Chapter 7
000
So this is it. This is where I'm going to learn to be a good little soldier of Konoha. Where I learn to kill and die for something I don't even believe in. On the bright side I'll also be learning how to break the laws of physics.
After a ceremony at the front of the school filled with speeches about hard work and the "Will of Fire" the new Academy students were left to find their assigned classrooms on their own. Thankfully the ceremony had been brief as the Hokage himself had made an appearance and Rei had suddenly found herself feeling nervous about her impulsive choice of wardrobe. After they had been dismissed from the ceremony Rei had taken her time, wandering the halls to familiarize herself with the Academy before making her way to her new classroom.
The classroom was surprisingly mundane and looked very similar to what she remembered. It was larger than depicted in the story though and Rei estimated it would hold about sixty students. A blackboard, desk and podium stood at the front of the class and the student's seats were lined up and tiered upwards in a stadium style. She noticed with some amusement that the chairs and desks were closer to adult sized than child sized. The kids that were already sitting down looked a little ridiculous in the too-big furniture. It made sense since each class used the same classroom for the whole six years of their education.
Looking around the room Rei searched for the only three people she knew would be in her class. Sitting all the way in the back row was a brown haired girl with her hair in two buns and a Chinese style shirt. If it wasn't for those two things Rei might have not recognized her. As much as she had like Tenten in the show she really didn't have any outstanding physical characteristics. Her face was that of a young kid, adorably chubby and cute in that way only young children could be. She wasn't talking to anyone when most other kids were gathered in small groups. Well wasn't that peculiar. Was it possible she had been an introvert as a young kid? Sakura had changed a great deal over her Academy years after all. Maybe something similar had happened with Tenten.
Next she saw the boy who could only be Rock Lee. He looked just like the young Lee that she had read about with a grey Chinese shirt and a long pony tail. His hair was charcoal black and his eyebrows were a lot thicker than normal… but not as bad as in the show. Sure they were thick and bushy especially for a six year old but they didn't look abnormal either. Chalk that up to another minor difference between worlds. He was talking to a group of boys and they seemed to be getting along. The kids were still at that age where awkwardness between strangers was something that was quickly overcome. Rei wondered how long it would be before his malformed coils were revealed and he began to be shunned and picked on by his classmates. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the kid.
Finally standing off by himself with seemingly a bubble of empty space around him was the student she was most interested in. Neji wore a chibi version of the outfit he'd worn as a Genin though he was missing the bandages on his arms and his forehead was covered with a white sash. His long dark hair was worn loose and the way he stood put Rei in mind of a child trying to imitate the aloof stance and seriousness of the adults in his clan but still managing to look like he was playacting. His head moved as he scanned the crowd with a faintly contemptuous turn of his lips – an impressive accomplishment of general disdain for a six year old. His gaze turned in her direction and briefly their gazes met. She gave him a bright smile with a shade of arrogance and held his eyes. He looked momentarily surprised by her boldness as he studied her momentarily before turning his gaze away and continuing to scan the crowd, dismissing her.
Well if I were him I'd dismiss me too. He seems a prickly one. Better pick a seat and observe for now, see what I can learn about him. I've made enough of an impression that at least he'll remember what I look like.
There were still about ten minutes before the class started and the seats were slowly filling up. Of the three people she knew of in the class there was only one that she considered sitting next too. Neji struck her as the type who needed his space and she didn't want to crowd him and Lee was just acting and speaking like a regular boy his age… not something she was eager to subject herself to. With confident steps she walked up the isle and took an empty seat next to Tenten.
Tenten looked at her curiously but didn't say anything. Rei gave her a friendly smile.
"Yamanaka Rei," she said introducing herself.
After hesitating the girl spoke quietly but clearly. "Hayashi Tenten."
Those were the only words they said to each other for the next two weeks.
Hayashi, so that's her last name… I'm pretty sure they didn't say it in the story for whatever reason. Or maybe that's another difference between the story and this world.
They were at the very back on the last row so Rei could see the whole classroom. Neji had chosen a seat on the very front row and she watched as he rebuffed attempts at small talk with glares and occasionally a few words. The boys on the receiving end seemed to pale and scurry off rather quickly.
Scary eyes for a chibi Rei thought in amusement.
A few minutes later a kunoichi walked into the room with purposeful elegant strides. If this was their teacher she wasn't at all what Rei had been expecting. First of all she was a woman and part of her had just assumed they would have a man as a teacher since the only ones ever seen teaching in the story had been male. Secondly it was how young she looked – Rei would have pegged her age at roughly sixteen. She wore the standard Chunin outfit except the colors were all wrong. Her pants and shirt were black and her Chunin vest was dark blue. How she'd gotten permission to alter the outfit so much Rei had no idea. Her hair was a strange color though that wasn't unheard of in Konoha – it was colored aqua and done up in a tight severe bun. Her eyes were green and she wore a pair of delicate looking eyeglasses. The new kunoichi's face was set in a tight no-nonsense expression that made Rei think of the headmistress of some strict boarding school. In her hand she was holding – of all things – what looked like a black riding crop. What is she planning on doing with that thing?
The answer became apparent as she strode behind the desk at the front of the classroom, turned deliberately to the front, and when the class hadn't quieted down to her satisfaction she smacked the riding crop on the desk. Suddenly all conversation ceased.
"Welcome prospective Genin," she began, "My name is Himura Nao and I will be your instructor for the duration of your education here at the Academy. I will tolerate no goofing off, no chatter during class, and absolutely no disruptive behavior. You are to arrive promptly on time every day and raise your hand in case you have any questions. Consequences for rulebreakers will be… severe. Do your best and I'm sure we'll all get along fabulously. Any questions?"
000
Nao-sensei was nothing like the Iruka-sensei from her memories. She was fastidious, cooly in command and had a sixth sense for when students weren't paying attention. Also it turned out corporal punishment was still a thing in Konoha schools. The class found this out the first time some kid started speaking to his neighbor too loudly for Nao-sensei's taste. Everyone was shocked when her riding crop extended in the blink of an eye and smacked the offender loudly on the arm all the way up on the fourth row.
"Inuzuka-kun, no chatter during class," she said sternly while the wide eyed boy rubbed his arm and nodded enthusiastically.
Rei might have laughed out loud if she wasn't afraid of getting smacked with that riding crop herself. Plus when Nao-sensei turned her glare your way… well her green eyes and furrowed brow had a special power for making students break out in sweat and behave themselves. Rei thought it must have been some kind of kekkei gankai.
It's probably a good thing for the integrity of the school that Nao-sensei wasn't Naruto's teacher. Not sure who would come ahead in that battle of wills. I can't imagine anyone other than him having the guts to mouth off to Nao-sensei. Thinking about that scenario was really entertaining if a bit frightening.
As a teacher Nao-sensei was precise, methodical and matter-of-fact. She was also very good at what she did. Despite her general dislike for authoritarian figures Rei found herself liking Nao-sensei a great deal. Her logical and methodical approach appealed to her as well as her unwillingness to put up with any kind of nonsense. It was an ideal environment to learn and while many students griped out of class when they thought she couldn't hear Rei was nothing but pleased.
I wonder if she was in the story but just never got any screen time? If so that would have been criminal. Who wouldn't want to include a sixteen-year-old aqua haired McGonagall with a riding crop?
However that was about the only bright spot that morning as she sat through class. Rei realized very quickly that the first year was going to have very little to do with the ninja arts and everything to do with giving the students a necessary basic education. Mathematics, language, history and geography were the topics that would be covered in the classroom the first year.
Rei had to swallow a loud groan when she realized what a colossal waste of time the current school year would be if she couldn't somehow skip ahead and go to another year. Her mathematics skills were intact from her past life and she could already speak and write at an adult level of proficiency. She was familiar with all the big events that had happened in the Elemental Nations since people had started keeping track and she could probably draw a map of the Elemental Nations from memory.
In other words except for possibly a few bits of history and some very specific geographic details Rei already knew everything they were going to be taught in class that year.
Well… this can't be as bad as it seems. Konoha is not the type of place to coddle and hold people back when they're ready to move on. I'll have to talk to Nao-sensei after class and see about moving up to another year. Shame I'm going to miss out the opportunity to befriend Neji and I would have liked to keep Nao as my teacher… but this was always a possibility. I'm a 'genius' and those usually graduate years early after all.
Rei spent her first class period looking alert all while playing with her chakra and getting pencils and pens to stick to her fingers. Privately she hoped this would be the first and last day she would have to sit through a class so below her level.
000
"As this is the first day we will have a physical assessment of all students followed by taijutsu instruction. In order we will test your speed, upper body strength, flexibility and endurance. This will give us an idea of your level," said Nao-sensei, casually pushing up her glasses with a finger. "Be sure to give it your full effort. As your instructors it is important that we have an accurate idea of your current level. Now all of you get behind the white line. On my signal you will run one lap around the track as fast as you are able."
Nao-sensei stood on the side of the track with two other Chunin Rei didn't recognize helping her herd the sixty plus children. There was whispering and muttering as students slowly made their way to the line. Rei herself stepped decisively to the very front not wanting to be stuck in the middle of the pack from the get go. There was excitement bubbling in her stomach. All her life thus far she had spent her time in the Yamanaka compound being tutored by her mother and various Chunin and Genin of the clan. They had been the only people she had been able to compare herself with. Seeing how she stacked up against others her age felt like she would finally be able to see how far ahead of the curve (or not) she truly was.
Looking to the side she caught a glimpse of Neji who had the same idea as she did to get to the front of the line. He must have sensed her looking because he turned his head to face her. Rei gave him a small conspiratory smile. His eyebrows drew together in confusion before he turned his gaze away. She was pretty sure he didn't know what to make of her. Well he would definitely be more interested after this run. Rei crouched low and began to saturate her muscles with chakra.
"Students, prepare to go on my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!"
At the signal her body launched forward like a coiled spring, arms pumping as she struggled to get out every last once of speed that she could. Running was something that she enjoyed. In her new body running almost felt like flying, her feet barely feeling like they touched the ground before forcefully propelling her forward with every step. She would have laughed at the sheer joy of it if she didn't need to keep her breathing steady to make the best time.
Out of the corner of her eye she could make out Neji a step or two behind her and keeping up rather well. Rei was simultaneously pleased and annoyed at that. Annoyed that she wasn't better than everyone else by leaps and bounds and pleased that yes, Hyuuga Neji might indeed be someone who could keep up with her. As they approached the half-way point Rei put all her attention forward and focused on getting just a little bit more speed.
The two of them stayed at pace until they crossed the finish line with Rei being just two steps ahead of the young Hyuuga. Both of them were breathing hard but not exactly tired. One of the benefits of chakra was superhuman endurance and one run around the track wouldn't be enough to wear the two of them out.
Rei wasn't really surprised that they were the first ones to the finish line. When she looked back however she was surprised to see that the next fastest student was just crossing the midpoint of the track. He was a clan kid too. That was good. That was very good. She couldn't keep a joyous grin from splitting her face.
Turning back to look at a still hard breathing Neji she saw him looking at her like with slightly widened eyes. His youthful face had momentarily lost its stoic Hyuuga demeanor and he was looking at her with open surprise. She was willing to bet no one his age had ever kept up with him let alone beat him at anything.
Rei took the opportunity to step up to him with a smile. He seemed a little wary but she just brightened her smile more and held out her hand to him in the seal of reconciliation.
"Yamanaka Rei," she said, "six years old. Child prodigy. The only one who will truly be your equal in this class. How do you do?"
Neji looked at her and her hand dubiously for a few moments before slowly reaching out and completing the seal.
"Hyuuga Neji," he said hesitantly, "also a prodigy. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rei could tell he didn't really mean it so much as he was falling back into ingrained politeness. She didn't mind. It was a step forward and that was all that mattered.
