Thanks to Mikoto's urging, Hiashi made sure to keep both influential clan members and several Anbu members around Hinata at all times. This successfully prevented her kidnapping and allowed Konoha to rewrite the peace treaty to be in their favor. This let both Hiashi and Hizashi see Mikoto in a new light. Not only was she powerful and intelligent, but she had good foresight and even supported the Hyuga clan. Hiashi in particular was able to exchange some of his fear for gratitude. As a result, all pressure from the elders had disappeared and Mikoto was finally lauded as a genius throughout the clan. Although Hinata did not retain her heiress position due to her naturally shy disposition, she wasn't discouraged and still grew closer to Neji and Mikoto, allowing the three of them to become close friends.

 

Three years had passed and Mikoto had finally gotten her chakra reserves to barely be average through diligent training. Both Neji and Hinata had tried using her technique after realizing that it was usable by anyone, but decided against it due to the pain involved outweighing the miniscule gains. Neji had since enrolled in the academy and was well on his way to becoming a genin. Today was the day that Hinata and Mikoto were set to enroll in the academy as well. The two stood in front of the academy gates that towered above them.

 

"Are you excited, Hinata?" Mikoto turned to the girl beside her and noticed that Hinata was shaking like a leaf in the wind, though perhaps that analogy was inappropriate in a village full of Leaf Shinobi. "Geez, do you want to hold hands as we go in?"

 

Hinata's face flushed and she nodded, slowly extending her hand. Mikoto took it and Hinata's face retreated into her coat. Her head was practically steaming while her eyes swam. Mikoto just smiled at her for a bit before breaking the girl out of her stupor.

 

"Come on, Hinata. We don't want to be late on our first day!" Hinata's face quickly cleared and was replaced with a stony expression, as if she were a soldier about enter an unwinnable battle. She solemnly nodded her head, ready to face the trials and tribulations that the academy brought. Mikoto couldn't help but giggle. "Don't be so nervous. It's just the first day at the academy. Neji said there's just gonna be some boring speech, then we'll get introduced to our teacher and might have a short lesson. Loosen up!"

 

"…You're right. Thanks." Hinata gave a small smile before she let Mikoto lead her into the academy's main hall. Thanks to the guidance of several staff members, they made their way to where they were supposed to stand. It was apparent that the class size was rather small, as the hall was currently only a quarter of the way full but the amount of people entering was quickly dwindling. Soon enough, it was clear that everyone had entered as the Hokage walked to the stage. He took the time to observe the students and looked each one in the eyes. In particular, his gaze lingered for a moment on a boy with yellow hair and a sullen looking boy wearing a blue shirt. By the time the Hokage started speaking, Mikoto had already clocked out, still holding Hinata's hand while talking to Kurama.

 

Say, doesn't that yellow-haired boy that the Hokage looked at feel kind of familiar?

 

I was going to say the same thing. I can't be certain, but the other half of me is either sealed in him or sealed in someone very close to him. Interesting. Hopefully my other half's host isn't a worthless person.

 

He's only seven right now, so that can't be said for sure, but I suppose there is a chance for him to be a 'miss' in terms of personality. Do you wanna check him out later?

 

Maybe. We can at least say hello when we have the chance.

 

Sure thing. I'll talk to him after class.

 

Mikoto and Kurama kept chatting, taking note of various interesting individuals around the hall. In particular, both the yellow-haired kid and another boy with his hair in a ponytail had fallen asleep while standing. Somewhat of an impressive feat. There was also a boy in sunglasses whose entire body was clad in a trench coat. Quite the odd attire. There was another boy who was constantly snacking. The gloomy kid before seemed to look around the room every now and then and snort at the other students. Hinata seemed to be content looking at Mikoto rather than the Hokage.

 

I shouldn't be saying this, but will the younger generation be alright?

 

Personally, I don't believe any generation of humans should be alright, but I do agree that this one seems a little lackluster.

 

Oh well, hopefully everyone will grow up soon enough. By the way, I want to try and assimilate your chakra again.

 

Again? Don't you remember what happened the last three times? It stopped your training for over a week each time. I just don't think it's possible for humans to take in my chakra without being harmed.

 

I'm sure that this time it will be different. I think I've finally discovered what makes your chakra different from mine. I'm pretty sure the chakra that humans cultivate and that tailed beasts accumulate are fundamentally the same and only differ via some sort of transformation. I'm also sure that it's related to the pure chakra motes that I can feel flowing around. I had Neji absorb chakra and even when he absorbed them, they were just converted to regular chakra. I think that you absorb this pure chakra as well and it's converted into your type of chakra as well.

 

You said this last time, yes. What are you going to do with the information this time though?

 

Unlike Theo, I'm not great at analysis. Instead, I'll just force it! He says I've got great intuition, so instead of thinking about it, I'll just transform your chakra into the pure chakra I use, then transform that back into your chakra, just with my own spin on it.

 

You have to be crazy. You've given up on thinking about it and are just going to do it without any forethought?

 

Yep!

 

Ugh. Alright. However, this time I'm giving you even less than last time! You're a student now, you can't be incapacitated for a week again!

 

Alright, alright, you worrywart. I think it should just work this time.

 

You say so, but if it doesn't work this time I'm not lending you my chakra like this again!

 

Fine…

 

After talking for a while longer, the Hokage's speech ended and the children were sent to the classroom where they would be until graduation. Hinata followed Mikoto to a seat near the center of the class while several girls chose seats near the icy boy. Surprisingly, whisker-faced boy found his was to Hinata and Mikoto.

 

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Who are you?" the boy introduced himself, threatening to burst several eardrums with his volume.

 

"I'm Mikoto Hyuga, and this is…" Mikoto said, gesturing to Hinata.

 

"I'm Hinata Hyuga. Did you need anything?" she practically spat while clinging onto Mikoto's arm.

 

"I just thought that Mikoto felt familiar. I've never seen you at the orphanage, but have we met before?" Naruto said while scratching his face and looking anywhere but into Hinata's eyes.

 

"You have not met Mikoto before. Did you need anything else?" Hinata looked as though she had activated her Byakugan with how intensely she stared at Naruto.

 

"…Can I sit here? Actually, never-"

"You can." Mikoto interjected before Naruto could start walking away.

 

"Mikoto?" Hinata exclaimed rather loudly. She looked around, making sure she didn't draw too much attention, and changed her voice to a whisper, "Why are you letting him sit here? Don't tell me…"

"It's nothing like that, you silly girl," Mikoto laughed and pinched Hinata's cheek, causing her face to flush. "He does seem familiar, but that's all there is. You know I'm originally an orphan, perhaps we're related in some way."

Hinata's eyes drooped. "Sorry for making you bring that up…"

 

"It's okay, really. I don't mind."

 

Though Naruto couldn't hear anything, he sat watching the two's conversation and began smiling when Hinata stopped looking as though she would assault him with a sharp object.

 

Before the conversation could continue any further, two men walked into the room. One had white hair that was mostly hidden by a cap with an inlaid headband. He walked in the room and looked at the children, his nose slightly raised. When he saw Naruto, his nose visibly wrinkled and he soon looked away. The other was a man with a ponytail, brown hair, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He looked around the room with a bright smile on his face, waving to the students. When he reached Naruto, he continued smiling but his eyebrows scrunched slightly. Naruto noticed and lowered his head at the reactions of the teachers, a large frown on his face.

 

Seems like you're in Naruto and everyone knows.

 

Seems like. I'm surprised these supposed shinobi are this bad at holding in their emotions though. The second one at least kept the act up and barely managed to hide his sorrow, but the first just showed unfiltered disgust. What's the point of being a shinobi if even children can tell how you feel?

 

It's unfortunate. Maybe we should take Naruto under our wing so he ends up as a good host to your other half. Unlike me, Naruto will die if you're ever separated with him, right?

 

In most circumstances that will be the case.

 

Let's make sure your other half will be comfortable then. I'm sure he's already noticed us, so let's let him know we know about his existence as well.

 

Thanks.

 

I haven't done anything yet. You can thank me later. Besides, this is something that I should naturally do for my familia. Remember, you're under my protection now.

 

…

 

Mikoto didn't hear any response but she just let it be, assuming that Kurama was simply embarrassed.

 

"Hello, class! I'm Mizuki, I'll be your main sensei for your stint here at the academy," the white-haired man introduced himself with a slight smirk on his face.

 

"And I'm Iruka, I'll be assisting Mizuki-sensei in his teaching duties. Please treat us well!" Both Iruka and Mizuki bowed simultaneously. "Please take a moment to introduce yourselves to the class. We have the roster with us but we also want you all to get to know each other as well!"

 

The introductions came and went. The only notable introduction was the gloomy kid's. His name was Sasuke Uchiha, a member of the clan that was at one point considered to be Konoha's numebr one source of strength. It was the same clan that had been massacred by one of its members only a few months prior.

 

No wonder the kid is so gloomy. I almost feel bad for him.

 

Don't you hate the Uchiha clan?

 

Yes, but I'm not much of a fan in believing in the sins of the father. He's just a kid. I can't really blame him for any of the bastards that came before him. Maybe being away from that clan will serve him well.

 

Maybe.

 

Once the introductions finished, Mizuki gathered the attention of the class again.

 

"We all know that you don't want to do something boring on your first day of school, so we'll be working on your chakra control. Does anyone here have experience with this?"

 

None of the children from prominent clans raised their hands, so neither Mikoto nor Hinata raised theirs. After a moment of looking around, Mizuki chuckled again.

 

"It seems like everyone is feeling a little shy, that's alright. Today, we're going to find out which way your chakra swirls and you will practice rotating it within yourself. For those that have a good grasp on that, you can practice sticking a piece of paper to your forehead. To determine which way your chakra rotates, just look inside yourself and imagine a leaf swaying amidst your chakra. Whichever way the leaf spins is the way your chakra spins. Once you know, please come down and put your chakra into this bowl full of water. If you're conscious of it, the leaf should spin in the same way your chakra does. If you aren't, the leaf simply won't spin at all. Once you've done this, I will give you a leaf."

 

Hinata looked at Mikoto, who nodded. They both closed their eyes. Naruto looked at what they did and followed suit.

 

Mikoto looked inside herself and felt that her chakra was spinning counterclockwise. Far from needing to imagine anything, her years of nearly destroying her chakra system had made her intimately aware of her chakra. She opened her eyes to see that Hinata had finished while Naruto's was bobbing up and down as he stayed on the edge of consciousness. While observing her surroundings, Sasuke had gotten up and gone down to the bowl. When he put his hand on it, the leaf started spinning counterclockwise.

 

"Nice job, Sasuke, here's your leaf! Make sure you only apply just the right amount of chakra to the leaf, otherwise it won't stick." Iruka congratulated Sasuke and sent him back to his seat.

 

Before going down, Mikoto nudged Naruto a little and decided to ask him a question.

 

"Naruto, can you feel your chakra?"

 

"Sorta? When I try to feel it, the whole thing just feels like a jumbled up mess. It's really confusing, you know."

 

"You're not looking deep enough. Don't think about anything except a leaf floating in your mind."

 

Naruto tightly shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. A few seconds later his face relaxed and he sat still for a moments. Then, he opened his eyes, whipping his head around to grin at Mikoto.

 

"Thanks! It's the same direction that a clock moves in! I'm gonna go down now. Do you two want to come?"

 

"Sure."

 

The three went down and received their leaves. When Hinata found out that her chakra moved in the same direction as Mikoto's, her face lit up like city streets during the holidays. The three went back and worked on sticking their leaves to their heads. Mikoto stuck hers within a few seconds.

 

Aren't you unfamiliar with chakra? How did you do that?

 

It's a matter of concentration. I've been molding mana in far more complex ways for eons. Something like this is simple now that I've gotten somewhat of a feel for chakra.

 

Hinata's leaf simply fell from her head while Naruto's seemed to be pushed off when he tried to stick it.

 

"Hinata, you need to apply more chakra. There's not enough to keep it stuck. Naruto, you should apply less. It's getting blasted away because your chakra is too strong."

 

For some reason, Naruto rubbed his nose with a smile as if he was brushing off a compliment. Soon enough, both he and Hinata had gone back to their attempts. Hinata was the second to get it and looked at Mikoto with eyes that practically begged for a reward. Mikoto could only oblige as she patted her head. Naruto barely got the leaf stuck by the end of the hour. He sighed as his shoulders slumped.

 

"Nice job, you two. Especially Naruto, you really struggled to get it in the end."

 

"Thank you…" Hinata began fidgeting as always, but was smiling quite happily.

 

"Thanks!"

 

"Alright everyone, today may have been somewhat tiring, so we'll be letting you go home early. Be safe!" Iruka dismissed the class.

 

"I'll see you two tomorrow! Bye!" Before either could react, Naruto ran off.

 

"Let's go home, Hinata."

 

"Yes, let's!"

 

The two walked home, stopping frequently to enjoy the sights. They stopped at a food shop on the way and each bought a snack. By the time they got back the sun was already setting, earning them a scolding from their parents.