Chapter 2

'I feel bad for orphans,'

Kiryu was now a young boy. He got ready, with clothes put on and other things done.

'Better get to the academy,' He looked at his bed, 'spending time in this orphanage has grown dull,'

He reached his hand out and grabbed a black scarf.

Kiryu wrapped it around his neck and took a look at his bedroom.

It was a standard room in an orphanage. Nothing stood out.

Only the door did.

Kiryu slid it open and walked into the hallway.

'So weird walking in socks,' He thought, reaching the exit, 'oh yeah, not the open-toed sandals,'

The pair appeared at the door. Kiryu quickly changed his socks for them.

'There is something so panic-inducing about this footwear,' He scrunched up his toes, 'they're like my Achilles' heel,'

Once he made sure the sandals were on properly, Kiryu reached for the door.

"Wait a moment, Kiryu,"

He stopped, sighing internally and turned around.

It was one of the caretakers, a woman in her late twenties, her black hair in a bun.

She sighed upon seeing Kiryu.

"Ayaka and Kiyoshi would be so proud of you," She said, kneeling and fiddling with his scarf, "they won't be proud of you forgetting your books, though,"

The books were then handed to him.

"Thank you, Miss Fuwaga," Kiryu said, bowing.

"You're welcome, Kiryu," She replied, waving to him.

With that, he left.

It was a rather dull day. The blue sky was covered in a hefty mist, and Kiryu felt drained.

'Kirigakure as always,' He thought, strolling down the pathway, 'I wish the sky could clear more often, but that would make the name pointless,'

Kiryu gripped the scarf that clung to his neck as a breeze pushed him in an attempt to blow the scarf away.

'To think I'd be this clingy to a scarf,' He thought, pulling it tighter, 'I've become Mikasa 2.0,'

He also looked at the books he held in his left hand. One of them had a pencil inside.

'Will probably need that,' Kiryu took the pencil, 'it won't be that long until I go on missions, so I should savour and attempt to study hard this time,'

It felt as if he just soiled himself.

If there was one thing Kiryu knew, it was that he never attempted to study.

'I must not waste this second chance,' He took a turn down a street, the round buildings looming over him, 'I did the first time, and it bit me in the ass. Plus, I have a buff that will aid me. I'm throwing away something a god gave me if I go down that route,'

Kiryu decided to keep his mind off it, and kept on walking, moving past a few people.

Some were in stalls, selling their products. Others went about doing everyday tasks.

After a short walk, he reached the Kirigakure Academy.

It was another round building, obscured by the mist around him.

Kiryu entered the building.

'Now, to class,' It was his first day at the academy, so Kiryu was taken aback by its snaking hallways that seem to stretch forever.

It may go on, but Kiryu's journey ended once the classroom he was informed about came to view.

'Yep, this is the place,' He gripped the door and slid it open.

On the other side was pretty much what he thought in his head.

In line with the door, a desk and chair stood. A humongous green chalkboard hung behind this lonely pair of furniture.

Then, the rest was row upon row of large desks with a bench-like chair spanning the whole table.

What's more, each row was elevated going backwards. Windows held a view of the outside on the opposite wall.

Some of the desks had children the same age as Kiryu himself, holding their own conversations.

Maybe a second some glanced at him as he opened the door, but after that, they went back to their talks.

'God, this brings back memories,' Kiryu walked up one of the rows, lifting his feet so as to not trip, 'maybe while I wait, I should think about my plans,'

Reaching the last row, where if he could try hard enough, Kiryu could touch the ceiling, he took a seat at the desk against the wall.

He shifted a bit and placed his books on the desk.

Holding the pen in his right hand, Kiryu began to scribble on the first page of one of the books.

'Wait, why did I choose Naruto?' He pressed the pencil forcefully on the page, creating a black mark, 'I didn't think straight. I only thought about the good things and not the bad,'

'Gotta pay for the consequences,' Kiryu stopped the pencil and looked at his drawing.

Slamming the book closed was the only reaction he took.

'And consequences I shall take,' he quickly flipped to the second page, taking note as to never lay his eyes on his first work, 'so that deity, or ROB, told me about Obito dying,'

Instead of attempting a drawing, Kiryu wrote a few words. It was not neat nor legible, but he had to start somewhere.

'I gotta find out what year I'm in,' He thought, writing down more words, 'During the canon? Before the Third Shinobi World War? Second Shinobi World War? First Shinobi World War? Boruto? That question is boundless!'

'However, Obito's death is not,' Kiryu thought, resting his now tired hand, 'Obito will die in this world, apparently,'

He held his hands on his head. Too much thinking lead Kiryu down a path of a headache.

When he looked away from his book, the classroom was more packed up than when he came in.

It was probably time for the curriculum to commence.

As it did, the door slid open.

This time, it was a man that entered.

Everyone sat in a seat, even two kids sat next to Kiryu. He felt unnerved when staring at this person.

The man wore a black pants with a dark grey shirt. A dark vest hid some of the shirt as he strolled into the room.

His Kirigakure headband gleamed against the lights as his stare faced the kids opposite him.

"Welcome to the academy," His voice matched his intimidating looks, "All of you shall refer to me as Danji or as your Sensei, understand?"

The room responded with confirmation.

"Now," Danji spoke, facing the board while he wiped his mouth, moustache included, "as it's the first day for you lot, we will start off easy,"

Kiryu left his pencil in his book and focused on the man teaching.

'Okay,' He had a determined face, 'time to learn!'

---

'I don't remember shit,'

The day went by pretty quickly, as now Kiryu was walking back to the orphanage with a saddened frown.

'How did I forget everything I tried to learn?' He looked at the books in his hand, 'Maybe I should've written it down? I don't know,'

Now, he just wanted to take a rest from all the lost effort he put in.