Summary: Naruto hears the words he's been desperate for his whole life…
A/N: I'm a horrible person. Singularly terrible, in fact. This is for YinYangWhiteTiger who I am praying doesn't hate me as much as I deserve to be for being so damned late with this ficlet…
FOR YINYANGWHITETIGER… PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!
I'm standing in front of the cracked mirror in my bedroom, happier than I've ever been.
In fact, I'm jumping up and down with excitement, and I don't know why, its not like I've ever had anything to be excited about before.
Only… this is different.
It happened.
When I never ever thought it would, it happened.
Iruka-sensei… the one person I've looked up to more than anything else… he passed me! I'm a genin! For the first time since I've been in the academy, I was able to make a clone – but not just any clone, a shadow clone. And not just one either, but hundreds of them…
I've never done anything like that before. I'm so used to being the loser that it took a while before I realised it was me in the spotlight… I was the main character, not someone else…
But more than that, Iruka-sensei saved my life last night. Not just physically, but mentally too. Mizuki-sensei was going to kill me but Iruka-sensei didn't let him, and he apologised to me for not accepting my loneliness, he even told me that he was the same when he was my age, always trying to fit in when all he did was stand apart…
This monster has hurt so many people. So many hearts have been broken…
But not anymore. I was afraid to see the truth in Iruka-sensei's words and so I ran from him, because I didn't know if he said it because of me or because he wanted the scroll back. And then… he didn't know I was nearby… and he said the words I've waited my whole life to hear…
'…if he was the demon fox – but Naruto is different. I've acknowledged him as one of my excellent students – he's hard working and dedicated, but because he's clumsy no one acknowledges him. He isn't the demon fox – he's the hidden leaf village's Uzumaki Naruto!'
I am not a monster.
I am a genin. A genin of the leaf.
Iruka-sensei told me so, and this time, I believe him.
The one person I've always thought of as a father believes in me.
I'm standing in front of the cracked mirror in my bedroom, happier than I've ever been. I'm jumping up and down with excitement, because today, I am registering as a shinobi of Konoha…
With a shaking hand, I reach for my hitae-ate and tie it in place.
Last night, Iruka-sensei. Tomorrow, the village…