A/N: Yo guys! Thanks for all the support, you keep me going! The last chapter in this month, I know it's rather short, but I had no ideas for this.

I wanted to ask you if you're against this story going into a bit yaoi? Not very much and nothing graphic, just to up the fluffiness in it.

I tried my first action scene here, so… please tell me how I did. I really want to know your opinion about it.

Less rant and hope you like it!

See the end of the chapter for translations.

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto.

Warnings: Language.

Academy Arc: Hello, world!

And life is good, and living is good. – V. Mayakovsky

The flames in the fireplace resided in an ardent dance, flowing and whirling around each other with each movement. The weather outside was freezing as the crystalline carpet covered Konohagakure, the thin walls not offering enough protection.

We were in a cozy café, both holding a cup of steaming tea. Kazumi-chan has changed quite a lot in throughout the time. She has taken a liking to short haircuts, opting for a pixie style. Her long, gorgeous mint hair is gone… Oh, the sorrow.

I blew the steam from my cup. "So this is how is got into detention. Again."

Kazumi eyed me with suspicion. "Why to I even talk to you?

I smirked triumphantly at her, "Because I'm the fucking light of your life!"

She stared unimpressed at me, eyebrow lifted. "Yeah, and I'm Uchiha Madara."

Oh no, she went into Tobito mode! I pouted, "You know I'm right! Anyways, what's up in life? How are the courses going?"

You see, Kazumi-chan was allowed to stay a civilian, just as she wanted to, but at the moment almost no one is given such privileges. This is due to the lack of manpower in the village. That's why, at the moment, the civilian school is closed and Kazumi was only able to take courses in knitting and sewing in shops, ultimately paying for them by cleaning and working there. She, surprisingly, didn't end up adopted and stayed at the orphanage, but I feel like that's bound to change anytime soon – she's already saving funds for her own place.

Taking a sip from her cup, she shrugged, "I guess it's mostly the same. I have a part-time job at a bookstore now, and the courses are almost over. The orphanage has become a lot emptied in the past few months; the bandaged creep has been taking a lot more kids, all aged from four to eight. I can't wait till I can get out of there, it's getting unbearable to stay at the orphanage. The food got even worse, really. At least it's more spacious. Tch, sometimes I feel like they want for us to leave. Other than that everything is okay for the most part. I can already knit toys and 3-D figures! I even succeeded in knitting a backpack with a penguin key-chain."

… Oh. So Danzō's still doing whatever he wants with the orphans again. Nothing new. "I see not much changed at the orphanage, except for the shitty food. You must show me your work later on. So, did I tell you about that time…"

It was a nice day to catch up.

Doors. Brown, green, black, white; wooden, aluminum, glass; modern, shogi, antique, stained glass; huge, tiny, medium. All types of them, each leading to another. It was a maze, one that had two doors. I could only open one, and it'd lead to the next hall, with two more doors. Each door was different, at another wall, or floor, or ceiling. Some were discreet, others notable. But no matter what they didn't end. There were more and more and more-

I woke up in cold sweat, heart racing. I could still see the last door I opened – grey, plain, old – but, for the love of my life, I can't remember what I saw when I opened it. Whatever it was, I definitely didn't like it.

I snuggled deeper into Hatsuyuki's fur. The poor animal woke up too. I murmured a "sorry" and tried drifting back, but that one though wouldn't let me.

What was behind the last door?

"Hey, ain't that Isamu? Isamu! Come here!" yelled someone from behind. I turn around and meet the ones I haven't seen in years, ones that helped me the most without realizing.

"Saisu! Zaji! Yo, what's up? Long time no see." I grinned at my orphanage friends as I jogged in their direction.

"No shit! Wow, ya' got into the freak class? Ahaha, no wonder! Ya' 'r' truly smartass! Ya' doin' alright?" inquired Saisu, Zaji adding an occasional "yeah".

"I'm always all right. What about you? How's the Academy? Are you both still at the orphanage?" I asked them. They both have grown quite a lot, both in height and egos…

Zaji threw thumbs up. "Yeah! We're the best ones here since that Uchiwa left, we're the bosses!" he says arrogantly, "Everyone respects us because they know that we'll be the best shinobi ever! I'll kill many enemy-nin and become the Creepin' Horror!" he proclaimed.

"Yeah!" Saisu threw his fist into the air, "And I'll be the best weapons user! I know, I'll use a kama like a pro! I'll be the coolest guy and all the chicks will be after me!"

I stare at him nonchalantly. "You know that thing you both said just now?"

"Yeah?" they said in unison.

"Don't do it again. Period."

Saisu furrowed his brows at me. "Why?"

Sighing, I answer, "Trust me on this one. Want to become the greatest? Don't proclaim it at every corner, but train hard and become the best."

… "Ergh?"

"Forget what I said, you did great." Yeah, sure. But I refuse to spend the next hours explaining the true shinobi nature to them, so… Yeah, they can go on Naruto on everyone here for all I care. They'll become more intelligent. I guess. I hope.

The next day the morons destroyed the vending machine. I take it back, they're beyond hope.

The creeping feeling in my gut wouldn't leave me for the rest of the day, like I'm forgetting something.

Sensei burst through the classroom, a frown on his face. "Ohayō, class. Today we're going to the forest in order to complete a very crucial lesson to our program. Leave all the books and stationary here, take your thing and come."

We followed sensei without question, but there was something wrong here. He's usually quite cheerful, so why does he look so… guilty?

"Yuichi-sensei," called one of my fellow classmates, "what is today's lesson?" she inquired eagerly, her eyes bright.

Instead of answering with a chirpy tone, he avoided her gaze, bringing his own to the ground, bit his lip and whispered discreetly, "Today's lesson is desensitization."

Oh. Oh. I really hope he doesn't mean what I think he does.

Turns out luck wasn't on my side.

It took an hour to get exact destination in the forest. The clearing was flooded with different rodents, mice and rats, all of them in small, metal cages. The cages were placed on a smooth wooden surface that is located twelve inches above the ground. The hissing sounds resonating from the cages made my mind go numb. I knew that it was coming; we live in a shinobi world, but still…

"Sensei," came the confused voice of my Akamichi classmate, "what are the animals doing here?"

Ignoring the question, sensei turned to face us, his expression stony. He crossed his arms and spoke, "the lot of you are set to graduate this month. You'll become true citizens of Konoha; unveil your Will of Fire. This is why today you'll take the first step into our world in order to become stronger. This," he gestured towards the rodents, "will be your first true act to support your home. Many of you have already done it, many have not. I suppose that most of you, if not none, have done it correctly. Today you will.

"Line up in groups of six and await further instructions."

Someone snatched my hand. I spared a glance towards its owner, my eyes met onyx ones. I saw concern and compassion in them. A truly kind soul.

"Isamu-kun, come. Let's be in the same group, hn!" Encouraged Izumi, her eyes flashing blood red for an instant as her strained smile faltered. I followed on wobbly legs – when did I start trembling? – as we neared a group of four. One of them was the first person I met – the blonde, Korishiro Hajime, the creepiest kid ever. There was Hagane Mieko, a sweetheart in every aspect possible. The last two were Yamanaka Ren and Jun, the ginger twins, what you'd call "average" – quite funny, rather common interests in clan jutsu and weapons. At the moment the whole lot of them, excluding Hajime, were pale as ghosts and shaking. At least they understand.

I tried to smile at them, but utterly failed. Not that it'd help. I can see the reason for this exercise, but it doesn't make it any better – us being shinobi doesn't justify death.

"Now," rang sensei's voice, "every member of each group shall stand one after another and each group shall stand in front of the cages." We followed his instructions. "All of you shall take out a single kunai. You'll be given a single mouse or rat, just one, no more. You'll hold it still against the surface, abdomen up, and cut from the jugular through the carotid artery and the trachea. Just like this," he took out a single mouse – so small, with adorable black eyes and a small nose – and…

I twitched, but kept it inside. It wasn't the first time I faced death – come on, I witnessed the Kyūbi Attack – but still, it was death nonetheless. I never liked it, but never felt extremely put out by it.

The animal struggled in his hold for a few moment before fainting, blood pouring from his neck. It was a gruesome sight, but nothing unbearable.

"This is how it's done! You only get one try so don't fail! Now, let's start…" ordered sensei. The groups went in. Some started crying, some vomited, some didn't feel fazed at all. I knew that I was pale as a sheet; my whole body was shaking no matter how much I tried to stop it. I used to have haemophobia before, but extensive training got me used to it to some degree. Still, it was never a pleasant sight to behold.

Our turn came in no time. We settled down at the bloodied wood and were given a mouse each. A kunai in my hand felt jittery. I knew that it had to be done, but those big, innocent eyes… he didn't deserve to die. Didn't need to. But had to. I whispered an apologize and made a swift strike. I felt him squirm in my hold before falling still, the warm liquid sliding down his tiny body and onto my skin. I couldn't bring my eyes off him, anxiety taking toll on me. I set him down before jolting to the nearest tree to empty my stomach. I could hear whispers behind me, but I paid no mind.

This was my first kill. The first step into the world on deception.

The day of the graduation came just as suddenly as the Academy started. It happened in no time, the smiles all over the place.

The exam was extremely easy. The writing section was almost the same as the exam I passed when enrolling into the Academy, but more focused on chakra and techniques. The math was also a bit harder, but not by much.

The practical part off the exam was simply a Bunshin and a Kawarimi no Jutsu. There was also a spar. I was against Daiki, the class bully. At the age of eleven, he was the oldest one. He was rather big for his age and set on becoming a taijutsu specialist.

He was a heavy hitter, but slow. He moved to punch me, so I ducked the hell out. I was rather small and flexible, so I sidestepped his second punch, send a kick towards his ribcage and grabbed fisted hand in order to flip him over my shoulder. He dodged and snatched my ankle, easily lifting me off the ground and sent me flying. Twisting my body in the air, I landed on my feet and hands, in the basic Inuzuka stance. I jolted in his direction, moved out off his hit range, came from the back and brought a precise kick onto his knee, making him lose balance, and swooped under his feet so he'd fall face down.

He did, and it was beautiful.

Sensei was fuming at me throughout the whole day. So what if I never wrote a single letter during class? I'm still rookie of the year!

It felt like he was going to go on a bloody rampage because of me. Fun!

The overall exam was very easy for our group, so most of us passed. I went home in a great mood, only to be confronted with a mummy before I managed to get out of the gates.

"Konnichiwa, Isamu-kun," addressed me the one I didn't want to speak to the most, "I'd like to ask you a riddle. You and your team are on an important infiltration mission when one of them is taken hostage by an enemy shinobi. If you try to free him, the mission will be a failure. You can't risk the enemy to summon back up. What will you do in this situation?"

… What the fuck? "Old man, I'm six. I'm going to spend my time on D-ranks and guarding missions, not espionage. So please, let me through so I can celebrate my promotion with my family." I tried storming away from him, but he grabbed my shoulder and looked at me strictly. Well, shit.

"You still haven't answered my question. So what will your answer be?" He demanded from me, his hold firm on me. Seems like there is only one way out. Fuck.

Sighing, I hum before replying. "I'd hit my teammate through a non-vital point, incapacitating the enemy in process."

He frowned after that. "I see… Good luck, Isamu-kun. Hope we'll meet again." And he strode off.

I hope we'll never meet again, sick jerk. No wonder all the kids here were so fucked up.

Trying to clear my head and pouncing heart, I headed home and celebrated the hell out of it.

All things considered, it was a great day.

Kama – sickle used as a weapon

Ohayō – good morning

A/N: Hooray! One more month passed by! This chapter was rather fast 'cuz nothing happened here. But still! The juiciest parts of the story are so close! And what is Isamu forgetting? Hehe…

Please tell me your opinion on this chapter!