Chapter 2: Exam Flunkee
Mornings in the land of fire differ by season. A fall morning can be slightly chilly, with few birds fluttering about the ancient trees. Shinobi can be seen relieving the night shift guards, and Chuunin can be seen grabbing missions from the Hokage.
A Winter morning will spy residents of Konoha bundled up, moving about to jobs, buying tidbits, and pubs are always overcrowded.
A spring morning will host the return of wild flora and fauna, and children can be seen running to school. At this time of year, people can be seen recovering from the long winter chill and opening their homes to the natural world.
However, the summer mornings of Konohagakure are the most interesting. Important merchants return to the village with necessary wares, the civilians can be seen bustling about. The most exciting event for the people of Konoha is the Academy graduation.
During this time, parents can be seen giving kids last-minute lessons, and the soon-to-be-genin going over notes and training with great haste. The entire place of usual tranquility has an air of energetics.
This energy, which permeates and fills the air, seems to have frankly been drawn to one young boy. This boy, the Number 1 Unpredictable Prankster Ninja of Konoha, will finally be graduating on this day!
Uzumaki Naruto woke up with a start. How could he have forgotten? Today is the day that he graduates! He leaped out of bed, hurriedly trying to boil water while brushing his teeth.
He poured barely hot water into a pack of pre-made ramen. While he waited for the delicious, tasty, spiced Miso Ramen, he poured over some notes that he had stolen - er… borrowed notes from Sakura.
Just as he finished puzzling over the "borrowed" notes, Naruto noticed that the ramen was finished. He opened his fridge, only to find carton after carton of spoiled, rotten food.
He wrinkled his nose and practically inhaled his ramen while stuffing his tattered pockets full of essentials.
"Ramen, ramen, shuriken, kunai, borrowed notes, smoke bombs, itching powder, ramen…" He muttered as he decided what to take to class.
Once the Academy student was satisfied with his tools, he opted for the window exit, simply because it was more fun.
The blonde, orange-clad ninja dashed through the busy streets of the village, snatching a fresh apple from an old lady's stall. Naruto slid under a Jonin's legs, ran up the wall of a weapons store, and hopped roofs until the old Academy building was in sight.
As he neared the tall gates - 12 feet tall in fact - he leaped over them as if they were simple rocks in the way of a child. He pushed past the alarmed groundskeeper, for all purposes flying up the winding stairs to the second floor.
With a gargantuan heave, Naruto slammed the wooden doors of the classroom open, leaping to the closest available seat which was unfortunately near a certain brooding Uchiha.
He sighed, resting his feet on the table, and sunk into the aging chair for a few more minutes of peaceful rest.
"NARUTO" Multiple feminine shrieks came from the doorway. For a brief moment, the entire class wondered if banshees had invaded. The aforementioned boy jumped in alarm, wildly swinging a kunai in the air.
" Huh!" He looked for the source of the noise, and sighed in relief, "Oh, Sakura-chan, it's just you. I thought banshees had attacked." The class snickered, and the pinkette grew a tick mark on her forehead.
A young Yamanaka, Ino replied snarkily, "Yeah Forehead Girl, stop being such a banshee. Everyone knows Sasuke-Kun doesn't like that. Seems I'll be his girlfriend now."
With this statement, Sakura lashed out at the nearest person, which happened to be Naruto. Her uppercut sent him flying in the air, and getting the preteen stuck in the ceiling! The entire room burst into laughter, the emo king cracked a smile.
Sakura proceeded to take Naruto's seat, and Iruka sensei walked in.
"Class, settle down. The exams will begin now - NARUTO! What are you doing in the ceiling?" The teacher - now the exam proctor - pulled the child down.
" I - Sakura…" The boy was cut off by the pissed proctor.
"I don't even want to hear it! Go take a seat, and we'll start your final test." Naruto walked in shame to the back of the classroom, plopping down next to Shikamaru.
Mizuki sensei, Iruka-sensei's assistant walked in, holding a piece of paper.
He announced to the class, reading off the paper, "For this year's Genin Evaluation, all participants will perform the Bunshin no Jutsu for the proctors." He then turned and took a seat beside the main teacher. For a moment, Naruto could have sworn that the assistant smirked at him!
One by one, kids were called forth to perform the Jutsu.
"Nara, Shikamaru!"
"Hyuuga, Hinata!"
"Uchiha, Sasuke!"
"Inuzuka, Kiba!"
After all of the other students passed, the final call of the day was spoken, by Iruka-Sensei.
"Uzumaki, Naruto!" The boy started sweating. It was his worst Jutsu! He slowly walked toward the front of the class. Mizuki gestured for him to get on with it. He concentrated, gathered his chakra, and "POOF"
Smoke appeared next to the original. He turned, expecting a perfect clone or two to appear next to him.
"Huh! Tha- that's- it- it looks dead! There's no way!" Naruto yelled out, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"Naruto," Iruka shook his head, "You failed." Both instructors noticed that Naruto's hands were clenched in anger, and blood began dripping onto the floor.
"Iruka, he tried his best, we could let this one pass this time," Mizuki smirked. Naruto sniffled, feeling hope for his ninja career.
"No. He created one half-dead clone, while the others made at least two," The headteacher looked Naruto in the eye, "I'm sorry."
The young boy's tears came back in a flash, and he dashed out of the classroom as fast as his legs could take him.
Inside the courtyard of the Ninja Academy, new Genin rushed up to parents, showing off their new headbands. Their parents congratulated them, not paying attention to a lonely boy on a rickety swing.
The boy, Naruto, wiped his tear-stricken face, watching his former classmates with envy. He watched parents hand out gifts and praise for their children, their faces glowing in pride.
He wondered briefly if his parents would have done the same if they were alive. Just as he was about to cry again, he noticed a hand on his shoulder. He cast a sorrowful glance at the person, only to see Shikamaru at his side.
"Hey, is everything okay?" The Nara asked.
Naruto began to tear up, "N-no I… I failed a simple Bunshin no Jutsu!" He took in a deep breath, steadying his voice. "I don't understand, how could I have failed?"
His classmate gently replied, "It'll be fine, but if you ever need anything, you can come to my house. I'll listen to you." The failed ninja smiled.
"Thank you, Shikamaru. You're a great friend to me" With that, the other boy walked away.
Just as the "failure" was about to turn his attention back to the slowly decreasing crowd, Mizuki sensei appeared next to him.
"Hey, Naruto, will you have a walk with me?" The teacher's assistant requested…
AN: I finally hit 1000 words in a single chapter! The next chapter will be the first divergent from the canon story… I finished both these chapters in one single day!
My updating schedule isn't very consistent right now, with school and all. I'll definitely try to post a couple of chapters before the end of January!
Please review my story, as it helps me a lot with how I will progress the story in the future!