Academy (1)

The Academy was boring for a lack of better words.

The schedule was bland, most of the time focusing on theory rather than practical applications.

Higeki understands the reason behind no practical applications of chakra in their first year, but he doesn't understand why there aren't any periods of bukijutsu (weapon) training, due to his childhood.

Growing up, he was quite literally surrounded by kunai and shuriken, being taught some things by his father, who was the 4th best ninja in Konoha and watching Team Hiruzen train in their backyard sometimes.

This is why, he doesn't understand the reason for there not being any bukijutsu training sections, even though he trained with them when he was younger.

"Katsute-sensei! What will we be doing for our taijutsu period?"

"Good quesiton, Miwa-chan. You'll see when the time comes."

Higeki noticed that Miwa was well built for their age, having visible muscles on her arms and legs, and he noted that she might be a formidable foe in a spar due to her strength. That could also be the reason for her enthusiasm and curiosity towards the taijutsu period.

Currently, they were near the end of the Chakra Theory and Hand Seals class, and some kids, including but not limited to Miwa, were bored. They wanted to throw jutsus and create fireballs on their first day, which sadly is not possible for children who haven't even unlocked their chakra yet.

Speaking of unlocked chakra, Higeki realized that in his class, only the kids who seemed to be the clan heirs had their chakra unlocked.

Of course, there were some exceptions, most notably being him and Minato.

He shifted his seat towards Minato and whispered, "How did you unlock your chakra?"

Minato seemed surprised, but then he smiled, "It just happened naturally. One day, I was preparing for the Academy, and my chakra suddenly burst out. I've been practicing with it a lot. May I ask the same of you, Higeki-kun."

Higeki didn't want to tell Minato about his secret yet, and was saving it for a later day, so he replied, "My father is an elite jonin, you may have heard of him, Ironiki. He unlocked my chakra when I was a baby, so I could get used to it."

Minato's eyes lit up at the name 'Ironiki', and when Higeki asked Minato about it, he seemed confused and said, "You didn't know? Ironiki-san is widely regarded as one of the best ninjas in our village, just behind Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama, and the White Fang! He even has a nickname, the Flaming Dragon!"

It seems like the technique that Ironiki used when Higeki was a baby was his signature technique that earned him his nickname, the Flaming Dragon.

Higeki was going to ask more about Ironiki, but Katsute announced that Chakra Theory class has ended, and it was time for Taijutsu.

"The Chakra Theory and Hand Seals class has ended, so it's now time for taijutsu! Follow me to the training ground."

Katsute led the children out of the class and to a training ground, then he announced to them, "First, we'll warm-up. Run 5 laps around the training ground, then do 30 push-ups! I'll be nice and tell you guys a secret, there is a ranking system in the class. Whoever gets first place will be rewarded."

The kids seemed to get curious when a reward was mentioned, Higeki and Minato were no exceptions.

"Whoever gets first place in these 2 warm-ups will automatically go to the top of the first years for now, due to it being at the beginning of the year. When you guys get into sparring, whoever wins the spars will go to first place for taijutsu class. Remember, there will be tests that focus on theory later on in the year, and we calculate your ranking by seeing how well you do in tests and in the taijutsu classes. Try as hard as you can for a reward."

A fire seemed to be lit up in the kids' eyes, and they seemed excited to get first place in these warm-ups.

"Ready, set, GO!"

The children started running as fast as they can around the tracks, but the clan kids were clearly in better physical condition than the civilian children, but once again, there is an exception to everything.

Miwa, Minato, and Higeki were easily keeping up with the clan children, with the boys being naturally fast, while Miwa has a better build than most children her age.

You could say that while Minato and Higeki were quite literally geniuses that only appear once in a million years, Miwa is a genius of hard work.

The trio consisting of Miwa, Minato, and Higeki were in the lead, with the clan children/heir being behind them.

Time flew by, and it was already the trio's fifth lap.

Miwa slowed down a little bit, but she was still in front of the clan children, while Minato and Higeki instead sped up, feeling the competition with each other.

"Minato-kun, if I win this race, how about you come to my house for dinner? My father would love to have a friend over!"

"Higeki-kun, I'll come whenever you want me to, but treat me to a bowl of ramen if you lose!"

The two boys smiled at each other, but they forgot one thing; they were still competing.

Miwa took the chance when the boys were talking and she sped up and launched herself in front of them, and she was in the lead now.

"Minato-kun, how about we change the goal to second place? Miwa-san seems to be the one who gets first place this time."

"Hahaha! Alright, Higeki-kun."

Minato and Higeki instead decided on competing for second place because Miwa was already finished when they were talking to each other.

Now, the duo got serious and competitive, so they dashed as fast as possible, wanting to win the race between each other.

They were extremely fast, and it seemed like they reached the finish line in a second to bystanders, but to Katsute, who was able to accurately observe them, it seemed like Higeki won by an ant's hair.

Minato and Higeki skidded to a stop and there was a small dust cloud created by them, but they immediately looked towards Katsute and asked, "Sensei, who won that race just now?"

Katsute seemed to be in deep thoughts, and with every passing second, the boys got more nervous.

Eventually, he smiled and said, "Higeki-kun won."

Higeki had a wide smile on his face, while Minato looked dejected.

"Haha! Minato-kun, now you gotta come to my house! I'll introduce you to my dad!"

"Of course, Higeki-kun."

The duo was joking around, but they didn't notice one thing; Miwa was staring at them.

'They let me win. No, I only won because they were distracted while talking to each other. They would've won if they weren't distracted.'

Miwa seemed to have an internal crisis; she was proud that she'd won, but she was sad because it was on a fluke that she'd won.

Then, Katsute clapped his hand and said, "Now, do the push-ups!"

Miwa seemed confident that she'd win this due to her having more muscles than the skinny boys.

She was wrong.

Minato and Higeki this time decided to set competition at the beginning, and they settled on their conditions.

Higeki: Minato-kun will train with me after and before school if I win.

Minato: Higeki-kun will hang out with me at the orphanage after and before school if I win.

"Alright, start!"

Everyone dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups, and once again, the clan children were doing better than the civilian-born children.

Of course, Minato, Miwa, and Higeki were anomalies.

Miwa seemed to be doing push-ups at an extremely fast pace for everyone else, and it seemed like she would be done in a few seconds.

When Miwa was finished, she had a bright smile on her face and looked around at the other children, more specifically at Minato and Higeki.

Minato and Higeki were already standing next to Katsute, and kept asking him, "Sensei, who won that?"

Katsute was focused on the other children and left Minato and Higeki alone because he needed to concentrate on them specifically if he wanted to catch their movements.

"Alright, drop and do 30 push-ups again, Minato and Higeki. I'll tell you who won this time."

Minato and Higeki immediately dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups, and this time, Minato won by a millisecond.

"Minato won."

Minato seemed happy while Higeki had a sad look on his face for losing a competition, but he wiped it off and remembered that either way, he and Minato would win.

Miwa looked sad that she lost to the divine geniuses, and she vowed that she would train harder and become stronger than both of them.

That may not be possible, though.

...

"Father, I'm home!"

"Oh? Higeki? How was your day at the Academy?"

"Great! I brought Minato home with me!"

It seems like Higeki bonded with Minato over the competition, and they stopped using honorifics with each other.

"Oh? You brought Minato-kun home? Doesn't he have to be at the orphanage by 8:00 PM?"

"Nah, we asked permission from the matron and she agreed that he can sleep over at our house!"

"Ah, I see. Well, come in! I've already prepared dinner, and it seems like I prepared a lot of extras."

"Alright, Father!"

Higeki and Minato came into the house, and Minato said to Ironiki, "Thank you for having me, sir."

"No problem! Any friend of Higeki is a friend of mine!"

...

Dinner was a fun affair.

Ironiki shared stories about the funny things he saw in the First Ninja War, and he shared some stories about Ironiki as a baby.

Eventually, Ironiki got to 'that' topic about Higeki's mutated kekkei genkai.

"Does Minato-kun know about 'it', Higeki?"

"Nope, I'm telling him now."

"Minato, I'm about to tell you something extremely important and secretive because I like and trust you."

Minato seemed surprised at this sudden change in the atmosphere, but Higeki pushed on, "You shouldn't tell anyone. ANYONE. Under ANY and EVERY circumstance, this must be kept a secret."

It seems like Minato realized the seriousness of the situation, and he said, "I swear to not tell anyone under any and all situations without your permission."

"Alright, good. Here it is."

Higeki grabbed a kunai from a cabinet and stabbed himself in the head.

Minato looked shocked and was about to scream, but Ironiki reassured him that there were no problems.

Higeki once again turned into ice and broke down under the kunai, but he quickly reformed.

Minato looked shocked, and he shakily asked, "What was that?"

Higeki answered him with a smile and said, "That was my mutated kekkei genkai! I am part of the Yuki clan, and my body has for some reason become oversaturated with chakra, so it mutated into," he gestured to his reforming head," this."

Minato calmed down after the explanation, and he said, "Wouldn't you be invincible then?"

Higeki shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know, I haven't done any tests on it yet."

"I see..."

"Anyways, wanna go out for a little bit? Don't worry, we'll be back by 9:00 PM!"

"Alright, where are we going?"

"Who knows? We'll go on an adventure whenever the wind takes us!"