By the time the first month of Academy life passed, the novelty had begun to wear off for many students. The soreness from endless drills, the repetition of leaf concentration exercises, and the sting of bruises from wooden practice weapons, none of it felt as exciting as it had on day one.
But for Haruki, the fire still burned.
He woke up earlier now. His scarf, once carefully wrapped each morning by his mother, was now slung around his shoulders in a half-practical, half-personal knot. He kept a small notebook with chakra flow sketches, and his handwriting had become more confident with each diagram.
And best of all, the leaf on his forehead now held steady for ten seconds on a good day.
That morning, the students filed into class to find Instructor Daichi standing by the chalkboard, arms crossed, a faint smile on his face. The room quieted immediately. Something was different.
"No scrolls today," he said. "No theory. No drills."
A few students perked up. Someone in the back whispered, "Break day?"
Daichi smirked.
"No. Today's your first test of teamwork."
Groans and mutters followed instantly.
Haruki sat up straighter, feeling both curious and tense.
"You'll be working in a team of three," Daichi continued. "Each team will be tasked with retrieving a marked scroll hidden somewhere in the south training field. It's a mock mission, designed to simulate real-world conditions, limited information, natural terrain, and potential interference from other teams."
He tapped the board with a stick of chalk.
"Success isn't based on if you find the scroll, but how you work together."
Haruki could already feel the tug of possibility in his chest.
Daichi began calling out team assignments.
"Team One: Riku, Emiko, Tanjiro. Team Two: Hisa, Yuto, Nori…"
Haruki waited, fingers tapping his desk.
"Team Five: Arai, Haruki. Ito, Jun. Sakamoto, Sachi."
Haruki blinked, then broke into a grin.
Jun turned in his seat with a smug thumbs-up. Sachi, seated near the window, didn't react at first. Then she gave a slow nod of acknowledgment.
Perfect.
The south field of the Academy was rarely used for basic drills. It was larger, surrounded by forest and rocky outcrops, and more difficult to navigate, meant to challenge older students. Today, it was theirs.
Each team stood at a marked starting point, spaced out from one another. Daichi addressed them once more from the edge of the field.
"There are seven marked scrolls. One per team. All hidden. No clones, no chakra-based tracking, no tools except what's in your basic pouches."
He held up a small brass timer.
"You have thirty minutes. Begin now!"
Team Five took off at a jog into the brush, Haruki just ahead.
"Okay," he said once they reached a clearing, catching his breath. "We should talk before rushing in."
"Agreed," Sachi said immediately. "If we charge around without a plan, we'll run into other teams, or miss signs."
Jun scratched the back of his head. "I vote we do the opposite of what Riku's team would do."
Haruki chuckled. "That might actually be smart."
Sachi kneeled, brushing aside some dirt. "Scrolls will probably be hidden with the terrain, not against it. Look for rocks that were moved, uneven roots, signs of fresh dirt."
Haruki nodded. "And we move quietly. If we hear another team, we change course."
Jun's face grew serious for once. "Got it."
They started deeper into the forest, moving in a loose triangle formation, Haruki in front, Sachi scanning from the left, Jun covering the right. It wasn't perfect, but it was efficient.
Minutes passed. They searched hollows in trees, under stacked stones, in the crannies between exposed roots. Nothing yet.
Then, Jun stopped short.
"Wait- shh!"
They froze.
Soft footfalls echoed through the trees nearby. Another team. Voices two, no, three.
Haruki motioned silently. They ducked low, moving behind a thick line of brush.
Team Three passed by. Haruki recognized the loudest boy, Tanjiro, bragging that he'd found something "just ahead."
Jun mouthed, "We follow?"
Sachi shook her head.
"If they're wrong, we lose time. If they're right, we lose the scroll and surprise."
Haruki whispered, "Let's go where they came from instead."
It was a gamble, but one that paid off.
Behind a fallen tree trunk, nestled beneath a false layer of moss, was a shallow stone-lined hole. Inside it…
"A mark!" Jun hissed. "I see the red seal!"
Sachi carefully pried it out, a scroll tied in black cord with the Academy's insignia stamped clearly on the end.
Haruki felt the rush of victory rise in his chest.
But just as quickly, movement behind them.
Another team.
"Run!" Haruki shouted, grabbing the scroll.
They bolted.
Leaves and dirt flew as they zig-zagged through the trees. Haruki clutched the scroll tightly while Jun covered the rear, tossing clumps of leaves behind them to obscure the trail. Sachi led the route, weaving like a thread through the trees.
When they finally emerged back at the clearing where Daichi waited, chests heaving, they were the third team to return.
And one of the only teams to still have their scroll.
Instructor Daichi clapped his hands after the final team arrived.
"Time's up. Results in hand."
He walked along the line of students, checking scrolls.
"Only four teams retrieved their scrolls. Two lost them on the return. One was tricked into grabbing a decoy."
He paused in front of Team Five.
"You three," he said. "Showed sharp coordination. Good instinct. Even avoided conflict."
He looked at Haruki.
"Who carried the scroll?"
"I did, sir."
"Why?"
Haruki hesitated. "Because… Jun had better awareness behind us. Sachi was faster up front. It just made sense."
Daichi nodded. "Exactly."
Then, to the rest of the class: "That is how you think like a shinobi."
Haruki's heart swelled, not just from the praise, but from the feeling of having done something right.
That evening, the three teammates sat together under the shade of a tall maple just outside the Academy wall. Jun tossed a few pebbles at the pond. Sachi leaned back against the tree, arms crossed, content.
Haruki glanced between them.
"That was fun," he said.
"Terrifying," Jun corrected.
"But we did it," Sachi added.
Haruki smiled. "You think we'll be put together for more stuff like that?"
"Hope so," Jun said with a grin. "Not bad for a scarf-wearing klutz and two tree-huggers."
Sachi threw a pebble at him.
Haruki laughed, and for a long time, they just sat there, three kids at the beginning of something they couldn't fully see yet, but already knew mattered.
Not just classmates.
Not just partners.
Something like friends.