There were a lot of myths and rumors about prisons circulating amongst the public, both shinobi and civilian. Sasuke had very quickly learned that very few of them were true.

Not a single person had ever made an attempt to penetrate his posterior in the communal , and the prisoners were for the most part civil, though they did play their role in the 'Training' of new guards. This atmosphere, from what Sasuke could gather, had to do with the fact that the prison was intended and solely used for holding ninja of all stripes. The frivolous blustering and infighting present in civilian prisons was looked down upon by guard and inmate alike. They were all shinobi in one way or another, and they all knew where they stood as individuals.

That being said, the infrequent event of a release was usually handled fairly well, and Sasuke's was no special exception.

The last Uchiha simply walked down the many hallways that connected the massive facility before arriving at the front desk to retrieve his belongings and have his chakra bindings released. It was probably one of the easiest things he had ever done if he was honest, though it would end up leading to a slightly more difficult task.

Becoming a ninja again.

Technically, Sasuke was a civilian, and technically all he had to do to become a shinobi was pass an academy exam as well as a practical exam administered by a potential jonin-sensei. Technically any free citizen of Konoha could apply, and technically you didn't even have to enroll in the academy. Technically all Sasuke had to do was answer some multiple choice questions, make a henge, and jump through a couple of hoops for a jonin.

Technically, Sasuke was still a civilian.

The academy stood large and welcoming as ever as ninja and children passed through the doors and around the small fields outside. Sasuke took his first step inside the building and immediately realized he was lost. Fortunately for Sasuke, there was a floor map beside the doors he came in through, unfortunately, it lacked a 'You are here' marker.

...

...

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha turned around to see his former academy instructor poking his head around the outrageously large stack of papers he was carrying. The older man somehow managed to adjust his forehead protector without dropping anything and allowed a small grin to form on his face.

"So the famous Sasuke Uchiha is already looking to become a ninja again?"

"Ah" The Uchiha replied.

"Well, the main office is just up those stairs and to the right." Iruka motioned towards a staircase as he spoke. " I'm sure you'll be able to pass whatever tests they throw at you."

"Ah"

"Well, I've got to go get all these entrance forms filed." The academy teacher shook his head around at the wobbling tower of paper he had braced against his form. It was then that Sasuke noticed his former teacher's wild bloodshot eyes and unshaven face, truthfully, he looked quite frightening, his small grin turned to a crazed enormously toothy smile.

Sasuke decided to bid his teacher adieu and head upstairs before the stack of papers eventually collapsed on its sleep-deprived chunin handler. Sasuke was halfway up the stairs when he heard the fluttering of paper and an inhuman scream of rage.

The office was what one would expect of a ninja academy office prior to the beginning of the school ; understaffed and full of paper. There was a sign at the door with an arrow on it pointing towards a stack of papers, it read 'Academy/Ninja registration'.

'Convenient' thought the Uchiha, though he knew that it had more to do with the overworked chunin longing to not have to deal with parents who wanted to register their little heroes than anything else.

Sasuke grabbed a sheet and a cheap pen before taking a seat at one of the waiting chairs at the front of the office and began filling out his form.

First name

Sasuke

Last name

Uchiha

...

As he filled out his list he noticed the stares of the young mothers filling out their own forms, as well as those of the chunin that had to deal with them. Undaunted, the prodigal Uchiha continued filling out his sheet, bearing the trepid stares of the parents with all the stature that was expected of an Uchiha.

To say he looked like an ass would be an understatement.

Finishing off his form he found a myriad of tick boxes and dotted lines were all that populated the final two pages of the form, protecting the village of Konoha from its own shinobi force with more legal armour than it had actual armour.

Naturally, he signed and ticked away and before he knew it he was sitting around with no idea what to do with his completed package!

"If you have a completed form please remain seated until a chunin comes to collect them thank you for your patience" One of the chunin at the main desk drawled out in one of the most monotone and boring voices Sasuke had ever heard.

...

After waiting for what felt like hours while yet more parents arrived to register their kids for the academy, Sasuke finally felt the sweet relief of his former academy teacher's form staggering into the room with an announcement.

"If you have completed forms..." Iruka was panting heavily and somehow looked even worse than he had before, as he had inexplicably acquired numerous tears in his clothing and bruises on his face."...Please hand them to me... and I'll have them filed... AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" Some of the parents wore mixed looks of shock and concern at the teacher's battered state. Sasuke just handed him his registration package and left.

"Bye Iruka-sensei"

Real word count: 977

So this is another short chapter I put together, and I've gotta say these first chapters are turning out to be a bit difficult to write, so let me explain why.

In what seems like most fics people might have written this chapter like this:

Sasuke was released from prison and headed to the academy to register as a ninja. While he was there he met Iruka who was very tired and overworked because it was the end of summer and school was about to start. Sasuke didn't get butt-raped in prison.

Obviously nobody actually wrote that and I'm not trying to put down writers who condense things, don't get me wrong. However, what I wanted to do was flesh out the academy a bit (I also learned that the academy is pretty much THE ninja building of Konoha). Iruka is a teacher? What else does he have to do besides teach? Doesn't there have to be a registration process for new students? What does that look like? What about adults that want to be ninja? Is there a process to accomadate them? You know, that sort of thing.

The difficulty comes in not getting hung up on things to the point of making them boring and balancing that with showcasing the greater characterization and sort of BTS stuff that conceivably goes on in the Naruto-verse. This is the second second chapter I've written for this and I feel like it doesn't really go deep enough for my tastes. I'd really appreciate any feedback you have on the issue. Do you like the more background information and characterization of stuff like this or is this just about all you can take on that front? Obviously I'm not going to stop with it completely but I don't want it to make my story boring.

Anyways, reviews are appreciated and if you want me to get back to you on something or have any questions let me know, but if you don't I'll see you next chapter (...please?)

Also, longer chapters will be incoming if all goes to plan, so hooray.