Chapter 30: Academy!
Since the day that I set the Chakra sheet on fire, by accident may I add, Tokei had been much more cautious with how he taught me.
He had taken up the habit of adding on whether something was flammable or not whenever he handed me something, I was half tempted to commit arson in protest.
Today, however, that hadn't happened much… this session would mark our last one for a while.
"I've been called for a long-term mission, it's perfect timing since you start the Academy soon anyways." Tokei revealed to me yesterday, when I asked him when he was going to leave he told me "soon" and had dropped the bomb that today would be our last session just moments before.
"What?! We haven't even started on any Jutsus yet?! How can you leave before-"
"Our main goal was to ensure that there would be no hiccups in your Chakra training and physical development, Jutsus were never on the list Aoki." He said, bending down to pick up a bottle of water and sipping it.
I shook my head, "Still, there's so much more we haven't tested!" I argued back.
He made a "so-so" motion with his hand and replied, "Maybe… but that can be done in time, for now, you shouldn't face any problems"
I wanted to fight back and argue but he was right. We had manipulated chakra, tested and improved upon my physique and even worked out my Chakra natures… as someone who was tasked with making sure my body was fine compared to others, he had done his job well.
Tokei must've noticed my struggle as he added on, "I'm sure the Academy teachers have lots of things to teach you, you'll even be able to use the library once you're enrolled."
Library?
"What's in the library? Don't tell me it's a bunch of picture books… I've read enough of them for two lifetimes Tokei…" I said, the hidden meaning in my words going unnoticed by the man.
Tokei shook his head and draped his scarf around his neck, "Not picture books Aoki, there'll be books on history, language, mathematics, and even some Jutsu scrolls should be available once you're old enough." he said with a smile, knowing that it would excite me.
Before I could process the bomb that he just dropped, he continued to speak.
"Fair warning though, the Library has sections that Academy students can't enter, so you better watch where you go unless you want to get blacklisted" Tokei warned.
I nodded my head again as I formed an ear-splitting grin, Jutsu, basically ninja magic, was only a short while away!
Tokei shook his head, "It's good that you're excited to start your journey as a student, but be careful… don't let your abilities get to your head, slow down when needed Aoki. When you join the Academy you will be around kids who can't do the things you can, but if you slack off, they'll surpass you in no time."
I nodded and my expression got a little serious, I would need to temper myself.
From the testing we've done, it wasn't a stretch to say that I was pretty talented, but I couldn't let myself devolve into arrogance lest I head to an early grave. Hard work beats talent, but talent that works hard is another beast of its own.
"Even though you'll be training on your own, be sure to not go overboard… if I get word that you're acting recklessly again, I'll make you regret it," Tokei said a little ominously.
"Hm? Oh yeah? What're you gonna do about it?" I asked with a smile, trying to tease the man a little.
Tokei's eyes glazed over as he remarked, "A couple of days ago I was witness to a terrible Jutsu by a senior of mine… a secret Jutsu called… the one thousand years of death…" Tokei's eyes firmed as he looked at me once again, "I have learnt this jutsu and will not hesitate to use it to educate you, Aoki."
What was that?
Thousand years of death?
Don't think I've heard of that befo-
'...'
Oh.
"Rest assured Tokei I will be on my best behaviour!" I saluted him and smiled with more sincerity than I thought possible. Remembering the horrors of such a Jutsu from the anime was more than enough to scare me straight.
Tokei nodded and eased into a smile, "Good luck at school tomorrow Aoki, I'm sure you'll do well, but work hard, and don't cause your new teacher as much trouble as you did me."
"I'm a very nice student, why would I cause them any trouble?" I tilted my head.
Hm? Why was Tokei's eye twitching?
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With a hearty smile on my face I exited my room and looked at Sasuke, the poor boy looked dead inside.
"Aoki… please wipe that smile off your face, it's hurting my soul…" Sasuke said looking at the ground defeatedly, I half expected him to curl into a ball and start rocking back and forth.
"Sasu! Aren't you at least a bit excited to go back to the Academy?" I asked him, trying my best to cheer the boy up from his depressive episode.
Sasuke glared at me, "Tell me that after you sit through a 2-hour lecture on the foundation of the Leaf village Aoki…" he shook his bald head, "Sure, we have fun sometimes but I got told by the seniors that this year is the hardest so far… I'd rather fight the Hokage than sit through another lecture…" the boy looked at me like a sad puppy.
'I can't do anything about that! Please stop looking at me like I'm forsaking you Sasuke!' I thought, deadpanning at the boys' dramatics.
Perhaps something like that would be boring to Sasuke, but as a transmigrate, I would welcome any and all information about this world! It sounded like a lot of fun.
The bald boy looked at me as if I were an innocent lamb who knew not of the cruelty of this world as we made our way into the living room, Tomo was holding two bags that had our lunches in them alongside some stationary.
"Here," she said, pushing them out to us. She had a complicated expression on her face but I appreciated the small smile she had mustered, Tomo knew I was excited and it seemed she didn't want to ruin the mood.
I eagerly grabbed it and all but bolted to the door, Numa and Kuma were waving bye, I gave them a quick wave and looked at Sasuke with stars in my eyes to hurry along. I was only allowed to go to the Academy if I had supervision and Sasuke qualified for that position.
Still looking as if he were a corpse, Sasuke trudged along with me.
It took only a few minutes for us to reach the Academy, along the way I had to stop myself from getting distracted, it had been so long since I left the clan compounds that the Leaf village looked tantalising to explore.
The happier I was, the more depressed Sasuke got so I did my best to suppress my excitement… before long, we had arrived.
'Wow… there it is…'
From the distance, I could see the large building, my memories of the anime didn't do it justice at all. It was a magnificent structure that inspired awe, the Academy was surrounded by tall wooden borders, sturdy and strong with kids of all ages congregated within.
I couldn't help myself and rushed forward with Sasuke in tow, plunging into the crowd and looking around, absorbing the sights with a wide grin.
'There's gotta be hundreds of kids here?! Thousands? No… maybe?' I thought, looking around the crowded square we had all found ourselves in. I spotted a boy with white eyes and stared at him, everything about him screamed Hyuga and I was jubilant to finally meet one in the wild. I suspected that my gaze wasn't taken as a friendly one as the boy glared at me, I averted my eyes and continued inspecting the crowd.
"Jeez Aoki, even I wasn't this excited during my first day… just wait till you have to sit through the History of Ninja classes… then you'll be one of us…" I ignored the dreary boy as my gaze was attracted to one of the most memorable sights from the anime.
'The swings! The legendary swings where Naruto sits around like a total loser!' I thought, accidentally bashing Naruto in the process of being awed. My head continued to ping pong around when suddenly-
*POOMF!*
Everyone's eyes fell on the man who had arrived on top of a makeshift stage, hiding his face with a large triangular hat he was wearing.
'Say what you want about him… but the man can make an entrance.' I thought, noticing how the eyes of the children around me positively sparkled as Hiruzen appeared.
"Welcome to another year of the Academy children," Hiruzen said, sporting a grandfatherly smile.
The Hokage went on to introduce himself and give a motivational speech to the students, he spoke of the will of fire, the trials we would face at the academy and how we should never give up no matter what lay in front of us. By the end, it looked as if most of the kids looked at Hiruzen with an almost cultish fervour, not gonna lie, even I was slightly swept up by his speech.
"I trust that each and every one of you will become splendid ninjas who will serve the village with honour and dignity, until we meet again, work hard young ones."
*POOMF!*
And with that, the Hokage disappeared.
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[A/N: The pacing has been set, the poll from the last chapter and Scribblehub have been tallied and the faster pacing won, however on Scribblehub slower pacing won; to accommodate both I will be mostly fast but I will have some slow moments to make sure that the pacing isn't scuffed, I want to get to ninja stuff ASAP :)]
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