Chapter Text
The loud sound of an alarm is what Naruto woke up to. His bleary eyes snapping open to locate the blaring annoyance. His hand slammed down atop the head of the mushroom shaped clock, stopping it from continuing its torment.
Naruto yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he slowly got out of bed. As he made his way to the bathroom, he froze as his eyes caught sight of his newly acquired headband. As much as he tried to feel excited, all he could think of was how he felt just moments before it was granted to him.
Flashes of the night prior came to mind. Failing the Genin exam, sneaking into the Hokage tower, being attacked by the man that gave him hope, and the knowledge that he held the Kyuubi no Kitsune within him. The gratitude and pride Iruka-sensei showed him was not enough to suppress how Naruto felt in that moment. Even as Iruka-sensei secured his own headband onto Naruto’s head, the boy could not help but sneak glances at Mizuki’s body. The way traitor died made Naruto sick to the stomach and no matter how he put it, the man died by his hands.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Naruto began to prepare for the day. He brushed his teeth, attempted to fix his unruly, spiky blond hair and got dressed. All the while a question bubbled up continuously. As much as he tried to ignore it, it kept coming back. Too nauseous to eat, Naruto walked out of his apartment, not bothering to lock it behind him. And as he walked to the Academy, the incessant question found itself at the forefront of his mind.
'Am I really the Kyuubi? Am I really a demon? If that's the case, everything makes sense. That's why people treat me like this. That's why my life has been hell. It's what I deserve.'
Lost in his machinations, he didn’t realize he had bumped into someone until a grunt left their lips. “Sorry,” Naruto said absently, not even looking at them. He didn’t see the young Uchiha staring at his back while he walked away.
Stepping foot into the classroom was like a breath of fresh air. The chattering voices of excited students filled Naruto’s ears. He focused on the sound of Kiba teasing Shino, Sakura and Ino bickering over their precious Sasuke-kun, and the occasional crunch from Choji as he quietly ate his chips. A welcome reprieve from Naruto’s thoughts.
Kiba was the first to take notice of his presence, lips slipping into a smirk. “Oi, Naruto! What’re you doing here, dead last? Didn’t you fail the exam?” Laughter erupted in the room.
Not in the mood to respond, Naruto made his way to his unassigned assigned seat. As he sat down, resting his head on table and closing his eyes, for the first time he was glad the other students always avoided his immediate area.
A few minutes passed before the door opened again, and Naruto did not need to look to see who arrived. The squeals of “Sasuke-Kun!” told Naruto all he needed to know. As expected of the heads of the Uchiha fangirl club. What he did not expect however, was the shift in weight to his right. Opening his eyes just confirmed what he hoped not to be true.
“Dobe,” the Uchiha said, giving a slight nod to him as he settled into the seat. “Teme,” the blond replied, a blankness to his voice.
Sasuke opened his mouth in preparation to ask a question before being cut off by the class’s resident pinkette. “Naruto! Get your ass off that seat. I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!,” Sakura yelled. She opened her mouth to continue but one glare from Sasuke had her shut it with an audible click. A flush rose to her cheeks. “Yes, Sasuke-kun?”
“Leave us, Sakura,” Sasuke said. Watching with annoyed eyes as the girl dejectedly made her way back to her seat near Ino. Nervously fiddling with the ends of her hair.
Naruto watched confused. Why is Sasuke acting so differently? Not even a week ago he acted as if the he was nothing more than an annoyance and would never interfere while the others berated him. What changed? As Sasuke opened his mouth once more, the sound of the door opening drew the classroom’s attention. By the sound of the voice, it was Iruka-Sensei. And he soon entered after awkwardly trying to hold the door open while wheeling himself in. His lower torso bandaged tightly. A clipboard thick with papers, resting atop his legs.
Immediately the room went quiet. As Iruka began to situate himself, a small but genuine smile spread across his face. Pride evident in his eyes, he addressed the room.
“My apologies for arriving a little late. I had a mission go poorly last night as you can see. Congratulations to you all for passing the Genin exam! I am so thankful to have been privileged enough to teach you all over the past years. And I am so proud to say that I was your teacher over the past 6 years.”
A hand raised, “Yes, Sakura?”
“Iruka-sensei, I thought Naruto failed the Genin exam. Not to be rude, but why is he here?”
A disappointed look crossed the man’s face, “Look upon his forehead Sakura. Naruto has a headband, does he not? The circ*mstances surrounding his graduation are classified, but trust that Naruto would not be here if he were not deserving of it. Does anyone else have anymore questions?
Good! Today will be your last day in the Academy as you begin your first steps into becoming Genin of Konoha. From this point on your are now legally an adult of Konoha, please represent us appropriately. Now, I will be reading out your team assignments shortly. When your name is called, please group up with those in your team. Your Jonin sensei will arrive soon to collect you. May you live long and prosperous lives, and may the Will of Fire burn strongly within you.”
And with that, conversation began to buzz in the classroom once more. One by one, names were called and the students began to shuffle around. Naruto watched as Team 10 was called and Ino angrily cried out to the gods for “Placing a woman of her beauty and stature with a ‘lazy smartass’ and a ‘human garbage disposal’.” He watched as Kiba barked out a celebratory whoop upon being placed with Hinata and Shino on Team 8. Slowly the number of students in the room began to dwindle until eventually Iruka-sensei called out the final team.
“Team 7. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto. Your assigned Jonin instructor is Hatake Kakashi.” Iruka let out a sympathetic smile as he began to make his way out of the room. “I advise getting comfortable, Kakashi-san has a habit of running late.” And with that he left, but not before sending a final look Naruto’s way. The boy’s eyes did not meet his own.
The three children sat in uncomfortable silence for what felt like an eternity. Naruto clearly wanting to be left alone, Sasuke was trying to figure out how to word his thoughts, and Sakura desperately wanting to brag about the fact that she was on the same team as Sasuke. The only sound in the room was that of fingers drumming on wood, and the tapping of their feet on the floors beneath them.
Sasuke was the one to break the silence, or at least he attempted to. For the third time today as he began to speak, he was interrupted. A silver haired man suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Leaves danced around him as if caught in a hurricane before they dispersed suddenly. One singular leaf lodged itself in his headband, which covered the man’s left eye. Sakura let out a yelp, while Sasuke and Naruto jumped on top of the desk. Their hand’s slowly reaching towards their kunai pouches.
“Meet me on the rooftop in 5 minutes.” The kids blinked their shock away, and soon realized that the man had disappeared one more in a storm of leaves. Sakura grabbed one that strayed too close to her and crushed it. Looking towards the two boys, they each collectively began thinking the same thing.
'This guy sucks.'
