Despite it All

Naruto had never been the most brilliant guy; he knew this. Often it irked him to no end, but he had come to accept he was a bit odd. In Naruto's defense, he felt he wasn't stupid; he was full of good ideas! But classes, people, and even the Hokage would drone on and on! Naruto knew that a man had to stay busy. But he didn't intend to be a regular guy. He would reach the top, namely the top of the mountain, with an excellent carving of his face. Yes, the young man smiled to himself. Being Hokage would be great! But first, he'd have to survive this exercise. Just as the blonde's focus zeroed into his surroundings, he felt a rubber dodgeball coming in from behind about six inches out. With a casual lean of his head, he avoided the headshot and quickly kicked up, avoiding another ball thrown low. 

"Hey! Stop trying to be a sneaky bastard!" Naruto yelled, looking at one of his closest friends. While he was his teacher, he also served as an older brother figure. Giving him extra lessons and offering advice. Not to mention paying for what Naruto had decided was Ramen Fridays. The man quirked a smile but focused on the blonde, looking for an opening to pelt him with a rubber ball he wielded. His name was Iruka Umino. He was a man of average build and height. Geared in the standard Chunin garb, he looked reasonably regular. If not for his spiky long hair bound in an upwards ponytail. He did have a gentle face. But it was marred by a large scar across the bridge of his nose. If Naruto didn't know better, he would assume the Chunin was enjoying this.

"Don't lower your guard then." Iruka said with amusement. Naruto's trained instincts made him quickly observe the room. Padded but with obvious signs of wear, this room was used for most close combat exercises. As such, there was no actual cover. He has less room to maneuver than he would like. His eyes flicked to the other teacher present and, by far, the less likable Mizuki. Naruto had to confess he wasn't sure what he had done to the guy. Hell, he hadn't even pranked the guy in years. But he almost invariably was a bit ruder to Naruto and tense around him. He wore a bandana around his hair which was a pale blue and just barely reached his shoulder. Also garbed in Chunin gear, he was the assistant to Naruto's class. But now, Naruto was more concerned about him being in the air and Muzuki winding up to throw. Naruto's mind raced, but Muzuki released the ball, and it flew incredibly quickly toward the blonde. He reacted with his gut and struck out with his foot kicking the ball back toward the scowling Chunin. As soon as he touched down, he rolled, dodging another shot from Iruka. But as he did so, Muzuki snarled, allowed chakra to gather in his foot, and struck the ball to the wall behind the blonde; it flew with incredible speed. Naruto did notice, but since it wasn't aimed at him focused on Iruka deflecting one ball with another. The ball Mizuki kicked hit the wall violently before ricocheting back towards Naruto, hitting him in the head. The force caused it to pop and knock the young man from his feet.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out to him and gave a scan as the blonde slowly climbed to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Ya, ya, that just caught me off guard. Why'd the hell you throw it so damn hard, huh?" Naruto yelled, his gaze settling on Muzuki. 

"My apologies; I had reflected the ball before thinking and, as such, used too much force," he said apologetically. 

"Ya, and hit me in the head, you absolute ass!" Naruto countered angrily.

"Naruto!" Iruka admonished 

"Once again, I do apologize, but I must remind you that it was the point of the exercise." Muzuki tried.

"Oh, I'm sure everyone else deals with that, too, huh?" Naruto said, frown growing as he stared down Mizuki. Mizuki simply offered an awkward laugh and did a slight bow. Naruto's eyes slid to Iruka, and he noticed his agitation. With a mental sigh, Naruto reigned in his anger. "Fine, my bad. I was just annoyed." He offered. Iruka smiled at this, then opened his file on his person. He leafed through it calmly, beckoning Muzuki over to see as well. Naruto glared at the blue-haired Chunin's back. Though it was impossible for the young man to prove it, he had always had a good instinct for people; he just knew Mizuki was against him.

Not to mention he had felt this tension before. He couldn't figure out why but some people throughout the village seemed to dislike him. As far as he could tell, he had done nothing to deserve it. But had decided to never let it bother him. He may not have much, but the few people he was close with were well worth it. He had just completed the reflex test of the final testing for the academy. Most alumni hated it, but Naruto found he was better in a pinch. Just seemed easier to figure out things as he went, and even with both teachers viciously pursuing a hit, Naruto had nearly cleared the ten minutes flawlessly. Dodging and blocking as needed and even firing some back when he had the chance. Naruto knew he didn't have the luxury of taking it easy here. They had completed a wide variety of tests today. Today may be the most crucial day in the young man's life. It was the Academy Finals. This was the final metric to weed out the riff-raff and ensure the brightest remained.

While Naruto had all intentions of being one of the best shinobi ever. He knew he was a long way from his goal. Naruto was confident in the physical portions of the test. He had long ago become skilled with kunai and shuriken; hell, he even dabbled with traps. His Taijutsu may be less precise and showy than some other students, but Naruto could outlast anyone. Using a combination of an absurd chin as he had heard Shikamaru complain once of and an endless battery of a body others had accused. Naruto didn't really see it. As his thoughts concluded, he saw Iruka frowning as he prepared to speak.

"Naruto, now I don't want you to take this the wrong way. But your scores… are much lower than we were expecting." Iruka started, his voice gentle but firm. Naruto felt his stomach sinking, and he knew it. Despite his best efforts, Naruto had failed. His ninjutsu was laughable, as was his genjutsu as well. There had been plenty of theory tests, but he was never a strong test taker. But surely he didn't fail! He couldn't! "Now, you did pass, but well…" Iruka paused.

"Your scores are below average." Mizuki continued for Iruka. "We would have failed you in the past, but now we have another procedure for those who may need some… fine-tuning. These are remedial classes for you and anyone else in your shoes. You all will be offered a challenge, and as long as you complete it, you may start your journey as a shinobi. But if you fail, that's that." He said, his voice understanding, yet Naruto felt something similar to malcontent. 

"I didn't fail…" Naruto murmured his emotions all over the place. He needed this! Iruka walked up to the blonde and placed it on his shoulder.

"Not unless you wanna give up." He said gently. Naruto growled to himself. He had almost failed. But for now, he had a lesson to ace. 

"Fine, but when I pass, you are paying for Ramen Fridays for a month!" He hollered. Iruka merely smiled and nodded his head. Mizuki tossed a folded piece of paper at the blonde, who caught it. 

"That has the location time and what equipment you need to bring. I will be proctoring the exam." Mizuki said in an oddly happy tone. Naruto couldn't pinpoint the emotions behind his words. But honestly, he wanted to leave; he was not looking forward to telling "her" of this. She could be terrifying when the urge struck her. He nodded to Mizuki, waved to Iruka, and walked calmly out of the room into the hall. He was determined to leave before anyone could ask about his fate, but he was doomed.

"You know you can be a real drag to find." A voice called. When the blonde looked over, he saw the last thing he needed. Students who had likely passed were expecting the same of him. But Naruto Uzumaki was no coward. So even as he inwardly panicked, he merely smiled and waited for him to approach. The man who spoke stood an inch or two taller than the blonde, a fact he often lorded over him with lazy glee. He had dark hair pulled into an upward ponytail, not unlike Iruka's. Black eyes seemingly locked into a sleepy scowl, and he was smirking. His clothing consisted of green armored sandals with black cargo pants tucked into them, Matched with a black button-up shirt. Over it, he wore a green survival jacket with a Nara crest on it. Naruto had struggled a bit to find kinship at first in the academy. Shikamaru had come when the blonde thought things may be hopeless. A week after his 15th birthday, the lazy Nara approached the blonde at lunch and offered to sit with him. The blonde was unsure, but Nara had surprisingly insisted, seemingly ever since the two were friends. He could have been more talkative and exciting but made up for it by being surprisingly informative and kind. But he wasn't alone. Naruto knew the faces but couldn't say he was super familiar with them. To the left of his friend stood someone the Nara had informed him of before. Naruto believed his name was Choji. He wore the same pair of sandals as Shikamaru and black sweat bound at various parts with bandages. A Grey tank top and green cotton jacket. His face was constantly in comical motion, with the swirls on his cheeks seemingly spinning as he ate. His eyes were brown and focused on the task of slaying chips. Naruto supposed his hair was done up in a bandana for the best since debris of slain chips managed to land on his bandana. 

"Ye- mmm, we were looking forever, you know." He bellowed in between bites. The woman to the right of Shikamaru cringed at this. Naruto glanced at her. He first noticed her long blonde hair reaching her lower back and equally long bangs covering half her face. A blue eye peeked back at him. Her lips thinned a bit as she stared back. She wore a purple high-collared blouse that reached down to her knees. Underneath, she wore black tights and bandages she kept wrapped around her arms. He had heard of her. She was friends with Shikamaru somehow and was rather popular, especially with the guys. He believed her name was Ino.

"It is so gross when you do that, you know," She said as she rubbed her arms.

"It is?" He asked curiously.

"Yes!" Naruto and the girl said at once. Their eyes met before they both landed back on the messy eater. 

"M-my bad then," The chubby man said with a laugh.

"Oh man, you really are a mess, huh?" A rough voice called out. They all glanced at the young man approaching. "I mean, seriously, even Akamaru eats better than that." The man said teasingly. He wore a black coat lined with gray fur around the down hood and on the ends of the sleeves. As well as matching gray sweatpants secured with what seemed to be chains. Behind him stood a dog that matched nearly all their heights with long white fur and a long swinging tail. Kiba then. He had heard of a bastard who fought like a beast, apparently with his giant dog. Naruto had to admit that it was pretty cool. The boy looked at Naruto and raised a brow and the edge of his lip. "You're that guy aren't you?" 

"Um, what guy?" the blonde said hesitantly. Unsure if Kiba may be a vengeful victim of his many pranks. 

"Well, the guy some say is a creep and infamous for pulling pranks," Kiba said, a smile growing. Naruto felt his rage swirl within him. 

"You're damn right! I pulled those pranks, and they were awesome! I don't regret it one measly bit. I don't know what people's problem is, ya know! But one day, you're all gonna be answering to me!" The blonde yelled, hating having someone boldly throw his rep in his face. As he pondered if he should kick his ass, the bastard laughed.

"Hahaha, now that's more like it!" Kiba yelled back. "Maybe you are some creep, but you got guts." Naruto felt his anger slow a bit at that. The crass man even slapped his shoulder while laughing, and the blonde couldn't help but laugh. Enjoying Kiba's antagonistic but oddly friendly personality. 

"Well, anyways, Naruto." Shikamaru started, "I was coming to find you to celebrate passing. Gonna be us and a bunch of the other students who passed heading to the bar tomorrow. Well, we're technically just doing it to enjoy our first drinks," The Nara stated happily. Naruto felt his anger disappear and, instead, was replaced with shame. Shikamaru had such faith in him. Naruto was unsure if he should correct him but decided to just go for it.

"Actually, I technically didn't pass." He said simply, his voice now showing some of his inner turmoil. 

"What?" Kiba said, shocked but was kicked silent by Ino. Shikamaru sent them both a glare for their lack of subtlety but was also silently surprised. He assumed the blonde would pass with at least a little breathing room.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru replied. The blonde seemed to look down at the floor. 

"They said my scores are below the "average" score. They want me to participate in a remedial lesson to decide if I will continue." He explained.

"Oh, that's no big deal!" Choji started happily, with Ino slowly nodding.

"But-" the blonde tried. But the portly man merely laughed merrily as he threw an arm around the blonde.

"I'm taking those too! Never been the fittest, obviously!" Choji chuckled good-naturedly. Naruto couldn't help but smile. "So make sure to watch old Choji's back, aye?"

"Hell yeah, we'll ace this test! Believe it!" The blonde yelled, fully now sold on the exam. Shikamaru chuckled lightly at this, glad to see the blonde's spirits lifted by the happy-go-lucky nature of Choji. Kiba laughed as well, loving the energy. Ino merely rolled her eyes, thinking the blonde was a bit of an idiot.

"So you coming?" Shikamaru asked Naruto with a smirk.

"Of course, I can't wait!" Naruto answered. With this, goodbyes were exchanged, and the group left the blonde, who watched them leave before starting the trek home.

Naruto slowly trekked home. While the meeting with Shikamaru and co had definitely lifted his spirits, he still dreaded what awaited him. "She" was probably already home. Undoubtedly discovering his crime. "She" most of the time was sweet. She was fantastic as long as you stayed on her good side and followed the rules. But the blonde sometimes wondered if she intended to kill him when he was unlucky enough to cross her. No, he thought morosely; she likely would kill now, no matter what. As far as he knew, his sin was unforgivable. A lesser man would retreat lest they face her wrath, but Naruto would stand firm. Well, for a bit, anyway.

With this thought in mind, Naruto unlocked his door and silently crept in. His eyes expertly darted about the room, looking for any silent threats. As far as he could tell, he should be fine. No traps, no genjutsu, and no murderous women. Now Naruto was no fool and silently crept towards his room despite the apparent safety. Every step seemed to creak or thud or somehow attempt to give away his position. But with great skill, the blonde reached his bedroom door. He was so close! If he just got in, he could take a short nap before he had to get ready for the exam. Conveniently missing "her." He slowly opened the door a quarter, halfway, two thi-. He couldn't even finish the thought. A shape flew towards the blonde from the darkness of his own room. He couldn't react and closed his eyes, assuming a kunai or shuriken would soon end him. Instead, he felt a painful crash on his nose, the sound of breaking plastic alerting him he was hit by some brush. He stumbled back, trying to regain balance, but this was not an issue. A woman emerged from the shadows, dashing forward, grabbing Naruto's shirt, and casually lifting him. He flinched, knowing penance was coming shortly. He offered a short prayer to whoever was out there, knowing his time was soon. 

"So… forgot to do the dishes, huh?" the shadows shifted, revealing her face, dark blue eyes met his light blue with vibrant red hair seemingly swirling around the woman. It was the reaper, death, the great dying, it was his… "I asked you to do them, you know?" Kushina said with a sweet false smile. It was his mother.