My feet moved in rhythm with Sakura's. We had agreed to meet at the park to walk to school for hopefully the last time together. It had been a few years since our friendship had been mended, of course, neither of us told the other it was because of Naruto. That would be horrible to think about, especially for Sakura who is still trying to maintain her confidence.
Sakura wore her long pink hair straight with two beautiful bangs framing her face courtesy of me. If I hadn't intervened then she would have made her bangs cover that perfectly normal forehead of hers. Although, now she was far more fit and could probably beat any bullies that tried to mess with her, sometimes even me.
In the class, things had changed drastically, especially among the few that actually interacted with Naruto. A group had been made out of Shino, Kiba, and Sasuke. They all gathered on Tuesdays and Thursdays to practice ninja skills and on the weekends to do whatever guys do. Then there was Shikamaru and Choji, they'd started doing much better in school, with Shikamaru just below Sasuke in academics. My dad thinks Shikamaru is only below Sauke because he doesn't want to deal with any arguments between them but I know it's because Sasuke is better.
That only left Naruto himself. He hasn't actually changed much. He still speaks too much, asks Sakura on dates(which is good because she gets depressed when he doesn't, even though she won't say yes), and fails to beat anyone in the class in anything but running. Although his pranks have been far better lately and he's gotten in less trouble for the very small amount he gets caught doing. There was also that time he and Sasuke fought.
Sasuke and Naruto stood across each other. Smirking and grinning respectively. Sasuke dropped into a slight crouch, once leg sliding back and out to create a wider base. Naruto placed his hands into a ram seal before squatting with his legs slightly further than shoulder width. As always Naruto raced forward first, Sasuke shifting in preparation for the usual attack. This time Naruto jumped, sailing above Sasuke before diving back down, both fists digging into Sasuke's back.
In an instant, Sasuke had begun to spin on the ground with Naruto until their positions were reversed and delivered a powerful punch to his blonde opponent's head. It was the first and last time Naruto had ever gotten one on Sasuke.
Shaking my head I responded to a question Sakura had asked. She opened the door to the classroom and allowed me to go in first, it was immediately apparent that I would not be sitting beside her. It was her day to sit beside Sasuke and since there was only one seat open I would have to surrender my own claim.
"Sorry Ino," Sakura whispered, gripping my hand in hers. I gave a hopefully gentle smile in return before shaking my head.
"It's fine Sakura, I'll talk to you during the physical trials," My hand released her before I moved toward an open seat near the middle. A loud crash sounded as I sat down, the apocalyptic bells ringing in warning of Naruto's arrival. Of course, he immediately asked Sakura for a date, got rejected, and skipped toward me, plopping in the seat beside me.
"Hey Ino," He exclaimed happily. Ever since he mended my relationship with Sakura I had tried to be cordial with him, which wasn't hard when his eyes met mine, but I digress. It did mean that I was his second favorite female target right behind Sakura and above Hinata. "You ready to be a genin?"
"Of course, I have been training for a long time now, unlike some," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. It was only partially a joke. In truth, I had been working far harder than I ever thought I would just to stay in the same league as Hinata, but even with all that I was always beat by her superior combat skills.
"Hey! I have been working," His nose crinkled in disdain before those shimmering blue eyes dimmed slightly. "A lot more than last time."
His depression made sense. He was after all the only one to have failed twice before now. It was always some small mistake that the teacher could not allow, some small flaw in a technique or his abysmal ability in fighting. Of course, if Naruto believed he could pass this time then so would I, he believed in Sakura and I after all.
"Good, maybe we'll be on the same team," I said, hoping to see that gleam of joy again. Instantly it was back as though he could hear my thoughts. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he could.
"Ino," He said in mock seriousness. "We could never be on the same team. Could you imagine the horror our instructor would feel seeing TWO blondes? Especially when one can read minds and the other is sly as a fox? They would die from fear!"
In my mind, I could see some random sensei having a heart attack from listening to the insane yet cryptic ramblings of Naruto while I gave them a psychological stripping. It was far more fun than it would've been if it actually happened.
"Ha, I see your point Naruto," Iruka-sensei walked in calmly, a somber expression on his face. It was likely his continued grieving of Mizuki-sensei. Iruka-sensei was a kind man but he had very few friends, so little that it must have felt as though most of his heart was torn out when his best friend died three years ago.
"Ok class, today is the day you've been waiting for," He bellowed for the class. His mask once more slid onto his features, hiding whatever pain he held still. "There will be three parts understood? The first will be a written exam. There are fifty questions and you must have a score of seventy percent to pass. The second is the physical portion consisting of shuriken and kunai throwing as well as a spar to see if you are physically capable of the life you have chosen. Lastly is the chakra portion. As chakra is vital for ninja to rise in power beyond the normal soldier this will count as half your grade. Understood?"
Everyone nodded except Naruto. Looking out the corner of my eye I noticed his eyes focused on Iruka-sensei, a look of regret and acceptance marred his face. What he regretted was up for debate, probably not practicing enough.
It became clear quite quickly that Naruto was lying for the entire year. He would look at a question, put a near answer on some and a barely correct answer on others, but they were definitely fake. Almost like Shikamaru used to do, only putting what was needed to pass and no more. I don't even know why I decided to watch his paper but now I understood that he wasn't afraid of failing the written part.
Finally, the test ended and Iruka-sensei collected our papers before sending us outside to the field. It was slightly larger than the school's front but it also had a massive forest leading to other training grounds behind it so we could safely toss around sharp objects. If there is a safe way to do that.
Sakura stood beside me with Sasuke on her other side with all the other boys. He was smiling again, a common sight when he was near Kiba, Shikamaru, or Naruto. Honestly, his eyes looked much nicer when they were sparkling with joy as opposed to drowning in hate.
"Ino, I'm sorry," I turn to my best friend, a brow raised in confusion. "I saw the list of sparring partners, you're with Hinata."
Ah, that explains a lot. It was no secret that Hinata had grown beyond nearly everyone in the class when it came to Taijutsu. Her gentle fist never felt gentle when it struck your shoulders and her long, strong legs absolutely devastated anyone caught in their path. Sasuke himself sometimes lost to her, although that just made him train harder until he would beat her again. The only person she would not even attempt to spar with was Naruto, for whatever reason, even if he begged. Every time she would apologize about his shoulder or something weird.
"Well, fuck," I murmured. My own abilities were no longer as pathetic as they had been but no matter what I did I couldn't match Hinata's speed or power. She didn't even use her damned byakugan against us and still whooped our asses. Although she always helped us up and congratulated us after, much better than Kiba. "All I have to do is show I have the ability to fight, Iruka-sensei will understand."
"Yeah, you're right," She smiled at me.
Sasuke strode forward and grabbed eight Shuriken and ten Kunai. In a mere few seconds, he had every single one of them sticking in a target. A perfect score. Although it would count for little if he failed the chakra part for whatever reason. Next up were Kiba and Shino, each doing worse than Sasuke but far better than the average student. Then it was Naruto. His body shook as he moved up, eyes distant and unfocused before he snapped his wrist forward. Unlike everyone else, he failed to hit more than one, but he hit that one with all his weapons. A deadly attack no matter who you were.
Everyone after that did well or horribly. There was this one girl, Akira, who only hit two targets and missed every other throw. Although she was pretty smart, so it's unlikely she'll fail the whole year.
"Everyone, it is time for your spars. The goal is to show me your ability in fighting, you do not have to win," Iruka-sensei announced. "Would Shino and Sasuke please step forward?"
The two strongest males in the class strode forward. An aura of challenge burning like the sun's rays around them. Their fingers curled until only two fingers remained on one hand each, with that they conjoined them and backed away, waiting for the signal.
"GO!"
They both dashed forward. Sasuke's fists tightened as he twisted around a kick from his bug-ridden friend. The next punch was lightning fast but Shino rolled out of the way.
"Go Sasuke!" Sakura screeched. My own voice joined hers soon after.
"Hey, Shino! Kick the bastard's ass!" Kiba yelled as his pup barked its agreement.
A twist of the hips brought Shino's legs back to the black-haired boy. Sasuke leapt over them, intending to slam his feet into Shino only to find the spot empty once more as Shino rose. A punch connected finally sending Sasuke reeling, his feet fighting to regain balance.
"Fuck yes Shino!" Kiba was jumping up and down now, far too excited watching his friends fight.
"Kiba! No cursing," Iruka-sensei reprimanded.
My focus moved back to the fight. Each fighter was dancing around the other until Sasuke struck like a serpent. His hands clenching Shino's arms, using his weight to send them down until Sasuke was straddling Shino. My crush released his opponent'ss arms only to slam a fist into his shoulder. Another hand on Shino's throat, too light to actually choke but enough to end the battle.
"Good job you two, you pass," Iruka-sensei then pulled up his clipboard and wrote a few words on it. His voice ringing out to call the next match. "Kiba and Choji, you're up."
Dog breath jumped into the circle excitedly while the once unconfident Choji stalked forward dangerously. His muscles showed even with the layer of fat he seemed incapable of ridding himself of. Physically he is the strongest of the class, his punches harder than anyone else, although Naruto comes close for some reason. Trust me, I had been punched by all of them at least once during sparring.
Choji stood firm, lowering himself into a better defensive position. His childish face set in determination as dog breath crouched, ready to dash.
"GO!"
Kiba slid over the ground, unstoppable force versus immovable object, the object won. Kiba slammed his fists into the tough and soft belly of Choji before feeling a powerful fist slam him down. The dog boy rolled away quickly before trying another charge, this time spinning behind Choji. It made little difference in the end, Kiba just couldn't hit hard enough to put down the Akimichi. A second punch put the poor pup out of the ring.
"Sorry Kiba, maybe it would've been better if Naruto had fought Choji. At least he can somewhat take the beating," Iruka muttered before writing something else down. "Okay, Shikamaru you're against Naruto."
"Good job Choji, Kiba," Naruto yelled, speaking for the first time since we came outside. Beside him was Shikamaru, both walking up to the ring.
"Sorry Naruto, but my mom would get mad if I lost," Shikamaru smiled in exasperation. "Tch, women are troublesome."
"Don't worry Shikamaru, your mom will understand that I had to beat your ass," Naruto exclaimed lightly.
"Dammit Naruto, no cursing!," Iruka-sensei said. Naruto grinned, a gleam of that strange and overwhelming care popping into his eyes.
"Sorry Iruka-sensei," He responded before shifting his focus to Shikamaru once more. He moved his legs, one behind the other. It was the Academies starting kata for a defensive move. It was almost never used because if the other person were stronger it was useless. But Shikamaru was not stronger.
"Yeah, yeah, just start."
Shikamaru moved first, coming forward with a raised fist. Naruto prepared a counter when the pineapple head slid to his knee, going directly for Naruto's legs. Naruto leapt over him, only to get a handful of dust in his eyes.
"I know I can't beat you in a fair fight, but they never said this had to be fair," The genius snarked. His speech was halted by a leg sweep courtesy of the downed Naruto.
"Ouch," Naruto whined, standing with his eyes closed. He took another stance, this one almost exactly like the one he used against Sasuke before. His breathing slowed and he stood still. He didn't even move as Shikamaru came at him, fist mere inches from his face. Then he exploded, dipping down and slamming his skull into Shikamaru's stomach.
Unable to breathe, Shikamaru fell to the ground. His eyes tearing up in pain as he tried to move away from Naruto. A few long moments later they had both recovered from the other's attack.
"Troublesome, your head is literally hard," Shikamaru chuckled to himself. "Sensei? I give up."
"What!" I bellowed. That lazy good for nothing just gave up when everyone so far had tried? Oh, I can't wait to tell Yoshino about this.
Naruto just smiled lightly and shook his head.
"Nah, if he's gonna surrender then I will too."
"Guys, it really doe-," Iruka tried to say but I cut him off. This injustice must be corrected. Why should they be allowed to pass when they didn't even try?
"No, neither of you are going to surrender," I told them. Then I noticed Naruto staring directly at me and everything else I was going to say died into mumbles. Once more I felt as though a genjutsu had been cast on me, making me lose track of time as that cerulean gaze pierced me.
"Ino?" Sakura asked, shaking me from my stupor. Now with my mind back I growled at Shikamaru.
"Oh Yoshina is going to murder you," His expression was priceless and I forgave their absolute laziness because it was going to turn into great entertainment for me.
After their lackluster fight came three more, each worse and worse. It was easy to see why he had set them up against each other, they would've failed to beat even Naruto. Especially if he did that weird technique.
"Hinata and Ino, you're up!" Iruka-sensei called. My eyes found the indigo haired girl. Soft eyes turning hard as she prepared for battle. Body tensing and untensing with each step to the ring. She was only an inch taller than me now but it felt like a dozen feet when she fought. No movement wasted and no weakness showed. She was the scariest person here.
I stood across from her, feeling waves of nausea flow through me. My nerves fraying at the sight of those hard, pupilless eyes tracing every part of me, memorizing my weak points. She had already won and she knew it, it was undeniable and inevitable.
"Ino, you're strong too," Hinata said. A kind smile kindling my courage once more. "Don't be afraid to lose to me, like me, you always try. Someone told me that's what truly makes you capable of strength, to try even when you fail until you no longer fail."
"What..?" I began before she cut me off.
"So try as hard as you can," The kindness vanished once more. "I will."
Her last words reached me barely a second before the signal to start. Her body flashing forward faster than Kiba and smoother than Sasuke. Fingers blurred into my shoulders burning me worse than any of Choji's punches. My own arms came up to try and halt her assault only to lose against her barrage.
It was all I could do to continue standing as she pushed me beyond whatever pain threshold I had. Yet I pushed it out, shutting down my perception of those nerves as I kicked out at her. It was a last resort, a little too dangerous to hold for long periods but I only needed it for a second. My foot connected to her stomach, but the Hyuuga are known for their strong position in Taijutsu. It didn't even push her an inch back.
The pain flooded me as I allowed my nerves to signal my mind once more. Those legs I'm so proud of collapsed under me. Hinata standing above me like an avenging angel. Then she lowered herself and told me to calm down, told me that the pain would subside in moments but all I could understand was the pain. It was all-consuming and frightening and it hurt. It hurt so bad, so, so, so bad! Why did it have to hurt so much?
"Ino," A voice breached my mind, literally piercing my mind. That's impossible though, only my family had these techniques and Naruto Uzumaki is definitely not part of my family. Yet, I could hear him, could feel the aura of love he always radiates even when he's sad. "Calm down. It'll go in a second, just breathe."
I tried, breathing in deeply as he told me, letting it out on his mark and slowly the pain faded and so did his voice. Finally, my mind was once more in full control. My eyes opened and I realized we were back in the classroom, everyone waiting in line to try their jutsu. Including Naruto who was shifting nervously, practicing his hand seals. It was stupid of me to think he could have got in my mind when he couldn't even perform a simple clone.
"Is Ino awake yet? "I heard Iruka-sensei ask from the testing room. At once every face turned to me, but I only noticed the worry on Naruto's. Maybe my theory was right and Naruto could read minds, I mean he's blonde after all.