Blank Slate: Naruto Blank Generation

Episode 03: Double or Nothing

By the time he arrived home that afternoon, Reito's exhaustion had finally got the better of him, and he fully intended on going straight to bed. He had performed poorly in all his classes that day. If he had any hope of passing tomorrow's exam, he needed sleep.

Passing through the Tsu family's wood-paneled tea shop, he waved hello to his father, a stocky man with greying hair, who waved back from behind the counter, where he was taking an order from a customer. Before he made it to the back, his mother put down her serving tray, took him by the shoulders, and looked him over closely.

"Sweetie, you look awful," the round-faced woman said, placing the back of her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

"Gee, thanks, Mom," Reito replied with a grin.

"You know what I mean," she said, swatting him playfully on the arm. "I left a snack for you in the kitchen. Eat that first, then get some rest. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."

"Good idea, I'll do that," said Reito with a sigh of relief, thankful that she was thinking the same thing, as he was occasionally asked to help his parents in the shop after school.

Upstairs, Reito kicked off his sandals and found a sandwich and glass of milk waiting for him in the kitchen as promised. He sat at the dining table to eat it in peace when his younger sister came barreling into the room.

Apart from her hair being longer and being more than a foot shorter—and being a girl—Reika was the spitting image of her older brother. "What did you learn today?" she asked excitedly without missing a beat.

Reito chewed his food longer than necessary, then swallowed and reached for his milk.

"Reito!" Reika whined impatiently, putting her hands on her hips.

He grinned widely and put his hands up in a defensive manner. "Alright, alright," he said. "Hmm, let's see, what did I learn, what did I learn...?"

Reika frowned and pouted.

"Well, there was that one dragon-shaped Fire Style Jutsu. That was pretty cool," Reito deadpanned with a hand placed thoughtfully on his chin.

"Really?" Reika asked, starry-eyed.

"No, not really, dummy! No one at my level can use a Jutsu like that! A good ninja must see through deception," Reito chastised, bopping his sister gently on the head with the palm of his hand.

"Reitooooo!" she sulked.

He smiled widely before "I didn't learn anything new. Tomorrow's graduation...hopefully. This week, we've just been revising. What did you learn today?"

Reika pulled up a chair and sat down. She eagerly began to explain at length how she had improved her shuriken technique, which, despite his tiredness, Reito dutifully nodded along to while eating the remainder of his snack, as a good brother should.

***

Reito was glad to find himself feeling much better upon waking the following morning. However, his nerves quickly kicked in when he remembered what day it was, and by the time he made it to school, he had a whole swarm of butterflies in his stomach to contend with.

The morning session consisted of a written exam, the results of which, while not a determining factor in their graduation, would go on their records. The questions were scenarios based on challenges ninjas faced in the field. Reito found it okay. He wasn't bad at that sort of thing. It was the practical exam he was dreading.

"We will now start the final exam," Iruka Sensei announced after the lunch break. "When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on—"