I walked down the street with a typical scowl on my face. It was a normal day. But it wasn't really. Today was our graduation day or rather, the day of our graduation exam. Plenty of people had to return for a fifth year or even more. Another day at the Academy full of classes, another day I would fight my way to the top, another day I had to win. Because if I didn't win, I would lose, and if I lost, I would die the next time I met my brother.
I blinked away the brief image of my brother's face looking down at me. He hated me, and I hated him. He killed my family, and so I would kill him. When he was younger, he had been the star of the Academy. He had set a record when he went through the curriculum in only 3 years. The Academy was an elite training center that taught young men, boys really, to pilot and fight in the aquaterrain.
I heard rowdy group of boys running to the gates of the Academy. At their head was that idiotic blonde boy. His friends, Kiba and Shikamaru, were close on his heels. I walked behind them because we were in the same class. I put my hands in my pockets and strolled along the corridor.
Out of nowhere, two of the girls appeared.
"Hello, Sasuke!" They chorused.
I gave them a glare and continued walking. They came up, one on each side. They really were annoying. Most of the girls at the Academy seemed overactive and pushy. I tried to walk faster. When we got into the classroom, I went to my usual seat near the back.
Naruto and his two friends sat one in front of the other. Naruto was next to me. He offered me a wide smile.
"Hey Sasuke!"
I glowered and turned away. He greeted me the same way every day when we got into class. It was annoying, too. He never said any more than that, though. I turned to the front of the classroom to wait for the teacher.
He showed up just on time. This was the day I had been waiting for. If I passed the exam now, I would be on track to catch up with my brother. This was my third year. The exam was to be one-on-one battles between students. Winning the fight didn't mean a pass, and losing didn't mean a fail. The teachers judged on strategy, efficiency, and such, things that would be important in actual combat.
I knew I could do this. It was the Uchiha way to pass through quickly and enter the special force, Black Arrow. That was what my brother had done, and so I had to do it, too. My fists clenched under the desk. I had to win. I was roughly recalled to the classroom when the teacher said my name.
"Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto."
I almost stood up. Him? He was the class clown, the idiot. I knew he was raised in an orphanage. I didn't know how he actually managed to make his way into the Academy, it was supposed to be really difficult to enter. I figured it would be an easy fight, an easy win. Somehow I wanted to fight someone I was on more even footing with.
The time for our fight was soon. We lined up on the dock above the clear teal water. The sea was relatively stable today. This was humanity's last frontier to penetrate, the depths of the ocean. All of our divers were from the school, but they could be customized. It took engineering skills to customize them, and different families had different traditions. The Uchiha codes were all relatively complicated, and I had yet to unlock even the Level 1 Sharingan, the eyes to see.
Naruto and I lined up at the end of the dock. His blue eyes were determined. I really hadn't seen him fight much and had stayed away from him during sparring. Given his performance in classes, however, this would be easy. I smirked at him, but he just glared back.
"3. 2. 1. Go!" The teacher called.
Our helmets were snapped on, and we dived. The water was a deep transparent blue. We turned to face each other, now with about six feet separating us.
I surfaced one minute and twenty-three seconds later. I was basically unscathed. Naruto's armor was cracked in several places, and he came out of the water cursing. For show I extended my hand to help him onto the dock but he slapped it away.
