Katsu was good at math. In fact she was a god at math. At least that's what she thought. She aced all tests and was always first to finish. It was the one skill she really excelled at.

Many in her class had other thoughts about math. The academy focused more on the basics to becoming a ninja rather than the general knowledge. Many of her classmates struggled with math. It was normal for an academy student to struggle in some general classes.

As Katsu wrote the last few of her answers on the test, she looked up to the clock. She had another 20 minutes left to finish. So she decided to review. It was important to remember she wasn't perfect. If she ended up getting back an average score because of a stupid mistake, her confidence was sure to fall.

As she finished reviewing, she stood up from her seat to pass it to the front. A small smile came to her face as others in the room stared in shock. The teacher expected her to finish early. However as she placed the paper down, another person did so as well.

A jolt of shock was sent down her spine. She trailed up the arm of the person to find the face of a Uchiha. Clear as day. It also helped that he had his clan mark on his shirt. Katsu stood in shock, frozen. She had never seen this person in her class before. Was he a new student? How could he have finished at the same time as her? Was he better than her? How could another person beat her at her best work-?

"Can I place my paper down?"

Katsu was shot back into reality as the Uchiha asked her a question. Quickly she removed her hand that was blocking the way for his paper to be placed down. He put his paper down on the table and turned to go back to his seat. Katsu watched, still in shock. How could this happen?

Who was he? Itachi Uchiha. Katsu soon learned of his name during her lunch. She could hear people talk about the seemingly prodigy like child. Many fawned over him. Others were jealous. Apparently, he had skipped a year and joined Katsu's. He was 3 years younger.

Frustration bubbled up in Katsu. How could she be nearly defeated by a 6 year old! Katsu was 9 goddammit. Of course she expected him to ace his combat and ninjutsu classes but math? Math was Katsu's class. It didn't help that he joined her in her combat class as well.

Katsu watched as Itachi stood across from her in the fighting ring. The students surrounded them, curious on how well the new student did in combat. Katsu sent a glare towards her teacher who seemed to ignore it. How could she be pitted against him? Out of all of the people.

"Before we start the match, please shake hands and bow to each other. This match is a spar and attacks aimed to kill or hurt severely are forbidden. When I blow the whistle, the match will stop." The teacher recited. It was common knowledge with spars.

Katsu gritted her teeth silently as she approached Itachi. She held out her hand and Itachi took it. Katsu resisted squeezing roughly and instead let go. He gave her a bow and Katsu slowly bowed reluctantly.

As the two finished, the teacher looked at the both of them. Katsu clenched her fists, her nails digging into her skin.

"Alright, the match will begin in 3-"

Katsu gulped, shifting her feet into a stance.

"2-"

Itachi seemed to do the same, getting into position

"1!"

Katsu leaped towards him, sending a kick towards his way. Itachi was quick enough to dodge backwards. Seeing this, Katsu went on the attack, refusing to let him get a moment to strike. Katsu knew she was weak. Her arms were twigs and her hits barely hurt. But she had to get at least one in.

She set a punch towards Itachi's torso after landing her feet. This attack was dodged again and Katsu scowled. If he kept dodging like that, Katsu wouldn't be able to keep up.

As she thought about her next move, Itachi seemed already done deciding and grabbed at her arm as it was out towards him. He pushed down harshly and Katsu lost balance. Katsu's feet were forced to move forward to avoid hitting the floor. And with a simple sweeping kick, Katsu fell to the floor with a loud thump.

The sound of the bell sounded out.

In two hits, Katsu lost her spar.

Katsu slipped away from the rest of the sparring session. It wasn't hard considering everyone was distracted over Itachi's skills in combat. For now, Katsu was wandering the empty hallways of the Academy.

Her hand was wrapped around one of her wrists, rubbing it at. She knew she wasn't a good "ninja". She knew her combat skills were trash. After all, she had endured most of the year while losing all fights. All her expectations for herself in that subject had disappeared.

However this one hurt. It hurt a lot. And no it wasn't the bruises forming on her sides after slamming into the floor.

How could someone beat her in both combat and math. She had also heard he was top of his classes in science and history too. Katsu dug her nails into her wrist. Was she doing something wrong? She didn't understand how someone could just be so good at everything!

As she paced in the hallways, she bumped into a figure. Looking up she found herself face to face with her teacher. He had an eyebrow raised and a long frown.

Katsu gulped down her feelings and gave him a smile.

"Sensei! Sorry I got a little lost, did I miss anything?"

"No"

"I will beat you up again!"

Katsu sat at her desk, doing her work. Currently she had a mad Jun towering over her as if he intimidated her. Katsu refused to do his work, refusing any offer he made to her.

"I don't care." Katsu replied, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't bother looking up at him. "Beat me up. Whatever you do, you're not getting me to do your math homework for you."

Jun basically bristled with anger as he slammed his hands on her desk. Katsu flinched slightly but still refused to say anything.

"I can and will make you bleed. That concussion you got, that was nothing." He used a lower voice, as if it did anything. "I can break all your bones."

Katsu finally looked up to him. She glared, pushing her seat back and standing up. "A spinning wheel can do the exact same thing." She grabbed her papers, walking away.

"Where are you going!" Jun yelled out again to her.

Katsu didn't bother to stop and quickly exited. Jun's antics increased dramatically the past few days. It wasn't anything Katsu couldn't deal with but at this point it was extremely annoying. Especially after the day she had. As she walked through the hallway in a rush, a body bumped into her. Some of her papers fell out of her hand and she groaned. "Aw, great job man. Thanks for bumping into me like that" She hissed towards the person, looking up to face them. It was Uchiha Itachi. Her eyes widened and she clutched her book in her hands tighter. Just her luck.

"Sorry Katsu-san." He apologized softly. "Here are the papers you dropped."

He handed over her math work and she quickly snatched them out of his hands. "Whatever. Watch where you're going next time." She narrowed her eyes at him, almost a glare. She adjusted her grip on her items and quickly walked away.

"Goodbye Katsu-san. Thank you for today's spar." Itachi nodded in a goodbye.

Katsu gripped her book harshly. Thank you for today's spar indeed. She greatly appreciated getting beat up by a 6 year old. She didn't say goodbye back and left.

It was overall a shitty day… How did Itachi know her name?

AN/ Im very motivated to rewrite this all. I got encouragement from a friend so here we go! Chapter 3 is already in the works. I have a whole outline ready for future chapters. It's really helping with getting these chapters out faster. Makes it so I don't have to think too hard while writing.

I hope you liked this chapter, I think its generally ok. I want to get into Katsu's mind a bit more so this is mostly in Katsu's head rather than actions.