After school, students filed out of the classroom one by one.
"Hinata, let's go! School's over. We can walk home together..." Her deskmate finished packing her bag and turned to Hinata with a smile.
"Um... I..." Hinata's hands gripped the hem of her jacket tightly. Just refusing her classmate's invitation took tremendous effort. "You... you should go ahead. I have something I need to do..."
"Oh, okay! See you tomorrow then." Her deskmate didn't think anything of it. She grabbed her bag and found another classmate to walk with.
Watching her deskmate leave the classroom, Hinata exhaled in relief. Sorry, she thought silently, then snuck a glance in that direction. The tall boy was standing up, preparing to leave.
"Ah!" Hinata quickly turned her head away, not daring to look anymore. She sat perfectly upright, trying to appear casual.
Only after Naruto walked past her seat did she slowly relax. She packed her things quickly, retrieved a small bottle of wound medicine from her drawer, and followed Naruto at a distance. Not too close, though. Never too close.
She kept her head down, stealing glances at his figure from the corner of her eye.
Then Hinata saw Iruka-sensei approaching from the other direction. He stopped Naruto, and the two stood talking.
While they were speaking, Naruto's body suddenly pitched forward...
Hinata's heart leaped into her throat.
He's going to fall!
Fortunately, Iruka-sensei lived up to his chunin training. He caught Naruto quickly, and the two stood there face-to-face for a long moment...
When Iruka-sensei finally released Naruto, Hinata felt... strange. She didn't know why, but something about the moment unsettled her.
Still, she was grateful to Iruka-sensei. She looked down at the wound medicine in her hand, trying to think of an excuse to give it to Naruto. When she looked up again, Iruka-sensei was already pulling out a medicine bottle from his own pocket and handing it to him.
He already has medicine. Would he even want mine?
Hinata froze, caught in indecision. Before she could make a choice, Naruto waved goodbye to Iruka and strode away from the school.
Hinata deflated like a punctured balloon, standing there lost and uncertain.
"Hey, billboard brow! Stop following me and Sasuke-kun!" Yamanaka Ino's voice carried across the courtyard.
"Wild woman! I'm walking home! This is a public road, not your family's private property!" Haruno Sakura shot back, refusing to back down. The two girls immediately launched into a shouting match.
By the time they finished arguing, the black-haired Uchiha boy had already disappeared.
Hinata watched Ino and Sakura's red faces and felt a surge of envy. If only I could be that bold.
Envying them was one thing. Actually putting herself forward was another. She'd inevitably hesitate, second-guess, retreat.
Because she cared too much.
She was terrified that opening her mouth would mean losing everything.
For now, just... just watching him from a distance was enough.
It had to be.
Days passed. Fortunately, Naruto only came to school with a bruised and swollen face for the first four or five days. After that period, the injuries stopped appearing.
No one outside knew how much spicy lamb he'd consumed during that brutal training period.
Best not to speak of it. Talking about it would only bring tears.
On this particular day, Iruka entered the classroom and made an announcement. "Everyone, today we'll have a quiz on the Transformation Jutsu. I want to see how you've all progressed."
The classroom erupted with excitement. Everyone wanted to know where they stood, how they ranked among their peers.
Under Iruka's direction, the entire class formed a line.
"Let me explain the Transformation Jutsu," Iruka said, his voice carrying authority. "The purpose of this technique is to deceive your enemy. The transformation must appear genuine. Therefore, a proper transformation has two levels. First is form—the external appearance must match perfectly. Second is spirit—the temperament, the aura that emanates from within. Only when you achieve both levels can your transformation be considered adequate."
After his introduction, Iruka called the first name.
"Sasuke Uchiha!"
The black-haired boy stepped forward, his face calm and expressionless. The quiz didn't seem to excite him at all.
"Begin whenever you're ready." Iruka wanted to see exactly what stage the Uchiha boy had reached.
Sasuke stepped out of line and formed hand seals. His movements weren't rushed, but they were precise and stable. Within moments, a second Iruka stood before the first.
Iruka studied his doppelganger and nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent work, Sasuke. To achieve this level of form within a month is outstanding. Keep training, and next month you should be able to capture the spirit as well."
Despite Iruka's praise, Sasuke's face showed neither joy nor pride. Internally, he criticized himself for not working hard enough. If he'd pushed himself more, maybe he could have captured the spirit too. Then Iruka-sensei wouldn't have found any fault at all.
Sasuke returned to the line. When he heard other students whispering about how amazing he was, the corner of his mouth barely twitched. His heart remained unmoved.
"Haruno Sakura!"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" Sakura jumped forward and shot a provocative look back at Ino.
Ino glared daggers at her.
Sakura formed hand seals and transformed into Iruka.
Iruka examined the transformation and commented, "Very good. Just make the forehead a bit narrower. Keep practicing."
Hearing those words, Sakura's eye twitched violently.
Iruka-sensei! Why would you say something so direct?! That's so mean!
In her mind, she pummeled an imaginary Iruka hundreds of times, but outwardly she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. I'll work harder."
When she returned to line, she found Ino smirking at her.
This is all Iruka-sensei's fault!
She mentally beat the imaginary teacher into a pulp before finally feeling satisfied.
"Choji Akimichi."
"Shikamaru Nara."
"Shino Aburame."
One student after another came up for testing. Through it all, Iruka still felt that Sasuke's transformation was the best. Truly worthy of a clan that possesses the Sharingan.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
When Iruka called the name, he felt genuine curiosity about how far Naruto had progressed.
Naruto stepped out of line.
In the queue, Hinata clenched her fists, lowered her head, and whispered silently, "Do your best, Naruto-kun."
Everyone heard Naruto shout something, and then...
Nothing.
Naruto remained exactly as he was.
Iruka tried his absolute hardest to use his imagination. He asked tentatively, "Naruto... did you transform into... yourself?"
"Hahaha! As expected of our Academy's teacher! Your eye for detail is incredible, Iruka-sensei! I did indeed transform into myself. How about it? Is it exactly the same?"
Naruto stood there laughing.
"You... you..." Iruka felt his blood pressure skyrocket. He managed to force out one sentence through gritted teeth. "Wait for me in my office after school."