The first day of the academy is finally here. I get dressed my shirt is a white t-shirt plain and worn but good. I wear my other shorts still a black, just a little darker in colour than my other shorts, they have big pockets on the front for my hands. I woke up early again which now that it is the second day in the row is bugging me becuase seriously what's the point of the clock then? I spend a LONG time brushing my hair, trying to make it less fluffy than it is. It's not so much I mind the fuzzy downward spikes… not at all, I just… want to make a good impression is all! My hair keeps falling over my right eye and I keep having to push it back behind my ear. I practice smiling at my own reflection trying to show sincerity, childishness, and an inviting nature all in one look and… I am not sure how I am doing. I don't stop until I hear the impatient knocking of Ami at the bathroom door, she woke with the alarm. I sigh and unlock the door and leave making a special breakfast of fried tofu, milk, and blueberries and making a stir fry to put in bento boxes with chopsticks for Ami and I.
Cooking Proficiency level has risen X1
Cooking Proficiency Level 9
Ability to cook food using different tools and ingredients. Taste improves per level, nutritional bonus 0.1% per level. Current nutritional bonus 0.9%.
I pack my backpack with all I could need including the library books in case things get slow and my flute to play at lunch time maybe. Ami and I walk out together walking down the street.
There's a certain buzz in the air today. It's earlier than one would normally go to the academy and I may have skipped my morning run, but I don't want to be tired for the academy today. The gates of the academy that yesterday had been all but deserted are now full of activity of returning students braking through the wall, ocean more like, of parents of first years saying goodbye to their children tearfully. The kids are a variety of ages a few seven year olds but most are six. I wonder if this is their first experience with education and school in general or if they went to school before this. The clan kids are easy to pick out. Even though it's not anime the features of the clans are still the same and perhaps even more distinctive. Not to mention they look more confident for the most part, more than the civilian kids at least. The shinobi born children are about the same too but without the attitude they could easily pass for civilian children. I sense around just for the fun of it but with even more hesitation than when I did it with Naruto because I am surrounded by shinobi, even without actively putting my mind to it I can feel their chakra.
The chakra surrounds me, from the small weak locked away chakra of my peers like islands in an ocean of deep and turbulent chakra of shinobi parents. Ami's familiar chakra is like a lighthouse easy to distinguish. The chakra is everywhere carrying with it the signatures fluctuating from time to time. It's a good indication who are shinobi yet I can't be too reliant, after all the Hokage should have the largest signature right? Yet, somehow I couldn't sense him at all, this means others could be hiding there signatures as well.
Sensing Profiency level has risen X1
My range is large now, all around me in all directions I can feel. It is frightening and reassuring all at once.
'Status' I think to myself as I weave through the crowd barely registering that I have Ami's hand in a practical death grip as we do so.
Sayori
Titles- Gentle Heart
Age 5
Stamina- 136/140
Chakra- (locked)
Chakra Control- (locked)
——- (locked)
——- (locked)
VIT- 7
STR-4
AGI-10
DEX- 9
ACU- 15
INT- 20
CRE-11
WIS-16
CHA- 1
???- 1
???- 1
My stats are amazing for my age… I think. Too bad I can't really compare them, well not yet, I'll be able to get a vague idea by comparing myself to my peers. For all I know Naara children my age have 100 INT and Hyuga children have a AGI of 100. Who knows? Maybe I am pitiful in comparison…
We make our way to a wall that the children all are gathering under and a few adults too. There are lists on it. For the older kids though I quickly realize after skimming over the list and spy that the children our age are all moving to the back of the academy with their parents. I did spy something interesting though Kousei and Masaki's names are on the older kids lists. Looks like they are being thrown into the lions den after all.
We are led to what I guess must be the training yard. The yard though is probably set up differently than it usually is considering that there is what looks like a makeshift stage with a podium against the academy wall and chalked boxes that must be for adult and children to stand. The kids are separating from the parents now. The kids sit closer to the stage legs crossed on the ground and he parents sit in the back. Ami's face lights up in recognition as she waves to a group of girls who seemed to have formed a little niche in the corner.
"Ami! Come sit with us!" One of the girls calls out and I look around. It's the first day and already little groups are forming. I get a terrible feeling of deja by from my last life, I wasn't very good at fitting in then, how the heck am I supposed to fit in now? Ami smiles at the girls and guides me forward towards the group.
"Who's that?" One of the girls ask as I sit next to Ami regretting now not ever going to meet her friends before now.
"This is googly-e… I mean Sayori." Ami says saying my name awkwardly. I don't think she had ever actually said my name, instead always calling me by the 'googly-eyes' nick name I had accepted. A part of me wondered if she had forgotten my name and was now covering for it.
"I'm Kasumi." A girl with large orange hair and dark eyes introduces herself. Again that strange recognition but at the same time not as she sits next to Ami. Before I have time to think more about it the VERY loud sound of someone clearing their throat interrupts me. I turn again surprised. It's the Hoakge, again I didn't sense him. His chakra suppression seems almost to an instinctual level and is unsettling to me. The sound of him clearing his throat grabs the attention of everyone and I am sure the increase in volume is due to some kind of jutsu. I close my eyes focusing. Yes a tiny wisp of chakra as he speaks… definitely a jutsu.
Sensing Profiency Level has risen X1
I open my eyes as not to seem strange as the Hokage starts his speech.
"Welcome to Konoha's ninja academy." He starts off by saying flashing the smile that can only be described as a grandfathers smile. The smile causing me to relax slightly as involuntary as that action is. He's good, very good. "It's great to see so many young faces, eyes burning with the will of fire." He then continues and I can't help but wonder, what exactly is the will of fire really? What is the will of fire if it leads to all the destruction it has and will? What good is it when it burns those you love? I begin to think about this drowning out the Hokage as he talks about the founding of the village watered down more than a little though. "Decades ago the world was in a constant state of war, until the Senju and Uchiha clans, the founders of our beloved village put aside their differences and came together in peace. Under the guidance of the First Hokage Konoha was built, and under the eyes of the Second Hokage this academy was founded. I know you will all make us proud."
"It was Madara Uchiha's dream too…" I mumble and Ami elbows me signalling for me to be quiet.
The Hokage finally stops his speech with a final last phrase. "Now I'll hand things over to your teachers, I look forward to watching your progress, future shinobi." Right… shinobi. I look around, all I see are kids.
The first teacher to go up to the stand is a rather round man with brown hair and a small beard. He has a bandana covering the top of his head holding the metal plate with the hidden leaf symbol. "I'm Daikoku Funeno, when I call your name please stand and line up by the door. Shino Abarame, Chojii Akimichi, Ami, Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka…" he begins to list of as I pick out the names of the main cast my eyes glittering to their child forms one at a time ignoring other names. "Shikamaru Nara, … Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga,… N-Naruto Uzumaki…" his voice falters on that name as I smile at the bright haired boy who seems to have noticed Daikoku's tone. "Sasuke Uchiha." On that name some anticipation renters the teachers voice, the names are spoken, about 30 kids. My name is not. The new class leaves going inside the academy, I wave at Ami as she leaves with a few of her friends in tow. I can see the eyes of many of the parents lingering on Naruto's form until it is out of sight. I clench my fist tightly to avoid outward sky reacting though the deep calm ensures I look neutral and indifferent about the matter.
Next a woman walks up to the podium. She has dark curly black hair and narrow glasses that are highly reflective. Her lipstick is bright red and perfectly applied on tiny lips. Behind her trails a farmiliar sight of a teen with brown hair tied back in a ponytail Nara style, tan skin and a prominent scar over his nose. Or is it a birthmark? I don't quite remember to be honest. Said figure looks very nervous his hands in front of him fidgeting as the woman's heels finally stop clicking and she pauses looking at the clipboard in her hand. "Hello, I am Suzume Daishi, if you hear your name please line up to follow me…" She begins to say and I don't recognize ANY of the names she calls. Finally she speaks my name and I stand up lining up with the rest of the kids. It makes sense there would be more than own class per grade. Konoha is huge and there is only one academy after all, there was no guarantee I would be with the 'main cast'. I sigh as we are lead into the academy.
Everything about the academy screams normal school more or less. The halls don't have lockers or cubbies like they would in my old life but it has that school vibe. We are lead up to the second floor, to a room with a big wood door. Iruka holds the door as Suzume enters ushering us all inside. "Find yourself a seat." Iruka says with a friendly wide smile. He looks very pleased and excited to be here he is practically oozing joy.
The desks are big and so are the seats. Definitely not meant for five and six year olds. In fact they could easily, and comfortably seat adults. Each of us find our seats with only minor hushed whispers and the like. I opt for a seat by the window in the middle second row. I pull off my back pack putting it next to me taking out my brushes, ink, and notebook. I blush when I see everyone else pull out pens and pencils. I haven't done this since coming to the village but smile as I dip the brush in the ink and flip the notebook open. I flinched a little seeing all the curious, cocky, and amused looks of my apparently classmates as they wave at me their hands holding PENCILS. They didn't use pencils at the orphanage ok? Ink was easier to ship and more versatile, not to mention Kanpu was very old school.
As I write my name in the corner of the notebook's page I feel a sense of familiarity fill me from when I was little.
Flash back
"Sayori-chan do you know what this says?" Kanpu said pulling me onto his lap. I was only two and story time had just ended. The other kids went to play and be systematically cornered and put down for naps by Keiri as I wandered the library in hopes of finding an older child to sucker into reading to me some more. I stared at the words on the page, the calligraphy was beautiful. I always had terrible handwriting in my past life. Saying it was chicken scratch would be a compliment. Maybe I could change that in this life?
I squinted at it tilting my head wracking my brain for the few peices of writing I had figured out already. "No, I don't, Kanpu-san." I said looking up at him apologetically. I felt a hand mess up my hair and blushed. Sometimes it was strange being treated like a kid, I was a kid, I felt like a kid, but at the same time could remember being big.
"That's your name, Sayori-chan…" he said with fond amusement taking my little hand and shaping it so my index finger was pointing out and having me trace the brush strokes. "Two parts, this one…" he says placing my hand on the first kanji. "Means small, and this one…" he says moving my hand. "Means peace." I stare at a we are the two figures.
"Wow…" I whisper softly and he smiles. He hands me the brush after dipping it in ink. And I grip it tightly.
"You have always been a curious girl, Sayori-chan. Do you think you could write your name?" He had said and my little look of determination said it all as he set me down and I got to work writing for the first time in my new life.
End flashback
Painting Proficiency Level 18
Ability to pain what you want in a neat and organized fashion. Your skill improves per level. Speed of painting increases 2% per level. Current ability painting speed increases 36%
As this skill increases so does my handwriting with a paint brush but I have no idea how it would transfer over to a pension or pen and well… if I have to restart all the work I won't bother because I already upgrade this skill at a painfully slow rate… I think a remnants of my terrible handwriting transferring over so I won't bother with it. Kids can call me weird and I don't have to care.
"Welcome class. As I said before my name is Suzume Daishi, I will be your home room teacher going forward, and for you young kunoichi, your kunoichi class instructor as well." She says with a bit of a nasally voice but a friendly enough disposition. However the system chooses now to interrupt her.
New title gained!
Huh… I haven't gotten a title in… well I only got one once. "You will call me Suzume-sensei." She then says a little more sternly her eye narrow at me so I make sure to pay attention. "This is my assistant instructor Iruka Umino, your will refer to him as Iruka-sensei." She then says and said teen blushes a little and waves.
"Hello everyone." Iruka says but seems unsure. I wonder if this is the first time he is teaching, you know the time before he started teaching Naruto and the others.
"As long as we treat each other with mutual respect we will all get along swimmingly. Now to begin we will start with going over the rules of the classroom…" She says and I begin to only half pay attention. I focus instead on my sensing ability comparing the chakra of Suzume-sensei and Iruka-sensei to the rest of us. One or two in our class have their chakra flowing meaning I think they have it unlocked though they have a pitiful amount. Suzume-sensei goes on to talk about basic rules. We are to raise our hands, do our homework, avoid cursing and only fight when sparring and only with instructor to supervise. From what I make out the day will be decided in two with classes starting at 8 and the morning being physical exercise while the afternoon being more in class studies. Classes end at 3 except on Mondays and Wednesdays for girls who have TWO additional hours of kunoichi classes for the first three years of the academy.
Sensing Proficiency level has risen X1
We only do a half day today… not even sticking around for lunch. As we pack up to leave I finally allow myself to peak at my new title.
Academy student (rate at which all ninja skills and jutsu during class time level up 5% faster)
I shrug, I guess I should have anticipated that one huh? Not as good as my gentle heart title but still useful. I make my way outside and I opt to do my run on the way home and my exercises and eat the bento for a lunch/dinner before stopping for the night and reading.
Running Proficiency level has risen X1
Body conditioning proficiency level has risen X1
Reading proficiency level has risen X2
You have gained 1 INT
You have gained 1 ACU
All and all not a bad night I have to say. I breath in deeply trying to relax as I curl up on my bed staring at my ceiling. Tomorrow won't be as easy though, nor will the rest of my path.