Chapter Twenty-Three: Early Graduation.

Raio watched with sharp, beady eyes as the man got up. He grabbed his cane and unceremoniously left. Despite his faux youthful appearance, he walked with a bit of a hunch; nothing too notable, but the wood cane seemed appropriately used.

As soon as he stepped out the door, the liveliness of the dango shop returned to him. He hadn't noticed at the moment, but the other patrons had been unnaturally hushed; not that they froze, but to him, spoke in a diluted way.

"Ugh," Raio leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, mussing his hair with a hand. "What the hell was that…"

Two days. Two days to make a choice. If you had asked Raio a handful of days ago what he wanted to do, he had already wanted to leave the Leaf! There was a near-burning desire to go live in the woods and not see another person until he died.

However– that wasn't entirely sustainable, now was it?

There was also the question of Naruto. He had made friends with the boy, and it seemed like the other kids in his class were reciprocative to his arrival.

Three categories were at play here: needs, pros, and cons.

Needs: Human meat. Pros: Friends, clean housing, protection, training. Cons: Being that powerful man's lap dog.

With a start, Raio stood up. He couldn't possibly stay here. This entire line of thought was miserable. He had a knack for analyzing situations, a tendency that had gotten him out of trouble– but he had never been presented with a crossroads like this. Between isolation and obedience.

You know what? That man could screw himself, Raio decided. He could do his own thing. Two and a half days until his time here expired and he'd move villages. It wouldn't be that hard, he told himself. The world was so broad! Why limit himself to Konohagakure?

The sun bathed his skin when he stepped outside. His head turned left, right. The library was going to be this way. Footsteps falling evenly, with a study gait, Raio shoved his hands in his pockets.

First step: he'll graduate early to be Genin. He was insurmountably more powerful than anyone else in that classroom, so he couldn't come up with a reason why he'd be opposed. Second: Go to Lord Hokage and talk about a promotion to Chunin. There was one way the world worked, and it was in the favor of the strong.

He put a hand to his head. Why did he feel like that man– he presumed was an ANBU captain– wouldn't take kindly to Raio squirming from his grasp?

Raio stopped just short of the library, tilting his head to look at the government building. Until the Academy got out and he could talk to Iruka-sensei, he'd do his studying here. He already showed himself to have a 'bad' attitude. Not like he wanted to interrupt the class for the third time in one day.

Doubt set in like a quick undercurrent. He disbelieved they'd have scrolls and books detailing Jutsu in the public library– but he had to give it a shot. Maneuvering through the tall shelves, Raio flitted through everything under the 'Educational' section and found a singular dusty book about chakra control. Great. For a village's culture to be so militaristic, he was surprised that they seemed to do most of their teachings orally.

Oh. Maybe at the Academy, then. Surely they had a private library of their own. Raio walked out with the book in hand (ignoring the person who sat at the front desk and called after him) and ran his way back. After all– with the jumbled memories deluding over each other in his head, and the expedition he and Naruto went on, he knew Konohagakure like the back of his hand.

In the meanwhile, he skimmed over the book in his hand. Concentrating chakra on certain parts of the body was something Raio was familiar with. The application went so far as to walk up vertical surfaces and over water!

He'd have to try it later. Stepping through the halls of the Academy led him to the library. It was organized from 'basic techniques' to 'elements'. Studying was something that Raio detested. Being quizzed over and over again for things he thought was useless, or running through the same trials he'd already proven rudimentary.

Picking through the scrolls for Jutsu was as easy as breathing. Raio formed the hand signs provided with one hand, holding the scroll in his other. He was able to facilitate his chakra flow like this. Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, and another version of himself were sitting next to him. Its arm was held up, fingers posed as if holding the scroll itself.

That was the Clone technique. It didn't weigh anything; an advanced ninja was probably able to pick out the crude illusion from its caster. He dissipated it. All of these techniques were so… simple! Details on how to escape from a bound rope, camouflaging into the scenery with a chakra-coated cloak, and techniques to silently move. The only thing that seemed remotely useful was a Substitution Technique he committed to memory.

Useless. He got up from the mess of open scrolls on the ground, turning his head. There was a fundamental problem: he didn't know what elements he innately possessed. Raio couldn't quite visualize tasting himself– the idea was startling– so Karin's ability was struggling to work.

Two days.

That knocked the frustration out of his head. These Jutsu were simple, but he had a sudden surge of confidence; he could improve on these techniques.

'Ball of Light' produced… a ball of light in his hand. Then reading about the bare basics of weaponry (Shurikenjutsu, Kenjutsu, Bukijutsu, Kusarigamajutsu, Taijutsu) gave him a fundamental idea of how to utilize them. Specific moves, techniques, stances.

His eyes went to a nearby window, the only break from his studies. As if he cued it in the school's bell rung. Perfect. Raio stood and went to Iruka's classroom.

The aforementioned teacher was cleaning his blackboard down. The class had just gotten out, but he had made sure to take a detour so that any of his classmates weren't lingering behind. He looked up when Raio knocked on the open doorframe.

"Raio," Iruka looked up at the noise, and his mouth immediately pulled into a frown. "I know you're new to the village, but it's very rude to disrupt class and leave like that. Keep that in mind for next time."

"Right." Raio nodded his head. He fell into a short bow, feigning a genuine regret. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I won't let it happen again."

Iruka's face immediately softened. For a man with a scar spanning across his face, he had a very kind deposition, Raio noted. He went back to clearing the chalkboard. "Do you need help with something?"

"Yes," Raio straightened his back, looking at Iruka evenly. It was good the brunet was being so reciprocating. "I understand that we're training to be official ninjas, right?"

"That's right. When you graduate, you'll be given a forehead protector like mine," He nodded and pointed to the red sash around his head. "And you'll be put in a three-man team with a new sensei. This allows for individualized training until you take an exam to become Chunin, and so on."

"About that," Mimicking the posture of someone more timid and well-mannered, Raio clasped his hands together. "It's a graduation test, right? Could I take it now?"

Iruka stuttered, visibly taken aback. "It's good to be confident in your abilities, but I'd advise against that. Do you know the basics of Ninjutsu yet?"

"I do. Just let me try," Raio paused, a more pressing appeal beginning to form on his lips, but he guessed he shouldn't quite 'brute force' through this one. "To satiate my curiosity. If I fail, then I won't bother you about it ever again. Please?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Iruka sighed, putting his hand on the back of his neck. He leaned against his desk. Notably, he didn't move to do anything else. Not grab a paper to take notes, not some sort of survey sheet. He wasn't taking Raio seriously. "Using the Clone technique, make three copies of yourself."

Three? Easy enough. Just concentrated a stronger, measured force of chakra into three separate clones. Raio repeated the same one-handed seals from earlier. A puff of smoke blanketed the space next to him before clearing, and three clones stood listlessly by his side. He waved his hand, and the three others repeated the gesture.

Iruka balked. His eyebrows raised in a note of complete shock, his jaw going slack. "I–... When did you learn how to do that!?"

"I read a book," Raio said smoothly and was glad he had the foresight to check out the bare basics in the library earlier. How convenient. "So I'm a Genin now, right?"