Chapter 136: Academic Year... Over

Kokoro PoV

Walking onto the field that I often trained my classes on, I smiled warmly as I saw the large amount of students shuffling around in their groups, each class excitedly discussing their graduation from their current year and making plans for the summer, where they would be given a two month break before returning to the Academy as students once more.

Kurenai and I were responsible for the Third Year Class, who would be advancing to the Fourth Year in two months; we would be with these youngsters for another three years, as most would graduate completely at the age of twelve, becoming Genin and beginning their service to Konoha under the wings of skilled Jonin.

Looking out over the crowd, I chuckled as I saw the familiar sight of our class, the typical troublemakers already causing a scene...

Naruto was being yelled at by Sakura, while Sasuke smirked at the boy only to get a scolding of his own from Ino, all while Ami gloated behind them...

Until Tenten pinched her waist and glared at her, silencing the purple haired demon.

Hinata stared at Naruto worriedly before glaring at Sakura.

Neji attempted to remain as cool as he could, but Rock Lee was excitedly talking to him about something, making the Hyuga boy's veins pop slightly before he snapped at Rock Lee, who just grinned as he continued on, making Neji sigh.

Shikamaru sighed as he stood lazily beside Choji, who was snacking on another bag of chips, the two exchanging worried glances as they looked towards Ino.

Aki and Ika were off to the side, watching everything unfold while Fuki lingered near them.

Kiba watched it all happen with a frown, his hands twitching as he resisted the urge to jump in and start a scuffle, his sharp eyes fixed on the 'strong' being 'bullied'.

Shino talked quietly with Midori and Kasumi, the two girls staring at Shino's beetles with interested expressions as he described his friends.

Seeing all the notables in my class being so unruly compared to the others, I glanced at the chuckling Kurenai and embarrassed Iruka before sighing, striding through the crowd silently.

Reaching the back of the class, I looked around before shaking my head, eliciting another chuckle from Kurenai, who stood with the other teachers up front.

Iruka also shook his head as he stared at the class with pity, and the entire class began to quiet down as they noticed two of their teachers looking their way.

When they heard my cough, the entire class jumped before stiffly turning towards me, their surprised expressions quickly turning to dread as I raised a brow at them.

I may be roughly eight months pregnant, but...

Seeing them all widen their eyes before hurriedly falling into crisp, clean lines, I grinned as I said "All of you are staying back after the Ceremony. Thirty laps."

A collective groan escaped the students lips, and the others smirked at them before blanching as I glanced around, a smirk of my own on my face as I added "With weights."

Everyone froze in the courtyard, before every cast gazes filled with pity towards the Year Three class, all of whom slumped forwards, their previous energy long gone.

The Principal smiled warmly at me as I joined Kurenai at the front, both of us exchanging nods as I listened to her begin her speech again.

Like most end of year speeches, it told us to not forget to maintain discipline, to continue to act as aspiring shinobi, to continue to work on what we learned during our year here...

Not only that, she spoke on how proud she was about each student here, as they all passed yet another year in the grueling Academy, how they were growing into fine shinobi daily, and so on.

The speech was long, but it helped add to the celebratory mood that everyone had; after all, who didn't like getting praised?

When it was over, parents swarmed in and found their children, wearing large smiles as they too congratulated them.

Of course, the parents that I had met over the year came in as well, only to stare in confusion as their children sighed and moved towards the track.

Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza approached me, the three Clan heads watching as Ino glared at Shikamaru, who muttered something that made her snap at him again, all while Choji tried to distance himself from her, only to be scolded as well.

"Good afternoon~!"

Hearing my cheerful voice, they all raised a brow at me before turning back to the track, and soon I was joined by Hiashi and Tsume, the two other Clan heads watching on in interest as well.

Tsume even grinned as she shouted "Get a move on brat! Don't know what you did, but you definitely could use a run!"

Kiba glared at his mother, who just grinned more as she saw that, making him shiver.

Aika joined us as well, the woman smirking as she stood besides Tsume and watched her daughter and Tenten run side by side.

Seeing that so many of the Clan Heads were not only here, but allowing this to continue made the others rather baffled, but since they weren't acting...

Mingling with the parents of my class, Kurenai and I talked amongst them while we watched the class slowly complete their thirty, getting words of thanks, congratulations, and more from them as we talked.

When everything finished up, Naruto stood before me as everyone else went home, and the blonde haired trickster waved goodbye to Sasuke and Hinata, before half glaring up at me.

Rolling my eyes, I ruffled his hair as I said "Congrats on another year, Naruto. You're getting closer to being Hokage now~!"

Dropping the glare, he stood up and rubbed his nose, a wide grin on his face as he said "Heh, you'd best believe it Aunty Kokoro!"

Smiling warmly at Naruto, I walked with him and Kurenai as we went to grab ramen, Iruka joining us as we talked with the rambunctious little brat before heading home.

Just like that, an entire year of the Academy came to a close, and we were all one step further along our journey.