Damn it all! (2)

(ちくしょうめII)

"Enough! I won't accept your lack of discipline and focus, not when the genin ceremony is soon."

A chunin of Konoha, Iruka Umino (海野 海豚) was well recognized by the children – from every scold to every instruction, he bellowed like a drill sergeant. The other chunin Mizuki (見津木), to keep an air that everything was going to be all right even with a storming Iruka, posed as a contrast by standing right next to him quietly. Smiling, he nodded his head. It was a sign of Mizuki's consensus tilting towards chunin like himself. Rather, it was towards the role of ninja instructors.

"And when this is over," Iruka continued, "you're going to the monument and clean up that mess you made!" He further rebuked, folding his arms. Naruto Uzumaki sat a short ways from the two chunin. His body was tight and all eyes were on him. He was front of a wave of children and bound in ropes. Naruto wouldn't let up his scowl, showing his disobedience, not after being dragged back to where he had escaped from.

Until the ceremony, he was still stuck at the courtyards and indoor classes of the Academy: a hip-and-gable-roofed structure that housed many, more than a usual residence, built below the Monument. No, it was below the eyes of the Monument to watch the ninja generations, being second only in height when it came to the tallest attractions of Konoha. The "Academy" was a small castle upon leveled ground. Some called it Gakko-Shiro (学校城); to Naruto, it felt like the Gaki-Shiro – a castle that trapped demonic brats like him.

Iruka sighed to ease himself and faced the other kids. "Children. Receiving your band is no different than becoming an adult. You must muster and maintain your focus at all times." Saying this, he raised a hand in a gesture to encourage understanding. To all, it felt like an inborn teaching or adult gesture.

"How many times do you have to say that, sensei?" Naruto spat.

Iruka glowered, "I must say it many times to engrave it into your heads, especially you Naruto!"

The smiling Mizuki closed his eyes as if touched by Iruka's words. He knew, and so did everyone else, that Iruka was passionate with his duty.

"Humph!" Naruto turned his head away. He would miss it, but Iruka's face reddened. The chunin stomped his foot and his glower targeted the rest of the kids.

"Konoha class! Stand up and perform the transformation technique. Let's go, line up everyone!" A huge boo sounded through the courtyard.

"Enough! Show me the extent of your training! Up up up! Then after that, practice writing your name in Kanji! Nara, Aburame, Akechi, you have after-class cleaning duty." Iruka wasn't in a mood for derision. It was all for the best of everyone. Mizuki knelt next to Naruto and cut away the ropes with a kunai.

"You too Naruto, go on." He said in a calm voice as if to assuage the embarrassment and weight upon the kid. Naruto lifted from the grass and crossed his arms. Moving towards the other kids, he glared at them all. He heard all of the harsh words before.

"This is all your fault Naruto!"

"Stupid Naruto!"

"Damn it!"

Towards them all, Naruto Uzumaki smirked. One day, even if others wouldn't see it, he would reach his coveted goal. It was best to have everyone look at him: He was a star ready to shine.

"Like I care," He said. It was easy for him to say; practicing chakra techniques or jutsu was like laps around the entire castle. To press their bodies towards the edge of death with just a movement of the hands and uttering of a few words, that was training in jutsu. In just seconds, their strength blew out of them like air from bellows. It was painful, especially for kids. To do that against their will, especially near the end of school when their minds and bodies were already exhausted, warranted a grudge.

When "Gaki-Shiro" ended, Naruto made the escape again - momentarily.

"Guh!" He found his back shoved against a tree trunk. A hand squeezed against the collar of his orange nagajuban - a simple robe usually worn as an undergarment, but due to its fabric simplicity, everyone thought it suited a dress code for the aspiring genin.

"Hey, quit messing around. Your stupidity is gonna get us killed one day."

"Wait, Sasuke!"

"Chouji, don't. Really, I'm already aching from the cleaning. Do we need to get involved anything troublesome?"

"But it's wrong!"

"You can leave if you want. Since Iruka won't beat him, I will."