Try it, if You Can
Naruto awoke to a knock at his door. He was drenched in sweat, still tucked underneath his bed and surrounded by pillows. It was his best bet against having nightmares but it was a toss up on whether or not it worked depending on the night. He peeled the pillows off of him and crawled out from under the frame. The early morning breeze sent a chill down his spine and he rolled his shoulders to banish the sensation. He assumed that it was the landlady again, demanding that he pay some made up fine for some made up issue again, so he didn’t offer any courtesies like getting out of his pajamas. He semi-stumbled over to the door, a tired haze still plaguing his consciousness.
He opened the door just as it seemed Iruka Sensei was about to knock again. He looked just as surprised as Naruto felt. Iruka didn’t often come to Naruto’s apartment. Only very rarely on special occasions. Iruka’s expression melted into that of concern as he took in Naruto’s appearance.
“Naruto…are you- are you okay? Are you sick?” Iruka stuck out the backside of his hand and planted it against Naruto’s forehead.
Naruto grabbed his Sensei’s wrist and pulled it down. “M’fine I just woke up s’all” Naruto yawned dramatically and stretched his arms far above his head. “Watcha doin here Sensei?”
Iruka blinked and then cleared his throat after a moment. “You didn’t show up for ramen after Academy hours ended, so I got worried.” Iruka made his best attempt at looking stern, barely masking his unease.
Naruto stared at him for a moment. “Ah. I forgot! I started training and studying like you told me to Sensei!” He flashed Iruka a toothy smile, hoping that will satisfy the man.
Whether Iruka bought it or not, Naruto couldn’t tell.
Iruka hummed. “Well then it seems like it’s a good thing I brought you this!”
Iruka shifted his hand out from behind his back and displayed a bowl gently wrapped in tin foil in front of Naruto. Naruto looked up at his Sensei in confusion, he’s never been privy to reading the situation.
Iruka huffed lightheartedly and peeled back the foil to reveal a fresh helping of Naruto’s favorite Ramen. Naruto felt his heart melt, and the tension from the nightmare unwinding in his stomach. His face lit up and he leaped into Iruka’s chest, earning a grunt from the man as he was pushed back and forced to balance the ramen in one hand. Naruto was laughing as he squeezed tighter around Iruka’s middle.
“Now, now,” Iruka chuckled. “We don’t want it getting cold do we?”
Naruto pried himself off his Sensei and jumped up and down as he chanted. “Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!”
The two settled down at the small rickety table in Naruto’s apartment and Iruka watched Naruto inhale the bowl enthusiastically.
Iruka seemed hesitant for a moment, like he was going to say something but decided against it. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
“What is it Sensei? Spit it out already!” He demanded through a mouth full of food.
Iruka grimaced at the lack of manners and then stared at the table, his brows furrowed. Finally, he seemed to reach a decision and he blew out a breath.
“The final exams are this week Naruto.”
Naruto stopped chewing his food. He wasn’t supposed to know this. Exam dates were never given out in advance to ensure students remained strict with their training. He blinked at Iruka, stunned.
“Why would you tell me that?”
Iruka didn’t meet his eyes for a moment. “Naruto, you’ve been falling behind. For a while. Just consider this time to catch up! I just want to see you succeed.”
Naruto didn’t move, glaring pointedly at his innocent bowl of noodles. “You think I’m weak?”
“No, Naruto that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” He gritted out.
“That-“ He faltered. “You just need a bit of help Naruto there’s nothing wrong with that I-“
Before Iruka could finish, Naruto stood from where he sat, both hands planted firmly on either side of his bowl. He slowly moved his eyes to meet his Sensei’s.
“Thanks for the meal.” And he turned and walked out the door.
“Naruto!” Iruka called after him. “Naruto you know I didn’t mean it like that!”
He does know. He knows that Iruka told him for his sake, told him out of genuine care and kindness. Naruto knew that but he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t process it as anything but pity. Pity that he most certainly didn’t want. He wanted to become a shinobi on his own, to earn it and in turn, earn the respect of his peers. He didn’t want to be angry at Iruka, he really didn’t but he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t just erase the information from his memory.
He took a deep breath as he reached the edge of the woods surrounding Konoha. Iruka didn’t follow him, and he preferred it that way. If he knew this now, he might as well use it to his advantage, just as any proper Shinobi would. After all, now that he had it, if he failed, it would be a monumental embarrassment. He didn’t have time to sulk.
Based on the last few tests, the exam was likely to focus on the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Clone Jutsu. It’s one of the most basic techniques students are required to learn at the academy and unfortunately, Naruto’s worst jutsu… and that’s saying something. All he had to do was make one. One decent clone and he’d be a Shinobi. Easier said than done though, especially for Naruto who when prompted, could only make one, if that, ‘clone’ that vaguely passed for human. Nonetheless, he widened his stance and assumed the proper hand sign. He didn’t care if he had to do this day and night, he wouldn’t stop until he reached success.
After several hours, Naruto observed the crowd filled with deformed versions of himself. Nothing. Not one of them could even be considered a clone. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the tree beside him, his chest still heaving from the exertion. Why? No matter how hard he focused, trained, begged for it, he could never catch up to the bare minimum. He couldn’t count the number of times that kids, younger than him, would appear in front of him just to flaunt their ability to complete jutsu that he was still struggling with. Then their parents, or passing adults shoo them away, not for Naruto’s sake, but for the children’s sake. Warning them of the ‘demon child’.
Naruto felt empty. Was he really that worthless? That everyone except for himself could tell? He wanted to have faith in himself, in the potential he was desperate to contain. The only thing he had going for him was his stamina. This amount of clones, deformed or not, are unreasonable to expect even a high class ninja to manifest in the same day even if they were immaterial. Though even he was at his limit now. He cursed under his breath as he clumsily threw together a hand sign and poofed all of his existing failures away. He could stop now, turn back and rest for the night so that he could start fresh in the morning. However, that thought never once crossed his mind as a possibility. He wanted the physical sensations like pain or exhaustion to outweigh the dark feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. He clenched his teeth and gave up on catching his breath, then resumed his pathetic attempts. He had been digging deep within himself for any chakra he could spare, trying to focus on the small amount he had left, when he heard a twig snap behind him. He whirled around on his heels.
“Naruto? What are you doing out here at this time of night?”
Naruto’s eyes widened for a moment. “Mizuki Sensei? Oh. Uhm. Well I’m just training!”
Mizuki narrowed his eyes. “In your…pajamas?”
Naruto glanced down at himself. He was still wearing his favorite pajamas. Embarrassing.
Naruto swallowed. He really didn’t want to be pestered right now, even if it was well meaning. Mizuki Sensei never treated him badly perse, but he didn’t really regard Naruto at all. So this was more than a bit awkward for him to deal with. He really didn’t know Mizuki Sensei nor his intentions.
“Yeah…” He said after a long beat. “Was too excited to change.” He offered a grin and rubbed the back of his neck, hoping Mizuki would disregard him and leave him alone.
Mizuki ignored that statement, opting to change the subject. “Working hard on the Clone Jutsu hm? I remember that being a pain back in my academy days.” Mizuki smiled.
Naruto raised his eyebrows. How did he know he was working on that jutsu? Naruto wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he had gotten rid of all his failures before Mizuki had arrived. Unless he had been watching Naruto, he wasn’t sure how else his Sensei could’ve known that. He immediately wrote it off though, there were innumerable explanations for how he knew and Naruto was sure it was a pointless concern. He’s a chunin afterall. Naruto had unfortunately gained the habit of being distrustful and wary naturally over the years. He pushed his feelings down though and instead focused on his Sensei’s words.
“You had trouble with the jutsu?” Naruto asked. He felt a small form of validation for his struggles. Maybe it was that his classmates were the weird ones, not him. He bit back a smirk at the thought.
“Yup! I barely passed the final exams thanks to a secret technique I learned just two days beforehand. I was lucky I had that or I would’ve failed for sure!”
Naruto gaped. A secret technique? Maybe something for chakra control? Or some new jutsu entirely? Naruto had to ask. “A secret technique?”
Mizuki chuckled. “Yeah, it was a life saver! It’s even more impressive than the regular clone technique.” He paused to observe Naruto’s eyes sparkle with anticipation. “You know, I’ve been watching you for a long time Naruto. I used to be just like you, a subject of mockery and disdain, falling further and further behind my classmates before the distance was insurmountable.” He cast his gaze downward. “Now though? I’m just as strong if not stronger than my peers, and I can thank that technique for bridging the gap. Naruto, I’ve always believed that you should pay kindness and fortune forward… I’d be glad to share the technique with you… if you’re up for it.” He smiled sheepishly at Naruto.
Mizuki Sensei… had been just like him? This strong and capable Sensei had experienced the same hardships Naruto had? His heart fluttered and he felt his eyes sting. Maybe there’s hope for him after all.
“Would you really teach me?” Naruto asked, his eyes sparkling.
“Of course I would Naruto! Like I said, I relate to you.” Mizuki’s brows furrowed for a moment before looking away from Naruto. “However… there’s a catch.”
Naruto lifted an eyebrow. “A catch?”
Mizuki met his eyes again, hesitantly.
“Well… we’d have to borrow it. From the Hokage’s residence that is.” His Sensei cringed. “I understand if you don’t want to, but no one will notice if you take it for a few hours and then give it back!”
Naruto’s mouth felt dry. He wanted him to… sneak into the Hokage’s home, and borrow- or more accurately, steal, a secret technique? Naruto took a step back. He wasn’t stupid. If he got caught doing that, he’d be banished from the village without so much as a farewell. He replayed the interaction in his mind, noticing all the small tells of deception that he disregarded as nerves previously. Naruto knew when he was being manipulated, fooled into something far too good to be true. Times when others gained his trust, just to turn on him and revel in the pain they caused him. Yeah, he had experience.
Naruto twisted his face into a scowl and jumped backwards. “You want me to steal from the village?”
Mizuki’s face dropped into a chilling blank expression. “Borrow, Naruto we’ll return it right after you’re done! I thought I could trust you with this. Besides, doesn’t the Hokage favor you?”
Naruto wasn’t buying it anymore. “I’m not dumb.” He said simply.
Mizuki was silent. Minutes felt like hours of his Sensei staring at him, before he finally spoke.
“Are you going to tell the Hokage?”
Naruto flinched, Mizuki’s tone was low and warning. He reached to his left calf to grab a kunai out of his pouch, but grasped air. He cursed, realizing once again, that he was still in his pajamas.
Mizuki sighed. “I wanted to make this easy Naruto. Why did you have to-?” He cut himself off and groaned. Then he scoffed. “No, maybe it was my fault for underestimating you. After all, it’d be pretty impressive if you were both weak and dumb.” He chuckled.
“Well, don’t blame me for this. It’s my ass if anyone finds out, so one of us has to die.”
With that, Mizuki shifts the giant shurikan off his back, and twirls it in his hands.
Naruto didn’t have a choice, he had to run. He had no chakra, no weapons, and even if he did have them, he wouldn’t stand a chance against his Chunin Sensei. So he did. He turned and flickered through the trees, fueled by adrenaline. His best bet was to circle around back to the village, and gain the attention of the night guard.
As he was leaping to the next branch though, a deep slice cut down his arm, and he saw the dark silhouette of the shurikan flying past him. He fumbled and lost his momentum, his breath catching in his throat as he leant forward and just barely managed to catch the edge of the branch with his uninjured arm.
He heard a snort above him. He looked up to see Mizuki sneering down at him. “See this is your problem Naruto. I’ve never met a kid that’s as much of a failure as you. I lied, by the way, if you couldn’t tell. You know? All about me relating to you?” He scrunched his face up in mock pity. “Your problem.” He accentuated his words by placing his shoe over Naruto’s fingers, earning a pained shout from the child. “Is that you think you ever deserved to live in the first place.”
Mizuki pushed his foot further, rendering Naruto’s grip useless. Naruto began to fall before he could even process what was happening. He thudded and snagged on branches, reaching out to try and dampen his fall on instinct. The fall felt like hours. He wasn’t thinking much in that moment, mostly a muddled mess of panic and dread. Though one thought spearheaded past all the others.
If he hits the ground, he’s dead.
The fall itself may not kill him immediately, but the injuries would render him immobile, leaving him helpless to Mizuki’s plans. He had to do something or he would die. Naruto didn’t want to die, no matter how many times he was told he deserved to, he wanted to live. He let the sound of the wind whipping past his face fill his ears. His body becoming numb to the pain of the branches slamming into his skin. He reached down deep inside himself, trying to conjure chakra back into his system. Nothing. His channels were empty, not even a drop left behind from his rigorous training. He always pushed it too far. He cursed inwardly.
He wracked his brain fervently, trying to find something, anything that would get him out of this situation.
A low rumble started in the back of his mind. Like a beast stirring awake. He honed in on the sound, transfixed by it. It grew louder, and louder, until Naruto felt like he needed to cover his ears from the sheer volume.
Then suddenly he was back to falling.
He thrashed around, trying to grab onto branches again, but felt nothing. Before he could even question it, he hit a body of water with a crash.