Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.
Chapter Summary: In which Rio fails the graduation exam, Naruto cleans up a mess, and Kakashi is late (but not really)
So we have finally reached the start of the Naruto canon! Only took 23 chapters (oops)
Things are going to both slow down and pick up the pace. There won't be big time gaps like there have been but a lot more will be going on the smaller time frame.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 23: Expectation vs Reality
Rio opened the top drawer, carefully rummaging around the assortment of kunai, combs and the occasional pair of socks. Nii-san could really do with organising his room; he was pretty sure those things weren't meant to be found in one drawer. If he had learned one thing about Nii-san during his search it was that Nii-san had no system for anything. He had no idea how his brother found anything in here.
It was a simple layout; as he entered the room, the orange futon was in the far left corner and it faced the old chest of drawers he was now searching. A wide window was set in the back wall with the wooden wardrobe covering it slightly as it was shoved into the far right corner. Nii-san's desk was in the corner opposite and Rio had no idea how he had managed to fit a small bookshelf just beside it. Both the desk and the bookshelf were overflowing with scrolls, books, ink brushes and various mugs. Rio couldn't identify the seals covering the walls but it was almost as if he could see Nii-san's thought process.
Not a single item of furniture matched and Rio knew that it was all second-hand. Nii-san always said it was boring to have matching furniture; that it was better to have a quirky home so it matched their family. Rio believed him and he had to admit he loved the colourful patchwork that was their flat. It really did make the place more comfortable; but Rio had also realised the more prominent reason. They simply didn't have the money. He had never noticed it growing up since he spent so little time around other kids outside of Kiba.
It was only when he started the academy he began to realise. He himself had never been without but Nii-san and Kazu-nee had. Neither had kimonos or even new clothes; Rio couldn't recall either of them buying something new for themselves outside of shinobi equipment. Nothing went to waste or was thrown away either, Rio was pretty sure his old clothes had been sown into something else by Kazu-nee. They never went out for dinner unless it was a special event or the occasional ramen. It was especially noticeable now since he had made friends with most of the clan kids.
"What're you doing?"
Rio hit his hand off the drawer as he slammed it shut, whirling around to stare at the door. Sasuke leaned against the doorframe; he raised his eyebrow pointedly.
"Nothing," Rio answered automatically even while knowing he looked guilty as hell.
"Right," Sasuke tilted his head. "I suppose Naruto knows you're searching his room then. He won't think anything of it when I mention it at dinner."
"Don't!" Rio blurted out.
He sighed as he glared at the other boy.
"Fine, I was trying to find the notes Kazu-nee made for Nii-san while they were at the academy. I need them for the graduation exam."
"Kazuya said we shouldn't use those notes because we should be passing on our own merit," said Sasuke and Rio didn't bother hiding his eye-roll. "Plus he made them after Naruto already passed so even he had to pass the exams on his own."
"Easy for you to say!" Rio pouted. "You're at the top of the class! I still can't do bunshin and the exam is only a few weeks away!"
"You're not that bad." It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes. "Other than bunshin you're nowhere near the bottom. You're above the Inuzuka, Nara and the Akimichi."
"Yeah and if they ask me to do bunshin in the exam, which they will because they know I'm bad at it, I fail no matter what."
Rio sighed heavily, pushing past Sasuke and flopping onto the worn sofa.
"I can't fail this exam, Sasuke," he said wearily. "My brother graduated early, was a chunin at ten and made tokubetsu jounin before he turned fifteen! Kazu-nee did all of that before he was seventeen! I'm already behind."
Sasuke came over and sat on the other chair.
"I just can't disappoint them," he admitted quietly. "I can't be the weakest in the family."
"You know they don't think of you that way," said Sasuke equally as quietly. "Naruto adores you and Kazuya would drop everything if you asked him to."
"But I know I am!" Rio sat up in a fit of emotion. "Nii-san has always been so protective over me! They told me about my parents and the Kyūbi but I know there's other stuff they've been keeping from me! They think I can't handle the hard stuff! And I'm going to prove them right when I fail the genin graduation exam two years after they made chunin!"
Rio panted harshly as he sunk back into the cushions. There were a few moments of silence before Sasuke spoke.
"You're not the only one, you know."
Rio looked over to him.
"Itachi made chunin at ten too," Sasuke continued. "Except he was made an ANBU captain at thirteen. I haven't even graduated from the academy and yet he was ANBU at my age. How am I supposed to beat that?"
Sasuke turned and Rio's heart twisted at the pain in his eyes.
"At least your brother is still around; he's still here to help you. Itachi tried to kill me after killing my whole family. Now I have to kill him but I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that."
Rio let the awkward silence hover over them as he tried to find the right words to say. Sasuke didn't talk about what happened to his family but when he did, it made Rio feel sick. He couldn't imagine Nii-san ever doing what Itachi did.
"I'll help," he finally said. "We help each other surpass our brothers. I know Nii-san and I are different from you and Itachi, but we want the same thing; to be stronger than them."
Rio knew that was an oversimplification of things but he hoped Sasuke understood what he was trying to say.
"The Uchiha are mine to avenge," said Sasuke firmly.
"And you'll avenge them," Rio agreed. "You'll be the one to kill him; but nobody said you couldn't have help getting you to that level."
Sasuke pondered his words for a moment and Rio hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing. He couldn't understand Sasuke; he had never known his parents so he had never really lost anyone before. Nii-san had always been there with Kazu-nee, so he had no idea how to relate to the Uchiha.
"You're more like Naruto than you seem to think," Sasuke threw him a small grin and Rio relaxed.
"I hope so," he joked. "It would make passing this exam a lot easier."
"I'll help you with bunshin if you spar with me," Sasuke offered. "You also have to go over history with me because there is no way I'm losing to a fangirl."
Rio laughed at the disgusted face Sasuke made.
"Sakura is super clever," he cackled. "Never know, she might lure you in with those big brains one day."
"No fucking way is that ever happening." Sasuke stated vehemently. "I will never date a girl; they are awful."
"Maybe you just haven't met a non-annoying one," Rio suggested, still cackling.
"Hinata is taken, isn't she?"
It was Rio's turn to splutter as Sasuke chuckled.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he pointed his finger at Sasuke's face, bright red. "She's just a friend; she's good at maths so she helps me sometimes. You will not mention her to Nii-san and especially Kazu-nee."
Sasuke just smirked.
"I mean it!" Rio yelled, his face only turning a brighter red.
"You mean what?"
Rio whipped around and spotted Nii-san in the doorway.
"Nothing!"
Sasuke let out a rare laugh and Rio could only pretend to glare at him, no heat behind the expression.
Naruto brushed a stray strand of hair behind his ear as he pointed out something on the mission scroll.
"We can't do that while things are still shaky with Suna," he said firmly. "While it was proved Konoha was framed, the Kazekage would still be unhappy if we sent our nin to the Land of Wind court. They think we're stealing enough missions as it is; last thing we want to alert them that we're carrying out missions in the Capital itself."
"This isn't an externally funded mission," Shikaku replied. "No progress has been made to find the noble behind Takeyama that caused that whole mess; if they've found anything Suna isn't talking."
"It's been almost a year," Naruto sighed, standing up straight. "We've tied it to Takeyama, who then pointed the finger at another village who were probably somewhat involved but not enough to do anything about it. We know for a fact it was someone in the Wind Daimyo's court who blackmailed Takeyama into it and we know there were messages exchanged with that village."
"Otogakure is very busy for such a new village," Shikaku mused, although Naruto could see the sharp glint in his eyes as he gazed down at the mission documents.
He hadn't been sure what to make of the Jounin Commander at first. They'd met once before on Rio's first day at the academy and Naruto knew his son, Shikamaru, pretty well by this point. At first Naruto thought he was the double of the kid; personality and appearance, barring the two long scars that ran down his face. As he got to know the Clan Head, Shikaku was indeed as relaxed and laid back as any Nara Naruto had worked with; however he was much stronger, with an iron will and a ruthless intelligence that Naruto hated having pointed towards himself.
Since his promotion to tokubetsu jounin last year, he had ended up working much more closely with the Nara than he had expected. He and Kazuya reported to the man to get their Hari missions but that was the only interaction Kazuya had with Shikaku. Naruto, on the other hand, since he was one of the few jounin working at the Desk, liaised with the man for A-rank and B-rank missions. Naruto spent as much time in Shikaku's offices as he did his own desk; he was barely assigned front desk duty anymore. He was too busy organising the missions themselves.
It was sometimes strange to see familiar names on the mission reports or to write down Kakashi's or Gai's or even Genma-sensei's name to assign their missions. It was a lot of responsibility, to know he was sending them into delicate and dangerous situations; to know that one day he might send them on a mission they don't come back from.
He had settled into his new role within weeks and now months later, he had a level of knowledge about the village's resources and capabilities that he wasn't sure a tokubetsu jounin was meant to have.
"How troublesome," Shikaku grumbled, his hand going up to stroke his goatee.
"Everything except shogi is troublesome to you," Naruto replied, amused.
"Speaking of shogi, you still owe me a match from New Year," Shikaku smirked at him and Naruto grimaced.
He had never played the game before working with Shikaku and he still wasn't sure he wanted to. The Nara clan were obsessed with the game and Shikaku tried to drag him down to the compound to play a few rounds with him every few weeks. He had managed to avoid this fate so far but he was running out of excuses.
"You must be able to find a better player than me," Naruto insisted. "I don't even know how to play; why not try the guys at the Jounin Standby Station? Asuma could probably give you at least a few hours entertainment."
"There's not many your age that could last that long against me," Shikaku continued to smirk. "If you keep playing, you could even beat me in another ten years. I'm only trying to help you practice."
Naruto rolled his eyes. Help him practice his ass; Shikaku just worked closely enough with Naruto that he knew when the redhead was free. He could also engineer some free time to play since he was Naruto's direct superior; he only wanted to play more shogi.
"I won't be around in ten years, remember?" Naruto sighed as Shikaku's grin dropped.
"All the more reason to make the most of it while you can," he said, his tone sombre.
Shikaku had been added to the very small circle of people that knew the truth about his condition not long into Naruto's new job. He should have known better than to try to hide something from a Nara; they were the most perceptive bastards in Konoha. The truth had come to light one evening when Naruto had been trying to stifle his cough as he and Shikaku worked overtime. He knew he should have really gone home but the mission had been due to leave the next day and there had been so many last minute details.
He had managed the dizziness by remaining seated the whole time but when he proceeded to cover his handkerchief in blood splatter after a particularly violent coughing fit, Shikaku had demanded the truth. It was either tell the Nara or get dragged to the hospital and Naruto wanted to avoid that outcome as much as possible. Shikaku hadn't been happy but he'd agreed to keep it to himself. Only Shikaku and Yakushi-sensei knew how bad it's gotten; he'd kept Kazuya and Genma-sensei in the dark so far.
"Yoshino still wants you round for dinner so might as well kill two birds with one kunai," Shikaku continued, his smirk returning if a bit subdued. "Don't make me issue it as an official clan invitation."
"Fine, fine, I promise I'll come round one of these days," Naruto finally relented. "After the graduation exam."
Shikaku nodded.
"I'll hold you to that." He dropped his gaze down to Naruto's outfit. "Though I suggest wearing at least a shirt for the occasion; if the other clan members see those seals, they'll try and marry you into the family then and there."
Naruto tried not to let the horror show too obviously on his face. He liked the Nara's, he was still half-convinced that Kazuya was related to them, but he had no intention of marrying anybody. He looked down at his clothes, frowning slightly.
After Suna he realized he couldn't tattoo storage seals onto his right arm as he had no way to activate them; he couldn't use chakra in his left hand so it wasn't logistically possible. He just wouldn't be able to reach. His torso, on the other hand, was free game.
He had scrawled storage seals across his ribs, three on each side, and three on his stomach, a large one above and two smaller ones below, forming a triangle around his belly button. He had added swirls and flowing lines to fill the spaces between the seals, most purely decorative with the odd protection and enhancement thrown in. To the untrained eye, it looked like one massive, complicated seal rather than several relatively simple smaller ones. It had taken days to get the design and hours to ink into his skin.
This had then introduced the problem of accessibility. In a fight, he wanted to be able to reach them quickly and easily; which was hard to do when they were covered by fabric. Kazuya had offered a solution although Naruto knew it had been a joke at the time.
His regular outfit consisted of his black trousers, the ends now wrapped in black bandages, leading into his black shinobi sandals. His black brace was hugging his arm, the strap across his chest and looping around his back. His beloved orange jacket was hanging on the back of his chair. What Kazuya had jokingly suggested that he was now wearing, was a black crop top. It was slightly loose against his chest with short sleeves and ended just before his new tattoo began. It had taken some getting used to but Naruto loved it.
"Okay, but I can't promise it won't be orange."
Shikaku rolled his eyes at Naruto's unrepentant grin.
Rio took a deep breath as he placed his brush down, Iruka-sensei announcing the end of the written portion of the exam. He was pretty confident on the history, even the geography and shinobi rules, but he wasn't too sure on his maths. He didn't think he ever would be no matter how long he spent studying.
He stood, following the rest of the class outside to the targets outside. He remained beside Sasuke as they were at the end due to their surnames. Most of his friends did pretty well; Kiba landed a score of 70/100 and Shikamaru and Chouji ended up in the mid-sixties. Rio threw enthusiastic thumbs up to Hinata as she scored 89/100; he was less enthusiastic but no less pleased when Sasuke sauntered back with the highest score of 98/100. He finally stepped forward for his turn and tried not to yell in triumph as he was awarded a score of 86/100; his personal best.
Taijutsu was next and Rio grinned widely as he was pitted against Sakura. The girl was smart but barely trained; even in class, she always complained about getting sweaty and dirty. She didn't want to be anything less than perfect for Sasuke-kun. Rio always enjoyed the look on Sasuke's face every time she said that. His friend shot him a jealous look, already having won his fight against Shino. Shikamaru looked about ready to surrender as he eyed Ino, the girl fully willing and able to deck him. Kiba had gotten lucky, easily beating the civilian boy he was matched with.
He took his place in the ring, his grin only widening as the pink-haired girl looked back at him nervously. She'd had many, many horrible things to say about him over the years and now finally he would be able to pay some of it back. Some part of him knew that it was the other civilian girls' who had influenced Sakura, as she had actually been quite shy in first year. Things started to go downhill when the Sasuke fan club had been formed.
"You may begin!"
At Iruka-sensei's words Rio lunged forward, Sakura barely able to scramble back to throw up a basic block. Rio purposefully allowed his punch to be blocked and he danced backwards to give her some space. She got into a shaky version of the basic academy stance and Rio laughed.
One issue with not seeking extra taijutsu instruction was that they ended up with only the most basic forms that they had been taught to fall back on. Rio had been sparring with Nii-san, Kazu-nee and several others since he joined the academy; Nii-san was particularly adamant that Rio needed to learn to improvise and expand on what he'd already learned. He was pretty sure Sakura had never been ambushed with glitter nor had her room booby-trapped for training and it showed.
"Quit playing around, Rio!" Kiba called out. "I wanna see Shikamaru get pulverised by Ino!"
Rio rolled his eyes as Sakura glared at the Inuzuka in offense. Iruka turned to tell the boy off and Rio moved. He darted forward again and Sakura put up the same block. He swung his leg, kicking her on the side of her left arm and knocking her off balance. He lunged, planting his fist through the gap in her defence before she could react. His punch landed square on her stomach; she wheezed and coughed as Rio pulled his fist back and swung again. He hit her cheek and she went stumbling back, landing on her backside outside of the ring.
"Haruno Sakura is out of bounds. Uzumaki Norio wins."
Rio smiled. He had totally made up for his maths with this. He bounced back to his group of friends.
"You're horrible, you know that!"
He turned to see Ino helping Sakura up, the pink-haired girl trying not to cry.
"You didn't have to do that to her!" Ino continued hotly. "You can't treat girls like that!"
Rio sighed; he had no patience for this argument.
"What, like bandits and enemy nin are going to be gentle with her," he scoffed. "Real ninja don't care if you're a boy or a girl. You should be able to fight and win against anyone."
He wasn't about to start treating girls like they were delicate; he knew Tsume-baachan and Hana-neechan. They were way stronger than a lot of the guys he knew.
"Still you could have given her a chance to fight and show her skills," Ino insisted, although some of the heat had left her words.
"Then maybe she should have trained more instead of worrying about her hair," Rio replied with zero remorse.
He turned back around and continued forward, standing beside Chouji. The last few fights passed quickly; the only surprise was Shikamaru who lasted much longer than Rio would have thought. Rio had no issues with the genjutsu portion; he had always found them easy to break.
The time finally came for the ninjutsu potion and the dread just grew with every kid that came out the room with and without a headband. Sasuke emerged, his headband tied firmly around his forehead and Rio stood, trying to keep calm. He entered the room and faced Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei.
"Uzumaki Norio. Change into a family member or someone you admire."
Rio formed the hand signs and disappeared in a puff of smoke. His big brother, Naruto, appeared in his place and he put his hands on his hips, beaming proudly. This was easy; it covered both the criteria and he knew every detail by heart. He released the jutsu, going back to his original form.
"Now perform bunshin; you must form at least two functioning clones."
His heart dropped. He remained frozen for a long moment and Iruka looked at him expectantly.
"Anytime now, Rio."
He slowly formed the hand seals, squeezing his eyes shut as he hoped and wished that it would work just this once. He heard the two puffs of smoke appearing and he opened his eyes. He tried to stop the tears from spilling over as he stared at the pale, sickly faces of the deformed clones.
"I'm sorry, Rio, but you have failed the graduation exam," said Iruka-sensei firmly. "You will join the new class in two weeks to repeat your final year. You may take the graduation exam again next year."
Rio was frozen as he continued staring at the clones. Iruka-sensei stood with Mizuki-sensei, but he hesitated before coming over to Rio.
"I'm sorry, Rio," he said more genuinely. "If it wasn't for bunshin you would have passed with flying colours."
That only served to make him feel worse. He finally released the jutsu as Iruka left the room. He didn't notice when Mizuki-sensei appeared next to him.
"There's a secret way to pass the exam," he revealed. "Iruka didn't mention it because he thinks it's too difficult but I believe in you. Are you willing to do it?"
Rio nodded immediately. He didn't even think about it; anything was better than going out there and facing his family without a headband. Mizuki-sensei had been weird with him throughout the year but right now he was his lifeline.
"Okay, come with me out the back," Mizuki-sensei said, clasping Rio's shoulder firmly. "I'll tell you what you need to do."
Naruto raced through the door of the office, taking in the complete anarchy as people dashed around yelling. He grabbed Hijiri as he passed.
"What the hell is going on?" He demanded. "Why is the village alarm system going off?"
"Rio stole the Forbidden Scroll," Hijiri rushed out. "No one can find him."
It felt like the floor had dropped out from beneath him. Rio had done what? Was that where he had gone? He and Kazuya had met Sasuke outside the academy and he had been so, so proud of him. He had promised to keep training the boy and had pulled him in for a tight hug. He had almost been brought to proud and happy tears when Sasuke had hugged him back. He was still so reserved and preferred to avoid physical contact, but he had opened up so much in three and a half years.
They had been waiting around for Rio when the alarm had gone off. Kazuya had sped off to the hospital and Naruto had sent Sasuke home to watch Momo who was bound to be panicking at the loud, wailing noise.
He could have easily sensed for Rio while waiting outside but he'd purposely tried to restrict his range to as small a radius as possible. He didn't want to feel how Rio was doing; he wanted Rio to tell him himself. That appears to have been a mistake as he immediately expanded his range, easily covering most of Konoha by this point.
"I say we capture and punish the demon brat," Iwana spoke up vehemently. "We should have killed it years ago before it started causing problems like this."
"Shut the fuck up, Iwana," Naruto snapped back.
Iwana Akame was a part-time academy teacher in his thirties, who spent the rest of his time at the Desk. Naruto hated the man with a burning passion that he was sure was mutual. He had it out for Rio and was extremely vocal about it. Naruto had clashed with him on many occasions over the years and he was grateful that his promotion took him mostly out of the office.
"Just because you took in that thing and raised it doesn't mean it changed its nature," Iwana spat, the old argument familiar.
"I said shut up, Chunin Iwana," Naruto sneered, emphasising his rank.
Iwana's mouth clicked shut as he tried to murder Naruto with his eye; he was sure the man would have burned a hole through his eye patch if he still had the other one. Naruto turned away from him, half his attention searching Konoha and the rest assessing the personnel he had.
"Okay, I'll find him and bring him back. I have the best chance of finding him through my sensing abilities. Kana, stop that alarm; everyone else get out on the streets and keep people calm and security airtight. We don't want anyone taking advantage of the alarm. Hijiri, Tachibana, Akito, you three go down to the vault the scroll was kept in. The security team should be down there already; assess what future changes and missions we might need to assign so this doesn't happen again."
There was a chorus of 'Yes, sirs' before Iwana spoke up again.
"Oh yeah, send yourself to pick the brat up," he sneered. "Like you're going to do anything about it; you're too soft."
"You have your assignment," Naruto said, his mind elsewhere as he finally located Rio in the Forest. "I will bring both Norio and the scroll back to the Hokage for judgement."
He quickly formed the tiger seal and appeared in the forest, which had fallen into darkness as the evening began. He searched for Rio's signature once again and found it quickly, frowning at the familiar signature nearby. He ran to Rio's position, startling the younger boy as he studied the open scroll.
"Norio!"
The blond looked up in fear; it was never good when Naruto used his proper name.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" He strode forward angrily as Rio rolled up the scroll and scrambled to his feet.
"But Nii-san I was just doing the special part of the exam!" Rio frantically blurted out.
"What special part?" Naruto stopped advancing.
Rio hesitated and Naruto flared his chakra in warning.
"Norio, tell me now."
"I...I failed the exam," Rio finally admitted. "I can't do bunshin; Mizuki-sensei said if I learned a technique off this scroll then he'd pass me."
"Mizuki said what?" Naruto repeated before the signature finally revealed itself.
"I told the demon brat that if he stole the Forbidden Scroll and learned something off it, he'd pass," Mizuki smirked. "Not that he'd be able to learn anything of course; I just needed a scapegoat and who better than the container of the Kyūbi."
Naruto's anger burned brighter and he whipped a seal out of his pocket, forming familiar hand seals.
"Shunshin!"
He appeared right next to the chunin and the man barely had a chance to respond before Naruto slapped his seal on him. There was a bright burst of lightning and Mizuki dropped like a stone, Naruto barely catching him before he fell out of the tree. He took off the massive shuriken from the man's back and stored it away into one of his storage seals. He hiked him over his shoulder and walked down the trunk; Rio's eyes were blown wide with shock as he stared at him.
"You beat Sensei so easily," he whispered as Naruto stuck a sleeping seal onto Mizuki.
Last thing he needed was him waking up to cause more trouble.
"I should hope so," Naruto said, still holding on to the anger. "He's not a very good chunin."
He dumped Mizuki onto the ground and folded his arms, staring down at Rio.
"What on earth possessed you to steal that scroll?" He demanded. "You stole from the Hokage, from Konoha; did you even think twice? Did it not occur to you to speak to someone before you did it? I understand he was your teacher and you trusted him but I thought I had taught you better than that!"
"I…" Rio started hesitantly. "I had to pass the graduation exam; I had to become a genin. I couldn't fail and when Mizuki-sensei told me I could pass I-"
"Rio, it's okay that you failed, I don't care about that!" Naruto threw up his hands. "I care that you hid something so simple to the point you committed treason!"
"Well, it's easy for you to say!" Rio screamed back. "You don't know what it's like, being the weakest. You were a chunin at my age; of course it matters that I failed. You're a jounin yet I can't do one simple fucking jutsu to become a genin! I'm always being left behind!"
There was a moment of silence as Naruto stared at his brother, the younger boy out of breath from his rant.
"I couldn't disappoint you, Nii-san," Rio continued quietly. "Being an Uzumaki is hard enough to live up to as it is."
Naruto sat down heavily and gestured for Rio to do the same. His little brother took a seat, refusing to look at him.
"Rio, I was dead last at the academy."
Wide, violet eyes turned to him in surprise. Naruto held up a hand to stem the tide of questions until he could finish.
"Yes, I graduated at seven but it was by the skin of my teeth. I got so much help from Kazuya and Hana that people thought they carried me through; which they did in a way. I was the weakest in my genin team; it's only after I became chunin that my ninjutsu and taijutsu improved enough to get me on the same level."
He sighed.
"I couldn't do bunshin at the academy either; I was just really lucky that it wasn't one they asked for. It wasn't for another three years after I graduated that I finally mastered it. If I had known you had trouble with it, I could have helped."
He looked sadly over to Rio.
"I don't look down on you or think you can't do the same things I can but I don't think you should end up like me either. I've only ever wanted the best for you, you know? To give you everything I never had; to give you a bit of time before you got thrown into the world. I got so much help so when I can do the same for others, I want to repay that debt. I didn't mean to make you feel like you had something to prove." He reached over to ruffle Rio's hair and was relieved when the younger boy let him. "No one is perfect and no one certainly got strong overnight."
"Oh." Rio mumbled.
"Please just promise me you'll ask for help next time you're struggling with something," Naruto sighed. "It doesn't even have to be me; Kakashi, Kazuya, even Tsume would be more than happy to help you."
"I promise, Nii-san."
"Okay," Naruto hauled himself to his feet and grabbed Mizuki. "Let's go return the scroll and speak to the Hokage."
Rio followed him quietly, hugging the Forbidden Scroll to his chest.
Rio stared at the classroom door in front of him.
Last night had been a mess; Nii-san had gotten him an audience with the Hokage but left it to him to explain what happened. Jiji had been very understanding and when he showed the old man what technique he learned from the scroll, he was more than happy to pass him. Kage Bunshin had finally let him make a decent clone and even Nii-san had choked a bit when he had proved he could do the technique.
He just couldn't believe he'd been tricked so easily. He'd found out that Mizuki was being interrogated as a traitor shortly before he'd been sworn to silence on the matter. Sasuke had found out what happened though practically living with him and had only called him a dobe. Rio couldn't really argue that. Kazu-nee had been disappointed but nowhere near as angry as Nii-san had been. Nii-san had congratulated him on his graduation before promptly grounding him.
Rio wasn't allowed out for anything but genin team activities for a month and he was designated to do all chores except cooking for that duration. He had never really been grounded before but had seen it plenty of times with Kiba. He thought the punishment was pretty light for what he'd done but he figured Nii-san knew how horrible he was feeling about it all anyway. Nii-san had left early that morning for work and although he didn't say anything before he left, Rio knew it was because of him in some way.
Kazu-nee's had sat him down much like Nii-san had to talk to him. He pointed out that Nii-san had three years on him and Kazu-nee had five; of course they were going to be further ahead. Nii-san did nothing but work, train and look after him and Sasuke; deep down Rio knew he didn't train as much as Nii-san even though he had far more free time. Even though he now knew that Nii-san hadn't always been that strong, he still felt out of reach somehow. Nii-san had always been the image of the strongest shinobi to him, even over Kashi and Jiji.
As he reached for the door, Kazu-nee's final words floated around his head.
'Sometimes the wrong choices lead to the right places.'
It didn't make him feel much better but it did help a little. He pulled the door open and stepped inside, trying to keep his head high. Nobody knew what happened last night so no one knew he had failed. The Hokage himself had allowed his graduation so he had no reason to believe he didn't belong here. He desperately tried to believe that.
Kiba waved at him but there were no free seats around him. He slid in next to Sasuke who had gone ahead of him earlier.
"If you look any more guilty, people are going to guess dobe."
He shot a glare at Sasuke.
"Quit calling me that already, I know I fucked up."
Some more people began arriving and Rio perked up at the sight of Hinata. Before he could wave at her, Sakura stomped into his view.
"Move," she demanded. "I wanted to sit next to Sasuke-kun."
"Maybe you should have gotten here earlier," Rio sniped, leaning back further in his chair and propping his feet up. "So fuck off."
He waved his hand in a shooing motion and watched in delight as she stormed off towards the back of the class. She was still sporting a bruise on her cheek although it was obvious she had tried to cover it up with make-up. There was nothing like annoying the shit out of fangirls to cheer him up. Sasuke covered him with the monster and demon crowd and he helped out with the fangirls. It was a good system.
Iruka-sensei finally entered the room and clapped his hands to get their attention.
"I just wanted to say again, congratulations to all of you here for passing the exam." His gaze lingered over Rio for a short moment. "On a sadder note, Mizuki will no longer be a teacher at this academy although I'm sure he's happy for you too."
Rio snorted but managed to disguise it as a cough. Sure he was; Mizuki was totally just leaving instead of being held in a cell somewhere.
"Now, on to team assignments. Team One will be Nozaru Izumi, Tanada Daichi and Kaneyama Shouto. Team Two…"
Rio drowned out the names as he didn't associate with any of them. They didn't like him very much; he was sure it was because of some garbage they'd been fed about the Kyūbi. The first time he heard the name of a friend was his own team.
"Team Seven is Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Norio and Haruno Sakura. Your jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi."
"YES!"
Rio covered his mouth as everyone turned to stare at him. He mumbled out a sorry but he was too excited to care.
"Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyūga Hinata and Aburame Shino. Your jounin-sensei will be Yūhi Kurenai."
His sensei was Kashi! He was on a team with Sasuke! Not even having Sakura on his team could dampen his mood. He exchanged an excited look with Kiba; this was better than he could have hoped!
"Team Nine is still active in the field so Team Ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino. Your jounin-sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."
Rio laughed as he heard Shikamaru's head thump to his desk. He was in Rio's position, one friend, one fangirl except he didn't know his sensei. Rio had known his godfather since birth; which meant as each team was led out of the room, Rio relaxed further into his chair. Soon enough half an hour had passed, everyone was gone and it was only Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura left.
"Where is he?" Sakura huffed.
"Kashi is late to everything," Rio spoke up, engrossed in a game of catch the kunai with Sasuke. He had moved to the other side of the room and was passing it back and forth. "We've probably got another hour or so before he turns up."
"I'm hurt Rio, that you would think so little of me."
Rio startled, launching the kunai at the voice. Kashi caught it, spinning the tool around on his finger.
"Good reflexes," he pocketed the kunai. "Come on, up to the roof."
The man vanished before Rio could demand answers and as they reached the roof, the jounin was already leaning on the railing.
"Why are you here so early?" Rio asked, ignoring Sakura's indignant 'he's late'.
"Maybe I just wanted to meet my cute little genin as soon as possible," Kashi eye-smiled.
"Naruto threatened you, didn't he?" Sasuke spoke up in an amused voice.
The jounin froze, a sweat drop forming.
"Anyway," Kashi clapped his hands. "Let's get to know each other! So we'll go around; state your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future."
Rio exchanged a smirk with Sasuke as they sat down on the steps, facing their new jounin-sensei.
"Why don't you show us how it's done, sensei?" Sakura asked sweetly and Rio rolled his eyes.
"Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi and I don't feel like telling you my likes or dislikes. My hobbies...I have lots of hobbies. My dreams for the future...I've never really thought about it."
There was a brief moment of silence.
"That was rubbish, Kashi."
While Kashi proceeded to gasp dramatically, Sakura whipped round to glare at him.
"Rio, you can't say that to our teacher. It's rude!"
"Relax, Sakura," Rio waved her off dismissively. "I've known Kashi since I was born."
She gaped at him before turning to confirm with Sasuke.
"I do not know him well but we have met a few times before," the Uchiha shrugged.
As Sakura processed the information, Kashi stopped acting silly and looked at Rio.
"Though since I'm your jounin-sensei now, Rio, you should really call me Kakashi-sensei." He clapped his hands once more. "Now, we shall continue our introductions with pinky there."
Sakura appeared to get over her confusion quite quickly as she straightened her back.
"I'm Haruno Sakura and I like..." She kept taking glances at Sasuke. "I-I mean who I like..."
"Just get on with it; we all know you're obsessed with Sasuke!" Rio threw his hands up, exasperated.
"I don't like Rio," she snapped.
"My hobbies are..." she continued, the anger vanished and replaced by giggles. "They're a secret. My dreams for the future are also a secret."
She stared at Sasuke and the boy moved a few inches away from her. Rio shrugged as Kashi glanced at him questioningly.
"Okay, Rio, you're next."
"I'm Uzumaki Rio!" he began enthusiastically. "I love my family, ramen, green and powerful jutsu. I don't like fangirls, ignorant people or mushrooms. My hobbies are playing catch, walking my dog and hanging out with my friends. My dream for the future is to become the Hokage!"
He glared at Sakura as the girl scoffed at him.
"Uchiha, you now."
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he stated calmly. "I like tomatoes and training. I don't like fangirls or weak people. My hobbies are training and katon jutsu. My goal for the future is to avenge my clan and find out the truth about that night."
His fists clenched tightly towards the end of his introduction.
"We've got an interesting bunch here!" Kashi chirped. "So tomorrow morning, you will meet me at training ground seven for a survival exercise. The results will determine who makes genin and who is sent back to the academy for remedial training. There are twenty-seven graduates this year which makes your chances about sixty-six percent!"
"Wait, what?" Rio launched himself to his feet. "No one said anything about an extra test!"
"I thought we were genin already!" added Sakura hotly.
"This test is to weed out who will make it as a shinobi and who won't," Kashi explained nonchalantly. "Now, you're free to go but I expect you at the training ground at five am sharp. I recommend skipping breakfast or you'll puke!"
He disappeared in a puff of smoke and Rio just stared at the place he had been in shock. He thought it was over; he passed the exam, he got his headband, he should be a genin. Now it could all be taken away from him?
Suddenly he was a bit less excited at having Kashi as his jounin-sensei.
Thanks for reading!
