Chapter 11
A day after his meeting, Kakashi told his students to wait at their normal meeting area early. He said he had something important to tell them but as usually he was late again and his students had to wait for him.
After an hour of waiting, Naruto finally cracked "AAAAAH! I can't take this anymore! Why is it always like this?!"
"N-Naruto, please t-take it easy, he'll be h-here soon" Hinata said
"You kidding me?! It never changes, we're here on time and he's late! I ran out of my place so fast, I didn't get to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Naruto stated, he was so mad he didn't realize what he admitted
"I-I see" Hinata said taking a few steps away from Naruto, she wasn't trying to be mean or insult him but she didn't want to near him while he still had morning breath. She was thankful that she was ready for the day before Kakashi called her out here.
Early in the morning and the loser is already driving me nuts Sasuke thought as he leaned against the rails, then looks up and sees Kakashi above them
He waves to them "Hey, Good Morning everyone. Sorry I was late, afraid I got lost on the path of life"
"You liar!" Naruto shouted
Kakashi jumps down and walk towards them "I know this is sudden but I recommend you for the chunin exams, all three of you" He then pulls out three sheets of paper "Here are the application forms"
Hinata's blood went cold when she heard that her sensei recommend her for the chunin exams. She was hoping he was just joking around but as soon as she saw the application form, she knew this was really happening.
Kakashi notice this in Hinata and said "This is all voluntary, it's up to each of you if you don't feel ready you can what until next year"
"Alright! Kakashi sensei, you're the best!" Naruto said hugging him tightly
"Hey, ok don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi passes out the forms "Whoever wants to take the exams, fill out the application and come to Room 301 at the academy. It's at 3pm, five days from now"
Naruto grins as he looks at his form "Chunin exams, alright"
Sasuke looked through his form, smirking This is going to be interesting, the strongest will be there and I get to fight them. He looked to his right and saw Hinata with her form, looking pale "Hinata, are you ok?"
Hinata came out of her daze and looked at him "H-Huh? O-Oh I'm o-ok" she said forcing a small smile but Sasuke knew it was fake and so did Kakashi.
"Ok, you guys are dismissed, except for you Hinata. There's something that I need your help with and only you can help me" Kakashi said looking at her
Hinata just nods to him and turns to her teammates "I-I'll see you guys l-later then"
Naruto was excited about the exams to hear her as he was leaving. As for Sasuke, he nods leaving too but turns around "You sure you're ok?"
"I-I'm fine, d-don't worry about me"
"Ok if you're sure" with that, Sasuke left still worry about Hinata
As she watched them leave, Hinata felt guilty about lying to Sasuke, the truth is she wasn't ok at all, not one bit. She's heard about how hard and intense these exams are, she didn't feel like she was ready for any of it neither did she feel confident that she would pass them.
A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, she looked up to see Kakashi looking at her with a sincere look and smile through his mask "Now about that thing I need help with"
As it turns out, Kakashi needed Hinata's help finding a great place that sells great baked goods. She thought that because she likes cinnamon buns so much, sensei thought she would know where to really good pastry. After leading him to the place, Kakashi brought himself and Hinata large cinnamon buns with icing on them. She protest saying she could pay for it herself but he insisted and Hinata gave up and thanked him.
They were on the roof of the same building where their team first introduce themselves to each other. Hinata was sitting in the same spot she was before, staring at the warm bun in her hands while Kakashi was in the same spot he was but his back was to her as he ate his bun.
After finishing his bun, Kakashi stared at the scenery in front of him for a while, then spoke "Hinata.."
"Why, sensei?" She asked
Kakashi turned to Hinata, saw that the bun in her hand was still there uneaten and her eyes were to the ground. He knew what she was asking about but he wanted to hear how she felt about the exams
Hinata looked at him with an expression on her face read concern and doubt "Why did you r-recommend us for these exams, sensei?! We just became genin, we h-have no experience what so ever. We were suppose to wait at least another y-year before taking this exam. Why did you do this?!"
"...Because I want to test the strength you three have"
"H-Huh?"
"It's true that you three have just became genin but you all have shown much improvement since the day we all became a team. As for experience, though we keep it a secret, you three have probably been the first genin to have been assigned an A-ranked."
"B-But we barely made it out of there alive, we..we-"
"Showed great teamwork and great skill in chakra control and your ninjutsu" Kakashi went and kneed in front of her "Hinata, you have changed so much from the day I was put in charge of you."
She looked at him, confused "I have?"
Kakashi nods "Before you would be stuttering up a storm, but now that you've gain a little confidence in yourself, you don't stutter as much." He smiled through his mask and looked at the sky "When I finished giving my report on our last mission, I headed home but ran across Naruto and a bunch of kids playing, we made small conversation but the kids started to speak about how you saved the Third Hokage's grandson." He set his eyes in Hinata "It surprised me to hear that you rushed in like that but knowing you, you probably knew what he was about to do and stopped him, right?"
Hinata blushed at the fact the kids went and bragged about that, she just didn't want them to get hurt, it's not like she had a choice.
"Hinata, the training you've done by yourself, with the boys, with me, your sharp eyes and your way of planning your actions are the reasons why I recommend you to this exam. You've changed so much and I thought maybe you would like to show everyone how much you have"
"Sensei..." Hinata was tearing up at the kind words Kakashi was telling her, he really believe in her, thinking she can make it in the exams. And she also realize what he said was right, she did want to show her team, to show everyone she wasn't the same. She may still be a shy girl but she's also strong and confident. But still she almost one important thing He will be there...
Kakashi pats Hinata's head "Like I said whether you want to or not is entirely up to you, Hinata. You have almost a week to think it over, don't force yourself ok?"
Hinata nods and says her goodbyes to her sensei as she returned home to do more thinking about the exams.
Five days has pass and it's the day of the chunin exams. Naruto and Sasuke were in front of the academy waiting for Hinata but saw no sign of her. Naruto looks at the time "It's 2pm Sasuke, we all agreed that if we were going to take this exam, we'd be here at 2. Maybe this means she's not coming"
"You don't know that, loser. She's probably just running late, we'll give her five more minutes" Sasuke said
"Whatever, I just want to get started, this will be great!" Naruto said excited
Sasuke was more focused on the gate to the academy than on Naruto. He was wondering if Hinata really did decide to want next year or not, he was worried about her when she turned pale after the announcement of them being in the chunin exams. It was only until he got home that day that he figured out she was probably scared about these exams. He thought that maybe Hinata didn't see herself ready for them or if she thought she wasn't good enough. But even if she thought like that, Sasuke would disagree, after seeing her in action during their training and the confrontation with the sand ninja, he knew that Hinata was absolutely ready for this exam and he would make sure he would be there to help her if needed.
"Come on Sasuke, it's been five minutes. I know it sucks but she's not coming." Naruto said as he entered the school
Sasuke sighs feeling disappointed at the absence of his crush and turn to go inside
"W-Wait!" A voice shouted
Turning around, Sasuke feels instant relief as he sees Hinata running towards him, waving with one hand and clutching her form to her chest. Hinata pants as she stopped in front of Sasuke to catch her breathe, she looks up to see that he was smiling at her "So, you made it"
"Yes, I-I'm sorry that I'm late but I h-had to make sure I had everything I might need for the exams" She said straightening herself
"I..I really thought that you wouldn't show up, I thought maybe you didn't think you could do it"
Hinata was touched that he was so worried about her, it's true she thought like that at first but she wanted to prove her strength to others and to herself "A-At first that was the case, but after talking to sensei a-and remembering all my skills and other qualities, I decided that I want to show how m-much I've changed, how strong I've gotten and I think this is the best way to do so" I won't run away, I'll face this head on
Before Sasuke would never thought it was possible, but here he was looking at Hinata, who was once an extremely shy and timid girl is now this strong, confident and determine ninja and he would make sure she stayed that way "I'm glad to hear it, but remember I'll be here if you need me"
Hinata blushed and twiddled her fingers "Thank you, Sasuke"
"Hey come on Sasuke, what's taking-" Naruto stopped speaking as he came back out and saw Sasuke and Hinata together "Oh Hinata, you're here, that's great I thought you weren't coming but now we can take this test together!"
"Yeah, let's do this as a t-team!" Hinata smiled
Putting his hands in his pockets, Sasuke starts going inside with a small smile on his face "Come on you two, let's get going"
"Right!" Hinata and Naruto said
After they gave their forms to the front desk, they made their way up to the third floor when they heard a commotion in the hall and people crowding around the hall
"Hey what's going on over there?" Naruto asked
"I don't know, N-Naruto" Hinata said looking at the crowd Why is everyone here? This is the second floor, we're suppose go to the third
"Let's check it out" Sasuke said walking to the crowd with Hinata and Naruto following behind him.
A boy wearing a green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers was knocked to the ground by two boys around his age blocking the door to the room he was trying to into.
"You're taking the chunin exams and you can't even get pass us?" The boy with the odd colored nose said
"Why don't you give up now before you get hurt?" The boy with smug look said
"Yeah, I think I hear your mommy calling you" the other one said
The girl helping the boy up wore a pink shirt with blue pants and her hair was in two buns. "Please let us in, we're suppose to get in there" She said as try to go through them
As her team got through the crowd to see what was going on, Hinata noticed the boy on the floor, her eyes widen in recognition That's Rock Lee, if he's here then that means... The sound of someone getting punched turned her attention from Lee to the girl in pink who was now on the floor with a bruise on her face Tenten! She looked up and sees the guys standing in front of a room that says 301, Those two are messing with everyone, they put a genjutus on the room, this is the second floor not third.
"Man, that was harsh" someone in the crows said
"Did you say harsh? Don't kid yourself, we're being nice by comparison. The exams are going to make this look like a picnic" the one with the odd nose said
"Some of you won't survive the exams, others will be wrecked for life and some of you may go crazy. For chunin, it's alway life or death" the other one said
"Delicate little girls doesn't belong here" the odd nosed one said looking at Tenten
Hinata's blood started to boil as she heard that, she never liked how people would just based a person's strength on their appearance. There were times she saw what Tenten could do, she saw her real strength. She was sure Tenten could pass this exam.
"Yeah, so go home and play with your dolls"
Hinata step forward "I-If you have time to p-play this silly prank, maybe y-you should be t-the ones to leave"
Everyone was looking at her, some were surprised she had the guts to say that, others who knew her were surprised at her new found confidence
Wow, where did that come from? She's different than before.. Naruto thought impressed with Hinata's courage
I didn't except her to speak up before I did, she's really something Sasuke thought as he smiled at her
Is that Hinata? Tenten thought looking at her When did she get this confidence? She thought back to the first time she saw Hinata, remembering how shy and timid she was. I haven't seen her since before she was assigned a team Tenten smiled I like this side of her, I bet she'll have some surprises for us
"Oh another little girl that has some guts? Care to say what you're thinking?" The other ninja said
Knowing everyone was probably looking at her, Hinata took a deep breath to calm her beating heart before speaking "These exams are to be t-taken seriously and here you are pulling a prank like this, we are on the second floor not third. So I think y-you should remove the genjutus and be on your way"
"What makes you think you're not on the third floor already? Maybe the stress of these exams are already getting to you"
Sasuke steps up, getting closer to them "When it comes to sharp eyes, no ones eyes are as sharp as Hinata. She's the eyes of our team, she sees through everything, so do what she said and release the genjutus"
Then over their heads, the label of the room turned from 301 to 201
"You're pretty smart seeing through the genjutus, now let's see if you can handle this" he said throwing a kick at Sasuke. Sasuke, at the same time, threw a kick as while but before their attacks could connect, Lee stepped in between them, stopping their attacks with his bare hands.
Sasuke dropped his leg as Lee let go of him and the other guy He stopped my kick, that's some chakra he's got in his arm
Lee speed is just like Sasuke's Hinata looked down at his leg warmers But he's holding back, he's probably keeping a low profile. She then saw Tenten and another boy walking up to Lee. The another boy had long hair, wore a off white shirt with black shorts, his right arm and leg were wrapped in bandages. The sight of him made Hinata shudder I knew Neji would be here..
"Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one that said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level" Neji said to Lee
"I know but-"
Tenten shook her head "Forget it, it's over now" She went over to Hinata and gave her a hug "it's great to see you again, Hinata. It's been like what? 4? 5 months?"
Hinata hugs her back "5 months but we've both been busy s-so it can't be helped"
Lee went to her and pat her shoulder "It's been too long, Hinata, it was a surprise to see you speak up like that"
"He's right, you've gain some confidence, I'm curious to see what other surprises you have for us" Tenten said as she smiled
Naruto was confused at the friendly between Hinata and the other two "Hinata, you know them?"
"Y-Yes, this is Rock Lee and Tenten" she said pointing to them "They are friends of mine"
Neji looked annoyed with his teammates, while gaving Hinata a look of hatred
Sasuke looked closely at him as he glared This guy has the same eyes as Hinata but the way he looks at Hinata as if he wants her gone...
"Come on Neji, you can be a little nice and say hi to your cousin" Tenten said scolding him
"They're cousins?!" Naruto said looking back and forward at Neji and Hinata
Neji looks at Sasuke, ignoring the others glares and scolding "Hey you, what's your name?"
"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's" Sasuke said still glaring at him
"You're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you anyway?"
"I'm not obliged to answer that"
Neji glared at him "What's that?"
Sasuke almost got in his face "You heard me"
Hinata sense the tension between them and knew if it went farther, a fight would break out. So, without thinking, she took hold of Sasuke's hand and pulled him away from Neji "W-We should get going Sasuke, we don't want to be late"
Trying his best not to blush at the warm, smaller hand in his, Sasuke looks at Neji and back at Hinata, sighing "You're right, come on Naruto, we're leaving"
"Right"
They walked pass Neji and made their way down the hall
"You're a fool if you think you can pass these exams, Hinata." Neji said loud enough for her to hear
Hinata clutch her hands, forgetting she was holding Sasuke's hand, trying her best not to cry. She wanted to prove herself that she had change I made it in, I'll see this through the end...no matter what he or anyone says "Y-You should save that kind of talk a-after you pass"
Tenten and Lee's jaw drop at the comeback while Naruto was laughing his head off and Sasuke was smirking.
"She sure told you!" Naruto laughed pointing at Neji
Sasuke squeezes Hinata's hand and smile down at her "Nice one, Hinata"
Neji's face showed an expression of shock and his eyes showed disbelief This courage... Where did she?!
"You deserve that after saying such an awful thing to her, Neji" Tenten said she saw Hinata and her team walk away, Another surprise from Hinata. She focused her vision on how close Sasuke and Hinata were to each other and the loving look Sasuke gave Hinata And there are more surprises to come