Testing

"Everyone, pay attention. Today is the entrance test. Now, follow me to the training ground."

The next day, as soon as class began, Iruka called all the students downstairs to the schoolyard.

All the other newly enrolled students were there too.

"Ugh, what a drag!" Shikamaru sighed.

"Awesome! I'm definitely going to come in first!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Tch, idiot!"

Gu Qi didn't mind either way. He followed his classmates down to the schoolyard.

"There are three tests, and you'll be tested in groups of five." Once they reached the schoolyard, Iruka began explaining the rules.

"Iruka-sensei, what are we being tested on?" Sakura raised her hand and asked.

Iruka cleared his throat. "Speed, endurance, and shuriken throwing."

"Huh? What if we haven't learned how to use shuriken?" some students cried out.

After all, most of the students there were civilians. Aside from playing around, they hadn't learned anything related to being a ninja.

Iruka motioned for everyone to quiet down. "It's fine. Shuriken throwing is only an extra test and won't count toward your final score."

At Iruka's answer, some of the students finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sensei," Choji Akimichi asked timidly, raising his hand, "what's the endurance test?"

Iruka smiled faintly. "Running! Except it's the kind where you run until you drop!"

Iruka was smiling, but with the scar on his face, he looked a little frightening.

His words instantly sent the students into a chorus of groans.

"Why? Why is this happening?" Choji said, looking utterly dejected.

"All right, enough complaining. The test starts now!"

It was time for the tests. Once all the students had received their number tags, they began getting ready.

There was no division by gender; everyone would take the tests together.

Gu Qi checked his number tag and saw that he'd be competing in the third group.

"What a coincidence, Hinata. We're in the same group," Gu Qi said with a smile when he happened to see her number tag.

Hinata blushed. "Y-yes, we are! How... lucky~"

Her voice was so quiet that Gu Qi didn't hear the last part.

"Hey, so we're in the same group."

Gu Qi looked around and soon found the other members of their group: Kiba, Shikamaru, and Shino.

Shikamaru yawned. "What a drag. If my mom hadn't said she wouldn't let me fail the test, I really wouldn't want to take it."

Gu Qi laughed when he heard that. "Just how scary is your mom to have you this terrified?"

"You wouldn't understand. Women are the scariest creatures in the world," Shikamaru said listlessly.

"Ah, yeah! My older sister's just like that. She's really scary." Kiba looked as if he knew from experience.

Gu Qi pointed to Hinata beside him. "Come on, look at Hinata. She's so gentle and pretty!"

"Gu Qi-kun..."

Shikamaru glanced at the blushing Hinata, then gestured toward the edge of the schoolyard. "She's the exception. Just look at the other girls."

Gu Qi turned and saw a group of lovestruck girls squealing at Sasuke, who was taking his test.

He looked at the girls, then at the gentle, quiet Hinata beside him, and couldn't help sighing. "What a drag. Hinata really is much nicer."

"G-Gu Qi-kun..." Hinata practically burst into flames.

"Hey, hey, hey, why'd you faint?"

"Third group, begin the test."

Before long, it was time for Gu Qi's group to begin.

"The first test is speed. Run to the finish line as fast as you can."

A teacher stood at the starting line of a hundred-meter track and announced the rules.

At the finish line, five other teachers held stopwatches, ready to record Gu Qi and the others' times.

Gu Qi loosened up, then stood at the starting line and waited for the teacher's signal.

Seeing that Gu Qi and the others were ready, the teacher raised a hand high. "Ready, go!"

As soon as the teacher said the last word, Gu Qi dug his foot hard into the ground and shot forward.

The ground, which had been flat, was left with a small crater from the force of his launch.

"Ten point twelve seconds! Two seconds faster than Sasuke! Excellent-plus!" Gu Qi was the first to reach the finish line. The teacher recording the results pressed the stopwatch and announced his time.

Hearing his score, Gu Qi shrugged and said nothing.

Gu Qi had tested himself before. Without his weights, his top speed could reach fifteen meters per second.

So he thought that managing just under ten seconds for a hundred meters while wearing fifty kilograms of weights was a pretty good result.

After resting for a little while, Gu Qi and the others went to the site of the second test.

"Next is shuriken throwing. Each person gets five shuriken."

Once the teacher finished speaking, each of them received five shuriken.

"You can begin whenever you're ready."

Gu Qi glanced at the target. It was only twenty meters away, so he casually threw all five shuriken at once.

The five shuriken traced arcs through the air and hit the bull's-eye without a single miss.

"Hatake Gu Qi: five out of five!"

"That's amazing!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

He could get five out of five too, but he couldn't throw all five at once like Gu Qi had.

"Damn it, I won't lose either." Kiba immediately picked up his shuriken and threw them.

"Four out of five!"

"Tch, I missed one."

After the shuriken test came the endurance test.

Unlike the previous two tests, this one would be done by everyone together.

So while the others were still being tested, Gu Qi and his group had a little time to rest.

"Have some water and take a break." Gu Qi held out a cup to Hinata.

Hinata accepted the cup with both hands and thanked him shyly. "Th-thank you, Gu Qi-kun."

"No problem!" Gu Qi sat down beneath the tree beside Hinata and casually pulled out a waterskin, taking a small sip.

While Gu Qi was resting, Naruto came over to him. "Gu Qi, I finally found you."

Gu Qi saw Naruto and greeted him. "Oh, Naruto. What did you need?"

"Nothing. I just didn't have anyone to talk to, so I came to find you!" Naruto said with a goofy grin.

"I thought it was something important."

"Oh, Hinata's here too!"

Hinata smiled at Naruto. "Hello, Naruto-kun."

"You two are sitting here together. Could it be..." Naruto suddenly put on a mysterious air.

Gu Qi asked in confusion, "Could it be what?"

"Could it be that you're dating?" Naruto shouted. "That's it, it has to be!"

"..." Gu Qi was speechless. He'd known this guy wouldn't have anything good to say.

"D-dating? G-Gu Qi-kun..." Hinata burst into flames again.