Thank you so much for your responses to this story. I really appreciate it. Just a quick note, occasionally I will switch POV's from Sumire to Naruto if i feel it gives a better view of the events going on.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto called over to his female teammate. She'd just been shot down by Sasuke before he left. "We could do some training to work on our teamwork."

Sakura ignored him yet again and Naruto deflated. He wasn't even trying to ask her out this time. He genuinely wanted to work on training. Not to mention their abysmal teamwork.

Team 7 had good teamwork when they were fighting Gato's goons on Tazuna's bridge with Zabuza and Haku. The two rogue mist shinobi switched sides once Kakashi mentioned Sumire-nee-chan and her mother to Zabuza. He made a mental note to bug Kakashi-sensei about how he knew that would work and get Sumire in on it. Though he was glad Haku wasn't an enemy. Zabuza wasn't too bad either, a little rough, but anyone who fights against the persecution of people like his nee-chan scored some points in his book.

The last few months since they'd returned to the village, however… Their teamwork was almost worse than when they became a team. At least then they listened to him, albeit begrudgingly and probably only to pass the bell test. Now Sasuke either ignored him or scoffed at his ideas for making their D-rank missions go quicker and Sakura went along with whatever the last Uchiha did.

A square rock crept up behind Naruto pulling him out of his thoughts on his mostly disastrous team. He stared at it for a moment, pretty sure it was Konohamaru, but just to be certain Naruto paced back and forth a couple times. He turned around forcing the 'rock' to screech to a halt.

"That's the worst disguise of all time," he scolded. "There's no such thing as square rocks. It's completely obvious!"

"You saw through my camouflage again!" Konohamaru said, his voice muffled. "You're slick, boss. Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival."

The box exploded in a burst of color to reveal a coughing Konohamaru and two other Academy students.

"I think we used a little too much gunpowder you guys," Konohamaru told Moegi and Udon.

"Why are you all wearing goggles?" Naruto asked. The three hadn't had them the last time he saw them.

Konohamaru laughed. "You used to wear goggles, remember? So, we're copying you!"

Naruto felt a warmth at their admittance that out of all the ninja in Konoha they'd chosen him to look up to and imitate.

"Are you busy now?" Moegi asked.

"Well, I was going to do some training."

"What?!" Konohamaru protested. "You said you'd play Ninja with us today!"

Naruto was about to say he knew that when Sakura walked up.

"Why would a ninja play Ninja?" Sakura said.

"They're in the Academy and it helps with their training," Naruto said.

Sakura's unimpressed look amplified.

"Hey, boss, who's that girl anyway?" Konohamaru asked. He studied Sakura before coming to an, admittedly wrong, conclusion. "I get it. You're a smooth operator, boss. Come on, I know that she's your… girlfriend."

"She's my teammate," Naruto said.

Sakura wasn't happy he didn't deny Konohamaru's assumption that she was girlfriend. So, she reacted the same way as always and hit Naruto into the fence. Konohamaru protested the reaction, and called her ugly, earning her ire and a hit himself.

Naruto lay on the ground wondering if Sumire and the others of their little group had a point with how Sakura acted towards him. He and Konohamaru stood up holding their aching heads.

"I don't even, think she's human," Konohamaru said. "Did you see how wide her forehead is."

Sakura heard and turned around. She charged at them and the four ran off, Konohamaru moving faster. He wasn't looking where he was going and crashed into an unfamiliar shinobi in black.

"Do you need something?" he asked Konohamaru. He picked the young boy up by his scarf. "So, does this hurt, punk?"

"Put him down, Kankuro, or you'll pay for it later," Kankuro's companion said. She looked around and saw a different newcomer than she expected.

Naruto followed her gaze and saw Sumire standing there in casual clothes. He grinned. "Hey, nee-chan. You just got back, huh?"

"Yeah, I can't stay long," Sumire said. "I'll need to report to the Hokage."

"Tell Grandpa, Konohamaru and I say hi." Naruto's words had the effect he wanted as Kankuro dropped Konohamaru like a hot sweet potato.

Sumire looked up at a hawk flying in circles. "I've got some time right now though."

Naruto noticed Sumire absently rub her right arm just below the elbow. He eyed her suspiciously. That type of motion combined with the look in her eyes at the same time only occurred when she had an injury bothering her. Given the top-secret nature of her 'mission', he'd get answers out of her later. With the help of Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru, of course. They were all there when the cat lady showed up to explain about the school and because they were trusted and would likely work closely with Sumire, they were allowed in on the secret. Kakashi-sensei, the Hokage, and Sumire's psycho sensei were the only others who knew.

Sumire's face lit up in recognition of the two foreigners.

"Oh, so it's that time again," she said. "Hello, Temari, Kankuro."

"You know these jerks?" Konohamaru asked.

"We met when I was in Suna a couple years ago."

Naruto suddenly realized why they were here. The Chunin Exams were about to start. 'I wonder if Kakashi-sensei will recommend us or if he'll make us wait to get more experience.'

Movement in a nearby tree drew everyone's attention. Naruto's eyebrow twitched at the sight of Sasuke lounging there, casually tossing a pebble up and down. He seemed uncaring, but Naruto could see lingering irritation. 'Probably wanted to jump in and save the day all cool and stuff,' Naruto grumbled to himself. He caught a flash of dislike in Sasuke's eyes directed to Sumire. Over the years he'd gotten quite practiced at noticing it. Naruto didn't understand why the Uchiha was glaring at Sumire whenever he was near her.

"You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed.

Naruto heard Sumire sigh and looked over to see her roll her eyes and lean against the fence.

"Oh, great," Kankuro said. "Another whelp to tick me off."

"Get lost," Sasuke said, crushing the pebble in his hand.

Sakura squealed about how cool it was, but Naruto just stared deadpan and Sumire scoffed.

'There he goes trying to look cool,' Naruto grumbled. 'There was zero point to that.'

"Hey punk, get down here," Kankuro said. "You're the kind of pesky little snot I hate the most. All attitude and nothing to back it up." He pulled the package off his back to Temari's shock.

"What? Are you going to use the Crow for this?"

"Kankuro, back off," a new voice said interrupting the standoff. "You're an embarrassment to out village."

Everyone was surprised to see the redhead standing upside down on a branch on the opposite side of the tree to Sasuke. Naruto hadn't sensed his approach at all. He was comforted by the fact no one else had, not even this guy's… teammates?

"Uh… Ah… Hey, Gaara," Kankuro said. He chuckled weakly. "They challenged us. They started the whole thing, really."

Naruto watched the newcomer, Gaara. There was an emptiness in his eyes the blond found eerily familiar. When Sumire snorted, a glimmer of recognition appeared in Gaara's eyes.

"Sumire," he said, with a small nod.

"Gaara. It's good to see you again. I knew you must be around here somewhere."

Kankuro kept babbling until Gaara glared at him with a sharp spike of killing intent. The black-clothed shinobi paled, and he stopped trying to shift the blame.

"Ah, right," Kankuro said. "I was totally out of line. I'm – I'm sorry, Gaara."

Naruto wished he could do that with Sakura and Sasuke.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he caused," Gaara said to Sumire and Naruto. He dissolved into Sand and reappeared next to Temari and Kankuro. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games."

"Alright, sure, I get it," Kankuro said.

"Hold on," Sakura said. "Hey!"

"What?" Temari asked.

"I can tell from your headbands that you come from Sunagakure," Sakura said, relishing the chance to show off her knowledge in front of her precious Sasuke. "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 and it better be good."

Naruto face palmed. Even he knew they were probably here for the Chunin Exams. Besides, he doubted they'd managed to sneak past the gate guards and all the defenses around the village, only to walk around the village with their headbands on full display. How Sakura didn't know or figure it out, he didn't know.

"Really?" Temari drawled. "Have you guys all been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on, do you?"

"They're here for the Chunin Exams," Naruto said.

"You're correct," Temari said holding up her pass. "We are Suna genin, here for the Chunin Exams."

The Suna trio turned to leave, but stopped when Sasuke called out, "Hey you. Identify yourself." He jumped down in front of Naruto and Sakura.

"Hm? You mean me?" Temari asked.

"No," Sasuke said, dismissively. "The guy with the gourd on his back."

"Tch," Sumire said. "Weren't you listening? I said his name and so did Kankuro."

Naruto grew incensed at Sasuke blatantly ignoring Sumire. What was that guy's problem?

Gaara turned around and stared at Sasuke. "My name is Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you, though."

Naruto started when Gaara's gaze landed on him.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said, pride and arrogance coating his words.

"Actually, I couldn't care less about you."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." The blond grinned ignoring the icy glares sent his way by his teammates. Hey, it wasn't his fault Gaara wanted to know his name and not Sasuke's. especially with how the Uchiha was acting.

Gaara nodded and he and his teammates left. Sasuke growled and left as well, Sakura following.

Naruto grabbed Sumire's arm. "Jiji can wait for his report a little while longer, nee-chan."

Sumire nodded. "I'm pretty sure he's in a meeting with the jonin about the Chunin Exams."

"So, we can talk now. Konohamaru, I'll come find you guys in a little while, ok?" Naruto dragged Sumire across the village to his apartment.

Naruto found Kiba at one of the training fields with Shino. "Hey guys. You busy, Kiba?"

"Nah, Kurenai-sensei left a little while ago. Some meeting with the Hokage. We did some training together before Hinata had to head home. She just left."

"Sumire said all the jonin were called to discuss the Chunin Exams that are about to start."

"The Chunin Exams?" Kiba said, sitting up. "I wonder if Kurenai-sensei will sign us up."

"Kiba, we've only been genin for six months," Shino said, ever pragmatic. "It is doubtful we would be considered ready."

"Don't be such a spoilsport," Kiba snapped. He looked down as Akamaru barked. "Right, Akamaru. When did you see Sumire?"

"Just now. She was heading to give her mission report when she bumped into us. Anyway, since Sumire couldn't give her report right away and she was rubbing her arm like it was bothering her, I called a meeting."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Come on, Akamaru. Let's go find out who hurt Sumi and if she left anything for us."

Naruto grinned and poofed away.

Back in his apartment, Naruto absorbed the memories of his two shadow clones. "The others are on their way," the jinchuriki told his adopted nee-chan.

"Is this really necessary?" Sumire asked. "I do have places to be."

"Not at any specific time. Besides if you are late you can just blame it on your tou-san's bad habits." A familiar rhythmic knock came from the front door. "It's open!"

She snickered. "I probably wouldn't even have to say anything. They'd just assume."

"Assume what?" Choji asked as he and Shikamaru walked in.

"That I'm starting to take after Tou-san too much," Sumire walked over to give her friends a hug. "Hey Shika, Chouji."

She greeted Kiba and Akamaru a minute later, Sumire asked, "So, how have you guys been? Any interesting missions or entertaining encounters with the devil beast known as Tora?"

"Yes, to the first, no to the second," Naruto said. "But that's a story for later. No stalling nee-chan."

"What happened on your mission to get you hurt?" Kiba asked.

"I thought your school was supposed to be one of the safest places?" Chouji said.

"I'm starting to doubt that especially with the troll and the teacher possessed by a Dark wizard last year," Shikamaru said. "Speaking of which, you'd been injured at the end of that year too."

Sumire grimaced in agreement. She pulled up her right sleeve to reveal a pink circle about one inch in diameter just below her elbow.

"Who, how and when?" Naruto asked, uncharacteristically serious.

"End of May and Voldemort, sort of. He had control of a massive, venomous snake with impenetrable skin. Fireball Jutsu didn't do a thing and paper bomb wrapped kunai only scratched the inside of its mouth."

"How deadly was this snake?" Choji asked.

"Don't sugarcoat it," Kiba warned, seeing Sumire bite her lip in hesitation.

"Looking the basilisk directly in the eyes will kill you, seeing a reflection will petrify you and its venom can kill you in less than a minute and only has one very rare cure," Sumire admitted after a minute.

The boys and Akamaru stared at her in horrified shock.

Naruto gave a weak chuckle. "At least your sensei put you through training without some or all of your senses."

Sumire shuddered. "Thanks for the reminder. I wasn't blind for too long since Fawkes, a phoenix, pecked out the snake's eyes."

"Sounds troublesome. How'd you kill it?"

"Sword up into its brain. Unfortunately, a fang got lodged in my arm during its death throes."

Naruto wondered if he was as pale as the others. Kiba's fang marks were standing out like blood on paper. Akamaru whined and padded over to Sumire.

She scratched the puppy behind his ears. "I'm alright. Phoenix tears have healing abilities. Fawkes cried on the wound and his tears purged the venom, sealed the skin, and fixed the bone and muscle. It's just a little sore occasionally as the healing finishes."

"Hold up," Kiba croaked out. "That scar is from a fang? Just how big was this thing?"

"Over sixty feet long."

Naruto choked at the size of the snake. It sounded like it would fit right in with the creatures of the Forest of Death. At least going by Sumire's horror stories of that training ground.

"Changing the subject," Naruto said. They all need to think of something else. "The Chunin Exams are about to start and since there's a slim chance we might participate, could you tell us about your exams we have an idea what to expect?"

Sumire smiled. "It depends on how ready your sensei's think you are, or if they want to show you how far you have to go."

Naruto grimaced. He could see Kakashi-sensei doing the latter to knock Sasuke's ego down a few pegs and get Sakura serious about training.

"There are three parts to the exam," Sumire explained. "They can vary depending on who is hosting the Exams but tend to keep to a general format. The first exam is usually a written exam on the surface. There's always a catch though. In my Exams, we were told one of our three-man squad would be picked to answer the final question. I was the one chosen and when I went into the side room, the proctor told me that not everyone on a team would be able to become chunin. I had to pick one of my teammates to not get promoted this time. I didn't choose Izumo or Kotetsu, not wanting to sacrifice their chances to increase my own, especially after all the struggles they had trying to get through past Chunin Exams. It was the right decision as we passed.

"The second is survival, we were tossed into Suna's Demon Desert where we had to fight the other teams in a type of scavenger hunt. And the third is in a tournament style where you can show off your abilities to the crowds that come watch and those who evaluate you to see if you get promoted. Just remember anything is a test."

Shikamaru groaned, mumbling about it being troublesome.

Sumire checked the time. "I need to go report to the Hokage, so I'll see you guys later." She waved and headed out.

The next day Naruto met his team on their usual bridge. They stood waiting for Kakashi-sensei to show up. Naruto wondered what his sensei's excuse this time would be and how long it was going to before Sakura – "Argh!" – exploded.

"Why? Why? Why? It's always the same!" Sakura complained. "He sets the time and then we have to wait hours for him! What about my feelings. I rushed here so fast I didn't even have time to blow dry my hair!"

Naruto just let her rant. If he wasn't worried about Kakashi-sensei being less than three hours late, he would have waited to show up. But, knowing his luck, the day he did that would be the day Kakashi was earlier. He didn't understand why Sakura would spend so much time on her hair. Sure, it looked nice, but it wouldn't last in training.

"Hey, good morning, everyone," Kakashi said from above them. "Sorry I'm late. Afraid I got lost on the path of life."

"You liar!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto just yawned. It wasn't really an interesting excuse this time.

Kakashi jumped down onto the path. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunin Exams. All three of you. These are the application forms. This is all voluntary. It's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready you can wait 'til next year.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Kakashi-sensei you rock!" He jumped up and gave Kakashi-sensei a hug. Whether he recommended them to test them or because he believed in them, Naruto didn't care. He could show everyone what he was capable of.

"Hey, don't slobber on my vest," Kakashi protested.

Naruto let go and took his application form.

"Whoever wants to take the Exams, sign the supplication and come to Room 301 at the Academy. It's at 3:00 pm, five days from now. That's it."

The young jinchuriki's euphoria soon dimmed as he realized he should start preparing. He needed to brush up on his ninja skills, make sure he had enough weapons, look over what the other villages were known for, and spend time with Konohamaru. He hadn't seen much of his surrogate cousin lately and there was no telling how busy he'd be during the Exams.

The afternoon of the start of Chunin Exams, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves waiting on Sakura. When she finally arrived, she looked nervous and gave Sasuke an odd look.

Naruto put it down to her preliminary test. They were rookies and Sumire warned him, Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru that everything was a test. A preliminary exam was the only explanation for a random foreign ninja 'kidnapping' Moegi and making her ransom the First Hokage's Scroll of Sealing. No ninja would expect a random genin to know where to find, and be able to steal, a top-secret document. And they certainly wouldn't know Naruto could.

Inside, Naruto tried to get his teammates to keep walking. He knew they were only on the second floor because they passed the permanent purple mark on the wall from a prank, he, and the rest of the Torikkusutā pulled. Unless there was some serious remodeling in the six months since he'd been there, there was no Room 301 there and he told his teammates that, well most of it. Sasuke, however walked right up to the ninja in front of 'Room 301,' ignoring Naruto's glare.

"We're just thinning out the herd," the ninja on the left said.

"Real nice speech," Sasuke drawled. "Now both of you step aside and let me past. And while you're at it, release the genjutsu. We can see through your illusion anyway. We're going to the third floor."

"So, you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" the left ninja said.

"Go ahead, tell them, Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did."

'Okay, so at least some good came out of this clusterbomb,' Naruto thought. 'Sakura needed the confidence boost. But now there's a lot more competition. Damn your need to show off, Sasuke.'

After the confrontation with Bushy Brow and his squad and more of Sasuke's arrogant posturing, Naruto turned to his teammate. "Well done Sasuke, you just increased the competition."

The last Uchiha scoffed. "The more the better."

Naruto rolled his eyes and led his teammates to the real Room 301 after Sasuke and Lee had a brief scuffle. Outside the room they saw Kakashi-sensei.

"Glad you came, Sakura," he said. "For your sake and the others. Now you can formally register for the Chunin Exam."

"Why? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"The Exams are only taken by teams of three," Naruto said.

"Exactly, Naruto. Even though it is an individual decision, it affects all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want the other guys pressuring you. At the same time, I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate because of any feelings you have for Sasuke, or Naruto. I wanted you to come to a decision of your own free will." Kakashi-sensei looked at the three of them. "Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. I'm proud of you. I couldn't ask for a better team. Good luck." He stepped aside.

"We won't let you down, sensei, dattebayo."

The three rookies walked into a room full of other genin from all over. Naruto was glad to see his friends from the other teams. he could have done without Ino and Sakura fighting over Sasuke… again… and drawing the attention of a fellow Konoha genin.

Kabuto made Naruto uneasy. A look at Shikamaru, Kiba ad Chouji showed they were unnerved by his ninja info cards too. Whether he got his info from finding their files or through chakra, Naruto didn't like a stranger knowing that much information about him. And how did he get the mission statistics for that Gaara guy anyway?

Naruto was glad when Ibiki Morino and the proctors showed up, otherwise who knows what those freaky Sound ninja would do. He really wasn't looking forward to this written exam. He wasn't fond of tests and Sumire had told him some stories of Ibiki. The Head of Torture and Interrogation as their proctor? This wasn't going to be easy.

He was still uneasy as he took his seat. As Ibiki went over the rules, Naruto listened carefully trying to figure out the hidden test. As Kakashi-sensei would say, "Look beneath the underneath." Clearly the tenth question was the make or break or moment, so the other questions probably didn't really matter. Maybe he could get away without answering any, but if Sumire and the others found out he didn't do his best… Naruto shuddered.

He didn't think the score really mattered, except in the case of cheaters. Grading would take too long. He decided to look over the questions and try to answer at least one, just in case.

The first question he was able to give a reasonable stab at. It was codebreaking and he and his friends spent ages coming up with their own codes. Kakashi had helped him learn codebreaking too since the techniques for they were similar and helpful to know for Fuinjutsu. He quite enjoyed breaking down and creating seals and he always felt closer to his parents then.

Naruto had fun breaking the problem down and rearranging it to find the right translation, but he couldn't be bothered with the others. They were all a lot harder and even though he was pretty sure they were expected to cheat, he didn't really want to… Sure he loved pulling one over on people, see Exhibit A: The Torikkusutā, and Exhibit B: Prank the Anbu and T&I with Sumire, but his ways of gathering intel wouldn't work in a crowed area without a distraction. Which if he did, say, drop a smoke bomb for cover, it would give everyone else cover and increase the number of people not caught.

He had a sudden idea. In a corner of his test, Naruto wrote down a plan for gathering intelligence when on a mission, using henges and shadow clones. Also, he wrote down why he didn't do anything there.

"Alright, listen up," Ibiki said. "Here's the tenth and final question. Naruto sat up ready to hear the exact wording of the question. He didn't want to mishear and end up failing. The rules seemed to be key. They could choose to answer the question, but if they didn't, they and their teammates would fail too. But if you answered wrong, you'd fail and could never take the Chunin Exams again.

Naruto thought through the rules remembering Sumire's story of her Chunin Exams. If he chose not to answer his whole team would fail. He wouldn't do that to Sakura and Sasuke. If he got the question wrong, only he would remain a genin.

He was aware of a lot of people quitting in the background as he puzzled through the situation and came to his decision. The number of people quitting seemed to keep going. Eventually it went quiet.

"Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else," Ibiki said after it was silent for a couple minutes. "For those of you remaining there's only one thing left for me to do. And that's for me to tell you… That you've all passed the first exam."

"Hold on!" Sakura cried. "What just happened? What do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?"

Ibiki chuckled. "There never was one. Not a written one at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question.

"Wait a second," a kunoichi from behind Naruto said. "So, the other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time?"

"No, no not at all. Quite the opposite. The first nine questions were to test your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances."

Ibiki went on to explain the point of questions and how they had to cheat, but cheat well. He took off his bandana to reveal all his scars on his head as he explained the importance of accurate information. He gave the reasons behind the final question, what the entire point of it was and how chunin must always make that difficult of decisions.

"You have passed through the first gate," Ibiki concluded. "I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Selection Exam completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck."

A ball broke through the window. Kunai lodged themselves in the ceiling. Two people spun out of the banner, one clearly not expecting it as he or she tumbled to the side.

Naruto gulped as he recognized the second figure as Anko Mitarashi, Sumire's pyscho-sensei.

"Head's up boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating," Anko said. "I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi."

"Damn it, Anko. A little warning next time? And how about you quit spontaneously dragging me places. This is the second time in the space of a week."

Naruto stared as Sumire stood up brushing herself off. She was covered in mud and her clothes were all torn-up like she'd just been through training from hell. With a start he realized they were the same clothes from when she left to speak to the Hokage a week ago.

Again, thank you for all your responses. I just have one thing I'd like to ask is when you leave a review, please leave an actual review and don't just use it to recommend something to me so that I write in that fandom. I don't mind recommendations, even though I still have a dozen books and multiple TV shows that I haven't read/watched yet. However, I already have multiple stories that I haven't worked on in ages, some of which I'll probably edit before continuing, plus a couple stories started, but not posted and a few half-formed ideas that haven't really gotten off the planning stages.

If you want to bring up something that doesn't seem to be working for you or appears to be a little plot-holey, constructive criticism is always appreciated and I will read and try to answer all reviews/questions. Even if it is to say 'Spoilers.' If there are things you're wondering if you'll see, I'll be able to tell you yes, no, maybe or again, 'Spoilers' and if there are things you'd like to see... I'll listen, but this story is written through 3rd year Halloween, hard outlined through the beginning of 4th year, and rough outlined through the beginning of 7th year, so... Please don't expect your ideas to end up in the story. I've done that before and trying to incorporate multiple different ideas that reviewers gave me did not go well. For me or I feel, that story. I feel like in trying to please everyone the story didn't have a clear path and seemed to be shifting even between chapters. So, anyways, I appreciate the ideas and I'll read them, but there are story beats that cannot be changed and I can't put myself through the anxiety of trying to please everyone again.

I didn't intend for this to be this long, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate every follow, favorite, and review. I do read every review and try to respond to them all, even if it's just a quick "Thank you" but I will be monitoring all guest reviews now, so if it doesn't have anything to do with this story, also don't use reviews for this story to get me to update other ones it won't work and doesn't tell me how you feel about this one, it will probably be removed.