"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be Hokage one day!"
Hokage huh? That's a big dream for such a little kid. I wondered what drove him to have such a dream. It's not every day a no name kid has that aspiration. When he entered the room, I saw the teacher's face: it went from a generally neutral expression to one of disgust and hate. What the fuck? What could that kid have possibly done to earn that kind of ire?
His statement was rewarded with laughter from the whole class, save the girl in front of me, Shika because he passed the hell out, and Choji since he was engrossed in his bag of chips. I didn't laugh simply because what was the point? Every kid had impossible to achieve dreams, laughing it off as fantasy just hurt them in the long run.
The Blonde didn't let the laughter get to him at all it seemed. He brushed it off and looked for a place to sit. He ended up picking the spot next to Duck Butt and pinkie. That's a choice dude, but hey you do you. The Uchiha kinda rubbed me the wrong way for some reason, I hadn't even talked to him yet, and I didn't like him.
"Alright class, settle down. My name is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your Sensei while you are here. I'll now tell you how you'll spend your time. Because we are currently in peace times, we have a 6 year curriculum. You, in the front, pass these back to your classmates." The teacher started talking after he waited for people to quiet down.
As the kids in the front performed their unexpected assignment, the teacher continued.
"For your first year, we will be doing lots of exercise to build muscle. We will try to beat into you the importance of training, and teamwork. Next, a good chunk of your time will be spent learning to read, write and arithmetic. Additional Saturday afternoon classes will be available for those of you who are without a family, and a home. While the classes are not mandatory, I highly recommend you attend. Additionally, we will teach you the geography of the continent, after all how are you to do ninja missions if you can't find your way around. We will also cover recent history related to Konoha. Lastly there will be an Introduction to chakra, one of your most important skills." the sensei explained at length.
The non-clan kids were a little stunned to be learning so much in one year. Not surprising since they'd have no way of knowing what to expect.
"As for your second year, it will be heavier on learning history from other parts of the elemental nations. We will do less physical training, but not cut it out entirely, after all a shinobi needs to be in top form. A brief explanation of your classes are History 102, Strategy 101, Tactics 101. Introduction to throwing weapons. Introduction to hand to hand combat, punching and kicking properly, learning how to throw, learning how to fall… Lastly we'll go more in depth on how to control your chakra, and other things you can do with it besides just fighting." continued Iruka.
"Third year: about half your time will be academics and the other half physical exercise. You will learn how to deal with political situations. At this point you should be proficient enough with chakra control to start learning the theory behind Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Saturday classes will be available for other life skills such as flower arrangement, gardening, etiquette, and the like. Infiltration and undercover stuff. Introduction to proper taijutsu, you will learn the standard Konoha style and adaptation of that style to actual combat." He said at length.
"In the Fourth year, there will be an Introduction to medical jutsu theory. Introduction to casting ninjutsu and genjutsu, those being a handful of E-rank techniques specifically created for Academy use, should be absolutely harmless. You will also learn to recognize when you're stuck in a genjutsu and how to dispel them. Lastly, introduction to basic wilderness survival." he droned on.
At this point some of the kids were looking a little overwhelmed. A bit understandable, but it was all in the syllabus he handed out. Iruka went on despite the looks the students were giving him.
"Fifth year: there will be a heavy focus on theory, a good chunk of your time because the 6th year is for reinforcement of what you've been taught, with a handful of new things. You will be learning more in depth Politics, the Art of War, more etiquette with emphasis on how to behave in front of clients, and basic finance. When interacting with different nations, you'll need to know what not to do if you don't want to piss them off, so you'll be learning cultural etiquette as well." God, I even hoped he was almost done.
"Last but certainly not least Sixth year: almost all classroom work is reinforcement on what you've already learned. Intro to sealing and demonstration of sealing scrolls and explosive tags, however their use is after graduation at up to my judgment. Finally additional survival classes and a two-day excursion into the nearby forest." he said.
"And finally, Graduation: a written test with proficiency in the jutsu you learned throughout your time here. A physical test that will consist of strength, agility, and stamina. You must get Passing grades on all these areas to get your headband. The better your grades, the more senior the jounin assigned to your team. Lastly, there are two genin programs. Basic and Elite. In the basic program, you would be assigned a chunin instructor to learn from and be placed in the general shinobi forces. For the elite team, you need to get the best grades. Those of you in this program will be assigned an elite jounin instructor. We don't have enough of these jonin willing to teach so we must decide how to assign them, and this is what we came up with." he said, finishing.
Iruka surveyed his class, and he noticed a few things; the Nara twins in the back lazing about, typical of a Nara. Not surprising to see an Akimichi eating right next to them. Then there was the Uchiha kid sitting with a fangirl club around him; well except for the demon sitting next to him. There weren't any other kids of note right now in his class, but time will reveal all. He hoped there were some kids worth teaching here.
I saw the look on his face when he turned to Naruto, what was with this dude?
"Alright, let's get you out to the yard. Let's see what you brats are made of." he said, shooing the kids out the door.
We arrived at the playground to see a giant track in the middle, with a field of grass within the middle. Various target dummies were set up around the place with enough space to not hit each other when we were learning. There were also several trees dotted around, for what purpose, I had no idea.
"Alright kids, first we'll start with 5 laps around the track, then you'll be split up into groups for another exercise" Iruka told us.
We all started promptly running. At first we all started out at the same pace but it became clear pretty quickly who were the athletes and who were not. Shikamaru, myself, that Inuzuka kid, Duck Butt, and surprisingly, Naruto. Choji wasn't doing great, so Shikamaru and I lagged behind to give him encouragement. Duck Butt and Naruto were competing to see who could finish their laps first. Inuzuka just seemed annoyed at their antics and hung back, but still ahead of the rest of the class. It wasn't long before we finished our laps, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Iruka Sensei give a nod of approval in our direction. I could only guess it was because we were encouraging Choji.
"Well it seems we have our frontrunners for now. I see you all have some work to do. If you work hard, you'll all have a chance to become great shinobi." the sensei half praised, half insulted us.
"Now all of you split into groups of 3. You, Nara twins, I want you on different teams from each other and Choji there" Iruka said, pointing at us 3.
I knew it was coming, but I still grumbled about it. It was going to be the first time I'd interacted with other kids besides Shika and Choji. Well since I was most likely going to be on a team with a Yamanaka anyway when we graduated, I figured I'd go find the only one I'd seen in the class. It wasn't hard, all I had to do was find the gaggle of girls around Duck Butt.
"Hey you're from the Yamanaka clan, right? You want to pair up?" I asked, walking up to her.
"Sure, I'm not gonna be able to partner with Sasuke anyway." she said with a dejected sigh.
"Who's Sasuke?" I asked her.
"You don't know? He's the gorgeous black haired boy over there." she said dreamily, looking over to him.
"OH, you mean Duck Butt" I exclaimed in realization.
"Oh my god! How could you call him that?!" She said with horror.
"What? Until now I didn't know his name, and his hair looks like a duck's rear end." I explained.
"Still, if anyone heard you, it would be awful." I doubt it, although now that I think about it, his fanclub would probably have an issue.
"Don't worry about it, let's find a third person." I said, changing the subject.
Looking around, I thought about who to ask. Ah, I know, that Hyuga girl I saw earlier. I found her standing alone underneath a tree, so I walked over with my companion trailing behind.
"Hello, would you like to be our third person?" I asked, trying to be nice. She looked like people weren't nice to her often.
"Oh, i.. Um… don't know… yes?" she agreed while stumbling over her words.
"Great! What's your name?" I asked.
"Hinata Hyuga" she said simply. Huh. None of the usual arrogance of the Hyuga clan. That's refreshing.
"I'm Kari Nara, nice to meet you." I introduced myself. It was the first time I'd done so and it still didn't feel quite right. I was still used to my old name, Alex Felgrave.
"And I'm Ino Yamanaka" she said, also introducing herself.
Just as we finished introductions, the sensei drew our attention to himself with a loud shout and clearing of his throat.
"Now that you've all found groups, I'll tell you what you'll be doing. Knowing your fellow ninja is of paramount importance if you want to work well together. So with that in mind I want you all to talk to your two partners about yourself. Your names if you haven't already started with that. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future, that kind of thing. I'll give you all an hour and then we'll move on to our next lesson." the teacher explained.
"Well that's kind of awkward," Ino said.
"How so?" Hinata asked timidly
"Well we just met each other and Sensei wants us to just open up to one another" she replied.
"It does kind of make sense though, after all we won't always get to choose who we partner up with on a mission" I told them after thinking about it some.
"Yeah I suppose you have a point" they both agreed.
I decided to try and get Hinata out of her shell.
"Hinata, why don't you go first?" I asked.
"Oh um, I guess. How do I start? Uhhmm, well things I like are zenzai and cinnamon rolls, things I dislike are crabs and shrimp. One of my hobbies is to press flowers and preserve them. And my dream for the future is to catch up to a certain someone, so I don't disappoint him." she said. I think that was the longest I've ever heard her talk.
"That's good Hinata, I know that must have been hard. Ino, what about you?" I said.
"Why can't you go next? Fine, I like Cherry tomatoes, and creme caramel. I dislike sashimi. My dream for the future is to be the best kunoichi. Alright Kari, your turn now." Ino said.
"Hmmm, I like magic, strawberry cake, and discovering new things. I hate assholes who belittle others for no reason, brussel sprouts, and willful ignorance. My dream for the future is to be the strongest ninja who ever lived." I said, to a couple of shocked faces.
"What?" I was confused as to what the stares were about.
"It's just that… that's a really big dream. It's kind of intimidating." Ino said.
"It's no bigger of a dream than that Naruto kid had of becoming Hokage." I told her.
"His is a big dream too, but yours is bigger" Ino responded
"I kind of admire Naruto for having that kind of dream" Hinata said quietly.
"Also what do you mean magic? Don't you mean Chakra?" Ino questioned.
"No, I mean Magic. One day I might show you" I snickered.
Just as we were done talking, the teacher called us back inside to go to our next lesson.
The next lesson was reading and writing. I found it utterly boring since I had mastered both a long time ago. It seemed not every kid was so lucky though, especially the kids without clans and/or homes. It seemed that Naruto was having some issues, so I decided to go help him since I was already done with all my work.
"Hey there, do you need a hand?" I asked naruto.
He seemed to flinch, not expecting such a polite greeting. What happened to this boy to make him behave like that?
"Uhmm, I guess. I don't quite get this part here." Naruto told me.
"Let me take a look."
It was a list of common Kanji characters, their meaning, and how to draw them. It was a piece of cake for me, but evidently not for Naruto.
"Ah, I see what you mean. Luckily I've already finished mine so I can help." I said. He had a look of happiness on his face, almost like he's never had a friend before. Again, such a strange kid. I was gonna ask my parents about him if I got the chance.
I spent the rest of the class helping Naruto with his writing. He had a grasp of the basics, but his vocabulary was limited. Not really his fault I suppose, I learned that his parents were dead, and he lived alone. Explains a lot. Overall I think I liked him once you got past the bravado and fake smile. He just wanted a friend, someone to have fun with. I decided that when I had time, I would go hang out with him.
The next class was a little more interesting as it was stuff I didn't already know. We learned the basic geography of the Land of Fire, and some basic history of Konoha. Among the books I was allowed to read in the Clan library were history books. Thankfully it had some useful information for someone who kept their memories from their past life. Although I'm still not entirely sure that I died, but i have no proof of either theory right now.
The last class of the day was an introduction to chakra. This was the lesson I was waiting for all day. I hoped to fill the gaps in my knowledge, however it proved futile as everything I learned in that class was stuff I had discovered on my own. Honestly I was going to fall asleep just like Shikamaru at this point. Before I knew it, my head had hit the desk. It's not Sensei's fault, he tried to make the class interesting, but there isn't much you can do when you aren't learning anything.
Before I knew it, our first day at school was over. Leaving class I caught sight of Naruto standing by himself in the corner of the courtyard, a look of longing in his eyes. I knew why after talking to him, he had no friends and family, so seeing the other kids being picked up by their parents probably hurt a lot.
Shika and I saw our parents at the gate and rushed over.
"Hey kiddos, how was your first day at school?" dad asked.
"I was bored out of my mind. It was mostly stuff I already knew. Shikamaru wouldn't know though since he slept most of it" I said laughing at his expense.
"Oh, did he now? Shikaku said. He seemed stern but I could tell that he was amused.
"It's not my fault, everything was just such a drag. I just wanted to sit outside and look at the clouds with Choji" Shika defended, with a look at me 'damn you for telling them' it said.
On our way back, I decided to ask our parents about naruto.
"Hey mom, dad, why do all the adults seem to hate Naruto? What did he do?"
They both looked at each other with a concerned gaze before answering.
"Well Kari, that's a delicate question, but the easiest answer is that he is a notorious prankster, and nearly everyone has been his victim" mom said.
I could tell they were leaving something out, but I supposed that was all I was going to get out of them for now. I was going to have to spend more time around Naruto to get to the bottom of this. Naruto was a nice kid, and it slightly angered me that people would treat him so poorly for no reason. Iruka limited his distaste to just glares and disapproving scowls. However I had heard some of the kids' parents talking. I didn't understand most of what was said, but what I did understand was not good, and no adult should be talking that way about a child. I had resolved to become Naruto's friend. I didn't care what the adults thought. They could go to the void for all I cared.