Hello! Thanks for sticking to this story and for the story favorites.To Jac Frust: I honestly don't have a plan in mind for Jiraiya but he's somewhere at the back of my mind. You won't be seeing him anytime soon.

As expected, maths was the toughest test for all classes and while literature was relatively easy if you had a good memory, it was also difficult...at least to the recuperative classes. Their miserableness was cleared away by Asuma sensei's announcement though.

Music test was going to be Karaoke with any song of their choices! Only those that enrolled for musical courses were not singing but playing their respective instruments instead.

"I'm having trouble picking a song. What song should I sing?!" Sakura mused out loud to Ino's hearing. The other girl had a smug grin on her face after hearing Sakura's statement.

"He he. I'm singing Perfect by Ed Sheeran. Sasuke-kun would be so enthralled by my beautiful voice!" Ino announced rather loudly because Sasuke scoffed and the class sniggered. Her face exploded a red shade that could rival Hinata's whenever she was close to Naruto.

"Ah?! There's no way Sasuke would be enthralled by your voice. It literally sounds like a dying pig!" Sakura jabbed at her love rival but Ino was not going down.

"And do you think your voice is any better? That's why shower heads are your only audience, billboard brow!"

"Here we go again." Shino muttered and rested his head on his desk, using his large green scarf to cover his head to muffle the sound of their argument. It was a good thing Karin was not among them otherwise... Shino shuddered.

Xxx symphony xxX

"So by headcount, there are twenty two of you." Asuma rumbled while stroking his beard. '4.5 each huh? Okay. The last one's for me.' After his quick calculation, Asuma began the test. The music room even had dim lighting and disco balls like a real karaoke hall. "First up, Rock Lee."

Outside the music door were three teachers with little work to do. Kakashi just came to see how the kids sang because it would be amusing. Yamato was curious about how Asuma graded his students and Iruka was just curious to see if his students were doing well.

As simple as introducing yourself in *Language was, his students made it seem like they were reciting their suicide notes before they died. So after that horrible experience and headache, Iruka had been spying on other tests to see how well his students did.

An upbeat tone played on the speakers and the lights dazzled along with Lee's ridiculous dancing. The moment he touched the microphone, there was feedback but Lee just screeched through the piercing sound, further bursting everyone's eardrums.

"Epic fail." Nobody knows who said that but everybody agreed that Lee's performance was horrible before he even got to sing. The feedback died out eventually and Lee began to sing and dance a choreography that was well known to the occupants of the room.

Bachkoi bachkoi baby!

(Bring it bring it baby!)

Oh my God, oh my God

As I look back on yesterday's blunders

Appreciated, Appreciated

Sauce splatters on my new clothes WOW!

Don't mind, don't mind

The tears that come to my eyes

No matter how hungry or angry I am I'd grab a dunburi and dance!

We would always remain friends

My nakama my brother

No matter the storms or harsh weather we face bachkoi come on!

Even if we are apart we're under the same sky

So smile and stand tall

Let's do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!

Amusingly, people started moving along with his bad dancing. Not that Lee could not dance, the choreography of the song was just that bad but it was fun anyway. After Lee was done with his song, the karaoke score board read 21.

Lee deflated at that. 21 was an epic fail! He was about to go to his seat when Asuma suddenly announced something. "Rock Lee, 72 points."

"Eh?!" Lee gaped.

"Eh?!" Iruka was confused. "But the karaoke read 21...this must mean that Asuma-san has his own criteria for judging the students."

"Exactly." Yamato replied. "I would like to say that he is giving the points on his own judgment but he's not. Asuma-san is calculating the marks he gives. What he is judging though, I don't know."

"And that's why you're here? To figure his scoring system out?" Kakashi asked.

"More or less." Yamato replied. "The third years had the same test days ago. I stumbled upon them but I decided to listen in. Kakuzu got a hundred points in Asuma-san's test despite the machine reading 15 points."

"Nobody has ever gotten a perfect score in Asuma's test." Kakashi noted.

"Exactly. Yet Kakuzu not Itachi or Konan or Nagato got it." Yamato had a good reason to question Asuma's score allocation. Kakuzu, even talking normally, always mumbled as if something was in his mouth so singing was out of the question. It surprised him that the moneyist got a perfect score in Asuma's test.

The next person that sang was Sakura. Her karaoke scoreboard read 89 but her score was 72 by Asuma's judgement. Ino's karaoke read was 87 but her score was the same as Sakura's.

Now everybody panicked when they discovered that the karaoke scoreboard was useless. "Next, Hyuga Hinata." Hinata was nervous! She was not a good singer because of her small voice! She was going to fail!

Hinata penguin walked to the stage and gripped the mic softly as the dance tone of her song came on. Her eyes snapped shut as the intro came on.

They say o-oh my G-God I see the way you sh-shine

So take your hand m-my dear and place them both i-in mine

Y-you know you stopped me dead when you were p-passing by

And now I beg to see you dance just one m-more time

Hinata was faster than the song though. Her face was cherry red with embarrassment but she waited for an opportunity to get back in the song. An exhale and mental self boosting got her to open her timid eyes and what she saw blew her breath away. Naruto was looking at her! Encouraging her!

Suddenly the whole reason she chose this song came to her. Hinata reminisced the first day she saw Naruto dancing at the studio at Shippuden street. How beautiful his form was and how graceful his movements were. As he moved, she also felt like dancing along. She wanted to look like he did. He looked free and happy when dancing and she wanted that too.

That was how she got into street and pop dance.

Ooh I see you, see you, see you every time

And oh my I, I, I like your style

You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry

And now I beg to see you dance just one more time

Hinata was already losing herself into the song and dancing softly. She even dared herself to make eye contact with her classmates who were stunned at the action. The shy Hyuga always avoided eye contact at every cost but now she was looking at them. What gives?!

So they say

Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh, oh, oh

I've never seen anybody do the things you do before

They say move for me, move for me, move for me, ay , ay , ay

And when you're done I'll make you do it all again

And when you're done I'll make you do it all again. All again.

Hinata's performance was over. It was time to reveal her score. "Hyuga Hinata, 81 points." Kakashi predicted.

"Hyuga Hinata, 81 points."

"Huh? How did you do that, Kakashi-san?" Yamato asked in bafflement.

"It's just a guess for now." Kakashi dismissed simply. He guessed the score for Matsuri and Yukata correct too. "Okay, I've figured it out."

"How?" Iruka asked.

"Music just like dance connects people together. It's not music if you're not communicating through your song." Kakashi explained. "Asuma is simply counting the amount of people that are listening."

Yamato looked into the class again. It was now Neji's turn and he was playing the violin. The solemn tune of the song was depicted perfectly by the boy so that it almost put everyone to tears, which was his intention. Yamato looked at the other students to see all that were listening.

Only Gaara, Shikamaru and Sasuke were not affected by the violinist's spell.

"Hyuga Neji, 85.5 points?" Yamato and Iruka guessed at the same time.

"Precisely."

"Hyuga Neji, 85.5 points." Asuma announced and called the next person which was Naruto.

"So Asuma divided 100 points by 22 students which means each student carries 4.5 marks. But that's not perfect though. If a student is singing, then that means they are 21 not 22." Iruka thought out loud.

"I think Asuma gives the student singing his/her 4.5 points if they are able to convey their feelings through music." That had to be it, Kakashi thought.

Naruto exhaled as the intro for his song came on and began singing. His voice was a bit husky naturally but singing with it had a surprisingly sweet mix that was pleasant to the ears.

Why are you asking me why my days and nights are filled with disappointments

Fine, oh no everything's fine

I'm not sure why I booked today's appointment

I've been so good, I've been helpful and friendly

I've been so good, why am I feeling empty?

I've been so good, I've been so good this year

I've been so good but it's still getting harder

I've been so good where the hell is the karma?

I've been so good, I've been so good this year

There was silence after Naruto's song because nobody expected his voice to be actually good!

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, 100 points." Asuma announced.

"NANIIII?!" Naruto screeched into the microphone. Everybody winced at the sharp humming feedback that followed his loud screech.

"Do you rather the score on the karaoke?" Asuma threatened. It was 90 but Naruto didn't want that. This was his first hundred marks! His first perfect score! His first A in a test!!!

"No, no, no, no! Sorry!" Naruto apologized frantically and went back to his seat. He was still dazed about his score. 100 points! His first score above one digit scores was a hundred! Naruto felt warm inside. This is nice.

"C-congratulations Naruto-kun." A small voice squeaked beside him. When Naruto turned, he found Hinata a blushing mess sitting beside him. It was cute.

"There's nothing worth congratulations about this, Hinata!" Neji snapped in irritation. How could Namikaze score higher than him?!

"Yeah, there isn't!" Sakura sided along with other who thought likewise.

Naruto only stuck his tongue at them and cast a godly smile at Hinata. "Thanks Hinata!"

Hinata held her breath in a vain attempt to still her beating heart. She was already over heating but she remembered to reply him. "Y-you're welcome."

Xxx symphony xxX

One of the most embarrassing things about private schools is the way exam scores are public. So here practically everybody in the first year building was at the notice board in the hallway, checking their scores and position in the class.

Kiba, Naruto, Lee and practically everyone in the recuperative class just went straight to the names under the 15th position because lmao they'd actually make it to top 10.

"19th?" Kiba muttered when he saw his name on the list. He had the fourth lowest score overall.

"20th? Despite my perfect score?" Naruto mumbled dejectedly. At least he didn't come last. Gaara did, coming 22nd after Yukata.

"Hn. You really are a dobe." Sasuke quipped.

"Teme!" Naruto bristled at the insult. "What position are you?" Blue eyes scanned the list for Sasuke's name and his mouth fell when he saw it. "Third position?! Sugoi!" Naruto was in awe but Sasuke wasn't.

"What?!" The brunet rudely shoved Naruto aside and checked for his name properly. "This can't be! This can't be!" The boy muttered over and over again as if that would change the position of his name. "There has to be a mistake!"

"What the hell man?" Kiba whom Naruto bumped into after being shoved, complained but it was lost to Sasuke's ears.

"What's the matter Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked out of concern. She came in fifth after Ino and Hinata came after her followed by Haku.

"What's the commotion?" Neji asked as he made his way to the notice board. He was expecting his name to come in first as usual but got quite a shock just like Sasuke when he saw that he was second. Leading the whole grade with an average of 95.76 was Nara Shikamaru.

Neji was horrified, Sasuke had it worse. To think that somebody from the dumb class beat them this much. Being unable to swallow the pill, Neji huffed and stormed away followed by a worried Hinata. She knew what her father would do to her cousin when he finds out that he was beaten, by somebody they considered dumb no less.

Sasuke was mortified and absolutely miffed. That lazy ass came first?! Who was he to come into his life and ruin his streak?!

"You're scaring me with your expression dattebayo. I would kill to have your average but you're just looking like a wet cat over third position." Naruto should have kept quiet because what he said only ignited Sasuke's anger.

"Is that one of the reasons for killing your parents?" Sasuke snarled. Naruto flinched back at the retort, hurt and offended but Sasuke was not done. "Right. You've never scored higher than one digit scores in your test so you wouldn't actually know what it's like to suddenly come in third when even being the second best is not enough!"

"Oi teme, you didn't have to say that! So what if I always come last?! At least I'm not like you stuck ups that know nothing but to stick their noses inside books and have shitty attitudes towards everything." Naruto shot back, annoyed at Sasuke's irrationality. Some people would throw a party if they came third but this butthole was being prissy like a spoiled princess.

"Shut up dobe! You don't know what it's like! You have no idea what dropping by a position is like because you always come in last!" Sasuke marched away angrily after his not so mature come back. He didn't care though because it was the truth. Nobody knew what it was like to suddenly drop because of an unforseen variable (this time in the form of Shikamaru).

Sakura left after Sasuke but not without throwing him a harsh glare. Ino also left with Karin to try to placate their fretting prince.

"That was intense." Haku commented with a low whistle. He dug his hands inside his pockets and sauntered off with Shino who wordlessly followed to avoid the tense atmosphere.

"Come Juugo, let's go annoy Sasuke!" Suigetsu dragged his silent friend along with him and with that all the geniuses left.

"What an asshole." Kiba spoke distastefully.

"Cheer up Naruto-kun, do not take Sasuke-san's words to heart." Lee tried to enthusiastically cheer his classmate but Sasuke's words hurt beyond what his words could alleviate.

It wasn't cool use his parent's deaths against him like that. Naruto excused himself to be alone in order to calm down and it worked because by closing period, he was back to normal again.

Everybody vacated the class after raising their chairs and placing them upside down on their desks so that it would be easier for those on class duty to sweep and mop.

"Shikamaru, you traidor!" Naruto yelled in betrayal. "You didn't help us out in the test!"

"That's right. Boo man, boo." Tenten pouted.

"How could I? The tests were practical!" Shikamaru groaned helplessly but his classmates didn't want to hear it. Starting from Kiba, they all pushed Shikamaru and lied on top of him in a dog pile. "What the hell?! You guys are a drag, get off me!" Shikamaru yelled in vain.

Matsuri and Tamaki laughed from the sidelines because they didn't join the pile. Choji (thank God!) wisely chose not join the pile for size reasons and Lee was on class duty otherwise he would join the pile.

"WOOH?! THAT LOOKS FUN, DESU! LET ME JOIN THE HEAP OF SPRINGTIME YOUTHFULNESS!"

Scratch that.

"Oh shit! No! Lee, no!" Recognising danger, Tenten started to crawl out of the pile but the others were also trying to scramble away at the same time. To make their struggle easier to imagine, it was like that of a snake who entered a kettle and forgot the way out. Or a cat whose head got stuck in a jar. Now imagine several cats' heads in one jar instead of one cat.

Lee was already in the air.

"No!"

"No, Lee, NO!"

"LISTEN WITH YOUR BRAIN FOR ONCE YOU COFFEE DRUNK FUCKER!"

"DON'T JUMP, I REPEAT, DON'T JUMP!"

"DYNAMIC ENTRYYYYY!" Guess who? Yes, our favorite green maniac. He landed unceremoniously on the heap and caused Shikamaru (poor boy) to wheeze out his squeezed liver.

Watching the blatant display of idiocy was Sasuke and his father, Fugaku. The chauffeur had just come back from picking the older man early from work so he made a detour to the school on his boss's orders. The Uchihas were in their (I don't wanna use a limo because it's overused) fancy car (because I don't know the name of fancy cars) waiting for Itachi.

Sasuke watched class D play like they didn't just do badly in their tests. He sort of envied them, their freedom that is. He also wanted to play freely like they did but he had to be proper and studious like a typical boy from a prestigious family.

"Hn, fools." Fugaku clicked his tongue distastefully at the folly displayed in front of him. "I hope you do not interact with those pathetic fools." Sasuke caught the words that were left unsaid in the sentence.

"No sir." The boy answered.

"Good. People like those would profit you nothing in life. I heard your assessment results are out. You did well, I presume?" Sasuke gulped. His father was an inch away from finding out his bad grade. Fugaku, upon picking up Sasuke's reluctance, frowned. "You did well, I presume?" The man repeated sternly.

Sasuke clenched his fists on his laps and focused his gaze. "I...I came in third with an average of 91.89 out of hundred." He whispered.

"Third?!" Fugaku was clearly displeased. At that moment, Itachi entered the car and greeted his father. Sasuke's fists clenched tighter at his brother's presence. He hated this already! "Itachi, what is your assessment average?" Fugaku asked his eldest.

"98.75 sir." Itachi promptly replied because their father hated dilly dallying.

"Best in the school I presume?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes...sir." Itachi was hesitant because he knew what was coming. He couldn't prevent it though.

"Did you hear that, Sasuke? Your brother is the best in his game, and that means you should follow in his footsteps. You are lucky this is just a midterm assessment. Your exams must be better. Understand?" Fugaku warned.

"Yes sir." Sasuke cast one last longing look at the dog pile outside the window and dropped the window flap.

The dog pile collapsed but nobody had the breath in them to stand. Nobody except Lee that is.

"THAT WAS FUN!" Only Yukata would say that after almost getting her organs crushed.

"Lee, you're so...ugh!" Karui weakly complained.

"Is Shikamaru alright?" Tamaki asked worriedly. He took the brunt of the pile after all. At her question, everybody surrounded Shikamaru who they discovered was unconscious.

"Oi Shikamaru?" Karui called.

"Oh my Kaguya, we killed him!" Kiba freaked. He was slightly heaving and Akamaru noticed this because he barked. "I'm fine Akamaru, just out of breath." He placated the service dog.

"Shikamaru-kun?!" Lee called.

"Shikamaru?!" Choji shouted in alarm.

"Shikamaru?! This isn't funny." Tenten tried to shake him awake. A sharp gasp from Omoi stopped everybody short. The boy was blue...if black people could turn blue...with dread, depicted by the frantic way he was chewing at his nails.

"What if because of the way we heaped up on him we broke his rib?! His lungs and liver could have been punctured because of the pressure we caused, leading to an internal hemorrhage and ultimately death! All ten of us would be arrested and expelled for murder by chest pressure and then our faces would be all over the net! After a court session, we would be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts or a Judas chair or they'd split us into two by horses or they'd cut off our genitalia and allow us to bleed to death or they'd tie a mill stone around our chests and THROW US INTO THE PACIFIC!" Omoi grew paler with every passing word.

"OMOI!" Karui slapped her brother to wake him from his thought spiral. They had been trying ever since he reached internal hemorrhage. "That's too extreme, idiot!"

"If only you could use your imagination in exams." Tenten quipped.

"Don't be treating me like I'm dead. What a drag, now I'd have to wash my clothes because of you guys." Shikamaru complained, opening his eyes as he did so.

"You scared us dattebayo!" Naruto yelled. "And then Omoi started his freaky imagination something again. I almost believed him!"

"What are you guys doing on the floor?!" At the sound of their prefect of discipline, Temari-senpai, all of them scrambled to stand up and split up to their own homes.

"Those students are interesting, don't you think?" Kurenai asked Asuma, voice laced with amusement. They had been watching the class' folly from a distance.

"They do liven up the school." Asuma agreed and led Kurenai and his two year old daughter, Mirai, out of the school.

Songs used in the chapter:

Bacchkoi! (Naruto Shippuden end theme not sure which).

Dance Monkey - Tones and I

Karma - AJR

I imagined Neji's violin performance to be Despair - Toshiro Masuda. It is the OST played during Sasori's death in Shippuden.

*Language - I am not sure which language Iruka should teach so just imagine he's teaching any language of your choice.

Thanks for reading!