Another Take (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Complete)

*Ch. 2: Here's To The Zeroes

'Sure, kid.'

We spent the rest of the walk in silence. It was going to be a nice day, I noted. A few clouds could be seen high overhead in the sky. The ambient sounds of the village surrounded me, and I could feel myself relaxing further.

A good day indeed.

I eventually spotted the red walls of the Academy, and that relaxation ebbed a bit. School time. A few other kids my age and younger were also walking though the gates, some accompanied by parents. 

I quietly made my way inside the building, and to my classroom door. A glance inside showed that there weren't many people there. Nice. There was still a good few minutes before class began, so I'd arrived at a good time. As I slid the door open, I noticed Sasuke Uchiha in his normal seat.

He always seemed to be the first one there in the morning. And he was definitely the most unsociable person I'd ever met. Despite that, all the girls in the class seemed to have some level of a crush on him. 

And yes, I get it. He's attractive, and that cold, brooding air just makes some people want to worm their way behind his defenses and find the 'caring hidden side he obviously has.' But, uh, I don't really think he's got that.

Heck, even I had a crush on Sasuke when I was younger, so I can see where these girls are coming from. But it faded pretty quick when I noticed how he seemed to give a total of one person the time of day. And you can't be jealous of Asami because she would literally mess you up. Also, they're barely friends. They're just two cold-hearted assholes who respect each other.

But while Sasuke was in his seat, Asami was nowhere to be seen. That's strange, because he always made her sit next to him to prevent the other girls from bothering him.

Eh, none of my concern. I made my way to my chosen seat, which was thankfully near one of the windows. Only one other person usually sits in this row, and I don't even know his name. My guess is that he's going to fail one or both of the graduation tests, so I've never bothered to pay attention to him.

Slowly more people began trickling in. I saw Kiba and Kouta walk in together like normal and head to their seats. Kiba's dog Akamaru was sitting on his head, and Kouta's wolf puppy Shiki was walking beside his partner. I love those good dogs so much.

Sakura and Ino stormed in loudly, their voices raised in another one of their arguments. It stopped when they realized there was a free seat beside Sasuke, and after a moment of surprise they beelined for it. But I guess Sasuke could see them coming, because he quickly grabbed Shikamaru and pulled the poor boy into the seat.

The girls looked disappointed, but sat in seats near the front of the classroom. Kiba and Kouta had taken the seats directly in front of Sasuke, and Shino and Choji were already behind him. Together they effectively blocked the Uchiha from any of his fan club. I swear I saw Sasuke breathe a sigh of relief.

Class was about to start, and the only two people I knew the names of who weren't here were Naruto and Asami. It wasn't too surprising for Naruto to be late, all things considered, but Asami being late was rare. I'd almost call it worrisome, except for the fact that I'm not friends with her and don't possess that much empathy.

Then Fenrir brought up another interesting point. 'Your teacher isn't here yet either,' he said, and I looked around in surprise. That was even more odd than Asami being late, because Iruka-sensei was known for being very punctual. 

'You're right,' I replied mentally, my brow furrowed. 'I guess something's going on.'

The door opened with a bang. 'Oh, never mind. There's two of them.' And Fenrir was right. Iruka had just stormed in, Naruto in tow.

I raised my head from where it was resting on my arms and took in the sight before me. Naruto was sitting on the ground at the front of the room, wrapped in rope. Iruka was standing in front of him, lecturing the boy in tones that increasingly got louder. Or it was just that the class got quieter as the other students noticed the commotion and stopped talking to pay attention. 

Suddenly the tirade cut off and Iruka sighed. I watched as he seemed to give up on his pointless task of trying to lecture Naruto and turned to face the class. "We're going to do a review on the Transformation jutsu," he said. I heard some people groan. "Everyone, line up!"

I got to my feet as the rest of the class did the same, and we formed a line rife with grumbling and complaining. It was inconvenient, sure, but this was good review for those of us not as confident for the exam tomorrow. 

Sakura went first. "Sakura Haruno going! Transform!" she said, her fingers forming the sign. With a poof of smoke, she stood there as Iruka. I thought it was a good copy. She's definitely not top of the class in grades for nothing. Iruka congratulated her, and Sakura cheered.

It all seemed innocent, until she turned to look at Sasuke, who was behind her in line. "Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?" she asked with a happy smile. But he just grunted, and Sakura moved to the back of the line, her head lowered in disappointment.

Next was Sasuke, and he didn't say anything before transforming. He didn't even use a hand sign, which was impressive. If only it was that easy for the rest of us. Iruka congratulated him as well, then the boy went back to his seat.

Naruto was up next, and he sent me a certain look before going in front of Iruka. Uh-oh. I'd learned over the years that him giving me that look meant he was planning to do something. Naruto's way of warning me out of the hypothetical splash zone.

I shut my eyes tightly as Naruto began the hand signs and yelled "Transform!" The smell of smoke reached my nose, but I didn't open my eyes. Just a second later I heard laughter, screams, and the sound of someone crashing into what I assumed was a desk.

'I do have to wonder what he just did,' I commented to Fenrir as I opened my eyes to see Iruka collapsed back over his desk and Naruto on the ground in the throes of laughter. There was blood coming out of Iruka's nose, and blushes on the face of many of my male classmates.

'I'm not entirely sure you wanted to,' Fen replied. I considered it, then shrugged. He was probably right. My eyes slid shut again as I prepared myself for my own attempt at transformation.

It was probably a few minutes later that I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Iruka there, trying to talk to me.

"-yomi, Kiyomi!" he was saying, still shaking my shoulder. " Oh, good. You're back. You really need to get your head out of the clouds and pay attention." I nodded, knowing it was true. But hey, what can I do. "It's your turn to go."

I walked up to the front, and focused my chakra. This was one jutsu that I was decently good at, compared to the Substitution, which I wasn't so great at.

"Transform." I whispered. With a poof of smoke, I stood there, now in the form of Iruka. He gave me a once-over, before nodding.

"Alright, good job Kiyomi." I thanked him and went back to my seat to watch the air outside. It was still a good day.

======

Iruka dismissed us from class after everyone had a turn to take his little mini-test. On our way out he warned us again about the exam the next day, then turned back to deal with Naruto. As I was leaving I saw the boy in question being led by Iruka in the direction of the Hokage mountain. Which, now that I take a look at them, are covered in graffiti and paint. 

Paint... Naruto's prank!

So that's what he needed those cans for. Pretty ballsy, I thought. Very disrespectful, but bold.

'You wanted to go train, right?' Fenrir suddenly asked, breaking me from my perusement of the mountain. I did, and told him so, and he continued. 'Let's go then! Time's a wasting!'

~Here's to all the zeroes! Every misfit, in all my downs and outs~