Hello, so this is The Black Swordsman Chapter 2. So I'll be having the academy having two courses, the civilian and shinobi programmes. The students in the ninja classes will graduate at 16 while civilians graduate at 15. They will both start at the age of 7.

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A year had passed after Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari had been kicked out of the orphanage and they were seven years old.

Throughout the year, the Hokage had visited them quite a few times and had even brought them to have ramen at a store called Ichiraku's Ramen.

The owner of the shop, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame had taken to the five children and welcomed them anytime.

The other villagers had also increased their animosity towards them. While not as bad as Hikari had it, it had caused the blonde girl distress as she knew it was because of her.

The others had immediately assured her that it was not her fault but the stupidity of the villagers and told her not to bother about it.

Now, the five of them were at the entrance of the academy. Hiruzen had taken care of the paper work for them and gave them the slips to enter the shinobi programme. All they needed was to just pass the entrance test, which was the test to check if the students had a chakra network that was suitable.

Hikari looked at her friends, "Are you ready?"

Suguha grinned, "Yeah, come on!"

Sinon, Asuna and Kirito grinned as they entered the academy. The five reached the class room and entered the room.

A man with a scar across his face saw the five children frowned immediately before he stopped frowning.

The man looked at the children, "So who are you five?"

Kirito grinned, "We're here to enter the academy!"

The man nodded, "Okay, I'm Umino Iruka, can you show me your documents?"

The kids handed their slips to the man. The man skimmed through them and nodded, finding them to be legit. The man looked at them, "Okay, follow me, we'll check your chakra levels to see if you have potential for being shinobi."

(Now, I don't know why the original Naruto series didn't have this. I mean if you don't have enough chakra you basically can't do shit. So I'll have Rock Lee with the bare minimum of chakra but didn't develop enough.)

The five of them eagerly followed after Iruka to a device. The man looked at the five children, "Okay, place your hands into then device."

Hikari eagerly went first and placed her hand into the device. The screen started to activate before a green circle appeared. The girl beamed and stepped away from the device.

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all went and placed their hands into the device and the same results came. However, when Kirito placed his hands in, the device showed a red cross.

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Iruka sighed, "It seems you have too little chakra to qualify. Sorry kid, but you'll have to enter the civilian courses."

Kirito felt everything crashing down, he denied, "No... no no!"

He placed his hands into the device again and again, but it showed the same results. The teacher looked at the boy with pity, "Sorry kid, but you don't have the chakra coils to qualify to be a ninja. Even if it did grow, it wouldn't be enough for the most basic jutsu."

The boy backed away a few steps. Asuna reached out, "Kirito-kun..."

The boy pulled away, "No!"

He then turned and ran out of the building, with the girls yelling his name. Kirito ran as fast as he could, he didn't care where he went, he just wanted to be alone.

After running for who knows how long, he came to a stop. The boy found himself staring at the whole village with a beautiful view. He gasped in awe, his worries gone in an instant, "Beautiful..."

A voice replied from behind, "Indeed it is, the Hokage Monument provides a beautiful view of the entire village."

Kirito turned to see the old Hokage standing there. Hiruzen asked, "Though I'm curious, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the academy?"

Kirito looked down, "I can't enter. I don't have enough chakra or something."

Hiruzen blinked, "Really? That's strange, I can sense a huge amount of chakra in you."

Kirito blinked, "What? But the machine said I don't have enough coils or something."

Hiruzen blinked several times and chuckled, "Then I believe I know your problem. Unfortunately, it would still mean you cannot be a ninja. But, tell me, Kirito-kun, what would you do to protect them?"

The boy stared at the old man in the eye, "Anything."

Hiruzen grinned, "Good answer my boy. You're not the first with your problem. Your chakra coils are small, for some reason your chakra does not flow well, but you have a huge reserve of it, that's why you will not be able to use any type of jutsu."

The man turned, "Come with me."

Kirito nodded and followed the old Hokage. Soon, they arrived at a shop, it had many many weapons on display.

Hiruzen walked straight into the shop with the boy following behind him. A man with slight long hair stood behind the counter and greeted the Hokage, "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen grinned, "Hello, Kayaba."

Kayaba asked, "So what brings you here?"

The Hokage gestured to the young boy beside him, "This is Kirito, he has the same problem you have."

Kayaba nodded and took a moment to get a feel of Kirito's chakra, "I see, so you've found him."

Hiruzen nodded and turned to Kirito, "Kirito-kun, this is Kayaba Akihiko. From now on, you will be his apprentice."

Kirito blinked, "Apprentice?"

Kayaba nodded, "Yes, I've been looking for one with the same problem we have to teach him my skills, to carry on my legacy."

Kirito tilted his head, "What kind of skills?"

Hiruzen smiled at the boy, "You will learn to be a blacksmith, among many other things, including swordsplay. You wish to protect the four girls with you, don't you?"

Kirito nodded as Kayaba chuckled, "Very well, having someone to protect is a good drive. So you will be my apprentice, won't you, Kirito?"

The boy nodded, "Yes sir."

Kayaba nodded and looked at Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, he will also be attending the academy, yes?"

The old Sarutobi nodded, "He'll be in the civilian course, but yes. I trust you will arrange a schedule for him?"

Kayaba nodded. Then Kirito spoke, "Umm, excuse me, it just came up, but I also want to learn to cook."

Hiruzen blinked, "Cook? What brought that up, and where would you do that?"

Kirito grinned, "Well, I can't be a ninja, so if I can't protect them by their side, I thought I should support them as much as I can. And I thought of going to Teuchi-ojisan for that."

Kayaba nodded, "Okay, I'll fix up a schedule. The academy, the civilian courses, usually end by noon, so you'll come here to learn under me every Monday to Wednesday, then the rest of the week is up to you."

Kirito nodded, "Yes sir."

Kayaba looked at Hiruzen, "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for helping me with this."

Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head, "Think nothing of it. Besides, it was by chance that Kirito-kun had your problem."

Kayaba nodded and looked at the boy, "Do you wish to start now? Or you could come here tomorrow after class."

Kirito thought for a moment and answered, "If its okay, I want to go see if Teuchi-ojisan will let me learn under him. So maybe tomorrow?"

Kayaba nodded, "That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow at 2pm then?"

Kirito smiled and bowed, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

Kayaba nodded as Kirito bowed to the Hokage, "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama."

The Sarutobi nodded as the young boy left the blacksmith for the ramen stand. Kayaba then looked at Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, he's one of the kids that live with Minato and Kushina's daughter, right?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, I'm happy for the girl. More importantly though, the boy wants to protect the four of them, he cares for them a lot. He can give Hikari-chan what we all couldn't."

Kayaba nodded, "Besides, you sensed his chakra, didn't you? He could be one of those descendants."

Hiruzen nodded, "Yeah, he could be one of the Underworld. So you'll be teaching him your sword skills right?"

Kayaba nodded, "I'll have to see which weapons suit him the most though."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good, I'll take my leave then. Have a good day."

The blacksmith nodded, "You too, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded and left.

Meanwhile, with Kirito, he had arrived at Ichiraku's ramen stand. He yelled, "Teuchi-ojisan!"

The man walked out, "Oh, Kirito-kun, what brings you here?"

Kirito stared at the man in the eye, "Teuchi-ojisan, will you accept me as your apprentice?"

The man blinked, "What brought this up? I thought you wanted to be a ninja."

Kirito looked down for a bit and answered, "I can't be a ninja. So I want to learn how to cook, at least I can support the girls."

Teuchi considered for a while before Ayame walked out, "Otou-san! Just accept it, you've wanted to find one after all."

Teuchi looked at his daughter and sighed, "Well, I didn't say I wouldn't accept. Sure, Kirito-kun, but let me tell you, the path to a cook will be harsh."

Kirito nodded, "But umm, I won't be free from Monday to Wednesday, I have to learn blacksmithing and stuff."

Teuchi nodded, "Its fine, you can help and learn under me on Thursday to Saturdays, the shop is closed only on Sundays after all."

Kirito grinned, he couldn't be a ninja or fight by their side. But he could support them as much as he could.

Later that evening, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari came back to the apartment. After the first class,the four girls had searched for the boy but couldn't find him.

When they entered, they found the boy reading a book on forging weapons. Kirito had gone back to Kayaba's shop and told him of his plans. The man had agreed with it and gave the boy a book on the basics of weapons as a little homework.

Asuna said, "Kirito-kun! Where were you?"

Sinon nodded, "You disappeared, the teachers said they didn't see you and we couldn't find you."

Kirito smiled sheepishly, "Well, after I ran, I met Hokage-sama and he talked to me. So I'm learning to be a blacksmith and a cook now. But I still have to attend the academy though."

The girls nodded. Suguha then asked, "So what is that book?"

Kirito looked at the book and answered, "Well, Kayaba-sensei said that since I'm going to start tomorrow, I should read up on weapons and their structures first."

Hikari nodded, "I see. Then when we need weapons, we'll come to you!"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Three years later, Kirito had attended the academy and learned under Teuchi and Kayaba. The boy could now cook decent meals and forge weapons that were quite decent. He also did quite well in the academy with all the subjects.

The four girls also excelled in their classes. The shinobi classes mainly focused on theory with little focus on pratical since it only starts in the fourth year.

Now, as Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari trained in the academy, Kirito was standing in front of Kayaba.

The man said, "Kirito-kun, I've taught you most of the things I know about forgery, and you've made quite decent weapons, all you need is practice and experience. So from now on, I will teach you the second part of my skills."

Kayaba turned and walked, "Follow me."

The ten year old followed his master to the back of the shop. Kayaba said, "I have had a good friend of mine set up seals here, so I could train in peace."

They walked to a door with seals on it. Kayaba said, "From now on, you will learn to use a sword, and we'll see where it takes us."

The man opened the door to reveal a vast plain with lush green grass. Kirito blinked, "But... we're in the village, your shop is in the middle of the village."

Kayaba smirked at the boy's dumbfounded face, "Seals, my boy, seals can do anything. So, you will start now."

Kirito nodded, ready for anything his master threw at him.

That night, the boy had immediately slumped onto the sofa, "Kayaba-sensei is cruel..."

Asuna giggled as the four girls did their homework, "What happened?"

Kirito was about to tell them before he remembered what Kayaba told him, not to reveal their training, as they were sacres secrets. He didn't want to lie to the girls, but he did it anyway, "He just made me forge non-stop. Its just tiring."

Hikari giggled, "Well, at least you don't have to deal with Iruka-sensei's boring lectures."

Kirito sighed, "Maybe. Well, Imma sleep now. Night girls."

The boy stood up from the sofa and headed for his bedroom as the girls bid him goodnight.

After a few months, Kirito held a pair of bokken as he faced his master, who held a wooden shield and bokken. Kayaba had found that Kirito had a knack for dual-weilding and quickly taught him, the results were more than satisfactory as the boy learned it easily.

Now, Kirito held his swords and charged the man. He pushed on for a few good minutes before Kayaba blocked a slash and sent Kirito to the floor with his sword.

Kayaba nodded, "You're getting better. You have less openings and better reaction speed. As of now, you can beat most gennin and some chunnin. But they will still be faster."

Kirito rubbed his arms and asked, "So how do I even that out?"

Kayaba grinned, "That's what I'll be teaching you for the next few classes."

The man glowed red before he appeared behind Kirito, shocking the young boy. Kayaba said, "The first skill, Acceleration. This will allow you to keep up with the shinobi's superior speed."

He appeared in front of Kirito, "Its similar to the shinobi's Shunshin no Jutsu and the Yondaime Hokage's Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Kayaba then turned and grew a pair of transparent wings, "The next skill, is these wings. It will allow you to fight on abnormal terrains, for example on water or on walls."

Kayaba then turned and held up and palm, "The third skill, is our equivalent of their elemental jutsu, Ek verpa einn brandr muspilli, kalla bresta bani, steypa lundr drótt."

A magic circle appeared in front of Kayaba's palm and shot out a ball of fire that destroyed one of the dummies near them.

Kirito stared at the destroyed dummy in awe, Kayaba smirked at his face, "That is what you will learn and master the next few years. By the time you graduate, I will have you fight on par with high Jounin."

XXX

So here's the next chapter. Before you guys say anything, just let me make it clear, I never said anything about Kirito being a ninja the 'normal' way. He will join missions in the future. But that will be after the Chuunin Exam arc. He will also forge the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor in the next two chapters. I won't take too much time with the pre-gennin arc, maybe the next two chapters to finish the Pre-gennin arc. Review please.