Epilogue 2: First Exam
3rd POV
Returning to the hotel after her appearance for the news, she let her hair down, clocking out of her duties for the day. Although it was something the villagers at home understood, Konoha was not her village, so she kept her guard up.
"Back already?"
"Of course, I had to leave them wanting more." Sensing everyone in their rooms, she sighed with relief. 'I'll set up a barrier in a bit.' Putting on a smile she rested a hand on her hips as she looked up at Shikamaru. "Thank you for guiding them here. Just so we're clear, we aren't sharing arrangements with other teams, right?"
"Correct. It's common practice to avoid sabotaging." Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head and tossed her the keys to her rooms. "However, considering your history, I would advise meeting up with the new Kage at least once."
Spinning the keys in her hand, she hummed, pretending to consider it even a little. "There's not much to talk about. I already completed my punishment. I'll meet them once we have something else to discuss other than the past."
"What a drag."
"Give this to Temari on my behalf, will you?" Pulling out a scroll from her arm, she unsealed the candy within the scroll.
"What's this?" Taking the small jar of colorful round pearls, he inspected it, finding nothing odd at a glance. They had crossed paths briefly in the past, so he didn't have an opinion of her, but there was no harm in being cautious. The more he asked, the more varied the opinions became. The older deceased Tsuchikage mumbled about her destruction of historical items, while Tsunade, although upset about the deception, was in awe at her feats during the war and the medical research she left behind. Kakashi was vague, knowing more than he let on and Naruto was all smiles as he spoke of her. From his wife's side, opinions were mixed, but it was clear that she cared for the red-haired woman. In conclusion, she was a headache, and he had a nagging feeling a storm was coming.
"It's called pearl candies, they're made out of milk and other flavors. It's sweet and quite popular back home."
Knowing his wife's penchant for sweets, he held out the jar for her to take back. "I'm sure she would appreciate it if you gave this to her yourself."
"And risk getting a lecture?" With a disapproving shake, she pushed it back. "No way you take it. You'll need it more than I. How do you think she'll react once she sees the news?" For all the years she was away, she still knew Temari, and in no way did a married life temper her fire. Knowing he would not get more out of her, he resigned for now, bidding goodbye to the Uzushiogakure chief.
・・・
As the sun fell behind the village walls, Yukino put on a sleeveless blue turtleneck and hakama pants as she had in the past and covered her exposed back with a deep blue haori of her village. Putting on some black round shades she turned to look back to see her children.
Descending from the stairs first was Airi, who usually wore brown shorts, a black top, and a red short-sleeved sweater for her shinobi attire, was now in a sleeveless romper with embroidered jasmine flowers Yukino had hand-sewn. The top half of the romper was white with it slowly fading into a deep red, allowing the flowers to pop. Underneath, she wore a black top with leggings, sporting flat pumps instead of the below-the-knee shinobi sandals she often wore. Her usual loose shoulder-length hair was now tied into two low pigtails with a jasmine flower hairclip on the left side of her head. Paired with her short hair, seafoam green eyes, and soft facial features, she bore a striking resemblance to Temari in her youth. 'The resemblance is terrifying.' Yukino thought to herself. Aside from those features, the only thing her daughter got from her was her soft, wavy, red hair and pale skin.
Following close behind her, her twin brother followed a clear contrast in their styles. While Airi's was modern and cute, her brother went for something more traditional. His shinobi outfit consisted of a blue short-sleeve jacket with inner white lining that zipped up from his left side. His jacket's left side was longer than the right, allowing for movement while maintaining a noble appearance. Underneath that, he would wear a short-sleeved turtleneck and black clean-cut pants. Fastened neastly around his waist sat a sash with the village protector stitched to it. Out of the shinobi clothes, he wore a white and blue kimono top tucked into black tapered hakama pants that went into his shin-high shinobi sandals. Around his waist was an obi, tying it all together. His hair was fluffy and a bit wavy like hers, but his soft face, much like his sister's, resembled their father's. Looking at him, she tucked her hands into her sleeves and smiled as her son mimicked her body language.
Quietly coming down the stairs after them, Haruki arrived; at a glance, his style was a mix of the two. His shinobi outfit consisted of a half-zipped-up short-sleeved black sweater with wisteria purple inner lining, underneath he wore a long-sleeved turtleneck of the same color and some black pants that went over shin-high shinobi sandals. Around his neck, his forehead protector sat comfortably, as did his father's necklace. Dressed down, he now wore a black modern haori, underneath a smoky shite scoopneck shirt with a wisteria pruple turtleneck shirt with thumbholes. Wearing casual pants, he sported some ankle-high shinobi sandals. His hair, as usual, was tied up in a ponytail, leaving his bangs loose to frame his slightly angular face. As he walked, a red stand of hair flowed freely, weaving around his long black hair. 'The resemblance is undeniable. If Sasuke returns for the exams, I'll have some things to explain to him as well.' Yukino sighed inwardly as things became a bit more complicated. With everyone gathered, they headed out.
・・・
Hearing the doorbell ring, Hinata looked over at the time. Quickly drying her hands, she called down her children, "Himawari, Kawaki, come here." She called over her children, who were going over their homework from the academy. "Where's Boruto?" Promptly, they pointed up, tidying up their supplies.
Hurrying over to the stairs, she called up. "Boruto, come down, we have guests."
"Comin'…"
Gathering everyone in the entryway, she felt an excited jitter about the two families finally meeting. She knew of her arrival and reveal, but it seemed surreal how she would publicly announce it after years of secrecy. Whatever her reason, she was just glad it removed the barrier keeping them apart. As Boruto slowly came down, she reached for the door and opened it.
Seeing Yukino jump in surprise when she opened the door, she chuckled, realizing she wasn't the only one happy about this occasion. "Yukino, it's good to see you again."
"Same here," she smiled before taking a step back and pushing her children forward. "You already met my kids, so I'll let them introduce themselves."
Stepping forward, Haruki gave a curt bow. "Pleasure to be invited. I'm Haruki, the oldest."
"I'm Airi Uzumaki, the oldest twin." She added, wrapping her arm around her younger brother's and pulling him forward.
Stumbling forward in surprise, Makoto pouted for a moment before clearing his throat. "I'm Makoto Uzumaki and this is our mom, Yukino Uzumaki." He gave a curt nod.
"Hi! I'm Himawari Uzumaki!" the young girl smiled, giving a curtsy, mimicking the formality the family before her were showing. Once she came back up, she nudged the older boy beside her.
"Sup. Kawaki." The older boy quickly introduced himself.
"Hey, you're that lady from the news!" Boruto gasped.
Letting out a chuckle in amusement, Yukino nodded. "Yes, I'm the chief from the Land of Whirlpools. You must be Boruto, I assume?" She smiled. Realizing he had skipped his introduction, he rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Well, I'm glad we're finally able to meet. I'm a long-time friend of your mom and dad, so I hope both our families can get along." Feeling a tug, she glanced at her children's expectant eyes and smiled. "But before that, Himawari, your birthday was recently, wasn't it?"
"How did you know?" The young girl's face brightened up before looking at her mom.
"Here," Haruki stepped forward, pulling out a neatly wrapped gift. "My siblings and I heard you wanted this. We hope you like it." Feeling pressure from the side, he felt his mom's slight anger as the memory of the little stunt they pulled resurfaced once more. Sweating a bit, he handed over the gift as she happily took it, her eyes sparkling with wonder at what was inside.
"We promise you'll really like it." Airi chuckled, excited to hear her response.
"Why don't we move to the living room?" Hinata said, motioning for them to enter. As everyone took off their shoes and the kids started walking ahead, Hinata lowered her voice as she spoke to her friend. "I haven't started dinner, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while."
"Why do you think I came early? There's no way I'm letting you handle everything yourself." Following after Hinata, she looked over at the children and saw Airi and Haruki talking with Himawari, with the boys sitting apart and staring off elsewhere. "Please behave, and I'll show you some old pictures of team 7."
Immediately, this caught the children's attention. Boruto and Kawaki, always at odd's looked at each other and gave a firm nod. Turning around as she heard the children start up a conversation, she smiled proudly. Hinata could only chuckle at her ingenuity, glad that her friend was able to prepare on such short notice.
・・・
As the kids began to make an effort to talk, Himawari had opened her gift and was proudly holding up an egg. Airi curiously asked her about the tailed beast it was based on, and Kawaki, overhearing, answered proudly the trivia about his adoptive father, the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Haruki sat by confirming the information. Meanwhile, Boruto and Makoto were playing a game on their scroll gaming device.
While making dinner, the doorbell rang. Yukino and Hinata glanced at each other, wondering who else was invited, as Naruto would have just entered his own home. "Boys can–" Before Hinata could even finish, Boruto and Kawaki darted up and ran to the door, trying to beat each other to it. Stifling a laugh, both women knew the motivator for their good behavior. Hearing the door open, Kawaki returned, "Boruto's teammate." He said, gesturing at the door without a second glance.
"Mom!" they could hear Boruto yell before he came in. "I forgot I invited Mitsuki. Can he still eat here tonight?"
"You wouldn't mind, would you?" Hinata turned to her.
"Oh, none whatsoever. It's your home."
"Alright. He stays for dinner." Smiling broadly, he ran back to tell his friend. "Wait, I have something to show you!" Hearing his steps as he ran upstairs, the other guest walked in, a boy around Boruto's age, and his teammate, Mitsuki.
"Thank you for having me, may I help with anything?" The pale boy asked.
"That's sweet of you, Mitsuki, but I have Yukino to help me today."
Peeking around Hinata, she waved. As she moved around Hinata to wash her hands, she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yukino Uzumaki." She smiled but sensed something about his chakra. Before she could finish the thought, she made the connection and hid her displeasure that the boy before her was the son of that vile man. A part of her hoped her children wouldn't befriend him to avoid meeting their parent, but the other part felt bad for even thinking of avoiding a kid who had no choice of who their parent was.
As she though the name rang familiar to the boy, as his golden eyes looked up into her sapphire blue eyes, he made the connection. "Ah," he realized. "I didn't expect to meet my precursor so soon. My parent told me about you."
Quickly creating a mind before he could say any more she narrowed her eyes. Were you born in a test tube? She asked sarcastically at him, bringing up something so few could conceive of being possible. Even though her children and Hinata knew it was something she was not ready to explain again to her friend's children.
His eyes widened in surprise as he thought. What an odd thing to ask; were you not grown in one as well?
Realizing the difference in their upbringing, she chose to answer, feeling a bit sorry for the boy. No, our creators were different. Before he could ask, she answered. Unfortunately, they're dead, so you won't get any answers even if you asked.
There was a pause as the boy thought. What's your purpose? he asked innocently.
Seeing no harm in his curiosity, she thought about the question and reflected on her own. For years, her body had undergone various changes as it tried to stabilize. She'd check on her blood to see what had changed, and even now, she faced the loss of a few abilities she was once able to use. Focusing so much on that, she never thought much about why she was made; it was always a footnote to the long list of things going on in her life. To continue my bloodline. She answered honestly as she turned her attention back to the food she was prepping. Hearing her answer, Mitsuki glanced at her children. I know what you're thinking. She smiled, shaking her head and feeling relieved he had so few worries in life to have the time to think about their place in this world.
How can you tell you followed through by your own will? She could understand why he would ask that since he was probably made for a purpose as well.
My purpose was not important to me; what's important is if what I do makes me happy. My children don't exist to continue my bloodline, they exist because I love them. What I feel towards them is love, not an obligation. I want to do the best for them and give them a better childhood than I had. It's something I'm doing because I want to, not because I have to. She tried to explain as simply and clearly as she could to avoid any confusion. If he was serious about growing in a test tube, she feared he missed out on some important developmental milestones, doubting that that man would put in the effort to raise him normally. 'Oh, how confused he must be.'
He was silent for a bit before he spoke. If my dream is to admire someone, how can I tell it's not because I was made to?
She found the question odd, she didn't understand why Orochimaru would put his creation to observe someone else. Then again, she never really understood what he was thinking. Well, is the person good? She asked, trying to help him sort out his feelings.
Most of the time, but they can be flawed. It's interesting to see what they will do. He smiled at the thought, chuckling a bit, amused at some memory he recollected.
Then that's your answer. If you were made to admire them, don't you think you would always agree that no matter the choice, it would always be the right choice? To me, it doesn't sound like your admiration is blind like it is towards an idol, but more towards a friend, so long as you have your autonomy and a voice to speak up when you feel at odds do I feel that your purpose will not define your life.
"I see." Just then, Boruto ran down with a binder.
"Mitsuki, you won't believe what I pulled today–" As the boys talked and moved on into the living room, the pale boy glanced at her once more and smiled. Wishing him the best, she returned the smile and quickly chopped up the ingredients.
Once the food was nearing its completion, Kawaki approached, offering to help set the table. Of course, Boruto's ears perked up at the word help and he jumped up from his seat. Knowing what would happen if she handed everything to Kawaki, Hinata handed Kawaki the plates and Boruto the silverware so they wouldn't fight and break something. "Ma–mom, can I help?" Of course, knowing her most eager child to not be type to stand to the side and do nothing, she had prepared the glasses and water pitcher. Placing them both on the counter for him, she ruffled his fluffy red hair. He pouted but did not argue.
Taking the pitcher and leaving, she turned to the food and fawned over his cuteness. Sensing her eldest approach, she looked behind herself as he spoke. "Mama, we're a seat short."
Seeing he was right she chuckled to herself. "It never hurts to be prepared." Handing him a scroll, he knew what to do as he unrolled it, looking through the selection of furniture available. Finding what he needed, he unsealed a short chair that he placed before the coffee table.
・・・
As everyone was served and Hinata and her headed to take their seats, she was surprised as Kawaki pulled out her seat, "Why, thank you." Yukino smiled as she was pushed in, and glancing across the table, she saw Boruto doing the same for his mom. "You boys should sit together, bond," she said, waving over her daughter and Himawari to sit at the table with them. As Himawari showed off her egg to her mom, Yukino glanced at her daughter as she beamed, soaking in the younger girl's joy for her gift. Glancing up at the clock, they were right on time with dinner, yet Naruto had yet to appear.
"You might as well eat. He's just going to be late again." She heard Boruto huff as he started eating. At his comment, Makoto and Haruki shot each other a glance, taking a long sip of their water.
"Boruto," Hinata called his name and looked directly at him, silently conveying he shouldn't have brought that up in front of their guest.
Hearing this, Yukino hummed with interest. "This is his fifth year as Hokage, right?"
"Uhm. That's right." Hinata confirmed, confused as to where this was going.
"The first year is adjustment, while the second year is application, by the third he should have begun to settle on a routine… but he's still having issues. Ah." If her theory was correct, something must be wrong on the administrative side now that she could help. "A moment, please. I'll be right back." Stepping out, she walked towards the door and opened a portal once she rounded the corner. Stepping through to the other side right outside the office, she reached for the Hokage's office door and peeked in.
As the door creaked open, Shikamaru and Naruto looked up in surprise, wondering who was dropping by so late. "Yukino-chan?" Immediately looking up at the clock, Naruto realized the time. "Dinner! I'm so sorry." Letting out a sigh, he looked at the pile before him, calculating how much time it would take and how much sleep he would get the next day before having to wake up early before the scheduled interview with Konoha news to wish his son luck, and then see the first exam results after.
"Naruto." He heard a voice try to reach out. "If you want, I'll help you after dinner; we just want you to attend."
Looking up with hope in his eyes, he saw Shikamaru shaking his head, warning him against the idea. "Ah… It's ok Yukino-chan, it's my responsibility. I shouldn't bother you."
Immediately, she shot down his excuse. "You forget I manage a village as well. I'll share with you some tips and help out since it's partially my fault why you're busier than you would be this year."
"Yukino-chan…" with teary eyes, he looked up at the calculating woman as her gears turned, analyzing the stack before him.
"Naruto, please reconsider." Shikamaru sighed, not on board with letting an outsider deal with sensitive information. Even though the red-haired woman in the room was once from Konoha, she was far from trustworthy. Stepping back, she let them speak.
"I understand what you're worried about, but I trust Yukino-chan." Naruto glanced at the woman as she stood to the side, muttering the titles on the bookshelves. "She's doing this for her children's future, I don't think starting conflict will help."
"What a drag…" Shikamaru sighed. He knew this as well, but looking at Naruto's clear eyes, he went with his intuition. "If you think nothing will come of it, then I'm heading home; you should too. If you need help, don't hesitate to wake me up." For once, he was going to allow that, hoping he would so he could see a little bit more into what she was thinking.
As he left. Yukino walked back to Naruto as he quickly tried to note down what he had left to do. Once he was done, Yukino dragged him back to his home. By the time his eyes snapped open again, he was sitting before his half-eaten plate. Tasting his wife's food, he took a bite and felt her love as he savored each bite. As he took bites out of the new side dishes, he could taste the new flavors his friend had brought with her.
Airi, sitting across from her mom, saw her mom's soft smile towards the tired man in a sleepy daze and his wife who gazed at him lovingly. "Mama, did you meet the Hokage at the academy like you did Aunty Hinata?"
Tearing her eyes from the happy couple Yukino nodded and turned to her daughter, noticing how the boy's table had gone quiet to listen in. "I did, but we rarely interacted." Hinata looked at her friend with pity but didn't correct her, knowing the cause of their broken bond, even so, she watched her friend look on with a soft smile. "There was never a dull moment watching you," she turned to Naruto, "It's no wonder Hinata never took her eyes off you." She covered her mouth and chuckled.
Flustered, Hinata turned her face away, but it wasn't fast enough for her daughter to not notice. Himawari, joining in, asked with curiosity. "Aunty Yukino, do you also show us some pictures of Mom from back then?"
Striking a weak point, Yukino buckled. "Of course I do. My guardians were quite smitten with everything I did, so they went crazy taking pictures of me and everyone that happened to be around me." Looking at Himawari, she chuckled. "But you don't have to look at a picture to know how they looked. You're a perfect blend of your mom and dad." The young girl looked at her mom, who confirmed the resemblance, reminiscing about how similar her facial features were to her father's.
Watching his interaction with a smile, Naruto glanced over at Yukino's children as he saw Airi he saw the resemblance to Yukino, but something about her eye color and face was very familiar.
"Naruto?" Startled, Naruto turned his attention to Yukino. "Something on your mind?"
Poking at his food he confessed, "I have to admit after all these years without word I didn't expect you to appear suddenly with a family if Hinata didn't tell me."
"Sorry about that. I asked her to keep a secret for me."
"I understand wanting to keep your family safe." Realizing something, he looked around. "Where's your husband. Couldn't he make it?"
The room fell silent at the innocent question, Airi's eyes darted to her food poking at it trying to disappear as the food that went into her mouth. Makoto stiffened up, he didn't expect the topic to come up so soon. 'If I don't do anything to change the topic mama may reveal things here or later back at the hotel.' Mitsuki, sitting beside him, leaned in and in a hushed voice whispered, "It's alright I have one parent too."
Stunned, he lost his train of thought. Feeling a pat on his shoulder, he looked over to see his big brother smile reassuringly. "It's mama." Haruki said loud enough for Naruto to hear, "She took on the role of father and mother for us growing up."
Realizing his mistake, Naruto looked over at Yukino, "Sorry for asking that, Yukino-chan." He had intended to ask out of curiosity upon seeing her children's different appearance, but he didn't strike a sensitive topic.
"There's nothing to apologize for," she waved it off.
"Dad?" Turning their eyes to Himawari as she looked between the two, she asked what's been on her mind and probably everyone else. "Are you and Aunty Yukino family? You both look alike."
Putting a hand on her chin, Yukino hummed as she looked at Naruto. At this point, the only similar thing about the two was their eye color and surname. "We're both from the same clan, for all we know, we may be cousins."
Copying her body movements, he placed a hand on his chin and squinted. "Mhm. Makes sense, I see it too. Yukino-chan, can you close your eyes and smile?" Curious, she obliged. "Woah… you look a lot like mom. It's kinda insane, you know."
"Dad, how did grandma look?" Beaming Naruto began to recall his memories of his mom. Yukino sat there listening happily, and so did her children. As he talked, the topic moved on to his dad. "Boruto is a lot like Dad he's super smart, and he's stronger now than he was last year, so don't underestimate him, and if Kawaki participated, they would be unbeatable." As he gushed about his sons the two boys who were sitting side by side both turned away from each other in embarrassment.
"Ugh, how embarrassing," Boruto muttered, finding the outside to be much more interesting right now. Sensing a stare, he glanced to his side, seeing Mitsuki with the same plastered smile he always had, "Ugh, don't say anything."
"Hm?" Mitsuki hummed, embarrassing the boy more.
"A shame indeed," Yukino chuckled. "It might have made things fair if he did." She taunted with a sly smile.
"Well, we'll see who makes it to the finals."
"Oh yeah?"
"Boruto," "Kids," They both spoke at the same time, bolting up from their seats.
"–Show him/her who's right." They both looked at their children with fire in their eyes, eager to show the other their pride and joy.
・・・
As dinner wrapped up and the dishes were cleaned Yukino felt now was the time. "Ahem, since everyone behaved so well…" She could feel the kid's eyes dart up eagerly. "I think you all deserve this." She smiled pulling out an envelope that she handed to Hinata.
Opening it, she pulled out the first picture and smiled. Her boys, overtaken by curiosity, nearly tripped over themselves trying to get up to see what caught her attention. Moving to the table, she set down the pictures.
Her daughter fawned over the picture. "Is this dad?" She asked in awe as she held up a picture of her dad sleeping soundly in class. Iruka-sensei could be seen in the background, ready to toss a piece of chalk. Kawaki, standing behind her, marveled at the picture of his hero. 'He's just like me.'
As Hinata took out another picture, she chuckled before putting it down. Boruto quickly reached for it in surprise. "No way is this Sasuke-san?"
Hearing his best friend's name, Naruto looked over and chuckled, "Yup, I'd recognize that frown from anywhere," snickering, he looked up at Hinata. "How did girls think he was cool with that baby face?"
"I don't know, to me you were the cool one." Smiling down softly at her husband now it was his turn to blush as he dropped the picture in surprise. Covering his face in embarrassment, the kids paid him no attention as they tore through the forgotten envelope for more pictures.
Airi, picking one up, recognized the eyes of a girl. "Mama, is this you?"
Looking over her daughter's head, Yukino saw the picture in it, she was staring out the classroom window, waving at her family with a smile. "Yup, that's me."
"Hm?" Naruto, looking over, noticed Sasuke sitting beside her. "Weird, I swear I remembered Sasuke always sitting alone."
"Well, that's one of the perks of being a wallflower."
Himawari, holding a picture of her dad, brought it closer to the picture Airi was holding up. "Dad, look, you two could be twins."
"Woah, you're right." Boruto peeked over to see, and the similarities were unbelievable: same hair color, similar eye color, and even their facial features at that age were so similar all she needed was a haircut and whiskers to mistake the two. "Hey, Aunty, how did your hair change?" Boruto asked.
Yukino only smiled. "It's a rare family trait."
"Woah," his eyes sparkled.
"Mama," Airi perked up. "Will our hair change like yours?" She pointed at her red hair and her brothers.
"Hm… I don't know my hair had already started to change by the time I was your age, but who knows. A heads up though, the change isn't immediate think of what a baby bird looks like before looking like a bird."
"Can we see a picture of that?" Airi asked fluttering her eyes hoping to convince her.
"Haha," Yukino chuckled before ruffling her hair like she did to her brother earlier. "Never." She teased. Still embarrassed about that stage in her life. Going over the other pictures together they went until it was almost nine before any of them felt the need to sleep. "Well, it's getting late," she spoke up, only to be met with whines of disappointment as the kids wanted to look over the pictures a bit more and hear the stories behind them.
"Mama, can we stay longer?" Haruki begged his eyes were watery as he tried his best to stifle a yawn. As much as she wanted to indulge them they were getting sleepy.
"Next time, Haruki." Tapping his forehead with two fingers, the boy let out a quiet sigh and nodded. "I hope so." He responded.
Yukino's POV
Bidding the family a nice night and promising to see Naruto back in the office in a few minutes, I took my children back home. As they talked about the night, I watched with a smile. However, Naruto brought up an important question that everyone else was going to ask as well: who was their father? She was going to have to tell the twins eventually, so they would know how to navigate it. 'The first exam won't show their skills, but I can't say the same for the second or third exam.'
Hearing a loud yawn, I looked over at Makoto. "I'm heading to my room, exams start early, bye!" Running to his room, Airi yawned in response. "Mama, tonight was fun, night." Waving, she chased after her brother. Looking over at Haruki, he rubbed his eyes and wobbled even while standing. "Goodnight, mama."
"Young master, you're back!" Suiren ran down the stairs. "How was dinner?" The crow summon's energy woke him enough for him to make the trip to his room.
Seeing my children off to their respective rooms, I opened a portal to the Hokage's office, where Naruto was yawning as he looked over the stack before him. Making my presence known by lightly knocking on the door, I got a rundown of what needed to be done by morning.
Hearing what he had due, I got an idea of where to start. Looking over the papers, I furrowed my brows. 'Why is he looking over individual vendors instead of a final report?' Putting it to the side, I looked over the other papers left for him to file and sign off on, 'Huh?' Going through the pile, I realized the common issue. "Naruto, have you really been doing this the whole time?" I muttered. Groggily, he looked up, confused. "Listen, a bunch of these papers should have been relegated to a separate organization; all you would have to look at is a final report. This would have worked at one point for a smaller village, but with Konoha's current size, it's just too much, especially for a large-scale event." Bunching the files together first, I sighed. "Luckily, you have Shikamaru as an advisor to help start what I'm about to suggest. He should start by looking for trusted members in each of these industries to start an association to manage big festivities such as these, it'd be good if it's someone unbiased," I rambled on as I kept organizing the documents, "but that's impossible, so someone honest and fair should work. In the first year, you will guide them and in the second year look for signs of impartiality and don't be afraid to point them out, and for the third year, take your hand off but watch from a distance, see what they do with the reins. If everything is satisfactory, then good if not, you better start looking for someone new." Seeing the core issues, I chuckled as memories from back then came back. 'It's no wonder the previous two Hokage tried to flee from this pile.'
Looking up from the papers before me, I saw Naruto smiling tiredly, his chin held up by his propped-up hand. "Thank you, Yukino-chan," sighing, he scratched his head as he looked at the pile. "I'll be honest, I don't think I was made for academic stuff like this. But seeing you tackle this so easily makes me feel like I've been failing the village and my family for not finishing such an easy thing."
Surprised, her mouth gaped for a moment before it twisted down. Rolling up the papers in her hands, she let out a sigh as she stepped forward. Lifting her arm, she swiftly smacked the top of his head with a light tap. "Ridiculous, away with those thoughts! It's not your fault you were stuck in such a messy system. I was just lucky to start from scratch, and because I had no restrictions, I was able to do whatever I wanted." Putting the papers down, she rested a hand on her hip, bunching her other hand into a fist, she put it before her mouth, turning her face away. "If anything, I'm the jealous one. You have what I don't, a strength in name." She muttered in embarrassment. If she were known for being strong her village wouldn't be as vulnerable as it was now. "He's the hero of the world and now the Hokage, no one will look down on him. I thought hiding would be for the best, and it was for a while, but that safety ran out the more they grew. My village has me to protect it, but it won't be like that forever, so what does that leave Uzushio if they remain in hiding? One ally, no name, and no backing."
Which is why she was taking the risk of exposing themselves. With her friends back home, she felt it was left in good hands. Ryota, though unwillingly, was tricked by the elders into becoming the clan's head by making him believe I would be the next best choice. It was fitting, in her opinion he always did what was best for the clan. He ventured into the unknown for the possibility of survival, and once things were safe, he brought over everyone else. When he wasn't handling clan affairs, he helped out by taking part in some missions. And Emi was now managing the treasury, aided by the budgeting for public projects. Right now the internal situation in Uzushio was better than she could have hoped. If it wasn't for Ryota noticing an increase in mainland conflicts and Emi noticing their business partners moving to their competitors, who were trying to underprice them, she would have realized too late how they were being pushed out of business. "As much help as I had internally, I am no match for the politics in the lands around me. Which is why you willing to help me without any strings attached means so so much." Having been stressed over these last few months on a solution her emotions began to trickle out. "Thank you for your help even though I've barely given you any reason to trust me." Wiping her eyes in embarrassment, she avoided his gaze, she didn't expect to let her emotions out like this.
"Huh? But of course I trust you," Surprised, she looked up at him as he put on a bright smile, "You're my friend!" He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Taken aback, she was too stunned to speak, "Pfft. Ha… haha…" she let out a laugh at his forwardness. Letting out a sigh as she wiped her eyes, she looked up at him proudly. "This is why I love you, you know."
Suddenly, she felt the air shift, and he tensed up. Covering his chest, he stuttered, avoiding her eyes. "Yu-yukino-chan, I feel flattered, but I'm married."
Irked, she grabbed the paper stack and rolled it up and smacked his head for real this time. "Familial love dummy." She smacked him again in case the point wasn't clear.
"Ow! Ow!"
"I will never hurt Hinata or your family like that." Breaking the tense mood, I let out a sigh and looked back at the stack that had been forgotten. "Enough about that, let's wrap this up." Yawning, she fought through her sleepiness. "It's unfortunate, but you'll… yawn… have to stick with this system until the chunin exams are over." Teary-eyed from the yawn, she looked down, knowing a few of the vendors she passed were the ones she could verify to Naruto. "I know Shikamaru will be busy proctoring the first two parts of the exam, so I'll write down the new system for him. Hopefully by the time the exams are over… yawn… he'll have a list ready."
"It's alright, Yukino-chan. I don't mind the wait. I feel hopeful now that this problem has a solution. It shouldn't be too hard to implement since the elders retired."
"They're still around?" She feigned surprise. "Aren't they like ancient?" Naruto chuckled and nodded in response. Silently, she was happy her memory erosion tea was working. Like how she took out memory marbles from someone, she had managed to make a tea, or should she say the water they drank to work the same way. By ingesting it, the passing water would absorb a few memories before exiting the body. Going through a few more papers, she fought through the sleepiness she felt and gave a summary in each report, saving Naruto a few minutes in having to read it and understand all the formal and roundabout lingo. By the time they were done, her sleepy wave had passed. Looking up the clock read 3 am, trying to remember the last time she stayed up that late to do work she felt an urge to check in at the orphanage, 'Is there anything left to sew? Did anyone's toy break? Are the plants alright?'
Looking over at Naruto, he wore a gentle smile. Raising his arms to stretch, he hummed happily and turned to look outside. "We wrapped up earlier than usual the sun isn't even up." Looking outside at the village, his smile became tired but content. That smile of his was the same as mine when I overlooked my village during my lunch break, it was love. As much as he loved this village, I knew this lifestyle would kill him, so to prevent that, I was going to have to keep Shikamaru busy for the next few months. Once everything is in place, they'll both be able to return to their families for dinner every night. 'Sorry, Temari, I'll be borrowing your husband for a while.'
Turning back to his desk, Naruto hummed happily as he wrapped up. Heading for the door, he motioned to follow, "Let's go home!"
Trailing after him, I reached out and grabbed his hand. Surprised his brain took a moment to process, but that second was enough for me to collect enough water from our surroundings to create a tiny marble big enough to extract a reflection of a memory. Holding his hand up, I put the small marble on it. "Hinata will teach you how it works."
Looking down at his hand, his face softened. "I already know. We still look at your wedding gift." His eyes staring into the marble widened for a moment in surprise. Chuckling, he closed his hand on the marble and pulled me into a hug. "Thank you," she could hear him whisper. She didn't have to hear anything else to know that he was happy to see and hear his parents again, even if it was just a memory.
"No need to thank me." I lightly patted his back. "I just hope you can rely on me to take a look at that nasty mark on your son."
Pulling away in surprise, "You know?" he asked since so few knew about the karma seal.
"Well, it's hard to ignore when I sense something unpleasant." Thinking of a good comparison, she tapped her neck. "It reminds me of that little thing."
"Mm…" he didn't want to bother her anymore, but this involved his son.
"My village has a sealing department that researches this type of thing. This will help towards my research of sealing–"
"Do it!" "–an otsutsuki." Speaking over each other, Naruto took a moment to blink. "Wait, can you re–"
"Mm. It's getting late." She cut him off, pushing him towards the doors. "Let's talk about it when we both get more sleep. How about after the exams?"
"Oh, ok," Letting out a yawn. She took the opportunity while his eyes were closed to open a portal and push him through to his home's entryway. "Goodnight."
"'Night, Yukino-chan. Huh?" Realizing he was back home, his eyes widened as he looked at me retreating into my portal. Letting him in on my abilities was my way of showing him my trust towards him as thanks for his. Creating another portal to my room, I threw myself on my bed, not feeling the urge to sleep I was supposed to. 'Hah.. guess I might as well start on those plans.'
3rd POV
As the kids gathered in the lobby, Yukino and their sensei greeted them with a smile. "As always, the first exam will be a written portion. I know you'll do well, but still good luck."
"I hope those hours in the library weren't a waste." Utahime chuckled, confident that her team was well prepared for this exam. As the kids received the directions to the examination site, both women waved the teams goodbye. The moment the doors closed, they glanced at each other and split off to do their parts while the kids were busy.
As the Uzushio teams entered the building, the Konoha chunin verified their passes before having them pull out three sticks from a vase. Pulling out different numbers, they were instructed to head to the matching rooms. Split off from their teammates a member of each team stepped into the rooms with the rest of the participating genin.
Room one, Airi stepped forward with a hum. "Hmm… who's here?" she scanned the room, trying to spot a familiar face from last night. Akane stood beside her and whispered into her friend's ears. "Best we stay to the side for now. No use drawing attention so early."
Room two, opening the door without so much as a creak, Sachi quietly slipped in and vanished into the crowd. Haruki, following after her, snuck into the room and kept to one corner of the room to avoid attention. Looking outside, he hoped his siblings were doing their best to keep a low profile. The last thing they needed was for someone to try to sabotage them in the first round.
Room three, Makoto stepped in holding his head high, as he briefly scanned the full room. 'Geez, how many genin are participating?' Feeling a pat on his shoulder, he turned to look at Kataoka. "C'mon, class president, ready to show what we can do?" Makoto only sighed. "What is there to show? This is the first exam, it'd be embarrassing if you failed this."
・・・
As everyone got settled into their assigned seats, the exam proctors began to hand out the exam sheets. With only the sound of the rustling papers as they were being handed out, no one dared to speak. When the final sheet was handed out that there was a crackle over the speakers.
A double tap on the mic was followed by a man's voice. "The paper before you has 10 questions some multiple choice and some written." Shikadai looking up at the speaker, sighed, wondering what his dad thought of this time. "All team members must pass this round to move on to the next; teams must have an average of 100 to pass, get any lower or higher, and you will not move on to the next round. There are proctors in the room. If you are caught cheating, you are eliminated. You will have 2 hours to finish." With a crackle, the speaker fell silent, and the clock in front of the room began counting down.
In the observation room, Yukino hummed as she stared at each of the cameras. "I'll be honest I didn't expect you to go along with my idea."
"Well, with so many genin retaking the exam, I decided to bring back an old exam format." Shikamaru smiled as he stared at the screens, wondering how the genin would get around their communication barrier. By the looks of it, some teams were already starting to panic.
"That's why I suggested it," Yukino leaned back. "Since you're all so worried about the age of Shinobi coming to an end, why should we lower our standards?"
Shikamaru sighed. "Last year wasn't our best work, it was my fault for outsourcing it to a new team."
"What a relief, I was worried something was wrong." Yukino chuckled and tilted her head as her eyes were on the kids. Cheating was too easy, you won't always be in the same room as your teammates to relay critical information. Of course, this gives an advantage to the teams who have a way to communicate even with distance, which is why filtering through trash information is so important.
"If anything, this exam might be too much of a hurdle."
"Maybe, but isn't seeing how the genin overcome this the best part?" Kicking her feet in excitement, she smiled, wondering how the results would come out. She didn't have to say it, but those who weren't able to communicate with their teammates would have to have an understanding of their teammates' capabilities for intel gathering from the other genin who got the right answers. Not only that, but they would have to gauge just how many points they should get and how many points their teammates expect them to get. After all, there were many point combinations to keep that 100% average. Even after saying all that, the average was at the bottom of what they were looking for; trust and collaboration were important for someone who would be in charge of others' lives.
As the kids looked over their exam sheets, the first four questions were easy, but somehow after that the difficulty jumped with the questions sounding more like riddles than actual questions. At the bottom of the page was a bonus question worth 20 points, seeming too good to pass up, practically begging to be answered. Avoiding it for now, the kids answered the first few questions.
Akane stared down at the page, her emerald green eyes flickering between the questions and the room; she believed there had to be something else to it. Hearing chirping outside, she glanced over and saw a familiar sparrow. Hiding her smile, she knew her teammate was reaching out. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated like her mom had taught her. Connecting to her teammates, she shared her thoughts.
Sachi hummed in thought. What if the questions correspond to our rooms? Looking over their answers to the first three questions: 1c, 2a, and 3b. Sachi decided to test out her theory. Playing a spider in her hand, she opened her palm and sent it away along with its friends. Give me five minutes.
Don't get caught. Kataoka told her, before their connection was cut off, to allow Akane's mind to take a brief rest.
Through the slightly cracked window, two of Sachi's spiders reached the outside. Without wasting time the sparrow picked each spider, delivering them to the two other rooms. Using a jutsu to connect their sight, Sachi saw through her spider's eyes. Testing out the pattern in each of their rooms, she spotted a couple of chunin in hiding among the genin, obvious from the speed their sheets had been filled and the confidence in their face as their body failed to cover up their paper. As each answer led to a different chunin, she took note of any patterns, eventually realizing that the question numbers not only applied to the row number but also the room. Realizing that those who met that pattern also had the first four questions answered correctly, must have the right answers even if their paper was partially completed. Even so, that was enough for her team. By the time Akane reestablished their connection, they agreed on how many questions they should answer to gather the right amount of points. With that settled, Sachi asked for a few more minutes. Writing down what she saw, she waited for Akane to connect again to share the answers.
In that same room, Haruki glanced over across the room, seeing that Team 13 was already on the move. The clues were obvious, he thought with a smile. 'Mama must've had fun thinking of this.' Forming a mind link with his siblings, he got right to the point, What is the chunin in your room writing?
In the other room, Airi rested her head on her hand, covering one of her eyes. Eyes closed, appearing as if she was deep in thought or napping, she was actually looking down at the paper through a crack in the ceiling tiles, all to avoid the other eye hovering in the room. Relaying what she saw to her brother, she was about to write it down when she had a thought. Shouldn't we wait until time is up? I feel like we'll be targets if we write this down.
We should do it now, mama will be disappointed if the exams end too fast. As they shared their findings, out of all the written answers, only two questions overlapped with the same answer. If they added all the points, including the bonus, they had 80 points, just shy of what they needed.
It was then that Makoto finally spoke, setting his pencil down he communicated his findings. Those answers are correct. The question may be confusing, but I remembered reading it once in the Grand Library; the question is not a riddle, it's an old proverb that came about during the Warring States period. The answer is the rest of the saying. He proudly relayed, thankful for his research of the old courts as his hobby for his self-appointed study to be heir.
Good job, Makoto! Airi beamed, glad that they were on the right track and it was not a red herring by their mom.
There's another thing. I think question 3 is a hint.
Wait, how? Airi inquired, listening carefully.
The sheet on this side is blank aside from the multiple choice and the answers you two found.
Looking down at his paper, Haruki smiled. What if Question 4 is also a hint? Immediately, Airi set her sight on row 4 seat E, or the fifth seat. Makoto closed his eyes and scanned the individual chakras, counting them before finding the right person. Forming a mind link, he found the chunin; they seemed to sense him, but did nothing to fight back. Looking through his eyes, he saw the answers. Haruki closed his eyes and turned his ice mirrors into water again. Slithering the water along the tile cracks, he lined it up with the chunin before turning it into an ice mirror, looking down at his paper at the projected image, he adjusted the lens to properly reflect the answers.
The answer is… As they all spoke the same answer, they realized the table held the correct answers for the missing questions bringing a worth of 40 points. Enough for anyone who had to bump up their team average.
Confident in the answers, the Uzushio teams decided to answer the bonus question to at least make the other teams try to find the remaining answers.
Bonus Question (Write below): For the sake of the mission, one of your teammates needs to stay behind to hold off the enemy. Consider the team member eliminated. Who would it be?
Confidently writing down "No one," without a second thought, put their pencils down and waited for the clock to finish counting down. "Well, this was easy." They all thought.
・・・
With a loud beep, the clock reached zero. It was then that the speaker crackled once more as all eyes turned to it, waiting for it to speak. "The exam is over, put your pencils down. We will collect your papers shortly." With a click, the proctors got up and started collecting the sheets. It wasn't long before they were gone when the speaker crackled again. "We'll go by village as we announce your teams. When you hear your team step out."
There was a silence from the other side as everyone held their breath, hoping not to be called. "Uzushio. Team 0, Team 13," the once confident teams stared wide-eyed at the speaker in disbelief. In their shock, they heard snickers from the genin around them laughing.
"Of course a bumpkin village failed." Some of the genin whispered.
Balling up his hands into a fist Makoto placed his hand down on the table hard ready to snap back but remembering his mom's objective he lowered his head and sucked in the humiliation. 'I'm sorry, mama, we messed up.' "Uzushio team 0 and Team 13 step out," the speaker repeated. To their reluctance, they left hearing the snickers as they left.
On their way out towards the main staircase of the building, they ran into the rest of their teams. Kataoka, seeing his teammates, let out a huge sigh. "Maaan… I thought we passed."
"It seemed too easy if I'm being honest," Airi whined in frustration.
"I wonder what we'll tell Aunty Yukino?" Akane let out a sigh.
Realizing that not one of them passed, they all let out a dejected sigh as they descended the stairs, all deflated as the matter of how to deliver the news now weighed heavily. Once they reached the front doors, Airi tugged to no avail. "Ugh…" She whined, swinging on the door handle.
Haruki, seeing his deflated sister limply tugging at the door, stepped forward to help her. Tugging at it, he was pulled by surprise. Tugging on it once more, the others perked up hearing the rattling door. "What's up?" Distracted by the closed doors, they wondered if they had taken the wrong exit when Airi knocked on the glass, trying to get the attention of the shinobi on the other side of the door.
Instead of saying something, the Konoha shinobi looked at them and shook his head. Surprised, Sachi had a thought. "You don't think they'll make us wait until all the results are announced, do you?" Realizing that was the most likely answer, the teams looked around for a place to sit and mope, waiting to see what unlucky teams would be called down.
Watching the teams come down all gloomy, only to be met with the locked door, a bunch of them resigned to the public display of their peers who failed. Surrounded by all this gloom, Airi wished she had brought some playing cards, about to turn to her brothers to rummage through their supplies, she spotted a familiar shade of blonde hair. Perking up, Airi saw Boruto's team was with him as they descended the main staircase. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you guys on this side. I heard you already took this exam last year?" She called out, skipping over to them.
"Oh hey…" trying to remember her name, Boruto was at a loss, as the only time he caught her name was during the introductions. 'Oh man, I should've paid more attention. I hope this doesn't get back to mom,' he thought, worried about his mom's disappointment.
Seeing Boruto's face as he dragged out the introduction, Mitsuki smiled and turned to Airi, gesturing to her before looking at their teammate, Sarada. "Sarada, this is Airi Uzumaki, the daughter of Yukino Uzumaki, Uzushiogakure's chief."
"Oh," surprised at the revelation, the black haired girl held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Sarada Uchiha."
Perking up at the mention of her name, Airi glanced at her older brother, who had briefly mentioned wanting to meet his relatives in Konoha. Knowing how reserved he tended to be, she knew he wouldn't make the first move. If she played her cards right, she might be able to push Sarada to talk to him first.
"… Uhm… I hope this isn't rude," Sarada spoke first, "but I thought the Uzumaki surname belonged to the Seventh and his family."
"No, no, it's not rude at all," Airi waved her hands, trying to reassure her. Noticing Shikamaru-san above, she smiled. "It's a clan name like the Hyuga or the Uchiha. You know we're quite known for–."
"Ahem." Cutting Airi's explanation short, Shikamaru began to speak. Planting her seed of curiosity, Airi quietly ran back to her team. "Congratulations on passing the first round. Will see you in two days at noon outside the 30th training grounds. You are all free to go now." There was a brief silence for everyone to take in what they heard before they began to cheer.
"We made it!" Airi beamed as she ran up to her brothers happily. "Where do you think mama will take us to celebrate?" She asked, wondering what new restaurant they would be brought to this time. As the doors creaked open, the teams filtered out of the main hall.
From above, Yukino looked down with a smile. Although half of the teams present made it through, those eliminated received 3 strikes, sacrificed a team member, or failed to filter through the fake information, putting down wrong answers. Happy at her team's success, she couldn't wait for the second round. "Thank you once again." She turned to Shikamaru. "How are the preparations going for the second round?"
"We're almost done setting up. Is your end done?"
"Not quite, I'll meet up with you tomorrow for the final touches since it requires your supervision," She added, knowing that to avoid any claims of cheating, she had to have someone supervising what she did. Parting ways, she headed back to the hotel, hoping that Utahime was able to gather valuable intel while she was busy. 'Hopefully, she found more faults with the administrative side of things. Naruto seriously doesn't need to do everything on his own.' In an empty hallway, she through a portal back to her hotel room to wait for the teams. 'Now for food… Should we go to Yakiniku Q?"
・
A/N: Its that time of year again. Good luck on your exams!