-1A Naruto Winx Club Crossover

Fairy Wings

By: Grounders10

--Break--

"Talking"

'thoughts'

Kyuubi

--Break--

Chapter Two: Left Out

--Break--

Naruto tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the Hokage to finish his speech about the 'real reason' behind the Chunin exams. 'So we're just sacrifices to keep the peace.' She thought as he spoke. It had been three days since she had been 'informed' about her heritage and she was itching to relieve was stress. Sasuke had been avoiding her, and Kakashi was his usual absent self, so she couldn't relieve stress by beating either into the ground. Sakura had been around but both of them knew that Sakura wouldn't last long enough for her to vent.

'When is he going to finish the speech?' Naruto thought. Evidentially she wasn't the only one who was tired with listening because one of the foreign ninjas spoke.

"Would you just tell us the details of the exam." Growled the sand village ninja with red hair, "I can handle anything you throw at me." More then a few leaf ninja bristled in outrage that the Sand nin had the audacity to interrupt the Hokage.

The Hokage just nodded. "Very well then. I'll tell you exactly what you'll all be doing in the final exam." He said. Before he could continue though, a large cloud of smoke erupted just in front of him. It cleared to reveal a Leaf Jounin kneeling before him.

"Before you begin Lord Hokage." He said, never raising his head, "Please allow me, Hayate Gekko, to speak first."

"Speak then." The Hokage said with a nod of his head.

Standing Hayate looked at the chunin candidates. "Before we begin there is--" He coughed several times before continuing, "There is something I need you to do before the third exam." He coughed again. "I'm afraid we need to have a preliminary exam before the real one." He said.

Murmurs spread through the crowd of Genin. "What do you mean preliminary!" Shouted Shikamaru.

"Yeah, why do we need a preliminary?" Sakura shouted, "Why can't we just move onto the third exam?"

"Uh.. Well you see, the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chunin Exams a preliminary round can be held at any stage, in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining." He said before coughing several times. "A lot of important guests will be arriving, and they only want to see the best. We don't want to waste their time so I'm afraid that we need to--" He paused to cough again.

'Is this guy healthy enough to even be here?' Naruto wondered, a thought shared by several others in the group of Genin.

"Need to thin the ranks a little. Now, if any of you aren't in top physical condition, now is your chance to pull out." He said once he recovered, "Because the preliminaries will be starting immediately."

"COME ON! YOU MEAN RIGHT NOW!" Kiba shouted.

Naruto grinned slightly as she listened to the complaints. "Oh come on dog-breath. Don't tell me your still tired!" She taunted, "I mean you've only had four days of rest."

He growled at her as the entire group looked at the two of them. Sakura rolled her eyes at her team mates antics. 'If I didn't think she was Naruto before, I do now.' She thought.

"Um excuse me!" Said a white haired Konoha Ninja, "I'm afraid I'm not exactly in the best condition at the moment. I'd like to pull out."

Hayate looked down the list of candidate he held. "Kabuto Yakushi, of the leaf, right?" He said, and received a nod. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I've used up most of my chakra and I haven't been able to hear out of my right ear since the first exam. I can't continue." He said with a shrug.

"Alright, you may go." Hayate said with a nod.

'Something's not right about this.' Naruto thought as she watched him leave. 'He hasn't even got a scratch on him, and he doesn't act like someone who can't hear out of one ear.' She turned her attention back to the proctor who was explaining the rules.

"There are no rules. You will fight until one dies, concedes defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the match." He coughed lightly, "That said, I will stop the match if I feel that the match is over." He said, "Now, it is time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you." He looked over at a purple haired woman in a trench coat. Naruto recognized her as the crazy examiner lady from the second exam.

She turned her head towards the wall. "Open the panel." She said into a microphone she wore. Before any of the Genin had a chance to wonder what she meant a massive section of the wall slid open to reveal an electronic display.

Hayate looked back at the Genin. "The names of each pair of opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match these names will appear on the display behind me. As there's nothing more to say lets begin." He said, "In a moment the names of the first two opponents will appear."

The board flashed to life and names started cycling across it too fast to read before finally settling on the names:

Naruto Uzumako

VS

Kankuro

Naruto grinned. "YES!" She shouted, punching the air.

The sand ninja with the face-paint scowled. 'Great it's that brat.' He thought, looking at the girl. 'This'll be easy.'

The Proctor coughed to get everyone's attention. "Would everyone except those chosen please leave the floor and head to the balconies." He said.

As everyone left the arena floor Kankuro's sister stopped next to him. "Don't get cocky Kankuro. She's different then before." She whispered, glancing over at the other blond girl, who had one hand hovering near her kunai holster. She was grinning in anticipation.

"You worry too much Temari." He said, "This'll be over in less then a minute. I won't even need Karasu."

"Just be careful." Temari said before following everyone up to the balcony.

Naruto surveyed her opponent, who stood in with both hands in his pockets. 'He still thinks I'm useless, like before.' She thought, remembering her run in with him before the exams. 'He really shouldn't be so arrogant, we didn't even get a chance to fight earlier.' She mentally scowled at that thought. Yeah sure he didn't know what she could do, but conversely she didn't know anything about him either.

"Just give up." Kankuro said, "It'll save you the pain of defeat."

"I was about to tell you the same thing." Naruto said, drawing a kunai.

--Balcony--

Kakashi frowned behind his mask as he looked down at his newly-female student. 'Careful Naruto, he's more dangerous then her appears.' He thought with worry.

"Sensei." Sakura said, "How do you think Naruto will do?" She asked.

"The dope will be fine." Sasuke said, leaning on the railing. Sakura shot him a surprised look. "She's better then she used to be." He said, grudging respect in his voice.

"Sasuke's right, Sakura. She'll be fine, so long as she doesn't underestimate her opponent." Kakashi said, "Sand ninja are fewer in number then those in other Hidden Villages, but they're much more dangerous on average, due to a more intensive program."

--Arena floor--

"Cocky, aren't you?" Kankuro said with a smirk, "Your going to regret that you know."

"You'll be the one regretting." She said.

"Excuse me, but if you two have nothing else to say I'd like to start the match." Hayate said, cutting both off.

"Alright, I'm ready." Naruto said, drawing a second kunai.

"Heh, yeah I'm ready to." Kankuro agreed, before removing one hand from his pocket.

"Very well, let the first match BEGIN!" Shouted the proctor.

Naruto sprang forward the moment the word left his lips. She threw the kunai in her left hand at Kankuro, who casually stepped aside and twitched his fingers. Naruto leapt into the air, dodging a chakra string she'd noticed at the last moment.

In mid air she drew a brace of shuriken and threw them at Kanhuro. He jumped back slightly, allowing the Shuriken to impact the ground. He sidestepped the Kunai she threw a moment later. He smirked as he heard it impact the wall.

"Is that it?" He called as she landed lightly where he used to be standing.

"You should pay more attention." She said forming half a Tora seal.

Kankuro's eyes went wide and he whirled around towards the wall. The paper bomb wrapped around the Kunai exploded, throwing Kankuro across the room. The bandage covered bundle on his back came loose and bounced across the floor while he slammed into the opposite wall.

--Balcony--

"YEAH! YOU DID IT NARUTO!" Sakura cheered, jumping up and down.

"Tch. It wasn't that impressive." Sasuke scoffed.

'Something's wrong.' Kakashi thought with a frown, 'That was way too easy.'

Further down the balcony both Teams 8 and 10 stared in shock. Well Team 10 stared in shock with Kiba, Hinata fainted, and Shino said nothing.

"Is that… really Naruto?" Ino asked in shock.

"Yeah, that was amazing." Choji said.

Shikamaru frowned. Yeah that was a good move, distract the opponent with normal weaponry then slip an explosive one behind their back. Standard, but good. The problem was it worked too well. 'That shouldn't have worked.' He thought, 'No way that guy got this far without being good.' A moment later he was proven right.

--Arena Floor--

Hayate sighed and raised his hand to declare Naruto the winner when a crumbling sound was heard. Everyone looked at Kankuro, who was slumped against the wall. His head slowly came up to reveal his face. A large crack ran across it, as though it had been made from stone that was starting to break apart. A portion of his face suddenly broke away to reveal wood.

'What the hell?' Naruto thought, taking a step back in shock, despite being on the other side of the room.

'Just as I thought, a puppet master.' Kakashi thought from the balcony as his other two Genin stared in horror.

The rest of the face fell away revealing a wooden copy with three eyes. The clacking of wooden joints could be heard as the head and mouth moved. Four wooden arms burst from within, completely destroying the clothing that shrouded it. A ragged cloak covered the wooden figure.

The sound of moving cloth caused everyone to looked at the bundle as a hand stuck out of it with part of the bandages in it. A moment later the bundle exploded to reveal Kankuro kneeling in a circle of bandages.

His hand twitched slightly and the only warning Naruto had was the sound of wooden gears and joints rubbing against each other. She instinctively flipped backwards in time to avoid a barrage of senbon needles from the wooden figure.

"What the hell?" Shouted Naruto looking back and forth between Kankuro and the wooden machine. "What is that thing?"

Kankuro grinned sadistically. "Its name is Karasu. I'm surprised you actually forced me to use him. However this match is over." He said as his fingers started dancing.

The puppet lunged forward, a large spike protruding from its mouth. Naruto twisted out of the way and retaliated with a kick that sent the puppet spinning away. She moved to attack Kankuro directly, but was forced to dodge a second barrage of Senbon.

'Damn it.' She thought as she frantically dodged back and forth through the puppet's attacks. 'I can't get to him with this thing attacking me.' She thought as she used her kunai to hold off the large spike from the puppet's mouth. Poison slid down the length of the spike onto the kunai, and from there to the ground. Naruto took as step back to maintain her balance. 'I need to get at him, but how?'

She suddenly broke into a grin as an idea came to her. Angling her kunai she twisted to her left as spike slid off her kunai towards. She planted her left hand on the ground and, using the hand as a rotation point, brought a heel down on the head of the puppet, crushing it against the concrete floor. She pushed off with her hands and stood up, on top of the puppet's head. A loud crack was heard as her feet went through the back of the head.

Kankuro grimaced. While the head wasn't exactly the most important part of Karasu it did contain the majority of its ranged abilities, and the giant spike he'd just used. 'Girl's better then I thought.' He conceded mentally, 'but this is over.' He yanked the chakra strings attached to his puppet and grinned evilly. A loud creak came from the puppet as its elbow joints popped open. Grenades flew out of the openings a moment later, bursting into clouds of purple gases.

Panicking Naruto threw herself away from the expanding cloud of gas. She rolled to an kneeling position as she cleared the smoke and looked back apprehensively. She clutched her chest a moment later and gave a hard dry cough, spattering blood across the ground.

--Balcony--

"Poison gas!" Sakura exclaimed in worry when her team mate started coughing up blood. The metal railing she was gripping gave a loud shriek of protest as her grip doubled in strength. Everyone in the area looked at her as she removed her hands from the railing. The area she had been gripping was crumbled like paper. "Oops." She said sheepishly while both Sasuke and Kakashi gave her revaluating looks.

'She says oops when she just crushed solid steel?' Kakashi thought is surprise, 'Maybe I should teach her how to control that strength… She'd be quite good at close combat if she could.'

Sasuke on the other hand felt a quiver of fear and wonder at her demonstration. 'She used that strength on Naruto?' He thought, glancing back to his now female team mate, 'No wonder the dobe can take a beating if he constantly gets hit that hard.' He frowned as he looked at the 'new girl' of their team as she coughed. 'She better forfeit. She can't win with poison in her bloodstream.' He thought.

--Arena Floor--

Naruto gritted her teeth as pain washed over her. "Damn it." She whispered before coughing again.

"You ready to give up brat?" Kankuro shouted at her as the poison gas dissipated to show a headless Karasu floating at the ready.

"Go to hell make up boy!" Naruto shouted at him, as she defiantly forced herself to her feet despite the pain. As she rose the signs of the poison slowly disappeared. The shaking slowed, then stopped as her breathing became less laboured.

"What the hell! You shouldn't be able to stand!" Kankuro shouted. The poison he used was specifically designed to cause immense amounts of pain as it slowly destroyed its victims lungs.

Naruto smiled grimly at him through bloodied teeth. "I never give up." She growled at him before forming a hand seal that her team mates recognized instantly.

--Balcony--

"So she's finally gotten serious." Kakashi said with amusement, "It's about time." Both of his other students looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean Sensei?" Sakura asked. Naruto had been fighting better then she'd ever seen her. Sasuke nodded in agreement with her.

"She hasn't been using her Shadow Clones yet." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Kurenai and Gai frowned at him as he said that. "Kakashi, my Eternal Rival don't tell me you taught that girl such a Jutsu!" Gai said.

"Gai's right Kakashi." Kurenai said, "Shadow Clones take too much chakra to create for a Genin to use it safely."

Kakashi just gave his usual mysterious look. "That girl has more chakra then I do." He said, "Just watch her. You'll see." He turned back to his student with a hidden smile. Glancing at each other Gai and Kurenai both decided to follow his example.

--Arena Floor--

A moment after the unique cross seal of the Shadow Clone jutsu was formed a large area of the arena was engulfed in white smoke. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto whispered as the smoke dissipated to show over two dozen identical clones of her. Each one fell into an offensive stance with the kunai they held. The original grinned as she heard the surprised mutterings of the Jounin in the room. "Well, you want to give up, make up boy?" Shouted the original and her clones.

--Balcony--

"No way…" Kurenai whispered at the impossible sight. She could make two dozen shadow clones herself, after all she was a Jounin, but it would take nearly all of her chakra. This genin had just made the same amount, without even the slightest effort.

"I didn't teach her the technique." Kakashi said, "She learned that jutsu in three hours from the Forbidden scroll with no help. In three hours she mastered a Jounin technique most can't even use that often. When I fought her during the bell test she must have used nearly the same amount as she is now, only that was on an empty stomach."

"On an empty stomach?" Kurenai repeated. "Still she's held back too long. I don't think cloning herself will do her any good with that poison in her bloodstream."

"Stop underestimating Naruto." Sakura said, cutting into the Jounin's conversation, "Out of all the leaf Genin in this room Naruto's the most determined out of all of us. It doesn't matter how many times you knock her down. She'll just get back up again and again. The only way to stop her would be to outright kill her." The confidence in her voice was palpable to those around her. "I guess you could compare her to a bad cold." Sakura said with a grin, "You can't get rid of her easily."

--Arena--

Kankuro cursed as he eyes the number of clones. He'd seen people make this many clones before, but they were always regular clones, useless unless your enemy had a brain made of wood. These… these were real solid clones, and quite a few of them. 'I don't have enough weaponry to take them all on… I've got to buy time until the poison takes out takes her out.' With a quick pull on the chakra strings all of Karasu's limbs detached and floated up into the air before the horde of clones. Foot long blades folded out of the ends of the limbs.

Naruto frowned as she watched the blades begin to spin, forming what appeared to be an impenetrable wall of steel. That was going to be a major problem if she couldn't find a way around it. Though Kankuro didn't know it the major weakness of the Shadow Clones used by Naruto was the fact that they could only take one strike that broke the skin before popping, just like a balloon does when it hits a needle.

Naruto's eyes flickered between her clones and Kankuro's floating blades before she grinned at a new idea. 'That'll work.' She thought before grinning. "YOU READY TO LOSE MAKE-UP BOY!" She shouted.

Kankuro scowled back at her. "You've already got one foot in the grave so why don't you stay there!" He shouted back and sent his blades whizzing towards the clone army. Naruto just grinned as she and her clones charged forward to meet the line of spinning weapons.

Up above the spectators watched as Kankuro's blades and Naruto's clones collided in an explosion of sparks and smoke. Occasionally one of the clones would be hit by the blunt end of one of the weapons and be sent flying into the walls where they would explode into clouds of smoke.

Kurenai glanced away from the melee below and looked at Kakashi. "I hate to disagree with you Kakashi, but your student isn't going to win that way. Shadow clones are nice, but--" Kurenai was cut off by a lazy voice.

"This battles already over Kurenai-Sensei." Shikamaru drawled lazily, "That Sand Nin's lost."

"What do you mean Shikamaru?" Ino asked, "Naruto's getting her butt kicked by those blades. I can't think of a way that she could win."

"It's too troublesome to explain." Shikamaru said and ignored the growl from his Blonde team-mate. "Just watch, you'll see… now." He said as the last Naruto exploded into smoke as three blades punctured it.

Down below Kankuro was looking around furiously for the real Naruto. "All clones… Where the hell did that Bitch go!" He shouted angrily as he turned around and checked the rest of the arena. The sound of something falling was the only warning he got before pain exploded in both of his shoulders. His control wavered and his blades clattered to the ground as he fell to his knees. He looked over his shouldered to see a grim Naruto with a kunai buried in each of his shoulders. "Where the hell did you come from!" He growled.

Naruto ripped the Kunai out of his shoulders and gave him a snap kick to the head, sending him rolling across the ground in pain. "When you look for a ninja don't forget to look straight up." She said, causing his eyes to widen.

Kankuro looked at the ceiling dozens of feet above. "H-How did you get up there?" He asked as he tried to re-establish control of his puppet's blades, only to scowl as his chakra slipped from his grasp. 'What the- What did she do?' He wondered.

Naruto grinned. "When you sent one of my clones flying I used Kawarimi to replace it. Then with everyone's attention on the battle I scaled the wall and waited for an opening. Though I think Shikamaru might have spotted me." She said with a shrug. "So how are you liking the poison on my Kunai? I got it from that spike you tried to run me through with."

Kankuro's face went pale when she mentioned the poison. "F-From the spike?" He said. 'Shit… No wonder I can't use my chakra that one's designed to disrupt chakra control.' He silently cursed. "Heh… well I guess you got me…" He said out loud. He turned to the Proctor. "Hey, I've got nothing left. I forfeit." He said.

"YOU WHAT!" Naruto shouted in outrage. "If you were going to give up why did you fight in the first place!"

Kankuro laughed at her. "I fought because I thought I could win. Looks like I should've taken sis's advice. You are better then you look." He said with a grin.

Naruto blushed. "Um… Thanks." She said unsure of how to respond to that.

"Are you sure you want to forfeit?" Hayate asked.

"I have no chakra left. I forfeit." Kankuro repeated.

"Very well." Hayate said. "THE WINNER OF ROUND 1 IS NARUTO UZUMAKI!" He declared.

"WAY TO GO NARUTO!" Sakura shouted while leaning over the railing. Next to her Sasuke smirked.

'Great goin' Dobe.' He thought silently.

"She… She did it. I don't believe it." Kurenai said in surprise, something that was shared by the rest of the Jounin, excluding Kakashi.

"I told you she would. Do you really think she spent the last several days doing nothing?" Kakashi asked, "All she's been doing for the last several days is getting used to her body. In fact I'd say she's even more dangerous now then before."

"So it would seem Kakashi." Kurenai agreed. 'How did she get so much better in only a few days?' She wondered as she watched Naruto head for the stairs leading up to the balcony. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs she stumbled and fell forward. An instant later Kakashi was by her side.

'Poison. She's been fighting through it ever since that poison grenade went off. Even without the Kyuubi helping her immune system is still quite formidable. But it appears she's taken as much as she can. Good thing that the Sand nin forfeited, otherwise she would have lost in couple more minutes.' He though as he gathered her up before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, bound for the medical wing of the tower.

--Hospital, Five Hours Later--

Naruto shifted around in the medical bed she had been assigned. She was annoyed at the fact that, despite her insistence that she was fine, the medical personnel had refused to let her return to the arena and watch the rest of the fights. On the other hand she was allowed to rest in a rather comfortable bed. "When are they going to let me out of here?" She grumbled and pouted as she leaned back into her pillow.

"When your in a condition to leave."

Naruto's head whipped towards the door. "Hi Kakashi-sensei." She said with a wave. "How'd Sakura do?" She asked as he walked over to her bed.

"No worries about Sasuke?" He asked and sat down at the end of her bed.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah right. Teme probably beat them by starring at them until they forfeited." She said mockingly.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said with a disapproving frown.

"Yeah yeah…" Naruto waved him off, "So how'd she do?"

Kakashi sighed and made a note to talk to both Naruto and Sasuke about their behaviour before replying. "About as well as expected… She was matched up against Choji Akimichi."

Naruto winced. "Ouch. I take it she lost. So how is she?" She asked worriedly. Choji was a nice guy, but even if he held back a bunch Sakura was no match for him in close combat, which was about all Sakura could do with her limited skills.

"Several broken bones. Concussion. She just kept getting back up. I can tell Choji didn't like knocking her down repeatedly." Kakashi said. It had been painful to watch Sakura get knocked down again and again, all the while Choji was telling her to just stay down so he didn't have to hurt her more. "Then she called him fat…"

"No wonder she has a concussion and broken bones." Naruto said dryly. If there was one thing she knew about the chubby ninja it was not to call him fat. The moment you did all bets were off. "He probably knocked her into a wall."

"Yes, right across the room. He was rather apologetic afterwards, though he has gone onto the next round. Just like you." Kakashi said, "Sasuke was… He was placed against Kiba. Both Kiba and Akamaru are currently in receiving medical treatment here in the hospital. Sasuke was released an hour ago after being treated for minor injuries."

"At least he didn't hurt them too badly." Naruto said, "What else? Come on tell me what happened!"

Kakashi chuckled. "Nothing of note Naruto. However I do have to inform you about the last exam. Its going to be a tournament of one on one combat. Your first match is against Neji Hyuuga." He said.

"Whose Neji?" Naruto asked. The name sounded familiar, at least the last name did.

"He's last years Rookie of the Year, and considered a prodigy among his clan. Also he's from the same clan as Hinata." He said.

"Oh, he's that guy with the white eyes right?" Naruto said with a snap of her fingers. "Yeah he was a little creepy. But not as weird as that reheaded sand guy."

Kakashi frowned, something that was barely visible beneath his mask. "Yes that's him. However I'm afraid I can't help you train for the tournament." He said.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted angrily, "What do you mean you can't help! You're my Sensei!"

Kakashi sighed. "I know. And it's not because I don't want to. Sasuke is going up against someone who won't hesitate to kill him. Someone who has gone through-"

"B-Ranked missions without a scratch. I know. Kabuto told us." Naruto said, remembering the time just before the first exam. "Your point?"

Kakashi barely refrained from massaging the side of his head. "Naruto as good as Neji is he's a Leaf Shinobi. Even if he beats you down your not going to get killed by him. It's not the way things work in this village. Gaara though isn't from this village, and he's even more dangerous then Neji. Also your best option would be to go through those books your mother left you. If you can learn to use even some of that your battle against Neji will be a lot easier. I can't help you with them, because I wouldn't know where to start. I'm sorry Naruto." He said.

Naruto sighed in frustration and leaned back into the piillow. "Yeah yeah I get it. You can't help me without Sasuke dying. I get it. I'll figure out something." She grumbled.

Kakashi chuckled and placed two scrolls on the bedside table. "I might not have the time to personally train you Naruto, but that doesn't mean I can't leave you something to learn. Learn what's on these scrolls alright." He stood up. "I'm afraid I've got things to do Naruto. Chances are this will be the last time I see you until the finals, good luck with your training."

"Thanks." Naruto said half-heartedly as she rolled onto her side and looked away from him. "Just shut the door on your way out." She said, trying to hide and angry tears that were forming in her eyes.

Kakashi didn't smile as he left the room and shut the door behind him. 'I'm sorry Sensei, but I can't risk him dying.' He thought as he walked away from the room.

Inside Naruto was crying silent tears of frustration and anger into her pillow. 'Why is it always Sasuke who gets trained?' She thought. During the academy the instructors had often held Sasuke back after school to give him a little extra training. In fact the only one who hadn't was Iruka during their last year. All the while Naruto had been ignored every time he asked for help with something. Again this only changed when Iruka took over.

"Now what are you crying about you troublesome girl?" Came a lazy drawl through her thoughts.

Naruto turned her head from her pillow to look at a familiar face. She sniffled and wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Heya Shikamaru." She said dully. She absently noted the bandages of his left arm and leg.

The pineapple haired boy cocked an eyebrow curiously when noted the dull voice her response had been delivered in. 'I'm probably going to regret this.' He thought before stepping into the room. "What's got you crying?" He asked.

Naruto huffed and rolled back over, turning her back to him. "None of your business Pineapple." She said, though her voice was muffled by the pillow.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Oi why do you girls always go after the hair?" He protested.

Naruto snorted but remained with her head buried in the pillow. She rolled over and glared at him. "You want to know what's wrong? TAKE A GUESS!" She shouted and threw one of her pillows at him.

"HEY! Watch where you're throwing those." Shikamaru said as he dodged it. "So your angry about you being a girl now? Somehow I doubt that's it… I saw Kakashi in the hall before I heard your crying, something your teacher said then?"

Naruto growled and leaned back in her remaining pillow. "Yes." She hissed.

Shikamaru frowned and walked closer to her bed. "So what happened?" He asked as he sat in a chair along the wall.

"Why do you care?" Naruto asked. Why was he bothering her with this? Why was he butting in?

Shikamaru shrugged. "Troublesome… Your crying is annoying. I thought having someone to listen to might make it stop sooner." He ducked as she threw one of the scrolls at him. It bounced off the wall with a loud bang. "HEY! Quit throwing things at me you troublesome girl!"

"Hmph. When you quit insulting me I will." She said with a huff and a glower. "If you really want to know Kakashi-sen… Kakashi is training Sasuke for the finals."

Shikamaru noticed the lack of Sensei after Kakashi's name. "So he's not training you? What are these scrolls then?" He asked as he picked up the one thrown at him. "These weren't in here when I walked by a couple hours ago."

"He left those behind…" Naruto muttered and stared down at her lap, "But learning from scrolls isn't the same. I'm no good at book learning…" A scroll clattered into her lap. She looked over at Shikamaru who was sitting back down, minus the scroll.

"That scroll has a chakra control exercise on it. Not that it's my business but it looks like he left you something you don't need him for." He said. Naruto mumbled something that he couldn't make out. "Troublesome girl, talk louder."

Naruto turned scarlet and poked her fingers together nervously. "I said I can't read very well. No one ever spent much time teaching me… I can barely understand any of the words I see… If I understand them at all…" She confessed.

Shikamaru looked at her with shock. 'She can barely read… and she made Genin? How… Hmm… Troublesome girl… I'm going to regret this.' He sighed. "I can help."

"What?" Naruto asked, positive she had misheard.

"I said I can help. Come talk to me when you get out." Shikamaru said as he stood up and walked to the door. "I'll probably be around Training Ground 10, if not I'll be home." With that he left.

Naruto stared after him. "Did he just… Offer to help me?" She whispered in shock before a grin broke out. Sure he was lazy, but at least he was willing to help.

--That evening--

The taste of fresh air on her tongue caused Naruto to grin widely as she exited the hospital. Though it had only been for a little under a day since she'd gone in she was happy to finally be able to taste fresh air again. She stretched and yawned. It was starting to get late and she was rather exhausted from her fight with Kankuro, and subsequent poisoning. Unfortunately for her rest there was one more thing she needed to do before getting some.

Naruto picked up the bad next to her and slung it over one shoulder before heading off in the direction of the Hokage's tower. It didn't take her long to make her way to it then up the stairs to the Hokage's office. She stopped before the two Chunin Guards in front of the door. "Is the old man in?" She asked.

One of them looked at her strangely, one eyebrow raised. "Aren't you still supposed to be in the hospital Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I got better so they let me out. Is he in or not?" She asked irritably. She was tired and just wanted to get some sleep, however she also wanted to get finish this right away.

The Chunin chuckled. "Yeah he's in. You can go in." He said, gesturing to the door.

"Thanks." Naruto chirped before running over to the door and pushing it open. "Hey old man you in here?" She said as she stepped in and shut the door. When she didn't receive a reply she quickly turned away from the door. She sighed when she spotted the Hokage. He was leaning back in his chair, his hat over his face and soft snores coming out. She grimaced.

'I do not need this…' She thought before cautiously walking over to the old man. Stopped next him and grabbed his arm. "Hey old man." She said as she gave his arm a shake. He didn't wake up. "HEY OLD MAN!" She shouted loudly as she gave his arm a much harder shake. The next thing she knew she was sailing through the air before impacting the wall hard enough to cause stars to burst before her eyes. She grabbed her head as darkness encroached on her vision and she had focus to make it recede, despite the pain. A few seconds later a warm feeling enveloped her head and the darkness vanished. She blinked in surprise and looked up into the glowing had of the Hokage.

"My apologies Naruto." He said, "I'm afraid I didn't recognize you for a moment." She could tell he was embarrassed at having thrown her across the room.

"That's alright old man… I shouldn't have bothered you." She said blushing herself. "I just wanted to see if I could collect my mother's things."

"I already had them delivered to your apartment. I thought that I told Kakashi to inform you." The Hokage said.

Naruto snorted. "Like he'd remember to tell me." She muttered angrily, causing Sarutobi to raise and eyebrow in confusion.

"Something I need to know Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto hesitated. As much as she didn't like being left out of training she didn't want to get her sensei in too much trouble. "Well… He's teaching Sasuke for the entire month… Not teaching me anything. He said that even if I don't win I'm not in any real danger, unlike Sasuke… I still say he should teach me something…" She grumbled finally, trying to ignore the tears forming on the edges of her vision.

Sarutobi sighed. It figured that it would be something like this. He reached out and wiped her tears away. "Now now, none of that Naruto. I can understand his logic. Even during an exam it is illegal to kill a fellow Leaf Shinobi. Even if you lose you will not die. Sasuke on the other hand is facing Gaara, would is more then willing to kill anyone, even those of his own village." He said.

Naruto looked up at him in shock. "His own village?" She repeated.

"Yes. Thought I don't approve of him not at least leaving you a training schedule…" He trailed off at her sheepish look.

"He left me two scrolls…" She confessed. 'Not that I understand a word on them.' She silently grumbled, not wanting to admit something like that to the old man.

"Then I don't see any real problem Naruto. Follow what's on those scrolls and study what is in your mother's chest. Hopefully you will be ready by the end of the month." He said, giving her a pat on the head, much to her chagrin.

"Thanks…" She mumbled half heartedly. She stood up unsteadily, only for the Hokage to take her hand.

"It would be best if you returned to the hospital…"

Naruto glared at him. "I'm fine. I'm going home." She said coolly. She wasn't spending the night in the hospital again.

Sarutobi sighed. She really was a stubborn as her mother. "Very well then… KOTETSU!" He shouted. The bandaged Chunin stepped through the door a moment later.

"Sir?" He said questioningly.

"Help Naruto get home." He said, shutting up her protest with a firm look.

"Of course Lord Hokage." Kotetsu said, holding a hand out to Naruto, who glared at him before grabbing her bag and taking it.

"Fine I'll take the help." She muttered as he le her out of the room. "See you later Old Man." She shouted as the door banged shut behind her.

Sarutobi smiled before returning to his chair. As he replaced the hat on his face he smirked. In a way his chair was a lot more comfortable then his bed at times. It wasn't long before soft snores could once again be heard.

--Author's Note--

Here it is the second chapter of Fairy Wings. I have no idea where this is going, at least not what the final goal is anyway. I do have ideas on pairings and I've decided on the changed finals for the Chunin exams. Expect to see some interesting match ups…

Tell me how well do you think a Fairy and a Deer would get along? Do you think they would get very close?

Anyway as usual Constructive Criticism is always welcome. Flames will be turned to fairy dust and used to power my flying machine once I mix them with some Happy Thoughts that I'll have stolen from the flamers.

Until next time. JA NE!