Twilight River

Chapter 2

I Want to Learn!

After the letter arrived that stated I was accepted into the academy, Kotoko-san became suddenly worse. Instead of being smacked with her sandal on my back or head she would lash at any limb I couldn't retract fast enough or even my face if my head was too close. If someone ever asked about the marks on me during visitors day then Kotoko-san would tell them it was from ninja training and proudly show off that she had raised an early academy student.

And well, while I was absolutely aware I wasn't being treated right, I was taking it in stride. I kind of agreed in that it was training me. My reflexes got better and I got used to the pain of the strikes. In the academy no one would have the same strength as Kotoko-san for awhile, I was sure. So I never complained and I stopped crying by the time my first day at the academy started.

On my walk there it wasn't hard to tell apart the clan kids, the civilians, and the orphans. The clan kids already had nice supplies and walked with this arrogant air even if they weren't actually arrogant people. The civilians were shy and excited, the girls wearing cute dresses and the boys wearing new shoes. The orphans were shabbier than the civilians. They had a rougher air from having to live in overstuffed orphanages and play fighting in ways other kids would be scolded for. Our clothes had holes in them because they were hand me downs and we looked physically dirtier. Showering and bathing in our orphanage was usually reserved for days before visitors came or when a child was too filthy or smelly to handle. I wasn't sure if the other orphanages were better but who would know?

There were a lot of classes for the new kids and I was sure the weak ones would be weeded out throughout the year. What was probably every orphan in the village probably tried out for the academy. I myself had walked out with half of the five year olds who made it past the entrance exam with what little reading and writing they had been able to pick up from the tutor who stopped in once a week specifically for the four year olds who wanted to attend the academy when they turned five.

I found my name in class 1-B, the second highest class available. Apparently the score you got on the entrance exam determined where you were placed and I was relatively high considering the letters went down to H and I was towards the higher part of the list of the thirty three kids per class. The entrance ceremony was short and the Hokage gave a speech about the Will of Fire and then congratulated us on entering the academy. The parents all stuck around to encourage their kids to make friends while the instructors struggled to get ready after the speech.

The orphans somehow managed to attract each other and we all awkwardly stood around looking at each other. One of the bigger kids was a boy from my orphanage and he was one of several Ryu's on the board who didn't have a last name. He was as average as all the other Ryu's in all ways except for the fact he was bigger than most of the other kids.

"Huh, it's Mibaka!" Ryu announced when he saw me standing off to the side, "What're you doin' here? You're too small!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "I scored higher than you, so you'd better find a better name if you wanna look tough, stupid."

Ryu gave a haughty laugh, "Mibaka!"

"Mibaka!" a few other kids giggled. Ryu made himself the leader of the new orphans and I promptly left the circle to see if I could find kids I recognized from canon. I wasn't actually sure how old I was in comparison to them but I was really hoping to not run into anyone familiar.

There were a few strange hair colors but not too many and eventually the classes were called by their senseis. When we were led to our classroom everyone took their seats with most of the class migrating towards the back. I took an aisle seat towards the middle of the rows. The first day was mostly just outlining the course and I was disappointed to find that the first year of the academy didn't learn anything too cool. We meditated to find our chakra but didn't even do an exercise with it until next year. Sparring did start halfway through our year but we focused heavily on exercise and book work for the year.

I flourished in the academy. I didn't spend much time at the orphanage anymore because after class I would head straight to the library to read on subjects that interested me. Being an Uzumaki I searched for books on my clan but I was stared down by the librarian and denied access to those books. Apparently you had to be a chunin! I was very not pleased with that but I managed to find a book on sealing that I was able to check out as well as a book on chakra theory.

The academy's first year was rather simple for me in terms to learning. I was able to do most of the beginner math they gave us and I learned the terms I couldn't recognize in written form. I knew the basics of history and I soaked up what I didn't know from Naruto canon. They focused heavily on reading, writing and speaking for the first year because they wanted us to converse more intelligently.

I had a lot of free time because of how easy the year was so I was able to work on my side reading. The exercise the academy expected of the students was surprisingly harsh with escalating difficulty. They went through stretching and simple exercises before expecting us to be able to run the mile. Obstacle courses were common and a few kids ended up knocking out teeth from slamming face first into obstacles. My time wasn't the fastest for the obstacle course because the clan kids glided almost effortlessly through the easier ones.

The civilian kids fared the worst with the physical tests but the orphans were the worst at the general studies. I was a bit of an outcast because I spent most of my time reading up on things I didn't already know. In fact, my sensei was suspecting me of cheating until one day he ran into me at the library.

I didn't notice him at first because of the dictionary I was flipping through in my efforts to figure out a kanji I didn't know. It was time consuming because I couldn't even begin to tell you what sound it started with so I had to go through the entire dictionary and hope it wasn't on the last page. Goro-sensei, the grumpy man who gave me my entrance exam, looked over my shoulder and I wouldn't have even noticed if his shadow hadn't covered me.

I looked up in surprise, "Sensei?"

"Fuinjutsu basics?" Goro-sensei remarked in surprise, "Why are you looking through this, Miyako?"

I smiled, "Uzumaki's are good seal users, right?"

He nodded, "True. You're an orphan aren't you? How do you know about being an Uzumaki?"

"Hokage-sama told me!" I boasted and Goro-sensei's eyebrows rose so far they disappeared behind his bangs.

I returned to my book and Goro-sensei continued to look over my shoulder as I flipped through the dictionary. Then he pulled out the chair next to me and leaned over, "What kanji are you looking for?"

I pointed it out and he told me what it was. On the journal I was keeping as my own dictionary, I jotted it down and Goro-sensei flipped through my actual notes notebook.

"I had been thinking you were cheating, considering your grades. But you enjoy learning, don't you?" Goro-sensei said as he flipped through the pages.

I nodded my head gently, "I do. I want to know things."

"And have you learned anything about fuinjutsu?" he questioned.

I stared at my notebook before confessing, "It's slow. The vocabulary makes me struggle sometimes. And it seems to be an art that you need a teacher for because not much is written down about it."

Goro-sensei agreed, "Fuinjutsu is a very complicated art that not many can pick up. It's good to be studying something you're interested in but don't try to actually seal anything unless you have a teacher supervising you. It's a dangerous thing to learn even for adults."

I promised him I wouldn't attempt anything and he flipped through the other notebooks I had. Kotoko-san disliked me but she bought a supply of notebooks for all the academy students and I grabbed as many as I could before they were all gone. The same thing for the crappy pencils she gave us. She didn't give us anything else and told us to work for anything else we needed.

Goro-sensei watched me work for about an hour until he looked at the time.

"It's a bit late, isn't it?" he questioned. I looked at the ancient clock on the wall. It was almost time for the library to close at nine pm.

I started to clean up my things and sort them into the piles I was taking back to the orphanage with me, "I stay until closing usually."

"Don't you miss dinner?" Goro-sensei inquired as I struggled to contain all my books in my arms.

"If I'm hungry then I'll just sneak some snacks." I told him. Goro-sensei followed me to the door as I dropped my stack on a table and put the books I wasn't taking on the cart to be refiled. Of course I would be taking them back the next day and the librarian watched me with an amused expression. Academy students were only allowed so many books at a time, and only certain books, so I was often leaving a chunk of my research at the library. This included the dictionary because it was fat.

Goro-sensei walked with me a few blocks as I carried my books close to my chest.

"You're a good kid, Miyako-chan." Goro-sensei told me as we split ways. He ruffled my hair, "Keep at it."

I went home feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I must have been glowing with praise because when Kotoko-san saw me she grumbled under her breath and swatted at me. I stole some cookies that night and was perfectly fine with the yelling I got the next morning when Kotoko-san assumed it was me.

.

The first day we learned how to throw kunai was an experience. All the clan kids were able to do so already so they were moved onto shuriken, if they didn't know that already, and the orphans and civilians were thrown together. Goro-sensei, who was a hardass who you would think hated kids by how he often acted as a teacher, grunted out instructions. He lectured us on the basic way to throw a kunai and we all got a log to throw shit at. There was no target today: you just had to get the kunai to stick on the log somewhere.

Kunai were kind of harder to throw than you would expect. They were actual metal, as in we were using real kunai, so they were heavy and I often arched my throws. Most of the kids didn't have the strength or knowledge of how to throw a kunai perfectly straight so a lot of kunai were ending up everywhere. Goro-sensei helped the worst kids and watched the kind of proficient ones while giving a bit of advice.

When he got to me he watched for a few moments, "Flick your wrist more. A sharper motion will make it straighter."

I did so with little trouble but my kunai still arched, although less so than before. Goro-sensei made an acceptable grunt and moved on.

Basking in praise, as I always did, I moved to get ready to throw my next one. Before I knew it there was a sharp pain in my thigh and I found a kunai stick out of the side. I looked in the direction the handle was facing and Ryu looked both horrified and proud.

"I-I didn't mean to-" he began and I pushed back tears as I tried to move and kunai jiggled. He was a few kids over and Goro-sensei was making his way back over after noticing the injury.

Ryu swallowed, "I wanted to make you jump and scare you!"

Goro-sensei knelt down to look at the kunai protruding from my thigh before he yanked it out in a sharp, clean motion. I gasped and sniffled as blood started to drip out of the gash. He told me to go see the school's medic and as I hobbled away he started to lecture Ryu on how kunai are weapons meant to kill enemies and are not toys to be used to try and scare your classmates.

The school's medic had me sit down and she looked it over, "Well it's not too deep. The kid who threw it definitely got you good though. I'll heal it so it doesn't scar."

Medical chakra, I quickly learned, felt fucking awkward. My own chakra didn't know what to do about it so I was keenly aware of the medical chakra shifting through that area and rebuilding my leg. The medic didn't say anything about how I was reacting so I assumed it was normal to not know what on earth was going on.

She apologized after a moment, "I apologize for the feeling. It takes more chakra for it to feel pleasant and if you're injured on the field the medic is likely to heal you this way. It's intended to be a learning experience."

The pain went away after a few minutes of my wound slowly being knit back together and seal itself up. When she was done she had me sit for a few minutes to make sure my leg was fine. As I sat, still as a statue, I watched the medic at her desk. She was doing paperwork and seemed relatively at ease. When a few minutes passed she handed me a lollipop and sent me on my way.

When I got back to class it was almost time for book work so my leg didn't bother me too much. For the next few days Ryu laid off me but that led to most of the other kids taking their turns at me. For whatever reason, probably because I was a nerd, the other kids enjoyed teasing me. My hair wasn't long enough to pull or put gum in but they liked trying to trip me, shooting spitballs at my back, hiding my things, leaving me out at recess. It escalated quickly after the kunai incident and they decided that they could gang up on me, push me around since there wasn't too much of a penalty for harming someone as long as it could be fixed.

I didn't really care too much. They couldn't hurt as much as Kotoko-san yet so I endured. When sparring started I had some vicious marks on me from clan kids, who typically stayed out of the bullying, but not too much from the weaker civilians and orphans. The classes had dropped to F, and that class was actually down a few kids. In total, about seventy or so kids had failed out or dropped out.

Towards the end of the year, on my way home, I met with Uchiha-san again. It was February and Valentines Day had passed with a sudden realization from the girls that boys existed. Crushes formed and horribly made chocolates had been passed around. We were still at the 'girls have cooties!' age though so the chocolates were all accepted but the feelings behind them denied. Cruel, right?

When I ran into Uchiha-san, it was more so he ran into me. I was carrying my usual books with me when the top few that nearly obscured my vision were suddenly lifted into the air swiftly. I swiveled around, ready to yell at whoever decided to pick on me now, but my words died in my throat when I saw Uchiha-san standing there.

He held the books up with one hand, "Hello, little Miyako-chan! Do you remember me?"

"Yeah." I told him bluntly, "My books, please?"

Uchiha-san eyed the chakra theory book in his hand, "Isn't this a bit hard for a two year old to read?"

"I'm four!" I yelled immediately, my cheeks puffing up, "How could you even think I could be two? I would have been one last time we met!"

Uchiha-san laughed, "Of course I know you're not two. I checked the tag on your clothes last time to see how old you were and you were three."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

"Clothes don't have sizes until you're about five. They have an age instead." Uchiha-san informed me and I had the sudden urge to check my tag to confirm this. I had never looked at the clothes I wore since they were hand me downs and it wasn't like I had to buy my own clothes yet.

Uchiha-san hummed, "That being said, did you sneak out again to go to the library? I wouldn't think you could read yet."

"I'm in the academy now." I informed him, "I was allowed to enter early if I could read."

His eyebrows rose and he whistled, "Impressive then, Miyako-chan. Are you trying to graduate early?"

"I haven't really thought about that." I confessed, "I'm just interested in learning."

"That's a weird thing to hear from someone so young." Uchiha-san laughed. It probably was weird to hear from a four year old but it was true. I wanted to learn.

I gestured to the books, "Can I have those back now?"

"I'll walk you home since it's getting dark." Uchiha-san informed me. We walked quietly for a few minutes until we started to reach the district the orphanages were in.

As we got closer Uchiha-san looked at the run down state of some of the buildings with a frown. When mine was in view his frown seemed to deepen.

"Do you like the orphanage, Miyako-chan?" Uchiha-san wondered.

"No, but I don't have a choice in where I live." I replied, "The matron is mean, as are the other kids. The food is tasteless and kids don't get adopted, babies do."

Uchiha-san looked at me with his face exaggeratedly shocked, "I don't see why no one would adopt you. You're so cute!"

I felt my cheeks get hot from the innocent statement, "People have looked at me. But there's always a problem. I have too much energy. I don't play with the other kids enough. I'm too smart. Well, I assume these are the problems."

Kotoko-san had, at one point, been frustrated she couldn't get rid of me. She tried her hardest but there was always something the parents didn't like about me that led to them picking someone else or not picking anyone from the orphanage. Now she just relished in the fact that she could hit me and the bruise would last only a day or two.

We stopped outside the orphanage and Uchiha-san gave me my books back. He looked at the stack with an impressed expression.

"Ne, Miyako-chan, we should get a popsicle again someday." Uchiha-san suggested.

I smiled at him, "Green tea, again?"

"You even remember the flavor! You have a sharp memory for a kid." he laughed.

I pouted, "You're not too old either, Uchiha-san."

He dramatically puffed his chest out, "Uchiha-san? I'll have you know, little miss Miyako-chan, that I am Shunshin no Shisui! I am no ordinary Uchiha-san!"

I almost fell over. Shunshin no Shisui? My Uchiha-san was the Uchiha Shisui? The one who would have his eyes ripped out before killing himself in a river? This kind boy, who bought a random orphan a popsicle, truly had such a terrible fate?

Ignoring my aching heart, I replied cheekily, "Should I know your name?"

Shisui-san laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "Probably not yet. But I am super cool."

"Are you?"

"Of course!" Shisui-san nodded.

I smiled, "Well if you're so super cool, you should buy me a popsicle."

"Then I will. Not only to prove how super cool I am, but because I already told you I would." Shisui-san promised, ruffling my hair.

I went inside after telling him goodbye. Despite our promise, my first year at the academy came to an end and I didn't see Shisui-san for some time. However a special name graduated that year: the young prodigy Uchiha Itachi. My break from the academy consisted of difficult chores assigned by Kotoko-san and all my free time being dedicated to not only my studies but a conditioning routine that was recommended by Goro-sensei when I asked him for one.

I turned five before the next school year started and I experienced my first snowfall in Konoha. It was pleasant, the snow being fluffy and soft. It stuck to everything and made for a gorgeous sight. It snowed a lot that year and I enjoyed every bit of it. Before I knew it the academy was back in session and everything was back to normal. This year we would begin with the basics of chakra, sticking a leaf to your head, and kunoichi classes began.

I was actually really interested in the kunoichi classes. The girls were not my biggest fans but that didn't bother me. Our sensei liked me because she taught us one flower language and I would go to the library and learn two more. I thought it was fascinating! As it was, kunoichi classes did not include seduction as one would think. This was learned when we were older and if we didn't want to join the seduction corps we would likely never need to use it. The classes focused more on dance, tea arts, and calligraphy. If we had to pose as any female role then we would be able to do it as ease. Geisha, courtesan, servant, noble, priestess. We learned so much in that class that the other girls seemed to take it for granted. My only issue was the scaling difficultly. It was too simple for me. So again, the sensei was pleased that I went and did my own research.

Some time right before summer break, Shisui-san decided to jump back into my life again.

.

It was very hot out that day and I was walking back to the orphanage after class instead of going to the library that day. It was simply too hot for even me to hyper focus as I usually did. I just wanted to go play in the sprinkler that Kotoko-san set up so that when she threw the kids outside they wouldn't die of heatstroke. Before I could get back though a pair of hands lifted me up and before I knew it I was on a roof being carried at high speeds.

I of course started to scream, "HEL-"

A hand covered my mouth, "Miyako-chan it's me!"

The hand came off my mouth and I asked, "Shisui-san? What are you doing?"

Shisui-san grinned down at me, "We're going to get that popsicle I owe you."

I would have responded but the breeze from running felt amazing and I was having so much fun being carried through the air. Besides, free popsicle and a ride!

"Faster!" I cried gleefully as Shisui-san jumped over an entire street. He obliged and after a few minutes we landed at a stand where Shisui-san bought us each our own popsicle.

As he took a bite of his he announced, "It's too hot to share one so we each get our own!"

I thanked him as I started on mine.

A few people looked at us as they walked past but Shisui-san didn't seem to mind. We both finished our popsicles and he leaned back on the bench to observe the sky.

He grinned at me, "How have you been doing in the academy, Miyako-chan?"

"Great!" I beamed, "Did you know kunoichi classes are super interesting? We've been learning so many flower languages!"

Shisui-san's grin didn't lessen, "I never took those but I'm sure they're great. How is your taijutsu and chakra coming along?"

I pouted a bit there, "Chakra is coming along alright. Sometimes I use too much chakra so I accidentally destroy the leaf I'm supposed to stick to my head."

"You'll get used to finding the right amount eventually. Then you can jump from the roofs too!" Shisui-san encouraged me, "And taijutsu?"

"That's alright too. The other kids and I don't get along very well so it usually turns into an actual fight instead of a spar." I shrugged and Shisui-san looked a bit concerned. He leaned a little closer.

"How come the other kids don't like you?" he questioned.

I shrugged, "I like to read and study, and one of the kids from the orphanage started most of it. He calls me Mibaka."

Shisui-san put a hand to his chin in thought. I finished my popsicle quite happily and almost jumped when Shisui-san suddenly sat forward, "You know what, Miyako-chan? From today you can call me Shisui-senpai, because I'm gonna train you!"

I blinked at him, "Why?"

"So that you can beat up your bullies!" Shisui-senpai announced, grinning at me, "I don't like to boast, but I am a jonin."

I almost fell off the bench, "Eh? No way!"

Shisui-senpai nodded a bit shyly, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah. Didn't I tell you I earned the name Shunshin no Shisui?"

"Well yeah but I just thought that was something you called yourself." I informed him and now it was his turn to almost dramatically fall off the bench. Instead he stood up and turned around, gesturing for me to climb onto his back.

I hopped on and when his arms wrapped around my legs he jumped to the roofs. It was so much fun piggybacking on Shisui-senpai's back as he jumped that I was sad when he touched down in a small training field. I got off his back and Shisui-senpai hemmed and hawed over what he wanted to teach me first. Finally he decided he wanted to see what I could do and he let me borrow his kunai and shuriken set.

I had vastly improved with my ability to throw projectiles but I almost fell over when he told me to spell my name with shuriken on the tree, "You want me to what?"

Shisui-senpai grinned, "You heard me."

I eyed the shuriken and tried to picture my name on the tree, "Just first name?"

"You have a last name?" Shisui-senpai replied, puzzled, "I thought you were an orphan."

"Just because I'm an orphan doesn't mean I wasn't left a last name." I replied, "My name is Uzumaki Miyako."

Shisui-senpai whistled, "Uzumaki, huh?"

I nodded and Shisui-senpai told me I could just do my first name since it had kanji in it. I failed miserably at this exercise but Shisui-senpai had a few good laughs at some of the things I did manage to create. We only practiced for an hour before we felt the heat of summer again and took a break under the trees. I tried to roll in the grass, looking for some kind of moisture, but the grass was dry.

"Meet me here tomorrow after the academy and we can work on this again." Shisui-senpai told me.

I rolled over onto my stomach to face him, "Really?"

Shisui-senpai grinned at me, "You're going to be the scariest cute little girl in the academy."

"Don't call me cute!" I huffed, burying my head in my arms. Shisui-senpai laughed and we continued to goof off under the shade of the trees.

.

True to his word, Shisui-senpai was waiting for me the next day at that training ground. When I got there he held up a bento, "Come eat!"

We sat underneath the biggest tree as Shisui-senpai unpacked the bento box and showed off that it was a fancy one with three layers instead of the small plastic ones the orphanage gave its academy students. I was in awe at the cute design of the food with sesame seed faced octopuses and panda rice balls.

"Who made this?" I questioned as I felt my mouth draw up into a huge smile.

Shisui-senpai smiled back at me, "My kind-of aunt."

Turns out, Shisui-senpai's kind-of aunt made really tasty lunch. The onigiri had bits of cooked seaweed in it and shrimp tempura for a filling. I really liked rice, which there was plenty of as she included fried rice as well, and Shisui-senpai probably didn't get much of it. We picked the bento clean before returning to trying to spell my name with shuriken.

"Can you even do this?" I complained before Shisui-senpai took all the shuriken and quickly, as if he didn't even need to think, threw them. うちはシスイ stared at me from the tree and I looked at him like he was insane.

"Why is this a skill you have?" I demanded. He even did his last name to show off!

Shisui-senpai looked at me very seriously, "You never knew when you need to show up your younger cousin."

I looked at his name again and pouted. He ruffled my hair, "My name is a bit simpler than yours since you have 美 and 夜. Do you want to start by spelling it in hiragana?"

I growled, "I can do it!"

And, after a week of struggling at that tree, I finally could spell my name with shuriken. What a useless skill, I thought, until Goro-sensei complimented my sudden improved accuracy in class.

Perhaps Shisui-senpai could teach me to be a bad ass.

AN:

Credit for the idea of spelling your name with weaponry goes to Lang who used it in Catch Your Breath. If you haven't read that amazing story then you should. I think it's the best reincarnation fic ever, although I really do like Dreaming of Sunshine. Catch Your Breath just fits together so well and always has consistent quality and interest. I've reread it several times. As it's just a training concept and not some integral part of the story, I thought it would be all right to use.

Hey, did I mention that writing out names with honorifics is frustrating. But I wanted to do it and it's too late now I can't stop. But honestly if I forget an honorific lets just pretend its there.

I have a timeline written out for everyone's ages and promotions. When I researched during the story planning stage, Shisui had really impressive stuff and so right now I have him graduating at 6, becoming chunin at 8 and jonin at 9 before meeting Miyako (He met her, last chapter, at 9). Some of these ages are based off the fact he got his sharingan as a genin watching his best friend die at the end of the third war. I'm not going to bother putting in an ANBU date but he's probably going to be ANBU relatively soon. No but seriously, Shisui was such a bad ass character.

QotC: Has anyone else read Catch Your Breath? I truly think it's a fan fiction crime to not have read it.

Thanks to the following for reviewing (:

Rei a Wandering Shinigami