Interlude Chapter #2: Birthday

*Six Months after Chapter Sixteen*

Mizuki groaned as he woke up and glanced outside, immediately noticing that the Sun was already high in the sky.

That couldn't be right.

And then there was also the fact that he woke up naturally, and not to the obnoxious sound of his door being pounded on.

That Poor Door.

Something wasn't right.

Mizuki glanced at his clock only for it to reveal that it was currently Half-past nine.

Classes started an hour ago.

Mizuki cursed after seeing this as he took a little bit of a slower time to get ready.

Taking his time to even make himself his favorite breakfast of fried eggs and bacon.

He was already an hour late, after all, an extra few minutes wouldn't make a difference in the amount of shit he was about to get into, so there was no need to rush.

Mizuki glanced at the clock yet again, revealing that he had spent thirty minutes to make himself breakfast and eat it.

He sighed softly as he shut the door behind him and walked off to class.

Not even bothering to look at the date.

. . . . .

Mizuki was curious about what his punishment was going to be.

Being this late would probably have him in detention for a couple of months.

Ten minutes later, Mizuki arrived at his classroom and walked in, only to be greeted with a surprise.

Almost everybody he knew was gone!

Sure, There were some kids he would recognize as people who would later become jonin, but all of his friends and even those who he was somewhat friendly with, were all gone.

If that wasn't weird enough, the teacher was acting as if nothing was wrong, even continuing class as normal when Mizuki walked in.

It was almost like he was invisible.

Mizuki sighed as he sat down, noticeably bored from the fact that he had nothing to do.

The teacher was rambling about stuff he had learned ages ago.

Everyone else in the class was actually paying attention as well, unlike Mizuki they were all learning the content for the first time.

Mizuki sighed as he took out some weights from his bag and started discreetly practicing.

In the past few months, his training had allowed him to begin learning the Eight Gates.

Currently, he could only open the first gate although doing so required most of his energy, and as a result, could not be applied in combat.

His taijutsu and shurikenjutsu improved dramatically as well, reaching around mid genin level, making him all the better when he fought Obito, Guy, or Shisui.

Mizuki's chakra control was also rapidly improving.

He appeared to have a talent for the skill, being able to finish the tree-climbing exercise in just under a day and the water walking in a little over three.

He had also been trying to experiment with new chakra control exercises, like climbing a tree with only his fingertips, or trying to complete his normal exercises whilst upside down.

They had all also started to hang out with Kakashi a little bit as well, mainly due to a newfound rivalry with Shisui, in which so far, he was able to just barely edge out the Uchiha boy.

However, this rivalry apparently had apparently not been enough to entice Kakashi to stay in the class longer than required, as he applied for early graduation, which was to take place at the end of the year.

The day dragged on and on, with it almost reminiscent of Mizuki's high school experience on earth.

He knew the content.

He was pretty much alone.

And he still had to stay in this useless class.

Mizuki had never been so happy to start training after the day ended, desperate for some kind of activity.

In a routine that had become all too familiar with Mizuki, he exited the academy and rushed towards the forest, following a slightly beaten path until he reached a rather large boulder.

Noticing him, Duy called out to Mizuki.

Duy: "ARE YOU READY TO LET THE POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE??!!"

Mizuki: "Yes Sensei"

The training they did lasted a couple of hours and involved everything from sparring to weight lifting.

After the training ended, Mizuki was beyond tired and wanted nothing more than to eat a massive meal and go to sleep.

However, just as Mizuki was about to leave, Duy called out to him.

Duy: "Hey Mizuki, come with me, I have to show you something"

Mizuki agreed and followed his master into town, curious as to what was going on. However, just as he was about to ask where they were going, Duy placed a blindfold over his head.

Mizuki: "Oi, Bushy Stache Sensei! What are you doing?"

Duy: "It's a surprise!"

Despite Mizuki's protests, the blindfold stayed on as Duy guided him through several different side streets so that he would not know where they were going.

Finally, after ten more minutes Duy removed the blindfold to reveal that they were standing in front of a restaurant.

Mizuki: "Huh? It's just Ichiraku. What was the whole charade earlier about?

Trying to dodge the question, Duy replied with an enthusiastic voice.

Duy: "LET'S GO INSIDE"

As soon as they got inside, Mizuki glanced around to see that it was totally dark and deathly silent.

Not a person in sight.

Even his sensei was gone.

The silence nor darkness lasted for long as the lights flickered on and streamers exploded.

Everybody: "SURPRISE!"

Mizuki glanced around to see a banner which read "Happy Birthday Mizuki"

Everyone had taken the day off to prepare for the party,

Shisui even used his Sharingan to put the Instructor under basic ninjutsu to not notice that they were gone.

Was it legal?

Nope.

Does anybody else need to know about it?

Nope.

As they all sat down to eat, everybody came up to pat Mizuki on the shoulder and wish him a happy birthday.

They even brought Kakashi along, although how they did it is something that Mizuki would forever wonder about.

He was honestly really touched.

It was the first time in either life someone had thrown a birthday party for him.

Mizuki spent the remainder of the party chatting with everybody and stuffing his face with Ramen, apparently, even Teuchi was willing to do this type of thing for him.

The night raged on, with all of them consuming copious amounts of ramen, playing a bunch of random party games, and other meaningless, yet fun activities well into the night

Late in the night, the party disbanded with everybody going home, although not before dropping off some gifts for Mizuki.

Needless to say, Mizuki was incredibly touched, as he had a wide, childish grin adorning his face for the night.

However, just as Mizuki left he felt someone approach him from behind.

??: "How was it?"

The person who asked him was Anko, and for once she almost had a nervous tone in her voice.

Mizuki: "I honestly loved it, it was the first time anyone has done something for me like that"

Anko had a little smirk on her face as she turned to her best friend.

Anko: "Seriously, what kind of moron forgets their own Birthday though?"

Hearing this quip, Mizuki sighed slightly, before letting loose a slight deprecating laugh.

Mizuki: "I dunno, although I'm sure that whoever it is, they are just happy that their friend can get off their lazy ass and do something for once."

Pretending as if she didn't hear the playful jab at the end, Anko let loose a quick response.

Anko: "Glad I could help. You know, my Birthday is in three days..."

Mizuki paled as he realized that he would somehow need to top this massive get together.

How the cinnamon toast fuck was he gonna do that!?

Upon seeing his reaction, Anko bursted out laughing.

Anko: "It's fine if we don't do something massive, I'm not a huge fan of crowds. How about you and I just go to that new dumpling shop."

Mizuki: "You Sure?"

Anko: "Positive."

Mizuki: "Alright then. Thanks again. I'm gonna get going now."

Just as he was walking away, he heard Anko call him again.

Anko: "Mizuki?"

Mizuki: "Yes Ma'am?"

Anko leaned forward with a bright smile on her face as she faced him

Anko: "Happy Birthday"

That scene would be something that Mizuki would never forget, and would also become one of his most treasured memories.