A.N.: Edited by: J.O.L the 1 :)
My Protector
Chapter 1 – Starting the Academy!
(1 year later)
Lee said he was starting the Academy today. I asked the Old Man when I would be starting the Academy, but he said I couldn't start until I was 7. I pouted at the thought, swinging my legs back and forth from my perch on my windowsill. Lee said he'd let me walk with him to the Academy and would be by my apartment at 7:00. It was 7:10already! What if he decided not to come? But, he had always kept his promises, ever since we met in the forest…
Ever since we met and he made his 'promise of a lifetime' he later said, we'd barely been seen without each other. My friend would come to my house in the morning and we'd go off exploring or finding new 'special places'. He and I would find secret hideouts, or as we deemed them, 'Lee and Naru's hideaways'. We found new ones almost every day, but only a few of them were truly special.
But what would I do all day now? Lee said that he would be gone most of the day. And I have to wait a whole year until I could go too. Lee said he would come see me after school got out, since he didn't have parents that were expecting him home. That was one of the many things we had in common, we both were orphans. That and we both liked bright colors….
I looked at the clock again. 7:12. Where was he? He'll be late to the Academy if he didn't get here soon! I knew how excited he was to start his official training as a ninja; he talked about it a lot. He said that the only thing that he wasn't looking forward to was not seeing me as much as before.
I jumped off my perch, landing softly on the wooden floors of my apartment. Looking to the front door for a moment, I turned and padded lightly to my bathroom. I looked in the mirror to make sure everything was in place for when he did arrive.
My bright blond hair was longer than it was a year ago. It was separated into two pigtails, high atop my head. My clear blue eyes and whisker-like marks on my cheeks were the same as every day and also my intensely colored orange dress. On my feet were some standard ninja sandals that the Old Man got for me, saying that I could run faster in them if I had to.
A knock at my door startled me out of looking over my appearance. Doing a once over, I rushed to my door. I looked through the peep hole from atop a stool I had by the door just to make sure it was Lee. Hurriedly, I opened up the entry way when I see the familiar face of my only friend.
Lee hadn't changed much at all in the past year. He was still about two inches taller than me. Lee still was thin and wearing a green T-shirt. I grinned at him brightly, totally forgetting that he was late by fifteen minutes. He grinned toothily back, and I noticed that he was out of breath and looked as though he ran a few blocks. He took a deep breath, breathing properly again, and said hurriedly.
"Sorry Naru-chan, I couldn't find any clean clothes and then I got lost even though I come here every day, and then I found a baby turtle looking lost like I was, so I had to help it find its family but that took a really long time and then…" He continued to ramble on, and I couldn't help but marvel at the speed he could talk at. He kept talking for a good minute before he finally was done. "…and that's why I'm late."
I smiled at his antics. Lee was so out-going and always full of energy. You couldn't help but smile around him.
"Okay, okay, I forgive you. Let's go before you're late to the Academy." I said, half laughing, as I walked past him, locking my door swiftly on my way out.
He grinned back, and followed after me, quickly catching up. He walked beside me, jabbering on and on about something. I learned early on that he loved to talk and jump around and that he was always busy doing something. I'd hate to see what he would be like with sugar in his system. I shuddered at the thought.
We continued our trek to the Academy grounds. I was aware of the glares pointed at me, but it didn't really bother me when I was with Lee. He was like a shield, protecting me from their hate.
As we neared the Academy, I felt dread growing in my stomach. What was I going to do all day without Lee? I was so accustomed to him being there, I just didn't know what I was going to do with myself. We were soon up to the Academy gates, and I just stood there with Lee, staring at the other kids who were getting dropped off by their families.
Lee turned to me, looking sad and subdued for a change. He looked worried about leaving me alone during the day; having never done so before since he met me. I smiled softly, trying to ease his fears. He smiled back hesitantly, and then leaned over to hug me. I returned the hug, then released when he stepped away.
"I'll come over to your house when we get out, okay? Then we can have a sleepover!" He said, trying to cheer me.
I perked up when he mentioned a sleepover. "Yeah! And you can tell me all about the Academy and the people there and your instructors!" I exclaimed.
He grinned; glad he got me out of my gloomy mood. He gave me one last hug before he was called inside with the other kids. He waved back at me before he disappeared into the building. I turned and walked back the way I came. All my worries from earlier were forgotten. I hummed as I walked down the street to my house, ignoring the hateful looks sent at me.
I guess I could wait a year to go to the Academy if I had to.
(1 year later)
I jumped up and down on the spot, my blond pig tails bouncing with me. Today was the day! I got to go the Academy with Lee today! Sure, I already knew what it would be like from what Lee's in-depth stories, but I actually got to be there today! I didn't have to wait until after school anymore to see Lee either! Well, he said we would be in different classes, but I got to see him at lunch and at any combined classes I may have with his class. I couldn't wait!
The usual knock at my door came at the usual time of 7:15, since Lee always ended up running into something that would make him late. I rushed to open it at lightning speed, grinning from ear to ear. He was grinning too, almost as excited as I was. I promptly tackled him to the ground in a hug. My enthusiasm bubbled over at the sight of him. He laughed, and hugged me back.
After we stood up again, I started jumping up and down again. "You look excited," he said. Amusement shone in his round eyes.
"Yes! I finally get to go to the Academy! And I get to start my training to be the best ninja ever! And I get to spend more time with you! And..." I jabbered on about the Academy and what I was going to do and everything else. He laughed again, cutting my rant short. He grinned at me.
"Well, we should get going if we want to get there on time." He pointed out, smiling happily.
I looked at my watch, checking the time. I 'eep!'ed girlishly when I noticed how behind we were. I grabbed his hand in my own and dragged him towards the Academy. He lengthened his strides so he was walking next to me, and joined in my excited conversation. We soon reached the chain fence, and then the medium sized building, but had to part ways because we didn't have time for proper goodbyes, as our classes would be staring soon.
"See you at lunch, Naru-chan!" Lee yelled as he walked to his class, leaving me to go into my own class.
As I entered the room, I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces turn towards me. Most of them got uninterested quickly and turned away to resume talking. Others just watched me as I took a seat in the back of the room before they went back to what they were doing.
I lay my chin on my arms, observing all of the other students. I felt uncomfortable and suddenly shy, deciding now not to say anything to anyone unless they said something to me first.
After a minute of sitting there, a man with a scar across his nose and brown hair pulled up into a high pony-tail came into the room. Another man came in behind him with grey medium length hair, a bit taller than the first man. The first guy turned to the still chattering class and smiled.
"Settle down everyone!" He yelled, gaining their attention instantly.
Once he was sure he had their interest, he said, "Hello, everyone, my name is Iruka and this is Mizuki. We're going to be your teachers for all of your time at the Academy," He looked around at the faces of the excited 7-year-olds, "Now, were going to start with roll call, so when you hear your name, just say 'present', okay?"
He started listing off names I didn't recognize, getting a 'present!' in reply for each one. Once the whole class, including myself, was accounted for, Iruka started a lecture about the duties of a ninja and all that, but I just blocked it out, considering Lee told me all this already.
(())**~~
Finally! I thought Iruka-sensei would never stop talking! I was so hungry that I could eat a whale! (But my bento would suffice) I was eager to tell Lee about my new senseis and what I thought of the other kids. I quickly grabbed my lunch from my book bag under my chair and rushed outside with my classmates. All of us were ready to enjoy the cool autumn air and fill our empty bellies.
I looked around for Lee, but not seeing him anywhere. I started to search for a good spot to sit down and wait for him instead. Spotting a large tree near the edge of the Academy grounds, I headed in that direction. Sitting down at the base of the tree, I opened up my home-made bento box, snapped my chopsticks and dug in hungrily.
A few moments later, someone covered my eyes with their hands, making me jump in surprise.
"Guess who!" said a familiar voice.
I put a hand to my chin in mock thought. "Hmm…. Is it Lee-kun?"
"Yes!" the 8-year-old yelled excitedly, removing his hands from my field of vision. I turned to see his grinning face, his large eyes alight with happiness. I grinned at him as he sat down next to me, opening his bento box too.
I launched into a tirade about my classmates and my senseis, describing everything to the last detail. He listened raptly, taking in my enthusiasm. He nodded every once in a while, showing me he was listening. I continued on for a while before I asked him about his day so far, to which he responded with the same amount of excitement as me.
We talked all through lunch, sharing with each other everything and anything about our day. By the time lunch was over we were both out of breath from talking so fast, but smiled gleefully all the same. We walked to the doors together and exchanged quick hugs.
Before he walked away to his class, Lee said, "I'll meet you at the gate after class and we can go do something together, okay?"
I nodded, smiling at him. I waved goodbye to him as he walked away, then turned away to go to my classroom.
I grinned to myself; the Academy was turning out better than I expected!