Diet Soda Society
"She told me just shut up, your food is getting colder, your words are getting older."
For how excited I had been to start classes at the Academy, it turned out to be a lot duller than I expected. I guess that I had gotten so carried away with all my ninja fantasies, that I'd forgotten the Academy courses were targeted towards five year olds. Apparently first-year students like myself didn't even work with chakra. It was all theory until we were a little older and our systems were more developed.
For once, I was actually regretting reading all the books over the past few years. If I had done less, then maybe class would've actually been a bit more interesting.
"You think Isamu is going on some super cool mission right now Nat?" Asuma whispered to me as we sat in our morning writing course. He was equally as unchallenged as I was at the moment - we'd gone through our Japanese lessons with Biwako together after all.
"He's probably sweeping Hiruzen-san's office," I shrugged.
"Yeah, you're right," Asuma nodded, seeming happy with that thought. Isamu had passed his graduation exam with flying colors the day we had been enrolled in the Academy. Since then he'd been swept up in genin life with his new teammates, Tonbo and Raido, and their sensei - a woman named Rini.
Asuma was horribly jealous, as per usual; although I didn't completely understand why. Sure, Isamu had a sporty new headband now, but he was also only doing D-rank missions. While Isamu was shouldering the menial labor with good grace, it didn't change the fact that he was basically the village's personal worker monkey.
Although, I supposed that even dull village chores might have been more exciting than my classes.
"Maybe if we ask Jin-sensei, she'll give us more interesting stuff to work on while she's lecturing," I muttered, as our teacher started going off on a tangent about the importance of stroke order.
Asuma's nose crinkled. "Leave me out of that," he grumbled. "I'm not doing more work just because you're a nerd."
On Asuma's other side, Kurenai smirked, even as she continued to copy whatever Jin-sensei was writing on the board.
"If you ask for more work Natsuki-chan," she whispered. "I bet Asuma would ask for more too right after."
I did a poor job of suppressing a smug look.
Kurenai was one of my new favorite people since joining the Academy. We'd only known each other for a week, but she fit in with me and Asuma like the third puzzle piece we never knew we'd been missing. We sat next to each other every day in class since meeting in the hall before our medical exams. Kurenai always took the spot on the left, with Asuma in the middle and me on the right.
She was an incredibly patient person, given that she was still five years old. Today was an excellent example. Unlike Asuma and I, she had not been given hours of personal tutoring before starting school. Both of her parents were ninja, but they didn't come from a clan. They had busy jobs that took up large portions of their time. When they came home from work, apparently they just wanted to spend personal time with Kurenai, not start her on the war path to become a Jonin-level killer. It was a nice thought, but of course, it did mean that while Asuma and I were joking around, she was actually trying to pay attention in class.
As I said before, she was a very, very patient person.
"Would not," Asuma protested. He was probably just arguing for the sake of argument.
"Would too," I stuck my tongue out at him with a grin.
"Natsuki! Asuma! Do you want me to separate you two?" Jin-sensei called from the front.
"No, sensei," we chorused together.
She did indeed end up separating us later that day.
After our reading and writing classes in the morning, we usually moved onto a class on chakra theory. Again, it would've been much more interesting if I hadn't stolen all of Isamu's textbooks when I was three. At least that was ninja-stuff though, and Jin-sensei would occasionally add commentary to the written curriculum that was new information.
More than anything, she usually took part of that hour to stress that we should never experiment with our chakra unsupervised until we'd been approved for independent study. It was quite the scare tactic, really. She went on long tangents about the symptoms of chakra exhaustion and the different ways jutsu could malfunction.
"Justu kill people," Jin-sensei would start the lesson every day. "If you don't respect that every time you reach for your chakra. You'll deserve it when you hurt yourself."
Begrudgingly, I did listen to her warning. See, since I knew the theory, I'd been tempted to start trying to learn some small chakra tricks on my own, but Jin-sensei made some very good points. I didn't want to forever be known as that kid who accidentally almost killed herself trying to do the clone technique. Anyways, chakra theory was a pretty complicated subject. Everyone seemed to understand that it was one thing to know how jutsu worked, and another to do it. It seemed like something that was easier learned from a teacher than from a book.
I could wait.
After chakra theory was math, and after math was lunch and recess.
This break period always marked a shift in the day. We all spent the whole morning itching for our chance to get outside and stretch our legs. Kids weren't meant to be stuck behind a desk for hours on end. That was even more true given that we were chakra-powered ninja-in training kids. Naturally, it never took long for lunch to devolve in to Lord of the Flies style chaos everyday.
It stressed me out sometimes, being around so many screaming chaotic children, but I got used to it over time. Sometimes, I even managed to have a little bit of fun.
The first few days, Asuma, Kurenai, and I kept to ourselves while some of the others started some sort of ridiculous power struggle for playground dominance. Then, once it became clear that the division between clan-kid and civilian was going to be more dramatic than anticipated, things settled and cliques started to form.
Guy - who they'd predictably allowed to enroll in the Academy despite the fact that he'd failed the entrance exam - joined us occasionally, depending on his work-out schedule. Apparently, during those ten minutes we had chatted on exam day, Guy decided that we were going to be great friends. Asuma complained about him sometimes, but I didn't mind so much. Guy was a real ray of sunshine.
Later, Kurenai also invited one of her neighbors - a brown haired girl with purple face paint- to join us. The first time it had happened, I had a small heart attack. Not that Rin, herself, was particularly startling, but she wasn't usually ever alone. She had a loud shadow in the form of a dark haired boy clad in a blue jacket and orange googles.
"Hi, nice to meet you," she had smiled at us, after Kurenai had issued standard introductions. "This is my friend Obito. Is it okay if he joins too?"
I stared at Obito Uchiha, my mind feeling a little sluggish. I had seen him in class that morning, making a ruckus over something Kakashi had said to him. He didn't seem all that bad, standing in front of us with red bashful cheeks. It was difficult, connecting this harmless little boy with my memories of a horrifying killer.
See, the worst parts of this world were the things I remembered best. The moments of grief, death, and destruction stuck out to me, like I'd seen them yesterday. The flashbacks though, that painted pictures of happier time for the kids that slipped through the cracks in the system - they felt like water running through my greasy fingers.
Just looking at Obito and Rin, I could feel myself hesitating, almost subconsciously. I knew that they were just kids. I knew that they deserved good friends who stood up for them and had their backs. It should have been that simple. But for some reason, I looked at the two of them, and... and sudden unwelcome thoughts of Nawaki flooded my mind. Not the good memories from my childhood, but the bad ones, from when he'd died. It was horrible - a flash of pain that I hadn't ever asked for or wanted. But I sat there, blinking at two unwitting five year olds, and I felt a swell of grief so strong, I felt like I'd been transported back in time.
Natsuki, it's Nawaki... Tsunade's eyes looked down at me, blank and unseeing... My fault.
I shuddered, and clamped down on the wave of emotion with vicious desperation. No. I did not want to go there right now.
Asuma was the one to make the executive decision in the end. "Guess not. You can join," he shrugged. "There's too many girls here anyway."
I let a flustered, shaky breath escape from me. "Don't be a jerk," I hedged, punching Asuma in the arm. He grumbled something under his breath, and we moved onto other subjects - now a group of six.
It was easy, falling into a routine with all of them. Having friends again was nice, even if they were just kids. I shot the shit with Asuma, had friendly competitions with Guy, and talked girl stuff with Rin and Kurenai. Even Obito wasn't so bad, though he was by far the most immature kid in our entire class. It was easy to forget the bad things, when we were just kids playing ninja.
And if I was occasionally a little distant with Rin and Obito, nobody seemed to notice.
I really did try my best to put my best foot forward with them, even when all of my instincts were screaming not to get too close. Sometimes, I suppose there were just moments when the possibility of loosing them, the way I'd once lost everything, shook me too much to completely ignore.
Then there was Kakashi.
Kakashi did not die a horrible death and did not become a problematic villain. Kakashi, actually, was at one point, a character that I'd liked quite a lot, for all his eccentricities.
It was too bad that in real life, he was a flaming, unapologetic asshole.
The kid was small and always seemed to be alone. During the first few weeks of classes, I'd made a few random attempts at conversation with him, but he shrugged me off every time.
And then, there was the way he treated Guy.
Moreso than the rest of us, Guy made a point to be in Kakashi's face whenever he had the opportunity. Something had happened between them the day of the entrance exam, because it was like the kid had a vendetta or something. Guy challenged Kakashi to fights, to races, and to competitions. He invited him to sit with us during class, to eat with us during lunch, and to play ninja games with us.
Somehow, no matter Guy's level of enthusiasm or the friendliness of his delivery, Kakashi managed to shirk him off in the rudest possible manner. He told Guy he was a worthless loser constantly, and never passed up an opportunity to remind him he'd never be a success.
It grated on my nerves more every time it happened. Until one day, I couldn't hold my thoughts in anymore.
"He asks you every single day. Would it really kill you to just give in for once and eat lunch with him," I gritted to Kakashi, after Guy had ran off.
He paused a moment, looking at me like he'd hadn't noticed me standing there before.
"He's not going to make it here," Kakashi said, tone fixed like he was the one talking to a child. "You're wasting your time hanging out with him. What's the point?"
I blinked.
"I think he'll make it further than you think," I said, unmistakably irritated. Then I stalked off and decided it'd be better to keep far away from Kakashi until he'd grown up a little more and gotten over his massive ego.
The long recess periods after lunch time were unfortunately a short-lived luxury. A few weeks after the start of the semester, Jin-sensei pulled all the girls in our class to the side, while the boys were left to continue their games in the yard.
"Alright ladies, I know you all probably want to go back over and play, but we've got a special class for you today," she explained, as she pushed a long strand of hair behind one of her ears.
"What kind of special class?"
"Kunoichi class," Jin-sensei answered. "See, there are special social rules that little girls follow outside of the shinobi world, and it's very important that you know them. There will be times when you'll have to go under cover as a rich merchants daughter or maybe a feudal lord's wife, and if you can't play the part than you'll be spotted immediately."
My hand shot into the air like a bullet.
"Yes Natsuki-chan?"
"But don't all ninja know the transformation jutsu?" I asked skeptically. I had an inkling of where this was going, and I was already very annoyed with it. "Shouldn't the boys have to know this stuff too just in case they're undercover as a civilian girl."
Jin-sensei smiled at me, like I'd asked a silly question. "You'll see they're no good at this sort of stuff. The village always tries to send a kunoichi on undercover missions where our ninja have to impersonate civilian ladies."
"Have you ever tried to teach the boys proper etiquette? How do you even know they're bad at it?" I pressed, my frown deepening. Some little voice inside of me was whispering that I should let this go, but I couldn't help it. I'd come from a place where women were usually treated as a man's equal, and for the most part, things were the same here in Konoha. It was easy to forget sometimes that this new world was actually still pretty archaic. It seemed completely unfair to me that Asuma was probably going to have burping contests with Guy and Obito while I was off stuck in extra lessons.
A few of the civilian girls were giving me dirty looks.
I suppose that kunoichi class was probably right up their alley. Instead of being taught about jutsu by their parents growing up, their mothers had probably been teaching them about flower picking and tea ceremony etiquette. This was something that they'd be good at, and in a way I was arguing that it was nonsense.
Ah, well. They'd get over it.
Jin-sensei, meanwhile, looked very unamused. "Natsuki-chan, if you have a problem with the Academy curriculum, then you ask your mother to have a meeting with me to excuse you from it. Although, I don't picture Biwako-sama being very happy with your attitude today," she said.
I glared at her. Of course she'd go there. Biwako was never going to side with me on this. Etiquette was one of Biwako's favorite things in life, and I knew she'd probably kick me out of the Academy before she allowed me to skip kunoichi class.
"Tsunade-nee wouldn't care," I muttered to myself, feeling a sudden pang of longing wash over me. Tsunade was everything a proper lady probably shouldn't be. She was uncouth, sarcastic, and loud-mouthed. I bet she gave her kunoichi sensei hell when she was in the Academy. Tsunade was still out at war though. There were always stories coming in about the lives she was saving in the field, and about the incredible battles she was fighting alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru. I'd even heard the "Senin" moniker floating around once or twice.
All the stories made her seem larger than life, but I knew better. I wanted my cousin's sarcastic loud mouth home again. Maybe then I would have a partner in crime to take on the patriarchy with. Ha.
"What's that Natsuki-chan?" Jin-sensei asked, a note of warning in her tone.
"I'm so excited for my super cool kunoichi classes," I grumbled back.
"That's what I thought," she nodded.
As we started following Jin-sensei towards a field on the other side of the Academy building, Kurenai and Rin fell into step with on either side of me. "I agree with you, it's not fair that the boys get to play an extra hour and we don't," Kurenai said quietly, like she was afraid Jin-sensei might overhear.
"Obito could probably use etiquette training," Rin bobbed her head. Then she paused, looking a little unsure of herself. "You said something about Tsunade-sama. Is it true she's your sister?"
"She's my cousin," I smiled, a little amused by the honorific. "It's like a clan thing, calling her Tsunade-nee is respectful or something."
"Oh, you're lucky. My family all works in the hospital. My Dad says Tsunade-sama is the most incredible medic he's ever seen," she told me. "I want to be just like her when I grow up."
"Um, thanks. She is pretty incredible," I blinked, smiling at her. My chest felt warm, and I decided that Rin was pretty great too. Her life wouldn't be in danger until we were older. I had time to figure out how to stop that, right?
We spent the next hour picking flowers in a field, grouping colors and symbols together to supposedly create a bouquet for good luck. Kurenai and Rin actually did seem to be enjoying themselves with it, despite the support they'd given me earlier. I, however, was feeling pretty grumpy. When we finished, I handed Jin-sensei a sad little bundle of wilting flowers with a big sarcastic grin on my face.
She was wildly unimpressed with me.
I practically skipped back to Asuma after that, and we began an hour of PE. Body Conditioning was the one thing that the Academy didn't joke around with. They expected a lot from us, despite the fact that half the class had never run a lap in their life. I found myself grateful for the training regime Asuma had suggested so many months back. Things hadn't changed that much, I couldn't quite keep up with Asuma, Guy, or Kakashi, the fast three boys in our class. But I was eons ahead of some of the other kids, faster than all of my female classmates. They would catch up to me with time - I was still very small for my age- but for now, I could enjoy the edge my extra experience gave me.
Finally we ended the day with fine skills and tactics training. The lesson would change depending on the day of the week. Three days out of five we would work on throwing various kinds of kunai, shuriken, and senbon. The other two days we'd discus the theory behind survival, combat, chakra, or whatever else the curriculum dictated we needed to know. This was my favorite part of the day. Jin-sensei always surprised us with the changing lessons, and I actually got to start learning some ninja shenanigans during this hour. The first few days, I was pretty worried that I wouldn't be any good at throwing kunai, but I was finding that my new ninja body was a lot more coordinated than my last one. I was so proud the first time I got a wooden practice tool to sink into a target.
After throwing practice we were done for the day. That was it. Of course, there was a dismissal process, and we had to gather and debrief the day before they let us go, but more or less, I've just given you my day to day life in a nut shell. I think I understood why Isamu worked so hard to graduate early now. The Academy was kind of nice, the days were routine, and the consistency brought a certain air of peace to things. But there always felt like there was something boiling underneath of it. Every activity we did had a purpose to it. Learn to read so that you can interpret intel. Solve this math problem so that you'll have good intuition on a battle field. Throw this kunai so you can hit the vitals. Memorize this strategy so you can kill all enemies when you're outnumbered. Play at lunch so that you will feel a bond with your future comrades.
Everything always wrapped back to fighting and war. Sure, I wasn't all that surprised by this, I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. It's just- the activities were making me feel so restless. We were playing games with such serious topics, and I didn't ever really feel truly challenged. I wanted to start learning jutsu.
Biwako would've frowned if she heard me speaking like that though. Everything I wanted was going to come with time, and, of course, things never really happen the way you think they will.
Arc Title and Chapter Quote from song Diet Soda Society by The Maine
