18 Chapter Eighteen: Izumi II
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June 4th, Year 68, Konoha Ninja Academy
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"Wow! Izumi-chan, you got such good marks in the written tests! I'm so jealous," Inuzuka Hana exclaimed as she glanced at her answer paper and then at mine.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. However, I humbly replied, "It's not that good, Hana-chan. If Izuna-chan were still here, she would have gotten even better marks."
And how well I knew it. I really wished I could catch up to Izuna-chan soon.
"Don't sell yourself short, Izumi. Your work ethic is great, and overall, you're one of the best students in the class. If you keep this up, maybe you can graduate early next year," Suzuki-sensei encouraged with a warm smile as he continued distributing papers.
I felt a mixture of embarrassment and hope. Graduating early and becoming a Genin seemed like a dream come true. Maybe Izuna-chan and I could even be in the same squad someday.
Suzuki-sensei went on returning a few more papers, offering advice and warnings to students. But then, he reached... that guy.
Suzuki-sensei looked at the napping boy with a mix of emotions. I thought he would simply hand back his perpetually average papers and give him the usual warning, but the teacher carefully examined his papers before sighing.
"Kuro. Wake up! I have something to ask you," Suzuki-sensei said, his tone serious.
Lazy Ass number 2, noticing the expression on the teacher's face, nudged Lazy Ass number 1. The infuriating guy yawned, slowly opening his eyes and turning towards the teacher.
"Yo! *yawn* Is the class already over?... I don't think I napped for that long," he said as he glanced at the clock before looking at Suzuki-sensei.
Despite his irritation, Sensei refrained from hitting the boy and instead let out a deep, exasperated breath. Then, he looked at Lazy Ass number 1 and asked sternly, "Kuro, did you cheat on the exam?"
The boy in question seemed either clueless or pretended to be so. But if the sensei accused him of cheating, then he probably did cheat. Hmph! What a nasty boy he was. I really need to keep him away from Izuna-chan.
Suzuki-sensei, looking at the Lazy Ass, didn't say anything more and returned his papers to him. The boy, still confused, looked over his papers, his expression shifting to shock and sweatdrops forming on his forehead.
The others around him, thinking something amusing was happening, craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the results. Everyone looked stunned.
Feeling odd about everyone's reaction, I asked Shin, who had his bugs examining the Lazy Ass's paper, about what was going on. But before he could respond, it was Hyuuga Rika, from the branch family of the Hyuuga clan, who answered with a choked voice, "He got full marks in every subject."
What?!
How was that even possible?
Even Izuna-chan didn't get perfect marks. The tests were designed to go beyond the academy curriculum so that the students would explore beyond to gain more knowledge, making it almost impossible to achieve perfection. With a trembling voice, I asked the Hyuuga girl, "A-are you c-certain?"
The girl, her Byakugan activated, nodded solemnly.
It was at that moment that Suzuki-sensei spoke in a hushed tone, "Tell me the truth, Kuro. Did you cheat?"
The boy seemed to be sweating bullets as he muttered something about "troublesome," "clone," and "main body." He finally sighed and looked at the sensei with determination, nodding with a serious expression. "Yes, sensei, I exchanged my paper with Shikaichi's."
The room fell into silence, disbelief hanging in the air. Even the boy in question rolled his eyes and muttered, "Boss... Even if I'm smart, I can't get full marks in every subject... What a drag..."
Kuro then looked at his friend in astonishment. "What? I thought you were a great nerd, Ichi! Was I deceived! The betrayal!"
To which Shika-ichi only sighed and replied, "Boss... I don't think anyone is buying your excuse."
Lazy Ass number one, upon hearing that, decided to look at Suzuki-sensei and innocently said, "Yeah... umm, I, uh, copied off... uh... ummm. Damn. Troublesome..."
Suzuki-sensei looked at Kuro in a peculiar manner before speaking slowly, "Please come with me to the Hokage's office, Kuro. You know that hiding your capabilities as a ninja from your Kage is a crime," he said with utmost seriousness.
The boy seemed to relax at the teacher's words and responded lazily, "Troublesome... But sure, let's go meet old man Fourth."
Suzuki-sensei reprimanded him, "Don't disrespect the Hokage like that! Now come along!"
Without putting up any more resistance, the boy simply followed the sensei out of the classroom, waving casually at his friends as he left.
"He doesn't seem concerned at all," Shin commented from the side, furrowing his brows.
I couldn't help but feel the same. Lazy Ass didn't even appear to be perturbed by the situation. But was he really hiding his true abilities?
"Was he really hiding his abilities?" Hana asked from beside me.
"Why would Kuro-kun do that? Why does he always act like he's not that good?" she added, clearly puzzled like the rest of us.
One of Lazy Ass's friends, the Akimichi girl, spoke up while taking out her large bento. "Well, Kuro-kun is too lazy to graduate and start working as a genin."
We all sweatdropped at that answer. It was hard to believe that he would purposely fake his scores just to avoid graduating early.
"Huh! Are you telling me that he's been deliberately manipulating his scores so he doesn't have to graduate early?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
All five members of the Ino-Shika-Cho team nodded as if it was the most obvious thing.
"You do realize... he always gets the exact same score... until today, right?" Lazy Ass number two drawled lazily. Then he looked directly at me and continued, "Have you ever realized how difficult it is to consistently get the same marks in every test, every time?"
And there it was. I suddenly realized that unless I knew all the answers precisely and how the teachers would grade the tests, it would be nearly impossible to achieve such consistency.
What on earth was going on...
The Akimichi girl nodded, and her words hit me like a wave. "And have you not noticed that Kuro-kun always gives up during sparring? None of you actually know how good he really is."
I fell silent, lost in my thoughts. I began to reflect on all my interactions and observations of the guy I had labeled as the most useless student in class. Then, something Izuna-chan had told me on our very first day of the academy resurfaced in my mind...
"I don't know about being the best, but I really hope I can catch up to him soon," she had said.
Those were her exact words.
No way...
I quickly stood up, startling Hana-chan who was sitting next to me. She asked, "What happened, Izumi-chan? Where are you going?"
"I need to know the truth. I'm going after them!" I replied with determination, and some of my friends decided to follow me as we made our way towards the Hokage's office.
However, when we arrived at the entrance, we were stopped and barred from entering. It was foolish of me to think that we could simply walk into the Hokage's office without an appointment.
We looked at each other and decided to wait outside for Suzuki-sensei to come out. It didn't take long before we saw a visibly tired Suzuki-sensei and an irritated Kuro exiting the Hokage Tower.
From afar, we could hear the lazy boy grumbling, "Troublesome old men... with their troublesome rules..."
Suzuki-sensei appeared to be questioning his own sanity, so I gathered the courage to approach him first.
"Sensei! What happened? Did the Lazy Ass get expelled for cheating?" I asked, my voice trembling with nervousness.
Sensei looked at me, then glanced at Kuro with a sense of exasperation before replying, "No, Kuro isn't expelled or anything. He just received some... punishment for his actions and is now forbidden from using a clone to attend class in his stead."
That revelation left all of us stunned. A clone... He had been using a clone all this time?
Kuro, in his typical annoyed voice, muttered, "If it wasn't for that stupid clone making a mistake of answering all the questions while being half asleep... This would have never happened! What a drag... Now I have to attend those troublesome classes myself... There goes my nap time... Sigh..."
No...
I couldn't believe it...
Has he been playing us all this time?
Why?...
Suzuki-sensei, sounding tired, stated, "From now on, you better come to class in person, Kuro. Or I will report it to Hokage-sama right away."
The boy simply sighed and nodded, seemingly accepting the consequences of his actions. And started walking towards the academy building.
No...
I couldn't accept this. There was no way I could accept it.
All this made me frustrated.
"Why have you been holding back all this time?" I asked with aggression, unable to contain my frustration any longer.
The boy appeared somewhat surprised by my tone and replied, "Hey, I've only been doing it to delay becoming a ninja for a bit longer... But now that's out the window."
His nonchalant expression and dismissive attitude only fueled my anger further. It made everything seem so pointless.
Was my struggle to catch up to Izuna-chan meaningless in his eyes?
Was he secretly laughing behind that lazy facade, watching us all struggle while he could have outperformed us effortlessly, even when half-asleep?
I couldn't accept that. So, I followed my heart's urging and challenged him.
"Fight me!" I declared; my voice filled with determination. I was feeling really angry, so angry that I sometimes saw red.
He looked at me with surprise once more, but this time it was different. He wasn't the usual lazy boy anymore. He was staring right into my eyes as if pondering something, before he nodded in understanding.
Kuro sighed and turned to Suzuki-sensei, saying, "Can you arrange a private training hall for us?"
His request only fueled my anger further. "Why? Afraid that others will see how badly you'll lose?" I taunted, my anger was palpable.
But then he looked at me, his previous laziness was nowhere to be found, and he smiled gently. Yes, he actually smiled... gently.
Making me confused even more.
"Yes, something like that," he replied, his voice carrying a hint of amusement, but his eyes remained firm as looked back at Sensei.
Sensei observed us in silence for a moment before nodding, acknowledging the look in Kuro's eyes.
…
We were brought to a secluded training hall, with only Kuro, myself, and Suzuki-sensei present. None of the other students were allowed to enter.
"Please assume the seal of confrontation," Suzuki-sensei ordered in a serious tone, and both Kuro and I complied.
It was then that Kuro spoke up, his voice devoid of its usual laziness. "Can I ask you something, Izumi-san?" he said softly.
"What?" I replied curtly, my irritation still present.
"Do you hate me?" he asked, his tone sincere and curious.
"Yes. I hate you," I answered without hesitation, my words laced with anger.
He shrugged, giving me a smirk before adopting an arrogant tone. "Well, your hate means little to me. You should just give up," he taunted.
And that was when I snapped. I threw a barrage of kunai at him, but he effortlessly dodged them with precise movements, seemingly mocking my aim.
Returning to his lazy demeanor, he commented, "Is that all? I thought you wanted to challenge me."
This boy... he infuriates me!
Determined, I swiftly launched another set of kunai, this time, I threw one with an explosive tag attached. Kuro, noticing the tag on one of the kunai, grabbed a random kunai from the ground and deftly threw it, directly tearing through the tag in mid-air while skillfully evading the rest of the projectiles.
He did all of this while yawning, as if utterly uninterested in my attacks.
Refusing to be deterred, I had a clone ready and ordered it to attack him from behind. But he didn't even bother to defend against it, his gaze fixed firmly on me as I tried to flank him.
"This is boring. Maybe I should just give up to end this faster... It feels like a drag," he commented in an apathetic tone as he destroyed my clone with a kick and dodging my attempt to hit him, further fueling my anger.
Again, he was mocking my hard work, belittling my efforts to reach my goals.
Anger surged through me, burning hotter than ever before.
But amidst the anger, a sense of disappointment in myself welled up.
Was I truly chasing after a foolish dream?
In that moment, he effortlessly dodged one of my kicks, and his words pierced through me like a dagger. "Well, I guess you only amount to that much, huh?" he said with a lazy drawl, not even bothering to look at me anymore
In that moment, my vision seemed to tint red. Everything around me appeared to move in slow motion, and I felt an intense clarity wash over me. It was as if my eyes had opened to a new understanding.
I knew exactly what it was…
How could I not, when I had trained every day with the sole purpose of achieving this moment? The Sage had finally answered my prayers and granted me the gift of my eyes. With my Sharingan, I could see things as they truly were.
And now, for the first time, I beheld the blazing beacon of chakra emanating from the boy standing before me. It was a sight I had never witnessed before, but my instincts told me that this was far from normal. The intensity of his chakra was overwhelming.
But something had changed. No longer did he wear that infuriating smirk or display his usual lazy countenance.
Instead, he looked at me with a gentle smile.
Since when did he smile like that?
His words took me by surprise, "Well, look at you. Aren't you a genius for awakening your Sharingan so early? You know, even Izuna hasn't awakened them yet," he congratulated me, his voice filled with genuine admiration.
Time seemed to slow down as I processed his words. And then, he laughed.
"Well, I guess I should respect those eyes of yours and be serious, right?" he said, his laughter carrying a hint of excitement.
And then, they moved.
His shadow, my shadow… all shadows around us began to move in perfect synchrony.
It was as if they were following the commands of a skilled conductor, dancing to the same rhythm, the same wavelength.
With my new eyes, I could see everything happening in real time, in slow motion, and yet…
There was nothing I could do, nor I could move as my body already failed to obey my commands.
The shadows quickly engulfed me in to a cocoon
And all I saw.
Was darkness.
…
…
I groggily opened my eyes and found myself lying in the infirmary. Hana-chan, Shin-kun, and Rika-san were there, their expressions filled with concern. With Hana-chan's help, I sat up and asked them, "What happened?"
They exchanged glances before Hana-chan began to explain, "After you went into the room with Kuro-kun and Suzuki-sensei, we tried to gather information about the fight using Rika-chan's Byakugan. But her range wasn't long enough, so we had to wait for you guys to come out. After a couple of minutes, we saw Suzuki-sensei carrying you out, and Kuro-kun following behind. He looked the same as ever and said that you lost after he had to use his clan's Secret Jutsu. Then he just walked away."
Was that really his Clan's Secret Jutsu?
I sighed, feeling a mix of emotions. But strangely, I didn't feel angry at him anymore.
That smile he had shown during our fight lingered in my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder what it meant.
Since when can a bastard like him… smile like that?
Hana-chan brought me out of my thoughts as she mentioned that Kuro-kun had asked her to tell me something once I woke up. Her brows furrowed as she asked, "He said to take care of your eyes. What does that mean, Izumi-chan?"
I groaned, frustrated by Kuro's ambiguous comment. "How would I know what that lazy ass bastard means," I replied, annoyed. I got up from the bed in the infirmary and excused myself to the washroom, hoping to clear my mind.
As I washed my face, a sense of happiness washed over me. Maybe I had finally caught up to Izuna-chan, my dear friend. Thoughts of us working together on missions brought a smile to my face.
However, my thoughts were interrupted by the image of Kuro's gentle smile…
And I couldn't help but mutter in irritation, "This is so Troublesome..."
…
…
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