Kaze No Kokoro (Naruto fanfic)

Graduation

By the time Midori had woken up Kakashi had already finished making breakfast so Midori took a quick shower, after Kakashi had turned the taps for her, brushed her hair and got dressed. They ate their breakfast silently once again. Kakashi wondering what she could hear the birds sing.

After explaining that he had some important things to do, wishing her luck and promising to pick her up, Kakashi left Midori to walk to the academy by herself. She didn't walk though. She knew walking the streets by herself would be too uncomfortable so she chose to move around the village by jumping the roofs.

It was quite a bit quicker and she arrived at the academy in no time. Entering the classroom she was greeted by Kiba and Choji and politely nodded back. Naruto was late once again but next to the spot she sat yesterday sat another student. Well he wasn't really sitting. His head lay on the desk and his breathing was slow and steady indicating he was sleeping.

She thought about sitting somewhere else but she really preferred that spot so, thinking she wouldn't be too bothered by a sleeping guy, she decided to sit next to the window again.

Eventually everyone had arrived. "We will now start with the final exam. Once your name is called please come to the classroom next door. The subject will be the clone jutsu." Once Iruka had said the subject Midori could sense Naruto's desperation. 'Is he bad at this jutsu?' She thought but she had no time to figure out how to help him, her name had been called.

She slowly stood up and left the classroom to go to the one next door but not before wishing Naruto luck with the best, what she thought was a, reassuring smile she could manage. If it was the clone jutsu she knew she would pass and wanted Naruto to too. She wanted to become a shinobi together with him.

Once she had entered the classroom she sensed a table with forehead protectors on it. She took her place in front of Iruka-sensei and another man, a man she instantly disliked. His scent was unpleasant though she couldn't place it. That wasn't all though she could sense an evil intent. Not sure what to do though she simply chose to ignore it.

"Alright Midori this here is Mizuki-sensei he'll be judging the exam with me. Now you need to make two clones to pass but don't worry about it if you can't since you only joined the academy yesterday." She nodded indicating she understood, made handsigns, said the words and created 5 shadow clones. She hoped the number would make up for the fact they weren't regular clones as she did not know how to make them.

The two teachers sat there, eyes bulging in surprise, before congratulating her and offering her a headband. She wrapped it around her waist, not liking it when the air couldn't touch her forehead, and left to go outside and wait for Naruto.

When Naruto came out though, he came out without a forehead protector. He didn't pass and this saddened Midori. She tried approaching him and cheering him up but he sent her away stating he wanted to be alone. She complied, watching him from a distance while waiting for her nii-san to arrive.

Her concern turned to anger however when she heard two women talking horribly about him. Calling him a monster and stating they wanted him to never become a ninja. He didn't deserve this treatment, he didn't deserve their hate and he certainly didn't deserve to be talked trash about by two whiny women.

So Midori decided to teach them a lesson and blew up their skirts for everyone to see. They turned red as tomatoes and ran away embarrassed causing Midori to softly giggle not sensing that Kakashi had turned up right behind her.

"Midori." His voice sounded angry and she slowly turned around scared that he would reprimand her for her actions. Instead he decided to ask her why she did it before jumping to any conclusion. After hearing her reason he had to admit she could have done a lot worse but instead had chosen to take a mostly harmless approach at punishment.

So he just told her to not do it again, finding it quite funny himself. Midori was relieved the anger she had sensed had dissipated. "So I see you passed." He said to which she nodded smiling proudly. He had to admit he was proud of her himself, she really had found a way to creep into his heart and take her place as his little sister.

After congratulating her they left heading off to eat dinner. The rest of the day passed quickly and soon Midori was home asleep. Not knowing the trouble her best friend had gotten himself into.

The next day she didn't have to go to the academy since they wouldn't be placed into teams until tomorrow. Still she woke up early and left the apartment leaving Kakashi to sleep in. She walked through the woods and fields of the training grounds, listening to the sounds she adored so much.

Coming upon a grassy field once again she sensed someone else there, it was the person who had sat beside her sleeping in class yesterday. He was lying in the grass just looking up which made Midori curious as to what it was he was looking at.

His scent was odd, not in a bad way, it made her feel sleepy. Softly she stepped closer to the boy hoping to find out why he was looking at the sky. He sighed and looked towards her. "What a drag. I've been found."

Midori just stood still facing him trying to understand the lazy boy. "Ah the new girl, I'm Nara Shikamaru. So, what are you doing here?" So that was his name, after he introduced himself she thought it would be rude not to answer him so she did. "Walking and listening."

Skikamaru looked at her thinking her odd but well he was too just staring at the clouds like that. "I was looking at the clouds." He said having noticed that she looked curious earlier. That was before he talked though, her face had turned emotionless the instant he made a sound.

"What do they look like?" That question had surprised him. He had learned it was rare to hear her talk but even rarer to have her ask you a question. "Fluffy and soft. Sometimes you can see shapes in them." He wondered how things were for her, not truly seeing, not knowing what colour was, never seeing the clouds.

Midori sat down in the grass only a short distance from him, her face facing the sky. Trying to imagine these clouds he had just described to her. He saw her and wondered why she would turn her face towards the sky even though she couldn't see.

Deciding to help her a bit he pointed to one of the clouds. "That one is in the shape of a bunny." And so they spent the afternoon looking towards the sky. Shikamaru occasionally pointing at a cloud describing it's shape and Midori following his hand to where it was pointing, trying to imagine looking at the clouds.

Morning eventually turned into noon and Midori had taken her leave heading home to get Kakashi to get her some food. They went to have ramen, Midori happily describing her morning to him while eating. Kakashi enjoyed her enthusiasm intently listening as the closed off girl was slowly tearing down the wall surrounding her heart. A wall with a door only he and Naruto had a key for. But he knew that someday the wall would be gone and she'd finally be able to live like she was supposed to.

Happy.