Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mended Hearts ❯ Examination ( Chapter 4 )

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't.

 

Summary: AU Naruto hides many secrets from Konohagakure no Sato. As time continues, Naruto's precious people learn the hard way that many secrets are best left untouched, and that Naruto is not at all what they believed.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter 4: Examination~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The warm water from the showerhead beat down on his lithe and well muscled body as red rivulets ran from his hair and down his arms as the blood from his latest kill washed away. He hissed softly as the soap came in contact with the wounds in his arm and chest. Swiftly, he rinsed off the soap, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and he looked into the mist covered mirror. He wrote his name in the misty mirror…

 

Zeiguwa…

 

How would he survive being Zeiguwa for one year without fail?

 

If he showed even a fraction of the mercy he showed his opponents here in Konoha, the Iwa-nin would not hesitate to call him weak, which would besmirch Konoha's honor and prestige.

 

With one swift motion, he wiped away the mist, erasing the words.

 

Dull blue eyes stared at him from the mirror.

 

“I can do this,” he murmured, “I've done it before, I can do it now.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Jiraya's information leads us to believe that Orochimaru may attempt to infiltrate the chunin exams again. Guard Uchiha Sasuke.”

 

Zeiguwa nodded. “Hai, Hokage-sama.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“He's late!” Sakura crossed her arms and fumed. “That Naruto…”

 

“Shannaro!!!!” Inner Sakura screamed, “I'll kill him if he doesn't show up!!!!”

 

Sasuke… Well… He was Sasuke…

 

“OHAYO, SAKURA-CHYAAAAAAN!!!!”

 

“NARUTO!!!! WHY ARE YOU LATE!!!???”

 

Naruto gave Sakura a sheepish smile. “I overslept.”

 

Smack!

 

“BAKA!!!”

 

“Itai!”

 

“Hnn… Dobe.”

 

“Sasuke… Teme…”

 

Smack!

 

“Don't call Sasuke-kun that!!!”

 

“Itai!!! You're killing brain cells, Sakura-chan!”

 

“Why do you care? You never use your brain anyway!”

 

“Demo… Sakura-chyaaaannnn!”

 

“Hmph. Let's just go. We have an exam to pass…”

 

“Speaking of which…” Sakura glanced at Naruto and murmured, “You got rid of the orange!”

 

“I thought I would make an effort to stay hidden if we end up in the Forest of Death again.”

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Naruto sat silently in the examination room, seemingly unaffected by the furious scratching of pencil on paper and the terrified aura being given off. The tension in the air was so thick that is could almost be cut with a knife, but Naruto sat in his little bubble of serenity. Even as his own pencil flew across the paper, his mind wandered through all possible outcomes for his actions during the chunin exams. Despite his preoccupation, he did not miss the confused and wary glances turned toward him by the proctors. He quickly completed the last question and flipped his paper over. He placed his chin in his hand and lightly tapped his pencil against the table in a series of codes that were only taught to Hunters and ANBU commanders.

 

`It's rude to stare.'

 

Ibiki couldn't help the startled widening of his eyes as Naruto began tapping his pencil against his desk. He quickly composed himself and allowed his eyes to roam over the room as his fingers twitched in reply.

 

`I was not expecting to find a Hunter posing as a genin (stop) Where is the Uzumaki boy?'

 

Naruto grinned. `Somewhere.'

 

`That's not a very good answer.'

 

`It's all that you will get from me I'm afraid…'

 

`Fine, why are you here?'

 

`For my mission'

 

`It will raise questions if someone spots the Uzumaki boy while you are taking the exam in his stead (stop) It would be unfair if you passed for him.'

 

`Direct your questions to the Godaime.'

 

Ibiki frowned. The Hunter, whichever one he was, was unusually forthcoming with his answers. Granted that he didn't find out anything particularly useful, but a majority of Hunters would have ignored him.

 

`Get a hold of yourself (stop) The children are getting nervous and time is almost up.'

 

“It's time for the tenth question!” Ibiki said.

 

`Say nothing unless it is to the Hokage…'

 

Naruto set down his pencil and leaned back in his seat, his eyes unusually serious. Ibiki nodded slightly and turned toward the sweating genin. Naruto chuckled to himself as the tension in the room rose steadily. This year, he said nothing and allowed numbers in the room drop. He was in no mood to take part in a preliminary before the third exam this year. A slight smile crossed his lips. It would be fun to see the look on Orochimaru and Sasuke's faces if circumstances allowed them to find out that the so called “Dobe” was actually the youngest of the Hunter-nin and a tensai shinobe.

 

He looked forward to it.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Ibiki picked up a sheet of paper and turned it over. His eyes widened at the name in the corner. Zeiguwa… I should have known… Only Zeiguwa would be young enough to blend in among all the genin taking this exam… But why become Uzumaki Naruto? Why not take up the empty spot in Team 10 instead of making the Nara boy, who is already a chunin, take the exam again?

 

He looked out the window pensively. “Something big is going on… But what?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“We have the earth scroll,” Naruto murmured as Team 7 approached the gates they were departing from.

 

“Thank you for stating the obvious,” Sakura said dryly.

 

“We need the heaven scroll.”

 

“I think we figured that out ourselves,” Sasuke said.

 

“I saw a team from Kiri and a team from Kusa with the heaven scroll.”

 

“So you're saying to collect not only the necessary heaven scroll, but also extras?” Sakura asked.

 

“For all that he was an Oto spy, Kabuto made a good point. We won't find ourselves in a bad situation if we have extras on hand. We'll also cut down on competition. Personally, I don't feel like having to go through a preliminary like last time.”

 

“Hmph. Looks like you're good for something after all, dobe.”

 

“Sasuke… teme!”

 

“The second exam begins Now! HAJIME!!!” Anko yelled.

 

The gates opened, and Team 7 shot into the forest. They were not going to fail. They refused to fail…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Eight hours into the Exam….

 

Naruto sat with his back against the tree as he took first watch. A series of explosions and screams reached his ears and a grim smile crossed his face. Hajimata da… The second Exam had begun, and the weak were getting picked off…

 

The leaves rustled, and several of his bushin walked in, each carrying a separate scroll. Naruto took the scrolls and dispelled the bushin before studying the six scrolls. Four heaven and two earth… Not bad…

 

He rose and tucked a Heaven and an Earth scroll into Sakura's pouch. Another set of Heaven and Earth he kept, and he tucked the rest into Sasuke's pouch. A wicked grin crossed his face. Wouldn't the others be surprised the next time they put their hands into their pouch…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Two days into the Exam…

 

Orochimaru glared angrily as the team poofed into smoke. Kage bushin and Henge again. The Snake Sannin roared angrily. It was the ninth time in the past two days!!! Just how many did the Kyuubi no gaki make!?

 

In the meantime, Team 7 was making their merry little way toward the tower…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

On the fifth day…

 

“Since only five teams passed, we will not be holding preliminaries this year,” The Godaime said. “You have one month to rest and prepare for the third exam. Use that time wisely. But before that, if you would like to forfeit now, you may do so. It will not affect your team since all the matches from this point on are individual.”

 

Naruto sighed. He had done all that he could. The Godaime had set things up so that he would have to fail at least one of the two missions he had been given. The treaty with Iwa was most important at the time, and Rookie nine should be able to take care of themselves from this point on. He raised his hand. “I forfeit.”

 

“Naruto!” Sakura yelled, shocked.

 

Behind the Godaime, Kakashi's eyes widened. Why is he giving up?

 

Tsunade nodded. “Very well. Uzumaki Naruto. You may go.”

 

Naruto turned and left the Tower wordlessly, the shocked gazes of the Rookie nine on his back…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Naruto lay lightly on the roof of his apartment, staring up at the sky. A plume of smoke behind him alerted him to Kakashi's presence.

 

“Why did you give up? You never give up.”

 

Naruto smiled slightly. “I felt like it.”

 

“That's not a good enough reason.”

 

“It is for me.”

 

“Naruto…”

 

“No. Just… Just go away…”

 

Kakashi studied his student silently. “I'm always here for you if you need me, you know?”

 

“When have you ever been there for me?” Naruto said. “You foisted me off onto some other jounin with his own students to take care of while you trained Sasuke, Sasuke who put a Chidori through my chest. You even pay more attention to Sakura. Half the things I can do, you didn't teach me. And you actually have the gall to tell me that you're there for me?”

 

“Naruto…”

 

“No. Enough is enough. Just go away and leave me alone…”

 

Naruto… “I simply thought… I thought that you didn't need me as much as Sasuke did… I'm sorry Naruto…” Kakashi vanished.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

One week later…

 

“Good luck, Zeiguwa.”

 

“Aa.”

 

“We'll see you in one year. Take care of yourself Naruto.”

 

“Aa.”

 

Naruto turned his back on the village and leapt into the trees.

 

It was going to be a long year…

 

He had no regrets…

 

He had none…

 

But for one…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

CSA Version 7 Mended Hearts What Are You Hiding?