A/N: Fair warning I edited this at 3am when I was transitioning to work on nightshift for a week, so any mistakes or errors can be blamed by pure exhaustion
"Forsake not an old friend for a new one does not compare with it." -Sirach 9:14
Unsurprisingly, Shikaku ends up graduating from the Academy on his first attempt. Well, it's not that surprising for many reasons. One being, that if you know anything about him, you'd know he's super smart and more than capable. Hell, he can probably pass the Chunin exams right now if he actually wanted to.
Another reason is, as with everything this village seems to be centered on these days, we're in the middle of a war. A war that, even though we've been told Konoha is winning, is showing no signs of being over soon.
But Shikaku tells me not to worry about that, at least not for tonight.
"Chouza's family is having a graduation celebration," he says. "We were invited."
"Is Chojiro going to be there?" I ask. Even though mentally he's much younger than me, over the past couple months he has grown to be a close friend, and he's pretty entertaining, if nothing else.
"Probably," Shikaku says as he puts on his sandals by the front door of our house. "You'll have to find him when we get there. From what Chouza said, the entire clan was invited."
"The entire clan? How big is it?" I always imagined the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans were about the same size as the Nara, it makes sense if our clans are so close, afterall. But from the way Shikaku describes it, the Akimichi sound much larger.
"It's big," Shikaku says, before motioning me to get my shoes on. "You'll see when we get there."
Arriving at the party, I realize it's going to be harder to find Chojiro than I originally expected. The Akimichi clan is large, not only in physical size, but in numbers as well. From the amount of people I can see, they must have twice as many people as the Nara clan.
Not only that though, they are also loud. As in, I could hear the crowd from before we even left the Nara clan compound. I never realized how lucky I am that the Nara are a relatively quiet group of people before. Quiet, lazy, and won't bother you unless something is really necessary. What more could you want?
Now then… how the hell am I supposed to find Chojiro here?
After walking around the crowd for at least five minutes and seeing no sight of the red-headed Akimichi boy (Ok I saw many young red-headed Akimichi boys, but none of them were the one I was looking for.) I cross paths with Chouza.
"Ah, if it isn't little Kotaro-chan," he says as he walks up to me. "Are you looking for your brother? I think he is over there with Inoichi," he says as he points across the way to where the two boys are sitting at a table. Inoichi seems to be trying to have a deep conversation with Shikaku, while Shikaku is… not paying that much attention to him.
"No," I shake my head. "I'm looking for Chojiro, do you know where he is?"
"Oh, Chojiro-chan! I forgot you were in the same class as him," he says. "But sorry to say, I haven't seen him yet today," he adds dejectedly.
"Oh, that's alright," I say as I continue to look around the crowd. "I'm sure I'll find him around here somewhere."
"Okay, good luck," Chouza says as we split off, him going off to speak to my brother and Inoichi.
I continue looking through the crowd for my little wayward Akimichi, with no success. Not looking ahead to where I am walking, I bump my head into somebody.
"Ah, who's down there?" I hear a man's voice ask. Looking up, I look up at the body of a large Akimichi man. "Oh, a little Nara? And who might you be?" he asks.
"I'm Nara Kotaro," I introduce myself, craning my head back to look up at him. "Shikaku's younger brother."
"Oh, Shikaku mentioned you a couple times," the man says. Just who is this man that Shikaku would be talking about me to? "I'm Chouza's dad."
Oh, that makes a lot of sense then. Shikaku and Chouza had mentioned him a couple times to me, although I have yet to meet the man himself.
"Are you looking for someone? Your brother perhaps?"
"No," I shake my head. "I'm looking for Chojiro. He's in my class at the Academy. Have you seen him?"
When I mention Chojiro, I see his facial expression fall. "Why don't you follow me, little one. I can take you to him."
As I walk with him to one of the houses on the edge of the Akimichi compound, he tells me about the news that was just brought in from the frontlines earlier that day. Chojiro's dad is dead. It's probably only because my dad died as well in the same war that the man is telling me this. I'd imagine the response to any other six year old asking where their best friend is would be to just tell them something had come up, their friends couldn't make it to the party.
When we arrive at the house, I'm motioned to the back, where I find Chojiro sitting along one of the walls facing a small pond in his backyard. I go up and join him.
I wouldn't say I'm much of the 'talk about your feelings to' type person, but I know that if I were to walk away right now Chojiro would feel like I am abandoning him, which I can't allow. So, I sit right next to him, our shoulders touching.
We don't say anything really, but that's alright. I just keep him company the rest of the night, there'll be other parties later on anyway.
Xx?xXx?xXx?xX
According to Shikaku, our Academy teachers, and many other older shinobi around the Nara compound, the Second Shinobi War is finally over. And of course, Konoha is considered one of the victors.
It ended barely a month after Shikaku graduated from the Academy. I guess that meant they had his graduation prematurely. Because according to him, "many of the people who graduated with him wouldn't have if there hadn't been a war."
Kiyoko nee-san says there's going to be a celebration in the center of the village for the end of the war. I honestly don't know how to feel about that. Or what to even expect.
I don't even know if I can say that I really know what it's like to live in a country or train in a military that's not at war. At least in my Last Life, the US was in a war for most of my childhood, and went into another one shortly into my adulthood.
But I guess I can try to figure out what it means now. Or at least before the Third Shinobi War starts. And I try to recall just how or when it is supposed to start. Didn't it start with something to do with Hatake Sakumo's death? If that's so, it would be around the time Kakashi is five or six years old. And if I'm guessing ages in the series right, it would give me at least eight to ten more years before the start of the Third Shinobi War.
Factor in what happens on the various types of missions the Naruto series had going on during peacetime, that leaves a lot of time for a lot of things to happen.
"What's gonna happen now that the war is over?" I ask Shikaku when he comes home from training with his new squad.
"Now?" Shikaku hums. "I guess it means we can finally relax for once and not have to fear for our lives on every mission we take."
"Really?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Shikaku's smart, no doubt about that. There's no way he thinks his job will be that easy and trouble-free.
"What do you think?" he looks at me with that stupid smirk of his.
Xx?xXx?xXx?xX
"We want to move your brother up by a year in the Academy," the Academy's headmaster tells my brother.
Of course, Shikaku is quick to tell them "no."
"What do you mean by no?" the headmaster asks, shocked by Shikaku's answer. We were all, me, Shikaku, Hiroto-ojii-san, and the headmaster were sitting in the headmaster's office in the Academy.
Yesterday the old guy told me he wanted to speak to "whoever was in charge of me at home," because I guess while he knew I was technically an orphan he couldn't be concerned enough about me to at least learn who took care of me. So I brought both Shikaku and my uncle. Technically Hiroto is considered my guardian legally. At least until either I become a genin or Shikaku becomes a Chunin. But Shikaku is considered a legal adult now, although still not the head of our clan until he becomes a Chunin, and he is my brother, so he still has a large say about what happens to me.
"You only want him to move up a year so he becomes a shinobi a year earlier. You still haven't moved the graduating age back to what it was. What, do you want him to become a shinobi at nine? Eight? What do we need soldiers that young for?" Shikaku argues. He had a point there. In just about every instance of a major war ending in my old world, it often led to the involved countries decreasing the size of their militaries, both the winners and losers. At least in Konoha, that hadn't seemed to be the case. World War I, the Cold War, hell, even Britain did it at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
I nod my head, agreeing with my brother. Because man, when Shikaku feels strongly about something, he sure does fight for it, and brings up good points, too. This is probably why Shikamaru never graduated from the Academy early or anything. Because I'm sure the Academy staff wanted him to.
"You know we're not asking this just because," the headmaster continues. "Your brother is certainly gifted, it's just wasting his time to be held back here." Yeah, I'm sure, if it wasn't for the fact that only yesterday was the first time this man has ever said something directly to me, that he 'cared' about me and my potential. The dude probably just read on one of my end-of-year evals and saw that I was well ahead of my peers so now he wants to move me up. "He's testing higher than students two to three years above him in just about every category."
"Please, you honestly expect me to believe that. This kid can barely read or write," Hiroto finally says something. Of course, it's to complain about my sucky writing (which has in no way improved in the last three years). But hey, if it means I'm not being forced to move up earlier, who am I to complain. Hell, I can always move my writing capabilities back further than what they are currently.
I had enough of being a 'child genius' in my Last Life, I don't need to be one again. Even in my Last Life, my parents never asked to move me up in grades when I was further advanced than everyone around me. They knew that it would stunt my emotional growth back then. And looking at all the 'child geniuses' in this world, I can't say it would be too different.
So yes, I'm more than willing to stay where I currently was, even if the kids I'm with are mentally thirty years younger than me.
"What were you doing in the headmaster's office this morning?" Chojiro asks me when I rejoin the group at lunch.
"Oh nothing really," I answer off-handedly. "He wants me to move up a year."
"Really? You're going to move up? That's impressive," Reika perks up.
"No, you must have misheard me. I said that he wants me to move up," I repeat. "We turned him down."
"But why would you not want to?" Minato asks.
"Really, Minato, you know me," I say, looking at him. "If I moved up a year, I'd have even less time to sleep in class. It would just be a mistake I'd grow to deeply regret."
"Why would you not want to be challenged though?" Reika asks, genuinely confused by my reasoning. "If you're going to be a shinobi, you'll be challenged all the time. Why stop now?"
"Oh Reika," Chojiro says, laughing to himself.
"Kotaro must be the first Nara you've met," Kenji tells her. "They hate being challenged. Always say it's 'too troublesome' You'd much sooner find them taking a nap then choosing to do anything."
I don't add anything to that, but simply nod along as I continue eating my lunch. What they're saying is all true after all.
Xx?xXx?xXx?xX
I should have known that the headmaster wouldn't have taken my dismissal of his request lying down.
Looking down at the test we are given today, it's significantly more advanced than what was taught in class. No it's not the test, it's my test that is more advanced. If it wasn't for the fact I'm the younger brother of a clan head, I might think that weird Danzo guy was taking an interest in me. But I'm way too lazy and put too little effort into everything for him to even care about kidnapping me.
The Academy staff must want to see just how smart I am and what level my knowledge lies at.
I look through the questions in the test. If I was to base this off of the homework I did for Shikaku, this is all more advanced than what they teach in the Academy.
I mean…'Given these lengths, what angles are in the triangle?' 'Pushing with a force of 10 pounds, how far back will the stone roll?' 'Use the following angles taken from the octant to determine your latitude.' I'm not even going to attempt to read the history questions. My reading ability in Japanese isn't good enough for that.
Hell, even though I learned most of this math and science in high school, that was only because I was in some pretty advanced physics and math classes. This stuff is more advanced than what was tested on the SAT's.
Still though, I look at the paper again, it's been at least six or seven years since I've used this knowledge in any form. Really I haven't done any math at this level since I took the PE exam two years before I died. I got my master's degree in construction management. And while that degree required some math, it was mostly cost estimates and volume calculations, maybe determining the boom angle for a construction crane.
I wasn't one of those people that had genius brains and photographic memories. No, the only reason I knew so much math and science was because I constantly studied it for years in my youth.
Right now, I kind of want to see if I still remember enough to get the correct answers (assuming that whoever made this test knows enough math to have the right answers, since I doubt Hajime knew half this stuff). And the questions aren't that hard either, just a couple simple and common calculus equations. The questions most college professors expect you to memorize. It took a couple seconds to recall them, but I would be sorely embarrassed if I didn't remember them. So, I answer the math and physics questions, not to prove anything to the Academy instructors, but simply because I am bored and need to clear my curiosity.
If only I realized how much trouble this would create for me.
The next morning, when Hajime-sensei calls me down to the front of the classroom at the beginning of lunch and I see him holding the test paper from the day before, I feel my stomach roll, this couldn't be anything good.
"Follow me," he says as he starts walking down the hallway. It seems I have no option but to follow after him. So I quickly run and manage to catch up to him from the small head start he gained.
"Where are we going?" I ask him as he begins walking up the stairs to the third floor, where all the offices were located.
"You'll see," is all he says as he continues walking forward. When we pass by the headmaster's office I grow more confused. If we weren't going there, then where were we going?
He leads me up to a door at the end of the floor and motions for me to walk inside. I walk inside to see a conference room with a large table in the center. The Academy headmaster is sitting in one of the side chairs at the far end, with other Academy instructors sitting in a couple of the other side chairs. At the head of the table is a man with short brown hair dressed in white and red robes.
He looks vaguely familiar. Looking at his face, I can't help but think that he resembles Kenji. Now that I think about it, I recall someone looking like him making some speech during the victory celebration at the end of the war.
Oh crap, realization dawns on me, that's the Hokage!
Wait! Why am I being called into a meeting with the Hokage?!
This can't have anything to do with that test from yesterday, right?
"Sit down, Nara," I hear Hajime-sensei whisper behind me. I climb into the chair opposite the Hokage as Hajime-sensei takes the seat to my right.
"Nara Kotaro," the Hokage greets me in a deep voice. At my 'yes sir' of acknowledgement, he continues. "Do you know why we've called you in here today?"
"No sir," I reply if this is about the test yesterday, I still have no idea what I could have written on that test paper to get this sort of response.
Hajime-sensei slides me over a copy of the test I took yesterday. Lifting it in my hands, I look at what I wrote. It seems straight forward enough, Nothing on it looks any different than what I had written down.
"Do you know where these test questions are from Kotaro-chan?" I hear the Hokage ask from the other side of the room. Man, his voice is deep and a little ominous sounding. If he's Kenji's dad, I wonder how Kenji is able to handle it. He freaks out whenever Hajime-sensei speaks in a deep voice around him.
"No," I shake my head. "Where are they from?"
"We took many of these questions from one of the final exams at the University in the capitol city of the Land of Fire," the headmaster says.
Wait what? A university like that exists? Why am I just now hearing about this?
Although I suppose, it's probably a place for really elite people. Probably attended by mostly royalty and other nobles. There's no real reason we would be taught about it as second years in the Academy. So far we've barely been taught anything about the government structure here, including just in Konoha.
"Not only are many of these questions from the final exams necessary for graduating," the headmaster continues. "Many of these questions require hours of work of calculations. Questions of which you have solved in one of two calculations."
What the man is saying makes me slowly pause, and a sinking feeling of dread pools in my gut. Don't tell me calculus hasn't been invented here!
As I slowly look up from the paper, the Hokage's eyes meet mine. "Just where did you come up with these processes, Kotaro-chan?"
I'm stuck. I have no idea how I'm supposed to answer this question. I don't suppose saying, I attended an elite university in a past life and learned most of this stuff before I even contemplated a military career would fly too well. Neither would, 'it just came naturally to me.'
Quick brain, I know you're not all that creative in thinking of ideas, but I really need one right now.
"I read a couple books," I mumble. "Put some ideas together that just fit, didn't expect these answers to be correct," I say as I shrug my shoulders and break eye contact with the Hokage. I know it's an old habit I have when I'm lying, but I'm only a six year old right now, sue me.
Next to me I can feel Hajime-sensei's stare drill into my shoulder. The man doesn't believe me for a second. But I don't really need him to, just the other guys.
"Kotaro-chan," the Hokage speaks up and stops the other men around the table who had begun speaking to themselves. As I look around the table, I can only thank God that that creepy Danzo guy isn't one of them. "I myself am always one who craves knowledge, do you think it would be possible to show me how you solved one of these problems?"
"Umm…" I pause and try to think of something to say that won't make me have to walk these guys through these calculations. If what the headmaster says is true, and it does take some of the top minds at whatever university hours to perform these calculations, that can only mean they are using the very very basic form of algebraic physics equations. So basic in fact that the teacher's in my high school didn't even bother showing them to us. Hell, they probably never used them themselves. If I start pulling up any Calculus, that will surely bring up questions that I am in no way prepared to answer.
"I don't really remember how I did any of it," I shrug, whether I sound nervous because I'm faking it, or I'm actually nervous, I'm not really sure. "I just made up a bunch of the equations on the spot."
The way the Hokage narrows his eyes, I can tell he doesn't believe me either. But lucky for me, it appears he is going to move on from this topic to another, slightly more controversial topic.
"Kotaro-chan, do you know where you rank in your class at the Academy?" he asks.
This makes me pause and wonder, because I genuinely have no idea. If there's one thing from my Last Life, I wish didn't follow me here, it would be the concept of class rankings. It's probably because throughout my time in ROTC, I was at the bottom, and it was not a good feeling when you were reminded by your instructors of it every week.
"No," I shake my head. "What rank am I?"
"Truthfully, you are unranked," he says. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. Although compared to past experiences, anything is better than 'bottom third.' "The areas in which you excel, you are leaps and bounds ahead of your fellow peers. The areas in which you don't, you are at the bottom of the class," he says the last part as if he is well aware that I put no effort into those categories.
Then he steeples his hands and puts his chin on top of his knuckles. "I want to know… how do you feel about taking the graduation exam right now?"
Wait what?
I know the other day the headmaster asked about advancing a couple years, but graduating?!
I shake my head before responding. "What?! There's no way I'm ready for that. I barely know any jutsu. I've only just started using chakra barely three months ago. There's a lot I still need to learn here!"
The Hokage merely hums to himself. "I'm sure if I give you a couple months, you will have enough time to learn the necessary jutsu to pass the graduation need be we can wait until the exam this year for you to graduate."
"But what about other shinobi skills? I'm not that good at sparring? You can't just improve that in a couple months," I ask. While I may have more experience than some of the kids, my experience is mostly in sport fighting, which has so many limiting rules that it's terrible when it comes to fighting for life and death. We haven't really moved past simple kicks and punches in class, but I can tell that in the next couple months we will start, and I can only imagine some kids quickly moving past me when we do.
"You're certainly better than your peers," the Hokage says. "I have no doubt that with some more experience and personal instruction from a jounin-sensei, you will rapidly improve in no time."
The old man is probably right about that. I can't imagine them putting me in any old squad of average graduates with the test results they are seeing on that paper.
"Did you even ask my brother about this?" I ask. There's no possible way that any of them did. No matter what reasoning they give him, Shikaku will turn down any offer they give for fast tracking me.
"I want to know what you have to say about this, not your brother, Kotaro-chan," the man says.
I don't know what it is about people calling me -chan, but it really grinds my gears. Especially when it feels like they're talking down to me.
"Don't do what you think your brother wants you to do. What does Nara Kotaro want to do? Move up and start serving his village, or continue to spend his time playing children's games?"
Man, if this man doesn't realize the irony of what he is saying. I've only recently turned six years old. I haven't even reached a four foot height yet but this man wants to send me out to battle. Here I thought the stories of the British sending out twelve year olds during World War One was crazy. At least in that case the twelve year olds were lying about their ages. This man knows my exact age and birthdate.
It's weird. Back then if I had been asked to be fast tracked, I would have jumped at the opportunity. Now I'm asking to be held back.
I slam my hands on the conference table and look the Hokage dead in the eyes. "I don't want to move forward any faster than anyone else," I say and walk out, no one trying to stop me.
Xx?xXx?xXx?xX
"Is it true you turned down my Dad's offer?" I hear Kenji ask my shoulder as he pops up against me. I won't deny that his sudden presence makes me jump, as he was very unexpected.
I am currently at one of the market stands, Shikaku gave me a list of things to buy for dinner as "his sensei would be keeping him late for training with his team," whatever that meant. Needless to say, this is the last place I'd think I would run into Kenji, I almost never see him outside the Academy.
"What are you talking about?" I ask, pushing him off my back and turning around to face him.
"My dad," he repeats. "He offered you another chance to move up a year again, didn't he?"
My mind quickly makes the connection I had the suspicion of before. "Your Dad's the Third?" I almost blurt out.
"Don't be so loud!" Kenji shouts as he covers my mouth. He then whispers into my ear. "I'm not really supposed to be going around telling people." I guess that makes sense.
When he lets go of me, I answer his first question, not mentioning the fact that the Third wanted me to take the graduation test now. "Yeah, I told him I didn't want to move up, Why?"
"Why would you say no when it's the Ho~kage asking?" Kenji asks, stressing the Hokage word.
"I already told you why last week," I answer him. "The reason hasn't changed."
"Even though it's the Hokage asking now?" He asks. To be honest, I can see his point here. The Hokage is basically the equivalent of a general in my Last Life. And especially as a new trainee, you would never tell a general you didn't want to take them up on their offer to advance in rank.
But back then I wanted to have a long and successful military career, and with the way the politics of being an officer worked, it was completely different there. So I would have done it with no questions asked, so long as it wasn't morally questionable. Now… I'm not really sure where I want my career to go. I guess meeting achievements at the normal and expected rate would be my go to answer. I don't want to fall too far behind, but I also don't want to get too far ahead.
"Yes, even though it's the Hokage asking me," I repeat as I turn back to look through things at the market. I want to find the stuff on this list as fast as possible so I can go home. If Kenji wants to keep me company while I do so, he is welcome to stay by me.
"What do your parents have to say about this?" he asks, probably thinking that there is no way any parent wouldn't want this for their child.
"My parents are dead," I say offhandedly.
"Oh," Kenji falls into fast silence.
I look at his face. He looks guilty, like he feels he crossed a line he shouldn't have. Great, totally not how I wanted this to go. I nudge his shoulder to make him look at me. "You didn't say anything wrong," I say. "They died a while ago, I didn't really know or remember them, I was really little. And besides, my uncle and older brother don't want me moving up a year either."
"But I just don't understand why," Kenji says, looking stressed that he doesn't see my logic.
I let out a long breath. "I'm just not ready, Kenji. You might not understand, but you'll just have to accept that answer for now."
