Call Me Dad

15. Mizuki's Test

"Naruto Hatake?"

Naruto's eyes lit up. It's been years, but Naruto's heart still warmed every time his last name was called. Also, he was really excited about the final exam.

He stood, and smiled at the calls of encouragement from his various friends. He waved at them and followed after Iruka who greeted him warmly.

Naruto smiled back up at him and entered the testing room, his nerves spiking as Iruka closed the door to sit beside Mizuki, who eyed him critically. Naruto felt his heart beat erratically, thumping loudly as he raised his hands and flew through the symbols. That was the easiest part, the hand signs. He had gone over them thousands of times, and Naruto muttered "c-clone jutsu," under his shaky breath. He screwed his eyes shut, then peeked one open. Glancing beside him were two identical Naruto's all looking nervously. A sigh escaped past his lips in relief, giddy overtaking the anxiety. All those hours learning chakra control with his family were really paying off, it seemed.

But Naruto struggled to keep it together, and finally, Iruka gestured for him to dispel them. Naruto did so happily, rocking on the balls of his feet. He noticed, faltering ever so slightly, Mizuki sent him an irritated glance as Iruka scribbled something on his clipboard with a ghost of a frown.

"Congratulations, Naruto Hatake." Iruka's voice broke ever so slightly when saying his last name, for some reason, and continued. "You've finally become a shinobi!" His smile was genuine, but still strained. Mizuki muttered under his breath and handed the blonde boy his hitai-ate.

Naruto beamed and accepted it, bowing and thanking his sensei profusely. Iruka's gaze softened at the young boy and allowed him to leave. Naruto shouted one last thank you before rushing out the door, grinning brightly. Outside, Kakashi was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, listening to TenTen ramble about something random.

A warm feeling flooded Naruto's chest as he gripped the headband tightly. His dad, and his sister. He had a family, one that cared for him through the laughter and the tears. He skipped up to them, displaying the hitai-ate proudly. "I did it!"

TenTen matched his grin excitedly. "Of course you did, ya' dork! I'm so proud of you!" She reached over and ruffled his hair affectionately. Kakashi caught them all in a hug, sniffling.

"D-Dad? Are you crying?"

Kakashi sniffled. "N-No." Despite this, tears welled up in his visible eye. "I'm just so happy and proud of my two little genin."

TenTen flushed, but berated him happily for squeezing so tightly. Kakashi laughed and released them, only for Naruto to tackle him into another hug. He buried his head in Kakashi's shoulders and inhaled his dad's comforting scent, as Kakashi soothingly patted his head.

Naruto stepped away, sniffling a bit.

"Don't tell me you're crying too, Naru!" TenTen yelped.

"N-No!" He rushed to wipe it away with his red sleeve. "I-I'm just...there's dust in my eye." TenTen rolled her eyes fondly, rushing into another ramble about a sighting of Tsunade somewhere near Sunagakure. Naruto smiled, then noticed someone out of the corner of his eye gesturing to him.

Mizuki-sensei?

Naruto excused himself from the group and headed toward him. He honestly didn't know much about Mizuki, other than the fact that he was supposedly Iruka's childhood best friend and that he had a weird feeling associated with him. Tentatively, Naruto approached his sensei. "Mizuki-sensei?"

The irritated man nodded gruffly. "Naruto," He looked down and made eye contact, sending an involuntary shiver down Naruto's back. "I have a special mission for you. There's a test available to some graduating shinobi, to prove their worth." He scanned the area around them and continued to whisper. "Senseis may only select one student a year that they find is up to the challenge. If you complete it, it'll put you in a high standing with the Hokage, and you'll have a better chance of graduating to chunin faster."