Disclaimer: Naruto does not in any way belong to me, it's the property of Kishimoto, etc.
resistance
21: nerves
Kakashi doesn't have many memories of taking his final exam to graduate from the Academy, but it can't have been too strenuous. Otherwise he would have remembered, wouldn't he?
(Maybe he can't really remember because he tries not to think about that time, when tou-san was still-
No, stop.)
The chuunin exam was just as forgettable. Konoha - and pretty much every other hidden village - was in a critically weak state. There was no time to coddle children, because the ranks were so thin that even immature soldiers were better than nothing. The exams were designed to weed out the utterly hopeless, rather than select the few genuinely ready for promotion; a genius like Kakashi failing such an exam was never even an option.
But this jounin exam - this is important. Kakashi's appetite disappears, although he mechanically forces himself to eat anyway - he needs to keep his strength up, even if his stomach churns with unease. Chuunin and genin are the foot soldiers of shinobi forces; jounin are commanders. Unlike his previous promotion exams, this one will challenge Kakashi to his limits.
"Not hungry, Kakashi?" Minato-sensei asks, interrupting Kakashi's thoughts. He's smiling gently.
Sometimes, Kakashi hates being treated like a child. His bowl of cereal is only half-finished, and now completely soggy because of his dawdling. He eats another spoonful anyway. "Just thinking," he says.
"Nervous?" the jounin asks sympathetically.
"No," Kakashi lies, doggedly taking another mouthful.
Minato-sensei doesn't look convinced, but he doesn't say anything more about it. "I'm sure you'll do fine."
Kakashi grunts in acknowledgement but doesn't reply. Something in his chest loosens though, and even if Minato-sensei is just saying that because that's what teachers are supposed to tell their students, Kakashi maybe doesn't mind being treated like a kid this time.
A/N: Internet's down at my house. Not sure when it will be back... posting this from class, so there probably will not be any updates this weekend. Sorry!