Namikaze Aimisouma sat on a swing holding a book in her lap. Her peers -minus Itachi- all loved recess, but to her, it was time better spent studying. On a normal day, Aimi would join Itachi sitting against the wall reading. However, three hooligans had started hanging out with him after he beat up someone who had been terrorizing them.
The breeze caught her hair and pulled it behind her, but she didn't notice. She was far to focused on the thick tome she held that detailed the peace treaties of the first and second great shinobi world wars.
It was certainly not a page turner, but she hoped it might provide some insight to her particular goal. Ending war. Permanently.
I still have no idea how to do that. I doubted I would until I got more experience as a Kunoichi.
"You guys! That's not fair!" I look up to see a group of boys surrounding several of my classmates, including Itachi. They all hold the sign of contention in front of them. I huff out a dramatic sigh, stuffing the large history book into my book bag, I approach the scene. After a moments consideration, I launch my book bag through the open window that lead to my homeroom class. Perhaps that will alert sensei to the fight.
"Excuse me!" I yell at the crowd of boys, but they don't stop. Another sigh escapes from my lips. Itachi seems to be holding his own, so I'll help the three boys. I remove three kunai from my pouch, and take careful aim. One boy has a green hoodie, the second has a grey button up, and the third wears a blue t-shirt.
"Last warning." I call out. No response. Well, fine then. The three kunai fly in rapid succession, hitting their marks. Two of the older boys attacking my teammates are pinned. I had thrown the sharp weapons with enough force to propel two of the assailants against the wall. The one in green has a kunai through his hood, it had lifted slightly, revealing his stomach. His eyes covered in the collar of the jacket. The one in grey has two through his sleeves, holding his arms out, like a 't'. The boy in blue, who had his foot on a classmate's stomach, turns in time to see my roundhouse kick connect with his abdomen. He stumbles back several feet, taken by surprise. He seems to be wary of me. My suspicion is confirmed when I sink into a fighting stance, to which the boy simply turns and runs away.
"Aimi-chan! You saved us! It's cause she's so pretty!" The boys cheer. What do nice appearances have to do with fighting ability?
"Hey you, stop!" I hear sensei yell in the background.
I ignore the awkward praise, in favor of turning to help Itachi, only to see his shadow clone dissolving to a punch in the face. That ditcher!
The five boys who had been mobbing Itachi turn to me. "Where did he go?" The leader, a large, uniteallectually gifted one demands.
"He was never truly here." I inform him. My classmates will be fine with the teachers right over there.
"Don't lie to me." He takes a swing at me, which I nimbly dodge. This is argument is not worth fighting. Hope boss doesn't get mad.
"I am not lying. He was never actually here, and neither was I."
I gasp slightly, unexpectedly inheriting the memories from my shadow clone that choose to dispel instead of fighting. Great. Now I have to go back to class. I don't think sensei will like me attending with a clone -plus I want my book back. Maybe I could send another shadow clone? With a resigned sigh, -I've got to stop that. People will start thinking I'm angsty. I totally am, but still.- I gather up my notes on what I had been scrutinizing, and seal them into my pocketbook.
Outside the public library, the autumn air is muggy. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, expending small amounts of chakra to strengthen my legs, I make my way back to the academy. I hop the fence easily, only to see the students starting to file back in to classes. Feeling completely unenthusiastic about wading through the swarm of people, I turn to the still open classroom window.
"Neh, why not." I mutter, as I start walking up the wall, and slip into the room, by way of the window. Settling in my seat, I feel a vague bit of pride at the wide eyes of my classmate. I did just enter into a fifth story window, with no ledge on it. Eh. Let them think what they may.
Throughout Konohagakure
"Aside from the clone jutsu that is a requirement for graduation Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Aimisouma have both master the Kage Bunshin. A forbidden technique. They excel in all other subjects. Hokage-sama, there is no purpose in keeping them in the academy any longer." The tall man who taught Namikaze Aimisouma's and Uchiha Itachi's class stood before the council. This was not the first time that the teacher had informed the council of the two prodigies prowess and recommended early graduation.
"If I am not mistaken, they have only completed one year of school."
"Yes."
"They are geniuses. No?"
"I have never had student's like them before. They are both bored in school that they send shadow clones while off studying or practicing elsewhere."
"So, it will be better for the pair to let them graduate?"
"Yes."
"Then they shall take the exam. There is another group of students set to graduate this month." The hokage declared. "If they pass, we shall assign them to a team.
"They want him to graduate, after only a year at the academy?" Fugaku asks his wife.
"Yeah." Is her only response as she bustles off to finish making dinner. Fugaku follows after her, into the dinning room, where he sees Itachi reading a scroll.
"Father, they want to talk to you at school."
"I see." Fugaku can't stop the smile that spreads across his face. That's my boy.
Aimisouma couldn't help but wonder if she was in trouble. The day after her shadow clone had dispersed, her sensei asked her to bring either Minato or Kushina to the academy with her tomorrow morning. Minato was still out of the village on a mission, so, now she had to tell Kushina.
The fiery redhead was currently in the kitchen, stirring something in a large pot. The bashful blonde was quite anxious.
"Kushina-neesan..."
"Yes, Aimi-chan?"
"Uh, the principal wants to talk to you." The girl say nervously.
Kushina does a mocking gasp, placing one hand above her heart. "Aimi-chan, did you get in trouble, ttebane?"
"No... not really... Sensei probably didn't like me sending a clone to the academy instead of going myself... but-" The blondes rushed explanation is interrupted by the redhead guffawing.
"Bummer. I was hoping that you'd start taking after me! In school, I once got into a fight everyday for a month."
"Minato and I were hoping that this could wait another year, but with the war..." Kushina spoke quietly.
"I was hoping for the same, but they are both so mature." Mikoto said timidly.
"They are both ready for this." Was Fugaku's rebuttal.
"Maybe." Was the troubled redhead's only reply.
Namikaze Aimisouma
"I can do this. I can totally do this." I repeat to myself several times in a hushed tone.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror. The strands of curly hair that always refuse to stay behind my ears are neatly braided, and framing my face. The knots on each end was an inch below my jawline, keeping the thick section of hair out of my face. The rest of my hair hangs loose, just grazing my shoulders. My fringe-bangs were lightly parted at the center, revealing the symbol on my new forehead protector. The swirling leaf shone proudly on the polished metal.
I absentmindedly run my finger over the symbol. A feeling of hope rises in my chest. "I can do this." I say, much more sure of myself.
I slide the door to the bathroom open, and follow my nose into the kitchen, where Kushina has prepared a small feast for the pair of us. I gladly devour everything she places in front of me.
"Good luck, Aimi-chan!" She cheers brightly, handing me a bento box wrapped in a red piece of cloth.
"Thank you, Kushina-neesan!" I say, just as brightly back, leaving to go to the team assignment meeting. I quickly add the bento to my pocketbook, hug my sister-in-law, and walk out the door.
"I will now read the team assignments. Team One-" He listed off three students names, I recognized two clan names, but not the individuals. "Team Two: Inari Shinko, Izumo Tenma, Uchiha Itachi, and Namikaze Aimisouma. Under the leadership of Minazuki Yuki. Dismissed." Four on a genin team? I quickly count the number of people in the room. Thirteen have graduated to being genin. They must not have wanted to do an apprenticeships this year, instead electing to add an extra student to assign to one of the teams. I wonder why.
I stop hyper-analyzing the room and follow my genin team out of the room.
Tenma looks to be between the ages of ten and twelve. His ashy brown hair stuck up at odd angles, and had bangs like Minato's framing his face. I hadn't seen him anywhere before, but he seemed to carry himself with pride. I hope that is isn't just arrogance in that walk. I scold myself for thinking so negatively of a complete stranger. He is my new teammate, I need to be positive and supportive.
Shinko looks to be the same age as Tenma, and has a similar flat brunette coloring to her hair. The ashy strands are braided into two gravity defying braids underneath a bandana style forehead protector. She has a kind smile, and lacks the same arrogant attitude as Tenma.
Itachi looks the same as ever, sans a forehead protector tied firmly in place around his brow. He still wears the same high collared shirts with the Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back.
Sensei looks to be a tall man, though not overly so. He would definitely be shorted than Jiraiya, but then again, everyone is. His chestnut hair is pulled back into a low ponytail. He wears the standard jōnin blue with a green vest. He walks stiffly, like a board. Reflecting on Minato's lesson about reading body language, he seems... bored? Uninterested? Nervous? Angry? I haven't spent enough time with him to properly identify his emotions solely by his walk.
He leads us to an empty classroom down the hall. He sits at the teachers desk, "Sit." So he DOES speak! I can't help the sarcasm that creeps it's way into my thoughts. We all obey without hesitation. Itachi and I sit at one desk, and Tenma and Shinko at the one next to us.
"Introduce yourselves. Likes, dislikes, goals, skills. Go." He nods to Tenma.
"I am the Lord of Speed, Izumo Tenma. I like weapons and training. I don't like working in my parents store or babysitting brats like my little brother. I am very fast and good with weapons. I want to explore and see the world." He finishes his introduction, and I have to resist the urge to sigh. The feeling of negativity starts to settle over me, and this time it is much harder to shake.
"I am Inari Shinko. I like cats, and bunnies, and cute things, medicines, poisons, and other fun stuff! I hate it when my friends fight. I want to be a medic-nin like Tsunade-sama! I know a little taijutsu, and my mother taught me a bunch of medical ninjutsu." My feelings of negativity abate slightly with hearing Shinko's enthusiasm.
Next in line is Itachi. "Uchiha Itachi. I enjoy training and visiting traditional tea cafes. I do not enjoy violence, and would prefer to settle fights in another way. My goal is help my clan and village find peace. I am proficient in my clan's techniques, and have spent time training in taijutsu and genjutsu." The boy calmly asserts, before turning to me. I still have no idea what I want to say. All eyes are on me. I can do this.
"My name is Namikaze Aimisouma." I say, noting the eyes staring, as if they want to look into my soul. "I enjoy training, reading, cooking with Kushina-neesan, and learning. I hate my uncle who killed my mother. I aspire to stop war, and put an end to all of the unnecessary violence and fighting. I can produce many types of barriers, and am skilled in sealing things. I know a bunch of kenjutsu, because a lot fo my family techniques use my sword, and know a bunch of earth release ninjutsu."
I conclude. I know I can do far more than I stated, but I don't want to seem arrogant or like a know it all.
"Ok." My new sensei says.
"Um.. Sensei, can you tell us about yourself?" Shinko asks hesitantly.
"My name is Minazuki Yuki. That is all you need to know." He says flatly. "Meet in training ground thirty-four tomorrow at ten for a test to see if I actually want you as my genin team. Don't eat breakfast. I won't clean it if you throw up." With that, he disappears in a pouf of smoke.
"Well, this will be interesting." Tenma remarked.
"Indeed." I reply.
"Do you guys want to eat lunch together? I don't have anything else to do today." Shinko says happily.
"Sure!" I answer, smiling at the older girl.
"That sounds enjoyable." Itachi replies.
"No way! I don't want to babysit two snot-nosed brats!" Tenma says, leaping to his feet.
"Wait! Tenma-kun!" Shinko says, following the boy who had started running towards the door. She calls back over her shoulder, "Sorry, maybe next time, you two!"
AN: Wow. My writing has gotten SOOOO much better since I started writing. This was one of the earliest chapters I wrote, and before I edited it, it was 700 words. It lacked pretty much anything descriptive, and every conversation sentence ended '_ said.'
After editing it is 2,399 words.
Seriously.
I spent about ten hours editing this to get it in my 'acceptable' category. Yeesh.
Hope you've had a good week!
~~Aurelia Azyton~~