DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, OR ANYTHING RELATED TO IT. NARUTO IS THE PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO.

A/N: This took a bit longer than the last, but I'm happy to say that my mind is now teeming with ideas. Hopefully chapter 4 will arrive much sooner, thanks to aforementioned ideas. And do not fear the "Part 1" in the title, Part 2 will be the last. xD Critiques, comments and the like is welcome.

Chapter 3: Graduation Exam Part 1

Two weeks have passed since Hitomi was introduced to her mother's training area by her father. Only one day remained before Hitomi took the final exam; the exam that will enable her to pass and become an official ninja. Her penultimate day had no lessons, which gave her the whole day to focus and prepare for the exam. The anticipation was enough to wake Hitomi up right before dawn.

"Today's the day. I can't waste a single minute," Hitomi said to herself as she put on a grey kimono and hakamana. She also styled her hair in a ponytail so it won't get in her way. She closed in on her front door, when she noticed her father sitting in the living room.

"You're not going anywhere," Said her father. "Until you show me what you've learned; all of it." He opened the back door, which revealed a large circle of sand. He walked towards the sand circle. "Are you ready, my daughter?"

Hitomi smiled and leaped towards the sand circle. "Yes I am…father."

Hitomi was first to act; she ran towards her father and went for a leaping knee strike. Her father caught her in mid air and tossed her to the side. Hitomi rolled on the sand and quickly got up. She kicked the sand up at father, which landed all over his face. She then took advantage of the opening and went for a leg sweep. Although she landed the sweep, it was not enough to knock him off his feet. After Hitomi's father brushed the sand away from his eyes, he relaxed his body.

"Come on, Hitomi," He said. "This is a good time to use some jutsu. You won't know your chakra capacity. Go on, Hitomi. Do it!"

Spurred by her father's words, Hitomi leaped straight up and tossed several shurikens at him. As he deflected them, Hitomi continued to add pressure by performing several hand seals. She then exhaled a ball of fire at him. Her father barely dodged; parts of his clothes were burnt by the jutsu. As the fire dissipated and turned into smoke, Hitomi landed on her feet.

"Watch this, mother." Hitomi thought as she clapped her hands together and performed a long string of hand seals. She leaped out of the sand circle and then stomped her foot on the ground. This caused the ground to rise and become a short pillar of about five feet. "Earth Pillar Jutsu…not as tall as I hoped, but…" With a kick, the earth pillar tilted and fell down towards the smoke.

Her father managed to avoid the pillar, despite it being obscured by the smoke. He jumped on the pillar and sliced a portion of it with a kunai. As soon as he spotted Hitomi, he tossed his kunai near her foot. While Hitomi was distracted by the kunai, her father tossed the small part of the pillar at her head. Hitomi moved her head just in time, however.

Her father felt his chin and gave an approving nod. "Nice use of the Earth Pillar, my daughter; especially for a first use in a combat situation. Keep using that jutsu and you'll develop it further."

Hitomi bowed. "Thank you. But who will I end up facing in the academy exams?"

"I really shouldn't tell you…but it won't be an academy exam, per say."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean you'll fight someone after you pass your academy exams; your future team teacher."

Hitomi's eyes widened. The thought of having to fight someone she is most likely not familiar with was enough to throw off her focus. Now she couldn't help but think of what her future team teacher will be like. Her train of thought was quickly broken when her father approached her.

"Don't let that discourage you, now." Her father said as he patted her shoulder. "You can do it. All you need to do is put in one more day's worth of work. I think we can stop for now. It's still early, so we can resume later on. Since we just sparred, I think some breakfast is in order.

They head back inside the house. Hitomi's father quickly prepared a set of rice balls for himself and Hitomi. "Eat up; can't continue to train on an empty stomach."

Hitomi eagerly started to eat her plate of rice balls.

Her father looked at her inquisitively. "Any other methods of training you've thought of for today?"

"Nothing all that special…I think I'll continue to use my Earth Pillar and see how far I can take it."

"Good, very good. That move will serve you well, granted you practice enough with it to create stronger pillars."

"That's the plan, all right."

They quickly finished their food. The sun has already started to rise. Hitomi, now filled with energy from her breakfast, left her house and wandered the village. She came across a boy her age, who wore a light blue jumpsuit with a face mask. The Uchiha symbol was printed on the right shoulder. Although his appearance made Hitomi raise her eyebrow, his voice instantly rang a bell.

"You're up really early, Hitomi" Said the voice.

Hitomi eased her suspicions. "Is that you, Ichiro? I didn't even recognize you there."

"Hah, well, with those exams tomorrow, my parents have already tailored my outfit for when I become a full-fledged ninja." His eyes darted to the ground and he leans against the side of his home.

Hitomi moved her head down and looked up at Ichiro. "What's the matter?"

Ichiro paused and picked his head up. "You'd probably understand…I've been thinking about the whole becoming a ninja endeavor and…I feel like there's not enough time for us to act our age anymore. For some of us, there's never been a time to act like a child. Some of our fellow ninja graduated before the age of ten…what is that…?"

Hitomi sighed and sat on a bench. She knew she was supposed to be training, but Ichiro bringing such a topic up was enough to draw her in. "Ichiro…what are you saying?"

"Seeing ninja so young bothers me…it leaves me with a bad feeling in my gut, even though I'm twelve…but it has made me question myself on why I'm becoming a ninja."

"Why do you want to become a ninja, Ichiro?"

"…To ensure a safer tomorrow. I want there to be a time when people like us aren't needed as much. Sure that'll leave us out of a job, but who cares."

Hitomi looked at the sky. "That's what the ninja before us has been doing, Ichiro…why else would the ninja academy be here? Because of them, we were able to have a decent education. Also, clans and lands have been united. Sure, there's fighting today…but it must've been many times worse years ago."

A loud voice made both of them jump. Another familiar face showed up with his hair styled in a high bun. Ichiro stood straight.

"Kojiro, I'm not surprised you're up early too." Said Ichiro.

Kojiro looked at Hitomi, his expression remained stoic. "I see you are talking to the 'teacher', Ichiro. I would question why, but I'm too busy perfecting my clan's abilities. Come, Ichiro."

Ichiro slowly shook his head and gave Hitomi a weak wave as he followed Kojiro.

Hitomi watched as they walked off. She turned around and headed towards the village gates. Once she reached the gates, she stood firmly on the ground and performed the same hand seals for the Earth Pillar. With a grunt and a strong stomp, the ground rose and formed a pillar of about five feet.

"Still not tall enough…," Hitomi thought to herself. Of course, she wouldn't be able to get the best results within the first few tries, but thoughts on her future teacher's exam caused her to strive for better results. She had to be ready…Once more she repeated the process and stomped her foot on the ground. Another earth pillar rose from the ground of the same length. Agitated by this, Hitomi tried stomping her foot again. But this time, a second pillar rose in front of the first, only it was facing at a forty degree angle and four feet.

Hitomi bent forward and panted; she felt her chakra reserves suffer from forcing that extra pillar. After collecting herself, she stood up. "It's been a couple of hours since I left home…I shouldn't stop now…"

Once the sun had set, Hitomi decided to return home. Her father awaited her in the living room, while eating a bowl of rice pudding. He sighed upon looking at her; her face was covered in dirt, as was her clothes. She was also slightly drenched in sweat.

"Looks like someone had a productive last day." He said as he slightly chuckled. "Take those shoes off and clean up. Are you planning on having an early night?"

Hitomi nodded. "Yes. It's just as important to be fully rested. But for now…" She removed her shoes and ran towards the bathroom. After a quick wash, she quickly head off to bed and called it a day.

When the morning came, her father woke her up with a plate of food. "Eat up, Hitomi!" He said excitedly. "This should keep your mind focused and your body energized."

Hitomi chuckled and briefly yawned. "Th-thanks, father. But breakfast in bed…?"

"Pah! It's laundry day anyway! Just eat up and quickly get dressed! Today's YOUR day, Hitomi."

Hitomi thanked her father and quickly ate her food. After getting dressed, she bid her father farewell and left for the academy.

Her father returned to his room and lied in bed. With him is the picture of Hitomi's mother. "Today's the day...she's finally going to become a ninja. Don't worry about after her graduation, my dear. When the time comes when she awakens her eyes…I'll be there to do what I can." He closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids. "Even if I do not have blood or eyes like you did…"