The walk home after meeting up with everyone was uneventful, I hoped to meet with Guy so I could show off my headband and gloat a little, but he was nowhere to be found.

A couple of villagers that I met during my morning runs congratulated me with a big smile and a pat on the back, the cabbage vendor had run out of cabbages so he regretfully informed me that my "gift" would have to wait till tomorrow.

I thanked him for his thoughtfulness, but silently I was glad he'd run out... I've come home with a cabbage in hand so many times the kids have begun to call me "The Cabbage Collector"; as a freshly minted ninja I can't have that kind of nickname sour my reputation!

Becoming a ninja was a big deal, especially in the eyes of citizens who relied on the Leaf's military to keep them safe. I understood why there was such a large sentiment toward my graduating, but that didn't mean I enjoyed it though.

Or at least that's what the foolish version of me from five minutes ago would say, I got three sticks of Takoyaki for free from a friendly vendor and I made sure to decimate them before I entered the house; lest the food get taxed by the kids.

"Hey Amaya! How are ya?" I asked the little pipsqueak who was playing with the toy pony I had gifted her, she'd been obsessed with horses since she was a baby so I figured that she'd appreciate it.

Amaya spared me a short glance before grunting out a sullen "Hi," and looking away, playing with the toy a little less enthusiastically.

'Still the same eh?'

Since the news of Sasuke and I both passing our graduation exams, there was a short burst of happiness in the house... which was almost immediately broken by the realisation that we'd be moving out.

Kuma had taken it the roughest, he'd been crying the past few days. Numa hadn't talked to any of us about how he felt but it was easy to tell that he was just pushing aside whatever he was feeling, he'd been avoiding me especially; Tomo on the other hand hadn't gone through any discernable change at all.

The Sarutobi clan would sponsor both of our accommodations for two months and give us a small stipend after moving out, after that, we'd be on our own. As a broke 9-year-old, this was necessary, otherwise I'd be on the streets in a couple of days.

I showered, freshened myself up and had dinner with everyone, it was a quiet affair as the kids were still moody. Sasuke and I did our best to lift the air of sadness around the table but there was only so much we could do, Tomo was even more silent than usual today.

The night progressed as normal, the kids were put to bed in Tomo's room upstairs while Sasuke and I helped clean up, they had relocated there a while ago as we all grew older. The bald boy and I were both about to head off into our rooms when Tomo called to us for the first time tonight, sitting down at the dining table silently.

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Sasuke and I exchanged a short glance before sitting down, her strange behaviour made this feel important. The old woman was always a little emo; she never agreed with our choice to become ninjas but had begrudgingly accepted it. Since then she's been in a sort of limbo, doing her best to make us happy while trying to not butt into our lives too much.

She took a moment before speaking, her crackly old voice laden with an emotion I couldn't quite pick up on.

"You two... are leaving soon." She said, flicking her eyes between us for a moment.

We both nodded silently, unsure of what was coming next.

Tomo waited another beat before speaking again, her crackly voice now unmistakably softer.

"Take care of each other."

And with that, she stood up and swiftly walked up the stairs, not sparing us each another glance. None of us spoke for a few seconds, too taken aback by what had happened to respond.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked quietly, even if he didn't understand the true depth of her words, the weight they carried was felt intimately.

Tomo's footsteps faded out as she reached her room and the unmistakable click of her door sounded out, I'm sure she's taking time to tend to the children instead of dealing with whatever it is she's feeling right now.

I got up from the chair and looked at Sasuke. He seemed to be affected by my expression as he unconsciously straightened up in his seat.

"Sasu. We need to become strong."

Sasuke took a moment to look at me, giving me a firm and determined nod. We came to a silent understanding as to what Tomo was was trying to tell us... weak ninja only had one fate that they were destined to face.

"We will, Aoki."

*****

'Home sweet... home.'

I plopped my bags down with a thud as the musty smell of the room crept up my nose, the cobwebs along the ceiling and dust particles flying everywhere were indicative of how long this apartment had been abandoned.

'If only I could make a few shadow clones, I'd have this place cleaned up in no time...' I complained, noticing the thick layer of dust the house was caked in. Sasuke's house was near the Sarutobi clan compound while mine was further away, nearer to the epicentre of the village.

I fished out the letter Jinbei had given me from my pocket and placed it on a windowsill for safekeeping, in it was the meeting point for me and my Jonin sensei. Sadly there were no names on it, neither of my new teacher nor my teammates.

Before unpacking anything else, I dropped my bag from my shoulders and scooped out some drawings the kids had given me as a going-away present. They tried to be strong, but as Sasuke and I began to walk out of the house, the waterworks erupted and they all ran back inside. Only after a lot of coaxing and promising to visit often were we both free to leave.

I chuckled a little at the memory and tried to find a place to put them, unfortunately, the house was too dusty to find a proper spot.

'Even ninjas need to clean shit I guess... tad mundane though.' I thought, cleaning away a spot on the ground to temporarily house the pictures.

Wrinkling my nose at the dust one final time, I rolled my sleeves up and got to work.

*****

'Class L-B10C... this is it.'

The letter told everyone to meet later on in the day, but I had arrived an hour early just to be careful, hopefully, this wouldn't be a replay of what happened with Tokei. I felt my heart pound in my chest, this was one of the most important days of my life yet I wasn't nervous... I was excited.

I steeled my resolve and opened the door.