Kurenai and I looked at one another for a moment before taking a deep breath and entering the Hokage's Tower once more, making our way up towards the office that Lord Third resided in and carrying the various binders with us.
Apparently this was the year that the various Jonin would begin to look at the aspiring Shinobi and discuss who was ideal for personalized, on the job training by a Jonin and who was good enough to graduate, but not talented enough to deserve a Jonin Sensei for the next few years.
Kurenai herself had only been apart of this once before, recommending and crossing out names depending on her evaluations from the years before giving them to the Hokage to further study, who would determine who was truly locked in for a lonesome experience as a Genin and who was worthy of being tutored by a Jonin Sensei.
It was a terrible thing to think about, but I was confident that our entire year would qualify for further instruction out of the Academy, both because most of the class was still Clan children or special cases - Naruto and Rock Lee, for example - or because they showed an outstanding talent or work ethic that deserved that further instruction.
Ami was the perfect example of that; her talent and work ethic were even above some of the Clan kids - Kiba, Choji, and sometimes she showed flashes of brilliance that put Ino and Hinata to shame as well.
Though her medical case was worrying, and that would require a deeper evaluation and understanding of the girl before going any further.
Then there were the talents like Tenten, the twins, Rock Lee, and Fuki, all of them showing a large degree of understanding and prowess to be worthy of teaching.
The only worrying members of the class were Midori and Kasumi, who weren't the strongest, the fastest, or more impressive members, but they had their own moments of brilliance as well; Midori was incredibly smart and driven to become a Doctor, while Kasumi had some nice senses and reflexes, but otherwise she lagged behind.
I was worried about them, but even if they didn't find themselves under a Jonin, I had faith in their ability to pave their own path; Midori would be perfect for the Hospital, while Kasumi could become a decent Chunin if she put her mind to it.
"Hah... why're there so many damn stairs?!"
Kurenai glanced back at me and chuckled, understanding appearing in her crimson eyes as she watched me climb up slowly behind her, my stomach already beginning to bulge out all too familiarly as baby number three slowly made itself known.
"It's something that you never really realize you take for granted before it happens, hm? We're almost there though, Kokoro; another dozen or so and we'll be there."
I puffed out my cheeks as I pouted before joining her, walking side by side as we made our way towards the Hokage's office, where we found Hiruzen and Shikaku waiting for us, the two men looking out over Konoha and sharing a pipe as they waited for us.
Hearing the door open, the Hokage turned and smiled at us, his weathered features crinkling even more as he said "Welcome! Hope everything has been alright for the two of you? It has been a few weeks since we last spoke!"
Kurenai nodded, a pleasant smile on her face as she replied "The days have been calm and peaceful, Lord Third. What more could we ask for?"
Shikaku took another hit of the pipe before letting the ash fall into the tray, putting it down and taking the binders from us as we sat down.
"Ain't that the truth... nice and lazy days... Sadly that's about to change thanks to this... more and more paperwork..."
The Nara Head let out a sigh as he looked between the various binders, idly adding "There's a lot more here then last year... Did you both do some more homework on this?"
"We did, Lord Nara. It may be a tad presumptuous, but I went ahead and profiled the students and came up with a few compositions that would either be best for the students or bad for them. Their quirks that could implement better cohesion between a team or be detrimental if allowed to mix together. Like having two girls with Sasuke, or letting Kiba be on the same squad as someone like Neji or Shikamaru."
He raised his brow at that, the scars on his face twisting slightly as he whistled, opening one of the binders and flipping through the various pages inside.
"You did that much? Impressive. All of it will definitely be taken into account for the end of next year. You know these students better then we do. Hells, I'd say you know my son better than I do!"
We all chuckled before looking towards Hiruzen, who said "We certainly will take this into account, Kokoro, Kurenai. Besides that, there were a few things that I was curious about regarding your futures."
Exchanging a look, Kurenai and I waited for the Hokage to continue, wondering just what he was hinting at.
"You are both excellent teachers, and you do have the rank of Jonin. Well deserved, and likely to only continue going further and further if your trajectories remain stable. Not only are your personal strengths high, but the Mitarashi Clan is one that has returned to prominence, though it still has long to go to return to being a true Clan..."
Trailing off, the Hokage stood up and let out a sigh, the man showing his age as he walked over towards the paintings on the wall, each one displaying the previous Hokage and some of their feats.
"You have a lot of good will from your fellow Shinobi, a strong nucleus that remains locked together, the support of a Sannin, and someone who's strength is still unknown, but she remains as a powerful force to be reckoned with... It is impressive how far you've come in just a few years. No one would blame you for wanting to sit back and reap the rewards now, to relax and embrace a more peaceful life."
Kurenai and I frowned at his words, but we remained silent, knowing that he would eventually say what was on his mind.
"Which is why I wanted to ask; at the end of next year, are you going to continue accompanying your Class as Jonin Sensei or will you remain at the Academy? The both of you are valuable assets either way, and I would like to have you employed where you would prefer to be."