. Damnit, Naruto! Stop talking about food!

The first exam was done now that we've all passed. Turns out the questions were made to test how good we were at gathering information, and the answers didn't really count. Now it was all about the second exam. And food. Definately food. I was hungry for God's sake!

We all stopped as we listened to Anko talk. Did I mention she flew in the room through the window earlier? Well, she did. That was pretty shocking. I was like practically sleeping on the table when BAM! There was a crash. I think Gaara got mad when I accidently held onto his hand in shock when Anko came. It wasn't my fault I sometimes get scared easily . . .

"Hey, Boss!" I suddenly heard a very familiar voice say. Konohamaru. I mean, who else would call Naruto 'Boss'?

I turned around to see Konohamaru, Moegi, and the other kid whose - name - I - have - forgetten. Sorry, Kid. I have bad memory at times.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I neared the four.

"Boss, isn't this your other girlfriend?! You know, not the one with the big forehead?!" Konohamaru yelled out.

I snickered. Haha. Big forehead. Sorry, Sakura.

I shook my head as Naruto started to mumble things like 'That's not what I said!' and some other sentences I didn't hear.

"Nah. Blondes aren't my type," I shrugged carelessly. Then I slung an arm around Naruto.

"Besides! He's Hinata's!" I exclaimed, grinning. I may not know that Hyuga a lot, but from what I can see, she has a huge crush on this guy. However, we all know Naruto's a big knucklehead, right? Right. Well, because of that, he didn't understand a single one I said, which caused him to say one word:

"Huh?"

I slapped my hand to my forehead as I groaned, "Never mind, Naruto."

Naruto shrugged as he turned back to the other three ninjas - in - acedemy, "So what are you guys doing here?"

The three grinned as Moegi replied, "We're here to interview people!"

"For the Academy's newspaper!" added in Konohamaru.

Naruto bounded away from me, causing my arm to fall down to my side, "Here to interview me, huh!"

"They're here to interview everyone, you dobe. Not just you," came a new voice. Sasuke's to be exact. Sakura was behind him.

Naruto fumed, "Who asked you anyways?!"

"Hey, hey, hey! What are we doing here?!" Yet another new voice joined into the conversation. This time it was Anko. Konohamaru looked at her as he begun to explain the whole interview thingy - majig.

"Ohh! I did remember the Hokage saying something about that," grinned Anko nervously as she turned towards everyone. "Alright! We're going to take a ten - minute break, and if any of these three decide to interview you, answer their questions!"

"Alright!" grinned Naruto as he turned towards the three kids. "It's time to interview the future Hokage - Me!"

I rolled my eyes as I grinned at his antics. Needless to say, I think this was going to take more then ten minutes. A lot more.


5 Minutes Later . . . I found myself sitting on a rock next to Sasuke as Sakura . . . well, I had no idea where she went. It's like she just disappeared! I wasn't going to look for her.

"I bet the dobe's telling lies." I jumped slightly as I turned around to meet amused onyx eyes staring back into mines. It wasn't my fault I jumped in surprise! I mean, it's not everyday when Sasuke Uchiha is the first one to start a conversation with ya!

I shrugged as I smirked, "Yea. Either he's lying about how much of a 'hero' he is, or he could be lying about how pathetic you are. Though, I probably might end up doing that as well if they interviewed me."

Sasuke gave a small glare towards me as he turned back around. I continued my ranting.

"You know, I would probably tell them how much of a loser you are, and how you get so jealous easily, and people should probably know how much you love me," I grinned maniacly as he turned towards me with a raised eyebrow - probably at the last statement.

That only caused me to grin more, though, as I slung an arm around him like how I did to Naruto earlier. Only now, we were sitting, and I was a bit closer to him.

"C'mon! Sasuke, we all know you love me! I'm sucha loveable person! You can't hate me!" I chimed as my grip on him tightened.

He grunted as I felt myself being pushed away. He stood up as he walked a few feet away from me. I never did notice the small blush set on his face.

I shrugged as I jumped up towards him, "Whatever. I still need to tell people how easily you can get jealous." I grinned like a chesire cat as I twirled around on my feet beginning to walk away - that is, until I felt a hand grab onto my arm, tugging me back forcefully.

I let out a gasp of surprise as I turned around quickly before I slammed into a chest. What the - ?!

I looked up only to meet a pair of surprised onyx eyes staring back into mines. Whether I wanted to or not, I blushed deeply as I noticed the current position I was in. Sasuke's arms were wrapped around me as I was tightly hugged into his chest, and lemme tell ya, there wasn't a lot of space between us. Guess when he pulled me, he pulled a bit too hard that even surprised him when the result came.

We both stood there frozen and unsure of what to do. Yes, the Sasuke Uchiha was unsure of what to do at the moment. And guess what? He was blushing as well. Gosh, today was full of surprises!

Believe it or not, my blush deepened as I felt his breath of my skin - wait, was he getting closer?!

"Alright, Maggots! Time's up! Time to get back to business!" Anko's voice knocked both of us completely out of our trance as we both jumped away. I quickly avoided eye contact, and I knew for sure that I was still blushing.

I took a shaky breath and muttered, "We should get back."

However, I didn't wait for a reply as I walked away quickly towards Naruto and all the others. Hey, I finally found Sakura! Not that I was really trying. I was . . . preoccupied. I quickly slapped myself in hopes of getting rid of the blush, but only ending up gaining some weird stares at me.

I soon realized that I was walking a bit too slow, and I couldn't quite exactly hear what Anko was saying. After a minute or two, I was finally close to the three - yes, Sasuke had arrived before me. I came back in time to hear Anko say something about the Forest of Death, and then Naruto, in return, mimicked her words while shaking his butt mockingly. I almost cracked up right then and there.

"Naruto-kun, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, giggling slightly.

"Huh?" He stood up straighter, not noticing I had saw his little "performance".

I shook my head and grinned, listening to Anko's words now.

Naruto suddenly grinned as well and pointed towards Anko, "Do you worst! You're not going to scare me away! I can handle anything!"

Anko grew silent for a moment before smiling, "So, we got ourselves a tough guy." Her eyes suddenly grew sharp as she grabbed a kunai or tossed it towards Naruto. It didn't hit him, of course, but t did manage to skim his face, causing a cut to appear on his left cheek.

Our purple - haired examiner soon appeared right behind Naruto as she whispered words in his ears, "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid, are you?"

Anko's voice sounded taunting as Naruto's face froze in shock and fear, but then guess what? Even crazier things happen. A grass ninja with a crazy - and when I mean crazy, I mean insane - tongue handed back the kunai to Anko with said insane tongue! Nothing ceases to amaze me here in Konoha.

After that weird event, I begun to tone Anko out, though I had an idea about what she was talking about. Signing forms so that she won't get blamed if any of us just so happened to be kill, blah blah blah, and then yea. That's about all I heard. Oh yeah. She warns us to not get killed. Pfft. Great encouragement that was.

I take one of the forms as I looked it over. Rolling my eyes, I signed it with the pen I had so magically got out of thin air - Nah. I had received it when the person was passing out the forms. (:

But anyways, I didn't exactly have a big liking for Anko at the moment. Did you see the look in her eyes when she appeared right behind Naruto? Craz - y.

I looked up from my paper to see my whole team . . . gone. Sheesh. Warn a person before ditching them! Though, I kind of did expect Sasuke and Sakura to do that. Naruto? Eh, he's, well, Naruto. So yea.

I walk around for a moment as I examined the other people. All of them were my opponents at the moment, and boy, I wasn't sure myself if I was going to pass or not, but I had to try my best.

"Alright, everyone. We're going to start handing out scrolls!"

I nodded as I met up with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke again. Sakura looked a bit pissed off, but she probably had another run - in with Ino again. It was easy to tell.

We waited in line, and soon it was our turns. We all decided to let Naruto hold the scroll; it wasn't like he would let Sasuke take it. Noooo, the boy had to be persistant, but I was okay with it. As long as he kept it safe.

"Listen up! All the teams have received their scrolls, so go to your gate and wait there! When the time has come, your gates will be opened, and the test will have begun!" shouted Anko.

I looked at my teammates as we all nodded at each other, setting off to our gate: 12

Forest of Death, here we come. Let's just hope we can make it out of this alive.