Chapter 7 – Entering the Academy
I recently turned six and as it is proper, at least for a Senju, I will be attending the academy. There were no questions asked regarding whether I wanted to attend the academy or not. Decisions had been made for me without even my consultation. Not that I would have been against it if the choice was presented. It was just the principle of the matter. I was a little miffed about that. But, I wasn't blaming Hiruzen or Biwako. After all, I had been instructed in fuinjutsu and taijutsu, however limited it may be.
As for me being a sensor, I hadn't divulged that information to anyone else. It was my little secret weapon. I had no intentions to lose that edge. As for my stalker(s?), over the course of the year, they had become less prevalent. It didn't stop altogether, but nowadays the appearances were random. I didn't complain as it provided me ample opportunity to hone my sensing skills.
My fuinjutsu and taijutsu lessons came to a standstill after I turned five. For the past year, I have only been assigned reading materials on fuinjutsu to keep that from becoming rusty. My taijutsu, on the other hand, was good enough to easily breeze through the academy without any competition. I could easily defeat Asuma when it came to taijutsu even with my weights.
I wouldn't call that an accomplishment either, because Asuma has been recently so distracted with his crush over Kurenai. When I first came to know about it, it took me by surprise. While I knew they both were an item in the series, I had thought that they fell for each other once both had become Jounin or something like that. But, from the looks of it, Asuma always had the hots for her.
Let's keep those muddling thoughts of mine aside for now. Because I will be starting the academy today and I was itching to go there. I had always had a keen interest or a partial favor for the academy in my mind. It was where it all began in my mind. So, attending the same school where the story began was giving me a head rush.
Early in the morning I woke up and did my routine training regimen before rushing back inside to prepare for my first day. By now, my training routine has become somewhat familiar to me and it felt like I was missing out on something if I didn't perform it even for a single day. While my routine remained the same, I had increased the difficulty of my training regimen to harsh standards. With my knowledge of seals, it was easy to increase the weight of my chakra weights and keep challenging me on a daily basis.
Biwako offered to take me and Asuma to the academy on my first day. Strangely enough, Asuma refused to accept that offer and headed out of the home early. It was disappointing to me to see Asuma acting like that. I had thought we could hang out together during breaks in the academy. But from the looks of it, it was clear to me that Asuma didn't want to associate himself with me. While I could understand that he was distancing himself from the younger kid – hey, no one wanted to stick with their younger sibling when their friends were around, especially if girls were involved – it didn't mean I liked it.
My disappointment must have shown on my face because Biwako gave me a tight hug. I returned the hug gladly and we both stepped out of the house to go to the academy.
On our way to the academy, Biwako was greeted by several villagers. She returned their greetings with warm smiles and genial words. Soon, we reached the entrance of the academy and a lot of parents were milling around the gate waiting to see their kids off. There was a chunnin waiting for the new joinees at the gate and Biwako handed me over to him with a warm smile.
I could see the chunnin struggling to maintain the nervousness he felt in front of Hokage's wife and I inwardly smiled at this. But, what I didn't like though was the way he treated me after that. I think, the Hokage's wife dropping me off at school must have made me an important person in his eyes and he was beginning to be overly polite to me. I just hoped that none of the teachers acted like him. If the jealous looks I was getting from my fellow students were any indication that was not going to go well.
We were all ushered into a large hall that I dubbed it as an auditorium for the Hokage's welcome speech. Once we were all inside immediately cliques began to form among the students. I noted with strange fascination that the way the cliques were formed gave away the current political climate of Konoha.
The kids from Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi clan all banded together. Same went for the kids from Inuzaka and Aburame clan – that was an odd combination with kids from Inuzaka clan being brash and loud and the other half of that clique being aloof and distant. Several of the minor clan kids formed a clique of their own. The civilian kids also formed their own clique. That left the Hyugas and Uchihas to stand on either side of the room and glare at each other.
It was fascinating in itself. I looked around for a minute trying to figure out which clique I fit in before giving it up in favor of watching the Inuzaka clan members and their ninkens. They made a cute combination if I have to say myself.
Not long after that, Hiruzen walked in with his Hokage robes gleaming in the dim lighting that was provided in the auditorium. He was dressed formally in his hat, robes and all other formal accessories. The ever-present pipe on his mouth was strangely absent.
He welcomed us to the academy and started off a speech professing the Will of Fire and all the other propaganda materials to entice the kids. I could practically feel the positive energy buzzing out of the kids when he concluded his speech. He concluded his speech by expressing his hopes that we all will become a splendid genin and become the backbone of Konoha. If I have to go by the resounding applause that came at the end of this speech, I would say that he got all of the kids hook, line, and sinker. Even knowing that it was thinly veiled indoctrination speech, I can't help but share the excitement others felt in the room.
Soon after Hiruzen's departure, we were split into five classes and sent to our respective classes. When my name was called, hushed whispers and mutterings floated through the hall which made me feel strangely uncomfortable. I could practically feel all the eyes of the remaining students in the hall on me – especially the Uchihas.
I was assigned to the "B" section of the first year along with several of the clan kids and few civilian kids. From the looks of it, I figured it to be class on which the teachers will focus more considering the number of clan kids in our class. In the same vein, I figured that the civilians assigned to my class were either too low of a rank or too high.
Soon, we were ushered into our new classroom and I hastened to pick a convenient seat by the window. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited to attend the academy. However, I wasn't delusional to think that the academy could pose me any challenges. Sure, some of the curriculum may provide a bit of a trouble, but nothing seriously challenging was going to be thrown my way.
But, I had plans for that. I wasn't going to waste the time I spent in the academy. Instead, I was going to increase my chakra sensing skills using the other kids as training dummies. A group of kids who had only recently unlocked their chakra and had absolutely no idea on how to hide it from a sensor, please, this was a goldmine of an opportunity for me to hone my skills in the sensing department.
And like hell, if I am not going to abuse it!
"Hello, Senju Sama. My name is Inobu Yamanaka. Nice to meet you. I am sure we can be best of friends."
"Senju Sama, I am Kiriko. I would be honored to be your friend."
"Senju Sama, I am…."
"Senju Sama, My name is….."
"Senju Sama, what's your favorite dish?"
"Senju Sama, what's your favorite color?"
"Senju Sama…"
"Senju Sama…"
By the time the first month of the academy ended, a small twitch was beginning to form in my eyes every time someone said Senju Sama.
Seriously, I get it that Senju was one of the founding clans of Konoha. But, the number of people trying to cozy up to me was beginning to unnerve me. I couldn't fault them either. They were just kids. But, on the other hand, I felt like kicking the living daylights out of the adults who were trying to cozy up to me, even the teachers.
Given that any six-year-old kid would have reveled in the amount attention that was shown towards me. But I was not a little kid though. I had the mentality of an adult and it was frustrating to see the number of people that were trying to cozy up to me.
I have to be honest here, it even began to scare me a little. If I was a little kid, with the amount of attention that was being given to me I would have surely turned out to be a schoolyard bully sooner than later. That much attention could do nothing but spoil a kid. Luckily, I wasn't a kid.
In the eyes of the teachers, I could do no wrong. With two Hokages in my lineage and the third one being my guardian, I was on the fast track to becoming the most popular kid in the entire academy. I was so glad that Asuma was avoiding me. If even his friends had tried to cozy up to me, I would have surely lost my mind.
Oh! Did I forget to mention that the high-strung Uchihas were surely pissed? From what I gathered from the bits and pieces I managed to overhear, normally the Uchihas would be receiving this esteemed treatment. But, not in this case. Being the lone Senju that was residing in Konoha, I was the must-have friend in the academy at the moment. And didn't the Uchihas love it!
I could feel their burning glare at the back of my head every time someone tried to cozy up to me. Luckily, I hadn't attracted any crazy fangirls. There were enough Hyugas and Uchihas in our year to attract them. For the first time in my new life, I was glad for the severe visage I had inherited from my grandfather. Not to mention the silver, mangy hair detracted most of the female population of my class. It seemed as if I wasn't as desirable as the aloof Uchihas with their breathtaking beauty or aristocratic Hyugas with their pupil-less eyes.
Thank Kami for small mercies!
My enthusiasm for attending the academy was now turned into a grudging acceptance of my situation. Even the pleasant seat I had picked out for my convenience was not enough to raise my mood for the seat near it had become a hotspot for contention among my fellow classmates.
But, all was not lost though. I have a plan to get out of this mess. During the latter half of the month, I had tried my initial plan to partial success. All now I have to do is to cement the impression I had created in the first month.
After the start of the second week, I started to purposefully make myself appear as a dumb person. Added with my refusal to rise to any taunts the Uchihas in the class made, I was painting a pretty bleak picture of myself in others eyes. All in all, I was going for a cowardly look with a touch of dumbness added in.
While most of the kids bought my act by now – with the exception of those scary Naras (anyway I wasn't worried about them. It would be too troublesome for them to rip off my façade), the teachers were a whole different breed. Despite my dumb outlook, they were still favoring me because I was a descendant of the First and Second Hokage and under the care of the Third Hokage. So, I had planned something special to get on their bad side.
I initially thought of pulling pranks like Naruto, but then decided against it. People hated Naruto's pranks because of the whole demon thing he had going and they refused to acknowledge the ingenuity of his pranks because of that. If I did something like that, it would completely backfire on me. Instead of being shunned, I would be lauded as a Trap Specialist in the making. No, no, that could absolutely not happen.
Instead, I was planning to pull a Kakashi on them!
Yup! You guessed it right. The current Kakashi was now a stuck up prick (I heard that he had been already made a Genin and being mentored under Minato). So, I am going to steal the scarecrow's gimmick. It was as simple as that.
I had the original owner of the gimmick as my competition though. But, I was not worried about it. Obito maybe the originator of the gimmick, but Kakashi had perfected it to irritate people. And I was going to steal that.
The first step of my plan was commencing today. Exactly one month after the academy began. By my estimate, the classes must have begun by now and the teacher must have noticed my absence. But, I wasn't rushing. Instead, I was calmly looking at the village from one of my favorite spots – the Hokage Mountain.
I looked at the bustling village that was laid out before my eyes and watched the people go about their lives calmly. From what I can see from here, the stigma of the Uchihas was yet to catch and all was well in the village. While I might have overheard Hiruzen talking about the tension in the border to Biwako, it was nothing unexpected to me.
Deeming that enough time had passed for me to begin my new act, I got up and rushed to the academy. Just when I was about to enter into the academy, someone came barreling into me and I narrowly escaped falling down.
Supremely annoyed at the intrusion, I turned around to see my attacker – only to find someone rushing past me into the academy. I stood there for few moments and gaped at the distinctive blur of the Uchiha rushing into the academy.
It was Obito all right. Those awfully bright goggles and distinctive Uchiha hair confirmed me of it. I felt my heart beat faster watching him clumsily run towards the academy. And god wasn't he clumsy! I struggled to imagine the clumsy boy barreling past me into the academy as the one who was going to singlehandedly start a war with all the elemental nations.
I stood there gaping for a minute before a smirk emerged on my face. This was my first day and I was already beating the originator in his own game. Giddy with happiness, I slowly ambled into the academy towards my class.
As I entered the class full fifteen minutes late, drinking in the stupefied expressions of my entire class and teacher, a strange sense of accomplishment rushed through me. I walked directly to my seat and parked my ass trying hard to keep from smiling. That was when the teacher did me the ultimate favor…..
"Hatorama kun, do you have a reason for coming late to the class?"
Did I? Oh! Poor Bastard! You don't even know how screwed you are!
"Sorry sensei, I got lost on the road of life."
The gobsmacked expression he gave me was priceless. Well, I see why Kakashi messed with people with his laziness. Surely, this was more fun than I could have imagined.
Looks like I am going to enjoy this immensely.
