It was here. It was finally here.
Their last academy year.
Hinata's heart beat a wild rhythm, pounding so hard she could feel it from the tips of her fingers to the soles of her feet. She walked with trepidation to the academy, grasping the straps of her backpack with force.
There wasn't really a reason to be so nervous. It was, after all, just another first day of school, as usual.
Except this was to be the last time. After this, and when the year came to an end, there wouldn't be the usual final exams awaiting them to take them to the next year, but the genin exams, the ones that would enter them into adulthood.
What if she failed? What if she proved not to be enough? What would she do then? How would she face her father and the council of elders?
She gulped heavily, her feet taking her farther down the hallway one step at a time. These familiar halls were alive with the laughter and conversation of children, but there was a disquieting murmur coming right out from one of the doors at the end of it. It was the classroom that was assigned to those in their last year, for at this point in their educational careers, it was all but guaranteed they would only need one to accommodate all the students.
Hinata had no idea how she had managed to reach her last year of academy without repeating a single time. She knew quitting was not an option, not with who she was, but passing?
Sometimes she could scarcely believe it.
"Hinata-chan!" Sakura's voice called out to her as soon as she stepped inside. The pink-haired girl was sitting in the last row of seats, but she quickly stood up and waved her arm when she saw her. Her voice, so familiar as well as her gesture of welcome, alleviated a little bit of the weight in her chest, and Hinata couldn't help but wave back with a smile. "Come here! I saved a seat just for you!"
She nodded, not finding it in herself to shout her answer across the classroom, and walked towards her. As she did, she looked around, taking inventory of all the faces gathered there. She recognized all of them, as she had, at one point or another, shared classes with them, which meant this select group really was it from their generation of ninja students.
Among them, she spied Ino, who was frowning at her something fierce from her seat in the middle row. She quickly averted her gaze, her eyes finding Sasuke on the other side, face bored as always and chin leaning over his joined hands.
She finally reached Sakura and sat next to her.
"God, I'm nervous, aren't you nervous? I can't believe this is really our last year and at this time next year we won't be here anymore" Sakura put her elbows on the desk, her cheeks resting on her hands as she pouted towards the blackboard. "I know it sounds a bit stupid but last night, I actually had some trouble falling asleep thinking about this. What about you?"
"I… I'm a little nervous as well" she admitted, happy that she wasn't the only one feeling this way.
Sakura nodded. "Who do you think we will get this year as our homeroom teacher?"
"I don't know… who usually takes classes in their last year?"
"No idea, but whoever they are, they better be good. After all, this time we need all the guidance we can get as at the end of the year we'll do our genin exams" she furrowed her nose, expression pinched. "I hope it's not the teacher we got the year we became friends. He was grumpy and I personally think he wasn't that much interested in us."
Hinata, who could still remember the big man with the incipient beard, didn't think he was all that bad, even if she could see Sakura's point.
They didn't have to wonder for long though, because not a second later, the door opened again and in came Iruka, holding a book under his arm.
"Good morning, everyone! I see you all came early today. That makes me glad" he stood at the podium, putting down his book. At her side, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.
"Iruka-sensei is good. Thank goodness" she said heartedly.
Hinata nodded in acknowledgement, even as her gaze travelled around the classroom again. She took in the familiar faces again, something about Iruka's words ticking her the wrong way. There was her and Sakura, of course, and then Ino and Sasuke. Right on the front, she spied Shino, and then a little behind, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba, all sitting together in the table right behind Ino.
She could not, however, find Naruto anywhere.
Her heart started pounding in fear. Where was he?
There's no way he didn't… that is, there's no way he didn't pass last year's exam, right?
…right?
He would have told them, after all, when Sakura and she met him for the Rinne festival last year. There was no way…
Then, before she could definitely fall through a spiral of despair at the thought of Naruto not making it, a resounding bang was heard from the hallways, before hurried footsteps came closer towards the door.
It was sled open, the other side banging loudly against the wall.
"Don't start without me! I'm already here!"
Naruto was breathing hard, his shoulders moving up and down at a frantic pace, hair in disarray, the strands pointing in different directions like a blond porcupine. His jacket was unzipped, and he was holding his pants up with one hand, as if he hadn't even had the time to zip them up properly.
His exuberant entrance, as well as his appearance, immediately draw a laugh from everyone in the classroom except for Iruka, whose eyebrows were twitching uncontrollably, Sasuke, who simply frowned in his direction, and Hinata, who melt against the back of her seat in pure relief.
Iruka was fast to react. "Naruto!" he yelled, stomping towards the boy, who let out a yelp even before the man could land a hit on his head with his book. "How many times do I need to tell you to properly set up an alarm!"
"I did! Three of them! They didn't work!" he quickly defended himself, stepping away before the book could reach its target. However, and because his pants were still unzipped, his legs became tangled and he fell backwards, the laugh from the boys growing in volume while the girls gave gasps of horror.
After all, his pants were completely around his knees, his green toad underwear on display for everyone to see.
Hinata averted her eyes while Sakura yelled at him to stop being a pervert and to pull his pants up. She caught Sasuke's face then, a snarl of distaste forming on his lips, and couldn't help but sigh.
This was shaping up to be a very interesting year.