Count On It

Episode 3: "So It Ends!... Wait? WHAT?"

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.

Iruka was treated to a disturbing sight when he walked into the classroom. Uzumaki Naru was sitting in her seat but her classmates were pressed against the walls in an attempt to stay as far away from the girl as possible. "What the hell is going on here?" Iruka shouted. Ino looked at her instructor as if he were mentally challenged "She's covered in blood and none of us wants to catch her stupidity. It's probably contagious."

"Hey I'm not contagious!" shouted the other blonde. Iruka walked over to the blackboard and proceeded to bang his head against it over and over again. Mizuki alarmed at Iruka's attempt to harm himself rushed over and forcefully pulled him away from the blackboard "Calm down Iruka it's almost over. There's just one test left." Mizuki turned to Naru "Uzumaki-kun please go and get yourself cleaned up before we begin the next test."

Naru looked at him sadly "But Sensei I can't this is the only shirt I have." Iruka broke out of his stupor a frown forming on his face as he walked over to Naru. The scarred instructor leaned down and spoke to the young girl in a whisper. Naru responded with a shake of her head and Iruka let out a sigh before motioning for the girl to follow him as he walked out of the classroom. Naru stood and followed Iruka out of the classroom. At the same time Mizuki shouted at the class "Well what the hell are you waiting for get to your seats!" The class rushed to comply. Mizuki sat in his chair a smile on his face. "Finally I get to be the one in charge" He thought.

Iruka led his student to the instructors' office and had her wait outside while he went in. He returned a few minutes later with a bundle of clothes under one arm. The instructor once again motioned for the girl to follow him. Eventually the pair ended up in front of the girls' locker rooms. Iruka pushed open the door and allowed Naru to enter before following her through. He went over to a nearby bench and placed the clothes down.

"Alright Naru these clothes belong to Saru-sensei. They will be a bit loose but she isn't much taller than you so it shouldn't be too bad" Iruka said. Naru nodded with a smile "Thank you Iruka-sensei!" Iruka snorted "Don't thank me. Thank Saru-sensei she's the one lending you her clothes. Now get yourself cleaned up and…" Before Iruka could finish his sentence Naru had removed her shirt. The instructor quickly shut his eyes and turned around "Damn it Naru! Don't you have any shame?" The half nude blonde's thumbs were hooked in the waistband of her skirt when Iruka asked his question "What's shame Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka sighed "Naru you shouldn't just take your clothes off in front of other people." Naru's head cocked to the side "But Sensei I change in front of the other girls nearly every day." Iruka began to rub his temples once again "Yes Naru but that's different. The other girls are just that, girls. They are the same as you." Naru just shrugged "It's okay Iruka-sensei I trust you."

"Just hurry you're holding up the rest of the class" he said as he left the locker room. As soon as the door shut Iruka moved over to the wall on his left and leaned his back against it. He stood there in silence for a moment. All of a sudden he slammed a closed fist against the wall behind him and said quietly "Damnit!"

Iruka liked to see himself as a fair and impartial instructor however he had to admit that he had a soft spot for Naru. Like himself the girl was an orphan and she also acted out to gain attention the way he did when he was younger. What was causing Iruka's distress though was not the girl's obnoxious behavior or the fact that she trusted him. In fact he was glad that she trusted him enough to put herself in a vulnerable position before him.

"She's 12 it's not like she has anything to hide anyways" he said to himself with a snort. What truly bothered Iruka was what he saw when Naru had removed her shirt. "Ribs, I could see her ribs" Iruka mumbled quietly. Iruka knew that Naru had a hard time shopping for anything. Almost every merchant and store in Konoha would either refuse to do business with her or they would overcharge on everything.

Iruka knew that Naru got most of her meals from a ramen stand and while that may be enough to keep her hunger at bay it wasn't healthy. "I need to talk with the Hokage. If this keeps up the girl will die from Malnutrition" Iruka said sadly. Iruka was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked over to see what had grabbed onto his sleeve and saw the smiling face of Uzumaki Naru.

Naru looked even smaller than usual in the oversized clothing. The sleeves of the black sweater went down past her wrists nearly covering her hands completely and the bottom of the shirt went almost to her knees. The accompanying skirt ended a few inches above her ankles. Iruka's earlier displeasure disappeared at the sight of his favorite student "Ready to head back?"

Naru nodded quickly and dashed off towards the classroom. Iruka let out a sigh of amusement and followed after her. When Iruka finally reached the classroom Naru was already in her seat and the rest of the classroom was once again staring at her. Iruka's moment of peace was broken as he once again shouted at his class "Now what's the problem?" The ever outgoing Kiba gave his teacher a funny look "Her stupidity must have rubbed off on you Sensei." Iruka was about to blow a gasket when he was interrupted by Sasuke "What the mutt is trying to say is that we are all amazed that the blonde idiot is actually clean for once."

Iruka stared at them with a look of disbelief. "You're not ready" He said quietly. He clenched his fist and spoke to them with barely restrained anger "Look at yourselves. You mock and taunt Naru. You insult and belittle her. For what? You all want to be shinobi and yet you have missed the single most important lesson I have tried to teach you." Despite the fact that he was furious at them the class was listening to his words intently.

"Loyalty!" he shouted.

"Loyalty to your village, loyalty to your comrades, and loyalty to yourself."

Iruka had the entire class captivated. "How can you say you are loyal to your village when you would shun one of her own?" Iruka asked as he slowly paced in front of the class. "And say you do all pass today. Being loyal to your comrades means all of them not just the ones you like" he continued passionately. "Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Kiba, Sara, Kamiko, Toji, and Sonosuke if I could I would fail every single one of you." Sakura looked at him in surprise "But why?"

Iruka looked at her disappointment settling across his face "Because you're not ready. You can't be a shinobi of the leaf and be so selfish. Konoha shinobi above all else cherish their comrades." Iruka took a deep breath and let out a sigh "As an instructor I cannot show favoritism and while your treatment of Naru disgusts me I cannot fail you because of it. I will tell you this though and maybe you can understand what I am trying to say. Those who abandon their mission are trash but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash." The saddened instructor turned from the class and walked to his desk before taking a seat. He turned his head to his fellow instructor who had a look of awe on his face "Mizuki please administer the final part of the exam."

Mizuki nodded and took Iruka's place in front of the class "Alright everyone when I call your name please come forward. I will ask you to perform the three academy taught jutsu these being kawarimi, henge, and bunshin. If you can successfully complete these three jutsu than you will have passed and shall immediately receive your Hitai-ate." Mizuki held up his clipboard and read off the first name "Aburame Shino"

Iruka sat in his chair watching each of his students' performance his mind twisted with both anger and disappointment. It wasn't until Naru's turn came up that he truly focused. Naru stood before Mizuki a wide grin plastered across her face. Mizuki couldn't help but smile at his student's enthusiasm "Alright Uzumaki-kun you can do the jutsu in any order you like. You may begin whenever you're ready."

Naru nodded and brought her hands together. She channeled the necessary chakra through her body and shouted out "Henge!" With a poof of smoke Naru was transformed into a perfect duplicate of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. She held the transformation long enough for Mizuki to check for flaws. When he saw none he gave the girl a nod. Another poof of smoke followed the release of the jutsu.

Naru also managed to perform the kawarimi without difficulty. Mizuki's smile widened a bit "Okay Uzumaki-kun just one more to go!" Naru gulped and nodded nervously suddenly feeling nauseous. Bunshin was by far her worst jutsu. She was putting all of her focus into controlling her chakra and was about to perform the technique when a hand on her shoulder distracted her. Mizuki squeezed her shoulder gently and leaned down to whisper in her ear "Make as many as you can. Don't try and hold back Naru. We ask for two that doesn't mean you can't make more."

With those parting words Mizuki gave her shoulder one last squeeze before pulling back "Go ahead." Naru gave him a nod and once again put her hands together to focus her chakra except this time instead of trying to compress her chakra she let it flow freely. The classroom let out a collective gasp when Naru was encased in a swirling vortex of blue light.

Only a couple of students recognized this light to be chakra in its purest form. The class as well as the instructors were shocked stupid when from this swirling vortex came a shout "Bunshin no justu." All of a sudden the room was filled with many copies of Naru. Mizuki took a step back in surprise. His surprise turned into outright shock when he bumped into the clone of Naru behind him. The Naru clone helped steady him and apologized for being in the way.

Mizuki choked on air for a second. He was only able to utter two words "Kage Bunshin!"

At the same time that Mizuki was stunned into silence Iruka had shot to his feet a look of panic on his face rather than surprise "Naru dispel those clones immediately!" he shouted. Naru jumped at her instructor's shout and all at once her clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, faint pops sounding out as each one was dispelled. "Mizuki finish up with Ino please" requested Iruka.

As soon as Iruka received acknowledgement from Mizuki he grabbed Naru by the arm and dragged her out of the classroom. "Naru how do you know that technique?" Iruka asked as calmly as possible. Naru looked at him in confusion "You taught me bunshin no justu Iruka-sensei. Remember?" Iruka searched her face for any sign that she was lying but all he found were signs of confusion. He remembered that Mizuki had whispered something to the girl right before she performed the technique.

"Naru I need to know what Mizuki-sensei said to you right before you made your clones" Iruka said softly. Naru bit her lip gently for a second before answering "He told me not to hold back so I didn't!" Iruka stepped back and leaned against the wall before letting out a chuckle. Naru pouted and kicked Iruka's foot "Stop laughing at me!"

Iruka reached forward and ruffled the girl's close cropped hair "You have no idea what you have done Naru and that is why I am laughing." Naru looked at him once again confused "What do you mean Iruka-sensei?" Iruka let out a sigh and pulled his hand back "What you performed today was not the standard bunshin. That technique is what we call kage bunshin and it is a forbidden technique in this village. Only Jonin are capable of performing it and it is something that is passed on from master to apprentice. That you, an academy student was able to perform it is amazing but the fact that you used that technique not even knowing it exists is so far beyond incredible that I am nearly left speechless."

Iruka was going to continue with his little lecture when he heard the young girl sniffle. He looked down at Naru and the tears that were falling down her cheeks "Naru what's wrong, why are you crying?" Naru let out another sniffle and answered her teacher with a quavering voice "I couldn't do it. I couldn't perform the bunshin. I'll never be a shinobi!" By the time Naru was finished making her statement she was sobbing.

Iruka frowned at his student's sadness. "Naru close your eyes" he said softly. Naru let out a small hiccup and nodded while she closed her eyes. Iruka reached up behind his head and untied his Hitai-ate. Bringing it down he placed it against Naru's forehead and swiftly tied it on "Now open your eyes." Naru opened her eyes and looked at her teacher a small hand going up to trace the leaf symbol on the Hitai-ate. "Congratulations Naru you pass" the proud instructor said gently.

Naru gulped and shivered her eyes going wide. Iruka thought something was wrong and was going to ask if she was okay when the blonde launched herself at him knocking them both back against the wall. Naru was hugging Iruka with all her might "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said happily. Iruka smiled and decided to return the girl's hug for once his arms wrapping around her small frame. "You're welcome" he whispered softly in her ear.

Their shared joy was interrupted all too soon though as Mizuki poked his head outside of the classroom. "Yamanaka-kun has passed and we're all waiting on you so you might want to hurry up" the silver haired instructor said jovially. Before Mizuki left he had to take at least one shot at the duo "Oh and next time you might want to get a room." With that being said Mizuki pulled his head back and shut the door. However he could still hear the combined shout of

"Screw you!"

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