[AOKI POV:]

I felt surprisingly light.

Who knew that chasing around a bunch of kids would be so much fun? Watching Ryoma go wide-eyed in shock was particularly satisfying.

"Kukuku…" I had to stop a little giggle from the memories, I really enjoyed that.

I had hunted Sasuke once or twice but he adamantly refused to be the Prey the vast majority of the time, going so far as to head inside and stop playing.

I figured that he just didn't want to lose to me but maybe there was something else at play…

Eh, whatever. There are more pressing issues at hand now.

*Ratatat*

I knocked on the door I stood in front of, school ended but there were still some kids and teachers meandering about so I didn't stick out too much.

Jinbei opened the door with a tired face and sighed a little as he saw me.

"Time to pay up sensei!" I said with a smile. While I was quiet most of the time, I had grown comfortable enough with Jinbei to talk casually, the almost daily talks we had by the tree helped furthered our familiarity a great deal.

"...You're a strange one, come in," he said, making way for me to enter.

When he had cornered me the other day I had asked him for a favour in return for me socialising, would I have socialised either way? Probably. Did he know that? Maybe… but who cares?

I got something out of it.

I'll be honest though, it was a bit of a hail mary.

If your student asks for a favour in exchange for him socialising, would you accept it? Even considering my status as a top marker I can't fully understand why he would give me special treatment… is Jinbei someone who would do this thing for anyone? I didn't know him enough to tell yet.

"So, what was it you wanted?" Jinbei asked, cutting straight to the point.

"I want an early graduation at the end of the year!" I said, placing my hands on my hips to imitate Sasuke's childish mannerisms as best I could.

Jinbei's usually expressionless eyes widened for a second before they stiffened, "No. Aoki you do not qualify for early graduation, furthermore, it isn't available for students until the age of ten unless they're given an exception." he said, in a tone very different from his usual bland one.

'Initiate Sasuke expression: Yelled at by Tomo for no reason!'

My face fell a bit but I remained strong, I looked down for a while, not dramatic enough to look like a kicked puppy, but enough to show that I was disappointed.

Jinbei continued with a softer tone, "I didn't expect you to hold such… grand ambitions. Don't fret Aoki, you are only in your first year and rank highest among your peers, continue on this path and you may yet qualify for early graduation." after saying so he looked around a little awkwardly and gestured for me to sit down on one of the two chairs in his office.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I nodded and sat down, Jinbei did as well and now we were separated by his desk which was stacked with paperwork and pens strewn about.

"So… what can I do to graduate early?" I asked.

'Initiate Sasuke expression: Begging for extra dessert!'

Jinbei looked thoughtful for a second, cases of early graduation were extremely common during wartime but things had eased up now and the qualifications needed had grown by quite a bit. The vast majority of early graduations took place a year before their graduation date, a rare few even managed it two years before; only geniuses managed to do it even earlier.

Jinbei looked at me with his hands interlaced, "To graduate you must show passable capabilities in all topics taught in the academy; some of those topics include taijutsu, ninjutsu, stealth, subterfuge and strategy. Applicants also need to have physical strength and speed that are passable by academy standards." he said rigidly, it was clear that this was a topic he had strong opinions about.

I nodded too, reciprocating the seriousness of his tone with my expression.

"You've shown a good level of understanding with the first-year classes but in the coming years things will get more difficult," Jinbei said, stacking his paperwork into one place as he continued his lecture.

"Students will begin training their bodies during the second year alongside some beginner-level Chakra exercises, during the third year is when taijutsu and ninjutsu training begins in full swing. Until you have completed up to the third year's curriculum don't even think of graduating early, you won't possess the needed skills to be a Genin."

'I got body training and beginner Chakra manipulation down for sure, the third year is where I would start to benefit from the academy.' I thought, finally getting a better grasp on how the curriculum worked, it was difficult to find any information on how this school operated.

Honestly, the Academy needs to get its shit together.

Not only did its curriculum change every few years, but the order in which they taught things would be flipped and switched routinely. I know that the Academy is still fairly new, only having been created by the Second Hokage, but the structure is bizarre, to say the least.

Kakashi somehow graduated at 5, Itachi at 7 and Naruto's class did so at 12, even when I asked Tomo, she gave various ages for when the kids she looked after would graduate.

How the hell did that work?

I scoured through the library but the area available to first years was stacked with a boatload of books and only a fraction of them turned out to be useful. There were none on Jutsu, training your Chakra or even on improving your body!

Most of it consisted of beginner-level Arithmetic and history, it was frustrating, to say the least.

"So, hypothetically speaking…" I started, attempting to ease into a different conversation, "If someone were to finish the first and second-year curriculum they would then be qualified to learn Jutsu?" I asked him, a little trepidatiously.

Jinbei nodded, "Yes they would," he pointed a finger at me and continued, "But since you have yet to finish the first year I-"

"I finished it!" I said, eager to show my hard work off.

Jinbei was about to ask more but I interrupted him, I needed to relay this information before he started another lecture.

"You can test me on anything covered in the first year, I assure you I've learned it," I said resolutely.

Jinbei eyed me for a second, as if trying to peer into my skin and determine truth from lie; it was extremely uncomfortable but I met his gaze with a determined one of my own.

Instead of questioning me any more, he slid out a couple of pieces of paper from his desk drawer, hitting them against the table to flatten the edges.

"These are the tests your class has to complete by the end of the year, if you can pass these, I will give you access to the second-year books; due to the fact that we're more than halfway through the year you won't be moving up a grade even if you do finish these," he said.

'Initiate Sasuke expression: Double diaper disaster!'

I looked at the papers with a determined expression, hiding the glee from the fact that everything had gone according to plan.

"I'll do my best sir!"