I Love You, But I Can Never Tell You How I Feel [Naruto Fanfic] - KakashixOC

32. Chuunin Exam Preparation - Battle With the Genins

After taking one day off to rest, Hikaru woke up, feeling very refreshed. She then got out of her bed to get ready to go for the jonin meeting in the Hokage tower to officially nominate team 7 to enter the Chuunin exam. Kakashi had already been waiting for Hikaru at the corner of the street. The two of them then walked slowly towards the Hokage tower in comfortable silence.

The two of them proceeded towards the Hokage's office. All jonin tutor and some academy teachers were already there. "We shall begin now" the Hokage said as he entered the room. "First, we'll hear from those who are watching over the new genins" the Hokage said. "Kakashi, Hikaru, Asuma, Kurenai, are there any particular genin you would like to nominate for the Chuunin selection exam?" the Hokage asked. "Let's start with Kakashi and Hikaru" the Hokage said continued Kakashi and Hikaru then stepped forward.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, the leader of team 7 would nominate my students, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura to take part of the Chuunin selection exam, under the name of Hatake" Kakashi stated.

"I, Namikaze Hikaru, nominates the same pupils as to my left, under the name of Namikaze" Hikaru stated as well.

Kurenai then stepped forward. "I, Yuhi Kurenai, the leader of team 8 would nominate my students, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata the same as to my left, under the name of Yuhi"

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, leader of team 10 would nominate my students, Nara Shikamaru , Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino the same as to my left, under the name of Sarutobi" Asuma stated. As the Hokage was about to say a word, Iruka interrupted.

"Hold on, Hokage-sama! Let me have a word" Iruka said, panic-stricken.

"Go ahead, Iruka" the Hokage said.

"I may be out of place to say this, but most of the nominees were students of mine at the academy. Sure, they're good, but I think it's too early for them to enter the exam!" Iruka said.

"I became a chuunin at the age of 6" Kakashi said, shrugging.

"Naruto is different from you! The Chuunin exams are.." Iruka countered. Hikaru smiled slightly. He really do care about Naruto.

"They're always complaining about how easy their mission were. Crushing them would be fun" Kakashi said. Iruka was outraged by Kakashi's comment. "Well, that was meant as a joke, Iruka-sensei. I know that you might be upset, but you should know" Kakashi said with a dramatic pause. Hikaru rolled her eyes at Kakashi. "They're no longer your students. Right now, they are my soldiers" Kakashi said, a little coldly. 'what a jerk..', Hikaru thought. Iruka looked more angered by Kakashi's words.

"Listen, Iruka. I know that you cared about your ex-students, especially Naruto. But do you think I would allow them to take the exams if they were not ready? Think about it. You of all people should know" Hikaru said, trying to calm Iruka down. His shoulder then slumped in defeat as he stepped back, letting the meeting to continue.

---

Hikaru walked out of the tower, parting with Kakashi. The Hokage had requested Hikaru to personally determine whether or not all the nominees have met the basic minimum requirement to enter the exams. He did not want any of them to be fatally wounded in the exams.

As yshe walked, she spotted team 7 and 3 little kids. She recognized one of them, Konohamaru. Hikaru also spotted 2 foreign shinobis. Their chakra signature was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't put her finger to the owners. As she stayed hidden and watched the interactions, a familiar red head appeared behind Sasuke. 'So it's Gaara and his siblings', Hikaru thought quietly. Gaara seemed to exchanged some words with Kankuro. His eyes then darkened as he used a shunshin towards Kankuto. 'Uh oh, this can't be good', Hikaru thought as she leaped out of her hiding place, a katana in hand. "Stop it, Gaara" she said sternly, pointing the katana near his throat. Hikaru had  prepared herself, in case the Shukaku get loose.