(A/N) The academy is here! Next month is November, and as such, I will not be updating during it because of Nanowrimo. So here, and see you in like a month!
Lee was kind of excited to go to the Academy. He was going with Neji and Torune, and of course the nice blacksmith's daughter would be there, she was his age as well, and Neji and Torune were both fluent in sign language if he needed a translator, so that wasn't much of a worry. He was also kinda not excited cause new people, and sometimes new people were mean.
"Relax Lee," Sakura said enthusiastically. "You'll be fine! You have Neji and Torune! They'll help you!"
Lee gave her a shaky smile. It was the best he could manage for now.
She grinned back, and maybe Lee would survive today. Even if she wouldn't be there. She'd be in the academy soon enough. "Now on you go!"
Lee nodded, somewhat energized. He'd survive! Probably.
"Hey Lee!" Tenten said cheerily as he approached where she was waiting. "Dad's been showing me the signs he learned from mom, so I might be able to understand some of what you say!"
"Wasn't your mother ANBU?" Torune checked. At her nod, he shrugged. "So depending on whether your dad's been teaching you ANBU shorthand or Konoha's general SSL, you may or may not be able to understand him."
Tenten hummed. "I only know a few words for sure, what's kunai in Konoha's SSL?"
Lee snorted quietly. Of course, the few words she knew were weapons. What else would they be? He obligingly signed Kunai for her anyway, and she signed something else back.
"You're learning ANBU shorthand," Torune sighed. "No matter, either learn both or ask your dad to teach you SSL instead."
"We don't do things halfway!" Tenten declared, thrusting a hand in the air. "I'll do both! And it'll be helpful later if I decide to go into ANBU!"
"Well alright," Torune said, amusement tracing his tone. "ANBU's a lofty goal."
"So is Hokage and you haven't told the blond kid that's a lofty goal yet," Tenten replied pretentiously.
Neji snorted quietly. "She has a point."
Torune had paused in his tracks, blinking. "Disregard what I said then."
"Already did!" Tenten chirped.
"Alright kids, for the first day, we have a guest here to demonstrate usage of the Academy Three, something you will be learning in the coming years," the teacher said, gestuing to the door, which opened to reveal an Uchiha teen with curly hair.
"Is this the right room?" the teen asked, opening the door a little further. "You lot look about Sasuke's age, so I must be in the right place!"
"Class, this is Shisui Uchiha," the teacher sounded amused. "He's a jounin, treat him well."
Lee raised an eyebrow at the teen. He looked a bit young to be a jounin.
"Yo!" The teen said, coming fully into the room. "I guess the teacher already introduced me, so hi."
A quiet ripple of 'hi's' swept the classroom. Lee shyly signed 'hi' at him. The teen beamed at him, signing 'hi' back to Lee.
Lee smiled slightly. He knew sign language! Torune and Neji wouldn't have to translate much for him! Maybe today wouldn't be quite so bad.
Tenten's hand shot into the air.
"Yes?" Shisui asked, sounding amused.
"How many substitutions can you do in a row?" She asked, bouncing slightly.
Shisui puffed up his cheeks. "Uhh, never counted? It's a lot though. Probably as many times as I can shunshin in a row! I never counted that cause I lost count halfway through. So it's a lot."
Lee thought that was pretty cool. He must be really fast and skilled. Shunshin seems hard to do.
Torune raised his hand significantly more calmly. At Shisui's nod, he continued. "What is the limit on how small something can be for you to substitute with it?"
Shisui shrugged. "I can't go any smaller than a shuriken or senbon, but I bet a medic with better chakra control than me could do smaller things."
Torune nodded satisfiedly, sitting back in his chair. Lee was willing to bet he was wondering if he could substitute with his insects. That would be pretty cool though.
"So ANBU shorthand for shuriken is this," Tenten signed it, followed by the SSL sign for shuriken. "And this is the civilian version!"
"That's awfully long for a sign," Neji said suspiciously.
"Well, technically it means four sided pointy," Tenten admitted, laughing. "But it's a shuriken."
"So the Civilian Sign Language has weird names for stuff," Torune said.
"The CSL only has weird names for shinobi things," Tenten replied shrugging. "Dad just wanted me to know all of the weapons signs in all of the sign languages used in Konoha. In case I have to man the store when I'm older."
'Makes sense,' Lee signed, half dozing in a nice patch of sunlight.
"I'm going to assume you said 'makes sense' and continue," Tenten decided, nodding firmly.
"It is what he signed," Torune agreed.
(A/N) Tenten is too cute. All of em are, really. I almost feel bad for next chapter… If anyone's wondering, Shisui was ordered into that, and the teacher 'convinced' Fugaku to make him do it by mentioning they could ask the Hyuuga if the Uchiha were too chicken to do it. (They did not say it like that, they pretended to be diplomatic, but still) Also, It's Shisui's birthday today! That's why he gets a cameo here. He will also be showing up/be mentioned for every fic this week and no one can stop me. Well, Except SHS because that's a MHA fic and he isn't in that universe.