OMG IM SO SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! I APOLOGIZE! I APOLOGIZE!
I have no excuse other than laziness; I swear, I'm so pathetic. As a sincere and true apology, I will do my best to make this chapter filled with excitement. And I will upload my Gaasaku twoshot/ threeshot. Not sure yet.. Once again I'm Oh-So-SORRYYY!
Disclaimer: I, EmpressOfEvilBunnies, do not own Naruto or anything else in this story other than the plot. Naruto (c) and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, respectively.
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"Get Up! Get Up! Everyone, come on! It's seven thirty; get up get up get up!", Eiko's 32 year old voice sounded through the large, circular building. Her heels clicking against the wooden floor as she repeated herself every time she neared one of the 2 large rooms, beige trousers rustling with every step. As her brown eyes spotted another cheap blue door that stood out from the white walls her hand shot out to abruptly swing the obstacle open before she, once again, sang the mantra.
"That's enough; wake up guys! You'll be late for breakfast! Get Up!", like all the other rooms this one had wooden floor boards with dark blue walls. On a wall were 4 green bunk beds, with the wall parallel to it the same. The far wall had two doors on them; one was a large walk-in closet that was filled with tops, bottoms, shoes, bandages and other ninja accessories. Including headbands, backpacks and tool pouches; of course weapons weren't allowed in the facility. Personal belongings such as underclothes, hair accessories, pictures or any other private effects were stowed into either of the two drawers connected to the bunks with the respective name engraved into them.
The other door, where most of the room's inhabitants were headed - or more specifically where they should be headed - was the bathroom. 8 sinks and 8 stalls. The sinks were simple and cheap, each one decorated with two toothbrushes, antibacterial soap and colorful toothpaste. They couldn't afford having anyone being injured, so mirrors weren't included. To the brunette's delight, the sound of running water met her ears, effectively drowning out the grumbling and groans. Satisfied, she turned on her heel to descend the staircase. Passing the playroom on her right she took a sharp left at the second doorway and entered the dining room. With 5 rectangular tables in the room, 4 of them were accompanied by 8 chairs whilst the fifth was in the middle and filled with pancakes, waffles, eggs, pastries, cereals, milk, juices and fruits. Along the corners of the table were plastic plates, cups and stainless steel silverware. Suddenly turning right, she pushed the gray doors open to reveal the kitchen.
A dirty blonde with light brown eyes wearing a wrinkled white apron flashed the orphanage's headmistress a warm smile. Wiping her hands along the apron she bid the elder lady good morning.
"How are you, Eiko-san?", the young girl absentmindedly flipped another round and fluffly pancake before dumping it onto the pile of pancakes next to the oven.
"I'm fine, thanks. The kids will be coming down shortly; they'll have to eat quickly if they want to make it to the academy on time. By the way, Kashike, I'm leaving you in charge of the remaining children with Amaya-san once she gets here. That girl's always late...", like her words, her eyes trailed off momentarily before snapping back to the oldest member of the facility who was now pouring maple syrup over the mountain of pancakes. "Anyways, I'm sure you two'll be fine. I'll be in my study if you need me. There are some phonecalls I need to make."
"Alright, Eiko-san. Good day!", however Kashike's farewell fell on deaf ears as the woman had already left the kitchen. Shrugging, she carried the last batch of pancakes and a box of strawberries to the table as she hummed a random tune. Hungry children filed into the dining area pajamas, barefoot and all. Every one of them took a plate and helped themselves to the heaps of food.
"Good morning, everyone!"
"Good morning, Kashike-san...", putting on a disappointed face, the twenty year old glared playfully at the four,five, six, seven and eight yearolds.
"Is that the best you guys got?", now motivated, the sluggish reply became a loud and clear chorus.
"GOOD MORNING, KASHIKE-SAN!", Kashike laughed cheerfully and after spotting Amaya down the hall, set to assist the toddlers with their food.
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That day's weather sported a heavy mist which was common around this time of day. A large herd of children ranging of many ages waddled down the beaten dirt path towards Kiri's largest ninja academy.
The circular building which consisted of 4 floors was the third biggest in the hidden village. It was one of the oldest buildings in Kirigakure, being built about 70 years ago, however that fact does not interfere with the structure's continuous reassemblies; the council was very strict with it being updated with the latest technologic architecture. So far, the obstacle course had been renewed about 14 times in the last 2 decades. The first floor consisted of the teachers' departments, public restrooms, meeting room and the weapons vault. The second and third floors were all classrooms. The fourth floor was usually the busiest area of the facility; it had the indoor training grounds for taijutsu and genjutsu, indoor pool for swimming exercises, small clinic for healing and medical studies and the lavatories. The roof was where some of the youth's scavenger hunts were situated, mostly simple games of "Where would you hide if..", or "Try to find..." to sharpen their minds and give them a small taste of what it's like to be a ninja.
Kirigakure no Sato's Official Ninja Academy, or KONA, was built along the shore of a waterway which ran north, beginning at the southeastern parts where one of the Land of Water's first civilization began. Okeanosu no ōkoku or Okeanos' Kingdom is spoken of commonly. Religous people in the Land of Water believe it to be holy, and swear in its name. The imfamous town, or "Kingdom", is a large part of Mizu no Kuni's history and found in many school books and scrolls. Being a student of KONA and an orphan settled in Kirigakure's first and only orphanage, Sakura Haruno knew very much about Okeanosu no ōkoku. As she walked along with the other kids of the orphanage to the academy she felt a slight tug on her tan shirt.
"Sakura, I'm bored...", the last word came out as a long and pitiful moan. Averting her jade gaze towards her friend, she noticed that a stray of hair disobeyed the boy's hairstyle and went the wrong way. A small, pale hand reached out to fix it as she answered his very obvious complaint.
"Me too, Sui. Me too." Being taller than her by at least two inches already, "Sui" or Suigetsu, rested his head ontop of hers. He felt like he'd been walking for hours on end, and he still can't see that stupid building! I mean, why did he even need to go to that ridiculous place, anyways. It wasn't like he paid attention in class.
"Prove it, Springfield of Cherry Blossoms. 'Cuz you don't seem to be very bored." He wriggled his silver eyebrows as he mocked her teasingly. Stopping abruptly and turning to face him, she surprised him by actually responding quite confidently - something she only did with him - with a hint of a smirk tugging on her lips.
"Trust me, I could die right now. Cause of Death: Boredom, Winter Cherry", she watched as her best friend's face scrunched up into disgust at the sound of his dispised nickname.
"That's not fair. You know I hate that name!" He whined childishly, his shoulders slumped in what the pink haired girl translated into surrender.
"Is too fair. You know I hate that name, too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"I don't know what you two are fighting about, but I do know that you're both not with the rest of the kids." The two toddlers looked up into the face of Kisame Hoshigaki. Elite jounin of Kirigakure.
"It's her fault! She called me a filthy dog!" The six year old managed a fearful yet innocent face as he pointed at the young girl.
"If I did - which I didn't - it wouldn't be a lie." Though her words were harsh and snappy, she wore a toothy smile as she said them. Suigetsu Hozuki was her best friend, along with his older brother. She'd probably fall off a cliff into a pit of sharp rocks before she actually meant her insults, and though he wouldn't admit it, she knew the feeling was mutual. However, now that Kisame was here and Sui already made himself look guilty of something by putting the blame on her, she had it all in the bag. Being one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kisame was a very tough and capable man; he could most likely watch a horror film, fight off a bunch of goons and bathe in someone else's blood all at the same time and without flinching once. But no one ever said anything about sparkling emeralds, bubblegum pink hair and a shaky pout being something he could resist. And as she had planned, she overcame the 17 year old soon to be missing-nin.
Sakura Haruno's latest victim crouched down to tickle her before she suspected it and got her to fall over from the sudden attack.