The whole world felt unrealistically blissful. I shifted under the covers, enjoying the luxury of sleeping in past the crack of dawn. My cat Neko purred in agreement as she lay curled up next to me.

This was the first time I'd had anytime off in over a month. I'd been so busy running missions with my team that I'd forgotten what it was like to actually sleep in a bed.

Lazily I sighed and sank further into my blissful moment. I was going to do nothing but sleep until I got hungry enough to leave the comfort of my bed. Even Neko seemed to agree with this plan.

But my perfect world was shattered by the sound of my door being swung open with enough force to tear it off its hinges.

"Tama! Come on, wake up!" My little sister chirped annoyingly.

I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Why should I?"

"Come on, it's almost noon…and I'm hungry!" She complained.

Finally I sat up and realized I too was hungry. "Alright, alright, how about some ramen? Sound good?"

She smiled happily and clapped her hands together. "Yay!"

Once I got the energetic 12 year old out of my room, I found some comfortable sweats and a shirt that was about 3 sizes too large. I didn't plan on doing anything but getting us some food since dad was out on a mission and wouldn't be back for another week or more.

I brushed the tangles out of my hair and grabbed some money from my wallet before walking downstairs.

"I'll be back in a bit. Don't get into too much trouble." I teased.

Seiko just rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, and Konahamaru, Udon, and Moegi are coming over later. Is that alright?"

"Sure, kido." I smiled before leaving our house.

As I strolled to the ramen shop, I'd realized I'd made a mistake. I was getting ramen…around lunchtime…on a Saturday…the place was packed! It'd be at least half an hour before I even got close to getting our food.

I waded through the sea of people attempting to find the line to order. Of course this meant…coming into contact with human bodies…ew.

"Omph!" Someone grunted as they bumped into me…or did I bump into them?

"So—sorry" the person huffed out quickly, seeming embarrassed.

I looked at the person and suddenly smiled. "Toku!"

She smiled back as we both greeted each other.

Toku Hyuga was one of my good friends when we were in the ninja academy, and when we became genin, we were teammates, which only made us even better friends. Now that we were chunin, we were practically sisters.

She eyed the way I was dressed and chuckled. "I take it you've just gotten up?"

I nodded and laughed. "I wouldn't even be up right now if it weren't for Seiko waking me."

I then noticed her apparel. She was dressed in a black sports bra, mesh overshirt, and shorts. Her hair was tied back and a sheen of sweat gleamed on her forehead.

"Early morning training session?" I speculated.

She took a swig from her bottle of water. "Yeah. Father's been working with me a lot."

I gave her a crooked smile. She was so lucky to have a father who supported her and encouraged he, even if he wasn't her birth father. All mine did was yell at me whenever I went on missions or even when I went out for training. He hated the idea of either me and Sekio becoming ninja. He wanted me to live a civilian life, marrying the son of some guy who worked construction here in the village, but that life wasn't for me.

"Anyways, wanna come over to my place? Maybe we can spar some?" I suggested hastily.

"Sure! But, won't your dad be upset?" She asked.

"Nah, he's away on a mission. Probably won't be back till later next week" I informed her.

"Alright, but I'm warning ya, you're gonna lose! I've been working on some killer new jutsu!" Toku grinned confidently.

I chuckled. "We'll see about that."

When Toku and I arrived back at my house, I noticed that Seiko, Konahamaru, Udon, and Moegi were all shouting and jumping around, as if they had just witnessed something exciting.

"What's all the fuss about?" I questioned the three Academy students.

"Oh hi Tokku!" my sister greeted happily.

"Iruka-Sensei came by to tell us that we all passed our exams!" Moegi babbled.

"How awesome are we? We're official ninja of the Leaf now!" Konahamaru shouted.

"Not till you get those headbands you're not." I teased.

"Tama, you're so mean." Seiko pouted.

"Did Iruka say when graduation is?" Toku took the liberty of asking.

"He said it was next week." Udon answered promptly.

"You guys are gonna be there right?" Moegi and Seiko asked expectantly.

"Of course. We wouldn't miss it." I assured the eager kid.