The Girl Behind The Mask

Chapter 2

          "Chiyo, is this late night training really necessary?" Midnight questioned,

  "If I want to get stronger I need to practice" Chiyo said.

  "You also need sleep" the wolf warned,

"Don't worry, It's not that late" the girl waved off her companions concerns. She continued walking towards the village her body being illuminated by the lanterns.

"Chiyo-chan!" a familiar voice called, the female turned her head to see Naruto waving at her enthusiastically, there was a large grin on his face as he called her over. Iruka was sitting next to him, Chiyo approached the pair sitting next to Naruto and ordering her own bowl of ramen.

  "What are you doing out this late?" Naruto questioned

   "I was just doing some extra training before graduation tomorrow" she explained. The conversation continued until the subject changed to the prank Naruto had pulled that day. Chiyo remained quiet curious as to how the blond would defend himself.

  "Why did you paint the Hokages' faces, you know who they are don't you?" Iruka asked him. While they were distracted the female lifted her mask only enough to eat her food, neither her teacher or friend noticed and she quickly put it back down tuning back into the conversation.

  "I'm gonna be better than them so people will respect me" Naruto said proudly. Chiyo smiled at the boy's determination,

  "He sure does have a lot of spirit" Midnight chimed in. The black-haired girl nodded agreeing with the wolf. As she finished her ramen she payed and stood up from the stool,

"I should head home, goodnight Iruka-sensei. Goodnight Naruto-kun" she waved.

  "Bye Chiyo-chan" Naruto called, she smiled once more before disappearing from their sight.

  "I can't believe graduation is tomorrow, I'm almost done with the academy" Chiyo said.

  "Are you sure you're ready" Midnight asked her as she sat by the bed.

  "If all the training I've been doing has paid off then I should be more than ready" she stated as she finished getting ready for bed. She made sure her sword was kept by her bed and her mask lay gently on her night stand, she crawled into bed her eyes starting to feel heavy.

  "Goodnight" she said,

  "Goodnight, Chiyo" Midnight said softly as the girl closed her eyes her form now completely relaxed. The large wolf watched her sleep a happy look in her eyes.

  "Goodnight, Chiyo-chan" she repeated disappearing into a cloud of smoke. A calming silence fell over the bedroom.

--------------------------------------------------------

   "Well Midnight, this is it. It's time to graduate" Chiyo smiled,

"You seem confident" Midnight commented.

  "You said it yourself, I've improved a lot" she said.

  "You shouldn-"

  "I know, I shouldn't get to confident" Chiyo cut her off.

  "Exactly"  The wolf stated, Chiyo let out a small laugh.

    "You sound just like a mother" she said.

  "I promised your mother I would watch over you, I don't plan on breaking that promise either" The wolf explained. A small frown formed on Chiyo's face. She took a deep breath smiling again,

  "I'm gonna make her proud" she said with a determined tone to her voice. Midnight chuckled,

  "I know you'll become an amazing ninja someday"

  "Alright, let's get going" Chiyo said making her way into the academy.

  "Naruto-kun, you look nervous. Is something wrong" Chiyo questioned taking a seat next to the blond.

  "I'm fine Chiyo-chan!" he said trying to dismiss her concerns. She raised an eyebrow not fully believing him.

  "You're worried about graduation, aren't you" she asked. His smile fell as Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

  "Yeah..." he admitted his blue eyes flickering down to his desk. Chiyo sent him a comforting smile,

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'm sure you'll pass" she encouraged. He seemed to perk up smiling once more.

  "Thanks Chiyo-chan" he said, the girl smiled as Iruka entered the classroom.

  "To graduate you have to create two clones, your names will be called when it's you're turn" the teacher said. This instantly brought down Naruto's mood,

  "Ah, I remember Naruto-kun saying that that's his worst skill" Chiyo commented.

  "I hope he's improved since then"

  "So do I" the girl said looking over at the blond. He was once again staring at his desk looking dejected. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder but it didn't seem to do much to make him feel better.

   "Chiyo" the black haired female perked up as her name was called. Naruto gave her a thumbs up as she stood up from her seat,

  "Alright, this is it" she said to herself entering the room. Iruka and another teacher were sitting behind a desk headbands neatly placed in a box in front of them.

  "Alright Chiyo, all you have to do is make two clones" Iruka instructed. With a nod Chiyo moved her hands as if it was second nature, beside her two puffs of smoke appeared creating two perfect clones of the female mask and all. There wasn't a single flaw in either of them. Both teachers nodded,

"good job Chiyo, you may take a headband" Iruka said. She picked one up looking at it for a moment. She smiled at her now former teacher before heading back to where the rest of her classmates were waiting. Shikamaru gave her a small nod, Choji gave her a thumbs up and Naruto did as well.

  "Good job Chiyo-chan you passed" the blond cheered as she took her seat.

   "Thanks Naruto-kun, I'm sure you'll pass as well" she said. Just then his name was called. He left the room giving Chiyo a big smile as he did so.

  "Good luck, Naruto" Chiyo said.

--------------------------------------------------------

   The black haired female left the academy spotting the large crowd of parents Congratulating their children. Chiyo smiled sadly at the sight thinking of how proud her own parents would be.

  "I can see the look on your mother's face, she would be so proud" Midnight chimed.

"You think so" Chiyo asked,

  "I know so, your father would be as well" the wolf confirmed.

"That boy" she heard a woman whisper to her friend,

  "He's the only one that didn't pass" the other finished. Chiyo crossed her arms but continued listening to the conversation.

"Why would they let a mon-"

"We're not supposed to talk about that" the first one cut her off. Chiyo looked over at Naruto who was sadly sitting on a swing. She decided to talk to him,

  "Are you alright Naruto-kun" she asked placing a hand on her shoulder. He looked up at her only for a moment but then looked back down.

"I didn't pass" he said dejectedly, Chiyo sighed.

   "Hey, don't worry" she tried her best to make him feel better. However her words didn't seem to help much.

"I won't get another chance after this" he explained. Chiyo thought to herself for a moment when an idea popped into her head.

"You wanna get some ramen with me tonight" she asked. Naruto did perk up a bit at the idea a small smile forming on his face.

  "Yeah!" he cheered but it wasn't as enthusiastic as usual. This made Chiyo worry abit more.