Miyako was nervous as she led through the halls of the Ninja Academy by the Hokage himself. Mebuki and Kizashi were unable to come as they both had missions, and Sakura was taken to the nearby kindergarten, where she would remain until Miyako finished her classes for the day, at which the two guardians should be finished with their mission.
Miyako will be the youngest in her class, as her skills – which had been tested the week prior – resulted in her being placed with the second-year ninja students – all of whom were six or seven years of age.
They arrived at a door on the first floor, the room number at the top saying 2A. Hiruzen knocked on the door before entering, Miyako staying close behind him as she followed, observing the room, along with her new classmates, and teacher.
"Lord Hokage, how can I help you?" the female teacher with brown hair questioned with a weary smile.
"Abe-san, I have your new student. I trust my message reached you two days ago," Hiruzen stated and the brown-haired woman nodded, her gaze falling to the girl hiding behind the Hokage.
"Of course," the woman replied and Hiruzen nodded before leaving the room. The woman turned to Miyako and gave her a welcoming smile. "Welcome, I'm Abe Haruka. Please stand in front of the class to introduce yourself.
Miyako nodded before turning to face her classmates, all of whom watched her in curiosity. She fidgeted for a second before bowing. "My name is Haruno Miyako, pleased to meet you all. I hope we can get along."
"Thank you Miyako-chan, please take a seat next to Gina-chan," Haruka stated and a girl with silver hair waved her hand at Miyako, who took the seat at the end of the table closest to the centre aisle.
"It's nice to meet you, Haruno-san. I'm Ejiri Gina, if you need any help, I'm happy to help," the girl stated with a kind smile once Miyako was seated.
Miyako gave a smile in return. "Thank you, Ejiri-san," Miyako replied and turned to face the teacher who had started to speak.
"I know we covered this previously, but because of our new student, I'm going to explain our class schedule," Haruka stated and the class sighed, but there was no other sign of complaint. "The first session each day we do arithmetic, second session is reading and writing, third session is science, fourth session is geography and history. We have lunch at twelve, before going outside for weapon use and taijutsu training, back inside we learn the ninja hand signs and basic ninjutsu, and finally, trap setting and genjutsu. No then, I want you to answer the questions on the board. Please call for me if you need any help," Haruka said, gesturing to the equations on the board that the class had already started before being interrupted by the Hokage and Miyako.
...
It only took two days for Miyako to settle into the class. She quickly showed great skill in almost all her classes. However, it quickly became obvious the one should never go to her for help on even the most basic of math problems.
Miyako had also gathered a small group of friends. First was the silver-haired, grey eyes desk mate Ejiri Gina, followed by the brown-haired and brown-eyed boy Fuchigami Takeo, and lastly the black-haired and onyx eyed male Uchiha Hisoka.
They all had just finished lunch on the third day and were practising their kunai throwing skills. Unsurprisingly, most students were lucky to get the kunai to the second-largest circle on the target.
Because of this, many got frustrated very quickly, leading many to stop and watch as Miyako and Takeo competed to see who would get the most kunai in the centre. The rules of their competition were simple: they keep throwing kunai until they both run out, or one of them misses the centre, whichever came first.
Next to the competing duo, Gina was trying to help Hisoka with his throwing. Despite being a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan, he rarely ever hit the target, always missing the target completely. Lucky for him, his family were at the bottom of the Uchiha Clan food chain and the elder didn't care if he failed or not. After all, most figured that, like his parents and their parents before him, he won't awaken the Sharingan, the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha Clan.
"Damn it!" Takeo cursed as he missed the centre of the target by a mere millimetre.
"I guess I win," Miyako stated with a grin as her friend pouted.
"Yeah... well, I won last time so ha!" Takeo declared with a grin, making both Miyako and Gina roll their eyes at his antics.
"OK everyone, time to come back inside," Haruka called and her students grumbled as they packed up and returned to their classroom, most enjoying spending time outside this time of year.
Once everyone was seated, Haruka spoke. "Today I want to see if you all remember the hand signs. I'll be calling them out randomly, and if most of the class get it on the first try, and all the class has gotten it by the second try, we will start with the transformation jutsu tomorrow."
Cheers filled the room before they settled down and Haruka called each student up one at a time to test their knowledge. The result was sixty per cent of the class got them all right on the first go, and the rest got them right on the second go.
"Well then, a deal is a deal. Tomorrow we'll start on the transformation jutsu," Haruka announced with pride at her students. Her class started to cheer, and only calmed down after Haruka held up her hand. "That's tomorrow, for now, pull out your books and turn to Chapter Ten: Disguising Traps."
...
The next day, Miyako sat amongst her classmates. They had just finished their kunai throwing and were waiting for Haruka to return to the classroom so they could begin their lesson on their first academy jutsu.
"Can you believe it, Miyako? We get to learn a jutsu!" Gina exclaimed in excitement. "We're finally on our way to truly become shinobi!"
Miyako smiled at her friend's excitement. "Yeah, it'd be good to see if I haven't forgotten how to do the jutsu."
"Wait!" Takeo exclaimed from next to Gina. "Are you saying you can already do this jutsu?"
Miyako nodded with a small smile. "Yep, before I came to live with my aunt and uncle, Mama and Papa taught me how to do some things, that way if anything were to happen to them, I could protect myself."
"Is that why you're so good at everything?" Hisoka questioned from next to Takeo.
"Probably. I'm no prodigy after all. It was just hours upon hours of training," Miyako replied with a nod and a blush on her porcelain face. She looked to the door just as Haruka entered.
"Settle down and we'll begin," Haruka stated and everyone in the class fell silent. Haruka smiled before speaking "Now than before we start, I'm going to go over the details of this jutsu. However, I want to know you know first."
Gina shot her hand up and Haruka gestured to her. "I know that the transformation jutsu is important because it makes our missions easier, especially when we need to disguise ourselves for whatever reason."
Haruka nodded with a smile and was about to speak but was cut off by Hisoka. "I heard it was an E-Rank jutsu and that all ninja academies teach it."
"That's correct, but please hold your hand up before speaking next time," Haruka stated and he nodded with a sheepish grin on his face. "Now then, does anyone know the signs?"
Miyako held up her hand and Haruka nodded her way. "The hand signs are dog, board, and ram. For the transformation to be successful, you need to imagine every detail of the thing you wish to transform into."
"Good job, Miyako. Do you want to try the jutsu first?" Haruka questioned and Miyako nodded.
She stood up and walked to the front of the room where she did the hand seals quickly and transformed into a near-perfect replica of Gina. Everyone in the room, including Haruka, stared in surprise4 at how close to perfect it was.
"Amazing," Haruka gasped out as Miyako released the jutsu with a smile on her face. "Have you already been taught this jutsu?"
Miyako nodded, a sad look crossing her features. "Yes, Abe-sensei. My Mama and Papa taught me some things before they passed on."
Haruka nodded in understanding, it wasn't uncommon for children of shinobi to know a few things before entering the academy and considering Miyako's placement into a second-year class... well her skills mustn't be lacking.
"I see, well then," Haruka clapped her hands together with a wide grin, "I want all of you to try to do what Miyako had just done. Remember to visualise whom you're turning into. Miyako, you can return to your seat."
...
Miyako was nervous. For the first time in her life, she has been invited for dinner at her friend's house. Well, a friend who wasn't a member of her clan anyways.
It has been a little over a month since she started at the academy, and in that time, she became best friends with Uchiha Hisoka. While she was close to both Gina and Takeo, she found herself closest to the Uchiha, so close, in fact, that his parents had invited her over for dinner that night.
"Come on, Mi-chan," Hisoka stated as he grabbed her small hand and led her through the streets to the Uchiha compound. "My parents can't wait to meet the girl who has managed to make me decent at throwing weapons.
"Do you talk about me often, Hi-kun?" Miyako questioned with a giggle, making the seven-year-old boy blush.
"Only a little bit," he admitted with a mumble, making Miyako giggle even more as he led her into the compound, the purple-haired girl attracting attention from the Uchiha's who looked at her in interest. "My home is just this way."
He led her through the Uchiha compound and to his house, which was a traditional Japanese style home sitting on the edge near the back of the compound. The duo walked inside and removed their shoes, lining them up neatly on the floor of the genkan.
"I'm home!" Hisoka called out. "And my friend Miyako-chan is here with me."
At this, a lady with black hair and onyx eyes appeared. She was wearing a light-blue apron, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and flour was on her fair-skinned cheek. She gave the two kids a warm smile.
"Welcome home, Hisoka," she turned to Miyako. "You must be Miyako-chan, I'm Uchiha Shizuka."
"It's nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," Miyako greeted with a bow. "You are correct in assuming I am Haruno Miyako."
Shizuka's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I was unaware the Haruno's had another daughter."
"I'm their niece. My parents passed away last year, and I was sent to live with them," Miyako explained and Shizuka nodded in understanding.
"Dinner will be ready in an hour's time. Hisoka, why don't you show Miyako-chan your room and then go to the park?" Shizuka suggested and Hisoka grinned.
"Follow me, Mi-chan, I'll show you to my room and then we can go to the nearby park," Hisoka stated, grabbing Miyako's hand and pulling her down a hallway off the kitchen and to his room. "Well, this is it." He said proudly and she looked around the room.
Unlike hers, which she still shared with Sakura, there was no pink in the room and only one single bed. The walls were cream, the floor was dark wood, and on his window, there was a set of dark green blinds. Besides the bed, there a bedside table with a lamp, a desk with a matching chair, a bookcase next to the desk, and a closet.
"It must be great not having to share with anyone," Miyako stated with a wistful sigh.
"Yep," Hisoka boasted before grinning. "Now come on, put your bag down and we'll go to the park," Hisoka stated and Miyako nodded, placing her amber-coloured bag on the ground next to the desk and next to Hisoka's green bag, before following the soon-to-be seven-year-old boy out of the room and into the kitchen where Shizuka was still located.
"We're going to the park!" Hisoka told his mother before he dragged Miyako to the genkan and they slipped their shoes back on, leaving the house and heading down the street to the park located in the Uchiha Compound.
"Why are you in such a rush, Hi-kun?" Miyako questioned with a giggle as the boy practically dragged her down the street and to the opening of the park.
"I just want to spend as much time with you as I can before you have to go home," Hisoka replied as they walked into the park.
Miyako looked at the park, which was pretty much like all other parks she's been to. There was a swing set, one swing for toddlers and the other for older children, a slide, fireman's pole, monkey bars, and trees surrounding the park.
"Are they all your relatives?" Miyako questioned Hisoka as she took in the sight of five other kids all with dark hair and eyes typical of the Uchiha genetics. She wondered briefly if any of them had the Sharingan activated yet.
"Yeah, but don't worry. They're all really cool and should let us play with them if you want," Hisoka replied and Miyako nodded.
"Hey, Hisoka! Can you and your friend join us in playing ninja? We need two more people," one of the girls questioned, and Hisoka looked at Miyako who nodded with excitement at making new friends.
"Sure, we'll play. But I'll warn you, Mi-chan here is almost invincible at this game," Hisoka warned with a grin and the other Uchiha children laughed before the game began.
...
The group of children were still going strong in their game, when Miyako squealed happily and ran out of the park, grabbing the arm of an Uchiha who had been passing the park.
"Itachi-kun! It's me, Miyako!" Miyako exclaimed in excitement as the elder Uchiha chuckled, having not forgotten the girl he hadn't seen for almost two months.
"Miyako-chan, what are you doing here?" Itachi questioned.
"Hi-kun invited me over, we're classmates and best friends," Miyako replied and Itachi frowned, not knowing who 'Hi-kun' was, but assuming he was an Uchiha.
"Ah, Itachi-sama," Hisoka gasped out, surprised at how casually his best friend was talking to the next head of the clan.
"Sama?" Miyako questioned in confusion.
"Yeah, didn't you know, Mi-chan? Itachi-sama is the next head of the clan," Hisoka explained and Itachi nodded in agreement, having figured that Hisoka was 'Hi-kun'.
"Oh wow! You're a shinobi and next clan head? You're amazing!" Miyako squealed out in admiration.
Itachi sighed, knowing that that tone of voice meant one thing, he just gained another fangirl. He hoped, though, the Miyako won't be like the others. "Will you be coming over often, Miyako-chan?" Itachi questioned before looking at Hisoka. "And please, Hisoka-san, please call me with 'san'."
"OK Itachi-san, and yeah, I'm going to convince mother and father to let Mi-chan come over every week... ah, that's if you want," Hisoka replied for both of them turning to face Miyako with red cheeks to get confirmation of his statement.
"Of course, I'll come over every week," Miyako replied with a grin and a giggle.
"Hisoka! Miyako-chan! Dinner's ready!" Shizuka called out from the street, staying back as she watched the two children converse with Itachi.
"We need to go. By Itachi-san," Hisoka stated and grabbed Miyako, dragging her away as she called goodbye over her shoulder, upset that she couldn't stay with Itachi for a longer period.
Of course, she didn't know that Itachi was also upset with their conversation being cut short.