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Kaito stepped into the auditorium, immediately hit by the sheer volume of voices overlapping in every direction. Rows upon rows of chairs stretched toward the back, all facing a massive stage with a podium standing at its center. The room was packed—parents, students, shinobi—like half the village had crammed into one space for this event.
His eyes scanned the crowd, picking out a few familiar faces from his class. Most of them were surrounded by family, standing close to their parents or chatting with siblings. Meanwhile, Kaito stood alone.
He shrugged to himself. It wasn't a big deal. He'd lived on his own long enough that he was used to it. Still, as he stood there, hands stuffed in his pockets, staring idly at the ceiling, he couldn't ignore the slight feeling of being out of place. It definitely helped that he was in formal clothes though. Using the money from his books, he had gotten himself a proper black kimono...simple, clean, and most importantly, with pockets.
Still It wasn't like he had a phone to mindlessly scroll through a weather app to distract himself from the awkwardness.
"Kaito!"
A familiar voice called from behind. He turned to see Izumi making her way toward him, waving with a bright smile. Behind her, a woman followed closely—her mother, most likely. She had long black hair unlike Izumi who had brown hair, but she was practically a grown-up version of Izumi, just without the little dot beneath her eye and hair color.
"Hey." Kaito gave a small wave, returning the smile.
Izumi glanced around him, then met his gaze. "So… where are your parents? They ditch you, or what?" she teased, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.
Kaito let out a dry chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, something like that," he said, dodging the question without much effort. He was honestly getting tired of telling everybody he was an orphan.
Izumi blinked, realizing a second too late that her joke might've hit a little harder than intended. "Oh… I didn't mean—"
"It's fine," Kaito cut in with a small shrug. "Not a big deal."
Izumi's mother, who had been quietly watching their exchange, offered a kind smile. "You must be Kaito. Izumi's mentioned you before," she said.
She paused briefly almost zoning out a bit before a smile snapped back to life and she pointed at her mom, " Well...this is my mom and mom this is my friend. " She introduced the two.
Kaito raised a brow at that but didn't comment on it. "All good things, I hope," he said instead.
Izumi rolled her eyes. "Debatable."
Kaito smirked. "I'll take that as a yes."
Her mom grinned. "He's cute… is this your other boyfriend?" she teased.
Izumi's face turned bright red. "MOM!! Stop! You're embarrassing me!" she huffed, lightly punching her mother's arm.
Kaito chuckled, scratching the back of his head. He wasn't sure how to respond. Maybe a "thank you"? Her mom basically gave him an assist, it was the perfect moment to shoot his shot. But… Izumi still felt like a kid to him, even though they were technically the "same age". And besides, he didn't want to step on Itachi's toes. The last thing he needed was to piss him off.
'Wait… are they even dating yet?' Kaito wondered.
Izumi grabbed her mom's skirt, tugging her away. "Mom, let's go. I think the ceremony is starting…" she mumbled, trying—and failing—to hide her flushed cheeks.
Her mom smirked but turned back to Kaito before leaving. "See you later… treat her well," she teased, fully aware it would make Izumi even more flustered.
"MOOOOOMMM!!!" Izumi practically screamed, yanking her away in embarrassment.
Kaito just stood there, smiling. He had no idea what to even say.
Kaito sighed. He just wanted this to be over as fast as possible. Then, out of nowhere, a hand pressed against his shoulder.
Turning around, he found Hitori standing behind him, dressed in formal wear with his hair tied back, making his hazel eyes more noticeable. It was… weird. Seeing Hitori look more outgoing and less emo, was still something Kaito wasn't used to.
Over the past few months, Hitori had changed a lot. His mood had improved, and he seemed more relaxed. Well, as long as Kaito kept training him, he had no complaints.
"Hi, sensei!" Kaito grinned. "You actually came!"
Hitori frowned. "I told you not to call me that… it's weird. And yeah, of course I came. You're my friend, after all."
Kaito blinked at him, a little surprised. Hitori wasn't the type to throw the word "friend" around so easily.
"Huh. Didn't expect to hear that from you," Kaito said, crossing his arms. "You getting soft on me?"
Hitori scratched his cheek, pausing for a second. "I guess." But there was a small smirk on his face, one Kaito caught right away.
Before he could tease him any further, a loud screech echoed through the auditorium as a microphone was tapped. Everyone winced at the sudden noise. Then, the headmaster's voice boomed through the speakers.
"Attention, everyone! Welcome to this year's graduation ceremony!"
The murmurs and side conversations died down as people turned their attention to the stage. Parents ushered their kids toward the rows of chairs, and the sea of standing students shuffled to find their seats.
Kaito sighed. "Finally, let's get this over with."
The two of them moved toward the nearest open seats as the headmaster continued his speech, droning on about the 'bright future' of the next generation of shinobi.
It was boring, but at least it was over fast.
"And now... I'd like to introduce the one and only… the God of Shinobi!" the headmaster announced, trying to hype up the crowd. "The Hokage of the Hidden Leaf… Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
The room exploded with cheers, everyone jumping to their feet.
From behind the curtains, an old man stepped out, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore the official Hokage uniform—the customary hat, the haori, and a red full-length kimono tied with a white sash. He looked frail, but he carried himself with a steady presence.
He walked up to the podium, waving at the crowd with a warm smile. That smile—if nothing else—was something Kaito respected about Hiruzen. Even if the guy was a terrible "father" figure to Naruto, he at least knew how to play the role of a leader.
The guy honestly had a welcoming spirit...gotta give credit where it was due.
Kaito clapped along with the crowd, but he wasn't as hyped as everyone else. The old man had that warm, grandfatherly presence that made people love him, but Kaito knew better.
'It's not like he was evil or anything...just a terrible Hokage in his old age. The Uchiha disaster, the Hyūga mess, the absolute train wreck that was Naruto's childhood… Yeah, Hiruzen fumbled hard.' Kaito thought, watching as Hiruzen took his place at the podium. He wasn't about to start booing him or anything—he wasn't stupid—but he also wasn't about to start screaming his name like a fanboy.
Hiruzen raised a hand, and the cheers slowly died down. His eyes scanned the room, and when he spoke, his voice was calm and full of wisdom.
"Today, we gather to celebrate the future of our village. Each and every one of you before me has worked hard to reach this moment. From today onward, you will no longer be just students. You will be shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."
Another round of cheers erupted, but Hiruzen continued, his tone growing more serious.
"But remember, being a shinobi is not about power or glory. It is about protecting those who cannot protect themselves. It is about sacrifice, duty, and the will of fire that burns within all of us."
Kaito had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. 'Yeah, yeah, protect the village, fight for peace, blah blah blah...' He'd heard this speech a thousand times in different forms. It was the cliche anime line.
Still, he sat through it, waiting for the important part...the moment where they finally got their damn headbands.
"Kaito."
Hearing his name, he stood up, hands casually tucked in his pockets, and made his way to the front. The weight of countless eyes pressed against his back...not that he cared, but still, one wrong step, one stumble down the stairs, and he'd be the village laughingstock.
Thankfully, he reached the stage without embarrassing himself. Walking up, he was met by the Hokage, who held a scroll in his hand.
"Hello, Lord Hokage," Kaito greeted, extending a handshake while taking the scroll with his other hand.
Hiruzen gave him a warm smile, shaking his hand. " You've done well to make it this far. Congratulations, " Hiruzen said, his grip firm despite his age.
Kaito gave a small nod, tucking the scroll under his arm. " Thanks... " He kept it short, not really knowing what else to say.
The old man chuckled, seemingly amused by Kaito's casual demeanor. " I look forward to seeing what you accomplish. "
The Hokage then reached into a pile of forehead protectors, picked one up, and handed it to Kaito. Without hesitation, Kaito took it, feeling the cool metal against his fingertips.
"You are now a shinobi of the village," Hiruzen said.
Kaito nodded, gripping the protector a little tighter. "Thank you, sir."
Glancing down, he caught his own reflection in the polished metal, smudged and a little distorted, but unmistakably him. It was official. He was a genin now.
And he already knew exactly what he was going to do first.
Kaito didn't stick around for any more small talk. With a final nod, he turned on his heel and made his way back down the stairs, gripping the scroll tightly. The weight of all the eyes on him hadn't lessened, but now that he was walking away, it didn't matter as much.
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After the ceremony wrapped up, Kaito and Hitori headed out to celebrate at Yakiniku Q. It was basically a Japanese-style Korean BBQ spot—cheap, tasty, and exactly what Kaito wanted. No complaints there.
Kaito licked the edge of his lips as he used his chopsticks to flip the beef on the grill, watching the fat sizzle.
"Now that you're a Genin… thinking about trying out any iryo-nin courses? I know a few," Hitori said, flipping his own piece of beef.
Kaito adjusted the forehead protector on his head, thinking for a moment. "Well… I don't know. Over the past few months, I've really been considering what you said about going into the combat field…"
Hitori's expression fell slightly. He fidgeted with his chopsticks, more absentmindedly than intentionally. "Does that mean you won't need my training anymore?"
Kaito sighed. "Nah, I still have my job at the hospital, right? We'll still see each other." He shot Hitori a small smile.
' Well, a clone of me anyway… ' That hospital job was only still on his roster so he could access the morgue whenever he needed a few bodies to experiment on. He'd already quit that crappy delivery gig...it sucked, and he was happy to be done with it.
Hitori perked up a bit. "Oh… okay." He seemed relieved. "Are you gonna open the scroll you got?"
Kaito blinked. "Oh, right. Almost forgot about that." He reached into his kimono pocket and pulled out the scroll.
Unrolling it, he found a neatly tucked card inside. His eyes scanned over the information.
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Name: Kaito Watanabe
Age: 12
Rank: Genin
Team: Team 8
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Kaito raised a brow. "Team 8, huh? Not bad I guess."
Hitori leaned in to glance at the card. "Team 8? Wonder who you got as your sensei."
Kaito hummed, tapping the card against the table. "No clue..."
He flipped the card over, but there was nothing else...no team roster, no sensei name, just the bare minimum. Typical ninja bureaucracy.
"Guess I'll find out soon." Kaito shrugged and tucked the card back into his pocket before reaching for his chopsticks. "Not gonna stress about it now. I just became a Genin, so I'm gonna enjoy this meal first."
Hitori chuckled. "Fair enough." He raised his glass. "To your new life as a shinobi."
Kaito smirked and clinked his cup against Hitori's.
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