Deidera watched the monitors. He had been enjoying the events of the First Exam, watching as both of his teams performed well. Hosha showed exceptional skill in the way that she led her teammates, utilizing their skills and showing their strong points.

She was doing this the smart way. His little sister was making sure that she was displaying only the best qualities of her team, showing those that were watching that they were ready for this, that they were ready to be Chunin.

He loved the way his little Hosha was working the system. She was doing her best and she was proving just how capable she was.

What surprised him was the way that she reacted to the other teams. She was very focused and kept mostly to herself whenever she was around him, but now that she was in the exams, she was freely associating with more than just her team. Well, she stuck to her two teams actually, but even that surprised Deidara.

Ever since the formation of her new team, his little sister had continued to change. This last week, the week that Roshi had requested he be able to take Hosha for some training, had also been one of great change. In just a week, his little sister had changed almost completely.

To others, she would seem the same, but he could see it. She was holding herself back, she was keeping something inside and trying not to let it loose. She was careful and she made sure she had an escape plan always.

Hosha had grown more cautious, but she had also grown surer of her abilities. When she moved forward, she did not stutter for even a momentum but moved. She was sure of her strengths and worked with her weaknesses in ways he hadn't seen before. She was also far more wary around Roshi.

Oh, he had noticed her practiced steps and her avoidance of the giant that had basically adopted her. For as long as Deidara had seen the two together, he had never seen such a gap in their relationship.

Watching the way that Hosha curled into her friend Shisui, and boy did their closeness worry him, Deidara began to think of ways to ask her what had happened to cause such a rift between the two.

"Excuse me?"

The door opened and Deidara reached for his kunai as he glanced over his shoulder. A man dressed in Jonin attire with bright silver hair was knocking on the door.

He opened the door a little more and Deidara sneered at him. "What is it, Kakashi of the Sharingan?" Deidara hissed, his eyes turning to slits.

There was of course this oaf, the man who had killed his mother. The man who had started the end of his happy family. They were Shinobi, however, and he knew better than to go after the man for revenge. He wasn't one of those idiots in Iwa who truly thought they deserved to kill the Yellow Flash. If the Yondaime hadn't ended the war then and there, far more people would have been lost.

The man stalled the war by shedding more blood than Iwa had thought possible in a single day. He had frightened them into ending the war before they lost more than they could handle.

In a way, Deidara respected the man for taking that burden onto his own shoulders.

In another way, Deidara loathed the fact that his people's blood had to be shed in order to stop the stupid war in the first place.

Kakashi hummed as he viewed Deidara quietly. He looked over to what Deidara was watching and took the moment to observe Hosha.

"What do you want, Hatake?" Deidara repeated, his eyes sharpening into a glare. He was not in the mood for the Copy Nin's games.

Kakashi hummed as he observed Deidara through the corner of his eye. Finally deciding to answer the man, Kakashi tossed a file to Deidara.

"I want to know why Hosha tested positive for the Uzumaki Bloodline." Kakashi said, his voice growing bitter as he turned only slightly to glare at the man.

"And believe me, we will have a lot of time to discuss this." He says as Deidera's eyes widen.

I~~~~I

Hosha watched as the last of the contestants filed into the room. She sat up from where she was leaning on her teammates, enjoying the few moments that they got as a reprieve. Several of the teams gave away their scrolls and some of them kept them.

By the end of the Exam they were left watching as Kushina, the Jonin in charge, clapped her hands and called the Exam to a close.

"Alrighty then, if anyone in your team is missing or if you do not have your scroll, you must leave!" Kushina spoke up, grinning through the shocked murmurs and shouts.

"Now then, get a move on, it's time for the second exam-!" She started, only to be cut off as the door opened. A man dressed in Jonin slacks walked in to the room and coughed, interrupting her. Hosha recognized the brunette right away as the Jonin she had met in Iwa, the one who had extended the invitation to them in the first place regarding the Chunin Exams.

Shiranui Genma, the youngest guard of the Yondaime Hokage, a man that not many people knew of. Hosha knew of him even before she had formally met him due to his clan being one of the leading poison specialists in all of the Hi no Kuni.

He was rushed and he talked in hushed whispers to Kushina, holding his hand over his lips to avoid anyone reading his lips.

Hosha narrowed her eyes as she saw Kushina tense up before she nodded sharply and left out the door.

Genma turned back to the Genin and offered a reassuring smile.

"Uzumaki-Hime had to leave, but the next Exam will begin shortly when the next proctor arrives." Genma said and took the moment to lean back on his board. He seemed very relaxed, but Hosha could tell he was anything but.

Strangely enough, she caught him glancing to her multiple times. Though she wondered why, Hosha didn't let it bother her. She had an exam to complete and she needed to focus on that and not getting her friends killed.

The door opened up and a very lax man with silver hair walked in. He was wearing an odd gray and black top and had a band around his arm that took on the medical symbol. A medical Nin then.

"Ah, they sent you to hold my spot Genma-San?" The man spoke. He looked very young, young enough to doubt his profession even.

The silver haired teen turned to the group of kids and gave them a disarming smile. Instantly Hosha felt her suspicions rise as she tensed up.

"Alright then, I leave them to you Kabuto." Genma spoke, pushing away from the wall as he walked out the door.

Many of the Genin watched him go, while Kabuto took to the center of the room and started to speak.

"So, I get to be your proctor for this next Exam. Those of you who didn't just blindly give up your scrolls were smart, but don't pat yourselves on the back just yet. It is only going to get a lot harder from here." Kabuto spoke up, his voice near booming. He made quite the impression on all of the Genin.

Hosha would have to watch this one closely, he was dangerous. The hair on her neck stood on end as she sat back down by her original team.

"So then, now that everyone is settled, get up. I'm going to take you to the site of the next exam." Kabuto spoke up, and everyone rose to follow the Jonin as they stepped out of the room.

He was calm as he led the group of Genin down to the courtyard of the Academy. He then turned to wink at the students, catching Hosha's eye, before he launched away.

Immediately Hosha followed, her two teams darting after her.

The Konoha Teams were right after her as they all followed their proctor. He made their job a little more difficult than it should have been, but that was to be expected.

After about half an hour of following Kabuto they came to the outskirts of Konoha, in one of the secluded training grounds. They stood in front of a large cave with three different entrances, which led down into the ground.

"Alright then, listen up! From here on out, the Second Exam begins. Your job is to get out of this Network of caves without losing any of your teammates and by finding a certain set of objects. These objects are detailed on your scrolls and will help you find the next object. If you get to the end and don't have your objects, then you fail. If you arrive at the end and you are missing a teammate, you fail. If you attack one of the proctors or try to bring the whole place down on everyone, you fail. This is not a test to see how well you can kill each other, it is a test of your ability to listen to orders and follow them!"

Kabuto shouted, before turning to gesture at the caves.

"You will each be given a number based on how you did in the last test. When your number is called you will step forward and take a path to start with. From there, well you heard what I said before. Now then, do all of you remember the papers you were required to sign at the start of the Exam?" Kabuto spoke, a smirk twisting on his lips as he watched the children around him nod.

"Well that was a liability agreement. If you die here, we aren't responsible." He said, his grin turning slightly feral as he pushed up the glasses on his face.

Hosha felt a shiver go down her spine the more she heard Kabuto talk. He set her off, made her want to grab a weapon or get out of there. If anyone made her uneasy, it was this man.

"Now then, first team…" Kabuto started, calling out Hosha's team.

Hosha was tense as she walked forward with her team to the front. Kabuto gave them a smirk and a nod, causing a shiver to go down Hosha's spine. She turned to the front and looked at the three paths.

Taking a moment she closed her eyes and thought of the energy that Roshi had showed her. He had showed Hosha how to channel a fraction of the Kyuubi's chakra in order to sense the area around her. The second cave tapered off and dropped. The third went on and on, and the first continued to go down and down.

Hosha then opened her eyes and guided her team through the third cave, ignoring everything other than her objective and surroundings. She had an Exam to finish.

She didn't notice the way that Kabuto, Sashiko, and Menma tensed when they felt the chakra, recognizing it almost instantly.

I~~~~I

Kakashi grunted as he was slammed into the wall by Deidera. The Iwa Nin was pissed, that much was obvious. He had one of his hands around Kakashi's neck and the other was holding on to a dagger that was crackling with lightning chakra.

It was odd enough to see an Iwa Nin not resorting to their strengths, let alone the opposing element they used, especially in such an intense situation.

"How dare you…How dare you imply that I would put such a monster inside of my sister! How dare you imply that just because I come from Iwa I have no care for my own sister's health or happiness!" Deidera snarled, enraged by the mere thought that Kakashi would suspect he made Hosha, his beloved sister, in a Jinchuuriki.

Kakashi's Sharingan was active and revealed as he glared down at Deidera.

"Oh, then how is she one, huh? I bet you stole her form her real family, treated her nicely, all so you could use her!" He snarled and pushed Deidera off him, reaching to drag him down and into a hold.

Deidera twisted, trying to get away but inevitably being pinned on his stomach with his hands behind his back. He snarled as well, lightning running down the dagger as Kakashi tossed it aside.

"You Iwa Nin are all the same and don't deny it. You see power, potential in her. You want to use and abuse it, twist her around. You already have!" Kakashi growled.

Deidera thrashed, trying to get free with Chakra but finding it incredibly hard to do so as Kakashi channeled lightning chakra through his chakra points.

He let out a gasp and shuddered.

"You forced her to undergo this, didn't you? Being shocked repeatedly to build her resistance to something you Iwa Nin fear. You anger me…" Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he let the Chakra dissipate, waiting for Deidera to catch his breath.

"I-I never made her…I never made Hosha do that." Deidera hissed, his body slumping as he glanced to the side, before looking up at Kakashi.

"That was her Sensei…Roshi. He is the one who trained her. A-And I would never…Ever hurt my sister!" Deidera let out the hissed breath and then, in a single movement, twisted his hips and shoved Kakashi off him. He kicked Kakashi in the waist and rose, performing several hand signs.

An encasement of mud surrounded Kakashi, holding his still as Deidera wiped some blood from his nose, his body still shaking.

"Shut up before you say something you'll regret. And stay away from my sister, Hatake." Deidera said with a menacing hiss, his breathing picking up as he stalked to the door. He threw it open.

Two men, both guards of the Yondaime, stood at the door ready to knock. They both looked shocked as Deidera shoved passed them with a murderous glare, heading to the next area they were told to wait for their teams at.

He heard slight shouts as the two rushed inside but heard nothing else as everything was drowned out by his anger.

He needed answers, and he needed them now.

I~~~~I

Hosha sighed as she stepped over another puddle. She was keeping her senses on high and had felt Shisui's team enter the same tunnel as them ten minutes earlier. They hadn't waited for them, and instead they had continued traversing the cave system. It split off into many branches and it took looking over their scrolls and seeing the patchwork map that they all formed in order to finally find out what they were supposed to get to. Their scrolls showed a vague map of the underground tunnels with a few discrepancies, meaning that Hatori was more on edge as he had to decipher them and write down the actual path.

"Here is supposed to be a drop to the first item…so we just need to make two more rights." Hatori said as he looked down and back up.

From behind the two of them, Ikate hummed and nodded. "So then, how about one of us goes and the other two stand guard, or the other way around. We aren't sure what is down there after all." Ikate reasoned.

Hatori hummed and nodded, looking back to Hosha.

Hosha held a hand to her chin, humming softly before an idea popped into her head.

"Here, how about we use clones?" Hosha spoke up, and the two both nodded as they registered the idea. In a moment they had formed their rock clones and were settling back as the clones made their way down the path.

Hosha paused as she felt something tickle the back of her senses, and she held a hand up to quite Hatori and Ikate as they whispered about the map. The two quickly quieted as they heard voices start up. Gesturing to her teammates, Hosha told them to hide quickly. They nodded and the three slipped into the shadows.

As a precaution Hatori threw up a minor illusion that would obscure their senses.

In a few moments their victims came into view. It was one of the Ame Teams. The three members were bickering over who should hold their map and who should give directions.

"I don't see why you should be holding the map, I'm the one with a better sense of direction." The first spoke, his annoyed tone grating on Hosha's nerves.

"Because I am the smartest, Sensei said so!" The second hissed back, her eyes darkening. She was dressed in reasonable attire, but her attitude needed work. She was far too confident.

The third was looking between the other two warily.

"G-Guys we should quiet down…T-There are other teams and-" He started meekly, but was interrupted when both his teammates turned to him and shouted.

"Shut up Inoue!" They hissed, causing the boy to shrink back and shuffle his feet.

Hosha wanted to roll her eyes, but instead she simply stepped out of her hiding spot. She stepped behind the Kunoichi as she started to tell off her meek teammate, Inoue.

"Stop telling me what to do idiot, it's not like you deserve to be here anyways. No one could sneak up on me anyways, so just shut your mouth like a good lap dog and don't die!" The Kunoichi snarled.

The boy followed along, though less harsh than his female teammate. "Look dude, just keep quiet and follow us."

Inoue looked up, his eyes watery as he tried to deny them. In an instant he spotted Hosha, and raised his voice to point her out.

"He is right you know, you should learn to shut up." Hosha smirked as she spoke, drawing glee as the Kunoichi turned around sharply and tensed up. She moved to grab her weapons, but was cut short as Hosha grabbed the side of her head and slammed it into the wall.

The girl crumbled and Hosha cracked her knuckles as she looked at the other boy.

"You next?" She spoke, glee in her tone. The boy growled and launched at her with a cry, aiming for a strike to her face. Hosha swiftly moved around his clumsy strike and punched him in the gut, charging lightning through her fists. The boy shot to the wall and crumbled exactly like his teammate, letting out a choked cry of pain.

Hosha stalked toward him as her eyes turned to slits. She grabbed the boy by his longer hair and pulled him up. Smirking as the boy shuddered.

"You really should learn humility, it's a valuable trait." Hosha said and punched the boy in the face.

Behind her she heard the Inoue boy step forward, and she stopped to turn to him. Inoue looked at her and reached shakily for his weapons.

"At least one of you has honor." She said and tossed the body of his comrade to his teammate's feet. Inoue gasped and dropped to check on his teammate. "I would take your teammates and run, before I decide to end them." Hosha spoke up, and her pupils slit.

The boy shuddered as he grabbed his teammate, looking over at the female.

Hosha chuckled and reached down, grabbing her by her collar and tossing her behind her teammate.

The kunoichi hit the ground behind her teammate, a thud sounding before she rolled to a stop.

Inoue rushed over, hauling his other teammate.

The moment he turned his back, Hosha darted forward.

Without a word, she knocked out Inoue and caught him as he fell. She then grabbed his teammates and hauled them off to the side in order to leave them there.

Hatori stepped out from behind her, observing her as she calmed down.

"Are you alright Hosha?" He asked, his eyes shifting in concern as he looked her up and down.

Hosha nodded. "Fine, now help me search them for their papers." She spoke, reaching and rifling through the pouches of her victims. She found it incredibly foolish that the team had no safety measures on their equipment, allowing her to rifle without a worry. Not a single seal, not a single trap.

Hatori looked back to Ikate, the two of them sharing a glance before he bent down to help Hosha. She took a couple of their scrolls, their maps, and she also took one of their weapons. It was a simple tonto, but Hosha had always been one for war prizes strangely enough. It was even the boy, Inoue's, blade.

She placed it on her back and then walked back to Ikate, holding up the maps.

"Hey, let's cross these with ours, see if they are any different." She spoke up. Ikate nodded and Hatori went to join them.

I~~~~I

Sashiko held tightly to the cave ceiling, her hands pressed deep into the rocks as her chakra held her up. The whole time she felt gravity pull on her, but she refused to let go. A good ten feet below her in mostly darkness was a group of Genin. It was the second Iwa Team, the one that had the three boys.

Sashiko's team had entered after this team, but by a series of unfortunate twists and turns they had run into them.

Thinking back, Sashiko knew that she should have taken the opposite path.

Across from her, Sai sat in a small alcove with his scroll open. Ken was down below in a crevice, his hands focused on the last sign of one of his water jutsu, the chakra building inside of his mouth.

They really didn't have a choice but to fight this team, due to them staying where they were and looking around suspiciously.

Sashiko would be lying if she didn't also want to get revenge on these people.

"Darui, do you sense Hosha?" The black-haired swordsman, Shisui if Sashiko remembered, asked.

Darui hummed and tapped his foot, his eyes partially closed.

"Nope. Guess we are on our own then." The boy spoke, sighing as he looked around. The blonde, Yarui, huffed.

"Of course. Well does that mean I can just get us out of here? I mean I can find the items real quick." Yarui spoke up.

Shisui tapped his chin and nodded.

"Yeah. We will just go find the items our own way. Meet back here-" He froze, and in an instant he was on guard.

His teammates followed as Shisui turned to the spot where Ken was located.

Sashiko nodded to Ken, and a torrent of water flooded the cave.

I~~~~I

Deidera felt his heart pounding. He needed to talk to Roshi, right away.

He didn't want to believe it, that Hosha was actually a Jinchuuriki, but he had his doubts. He had been so sure denying Kakashi, but as he thought more about it, he grew worried.

When Hosha was young, when his little sister Hosha was just a child, she had certain episodes. Moments were her mood switched off and she gained more strength than she should have.

There had been instances where she had lost herself, and he had to stop her. One of those had been the night their clan was destroyed.

There had been bodies everywhere, people torn apart seemingly by a monster, and the only survivor had been his little sister.

She had been so distraught, curled up and covered in blood. That had been the day she became his true sister, the day she no longer was just adopted, and now had their father's blood running through her veins.

Deidera stopped near the hotel as his thoughts ran wild.

His father had a hole in his chest, one no one could identify the cause of. It had been necrotic his flesh eating itself. Hosha hadn't been able to tell him anything, far too terrified. He had never gotten an answer about what had happened.

Could she have lost herself to the beast within? Did Hosha…no, did that thing that could be inside her…Kill their family? Their clan?

Deidera growled and stalked up to his room.

If so…then who did it? Who put a monster inside of his little sister? Who dared lay a hand on her head?

And when…When would they have gotten a hold of her in order to put something that dangerous inside of her. In fact, Deidera had never let her out of his sight unless she was with someone he trusted.

Then…What about before they met, when she was so small and had barely been born? What about the man who had dropped her off? Where had he found her?

His father had worried about that for many years, and so had Deidera, but after not receiving answers for several years they simple dropped it. They accepted Hosha, and that's what mattered.

Now though, this question needed to be answered.

Deidera let loose a harsh breath as he reached the door to his shared room. Roshi should have arrived, he should be here. They had planned for him to come later, getting specific permission from the Yondaime just so the Yonbi could enter the village to see his students.

He opened the door without knocking, and his eyes widened when inside, he found not only the one he was looking for, but another Jinchuuriki with him.

Roshi and Han both sat together talking in low voices, their heads turning to him as he barged in.

Roshi opened his mouth to tell Deidera to knock but he stopped when he saw just how shaken Deidera was.

"Roshi, what is this load of crap about Hosha being a Jinchuuriki?" Deidera hissed.

Immediately the two tensed up and they both looked at each other. Then, Roshi sighed heavily and walked over to Deidera. He pulled Deidera inside of the room and closed the door behind him.

"I had hoped I would wait till Hosha was ready to tell you about this…But it seems I won't be able to." Roshi spoke quietly, his tone more somber than Deidera had ever heard it.

Deidera's heartbeat picked up and his throat went dry as he looked up at Roshi.

"W-What do you mean…" He said, hoping he wasn't hearing what Roshi was saying right.

Roshi looked to Han and then back to him.

"I mean…Hosha is actually the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails. She has been…for longer than we've known her." Roshi said calmly.

Deidera froze as the information registered in his head. He couldn't believe it.

How long had they known?

How long had Hosha known?

He felt his head pound as he looked at Roshi in warped confusion.

Roshi only sighed and grabbed his shoulder, guiding him over to the beds.

"Come on, let us tell you about it." Roshi said, fully intent on explaining everything.

I~~~~I

Shashiko descended with her teammates as the water rained down. The flood filled the cave in seconds, swallowing the enemy team.

Sashiko landed on the water's surface as she flashed through hand signs. Her palm hit the surface of the water and a seal expanded from it.

"Summoning Jutsu!" She shouted, and immediately a swarm of snakes sprang forth from her palm, the snakes rushing through the water as she hissed at them to target and apprehend the other team.

Sai was at her side in a second, followed by Ken. Ken had drawn his blade along with Sai, and now they waited for any sign of the enemy. They were on high alert because their attack hadn't been as much of a surprise as they wanted.

Now they just had to hope that their first attack had the desired effect on the genin below them.

It wasn't the case, but Sashiko could dream.

There was a flash of silver near her neck, but Ken stopped it before it reached her. The black-haired boy named Shisui had drawn his blade as he glared at her. He twisted around, his wet clothes spraying droplets as he moved farther back.

From Sai's side Sashiko saw a flash of weapons, before she too was under attack by a fist rising from the water.

The team split up and Sashi was directed away as the boy, Yarui, rushed her with clenched fists.

She moved around his strikes and soon the two were dancing across the surface of the water, working around each other's blows while the clashing of metal sounded behind them. Her eyes grazed across Yarui's as the two of them continued to dance.

One of his strikes hit her arm, but she kicked his leg. They separated and then dashed back into the fray. She parried, he dodged, they continued. She could feel her breaths shortening and combing out in controlled puffs.

Water rushed up with her next kick as it slammed into the surface.

Yarui swerved around the water and slammed his palm into the surface. A rock pillar shot up at her and she was forced to dodge out of the way.

Jutsu now, she thought. This had just gotten a lot harder.

Sashiko called up her snakes, feeling their chakra as they slithered toward her location.

She needed to trap him, incapacitate him, and then get to her teammates so she could help them out.

She dashed forward again, springing off of the side of the pillar that Yarui had created to gain momentum for her clothesline. Yarui was quick to duck, but as he moved to kick her he was forced to dodge a snake as it lunged for his neck. He went backwards, displaying impressive flexibility. He rolled out of the way of another snake and sprung up, rushing back to her.

He was also intent on ending this fight it seemed. Sashiko wouldn't let him win.

She rushed him again, but this time she signaled to her summons and planned accordingly. One of the snakes slithered over the surface toward Yarui and another stayed to the side. She went for his side and he went on the defensive.

He was too late, and the snakes sprung. Sashiko aimed for his throat, and the snakes went for his legs and his chest.

The boy's eyes widened and he swerved to avoid the snakes but was struck in the shoulder by Sashiko's palm. He was sent sprawling, and he rolled across the water's surface until he hit the wall of the cavern.

Sashiko started to walk over as she grabbed a chakra suppressing seal.

Yarui looked up slowly, groaning before he hit the surface again with a splash. He was starting to sink into the water, and now is face was half-way obscured by the water's edge.

He was glaring at her when she raised the tag over him.

Sashiko raised the tag, but froze when the anger switched to triumph. Her eyes widened and suddenly sparks ignited on the boy's hand.

His other hand, hidden in the water, rose to touch the surface in a hand sign.

"Lightning Style, Thunder Wave!" He shouted, and Sashiko tried to prepare herself as lightning shot toward her and up her soaking wet clothes.

She didn't stay awake long enough to see Yarui's clone pop in the water.

I~~~~I

Yarui groaned as he hit the pale-skinned boy, Sai he was sure, across the back of the head. The boy went down and Darui was quick to wrap hip up like a neat little pretzel.

He heard the red head get shoved into a wall as Shisui rushed forward, his movements more than the boy could anticipate.

Looking up, Yarui was met with the site of Shisui running his blade across his enemy's. The boy was trying to push back, but faced with the superior strength that Shisui held, he was no match.

"That was a little stupid to engage Shisui in Kenjutsu you know." Yarui taunted the boy, enjoying the flicker of rage in his eyes.

"Besides, you don't stand a chance." Yarui said as he reached for one of his kunai and saw Darui do the same out of the corner of his eye.

Shisui held up a hand to them, or at least as much as he could while pressing his blade into his opponent's chest.

Shisui relaxed his hold without warning, and Ken pressed too far forward. The shinobi fell forward and Shisui took the moment to shove back harder, forcing Ken's head into the wall.

Yarui cheered as the boy slumped over.

"Three for three!" He shouted.

Darui sighed beside him as he went through the team's belongings.

"Shut it Yarui." He said and pulled out a map from Sai's pocket.

Yarui huffed and walked to Sashiko to take what he could find, including some of her seals just as an annoyed gesture to her using them on Hosha.

Shisui crouched to get what they needed from the last one, and together, the three left the water-ridden area. They had an Exam to finish.

I~~~~I

So uh, sorry? I don't have any real excuse. I just haven't been writing. I promise I didn't forget this story, and it isn't going to be abandoned! I have just been focusing on my Senior year and my healthcare classes. Anyways, here's a long awaited chapter, I hope you enjoy!