By the morning of the chuunin exam, Yukiko felt like she was running on pure nerves. She was sure she could pass the first test -- it usually had to do with being sneaky and somewhat smarter than a rock -- but she was a little worried about Naga's performance. She was worried about her own performance on the second test, whatever it would be this year. She was worried about the way Naruto was so confident she'd pass -- how would he react if she didn't?

And she was worried because Sarutobi-sama hadn't been any help finding a superintendent to run her building while she was busy, and she'd been so busy training with her new team that she hadn't been able to look over candidates herself.

Yukiko groaned. She was going to have to talk to her uncle. And do it within -- she glanced at her watch -- one hour, or she'd be late turning in her exam application.

"This is it, kid; I'm off to the chuunin exam," she said to Naruto, who was watching her cram survival gear into a small pack -- the second test would likely be a simulation of a mission and she did not want a repeat of her first exam where she was caught in the woods with no sanitary supplies and ended up getting poison ivy rash in unmentionable places. Ame had mocked her for weeks after that.

"Now? You'll do great, Yukiko-san! I know you're a great ninja." Naruto grinned. "But I'm gonna be better than you someday."

Compared to becoming Hokage, that was a ridiculously easy goal. "You do that, kid. Oh, by the way -- I'm getting someone to watch over the building while I'm taking the exam, so don't be surprised if a stranger comes by with keys to my office. And don't play any jokes until I get back."

Naruto pouted. "Not any?"

Yukiko considered. If she made the restriction too hard, he might stop following any of her rules; that would be a disaster. "Okay, you can set traps in my apartment for when I get back. But don't bother anyone else!"

"You'll be in trouble!" Naruto sing-songed, with a dangerous glint in his blue eyes. "I'm gonna get you! Hehehe."

"These had better be some good traps," Yukiko said, deadpan. "And now I'm really leaving. See you later, kid."

"Bye, Yukiko-san!"

Yukiko gave herself one last check -- hair tied back, forehead-protector on, kunai holster strapped to her thigh, explosive notes in her boots and pockets, bombs in her pack, and a dull brown jacket instead of her usual light blue. She might not feel like a confident shinobi, but at least she was dressed the part. Squaring her shoulders, Yukiko walked out of her apartment.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Her uncle, Ayakawa Yutaro, lived over his grocery store halfway between Yukiko's building and the ninja academy where the first test would be held. He let other people manage the store in the mornings and spent his own time upstairs reviewing stock inventories, balancing account books, and placing orders with his suppliers. Yukiko nodded at the short, blue-haired girl behind the counter -- Yui, the youngest of her cousins -- and slipped up the back stairs into Yutaro's office.

"Uncle Yutaro?"

Yutaro jerked his head up in surprise, spinning his chair to face her. "Yukiko? How did you get up here? I didn't hear anything." His deep-set eyes narrowed as he studied her.

Yukiko shoved her hands into her pockets. She'd forgotten that Yutaro kept his stairs creaky so he could hear intruders. Before she'd started training again, she'd been careful not to avoid making noise, but this time she'd ghosted up the stairs without thinking about it.

"Sorry, Uncle. I'm trying to be a ninja again and I was practicing."

Yutaro shook his head with a sigh. "I thought you were over that nonsense. It didn't work out, and you've been doing such a wonderful job with your building." He laid down his pen and raked a hand through his thinning blue-gray hair. "What brings you here? Knowing you, you want something besides the pleasure of my company."

"...Well, yes. I'm taking the chuunin exam again and I need someone to act as superintendent while I'm busy. I asked a person I know to help me find people, but I guess he's been too busy, and the exam starts today. I was hoping you knew someone..."

Yutaro sighed again. "Yukiko. Why is it that all your business sense flies out the window the moment someone mentions ninja to you?"

Yukiko shuffled her feet and didn't answer.

"Well, I suppose there's no stopping you; there never was, really. How long will you need this superintendent? Just for the duration of the exam, or will it become a full-time position?"

Yukiko shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. First I have to pass the exam, which may not happen. And then... I don't know if I want to be an active shinobi. I just want to prove that I can do it, that I quit because I wanted to, not because I couldn't handle the work."

She switched back to business talk. "I thought one of my cousins might benefit from some hands-on experience."

"Hmm. Possibly Yusuke -- a little responsibility might settle him down. Yes," Yutaro decided, nodding, "Yusuke can do it. Now, what are the details?"

Yusuke? Yukiko turned over what she knew about her second-youngest cousin. Fairly bright, unassuming, a little scattered but basically responsible, and friendly. Yes, he'd do. "I don't have a room for him yet, but you live close enough that he can walk over in the morning. Basically he has to fix anything that breaks, clean the common areas, and handle any tenant complaints. He'll also have to show apartments if people are interested, but I'd rather leave contract-signing authority with you until he has more experience -- he's only fifteen, right?"

Yutaro nodded. "Yes. If anything breaks beyond his ability to repair it, which contractors should he call?"

"There's a list in my office; I've written down the usual prices in case they try to scam him. I'll leave the spare keys with you."

That seemed to be everything, but Yukiko had a nagging feeling she was forgetting something important. Oh! The kid.

"...There's one last thing," she said slowly. "It shouldn't be a problem, but you ought to know. I've rented an apartment to Uzumaki Naruto -- the kid the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into. I've been keeping an eye on him, and he has a key to my apartment. So Yusuke shouldn't worry if he sees a boy going in and out of my room."

Yutaro's narrow face had gone still. "So the rumors are true. You are housing the Kyuubi."

"I'm housing Naruto," Yukiko said defensively, "and Naruto isn't the Kyuubi. He's its prison. Yusuke shouldn't need to have anything to do with him, I hope. But if he can't at least be polite and fair if the kid has any maintenance requests, then our deal is off. I rented him an apartment and I don't play favorites with my tenants. So tell me -- can Yusuke handle that?"

"Asking him to deal with the creature that killed his mother is a bit much, Yukiko."

Oh, by the kami! Yukiko strode forward and slammed her fist on Yutaro's desk. "Old man, get over yourself! So the fox killed Aunt Hanako. So what! I lost my two best friends that day -- lost my sisters -- and I can see past the fox. One of my new teammates lost both his parents to the fox and he's starting to treat Naruto as a little brother. Naruto is a six year old boy. He doesn't know about the fox, he isn't responsible for the fox, and if you can't get past that, then we're through."

She glared at Yutaro, daring him to disagree.

Her uncle sat in perfect stillness for nearly a minute before he answered. "You're young and hot-blooded, so I won't take that as the insult it is. Yusuke can handle the job. However, if you ever take your aunt's death so lightly again, or insinuate that I might be less than fair in my business dealings, I will disown you from our clan.

"Give me the keys and leave."

Yukiko fished the keys from her pocket, dropped them into Yutaro's waiting palm, and bowed with icy precision. "We have a deal. Please send Yusuke to my building by noon today. Goodbye, Uncle."

"Goodbye, Yukiko."

As she left, Yukiko made a point of forcing the stairs to creak as loudly as possible.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Iruka and Naga were waiting by the main entrance to the ninja academy, both carrying small survival packs. Iruka was fidgeting, hands constantly reaching over his shoulders to touch the hilts of his kodachi. Naga was trying to look unworried, but her restless eyes betrayed her.

"You're late," she accused.

"I had to settle something with my family," Yukiko said, pushing down her anger and nerves. "It took longer than I expected. Let's go turn in our applications."

Iruka led the way through the building to room at the back of the second floor. They passed several rooms disguised with genjutsu to fool the unwary into misfiling their applications, but Yukiko spotted some of the illusions and Iruka knew the building well enough to be sure the disguised locations weren't anywhere near their goal. They reached the correct room with five minutes to spare and deposited their applications on the desk near the door.

Genin from all the hidden villages of Fire Country's neighbors crowded the room, some socializing in groups of various size and others staying aloof near the walls. Yukiko studied them, wondering which would fail and which would reach the third test. She didn't recognize any of the Leaf genin, didn't have any idea what their skills were, but it had been several years since her last attempt at the exam; most of the genin she'd known would have passed it or given up by now.

Five minutes passed, and then ten. The room grew restive, people wondering loudly when the first test would start. Silly of them -- waiting might be part of it, a test of patience.

But there was no reason not to talk quietly. "Do you know the other Leaf genin here, or what their skills are?" Yukiko asked her teammates.

Iruka shook his head. "Not personally -- none of my friends are here and I don't get to know the academy students that well."

Naga grimaced. "Most are no threat -- they'll wash out fast. But those three," -- she pointed to three dark-haired genin -- "were in my academy class. Their jounin-sensei didn't let them take the exam last year. Watch out for them -- one's an Uchiha, one's a Hyuuga, and the girl's an Aburame. They're jerks."

Huh. Those were three of the hereditary ninja clans of Konoha. The Uchiha had the Sharingan bloodline limit, the Hyuuga had the equally powerful Byakugan and its related taijutsu style, and the Aburame controlled kikkai insects, some of which could eat chakra. That would be a team to watch out for.

"Why didn't they take the exam last year?" Yukiko asked.

"Teamwork problems," Iruka said. "I remember hearing about them while they were still in the academy. Those three -- Uchiha Akaro, Hyuuga Shiro, and Aburame Kuroko -- don't play well with others, which is probably why they were placed together."

Naga nodded. "Like I said, they're jerks." She scowled at her former classmates.

Before Yukiko could answer, a swirl of leaves pulled everyone's attention to the front of the room. It cleared to reveal a silver-haired jounin wearing a cloth mask over his lower face and a forehead-protector pulled down over his left eye. Yukiko blinked. That was Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, one of the Leaf's elite -- he was so skilled that even though he and Yukiko were the same age, he'd already graduated from the ninja academy before she'd entered. What was someone of his level doing at a chuunin exam?

Administering the first test, apparently, since he strolled over to the door, swept the application forms from the desk, and stuffed them into a pouch. "Yo. Welcome to the chuunin exam," he said, sounding bored. "It's hard, you'll probably fail, and you might die. If you want to leave, the door's open."

Several people shifted uncomfortably, but no one left.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "We'll start the first test now. Follow me."

He led the crowd of genin outside of the building, to where a temporary wall had been thrown up around several of the academy training grounds. "Somewhere in that field is a scroll you have to retrieve, guarded by traps and a few chuunin. You'll go in one at a time, get the scroll, and escape through a gate on the far side. You'll be ranked on speed, avoiding traps, avoiding the guards, and how far you get after they notice you." He ran a lazy eye over the teams. "Anyone caught cheating will be disqualified along with his team."

Instructions finished, Kakashi pulled a small book out of nowhere and slouched against the wall, reading. The genin shuffled uncertainly.

"Um, when do we start?" someone asked.

Kakashi looked up and blinked. "Whenever you want. I'll tell you when the traps are reset and the next person can go in."

The teams nearest the gateway conferred until a short girl strode forward, cracked the gate open as narrowly as possible, and slipped through. The other genin settled in to wait -- this could go on all day.

Yukiko, Iruka, and Naga looked at each other. This could be trouble -- Iruka was generally good at spotting traps and being unobtrusive, and Yukiko, of course, was an expert on hiding, but this test required the exact opposite of Naga's strengths.

"We have to cheat," Iruka muttered, pulling the other two off to the side.

Naga glared through her bangs. "We'll be disqualified! Besides, I don't need help."

"Maybe not, but we should have a plan just in case," Iruka said soothingly. "You heard what Kakashi-san said -- anyone caught cheating will be disqualified. We just have to be especially sneaky." He grinned, looking for all the world like Naruto planning a practical joke.

Yukiko gave him a wary look. "...What are you thinking, Iruka?"

"Genjutsu affects the mind," he said. "How tightly can you focus an illusion -- can you make it only affect the two of us and not anyone else? Also, can you add something to our perception without blotting out the real world?"

"Superimposing something is easy -- that's what Bunshin is based on, after all. Keeping a genjutsu from affecting the area around a person is harder -- I can keep a three foot radius with no trouble, but tighter than that is tricky. Why?"

"Kakashi-san said they'd be resetting the traps. That means they're using the same traps for each person, so if you go first, you'll know where they are. Then you can cast a genjutsu to make them stand out for us, so Naga and I can avoid them. I'd ask you to make us hard to see as well, but I think that's too obvious."

Naga scowled. "I don't like it. I can get through this on my own."

Huh. Naga had a point -- this was a test of their individual abilities -- but then again, no ninja could do everything on her own, and they were in teams for a reason. The issue had never come up in Yukiko's old team; Ame and Kasumi had been at least as smart and sneaky as she was, so the first test had never been a problem for them. With this team, though, cheating seemed more and more of a good idea.

"I'm sure you can get through this test on your own, but that may not be the point," Yukiko said. "We're shinobi. That means we have to think around corners and be sneaky. Cheating is a perfectly valid way to pass the test. Besides, we're a team. You'll do better with a bit of help, and that will help us all pass."

"Exactly," Iruka agreed. "Please don't be stubborn, Naga."

Naga twitched her shoulder irritably. "Oh, fine. Go ahead and cheat. But if we get disqualified I'll break your legs."

"If we get disqualified, I won't stop you." Iruka turned to Yukiko. "You can cast a genjutsu that narrowly focused, right?"

Yukiko tried not to panic at the sudden responsibility. If she said she couldn't, Naga would probably fail the test. If she said she could and then got caught, she'd be the one getting them disqualified -- after Sarutobi-sama had asked her specifically to help Iruka and Naga pass the exam. And getting caught cheating on the first test wouldn't make a good show of strength to impress the other hidden villages.

Could she cast genjutsu that precisely? Could she remember the position of each trap well enough to make it visible to her teammates?

...Sarutobi-sama thought so. 'Subtle and precise,' he'd said, talking about her genjutsu skills. Maybe she could do this. There had to be a reason she was on the team, after all...

An explosion from beyond the wall jarred her out of her thoughts. Iruka and Naga were watching her expectantly.

"Yes, I can. Hold still for a minute while I memorize your chakra signatures."

Yukiko took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and felt around with the combination of chakra and will she used to impose her reality on others, groping for the chakra of her teammates. Iruka was warm and smooth, a sense of comfort and control over deep sadness and pain, laced through with bubbly trails of shyness and humor. Naga was cool and raspy, like sliding a hand against the grain of snakeskin, layers and layers of wariness blocking any attempt to reach further in. Yukiko pushed a little deeper, getting a sense of outrage and driving purpose, but eased back before that buried anger could turn towards her.

She ran a mental hand over the crowd of genin, checking to make sure nobody resembled her teammates too closely. She would be safe; they were unmistakable.

"I'll be able to find you later," she said, opening her eyes, "but how will I know to start the genjutsu? I don't want to keep it running longer than I have to."

"We'll go right after you," Naga said.

"Yes, but how will I know when the traps are reset? They may not tell us on the far side."

Iruka considered that. "Does it take much chakra to watch our signatures?"

"Not as much as actual genjutsu, but it isn't something I'd want to do all day long."

"But you can do it. We'll flare our chakra when we go in. Start the genjutsu then."

"Flare it before we open the gate," Naga added, frowning at Iruka. "Don't need to call attention to ourselves inside."

"Right," Iruka said, looking embarrassed. "So we have a plan. Yukiko goes first and marks the traps and guards. I'll go next, then Naga. Just before Naga and I enter the field, we flare our chakra so Yukiko can cast a genjutsu on us, making the traps and guards stand out. If we flare our chakra again, drop the genjutsu."

"I'll make the traps bright orange," Yukiko said, smiling as she thought of Naruto's ridiculously colored jumpsuit.

"That should be hard to miss," Naga said, her cockeyed smile flashing across her face.

They settled in to wait, sitting on the grass and watching the other genin slip through the gate one by one.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was mid afternoon before Iruka decided they might as well move up to the gate and get in line. They'd eaten a small lunch from the supplies they were carrying, and had become inured to the explosions and assorted yells drifting over the wall from the field. Naga was particularly philosophical -- "Can't be worse than what you did to us last week," she said to Yukiko.

Yukiko had her doubts, but kept them to herself.

Up close to the gate, they couldn't discuss their plan any further. Yukiko amused herself by examining the other genin, wondering how they planned to avoid the traps and how they planned to cheat. She was engaged in a staring match with a green-haired boy from Hidden Grass when a stone whizzed between them to strike a shinobi of Hidden Mist.

"What was that for?" the Mist-nin yelled, glaring at Kakashi.

"Disqualified," the jounin said, still slouched against the wall -- Yukiko blinked at the red and black wheel of the Sharingan in his left eye, no longer hidden by his forehead-protector. "Good job on the summoning, but your friend went over the wall before your turn. Call the hawk back and leave."

"You can't prove anything."

Kakashi pointed at his left eye. "Actually, I can. Call the hawk back and leave." He straightened, the sudden threat in his posture unmistakable.

The Mist-nin gulped, then stuffed his fingers into his mouth and whistled. His teammates dragged him away, their faces promising retribution for his failure and their public humiliation.

Yukiko and Iruka looked at each other. "The Sharingan can see through genjutsu," Yukiko whispered. "This could be bad."

"Let's hope there are no Uchiha on the other side," Iruka said. He cast a speculative look at Naga. "Just in case... you said you could summon ravens. Can you use one as a scout?"

Naga scowled. "I said I'm learning to summon ravens. All I can get so far is day-old hatchlings."

So that wouldn't work as a fall-back plan. Yukiko sighed, watching Kakashi warily; he seemed absorbed in his book, but his left eye was still uncovered, the Sharingan recording and analyzing everything around him. "I guess we just have to hope for the best."

She looked at the gate -- only two genin were ahead of her team in line. "At least we don't have much longer to wait."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

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