The Chunin Exam - 10

Sakura walked down the side of the street carrying a bag of groceries. Even the day before the Chunin Exam her pushy mother still had her running errands.

Unable to help herself after seeing the beautiful display of chrysanthemum, Sakura stole a peak in both directions before stopping for a moment in front of the Yamanaka flower shop. She took an indulgent sniff of the bright blossoms, trying to calm her jumbled nerves.

Ino had stepped out at that precise moment to add another mum to the display.

At first sight, Ino had actually been glad to see her. Even though she had been Sakura's top competitor during their time at the Academy, and then after, she couldn't help but have a soft spot for the pink haired girl.

Like she'd ever show it.

"Well, well, forehead girl! Fancy seeing you here," Ino gave her a sassy look, "How's Sasuke-kun doing?"

Sakura turned slowly to face her, refusing to take the bait, "Hello there, Ino-pig," She smiled back, "He's fine."

Ino still wanted to strike a nerve and get a rise out of her, "Good. I'm looking forward to a date with him one of these days! It isn't as if I have any competition."

Sakura was surprised at how boring the conversation was, "Yup."

Ino, flustered, couldn't help but become aggravated at Sakura's submissive attitude, "Why did you come over here anyway? Is something bothering you? Other than the fact that you're going to fail the exam tomorrow?"

"My team and I will do just fine tomorrow, Ino," Sakura answered, turning away from the flower display, "You should save your concerns for your own team."

In her mind, inner Sakura was raving, 'Cha! Toss that one right back at her!'

Before coming up with a snappy retort, Ino's eyes happened over a lone figure across the street that immediately gave her the creeps, "I don't see him come around here often..."

Sakura followed the blonde haired girl's gaze to the opposite side of the road where Gaara stood in the shadow of a tall building, watching her impassively.

The pink haired girl felt her brain slosh around in her stomach. Ino didn't overlook Sakura's bewilderment.

Steeling herself, Sakura took a deep breath and straightened the paper bag in her arms, "I'll see you later, Ino."

With wary steps Sakura crossed the street to him, hoping this meeting would be on peaceful terms. Ino set down the flower pot in her arms and smiled, finding the scene intriguing, 'Maybe I'm wrong about Sakura. It looks like she's got different goals than I thought she did.'

The pink haired girl tried to avoid eye contact as she approached, but it was an arduous task. She gulped, trying to gather her wits, 'It's just Gaara-kun. Everything is going to be okay.'

"Hi." Her mouth had acted on its own. It was then she realized time had not slowed down, and that she was standing only a few feet away from him. 'He looked so far away...'

He did not answer in words but instead gave a slight tilt of his head, gesturing for her to follow. Sakura ambled after him as he entered the alleyway behind them and leapt with ease up onto a fire escape. Readjusting her parcel, Sakura made the jump as well, and then proceeded to follow him up onto the aluminum roof of a tattered building.

They stood for a moment, facing each other awkwardly. 'He doesn't look mad...' She thought.

Sakura forced herself to smile, trying to calm herself down, "I…haven't seen you in a while. How are you and the others doing?"

Gaara shrugged.

The simple action helped her relax fully and she was glad to see he wasn't in one of his wrathful moods. Sakura found she was able to form words easily again.

"Well I can't tell you how excited I am about the exam tomorrow! I just know we're going to do great!" Sakura was in one of her rambling states of mind, "Kakashi-sensei says that we should expect to be competing with ninja from other villages, and we should be as healthy as possible when the exam starts," She paused, seeing that he was once again listening intently, "Things are going to get really crazy come tomorrow..."

The silence that followed made her more alert to the fluttering creature in her stomach.

"I don't blame you." He spoke at long last.

Sakura gave him a quizzical look, "B-Blame me? For what?"

"For you telling your teammates about us," He ignored her terrified look, "It was...the right thing to do. Teammates should not keep secrets from each other."

She shook her head, "They weren't my secrets to share."

Gaara's face gave no trace of emotion, "You don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Yeah..." She mumbled, a small smile finding its way to her face.

With no change in inflection, he added, "I'm disappointed in you."

Her face froze up in response; not comprehending, 'I don't get it! He tells me that it's alright and now he's sending me on another guilt trip?'

"I was disappointed that you didn't believe I would forgive you." Gaara said quietly, as if she couldn't have figured it out for herself, "Something you should keep in mind, Sakura, is that I am your friend. I could never hate you, but I will warn you to be cautious of your actions from here on out. My temper gets the best of me at times."

She was surprised by his sage piece of advice. Sakura then understood why he had sought her out, 'I suppose he wanted to be honest about his feelings with me…without using Naruto or Haku as a go-between.'

"I...I will." She answered softly, finding it hard to look at him, "Good luck for tomorrow."

*

The following day was cloudy and a sharp tension filled the air. Naruto, Gaara and Haku had only caught a brief glimpse of Jiraiya before heading off to the Academy. He was not thrilled that he had to contribute a few hours of community service before going to check up on them. His parting words had been: "Knock 'em dead!"

At the present time, Naruto and his teammates were making their way through the busy corridor of the second floor, listening as Haku quizzed them on questions they may be confronted with. It was, after all, a formal exam. Mental preparation would be helpful.

"There's no way you can kill someone like that Haku-kun," Naruto retorted, as they passed by a group of lost-looking Rain ninja, "Senbon don't kill people."

"They can." Gaara said simply, "It's just that Haku doesn't kill people."

"You're not qualified to talk about this subject," Naruto grumbled, disliking his lack of knowledge, "Except for maybe the...uh...killing part."

The red haired boy only sighed.

"On to the next question..." Haku pressed on as they passed by a crowd of desperate, young ninja gathered around a blocked door, "Hm, I hope they realize that this is the second floor and that is only a genjutsu..."

"They'll figure it out for themselves eventually," The blonde smirked, "Now, next question, and make it easier!"

"Alright." Haku took a moment to think, "Three shinobi are guarding a scroll. Shinobi A is directly behind Shinobi B and directly left of Shinobi C. If Shinobi A and Shinobi B are 15 feet apart, and Shinobi B and Shinobi C are 17 feet apart, what is the distance between Shinobi A and Shinobi C?"

"I said easier, Haku-kun! Not crazy math stuff!"

Gaara had already worked it out, "8 feet."

"That's right." Haku nodded happily.

Naruto gave Gaara an annoyed look before shrugging, "Ah, well. You always were good at math."

They reached the third floor, which was relatively clear of ninja, with the exception of shouts coming from down the hall. The genin of Team 2 exchanged short glances before moving on, wondering what the fuss was about.

The boys passed over a balcony and below it they discovered Lee challenging another ninja.

"You! The one with the bad attitude!"

"Oh no." Haku was alarmed by the sight.

On the floor below them was Team 7 and Lee, who was glaring at Sasuke. The Uchiha seemed relatively unfazed by Lee's presence. Naruto chuckled, not expecting confrontations before the exam. Then again, he had to consider how Lee adored camaraderie and punished disrespect. Sasuke was bound to strike a nerve if they crossed paths.

"I, Rock Lee, challenge you to a fight!" Lee was clearly over-excited and without his teammates. Still, Sasuke wasn't looking very much bothered. Kiba and Sakura could only observe in exasperation, fearing that Lee was too riled up to think rationally.

Gaara decided to save him the trouble, "You shouldn't waste your time here, Lee."

Lee was surprised by the comment and looked up, as did the other Leaf genin. Lee immediately lost interest in his challenge of the Uchiha survivor, and leapt up onto the balcony to join Team 2, "Ah! It is good to see you comrades! This indeed is a momentous day, is it not?"

Below, Sasuke looked nonplused. Lee's attention span didn't linger on sneering opponents; he seemed to naturally gravitate to friendlier people.

"How are you Lee?" Haku gave him a small smile, "It looks like Neji and Tenten aren't with you."

"Yes. They went on ahead while I stayed behind to..." Lee glanced back down at Sasuke, frowning, "Test myself against one of the geniuses of Konoha!" He then turned his attention back to Haku, "Of course, there may be a better time and place for it. Are you and your teammates ready for the exam?"

"Of course we are Fuzzy-brows!" Naruto replied enthusiastically, "Haku's been giving us drills all morning!" Haku wore a troubled look, but Gaara seemed just as confident as Naruto did.

"Hey! I don't mean to interrupt your shouting match up there, but if you guys don't quit it you'll be late for the first part of the exam." Kiba pointed out, sick of delays. Akamaru yappered in agreement from atop his head. Kiba turned to Sakura, "Let's get going."

She nodded to him and looked up to Lee and Team 2, giving them a parting smile. Sakura followed after her teammates in silence, hoping that she was hiding her nerves well.

"He is right," Lee nodded sagely, taking the Inuzuka boy's advice, "I shall now go and return to my team!" In a flash of bright, green youth he departed down the hallway, radiating confidence.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Naruto said, stretching his arms over his head as he, Haku and Gaara continued on, "I know Sasuke's not exactly what you'd call friendly, but Lee looked ticked off."

Haku stared ahead at Gaara's gourd as they walked, frowning inwardly, "I can't say that I know."

Gaara didn't bother sharing his opinion, but he didn't have to; his teammates were already aware of his opinion of Sasuke.

When they were younger, Gaara had missed out on the fateful day Sasuke's family had been annihilated. While Naruto and Haku assured him that it was a good thing he had, and that no one should have to witness something as macabre as the sight of that bloody mansion, they themselves wondered if that was one of the reasons Gaara seemed to detach himself from the very thought of the Uchiha survivor, harboring no sympathy for him whatsoever.