Ashley's POV

"Seriously you guys" Kabuto continues, turning his face away from me and motioning towards the crowd of people behind us, "Look around. You've all made quite the impression..."

The others all turn to the crowd as well, with a few of them sporting worried expressions at the irritated looks we're now receiving. Sasuke merely raises an eyebrow at the other Genin, while Kiba smirks confidently and Shikamaru just rolls his eyes, sighing heavily.

Not caring that we've annoyed the other contestants, I let out a low growl and close my eyes, focusing my attention on sensing a certain presence. It's difficult though, considering there are so many people around me. Their movements are distracting....

"You see those guys right there?" Kabuto continues, lowering his voice a little. "They're from the Hidden Rain Village, and they can be pretty touchy. The Chuunin Exams always put everyone on edge, so you don't want to rub them the wrong way."

Not really paying attention to Kabuto's words, I feel my panic slowly beginning to fade as I realise that I can't sense his presence anywhere. Maybe I was wrong and he's not here? But then......Why would Kabuto be here at the Chuunin Exams by himself?.....

'Don't be stupid brat' Hakuba suddenly growls in my mind, causing my mouth to pull down a little. 'He could very well just be out of your range. Don't be so complacent.'

'.......You're right' I admit begrudgingly, swallowing thickly as my panic begins rising again. 'He......He could be anywhere......'

I can only hope that he's not here in the Leaf Village, because I certainly don't want him to find me. Who knows what he'll say......Or do.....There's not a doubt in my mind that Kabuto is going to inform him of my whereabouts though. Maybe I should consider running away from this Village before he's got the chance?

Feeling as if I'm being stared at, I open my eyes and raise my head, slowly looking to my right. Immediately I spot a girl wearing a Grass Village headband looking at me intently, causing my brows to furrow. What's her problem? Does she want me to come over there and punch her in the face?

Seeing that I am now glaring at her, the long haired girl's eyes widen slightly, before she turns her head to look back at the other Genin. If I'm not mistaken, it looks as though she's trying to conceal a smirk.......And that really annoys me. I've a good mind to go over there and wipe it off of her pale face!

Though......She's actually giving me a somewhat creepy vibe. I'm not sure what it is, but something just seems a bit off about her. It could just be my imagination though. Now that I'm feeling on edge, I'm probably just over analyzing the situation.

As I turn my attention back to Kabuto and the others, I can see that the silver haired Genin is now squatting on the floor, staring down at a small card. Sasuke, Naruto and a few of the others are crowded around him, also looking at the card.

"Just show them to me" Sasuke demands gruffly, causing a question mark to appear over my head. What are they all doing?

"Alright, first up is Rock Lee" Kabuto complies, placing one finger down onto the blank card and focusing some chakra into it.

Almost immediately, images appear on the card and it is filled with all sorts of information pertaining to Rock Lee. I raise an eyebrow as Kabuto begins informing Sasuke of all of Rock Lee's stats, the ravenette nodding slowly, a thoughtful scowl pasted on his face.

"Now for Gaara of the Desert" Kabuto mutters, producing another blank card and pouring his chakra into it. I cross my arms and glare over at the card, though I'm actually somewhat interested to hear some information about Gaara. Hakuba had said that he has the Ichibi inside of him, and that fact intrigues me greatly.

"Hmm.......There doesn't seem to be much information on him" Kabuto sighs, looking down at the practically empty card. "But get this guys, he's been on one B Rank mission as a Genin and he's never been injured during any other missions either.....Other than that, there's really no more information on him."

"He's never been injured?" Shikamaru repeats, shocked. "Even on a B Rank mission?"

"What's up with that guy?" Naruto questions rhetorically, face scrunching up in thought.

'Never been injured huh?' I wonder, subtly glancing over at the team of Sand Ninja we'd run into not too long ago. 'How could someone be that good?'

"It looks like all of the participating Villages have entered exceptional Genin this year" Kabuto continues pleasantly, holding up yet another card. "Of course, the Sound Village is relatively new, so the skills of their Shinobi are a bit of a mystery. It's only a small Village, and no one really knows anything about it."

I can't help the way my hands ball into fists at this, my eyes narrowing at Kabuto suspiciously. Though I'm trying to keep my agitation hidden, this little act he's putting on is really getting on my nerves now. He knows all about the Hidden Sound Village, he's just feigning ignorance....

What's his game here?........And how long is it going to be until Orochimaru appears as well?.......

"So anyway you guys" Kabuto says with a smile, packing up his cards, "What I'm trying to say is that the competition is going to be pretty tough this year."

I glare at Kabuto as he smiles at everyone in turn, though he conveniently bypasses me. He's a good actor, I'll give him that. If I didn't know who he really was, I'd probably buy this nice guy act as well.

"S-So it would seem....." Hinata agrees nervously. "It's almost e-enough to make you lose your confidence...."

"Great time to start thinking like that" I mutter sarcastically, as Sakura sends Kabuto a worried look.

"Do you really think it's going to be harder this year?" she queries, her mint eyes wide.

"Oh yeah" Kabuto agrees with a nod, pushing his glasses up his nose. "In the four years that I've been competing in the Chuunin Exams, I've never seen a group with this much potential."

"Fours years?" Kiba repeats incredulously, an amused grin on his face. "Dude, you must suck bad!"

"Ughhh, this is gonna be such a drag....." Shikamaru complains, shoulders slumping as he shoves his hands in his pants pockets. "If it's taken him four years and he still hasn't passed, it must be as hard as they say. Great...."

I can't help smirking, despite my increasingly bad mood. Shikamaru doesn't seem quite as annoying as the others. While they're all so perky and optimistic, with the exception of Shino, all Shikamaru does is complain. I'd prefer the constant complaining any day.

I turn my head as Kiba begins making his way over to me, ever constant grin on his face. I feel my eyebrow begin to twitch, my eyes narrowing and my mouth pulling down into an unimpressed scowl. I wish he'd just go away already. His need to keep talking to me is going to lead to him having some broken bones.

"Don't worry Angel!" Kiba barks cockily, dropping his hand down on my shoulder, "If anything happens, I'll protect ya! I'm the strongest out of all us rookies after all!"

"Actually Kiba" Naruto protests, bounding over to us and clenching his fists determinedly, "That'd be me! Right Ashley?"

"Kiba's in the killing zone again!" Sakura squeaks in a panic, as I close my eyes and let out a heavy sigh, an anime vein appearing on the side of my head.

"What're you muttering about now Billboard Brow?" I hear Ino ask rudely, causing Sakura to snap.

"Leave my forehead alone!" the pinkette roars angrily. I'm not sure why Ino is teasing Sakura about the size of her forehead, because while the girl is annoying, her forehead is certainly no larger than anyone else's.....

"Look, I'll be fair to both of you okay?" I speak up stonily, opening my eyes and glaring between Kiba and Naruto. "You're both weak. How about that?"

"What?!" Naruto cries, sounding crestfallen, as I raise my eyes and spot Kabuto staring at me, a faint smirk on his face.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" I snap nastily, causing Kabuto to blink in surprise.

".....Nothing" he replies pleasantly, mouth turning up into an innocent smile that makes my blood boil. He's such a liar!

"I'm not weak!" Kiba suddenly shouts in my ear, though he's glaring at Naruto. "I'm way better than that blonde idiot!"

"Arf!" Akamaru agrees, as Naruto shakes his head vehemently.

"No way man!" my teammate counters loudly. "And anyway, Ashley doesn't even like you! You're just an annoying jerk!"

Kiba pauses at that, before growling lowly at Naruto, eyes taking on a dark look.

"She does too like me!" the Inuzuka snaps, clearly oblivious to the fact that I can't stand him. "Are you jealous or something Naruto?"

"No!" Naruto bellows, face reddening with slight embarrassment. "She's my teammate, so she likes me way more than you!"

"What exactly makes you think I like you?" I ask dryly, turning to Kiba with one hand on my hip and a flat expression.

"Coz" the brunette replies, sliding an arm across my shoulders and smiling seductively, "I'm so..........Kibalicious."

Everyone pauses and silently waits for my reaction, as I stare up at Kiba through wide eyes. Did he seriously just say that to me? Does he actually think that was a cool thing to say?

Not saying anything, I tilt my head to the side and give Kiba a closed eye smile, causing his eyes to light up. He smiles victoriously, before my eyes pop back open and a nasty scowl appears on my face.

Not giving the idiotic male a second to react, I rip myself away from him and spin around. Throwing my leg out, I nail Kiba in the stomach with a powerful kick that sends him rocketing backwards. Akamaru, being smarter than his master, leaps down from his place a top the brunette's head, as Kiba's back slams into a wall, before the Inuzuka continues straight through it.

Everyone gasps as Kiba disappears through the now gaping hole in the wall, small chunks of plaster trickling to the ground and sending up puffs of dust.

I lower my leg back down to the floor and glare over at Kabuto, my killer look silencing his soft chuckling. He doesn't get to laugh. He's just lucky that I haven't done the same thing to him yet.

Glancing back over at my handiwork, I see Kakashi poke his head in through the hole, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Sup Kakashi?" I greet casually, a few of the other Genin turning to look at me in disbelief. I ignore them and cross my arms, watching as Kakashi looks from me, down to the dazed Kiba now lying at his feet. The silver haired Jonin sighs deeply, his shoulders slumping.

"Yeah, hi Ashley...." Kakashi drawls wearily, bending down to help Kiba up.

"Arf!" Akamaru barks urgently, running up to his master as stumbles back through the hole in the wall, holding a hand to his head.

"Hey boy...." he mutters dizzily, shaking his head to get rid of some of the plaster dust from his hair.

"Umm Kiba?" Hinata asks timidly, her pale eyes wide. "A-Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" Kiba replies, before his eyes land back on me and his mouth pulls up into a smirk. "After all, girls only hit the guys they like!"

Everyone except for Shino and Kabuto anime falls at this, as I merely sigh, a sweat drop appearing on the side of my head. He'll just never understand.......He's too thick headed and stubborn.

"Yes!" Naruto suddenly cries, leaping to his feet and pointing at Kiba. "I am stronger than you!"

"Uhhhh, how exactly does that prove you're stronger than me man?" Kiba questions, tilting his head in confusion. Naruto doesn't seem to be listening however, letting out a shout as he whirls around to face the rest of the room, jabbing a finger in their direction.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" the blonde announces confidently, blue eyes shining with determination, "And I'm gonna wipe the floor with every one of ya!"

I raise an eyebrow at Naruto's naive cockiness, wondering if any of the ticked off looking Genin in the room are going to attack him.

"Hey!" Ino shrieks, waving her arms up and down at Sakura, who is too busy glaring at Naruto to notice, one eyebrow twitching irritably "Is that moron trying to get us all killed!? Tell your idiot boyfriend to keep his big, dumb mouth shut Forehead!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sakura screeches angrily, whirling around to shake her fist in Ino's face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot" Ino chuckles, smirking meanly. "You and your giant forehead can't get a boyfriend."

"What'd you say porker?!" Sakura seethes, anime veins appearing on both girls' heads.

"Yeah" Naruto sighs happily, holding his hands behind his head. "Glad I got that outta my system. I feel a lot better now."

"Well I'm glad someone does....." I mutter sarcastically, momentarily closing my eyes and placing a hand to my forehead. These people are just too much......I haven't spent much time around people my own age, and if this is what they're all like, I'm pretty thankful for that.

"Hey, could you repeat that Naruto?" Kiba asks smartly, shaking his head. "Didn't quite hear ya the first time."

"You moron....." Shikamaru drawls, also shaking his head. "Why are you trying to get them all to hate our guts?"

Before Naruto can argue his reason, Sakura suddenly flings herself forwards and wraps her arms tightly around his neck, locking him into a severe choke hold that I'm pretty sure is cutting off his airways. Oh well.

"Naruto you complete idiot!" Sakura berates furiously. "Why'd you have to go and say that, you obnoxious little-"

Seeming to now notice the scowls and evil looks being sent this way, Sakura suddenly cuts herself off and sweat drops, swallowing nervously.

"Oh hi everyone!" the pinkette greets loudly, trying to sound as if all is well. "I'm really sorry about him. He sometimes forgets to take his medication and ends up just letting these spazzy things come out of his mouth eheh......."

Here Sakura turns back to Naruto and punches him on the back of the head, just about knocking the blonde over.

"See what you've done now Naruto?!" Sakura hisses nastily. "You've hurt everyone's feelings now because they think you don't respect them. But that's not true, is it you moron?!"

Feeling movement from up ahead, I raise my head just in time to see three Ninja darting through the crowd towards us. Kabuto also spots the incoming Ninja, though he glances back down at the floor, pretending not to notice.

I don't bother reacting to the Ninja either, seeing that I'm not their target. I watch on in faint amusement however, as the Ninja wrapped in bandages, save for one of his eyes, leaps for Kabuto. His teammate swiftly flings two kunai at the silver haired Genin, causing him to jump backwards.

As Kabuto lifts his head to see where the Ninja are now, the bandage covered one appears right in front of him, arm pulled back for a punch. To my disappointment, Kabuto is able to evade the hit, smirking triumphantly at his attacker.

His smirk soon drops though, as his glasses shatter, the shards scattering across the floor.

"I see....." Kabuto murmurs, as my brows furrow a little. "It was that kind of attack....."

I know for a fact that that guy didn't physically hit Kabuto, but there was definitely some sort of contact just then......Their headbands have musical note symbols on them, so maybe he attacked with a sound wave?.....

"Hey, I saw what just happened!" Sasuke exclaims, stepping forwards and scowling. "How did his glasses break? He dodged that punch!"

"That was much more than just a punch......" I say slowly, earning confused looks from a few people. If I'm correct about that attack, Kabuto will probably have some internal damage right now.

"Huh?" Shikamaru asks. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Kabuto lurches forwards and drops to his hands and knees, coughing up small droplets of blood.

"I knew it" I mutter dryly, raising an eyebrow at Kabuto's coughing form.

"Kabuto!" Sakura cries, as she and Naruto rush forwards. "Are you alright?!"

Pshh, let him sprawl on the floor and die a painful death. It'll do the world a whole lot of good.

"Y-Yeah" Kabuto wheezes, reaching up to wipe some blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm fine."

"Looks like you're really not a tough guy" the bandaged Sound Ninja drawls in a creepy voice. "I guess that's why you've been competing in the Exams for four years without success."

"Put this down in your little cards loser" the second male Sound Ninja sneers. "The Genin from the Hidden Sound Village will all be Chuunin when this is over."

Hmph. The Hidden Sound Village. I haven't been there many times myself, but I do know that it's really not that nice of a place. Lots of crime goes on in that place.

Fighting with sound is the specialty of a few Ninja there though, and it's definitely a powerful ability to have. When that first guy swung at Kabuto, he must have released a sonic wave powered by his chakra. The attack doesn't do external damage, but it certainly affects your internal organs. Not nice to get hit with, that's for sure.

Suddenly, a large cloud of black smoke appears in the middle of the room, causing a few people to start coughing.

"Alright you slack faced little savages!" a rough voice snaps from amongst the smoke. "Shut up and listen here! It's time to begin....."

As the smoke begins to clear, we see a very tall, intimidating man standing before us, a harsh look in his dark eyes. His muscular arms practically bulge beneath the sleeves of his long, black trench coat, head covered by a bandana with a Leaf Village symbol on the front.

"I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor" the man introduces himself in an unfriendly tone, "And from here on out, I'm your worst enemy."

Here the man throws out a gloved hand towards the Sound Ninja, the movement making a now nervous Ino jump slightly.

"First off....." Ibiki growls, scowling with annoyance. "You candidates from the Sound Village! Cut the fighting out! Who gave you permission to engage in battle? Do you want to fail before you even begin?!"

"I'm sorry" the bandaged Ninja replies, tilting his head to the side. "It's our first time here. I guess we're just a little restless.......sir....."

Ibiki narrows his eyes at the three Sound Ninja and glares at them for a few moments, before his mouth curves up into a mean smirk and he turns to face the rest of us.

"I'm only going to say this once" the tall man advises, "So you better be listening! There will be absolutely no combat between competitors. Even if you are given permission to fight from a proctor, there is to be no fatal force, under any circumstances. Anyone who so much as thinks about breaking any of my rules will fail immediately!"

"No fatal force huh?" I hear the second Sound Ninja mutter under his breath. "Well that's no fun...."

"My thoughts exactly" I agree, earning wary looks from Choji and Shikamaru. I almost laugh as they subtly step backwards, trying to put a little more distance between them and myself.

"Now we will proceed to the first stage of the Chuunin Exams" Ibiki continues. "You will hand in your application forms and receive a number in return. This number is to represent where you will be sitting during the written test."

"The what?" Naruto asks dumbly, staring straight ahead. "Did he just say......written?"

"Yep" I reply flatly, not overly looking forward to such a boring test myself.

"Noooo!" Naruto cries in defeat. "Not a written test!"

"Thirty seven......" I murmur, placing myself down in a seat towards the back of the room. Sitting at the long desk, I immediately notice that Sasuke is seated right in front of me, though he is one more seat to the left.

He notices me at the same time and sends me a faint smirk, which I return. This stupid written test is going to be easy. Though it's a waste of time. I just wanna get to the fighting part!

From the corner of my eye, I watch as a girl from the Grass Village sits in the chair on my left, while a brown haired boy sits on my right. I can't see his headband, seeing as it's tied around his right arm, so I'm not sure where he's from. It's not like it matters anyway I guess.

"Now, I won't be answering any questions" Ibiki announces once everyone is seated, "So you'd better be listening to me! The written part of the Exam is conducted on a point reduction system, and you will all begin with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted from your score for each question that you answer incorrectly. Teams will also either pass or fail based on the combined scores of all members of their squad."

I can't help pulling a deadpan face as a few people let out shocked gasps, with Sakura, seated in the middle of the room, banging her forehead down on her desk. She's probably wondering the same thing as me.

How are we going to pass with a dumbass like Naruto on our team?...

"What?!" Sakura can't seem to help exploding indignantly. "Wait just a minute here! You're saying that we'll all get scored......As a team?"

'Yes Sakura' I think internally, resisting the urge to sigh. 'That is exactly what the proctor just explained to us.....'

And she's supposedly the smart one on our team...

"Silence!" Ibiki orders, making her cower in her seat. "I have my reasons! Now shut up and pay attention! I'm sure by now you've all noticed the Chuunin sitting near you against the walls. They are there to watch you carefully for any sign of cheating. For every incident of cheating they spot, they will subtract two points from the score of the culprit. I'm warning you now, their eyes are incredibly sharp. If they catch you cheating five times, you will be disqualified before the tests are even scored. Anyone foolish enough to get caught doesn't deserve to be here!"

Me and the other people in my row all look to our right, eyeing the sentinel nearest to us.

"I've got my eye on you guys" the spiky haired Chuunin teases, causing the others to flinch and quickly look away. I stare at him through hooded eyes, before glancing down at his clipboard and seeing the name Kotetsu written at the top.

"If you want to be considered as real Shinobi" Ibiki continues, eyes closing briefly, "Then show us just what outstanding Shinobi you can be......Oh, and one more thing. If any candidate should get a zero on their test, the entire team fails."

"What?!"I hear Sakura squawk again, as I close my eyes and smirk. Well, our team's screwed no thanks to Naruto.

"The tenth and final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of this exam" Ibiki informs us, crossing his arms over his chest. "You will have one hour in total to finish your test. Begin!"

Chairs scrape along the floor and paper flutters around as everyone begins their tests, until a slightly awkward silence fills the room. I also turn my test paper over and stare down at the questions boredly, sweat dropping as I quickly skim over all of them. After a few moments of trying to understand the questions, I raise my head and blink.

They're impossible to answer, so I'm not even going to bother trying. From the looks on other people's faces, I guess they're all realising the same thing as me.

Peeking over at Sasuke, I notice him staring intently at the back of Naruto's head, the blonde situated right in the front row. Even from here, I can see that Naruto is frozen in place. I haven't known him for very long and I already know that he's not going to be able to complete this test. Hell, if I can't do it, Naruto has no chance whatsoever!

I almost laugh at the strange expression that crosses Sasuke's face as he looks back down and reads over his paper. He's probably realising that even he, the great Sasuke Uchiha, can't figure the answers out.

There is something bothering me about this test though. These questions are far too advanced for the average Genin to be able to answer. I bet even some of the Chuunin and Jonin wouldn't get these right.

And why did Ibiki say that we'd only get docked two points if we were caught cheating? Surely getting caught cheating even once would be reason enough to be dismissed? Yet for some reason, we have five chances to get away with cheating.........Ibiki never said that we couldn't cheat though.......Just that we're not supposed to get caught doing it. It's almost like.......It's almost like, in a subtle way, he's encouraging us to cheat. And not only to cheat, but to cheat well...

I suddenly smirk to myself, having figured this written test out. This ought to be fun! Hopefully the others will figure it out soon enough as well.

Now I just need to find someone who has started answering their questions. Peering over at Sasuke, I can see that he hasn't figured it out yet. He's just glaring down at his paper and gripping his pencil so hard, I'm sure it's going to snap any second now.

Closing my eyes to try and focus better, I sense around the room for the movements of anyone who is writing. Almost right away, I feel that the guy in front of Sasuke is already answering his questions, causing me to quickly pick up my pencil as well.

Trying my best to focus on his movements and copy what he's writing, I slowly but surely manage to answer the questions on my test, lowering my pencil at almost the same time as the guy ahead.

Tilting my head to the side, I study the words and numbers I've written, not entirely sure if they're correct or not. Who knows if I'd managed to even write exactly what the guy up ahead has written. It's difficult to know when I'm basing it off of his hand movements.

Oh well. It's better than having no answers I guess.

Leaning back in my chair, I see Sasuke subtly glance at me and smirk again, his Sharingan activated this time. The corner of my mouth pulls up in amusement as he goes back to scribbling answers down.

Using his Kekkei Genkai to mimic the movements of another Ninja is pretty smart, so I'm sure Sasuke's gonna do just fine on this test. Sakura should be okay too, seeing as she's apparently a brainiac. She's boasted about having the highest grades in her Academy class, so I can only assume that she has some amount of knowledge in her head.

Poor Naruto though, he hasn't got a chance. It must be hard being so stupid.

Suddenly, I hear a gasp and a soft thunk sound from the front of the room, causing me to look up. From my spot near the back of the room, I can see a kunai sticking into the desk behind Naruto. Looks like somebody didn't cheat well enough.....

"What was that for?!" the guy sitting behind Naruto demands to know, rising from his seat.

"You just failed the test kid" a Chuunin I recognize as Izumo informs the Genin carelessly. "Five strikes and you're out."

"What?!" the guy exclaims, looking outraged as Izumo points at him. "It can't be!"

"You and your teammates are to leave the room immediately" Izumo drawls, gesturing towards the door.

Two male Genin reluctantly rise from their seats, giving their teammate a dirty look as they slowly trudge out of the room.

The other Chuunin soon begin calling out other people's numbers, informing them of their failures without so much as a hint of sympathy. One guy even has to be forcibly dragged from the room, having refused to leave. Another guy, from the Sand Village, slams his hand down on his desk and leaps out of his chair, almost knocking it backwards.

"No way!" he shouts angrily. "How do you even know that I cheated five times? Where's your proof?! You can't keep track of every single one of us! You've got the wrong gu-"

The Sand Ninja is cut off as one of the Chuunin darts away from his post against the wall, slamming the younger male up against a different wall with his forearm.

"Sorry pal" the Leaf Village Chuunin grins meanly, "But we were all chosen for this job because we don't make mistakes like that. You can't even blink without all of us noticing it. Now get lost, and take the rest of your squad with you!"

As the embarrassed Sand Ninja leaves the room, teammates in tow, the Chuunin go back to calling out numbers, picking off the people who just can't seem to cheat subtly.

"Number thirty seven!" someone calls, catching my attention. "Fail!"

My neck wrenches around and I shoot the Chuunin a narrow eyed glare, as Sasuke turns to me with a surprised expression on his face.

Curling my hands into fists, I slowly rise out of my seat and growl, not breaking eye contact with the sneering Chuunin.

"What'd you just say jerk?" I ask lowly, as Kiba swivels around in his seat, a disappointed look on his face.

"Huh?" Naruto asks from the front of the room, shocked that my number had been called as well. "Ashley?"

"I said you failed kid" the Chuunin informs me bluntly, also rising from his chair. "See ya later!"

"You're wrong about that" I growl back in annoyance, seeing as I actually finished a few minutes ago. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I caught you cheating five times you little punk" the Chuunin barks at me. "You and your team are out!"

"You didn't catch me doing shit" I spit back defiantly, sitting on the edge of my desk and crossing my arms over my chest. "We're staying here."

Clearly irritated by my attitude and lack of respect, the Chuunin darts towards me, causing a dark grin to appear on my face. Finally, things are going to get interesting.....

As the Chuunin appears right in front of me, I throw my arms out and place my hands on his chest. Pressing one foot against his stomach, I throw myself backwards across the desk and use the Chuunin's forward momentum to flip him right over the top of me.

He flies through the air and crashes head first into another desk, cracking it right down the middle and causing it to collapse from the force.

"Alright!" Kiba cheers, as Sasuke just smirks with amusement, Sharingan still activated.

Sitting up from my lying down position, I pull myself up onto the desk and place my hands on my hips, watching the Chuunin rise to his feet. I grit my teeth however when a few of the other Chuunin also stand up, eyeing me carefully.

"No!" the first Chuunin shouts, rubbing his head. "It's fine, I've got this."

As the guy bends his knees to launch himself at me, I can't help releasing a sigh, before darting to the left and disappearing from his view.

"Wh.....Where'd she go?" he questions, pausing for a moment and glancing around.

"I'm right here" I breathe in the Chuunin's ear, causing him to straighten up, eyes widening in surprise. Before he can turn around, I throw my leg out and nail the guy in his back, sending him sprawling forwards. He crashes into another desk, the wooden object jabbing him in the stomach and making him grunt.

Jumping up from the desk I'd landed on, I flip around in the air and land in a crouched position on the Chuunin's back, causing him to slide down from the desk and drop heavily to the floor.

"That's what you get for being arrogant" I hiss irritably, not allowing the Chuunin to get up as he groans softly beneath me. "Don't treat me like some weak kid."

Sensing movement behind me, I raise my eyes from the back of the Chuunin's head.

'They think they can sneak up on me?' I muse internally, focusing chakra into my right fist. 'Well, I'll show them I'm better than everyone else in this room!'

Suddenly leaping up from my squatting position, I whirl around and viciously throw out my fist, aiming to sock my sneaky attacker right in the face. My fist connects with a strong hand, the loud crunch sound causing a few people to wince a little.

I scowl at my caught fist, before raising my eyes to look at the face of my attacker, only to see Ibiki staring down at me with a hard look. I hold his intimidating gaze with my own stubborn and proud glare, not afraid of him in the least.

So what if he'd managed to catch my fist? I could've hit him if I wanted to! I could take on all of these stupid Chuunin if I wanted to!

"That was too hard of a punch for one Leaf Ninja to be throwing at another" Ibiki eventually utters lowly, causing my mouth to turn up into a smirk, my sharp teeth visible, "Especially in a non combative area."

"He attacked me first" I reply, nodding my head down at the Chuunin I'd managed to restrain as he sits up on his hands and knees, "And I don't fight half heartedly."

".........That was still a lot of chakra for a Genin to put into a punch" Ibiki replies, narrowing his dark eyes a little as he releases my fist. "Why did you attack my sentinel? I've a good mind to disqualify you for your behavior."

"He was wrong" I reply, crossing my arms and glaring down at the Chuunin, who glares right back. "He says he caught me cheating, when he didn't."

"And how do you know he didn't catch you cheating?" Ibiki questions, looking highly unamused. "Every caught Genin claims they weren't cheating."

"Oh I cheated alright" I boast, smirking meanly again, "But he sure didn't catch me. Because I cheated and finished my test about ten minutes ago, whereas he accused me of cheating only two minutes ago."

Breaking eye contact with Ibiki as he studies me silently, I see Kiba chuckling silently to himself, with Sasuke still smirking in amusement. Sakura holds an apprehensive look on her face, unsure whether we're all going to be kicked out or not, while Naruto just grins at me. Typical. I bet he's got absolutely no clue what's going on right now....

"Back to your seat maggot!" Ibiki suddenly barks, making my head snap up to look at him. He'd given me a fright just then, though I don't think I jumped or anything.

"I won't disqualify you yet" Ibiki continues, turning his back on me as he heads back to the front of the room, "But one more word from you, and your team is gone! Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal" I reply dryly, rolling my eyes as I uncross my arms and head back to my seat, passing the Chuunin that had attacked me along the way. "Hey, you left something back there."

"Huh?" the male asks, turning to look back at the floor. "What is it?"

"Your dignity" I whisper loudly, dropping down into my seat and crossing my legs on top of the desk. I hear a soft laugh escape from the brown haired guy next to me, as the embarrassed looking Chuunin just narrows his eyes and gives me a horrible look, heading back to his original post at the wall.

'Hopefully that little display will teach him not to be so arrog-'

My train of thought is cut off as I notice Ibiki glaring hard at me, a thunderous look on his face. I stare back silently for a few moments, before Ibiki briefly closes his eyes, shakes his head and turns away.

I can't help the way the corners of my mouth pull up however, when I see him subtly shake his right hand........Which is the hand he caught my fist with. Seems my punch had at least managed to hurt him a little bit.

"Uh, excuse me?" I hear a voice call out, the owner of the voice earning sharp looks from a number of Chuunin.

"What is it?" one of them snaps, leaning forwards in his seat.

"I gotta use the bathroom" the person, who I can now see is that Kankuro guy from the Sand Village, says apologetically. "Sorry....."

I raise an eyebrow as the Chuunin sighs and motions for Kankuro to stand, before he shackles the Genin's wrists and escorts him from the room. Ibiki also watches as the two leave, a suspicious look on his face. He smirks to himself after a few moments, turning back to watch over the rest of the Genin.

What a weird time to need to go to the bathroom......If you were really set on passing these Exams and becoming a Chuunin, why would you leave to use the bathroom? Besides, our hour is almost up anyway. Surely that make up wearing loser could hold it for a little longer?

"Alright" Ibiki announces after a few more minutes of uninterrupted silence, "It's time to reveal the tenth and final question. Before I do that however, there are a few more rules that you all need to be aware of-"

Ibiki cuts himself off as the door of the room slides open, before Kankuro steps back inside. He pauses, noticing that Ibiki is staring at him.

"Ahhh, you made it back just in time" the proctor says, his tone sounding both amused and sarcastic at the same time. "I hope you found your trip to the bathroom....educational."

Kankuro's eyes widen a little as Ibiki smirks at him, before the Sand Ninja chuckles nervously and quickly drops down into his chair.

'What's that about?' I can't help wondering. 'It seems like Ibiki suspects Kankuro of something.......Did he actually need to use the bathroom, or was that just some sort of weird plan of his?....'

"Anyway" Ibiki continues pointedly, "These added rules are unique to the tenth question. Listen well, and try not to be afraid of them. First off, you are all free to choose whether you want to be given the tenth question or not."

"Yeah?" the blonde girl from the Sand Village calls out smartly. "And what's the catch if we don't want to be given the question?"

"If you choose not to answer the tenth question" Ibiki replies, sending the girl an annoyed look, "You will get a total score of zero, despite your other nine answers. In short, you will fail, and so will your teammates."

Surprised whispers break out across the room, as people wonder out loud why anyone would choose such an option. I frown a little at this option as well. It's probably going to be such a hard question that none of us are gonna be able to answer it anyway. I mean, the first nine questions were hard enough, and seeing as this tenth question seems to be so important, there's no doubt it's going to be even more difficult to answer. Great......

"You didn't let me finish" Ibiki murmurs, shaking his head. "If you do choose to answer the tenth question and you get it wrong, not only will you fail, but you will also be banned from ever taking the Chuunin Exams again."

A few people let out loud gasps, as I just sigh. So, not only is it going to be a super difficult question, but if we get it wrong, we can't ever do this again. That's a pretty hard decision to make if you're wanting to go up a rank. I mean, who wants to be a Genin forever?

"Hey, that's bullshit man!" Kiba shouts, rising from his chair. "What kind of dumb rule is that?! There are heaps of people who've taken this test before!"

"Arf arf!" Akamaru barks in agreement, to which Ibiki nods and chuckles darkly.

"I guess you're all just really unlucky that I'm the one in charge this time" he muses, not sounding worried at all by everyone's concerns. "Of course, you don't have to answer the question if you don't want to."

"Huh?" Kiba asks, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"You can always just leave now and come back next year if you don't feel confident enough to answer the question right now" Ibiki explains, crossing his arms and straightening up. "Now for the tenth question! Those who don't wish to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be written down, and then you're free to go."

"Ughh......I'm out" the guy sitting next to Naruto announces, reluctantly raising his hand as he turns to look at his teammates. "I'm sorry you guys...."

Soon, other people begin following his example and raising their hands, bowing out like cowards. Well, that's how I look at it anyway. At least give it a go. Who cares if you can't come back? I'm not worried about failing this dumb test, but then, I'm not striving to pass or anything. While I don't want to be labeled as a Genin forever, I know I'm strong enough to beat up all these other contestants no matter my title.

Peering up as I see someone else at the front of the room slowly raising their hand, I can't help rolling my eyes. Why doesn't it surprise me that Naruto is putting his hand up? He must have realized by now that he's too stupid to be able to answer thenext question.

"Naruto......" Sasuke growls in annoyance from ahead of me, hands balling into fists on top of his desk.

To my surprise however, Naruto slams his hand down on his desk and jumps out of his seat, glaring determinedly at Ibiki.

"Don't you dare underestimate me!" he warns. "I don't quit and I sure don't run! You can act big and tough all you want, but you're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I have to be stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be the Hokage someday!"

I narrow my eyes slightly as Ibiki stares at Naruto for a few moments, apparently intrigued by the blonde's outburst.

While I suppose Naruto's naïve determination could be considered as admirable, he needs to just sit down and shut up for once. He seems to have a habit of just yelling out the things he feels, and one day he's going to shout in the wrong face and have his own punched in.

"This decision could radically change your life" Ibiki informs Naruto after a brief pause. "If you'd rather quit, now's your last chance kid."

"No way!"Naruto immediately shouts, shaking his head vigorously. "I never go back on my word!"

"Well then, I admire your determination" Ibiki replies, nodding at Naruto and turning his attention to the rest of the room, which is now half empty. "For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do. And that is for me to tell you that........"

Here, Ibiki suddenly breaks out into a smile, causing my brows to rise again.

".....You've all passed the first test of the Chuunin Exams!" our proctor announces.