The walk to Konoha is long, we walk for about an hour and a half before my weak legs give out nearly completely. Urushi carries me on his back piggy back style after that. He talks a lot, and by a lot I mean a lot. Who is supposed to be the kids here? He rambles on about how dull the academy is but how awesome jutsu are. His male teammate takes the chance to brag and bask in the awe of my fellow orphans as he does a simple transformation jutsu, still even though I know it is one of the most standard jutsus I gape a little too. My reason? Well it's because chakra is real life magic! Still I keep a cool face only widening my eyes and smiling a little.
"That's so cool you must be super strong!" Masaki declares and Hiroshi physically puffs out his chest as I try to swallow giggles at the display reminding me of male peacock spreading its feathers wide. The glare he sends me tells me I was unsuccessful but I don't care, it was adorable.
"That's nothing, Izumi-chan's sharingan is much cooler!" Urushi declared and Izumi sighs shaking her head as we walk along but doesn't dispute it.
"What's a sharingan?" Kousei asks a little bit shy, I can see how he looks around the further get from the orphanage, frightened by the unfamiliarity. I want to hug him maybe or something, I just… he deserves more than what awaits him. We all do.
"Oh… it's a bloodline thing in which her eyes go really red!" Urushi says nearly dropping me as he gets so into the moment and all three of us orphans cock our heads simultaneously at the less than stellar description. Eventually after some begging, Izumi shows us the famous eyes of her clan. They really are beautiful. Three spinning black tomoe in eyes like red rose petals, they seem to glow a little though not overly noticeable, they seem to scream look at me, and beware both at the same time leading to a confusing mix of feelings. I mentally go over what I know about the sharingan. Has three tomoe when fully mature, activates in emotional situations, and can evolve into the mongekyo. It allows the user to put genjutsu on others while also copying techniques and analyzing everything around them. At the same time it slowly leads to blindness… that sorts a little odd actually. I mean their are people in the world who can heal you when your ripped apart yet they can't fix that problem? Or are the Uchiha to proud to admit the problem to begin with?
"That's pretty." I inform her without really thinking and she begins to laugh which confuses me.
"Don't let any of my clan members here you call the Sharingan 'pretty'…" She says in a teasing voice. "They may fall over!" She exclaims laughing. The trip is overall very nice, Riku and Hiroshi end up carrying the two boys who up until a good two and a half hours into the trip refuse to be carried like a 'baby'. Their not so subtle motions to me are not appreciated. It reminds me why, despite my maturity that would lead most to think I connected well with older children, I preferred the company of younger. Still after that the pace picks up dramatically and we begin flying through the trees! I so need to learn this!
I giggle a little as we go. I used to love rolercoasters and would drag my best friend Suzan along with me until she would inevitably throw up and I would buy her a giant pretzel to apologize. The thought made me happy, hopefully everyone back home has grieved and moved on… does time work the same here as it does there? Has it been five years or longer?
We finally arrive at the imposing gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure. Its surprising to me that I don't even see them until we are right in top of the village. It's some how much much bigger than I thought it would be, and yet at the same time much smaller too. That may just be because I could still remember the cities of my past life vividly, cities with towers so tall you had to bend your neck all the way back to stand a chance at seeing the top, and sometimes it still wasn't enough. This isn't nearly as large and industrial but it has its own charms to it. Trees are everywhere, over top and between the building I could see, truly hiding the village from sight, if you were not taking the main road in that is. The trees tower over the buildings that weave between them, sheltering them like a second roof, as a thorough advocate for the environment I decide it is amazing.
There are some chunnin, or at least I think they are chunnin standing guard, I close my eyes letting my senses run wild.
Sensing Proficiency Level 9
Ability to sense or detect others based on their energy signature and pick out details about them. To double range and accuracy cost 25-50energy type per second depending on accuracy wanted. (Available energies to sense- chakra) Range increase per level by 5 m, accuracy and details increase per level and closer to you the person is. Current range 45 m.
Something about the wording is very weird, yet at the same time all I am sensing is chakra so I am not thinking to far into it, yet at least. I feel around as we enter in shying timidly close to Urushi who is now holding my hand instead of carrying me on his back. The chakra in Urushi is more than any I had met until I met Riku. Now however, there is everything imbeteeen surrounding us in all different… flavours I geuss the best word would be. It's both intimidating and amazing, it's like only ever eating vinilla ice cream your whole life and then finding out their were hundreds of flavours to try and all sort of toppings too. Boy do I miss icecream I have grown up with literally no sweets something that I intend to rectify as soon as possible.
We walk through the streets, most of the buildings are a mix of wood and stone painted in bright colours and soft beiges. I see some villagers smiling at us, others look on with almost suspicion? It's a rather strange emotion to direct towards young children, then again I doubt ninjas are 'normal'. It's late by the time we get here, the sun begins to set over the Hokage stone faces which are… incredible. I never went to Mount Rushmore, to be honest I never really bothered much with that stuff but this is truly a masterpiece. With the setting sun it makes the fourth Hokage's hair look yellow almost gold is read of just stone giving me a glimpse as to what he looked like. How am I suppose to feel about that particular man? When Naruto was just a story… and not… well real… he was a hero. Bravely sacrificing himself and his child to protect the village and keep the balance between nations. Now? He's a man who sacrificed his own child and ended up dead, leaving his child an orphan in a world full of orphans that sends chidlren into battle like soldiers. I bite my lip thinking about that. It was easier to ignore knowing what will happen at the orphanage, it was easier not asking these questions before now they are all bubbling to the surface leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling of sadness.
Riku ushers us into a hotel for the night. The hotel looks old really old but nice all the same. I feel around and instantly regret it feeling how many powerful chakra signatures are around, something I am going to have to get used to or risk a negative reaction. They never talked about the suffocating feeling being a sensor can bring. I'll have to learn what else the show glossed over.
"We'll be back in the morning to escort you to Hokage tower." The man says in a friendly tone as we are placed in a room with two beds and a nice view on the third flirt of the hotel.
"Hokage?" Kousei asks in confusion, it is a new term to him and Masaki, not a lot of politics is discussed at the orphanage after all, and despite the efforts of Kanpu teaching so many kids at so many levels is very difficult. It is one of the things that makes the academy appealing even to him who disagrees, secretly of course but non the less with the shinobi system. An education.
"He's the village leader." Urushi days a hint of seriousness present in his voice that throws the three of us for a loop. He then smiles reassuringly, but my guard is up in an instant. I remember the third Hokage being nice, kind but if he is a shinobi then he has fought and no politician is completely good. The world isn't black and white and I would be a fool to think so. We nod hesitantly but do so all the same and they leave. The boys end up sharing one of the beds, giving me my own bed and I sigh over the whole situation trying to figure out next moves before going to sleep.
It's strange when you feel you need to plot every aspect of your life, and though I know I am just a child and so won't be seen as a threat… hopefully… I also know that I am not supposed to be here. Originally that is. For a moment I somehow feel guilty, I look out the window able to just catch a glimpse of the famous hokage stone faces from here, they are looking over the village, it's as though watching over their people even form beyond the grave. It felt wrong intruding in the village, in a place I had no right to be, this was the place that would house one of the greatest stories ever and here I was… I sighed. There was no use thinking about it. It's not like it was my choice coming here, I'm here now, I'm alive, I will be a shinobi, and I will be strong. I moved back to the bed, it was bigger than the ones at the orphanage, I wonder what else was different here?
The next day is a blur in the morning of getting ready and then getting ushered out the door. We don't get breakfast and I almost wonder if they forgot before dismissing it. I decide to make a mental rule, when with ninja assume everything has a purpose. Riku is the only one this time and I feel a longing instantly, I liked Izumi and Urushi after all. Why aren't they here?
"Where's Izumi-san and Urushi-san?" I also the jonin as we make our way to the tower. It is huge just like in the anime, big and red and round with the symbol for fire on the side. I can sense small signatures not far, attached to the tower and realize it is the academy, a lump finds it's way to my throat but melts away with the calm. The academy is so close, the place that teaches children to kill, that will teach me to kill.
"They have other missions to do, you see this very nice woman lost her kitten and they are finding him for her." He tells us with a sickly sweet smile and my eyes widen a fraction before the calm corrects it. Tora… he has to be talking about Tora right?! That's amazing, that cat was like a ninja itself if I remember correctly. I smile with no pity for the older duo in my gaze.
"That's nice of them." Masaki says and I nod playing the part of the oblivious child.
"Yes… we'll here we are!" Riku announces as we enter the building, I ideally wonder if we will be meeting the Hokage, but quickly realize that we are not when Koharu comes out smiling leading us into what I am geussing is her office or something similar at the very least. She smiles at us.
"Was the trip ok?" She asks but it doesn't take a genius to figure out she isn't really expecting us to answer, she looks at Riku who nods in reply. "Good, very good, I suppose you're all hungry?" She asks gesturing to bento boxes three of them that just happen to be on her desk. We each grab one and I can't help but dig in I am very hungry, yesterday after we left we only got snacks the whole way, no real food like I had gotten used to.
"Thank you." I whisper as I begin to eat I really am hungry, she waits until we are halfway through our meals to continue.
"Now, I just have some paper work for you three to fill out, you only need to sign your names don't you worry and then we can see about getting you all to your new homes." She says with a friendly smile but I raise an eyebrow. What paperwork exactly?
"Are we going to get adopted?!" Kousei next to me exclaims in excitement, the normally shy dark haired boy breaking character in his excitement. He's only seven, seven and innocent, his big green eyes seem to glow with hope, i gains a weak smile from me. The orphange was great but being adopted is every orphans dream, sadly I can count on own hand the number of kids who I saw actually get adopted. More kids come than go, those that go, do so to get jobs and become apprentices or to come here to be a ninja. A real home? It's a fairy tale we whisper among the beds about what our new parents will be like. It's a heartbreaking melody I would fall asleep to.
"In a way… Konoha is one big family after all." Koharu says with a gentle smile her eyes closed but I feel them on me gauging my reaction, I don't try to hide that I am smart it would be to tedious but I keep and impassive face as she hands out the forms. "Read them over if you like they are very important." She states lightly and I see one of the boys already getting sleepy with the fine print all in legal text skipping ahead to the final line to sign. How is this legal?!
"What do they say?" I ask, but there is no way in hell I am signing anything without reading them first. I want to grab the two boys wrists and tell them to wait for a lawyer or something. So they have those here? Masaki with his tan skin and brown hair already looks agitated. The nine year old never having been particularly academically focused back at the orphanage, I doubt he can even read 10% of this stuff.
"Just setting you up with a home, school supplies and the like, dear." She tells me and I begin to read.
Reading Proficiency Level 21
Ability to read and understand the texts of the standard Naruto team dialect. Ability increases each level. Speed in reading increases 2% per level. Current reading speed increase 42%.
This may look impressive but it's not so much since it is a speed up based on my five year old reading skills but I am determined to read this whole thing, all what I geuss to be around twenty pages of it. I groan a little as I start, I may like reading but this? This is dry, purposefully dry. The first page is basic information discussing the shinobi system, academy grades and the like it isn't until the other side of the page do they get into the real stuff. The contract outlines that by signing it I am agreeing to make Konoha government my legal guardian, aka the Hokage. This isn't bad necessarily, I don't think I would want to be adopted, not when I have gotten to experience that love already when so many other kids haven't, it just wouldn't seem fair. Not to mention I doubt I would ever really get adopted given how few kids are. I look at Kousei in particular who is trying to make heads or tails of the document, he is giving up his dream by signing this and I can't even warn him. Not here in front of the Hokage's advisor and a jonin. If that's not bad enough, the more I read it the more the picture is coloured in as to what else we will be gaining and giving up.
It's a lot like a contract to hire someone I suppose. A fifteen year contract. 15. I will be 20 when I am finally free of it. 6 years training at the academy with an apartment provided for you and a roomate. That strikes me as odd given I don't remember Naruto having a roomate but then again who says this is the same timeline? I'm here aren't I? That should be enough to cause some suspicion at the very least. Still that isn't so bad, the apartments rent and utilities are covered, to a degree that is, if we over use the utilities we have to pay for the extra out of our allowance. That's the other thing, we get an allowance monthly while in the academy each year the allowance increasing probably to cover the cost of books and school supplies. I mentally smirk at my own personal joke as to what our 'school supplies' will be. There's oddly enough a bonuses mentioned too, one if you rank in the top 10, a second if you rank in the top 5, and a third if you rank in the top three for your class, each one more generous than the last. I mull over the catch that is these bonuses as I feel eyes on me and know I need to move this along, I start to skim making sure to understand enough to know what I am getting into. If you fail a year you get three years added to the contract, on the other hand if you manage to skip a grade you get three years taken off. Health care is provided thank kami for that at least but then I get to the details of after you graduate. You cannot stop being a shinobi until your contract is compelted at the very least. At the same time 18% of your earnings as a shinobi for the duration of the contract is taxed off back to the village unless you pay a very substantial figure I don't even want to try and wrap my head around. If you are injured as a shinobi while your contract is still active you are deducted 25% from your severance pay, however it does state on page 17 that if you die while your contract isn't completed yet, you still get the full coverage based on rank to your loved ones. That part, well it makes me want to throw up, especially as I look at the kids next to me slowly writing their names.
When you get over those tiny details it isn't too bad. The village will cover the cost of the apartment for 4 years after graduation, though after graduation utilities must be covered by those that live in the apartment. After 4 years you get the chance to either move out or start renting directly. I still get an education and everything like that, it isn't too bad and what choice so I really have but to sign at the end of the day? If I don't where do I go? Is there an orphanage in the village? Probably. Would I still get an education? Probably not. This is my path, I remind myself gently. I will get strong, and survive this crazy world and even thrive in it. So steeling myself one more time I write my name on the line as Koharu smirks. A big wide smirk like the cat that caught the canary, making me unsure how much I like cats after seeing that look.