Chapter 4

"Yuka? Is that you?"

Yuka spun around to face whom the familiar voice came from. She smiled as he saw him. "Mito-san!"

"My, you've grown a lot since the last time I saw you." The man named Mito patted Yuka's head. He wore a standard vest any jounin has over a black turtle-neck shirt and wore his village band on his arm. Still the same man she remembers to look like two years ago.

"And you've lost a lot of hair too!" She joked back at him.

"Really? I didn't notice." He felt his head along with a laugh. "So which class are you going to?"

"Well, the paper at the board says it's on 41A."

"Isn't that just great?" Mito exclaimed. "It's the same class that I'll be handling. So, shall we go?"

"Yep." Yuka punched her fist. "I'm excited to learn!"

He laughed at her action. "That's the spirit."

Gasps that echoed throughout the room was just what Yuka had expected since the day she decided that she'll be attending the Academy instead, rather than to be personally trained like her parents originally wanted to. Avoiding them as much as she could didn't help for the people to leave her be as she is and accept the way her eyes were. Yuka wasn't quite sure herself if she'll be able to gain the recognition from them as she wants to through the Academy, but either way, trying wouldn't hurt so much than doing nothing at all.

"Now, now children, settle down. It's rude to be like that to someone who'll be our comrade someday. Besides, we're all here to become ninjas aren't we?"

"Yes sensei." The class answered in chorus.

"Good." Mito turned to Yuka who remained quietly still by the doorway. "You may take your seat now Yuka."

"Thank you sensei." She bowed politely before proceeded walking inside. Yuka would've sworn that by the looks of the children she passed by, if they could leave their seats as quickly as they could, they would've done it already. "Guess I have no choice but to sit at the back." She muttered quietly to herself.

Yuka sat lazily, using her crossed arms on the table as support for her chin. Mito had begun the lesson about the basics they needed to learn before advancing to the techniques. She didn't have the will to listen, even if she wanted to or even by just pretending. Because all these she already knew like the back of her hand since she began being aware of everything.

'I guess having two jounin parents do help a lot.' Mito wasn't even paying attention whether if she listened or not. And so she decided to take a look around instead to the faces of the children around the room. She thought maybe by doing so would help her think of other ways to amuse herself while waiting for the class to finish. So far by the first day at the Academy, it was boring.

The boy whom Yuka met earlier was also having almost the same experience she has. It's not that he's not interested to listen, he wasn't just in the mood. All his thoughts were off somewhere or someone... to a certain raven-haired girl with a pair of unique eyes. It was a peculiar sight indeed, but the way her eyes held her emotions and herself in it, he felt like he was looking at the same eyes he sees every time he faced the mirror. Most certainly he was sure she's no ordinary kid. And with the incident earlier, she's no push-over either even if she's under constant discrimination.

'Interesting indeed.' He kept his gaze out of the window, unmindful of his surroundings. He didn't notice that their sensei had entered; the class had a sudden uproar upon the presence of the girl he had been thinking of; she only moved when their sensei had settled the class down; and that she was now sitting on the same line where he is, only that she was at the far end. He remained staring out of the window, until he noticed that the surrounding suddenly became quiet.

"Uchiha Itachi?"

"Hmm?" He turned to the voice, only to find out that it was their sensei who had called him. And by the looks he received from his classmates, they must've noticed him spacing out.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Good then." Mito nodded. "Now, will you kindly give the answer for everyone in this room to know?"

'What answer?' Itachi was already starting to panic inside, but outside he remained a calm demeanour. All eyes were on him as they patiently wait for him to speak. He was now on his feet as Mito had asked him to stand so that everyone can see him. Surely he'll know what to answer, but he couldn't possibly give the correct one if he didn't have any idea about the question first. First day at the Academy, a totally unexpected failure.

'Damn.'

"It's Transformation Jutsu." Someone suddenly spoke.

All eyes, including Itachi's, now turned to the far end of the room. It came from a girl who didn't even bother to look up from the paper she was doodling at. When she felt she was being stared at, she snapped her head up. "What?"

Mito coughed to get everyone's attention back to him. "That's precisely correct Yuka. Thank you Itachi, you may take your seat now. Later after lunch, I'll start discussing about the Transformation Jutsu. Then maybe after a couple of days we'll have our first exam.

"Already?" Someone in the class abruptly stood up.

"Yes Rei, we'll have." The whole class, save the two who sat at both ends at the back of the room, whined. Mito let out an amused laugh. "It's nothing to be scared of. Everybody gets a chance to do it. Now everyone, let's have lunch!"

When they heard the word 'lunch', everyone else suddenly forgot about the upcoming exam, shouted their 'hurrahs' and hurriedly left the room. Itachi remained on his place, hoping to catch up on Yuka, but the moment he removed his eyes from her to get his bag, she was gone.

After Itachi finished eating, he went around the area. It wasn't just to avoid some girls who never ceased to follow him around just to get his attention. There was like some kind of a force that pulls him to get on his feet and walk around, hoping to spot the girl with two-colored eyes. Though really, he didn't have any idea what he'll do if he ever comes face-to-face with her. For now, he just wants to see her.

He had already enumerated the possible places she might go to. Given that she was pretty isolated from the other kids, she might be somewhere where there are few children, or even none at all. He had been almost all of it, except for the back of the Academy building, in which he set his foot just now.

"Looking for something?" Itachi almost jumped in surprise. He turned his head around and there she was, hanging by the tree upside down, from a branch. She had probably seen him come to the area and search around but he never sensed her presence, not even for a bit. Another interesting thing.

"Kind of." He crossed his arms as he faced her. "What are you doing there?"

"Training?" Yuka started pushing her body up and down with her legs anchored on the branch. "Why? Do you find it weird too aside from my eyes?"

He just shook his head as a response.

"One hundred and fifty." Yuka let out a deep breath as she finished and adjusted herself into a sitting position. "May I ask what brings you to this place?"

Itachi didn't respond this time, he just kept his gaze locked on hers. Yuka took it as a cue. "If it's about earlier, I guess we're even now.

"Fair enough."

"So what are you really up to?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Really?" She raised a brow. She then jumped down the tree and went up to face him. "Aren't you scared of my eyes like the others are?"

"No. Should I be?"

Yuka just shrugged. "I don't know. But they are." She extended her hand out to him. "Hashiro Yuka."

Itachi stared hard at her hand as if it was burning. Thinking he probably didn't want to take it, she was about to draw her hand back when his hand suddenly caught hers with his. "Uchiha Itachi."