The New Year got off to a great start. Chōji and I spent it at the Akimichi compound, while everyone else did the same at their respective homes, with the exception of Naruto, who was invited over to the Uchiha compound. Overall, a very good start, I would say.
Winter vacation had been brief and immediately after, we were back at the Academy. Classes were still boring as ever, and kunoichi classes…don't even get me started on them. Everyone passed the cultural exam, however…right after that, Suzume-sensei introduced us to dancing.
Traditional dancing, to be exact, which means a kimono is needed for the occasion…and a fan. And this wasn't just going to last a month, no…Suzume-sensei says we need much more time for that. How much time? Try until the end of the school year, so that means I have to deal with this shit until the end of March. Even worse, since Himawari is currently out of commission due to being pregnant with Hanabi, Mikoto volunteered to help Hinata and me with dance lessons. At the time, I didn't think much about the offer because I knew I was going to need help.
Oh god, do I need it!
Then it came to my attention that the boys were watching Hinata and me as we practiced with Mikoto. No big deal, I thought at first. I mean, I should get used to people watching me because I might actually need to do this eventually as a kunoichi (undercover missions and whatnot). Except I underestimated who my exact audience was…and when I tripped on one of my kimono's long sleeves and landed face-first onto the floor, I should have expected to hear Naruto, Sasuke, Chōji, Shikamaru, and Kiba laughing.
Just wait until I get out of this freaking kimono, you guys!
Itachi and Neji were at least kind enough to stay silent, as was Shino. And Hinata had been quick to help me off the floor, frantically asking me if I was hurt. I have no idea where my glasses are, as they flew off when I tripped. My nose isn't bleeding, so I should consider myself lucky. And my kimono is still in one piece, so I guess I'm fine.
I wasn't hurt, but it certainly felt as if I was, in regards to my pride. Ah, humiliation, how long has it been since we last met? Oh, what's this? Are you messing with my emotions? I believe I do feel my eyes beginning to burn and my face beginning to heat up. Well, so much for trying to act cool…pfft, as if I could ever act cool.
Only in my dreams…
Uugh, and I was doing so well… I tried to hide my misty eyes from Mikoto, but I knew better than to hide anything from her. Mikoto saw that I was upset and patted me on the head before turning to her attention to Naruto, Sasuke, Chōji, Shikamaru, and Kiba. She scolded them for making me cry, telling them that they should apologize to me. And they did…
It was as awkward as it sounded…but I still appreciated it. Afterwards, Mikoto decided that Hinata and I needed a break, so she left the room after excusing herself. With their mother having left, Itachi poked Sasuke in the forehead. Sasuke whined as he rubbed his forehead, not appreciating the act. Naruto was about ready to laugh at Sasuke when Itachi decided to poke the blond in the forehead as well. It was safe to say that Naruto wasn't laughing after that…but I was.
That's what you get, ahahaha!
I was definitely feeling better after that…though I can't say the same for my vision, what with my lacking glasses and—hello, who is touching my hand?
"H-Here, Chōko-san…" Oh, hey, Neji—are those my glasses I feel? Oh my god, they are! "I found them on the floor…"
"Thank you!" I exclaimed as I put my glasses on. "You sure saved me a lot of time and trouble!"
You have no idea how much of a bitch it is to search for your own glasses—especially if you're farsighted, like me… It's like searching in the dark for something, except instead of not being able to see, it's just a damn blur and I could very well be missing something that's right freaking there if it's within a certain range that's close enough to me.
"It's nothing…" Now, now, Neji, don't be so modest! "Ack!"
I smacked another gold star sticker onto Neji's forehead. Neji scowled at me as I pulled out the packet of stickers I had in my tamoto. Just because I'm wearing a kimono doesn't I'm gonna slack off on my sticker-giving duty! That wouldn't be right! And because Kiba laughed at me, he won't be getting any stickers today.
Anyways, tripping on my kimono sleeves—yeah, that's something I have to deal with. It's certainly annoying. There was also trying to avoid embarrassing myself in front of my friends (seriously, I do enough of that as is)…oh, and then there's this asshole in the form Uchiha Shisui!
At age thirteen, with short, unkempt dark hair and distinct onyx-black eyes embellished with well-defined lashes, Shisui was honestly not that bad looking (my vision may be shitty, but I'm not blind)… He was also freaking tall for a thirteen-year-old and too mischievous for his own good, for someone who was part of the Uchiha clan!
"Give me back my glasses!" And if you look to your left, you can see a tiny little girl (me) in a kimono, jumping up and down, to try and reclaim her glasses from a tall-ass teenager (Shisui).
"You need to try better than that, Chō-chan!" Shisui laughed as he lowered his hand that contained my glasses just enough so that it was within my reach, only to raise it as high as he could as soon as I jumped up to get them. "Ooh—so close!"
"This isn't funny, Shisui!" God dammit, why do you have to be so fucking tall?! Damn thirteen-year-olds, and your growth spurts!
I call shenanigans on puberty!
Since Hinata and I had started practicing with Mikoto, Shisui decided to start dropping by to say hello…except he overstayed his welcome this time. I barely know anything about Shisui and I have only really seen him a couple of times. He usually walked away whenever he saw Itachi was with us. Itachi had never told us why and when I had finally decided to ask, Shisui decided to answer my question…but not before stealing my glasses and instigating an unwanted game of keep-away with me.
"Itachi usually keeps to himself, so when I saw him around all of you—I saw an opportunity." Shisui grinned widely as he continued to watch me struggle in my attempts to regain my glasses from him. "And boy, was it a big one! He's made so many friends—hey, hey, I hear you're leader of this group, am I right?"
"I am not!" I still refuse! "And give me back my glasses! I need those for seeing things up close!"
They are not meant for thirteen-year-olds to play keep-away!
Right now, everyone close seems so freaking blurry—is that a spider on the wall over there?! Holy hell, it's huge! Oh god, I am not practicing with that spider in the room!
"You seemed to have calmed down so suddenly…" Shisui remarked, having ceased his grinning. "Something wrong, little lady?"
I blinked and shook my head. I hate it when I get distracted like that…but seriously, that spider is really bothering me. "U-Um…there's a spider on the wall…"
"Oh, is there?" Shisui looked in the direction I was pointing and nodded his head. "Okay—I'll take care of it…here you go, by the way!"
And just like that, Shisui put my glasses back on my face when I least expected it. What…the hell.
You son of—you better watch your back, Shisui!
So while Shisui walked off to go handle the current spider problem in the room, I took the moment to adjust my glasses and look at Itachi, who was currently wearing a rather blank expression on his face.
"He's not going to leave us alone, is he?" I found myself asking Itachi.
Itachi sighed. "No…"
"Is Shisui going to be joining us?" Sasuke looked questioningly at Itachi. "Is he?"
Itachi looked away from Sasuke, as if he didn't know what to say.
"Aww, are you trying to get rid of me?" Shisui, don't you ever fucking sneak up on me like that again. "Did I scare you—oh my god, I did!"
"Shut up!" I snapped, my body slowly relaxing from the tense state that Shisui put it through. "Wait…what did you do with the spider?"
Shisui tilted his head to the side. "Spider…oh, you mean this!"
There are a lot of things I never want to see being held in front of my face… This spider, for instance, is one of them. I have no idea how Shisui can even hold that fucking abomination without flinching whatsoever and—oh god, it moved!
"Aaah-aahhhh-aaaaaahhhh!" Get it away, get it away, get it away—don't let it touch me! "Kill it! Kill it with fire!"
I don't freaking care how helpful spiders are! I want that thing out of my face—Shisui, don't you fucking touch me with that thing!
"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" An extremely weak flame suddenly set the spider in Shisui's hand on fire, to which Shisui immediately dropped spider onto the floor and started stomping on it to put out the flame. "Did it work?"
All attention was now on Sasuke, who was the one who had use the Goukakyuu (an extremely weaker version of it) on the spider in Shisui's hand. Itachi stared wide-eyed at his little brother and Shisui had a similar expression. Meanwhile with the rest of us, that being Chōji, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Shino, Hinata, and I, we were just staring. I was honestly relieved the spider was dead, but I was also surprised with what Sasuke had just done.
Holy shit—Sasuke's a Charmander!
That's fucking awesome!
"H-How did you do that, dattebayo?!" Naruto was the first out of any of us to speak, his eyes wide in awe.
Sasuke blinked owlishly. "I've been practicing with Nii-san…why?"
"G-Good job, Sasuke." Itachi was definitely impressed.
"M-Mikoto-saaaan!" Shisui suddenly shouted before running out of the room. "You'll never guess what Sasuke just did!"
And that was the tale of how Sasuke accomplished his clan's rite of passage. Of course, he still needed to work on his Goukakyuu, but the fact he was able to have gone from a puff of smoke to a weak flame was extremely noteworthy.
After that day, Shisui refused to leave us alone. He certainly made dance practice with Mikoto embarrassing, loudly applauding Hinata and I whenever we did something right. I still don't know much about Shisui (in regards to my shoddy knowledge on the Naruto series), but from what I'm learning about him through the way he acted around us, all I can say…is that he is a dork. The dorkiest dork to ever dork…that is what Shisui is.
I'd certainly find Shisui's antics endearing to some degree…if I wasn't amongst those he adored to tease. Those whom Shisui loved to tease included, but was not limited to, Itachi (to a certain extent), Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and me…
Naruto got along greatly with Shisui, like you wouldn't believe! Seriously, they got along like brothers (the non-bickering type). As for Hinata—Shisui had a soft spot for her, usually ruffling her hair at most before leaving her alone…the lucky girl. Shisui had tried teasing Chōji, but after he had shared some of his potato chips with the Uchiha, Shisui had decided that Chōji was too cool for him to tease.
Chōji, you really suck, you know that?
Itachi was at least relieved that he wasn't the only one suffering at the hands of Uchiha Shisui. He was certainly trying to hide a smirk when Shisui made a huge deal out of the gold star sticker I had smacked onto Neji's forehead.
Shisui and traditional dance lessons aside, the month went on as usual. Shino's sixth birthday marked the first time any of us have ever visited the Aburame compound. It was very…green. There was an abundance of greenery, with many types of flowers adding splashes of color throughout the compound. It was a nice environment (a lot like a greenhouse), overall…and perfect for insects to thrive, according to Shino. Naruto certainly seemed intrigued with his surroundings.
As it had happened with the rest of us, Shino's birthday was also turned into a gathering for the Four Noble Clans. Unlike the other times, Shisui joined us while the adults were in the other room. He rambled on and on about how boring it had been to even stay with them.
"They go on and on about things, like, how is so and so doing," Shisui continued. "I hear your names mentioned in the conversations, like a certain glasses-wearing door-breaker—"
"Oh go to hell!" I'll have you know I haven't broken a door within a month! "And my name is Chōko!"
Get it memorized, because I refuse to become the next Potato Girl!
"Chō-chan!" Shisui corrected with a wide grin on his face. "And she's Hina-chan."
Hinata blushed upon realizing that Shisui was referring to her. "Aah…"
"Anyone else you'd like to give a nickname?" I looked questioningly at Shisui.
Shisui thought for a moment…and then shook his head. "No, just you two girls…"
Two girls…wait a second…
I took a good look around the room and came to a realization…Hinata and I are the only girls in our circle of friends. How the fuck did I not realize that until now?!
Wow, I am so slow…
"So as I was saying…" Shisui kept going on about boring clan meetings. I was this close to tuning him out, but then he ended up talking about a certain incident—that incident being the day Chōji and I turned five, when we all cried because of Naruto. Apparently, it was thanks to us that the Uchiha and Hyuuga changed their minds about Naruto. Interesting…it seems the power of crying children is not to be underestimated. That sure did explain a lot and while I might have had my regrets then, I'm actually glad I brought Naruto over…if only because of the outcome.
He's not alone anymore…
After Shino's birthday, Naruto had taken an interest in gardening…most likely as a result from seeing all the greenery in the Aburame compound. Wasn't one of Naruto's hobbies watering plants…? Eh…well, it seems that things are evening themselves out in some ways.
It certainly seems that way, as Naruto hasn't been pulling any pranks due to all the attention he has been receiving from us, his friends, and from the Uchiha clan (especially the Uchiha clan). After all, Naruto's pranking was a result of him wanting attention of any sort. So without an incentive for attention (since he gets enough as is), Naruto shouldn't have taken up an interest in pranking, right?
That might have been the case…if it wasn't for Shisui.
Freaking Shisui!
So thanks to Shisui's surprisingly strong influence, Naruto took up an interest in pranking. Shisui was a bit of a jokester to begin with and the fact that he and Naruto got along so well—honestly, it was probably a matter of when Naruto was going to pull his first prank. His first prank, by the way, happened when Iruka-sensei entered the classroom one day and had an eraser fall on top of his head. Out of everyone in the classroom, Naruto was the one laughing the hardest.
And so it begins.
…
The final months of the school year consisted of chakra training. This was the big event for many students—on whether or not they were going to progress to the next school year or transfer to a civilian school. Thinking about it now, the entire school year had been a process of weeding out students who weren't cut out for the shinobi life (we had a lot of dropouts within the first month), with chakra training being the moment of truth (for those still here).
Chōji and I missed out school every few days or so, due to the fact that, aside from molding chakra, Chōza was also teaching us how to convert calories into chakra. Now if there's one thing I know about calories, it's that the calorie can refer to a unit of heat. In physics, heat is energy in transfer, other than by work or transfer of matter. As chakra is energy as well, converting calories into chakra basically means manipulating one energy into another. Learning how to do that is essentially the goal.
Accomplishing it, however—is a different story and pretty damn difficult one, at that! I just can't seem to get the hang of it (probably doesn't help that my brain just keeps trying to SCIENCE instead of concentrate). Father says a sign that we are successfully converting calories into chakra is a rise in temperature (makes sense). I certainly don't feel any hotter…Chōji is at least showing progress.
God dammit, Chōji, we're never going to be in this together!
Later into the first month that Chōji and I began training, I started to improve (slowly, but surely). Come the next month, Chōji and I have started successfully converting calories into chakra. By then, we were already molding chakra. Molding chakra was much easier (just as easy as it is to tap into your chakra—at least, for me, it is), if a bit physically draining. I usually got distracted by the pretty color of my chakra as I was molding it and it really didn't help that the warm and soft sensation that came from using my chakra was oddly addicting.
I'm honestly a danger to myself…
Chōji and I weren't the only ones who missed out on school, as Naruto had also been missing some days, due to a request from the Sandaime, or "Jiji", as Naruto called him. I'm guessing Sarutobi was teaching Naruto how to mold chakra, as Naruto is…unique, for a lack of better terms.
…
During the final week of classes, we were tested on our ability to mold chakra, which a small number of our classmates were unable to do. Everyone else was able to mold chakra, so we were going to be advancing onto the next year, which was when the actual shinobi training began (training that would include ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu).
So if you thought the first year was difficult, then think again!
Kunoichi classes tested us on our dancing abilities. A good chunk of the class failed the test, while Hinata and I passed with flying colors, as did Ino and Sakura. Ami, Fuki, and Kasumi also passed, with Fuki getting honorable mention (good on her!). As we had passed the test, we were told that during the second year, we would be putting more focus into honing what we had learned during our first year. The students who didn't pass were told they would be taking remedial lessons upon returning for the second year (that's assuming they would be progressing to next year). They were not allowed to advance until they had passed the retest.
Once the week had ended, we were let out of the Academy for spring vacation. It was around that time that Hinata had become the proud older sister to Hyuuga Hanabi.
Sosmallsotinyhowcansomeonebesotiny…
Unfortunately, Hanabi's birth came at a price—Himawari had died shortly after giving birth. It…wasn't a good time for anyone—Hinata especially. She had been so happy to become an older sister, but to learn that her mother died—I'll never forget that look on her face when she got the news.
With eyes that suddenly look so lifeless, with an expression that was devoid of any emotion—it was a face that was going to be haunting my nightmares.
WhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!
I don't know what to do!
Emptyemptyemptyempty…
Why am I not crying?
Coldcoldcold…
Talking to Hinata did absolutely nothing, since she was so unresponsive… But that wasn't the worst of it—oh no…the worst part was that she just stopped talking. Gone was the soft, gentle voice with a laugh that was just so adorable. All there was to Hinata was silence.
Suchfrighteningsilence…
Hinata, please say something!
Somethingsomethingsomething…
Hinata didn't even cry…she just sat down and stared at her lap for nearly three hours straight, just minutes after being told Himawari had died. It was only until Neji brought Hinata over to see her baby sister that she finally started to cry. But all that came out of Hinata were tears—no sound. Just silence…such frightening silence. And it really wasn't until then, that the fact that Himawari was dead finally sank in.
It sank in so quickly, that I had no idea how to even process the sudden rush of emotions and thoughts that plagued my mind.
She's dead.
Painpainpain…
She's dead she's dead she's dead.
Ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts!
She's not coming back because she's dead.
Whywhywhywhywhy!?
She's dead like you once were!
Ithurtsithurts—ITHURTSSOMUCH!
She's—
I…really don't remember much of that day… Everything after that was all a blur. All I really remember was the throbbing pain in my head as I watched Hinata cry silently while Neji comforted her. And then I woke up in a room, with my friends surrounding my bed.
What…happened?
I was told that it was stress that had made me black out—stress that had come from losing Himawari (she'sgoneshe'sgoneshe'sgone) and seeing Hinata reacting so badly (silencesuchfrighteningsilence). It earned me a night's stay at the hospital, because of the way I had suddenly collapsed.
Everyone had been so worried—but Hinata had probably worried the most, with the way she had hugged me and refused to let go. She still wasn't talking…but I have a feeling that the idea that she could have lost me, as she had her mother, must have crossed her mind.
"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to make you worry…" She must have been so scared… "I'm sorry—I just…I'm sorry…"
I'm repeating myself, but that's all I can really say. What else am I supposed to say?
I don't know…
I don't know I don't know I don't know.
I just don't know…
…
Had it not been for Shisui and Itachi, I doubt we would have ever been able to move on before classes resumed at the Academy. To them, death wasn't anything new. Sure, it hurt to see how empty the Hyuuga compound felt without Himawari's presence. But it's just something we have to live with, from here on out.
We're still coping…
At the very least, Hanabi was a very healthy baby, for someone who was so tiny (sotinysosmall). She was also the cutest baby I had ever seen…like, really (tinyhandstinyhands). And unlike Hinata, Hanabi took after her father, Hiashi, from the way she had inherited his black hair. She was so full of life, for someone who was only a few days old…
I'm glad I'm glad I'm glad…
It still hurts…knowing that Hanabi will never have a chance to know Himawari, as the rest of us had. It hurts…and I don't think it'll ever stop hurting—not now, at least.
…
…
Upon returning to the Academy for our second year, we started learning about ninjutsu and genjutsu—the basics of the basics. Come gym class, taijutsu lessons began and, soon after that, sparring.
Back in my previous life, I actually took up martial arts, or more specifically, Tae Kwon Do. I was a blue belt…I was supposed to have been a brown belt, but then I accidentally sprained my toe when it got caught on the foam mat as I was practicing my forms. University life soon took over and the cost of classes became an issue…so I stopped attending.
If there was one thing that impressed the instructor, it was how fast I had progressed from white belt all the way to blue belt within the span of two years. I was really determined to make it to black belt…guess that'll never happen now.
C'mon, Chōko—stay positive…
Please…
Instead of moping about the past, I decided to focus more on the present (even though the present was just as painful, now that Himawari was gone and Hinata still wasn't talking). I took taijutsu seriously, as I had done Tae Kwon Do (it was just so easy to do—to focus completely on something while ignoring everything else). The only difference between now and the past, was that I don't have to deal with immature children who think it's funny to disrupt class—oh wait. I forgot who my friends are. Never mind…
Not that I even mind…
I used to worry a lot about my physical strength. I didn't want to hurt anybody…but after my current sparring partner decided that it would be funny to break my glasses, I couldn't care less at the moment and ended up breaking the poor kid's nose… What horrified me the most, then, was how easy it was for me to throw that punch and ignore the sickening crunch that came afterwards.
Had I done this in my previous life, I would have gotten into some serious shit. Luckily, for me, that was not the case, because in this life, this type of crap was expected to happen. It's really disturbing when you sit down to think about it, but then again—we're being trained to become killers.
Breaking people's noses is the least of my concerns, when I could be doing so much worse while a medic-nin healed such minor injuries.
So much worse…
After that particular sparring incident, everyone kept their distance from me. I…wouldn't exactly blame them. Meanwhile with Naruto and Sasuke, they were too busy trying to one-up each other (it seems they're coping through their rivalry). Kiba was eventually assigned as my sparring partner after he had left a particularly nasty bite on his last partner. I made him swear not to bite me, because otherwise, I was going to kick him where the sun didn't shine.
"As if I could ever bite you, anyways…" Kiba laughed. "You don't deserve it!"
"Then why did he deserve it?" I was quick to ask.
"Because he was picking on Hinata for being quiet…" Kiba practically snarled when he answered my question.
"Ah…I see…" So that's why…that's good to know.
"Hey—do I get a sticker for that?" Kiba looked expectantly at me. "Or is that too much?"
I honestly have no clue, but…he did stand up for Hinata…
…
…
Smack!
…
…
The times I wasn't with Kiba, I was with Hinata (silentsosilent). Everyone had expected me to kick her ass, but on the contrary, Hinata kicked my ass (I wasn't the only one focusing so intensely on taijutsu). Never underestimate the Hyuuga heiress, as soft-spoken as she is (even though she hasn't spoken at all since the day Himawari died). She should really take advantage of that, because she could seriously benefit from the deadly art of deception. I'll probably tell her, one of these days…
Maybe on a day when she's speaking again…
As for kunoichi classes…we were learning how to conceal weapons in a kimono. You'd be amazed at how many places you can hide a weapon while wearing a kimono. It was pretty awesome…but what wasn't awesome, was the fact that we had to implement that into traditional dancing.
As if things aren't hard enough already…
Mikoto was still a great help. And Shisui…he was an absolute dork—the dorkiest of dorks to have ever existed and I have never been so glad. Because it was easy to smile when he was around—so very, very easy, that I didn't mind when he refused to let me hear the end of it whenever I screwed up during weapon concealment dancing.
Why mind when I'm laughing again?
…
…
Chōji and I soon turned six come the next month. By now, the gathering of the Four Noble Clans had become an official occurrence. Shisui's presence in the room while the adults were talking in the other room was another thing that probably wasn't going to change. Despite all the teasing he usually did, Shisui was a pretty funny guy. It was certainly amusing for all of us to watch him annoy Itachi.
It sure took our mind off of things—just knowing that there was one less person in the room next to ours. It was during this time that Sasuke decided to bring up what I first told Itachi a year ago when I first saw him. Shisui had been curious to know what had happened when he wasn't around, and after finding out I had told Itachi that he looked like a weasel, Shisui started teasing Itachi for it.
Shisui never saw it coming until he was literally flying across the room after receiving a swift punch to the face by Itachi. Itachi had his limits and of all things, it seems that "weasel" was where he drew the line.
Holy shit.
No one said anything…it was just so sudden. It was only until Shisui sat up, rubbing his cheek as he complained about how hard Itachi had punched him, that we all started laughing. Because it was so unlike of Itachi to do something like that—but he still did it, anyways.
"Hey, you're all laughing!" Shisui was elated, his grin growing even wider when he realized that even Hinata was laughing. "Hina-chan—your voice!"
Thatlaughthatcutecutelaugh!
It'sbackit'sbackit'sback!
Sohappysohappysohappy!
I started laughing even harder as I wrapped my arms around Hinata. I just couldn't stop laughing. I just was so happy—so relieved—to hear her voice again. I kept laughing until I started crying.
"I-I'm sorry…I d-didn't mean to make you w-worry…" Hinata echoed, a small smile crossing her lips as she patted me on the back. "I-It's okay…"
Somehow, despite all that had happened, I find myself believing Hinata. Even though things were anything but okay…it didn't matter right now. We're still coping—but for now…this is enough.
It's okay…
…
…
…
A/N 4-18-16 More editing on the way and I'm gonna say this now, I did not like how this chapter originally was, with the way Himawari just up and died without much impact being shown. Now, you can see the impact it had on Hinata (instead of me just glossing it over) and, through that extension, the impact it also had on Chōko (that's new, actually). Of course, as a result, this chapter is no longer as lighthearted as it originally was. Things happen.
Yeah…Himawari died. I honestly wasn't expecting to grow so attached to her, but I did. Everyone is still coping, but they're getting better. It'll take time, tho Moving on from that, let's talk about that Academy.
I consider the first year where they spend more time weeding out students who aren't cut out for the shinobi life, the last months being focused on chakra training. Chakra training is basically the moment of truth, whether or not anyone will advance to the next year or transfer to a civilian school. There are exceptions, considering Rock Lee…but he's a special case who got a recommendation. If you're lucky enough someone has seen you working hard enough throughout the year, you could get a recommendation, which could help if you're like Rock Lee.
That aside, the second year is where the real training begins. And in case anyone is wondering, I am in fact a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do…I am supposed to be a brown belt, but I ended up spraining my left foot's little toe when it got caught in the foam mat while I was practicing my blue belt form for the upcoming belt promotion test. After a month's absence, I returned…then college started getting a bit hectic for me and I had to stop going to Tae Kwon Do altogether. It's been nearly a year since I've gone. I want to go back, but I'm so out of shape, I'll die during the warm-up. If I can't get past the warm-up, then I won't make it through the entire lesson.
I still plan on returning…right after I get back into shape. That's enough of my life story, let's move onto Shisui…he is a dork. That is how he came out to be in this fic. He is also the reason Naruto took an interest in pranking, as Naruto would have no actual incentive, as he has been receiving attention.
Despite there being deviations, things eventually even out in some way or form, as shown with how Naruto took an interest in pranking. He has also taken an interesting in gardening, thanks to the Aburame compound, which I always pictured as being a greenhouse of sorts.
Also, Shisui has revealed that the incident that happened during Chōji and Chōko's fifth birthday, in which there were a lot of crying children, did in fact influence the Four Noble Clans, or more specifically, the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. That is the reason why they had started opening up to Naruto.
ALSO, thanks to this chapter and me talking to ChibiFoxAI, I have managed to implement SCIENCE into Naruto. It is as weird as it sounds, but what makes it baffling is that it makes sense. I managed to apply the second law of thermodynamics to Chōji.
The second law of thermodynamics limits the amount of work that can be performed by energy that is obtained via a heating process—some energy is always lost as waste heat.
Apply it to Chōji and it explains how he never really loses or gains weight, despite being able to convert calories into chakra. And if you think that's weird, then wait until you see what I ended up doing to the Natures. I try to forget about science…but I always end up coming back to it in SOME way. THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
Now this chapter might not be as long as the last chapter, but it still is longer than the others, so I'm happy. Also, to those who have reviewed, thank you so much for taking the time to say something! ^^
That's about it for now, so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! By the way, this is chapter 13, so there's another one! Ahahaha, yeah…well, until next time, everyone! KD out! XD