I only own Masuyo-sensei, Minoru-sama, Ren, and Yuudai-sama. Everyone else belongs to someone else.
"Alright, class, please take out your textbooks," the woman at the front of the classroom said sternly. "Turn to page 54 and read silently."
Her squinty eyes closed even more as she sent a glare over her students, who all proceeded to remove their books from their bags. Her graying hair was pulled back into such a tight bun that her pale forehead seemed even bigger than it actually was. She walked around the classroom, studying each and every one of her students as they read the required chapter.
As the old woman walked down the aisles of the classroom, she stopped at a particular desk. The teacher disgustingly watched the student beside her, who still hadn't noticed that her sensei was standing right there.
"Watanabe!" the old woman hissed loudly, catching the attention of not only the designated student, but also the rest of the classroom.
The sixteen-year-old girl nearly jumped out of her seat when she realized that her teacher was standing right beside her and had called her by her surname. She quickly looked up, but she then glared at her elder.
"I appreciate it when people refer to me by my first name, Masuyo-sensei," the teen replied as she flicked a stray lock of her short unevenly cut hair back behind her ear. "My name is Amaya, or did you forget already after only five months into the school year?"
Masuyo's face became that of disgust, the left side of her lip pulling up to show her revulsion. The look actually made her wrinkles even deeper, her forty-year-old face looking much older now. Amaya snickered a little as she stared up at her teacher, watching the wrinkles scrunch even further as Masuyo continued to frown.
"Stop that giggling! I fail to see what is so funny, Watanabe!" Masuyo growled.
"And I still fail to see why you are interrupting the class to yell at me," Amaya countered, resting her chin on her fist as she stared up at the teacher with pale blue eyes. Her eyes were shining a bit with the mischief she enjoyed pulling on her teacher, bringing out her tan skin nicely.
"Watanabe, I believe that this," Masuyo took this chance to snatch the book that Amaya had been concealing under the desk, "is against school regulations."
"So reading is against the school rules? What kind of school are you teachers running here, then?" Amaya asked.
Masuyo held the book up to her face, examining it with her black beady eyes. Her face continued to frown and show only repugnance. "I believe that Mist Academy does not permit cartoons, Watanabe. Really, aren't you a bit old to be reading this trash? These… these monkeys just flying all over the page; you're supposed to be reading chapter 3 of your textbook!"
Amaya glared at her teacher. Oh, how she despised this woman. She quickly tried to grab her book from the old woman, but Masuyo held it above her head. The teen huffed angrily.
"Okay, first of all, it's not cartoons. It's a manga. And they're not monkeys, they're ninja, and they're a lot more interesting than history," Amaya shot at the teacher.
"Ha! Ninja? What a joke; ninja do not exist. Never have, never will," Masuyo said with a mocking sneer plastered on her face.
"How do you know that? Can you see into the past and the future, Masuyo-sensei?" Amaya countered, her voice laced with challenge.
"Watanabe, I suggest you shut that back-talking mouth of yours and read chapter 3," Masuyo ordered. She turned around and headed straight for the front of the classroom.
"I'm just saying," Amaya said loudly, still catching everyone's attention. "How do you know ninja didn't exist in the past? It is highly probable, actually. And they could exist in the future. Who are you to say that they won't?"
The gray old woman froze at the front of the classroom. Slowly, her lean form turned around, and her beady eyes glowered at the troublesome student. "Watanabe, your immaturity and insolence is really trying on my last patience."
"Cool, I did accomplish something in this stupid school this year," Amaya smiled, a slight chuckle sounding from her throat.
"You little-"
Masuyo was interrupted by a knock on the classroom door. She huffed slightly but proceeded to answer the door. A rather large and balding man walked inside. His belly seemed to practically roll over his belt. The top of his head had little hair, but whatever was left was thin and gray. He flashed a sharp glare amongst the students before he turned to look at the teacher.
"Hello, Masuyo. How is class going?" the man asked.
"It's… going," Masuyo replied, trying to keep her composure as she sent a sneaky glare Amaya's way. The girl caught the stare, and she burned holes in her teacher's head. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence, Minoru-sama?"
"Well, our village leader has alerted me that we require a student to head over to the Leaf Village," the man named Minoru informed.
"For what?" Masuyo asked.
"Well, the village leader, Yuudai, is sending his son to the Leaf for diplomatic purposes. He said something about wanting his son to learn about politics or something," the man said, waving his hand about in a nonchalant manner. "I believe Yuudai wants a mature student to accompany his son so as to convince the Leaf to renew its treaty between our village and theirs. It is mostly for academic purposes, I believe, for our schooling system has decreased in finances and educational value. We require assistance from any allies to aide us in education."
"I see…" Masuyo muttered.
"So, do you have any students that you feel would be fit to help represent our village?" Minoru asked.
"Hmm," Masuyo hummed to herself as she glanced around the classroom.
Of course, the entire class had been listening in on the adults' conversation. And all were willing to head to Konoha. Who wouldn't want to go on a journey such as this? The lucky person would get to go on a vacation from school and see a different country. Each student was practically falling out of his or her chair from the suspense. They all were wearing similar faces, their looks pleading for their teacher to select them and let them embark on this journey to represent their village.
Well, all but one. Amaya had her arms crossed over her chest, her head lolling back to look at the ceiling with disinterest.
Masuyo saw this, and immediately, an interesting thought popped into her head. This assignment required a student to represent not only the Mist Village's school system, but also the village. It called for a mature student.
And Masuyo saw this as the perfect opportunity to teach her most immature student about responsibility and, well, maturity.
"Amaya Watanabe," Masuyo said, a smirk appearing on her face.
Said girl's head immediately snapped back towards her teacher in surprise. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, you'll be going on this assignment to represent Kiri," Masuyo said as she tried to make her smile as sweet as possible. It looked more evil than anything else. "Come on."
Amaya slowly stood from her desk and adjusted her black pants and slim-fitting black T-shirt. She grabbed her bag and walked to the front of the classroom. "Yes, Masuyo-sensei?" she asked in a jeering tone.
The old woman leaned down so only the sixteen-year-old girl could hear her. "You may be able to get away with your immature attitude here. But now, for this assignment, you are responsible for a lot more people. If you mess this up, you will be responsible for all of Kiri. So you had better watch yourself."
Amaya stared at her sensei intently. Her light blue eyes turned to the rotund man beside her. Minoru nodded to her, and he gestured for her to follow him. Amaya took a deep breath and followed the man.
Waves splashed slowly as the wind blew gently. The water lapped lazily against the wooden pillars that held the dock up.
Sitting silently, a fifteen-year-old boy stared out into the clear blue water. His right leg hung lazily off the edge of the dock while his left leg was bent, allowing his arm to rest on his knee. His thick brown hair moved only slightly with the light breeze. His black tank top and baggy blue pants rustled a bit with the wind.
The breezy wind tickled his bare arm, and he rubbed his upper left arm slowly to keep it from feeling too cool. Underneath his hand, a tattoo of blue waves circled around his upper arm.
"Young Terumi," a voice said from behind the boy.
The teen's green orbs moved to the corner of his eyes before he turned his head all the way. "Ren, what did I say about referring to me as 'Young Terumi'? I'm still Yuu. My father is the one you have to show respect to, not me," the boy said as he stood up.
"I apologize… Yuu," the man said with his hands folded behind his back. "Your father wishes to see you. It is concerning your mission to the Leaf Village."
"They have found a student already?" Yuu asked, a bit surprised.
"Yes. Yuudai-sama wishes for you to meet him so he can further explain the mission details," Ren said, his blonde hair blowing in the wind.
"Alright," Yuu nodded.
The two headed towards the center of the village, where the leader's building stood high amongst the smaller structures. Ren and Yuu walked inside and ascended the stairs up to the office that belonged to Yuu's father.
Ren knocked lightly on the door. From inside, a voice told them to enter. The blonde man opened the door and walked in, followed by Yuu.
A man sitting behind a large wooden desk looked up and smiled at his assistant and son. The older man was basically the older version of his son in physical appearance.
Yuu glanced to his right as he entered to see a teenage girl standing off to the side. She was wearing all black, and her uneven black hair contrasted with her pale blue eyes. The girl looked at him intently as he entered, and he nodded his greeting. She did the same.
"Son, this is Amaya Watanabe. She is the Mist Academy student who will be accompanying you on your journey to the Leaf Village," Yuudai told his son.
"Alright," Yuu nodded.
"Remember, your mission is to talk peace treaties with the Konoha representatives. Amaya will represent the average student of Kiri, showing our need for finances in the educational system and willingness to cooperate with them," the village leader said.
From the side, Amaya scoffed loudly, a smirk lining her face. But she didn't look too pleased with this assignment. Yuu could immediately tell that she didn't enjoy representing the 'average student' or being used as a means to beg Konoha for money in education. She found it insulting, and Yuu could quickly catch on to this.
Yuudai, however, didn't even notice. "Do you both understand what is expected of you?"
"Yes, Father," Yuu bowed.
"Yes, Leader-sama," Amaya muttered as she bowed.
"Good. You both are dismissed. Pack your things, and head out when you are ready," Yuudai ordered. The children nodded, and they turned to leave the room. Just as Yuu was about to leave, his father called him back in.
"Yes?" Yuu asked.
"Yuu… You are still unhappy with this assignment, aren't you?" Yuudai asked his son, his eyes staring at him knowingly.
"If you want my true opinion, Father… yes, I am not happy with this turn of events," Yuu replied truthfully. "Politics is your field, not mine."
"I understand your view son. However, since I have recently become the new leader of Kiri, you are also expected to be involved in politics. That is why I am having you homeschooled in these things," the older man said.
"But I don't want to be a diplomat for the village. That's not what I want in life, Father," Yuu shot back, his voice rising a bit in annoyance.
"Yuu, why can't you just cooperate with this? This is for the better of our village," Yuudai said.
"Better for the village, or better for your image?" Yuu asked, his green eyes squinted dangerously at his father. Before the man could make a comeback, Yuu had already left the room.
**********************************************************
A few hours later, Yuu and Amaya stood on the docks, prepared to depart in the boat they would be taking. Yuu was still a bit angered after his conversation with his dad. He looked over at his traveling companion to see her deep in thought, but she looked a bit flustered herself, in all honesty.
"Hey," Yuu said, interrupting Amaya's thoughts.
She turned to look at him, giving him a small glare. "What?" she asked, her voice laced with her disgruntled attitude.
"Well, you seem just as enthusiastic as I am," Yuu said sarcastically with a smile.
"For your information, I didn't even volunteer for this stupid assignment. My teacher made me do it. She says she thinks it'll make me more 'responsible'," Amaya said angrily.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was forced into this as well," Yuu said.
"And no offense to your father or anything, but I don't like the prospect of being showcased to get money, even if it is for our village," Amaya added, her rant continuing.
"I know," Yuu said, catching the girl off guard. She looked up at him in surprise. "It's completely understandable, how you're feeling. I feel the same way. The only reason I'm doing this is because my father thinks it would be good for his image if his son joins in politics and diplomatic matters."
Amaya's mouth opened a bit, as she tried to form words. None came out, and she turned away to look at the boat. The captain of the ship had finished preparing the boat, and he was waiting for his passengers to board.
"The boat's ready, let's go," she said quickly as she jumped on the boat. Yuu nodded and followed his partner onto the ship.
The ship glided across the water, and the two relaxed on the boat as they waited for the shores of the main continent to appear, where they would then head to the Leaf Village of the Fire Country.
As the ship sailed, both of the passengers suddenly felt a pang at their chests.
Amaya felt a constricting pain in her lungs. She spontaneously felt cold, like she was becoming frozen. One thought came to her mind.
Ice.
Yuu felt a burning sensation in his chest. He felt overheated, like he would suddenly burst into flames at a moment's notice. He could only think of one thing.
Lava.
And as quickly as these pains had come, they disappeared. Each person was so consumed in their own thoughts that they didn't even notice that their companion was feeling the same way. And they didn't even realize what these feelings meant, but because they had disappeared so suddenly, each person tried to shake it off, just thinking that it was motion sickness from the boat.
How could they possibly know that these were beacons, calling to them from 100 years previous?
The Mist's Yuki clan and Terumi clan were ready to be reborn again through these two teenagers.
Amaya Watanabe was created by MidnightStar from TONFA. Amaya is from the Yuki clan, the same clan that Haku belonged to (in fanfic world, at least).
Yuu Terumi was created by fleamichael from TONFA. Yuu is the descendant of Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage.
I hope you liked it!