'Thinking'

"Talking"

I do not own Naruto, obviously.

"Hey Yagura." The boy in question turned his head to me as we walked to our next shared class together..

"Would you consider training with me?"

'No past me, you're making a mistake!' A phantom of myself has entered from stage right.

"Okay when?" Yagura replied immediately

"Well that was easy." I said with a wry smile. "How about tonight."

'You don't know what you're doing!' I tried to stop myself but sadly my arms phased through me.

Yagura nodded.

'Nooooooo!' I fell to my knees.

"Cool! I know I don't really stand a chance of winning but as a ninja I will have to be able to at least put up a fight against higher ranking opponents, so I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from this."

-Top ten quotes said right before disaster

Everything hurt. I could only moan in pain as my comically bruised face stared at the ceiling. This was my fourteenth fight with Yagura since we began sparing...20 minutes ago. Every bout started the same, I drew my sword and Yagura drew his bow staff which he said was his clan specialty, I take a step forward, and then I am already dead.

Yagura doesn't have the chakra to use the ninja swoosh but he somehow still teleports. He's only four, yet he is completely out of my league. The worst part is that I cannot even learn anything from these fights, y'know my whole purpose for doing it, because he beats me so fast.

With a groan I staggered to my feet using my sword as a crutch, meeting Yagura emotionless eyes with a half hearted glare. "Next match how about you hold back a bit more?"

Yagura tilted his head minutely and nodded.

"Great." I walked to my starting position as Yagura did the same. Taking a deep breath, I gripped my sword. "Begin." I declared since we didn't have a referee.

*Swoosh* *Bang* "Gah! Gasp, gasp!"

Good new and bad news. Good news, I made it two steps; bad news, I don't think Yagura knows the definition of holding back, possibly literally. 'Well I believe it is time to put a stop to this; the only thing I am going to accumulate if I continue sparring is bruises.'

"Okay Yagura" I said from my spot on the ground. "I don't think this is going to work out. I'm going to have to call off this training session." 'and any future ones.'

"..."

'I kind of expected a response.' Turning my sore head I see that Yagura looks... shocked... maybe? I don't know, it's Yagura, his face is a brick wall; all I know is that my words had some effect on him based off his mouth being open ever so slightly. Or maybe I'm just going crazy.

"..." "..." "..."

'Why are we having a stare down? Better question, how long have we been having a stare down?'

"Welp." I said getting up. "It was fun Yagura, see you later." I limped my way to the door.

"Satoshi…"

I looked back with a surprise expression. 'Did I hear that?' The sound was so faint it might as well have just been the wind. "Did you call me?"

"...Satoshi can you help me study?" Despite awkwardly pausing, his voice came out in its standard monotone.

'Is he blushing or is that just a trick of the light? No! Don't distract yourself Satoshi, consider this question very carefully.' In truth I want to decline so, so badly, I do not want to interact with Yagura at all, but the second I opened my mouth to say no I closed it.

'What are you doing, me! Godamnit!' I knew exactly why I didn't immediately shoot down the idea.

I felt guilty.

The boy had literally taught me how to read every weekend nonstop for the last year while asking for nothing in return, but the second he asks for my help with something I bail on him. 'I cant fucking do it, why am I so soft.'

"Okay, when do you want to start…"

It is once again the end of the year and I have passed all of my tests with flying colors. This grade was different from the previous two because the kenjutsu class itself branched out. Kiri Academy is a lot like college and high school in my previous life in that the students pick what classes they want and specialize. I have the basics, beginner sword fighting and beginner projectile throwing as well as beginner ninja tools, beginner taijutsu and a few others. All of them were pitifully easy due to my adult mentality with the exception of projectile throwing which I actually had to work for, it was expected though. Even with my accuracy vastly improving after gaining the assistance of an instructor, I just do not have good aim; I always misjudge my shot because I cannot determine distance for shit. I was only able to accurately hit Akebino-sensei a year ago due to my close proximity to him along with him literally standing still.

Anyway, all that matters is that I passed. In the Academy there are a bunch of mandatory classes that one has to take during their schooling to graduate and intermediate projectile throwing is one of them, so I'm halfway there.

The advantages of this system are obvious; students can pick what they want and specialize in what they are good at. The downside is that teamwork and comradery are practically nonexistent. Every class composition is different, and in the class the focus is on the individual abilities one possesses with no regards to your classmates at all except for the moments when you are set to brutally fight against them, and I am sure you can imagine just how far that goes to building bonds among children. I would bet though that in the eyes of Kiri's leadership the overwhelming animosity between students is a positive.

From what I remember of the anime, in Konoha everyone learns the same thing but stays in the same class to foster bonds between the classmates and the village; the jounin senseis are the ones to help them specialize later. The two systems aren't worse or better than the other, just different.

This system is a perfect match for my personality and abilities though so I'm grateful for it, well until I hear something that reminds me of just how shitty it is. Fun fact, I have heard whispers in the halls about how if you fail a mandatory class you're expelled and never heard from again. Of course to most they are only rumors but I have no doubt that they are 100% true, granted it is hard to fail those classes but offing those who do is sounds right up Kiri's alley

Anyway I am now grade four in my practical and five in informational (the only thing holding me back in that department is history) and I am capital H Hyped. I just got my schedule and the first class I see is Chakra Basics with Aopatch-sensei.

'Finally I can start using ninja magic!' I thought as I practically vibrated down the halls in excitement. I was about thirty minutes early and had to wait outside the door but it was still worth it to get a front row seat. Yagura sat next to me and looked a little tired since my tossing and turning last night in anticipation kept him up. 'Whoops.'

He was noticeably less excited than me, but by virtue of the fact that I could see his excitement on his face, it was safe to say he was looking forward to this as well, or maybe he's just getting excited because I am. I don't think he actually knows what chakra is.

In short, me and Yagura are better friends than we have ever been thanks to the nights I spend tutoring him and I don't like it at all. Why he even wants my help is beyond me since he can pick up any concept I teach near instantaneously so I know he isn't failing. If I become besties with him and make an enemy of "Madara" later, it is a sure ticket to death. That motherfucker can teleport and phase through walls, can anyone say "assassinated in my sleep".

Anyway, Aopatch-sensei has just walked in and officially started the class.

'All aboard the hype train, CHOO-CHOO.'

"Now class, how many of you know what chakra is." He started.

Having already schooled my expression at his arrival, I did not raise my hand. 'This is a test. I have overturned the library looking for info on chakra but did not find anything at all, so if any of the kids here were to raise their hands they would get dragged off to T&I or something later to find out how.'

Seeing that no one raised their hands Ao-patch sensei nodded in satisfaction before continuing.

"Chakra is the lifeforce of the body and soul and it is divided into two portions, physical and spiritual, yin and yang, but that does not matter to you all right now. Instead all you need to know is that chakra is not only required to be ninja, it is the most important part of it."

'Damn straight.'

"Some of you may be wondering why you have never heard of it before if it is so important and I won't bore you with all the reasons, only the main one."

Simply put, chakra is used through an organ called chakra coils. A person's chakra coils move through their entire body, but at the moment of birth they are not fully formed. When an infant is born their chakra coils are concentrated around their stomach and slowly expand out as their body develops. Usually by the time they reach five, the chakra coils themselves will have fully expanded throughout the body and only then is it safe to start using chakra. Any earlier and the use of the vigorous life force would cause massive bodily complications in the places where the coils are not fully developed."

'I dodged a fucking bullet!' I mentally sighed in relief as my forehead and back were coated in sweat.

"That being said, in this class I will be teaching you the basic applications of chakra, the history of chakra, and basic hand seals. I'm sure you all know that there are two Grade Tests divided between information and practical, well you should know that starting now there is a third Grade Test over chakra and it will consist of both a practical and information based portion."

"The practical portion of the Grade Test for chakra is unique in that it can be done at any time. For your first Grade Test all that is required is for you to unlock your chakra, the method of which I will teach in this class period; I will only say this once so pay attention."

"To unlock one's chakra, one must enter deep meditation while focusing on their stomach, more specifically the navel as that is the point of formation of chakra coils and thus the point where one's chakra originates.

"It sounds simple but one must enter a complete state of calm, feel the chakra, and draw it out. Just the first step can take hours in even the most optimal environment and it is near impossible to do in your first meditation session. I suggest you all start practicing meditation on the weekends, additionally, now that you are aware of the existence of chakra there is a special library you all are granted access to. There are several books on meditation and unlocking chakra there, I suggest that everyone here take a look."

"This should go without saying, but the existence of chakra should be kept a complete secret to protect the safety of your younger peers. Do not tell your family, do not tell your friends, do not even speak of it outside of this classroom or your own rooms, and only then if you know for sure that your roommate is or has taken this class. Failure to comply by these rules will be met with the harshest punishment, am I understood?" Aopatch-sesei commanded in a voice as hard as steel.

"YES SENSEI!" The class, including me, chorused.

'I wonder why this is such a strict rule? After all, from what he said it only affects those kids who try it when they are young, so there is no reason not to mention it to our older family members.' Taking a stab at the dark, I guessed. 'It's probably to restrict the information on chakra from reaching the civilians. Yeah that sounds about right; imagine if every roaming bandit in the world learned how to use chakra, it would be a complete mess. Taking that into account I would also imagine that Kiri, and by extension all the villages, would desire to maintain its monopoly on super soldiers. No way in hell are most of them that altruistic to care about civilian lives.'

Sensei proceeded to talk about basic things such as wall walking for the rest of the period before dismissing us. Yagura left to go to his next class with a contemplative expression and I only stopped to ask Aopatch-sensei where the special library was before doing the same.

It was finally the weekend and I have literally been waiting for this moment my whole (five year old) life.

Me and Yagura had already checked out the significantly more impressive library that hosted books on all things chakra. I wanted to stay forever but we had limited time after class and before bedtime so we read up on some books about meditation. We both decided to wait until the weekend because we had no idea how long unlocking chakra would take and we were pretty much guaranteed to fail on our first try according to the books so we would not be doing it after class and risk losing a full night of sleep (or accidently falling asleep during the process).

I barely slept the night before in anticipation, but it was good enough! Me and Yagura woke up, did some recommended stretches we learned from the books and finally settled cross legged in our beds to begin meditation.

'Deep breaths, Innnnn ouuuuut, Innnnnnn ouuuuuut' I chanted as my surroundings fell away. I tried to gently guide my focus to my stomach as opposed to hard focusing on it as the books warned doing so was a classic rooky mistake.

I lost myself in my mind and the calm of meditation and it could have minutes or it could have been hours before finally…..

"Hey Satoshi" ...I was interrupted.

Getting snapped out of my meditation, I opened my eyes bewildered as to what possible reason the future Mizukage could be bothering me in such an important situation. What I saw was Yagura sitting on his bed in a position mirroring mine with a glowing blue hand and a blank expression.

'OH BULLSHIT! What was that about "impossible to do in your first meditation session". I shouldn't even feel surprised, this is classic Yagura right now.' My eyes were as wide as saucers at the sheer horshittery I was witnessing.

You know I said it as a joke earlier but I do actually think that Yagura's level of genius might be on par with Itachi's, this progress speed is utterly ridiculous. Even still I had to congratulate him, he is my friend after all (no matter how reluctant I am about it).

"Great job Yagura, that's incredible."

"Thank you Satoshi." Yagura said as something in his face relaxed at my praise. It was only because I have spent the last two years living and hanging out with him that I caught it.

"What's wrong?" I inquired.

"Oh nothing." Yagura said in what was the first expression of surprise I had ever gotten out of him.

"It's obviously something, tell me we're friends."

"Really?" He said, pulling an even bigger surprised face.

"Yes of course." 'Dear Sage I'm too sober to deal with whatever this is about to become.'

"Well it's just that everyone in all my classes get so mad at me when I catch on to things so quickly." His eyes seemed to bore into his etherious blue hand, I swear I could almost see a glint of hate in his eyes.

'Ahhh that's what it is' I realized 'Hey, didn't Itachi have to go through something similar? Except whatever he went through was probably better in the fact that he didn't live in Kiri.'

"They're jealous of you for your unbelievable talent, in fact, I am a little as well. But unlike them I'm not going to let my jealousy get in the way of being your friend. You're great Yagura and whoever says otherwise is lying."

"Oh." He said with a very small blush.

'Wow I'm seeing all the Yagura expressions today'

"So we are friends?" Yagura continued on to say in a completely neutral tone.

'Wait is this why he asked me to study with him before; he wanted to be friends?'

"Yeah Yagura, you're my best friend and it'll always stay that way, promise." I tried to console the boy the best I could.

Yagura nodded and started to move around his glowing blue arm that he had for the whole conversation.

'Sage, that conversation was so weird. Who knew that I would ever need to comfort Yagura. He always seemed to have it all together, sometimes I forget that he's actually five.'

It was only later, as we were going to sleep that I realized what I had just said to him.

The promise that I had made only hours ago violently flashed back to me.

'Fuck. What do I do? I'm getting too attached to Yagura, this can't go on.'

'Trying to save him is futile, what can I even do? I know I haven't changed enough of the canon timeline yet to dissuade Tobi from genjutsuing him and I don't know if I ever will. The event is happening way too soon and I know that I won't have the strength to change it. That is if I'm even in the canon timeline in the first place, I'm pretty sure Kisame is supposed to be a lot younger than he is now upon reflection. If I'm not in the canon timeline then Yagura could get targeted at any time.'

'I have to distance myself from him or the only thing that awaits me is death.' I died with a smile on my face because I saved my friend but I can't even count the nights I spent alone, consumed with regret at my actions.

'...I miss my parents…'

'I can't do it again; it's not death I fear but life after it! Starting now I will distance myself from Yagura, it is the correct decision, it is the only decision.'

But if my choice is so correct then why did I not sleep that night?

Ahh poor Satoshi. I would like to clarify that the reason he is so hung up on this Yagura thing is because he is subconsciously focusing on it as it is the only problem in the foreseeable future that he has any chance of avoiding.

At the beginning of this story I had a much different expectation of what the tone was going to be. It was going to be angsty and gritty as I dived into the horrific minutia of the objectively worst ninja village from the perspective of an outsider growing up inside it like I had seen done in other works, but then I realized I can't do dark worldbuilding for shit and I pumped out (hopefully funny) joke after joke, I still try to hammer in how bad Kiri is but I am not sure of how successful I am being. What I am getting at by saying this is to please assume that Satoshi is an unreliable, antisocial narrator sitting at the relative top of the Kiri academy food chain. So while horrific shit is happening to him in the form of graduation and such, all the run of the mill Kiri students have it much worse off. Case in point all of the classes Satoshi finds easy are extremely difficult for his actual three year old compatriots even with their biologically increased intelligence.

I will end this chapter off by saying that Satoshi will eventually grow out of his cowardice concerning Yagura, though it won't be anytime soon. Gotta have those character flaws so that the character growth is made all the sweeter right?