Hand Signs [A Deaf Naruto Fanfiction]

Chapter 10: Hero

Compared to last night, writing this chapter went much smoother. Even though I was more distracted my bursts of writing were bigger so this got done much faster. I have to go to my cousin's graduation party later so I was really concerned about getting this done and having time to sleep (since I rarely do on nights before I post, I sleep during the day instead like the mole I am 😂) but it went well.

Only one more chapter to wrap up the arc...Probably. If it is, it'll be perfect for our 10 week anniversary! I can't believe it's been so long already. You guys are amazing for sticking with me for that long. For real, you guys are the best!

Anyway...

Onto the chapter!

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Chapter Ten: Hero

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Kurama laughed at his struggles. A lot. Apparently there wasn't anything the fox could do to help him because it was something he had to learn on his own. That didn't mean he didn't know and understand why Naruto was struggling.

It was a fact known only by a few (because they're the only ones who cared or saw it regularly) that Naruto had massive chakra reserves. He could easily match any jounin. The problem was that he hadn't had good control when his reserves had been smaller. The blond was starting chakra control with jounin level reserves that would only grow with time, as his body grew taller and gained more muscle. This, of course, meant his control was abysmal.

Progress on the tree was slow for Naruto.

Sakura had gotten the hang of it immediately which was impressive... until Kurama told him just how small her reserves were. Apparently she would need to work twice as hard to expand them since she hadn't come from a shinobi family nor did she have a Bijuu sealed within her. Apparently he had both, even if Kurama refused to elaborate further. It was nice to know he came from a shinobi family, a clan--even if they didn't exist anymore it only meant that he wasn't abandoned or given up on purpose.

Sakura had also stuck her tongue out at him when he tried to congratulate her, so there was that.

Luckily for him, Sasuke wasn't faring much better than he was. He had less chakra than Naruto (most people did) but it wasn't by nearly as much as it was with most. Both boys bounced between using too much, and subsequently getting shot off the tree, or too little and not being able to stick at all.

When they found the perfect medium, the challenge was maintaining it. He found the amount of chakra he should use easily enough but keeping that level constant took more effort than it should've, at least in Naruto's eyes. He'd seen plenty of shinobi walk up walls in the village, and knowing this exercise made it much clearer how the ninja who used to pursue him after his pranks were able to get to him so quickly. Naruto used his muscles to climb and they used chakra. How unfair. They made it look effortless too, barely even thinking about it before transitioning from the ground to a wall or tree. Naruto wanted to be like that.

"Practice then, Brat. You're not used to using your chakra like this, once you get the hang of it, it will be simple just like everything else you do."

Kurama liked to make jokes about that, how he tended to pick up on things more quickly when he was seeing it or experiencing it. When he first started learning sign, he'd been really surprised with how quickly Naruto took to it, especially since he tended to find studying and repetition painfully boring. Even without pretty much needing to know it, he still enjoyed it and it was fun being able to talk to people while others watched clueless. It made him feel like he was a part of something super secret and cool. It was also nice not being the one left out of things for once.