Chunin Exams... Take two please (part two)

Later that night a ninja jumped up to the kazekage building using a suction to stay on the glass as he cut a hole into it, running into the hall. Wearing a mask over the top half of his face paired with a dark auburn scarf and wraps around his exposed forearms, and a jacket with poofed out sleeves with a belt around his waist as he wore black gloves, black pants with his shuriken holster on his left thigh as he also wore black ninja sandals. He snuck down the hall and went to turn a coroner towards the kazekage's quarters. Only to be met with Kankuro in the middle of the hall, wearing black pajamas with facepaint missing from his face as he wore black ninja sandals.

"Where're you going? The Kazekage's quarters are beyond here." He said looking annoyed as the ninja gasped and jumped back, the ninja jumping through the window behind him before running on the roof of the kazekage building, Kankuro hot on his tail.

"Hold it!" Kankuro yelled, sending a puppet after the would-be assailant. As he ran down a roof,

"Who the hell are you!" Kankuro asked

"A reformer for the Land of Wind." the ninja replied, Kankuro scrunched his eyebrows for a moment, before jumping over the kunai the ninja threw, landing in front of him with his puppet behind, until the guy jumped towards another building

"You're not escaping." Kankuro said as he sent his puppets forward. The two jumping through the many buildings of the sand village, ending up on one of the taller stone buildings in the city, Kankuro's puppet floating behind the guy while Kankuro stood in front.

"Nowhere to run." Kankuro said as wind shifted his hair and clothes, the ninja tsked looking at him before looking out at the sand. Before grinning revealing the paper bombs stuck to his skin underneath his top.

"Divine punishment." He said jumping towards Kankuro who whispered a curse under his breath when gold chakra chains wrapped around his body, forcing him to the ground, a yell of surprise leaving his body as he was pulled back, while a gust of wind hit the incoming suicide bomber into the air, Natsuko stood just behind Temari as her chakra chains retracted into her back, her hair still in twin French braids with her leaf headband around her forehead. She wore a light blue ninja outfit with her Chunin vest overtop, the hokage cloak sitting on her shoulders moving slightly in the wind. as Temari and her looked towards where the ninja had exploded himself with a determined look, Temari still having both hands on her fan. Kankuro stood and turned back as the gold chains faded completely from view, looking towards the two girls,

"You know, a second later and you would've been literal toast Kankuro." Natsuko said, looking over,

"So… you're back, Temari." Kankuro said as Temari closed her fan, tapping it against the ground,

"You idiot, you've gotta be more careful." Temari replied.

The next morning Gaara stood on the roof of the kazekage building with Temari and Kankuro behind him, he looked towards the sky as he wore his red tunic with gray fabric overtop. Paired with his black pants and black ninja sandals. Kankuro wore a dark green long sleeve shirt with a tan belt and black pants. His brown hair falling around his head.

"You wished to speak to me?" Gaara asked the two, and Kankuro started,

"Please reconsider Gaara. The people targeting you are stepping up in their efforts. You'll be playing into their hands if you continue." Kankuro said worried for his younger brothers safety. Gaara hummed, not turning back,

"I already know. But if I quit, it'd be like declaring that I'll cave under enough pressure." He said simply,

"I get that, but it's just the Chunin exams." Kankuro said, looking forward, and Gaara glanced back,

"That may be, but, that's where it all began for me. Thanks to him, I've made it to this day." Gaara said, before turning around

"So, I'm going to ensure these Chunin exams are a success." He said definitely. Before leaving the roof. Walking down to his

office where Natsuko was instructed to wait for him by one of his jonin.

"Natsuko. You said it was urgent." Gaara said and Natsuko nodded

"Y..yeah. Yeah it is. I'll tell the full scope when my jonin that are accompanying the teams arrive as well. Keep a close watch on those from the hidden rain. Also…" She said, tossing a kunai over, Gaara catching it, it was one of her two pronged, specially marked Kunai.

"Kankuro told you?" He asked and Natsuko shook her head

"No, you idiot, he didn't have to. I'll be able to tell if your in danger, so if you find yourself needing backup, toss it down, I'll be there." Natsuko said, Gaara sighing and putting the kunai in the pouch behind him,

"You weren't asking, were you." He said and Natsuko chuckled before grinning,

"Nope" She said popping the 'P'

"Whooo! Yes! Finally! Hidden sand!" A leaf genin said as they ran towards the sand, when Kuranai and Asuma jumped in front of the group.

"Asuma sensei, Yuhi sensei." a leaf genin said and Kuranei sighed

"I'm sorry to say, you'll go no further than here." Kuranei said shocking the teams as Asuma looked out

"the teams here, are disqualified. If you're from the leaf return to the village, the rest of you may disperse from here as well." Asuma said, the genin all had looks of shock on their faces, as a leaf genin moved forwards

"What?! But we ran for three whole days to get here" The leaf genin in front said,

"Complaining? Perhaps it's for the best your being eliminated here." Kuranei said, as her red eyes looked over the group.

"Beyond this point. Is inescapable hell. And who knows if you'd make it out alive." Asuma said, as his brown eyes looked towards the right.

"Sakura! Everyone! We have made it!" Lee shouted, and Sasuke smirked as Sai nodded

"Indeed we have." Sai replied, his black hair held back by the leaf headband on his forehead, as he wore a black long sleeve

cropped top, paired with black pants, his ninja boots on his feet, as he carried a scroll on his back, his shuriken holster on his right thigh, panting as he stood next to Sakura and Sasuke, both of whom were panting, Sasuke' s black hair spiked behind his head, as he wore a gray short sleeve shirt with the high collar with his Uchiha symbol on the back, paired with dark blue pants and black ninja sandals his shuriken holster on his left thigh. Sakura wore a dark red sleeveless zip up top paired with a light purple skirt with black shorts underneath and her shuriken holster on her right thigh as she wore light violet sleeves on her elbows, paired with dark purple gloves on her hands. Ino standing nearby with her dark purple sleeveless top and matching skirt, her chain armor on her elbows and legs, as she panted, Yuki stood on the other side of Choji also panting as her dark hair sat around her shoulders, completely hiding her eyes from view for a moment, she wore her white cropped top paired with black ninja pants, her ninja headband tied to her forehead under her hair, with her blue ninja sandals on her feet and the chain armor under her crop top, her shuriken holster on both thighs, as her kunai pouch sat on her back. Choji' s red hair fell down his back as he had his hands on his knees, panting from the run

they'd just taken,

"Got to admit, Gai Sensei's team sure has a lot of Stamina." Ino said, and Yuki nodded, as Sakura agreed

verbally

"Looks like it'll be the same players as last time." Neji said, looking out at the genin as he stood with Gai, Lee, and Tenten in front of the metal doors where they'd been told to wait.

"You guys have given it your all. That makes me so proud, I can hardly stand it. Now remember, it's about drive, it's about power. We stay hungry and we devour." Gai said with his fist held up as tears ran down his face, walking in front of lee, the group of genin gathered before him for the Chunin exams seemed to collectively blank before they all shouted

"What is that supposed to mean!?" While Tenten and Neji looked conflicted between praising and absolute disgust at Gai's words.

"That made absolutely no sense. Did you understand it, Neji?" Tenten asked and Neji shook his head

"I… did not." He said

"Such words of wisdom! Gai sensei!" Lee said, as Yuki hid her mouth behind her hand as she laughed,

"Those two are funny, you know, are they always like that?" Yuki asked and Choji looked over,

"Yep." he said

"Well, can we rest already?" Kiba said as he leaned against Akamaru

"Yeah, and eat. I'm starving." Choji said and Gai looked out at the crowd before leading them back towards the quarters for the night.

"We have never been to the hidden sand village before." Lee said as he and Tenten stood near a window outlooking the sand village, as a gust of wind passed by, picking up sand with it. Lee wore his dark green bodysuit paired with his auburn headband around his waist, his shuriken holster on his right thigh, his black hair cut in a bowl cut. As he wore orange leg warmers on his shins, holding his weights as he had bandages wrapped around his forearms and hands.

"It's really nothing but desert." Tenten said,

"Well, if we're going to be accurate, this isn't the hidden sand village. Actually we're really far from it." Neji said as he sat behind the two, at a brown wooden table and chair, wearing his white tunic and black pants signifying his connection to the Hyuga, as his headband was tied with black straps around his forehead and underneath his hair. Which flowed down his back. Tenten wore her brown hair in twin buns on top of her head, with her black headband tied around her forehead, she wore black fingerless gloves paired her white and red longsleeve top paired with her red capris, her ninja sandals on her feet.

"You've been to the hidden sand?" Lee asked as he and Tenten turned around. They stood in their sleeping quarters the team'd been given.

"One time, on a Hyuga errand. This is the Demon Desert Checkpoint." Neji confirmed and Tenten came kneeling on the

stone ground, in front of the same table Neji currently sat at,

"No fooling, really? This is where the second test is gonna be." She asked as her brown eyes looked at Neji's pale pink.

"Taking the exams in a different village is stressful. I wonder what the second round entails. " Lee said looking out the window as more sand passed by.

"Probably like last time, a competition between the teams." Tenten said and Lee hummed,

"A high probability." Neji said

"Then we should exercise caution of some teams. Even at full speed, we were beaten by the hidden waterfall." Lee said walking forwards,

"And they arrived way before we did." Neji said and Tenten nodded

"I wonder what kind of opponents they are.." Lee said

"Dinner is served, please go to the cafeteria." An automatic voice called. Yuki sitting across from Ino as Choji sat next to Ino, with lee sitting next to Yuki, and Tenten and Neji on the other side of him with Hinata sitting across from Neji and Shino sitting next to her, on the next table Kiba sat on the end of Sasuke, Sakura,

and Sai, with some other leaf shinobi on the other side. with the hidden sand sitting across the serving table. Yuki had already grabbed a small plate of food and was eating quietly,

"So that's the hidden sand?" Sakura said and Sasuke huffed,

"They look mean." Kiba said glaring, Sasuke agreeing as the two turned their eyes to the side,

"Yeah, but so do you Kiba, Sasuke." Tenten pointed out from the other table

"They look scary, I hope they're nice." Yuki said quietly, it was barely above a whisper,

"We're competing against them." Choji pointed out and Yuki gasped,

"Huh? Oh r-right. But um...who said we have to be mean to them before the challenge starts?" Yuki said taking another small bite,

"Hey wait, when did you get food?!" Ino said and everyone at the table looked over,

"Wasn't that what we were called here for? The automated voice said dinner, so I just grabbed some food from the tables over there before sitting down." Yuki said, and Shino hummed

"She is right, you know why? Because that is exactly what the announcement said." Shino said

"Over there's the hidden rain." Ino pointed out the group of genin sitting at a separate table. Not talking as they simply looking at one another.

"The hidden grass is over there as well." Sakura said,

"That guys amazing." Choji said looking at the overweight ninja of the hidden grass, wearing a light red vest and his hidden grass headband tied to his forehead going around the hair that was shaved, sitting underneath the black hair on his head.

"I am in agreement." Lee said standing next to choji.

"I just hope he doesn't sweat on the food." Yuki said quietly looking over, before squeaking,

"Oh that was mean right," Yuki said,

"No more mean than what those guys are saying, I think your okay." Hinata said, and Yuki nodded,

"Oh wait your H..Hinata, right? Nice to m..meet you. I'm Yuki, I've seen you around the village." Yuki said bowing her head,

"You're Lady Natsuko's student, right?" Neji asked and Yuki looked over nodding,

"I hope I live up to that honor, Natsuko-sensei's been so kind, to teach me." She said before Tenten looked towards the tables, the guy from before making his way over.

"So what's the urgency?" Gaara asked as he, Gai, Kurenai, Temari, Kankuro, Asuma, Kakashi, a few jonin from the sand, and Natsuko sat in the quarters next door from the genin. Natsuko wore her hair in twin braids going down her back, her ninja headband tied tightly to her forehead, as she wore a light blue ninja outfit with her Chunin vest overtop, the hokage cloak sitting on her shoulders. They sat at a meeting table, with Gaara at the head and Natsuko at the foot, her arms on the table as she looked around the room.

"Surely you've heard of the rumors surrounding Hanzo, the salamander and the Akatsuki. The rumor stating Hanzo Salamander was removed from power and the Akatsuki've seized the hidden rain village. " Natsuko started, garnering their full attention,

"Right, well, a few weeks ago, I received word from the Ninja working undercover in the Akatsuki of the possibility of the

puppet leaders, Pain and Angel, having taken over the hidden rain to further the Akatsuki's agenda. You know, so in order to investigate this I sent Kakashi there to hand deliver a note of the Chunin exams to Hanzo. Which I'll come back to. While the Elders looked through Danzo's old notes and letters, apparently, he documented everything, from when he intervened in their internal affairs, everything. Turns out afterwards he and Hanzo stayed in contact, every two weeks, Hanzo would send a letter and Danzo, a reply, like clockwork, until one day two months prior to his trial, the letters ceased. You know. No notice, nothing, just cold turkey, Danzo also stopped receiving replies to the letters he'd send to Hanzo as well." Natsuko said

"Could he have just gotten… bored, or did Danzo do something to upset him?" Temari asked and Natsuko hummed,

"My first thought too, but no, if he wanted to stop communication with Danzo, and he'd offended the salamander, he would have sent somebody after him, with the amount of information that man knew about the hidden rain. There's no doubt that he

would've had ninja sent after him from the hidden rain, were that the case. Which never happened. Furthermore, when Kakashi went to the hidden rain, he was unable to speak to Hanzo directly. Kakashi, can you fill in the details please." Natsuko said, Kakashi who's hair was held back by his headband, his mask covering his nose and mouth as he wore a dark blue ninja outfit with the long sleeves rolled up slightly, his Chunin vest overtop with the Uzumaki symbol on the back his shins being wrapped in bandages going into his ninja sandals, with his kunai pouch on his back waist, and his shuriken holster on his right thigh.

"Right. When I tried to sneak back in to investigate further, as soon as my feet hit the ground inside the rain village, it was like they were onto me from the start, like a ghost watching my movements. So unfortunately I was unable to discern any further information." Kakashi said

"I see… that is disconcerting. " Gaara said,

"I thought he sent a letter replying to the Chunin exams on behalf of the rain though, lady hokage" Asuma said and Natsuko nodded

"There was a letter received, yes. But it was not from Hanzo. Danzo had saved some letters from Hanzo, and we used those as a comparison for the letter, the letter we received for this years Chunin exams, and the letters

written to Danzo were written by two different people." Natsuko said, looking around the room,

"What should we do about the genin sent by the hidden rain? They made it to round two.." Temari said and Natsuko hummed,

"If they were sent to compete it's likely just to gather information on Jinchuriki, why not disqualify them?" Kuranei said and Natsuko hummed as agreements rang through the room.

"I don't think that's wise." Natsuko said simply, and Kankuro looked over

"Why not? What's your reason, Lady Natsuko?" Kankuro said, and Natsuko looked over,

"Think about it. The hidden rain was taken over by the Akatsuki, which means these genin report directly to Angel and Pain, if they make it to the second round and then are suddenly disqualified, that'll bring more attention to the sand and leaf, and might 'force' them to start making moves against Jinchuriki sooner. Not only that but it'll put the undercover ninja in real danger. They haven't caused a ruckus yet, so why not let them compete, and keep a very close eye on them?" Natsuko asked and Gaara hummed,

"She's right. All we can do is be extra vigilant of the hidden rain genin. Is that all the information you have at the moment?" Gaara said, and Natsuko hummed before nodding

"At the moment yes. I'll keep investigating from my end." Natsuko said,

"Lady Natsuko, I heard your student made it through, she was actually talking to the other leaf genin. And a waterfall genin" Kuranai said conversationally, as they ate food and Natsuko nodded,

"She was? I'll admit that's unexpected. You know. She's usually so shy. I hope she remembers it's a competition though…" Natsuko said, and Gaara looked over,

"You have a student?" He said and Natsuko nodded,

"Yuki. She moved to the hidden leaf last year . I was waiting for a team to open up for her, since there are two other genin set to graduate soon. All other teams are filled at the moment" Natsuko said, before seeming to blank a moment

"Wait did I forget to tell you?" She asked and Gaara nodded, Natsuko waving her hands a moment, laughing,

"Surprise." She said, Kankuro rolling his eyes,

"How are you so good at strategizing, yet, such an airhead." he said jokingly,

"Rather be an airhead than a blockhead." She said back, Kankuro putting his hands up,

"How do you think they're getting on over there?" Temari asked and Natsuko hummed,

"Bout as well as your Chunin exams." Natsuko said

"Seems so long ago now…" Kurenai said and Natsuko nodded,

"Still can't believe Naruto made Chunin after that. Or you Hokage…" Kankuro said and Natsuko hummed

"I'm pretty sure its just because I was there in the fight against Orochimaru, but yeah i was surprised too. For

Naruto it took a lot… a lot. Of… persuasion. The elders were against the idea." she said,

"How'd you convince em, a lecture?" Temari teased

"Among many." Kakashi said and Natsuko tilted her head up

"Their reasoning for not wanting to promote him was completely discriminatory, I simply kept pointing that out, Every. Single. Meeting. All 105 of them." She said with a smug smile on her face as she tilted her head up, once Natsuko had an idea in her head, or her mind was made up, there were very few people who could dissuade her. By few, there was actually only two, Gaara and Naruto. Though Naruto often had better success.

"So that's why they didn't like you. You annoyed them until they agreed, I'm actually surprised it worked" Gaara said,

"Okay rude. But yes, that is precisely what I did. And I was surprised it worked, so was Granny Tsunade and pervy sage." She said

"Why didn't they want to promote him? I mean they promoted you" Temari said and Natsuko looked over,

"According to the elders its because I had been in the anbu, and helped out with the fight against Orochimaru. Even though gramps knocked me out so he could use reaper death seal the pendejo. Took me like a day to recover from that. I mean who knocks out their comrades in the middle of a fight, it's rude. But anyway,

because I had more experience and can be more… Level headed than Naruto." Natsuko said shrugging

Back with the genin, a food fight had broken out in the cafeteria hall, Yuki had moved to the back of the room away from all the fighting. A few leaf genin had tried to stop the hidden grass genin from grabbing more food as he dripped sweat every time he took a step. Yuki looking away,

"You idiots!" sand genin said as the tables were broken and food overturned, the rest of the food inedible, as the genin from before lay under a table,

"You ruined our dinner!" Another sand genin said as a grass genin stepped forward

"Disrepecting our friend?" he asked

"I think this is a misunderstanding you know.. L-lets just calm.." Yuki said standing up, before looking at the angered faces

on all the other competitors, she seemed to freeze, as she squeaked

"O-or not. You do you." She said before quickly jumping back

"Please don't misunderstand we were trying to protect our food." Lee said

"Oh, and what about the rest of us?" The sand genin said, her brown hair falling over the headband tied around her forehead, as she wore a lilac long-sleeved shirt, paired with a purple vest.

"We wouldn't stoop that low. Your suspicion shows Gaara hasn't properly trained you" Kiba said back annoyed as Matsuri walked forward

"That wasn't nice. Why'd Kiba say that?" Yuki said as she looked from the sidelines, her food completely forgotten

"I hear that right? You criticizing lord Gaara?" Matsuri said placing a hand on her friends shoulder, her brown hair around her shoulders as it hid her eyes in the under shadow, her sand headband resting loosely around her neck. She wore a pink shirt with holes in the shoulders paired with arm guards and black gloves, paired with a dark purple skirt and thigh high socks as well as red ninja sandals.

"That's unforgivable!" She said punching Kiba across the face and sending him tumbling down

"What a buncha losers." Sasuke said as the cafeteria turned into an all out brawl. Yuki looking around, as everyone began fighting

"Stop.." She said quietly, nobody heard her over the shouts and yells paired with their fighting,

"Stop.." She said again, louder, this time, Ino, and Hinata who were standing nearby heard her, turning towards the girl,

though nobody else did.

"I said… STOP IT!!!" Yuki screamed over the group, her hair flying up from the force of her chakra as she forced everyone onto the ground

"Yuki…" Ino said, looking as a tear ran down her face,

"We're here to compete but that doesn't start until tomorrow. Kiba shouldn't have said that about the kazekage

it was mean.

But we aren't supposed to fight until tomorrow." Yuki said, before leaving the room, running out of the door, the jutsu being released a moment later,

"Your teammate is more powerful than I expected, Choji. Ino." Lee said and they nodded,

"I didn't know she could do that." Choji said, as Hinata walked out the door, looking for Yuki who she found pacing the hall.

"I can't do this, well, maybe if I walk in there it'll be like nothing happened? No.. but I have to go back.. Well.. Everyone's gonna stare. I shouldn't be here, maybe Natsuko sensei will let me quit, or wait that would let down my team." Yuki said and Hinata hummed

"You okay? Everyone stopped fighting by the way." She said softly and Yuki looked over,

"Hinata. Did I do the wrong thing?" She asked and Hinata hummed before shaking her head

"I don't think so." She said before a yell of surprise came from the cafeteria. Lee's leg blocked by one of the sand genin. Before an explosion sounded upstairs.

"Fu!!" The waterfall ninja said, running to her room which now held a hole instead of a window. Fu making her appearance in the cafeteria. Flying through the window.

"Whooo!! Hi!" She said standing in a star pose, Yuki laughed quietly from where she stood back in the middle of the group.

"Ooh is this a party?" Fu asked, the genin standing once more, and looking at her confused.

"Can I make 100 friends?" She said excited at the prospect

"Who are you?" Tenten asked, not expecting her arrival

"I'm Fu from the hidden waterfall." She said pointing at her chin and grinning as her orange eyes met Tenten's brown. Yuki walking forward

"Don't you mean 99 friends. Cause we're friends, right?" Yuki said and Fu nodded, before grabbing her shoulders

"Omg your so right Yuki, I'm sorry! I just need 99 more friends." Fu said, before slinging her arm over Yuki's shoulder unintentionally bringing the girl with her as she gestured around the room,

"So anyway, what do you guys wanna do after dinner? Games? Cards? Ooh ooh ooh, hide and seek? Whatever it is, I'm up for it! Or what about a bath?" She said, everyone looking at her completely confused by her demeaner,

"I don't think they want to play games, Fu…" Yuki said, before Fu let her go, Yuki falling to the floor a moment, before picking herself back up, her headband was tied loosely around her neck as her hair fell into her face, the genin collectively sighing as majority missed dinner since it was collected on the ground. Before going to return to their quarters,

"Hey wait! Stay and play!!" Fu said and Yuki looked over,

"I don't know how to play cards." She said, and Fu looked over, before grabbing her hand,

"I'll show you, come on!" She said and Yuki looked over, before humming, and nodding her head,

"Okay…" she said

"Almost reminds me of Naruto and Natsuko. Though, Yuki is a lot more shy than Natsuko ever was." Ino said and Choji nodded, as Fu pulled Yuki down the hall,

"Ino… Choji… wanna play cards?" Yuki asked and the two hummed, before shrugging,

"I think I just wanna rest up for now." Choji said, Ino nodding along, as down the hall, Lee ran over to talk to the guy who'd stopped his leg, pointing out his difference in comparison to the other competitors. The genin had his sleeveless dark green tunic paired with a lighter green belt, his sand plate on the bottom of the fabric with his brown pants, he had wrappings on his shins into his ninja sandals, with metal arm bracers on both forearms, paired with a shuriken holster on his right thigh, and a wrapping on his upper arm paired with a light purple snake tattoo that matched his hair.

"What is your point?" The man said simply, his light brown eyes looking at Lees black.

"Just that we are alike, you've had to overcome tough obstacles like me." Lee replied, and the guy completely turned.

"I know of you, too. You are Rock Lee of the hidden leaf, I am Shira of the hidden sand." overall Shira sounded bored as he introduced himself,

"I don't know what was 'sensed' back there but dwelling on misfortunes of birth is absolutely meaningless. For all flaws and suffering, we've but one life. This one. For me, there's only one truth to be found in it." Shira said

"Only one?" Lee asked for confirmation, and Shira nodded, the two stood across from eachother in front of a wall of circle windows,

"Determination, never betrays you." Shira said simply, before turning and continuing down the hall, leaving Lee to stand there, confused for a moment.

Wind blew through the hidden sand that night, everyone was ordered to stay inside due to the sand scorpions that ran wild through the desert at nightfall. Gusts of wind blew outside the window, picking up sand and dirt with it, making it harder and harder to see. Choji walked down the hall, his stomach growling as he stopped by one of the windows, looking at the building barely a few meters away. Sakura and Sasuke and Sai standing next to one of the windows, talking about something though, stopped as Choji approached.

"Man, I am so hungry." Choji said as his arms hung down by his sides,

"Dinner did become quite eventful." Sai said as he leaned against the wall near one of the windows, Choji groaned and nodded, Choji looked out the window, near where the three were standing, looking across the sand at the other building.

"Hey, what is that?" He asked and Sakura hummed

"That's the sensei's buildings." She said simply,

"Sensei?!" Choji said before taking off down the hall

"Wait a minute! We're not supposed to leave the building at night! Choji!" Ino yelled as she'd walked up from the other side of the hall.

"Thinking with his stomach…" Sai said as Sakura and Sasuke shook their heads as Ino ran after him.

"Hey Fu, I think there's something going on outside.." Yuki said as she looked towards the window,

"Really? What do you think it is? Ooh I love guessing games, they're so fun." Fu said and Yuki shrugged,

"Let's go find out." she said and the two ran outside unknowingly after Choji and Ino who'd also ran outside, into the sand storm,

"Hey, give me your hand." Fu said and Yuki looked towards her,

"Wh…wooooahhhh This is amazing!!" She said as Fu flew both of them in the air over the commotion that was happening on the ground,

"Right! It's so much fun to fly!" She said and Yuki nodded,

"Foooood…." Choji said as he walked forward, Ino running after him

"Choji! We need to go back inside!" Ino said before they yelled in surprise, Choji more so than ino,

"Something's over here, Fu! It's angry, drop me right… here!" Yuki said and Fu nodded

"Youuuu Got it!" She said, Yuki landing on top of a sand scorpion,

"Hello, you seem angered. What's happened?" Yuki said, Choji and Ino seeming to freeze in the scorpions claws, Fu landing behind her

"Whooohoooo" Fu said in excitement,

"They're not prey. Those are my friends. Let them go." Yuki said, as the scorpion seemed to stop, listening to her it's two tails staying in a curve behind it's brown body, with six skinny legs on either side, the sand scorpion was at least the size of a small building, with two pinchers on the left side, one on the other. It held Ino, and Choji in two separate pinchers as it moved around. Before it all but threw the two down,

"Thank you." Yuki said her hand on the giant scorpion, before the beast lay down.

"Aw he's a big softie." Fu said and Yuki laughed, before nodding,

"Are you guys okay?!" Sakura yelled as she ran up with Sasuke, Sai, and the rest of the genin, who all wore looks of concern. Fu and Yuki were still sitting on top of the scorpion that was still alive,

"Thanks to Yuki and Fu." Ino said, Yuki going a light red, Fu dancing on top of the scorpion while Yuki remained sitting on her knees,

"Oh yeaaah, we did it." Fu said, and Yuki looked over, nodding. A medical ninja from the sand village healing Ino's minor injuries. As Fu cheered, Yuki nodding along,

"What's going on?" Gai said, walking up with Gaara, and Natsuko behind him, paired with Temari. Yuki looking over, before jumping off of the Scorpion, Fu doing so as well, the scorpion walking off, into the desert storm.

"Going out at night's prohibited." Temari stated and Natsuko looking over the group,

"The second exam begins before dawn you know, so shouldn't you guys be asleep? Go back to your quarters." Natsuko said, as Choji ran up, stopping in front of Gai sensei,

"We're starving here. Please, gai sensei, you've got food?" He said and Natsuko, Gaara, Temari, and the rest of the genin seemed to bluescreen, as they looked at him, before Gai passed him food, to satiate him. Natsuko and Temari facepalming

"He snuck out… for… What happened to the food…" Natsuko said, before pinching her nose, as Yuki walked over, Fu still dancing, as the genin all returned inside the building.

"Your all seriously just gonna leave again? Awww" Fu said from the spot the Scorpion had stood, Yuki patting her shoulder in sympathy.

"They're focused on the exams, so it's probably better to leave them be." Yuki said,

"You're a good person, both of you, to team up and help despite being from different villages. If you'd ignored them, you'd

have fewer opponents." Gaara said and Fu looked over,

"Well, they're my team… for now, I think…" Yuki said quietly, as Fu grinned wide,

"Ah, I don't care about that stuff, not about rivals or allies. I just wanna make 100 friends." She said before grabbing Yuki's hands, and spinning,

"Oh wait, I guess I mean 99 friends." She said, giggling, as Yuki smiled,

"Well, would you look at that. huh." Natsuko said, as she crossed her arms over her chest, before Fu suddenly stopped spinning, running over to the Kazekage, Gai, and Temari and Natsuko

"Hey wait maybe we can be friends, we could play cards or backgammon or a bath, or…" she started before the staps on the back of her shirt was grabbed, the two other waterfall ninja dragging her back to the sleeping quarters.

"Hey wait!!" Fu said,

"No, that's the Kazekage, Hokage, and the jonin supervisors, you have to watch what you say to them." One answered her, and Natsuko hummed, glancing at Gaara, who glanced back,

"Well, um… I'm… I'm sorry for the trouble caused. Natsuko-Sensei, Lord Kazekage, Gai sensei, uhh…. " Yuki said walking over to the kazekage, hokage, and the two jonin.

"Temari." Temari said offering her name, Yuki nodded,

"And don't worry about it, nobody died, so, that's the main thing right." Temari continued,

"I… guess so?" She said,

"Relax Yuki, go get some rest, the real trial begins tomorrow." Natsuko said, putting a hand on her shoulder, the girl nodding, before running back inside,

"That hidden waterfall girl reminds me of Naruto." Natsuko said, and Gaara nodded,

"She doesn't care about rivals or allies, yep, that sounds about right. Well, now there's more to look forward to in the chunin exams." he said,