I'm baaack~! My school trip was awful, three days of being out in the cold and wet, but at least it gave me plenty of time to daydream up more of Hannah's adventures.

I've been trying to write longer chapters, but I'm setting it as a gradual goal, so every chapter should be longer than the previous one. Wish me luck!


Naruto scratched his head as he pondered the question paper in front of him. These questions were all really difficult, but Hana-chan and Sasuke had helped him study, and he knew that they had gone over everything in here at least once.

How well you did on the test determined which set you were in, with only members of the top two sets being able to graduate. If you were still in the Academy by the age of fifteen, you graduated into the civillian corps, called on if Konoha was attacked, but you could never be a shinobi.

Naruto forced his attention back to the test paper. The Shodaime Hokage's element was wood, wasn't it? He remembered Hana-chan telling him a story about the things the Shodaime could do, and he nodded to himself. Definitely wood.

He felt a sudden surge of gratefulness that his friends had helped him study for the entrance exam - it would have been a lot more difficult to remember all of this stuff, had Hana-chan not made history into stories, embellishing them with details and turning dry facts into exciting adventures. Sasuke was really good at techniques, drilling Naruto on theory until he could recite it in his sleep, and they all ran through as many practice tests as they could find in preparation.

He was glad they had prepared so thoroughly - the test was extremely difficult, and of the hundred or so people taking the test, only about a third would pass into the Academy, with only about a third of those becoming Genin - the shinobi world was survival of the fittest, and it started early.

Sasuke placed down his pencil with a silent sigh of relief - he was finished the exam, and he was certain that he'd passed. Hana and Naruto had been his study companions, and helping them with the theory had really drilled it into his head. Hana was very good at explaining history, maths and the sciences, so Sasuke was feeling pretty confident that he'd gotten a good score - certainly good enough for middle set, maybe for upper. He supposed that lower set wouldn't be too bad, but it did mean that he'd have to scrape his way up a set before he could graduate.


Hannah waited up for the two boys as they exited the Academy.

"How do you think you did?" Was the first question to leave her lips as they reunited, tangling their fingers together, seeking comfort. "I think I did alright, but if either of you didn't pass..." She trailed off, feeling terrible. If anyone didn't pass, it would be her fault, as they passed in the original manga, without her intervention.

"Don't worry about it, Hana-chan - I'm sure that I passed!" Naruto squeezed her hand gently. "And Sasuke here's a genius, so he'll have aced the test no problem!"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked. "I'm sure I passed as well."

Hannah let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. So, ramen to celebrate?"

Naruto fist-pumped the air, and Sasuke nodded.


They were sat at Ichiraku's, Naruto's favourite ramen shop. They had all ordered, Naruto a pork ramen and Hannah and Saskue had both chosen miso, and they were awaiting their orders.

They chatted for a bit about which questions they had found the hardest, double-checking their answers to help remove the feeling of uncertainty which still plagued them.

"Wouldn't it be cool if we were placed in the same team?" Naruto commented idly, unaware of the emotion this caused in Hannah, a sort of desperate longing.

"You do know that it probably won't happen, Naruto. The Hokage decides on all of the teams personally, and if there's a group he thinks would be a better fit, you'll be placed there instead." She stomped down her feelings, knowing that Sakura would do a better job then she could. "But, don't worry - even once you're Hokage, and Sasuke head of ANBU, we'll all still be friends!"

"And you, Hana?" Sasuke toyed with a pair of chopsticks. "What do you intend to do once you've graduated?"

Hannah flushed. "You know, I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I'll ever be good enough to make it past Chuunin, though - you two are the real talent in this group. Maybe I'll teach at the Academy after graduation, I like to think that I'm a pretty good teacher." She mimicked Sasuke, fiddling with her chopsticks.

"You're plenty good enough, Hana-chan!" Naruto protested, bless his heart for trying.

"It's okay, Naruto - I don't know if I'm cut out to be a ninja. My dream is to see the two of you succeed, so as long as you're both happy, I'm happy, you know?" A small part of her said that she'd be happiest on a team with them, and she squished it ruthlessly. She wouldn't endanger them for her own selfish reasons, no matter how appealing the thought of being on a team together was.

"In which case, I'll have to make Hokage, to fulfil Hana-chan's dream!" Naruto still looked unsatisfied, though.

"My dream is to kill Itachi, not to become head of ANBU." Sasuke looked thoughtful. "It is an intriuging idea, though - everyone knows that the head of ANBU is the strongest ninja in the village." He teased, watching Naruto turn red.

"Hey, the Hokage is the strongest ninja! What are you trying to say, huh?" Naruto yelled, and Hannah giggled.

"Oh, you two crack me up..." Her sombre mood was gone, and Sasuke smirked in triumph.


Their results came about a week later, a week of anxious worrying and constantly going over their answers They gathered together in the small living room of Sasuke's apartment with their envelopes, waiting until they were together to open them.

Sasuke opened his first. "Pass. Top set." He said smugly, a smirk on his face.

"Well done!" Naruto and Hannah chorused, then laughed.

Naruto was the next up. "Pass - middle set." He sighed. "Not quite as good as Sasuke, I guess, but still a good pass!" Hannah launched herself at him, sweeping him into a hug.

"You passed - I'm so proud of you!" She snuggled him close, and he flushed with pleasure.

"Thank you, Hana-chan..." He teared up a little.

"She's right - to pass at all is good, not to mention getting into middle set." Sasuke said, a hint of relief coloring his tone. "Hana, you're up next."

Hannah opened her envelope with trembling fingers, almost too afraid to read what it said. She knew that she had studied for this test, but...

"Pass, top set!" She declared, voice trembling. She pulled them forward for a group hug, Naruto gladly flinging his arms around the two of them, and Sasuke accepting it with a hint of a grin on his face.

"We're going to the Academy together!"


Hannah sat in the induction day for the Shinobi Academy, alongside Naruto and Sasuke, nerves knotting her stomach. Was this really the right decision? Should she really try to become a ninja, a dangerous job if ever there was one?

Then she remembered. Her mission was to save the dream, and she couldn't do that if she was powerless. She had a duty, to Naruto, Sasuke, and everyone else here, including their lovely teacher and the Chuunin with the clear blue eyes. She was supposed to be the only one who could save this world, and save it she bloody well would!

Sasuke looked over at Hana, mildly concerned. She looked pale, and her eyes were a million miles away. That kind of thing happened to Hana a lot, and Sasuke never asked - heaven knew that it happened to him often enough, and Hana never brought it up, only gently extracted him from his waking nightmares.

He decided he owed her the same.

"Hana, are you paying attention?" He nudged her, gently but firmly. "They're about to hand out the classroom assignments."

Hannah jolted as Sasuke touched her, but she soon regained her equilibrium. "Sorry, just daydreaming!" She excused herself quickly, and Sasuke gave her a look that said, quite eloquently, 'I don't believe you, but I'll let it slide'. They both returned their attention to the front, where the head instructor was finishing his welcome speech, a long, boring monologue about how they were about to serve their village.

They handed out the timetables, girls having extra classes such as flower arranging and how to dance, where the boys had much more combat-orientated subjects, such as an entire block dedicated to endurance training, and more martial arts classes than their female counterparts.

Hannah looked down at hers in slight dismay. Singing, she could do, thanks to her chosen abillity, but dancing? Flower arranging? It'd be a cold day in hell before she mastered any of these!

No, she reprimanded herself, you have to think positive. Don't focus on what you can't do, focus on the good things!

Naruto grabbed Hana-chan and Sasuke's timetables, and compared them to his own. "We've got the same Chakra Control classes, as well as Ninjutsu together! And Sasuke and I are in the same Physical Fitness block!"

Sasuke looked over, and confirmed it with a grunt. "We're in the same History and Politics class too. We can all sit together."

Hannah smiled as they drew her out of her melancholy mood. "We're in the same registration group too. Let's see... We're with Iruka-sensei." She remembered him from the manga, as someone who was nice to Naruto, despite having lost his parents in the Kyuubi attack. He became one of Naruto's most important people, and a little part of her seethed. They were going to take her boys away even before they made genin!

She scolded herself silently. It would be good for Naruto to have other friends, outside of their small friendship circle, she knew that. She wouldn't let her jealousy interfere with Naruto's happiness!

"Hana-chan, you okay?" Naruto poked her shoulder, seeing that Hana-chan was a million miles away. "You look spaced out."

"Sorry, I keep going off on mental tangents today!" Hana-chan apologized to him, a flush bringing some colour back to her face.

"S'okay." Naruto murmured comfortingly. "Just don't go too far away!"

"I agree with Naruto, for once - one of these days, you'll go so far inside your own mind that you won't be able to find your way back out again!" Sasuke teased, causing Hana-chan's blush to intensify.

"Hey, don't pick on Hana-chan!" Naruto scolded him, putting on the imitation of Hana's tone that he used when he wanted to sound more mature. "Besides, even if she does get lost, we can always find her!"

Hana beamed at him for that, a real smile. "Thank you, both of you - I'll try to space out less often, if it worries you. But, don't worry - I'll always find my way back!" She vowed, and Naruto believed her.