The afternoon sun poured over Training Ground 3, a golden light that seemed to want to bathe the scene in an aura of glory. But for the newly formed Team 7, victory had a bittersweet taste and was marked by a bone-deep exhaustion. The silence that followed Kakashi’s departure was thick, heavy with unspoken words and raw emotions.

Naruto was the first to break it, collapsing onto his back on the grass with a groan that was meant to be dramatic but came out more like a choked whimper. He lay there, arms and legs spread, watching the clouds drift by as if they were the most fascinating spectacle in the world. An exhausted, yet genuinely happy, laugh erupted from his chest.

“We did it…” he said to the sky, his voice a bit hoarse. “We really did it. We’re a real team, Sakura-chan.”

Sakura, who was still standing and trying to catch her breath, looked down at him. The sight of him sprawled on the ground like an orange starfish was so ridiculous she couldn’t stop a small, tired smile from forming on her lips. He had dirt on his face, a leaf stuck in his hair, and his clothes were a mess. He looked like a kid who had lost a fight with a garden. She dropped down to sit beside him, hugging her knees with a force that betrayed the tension still clinging to her body.

“Yeah… we did,” she repeated, her voice barely a whisper. “Though I think it was in spite of you, probably.”

“Hey! My distraction plan was awesome!” he protested, though without his usual energy. He was too tired to really argue. He turned his head on the grass to look at her. “Did you see his face? He had no idea what to do with so many Narutos!”

“Your plan was ‘charge straight ahead and yell as loud as you can’,” she reminded him, plucking a blade of grass. “My plan was ‘don’t be an idiot and let me think for a second.’ Turns out, it worked.”

“Our plan!” he corrected, and his grin widened, spreading a warmth that Sakura hadn’t expected. “It was our plan. You thought, I yelled. Teamwork!”

Sakura felt a slight warmth in her cheeks and looked away toward the forest. Our plan. The words echoed in her mind. It was true. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t relied on her intelligence alone, nor had she been waiting for Sasuke to do something amazing. She had trusted Naruto. The dead last. And they had won. The feeling was strange, new, and… surprisingly pleasant.

“I guess so,” she admitted quietly. “Are you okay?.”

“Nah, I just swallowed a bunch of dirt,” Naruto answered with a grimace. “Tastes worse than it looks.”

“Kakashi-sensei doesn’t mess around,” Naruto murmured, turning his gaze back to the clouds. “He’s incredible. He beat us without breaking a sweat. How are we supposed to get stronger if the bar is that high?”

“I guess that’s why he’s a jōnin,” Sakura replied, feeling a chill. “And why he made us work together.”

Their moment of quiet celebration was interrupted by the sound of footsteps walking away. They weren’t fast, but each step sounded heavy, laden with a contained anger. They both turned to see Sasuke’s back as he left the training ground without a single word, his figure rigid with humiliation and wounded pride. The way he walked, shoulders tense and fists clenched, said it all.

“Hey, jerk!” Naruto shouted, pushing himself up on his elbows. The effort drew a grunt from him. “Where are you going? Teams are supposed to celebrate their victories together! We should go get ramen! Kakashi-sensei should treat us!”

Sasuke didn’t stop. He didn’t turn around. He simply lifted a hand in a vague, dismissive gesture, a flick of the wrist that could have meant anything from “leave me alone” to “go to hell.” He kept walking until the trees swallowed him up, leaving an even more awkward silence than before.

Naruto sighed, letting himself fall back onto the grass with a dull thud. “That arrogant jerk… What’s his problem? We won. We’re a team. Doesn’t he get it?”

“Give him time, Naruto,” Sakura said quietly, her gaze still fixed on the spot where Sasuke had disappeared. The disappointment in her own voice was clear. “To him, this wasn’t a victory. Kakashi-sensei neutralized him in seconds. For someone like Sasuke, that’s worse than losing.”

“But he didn’t lose! We passed!” Naruto insisted, sitting up again, this time with more energy. “Because you and I worked together! Doesn’t he understand? It’s not about him, it’s about us!”

“I think… it’ll take him a while to get used to the idea of ‘us’,” Sakura replied, finally looking away from the forest. “He’s always been alone, Naruto. He doesn’t know how to function any other way.”

They fell silent for a moment, the weight of their fractured third member hanging between them. The victory felt incomplete without him. It was then that Naruto’s eyes shot wide with an expression of pure panic.

“Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no!”

Sakura jumped. “What? What is it now? Did you just realize you swallowed a bug?”

“Worse!” he exclaimed, leaping to his feet so abruptly that his muscles protested with a cramp. “The picture! The promise! I told Hinata-chan I’d meet her for my registration photo! I’m going to be late! I’m going to be really late!”

Sakura watched him panic, running in circles while clutching his head, and a strange warmth spread through her chest. It was incredible. After the most exhausting day of his life, after facing an elite jōnin, and dealing with Sasuke’s attitude, his first and greatest concern was not breaking a promise he’d made to a friend. It wasn’t for a mission, or for glory. It was for something simple. Something decent.

“But look at me!” he continued, his voice rising to a high pitch of desperation. He pointed at himself. “I’m covered in dirt, leaves, and Sasuke’s humiliation! I smell like sweat! I can’t show up like this! She’ll think I was attacked by a hellcat!”

“Naruto,” Sakura said, standing up as well, with a calmness she didn’t entirely feel. “Calm down. Breathe. First, hellcats don’t exist. And second, Hinata will probably understand that you’ve been a little… busy saving your own skin to become a genin.”

“But a promise is a promise!” he insisted, his face a mask of genuine anguish. “A shinobi always keeps his word, that’s my ninja way! I can’t let her down. She trusted me!”

The seriousness with which he said it disarmed her. He started to run toward the exit of the training ground but stopped after two steps and turned back to her, his expression a mix of haste and sincerity.

“Thanks, Sakura-chan. For today. For… for not laughing at my clone plan. And for not letting me crash into Kakashi-sensei at the start.”

Sakura blushed again, feeling a little embarrassed. “Someone has to use their head on this team. Otherwise, we’d all end up buried.”

“Well, yours works great!” he said with a radiant smile, so bright that for a moment he forgot how tired and dirty he was. “See you tomorrow! We’ll train for real!”

And he ran off, kicking up a small cloud of dust, leaving Sakura alone in the clearing. She stood there, listening to the sound of his footsteps fade, with a mixture of exhaustion, a deep and bewildering curiosity, and the strange feeling that maybe, just maybe, she had misjudged Naruto Uzumaki.

****

Naruto ran through the streets of Konoha as if his life depended on it. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest and his lungs burned, but the mental image of Hinata waiting alone, checking the time and thinking he’d forgotten her, was a stronger motivator than any physical pain.

Please still be there, please still be there, please don’t be gone, he repeated in his mind like a mantra, dodging villagers who were strolling peacefully in the evening.

As he rounded the corner to the registration building, his heart sank. He didn’t see her anywhere. Panic began to rise in his throat. But then, he spotted a familiar figure leaning against the railing of the nearby bridge, watching the water with an expression of boredom so profound it looked like an art form. Long, dark hair tied in a high ponytail and a languid posture that defied gravity.

“Shikamaru!” Naruto yelled, skidding to a halt in front of him with a final burst of energy. He leaned on his knees, panting.

Shikamaru looked up slowly, as if the simple act of moving his neck was a monumental effort that required careful strategic planning. “Ah, Naruto. What a drag. You’re making too much noise. You’ll scare the clouds.”

“I don’t care about the clouds!” Naruto said breathlessly, trying to catch his breath. “Have you seen Hinata? We were supposed to meet here! Am I really late? Is she gone?”

Shikamaru yawned, a long, deep yawn that seemed to last an eternity. “The Hyuga girl, huh? Yeah, she was here. Waited for a bit. Kept looking toward the main street every two minutes. Very inefficient.” He paused as if remembering was too much work. “Then she saw me and asked me to give you a message. Said talking to me was less tiring than continuing to stand.”

Naruto’s heart sank. Had she gotten tired of waiting and left? Left a message telling him not to worry about it?

“She told me to tell you…” Shikamaru continued with excruciating slowness, scratching the back of his neck, “that she figured you’d be exhausted after Kakashi-sensei’s test and that you’d probably show up a mess. And she didn’t want to make you run any more than you had to, so she went ahead to the registration building.” He paused again and gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “She said she’d wait for you inside, on the benches. For you to take your time. A very considerate girl. Too much trouble for me, but oh well.”

Naruto blinked. Once, twice. And then, a smile so big and relieved spread across his face it nearly split it in two. She wasn’t angry. She hadn’t left. She had been… considerate. She had thought about him and how tired he would be.

“Thanks, Shikamaru, you’re the best!” he shouted, slapping him on the back with enough force to nearly knock him off balance.

“Yeah, yeah, what a pain…” Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his back as Naruto sprinted off again with renewed energy. “Now I have to readjust my center of gravity. This is going to ruin my evening of cloud-watching…”

Naruto burst into the registration building, earning a disapproving glare from the receptionist, a middle-aged woman with a bun so tight it looked painful. But he didn’t care. His eyes scanned the waiting area, and there she was, sitting on a wooden bench, reading a small book to pass the time.

“Hinata-chan!” he panted, leaning on his knees to keep from falling over.

Her head snapped up, her pale eyes going wide. A smile of pure relief lit up her face, erasing any trace of impatience she might have felt. “Naruto-kun. You made it.”

“Of course I did!” he said, straightening up and trying to look less like he’d just run a marathon. “And I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I know I’m late! It’s just that the test was crazy, and Kakashi-sensei is a demon!”

“It’s alright,” she interrupted him softly, getting to her feet. Her voice was calm, a balm to his frayed nerves. “Shikamaru-san told me he would give you my message. I wasn’t worried. I knew you would come.”

The simple, absolute faith in her voice left him speechless for a moment. No one, ever, had spoken about him with such certainty. “Well, I’m here now!” he finally said, his voice full of renewed joy. “Let’s do this! The world needs to see my incredible genin face!”

The photographer, a tired-looking man with dark circles under his eyes and an expression that suggested he’d seen too many arrogant genin faces in his life, looked at them with complete disinterest. “Next,” he grunted, pointing to a stool inside a small, curtained-off room.

Naruto sat on the stool, puffing out his chest and trying to put on his best “future Hokage” face. He stared into the camera, ready for posterity. But just before the flash went off, a brilliant, chaotic, and absolutely perfect idea crossed his mind. With a blur of motion, he pulled a small container of red paint he used for pranks from his pocket.

FLASH!

“Alright, out. Next,” the photographer grumbled, already turning his back.

Naruto walked out of the small studio, trying to hold back a laugh that threatened to explode. The machine spat out the newly developed photo, and he grabbed it eagerly. He showed it to Hinata, who was watching him with curiosity.

It was a photo of Naruto, yes, but with two large, clumsy red circles painted on his cheeks and a huge clown smile drawn around his mouth. His expression in the photo was dead serious, which made the image even more ridiculous.

Hinata covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with shock. Her body trembled. And then, it happened. A choked giggle escaped her, a sound fighting to get out. Then another. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and she started laughing. It wasn’t a shy or restrained laugh. It was a clear, crystalline laugh, so genuine and happy that it made several people in the waiting room turn to look at her, surprised that such a joyful sound could come from the always quiet and timid Hyuga heiress.

Seeing her laugh like that, freely, because of one of his stupid pranks, was a bigger victory for Naruto than getting a thousand bells. It was like watching the sun come out.

“Knew you’d like it,” he said with a proud grin, feeling the day’s exhaustion melt away.

As they left the building, the sun had already set completely. The streetlights of Konoha were beginning to flicker on, and stars were appearing in the inky sky. The laughter was still shining in Hinata’s eyes as they walked side by side.

“That was… very irresponsible, Naruto-kun,” she said, though her tone held no reprimand. A small smile still played on her lips. “That’s your official registration photo.”

“It was strategic!” he retorted, waving the photo in the air. “Now, whenever an enemy sees my profile picture, they’ll be confused! They won’t know whether to face a legendary ninja or a clown! It’s the confusion tactic!”

They stopped at a crossroad. The path to the Hyuga compound went one way, and Naruto’s went another. The end of a long and memorable day had arrived. A comfortable silence settled between them.

“Well…” Naruto began, scratching the back of his neck, a gesture he made when he wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks for coming, Hinata-chan. And for waiting. Really. It made everything… better.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” she replied quietly, looking down at her feet. “I’m glad I was here for… this.” She glanced up at the photo, and another small laugh escaped her.

They stood there a moment longer. The day had been a whirlwind of emotions: tension, fear, triumph, relief, joy. And she had been there, in one way or another, for every step of the journey. He didn’t want the day to end just like that.

“Hey,” Naruto said suddenly, the idea forming in his head. “I know we’re all dead tired, and your dad will probably kill you if you’re late… and I smell awful… but a day like this can’t end without ramen. It’s an unwritten rule. To celebrate us passing and my photo being the coolest in the entire history of Konoha. What do you say? A quick bowl? My treat… well, technically, I’ll have to ask Iruka-sensei for another loan, but it’s the thought that counts!”

Hinata looked at him. She saw the exhaustion etched into his features, the dirt still smudging his cheek, but she also saw the bright hope in his blue eyes. And in that moment, she knew there was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be. “I’d love that, Naruto-kun.”

“Awesome! Great! I know the best—!”

“If you’re buying, you could at least include the teammate who did all the thinking, you idiot.”

The voice, laced with a familiar sarcasm but strangely devoid of its usual venom, made them both turn. Sakura was leaning against the wall of a nearby shop, arms crossed and one eyebrow arched. She hadn’t gone home. She had been waiting for them, or following them; they weren’t sure which.

Naruto blinked, completely surprised. “Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?”

“Don’t play dumb,” she said, walking over. A small, tired smile played on her lips. “I saw you run off like a maniac and figured you’d make it. And after the day we’ve had, I think I’ve earned at least one bowl of ramen. Besides, you said it yourself, didn’t you? A team celebrates together.”

Naruto stared at her, then looked at Hinata, who was smiling shyly at him, as if she were delighted by this turn of events. And then, a gigantic grin, the biggest one of the entire day, spread across his face. He was exhausted, bruised, dirty, and probably in trouble with Iruka for another loan he couldn’t repay. But he was here, in the middle of the Konoha night, with his brave new friend and his new, unexpectedly cool teammate. Even with Sasuke being a sourpuss, this felt right. It felt good.

Wow… he thought, as the three of them began to walk together toward the warm light and fragrant steam of Ichiraku Ramen. I think I’m the luckiest guy in all of Konoha.