The classroom smelled faintly of chalk dust and old tatami mats — a comforting mix Eli had gotten used to. He sat near the back, where he could see everything without being seen too much. That was his habit: observe first, interfere second.
Calyx rested quietly in his mind, a soft hum of awareness instead of words. He'd learned to control the symbiote's presence well enough that it felt like an extra sense rather than a voice shouting in his ear.
Iruka wasn't born yet — Eli had to remind himself of the timeline — so today's instructor was Natsume-sensei, a broad-shouldered chūnin with a buzz cut and a tired expression that said today was already too long for him.
Alright, settle down. We're starting with academic review before sparring."
A few kids groaned. Obito almost fell out of his chair.
Kakashi didn't even look up from the book he was reading. Something about him already irritated Eli and impressed him at the same time.
Rin waved at him from the front row — friendly, warm, that kind of person you couldn't hate even on your worst day.
And sitting to Eli's right… Kurenai. Quiet, focused, dark eyes scanning her notes like she didn't want any attention. She had an aura of calm that made even noisy classmates instinctively lower their voices around her.
Eli glanced at her notebook — perfectly organized, neat handwriting.
Calyx murmured "Oh get back to work Lover Boy"
Eli snorted before he could stop himself. Kurenai glanced at him, confused.
"Sorry," he whispered. "Just… remembering something funny."
She gave a slow nod, accepting that, and went back to what she was doing
Natsume-sensei handed out the written tests. Eli glanced over the questions — basic chakra theory, history of the Warring States Period, simple tactical thinking.
He answered enough to look competent but not enough to look suspicious.
He had no intention of sticking out academically. Combat? Sure. But grades? Staying in the middle of the pack gave him freedom.
Obito leaned toward him mid-test and whispered, "Bro… what does this one mean?"
Eli whispered back, "It means stop talking or you'll fail twice."
Obito pouted. Kakashi, without lifting his eyes from his paper, muttered, "He'd still fail only once. You can't go below zero."
Obito hissed, "SHUT UP!"
Rin sighed.
Kurenai hid a small smile behind her sleeve.
Practical Training: Combat Evaluation
After lunch, the class gathered behind the Academy building where wooden posts and sparring circles were carved into the dirt. The sky was bright, warm, perfect training weather.
"Pairing today's spars randomly!" Natsume-sensei called.
Eli rolled his shoulders. He liked this part. Calyx stirred awake, subtle threads of sensation brushing under Eli's skin.
"Keep it minimal."
"Got it"
"…Eli Aburame vs. Obito Uchiha."
Obito's eyes widened. "Wait— what?! No, c'mon, pick someone else. Eli hits weird!"
Eli smirked. "It's not weird. It's called efficiency."
Rin clapped encouragingly. "Good luck, Obito! And you too, Eli!"
Kakashi flipped a page in his book. "This should be quick."
Obito sputtered.
They stepped into the ring. Natsume-sensei signaled the start.
Obito charged with loud determination — but sloppy footwork.
Eli sidestepped, tapped Obito's wrist, spun lightly, and swept his leg. Obito hit the ground face-first with a thump.
"I think you dropped something," Eli said. "Like your balance."
"WHY DO YOU TALK DURING FIGHTS?!" Obito shouted into the dirt.
"Part of my charm."
Calyx hummed approvingly. "You moved your chakra smoothly. Good control."
"Winner: Eli Aburame."
Kakashi didn't look impressed, but he did glance up.
Just a little.
Progress.
Experimentation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Limits
Training ended early that day. Eli slipped away from the Academy grounds, heading toward the small creek behind the village where he practiced in secret.
His clones — imperfect but functional — popped beside him with light puffs. One held a stack of notes. Another carried a training dummy made of hay and cloth.
Eli took a breath and tested the basics:
Tree walking: solid, reliable
Water standing: still shaky but improving
Shuriken throwing: better angle control, still inconsistent
Hand seals: quick, but not Kakashi-level
Wind nature transformation: faint cutting edge on leaves
Water nature: easier, smoother, less chakra strain
Lightning nature: unstable, stinging feedback in his fingertips
Lightning especially made Calyx recoil.
"Dont use that around me," Calyx warned.
"Duly noted."
He tested movement next — bursts of speed using chakra reinforcement. Calyx helped distribute force along the muscles, making Eli faster but not inhuman. Not yet.
Then he tested a weakness: sound.
He clapped loudly, and Calyx shrank back with discomfort.
"Stop—please"
"Good to know," Eli muttered, jotting it down.
He had strengths. He had limits. And he was learning both.
"Being Weird" in the Aburame Clan
By the time he walked home, dusk was settling across Konoha. Lanterns glowed softly along the streets.
The Aburame compound was quiet as always, but quiet in a distant way. Kids didn't play near him. Adults nodded politely, but didn't linger.
His bugs—different from theirs, darker, faster—made people uneasy even if nobody said it out loud.
His father sat at the kitchen table, reading scrolls. He gave Eli a short nod.
His mother smiled warmly and served dinner. She talked just enough for all three of them.
Afterward, Eli moved the loose floorboard aside and slipped down into the narrow stairwell that led to his hidden basement space — calling it a "lab" felt dramatic, but honestly, after two years of carving, reinforcing, and disguising it… it kind of qualified.
The air down here always smelled faintly of ink and dusted stone.
He lit the small lantern, filling the rough room with warm light. The walls were lined with shelves he built himself, loaded with:
chakra theory scrolls "borrowed" from his father's stash
notes he'd written in cramped handwriting, diagrams of insects, chakra pathways, and elemental formulas
This was the one place he didn't have to pretend.
He sat at the low desk and opened his notebook, flipping past pages labeled:
CHAKRA NATURE THEORY
WIND TRANSFORMATION ATTEMPTS
WATER INFUSION TESTS
LIGHTNING: NO. STOP TRYING.
Calyx's voice drifted into his mind, curious.
"You think many things at once. It's… loud."
"Yeah," Eli muttered. "Brain's doing laps today."
He dipped his brush in ink and started writing:
THEORY: Kekkei Genkai Creation Attempt 01
(Not actually ready. Don't be stupid.)
— Combining elemental chakra natures requires finesse
— Earth + Water => Wood Release (but I don't have Earth, and I need asura's chakra)
— Wind + Water => ???
— Lightning unsafe with Calyx's biology (noted)
— Mutation pathway possible through insects? Symbiote influence?*
Calyx stirred uneasily.
"You're trying something dangerous again."
Eli sighed, leaning back. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just thinking. Thinking isn't illegal."
"Sometimes your thinking looks like doing."
"…that's fair."
He turned the page to diagrams of insect cellular structures — the kikaichū that lived in him and around him. They'd changed slightly since Calyx arrived. Faster reproduction, stronger shells, more aggressive toxin sacs.
And vulnerabilities too.
"Fire and sound," Eli wrote. "They react badly to both. Probably because of you."
Calyx didn't deny it.
"My structure dislikes burning. And vibration."
"Yeah, figured."
He sketched the mandible structure of one of the modified beetles. The changes were subtle, but noticeable. Useful one day, maybe dangerous another.
His pen scratched across the page.
GOAL: Safe controlled mutation
Goal 2: Develop defensive applications
Goal 3: DO NOT DESTROY HOUSE
(He underlined that one.)
Calyx hummed.
"You worry about the future a lot."
"Someone has to," Eli repeated, softer this time.
He flipped to another section labeled:
ELEMENTAL TRAINING PLAN
Wind: progress slow
Water: actual potential
Lightning: not yet
Chakra control: improving
Body flicker synergy w/ Calyx
He tapped the page with the pen tip. "If I can combine water chakra with your movement abilities eventually, maybe I can create something like a liquified transport technique… But that's years away."
"You plan too far," Calyx murmured, almost amused.
"But it's not bad."
"Gotta get ahead somehow."
Eli stood and walked to the small stone basin in the corner — one he'd carved out so he could practice water chakra without making a mess upstairs.
He pressed his hand against the rim and released a thin thread of chakra. Not enough to shape water, not yet, but enough to circulate, to feel the flow.
Calyx nudged his shoulder from the inside.
"Shift the chakra to your wrist. Not the fingers."
Eli adjusted.
The water rippled—not much, but enough to show progress.
"Getting there," he whispered.
He practiced control for almost an hour, weaving chakra, testing flow, recording results. At one point, he tried to guide Calyx's tendrils and his own chakra simultaneously — he lasted three seconds before the feedback loop made him dizzy.
"Stop pushing," Calyx warned.
"Your body is genetically immature"
"Oh shut it"
He laughed under his breath and finally set the brush down. His hand ached from writing. His eyes burned from focus.
But the notes were good.
The progress was real.
And for once, he felt like he understood the path he was walking — slow, careful, staying out of the timeline's way… but building something under the surface.
Something only he and Calyx knew existed.
He climbed the stairs, slid the floorboard back, and stretched. His stomach growled, loud enough to echo.
"Ramen?" he said aloud.
"Yes," Calyx said immediately. "Food."
"That's the most enthusiastic you've ever sounded."
"Ramen is stable fuel."
"You just like the broth."
"…Maybe."
Eli snorted, grabbed the yen he'd found earlier, and headed for Ichiraku as the lanternlight behind him flickered out.
Ichiraku was half full—mostly academy kids grabbing dinner after training. The savory smell of broth and grilled pork hit Eli like a punch.
He ducked inside, slid onto a seat, and Teuchi grinned as he approached.
"Ahh, Eli! The usual?"
"Yeah," Eli said. "Extra egg."
As he waited, he took out his notebook. Calyx twitched disapprovingly.
"I'm not working," Eli said. "Just reading."
But before he could flip a page—
"Hey, bug-boy!"
Obito plopped onto the stool beside him, grinning like he owned the place. Rin followed with a small wave, while Kakashi took a seat two spots down, pretending not to care but definitely listening.
Eli didn't react. "It's Eli."
"Yeah, but bug-boy's funnier," Obito said, waving Teuchi over. "I need something with meat. Like… a lot of meat."
Rin elbowed him lightly. "Obito, be nice."
"I am nice!" Obito said. "I'm sitting next to him, aren't I?"
Eli snorted despite himself. "Your standards are low."
Kakashi murmured without looking up, "He's self-aware at least. That's progress."
Obito whipped his head around. "Hey!!"
Rin sighed but smiled. "Training go well today?"
Eli nodded. "Yeah. I'm… getting better at chakra shaping. Still terrible at shuriken, but less terrible than last month."
Obito slapped him on the back. "Bro, that's how it goes! I used to stink too—well, okay, Kakashi says I still stink—"
"You do," Kakashi said.
"—BUT," Obito continued loudly, "at least we improve!"
Eli couldn't help laughing.
Teuchi placed his bowl in front of him, steam rising.
As Eli picked up his chopsticks, a familiar voice approached from behind.
"You guys are loud."
Yui Kato—quiet, dark-haired, eyes always half-hidden under her bangs—slid into the seat on Kakashi's other side. She nodded toward Eli.
"Hi."
Eli nodded back. "Hey."
Her gaze flicked briefly to his open notebook. "Still studying chakra theory?"
"A little," he said. "Trying."
"It's… cool," she said softly, then ordered her own food.
Calyx nudged Eli's thoughts, curious. Eli mentally swatted it back. Not your business.
Obito leaned across Eli dramatically. "Ooooh"
Kakashi kicked his shin under the counter.
"OW—WHY—"
"Because you're bothering everyone," Kakashi said calmly.
Rin giggled. Yui looked away, cheeks faintly pink but not overly focused on Eli—more like trying to avoid Obito's theatrics.
Eli slurped broth to avoid commenting.
For a moment, things felt almost normal
After dinner, the group split off. Rin dragged Obito to walk her home ("so he doesn't get lost again"), Kakashi muttered something about training, and Yui disappeared down a narrow side street with a small wave.
Eli walked alone towards the clan compound
Two Aburame adults passed him on the path—polite but intentionally distant. Their hive insects buzzed faintly in their jackets… then grew quiet as they sensed his presence.
Not hostile—just… uncomfortable.
Calyx stirred.
"I know," Eli murmured. "Just… don't flare up. Makes it worse."
"Understood."
Eli headed inside, feeling that familiar, subtle isolation.
Not enough to be dramatic—just enough to feel like a small gap no one tried to cross.
He set his notebook on the desk, sat down, and exhaled.
When the house grew quiet, Eli returned to testing small-scale chakra applications with Calyx.
He made a basic chakra thread and let Calyx reinforce it.
Strong. More stable than usual.
Then he tried to channel chakra through a sharpened kunai while Calyx coated his hand.
The edge hit a wooden practice post—
CRACK
Nice.
Next, he tried quick motion burst:
A jump + Calyx boosting muscle fibers—
His landing wobbled; his chakra flow stuttered.
Calyx hissed faintly.
You pushed too much. I cannot correct all instability instantly. Your chakra fluctuates with emotion.
"Meaning… weakness in long fights," Eli muttered, writing it down.
And… sound.
Calyx pulsed uneasily.
Certain vibrations disrupt our coordination. Harsh frequencies cause cellular misfires.
Eli wrote that down too. "So… sound-based attacks mess with you."
**With us," Calyx corrected.
Eli paused. Then nodded once.
"Okay. Then we train around it"
"Thats not possible, its biological idiot"
----------------------------------------------------------
Eli pushed open the Academy doors, the warm sun spilling across the tatami mats. His chocolate breakfast — technically a "phenylalanine supplement," Calyx reminded him — had restored his energy. He could feel the subtle strength return through his limbs, the symbiote humming quietly, content.
Obito was already there, bouncing in his seat like a caged animal.
"Eli! You're late!" Obito whispered dramatically. "I saved your usual spot, obviously, because I'm awesome."
"Sure," Eli said, sliding in next to him. "Thanks, Obito. Your heroic tendencies are noted."
Obito puffed his chest out. "Noted! That's right. And you will compliment me properly after class!"
Rin chuckled quietly, leaning toward Eli. "You two never stop, do you?"
"Not while he keeps talking," Eli whispered back.
Across the aisle, Kakashi sat sprawled on the windowsill with his book. One eye glanced toward Eli. "You two are loud," he muttered. "Somebody's going to get a headache eventually."
"Or a kunai," Obito said instantly, nudging his bag as if he could grab one through the desk.
Kurenai sat in her usual posture: calm, composed, eyes scanning the front of the classroom. When her gaze briefly flicked toward Eli, she gave a subtle nod
Eli returned it with a small smile. Not much, just enough for acknowledgment.
Natsume-sensei clapped his hands. "Alright! Today we'll cover history about hokages."
Obito groaned loudly. "We have to learn that now? I'm still digesting ramen!"
Eli started jotting down notes. He already had a good understanding from his past life: wind, water, lightning. He wrote in shorthand:
Wind + Water = ??? (possible manipulation)
Lightning = unstable with Calyx
Phenylalanine intake stabilizes symbiote control
Obito peeked over. "What's ???"
Eli rolled his eyes. "Potential. Don't worry about it."
Rin giggled. "You're so mysterious sometimes."
Finally, Natsume-sensei motioned for everyone to go outside. Sparring day.
Eli paired with Yui, the quiet genjutsu girl, while Obito paired with Rin. Kakashi wandered off to watch others, pretending disinterest.
"Don't hold back," Yui said softly, a faint determination in her eyes.
"I wont," Eli replied. He flexed his fingers, feeling Calyx ripple beneath his skin, ready to stabilize him.
The sparring began. Yui attempted a subtle genjutsu. Eli immediately felt the mental ripple, and Calyx adjusted his chakra, stabilizing his perception.
"Counter? Or evade?" Calyx asked.
"Counter," Eli whispered. His chakra flowed into his arms, reinforcing his movement. He grabbed her wrist mid-lunge, letting her illusion fade.
She nodded. "Good. You sensed it fast."
Meanwhile, Obito flailed dramatically at Rin. "AHHH! TOO FAST!"
"Stop yelling, Obito!" Rin snapped, expertly dodging.
Kakashi's single eye flicked toward Eli. "Interesting"
Eli, feeling minor scratches along his forearms from hand-to-hand contact, let Calyx mend him. Within seconds, his skin was intact, the minor pain gone.
"Healed," Calyx noted.
"Thanks," Eli whispered.
After a few minutes, the instructor called a halt. Scores would be evaluated later. Eli's sparring was effective, but as always, in written tests he would remain "average" — strategic, but not standing out.
Post-Sparring Notes and Reflection
Back in the lab after class, Eli scribbled in his notebook:
Observations:
• Yui's genjutsu precise but soft; minor mental traces reveal early-stage patterns
• Obito's technique is chaotic; timing unpredictable, but fast reflexes
• Kakashi's movements: calculated, fluid, subtle openings exploitable
Calyx notes:
• Chakra stabilized post-scratches
• Phenylalanine sufficient; next intake required within six days
Eli leaned back. "Someone has to keep track of all this," he muttered.
"Correct," Calyx replied. "You maintain control. I maintain physical stability. We both have roles."
"Yeah. And someday, all of this theory will be useful for missions."
"…We're ready to learn more," Calyx hummed.
Eli smiled faintly, picking up his pen again. Another day, another page of notes, another step toward being a genin strong enough to survive whatever the future held.