Late at night, everyone was asleep. Only Gaara and Zeyu, who was keeping watch, were still awake.
"Zeyu, I want some more..." Hinata murmured in her sleep, rolling over to face Zeyu as she lay on her side.
"Pfft, looks like we didn't bring enough after all. Haha." Zeyu, who had been meditating, couldn't help laughing. He spoke softly.
Looking at Hinata's adorable sleeping face, he couldn't resist bending down to kiss her. He tucked her in, then continued meditating.
"Hey, kid. It's so late. Why not get some sleep? Hmm?" Shukaku, the One-Tail inside Gaara, said with a wicked grin.
"Go on, get some rest. I'll avenge you and kill that red-haired brat. Heh heh heh."
"Shut up." Gaara kept his eyes closed, meditating as he spoke to Shukaku.
"Heh heh heh. Aren't you even a little angry? This isn't like you. How about we kill them all while they're asleep?"
"That would be a lot of fun. Heh heh heh heh heh." Shukaku shook his hefty body and laughed loudly, making the chains around him rattle.
"Shut up! I said shut up!" Unable to stand Shukaku's racket, Gaara frowned deeply, gritted his teeth, and covered his ears, thinking that might make the noise less bothersome.
His agitated emotions stirred the sand, which began floating in the air around him.
Zeyu noticed Gaara's condition and opened one eye to watch him discreetly. His hand had already begun creeping toward the short blade behind his waist.
Gaara panted heavily, doing his best to calm down. Then he asked,
"Hey, Shukaku, I have something I want to ask you."
"Hmph. I have no obligation to answer your questions. Don't get too full of yourself, kid."
"I'm only staying in your body for a while. I'm not your babysitter, you brat!" Shukaku shouted angrily.
Gaara opened his eyes and thought, I can't reason with him. What a pain.
He glanced at Zeyu, who was meditating across from him, and thought, The way Shukaku acts... maybe Zeyu was telling the truth.
Then he raised his hand and gathered sand in his palm.
"Mother..."
"Looks like he's all right." Zeyu glanced at Gaara playing with the sand, closed his eyes, and continued meditating.
The next morning, in the Ninja Academy's office building,
Hiashi, who had been waiting in the meeting room for quite some time, took a sip of tea and addressed Shimizu Nana, who had just arrived.
"You're Shimizu Nana, right? Zeyu is your subordinate?"
"Uh, yes." Nana sat down in a chair and smiled awkwardly.
Hiashi suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
"Hmph! Your subordinate Zeyu tricked my Hinata into going with him before the exam. She didn't even attend training!"
"If her training was neglected and something happens to Hinata during the exam, Zeyu will be held entirely responsible!"
"And you won't escape blame either, as his superior! Believe me, I'll report this to the Hokage and have you charged with dereliction of duty!"
Nana was startled by his words and hurried to placate him.
"Please, don't, Lord Hiashi. Calm down. There must be some misunderstanding."
"Oh? A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? I asked Kurenai Yuhi yesterday. Hinata wasn't training with her, and she wasn't training at home either. Where do you think Hinata could have gone?"
"She must have gone with that brat Zeyu. I knew something was wrong. They're together all the time, and now she's even neglecting her training!"
"Is this how you manage your subordinates?"
Nana was at a loss for words. All she could do was keep apologizing.
The meeting room was in an uproar.
Outside, the Third was walking down the corridor, followed by an Anbu Ninja carrying a stack of documents.
"Hm? What's going on in there? Why is it so noisy?" Hiruzen stopped when he heard the commotion in the meeting room and asked.
He knocked on the door, then opened it and walked inside.
Nana, who had been bowing and nodding repeatedly, turned pale when she saw the Third enter.
Why is the Hokage here? I'm done for, Nana thought.
Hiashi also spotted the Third. He glared at Nana once more, gave a forceful snort, then stepped forward to greet him.
"Hiashi? What happened?" Hiruzen asked, taking a drag from his pipe.
Since the Third had asked, Hiashi decided to speak plainly. He turned and pointed at Nana.
"Lord Hokage, please do me justice! Shimizu Nana's subordinate, Zeyu, deceived my Hinata and caused her to miss training. If anything happens to her during the exam, Zeyu will be entirely responsible!"
Hearing this, the Third remembered meeting Zeyu. Hinata had been with him then, and they had seemed to be training. He had a rough idea of what was going on.
"Oh, is that true, Nana?" Hiruzen asked, looking at her.
"Yes... Lord Hokage," Nana answered cautiously.
The Third exhaled a puff of smoke and patted Hiashi on the shoulder.
"Now, Hiashi, don't get so worked up. Calm down first. I know Zeyu. He's a capable young man, and there may be some misunderstanding."
"Lord Hokage, but..." Hiashi started to say, but Hiruzen interrupted him.
"I understand, Hiashi. You're worried about your precious daughter. How about this? The recording of yesterday's second exam has just arrived. Let's watch it together. Your daughter may be fine—she might even have passed on the first day."
Then he turned to Nana.
"Nana, go brew two cups of good tea. I'd like to have a proper chat with Hiashi."
After Nana left, he instructed the Anbu Ninja behind him to play the recording.
Since the Third had put it that way, Hiashi had no choice but to swallow his words. He plopped into a chair and waited to watch the recording.
After the Ninja finished setting it up, he handed the remote to the Third.
By then, Nana had brewed the tea and brought it over. She set it on the coffee table, then stood behind the two men and watched with them.
The Third fast-forwarded through the recording. Before long, figures appeared on the screen.
Gaara and his group walked into view. Kankuro carried Temari on his back and followed Gaara, looking somewhat worse for wear.
"Oh, Sand Ninja. They're fast," the Third remarked with a sigh.
Hiashi couldn't spare a thought for that. He stared at the recording, trying to spot Hinata.
The Third held the remote and fast-forwarded a little more.
Before long, another group appeared on screen.
Shota and Megumi were at the front. Kiba and Shino followed them into view, then Zeyu appeared, holding Hinata's hand.
They all looked to be in good spirits, and their clothes were remarkably clean.
The Third paused the recording and studied the group closely. He couldn't help smiling.
"Hahaha, look, Hiashi. Isn't this great? They're all fine. You were worrying too much."
The Anbu Ninja beside them also took a close look and exclaimed,
"Indeed. And they're still remarkably clean. That's impressive for rookies."
Hiashi leaned closer and saw that Hinata was indeed fine. He just didn't like seeing Zeyu holding her hand.
He clicked his tongue inwardly, sat back down, cleared his throat, and said,
"You're right. I was out of line. I'm sorry, Lord Hokage."
Behind him, Nana also breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
Phew, thank goodness. Zeyu, you really scared me this time, Nana thought.
With that weight off his chest, Hiashi relaxed. He chatted with the Third for a while, then left.
After Hiashi left, Nana hurried to thank the Third.
"No need to thank me. It was nothing," the Third said, waving his hand.
Then he asked,
"Nana, do you know what those Sand Ninja are about?"
Nana was caught off guard by the question.
"I don't know."
Hiruzen's expression turned serious. "I don't know either. But they managed to pass the second exam in just two hours, breaking the previous record of four hours. That's beyond the level of a Chunin."
Then he smiled again and said,
"But Zeyu's team finished soon after them, and it seems they did even better. None of them are injured. That's wonderful news."
"If we nurture talents like these, Konoha may return to its former glory."
In a good mood, the Third left, humming a tune as he puffed on his pipe, with the Anbu following close behind.
Nana stood where she was and smiled too.
"That kid Zeyu isn't half bad."