As expected, every bad feeling Byakuya had before turned out to be right.
The next morning, the moment he arrived at the Ninja Academy, a teacher called him over first thing and gave him the news on the spot.
The request for his early graduation had been approved. Tomorrow, he was to report directly to the Hokage.
"You really picked the perfect moment, didn't you?"
"..."
After hearing that compliment that barely counted as one, Byakuya was handed his forehead protector in private.
Even after he stepped out of the office, the strange, hard-to-name discomfort in his chest refused to go away. His head felt a little numb.
Just then, Asuma came over like always, acting as if the two of them were close, but today Byakuya did not even have the energy to avoid him.
"What are you spacing out in the hallway for?"
"..."
"By the way, are you really not going to take the early graduation exam? Actually, my dad asked about you yesterday."
"..."
"I said a lot of good things about you, so don't worry."
So this was partly your fault too, huh?
Byakuya shot Asuma a look full of pure resentment, and at the same time noticed the person walking close beside him.
Another familiar face from the original story.
Kurenai Yūhi, with those sharp, catlike eyes, clearly did not think much of Byakuya. She tugged at Asuma's sleeve with a cold look.
"If we don't go now, class is going to start. Come on."
"Huh? Oh, right, hahaha. I'm going. See you."
Watching the two of them hurry past, Byakuya was about to ignore them and keep walking when Kurenai's voice drifted back from behind him and landed squarely in his ears.
"You should stop talking to that kind of guy, Asuma. Be careful or people will start disliking you too."
"Huh? But that guy..."
"Just drop it! Someone that unpleasant isn't worth bothering with."
If she had called him a bad person, Byakuya could have accepted that. But unpleasant? For some reason, that hit much harder.
The unexpected blow made him stop in his tracks, and he turned back on reflex to look at Kurenai and Asuma.
Perfect timing, he met Kurenai's eyes just as she happened to glance his way.
Her brows instantly drew together, and she sharply looked away.
Clearly, even making eye contact with him irritated her. Pulling Asuma along, she disappeared down the hall at an even quicker pace.
"Maybe... I should just leave early today..."
He had less than seven hours of life left at the Academy, and already Byakuya felt completely drained.
---
Maybe surviving in the world of Naruto would actually have been easier if he had just ended up as some weak background nobody.
"Figures... nothing ever goes smoothly."
That was what Byakuya told himself.
Right. Even if things got a little more complicated, the final conclusion had not changed.
As long as he reached the end goal of dying at Naruto's hands, a few detours along the way should not matter.
Clinging to that thought, Byakuya tried to calm the mess in his head caused by graduating early.
"Today, we'll be training together with Class Three. After that, you'll spar based on your ranking within the class, so get ready."
"Based on rankings? Then our class is sending Byakuya, right?"
"If it's Class Three, doesn't that mean it's the class with that guy in it?"
The moment the teacher finished speaking, every eye in the room swung toward Byakuya.
He was still wondering what now when he listened more carefully and finally understood.
"I'm fighting Kakashi? The top student in Class Three?"
"He always acts so arrogant. Today he's finally screwed."
Byakuya felt his heart sink.
Ah... this is bad.
Not far away, Kakashi's black eyes were calm and unreadable, not a trace of emotion in them.
He never hung around in groups, and between the half-covered face and the shock of white hair, he stood out even if no one was looking for him.
And on top of that, Kakashi was one of the major characters who dominated a huge chunk of the original story.
Should I throw the match on purpose...? Byakuya wondered to himself.
As he made his preparations for the spar, he sank deep into thought, trying to figure out what choice would be better for his future.
This was supposed to be his last day at the Academy, and yet somehow it just happened to be the day they trained alongside Class Three. The coincidence felt ridiculous.
Ridiculous enough that Byakuya could not help suspecting someone was controlling this world behind the scenes and deliberately making his life miserable.
"If you're ready, step forward when I call your names. First up... Hatake Kakashi, Kuroshiro Byakuya!"
This had to be someone's conspiracy, but in a situation this hopeless, there was nothing he could do.
Honestly, Byakuya's first impression of Kakashi was just that he looked small. His face was still so young it almost made him look cute.
Byakuya even found himself seriously wondering whether it was really okay to fight a little kid like this.
"You both know the rules, right?"
The teacher gave a quick explanation before the spar, but Byakuya did not hear a single word of it.
Right then, all he could think about was whether he might accidentally hurt Kakashi. And before he realized it, he blurted out in deadly earnest:
"I can't control my strength very well right now... so be careful."
"..."
He really had been practicing his chakra control, but his jutsu still refused to behave the way he wanted.
To someone who did not know the situation, though, that line sounded like nothing but arrogance and provocation. Kakashi, who had shown almost no reaction until then, immediately turned cold.
"...Byakuya, save the boasting for after you've won. Now take your positions. I'll give the signal."
Huh?
Before Byakuya could even ask what the teacher had just said, he saw both the teacher and Kakashi turning to move into position.
Wait, no, I think there's been a huge misunderstanding here.
That absolutely wasn't me acting cocky...
He frantically defended himself in his head, but never got the chance to say it out loud.
"Now then... begin!"
Before Byakuya could explain anything, the match was already underway. Kakashi pulled out a shuriken and threw it straight at him.
Dodge? Or block?
Before Byakuya could decide, Kakashi used the opening created by the shuriken obscuring his vision, concealed himself, and vanished from sight.
Clang! Clang!
Byakuya knocked away the incoming shuriken, but he could not see Kakashi anywhere. The boy had hidden his presence completely.
At times like this, all he could rely on was that strange, indescribable instinct.
A thought flashed through his head in an instant.
Above.
Byakuya looked up and saw Kakashi diving down at him with a shuriken in hand.
He hurriedly dodged aside, and in the instant Kakashi landed, Byakuya slammed one hand to the ground and formed seals with the other.
Earth Style: Mud Wave Jutsu
Byakuya's plan had been simple. Use Earth Style to create just enough mud to wrap around Kakashi's ankle, then rush in and pin him down.
The problem was that he still could not control his chakra properly. So instead of a little mud, he accidentally raised a massive mound of earth, and the startled Kakashi was swallowed by it on the spot, vanishing from sight.