A/N: Sorry it's taken so long. Mostly for this one I blame the Chunin exams that I've been writing. Never seen one in Snow/Spring before, but this one is. Should be unique-ish at least. This isn't the start of it, of course, but it is the necessary set-up. It starts officially next chapter. I make no promises on when that will be out, however, as I'm currently neck-deep in a Zelda: Twilight Princess harem fic... though it's heavily Midna at first for obvious reasons. Harem, the way I'm writing it, is not set in stone however. Still, 80 pages in 3 days isn't anything to sniff at. While playing through the game, too. ;)

That, and the usual things that keep me from writing as much as I want. But most of you know how that goes. Read... review...

ENJOY!

Chap. 16 A Cold Reception

The Jonin leading the procession, a tall, slender man with a pair of round sunglasses so dark it was nearly impossible to see his face, worse a standard blue and black Jonin's jumpsuit, complete with flak vest. The only other unusual feature was that his 'headband' was worn in a bandana style.

Of course, the three Chunin hopefulls behind him, themselves followed by another Jonin team, then four more after them, were a bit less usual.

The tallest, even at just shy of thirteen, was a boy whose spikey brown hair stood just below Ebisu's shoulders. This boy wore a Konoha headband as well, and a bright smile on his youthful face as he walked just behind and to the right of his sensei. His shirt was yellow, with a large kanji in red, which meant "The Village Hidden in the Leaves", which, not coinincidentally, was the cith where all of the ninja currently travelling with them were born and raised. Given that the boy's name was Sarutobi Konohamaru, it could also be guessed- and accurately, at that- that the boy was named after the very Village where he lived. Other than his bright yellow shirt and cheerful face, the majority of his outfit was fairly standard ninja wear. Loose pants, black sandals... the only other exception, aside from the heavy pack all the younger ninja but one carried, was a long blue scarf that wrapped around his neck twice, then trailed behind him, flapping in the breeze of his own passing. It was so long, in fact, that one of their companions, and the sole female on the team, frequently had to step to the side, with a great frown on her face, to keep it from brushing against her.

This female walked in the rear of the loose, diamond-like formation, and was the shortest of the companions. In fact, the shortest attendee, although she had just turned twelve at her last birthday and was not quite the youngest by a whole month, also wore standard ninja attire, though as she was a kunoichi rather than a shinobi, the vest she wore had a lower-cut v-neck, revealing the mesh armor she, like the othres, all wore beneath their clothing. Her top was short-sleeved, going just past her shoulders, while the mesh armor went to almost her elbows. From there down, her hands were wrapped tightly in white cloth, which also wrapped around her loose trousers from just below the knee to the bottom of her feet, only sparing her lower ankle, down to her toes. Her own pack was considerably smaller than Konohamaru's, but that was because she, unlike that idiot, knew how to pack for a mission properly.

Her hair, like her father's, was a dark brown, almost black, and cut in a simple bob style, with the front edges below her chin and the back fairly high, in a similar style to what her sister once had worn.

The final companion, however, was both the least and most normal.

Aside from the sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes, there was nothing distinguishing about this ninja at all. At least, at first glance.

For one, he did not carry a backpack, unlike any other Genin. Like their Jonin instructors, all of this Genin's gear was sealed away, though in truth he carried nearly as much as the entire group somewhere on his person. His grin was small. Still there, certainly, but he did not appear as blissfully happy as his taller companion, nor as stern as the kunoichi beside and behind him, or their Jonin instructor. His outfit, much like the girl's, was as standard as can be. Black shirt, black pants, dark blue sandals, wraps at the wrist and ankle, and headband around his forehead to keep the fairly long bangs from falling in his eyes.

This young man, however, was also the least normal.

His name was Uzumaki Naruto, and he was not the boy of twelve-thirteen he appeared to be, not that half of the group he was marching with knew that. The Jonin all did, he was aware, and his whole team- temporary as it was- knew.
It was, he thought, part of the reason the kunoichi, Hyūga Hanabi, wore such a scowl. She, like her father, did not approve of Naruto... though, in her defense, she did not hate him, either, and did not even disapprove because of what he carried. As far as Naruto knew, she had no idea.

... Not that he planned to let her know. If Hinata told her, that was fine with him, but it was bad enough that old lady Tsunade had made him tell his closest friends.

... Huh, Naruto thought as that occured to him, Maybe I ought to tell Konohamaru at least... meh, when I get a chance. No way I can keep it secret right now.

The wind had started to pick up over the last hour, and the redwoods and cedars of northern Fire Country had given way to the mixed forests of The Land of Hot Springs, before the deciduous trees had, themselves, become scarcer and scarcer as they continued north-east.

They had left the Village of Yugakure, that Hidden in the Steam, three days before, and, even given the storm most sensed brewing rapidly in the foothills of the mighty mountains that made up most of Kaminari no Kuni, the Land of Lightning, they were well ahead of schedule. An entire day, in fact.

Soft though many would claim them, Konoha ninja were tougher than they appeared, and they had marched through the night twice in a row in the early part of their journey to get ahead of the game and still be somewhat rested when they arrived. Just in case.

Because they were on their way through dangerous territory, especially for two of their number. Hanabi, current heiress to the mighty Hyūga Clan, of course, was in particular danger moving through Lightning Country. The leaders of that nation's major Hidden Village, Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, had desired access to the Byakugan, the Kekkei Genkai of their Clan, for decades.

Not twelve years back, they had even kidnapped Hanabi's older sister, Hinata. Fortunately, she had been rescued by her uncle, Neji's father, Hizashi. The resulting political backlash, when it became known that Hizashi had killed a prominent ninja of Kumogakure, who at the time was their tactical leader and the head of their Jonin forces. Second only to the Raikage at the time, he had taken it upon himself to sign a treaty of friendship and alliance with Konoha.
That, of course, had just been a ruse to get close to the 'weak' daughters of the Clan.

Kumo, unlike Kiri, the Village Hidden in the Mist, had a reputation for liking Kekkei Genkai almost as strong as Konoha's. It was a commonly-accepted fact that Kumo would do nearly anything to gain the powerful All-Seeing Eye for itself.

So yes, they were slightly on-guard. Hanabi, actually, less so than her other Clansman on the mission, a Genin a year older than herself she had never met. He was a Branch member, of course, so even if he was missing she, as a main-house member of the Clan and near enough, would be able to use the Caged Bird Seal in the event of his capture to prevent him from spreading the eyes.

That, perhaps, was why he was more nervous. If Hanabi was taken, Konoha would go to war to get her back. If he was, despite that it would be easier to get more Byakugans from him, as a male, he would just be killed from a distance by Hanabi.

But the 'perfectly average' young shinobi in the middle of the leading formation didn't know about half of those things, didn't care about almost any of them. He would consider it dispicable, if Hanabi were forced to kill her distant cousin. He would consider it the very height of dishonor if Kumo- or anyone- kidnapped one of his allies to gain their power for themselves.

But beyond that, he hadn't a care in the world.

And why should he?
Despite the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was just competing in his second Chunin Exam, more than three years after his first, he was practically guaranteed promotion, this time.

His confidence, as he saw it, was just that- knowledge of what he could do, and what any competitor was likely to be able to do.

The two, again from what he could see, just did not add up fairly at all.
So yes, he was working with a stacked deck. In this rather large Exam of fifty-seven teams, nearly two hundred competitors, how many of the Genin could perform more than five A-rank jutsu without breaking a sweat? How many even knew A-rank jutsu, much less five of them? How many were accredited as Journeymen in the art of Sealing?
How many could create ten thousand or so Shadow Clones in one go if they pushed themselves a bit?
And if all else failed...

How many could stand against the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox?

None of them.

And Naruto knew it.

His companions of course, at least those who'd found out or he'd told directly, did not expect to win.

Not against Naruto.

But, he and Ebisu had been pleased to tell them when both had threatened to withdraw when they found out who their mysterious third teammate was, winning didn't matter in this exam. Of course, if you lost against the wrong person, you'd die. Then it mattered. But as far as promotion was concerned, it was how you won, or even how you lost, that mattered.

As Naruto had told Konohamaru and reminded Hanabi, the only person from Konoha who'd been promoted in his first exam had literally given up after neutralizing his foe completely. He'd still lost... but the fight had been no contest, and everyone knew it.

So no lucky blow would do it. This was all about tactics, strategy, and skill.

So yes, even though Konohamaru and Hanabi expected to lose against the older powerhouse (though he looked younger than either by a few months at least)... They still expected promotion. They were going to earn it, one way or another.

So they marched on. One more day would put them in Kumo, at a border town with a thriving port. From there, it was a journey of another week- two in storms, if they were bad- by steam-powered liner to Spring.

Of course, it was not Naruto's first visit, and, as the team moved further north by ship, he regaled them in great detail about Team Seven's first trip to the Land of Snow, where he'd become friendly with the current leader, Kōyuki Kazehana.

No one believed him, at first.

Then the ship pulled into port, and they disembarked.

No one from Konoha- there were no other nations represented on that particular vessel, as they'd booked it nearly a month before anyone else- had expected the parade, the waiting, cheering crowds.
Those had gone off, at least somewhat, when each had made their debut atop the gangway.

But they seemed strangely disappointed until Ebisu's team, and Ebisu's team alone, was invited to the Palace for a personal dinner with the Daimyo.

It was Naruto's first chance to relax the solid henge he'd been under for almost two weeks, and when he popped up into his own taller, blonde, whisker-cheeked form, any other Konoha ninja- even Ebisu somewhat, though the other Genin had believed him completely- were surprised when the graceful, beautiful Princess swept him up into a colossal hug, and practically thrust her tongue down his throat.

(O)(O)(O)

Far, far to the southwest from Uzumaki Naruto's position, a blonde-haired, buxom young priestesses eyes returned to their normal nearly pupil-less shade of lilac-purple, and at once she began to cry quietly...

But she would not give up...
Not until she had done what she swore she would. No matter how much it hurt...

(O)(O)(O)

If one had taken a large map, and drawn a line between Naruto's position and that of the priestess who cried over his actions (or lack thereof) to the Daimyo's 'assault', that line would be nearly forty-five degrees, from the Priestess to Naruto. Almost exactly, in fact. But if one drew a similar line east from the Priestess and south from Naruto, they would intersect in almost a right-angle, about a half-kilometer north of Konoha, dead-center on a training field.
Number eighteen, to be exact.

One where, despite the evening hour, a certain kunoichi, one side of her hair in a loose bun and the other completely undone due to her exertions, wearing a torn and nearly ragged cheongsam of pink with red trim, whirled the tonfa in her left arm around, just once, in a counter-clockwise motion. At the same time, the jiandao in her right flashed out in a thrusting motion, stabbing through the ring of another thrown kunai moments before it hit her ally in this particular spar.

As the three shuriken she'd deflected from their course toward her face clattered roughly to the ground, one of their side's two opponents stood from his low crouch and began to clap. His deep voice boomed out over the clearing, making several forest creatures scatter at the loud noise, worse by far to them than the ringing of steel on steel or the grunts of impact from their mock combat.

"Well done, well done! Neji, I think our rivals have had enough. Their fires of youth burn brightly, but I can see the embers beginning to bank!"

At once, the tall, long-haired young man- one Tenten had once been crushing on most severely, and not so long ago at that- stood and gave a low bow. "I agree with Gai-sensei. Your progress these last few months has been impressive. Both of you."

"Yes," Tenten growled as she stood and gave her sensei and teammate a bow as well, before beginning to seal the array of weapons scattered about the training grounds away, "But you already made Jonin, Neji. Me and Lee are still Chunin. How is this a fair fight? How are we supposed to get better when its all we can do not to get pummeled into the ground?"

Neji smirked, "A Jonin I might be, but even now I would hesitate to go one-on-one with Lee. Against you, I feel that I would fare better given the natural advantages of the Byakugan, but more-so because you have not spent six years developing and perfecting a style just to beat mine, as he has. But your progress is still impressive. I have never seen anyone seal more than seventy weapons at once, as you just did."

Tenten blushed slightly. The first part may have seemed like faint praise at first, but to one who knew Neji as well as his team, that was indeed a glowing review. Then he'd gone further and complimented her on something that, at first, he'd considered a waste of time.

"It's not good enough, though," she groused. "I still don't dare use it in real combat... it takes too long. And I can't just put them in my hands, so there's still a chance I can drop them. I mean, I'm pretty good, but... I can't guarantee it, you know? It's really risky."

"Yosh!" Lee cried out, startling the just-settling birds once more, "Tenten, your fires of youth are a raging inferno! When you have perfected your new technique, even Gai-sensei will struggle against you! I will help you develop your skills, my friend! And if I cannot, I will run ten thousand times around all of Hi no Kuni! And if I cannot do that, I will-"
"Enough, Lee," Tenten smiled exasperatedly. It wasn't that she hated him, of course not. He was one of her best friends- strange as that sounded even now, after six years of knowing him- but as loyal as they came, and one of the best, most dangerous ninja she'd ever met. And she'd met, at this point, more than a few S-classes in the Bingo Book. It was just that he could be so... so... exuberant. And it was late.

"Yes," Gai said a moment later, "Your fires all burn brightly this evening, but it's time for rest. We, after all, have a mission tomorrow!"

Tenten smiled tiredly, "Cool. What time and where?"

In reponse, Neji answered, "We'll meet at the gate. Nine A.M. The mission is only C-rank, and bandits are expected but not in great numbers. Truthfully, when I went to look, this was the highest rank available. Most of the Genin have been plowing through as much of the C-ranks as they could get in preparation for the Exams, and not many have come in since, apparently."

"Yes. Young Neji has found us an exciting mission all the same! We will be escorting a merchant from Konoha to central Tea Country, and we expect the mission to take over two weeks. Of course, I think we can do it in five days!"

"Sensei!" Gai cried, "I believe if we push our flames of youth to the extreme, we can do it in four! And make it home in time for dinner!"

The clearing rang out with four sounds. Two of them were the continually-louded cries of the two green spandex-wearing pair.
The other two were Neji and Tenten, whose palms had met their faces in resounding slaps.

Neither said a word to their companions as they walked away to bandage up scratches and prepare for bed.

(O)(O)(O)

Surrounded by more than a hundred people as the dining room, dominated by a massive, long table that could seat nearly two hundred, Naruto suddenly pushed away the Daimyo and stepped back. For a moment, the older woman- though not terribly older than Naruto- looked confused as she stumbled slightly, then regained her balance. After that, her beautiful face flickered through pain, then true hurt, and then anger.

"It's really Princess Gale!" Konohamaru could be heard whispering in the suddenly deathly-silent hall.

"Read the mood, idiot," Hanabi hissed.

"Naruto," Kazehana said, voice deceptively flat, "I understood that you would be happy to see me."

The sixteen year old blushed. It wasn't like he didn't have a huge crush on the extremely attractive actress-turned Daimyo. He did. It's just... "I... I can't. We can't, I mean."

"Oh," one perfect eyebrow raised, "I see. There's someone else, then...?"

"Well, no," Naruto demured, looking around. Every eye was on the pair, though at least a few of the young Daimyo's court looked away to pretend they weren't listening as his eye passed over them. He knew, though. It wasn't exactly hard to guess. "It's just that..."

"Then why? I thought I made it clear, last we spoke. Did you not get my letter, either...? The one I left with you as you slept before returning home?"

Naruto's face pinked, as he felt even Ebisu's glare hit his back. In fact, in the entire hall, only Hanabi, it seemed, was not glaring at him. "N- No, I g-got them... but come on, I was thirteen! And barely that! You were Princess Gale, and Daimyo of the new Land of Spring! I was f-flattered, I guess, is a good word, but... I didn't think you meant anything by it! And that letter was just a teaser for your next movie, wasn't it? I thought it was, at least..."

Kazehana flinched. "My next movie was Icha Icha: Paradise, Naruto... and approved for teen audiences or not, I would not have advertised that to a twelve year old. That was me, being honest for once. Me, Kōyuki Kazehana, telling her young savior that she admired him, and that she hoped that, when he was older, they could get to know each other better. Tell me, then... did you not understand that from the letter?"

If anything, Naruto's face turned even more red as he sputtered incoherently.

Hanabi's face met her palm in an uncharacteristic gesture for the normally-staid and self-controlled young girl. "Naruto-sempai," she growled, "Is this why you turned my sister down? A Clan heiress not enough, you had to chase a Daimyo? At least I know why she couldn't compete... Onee-sama is beautiful, but against Princess Gale..."

"No!" Naruto cried out, "It's not like that! I just- I- You caught me by surprise, that's all! I just... I need to think about it, okay? I totally misread your intentions. I get that. But let me think about it. Please. Then we can talk, and decide where to go from there."

Hanabi and Konohamaru, even Ebisu, were somewhat impressed by Naruto's apology and sudden growth of tact.

Kazehana, however, seemed less so. "Very well. I will allow you all the time to think you need. In the meantime, I formally rescind your invitation to dinner." Then she turned to the rest of the room, "I apologize. I am suddenly not feeling well. The rest of you may feel free to dine in my absence, but I will be retiring to my chambers for the evening."

As the guards stepped forward to escort Naruto and his team out- only Ebisu could actually remember the way through the twisting, beautifully-decorated corridors anyway- he felt a dual slap on the back of his head. When he turned, rubbing it in annoyance, he found both Konohamaru and Hanabi glaring at him.

"What was that for?"

The younger boy, his protege, rolled his eyes. "Because even if I thought your little speech sounded good, it fell flat! That's why! You never turn down a girl like that, especially not her! I'm ashamed of you, Naruto! There, I said it! I'm ashamed that a hard-up guy like you who's never even been kissed by a girl turned down Princess Gale!"

Konohamaru got a slap to the back of his head, this time, even harder, from Hanabi. "You are both idiots. Just... nevermind. It's not worth explaining it to knuckle-heads like you. Let's go, Ebisu-sensei. At least one of you has some sense..."

Naruto wanted to tell them, to blurt out at some point before they reached their assigned hotel, that he had done much more than kiss a girl. And that he really wanted to kiss Kazehana back. Had, in fact, for a brief moment.

But he didn't love her. Liked her, yes. She was a great person, and extremely beautiful, no matter that she was older than he by a few years.

Then again, Naruto mused to himself, are you sure you love Shion? You gave in to her... Yes, he argued back at once, But Shion used her weird dream-jutsu or whatever to seduce you! Drive you crazy! You weren't in your right mind!

But... I do kinda like her that way, at least. I don't know if it's love. Kinda, maybe, I donno. But I wouldn't mind getting to know her better...

Tenten, either, for that matter, even if she won't give me the time of day anymore. But Kazehana? She's waaaaay outa my league.
Right?

A/N2: Still Lemonish stuff coming. Haven't decided one way or another if anything will happen with Kazehana, but she will NOT be a long-term relationship in this fic at all. If anything, duration of the Chunins and that's it. Feel free to offer input one way or the other, but be assured I will be making the decision myself (though I will of course take input into account).
That lemonish stuff, therefore, may or may not include Kazehana... or may or may not even include Naruto. You'll have to wait and see, but it's probably a chapter or two off.

Also be aware in future- while this will be as much as I can make it an original Chunin Exam, and Naruto and co will be TROLLing throughout, other people are not so nice. There are some darker aspects coming up.
Won't say anything more about it at the time, though aside from: Expect two Bad Things to happen in the next few chapters. At least.

See you next time, kiddies, and REVIEW, damn it!