KURENAI
Ino is running to meet the beautiful Jnin-sensei at the entrance of the Hospital. Kurenai smirks as the girl isn't running because she's late, but because she wants to be right on time, and Kurenai is amused by that.
Ino stops before her at eleven on the dot, before she bids her good morning and they walk to the recovery ward. After the nurse confirms with Iruka that he's up for visitors, the kunoichi walk into his room.
Kurenai and Ino had already heard the lower half of his body is paralyzed, though knowing it and seeing it are two completely different things. It was hard for them to see. For Kurenai, this is a fellow sensei and comrade who was injured protecting a student from a traitorous sensei.
And for Ino, the nice Chnin had been her teacher for years. To see a man who taught her the principles, the foundations, of what it means to be a Konoha ninja, so broken was heart-wrenching.
Though the bed is the standard hospital bed, soft shapes are placed around his form to keep him upright with his limbs properly bent. Iruka smiles at their entrance as he raises the back of the bed to make facing them easier.
"To be visited by one of my best pupils and the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha," Iruka sings. "How did I get so lucky to see such beautiful ladies today?"
"That's kind of you to say Umino-sensei," Kurenai starts while Ino smiles mournfully at the compliment.
"Please, Iruka is fine," he asserts with a wave. "Have a seat. What can I do for you?"
After moving seats close to his bed, Kurenai explains from the beginning. "Some weeks back, I enlisted the help of Uzumaki Naruto.
It was a mundane task but I've since had many chances to speak with him and he's mentioned you a number of times." Iruka chuckles with a wide grin as Kurenai adds, "to hear him talk, you were the only sensei in the Academy."
"Oh, how I hate that title," Iruka mumbles. Despite having used it many times herself, Kurenai is growing more and more tired of hearing it as well, especially to describe Naruto.
Iruka then explains to the platinum-blond genin, "Ino-chan, rather than thinking of the Academy's final test as the ultimate authority on the intelligence or ability of every single student, wonder instead if standardized tests only work with standard shinobi."
"Um," Ino hums trying to understand, then asking, "you mean to say that Naruto isn't normal. Like Kurenai-sensei said, his tenketsus are apparently larger, meaning he would have a hard time utilizing low chakra techniques."
"Yes," he agrees with a proud smile, and adds, "but more than that, more than Naruto's specific example. If the final test was instead the Nara's Shadow Bind, how well do you think others would perform then? What if the final test was water-walking? How well do you think Naruto-kun would do?
It's not unlike judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Why wouldn't everyone in the class, including the fish, not believe it has no talent after failing such a simple test?"
"All students can learn and succeed, Ino-chan, but not all at the same time and in the same ways," Kurenai reinforces, happy to know there are some instructors out there who are genuinely passionate about teaching.
"I guess, but he still did poorly in class," Ino cautiously points out. She's smart enough to see both these sensei have positive opinions of Naruto despite the mountain of evidence, or maybe a hill of evidence at this point, that says otherwise.
"Is there any credibility to the grading of his tests?" Kurenai asks, recalling Hinata's claims of unfairness when grading his tests. "I've been informed that despite answering questions correctly, he still receives zeros."
"Ah," Iruka says with clear embarrassment. "While I wouldn't say he answers everything correctly, I can, in fact, confirm that behavior among the staff."
"Can you tell me which instructor," Kurenai asks.
"All of them," Iruka sadly states. "Any sensei that can use tests to reinforce their bias of him, did so repeatedly. What's more is if his text manuals were ever lost or stolen, he would not be issued another one."
Still irate by her experience in his sandals at the market, to only hear about how he was apparently treated in school, Ino couldn't help but ask, "so then how-"