Capítulo 5: Relatable
"Well, you can go home now," Iruka said, looking at Y/N who was hanging along with him and Naruto, who got the punishment of cleaning the Hokage's face which he earlier painted on.
"I...need...comrades," Y/N muttered as she continued cleaning. She passed the transformation test, ofcourse. But she wanted to be his friend, too. Helping him a bit wasn't exactly a bad decision.
"Oh you want to be friends with him?" Iruka smiled, at which Y/N frowned and blushed. It sounded like she was desperate or something. It was true when put it in a blunt way, so she decided it would be best to keep quiet. Although it was expected, but watching Naruto's mood swings while cleaning the paint was still fascinating to her. Halfway through, he muttered, "This sucks!"
"You're not going home till you've cleaned off every single drop of paint!" Iruka scolded.
"So what?! It's not like anyone's waiting at home for me!" He yelled back.
His words put a halt in her work. She knew what it feels like to go home and not expect her mother waiting with warm food for her. She would try to console him, but well, its not like the situation was any better for her. She couldn't find the right words to say to him. Besides, they barely know each other. Why would he care to listen to someone he got introduced just hours ago?
"Naruto." She heard Iruka say after a while.
"What do you want sensei?" Naruto said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well, I was just thinking. Maybe after you clean this all up, I could take you out for some Ramen. The good stuff, what do you think?"
Y/N stopped her work and looked at Naruto, waiting for his reaction. She wondered if he should've said something deep but from his reaction, it proved otherwise. He looked beyond happy. Oh, people are different but she couldn't comprehend how he was so easy to please when he was just talking about...being an orphan.
"Now that's some serious motivation! I will have this cleaned in no time!!" He shouted, as a small smile spread over Y/N's lips.
"Me too..." Y/N muttered, which her teacher was quick to catch. He chuckled, "Sure its not because I'm giving a treat?"
"Hey! I want a reward for my hardwork too!" Y/N yelled, and soon quieted down as she noticed Naruto staring at her. With a broad smile Naruto promised her on Iruka's behalf, "Yes Sensei! She's coming too!"
While Y/N felt happy, she knew someday he was going to promise something on her behalf and she probably has to pay the price just like her teacher. Iruka was right. He was indeed, a bit...thickheaded.
[ TIME SKIP ]
"Naruto" Iruka started the conversation after getting their ramen, "Why would you do that to the Hokage faces? I mean you know who the Hokage are, don't you?"
"Ofcourse I do." Naruto said slurping up all his ramen, "Everybody knows. They were the greatest shinobi of the time, best of the best? Undefeated ninja champs?" He waited for a moment and said, "And the Fourth is the one who saved the village from the nine-tailed fox. He was the most amazing."
Y/N listened to them talking silently, and blew air on her ramen, waiting for it to cool down. One thing she learned about him is that he loved Ichiraku's ramen and the speed of his eating...would be considered dangerous according to her parents' words. Always chew the food properly, right? But in case of Naruto, while she was still trying to cool down her ramen, he was already on his third bowl.
"Then why did yo--" Iruka started asking and got interrupted by Naruto the very next second. "Because I'm going to be greater than any of them. Me! Naruto, the next Hokage! A ninja legend! Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me! Believe it!!"
She savored the taste of the ramen and thought about it for a while. He sure did have high hopes for himself, and he was motivated. Y/N knew how much people's words affected her but instead of ignoring, he was working in his own way to reach the top. A tinge of pain spread through her heart. With all the tension about finding her parents, she completely forgot about her aim in life.
Earlier it used to be a trader or...whatever her father's job was. But with the current situation, she was completely blank. She decided her current dream to be a...shinobi. Someone like Naruto's father. She heard all about him from her parents and his bravery and sacrifice baffled her. From the looks of it, Naruto was unaware of it.
"Uh by the way," Naruto said softening his tone, "I kind of wanna ask you a favor Sensei."
"You want another bowl?" Iruka asked.
"I wanna try your headband, come on, please?" Naruto pleaded.
"Oh this?" Iruka said holding his headband, "No way. You can only wear the leaf headband when you finally graduate the academy and become a ninja. You've gotta pass the test tomorrow."
"That is so uncool!" Naruto yelled. Iruka laughed and said, "Hey..is that why you took off your goggles?" Naruto blushed madly and said, "I want another bowl!" while Iruka continued laughing.
After some more bowls of ramen, the trio exited the shop. Iruka turned to the kids and said, "You both have an exam tomorrow, and I expect the best from you."
They started walking at the same direction when she stopped. "You...are going home now, right?"
"Yeah, my home's this way," he responded. It wouldn't be a lie to say the walk together felt very awkward. Y/N despised herself in these situations. She didn't know how to start a conversation and make the atmosphere comfortable.
Thankfully, the blond was better in this.
"Hey Y/N." Naruto turned to her, "Why did you help me? Why aren't you...like the others?"
Or not.
"To be honest, I still feel like an outsider here. So you're like every other student in the class to me. A bit stupid and...brave for what you did today. I guess you feel...relatable. How can I despise someone like me?" Y/N said, "I don't hate you. Not for something you're not responsible for."
"Oh!" Naruto grinned widely, "We're gonna be best friends! Believe it!"
Y/N blushed and cleared her throat, "Alright. I'm home. Best of luck for tomorrow!"
"Oh this is your house? Mine is in the next road to the right!" Naruto said.
"Alright. Uh, I'll visit you sometime? Bye!" Y/N said and ran back inside. Oh, she wanted to hide her face in embarrassment. She still wasn't used to how blunt he is about his feelings - something she probably needed to learn going by the fact that just the title of being someone's best friend made her feel giddy.
She flopped down on her bed in exhaustion and looked at the window. She needed to stop running to avoid feeling awkward.
Also, the genin exams was tomorrow. It worried her.
To be precise, it worried her enough to make her stop thinking about her parents for once.
[ TIME SKIP ]
Y/N walked towards the school with her head down, listening to the faint murmurs in the street---shops getting ready to be opened, people walking down with their bags, families busy with their own work. Oh, she still struggled in keeping her eyes open. No matter what she did, getting up in the morning always felt like a pain.
"Hey!"
Y/N turned around hearing the loud voice and spotted Ino running towards her. She waited for her to join her on the way. "Hey." Y/N smiled back at her.
"So what was your name again?" Ino tried to remember.
"Y/N. And you're Ino Yamanaka right?" Y/N said.
"Oh! You know my name?" Ino asked excited and a little surprised.
"Um, Iruka sensei called everybody's name yesterday," Y/N said. Over the years, she has managed learn to lie skillfully without hesitating, mostly to escape her parents from scolding. It was a relief that the skill was useful here too.
"You know, I can't understand why you want to be his friend."
"Who?"
"Naruto," Ino said and stared at her face.
"Oh," Y/N gave a fake smile and muttered, "Well, I don't understand why you all hate him for something he never did."
Ino was taken aback. She was most probably about to start an argument but sleepy little Y/N wasn't yet ready to start her day with that. "Anyways, best of luck for today!" she said, and hurried inside.
Y/N groaned in irritation. This wasn't exactly how she planned to know people. She needed friends. Sure, Naruto was enough but...
...it wasn't exactly a lie that he was a potential risk and she was not ready to get shunned out by the society just for supporting him.
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