Konnichiwa konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!

I'm afraid my self-imposed break didn't work as well as I had hoped, but still better than nothing.

Not much more to say, it's still mid-september and winter is already knocking at my door. How I wish I had a kotatsu…

Since this isn't a wall text for once, I'll seize the chance to thank my loyal reviewers again, you guys rock!

Anyway, without further ado: Mystic Eyes of Reincarnation 始まります!

Chapter 21: Ultimate Cheating Jutsu

Morino Ibiki and his proctor squad made his grand entrance and proceeded to assign them numbers. As expected, all the slight changes on the day up to this point didn't influence the seating arrangement at all besides Hinata and Sakura's original seats swapping. Obviously the drawing numbers was rigged to place every aspirant wherever the examiner wanted them to be.

While the rules of the test were explained, Hinata noticed Naruto-kun's smug smile and idly wondered about his plans. She recalls something about an 'Ultimate Cheating Jutsu' but, true to his threats, he hasn't let a word slip about the details. Knowing Naruto-kun, the only thing she can predict is that it'll be something unpredictable. And probably something that will make everyone feel dumb for not thinking the same themselves, the way he noticed things that nobody thought about but seemed obvious in hindsight was what made him so cool.

-"So I'm sitting with Sakura-chan! Perfect!"

Sakura doesn't seem to share his thrill, and Hinata feels a twinge of jealousy. Sure, Naruto-kun has been throwing some awkward attempts her way lately, but when he was after Sakura he asked her out every single day. The lucky… girl. Deep breaths, she's really on edge lately if she gets so worked up again and again. It would be easiest if the world didn't conspire to vex her, but she'll manage if she focuses on her own tests instead of looking for trouble.

Ten minutes later, she finishes copying Sakura's answers and lets out an inner sigh. There's at least six infiltrated proctors doing the test to cheat from and she picks her. Why's she doing this to herself? Before she can beat herself up any longer, she notices Naruto-kun's body tensing. He's about to do something.

-"Alright, as expected I can't wait that long for the last question, now's my time to shine!" -He yells- "[Ultimate Cheating Jutsu]!"

Then, before the incredulous look of everyone present, he proceeds to snatch Sakura's test and copy it on his own sheet at the speed of light.

-"You over there! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

-"Uh…" -Naruto looks at the proctor as if he's making a stupid question- "Cheating?"

-"Do you want to be failed?"

-"Why? You only caught me once." -He proceeds to ceremoniously pick his ear- "Deck me those two points and let's get on with this thing."

The proctor seems about to do something Hinata will make him regret, but Ibiki is suddenly right in front of Naruto with his best death glare. Naruto takes his hand from his ear and stares back for long seconds before… lowering it to examine his finger. If unimpressed was a brand, Naruto-kun right now could be their poster boy.

-"This wasn't the purpose of the test" -The examiner finally announces- "But spotting loopholes in the rules is also a valuable skill for a shinobi. Still! Once the loophole has been exposed to the public, nobody else will be allowed to exploit it. Now turn back to your papers, the test hasn't ended yet."

So much like Naruto-kun…

Funny enough, when the deadly announcement from the last question is made, Naruto-kun is still brimming with confidence. He must have backup cheating plans to fall into. But if he doesn't panic, he won't do his bold declaration and people will be tenser all around. Not all the Konoha 12 are guaranteed to… Naruto-kun surprises her again when he raises a hand… making the V sign.

Bring it on, bastards. Who the heck do you think I am?

She's even more surprised when she sees Sasuke mimicking him. Not so much for the thought after the gesture, that she's sure he shares, but the fact he's actually following Naruto-kun's lead. With a flash of inspiration, she raises her own hand too, suddenly understanding. Things cascade after that.

First Sakura and Ino follow Sasuke's example, then Neji follows Hinata's. With them, their teams raise their hands too. Unsurprisingly, Kabuto follows the trend and his team hastily imitate him.

-"As if I'll let some rookies outshine me!" -One of the Konoha veterans rises his hand too- "Let's do this!"

That's pretty much a war declaration. Soon, pretty much everybody has their hands high in a victory sign. Some, like the Sound guys and the disguised Orochimaru look more amused than motivated, but in the end only some of the Rain guys and Gaara remain uninvolved and Ibiki has no choice but congratulate everyone for having the resolve to face uncertain odds.

Second Examiner Mitarashi Anko came in such a boisterous and untimely fashion as the first time around.

-"Thank you, Sasuke-kun"

She had whispered when they went their separate ways, careful of not letting Naruto-kun hear.

-"Hmpf."

Had been the answer. But Hinata was pretty sure it was a 'He's the one who wants to be Hokage' kind of 'Hmpf'. It really had been a nice touch for him to second Naruto-kun's gesture during the exam, even if she suspected he wouldn't be caught alive admitting it.

Anyway, he left with one of those backwards handwave bad boys seem to favor so much and Naruto-kun is in such good mood he barely badmouths him before recounting the day's events.

-"And then he was like 'I'll kill you brat!', but the bastard's killer intent couldn't hold a candle to Zabuza's, so I just…"

Hinata holds a fist in front of her lips to hide her smile and allows him to go on and on about how 'great' his plan was and how much he 'ruled'.

-"Naruto-kun certainly was very cool back then." -She says when he finally runs out of breath- "It's a shame about the last question..."

Strictly speaking, it had ruined his great plan by ignoring the answers of the first nine questions, even if he'd kept his cool.

-"Bah, the first questions were total bull so I knew there would be something fishy about that last one too. I mean, genin forever just by failing a single question? That's the biggest bull I've heard in my life, and I've been swindled more times I can remember!" -How come Naruto-kun's mindset has changed so much from the first time around? He took everything at face value back then…- "So I decided to call their bluff the coolest possible way."

-"Then you didn't have a plan?"

-"Not exactly" -Naruto scratched his head at her panicked stare- "But I still had Sakura-chan besides me and they hadn't changed the rules about cheating and then nothing made sense. How do you deck points in a do or die test? I tell you, this test wasn't very well thought."

-"That was even cooler then! I definitely would've panicked in that situation!"

-"Well, it all worked in the end, so who cares?" -If she's reading that blush right, he actually panicked big time. That only makes his bluff even cooler- "Speaking of cheating. Did Yakumo-chan tell you something else about tomorrow?"

-"Let's see…" -She makes a quick list before shaking her head. They've already told the team everything they could possibly know barring Orochimaru's plans- "I don't think there was anything new."

-"We'll be ready then. Don't worry, Hinata-chan! This'll be a cinch!"

She answers with her best smile. The evening is peaceful, and the streets are empty, as if making way just for them. It's kind of nice, to simply walk home like this and enjoy the simple pleasure of Naruto-kun's sunny disposition. All too soon, they reach the Hyuuga Compound and, judging by the expression on the gatekeepers, Naruto-kun won't be getting in anytime soon unless she raises a ruckus.

Ugh! So not the way to end such a nice evening… She'll have to chew them privately later on. For now she turns towards Naruto-kun, who is making a difficult face for some reason…

-"BRAT" -Kurama's voice startles her. She hasn't heard him since that small altercation before the test- "NARUTO is the one supposed to be dense here. What do you mean 'difficult face for some reason'?"

What does he mean? Hinata takes another look at Naruto-kun, still wondering why he's acting so shy. Let's see… [Naruto-kun at the Compound Gates]. [Naruto-kun acting shy]. [The time being late evening]. [The two of them walking home together]. [!]. The dots finally connect.

-"Kurama-san?"

-"Yes brat?"

-"Has Naruto-kun just… escorted me back home?"

-"*Sigh* Yes brat…"

Outwardly, Hinata doesn't react beyond a slight coloring on her cheeks. Inwardly, Kurama will probably have beeping ears the rest of the night after the squee she just let out and would definitively be happier without the recollection of Hinata repeatedly stomping the ground while trying to bite her own knuckles.

-"Why am I helping you? Just kill me already…"

Okay, ignore the grumpy fox, focus on Naruto, be a lady, this isn't the time to mess up!

-"Thank you for escorting me back home, Naruto-kun. I had a great time."

Too formal! Naruto-kun's eyes widen in surprise. He then quickly looks away, his face quickly acquiring a deep tomato red tonality.

-"It was nothing!" -He doesn't look back at her. If anything, he turns away even further, practically showing her his back, but she's sure she's caught a smile- "See you tomorrow for the second exam!"

He leaves before she can say her own goodnight, but she cannot bring herself to care. In a cloud, she floats the way through the compound and into her home. Hanabi won't believe it when… Oh, right. She's being difficult. The plan was to give her some space until after the second test, but this changes everything. Tonight they'll be having a sisterly chat.

That, unfortunately, couldn't be. Father was being difficult too for some reason. He was waiting to ambush her as soon as she set foot at home and they had the most awkward father-daughter moment she can remember ever having. Both lives considered.

He had apparently neglected his own dinner and insisted on them eating together, then tried to make small talk with the most random topics before, awkwardly, very awkwardly, he had suggested they viewed some photo albums together.

That was especially puzzling. At first she thought she was being interrogated about her own life. Only that made no sense. Then she thought it had something to do with the exams. Father didn't knew their little scheme with Yakumo, so maybe a roundabout way to help her? Only that didn't made sense either. Before she knew, they were talking about Mother and remembering old times.

That wasn't just shocking. It was astonishing with traces of outright incredible. Father hadn't even hinted at talking about Mother since her death all those years ago. Even in her past life she'd never had anything that qualified as a conversation about her.

Was he feeling melancholic for some reason? Maybe the Chuunin exam brought old memories. She tries to remember whether Mother was even a shinobi in the first place, but she draws a blank. Mother was Mother, she was there to hold her and be kind and that was all that mattered, but now she felt a bit ashamed of not knowing anymore

-"Father, was Mother a village shinobi?"

-"No, she never joined the Academy" -Father answers with a strange face, as if she's lost him with something unrelated- "She was trained in the ways of the Gentle Fist, and was a graceful fighter, but she never studied outside the Clan."

Well, that's one theory down. Maybe he's just melancholic after all. The chuunin exams are a milestone in any shinobi's life, it won't be that strange if Father sees this as a sign of her growing up.

-"Father, can you tell me something about Mother?" -There goes again, that lost gaze. But he doesn't say no- "Just… How was she? As a person? I loved Mother, but was too young back then to see beyond her smiles and affection. I would like to know more."

Apparently that wasn't what he intended to talk about either, but it does the trick. Whatever Father's thoughts were tonight, they're gradually forgotten as he loses himself on the recollection of his beloved (and one only needs to look at his face to be sure he loved her dearly) wife. How she was usually calm and quiet and the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, and yet the most seemingly random things triggered her temper from time to time. How she loved cooking and would frequently kick the servants out to make special meals herself, or how she stuffed the pantry with cinnamon rolls every time the staff lowered their guard and a thousand other things, big and small, that made her a real person.

When she finally was hustled to the bed that night, she still had no idea what had brought the whole incident, but on the bright side, she was so busy feeling peaceful and warm inside she completely forgot about Orochimaru and slept like a log.

Oh joy! Hinata was finally escorted home! I seem to remember a reviewer theorizing about Kurama making his hosts dumber… That thought is becoming more and more appealing with time, isn't it?

Sometimes Muse just strikes me and suddenly I 'have to write about Hinata's Mum' or some similar seemingly random thing. Then I have to picture a scene where it doesn't only makes sense but also serves a purpose. Of course, Muse doesn't help with that part…

Always wondered why that 'you can get caught four times' loophole isn't exploited more often in fics. Maybe I just missed the ones who do, or maybe is just too obvious. In any case… Sorry, I couldn't resist.

During the series Naruto has displayed a frustrating mix of sharp and dumb moments that I guess everyone has to come terms with by themselves. My headcanon is that, while he's smart as heck, he's also naturally careless and trusting. He won't think things through and fail to be suspicious unless something puts him in the right state of mind first. I don't think he'd had any trouble with the written test if he'd only been in that state of mind. Just saying.