Against The World
"I was so naive."
-x-
"That the one?"
"Yeah, that's the one our Eye mentioned."
"I don't see it."
"Yeah, well, orders are orders. Higher ups decided for us."
Their hands flew through a set of hand seals too quick for the eye to see, but in perfect unison.
-x-
Two
After Isamu-sensei announced my time for the written portion was up, he led me outside to the track.
My physical assessment was next. I did not foresee it going particularly well.
"Alright kid, here's the deal. You are going to run as fast as you can for the first lap—it will be timed. After that, you'll pace yourself for long distance running, and stop when I say so."
Fuck. Running. Ew. "Yes, sensei." I said obediently and got into position at the starting line. At his word, I took off as fast as I could.
To my surprise, it wasn't so bad. In The Before I hadn't exactly been an athlete, and hated running. I tired after just a couple minutes, and always lost my balance and ended up falling flat on my face. But here? I was already running faster than I ever imagined I would, and wasn't even winded by the time I finished the first lap.
It felt amazing. I felt so free. I swear, it must be the whole alien thing. Considering the things actual ninja can manage, I'm guessing the people here evolved to have a higher capacity for this sort of thing.
As amazing as it felt, it didn't last forever. I'm not sure how long I managed to run, and how many laps I completed before I started to tire, but eventually it caught up to me. Still, I pushed myself to keep going. If I didn't make it into the ninja academy, there would be no improvement in my treatment at the orphanage, and I couldn't deal with that. Moreover, I couldn't deal with knowing what the ninja of this village could do to me if I remained a civilian.
I was huffing and puffing by the time Isamu-sensei called for me to stop, and as soon as he did I let myself collapse on the spot.
I closed my eyes and turned onto my back, gasping for the oxygen my body felt deprived of. The coolness of the ground was refreshing to my sweat soaked body. Just as my breathing evened out, I felt a gentle kick to my shoulder. I cracked an eye open and saw Isamu-sensei holding out a water bottle. I pushed myself onto my elbows and snatched it from his grasp. I practically poured it down my throat.
"That was pretty pathetic kid." He commented.
Well fuck him too. That was like, Olympic level shit by my standards. I decided to ignore the comment in favour of quenching my thirst. It wasn't long before the bottle was empty.
"Alright kid, get up. That's enough of a break." No. No it really wasn't, but I followed his instructions regardless, and slowly picked myself up off the ground. "Next is the obstacle course."
The sadistic grin that spread across his face told me enough to know this was going to suck.
-x-
Two hours later, I found myself back in that tiny room where I wrote the exam, waiting for Isamu-sensei to give me his verdict.
After doing my best at the obstacle course, which amounted to getting a quarter of the way through, then being unable to get over this huge wall and giving up when Isamu-sensei started laughing at me, I was made to do as many push ups as I could. Which, to be honest, wasn't many. And then came sit ups. And then pull ups. And on and on it went.
And now I was stuck here in this tiny ass room, but this time with nothing to do but wait.
And wait I did. There wasn't a clock in the room, so I couldn't say for sure how long he kept me waiting, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was doing this on purpose. Well, if he is, it won't work. I'm not actually sure what he thinks making me wait will accomplish, but I won't let him win.
Unless that's what he wants me to do. In which case, that means he does win. Fuck. I was too tired for this shit. Running broke my brain.
An indeterminate amount of time later, Isamu-sensei returned, folders in hand. He set them on the table and sat down in a chair I was certain had not been there before.
"Your assessment is complete, Hoshino-chan." he announced. "Quite frankly, saying your physical assessment was below average for a first year student is kind. Your speed wasn't terrible, but your stamina and strength were deplorable. We didn't bother assessing taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or weapons—you'd have failed. Your flexibility is fairly good though."
Well of course, I have no training and haven't exactly been a physically active child, now have I?
After a moment of silence where I failed to reply, he continued. "Your academic assessment was all over the place. You solved the logic puzzles quickly and correctly. Your literacy skills are more advanced than many of our final year students, and your math skills are well beyond the academy. Where did you learn them?"
"Hanako taught me to read and write, and basic math." I explained. "I loved the math, so once I ended up beyond her she gave me books to learn it from. My reading and writing skills improved from having to get through advanced math texts."
That was actually true, though the word learn should probably have quotation marks around it, considering I knew it all already. But it was a refresher, and it was sweet of Hanako to think of me like that. She didn't have to.
The man across from me nodded. "You completely failed all questions related to the ninja rules since you skipped them, and did poorly in regards to anatomy, chakra, and first aid. You flunked the history section, and barely made the cut for geography. However..." He folded his hands in front of him on the table and sighed. "Considering you have no formal education, we believe you did quite well in those areas. What really stood out to us however, were your responses to the scenarios and cryptography questions."
"How so?" I inquired, fiddling with the hem of my shorts under the table.
"You were not expected to be able to answer any of the cryptography questions. There are several versions of the early entrance exams. Students from clans and ninja families are given much different ones. The purpose of the cryptography questions is to catch those who know things they shouldn't and possible spies." Isamu-sensei's face was serious, his voice cold.
I swallowed and gripped my knees. Did they thin—
"Fortunately, I observed you the entire time and witnessed your process for decoding the message. Your methods proved you simply are incredibly intelligent."
I let out a small breath I didn't realize I'd even been holding. Thank fuck. This place... It's not hard to guess that if they thought I was a spy it would end with my death. And while my only fear in regards to death is "what if the next world is worse," I'm well aware that the sweet embrace of death would only come long after I'd given up begging for it.
-x-
I returned to the orphanage on my own. As a student at the ninja academy I was granted much more freedom. My days confined to the orphanage were over.
In the end, it was decided that since it was the middle of term, I would be provided with materials to study until the next term started in just over two months. A week before the new term, I'd be tested again.
For only two months to learn things, they gave me what seemed like an astronomical amount of information to learn. I was given so many books that they had to be sealed inside a scroll, just so I could carry them back to the place that was supposed to be my home.
Though perhaps it wasn't just for ease of transportation that I was given the sealed scroll. Isamu-sensei made sure to emphasize the importance of keeping the small scroll somewhere safe and sealing away the books when I wasn't using them.
I decided to run back to the orphanage. I was still tired, but my skewed chakra and poor physical condition meant I had push myself in this area. It wouldn't be enough to train as much as the average student, I had to do more if I hoped to succeed.
I was going to be a ninja. I was going to be sent out to fight in a war in at most four years. If I didn't want to die young, I had to do whatever I could to become better.
The run back wasn't as bad as the laps had been towards the end, but it wasn't as easy as it was on the first. Still, I managed to make it back without stopping.
That evening I was given a large portion of dinner.
"You had a long, hard day at the academy, dear." The caretaker serving dinner chuckled. "You missed lunch for it, so have some extra now to make up for it."
When I showered, my aching muscles were soothed by the warm spray.
By the time I made it to bed I was too tired to think. I was out just moments after closing my eyes.
That night was the first time in weeks I slept through one without any nightmares.
-x-
After breakfast, the caretaker from dinner the other night took me to a room I'd never been in before.
"Since you're starting training, you'll need more durable clothes." she explained. "Pick out a few outfits. It's all second hand, but in serviceable condition."
The room contained racks upon racks of clothing, and shelves of footwear. The caretaker, who I couldn't help but think of as Two-Face after her personality transplant upon my admittance to the academy, directed me to a section with clothes approximately in my size.
The selection was minimal. It was mostly tops and bottoms of various muted colours in slightly different cuts. I ran my hands over the fabric of the tops and noticed they were all made of the same strange material. It wasn't like anything I'd felt before—heavy, but soft, and strangely dense.
I chose a black t-shirt with the Leaf emblem proudly displayed on each sleeve, as it was on all shirts, and plain black shorts.
Two-face smiled at me and sent me to try them on. They were a bit large, but they weren't falling off or anything and I'd grow into them. Folding up my old clothes, I went back out and grabbed several more t-shirts and shorts to bring back to my dorm. Next I grabbed a pair of standard sandals in my size. I tried them on and frowned. I couldn't say I was a fan, but there weren't exactly any other options.
After upgrading my wardrobe, Two-Face left me alone to study and train, much to my relief. I grabbed the scroll I'd been given from where I tucked it into my pillow the night before, and released the contents like Isamu-sensei showed me. In a puff of smoke, a stack of books appeared on my bed. I looked over them, trying to decide where to start. Finally, I chose geography. I figured it would be easy enough to finish quickly and then move on. I didn't exactly have a lot of time.
-x-
I established a routine over the next two months. To my surprise, I found myself able to recall almost everything from the texts after reading through them only once or twice. I wonder if it was an alien brain thing? Perhaps the brains in this world are better at retaining large portions of information quickly? In a society where information is a luxury to be hoarded, I can imagine the brain evolving to accommodate having to memorize things quickly. Or maybe it was an individual thing and I was simply blessed with a brain that can handle these sorts of things this time around? It wasn't exactly relevant. I was merely grateful.
Still, I had to do a lot of studying, and that meant I had to offset it with physical exercise in order to avoid skewing my chakra further.
I decided to work on speed, strength, and stamina rather than skill, since I didn't want to learn any bad habits that would come back to bite me later. I mostly repeated the exercises I'd been put through in my assessment, but added in a few other things I remembered from The Before, like jumping rope.
I studied in my rest periods, and eventually tried to find some activity to accommodate simultaneous studying. I started to train myself to read and walk at the same time, without losing situational awareness and running into things, or people for that matter. Eventually I hoped to be able to run while reading. I found that push ups worked well for reading as well. I just put the book in front of me and every now and then added in some one armed push ups so I could turn the pages. I hoped that my strength would increase enough that I could sustain one armed push ups long enough to be able to write as well.
I had a feeling that I'd become a master multitasker in the future.
My runs and reading-walks took me through the confusing twists and turns of the village until I knew the main areas well. To be honest, I couldn't help but feel that village was a misnomer. It was a small city, albeit completely different from the cities of The Before.
Instead of wide, paved streets and towering glass and concrete buildings, we had gravel and cobblestone paths, and few buildings taller than six or seven storeys. The typical grid layout of streets was nowhere to be seen, and architecture favoured round, twisting designs over the straight and blocky ones I remembered. There was far more flora in one district of this place than there was in entire cities from Before, but I supposed that was to be expected in a village named for hiding in leaves.
Getting out and training really drove home the fact that the sun I was orbiting was not the familiar but unnamed star I previously did.
I didn't spend all my time training and studying though. I also took time to visit Hanako.
-x-
Finding the hospice Hanako was forced to move into only months before my mother died took some effort. I'd been there before, of course, but I'd never come from the orphanage before, and it was on the other side of the village.
It was a facility reserved for ninja injured in the line of duty. I was unsure of the exact details, but Hanako's injuries were not just limited to her body, but her chakra was affected as well, and without constant care her organs would fail.
In the months since I'd had the freedom to come visit the receptionist had changed. Instead of the kind, middle aged woman from before, it was an androgynous teen that greeted me.
"I'm here to see Hanako, room 1412." I stated as I tried to peer over the counter.
The teen glanced down at me, and raised an eyebrow. "Name?" they asked, snapping their gum as the pulled out a binder and flipped though half the pages.
"Hoshino Sekai." I replied.
"Alright. You're on the list. Please sign here." A sign in sheet and pen was shoved to the edge of the counter. I gave the teenager a dark look, and pressed the paper to the wall so I could sign it, since the counter was almost as tall as me.
"Right, sorry, kid. Next time I'll give you something to write on. You know the way?"
"Yes." I replied. He performed a few hand seals and there was the click of a lock from the door next to the counter.
I made my way through a maze of hallways until I found myself standing outside a door marked by the number 1412. I knocked gently and said, "Hanako-san? It's Sekai." Upon hearing a soft "come in," I pushed open the door.
"I've told you, Sekai-chan, to call me Hanako-baa-san." she tutted in greeting, a warm smile spreading across her wrinkled face. Her left arm moved, and I noticed the files and folders spread out on her bed and the miniature table across her lap.
"What's all this?" I asked as I took a seat in the chair by her bedside.
"Just some paper work, dear. It's fairly boring here, so the village let's me do clerical work to pass my time." She chuckled. "But I'm surprised to see you here after all this time. Did you manage to convince one of the caretakers to bring you?"
"No." I replied, dropping my gaze to the floor. Hanako knew very well that the orphanage only let those over the age of ten or those on the ninja path come and go from the orphanage without escort.
"Oh, Sekai-chan..." she sighed. "You told them you would join the academy in a few years?"
"Not exactly..." I bit my lip. "They tested me. I start with the new term."
Hanako closed her eyes, trembling. She took a deep breath. "Sekai-chan, my dear... I'm so sorry. Aya-chan never wanted this for you..."
"It was my choice." I defended. "It's fine."
Hanako remained silent. I knew what she was thinking. The Leaf Village was at war. It wasn't fine. Eventually, she forced a smile on her face.
"Would you be a dear and fetch the jewellery box from my dresser?"
Bemused, I did as she bade. When I returned with it, she gestured for me to sit on the edge of the bed and turn my back to her. She took the box from me and pulled out a set of beautiful, but plain and clearly used hair clips.
"You need to do something with your hair if you're to be a ninja." She explained as she divided my hair into two sections, leaving out a few front strands to frame my face. "You can't just let it hang loose and in your face like that."
She took the left section and pinned the end of it to the right side of the back of my head with her good arm, and then pinned the right section to the left side, forming an x with my hair. "This is how I wore my hair back in the day. My daughter wore her hair short, so I couldn't pass these clips to her. I'd hoped to pass them to any grand children... So I want you to have them. Go have a look in the mirror and put this back."
Wordlessly, I obeyed. In front of the mirror, I tugged at my purple locks, but nothing came loose. My lips twitched.
"Thank you, Hanako-baa-san. I like it."
"I'm glad, my girl."
The rest of the visit was spent catching up. She was surprised to learn just how skewed my chakra was, and laughed when I told her about my complete failure at the obstacle course. When I told her about the orphanage and Two-Face's change in attitude once I was accepted into the academy, she seemed to age twenty years in the span of seconds, her eyes bright with anger and something I couldn't name.
-x-
I made sure to visit Hanako as often as I could. Not only was it nice to see a friendly face, but she was also full of tips for a ninja in training. With her help I started on stretches and exercises to improve flexibility, and taught me the hand signs and how to best transition from one to another as best she could with her disability. She helped me study by quizzing me on the most important aspects of the book work I'd been assigned. It made learning the theoretical aspects so much easier.
When I finally finished the book work, I had just two weeks until the new term at the academy. I'd intended to focus on physical training, but I found myself incredibly bored without anything to keep my mind busy after just two days.
On the third, I decided to try heading to the library to find something to pass the time, but the library held nothing but fiction—no history or geography, nothing about chakra, not even any math. Part of me was surprised, but mostly it made sense. Knowledge was power, and ninja hoard it. It made little sense to store all your information in a place any one could access, especially since even the most innocent tidbit could be useful to an enemy. Still, it was disappointing, especially since none of the books there caught my eye.
And so I ran back to the orphanage from the library empty-handed. With nothing better to do, I liberated the scroll containing my academy texts from my pillow case and unfurled it. Just as I was about to release my books, I paused.
When I'd first received the scroll, I'd been curious about how the seal worked, but ignored it to focus on what had seemed like a mountain on work to get through. But now I had the time to look into it.
I plopped down on the floor by my bed, grateful that the children I shared the room with were busy in class. I tugged off my sandals and placed them atop the edges of the scroll to keep it from curling inwards, and stared at the seal, tapping my chin with two fingers.
It didn't look like much—just some random scribbles and a few kanji. It was hard to read some of the kanji due to the thick lines, but I was able to distinguish the kanji for space, lock, and open.
With nothing else to be gained from observing the seal as it was, I shoved my sandals aside and released the books. To my disappointment, there didn't seem to be any differences in the seal.
Frowning, I resealed the books and slipped my sandals back on. A dead end.
I wasn't discouraged though. While there was nothing more I could gather from the storage seal and there were no available books to answer my questions, Hanako might know something. And if not, I was sure she would still find away to help me, like she did with those math books.
I stashed the scroll in one my pockets and started the long run to the hospice.
-x-
"Seals, Sekai-chan?"
"Yeah. I'm just—how do they work? How do you put an object much larger inside something so small? How do some kanji and fancy line work let you do that? How—"
Hanako chuckled. "Breathe, dear. I can't answer your questions if you don't give me a chance to speak."
"Sorry, Hanako-baa-san." I bowed my head and used her preferred address in apology.
"It's alright, Sekai-chan. I just haven't seen you this excited since I got you all those math books." She smiled at me fondly, then sighed. "Unfortunately, I know little of seals. It's an esoteric branch of ninja arts. Few people bother with actually learning more than how to use storage seals and explosive tags. There isn't much reward unless you're a master."
"Oh." I murmured, my bottom lip jutting out just a bit. "I still want to know, though."
Hanako laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
-x-
Notes: The tumblr, sekai-against-the-world is up. So far we have a world map that I will be using and some stats.
Fun fact: many people believe the official name of our sun is Sol, but that isn't actually true. The IAU does not recognize any official name for our sun, last I checked.
A few things I forgot to say before. I will for the most part be using English terms for things. Exceptions are things that don't translate well, and honorifics. I see no point in throwing in random Japanese words when there is a perfectly good translation. E.g. Leaf/Leaves rather than Konoha, Water Country/Land of Water instead of Mizu no kuni, but leaving Hokage, rasengan, chidori, and such untranslated.
So far most of the names I've used are actual Japanese names, or canon names. However this won't always be 100% true, sometimes I will use Japanese words as names, as is done in canon. If you aren't familiar with actual Japanese names and naming conventions you won't notice—it shouldn't stand out anymore than canon names.
Also as a heads up, I'm going to be nerfing certain jutsu/abilities/characters/etc. to make things more balanced, because by the end of the manga half the characters were ridiculously, story-breakingly OP.
Thanks for reading. Please excuse any typos, grammatical errors, etc. I won't be coming back to edit, but if you notice a general issue over the entire work, please point it out and I will attempt to fix it in the future.
Love,
The Mathemagician