Behind the Mask | PAUSED INDEFINITELY

Chapter 1

Look at it, I can't believe I made it this far...

You stared at the headband in your hand. It was flawless in the metalwork, not a scratch on there. The blue fabric was still bright, not a speck of dirt on it.

You had just graduated, an official ninja now. Those hours spent studying at your apartment and practicing finally paid off.

Your exam went fairly well, the written portion of it, at least. You breezed by it thanks to several late night cram sessions over the past couple days. The practical exam had worried you a bit more, however. You weren't sure what to expect, so you had gone over everything twice, except, that is, the Clone Jutsu.

That's so simple, You had thought the night before, There's no way they'll choose that for the exam.

But, sure enough, they did.

"We are now about to begin the Graduation Test. When your name is called, please proceed to the next classroom. The test is on the Clone Jutsu."

You gave Iruka-sensei a horrified look but hoped it wasn't so obvious. You've got to be kidding me. I didn't study for that... Crap!

You had only a few moments to prepare before Iruka-sensei came out of the room, another student following out with a wide grin on their face and a headband in their hands. They had definitely passed.

"Now, (f/n) (l/n), please," He gave you an encouraging smile, but it didn't help the fact that you had increasingly growing nerves.

You got in the room, Iruka-sensei sat next to Mizuki-sensei at a table with a couple dozen other headbands, one of which would be yours. It had to be!

You took a deep breath, telling yourself that you had to calm down. Ninja couldn't get nervous. You got into your stance, focused your Chakra and...

Bam!!!

You slowly opened an eye. Sure enough, you saw three other people standing next to you, both of which looking exactly like you. They were your clones. You sighed in relief; you did it!

It wasn't long after did you find yourself where you currently stood, in the midst of a crowd overjoyed parents and their kids, chattering away about their newfound success. The parents praised their kids, saying things like, "That's my son!" or "You did well! I'll cook something good tonight!"

Deep down, your heart yearned for your mother to be there to say something like that to you. But, she never would be. It's not like she was dead, unlike you. You were practically dead to her. Your mother and you got into a really bad fight a while ago and she even went to the extreme of throwing you out. You had buried this fact deep in your brain tired to focus on a new life without her. You didn't want to remember what it was about. It was over something stupid, and it ended up escalating quickly.

In that time, you found an apartment on the other side of the village, someplace closer to the academy, so your walks there were much quicker.

"Hey, look over there," one of the mothers pointed out to another.

You knew who she was motioning over to. Naruto Uzumaki. He was the only kid that failed. He was sitting alone on the swing in the yard, distancing himself from everyone else.

You felt bad. You had been raised to stay away from him, but your mother would never tell you why, aside from the fact that he was a trouble maker. As a matter of fact, a few days ago, he vandalized the faces of the Hokage on the mountain side. In general, everyone seemed to not like him, and many openly showed it, like the two now.

"Serves him right."

You had enough of everyone, and swiftly turned heel and simply left.

****

"I'm home," you muttered to no one in particular.

The silent atmosphere of your apartment greeted you in return, anyways. You walked in and shut the door. You apartment was somewhere nice and quiet, away from the busy streets, which was nice. It wasn't until after the landlord took you in and you officially moved here did you notice the way the dust always looked in the sunlight, floating without a care. It fascinated you. It was this that made you come to love the new place so much. You had tons of books scattered over the place, all about various topics from training tips to fictional pieces to nonfiction works. It wasn't top notch, but it was the little things there that made it special, more than your mother's home ever was.

You sat in front of the tall mirror that was leaning against the wall and could only stare at yourself. You had yet to put on your new headband. You just wanted someone important to you to watch you take this new step in life, but there was no one really there for you.

"I guess it's only me, isn't it?" You muttered to your reflection, quietly.

You closed your eyes and pulled your (h/c) bangs out of your face as you placed it against your forehead and began to tie the knot. If there wasn't anyone there, than you could just see it for yourself. It's better than no one, right?

You slowly opened them, again. There, in your mirror, sat your reflection, the perfect imitation of yourself, more than any clone could ever be. Your (e/c) eyes matched hers and they were locked together. Your outfit complemented you very nicely and was still fit for your purpose as a ninja. You could move in it well. Your hair poked over your headband a bit, but you could work with it.

"From now on... I'm a ninja..." You gave yourself a weak smile, "Congratulations, me..."