On the third day she heads back to the Academy, hoping there isn't a particular time she's supposed to be there or anything. She forgets the little details, sometimes.
She arrives later than most, but in time to see a teary-eyed but fiercely determined Guy walking away with his father. The small silver boy from the exam calls out to him, asking for his name.
Guy's smile blooms, and for a second he's just as intensely sweet as his father. He shouts out his name, and she doubts the smaller boy will forget it.
Ah—Guy must not have gotten in then. Her heart hurts for him.
What are the chances she got in? She doesn't have the advantage of being raised a ninja like Guy. She did well in taijutsu and genjutsu, though…
She trails after the silver-haired boy and his father. He must be—they're identical, or will be in a few years.
She thinks most people have cleared off. It seems that way, at least. A group of kids in little more than rags are consoling each other. She overhears them saying they'll share the apartments. Not all of them passed then.
She approaches the board with names posted and feels her chest tightening up. Then she recognizes her name, spelled in Hiragana and Katakana, as is the custom in Konoha. She lets out a long sigh.
Some kids have Kanji in their last names, and some don't. She puzzles over that for a moment. If she were to hazard a guess, it's reserved for the 'clan' kids. Maybe.
The boy looks her way after internalizing what her sigh meant.
"You got in then?" he glances at his father, then (acting rather put upon) asks her, "What's your name?"
"Tsunemori Honōka-desu. Your name is?"
"…Hatake Kakashi."
His father chuckles, voice warm and smooth. He's the type of person she would have secretly admired as a teenager—but she's not a teenager and instead finds herself jealous of Kakashi. His dad must be awesome. It feels like she's barely said ten words to her own father. In both lives.
"This must be the one who gave you that bruise, huh?"
She wonders if it isn't weird that there's a twinkle in the man's smile as he says that.
Kakashi touches his cheek. If there is a bruise, his mask is hiding it well.
"Ah," she says, "sorry."
He quirks an eyebrow at her, silently asking her what she's even apologizing for. Kakashi's father just laughs at them.
She glances up and away. It's after midday. If she hurries, she can catch the next batch of fresh manjū at Ichiban Manjū.
She half waves, half bows at them, and says, "See you in class, Kakashi-kun."
The weekend passes slowly. There was no list for supplies posted, so she has nothing to prepare—other than her wardrobe.
She wears yukata and kosode around the house and when she's out and about. She also has monpe pants that she wears with her kosode sometimes, and a jinbei set. In winter she has a padded hanten jacket. All very traditional hand-me-downs, and antiquated.
Most of the ninja folk wear more practical and modern clothing. It's like the civilian population hasn't caught up yet.
She'd like to buy new clothes for the Academy, but she doesn't even know where the ninja folk get their clothes. She'll have to ask her new classmates. Until then, she'll make do. She hopes the first day of class won't be too intense—she only has tatami sandals.
Monday arrives, and no one asks her where she's going, or has anything for her to do. Luckily, her parents and siblings expect little help from her as a five-year-old. Or they think she's weird and don't trust her to help.
She arrives at the Academy and follows the signs ushering the new students into classroom number one.
She feels like she's gone to school in her pajamas, compared to the other kids in their almost modern style clothing. She's the only one noticing her discomfort, though.
Kakashi is sitting in the back, and while he has a pleasantly warm and staticky presence that mutes out others, she sits at the front. She'll need to pay absolute attention in class.
The bell rings and their teacher, the examiner with the rectangular glasses, addresses them all. His name is Matsuya Jūn. He'll be their teacher until they graduate, barring any unforeseen circumstances. He begins roll call. Only one student is absent—Uchiha Obito. A girl with purple markings on her cheeks facepalms.
Jūn-sensei begins by passing out a sheet that outlines their entire curriculum, an honest to God (Sage?) learn-all-this-and-you-graduate kind of sheet. It's not even double sided.
Then they're told that all their resources on taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, do not leave the Academy under any circumstance. Studying is for Academy hours only.
He breaks down their day-to-day scheduling next—which is more or less the same every single day. Shinobi work is apparently all about repetition. It's very 'don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong'.
There's history and math and science and language—but they're all very basic. There's also kunoichi class, which is just…?
"But put that aside for a moment," Jūn-sensei says. "Let's do some introductions! Likes, dislikes, anything about yourself you'd like to tell your new classmates. Go!"
It's pretty standard. She halfheartedly learns her classmates' names.
"Hatake Kakashi. I have likes and dislikes. That is all."
Honōka almost laughs. He said that with a straight face, huh? She's sure he's holding it in.
"I'm Nohara Rin! I like strawberries and dislike tsukudani. I collect shells, so let me know if you see any nice ones! Let's all be friends!"
Ahh. She's bright, but soft somehow. Soothing maybe. Not so intense as Duy and Guy.
Eventually it's her turn.
"My name is Tsunemori Honōka. My favorite color right now is… green. I like gyōza, but not the deep fried kind. My family owns and operates a bathhouse."
There's a palpable taste of surprise in the air.
"Tsunemori-ya? That bathhouse?" someone asks.
"Yes."
"You're a civilian?!" someone else shouts.
A few kids (the orphans) don't see what the big deal is. Likewise, Honōka agrees. But she kind of got the feeling that the ninja and regular people were separate for a reason.
Jūn-sensei hushes the class and tells them to behave and sit quietly before instructing her to follow him. There's a worried edge to his jaw. He seems like a nail-biter.
They head upstairs to the part of the building that has the Kanji for fire displayed on the outside. He asks another shinobi in a bulky green jacket to see Sandaime-sama. The Hokage. Uh-oh.
After half an hour of sitting outside and feeding on each other's snowballing anxiety, they're finally admitted.
The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sits behind a desk that is too large for him. He smokes a pipe and his sun wizened skin is developing faint liver spots.
Jūn-sensei bows and she awkwardly dips as well.
He greets them around his pipe, eyes sliding over them, no doubt puzzling over why a teacher and a student are standing in his office almost before class has even begun.
"Sandaime-sama… There's been a slight misunderstanding." Jūn-sensei takes a deep breath to confess. "We've admitted a civilian child without parental permission."
The Hokage glances at her, and there's a tired but faintly amused gleam in his eyes.
"And how did that happen?" he asks around his pipe.
"Er, well, she signed herself up for the Academy entrance exam using the forms we provide for orphans, Sandaime-sama."
"Who gave the child the forms?"
"…I did, Sandaime-sama."
The Hokage chuckles then, smoke curling around his lips. He rests his pipe in the grove on his tobacco box and interlaces his fingers on top of the desk.
"My apologies, Sandaime-sama. She came without her guardian and I just assumed…"
Ah. Well, that explains several parts of the document—like the genin apartment provided in lieu of a legal residence, and the option for support funds.
The Hokage leans forward, focusing on her.
"Child, what is your name?"
"Tsunemori Honōka-desu."
"Honōka-chan, eh? A good name for a daughter of the Land of Fire. Honōka-chan, how old are you?"
"I'm five years old, Hokage-sama. My birthday is on June eighteenth."
"And does your family truly not know you have come to attend the Academy today?"
She nods.
"And where do you expect your parents think you are right now? They must get concerned when you are gone for so long?"
She deadpans, because she doesn't think much of her parents' child-rearing skills.
"I think they think I'm playing with the neighbors."
He does not miss the undercurrent in her tone of voice, by the twitch of his lip.
"Honōka-chan, why did you enter the Academy without telling your parents? Surely this is something they would have wanted to discuss with you?"
She frowns.
She didn't tell them because she's just about twenty now, even if she is technically a fifteen-year-old who woke up in an infant's body one day and had to start over from nothing.
"I didn't tell them because they're busy running the family business."
He raises an unimpressed eyebrow and silently calls her out on her bullshit.
"…and I didn't think they would understand what I was asking for." Which is only slightly closer to the truth.
"Honōka-chan, do you understand what you're asking for?"
She looks up at the ceiling and frowns. Huh.
"I understand the Academy is a military resource and that I'm volunteering to become a solider, Hokage-sama."
She tears her eyes back down. There's a cooler glint in the Hokage's eyes now. Measuring. She glances away.
"What I'm asking for, is a chance to learn more about my village and the world around me. I have so many questions, and I'm looking here because no one else would help me find the answers."
He looks thunderously serious, then laughs unexpectedly.
"A precocious child for sure… I suppose I should send someone to inform your parents of your determination to become a shinobi?"
She bows, grateful, tension letting out of her chest. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
He waves her off. He doesn't feel this is something that needs thanking, then.
"I look forward to watching you grow, Honōka-chan, and I hope you find the answers you seek."
As they leave, he asks the room for her exam results and essay. The door shuts behind them, and Jūn-sensei brings her back to the classroom.
"Does everyone know everyone now?" he asks. Lots of nodding. "Good, good."
She takes her seat again and Jūn-sensei finishes the introductions and touches on the curriculum guidelines again. He dismisses them then—it's only their first day. They don't have an entrance ceremony. He reminds them to collect their acceptance letters on the way out.
Nohara Rin collects Uchiha Obito's as well, with a little cajoling.
"Ah, Honōka-kun, if you'll wait at the door, please."