18 White-Eyed Princess 1 (1/2)
Iwagakure didn't make any major moves since the last battle. The number of unidentified shinobi spotted around the village had also dropped significantly.
The Inuzuka shinobi could finally breath easy since their workload had stabilized back to normal.
As she had promised, Tsume had kept Kokuo's existence within Hikari a secret. Even the Third Hokage was unable to pry her mouth open. When he visited the Inuzuka compound for what he'd called a 'friendly visit', Tsume had Hikari hidden in the deeper part of the compound, thwarting his attempt to get the girl.
In the end, the old man gave up on direct approach.
Lately, Hikari had noticed several people following her around the village whenever she was out doing errands. Thankfully, those stalkers never did anything else except observing her from afar.
Regarding this matter, Tsume had told her,
”Must be the geezer's doing. Worry not, the only thing he cares about is keeping the village safe. As long as you don't go berserk or something, he'll just act as if nothing had happened.”
After all, if the Third could feign ignorance that the Five-Tails was in his village, the easier it would be when dealing with Iwagakure and the rest of the Great Five Villages. While this arrangement was far from ideal, it was still better than nothing.
As the excitement from the incident died down, peace returned to the Inuzuka household. The daily grind continued, with Kiba attending the academy once again a few days after the birthday party.
Just like that, two years worth of mundane days passed in the blink of an eye.
Some distance away from Konoha's downtown district, partially hidden by the surrounding tall trees, stood a domed structure, the stadium. It was a venue used for important public occasion like the rank-up exam. On days without particular events, however, it was practically an abandoned building.
Four boys laid on top of a grassy hill near the stadium entrance, shielded from the scorching sun by the thick foliage.One stared at the clouds, the other munched on his bags of chips, while the restwere looking down the slope toward the path leading to and fro the main street which was filled with the hustle and bustle of a growing city.
They were supposed to be attending class at the moment, and yet, here they were.
”Oi, Naruto... I heard you failed again?” Kiba asked, breaking the silence. At the same time, a white-furred puppy's head popped out from under his coat, turning his attention toward the yellow-haired boy as well.
”Argh, don't remind me about it!”
The boy called Naruto suddenly got up to his feet, stomping the ground in frustration.
”It's just some stupid clone jutsu! Why can't they just let me pass, huh?! Teacher Iruka is too stuck-up, ya'know!”
”Stupid... it's the most basic of the basic jutsu, isn't it? If you can't do it, you're the stupid one,” Kiba retorted.
”...Puh!”
He sat back down, crossing his arms while sulking.
”Dude, do you have to take the exam every year? Like, why not take it with us next year?” Choji joined the conversation, although his speech was a bit incoherent thanks to all the munching inbetween his words.
”No kidding. He already took it since, what, ten? I thought he was just messing around!” Kiba snickered.
When he returned back to class after a year of sanctioned leave, Kiba suddenly got the news that a kid had attempted the graduation exam earlier than the recommended age. Early graduation was a big deal, a sign of talent, so the kids were excited when they caught wind of it.
But then, it turned out to be Naruto, that guy who couldn't even do Transformation Technique right after three years of attending the academy...
What did you expect? Of course he failed miserably.
He didn't give up, though, since he immediately tried it again the next year. Unfortunately, he had procured yet another failure. This year was his third try and the result was still the same.
Seriously, this guy here had improved a lot since the first exam. His Transformation Technique and his Body Replacement Technique were already passable, but when it came to Clone Technique...
”Naruto... you and Negi, you guys are brothers, right...?” Kiba murmured.
”Stop bringing him up! He ain't got nothing to do with me!”
Ah, he went back to sulking...
That red-haired kid's case was the exact opposite. He had aced every subjects in the academy, and was actually capable of finishing the exam early. And yet he'd decided not to, saying that he wanted to graduate together with his younger brother.
While it seemed like a waste of potential, their homeroom teacher, Iruka, had given him his blessing. Thus, he was allowed to be exempt from class until he deemed himself ready to graduate. He just randomly showed up from time to time whenever he felt like it.
”Besides, you guys never tried the exam, right? It's hard, ya'know!” Naruto exclaimed.
”Dad said I don't have to just yet. He said it's better to wait until next year,” Choji replied.
”...Too troublesome,” Shikamaru responded with his usual line.
As for Kiba, he was cleaning his ear with his pinky when he casually said, ”I gave it a try, actually.”
His words earned him Choji's and Naruto's bewildered gazes.
””Eh?””
”Teacher Iruka half-coerced me after class. He said I managed to pass them all. Let me tell ya, it's not that hard. Just basics.”
He was saying it nonchalantly, but obviously a tinge of arrogance was still present.
”S-so, you're already done with the academy?” Naruto frowned.
”Moron, why am I here wasting my time with you guys, then? Mom told me to wait for another year so we can all graduate together. That's why, you still got a year, so you better train so you can pass the exam, you punk!”
”Kibaaa! You're such a good friend, ya'know!”
Naruto leaped toward Kiba, catching him off-guard with a bear hug.
”Damnit, idiot! The heck are you doing! Let me go! What if someone else see-”
By chance, a familiar brown-haired girl in a dark-colored robe had passed by the path leading toward the stadium at that unfortunate moment and caught sight of the four boys. Her gaze was particularly aimed at the scene of Kiba and Naruto engaging in a tight embrace.
The two froze on their spot, while Choji and Shikamaru quickly took a few steps to the side, not wanting to be falsely associated with them.
”...”
Under Hikari's judgmental stare, Kiba was breaking out in a cold sweat.
”Get. Off. Me!”
Exerting the muscles he had trained for the past years, he forcefully broke the hug and pushed Naruto away from him.
”...You guys are good friends, as always... thank you for taking care of our Kiba,” Hikari said as she greeted them one by one with a slight bow.
”Don't worry about it, puppy-stealing girl,” Choji and Shikamaru replied at the same time.
”...”
That nickname from way back when had stuck for so long. Was that first impression so hard to scrub off? Should she just smack them in the head and reset their memories?
Kiba let out a coughing fit.
”You... about us skipping from class...”
”I won't tell Lady Tsume, don't worry.”
”Great, thanks,” Kiba nodded, but then he frowned while pointing at her. ”By the way, that thing on your back, what is...”
”Oh, this?”
She glanced at the sack that she was carrying, which was filled to the brim with some brown substance. The problem was that the sack was really big, even taller than herself. The people passing by her couldn't believe their eyes when they saw that.
”A year's worth of dog food.”
”A year...”