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Chapter 4

When I was an adorable and oblivious kid with chubby cheeks and a cheekiness which rivaled my ego, I used to think of many things. Of all things, I wanted to become a teacher. Now, I didn't have any personal issues with teachers at the time, for my world was only restricted to my parents, my sister and my kindergarten teachers. Let's say that my parents were away for the better part of my early years.

If you ask me where they were in the majority of those years, I don't really have an answer. I still catch glimpses of glittering diamond earrings, broken necklaces and weeping faces, but I lose them before I can think too deeply into it. The point is, I grew real close to my kindergarten teachers. I was spoiled by them – I was the kid whose parents were practically invisible. They fascinated me. I wanted to become a teacher.

When I grew up, reality changed, and I forgot about my dream of becoming a teacher for a while. I was busy with my life like any other teenager, but I'll spare you the boring details. When I entered college, I could barely keep up with my class of prodigies and geniuses, because of all the tiresome professors I'd had. Maybe I can use the excuse that I was too dumb to catch on with the rest of my classmates, and I am not denying that is true, but along the way, I lost interest in the bright world of studies and tutoring.

When I look at professors, all I could see is wise, lonely men or women who couldn't really give a crap about their next class. The funny thing is, having those kinds of professors made me work even more hard for that ideal life of pie and television that I'd always wanted.

When Sasaki circled me like a blood-thirsty vulture, eager to coax a reaction from me, all I could do was to stand there and gape at the pebble-dotted ground. This was the outcome that I'd desperately wanted to avoid, obviously. Wait, I know you don't know what the heck I am talking about, so let us rewind back a few months. There was a recent brainstorming session with the Hokage and his council, which was also attended by the representatives of the civilian sector.

The conversation was smoothly steered over to the topic of Konoha's one and only Shinobi Academy. I forgot the name, but a civilian minister, from what I'd heard, suggested new subjects in the academy's official curriculum. This was immediately rejected, but the topic of new subjects had already created an uproar. Someone or the other complained about the lack of staff at the Ninja Academy, and the civilian minister interjected that they were low on staff in the civilian academic institution as well, and one thing led to another.

Suzuki from our orphanage was present in the council, and he said someone ended up being dragged away because they had hurled a soled wooden sandal at the minister of finances. It turned out to be quite ugly.

The civilian ministers were convinced that they were being discriminated, and called for measures to be made to equalize shinobi and civilians. At the end of the session, there was a unanimous agreement to increase civilian staff at the Ninja Academy.

But the question was, of all people, what exactly were civilians going to teach future killers?

I did some useless digging, and here is what I'd found. Over thirty-five per cent of the staff at the Academy was promoted to higher services, including field duties, after the Kyuubi attack, when security was made tight. History was an official part of the Academy's curriculum, but its portions were glossed over by chūnin teachers most of the time, not that students complained about it. But ignorance of earlier events in Konoha was at large among the kids, based on the copies of their previous test papers in theory. Another thing was that the to-be genin didn't have a proper understanding of geography. An essential understanding of geography is required for surveillance missions, and it is also vital for tracking missions. These were the things the Academy needed to improve on. Besides, there were classes for future kunoichi, which taught them various acts of etiquette which were required for information-extraction missions, often disguised as seduction. These classes included the traditional art of tea-brewing, stitching, learning how to play the shamisen and other ceremonial instruments and the art of seduction. It doesn't require a lot of thinking on one's part to know that there is something really creepy about teaching such stuff to pre-teen girls.

Of all places, the recruitment was done from the orphanage. That made sense, I suppose, but I think the Hokage or whoever it was in charge of the entire thing failed to take into account that we were low on staff as well. A chūnin brought in a bunch of question papers and handed them over to the orphanage head, who scheduled the recruitment test. Of course, at that time, I and the others had no idea we were taking one, being under the impression that it was a standard procedure. The questions were divided into two main sections – theory and practical. Theory questioned us on Konoha's history – stuff which ranged from its founding fathers to Tobirama's treaties with Kumogakure, the Leaf's politics and geography. Practical had questions in which we were given hypothetical situations – stuff like what we'd do if we were faced with a spy, and what we were supposed to do when we were caught by an interrogator.

Being the fool I was, I hadn't thought much of the test and gave it my all. I arrived in Konoha with zero knowledge that I was actually in Konoha. I didn't know the barest basics of Japanese, much less touch Konoha's books. And I tell you, after I'd gotten a decent handle on the language, I cracked books in the nearest library to get a good understanding of Konoha. I was intent on getting down all useful information. The legendary Sannin, the Biju, jinchuurikki – I spent nights trying to coordinate and store as much info and dirt as I possibly could in my mind, in case they could be of any use in the near future, for I knew that disasters were going to happen. Knowing Konoha's story, of what would happen in the near future made me feel like I had an edge over others. Not knowing what to do with the information of the past and the future of the city I was staying in aggravated me.

My mind was torn, even as Sasaki came into focus. She held my gaze intensely, and I shifted my weight from foot to foot uncomfortably when I read pride in her startling eyes.

"You nerd!" She accused me with a sharp forefinger, bowling over and laughing.

"Stop it." I muttered, pushing her away as she dumped her weight on me in her laughter.

"Why, you'll frighten away all the children!" She gasped for air in between her peals, and I caught her elbow, smiling faintly.

"Ton-san, you are like a…a strict giraffe."

I raised my eyebrow in turn, even as my throat got parched with fear and red embers of fury burned in my mind at the irrational thought that I'd been cheated, cheated to land in a trying situation in which I had no intention to land in the first place. This was out of my hand, and later on, I'd often wonder if the Gods really had it in for me.

Sasaki's dimples became more pronounced as she grinned at me.

"I can't believe you'll get to teach at the academy!" Her grin softened as she peered at my face, which I guess must've been showing some of my inner monologue.

"Well, I can't offer any assurance that you'll not scare the kids away, but you'll do fine, Ton-san."

"Yeah, I'll just go now." I felt discomfited with her encouragement. It wasn't like Sasaki had to stick with me or anything. Besides, I had a feeling that she was not all she was to unsuspecting eyes. I knew there was something more to her – a secret uncovered.

"Aww," Brown strands falling forward to frame her face, she leaned against my shoulder and dug in a persistent elbow. "The big, bad Ton-san is shy!"

I had no desire whatsoever to learn that secret of hers, whatever it was.

"How many others were selected, Sasaki-san?"

"Four or five." She tapped her forehead, brows furrowed as she attempted to recollect. "I didn't stop to read their names. You'll come to know later on, I guess. Just be ready next week to meet Umino. He'll introduce you to the work. I've met him once, and he's a decent kid; has all the makings of a workaholic."

"He sounds fun." I commented dryly, before patting the woman's shoulder briskly and sauntering ahead to the gates. The sun was setting, and Sasaki's news had settled in my stomach like a piece of heavy lead. Walking home - or should I say temporary housing arrangement - I had a sour taste in my mouth, and I couldn't help but think how I had gone and landed myself in a pit of snakes. Sooner or later, my big mouth would betray me and I'd find a place in the depraved, decaying corners of a musty cell in the bowels of Konoha's official interrogation centre. The reason why I'd not chosen to babble out my story to ask for help back to my oh-so-wonderful home and sister was because I am not a suicidal person by nature. For four busy years, I checked myself to not utter a word of my past or my kind-of-pointless knowledge of a cartoon for the fear of being tortured for it.

It sounds horrifying and comical at the same time, doesn't it? Let me make the scenario more clear to you – I was stranded in a cartoon, mentally running for my own cartoonish existence by shutting my mouth up.

But what puzzled me was how realistic everything was to me. There were no large eyes – none of that bullshit. I think that was what made me empathetic to my fellow Konoha citizens.

At the end of the day, I only had loneliness and resignation etched in the shrouded corners of my mind. Sounds dramatic, doesn't it?

It was raining the day I had to step into the academy and embrace a whole new world of craziness, which most likely included children who'd slowly be shaped into killers. The stark truth of that would've chilled me if I had given a damn, but I didn't, and so my quest to not appear as a bumbling fool in front of Umino had begun. I had no idea what this entire teaching business entailed, but I was satisfied with the thought that it would land a hefty paycheck in my hands. Living with my sis has made me fully appreciate money.

I was the kid who was literally bathed in money, before it was taken away from me without any warning. So you say that the firm concrete floor I'd been standing on securely with my sis had given way, and we were dependent on the earnings from my part time job. When I arrived at the engraved gates of the Academy, I did all I could do in order to avoid getting trampled by the sea of parents eagerly milling about to converse with each other and drop their children off for their first day.

"Excuse me, excuse me-"

I politely elbowed my way through the massive crowd, searching vainly for Umino. He wasn't exactly the sort you'd expect to stand out in cluster of people, you know?

I could've sworn that a flash of blond hair appeared in my line of vision, before disappearing.

Exaggeration may be my forte, but I am definitely not stretching the truth when I said that I am very tall. Contrary to what some tall girls might moan in melancholia, I do not think my height is a disadvantage. For one, the kids in my old neighborhood were constantly scared whenever I'd appear around the bend, shopping bags in tow. I guess there is something about my lengthy gaze that inspires childish terror. It doesn't help that I have an oblong face.

I had a feeling that Umino was shorter than me.

I ran a hand over my head, flattening my short hair. Someone nudged me from behind, and the touch reminded me of the gentle cows on one of mother's ranch.

"Umino-sensei!" Startled, I met the chuunin's friendly gaze. Sure enough, he was short.

"I hope you haven't been here too long." He said apologetically, and I think I stared at the fascinating silvery scar running across his nose bridge for some seconds, because I heard him clear his throat.

Unfazed, I blurted out the first thing which came to my mind.

"Uh, I've heard that you are passionate about your work." I felt my eyebrows twitching.

The silence which followed was a bit awkward for me, but presumably comfortable enough for him, for his lips curved into a congenial smile without missing a beat.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, sensei." I added hastily, preferring to look at the scenery of parents and nervous kids above his head rather than his face. It wasn't because I was shy, oh no, but because I had a feeling that I would shamelessly observe his silvery scar if I did.

"There isn't any need to be formal." He remarked, before turning around. "It is rather rushed, isn't it? We've been receiving more students each year."

"Are there any others? New teachers, I mean."

"Some arrived early. They are exploring their new classes, as we speak." He spoke, absently looking at a sobbing girl being comforted by her parents. "We have a lot of work to do."

He sighed, before looking at me.

"You'll do a fine job." Umino paused, and I sort of knew what was coming next, so I braced myself.

"Ton-san, isn't it?"

As always, I grew strangely protective of my fairly new and admittedly weird name.

"It is." I confirmed flatly.

He smiled a beatific smile.

"Welcome to the Academy, sensei."

The honorific took me aback. Well, it was just the beginning, after all. And a good beginning, in my case, might lead to a good end. Or so I wished. With that in mind, I returned a serene smile.

Would appreciate thoughts or crit on this chapter.