[indent][h1][color=#fff3ad][b][u]Hatake Shunpei[/u][/b][/color][/h1][/indent]
Shunpei’s day had started off with a drastic deviation from the expected norm: he had woken up far earlier than anyone would have reasonably expected. The fact that this particular divergence had occurred on the precipice of dramatic change was no coincidence; the young Hatake had been awaiting this for what had seemed like ages - much like how he had also been laying in his futon for what had seemed like ages. 
 
The reason for this was, of course, based largely on flawed premises as prepubescent preconceptions tend to be. In Shunpei’s mind, it was a simple A to B: the graduation was tomorrow, so if he woke up earlier, he would experience tomorrow earlier. Logic then followed that waking up early would allow him to reap the rewards earlier. Which, to his credit, would have been true had the graduation been loosely scheduled around individual appearances. But it wasn’t; it was a strictly scheduled group event. 
 
Hence why earlier Shunpei had been urged by his mother to arrive at a more reasonable time in order to avoid bothering his uncle - who had no doubt been busy making the preparations for what was to be his and his classmates’ greatest achievement up to this point - or waking up half the village’s civilian population with his triumphant exclamations. It was also why Shunpei had been falling in and out of sleep since before dawn, finally settling upon the wakefulness that had captured him for the past while.
 
But at this point the initial high of waking up early on such an exciting day had long since faded from his young body, having since been replaced by a reflective stillness as pervasive as the dank greyness outside. Wakefulness, though it granted him a degree of initiative, was little comfort as his mind began to feed his anxiousness. 
 
At that moment, Shunpei shot up in his bed and stared out the window. What time was it anyway? Between the rain, the fog, and the clouds it was hard to tell how high the sun was - or if it was up in the first place. He entertained the idea of leaving now - just to make sure that he didn’t arrive late and disappoint everyone by holding up the ceremonies - and began getting out of bed to dress up. 
 
[color=#adead1]“Good morning again, Shuuchan.”[/color]
 
To his side, an unexpected voice cut through the rhythmic pitter patter of droplets upon the roof like a kunai through flesh, sending shivers down the young boy’s spine and causing a brief, quiet yelp to escape from the boy’s mouth. Though he was largely resistant to the surprise of his mother’s often very sudden appearances after a lifetime of exposure, she still had a way of showing up when he’d least expected. It was the same for most of the clan, really. Being startled by his mom was something of a clan mainstay at this point despite all attempts at remedying it; apparently old habits died hard for the woman who’d used to be one of the village’s preeminent infiltrators.
 
[color=#adead1]“Breakfast is almost ready.”[/color] Stifling a chuckle and smiling softly at her son, the white haired woman continued, [color=#adead1]“You should start getting dressed; you wouldn’t want to have put in all that effort waking up early only to miss out on your graduation.”[/color]
 
Having quickly recovered from the initial shock, Shunpei nodded over his shoulder. [color=#fff3ad]“Right!”[/color] he exclaimed, bending down to start tidying up his messy futon as his mother soundlessly glided out of the room. A wide grin grew on his face as he made quick work of cleaning, spurred on by the fact that all he had been waiting for was rapidly approaching.
 
Once he had finished tidying up his room, he began gussying up for the event. Fortunately, his mother had set out a fresh bucket of warm water for him to use beforehand; he wouldn’t have to run out into the rain and take the time to prepare it all himself. But unfortunately, the back of his head was still as untamably soft as ever. Even after finishing his bath, there was little he could do about it but shrug, having long accepted the prominent, disobedient swirl of hair at the top of his head as a simple fact of life.
 
Now all he had to do was decide what to wear; after all, today was special, so clearly he’d have to dress specially. After a brief perusal of his closet, he came to a realization: would he be doing anything else today? It would be impractical to dress in something super formal (not that he had anything that could qualify as “super formal” in the first place) if the genin teams were expected to do genin things, but he couldn’t just show up in his usual clothes - this was supposed to be [i]special[/i]. In the end, he settled on a hybridized wardrobe: a provincial attempt at formal wear paired with his usual ninja accessories, namely his armguards, tool kits, and a kerchief around his neck. 
 
With all his personal preparations complete and the scent of cooking food overwhelming the petrichor in the air, Shunpei went to the dining room of the spacious farmhouse for breakfast. Much to his delight, placed upon the low-set four-person table was a large bowl of fresh-made oyakodon waiting for him. 
 
The boy took a seat cross-legged on the cushion before it and, while rocking impatiently back and forth in his seat, waited for his mother to sit alongside him. Even if he had somewhere important to be and even if oyakodon was his second favorite dish (the first was, of course, tempura, but that was hardly something fit for breakfast at all, let alone a [i]shinobi’s[/i] breakfast), he [i]had[/i] to wait. He’d feel absolutely [i]terrible[/i] if he didn’t wait. She’d gone through all this trouble just for him, after all; the least he could do was partake in it alongside her. Luckily she didn’t take long, and the two quickly got down to business with clasped hands, a bow, and the declaration of “Itadakimasu!” 
 
After his first few bites, Shunpei glanced to his left, at his mom and her bowl of miso soup - which, it should be noted, was still proportionally more full than his own oyakodon. Despite the great quantity of food that she’d prepare for Shunpei and the rest of the family, she herself didn’t seem have much of an appetite for anything. But she was still healthy, if a bit diminished, but that was okay. That was how it had always been by Shunpei’s reckoning; for as long as he could remember, the woman known as Hatake Yumitsu had always had a sort of lethargy underlining her lively nature. 
 
But during these past few days it had grown worse. Though still as doting and industrious as ever, his mother become far less energetic and far more agitated. There were dark, visible circles beneath her eyes now, and most worrying of all, she didn’t smile as wide as she’d used to. He didn’t know why and he [i]wanted[/i] to, but any attempts at asking anyone about it received only vagaries, either out of ignorance or intent. Not knowing the whole picture was really frustrating, but even worse was the fact it meant he couldn’t do anything about it.
 
Shunpei had figured it had something to do with the ghosts. Years ago he’d asked Grandpa Taizan why his mom stopped being a ninja, and was told that it was because she was haunted by the people she met and the places she’d been. Even now, Shunpei didn’t quite understand what he’d meant by that, but it didn’t feel right to ask. Besides, ghosts were scary! He’d totally be pretty tired if he could see them at night. 
 
Suddenly his mother’s gaze shifted away from the soup and matched his own, but only for a moment. He averted his eyes back to his dish and quickly resumed eating. [color=#adead1]“...Is everything okay?”[/color] he heard her ask.
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Don't worry mom. Everything's fine,”[/color] Shunpei sheepishly answered, taking in the finishing bites of his breakfast, [color=#fff3ad]“It’s just...  I’m really sorry for waking you up this morning.”[/color]
 
[color=#adead1]“It’s alright, I was... I wad awake anyway, but it’s good that you care.”[/color] She took a final drink of her soup, and patted him on the back before giving him a smile. She then got up, and gestured for Shunpei to follow. [color=#adead1]“Anyway let’s get you to that ceremony you’ve been so excited for.”[/color]
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Good idea,”[/color] Shunpei nodded and ran ahead to the door where he started to put on his sandals. Moments later, he was fully prepared to go! ...Almost. He stood to his feet, puffed out his chest, and looked at his mom, who was waiting by the door with a large umbrella. With deep breaths and balled fists, Shunpei took a long moment to steel his nerves before making his solemn declaration. 
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Sorry, but I can’t let you walk me to school anymore,”[/color] he mumbled, eyes downcast and declaration not at all as solemn as he would’ve liked, [color=#fff3ad]“I’m a Genin now, so I gotta do stuff like this myself from now on.”[/color]
 
There was silence. And then...
 
[color=#adead1]“I see...”[/color]
 
There was the sound of shifting cloth as arms wrapped around Shunpei, pulling the boy into a long, tight hug. He was soon released, and faced with his mother’s visage. She was on the verge of tears, but she had on the widest smile he’d seen in a long time. [color=#adead1]“I-I’m sorry. You’re right, you’re right,”[/color] she sniffled, [color=#adead1]“I just can't believe how fast you're growing up. [sub]Maybe soon you...[/sub]”[/color] She shook her head and pulled him into another, briefer hug. [color=#adead1]“Congratulations Shuuchan, I’m so proud of you!”[/color]
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Thanks mom!”[/color] Shunpei beamed, [color=#fff3ad]“For everything! Like those cool jutsu! I couldn't have done it without you... Oh!”[/color] The boy came to an important realization. [color=#fff3ad]“Is dad still here too?”[/color] he asked.
 
Disappointingly, she shook her head. [color=#adead1]“Sorry Shuuchan. He left a while ago,”[/color] she explained, [color=#adead1]“But I’m sure he’s proud of you too.”[/color]
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Alright...”[/color] Shunpei sighed. He didn’t expect any different, but it still hurt to hear, especially since this was his special day. On the bright side, the good part about such an occurrence being commonplace was that he was able to get over it quickly. [color=#fff3ad]“Well... I better get going!”[/color]
 
However, his departure was rapidly cut short by the hand that shot out, grabbing his kerchief by the knot. [color=#adead1]“Now wait a second, young man. You might be a genin who can walk himself to school, but you still need to take the umbrella. You'll get sick otherwise,”[/color] she ordered, pressing the parasol into Shunpei’s arms. [color=#adead1]“[i]Now[/i] you can go.”[/color]

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In the end the umbrella ended up being a largely useless accessory; Shunpei’s excited running ensured that most of his body was beyond even the wide aegis of the umbrella. The only parts largely untouched by the downpour were his back, his hair and his shoulders. Fortunately for him, as he approached the Suiren bridge, it seemed that that fact was not going to change. 
 
About halfway across the bridge, Shunpei stopped and narrowed his eyes, peering into the fog at something colorful bobbing in the water. [color=#fff3ad][i]’Is that an umbrella in the water?’[/i][/color] he thought, [color=#fff3ad][i]’Wonder what kind of weirdo throws their umbrella in the river, especially on a day like this!’[/i][/color] Then, shrugging off the peculiar sight, the Hatake boy continued on his way into the Academy, making sure to wipe his sandals off and shake his umbrella out before entering in order to avoid bothering his particularly anal uncle. 

Unlike getting to the building, making his way to the classroom from there was as easy as it had ever been. [color=#fff3ad]"Hey Kodo!"[/color] Shunpei greeted as he dashed past his classmate, through the halls, and into his designated classroom - where he immediately stopped in his tracks, mind struggling to comprehend what he saw before him.

First things first, there was Kegawa. That orange hair and those crimson facial markings were unmistakable. Then there was Fukushu and her purple head, who was standing by the class rankings looking irate - at least more than usual. And there was Momomomomomomomomaru, who was busy licking-

[color=#fff3ad]"[b]TENSAI![/b]"[/color] Shunpei exclaimed, bounding down the stairs with even more alacrity than his journey to the Academy itself before practically leaping across the desk and throwing his arms over his best friend.