New Girl

The birds chirp as the sun shines through the window. A gentle knock on my door tells me it's time to get up. Another day at the academy, I wonder what we'll be learning today! I get up and get dressed, glancing at the picture on my dresser. Jiraiya is a great parent, even if he's not my real dad, he's full of love and goofy as can be. There's never a dull day with him, and he's the great sannin that inspires me to be a kind and strong Hokage.

"Minato, make sure you have breakfast before you leave!"

I grab an apple and make a sandwich for lunch before racing out the door.

The sun shines down on me as I walk to class, it's an exceptionally beautiful day today. As I stroll through the village enjoying the weather, I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, Minato! You ready for class?" Kizashi runs up to me eager as always to go to school.

"Always! Hopefully we get to spend a lot of time outside today, the weather is just too nice to be locked in the classroom."

We walk side by side saying hello to the villagers as we pass. Kizashi seems to be in deep thought, "You're quiet today, what's on your mind?"

"Well I hear there's a new kid coming to the academy today. I wonder what they'll be like. It must be hard coming to a new village and starting over like that."

I had no idea that we were getting a new classmate, but I'm really looking forward to meeting him. Maybe he's strong and will give me a new challenge! Then again, he could just be some kid that has no idea what he's doing. I wonder what village he's from.

Being lost in my own thoughts, we arrive to the academy before I know it. I pull up my seat and look around for any new faces. It doesn't look like he's here yet, but class should be starting any minute.

Haru Sensei walks through the door and a girl following catches my eye. Her long, bright red hair is mesmerizing and her eyes a dark blue. Kushina. She seems so nervous standing in front of the class and I hear classmates giggle as they shout at her, making fun of her hair. How don't they see how beautiful she is?

Suddenly she shouts, "I'm going to become the village's first female Hokage!" The class goes quiet and no one seems to know how to respond. She's got fire and passion and with a dream like that, she may very well be the rival I was hoping for.

I stand up and her eyes lock with mine, "I want to become a great Hokage who will be admired by everyone in the village, too!"

Her face softens slightly, but she doesn't smile. I'm looking forward to being classmates with her, and quite frankly, I don't think those bullies know who their messing with.

•○•○•○•

The next few days consist of the same stuff. The boys teasing Kushina and her yelling at them until Haru Sensei settles them down and teaches class. I haven't gotten to see how talented she is yet, as all our class time has been lectures and studying since she came.

The last day of the week comes and I'm in my seat a little earlier than usual. Kizashi and I talk about what we're going to do this weekend as students come in and take their seats.

As we talk, I hear ruckus in the back, "Now you listen, I hate tomatoes too, ya know!" Kushina yanks the boy to the ground and jumps on his back. She swings fist over fist, "Keep calling me tomato, and you're going to get it, ya know!"

I stare semi shocked at what's going on, but I knew that she wouldn't put up with the bullying and seeing her defend herself really makes me happy for some reason. It's always good to see a bully get it handed to him! Her eyes look up right to mine and I keep staring with that big dorky smile on my face.

"What are you laughing at?" My eyes widen in fear and I quickly turn my head to the front of the class. I don't want to be the next one getting beat down by her! Besides, that smile on my face probably gave the wrong impression. I can't imagine being an outsider with no friends, dealing with constant bullies. But I commend her for standing up for herself.

We talk more about the Shadow Clone Jutsu and Haru Sensei say's we'll be practicing next week. Hopefully the weather is nice again like it has been. I'll have to spend some time practicing this weekend so I can be top of the class.

I've been working a lot with Jiraiya the last couple weeks since he hasn't been on any long missions for a while. He does spend a lot of time at the hot springs and doing "research", though. Maybe that's a mission he has from Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, since he always says how important it is.

I head to the woods nearby to practice throwing my shuriken. I must be on top of my game for next week at the academy. There's a tree I painted a target on several months ago and it's where I always go to train on my own. Jiraiya knows I'm here if it's not during school hours and my card isn't flipped to red.

We each have a card by the door with one red side and one white side. He explained it to me a few years ago that if we were home, the cards should be red and when we leave, we should flip them to white. I still don't understand why we would go through all the trouble when we could just say, "Hey, I'm home!" or, "I'm going out!" But I do as he says because he said one day I'll understand and I know if he needs me, he knows where to find me.

I take a deep breath before throwing my shuriken at the tree. Bullseye. Leaves crunch behind me as I walk to retrieve my weapon.

"I knew I'd find you here. Don't you ever stop training?"

"Hey, Kizashi. I'm just practicing for next week. I want to be top of the class so I can be Hokage as soon as I can! Plus, I wouldn't mind showing off for Kushina a little," my voice trails off and I can feel my cheeks getting warm.

Kizashi puts his hands on his hips matter of factly, "Speaking of Kushina, did you hear? Some genin tried to hurt her for making his little brother cry and she kicked his butt! They're calling her the Red-Hot Habanero now!"

I knew she could fend off the bullies in class, but I never imagined she could take out a real shinobi. This girl may be even stronger than I realized. I guess I'll just have to find out in class next week.