Orange, Spirals and Everything Nice

Seventeen: Pretty Rivals

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or the setting of the story. They all exclusively belong to Mr. Masashi Kishimoto in all its rights.

Kakashi flinched in his seat when Naruto slammed his exam papers on his office desk by the last day of the month. The blonde hero was grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes shut from sheer happiness. It hasn't been a minute since he received the test results from Iruka, but knowing that he incredibly passed all of them, fueled him with adrenaline to rush to the Hokage tower.

"I really worked hard on this, Kakashi-sensei. So you should keep your promise as well." Naruto stated and crossed his arms on his chest.

Kakashi reviewed the test papers half-believingly. Lord Sixth had heard the rumors about Hinata helping Naruto with his studies but he wasn't expecting that much of a result. Nonetheless, Kakashi trusted Iruka's judgment and he was glad about the exam results as well.
The masked leader stared at the hero in front of him and noticed the slight changes in his aura. Naruto looked like he managed to mature a little since the end of the war. Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded at his former student appreciatively.

"Fine." the Hokage finally said. "I'll give you your mission once Sai gets back from his current one. Well done, Naruto." Kakashi informed him.

"Yosh!!" Naruto exclaimed and threw a fist in the air as his blue eyes glowed with excitement. "I can't wait to be on a mission again -ttebayo!" he commented still with an outstretched grin.

Kakashi wasn't sure but he suddenly missed those days when their team would go on missions before. Back when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were just a bunch of little ninjas. Lord Sixth quickly brushed away the nostalgia when the memories suddenly reminded him of his age. He sighed before glancing back at the blonde.

"I heard Hinata had been helping with your studies, Naruto. Did you thank her yet?" Kakashi asked after a pause, and the glint of celebration immediately faded on the hero's whiskered face at that.

The silver-haired man was automatically intrigued.

"Well, she's not around -ttebayo." Naruto weakly stated while scratching the back of his head. "She's on a clan mission for a few days now, according to Kou."

"Oh?" the Hokage said with a hint of surprise.
The Hyuugas never filed a request to go out on a clan mission since last month. The masked man's guts suddenly told him that Hinata was just hiding inside their enormous compound for some reason.

And poor Naruto had been clueless about it.

"Did... something happen?" Kakashi couldn't help prying. He now grew more interested with the topic.
Naruto reluctantly told his sensei about his last conversation with Hinata the last time he saw her. Lord Sixth thanked his reliable mask that hid his amusement at the hero's story. It must really be quite frustrating for Hinata to tolerate Naruto's complete innocence on the topic.

"I really wanna tell Hinata about the exam results though." Naruto sighed afterwards. "And it's kinda boring when she's not around." he added.

"Really?" Kakashi mused. "But isn't she a little too quiet for a company?"

"That's the weird thing about Hinata." Naruto answered with a confused tone. "She makes me feel happy just by being there beside me."

Kakashi was stunned to see a genuine smile curving up on Naruto's face. The wordless, joyful emotions that sparkled in his cerulean orbs were contagious and the Hokage found himself smiling back at his student.