Six Years Later - 2

"CUT THE STUPID TRICKS!" Iruka snarled, trying to subdue the flow of blood, "THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

Naruto was still laughing as he passed by Gaara and Haku, who only sighed at their friend's predictable, yet strangely effective prank which he had dubbed the 'Sexy Jutsu.'

Haku and Gaara followed after Naruto, both of them transforming into Iruka faultlessly, and when they joined Naruto to watch the rest of the procession, he mumbled to them, "Show offs..."

Haku sniffed in response, "Naruto-kun this is no time for fooling around, this is the Genin Exam. If you don't pass then you can't graduate."

"I know, Haku-kun, I know! Don't worry about it!" Again, Naruto waved off the dark haired boy's concerns.

The blonde observed the shy Hyuga girl stepping up to the front, and when she looked his way he gave her a reassuring thumbs-up. She blushed a deep shade of scarlet and then proceeded to transform into Iruka.

Gaara noted Hinata's timid tendencies towards Naruto, 'Does he really not notice?'

He found it such a waste that a girl as smart as Hinata (and not a worshiper of either Sasuke or Haku for that matter) would dote on a sadly-oblivious person like Naruto. Frowning, Gaara looked at Naruto who was congratulating the shy girl on a job well-done.

'Maybe there is hope yet...'

The first stage was followed by target practice.

The target range was a real deathtrap with Naruto around, who volunteered to go first.

Iruka feared for the safety of the other students, "Alright, just take it easy Naruto..."

"I got it Iruka-sensei!" Naruto looked smug as he launched his shuriken at targets attached to trees on the other side of the courtyard. Incredibly, he made four bull's-eyes and the last weapon, which he threw with a bit too much zeal, tore directly through the center of the final target. It was split clean in half.

There were a few startled gasps as well as impressed shouts from namely Sakura and Haku.

Iruka sighed to the other examiners, "Good lord..."

'That was an unbelievable display, though. I don't know if any of the other students can do what Naruto just did…' Iruka considered, smiling a bit to himself.

Hinata was beaming all the while, not in the least frightened by the odd display of strength Naruto had shown on his last throw.

Naruto gave Gaara a slap on the back (as he often did) as he went ahead next, looking just as confident. Even more impressive than Naruto, all five of the red haired boy's projectiles broke every target in half down the center.

Students actually clapped, hoping that with no more targets left functioning, they would be exempt from that part of the exam.

"We don't have a big enough budget to keep up with the damages they cause..." Mizuki, a fellow examiner, muttered to Iruka who nodded solemnly in agreement.

Much to the disappointment of the remaining students, more targets were brought out while Naruto raved about Gaara's 'mad skills.' Gaara didn't seem much affected that he had once again destroyed school property.

A few other students took their turns, and Sasuke who also hit all five marks ignored the cheering squad of fangirls who barely knew how to throw a shuriken, let alone cared about graduating.

Haku looked paler than usual when he was evaluated. Naruto had his fingers crossed and Gaara glared at the targets, threatening them to jump in front of Haku's shuriken or suffer another untimely fate.

They knew as well as Haku that his coordination came and went. He was a regular klutz when it came to projectiles and he wasn't looking very confident.

It wasn't so much of the disaster it could have been.

The first shuriken just barely fell short of the target, while the second sailed far off to the right. Iruka held his head in his hands in disappointment as the third soared clean over the target.

Panicked at his predictably poor performance, he hurled his last two shuriken together which narrowly missed Naruto's head.

"Wah! Haku-kun, take it easy!"

There was nervous chatter among the students and Haku's fangirls whined in great dismay over his abysmal aim. After making sure Naruto was in one piece, the dark haired boy hung his head in humiliation.

He had to admit, he had anticipated much worse. At least no one had been injured. But over the years, Haku had come to understand that he lacked the skill in hurling kunai and shuriken at enemies that Gaara and Naruto had.

'It's just so barbaric, lodging a kunai in someone's head...' He thought to himself, 'I don't think I'll ever get the hang of it.'

"Good try Haku-kun," Gaara said quietly, "I'm disappointed that you missed Naruto-kun. I'm certain Iruka-sensei would've given you full marks for that."

Haku laughed. Naruto glared at Gaara and growled, "I think he could've gotten more credit for hitting you, Gaara!"

The red haired boy smirked, "You're right. That would've been impressive."

From across the yard, a young kunoichi watched Haku with great interest, despite his pathetic display. She narrowed her chocolate eyes in thought as he returned reluctantly to the cluster of students.

'Hm, clearly he isn't comfortable with those weapons...I can fix that!'

All in due time, Gaara and Naruto also ran into their problem areas. As Naruto had told Haku, he had indeed been practicing his Bunshin, but didn't necessarily say that he had actually done well. After producing only one replication, and a sickly one at that, Iruka firmly announced that Naruto had not done well enough to graduate, much to his disagreement.

Gaara had also done poorly while performing the replacement technique, for reasons he didn't really care to explain, "Mizuki-sensei said that I wasn't fluid with my substitution..." Clearly he didn't have many nice things to say about the examiners that had failed him for something so ridiculous.

Haku tried to comfort them by explaining that they always had next year to improve their techniques, but Naruto seemed to be taking it extremely hard. He had set his hopes high on graduating that day, which had proven very foolish.

The three of them assembled by the swing outside the Academy, watching with envy as the passing graduates gathered outside with their new forehead protectors. "Let's get some lunch," Haku didn't want them to drown in their frustration, "It's just after noon-"

"No thanks," Naruto stood to leave, "I just wanna think right now..."

Haku nodded to him as the blonde left to brood by himself. He and Gaara had noticed how Naruto made himself scarce when he was feeling less than joyous, as to not upset his friends. It was another quirky habit of his.

"Do you think he's going to the Hokage monument again?" Gaara inquired.

Haku nodded, "Most likely..."

Mizuki had easily found the Naruto after the exam had terminated. It wasn't difficult at all to convince him once he had discovered him alone on a rooftop. He'd be the perfect scapegoat: the village prankster up to his old tricks again...

"Don't be upset with Iruka for being so hard on you, he's only looking after you." Mizuki explained to Naruto, trying to act like he cared, "It just wouldn't be right to send you on missions when you aren't fully prepared."

The blonde boy had a difficult time believing it, "It was just one slip up."

"Really Naruto, it won't do you much good now," Mizuki restrained himself from smirking, "But I can help you. There are other ways to pass..."

"Excuse me, you're Haku aren't you?"

Haku turned from Gaara and looked at the girl who had addressed him; thankfully it wasn't one of the rabid girls who were incessantly asking him out on dates (to which he would politely decline.) Her brown hair was done up in two buns on top of her head, and judging by her hitai-ate, she was clearly a seasoned ninja.

Haku smiled at her, "I am."

His friendliness caught her off-guard, but she went on, "I'm Tenten. I graduated last year. I've heard that you're one of the best in your class."

From Gaara's point of view, it was just another girl looking for a date.

The dark haired boy was modest as always, "Not really, seeing that I failed the Genin Exam..."

As if the sky began to weep over such a tragedy on Haku's part, the dark clouds that were overhead gave way.

She placed her hands on her hips and studied him for a moment while rain drops fell one by one, "I saw you had some major problems with your weaponry."

Grudgingly, he nodded.

Gaara took note that this was not going the way he had anticipated, and felt that he should no longer intrude on the discussion. By some miracle, Sakura was standing at the front of the Academy and was waving him over.

He looked to Haku, "I'll see you later."

Once Gaara had departed, both Tenten and Haku decided to continue their discussion out of the rain. They darted beneath the overhang of a clothing shop as the drizzle turned into a downpour.

"Whew, that was close. It's been looking like rain all day!" Tenten was smiling at their good fortune and Haku found her to be very pleasant company.

"But anyway, I need to know if there are any weapons you're comfortable with Haku-san," She went on, "I'd like to help you if I can."

"Please excuse my curiosity Miss Tenten-"

"It's just Tenten if you don't mind."

Haku paused, "Tenten then...how can you help me? I do find myself to be a lost cause with my atrocious aim..."

What he lacked in confidence he made up for in his eloquent speech.

The kunoichi gave him a skeptical look, "You're not a lost cause, Haku! Besides, I specialize in weaponry. If there's anyone who can help you, it's me!"

Boy was he was lucky. It wasn't everyday a pretty girl offered to help him learn how to throw knives.

"So what's your fighting style?" Tenten asked, "Once I know I can determine what weapons you may be better suited for."

A simple yet profound question.

'How do I fight?'

There was a simple solution to that: he relied heavily on his Kekkei Genkai, and he didn't see how that would help her decide on a weapon he could actually throw without flinching. Or maybe...that was exactly what she was looking for.

"I manipulate water." He said simply, earning a quizzical look from Tenten.

'Maybe a demonstration is in order...'

And water there was in abundance, nearly flooding the street it was raining so hard. If only he had been so lucky during his exam...

She watched in awe as Haku flicked his wrist and threads of water rose from the street and streaked through the air. He suddenly looked at peace and focused.

After a minute of watching raindrops being cast aside in all directions, Tenten seemed to have had an epiphany. His technique was more graceful and he didn't seem to be the type wanting a messy fight.

"I get your style..." Tenten nodded to him, "I know just what you need!"