Naruto's POV (Uzumaki Residence - Hidden Leaf Village)
Naruto slowly strolled into his home. While the meeting with Shikamaru and co lifted his spirits, he still dreaded what awaited him. "She" was probably already home. Undoubtedly discovering his earlier crime. "She" was sweet most of the time. She was fantastic as long as you stayed on her good side and followed the rules. But the blonde sometimes wondered if she intended to kill him when he was unlucky enough to cross her. No, he thought morosely; she likely would kill now, no matter what. As far as he knew, his sin was unforgivable. A lesser man would retreat lest they face her wrath, but Naruto would stand firm. Well, for a bit, anyway. He could leverage the test in his favor. The mix of good and bad news would throw her off.
As he entered his home, his eyes expertly darted about the room, looking for silent threats hidden within the dark. As far as he could tell, he should be fine—no traps, no genjutsu, and no murderous women. Now, Naruto was no fool and silently crept toward his room despite the apparent safety. Better safe than sorry with her.
Every step seemed to creak or thud or somehow attempt to give away his position. But with great skill, the blonde reached his bedroom door in one piece. He was so close! If he just got in, he could take a short nap before he had to get ready for the exam. Conveniently missing "her." He slowly opened the door a quarter, halfway, two thi-. He couldn't even finish the thought.
A shape flew towards the blonde from the darkness of his own room. He couldn't react and closed his eyes, assuming a kunai or shuriken would soon end him. Instead, he felt a painful crash on his nose, the sound of breaking plastic alerting him he was hit by some brush. He stumbled back, trying to regain balance, but this was not an issue. A woman emerged from the shadows, dashing forward, grabbing Naruto's shirt, and casually lifting him to her face. He flinched, knowing penance was coming shortly. He offered a short prayer to whoever was out there, knowing his time was soon.
"So… I forgot to do the dishes, huh?" the shadows shifted, revealing her face; dark blue eyes met his light blue, with vibrant red hair seemingly swirling around the woman. It was the reaper, death, the great dying; it was his… "I asked you to do them, ya know?" Kushina said with a sweet, false smile.
It was his mother.
Naruto offered a meek smile to his mother. He was aware she wasn't truly upset over the dishes, she merely used it as an opening. While the blonde had little compared to his peers, he was born with one thing. A mother who loved him, one that also carried the same burden. Apparently, when Naruto was young, his mother had nearly lost containment of the Kyuubi. The beast had threatened to almost destroy his home upon escaping her, and even with the might of the Fourth Hokage, his mother could not hope to be stopped honestly, leaving a single solution.
The Fourth Hokage, an expert on Fuijutsu, had attempted to seal it within his mother, but she had been too weak to handle the full might of the beast. There had only been a single option left to seal half of the Kyuubi, a darker, more violent half within his mother, and the equally powerful yet slightly less hateful half within himself. The efforts had cost the Fourth Hokage his life, his fathers, who had died protecting his mother, and had left him and his mother with burdens he still wasn't sure they could handle. The whole story left Naruto with a sour taste in his mouth.
It had helped when his mother had explained the why a bit: how the Uzumaki Clan had served as the human vessels for the Kyuubi for years, how the Fourth Hokage had wanted nothing less than to avoid placing the burden on them, and how, apparently, Uzumaki were known for their strength of life force. But even that had left Naruto somewhat unsure.
Apparently, Naruto's father was a shinobi and was present that very night. However, his mother would clam up whenever that topic came up, often with any topic vaguely related to shinobi.
It was odd; Naruto wanted nothing more than to become a shinobi, but his mother wanted nothing less for him. She had spent years attempting to convince him to try something else. Voicing the dangers and likelihood of an early death, even hesitated to offer proper training.
But Naruto had remained steadfast, and eventually, she had given in. His mother was often like that. Kushina Uzumaki was a hot-headed, protective, stubborn woman. She was kind and caring at all times but was known for her temper. She was impulsive and blunt but incredibly careful and thoughtful towards others. Naruto supposed they were alike…
So Naruto wasn't too surprised when Kushina smiled despite the undone dishes and playfully tossed him at their living-room roll couch. Naruto landed easily enough, chuckling as his mom stepped into the kitchen and began doing the dishes herself. As she did, Naruto waited in the living room, observing his home as he waited. His mother would surely want to talk about his day and would soon call to him.
The living room was one of curiosity. His mom had a unique taste, and with just the two of them, had decorated the entire home in her style. She had spent most of her younger years in the former village of Uzumaki. A village apparently surrounded by the water, a lifestyle she dearly missed. Their home had a similar theme to that of a beach. It was painted in light and bright colors, light blue and cream being the most consistent. The furniture and decor also shared the theme, all constructed with wood and trimmed with shells like ships within the waters.
Their home was a modest, smaller one, apparently bought by his parents early on in their relationship. It had three rooms, one was his, another his mother's, and finally, an office they rarely used. Apparently, his father's, which his mother had promised, would be his to roam when he became a Chunin. And finally, an open living room with a couch, loveseat, and lazy boy flowed into a bar separating the small kitchen from the living room. His mother had earned this all from her retirement pay, having mostly retired from active duty since his father's passing.
His mother soon returned from the kitchen, tossing off an apron as she had done and sitting in the lazy boy across from Naruto. "Don't leave me in suspense, brat," His mother chided warmly. "How did the Academy Finals go?"
Naruto smiled weakly as he sighed and explained the day to her: his overall scores, his apparent failing grade, and the chance they had offered him. Despite his mother usually being a brash person, she had always been the best listener Naruto had. She listened patiently and silently pondered it as Naruto waited for her response.
"I see. I can understand why your troubled son… you gave it your all, and now you find out it may not be enough…" Kushina guessed his feelings with the same accuracy she always did. She had always suggested he had inherited his father's looks and her personality and must be right since she always seemed to get it unless the topic was… "I know this isn't what you want to hear Naruto-"
"Ma." Naruto calmly cut through her words before she could continue. It was for the best; he knew what she was going to say, and she knew he was going to refuse. It was an age-old argument between the two. It seemed whatever happened on the day of his birth, the day that cost his mother everything but him, was surely why she never let the issue go.
"I'm just saying, Naruto, the world is such a big place full of adventure and opportunity." Kushina, somewhat surrendered but ever stubborn, still finished the thought. "There's no reason to think of being a shinobi as the only route."
"It's the only route for me, Ma." Naruto pointed out shortly. "Besides with what we are-"
"No different from anyone else!"
"It's the only way I'll ever be anything to them other than a monster…" Naruto finished grimly as he stood up from the couch and marched towards his room. He stopped as he felt his mother touch his shoulder from behind. "I get that you worry; I know just how dangerous this can all be, how it cost us, Dad, and you only object to it for my safety… but I'm not a kid anymore, I'm not just your son but my own man… a man that intends to become the greatest Hokage this village has seen."
Kushina sighed heavily as she led Naruto to the third bedroom in their home. The blonde head held his breath for a moment, believing it would finally be exposed to him, but it wilted slightly as Kushina slipped in without him. However, he felt a surge of excitement all the same as she emerged from the room, now carrying a large scroll.
Naruto sat as Kushina laid out the scroll on the living room table. It held fast despite any visible bindings. His mother tapped the scroll with her fingers, and a litany of seals appeared before fading off the scroll.
"This was a scroll your father and I prepared for you before you were born…" Kushina began.
Naruto was shocked but remained silent, not daring to interrupt her. Naruto wanted to let her continue because his mother rarely spoke of the past or his father.
"It's funny, ya know? Back then, all we could do was gush over your future. We just knew you'd be a shinobi like the two of us, chasing after whatever dreams you created, and it filled us with such joy… But that was when he was still around. When I knew you'd have the wisest and most skilled man I'd ever met around to guide you through every step…" Kushina continued as she began to unseal the scroll.
With a puff of smoke, Naruto watched the scroll unfurl, revealing its content. Within it lay what looked to be a sheathed, medium-sized blade within a dyed redwood sheathe. Another scroll with drawings and notes that looked to be a technique scroll of some kind, and finally, a small copy of a book. "Naruto: Tales of a Gutsy Ninja!".
"But after that night… it changed so much… so much that I lost hope in the future we dreamed of back then. I projected that fear onto you, son, not out of lack of belief but because I genuinely would be destroyed if anything happened to you." Kushina explained desperately. "But I need to realize that it's simply not my choice, nor is it right for me to do anything other than my best to support you. Those items before you were a kit your father and I made for when you became a Genin. First, the blade from myself, The Blade of Whirlpools. It was named back then, but you can name it yourself. The blade my mother gave me when I first became a shinobi saved my life more times than I can count. But I eventually preferred the use of the Katana. If you intend to become a shinobi, it would comfort me to bring it with you. The Jutsu scroll contains a favorite Jutsu of both your father and mine. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a jutsu that allows users to create solid clones to do anything they can and even send back the info they learn. It's something you can master with ease and with your mind, I'm sure you'll find plenty of uses for it. Finally, it is a book written by Jiraiya of the Sannin; your father always loved it, said he wanted you to be like the main character in it…"
Naruto was stunned. Today had been a day of highs and lows. Naruto had failed the Academy Finals but had managed to make it into the Remedial Exam. He had reneged his argument with his mother but had finally gotten some support and even bits of his past for the trouble.
First, he decided to inspect the blade; he tied the small ribbon on it to his waistband and practiced drawing the blade. Naruto smiled at how light and easy the blade was in his hand, it glided out of the sheathe without issue. He examined the blade, raising it to his face to check it out. The blade was larger than a tanto but smaller than a katana. Though thicker and larger than most blades, it felt easier than any blade he had held. Naruto had attempted various weapons within the Academy, though none had felt right. Perhaps it was the history, but this blade felt different. "Its name was?"
"Blade of the Whirlpools," Kushina answered with a smile. "Nautical themes were common in our home, and we were considered an ocean village. But it's barely a name, just the default used for all blades in our homeland."
"If that's the case… I'll name it Riptide!" Naruto declared with a simple nod. He almost went to practice some swings before Kushina's raised brow warded him off. Next, he pondered over the Jutsu Scroll; the Shadow Clone Jutsu certainly seemed helpful, and finally, the book. It would be nice to review each of them, especially the book. Naruto had never been into reading, but learning about something his father loved appealed to him. But for now… "Alright then, my next move is clear!"
"Training," Kushina said with a roll of her eyes. She returned to the kitchen with a tray of baked cookies and tea. "Well, go ahead then; I'll help you get that Jutsu down and hopefully teach you enough about Riptide not to cut off your own finger."