Immediately following the morning roll call, Hyuuga Hinata gave her class a gentle smile which immediately filled them with dread. As the ranking Jounin Instructor of Konoha's Ninja Academy, the soft-spoken kunoichi felt it was her solemn duty to maintain the rigorous standards which set Leaf ninja apart as the most highly respected throughout the five major countries. With the same methodically relentless determination that had earned her the highest shinobi rank, Hinata pushed her students to ever higher standards of academic excellence, regardless of their enthusiasm.
"Hinata-sensei has that look in her eyes again," a heavyset boy in a brown tunic whispered to his neighbor who nodded furtively.
"That's right, Kamemaru-san," Hinata agreed without missing a beat, "And before I pass out today's quiz, I would like you to put that smoke tag away. No, the one in your other hand… the one under the desk."
Kamemaru's blushed furiously as the rest of the class snickered. His neighbor gave him a knowing look and shook her head with slight condescension. It was common knowledge that no one ever got away with anything while in Hinata-sensei's class. Ever. Her mastery of the Byakugan was sublimely subtle, and much to the anguish of her class, few could tell when she had it activated. Hinata never raised her voice; the threat of disappointment in her calm eyes was enough to deter even the most hardened trouble makers.
"I looked over your mid-quarter assessment exams and your homework assignments from the last two weeks," she began again after Kamemaru had slipped his failed prank back into his backpack, "Obviously, each of you has an area or several areas of study that could use some improvement. For that reason, today each of you will have a quiz that was specially designed by myself and Iruka-sensei to test your areas of weakness. I can guarantee that it will take the rest of the morning period for you to finish." As looks of agonized horror washed over the faces of the class, she smiled as if she was giving them all early birthday presents. She nodded to Udon, who was serving as an assistant Instructor in between missions. He reached into a large satchel containing rolled up scrolls and began tossing them with unerring accuracy to each student.
At least two hours went by before even the brightest of the class wearily started handing in their quizzes. Several in the back row had fallen asleep over their papers, drool beginning to smear their writing. Hinata held back a sigh. She would deal with those offenders later. After the last of the exams were passed back, she cleared her throat.
"Before I let you go, I have a bit of extra credit that may help to improve your grades following this exam." At least a dozen pairs of eyes lit up with interest, and Hinata fought back her grin.
"Many of you recall last week's presentation, I trust? Neji-sensei was kind enough to take time off from his duties with the ANBU to explain some of the basic requirements that all Genin should be familiar with by the time they are ready for the Chuunin exam."
Several groans rang out from her more mischievous students, eliciting a slight frown from Hinata. Immediately the complaints were stifled.
"It's not another written assignment," the petite woman explained in a serious tone of voice, "The extra credit I'm offering you is a practical application assignment. It's actually a 'mission.'" She had the entire class on the edge of their seats when she mentioned the prospect of an actual mission before they had even achieved Genin status.
"For the next three days, Neji-sensei will be residing in Konoha attending to paperwork before his next mission. The mission objective is simple: tag Neji-sensei with this seal." Hinata held up an innocuous looking tag with several characters scrawled on it.
"What does the seal do?" Kamemaru inquired with a puzzled expression on his face. Hinata nodded at Udon, who placed a wooden mannequin at the front of the class. With a negligent flick, she tossed the seal on the dummy and stepped back. There was an explosive wet popping noise seconds later and the mannequin was covered in bright orange paint. The class hooted with excitement as Hinata and Udon passed out the paint tags.
"You each get a maximum of two tags," she said as the class packed them away for later use, "If I find out even one tag was used outside of its intended purpose, those responsible will find themselves repeating this year." Her eyes narrowed with dreadful finality. "Is that clear?"
"Yes!" The class cheered out in a chorus of enthusiastic voices. Hinata could see each one of them deep in thought as they rushed out of the classroom. Neji-niisan was in for an interesting three days. As she began to organize the heaped pile of scrolls, Hinata noticed one student who had not left yet. A lanky, dark haired boy with a long-sleeved shirt and wire framed glasses hung back, reviewing his notes nervously.
"Takeshi-kun?" Hinata murmured gently as she approached his desk. The tall boy gave a start and looked up with astonishment, realizing that the entire class was empty. Hinata regarded the boy with great empathy. Takeshi belonged to the Shin clan, a long line of taijutsu users renowned for their swordsmanship, and from which many of the most prominent members of the ANBU were drawn. As the firstborn son of the clan's Head, great expectations were heaped upon Takeshi. A scholarly child with prodigious talent in chakra manipulation, Takeshi showed great promise as a future medical ninja. So great was his intellectual capacity, Hinata had already given him duties under Sakura at Konoha Hospital.
Despite his incredible scholastic ability, the Academy student was overwhelmed with crushing uncertainty and low self-esteem. His taijutsu abilities were average at best, and his swordsmanship was utterly abysmal. Because of his perceived ineptitude, he was constantly berated by his parents and derided by extended clan members as a failure to the Shin family name. Hinata yearned for the boy to gain a stronger sense of self-worth, but understood the long journey he would have to undergo before he would be able to shake off the emotional baggage.
"Ah, Hinata-sensei," Takeshi said in an apologetic voice, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you waiting." He began to stuff his note scrolls and textbooks in his bag hurriedly.
"Have you given any thought to the extra credit assignment?" Hinata asked with barely concealed interest. His academic knowledge was unmatched, but Takeshi struggled in practical application assignments. Hinata hoped her incentive would be enough to draw his enthusiasm.
"Well," the nervous boy offered, "My grades aren't so bad right now…and I have rounds to complete with Sakura-sensei, so…" He trailed off without further explanation. Hinata gave him a steady look which he caused him to look down uncertainly.
"The thing is… well… Neji-sensei is one of the top operatives within ANBU, and your cousin on top of that. I don't really see how an Academy student like me could possibly hope to catch him off guard… I'm not even good at real ninja work…"
Hinata sighed patiently and picked up the paint tags he had left on his desk, handing them over to him. He accepted them with a sheepish look on his face.
"Part of being a Leaf ninja is acknowledging our limitations and striving to overcome them nonetheless," she advised him as she walked him to the door, "You have three days, Takeshi-kun. Think about what Neji-sensei had explained were critical skills Genin had to understand before they could advance to higher levels of responsibility. I'm not demanding that you succeed, but I am hoping that you'll give yourself enough credit to try." Takeshi gave her a self-deprecating smile and bowed low. The solemnity of the moment was marred by his growling stomach.
"Did you have breakfast, Takeshi-kun?"
"Erm.. Well, not really…"
"He's too busy ruining his eyes with all those notes he takes to get a decent meal, Hinata-sensei!" a loud female voice declared from outside. Hinata held back a smile, while Takeshi's face took on an uncharacteristic scowl. A petite blonde haired girl with a shoulder length hair, and teasing smirk on her face ran over to greet them. Aozora Yuki. The prodigal firstborn daughter of the Aozora clan, political rivals of the Shin family, Yuki did her best to irritate Takeshi whenever she got a chance. But beneath her constant teasing, Yuki's sympathy for her classmate was unmistakable.
"What?" Takeshi asked abruptly.
"Don't get all hissy," she said, then stuck her tongue out at him, "I just came by to drop off my report to Hinata-sensei." With great flourish, the energetic girl handed a mission scroll to Hinata's outstretched hand.
"Thank you, Yuki-san," Hinata said with a slight bow, "Did you enjoy your shadowing experience with Naruto-sensei?"
"It was totally awesome!" Yuki crowed with delight, eyeing Takeshi for his reaction, "Naruto-sensei showed me all sorts of different jutsus and he even let me stay to watch him spar with Neji-sensei and Lee-sensei!"
"Naruto-sensei tends to enjoy showing off," Hinata replied with a wry smile, "I'm happy to note your manners are more refined Yuki-san; you would never boast in front of others so tastelessly."
"Of course not Hinata-sensei," Yuki declared with a fierce blush as she glanced down at her feet. Takeshi snickered softly, eliciting an elbow from the small blonde.
"Takeshi-kun was just talking with me about the extra credit assignment," Hinata pressed on as she walked to two out towards the courtyard, "I'm confident he will perform admirably."
"Takeshi?" Yuki asked with a look of disbelief on her pretty face, "The boy is more timid than some of the first years."
"Better to be cautious than blindly rushing into things like some wild animal," Takeshi flared indignantly. Yuki tossed him a wicked looking grin and held up a boxed lunch. The tall boy stared at the food longingly.
"I'm sure you've got some good ideas, nerd. That's why I've got an extra lunch with your name on it if you'll share them with me."
"Fine," Takeshi said with a faint smile on his face, "You've got a deal."
"See you after lunch, Hinata-sensei!" Yuki said with a big wave.
"Thank you Hinata-sensei," Takeshi added with a bow. Yuki gave him a swift kick to his rear while he was in the process of straightening up. With silvery laughter, she sprinted towards the lunch tables, Takeshi in close pursuit.
"Do I detect budding romance in the air?" A familiar voice inquired behind Hinata. She smiled fondly as the tall Jounin with whiskers enfolded her in his arms.
"What would you know about it? It took you five years to notice me, Naruto-kun."
"C'mon, Hinata!" Naruto said with an exasperated huff, "How could I have picked up on that? You were always hiding behind fences and trees… That kind of made it hard to understand your feelings."
"You always know just what to say."
Naruto ignored his girlfriend's pointed barb and watched Takeshi and Yuki, who were in the process of splitting up the boxed lunch. Takeshi seemed to be talking in a relaxed manner, while Yuki's laughter was audible even from afar.
"She's a lot deeper than she seems," Naruto mentioned to Hinata as they walked towards her office, "I know she comes across as this loud, brash--"
"Unpredictable, hyper-active student?" Hinata interrupted with an amused smile, "I know all about Yuki, Naruto-kun. She's living under incredible pressure as the heir to her clan, but still she has the kindness to encourage those that need support… she reminds me of a certain Genin I used to admire."
"Used to?" Naruto griped with feigned indignation. Hinata simply laughed.
"Why's the tall one so grouchy with Yuki?" Naruto asked as he started unpacking the lunch he had brought for Hinata. She smiled faintly as she poured them both some chilled tea.
"Takeshi belongs to the Shin clan, who are political enemies of Yuki's family. The two houses have been going at it for the last two generations. I suppose Takeshi considers Yuki his natural enemy… Yuki makes it a point to declare that she and Takeshi are rivals at least once every day."
"She's just saying that to be funny," Naruto dismissed with a snort, before biting into the rice ball he had placed on his tray, "She's too smart to get caught up in that sort of thing."
"Yuki is a very competitive person," Hinata disagreed with a slight frown, "And she truly sees Takeshi as her main opponent in school. It's not that she wants to beat him though… she wants to challenge him. She wants to test herself against him, but he's so unsure of himself that the only way she can get him to stand up and fight her is by harassing him." Naruto considered her words thoughtfully in silence, abruptly he grinned before finishing the rest of his food.
"I still think she has crush on him."
"Naturally," Hinata replied with her own smile. Naruto grinned at his girlfriend, and would have said something else, were it not for the presence of a decidedly sour faced girl standing behind them.
"Hinata-sensei, Naruto-sensei," Hyuuga Hanabi put in with an irritated expression on her normally stoic face, "The Fifth Hokage requests your presence at your earliest convenience."
"Did you hear that, Hinata?" Naruto said with a wicked grin on his face, "We had better do as the Hokage commands. You know how irritable she's been getting recently." As he spoke, he moved closer to her until his lips were almost touching hers. Quite deliberately, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a slow, demonstrative kiss. Standing less than a few feet from them, Hanabi made strangled sounding noises before looking away with a visible scowl on her face.
"That's enough, Naruto-kun," Hinata said in a chiding voice, gently but firmly pushing her boyfriend away. She turned to face her younger sister.
"Please inform the Hokage we are on our way, Hana-chan."
"Oneesan!" Hanabi groaned in anguish, "Father says my skills are at least as good as our strongest Chuunin! Do you have to keep calling me that?"
"You're always going to be my sister," Hinata replied with a pert smile on her face, "So get used to it."
Hanabi muttered darkly under her breath and turned to leave, leaping on to the roof tops with graceful ease. When she was sure Naruto and her sister could no longer see her, she allowed a pleased grin to spread itself over her face.