You're not the only one.... ×Book 1×

23. Graduation exams

'You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens'

-Mandy Hale
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~The Next Day~

"Ruka are you ok?!"

"I'm fine."

"Why did you faint?!"

"....."

"You ready for the graduation exams?!"

"I guess."

I sat down in my seat between Naruto and Sasuke as I exhaled deeply and placed my hands in my lap. It's finally time for the graduation exams. I thought this day would never come, but here it is. I glanced over at Naruto and noticed he was tightly gripping his hair in his hands and frowning.

"Are you ok" I whispered scooting closer to him.

"I'm going to fail" he said sadly shaking his head "Iruka Sensei was right."

I frowned deeply then gently took his hands away from his hair and placed them in my own.

"Naruto" I began softly "I know you're going to do good, and even if you do happen to fail that doesn't change who you are as a person. You'll still be my friend and you'll still become Hokage like you've always wanted."

Naruto stared at me for a long time as I blushed and looked away; taking my hands out of his.

"Uh..." Naruto said slowly "thanks Ruka. I guess you're right."

"Y-You're welcome" I stuttered, biting my lip.

Naruto smiled as Iruka Sensei walked in and we listened to what he was about to say. I've never given an inspiring speech like that before; it kind of felt good.

"We will start the final exam" Iruka Sensei said "when your name is called proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on the clone Jutsu; successfully make three clones and you pass."
Everyone started to mutter in excitement about the exam as Naruto and I exchanged a nervous glance.

"Ruka" Iruka Sensei said as the room fell silent "you're first."

Oh crap....I exhaled nervously and nodded as I slowly stood up.

"Good luck, loser" Sasuke muttered continuing to stare at the wall.

I blushed and grinned slightly as I walked over to Iruka Sensei. Sasuke told me good luck; he doesn't talk to me often.

"GO RUKA!" Sakura yelled "I KNOW YOU'LL PASS!"

"GOOD LUCK RUKA!" Kiba shouted.

"You're going to pass dattebayo!" Naruto said smiling "just wait!"

I nodded and went into the testing room as Iruka Sensei closed the door behind me. Well, here goes nothing.

*****

I held tightly onto my ninja headband as I looked around for Naruto outside. Everyone had passed the graduation exam and school was finally over, but I can't find Naruto anywhere. I wormed my way through the large crowd of parents congratulating their kids. Too bad I don't have parents; they could congratulate Naruto and I.

"See that boy over there" a women's voice said stopping me in my tracks.

"Yeah" a voice responded "isn't that the..."

"Shh!" The other women warned "were forbidden to speak about it!"

Forbidden to speak about what....?

I went over to the two women and followed their gazes only to notice they were staring at Naruto. He was sitting by himself on the swing with a sad expression and no headband. I frowned slightly to myself and felt my eyes water up. Naruto....

"No wonder he has no family" one of the women spat angrily "little devil child! Good thing he has no friends either! He doesn't deserve them!"

I felt my blood boil in my chest and before I knew it I snapped.

~Naruto's POV~

"No wonder he has no family" one of the women spat angrily "little devil child! Good thing he has no friends either! He doesn't deserve them!"

I sighed and felt tears spring up in my eyes. Yeah, it was sad but I was use to hearing this kind of stuff....but what can I do? I failed the graduation exam like I thought I would; I wonder if Ruka passed; I really hope she did.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT UP!" A familiar voice yelled angrily.

I looked up in surprise and saw Ruka glaring at the two women angrily with her hands balled into fist; as they stared at her in shock.

"NARUTO IS A GREAT PERSON!" She shouted tears running down her face "YOU STAND HERE AND TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE HE'S NOT EVEN THERE! DON'T YOU KNOW THATS KILLING HIM! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU HAD NO FRIENDS?! OR NO FAMILY?! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE YOU WERE CALLED A MONSTER AND BEAT BY YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?! I CAN TELL YOU FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT IT DOSEN'T FEEL GOOD! IT HURTS OK?! IT MAKES YOU WANT TO DIE! SO INSTEAD OF STANDING HERE TALKING ABOUT HIM YOU SHOULD GO OVER TO HIM AND ASK HIM IF HE'S OK BUT YOU WONT! BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST SELFISH AND CRUEL!"

With that last note Ruka ran off in tears and I watched her go.

Ruka....

I felt tears start to spring up in my own eyes and I started to get up from the swing to go comfort her when....

"Naruto" a voice said as I looked over.

I looked up and saw the man that had been there for my exam; with the white hair. What does he want?

~Ruka's POV~

I sat in the alleyway crying my eyes out. I feel bad for yelling at those women, but I shouldn't have ran off like that. I should have comforted Naruto. He's probably still sitting on that swing; suffering all alone. I continued to cry deeply when I heard footsteps approaching me. I looked up through my blurry vision as a cloaked figure knelt in front of me and slowly patted my head.

"There, there Ruka" the mysterious person said "don't cry."

That voice....

It sounds so familiar; like I heard it in a dream before. The person reached forward and gently pulled my necklace from inside my shirt as he stared at it. That's the necklace Ryuku gave me. It still whispered sometimes; for some reason it was whispering louder then ever. The mysterious person put the necklace back under my shirt and slowly stood up.

"Go home Ruka" the person said softly "it's not safe at night."

I nodded and wiped my blurry eyes of tears; when my vision had fully cleared the mysterious person was gone.

Hmm? Who was that?
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Me: Hey guys! So I'm pretty sure you all know next chapter we start assembling...... TEAM 7!! That should be exciting!

Naruto: Yep! It sounds exciting! I'm just curious as to who that person was that talked to Ruka in the alleyway.

Ruka: Yeah me too. To be honest it was kind of creepy.

Me: You'll find out who that mysterious person is one day. On another note; I hope you guys enjoyed the song I put up.

Naruto: I liked it.

Ruka: Um... it was ok.

Orochimaru: I LOVED IT!

Naruto: ......

Ruka: ......

Me: ......

Orochimaru: ......

Naruto: Who are you?

Ruka: Story_of_Fate13 doesn't own Naruto.

Me: Later guys!