Akira stared at the dusty box that took up most of the space on top of her dresser. It was her mother's old jewellery box, sturdily made of mahogany with a delicate lace pattern carved on its lid. She stared at it for a while, thinking, debating whether she should pull out its contents or not. It contained no jewellery, as Akira wasn't one to wear shiny things unless gifted, but it held something of far greater importance to her, something that once belonged to her father. Akira opened the box with a deep breath and retrieved its contents, gently putting it in her pocket for later.
As she did every morning, Akira met up with Kai at the main avenue, underneath the blossoming trees. It was the morning of the exam, and Akira wasn't nervous at all. She knew the jutsu like the back of her hand, she'd practised them time and time again, and the short written exam, she thought, wouldn't be much of a problem. Akira was far more concerned with Naruto, who had skipped most of his classes this year and couldn't even perform a simple transformation jutsu. However, there wasn't much she could do, and with a sigh, she and Kai continued on their way to the Academy, cherry blossom petals falling into their hair.
"You look like something out of a manga, sometimes," Kai said suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Wind in your hair? Cherry blossom petals? It looks like you're the protagonist of a cheesy shoujo manga."
"I even have my slightly homosexual sidekick," Akira laughed.
"I am not your homosexual sidekick!"
Everyone was already waiting by the examination room when Akira and Kai arrived. In a few minutes, the doors would open, and they would all be taking the exact same exam, the one that would determine who was good enough to become a Genin. If they succeeded, they would earn a brand new Leaf headband, the proud symbol of the village's shinobi.
"You nervous," Akira asked as she and Kai came up to Kiba and Shikamaru.
"Nervous? Me? Who do you think I am, Kira?" Kiba scoffed. He then paused suddenly and stared.
"What?"
Kiba reached over and plucked a blush pink petal from Akira's black hair. She heard Kai mutter something about manga again.
"Petal in your hair," Kiba said simply.
"Oh, I thought I got them all."
"Doesn't matter, it looked cute in your hair," Kai said.
"Ugh, good thing it's go—Kiba, don't you dare put it back!"
Just then, the door to the classroom opened, and Iruka-sensei's face popped out of the doorframe. He smiled brightly at everyone and then ushered them inside. The students were seated two per desk, leaving space in-between to discourage peeking. Iruka explained the rules, gave a brief overview of the exam, and then a collective sound of scribbling resonated through the classroom as he gave the all-clear to start. Akira sat cross-legged on her chair (which proved to be a point of much amusement in her regular classes) and leaned over her paper, scanning the pages to scope out the most challenging questions to answer first. She answered them first, taking her time, and finished with the easy ones. Akira stood at the same time as her brother, and he looked at her, irked, but she pulled a face at him and dropped her exam on Iruka-sensei's desk with him regardless.
Iruka gave a quick once over of their papers and let them exit the classroom, pending the rest of the examinations. Akira sat down on one of the benches in the hallway, intending to wait for all her friends to finish, but Sasuke kept on walking.
"Sasuke!" The boy stopped and turned. "You're not leaving, are you? Can't you wait for the others to finish?"
"They're your friends, not mine," he said.
"Come on! Kai's been there since the beginning—he might as well be."
"The second Kai—"
"You can run off," Akira chuckled as her brother came back to sit with her. "Thanks."
"Yeah, whatever."
Akira stared at the door to the classroom.
"Think you're gonna ace it?"
"Obviously," Sasuke said smugly. "I wouldn't take it if I wasn't going to ace it. You?"
"I don't doubt that I aced it. I just hope that everyone else passes. I don't want to be separated."
"Why do you worry about others so much?"
"I don't expect you to get it," Akira admitted. "Considering all you care about is what directly concerns you. But after Itachi... I just need to hold onto everything I love... you know?"
Sasuke frowned and looked towards the door. There was a moment of silence between them, where all they could hear was the distant scratching of pencils and kids running amok in the distance.
"Did you bring it?" Sasuke said after a while.
"Yeah, I did," Akira replied, smiling.
"Heh, you really do intend to graduate today."
"So do I!"
Kai came barrelling out of the classroom, a cheerful expression on his face. Akira heard Iruka shush him from inside the classroom, but Kai laughed it off.
"How well do you think you did?"
"One hundred and twenty per cent. They're gonna give me bonus points they didn't even know they had," Kai said happily, swaying on the heels of his feet. "My guess is that you're gonna get yet another perfect score. On this and on the practical."
When the conversation began to pick up, Sasuke stood. He briefly acknowledged Kai, which was an honest to god miracle, and walked off.
"At least he stayed to keep you company."
"Only because I asked. Apparently, you're not his friend."
"I would be offended if I didn't know him better," Kai admitted, then took a seat beside Akira.
"Yeah, so would I," she responded. "I just wished he'd stop being so distant. Did you know he actually asked me why I cared about you guys at all?"
"I'm not even surprised.
It was another short while before anyone came out of the classroom. Soon, Kiba and Shikamaru joined them in the hall and followed the next professor to the training yard where they spent the next half hour throwing kunai at targets and sparring with dummies. Then came the final part of the exam. One by one, and in alphabetical order, everyone went into the classroom to perform one final jutsu. Some emerged with sad faces, while most, like Kai, Shikamaru and Kiba, emerged with brand new Leaf shinobi headbands.
"Ugh, this is painful," Shikamaru complained.
"I already told you, go wait at Ichiraku's," Akira said with a chuckle. "I'll join you guys later."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Kiba said quickly, getting to his feet. "I deserve food after all this effort."
Shikamaru, Kai and Kiba stood and ran off down the hallway. She heard one of them run into someone and laughed, then turned her attention to Iruka, who'd just called her name.
Akira stood in front of a table full of Leaf shinobi headbands gleaming in the sunlight pouring in from the large windows. Sitting behind that table were Iruka and Mizuki-sensei, both Chūnin, and, for today, the examiners who would tell her whether she was going to be a Genin or not.
"The final test is on the Clone Jutsu," Iruka said.
"When you're ready, please produce at least three copies of yourself," Mizuki added.
Akira nodded and took a deep breath. She glanced at the lavender she'd put in the vase the day before, smiling faintly, then turned back to her professors with her hands in the correct seal. In a puff of smoke, three clones identical to Akira appeared at her side, all of them looking healthy and completely functional.
"Wonderful," Iruka said proudly. "Best clones we've seen all day, aren't they Mizuki?"
"Yes, well, I'd expect nothing less from an Uchiha. I'm sure her brother's clones will be just as good."
Akira looked on nervously as Iruka and Mizuki spent the next few minutes talking in hushed voices. They rifled through some paperwork, no doubt her school grades and the results of her written exam, and after a while, they looked up at the girl with bright smiles.
"Mizuki and I have decided that, without a doubt, you are to graduate. Congratulations, Akira, you're a Genin!"
Grinning from ear to ear, Akira bowed deeply in thanks. It wasn't a surprise, but she was still proud of herself for not screwing up.
"You can come up and grab a headband now."
"Actually, sensei, I was wondering if it would be okay to wear this one."
Akira pulled out a Leaf shinobi headband from the pocket of her grey cargo pants that had clearly seen better days. It was worn, scratched in a few places, but it still shone brightly in the sunlight. Iruka and Mizuki looked at her curiously.
"This belonged to Fugaku Uchiha, my father," Akira explained. "As I intend to continue his legacy to protect Konoha with everything I have, I wish to honour him by wearing the headband that was given to him, as my own."
Mizuki and Iruka smiled softly.
"That is quite admirable of you, Akira," Mizuki said. "I don't see a problem with it; it does represent the Leaf shinobi, after all."
"Akira," Iruka said.
"Yes, sensei?"
"Wear it proudly."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Akira said, bowing briefly, "I will."
Akira unravelled the headband's fabric and wrapped it around her waist, along with all the other colourful pieces of cloth she used as a belt. Akira couldn't help but smile. This was the first step towards achieving her goal, and with one last bow towards Iruka and Mizuki, she bolted out of the exam room.
"Starting today, I'm a ninja!"
"Figures," Sasuke scoffed. "You never let anything get past you."
"Can't you just be proud of me for one second?"
"No."
"Get your ass in there, Sasuke, you're next," Akira groaned.
"Oh, I hope he passes," Sakura sighed as Sasuke entered the classroom.
"Of course, he'll pass, forehead!" Ino retorted. "How dare you doubt Sasuke like this!?"
"What're you guys even still doing here?" Akira asked sharply. "It's not like Sasuke gives either of you any attention whatsoever."
Sakura and Ino went off on her. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Akira weaved her way through the remaining students (most of which were girls who were waiting for Sasuke) and found Naruto sitting quietly alone on a bench.
"Hey, Akira. Nice belt," he said, glimpsing at her father's headband.
"Thanks, Naruto," Akira said with a smile. "How're you feeling?"
"Nervous. Is the final test really a Clone Jutsu?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Just my luck; it's my worse jutsu!"
"Hey, wanna know a secret?"
Naruto looked up at her and nodded.
"I can't do the Uchiha's Great Fireball Jutsu, yet."
"Woah, really!? But you're so good at everything!"
"Well, the Fire nature has never been my strongest," Akira admitted. "So, maybe it's the same for you."
"What'd you mean?"
"Maybe the Transformation Jutsu, the Clone Jutsu... maybe they're like my Great Fireball Jutsu. Not your strong suit. So, if you don't pass today, it isn't so bad. Maybe you just haven't found the jutsu that works for you. It doesn't matter if you don't pass today, or even next year because you'll find the jutsu that works for you, and when you do, then you'll ace this exam no problem!
"Besides, becoming Hokage isn't all about being a strong ninja, you know. A Hokage needs to be wise, confident, passionate, loyal, open-minded, accepting, generous... So, don't sweat it, okay? If you don't pass today, that'll just give you more time to develop the other qualities of a Hokage you already possess."
Akira smiled brightly at Naruto, but he just stared blankly at her, blinking rapidly in some sort of wonder. She never really noticed, but Akira had a habit of doing that.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto snapped out of his daze and stood, heading towards the classroom. As he reached the doorframe, he turned back to Akira, smiling just as bright as she was moments ago.
"Talking like that, you sound like a Hokage," he said. "I won't let you show me up. I'll do my best, believe it!"
Akira never joined Kai, Kiba and Shikamaru at Ichiraku ramen. Instead, she followed Naruto to a rooftop overlooking the village. He hadn't graduated, and while he said nothing about it, Akira could tell he was devastated. Mizuki had wanted to pass Naruto because of sheer determination, but Iruka disagreed. As the two sat in silence, Mizuki joined them, looking sadly at the boy.
"Iruka-sensei is tough," he said. "He's not against you, Naruto."
"Then, why? Why only me?" Naruto yelled.
"He wants you to be strong with all his heart, but that'll never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you, you know, both of you. No parents."
Akira's eyebrows twitched into a frown. She didn't know this about her sensei.
"But this time... I really wanted to graduate," Naruto said glumly.
"Well, then I guess I'll just have to tell you," Mizuki said with a small chuckle. "It's a secret, but I'm gonna have to let you in on it."