Shiruko - red bean soup
Dango – small sweet dumplings that are usually stuck on a long toothpick in 3s chibi- small/tiny
ika- squid
Gen Jutsu/Jitsu Chapter 2: How to Fail a failing student 101
By: Seravy
Nao scribbled on the blackboard, habitually glancing to the right and to her surprise, nothing has happened yet. No explosive traps hidden behind the blackboard, no whoopy cushions camouflaged on her chair, no bugs and serpents in her drawers, no, nothing. It was nice not to be on her guard for the duration of the day but to be honest, she felt… disturbed, not to mention that a certain someone was on time today for regular class.
"Well, this one is a hard one…let's see…"
Nao thought for a while and decided on the quiet girl in the front. This was the child who always scored the highest in written tests. Her chakra control was also top notch, almost able to rival a seasoned genin at this tender age of nine which is why the academy decided to put her into this upper year class.
"Shizune," called Nao.
The little girl stood up as the rule dictated.
"Umm… I don't know, sensei."
From the corner of her eye, Nao caught a hand sprouting up. From the front right, no less.
"What a rare occasion, Mitarashi-kun," said Nao, suppressing the sarcasm that was dripping from every word.
Anko stood up from her seat and answered truthfully.
"I don't know either." She then winked at the girl with a mop of plain black hair and stuck a thumb up.
"It a tie, Shizune!"
"Sit down, Mitarashi," growled Nao, the chalk in her hand crumbling into dust. Aside from that comment though, class continued with minimal interruptions, ending like a normal day… a rare event that she had only seen in her dreams as of late. She thanked whatever divine force that was watching her today, not to mention the relief that it brought to her already near-sighted eyes (plain blue t-shirt and red shorts. No weird accessories, or blinding colours). But somewhere in her subconscious had turned the usual ruckus into routine and this abnormally ate at her. Unable to restain her suspicions, she called the unusually placid girl to a side as all of her other students waved goodbye.
"Mitarashi," said Nao, searching for the right word, "You have been very… considerate… and…. benevolent today."
Anko didn't really know what "benevolent" meant but she nodded anyways, flashing her teacher a bright innocent smile.
"Just what is it that you're planning? Because you might as well tell me now."
"What are you talking about, gr—Nao-sensei? I'm just working towards a better me."
The grown woman crossed her arms skeptically, a part of her reality shattering into pieces as the word "sensei" left the mouth of the one and only Mitarashi Anko.
"Really?"
"Honest. I'm just trying to be good. You know, give you the respect you deserve. I know how stressful it is for teachers like you."
Nao managed a nod as the little girl waved her goodbye with a sugar-coated "Goodbye, Nao-sensei". Her limbs felt light as a feather, drifting her into the halls as she made her way into the staff room. Even the sight of her co-worker, Yano, couldn't bring her out of this awkward stupor.
"Michika-kun, how was class?" he quirked.
Yano was a plain-looking man, with all five features and limbs in place (a rare characteristic in this field). He shyly scratched the back of his head, letting lose a few nervous laughs.
"Surreal…" answered Nao, her voice distant and airy.
Yano paused, the awkward reply leaving him with nothing to work with.
"Interesting… the Mitarashi kid again?"
"No," replied Nao, in disbelief herself, "In fact, she was… good today."
"You don't sound too happy about it. Isn't that great?"
"Yea…"
Their conversations were usually shy and hesitant but his co-worker today was oddly unresponsive. But for the sake of small talk, he went for the next usual item on the list.
"So… you ready for the exam?" he asked.
"What exam?"
"The graduation exam tomorrow."
"Graduation exam…" repeated Nao.
Suddenly, revelation hit her. The world made sense again.
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Anko dashed through the emptying halls of the school, moving to the playground in the back. Outside, the refreshing breeze of autumn ran through her spiked pony-tail as she ran towards the fence that surrounded theschool's property. There was one particularly large sakura tree growing there and if one looked closely, beneath its shadow was a single lone figure. Anko ran towards the girl, excitedly.
"Yo! Let's go!"
The girl nodded, her long wavy tresses of black moving with her. Anko really admired the girl's long hair, except for the fact that it covered even her eyes. Both her hands were wrapped in bandages that seemed to reach even into the dull gray long sleeved robe she wore, cut at the knees. Anko had first thought she was a taijutsu type of trainee but as she got to know the girl better, it turned out that the older student was terrible at close combat.
Neither of them bothered to leave through the front, avoiding the mass of parents flocking by the door. Ever since the large attack upon the village a few years ago, everyone has been excessively cautious. Not a single child on the street was ever alone, either with a parent or a group of friends. But that rule didn't apply to them.
The girls rushed down the streets, moving towards the border of the village into a gorgeous field of flowers. There use to be a lot of people lounging in this area, but once again, fear stopped them from coming. They rested for a quick sip from the stream that passed through the scenery and continued their journey until a thick dense forest. It was rumoured to have ferocious beasts and other wild animals stalking its depths. Children made dares about trespassing into its darkness and that was exactly how Anko had discovered its secret.
Once one ventured into the far left of the mystery was an impassable shield of vines and trees. Each root was thick and old, braiding themselves amongst the other to ward off intruders.
Anko turned around and stacked her hands together, palms up. Knowing the routine well, the taller girl stepped into those hands and was boosted into the air. Concentrating her chakra to her feet, she attached herself to the surface of the gigantic roots. All it took was a few quick steps and an opening revealed itself, allowing her to slip through.
As much as she wanted to repeat that performance, Anko's poor chakra control limited her to squeezing through a small opening on the bottom. No one was small or persistent enough to fit through it except for Anko. Wiggling and pushing, the ten year old finally found the end to the tunnel, revealing their homely haven.
Roots surrounded this circular space, somehow purposely leaving it unscathed and protected by everything around. Even the canopy of leaves above was sparse enough for the sun to touch through.
"Kurenai, where is that shiruko I got yesterday?" asked Anko as she looked through her pile of unbound scrolls and scrap pieces of doodling. It was obvious where each of their territory stood. Anko's side was filled with miscellaneous things that she had randomly picked up and liked while Kurenai's was empty except for a few books.
"To your left, under your pencil collection," came the soft reply.
The girl, like her voice, moved quietly to her usual spot right of their shrouded entrance. One of the roots jutted out on a wonderful curve and with pillows and pieces of cloth easing the rough hardness, Kurenai leaned into the improvised chair, her legs propped up at just the right angle by another curve. She watched the other girl down her favourite choice of beverage, roughly wiping her mouth with an arm. They had only met this year and were inseparable ever since.
"Geez, today was so boring, it's even more tiring than doing laps! You don't know how tempting it was to mix Mizuki's orange juice with shiruko! It would been fun. He's such a cry baby," recounted Anko. She then sprouted on about random things during the day.
Kurenai nodded. She liked watching and listening to Anko. It amused her to watch those arms move as they sought to illustrate, and that face change with every second of expression. She didn't like to talk so Anko doing her share as well was nice.
"Then chibi-ika had to butt in, acting all bossy and stuff. Teacher's pet. But lucky him today. Granny just might pull me out of the exam if I decided to punch his face which I was really tempted to do by the way… You listening, Kurenai?"
"Uh."
If she remembered correctly, chibi-ika, who's actual name she had long forgotten, was the shortest boy in class, which was why Anko had dubbed him chibi despite the fact that she was even shorter.
"Anyways, time to practice!"
Anko got up and crossed a seal, chakra running around her as the technique was molded into its physical form.
"Bunshin no jutsu!"
A quick puff swept the calm scene to reveal another one of her failed replications. It never failed to make everyone laugh or Nao lecture her on concentration and control. The shape was more on the mushy side, resembling an airless blown up doll then Anko herself, leaving the ten year old yelling a string of curses. She made the seal again, stomping her left foot impatiently.
"Bunshin, damn it, bunshin!!"
Kurenai continued to watch from the side, switching between nothing and Anko(s?). Much to contrary belief, she can see quite well behind her hair. Her younger companion always tried excessively hard but this technique was one that needed concentration and control and Anko can't seem to do either.
"That one is stupid anyways, but I bet granny is going to test us on that one. She always picks on me," complained the shorter girl. She opened her arms and fell backwards, allowing the soft bed of grass to catch her weight.
"I just can't wait! We're finally going to graduate! A little late by my plans but I'll just have to make it up and become a jounin by 11... maybe 12. That Kakashi guy I heard was a chuunin by 6! Good thing he isn't a jounin yet so I still have some time to catch up."
Kurenai didn't bother to answer this time as Anko rolled excitedly around. It was one of the few things that annoyed her, the fact that everyone was so keen on being a shinobi.
"Anko?"
"Ya?"
Anko sat up. The older girl rarely talked so she made sure to give Kurenai her full attention every time when she did. Besides, it was always a little hard to hear Kurenai as the girl spoke rather quietly.
"Between, shiruko and shinobi. Which would you choose?" asked the black-haired teenager. She was well aware that her companion was three years younger and even three years denser and knew she had to put it in Anko-terms, which usually meant the evaluation of foods. Anko answered immediately.
"Both!"
"You can only choose one."
"How can you choose just one?"
"Just choose."
Anko crossed her arms, as if in great dilemma.
"That's hard…um…. Shinobi as in, Nao-granny type shinobi?"
"I guess," shrugged Kurenai.
"Shiruko, of course!"
A small smile floated over the pale girl's lips, gently clutching the necklace that hung around her neck. When Anko had first met her, the younger girl had declared that she liked Kurenai better than shiruko, although dango still sat in first place. And considering the ten year old's abilities, she had no doubt about the exam's results, one of the main reasons she didn't mind being around Anko.
"Anyways, let's do this! We're going tobe the best kunoichi in Konoha… No, the best in the world!!!!"
Kurenai nodded.
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Nao stared at her clock. One more minute. She had been counting down the seconds since fifteen minutes ago. All of her students have already arrived except for one and for once, the academy teacher was anxious for her arrival.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0--
The door slammed open on the second. She sometimes wondered how that girl can time her entrance so well.
"Yo, everyone!"
Nao accepted the boisterous greeting with utmost grace, hiding the glee that was running wild in her mind.
"Good morning, Mitarashi-kun. How good to see you. Take a seat please as we're about to begin."
Anko didn't know how to receive this genuinely warm greeting and simply did as she was told, choosing the space beside Kurenai. It was a nice change as they never got to sit together as seating was arranged by height and Nao's need to scrutinize Anko's every move during class.
"The exam topic is the replacement technique," announced the teacher.
Anko can feel triumph rushing through her veins. Her replacement technique still had a few flaws but at least it wasn't the replication one. She nudged her friend beside her, exchanging looks of smug confidence despite the fact that she can never quite see behind the long bangs.
"Everyone shall gather outside in the track field. Your task is to dodge a ball using the replacement technique then land a shuriken on the indicated target. Details shall be explained by Yano-sensei outside."
"This is going to be easy! Can I go first, please please please please!!!!" exploded Anko, unable to retain her excitement anymore.
"Of course, Mitarashi-kun. Come right this way."
Anko almost literally bounced to the front, saluting the door like a real soldier. Nao was rarely this complacent but this new version of the teacher, she was really getting to like. For a second, the ten year old even considered not calling her "granny" anymore. Just for a second though.
Nao opened the door and led Anko through but as everyone else turned left, she was steered to the right instead.
"Umm… the track field is that way, granny."
Instead of her usual outburst though, Nao's small secret smile continued to radiate from her thin lips.
"Don't worry… I'm old but not senile yet."
Anko didn't know to laugh or shake in fear at the comment.
After passing a couple of classrooms, they stopped at the one labeled "2A". The door slid open easily to reveal a seemingly empty room. There were only two windows, small ones no less, the main source of lighting coming from a single light bulb, dangling from the middle of the ceiling. Underneath the light was one lonely desk, accompanied by a matching chair and another one a few meters away.
"Take a seat at the desk," instructed Nao.
"I can't really do the replication technique sitting down though."
"No need to worry."
Nao led Anko by the arm, sitting her into the chair with a firm push on the shoulders. From her clipboard, she removed a few leafs of paper, setting them on the desk, along with two pencils and an erasers.
"Here you go, Mitarashi-kun. You have one hour."
Anko looked down and the moment her eyes made contact with the bold letters "Written Exam" at the very top of the first page, her mouth slacked open with unspoken shock and disbelief.
"What the-- A written test?!" burst Anko with volume that exceeded its usual intensity.
"Obviously," answered Nao, coolly.
"That's not fair! Why does everyone else get to do the easy thing, while I'm stuck with this!"
"You have only your poor conduct to blame for this."
Anko's arms moved frantically around her as she worked to save herself.
"But I was good!"
"For ONE day."
Nao held up a finger right between Anko's eyes, stressing the short duration of her paradise.
"That took a lot of effort, ya know!"
"Arguing won't get you anywhere. It's either the test or you can forget about graduating."
"This is not fair! I won't do this piece of crap!"
Nao merely shrugged, anticipating and savouring Anko's every reaction.
"Then you'll fail by default."
"You…you… evil witch! You're just trying to take revenge! That's not something a teacher should do!"
"Evil?! Let me tell you that this paper has nothing but the most basic of basics. If you don't even know the answer to these questions, then you have no right to be a shinobi."
Although both yelling and debating require a certain amount of vocal strength, the lather was never her strong suit and Anko could only answer with her mute moving mouth, struggling to form a coherent argument.
"And don't even think about cheating."
Nao's glasses glinted. She pointed two fingers at her eyes then at Anko.
"I'm watching you."
The academy teacher stalked away, taking the seat that was directly in front of Anko.
"You know, if you pass me, you'd never have to see me again…" tried the ten year old weakly.
"Don't forget to write your name, Mitarashi," said Nao, her determination as stern as a mountain.
Next Chapter: F for fail
No surprise. Anko failed… but so did Kurenai.
Title thing: Genjutsu is illusion techniques while genjitsu means reality. Just a little play on sounds. And a little azumanga joke in the beginning if another got it. And chibi-ika is actually youngIruka-sensei. I took out the "ru" in his name and it became ika. heh.