Beep Beep Beep Beep.
I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of my alarm clock. I turned over in bed and lazily let my arm flop onto the snooze button. I layed still for a while and considered sleeping again, but I decided against it. Instead, I dragged myself out of bed and towards my closet. I took off my pajama t-shirt and wrapped white bandages around my chest to form a sort of makeshift sports bra. Then I put on a fish net tank top and replaced my pajama pants with dark purple short-shorts with knee length fish net shorts underneath. I used more bandages and wrapped them around my forearms. Finally, I completed my outfit with my standard blue ninja shoes.
I walked out of my room and noticed that Kakashi had already left so I made myself a quick breakfast, brushed my hair and teeth, and then headed off to the academy. It was kind of a long walk, but I enjoyed it so I took my time. I heard yelling and noticed two Chūnin chasing a blonde boy carrying a can of paint. I recognized him as Naruto Uzumaki, the town prankster. I didn't dislike him but I had to admit that he was an idiot. He was constantly pulling pranks and getting into trouble. I generally stayed away from him because he seemed like a bad influence.
By the time I got to class, I was actually a little late, but Iruka-sensei wasn't there so it wasn't a problem. I took my seat in the front row next to my best friend, Hinata. "Good morning Ume-chan. I was starting to get worried, it's not like you too be late." Hinata and I had been friends since our first year at the academy, so by now she could talk to me without studdering. "Sorry, I got distracted on the way here, but it's not like it matters since Iruka-sensei's out. Where is he anyway?" Hinata looked down and blushed while pushing the tips of her index fingers together. "Well," she said, "he left to go find Naruto..." Her voice trailed off at the end. I smiled a bit thinking how cute it was that my little Hinata had a crush.
Suddenly the classroom door slid open and in came an annoyed Iruka-sensei carrying a tied up Naruto. He set Naruto on the ground in front of the class and started lecturing him. "I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time, and the time before that. Tomorrow you've got another chance, and you're messing up again!" Naruto just turned his face away and huffed. Iruka-sensei got really irritated and turned towards the rest of us while pointing. "Fine! Because you missed it, Naruto, everyone will review the Transformation Jutsu!" The whole class let out a simultaneous "Aww!"
Everybody lined up at the front of the classroom and waited for their name to be called. The first to go was a pink haired girl named Sakura Haruno. She changed into a perfect replica of Iruka-sensei, and after he told her that she did well, she released the jutsu and cheered "Yes, I did it! Yay! Sasuke, did you see that?" She was referring to Sasuke Uchiha, the most popular boy in our class. He had the highest grades (our grades were tied, actually), and nearly every girl in class (possibly in town) had a crush on him. I personally didn't like him too much. He seemed like a total snob.
Sasuke was called next. He did the jutsu and then walked away without a word. After him was me. For me it was a piece of cake. I transformed flawlessly, and after Iruka-sensei congratulated me, I bowed slightly, then walked to the back of the line. Up next was Naruto. He walked in front of Iruka-sensei, did the hand sign, and yelled "Transform!" But, instead of turning into Iruka-sensei, he turned into a naked woman. I had to hold back a laugh while watching Iruka-sensei have a major nosebleed. Naruto laughed and yelled, "Got'cha, that's my Sexy Jutsu!" Iruka-sensei lost it and shouted, "CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
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Time skip: Next day
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It was the day of the graduation test. I had made sure that I showed up on time. After class started Iruka-sensei told everyone to wait for their name to be called. Once we were called we had to go into a separate room to perform the Clone Jutsu. "The Clone Jutsu is too easy." I thought, "Oh well, it's not really my place to judge their standards." I sat at my desk and talked with Hinata until my name was called. I went to the next room and saw Iruka-sensei sitting at a table with another teacher, Mizuki. They told me to just make as many clones as I could and that I needed at least three to pass. I gave them a simple nod, but on the inside I was feeling a bit cocky and decided to show off. I did the hand sign, built up my chakra, and thought the words "Clone Jutsu!" The end result was twelve perfect replicas of myself standing in a row behind me.
Mizuki was speechless, but Iruka-sensei gave me a warm smile and said, "I expected something like this from you. Congratulations Ume, you're now a Genin."
He handed me my headband and I gave him a small smile and said a quiet "Thank you." before leaving the room. I went outside to the courtyard and sat up high in a tree. I watched as the other graduates and their families started forming a crowd near by. I hopped down once I saw Hinata come out carrying her own headband. We talked for a few minutes, but then she had to go home. As she left I overheard two women talking behind me.
"There, you see him?"
"It's that boy. I heard he's the only one that didn't pass." I turned around and saw that they were glaring at Naruto, who was sitting on a swing. "So, Naruto didn't pass? That's too bad."
"Hmph, servers him right," one of the women continued, "just imagine if he became a ninja." I got tired of hearing them ridicule Naruto and decided to tune out the rest of their conversation. "Geez, almost all the adults seem to hate Naruto. I get that he can be annoying, but he can't be that bad." I looked over at him and sighed. He looked depressed, so I decided to be nice and talk to him. I walked towards him and leaned against the trunk of the tree. I opened my mouth to speak, but Naruto beat me to it. He looked up at me and glared. "What do you want, huh? You come to make fun of me or something?"
"No. I came to give you advice, actually." I replied cooly. "Oh, uh, sorry..." He said as looked down towards the ground. "It's fine. You know, you'd pass if you spent more time practicing the Clone Jutsu, and less time painting on statues." He didn't respond so I continued. "I'd be willing to help you practice." Suddenly, the blonde perked up immediately. "Really? You mean it?" He asked. "Yeah, I mean it." I said with a small smile. Naruto just stared at me for a moment, completely dumbstruck. Then, he jumped up and yelled "ALRIGHT!"
"Ugh, he's so loud. But, at least he's cheered up." I thought. Then, Naruto looked at me with a goofy grin plastered on his face and said, "You know Ume, I used to think you were really creepy and weird cause you always look so emotionless, but it turns out you're pretty cool!"
"Uh, thanks?" I replied uncertainly as I sweatdropped at his 'compliment'. A few seconds later, we heard someone land in the branches above us so we looked up to see Mizuki. "Ah, Naruto, Ume, I'm glad you're still here. There's something I want to tell you both so please, follow me."
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Author's Note:
Phew, sorry this took so long. I got hit with major writer's block, and on top of that I started at a new school recently so everything is kinda mixed up for me at the moment. But once I get used to it and make myself a routine I'm sure my updates will happen faster.
