Count On It
Episode 2: "So It Continues?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from this story.
A/N: Unfortunately my editor has moved and will be unable to continue to edit this story. Since you all have waited long enough I give you chapters 2 and 3 in its raw form. When I can grab a new editor I will go back and fix up the chapters. So for now enjoy.
Naru stepped from the doorway leading to the practice range her small hand going up to shield he eyes from the sun. The young girl walked over to the rest of her classmates who were lined up in front of their instructors. Naru soon dropped her hand as her eyes adjusted to the bright midday sun. The range was a large fenced in area beside the academy that was littered with trees with targets painted on them. Along with the trees there were carved wooden posts that had a roughly human shape. Iruka coughed lightly to get the attention of the class. "Alright, we're about to begin the second part of the exam" Iruka said once they all seemed to be listening. "This part of the exam, the practical test will be broken up into three portions. The first portion will be a test of your skills with standard throwing weapons such as kunai and shuriken. This will be followed up by a test of your taijutsu skills. The final portion will be to see if you can successfully perform the three academy taught jutsu" he continued.
Iruka took a step back once he finished explaining the practical test and gestured to his fellow instructor. Mizuki took his cue and stepped forward to address the class "So when I call your name I want you to step up the line marked on the ground. You will have four chances each with both kunai and shuriken to make a lethal hit on that target" he gestured to the human shaped target standing approximately 30 yards away from the line. "You must make at least one lethal hit with each type of weapon to pass" he finished. Mizuki took the clipboard offered to him by Iruka and read off the first name "Aburame Shino."
The excitable blonde clapped politely with the rest of the class as each student made at least two lethal hits with each weapon. She even joined in the wild cheering that erupted when Hyuuga Hinata got a lethal hit with each of her eight tries. However she stood there grumbling in anger while everyone else cheered as Sasuke accomplished the same feat. "Alright class, settle down! Uzumaki you're up" Mizuki said. Naru's annoyance slowly turned into trepidation as she headed towards the line. By the time she finally reached the starting point that very same trepidation had settled in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight.
"Okay Naru when you're ready" Iruka said before giving her an encouraging smile. Naru nodded with a gulp and reached into her weapons pouch. The young academy student pulled out four shuriken and set her stance "I'm ready Iruka-sensei!" Iruka gave a silent nod to Mizuki who responded with a sharp "Begin!" As soon as Mizuki gave the go ahead Naru let a shuriken fly with a quick flick of her wrist. The small piece of metal sliced through the air before slamming into the target's wooden shoulder with a thunk. "Damn it!" Naru said through gritted teeth. "Miss!" said Mizuki clearly.
Naru bit her lip, her brow furrowing in concentration. She took a deep breath and held it before lashing out with her arm. The wannabe shinobi once again released a shuriken with a flick her eyes shutting tight as she prayed silently. Less than a second later the sound of metal digging into wood was heard. Mizuki responded once again declaring a non lethal strike. He had to do the same when she failed to make a lethal strike on her third try as well. Naru opened her eyes and let out a small whimper when she realized that she only had one shot left.
She was about to throw her final shuriken when Iruka grabbed her wrist. "Wait a moment Naru" Iruka said before taking her final shuriken. He examined it while making his way over to Mizuki. "Mizuki take a look at this shuriken" he said to his fellow instructor. Mizuki took the offered shuriken and weighed it in his hand before taking a close look at the edges. "Where did you get this shuriken from Uzumaki-kun it's a piece of junk" Mizuki said with a frown.
Naru's cheeks turned a light shade of pink when her fellow classmates began to snicker after Mizuki's comment on her shuriken. "I got them from the Kobuki weapons shop. The dealer said that they were really high quality and that's why they cost so much" the young blonde snapped in embarrassment. Mizuki let out a sigh and walked up to Naru. He held up the shuriken so she could see before flipping it around a few times "Uzumaki-kun whoever sold you this weapon ripped you off. The balance is all wrong, the metal is of a poor quality and it barely has an edge." Mizuki turned and walked back over to Iruka. The two Chunin had a brief whispered conversation before breaking apart.
Iruka walked back over to Naru and reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a shuriken. "Normally you would be stuck with using that shuriken since you already began the test" Iruka said. "However after discussing it with Mizuki we have decided to let you use this one. You will still have just one more shot though" he explained while offering the new shuriken to Naru.
Naru reached out and took the shuriken from Iruka. She gave it a quick glance, noting the razor sharp edge to it. Iruka stepped back giving the girl some room before signaling to Mizuki. "Alright Naru when you are ready" the gray haired instructor said. Naru gave a slight nod and set her stance once again. She closed her eyes and took a few deep even breaths. When she opened her eyes again her blue eyes burned with determination and it was with this same determination that she launched the new shuriken at the target. The shuriken flew through the air and slammed into the target.
Naru blinked.
Iruka Blinked.
Mizuki blinked.
The entire class blinked in surprise when the shuriken hit the target in the head. They were shocked that not only did she get a lethal hit but the fact that the shuriken was buried three quarters of the way into the wooden target. Mizuki gulped and stuttered out "H…h...hit!" Naru seemed oblivious to everyone else's shock as she jumped up and down in joy "Hah I did it."
Iruka coughed into his hand to hide smile of relief from Naru "Alright Naru I know you want to celebrate but remember you still have to get a lethal hit with a kunai as well to pass this part of the test." The girl nodded eagerly at first however her smile soon turned into a frown when she realized something "But Sensei my kunai are the same as the shuriken I got them from that same dealer." Iruka gave the girl a sad smile "Don't worry Naru we'll provide you with the kunai." Saying this he reached into his holster and withdrew four kunai before offering them to his student.
Naru took the offered weapons and spent the next couple of minutes surprising the hell out of her fellow classmates as she got one lethal hit after another. By the time she had gone through all four kunai the entire classes jaws were nearly touching the ground. Iruka turned to Mizuki "Remind me to contact the Hokage about that weapons dealer's selling practices." Mizuki could only nod silently in response.
The class continued to stare at Naru in shock while she reached up to play with her hair nervously. Eventually it became too much for the blonde and she snapped at her classmates "What the hell are you all looking at?" Kiba once again showed his lack of tact when he responded "You dead last. No one at least anyone who is human gets that much better just because they switched weapons no matter how crappy they are."
"Maybe she isn't human. Maybe she's some kind of demon" said a thin girl with long bubblegum pink hair. Most of the class was too busy laughing at Naru's expense to notice the look of horror that adorned their instructors' faces. Ino was about to respond when Iruka decided to stop this line of thought in its tracks even if it was based on a joke "That's enough Sakura! Leave Naru alone. It isn't her fault that she was ripped off." Sasuke snorted at this "Of course it's her fault. She's an idiot."
Naru growled and launched herself at Sasuke with the intention of throttling him however she was stopped short by Iruka who had gotten a hold of the back of her shirt. "I said that's enough!" yelled the exasperated instructor "One more word out of either of you…" Iruka left the rest unspoken as he looked from Naru to Sasuke daring them to say something. The temperamental blonde let out a huff and turned her head while her raven haired counterpart responded with a "Hn…"
Iruka was about to tear into Sasuke for speaking when Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder "Iruka maybe we should move this along and get to the next portion of the test." Iruka shut his eyes and took a deep breath before letting go of Naru "Yes let's get on with this." Iruka waved his hand in the air once to grab everyone's attention "I'm glad to see that all 15 of you have passed this portion of the practical test but that was just the beginning. Quite frankly we would have been disappointed had any of you actually failed this part."
Mizuki took his lead from Iruka "Now the real fun begins. You will be tested on your taijutsu. This will be accomplished through a one on one spar with a fellow classmate. The matches have already been set based upon our observations of your skill level." Mizuki was about to continue when Sakura interrupted "But Sensei there are 15 of us."
"Yes there are 15 of you, however because Hinata uses a special form of taijutsu taught by her clan she will be exempt from this part of the test" responded Iruka. "Oh okay" said Sakura. "Now if there are no more interruptions maybe we can begin before the sun sets" Mizuki said sarcastically. Iruka chuckled as he flipped the page on his clipboard before reading off the first match "Alright first up is Haruno Sakura versus Yamanaka Ino."
Naru was once again forced to hold in her excitement as she was forced to watch her fellow students face each other in a light spar. The long wait was torture for someone like herself who was so hyperactive and full of energy. The excitement wasn't the only thing bothering her though. She figured that Iruka would put her against one of the weaker fighters in the class because of her so called dead last status.
Naru was shocked when Iruka got to the end of the list and the only ones yet to go where her and Sasuke. While Naru was shocked into silence Sasuke certainly was not and he made his displeasure known. "You expect me to test myself against that idiot" he said through clenched teeth. The rest of the class excluding Naru voiced their agreement with the Uchiha. Iruka turned to Sasuke to chastise him for his insult however Naru's sucker punch got to the raven haired student first.
Sasuke was caught off guard and knocked to the ground by the force of Naru's punch. The two instructors looked on in shock alongside the rest. "Don't underestimate me you bastard!" Naru said hotly. At the same time that Naru was making her statement Sasuke had gotten up and was going to go after the blonde when a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Save it for the match Uchiha-kun" said Mizuki politely.
While Mizuki was restraining Sasuke, Iruka was tearing into Naru for hitting Sasuke outside of their spar. "And I swear by the Hokage that I will fail you if you try something like that again" he finished. The young blonde cringed. "S… Sorry Iruka-sensei!" Iruka shut his eyes tightly, his hand going up to rub at the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose "Just get in position Naru, you too Sasuke. Let's get this over with already."
Naru nodded and walked over to the area that was used for sparring. Sasuke followed soon after and took his place across from the girl who dared to sucker punch him "I'm going to make you pay for that Dobe." Naru opened her mouth to respond but had to rethink that action when a bored Mizuki shouted "Begin!" As soon as the go ahead left Mizuki's mouth Sasuke launched himself at Naru and threw a left hook at her head.
Bright blue eyes opened almost impossibly wide as the blonde ducked. Sasuke's knuckles only grazed the tips of Naru's golden hair but he didn't let that deter him as jumped and threw a knee into the girl's face. The class let out a collective gasp when Naru's head snapped back, blood flying from her broken nose. Iruka moved forward to intervene as the fight was clearly getting out of hand. However the instructor was stopped in his tracks by the absurdity of what happened next.
Naru was not going to be deterred by the violence of the Uchiha's attack. Her hand darted up and grabbed a hold of Sasuke's ankle. With a surprising amount of force she yanked the airborne boy down. Sasuke's legs buckled when his feet hit the ground and he ended up kneeling in front of Naru. He had placed his palms to the ground in order to push himself up when Naru grabbed a gold of his shirt and yanked him forward. The last thing the Uchiha remembered seeing were a pair of vibrant blue eyes.
Iruka like the rest of the class had to shut his eyes and cringe at the sound that emanated from the two students when Naru head butted Sasuke. "God damn it! Mizuki get over here and help me" shouted Iruka as he rushed over to Naru and Sasuke. Mizuki broke out of his stupor and went over to Sasuke while Iruka tended to Naru. Iruka kneeled beside Naru and placed his pointer and index fingers against the girls pale neck to check for a pulse. Despite all of his time as a shinobi Iruka still jumped back when Naru rose with a shout "Hah! Who's the dead last now Jack ass?"
Iruka stared at the slightly swaying blonde in shock "Naru… How in the world are you still able to get up after that?" Naru blinked, trying to clear the spots from her vision. She was able to get her bearings after a few moments at which point she responded to her instructor "Because I am so very awesome Iruka-sensei" While Iruka was busy trying to figure out how Naru was able to stand let alone talk Mizuki was busy trying to revive Sasuke.
Iruka once again kneeled though this time he was facing Naru. Due to her short stature his eyes were about even with her own. He ran his gaze from the top of her head to the tip of her chin. "That bump on your head doesn't look too bad but your nose is broken and I'll need to correct its' position or it will heal wrong" Iruka said with some concern. Naru looked slightly worried but gave a small nod "its okay Iruka-sensei I trust you."
Iruka gave the brave girl a small smile as he reached up with both hands placing each one on one side if her nose "You really kicked some ass didn't you." Naru got an excited look on her face and was about to utter a response when Iruka used her distraction to shift his hands to the side. The young blonde let out a shriek when Iruka shifted her broken nose into the correct position. She fell back and landed on her ass, her hands flying up to cover her face protectively. Her blue eyes filled with tears as she glared sharply at Iruka.
By the time Iruka had gotten up and dusted off his knees Mizuki had a rather dizzy Sasuke on his feet. Once Iruka had determined that his two students were mostly unharmed he allowed his anger to finally show. "You idiots this was supposed to be a spar!" he yelled. "You were supposed to show that you were able to properly use the academy taught taijutsu form. But no… you had to go ahead and beat the hell out of each other."
The rest of the class having been silent this whole time watched on in awe as Iruka tore into their fellow classmates. "Sasuke you went too far and the only reason I am not failing you right now is because of that punch she threw before the match even begun" Iruka finished and walked over to his fellow instructor before conferring with him in a whispers.
The two instructors seemed to argue for a moment before Mizuki broke away with a sigh "Fine! Uchiha-kun you showed good form, you pass." Mizuki lips twitched and he let out a grumble before continuing "Uzumaki-kun your form wasn't great but it wasn't exactly bad either. Also you managed to knock Uchiha-kun out so… you pass."
Naru let out a whoop of joy her broken nose all but forgotten. The girl made for a ghastly sight with her face and shirt covered in blood. That didn't deter her from celebrating though. "Yes I did it I passed" the blonde said in happiness. Iruka snorted "Don't get ahead of yourself Naru. You still have one more test to pass if you want to become a Genin." Naru gave him a brilliant smile before running off towards the door that lead back inside shouting all the way "Than what are you waiting for let's go!"
Iruka smacked his forehead and grumbled "She better pass this time. One more year with that girl and one of us will be dead." The annoyed instructor glanced over to the rest of the class "Well what the hell are you all waiting for? Get back inside!" The class responded with a jolt and collectively dashed towards the classroom to escape their instructor's wrath.
Iruka followed mumbling to himself about how much he hated blondes. He had to turn his head though to his fellow instructor when he felt Mizuki's hand pat his back. "And we thought that becoming teachers would be much safer than taking standard missions. I really am starting to believe that the Uzumaki girl will be the death of you" Mizuki said cheerfully. Iruka just glared at him for a moment before heading into the classroom however he did leave Mizuki with a parting word.
"Screw you!"
Hope you enjoyed!