Chapter 5: Graduating Alone
Konoha Year 42, late October. The first-year students had been buzzing all week about Hatake Kakashi's solo graduation exam.
On the walk to the Academy that morning, students ran into each other and couldn't stop talking. Being in the same year as a genius like that felt like something to be proud of.
"He only turned five last month, and Kakashi's already doing it!"
"He finished six years of coursework in half a year. Think he'll make chunin soon?"
"No way, chunin isn't that easy."
"He's a genius, they break the rules. Osamu already skipped ahead to the advanced medical track, and apparently Lady Tsunade herself approved it, one of the Legendary Sannin!"
"Just looking at all those textbooks gives me a headache. Osamu's on another level..."
"..."
The crowd filing through the school gates grew more animated by the minute. Partly because Furukawa Osamu was so well-liked, Kakashi had been swept along in his wake, and most of the hostility from the start of term had quietly disappeared.
Somewhere in the crowd, Uchiha Obito wore a look of pure misery, a few scrapes still fresh on his left cheek from yesterday's challenge against Kakashi, which had ended predictably badly. The last thing he wanted to hear right now was that name.
Kakashi hadn't made any secret of his plans to graduate early. Right after his birthday he'd announced it in front of everyone. The Academy curriculum was just too easy for him, and on top of that, graduating early meant winning one more round against everyone else.
"Kakashi, how are your preparations going? I heard the Third Hokage himself is the examiner..."
Nohara Rin fell into step beside Kakashi with an admiring look. Behind her, Obito started to raise his hand in greeting, then let it drop halfway.
"I just want to be the person she looks up to like that."
"Huh?!"
Obito nearly leaped out of his skin when he heard his own thoughts spoken aloud. He spun around to find Furukawa Osamu standing silently beside him, and immediately went red in the face.
"What are you talking about! What do you mean, looks up to..."
He glanced ahead and confirmed that Nohara Rin didn't seem to have noticed. He let out a breath of relief, then felt a small pang of something else entirely.
"Everything you're thinking is written all over your face. Want me to go have a word with Rin..."
Osamu hadn't even finished the sentence before Obito was right in front of him, eyes wide with alarm.
"Don't you dare, what if she says no..."
"You're, what, five? And you're actually having thoughts like that?"
Furukawa Osamu put on an exaggerated look of disgust and strolled past. Obito realized he'd been tricked into saying exactly what he was thinking, and the frustration boiled over.
"You're just as insufferable as Kakashi! I'm going to flatten both of you someday."
"..."
Shizune walked quietly beside Furukawa Osamu, head down, doing her best not to laugh out loud. She and Osamu had been studying together for half a year now. She'd skipped ahead to the advanced track with him last month, and she loved every bit of her life right now.
"This afternoon is the medicinal extraction class, right? At this pace it'll be another two years before we finish the full program."
Osamu hadn't been a medical student in his previous life, and now that he was working through the fundamentals of medical ninjutsu, an old saying from back home kept drifting into his head.
Don't talk anyone into studying medicine...
Medical ninja were notoriously difficult to train. Getting a child this age to sit down and grind through textbooks was genuinely hard, and someone with Osamu's level of focus was rare.
Shizune nodded, a look of quiet admiration on her face. Whenever she felt like slacking off, Osamu always came through with help. Now, hearing what sounded like a trace of frustration in his voice, she rushed to reassure him:
"Osamu's already incredible. Even Lady Tsunade has praised your coursework and chakra control!"
"Thanks, Shizune. Don't worry about it. Graduating at the same time as you is enough for me."
Furukawa Osamu smiled warmly and turned to thank her. Getting the attention of one of the Legendary Sannin came down to raw talent, but it also owed a lot to the support she'd given him outside of school hours.
A warm picture drifted through Shizune's mind without her meaning to, of the two of them going to work at Konoha Hospital together after graduation. She smiled and answered before she'd even thought about it:
"I'll keep up with you, I promise!"
* * *
At noon, a crowd had gathered at the Academy gates. When Kakashi appeared wearing a ninja headband, the reaction was immediate:
"He actually did it!"
"Incredible..."
"Graduating at five years old, that has to be a new Academy record!"
"That's Kakashi for you..."
At the edge of the crowd, Uchiha Obito watched Kakashi get surrounded by their classmates, envy plain on his face. He heard Furukawa Osamu and Might Guy cheering loudly along with the others, and quietly slipped away.
He sat down alone on a stone bench. Nohara Rin's smile from earlier floated back into his head, and he pressed both hands over his face with a groan.
Time passed. A familiar voice reached him and he looked up without thinking.
"You okay, Obito? Class is about to start."
Nohara Rin stood there with a faint look of concern. He was the only one in class who hadn't gone to congratulate Kakashi, and she'd been worried he was being left out.
"Rin, you said you'd watch over me, right?"
"I'll catch up to him soon, and then I'll surpass him, and I'll become Hokage."
Watching Obito pull himself together, Nohara Rin met his hopeful eyes and nodded quickly, smiling back at him.
"I will. I'll be watching."
"That's all I needed! Let's go!"
Uchiha Obito jumped to his feet with a shout, energy fully restored. But what Rin said next deflated him all over again:
"Osamu and Shizune already skipped ahead to the advanced track. I can't keep up with them at all. Obito, I was thinking of asking Osamu for help after school..."
Just the thought of those textbooks that made his scalp crawl was enough to drain every last bit of fight out of Obito. When it came to sitting down and studying, he genuinely couldn't offer a thing:
"That guy! Why does everyone have to be so good at everything!"
* * *
After dark, Konoha's shopping district was as lively as ever. Colorful lanterns lit up the smiling faces all around, and the shadow of war hadn't reached this place.
Inside a barbecue restaurant, a steady stream of ninja who had finished their missions stopped by to congratulate Hatake Sakumo.
Graduating from the Ninja Academy at five years old, the Third Hokage himself had spoken highly of Kakashi's talent, and everyone in the room was praising the White Fang of Konoha for raising such a son.
Even ninja from major clans had come to offer their congratulations. Hatake Sakumo drank freely for once, the atmosphere warming by the minute.
"Kakashi, you'll be taking on missions now, right? I heard C-rank pays thirty thousand ryo..."
Might Guy's eyes lit up at the mention of mission pay, a mouthful of grilled meat still in his cheek. Furukawa Osamu, worried the silver-haired boy might say something awkward, smoothly picked up the thread:
"Everyone still starts with D-rank at five thousand ryo, and you're splitting the pay with your team leader on top of that. It's definitely not six times the money."
"And even if early graduation is encouraged, the village isn't going to load a genin this young with too many missions."
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu both nodded along. They knew Might Guy's situation at home. A permanent genin sometimes couldn't even land D-rank work, and things had been genuinely tight.
"Still, that's real money! I'm going to graduate early too..."
Might Guy locked in his goal with the kind of determination that came from wanting to change things at home. Everyone cheered him on. Kakashi had been about to say something, but caught Furukawa Osamu's look and changed course:
"By the time you graduate I'll probably be chunin. Better start practicing calling me Captain."
"There's no way you make chunin that fast!"
Might Guy fired back at full volume. The group dissolved into cheerful bickering. Furukawa Osamu chimed in with a well-timed smile when it was needed, saying little otherwise. Watching it all, Hatake Sakumo felt a quiet warmth settle over him.
When the meal was finally done, the restaurant owner grabbed Hatake Sakumo's arm and insisted on covering the bill. It was the first time the White Fang cracked something close to a wry smile all evening.
Out on the street, after seeing off the jonin and chunin who had attended, Hatake Sakumo gave Furukawa Osamu a pat on the shoulder and said with a grateful smile:
"Osamu, Kakashi has you to thank for making so many friends. To be honest, I wasn't hoping for him to graduate this quickly. Ninja need companions."
"I didn't do much. Kakashi's actually really well-liked!"
The White Fang laughed at that. His son had a staggering natural gift for the ninja arts, and that alone filled him with pride.
The night air was easy and warm, everyone talking and laughing. Furukawa Osamu watched Hatake Sakumo ruffle Kakashi's hair and chat with the boys, the picture of a gentle father, and could only think quietly to himself:
What kind of mission is it going to be? The one from my memories.
...