"Let's go. We didn't come here to play around." Gaara scolded starting to walk away followed by the other two.

"I know." Kankuro retorted weakly, as he followed.

Sakura stepped forth, eyes narrowed. "Hold it!"

"What is it?" Gaara inquired.

"Judging from your headbands you're ninjas from the Hidden Sand Village, right? It may be that the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allied nations, but the arbitrary coming and going of shinobi is supposed to be prohibited by the treaty. State your purpose!" Sakura claimed, eyes narrowed.

The sand shinobi snickered and sighed, about to mock them.

(Y/N) facepalmed loudly, scrambling to pull her back. Seriously?! The one time Sakura takes the lead in something she makes us all look like idiots! (Y/N) dragged Sakura back despite protests and bowed slightly to the sand shinobi. "Sorry about her. You must be here for the Chuunin Exam. I'm sure we'll see each other there."
Naruto and Sakura hummed in confusion. Chuunin Exam?

The blonde girl scoffed and smirked, turning around. "I see one of you has brains. It's as you say, we're Hidden Sand Village genin from the Land of Wind, here for the Chuunin Exam."

(Y/N) nodded, smiling amiably. She seems more reasonable than the other two knuckleheads. "I thought so when I first saw you. Try not to get in anymore trouble, alright?"

"What's the Chuunin Exam, anyways?" Naruto asked, squinting. (Y/N) facepalmed again. Clearly, their sensei forgot to inform them.

Konohamaru answered for her, "Bro, if you pass the exam, you can rise to Chuunin rank!"

Naruto lit up exclaiming, "I see! Then, maybe I'll try taking them!"

(Y/N) sighed, giving up on her teammates. Even Duckbutt is clueless. "That's not how it works Naru." She turned to the blonde girl and smirked. "I'm sure we'll see each other there."

The girls nodded to each other, reaching some sort of understanding. Ah, this one's cool.

Sasuke jumped down from his tree, stare focused on Gaara's back. "Hey! You there. What's your name?" He demanded.

The blonde girl turned around and sputtered, "Huh? M-me?"

Sasuke sighed inwardly. "No! The gourd next to you!" He deadpanned, furrowing his brows and pointing at Gaara.

The redhead stopped midstep and turned around. "I'm Gaara of the desert. I have an interest in you as well. What's your name?"

Sasuke smirked, "Sasuke Uchiha."

The boys stared at each other in a face off, glaring at each other. There was silence for a moment as the wind blew. Then Gaara broke it, turning his aquamarine gaze to (Y/N).

"And you?"

(Y/N) blinked in surprise. Didn't think he'd ask. Isn't it obvious? My mark isn't exactly covered. "(Y/N) Ryudo."

The redhead hummed and closed his eyes in acknowledgement. So it is her. She's certainly different. Worthy prey.

Naruto broke the tension, chirping "Hey, hey and me? What about me?"

"Not interested." Gaara replied nonchalantly.

The three sand shinobi turned around and jumped away.

Sasuke smirked at the spot they had disappeared from. Heh! Things just got interesting.
(Y/N) nudged him slightly. "What the heck were you waiting for anyways Duckbutt? An invitation?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her "I could say the same. You Lizard could have perfectly taken that kid from him."

"W-well we aren't supposed to fight Duckbutt, not before the Exam!" (YN) stammered angrily.

Naruto sulked, crouched in front of Konohamaru. "Konohamaru, do I look weak?"

"Compared to Sasuke and sis (Y/N), yes." Konohamaru replied amiably with a smile, crouching in front of him.

Naruto grunted and yelled. "I won't lose to you Sasuke!"

"What's with you all of a sudden?"

As Sasuke and Naruto bickered a breeze blew by and (Y/N)'s nose caught on to a scent. Who's that? She sniffed and followed the trail, eyes snapping up to a branch.

There's no one there.

(Y/N) sighed. There are too many sketchy shinobi around lately. I can already tell the exam will be a mess.

~~><~~

The sound shinobi had barely managed to hide from her sight, teleporting away.

"What do you think of them?"

"I don't think they're anything special."

"But the black haired one and that girl from Leaf Village, and the gourd from the Sand Village; those three need to be checked."

~~><~~

The next day (Y/N) woke up determined, not grumbling at the sun, but getting up just as her alarm clock rang. Even though she had stayed up late trying to figure out the Fire Blossom Jutsu theory in the scrolls; she wished her ancestors' writing didn't sound like poetry.

Today. Today Kashi is going to tell us whether we will participate in the exam or not.

She got up, bathed, and dressed. Taking a quick look at her pantry she just grabbed some bread and ham and decided she'd eat as she walked there.

She locked her apartment and as she ran out of the compound she skidded to a stop in front of the statue.

The Dragon Emperor Statue sitting in the middle of the empty plaza, huge and of a dark stone that was almost transparent. It had been hand carved and represented a large portrait of the magnificent being; a huge, four legged dragon with its wings tucked in and spikes covering its tail and spine. A crown of its own spikes sat atop its head. It was a magnificent work of art and a tribute to her family's benefactor, the pride of the compound and the centerpiece of the festivals.

She doubted for a second, hand grazing her seal, before she bowed and clapped her hands to the statue, praying silently.

Please, please. Stay by my side, Tetsuryo-sama. Help me be strong.

Thank you for your blessings.

She touched the claw of the statue for a second before bowing again and running out of the Ryudo Compound, munching her sandwich as she ran.

~~~><><><~~~

"Agh!" Sakura suddenly shrieked angrily turning to Naruto. "Hey hey, why is that he's the one who always calls us out and then makes us wait?!"

"That's right that's right!" Naruto exclaimed in agreement, pumping his fists.

"What's he going to do about the feelings of a maiden who accidentally overslept and resigned herself to no blow drying?!" Sakura exclaimed in outrage, furrowing her brows and clenching her fists. Some strands of her pink hair were slightly out of place yes, but it wasn't so bad. She pointed at (Y/N), who was crouching and trying not to doze off, head swaying. "Look at (Y/N)-chan! Even she's about to fall asleep from all this waiting!"

"I overslept, so I haven't washed my face and didn't brush my teeth, believe it!" Naruto added.

Sakura paused and looked at him wide eyed, cringing. "Y-you...that's dirty."

Why're these guys so hyper first thing in the morning?! Sasuke grumbled, furrowing his brows and looking away, leaning back on the bridge rail. He glanced at (Y/N) and nudged her with his foot before her eyes closed. "Oi, stay awake Lizard."

(Y/N) grumbled, squinting. "I'm awake, I'm awake I swear."
Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up so late.

Kakashi suddenly poofed into existence above the square arch and he saluted. "Hey good morning folks. Today, I got a bit lost on the path of life.."

(Y/N) scrambled up and yelled with Naruto and Sakura. "Uh huh, that's a lie!"

Kakashi jumped down from his spot, skillfully landing quietly and standing up. "Uh well, this is sudden but I recommended you guys for the Chuunin Exam so..." He announced taking out four slips of paper. "Here, your applications."

"Chuunin Exam.." Sakura muttered.

(Y/N) lit up, starry eyed and snatched hers in a hurry, all traces of exhaustion gone as she jumped up and down excitedly. "Yes haha!"

"That being said, the recommendations are not compulsory. You guys are free to decide whether you take the Exam or not." Kakashi explained.

"Yay! I love you Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily, running at Kakashi and hugging him, hanging from his neck as Kakashi twirled around trying to get him off.
"Hey cut it out. Get off already!"

Kakashi sighed as Naruto let him go, "Only those who want to take the Exam sign that application and come to Room 301 of the Academy at three o'clock five days from now. That's it!"

Naruto giggled happily. "Chuunin Exam, Chuunin Exam!"

(Y/N) had already taken out a pen from who knows where and had signed hers, (E/C) eyes bright as she beamed, "Hey Naru, need a pen?"

"Yea!"

Having the two of them signed and Kakashi gone the genin walked away together with their applications.

"Chuunin Exam eh... I bet lots of strong people will be there.." Naruto mused excitedly. For example, that guy! And this guy! His eyebrows twitched as he looked at Sasuke, fantasizing of his victory, grinning dumbly. If I take the first place, the path to Hokage is right there!

(Y/N) nodded along vigorously with a wide smile, "Yeah yeah! I wanna see that blonde girl again, she seemed pretty cool!" She exclaimed, rambling on with Naruto. I'm sure that Gaara guy will be there. It seemed like those three were a team.

Even though Sasuke looked perfectly calm outwardly he was pretty excited. I might be able to fight him, he smirked.

While the other three fantasized excitedly Sakura stopped walking for a moment. I.. I don't want to. Here I can't keep up with Sasuke, never mind (Y/N), not even with Naruto... The Chuunin Exam.. there's no way.

(Y/N) glanced at Sakura warily noticing her mood. Will she be okay?

~~~><><><~~~

The next day Naruto was walking around the village, close to the bridge, when he spotted (Y/N) chasing the kids around.

"Hehe, you won't catch me sis (Y/N)!"

"Run Konohamaru, don't get caught!"

"Run run!"

(Y/N) sprinted at Konohamaru as slowly as she could, chasing him around with fangs bared. "I'll eat you if I catch you!"

"Aaaah!" Konohamaru yelled in delight as he dodged her hands.

Naruto stared at (Y/N), entranced. She wore one of the widest smiles she had seen on her and her posture was for once, not stiff, but relaxed and carefree as she hadn't bothered herself tying up her hair. Her messy mane was puffy and strands of her hair fell on her face. I don't think I've ever seen her like that. When we were younger yes, maybe, but... It's nice.

Konohamaru noticed Naruto and stopped for a second too long, getting caught in (Y/N)'s arms.
"I caught you!!" (Y/N) roared meekly and then tickled Konohamaru to death, who could barely breath for a few moments before he got out of her hold.

"Bro, play with us yo!" Konohamaru pleaded excitedly.

Naruto looked at (Y/N) and she winked at him, (H/C) mane messy. Naruto turned slightly red. He coughed and blurted, "Sure, I don't have missions today so I'll play with you today!"

The kids grinned and cheered, and then suddenly a ninja popped up behind them. (Y/N) whipped around, looking at the rain shinobi.

"Oh?"

The shinobi snickered suddenly grabbing Moegi and jumping on top of one the torii. Moegi yelped, and looked down at them, kicking her feet.

"Leader, (Y/N)-chan, Konohamaru!"

"Hey what're you going to do with Moegi?!" Konohamaru exclaimed angrily, raising his fist at the ninja.

"Hey you! Let Moegi go!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the sound ninja.

(Y/N) studied him for a second, squinting and raising her eyebrows. Why does he smell like tuna? Is he trying to hide his true scent from me? Why? Do I know him? She narrowed her eyes at the shinobi, as he suddenly turned around and jumped away from torii to torii.

Naruto gritted his teeth, cursing. "Darn! Let's follow them, Konohamaru, (Y/N)!"

Naruto jumped as (Y/N) took the kids' hands and jumped with them, being faster than the two she figured it made sense.

The sound shinobi had quickly entered the forest, taking the cover of the trees and jumping from branch to branch at great speed.

The shinobi looked back, spotting them and chuckling. Well well, so you can keep up at this speed, eh?

Naruto, (Y/N) and the kids followed closely, (Y/N)'s hands letting go of the kids after a moment with a nod.
"Wait for us, Moegi!"

Naruto and (Y/N) ran ahead faster, catching up to the rain shinobi. Still, the breeze brought to (Y/N) just a small tendril of scent that had her raising her brows in confusion. Iruka-sensei??

The shinobi stopped running, stopping in front of a big tree and setting Moegi down, tying her up and putting a cloth around her mouth to muffle her voice, even as she struggled.

"Nooo, let me goo!"

"Even the strongly fortified Leaf Village is mine if I slip in the middle of the Chuunin Exam's ruckus."

Naruto and (Y/N) quickly caught up and landed right in front of him.

"That was fast." The shinobi mused, voice sharp and slightly high pitched.

"Hey you fat old man! What are you going to do with Moegi?!" Exclaimed angrily Naruto, pointing at him.
(Y/N) bared her fangs at the shinobi, aiming for intimidation. People weren't really used to seeing large fangs like hers unless they were in a mist swordsmen's mouth, part of a whole row of sharp teeth.

"What am I going to do, you ask? You want to know?" The shinobi cackled, pointing a kunai at Moegi.

"What-?!" Naruto stammered angrily, staggering forth a bit.

"Don't move! If you do, the brat's dead meat!"

Naruto glared at him, frustrated. "Y-you, why are you doing this?!"

"I want the First Hokage's Scroll of Sealing! If you bring it to me, I'll return the brat!" The shinobi announced.

"Scroll of Sealing..." Naruto muttered.

(Y/N) squinted at them, eyebrows raised in confusion even though she kept her fangs bared. Okay this is weird. That exchange sounded absolutely rehearsed. She sniffed. And that man definitely smells like tuna. Nobody smells like tuna, not even fishermen! He's covering his own scent because he knew I'd know! She relaxed a little bit. This must be a test. It made no sense anyway, a rain shinobi sneaking in completely unnoticed despite the guards and barriers without a permit? Yeah right, this is a bit ridiculous when you think about it a little. She glanced at Naruto, noticing him sneakily weaving signs as the shinobi was distracted, and then at the shinobi. I suppose I shouldn't tell Naru and play along... I'll let him have the glory this time.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and bring me the Scroll of Sealing!"

"What'll happen... if we say heck no?" Naruto replied with smirk. His clone had already swapped Moegi with a straw doll while the man had been looking at him.

"You don't care what happens to this brat?"

"Heh, I'm fine with whatever happens to that bunch of straw, I say." Naruto replied smugly, obviously proud of himself.

The man turned around in a hurry. "Wha-?! When did he do that?!" He exclaimed, turning his gaze upwards, spotting another Naruto on a branch with Moegi.

"I've taken Moegi back from you, thank you!" Naruto's clone grinned victoriously, as Moegi stared at him in awe.
"As expected of our great leader! Moegi respects you!"

"Darn it the Clone Jutsu, huh?" The shinobi muttered.

(Y/N) helped Naruto extend the net and while the man was distracted they both threw it at him. "You don't know when to give up!"

Three Naruto clones and the real on tackled the man with shouts.
The clones poofed away and Naruto sat on the man's back, glaring at him.

"Bro!"

"Hey, you're late Konohamaru, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed as Konohamaru and Udon finally caught up.
(Y/N) smiled, catching Moegi in her arms as the girl jumped down from the tree branch. "Hey there, you okay?"

Moegi nodded vigorously hugging her before running to Konohamaru. "Konohamaru, I was so scared!"

Konohamaru hugged her and patted her head. "Oh, there there."
Udon looked at Naruto as he sat on the man. "Leader, did you catch him?"

Naruto got up, grinning smugly. "Yup, as you can see!" He exclaimed, turning around to check, but the man had been replaced by a rock.

(Y/N) narrowed her eyes and snorted, following the trail of tuna stench. You know, if he really wanted to disguise his smell or make himself seem less suspicious, he really shouldn't have gone for something so obvious.

"A-what?!"

"It's the Substitution Jutsu!"

"Dang it! When did he switch?!" Naruto shrieked pulling at his hair.

(Y/N) laughed patting his back. "It's fine, it's fine. Moegi's okay." Her eyes flitted to the tree where the transformed Iruka hid behind and chuckled.

A preliminary exam for the rookies huh.

~~~><><><~~~

Five days later Sasuke, Naruto and (Y/N) stood by the Academy's entrance, waiting for Sakura to show up. A couple other teams were there too and (Y/N) kept sniffing the air like crazy, trying to memorize the scents of their competitors.

"Sakura you're late!" Naruto exclaimed with a whine, as Sakura finally showed up.

Sakura smiled meekly, waving. "Yeah.. sorry..." She said quietly, pausing for a moment and staring at Sasuke with fright. "Good morning... Sasuke."

"Yeah." Sasuke hummed in acknoledgement glancing at her. There's something weird about Sakura today.

The genin quickly made their way inside and climbed up the stairs, noticing the amount of foreigners around. (Y/N) raised her brows at them curiously. How many leaf ninja are participating in the exam?

"Also a chuunin is at the level of a unit leader. Mission failures, deaths of subordinates, it's all part of the responsibilities of a leader!"

Two ninja stood in front of the door with the 301 sign, guarding the entrance. Clearly there had been some sort of squabble, as a girl with buns and boy in a green suit with a bowl cut were in the ground.
The man with the spiky hair sneered at them "A brat such as this a chuunin?"

"What's so bad about weeding out those who won't pass anyway?" The other jeered.

(Y/N) sighed. They're so obvious. Are leaf ninja simply terrible actors? Also this is obviously the third floor, did nobody count?
Her team stepped forth with Sasuke taking the lead.
"A just argument. However, you will let me through."

Sasuke got closer to the guards. "And could you also immediately undo this barrier created with genjutsu? I have business on the third floor."

The other ninja gathered there started muttering.
"What's he talking about?"
"Who knows."

"Well, well..."
"So you noticed, eh?"
The guards hummed.

"How about it Sakura? You should've been the first one to realize it. Your analytical strength and genjutsu know-how has improved the most in our squad so..." Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura stared at him, surprised at the praise, and then smiled. "Sasuke... thank you." She said, closing her eyes and then smirking at the guards. "Of course, I realized ages ago! After all, this is the second floor!"

As soon as she said it the genjutsu was dispelled, and the sign that read '301' changed to '201'.

The spiky haired guard smirked, opening one of his eyes. "Well, not bad. But all you've done is catch on. Right?"
He suddenly jumped and spun ready to kick. Sasuke moved quickly to intercept him, but the guy that had been previously on the floor somehow got there fast enough and stopped them both.

(Y/N) whistled lowly. Well damn he's fast huh. Also, her eyebrows twitched as she facepalmed. Those two smell like tuna too! If this is how they are trying to counter people with a good nose it's the stupidest strategy ever!
Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth slightly dropped open. H-he's fast! He's a different person from when he was getting punched before!

The bowl cut boy held tightly their legs before letting the guard and Sasuke go, exhaling deeply.
Sasuke stared at his hands like they had personally insulted him. He stopped my kick..! What's with that chakra in his arm?!

The girl that had been on the ground stood up and neared with another boy. The boy's hair almost reached his lower back and he wore his headband around his forehead, tied under his brown hair. (Y/N) stared at him discreetly and mentally awed at his soft lilac eyes. A Hyuga!

"Hey, this isn't what you promised. You were the one who said you didn't want to carelessly attract attention and be watched." The Hyuga spoke, furrowing his brows at his teammate.
"But..." The bowl cut boy tried to retort, gaze landing on Sakura and blushing.
The girl with the buns sighed and shook her head, exasperated. "This again..."

Sasuke stared at the bowl cut boy, biting his lip and furrowing his brows. This guy.. The marks where he was hit are disappearing. Was he faking?

The boy walked towards Sakura then with sure steps. "My name's Rock Lee. Your name's Sakura right?"
"Huh?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Please go out with me! I'll protect you until I die!" The bowl cut boy blurted out, grinning and winking, bushy eyebrows above round eyes and thumb raised.

(Y/N) coughed to hide her snort. That's cute kid, but it won't work on her.

Sakura deadpanned. "Absolutely not."

Lee's grin dropped immediately and he frowned, gasping slightly. "Eh?"

Sakura glared at him, exasperated. "You.. are too intense."

The boy dropped his head and slouched, with a disappointed 'oh'.

Hyuga and the girl, who had been watching, got closer.
"Hey you there. Identify yourself." The Hyuga commanded Sasuke.

Naruto sulked at the lack of acknowledgment eyes alight with fury. Dang it again?! It's always about Sasuke!

"When asking someone's name, give your own name first." Sasuke retorted, eyes narrowed.

The Hyuga glared at him slightly, clearly displeased with his attitude. "You're a rookie, right? How old are you?"

"I'm not obliged to answer."

"What?" The Hyuga uttered, glaring at him. He clearly thought Sasuke was an arrogant ass.
The girl behind him giggled. Cute.

(Y/N) sighed, deciding to defuse the situation. She elbowed Sasuke. "Behave." She scolded him, much to his chagrin. Sasuke scoffed and walked away. (Y/N) sighed, bowing slightly to the Hyuga and the girl. "Sorry about Duckbutt, he gets like that."

The Hyuga looked at her, up and down for a moment and spotted the mark on her neck. "You're a Ryudo?"

(Y/N)'s hand flew to her mark, and she clicked her tongue. Oh shoot. I should have covered it. Forgot it wasn't a good idea to let outsiders from other villages see it. "O-oh yeah, I'm (Y/N) nice to meet you." She grinned, extending a hand to shake.

The Hyuga boy stared at it for a moment, seemingly confuse on what to do before shaking her hand. "Neji Hyuga."

The girl grinned and introduced herself, "Tenten"

Well they seem nice. (Y/N) grinned at Neji and Tenten. "Well, nice meeting ya!" She beamed, waving goodbye as she went back to her team, glancing at Lee and Naruto sulking.
"Too intense huh..."
"Uninterested huh..."

(Y/N) snorted patting Naruto's back and grabbing his arm, pulling him away from the wall. "Come on, let's go. We don't wanna be late."

Sakura nodded grabbing Sasuke's arm with a grin. "Now then! C'mon Sasuke, let's go!"

The girls dragged the boys to the stairs and left behind Lee's team.

Neji stared at their backs. Sasuke... Uchiha Sasuke eh. And that (Y/N) Ryudo.

Tenten noticed his staring and asked, "Do they concern you?"

Neji scoffed and put his hands in his pockets. As if.

Tenten and Neji walked away, but stopped, noticing Lee was not following them and was instead staring at something.
"Lee, let's go! What're you doing?"

"You guys go on ahead, I have something I want to check out." Lee reassured them.
Tenten stared at his back as he sprinted away and turned to Neji. "What was that about?"
Neji shrugged, eyebrows furrowed. "How should I know?"

~~~><><><~~~

Team 7 climbed upstairs, (Y/N) climbing to steps at a time with an excited grin. Exam! Exam! Oh man, may the dragons be with me! Oh man oh man I've been itching for a fair fight where I can actually try my skills! I barely did anything during the Land of Waves' mission, because I was so focused on defense!

Sasuke smirked as he climbed up. Good grief, this Chuunin Exam... is full of monsters.

Team 7 reached the third floor and faced some columns. They paused nad looked around, unsure where to go. They turned to (Y/N) for guidance who grinned and gave them a thumbs up. "I got it guys!"

She sniffed around a bit and then pointed. "Over there, come on!" She exclaimed, leading the way.

Just as they were about to go on their way, Lee's voice made them pause.

"You with the unpleasant look! Wait a minute!"

Team 7 turned around and saw Lee standing on the stairs above them.

(Y/N) snorted, choked laughter coming out of her throat. "He's right! You do look unpleasant!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sakura cringed. "What is it?"

(Y/N) dissolved into giggling, out of breath. "Pff, you admit it haha!"

Lee stared at Sasuke, eyebrows furrowed. "Why don't you fight with me? Right here, right now?"

(Y/N) stopped laughing, almost choking on her own saliva. Whaaaat?! We'll be late! Say no Duckbutt, say no!