KEIKO UCHIHA : the uchiha sister.

04 | Chunin Exams

5 Years Later, Keiko is the age of 12.

(rewritten)

Kankuro tried to protest, but Gaara wasn't having it.

"Shut up. Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro smiled nervously. "Ah- right. I was totally out of line. I'm- I'm sorry, Gaara. I was totally out of line."

Gaara turned to Sasuke, "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused."

They stared at each other for a bit, tension rising before Gaara turned into sand and appeared next to Temari and Kankuro. And just as he did, a cloaked figure appeared next to him. The shadow from the hood cast over it's face, so only it's mouth was visible. Sasuke scooted back a bit, sensing a dark aura admitting from the figure. It hasn't just appeared — it flickered.

"Let's go." the cloaked figure said, revealing a feminine tone.

Sasuke glared at her. She had a familiar presence. And she appeared looking like she was glitching, but how? The group began walking away, but Sakura stopped them.

"Hold on! Hey!" they stopped. "I can tell from your headbands that you come from the village Hidden in the Sand. Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So state your purpose."

"Really?" Temari sighed, and they turned around. "Have you guys all been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on, do you? We have permission."

She held up a chunin exam form, to which Sasuke gasped.

"Of course, you're correct. We are Hidden Sand genin. Our home is the land of wind. And we're here for the chunin exams. Get the picture?"

Naruto sweat-dropped, "Chunin exams? What's that? Well, I've never heard of any chunin exams, believe it."

Temari chuckled, crossing her arms, "I believe it, all right, that you're totally clueless."

"Hey boss! Those are the exams that every genin's got to take in order to graduate to being a full-on chunin." Konohamaru stated.

Naruto grinned, "Why didn't you say so?! I am so there!"

They all turned back, and began to walk.

Sasuke jumped down, "Hey. You two. Identify yourself."

Temari turned around blushing, "Hm? You mean me?"

"No, the guy with the gourd on his back and the short one." Sasuke said, pointing.

Gaara turned around, "My name is Gaara of the desert. I'm curious about you, too. Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." he stated, making the cloaked girl shift in her step. "Now, cloaked one, what's your name?"

Gaara glanced over at the cloaked girl, giving her a suspicious look. Before Sasuke could read what his expression said, he turned back the other way.

"My name is not required to know." the cloaked girl said without turning around, "And you shouldn't call people short."

Her voice...it's so familiar... Sasuke thought to himself. Could it be? No, Keiko died years ago.

All of a sudden, the boy fell to the ground holding his arm with a face of pain. It was bleeding, and looked like it had been cut. He winced and looked back up to the cloaked girl, whose cloak was flowing in the wind. She flickered away once more, leaving the sand genin to jump off. Sakura rushed to Sasuke's side, but he just stared forward. Turning around, he widened his eyes. There was a senbon covered in blood.