Imperfectly Perfect (Naruto FanFic)

Chapter Two

I woke with a start, startling the maid who had been shaking my shoulder.

"Sorry miss, but it's time to wake up. You need to prepare for breakfast, and you requested that I wake you early to practice. Today is your graduation test," She informed me quickly and quietly. I nodded, relaxing, and stood.

I pulled on my outfit, worried about the exam. My sister graduated when she was nine; far younger then me. It would be a shame I could not bear if I failed the exam today. I was already a disappointment, unable to follow in my sister's footsteps; twelve years old and I would be taking the exams for the first time. My sister was now sixteen, a jonin, and a soon-to-be Anbu. I would never catch up to her. She cast a long shadow over me that I would never escape.
With a sigh, I went to the basement, entering a training room. There are dummies, blocks of wood, targets, everything you could want. I practiced my taijutsu. I loved taijutsu, and while I wasn't the strongest, my great sense of balance helped. Target practice was fairly easy. If you did something enough times, it become second nature. Ninjutsu practice was... interesting. I could accomplish all the jutsus, but every single one had some sort of flaw with it, whether it was simply weak or wrong.

Huffing, I turned away. One of the male staff ran in front of me, knowing what was coming next genjutsu. My favorite. It wasn't flashy or showy, you do it and beat your opponent. No one enjoyed practicing with a genjutsu user; all they needed was a test rat.
I do the necessary hand signs, and then the servant collapsed. A grin of relief and pride spread across my face at the accomplishment. In the genjutsu, he was currently wandering around in darkness, pitch black. He could only see a few feet ahead, and the occasional shurikan or kunai came out to skim over him.
Of course, this was all happening in his mind.

I walked over and released him from the genjutsu. He bowed to me, looking shaky. I felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed it away harshly: I needed to practice on somebody.

Mother and Father didn't like genjutsu much. They ranked it inferior to ninjutsu and taijutsu. They often reminded me that genjutsu was just for people who weren't strong enough for taijutsu or skilled enough for ninjutsu.

It saddened me, that what I was best at made them see me as weak. I quickly shook my thoughts away, hurrying upstairs for breakfast. I stop in the powder room to wash my face quickly and a maid sweeped my hair into a bun, wrapping my hair around the two hair sticks.

I hurry into the dining area. I was late. I bowed quickly. "You're late. You made us wait," Mother told me, steely eyes flashing.

"I'm sorry," I replied clearly: I wasn't planning on getting slapped today.

"Today is your graduation exam, correct?" My Father confirmed.

"Yes, Father." I nod.

"Have you practiced?"

"Yes, Father."

"Hideaki never needed to practice. She passed without studying," My father told me. I hid a scowl, lowering my head. If i practiced, then it was wrong, because Hideaki never needed to, apparently. She was just naturally perfect. But if I didn't practice, then I was clearly arrogant, and would fail and bring shame to the family because of my lack of preparation.

But I knew I couldn't argue with my father. With a sigh, I conceded, "Yes, Fa--"

"No, Father," My sister interrupted. My eyes widened by a millimeter. Challenging Father? My sister's gone mad.

"I practiced from seven at night to twelve in the morning everyday to make you proud, so I could pass with the highest marks of my class. I practiced long, and I practiced hard. Just because Fuzen practices doesn't mean she's worse then me!"