She slid open the door to his room. "Naruto? Are you awake?" She looked up to the rafter. There, asleep, lay Naruto.
"Naruto, wake up! We're going to be late."
He grunted in his sleep. Hinata shook her head as she bent down and picked up a small pebble from a stack at the door, for Naruto, it had become his standard alarm clock. She took aim and threw it at the sleeping blond.
Still sleeping, he automatically rolled over to avoid the blow, a move that would have been most impressive had he been sleeping on the ground. As it was, he fell.
"Oomph." Naruto looked around quickly. "Hinataaaaaaa, I was having a great dream."
"Sorry Naruto, but we're gonna be late. Come on, get dressed."
She quickly walked out of the room avoiding seeing his now much more toned physique.
Naruto walked out of the room, his mask in place.
On his person he wore his normal attire. A black shirt with sleeves that ran down half an arm past his hands.
His black pants were fairly normal and on his feet was his normal footwear. Which is to say he wore nothing due to his claw-like toenails.
The two quickly ran through the complex and out the door.
"Hurry Naruto, we're going to be late."
She looked back at him as she suddenly felt herself picked up in his arms.
He smirked at her through his mask. "Not if I can help it."
He surged forward and flew onto a wall. The rough hide of his foot and his claws quickly found purchase for him to get to the roofs of the village.
Surging forward at full speed, the sun slammed into them in all it's glory.
Naruto raced across the rooftops of Konoha like a bullet.
XXXTen Minutes LaterXXX
Hinata looked forward. "There it is! We're gonna make it Naruto!"
He forced his legs to pump harder and surged off a roof.
He soared through the air with Hinata in his arms. He looked at the wall of the academy and dropped onto it. He took off again aimed for an open window.
He slid as he hit the tiled floor and slipped out of the girl's bathroom ignoring the screams. Still sliding with Hinata in his arms the two burst through the open door across the hall and right into Iruka's classroom.
He stared down at them. "...1" The bell rang.
Hinata and Naruto smiled at each other while Kiba looked over at them. He looked dreamily at the Hyuuga girl. The girl who he'd been unable to get off his mind since that day in the rain, the day when he'd first smelled her sweet scent. Akamaru's eyes zoomed in on the boy and he quickly hid, not forgetting even for an instant that the boy had intended to have him as a snack.
The two slowly got up and made their way towards their respective seats
Iruka looked around the room as Mizuki sat back in his seat. "Today is the Genin practical examination, along with the written test from yesterday, you must pass at least three out of the four different sections or get a perfect grade on one out of two passed exams. The last three are, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu."
The genjutsu test started things off as Iruka slowly worked around the room. Naruto was skipped and Hinata passed as she formed an illusion of the two teachers dancing arm in arm.
Iruka groaned as the class laughed. Oh no, he corrupted her. "You pass."
The taijutsu test was much the same and Naruto was skipped again.
Hinata passed on the low scale using pure academy Taijutsu.
Then came the Ninjutsu test.
The students went to work.
Naruto calmly waited his turn and was called down. He raised his hands up and quickly made a move that released his chakra.
He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again a more feral look was held deep within them. A puff of smoke later and a clone lay on the floor.
He looked down at it. It looked dead. He groaned.
Iruka made a mark on his sheet.
"Sorry Naruto. You fail this portion."
Mizuki looked over at him. "Oh lighten up Iruka. He made a clone."
"And the other students made at least three, and look at the state it's in."
Mizuki noted the dejected look in Naruto's eye. He's perfect.
XXXAfter SchoolXXX
He slowly swung. His eyes passed over his fellow students that would be continuing on without him.
The one his eyes really focused on was Hinata.
She slowly walked towards him. "I'm sorry Naruto. I know you did your best."
He hid behind a grin. "It's okay. I'm sure you'll make a great ninja."
Hinata sat down on the swing next to him. "You know, I don't need to start this year. I could wait."
His eyes brightened up but then dulled again. "No. You passed. Go home, I want to be alone."
Hinata nodded. "Okay Naruto. I'll see you later." She slowly walked away sneaking glances back at him every few minutes until he was out of sight.
Mizuki looked down at the boy and dropped from the tree branch above him. "You know, Naruto. There is a way for you to pass."
Naruto looked up at him. His nose was sending him signals, but he ignored them. "How?"
Mizuki grinned as he quickly layed out what he had to do.