Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto (I LOVE YOU!)
A/N: This fic is dedicated to the end of the school year! Yay summer! This takes place when the rookie nine are still attending the academy (they'd be about 10 or 11)
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Come on, come on! Thought Naruto as he drummed his fingers on his desk. He was staring intently at the clock, waiting for the stupid minute hand to hurry up and move.
"Okay class, just a few more things before you go," said Iruka, addressing the young ninjas in front of him. "Be sure to read all of your summer reading and make an attempt to practice some of your techniques, okay?"
Yeah yeah, whatever. Would summer just get here already? Thought Naruto, growing even more impatient. All the students sat quietly at their desks. Some were fidgeting while others looked indifferent, save for a special gleam in their eye that gave away their inner excitement. Iruka watched the clock until just the right moment.
"Alright class, go ahead!" he said and the whole academy excitedly started the countdown.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, THREE, TWO, ONE!" The school bell rang, but was soon drowned out by the collaborative cheer that rang through every classroom. "SCHOOL IS OUT!" they all shouted. This was followed by wild screams, a flurry of papers, and a stampede out the door. The instructors chuckled. The students were always so energetic at this time of year.
Everyone scrambled in a mad rush to get outside into the summer sun, throwing papers up into the air like confetti and screaming in sheer joy that school was out! Naruto joined in the festivities, screaming and running with the crowd until they had enough room outside to disperse. There they split up and went their separate ways to celebrate with friends and family. Even the gloomiest kids like Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the fact that they wouldn't have to deal with school for another three months.
Naruto broke off from the crowd and headed down the streets of Konoha.
"Alright! I can't believe it's finally summer! I'm gonna go celebrate at Ichiraku!" he shouted into the air. He entered the ramen shop and sat down at the counter. "Hey! It's finally summer and I'm hungry!" he shouted. The shop keeper smiled at him.
"So I see. What would you like?" he asked, already half knowing the answer.
"I'll start with a bowl of miso ramen, please!" he said and the shop keeper gave him his order. That one bowl hardly lasted more than a few minutes before Naruto held it up and asked for another. After awhile he had a stack of bowls next to him from his feast of ramen.
"You always could eat a lot," chuckled the shop keeper.
"You bet!" replied Naruto. "I'm celebrating the start of a great summer!"
"Are you now? You don't have to go back to the academy?"
"Nope! Not for another three months! This year I'm going all out, baby!" said Naruto excitedly.
"What do you mean by that?" asked the shop keeper. Right as he said it, there was a large explosion coming from the hokage faces on the mountain.
"There it is!" said Naruto and he ran outside. The shop keeper followed him and they looked up at the mountain. Naruto chuckled as he watched his master piece. He had spent all last night setting up large bales of hay onto the mountain top. Then he set exploding tags timed for just this moment. They had exploded and lighted the bales of hay on fire, spelling out the words HAPPY SUMMER in big, burning letters.
The whole village stopped to look at Naruto's latest prank. They all chuckled, knowing who did it. He was the only person who would pull something like this.
Naruto grinned, happy that he did something good to show the village it was summer.
"Yep! This is going to be great!" he shouted to nobody in particular. He was already making plans in his head on how he would go to the beach, practice his ninja techniques, and pig out on ramen all summer long. The shop keeper chuckled.
"Happy Summer, Naruto," he said. Naruto laughed as his fiery words lit the first spark of summer joy, blazing with all the brilliance of the fire country. This would be a great summer indeed.