If tension was a person, he/she would have a really big swell head with how much tension was in class B. The promotional exams were over and their results were quickly sorted out. It was time to see whether they qualified to enter the Summer Competitions.

They all stiffly walked over to the notice board where their overall ranks and scores were inevitably pasted. The only ones that weren't feeling any form of tension were Shikamaru and Gaara – lucky smart bastards.

"Uzumaki Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto..." The whiskered blond chanted as he searched for his name. When his blue eyes landed on his name they widened into saucers at what he scored overall. "F-f-fifty two point seven zero...?!"

It was really 52.70! Naruto wasn't very academically inclined so the highest GPA he had actually ever gotten was in the thirties. To think he could make it into the fifties... Tears began to drop from his eyes as the realisation sunk in.

"Iruka-sensei, I-I made it..." He couldn't even get words out without sobbing. What was wrong with him? Why was he crying over grades? Why was he overwhelmed? Ah. He knew why. Naruto had never done well in his tests before. He just managed to get barely enough not to repeat a class and he was often advised to give up studying in the juvenile center.

His plight began from a particular visit to the doctor; when he was diagnosed with ADHD at seven. He was just a child, it could pass over and he could get better- at least that was what the doctor said while writing down his mother reference letter to a professional.

Naruto never got better and teachers just wrote him off as a dullard until he got met Iruka-sensei.

"Naruto focus."

Iruka's gentle voice came to mind at that moment.

"Naruto, keep your attention on me for a moment.""Naruto you can solve this problem, you just need to calm down and focus.""You did it, I'm so proud of you!""You can do it. Ten correct answers for one bowl of ramen, deal?"

Iruka-sensei devoted his time to teach him despite how short his attention span was, and even though Sasuke-teme was reluctant at first he also found a way to teach him efficiently.

His best friend's efforts and his sensei's gentle encouragements helped him with this achievement. Naruto couldn't have done it without their help.

"Are you crying?" Kiba questioned from beside him. Naruto stiffened and tried to hide the happy tears that slipped down his eyes but he froze when he caught a glimpse of Kiba's face. Who knew the brash boy was capable of melting because of his success? "I am too. I freaking scored 53.67." The dog lover's voice was shaky because of his tears. He was damn happy!

Kiba could vividly remember the day Iruka-sensei called him aside privately after their first aptitude test. He did badly as expected but was his sensei calling him aside to scold him? Other senseis at his middle school did that any time he failed a test.

"Kiba don't be so tense, I am not punishing you. I just wanted to speak about your test."

Kiba remembered how his head bowed in both disappointment and resignation. He knew it. But then Iruka-sensei was sliding a text over to him.

"Could you read this text out loud please?" Kiba read it with much difficulty. It wasn't as if he couldn't read, it was just that the words seemed to dance around when he looked at a book for too long. "This confirms it. Kiba don't be sad or panic but you are alexic."

Alexia. He had coherence issues. He could not comprehend written words. Ah, so that's what it was. He was truly a dullard. Kiba was already spiralling into the pits of despair until Iruka-sensei spoke.

"I had my lesson notes and other teachers' lesson notes converted into comics with artsy words just for you. I saw that you like comics so... I can't draw to save my life though so I asked your art oriented senpais for help hehe."

Kiba had been nervous – as nervous as he could get when he was paired up with Juugo as his student tutor but that anxiety soon washed away when he saw that Juugo liked to turn his letters to animals. The soft giant admitted not being able to focus on lessons unless he doodled on his book.

Kiba decided to copy his method and it worked. Kinda. A chicken's scratch was better than his ridiculous drawings of Akamaru but his point got across.

Both boys never imagined that they would score this high in their lives.

"WAAAAAH! I DID IT, GAI-SENSEI! I DID IT!" Lee expressively jubilated at the 55.10 GPA that sat snugly beside his name by doing cartwheels down the hallway.

Yukata started bawling, Matsuri having to hold her, because she scored 50.00 on the dot. She was so dumb that if she got 28.00 as her GPA her parents would throw a feast but look at what she scored now. She was so grateful to her teacher and her student mentor. Hinata was so patient with her, making sure to that she got something no matter how many attempts it took.

Matsuri scored 60.84 while Tamaki scored 61. 51. They both clung unto Yukata to rejoice with her because it was worth celebrating. The joy of acing exams and promoting to the next level instead of being left behind or advised to withdraw was something incomparable to any other feeling.

Tenten, for the first time in her life, was happy when she saw her results. She was a problem child, always giving teachers the toughest time but KSA and Iruka-sensei put up with her shit. She usually had very bad grades and a lot of complaints from her teachers but now she was staring at a 54.95 sitting next to her name.

Even if she wouldn't say it to his face, she thanked Neji for all the meticulous efforts he put into ensuring that she got his explanations. Even if he taught her to gain extra specs, he still took extra time to focus on her academic weaknesses and make her improve.

Karui and Omoi hugged each other, bawling. They were indeed twins because even their scores were similar. While Karui scored 56.43, Omoi scored 56.34.

Shikamaru, ranking third overall with a GPA of 89.98 smiled lazily at the heartwarming scene spread out before him. He had never been motivated to write exams before but this time, because his classmates wanted so much to participate in the Summer Tournaments, he joined a freaking study session.

He slacked off his the second semester/term, which was why his GPA was not in the nineties but it was okay. He didn't want Sasuke and Neji tearing his head off for toppling their set balance over.

Gaara stared at his average of 62.33 with something akin to pride. Despite his rocky start he managed to reach this level. He surely would be serious in his second year and reclaim his place among the top 5 but for now he was satisfied with just making it into the Summer Competitions.

"Congratulations recuperative class." Iruka was all smiles as he handed out their printed out results. "It turns out that you didn't need to cheat to pass. I am so proud of you all."

Iruka was indeed very proud of them all. He could remember how he almost passed out the first time compiled their test results and his fears before he even met the students. His joy when he could keep the attention of Naruto who had a short attention span on him and other teachers for more than thirty minutes was something he could never forget.

He could never forget the fateful day Gaara actively participated in class either or how happy he was when he got that the root of Kiba's academic problem was alexia and found a way to fix it. Or when he realised that Yukata was not dumb, she was just really slow and needed to take things at her pace.

Although Tenten still needed more guidance, Iruka believed that another teacher she could relate to (Anko-sensei) was better suited for her mentoring. That didn't stop him from trying though.

Lee assimilated better when he was actively exercising his body but since Iruka was as stiff as a stick, Gai-sensei helped Lee out in his place. The two of them became almost like a father and son after that.

His other students could learn fine but they just needed to slow down and repeat all the they learnt over and over in order for it to really stick.

"As you all know, the pass mark for enrollment in the Summer Tournament is 50.00..." He couldn't stop the grin that pulled his lips apart when his students started jubilating in their own ways. The exuberant ones cheered loudly while the less energetic ones clapped and laughed. "You all are allowed to enrol!"

"YES!"

"HURRAH!"

"BANZAI!"

"Practice hard for your individual sectors but make sure not to overdo it and enjoy your summer vacations to the fullest. Speaking of summer vacations..." The class quieted down at Tenten's beckoning. Iruka smiled at that. To think she was so apprehensive about her role before... "For your best performance at the summer competition, KSA would be open throughout the long vacation on weekends for practice. Teachers and experts would be available to help you so it is in your best interest to come. That aside,"

Iruka picked some permission slips and started handing them out.

"To make sure everything's perfect, we are hosting a Musical Training Camp for one week at school. You have to get your guardian's approval to attend. Along with the slip is a list of required items you would need like your sleeping bags, musical instruments, clothes etcetera, etcetera. Anyways it would be fun but you must get your approval first."

Now this was interesting news. A training camp for one week? Hehe. How fun would that be?

"We've come to the end of this academic year and sadly, I won't be your teacher anymore." Iruka dropped a sudden bombshell on the students right after some amazing news. Who the hell did that?!

"W-w-what do you mean, Sensei?!"

"You're leaving us?!"

"You're no longer going to teach anymore?!"

Squawks of indignation and surprise filled the air at his news and Iruka realised that he probably voiced his feelings the wrong way. He chuckled. "No no no, that came out wrong. I am still a teacher. I just won't be your homeroom teacher anymore."

"Oh."

Now a cloud of disappointment and sadness settled over his students. It made Iruka sad too that he would not spend as much time with his students as he did before. "You have been promoted to the next level so you get a new sensei." He explained, feeling nostalgic as he did so. He really would miss this bunch.

"So then students this is good bye, at least for now. We would be seeing each other again occasionally when school reopens but until then practice well for your competition, do your best in them and most of all enjoy your summer vacation."

Iruka-sensei was about to leave the eerily silent class when Tenten's authoritative voice stopped him and made him turn around.

"Class stand!"

Everyone, including lazy Shikamaru who often skipped on things like this, stood immediately.

"Bow."

Like they all rehearsed it, everyone bowed at the same time. Iruka winced when Lee's head hit his desk as he bowed but the boy didn't seem to mind it. He couldn't even dwell on it when the next thing that happened made his eyes widen with tears.

In one voice his students exclaimed their appreciation for their teacher loudly.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH, IRUKA-SENSEI!"

Iruka couldn't even move. How could he? He was too flabbergasted to do so. This was so unexpected and touching, he couldn't help the happy tears that streamed down his face. "Y-you kids..." His words trailed off into a breathless chuckle.

His students were thanking him but it wasn't his efforts that got this effect, it was the students themselves. They chose to learn. They came up with a joint study session themselves and worked to get the approval of principal Tsunade all by themselves. It was them all along and they needed to know it. So Iruka bowed in return to his students because they deserved the accolade.

"No. Thank you all for choosing me as your teacher."