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This story is best enjoyed while listening to 'Change Your Mind' by The All-American Rejects ... 'tis goood.
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Today was the day.
The day.
Today was the day every student training and learning at the Konoha Ninja Academy would be tested on one of their various skills for the chance to excel in the ranks of ninja, to the first level of the greatest occupation on earth. Genin. Each student would perform their best, show off their talent, and eventually be placed on a special genin team of three with an incredibly cool jonin teacher. Today was the most important day of their lives.
Sitting the classroom designated for all the participating final year students was the next generation of students, a third of which held the labels of future assets to Konoha's shinobi ranks. The most powerful partnerships formed from the previous generation produced offspring that was guaranteed to develop the mixed traits of each parent. There were three columns of seats with four rows capable of holding three students per row, and in this class every seat was filled with various students squirming with excitement and anxiety as well as students quiet and reserved.
Standing in the front of the classroom were their two instructors, Kotetsu and Izumo. The two were standing though leaning against the chalkboard, each holding a clipboard with the names of each student in the class. The discussed the order that each exam would be performed in and had already informed the class that their exam subject would be the replication technique. Their response to that announcement was a series of groans and complaints.
"...Uchiha Muteki," Izuno suggested.
Kotetsu spared himself a glance at the Uchiha girl sitting in the center column of rows. Her seat was the very middle seat, second row from the top. Muteki sat silently, appearing to be concentrating on reading a book in her hands while two girls sitting on either side of her talked to her. At a first glance, she seemed perfectly calm and in control with her black hair pulled halfway into a ponytail, drastically contrasting with her pale skin, traits from her father, Uchiha Sasuke. Her eyes were a startling cerulean blue, much like those of a certain blonde, one who was also her father. Uzumaki Naruto. But they were blank and even cold.
However, looking closer, Kotetsu could see the anger that was burning in those eyes. Her frame was shaking ever so slightly, just enough that he had to strain to see it, but still, it didn't take away the fact that she was shaking and angry. With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. He figured she was being made fun of again for having two fathers. Sucking in a deep breath he was about to tell the girls to give Muteki a break when Haruno Dakou, the son of Haruno Sakura and having the reputation as the village heartthrob, did something. Both girls turned to look at him but went back to teasing Muteki.
"Ayame! Aiko! Give Muteki a break, would you? She's trying to read!"
They nodded irritably, shooting glares at the otherwise silent girl, and got up in a huff and turned away, walking to their other friends. Turning back to Izumo, he nodded his head.
Dakou was trying to concentrate on the notes he was taking down in his notebook, notes concerning a new jutsu he had been working on. His long black hair fell around his face and shoulders as he looked over his work with jade serpentine-esque eyes. Pale hands furiously scribbled down complex equations and random bits of information that would aid in the development of what he believed to be a useful technique. A boy with messy white hair and two red streaks trailing from the bottom of his eyes and over his cheeks, making him look nearly identical to the famous sannin Jiraiya, sat beside him, watching him attentively.
With the exception of his light brown eyes and outfit consisting of purple pants and a purple t-shirt that cuts off, leaving some of his stomach exposed, while the rest of him was covered with mesh, he appeared to be in near torture having to sit and do nothing, but he respected and looked up to Dakou. He saw that his friend was having trouble thinking and considered telling the girls off but Dakou muttered "annoying" under his breath. The girls turned to look at him, blushing as they got a glimpse of his face, before turning back to Muteki.
"Ayame! Aiko! Give Muteki a break, would you? She's trying to read!" Dakou said in a loud tone, making sure to grab the attention of anyone who wasn't listening..
The two girls glared at her but left her alone and she blew out a breath of relief and returned to the page she'd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes. Hard as she tried, she couldn't force herself to remember what she had just read. She'd read the same sentence at least ten times now without absorbing the words. She let out another sigh and shut the book, placing it neatly in front of her. She was doing anything she could to pass the time before the final exam. She was more nervous now than she was her first day at the academy. The replication technique was her worst technique.
'Just like Chichi-Na-San,' she mused in her head with a weak smile, resting her head on her hand.
She took a look around the room, hoping to pick out the familiar faces of her 'nice' classmates. She already knew Dakou and Tsuba were seated behind her and her nose wrinkled in distaste before her face became impassive again. Tsuba was alright in her opinion, but he was so obsessed with Dakou, the boy she didn't like in the least. He was so perfect. He was the most talented student in the class with the best looks in the village, and despite his snake-like eyes, making eye contact with him was supposed to 'make you melt', whatever that meant. She figured it was more garbage from his fan girls. Personally, she found his eyes to be so creepy that they ended up fascinating, but only because she didn't understand what was so 'melting' about them.
What made it even worse, he was a decent guy, so she didn't really have much right to hate him. She had grown up with him, being only a few days younger than him made life a constant competetion. He learned to walk first, learned to hold chopsticks first, learned to talk first... the only thing Muteki had over him was the fact that her basic ninja skills developed before his... but were quickly surpassed. He had always been in her life, her parents and his mother were on a team when they were more active Shinobi, so they spent a lot of time together, holidays, dinners, outings, even simple shopping trips. After the age of 7, she couldn't stand Dakou... her father Sasuke always seemed to talk about how impressed he was with Dakou, and what a great ninja he'll be.
She then spotted Hyuuga Yuukyo in all of her blonde and pink glory gossiping with the two girls that had just finished making fun of her. It wasn't that Muteki didn't like the girl, it was just that she was so obnoxious and didn't care at all about the ninja life. And pink. Definitely too much pink... at least Yuukyo was on her side of the social realm.
She moved her gaze over to Inuzuka Roujun, the loudest student in the class, as well as the biggest troublemaker. She definitely gave Yuukyo a run for her money when it came to talking, or at least depending on the subject. She was also one of the only other girls in the class, or rather the village, that didn't have a senseless crush on Dakou. Roujun was in her usual light grey sleeveless hoody, that showed off her stomach, with faux fur lining the hood.
'So much for conservative,' she thought, thinking of the trouble she went through when deciding on her own oversized long-sleeved kimono top and black capri pants. The academy never issued a dress code, but suggested something conservative for women.
Roujun was hanging out with her cousin Kinkaze, a mysterious a quiet redhead that had a set of beautiful turquoise eyes. Apart from the signs of his lack of sleep under his eyes, he was quite the looker, getting nearly as much attention as Dakou. Nearly. No one topped Dakou at anything, ninja related or not.
'So annoying.'
She knew that Roujun and Kinkaze had history together though the specifics weren't something she was informed of. The two were close. She knew that much. She turned her head to face the other side of the classroom. Immediately she spotted Nara Kaminari, the laziest student in the class that she knew was actually a genius. He was in his customary open Chinese style shirt with a full mesh one beneath it as well as black shinobi pants. His bangs were covering his eyes and he appeared to be looking at something in his hands, though Muteki knew better. He was asleep. She vaguely wondered if she should wake him up but decided against it. She didn't want him to get mad at her, though she knew he was too lazy to do even that much.
Sitting in the very front row of the class were the Aburame siblings. Aburame Kin-Hibari, the violet haired older brother, clad in an oversized grey high-collared jacket that held the yellow circle with a flame similar to that of his mother's and brown ankle pants, talked quietly with his sister. Aburame Mitsumushi wearing her oversized grey sleeveless shirt with the Konoha flame in the center and dark purple shorts down to her knees paid close attention to her older brother, smiling gently and laughing softly into her hand when he said something amusing to her. The difference between siblings was that Mitsumushi was actually the Aburame prodigy, having made it into the final year class at 11 instead of 13. Kin-Hibari on the other hand, was the most gifted Byakugan user for 6 generations, having developed the ability at a young age to not even use hand-seals to activate his Kekkei-Genkai.
Seeing the two siblings acting so peacefully together made her smile. It warmed her up knowing that Mitsumushi had such a protective brother that was proud to have her as his sister. It also made her wish, not for the first time, that she had a brother to look out for her, or to look out for. She didn't like being an only child all that much. The only regrets that came with those thoughts were the images of her sibling getting hurt like she was because of their 'unique' set of parents. Sometimes she couldn't help but feel some sort of grudge towards her fathers because of the pain she went through, but she would never tell them about the harassment.
Once those thoughts finished she would always feel so guilty about thinking them. What did she care? She had two amazingly powerful fathers, one of which was going to be the next Hokage! She was the luckiest girl in Konoha to have two dads, and in all honesty, she did wish she could have a mother, but after seeing how some mothers acted with their children, she found her fathers to be perfectly capable, though they did tend to miss some important moments in her growth.
"Alright, attention everyone!" Izumo called out.
Muteki turned back to look at the first of her two teachers, the nervousness inside of her growing tenfold. He was going to announce the finer details of the exam before he started calling up students. She crossed her fingers and mentally begged she would be last.
"Okay, everyone, here's the deal," Kotetsu began. "We'll be calling you up one by one. When you are called, you'll go to the classroom next-door to perform your replication technique. You will need to create a minimum of three identical replicas of yourself and will be scored on each one."
"When you are finished, return to your seat in this classroom," Izumo continued. "When every student has performed, we will announce the graduating students and pass out your forehead protectors. Good luck to all of you."
Izuno nodded to the class and left the room to go next-door while Kotetsu called the first student to test.
"Uchiha Muteki, you're up first."
Muteki's eyes widened and her mouth opened to say something but a stern look from her sensei caused her to calm down on the outside. On the inside, her heart was racing. First. She had to go first. As in, before everyone else. As in, no chance of sneaking outside to practice a bit more before it was time to be tested. She groaned mentally and stood from her seat, turned around the desk and walked down the aisle.
"Good luck," Kin-Hibari said softly with a nod.
Muteki gave a small smile to him and mouthed 'thank you' before following Kotetsu out of the classroom. Her heart thumped loudly against her chest and she forced herself to breath normally before she passed out. Why, oh why did she have to be first? Out of all of the kids chosen at random, why did she have to be first?
'Ten bucks says Dakou ends up going last...'
They ended up in the classroom next door and Muteki moved to her designated spot while Kotetsu took a seat next to Izumo.
"Alright," Izumo said, shuffling through some papers, "Show us what you can do."
Muteki sucked in a deep breath and brought her hands together, forming the seal for the replication Jutsu. Her chakra glowed in a circle around her.
'I can do this!'
"Bunshin no Jutsu!" she cried out.
There was a loud poof as smoke filled her surrounding area. When it cleared, there was a single clone of Muteki next to her but it was incredibly pale and sickly colored, like a ghost version of her real self. She stared at the twisting clone beside her in horror and even went as far as backing away from it before it flopped to the floor, twitching violently. She didn't register the second clone behind her that looked better than the first in the sense that it was still standing, but the look it had didn't differ from the one on the floor.
She heard a sigh come from Izumo and looked at him. He marked something down before nodding.
"Alright, send in Nara Kaminari please," he said without the slightest indication that she had passed.
Her shoulders slumped forward as her clones disappeared.
"Of course, sensei..." she mumbled quietly.
She walked to the door and outside, returning back to the classroom. Silently she walked up to KamiNari and prodded him in the head. He jerked forward, looking around wildly.
"Wha-?"
He looked up at an annoyed Muteki.
"You're up. Classroom next-door. Three clones at least. Good luck." she said quickly, returning to her seat.
KamiNari stretched, muttered something that sounded similar to 'bothersome', and headed out of the classroom. She slouched in her seat and leaned forward, resting her head in her arms.
Poke.
Muteki shifted.
Poke.
She scrunched up her face in annoyance before going back to ignore it.
Poke.
With a sigh she sat up and turned around to face an anxious looking Tsuba.
"How'd you do?"
Her eyes slid shut and she shook her head.
"Do you think ghosts count?" she asked.
Tsuba blinked, glancing at Dakou who was suddenly interested in hearing what Muteki had to say.
"Ghosts? Your clones were that bad?" Dakou asked her.
She nodded, a light blush coming to her cheeks when she heard him laughing.
"At least I got two made, so I suppose if you added them together, that makes one full clone, so I'd be getting one of the lowest grades in the class, but I'd still pass, right?" she queried hopefully.
"Doubtful." Dakou answered, then offering a soft smile. Muteki was the only person besides his mother, that he would smile at. He seemed to think they had a great friendship, with an even greater rivalry. It was fun for him.
She groaned and turned back to resting. Kaminari came back in and called Tsuba to go next. One by one the students left and came back, some silent about their performance while others bragged and boasted that they made three exceptional clones. According to the mental bet she made, she owed herself ten dollars. Dakou was called last and had created seven perfect clones.
Izumo and Kotetsu came back to the classroom, having decided to grant the class a short recess while they went over the grades. The students filed out of the classroom, Muteki lagging behind everyone. Dakou was still in front of her with Tsuba hot on his tail. She planned to lay down on the bleachers near Kaminari and stare at the sky, preferring to get lost in her thoughts at this moment.
Back in the classroom, Kotetsu immediately began to discuss Muteki's performance.
"I'm worried about that one. She has little to no control over her chakra. She's dangerous to say the least, especially with her background...I don't think we should pass her. Simple. We give her another couple of years to learn how to control her chakra and-"
"Kotetsu, she has good grades," Izumo countered. "Her shuriken targeting skills are above average and her Taijutsu is through the roof. If I failed her, I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night..."
"It's still a risk I don't want to take, Izumo!" Kotetsu argued.
"You're being irrational," Izumo huffed, changing the mark next to Muteki's name. "Stop. You know she deserves to graduate and you shouldn't take that from her, or anyone for that matter. I mean, look at her father, Naruto. As a student, he was the worst in the class having failed graduation multiple times. She's a better student than he is, nearly as skilled as Dakou if she didn't have her chakra problem. Naruto actually had the Kyuubi. It's not like she's going to suddenly summon it and kill us, you know?"
Kotetsu sighed and went outside after another fifteen minutes to gather the students. Once everyone was in their respective seat, he went behind the desk and pulled out a box filled with Konoha forehead protectors.
"Alright. The graduating students will have their names called. Step forward and take a headband and return to your seat," he explained.
Izumo cleared his throat.
"Haruno Dakou."
The quiet boy had a smug smile on his face as he gracefully moved to collect his headband. he planned to have it put on his obi once he got home. The girls in the class cheered for him, with the exception of Muteki and Roujun, who looked away. He returned to his seat and Tsuba congratulated him. Muteki rolled her eyes, focusing on her desk.
"Mitarashi Tsuba."
"Inuzuka Roujun.
"Aburame Mitsumushi."
"Aburame Kin-Hibari."
"Nara Kaminari."
"Kinkaze."
"Hyuuga Yuukyo."
Several other names were called and Muteki watched, the saddened feeling inside of her growing. She wasn't called. She hadn't graduated.
"Uchiha Muteki."
She froze. She looked up in a flash with a startled expression. Izumo smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back brightly, perhaps the biggest expression anyone had ever seen on her. She rose quickly from her seat and accepted the forehead protector. Several people cheered for her and she gawked at the new addition to her ensemble. She nearly squealed with joy. She was finally a ninja! She was finally something her fathers could be proud of!
"I'll be keeping an eye on you to make sure you're progressing for a while. Watch yourself, Muteki. You're talented, but you still need a lot of work," Kotetsu whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her momentarily before letting her go again.
Muteki's happy expression faded back into her quiet and blank one. She nodded before she quickly tucked the protector into her kimono, her father Naruto was planning on giving her the metal peice of his graduating forehead protector to put on her obi bow, but only the the condition that she would keep her earned headband how it was, just in case. Returning to her seat, her sensei continued, it seemed only Dakou noticed the sudden change in her mood that occured after the Sensei said something to her.
"Congratulations to all the graduates! You are now officially among the ranks of Konoha shinobi! Rise, be proud of yourselves! You are now genin!" Kotetsu exclaimed enthusiastically.
The majority of the class burst into cheers. All of the graduates headed outside to wait for their parents, talking about plans they had made for later. Hinata and Shino showed up first. She wrapped her arms tightly around Kin-Hibari, ruffling his hair and congratulating him happily. She released him and knelt down in front of Mitsumushi, hugging her while Shino gently stroked her hair. He patted Kin-Hibari on the head, also ruffling his hair lightly.
Shikamaru and Tenten arrived next, enthusiastically congratulating KamiNari. Their son looked away, refusing to make eye contact and shoveing his hands into his pockets. His cheeks turned red and mumbled something.
"This entire academy was bothersome anyway. Besides, Muteki's situation was even worse. She kept referring to her clones as "ghosts", that they weren't functioning right." he explained, annoyed.
"Most likely that's because her father is Naruto," Shikamaru muttered.
There was a sudden cry from near the tree with the swing on it.
"Mom do you ALWAYS have to over-do EVERYTHING?!"
His face was buried in Anko's stomach as she gave her son a noogie who quickly scurried out from her hold, rubbing his hair back into place. She held a bouquet of brightly colored balloons in her hand and she grinned, putting her fists on her hips.
"What? Can't I be proud of my little boy? Toughen up and learn to take embarrasment like a man!"
He blushed, looking away and shaking his head before smiling.
Kiba came rushing towards the entrance of the academy while an incredibly moody Temari, pregnant with their second child, followed behind him, arms folded. Kiba picked up Roujun and hoisted her into the air, spinning her around in a circle before pulling her into a hug. Temari brought her arms around her daughter and kissed her forehead.
"Now begins the work! You're a kunoichi now and need to protect the name of kunoichi everywhere." she explained, brushing some strands of loose hair behind Roujun's ear.
Soon after Neji and Ino made their appearances with the parents of Ayame and Aiko. Ino was her usual silent self, folding her hands neatly in front of her kimono. Neji's arm was around her shoulder, gently guiding her towards Yuukyo who was talking animatedly with Mitsumushi and Kin-Hibari. Ino smiled and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her arm comfortingly.
Neji walked over to Kin-Hibari and congratulated him. Although his voice and expression sounded emotionless, there was a feeling of pride around him the made up for the lack of feeling. Neji congratulated Mitsumushi before proudly patting Yuukyo on the head and kissing it lightly.
Meanwhile, Muteki and Dakou sat at their desks, still in the classroom. Muteki sighed and watched her friends outside through the window. They were all so happy with their parents.
'Chichi-Na-San is probably asleep and he forgot.' she thought sadly. 'Chichi-Sa-San is probably too busy with work or waking Na-San up...'
She glanced at Dakou out of the corner of her eye and sighed again.
"Why is it so impossibly for me to control my Chakra?" She thought quietly out loud.
"It's because you don't try hard enough…" A deeper but young voice was heard from above Muteki.
She looked up to find Dakou staring down at her as if he expected something.
"I wha-" she asked before she was interrupted
"You're lazy about it, you aren't trying hard enough… can I have some of those chips?" he said coldly before pointing to the plate in front of her.
"Go crazy…" she said shoving the plate foreword and putting her chin in her hand. "What do you mean I'm not trying hard enough, why wouldn't I be?" she asked curiously, a tone of feeling insulted also laced her voice.
"You just aren't, you can tell by your face that you're not putting enough effort into it…" he said crunching a chip and looking at Anko smothering Tsuba.
He shook his head.
"Hey… your parents are here." Dakou said noticing a blonde orange clad man followed by a raven haired man with a small Uchiha crest over his heart.
"They didn't forget?!" Muteki said standing up and running towards them, her shoes making thud sounds on the wooden floor.
She quickly ran with a bright smile on her face into the arms of Naruto.
"Hey Mu, how's it feel to be a full-fleshed Ninja?" Naruto asked as she hugged him and looked up at him with her chin on his chest.
"You have no idea!" she said smiling and hugging him tighter.
"Eh… I might…" Naruto mumbled, earning an elbow in the side for doing so.
"Muteki, you've done wonderfully, congratulations," Sasuke said smiling genuinely and pulling her into a hug.
"Thanks Chi-Sa-San, that means a lot," She said smiling tears welling up a bit, she never felt really that there was much for her to be proud of about herself until now.
Dakou sighed suddenly feeling the emptiness around him, he looked down then at the chips and snagged another one and shoved it into his mouth greedily.
Sakura walked in quietly and stopped in the doorway, it had been years since she had stepped foot in the room.
"Next, the 7th team," Iruka said. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto perked up at his name.
"Haruno Sakura."
Sakura blinked, focusing on her name having been called. A distressed look came over her face at the thought of being paired with Naruto. The blonde beside her jumped from his seat, yelling with joy.
"And Uchiha Sasuke."
Naruto groaned and slumped back into his seat while Sakura jumped in joy. Sasuke remained as impassive as ever.
Shaking her head, Sakura smiled brightly at her former teammates. They hugged Muteki to them joyously, obviously happy she had graduated. Looking over at the middle column of desks, she spotted Dakou indulging himself with chips. Smiling, amused with the image, she walked over to him and ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. She knelt down beside him.
"Hey, my big strong ninja," she said wrapping her arms around him and ruffling his hair a bit.
"Mom… the hair…" Dakou said lowly and sending her a son-to-mother glare.
"Oh, right, sorry… I hate to tell you this… but you may end up wanting to cut it… being a ninja can be rough on your hair, that's why I cut mine short." Sakura said recalling her first encounter with Orochimaru, her hair had since grown out. Dakou vaguely remembers her having short hair.
She had been so angry that her precious hair had been sacrificed for absolutely nothing. She didn't make it to the final exam and Shikamaru was the only one who passed anyway.
'No,' Inner Sakura said gently. 'Orochimaru never would've laid eyes on us. We never would've been happy with him. Hair comes back. Opportunities like that don't.'
She sighed and looked into his jade serpentine eyes before spotting Naruto and Sasuke again. She smiled and stood up.
"I'll be back in a bit Dakou." Sakura said standing up and walking towards them.
Author's Notes Section-
OMG!!!! I've come out with yet another story with a strange plot, homg! Anyway... this one has been a lot of fun for me, developing numerous personalities and looks... it's almost hard for me not to imagine this possible.
This story is actually based on another story written by another author, obviously after a certain point my story takes over in my own universe. The story is here And her profile is CHECK HER OUT OR ELSE... So yeah, things get better... next chapter explains out the hell Muteki exists... and reading that story tells you how Dakou exists, you'll be finding out soon what the other adults are doing, what happened to Ino, and who their idiot sensei is!
So yeah, please review, i would really like some advanced critique!!!!!!