Naruto: Shattered Destiny

by KingdomCody

Keiki Sekine was born into this world different. He sees the world differently than anyone else, he sees it as a game. No he wasn't reborn into the role. His first glimpse of life is of a video game. Can he survive long enough to figure out how to make use of his gift, or will he be killed out of jealousy?

5. Almost Graduation

Shattered Destiny:

Chapter 5: Almost Graduation

"You were on the list for graduation?" Goro-sensei asks with genuine surprise.

"Yup! I'm going to do it too." I smile up at him, twirling my tonfa's excitably.

"Keiki-kun, the Graduation Exam is fatal." He warns.

"Fatal?" I ask, unsure of the word's meaning.

"It's a matter of life or death."

"Oh." I say unbothered, he must mean that metaphorically. "I'll 'survive'." I tell Sensei confidently.

"I want you to train every day from here on out." Sensei says.

Speaking of which! "I was able to train today, but only for a few skill levels."

"So training does work?" Sensei asks coyly.

"Maybe?" I try. "It was only for five skill levels, I'm locked out from more training until I level up."

"Huh." Sensei rubs his chin, thinking it over. "It changes nothing, we're going to Training ground five today and you are training whether you like it or not."

"Ah man!" I whine, holding my tonfa's behind my head. "Can I at least get three skills to ten first?"

"What do you have?"

"One Handed's at six, Block's at five, Taijutus's at ten… oh! I got a talent star that makes my Taijutsu stronger." I set my Tonfa's aside and punch, my arm glowing slightly. "Did you see it?"

"See what?"

"My arm glows!" I punch again, Sensei looks closely.

"Again."

I comply. "Can't you see it? I can see inside my arm." I watch the through my arm with each thrust of my fist.

"It's very faint, but I think I can see what you're talking about." Sensei says doubtfully.

"You can't see it." I disappointedly pick up the tonfa I put down.

"If you can see it I believe you, your bloodline lets you see things that no one else can." Sensei assures me.

"Still." I pout.

"So… How do you 'train' your Block skill?"

"I have to block attacks."

"Sounds like sparring would help, I'll have to find you a partner." Sensei rubs his chin.

"Will it be someone from my class?"

"It might, I want you to have a little bit of a chance." He chuckles jokingly.

"Who?" I press, will it be Junichi? I hope it is, I can't wait to take that smug look off of his face!

"I don't know anyone in your class Keiki." Sensei holds his hands up. "Until I find someone, I'll help you train."

"Okay." I sigh, Sensei isn't a fighter so I don't know how much he'll be able to help.

"Ferryman!" Sensei calls out to a nearby ferry.

"Yes?" She calls back.

"Training ground five, it should be empty today."

"Yes sir!" We climb into the ferry and Sensei pays the ferryman for her service.

"Why're you so nervous?" I can see the sweat coming off of him.

"I can't afford you failing the graduation exam."

"How old is he?" The ferryman asks, suddenly worried.

"Nine, hasn't been in the academy for a full year." Sensei shakes his head.

"He doesn't stand a chance!" She laments.

"He's right here!" I snap. "I can take care of myself." Pouting, I fold my arms over one another, with the tonfas still in my grip.

"When we're done you will." Sensei snaps, shutting me up. He softens, guilt on his face. "You'll only get one chance at this, I hope you realize."

If I fail once I get dropped from the system altogether? That's a bit harsh. "I won't fail." I promise.

"Don't tell your parents about this, the stress will kill them."

"Yes, Sensei." Wouldn't they be glad if I failed the exam? I'd be kicked out and no longer a ninja.

"We're here." The ferryman tells us, pulling up to the shore.

"Thank you." Sensei pays her the rest of the yen she's owed as we step off. "We'll need someone to take us elsewhere once we're done, feel free to spread the word."

"Sure thing." She shoves off, quickly vanishing from sight. Once she's gone Sensei turns and hurries to the training ground.

I hurry to catch up. I've never seen Sensei so distressed. Is he that worried about me becoming a ninja? I'm happy he wants to see me succeed.

"Okay, stance." he tells me.

With a goan I comply. I get into my Taijutsu stance, Yoichibei said that tonfas are Taijutsu weapons but would require some changes in style in how to use them properly.

Why's there so much emphasis on proper use? It's annoying! Sensei pulls out a pair of gloves with targets on them, they seem rather thick. They'll do. "When'd you get that?" I ask as he puts them on.

"A few days ago, they had to be custom made." Goro-sensei explains. "We're not only going to train your your One Handed, but we're going to do it right." He says, and I'm half annoyed and half excited.

"What's your One handed at?"

"Uuuhhh… just a moment." I call back the stars, the environment engulfed by the space. One Handed, One Handed. There it is! "Six." I say, pulling out of the stars.

"Six from one?" He asks.

"Yup, I can't train anymore this level." I quote the message, nodding as I do.

"Hit the gloves, fast and precise." Sensei tells me and I complied.

+5 One Handed Taijutsu XP (5/225). +5 Taijutsu XP (5/325).

The two notifications pop up and I hesitate. "Something wrong?" Sensei asks cautiously.

"This is effecting Taijutsu and One Handed."

"Even better." He nods. "Again."

One Handed has leveled to 7 (0/250). +7 Character XP (27/100). +5 Taijutsu XP (225/325)

+5 One Handed XP (100/250). Taijutsu has leveled to 11 (0/350). +11 Character XP (38/100)

I don't like how serious Sensei is, it's not normal. It scares me.

One Handed has leveled to 8 (0/275). +8 Character XP (35/100). +5 Taijutsu XP (250/350)

He hasn't said a thing, he must want to get this done first before moving on to anything else. "A-are you okay, Sensei?"

"I'm planning." He answers bluntly.

+5 One Handed XP (5/275). +5 Taijutsu XP (255/350)

"You look angry."

"I do?" He shakes his head. "Sorry Keiki, you're a sweet kid." He visibly softens.

+5 One Handed XP (10/275). +5 Taijutsu XP (260/350)

I don't know what else to say or do, if he's worried I'll fail this much, then I just have to try harder until I pass.

Easy.

+5 One Handed XP (150/275). Taijutsu has leveled to 12 (0/375). +12 Character XP (47/100)

One handed has leveled to 9 (0/300). +9 Character XP (44/100). +5 Taijutsu XP (125/375)

Sensei shakes his hand, but doesn't say anything.

+5 One Handed XP (250/300). Taijutsu has leveled to 13 (0/400). +13 Character XP (57/100)

"Why're we doing this?" I ask.

"So you don't complain that I'm not helping with your Kekkei Genkai when we're doing your real training." Sensei answers bluntly.

Oh…

One Handed has leveled to 10 (0/325). +10 Character XP (67/100). +5 Taijutsu XP (50/400)

Quest updated: Academy Days:

Raise 3 skills to 10: 2/3

"Okay, it's ten." I say, unsure what I'm supposed to do and feel.

"Finally." Sensei shakes the feeling back into his hands. "You are not allowed to complain at all, okay?"

"At all? I thought it was so I don't complain about my Kekkei Genkai." I ask him.

Speech is now level 2. +2 Character XP (69)

I glance at the notification for just a moment. I didn't do anything, so how did it level? Sensei yields. "Just… You need this, okay?"

"I understand, sensei." I nod solemnly. Now's not the time to whine and complain… but I might do it anyways.

"Tonfa's are martial arts weapon, extensions of your body, more philosophical babble." He waves his hands in the air. "You are to flip those tonfas around and thrust with them in one motion." He holds his hand out and I hand him a tonfa.

"Like this." He twirls the tonfa, it's not proficient or fast, but he performs the thrust.

"Okay." I twirl my tonfa and thrust it, I was so off.

"With both hands, not just your main hand." He hands me the tonfa back.

I bite my lip, already it's getting under my skin. This doesn't do anything for me! But i promised Sensei. I twirl the tonfas and thrust them, I went too far with one and the other… isn't even close to being right, for either side.

"Are you trying?" Goro-sensei suddenly asks me.

"Yes, sensei." I say with a controlled voice. "I did it." I say trying to inject enthusiasm into my success.

"Good, again." Sensei nods in approval. "It's not enough until you get it every time."

"Yes, sensei."

My stamina starts dropping before long.

-5 stamina.

I can feel each point drop away.

-5 Stamina.

Are there stones in these tonfas?

-5 Stamina.

"Stop." Sensei calls out. "Take a break." He rubs his chin. "I thought you never tired." He observes.

"Me too." I sit down and drop my Tonfas. I hope I never have to pick them up again, it was a mistake to take a weapon in the first place. "Can we stop training for the day?" I ask.

"No."

"Can we stop earlier than you planned?" I beg.

Speech has leveled to 3. +3 character XP (92/100)

"Alright, I thought you never got exhausted, I was planning around that."

I thought I never got exhausted either. I nod simply in reply.

We trained all day. Then once I was out of the academy we trained all day. I'd come home eat something then collapse on my bed without changing out of my clothes.

The next day was exactly the same.

As was the next. How much longer can I keep going?

Exhaustion has been added to active effects: -25% stamina regeneration.

I didn't tell Sensei about that, maybe he'll notice?

The next day was the same. I can finally twirl my tonfas proficiently, and so we moved on to proper stance. Why does everything have to be proper!?

The next day was the same.

Exhaustion X2 has been added to active effects: -50% stamina regeneration.

Mommy walked me home from the academy the next day, I got to stay home and sleep. Daddy was arguing with someone over the phone, I hope it's not about me.

I avoided Sensei the next day, taking the ferry straight home. Once back I did some training on my own in the basement so I didn't smash anything by accident. Just practicing some swings, the Graduation Exams are coming up and I want to be as good as I can be.

I didn't keep training for long, the lack of progress was getting under my skin. "Keiki?"

"Yes mommy?" I call up.

"Someone's here for you!"

Someone's here to see me? The only people who come to see me is Sensei and some of the neighbor's kids when they really need an extra person. "Coming!" I run up the stairs, setting aside my Tonfas.

I come around the corner and finally see who the visitor is. "Oh, hey Mei-chan." I wave.

"Hi Keiki, are you okay? You haven't been looking well lately." She asks.

Mommy lets out a muffled squeal and lets Mei-chan in. "Mom!" I shout horrified.

"I'm sorry." She hastily apologizes. "Anyone wants some cookies?"

Curse my weakness for sweets. "I do." I mumble angrily.

"What are they?"

"Chocolate chip."

"My favorite!"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes!"

"Be right back." Mom closes the door and rushes off into the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home." I gesture to the couch, that's what I'm supposed to do right? At least that's what mommy told me I was supposed to do.

"Thank you." She sits down on the couch and I sit down in the seat across from her. "Are you okay? You look sick." She pokes at the bags under my eyes.

"I'm okay, just exhausted." I'd know if I were sick, Tutorial would tell me. "Sensei's been pushing me because of the exams coming up." I lean back and yawn, I don't feel like I got enough sleep last night.

"Is sensei the man who's been walking you home?"

"Yeah, he's been with me for the last five years." I stretch out, holy that feels good.

"You've been training to be a ninja for five years?" She looks at me strangely. "No wonder you can throw fire already."

"No, no no!" I wave my hands hurriedly. "Goro-sensei tutors me in school stuff, it was when the graduation exams came up that he started pushing me like this." I finger the bags under my eyes.

"Oh, if you were never taught, then how come you can throw fire?" Mei-chan asks the question I've been expecting.

"Your guess is as good as mine." I ignite my hand and hold it up. "I could just always do it, I guess."

"Cookies!" Mommy comes back with a plate of cookies and sets it down on the coffee table. "Don't mind me." She backs up, taking a cookie for herself but doesn't leave the room. "Is she one of your academy friends?"

"I know her from the academy, yes." I put my hand aside, the flames dying out instantly.

"Do you want to train together at-" Mei starts, but mom's muffled squeals of joy cut her off.

"MOM!"

"I'll just go, I'm so sorry." Mommy retreats, but the damage is done.

I can feel the blush all over my face. "I'm so sorry about my mom." I hold my face in my hands.

"Cookie?" Mei holds a cookie out for me, while keeping two for herself.

Wordlessly I take the cookie and nibble on it.

"You want to train with me, why?" I ask her, trying to pull attention away from the embarrassment.

"You're always alone, you looked fine with it so I never bothered you." Mei-chan explains. "But I always felt bad for you."

"Thank you." I say genuinely touched. All this time I thought everyone hated me because I could use jutsu already. I guess that resentment fallen off as the year's gone by. "Do you have any friends?" I ask dumbly.

"Yeah." She nods. "It was my friend who told me how miserable you looked, I started feeling bad because of it."

"Oh." I rub the back of my neck, I just made it awkward. "You wanted to train together?" I change the subject hurriedly.

"Yeah, stupid I know… since when do you care about training?" It's her turn to be flustered.

"That sounds like a great idea." I say a little embarrassed, was my irritation at how useless it was showing? "I've started training lots." I don't tell her that it's because of Goro-sensei.

"Before the academy tomorrow?"

"Can we get into the academy before it's open?"

"I know someone who can get us in." Mei-chan says mischievously. "Maybe you can teach me how to throw fire." She grins.

"No promises there." I take a step back in this conversation. "Who's your friend?"

"His name is Zabuza Momochi, he's getting private lessons before the academy starts." She explains. "We're neighbors, he told me that if I ever needed to get into the academy early I could ask him."

"Have I seen him before?"

"He doesn't go to the academy, he's already graduated."

"Your friend's a Genin already!?" I sputter.

"Yeah, he said he couldn't get into the academy so he took an unofficial graduation exam and skipped it altogether." She shrugs. "He won't tell me what it is, he gets all strange whenever I ask him."

Mei takes another cookie, I take two more to stay even with her. She responds by taking another.

Then I take another.

Then she takes another.

It's not long until we've split the remaining cookies with stupid grins on our faces.

"I've never been to the academy this early, it almost feels wrong." I tell Mei-chan

"It's empty, but other than that nobody really cares as long as you're meant to be there." Mei tells me. "Did you get to rest yesterday?"

"Yeah, Sensei dropped by but mommy sent him away. He's worried I won't be able to pass the exams."

"Has he told you what it is?"

"Nope, do you know what it is?"

"I was hoping you'd know."

"Bugger." We approach the Academy's front door. "Does Zabuza-san know we're coming?"

"Yeah, if he's outside we can call him." She looks at the fence. "Zabuza-kun?!"

A minute later a kid our age comes around the corner followed by….

…

Is that Sensei? Ours eyes meet and mine go wide, why's he doing here? He's not a shinobi! The door opens. "Hi Mei-chan." Zabuza greets. "Is this your new friend?"

"Acquaintance, I hope we all become friends through training." She grins. "Hey Keiki, isn't this-"

"Yes, I am Goro Shoda." Sensei sighs sadly. "Jounin of the Hidden Mist."

My world comes crashing down. "Y-y-y-y-you're a jounin?!" I exclaim after a nasty stutter. "When were you going to tell me?!"

Intrigued, Zabuza looks up at Sensei. "Is he your assignment?"

"Yes, Zabuza-kun." He ruffles the genin's hair. "Keiki-kun here's my other assignment."

"Assignment!?"

"Keiki, calm down." He steps aside. "Come in and I'll explain." Goro rubs his eyes.

Zabuza watches me as Mei-chan and I pass him, I wonder what he sees. "You used to walk Keiki home, right?" Meichan asks him.

"That I did."

"What happened?"

"As I've said, I'll explain." We're led into one of the classrooms. "Okay, Keiki-" He stops at seeing the other two.

"A-class secret, not meant for you." goro-sensei tells them, Mei-chan hurries out of the room, Zabuza looks at me for a moment before following her out and closing the door behind him.

"What's an A-class secret?" I demand.

"Not quite governmental critical, but definitely up there." Goro explains. "You haven't been telling anyone about your Kekkei Genkai, right?"

"Doesn't Kanko-san know about it?" I ask, trying to remember who all knows… Have I told anyone?

"He's been sworn into secrecy, and couldn't care less." He quickly explains. "Bad for business if people learned that certain ferryman were prone to gossip."

That explains that. "But why's it so important that it has to be kept a secret? Why wasn't I told it was a secret!?"

"I'll answer in order, but I'll keep it brief." Goro settles down in one of the seats. "It's kept a secret because of the stigma this nation has with Kekkei Genkai's."

"Stigma?"

"People hate it because it exists." He shakes his head. "Not just a 'I don't like spiders' kind of hate, they'll throw rocks and force your family to leave."

"Isn't doing stuff like that illegal?" I ask.

"Yes." He says after taking a deep breath. "But they do it anyway."

"Why?"

"If there was an answer to that, we would have fixed it."

People hate me because I'm different? "Okay."

"This is a secret to protect you, once the Mizukage got wind of a new bloodline he assigned me to you." Shortly after the visit that proved I was different from the rest. "We have three clans in hiding all over the country because of the stigma."

"I've been showing off my fire." I say horrified.

"That's…. Not as bad as if you went around announcing it to the world, you were never told because I didn't think you needed to." He admits guiltily.

"I didn't need to be told?"

"You live on the very edge of the village and you weren't gloating about it, There's no way anyone would know, you didn't even have friends." He winces as he finishes.

"People hate me…. Because I'm different?" I sit in a chair and slump in it.

"And… that." Goro sighs sadly. "I didn't want to break your heart."

You failed, I'm broken. "What about Zabuza?"

"I tutor as a side job, I was hired to tutor him for when he gets his assigned team after the Exams." he goes still. "The exams… you still need to train for it."

"Please, I'm still exhausted from our previous training."

"How are you still-"

"Tutorial."

"Tutorial." He leans back in his seat. "What does it do? You look tired, but nowhere near as bad as you make it out to be."

"Stamina regeneration has been decreased by, 50 and a symbol."

"What symbol?"

"Two tiny o's separated by a line."

"Percentage."

"What's that?"

"One hundred percent is the full number, like say one hundred. Fifty five percent of one hundred is fifty five. Thirty percent of ten is three, stuff like that." Goro explains. "I'd love to continue playing twenty questions but the academy starts soon and I have a job besides keeping you safe, let's go get Zabuza-kun and your friend, Mei, was it?"

"Mei Terumi."

"She seems nice, let's not keep them waiting" He stands and walks to the door, I don't for a time, all I want to do is sit and try to process what I've learned. My Sensei was a Shinobi all this time, and people hate me because I'm different.

"Are you okay, Keiki-kun?" Mei asks the moment she sees me.

"I'm okay." I lie, swallowing my feelings.

Speech has leveled to 4. +4 character XP (96/100)

She doesn't look like she bought it. "Okay." She says doubtfully.

"Let's go, you don't have that long until the exam." Goro tells us.

"We have a few weeks."

"I know, if any of you have any hope to pass you need to train, hard."

Authors Notes: Whew, this was a bit harder to write, as I had three different ways this could have gone, but I'm happy with the end result, we're almost out of the academy! Keiki spent less than a year in the academy true, but he's not the first one in the universe to do that :P I hope you enjoyed!