Chapter 6 - Ninja Academy

(Word Count: 3,346)

Today was finally the day, Ninja Academy starts today. The opening ceremony starts at 8. That meant I needed to start my morning run an hour earlier so I had time to bathe and dress beforehand. Though because I was doing this a lot earlier, Kakashi wouldn't be joining me. 

I got dressed in my workout clothes and started jogging to the gates. I figured I can get 10 laps done in time if I go fast.

On my 4th lap, I hear people running behind me. I look back and I'm shocked to see Might Dai and a young 3 year old Might Guy running in their green spandex and orange leg weights. Dai had an orange scarf, Guy had a red scarf. I was wondering where they were. Turns out they just train much earlier in the mornings than I do. And I thought I trained early.

"COME ON, GUY! IF WE CAN'T FINISH THIS LAP IN 3 MINUTES THEN LET’S DO 500 SQUATS!"

Little Guy was almost cute when he shouted back, "OSU!"

I nearly stumbled in my run. 3 minutes? When he's 3? It takes me 6-7 minutes. Crap, they're gaining on me. What the heck? Aren't they wearing leg weights? Dai I can understand, but not Guy. For some reason I'm getting fired up. There's no way I'm letting a 3 year old beat me! I start running faster.

"OHOHOHO! LOOKS LIKE THERE'S ANOTHER YOUNG BOY OUT HERE SHOWING HIS YOUTHFUL SPIRIT TO THE RISING SUN!"

Crap, they're right next to me! I speed up a little.

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME, BOY?"

"Norihide Sakai!” I huff out.

"YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT RUNNING FORM, HOW LONG HAVE YOU AT IT?"

"Since I was 2, sir!"

"HE'S LIKE US THEN, DAD!" Guy shouted. Even though he was 3 years old and wearing weights, he was keeping pace with me. Screw it, I went faster.

"THAT HE IS, GUY! HE'S LIVING HIS YOUTH TO THE FULLEST." Dai turned back to me. "I'M OUT HERE EVERY DAY, IT'S A SHAME THAT WE'VE ONLY MET NOW."

"I've usually been starting at 7, but now I'm starting Ninja Academy. I didn't want to stop my morning runs so I started an hour earlier!" 

"AMAZING! AH, SUCH YOUTH! I MUST IMPROVE MYSELF EVEN MORE! I SHALL CONTINUE ON MY HANDS INSTEAD!" And Dai flipped into a handstand and was now keeping pace with Guy and I and his hands. I guess he was just built different.

"YOU'RE AMAZING NORIHIDE!" Guy shouted.

I chuckled wryly. These guys had a lot of energy to run as we are and still shout like that. But still, wasn't this a good time to befriend them? Maybe I can learn the eight gates alongside Guy. Coincidentally,  I was already learning the Strong Fist Style, wasn't that the precursor to learning the eight gates?

"Thank you! I want to become strong enough to protect those I love! I will become strong enough so I never have to lose anyone I love ever again! That's why I train so hard!"

Dai had tears running down his cheeks, "SUCH CONVICTION!"

Guy had stars in his eyes. "SO COOL!"

The three of us continued running laps, and we ended up running twice the amount that I was planning on before I had to stop or I would be late to the opening ceremony.

They also stopped running and were going to head to a training field to train more.

"YOUNG NORIHIDE, GOOD LUCK ENTERING THE ACADEMY. WE WISH YOU THE BEST."

"OSU! GOOD LUCK, NORIHIDE!"

"See you two later! Thanks for letting me join you guys!"

"HAHAHA! IT WAS OUR PLEASURE! LET'S MEET AGAIN, WE'LL CHASE OUR DREAMS TOGETHER!"

We parted ways and I was pretty pleased with how things turned out. They were super high energy, but good people. I can feel that Guy and I can become great friends. I had to hurry. I quickly ran home, bathed, and got dressed in my ninja gear, with my favorite pastel green haori on top like a jacket.

I couldn't help but to admire myself in the mirror. 'I look so cool!'

"Let's be off, Sakai, we don't want to be late," Grandma said. 

"Right."

When we arrived at the ninja academy we were greeted by a crowd of parents with their kids. All prospective ninjas. If you stop to think about it, we were raising up a bunch of child soldiers, young enough to be thoroughly indoctrinated to be loyal to Konoha. Kind of messed up. This really was a crappy world we lived in.

We were all crowded out in front of the academy for the opening ceremony. In front, all the ninja instructors were lined up on a small stage that was set up and the Hokage was making his way up the steps to address us.

I wasn't too interested in what he had to say, so I just examined the crowd. Within the crowd, he recognized some Hyuuga clan folk, a couple Uchiha, and an Aburame clan member. Seeing the Aburame clan member, I had a morbid sense of curiosity. They had a bunch of insects living inside of them. Like, even if the bugs were friendly, the fact alone that they were physically present in the body is bound to cause health problems by itself.

Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko weren't here because they were entering with their own special admission handled by Jiraiya. They would be entering with the 9-10 year olds. Basically, the final year of the academy. According to Jiraiya, this is for them to form connections with the children of Konoha that are their own age. It'll be hard for them to form friendships with 4 year olds.

It had been a couple of months since we first met, and I had only ran into them a handful of times since then, once it was to spar with them under Jiraiya's supervision. Through these encounters, I came to be on friendly terms with Nagato and Konan, but I always seemed to push Yahiko's buttons and piss him off. He was especially upset when I beat him in the spar.

 I also recognized people from canon, and likely to be my classmates, Kurenai, Asuma, Genma, and Shizune. Shizune is actually with Dan Kato. Which was the only reason I recognized her. Wasn't he her uncle or something? I couldn't remember.

Seeing the people from the anime, I couldn't help but be a bit anxious. 'I wonder if I can be friends with them?' I guess I could say that I was already friends with Guy, since it didn't take much to become friends with guys like him, but I only really spent time with Kakashi. 

Speaking of Kakashi, I noticed Aunty Aiko approaching with Kakashi in tow. "Good morning, Mrs. Norihide, Sakai," Aiko said.

"Good morning, big bro." Kakashi greeted me in his serious way.

"Hello, Kakashi, Aunty Aiko. What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to cheer you on, of course!" She said, excitedly. "Of course, we all know that you'll pass the aptitude test with flying colors, but we wanted to cheer you on anyway."

"Of course he'll pass, he's big bro." Kakashi said matter of factly.

I chuckled, "Well, thanks for your confidence. I'll be sure to do my best."

The opening ceremony began and the Hokage gave an "inspiring" speech about the will of fire and how we, as the future ninja of the village, will be carrying the will of fire inside us.

When the Hokage finished his speech, which was luckily pretty brief, one of the instructors stepped up. "The entrance exams consist of three parts. An interview, an obstacle course, and a chakra affinity test. If the students would follow me, we'll begin the written portion of the test."

I turned to Grandma and Aiko. "Wish me luck!" I gave Kakashi a fist bump and went to line up with the other students.

The first part was the interview, which was really easy. It was mostly just basic questions about how you felt about the village, what the will of fire means to you personally, why you want to be a ninja, and so on. 

The obstacle portion of the test was also easy, meant to be passable for civilian kids with no training. It was more about testing basic fitness and the courage to try the obstacles. For me, who's been training my buttons off, it wasn't even worth mentioning. The parents were allowed to watch this part of the test. When I saw Grandma, Aiko, and Kakashi cheering me on, I obviously had to show off a bit and completed the course as fast as I could.

The third portion was the chakra affinity test, which consisted of a medical ninja or a sensor seeing how much chakra you had. More importantly though, they checked for any irregularities in the chakra pathways. I think this test was the reason Guy failed his first entrance exam in the anime.

My chakra was actually a lot for someone my age, due to how much training I've been doing with it. I wouldn't say I had the same amount as some of the harder working clan kids, but I for sure I had more than most of my classmates. All the chakra training has been paying off.

And just like that, I aced the entrance exams. One thing I didn't know about, because I don't remember it being mentioned in the anime, is that there are actually 2 different classes for each year. One Class for the generic civilians, class B, and another for the clan children and talented civilians, Class A. Apparently, only the kids from Class A get the chance at a jonin instructor. Class B students are placed in the genin corps. Though if they show enough talent and hard work through the academy years, Class B students can transfer to class A. And not all clan kids make it into class A, after all, not all clans produce jonins.

Surprisingly, we knew our "scores" immediately. I placed first place, though I'm not sure it even matters. I certainly didn't care, though a lot of clan kids were upset, specifically some Uchiha and Hyuuga. I could see some of them shooting glares at me. I'm willing to bet that some of them will be cliche and try to show me, the civilian, my place. I sighed just thinking about it.

All the students went back out to the waiting parents. Kakashi saw me first and gave me a satisfied nod. Grandma and Mrs. Hatake both gave me a hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Sakai!" Grandma said.

I beamed a smile at her. "Thanks, Grandma."

Mrs. Hatake ruffled my hair. "Why don't we go to Yakiniku Q for dinner to celebrate? My treat."

"Yeah, let's go!" I exclaimed.

Kakashi gave a more enthused nod than usual. "Let's go!"

The next day I woke up early again for my morning run. I was actually a bit excited to see if I would run into the Might duo. It was pretty nice yesterday to have people with their energy nearby while exercising. It was motivating.

I reached the front gates of the village, nodding a good morning to the pair of guards. It's funny, 2 years of coming out here everyday and I still don't know their names. 

I looked around, but I didn't see them. But then two green figures run past the gates and disappear. They've already started! Just how early do these guys get up?

I immediately started running after them. 

"Hey, good morning Dai, Guy." I said, coming up beside them. 

"SAKAI!" shouted Guy. Ah, somehow I forgot how loud they were. "HOW DID YOUR ENTRANCE EXAMS GO?"

"I came in first place!" I grinned and gave them a thumbs up.

"AMAZING!" There were stars in Guy's eyes.

Dai flashed a sparkling smile at me. "ATTA BOY, SAKAI! YOU SHOWED THEM THE POWER OF YOUR YOUTHFUL DETERMINATION!"

Wow, seeing how proud they were of me was really touching. "Say, do you guys train in the afternoons? Do you mind if I join you?" 

"HAHAHA, OF COURSE YOU CAN!" Dai exclaimed, but then surprisingly he got more serious. "However, we only practice taijutsu so I don't know how much we can help you."

"You're the best of the best in taijutsu, Dai! So I would be honored to train with you! Besides, more than that, I wanted to train with you guys because I like you guys! I think you're cool."

"SAKAI!" Both Dai and Guy were crying and they both tackled me into a hug. "YOU'RE A TRUE FRIEND! YOU'RE WELCOME TO JOIN US ANYTIME!"

"Cool! Also, Guy, you're free to come over to my house anytime."

"OF COURSE! I'LL VISIT!"

After that, we finished our run and parted 

Today was the actual first day of classes, so I dressed up in my ninja outfit and a nice blue haori over top. This one had crashing waves on the back. I didn't strap on my kunai/shuriken pouch though. I'm pretty sure they provided the kunai for the lessons anyway. I did have my tanto I had received from Sakumo strapped to the small of my back though, hidden underneath the haori.

"Sakai, here's your lunch." Grandma said, handing me a packed bento. "Good luck, and be sure to make some friends."

"I will, Grandma."

I stood outside of the classroom door. This is it, I guess. The first official step in my ninja career. I gently fiddle with my bracelets. I hope they're proud of me.

When I entered the classroom of Class A, I found several people already here. One was a small Uzumaki girl that I recognized. Uzumaki Ayame.

I head over. "Good morning, Ayame. I didn't know you were attending ninja academy. I didn't see you at the opening ceremony."

"Hey Sakai!" She grinned excitedly. "We did a special test on our own, so I didn't need to come yesterday." Must be due to them being a whole new clan to be added to the village. They likely had to be processed first.

I sat down in the chair next to her and looked around. So far, I recognized Asuma who was sitting, leaning back with his hands behind his head. There was a kid with a toothpick in his mouth. He looked familiar but I couldn't place his name.

"So how's your fuinjutsu coming practice? Have you finally moved onto making any explosive tags yet?" She asked.

I sighed. "No, I'd much rather start with something that won't kill me if something goes wrong."

"Oh please, you would have plenty of time to escape if it's set off!"

"What about you? You ready to learn something besides sealing? Now it'll be my turn to be the teacher." Uzumakis tended to focus majorly on fuinjutsu and ignore everything else.

She pouted, "but I like being the teacher."

I grinned. "Then I guess you'll have to study and practice hard in class."

"U-um, excuse me?" A girl asks. I look over to my right. It was Kurenai. She was a tiny girl, with long curly black hair and red eyes. It was surprising actually that such vibrant red eyes weren’t actually a dojutsu of some kind. But I have pastel green eyes, so I can’t really say anything. "Can I sit here?" 

"Sure, my name’s Norihide Sakai. You can just call me Sakai though. What’s yours?”

“Yuhi Kurenai, you can call me Kurenai."

"Hey! My name's Uzumaki Ayame, you know!"  Ah, there it is. The fabled verbal tick of the Uzumaki. She has a good hold on it most of the time, but it does slip through every now and then. She must be excited to meet someone new.

Kurenai leaned forward a bit to look past me and get a better look at Ayame. "Ah, it's nice to meet you. I like your hair. It's really pretty." She said,

"Awww, thanks! I like your eyes, they're pretty too!"

Kurenai blushed shyly. It seems the young Kurenai is very soft spoken and shy.

"Hey, Sakai, trade spots with me. I want to sit by Kurenai!" Ayame said, poking at my sides to be extra annoying. I sighed.

“All right, fine.” We switched seats so now Ayame was sitting in the middle. 

“Hey, your eyes are as red as my hair! Are you one of those sharingan people? I heard about Konoha’s red eyed ninja, you know?”

“O-oh, no, I’m not an Uchiha, my eyes are red but they’re not the sharingan. Sorry.”

“Well, that’s fine! They’re still very pretty. Hey, you wanna be friends?"

Kurenai blushed, "Yes, I'd love to be friends."

"Hey, we're friends too, right?" I jumped into the conversation. Gotta hop on that friend train, or I'll be left out.

"Well of course we are, Sakai, you've been coming over to my house for months now, you know?" Ayame said, as if I was the stupid one. 

I gave her a deadpan look. "I knew that we were friends, but I was talking to Kurenai." But inside, I was happy she said that, because we've only really studied together and never confirmed we were actually friends, so my non-social self was worried.

Kurenai blushed, again. She was adorable with how easily she gets embarrassed. "Yes, I'd love to be friends."

I smiled. Great! I was worried not to make any friends, but now I've made three today already! Great progress.

As the time got closer to the beginning of class, more and more kids filed into the classroom. Eventually, I picked out Shizune coming in, but she was with a group of girls and sat on the other side of the room. On my right side, a boy sat down.

I looked over at him. He had grayish black hair cropped short and a stern looking face that made him seem older than he is. How he accomplished that at 4 years old was both sad and impressive.

"Hey," I said, "my name's Norihide Sakai, what's your name?"

He looked over at me, and his stoic face broke into a grin. "Morino Ibiki. Just call me Ibiki. Nice to meet you!"

Internally, I sighed with relief. He's a kid after all. Also, Morino Ibiki? The torture guy? I grin back at him. "Yeah, nice to meet you. Just call me Sakai. You wanna be friends?"

"Of course! We'll be friends, helping each other on our path to becoming great shinobi!"

Why does it seem like he's taking becoming a ninja more seriously than I am? I've literally only been training since I could walk! I gave him a nod, one as filled with determination and manly energy as I could muster, "That goes without saying! We got this." Ibiki gives me a nod in return. 

Soon the teacher came in and introduced himself as Kawaguchi Rengorou. He was a brown haired man, seemed to be in his late 20's, and was wearing the generic blue shinobi pants and jacket.

Rengorou introduced us all to what we should be expecting from our first year here at the academy.

For general education, we'll be focusing on reading and writing, basic arithmetic, topography of the continent, and the recent history of Konoha.

Then for actual ninja training: an introduction to chakra, lots of physical exercises, an introduction to shurikenjutsu, introduction to taijutsu, such as punching and kicking properly, learning how to throw, learning how to fall and so on.

With basically the syllabus out of the way we went around the class to introduce ourselves. You know, basic first day of school kind of stuff. As expected, most of the kids in class are from ninja clans. Aside from me, there are only 5 other civilian kids.

The rest of the school day we started into the academic classes. I was a bit disappointed we didn't start throwing shuriken yet, or have a mini in-class taijutsu tournament. The fanfics lied to me.