Class dragged on longer than Kaito expected. A lot of it was introductory stuff—rules, expectations, an awkward attempt at an icebreaker that flopped harder than a fish on dry land.
He doodled in the margins of his notebook while the teacher explained chakra theory in painfully simplified terms, occasionally glancing sideways to see if Kushina was still awake.
She wasn't. Or at least, she had her head down on the desk, arms crossed like a pillow, lips puffed out in a bored pout.
"Pssst."
She cracked one eye open.
"What," she mouthed.
Kaito tilted his head toward the clock.
Only fifteen minutes left.
Kushina gave a dramatic thumbs-up before slumping back into her coma.
By the time the teacher wrapped up and dismissed them for a break, the class erupted into chatter and shuffling feet.
Some kids rushed out to the courtyard; others stuck around, forming small cliques like magnets. Kaito stretched his arms above his head, let out a yawn, then muttered, "Gonna get some water."
Kushina grunted in response, too distracted picking something out of her hair to care.
The hallway was mercifully quiet. Kaito splashed some cold water on his face in the bathroom sink and stared at himself in the mirror for a second. Still him. Still weirdly in Naruto. Still unsure how any of this was happening.
He took his time walking back, sipping from a paper cup, enjoying the brief moment of solitude.
When he reentered the classroom—
Kushina was laughing.
Like, full-blown, snorting, leaning-on-the-desk laughter.
Next to her, Mikoto Uchiha was sitting like usual—poised, hands folded neatly in her lap—but there was a subtle curve to her lips. A smile?.
Kaito blinked. He'd been gone, what, five minutes?
"What did I miss?"
Kushina turned to him, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Oh my god, Mikoto is hilarious."
Mikoto gave a small shrug. "Only when the material is good."
Kaito stared. "You two are… talking?"
Kushina grinned. "Yeah! Turns out she's not scary, just really dry. Like… desert dry. It's amazing."
"I didn't even leave the building," he muttered, taking his seat. "What did you bond over, tomatoes?"
Mikoto's smile grew just a bit. "She told me about the 'Spanking Incident.'"
"Oh—" Kaito slumped forward, hiding his face in his arms.
Kushina patted his back sweetly. "Don't be embarrassed, hero. Your legend's already spreading."
"It was one slap."
"One righteous, juicy slap."
Mikoto rested her chin in her hand, turning toward them slightly. "You really hit him that hard?"
Kaito groaned. "Why does this keep coming up?"
"Because," Kushina said cheerfully, "you did what we all wish we could've done."
Mikoto gave a small nod. "I'll admit, it was… satisfying to witness."
He peeked at her from under his sleeve. "So you were watching."
"You made it hard not to."
Kushina elbowed him. "See? Told you she was impressed."
Mikoto blinked. "I said satisfying. Not impressive."
Kushina just cackled louder.
Kaito groaned again, but this time there was a smile buried in it. He sat back up and looked at the two girls—one red-haired storm of chaos, the other a poised shadow with eyes that missed nothing—and thought:
Well. That escalated quickly.
He glanced toward the front of the class again, watching kids filter back in for the next session, and muttered, "If I ever leave you two alone again, you'll probably end up forming a kunoichi gang or something."
The second half of class moved faster—probably because it involved actual movement.
"Alright, class," their teacher, a lanky shinobi with graying hair and an ever-present frown, clapped once. "We're heading outside. Today, you'll begin your first chakra control exercise: tree climbing."
A collective murmur swept through the room. A few kids looked excited. Some looked confused. One, in the corner, looked like he might cry.
Kaito blinked. Tree climbing? Already?
Kushina nudged him with her elbow. "Bet I get higher than you."
"I don't doubt it. You're basically a chakra nuke with legs."
She grinned like he'd complimented her.
They followed the class out to the training field behind the Academy, a clearing dotted with tall, leaf-covered trees and a ring of small rocks marking the boundary. The teacher gestured to the trunks.
"Chakra control is fundamental to every jutsu you'll ever learn. If you can't manage your flow, you'll burn out fast—or worse, backfire. Your task is simple: use your chakra to stick to the surface of the tree and walk as high as you can without using your hands."
He tapped his forehead. "Focus. Control. No running. No leaping. Just walking."
Kaito turned to Kushina right away.
"Partner up?" he asked.
She looped her arm through Mikoto's without missing a beat.
"Already taken," she said with a grin.
"Wait—seriously?" Kaito blinked.
Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "She insisted."
Kushina flashed him a sweet smile. "Good luck, hero. Hope you get someone cool."
Kaito sighed and turned—just in time to lock eyes with a tall kid who looked half-asleep and had a runny nose.
"…Hi," the kid mumbled.
"Hi," Kaito said back, defeated.
Tree climbing was way harder than it sounded.
Kaito managed two shaky steps before he slipped and hit the ground with a thud. His new partner didn't even make it one.
Kushina, meanwhile, blasted halfway up the trunk on her first try… before getting launched off in an explosion of leaves.
"Too much chakra!" the teacher called. "Don't force it!"
"I'M NOT FORCING ANYTHING!" Kushina yelled, picking twigs out of her hair.
Mikoto made it six clean steps, then calmly walked back down like she'd just taken a casual stroll. Her face was unreadable, but Kaito swore he caught her glance at him when no one else was looking.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.Alright… focus. Just enough chakra. Not too much…
He tried again. Three steps. Four.
Then the bark crumbled under his foot, and he smacked face-first into the dirt.
Someone nearby snorted.
He looked up to see Kushina crouching next to him, grinning like a proud gremlin."You almost had it."
She held out her hand and helped him up.
"Thanks, Tomato," he muttered.