As the chunin exams came closer, our team spent weeks training hard. I was trying my best to perfect many of my already-known skills, but I wanted to learn something new. Uncle Minato insisted that he teach me something new after the pre-elimination rounds, which I found annoying because I wanted the new jutsu now.

As Uncle Minato passed by the bathroom, I stopped him.

"Can you at least tell me what the new jutsu is?" I ask.

He chuckled. I've been hounding him all week about this new jutsu.

"Not yet, Hana. Remember, I told you that you must pass the first part of the exam before learning," He shook his head.

"Come on!" I groaned a bit. "I at least want to know what I need to work on before learning it,"

"No, Hana," He smiled and then walked away, causing me to huff. 

I was already up early and getting ready. I brushed out my tangled mess of curls with water and lots of hair products to easily put it in my signature ponytail. 

Once I had finished getting ready, I saw that Aunt Kushina had breakfast ready. She set my plate down and looked at me with a warm smile.

"Good luck with your exams, Hana," She said. "I made this more protein-rich so you don't get hungry later. Wish the others good luck for me, too,"

"Thank you," I said before digging in. "I will, we're all nervous. I was hoping Uncle Minato would teach me a new jutsu already so I have a better chance of passing, but he insists he show me after this part of the exams,"

"He just wants to see what areas need more improvement before he shows you. It won't be easy," She replied, sipping her tea. 

"I know, I understand, but still. What if I don't pass?" I sighed.

"You will," She smiled. "I believe in you,"

"You're just saying that because I'm your niece," I snorted with a smile. 

"Hey, that's not true. Minato tells me about your guys' teamwork, and it sounds like you four are doing great," Aunt Kushina denied. "Just try to stay as positive as possible,"

We continued chatting until it was time for me to leave. Uncle Minato had already left early for the training grounds, where we were supposed to meet him. I was going to help Aunt Kushina wash my plate, but she insisted that I go and that she would handle it.

I slipped my boots on and took a deep breath before heading out. This was it. I had to pass this, or I would be a laughingstock.

As I walked to the training ground, the light breeze threatened to move my curtain bangs out of place, so I had to pin them back again with my hair clips. I couldn't stop thinking about today and how I would do it.

Rin, Obito, and Kakashi were all there already. Thank god I wasn't late this time and managed my time better this morning. 

"Now that we're all here," Uncle Minato said, "It's time for you four to sign up and start the first part of the exams. I won't be able to go with you from here, but I'll support you during the final exams and preliminary rounds. Do you have any questions before you go?"

The four of us shook our heads, and he dismissed us.

Obito was beaming with excitement, "I'm so excited for this! I can't wait to be a chunin,"

I nodded in agreement with him. "Me too, I can't wait to see how this goes,"

We entered the academy, and it was weird to be back here after a while. There were signs that pointed out where to sign up, so we followed them. I was surprised to see how many different people were here and what villages they were from. 

We found a long line that led to the sign-up stand, so we got in line. As I looked around, I was trying to grab chapstick from my pouch. My eyes landed on a petite girl with short, dark green hair and piercing silver eyes.

She was staring right back at me. We were now silent and stared down for some reason. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way.

The corner of her lips raised into a smirk, and she sauntered to me. She kneeled to pick up my chapstick and handed it to me.

The air was thick with tension as her eyes never left mine. Her piercing silver eyes were cold and seemed to gleam with hidden anger.

"You dropped this, Uzumaki,"

My eyes widened when I recognized her voice.

"It's you!" I hissed.

I snatched my chapstick from her hand and shoved it back into my pouch, narrowing my eyes. She was that girl who attacked me when we were on our mission to the Blood Mist. She wasn't attacking me now and wasn't hiding her face. My team continued to watch with anticipation and worry.

Who the hell is she?

"Just so you know, Uzumaki," She sneered. "I'm going to crush you like a bug when we fight. You will get what you deserve,"

"I don't even know you," I fired back. "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"You'll find out," She retorted. "Because of you-,"

"Nozomi, knock it off," An unfamiliar, sharp voice cut in.

Her smugness dropped, and her eyes were icier than before. We both turned our heads to where the voice came from, and it was a boy who looked the same age as us. He had pale skin, hazel eyes with a golden tint, and long black hair tied back into a ponytail, leaving a few bangs in his face. He was also taller.

"Stay the hell out of this, Kurohito," She hissed. "This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me when you're causing trouble again," He replied calmly and collectedly. "You know very well you're not supposed to start fighting until the exams start,"

Kurohito and Nozomi were their names. Kurohito seemed stoic and coolheaded, while waves of anger and hatred radiated from Nozomi.

Kurohito glanced at me, his golden eyes lingering on me before motioning for her to return to wherever they were standing. Nozomi rolled her eyes and gave me one last glare. "Don't think this is over, Uzumaki."

"I'm sorry about her," Kurohito bowed. "She needs to control her temper."

After that, Kurohito turned back around and left, leaving the four of us confused. The tension in the air started to die down, making it easier to breathe again. 

"Who were they?" Obito asked, staring at Kurohito as he left.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "But that girl is the one who attacked me when we went on our mission to the Blood Mist. I don't understand why she's here,"

Obito widened his eyes with worry while Kakashi looked at them thoughtfully, and Rin was also worried and confused.

"Don't let her words get to you, Hana," Kakashi advised, breaking his gaze to look at me. "She seems to be the type that likes to use words to get under people's skin so she can catch them off guard,"

My anger started to flare up as I thought about Nozomi.

"She's doing a good job getting under my skin," I rolled my eyes. "She thinks she can 'crush me like a bug,' but I'll knock her ass down flat on the ground before she can land a scratch on me,"

Kakashi sighed, "I'm serious. She's obviously very dangerous, judging by her moves the last time we fought her. Please be careful,"

I sighed and looked away stubbornly. I will beat her. I'll make sure of that.

The line moved further up, and we could hear Anko shouting in the distance at one of her teammates; I think his name was Tokara. 

We filled out the forms and were told to wait inside one of the classrooms for the proctor to meet us. We passed by Nozomi again, and her silver eyes gleamed angrily as she saw me pass by. Kurohito grabbed her arm before she could make a move. I hope I get her in the final rounds to knock that arrogance out of her.

We stepped inside one of the classrooms and saw Guy standing with his team. He called us over.

"Hana, Kakashi! Over here!" He waved.

"Are you scared for our match, Kakashi?" Guy smirked.

Kakashi looked at him, blinking. "Hm? Did you say something?"

Guy fell over comically after Kakashi's question and quickly stood back up. He looked at me after that. "And how about you, Hana? I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl,"

"I don't expect you to," I smirked. "I'm not scared to back down from a challenge,"

"That's the spirit!" Guy exclaimed loudly, causing Rin and Obito to sweat-drop. "Learn how to act from her, Kakashi."

"The only thing I'd learn from her is how to be hot-headed," Kakashi retorted, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

"Wow, Kakashi. How nice of you," I shook my head.

"I mean...he's not wrong, Hana," Obito added.

"Some best friend you are," I retorted, cheeks flushing a little from being called out. "You're not any better, Obito,"

Rin smiled as I bickered with Obito about that. The genin around us were either trying to put on a tough front or intimidate the others. Guy and his team chatted with us. I was acting more civilly toward Rin, as Obito asked. 

"So Rin," I said a little awkwardly. "How do you think we'll do in this?"

"I think we'll do great," She replied enthusiastically. "I mean, we've all been training hard. We just have to give it our best shot,"

She and I talked briefly about the training until a voice cut in. 

"Alright, we'll be starting the chunin exams," A tall and skinny guy said. "My name is Satoru, and I'll be your proctor for this part of the exams. We're going to start with a paper test,"

I sighed in annoyance at the thought of a paper test. Why? I thought we were done with that back in the academy days.

We all took our seats as other jonins passed out papers to us. 

"Listen carefully," Satoru said. "Only one question is allowed, and that goes for all of you. Choose it wisely,"

I sat down with Rin and Obito on my right and Guy and Kakashi on my left. Satoru explained that we couldn't turn over our papers yet and sorted us out by picking out animal names. I wasn't scared of paper tests, but I hated them. I'm not a good test taker because I overthink.

"Now that I went over the rules, are you ready?" Satoru asked, his blue eyes scanning us sharply.

One guy raised his hand, "Uh...can I use the restroom, sir?"

It was a guy from the Hidden Sand Village. I realized he had used our only question, and half the room glared at him in annoyance.

"Well, your one question has been used up," Satoru said, "You may go, but make it quick."

Satoru didn't even bother to tell us how our tests would be graded to move on to the next part of the exams, which was annoying. The Sand Ninja came back in, and Satoru told us to start. We only had an hour to finish this.

The amount of pressure Satoru was putting on us was nerve-wracking.

My eyes scanned over the test, and I did all the questions I understood first before the harder ones.

I glanced over, seeing that Obito had no idea what the answer to any of these questions was, and he was doodling on the paper. I tapped his foot lightly with mine and looked down at my test and back at his.

He seemed to have understood and copied my answers. I checked the clock and saw that we only had twenty minutes left, and half of this test wasn't even done. My heart started to race in anticipation, and I stared nervously at the test.

I felt a tap on my right knee and realized Kakashi was trying to get my attention. I looked at him in curiosity, and he moved his test over for me to see but was discreet enough for Satoru not to notice. 

I gave him a slight nod and filled out the rest of the questions. I sighed with relief as a timer went off, and Satoru spoke loudly. "Time's up, guys!"

The Jonin who handed our papers out collected them and used a scanner to check for anything unusual. Nothing went off, so I assumed we did okay. After that, he threw the papers in the trash, making the entire room question what was happening.

Yet we couldn't raise our hands to ask what had happened. Satoru could tell by our faces that we were confused, and he grinned.

"You guys pass. This test was only to see how well you kids would do under pressure, and none of you guys cracked, even when no questions could be asked."

He went on to explain the purpose of this test and even told stories about how important it is to maintain a cool head when under pressure, especially on missions. He gave real-life examples of how not maintaining a calm composure could lead to people losing their lives.

I breathed a breath of relief as he declared this part of the exam complete. We would be on to the next round but were given a lunch break before starting. 

Of course, I went to Ichiraku for lunch. Teuchi and Ayame greeted me as I sat down. They already knew my order and started working on it for me. I sat down, thinking about the next part of the exam and how it would go.

"Hana?"

I turned my head, and Kakashi was holding the curtains, looking at me with a hint of nervousness. He sat on the chair beside mine and looked at me, averting his eyes.

"What is it, Kakashi?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at how he is acting.

"I, um, don't normally ask these kinds of questions," He started. "But there's a festival coming up, and I was wondering if you'd want to go with me,"

My heart started to race, and I could feel the heat starting to crawl up my neck. What was going on with me? He's just Kakashi. My teammate. My friend. My friend with an attractive voice.

I mentally kicked myself for that last part. I was going to open my mouth to say yes, but then Obito's face flashed through my mind. Now, I hesitated again.

Seriously, what's going on with me?

Kakashi was still waiting for my answer. 

"Um, I'll think about it," I replied. "I think Uncle Minato and Aunt Kushina had some trip planned then. I'll find out and get back to you." 

Kakashi nodded, "Okay, no rush."

He left the ramen stand, and Teuchi served me my bowl. I could still feel the heat crawling up my neck and onto my face. As I ate the ramen, I couldn't stop thinking about Kakashi's question, how Obito came to mind when I would say yes, and how I was acting.

What the hell was wrong with me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the change I made here was the character Kuroshi. I came up with his name when I was 12, lol, so we're changing that since I find it embarrassing on my end. His new name is "Kurohito" and whenever you see the name Kuroshi as I edit this, just remember the new name. I also wrote this back in like 2014, and now, when I read Satoru, I have an "everything  reminds me of him" moment because of Gojo 🤣 I unintentionally made his eyes blue too lmao.