It had been a while since the last time she spoke with Naruto.
"I heard you've been having a hard time with the other girls, Hinata" he commented when they found each other, both looking to hide in the courtyard, under the plum tree. He was seated against the trunk, for once calm and not seeking trouble, a scroll in his hands that Hinata wondered the contents of.
She bit her lip, going to sit next to him after he made a small space for her. What Naruto said was the truth, although not in full. The girls had been giving her trouble, demanding from her how long had she been friends with Sasuke and who did she think she was, a weird-eyed girl who never spoke and was friends with the pariah of their generation.
Sasuke had quickly put a stop to it, with simple, and final words.
"Don't you dare hound her. Who I choose to spend time with is none of yur business. You are all so annoying."
The words had deterred bad actions against her, but she still got looks of disdain and disapproval. Hinata didn't quite care, if she was being honest. Just a bunch of girls that never before paid attention to her, and which negative opinions did not affect her.
She shrugged, trying to look at what Naruto was reading. "It's not that bad. Sasuke-kun has told them off, and since then they leave me alone. It's all I could really ask for."
"Girls are so weird" Naruto said, scrunching up his nose. He closed the scroll before Hinata could see, although it didn't appear to be done so because he didn't want her to know. Rather, it was an unconscious movement brought about by Naruto's sudden words. "What's so special about that guy anyway? Why would it be a problem that you were his friend in the first place?"
Hinata did not think that Naruto envied Sasuke's popularity with girls, although she had come to understand, in recent times, that Naruto did harbor some type of jealousy towards the dark-haired boy. She didn't like it, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it or about how the whiskered boy felt.
So instead, she simply shrugged, and decided to change the subject before it could lead to Naruto becoming upset. "What were you reading, Naruto-kun?"
"Eh? Ah" he raised the scroll, lying on his lap, and gave it a contemplative look. He frowned, "just something Iruka-sensei gave me to study. He said that, as we're reaching the end of the academy, I should become more serious and study harder if I want to become a ninja, but I think that's a bit stupid, y'know. I mean, ninjas fight, so what I should be doing is training, not reading some boring scroll!" he declared, raising a fist to the sky, assured of his own words.
Hinata raised her eyebrows. "It's true that training's important, Naruto-kun, but so is studying. There is a lot of theory that would come in handy during missions, or in day-to-day life."
"I can learn all that without having to study!"
"…and there's also a written part of the exam to become a genin. You can't be a ninja if you don't pass this exam, remember?" she said. Her words caused Naruto to freeze, before he lowered his fist and pouted to the ground.
"Stupid paper tests, what does it have to do with being a ninja I ask you…" he complained, glaring hatefully at the scroll. Hinata couldn't help but chuckle.
"It's just part of life, Naruto-kun… if you want, we could study together, so it's a little more fun?" she offered shyly, glancing away as she felt a tingle in her chest. If Naruto said yes, and the two spent some time studying together…
She blushed, covering her face at the fantasies that sprout forward with such an imagery. Naruto turned to her, asking her if she was alright, and she nodded, still with her hands on her face and doing her best to calm down.
When she did, Naruto was still staring at her, although it almost looked as if he wasn't, actually. As if he was just glancing in her direction, his mind elsewhere.
Hinata asked him if he was alright, and he blinked, shaking his head.
"Ah, yeah, sorry, it's just… I was thinking about how close we are to graduating. I am excited, of course, because the sooner I become a ninja the sooner I can become Hokage as well, but I was also thinking, after you told me we could study together, that… I don't know, it's still a little far, no? Next year, we'll still be at the academy, and who knows what will happen then" he said, looking away from her and towards the academy building.
Hinata deflated a little at his words. "Does that mean that Naruto-kun doesn't want to study together…?"
"Eh? Of course not!" he assured her with certainty, turning towards her once more. "I do! It's just I'm thinking about, I don't know, what if I manage to graduate early? Once one is in their last year they can ask to take the exam early, did you know that? And if I manage to pass, then studying together wouldn't be an option anymore, so…"
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started, eyes becoming wide, "are you planning on taking the test early?" she asked, incredulous.
The boy nodded, firmly. "I don't have time to lose! If I want to become Hokage, I need to start taking missions and training and getting a feel for real ninja life! So if I take the exam early that also means I can become a ninja earlier, and get started on my path to become Hokage!" he exclaimed, determined.
Hinata stared at him, always so entranced by the fire in his eyes and the will of his words. However, this time was different. Because it was not only his unbreakable will what he was showing, but also a reality that she had thought over hundreds of times, ever since the beginning of the school year.
Life as a ninja was so close by, and even though for Naruto it was still a long time before they would become shinobi, for Hinata it was too soon.
Only this year, and then the next, and…
Was she ready to become a ninja?
She didn't know.
She wasn't sure.
"Naruto-kun" she called, hands clencing around the edges of her beige jacket. She gulped, trying to find the right words. "That's… even if you plan on taking the exam early, you still need to study, and…"
"I know" the boy sighed, turning his eyes back to the scroll. "I need to study, even if I don't want to… but you still have time Hinata, so don't worry about helping me, ok? I'll somehow manage to pass" he smiled, warm and boyish and just like she liked it…
She forced a smile as well. "It's no problem for me, Naruto-kun… I study every day anyway, so helping you would be no issue…"
"Eh?! You study every day?!" he asked, dumbfounded, raising on his knees. Hinata nodded, and he gasped. "Why?!"
"Because studying is important…?" she answered, tilting her head. Did he think she would only study for the exam? Was that the reason he was telling her she didn't need to help him, as he would try to take the exam before her?
Naruto looked at her with a frown, as if she had said something incomprehensible, before sitting down again and crossing his arms, although he didn't appear angry, just… bewildered.
"Geez Hinata, you really are smart, aren't you?" he said after a while, causing her heart to skip a beat. He glanced at her again, and this time grinned. "Well, I don't really get it, but if you study every day anyway then I won't say no if you want to help me" he declared with that underlying enthusiasm forever present in him.
Hinata was thrilled… although still a bit worried. For herself or Naruto, she didn't know.